IT'S NOT VETERAN'S DAY

But it's related.

Ogre mentioned in his post that Memorial Day "is really about those who followed through and actually gave their lives in defense of the concept of America".

Really the two holidays are two sides of the same coin. The coin is joining the military, which is not actually "giving your life". No one joins with the intention of dying. It's about risking your life. It's about taking the chance.

Some people win the bet & come home alive. That's what Veteran's Day celebrates. But for some folks, the coin comes up tails.

That's what Memorial day is all about.

I don't believe the dead can hear, so I'll thank the families, instead, for supporting those in uniform who were brave enough to put the coin in the air, and my condolences for when it came to rest unfavorably.

SORRY, BUT I GOTTA BE HONEST HERE

After hearing of Ted Kennedy's terminal brain tumor, my thoughts, prayers, and best wishes go out to the family of Mary Jo Kopechne, who are at last getting their long-delayed smidgen of justice.

CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE

I hate Nickelback.

Grindy, wheezy, no-talent hack vocalist backed by the least inspired power-chord-whacking AC/DC fan-band rejects to ever pick up a Fender.

"Rockstar" is possibly their most egregious example.

But after seeing what blogson Mike the Marine did with it, I do believe I've had myself a Grinch-picking-up-the-sleigh moment.

Check it out.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE

So, when you make a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, do you spread the jelly on the peanut butter, or spread each on their own slice of bread?

'Cuz frankly, I'm with the duck on this one - there's just something deeply unnatural about you "on the peanut butter" people.

NOT BECAUSE HE'S BLACK, BUT BECAUSE WE'RE COLORBLIND

There's a big fuss about a T-shirt with a picture of Curious George and the slogan "Obama in '08".

Some people say it's racist.

The guy who made the shirt says that if you look at the ears and the hairline, there's a resemblance.

Which is true:

Fact is, if you're an unpopular politician with ears that stick out, you're going to get compared to a chimp no matter what your skin color.

Right, George?

CALL ME SUPER-SKEPTIC

Physics Geek quotes a warming-denier who claims that the Earth is cooling because of a drop in solar activity.

But as much as I enjoy hearing from someone who's not beating Al Gore's drum, I have to be honest.

I don't believe his numbers either.

Temperature is such an incredibly localized phenomenon that I find it very difficult to give credence to the very existence of "average global temperature".

Much less measuring its change.

Much, much less measuring it to a precision of hundredths of a degree.

Frankly, I consider the idea of "average global temperature" to be about as useful as the idea of "average global moisture". After all, "on average", the whole planet is under a mile of sea water.

Bunk, bunk, and bunk. I'll have no truck with it.

FIRST TIME

Most people I know are my age, give or take a decade.

However, I work with people in their early 20's

Today one of them mocked me for being around when the song "Hotel California" first came out.

That's the first time someone's made fun of me for being old and MEANT it.

It just gets worse from here, doesn't it?

GOOD MARRIAGE DEFINED

The best kind of relationships, in my book, are not the kind where you live on a rosy pink cloud in perfect bliss, but the kind where sometimes you do the leaning, and sometimes you are leaned on and most of the time you're pulling in harness in the same direction.

Leslie's Omnibus

I'D RATHER FIGHT THAN SWITCH

Blogdaughter Teresa of Technicalities is agonizing over whether it's worth driving another 10 miles to keep her hairdresser.

Apparently it's a tough call, and it brings to mind a line I heard somewhere else:

"I'd rather find a new gynecologist than a new hairdresser."

Which I understand, since far fewer people will notice the results if you have a bad gynecologist.