Somebody Say 'Hallelujah!'

Letters To Editors

I've long thought that most letters to editors are from crackpots. I've not been proved wrong, but here is one from the Times I like:

To the Editor:
Re "A Case of Mental Courage," by David Brooks (column, Aug. 24):
I agree that much of contemporary political discourse has been marked by rampant confirmation bias - the tendency to seek out evidence consistent with our beliefs, and deny dismiss and distort evidence that is not.
Compounding this tendency, as the Princeton University psychologist Emily Pronin has shown, is the fact that virtually all [of] us readily perceive confirmation bias in others, but not in ourselves. We see ourselves as eminently reasonable and those who disagree with us as foolish, deluded or dishonest.
Given that large pockets of talk radio, cable television and the blogosphere on both the extreme left and extreme right feed this confirmation bias by promoting self-assurance rather than self-criticism, it is hardly surprising that the current political environment is more partisan than ever.
Scott O Lilienfeld

Mr L is a psychology professor at Emory University

Love The State, Loathe Its Politicians

Yesterday at the Aerie it was 112.8 degrees at 4:30. Then a storm rolled in from the southwest. We sat out back watching the explosive thunderstorm move across the valley. My runoff barrels overflowed from what ended up being a bit more than a half inch of rain. At six when we went inside the temperature had dropped to 73.

Three Xlnt Movies

"Uncle Teardrop was Jessup's elder and had been a crank chef longer but he'd had a lab go wrong and it had eaten the left ear off his head and burned a savage melted scar down his neck to the middle of his back. There wasn't enough ear nub remaining to hang sunglasses on. The hair around the ear was gone too, and the scar on his neck showed above his collar. Three blue teardrops done in jailhouse ink fell in a row from the corner of the eye on his scarred side. Folks said the teardrops meant he'd three times done grisly prison deeds that needed doing but didn't need to be gabbed about. They said the teardrops told you everything you had to know about the man and the lost ear just repeated it. He generally tried to sit with his melted side toward the wall."

When I heard Daniel Woodrell read that paragraph from his book "Winter's Bone" on Terry Gross's show, I knew I had to read it. I could scarcely put it down. Gripping, vivid, beautifully written, and now an amazing movie too.

I don't remember when I last saw three good movies consecutively, but over the past several days in addition to Winter's Bone the Girl and I went to The Kids Are All Right, which helped me remember what a fabulous actress Annette Bening is, and I took the grandkids to Despicable Me, which I absolutely loved. Every character in the film is sweet and they do 3D right. In fact, tomorrow we're taking the little maggots to see it again as I was alone with the twerps last time. Does that mean I'll be able to say I've seen four great movies in a row? Great movies four times in a row?

The Prince Abides

or

One Of Age's Indignities Postponed

The girl grew up around boats and for many years it was an accepted fact that our summer Sundays would be spent picnicking and skiing with her parents and brother and his family at Desoto Bend or Fremont Lakes or, less often, on the Missouri. Added to those experiences were the almost every summer Thursday afternoons that my buddy and I recruited one or more friends to waterski at Desoto bend. We skied, slalomed, drank barrels of PBR and Old Leg, laughed until our sides hurt and couldn't wait until the next Thursday. Those days ended when we moved to Arizona more than twenty-six years ago.

Here our first boat was a "party barge" that was real stable, held lots of people who could all walk around, had a great sound system and even a charcoal cooker on board, but was it ever so slow. We never did name that one - Pokey the Pontoon, Snail Trail, Glacier Racer were all candidates, but none really took. We had lots of fun but lived 60 miles and 75 minutes away, and eventually two of us co-owners sold it to the third.

Now that we're only 12 miles and twenty minutes away from Canyon Lake, it seemed obvious that we needed another boat. The new (actually, slightly used) craft is a v-hull with a 305 hp Merc. Her go lak hell. It has a big inflatable 4 person sled, a boogie board and (drum roll) skis.

To recap our story so far: former self-acknowledged wunderkind on skis again has access to skis and ski boat - - - - twenty some years later. Another factor in one influential corner is that I had an aftermarket knee installed two years ago, which the Influential Corner doesn't want to go through again. I'm ok with not going through that again, too.

Ok. Long story only slightly longer. Yesterday I recruited my buddy Lar to drive the boat, convinced the Influential Corner to wield the required red flag, slipped on the skis and popped up on the first try. By agreement with the IC I didn't stay up very long, but long enough to prove that Prince Lyle the Magnificent has still got the chops.

Oh, and the name of the new boat? The Nana Gaga.