The Perfect Pair

Dorothy’s Idea of the Day:

I have a tip on what is sure to be the latest fashion trend: mismatched earrings.  They will be selling mismatched “pairs” in all the stores just as soon as the Christmas shopping season is into full swing. 

But, you can beat the rush by “pairing up” your own earrings. A long dangly one with a faux diamond stud; a bright and brassy earring with a genuine stone in a contrasting setting. The combinations are endless. 


And you don’t really have to buy new pairs. In fact, you can make your own pairs by breaking up the pairs you already own, or you can “match” the odd onesies you, like everyone else, have stashed here and there. You could start your holiday shopping early by “pairing" up some of those odd ones into clever combinations and assemble your own holiday presents.  


Another perfect opportunity this fashion trend delivers is for the ambivalent but fashion-conscious sports fan. You are rooting for one team, your spouse, best friend, or significant other is rooting for the opposition. Don a blue UK earring in the right ear, a red U of L earring in the left. You are set to go to any and all booster or tailgating events.  Just remember which side to turn to whom. Turn the other cheek and you will always be a winner.

If Todd Snider Were a Dog

Todd Snider is to musicians what the Irish setter is to dog breeds.  Fun and free wheeling.

Todd is someone you sort of feel at home with referring to by his first name. A gifted songwriter, unpretentiously funny story-teller, with apparently unlimited enthusiasm and energy.  He half-shuffled on stage at Kentucky Country Day School Saturday night, wearing a floppy hayseed hat, a dark vest over a denim-colored shirt, rolled up at the sleeves, and half-tucked into over-sized baggy blue jeans.  The jeans rolled up at his bare feet just enough that he wouldn’t trip over them.  If he tried for the laid-back look he put a lot of effort into his appearance. My guess is he just got dressed and turned out that way. 

Over the next two hours, Todd sang, played guitar, harmonica, and piano, told long, very funny stories, stirring wild enthusiasm from his followers and charming the rest of the audience.

Like Josh Ritter, another very gifted singer/songwriter, Snider appears to genuinely enjoy performing.  And that type of enjoyment is contagious.  From the raucous, good-humored “Beer Run” Todd had the audience singing along, hooting and hollering all the way to the “Conservative, Christian, and Right Wing Republican.”  Something a tad ironic, yet perfect about the entire audience at the upscale, private, suburban school joining in on the gentle yet counter-culture lyrics Todd wrote and sang. 

Todd claimed he was not trying to send a message but wrote the words he did because “they rhymed.”  Yeah, sort of like letting your Irish setters run through your well-appointed house because they matched the décor.  You have to love it.

"Big Head" and Skunks

“Big Head Todd and the Monsters” opened for John Hiatt at the Taft Theater in Cincinnati last night.  We had come for Hiatt, the man with the sweet voice and poetic songwriting talent who has penned such classics as “That Thing Called Love”, Crossing Muddy Waters”, “Riding with the King”, “Slow Turning”.  Well the list could go on and on.  As could the list of successful musicians who have covered Hiatt’s music.  But hearing the original songwriter is a real treat, especially such an energetic performer with such a beautiful voice.

However the real surprise was the opening act, “Big Head Todd.” and the crowd that came to see him and his band.  My husband tells me Todd does indeed have a big head.  I couldn’t tell.  A very enthusiastic crowd stood, or should I say danced, near their seats during most of their hour and a half performance and “Big Head’” music was very danceable, with a strong beat and good guitar work.  I remained sitting during most of the performance but could not keep my toes from tapping.

The really interesting part was the crowd, a few of whom overlapped for both musical groups, but most of whom obviously had come for one or the other performance.  Both crowds were baby boomers for the most part.  And both crowds were mostly clad in folk-concert attire—denims and t-shirts.  Most distinctive about select portions of the “Big Head” crowd were their odoriferousness, if there is such a word.  And that, unfortunately is not in a good way, at least to my sensibilities.  Such as the gentleman next to us in clean denim but reeking of body odor.  

