An Anthem for Memorial Day

The video in this post features Josh Groban performing an operatic version of one of my favorite tunes: "Anthem." The song comes from the 1980s musical, CHESS, by Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus, and Benny Andersson. Although the show is very much about the board game of chess, it is even more about the politics of relationships ... and nations.

In the storyline, "Anthem" is performed by a Russian chess player -- a champion -- on the occasion of his defection from the U.S.S.R., but there is nothing in it to make it specific of any particular nation. I, therefore, find it very inspirational and appropriate for Memorial Day. For it is the love of our nation that our veterans served in the armed forces. It is for the love of this land that so many soldiers laid down their lives.

Check out the lyrics:

No man, no madness

Though their sad power may prevail

Can possess, conquer, my country's heart

They rise to fail

She is eternal

Long before nations' lines were drawn

When no flags flew, when no armies stood

My land was born

And you ask me why I love her

Through wars, death and despair

She is the constant

We who don't care

And you wonder will I leave her -- but how?

I cross over borders but I'm still there now

How can I leave her?

Where would I start?

Let man's petty nations tear themselves apart

My land's only borders lie around my heart

Pick My New Phone! (Is There an App for That?)

Three months ago, I put it off. And I was prepared to put it off for another month. But the time has come to make a decision.

I'm due for an upgrade and I need a new smartphone.

Now, I am a Mac user, so one would think this is a decision easily made and acted upon. I should get an iPhone, right? Well, let me tell you, I would certainly like to have an iPhone. There are, however, a few issues. First, I am on Verizon. Why is that an issue? Uh, because I am unwilling to switch to AT&T. Sorry, folks, I'm actually happy with the service on Verizon. AT&T is by far the lesser network in my area and I kind of like a phone to, well, you know, make phone calls.

Second, it seems rather unlikely that Apple will strike a deal with Verizon. I was following the rumors, waiting and hoping for the iPhone to be available on my network. But I'm convinced it won't happen ... for quite a while.

Third, and possibly the biggest issue, I have been using Palm products for several years now. My current device is a Centro (I have been through the Palm V, Palm m500, Treo 650, Treo 700p). All my primary contacts -- and a host of other data in the form of memos, scheduling, etc. -- is in Palm's proprietary format. C'mon! Don't judge me! These Palm devices sync very well with the Mac platform, OK?

Here is my Centro!

Now, you may well ask, "Why do you need a new smartphone?" Great question! And the answer is ... I don't really need a new smartphone. But I am up for contract renewal, which means a discount on a new device, and I do want one. Or, rather, I want a phone that is better on the web than my Centro (that Blazer browser is so 2005).

So my question all of you (er, well, anyone reading my blog; so that's all two of you) is this:

What device should I get?

I'm serious. I need some help in choosing my new smartphone. And it will ideally have the following features:

• Sync well with Mac OS X
• Decent web browser
• Good audio quality
• Support for Twitter (preferably via Tweetdeck) and Facebook
• Full keyboard (virtual or practical, I'm not picky just yet)
• Video playback
• iTunes integration
• Ability to import my Palm data

I'm not really all that interested in BlackBerry devices, so I guess the choice is between Android and Palm. Or, maybe Palm is not really part of the discussion. The Palm Pre and Palm Pixi look good, but the new Web OS doesn't seem to support my old Palm data very well and syncing with Mac is an issue. Not that Android is much better in the Mac sync department. Bottom line: I'll have some serious adjustment no matter which direction I go. I just want to ensure I make the best choice given my criteria.

So, have at it! Make a pitch for which device I should get and why. I appreciate any and all help in this matter.

Which droid is the droid I'm looking for, Ben Kenobi?

Oh, look. Palm made phones for Weebles!

Happy Towel Day 2010!

It seems somehow fitting that my next post after writing Forty-Two is for Towel Day. May 25 is Towel Day, an annual celebration of the life and work of Douglas Adams, the man behind H2G2 (among other stories). You can get great background on the day and the man at http://towelday.org/ or scifimafia.com. Then surf over to asitecalledfred.com to read a lovely compilation of tributes. I should also point out that ThinkGeek is having a fun photo contest with cool geeky prizes -- just tweet a photo of yourself, with the #towelday tag, to @thinkgeek. By the by, today is also Geek Pride Day (in honor of the first Star Wars film, which was released on this day in 1977. The Daily Caller sums up the basic rights and responsibilities of geekdom. It's not the only place you'll find the writeup, but I happen to like their title for it. So, my hoopy froods, don't panic and always keep your towel handy. Who knows, maybe the Force will be with you as well.

