Robert Brooks
Robert Brooks
Robert Brooks died in Sunday at his home in South Carolina of natural causes. He was 69. As Chairman of Hooters, Brooks deserves to be remembered, fondly by me at least, for bringing the Hooters restaurants to America and the world. While scantily clad women will not bring about world peace, the Hooters restaurants certainly have been great places to contemplate truth, justice, and the American way of life.
Anyone who believes that “good food, cold beer, and pretty women will never go out of style” certainly knows what he is doing.
The Courtyard
It has been hot at the beach lately.
Ok, maybe hot is not the proper word. It has been hot for the beach at this time of the year. I think it was up to 83-85F / 28-29C over the weekend and in to today as well. This heat has reduced the number of smokers in the courtyard. Some of the coz class girls, since they wear all black, are probably staying inside in the air conditioned parts of the building and not going outside.
I suppose when the temperature cools off some what the smokers will be back out in the courtyard like usual.
On the plus side, I think I got more accomplished today. Perhaps, this was a direct result of not spending as much time looking out at the smokers or having them noisily converse on the bench outside of my office.
Cracked Tree in the Park
When I got home from work today, I noticed there was a city worker, perhaps, out in the park where the tree with the cracked limb was. The limb has fallen from the trunk finally or maybe someone helped it along.
The worker was walking around the tree, looking at it and scratching his head.
I can imagine what he was thinking as he was walking around. “Man, this is sure is a tree with a cracked limb; no doubt about it…Crud, it is going to be one butt ugly job of cutting this tree down because we can’t bring our trucks anywhere near the tree…I am going to have to cut it up into little pieces and then carry the little pieces out to the trucks by hand; that is going to take a long time…Man, what did I do to deserve this crummy job?...Maybe I’ll call in sick that day and let that idiot boss of mine handle this piece of crap job.”
Of course, the larger question is still unanswered and that was whether the cracked limb was just a consequence of old age and the weight of the limb being too much for the tree to support. The alternative hypothesis is the tree was infected with an insect or disease and that weakened the tree and has the spread of whatever damaged the tree been contained or not.
Personally, I am going with the infected tree hypothesis.
Hopefully, the chain saw gods will be with me and the cutting work and the attendant noise will be completed while I am away in the office at work.
Komyo Ga Tsuji Samurai Drama
I was watching the samurai drama on Saturday night instead of writing the dissertation or indulging myself in idle chit chat and banter on MSN Messenger or Yahoo Messenger.
The drama is historically based on Japan’s warring era. Right now, the time line is about ten or fifteen or so years before the rise of the great Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan, peacefully for the most part, for almost 270 years.
Lord Nobunaga, a daimyo [major feudal lord] was assassinated by one of his senior vassals. This was more like a scene from JULIUS CAESAR where he was slain by the noble Brutus “to save Rome.”
There was a striking similarity between the two characters. Both wanted to become the absolute rulers of their country for a variety reasons. Of course, this being a samurai drama, there had to be a battle with countless bodies from both sides all over the place when the assassination took place.
Just as in JULUIS CAESAR, the remaining vassals and friends of the assassinated lord launched a war against the assassin and his army. Unfortunately, there was no nifty funeral oration by a Mark Anthony character in my samurai drama because Lord Nobunaga was not a very likable lord; he saw himself as a good and the ruthless killing of innocents and noncombatants will tend to reduce one’s good image.
Lord Oda Hideyoshi, as the leading general in the war against the assassin, is about to become the shogun or probably will in the next few episodes. I find it interesting to see that he was careful with his soldiers and tried to avoid high casualties in battle now but when he becomes Shogun he thinks nothing of sending an army of over 100,000 to invade and lay waste to Korea.
Maybe this is one reason why the Koreans do not care too much for the Japanese.
If I mixed up the plot, then maybe the cheesy translations are to blame for misleading me.
On Sunday, I fired up the DVD player and tossed in Kurosawa’s samurai classic KAGEMUSHA for another viewing because it is set in the same time. After watching the film again on Sunday, I think I have a slightly better understanding of Japan and the period.
Be well and stay happy.
