Holy Bloomers Batman!
Well, not quite. I heard this on the news today, just another illustration at the lengths men will go to look at women. Ladies it’s hard to explain and probably unfathomable but, just imagine the time and effort spent in doing this and it tells you something about how men are wired.
There has been a disturbing discovery on the Upper East Side. Police have found a camera hidden under a grate positioned to take indecent pictures of unsuspecting women.
It was around 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon when people on the street outside a church at 88th and Lexington, wondered if police had located a bomb.
May 18, 2005
May 11, 2005
Your politicians hard at work
We certainly know that the Yankees will. One of the main purposes of a new stadium from the Yankees' point of view is the addition of luxury suites—50 to 60—all of which, presumably, will be purchased by corporations, and— surprise!—the average fan is going to get stuck with significantly higher ticket costs. Proposals for the new stadium have indicated that the seating will be reduced from its current 57,000+ to between 47,000 and 50,000. Why fewer seats? Because the law of more demand for fewer seats dictates that the price of tickets will rise significantly.
Yeah, finding funding for schools, roads and mass transit is difficult but, we can always find the money to build new stadiums.
We certainly know that the Yankees will. One of the main purposes of a new stadium from the Yankees' point of view is the addition of luxury suites—50 to 60—all of which, presumably, will be purchased by corporations, and— surprise!—the average fan is going to get stuck with significantly higher ticket costs. Proposals for the new stadium have indicated that the seating will be reduced from its current 57,000+ to between 47,000 and 50,000. Why fewer seats? Because the law of more demand for fewer seats dictates that the price of tickets will rise significantly.
Yeah, finding funding for schools, roads and mass transit is difficult but, we can always find the money to build new stadiums.
All protein shakes are not alike?
A story so bizarre, it’s laughable you’d think it wasn’t true but...
the Food and Drug Administration is about to implement new rules recommending that any man who has engaged in homosexual sex in the previous five years be barred from serving as an anonymous sperm donor.
A story so bizarre, it’s laughable you’d think it wasn’t true but...
the Food and Drug Administration is about to implement new rules recommending that any man who has engaged in homosexual sex in the previous five years be barred from serving as an anonymous sperm donor.
insipid
adj 1: lacking taste or flavor or tang; "a bland diet"; "insipid hospital food"; "flavorless supermarket tomatoes"; "vapid beer"; "vapid tea" [syn: bland, flat, flavorless, flavourless, savorless, savourless, vapid] 2: lacking significance or impact; "an insipid novel" 3: lacking interest or significance; "an insipid personality"; "jejune novel" [syn: jejune] 4: not pleasing to the sense of taste [syn: tasteless]
The other day I was thinking how I could bet if I looked up the word insipid in the dictionary, I would almost be insured to find Paris Hilton’s picture there.
What is the fascination with this woman?
There is something of a vacant quality in her eyes making one get the sense she could be the poster child of the mentally challenged. I mean outside of being spawned by a well-to-do family what is her claim to fame? She is the embodiment of Beavis in the form of a skinny blonde girl. Is she anything more than this generation’s Princess Stephanie or Gloria Vanderbilt?
adj 1: lacking taste or flavor or tang; "a bland diet"; "insipid hospital food"; "flavorless supermarket tomatoes"; "vapid beer"; "vapid tea" [syn: bland, flat, flavorless, flavourless, savorless, savourless, vapid] 2: lacking significance or impact; "an insipid novel" 3: lacking interest or significance; "an insipid personality"; "jejune novel" [syn: jejune] 4: not pleasing to the sense of taste [syn: tasteless]
The other day I was thinking how I could bet if I looked up the word insipid in the dictionary, I would almost be insured to find Paris Hilton’s picture there.
What is the fascination with this woman?
There is something of a vacant quality in her eyes making one get the sense she could be the poster child of the mentally challenged. I mean outside of being spawned by a well-to-do family what is her claim to fame? She is the embodiment of Beavis in the form of a skinny blonde girl. Is she anything more than this generation’s Princess Stephanie or Gloria Vanderbilt?
May 6, 2005
I sit at my computer and literally there is a cat at my shoulder. She jumps up onto my lap, when she becomes bored with that, she climbs up my arm to take residence on the back of the chair and then when her perch becomes too precarious, settles in with her front paws resting upon my left shoulder as her back legs are braced against the chairs’ back - I’d take a picture if I knew that I could do it somehow without disturbing her.
May 5, 2005
May 3, 2005
More about Brooklyn...
“transformation,” “unprecedented,” and “of watershed importance” was how Bloomberg and the council members described the plan, which calls for the creation of as many as 28 towers ranging from 20 to 40 stories along this long derelict section of the Brooklyn coast line.
Well, there goes the neighborhood. Between this, the lack of progress on the downtown development and the West Side stadium - Mikey B. is proving himself to be an even more imperious ruler than Rudy G - hard to believe.
And on the other side...
Last week, Eisenberg led a coalition of manufacturers who launched orange balloons on 400-foot lengths of fishing wire to illustrate just how tall the mayor’s proposed towers would be.
“We’re calling it the Brooklyn Gates, because it symbolizes our opposition to what they’re building on the waterfront, which is gated communities,” Eisenberg says.
“Four hundred feet—that’s taller than the Williamsburg bridge,” she adds. “Business like ours can’t survive with that kind of real estate pressure. Once the property values rise, we’ll have no choice but to sell out.”
It turns out the police also seem to think 400 feet is too high. Last week, they ordered the balloons lowered to 100 feet, claiming they were a flight hazard.
“transformation,” “unprecedented,” and “of watershed importance” was how Bloomberg and the council members described the plan, which calls for the creation of as many as 28 towers ranging from 20 to 40 stories along this long derelict section of the Brooklyn coast line.
Well, there goes the neighborhood. Between this, the lack of progress on the downtown development and the West Side stadium - Mikey B. is proving himself to be an even more imperious ruler than Rudy G - hard to believe.
And on the other side...
Last week, Eisenberg led a coalition of manufacturers who launched orange balloons on 400-foot lengths of fishing wire to illustrate just how tall the mayor’s proposed towers would be.
“We’re calling it the Brooklyn Gates, because it symbolizes our opposition to what they’re building on the waterfront, which is gated communities,” Eisenberg says.
“Four hundred feet—that’s taller than the Williamsburg bridge,” she adds. “Business like ours can’t survive with that kind of real estate pressure. Once the property values rise, we’ll have no choice but to sell out.”
It turns out the police also seem to think 400 feet is too high. Last week, they ordered the balloons lowered to 100 feet, claiming they were a flight hazard.
The problem with the boroughs...
“To be honest, it was my husband’s parents who snapped us out of it. When they found out we were looking in Brooklyn, they threw a fit: We spent a lifetime trying to get out of the boroughs and you want to take us back?!”
Trying to describe the feeling to someone who hasn’t experienced it is impossible but, the article referenced above sums it up. From this week’s New York magazine - Why I Hate Brooklyn.
“To be honest, it was my husband’s parents who snapped us out of it. When they found out we were looking in Brooklyn, they threw a fit: We spent a lifetime trying to get out of the boroughs and you want to take us back?!”
Trying to describe the feeling to someone who hasn’t experienced it is impossible but, the article referenced above sums it up. From this week’s New York magazine - Why I Hate Brooklyn.
Ouch, that‘s gotta hurt!
On the heels of attending a relative’s sweet sixteen party and observing the behavior of teenagers. The ratio of girls to boys was in the neighborhood of 7 or 8 to 1. The boys were all terribly self-conscious. The girls all dressed to the nines, dancing with abandon and having fun. The boys uncomfortably dressed, the few that managed to shuffle out to the dance floor did their impression of dancing with their hands in their pockets vaguely shuffling to the music. Some things never change, I imagine youth really is wasted on the young.
I wish I knew when I was 15 that I was a lesbian. I had a lot of sloppy guy kisses/fucks before I realized there was a reason I never enjoyed them. My suggestion to Girls Also Longing is to not rule out the possibility that she may one day turn out gay like I did. Besides, most 15-year-old boys don't know what a clit is anyway.
This week’s Savage Love column.
On the heels of attending a relative’s sweet sixteen party and observing the behavior of teenagers. The ratio of girls to boys was in the neighborhood of 7 or 8 to 1. The boys were all terribly self-conscious. The girls all dressed to the nines, dancing with abandon and having fun. The boys uncomfortably dressed, the few that managed to shuffle out to the dance floor did their impression of dancing with their hands in their pockets vaguely shuffling to the music. Some things never change, I imagine youth really is wasted on the young.
I wish I knew when I was 15 that I was a lesbian. I had a lot of sloppy guy kisses/fucks before I realized there was a reason I never enjoyed them. My suggestion to Girls Also Longing is to not rule out the possibility that she may one day turn out gay like I did. Besides, most 15-year-old boys don't know what a clit is anyway.
This week’s Savage Love column.
A political metamorphosis...
How a popular politician is repostioning herself:
She has backed every defense appropriation bill, including the latest $81 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan. The committee, Sheinkopf adds, “raises her national profile in a way that is out of sync with how her enemies would present her. It’s important for her career.”
How a popular politician is repostioning herself:
She has backed every defense appropriation bill, including the latest $81 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan. The committee, Sheinkopf adds, “raises her national profile in a way that is out of sync with how her enemies would present her. It’s important for her career.”
First, it was those wacky Iraqis. Now, it‘s those zany Iranies!
“Iranians in general have big noses and that's one of the reasons why this surgery is so popular,” says Ali Bahrami in Farsi.
“Plastic surgery is better appearance for people, and I think God like this.”
An actual story which ran on CBS news, just incredible.
“Iranians in general have big noses and that's one of the reasons why this surgery is so popular,” says Ali Bahrami in Farsi.
“Plastic surgery is better appearance for people, and I think God like this.”
An actual story which ran on CBS news, just incredible.
Read into this what you will...
A vanishing sight in Manhattan is the painted sign on the side of a building. They’re interesting if only as an example of design and typography of a certain period in New York’s history. 14to42.net is a site devoted to the study of such signs in that part of Manhattan.
A vanishing sight in Manhattan is the painted sign on the side of a building. They’re interesting if only as an example of design and typography of a certain period in New York’s history. 14to42.net is a site devoted to the study of such signs in that part of Manhattan.
In a pickle?
“When you said about the one problem that you had...what does it consist of?”
“Marijuana.”
“Oh. OK. So nothing major?”
“Yeah he said he would take me down to get that stuff. I mean I have no idea what it is so you would have to show me. Is that a problem?”
“No, not at all.”
So, with a war going on, just how many young people are lining up to join the Armed Forces? If the line is growing progressively shorter, just how far will recruiters bend the rules to get more warm bodies? Saw this early this morning on the news - in the words of Ricky Ricardo, “...you got some ’splaining to do!”
“When you said about the one problem that you had...what does it consist of?”
“Marijuana.”
“Oh. OK. So nothing major?”
“Yeah he said he would take me down to get that stuff. I mean I have no idea what it is so you would have to show me. Is that a problem?”
“No, not at all.”
So, with a war going on, just how many young people are lining up to join the Armed Forces? If the line is growing progressively shorter, just how far will recruiters bend the rules to get more warm bodies? Saw this early this morning on the news - in the words of Ricky Ricardo, “...you got some ’splaining to do!”
May 2, 2005
More talk about food and buildings...
Just another thing I cam across in my aimless ramblings but, certainly a lot of fun to spend some time nosing around:
Eve with a moldy lid...
Put a hat on it...
Fly cake or Roach cake...
Bucket of cold mud...
Houseboat or Dagwood Special...
Dusty Miller...
Fish eyes or Cat's eyes...
Just another thing I cam across in my aimless ramblings but, certainly a lot of fun to spend some time nosing around:
Eve with a moldy lid...
Put a hat on it...
Fly cake or Roach cake...
Bucket of cold mud...
Houseboat or Dagwood Special...
Dusty Miller...
Fish eyes or Cat's eyes...
May 1, 2005
The Graphing Calculator...
...and its long strange trip to the Apple menu. I came across this rather interesting tale dug long hours cresting the tsunamis of the internet. Mac users will recall the “Graphing Calculator,” that rather odd, small freebie that shipped with the older OS. I never had much use for it, other than playing with it and seeing the strange shapes it could create. The story of how it made its way to the Apple menu though is a commentary on the dysfuntional way corporations work.
It reminded me of a co-worker from my years at Grey who when fired, simply wouldn’t leave (more on that another time).
I used to be a contractor for Apple, working on a secret project. Unfortunately, the computer we were building never saw the light of day. The project was so plagued by politics and ego that when the engineers requested technical oversight, our manager hired a psychologist instead. In August 1993, the project was canceled. A year of my work evaporated, my contract ended, and I was unemployed.
I was frustrated by all the wasted effort, so I decided to uncancel my small part of the project. I had been paid to do a job, and I wanted to finish it. My electronic badge still opened Apple's doors, so I just kept showing up.
You can also listen to the story (Real Player required) as was featured in an episode of This American Life.
...and its long strange trip to the Apple menu. I came across this rather interesting tale dug long hours cresting the tsunamis of the internet. Mac users will recall the “Graphing Calculator,” that rather odd, small freebie that shipped with the older OS. I never had much use for it, other than playing with it and seeing the strange shapes it could create. The story of how it made its way to the Apple menu though is a commentary on the dysfuntional way corporations work.
It reminded me of a co-worker from my years at Grey who when fired, simply wouldn’t leave (more on that another time).
I used to be a contractor for Apple, working on a secret project. Unfortunately, the computer we were building never saw the light of day. The project was so plagued by politics and ego that when the engineers requested technical oversight, our manager hired a psychologist instead. In August 1993, the project was canceled. A year of my work evaporated, my contract ended, and I was unemployed.
I was frustrated by all the wasted effort, so I decided to uncancel my small part of the project. I had been paid to do a job, and I wanted to finish it. My electronic badge still opened Apple's doors, so I just kept showing up.
You can also listen to the story (Real Player required) as was featured in an episode of This American Life.
Apr 30, 2005
NO SOUP FOR YOU!
The brusque New York chef who was lampooned on “Seinfeld” as the “Soup Nazi” plans to open a chain of takeout soup stands across North America. But don’t expect the authentically rude New York treatment.
