The Year – 2010

We are scarce into the year 2010 when folks have begun serious discussion about the nature of the year itself. It might be a sign that evolution has brought homo sapiens to the point of analyzing to an addictive and obsessive degree.

As the neuroscientist might opine, the prefrontal cortex becomes overloaded.

Need an example? Immediately, after the sobering up after the revelry of vigil and its bacchanalia customs, voices were heard exclaiming that we are/were/will be in a palindromic day. Which is to say that 01022010 is the same as saying it from right to left.

Thence, arguments arose as to whether 2010 was/is the beginning of a decade or not. Let me not explain – it is all too arcane.

However we count or not count, we are in the throes of winter. The solstice did happen on schedule on Dec. 21 and the ‘blue’ moon was evident as the New Year made manifest.

Certain cultural traditions suggest that a new year is a good time to reassess and make resolutions to affirm a more effective year for one and all. However, studies and surveys show that ‘will power’ is tricky and the preponderance of resolutions end in the trash bin of life – perhaps to be recycled or not.

Jonah Lehrer in his blog evinces this issue with clarity and understanding. Check out his writing. Go to http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/

As always, remember that Spring training is only a few weeks away.

Michael’s Kindle

For reasons not adequately clear, and because sometimes decisions are made from an instinctual basis, I recently purchased a kindle 2 reader from Amazon.

This decision and purchase comes with a thought for adopting a new approach to reading books and storing them in a hand held device. This storage technique will allow for fewer piles of books in my living quarters.

In just a few days, I have downloaded from Amazon Kindle copies of the following: Boswell’s biography of Samuel Johnson, two biographies of Ayn Rand, Mitch Albom’s recent book on faith, James Joyce’s ‘Portrait of an artist as a young man’, the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), the NIV bible, and Anne Rice’s latest piece of fiction.

Looking over the material available in my Kindle, it is obvious that I am constructing for my use something more than a simple device for reading and storing books. I see this as an opportunity to build a reference shelf on a thin 5 by 8 inch notepad.

What is also possible with Kindle is to accept an e-mail from me with a Word attachment to store in the device. I can now organize daily my critical tasks and have them with me on the Kindle.

The uses of the kindle are manifold. I set up a subscription to a Blog of Jonah Lehrer on his essays in Neuroscience.

It’s a new approach with endless variations to discover.

Junior Senator – ??

Who will be the next junior senator from Massachusetts?

Martha Coakley, the current Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the nominee for the Democrat party.

Scott Brown, a state senator from Norfolk county, is the nominee from the Republican Party.

Joseph Kennedy (no relation to the family Kennedy of Massachusetts history), is on the ballot as an independent.

Who to choose?

Coakley has the resume of a prosecutor , serving as district attorney in Middlesex county and participating in the Fells Acre Day Care case.

Brown has served several terms in the House of Representatives in Massachusetts and is currently state senator.

In a state, dominated by a majority of registered democrats, it would seem that Coakley would walk easily to office.

However, Coakley represents the image of the state of affairs in Massachusetts today.

One never knows in this confused state.

Replacing ‘Ted’ Kennedy

December 8th, 2009, will be a remarkable day in the lives of many citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Registered voters will make a choice. To vote or not to vote, that is the question.

A special election is being held to select a nominee from the Republican and Democrat parties to contend in the January election to elect a new senator to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate. Since Rep. John F. Kennedy defeated Henry Cabot Lodge in 1956, that seat in congress has been a ‘Kennedy legacy’. With the death of Edward ‘Ted’ Kennedy, that seat has been temporarily filled by Paul Kirk – a Kennedy friend and advisor.

In selecting a ballot on Tuesday, voters may take a Democrat ballot and choose from among Martha Coakley (currently Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts), Michael Capuano (currently a representative to Congress from Massachusetts), Alan Khazei, and Steve Pagliuca (currently a co-owner of the Boston Celtics).

The choices range from among a statewide officer, a member of the house of congress, a city official, and an owner of a successful sports franchise in Boston.

