More Holmes vs. Moriarty

    In most of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Moriarty is vaguely mentioned as the Napoleon of Crime.  No one really tries to delve into his personality.    I guess Victorians felt there was just good and evil.

I cannot imagine Conan Doyle deliberately making the arch villain Irish (along with Col. Moran) to pick on the Irish.  With a name like Doyle?

Many of us have seen the Thomas Nast cartoons with the apelike Irishman, similar to hateful African American stereotypes in the same era.   The English have their stereotypes of the Irish.  Well with Ireland as the Celtic Tiger and a higher per capita income than the United Kingdom, who’s laughing now?  The revenge of the Professor.  Ireland made it in the end, Erin Go Bragh!

I let my book write itself to a certain degree.  Even if Holmes and Moriarty do not like each other each sees the other as the only person who is their intellectual  equal.

Holmes represents the British Empire.  Moriarty the man trying to bring it down.  Who wins?  Who Loses?

A Ferret on Acid?

    This was the idea of two of my coworkers.  So there will be more later, but they had a description of a ferret on acid and now I cannot get it out of my head.

Another Refugee Book and Meeting at Zemam’s

    My friend Anastase wants to write a book about his experiences in Rwanda.  It would be very different from Hotel Rwanda.  I am not giving it away.  Below is the same post in French because that is the language he will write the initial draft in.

Mon ami Anastase veut écrire un livre de ses expériences au Rwanda. Ce serait radicalement différent de l’Hôtel le Rwanda. Je ne le distribue pas. Ci-dessous est le même poste dans le français parce que c’est la langue dans laquelle il écrira le brouillon initial.

Also there tonight was the daughter of a friend of mine.  Her name is Lindsey and she wants to work with African refugees.

More Softball Lessons

    We played a doubleheader yesterday.  I am glad to see my defensive skills as a catcher still work, even though I am fifty years old.

Enough about me.  I want to give some lessons from yesterday.

Show up!  Sounds silly but be ready to play work etc.  Woody Allen said it best when he said 90% of life is showing up.

Don’t swing for the fences.  In baseball or softball it means do not plan to hit a home run every time.  In a casino, do not bet everything you own on one throw of the dice or one spin of the roulette wheel.  Go for the ground ball single and run the bases carefully.  In other words, take your time.  Be assured of scoring rather than either or, either hitting the ball over the fence, or making an out.

Take care of your teammates.  Whether on the field or in life, take care of those who are taking care of you.  They need you and you need them for everyones success.

Prove yourself.  Don’t brag, show some action.  Gain respect quietly, but with visual results.  (It took me a long time to learn this one so do not commit that same error).

Take guidance when needed.  I was on base yesterday and the third base coach stopped me from running home.  In other words, instinct is good, but sometimes you need help with that instinct.

This is a take on actions and deeds, not words.  Speak seldom, but when you speak, speak softly and make it count.  You will suddenly find people are paying more attention to you, (if you pay attention).  When you do say something, people remember it for it will count.

Show an interest in others and other things.  People will really remember you more.  I would rather listen to you, than spew on myself.

Thus endeth the lesson…:-)

Jimmy’s Diner September 16th, 2007

    It has been wild around here, with fireworks and parties.  September 16th, is Mexican Independence Day.  Last night, we were playing softball across from the Rodeo Grounds and they were having a small rodeo, and we could here the announcements in Spanish and the music.

The park was full of folks partying behind the outfield fence when we played softball.  The warehouse team is mostly Mexican as well.   So there was all sorts of celebratory atmosphere.

This morning, it was off to Jimmy’s.  Jena yelled at me for not being there on Wednesday and wrecking her calendar.  She told me to eat my pancakes and shut up before I could get a word out.

Oh, but she was ornery today.  I have a Toastmasters contest in an hour.  I certainly do not have a swelled head.

How to Get Yerbie’s Attention.

    I have a deep voice.  Yerbie KNOWS he is in trouble when I call his name and drop my voice an octave.

Monty Python had “How to Confuse a Cat.”  I have “How to Make a Cat Pay Attention.”  It is the terrible twos, only I suspect when it comes to Yerbie, it never ends.

I get a look that says, but Dad, you are spoiling ALL my fun!  You thought only teenagers gave that look!;-)

It is certainly never boring with Yerbie around.

Facebook

    I have a profile there.  Come visit.

Toastmasters Speech Contest.

    I had sworn off contests.  I have been in Toastmasters for almost seventeen years and swore off contests (I know, didn’t your Mama teach you NOT to swear)?  Well I was nagged into competing in the Humorous Speech and Table Topics contest.

I actually won the Table Topics contest and have to compete at the next level up on Sunday.  The Red Sox are playing the Yankees, and I will be answering a Table Topics Question.  Maybe I can leave quickly and head home (I live only ten minutes from where we meet), so I can see the first pitch.

My Table Topics question was basically coming off the bench and making lemonade from lemons.  Sometimes, you have to do that.

I Was Told to Teach Yerbie How to Type.

    My friend Sue, from Palins Travels told me I need to teach Yerbie how to type.  I was writing to her on Facebook and  complained that he was falling all over the keyboard.  You know the stereotype of the English that they like animals better than people?  She told me to teach Yerbie how to type.

That should be interesting.  Cats live on another plane.  How would this work?  A colleague in my Toastmasters club is a veterinarian.  Karen made it clear an animal psychologist would have a tough time with a cat.  Whoever heard of a cat whisperer?

Well, I have trained Yerbie to know when I am annoyed with him.

Now, if I can only keep my keyboard free of pussycats.

Ethiopian New Year.

    Today is New Years 2000, if you are Ethiopian.  Different calendar, etc.   Does this mean they have their own Y2K?

In Michael Palin’s Pole to Pole, he crossed from Ethiopia into Kenya, back from 1984 to 1991.  The Kenyan customs official said and I quote, “They will never catch us up.”