well, the tickets are booked and on june 15 it's off i go from sfo. get to cairo (via frankfurt) early evening june 16, stay a week then off to morocco june 23. back to sfo on july 2 via cairo, including a flight that gets to cairo (from casablanca) about 12:40am, then i leave 5 hours later for the journey home (via frankfurt and denver).
now it's all about crafting some sort of itinerary that includes cairo, pyramids, mt. siani, alexandria, casablanca, marrakech, fez, essaouira...doing it all in a little over two weeks.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Sunday, April 23, 2006
post hoc ergo propter hoc? or...
...don't you wish your boy/girlfriend was hot like me? or beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
so on saturday, watching some firemen do their stuff during a fire drill, a coworker asks me "why is it that all firemen are hot?"
i thought for a second, and my answer to her was that whether or not they are objectively hot they become hot by virtue of being firemen. that is, same guy, dressed the exact same way, talks to a girl in a bar. she asks what he does, he says "fireman". he's instantly hotter than an actuary (no offense to actuaries intended or implied, it's just that there's a reason the marlboro man doesn't wear a green eye shade and sit at a computer).
i've long had a corollary theory that women in new york are generally hotter by virtue of being new yorkers than if they look the same, are dressed the same and in d.c. or philly or boston. something about the way they carry themselves, the nyc style...that i'm starting to develop a similar thing about san fran women as well drives home the point that it's all context, the people we find attractive.
and this is a different thing than what makes a better long-term partner, explored by leah over at agirlandaboy. i'm talking feel it in your guts/loins hot.
there's a related thing having to do with bollywood romances, but this post is toolongalready and i'm too tired from a long 5 days of work and too little sleep, a soccer game in which i played crappy in net and sprained a finger.
so on saturday, watching some firemen do their stuff during a fire drill, a coworker asks me "why is it that all firemen are hot?"
i thought for a second, and my answer to her was that whether or not they are objectively hot they become hot by virtue of being firemen. that is, same guy, dressed the exact same way, talks to a girl in a bar. she asks what he does, he says "fireman". he's instantly hotter than an actuary (no offense to actuaries intended or implied, it's just that there's a reason the marlboro man doesn't wear a green eye shade and sit at a computer).
i've long had a corollary theory that women in new york are generally hotter by virtue of being new yorkers than if they look the same, are dressed the same and in d.c. or philly or boston. something about the way they carry themselves, the nyc style...that i'm starting to develop a similar thing about san fran women as well drives home the point that it's all context, the people we find attractive.
and this is a different thing than what makes a better long-term partner, explored by leah over at agirlandaboy. i'm talking feel it in your guts/loins hot.
there's a related thing having to do with bollywood romances, but this post is toolongalready and i'm too tired from a long 5 days of work and too little sleep, a soccer game in which i played crappy in net and sprained a finger.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
i'm in los angeles today, it smells like an airport runway
quick in-and-out trip to l.a. tonight and tomorrow. i won't even leave the immediate aiport vicinity...off the plane, to an airport hotel, work-related functions tonight, tomorrow morning and late afternoon, then back up here by 6pm. i've done trips like this before, and it's always so surreal to me...traveling without seeing anything.
and wow, that's two death cab song references in a row.
and wow, that's two death cab song references in a row.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
your heart is an empty room
Back in the fall I twice saw previews for The War Within and wanted very much to see the film. For whatever reason, it didn't get a wide theatrical release and I was excited to see it out on dvd, so added it to the Netflix queue. It makes a good companion piece to Paradise Now, which I saw a few weeks ago.
Written by and starring Ayad Akhtar, and directed by his Columbia Film School compatriot Joseph Castelo, The War Within is an intense look at the personal and interpersonal conflicts that arise when a Pakistani man, Hassan, is driven to wanting to commit an act of suicide terrorism on American soil.
Akhtar is sort of an accomplished unknown, clearly someone to watch. He's crafted a taut, tense script with believable dialogue. It's not preachy, it's not overwrought or maudlin. He plays Hassan full of brooding conviction, a man who bears the physical and mental scars of his time being interrogated and tortured in a Pakistani jail after having been snatched off the streets of Paris. Hassan isn't presented as a raving fanatic. It's almost as if he's an everyman who just happens to have come to the US on a mission to wreak havoc, death and destruction. He has become, though, loveless, unable to connect to anything or anyone save for his hatred of the west and his hope for salvation through the ultimate sacrifice to his cause.
There are glimpses as to why Hassan becomes radicalized, but they are fleeting and surface-level. Though it might have provided some more depth to have explored that territory a bit more, too much focus might have distracted from the central story, which revloves around how two boyhood best friends ended up in such different places, and what happens when they confront each other's new realities.
The relationship between Sayeed and Hassan has become strained. Sayeed is a physician, having accepted some Western ways and befriending Americans. Hassan views America as an evil oppressor. Still they bound together by old forces -- the obvious attraction between Hassan and Sayeed's sister Duri (played by the astonishingly beautiful Nandana Sen, daughter of Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen. She's fast becoming a Bollywood star) and the budding relationship that Hassan develops with Sayeed's impressionable young son Ali. In a key moment, Sayeed grdugingly allows his friend, who he by then knows to have become orthodox, to teach Ali how to pray.
It's not perfect, but it is often gripping, and you come to care about the characters, even Hassan, as you hope that he lets go of his hate and accepts what could be a fulfilling life among good friends in a land that offers him, a Western educated (schooled in the US and France) engineer, plenty of opportunity.
As I've written before, seeing and being moved by a film like this is not any tacit or explicit affirmation of the motives of terrorists. This kind closed-mindedness, given national voice by the likes of Charles Krauthammer, shows a fundamental misundertanding of one of the main purposes of art -- to make us confront our interpretations of reality and understand why we think the way we do and understand why others might come away with a completely different view of the same reality.
Written by and starring Ayad Akhtar, and directed by his Columbia Film School compatriot Joseph Castelo, The War Within is an intense look at the personal and interpersonal conflicts that arise when a Pakistani man, Hassan, is driven to wanting to commit an act of suicide terrorism on American soil.
Akhtar is sort of an accomplished unknown, clearly someone to watch. He's crafted a taut, tense script with believable dialogue. It's not preachy, it's not overwrought or maudlin. He plays Hassan full of brooding conviction, a man who bears the physical and mental scars of his time being interrogated and tortured in a Pakistani jail after having been snatched off the streets of Paris. Hassan isn't presented as a raving fanatic. It's almost as if he's an everyman who just happens to have come to the US on a mission to wreak havoc, death and destruction. He has become, though, loveless, unable to connect to anything or anyone save for his hatred of the west and his hope for salvation through the ultimate sacrifice to his cause.
There are glimpses as to why Hassan becomes radicalized, but they are fleeting and surface-level. Though it might have provided some more depth to have explored that territory a bit more, too much focus might have distracted from the central story, which revloves around how two boyhood best friends ended up in such different places, and what happens when they confront each other's new realities.
The relationship between Sayeed and Hassan has become strained. Sayeed is a physician, having accepted some Western ways and befriending Americans. Hassan views America as an evil oppressor. Still they bound together by old forces -- the obvious attraction between Hassan and Sayeed's sister Duri (played by the astonishingly beautiful Nandana Sen, daughter of Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen. She's fast becoming a Bollywood star) and the budding relationship that Hassan develops with Sayeed's impressionable young son Ali. In a key moment, Sayeed grdugingly allows his friend, who he by then knows to have become orthodox, to teach Ali how to pray.
It's not perfect, but it is often gripping, and you come to care about the characters, even Hassan, as you hope that he lets go of his hate and accepts what could be a fulfilling life among good friends in a land that offers him, a Western educated (schooled in the US and France) engineer, plenty of opportunity.
As I've written before, seeing and being moved by a film like this is not any tacit or explicit affirmation of the motives of terrorists. This kind closed-mindedness, given national voice by the likes of Charles Krauthammer, shows a fundamental misundertanding of one of the main purposes of art -- to make us confront our interpretations of reality and understand why we think the way we do and understand why others might come away with a completely different view of the same reality.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
emotional rescue
Reading the aforementioned Year of Living Dangerously, I was particularly struck by this paragraph, as it could have been written about me (last paragraph in chapter 2):
Not sure if this is a symptom or a function of my singlehood. It fits though, with a comment that someone recently made about my pictures -- "there's no people in your photos". Some of that stems from my reticence to take candid shots of people, my feeling that I'm intruding into their space. But a good deal it is in line with the way in which Koch portrays Guy Hamilton.
Like most men who live alone, and have reached their maturity single, Hamilton had done so by numbing his feelings at crucial times, and turning to action for relief. Not selfish in a petty way, he nevertheless preferred the odourless, ethereal tensions of the world and his job to other people's emotions - with which, perhaps, he was mostly at a loss. And so he was often calmly unaware of their true natures, intensities and needs, floating and dissolving around him.Now, this isn't me exactly -- I'm hardly a loner, I generally prefer being around people to being by myself. But the essence of what Koch writes resonates with how I see myself sometimes -- being more often self-identified as single rather than coupled, I tend to keep very busy with lots of extra-curricular activities -- music, soccer, volunteer fundraising, photography -- and I tend to keep the world at (a slightly bent) arm's length. It's not that I don't notice or care about the "true natures, intensities, and needs" of others (I'm actually very observant and sensitive to other people's emotions), I just don't usually let those kinds of things in too deep. It's easier not to...emotionally it's safer. The result is I come off as much more aloof and removed than I actually am. It's also a product of the terrible shyness that I had when I was younger and which I have only in the last 6-8 years mostly gotten over. Not completely, but mostly.
Not sure if this is a symptom or a function of my singlehood. It fits though, with a comment that someone recently made about my pictures -- "there's no people in your photos". Some of that stems from my reticence to take candid shots of people, my feeling that I'm intruding into their space. But a good deal it is in line with the way in which Koch portrays Guy Hamilton.
we should take a walk but you're such a fast walker
One of my favorite things to do when visiting a new city is to walk it. Pick an area and explore it, block to block. It's the kind of thing I tend to do on my own, mainly because I like to set my own pace and follow whatever whim hits me as to where to go, where to stop in for a spell...
I've been here 10 months and planning to stay a long time, so I'm not a visitor. Still it was, then, that I decided today to take advantage of the cancellation of the Sunday soccer league game to spend the afternoon wandering the Mission District, scoping out where I want to live, getting a sense of the character of the area. A mostly sunny day punctuated by the odd rain shower, it was a good day for meandering.
Starting from the 16th & Mission BART station I went up to Valencia and then up towards 25th Street. The highlights of Valencia are of course the numerous book stores, thrift shops, furniture stores and places to eat and drink. Stopped in Community Thrift and poked around a bit.
The best part (for me) was the selection of used books, and I picked up The Year of Living Dangerously and Jay McInerney's Model Behavior for $1 each. I'm already 70 pages into The Year, which is one I've been wanting to read since seeing the Peter Weir film adaptation (with Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hunt doing a gender-bending turn as a male photographer). In a similar vein I need to get around to reading The Quiet American (and more Graham Geene for that matter)...something about that period of Southeast Asian history and the intersection of post-colonialism and the West's fear of communism spreading throughout the region has long intrigued me. Way back I enjoyed Bright Lights (though the movie version was crap), but nothing McInerney's done since has realy grabbed me. This one is supposed to be pretty good.
Though my goal at the outset was to sample a taqueria or three, I ambled into the Javalencia Cafe and got a very tasty smoked turkey sandwich. The bread was fresh and flavorful, and the honey-mustard dressing worked well with the tomato and sprouts.
After working my way up and along the main streets and side steets, I got to Dolores Park just as the sunshine was at its best of the day.
Unfortunately for the kids, the effects of the rain were still evident...
...though some kids did manage to play on the puddle-enclosed slide and jungle gym.
After some time in the park, I worked my way up Guerrero from 18th to 24th, stopping in at Cafe Que Tal to escape a brief rain with some coffee and a chocolate chip cookie.
The Mission reminds me in many ways of the San Telmo area of Buenos Aires...
Clearly the Latin influence has something to do with it, but beyond that it was the edgy but natural energy of the neighborhoods, the sense that the people who live there are happy to be in a place with some character, and make an effort to maintain that vibe. It's also because of the mix of people...like San Telmo, the Mission isn't (well, yet anyway) a bunch of gentrifiers...it's really an "from all walks of life" kind of area.
The effect of the day is to confirm my suspicion that the Mission is where I want to live, preferably from about 18th-25th, between Valenica and the park. The side streets like San Jose and Fair Oaks are especially appealing...close enough to the action but not right in the middle of it. Now the fun part...actually finding a place to live.