What is to like? What is not to like?

It is likely that, in Massachusetts, the nominee from the democrat party will be successful. Hence, the transition from the powerful senior senatorial seat from Massachusetts to a newcomer will be significant.

Blaise Pascal spoke about it as a matter of morality. “… the first principle of morality is to think clearly…”

For all the voters of Massachusetts, on the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, may we all think clearly and deliberately.

Sweet Caroline – and the Red Sox

‘Sweet Caroline and the Red Sox’

Out of town fans, especially those with connections to Red sox Nation (AKA , The Bosox), often inquire about how this Neil Diamond song came to be the darling of the Pink hats and the rest of us.

Here’s a good explanation from Botonpastime.com

Good Times Never Seemed So Good For Red Sox Fans
Neil Diamond and the Boston Red Sox are two American institutions with a very loyal following. And since the late ‘90s these two pop culture icons have been linked together through one of the more odd traditions at Fenway Park.
At every Red Sox home game, Diamond’s classic Sweet Caroline is played on the ballpark’s speakers before the bottom of the 8th inning. The sing-along song has become such a Fenway staple that it was even included in the 2005 movie Fever Pitch.
Most Sox fans, and moviegoers, are aware that Sweet Caroline is played as often at Fenway Park as The Star-Spangled Banner. But very few people know the reason why.
“I’m not sure how it started, but we’re very pleased that it happened,” Diamond’s press agent, Sherrie Levy, said.
The song itself was born out of humble beginnings, written in less than an hour by Diamond in a Memphis hotel room the day before a recording session. It debuted as a single on June 28, 1969.
Sweet Caroline eventually reached #4 on the Billboard chart and over two million copies of the song were sold. But how did it become the 8th inning anthem at Fenway Park, where annual attendance easily tops two million folks?
Legend has it that former Red Sox public address announcer Ed Brickley requested the song to be played as a tribute to the appropriately named newborn daughter of Billy Fitzpatrick, who worked in the Fenway Park control room for 20 years.
In reality, the song got its start at Fenway Park thanks to Amy Tobey, who was the ballpark’s music director from 1998 to 2004. She was responsible for choosing the music to be played between innings and picked Sweet Caroline simply because she had heard it played at other sporting events.
At first, Tobey played the song at random games sometime between the seventh and ninth innings, and only if the Red Sox were ahead. Tobey considered the song a good luck charm and it soon became something the fans anticipated.
But it wasn’t until 2002, when John Henry’s group bought the Red Sox, that Sweet Caroline become an official Fenway tradition. That’s when the new ownership requested that Tobey play the song during the eighth inning of every game.
Today Megan Kaiser is the person who chooses the between innings songs at Fenway Park, with the 8th inning exception.
Kaiser did add a slightly new touch to the playback of Diamond’s tune, as she turns off the sound during the most popular parts of the song. Red Sox fans know the words by heart now so they don’t need much help with the lyrics, and the song has become an important part of the ballpark atmosphere.
“Singing Sweet Caroline. That’s cool,” said Red Sox third basemen Mike Lowell when asked about the vibe at Fenway Park.
How the song became so popular in the first place is another story, and no less than the songwriter himself is mystified at the success of Sweet Caroline. “No way to explain it. That’s one of the mysteries of songwriting,” says Diamond, who has written and recorded 38 Top 40 hits in his career.
As hard as it is to explain, Neil Diamond’s catchy song has found a place as part of Red Sox Nation lore, and by mixing Sweet Caroline with the Fenway faithful good times have never seemed so good.

- Song Lyrics -
Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
Where it began
I can’t begin to knowin’
But then I know it’s growin’ strong
Was in the spring
And spring became the summer
Who’d have believed you’d come along
Hands, touchin’ hands
Reachin’ out
Touchin’ me
Touchin’ you
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I’ve been inclined
To believe they never would
But now I look at the night
And it don’t seem so lonely
We fill it up with only two
And when I hurt
Hurtin’ runs off my shoulders
How can I hurt when I’m with you
Warm, touchin’ warm
Reachin’ out
Touchin’ me
Touchin’ you
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I’ve been inclined
To believe they never would
Oh, no, no
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I’ve been inclined
I believed they never could
Sweet Caroline

Some of the information in this article came from a story in the Boston Globe and an audio segment on NPR Radio. This article was last updated on February 24, 2008.

