Inject some fun into this evening's joint press conference ... Play Unfiltered's Debate Drinking Game:
First, write down the drinking words, one shot per word, no matter who utters it.
Here are the key driking words:
-Withdrawl
-Nuckular (as said by Bush)
-Exit Strategy
-Manufacturing Jobs
-Values
-God (this is a 2-shot word)
-Iraq
-Abu Gahrib, Gah-reb, Gah-greb, Gah-greeb (again said by Bush, take 2 shots)
-Wrong Direction
-Freedom
-Make no Mistake
And then, if Kerry says the phrase, "lock box", stick your finger down your throat, vomit, and then check your bank account records from 2000 and remind yourself you were better off then.
Thanks to my sister Kerry for bringing this up.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
A capital idea!
Yeah, OK, so most of you probably don't care about this, and, well, it IS the Expos, but Washington, D.C., is getting baseball back and I'm very happy about this!
And they'd better call them the Senators, that's all I have to say.
And they'd better call them the Senators, that's all I have to say.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
News from the front
You need to read this blog: Fight to Survive.
Just remember as you read, everything is great in Iraq! The troops all believe in the mission and see and the great things we're doing in Iraq! Yay, team!
Just remember as you read, everything is great in Iraq! The troops all believe in the mission and see and the great things we're doing in Iraq! Yay, team!
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
General, non-specific point about Internet advertising
I just wanted to bring up the point that the way most Internet advertising programs work these days, organizations that advertise generally only pay for click-throughs. That is, when you click on their ads, they have to pay, whether or not you actually buy anything from them.
With advertising serving programs like adsense, a portion of this money is passed on from the advertiser to the person who owns/controls the page on which it appears. To universalize this, then, if lots of people clicked on a company's ads, that company would have to pay a heavy advertising fee and the person who owned the Web site would reap a windfall. At some point, then, the cost/benefit to the company would look extremely unfavorable and they'd probably pull their ads rather than risk being put out of business.
Just pointing out something you might not have thought about.
With advertising serving programs like adsense, a portion of this money is passed on from the advertiser to the person who owns/controls the page on which it appears. To universalize this, then, if lots of people clicked on a company's ads, that company would have to pay a heavy advertising fee and the person who owned the Web site would reap a windfall. At some point, then, the cost/benefit to the company would look extremely unfavorable and they'd probably pull their ads rather than risk being put out of business.
Just pointing out something you might not have thought about.
KXXT Follies
So yeah, our local Air America affiliate, KXXT 1010 AM, has a new promo spot they're running that had me rolling on the floor. And it's absurdly simple. Remember that until Thursday of last week, they were yet another in that broad army of right wing talk radio stations. And they've been actively publicizing the phone number of their comment line since the changeover.
For 30 seconds, all you hear are enraged, shrill, irrationally angry right-wingers hurling invective, including bleeped-out obscenities. Choice quotes include, "Arizona is Bush country. We don't want your filth here," "You must just want to lose all your listeners and go out of business," "I hope you get fired for this," "F**k you!" and "Take your liberal s**t out of the Southwest!" And those were among the calmer comments. The spot ends with an announcer saying cheerfully, "Thanks for the endorsement!"
I daresay all 20 of their pre-changeover listeners called in and were quoted in that brief commercial. And boy, were they pissed!
We seem to have struck a nerve.
For 30 seconds, all you hear are enraged, shrill, irrationally angry right-wingers hurling invective, including bleeped-out obscenities. Choice quotes include, "Arizona is Bush country. We don't want your filth here," "You must just want to lose all your listeners and go out of business," "I hope you get fired for this," "F**k you!" and "Take your liberal s**t out of the Southwest!" And those were among the calmer comments. The spot ends with an announcer saying cheerfully, "Thanks for the endorsement!"
I daresay all 20 of their pre-changeover listeners called in and were quoted in that brief commercial. And boy, were they pissed!
We seem to have struck a nerve.
Back home, a weekend report and a discussion of Sirius Satellite Radio
Well THAT was an exhausting weekend. Usually, I take an extra day or two off work the weekend of the Sebastopol Celtic Festival. Otherwise, I end up doing what I did this weekend ... pack up, drive, unpack, work, work, pack up, drive, back to work and unpack sometime during the week after. No time to stop and relax. Mason, bless his heart, helped me out all weekend and managed to tolerate with some understanding my general grumpiness and neverending exhaustion. I ended up missing my Monday night class in Tucson last night -- definitely not a good thing, but I had my homework done ahead of time and was able to e-mail it to my professor at approximately the same time he would have been collecting them from my classmates, so it should be OK. I hope.
In the end, though, it was a pretty good weekend ... probably the slowest Sebastopol business in years, but I blame that partly on the fact that other than the new stuff I had for the San Diego debacle in June, I didn't get any new inventory for this festival. On top of that, though, attendance seemed to be down a bit. Still, it wasn't a total disaster the way San Diego was this summer and Salt Lake City was last summer. And we got in a Saturday evening visit to Ikea in Emeryville, managing to get out with just a rug, some napkins and a few light bulbs.
So anyway, I rented a big freaking SUV for this weekend's travel and got to experience the installed Sirius Satellite.
(This just in: REALLY funny station promo just ran on our local Air America affiliate. More to come in the next journal/blog entry)
OK, so back to Sirius. Hooked. Totally hooked. It rocks. Spent most of the time listening to the Air America station, the New Wave station and OutQ, which bills itself as something along the lines of America's GLBT station. This last is uneven but occasionally really entertaining, especially the eclectic late-night music show. LOVE the New Wave station, too.
Costs too much. But we're getting it anyway. Score one more for cooperative marketing.
