reyonthehill

Last year, my wife and I made a trip to Washington D.C. a few days before Christmas. Not only was our tour of our nation's capital truncated by the fact we were visiting on the shortest days of the year, but the trip was also accentuated by the fact it was really, really cold. And I mean damn cold.

A couple days later I was staying at my brother's house outside of Philadelphia, and when he had heard that I was wearing two layers of pants -- it's true! -- he called me a "California wussyboy." (I was also wearing a fleece under my coat, as pictured above.) I initially scoffed at the idea that a hardened Buffalo boy who studied at Syracuse had become a "wuss" in a few short years living in the Mediterranean climate of the San Francisco bay area, but maybe he is right.

I've just returned from going outside and getting a sandwich for lunch (I mean, I was outside for no more than 5 minutes), and I virtually* froze my ass off (and the weather is reportedly 51 degrees, although it must be much colder than that). Now, granted, I didn't wear my coat (the sandwich shop is right next door), but it felt like a Buffalo February out there. Only it wasn't.

Was my brother right? Or worse, is my brother right? Have I become a California wussyboy?

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you expect the cold during the winters in Syracuse and Buffalo. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that you dress properly when going out in the cold night in Buffalo and Syracuse. (Why do you think bars are open until 4am in Buffalo? Because no one wants to leave and literally freeze off their buzz.) As it is, I'm still wearing polo shirts most days to work, and hell, next week my wife and I may be walking along the marina in short-sleeved shirts wishing we would have worn shorts. The cold weather comes and goes, but never stays.

All of that is conjecture, of course, and right now, all I know is I am freezing.

All my best.
Signed, California Wussyboy

* I use the term "virtually" here because the term "literally" is factually incorrect.

This comic by Bill Schorr borders on treachery...

Image: Yahoo!

It's a good thing freedom of speech is still protected.

- Compassionate conservatism at its best: "I certainly understand your need and desire to create the illusion of Miami as a multiethnic 'All American' city." But..?

- Getting a shout-out from Mel Gibson has got to have 'Kramer' relieving his stress by golfing with Bob Sacamano.

- Bush on Iraq: "I know there's a lot of speculation that there's going to be some kind of graceful exit out of Iraq. This business about a graceful exit just simply has no realism to it at all." Just like your administration, no realism... at all.

"I would call it a civil war. I have been using it (civil war), because I like to face the reality." - Colin Powell, former Secretary of State

Of course, it would have been nice if Powell would have done his job and not heeded to the demands of the neocons and knowingly presented false evidence to the United Nations almost four years ago to get our nation into the Iraq war, in a speech he now considers "painful."

Image: Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Toles on Lincoln's redefined "civil war..."

Image: Washington Post

You know, they did refer to the Civil War as the War Between the States in the South (and many people still do) because Confederate supporters did not consider the war to be a "civil war," which is defined as a war between two parties within one nation. (The South had considered themselves a separate nation following their secession from the Union.)

Alright, this one was easy...

Headline of the day: Al-Qaida denounces pope visit to Turkey.

Umh.

A) No shit; and

B) Why the hell are 'we' listening to Al-Qaida and reporting their feelings? They're a terrorist organization, not your neighborhood Lions Club.

Well, it was my town vs. Walmart again last night...

The city council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to purchase the property owned by Walmart on the city's waterfront by way of eminent domain. Again. (What this all means, of course, is that I will be back at City Hall again in two months or so, as Walmart refuses to give up.)

This time I didn't speak (previous videos at bottom), but I took some cellphone photos.

The KRON4 news van outside City Hall...

KRON4 interviewing a city representative/lawyer...

These two guys in suits are Walmart's lawyers...

The news crew inside City Hall and residents in attendance...

And Walmart's lawyer pleading Walmart's pathetic case...

Here is video of the remarks I made to city council back in May...

And then again in August...

From now on (maybe I could have used the term "henceforth" here, I've always wanted to; too late), I will go simply by JayDog. If you would please refer to me as "JayDog" in all of your correspondence, it will be greatly appreciated. I feel this change, albeit sudden, reflects my current mood, which I can safely assume to be everlasting.

JayDog, as in "Puffin' that jay, dog."

One of my favorite questions to ask unsuspecting friends (and co-workers) is "What is your favorite day of the week?" The typical answer is "Friday," or "Saturday." An alcoholic may inadvertently blurt out "Thursday."

My favorite day is Tuesday. It has been so for as long as I remember; I am not exactly sure how it happened, but it did. When your favorite day is in the middle of the week, though, the week is inherently better. You already know you'll have a good time on the weekend -- why make one of those days your favorite; might as well make the most of your week, that is what I believe.

Think about this breakdown -- "back-to-work tomorrow" Sunday; "manic" Monday; "kickass" Tuesday, my favorite day; "halfway there" Wednesday; "drinker's delight" Thursday; and "hello weekend" Friday. I have long considered the following day, Saturday, the "lost day." And then it is Sunday again. Having a great Tuesday really breaks things up, I tell you. And here's the bonus: if you do have a bad Tuesday, for whatever reason... What the fuck did you expect? It's Tuesday; it's not like your weekend's shot.

Tuesday; a day for me. (Tuesday, in fact, has pagan beginnings, which makes it all the better and all the more meaningful.)

I've finally broken my silence on the "Kramer-racist" issue. (Okay, it wasn't really a silence; I do believe what Michael Richards said was completely unacceptable and morally abhorrent, and I hope, as a fan of Seinfeld, that the racist episode was a mistake.)

A comment I made on Jake Tapper's blog...

Umh, agreed. But it should be noticed, however, that the half-life of these episodes (intentional or unintentional moments of racism by public figures) tend to be short, but that may only be true for powerful white southerners (er, Trent Lott, who not more than four years ago was ousted as majority leader for possible racial comments). We'll just have to wait-and-see if "Kramer" has a reality show on Spike or E! in a few short years.