Comments for Ideas, thoughts, and connecting the dots

Comment on Playing with the new feature… by Stephane Daury

Stephane Daury — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:39:51 +0000

Ok, I cheated, I worked on that feature. More coming soon to expose that data (maps, etc).

Comment on Humor is not funny… by 1kiwi

1kiwi — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:50:28 +0000

Never give up on your sense of humor, or the realization that there are ‘others’ out there that share a slightly off-center view of the world! As for not meeting that guy who can handle you until your 80 – well, think of all the experiences and funny stories you can share! Keep smiling at the world (it makes everyone wonder what you know that they don’t!).
On a selfish note; I’d love to know what you think of my blogging attempt.

Comment on Humor is not funny… by Pam

Pam — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:13:39 +0000

Thanks for your honesty. I do believe there has to be a couple of guys out there who can handle a funny and smart (I think I am most of the time, anyway) woman, but like I mentioned in my post, they’ve yet to cross my path…and I’m not giving up my sense of humor. The worst is when I think the guy can handle funny and smart, but proves me wrong. (Insert joke here) As I’ve mentioned to most of my friends, when I’m 80 and in the nursing home, that’s when the guy who can deal with me will roll in…

Comment on Humor is not funny… by 1kiwi

1kiwi — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:22:22 +0000

Interesting; I’m a male (despite what my ex wife would have everyone believe) and I have to agree with you that a lot of guys find women with a quick wit, humor and intelligence somewhat frightening. We males all know (secretly) that the female species is more advanced than we are, we just hate to admit it!
I also sympathise with your comment about quickly being able to make connections and see humor in seemingly unrelated things; I have the same problem and find it very frustrating to get a blank expression in return for my insights/ comments etc. It’s like having a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent! Fun, but ultimately unsatisfying!

Comment on Free Range? by AllThingsToNoOne

AllThingsToNoOne — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:13:52 +0000

I really admire the “free range” movement, but the parents who really need a movement (for lack of a better word) are not the overprotective parents, but the ones on the other end of the spectrum.

When I see toddlers and preschoolers playing outside without any direct adult supervision, I worry about their safety and about what my role is, as a mother and a citizen.

Comment on Kids think the darnedest things… by Penny

Penny — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:36:50 +0000

Note to response above – I swear on a stack of old newspapers – I posted the reposnse to the post you wrote about your dad’s encyclopedias, etc.

I have absolutely NO IDEA how it got attached to this article!

Comment on Kids think the darnedest things… by Penny

Penny — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:33:20 +0000

I still have some of the remainders of what was my parents’ lives. The most old-yet-not-antique-and therefore-not-at-all-charming is a clock/radio/tape cassette player that my father kept in the kitchen.

The tape player quit working years and years ago, before my father died, and the clock no longer works. The radio with it’s dial to change the channel, AM/FM, quite luxe in it’s day – yeah, it’s dead too. And still, there it is in my attic. It keeps me company as I move the crap that I can’t let go of from one side of the space to the other. Not that I have that much; frankly I keep as little as possible so as not to be concerned if I lose it all.

I keep the radio because it reminds me of dad. He was something of an asshole most of his life but in the end, he was an old man who realized he had been an asshole much of his life and regretted the fact. And if I close my eyes, I can remember the back porch, the kitchen door open and the sound of a game drifting through the screen door on a summer’s afternoon, or country music, my father’s voice singing along.

So, I keep the radio. And my mother’s purse.

But that’s another story.

Comment on Memories are in the mind of the beholder… by autoanthropology

autoanthropology — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:08:48 +0000

Parallax.
There was Mr. Cina, as he saw himself, as I saw him, as you saw him, as loving friends and family – each individually – saw him. So who was Mr. Cina and what does he have to do with who he actually was?
It sounds like this was a man who loved to hike, to camp, loved his family home, his neighborhood, his neighbors, his students. Certainly, he loved music. It should come as no surprise that I hardly recognized the man in the obituary.
My life intersected with John Cina’s from 1978 through 1981 at Lane Tech High School; I also took private viola lessons from him. To be honest, I did not particularly enjoy Mr. Cina’s company. He made me uncomfortable. He was demanding, a perfectionist, he was funny if he was pecking away at someone else, less so, if it was you. I really remember little else about him, other than he did love the music and that he was always pecking away at someone.
That may be unfair; it may not have been always, although that is how I remember it. It was a tough world. Not the work of music, which was tough enough, but a good tough. Man though, he could be mean and I am not convinced that good music is reason enough for that.
I will, however, accept some responsibility for remembering his as I do. Unlike you, I did not so much wish to please Mr. Cina. I wished with all my heart that he would leave me alone, that he not pick me as an example – really, of either good work or poor. My goal, every school day afternoon, was to fly under his radar. He cannot be held accountable for this. My need to not be noticed was informed by years of fear. I was profoundly shy (although I may not be remembered that way) and did not like to be noticed. I did not like solos; I didn’t even like for people to hear me practice. Music was probably an odd choice for someone so shy, but there I was all the same. Being noticed, in my world, meant you were unsafe and by the time I hit Lane Tech and met Mr. Cina, I had had enough of that. So, to be at risk of being picked for anything, let alone being picked for ridicule? Yikes. My stomach still hurts, thinking of him.
As an adult, I realize that his pecking may have been intended to bring out the best, to make a student want to try harder, excel. It seems to me that that is the best way to interpret his behavior and it does appear that that is how many people did experience him.
Parallax.
From my point of view at the time, he was not benign. For others, walking the same halls at the same time, he was. From my perspective, he was someone to avoid. And still, other students hung around him every day, up in the orchestra room, between classes, after school. Evidently, there were many happy camping trips.
As an adult, now older than he was at the time I knew him, I will not take my back my opinion that he was a persnickety, caustic man much of the time. He was. However, his love of the music and intention for us to play well had an honor about it, and it served us well as a student orchestra. He was a source of inspiration and support to many.
As an adult, I can appreciate the good intention, as well as the result of many who remember him well. I can appreciate that my memory of him does not define him or make others’ memories of him less true. It seems to me that he lived a good life, which is something we can all hope to achieve.

Comment on What you NOT talkin’ about, Willis?! by Colin Hammer

Colin Hammer — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:04:35 +0000

I am British, born and bred and live in Chicago.

But I am telling Willis to PISS OFF.

Pardon me … but not even a Brit accepts this ridicule.

Comment on What you NOT talkin’ about, Willis?! by M&M

M&M — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:19:55 +0000

Another blogger said this will be just like US Cellular Field where the White Soxs play, people will forget the real name. No, they won’t. I have only heard the White Soxs ballpark referred to a Comisky (spell?) Park (or Field) in the 5 years I lived in that city. The name change may be “official” but no one will ever call it anything but the Sears Tower.