When Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to receive more than 50 percent of the popular vote in 32 years, much of the world rejoiced. All that bellicose rhetoric from George W. Bush about fighting “evil” was replaced by the lofty eloquence of the new president with a new tone who promised to extend America’s hand to its enemies “if you will unclench your fist.” Nine months into his presidency, he even received the Nobel Peace Prize.
A lot of us get trapped into our routines. Admittedly, it’s far easier to simply go through the motions instead of seeking out a better way of doing things.
At about this time last year I wrote, “Predictions can be perilous,” and went on to make four of them anyway about what I thought would happen in 2009.
If necessity is the mother of invention, then the military helped raise one of her biggest children.
The Internet evolved from Cold War competition between the U.S. and former Soviet Union. Experimentation by the Department of Defense was instrumental in pushing and shaping the Internet’s development decades before “online” became a household term.
Frank Shiers looks back at 2009
In this season of caring and hope, I would like to share the moving story of two young men whose futures, far more than most of ours, depends on inner strength and a positive outlook.
One copes with the challenges of cerebral palsy. He spends most of his day in a wheelchair, and his verbal communication is hindered by the muscular issues that come with this disease.
I normally don’t quote other news articles if I can help it, but a recent Associated Press story caught my eye. It was about women war veterans, and the battles they face when they come home.
Like their male counterparts, they should be getting a hero’s welcome.
Quite often, they are not.
Sometimes I like to remember Christmas from years past. Oh for the days when I could eat real food and not worry about my evil doctor telling me I will be dead before New Year’s Day.
Merry Christmas. And bah, humbug.
I get to say both, because I work in retail. Or more accurately, I’m supposed to say “Happy Holidays,” so I can neither offend nor please anyone. Working in retail means I have to be like the Switzerland of conversationalists, being neutral on any topic and never really taking a stand on anything.
There’s a lot of competition for your attention these days, and the pitchmen are getting a lot more aggressive.
Forget about simply window shopping at the mall; the kiosk dwellers have now been instructed to hustle you for sales, and you’ll find yourself saying “no thanks” a dozen times before you even reach the Cinnabon. If you’re like me, you don’t like being hustled on an empty stomach.
It is easier and quicker to buy someone a gift card at a bookstore than shopping for a book. But what makes shopping worthwhile is taking the time to think for a moment about the kind of book that your friend or relative would enjoy or benefit from reading.
There may be some sanity in politics after all. A provision by Sen. Patty Murray may let UW, Mariners and Seahawks fans once again get a reasonably priced bus ride to the games.
Ask anyone who moved to the Seattle area from elsewhere and they will all tell you the same thing: “I really like living here, but man, you people are the worst drivers in the country.”
It’s true. I am sorry to say it, but it’s absolutely true. Even Jersey drivers point their fingers and shake their heads at Seattle drivers.
“You can really tell a lot about a person by the kind of….”
Nearly everybody I know has an answer for this, such as the kind of shoes they’re wearing, the kind of car they drive, or their e-mail address. The last one is especially true; you don’t want to let your daughter date a guy whose email is sxxxy@hotmail.com (please don’t spam me).
Once upon a time, you could tell when Christmas was coming because of the holiday-themed ads on TV. But since they’re now appearing between Holloween and Thanksgiving, it’s the holiday movies and specials that signal the arrival of the Christmas season. Herewith, some of the best and worst movies of the holiday season.
The professional schmoozers are in disarray at the moment. President Obama has dropped registered lobbyists from their government advisory committees, in an effort to have advisers that are more “reflective of America” not just Washington D.C. It’s started a strange letter-writing war that’s had lobbyists lobbying for their own lobbyist powers.
It’s not unusual to walk into a Starbucks and see several cops sitting at tables chatting while on break or getting ready to go on shift. Nor is it unusual to see a squad car pulled over by the side of the road, with an officer talking to his partner or jotting down notes. These are the moments in an officer’s workday where he or she can feel safe.
A friend told me the other day that he enjoyed Thanksgiving even more than Christmas. “There’s less emphasis on shopping and gifts and more on just being thankful for what you have,” he said.
It’s budget time for local governments, and you can tell by the nervous look in the eyes of city staffers. Much like a herd of antelope anxiously watching the circling lions, they know that it’s hunting season for budget cuts, and that usually means city staff jobs. In Maple Valley, the two antelope on the edge of the herd this year are the city attorney and one of the three building inspectors.
I don’t envy the job of the lions, though. The Great Recession has left a lot of city coffers somewhat emptier than they are used to, and that leaves Council members wondering whether to increase taxes, cut services, cut staff or some combination of all three.
They just don’t make them like they used to.
That’s a phrase I hear fairly often from old-timers and old-timer-wannabes (like me), usually just after something breaks. My version of that phrase also includes a blistering, profanity-laced criticism of manufacturers who reduce the quality of their items to hit the retail pricing “sweet spot” of $19.99. Don’t get me started.