I've been here 10 months and planning to stay a long time, so I'm not a visitor. Still it was, then, that I decided today to take advantage of the cancellation of the Sunday soccer league game to spend the afternoon wandering the Mission District, scoping out where I want to live, getting a sense of the character of the area. A mostly sunny day punctuated by the odd rain shower, it was a good day for meandering.
Starting from the 16th & Mission BART station I went up to Valencia and then up towards 25th Street. The highlights of Valencia are of course the numerous book stores, thrift shops, furniture stores and places to eat and drink. Stopped in Community Thrift and poked around a bit.
The best part (for me) was the selection of used books, and I picked up The Year of Living Dangerously and Jay McInerney's Model Behavior for $1 each. I'm already 70 pages into The Year, which is one I've been wanting to read since seeing the Peter Weir film adaptation (with Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hunt doing a gender-bending turn as a male photographer). In a similar vein I need to get around to reading The Quiet American (and more Graham Geene for that matter)...something about that period of Southeast Asian history and the intersection of post-colonialism and the West's fear of communism spreading throughout the region has long intrigued me. Way back I enjoyed Bright Lights (though the movie version was crap), but nothing McInerney's done since has realy grabbed me. This one is supposed to be pretty good.
Though my goal at the outset was to sample a taqueria or three, I ambled into the Javalencia Cafe and got a very tasty smoked turkey sandwich. The bread was fresh and flavorful, and the honey-mustard dressing worked well with the tomato and sprouts.
After working my way up and along the main streets and side steets, I got to Dolores Park just as the sunshine was at its best of the day.
Unfortunately for the kids, the effects of the rain were still evident...
 |  |
After some time in the park, I worked my way up Guerrero from 18th to 24th, stopping in at Cafe Que Tal to escape a brief rain with some coffee and a chocolate chip cookie.
The Mission reminds me in many ways of the San Telmo area of Buenos Aires...
 |  |
The effect of the day is to confirm my suspicion that the Mission is where I want to live, preferably from about 18th-25th, between Valenica and the park. The side streets like San Jose and Fair Oaks are especially appealing...close enough to the action but not right in the middle of it. Now the fun part...actually finding a place to live.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
everyone's a critic and most people are djs
Neither rain nor gloom of day will deter me from a farmer's market trip and more importantly from playing soccer today. First match in almost a month. Mud? ha...i laugh at you.
(update...4:30)...tie game, 3-3. I was in goal for the second half, playing first half at sweeper back. I did let in the last goal with a few minutes to play on a shot I arguably had no chance at saving...point blank, wide open. I suppose I could have come out to cut the angle, but if I do that even a second too soon the guy's got an easy chip over my head, and right now he's a better striker than I am a keeper. I could say that the defender shouldn't have let the guy turn to shoot, but it's never cool to pass the buck. Bottom line, I didn't make the save. Still, a well-played and fun match. And no mud...we were on an artificial turf field.
The haul at the famer's market was some good looking spinach, more of the tangelos mentioned a week or so back, avocados (need to get some cheese and french bread to go with them) and green beans.
The playlist as of late...
* The M's - Mansion in the Valley. More mp3s on their website
* The Hard Tomorrows - Put Yourself Out.
* Fountains of Wayne - Valley Winter Song (no mp3 available, so here are the chords and lyrics). must be all the rain...i find myself changing the chorus to "the rain is coming down, in our bayside town, and it's been falling all month long"
* The Hold Steady - The Swish
* Kelley Stoltz - Rescue (echo & the bunnymen cover)
Finally saw Amelie last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. One of those I just somehow hadn't gotten to until now. And that includes the month that it sat in its Netflix sleeve on the living room table. The main point here is to point to this (unintended) hysterical review of it on the world socialist webiste. Among my favorite lines..."All of Jeunet’s characters in Amelie are semi-proletarian, but far removed from what might be regarded as ordinary." Someone paid attention in film school when they covered Marxist rhetorical critique. (/snark)
(update...4:30)...tie game, 3-3. I was in goal for the second half, playing first half at sweeper back. I did let in the last goal with a few minutes to play on a shot I arguably had no chance at saving...point blank, wide open. I suppose I could have come out to cut the angle, but if I do that even a second too soon the guy's got an easy chip over my head, and right now he's a better striker than I am a keeper. I could say that the defender shouldn't have let the guy turn to shoot, but it's never cool to pass the buck. Bottom line, I didn't make the save. Still, a well-played and fun match. And no mud...we were on an artificial turf field.
The haul at the famer's market was some good looking spinach, more of the tangelos mentioned a week or so back, avocados (need to get some cheese and french bread to go with them) and green beans.
The playlist as of late...
* The M's - Mansion in the Valley. More mp3s on their website
* The Hard Tomorrows - Put Yourself Out.
* Fountains of Wayne - Valley Winter Song (no mp3 available, so here are the chords and lyrics). must be all the rain...i find myself changing the chorus to "the rain is coming down, in our bayside town, and it's been falling all month long"
* The Hold Steady - The Swish
* Kelley Stoltz - Rescue (echo & the bunnymen cover)
Finally saw Amelie last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. One of those I just somehow hadn't gotten to until now. And that includes the month that it sat in its Netflix sleeve on the living room table. The main point here is to point to this (unintended) hysterical review of it on the world socialist webiste. Among my favorite lines..."All of Jeunet’s characters in Amelie are semi-proletarian, but far removed from what might be regarded as ordinary." Someone paid attention in film school when they covered Marxist rhetorical critique. (/snark)
Friday, April 14, 2006
suddenly this summer
wow, all of a sudden i'm realizing that summer is almost upon us. sure, calendar-wise it's still 60 days or so away, but so many things seem to be intertwined and happening a once that i need to get moving now...
* planning for the trip. the logistics of doing both egypt and morocco are a bit daunting. airfare's pretty steep, but manageable. but there are so many permutations on getting to-from-from-to that sussing out the best itinerary may require a travel agent.
* moving to the city. east bay's nice, but i'm a city guy. so i move before the trip? secure a place for a move immediately after getting back? if right before or after, can i sublet my place in east bay? if not i'll be paying double rent. or do i wait til the lease is up in august?
all this, and the work queue looks to be mighty involved, both with job-specific stuff and independent research i want to do, including a paper proposal that was accepted for publication, so i'll actually have to...well...do the analysis and write the damn thing.
plus, then there's you know...life. having fun. there are books to read, movies to see, music to hear (and play, maybe), improv classes to take, surfing to do more of, soccer to play, people to meet...
to the question of a place to live in the city, any leads on a place are welcome. main requirement is within 10-15 minutes walk (or muni, but preferably walk) of a bart station. option to get parking would be nice as well but not a deal breaker.
* planning for the trip. the logistics of doing both egypt and morocco are a bit daunting. airfare's pretty steep, but manageable. but there are so many permutations on getting to-from-from-to that sussing out the best itinerary may require a travel agent.
* moving to the city. east bay's nice, but i'm a city guy. so i move before the trip? secure a place for a move immediately after getting back? if right before or after, can i sublet my place in east bay? if not i'll be paying double rent. or do i wait til the lease is up in august?
all this, and the work queue looks to be mighty involved, both with job-specific stuff and independent research i want to do, including a paper proposal that was accepted for publication, so i'll actually have to...well...do the analysis and write the damn thing.
plus, then there's you know...life. having fun. there are books to read, movies to see, music to hear (and play, maybe), improv classes to take, surfing to do more of, soccer to play, people to meet...
to the question of a place to live in the city, any leads on a place are welcome. main requirement is within 10-15 minutes walk (or muni, but preferably walk) of a bart station. option to get parking would be nice as well but not a deal breaker.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
talking with the taxman about poetry...
...and procrastination. Yes, I haven't done my taxes yet. Guess what's in store for this evening...
(update, 11:20pm)...refund's not quite what i expected, but the vagaries of relocation expense reimbursement and some consulting money lowered it. but at least it's done.
the soundtrack for the night was kelley stoltz's latest and the violent femmes first. mp3s from stoltz are here. in particular, check out his echo & the bunnymen covers. "rescue" is pretty damned good, which for me is saying something as that's one of my favorite echo songs.
(update, 11:20pm)...refund's not quite what i expected, but the vagaries of relocation expense reimbursement and some consulting money lowered it. but at least it's done.
the soundtrack for the night was kelley stoltz's latest and the violent femmes first. mp3s from stoltz are here. in particular, check out his echo & the bunnymen covers. "rescue" is pretty damned good, which for me is saying something as that's one of my favorite echo songs.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
...and everywhere
a rain soaked and busy work-day, but the goal was the calexico in-store at amoeba, and it was worth the trip. they hit the right notes, struck the right chord, set the right mood. i almost didn't go, but i said "screw the rain" and even found parking in the haight. go me.
that was followed by a zipping trip downtown to meet friends for a dinner at the grand cafe at monaco hotel. my dish was a bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin with some sort of pork thing elsewhere on the plate. essentially, lots of pig. but very good, in that french bistro sort of way. good wine, good company...i'm now sad that the conference is over.
driving home i was transfixed by the concretes cover of the stones "miss you". also from that record, Layourbattleaxedown , the song "sugar", featuring the line "he gives me sugar again instead of salt, and it keeps me running back for more".
i'll ask nicely now...please...someone...stop the rain. please?
that was followed by a zipping trip downtown to meet friends for a dinner at the grand cafe at monaco hotel. my dish was a bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin with some sort of pork thing elsewhere on the plate. essentially, lots of pig. but very good, in that french bistro sort of way. good wine, good company...i'm now sad that the conference is over.
driving home i was transfixed by the concretes cover of the stones "miss you". also from that record, Layourbattleaxedown , the song "sugar", featuring the line "he gives me sugar again instead of salt, and it keeps me running back for more".
i'll ask nicely now...please...someone...stop the rain. please?
here and there
Great dinner last night at Fior d'Italia in North Beach. Excellent company of good friends made better by good food and wine. We started out with a special antipasti plate featuring prawns sauteed with lemon and garlic, dungeness crab, tomato with basil and mozzarella and melon wrapped in prosciutto. Among the dishes ordered were a cioppino, gnocchi, a rack of lamb...our waiter was a total pro who didn't mind the slightly ribald talk towards the end, even participated (with a good joke) and gave us each a small serving of a delicious after-dinner wine. High recommendation for an SF landmark. Actually ended up walking back from North Beach to my car parked at a lot on Mission at 5th. But the clear, cool evening made for great walking.
Also good on the eating meter was Sunday night's post-receptioning taco expedition to the Mission (Taqueria Jose, 24th & Mission). High marks for the place from a very diverse group of folks, some very wise in the ways of tacos, some virtual neophytes. I had the ceviche tostada and a chorizo taco, both very good.
I always get nervous recommending restaurants and movies to friends, and I'm always relieved (and validated?) when the recs turn up to be good.
An odd thing about having the conference in my home town -- I felt oddly disconnected from the immediacy and totality of the experience. Since I could mix work and conference, I did, splitting a few days between office and conference, so I wasn't around the whole time for it, and I didn't have a hotel room in the immediate vicinty (I commuted back and forth each day). So I was there but not there. The no close-by room also meant that the usual crash time you can have between sessions and the evening activities wasn't really there. Hard to keep going for 12-14 hours a day without any real quiet and sequestered downtime. Still a productive time, getting great ideas for projects and feeling reconnected to my work in a more global sense, stepping away from the minutia of the daily grind.
Did spend a bit of downtime yesterday reading and people-watching in Union Square and more importantly searching the racks at Rasputin. Among the haul was older stuff from Calexico and the Concretes and the latest from Matt Pond PA. Tonight of course is the Calexico in-store at Amoeba. So musically and foodly, a good couple of days.
Also good on the eating meter was Sunday night's post-receptioning taco expedition to the Mission (Taqueria Jose, 24th & Mission). High marks for the place from a very diverse group of folks, some very wise in the ways of tacos, some virtual neophytes. I had the ceviche tostada and a chorizo taco, both very good.
I always get nervous recommending restaurants and movies to friends, and I'm always relieved (and validated?) when the recs turn up to be good.
An odd thing about having the conference in my home town -- I felt oddly disconnected from the immediacy and totality of the experience. Since I could mix work and conference, I did, splitting a few days between office and conference, so I wasn't around the whole time for it, and I didn't have a hotel room in the immediate vicinty (I commuted back and forth each day). So I was there but not there. The no close-by room also meant that the usual crash time you can have between sessions and the evening activities wasn't really there. Hard to keep going for 12-14 hours a day without any real quiet and sequestered downtime. Still a productive time, getting great ideas for projects and feeling reconnected to my work in a more global sense, stepping away from the minutia of the daily grind.
Did spend a bit of downtime yesterday reading and people-watching in Union Square and more importantly searching the racks at Rasputin. Among the haul was older stuff from Calexico and the Concretes and the latest from Matt Pond PA. Tonight of course is the Calexico in-store at Amoeba. So musically and foodly, a good couple of days.