In the end, though, it was a pretty good weekend ... probably the slowest Sebastopol business in years, but I blame that partly on the fact that other than the new stuff I had for the San Diego debacle in June, I didn't get any new inventory for this festival. On top of that, though, attendance seemed to be down a bit. Still, it wasn't a total disaster the way San Diego was this summer and Salt Lake City was last summer. And we got in a Saturday evening visit to Ikea in Emeryville, managing to get out with just a rug, some napkins and a few light bulbs.
So anyway, I rented a big freaking SUV for this weekend's travel and got to experience the installed Sirius Satellite.
(This just in: REALLY funny station promo just ran on our local Air America affiliate. More to come in the next journal/blog entry)
OK, so back to Sirius. Hooked. Totally hooked. It rocks. Spent most of the time listening to the Air America station, the New Wave station and OutQ, which bills itself as something along the lines of America's GLBT station. This last is uneven but occasionally really entertaining, especially the eclectic late-night music show. LOVE the New Wave station, too.
Costs too much. But we're getting it anyway. Score one more for cooperative marketing.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Yay!
It's official. Phoenix is Air America country. I had to listen to be sure, but at the stroke of midnight, a sharp stab of horns and 'You're listening to Phoenix's all-new, all-progressive talk ... 1010 AM,' then a few minutes later, the comforting, familiar Grateful Dead tune heralding the arrival of Al Franken.
Bye, bye, Mr. Savage!
I found it mildly amusing that, almost up until the changeover they were running promos for shows that shortly would be no more, at least on that station. Actually, they might keep the weekend get-rich-in-real-estate guy, since he's local and non-political. Who knows.
Bedtime now, but I had to listen to be sure.
Bye, bye, Mr. Savage!
I found it mildly amusing that, almost up until the changeover they were running promos for shows that shortly would be no more, at least on that station. Actually, they might keep the weekend get-rich-in-real-estate guy, since he's local and non-political. Who knows.
Bedtime now, but I had to listen to be sure.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Bummer.
I was SO looking forward to Oct. 13 - I have a Wednesday-night journalism ethics course with a professor who has struck me as more than a little right-wing, though she's never said such explicitly. The original plan was for us to watch the debates in class. Just now over my e-mail came this ...
"Please note the decision of the faculty. Our outside assignment will be discussed in class on Sept 22. The assignment is based on watching the debate.
"'The Presidential Debate to be held at ASU on Wednesday, October 13 is going to mean very tight security, streets closed, sections of the campus blocked off and limited parking availability. For that reason, the faculty of the Cronkite School has decided that no classes should be held on campus that day. Instead, professors who have Wednesday classes will assign work to be done outside of class as a substitute for the missed in-class work. If you have any questions, check with your instructor or call the School office at 480-xxx-xxxx.'"
Alas, I suppose my entertainment from the ensuing discussion will have to wait till after.
"Please note the decision of the faculty. Our outside assignment will be discussed in class on Sept 22. The assignment is based on watching the debate.
"'The Presidential Debate to be held at ASU on Wednesday, October 13 is going to mean very tight security, streets closed, sections of the campus blocked off and limited parking availability. For that reason, the faculty of the Cronkite School has decided that no classes should be held on campus that day. Instead, professors who have Wednesday classes will assign work to be done outside of class as a substitute for the missed in-class work. If you have any questions, check with your instructor or call the School office at 480-xxx-xxxx.'"
Alas, I suppose my entertainment from the ensuing discussion will have to wait till after.
Oh, the hypocrisy
Which is more of an obscenity -- a flash of breast, or organized and/or tacit collusion in the mass misinformation of the American people resulting in the unnecessary deaths of countless thousands?
The morals police punish the receivers of the Super Bowl satellite feed -- to wit, the TV stations.
I think every mass media outlet that acted as a court stenographer for the traitors and felons in Washington should be fined. A lot.
afterthought: Am I alone in sensing a pattern of CBS-bashing?
The morals police punish the receivers of the Super Bowl satellite feed -- to wit, the TV stations.
I think every mass media outlet that acted as a court stenographer for the traitors and felons in Washington should be fined. A lot.
afterthought: Am I alone in sensing a pattern of CBS-bashing?
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Tears for Fears - Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
Well, it finally came out. Delayed for several months when Arista Records imploded, TFF ended up with one of those covert major-labels-masquerading-as-indies, New Door (owned by Universal). I've read the reviews and heard the word of mouth, so I wasn't expecting much.
On the one hand, everyone is absolutely right. Several tracks on the CD come across like The Seeds of Love Pt. 2, though it lacks a lot of the sheer complexity that characterized that earlier album (15 years on, I still hear stuff I've never heard each time I listen), to dismiss it as a faceless sequel is to give it short shrift.
To be sure, some of the album's songs, notably the title track and 'Closest Thing to Heaven' lift not just sound but also studio tricks and sound effects directly off Seeds of Love, uncomfortably straddling the line between self-tribute and self-parody. But the band brings in other references (David Essex's 'Rock On' in 'Who Killed Tangerine' and Simon & Garfunkel's 'America' in 'Ladybird') somewhat cleverly, but in a way that makes it clear they're having fun paying tribute.
The standout songs on first listen were the first single, 'Call Me Mellow,' which bears more than a passing resemblance to the La's hit 'There She Goes,' nearly as memorable melodically and much more densely constructed, 'Quiet Ones,' which sounds more like Elemental's guitar-driven, synth-drenched rock than The Seeds of Love and 'Killing With Kindness,' which strays back into that Beatles-esque territory but ends up sounding more like XTC.
It's an uneven disc, rarely rising to the sublime, but enjoyable all the way through. It seems like Roland and Curt have exorcised a lot of their demons and reconciled with one another, and that they had a lot of fun throwing this one together. That in itself is a rarity for Tears For Fears, though I suppose the idea of a happy TFF is in itself a little unsettling.
