In Memory of The Original Blogger

A lot has happened in a few short weeks. Our world has changed. Or it has not. That just depends on how one chooses to view the events. New and calamitous, or more of the same and we are just beefing up our coping strategies. Again.

Here is one tiny blip in my universe. My father, who died a year and a half ago, wrote a blog called VIEWPOINT for the latter dozen years or so of his life. I still can't figure out 95% of the features on my cell phone and when I hear the word "app," I think of oysters or a plate of cheese. My dad managed his own website and was still posting in his 95th year.

I mention this in passing because my sister shared an email he received the other day from his web server. "Your domain expired on November 07, 2015."  I have no doubt my dad would have been pleased that his domain lived on long after the desk lamp went out.

When I started The Ramen Blog, I made myself a promise not to compete with my father's Viewpoint. It was strong, believe me. And I have always wanted The Ramen Blog to leave politics aside and stay focused on food, art, music, design, and the relationship of all things creative to the things that move us in life. However, I am going to stray this once and opine. 

My wife and I got hooked into a re-watch of Aaron Sorkin's brilliant "The American President" on some cable channel well north of the 100s, last night. Michael Douglas played POTUS and his ax to grind was legislation that would eliminate guns and reduce crime. He falls in love with a lobbyist played by Annette Benning who was hellbent on jamming home a bill that would reduce  global warming. And Richard Dreyfuss played the extremist Republican opponent Bob Rumson, who besmirched the character of anyone who crossed his path and vowed to make America "a winner" again. Great movie. Amazing acting, tremendous direction.

In today's New York Times, Frank Bruni writes: "We lose the war against ISIS if we don't get serious about our presidential candidates."

Here is Michael Douglas's response to the Richard Dreyfuss attacks on his presidency. "We've got serious problems, and we need serious people." 

The release date of "The American President"? 1995! Twenty years ago!! Hmmmm.

If my father was still around, I knew the irony would have sent him running to his computer. So I dedicate this column to him. Go Daddy! Your domain may have expired but your views live on.