Archive for the ‘Syrian Refugee Crisis’ Category
March 4, 2016
Chet Baker’s “Jazz in Paris” plays while I am typing, courtesy of Amazon Prime, the service I am learning it is hard to live without. It pays for itself with free shipping around Christmas not to mention being able to find things there I can’t find easily in stores. I mean it seems like everything is there. They have just released a new device, Amazon Tap, that works with their Echo. Have to learn more about that…
When I woke this morning, it was chill but bright and light speckled on the creek as I looked out the window waiting for my electric kettle to boil the water for my tea.
It was an easy day. I spent the morning in the annual great American adventure, preparing information for my taxes for the accountant who does both my business and my personal returns. Finishing that, I went to Hudson and had lunch with my friend Dena Moran, who has moved her shop, Olde Hudson, into larger digs. Afterwards, I had my oil changed and then came home and gathered the piles of receipts and prepared for them to be stored away.
While we were at lunch, Dena and I both checked out what Mitt Romney said about Donald Trump. While I was doing taxes, Mitt was skewering The Donald, calling him a “phony,” “a fraud” and many other things. Good for Mitt… It’s the most I have respected him in years.
Trump responded in The Donald’s way. He looked back on 2012 when he said Mitt would have dropped to his knees to have The Donald’s endorsement. That’s not a pretty picture… According to The Donald, Mitt’s a failed candidate and the only person who “chokes” more than Mitt is Marco Rubio.
Does anyone get tired of this?
Shockingly, among Muslims who vote Republican, he’s the most popular candidate. What? Not something I understand but it’s real. It seems they think once elected, he’ll become pragmatic and work on economic issues, which is their greatest concern, and forgot all the anti-Muslim rhetoric. There is a part of me that suspects they are delusional, rather like Jews who couldn’t really believe Hitler was serious.
Caitlyn Jenner is supporting Ted Cruz, which seems as crazy to me as Muslims supporting The Donald.
In other happy news, Kim Jong Un of North Korea has ordered his military to be ready to use nuclear weapons at any time. Perhaps preemptively, as the UN voted in the most severe sanctions in twenty years against his country. The pudgy young man is determined, desperately determined, the world give him respect. I suspect bad parenting.
In Syria, the fragile truce has given some respite to the desperate inhabitants of that poor country. Thinking about them helped me realize how grateful I am to be here, poised above the Claverack Creek where sun speckles in the morning on the water, where I can listen to jazz and think about the issues of the world while not dodging mortar fire or bombs from above.
Tags:Caitlyn Jenner, Chet Baker, Claverack, Claverack Creek, Donald Trump, Hudson, jazz in Paris, Kim Jong - Un, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Mitt Romney, New York, Olde Hudson, Syria
Posted in 2016 Election, Airstrikes, Claverack, Columbia County, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political Commentary, Politics, Social Commentary, Syria, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
February 28, 2016
As my train heads north out of Penn Station, the setting sun glints golden light off the towers that have sprung up over the years on the Jersey side of the Hudson River. In the relatively balmy weather, runners are trotting up the paths that line the Manhattan side of the river while traffic on the West Side Highway is bumper to bumper. I am skimming by it all.
This is the second to last leg of my trip back from Greenville, South Carolina, where I visited friends. From their house to the airport, airport to Newark, the Rail Train to NJ Transit to Penn and now from Penn to Hudson, then by car to home. I think I will be tuckered out by the time I get to the cottage tonight.
It’s the Academy Awards tonight and Lionel and Pierre are having folks over to watch on their large screen television. I’ll go there but am not sure how long I will last.
The individual who has been showing all the qualities of lasting is Donald Trump, the much mocked man of the combover has defied his critics and all the pundits and the Republican Party is starting to realize he probably has a good chance of being the nominee.
He has stepped into some trouble [when hasn’t he?] when he refused to disavow the support of David Duke, the former head of the Ku Klux Klan and by failing to disavow the KKK itself. His opponents, of course, jumped on it. Rubio declared this failure made him unfit to be President.
As usual, Trump backpedaled on Twitter once he got a handle on the fact his foot was in his mouth.
Will he live to fight another day? Of course.
According to many reports, the Republican grandees are horrified, frightened and desperate to stop him and have no idea about how to do so. They have been losing their grip on the party since the Tea Party genie got let out of the bottle and now this…
Clinton, as in Hillary, is gleefully delighted in her win yesterday in South Carolina. She and Sanders are on the march to Super Tuesday from which she hopes to emerge with a daunting delegate lead.
The game is afoot, would say Sherlock…
An Ohio Baptist minister was shot to death today as he was walking back to the pulpit as the choir sang. The shooter may have been his brother.
