Two West Coast Presidents

Did you know that just two of America’s 45 Presidents were born west of the Great Plains? Their names are Richard Nixon, born in 1913 in Yorba Linda, California; and Barack Obama, born in 1961 in Hawaii.

This trivia is less surprising if you remember that every President, except Obama, was born in 1946 or earlier.  In the summer of 1946, when Bill Clinton, Bush Jr., and Trump were born; Southern California still hummed on 50 hertz power instead of 60, television was a scientific experiment, transcontinental phone calls were expensive, and air travel in propeller aircraft was reserved for adventurous members of the 1%. The mean center of US population was at the Illinois-Indiana border; today it sits 350 miles southwest in Hartville, Missouri. As a foregone conclusion, a septuagenarian cut from this long-bygone era will be elected this November. The 2024 race will certainly represent "passing the torch" to a new generation.  

Which Superpredator?

Firstly, I’d like to order a pair of Joe Biden flip-flops. From abortion to crime policy to death penalty, it’s impossible to tell where he stands today. But thanks to YouTube, we know where he and his allies stood 25 years ago.

 That was the era of The Superpredator, juvenile delinquents who lacked remorse as they committed strings of heinous crimes, with no fear of authority. The Superpredator died by 2000 in face of falling crime rates. Some say he was terminated by electric chair or lethal injection, others say he was starved by elimination of lead paint and gasoline. Another explanation was that he lived off the anger created by an unjust society.

During his gangbanging heyday, he was one of the “predators on the streets...beyond the pale”, in Joe Biden’s words. Hillary Clinton specifies, “ they are not just gangs of kids anymore. They are...super predators. No conscience. No empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel”. How does one bring them to heel? I’d love to know.

As I read more into the criminal sociology behind the now-proclaimed-dead Superpredator, a news flash came across my phone: “Mass Shooting at WalMart in El Paso, Texas; 20 dead”.

Government Shutdown Equals Failure

Let’s suppose your local power company tried to prove a point to your city council by shutting off electricity, plunging the town into darkness. Or the real life example of a Chicago Teachers Union which went on strike during the school year, and were rightly cricitized for the tactics they used.

Every time the US government heads into shutdown, it represents the failure of the US Congress, or the presidency, to fulfill basic responsibilities. Indeed, each family in America prepares and executes a budget, answering to the needs of its members. They may do it on spreadsheets, or may do so in the back of their mind. The members of Congress certainly do not resemble the role of benevolent fathers and mothers at this time.

My work life continues, business as usual, during the shutdown. The shutdown is limited in scope, even leaving my alma mater, the USMMA, unaffected. But there are inconveniences. Uncertainty among civil service in DC is likely putting a damper on the local small business economy, as previous shutdowns did. My correspondence with the US Coast Guard’s civilian-focused National Maritime Center is delayed. While of little consequence to me, it could mean lost job opportunities to other mariners, if they can’t get credentials issued on time.

So, please, Congress, do not let identity politics and rigid ideologies hurt constituents any longer. Voters, too, should remember in 2020.

Farewell and Hello on Inauguration Day

Today in Washington, despite publicized plans to the contrary, I expect a peaceful transition of power. Actually, "power" should be the wrong word, but it symbolizes the increase of executive power in the US, vice what our founders intended. Thus, "elections have consequences". And what a strange election, with incriminating email leaks, post-truth, fake news, and the alt-right. I've been disconnected and busy, so unlike the proverbial millenials with the faded Obama poster, I haven't taken part in the new, posssible dangerous world of information, although I am at high-risk of echo-chamber mentality. In my workplace, there is a spirit of working hard, earning more and paying less in taxes, with an objective of financial freedom.The validity of the election, as in 2000, is called into question. Thankfully our incoming President, Mr. Trump, won decisively in the Electoral College, albeit through narrow victories in the big midwestern states. I also suspect that adding conservative third-party votes to Trump's total helps close the popular vote gap. It was a bit disingenuous for Mitch McConnell in the Senate to "let the people choose" the next Supreme Court nominee, although it highlights the lukewarm Civics education that Americans have- that elections have consequences.

