10.11.2022 – I have always thought

I have always thought
the Yankees had something to
do with it, he said

Adapted from Why the Confederacy lost by by G. S. Boritt and James M. McPherson (1992) New York : Oxford University Press.

Mr. Boritt wrote:

Most interpretations fall into one of two categories: internal or external. Internal explanations focus mainly or entirely on the Confederacy, and usually phrase the question as “Why the South Lost.” External interpretations look at both the Union and Confederacy, and often phrase it as “Why the North Won.”

To illustrate the difference between an internal and external interpretation, let us look at the battle of Gettysburg as a microcosm of the larger issue.

Most of the controversy that has swirled endlessly for the past 128 years has focused on the issue of why the Confederates lost that battle — an internal explanation. Contemporaries and historians have blamed almost every prominent Confederate general at Gettysburg for mistakes that lost the battle:

Among them Robert E. Lee himself for mismanagement, overconfidence, and poor judgment;

Jeb Stuart for riding off on a raid around the Union army and losing contact with his own army, leaving Lee blind in the enemy’s country;

Richard Ewell and Jubal Early for failing to attack Cemetery Hill on the afternoon of July 1st and again for tardiness in attacking on the 2nd;

And above all, James Longstreet for lack of cooperation, promptness, and vigor in the assaults of July 2nd and 3rd.

It was left to George Pickett to put his finger on the problem with all of these explanations.

When someone asked Pickett after the war who was responsible for Confederate defeat at Gettysburg, he scratched his head, and replied: I’ve always thought the Yankees had something to do with it.

Someday maybe I will be able to write a History of the United States.

When I get to the chapters on the 21st Century, I will try to answer the questions of What Happened to the United States.

I will scratch my head and reply, “I’ve always thought Donald Trump had something to do with it.”

10.10.2022 – its not my circus

its not my circus,
not my monkeys – hey waiter
ready for the check

Not my circus, not my monkeys is a calque Polish nie mój cyrk, nie moje małpy.

A calque is a borrowing by word-for-word translation or a loan translation.

For example, the English expression it goes without saying is a calque (a literal, word-for-word translation) of French ça va sans dire, and flea market is a calque of French marché aux puces (literally “market with fleas”).

Go down to beach and watch the waves.

As it is said in the Gullah, De wata bring we and de wata gwine tek we bak.

10.9.2022 – from Tajikistan

from Tajikistan
and over to Kyrgyzstan
to Azerbaijan

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien had a way with place names.

Coming up with the likes of Osgiliath, Gondolin and Cirith Ungol in his writings about the made up land of Middle Earth.

Still I am reminded that truth is stranger than fiction when I am reminded of those countries to the east of Russia.

The countries that when we had to live with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the CCCP, made up that Union.

I got that reminder reading the article A Distracted Russia Is Losing Its Grip on Its Old Soviet Sphere in the New York Times.

The article states that these old members of the Soviet Union are taking advantage of Russia’s focus on Ukraine and are getting back to their old ways of not getting along that has gone along since before the birth of Christ.

That these countries don’t get along has to take a second seat for me as in the first seat is the realization that there really are countries named Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

People live there.

They go to sleep and get up every morning and go to work and come home and go to bed at night.

Where they work, what they have for breakfast and whether or not they have parent-teacher conferences or even telephones, old style, telephone wire, landline telephones is all unknown to me.

They have to have some exposure to modern items as the article stated: And here along the mountainous border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, long-running quarrels between farmers over land, water and smuggled contraband escalated last month into a full-scale conflict involving tanks, helicopters and rockets, as the armies of the two countries fought each other to a standstill.

How about that?

Technology is available for fighting so why do I picture these places as looking just like Anatevka?

Well, forget what these places might look like.

From the point of view of syllables and haiku, you can’t beat the names.

10.8.2022 – wish what I always

wish what I always
wish when I see you – I wish
you would go away

In 1975 there was a made-for-television romantic comedy film named Love Among the Ruins.

For a made-for-television movie it had some heavy weight credentials as it was directed by George Cukor (Gone With the Wind, My Fair Lady) and starred Katharine Hepburn and Laurence Olivier and the script has some truly sparkling dialogue.

You can watch the movie here on YouTube and its worth the 90 minutes.

