Random musings

Good news, the site meter is working! However, I am still working on how to make expandable Blog posts. These are all pieces to a puzzle that is coming together.

Every good theory needs proof, so this weekend (and a few other weekends) I will be hanging out at UCLA Library. I'll be back in College again!

I am reading a very good book right now called The Nightingale's Song about Five Graduates from Annapolis who have affected our current Foreign Affairs. This book is a good companion piece to Rise of the Vulcans. Both of these books talk in great detail about how the Executive Branch deals with Military and intelligence issues. And going into 2008, every candidate should read these books to understand our current Foreign Policy.

Notes from a weekend

The reason I haven't been posting is because:

A) I am having trouble with my Site Meter.

B) Also, I am writing lengthy essays that will be translated to the Blog, but I need to learn how to hide the whole essay (they're long, they're lengthy and they'll take up most of the Blog when published). By the way, these essays are on predictions for the 2006 and 2008 elections. Stick around for the Blog this summer and you will know more then the New York Times or LA Times.

C) I am learning how to add a picture to the header. Then, I will try to offer items from The Valley of the Shadow for sale for the fall.

D) It's Memorial Day. Please remember our Soldiers with these charities.

A Musical Interlude....

Last night, I hung out with my friend Toni who took me to see the LA Philharmonic at
the Walt Disney Concert Hall. I heard two Beethoven pieces and a new piece by Anders Hillborg.

I heard Beethoven's Symphonies 8 and 5. The last time I saw classical music live was when I was in Junior High during a class trip to Lincoln Center. Now, I love rock music, blues, Jazz and techno, but I forgot how, in the hands of a Master Composer, music can flow and live.

Some Saturday nights, I visit a Goth club where some bands play. In the midst of that music, you can hear the hints of the Old Masters (occasionally, it can show in a Moby or Blue Man Group piece). Growing up in NYC, you learn how to appreciate Art.

If you haven't noticed the paintings on this Blog, take a look. What makes Delacroix my favorite painter is his passion. If you learn nothing else from this piece, understand:

Passion + Creativity + Audience = Art

Back to the Valley

Delacroix Post #8

The Blog is back! If it's the weekend, that only means one thing: Delacroixpalooza! This painting, Arabian Horses Fighting in a Stable was painted in 1860. You can find it in the Musee D'Orsay in Paris.

To the shop!

Since there is a long time between Post and Publish, I am taking the Computer in to get a little tune up. I am going to Computer Country. If you live in L.A., send your computer to these guys. They do a kick-ass job.

The Coup has begun

According to an earlier post, a battle is occurring between Clinton administration intelligence officers and the Bush Administration. First, Porter Goss, (side note: Goss used to represent the Florida 13th before Rep. Dan Miller succeeded him. I interned for Rep. Miller in the 104th Congress) and now Kyle Foggo, another Bush appointee is under fire. A good roundup of the situation can be found here.
The CIA pushed for General Michael V. Hayden. Do we really want Military control over the intelligence agencies? The retired General's attack on Rumsfeld should also worry the general public. What makes our system successful is the interchange between civilian and military leadership.
Do the Democrats really want the Military to take over the Executive Branch? Are they willing to abide by the decisions of the Military Leadership if this occurs? Or are we slowly living a real life Seven Days in May?

Delacroix Post #7

I am still battling with the Blog (It is Verrry slow from Post to Publish -- Hours slow). Since it is the end of the week, here is a new Delacroix Post called Arab Horseman attack by Lion. Eugene Delacroix painted this 1849-50. It can be seen at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Random Questions

Question 1: Why is there more security at the gates of the Studios (here in Los Angeles), then in a Federal Building? Are the studios more afraid of the people then the Government?

Question 2: During the Rumsfeld protest, did any of these people ever think about about writing a letter or show some decorum for the proceedings? When Republicans complain, WE never get our faces in the LA Times.

Question 3: A Kennedy drunk? It's not like there is a precedent....

Question 4: How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Louis Rukeuser -- RIP

I used to watch Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser after 9/11. He had insights into the market and spoke so that a layman could understand the market. Godspeed.