Robert Brooks died in Sunday at his home in South Carolina of natural causes. He was 69. As Chairman of Hooters, Brooks deserves to be remembered, fondly by me at least, for bringing the Hooters restaurants to America and the world. While scantily clad women will not bring about world peace, the Hooters restaurants certainly have been great places to contemplate truth, justice, and the American way of life.
Anyone who believes that “good food, cold beer, and pretty women will never go out of style” certainly knows what he is doing.
The Courtyard
It has been hot at the beach lately.
Ok, maybe hot is not the proper word. It has been hot for the beach at this time of the year. I think it was up to 83-85F / 28-29C over the weekend and in to today as well. This heat has reduced the number of smokers in the courtyard. Some of the coz class girls, since they wear all black, are probably staying inside in the air conditioned parts of the building and not going outside.
I suppose when the temperature cools off some what the smokers will be back out in the courtyard like usual.
On the plus side, I think I got more accomplished today. Perhaps, this was a direct result of not spending as much time looking out at the smokers or having them noisily converse on the bench outside of my office.
Cracked Tree in the Park
When I got home from work today, I noticed there was a city worker, perhaps, out in the park where the tree with the cracked limb was. The limb has fallen from the trunk finally or maybe someone helped it along.
The worker was walking around the tree, looking at it and scratching his head.
I can imagine what he was thinking as he was walking around. “Man, this is sure is a tree with a cracked limb; no doubt about it…Crud, it is going to be one butt ugly job of cutting this tree down because we can’t bring our trucks anywhere near the tree…I am going to have to cut it up into little pieces and then carry the little pieces out to the trucks by hand; that is going to take a long time…Man, what did I do to deserve this crummy job?...Maybe I’ll call in sick that day and let that idiot boss of mine handle this piece of crap job.”
Of course, the larger question is still unanswered and that was whether the cracked limb was just a consequence of old age and the weight of the limb being too much for the tree to support. The alternative hypothesis is the tree was infected with an insect or disease and that weakened the tree and has the spread of whatever damaged the tree been contained or not.
Personally, I am going with the infected tree hypothesis.
Hopefully, the chain saw gods will be with me and the cutting work and the attendant noise will be completed while I am away in the office at work.
Komyo Ga Tsuji Samurai Drama
I was watching the samurai drama on Saturday night instead of writing the dissertation or indulging myself in idle chit chat and banter on MSN Messenger or Yahoo Messenger.
The drama is historically based on Japan’s warring era. Right now, the time line is about ten or fifteen or so years before the rise of the great Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan, peacefully for the most part, for almost 270 years.
Lord Nobunaga, a daimyo [major feudal lord] was assassinated by one of his senior vassals. This was more like a scene from JULIUS CAESAR where he was slain by the noble Brutus “to save Rome.”
There was a striking similarity between the two characters. Both wanted to become the absolute rulers of their country for a variety reasons. Of course, this being a samurai drama, there had to be a battle with countless bodies from both sides all over the place when the assassination took place.
Just as in JULUIS CAESAR, the remaining vassals and friends of the assassinated lord launched a war against the assassin and his army. Unfortunately, there was no nifty funeral oration by a Mark Anthony character in my samurai drama because Lord Nobunaga was not a very likable lord; he saw himself as a good and the ruthless killing of innocents and noncombatants will tend to reduce one’s good image.
Lord Oda Hideyoshi, as the leading general in the war against the assassin, is about to become the shogun or probably will in the next few episodes. I find it interesting to see that he was careful with his soldiers and tried to avoid high casualties in battle now but when he becomes Shogun he thinks nothing of sending an army of over 100,000 to invade and lay waste to Korea.
Maybe this is one reason why the Koreans do not care too much for the Japanese.
If I mixed up the plot, then maybe the cheesy translations are to blame for misleading me.
On Sunday, I fired up the DVD player and tossed in Kurosawa’s samurai classic KAGEMUSHA for another viewing because it is set in the same time. After watching the film again on Sunday, I think I have a slightly better understanding of Japan and the period.
Be well and stay happy.
posted by Chuck Reinhardt at 4:52 PM
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