Monday, April 10, 2006
talk amongst yourselves
From today's Wired Campus Blog at the Chronicle of Higher Education...
-----------
The sad truth might be, however, that...
From the Ivory Tower to the Internet
An article in U.S. News & World Report takes note of a less-than-shocking phenomenon: Graduate students, it turns out, are among the Web's most devoted bloggers. (Young people with high-speed Internet access and plenty of opinions make good bloggers? Who'd've thunk it?)
But the story is well worth reading because it offers some nicely detailed glimpses into the different motivations of student bloggers. Some of the blogs are, as stereotypes suggest, outlets for political musings or personal minutia. But others, like Oh, Snap! (written by a graduate student in education) and Over My Med Body! (a handsome blog penned by a medical student) give readers an uncensored, inside look at the upper levels of academe. Those bloggers often find themselves wondering how to reconcile their online personae with their academic pursuits: Should they use pseudonyms? Can they criticize their colleges? What if a professor finds their blogs?
-----------
The sad truth might be, however, that...
Sunday, April 09, 2006
every day is like sunday
amazing what a few (ok, 9) good hours of sleep can do. back and ready to go at it. there's actually an interesting panel on community college transfer issues. hopefully it won't be in one of the glorified closets that the moscone conference center calls meeting rooms. and tonight is reception hell, with too many conflicting events. what's a guy to do when there's so many people to see? weather-wise, the call is for more rain...apparently yesterday was just a brief respite.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
another sunny day, i met you out in the garden
What a gorgeous friggin day. GORGEOUS. The scene at Yerba Buena...
Which of course didn't stop me from a late afternoon session at the Chieftan with an old friend...
Hefeweizen is such a great sunny day beer.
Long day but a good day. Well received paper commentary, which I appreciated, since the inspiration for the comments came all of a sudden, in a mad rush, and it was all I could do to keep my pen up with my brain as I was writing down the notes.
Then it was hours of missed connections and connected connections, and now it's apparent that the last few weeks, and in particular the last few days, have caught up with me.
now it'szzzzzzzzzz.........
Which of course didn't stop me from a late afternoon session at the Chieftan with an old friend...
Hefeweizen is such a great sunny day beer.
Long day but a good day. Well received paper commentary, which I appreciated, since the inspiration for the comments came all of a sudden, in a mad rush, and it was all I could do to keep my pen up with my brain as I was writing down the notes.
Then it was hours of missed connections and connected connections, and now it's apparent that the last few weeks, and in particular the last few days, have caught up with me.
now it'szzzzzzzzzz.........
pride (in the name of {?})
a question posed among friends, to which no satisfactory answer was given...
when it becomes obvious that two people who want the same thing are sending very indirect (maybe even passive-aggressive) but obvious messages to each other through an intermediary of any sort...at what point is the time to shit or get off the pot? what's gained? what's lost? who's first (and why)?
when it becomes obvious that two people who want the same thing are sending very indirect (maybe even passive-aggressive) but obvious messages to each other through an intermediary of any sort...at what point is the time to shit or get off the pot? what's gained? what's lost? who's first (and why)?
so. central rain (i'm sorry)
what a shock, another rainy norcal day. the out-of-towners couldn't quite understand our frustrations. no matter, good to see some infrequently seen friendly faces again.
dinner was colibri...mexican food served tapas style. some chorizo con quesofundido, lamb shank, chicken, filet mignon, good margaritas. mmm...good.
post dinner was mellow drinks at hotel rex (in the comfy chairs from the picture).
great that i'm up at 1am posting when i have a relatively early day tomorrow, including a morning session. bleh.
dinner was colibri...mexican food served tapas style. some chorizo con quesofundido, lamb shank, chicken, filet mignon, good margaritas. mmm...good.
post dinner was mellow drinks at hotel rex (in the comfy chairs from the picture).
great that i'm up at 1am posting when i have a relatively early day tomorrow, including a morning session. bleh.
Friday, April 07, 2006
all tomorrow's parties
last night's activity was the opening at 111 minna. interesting scene, art just so-so, with the exception of adrienne yan's drawings, which i really dug. followed by a light bite at zebulon. excellent spring rolls. and what one of the people writes in the yelp review is spot on...music's a bit too loud for the room. just a touch mellower..set the mood, don't make it impossible to talk...it's a small place.
saturday i'm going to try and convince my out of town friends (or at least those with art habits like mine) to go to the make out room for writers with drinks.
monday might be eef barzelay, though after a big group dinner it might be hard to get people rallied. but i have enough julie mccoy in me (somehow i'm always the cruise director) that i think i can swing it.
tuesday early evening is calexico's in-store at amoeba.
this in addition to (or in spite of?) the countless receptions and lunches and coffees and other things that are part of the social aspects of the conference. oh yeah...the panels and presentations too.
some weeks there's just too much to do. (not that i'm complaining)
saturday i'm going to try and convince my out of town friends (or at least those with art habits like mine) to go to the make out room for writers with drinks.
monday might be eef barzelay, though after a big group dinner it might be hard to get people rallied. but i have enough julie mccoy in me (somehow i'm always the cruise director) that i think i can swing it.
tuesday early evening is calexico's in-store at amoeba.
this in addition to (or in spite of?) the countless receptions and lunches and coffees and other things that are part of the social aspects of the conference. oh yeah...the panels and presentations too.
some weeks there's just too much to do. (not that i'm complaining)
Thursday, April 06, 2006
party at ground zero
so last saturday? at a local farmer's market? i strolled by a stand and the guys had some orange-looking things out for sample. turned out to be tangelo slices (i didn't realize it was season for them just yet). i took one.
amazing...
...like a citrus party in my mouth.
for some reason, i only bought three. should have bought a dozen at least. no reason to mention this other than to say if in the next week or so you see tangelos at a farmer's market or some other place where you get good produce, buy some. the first of the season seem to be extra special good.
-----
(modified...weekend activiy musings to its own post)
amazing...
...like a citrus party in my mouth.
for some reason, i only bought three. should have bought a dozen at least. no reason to mention this other than to say if in the next week or so you see tangelos at a farmer's market or some other place where you get good produce, buy some. the first of the season seem to be extra special good.
-----
(modified...weekend activiy musings to its own post)
mission to morocco
with apologies to pat rapa for, uh, borrowing his concept (**), i hereby launch "mission to morocco". yes, tour guide, egypt is part of it. but i like alliteration, so "mission to morocco" it is. though i guess i could make it "mission to morocco, expedition to egypt".
the basic 2+ week itinerary would be:
* fly to cairo, spend 6-8 days in egypt. a hike up sinai will be part of the deal. there will also be pyramids.
* cairo to either marrakesh or casablanca, and a couple of days in each city.
* then, as mentioned previously, a trek along the atlantic coast, chilling, eating fresh seafood, surfing, chilling.
* get to the north coast, take a ferry to spain, then a train to madrid and fly home.
why a mission? no reason really. i figure i need to state it in a public forum and to as many people as possible so that i actually make it happen.
maybe this is what i was thinking about when i mentioned being on the verge of something. or maybe it was one of the many things i sensed coming down the pike (though not all are coming exactly as i sensed originally, but since when is intuition 100%?). point being, the thought's in my head and won't get out. so, i'm on a mission.
** pat, if you read this...you really need to blog the e-mails from the mission to denmark thing. they were some of the funniest damn things to read. and one of these days you should go to denmark.
ps -- unlike pat's mission, mine will not include a fundraising pitch. though donations will not be turned away.
the basic 2+ week itinerary would be:
* fly to cairo, spend 6-8 days in egypt. a hike up sinai will be part of the deal. there will also be pyramids.
* cairo to either marrakesh or casablanca, and a couple of days in each city.
* then, as mentioned previously, a trek along the atlantic coast, chilling, eating fresh seafood, surfing, chilling.
* get to the north coast, take a ferry to spain, then a train to madrid and fly home.
why a mission? no reason really. i figure i need to state it in a public forum and to as many people as possible so that i actually make it happen.
maybe this is what i was thinking about when i mentioned being on the verge of something. or maybe it was one of the many things i sensed coming down the pike (though not all are coming exactly as i sensed originally, but since when is intuition 100%?). point being, the thought's in my head and won't get out. so, i'm on a mission.
** pat, if you read this...you really need to blog the e-mails from the mission to denmark thing. they were some of the funniest damn things to read. and one of these days you should go to denmark.
ps -- unlike pat's mission, mine will not include a fundraising pitch. though donations will not be turned away.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
bright future in sales
two professionally related things...
* I wrote a few weeks back about Stanford's announcement that entering students with family income of less than $45,000 would be free of tuition costs, and the family contribution would be halved for students from $45K-$60K. Since then the University of Pennsylvania announced that it would provide grants to cover costs for students from families with income below $50K. Harvard, apparently in the next seat around the poker table, upped the income limit to $60K. A few years ago there was even talk (in a GOP-controlled Congress no less!) about regulating tuition costs. It appears that the market is starting to correct itself a bit, and after years of being slow to recognize the problem there's now a flurry of movement to counteract tuition costs that over the past two decades have far outpaced family income. It will be interesting to see who raises the stakes...it really has become like a poker game.
* In a shocker (ok, not really), research indicates that younger Gen-X scholars claim that they want transparent tenure standards and more balance between work and personal life. I gave up a tenure-track job for a research-based administrative job precisely because I wanted to stop feeling like every spare minute should be devoted to work in order to earn tenure, and I wasn't even sure exactly what the standards for tenure were. While I respect people who are incredibly devoted to scholarship and are very prolific, I decided that I wasn't ready to give up all of my free time for the chase. I like a job where I can have KEXP playing in the background, and where I don't take work home with me as often. I work hard and I enjoy what I do, but I've finally shed the "grad school guilt" complex of always feeling like I should be working.
---------
Totally unrelated, but worth mentioning (since I saw the story while searaching the Harvard note) is this bit about ligament regeneration work being done at Children's Hospital in Boston. I've had acl replacement and the knee's still not to 100%. Related to the acl trauma I also still have meniscus issues. What I wouldn't give to have the meniscus fully healed and regenerated. Microfracture seems to be one option, but it's not guaranteed, especially for patients over 30.
* I wrote a few weeks back about Stanford's announcement that entering students with family income of less than $45,000 would be free of tuition costs, and the family contribution would be halved for students from $45K-$60K. Since then the University of Pennsylvania announced that it would provide grants to cover costs for students from families with income below $50K. Harvard, apparently in the next seat around the poker table, upped the income limit to $60K. A few years ago there was even talk (in a GOP-controlled Congress no less!) about regulating tuition costs. It appears that the market is starting to correct itself a bit, and after years of being slow to recognize the problem there's now a flurry of movement to counteract tuition costs that over the past two decades have far outpaced family income. It will be interesting to see who raises the stakes...it really has become like a poker game.
* In a shocker (ok, not really), research indicates that younger Gen-X scholars claim that they want transparent tenure standards and more balance between work and personal life. I gave up a tenure-track job for a research-based administrative job precisely because I wanted to stop feeling like every spare minute should be devoted to work in order to earn tenure, and I wasn't even sure exactly what the standards for tenure were. While I respect people who are incredibly devoted to scholarship and are very prolific, I decided that I wasn't ready to give up all of my free time for the chase. I like a job where I can have KEXP playing in the background, and where I don't take work home with me as often. I work hard and I enjoy what I do, but I've finally shed the "grad school guilt" complex of always feeling like I should be working.