That said, Mr. Obama stands alone after 8 years of presidency. As I said in a recent blog post, I hold nothing back to say that the DNC, which Obama is a part of, is bumbling, geriatric in leadership, and out of touch. Thus I've been downplaying Obama's accomplishments. But taking a step back, I can see that Mr Obama did try to do a good job. Americans like the idea of affordable healthcare, and like myself, find practices insurance companies used to get away with, like plan cancellation, to be outright immoral. I'm not sure if our healthcare system is teetering on the edge of financial ruin, as Paul Ryan claims; but Obamacare today favors big insurance companies who can comply with thousands of pages of regulations. This favoritism should disappear in favor of fairer competition. Some parts of Obama's legacy won't be repealed this afternoon, and holding insurers accountable is one of those items. So also  the populist movement for minimum wage increases will stay. I also believe that Mr. Obama's urban revitalization efforts will continue, as this is Mr. Trump's raison-d'etre. I look forward to Mr. Trump's business experience, with the hope that the role of small business will be revitalized. Family bakers, florists, and the Catholic Church will be held in good regard again.

Creative and Creating Classes Working Together

“On August 18, for the first time since 1999, the three stock market indices set record highs on the same day. If your retirement account is growing, elect Hillary to continue Obama’s legacy”

“For many people, America has never been better”, says Hillary Clinton. Society has never been more racially integrated. The Old Boy’s Club is losing power. More women than ever are in traditionally-male professions and occupations. Inner cities have never been cleaner or more prosperous. For those left out, it’s because you turned your back on higher education. It’s not Darwinism! Cheering on big business is a winner with the New Yorker-reading set (last check, the cover price is $8.99. Hardly radical). For fair-weather liberals seeking social approval with click-bait, big companies’ public relation moves on social issues is true progress. The nefarious element of overseas sweatshops and domestic stagnant wages, a centuries-old mainstay of big business, has fallen off the public consciousness. In any case, they’re making progress on social issues, so it’s okay. And what happened to the “Shop Local” campaign? Well, there are a few bigoted photographers and bakers out there who claim first-amendment protection for their bigotry. Better not risk supporting one.

   

“On August 18, for the first time since 1999, the three stock market indices set record highs on the same day. If your retirement account is growing, elect Hillary to continue Obama’s legacy”.

What difference does it make? My country is being humiliated overseas, and my income is declining. “Make America great again”. Restoring working-class prosperity is Donald Trump’s announced intention; Bernie Sanders hinted at this as well when he called for in-sourcing jobs from overseas. Trump’s America is a dark world of shortening life expectancy and increasing suicides. The working-class man, driven out to exurban and rural ghettos, is ashamed that he cannot provide for his family without community assistance. Bernie’s America is college educated and well-versed in the language of multiculturalism. They live at home, or receive parental subsistence for rent. There may be a faded Obama poster in the bedroom. They’re in dead-end jobs not related to their college major or career of choice. They’re living the nightmare of soul-crushing jobs the Port Huron Accords predicted half a century ago.  They wonder when they can move on into the post-collegiate life they’ve seen on TV; the lifestyle their teachers promised. 

Big business seems to be a force for social justice; and drive profits as scientifically-driven organizations with streamlined procedures and efficient logistics. But I don’t like the idea of treating people like numbers on a spreadsheet. I’m uncomfortable with companies that protect the bottom-line by using their staff as an on-call labor force with unpredictable schedules. I’m suspect of the intelligence of companies disposing their most senior employees, who happen to be the greatest repositories of knowledge, because they’re paid “too much”. They’ve scorched too much earth. In the last recession, forward-thinking employees who were laid off decided to go it alone- or work it out together. After the parent company of the Washington Blade paper collapsed, one employee reported in a news article, along the lines that “we were only unemployed a few hours that day, from the time we got the news until we realized that we’d continue the paper ourselves”.  Others adapted to the new economy by embracing the You Economy. 

Nearing retirement, one of my professors said that the Future of Work, the You Economy, is a big deal. He sent us an article by email and asked us about it in class.  The topic passed over our heads as we were headed into a domestic maritime industry of strong unions, protected trade, and significant regulatory barriers to entry for both labor and owners. Many would also get good union-sponsored pensions and health benefits strong enough that Richard Trumka, leader of the AFL-CIO, came out against the “Cadillac” Health Plan tax. “Sail Union, get married, retire at 50” appeared more than once in USMMA yearbooks- a middle-class dream right there.  

