Dick Cheney, polarizing evil

Last night interview of Cheney by Charlie Rose was quite predictable. Not only does the man looks mean, sounds mean, but he truly looks like an incarnation of evil. He is an individual charged-up with negative energy, who is against everything and is totally paranoid.

He trashed down Obama and his administration and didn't even realize that more than 50% of the Americans have re-voted the man into office. Just like Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the "professional haters" that also support a right that is sinking into dumb and dumber, he is doing everything he can to exacerbate the divide that separates Americans.

Of course, what Cheney is doing is what dumb people do. Smarter individuals would insinuate instead of attacking and destroy softly, but that requires smarts and salesmanship the old Dick will never get...
 

Ski pole magic...

Skiing entails spending a significant amount of time riding ski lifts. In fact, the better skier one becomes, the greater percentage of total skiing time one ends up just riding lifts. Chairlifts, I would say are the most common way up that I use, and I would argue that it is true for most, unless you only ski Jackson Hole, Snowbird or Argentière, France.

From time to time, chairlifts stop for a broad range of reasons, going from assisting fallen riders at the top or the bottom, loading some provisions, a ski patrol sled or allowing a frightened or injured passenger to download.

Since I've spend days on chairlifts and almost hours while they were at standstill in the middle of the air, I have developed a “mind-game” which, when it works perfectly, can be incredibly impressive. It goes like this: I simply try my best to “guess” the moment when the chair will get back in motion and a fraction of a second before it does, or passengers actually feel it, I tap the frame of the lift with my pole as if I were magically ordering the chairlift to run again.

When the timing works, it gets incredible comments and awes from anyone attentive enough to witness the “miracle.” When it fails, this goes either unnoticed or is placed on the account that I must be an old, fidgety skier. There's no major risk to failing there; of course, you only can do this once in a single ride in order not to make it a suspicious and noticeable activity.

This said, I must admit that I could count on my fingers the instances when that perfect timing has happened, out of perhaps hundreds of not-so-successful attempts. Make sure to try it, next time your chair stops!

If I became Pope...

Yesterday, I was teasing you about applying for the open Pope position. Today, I'm more serious; what would I do if I were the new Pope? I would reform a few things with one single goal in mind: Bring the Catholic Church into the modern era and make sure it can survive the kind of developed society every human aspire to entering at some point of time.

So, what's my program? Ready, here we go: I would end the priest celibacy and open it up to women as well, take a stand on overpopulation and promote effective birth control, I would actively engage Jews and Muslims, apply the teachings of Christ, cut-down into St. Peter's pageantry and bring democracy into the way the Church is ran.

I would secularize the Catholic doctrine so it becomes a practical life road-map, in synch with our times. I would turn certain dogmas (Virgin birth, etc.) into allegories, moving away from hard-truth and by so doing, would re-motivate the entire congregation. This, I know, is “preaching to the choir” as it's also what the largest majority of Catholic are desperately wanting and hoping for.

Don't hold your breath, though, I'm not Pope just yet...

Should I apply for the job?

As of today, there's a new job open at the Vatican that I feel I'm totally qualified to take it on. First my background is sales and marketing, I speak some Italian, quite a bit of German and I consider myself fluent in both French and English. Latin? I used it a lot when I was an altar boy, more than half a century ago!

I have traveled internationally extensively, I understand different cultures, I am also very creative, can think on my feet and can make up a good story when the situation demands it. I'm also ready and willing to relocate to Vatican City; besides, I love Italian food and Ferraris. I might have to put a few projects of mine on the back-burner, but the position makes it worth it. I'm going to reform anything that's reformable, I'd bring back skiing and winter sports into the Holy Sea,

I'm dedicated, hard working and won't make a fuss is they force me to use Alitalia exclusively for all of my international trips!

Sex equality on skis? Not a chance!

Yesterday a dual slalom took place in my former stomping grounds of Morzine, France. The show, followed by a concert was organized by CR2H, “Les copains d'abord”, a non-profit outdoors association.

The race offered a total purse of 2,600 euros and there was a men's race as well as a women's race that both fielded a winner in each category. What was remarkable, though, was that the male winner pocketed 1,000 euros, while the female winner had to make do with just 700 euros!

Same race, but still a 30% difference between what the male earned over his female counterpart. At any rate, this represents twice the average French Gender Pay Gap (GPG) which just like the average GPG for Europe stands at about 15%.

Could someone explain to me what still justifies this questionable measure of athletic talent?

Mrs Beyl? No, Madame Look

Yesterday, I picked up the phone to call Mrs Beyl. This 92 year old lady is the other part of the couple that made Look ski bindings possible, the one that ran the company with an iron-fist while her husband was busy inventing, skiing, water-skiing and having a great time. She built the French sales for the company, had steadfast principles and was both admired and feared.

She's the one who gave me one of my first big break in life when she hired me one summer day of 1974. Without that job, who know what I would have done of my life? Would I be living in America today? Most likely, because that was part of my “original plan” but the rest of my story might have been vastly different.

At her very respectable age, Mrs. Beyl continues to speak and think as she ever did when I knew her in the 70s and early 80s. She hasn't changed a bit, she is still turbo-charged with energy. She still drives her Mini Cooper and takes no abuse from anyone.

She told me that recently, as she was getting back into her tiny British car, she heard two young men sneering at her and saying: “Look at the old lady and her Mini...” She stood up to them and shouted “The old lady tells you to go f*** yourself!”

She didn't mince her words, but why should she. For those who haven't known her, she's is like the Rock of Gibraltar, the good version of the Iron Lady, well, she's Madame Look!

The Roman Catholic sex abuse

With the release of new documents from the Los Angeles diocese, the Catholic sex abuse issue is back in the news in the United States.

What's striking to me though, is that the large number of cases reported in America and in Ireland is enormous compared to what has been reported in other traditionally European Catholic countries, like France, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Is there a broader cover-up in Europe or were Catholic priests there, significantly much better-behaved than their American counterparts? I believe instead that Catholic officials in Europe were more astute in keeping the lid over the whole issue. This might say an awful lot about free-speech as we know it in America...