The News

And, what do you read to keep with the daily news?

I long ago cancelled my subscription for the Boston Globe. I felt for some time that the news was a compilation of pieces aligned together to offer a point of view.

It was long ago t hat journalism flourished in Boston – with the Boston Post, Boston Globe, Herald American, and the Christian Science Monitor. Today, we hyave the Globe and the Herald offering a soft pitch attempt at news.

Before the papers are distributed to homes and stores and newsstands, the alert internet reader has ascertained the news from a plethora of sources and on line editions of the print papers.

How about the following:

Drudgereport.com.com
Nytimes.com
Lucianne.com
Spiritdaily.com

http://misskelly.typepad.com/

http://www.dankennedy.net/

http://online.wsj.com/public/page/opinion.html

http://cbs4boston.com/kellerblog

……………………

Enjoy and be informed.

True Compass – Edward M. Kennedy

The life and death of Edward Kennedy will be reviewed and analyzed and critically chronicled in years to come by historians and academics.
To the benefit of the public and the Kennedy family, the publishing of ‘True Compass’ provides all of us with a carefully written text of the life of Ted Kennedy as compiled from official documents, personal notes and letters, and the gist of interviews given by Ted over the last five years.
As acknowledged in the book, Kennedy describes how the project for the book came about. Basically, a team was set up to compile the written historical data, do the interviews with Ted, and then to put the information into a serial narrative. Thus, the writing is almost as if by committee.
From my vantage point, I was compelled to read the book for several reasons. First, I have lived through and remember the salient history of our country and the events of Kennedy’s political and personal life. We are contemporaries, as it were.
Second, I remember clearly the excitement around the 1960 political campaign and the way in which the Kennedy brothers (Jack, Bobby, and Ted) began to be major players in US history as the ‘Brothers Kennedy’.
Although, I never cast a vote for any Kennedy (beginning with Jack vs. Nixon), I know that the seat in congress now vacant after Ted’s death began to be a ‘Kennedy’ seat in 1958 when Jack defeated Henry Cabot Lodge to be the junior senator from Massachusetts. I remember that Jack resigned the seat after winning the presidency and Governor Furcolo appointing Ben Smith to hold the seat until Ted was old enough to run for the seat in 1962.
With all the political drama that unfolded over these last fifty-one years, I looked to read what the Kennedy clan had to say about this span of history.
On a human level, Ted has acknowledged his personal flaws and decisions that brought tragedy to some and disappointment to others.
There is a wealth of information in this text/memoir to edify the most informed historian.
There is a concomitant reflective by Ted on his personal life that is revealing to all.
Admissions:
Decisions are crucial for all as we move through life. On three specific occasions, on his own admission, Ted Kennedy made poor decisions that affected his present and his future.
1. Harvard – freshman year. (pages 95, 96)

Ted entered Harvard in 1950 and was eager to excel at football as he ‘tried to catch up with his brothers’. In the spring of 1951, worried that his effort at participating in football drills impeded his academic routine, he was anxious over the final exam in Spanish. A friend of his took the exam for Ted – and both were suspended from the college for a year.
Ted said this. “… I made an immature, spontaneous, extremely poor and wrong decision…”
2. Chappaquiddick – July 1969 (pages 287-293)