On the one hand, everyone is absolutely right. Several tracks on the CD come across like The Seeds of Love Pt. 2, though it lacks a lot of the sheer complexity that characterized that earlier album (15 years on, I still hear stuff I've never heard each time I listen), to dismiss it as a faceless sequel is to give it short shrift.
To be sure, some of the album's songs, notably the title track and 'Closest Thing to Heaven' lift not just sound but also studio tricks and sound effects directly off Seeds of Love, uncomfortably straddling the line between self-tribute and self-parody. But the band brings in other references (David Essex's 'Rock On' in 'Who Killed Tangerine' and Simon & Garfunkel's 'America' in 'Ladybird') somewhat cleverly, but in a way that makes it clear they're having fun paying tribute.
The standout songs on first listen were the first single, 'Call Me Mellow,' which bears more than a passing resemblance to the La's hit 'There She Goes,' nearly as memorable melodically and much more densely constructed, 'Quiet Ones,' which sounds more like Elemental's guitar-driven, synth-drenched rock than The Seeds of Love and 'Killing With Kindness,' which strays back into that Beatles-esque territory but ends up sounding more like XTC.
It's an uneven disc, rarely rising to the sublime, but enjoyable all the way through. It seems like Roland and Curt have exorcised a lot of their demons and reconciled with one another, and that they had a lot of fun throwing this one together. That in itself is a rarity for Tears For Fears, though I suppose the idea of a happy TFF is in itself a little unsettling.
Fascinating
I remember being told, time and time again, not as a matter of opinion, but as a matter of well-established, unarguable and inalterable fact, that politics doesn't matter. It makes absolutely no difference in anyone's life and is completely irrelevant to the living of one's life.
Looks like he may have changed his mind. I know I'm not supposed to read, comment or even acknowledge that he exists, but I did. I cheated. And I'm so proud.
He's still probably not registered to vote, though. I dunno.
Looks like he may have changed his mind. I know I'm not supposed to read, comment or even acknowledge that he exists, but I did. I cheated. And I'm so proud.
He's still probably not registered to vote, though. I dunno.
Monday, September 20, 2004
Viruses and journalistic integrity
OK, so follow me here. If a company that made guns issued a report that said that criminals were buying guns at an unprecedented rate, and that unarmed civilians were far more likely to be victims of violent crime, would alarm bells go off in your head if newspapers ran it whole-cloth as a news story without qualification?
Why is it, then, that whenever a company that makes virus protection software puts out a report on the proliferation of viruses, their findings get republished almost verbatim with complete credulity?
I'm not saying it's not happening, but I'm getting sick of people running around saying the sky is falling everytime they do this. The exaggerations of the virus-protection industry have been well documented (including one gentleman whose name escapes me, who created a 'virus' [whose sole effect on the computer in question was to sit there, and which didn't even replicate itself] which he then submitted with a virus report to a well-known company, only to find it listed, in future updates, as a highly severe and very prevalent virus).
Whatever happened to 'question everything'?
Why is it, then, that whenever a company that makes virus protection software puts out a report on the proliferation of viruses, their findings get republished almost verbatim with complete credulity?
I'm not saying it's not happening, but I'm getting sick of people running around saying the sky is falling everytime they do this. The exaggerations of the virus-protection industry have been well documented (including one gentleman whose name escapes me, who created a 'virus' [whose sole effect on the computer in question was to sit there, and which didn't even replicate itself] which he then submitted with a virus report to a well-known company, only to find it listed, in future updates, as a highly severe and very prevalent virus).
Whatever happened to 'question everything'?
Swaggart
This 'man of God' has no soul.
From 365gay.com:
According to a transcript of the program, Swaggart said: "I'm trying to find the correct name for it ... this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. ... I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died."
The story continues:
The remarks were met with applause from his congregation.
I'm not sure which is worse, but mass approval of violence, well, kinda shakes me up. I'll allow you to make whatever historical parallels come to your own mind.
From 365gay.com:
According to a transcript of the program, Swaggart said: "I'm trying to find the correct name for it ... this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. ... I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died."
The story continues:
The remarks were met with applause from his congregation.
I'm not sure which is worse, but mass approval of violence, well, kinda shakes me up. I'll allow you to make whatever historical parallels come to your own mind.
School & the Road Trip
Well, another month of financial disaster has been staved off vis a vis school. I managed to pay this month's installment of my two universities tuitions.
No small feat when you consider that I'm also having come up with the considerable expenses necessary to travel with all my inventory to Northern California this coming weekend.
Anyone for dinner Saturday?
No small feat when you consider that I'm also having come up with the considerable expenses necessary to travel with all my inventory to Northern California this coming weekend.
Anyone for dinner Saturday?
Sunday, September 19, 2004
More from GWB dot com
I don't suppose anyone can tell me what this phrase is actually supposed to mean in a legal context ... not what it appears to mean, but read it carefully and try to figure out what one is saying when one checks this box on Shrubby's donation page:
"By clicking on this box I acknowledge that contributions from corporations and foreign nationals are prohibited."
"By clicking on this box I acknowledge that contributions from corporations and foreign nationals are prohibited."
Nuggets of wisdom from GWB dot com
'I support President Bush because ...'
"I support President Bush and his administration, because of the way in which he has handled the war on terrorism. His leadership, dedication, follow-through and hard work have made our country a safer place to live during these changing times. My family will continue to sleep well at night knowing that he's on the job!" - Keys Miller of Vancouver, WA
Safer place to live. Hard work. So apparently all is sunshine and roses in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Al Qaeda leadership has all been rolled up into a little ball. Oh, and he wasn't really on vacation 40% of the time, either. Precious.
" ... President Bush has the compassion to listen to others ..." - Cynthia Binns of Clifton, NJ
Like Dick Cheney, John Ashcroft and Donald Rumsfeld. And Ken Lay. And Halliburton. And the House of Saud. And, apparently, God, who speaks to him Joan-of-Arcadia-like on an almost daily basis. Where we come from, we call that schizophrenia ... or Lyme disease ... but who am I to say?