Forty-Two

Forty-two (42), as I am sure many of you know, is the "the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything." This week, I shall turn 42. (In fact, I could very well be 42 by the time you read this. No matter, I tend to draw out the celebration of my Born On date even while I decline to provide the specific day). In recognition of this auspicious occasion, I will not have a party, nor will I seek presents. But I do have a request. If you choose to participate in celebrating my Born On date, I ask that you donate time or money to your favorite charity or not-for-profit organization. If you do not have a favorite, I happily suggest a few of my own (in addition to the causes listed in the right hand column):

• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society -- My father-in-law would have celebrated another birthday on Monday (4/26) -- if he had not succumbed to cancer in March 2005. My own father was diagnosed with a recurrence of Myelodysplasia syndrome (MDS) in November 2009. He is currently recuperating after a successful mini transplant. So, yeah, I'm all for funding cancer research and treatment.
• Cleveland Clinic -- My father had his bone marrow transplants performed here. They have an excellent medical staff and wonderful family support programs.
• Philabundance -- The Delaware Valley’s largest hunger relief organization. Working to end hunger and malnutrition since 1984.
• KidsPeace -- Top notch (and kind of local, for me) facility helping children and their families. Founded and headquartered in PA in 1882, they have services in "Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia."
• School of Sacred Ministries -- Independent divinity school that offers a 27-month program of spiritual training with ordination as an Interfaith Minister upon conclusion. I was ordained here, I continue to work with them, and they can always use money to continue their programs and further the cause of interfaith dialog.
• Montgomery Theater -- A small professional theater in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Montgomery Theater is my home-away-from-home. Like many not-for-profit enterprises operating in the arts, they are in a budget crunch. Donations can help pay actor salaries or utility bills, or keep the education programs running.

Thank you in advance!

30 days of Advocacy against Witch-Hunts in Africa

The South African Pagan Rights Alliance would like to request you to support an annual 30 day advocacy campaign against witch-hunts in Africa from March 29 through April 27, 2010. For more information on the campaign, a list of hunting incidents that have occurred just this year, and a collection of advocacy links, go to the Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=274505543709 Sign up, sign the petition, and spread the word.

In Memory of a Life, Five Years after Death

Note: Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of my father-in-law's passing (3-7-2005). On 3/8/2005, I wrote a blog entry to pay my (virtual) respects to the man (Death is the Opposite of Time). So, five years later, I repost that entire entry as a tribute to the man who raised my wife.

We give death metaphors. We cloak it in meaning and make up stories about what will happen to us, but we don't really know. When a person dies, we cannot see beyond the corpse. We speculate on reincarnation or talk in terms of eternity. But death is opaque to us, a mystery. In its realm, time ceases to have meaning. All laws of physics become irrelevant. Death is the opposite of time.

What dies? Is anything actually destroyed? Certainly not the body, which falls into its constituent parts of water and chemicals. That is mere transformation, not destruction. What of the mind? Does it cease to function, or does it make a transition to another existence? We don't know for sure, and few can come up with anything conclusive.

What dies? Nothing of the person dies in the sense that the constituent parts are totally blasted from all existence. What dies is merely the identity, the identification of a collection of parts that we call a person. Each one of us is a role, like some shaman wearing layers of robes with innumerable fetishes of meaning. Only the clothes and decoration fall. What dies is only our human meaning. There is still someone naked underneath. Once we understand who that someone is, death no longer bothers us. Nor does time.

-- Deng Ming-Dao (from 365 Tao: Daily Meditations)

