Impromptus

What I like best about Jay Nordlinger's Impromptus column is that he just seems like such a genuine person. And it feels like a personal letter comprised of various thoughts that he's scribbled down for the public to look over. I don't really have anything more to say about them; I guess I just really like his writing. He's always got great insight, and I think I feel that way because he's similar to the kind of person that I would like to be myself. Some of my own impromptus:

• I picked up my OC public library card and sure enough, I can already start to get stuff online. So what did I do right after dropping by the library? I went to Barnes and Noble and bought a couple of books. Stupid, right? But I really like owning the actual books, and I only really got the card so that I can get audiobooks. It made me laugh that I would bother to get the card and then not actually want to use the library to check out books. Silly.
• I've been cooking more lately. I forgot that it's actually kind of nice. There was one semester at BYU where I was especially motivated and cooked every Wednesday, and I think I did it for the entire semester. That always ended up being for Becca and the whole apartment. Dave would usually help out if he was around. I'm sure that will be something I indulge in regularly while up at school now that I eat out much more infrequently (does that phrasing work?).
• Josh Hamilton put on a show the other night at the Home Run Derby. The guy ripped off 28 home runs in one round - the most ever in one round. He ended up losing the contest, probably due to the fact that he freakin' unloaded that first round. It was an amazing display. The amazing part wasn't the number of home runs, but from start to finish the guy was destroying the ball, whereas some guys were averaging probably a little less than 400 ft. for their HRs, his distance had to be around 450 ft. They weren't just barely getting over the wall in right; they would be in the upper deck, or deep center field. It was incredible. He spoke briefly following the round and he thanked God for his second chance and said it was a blessing just to be there. I loved his openness with his faith. To be honest, this was probably his 10th chance, but he finally figured it out. That seems to be the case a lot when we've lost our way. Not just one or two shots at getting it right, but many. Anyway, I thought he was worth mentioning again.
• Couple of more items about the Obama op-ed from yesterday. He mentions that Iraq is not meeting the goals we've set, but they're reached 15/18 benchmarks set that were intended to measure their progress. And I'm not sure what the goal was, but it was well below that number. Also, he mentions our presence being a recruiting tool for future terrorists, but the number of fighters and attacks is well below what they were prior to the surge. And he attempts to mislead his audience by bringing up the point that Iraqi politicians themselves are seeking for a withdrawal timetable. It's nothing even resembling the complete absence of US forces that he's suggesting. From National Review:
  

  Indeed, no responsible actor in the Iraq government believes Obama’s 16-month timeline is at all realistic, which is why Iraqi officials are desperately rooting for McCain to win in November. In a statement more in accord with reality, Maliki’s defense minister has said Iraqis will be ready to handle internal security on their own in 2012 and external security by 2020.

  That is much different from what he's proposing, but you would never know that unless you've been following closely what's been really going on.
• And finally...I love this song. I always had an affinity for it, but I heard it while waiting for Strung Out to take the stage, at a show I went to by myself. I can't believe I couldn't convince any of you knuckleheads to come with me. It was one of my favorite songs from the night, and I'm not really sure why that was the case, but it prompted me to buy a best of The Clash cd. Enyoi!