Signs will be posted in each of “The Original Soup Man” franchises bearing chef Al Yeganeh’s strict rules for ordering, such as “Have your money ready!” and “Move to the extreme left after ordering!” But a company spokesman said workers will be prohibited from shouting, “No soup for you!” at customers who disobey.
I guess it’s the really intense eyes, the dark brows and the withering glare...
I am admittedly a fan of the Soup Man. A few years back when I was working over on 8th Avenue I decided to do some exploring, remembered hearing about his storefront and decided to check it out for myself. I was immediately taken with the delicious flavors of the man’s soup. Yeah, it was a little pricey but, the small touches with complimentary pieces of fruit, bread and a small chocolate which offset any hesitation I might have had especially, when compared with the alternatives (close to the same amount spent on lunch but on a much less savory meal).
When I spread the news among my co-workers, one person wanted to make the trip just out of the desire to see if a rise could be gotten out of the man. Another time I went with a friend who found herself somewhat slighted by the man’s brusque manner. Overall though, I never had a problem. Through the years, I found Al to be nothing if business like and courteous (surprising to some no doubt). Of course, I could see the sense in trying to keep a line moving when your business is operating out of a storefront, your customers standing on line in all sorts of weather and knowing any delay could wind up costing you business.
CUSTOMER
FOR THE MOST EFFICIENT AND FASTEST SERVICE THE LINE MUST BE KEPT MOVING.
Pick the Soup You Want!
Have Your Money Ready!
Move to the Extreme Left After Ordering!
The International Soup Kitchen as Al’s business is called, literally is nothing more than a storefront with a counter on the street and you stand in line waiting to place your order. Since there are only a few choices, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would have a problem ordering since before you even get to the counter you’ve probably been standing in line long enough to make up your mind.
Well, over the months, I got used to Al’s soup and was disappointed when I arrived one day in April to find it closed! As it turned out, Al closed every year from around April through November (the warmer months) figuring soup not to be in as much of a demand when the weather is nice and toasty.
You see, I found that when there wasn’t a line. Al would be quite nice and gracious is you were at all polite and civil with him. Saddled with both the boon and bane of the infamous Seinfeld episode had bought him a somewhat perverse notoriety which he wasn’t altogether comfortable with (I don’t imagine anyone would want to be called a Nazi - for any reason).
Over time, he’s proven to be quite nice. At one point, late one March I asked quietly how many more weeks he would be open before his annual holiday and he looked at me somewhat conspiratorially and put his finger to his lips. Off to the side he told me he’d be open only for another week or so but he didn’t like the news to get out for fear of it hurting business.
Since we’re in April now, the Soup Kitchen is closed for the summer but, I’ll let you in on a little secret. All of Al’s soups are also sold frozen and it winds up being a much better deal as you get considerably more soup for around the same price. I can’t wait until he gets back and opens again as I have sorely missed his Mulligatawny, Chili and Bisques.
All in all I wish him the best of luck with his plans.
We offer everyday:.....................................Hot Soups
· One seafood (Lobster, Crab, Shrimp, Seafood Combination, ...) bisque.
· One vegetarian (Black Bean, Lentil, Yankee Bean, Lima Bean, Black Eye Pea, ...)
· One spicy Mexican chili (Turkey, Beef, Chicken, Sausage, Mushroom, Beans, Vegetarian ...)
· One Clear Broth (Chicken Vegetable, Chicken Broccoli, .......)
And a few other soups such as:
· Barley (Mushroom, Chicken, Beef, Vegetable, Turkey, ...)
· Gumbo (Beef, Chicken, Shrimp, Seafood, Turkey)
· Goulash (Beef, Veal, ...)
· Cream less Vegetables (Asparagus, Mushroom, Potatoes & Corn, ...)
In seasons:................................................Chilled Soups
· Gazpacho, Cucumber, Vichyssoise, Fruit, Borscht, ...
· And many more exotic, authentic and inventive soups.
Just remember...
...and I have to say I have never once in all my treks to his establishment heard him utter those words, “No soup for you!”
The brusque New York chef who was lampooned on “Seinfeld” as the “Soup Nazi” plans to open a chain of takeout soup stands across North America. But don’t expect the authentically rude New York treatment.
Signs will be posted in each of “The Original Soup Man” franchises bearing chef Al Yeganeh’s strict rules for ordering, such as “Have your money ready!” and “Move to the extreme left after ordering!” But a company spokesman said workers will be prohibited from shouting, “No soup for you!” at customers who disobey.
I guess it’s the really intense eyes, the dark brows and the withering glare...
I am admittedly a fan of the Soup Man. A few years back when I was working over on 8th Avenue I decided to do some exploring, remembered hearing about his storefront and decided to check it out for myself. I was immediately taken with the delicious flavors of the man’s soup. Yeah, it was a little pricey but, the small touches with complimentary pieces of fruit, bread and a small chocolate which offset any hesitation I might have had especially, when compared with the alternatives (close to the same amount spent on lunch but on a much less savory meal).
When I spread the news among my co-workers, one person wanted to make the trip just out of the desire to see if a rise could be gotten out of the man. Another time I went with a friend who found herself somewhat slighted by the man’s brusque manner. Overall though, I never had a problem. Through the years, I found Al to be nothing if business like and courteous (surprising to some no doubt). Of course, I could see the sense in trying to keep a line moving when your business is operating out of a storefront, your customers standing on line in all sorts of weather and knowing any delay could wind up costing you business.
FOR THE MOST EFFICIENT AND FASTEST SERVICE THE LINE MUST BE KEPT MOVING.
Pick the Soup You Want!
Have Your Money Ready!
Move to the Extreme Left After Ordering!
The International Soup Kitchen as Al’s business is called, literally is nothing more than a storefront with a counter on the street and you stand in line waiting to place your order. Since there are only a few choices, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would have a problem ordering since before you even get to the counter you’ve probably been standing in line long enough to make up your mind.
Well, over the months, I got used to Al’s soup and was disappointed when I arrived one day in April to find it closed! As it turned out, Al closed every year from around April through November (the warmer months) figuring soup not to be in as much of a demand when the weather is nice and toasty.
You see, I found that when there wasn’t a line. Al would be quite nice and gracious is you were at all polite and civil with him. Saddled with both the boon and bane of the infamous Seinfeld episode had bought him a somewhat perverse notoriety which he wasn’t altogether comfortable with (I don’t imagine anyone would want to be called a Nazi - for any reason).
Over time, he’s proven to be quite nice. At one point, late one March I asked quietly how many more weeks he would be open before his annual holiday and he looked at me somewhat conspiratorially and put his finger to his lips. Off to the side he told me he’d be open only for another week or so but he didn’t like the news to get out for fear of it hurting business.
Since we’re in April now, the Soup Kitchen is closed for the summer but, I’ll let you in on a little secret. All of Al’s soups are also sold frozen and it winds up being a much better deal as you get considerably more soup for around the same price. I can’t wait until he gets back and opens again as I have sorely missed his Mulligatawny, Chili and Bisques.
All in all I wish him the best of luck with his plans.
We offer everyday:.....................................Hot Soups
· One seafood (Lobster, Crab, Shrimp, Seafood Combination, ...) bisque.
· One vegetarian (Black Bean, Lentil, Yankee Bean, Lima Bean, Black Eye Pea, ...)
· One spicy Mexican chili (Turkey, Beef, Chicken, Sausage, Mushroom, Beans, Vegetarian ...)
· One Clear Broth (Chicken Vegetable, Chicken Broccoli, .......)
And a few other soups such as:
· Barley (Mushroom, Chicken, Beef, Vegetable, Turkey, ...)
· Gumbo (Beef, Chicken, Shrimp, Seafood, Turkey)
· Goulash (Beef, Veal, ...)
· Cream less Vegetables (Asparagus, Mushroom, Potatoes & Corn, ...)
In seasons:................................................Chilled Soups
· Gazpacho, Cucumber, Vichyssoise, Fruit, Borscht, ...
· And many more exotic, authentic and inventive soups.
Just remember...
...and I have to say I have never once in all my treks to his establishment heard him utter those words, “No soup for you!”
More from the world of computers or GO FISH!
For students duped by a bogus e-mail claiming to be from the IU server, two students at the School of Informatics have a message: You’ve been spoofed by fictitious identity hackers.
The hackers, graduate students Tom Jagatic and Nate Johnson, conducted an e-mail experiment last week that has outraged some students and raised important questions about privacy and the public sphere.
and...
Phishing Attacks Using Social Networks
Human Subject Study #05-9893, #05-9892
Research Study Blog
Phishing is the fraudulent acquisition, through deception, of sensitive personal information such as passwords, by masquerading as someone trustworthy.
Data gathered from the Internet was analyzed and used to create a contextual type of attack using deception. An email was spoofed by us, misrepresenting a communication between two friends, Alice and Bob. It is presumed an email from a friend would typically hold more credibility than from some unknown person/entity. The emails which were spoofed were not actually sent from the subject’s personal email accounts.
How many of these emails wind up in my Spam box everyday - you’d be surprised.
For students duped by a bogus e-mail claiming to be from the IU server, two students at the School of Informatics have a message: You’ve been spoofed by fictitious identity hackers.
The hackers, graduate students Tom Jagatic and Nate Johnson, conducted an e-mail experiment last week that has outraged some students and raised important questions about privacy and the public sphere.
and...
Phishing Attacks Using Social Networks
Human Subject Study #05-9893, #05-9892
Research Study Blog
Phishing is the fraudulent acquisition, through deception, of sensitive personal information such as passwords, by masquerading as someone trustworthy.
Data gathered from the Internet was analyzed and used to create a contextual type of attack using deception. An email was spoofed by us, misrepresenting a communication between two friends, Alice and Bob. It is presumed an email from a friend would typically hold more credibility than from some unknown person/entity. The emails which were spoofed were not actually sent from the subject’s personal email accounts.
How many of these emails wind up in my Spam box everyday - you’d be surprised.
A little tidbit for thought going out to all you Windows users...
In a move that could rankle privacy advocates, Microsoft said Monday that it is adding the PC equivalent of a flight data recorder to the next version of Windows, in an effort to better understand and prevent computer crashes...
...With businesses, however, IT managers typically set the policy. If they wanted total information, they could configure systems so that they’d know not only that a user was running Internet Explorer, for example, but also that he or she was watching a video from ESPN.com. Or, they might find out not only that a worker was running Instant Messenger but also that he or she was talking to a co-worker about getting a new job.
Yes, they take things away like a thief in the night an always under the guise of making your life easier.
In a move that could rankle privacy advocates, Microsoft said Monday that it is adding the PC equivalent of a flight data recorder to the next version of Windows, in an effort to better understand and prevent computer crashes...
...With businesses, however, IT managers typically set the policy. If they wanted total information, they could configure systems so that they’d know not only that a user was running Internet Explorer, for example, but also that he or she was watching a video from ESPN.com. Or, they might find out not only that a worker was running Instant Messenger but also that he or she was talking to a co-worker about getting a new job.
Yes, they take things away like a thief in the night an always under the guise of making your life easier.
The profane...
Christopher Priest’s (Jim Owsley in another life, a friend’s old boss) incomplete list of people who should go to hell.
You’ll find no argument from me, although I’ll probably wind up on it for linking directly to the list.
Hell, check out DigitalPriest.com while you’re at it.
Christopher Priest’s (Jim Owsley in another life, a friend’s old boss) incomplete list of people who should go to hell.
You’ll find no argument from me, although I’ll probably wind up on it for linking directly to the list.
Hell, check out DigitalPriest.com while you’re at it.
Apr 26, 2005
Apr 22, 2005
Ear candy...
Just have to mention in passing, I had ordered a few things from Amazon (DVDs and a CD) and I finally got to cracking the plastic on the CD the other day. It’s Beck’s latest, Guero and it’s simply wonderful...
I prayed heaven today
would bring its hammer down on me
and pound you out of my head
I can’t think with you in it
I dragged all that I owned
down a dirt road to find you
my shoes worn out and used
they can’t take me much farther
something always takes the place
of missing pieces
you can take and put together even though
you know there's something missing
the sun burned a hole in my roof
I can’t seem to fix it
I hope the rain doesn’t come
and wash me down the gutter
she rides in a car like a queen on a card
and the guns of her mind aim a line
straight at mine to a heart that was broke
tried to feel but got choked in the smoke of a desert
a beach with no leisure a night that’s so blue
feed the aching in you and the background
birds take a flight from the earth
where the bonfire burns and the night
current turns on a lifeboat floating
down a river of sleep
I can’t see her hollow eyes
I’m walkin along with my boots full of rocks
I can't believe these tears were mine
I’ll give them to you to put away in a box
something always takes the place of
missing pieces you can take and put
together even though
you know there’s something missing
something always missing always
someone missing something
Just have to mention in passing, I had ordered a few things from Amazon (DVDs and a CD) and I finally got to cracking the plastic on the CD the other day. It’s Beck’s latest, Guero and it’s simply wonderful...
I prayed heaven today
would bring its hammer down on me
and pound you out of my head
I can’t think with you in it
I dragged all that I owned
down a dirt road to find you
my shoes worn out and used
they can’t take me much farther
something always takes the place
of missing pieces
you can take and put together even though
you know there's something missing
the sun burned a hole in my roof
I can’t seem to fix it
I hope the rain doesn’t come
and wash me down the gutter
she rides in a car like a queen on a card
and the guns of her mind aim a line
straight at mine to a heart that was broke
tried to feel but got choked in the smoke of a desert
a beach with no leisure a night that’s so blue
feed the aching in you and the background
birds take a flight from the earth
where the bonfire burns and the night
current turns on a lifeboat floating
down a river of sleep
I can’t see her hollow eyes
I’m walkin along with my boots full of rocks
I can't believe these tears were mine
I’ll give them to you to put away in a box
something always takes the place of
missing pieces you can take and put
together even though
you know there’s something missing
something always missing always
someone missing something
Caught between the two extremes...
The trend over the last several weeks seems to have been of bouncing between subjects either sacred or profane. There’s no discernible cause for this that I am aware of other than the fact we are all more than we appear to be (or what others would believe us to be).
