Teed Off

So on Tuesday night, I had my first golf lesson -- part of a five-session class I signed up for through Continuing Education. I think it was apt that the instructor had us use whiffle balls as I totally whiffed.

I'd like to think it was because the instructor was a bit of a swaggering jerk who spent most of his time schmoozing with the guys who already knew how to swing a golf club -- and because the class was oversubscribed, which meant he couldn't spend more than a few seconds with each person.

His advice to me: Relax. For this I paid good money -- and missed the first half of "American Idol"? Sheesh. I admit, a good part of my inability to loft the ball was emotional -- the ghost of my late father, a one-time scratch golfer, loomed above me (figuratively, though you never know). But good, hands-on instruction goes a long way (certainly a lot farther than any of the balls I hit Tuesday night).

Despite my daughter giving me permission to quit after just one session, I'm not ready to lay down my club just yet. That would set a very bad example, and I have to believe I can only get better. We shall see.

In other news... Came across this little gem in the NYTimes.com this week. (Despite the date of publication, it isn't a joke.) It's a discussion of a new book called I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to be Destroyed by Me: Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World by Trevor Paglen -- and it's hysterical, in a military-industrial complex, Dick Cheney, Dr. Strangelove kind of way.

As reporter William J. Broad writes in the NYTimes.com article: “'It’s a fresh approach to secret government,' Steven Aftergood [as opposed to "Beforebad"?], a security expert at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, said in an interview. 'It shows that these secret programs have their own culture, vocabulary and even sense of humor.'”

Blowing up things certainly is funny! But seriously folks... I have to admit that some of the emblems, that is patches (just like the kind you might put on a Girl or Boy Scout uniform!), really are clever.

Again, to quote from Mr. Broad's well-written article:

"One patch shows a space alien with huge eyes holding a stealth bomber near its mouth. 'To Serve Man' reads the text above, a reference to a classic 'Twilight Zone' episode in which man is the entree, not the customer. 'Gustatus Similis Pullus' reads the caption below, dog Latin for 'Tastes Like Chicken.'”

Those wacky Black Ops guys!

To learn more about our tax dollars hard at work, do check out the article and/or the book. (Just click on the highlighted text.)

Lastly, speaking of fun and politics and tax dollars hard at work, here's a fun way/place to spend some of your tax refund. Enjoy!