---------
Totally unrelated, but worth mentioning (since I saw the story while searaching the Harvard note) is this bit about ligament regeneration work being done at Children's Hospital in Boston. I've had acl replacement and the knee's still not to 100%. Related to the acl trauma I also still have meniscus issues. What I wouldn't give to have the meniscus fully healed and regenerated. Microfracture seems to be one option, but it's not guaranteed, especially for patients over 30.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
i want to glide through those brown eyes dreaming
current favorite obsessions...
the concretes -- fiction. an instant wow song. the guitar figure's embedded in my brain. not sure how long the link will be up, so get it now. more importantly, buy the record. song snippets of each song on "in colour". more downloads at the band's website.
wilco -- i am trying to break your heart, live version from kicking television. yeah, it's like the umpteenth time i've mentioned wilco lately. but seriously, i've been playing this song, handshake drugs and shot in the arm (they're in a row on disc 1 of kicking television), non-stop for the better part of two weeks now.
anything to take the edge off weeks upon weeks of rain, no soccer games (thanks to rain and travel and work), and a $450 car repair bill.
the concretes -- fiction. an instant wow song. the guitar figure's embedded in my brain. not sure how long the link will be up, so get it now. more importantly, buy the record. song snippets of each song on "in colour". more downloads at the band's website.
wilco -- i am trying to break your heart, live version from kicking television. yeah, it's like the umpteenth time i've mentioned wilco lately. but seriously, i've been playing this song, handshake drugs and shot in the arm (they're in a row on disc 1 of kicking television), non-stop for the better part of two weeks now.
anything to take the edge off weeks upon weeks of rain, no soccer games (thanks to rain and travel and work), and a $450 car repair bill.
worker's playtime
there's a professional conference in town this week, one that i go to every year. between that and another conference held in the fall, it's the one of the few chances i have in any given year to see most of my friends and colleagues from around the country, so it's a good professional and personal event. lots of good eating, drinking, socializing and yes, even professional development and interesting research presentations. this is the first year, however, when i've been to a major conference that's in the city where i'm living. which means it feels less like the special event that it normally is, and more like just part of the work-week.
the session i'm doing is on saturday -- usually doing a saturday session is no big deal...when you're away, there's not as fine a line between weekday and weekend. you're just at the conference. now i'll have to get up early on a saturday and trek to the conference center. i should also probably get around (sooner rather than later) to reading the papers on which i'm supposed to be giving expert commentary (i'm discussant at the session, which means i give public critique of the papers).
the conference being here also means i'll have to play host...recommending restaurants and other places to go, like a good dive bar or two. the latter of which i know already (go figure) - but then i'm usually able to find a good bar in a strange town anyway (again, go figure).
the session i'm doing is on saturday -- usually doing a saturday session is no big deal...when you're away, there's not as fine a line between weekday and weekend. you're just at the conference. now i'll have to get up early on a saturday and trek to the conference center. i should also probably get around (sooner rather than later) to reading the papers on which i'm supposed to be giving expert commentary (i'm discussant at the session, which means i give public critique of the papers).
the conference being here also means i'll have to play host...recommending restaurants and other places to go, like a good dive bar or two. the latter of which i know already (go figure) - but then i'm usually able to find a good bar in a strange town anyway (again, go figure).
Sunday, April 02, 2006
what was i thinking when i let go of you
there's a peculiar irony, two intertwined ones actually, to being single and actively dating in one's mid-30s and beyond. if you have a good job that keeps you busy and you also occupy yourself with lots of "extra-curricular" activities it constrains the time necessary for getting to know someone and making the right choice.
the first irony is a product of the very experience we count on to help us make good decisions sometimes results in us using too narrow a filter. the other (and related) irony is that often we get into those extra-curriculars not just for the intrinsic value of the activity itself but to meet people with whom to be friends or lovers. even though most of us won't admit that out loud, we know it's true that the single among us do these things as much to meet potential mates as anything else. and those of us who tend to be active will be more attracted to more active people. couch-potatoes and active people rarely are a good match.
for simplicity's sake i'll suggest that you can put any date into one of three groups -- no, maybe and yes. sure, there are stronger maybes than others, but the point here is to be brief...(yeah yeah, i know it's an essay about the dangers of too quickly and ruthlessly cutting to the chase)
clearly there are times when you know for certain something won't work. and usually (hopefully) it's obvious to both people right away. but sometimes that decision gets made not because the person is truly incompatible, but because of life's demands. we feel the need to cut to the chase, to quickly and efficiently filter out the noise from the signal. and in that rush we probably put a "maybe" too quickly into the "no" pile, usually based on some checklist derived from experience and used exactly because we're so busy that we feel we need the filter. and not that this is a bad thing. if you don't learn from experience you're going to make the same mistakes over and over. with the availablity of on-line dating sites, even if there's a dry spell of meeting people through traditional means, it's been made very easy to go back to the aquarium and pick out a new fish or three. it's perceived as no big loss to maybe throw back one that you at first thought didn't suit you. (related to all this but its own essay is how the myth of "instant chemistry or nothing" has been drilled into us thanks to hollywood and in particular shows like the bachelor(ette)).
when you both know it's a maybe is when it gets most complicated. here's where you really need to put in a bit of time to figure it out. but when both people have ski trips, shore trips, running clubs, soccer games, softball games, book clubs, volunteer work...before you know it your week, weekend and month is booked. so the potential of the "maybe" fizzles, as would any flame die for lack of proper fuel and attention. it takes some courage to step away from standing commitments and get to know a maybe or two (or three). it also takes some work between meetings...e-mails, phone calls...enough to keep things going but not too much to come off as clingy or needy.
even when we meet the obvious "yes" our schedules are so pre-booked that it can be a week between meetings. you still have these prior commitments. you still have lots of people counting on you to do things. but you really want to get together with mr/ms yes. you also don't want to be "that guy" who just dumps his friends and softball team every time a woman gets hold of him. and here you see it as even more important to make the time, that you feel there's something immediate and pressing at stake. but still...you have things to do.
and what if we make the wrong choice between two definite maybes, or between what we thought was a yes and a definite maybe? what then? go back to one you let go but are still intrigued enough by that you can't get her out of your head? that takes some courage and letting go of pride on both ends. again, with on-line dating you can easily just turn your profile back on and pick from the new arrivals who come in daily (which is a whole other essay on disposable society). but you don't know until you ask.
so for all we think we've learned getting to this point it almost works against us in terms of making snap judgements, and for all the desire to stay active who's got the time to make the time?
the first irony is a product of the very experience we count on to help us make good decisions sometimes results in us using too narrow a filter. the other (and related) irony is that often we get into those extra-curriculars not just for the intrinsic value of the activity itself but to meet people with whom to be friends or lovers. even though most of us won't admit that out loud, we know it's true that the single among us do these things as much to meet potential mates as anything else. and those of us who tend to be active will be more attracted to more active people. couch-potatoes and active people rarely are a good match.
for simplicity's sake i'll suggest that you can put any date into one of three groups -- no, maybe and yes. sure, there are stronger maybes than others, but the point here is to be brief...(yeah yeah, i know it's an essay about the dangers of too quickly and ruthlessly cutting to the chase)
clearly there are times when you know for certain something won't work. and usually (hopefully) it's obvious to both people right away. but sometimes that decision gets made not because the person is truly incompatible, but because of life's demands. we feel the need to cut to the chase, to quickly and efficiently filter out the noise from the signal. and in that rush we probably put a "maybe" too quickly into the "no" pile, usually based on some checklist derived from experience and used exactly because we're so busy that we feel we need the filter. and not that this is a bad thing. if you don't learn from experience you're going to make the same mistakes over and over. with the availablity of on-line dating sites, even if there's a dry spell of meeting people through traditional means, it's been made very easy to go back to the aquarium and pick out a new fish or three. it's perceived as no big loss to maybe throw back one that you at first thought didn't suit you. (related to all this but its own essay is how the myth of "instant chemistry or nothing" has been drilled into us thanks to hollywood and in particular shows like the bachelor(ette)).
when you both know it's a maybe is when it gets most complicated. here's where you really need to put in a bit of time to figure it out. but when both people have ski trips, shore trips, running clubs, soccer games, softball games, book clubs, volunteer work...before you know it your week, weekend and month is booked. so the potential of the "maybe" fizzles, as would any flame die for lack of proper fuel and attention. it takes some courage to step away from standing commitments and get to know a maybe or two (or three). it also takes some work between meetings...e-mails, phone calls...enough to keep things going but not too much to come off as clingy or needy.
even when we meet the obvious "yes" our schedules are so pre-booked that it can be a week between meetings. you still have these prior commitments. you still have lots of people counting on you to do things. but you really want to get together with mr/ms yes. you also don't want to be "that guy" who just dumps his friends and softball team every time a woman gets hold of him. and here you see it as even more important to make the time, that you feel there's something immediate and pressing at stake. but still...you have things to do.
and what if we make the wrong choice between two definite maybes, or between what we thought was a yes and a definite maybe? what then? go back to one you let go but are still intrigued enough by that you can't get her out of your head? that takes some courage and letting go of pride on both ends. again, with on-line dating you can easily just turn your profile back on and pick from the new arrivals who come in daily (which is a whole other essay on disposable society). but you don't know until you ask.
so for all we think we've learned getting to this point it almost works against us in terms of making snap judgements, and for all the desire to stay active who's got the time to make the time?
hope springs eternal
Ahh...opening day. (**) Is there a better combination of words to capture the essence of early April? Every team's in first place, nothing but blue skies, green grass and 162 games of promise ahead until October.
Will this be the year the Braves finally don't win the NL East? (yeah, I'm calling you out Darren). For the record, I don't see the Phils winning it this year, maybe (and it pains me no end to say this) the Mets.
Will the A's finally get over the hump?
Will the steroid investigation (more stupidity from Selig) dominate talk and relegate what happens the on the field to the background? Or will the players take control of the game? Will the Giants season be nothing but a circus? Will anyone care when Bonds passes Ruth?
** yeah, yeah...the openers are technically at night this year. still, it's the first day of the season...opening day.
Will this be the year the Braves finally don't win the NL East? (yeah, I'm calling you out Darren). For the record, I don't see the Phils winning it this year, maybe (and it pains me no end to say this) the Mets.
Will the A's finally get over the hump?
Will the steroid investigation (more stupidity from Selig) dominate talk and relegate what happens the on the field to the background? Or will the players take control of the game? Will the Giants season be nothing but a circus? Will anyone care when Bonds passes Ruth?
** yeah, yeah...the openers are technically at night this year. still, it's the first day of the season...opening day.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
pure pop goodness
The Essex Green - Don’t Know Why (You Stay)
On myspace, with more song samples.
(via you aint no picasso)
On myspace, with more song samples.
(via you aint no picasso)
Friday, March 31, 2006
marrakesh express
As a travel destination, Morocco has always been "on the list", but then it's a pretty long and indiscriminate list as I'm up for going anywhere. There isn't a part of the world I'm not interested in seeing. Heck, I'd love to see Baghdad...just not in the near future. That said, Morocco has long been one of the more appealing possibilities...just never in, say, the Top 5 at any particular moment.
Reading this article in The Atlantic, though, has vaulted Morocco, particularly the Atlantic coast areas that Tayler writes about, to near the top. Sure,Casablanca, no wait, this Casablanca and Marrakesh would be great. I love urban travel, meandering thru cities, seeing the sights.
But something about the way Tayler describes the people, sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the outlying areas makes me want to spend about 2 weeks getting lost along the coast, hanging out with easy-going locals, eating freshly caught fish that's grilled up and served with lemon and a baguette. Apparently there's good surfing in Morroco as well.
I'd also like to get to Egypt soon, particularly while I still have my own personal tour guide living there. Tunisia might be a nice stop along the way to Morocco. At least according to tour guide. Hopefully my having a Danish passport won't be an issue by then.
Reading this article in The Atlantic, though, has vaulted Morocco, particularly the Atlantic coast areas that Tayler writes about, to near the top. Sure,
But something about the way Tayler describes the people, sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the outlying areas makes me want to spend about 2 weeks getting lost along the coast, hanging out with easy-going locals, eating freshly caught fish that's grilled up and served with lemon and a baguette. Apparently there's good surfing in Morroco as well.
I'd also like to get to Egypt soon, particularly while I still have my own personal tour guide living there. Tunisia might be a nice stop along the way to Morocco. At least according to tour guide. Hopefully my having a Danish passport won't be an issue by then.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
saxophone started blowing me down, i was buried in sound...
stuck in my head....
Wilco -- Handshake Drugs live version from Kicking Television. John Stirrat's bass playing on that track is just killing me.
Voxtrot -- Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, & Wives
Almendra...traditional old school Cuban salsa song.
Wilco -- Handshake Drugs live version from Kicking Television. John Stirrat's bass playing on that track is just killing me.
Voxtrot -- Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, & Wives
Almendra...traditional old school Cuban salsa song.
Monday, March 27, 2006
departure lounge
(bumped and updated with picture and links)
thanks to free interweb service, live (**) blogging from mccarren airport in vegas. 9:40pm...i should be in the air now, on a flight from vegas to sfo. but no, thanks to a maintenence issue the flight i was supposed to be on out of phoenix was cancelled. not delayed, cancelled. quick work got me booked on the next set of connections, meaning a 1:20am arrival. meaning i should get home in the 2am range.
bleh. on top of that, the constant din of the slots at the center of the circular gate area is annoying to say the least. not only that, america west has seemingly oversold every flight today (including this one about to take us to sfo), so it's hard to be nimble with options. and the boarding areas have been insanely crowded.
at least the wedding was fun (a bit too much fun maybe). how can you not like a wedding with a low key and casual ceremony, good bbq ribs and chicken, good beer, a bluegrass duo, abundant pez, croquet, whiffle ball, an "after-party" (responsible for a bit of the "too much" for lots of folks, evidently), and a cactus league baseball outing (a's-rockies, featuring a homer by frank thomas in his a's debut *plus* an appreance by jose mesa for the rockies) the next day? all that and seeing folks i hadn't seen in way too long. so flight delays be damned, it was well worth the trip.