"Death is the opposite of time." I came across Ming-Dao's words as my weekend meditation, just a day or two after I posted Metamorphose and Ego Death (A Beginning). I originally wanted to post the entire passage -- as well as my own commentary -- as a continuation of the thoughts I started in that February 15 post. And maybe I will do that on another day, a different day. Today, however, I post them simply because my wife just phoned to tell me that death has touched our family. Her father died last night, at 11:35pm. My wife drove to Bethlehem late last night. Mom had previously called to let us know that Dad had been taken to the hospital because of complications and intense pain. This was something of a surprise because he had been doing pretty well with his treatments. Within a matter of a few hours, Mom called again and told us that Dad was going "into the Intensive Care Unit and would be on life support." This call came at about 11pm last night. My wife packed, phoned her sister in CA to update her, and on the road to the hospital within 40-odd minutes. That means he was already gone before she even left our house. But she kind of had a feeling that this would be the case. Dad had cancer; diagnosed last year. There was a long process (too long in my opinion) to arrive at this conclusion, but it was not wholly unexpected. About seven years ago, he had had surgery to remove a small tumor (prostate? colon? memory is fuzzy right now). That surgery was successful -- well, he had some leg pain as a result of the procedures -- but as far as we knew, he was cancer-free. As far as anyone knew at that time, he was cancer free. And I say "at that time" not because I want to cast doubt on his doctor's handiwork, but because we really don't know how or when the "new" cancer started. Maybe his current condition resulted from some residual presence of that first tumor. Or perhaps he was simply primed because his body had already been compromised. Like I said, it's all speculation. But this time around, the diagnosis of last year, it was sarcoma. A tumor had developed in his abdomen, and had even grown some kind of "shield" of tissue around itself. And this tumor was fairly well advanced: it was into the blood vessels that ran down his right leg, and it had all but destroyed his right kidney's ureter. But even in the midst of this, there was also cause for hopefulness. Doctors know more about cancer now than they did a decade ago, and are learning more all the time. And there are more procedures, or combinations of therapies available. I won't go into the whole thing, but my father-in-law eventually was able to get scheduled for chemo treatments. And he seemed to be doing well. Of course, some days were better than others. And he was often fatigued as a result of the cancer and his treatments. But he was not confined to the hospital, or even his home. He came to our house to see the new concrete steps and walkway. We visited him -- in his house -- for a Superbowl party. And he was going out with his family every now and then. He even went to a basketball game this past weekend! My wife believes that he knew his time was coming. It's the little things that seem to confirm this. His desire to go out and see that Lehigh basketball game. His insistence that my mother-in-law access the lock-box, to be certain she had the will. The fact that his next chemo had not yet been scheduled. It's strange to think that he is no longer here. He was not a young man, but he was still vibrant in his own way. He had an immense curiosity about and interest in the world around him. Although he had a severe hearing problem, he was still a keen observer of human behavior, no doubt something he had honed as a psychologist and counselor. And he was my wife's financial advisor, taking a very active role in setting up and helping her maintain her retirement funds -- so much so that she has much more money socked away than I do, and my salary has always outpaced hers. The only closing I can think to write borrows from a message I penned in memory of a theater member who passed away over the weekend. It seems weird to be writing these messages so closely together, but I guess that is the way things go. And I don't think either man would mind the bit of shared material. I would like to think that if they met, they would get along famously. So here goes... My father-in-law has left this world and its cares behind. And while we do rejoice that he is free from the ravages of cancer, we acknowledge that his departure marks a time of sadness for those left behind. The tears we shed are shed for us alone, shed for those who loved the man and will miss him. The tears are not for him because this is not the end of his life. Death is the opposite of time, as I've already quoted Ming-Dao, and it is also the opposite of birth. But it is not the opposite of life. Birth and Death bookend a life as we know it here on earth. So his journey may have transitioned to a new stage, but it is only at the beginning of that stage. John Lennon once said, more or less, "I imagine that death is like getting out of one car and getting into another." Well, I hope there are many miles and plenty of great sights in my father-in-law's next vehicle. May we meet again someday and exchange stories of our adventures. Goodbye for now Dad ... I love you.

More Ways to Help Haiti

Anna Brones of the ElephantJournal [elephantjournal.com] has compiled a list of ways that people can reach out and help Haiti earthquake victims. Rather than copy the material and rob them of page views, here is the link to her post: Help Haiti: Ways You Can Help Via Organizations and Social Media

mGive Asks You to Text HAITI to 90999 to Give $10 to Red Cross

Details at their blog: mGive Asks You to Text HAITI to 90999 to Give $10 to Red Cross

RIP Brad Graham; and thanks for coining "blogosphere"

I had no idea a theater publicist had coined the term, "blogosphere." Nor did I know the man behind this term was himself a blogger who didn't even like the word "blog." Read Jeff Jarvis' piece (linked below), or wait till this evening when the audio is posted and listen to it. Too bad it is nearly as brief as Graham's own life (he died at age 41).

Brad L. Graham [Photo: St. Louis Today]

NPR: The Man Is Gone, But Long Live The Blogosphere by Jeff Jarvis January 6, 2010 Most bloggers I know don’t much like the word "blog", and they have even less affection for "blogosphere." Blech. Wikipedia says credit — or blame — for coining "blogosphere" goes to Brad Graham, a theater publicist and blogger in St. Louis who died this week at the age of 41. Look him up on Google and you’ll see: "Blogosphere" is his legacy. But thank goodness, Graham was joking when he first said it... [read more]

More on Brad Graham:

• Obit in St. Louis Today
• Remembering Our Friend Brad (MetaFilter)
• The BradLands (Brad Graham's blog)
• "Blogosphere" in Wikipedia

Brief Encounter, A Holiday Story [Redux]

Image ©Lindwa | Dreamstime.com
Christmas Lamppost Background Photo

On Christmas Eve of 2007, I posted a holiday story I had originally written in 1994. The story was my first experiment in 2nd person narration -- I really wanted you, the reader, to feel the story was directly happening to you.

The version that was posted in 2007, and reappears here, is almost exactly as I originally penned it. I hope all those who visit my humble blog will appreciate it on some level. It would be great if it helped rekindle your own joy for this season. Feel free to share the story as long as you respect my copyright. Merry Holy Days!

Brief Encounter 

Not even close. It’s December 13, almost 7pm, and you're not even close to getting done. But then, holiday preparations are never truly over, are they? The lights and the decorations. The tree, the trimmings. The food, the drink. And the gifts. Oh, Gods! the gifts... "If I bump into one more shopper or excited child, or if I have to speak to just one more merchant, I may..." But you never finish the thought. You let it go in favor of something more practical: "I have to get out of here." 

You make your way through the sea of patrons, dodging and weaving, participating in some complex and ultimately energy-sapping dance. It takes some effort to reach the main doors, but you smile with pride: Didn’t drop a single package. Exiting into the night, you feel a rush of crisp air hurry to your face. Snow tonight? Doubtful, but anything is possible. 

Anything, perhaps, save what happens next.