No Happy Ending

Just a few random musings to start off the new year.

First, best headline of the year so far, the NY Daily News front page featrured a picture of my favorite quarterback, Brett Favre, with the caption "NO HAPPY ENDING" in regards to the ex-Jet masseuses suing both him and the Jets.

Second, during the whole snowstorm fiasco here in New York over Christmas, not only was Mayor Bloomberg nowhere to be found, he refuses to say where he was.  And Deputy Mayor Goldsmith, who oversees snow clearing, was in Washington on a skiing vacation.  In fact, as it turns out, nobody really knows who was actually in control during the snowstorm and its aftermath.  You have to love New York.

Third, How about those Knicks?  Not only did they blow out the NBA's best team last night, they positively humiliated them.  So much so that the Spurs coach pulled all of the starters with three minutes left in the game when they were down by ten.  Hell, I have seen the Knicks blow a ten point lead in less than three minutes before.  Oh, it was a real defensive battle, the score was 128 to 115.

Fourth, is "douchebag" now considered to be a dirty word?  I see that a number of publications, including the estimable NY Daily News, has begun to use "d-bag" in its place.

Fifth, does it really make sense to release a new version of "Huckleberry Finn" with the word "slave" replacing the word "nigger."  Now I agree that the word "nigger" is offensive to many, including me, but aren't we going a bit too far with this.  How many recent Afro-American authors, Richard Wright and James Baldwin come to mind, have used the word in their works.  And how about the Avengers song "White Nigger"?  Or the lyrics to "Oliver's Army" by Elvis Costello? Or the lyrics to "Battleground" by Joe Jackson?  Do we go back and edit the word out of everything?  And does substituting "N-word" in print really accomplish anything except looking silly?

Oh, and finally, I think Brett Favre has retired again.  But then, this is becoming something of an annual event.  Once more and they may declare it a national holiday.