In Indiana, three young Muslim men were shot “execution style” and the police are working to understand what has happened and how it happened.
In Baghdad, seventy have died from suicide bombers linked to IS.
In the European Refugee Crisis, 70,000 may be trapped in Greece next month as borders are closing. Spring cannot come soon enough for the refugees.
36 Russians have died in a methane gas explosion in a coal mine.
The Syrian Truce is fraying as the army has attacked and the Russians have been sending out airstrikes.
I could go on. The litany of bad news is seemingly endless. And while there aren’t a lot of “feel good” stories today, the sun in the west is glowing red orange as I move north. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.
In the room at my friends where I stayed there was a pillow that was stitched with the phrase: old friends are the best friends. That’s very true. Old friends are old friends for a reason. We have endured and are still there for each other.
My mantra of gratitude was said today as I rode up the escalator at Penn from the NJ Transit train. A little late but not forgotten…
Tags:Academy Awards, Bernie Sanders, David Duke, Donald Trump, Greenville, Hillary Clinton, Indiana Muslim Killings, IS, KKK, Ku Klux Klan, Marco Rubio, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, New York, South Carolina, Syria, Syrian Truce
Posted in 2016 Election, Elections, Entertainment, European Refugee Crisis, Gun Violence, Hollywood, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Political, Political Commentary, Politics, Social Commentary, Syria, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
February 26, 2016
It’s Friday afternoon and I’m sitting looking out the windows of my friends’ rental in Greenville, SC where they are living while their new home is being built a few blocks from where I am sitting. The apartment is gorgeous and their new home will be even more beautiful. They’re liking Greenville and I’m happy for them.
While we were touring the construction site of their home, my phone made one of the noises it does when a breaking news story pops up. Governor Chris Christie has endorsed Trump while continuing to harass Marco Rubio.
Talking politics is always touchy and I can honestly say, as I think almost everyone would agree, that we haven’t seen anything like this in politics during our voting lifetimes.
It’s been a busy week and last night I slept for nearly twelve hours and that was after a two hour nap. I am still worn down it seems. So I am, as my sister suggested, listening to my body and resting when it says to rest. Which is relatively often…
It’s cool here, though very bright and sunny.
My brother has been in Honduras and is on his way home. He texted me this morning and I was glad and will be gladder when he’s home. He goes once or twice a year to give medical care to those living in the back of beyond.
In a quiet little Kansas town, Hesston, not far from Wichita, 38 year old Cedric Larry Ford was served with a restraining order. 90 minutes later he shot 17 people, three of whom died, and among the fourteen others, several are in critical condition.
And the beat goes on…
Former Mexican President, Vicente Fox, told Trump there was no way Mexico was going to “pay for that f**king wall.” Trump asked for an apology. He only got a verbatim repeat from Fox, on live TV, on Fox Business News.
Trump, who is against immigration, uses a lot of immigrants at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida private club, mostly from eastern European countries. He also settled out of court a suit about use of illegal Polish workers on the Trump Tower in New York.
Netflix’s new “Fuller House” got panned by critics. Now I have to watch an episode, just to see what the critics are talking about.
98% of Facebook employees are white. Apparently some of those folks have been scratching out “Black Lives Matter” on Facebook walls and replacing it with “All Lives Matter.” Zuckerberg has told them to stop.
The Americans and Russians have brokered a ceasefire in Syria and it’s one which doesn’t include the Nursa Front or IS so I wonder just how ceased the fighting will be? Hopefully, much needed supplies will reach the desperate and there are lots of them in Syria.
Certainly, it is not desperate here where Jan is prepping shrimp and grits, to be served with a good white wine and where I will shortly raise a martini to friends not present.
Including all of you…
Tags:Cedric Larry Ford, Chris Christie, Donald Trump, Fuller House, Greenville, Hesston Kansas, IS, Marco Rubio, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Netflix, South Carolina, Syrian Cease Fire, Vicente Fox
Posted in 2016 Election, Elections, Entertainment, European Refugee Crisis, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Russia, Social Commentary, Syria, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
February 23, 2016
Outside, the world is dark, though the moon is full and bright and big overhead. It has been a clear, sunny day with temps in the mid-40’s, pretty perfect for the 22nd of February.
Yesterday, I went to church and then to Albany and by the time I got home, the stuffing had been knocked out of me and I tumbled into bed about five and ended up falling asleep somewhere around nine. Going to a party up there exhausted me. Carrying a crockpot up a small hill was nearly impossible. I felt old and fragile and I was not happy.
