The Zinnia Seed

The Zinnia Within -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
The zinnia is a hearty flower that blossoms throughout the Americas. It grows in a variety of colors and subspecies and is beautiful to behold. One thing that the zinnia doesn't do, no matter the light, fertilizer or water conditions -- it doesn't grow into a snapdragon or a rose. Its genetic code has "foretold" its future -- the only thing that outside variations might do is change the relative size or health of the zinnia. Now, with humans we prefer not to think in such terms; we hold to a concept of free will. The sky is the limit for any human potential -- "My daughter could be the next President. My son could be quarterback for the Cowboys". This is what fuels our dreams and carries us through the day. What many a parent fervently intones is, "I don't want my child to have the crummy life I had...".

Now as advocate for the Devil I have to point out a couple of things. Humans are a sociobiological species much like ants. Ant colonies have a relatively simple labor breakout of soldiers, nurses, farmers and one queen. The individual ant wasn't given lessons or inspirational lectures; its behavior was genetically mapped. It's largely the same with humans, I hate to say. Much is made of India's occupational caste system because it seems inherently unfair and restrictive. In fact, it is restrictive and anti-democratic -- it should be abolished. But when the lines of demarcation are erased, don't be surprised when a lawyer still spawns a lawyer and a plumber spawns a plumber. "Ha!" you say. Abe Lincoln was born to a share cropper and became a lawyer president. How do I reply? I say, give education and economic opportunity to everyone as Lincoln had. How many great emancipators will we get out of that? The pairing of Lincoln's parents probably gave him a genetic 'score' that made him exceptional (note the word exceptional).

Most apples will tumble close to the apple tree. Even when genetic recombination is thrown in, the dice will fall in predictable ways. If for instance your teenage son is shy, geeky and good with numbers the chances are slim that he will throw for the Cowboys or run for President. It by no means limits his success or happiness. He could still be a CIO, head of MIS or marry well. The genes don't say exactly what will happen, they merely give a 95% certainty that some things WON'T happen. The genetic allotment tells us what will happen generally but not specifically.

John Calvin, the 16th century theologian was lambasted in history for talking of Predestination (where God's "elect" were selected prior even to Creation). Calvin got a bum rap in a couple of respects. Predestination was already a well-developed concept before Calvin -- he grappled with issues surrounding it without ever actually being its "champion". Secondly, your genes and chromosomes do predestine you in certain ways. A dog or cat certainly isn't going to pen the Great American Novel. And depending on your social group, and whom you select for a mate, your offspring may have about the same likelihood as our furry friends of writing a good novel. Does this say we should throw in the towel, since every event is foregone? By no means. Your inner zinnia should still be nourished to be the most radiant one possible. And the introduction of new genes from your upcoming marriage could still introduce some Presidential qualities. Al Gore’s daughter could become your in-law. ;-) Various theories in sociology (that deal with labeling and group association) suggest that is also unlikely BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE.

Sociology takes us into a whole other terrain so let’s stop there. And we’ll embrace the flower within, no matter how pre-programmed it might be.

© 2007 blogSpotter

If You're Happy and You Know It ...

Take one tablet daily... -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I've always found it interesting to gauge and compare the levels of happiness I see in other adults. Happiness is an abstract idea; I'm sure that some people can project joy when they hide an inner sadness. Still others may grimace and complain but actually have inner contentment. On the whole, I can tell these cases and most people are not such good actors. For the sake of simplicity, I'll describe three states of happiness:

1) Clinical Depression -- You feel sad and hopeless. Nothing brings you joy and you have nothing to look forward to. Appetites are diminished and energy is low. People who are clinically depressed may have trouble with the simplest tasks -- grooming, preparing breakfast, driving a car. The condition is so extreme that the clinically depressed will seek out medical help if they don't lapse into drug or alcohol abuse.

2) "Normal" -- Most people are on this even keel. You have a realistic understanding of life's problems and down moments, but it is countered with optimism, energy and self motivation. The "normal" person will not be giddy or ecstatic most of the time, but will allow himself a daily chuckle and will smile periodically. This person is under no delusions about self-importance or the ease life's immediate pressures, but has a basic positivity that carries him forward.

3) "Manic" -- This person is bouncy, jovial and always smiling or cracking jokes. They appear never to be down or sad. They may be truly manic and starting new projects, spending big sums of money or taking center stage. There may be a heavy dose of ego in such people; when they aren't clinically manic they frequently are leaders of society. Their glass is half full and soon to be overflowing. One manager at my company must fall into this category. I never see him that he isn't grinning from ear to ear. "Hi! How ARE ya??" He's glowing and happy just getting on the elevator at 7:55AM.