In any event, I was doing some exploration in conjunction with trying to find out the name of the program on the history of Judaism which I had seen on PBS and I came across some other information which I found fascinating and thought I would pass along...
Samaritanism is a religion related to Judaism in that it accepts the Torah as its holy book, though there are differences in the version accepted. Samaritanists consider Jewish thinkers after the Torah as having been led astray while they themselves stayed to the true religion. Their temple was at Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem. Very few followers remain today: about 500 living near Mt. Gerizim.
further...
Like the Jews, the Samaritans are both a religious and an ethnic group. Ethnically, they are descended from the inhabitants of Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the beginning of the Christian era. Religiously, they are the adherents of Samaritanism which resembles Temple or pre-rabbinical Judaism.
Which ties into this...
This parable is one of the most famous in the Bible and its influence is such that to be called a Samaritan in Western culture today is to be described as a generous person who is ready to provide aid to people in distress without hesitation. In many English-speaking countries, a Good Samaritan law exists to protect from liability those who choose to aid people who are seriously ill or injured.
It is important to note that Samaritans were despised as apostates by the story’s target audience. Thus the parable, as told originally, had a significant theme of non-discrimination and interracial harmony. But as the Samaritan population dwindled to near-extinction, this aspect of the parable became less and less discernible: fewer and fewer people ever met or interacted with Samaritans, or even heard of them in any context other than this one.
The trend over the last several weeks seems to have been of bouncing between subjects either sacred or profane. There’s no discernible cause for this that I am aware of other than the fact we are all more than we appear to be (or what others would believe us to be).
In any event, I was doing some exploration in conjunction with trying to find out the name of the program on the history of Judaism which I had seen on PBS and I came across some other information which I found fascinating and thought I would pass along...
Samaritanism is a religion related to Judaism in that it accepts the Torah as its holy book, though there are differences in the version accepted. Samaritanists consider Jewish thinkers after the Torah as having been led astray while they themselves stayed to the true religion. Their temple was at Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem. Very few followers remain today: about 500 living near Mt. Gerizim.
further...
Like the Jews, the Samaritans are both a religious and an ethnic group. Ethnically, they are descended from the inhabitants of Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the beginning of the Christian era. Religiously, they are the adherents of Samaritanism which resembles Temple or pre-rabbinical Judaism.
Which ties into this...
This parable is one of the most famous in the Bible and its influence is such that to be called a Samaritan in Western culture today is to be described as a generous person who is ready to provide aid to people in distress without hesitation. In many English-speaking countries, a Good Samaritan law exists to protect from liability those who choose to aid people who are seriously ill or injured.
It is important to note that Samaritans were despised as apostates by the story’s target audience. Thus the parable, as told originally, had a significant theme of non-discrimination and interracial harmony. But as the Samaritan population dwindled to near-extinction, this aspect of the parable became less and less discernible: fewer and fewer people ever met or interacted with Samaritans, or even heard of them in any context other than this one.
I caught this show one night...
I was up really late while doing the nightshift thing and I found myself just fascinated by this show that I caught on PBS. Either I don’t remember learning this in school or more than likely as most teenagers, I wasn’t paying attention. I find myself more and more fascinated by the study of history as the years go by.
I was up really late while doing the nightshift thing and I found myself just fascinated by this show that I caught on PBS. Either I don’t remember learning this in school or more than likely as most teenagers, I wasn’t paying attention. I find myself more and more fascinated by the study of history as the years go by.
Apr 18, 2005
Be the “hit” of the party...
Singles Mixer: Weed out the Possibles from the Randoms (New York City)
To register
1) Go online to www.OneKeyAway.com
2) Click on to the event you want to go to
3) Sign up
4) Take the Questionnaire online
5) Show up at the venue
cost:
$10 if registered online at www.onekeyaway.com by May 10, 2005
$15 cash at door.
Started at the Beaches of Southern California, OneKeyAway is a singles-events company that uses the MatchlinC Technology devices. At events, guests introduce themselves by approaching another and pressing a device that shows how compatible they are with each other. These devices are electronic personality compatibility gadgets the size of a small car alarm remote and used as both an ice-breaking tool and an electronic “match maker.”
The more I get ready to get “back on the horse” so to speak, the more I see how the landscape has changed. Modern technology bought to the world of dating, point and click your potential mate.
Singles Mixer: Weed out the Possibles from the Randoms (New York City)
To register
1) Go online to www.OneKeyAway.com
2) Click on to the event you want to go to
3) Sign up
4) Take the Questionnaire online
5) Show up at the venue
cost:
$10 if registered online at www.onekeyaway.com by May 10, 2005
$15 cash at door.
Started at the Beaches of Southern California, OneKeyAway is a singles-events company that uses the MatchlinC Technology devices. At events, guests introduce themselves by approaching another and pressing a device that shows how compatible they are with each other. These devices are electronic personality compatibility gadgets the size of a small car alarm remote and used as both an ice-breaking tool and an electronic “match maker.”
The more I get ready to get “back on the horse” so to speak, the more I see how the landscape has changed. Modern technology bought to the world of dating, point and click your potential mate.
Embrace the future...
From the wonderful people over at WhiteHouse.org not to be confused with WhiteHouse.gov
From the wonderful people over at WhiteHouse.org not to be confused with WhiteHouse.gov
Apr 17, 2005
Junior’s game of RISK
Dovetailing into an earlier post regarding Seymour Hersh’s article on US plans to attack Iran:
Hardly any country on the planet sits in a more crucial spot than the harsh dictatorship of Azerbaijan, so that's probably why Don Rumsfeld sneaked off to its rowdy capital, Baku, earlier this week.
Bushbeat is very entertaining, I recommend bookmarking it.
Dovetailing into an earlier post regarding Seymour Hersh’s article on US plans to attack Iran:
Hardly any country on the planet sits in a more crucial spot than the harsh dictatorship of Azerbaijan, so that's probably why Don Rumsfeld sneaked off to its rowdy capital, Baku, earlier this week.
Bushbeat is very entertaining, I recommend bookmarking it.
Apr 16, 2005
I’m in one of those introspective phases...
The kind where you do a little bit of a retreat, recharge batteries, figure out the next move. Everytime I find myself in one of these periods, I hear the echo of this song.
He would see faces in movies, on T.V., in magazines, and in books... He thought that some of these faces might be right for him... And through the years, by keeing an ideal facial structure fixed in his mind... Or somewhere in the back of his mind... That he might, by force of will, cause his face to approach those of his ideal... The change would be very subtle... It might take ten years or so... Gradually his face would change its’ shape... A more hooked nose... Wider, thinner lips....Beady eyes... A larger forehead.
He imagined that this was an ability he shared with most other people... They had also molded their face according to some ideal... Maybe they imagined that their new face would better suit their personality... Or maybe they imagined that their personality would be forced to change to fit the new appearance... This is why first impressions are often correct... Although some people might have made mistakes... They may have arrived at an appearance that bears no relationship to them... They may have picked an ideal appearance based on some childish whim, or momentary impulse... Some may have gotten half-way there, and then changed their minds.
He wonders if he too might have made a similar mistake.
It’s also something I find myself thinking about everytime I see a current picture of myself.
The kind where you do a little bit of a retreat, recharge batteries, figure out the next move. Everytime I find myself in one of these periods, I hear the echo of this song.
He would see faces in movies, on T.V., in magazines, and in books... He thought that some of these faces might be right for him... And through the years, by keeing an ideal facial structure fixed in his mind... Or somewhere in the back of his mind... That he might, by force of will, cause his face to approach those of his ideal... The change would be very subtle... It might take ten years or so... Gradually his face would change its’ shape... A more hooked nose... Wider, thinner lips....Beady eyes... A larger forehead.
He imagined that this was an ability he shared with most other people... They had also molded their face according to some ideal... Maybe they imagined that their new face would better suit their personality... Or maybe they imagined that their personality would be forced to change to fit the new appearance... This is why first impressions are often correct... Although some people might have made mistakes... They may have arrived at an appearance that bears no relationship to them... They may have picked an ideal appearance based on some childish whim, or momentary impulse... Some may have gotten half-way there, and then changed their minds.
He wonders if he too might have made a similar mistake.
It’s also something I find myself thinking about everytime I see a current picture of myself.
Sexual politics in the new millennium - who’s in the race?
Although grounded with some alarmingly icky details, Grantham’s and others’ essays reiterate the kind of bite-size sexual formulas that students spend pages deconstructing in their term papers. Whether or not the stereotypes are true (and Wolfe certainly believes they are), these writers circle around the same safe set of issues—the fact that they're females talking about sex is somehow still more groundbreaking than whatever it is that they're saying.
As Grantham puts it, “There’s politics in the act itself. It’s just like, Hey, look! I’m a woman. I enjoy sex. I'm talking about it. Isn't this cool?”
Just an interesting article from this week’s Village Voice on the “Attack of the female Sex Columnist.”
Although grounded with some alarmingly icky details, Grantham’s and others’ essays reiterate the kind of bite-size sexual formulas that students spend pages deconstructing in their term papers. Whether or not the stereotypes are true (and Wolfe certainly believes they are), these writers circle around the same safe set of issues—the fact that they're females talking about sex is somehow still more groundbreaking than whatever it is that they're saying.
As Grantham puts it, “There’s politics in the act itself. It’s just like, Hey, look! I’m a woman. I enjoy sex. I'm talking about it. Isn't this cool?”
Just an interesting article from this week’s Village Voice on the “Attack of the female Sex Columnist.”
Apr 15, 2005
The more things change...
The more they stay the same, new ways to pick up spyware and viruses.
Yesterday, news agency Reuters found a digital worm called Kelvir had penetrated its Reuters Messaging system, which is closely linked with AOL’s Instant Messenger and Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) MSN Messenger, according to News.com. Fears of the worm spreading to other systems forced Reuters to temporarily shut its messaging system down. The company told News.com that there's no timetable for bringing the messaging client back online.
The more they stay the same, new ways to pick up spyware and viruses.
Yesterday, news agency Reuters found a digital worm called Kelvir had penetrated its Reuters Messaging system, which is closely linked with AOL’s Instant Messenger and Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) MSN Messenger, according to News.com. Fears of the worm spreading to other systems forced Reuters to temporarily shut its messaging system down. The company told News.com that there's no timetable for bringing the messaging client back online.
I clicked a link...
...and all I got was a lousy name, courtesy of Blog Sensei
...and all I got was a lousy name, courtesy of Blog Sensei
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Sword of Patience.
Apr 14, 2005
More from the world of deviant behavior...
So, I spend way more time surfing than I should. Sometimes it’s useful but, most of the time it’s just time filler (what did I spend all that time on before we had the internet?). So, I’m wandering around cyberspace today and I came across this gem...
But what sort of sick f**k thinks, “Gee, you know what would really turn me on? A woman with a horribly distended belly who has a kid in her stomach! Yeah! That would be hot!” Hey, here’s a philosophical question for all you Pro-Lifers: Is f**king a pregnant woman technically a menage-a-trois?
xo_babytran explains “Fourteen Sexual Fantasies I Just Don’t Understand” most of which had me laughing out loud, not for those easily shocked.
Of course, I wandered around xanga and was just fascinated. Where we’re these gals when I was growing up?
So, I spend way more time surfing than I should. Sometimes it’s useful but, most of the time it’s just time filler (what did I spend all that time on before we had the internet?). So, I’m wandering around cyberspace today and I came across this gem...
But what sort of sick f**k thinks, “Gee, you know what would really turn me on? A woman with a horribly distended belly who has a kid in her stomach! Yeah! That would be hot!” Hey, here’s a philosophical question for all you Pro-Lifers: Is f**king a pregnant woman technically a menage-a-trois?
xo_babytran explains “Fourteen Sexual Fantasies I Just Don’t Understand” most of which had me laughing out loud, not for those easily shocked.
Of course, I wandered around xanga and was just fascinated. Where we’re these gals when I was growing up?
Apr 10, 2005
In the interest of equal time...
After delivering newspapers to homes in the wee hours of the morning, a man named Abum makes his way to a donut shop. There, the grumpy old-timer angers a clerk with his irascible attitude. The clerk responds by urinating in Abum’s cup of coffee. Abum makes his way to a table, where he joins three other men: Blurk, Greb and Toby. As the foursome assume the shape of monstrous devils, Abum announces that the clerk urinated in his coffee. The devils share a private chuckle that bubbles over into demonic cackling.
I’ve been making my way through the two seasons of Millennium that are out on DVD (the third is scheduled for release in June). I didn’t catch the series when it was originally broadcast but, I have to say I’ve been enjoying it a great deal. The first season was very, very dark and the second is completely different in tone but both are great. I picked them up on E-bay (cheap-o that I am). Worth checking out if they’re available through NetFlix or if you actually want to plunk down the dough for the sets.
What amazes me is how some of these shows actually were shown on broadcast TV in primetime - just hard to believe they made it onto the air as it seems the material would be more likely suited for one of the pay cable networks. Anyway, I finished watching both sets and can’t wait for June to come.
After delivering newspapers to homes in the wee hours of the morning, a man named Abum makes his way to a donut shop. There, the grumpy old-timer angers a clerk with his irascible attitude. The clerk responds by urinating in Abum’s cup of coffee. Abum makes his way to a table, where he joins three other men: Blurk, Greb and Toby. As the foursome assume the shape of monstrous devils, Abum announces that the clerk urinated in his coffee. The devils share a private chuckle that bubbles over into demonic cackling.
I’ve been making my way through the two seasons of Millennium that are out on DVD (the third is scheduled for release in June). I didn’t catch the series when it was originally broadcast but, I have to say I’ve been enjoying it a great deal. The first season was very, very dark and the second is completely different in tone but both are great. I picked them up on E-bay (cheap-o that I am). Worth checking out if they’re available through NetFlix or if you actually want to plunk down the dough for the sets.
What amazes me is how some of these shows actually were shown on broadcast TV in primetime - just hard to believe they made it onto the air as it seems the material would be more likely suited for one of the pay cable networks. Anyway, I finished watching both sets and can’t wait for June to come.
Apr 9, 2005
98%! That’s one tough bug...
