My GPS claims I ran 25.7 miles today. I think I'm now fully prepared to run a marathon.
I still haven't decided which one to do. When I say this to people it evinces strange reactions. I think most marathoners pick their race first, and then build their schedule around it. This is a must for a race like the Chicago Marathon, which sells out months in advance. But most marathons aren't like that.
And I want to run on a cool day. I've run a number of marathons on hot days, and - trust me - cool is better.
So that's my new scheduling rule -
wait for a forecast of cool.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
A Very Terrible Father, Revisited
Dream Theatre has remounted one of my favorite Menekseoglu plays: A Very Terrible Father.
I wrote about the earlier production here, and I somehow forgot to include a rhyme with my post, I think because the emotional experience of the play was so preoccupying my mind.
Jeremy Menekseoglu as Matthias, and Megan Merrill as Lilli.
It's a play about a dying man, Matthias, who is trying very hard to do something right with his life. You might think, from the "terrible father" of the title, that the play is about a man who has treated a child badly. That's not it. It's about a man who has had nothing to do with his child, but who has journeyed to America to see her, one last time, to deliver a message.
It turns out to be hard to deliver the message. But, in a terribly poignant, inspired scene, he does his best.
Megan Merrill is lovely as Lilli, who is something like a profane angel of redemption, the agent of change in Matthias's heart. Katharine Swan was utterly convincing as the still-heartbroken mother of Matthias's daughter. Alex Woodruff, as his daughter, captures the inarticulate angst of a young teen caught up in the deep waters of her parents' history.
Finally, Giau Truong plays Bill, the American stepfather, with creepy sincerity. I love this character, in some twisted way: a healthy-living enthusiast who seems oblivious of the fact that he is, underneath it all, a fear-ridden control freak.
To communicate what matters
in the face of grief that shatters
is no easy task.
But sometimes it's what life asks.
I wrote about the earlier production here, and I somehow forgot to include a rhyme with my post, I think because the emotional experience of the play was so preoccupying my mind.
Jeremy Menekseoglu as Matthias, and Megan Merrill as Lilli.
It's a play about a dying man, Matthias, who is trying very hard to do something right with his life. You might think, from the "terrible father" of the title, that the play is about a man who has treated a child badly. That's not it. It's about a man who has had nothing to do with his child, but who has journeyed to America to see her, one last time, to deliver a message.
It turns out to be hard to deliver the message. But, in a terribly poignant, inspired scene, he does his best.
Megan Merrill is lovely as Lilli, who is something like a profane angel of redemption, the agent of change in Matthias's heart. Katharine Swan was utterly convincing as the still-heartbroken mother of Matthias's daughter. Alex Woodruff, as his daughter, captures the inarticulate angst of a young teen caught up in the deep waters of her parents' history.
Finally, Giau Truong plays Bill, the American stepfather, with creepy sincerity. I love this character, in some twisted way: a healthy-living enthusiast who seems oblivious of the fact that he is, underneath it all, a fear-ridden control freak.
To communicate what matters
in the face of grief that shatters
is no easy task.
But sometimes it's what life asks.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Stench
Politico's Roger Simon wrote a column in which he claimed that Paul Ryan was referring to Mitt Romney as "Stench".
A lot of people - even a certain Nobel prize-winning economist-turned-pundit - took the claim to be true and pontificated about the story - and spread the story.
But, it wasn't true. Simon says it was intended as satire. Ann Althouse has an alternate explanation.
into his opponent's trench.
Another case of: "He who smelt it, dealt it."
A lot of people - even a certain Nobel prize-winning economist-turned-pundit - took the claim to be true and pontificated about the story - and spread the story.
But, it wasn't true. Simon says it was intended as satire. Ann Althouse has an alternate explanation.
This was a deliberate attempt to pollute the public debate, to promote Simon's candidate. He would never fun with Obama like that. He kept his deniability, but he put it way down where no one would read. His writing doesn't merit the click to page 2.Simon lobbed some stench
into his opponent's trench.
Another case of: "He who smelt it, dealt it."
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Wanted: Poetic Ghost Writer
The Chicago Tribune Theater Critic wrote a piece about whether the Romney campaign could use a poet-in-residence.
instead of just harping on the economy,
needs to find a poet
to help him not blow it
with inelegant phrasing
that no one is praising.
Given the week that Mitt Romney just endured, it begs a question: Does the Republican nominee for President of the United States have current need of a poet?He thinks that Romney,
instead of just harping on the economy,
needs to find a poet
to help him not blow it
with inelegant phrasing
that no one is praising.
