Climate Chage? Don't be Silly.

A perfectly normal scene in California. The low water line helps people get closer to the lake.

(Photo: Boaters launch their boats hundreds of yards away from designated boat ramps at Folsom Lake on August 19, 2014 in Folsom, California. As the severe drought in California continues for a third straight year, water levels in the State’s lakes and reservoirs is reaching historic lows. Folsom Lake is currently at 40 percent of its total capacity of 977,000 acre feet. By Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Sorry Everyone

When I turned fifty I was struck with profound depression. After decades of  effort, I still had no job, no vocation. I had few friends, fewer connections to the community and I never had a love life. I had nothing productive to show for my life. It was over as far as I could tell.Then one day I was looking in the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual (DSM) and the entry on autism caught my eye. The criteria sounded awfully familiar and when I read the entry on Asperger's syndrome I knew without a doubt that was me.  Once the relief of knowing why I acted the way I did swept away my depression, a lifetime of social gaffes came back to haunt me.

I felt like an alcoholic who sobered up only to survey the damage from the uninhabited binge. I can not begin to express the acute embarrassment of unconscious rude behavior, inappropriate responses, volcanic outbursts of temper and general cluelessness about how people worked.

Sorry everyone. Sorry to my siblings for the years you wanted nothing to do with me because I didn't know how to act normal and ended up being snooty when I felt rejected. Sorry to my nieces and nephews for acting like I didn't care or appeared insensitive to you when all I wanted was to be your friend. Sorry to all my teachers who couldn't understand how such a bright kid could be so weird. I tried their patience with my arrogance, sense of entitlement and superior intellect. Sorry to the few friends I had for over reacting when you were a few minutes late because of my crazy obsession with punctuality. Sorry that I still don't get subtle social cues or know when to shut up or not interrupt people with a monologue on an obscure topic no one else cares about. Sorry I don't have the energy anymore to consult a mental list of social or do's and don't I just figured out whenever I meet new people.

 Sorry but this who I am even though I would love to be as normal, easy going and fun to be around as the next person.I'm stuck being an eccentric, creative, difficult to understand force of nature whose loyalty, honesty and perseverance will never falter.  It's not my fault I was born this way.

The Writer Within -Update

My novel is at the stage of being edited much the way a film is edited. The director and editor sit in front of a digital editing monitor, putting one version of  a scene here, cutting another one there and arranging things so  the story unfolds in the right order. They will watch and rewatch a scene dozens of times making constant changes. They will do this for hours over several weeks or months.

This would drive me up the wall in exactly 30 seconds. You can imagine my state of mind as I face a similar task with my own grand opus. So I'm taking my time and reminding myself that even though I wrote the story in chronological order, the story will not be told in that order. This confuses my orderly brain. While mulling this conflict I was reminded of an earlier epiphany I had about the art of writing. It's still a monumental task.

Stay tuned.

An Open Letter to the President of Egypt

Dear General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi,

Congratulations on being "democratically " elected President of Egypt. The Egyptians need a strong leader for the country, not  some pansy ass  dictator like the ones Syria, Libya and Turkey got. They turned out to be narrow minded, greedy despots surrounded by sycophants and supported by an  oppressive military and foreign influences.

You knew what to do amid the chaos of weak leadership. You took control and know what's best for the people and they better appreciate it by golly.

However if I may, I would like to offer some historical perspective to help you avoid some of  the pitfalls that come with the job of ruling a country with an iron fist.

First, charm the people, it cuts down on all the bitching. Like Hitler did, give eloquent speeches geared to fill the average countryman with pride. How they come from a long and illustrious history. Remind them of how special they are, not like the (fill in the blank) who are obviously to blame for all the countries ills.

Second, let the people have fun. Let that annoying but popular comedian Bassem Youssef  have his show. His ridiculous satire will make people think they not being fooled, relieve them of the stress of living under a strict regime and give you an honest temperature of social/ political environment rather than the word of all those power hungry, lying, yes men who suck up to you.

Third, provide a superficially improved economy. Encourage the tourists to come back. Let the  people have music, games and pirated movies. These are great ways to make them feel content and rich. Let them play on the internet or on video games for hours ad nauseam. They will  be less inclined to revolt with all that mindless distraction. It's worked wondered in America and China.

So with this advice, Allah willing, you won't end up an old man with dyed hair clinging to delusional power or end up shot in the face like that loser Qaddafi. Good luck!

Yes All Women and Men Can

Most phenomenon have a tipping point. The current news stories about the o going cultural/political war against women all seemed tame and harmless until a nut job recently took out his immature frustration out on seven people-- especially women. It got men and women talking to each other about the rampant misogyny in our society and it's about time.

I expect the usual sound bites from the media when there is yet another mass shooting but this one got my attention with some rather astute observations from surprising voices. Men. A certified nerd zeros in on the myth pushed by Hollywood that nerdy guys will always get the hot chick. A persistent and irritating plot line that I always found offensive and wildly unrealistic.

Bishop Ken Robinson in his Daily Beast article put his finger on something known all too well by women:
" It is difficult for those who are not subject to discrimination and denigration to believe that it’s happening right under their noses, especially if they belong to the group that is perpetrating societal bullying. White people are shocked to learn that African-Americans are routinely followed around stores while they shop because of the color of their skin and their perceived likelihood of being thieves. Able-bodied people rarely notice the barriers that riddle the world which keep the disabled from participating in society. The threat of violence against women, because they are women, goes unnoticed by most men."

This conversation needs to happen everywhere, In India where the national sport of gang raping/ murdering of women occurs on a regular basis. In Afghanistan where young women  attempt suicide rather than  be forced to marry some shriveled up old man. In China where female infratricide is still the norm where males are more precious and if they can't find a women locally they buy them.

Women are fed up being treated as cattle, sex toys or prizes for the male ego. Men have to recognize the value of the other half of humanity if the species is to evolve. 

Let's keep talking.