An eerie silence hangs over the hospital in Uige, which doctors now believe is the main source of the Marburg virus, for which there is no known cure.
In Uige province alone, some 160 people have been killed by the virus which has claimed 98 percent of those infected in the outbreak, described by the United Nations as “the worst ever” and “not yet under control.”
I first read about Marburg virus several years back in the book, The Coming Plague which apart from it’s dramatic title makes for fascinating reading. The vector for Ebola has been tracked to a cave, if you can imagine. They’ve figured out the virus spawned from a single place but, they can’t figure out the disease vector. Humans are eaten up so fast by Ebola (hemmoragic fever) they don’t make decent carriers for the disease so, scientists conclude there is another ‘host’ organism which carries the virus and spreads it but they haven’t been able to find out what form the host takes.
An eerie silence hangs over the hospital in Uige, which doctors now believe is the main source of the Marburg virus, for which there is no known cure.
In Uige province alone, some 160 people have been killed by the virus which has claimed 98 percent of those infected in the outbreak, described by the United Nations as “the worst ever” and “not yet under control.”
I first read about Marburg virus several years back in the book, The Coming Plague which apart from it’s dramatic title makes for fascinating reading. The vector for Ebola has been tracked to a cave, if you can imagine. They’ve figured out the virus spawned from a single place but, they can’t figure out the disease vector. Humans are eaten up so fast by Ebola (hemmoragic fever) they don’t make decent carriers for the disease so, scientists conclude there is another ‘host’ organism which carries the virus and spreads it but they haven’t been able to find out what form the host takes.
Time for the delay to be put to DeLay
House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay, under fire for his use of campaign dollars and other ethical problems, addressed the conference in a videotaped message on Thursday in which he denounced a “judiciary run amok.”
I was reading this article and I wound up getting so sick to my stomach I was going to write this long diatribe but, in the end I can sum it up with one word... Schmuck!
I may not always agree with them but I am certainly thankful for the judiciary.
House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay, under fire for his use of campaign dollars and other ethical problems, addressed the conference in a videotaped message on Thursday in which he denounced a “judiciary run amok.”
I was reading this article and I wound up getting so sick to my stomach I was going to write this long diatribe but, in the end I can sum it up with one word... Schmuck!
I may not always agree with them but I am certainly thankful for the judiciary.
Look for them...
A man and his young child visited the bathroom. The father had to pick his son up so Agent Simmons could help him wash his hands. He tipped $1. Agent Simmons made it clear that tips were entirely optional and that his services were provided free of charge. He made small talk with everyone who entered the room, asking them where they were from, if they had seen a Broadway play, etc. He also peppered McDonald’s slogans in to his banter. “We’re lovin’ it today and we hope you are too.” “You deserve a break today.” “We like to see you smile, sir.”
Yes, probably MacDonald’s could do it and increase traffic but, if you see something strange going on around Manhattan, don’t think it hasn’t necessarily been orchestrated just to gauge your reaction...
Check out Improv Everywhere’s website.
Found via This American Life.
A man and his young child visited the bathroom. The father had to pick his son up so Agent Simmons could help him wash his hands. He tipped $1. Agent Simmons made it clear that tips were entirely optional and that his services were provided free of charge. He made small talk with everyone who entered the room, asking them where they were from, if they had seen a Broadway play, etc. He also peppered McDonald’s slogans in to his banter. “We’re lovin’ it today and we hope you are too.” “You deserve a break today.” “We like to see you smile, sir.”
Yes, probably MacDonald’s could do it and increase traffic but, if you see something strange going on around Manhattan, don’t think it hasn’t necessarily been orchestrated just to gauge your reaction...
Check out Improv Everywhere’s website.
Found via This American Life.
Apr 4, 2005
He’ll be missed...
Over the last few weeks, I found myself wanting to write something about the Pope.
I probably don’t strike many people as the most religious guy. It’s the rather liberal, healthy sprinkling of profanity during the course of my conversation no doubt. I imagine though, the main thing I picked up from all those years of a Catholic upbringing, besides the healthy dosage of Catholic guilt (which could give Jewish guilt a run for its money any day), is a person’s religion isn’t something to force upon others or to carry around like a banner proclaiming one’s faith to the world. Such displays seem vainglorious and inappropriate.
Anyway, over the last few weeks I’ve watched the various news reports about the Pope’s failing health and I found myself feeling really bad. In my more private moments, I prayed for an ease to the man’s suffering. We live in a strange society where life is valued but, while we have the tools to prolong life, our tools don’t necessarily allow us to improve its quality.
Now, I haven’t stepped into a church in a long time. Part of that is the fear of the divinely inspired bolt of lightening with my name on it arriving as I cross the threshold into a church. More likely, there it’s also the disagreement with some of the church’s stances. In any event, the one thing I didn’t have a problem with was the Pope.
Yeah, the Pope wasn’t about to do things most American Catholics would like him to do, like ordaining women or married men into the preisthood but, he did come across as a ‘cool guy.’ Maybe the best analogy would be an older relative who wouldn’t always agree with you but, had a solid moral center and wanted nothing but the best for you. In a lot of ways, he always tried to make the world a better place and ultimately that was enough.
The world that Pope John Paul II was ordained Pope into was a very different one than the world we live in today. Terms like MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction), the Iron Curtain, the Soviet Bloc which were so common, so consuming don’t exist anymore and his being Pope had something to do with it.
So, before I go on for too long - I looked around trying to find something which would just be nice as some acknowledgement and I came across John Paul’s letter to artists:
Society needs artists, just as it needs scientists, technicians, workers, professional people, witnesses of the faith, teachers, fathers and mothers, who ensure the growth of the person and the development of the community by means of that supreme art form which is “the art of education.” Within the vast cultural panorama of each nation, artists have their unique place. Obedient to their inspiration in creating works both worthwhile and beautiful, they not only enrich the cultural heritage of each nation and of all humanity, but they also render an exceptional social service in favour of the common good.
The particular vocation of individual artists decides the arena in which they serve and points as well to the tasks they must assume, the hard work they must endure and the responsibility they must accept. Artists who are conscious of all this know too that they must labour without allowing themselves to be driven by the search for empty glory or the craving for cheap popularity, and still less by the calculation of some possible profit for themselves. There is therefore an ethic, even a “spirituality” of artistic service, which contributes in its way to the life and renewal of a people. It is precisely this to which Cyprian Norwid seems to allude in declaring that “beauty is to enthuse us for work, and work is to raise us up.”
All in all, I think Karol Wojtyla made the world a better place and the next guy to follow his act will have some big shoes to fill. His biography can be found here.
Over the last few weeks, I found myself wanting to write something about the Pope.
I probably don’t strike many people as the most religious guy. It’s the rather liberal, healthy sprinkling of profanity during the course of my conversation no doubt. I imagine though, the main thing I picked up from all those years of a Catholic upbringing, besides the healthy dosage of Catholic guilt (which could give Jewish guilt a run for its money any day), is a person’s religion isn’t something to force upon others or to carry around like a banner proclaiming one’s faith to the world. Such displays seem vainglorious and inappropriate.
Anyway, over the last few weeks I’ve watched the various news reports about the Pope’s failing health and I found myself feeling really bad. In my more private moments, I prayed for an ease to the man’s suffering. We live in a strange society where life is valued but, while we have the tools to prolong life, our tools don’t necessarily allow us to improve its quality.
Now, I haven’t stepped into a church in a long time. Part of that is the fear of the divinely inspired bolt of lightening with my name on it arriving as I cross the threshold into a church. More likely, there it’s also the disagreement with some of the church’s stances. In any event, the one thing I didn’t have a problem with was the Pope.
Yeah, the Pope wasn’t about to do things most American Catholics would like him to do, like ordaining women or married men into the preisthood but, he did come across as a ‘cool guy.’ Maybe the best analogy would be an older relative who wouldn’t always agree with you but, had a solid moral center and wanted nothing but the best for you. In a lot of ways, he always tried to make the world a better place and ultimately that was enough.
The world that Pope John Paul II was ordained Pope into was a very different one than the world we live in today. Terms like MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction), the Iron Curtain, the Soviet Bloc which were so common, so consuming don’t exist anymore and his being Pope had something to do with it.
So, before I go on for too long - I looked around trying to find something which would just be nice as some acknowledgement and I came across John Paul’s letter to artists:
Society needs artists, just as it needs scientists, technicians, workers, professional people, witnesses of the faith, teachers, fathers and mothers, who ensure the growth of the person and the development of the community by means of that supreme art form which is “the art of education.” Within the vast cultural panorama of each nation, artists have their unique place. Obedient to their inspiration in creating works both worthwhile and beautiful, they not only enrich the cultural heritage of each nation and of all humanity, but they also render an exceptional social service in favour of the common good.
The particular vocation of individual artists decides the arena in which they serve and points as well to the tasks they must assume, the hard work they must endure and the responsibility they must accept. Artists who are conscious of all this know too that they must labour without allowing themselves to be driven by the search for empty glory or the craving for cheap popularity, and still less by the calculation of some possible profit for themselves. There is therefore an ethic, even a “spirituality” of artistic service, which contributes in its way to the life and renewal of a people. It is precisely this to which Cyprian Norwid seems to allude in declaring that “beauty is to enthuse us for work, and work is to raise us up.”
All in all, I think Karol Wojtyla made the world a better place and the next guy to follow his act will have some big shoes to fill. His biography can be found here.
Apr 2, 2005
Just when you make up your mind about something...
So, I like everyone else had been subjected to the nonstop coverage of the Terry Shiavo case and I figured, let the poor woman die already. 15 years of suffering is enough and you see old pictures of her and she looks so beautiful and so full of life in contrast to the other pictures you see of her - which are actually three years old!
Then, I get a chance to read Nat Hentoff’s column and since I respect Nat Hentoff a great deal I wonder if I wasn’t mistaken:
For all the world to see, a 41-year-old woman, who has committed no crime, will die of dehydration and starvation in the longest public execution in American history.
She is not brain-dead or comatose, and breathes naturally on her own. Although brain-damaged, she is not in a persistent vegetative state, according to an increasing number of radiologists and neurologists.
Among many other violations of her due process rights, Terri Schiavo has never been allowed by the primary judge in her case—Florida Circuit Judge George Greer, whose conclusions have been robotically upheld by all the courts above him—to have her own lawyer represent her.
Greer has declared Terri Schiavo to be in a persistent vegetative state, but he has never gone to see her. His eyesight is very poor, but surely he could have visited her along with another member of his staff. Unlike people in a persistent vegetative state, Terri Schiavo is indeed responsive beyond mere reflexes.
...but, there are two sides to every story and the Voice ran the opposing views in a facing spread:
Taking on the Schiavo case was supposed to give the Bushes an opportunity to appease the religious conservatives who put them into office. The problem for the stop-at-nothing brothers, though, is that the conservative Catholics and evangelicals fixated on Schiavo are even further out of the mainstream when it comes to the right to die than they are on abortion. While some people are truly torn about what restrictions should apply when dealing with an unwanted pregnancy, few think anyone should be forced to hover on the edges of existence if they don’t want to and have no chance of recovery. Nearly 80 percent of Americans wouldn’t want to be kept alive in Terri’s situation, according to an ABC News poll. Even more opposed federal intervention in the Schiavo case, including 72 percent of Republicans, according to a CBS News poll. Meanwhile, the president’s approval rating is falling, having just hit 43 percent, down from 49 last month.
Talk about a great political issue! A clear winner finally landed in the Democrats’ lap. Unfortunately, few seemed to recognize it. No senator, Democrat or Republican, stopped the legislation giving Schiavo’s parents the opportunity to take the case to federal court. Forty-seven Democrats supported the bill in the House. And even Howard Dean, head of the Democratic Party, seemed to roll over, offering no comment when asked about Bush’s support of the law.
So, I like everyone else had been subjected to the nonstop coverage of the Terry Shiavo case and I figured, let the poor woman die already. 15 years of suffering is enough and you see old pictures of her and she looks so beautiful and so full of life in contrast to the other pictures you see of her - which are actually three years old!
Then, I get a chance to read Nat Hentoff’s column and since I respect Nat Hentoff a great deal I wonder if I wasn’t mistaken:
For all the world to see, a 41-year-old woman, who has committed no crime, will die of dehydration and starvation in the longest public execution in American history.
She is not brain-dead or comatose, and breathes naturally on her own. Although brain-damaged, she is not in a persistent vegetative state, according to an increasing number of radiologists and neurologists.
Among many other violations of her due process rights, Terri Schiavo has never been allowed by the primary judge in her case—Florida Circuit Judge George Greer, whose conclusions have been robotically upheld by all the courts above him—to have her own lawyer represent her.
Greer has declared Terri Schiavo to be in a persistent vegetative state, but he has never gone to see her. His eyesight is very poor, but surely he could have visited her along with another member of his staff. Unlike people in a persistent vegetative state, Terri Schiavo is indeed responsive beyond mere reflexes.
...but, there are two sides to every story and the Voice ran the opposing views in a facing spread:
Taking on the Schiavo case was supposed to give the Bushes an opportunity to appease the religious conservatives who put them into office. The problem for the stop-at-nothing brothers, though, is that the conservative Catholics and evangelicals fixated on Schiavo are even further out of the mainstream when it comes to the right to die than they are on abortion. While some people are truly torn about what restrictions should apply when dealing with an unwanted pregnancy, few think anyone should be forced to hover on the edges of existence if they don’t want to and have no chance of recovery. Nearly 80 percent of Americans wouldn’t want to be kept alive in Terri’s situation, according to an ABC News poll. Even more opposed federal intervention in the Schiavo case, including 72 percent of Republicans, according to a CBS News poll. Meanwhile, the president’s approval rating is falling, having just hit 43 percent, down from 49 last month.
Talk about a great political issue! A clear winner finally landed in the Democrats’ lap. Unfortunately, few seemed to recognize it. No senator, Democrat or Republican, stopped the legislation giving Schiavo’s parents the opportunity to take the case to federal court. Forty-seven Democrats supported the bill in the House. And even Howard Dean, head of the Democratic Party, seemed to roll over, offering no comment when asked about Bush’s support of the law.
Well, I’m glad I saw it...
