The Aftermath

Considering it wasn't just a party but a drinking game party, I'm more than a little impressed. I must confess that some time between rolling in the keg and setting up the beer pong table, I found the time to put the insurance adjuster on speed dial. Should have just invited him to the party.

But the real reason for this entry, other than the fact that it took me a grand total of 2 days to break my rule #1 (luckily, my attorneys inserted rule #2), is that you guys, my friends/adoring fans, are very funny people. Someone drew a heart with the word 'beer' in it on the kings-cup rules. There are multiple, inexplicable references to Thomas hearting me (among other people) on my whiteboard. Considering he was the last person to leave my party, I would like to state for the record that I do not recall confessing my feelings about him to anyone, and I was not so drunk I'd forget (I guess it could be unrequited love). In fact, it's gotta be worth at least two points that I even remember who the last person to leave my party was. There is also a lot more written and drawn on my whiteboard, not all of it PG-13, including some graffiti that looks like it was scribbled by a mildly retarded chimpanzee with a lazy eye. Improbably, all the graffiti was actually confined to an erasable surface. I mean what are the odds.

My favorite, though, is the to-do pad on my fridge, which was helpfully filled in by an unknown conglomeration of geniuses. It reads:

To Do List:

• The Whites
• Cap'n Crunch and the Crunch Berries
• The Darks (Editor's note: ??)
• Light menorah
• Recycle
• Dance off
• J-Date (Editors note: I'd like to know who was responsible for this one)
• Erase marker board
• Spin dreidle and sing Hannukah song
• Watch Yankees lose
• Listen to Cranberries
• Defrost, clean and eat tilapia
• Call Danielle
• Download more Aerosmith
• Buy more pretzels for next year's party
• Save Darfur
• Go to Burger King for a BK Broiler
• RSVP Hillary mixer
• Humpty Dance
• Color
• Buy Ace of Base again

I'm not really sure about that last one, but overall, a very respectable list. Ambitious but achievable. A good balance of personal goals, public service initiatives and frozen fish.

Well that's all the time we have. If you need me, I'll be in my room with the shades drawn and the tylenol very close by. Just knock - but not too loud.

oh one more thing: people leave beer bottles in the strangest places.

Meden Agan

Meden Agan - μηδὲν ἄγαν - was one of three phrases carved into the ancienct Greek temple of the Oracle at Delphi. It means nothing in excess or as most people remember it, everything in moderation. I've been thinking about it today because there is (another) spate of articles out on Islam, radical Islam and public accomodation of Islamic laws and customs. And as readers of my pre-LoR rantings (there were a few here and there) know, I'm a big fan of articles that address a complex topic objectively, succinctly and with penetrating insight -- in other words, of excellent analysis. Who isn't.

An op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal does that on the intersection of Islam, Islamists and free speech. It's even more satisfying when you realize this thoughtful piece is by a sitting member of Congress.

Blogosphere, welcome to me

narcissism

Just what I need - a narcissistic, exhibitionist and addictive new hobby.

I'm not entirely new to the concept of transcribing my every banal synaptic flicker, but until now my intended audience has not included you. Bienvenue. Here are the rules:

1. I will post at least one...uh...post every day.
   
2. I will under no circumstances be bound by rule #1 after today.
   
3. If I link to you, you must link to me. This rule is enforced by radar and overhead cameras.
   
4. Class participation is 100% of the grade. So leave your comments. I reserve the right to edit them for content and to run in the time allotted.

I guess I should explain the title of my blog, Left of Right (here, for those reading this on Facebook). It means that the political bifurcation of this country leaves me unsatisfied. It's not just that I'm right of center on some things and left on others. It's that where these issues fall on the political spectrum often seems arbitrary to me. It's that I have an opinion on just about everything, most of them deeply held, but I'm sick to death of the wing warriors - the right-wing nut jobs and left-wing naifs whose ceaseless bludgeoning of one another perpetuates our country's chronic apathy.

I should give credit where it's due. I got the idea from, of all people, a Hollywood icon (probably the last time anyone connected to Tinseltown gets mentioned herein): Ron Silver. I also had help from a friend whose blog you should read, even though he's a Red Sox fan.

Well that's all the time we have. Possible comment topics include: Ron Silver, narcissism and the word "bifurcation". Also anything else in this post, anything in the collected knowledge of mankind, and any requests for future subjects upon which I should blog. Good luck students...you may begin.