Today, I woke up early and it has been the most active day I’ve had since I was out of the hospital. I was doing just fine and then, about twenty minutes ago, the wall was hit and I sank back into bed.
My sister, the nurse, has been telling me to listen to my body and I have been. When it says rest, I do. I stretched too far yesterday.
So here I am, propped up in bed in my sweats, jazz playing and my laptop in my lap.
It was a good day. Good class. Isaac Phillips, a young entrepreneur, Skyped in from Mexico City where he is working on an app for the Latin American market. This sounds promising. Ads delivered to your phone in exchange for your data bill being paid.
Isaac is a really good young man. And he is not much older [and younger than some] of my students. He spoke about following your passion also meant suffering for your passion. It was a great dose of reality about what it takes to make it in the high tech world.
I also showed a short film about the history of media which featured a poster of “The Jazz Singer,” the first talkie. A lifetime ago I had lunch with May McAvoy, who was the female lead in “The Jazz Singer.” She and three other stars of the era talked of the ’20’s as if they were yesterday and were a window into a world that was gone.
One of the other stars that was there that day was Leatrice Joy, who was divorced by John Gilbert so he could marry Greta Garbo, who left him at the altar. She was one of my mother’s favorites.
Esther Ralston was another, top billed over Gary Cooper in her day, who talked about having to beat off her husband with her umbrella when he tried to push her into the Grand Canyon after the stock market crash so he could collect the insurance.
These were women who had lived and were still seizing life when I met them.
On Twitter, I posted an article about the controversy between Apple and the Feds over unlocking a phone used by the terrorist couple in Riverside who killed fourteen and wounded many more. Apple is not wanting to do it; the Feds are demanding it and everyone is thinking about it. I have made no decision about it and was a bit surprised when my post brought forth strong comments on both sides of the issue.
And then I realized it was really important and how we decide this is going to be important going forward. How does a free society remain free in a time of terror? I don’t have the answers but appreciate the questions being asked.
Meanwhile, Ted Cruz has fired his spokesman for a tweet, inaccurate, about Rubio. Cruz is getting a slimy reputation and he is trying to shake it. He’s not shady but he hires people who are… Excuse me?
Jeb Bush spent $130,000,000 running for President and has now bowed out of the race. I actually thought he would be the candidate; it seemed logical. My friend, Jeff Cole, picked Rubio. I think Jeff is smarter than I am.
In Kalamazoo, Michigan an Uber driver shot eight people, killing six and picking up rides between the killings. Officials are describing it as “unexplainable” and it is but then so much is “unexplainable.”
Russia and the US have agreed to help implement a ceasefire in Syria, which is great if it works though it doesn’t include the Nursa Front or IS so who knows what actually will happen. Hopefully, some relief for the tortured souls living there…
Also tortured, but not as viscerally as Syria, is Yahoo, a tech giant who has lost its way. In 1999, it was the Google of its day. Now it’s not and there is lots of talk about dismembering the company, selling it off in pieces. Marissa Meyers may well be its last CEO.
And that’s the last I can do for today. I am worn out. Need to quit now and allow myself to fall asleep watching something good, start tomorrow all over, hopefully as fresh as I felt today.
Tags:Apple, Claverack, Esther Ralston, Gary Cooper, Greta Garbo, Hudson, IS, Isaac Phillips, Isis, John Gilbert, Leatrice Joy, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, May McAvoy, Melissa Meyers, New York, Putin, Russia, Syria, Ted Cruz, The Jazz Singer, Yahoo
Posted in 2016 Election, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Political Commentary, Putin, Russia, Social Commentary, Syria, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
February 14, 2016
It is Saturday night and I am at the cottage. I have just lit a fire and have finished prepping for tomorrow; I am doing the coffee hour after the 10:30 service. Since it is Valentine’s Day I wanted to do something a little special. I think I have, once again, succumbed to my mother’s philosophy: too much is never enough.
Oh well, hopefully it will be fun and it is the first real thing I have done since being in the hospital. My primary care physician, Dr. Paolino, summed it up: You were sick and now you’re better. You still have to see your gastroenterologist but you are on the mend.
And I am, though I am still sleeping a lot and being very careful about what I eat. My body is working to be normal and I’m grateful. Amazing things these human bodies, they often heal themselves, sometimes with help but they are wondrous.
My brother is now in Honduras, where he goes at least once a year to provide medical care to the back of beyond, to places who only have medical care when teams like his arrive. I’m terribly proud of him. When he is there, I am concerned as Honduras has devolved into one of the most violent places in the hemisphere but every year he goes back, as he has for almost forty years now.