For all its graphic splendor, watching Sin City is like spending two hours in a state-of-the-art wax museum. Rodriguez loves his material so much that he embalmed it.
I got into an early show yesterday, thankfully since every show after the four o’clock that we went to was sold out. Visually, the movie was stunning and it does have a great cast but, I think there’s a bad case of writer-itis going on. Since Frank Miller was so intricately involved in the project, he wanted something as close to the original graphic novels as possible. Unfortunately, film is a visual medium which is unlike Miller’s normal environs. The last time I was clubbed over the head so much by a voiceover narration, it was for the DeLaurentis adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune.
Somebody needs to tell Frankie boy, sometimes less is more. Save the narration for when it’s really needed!
For all its graphic splendor, watching Sin City is like spending two hours in a state-of-the-art wax museum. Rodriguez loves his material so much that he embalmed it.
I got into an early show yesterday, thankfully since every show after the four o’clock that we went to was sold out. Visually, the movie was stunning and it does have a great cast but, I think there’s a bad case of writer-itis going on. Since Frank Miller was so intricately involved in the project, he wanted something as close to the original graphic novels as possible. Unfortunately, film is a visual medium which is unlike Miller’s normal environs. The last time I was clubbed over the head so much by a voiceover narration, it was for the DeLaurentis adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune.
Somebody needs to tell Frankie boy, sometimes less is more. Save the narration for when it’s really needed!
Holy Aladdin Batman, what next?!?!
An advertisement on the US government’s Federal Business Opportunities website is inviting applications for someone to develop an “original comic book series.”
“In order to achieve long-term peace and stability in the Middle East, the youth need to be reached,” the ad says.
An advertisement on the US government’s Federal Business Opportunities website is inviting applications for someone to develop an “original comic book series.”
“In order to achieve long-term peace and stability in the Middle East, the youth need to be reached,” the ad says.
Mar 30, 2005
Mar 26, 2005
It never bothered Sister Mary Elephant...
Nearly half of the country’s secondary school teachers have suffered mental health problems due to worsening pupil behaviour, a survey has revealed.
The research, by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, on 300 secondary school teachers, showed that abuse at the hands of pupils had left 46 per cent taking antidepressants or facing long lay-offs from school through stress.
What?!?! You don’t know who Sister Mary Elephant is?
Look here...
Nearly half of the country’s secondary school teachers have suffered mental health problems due to worsening pupil behaviour, a survey has revealed.
The research, by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, on 300 secondary school teachers, showed that abuse at the hands of pupils had left 46 per cent taking antidepressants or facing long lay-offs from school through stress.
What?!?! You don’t know who Sister Mary Elephant is?
Look here...
Mar 25, 2005
Something of note...
“When Greenspan takes the stage today [February 17], he will fail to mention the following disconnect. On Tuesday, the California Association of Realtors discussed the homebuyer income gap index. California households, with a median household income of $53,240, are $56,070 short of the $109,320 qualifying income needed to purchase a median priced home at $470,920 in the state. [In 2001, the median U.S. family’s pretax income was $39,900] The realtors’ homebuyer income gap index for California increased 41.6% during the fourth quarter of 2004 compared to the fourth quarter of 2003, when the gap stood at $39,610, the median household income was $51,860, and qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $390,250 was $91,460. At $84,690 the San Francisco Bay Area had the highest gap in the state since potential homebuyers had, in 2004, a median household income of $67,750 but needed qualifying income of $152,440 to purchase a median-priced home at $656,690.”
A snippet from the rather interesting Housing Bubble blog.
“When Greenspan takes the stage today [February 17], he will fail to mention the following disconnect. On Tuesday, the California Association of Realtors discussed the homebuyer income gap index. California households, with a median household income of $53,240, are $56,070 short of the $109,320 qualifying income needed to purchase a median priced home at $470,920 in the state. [In 2001, the median U.S. family’s pretax income was $39,900] The realtors’ homebuyer income gap index for California increased 41.6% during the fourth quarter of 2004 compared to the fourth quarter of 2003, when the gap stood at $39,610, the median household income was $51,860, and qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $390,250 was $91,460. At $84,690 the San Francisco Bay Area had the highest gap in the state since potential homebuyers had, in 2004, a median household income of $67,750 but needed qualifying income of $152,440 to purchase a median-priced home at $656,690.”
A snippet from the rather interesting Housing Bubble blog.
The taming of the beast...
“In the ’80s we had crackheads, prostitutes, we got no help from anyone. We survived all that,” he said. “Now they just want us to go away.”
New York has undergone great change over the last decade, it’s gotten cleaner without a doubt and safer too as the declining murder rate seems to indicate.
Manhattan in particular is rapidly being homogenized, taking on many of the negative aspects of the rest of the country. Maybe, it’s an attempt to make the city more of a ‘fun park.’ It’s funny, in Vegas there is a New York, New York hotel which tries to capture a charm which may not even exist anymore.
In the last fifteen years, I’ve seen the flower district just about vanish, the fur district disappear, the meat district shrink to a paltry block or two. Working downtown, you can see the Fulton Fish Market is still in operation but, you have to wonder about how long it will stay where it is.
So many Manhattan commercial areas predate any residential development but, it seems whenever people begin settling in these neighborhoods, the new residents develop a case of the NIMBY’s and don’t want the commercial activity which preceded them to continue. Over the last few weeks I have been commiserating with my peers about the rapidly changing landscape of New York city. The lighting and restaurant district along the Bowery seems to be shrinking too, never in my wildest imaginings did I think the Bowery would be reclaimed but, it’s looking more and more like the rest of the city.
The original draw of the city was that it was a melting pot and a gateway to the world, I fear those days are gone and the city is becoming a pale shadow of what it was.
“In the ’80s we had crackheads, prostitutes, we got no help from anyone. We survived all that,” he said. “Now they just want us to go away.”
New York has undergone great change over the last decade, it’s gotten cleaner without a doubt and safer too as the declining murder rate seems to indicate.
Manhattan in particular is rapidly being homogenized, taking on many of the negative aspects of the rest of the country. Maybe, it’s an attempt to make the city more of a ‘fun park.’ It’s funny, in Vegas there is a New York, New York hotel which tries to capture a charm which may not even exist anymore.
In the last fifteen years, I’ve seen the flower district just about vanish, the fur district disappear, the meat district shrink to a paltry block or two. Working downtown, you can see the Fulton Fish Market is still in operation but, you have to wonder about how long it will stay where it is.
So many Manhattan commercial areas predate any residential development but, it seems whenever people begin settling in these neighborhoods, the new residents develop a case of the NIMBY’s and don’t want the commercial activity which preceded them to continue. Over the last few weeks I have been commiserating with my peers about the rapidly changing landscape of New York city. The lighting and restaurant district along the Bowery seems to be shrinking too, never in my wildest imaginings did I think the Bowery would be reclaimed but, it’s looking more and more like the rest of the city.
The original draw of the city was that it was a melting pot and a gateway to the world, I fear those days are gone and the city is becoming a pale shadow of what it was.
Mar 24, 2005
Doesn’t the government have better things to occupy themselves with...
“This is a sad day for Terri,” Michael Schiavo, Terri’s husband, told ABC’s Good Morning America earlier today. “But I’ll tell you what: it's also is a sad day for everyone in this country because the United States government is going to come in and trample all over your personal family matters.”
James Ridgeway’s article on the Terri Schiavo case from the Village Voice.
“This is a sad day for Terri,” Michael Schiavo, Terri’s husband, told ABC’s Good Morning America earlier today. “But I’ll tell you what: it's also is a sad day for everyone in this country because the United States government is going to come in and trample all over your personal family matters.”
James Ridgeway’s article on the Terri Schiavo case from the Village Voice.
Mar 23, 2005
A prospect of truly alarming proportions
“If Republicans win on the nuclear option, they could get John Ashcroft confirmed as chief justice.”
The irony here is I’m a registered GOP member and this is something I find totally unsettling - there are checks and balances in the three branches of government for a reason.
“If Republicans win on the nuclear option, they could get John Ashcroft confirmed as chief justice.”
The irony here is I’m a registered GOP member and this is something I find totally unsettling - there are checks and balances in the three branches of government for a reason.
Another interesting snippet
Wal-Mart is like the Death Star—you can wipe them out, but they’ll be back.
Ah, but they haven’t been able to stop Home Depot.
(added later)Stupid MapQuest!
Wal-Mart is like the Death Star—you can wipe them out, but they’ll be back.
Ah, but they haven’t been able to stop Home Depot.
(added later)Stupid MapQuest!
Being a veritable font of information, I give you this link for more valuable but, free stuff. Bookmark it, use it:
Your credit report.
Your credit report.
Mar 18, 2005
On baseball...
“It’s a sad day and a loss for this organization because he gave so much,” Mets catcher Mike Piazza said. “Joe always did what was asked of him and picked up the slack when necessary. But he’s a positive guy, and I’m sure he’s going to end up somewhere that’s good for him”
“At least he’s got a couple of weeks to hook up with another team. I think he’d be a valuable asset to any team because he’s a good teammate and can play practically any position.”
Mike lamenting the departure of Super Joe - as a fan, all I can say is that Super Joe was fun to watch. The smile on his face made no secret of how much fun he was having playing ball and you couldn’t help but be infected by his glee and love for the game. I was watching an exhibition game a few days back and the announcers were commenting on just such a thing happening in the Mets releasing Super Joe. They observed even when his playing career comes to an end, he’ll probably wind up as a coach. I can’t think of a man better suited for the job.
Speaking for Mets fans everywhere, thanks for the last five years and we wish you the best of luck Super Joe.
“It’s a sad day and a loss for this organization because he gave so much,” Mets catcher Mike Piazza said. “Joe always did what was asked of him and picked up the slack when necessary. But he’s a positive guy, and I’m sure he’s going to end up somewhere that’s good for him”
“At least he’s got a couple of weeks to hook up with another team. I think he’d be a valuable asset to any team because he’s a good teammate and can play practically any position.”
Mike lamenting the departure of Super Joe - as a fan, all I can say is that Super Joe was fun to watch. The smile on his face made no secret of how much fun he was having playing ball and you couldn’t help but be infected by his glee and love for the game. I was watching an exhibition game a few days back and the announcers were commenting on just such a thing happening in the Mets releasing Super Joe. They observed even when his playing career comes to an end, he’ll probably wind up as a coach. I can’t think of a man better suited for the job.
Speaking for Mets fans everywhere, thanks for the last five years and we wish you the best of luck Super Joe.
Mar 13, 2005
Who’d thunk it?
Three cats and a truckload of stuff later...
Mother nature cooperated by providing us with the first taste of spring today. R's friend had sent two of his friends along to help out with the move (he has a barbershop and Saturday is his busy day). Both of the guys were Southsiders who had lived in the neighborhood since the late 60's. They had a different view of the gentrification of Williamsburg than most.
Have two years gone by already? At times it seems longer, at times it seems shorter - I can’t believe it. Two years of my inanities out there for the world to see.
I don’t feel any closer to where I want to be either - that’s bad.
Three cats and a truckload of stuff later...
Mother nature cooperated by providing us with the first taste of spring today. R's friend had sent two of his friends along to help out with the move (he has a barbershop and Saturday is his busy day). Both of the guys were Southsiders who had lived in the neighborhood since the late 60's. They had a different view of the gentrification of Williamsburg than most.
Have two years gone by already? At times it seems longer, at times it seems shorter - I can’t believe it. Two years of my inanities out there for the world to see.
I don’t feel any closer to where I want to be either - that’s bad.
The perils of sleep deprivation.
So, I’ve been working nights over the last few weeks. This is not something bad, I actually enjoy this a bit. Working an exclusively night shift is a bit better than working those day shifts than extend into a night shift - the ones where you are in the office by 10am and out very, very late.
Night shift means some days you are around when the sun comes up and sometimes you are out before midnight, the point is working that night shift means a day rarely goes longer than 13 hours and 13 hours is usually the exception.
Night shift also means I drive into the city which can or can’t be enjoyable depending upon traffic conditions but, coming home is generally blissful and quick. Nobody is on the road at the end of your day and actually I find it takes me significantly less time to commute home than it would during normal hours - normal rush hour commute time being somewhere between an hour and fifteen to an hour and forty five minutes versus about forty minutes door to door.
The day turns into a quieter experience overall, there aren’t office politics on night shifts generally, most people aren’t around for the entirety of the shift and generally it’s just a matter of going into the office and getting your work done.
I have to admit there’s something about “the quiet” aspect of the night shift that I enjoy. The city is more peaceful and serene too. New York is truly one of the most beautiful places you could imagine, especially late at night when a calm descends on her. The lights in the buildings are gorgeous, the streets serene, there’s just a different aspect to the city when you’re not trying to play dodge with all the other people to get where you need to be.
But, there are drawbacks...
Working night shift, your sleep cycle is never really regular. What I mean to say, at least for me, is that I find myself either wide awake or absolutely exhausted at the oddest hours. If a day goes exceptionally long, I’ll try to cram in some of life’s more mundane chores (laundry, post office, etc...) at the end of the day - morning to the rest of the world and wind up getting to sleep around 11 or noon only to wake up a few hours later to go back in.
Other times I’ll just get home and sleep through most of the morning waking up sometime early in the afternoon and slowly getting myself together to get ready for the ‘day.’
Certainly though, one is on a completely different schedule than the majority of the planet and that’s where the problem as well as the charm of things lie. Days off are relegated to returning to a more normal sleep pattern or at least catching up on sleep to the point of not walking around feeling like a walking zombie.
So, if anyone wonders, it’s not a slight of any kind, I’m just in a constant state of adjustment which should be ending soon.
So, I’ve been working nights over the last few weeks. This is not something bad, I actually enjoy this a bit. Working an exclusively night shift is a bit better than working those day shifts than extend into a night shift - the ones where you are in the office by 10am and out very, very late.
Night shift means some days you are around when the sun comes up and sometimes you are out before midnight, the point is working that night shift means a day rarely goes longer than 13 hours and 13 hours is usually the exception.
Night shift also means I drive into the city which can or can’t be enjoyable depending upon traffic conditions but, coming home is generally blissful and quick. Nobody is on the road at the end of your day and actually I find it takes me significantly less time to commute home than it would during normal hours - normal rush hour commute time being somewhere between an hour and fifteen to an hour and forty five minutes versus about forty minutes door to door.