** well, not technically live. blogger seems to be having trouble publishing posts. so this is posted at 2:30am, as I finally get home.
ps -- apparently there was a mini-me sighting in the terminal. i'm not normally good with celeb spotting, but he's someone i reckon i would recognize had i been party to the sighting.
(update...monday 8:30am...somehow i made it into work despite not getting to bed until 3am. can't vouch that i'll be all that productive today, but i'm here)
thanks to free interweb service, live (**) blogging from mccarren airport in vegas. 9:40pm...i should be in the air now, on a flight from vegas to sfo. but no, thanks to a maintenence issue the flight i was supposed to be on out of phoenix was cancelled. not delayed, cancelled. quick work got me booked on the next set of connections, meaning a 1:20am arrival. meaning i should get home in the 2am range.
...the scene at sfo, around 1:45am...
bleh. on top of that, the constant din of the slots at the center of the circular gate area is annoying to say the least. not only that, america west has seemingly oversold every flight today (including this one about to take us to sfo), so it's hard to be nimble with options. and the boarding areas have been insanely crowded.
at least the wedding was fun (a bit too much fun maybe). how can you not like a wedding with a low key and casual ceremony, good bbq ribs and chicken, good beer, a bluegrass duo, abundant pez, croquet, whiffle ball, an "after-party" (responsible for a bit of the "too much" for lots of folks, evidently), and a cactus league baseball outing (a's-rockies, featuring a homer by frank thomas in his a's debut *plus* an appreance by jose mesa for the rockies) the next day? all that and seeing folks i hadn't seen in way too long. so flight delays be damned, it was well worth the trip.
** well, not technically live. blogger seems to be having trouble publishing posts. so this is posted at 2:30am, as I finally get home.
ps -- apparently there was a mini-me sighting in the terminal. i'm not normally good with celeb spotting, but he's someone i reckon i would recognize had i been party to the sighting.
(update...monday 8:30am...somehow i made it into work despite not getting to bed until 3am. can't vouch that i'll be all that productive today, but i'm here)
eaten by her own dinner
given my current bleary-eyed state i doubt i'll make it to the porchlight reading tonight, which is a shame. the theme is kitchen confidential, and the stories will center on life in the restaurant biz, which is how i spent my college (and some post-college) years.
Friday, March 24, 2006
can't get there from here
First impression of Phoenix? Driving north on 51 to get from the airport to the hotel, it was impossible to exit the highway. The first three exit ramps were all closed for some sort of road work...new paint for the lines maybe. There was no action, just highway patrol cars at the first two, and a DOT truck at the last. You figure they could have done every other one, so that all the exiting traffic wouldn't have gotten off at the first available and jammed things up. You would have thought that, but you'd be wrong.
Also, Phoenix reminds me of SW Dade county (FL). Flat (well, the valley part, obviously not the mountains around the city), lots of traffic and strip-malls and 4-way intersections. Bleh suburban blight.
(update)...seems that it was a protest against legislation that would impose severe crackdowns on illegal immigrants that was most likely responsible for the shut-down of the exits.
Also, Phoenix reminds me of SW Dade county (FL). Flat (well, the valley part, obviously not the mountains around the city), lots of traffic and strip-malls and 4-way intersections. Bleh suburban blight.
(update)...seems that it was a protest against legislation that would impose severe crackdowns on illegal immigrants that was most likely responsible for the shut-down of the exits.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
i'll follow you into the dark
A few weeks ago I wrote about a few Oscar nominated movies that sent Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer into a tizzy. I finally got to see one of them, Paradise Now, which Krauthammer called a "sympathetic portrayal of two suicide bombers". The film centers on Khaled and Said, two friends living in the West Bank town of Nablus, tapped to go on a mission to Tel Aviv.
Contrary to Krauthammer's assertion (and as proof that he probably didn't see the film) it's far from a sympathtic portrayal of the Palestinian resistance movement and the use of suicide bombing as an effective means of insurgency. It shows the human side of an action that most of us only experience the end result of via news outlets. Paradise Now brings to life not only the bombers, but the people they leave behind.
The film certainly has harsh things to say about how the Israelis treat West Bank Palestinians. It by no means, however, shows the resistance as a pure endeavor. The men leading the cells, those who send young men off to die, are not given a flattering portrayal -- Jamal in particular comes off as a cross between a smarmy and manipulative televangelist and used-car salesman...feeding his recruits an ersatz spirituality dressed up in promises of rewards in heaven. He is, thanks to one very effective shot, cast almost as a Judas to the cause of Palestinian self-rule.
Taken apart from its specific context, the film is as much about the fine line between conviction and doubt. In context it gives voice to those left behind, showing them to wish more that their loved ones were still with them rather than having willfully died and killed for a cause. The two lead actors, particularly Kais Nashef who plays Said, are riveting. The dialogue never gets too maudlin and the preachiness is kept to a minimum. Worth a spot high up on your netflix queue. Up next for me is The War Within, which covers similar ground but set in the context of a planned attack in New York City.
Contrary to Krauthammer's assertion (and as proof that he probably didn't see the film) it's far from a sympathtic portrayal of the Palestinian resistance movement and the use of suicide bombing as an effective means of insurgency. It shows the human side of an action that most of us only experience the end result of via news outlets. Paradise Now brings to life not only the bombers, but the people they leave behind.
The film certainly has harsh things to say about how the Israelis treat West Bank Palestinians. It by no means, however, shows the resistance as a pure endeavor. The men leading the cells, those who send young men off to die, are not given a flattering portrayal -- Jamal in particular comes off as a cross between a smarmy and manipulative televangelist and used-car salesman...feeding his recruits an ersatz spirituality dressed up in promises of rewards in heaven. He is, thanks to one very effective shot, cast almost as a Judas to the cause of Palestinian self-rule.
Taken apart from its specific context, the film is as much about the fine line between conviction and doubt. In context it gives voice to those left behind, showing them to wish more that their loved ones were still with them rather than having willfully died and killed for a cause. The two lead actors, particularly Kais Nashef who plays Said, are riveting. The dialogue never gets too maudlin and the preachiness is kept to a minimum. Worth a spot high up on your netflix queue. Up next for me is The War Within, which covers similar ground but set in the context of a planned attack in New York City.
goin' to the chapel...again
tomorrow i'm heading to a wedding in arizona. then another is coming this memorial day weekend back home. that'll make 9 weddings (well, 8 plus a post-wedding party that was a couple months after a private family service) since memorial day weekend 2004. four of those weddings happened between march and august of 2005. in 2 of the 9 i was the officiant ("ordained" by the universal life church) for friends...it's pretty cool, officiating for people you know and love. that's a lot of nuptial bliss i've been witness to lately.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
the people that you meet in your neighborhood
from doing a bit of sleuthing, i'm pretty sure that i live around the corner from a (now demolished) cottage where japhy ryder lived in the dharma bums. or in real life, where kerouac crashed with ginsburg. my roommate is also pretty sure that our place is in one of the neighborhoods where david eggers lived with his brother in a heartbreaking work of staggering genius. and a friend of mine claims to have stayed in the house where benjamin braddock lived (with mr. roper as his landlord..well, not mr. roper per se, but normal fell) while chasing down elaine in the graduate.
and then there's david lodge's book changing places, which despite the fictional name for the town is definitely set here, with the school as the obvious setting.
why mention all of this? there's really no point except useless triviality and the need for me to spend a few minutes thinking of something other than this work-related analytical problem which is kicking my ass and withering my ego.
and then there's david lodge's book changing places, which despite the fictional name for the town is definitely set here, with the school as the obvious setting.
why mention all of this? there's really no point except useless triviality and the need for me to spend a few minutes thinking of something other than this work-related analytical problem which is kicking my ass and withering my ego.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
finest worksong
good god, it's these kind of work hours why i didn't go the "normal" route (law, for instance**), the kind a kid raised in a middle-class suburban home should go into. i'm not built for this 60-hour/week stuff. but so it is this week, even though it's more or less a four-day work week what with me off to phoenix friday for a wedding (though i will be working on the planes, in the aiports (change-over in vegas). but the next 5-6 weeks looks to be hellacious (i'll bet you thought i was gonna say "hella"). even if i had a ticket to the new pornographers/belle & sebastian show tonight, it would be iffy that i could actually be there. bah.
** ps - though i'd probably be good at being a lawyer...i'd make lots more money, but i'd also look about 20 years older than i am and be even more a curmudgeon than i am. maybe even have morphed into total miserable prickdom. so yeah, no lawyering for me.
pps -- i'd like to note, that my use of post-scripts is in no way related to the fact that i've read and liked stuff by david foster wallace or david eggers. i just tend to tangentialize (and use parentheses), kinda like them, sometimes like tom robbins.
** ps - though i'd probably be good at being a lawyer...i'd make lots more money, but i'd also look about 20 years older than i am and be even more a curmudgeon than i am. maybe even have morphed into total miserable prickdom. so yeah, no lawyering for me.
pps -- i'd like to note, that my use of post-scripts is in no way related to the fact that i've read and liked stuff by david foster wallace or david eggers. i just tend to tangentialize (and use parentheses), kinda like them, sometimes like tom robbins.
nervous and shakey...
...(honk if you remember the del fuegos)...
that's not the issue, though...the 3 recent quakes are --
a 3.7 followed 4 minutes later by a 2.7 then 90 seconds after by 1.4.
it's probably time i get my quake kits together for the house and car.
** update at 2:40pm...a bunch of small aftershocks in the 2.0 to 2.3 range...as active a day as we've had since i've been here.
that's not the issue, though...the 3 recent quakes are --
a 3.7 followed 4 minutes later by a 2.7 then 90 seconds after by 1.4.
it's probably time i get my quake kits together for the house and car.
** update at 2:40pm...a bunch of small aftershocks in the 2.0 to 2.3 range...as active a day as we've had since i've been here.
Monday, March 20, 2006
the birth of the cool
"two days, that's the industry standard"...
"laugh all you want, but if you call too soon you can scare off a nice baby who's ready to party."
"I know I shouldn't have called, I mean, my friends said I should wait two days."
god bless swingers. what a fun movie. like comfort food, can be watched over and over (even for me, considering that i was once dumped right after watching it with a gf) and it produced some memorable (albeit now dated) catch-phrases. it launched vince vaughn and gives jon favreau something to talk about during "dinner for five" (is there a show where he doesn't reference something from the movie?).
it's also, as far as i'm concerned, one of the many things responsible for the death of level-headed dating in this country.
for all the moaning over concepts like "s/he's just not that into you" we lose sight of the fact that there are plenty of times when he or she is that into you and perhaps thanks to the socially conditioned push to search for the bigger and better thing or perhaps thanks to the idea that its uncool to just let go and go with the moment we let good opportunities pass us by. good opportunities to be happy.
it's silly to worry about acting on the feeling after a great first or second date. it's just silly to have what you do after a great date judged by some standard of "cool" or other crazy misconceptions that wanting to again and often see someone who excites you is considered "clingy" or "needy". sorry, but this is a load of crap.
when something feels good right away there's a reason it does. so you go with that feeling...you don't pull back. you don't worry.
because just once is all that it will take.
of course, dating and romance shouldn't really be all that level-headed. i should know as well as anyone.
for the better part of the last two years i've playing it cool. assiduously avoiding even the tiniest bit of vulnberability. all it got me was a bunch of first and sometimes second dates, a few half-stabs at relationships and the odd meaningless "thing". and it's left me feeling cold inside.
so now with things settled that i know i'll be living here for a while, i took a risk. i let a crush in on the chance that it would take root -- the payoff when that happens can be a wild rush. it was one of those things that wasn't just an "it would be nice if it worked out" kind of thing**, but rather a "this should work out" kind of thing. you know, a bowled over and wow kind of thing. the "dare to be great situation" i've been looking for.
sadly (and surprisingly), no go. it was the first time in a while i got seriously bummed at something not taking. but all it cost was a couple of days in a fog, nothing that a good brunch in the city sunday morning and then a soccer game (tie notwithstanding) that afternoon couldn't help to lift. the upside is i'm feeling more alive than i have in a while. sure, the move out to the bay area was somewhat of a rush, but not like this. that was more the logisitcal rush, and the possibilities of a great new job and living out here. this crush rush was pretty good while it was in full flow. and even the come-down has had my senses tingling.
so despite a bump in the road i've resolved that it's better to let the vulnerability in, to just go with the crush. the being guarded, the attitude of "bah, other fish in the sea"? no. i'm too much the romantic to go back to that. letting the crush in, acting on the impulse of a good thing, not pulling back for fear of breaking some assinine rule...that's the way to go.
because to get that phenomenal rush again, just once is all that it will take.
