SWITZERLAND FORUM

[cklaurence]

I remember when cataract surgery was a major deal, Em. People didn't have it in the a.m. and blog in the p.m. (Well, they didn't even know the word 'blog,' but you know what I mean . I'm glad to see you here and hope you heal quickly and can have the other eye taken care of without problems.
We're having our first cold weather of the season today. It never left the fifties today (so rare here!) and is already dropping into the forties. They say it should go to forty. We may even take out our space heater--so exciting! It is supposed to stay relatively cool (sixties and seventies during the day, fifties/sixties and maybe into the forties a couple of times) for the next couple of weeks. That is such a rarity here. We get one or two maybe days of a chill, but it never drags on for a week or two. What does this mean to me? It means I'm going to have a helluva mango crop this year! Last year we had no cold days and for the first time in decades we had practically no mangoes. My tree is one of the most bountiful ever, so it was a big disappointment to many families in the neighborhood. I'm thinking this year, barring an unforeseen disaster, no one will be disappointed. I also enjoy the cold weather and welcome it. Oddly enough, I feel better in the cold. Most older people prefer the heat; however, this old broad much prefers the cold weather. Throw on a jacket when I go out and everything is wonderful. How's your weather?

[Emeritus]

Our weather is much like yours, ck. However, we usually have it get down to freezing one or two nights per year. So far our coldest this year was 37 degrees. We often has the same problem with fruit trees: we don't have enough cold days for the blooms to "set." They will put on a lot of fruit, but it will all fall off prematurely. I enjoy cool, but not cold weather. I'm comfortable in sweaters.

[cklaurence]

We haven't gone below the 40s in a long, long time, and the 40s are a rarity here as well. We did, however, make it into the 40s last night. When I woke up this a.m., the temp in our bedroom was in the fifties and I broke down and turned on our little space heater because these old art deco homes hold in the cold like refrigerators. It just now got up to 65 and I turned it off. It's in the 60s outside as well and only supposed to just dip below fifty tonight, but stay coolish for the next couple of weeks (if we can believe the National Weather Service, which is usually dead wrong, lol).
Are you getting ready for the playoffs? I will be rooting against your Texans (for their best interests), as I will the Giants. It's a must if you are to survive, you know. I'd love to see some big surprises this year. I'm so sick of the same old same old!
Meanwhile, day by day our Dolphin news gets more and more dismal. Ross was interviewing Jeff Fisher for the head coaching job yesterday and one of his old buddies, Carl Peterson (washed up from Kansas City a couple of years ago and rumored to become Ireland's replacement) was with him for the interview. Lord knows what is to become of my poor team...

[Emeritus]

It's much the same here. We had high of 73 degrees yesterday, but it is supposed to be in the 60s the rest of the week. We have had beautiful clear days with skies that are a deeper blue than in the summer.

[cklaurence]

We're going up to the 70s today already, but the low humidity will continue and that's always a blessing here in Miami/Miami Beach.
I'm already having football withdrawal. Actually, it started in the 6th or 7th game of the season for me, but now that they've started the so-called coaching search here, it's really depressing. Jeff Fisher is the highest profile coach they can come up with; then there's the Fisher/Ireland GM competition going on--frying pan to fire. There seems to be no way out of this mess we're facing in Fin Football..

[Emeritus]

I feel for you ck. I'm highly pleased with our owner (who is very low-profile), GM, head coach and defensive coordinator. All the Texans need is to keep some people healthy. A season when you lose not only your starters, but their backups is tough. The Texans were very lucky to make the playoffs in spite of everything.

[cklaurence]

The whole reason your team has come through despite your losses is your owner. He makes the right choices and then they make the right choices. That's what it's all about. They are already mocking (thankfully) Ross' "star search." His 'big' name--first on the list, Jeff Fisher. They were calling him Sparano with a mustache in the news. The whole mess with his buddy Peterson and Ireland making individual head coaching searches and supposed whichever's coach is picked will be the GM. Ridiculousness? I surely think so, considering neither of them are worth a damn, and neither of them are bringing in first tier coaching prospects. We are doomed...

[Emeritus]

Hey, we just won our first playoff game. Unfortunately we have to go to Baltimore next week and we couldn't beat them with Schaub playing.

[cklaurence]

Sorry, Em--NO NEGATIVITY accepted here in Switzerland! I expect you to be positive about the Texans. Right now you are the only Swiss family member that has a team in the play-offs and I want to see you being positive about your good fortune. I am so happy for you, and I am going to root hard against you to help see that you keep moving forward as we move toward the Super Bowl. Chin up, good sir...

[Emeritus]

Actually, I'm thrilled to death. Making the playoffs was my goal for the year and winning a playoff game was just lagniappe. I'm going to start referring to the Cowboys as "that other Texas team."