Learning Words As Needed
We spent the weekend in Connecticut, guests at the home of my daughter's future parents-in-law. We hadn't met them before, but they were truly lovely people.
While we were there, I somehow brought up the topic of "what relationship are we to each other"? I'd been told that in other languages there was a word for it. So today my son came up with the Spanish word: consuegro, which translates as co-father-in-law.
Co-father-in-law turns out to be an English word,
albeit one I don't recall having ever heard.
While we were there, I somehow brought up the topic of "what relationship are we to each other"? I'd been told that in other languages there was a word for it. So today my son came up with the Spanish word: consuegro, which translates as co-father-in-law.
Co-father-in-law turns out to be an English word,
albeit one I don't recall having ever heard.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Change
When you're running for reelection
It's dangerous to insist that we need a change of direction,
Especially if we've been hearing
That you're the one who's been doing the steering.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Back Channel Diplomacy
Lynn Sweet reports some unusual maneuvering:
For some reason the passed-along personal message is better?
I've learned that Mayor Rahm Emanuel met Thursday with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak--who is delivering a message from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu--that he is not attempting to interfere in the U.S. elections on behalf of Mitt Romney.He couldn't just send him a letter?
For some reason the passed-along personal message is better?
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
No Plans In That Direction
The U.S. was signing some agreement with Mexico, and the signing ceremony was not open to the press, and one reporter wanted to know why:
We have no plans to go forth,
marching into the North.
We did try it once. It's the bicentennial of that war!
The Canadians repelled us so they celebrate it more.
The journalist asked, “This isn’t some secret thing … to invade Canada or something like that?”The U.S. said it wasn't anything like that.
We have no plans to go forth,
marching into the North.
We did try it once. It's the bicentennial of that war!
The Canadians repelled us so they celebrate it more.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Lost Not Found
When leaving the train in a rush,
I clean forgot my umbrella.
I never cared for it much,
perhaps it's just as wella.
It was a free umbrella, emblazoned with a company logo. It was good for keeping the rain off. And it sprung open with surprising force when you pushed the little button. But it was annoyingly hard to close. Not so annoying that I would pay for a replacement, but annoying enough so that I don't miss it.
I never liked it quite.
But the price was right.
I clean forgot my umbrella.
I never cared for it much,
perhaps it's just as wella.
It was a free umbrella, emblazoned with a company logo. It was good for keeping the rain off. And it sprung open with surprising force when you pushed the little button. But it was annoyingly hard to close. Not so annoying that I would pay for a replacement, but annoying enough so that I don't miss it.
I never liked it quite.
But the price was right.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Perils of Talking Tough
Karen Lewis, the head of the local teachers' union, did a great job of whipping her people into a hopeful fury. Only, now that she has worked out a deal with the administration, some of that fury is turning on her:
but come back with less in hand,
you may lose a lot of fans.
Leaflets calling Lewis a "sellout" for concessions agreed to with CPS were distributed to union delegates at Sunday's meeting.When you go in with strong demands,
but come back with less in hand,
you may lose a lot of fans.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Can You Dig It?
I came across this sentence in the Chicago Sun-Times, online:
The meaning, in context, lines up with the usage "get in a dig," meaning to make a hurtful or critical remark.
Of course, people occasionally do use 2 different forms of the past tense for a verb, depending on the meaning of the verb.
Most men would rather be hung than hanged.
Would you rather be digged or dug?
Or does the question merit a shrug?
She digged at Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his handpicked school board that includes hotel heiress Penny Pritzker.My question is: is "digged" proper for some reason, rather than "dug"? "Digged" is listed as "archaic" at dictionary.com.
The meaning, in context, lines up with the usage "get in a dig," meaning to make a hurtful or critical remark.
Of course, people occasionally do use 2 different forms of the past tense for a verb, depending on the meaning of the verb.
Most men would rather be hung than hanged.
Would you rather be digged or dug?
Or does the question merit a shrug?
Training Run Trivia
On yesterday's run, all 3 of our GPS devices kept telling us the mile markers were short. By the time we were done running the marked course of 20 miles, our GPS devices only had 19 miles and small change. At first, everyone else thought the markers were wrong, but I put my trust in the markers.
Why would GPS devices be wrong? Well, we were running in fairly dense woods, along curvy bicycle trails. The trees have a tendency to interfere somewhat with the GPS signals, so I figure the devices did not *always* know exactly where we were.
So, suppose you have run from point A to point B, on a non-straight path. Next suppose the device has lost track of where you were between A & B.
How does it imagine you got from A to B? I figure it draws a straight line, thus shortening the actual distance covered.
