Auld Lang Syne

As Sally said, maybe it just means thanks for old friends. On this New Year's Eve, L.O. would like to take a moment to express Auld Lang Syne to L.O.'s friends and compatriots. May the New Year bring blessings and good health, and may this New Year 2005 pass without receding hairlines or expanding waistlines.

2004 was a difficult year. It was, above all, a transition year. Sadness and confusion at the continued passing of the old order all of us have been used to, and hope and trepidation at the thought of new beginnings characterized this year more than most. 2004 can be said to leave its account with us as mixed. And yet, as long as all of us have some semblance of health and have at least one or two loved ones to cherish and feel close to, the year can be said to be successful.

The year 2005 will probably be difficult as well. 2005 is a year that cannot be wasted. Much has to be done. The work remains and the work begins.

L.O. encourages readers to examine those that have passed on this year by visiting wordcampaign.blogspot.com. But L.O. cautions them by stating that he is not to be trusted on matters regarding the Yankees--as his words are tainted by bitterness. Even his statistics, to paraphrase John Milton, take on the metallic taste of poisonous bile. L.O. adds one more name to the list of the dead: legendary curmudgeon and musician Artie Shaw. Shaw was a clarinet player of masterful skill for twenty five years and a cranky bastard for the next 50. But why did the CDM have to take him at the end of the year? To taunt us? Damn you, CDM!!!

Best wishes for the New Year. See you all in 2005.

Chung Chung

Loyal notes with some sadness the latest victim of the Celebrity Death Machine: Jerry Orbach, or, Detective Lenny Briscoe, on Law and Order. Lenny, we will miss your perfectly timed wisecracks upon discovering a murdered suspect. Jerry was a very talented singer as well---having been in the original production of "Chicago". Chung-chung, another great who passed in 2004.

2004 really was a banner year for the CDM. 2005 must scare the bejeezus out of Abe Vigoda.

In other news, L.O. successfully undertook a recording project on Sunday and Monday night. An album of saloon songs. It's very depressing.

Nobody asked, but.....

Billy Joel is the most sing-a-long-able pop songwriter ever.

Yonah Schimmel's Knishes are worth braving wind and rain storms and the traffic on Houston Street. They satiate the stomach and soothe the soul.

In L.O.'s mind there is no greater Cathedral than the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo in Florence. It is a mix of the grand and the crass, the sublime and the debased, the pursuit of holy salvation and the pursuit of earthly power. Michelangelo both gave the Medicis their money's worth and surreptiously stuck out his tongue at them for all posterity to see.

Simple declarative sentences are fun to write.

The dusky light on a winter afternoon on a clear-skied day out in the fields and forests are worth the chapped lips.

Don Mattingly is a noble, tragic figure worthy of affection and respect.

The movie Avalon is sentimental bosh and L.O. loves it.

Read The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast consecutively and you'll understand all that there is to know about living and writing.

Kurt Weill's "My Ship" is a great song.

Television and Video Games have bred a generation of sociopaths incapable of empathy.

People who call Frank Sinatra a crooner deserve nothing but contempt.

Blogposts from the Edge

Who will save the River Valley?
That's my drinking water.
This was once a sacred place
Now look at what we've got here.

------apologies to Moxy Fruvous, "River Valley"


Who will save the River Valley? Nobody, that's who.

Lovely Weather For A Sleigh Ride

Loyal Opposition is back. Rested, ready, and raring to make up for L.O.'s unaccountable but necessary absence. And what has transpired in L.O.'s absence?

Further evidence of the incompetence, greed, and obtuseness of the Bush administration. And Christmas shopping.

Loyal Opposition loves Christmas. Christmas is a time for getting together with friends and family and enjoying tasty treats, as well as exchanging presents.

It is also a time to commemorate the observed birthdate of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Christmas is for those who believe in God and Jesus. Everyone else has to suck on it.

Xmas, on the other hand, is for everyone.

So here's the checklist for the presents some of L.O.'s Friends In Washington will receive this year:

Bernie Kerik: An offer, once he shaves the mustache, of a role in the New Three Stooges as Curly.

Donald Rumsfeld: The best present of all. Forgiveness. And the head of that damn soldier.

Soldiers in Iraq: IOUs for body armor.

Dick Cheney: New shoes. And a brand new administration and Congressional makeup to play Grandmaster Chess with.

George W. Bush: Oh, come on, like it isn't Christmas every day for this guy already. The preview for this year's State of The Union Address: cowboy boots and swinging doors in Congress. 'Nuff said.

Laura Bush: Valium and Paxil. In bulk.

John Kerry: 57 million apologies.

John Ashcroft: Why, the Chief Justice slot, of course!

Loyal is disgusted with all these people, except for our soldiers and John Kerry.

It's Disneyland every single day. There's so much cognitive dissonance, taking LSD might actually HELP. So enjoy the sleigh ride down the hill as much as you can---but remember, walking back up is the hardest part.

Pish Tosh and Nonsense

Loyal Opposition thinks its absolute nonsense for Howard Dean to be running for DNC. Firstly, TPTB in the Party would never allow it. Secondly, Dean and his crazy but brilliant ideas about reforming the party will never be effective from the inside of the establishment. Better to establish a think tank and amass a fundraising structure, and force the change from the outside then to battle from the inside. It will be interesting to see how this plays out---and an even more interesting question is: aside from fundraising, is the Party Chair even that important of a position anymore?

Run Eliot Run

Eliot Spitzer announced his candidacy for Governor yesterday and Loyal Opposition couldn't be happier. After the funereal candidacy of party hack H. Carl McCall, the Democrats will have a charismatic, popular, and tough candidate to field against the Great Soft-Spoken Mediocrity that is George Pataki. Spitzer has been a truly inspiring Attorney General and has shown no fear in prosecuting the white collar criminals that commonly make up Pataki's and Bush's donor list. Loyal Opposition wishes that Spitzer hadn't been so quick to decry the Rockefeller Drug Laws, but Loyal understands that in the end, it's better for his popularity that he didn't.

Spitzer for Governor in 2006. Hil up for reelection. 2006 looks like it's gonna be a Blue year for New York.

Hope springs eternal

Phoenix Rising

Loyal Opposition is back, in the dead of winter, with a message for all:

Things will get better.

Loyal will be dormant for one more week. But in the meantime check out one of Loyal's dearest friends:

http://wordcampaign.blogspot.com

He's a member of the Reality based community, his musings on Purple Panty Loafers notwithstanding. Enjoy!

Also, Loyal is taking this moment to announce that, from here on out, commenting privileges will be suspended. Loyal believes in democracy. But Loyal also believes that if you want your own blog, get your own blog.

That is all. Excelsior.