About 11% of women and 5% of men fall into category 1 (clinical depression). They might start out seeking common ways to chase the blues away : religion, music, cognitive therapy, etc. For "normal" people experiencing a temporary low, these forms of therapy might fill the bill. But the clinically depressed person needs in-patient therapy and physical evaluation -- there could be a chemical basis for long-lasting and often irrational feelings of despair. Antidepressant medications can come to the rescue for such people.

Antidepressants you say? Yes; this category of medication is in its relative infancy. Until the 1950's Saint John's Wort and opium were the only known antidepressants. One was largely ineffective and the other was addictive. Then in 1952 Jean-Francois Buisson in France discovered that isoniazid, a tuberculosis medicine had some antidepressant effect. Shortly thereafter, scientists researching anti-shock drugs discovered that tricyclic compounds could also alleviate depression. Imipramine became the first commercial product from this study. Unfortunately, this first generation of antidepressants had serious side effects -- dry mouth, blurry vision and fatigue among other things. There was a three-decade "Dark Age" where these were the only types of medications available for clinical depression. In the late 1980's, Prozac was introduced by the Eli Lilly Company. This new class of drugs was termed SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor); it worked in ways far more subtle and with way fewer side effects. SSRI's have been so popular that the "normies" who aren't even clinically depressed have stocked them in case of blue moods. Prozac was blamed early on for some patient suicides but the connection was never proved -- clinically depressed people are more likely to commit suicide. Zoloft, Wellbutrin and some other variations have since joined the Prozac family.

Where does that leave us now? In a better place by and large. Must say, when I do see the naturally manic person, I want to deck him. God has given him the ultimate SSRI -- he can strut thru life confidently, with no problems to speak of. I can tell you how it is from here in the light gray zone. If I won the lottery, I'd still play the blues pretty frequently. There is no rhyme, reason or logic to it -- some of us were just destined to hear the blue notes and that's all there is to it. Can I groom myself, prepare breakfast or laugh at a joke? Absolutely. Am I overflowing with ebullient cheer at 8AM on a work day? Absolutely not. Does that make me precisely "happy" or "unhappy"? Well those adjectives are gross simplifications for one's basic outlook. We're frequently some of one and a shake of the other, simultaneously. I'll say that I have a sense of happiness that's tempered by a sober reality. Considering some of the alternatives, I'll go with that.

© 2007 blogSpotter

Don't Bomb, Bomb Iran

Monument in Iran -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
In this week's Newsweek, Jonathan Altar talks about alternatives to bombing Iran. In his article "Before We Bomb Iran" he feels that we have fought an unintelligent war on terror, costing far too many American lives. He shudders that war mongers such as John McCain, Dick Cheney and Giuliani's advisor Norman Podhoretz are advocating war with Iran. Alter says that it's time to use our brains and not our brawn.

Alter is a very reasonable man; I'd describe him as either a centrist Democrat or a practical Liberal. He wants a more just and sensible world without being shrill about it. This week's article is no exception to his sane and sensible outlook. He cites the approach that Missouri State Treasurer Sarah Steelman (GOP), has taken toward Iran. She is a strong advocate of economic divestiture. She will no longer invest state pension funds in Iranian projects. Other conservatives, such as former Reagan advisor Frank Gaffney agree with Ms. Steelman. Divestiture would create an economic embargo around Iran, without expending arms or manpower.

Now, I'm amazed at what Alter leaves out of the discussion. In fact, it is a topic glossed over by many people discussing war with Iran:

Do we have the troop strength?

The fact is, Al Quaeda was training in Afghanistan prior to 9/11, and it's suspected that Bin Ladin is still hiding between Pakistan and Afghanistan. We started our bellicosity there, but then became diverted with Iraq. Bush played his "volunteer army" trump card with Iraq -- which in 2003 had neither Al Quaeda nor nuclear development. Now, Afghanistan is the poppy capital of the world, ruled mostly by war lords except in its capitol city of Kabul. Al Quaeda has even reemerged there. Iraq is a huge mess -- a multiethnic civil war. It is however the place where we've staked much of our strained, over-stretched military. Troops are now serving lengthened tours of duty, often with repeated tours.

How do we attack Iran? It would very nearly call for a draft just to get a needed head count. Iran is bigger and better organized -- they might even get money and supplies from Russia, who knows. If we attacked Iran, we would have three kettles on the stove, two of which are already boiling over. It would be a horrendous mess, and one that would sit waiting for the next President to extinguish. It wouldn't necessarily be WW III as Bush said, in an uncharacteristic dramatic moment. But it would be a quicksand pit for our economy and our nation. Pretty college white boys might once again fear the Draft Board -- and the terror of involuntary conscription. A draft is about the only way we could satisfy headcount requirements. Bush and Cheney (our own American "War Lords") both found personal ways to avoid Viet Nam in their youths. The less gentille of the middle class might not be so lucky.