I believe my GPS
sometimes has to guess.
Why would GPS devices be wrong? Well, we were running in fairly dense woods, along curvy bicycle trails. The trees have a tendency to interfere somewhat with the GPS signals, so I figure the devices did not *always* know exactly where we were.
So, suppose you have run from point A to point B, on a non-straight path. Next suppose the device has lost track of where you were between A & B.
How does it imagine you got from A to B? I figure it draws a straight line, thus shortening the actual distance covered.
I believe my GPS
sometimes has to guess.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
20 Miler
Ran an organized run that was like a race, but not a race. You paid to get in. There were bathrooms and aid stations all along the way. There were pacers to help you maintain pace.
But... they didn't give you a time when you were done.
It was only meant as a marathon training run.
I actually looped back, after I was finished, revisited the Mile 19 marker, and ran back to the finish again, just so I could get 22 miles in. And, as a result, I got a second big welcome to the finish line.
Karen, our pacer, was wonderfully fun. In her 50s, she took up running about a year ago, and started winning her age group right away. You know, a natural - although she does have a coach.
But... they didn't give you a time when you were done.
It was only meant as a marathon training run.
I actually looped back, after I was finished, revisited the Mile 19 marker, and ran back to the finish again, just so I could get 22 miles in. And, as a result, I got a second big welcome to the finish line.
Karen, our pacer, was wonderfully fun. In her 50s, she took up running about a year ago, and started winning her age group right away. You know, a natural - although she does have a coach.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Falsehood
The president's press secretary:
Our current executive branch would like to that video pulled off the web. They've exposed the true identity of the person who put it up. They've asked Google to pull it from YouTube. But Google/YouTube stood up to the executive branch:
To me it sounds great,
but that's what they hate.
This is a fairly volatile situation, and it is in response not to U.S. policy, not to, obviously, the administration, not to the American people.Of course it's about us and our policies. It's about us honoring freedom speech. It's about us legally protecting what they see as blasphemy. Remember that slogan about "they hate us for our freedom"? This is one of those freedoms they hate.
Our current executive branch would like to that video pulled off the web. They've exposed the true identity of the person who put it up. They've asked Google to pull it from YouTube. But Google/YouTube stood up to the executive branch:
We work hard to create a community everyone can enjoy and which also enables people to express different opinions,” a YouTube spokeswoman said in a statement.A community which enables the expression of different opinions?
To me it sounds great,
but that's what they hate.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
The Power to Destroy
I was in a discussion with an immigrant Muslim today. He was quite upset about the riotous assaults on our stations in the Middle East. He was puzzling how to stop them.
He sees that YouTube movie about Muhammad as part of the problem, and was trying to figure out an end-run around the first amendement, to stop that sort of film from being made.
He found inspiration in John Roberts' recent ruling on the healthcare law. The theory of the ruling was that we can't make people eat broccoli, but we can TAX them for not eating broccoli.
So he proposed taxing people who make inflammatory videos.
He was quickly told that his approach was no-go. But I was impressed by his logic.
If you can't quite give something the axe,
just slap it with a tax!
He sees that YouTube movie about Muhammad as part of the problem, and was trying to figure out an end-run around the first amendement, to stop that sort of film from being made.
He found inspiration in John Roberts' recent ruling on the healthcare law. The theory of the ruling was that we can't make people eat broccoli, but we can TAX them for not eating broccoli.
So he proposed taxing people who make inflammatory videos.
He was quickly told that his approach was no-go. But I was impressed by his logic.
If you can't quite give something the axe,
just slap it with a tax!
Play Ball!
I have a ten minute play that's going to be part of Morgan Park Academy's Fall Show.
It's a play about baseball, featuring a high school catcher and a pitcher. I'm told it was cast today, and the actors actually are, in real life, a high school catcher and a pitcher.
It's funny. I always say actors end up knowing things about the characters that the author didn't know. But these 2 guys will come to the first rehearsal with more detailed knowledge of catching and pitching than I have!
Since they wanted the roles, I guess I didn't get any serious details wrong.
While writing, to avoid looking the fool,
I did look up at least one rule.
It's a play about baseball, featuring a high school catcher and a pitcher. I'm told it was cast today, and the actors actually are, in real life, a high school catcher and a pitcher.
It's funny. I always say actors end up knowing things about the characters that the author didn't know. But these 2 guys will come to the first rehearsal with more detailed knowledge of catching and pitching than I have!
Since they wanted the roles, I guess I didn't get any serious details wrong.
While writing, to avoid looking the fool,
I did look up at least one rule.
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