Introduction

Ashamed of the recent rash of nonsense that has been spilling out of me, I thought I might try a coherent post. I live in Chicago. I am from the suburbs of Chicago. I tend to despise New York for being too self-absorbed. I tend to despise Los Angeles for the same reason. I like to think that Chicago, and the Midwest in general, provides a framework to be self-absorbed without losing focus of the problems of society as a whole, and the role of yourself in those problems.

I love the Cubs. I hate the Cubs. I could never envision a World Series on the North Side of Chicago. To have a World Series would disorient me badly. I am good at dealing with disappointments because I expect the Cubs to disappoint. Life is mostly disappointments. I am good at dealing with life. A Cubs World Series would drive me insane, driven insane like a ball off of Derrek Lee's bat into the right-center field gap, scoring the runner from first.
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Charlos and the Palindrome

I was hoping to write a post about Carlos Zambrano's no-hitter. This was ruined by a Preston Wilson single to right about as much as Cindy Crawford was ruined by a single mole to the left. The Chubs beat those sick Texas sprawlers by an eight-count. Those Lone-Star bastards disgust me because they expand and expand and if anyone messes with them, they carry loaded guns in their truck. They kill. They execute those who are different and perhaps weak.

Instead, how about this:

The palindrome is wonderful because it is the same backwards as forwards. It has no opposite, no dark side. How many of me have battled and succumbed to aggressive public drunkenness, fear of the poor, and misogeny only to realize that my demons are myself? What if I equaled my demons, and no one could tell the demon, red horns and knife poised handily, from the human, frail and cowering before the almighty avalanche of death? The palindrome does not struggle. The demon is appeased that it can take, and the human is appeased that it can give exactly the same amount. The palindrome is perfect balance and therefore happiness.
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