Lionel let me know that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away. I have mixed feelings about it as he spewed some hateful things these last years, particularly about gay rights and marriage equality. About six months ago, I read a speech he gave and was appalled at the intolerance, actually shocked. It seemed so bitter and unforgiving.
Still, may he rest in peace. As may we all rest in peace when our time comes.
Being ill and in the hospital, summoned intimations of my mortality, heightened by my old good friend, Tim Sparke, diagnosed some three or four years ago with a brain tumor, who is now in hospice, the cancer having spread through his body. He wrote me and told me he was now serene, something that I have heard comes to people in their last days if they are given the grace to know they are living their last days.
He is younger than me by a decade I think. Life plays itself out for each of us in its own cadence and only the universe understands it.
The Russian Premier, Medvedev, has declared we have slid into a new “cold war.” Yes, I suppose we have. I’m not sure quite how it happened but it’s been years in the making and lies, I think, largely in Putin’s lap as it serves him to prop up his power in Russia. They’re suffering from the collapse of oil prices probably as much or more than anyone with the possible exception of Venezuela.
Months ago, I read something about a dam in Iraq. It wasn’t being maintained and threatened a half million people with catastrophe. It’s back in the news and it is in bad shape. An Italian firm has been hired to repair it and, hopefully, repairs will happen in time or a half million people may drown. Think Katrina, exponentially worse.
True to form, The Donald is striking out. Apparently he has called Cruz “a pussy.” I had to Google it because polite press wouldn’t tell me exactly what Trump had said. I will need to read more about this but nothing Trump does surprises me.
Back in the olden days of the early Republic, politics was this nasty. Yes, it was. And now we have returned to it, thanks to the Donald. Ah, we shall see how this plays out. Not prettily I think.
It’s getting late. I’m off to bed. I have coffee hour tomorrow. May your tomorrow be good…
Tags:Claverack, Donald Trump, Hudson, IS, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, New York, Obama, Putin, Syria
Posted in 2016 Election, Claverack, Elections, Entertainment, Gay, Gay Liberation, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political Commentary, Politics, Putin, Social Commentary, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
February 11, 2016
Amtrak Hudson River Gary and Angel Koven The Knot Bernie Sanders Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Einstein Theory of Relativity Oregon Standoff Ammon Bundy NATO Syria Russia Secretary Kerry Lavrov Saudi Arabia
As I start this, I am riding south on Amtrak, heading into the city to see my primary care physician, who is in the city, to bring him up to date on my medical adventures.
The Hudson is a steely grey, occasionally looking like burnished silver when the sun breaks through the heavy cloud cover. My friend, James Linkin, is sitting beside me, happy to see me up and walking.
The river is choppy, not surprising as the wind is up and biting, making it feel much colder than the temperature. I am tired as I often am these days though grateful to be up and out of bed and on the move.
My world feels altered in some way by my sojourn in the hospital. My friends often describe me as thoughtful and I am more so right now. The last few days, I have lived in quiet, without my usual jazz playing in the background. I’ve started to turn it on and then decided against it, preferring silence as my solace.
Tonight, I will have dinner with my friends Gary and Angel. They have been married now for four + years and I was at their wedding. Today their love for each other is as incandescent as it was the day they married. I recommended them for a shoot for the 20th anniversary of The Knot, a website devoted to marriage. One of the crew told me they were his favorite couple.
While I have been recovering, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump won their respective races in New Hampshire. Headlines wonder whether Hillary’s campaign is about to implode and I wonder about the future of the country. The Trump juggernaut continues and that scares the hell out of me.
I’m sure I’m not the only one. The Daily News had scathing headlines about his victory saying zombies had come out to vote. One wonders…
Scientists are wondering less since they have found gravitational waves which fit into Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Great scientific excitement and my friend, James, was particularly excited. He’s a fan of the physicist and shares his birthday with Einstein.
The Oregon Standoff is over. Bundy, Sr. has been arrested, following son Ammon to jail. And other standoff chapter is finished and this time, thankfully, without mass deaths.
NATO is sending warships into the Aegean to see if it can stem the flow of refugees, many being transported by human traffickers. The seas are rough, dozens are dying and the fighting rages back in Syria.
Saudi Arabia is said to have made a “final” decision to send troops to Syria. That is not going to uncomplicate things.
And while they might be sending troops, they’re not taking in their brethren, rather letting them suffer their fate on water than let them into their own lands.
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Lavrov, says this will result in an terminable, never ending war with the possibility of a new world war at the end of the game. Loverly.
The Saudis might make their move in concert with the Turks, who have been engaged in verbal hostilities with Russia ever since they downed a Russian jet before the New Year.