The day turns into a quieter experience overall, there aren’t office politics on night shifts generally, most people aren’t around for the entirety of the shift and generally it’s just a matter of going into the office and getting your work done.
I have to admit there’s something about “the quiet” aspect of the night shift that I enjoy. The city is more peaceful and serene too. New York is truly one of the most beautiful places you could imagine, especially late at night when a calm descends on her. The lights in the buildings are gorgeous, the streets serene, there’s just a different aspect to the city when you’re not trying to play dodge with all the other people to get where you need to be.
But, there are drawbacks...
Working night shift, your sleep cycle is never really regular. What I mean to say, at least for me, is that I find myself either wide awake or absolutely exhausted at the oddest hours. If a day goes exceptionally long, I’ll try to cram in some of life’s more mundane chores (laundry, post office, etc...) at the end of the day - morning to the rest of the world and wind up getting to sleep around 11 or noon only to wake up a few hours later to go back in.
Other times I’ll just get home and sleep through most of the morning waking up sometime early in the afternoon and slowly getting myself together to get ready for the ‘day.’
Certainly though, one is on a completely different schedule than the majority of the planet and that’s where the problem as well as the charm of things lie. Days off are relegated to returning to a more normal sleep pattern or at least catching up on sleep to the point of not walking around feeling like a walking zombie.
So, if anyone wonders, it’s not a slight of any kind, I’m just in a constant state of adjustment which should be ending soon.
Mar 12, 2005
Speaking of time
There apparently is some kind of glitch in the blogger app where the clock with posting times doesn’t seem to be updating to the current time. Consequently, if I leave the browser up and running (although long since logged off) the time remains the same and there a bunch of entries seemingly made in a short spurt (which couldn’t be further from the truth).
There apparently is some kind of glitch in the blogger app where the clock with posting times doesn’t seem to be updating to the current time. Consequently, if I leave the browser up and running (although long since logged off) the time remains the same and there a bunch of entries seemingly made in a short spurt (which couldn’t be further from the truth).
What time is it?
The other day I started writing a postcard to an old friend. This is a friend of mine who I met in 1974! Geeeezuuuzzzz! That’s over 30 years ago now!
So, I started writing this card and I was wondering about the nature of time. Not knowing how all those years could pass by seemingly so quickly, I was just aimlessly speculating with this person about whether or not time could be considered in something other than the abstract. There’s all this terminology which makes reference to time as something more concrete than the reality of this shapeless, formless principle which rules our lives.
It’s one of the things rolling around in my head, I’ve always gone up to people older than myself and asked them how they perceive the passage of time and it’s interesting how rapidly the days get progressively the older one gets. When you’re a child and have logged so few hours to measure your life against, each new day is a gigantic marker, months are an eternity and the years, eons.
Now, middle aged, the days pass by like signposts along a highway at 50 miles per hour. I can only imagine how the EYOC perceives these things.
So, the other night I happened to be in the car driving home and I heard this show. - [real player required]
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity may have implications on the concept of choice. Namely, that there is none. Do we choose what movie to see tonight? No. (It’s already been chosen, some say.) Do we choose to wiggle our finger? No. (Already wiggled.) This hour of Radio Lab features conversations with scientists and an entire cast of characters who are all waging battle against time – or at least the common sense view of time. We’ll visit a particle accelerator where scientists recreate the moment just after the beginning of time… and also a Dublin artist whose life is a 19 century time-experiment. We end in the Mojave desert, where geologic time flows like a frozen hourglass.
It was an amazing bit of synchronicity and a very enjoyable listen if you have (of course) the time.
The other day I started writing a postcard to an old friend. This is a friend of mine who I met in 1974! Geeeezuuuzzzz! That’s over 30 years ago now!
So, I started writing this card and I was wondering about the nature of time. Not knowing how all those years could pass by seemingly so quickly, I was just aimlessly speculating with this person about whether or not time could be considered in something other than the abstract. There’s all this terminology which makes reference to time as something more concrete than the reality of this shapeless, formless principle which rules our lives.
It’s one of the things rolling around in my head, I’ve always gone up to people older than myself and asked them how they perceive the passage of time and it’s interesting how rapidly the days get progressively the older one gets. When you’re a child and have logged so few hours to measure your life against, each new day is a gigantic marker, months are an eternity and the years, eons.
Now, middle aged, the days pass by like signposts along a highway at 50 miles per hour. I can only imagine how the EYOC perceives these things.
So, the other night I happened to be in the car driving home and I heard this show. - [real player required]
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity may have implications on the concept of choice. Namely, that there is none. Do we choose what movie to see tonight? No. (It’s already been chosen, some say.) Do we choose to wiggle our finger? No. (Already wiggled.) This hour of Radio Lab features conversations with scientists and an entire cast of characters who are all waging battle against time – or at least the common sense view of time. We’ll visit a particle accelerator where scientists recreate the moment just after the beginning of time… and also a Dublin artist whose life is a 19 century time-experiment. We end in the Mojave desert, where geologic time flows like a frozen hourglass.
It was an amazing bit of synchronicity and a very enjoyable listen if you have (of course) the time.
Mar 11, 2005
The Road Less Traveled...
Every once in awhile, I’ll just hit the next blog button to see where I wind up. This time, it was the blog of some fifteen year old out in California (I think). Talk about your alien worlds, I really felt like a stranger in a strange land looking through that one. It linked to the blogs of other teenage girls where I found this gem:
He’s a bastard!
He sux!
Why must he always do things that agitate people?!
The way he expresses himself makes me angrier!
The way he looks at people, the way he talks
You can slap across his bloody face and curse his cock!
Today’s P.E.,
I yelled and swore at him
Son of a bitch!
Out of mid, out of sight!
Fuck off! si liuyang! KNNCB!
Which actually had me laughing a good deal.
I imagine I’ve officially moved into the “crotchety phase” of life as I find it hard to put stock in the musings of someone who probably can’t remember a president before Bill Clinton. Then again, it’s not that far off from the people who are going to be in the graduating class of ’05.
How scary.
The Soviet Union is ancient history. There was never a time when there wasn’t an internet or cell phones. Lord, the next thing you know I’ll be like that Dana Carvey character - “In my day...”
Grumpy Old Man: I’m old and I’m not happy. Everything today is improved and I don’t like it. I hate it! In my day we didn’t have hair dryers. If you wanted to blow dry your hair you stood outside during a hurricane. Your hair was dry but you had a sharp piece of wood driven clear through your skull and that’s the way it was and you liked it! You loved it. Whoopee, I'm a human head-kabob. We didn't have Manoxidol and Hair Wings, in my day if your hair started falling out when you were 16 by 19 you were a bald freak. There was nothing you could do about it. Children would spit at you and nobody would mate with you so you couldn’t pass on your disgusting baldness genes. You were a public menace, a crome dome by age 20 and that’s the way it was and we liked it! We loved it. Hallelujiah look at me, I’m a bald freak oh happy day! Not like today, everybody feeling good about themselves. I hate it! In my day we didn’t have these thin laytex condoms. So you could enjoy sexual pleasure. In my day there was only one kind of condom. You took a rabbit skin and wrapped around your privates and tied it off with a bungee cord and you couldn't feel nothing! And half the time you didn't even know your partner was there. And we used the same one over and over again! ’Cause we were ignorant morons! Just a bunch of hairless, head-kabobs standing around with rabbit skins on our dinks and that's the way we liked it!
Everytime I think about stuff like this, I can’t say I have the desire to turn back the clock and be fifteen again but, I wouldn’t mind being in my thirties once more. Einstein should have had some kind of theorum about the passage of time as one gets older because time certainly seems to go by faster and faster.
The kids doing time in Iraq now (the ones in their twenties anyway), were born during Reagan’s second term - that’s a really scary thought.
Every once in awhile, I’ll just hit the next blog button to see where I wind up. This time, it was the blog of some fifteen year old out in California (I think). Talk about your alien worlds, I really felt like a stranger in a strange land looking through that one. It linked to the blogs of other teenage girls where I found this gem:
He’s a bastard!
He sux!
Why must he always do things that agitate people?!
The way he expresses himself makes me angrier!
The way he looks at people, the way he talks
You can slap across his bloody face and curse his cock!
Today’s P.E.,
I yelled and swore at him
Son of a bitch!
Out of mid, out of sight!
Fuck off! si liuyang! KNNCB!
Which actually had me laughing a good deal.
I imagine I’ve officially moved into the “crotchety phase” of life as I find it hard to put stock in the musings of someone who probably can’t remember a president before Bill Clinton. Then again, it’s not that far off from the people who are going to be in the graduating class of ’05.
How scary.
The Soviet Union is ancient history. There was never a time when there wasn’t an internet or cell phones. Lord, the next thing you know I’ll be like that Dana Carvey character - “In my day...”
Grumpy Old Man: I’m old and I’m not happy. Everything today is improved and I don’t like it. I hate it! In my day we didn’t have hair dryers. If you wanted to blow dry your hair you stood outside during a hurricane. Your hair was dry but you had a sharp piece of wood driven clear through your skull and that’s the way it was and you liked it! You loved it. Whoopee, I'm a human head-kabob. We didn't have Manoxidol and Hair Wings, in my day if your hair started falling out when you were 16 by 19 you were a bald freak. There was nothing you could do about it. Children would spit at you and nobody would mate with you so you couldn’t pass on your disgusting baldness genes. You were a public menace, a crome dome by age 20 and that’s the way it was and we liked it! We loved it. Hallelujiah look at me, I’m a bald freak oh happy day! Not like today, everybody feeling good about themselves. I hate it! In my day we didn’t have these thin laytex condoms. So you could enjoy sexual pleasure. In my day there was only one kind of condom. You took a rabbit skin and wrapped around your privates and tied it off with a bungee cord and you couldn't feel nothing! And half the time you didn't even know your partner was there. And we used the same one over and over again! ’Cause we were ignorant morons! Just a bunch of hairless, head-kabobs standing around with rabbit skins on our dinks and that's the way we liked it!
Everytime I think about stuff like this, I can’t say I have the desire to turn back the clock and be fifteen again but, I wouldn’t mind being in my thirties once more. Einstein should have had some kind of theorum about the passage of time as one gets older because time certainly seems to go by faster and faster.
The kids doing time in Iraq now (the ones in their twenties anyway), were born during Reagan’s second term - that’s a really scary thought.
Mar 10, 2005
Didn’t I hear this on a Cheech and Chong album once...
The 17-year-old Coeur d'Alene High School student was upset after a prank in which the other student put peanut butter in his cheese sandwich days before. He told a school resource officer that, “he hated peanut butter and it made him more mad than he could explain,”
The 17-year-old Coeur d'Alene High School student was upset after a prank in which the other student put peanut butter in his cheese sandwich days before. He told a school resource officer that, “he hated peanut butter and it made him more mad than he could explain,”
“I myself have great problems with screwing together such furniture.”
Swedish home furnishings giant IKEA is guilty of sex discrimination by showing only men putting together furniture in its instruction manuals, Norway’s prime minister says.
Swedish home furnishings giant IKEA is guilty of sex discrimination by showing only men putting together furniture in its instruction manuals, Norway’s prime minister says.
I alluded to the changing face of a neighborhood and the implications it could have nationwide so, here’s a nugget for thought.
I’ve been working down in the Wall Street area these days which has been very much the treat since I was never really a big haunter of the downtown neighborhood and so the experience has been one of exploration and discovery as I become familiar with the environs.
It has changed greatly though since the days when I rode the yellow beast. Time was, I could drive my car right up Broad Street past the NYSE building and Federal Hall. Not anymore, since September 11th the area around the Exchange has been marked by heightened security, with those obstacles blocking any vehicular traffic, bomb sniffing dogs, pick up trucks parked at angles to prevent someone from driving right up in front of the building, plenty of guards and police too.
So, all these steps and precautions have been taken - all at great expense but, to protect what? A future museum?
If you hear a ticking sound, it’s the days of NYSE’s trading floor counting down because those days are numbered. Those days of men dressed in sharp, crisp and expensive suits, making their way to the southern tip of Manhattan Island to move billions of dollars and live a lavish lifestyle are coming to a rapid end.
Your first thought might be that the planes hitting the towers on September 11th somehow succeeded in their work but, the truth is the groundwork was laid long before that fateful day, if anything the planes flying into the WTC only hastened the process.
This is testimony by Laura S. Unger, Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Concerning the Effect of Technology on the Capital Markets:
Technology has changed the world faster than many of us could have imagined, and continues to change it at a pace that is both exciting and daunting. More and more information is available to us everyday. Nowhere can the effect of technological change be seen any clearer than in the securities markets...
...In a way, the Internet is the wild card that makes it difficult to predict what the securities market will look like five or ten years from now. By some estimates, 21 million people will have online accounts by the year 2003.[1] According to a study published in February 1999, the key economic factors that will have a large impact on the growth of electronic commerce will be ease and cost of access, convenience, and the appeal of mass customization.[2] Financial services is one of the top five categories of business-to-consumer electronic commerce today.[3]
The Internet is dramatically transforming how individual investors participate in the market by providing them with more timely and high-quality information. In this respect, it furthers one of the most fundamental principles of securities regulation — transparency.
Currently, about 147 million people use the Internet worldwide. Approximately 77 million of these users are in the United States. One source estimates that 21 percent of all domestic households have Internet access.[4] Predictions are that there will be 300 million users worldwide by the end of the year 2000, and 720 million by the end of 2005.[5]
Now, this is over five years ago!
So, when I look from the office I’m in at the surrounding buildings, I imagine I shouldn’t be surprised to find instead of looking out at harried financial workers working late and putting in long hours, I’m looking across into the living room of someone who has moved into a formal commercial building converted into a luxury rental.
Then there’s this testimony in Congress from 2002:
There is a quiet revolution starting in the U.S. Listed marketplace. Investors and traders who have become disenchanted with current market structure are moving beyond the experimentation phase. They are starting to employ ATSs like the ones represented here today. The value proposition is clear. Execution that is electronically matched without human intermediation takes one middleman and the resulting economic impact of that middleman out of the equation. What makes that possible today? I would submit to you that advanced technology, industry protocols, and high-speed networks support this type of healthy competition without the resultant risk of fragmentation.