"I enthusiastically support the President because of his work to lower taxes for ordinary Americans ... " - Eric Eisenhammer of Agoura Hills, CA
Whoa, a Californian voting for Bush? Lower taxes ... ordinary Americans ... Um, OK, whatever. So who's paying for this war in Iraq again? Or who's gonna pay for it?
"I support President Bush because he has proven time and again to be a man of his word." - David Steding of Orlando, FL
If by that, you mean that we can trust him consistently to do the opposite of what he promises, then yes, you certainly have a point.
In the interest of avoiding a lawsuit for copyright infringement, I think I'll stop right there. It's like shooting fish in a barrel, anyway.
"I support President Bush and his administration, because of the way in which he has handled the war on terrorism. His leadership, dedication, follow-through and hard work have made our country a safer place to live during these changing times. My family will continue to sleep well at night knowing that he's on the job!" - Keys Miller of Vancouver, WA
Safer place to live. Hard work. So apparently all is sunshine and roses in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Al Qaeda leadership has all been rolled up into a little ball. Oh, and he wasn't really on vacation 40% of the time, either. Precious.
" ... President Bush has the compassion to listen to others ..." - Cynthia Binns of Clifton, NJ
Like Dick Cheney, John Ashcroft and Donald Rumsfeld. And Ken Lay. And Halliburton. And the House of Saud. And, apparently, God, who speaks to him Joan-of-Arcadia-like on an almost daily basis. Where we come from, we call that schizophrenia ... or Lyme disease ... but who am I to say?
"I enthusiastically support the President because of his work to lower taxes for ordinary Americans ... " - Eric Eisenhammer of Agoura Hills, CA
Whoa, a Californian voting for Bush? Lower taxes ... ordinary Americans ... Um, OK, whatever. So who's paying for this war in Iraq again? Or who's gonna pay for it?
"I support President Bush because he has proven time and again to be a man of his word." - David Steding of Orlando, FL
If by that, you mean that we can trust him consistently to do the opposite of what he promises, then yes, you certainly have a point.
In the interest of avoiding a lawsuit for copyright infringement, I think I'll stop right there. It's like shooting fish in a barrel, anyway.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Epistle to Jeremiah
I just thought I'd put up a little shout-out to what has become one of my favorite television shows in the last couple of years - Jeremiah.
The show has been plagued by troubles -- nasty critics who decry its ageism (the show is set 15 years in the future after a plague has killed everyone on earth over the age of puberty), ridicule about its former child star stars (Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, with Sean Astin in the second season, plus a guest appearance from Jason Priestly in season 1 as a truly creepy messianic head case), head-up-their-asses Showtime executives who had no idea how to promote it or schedule it, a nearly year-long hiatus in the middle of the second season, and the fact that MGM is so, again, head-up-their-asses meddlesome that show runner J. Michael Straczynski has left in disgust, even if they do get picked up for future seasons or other projects.
But at the core of it Jeremiah is so dense with intertwining storylines and unexpected twists that it calls to mind JMS's biggest success, Babylon 5. Jeremiah deals with philosophical, social, personal and political issues in the way that only the best science fiction can, because regular fiction is too close to the truth for comfort. It is profound in its implications and emotionally deep in a way that even Babylon 5 failed often to reach. And in the second half of the second season, which wraps up next Friday night, it seems that JMS finally, as he did with the uneven Babylon 5 followup Crusade, said 'Fuck it,' to the powers that be and went forward making the show he wanted to make.
It's like watching a big, powerful truck, pedal to the metal, heading for the edge of the canyon. It's only getting faster, and you can't help but wonder if it'll jump the crevasse or plunge to its doom ... even if you know the good guys always win in the end. But with JMS, even when the good guys win, its not without cost and it's almost always in unexpected ways.
This week's second episode ended with Daniel's army at the gates of Thunder Mountain. I'm on the edge of my seat. And I have too much homework to do; I shouldn't even be watching TV at all. Kudos to the Jeremiah crew and a big fat freaking raspberry to Showtime and MGM and everyone else who, because you can't pigeonhole good television, stick the knife in it every time.
Oh, and a related shout out to Wonderfalls, too.
The show has been plagued by troubles -- nasty critics who decry its ageism (the show is set 15 years in the future after a plague has killed everyone on earth over the age of puberty), ridicule about its former child star stars (Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, with Sean Astin in the second season, plus a guest appearance from Jason Priestly in season 1 as a truly creepy messianic head case), head-up-their-asses Showtime executives who had no idea how to promote it or schedule it, a nearly year-long hiatus in the middle of the second season, and the fact that MGM is so, again, head-up-their-asses meddlesome that show runner J. Michael Straczynski has left in disgust, even if they do get picked up for future seasons or other projects.
But at the core of it Jeremiah is so dense with intertwining storylines and unexpected twists that it calls to mind JMS's biggest success, Babylon 5. Jeremiah deals with philosophical, social, personal and political issues in the way that only the best science fiction can, because regular fiction is too close to the truth for comfort. It is profound in its implications and emotionally deep in a way that even Babylon 5 failed often to reach. And in the second half of the second season, which wraps up next Friday night, it seems that JMS finally, as he did with the uneven Babylon 5 followup Crusade, said 'Fuck it,' to the powers that be and went forward making the show he wanted to make.
It's like watching a big, powerful truck, pedal to the metal, heading for the edge of the canyon. It's only getting faster, and you can't help but wonder if it'll jump the crevasse or plunge to its doom ... even if you know the good guys always win in the end. But with JMS, even when the good guys win, its not without cost and it's almost always in unexpected ways.