Secretary Kerry is desperately trying to get the Peace Talks going but it seems hard to get the sides into the same building not to mention the same room. Well, actually, they have no intention of being in the same room. If there is any dialogue, it will be through messengers shuttling between rooms. Could cost a lot of shoe leather but if there is progress, it would be worth it.
The Mideast already seems mired in that “interminable war.” 470,000 have died in Syria since the outbreak of protests against Assad five years ago. Millions of Syrians are in camps and desperate to get out to a better life, somewhere.
The day has faded. I am sitting in a deli in the city, sipping a cup of black coffee [I’m not allowed cream yet], looking out into the night that has fallen, the bright lights of cars heading down 7th Avenue, people scurrying from the cold.
All peaceful here. But for how long?
Tags:Ammon Bundy, Amtrak, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Einstein, Gary and Angel Koven, Hillary Clinton, Hudson River, Kerry, Lavrov, NATO, Oregon Standoff, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, The Knot, Theory of Relativity
Posted in 2016 Election, Airstrikes, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Mideast, Political Commentary, Politics, Putin, Russia, Social Commentary, Syria, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
February 10, 2016
It is dark outside; the floodlights over the creek are glistening on the water and the snow from last night. It is beautiful and peaceful. There is a fire in the stove but no music plays. I have lived in quiet all day. I am thoughtful and introspective, having much to assimilate.
The last time I wrote a letter I was hoping to be “tickety boo” the next day. I was not. By 5 on Tuesday I was running a fever and by 9:30 I was 103.5 and rising. Calling young Nick, he raced to the cottage, tumbled me into a car and got me to the hospital.
They admitted me with pneumonia but it soon became evident something else was going on. The closest to knowing what that something else is, is that I was suffering from some kind of intestinal infection of an undetermined nature.
On Wednesday, I was to teach but my friend James Green was skyping in so class went on with another teacher as proctor. It took an hour to compose a cogent email on my phone to the school and James to explain the situation.
For four days, I was in the hospital bed, being pumped full of IV antibiotics. They ordered a colonoscopy and the prep for that while hooked to an IV stand was a horror story.
I hoped to be out on Thursday but my temperature wouldn’t stay down. It was a time of thinking and, truthfully, hurting, great emotion and being touched by the kindness of others.
My self perception is of one who helps and comforts others but is not much in need of help or comfort himself. My brother is a doctor, my sister is a nurse and I was, for a time, a teacher. All helping professions… We were raised to give and not take.
But sometimes we need to receive and the last two months I have been reminded of that regularly, most sharply in the time I was in the hospital. My brother and sister, God love them, conferred by phone, and my brother guided me through what to ask about and what to request. He spoke to the doctors, letting them know there was a knowledgeable person watching over the proceedings.
The respect in our community for our local hospital is, how can I say this kindly, low. On Wednesday night, when I was feeling very low, and still burning with fever, Nick’s father phoned me and told me that no matter where I needed to go, they would find a way to get me there if I opted to leave where I was. I started to cry.
I sent an email to the McCormick/Malones and my “niece-in-law” phoned me within minutes and I cried again.
During the endless night, I thought what if I had been a Syrian refugee and this had happened? I would probably have died.
Being in a hospital is like being on a never ending red eye from LA to New York. Never quite resting, always being woken by something or someone, inescapable sound at all times. During the sleepless nights I binged watched “White Collar,” entertaining and not too demanding.
On Thursday, Lionel announced he was flying up from Baltimore. Arriving Friday early afternoon, he came in time to take me home. When he walked in, I said that everyone in the World Wide Web of Mathew thanked him and I cried again.
I haven’t felt this vulnerable since my ex and I split over ten years ago. I had retreated into a quiet place where I could give but found it hard to receive and feel the affection so many have for me.
Nothing like a fever of 103+ to pierce the veil of stoicism.
John Donne wrote: no man is an island. And certainly not me…
Tags:Hudson, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers
Posted in Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Mideast, Social Commentary, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
February 2, 2016
Nick Stuart Tickety boo James Green Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders Marco Rubio Jeb Bush Zika Virus Brazil Olympics WHO Apple Google Alphabet Yahoo Melissa Mayer IS Boko Haram Assad American Airlines United
When I drove into the drive of the cottage, behind me was a brilliant rose gold sunset illuminating the western sky. After spending the afternoon running a variety of errands, I was grateful to be home.
My very English friend, Nick Stuart, if he is concerned about either my physical or mental well being, will text me a message that says, “Everything tickety boo?”
And tonight, not everything is tickety boo.
