The lost art of subtlety

Hmm, do you think the Washington Post's honored editorial cartoonist Pat Oliphant, whose current message piece is shown below, supports John McCain for President?

Guns

I usually enjoy Morgan Spurlock's "walk a mile in another person's shoes" television show 30 Days. Sometimes the episodes are really thought provoking, such as when a professional athlete lived life as a paraplegic in a wheelchair for the month, or when a laid off employee traveled to India to see who would be taking his job ("Outsourcing").

The best episodes are probably those in which Spurlock himself is immersed in some new activity/place for 30 days. The last episode to air had him living on the Navajo Reservation for the month. At the beginning of this season he was shown working in the coal mines of his native West Virginia. Last season he spent a month in jail, and in the series premiere he and his girlfriend lived on minimum wage for 30 days.

Sometimes the show misses, as when a mother took up binge drinking to better understand (and control) her daughter's college/party lifestyle ("Binge Drinking Mom"), or when a Mormon woman went to live with a family headed by two gay men ("Same Sex Parenting").

Still, 30 Days is almost always more interesting than whatever else is on in its time slot, even when the episode is unsuccessful at revealing any breakthroughs. But one episode recently got me so riled up in the first five minutes that I couldn't even watch it. It sent a gun control advocate to live with a father-son pair of gun enthusiasts ("Gun Nation"). I'm pondering what this says about me, and whether to be concerned about it or not. In the meantime, here's a lovely gun related headline to share:

Small Texas school district lets teachers, staff pack pistols

Come on, you know you want to read the whole story at Star-Telegram.com. Then come back here and share your thoughts.

Summer

Sorry I've been away for so long. I've been keeping myself occupied pondering politics and the California state budget (or lack thereof). I've also been busy backing up computer files (not one but both computers are acting odd). And of course I've spent a bit of time grumbling over NBC's choices for how to use primetime coverage of the Olympics. Then again, I've stayed up too late on several occasions watching said coverage, flipping channels as I awaited the two 5-minute segments I cared about in the 4-hour broadcast. And I've spent much more time than that sorting through seemingly regenerative piles of junk in our house, continuing our quest to have space to park at least 1 car in the garage and know where all desirable articles of clothing are without embarking on an archaeological dig (my standards aren't too high, are they?). Then there's cooking and cleaning and laundry and bill paying and filing and grocery shopping and family tending. Yes, I believe regular chores have been the biggest time sucker lately. And, ahem, working on dissertation stuff too, naturally.

But don't despair, for I've also had some fun lately. I went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk briefly yesterday and plan to do so again tomorrow. The weather's been gorgeous lately. I've been swimming regularly and am feeling comfortably back into my water exercise routine. I planted pretty (albeit some would say illicit) little flowers by my front door and have been tending several surprise tomato plants out back (or at least managing to do as well for them as the very poor starting soil will allow). I saw The Mummy 3 and was able to just enjoy the silliness rather than spend two hours critiquing and rolling my eyes (a major feat, there). I enjoyed the Niners victory Saturday night at Candlestick. And I've spent time with many friends and family in the past few weeks, whether floating around a swimming pool, in the hospital or at a birthday party in the park, over a losing game of Bingo, or just together for a casual meal.

So as summer approaches its unofficial close, I am happy to report it's been a good one. I hope yours has been good too.