This week's second episode ended with Daniel's army at the gates of Thunder Mountain. I'm on the edge of my seat. And I have too much homework to do; I shouldn't even be watching TV at all. Kudos to the Jeremiah crew and a big fat freaking raspberry to Showtime and MGM and everyone else who, because you can't pigeonhole good television, stick the knife in it every time.
Oh, and a related shout out to Wonderfalls, too.
Friday, September 17, 2004
Oh, THIS is just precious.
GOP Mailing Warns Liberals Will Ban Bibles
Would it hurt you people to stop lying now? Fercryinoutloud!
Would it hurt you people to stop lying now? Fercryinoutloud!
GWB e-mail update
Here we go -- new e-mail from the Bushies today, and the campaign has said something I can entirely agree with: "No matter what you're doing, be sure to vote. The stakes are high."
But then the e-mail goes on to push, pretty hard, the opportunity to vote early. (strategic editing alert) "By casting your vote early, you can ... be sure your voice is heard in this important election."
And then another paragraph I can entirely agree with (no editing, original emphasis):
"Your vote is important to winning and to building a safer world and a more hopeful America. I hope you will take the opportunity to vote early - either by mail or in person."
Cunning edits aside, there is an obvious push in this e-mail to get people to vote early or absentee.
Why?
But then the e-mail goes on to push, pretty hard, the opportunity to vote early. (strategic editing alert) "By casting your vote early, you can ... be sure your voice is heard in this important election."
And then another paragraph I can entirely agree with (no editing, original emphasis):
"Your vote is important to winning and to building a safer world and a more hopeful America. I hope you will take the opportunity to vote early - either by mail or in person."
Cunning edits aside, there is an obvious push in this e-mail to get people to vote early or absentee.
Why?
Thursday, September 16, 2004
A post I just wrote for the Randi Rhodes message board. I imagine this oughta spark some abuse.
OK, I know I'll probably get garrotted for apostasy or something, but hear me out.
Where did we get this idea that everything changed on 9/11?
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, since I have two complementary tendencies: Thinking too much and questioning things.
So anyway, where I'm going with this is ... Did people NOT realize there were terrorists out to get us before Sept. 11?
Was this the first time terrorist had struck at us? Was this the first time terrorists had struck inside the United States?
Now, I'm not saying it wasn't a horrible thing to have happen. It was, and the scale of it was surely beyond any previous scope. And I have the greatest of sympathy for those who directly suffered a loss as a result of the terrorist attacks. But ... How many of us were actually directly affected?
I'm also not saying that nothing changed. But we entered into this giant national and international feedback loop, watching the media coverage that in thousands of subtle and not-so-subtle ways clues us in to exactly what it is we're supposed to feel, talking with friends and family and trying in thousands of subtle and not-so-subtle ways to seem the most sympathetic, the most outraged, to tell stories about people we knew or are related to who were affected so we can claim some vicarious sympathy or righteous anger, etc., etc. until we're unable to think rationally about it.
What changed? A lot of people died tragically, and they and their extended friends and families will feel that loss forever. As a living, breathing, feeling human being, I too am saddened by that loss and feel it sympathetically. But this isn't the first tragedy we've ever suffered, and it's not like we as a nation haven't been able to move on from the tragedies of the past.
What else changed? We learned, quickly and brutally, that BushCo put partisanship ahead of sound policy and gutted antiterrorism efforts.
And what else? The US lashed out like an emotionally maladjusted child, swiping at friends and foes alike and screaming that no one could possibly understand our pain. No one. Leave me alone! LEEEEAVE MEEEE ALOOONNNNE!!!!!!
That's what changed. And it embarrasses me.
Of course, it's hard to compress all that into a 2-sentence answer when someone brainlessly parrots, "9-11 changed everything! BRAAAWWWK! 9-11 changed everything!"
Where did we get this idea that everything changed on 9/11?
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, since I have two complementary tendencies: Thinking too much and questioning things.
So anyway, where I'm going with this is ... Did people NOT realize there were terrorists out to get us before Sept. 11?
Was this the first time terrorist had struck at us? Was this the first time terrorists had struck inside the United States?
Now, I'm not saying it wasn't a horrible thing to have happen. It was, and the scale of it was surely beyond any previous scope. And I have the greatest of sympathy for those who directly suffered a loss as a result of the terrorist attacks. But ... How many of us were actually directly affected?
I'm also not saying that nothing changed. But we entered into this giant national and international feedback loop, watching the media coverage that in thousands of subtle and not-so-subtle ways clues us in to exactly what it is we're supposed to feel, talking with friends and family and trying in thousands of subtle and not-so-subtle ways to seem the most sympathetic, the most outraged, to tell stories about people we knew or are related to who were affected so we can claim some vicarious sympathy or righteous anger, etc., etc. until we're unable to think rationally about it.
What changed? A lot of people died tragically, and they and their extended friends and families will feel that loss forever. As a living, breathing, feeling human being, I too am saddened by that loss and feel it sympathetically. But this isn't the first tragedy we've ever suffered, and it's not like we as a nation haven't been able to move on from the tragedies of the past.
What else changed? We learned, quickly and brutally, that BushCo put partisanship ahead of sound policy and gutted antiterrorism efforts.
And what else? The US lashed out like an emotionally maladjusted child, swiping at friends and foes alike and screaming that no one could possibly understand our pain. No one. Leave me alone! LEEEEAVE MEEEE ALOOONNNNE!!!!!!
That's what changed. And it embarrasses me.
Of course, it's hard to compress all that into a 2-sentence answer when someone brainlessly parrots, "9-11 changed everything! BRAAAWWWK! 9-11 changed everything!"
Haiku Rd. Update
OK, just so you know, Richard and I have two gigs on the calendar, and you should all come to both! Even if you're in, like, Malaysia or something:
- Oct. 1, 7 p.m. In front of the Stop 'n' Look window at 1025 Grand Ave. in Phoenix. There's some manner of political installation there in front, and entertainment is part of it. We'll be there with many of the hit political songs we brought to the Paper Heart a few weeks ago, including "This Land is My Land," our thoughtful ruminations on recent years from the sympathetic (or merely pathetic) point of view of Our Beloved Leader.
