Abstract Birthday Greetings

Another opportunity to reach past the primal rage of indifference is lost due to commercial interruption.

Okay, I have no idea what that means, but I thought I would start with a compelling toss of word salad. A delicious scoop of nonsense, topped with irreverent bluster and a fevered arrogance brought about by the late hour and the aching jaw.

Tonight my middle son is 27, an extraordinary boy birthed in the heart of Rome, raised at the heel of Stone Mountain, than in the wilds of Fairfield Plantation, studied in Athens near the Bulldog Coliseum, and in the midtown of the restored heart of the Southland, Atlanta GA. I love him, his wonderful achievements, his beautiful and intelligent girlfriend, his giving nature, and let's face it, he's a liberal/progressive, true and strong. Douglas Redwine Strait, I salute thee!

Color Insensate

Skybluetornadoes is a-waitin' fer you
Orangeblossom tea fresh from the loo
LadybugGreen lights up the scene
Frenchifiedpurple capes the ball-peen

And it brings me yer love
Yes, it brings me yer love
Painted in Dutchreadmaroon


Desktopyellow comes off in yer hands
Penskesilver races spack o'er the land
Primarybrowncries fall off the bone
Afrosheenblack unreached by the phone

And it brings me yer love
Yes, it brings me yer love
Painted in Dutchreadmaroon

Kvetching Big Time

Let's be honest. I got little to complain about. I have a beautiful wife and children, a solid middle class lifestyle, money stresses mostly a thing of the past. I don't really have close friends, but I do have a wonderful family and many positive acquaintances. And my health is pretty good.

So I hate to kvetch, but here it goes. I had some thoughts of transitioning back into some teaching. The grind of public accounting was getting to me. I was hoping to do something where I felt like I was contributing a little more back, and maybe have a smidgen more time for myself and my family. Those hopes were recently dashed. And now I have to go back to the drawing board.

If I can't teach, what else can I do? Something has to give more meaning than what I'm doing at my regular work. Perhaps something connected to charity, although that often takes a different type of personality than I possess, although I'm not ruling it out. I'm a very good actor, but somehow that often leaves me wondering what the point of it was. I could teach part time, but given state budgets, even that would be difficult. And, frankly, I may be too frakkin' lazy to do full-time plus as a CPA and ALSO do teaching on the side.

One thing I do enjoy is writing. It might be like acting, in that it's something I enjoy but not something I will get paid for doing. But that's okay. I would want to be read. but I have an okay job as far as making money, so we won't starve. The problem is having the discipline to carve out the time. But, hopefully, the withering nature of tax season, and the recent closing of doors I thought would be open, will give me the motivation to write more, and to get better at it.

Thanks you proud few for listening to me kvetch. And if there is anything you are interested to have me write about, please let me know. I could use the practice!

Tax Day Delay Blues

So some genius thought it would be a nifty-rooni idea to delay the end of tax season until April 18th. Something about the way Emancipation Day falls in the District of Columbia. So they get to celebrate emancipation while us tax preparers continue to be held hostage.

I have to tell you this post was much longer, and, of course, incredibly brilliant, when the computer/Internet malfunctioned, and did not save or post any but the first paragraph.

The first part was my surprise that I had heard that some fellow church members had a Lenten discussion about taxes, and many seemed to feel that the thing that upset them the most was the earned income tax credit. Really? That's the biggest problem with our tax code?

Is there fraud and abuse of the earned income credit? You betchum! But I would doubt if you added up the cost to the treasury of all the misuse of the credit, it would not equal the loss compared to GE's billions of profit going untaxed, and even winding up with a multi-billion refund!

I can also tell you that the number of forms and requested information that a tax preparer has to do is much higher for the earned income tax credit than any other credit or deduction we do. And that the enforcement by the IRS of this credit deploys more time and concentration than virtually any other part of the code.

Big corporations and wealthy individuals can deploy fleets of attorneys, accountants and paid off politicians to get the law to be their ass. The earned income credit users have nobody and no one in their corner.

Finally, my understanding is that about a third of the people who would legitimately use the credit don't, either through pride or lack of knowledge. So, I really feel like my church friends who believe that the earned income tax credit is the chief tax problem, need to get their heard out of the Ayn Rand and back into the gospels!

Best shows on the TV Right Now

Yes, I know. I'm too busy to watch television. Blah de blah. Nevertheless, there's a few shows I see, thanks a lot to the amazing DVR device we have. You can have your cell phones and your fancy blackened berries, I'll take my DVR, thank you very much!

Sunday is Amazing Race. This is, by far, the best reality show on television. It's the only show that gets my heart racing. We love seeing the other countries and can imagine ourselves in it so much more easily than other reality shows. Survivor? I ain't eating no bugs! Big Brother? Oh, yeah, those twenty-somethings would be digging me!

Monday is Castle, with one of our favorite television actors, Nathan Fillion. The plotting and secondary characters aren't always the best, but Beckett and Castles dialogue and interaction make up for it. There is also The Event, which is something I'm trying to stick with until the end, but has been a major disappointment. It's tonal shifts are like a really bad season of 24.

Tuesday is Parenthood. It's made by some of the Friday Night people and you can see that in the way show flows and the interactions. This is probably more Alison's favorite than mine. I get a little upset when people break up - don't like to see the constant shifting of relationships. I also see Justified, which is an above average crime show, sort of like a more serious My Name Is Earl. Speaking of Earl, their producers are responsible for the very entertaining shoe Raising Hope. Great cast, including the hilarious Cloris Leachman.

Wednesday is Survivor. This season we're cheering for Boston Rob. He may not win, but he is entertaining and truly one of the smartest players to ever play. And Modern Family is the best comedy on television. I laugh out loud at that show more than almost any show I've ever seen.

Thursday is the crime duo of CSI and The Mentalist. CSI is not what it once was (Lord, do we miss Grissom,,,and Wendy!), but it still can be entertaining. The true star of The Mentalist is Cho...best understated actor on TV!

Friday is the night of the best show currently on television...Fringe. I love it's quirkiness, and Walter is one of the best characters in the history of TV. Alternate realities...I am there, baby! They had me sold when the Alternate World talked on the Radio about the diplomatic efforts of former President Kennedy! And soon Smallville will be back on Fridays as well!

The best political/current events show on TV is The Rachel Maddow Show. I don't care what your political stripe, there is nobody who communicates more clearly and factually the issues of the day than Rachel Maddow. Real Time with Bill Maher is also good.

The only talk show we see is The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Unerring and very, very funny - it's a great way to start the morning!

Finally, we look forward with great anticipation to the start of A Game of Thrones. We saw the fifteen minute preview, and it looks wicked awesome!

If this sounds like a lot, well, to each his own. I, for one, have a DVR and know how to use it!