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Claxton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 05:48 pm: | 
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1) The head of the FBI should have been dismissed from his post on Saturday. This following the capture of suspected abortion clinic and Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph. The FBI has been scouring the mountains of North Carolina for the last five years trying to find Rudolph. It was only his carelessness, and ultimately the lack of wild game in that densely-vegetated area of the world, that did him in.
This has been a high-profile case from the jump. What makes this all the more embarrassing is that Rudolph likely was never more than 10 miles from Murphy, the city they found him in. It would've been different if, say, they had found him out in Arizona or up in Canada someplace. Heads need to roll for this fiasco, and the head of top man needs to go first.
2) Speaking of rolling heads, what's up with the Detroit Pistons getting rid of Rick Carlisle? I'm still trying to figure that one out. This is a guy that brought Detroit back to prominence, after being a cellar-dweller for years and watching teams like the Pacers and Hornets dominate the Central Division. What makes it worse is that they hire that perennial coaching nomad, Larry Brown, to replace him. Brown says this is his last job. I'll believe that after he finishes his next job, which he'll leave Detroit for within the next four years. If Brown doesn't work out in Motown, Joe Dumars will be leaving with him.
3) Did the Cleveland Cavaliers make the right move signing Paul Silas to coach the team? We know the Hornets aren't real bright, because they let him go in the first place. But will a man like Silas have that strong an influence on the media-proclaimed savior of the NBA, LeBron James? The expectations are high, and the ticket sales have been brisk. I've always like Cleveland and Paul Silas, but things will get worse there before they get better. Anyone seen their new "old" uniforms yet?
4) I just finished watching an episode of "Oprah" focusing on special graduates...Now what did I go do that for? Is there no one beyond me who absolutely and positively cannot stand the topic of graduation?
To me, graduation isn't the marking of a milestone. It's more like getting paroled, or better yet, one of those moments where you just say "yeah, yeah, yeah, what else has life got?" I didn't want to go to my high school graduation; didn't want to go to my college one, either. But I did both, and I don't look back upon either of them fondly, especially considering all the hard work I did just to get a piece of paper telling the world absolutely nothing.
Yes, even after all these years, I'm still bitter. And I'm even angrier now because graduations have become such a litigious exercise. I mean, really, who's going to remember that you were valedictorian in your class, outside of you and maybe your mother? (I wasn't the valedictorian of my class, but I was the only black to graduate with honors, for all the good that hasn't done me.) And for Heaven's sake, why would you spend the time and effort to sue for the privilege?
Graduations are a tradition I wouldn't miss if they abolished them. |
Ssssss
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 06:01 pm: |
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Claxton, I enjoy your posts because they're so strange to me--it's like hearing someone meticulously recite the alphabet.
This is very funny, your kind of sense of humor. It's dry...but refreshing.
You must be an interesting character, because I don't think I (as a writer) could duplicate your cadence.
Very good.
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Snake Girl
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 06:03 pm: |
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P.S.
I have known the F.B.I. people personally for a year.
I like the State Department people better.
But they're all terrifying to know. They aren't normal humans. I always expect them to unzip their heads and show their reptilic bodies at any moment.
When they smile at you...it's like ice water running down your back.
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Cynique
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 12:12 pm: |
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Now, now, Claxton, exercise a little patience. We are a society of rituals. That's why funerals are so important because they provide closure for the living. A graduation ceremony is as much for parents as it is for students. It gives them something to be proud of. BTW when I attended my high school class reunion, everybody remembered who the class "valedictorian" was, so nobody was surprised that she turned out to be very successful in life. Also, just curious. Did you have a big church wedding? Now there's an example of a big waste of time and money, if you ask me. LOL. |
Claxton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 10:20 pm: |
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Cynique: As you may have already guessed by now, I'm not into a whole lot of pomp...And I'm definitely not into big weddings...My wife and I got married in our jeans and sneakers in front of the county magistrate on a Monday afternoon just over three years ago...In fact, when I did Junior Achievement in the schools here, the big wedding is something I cautioned the students about...Save that dough and use it for more important things, I say, like a house or a car!! I couldn't justify spending that kind of money on something that I can't use over and over again.
I still remember our high school valedictorian, our salutatorian, and the 35 other people in my class that graduated with honors. I was ranked #20--not the bottom of the Top 20, mind you, but the first of the Second 19 in a group of 38 honor students. A few of those people I've kept up with over the years, including one I still owe a tremendous debt to for giving me rides home when we were in college. And I still keep in touch with a few of my friends from college.
For me, graduation wasn't necessarily closure. Closure for me came during February of my senior year of high school, after we came up short in two different academic competitions. At that point, I already knew where I was going to college, what I was doing that summer, and where I ranked in my class. There really wasn't a whole lot left for me to do other than graduate. In college, though, graduating meant something else. Having changed majors and undergone four mandibular surgeries, graduating meant that I finally got to come home. Not like I had much choice in the matter; they were closing the dorms up for Chrismas.
Snake Girl: I'm meticulous in just about everything I do. Over the course of time, I've found that to be essential. And it actually happens to be one of my biggest faults. Not only does it tend to curtail spontenaity, it also makes writing rough drafts impossible. During my college days, I learned how to edit on the fly. Not a good habit for a writer, especially one working under pressure of a deadline. Even my posts here undergo serious micro-editing before I put them up.
BTW, my voice is why I'm married now. My wife heard me talking to someone one day at her job, and she just had to meet the person behind the voice. Although I do have training as a radio announcer and voiceover talent, I've done the majority of my voice work over the phone. Long before I became a business analyst, I dazzled callers as a receptionist/admin. Even now, I'm on the phone quite a lot during my work day. Sometimes, I feel like I'm running for president. |
Cynique
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 02:25 pm: |
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Feel like you're running for president, because you speak well? Forget it. George W. Bush has set a new precedent. Being articulate and having a well-modulated voice are not a pre-quisites for occupying the highest office in the land. |
Claxton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 04:58 pm: |
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No, Cynique, because I always feel like I'm pitching something...And I've heard Dubya speak; he needs to invest in some speaking lessons. Not voice training, speaking lessons. There's a difference... |
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