On July 18, 1969, the annual Edgartown (Martha’s Vineyard) regatta was held. The Kennedy clan had a long history of sailing in the regatta. And, so, on the first time Ted returned to the regatta since the death of his brother Bobby, Ted participated in the sailing competition and then joined his friends and some of Bobby’s campaign workers for an evening of socializing over ‘old times’.
As Ted writes, the tragedy of the event unfolded rather innocently. Mary Jo Kopechne (one of the campaign workers for Bobby) was anxious to return home. Ted volunteered to drive her to the ferry so that she could return to the main Island of Martha’s Vineyard.
As it happened, there was an accident. The car went off the road into a pond. Ted was able to escape the car and survive. Mary Jo did not.
Again, in a serious and critical time, Ted acknowledged that “… I was afraid. I made terrible decisions. …But that doesn’t erase the fact that I had caused an innocent woman’s death…”
3. Palm Beach – Easter weekend of 1991. (pages 430 – 431)

As Ted recounts, in the spring of 1991, needing time for relaxation, Ted and his sister Jean and her son William Smith and Ted’s son Patrick spent Easter at the Kennedy home in Palm Beach, Florida.
On the evening of March 30, 1991, Ted and Patrick and William went out to a popular Palm Beach bar for a late night drink. In the course of the evening, William Smith met a young woman and they spent time together. The woman subsequently filed rape charges against Smith. The case went to trial and the jury found Smith ‘not guilty’.

Once more, Kennedy speaks of a poor decision. “ … I could have avoided any involvement in the trial if I’d simply taken a walk on the beach by myself that night, instead of asking my son and nephew to accompany me to a bar…”

Lapsus Scriptae –

Lapsus Scriptae, it was not.

Here’s the story.

Recently, I joined a few family members in an early morning tour of Fenway Park – the citadel of baseball.

There were several dozen folks, children and parents and grandparents alike, who gathered on a sunny day to walk around the different sections of the park and listen to a tour-guide provide some history of the team and provide highlights of the successes and failures over the years of the Boston Red Sox.

The guide was working with a script that she had personalized as her own teachable moment. Her personality was a feature of the tour.

As we inched our way along certain areas of the park, we could easily see the entire perspective of the playing ground as if we were flying overhead. Looking down from the leftfield wall, ‘The Green Monster, we could appreciate the challenge of being a leftfielder studying the caroms off the wall during a game.

At that point in the tour, we were then pointed to an area in the bleacher section where Red Sox player numbers were hung in display – having been retired. The guide then described briefly the person to whom that number belonged. For example, number ‘One’ was Bobby Doerr; number ‘Four’ was Joe Cronin. In identifying number ‘Six’ as Johnny Pesky, the guide said Pesky was a second baseman. Horrors, I thought to myself. What a slip of the tongue. Pesky was a shortstop. How could she make this error?

The tour continued and we concluded with a final stop near the area in back of third base. On my way out, I stopped to mention to the tour guide about misidentifying Pesky as a second baseman.

She was embarrassed and professed that she had been giving tours all summer with that error.

Live and learn, as they say.

Words, Words, and more

Words are more powerful than all the violence that exists in our long history.

It is critical that we understand the correct usage and definitive use of the lexicon with which we express ourselves.

Handbooks abound that serve the writer in crafting delicate pieces to inform and inspire the public. Whether you use Strunk and White, or a mere thesaurus, it is incumbent upon us to ‘get it right’.

To this end, over on Facebook, I have started a daily exercise in word usage – the word for the day.

Have a look.

The Future Conditioned by the Past

As the years drift by, in silence or in a blast of violent noise that numbs the soul, we should attempt to see the past in light of the focus on our future.

Questions to ponder are:
1. Is our behavior consistent with our memory of our behavior in our adolescence? What have we learned over our maturing years?
2. Are there recurring concerns that plague us over and over, despite our efforts to resolve them?
3. Given the mythical phrase, ‘As the father so the son’, how do I see the path my father walked compare to my own?
4. Mortality is an accepted piece of reality. What is the effect of the mortality (i.e., life expectancy and health of my parents) of the previous generation on my personal future?
5. Can we mitigate the inevitable?

The above questions are worthy, for me, of continuing deliberation and possible effect.

Yes, the past always affects and contributes to the eventuality of it all.

The examined life is the one factor by which we can work for a better tomorrow than today.

To paraphrase Blaise Pascal, ‘It is essential for moral beings to think clearly’.