Archive for January, 2009
Reaction to the 2009 Presidential Inauguration
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 | General, Society | No Comments
Four questions regarding yesterday’s inaugural hoopla. One is serious, and other three are a little lighter.
1. Much has been made of the idea that Obama is our “first African-American President,” and that America is finally not judging a leader by the color of his skin. Isn’t calling Barack Obama “African-American” an act of clearly judging him based on the color of his skin? I ask that question not because it uses the term “African-American;” instead, I ask it because he is not African-American. Shouldn’t we be saying “Obama is our first Black President?” And before anyone protests my use of the word “Black,” let me preemptively say that Black is the politically correct term for this particular race (the US Census Burea via the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs designate the official ‘politically correct’ terminology at any given time).
“African-American” is a term used to designate a citizen of the United States who has ancestral origins in Africa, most likely because those ancestors were brought here for slavery. Much attention has been give to the fact that Obama’s mother is white and his father is Kenyan, which means he was not brought to America for slavery. Black people in Kenya, and almost every other country in the world, are refered to as “Black” because that is their skin color; they are not called “African-American.” In fact, the US Census, which as I pointed about above, recognizes that your race can be “Black” or “African-American.”
Obama has a Caucasian mother and a Black father. He is an American with an African father, but he is not African-American. He is just as much Caucasian as he is Black, so calling him “African-American” means he is being judged entirely on the color of his skin. That, my friends, is a true examply of irony!
2. Obama was attending inaugural balls and celebrating until 3am last night. He then woke up early today to begin his first full day as President. He has a full schedule of meeting with aides, dignitaries, and visitors (citizens who won a contest through his website), signing proclamations and decrees, and doing the other things a president does on day 1. As a result, several news outlets made a big deal about the President starting Day One very early after a late night.
My question is this: how does the President wake up in the morning? Does he use his own alarm clock that he bought for $20 at Target because it provides the option of waking up to buzzer, radio, or mp3? Or does he have the world’s greatest alarm clock, engineered just for him by top scientists, and capable of triggering the exact right brain waves to wake him? Or does an intern have the job of coming in each morning and gently nudging his presidential foot until he wakes up?
3. Finally, Barack and Michelle were out last night. So who looked after daughters Malia and Sasha? Did the Obamas look through Craigslist for an available babysitter? Did some unlucky Secret Service agent get stuck playing tea party and watching High School Musical 3 with the girls? Did the First Mother-in-Law spend the night in the Lincoln Bedroom? Did they ask George W. Bush if he had any recommendations?
[Update: I have since been informed that Mrs. Robinson, the First Mother-in-Law, lives in the White House and babysat Malia and Sasha on Tuesday night. They did, in fact, watch "High School Musical 3" -- which I suggested in jest!]
4. What do you think W did last night? I bet he did the same thing I did: he turned on ABC at 9pm to watch Scrubs, only to find out it wasn’t on because ABC was broadcasting the Inaugural Ball all night. I bet he screamed and cursed just as loud as me, too. As The Todd would say: “Ex-President Five!”
Forget the Curse of Billy Penn…hello, Charm of the Eyebrows!
Monday, January 12th, 2009 | General, Philly | No Comments
I moved back to my hometown of Philly in May with my wife, who grew up in California with only a passing interest in professional sports. I now can follow my favorite sports teams very closely, and I also am fortunate enough to have a wife who wants to become a fan of the local teams. It is fun to watch Ali slowly falling in love with with the Philly sports scene. It is even more fun watching her understanding of sports develop; before moving to Philly, “sports” meant watching a game and seeing who scored more goals, points, or runs. Her definition of “sports” still involves watching the games, but has developed to include the joy of identifying with the players and learning each of their individual stories.
She knows all about the Jimmy Rollins’ yearly predictions; Pat Burrell’s rise, fall, and eventual rise again, before his departure and subsequent signing with the Tampa Bay Rays; that Jamie Moyer ditched school to watch the championship parade in 1980; Carlos Ruiz steady defensive play as a catcher after lying to accepting a challenge from a scout who said he’d only be interested in him if he was a catcher (he was a 2B at the time; he told the scout he would try catcher, despite never playing there in his life), and even that his nickname is “Chooch”; that Brian Dawkins responded to being criticized earlier this season for being too old and slow by taking it out on the Eagles’ opponents throughout the rest of the season and post-season; that the Flyers are a tough team and there is nothing more exciting than Game 7 in the NHL playoffs than overtime in Game 7 in the NHL playoffs — especially when your team wins, like the Flyers did in May; the agony of waiting 25 years to see a championship; and the joy we take in watching our rivals suffer. Especially the Cowboys, Mets, and Giants. Ali has truly become a Philadelphia sports fan. Her development in this area probably received a boost by the Phillies winning the 2008 World Series and the Eagles recent, unexpected run in the 2009 Playoffs. But I digress…
Ali’s education in Philadelphia sports included a whole section on the Curse of Billy Penn. I even updated the lesson to include the actions of workers building the Comcast Building, which is now the tallest building in Philadelphia. For those who don’t know, the workers wanted to break the curse so they placed a tiny statue of William Penn on the top beam in the building, restoring him to the tallest point in the city. The Phillies then win the 2008 World Series, so some argue that it worked.
I would like to propose another reason for the Phillies victory in 2008, and it is one that can be confirmed in a few short weeks. During the Phillies’ run, Ali noticed that Pat Burrell has very oddly shaped eyebrows. Three weeks later, the Phillies won the World Series. Then, during yesterday’s game, she noticed that Donovan McNabb also has oddly shaped eyebrows. Not only are his eyebrows weird, but they are the exact same triangular shape as Pat Burrell’s eyebrows (see picture below)!!! Even more amazing is that Ali noticed this about McNabb on January 11 — exactly three weeks before the Super Bowl! That’s right, I am dubbing this phenomenon “Charm of the Eyebrows!”
Burrell and McNabb also share the fact they were first round picks by Phillies and Eagles in their respective sport’s drafts. If the Eagles win the Super Bowl (I can’t believe I just typed that; 3 months ago I would be chastised for jinxing them by typing that!), you’d better believe that we will spend time in May checking the eyebrows of the Flyers players who were first round picks!!!
The Charm of the Eyebrows