Yes, Jonathan Alter -- divestiture looks great by comparison. Next time, just don't leave out the man power considerations.

© 2007 blogSpotter

More Gang for the Bang

Cast of The Big Bang theory -- Picture courtesy of CBS

by blogSpotter
CBS' Big Bang Theory is new this season, and it lives up to its name. I've often thought I was too smart for my own good, and this show bears it all out. Intelligence is a curse -- that is if it goes to the extreme of geekiness. Big Bang centers around two nerdy college guys, Leonard and Sheldon, who live across the hall from a comely blonde woman named Penny. Leonard is played by show-biz vet Johnny Galecki (Darlene's boyfriend on Roseanne) and Sheldon is played to perfection by newcomer Jim Parsons. Kaley Kuoco is Penny, the blonde eye candy. She's a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory and a source of fascination to Leonard.

What makes the show fantastic is the verifiably nerdy dialog -- there clearly is a computer science geek on the writing staff. On the very first episode, Leonard and Sheldon both have white boards full of equations. Each is trying to win Penny over with his respective mathematical proof. Needless to say, Penny is unimpressed by this wayward mating ritual. In later episodes it appears that Leonard is slightly more socially adept than Sheldon and also has it bad for Penny. Knowing that his chances are slim, he attempts to ingratiate himself w/ her, while trying not to let on that he has a crush. Sheldon is more "out there" and has a bit more trouble with real one-on-one human relationships. In typical dialog, Sheldon will miss the overall point of a discussion to argue over scientific minutia.

As if Leonard and Sheldon weren't geeky enough, their friends Howard and Rajesh have been thrown into the mix. Howard kids himself that he's a lady's man, though his comb-over and poor track record speak for themselves. Rajesh is so terrified of beautiful women that he freezes and can't speak when in the presence of Penny. When you get these four into a room with a woman, there will be heat -- heat generated from discussions about relativity or dark matter. There will be no sexual heat. If it weren't for the hilarious presentation of the material, I'd almost cry rather than laugh; it's all too familiar and realistically captured. One has to thank God that there is the occasional pretty woman that is charmed by a smart man. It looks like they may be building towards a Leonard-Penney romance in the next season. Let's stay tuned to The Big Bang Theory and see if love truly can conquer all.

You can catch The Big Bang Theory on CBS Mondays 7:30PM CST -- (CC) TV-14.

© 2007 blogSpotter

Seattle State of Mind

My brother's new house in Capitol Hill district -- Picture by blogSpotter

by blogSpotter
I have mid-October writer’s block for whatever reason. I know Bush just vetoed health insurance for children and the Mexican Consul General has received death threats here in Dallas, for wanting to help illegal immigrants. Those are bloggable topics, but probably somebody else needs to give them the attention they deserve. I will say this about people who've threatened the Consul General. Nothing shows your naked insecurity and the ultimate lameness of your argument more than making death threats. These people need to get a grip. In another news area Al Gore just got the Nobel Prize he richly deserves, but again -- I'll leave it for the Sunday pundits to discuss in detail.

I just returned from a terrific vacation in Seattle. It's the second time I've been there, so my friend Eric and my brother skipped the tourist areas that we saw back in 2001 and explored the local ‘hood. My brother just moved to the Pike Street area near downtown – I think it's called the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Seattle is a beautiful city with many well-restored neighborhoods; newer housing frequently is done in the arts and crafts style of the early 20th century. The city is tidy and well-kept; the cool temperate climate is friendly to all kinds of plants. I thought magnolia trees were exclusively southern, but saw excellent examples up there. The city is home base to Starbucks and Microsoft's HDQ is in nearby Redmond. Techies and smart people abound.

What goes along with the cool weather is the cool attitude of the locals -- they are liberal and laid back. Cashiers are a bit slower to check you out, and restaurants may have you wait a while prior to taking your order. It’s very nearly a European quality in our Pacific Northwest. I now have relatives living in two of the nation’s best cities: Austin TX and Seattle WA. Combine that with flight benefits where I work, and I can take some really nice, cheap vacations. Flying stand-by sometimes wears me out, but the savings is considerable. A round trip to Austin would be $244. Dallas is flat, dry and hot but it has a vibrant job market and a low cost of living. I think what I’ll do for now is stay put and use Dallas as my “hub”. I can always fly away to the Pacific NW when I have a Seattle state of mind. My apologies for not making today’s blog political and contentious. I think travel fatigue got to me – stay tuned and we will stir the pot in my upcoming blogs.

