could ted kennedy have died at a worse time? health care reform, his signature, if not life-long issue, is finding itself ground up on the gears of the legislative, daily spin-cycle process. shouldn't i be at least a little concerned that john mccain said, only a few days ago, that things would be a lot easier if teddy wasn't sick and could negotiate? well now he has an excuse to destroy the entire process, because kennedy is not coming back to the table, because brain cancer killed him yesterday. now, the more optimistic wing of the left is trying to push this message that he will be more effective as a ghost memory than as an ailing senator but isn't that optimistically cynical, in a weird way? i mean, the seat is empty, and is going to be for weeks, at least, and the democrats need every vote they can get, since they can't afford to rely on bastards like joe lieberman.
the real depressing thing here is that, if it wasn't for ted kennedy, and ted kennedy alone, barack obama would not be the president of the united states. im not going to link to anything on this one, but it was ted's earlyish endorsement of barack over hillary that basically sealed the deal. more than that, ted personally helped convince barry to run, when barry was just a junior senator. so obama owes him basically everything, and putting kennedy's name on whatever disgrace of a bill that winds up getting passed and signed into law, hopefully before 2010, is the very least he (obama) can do.
more eulogizing, but did anyone else catch that obama called ted kennedy the greatest senator of of our time in his vacation-attire statement, but toned it down for his twitter post, where he said kennedy was 'one of' the greatest senators of our time? obama must have remembered that al franken is a senator in between these two statements.
but seriously, i mean not seriously at all, i only know about the twitter-wapo discrepancy because nikki karam made me (and kate and brian) a twitter account the other day. its much more hyperbolic, ironic, sarcastic (sardonic? snarky?) than the types of posts you are used to reading here, so if you aren't my grandparents or aren't offended by a more outright cynical, some would say abstract expressionist approach to posting, check it out. maybe you are already familiar with the concept of tvsexdeath.
oh, i went to the middle schoolers's baseball game yesterday. they got creamed something like 18 to 2, i left when it was 12 to 2 in the fifth inning, but it was nice to see some baseball that wasn't on tv. i even took photographs!
you must line up and bow before the game. also, three umps, even though at the minor league cyclones game at coney island they had 2. in japan, they "never have just 2".
play ball
this image proves two things, and then one by induction: (1) the distance to the wall is measured in meters, not feet. (2) if you look at the scoreboard, you will notice that the pitch count it arranged strikes, then balls, unlike in america, where it is arranged balls, and then strikes. nobody knows why this is. therefore, (3) i must be in japan.
here is a big train bridge that went right over the valley where the game was being held.
and here is a wide shot for perspetive, notice the giant mountains in the middle ground.
oh, i couln't really watch basterds yesterday, even though the timing would have been ideal before karate, because there was no subtitles file, and half of the movie is in french and german, and if anyone has seen any movie by quentin tarantino (i'm trying to think of an exception...nope) then they know that dialogue is the #1 most important part of the experience. so i downloaded some subtitles, i think, and i am going to try them later today. this gives the district 9/ponyo flavor some time to mellow out. trust me, this movie review will be undergraduate quality stuff.
but my right leg/hip joint is all twisted and pained because of roundhouse kicks, and my left arm has a ton of yellow/brown bruises on it. this entire ordeal reminds me a lot of fencing, where the same leg and and the same arm take most of the damage. there is a karate party by the river, on the other side, this saturday, which i will walk to so that i may drink and bring myself home safely and legally.
i think that's it. the yogurt lady just got here, she brings yogurt and little drinks around in a white basket to keep everyone regular. i brought yogurt with lunch today so i am good. i have been making sandwiches every day to save money, but its getting incredibly boring, and i feel like i am wasting actually being in japan by not eating greasy japanese chicken and beef bento boxes from the shop across the street. i will change this soon.
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