2/08/11 A COLD MORNING, AND SUPER BOWL AFTERSHOCKS

CLEAR, COLD WINTER MORNING

WINTER BIRDBATH

Tuesday, 8:45 AM.  –2.5 degrees, wind W, very light at present at ground level, but some stratospheric clouds moving very rapidly.  The sky is now almost clear and the barometer predicts sunshine.   We were bundled up for our walk, but Lucky  was hopping around because his toes were cold.  His foot hairs had gotten so thick and long that he couldn’t negotiate bare floors, so they got trimmed.  Can’t win, I guess, and  I draw the line at putting booties on my dog.
    How about that Super Bowl?  What a game, a pretty easy  Packer first half and a nail-biter second half.  I found the pageantry and patriotism of the pre-game ceremonies emotionally satisfying if a little over the top, but It would have been nice if the singer had remembered the words to the national anthem.  I grit my teeth and cross my fingers whenever anyone sings it, because the range is difficult even for classically trained singers.  The Star Spangled Banner is like democracy itself; a lot easier to talk about than to actually do.
     I found the half-time performance of the Black Eyed Peas absolutely incomprehensible.  Not particularly objectionable, just weird.  It's probably  my age, but son Dutch, the musician, says it’s because they are an audience participation group, and you can’t participate while watching on TV.  Maybe so, but I wouldn’t have participated anyway. 
    Dutch says there were so many glitches in the whole Super Bowl event that a lot of Texans are really angry about it…seats not finished and people unable to watch the game, ice on the roof, rolling blackouts…but, hey, it was a great game!