Generation Kill and The 4th
This; http://www.hbo.com/generationkill/, is how we spent our fourth weekend. We don't subscribe to HBO or any of the premium channels so we had not seen it so Makenna bought the dvds when they were released in June. I think every flag-waving, Aaron Tippen singing jack-a-lope that sat in front of their tv and swore their commitment to our military should watch it. Makenna had read the book (I'm next) and says it's actually surprising how true to the source the miniseries stayed, and that's important because I don't know what civilians think our military men and women think or feel about war but I doubt it is anything like what is portrayed in Generation Kill.
It seems that Marine grunts aren't any different that Army grunts and I know from personal experience that soldiers are a particularly profane,irreverent group of individuals whose primary focus is on the mission. Generation Kill also exposes the ass-kissing that can go on in the military hierarchy and just how dangerous it can become when unchecked; it shines a harsh light on one other aspect of America's launch into a war in Iraq and that is how ludicrously unprepared our government sent our loved ones into battle; the richest,most powerful country on the planet and our military couldn't even get batteries for their night-vision goggles...
In other news: The workouts (of yoga,pilates and cardio) are still paying benefits. I have more - lots more- energy, I've dropped more weight and have increased my flexibility and overall range of motion, which, for me, is imperative. I spent the better part of last week going to doctor appointments with my mother. She has spent a lot of the last four years in pain either from her hip (and hip replacement) her knee and her spine (spinal stenosis). My mother is 82, she looks like she is in her late 60's to early 70's, she is bubbly and still enjoys life very much - when she is not in pain. Now, I know that aging takes place, and there are aspects that cannot be changed (now. In the future...?)but I know there is still so much that we can do to stave off the process or at least dramatically slow it down. If I am going to live for a long time I'd like to be able to enjoy those added years and spend as little of that time sitting in doctor's offices.
I just finished reading Crossover http://www.pyrsf.com/crossover.html. I didn't think I would like it because the author is a bit slow getting into the action but, my personal rule of reading the first five chapters before giving up paid off, big time. Once the action starts it is scripted so well it is almost like watching a movie. It also addresses some rather timely issues such as: what is society's responsibilities for the soldiers that it trains to be killers when they are no longer needed to kill?
Moving on...
It's hot and humid - typical, which means that I go out as little as possible because one of my personal visions of Hell is to be forced, for eternity, to live in SC summer weather.
My nephew is getting seriously worried that he may be out of a job soon. It would be very bad for him since his wife is expecting his third child. I hate this economy and I would love to have some confidence in the way Obama is handling this mess. I am damned if I can see how spending trillions of dollars that you do not have can possibly be effective. I gotta tell you, I think it is criminal that the people in this country that go out and get their hands dirty, show up to work for little more than minimum wage are the ones that are being expected to get the sons of bitches that helped drive this economy into the crapper out of debt. On the other hand, it would have been just peachy if the people that participated in the Tea Parties a few months ago would have been as vocal when this bullshit started with the Bush Administration. Remember? The last few months of Bush;s term that he apparently disappeared from the face of the earth,that he and his cohorts let Lehman Brothers fail. Which, honestly, I don't know enough about the mega-corporations like Lehman Bros or AIG to argue what was/is a fiscally responsible response to their magnitude of catastrophe; I just know this mess started at least 6 years ago and I am not so ignorant as to believe that anyone else in Obama's place would or could do much of anything different. I don't believe for one minute that it matters who is sitting in the Oval Office, when it comes to the current economy, it was doomed years ago and the only thing to do now is demand that Obama stop allocating and spending money that NO ONE has! Don't even get me started on health care - and I want it reformed as much as anyone -- I have a nineteen year old daughter that is no longer covered under her father's insurance and we can't afford to buy a policy for her and we can't afford another car so that she can get a job that would give her coverage. It's a catch-22; she can't get a job without transportation, she can't afford transportation without a job.
Oh well...
It seems that Marine grunts aren't any different that Army grunts and I know from personal experience that soldiers are a particularly profane,irreverent group of individuals whose primary focus is on the mission. Generation Kill also exposes the ass-kissing that can go on in the military hierarchy and just how dangerous it can become when unchecked; it shines a harsh light on one other aspect of America's launch into a war in Iraq and that is how ludicrously unprepared our government sent our loved ones into battle; the richest,most powerful country on the planet and our military couldn't even get batteries for their night-vision goggles...
In other news: The workouts (of yoga,pilates and cardio) are still paying benefits. I have more - lots more- energy, I've dropped more weight and have increased my flexibility and overall range of motion, which, for me, is imperative. I spent the better part of last week going to doctor appointments with my mother. She has spent a lot of the last four years in pain either from her hip (and hip replacement) her knee and her spine (spinal stenosis). My mother is 82, she looks like she is in her late 60's to early 70's, she is bubbly and still enjoys life very much - when she is not in pain. Now, I know that aging takes place, and there are aspects that cannot be changed (now. In the future...?)but I know there is still so much that we can do to stave off the process or at least dramatically slow it down. If I am going to live for a long time I'd like to be able to enjoy those added years and spend as little of that time sitting in doctor's offices.
I just finished reading Crossover http://www.pyrsf.com/crossover.html. I didn't think I would like it because the author is a bit slow getting into the action but, my personal rule of reading the first five chapters before giving up paid off, big time. Once the action starts it is scripted so well it is almost like watching a movie. It also addresses some rather timely issues such as: what is society's responsibilities for the soldiers that it trains to be killers when they are no longer needed to kill?
Moving on...
It's hot and humid - typical, which means that I go out as little as possible because one of my personal visions of Hell is to be forced, for eternity, to live in SC summer weather.
My nephew is getting seriously worried that he may be out of a job soon. It would be very bad for him since his wife is expecting his third child. I hate this economy and I would love to have some confidence in the way Obama is handling this mess. I am damned if I can see how spending trillions of dollars that you do not have can possibly be effective. I gotta tell you, I think it is criminal that the people in this country that go out and get their hands dirty, show up to work for little more than minimum wage are the ones that are being expected to get the sons of bitches that helped drive this economy into the crapper out of debt. On the other hand, it would have been just peachy if the people that participated in the Tea Parties a few months ago would have been as vocal when this bullshit started with the Bush Administration. Remember? The last few months of Bush;s term that he apparently disappeared from the face of the earth,that he and his cohorts let Lehman Brothers fail. Which, honestly, I don't know enough about the mega-corporations like Lehman Bros or AIG to argue what was/is a fiscally responsible response to their magnitude of catastrophe; I just know this mess started at least 6 years ago and I am not so ignorant as to believe that anyone else in Obama's place would or could do much of anything different. I don't believe for one minute that it matters who is sitting in the Oval Office, when it comes to the current economy, it was doomed years ago and the only thing to do now is demand that Obama stop allocating and spending money that NO ONE has! Don't even get me started on health care - and I want it reformed as much as anyone -- I have a nineteen year old daughter that is no longer covered under her father's insurance and we can't afford to buy a policy for her and we can't afford another car so that she can get a job that would give her coverage. It's a catch-22; she can't get a job without transportation, she can't afford transportation without a job.
Oh well...