For my purposes today I focus on one short scene where Olivier is preparing to go into court and bumps into the opposing counsel and says simply.

I wish what I always wish whenever I see you.

And what is that? asks the other lawyer.

I wish that you’d go away.

I am SO TIRED of the current news cycle.

I am SO TIRED of the news that in any way focuses on the former occupant of the White House.

At this point, whenever I see his name in the headline I wish what I always wish whenever I see the name and that is I wish it would go away.

But then that is the game isn’t.

As Big Bill put it:

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,

To the last syllable of recorded time

This never ending story, creeping in this petty pace, from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time.

The former occupant of the White House might be a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage … but it has been so much more than just his hour.

How long until he is heard no more?

Make it stop.

Make it go away.

But then that is the game isn’t.

Draw out the agony and then offer a price, offer a settlement, offer something and then he goes away and is heard no more.

That is the game isn’t.

Somewhere in unrecorded time, someone’s pig was eaten by another man’s dog.

The pig man brought the dog man to court.

The dog man’s lawyer said to the pig man’s lawyer, ‘Let us not deal with court but settle this together. Dog man will give 10 pieces of gold for the pig. You take four for your trouble. I’ll take four for my trouble. And pig man gets 2 to buy a new pig and its all settled and we are all happy. Or I can file for a date in court … sometime next year.

And so it happened and settlement through litigation was born and the concept of beating justice by delay became part of human existence.

When Columbus landed in Haiti, he set up a gallows and a Cross and said, take your pick.

When the Colonists landed in North America, they built Churches and Court Houses and said, take your pick.

They started worshipping and suing each other right off.

It became the American Way.

The State of Georgia has 159 counties.

For the most part, all about the same, odd size, geographically.

Why?

When the state was mapped into counties, they were designed so that every county seat, where the courthouse was, was no more than 1 days horseback ride from anywhere in the county so every could get to court and sue someone.

File an action in Court.

Delay, delay, delay.

And Settle.

Truth, Justice and the American Way!

That is the game isn’t.

The art of the deal.

10.7.2022 – even though ugly

even though ugly
belief gets created when
find way get job done

Football player sans peur et sans reproche Tom Brady got some attention on Wednesday by talking about, of all things for once, football.

NFL football.

A game he has played professionally for the current century-to-date.

Mr. Brady said, “I think there’s a lot of bad football from what I watch. I watch a lot of bad football. Poor quality of football. That’s what I see.“

Mr. Brady is about as close to a King Midas in sports that we may ever see.

Somehow, almost everything he touches turns to gold.

The day after Mr. Brady said, “I think there’s a lot of bad football from what I watch. I watch a lot of bad football. Poor quality of football. That’s what I see.”, the NFL proved Mr. Brady right by playing one of the worst games in NFL history.

YAHOO Sports reported that, “The Thursday night game between the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos was awful. Irredeemably, comically, surreally awful. Four quarters and an overtime of self-inflicted gut punches.

The Colts and Broncos combined for 15 penalties, multiple injuries including a scary concussion, 12 punts, 10 sacks, six fumbles (none lost), four interceptions and zero touchdowns despite six (six!) red zone trips.”

How bad was it?

It was so bad that at one point, in this game between Denver and Indianapolis, the Referee announced, TIME OUT SAN DIEGO.

used without permission – gonna get sued

Announcer Al Michaels said, “Sometimes a game could be so bad, it’s almost good. You know what I mean?”

Commentator Kirk Herbstreit’s responded, “No.”

Winning Quarterback Matt Ryan (one of the two Super-Bowl Alumni quarterbacks in the game that failed to lead their team to a touchdown as all scoring was by field goals) tried to find some redeeming value to the game said, “… there’s belief that gets created, even though it’s ugly. There’s belief that gets created when you find a way to get the job done.“

I liked that.

There has to be a positive spin.

Right?

Dig down and find it.

As Frank Reich, the winning coach said at the end, “Isn’t it awesome that you can have a game like that and still win.“

Got to give Coach Reich a sticker on the helmet for scrapping the bottom of the pool and coming up with that one.

I go back to Mr. Brady (why does he always seem to be right?) and say I think there’s a lot of bad football from what I watch.

I watch a lot of bad football.

Poor quality of football.

That’s what I see.