And again, the fates point three of their fatal fickle fingers. Fatal fickle finger #1. On this date in 1900, Giacomo Puccini had the first performance of Tosca. I cruised by some of the blogs I like and Fatal fickle finger #2. Hawk ( http://isntlifestrange.blogstream.com/) had some videos of his kind of music – heavy metal noise . Also Fatal fickle finger #3. Johnny (http://annoiato.blogstream.com/) with his - some good Zappa. So thought I ought to put up some of mine.

Puccini and Tosca. Great music and great characters. There is no villian as evil as Scarpia. Sacrifice for freedom from oppression. Sacrifice for love. What more can you ask.

There is a fascinating exchange of views on Whit's Whittlings (http://bushsyndrome.blogstream.com/) about Hillary's tears. The delightfully long series of comments hit on a bunch of points. One of them is spin and the honesty of candidates. And the question that crossed my fertile brain, is spin lying?

The honor code is important to me. (See my entries for 9 June, 2007, 10 May, 2007, 4 May, 2007, 3 October, 2006). “I will not lie not cheat nor steal nor tolerate those that do.”

What is a lie? A couple of relatives who are pharmacists recently were discussing some people who come to their pharmacy. These folks invariably say that their prescription is several pills short. Or falsify purchases so they can get discounts for how much they spend. The whole family does it, father, mother, grown children. Detestable lower than slime sort of folks. The financial gain to them is not worth much. But the “getting the better of” someone or some organization, power, is a strong drive. This is definitely dishonest.

How about leaving out some information? Is that lying? I am not going to admit how many times I went to the crapper yesterday. That is not lying by any defintion. If I sell the Grand Marquis, to a neighbor or a dealer, and forget to tell the that the old girl consumes as much oil as gasoline, that is different. Intent to deceive.

Now, where does “spin” fall in this spectrum? Spectrum? Lying is like being pregnant. You either are or you are not. There should not be any degrees. Spin, according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_%28public_relations%29) is “a pejorative term signifying a heavily biased portrayal in one's own favor of an event or situation. While traditional public relations may also rely on creative presentation of the facts, "spin" often, though not always, implies disingenuous, deceptive and/or highly manipulative tactics”. I definitely perceive an intent to deceive. I before e except in perceive and deceive.

Did Hillary intend to deceive with those tears. Could be but I doubt it. She was tired and under tremendous stress. She cries and I attack. But within a couple of seconds, she put the correct “spin” on it. As did the rest of the candidates.

Those old saws like “How do you know when a politician is lying? His mouth moves.” and Will Rogers' statement that Congress' greatest contirbution is that it gets the five hundred biggest liars in the country and puts them all in one place, are they exaggerations? In order to get elected in the U.S. of A. these days, the candidates have to have a “win at any cost” battle, often centered on money. “Win at any cost” sounds a lot like “the end jusitifes the means”. And I remember that one from back in the days when it was attributed to Adolph Hitler.

We breed sports figures to be violent and then wonder why they are. We breed politicians to lie and then wonder why they do.

The Presidential campaigns so much in the news caused me to pause and reflect. A mirror is not needed to do this. A number of years ago, a lot of years ago, an epiphany came to me and I embraced it. Use your own imagination, no X rated descriptions, please. It was when, as a citizen with a clean record, I turned thirty-five. That means that I coulda been President! Senator McCain is my age and a Naval Academy classmate ('58 is Great). Pricked my memory. Once again, no X rated descriptions, please. English is a great language, isn't it.

Should one reach thirty five and feel himself (again) less than a success because he/she is not The President? It definitely is not for me, both in desire and ability. This has not kept me awake at night.

But what is the definition of success? Google definitions say: “an event that accomplishes its intended purpose; an attainment that is successful; a state of prosperity or fame; achiever: a person with a record of successes.” That does not really help a lot. Maybe each of us need to define it for ourselves..

Money and power - “prosperity and fame” - are probably part of most folkses definition. That pretty much leaves me out. Money would be nice but power does not really interest. Definitely not a success in this field.

Contribution to the community, to mankind, is one of the first things that comes to my mind. Rationalization, perhaps. Could have done a lot more in this area but as a teacher and tutor, did make and am making a decent contribution. It brings to mind a story I heard somewhere (another epiphany). A long line before St. Peter. Pete asks Bob, the guy at the head of the line, why he should go in. Bob responds that he is a famous doctor who has saved thousands of lives. Pete asks him how much he made last year. After the Bob's astonishing figure, Pete says “You have reaped your reward. Mikey, put Bob on the down elevator.” The next in line is a school teacher, Chuck. Chuck knows he is in. Pete asks him why. Chuck tells how he has helped thousands of young lives. Pete asks if Chuck's students have appreciated his help. Chuck shows him a long file of glowing letters. Once again, Pete says “You have reaped your reward. Mikey, put Chuck on the down elevator.” At least, it puts a teacher's success on the same level as a money manager.

And a contribution to evolution? There I hit the jackpot. My offspring are certainly a step up the ladder. Worked hard at being a good husband, a good father, great genes. Maybe I am a success after all.

Happy New Year everyone.

It is a little late for New Year's greetings. But I have an excuse, driving all the way around Virginia - Eastern Shore to Norfolk to Lynchburg to Front Royal to D.C to Arlington to the Eastern Shore - to see the kids and the grandkids. Lots more miles on the old Grand Marquis.

My favorite New Year scene is from one of my favorite musicals, Show Boat. So many beautiful songs in it. In this scene Captain Andy goes to a New Year's party and shouts "Hap---py New Year". He also finds his long-lost daughter, Magnolia, singing there. She is ovewhelmed by the crowd until Captain Andy stands up and tells her "Sing it, Nolie".

This 1936 version with Irene Dunne was the only one I could find. Very good but I prefer the 1951 one with Kathryn Grayson and Joe E. Brown.