- Oct. 23, evening. Willow House! Come spend my birthday with us. It's a Saturday night! If you don't know where Willow House is, find out. It's a landmark of sorts.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Urgent, celebratory newsflash!
Randi Rhodes just announced that starting Monday, we'll be hearing her live in Phoenix on KXXT 1010 AM!!!
I'm beyond chuffed.
I'm beyond chuffed.
Robert Novak
I've given it some careful thought, and I've decided on a new nickname for Bob Novak, everyone's favorite traitor:
Think about it.
Wormtongue
Think about it.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
An opportunity not to be missed!
The author of the little-lesbians-on-the-prairie novel Sisters will be doing an online chat on Wednesday!
Be sure to tune in, faithful readers, and ask lots of questions about this lost classic!
Thanks to the Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign for letting me know!
Be sure to tune in, faithful readers, and ask lots of questions about this lost classic!
Thanks to the Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign for letting me know!
Monday, September 13, 2004
Watching 11 September: The politics of pity
So, pursuant to an assignment for one of my assignments for school, I stumbled across an interesting scholarly journal article. (be forewarned, if you go to read the article, it's written in very scholarly language)
The basic point of the article is to evaluate the extent to which television coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks acts to establish expectations and a norm as far as viewers' feelings about, and impulse to act on, the event.
The article doesn't make any good/bad claims, but does point to a fundamental point about television coverage of catastrophic events: The tension between the feeling of 'being there' and of powerless to act directly on that suffering.
The author then points out that, in an effort to resolve that tension, pity comes into play, and a politics of pity acts on it. Politics acts on our behalf to alleviate the suffering and asuage our own discomfort.
Though never in the entire paper does she mention Iraq at all, my own thoughts on the subject led me to a certain conclusion. Whether it's war with the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan or an invasion in Iraq, the administration is acting to mediate that disconnect. On an emotional level, people feel better that something is being done.
The further moral claim of the article is that media coverage shaped the nature of our feelings about and response to September 11. My thought: Would we feel quite as outraged if we hadn't watched the second plane slam into the WTC over and over and over? And the question to which I don't have an answer: How should we really feel? And to what extent does our collective feeling of victimhood contribute to our general complacency about all the death and misery that have occurred in the Middle East as a result of our outrage? Come on, admit it, even those of us who are opposed to the war aren't generally out in the streets demonstrating our disgust for the number of innocent Iraqis and Afghanis murdered in this rampage across Lesser Asia. Through our passivity, we tacitly accept it.
I consider myself a pretty media-savvy person, but every so often I 'wake up' and realize how much even I am a tool of the media. And I realize what a grave responsibility those in the media have, especially those in TV, and how cavalierly they often treat that responsibility. (I am pleased, however, that I am personally acquainted with a number of individuals who are aware and are anything but cavalier in their attitude toward that responsibility.
I'm actually quite enjoying reading this article.
The basic point of the article is to evaluate the extent to which television coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks acts to establish expectations and a norm as far as viewers' feelings about, and impulse to act on, the event.
The article doesn't make any good/bad claims, but does point to a fundamental point about television coverage of catastrophic events: The tension between the feeling of 'being there' and of powerless to act directly on that suffering.
The author then points out that, in an effort to resolve that tension, pity comes into play, and a politics of pity acts on it. Politics acts on our behalf to alleviate the suffering and asuage our own discomfort.
Though never in the entire paper does she mention Iraq at all, my own thoughts on the subject led me to a certain conclusion. Whether it's war with the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan or an invasion in Iraq, the administration is acting to mediate that disconnect. On an emotional level, people feel better that something is being done.
The further moral claim of the article is that media coverage shaped the nature of our feelings about and response to September 11. My thought: Would we feel quite as outraged if we hadn't watched the second plane slam into the WTC over and over and over? And the question to which I don't have an answer: How should we really feel? And to what extent does our collective feeling of victimhood contribute to our general complacency about all the death and misery that have occurred in the Middle East as a result of our outrage? Come on, admit it, even those of us who are opposed to the war aren't generally out in the streets demonstrating our disgust for the number of innocent Iraqis and Afghanis murdered in this rampage across Lesser Asia. Through our passivity, we tacitly accept it.
I consider myself a pretty media-savvy person, but every so often I 'wake up' and realize how much even I am a tool of the media. And I realize what a grave responsibility those in the media have, especially those in TV, and how cavalierly they often treat that responsibility. (I am pleased, however, that I am personally acquainted with a number of individuals who are aware and are anything but cavalier in their attitude toward that responsibility.
I'm actually quite enjoying reading this article.
Friday, September 10, 2004
Love this!
A caller to the Randi Rhodes Show suggested this a moment ago as a new campaign slogan for Kerry ...
Whose boat would you rather be in?
Whose boat would you rather be in?
The other half
Well, the other less-than-half, anyway.
Joined the Bush-Cheney e-mail alert list today. Must keep track.
I feel so dirty!
Joined the Bush-Cheney e-mail alert list today. Must keep track.
I feel so dirty!
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Haiku Rd. Update
Well, emboldened by our performance at the Farewell to George W. party last month, it looks like Richard and I are ready to start moving on actually playing in public after several months of practicing!
Well, OK, there's nothing on the calendar yet except something Oct. 1 that's been pencilled in (more on that when/if it's confirmed and I figure out what exactly it is that we've agreed to do). But we are going to start recording our demo this evening at Richard's place. If any of it's good enough, I'll try to prevail on him to let me post something for your listening pleasure.