[cklaurence]

Now that's what I like to hear, Em! Keep your spirits up and keep feeling good about your Texans. Be happy you're team isn't the Giants facing Packers next week in in Green Bay. Or the totally banged up Steelers facing Denver at Mile High tonight. Man, that's just awful, and me hating Denver as I do. This is really painful for me. I don't think I'll be able to watch it much longer and listen to them fawn over that damned Tebow any longer. I cannot stand the little jerk...

[cklaurence]

Whoa, that Pittsburgh/Denver game was painful for me last night. I know that Tebow is eventually going to crash and burn, I just wish it would be sooner than later. I really, really, really can't stand him, and more than that, I hate the way the commentators gush on every time he does something right. It's simply nauseating. Worse than the Romo thing used to be! And those stinking referee calls that simply change the game's direction. It's enough to turn me off of football completely!

[Emeritus]

I have nothing against Tebow personally. I am absolutely turned off by the treatment that he has received from the media, which is hardly his fault. I quit watching the football talk shows on television because I got sick of hearing about him. A large portion of every show was devoted to rehashing every detail about him. They even showed his baby pictures! He has never shown me any indication that he has sought that much attention, but it has understandably made a lot of people dislike him.

[cklaurence]

Well, Em--dropping to your knees and spending large amounts of time praying on the field would tend to bring extra attention to a player, wouldn't you think? As an atheist, I am especially turned off at his displays, but I am sure the large Christian population in this Country enjoys it and the talking heads seem to be very taken with him. I find his play extraordinarily unstable from one week to the next, and man of the wins he has been given credit for were not really 'his,' but his teammates, and in some cases, the buckling of the opposing teams. Last night, there were two (specific) calls by referees that stole touchdowns from Pittsburgh and IMO changed the momentum and direction of the game completely. Tebow did his part, yes, but did Pittsburgh get "Tebowed?' I sincerely doubt it. The whole "Tebowed" thing simply turns my stomach. I can't help it, and the more they deify him, the more aggravated I get...

[Emeritus]

I have no objection to anybody praying. I do object to the camera being on Tebow every time that he does it. The media is there to cover the game, not what somebody does on the sidelines. My problem is with the media, not Tebow. As a friend, I suggest that you examine why your reaction to it is so strong. It's not a good ideal to let other people's behavior spoil your day.

[cklaurence]

I just don't believe that religion has any place in government or football, Em. I'm an atheist, as everyone knows, because, among other things, I believe religion has been one of the causes of all of the wars since the beginning of time. Religion and politics. If you want to discuss it in a forum where people are there to discuss it, cool, why not? I just cringe when I am exposed to the verses painted all over a player's face--yeah, sure, if it makes him feel good, do it, but as you say, the media need not focus on it and force me to view it throughout the games. The incessant dropping to the ground and fervently praying throughout the game also need not be showcased either. It is an unnecessary distraction. Football is what I'm there to watch, and if there's a player I particularly like, I'll decide who and follow him if I choose. I don't like having any one player shoved down my throat by the media, and especially because of their praying prowess!

You are an unusual person in that you are able to turn the other cheek and accept people for who and what they are in most every case. I've rarely over the years I've known you through Faux and Switzerland seen you lose your cool (except once, I think over me, naturally--badmouthing Coach Landry--which I have subsequently been extremely careful never to do again ). I am probably your evil twin and can rarely ignore red flags flown in my face and Tebow is one of those flags. Oh, and yes, that pro-life ad in the Super Bowl last year was like huge fingernails being dragged across the world's largest chalk board, for sure--and it was surely a way for him to call attention to the great up and coming Tebow for the NFL. I don't think for one moment that he isn't aware that his blatant displays of prayer are getting him these huge displays of attention. You can't be so naive, Em, as to believe that he's THAT naive as to be unaware of what is going on in the media, can you? I think he's loving every second of the attention! He's basking in it and what is it that they call it, the 'Q' score? I fully believe that he's praying hard that his Q score keeps going up and up and up every time he drops to his knees.

Yes, the media is a big part of it as well because they dive right into it and feature him as though he's a direct representative of God. It is beyond ridiculous already. At the beginning of the season it was all about Romo, but Tebow quickly took the forefront. No one player should be the focus of the media. It should be about all the players and all the teams. If they really want to focus on something, perhaps they ought to focus on the ridiculously horrible refereeing that's been going on this year, even on replay. Totally game changing errors game after game, week after week. Time to get real and deal with the real problems...

[Emeritus]

I certainly agree with you about the inappropriate focus of the media. When I watch a football show, I expect it to be about football. It irks me that the focus is always on personalities. Romo is so last year, this year it is Tebow and next year it will be somebody else. I'm not sure why they can't give it a rest. Is it because it is easier than delivering real reporting? I have an aversion to personalities in general. I really don't care to hear at what time Paris Hilton brushed her teeth this morning. The tweeting phenomenon is the ultimate example of being deluged with the trivial details of people's lives. We are a nation of narcissists.