**ps...the "it would be nice if it worked out" kinds of things are great...more often than not good relationships aren't based on immediate "wow", but take a few dates and some sorting out. which is the subject of another ramble about snap judgements, probably coming soon.
"laugh all you want, but if you call too soon you can scare off a nice baby who's ready to party."
"I know I shouldn't have called, I mean, my friends said I should wait two days."
god bless swingers. what a fun movie. like comfort food, can be watched over and over (even for me, considering that i was once dumped right after watching it with a gf) and it produced some memorable (albeit now dated) catch-phrases. it launched vince vaughn and gives jon favreau something to talk about during "dinner for five" (is there a show where he doesn't reference something from the movie?).
it's also, as far as i'm concerned, one of the many things responsible for the death of level-headed dating in this country.
for all the moaning over concepts like "s/he's just not that into you" we lose sight of the fact that there are plenty of times when he or she is that into you and perhaps thanks to the socially conditioned push to search for the bigger and better thing or perhaps thanks to the idea that its uncool to just let go and go with the moment we let good opportunities pass us by. good opportunities to be happy.
it's silly to worry about acting on the feeling after a great first or second date. it's just silly to have what you do after a great date judged by some standard of "cool" or other crazy misconceptions that wanting to again and often see someone who excites you is considered "clingy" or "needy". sorry, but this is a load of crap.
when something feels good right away there's a reason it does. so you go with that feeling...you don't pull back. you don't worry.
because just once is all that it will take.
of course, dating and romance shouldn't really be all that level-headed. i should know as well as anyone.
for the better part of the last two years i've playing it cool. assiduously avoiding even the tiniest bit of vulnberability. all it got me was a bunch of first and sometimes second dates, a few half-stabs at relationships and the odd meaningless "thing". and it's left me feeling cold inside.
so now with things settled that i know i'll be living here for a while, i took a risk. i let a crush in on the chance that it would take root -- the payoff when that happens can be a wild rush. it was one of those things that wasn't just an "it would be nice if it worked out" kind of thing**, but rather a "this should work out" kind of thing. you know, a bowled over and wow kind of thing. the "dare to be great situation" i've been looking for.
sadly (and surprisingly), no go. it was the first time in a while i got seriously bummed at something not taking. but all it cost was a couple of days in a fog, nothing that a good brunch in the city sunday morning and then a soccer game (tie notwithstanding) that afternoon couldn't help to lift. the upside is i'm feeling more alive than i have in a while. sure, the move out to the bay area was somewhat of a rush, but not like this. that was more the logisitcal rush, and the possibilities of a great new job and living out here. this crush rush was pretty good while it was in full flow. and even the come-down has had my senses tingling.
so despite a bump in the road i've resolved that it's better to let the vulnerability in, to just go with the crush. the being guarded, the attitude of "bah, other fish in the sea"? no. i'm too much the romantic to go back to that. letting the crush in, acting on the impulse of a good thing, not pulling back for fear of breaking some assinine rule...that's the way to go.
because to get that phenomenal rush again, just once is all that it will take.
**ps...the "it would be nice if it worked out" kinds of things are great...more often than not good relationships aren't based on immediate "wow", but take a few dates and some sorting out. which is the subject of another ramble about snap judgements, probably coming soon.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
currently playing on the ipod in my brain
Belle & Sebastian -- Another Sunny Day
The New Pornographers -- It's Only Divine Right
Paul Kelly -- I'll Be Your Lover
Wilco -- Jesus, Etc
Silversun Pickups -- Kissing Families
Nirvana -- Been a Son
Plimsouls -- A Million Miles Away
Raconteurs -- Steady as She Goes
Billy Bragg -- Greetings to the New Brunette
The New Pornographers -- It's Only Divine Right
Paul Kelly -- I'll Be Your Lover
Wilco -- Jesus, Etc
Silversun Pickups -- Kissing Families
Nirvana -- Been a Son
Plimsouls -- A Million Miles Away
Raconteurs -- Steady as She Goes
Billy Bragg -- Greetings to the New Brunette
when i'm 64...
i've been saying for a while now that when the time comes i wouldn't mind retiring to coronado island in san diego. as for what got me thinking that to begin with? this:
Friday, March 17, 2006
greetings to the new brunette
Or rather, new blog face. It was time. I needed a change. This is sleeker, not as green (not that there's anything wrong with green). Not as busy. Sleek and simple is the new black.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
wrong 'em boyo
Ugh. Now I know why Annie Proulx was peeved and Ang Lee was disappointed that Crash was voted Best Picture over Brokeback Mountain.
Ugh. It's not just that I really liked Brokeback. Crash is just...horrible. The first 30 minutes were enough for me (though my roommate is presently sticking it out). Maybe it's the distracted and somewhat agitated mood I'm in, but....ugh. Not a likeable character so far, and...well...as others have said...ugh. Shite.
Ugh. It's not just that I really liked Brokeback. Crash is just...horrible. The first 30 minutes were enough for me (though my roommate is presently sticking it out). Maybe it's the distracted and somewhat agitated mood I'm in, but....ugh. Not a likeable character so far, and...well...as others have said...ugh. Shite.
"bold" move by stanford...what's next?
Since I do sometimes take work time to make quick posts about non-work-related issues, thought I'd discuss something professionally related...
Seems that Stanford University has decided to not charge tuition to students from families with income less than $45,000, and to reduce the family contribution for students in the $45K-60K range. Tuition at Stanford is almost $33,000, and total cost of attendance is about $47,000, counting room, board, books and other expenses. Low-income students will still be required to pay room and board and their own personal expenses. The move eliminates the up-to $2,600 contribution that low-income families were expected to pay towards tuition and reduces by half the average $3,800 contribution from the next income bracket.
The new policy is designed to broaden the economic diversity mix of Stanford's undergrad population, hopefully by encouraging low-income but talented students to apply, where the fear is now they are scared away by the high cost of attendance. It's the next big move in a series of events that began in the late 1990s when Princeton changed its approach to aid, replacing loans with grants for middle-income students. Since then many expensive colleges and universities have followed suit, hoping to quell the criticism they get for tuition increases that have far outstripped the rate of inflation.
In the end, this move by Stanford is a very inexpensive statement -- first it's expected to cost them no more than $3 million a year, chump change considering that they sit on an endowment valued at $12.2 billion (yes, billion). As former Stanford President Donald Kennedy noted a while back, it's "unenviable" to look so rich yet always be begging for money in major fundraising campaigns. Second, they most likely won't be admitting more new freshman than the roughly 2,900 they take in each year, nor will they be lowering admissions standards to any significant degree -- it will still be a very competitive admit pool. This move may spur an increase in applications and enrollments from very talented lower income students, maybe not. It will certainly make them more competitive in the race to enroll more low-income underrepresented minority students.
The key question is of course, will anyone follow suit? Harvard's endowment is twice that of Stanford's. In 1997, Time reporter Erik Larson asked why the University of Pennsylvania couldn't provide free tuition with an endowment valued then at over $1 billion. This is a fair question, which has underneath it the basic question of whether higher education is a right or a privilege.
Related to all this, the folks at The Institute for College Access and Success have a database available that contains information on loan usage across campuses. Worth a look if you're interested in the issue.
Seems that Stanford University has decided to not charge tuition to students from families with income less than $45,000, and to reduce the family contribution for students in the $45K-60K range. Tuition at Stanford is almost $33,000, and total cost of attendance is about $47,000, counting room, board, books and other expenses. Low-income students will still be required to pay room and board and their own personal expenses. The move eliminates the up-to $2,600 contribution that low-income families were expected to pay towards tuition and reduces by half the average $3,800 contribution from the next income bracket.
The new policy is designed to broaden the economic diversity mix of Stanford's undergrad population, hopefully by encouraging low-income but talented students to apply, where the fear is now they are scared away by the high cost of attendance. It's the next big move in a series of events that began in the late 1990s when Princeton changed its approach to aid, replacing loans with grants for middle-income students. Since then many expensive colleges and universities have followed suit, hoping to quell the criticism they get for tuition increases that have far outstripped the rate of inflation.
In the end, this move by Stanford is a very inexpensive statement -- first it's expected to cost them no more than $3 million a year, chump change considering that they sit on an endowment valued at $12.2 billion (yes, billion). As former Stanford President Donald Kennedy noted a while back, it's "unenviable" to look so rich yet always be begging for money in major fundraising campaigns. Second, they most likely won't be admitting more new freshman than the roughly 2,900 they take in each year, nor will they be lowering admissions standards to any significant degree -- it will still be a very competitive admit pool. This move may spur an increase in applications and enrollments from very talented lower income students, maybe not. It will certainly make them more competitive in the race to enroll more low-income underrepresented minority students.
The key question is of course, will anyone follow suit? Harvard's endowment is twice that of Stanford's. In 1997, Time reporter Erik Larson asked why the University of Pennsylvania couldn't provide free tuition with an endowment valued then at over $1 billion. This is a fair question, which has underneath it the basic question of whether higher education is a right or a privilege.
Related to all this, the folks at The Institute for College Access and Success have a database available that contains information on loan usage across campuses. Worth a look if you're interested in the issue.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
mixing pop and politics he asks me what the use is
Poking around the Billy Bragg site while writing the last post I was reminded of this song, and reading the lyrics I'm struck that despite being written 20 years ago and for a country an ocean away, it's perfect for today, especially in the context of the Russ Feingold's censure resolution. Something about which you can do your part, by taking five minutes and contacting your Senator and urge that they support the resolution.
Ideology
When one voice rules the nation
Just because they're on top of the pile
Doesn't mean their vision is the clearest
The voices of the people
Are falling on deaf ears
Our politicians all become careerists
They must declare their interests
But not their company cars
Is there more to a seat in parliament
Than sitting on your arse
And the best of all this bad bunch
Are shouting to be heard
Above the sound of ideologies clashing
Outside the patient millions
Who put them into power
Expect a little more back for their taxes
Like school books, beds in hospitals
And peace in our bloody time
All they get is old men grinding axes
Who've built their private fortunes
On the things they can rely
The courts, the secret handshake
The Stock Exchange and the old school tie
For God and Queen and Country
All things they justify
Above the sound of ideologies clashing
God bless the civil service
The nations saving grace
While we expect democracy
They're laughing in our face
And although our cries get louder
Their laughter gets louder still
Above the sound of ideologies clashing
way over yonder in the minor key
Billy Bragg, tonight on Conan.
Watch, you should.
And if he comes to your town, go see him. Sadly, nothing in the Bay Area on this leg.
And wow...this new box set moves right to the top of my wishlist.
And also, if you're not sure about Billy, free mp3 downloads of 'The Price Of Oil', 'Must I Paint You A Picture?' and 'Take Down The Union Jack (Remix)'.
Watch, you should.
And if he comes to your town, go see him. Sadly, nothing in the Bay Area on this leg.
And wow...this new box set moves right to the top of my wishlist.
And also, if you're not sure about Billy, free mp3 downloads of 'The Price Of Oil', 'Must I Paint You A Picture?' and 'Take Down The Union Jack (Remix)'.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
double happiness
a long overdue travel expense check came today, meaning a trip to the bank, meaning on the way back stopping by the brazil fresh squeeze cafe for lunch. mmm...crunchy chicken salad sandwich.
Monday, March 13, 2006
i say temple, you say owls
Sadness but no surprise at hearing that Temple men's basketball coach John Chaney has decided to retire. He's 74 years old and has coached with such intensity for so long, he looks worn down. I went to Temple for undergrad, and Chaney has been Temple basketball for a long, long time. It'll be hard to imagine anyone else on the sidelines.
I didn't like how he sometimes overplayed the race card, especially in response to the NCAA trying to raise academic standards, but I admired his efforts to find guys who needed college for a leg up on the social mobility ladder, and then instill into them discipline and work ethic via 6am practices and staying on them about school. He helped lots of guys who likely would have not othewise have had a shot to go to a decent college (or might have gone to a place like Cincinnati and get used by Bob Huggins), and lots of these students earned a degree.
I didn't like how he sometimes overplayed the race card, especially in response to the NCAA trying to raise academic standards, but I admired his efforts to find guys who needed college for a leg up on the social mobility ladder, and then instill into them discipline and work ethic via 6am practices and staying on them about school. He helped lots of guys who likely would have not othewise have had a shot to go to a decent college (or might have gone to a place like Cincinnati and get used by Bob Huggins), and lots of these students earned a degree.
malenga! (possible sopranos spoiler)
I'm guessing I'm not the only one who said "holy shit!!" at the end of the Sopranos last night (spoilers in the linked stories...don't read if you don't want to know just yet). Interesting that they had no previews for next week.
Oh, and I found at least one death pool/betting site. I'm sure there are more.
Oh, and I found at least one death pool/betting site. I'm sure there are more.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
another rainy day, trapped inside with the train set
sunday round up...