© 2007 blogSpotter

A Tale of Two Blogs

Time for some impulse shopping? -- Picture by blogSpotter

by blogSpotter
I actually have two blogs. Strange Fascination is of course the one you're reading. It's my original blog, and contains all of my original articles across many broad topics. I added a few advertising sponsors in the hope of making this labor of love a little bit profitable. My click revenue was pretty inconsequential, but I did observe something from watching others' surfing habits: women are more likely to click on the imbedded ads. I know how terribly sexist this conclusion is, and I must compound the offense by noting that women are also more likely to buy as well as click.

It's not for nothing that Banana Republic only gives the back 1/6 of its floor space to men's wear. There is method to Macy's madness in having women's wear filling up the first two floors -- men have to trek up two escalator flights to shop among lamps and luggage. The ladies like to shop. And so ... I created a commercially-oriented spin-off of Strange Fascination -- Avenue G. Avenue G has a subset of articles from Strange Fascination -- mostly dealing with cinema arts and some liberal politics. The presentation is different and the ad links are more woman-oriented (e.g., Linen's and Things).

Another major difference is that I use automated syndication material from Cinemablend and others. At first I was going to write all new material for Avenue G, but it was far too time-consuming. You could say the Avenue G is on autopilot -- it gets daily material from free syndication and monthly articles copied verbatim from Strange Fascination. The only other thing I did to punch up Avenue G was add links to show business sites like Jossip and Hollywood.com.

Now, here is the rub. Strange Fascination gets just a tiny trickle of visitors. Without prompting or alert emails, it gets maybe three unsolicited looks each day (not counting my own hits). Avenue G gets as many as 12 hits a day from all over the world. This has me wondering how much I need to focus the articles or filter where they display. It's actually a good thing -- I know the potential is there. There's gold in the hills -- blogspotter will just have to ascertain how to find it. If you have nothing else to do, check out Avenue G. Does it give you a sense of déjà vu? I hope so – it means you already read it here.

© 2007 blogSpotter

Transcendental Vegetation

Doug Heffernan, chowing down -- Picture courtesy CBS

by blogSpotter
We live in a world that changes wildly, all the time. But one thing is fairly constant is that we have 24 hours in a day. Another constant is the 8 hour work day and the need (on average) for 8 hours of sleep. Now, this leaves you with 8 "discretionary" hours. If you subtract off errands, exercise, parenting tasks, commute time and occasional overtime, you might be left with what's actually only 4 discretionary hours on a week day. So, how do we make use of the time? We flake out on the couch and watch TV, that's how. Speaking of which, I watched one episode of "King of Queens" where Carrie walks in to find Doug sprawled on the couch. Pizza sauce is dribbled on his chin, and Dorito crumbs make a trail down his chest. I laughed heartily until I realized that I was likewise on a couch. The only redeeming fact was that I had Fat Free Pringles crumbs making the trail.

In my defense, I live alone. Don't have anyone to engage in debates about Voltaire or Sartre. (Uh huh, that's what we'd be debating :-) ). If I want human voices or faces, depending on the lateness of the hour, it's pretty much going to be TV (transcendental vegetation). Now, maybe along the lines of Fat Free Pringles, I could mitigate my slovenly habits by watching PBS and the History Channel. For whatever reason, I don't want to look at vintage clips of Churchill or clips of Doris Kearns-Goodwin making a comparison between John Kerry and Abe Lincoln. I went to college and paid my dues -- no more class for me. I want to be entertained dammit; make me laugh or make me cry. At 11:00PM just don't make me think.

I'm about to turn the big 5-0 and in the last couple of years I did make concessions to the fact that my couch was concave and I was convex. I began to exercise at 24 Hour Fitness, and further created my Couch Potato Guidelines to live by....

1. You don't have to watch everything you record. Give Tivo a rest.
2. You don't have to see every 1st-run episode of a favorite show. That's what reruns and DVDs are for.
3. Limit your must-see shows to 4. If you have more than that, somebody needs to 'get a life'.
4. Multitask -- pay bills, fold laundry, answer emails while the TV is going. If it's FOX or WB33, you won't even miss any of the plot line.
5. If you are getting eye fatigue or carpel tunnel from scrolling down 500 channels, it's God's way of telling you there really is too much of a good thing.

I would never ever be like some of my acquaintances who claim to have banished the TV. I don't like black-and-white thinking of that sort -- there are actually some very worthy broadcasts (CNN Headlines, Weather channel) -- things that might keep you current or make you safer. I'm keeping the baby AND the bath water thank you very much. TV is just so doggone entertaining, you have to limit its influence. Much like food, it's always around and somewhat a necessity so we must learn to coexist... Peacefully and without Dorito crumbs.

© 2007 blogSpotter