Links

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-11-27/paleoconservatism-is-back

As I've noted, there have been GOPers with some of these ideas, but seldom have a candidate had ALL of them, or at least many of them; this, to me, would imply that this isn't quite the return of paleocons, but something else...

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/by-picking-tom-price-to-lead-hhs-trump-shows-he%E2%80%99s-serious-about-dismantling-obamacare/ar-AAkTrr3?li=BBnbfcN

Such as this.  I mean, to be sure, some of this is, I suspect, an attempt by Trump to demonstrate that now, at least, he is a GOPer, and, well, this is something that is, has been, and will be, GOPism 101.  Let's not also forget that he campaigned (and won) on repealing the ACA, so...here you go.  I admit, Price is cool, because he offers a real chance to actually fix/breakdown/make manageable an uncontrollable entitlement.  I suspect he won't get as much done as he likes, but...could be enough.

This also serves as a real finger in the eye of the outgoing administration, which serves Trump personally and to melding his ties with the GOP base.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-11-30/give-trump-s-infrastructure-plans-a-chance

I agree with this as well, for a number of reasons, not including the fact that it was a campaign promise...one, if interest rates are going to remain low, shooting out bonds with minimal returns in the future isn't unwise.  And. we DO need to rebuild some roads and highways, and if we can do so while putting some of the non-working Trump voters in the labor pool...again, not necessarily unwise.

Progress on Most Fronts

So, I didn't watch any films today...got home slightly late due to work/errands/excellent day at the gym.  Then there were some family affairs that had to be tended to, and finally...well, I decided to plow through and finish All The King's Men.  It was good -- quite so -- but I was amused to discover that the parts I liked least (the interludes of character development) are those that the literary critics hold in highest regard....  I guess I preferred the political highjinks.  Anyways... there goes #36 on the MFL list.  A Faulker novel is next, so I think I will wait a bit before undertaking it.

Another good day at the gym; I realized that I've slept 7 hours or so the last two nights (maybe a little more) which I why I was able to push...the Saturday vow might be unconsciously playing a role, but rest and semi-proper nutrition...well, it does great things.  My low blood sugar has severely endangered the streak tonight, but I should be close, and ideally...well, I get in another seven tomorrow.  The next thing for me to do is to start adding exercises/calorie-burning now; I figure if I keep it up while the time is that of calorie intake/eating like a pig, I should be better once things settle down in January.  Honestly, I don't really think I can get to 170 again (I am carrying more muscle, and I eat too much crap) but 175 isn't impossible, and I would look a damned sight better...

Zooming

Hard to believe the long weekend is almost over... on the one hand, it flew by, on the other...well, I did do some stuff.  OSU party yesterday, up to 400 pages on the Warren book, and crossed four films off the list:
"The Kid," a 1921 Chaplin film showing him raising an abandoned child (Jackie Coogan, of all people).  Not as funny as his usual work, but more serious in tone, and still pretty good.
"Let There Be Light," a 1946 Huston documentary showing the treatment of mental casualties after WWII.  Interesting, of course, in that it humanized them and, well, there wasn't exactly a lot of positive stuff about treating the mentally ill at the time.
"The Learning Tree," a 1969 film about a black family coping with racism and life in 1920s Kansas; Dana Elcar of "MacGyver" had the role as the racist sheriff.
Finally, I just watched "The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra," a 1928 silent short that satirized Hollywood of the time...very interesting, given its backstory, its avant garde nature, and its pretty cool backgrounds reminded me of the German cutouts of the early part of the century.

That puts me to 485, and I think I can easily make 500, given the many shorts on the list, the presence of most films on Netflix/the library, and, well, I suspect I own a couple more, if need be...so there.  There will be a point in time when my search will have to stop, but...not now.

I killed myself at the gym this morning, both with the number of reps and the weight involved.  I am not exactly sure WHAT caused, but I did make a vow to Make Mattie 170 Pounds Again, so consider this a first and highly experimental step in that regard.