In the middle of a massive flickr upload of a bunch of old stuff that was residing at fotolog (it looks to be a rainy day, and the soccer game was cancelled, so might as well get to one thing I've been putting off). The overall flickr interface and experience is much better. Seeing the South America photos brings back good memories of the trip.
Wow was Joe Biden ever awful on Meet the Press this morning. Normally he's an annoying over-bloviating windbag, but today he was strident and off his game. Didn't look at the camera or at Russert, mostly looked down, stumbled over his words. He stands no chance at the Dem nomination in 2008, and would be a horrible candidate in a general election. He always comes off as too angry. I don't understand why he's running. Meanwhile George Allen kept making me think of Seinfeld character David Puddy.
Went to a reading last night at Edinburgh Castle. Short story by Daniel Handler -- or as more people know him, Lemony Snicket (and Handler looks nothing like I imagined) -- and a dramatic adaptation of a Gus Van Zandt story. Preceded by wine and cheese at Hotel Biron.
In the middle of a massive flickr upload of a bunch of old stuff that was residing at fotolog (it looks to be a rainy day, and the soccer game was cancelled, so might as well get to one thing I've been putting off). The overall flickr interface and experience is much better. Seeing the South America photos brings back good memories of the trip.
Wow was Joe Biden ever awful on Meet the Press this morning. Normally he's an annoying over-bloviating windbag, but today he was strident and off his game. Didn't look at the camera or at Russert, mostly looked down, stumbled over his words. He stands no chance at the Dem nomination in 2008, and would be a horrible candidate in a general election. He always comes off as too angry. I don't understand why he's running. Meanwhile George Allen kept making me think of Seinfeld character David Puddy.
Went to a reading last night at Edinburgh Castle. Short story by Daniel Handler -- or as more people know him, Lemony Snicket (and Handler looks nothing like I imagined) -- and a dramatic adaptation of a Gus Van Zandt story. Preceded by wine and cheese at Hotel Biron.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
walking in l.a.
Some photos of downtown Los Angeles, from the March 3-5 trip mentioned recently.
I have this odd fascination with Frank Gehry. He's cleary very bold and inventive but some of his buildings, particularly the business school at Case Western University, seem so out of place for their surroundings. You can see the Case Western building from way atop the cemetery where Harding is buried...your eyes can't avoid it as it dominates the staid Cleveland scenery. The Experience Music Project building in Seattle works a bit better, situated as it is next to the Space Needle.
The Disney Concert Hall fits in perfectly to its place. It is LA, so the bold and borderline absurd are to be expected. And this building is bold. My words can't do it justice, so for more info you should go to this interesting look at the design at Arcspace.
I have this odd fascination with Frank Gehry. He's cleary very bold and inventive but some of his buildings, particularly the business school at Case Western University, seem so out of place for their surroundings. You can see the Case Western building from way atop the cemetery where Harding is buried...your eyes can't avoid it as it dominates the staid Cleveland scenery. The Experience Music Project building in Seattle works a bit better, situated as it is next to the Space Needle.
The Disney Concert Hall fits in perfectly to its place. It is LA, so the bold and borderline absurd are to be expected. And this building is bold. My words can't do it justice, so for more info you should go to this interesting look at the design at Arcspace.
dysfunction junction
Finally got around to seeing Capote last night, and for discussion purposes it's a good complement to The Squid and the Whale which I saw a couple of weeks ago. Both center on insufferably egotistical New York-based writers, albeit one with a bit more notoriety and success than the other. Both Jeff Daniels's Bernard Berkman and Truman Capote are real people, the Berkman character fictional but apparently not too far removed from the real-life father of Squid writer and director Noah Brumbach (who wrote The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which also deals heavily with paternal-filial relations and egomaniac creative types.
There's not a scene in Squid which isn't uncomfortable to watch. From the screwed up family dynamic that's set up in the first scene on the tennis court, to the pretension and smug stupidity of Berkman and his eldest son, to the mom's philandering, to the youngest son's acting out with alcohol and masturbation (and speaking of uncomfortable, the acts are portrayed fairly graphically, which is cringe-worthy as the kid {played by Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates's son Owen) is all of about 10 years old..how do you direct that without self-consciousness)...the film is one big trip to the therapist's couch for Brumbauch, and entire skeletons are hauled out of the closet for the audience to examine. Plenty of films have dealt with divorce, and many from the point-of-view of the kids...none that I remember have done so in a way that either sparks instant recognition for anyone who's been through some messy family stuff or provides a "there but for the grace of god" moment for people who grew up in happy families. And speaking of child stars, or at least former ones now grown up...Anna Paquin plays a grad student who sleeps with the elder Berkman while she teases his son. Anna Paquin, the little girl from The Piano. When did she grow up?
The real-life Truman Capote doesn't come off very well. He's portrayed as a self-absorbed drama-queen who uses Perry Smith (and to a lesser extent Richard Hickock) to write "In Cold Blood". At first his affection for Smith is apparently genuine, as he thinks Smith and he are both cut from the same cloth, and Smith just had the worse luck and made the poor choices to be weak and a criminal. The worm turns when Capote realizes that Smith is as much using him to get access to lawyers and beat the rap when it's obvious that Smith and Hickock are guilty. A fantastic juxtaposition is the scene where Capote is basking in the adulation from a well-received public reading from the unfinished book while Smith sees a fellow death-row inmate be walked into the hanging warehouse and later wheeled out on a back-hoe, one arm hanging off the lip of the well. Each sees his future played out, the consequences of the murder taking their lives in starkly different directions. In the end Capote can't wait for Smith and Hickock to meet the hangman so that he can finish his book. The depth of Capote's self-absorption comes when longtime friend Harper Lee is celebrating her own success, the film premiere of "To Kill a Mockingbird". Capote can't even be bothered to offer her sincere congratulations, preferring to wallow in his own martini-induced miasma of self-pity, churlishly lamenting that the stays of execution are preventing him from being done with the book.
Regarding the Oscar-worthiness of Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance...well, it's always hard to be totally objective after the fact. I mean, I'm watching it knowing he won, how can that not affect my own view? Three of the nominees for Best Actor were for roles where the actors portrayed real people who had plenty of visual evidence left as to their mannerisms. While it's certainly a challenge to portray a real person regardless whether the actor interprets or imitates, I thought Heath Ledger's performance was all the more amazing because he had to create his character out of whole cloth. And his character was much more complex than Joaquin Phoenix's Johnny Cash or PHS's Truman Capote.
There's not a scene in Squid which isn't uncomfortable to watch. From the screwed up family dynamic that's set up in the first scene on the tennis court, to the pretension and smug stupidity of Berkman and his eldest son, to the mom's philandering, to the youngest son's acting out with alcohol and masturbation (and speaking of uncomfortable, the acts are portrayed fairly graphically, which is cringe-worthy as the kid {played by Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates's son Owen) is all of about 10 years old..how do you direct that without self-consciousness)...the film is one big trip to the therapist's couch for Brumbauch, and entire skeletons are hauled out of the closet for the audience to examine. Plenty of films have dealt with divorce, and many from the point-of-view of the kids...none that I remember have done so in a way that either sparks instant recognition for anyone who's been through some messy family stuff or provides a "there but for the grace of god" moment for people who grew up in happy families. And speaking of child stars, or at least former ones now grown up...Anna Paquin plays a grad student who sleeps with the elder Berkman while she teases his son. Anna Paquin, the little girl from The Piano. When did she grow up?
The real-life Truman Capote doesn't come off very well. He's portrayed as a self-absorbed drama-queen who uses Perry Smith (and to a lesser extent Richard Hickock) to write "In Cold Blood". At first his affection for Smith is apparently genuine, as he thinks Smith and he are both cut from the same cloth, and Smith just had the worse luck and made the poor choices to be weak and a criminal. The worm turns when Capote realizes that Smith is as much using him to get access to lawyers and beat the rap when it's obvious that Smith and Hickock are guilty. A fantastic juxtaposition is the scene where Capote is basking in the adulation from a well-received public reading from the unfinished book while Smith sees a fellow death-row inmate be walked into the hanging warehouse and later wheeled out on a back-hoe, one arm hanging off the lip of the well. Each sees his future played out, the consequences of the murder taking their lives in starkly different directions. In the end Capote can't wait for Smith and Hickock to meet the hangman so that he can finish his book. The depth of Capote's self-absorption comes when longtime friend Harper Lee is celebrating her own success, the film premiere of "To Kill a Mockingbird". Capote can't even be bothered to offer her sincere congratulations, preferring to wallow in his own martini-induced miasma of self-pity, churlishly lamenting that the stays of execution are preventing him from being done with the book.
Regarding the Oscar-worthiness of Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance...well, it's always hard to be totally objective after the fact. I mean, I'm watching it knowing he won, how can that not affect my own view? Three of the nominees for Best Actor were for roles where the actors portrayed real people who had plenty of visual evidence left as to their mannerisms. While it's certainly a challenge to portray a real person regardless whether the actor interprets or imitates, I thought Heath Ledger's performance was all the more amazing because he had to create his character out of whole cloth. And his character was much more complex than Joaquin Phoenix's Johnny Cash or PHS's Truman Capote.
Friday, March 10, 2006
the waiting is the hardest part
HBO, Sunday, 9pm...our long national nightmare of waiting will be over. Someone, somewhere, has gotta be running an on-line Sopranos death pool, right?
Thursday, March 09, 2006
wait a minute honey, gonna add it up
Randomalia...
A few weeks ago I went to see The Adventures of Cunning and Guile, a series of dance duets by Chris Black and Ken James, and featuring art by Lark Pien. Very inventive and fun. staged in the galleries of the Cartoon Art Museum, which is worth a visit on its own.
We had a power outage last night. That in and of itself isn't weird. What was odd was that I woke up about 10 seconds before the lights went out at 2am. My eyes just snapped open, looked around, I heard the dull thud of the power stopping, and then my alarm clock went dead. Took about 45 minutes to get back to sleep. I awoke just before the electricity came back on at 6am, though it's hard to think of that as unusual since that's when I wake up every day during the week. Still, I woke up about 2 seconds before the power came back. Eyes just snapped open, and "bam", on came the juice.
Soccer season starts up again this weekend, weather permitting. The "learn to play keeper somewhat competently" experiment continues. It's a fun new challenge, and it's less wear and tear on the acl-replaced left knee.
Some good live music coming this way in the next few weeks, including various Noise Pop shows, the New Pornographers & Belle and Sebastian together on one bill, Rhett Miller, and just for the hell of it, AC/DShe, an all-girl AC/DC cover band.
Finally, did you ever have that feeling you were on the verge? That after some time treading water you were about to hit the rapids for a wild and fun ride? The last week or so, I haven't been able to shake that feeling. I'm not exactly sure why, but I can't wait to find out.
A few weeks ago I went to see The Adventures of Cunning and Guile, a series of dance duets by Chris Black and Ken James, and featuring art by Lark Pien. Very inventive and fun. staged in the galleries of the Cartoon Art Museum, which is worth a visit on its own.
We had a power outage last night. That in and of itself isn't weird. What was odd was that I woke up about 10 seconds before the lights went out at 2am. My eyes just snapped open, looked around, I heard the dull thud of the power stopping, and then my alarm clock went dead. Took about 45 minutes to get back to sleep. I awoke just before the electricity came back on at 6am, though it's hard to think of that as unusual since that's when I wake up every day during the week. Still, I woke up about 2 seconds before the power came back. Eyes just snapped open, and "bam", on came the juice.
Soccer season starts up again this weekend, weather permitting. The "learn to play keeper somewhat competently" experiment continues. It's a fun new challenge, and it's less wear and tear on the acl-replaced left knee.
Some good live music coming this way in the next few weeks, including various Noise Pop shows, the New Pornographers & Belle and Sebastian together on one bill, Rhett Miller, and just for the hell of it, AC/DShe, an all-girl AC/DC cover band.
Finally, did you ever have that feeling you were on the verge? That after some time treading water you were about to hit the rapids for a wild and fun ride? The last week or so, I haven't been able to shake that feeling. I'm not exactly sure why, but I can't wait to find out.
up on the catwalk, follow-up
Three cheers for Chloe Dao winning this season of Project Runway. I missed Daniel's collection, but saw Chloe's and Santino's. All through Chloe's I was thinking "wow", and all through Santino's I was thinking "that's, uh, nice". And again, me, not a fashion guy.
Anyway, to make up for two days running of fashion-related reality tv posts, I'll spend the next few days on baseball (the Phillies are going to suck this season) and soccer (I can't wait for the World Cup this summer) and beer and monster trucks and guns and chewing tobacco and other manly pursuits. Except that I don't really dig on anything in that list after beer.