This quiet revolution combined with the decimalization of stocks, the consolidation of the New York Stock Exchange specialist units, the requirement to submit quality of execution data for the public record, and the extended bear market in the U.S. Equity markets is in the process of causing profound change to the security industry.
Or how about this:
...But many planners see a domino effect that could intensify patterns of sprawl - just at a time when urban areas were making a modest comeback. Backup facilities and satellite offices need a labor force nearby, as well as infrastructure and commercial development. Westchester officials already are saying the NYSE facility would trigger growth. Some Fidelity employees now working in Boston have moved to the suburbs in anticipation of needing to be at regional sites in Smithfield, R.I., or Merrimack, N.H., one executive said.
While real estate specialists see no conclusive evidence of a wholesale exodus to the suburbs, security concerns and soaring insurance premiums for urban properties have become reasons for businesses to quit the city. Some government agencies are already headed in that direction, as in the case of the Office of Homeland Security, mulling headquarters in rural Virginia rather than Washington D.C.
“We're going to look back 20 years from now and ask how this happened,” said Harvard law professor David J. Barron, who believes that such symbolic moves, as well as legal and policy frameworks, dictate development patterns. “We built the [interstate] highways for defense, and the next thing you know we had a whole way of living that no one ever necessarily chose.”
Now, let’s put it in other terms - New York City’s history has been built around commerce, first because of its geographic location as a port it being a portal for the movement of goods from this country out into the world. Over the last fifty years, New York as a port has diminished in importance as carriers have chosen to use other ports for larger ships and shipping itself has undergone a transformation (I believe Virginia has the busiest port now on the East Coast and Newark has taken the rest of New York‘s freight traffic). This is an industry that’s gone from the city now (ever hear of On The Waterfront?).
Financial services were a sector where the city relied on a lot of revenue - taxes, jobs and the ancillary benefits resultant from having the industry located in and around Wall Street.
What happens though, when trading becomes electronic and decentralized? What replaces that industry and those jobs. What does it mean for New York and the nation?
The merger announced May 3 combining the Deutsche Börse Frankfurt (Frankfurt Stock Exchange) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) will create the biggest stock exchange in Europe. The new entity, to be named International Exchange (iX), will be the fourth largest stock exchange in the world following the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq and Tokyo.
Most commentators see the Frankurt-London link-up as being a “first step towards a global stock exchange” which might well result in a unified pan-European stock market within the next two years. The British newspaper the Guardian writes: “A single global stock market is now one step closer to reality.”
But this increasing concentration is also intensifying rivalries within Europe and between Europe and the United States. In the same report quoted above the Guardian warns: “The merger of the London Stock Exchange and Frankfurt’s Deutsche Börse might be a blow to the former.” However, it then goes on to say: “but that's no reason to stand in the way of globalization.” Other commentaries place more emphasis on the emergence of a European rival to counter market domination by the NYSE.
Yes, it’s a changing world we live but, it’s always better to try and anticipate the change rather than get swept up by it.
I’ve been working down in the Wall Street area these days which has been very much the treat since I was never really a big haunter of the downtown neighborhood and so the experience has been one of exploration and discovery as I become familiar with the environs.
It has changed greatly though since the days when I rode the yellow beast. Time was, I could drive my car right up Broad Street past the NYSE building and Federal Hall. Not anymore, since September 11th the area around the Exchange has been marked by heightened security, with those obstacles blocking any vehicular traffic, bomb sniffing dogs, pick up trucks parked at angles to prevent someone from driving right up in front of the building, plenty of guards and police too.
So, all these steps and precautions have been taken - all at great expense but, to protect what? A future museum?
If you hear a ticking sound, it’s the days of NYSE’s trading floor counting down because those days are numbered. Those days of men dressed in sharp, crisp and expensive suits, making their way to the southern tip of Manhattan Island to move billions of dollars and live a lavish lifestyle are coming to a rapid end.
Your first thought might be that the planes hitting the towers on September 11th somehow succeeded in their work but, the truth is the groundwork was laid long before that fateful day, if anything the planes flying into the WTC only hastened the process.
This is testimony by Laura S. Unger, Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Concerning the Effect of Technology on the Capital Markets:
Technology has changed the world faster than many of us could have imagined, and continues to change it at a pace that is both exciting and daunting. More and more information is available to us everyday. Nowhere can the effect of technological change be seen any clearer than in the securities markets...
...In a way, the Internet is the wild card that makes it difficult to predict what the securities market will look like five or ten years from now. By some estimates, 21 million people will have online accounts by the year 2003.[1] According to a study published in February 1999, the key economic factors that will have a large impact on the growth of electronic commerce will be ease and cost of access, convenience, and the appeal of mass customization.[2] Financial services is one of the top five categories of business-to-consumer electronic commerce today.[3]
The Internet is dramatically transforming how individual investors participate in the market by providing them with more timely and high-quality information. In this respect, it furthers one of the most fundamental principles of securities regulation — transparency.
Currently, about 147 million people use the Internet worldwide. Approximately 77 million of these users are in the United States. One source estimates that 21 percent of all domestic households have Internet access.[4] Predictions are that there will be 300 million users worldwide by the end of the year 2000, and 720 million by the end of 2005.[5]
Now, this is over five years ago!
So, when I look from the office I’m in at the surrounding buildings, I imagine I shouldn’t be surprised to find instead of looking out at harried financial workers working late and putting in long hours, I’m looking across into the living room of someone who has moved into a formal commercial building converted into a luxury rental.
Then there’s this testimony in Congress from 2002:
There is a quiet revolution starting in the U.S. Listed marketplace. Investors and traders who have become disenchanted with current market structure are moving beyond the experimentation phase. They are starting to employ ATSs like the ones represented here today. The value proposition is clear. Execution that is electronically matched without human intermediation takes one middleman and the resulting economic impact of that middleman out of the equation. What makes that possible today? I would submit to you that advanced technology, industry protocols, and high-speed networks support this type of healthy competition without the resultant risk of fragmentation.
This quiet revolution combined with the decimalization of stocks, the consolidation of the New York Stock Exchange specialist units, the requirement to submit quality of execution data for the public record, and the extended bear market in the U.S. Equity markets is in the process of causing profound change to the security industry.
Or how about this:
...But many planners see a domino effect that could intensify patterns of sprawl - just at a time when urban areas were making a modest comeback. Backup facilities and satellite offices need a labor force nearby, as well as infrastructure and commercial development. Westchester officials already are saying the NYSE facility would trigger growth. Some Fidelity employees now working in Boston have moved to the suburbs in anticipation of needing to be at regional sites in Smithfield, R.I., or Merrimack, N.H., one executive said.
While real estate specialists see no conclusive evidence of a wholesale exodus to the suburbs, security concerns and soaring insurance premiums for urban properties have become reasons for businesses to quit the city. Some government agencies are already headed in that direction, as in the case of the Office of Homeland Security, mulling headquarters in rural Virginia rather than Washington D.C.
“We're going to look back 20 years from now and ask how this happened,” said Harvard law professor David J. Barron, who believes that such symbolic moves, as well as legal and policy frameworks, dictate development patterns. “We built the [interstate] highways for defense, and the next thing you know we had a whole way of living that no one ever necessarily chose.”
Now, let’s put it in other terms - New York City’s history has been built around commerce, first because of its geographic location as a port it being a portal for the movement of goods from this country out into the world. Over the last fifty years, New York as a port has diminished in importance as carriers have chosen to use other ports for larger ships and shipping itself has undergone a transformation (I believe Virginia has the busiest port now on the East Coast and Newark has taken the rest of New York‘s freight traffic). This is an industry that’s gone from the city now (ever hear of On The Waterfront?).
Financial services were a sector where the city relied on a lot of revenue - taxes, jobs and the ancillary benefits resultant from having the industry located in and around Wall Street.
What happens though, when trading becomes electronic and decentralized? What replaces that industry and those jobs. What does it mean for New York and the nation?
The merger announced May 3 combining the Deutsche Börse Frankfurt (Frankfurt Stock Exchange) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) will create the biggest stock exchange in Europe. The new entity, to be named International Exchange (iX), will be the fourth largest stock exchange in the world following the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq and Tokyo.
Most commentators see the Frankurt-London link-up as being a “first step towards a global stock exchange” which might well result in a unified pan-European stock market within the next two years. The British newspaper the Guardian writes: “A single global stock market is now one step closer to reality.”
But this increasing concentration is also intensifying rivalries within Europe and between Europe and the United States. In the same report quoted above the Guardian warns: “The merger of the London Stock Exchange and Frankfurt’s Deutsche Börse might be a blow to the former.” However, it then goes on to say: “but that's no reason to stand in the way of globalization.” Other commentaries place more emphasis on the emergence of a European rival to counter market domination by the NYSE.
Yes, it’s a changing world we live but, it’s always better to try and anticipate the change rather than get swept up by it.
Mar 9, 2005
The Yuan and you...
Critics of China’s foreign exchange restrictions say that the yuan’s peg to the dollar undervalues the currency by as much as 40 percent, making Chinese exports artificially cheap and giving its manufacturers an unfair advantage.
China has promised to eventually allow the yuan to trade freely, but has not said when. It contends that the country's economy and its fragile financial system require a stable currency.
All right, so I hinted at wanting to talk about the Yuan so, maybe tonight I’ll finally get around to it. If you don’t know, the Yuan is the currency of China (like the dollar here). Over the last ten years, as China has experienced this big growth spurt we all keep hearing about, the Chinese government has been keeping things going by not tying the value of the Yuan to any of the world’s other currencies. Things are cheaper in China because, the Chinese government says they’re cheaper!
Let that roll over in your mind for a second.
Okay, let’s say for example the feds suddenly decided to make a dollar worth a dime (a ten worth a dollar, a hundred worth a ten) everything would suddenly get cheaper over night - of course, your wages would go down as well and relatively speaking you’d still be in the same fix but, I think you get the drift.
Now, another thing that happened, is our currency is off the gold standard. However, since World War Two ended, the dollar has been the “imperial currency” of the world which helps things along of course and makes the rest of the world have a vested interest in our economy. Everybody trades with everyone else and the dollar is being used as the common yardstick for everyone in determining the value of goods. Being the country issuing the currency the world uses for this is a good thing.
Under the Bretton Woods system, central banks of countries other than the US were given the task of maintaining fixed exchange rates between their currencies and the dollar. They did this by intervening in foreign exchange markets. If a country’s currency was too high relative to the dollar, its central bank would sell its currency in exchange for dollars, driving down the value of its currency. Conversely, if the value of a country's money was too low, the country would buy its own currency, thereby driving up the price.
The dollar became the world's reserve currency. Yet there were limits placed upon each country and especially the US. Each country had to police its own reserves and currency or be forced to revalue. And the US was constrained because the dollar was fully convertible into gold. This changed in 1971 when Nixon closed the gold window.
But, what if that we‘re to change?
What would the impact on the economy of our country be particularly in an era where the federal government keeps “borrowing against the future,” driving up bigger deficits.
Let’s just say, it wouldn’t be pretty.
That sinking dollar... President Bush continued to wend his way through Europe today. At Weisbaden Army Airfield in Germany he told U.S. troops who’d served in Iraq that America stands with them. He's on what many see as a fence-mending trip to ease tensions over the Iraq war. But Marketplace commentator Robert Reich argues the real action is taking place in another part of the globe entirely.
Well, I’m a layman when it comes to these things but, I had heard some rumblings along these lines and then the other night a few weeks back, I caught a Robert Reich piece on NPR’s marketplace and Reich certainly explains the situation much more eloquently than I ever could so, why don’t you give a listen for yourself and make come to your own conclusions about the implications.
Mar 4, 2005
It’s been a busy week which just managed to rocket by - unfortunately it’s times like these when getting around to writing something suffers. So, tonight I’ll provide teasers to just what is on the radar these days...
I’m looking around for information currently on the Yuan after hearing an alarming piece on the radio the other day. Just something I want to bring to your attention dear readers. Then, there was the commentary I was going to make on an ad I saw just prior to a movie the other day and how it encapsulated everything that was wrong about the attitudes many people take towards driving and their cars. Lastly, I wanted to comment on something more local, something which has to do with a neighborhoods’ transformation here in New York and how the transformation of several very small blocks in the city could have implications nationwide.
I’m looking around for information currently on the Yuan after hearing an alarming piece on the radio the other day. Just something I want to bring to your attention dear readers. Then, there was the commentary I was going to make on an ad I saw just prior to a movie the other day and how it encapsulated everything that was wrong about the attitudes many people take towards driving and their cars. Lastly, I wanted to comment on something more local, something which has to do with a neighborhoods’ transformation here in New York and how the transformation of several very small blocks in the city could have implications nationwide.
Mar 1, 2005
Another good article about Jef Raskin:
Whenever you point and click and drag an icon around on a computer screen, you are doing so thanks to Jef Raskin, a pioneering computer engineer and father of the Macintosh computer. He died over the weekend, at 61, of pancreatic cancer.
Contrary to Silicon Valley lore it was Raskin and not Apple Computer (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) Chief Executive Steve Jobs who discovered and saw the marketability of technologies that would kick start the PC revolution.
and an interesting article written by the man himself:
Microsoft Word requires at least 30% more keystrokes and 100% more mouse moves to accomplish certain editing tasks than would an optimal word processor. Decreasing physical work not only saves time but also decreases incidents of repetitive stress injury. Good design can eliminate many of the steps that are most damaging to nerves and tendons.
Whenever you point and click and drag an icon around on a computer screen, you are doing so thanks to Jef Raskin, a pioneering computer engineer and father of the Macintosh computer. He died over the weekend, at 61, of pancreatic cancer.
Contrary to Silicon Valley lore it was Raskin and not Apple Computer (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) Chief Executive Steve Jobs who discovered and saw the marketability of technologies that would kick start the PC revolution.
and an interesting article written by the man himself:
Microsoft Word requires at least 30% more keystrokes and 100% more mouse moves to accomplish certain editing tasks than would an optimal word processor. Decreasing physical work not only saves time but also decreases incidents of repetitive stress injury. Good design can eliminate many of the steps that are most damaging to nerves and tendons.