And well, OK, this isn't much of an update, but I thought I'd let y'all know we're still moving forward, though admittedly slowly thanks to my really busy schedule.
Well, OK, there's nothing on the calendar yet except something Oct. 1 that's been pencilled in (more on that when/if it's confirmed and I figure out what exactly it is that we've agreed to do). But we are going to start recording our demo this evening at Richard's place. If any of it's good enough, I'll try to prevail on him to let me post something for your listening pleasure.
And well, OK, this isn't much of an update, but I thought I'd let y'all know we're still moving forward, though admittedly slowly thanks to my really busy schedule.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
The wheel turns and returns
I've been reading a couple of books lately (specifically, Bill Clinton's autobiography and All the President's Men) that give some accounts of past presidential campaigns, and I have a brief observation or two.
I feel broadsided to realize how shamelessly history is repeating, and how no one really seems to be talking about it.
- Republican campaigns (who are not, to be fair, necessarily alone in this) have little compunction about using unethical, unfair or even illegal methods to win elections and smear their opponents. They have a history, even if you disregard Watergate.
- The favorite Republican presidential campaign strategy is to cast the Democratic opponent and a flip-flopper, indecisive and weak. Get a new strategy, you idiots!
- BushCo is using Nixon's anti-Humphrey and anti-McGovern playbook. Grow up, dumbasses.
I feel broadsided to realize how shamelessly history is repeating, and how no one really seems to be talking about it.
Scissor Sisters
So I've been listening to the Scissor Sisters CD a fair amount for the last couple of days, and it's really got me thinking.
This is sort of funny.
I mean, it's not really thinking-man's music, and I don't think it's really intended to induce thought. But I'm inclined that way anyway, so I suppose it's inevitable.
Taken on its own merits, the CD is an absolute cracker. It seems like they themselves aren't exactly sure where they stand, but if it's anywhere, it's in some weird time that overarches the mid '70s and the early '80s. Disco mixes with new wave and '70s classic rock, with forays into electroclash and other, less easily definable categories. The lyrics are straight out of '70s party culture, with a big dose of Soft Cell seediness and for all that are absolutely delightful and unsettling.
All of this provides the perfect context for their most famous recording, their hyper-disco'd "Comfortably Numb." On the face of it, it just seems bold and impudent. I can just see Roger Waters, his face contorted with rage, blood seeping from his ears and from between his clenched eyelids. But in context with the other stuff on the CD, and in its new setting, it takes on new meaning in reference to club culture. It's pretty brilliant, at the same time as being pretty fun.
What I see emerging in music makes me very, very happy. The new bands that are the most exciting are the ones that are all attitude, and not a major label-contrived attitude, either. At the same time as bands like Scissor Sisters, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, etc., etc., etc., are looking to the past for inspiration, they're attacking their music with an attitude and with outside influences that simply wouldn't have been possible in an earlier time. It's a paradigm shift back to being about something.
In some ways it does remind me of the short-lived New Romantic movement that gave the world bands like Spandau Ballet, Soft Cell, Duran Duran, Classix Nouveaux, Ultravox (mk. II), and others. On the face of it, largely, they were simply dance bands, making party music for party people (OK, well, except for Ultravox, but they were around at the same time and using synthesizers, so they get lumped in). But they were borrowing from disco and funk and other styles in ways that wouldn't have been possible before punk came around and before classic rock died. They had the punk obsession with image and attitude, but used it in a completely different way, to escape the humdrum and to make everyone's nights just a little more fabulous.
...
Yeah, I think too much.
But the Scissor Sisters CD kicks ass.
This is sort of funny.
I mean, it's not really thinking-man's music, and I don't think it's really intended to induce thought. But I'm inclined that way anyway, so I suppose it's inevitable.
Taken on its own merits, the CD is an absolute cracker. It seems like they themselves aren't exactly sure where they stand, but if it's anywhere, it's in some weird time that overarches the mid '70s and the early '80s. Disco mixes with new wave and '70s classic rock, with forays into electroclash and other, less easily definable categories. The lyrics are straight out of '70s party culture, with a big dose of Soft Cell seediness and for all that are absolutely delightful and unsettling.
All of this provides the perfect context for their most famous recording, their hyper-disco'd "Comfortably Numb." On the face of it, it just seems bold and impudent. I can just see Roger Waters, his face contorted with rage, blood seeping from his ears and from between his clenched eyelids. But in context with the other stuff on the CD, and in its new setting, it takes on new meaning in reference to club culture. It's pretty brilliant, at the same time as being pretty fun.
What I see emerging in music makes me very, very happy. The new bands that are the most exciting are the ones that are all attitude, and not a major label-contrived attitude, either. At the same time as bands like Scissor Sisters, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, etc., etc., etc., are looking to the past for inspiration, they're attacking their music with an attitude and with outside influences that simply wouldn't have been possible in an earlier time. It's a paradigm shift back to being about something.
In some ways it does remind me of the short-lived New Romantic movement that gave the world bands like Spandau Ballet, Soft Cell, Duran Duran, Classix Nouveaux, Ultravox (mk. II), and others. On the face of it, largely, they were simply dance bands, making party music for party people (OK, well, except for Ultravox, but they were around at the same time and using synthesizers, so they get lumped in). But they were borrowing from disco and funk and other styles in ways that wouldn't have been possible before punk came around and before classic rock died. They had the punk obsession with image and attitude, but used it in a completely different way, to escape the humdrum and to make everyone's nights just a little more fabulous.
...
Yeah, I think too much.
But the Scissor Sisters CD kicks ass.
Russia
Russia is a place of special interest to me, which comes as no surprise to people that know me. The name of my blog in fact, Pamyatnik (monument), is a Russian word I lifted from a poem by Derzhavin, in which he talks about his writing as building himself a monument.
But I digress. I'm worrying.