Anyway, to make up for two days running of fashion-related reality tv posts, I'll spend the next few days on baseball (the Phillies are going to suck this season) and soccer (I can't wait for the World Cup this summer) and beer and monster trucks and guns and chewing tobacco and other manly pursuits. Except that I don't really dig on anything in that list after beer.
more cowbell
I went on a musical binge last week, and caught up with some things I'd wanted to get. Mostly catch-up of not-so-new stuff...
Johnny Cash -- At Folsom Prison: I've heard the highlights before, but the show in it's entirety is incredible. Cash is warm, funny and engaging with inmates in a Caifornia prison known for being a very hard place to do hard time. Periodic interruptions from a prison official to call inmates to see visitors remind the listener where the show is taking place. The set is full of songs about men who are in prison or should be, and Cash is often laughing in the middle of these very somber stories, probably as reaction to how his audience is responding to him putting their own experiences to song. It's especially jarring in "25 Minutes To Go", a run-down of a condemned man's last half-hour, including his watching the gallows being tested and his last meal of beans.
Wilco -- Kicking Television: Live in Chicago: Wilco have become the latest band, to me anyway, to have inherited the old Clash designation as the only band that matters. Jeff Tweedy's moved from being a No Depression hero to a pop experimentalist. I've always been impressed with his willingness to take chances, to take his songcraft beyond the alt-country scene and mix some Stax-Volt soul, Beatle-esque pop and Brian Wilson-like imagination. Kicking Television documents a few live shows taped in Chicago, and captures the band pushing the songs in all directions. To see them at work, put the film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart in your Netflix queue. While not as riveting as the Metallica documentary Some Kind of Monster, it's worth a watch if you're a fan.
The Strokes -- First Impressions of Earth: An improvement from the last record, and a slight departure in sound. Gone is the distortion on the vocals, and in fact they're farther up in the mix this time, perhaps owing to Julian Casablancas finding out that he can actually sing (though it's a bit hard to take him seriously when he sings in his trust-fund baby world-weary voice that "I don't want to be judgemental"). They're not afraid to try different things, moving away from merely trying to repeat themselves and actually taking their sound and doing something new with it. From having seen them live a few years back I realized that drummer Fabrizio Moretti and Albert Hammond Jr. were the musical heart and soul of the band -- the best players, and the focal point for the songs. But on this record, bassist Nikolai Fraiture takes a great leap forward. His playing is very inventive, driving the songs like he hadn't before.
Belle & Sebastian -- The Life Pursuit: A while back, my friend Kieran tried to get me into Belle and Sebastian, but for whatever reason, it didn't take. A bit too fey for my tastes I guess, but I could recognize that there were some good songs there. The Life Pursuit has a fuller sound than previous B&S, and (to me, anyway) better suits the songs. Have only spun through it once, so need more time, but it's quite a good pop record. One listen to "Another Sunny Day" and it'll be stuck in your head for days.
Still to be listened to...
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals -- Jacksonville City Nights
Franz Ferdinand -- You Could Have It So Much Better
Sigur Rós -- Takk...
Johnny Cash -- At Folsom Prison: I've heard the highlights before, but the show in it's entirety is incredible. Cash is warm, funny and engaging with inmates in a Caifornia prison known for being a very hard place to do hard time. Periodic interruptions from a prison official to call inmates to see visitors remind the listener where the show is taking place. The set is full of songs about men who are in prison or should be, and Cash is often laughing in the middle of these very somber stories, probably as reaction to how his audience is responding to him putting their own experiences to song. It's especially jarring in "25 Minutes To Go", a run-down of a condemned man's last half-hour, including his watching the gallows being tested and his last meal of beans.
Wilco -- Kicking Television: Live in Chicago: Wilco have become the latest band, to me anyway, to have inherited the old Clash designation as the only band that matters. Jeff Tweedy's moved from being a No Depression hero to a pop experimentalist. I've always been impressed with his willingness to take chances, to take his songcraft beyond the alt-country scene and mix some Stax-Volt soul, Beatle-esque pop and Brian Wilson-like imagination. Kicking Television documents a few live shows taped in Chicago, and captures the band pushing the songs in all directions. To see them at work, put the film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart in your Netflix queue. While not as riveting as the Metallica documentary Some Kind of Monster, it's worth a watch if you're a fan.
The Strokes -- First Impressions of Earth: An improvement from the last record, and a slight departure in sound. Gone is the distortion on the vocals, and in fact they're farther up in the mix this time, perhaps owing to Julian Casablancas finding out that he can actually sing (though it's a bit hard to take him seriously when he sings in his trust-fund baby world-weary voice that "I don't want to be judgemental"). They're not afraid to try different things, moving away from merely trying to repeat themselves and actually taking their sound and doing something new with it. From having seen them live a few years back I realized that drummer Fabrizio Moretti and Albert Hammond Jr. were the musical heart and soul of the band -- the best players, and the focal point for the songs. But on this record, bassist Nikolai Fraiture takes a great leap forward. His playing is very inventive, driving the songs like he hadn't before.
Belle & Sebastian -- The Life Pursuit: A while back, my friend Kieran tried to get me into Belle and Sebastian, but for whatever reason, it didn't take. A bit too fey for my tastes I guess, but I could recognize that there were some good songs there. The Life Pursuit has a fuller sound than previous B&S, and (to me, anyway) better suits the songs. Have only spun through it once, so need more time, but it's quite a good pop record. One listen to "Another Sunny Day" and it'll be stuck in your head for days.
Still to be listened to...
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals -- Jacksonville City Nights
Franz Ferdinand -- You Could Have It So Much Better
Sigur Rós -- Takk...
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
i wanna be your dog
now this is an awesome dog...born without two front legs, yet still gets around...
(link opens video...thanks to gr)
(link opens video...thanks to gr)
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
in for a penny, in for a pound
First, if you aren't listening to KEXP, you should be. Second, if you do listen but haven't pledged to KEXP, you should support the station. Fund drive's going on now. Hurry hurry -- give your dough, get your swag.
why did you build me up, buttercup?
Poor Bud Selig. All he wanted to do was stage a multinational baseball extravaganza. It's bad enough that lots of stars didn't buy into the idea, were discouraged from playing by team management, were hurt, or were worried about getting hurt before the season, and thus aren't playing.
But now the World Baseball Classic is about to be overshadowed by the mother of all steroid stories.
Two San Francisco Chronicle writers, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, have a book coming out, with an excerpt running this week in Sports Illustrated. They claim that Barry Bonds, fueled by jealousy and resentment over Mark McGwire's home-run heroics, has knowingly been taking steroids since 1998.
It's going to totally blow the WBC out of the water, be the big story as the regular season starts, and will make a complete circus of the Giants' season.
Can't wait for opening day!
But now the World Baseball Classic is about to be overshadowed by the mother of all steroid stories.
Two San Francisco Chronicle writers, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, have a book coming out, with an excerpt running this week in Sports Illustrated. They claim that Barry Bonds, fueled by jealousy and resentment over Mark McGwire's home-run heroics, has knowingly been taking steroids since 1998.
It's going to totally blow the WBC out of the water, be the big story as the regular season starts, and will make a complete circus of the Giants' season.
Can't wait for opening day!
Sunday, March 05, 2006
for a honky-tonkin' good time....
...50 cent haircut.
saw them saturday night at the knitting factory in hollywood (thanks to the band and pam for the guest listing). lots of fun...power-pop chord changes over rockabilly/honky-tonk rhythms and songs about lost love, found love, drinking, politics and life.
the other band on the bill, sacred cowboys, features w. earl brown (from deadwood and there's something about mary {franks and beans!}). good players, but overall a sound too derivative of lynyrd skynrd. though i gotta say, the keyboard/banjo player guy was pretty cool. the most genuinely rock-and-roll guy in the band.
saw them saturday night at the knitting factory in hollywood (thanks to the band and pam for the guest listing). lots of fun...power-pop chord changes over rockabilly/honky-tonk rhythms and songs about lost love, found love, drinking, politics and life.
the other band on the bill, sacred cowboys, features w. earl brown (from deadwood and there's something about mary {franks and beans!}). good players, but overall a sound too derivative of lynyrd skynrd. though i gotta say, the keyboard/banjo player guy was pretty cool. the most genuinely rock-and-roll guy in the band.
Friday, March 03, 2006
krauthammer takes on hollywood
Charles Krauthammer often comes across as your nutty cranky uncle -- writes and says things that make you laugh and shake your head at the same time. But usually he's tilting at hefty windmills, things that are important, even if he spouts utter nonsense about those things.
His column today takes on Hollywood in general, and the movie Syriana in particular. His main point is that the Oscars this year are doing a disservice to America by honoring the evils of the Middle East. He starts out with:
I think Krauthammer needs to have his perspective changed on the nature and purpose of art.
First, from everything I've read Paradise Now is not so much sympathetic as it is trying to tell the story from both sides. Art is supposed to make us rethink our world. It's ok if we come away from a piece with the same position on an issue – at the very least that work should inform us and also challenge us to see the entire picture, not just a narrow point of view. An even-handed approach doesn't mean that people will come away thinking suicide bombing is ok, but would it be that bad if the film at lest shed some light on what drives people to such extreme action? Would it kill the average American to see this point of view, even if he doesn't come away agreeing with it?
Same with Munich. Again, I haven't seen (my movie-going was sadly limited this year), but every review of the film I've seen (and this is corroborated by friends who've seen it) notes that one of Spielberg's main points was to show the psychological and emotional cost to the Israeli Mossad agents as they hunt down the Palestinian terrorists responsible for the massacre of the Isaeli Olympic athletes in 1972. I don't see how that makes the original act sympathetic, but hey, crazy Uncle Chuck's on a roll, why derail it?
Finally, he calls Syriana's creators anti-America. All because they essentially tell a fictionalized story of the interdependence between our reliance on Middle Eastern oil and a foreign policy that thus must support unsavory regimes. This isn't self-flagellating fiction, it's reality -- c.f. Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc.
Krauthammer outlines the plot, and then drops the dime:
Hey Uncle Chuck -- some of those intolerant, fanatical tyrants? We've been propping them up for a while. But don't let facts get in the way of a boilerplate conservative rant against liberal Hollywood.
His column today takes on Hollywood in general, and the movie Syriana in particular. His main point is that the Oscars this year are doing a disservice to America by honoring the evils of the Middle East. He starts out with:
Nothing tells you more about Hollywood than what it chooses to honor. Nominated for best foreign-language film is "Paradise Now," a sympathetic portrayal of two suicide bombers. Nominated for best picture is "Munich," a sympathetic portrayal of yesterday's fashion in barbarism: homicide terrorism.
But until you see "Syriana," nominated for best screenplay (and George Clooney, for best supporting actor) you have no idea how self-flagellation and self-loathing pass for complexity and moral seriousness in Hollywood.
I think Krauthammer needs to have his perspective changed on the nature and purpose of art.
First, from everything I've read Paradise Now is not so much sympathetic as it is trying to tell the story from both sides. Art is supposed to make us rethink our world. It's ok if we come away from a piece with the same position on an issue – at the very least that work should inform us and also challenge us to see the entire picture, not just a narrow point of view. An even-handed approach doesn't mean that people will come away thinking suicide bombing is ok, but would it be that bad if the film at lest shed some light on what drives people to such extreme action? Would it kill the average American to see this point of view, even if he doesn't come away agreeing with it?
Same with Munich. Again, I haven't seen (my movie-going was sadly limited this year), but every review of the film I've seen (and this is corroborated by friends who've seen it) notes that one of Spielberg's main points was to show the psychological and emotional cost to the Israeli Mossad agents as they hunt down the Palestinian terrorists responsible for the massacre of the Isaeli Olympic athletes in 1972. I don't see how that makes the original act sympathetic, but hey, crazy Uncle Chuck's on a roll, why derail it?
Finally, he calls Syriana's creators anti-America. All because they essentially tell a fictionalized story of the interdependence between our reliance on Middle Eastern oil and a foreign policy that thus must support unsavory regimes. This isn't self-flagellating fiction, it's reality -- c.f. Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc.
Krauthammer outlines the plot, and then drops the dime:
What is grotesque about this moment of plot clarity is that the overwhelmingly obvious critique of actual U.S. policy in the real Middle East today concerns America's excess of Wilsonian idealism in trying to find and promote -- against a tide of tyranny, intolerance and fanaticism -- local leaders like the Good Prince.
Hey Uncle Chuck -- some of those intolerant, fanatical tyrants? We've been propping them up for a while. But don't let facts get in the way of a boilerplate conservative rant against liberal Hollywood.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
glenn greenwald
Greenwald has fast become my favorite long-form political blogger. His two posts this week on the NSA scandal, the first a rundown of new info and the second an astute analysis of the Gonzales letter to Congress are very compelling reads, especially the dressing down of Gonzales.
If you're not reading him, you should be.
If you're not reading him, you should be.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
shake me, all night long
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