Survival

That OSU game was something...I really don't think they made that last fourth down conversion, but....well, a win is a win.  Now they wait and see if they make it to the playoff...I think they are in, given the body of work, but it is iffy...I guess this is the definition of a bubble team.  :)

http://www.hardballtimes.com/goodbye-to-all-them-players-who-quietly-retired-in-2016/

This was a cool article; I remembered all of these guys, had some on my strat teams...very sad, of course, to see when a player hangs it up -- I know I wouldn't, ever, at least until I had to, but it does mean a job for someone else...

About halfway through All The King's Men, and it is...better.  The pace has improved, the story, while at times a bit wandering, is a bit more focused, and I guess I do like the premise (political shenanigans).  It is a long one -- 650 pages or so -- but I put some time in it this weekend, and along with the reading at the gym, I think we are getting there...

The Bird

Thanksgiving has came and went and I've survived, more or less, for now...seconds of everything but dessert, which I think was the smart play.  Not eating anything else today, save for an attack of low blood sugar, and that is fine...the main issue tomorrow is getting to the gym and trying to avoid the mall crowds.  I was thinking of putting it off until the afternoon...

Crossed another film off the list last nite -- "Little Nemo," a short from 1911.  Interesting, cute...had to read about the history, always interesting.  I ordered a bunch from the library, so there is that...I had planned on starting Justified again, but the Netflix disk...alas, alack.  I guess it does allow me to spend a little time checking out the library swag on the quest for 500.

Started All The King's Men today -- getting back to the fiction list.  Starting slow so far, not sure I like it.  I've seen the film, which was sort of the same, but ended up being quite good, so I will keep at it.  I probably should put some time into THAT list, but I do have plenty of other thing to read, and fiction is the mixed bag, you know.

Needs

So, crossed another film off the list today -- "Mabel's Blunder," a 1914 silent comedy...interesting in that it involves cross-dressing in an attempt to figure out a romantic triangle, which is, of course, not a triangle at all. Cute, and a little edgy for 1914, even if it involved brothers and sisters...

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/for-trump-and-gop-obamacare-repeal-is-complex-and-risky/ar-AAkBoYJ?li=BBnbcA1

I get a kick out of articles like this, mainly because it is risky NOT to do it, because, after all, he campaigned on it...and I think the GOP base wants this, and for a guy who needs to remind everyone he really is a Republican...  on the other hand, I think in some ways he should get a pass for the Hillary news, because, well, why keep her IN the news (and make her, oddly, a sympathetic figure).... going away is always the best strategery for a defeated opponent, and if it somewhat quietly....well, who's to complain?

The Tribe and its needs...the PD mentioned an OF and a LOOGY, of sorts; funny how Brantley has become, well, if not the forgotten man, someone we played without...having him in LF next year would be ideal and solve many problems; of course, I am skeptical he will be healthy.  If only we could a new 1B or a real RF...

Amusements

Watched "Top Gun" last night, which I had never seen...sort of liked it, very 80s...it wasn't the worst thing, and I did pick up some cultural references, always a plus.  479 on the list, more or less importantly.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/opinion/sunday/the-end-of-identity-liberalism.html?emc=edit_th_20161120&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=31060267

I got a kick out of that one...again, this could be me, but for a party that ran on a platform of ethnic division, and loses on it...well, you don't say.  

I forgot, or, more appropriate, registered incorrectly, that this is OSU/Michigan weekend.  I do wonder what the committee will do if OSU wins and PSU goes to the championship game...and people expect OSU to get the bid.  I've always felt they should go to the hoops model of winning your conference and advancing; hell, this year, you could get a Bama/WMU matchup in such a scenario, which some people would think is pretty cool.  I've also always said that they would never go for it, as the one year WMU beats Alabama...well, there goes the media money.

Finished up Kean's diary of his Civil War years, Inside the Confederate Government, and it was fairly interesting.  One, the guy had a look at the inner workings of the government, and in the diary, at least, he didn't shy from his opinions.  Second, at the end, he has this rant/list of all the parts of the Constitution being trampled on by the Union government, which would be less humorous, if, of course, the whole part about treason and not wanting to be part of said government in the first place...