I have been headachy and achy since about noon today and so, once the errands were accomplished, I slid home and lit a fire, changed into comfortable clothes, also warm, and began to rest.
I don’t want to get sick. I have class on Wednesday; my friend James Green is Skyping in to discuss digital advertising. It is not possible to get sick; the show must go on!
The show that is going on right now, as I write, is the Iowa caucuses and the let the games begin. The first “showdown” is happening. Hillary and Bernie are neck and neck. Trump has a lead over everyone. Marco Rubio is desperately hoping he will come in third in Iowa.
I am worn to a frazzle by all this. This campaign will go down in history, I hope, as the longest election campaign in the country’s history. I can’t imagine anything longer than this. Shouldn’t the elections be next Tuesday so we can get this all over with? We have something like another 280 days of all of them slugging it out.
As the caucuses begin, Jeb Bush is on his way to New Hampshire where he hopes to do better. Once the wind was in his sails and now he finds himself becalmed. The son of a President, the brother of another, he seemed anointed. Not so much now…
While we are bemoaning the campaign cycle [or at least I am], the Zika virus has become worse than originally thought. Brazil is harder hit than first thought. The World Health Organization has declared an emergency. And the world will be traveling to Brazil this year for the Olympics. Bring lots of mosquito repellant and use birth control while there and afterwards until you’re sure you don’t have it…
For three years now Apple has been the most valuable company in the world. Today Google became more valuable. Alphabet, the holding company for Google and its other enterprises, rose sharply as there has been a renaissance in its advertising. Ah, heavy is the head that wears the crown…
Yahoo, which once wore that crown, is now shedding 15% of its workforce. Ms. Mayer has not turned the corner.
Oil prices continue to slump and there is a slowdown in manufacturing both in China and the US. Worrisome. Pundits are wondering if we are in for another recession. Say it not so…
IS is working its wrath upon the world. Boko Haram, which has declared its loyalty to IS, killed 70 in a suicide bombing attack in Nigeria. Not to mention the trouble in Syria; 3500 have fled into Turkey as Assad’s forces advance. The Taliban have killed twenty in Kabul.
And my oh my… Free snacks have returned to American and Untied. Is this an alternative universe? Free snacks on planes? Have I been transported back to the 1990’s? No, don’t think so. Not until they make the seats bigger. I’m not big and the seats are a challenge to me. To get a good seat in economy one must upgrade to Economy Plus, which I usually do.
My fire is burning happily. I am happy and feeling better, more “tickety boo.” The flood lights illuminate the creek and I am more ready than ever to crawl into my great queen sized bed and pull the covers up to my neck, watch a little video and head off to sleep. I need it.
The show must go on!
Tags:Alphabet, American Airlines, Apple, Assad, Boko Haram, Brazil Olympics, Claverack, Google, IS, James Green, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Melissa Mayers, Nick Stuart, Obama, United Airlines, WHO, Yahoo, Zika Virus
Posted in 2016 Election, Afghanistan, China stock market rout, Claverack, Entertainment, European Refugee Crisis, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Nigeria, Obama, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Trump, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
January 22, 2016
Winter Storm Jonas DC Claverack James Green Magnetic Media Jerry May Stock Markets European Refugee Crisis Alexander Litvinenko Putin Film Academy Diversity Crisis X Files
I slipped out of the city today on the 11:20 and headed north. It was chill in the city, feeling colder than the temperature. Once I reached the cottage I decided to remain in for the rest of the day. A fire is burning and jazz is playing on Pandora. I will probably turn in early, watch some video, read a book, have a rest…
The eyes of the East coast are all turned on Winter Storm Jonas, which threatens havoc to the coastal cities. Washington, DC might get as much as two feet of snow and the Mayor there is calling it potentially life threatening. And it well could be; DC is not particularly adept at dealing with severe winter weather.
Just now I looked at the weather forecast for Claverack and it looks like the storm might miss us. Precipitation forecast is only 10%. The storm will batter the coastal areas and leave us relatively unscathed. But that could, of course, change. I’ll let you know tomorrow.
Thursday I had lunch with an old boss, James Green, who is now CEO of Magnetic Media and they are doing very well, thank you. It was good and comforting to spend a couple of hours with him. He is a warm and generous soul.
Dinner was with my long time friend, Jerry May, a chance to catch up, hear about the heart valve replacement he had had last year and to cherish each other’s friendship. I am hoping his plane gets out of JFK tonight for Seattle, where he lives.
All the major financial indices were up today after a brutal week that challenged anyone faint of heart.
