Stuff

OK. I'm going to tidy up a bit before the New Year gets here and tie up some loose ends. First of all, my comment on the Court-Marshall-For Pregnancy rule certainly played a large role in the military's reversing its position on that one. Now the focus will be on the sexual harassment that plagues soldiers in many places where they live in restricted areas and close quarters. It is difficult for me to believe that young men and women are going to have trouble with sexual conflicts like that, but I guess that is something we haven't corrected yet. The military will figure it out.

Bookstores where I live are now officially worthless. I will give up on them and order all my books online from now on. Yesterday, I called every bookstore in the county trying to find anything by Pico Iyer without luck. They were all nice and told me that they could order the books for me. Why do I need them to order a book for me? Usually, I can get it cheaper myself. And the arts section has been reduced in most stores to a single shelf of slick photos of horses or "A Day In Australia" or cheap reproductions of Impressionist paintings. All that is left to do in bookstores is to join the army of freeloaders tearing up the magazine section with a double latte.

Today, in a New York Times article about the new mosque being built in Marseilles, I saw this:

But as Western Europe is plunged into a new bout of anxiety over the impact of post-colonial Muslim immigration — reeling in varying ways from the implications of a recent Swiss vote to ban minarets altogether — some scholars see a destructive dynamic, with assimilation feeding a reaction that, in turn, spawns resentment, particularly among young Muslims.

The report quotes Vincent Geisser, who it identifies as a Moslem scholar in France, as saying:

“There is an angst over identity in Europe,” he said. “There’s a feeling that Europe is becoming smaller and less important. Europe is like an old lady, who whenever she hears a noise thinks it’s a burglary.”

I am emboldened by all this to continue to pursue my "Postcards from Nowhere" series. It doesn't make sense to me completely yet, but I know I am doing the right thing when "scholars" indict entire cultures with sleazy tropes.

Other things. I will have a different car in 2010. I will get a new outdoor grill to replace the one that went out over a year ago. I will buy new furniture for the house to supplement and replace the stuff my ex took when she left ten years ago.

And I will once again buy cut flowers every Saturday morning for the house.

Oh, and one more thing. There will be music.