Toss and turn

Sleepless night last night, not sure why, so today I am staying in...watching and listening to winter come in.  Rah.  The furnace hiatus will end, sad to say... I can at least make some advanced planning for Xmas spending, always a "fun" thing.

I ended up watching ALL of the "Kannapolis, NC" videos on the Duke Library site, bringing me to 478...basically, they are home movies of the town in 1941...snippets of life; the last one seemed to be half African-American, which was cool, but also noting that life was quite segregated back then.

The contretemps about Hamilton is amusing; I made a comment on FB that maybe the elimination of the NEA would be an option, and, well, it would be quite...appropriate if the GOP had any brains and decided to cut the funding and shift it to, say, bridge-building, just because, well, if "Hamilton" can make money..maybe they could do their fair share and spread it around, or something equally...dickish.  Of which I would approve.

Reflecting

Recalling to mind the dictum of you must be the change you wish to see, I ordered a bunch of books on the list from the library and ordered some films off the list, too -- I've slowed down on that.  World Series, other things, starting of "Justified," neglect...whatever it is, I need to switch.  Last one I saw was "The Primary," a documentary about the 1960 Democratic primary in Wisconsin between Kennedy and Humphrey...  sort of like the election, JFK won in the urban areas and carried the state, HHH the rural and MN border...of course, in 1960, no one saw such a campaign picture...I think "The Last Hurrah," starring Spencer Tracy, gave a look at it, in the transition away from the machine politics to the modern era...but that was fiction.  Anyways, we are at 477 on the list...

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/11/republican-party-future-2016-donald-trump-214453

Good stuff here...I think the depth of the relationship will come from what Trump and Congress do...I mean, repealing Obamacare, check.  Cutting back on government and relations, check.  Boosting defense spending, check...I don't think the infrastructure will kill him, provided the stuff is built and people are hired in the right spots.  Immigration might be a problem, as I don't think the moderates will go as far as he will, but the people who voted for him...  they are ephemeral, I think, but they came out for Trump, and if they keep coming for him, and the GOPers come home...well, I suspect the Donald, or whoever runs in 2020, will get a hell of a lot more votes...

Victory!

Well, this has been an exciting week...I mean, I certainly didn't expect the Donald to pull it out, but her did...and I am damned glad, obviously.  Work has been pretty awesome, actually, as being one of the seven or so GOPers in the office..well, all those sad faces make me happy, given my deplorable nature and all.

Honestly, I can see people being pissed, but the protests...I don't recall Romney or McCain voters taking to the streets when their candidates lost, which leads me to believe that either we are better people, or we have more shit going on in our lives...and you know what I say about if you can't decide...  In the meantime, I can amuse myself with the notion of all those small-spending GOPers and their president who wants to spend a jillion dollars on infrastructure.  Mind you, I don't necessarily disagree; eight years ago, Dems said that spending all this money on roads and bridges with low interest rates was smart...and I think there is some logic.  But, of course, running that through the Tea Party...well, maybe not; the people who elected the Donald elected them, and I think they know that..

In the meantime, between my usual sleeplessness and the election -- I stayed up for it -- and Pub Quiz (a glorious victory), I have been...well, sleeping.  Thursday and Friday I was in bed by 9:30 and zonked; I got eight hours each day...yesterday I was still pretty bombed, and today's gym session will not go down as one of my best, but we are up and at them now...

Deplorably

Back in the blogging saddle again...work and the Tribe run meant that I spent many a nite in front of the TV and seldom checking the net...for better or worse.  Honestly, I figured they'd lose in 5, so losing in seven, while tough, was not unexpected, especially since the Cubs were a better team and all, to say nothing of the crappy back end of the rotation.  I will discuss the Tribe moves more, but...most people I know of suggest (and I agree) that NOT signing Napoli is the smart move, and that someone like Edwin Encarnation would be an ideal addition to the club.

As for the election, much as I would love a Trump win, I don't see the pathway...even with Ohio.  Part of me wants the win so all of the establishment types would have to suck one, part of me because...well, Hillary is slimy, or, as I described to my coworkers, the type of chick every guy dates at least once...standards for her, standards for you, and God help you if you ever call her on them.  Or, more appropriately in this case, God help us.