[cklaurence]

Agreed! In addition, the 24 hour news phenomenon is killing us. Each station has its own agenda and has 24 hours a day, days a week to bang it into its audience, which devoutly carries the word as though it is gospel. Some scary world this is with our 'fair and balanced' media passing the news along with its own special slant and people believing it without hesitation. I have my doubts about whether 'progress' is the right word for it...

[Emeritus]

Sadly, I'm afraid that the media are providing what the public seems to want. Every time that I go on a forum all that I see are people parroting what they heard on talk radio or on television. I suppose that it is because some people find that easier than thinking. I wondered for years why people listened to and believed that fatuous Rush Limbaugh, because he offers proposals that any examination reveal to be unworkable. The problem is that it is difficult to find solutions that meet the needs of the disparate groups in our country. Too many people refuse to think through complex solutions and prefer simple solutions, even if they don't work. That is what Limbaugh offers them. He knows his audience. Of course the simplest solution of all is to blame "the other guys" and he does so constantly. I don't hate anybody, but I wouldn't miss Russ at all.

[cklaurence]

In my old age I'm learning not to hate, Em--wastes far too much energy and does me no good in the long run; yet I can't help having very strong feelings against these commentators that preach so much vitriol. All I can do about our nation of sheep, the masses that keep nodding and passing "the word" as though all that the Rush Limbaughs of the world preach is gospel, is shake my head in shame. The future looks mighty dim, and although my life is in the so-called 'twilight,' my heart breaks for the world my children (and theirs, should they decide to have) face...

[cklaurence]

Anyone home?

[Emeritus]

Sorry for the absence, ck. I'm been busy rounding up a group to go to Houston tomorrow to see the King Tut exhibit. I haven't even had a chance to check my e-mail. BBL.

[cklaurence]

Cool, Em. I didn't even realize the King Tut exhibit was still making the rounds. I've never seen it--has to be amazing. Enjoy!!

[Emeritus]

Wow, King Tut had a lot of stuff! I'm a minimalist. If I buy a shirt, I give one away. If I have something that I haven't used in the past year, I give it away. There were photos of the way that all of the articles were found and it looked like a rat's nest. Have you ever seen "Buried Alive", the program about compulsive savers? That's what it looked like. I might have kept all of the gold, though.

[cklaurence]

And they say "You can't take it with you!" Imagine that, Em. Just having all your wealth buried with you, not leaving it for your family and/or friends to enjoy. On the other hand, was there so much that they buried all that with him and still had that much again handed out to the living? Did they explain any of that at the exhibition?

[Emeritus]

They did explain that it was about the only tomb that wasn't looted, because it got covered up with rubble when another tomb was destroyed. Most of the tombs were looted by the very people who help build them, or the priests, so everything got recycled. There were attempts to destroy all records that he ever existed. They believed that your afterlife lasted only as long as you were remembered by the living, so they tried to end his afterlife. I find it ironic that he is probably the best-known of pharaohs to the general public, although he was a very minor ruler.

[cklaurence]

Thoroughly amazing, don't you think? Despite everything, we seem to have such great knowledge about that era. There's something to be said for geology and whatever other studies that go back and piece together history. Imagine. Trying to destroy any knowledge of what has been. Terribly sad.

Are you getting excited about this weekend? I know you must be! We Dolfans are sitting through this farce where Jeff Fisher (as though he's someone who really is a top tier head coaching catch) is holding Ross hostage while he 'decides' where he wants to go. Honestly, Em--I should be immune to this stuff from Ross, but I keep hoping he's going to do something smart at some point. I've given up. So many of the people we've had around us since JRS opened have dropped their tickets, and it is really tempting to do the same--I just can't bring myself to do it. Now that Fisher is his top choice, should he decide to honor Ross by taking the job, I know many more who will be dropping their seats as well. As for the alternatives he has interviewed--well, the stadium will be empty, empty, empty. It's a crying shame!

[Emeritus]

I assume that you are aware by now that Fisher has chosen the Rams job, even though they have less talent. There he will be able to name his own general manager and won't have to worry about Ireland stabbing him in the back. Frankly, of all the available coaches that I'm familiar with, he was about the best. There may be some assistants that would make great head coaches, but I don't know about them.

[cklaurence]

You know what, Em? I wasn't crazy about him, and after the 2-week game he played between the Rams and Fins, making Ross (once again) look like the idiot he is, I'm perfectly fine with him going to the Rams. Fisher had six play-off season in seventeen seasons with the Titans. That's not such an ai-yi-yi record by my way of thinking. I would just as soon, at this point,m take a chance with one of the offensive or defensive coordinators of top teams available. Problem is, I don't trust Ireland and Ross to be the ones choosing them...

[Emeritus]

The Texans fans just got some good news. Wade Phillips said that he loves it in Houston and is delighted at the response of the players and said that he will not accept the offers to interview for head coaching jobs. The difference that he had made in the Houston defense has been absolutely amazing!