But what if the You Economy could resurrect the middle class? Entrepreneurs are building from the scrap heap of big business; use their techniques, such as outsourcing tasks to contractors, on a smaller scale to create new products and services. Just-in-time production allows innovators to order prototypes, using their own modest bank accounts as seed money without calling on angel investors. With hipster intrigue into the Maker movement, more leaders than ever are discovering the capabilities of American craftsmanship and manufacturing; knowledge and technical talent working tirelessly in nondescript companies with names like Ball Bearing and Rubber Products. The multigenerational creative class would likely not know that people other than gardeners and elevator mechanics still work with their hands. A few colleges, though, are known for their interface with industry. Stanford University, for example, is the brain of Silicon Valley. It caters to the tech industry, which is hip; and is nearby San Francisco, which is totally hip. I knew someone who won a Gates Scholarship and chose to attend Stanford instead of Harvard. But isn’t Harvard better ranked? Lehigh and Harvey Mudd, longtime interfaces of industrial-collegiate collaboration, aren’t located in the hippest cities; steel and oil are so old-school.  Ideas are created on paper- hence, creative class, and rendered into products by machinists, technicians, and operators utilizing workshops and factories in as much as the tech sector has coders. The same talent that creates the products can engineer their processes based on a living wage for workers. “For many people, America has never been better” for the creative class, those who’ve mastered the You Economy. “Make America great again” for the working class is an achievable goal.

Pioneers, Oh Pioneers

When I think of patriotism, I conjure up memories of Reagan-era glories such as Rambo, the Battleships Iowa and New Jersey, tractors, Top Gun and Full Metal Jacket. I also think of hot dogs and the traditional family, with an overweight Dad with a suntanned neck. 

I do not forget the real patriots:  the daughters of pilgrims, the sons of Ellis Island, and the brides of World War Two. There is no more American story than one’s ancestors looking for religious freedom in the 1700’s; or arriving on the streets of New York in the 1890’s, penniless but ambitious and willing to work hard; nor the brides of Europe arriving home with ordinary soldiers who defeated the Axis in 1945.  This is a beautiful story, encompassing the narrative of (Caucasian) America.  In remembrance of our ancestors who embodied masculinity and the risk-taking of new ideas, it is due patriotism to “use government policy to incentivize work” (a.k.a., cut welfare), in conjunction with “letting the bull loose”, to recreate the Gilded Age that created the American Dream in the minds of our great-grandfathers. 

As I walked with my family in Washington, DC to the Fireworks on the National Mall on the Fourth of July, I saw many young Americans sporting attire boasting of American pride. Seeing the first several groups, I suspected that they were southern frat boys and sorority girls: Washington, DC is still the gateway to the South, where country music plays at large gatherings that include suburbanites, and talk of “open season” is not just a figure of speech. But it became clear to me that these Chubbie shorts-wearing, boat-shoe sporting, patriotic tank-top bearing, Oakley-popping peers represented a greater demographic than I had imagined.   

Here is some background: Facebook counted 26 million profiles bearing rainbow flags- enough, upon rough estimate, to represent one in seven Facebook profiles in the US. In addition to those “out and proud” about their sentiment on gay marriage, there must be many quiet allies who choose to appear neutral on the issue. I had reason to believe that a number of those young people I saw dressed like “Born in the USA” patriots…must support gay marriage. 

Smart and wonky conservatives sense something in the air. Editorialists and targeted papers, such as the Washington Examiner, have been poking holes in the presumption that the liberal consensus among young people is permanent. They have pointed to cases where young people have been more enthusiastic than their older counterparts in supporting Republican newcomers like Ed Gillespie and Ken Cuccinelli in Virginia, or Republican Patrick Mara’s base of support in DC’s shoebox-condo neighborhoods. (Perchance, Gillespie and Mara are moderate and liberal, respectively, on bedroom issues). With young voters, Republican luminaries accept that no news is good news: many young people are apathetic about politics or are registered Independent- an opportunity for party growth. They look at young people and their love for disruptive technology like Apple’s I-Phones or Uber, and their impatience with government interventions like liquor license moratoria. Furthermore, they don’t like being un-employed or under-employed, and have an aversion from joining unions (Chicken or Egg?), instead, preferring to “compete on the open marketplace under a new relationship with their employer, where individual initiative is rewarded”. That phrase- originally a talking point in the Washington Examiner- slipped into my subconscious and got me in trouble with a relative last Thanksgiving. To these editorialists, the app-using, uber-riding, condo-living, “millennial” young people; who are mostly pro-gay marriage, but delightfully queasy on abortion and undecided on immigration; are patriots who are looking for direction from the fatherly hand of the Grand Old Party, with reasonable accommodation for their support of gay marriage. 