Or the two youngish women who had taken great care with their sparkly denim duds and heaped on the musky scent.  When the two ladies entered the venue you could smell the musk from across the lobby.  I said a silent “thank you” to whatever gods may be, when I saw the “skunk goddesses headed for the front of the auditorium, far, far away from our z row seats.  Often I lament being seated in the rear of a large auditorium where viewing is difficult, particularly when the crowd mostly stands.   But not last night.

 I don’t know if Todd enjoys “eau de skunk” but having a back row seat at this concert, similar to a “Blue Man Group” or ballet performance where you see and smell the performers fluids, was a real benefit.

Lost iWay of Life

Many folks no doubt are mourning the passing of Steve Jobs, calling him a genius and wizard.  With his elegance and vision he may even have been the Da Vinci of our time.  Have you seen the Da Vinci exhibit with the clever folding bridges, sleek carts and amazing inventions?  He was more than an artist. Though for the artists in the crowd it may be a sacrilege to compare the iPhone to the Mona Lisa.  

Like millions of others, I have an iPhone and have had one for several years.  I bought mine for $200 with a two year contract with AT&T (full disclosure, AT&T is the company that gobbled up my previous employer, BellSouth, thus allowing me to take an early retirement and waste my time and yours with, among other ventures, my writing).  

Less than a month after I paid $200, a new iPhone was released.  One that did a lot more for the same price as the iPhone I had just bought.  And the iPhone I had just bought was then reduced to $100. Talk about losing value when you drive it off the lot.

Recently, I also bought the Air Mac computer.  It cost more than double what net books of its size cost (it weighs less than two pounds).  But it is elegant and accomplished and finally meshes perfectly with my iPhone, something my old PC would never do.

I have started keeping a list of writing ideas as well as a “To Do” list on my iPhone.  When I travel I use my iPhone as a GPS, an alarm, a camera, a flashlight, and for email and text messages.  I also now keep my calendar, my contact list and my photos on my iPhone.  And on occasion I actually use it to make phone calls. The last is the only thing it is not all that good at.  

Kind of scary: if I lost my iPhone I would be totally in the dark, literally and figuratively.

In a few days the new iPhone 4S, will be released.  although it does not look outwardly all that different than my old, old, iPhone, I understand from my brief research that it has many improved features, including accepting voice commands on a scale reminiscent of Hal, the murderous computer, in the sci-fi classic movie “2001, A Space Odyssey.”

Steve Jobs and Apple have helped to turn a certain segment of the population into all-consuming creatures with a need for the latest i-Invention.  The need to go out and buy the latest and greatest, even if what we have is still quite serviceable. 

With my ownership of two i-Devices I have to admit I have been hooked by the elegant design and utility Steve Jobs created.  As much as the astronauts in 2001 were dependent on Hal.  The iPhone has become a nearly indispensable tool, or should I say crutch, in my daily life. 

But despite that, or maybe because of the hassle of transferring data and learning the new twists, I am not ready to go upgrade my current iPhone (which has barely any memory remaining nor the new special features) for the latest improved iPhone 4-S.  Not to mention the $200 for something I already have that still works quite well.

I am left with a couple of questions:

1) Would Da Vinci still be as famous if he had not been satisfied with the Mona Lisa and in a few years was out peddling the mLisa4?

2) Is the next Steve Jobs at a university or perhaps still in diapers? 

I’m not worried; he or she is out there somewhere.

My Dog Is Smarter Than Me

Here it is a beautiful fall day, sunny with a light breeze and comfortable, only slightly-cool temperature.  About as perfect a day as you get in the Ohio River Valley, at least if you don’t count grass and ragweed pollen.  Of course, I do count those.  But Schatzie, the dog, does not. 

