10,000 spoons when all you need is fork

I have been feeling like an old man recently. Not physically, but in my spirit. As I read the papers about Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and his Republican controlled congress stripping away the rights of various unions to negotiate through collective bargaining, the passion that might have existed in me five or six years has disappeared. Despite Madison only being a two hour drive from Chicago, I am, in a way, surprised by how little I care about the plight of the union workers in Wisconsin. I suppose that this could be attributed for several reasons:

A) I feel many of the nation's unions are out of control... i.e. Teacher's Union, United Auto-Workers, and others.

B) The purpose of collective bargaining is a lot different than it was 50 or 60 years ago. Back then, let's say you were part of a local meatpacking union. You were most likely poor and undereducated. So you pooled your money, hired attorneys to conduct collective bargaining with the city or state on your behalf. Times are a lot different now. People are better educated. The need for collective bargaining is not as strong. This, is no doubt, because of the success of a strong union to protect its workers. It provided benefits, overtime pay, mandatory vacation days, sick days, and much more. The Unions worked. They made America a better place! But times have changed and possibly some of the unions do have too much power. Possibly some of the benefits, like lifetime health insurance or phenomenal pension plans, are absurd and outdated and need to be stripped.

This is not to say that I don't sympathize with the workers of Wisconsin who are getting benefits and pay cuts stripped away by a Governor who cares more about a 2012 or 2016 Presidential run than he does about his own people.

At this point, my opinion is that I don't have an opinion... yet. I can see both points and I am curious to see what happens. I will also say though that this is an area which I am particularly ignorant and if you have any interesting columns or articles that might sway my opinion either way, I am interested.

1. It is my day off so I decided to be completely unproductive. Allie and Lauren came over this afternoon after work and we took advantage of Nimit's Netflix to watch movies. I was unaware of the legendary 1986 children's film Labyrinth - starring David Bowie and a very young Jennifer Connelly. It is isn't bad... but certainly would have been more enjoyable if I were 11 or at least not completely sober. However, I am glad I saw it. However, after they left I decided to watch the movie Amadeus. I had only seen it one time 10-15 years ago. I forgot how awesome it is! The acting, the writing, and of course the music are all incredible. I have since spent the past 30 minutes learning that almost the whole movie was fiction. However, I have learned so many interesting facts about Mozart. For instance, did you know that the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is in fact a highly simplified version of his song, "Ah Vous Dirai-Je, maman"?

2. I recently finished The Associate by John Grisham. Grisham is kind of my go to author when I want to read something fun. It's not his best book but if you enjoy his novels, in particular The Firm, than The Associate will be a good fit. I liked it but it had an unsatisfying ending and lacked some of the wit of some of his earlier books like The Rainmaker.