Neither is every Chubbie-wearing bro a member of the College Republicans. (They are the group whose 2013 report shocked the Party leadership’s assumptions about young adults).  You can be patriotic, and staunchly liberal. The thirty-something financial analyst who licks his chops about putting a true conservative on the Supreme Court to reverse a punch-list of 5-4 decisions, has no higher moral ground than the twenty-something arts major bemoaning the democratically elected Republican leadership of Capitol Hill. Better, ask this question: do your liberal friends love to participate in flag burnings? No.  John F. Kennedy, a so-called Cold War Liberal, had this to say in his Profiles in Courage:

“If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties-someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal", then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal.”

Kennedy may have identified himself as a liberal for that era; yet it is hard to deny him his status as a true American patriot. Despite the media narrative, it’s important to remember that we are not divided as ‘red states’ and ‘blue states’; but the shared experiences of rural, suburban , or urban life, with regional variations, unites communities across state lines and the two great continental mountain ranges, the Appalachians and the Rockies. We are one nation under Oakleys, Chubbies, and Vineyard Vines.

Homework Excuse: Obama left me spellbound

I just could not believe it. This year, the local tranist agency was running a normal weekday schedule- as if this holiday did not matter. It was empty at the library, until midday. For the afternoon, I had a concert to attend. The boilerplate MLK Day special at the Kennedy Center. Nothing new. Last year I performed in an orchestra at the Strathmore event. But this year I'm here and passing by lots of police- DC police, no Secret Service or Capitol Police. Someone important, but maybe not from the White House. There were magnetometers. That was a teltale sign. So were the uniformed secret service agents. On the stage was a podium with the Presidential Seal and the 'smokescreen', like the setup in the White House press room. The concert proceded as usual, though more talk than music. We did learn that our Michelle Obama was in the audience, as well as a few congressmembers. Yes, they occasionally ride the DC subway like anyone else (as feds, they do get the mass transit allowance). But- "here is a speech from the President of the United States". Loud cheers erupt. Yes, it was The Man, although his ears seemed more pointy than on television or in the paper. It was like watching 3D TV, but it was real. I could actually see his face (At the Inauguration, he was barely a speck from .7 mile away). He was about 200 feet away, and within good camera distance. There is a policy of no photography during shows, but this adage was broken by most everyone. A redcoat did apporach me at the end of the show about it, though. Standard procedure. The president was in clear view, on the stage, for about 20 minutes. He left gracefully with the awardee, a Congolese pro-Basketball star, who, with part of his NBA money, funded a new hospital and research center in Kinshasa. Yes, Obama was dwarfed by the player's sheer height. The fairy tale was mostly over, altough cameras did turn to the rear at the end of the show. I didn't see the spectacle, but I suppose that the First Family was waiving to India.Arte from two tiers below me.

Party Crashers, Washington Style

What a global warming's worth of hot air.

As a public house, the President, the cabinet, the secret service and the other elected officials have only so much control in restricting access. Unlike your private home, the White House is technically open to the public.

But there are a lot of bad people out there. Ever present was the barrel-rod fence on all four sides, which you aren't supposed to grab (the police tell kids that the fence is electric). There was always a security tent with magnetometers, and eventually Penn. Ave was closed to general auto traffic.

For the past few years, Congress has sided with Mr. Bush in limiting access by the public (something that seems to be constitutional). But back in the '90's, you didn't need to give a social security number for visiting, nor schedule well in advance. Indeed, there were free range tours.

Naturally, I was never on a guest list when I visited. Of course it's rude to crash a high-power party, but criminal investigations for harmless celebrities? Sounds like a show trial.

ARRA Lives on

Here lies the site of the first project funded by the ARRA.
The ARRA funded 'shovel-ready' projects that individual
states could not afford.This project, developed in the midst
of the Great Recession of 2007-2010 by Senator then President
Barrack Obama, saved and created over 600,000 jobs and
led the nation to the future with things we thought we didn't need.

Sign posted on the 2034, 25th anniversary of the start of the project
on Interstate 70 Washington Spur at Antiteim Battlefield, known as
Eisenhower HIghway, National Pike, or Obamaway.