My well seasoned wood is burning wonderfully. The music is lovely and I am glad to be home, snuggled in the warmth of the cottage. There feels no reason to stir from here tonight.
It has been a week to recover from…
Paul’s Memorial Service took more from me than I thought it would though being there gave back to me and I am so glad to have been part of it.
The world remains a brutal place.
Dozens have drowned in attempting to flee Syria, continuing the flow toward Europe even though the seas are dangerous this time of year. In ancient days, no ships sailed during this part of the year. The dozens included more than a dozen children.
It has been ten years since Alexander Litvinenko died as a result of drinking polonium laced tea in London. Once a Russian operative he became a fierce critic of Putin. One of the things he accused Putin was that Tsar Vladimir was a pedophile.
And there are creepy, creepy photos of Putin on a stroll in 2006 calling a five year old boy over to him, pulling up his shirt and kissing his stomach. Seems really inappropriate. Litvinenko said that Putin had the films of him and underage boys destroyed when he gained power.
And it is those accusations think some that made Litvinenko a marked man. A British judge said today that “probably” Putin ordered the removal of Litvinenko. And polonium poisoning is not a pretty way to go. The poor man lingered in horrific pain for three weeks.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is embroiled in a controversy about the lack of diversity in its nominations. It’s the second year there have been no people of color in them.
The Academy says that it is going to work to broaden its membership. As it should. It is primarily male, white and the average age is 63. Less than 2% are African American and less than 2% are Latino. There are about 6,000 members.
Charlotte Rampling, an actress that was very big in the 1960s and is nominated this year decried the protests as “anti-white racism” during an interview in Paris, where she now lives. I used to really like her.
The “X Files” are returning in a six part mini-series. Looking forward to that. Hopefully better than the films.
It’s dark but not late. No snow yet. Looking forward to the morning. I’m going to believe we’ll miss the hit and I will be just fine.
Hope you are just fine too!
Tags:Alexander Litvinenko, Claverack, European Refugee Crisis, Film Academy Diversity Crisis, James Green, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Putin, Stock Markets, Winter Storm Jonas, X Files
Posted in Civil Rights, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, Gay, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Political Commentary, Politics, Social Commentary, Syria, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
December 26, 2015
Boxing Day. Shepherdstown, WV, Olde Hudson Cheese. Dena Moran. Sarah Malone. Kevin Malone. Michelle Melton. Jim Malone. Syria. Mosque fire in Texas. Corsican fire. Australian fires. NY Times Virtual Reality. World Food Program. Hope, AK. Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton.
Outside it is as grey, as it has been for the last few days. It is warm, too, near 50 degrees in Shepherdstown, WV. It will be grey all day with rain probable in the evening.
It is the 26th of December, Boxing Day in those countries once affiliated with the British Empire. Boxing Day derived its name from two traditions. One is that for servants it was the day they had off to celebrate Christmas after devoting the actual day to waiting on their “betters.” The other reason was that on the 26th of December, children would roam the streets of England collecting alms for the poor in boxes.
Often in the past I’ve had a “Boxing Day” party. When Dena Moran, proprietor of Olde Hudson Cheese in Hudson heard I was gone between Christmas and New Year’s, she frowned and said, “What, no Boxing Day party?”
But I am gone, sitting at the dining room table of my friends’ home in Shepherdstown, sipping coffee the morning after a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
My oldest friend, Sarah McCormick Malone, her husband Jim, their son Kevin and his wife Michelle, and I gathered around the dining table and have feasted. We have sipped wine and consumed appetizers and desserts and wonderful mains, crab cakes and duck.
We spent two hours opening presents around a small tree we purchased on Christmas Eve to ensure that there was Christmas spirit in the house.
Now, on Boxing Day morning we are all gathered in the kitchen, preparing for French toast and more feasting and a concert tonight.
While I’ve been coddled in the warmth of my friends and the coziness of this home, the world has been relatively quiet as I looked at the news this morning.
In Corsica and in Texas, mosques were burned on Christmas Day as antipathy against Islam grows in the West. In Hope, AK the childhood home of Bill Clinton burned in a case of suspected arson. Was he the target of the anger or his spouse, Hillary, who is leading the Democratic field for the Presidential nomination?
Disastrous fires burned over a hundred homes outside of Melbourne, Australia while tornadoes and flooding ravaged northern Alabama.
While we feasted, celebrated, opened presents, and enjoyed the coziness of this house, the war waged on in Syria with a rebel leader killed on Saturday. He was anti-Assad and his death will have ramifications in the confusing cauldron of that country.