On the radar:
Plot: Frank Miller wrote the graphic novel series that inspired the film. The film will comprise three intertwining vignettes revolving around a dark set of characters who call the fictional corrupt town home. In 'The Hard Goodbye', the brutish ugly Marv awakens to find his beautiful Goldie has been murdered quietly during the night and sets out to take down those responsible. In 'That Yellow Bastard', police officer Hartigan has only one hour left before his shield is finally put to rest, but when he learns of a young girl out there helpless in the hands of a drooling lunatic - he knows he'll go out with a bang. Finally, in 'The Big Fat Kill' the life of an eccentric artist/ex-marine takes a number of bizarre turns after he prevents a beautiful woman from committing suicide.
Saw the previews for Be Cool, the follow up to Get Shorty which looks like it has great suck potential (even with the A-list cast). I get nervous when I see John Travolta and Uma Thurman trying to recapture the magic of their dance scene from Pulp Fiction.
Plot: Frank Miller wrote the graphic novel series that inspired the film. The film will comprise three intertwining vignettes revolving around a dark set of characters who call the fictional corrupt town home. In 'The Hard Goodbye', the brutish ugly Marv awakens to find his beautiful Goldie has been murdered quietly during the night and sets out to take down those responsible. In 'That Yellow Bastard', police officer Hartigan has only one hour left before his shield is finally put to rest, but when he learns of a young girl out there helpless in the hands of a drooling lunatic - he knows he'll go out with a bang. Finally, in 'The Big Fat Kill' the life of an eccentric artist/ex-marine takes a number of bizarre turns after he prevents a beautiful woman from committing suicide.
Saw the previews for Be Cool, the follow up to Get Shorty which looks like it has great suck potential (even with the A-list cast). I get nervous when I see John Travolta and Uma Thurman trying to recapture the magic of their dance scene from Pulp Fiction.
If you live in the five boroughs and you own a car, I give you this gift. Which I came across last night while trying to find out if Alternate Side of the Street Parking would be canceled today.
Something for you to idle away the time with when you find yourself bored, an online picture puzzle.
Feb 27, 2005
Just a quick mention...
from Roger Ebert:
Countless college graduates enter this dream world every year, without reflecting (a) that there are many fewer positions at the top than at the bottom, and (b) that therefore, if the corporations are still hiring at the bottom, it is because there are fatalities at the top. You can always get someone younger and cheaper to do the job of the older and more experienced.
There's one scene in the movie that works well even though it's less than convincing. The conglomerator Teddy K jets in for a meeting with the staff, at which he recites various corporate platitudes to an adoring audience (one of the keys to success in business is the ability to endure the gaseous inanities of Management-Speak as if they meant anything). Then Dan stands up and, with everything to lose, explains clearly and mercilessly just why Teddy K is full of it. Whenever anyone speaks the plain truth on such an occasion, there is a palpable shock; how can such enterprises survive realism? Consider the soldier who asked Donald Rumsfeld, please, sir, may we have some more armor?
Saw the movie today and I have to admit it was just a plain, very enjoyable, decent comedy. A lot of fun to watch. I can’t imagine why a relatively good movie is so hard to make, If you get a chance it’s worth catching.
from Roger Ebert:
Countless college graduates enter this dream world every year, without reflecting (a) that there are many fewer positions at the top than at the bottom, and (b) that therefore, if the corporations are still hiring at the bottom, it is because there are fatalities at the top. You can always get someone younger and cheaper to do the job of the older and more experienced.
There's one scene in the movie that works well even though it's less than convincing. The conglomerator Teddy K jets in for a meeting with the staff, at which he recites various corporate platitudes to an adoring audience (one of the keys to success in business is the ability to endure the gaseous inanities of Management-Speak as if they meant anything). Then Dan stands up and, with everything to lose, explains clearly and mercilessly just why Teddy K is full of it. Whenever anyone speaks the plain truth on such an occasion, there is a palpable shock; how can such enterprises survive realism? Consider the soldier who asked Donald Rumsfeld, please, sir, may we have some more armor?
Saw the movie today and I have to admit it was just a plain, very enjoyable, decent comedy. A lot of fun to watch. I can’t imagine why a relatively good movie is so hard to make, If you get a chance it’s worth catching.
Feb 24, 2005
Feb 15, 2005
Blog Sensei made reference to Senator Barbara Boxer today, which was interesting in only that I had heard an interview with the senator last week on Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR and came away significantly impressed. Click on the link below and listen for yourself:
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) recently made headlines with her tough questioning of Condoleezza Rice during her confirmation hearings for Secretary of State. Boxer was also the only senator to object to the certification of Ohio's electoral votes, bringing about a two-hour debate on the matter.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) recently made headlines with her tough questioning of Condoleezza Rice during her confirmation hearings for Secretary of State. Boxer was also the only senator to object to the certification of Ohio's electoral votes, bringing about a two-hour debate on the matter.
Feb 14, 2005
Really great article posted online at New York magazine’s website about getting fired at 50.
My new boss was gracious but perfunctory. “You work here, you belong here. There’s all kinds of stuff for you to do, but you’re the one who has to make it work.” He called out to his secretary. He was awaiting a report and wanted to know if it had arrived. “Stop worrying,” he said and rose from his chair to see me out.
Three months later, I got a call from his secretary asking if I could come in to see him the following week: Thursday at three o’clock.
Why had he summoned me? It was a call I’d been waiting for without quite knowing it. But when his secretary called, my stomach knotted up. My mind became strangely blank.
My new boss was gracious but perfunctory. “You work here, you belong here. There’s all kinds of stuff for you to do, but you’re the one who has to make it work.” He called out to his secretary. He was awaiting a report and wanted to know if it had arrived. “Stop worrying,” he said and rose from his chair to see me out.
Three months later, I got a call from his secretary asking if I could come in to see him the following week: Thursday at three o’clock.
Why had he summoned me? It was a call I’d been waiting for without quite knowing it. But when his secretary called, my stomach knotted up. My mind became strangely blank.
Rafik Hariri, a billionaire who helped rebuild his country after decades of war but resigned as prime minister last fall after a sharp dispute with Syria, was killed Monday in a massive bomb explosion that tore through his motorcade.
At least nine other people were killed and 100 wounded in the blast. It raised immediate fears that Lebanon — largely peaceful since the 1990 end of its civil war — was headed toward a new and bloody chapter in its differences with Syria, which maintains about 15,000 troops in the country.
My friend’s wife arrived on Beirut on Thursday. She’s on a business trip for her job and this is the first time she’s traveled to the Middle East.
Before she left, her husband (my friend) and I were discussing the trip, I was asking him what precautions she was taking, thinking how dangerous Beirut could be. My understanding being Lebanon is still very much run by the Syrians through proxy. He said his wife had been told Beirut had really ‘come back’ and since September 11th it had become quite the tourist destination for those in the Arab world not wanting to suffer the ignomy of increased security and profiling in Western nations.
She’s all right thankfully, although apparently she was staying only blocks from where the blast took place. As if the stress of a long business trip in and of itself wasn’t enough - now this.
Makes you wonder how the Israelis can deal with this kind of stuff on a regular basis and stay sane. Is there a question anymore, the rules as we know them in this country are not the rules by which a lot of the rest of the world operates? You have to ask yourself, does it really make sense to approach the world in a naivé fashion thinking the rest of the world will just ‘be nice’ at the asking?
Feb 13, 2005
Feb 12, 2005
According to information received by the artist, police officers in Clovis, New Mexico charged 31-year-old Dean Young with distribution of sexually oriented material to minors for the display of two stickers on his yellow Ford Focus. A Clovis police officer, Kirk Roberts, noticed the stickers when they drew the attention of his son, who saw them on Young's car while the officer’s family was gathering at the restaurant where Young works as a waiter.
Speaking of the X-Files...
Also in the good news department, as far as decent things on TV go, SciFi channel is going to run the entire six episode mini series of the 4400 starting on the 22nd.
I imagine it’s in advance of the regular series debuting on USA Network which picked it up after the mini had a strong showing. It’s worth catching if you haven’t seen it. The two leads have got the Scully/Mulder kind of chemistry thing going. Michael Moriarity turns up in one episode where he’s a lead character. Although, I was a bit disturbed by how much he’s aged - I keep picturing him from Bang The Drum Slowly and Law and Order but I guess that just shows me how many years have gone by.
There are only a couple of things I find worth watching each week. The aforementioned Enterprise is one show and in a similar vein Battlestar Galactica is another. Reworking the original concept of the 70’s series, BG is turning into a fun show to watch: better cast, better effects, great cinematography and good character driven stories. It is one of the more entertaining things on TV at the moment.
So with Enterprise’s announced cancellation, it was a bad news/good news kind of week.
Battlestar Galactica has been a ratings winner for SCI FI since its Jan. 14 premiere. The latest episode, Feb. 4's “You Can’t Go Home Again,” scored the show’s best ratings yet, with 3.2 million viewers.
SCI FI Channel has ordered a second season of its hit series Battlestar Galactica, which has aired five episodes of its first season of 13 episodes. Details of the renewal—including which cast members will return, how many episodes will be produced and when the second season will commence—were still being worked out at press time.
Battlestar Galactica is considered a success on the SciFi channel with 3.2 million viewers but, UPN announces the cancellation of Enterprise and it’s interesting to note the numbers:
Berman said of the precipitous fan drop-off in an interview conducted after UPN announced Enterprise’s fate. “We’ve always seemed to have a big drop from before Christmas to after Christmas, which I’ve never quite understood.”
Enterprise attracted more than 13 million viewers in its debut, but by the fourth season, that audience had fallen to just 2.9 million.
Battlestar Galactica has a former Victoria’s Secret model running around as the ultimate Cylon bad girl, certainly something which increases the geek appeal of the show.
They tried to push the heat up on Enterprise the same way, it was a big departure from any of the previous entries of the Star Trek franchise - although Jeri Ryan was bought in to help boost ratings on the insipid Voyager. “Shower” scenes aside (see image below), Enterprise is a show that is really getting into a groove. I think it’s a shame what’s happening. There are other shows through the years which wound up being favorites (notably Deep Space Nine and The X-Files) and I seem to remember right around the fourth season was when the shows got really, really good.
Usually I’m not so disgustingly blatent about it, but WNYC is running it’s pledge drive this week and if you live in New York and listen - please show your support.
You can also listen to a feed of the station over the web, which is actually a godsend during the course of a long workday.
I got forwarded an article in the Washington Post by a friend...
An Atlanta blogger who goes by Karsh says he was fired from a sales position in January after he blogged on company time. He was not so contrite. The writer of BGB, or Black Gay Blogger, said his boss wanted him to apologize for the things he had said about his fellow employees.
Since the other workers were not named, he did not think it was necessary, he said. “I feel like it's been said and done.”
The blogger renamed his supervisor “Skeletor” and “Wednesday Addams” in an entry about the confrontation. When the was told he would be demoted and had to dismantle his site, he quit, he said.
I always am a little concerned about how open I want to be when writing but, then I think it’s one of those things that people have to seek out. In the cases cited in the article, one instance shows a lapse of judgment on the part of the blogger in terms of confidentiality agreements - you know, those things you sometimes sign when starting a new gig, the documents you skim over and for the most part ignore.
Most of the others though are just people griping or offering up their opinions about the workplace, their working conditions, their co-workers and their jobs. When you get right down to it, it’s people blowing off some steam. I would imagine someone blogging about their job and getting whatever pent up angst they have about their gig is infinitely preferable to someone coming in and going postal. How oppressive is our society becoming?
None of the instances one will notice involve people speaking glowingly about their job though. Ah, there’s the rub I guess, positive publicity is okay but negative observations have no place in the corporate environment of today - seems to me that that’s one of the things wrong with ‘Corporate America.’
Corporations and business in our country can do no wrong it seems - it‘s the American way. It’s stretched to every aspect of our lives - from a personal level to the biggest organizational levels including our government. Our society is comprised of godlike, perfect beings and organizations which can do no wrong, or rather if they do, they surely cannot own up to it.
So, getting back to the article, I got the link from a friend and at the end of the day I figure if your going to get fired for what you write on a blog, they pretty much were going to find something to fire you over anyway. Just the act of firing someone over negative comments in a blog is validation on some level of what the person wrote.
An Atlanta blogger who goes by Karsh says he was fired from a sales position in January after he blogged on company time. He was not so contrite. The writer of BGB, or Black Gay Blogger, said his boss wanted him to apologize for the things he had said about his fellow employees.
Since the other workers were not named, he did not think it was necessary, he said. “I feel like it's been said and done.”
The blogger renamed his supervisor “Skeletor” and “Wednesday Addams” in an entry about the confrontation. When the was told he would be demoted and had to dismantle his site, he quit, he said.
I always am a little concerned about how open I want to be when writing but, then I think it’s one of those things that people have to seek out. In the cases cited in the article, one instance shows a lapse of judgment on the part of the blogger in terms of confidentiality agreements - you know, those things you sometimes sign when starting a new gig, the documents you skim over and for the most part ignore.
Most of the others though are just people griping or offering up their opinions about the workplace, their working conditions, their co-workers and their jobs. When you get right down to it, it’s people blowing off some steam. I would imagine someone blogging about their job and getting whatever pent up angst they have about their gig is infinitely preferable to someone coming in and going postal. How oppressive is our society becoming?
None of the instances one will notice involve people speaking glowingly about their job though. Ah, there’s the rub I guess, positive publicity is okay but negative observations have no place in the corporate environment of today - seems to me that that’s one of the things wrong with ‘Corporate America.’
Corporations and business in our country can do no wrong it seems - it‘s the American way. It’s stretched to every aspect of our lives - from a personal level to the biggest organizational levels including our government. Our society is comprised of godlike, perfect beings and organizations which can do no wrong, or rather if they do, they surely cannot own up to it.
So, getting back to the article, I got the link from a friend and at the end of the day I figure if your going to get fired for what you write on a blog, they pretty much were going to find something to fire you over anyway. Just the act of firing someone over negative comments in a blog is validation on some level of what the person wrote.
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