Presidential Thrill Ride

Joe Biden was known for parusing mass transit even though Union Station is only 3 blocks from the internal Capitol subway. His comment about avoiding crowds during flu season(which was taken to include mass transit) was just a fluke. Several first ladies have taken to Washington's Metro Subway, including Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Reagan. But for cited security reasons the president has never ridden the Metro.
Mr. Obmama, a quick-risen Washington Star, has been known for frequenting fine dining establishments. While in the Grand Hyatt, whose basement connects to the subway, Obama took a stroll with a few secret service agents and a pair of binoculars. Obama cited interest in joyriding a train, so arrangements were made to empty the first car of an apporaching train. This task was accomplished by Subway staff and Service Agents. A couple and their three children from Iowa were the last passengers in the front car. Not knowing Washington custom of biting fish smaller than you, told an Agent that they wasnted to see the President. These days, it's a rare occurence. The family was frisked and were informed to stay on board. To their great suprise, a contented Obama walked into the secured train car. Obama seemed to enjoy every bitof the ride to the NY ave fedcenter station, where he was escorted to a limo. "You see, we were almost afraid that he was going to want to drive the train" said a subway staff member. "In chicago, we all would ride the 'el'>', quipped Obama.

In reality, Obama is not publicly known to have ridden metro subway as president.

Presidential IQ

It's just too bipartisan- ranges for Bush the 2nd range from a paltry 91 (low-average) to 125 (above average). And many presidents were over 150- which should be a rarity- Nixon at 155, JFK at 174, and Clinton at 182--or, according to some, a significantly lower 137. And everyone's been wondering at Obama. The staunch Republican put Obama at 116 based on his LSAT guesstimation- an IQ just above average. Actually, many think he is the smartest president ever.

The thing about Bush Jr. having exactly 1/2 of Clinton's intelligence may be just a political hoax, according to reports.

To my knowledge, no official data or records have been released or sleuthed.and IQ's don't measure performance- Reagan measured in at 105.

It just doesn't work.


http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/presiq.asp


Whups--- what bad journalism. Based on scientific fact, his IQ is probably between 105 and 125. He just didn't act it. I said these #'s were biased!

Obama and the NPS

So the magical moment came, and before the poet spoke, people left. Or at least they tried. All the people encaged from 7th back to 12th were routed through one open gate link. Riots? Against Bush for supposedly stealing the election? Yes. Incompetent management? SURE!! Not against Obama, though. SO the 12th street gate was locked and deserted (It was supposed to be an open station at Federal Triangle!!!!) and there was the arduous task of getting to the 14th street gate. It was crowded, to say the least. We got around the johns, which were being used as barricades. However, the line was stopped solid. So reverse, and come around the other side, where people were sliding through the crack to the Washington Monument area. Stationed cops prevented access to the 14th st. bridge, and all gates to Constitution sealed off by IMF_grade tower barricades. So at least it opened up at that point. Getting through the next gate at 17th- no access north, though. Past that point, there was easy egress towards the Foggy Bottom Station. Well, by the time I got to a Metro Station, I was already so close to home.

WHEW! Time to warm up those chilly hands and toes.

Obama and The Bad Song

I might have been hunkered at home, with the viral online video attributed to the GOP (not necessarily Republicans or Conservatives) running. Barack the Magic Negro, playing in a repeated fashion while red-washing the wall, lamenting the butterball cronies who are losing their jobs today. Turning off the TV at 11:50am to not see change.

But I got down to 7th street, the demarcation for the non-ticketed zone (after 6:30am), at about 8am, and waited a long, long time until the concert started- the replay from Sunday. But it was something to kill time on the Jumbotron. Then, at about 10:00am, the choir sung, and the dignitaries for life piled in (that is Capitol Hill- if you get elected one and don't do something too stupid- such as b.t.m.n., you have a job for life). So then there were all the retired presidents that still breathed- Carter and Bush HW(ages 84), and Clinton and Bush W(ages 62). at just before noon, Biden was sworn in. A few minutes after noon, Obama was sworn in. I thought it was to average the time to noon- but it was just that my watch was off.

Another great speech by The Man, after which exit was of utmost need.

As the Governor (and Barack pal) pronounced, Old Virginny is Dead. Yes, that song with racist connotations, sort of like the "Magic Negro" incident, was removed as state song about 10 years ago. But Cheney is moving to his new ranch in McLean. Of corse, it takes a while to wipe something out completely.

I Saw Him

Receiving a call at 12:35am must have been a traumatic experience. But someone had to answer that 3am phone call. Yes, I did speak coherently for 2 min 24 sec, and regretted not turning off the cell phone before sleep. Then, I wake up, and didn't really remember that I answered the phone during sleep.