As we were prepping our Christmas duck last night, Kevin shared a VR NY Times video about refugees, taking us as visually close as we could to the lives of three young refugees, one from Ukraine, one from Syria and one from South Sudan, two boys and one girl. It was stunning and affecting and each of us experienced it felt closer to their experiences than we would have simply by reading articles.
The Ukrainian boy fled with his family as rebels advanced. When they returned, his grandfather’s body had been in the garden all winter, the school destroyed and most homes damaged. The Syrian girl lives in a refugee camp and gets up at 4 AM to work in the fields. In Syria they had toys, now they only have each other. The Sudanese boy fled with his grandmother into the swamps. His father was killed, his mother has disappeared. They fend as best they can.
VR Video made this painfully real.
When I begin teaching in January and someone asks me what to look at in media, I would suggest looking at Virtual Reality as a career opportunity. It is changing our media experiences.
We spent time after opening presents to discuss what charity we might want to support this year. High of the list was World Food Program which supports the feeding of refugees. I tended toward that organization after seeing the plight of the three children.
We have more refugees since any time since the end of World War II.
It is a great deal to think about as I wander through another day, in a warm house, surrounded by warm friends, knowing that my friends and family are safe but from all but the most normal of hazards, living without, for the most part, any fear of suicide bombers, starvation and having to live with idea of fleeing at a moment’s notice from their homes and towns.
Not like so much of the rest of the world.
Tags:Alabama tornadoes and flooding, Australian fires, Bill Clinton, Boxing Day, Dena Moran, Hillary Clinton, Hope AK, Jim Malone, Kevin Malone, Michelle Melton, Mosque fire in Texas, Olde Hudson Cheese, Sarah Malone, Shepherdstown, Syria
Posted in 2016 Election, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, European Refugee Crisis, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political Commentary, Politics, Social Commentary, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Letter from the Vineyard 
Letter From New York 03 04 2016 Far from Damascus…
March 4, 2016Chet Baker’s “Jazz in Paris” plays while I am typing, courtesy of Amazon Prime, the service I am learning it is hard to live without. It pays for itself with free shipping around Christmas not to mention being able to find things there I can’t find easily in stores. I mean it seems like everything is there. They have just released a new device, Amazon Tap, that works with their Echo. Have to learn more about that…
When I woke this morning, it was chill but bright and light speckled on the creek as I looked out the window waiting for my electric kettle to boil the water for my tea.
It was an easy day. I spent the morning in the annual great American adventure, preparing information for my taxes for the accountant who does both my business and my personal returns. Finishing that, I went to Hudson and had lunch with my friend Dena Moran, who has moved her shop, Olde Hudson, into larger digs. Afterwards, I had my oil changed and then came home and gathered the piles of receipts and prepared for them to be stored away.
While we were at lunch, Dena and I both checked out what Mitt Romney said about Donald Trump. While I was doing taxes, Mitt was skewering The Donald, calling him a “phony,” “a fraud” and many other things. Good for Mitt… It’s the most I have respected him in years.
Trump responded in The Donald’s way. He looked back on 2012 when he said Mitt would have dropped to his knees to have The Donald’s endorsement. That’s not a pretty picture… According to The Donald, Mitt’s a failed candidate and the only person who “chokes” more than Mitt is Marco Rubio.
Does anyone get tired of this?
Shockingly, among Muslims who vote Republican, he’s the most popular candidate. What? Not something I understand but it’s real. It seems they think once elected, he’ll become pragmatic and work on economic issues, which is their greatest concern, and forgot all the anti-Muslim rhetoric. There is a part of me that suspects they are delusional, rather like Jews who couldn’t really believe Hitler was serious.
Caitlyn Jenner is supporting Ted Cruz, which seems as crazy to me as Muslims supporting The Donald.
In other happy news, Kim Jong Un of North Korea has ordered his military to be ready to use nuclear weapons at any time. Perhaps preemptively, as the UN voted in the most severe sanctions in twenty years against his country. The pudgy young man is determined, desperately determined, the world give him respect. I suspect bad parenting.
In Syria, the fragile truce has given some respite to the desperate inhabitants of that poor country. Thinking about them helped me realize how grateful I am to be here, poised above the Claverack Creek where sun speckles in the morning on the water, where I can listen to jazz and think about the issues of the world while not dodging mortar fire or bombs from above.
Tags:Caitlyn Jenner, Chet Baker, Claverack, Claverack Creek, Donald Trump, Hudson, jazz in Paris, Kim Jong - Un, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Mitt Romney, New York, Olde Hudson, Syria
Posted in 2016 Election, Airstrikes, Claverack, Columbia County, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political Commentary, Politics, Social Commentary, Syria, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »