El 4 de Julio

July 4th means many things to many people, but to me, it will always mean first and foremost my late father's birthday.

My father was not born in the United States but he eventually became a citizen here, and had he not come to this country, the chances are my siblings and I would not exist.

He was not a perfect man but he was a good man who always tried to do his best, and by his example alone, he taught me more about true virtue than a hundred sermons ever could. He was not always wise but he was one of the smartest men I knew. He always encouraged me to be a better person than I thought I could be, and for that alone, I'll always treasure him.

I don't know the words to truly do him justice. But I like to think I'm following his path every time I go out of my way to help someone or I speak out against injustice.

He was my father.

There's little more I can say apart from that.

(A repost.)

TV Quote of the Week

There is a place for tradition, Hassan, but we must learn to live in this world as neighbors. We can not be blind to the changes happening all around us.
--Barry Robins, Columbo, “A Case of Immunity”

¡Feliz Día de los Reyes!

Happy Day of the Kings! Or as they say in other countries, Happy Three Kings Day!

This day is the twelfth day of Christmas, also known as Twelfth Night or the Feast of the Epiphany in some countries. According to tradition, this day marks the anniversary of the visit of the three kings -- aka the three wise men -- to the birthplace of the Baby Jesus. In Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, these three kings also come this night bearing gifts for the good little boys and girls of the Hispanic world. Why this tradition has not replaced Santa in the eyes of all those Anglo-Americans who are always proclaiming that "Jesus is the reason for the season" is one of those mysteries even the saints themselves cannot solve. Personally, I blame that silly War on Christmas...

TV Quote of the Week

Every year you prepare a terrible meal and every year I criticize it. Do our traditions mean nothing to you?
--Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory, "The Thanksgiving Decoupling"

Pop Song of the Week: "Copperhead Road"

And because of our traditions, every one of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do...

Quotes of the Year 2007

I actually wrote this back in December of 2007 but for some reason, I neglected to post it because I wasn't sure it would be all that relevant. Boy, was I wrong.

1. Don’t tase me, bro! -- Andrew Meyer, September 17, 2007.

Apparently this is becoming the most popular catchphrase in the year. Which would be nice if it was being quoted to establish solidarity with the dude who said it. But apparently it’s being quoted for the same reason Rodney King‘s “can we all get along?” was so often quoted -- to make fun of the person who said it. On one hand, I can understand this. No one likes a jerk, and it’s very tempting to see the person who said it as just another jerk who got his just desserts.

And yet one can’t help but find something ominous about the circumstances of that quote. After all, that guy who said it wasn’t harassing cheerleaders or schoolchildren. He was asking questions of a major Presidential candidate. And while he might not have been all that polite in the ways he asked his questions, he didn’t deserve to be punished so harshly for essentially doing no more than ask a few questions.

Yes, people will laugh at anything, and maybe I shouldn’t take the jokes surrounding that quote all that seriously. But then again, maybe I should. After all, if Americans have no shame about laughing at the tasering of a political dissident -- and let’s face it, that’s what the student in question is -- how long before they start laughing at far worse treatment?

2. Por qué no te callas? -- King Juan Carlos of Spain, to Hugh Chavez, November 10, 2007.*

Apparently this is becoming one of the most popular Spanish-language quotes of the year. It’s apparently appearing on T-shirts and everything.

Too bad that out of context, it comes across not as much as an effort to quiet a jerk’s insults but rather an attempt to silence free speech.

But, hey, that’s the Spanish tradition, right? Whenever someone tells us something we don’t like, our first response is not to debate them and prove them wrong. It’s to tell them to shut up.

Good thing we don’t yet have an attitude like that here in the United States, right? Er, right?

* Spanish for “Why don't you shut up?”

TV Quote of the Week

If you start giving money back because you don't need it, you're breaking with centuries of tradition.
--Nigel Hawthorne, Yes, Prime Minister, “The Smoke Screen”

Movie Song of the Week: “Sabbath Prayer”

I'm feeling the need to post something traditional this week and this number from 1971's Fiddler on the Roof seems the most obvious choice.

Why Do I Remain a Catholic?

1. Because it's a family tradition.

2. Because many of the brightest and most creative people that I've met in public school were Catholic.

3. Because the people who taught me most about love, generosity and other virtues were Catholic.

4. Because I wanted to.

5. Because I love the sight of stained glass.

6. Because I love the taste of Communion wine.

7. Because I love the taste of Communion wafers. (They taste like victory.)

8. Because I loved CCD class.

9. Because I underwent an experience which made it impossible for me to logically disbelieve in the Supreme Deity.

10. Because I believe there is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosophy.

11. Because I like being part of a centuries-old tradition.

12. Because I'm pretty fond of the Virgin Mary and that Jesus fellow.

13. Because I promised my father.

14. Because I'm loyal to my godparents.

15. Because I don't consider the many differences between me and many of my coreligionists to be more important than our similarities.

16. Because I really like church music.

17. Because I really like confession.

18. Because I really like lighting candles.

19. Because I refuse to let my faith be defined by someone else's sins.

20. Why not?

TV Quote of the Week

Yeah, the critics have this -- like -- you know -- great tradition of being totally clueless.
--Christopher Marquette, Joan of Arcadia, “No Bad Guy”

Canción de la Semana: “Las Mañanitas”

The traditional Mexican birthday song, sung by my late father's second favorite singer, Jorge Negrete. (I could have posted one by his first favorite singer, Pedro Infante, but I couldn't find a version with which I was satisfied.)

It's my late father's birthday today and I'd like to think he would like this.

By the way, there will be no movie song of the week this week. Maybe next week.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this.

Yet Another Reason to be Proud I'm Half-Polish

No, seriously.

I know I don't talk about my maternal ancestors in Poland half as much as I talk about my paternal ancestors in Mexico, but every so often, an item comes along which makes it almost impossible for me to forget my Polish roots.

And, of course, such an item is this.

Considering how often I've voted for the Democrats in this country, I should consider that item to be scandalous, but I can't help but consider it evidence of yet another Polish tradition for me to live up to.

If not proof that it's good to be the king.

Happy Easter!


After all, it's a tradition...

Holiday? What Holiday?

I'm kinda embarrassed to admit this because I have two uncles -- one deceased, one still alive -- who were veterans of the US Army Forces but yesterday was Veteran's Day.

In a way, I shouldn't be embarrassed. It wasn't exactly emphasized in most of the local media, and most libraries and local businesses didn't even seem to be acknowledging it. Indeed, if I hadn't gone to the Post Office and read the little sign on the door announcing that it was closed that day for Veteran's Day, I wouldn't have realized it myself.

Perhaps if I had picked up a newspaper or spent more time on the Internet--like I really need to spend more time on the Internet -- I might have realized it before then but I didn't.

So why does this matter? Because lately it seems like all official holidays except those holidays which people can make money off of -- for example, Christmas and Halloween -- get ignored in similar fashion. And it's depressing to see how nobody ever complains about this.

I suspect all but a few senior citizens have noticed the change in emphasis on these holidays and that -- worse yet -- all but a few senior citizens really care that such holidays have been de-emphasized. Nobody seems to bother closing businesses in honor of these days although many of the same people who ignore this are quick to complain about how we Americans are not quite as reverent toward our traditions as we were in the good old days.

Oh, well. I hate to think that when Veteran's Day was founded to honor our brave men in uniform, the founders had US Postal workers in mind. But what else am I supposed to think?

That honoring our fallen isn't worth doing if we can't make a buck off of it?

I hope not. And yes, it seems like I'm making quite a fuss about one holiday, but I've noticed a similar trend last Memorial Day. Apparently things aren't changing for the better.

All Politics Is Loco, Parte VIII

According to some elderly guys at one of the local restaurants, Obama already has the Presidental race all sewn up. Personally I won't believe that till next Wednesday but when even people who aren't Obama fans start talking as if his victory was a sure thing, I can't help but wonder.

Anyway, I'll be glad when this Presidential race is over. This post made me rather proud to be an American. This post about the recent booing of John McCain by his own supporters didn't make me feel so proud (I keep thinking Americans should be better than that and unfortunately, many of my fellow Americans are not) and this post -- which argued that people who merely vote for the wrong political candidate are much worse than a Russian dictator who murdered millions -- is just ridiculous.

I guess if I was smart, I would have taken advantage of early voting but I didn't. I guess I like to live dangerously.

Anyway, I discovered at a recent family gathering that I'm one of the few people left in my family who will be voting Democratic this November. Since my mother is a former Kennedy Democrat who once voted for McGovern and since my favorite cousin once described the Democratic Party in the late 1980s as "our" party -- implying that voting Democratic was a tradition for both my family and hers -- this makes me sad. But it doesn't surprise me. My mother has talked for years of her disillusionment with the Democratic Party and since she once admitted that she voted against Clinton in the 1990s because he supported defense cuts -- and because her employer was dependent on defense contracts -- I really didn't think it was too realistic to expect her to change her mind.

I was surprised by my one sibling's enthusiasm for Sarah Palin -- apparently he thinks she's a hottie -- and even more by one out-of-state cousin's antipathy toward Ms. Palin. I haven't had the chance to discuss with my cousin her reasons for hating Ms. Palin but my sibling assured me that she was most vocal about it in their online correspondence.

Anyway, I don't expect Obama to solve all our problems if he gets elected and indeed, I suspect the election will be a lot closer than most people are predicting. I don't really see McCain pulling an upset but then there was a time back in January when he didn't seem likely to even get the nomination. So who knows?

I'm keeping my fingers crossed either way.

Movie Song of the Week: “Tradition”

Yes, I know. It's not all that original to post a song from the 1971 movie Fiddler on the Roof during Passover, but it's still a good song.

I still remember the way a Hispanic co-worker kept referencing this song after I lent her my Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack CD a few years ago. So much so that it's tempting to argue that it's really a Hispanic song. And given the number of Hispanics of Jewish descent (and the number of Hispanics who may be of Jewish descent but might never know for sure), that's not as silly an argument as it might seem. And even if such Hispanics didn't exist, it's not as if we Hispanics know nothing of discrimination or persecution.

Anyway, even for those of us who have no Sephardi ancestors (at least none that we know of), it's still a good song. Maybe it's not as famous as “If I Were a Rich Man” or “Matchmaker,” but it's still worth listening to and has a message that all humans -- not just Jews or Hispanics -- can appreciate.

Enjoy:

A Bit With Two Dogs In It

My favorite niece -- okay, my only niece -- had her sixth birthday Saturday. Among her presents was a DVD copy of the Disney film Lady and The Tramp.

Ironically, one of the first movies my mother ever took my siblings and me to see in an indoor theatre was Lady and The Tramp. So in a sense, my niece is inheriting a family tradition...