With all that happened in Beslan, I sense a danger. The state-sponsored anti-terrorism demonstrations are ominously reminiscent of Soviet tactics. Taking hostages of Chechen rebels' families is absolutely unconscionable. And it's clear that the whole issue is more complicated than the Chechen and Ingush separatist movements that have largely been blamed for the tragedy.
So Russia is clearly at a crossroads. They can reexamine their approach to Chechnya (and probably Ingushetia and maybe Ossetia, too) and foster a new society in which people have a handle on their own destinies, and which is not a breeding-ground for terrorism. Or they can clamp down and bring back old-style state control of everything civic, political and social.
The way I see it, they're teetering on that knife-edge. I know Putin's history and suspect he might not mind that latter course. But I also see signs they may go the former way. I can only hope.
And in this I see echoes of the US's own botched relationship with Iraq, so I watch with interest and dread.
But I digress. I'm worrying.
With all that happened in Beslan, I sense a danger. The state-sponsored anti-terrorism demonstrations are ominously reminiscent of Soviet tactics. Taking hostages of Chechen rebels' families is absolutely unconscionable. And it's clear that the whole issue is more complicated than the Chechen and Ingush separatist movements that have largely been blamed for the tragedy.
So Russia is clearly at a crossroads. They can reexamine their approach to Chechnya (and probably Ingushetia and maybe Ossetia, too) and foster a new society in which people have a handle on their own destinies, and which is not a breeding-ground for terrorism. Or they can clamp down and bring back old-style state control of everything civic, political and social.
The way I see it, they're teetering on that knife-edge. I know Putin's history and suspect he might not mind that latter course. But I also see signs they may go the former way. I can only hope.
And in this I see echoes of the US's own botched relationship with Iraq, so I watch with interest and dread.
Monday, September 06, 2004
Seattle retreat
Well, this weekend was occupied by a much-needed escape from Phoenix and the pressures of my current life. My mom had departed our lovely summer swelter for Washington's piny shores, to spend a couple of weeks biking, busing and otherwise traveling around enjoying scenery, people and culture.
I flew up Friday, and we spent Friday afternoon somewhat sedately, enjoying downtown Seattle and Pike Place Market, and making a quick trip over to Bainbridge Island by ferry simply because the opportunity was there. Lovely place, Bainbridge. I could retire there.
Saturday was Bumbershoot. If you've never been to, or never heard of Bumbershoot, and have any interest at all in any of the arts, really you owe it to yourself to brave the crowds and visit once. Four days of music, art, photography, film, spoken word, poetry, etc., etc., etc., that fills Seattle Center. It's bloody insane. I caught Seal's complete set (loved it, but love him so find it hard to be objective) and about half of American Music Club's (thought they were quite good but generally overrrated), as well as about half a dozen local or sub-local performers, grazed the literary marketplace, with its surprising number of vendors displaying indie comics and the like, ate food, mused at the awful line to get into the comedy theater to see a group of comics including Air America Radio's Marc Maron. In the end, we decided to trek home about then, since it was hours and hours and hours till Robyn Hitchcock was to go on, and I was already exhausted. Public Enemy was to perform Sunday night. Missed that to. Would've like to have been there.
Sunday was a short day, a morning ferry ride to Vashon Island and back and quickening the pace to try to get to the airport in time for my flight. Missed that flight, took another later one and got home very late last night. I've consequently been pretty unmotivated today.
So, superficial though it may be, that's my report ... what I did on my summer vacation.
I flew up Friday, and we spent Friday afternoon somewhat sedately, enjoying downtown Seattle and Pike Place Market, and making a quick trip over to Bainbridge Island by ferry simply because the opportunity was there. Lovely place, Bainbridge. I could retire there.
Saturday was Bumbershoot. If you've never been to, or never heard of Bumbershoot, and have any interest at all in any of the arts, really you owe it to yourself to brave the crowds and visit once. Four days of music, art, photography, film, spoken word, poetry, etc., etc., etc., that fills Seattle Center. It's bloody insane. I caught Seal's complete set (loved it, but love him so find it hard to be objective) and about half of American Music Club's (thought they were quite good but generally overrrated), as well as about half a dozen local or sub-local performers, grazed the literary marketplace, with its surprising number of vendors displaying indie comics and the like, ate food, mused at the awful line to get into the comedy theater to see a group of comics including Air America Radio's Marc Maron. In the end, we decided to trek home about then, since it was hours and hours and hours till Robyn Hitchcock was to go on, and I was already exhausted. Public Enemy was to perform Sunday night. Missed that to. Would've like to have been there.
Sunday was a short day, a morning ferry ride to Vashon Island and back and quickening the pace to try to get to the airport in time for my flight. Missed that flight, took another later one and got home very late last night. I've consequently been pretty unmotivated today.
So, superficial though it may be, that's my report ... what I did on my summer vacation.
The speech
Yes, well, the pResident's acceptance speech was quite interesting. The fact that he continues to drone on and on saying things we now know are manifestly untrue, lying about his record, claiming credit for things he either didn't do, did half-assed or half-did and totally unfunded, I'm left with only a few options.
Then again, it could be all three.
- He's being kept in the dark so deeply that he doesn't see the negative effects of his policies, never sees the protesters, never hears the bad stuff. The frozen look on his face at the heckler at one point certainly gives creedence to this idea.
- He's outright, bold-faced lying to the American people. This is the simplest explanation, but as an optimist, fundamentally, I have trouble with this one.
- He sees the world from a completely different perspective, one in which the middle class and lower class simply don't exist, and that their fate is ultimately decided by the conditions under which their betters live -- the better the master's fortunes, the better the serfs' lives.
Then again, it could be all three.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
That noise you hear ...
That noise you hear at 10 p.m. Eastern time this evening will either be my head exploding, or it'll be the Great American Shout Out.
Join the primal scream!
Join the primal scream!
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
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