I sit at the computer, reading and writing, returning phone calls and emails, checking with a few friends on facebook. Hardly a substitute for real interaction.  At least a dog knows that.  He all buts gets his leash and puts it on me to take me out of the house, across the street to the park for a walk. 

The day is spectacular.  The interactions are impersonal but pleasant.  A nod and a smile to the two young women who have finished their tennis game.  A look at the woman dressed in dark, heavy clothes, more suited to another climate or several months later in the year.  She walks the path with her head buried in a hardback.  Well, that is another way to read and get a little fresh air.  Another couple of young people pass with their cell phones to their ears.  And an older couple head off briskly in the opposite direction on the path.  The woman in running shorts with a mechanical leg jutting out of the left side of her shorts opening. 

I pass some cars parked along the park road.  A match game.  Who drives the Toyotas?  Could be anyone.  The Chevy truck?  Maybe the tennis players.  They would look good in it.  The new Caddy with the fancy-schmantcy wheel covers?  I am guessing the white haired, athletic-looking man who alternates running and walking.  Or is that type casting?  I could sit on a bench and watch when they leave.

My dog may be smarter than me but he has not yet mastered an Obama-like “cool”.  The bull dog behind the iron fence bordering the park barks and snarls, trying in vain to chew his way out.  Apparently he has some unknown score to even with Schatzie.  Schatzie has avoided chasing the runners, approaching the tennis women whom he is curious about, or even barking at some earlier dogs.  But the bull dog is too much. The insults just must be returned in dog-land etiquette.

I think Schatzie is saying, as much for my benefit as his, “Hold me back.  I don’t want to have to go over there and teach him some manners.”  I hold him back.  One of the passing runners chuckles at the sight.  If I am going to teach Schatzie the art of the impersonal walk I suppose I need to get him a book or some headphones.

Feathered Entertainment

All during the summer drought birds paraded in front of our kitchen window.  Robins splashed as if the bird bath were their personal Saturday night tub. Delicate finches, gold, grey and scarlet, sipped delicately from the edge of the bath. Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal, he in bright crimson, she in grey with just a hint of scarlet, joined the drink fest outside our window. Mourning doves and robins took their turns.
An occasional blue jay swooped in, shushing all other birds from the bath.

No need for entertainment during breakfast, as the constant flurry of feathered activity outside our breakfast window provided endless entertainment.

Now the drought has ended. Water is plentiful and the birds no longer share our mornings. I'm tired of the rain.

Obama's On Right Track

Paul Krugman of the NY Times is right when he concurs with Obama's call for millionaires to pay a fairer share in taxes. Middle class Americans struggle to pay for housing, food, medical care and other necessities. Well educated young folks and baby-boomers nearing retirement age compete for the same low-paying jobs. Some of the unemployed have just given up hope.  Meanwhile luxury goods are the only items flying off the shelves.  As Krugman reports, income for the very rich rose 480% compared to 21% for middle income Americans between 1979 and 2005. All I can say is WOW!

Krugman is wrong when he says we don't have class warfare going on.  It's been ongoing ever since the Republicans last took the White House. George W. Bush took us into two wars, at least one on false pretenses, at the same time he cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans. He and irresponsible anti-government no-nothings eliminated the types of protections that keep our financial institutions in sound condition.

Obama took office with the horrendous mess left by his predecessor. He has made mistakes, primarily in  believing the opposition party would behave rationally and compromise in the best interest of the  greater good.

Our infrastructure is crumbling.  Look at  Kentuckians and Hoosiers who can't cross the Sherman Minton bridge on I-64. Two old bridges left to try to handle traffic that was outstripping all three. And that is just one of many examples you could consider. We need more government spending on some of these public structures and services  rich and poor alike use.

About time someone considered the greater good and looked out for a class other than just those with millions to hire high-priced lawyers and lobbyists already fighting in this class war. 

Let's cheer for Obama asking millionaires to pay a little bit closer to their fair share in taxes.  Maybe we could even have another bridge to cross the Ohio River,