And then, today, I saw Him. It was at the concert on the Mall, and He came out and spoke to us. It was another fresh speech of change. And I was there live, and caught it on video. He was The Barack Obama, and I heard him live, and saw him over the jumbotron.

And that brings me to last Sunday. As was religious duty,it was church at 7:45 am. That meant being woken at 7:30am, just with a mere 41/2 hours of sleep. THen came the task of cooking the eggs again. Soon, it was time to serve. The mimosas offered some comfort to the diners, but we were running slow. But we caught up, and I was transferred to the unglamorous task of dishwashing. And you get paid <$6.50/hour for that!? That's life, I suppose, as a comfortable desk job rakes in 3x as much or more. So I had to deal with the unwieldy equipment, and the cumulative amount of spray soaked my outer shirt. Well, the job was done by 1pm, and I had the chance to join the others and dispose of the balloons, i.e., shove them into the new elevator. Our church, like many others, joined the fad of building new buildings. Ours was completed only about last month, and the rooms were still unoccupied. I felt like an explorer roaming the winding staircases and sloping halls and mezzanines, untouched to suited men. SInce we had done so much, the rest of the mess was cleaned up later.
Boy was I tried come Monday Morning. TG for tomorrow's holiday.

For those who love to eat and see chickens

It's about 7pm in Silicon Valley this waning first day of 2009. In 19 days, the popular president elect will actually become president, and we will plant a bush back in Texas.

Sorry, the rest of this is not too vegetarian-friendly The fact that I acknowledge this is a good thing on the step to so-called ending cruelty.

On the subject of the day, chickens.
The chicken at Chick-Fil-A was quite superb as always. TGIT, and not Sunday!
At the quite new Dulles Town Center, I saw an unusual take on a calendar- Chickens
And I saw a chicken at the last farm between the Beltway and Leesburg.
Trying to find a BP (for which we have a rewards card valid until Saturday), we stopped at Boston Market to pick up dinner. The second chicken came for just $1.99. The chicken was indeed superb- the nicely browned skin and all. I recommend them too.

Obama, 44th President

Why haven't I been around for two days? The internet broke- really, on Wednesday. The internet box (modem) showed a red light or a blank from the point of failure onwards. It was sad. I was totally isolated, and couldn't get some work done, either. So last night, we got the tech support on the phone, and reinstalled the internet. It works swell now, and somehow, the search history didn't disappear, either.

Tuesday night, 10pm, I was down by the White House. A group had gathered, and they were all so excited about Barack, as if he was a celebrity. So NBC was geopolitically correct, and waited until the Californian polls closed to declare victory for the posterchild. And you never know. Until it's over it's not over. So then people start cheering, and dancing, and everything, more than New Year's and the Fourth of July combined.

Wednesday, 7am, I was handed a piece of history at the train station- the full-page cover of the Examiner showed the victorious man on the cover. We also got hold onto one of the first-run copies of the Washington Post. Yeah, yeah, I had a French quiz to think about, but it wasn't too much of a damper.

Gotta get some shuteye. Oh, JMAG is out. Follow the link to the main page to it.

Extraordinary

I played at Strathmore today. The rehearsal yesterday went past 9:30pm, and I got home at around 11pm. No time to blog there.

So Marc Yu, the child prodigy, came into rehersal in his trademark red gloves. He played excellently, and all for memory, all 30 minutes of the piano concerto. He was the star of today's charity concert at, I said it, the Music Center at Strathmore on Tuckerman Lane in Grosvenor (Pronounced Gro-ven-or, with the British accent. Been to Scotland, done that, bought the T-shirt as well) in preppy, of sorts, North Bethesda.

And I got hooked onto 99, a crispy, sweet, creme filled biscuit. Will post on Jangoonow for all to be able to enjoy.

The sun has set, and gone to bed, and so must I.
I wish to give a more detailed report soon.

Two links:
I do my blogging in paradise, compared to some of the people who actually do it for their sole living
Writers Blog till they Drop
Morale of story: It's hard to enslave bloggers. That's why I'd never sell this baby of mine.
Do you bias? You probably do. Test yourself
https://implicit.harvard.edu/

Tales of the Rich and Famous

Gordon Peterson (?-) is living life out as usual with his wife in Georgetown. He is still a TV star on DC Channel 7, WJLA, with his show, Inside Washington.

Barack Obama (1961-) is not home much on Capitol Hill nowadays. He is eying to move from his townhouse on The Hill to a large, white house at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., aka The White House, in 2009.