December 2008
Amtrak
A poorly explained twenty-three hour delay (that included many people of widely varied ages in a not-so-heated station and at least one Amtrak employee assaulting somebody) left me feeling pretty ambivalent about Amtrak.
On one hand, I think public transit is critically important and I have no problems subsidizing it.
On the other, this was pretty ridiculous. If it had been a twenty-three hour...
On griping
I’ve heard a lot of people complaining. In some cases, I understand the frustration. When we’ve been offered four different reasons why the train is delayed, it’s not irrational to suspect soembody isn’t being entirely forthright. Of course, when passengers gripe to eachother, it doesn’t solve any problems. But other cases weren’t justified—and they tended...
A train station
This morning, I was very much looking forward to getting on a train and sitting for about thirty hours with no responsibilities save enjoying the train ride. I anticipated the lack of responsibility coupled with travel to be quite relaxing. Perhaps motion and progress and a sense of space and a connection to history are particularly appealing. The line is even called the Empire Builder.
I have...
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A style question
If I write something that includes the title of a novel, the rules of style require that I either underline it or italicize it, but never both. Since I’m not using a typewriter, I ought to italicize. But I’m also writing hypertext—so there’s no excuse for not creating a link to the books page on either Amazon, Google Books, or Wikipedia, whichever seems more appropriate....
I spent some of my evening searching through used and new bookstores for a copy of William Goldman’s The Princess Bride. If you have read the book, you should appreciate the irony.
On Self-Esteem
I read a lot of self-parody yesterday. Some was brilliant parody. Some wasn’t more self-summary rather than parody but was also interesting. Taken as a whole, it made me think that the blogosphere has a serious self-esteem issue. Or so I thought at first.
But I think this whole concept of self-esteem is over-rated. The implication of self-esteem is that we’re okay as we are and once...
Andrew Jackson: Good or Bad? →
On one hand, he was a genuine populist more in touch with the people than the elite. On the other hand, he had some dictatorial tendancies an was responsible for that Other American Genocide, The Trail of Tears. I don’t think anything makes up for that last bit.
“Overall, the occupation was a victory. It was a victory for a particular method...”
– Infoshop News - Notes From the New School Occupation
I have a natural sympathy for anarchists. I think we’re often too hesitant to sacrifice for things we believe in. I can admire—or even envy—the perceived purity of purpose that could cause somebody to curse at the police and...
The Employee Free Choice Act
Can somebody explain to me why a card check approach is superior to a secret ballot? I keep reading that this allows employers to “intimidate” the workers. It certainly allows the employers to campaign against unionization or distribute “anti-union propaganda”, but shouldn’t the pro-union factions be be permitted to do the same campaigning?
I understand that there is...
December 20, 2008: Blog like a parody of yourself...
jeffmiller writes:
I understand what Squashed is saying here. We’ve all felt the temptation to tell other people how to live their lives … what to eat, what to drink, who to love, and, of course, what to blog. But Tumblr would be a rather boring read if everyone committed themselves to the same exercise. And that fact that this particular blog post has been reblogged so many time suggests...
Zombies and Capitalists
In honor of blog like a parody of yourself day, I wanted offer a few thoughts on capitalism and zombies. Since I don’t want to alienate anybody, I should emphasize that I haven’t made up my mind on either of these—I just think they are important issues. I’m ambivalent on both. In fact, I’m not even certain we can draw a clear line between the two. What is the essense...
December 20, 2008: Blog like a parody of yourself...
Because sufficient self-awareness to know how to parody yourself is good for you.
Proposition 8 should not become law
I’ve glanced passed Proposition 8 law suits on both sides frequently enough that I thought I should check what was actually happening and whether any of them were likely to succeed. The results surprised me.
The pro-same-sex marriage side has sued, arguing that the proper procedures to change the California Constitution were not followed. This is not just a technicality. Changing a...
A trip to the grocery store
A normally boring trip to buy eggs got a whole lot more interesting after the storm. I wouldn’t mind being snowbound, but baking is one great hallmark of civilization, and it usually requires eggs. If I’m out of eggs and stranded, the savagery starts pretty soon. So Carolyn and I got in the old Jeep (a ‘94 Cherokee, before they got all popular), and started out.
For reasons...
“So, how different is what Wall Street in general did from the Madoff affair?...”
– Paul Krugman - The Madoff Economy
This editorial raises some worthwhile questions like what benefit financial “innovation” has. I understand how investment and credit are important—but I don’t understand the benefit of investment in some of these more elaborate derivatives.
Franken takes slim lead in early count →
An update on the senate race that refuses to die.
“Bailout won’t help trucker”
– Is this the lead story The Onion or CNN?
Still on that soda tax
Monkeytypist and Robot-Heart are infavor of it because obesity is expensive and disproportionately hurts the poor. I thought helping the poor is a great idea—but think helping them by taxing them is a perverse way to do it. Robot-Heart writes:
A soda tax is a good way to fund all those special programs and parks you’re talking about. Moreover, the poor overwhelmingly purchase unhealthy...
“The medical cost of obesity in this country is almost $80 billion/year. If you...”
– Robot-heart
Ensuring that lower-income areas have safe and clean parks and recreation areas, as a similar grocery-store to fast-food joint ratio to more affluent areas, and a school system that effectively teaches the basics of nutrition could go a long way on that front. So could preventative...
Monkeytypist suggests that the government should tinker with my diet “because of the inordinate amount [I]’ll cost the economy when your liver fails.”
Unfortunately, there are a few problems here. First, any future liver failure of mine is likely to be a fully-insured liver failure which will create jobs and benefit the economy. Secondly, liver failure from softdrinks?...
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“These days, sugary drinks are to American health roughly what tobacco was a...”
– Op-Ed Columnist - Miracle Tax Diet - NYTimes.com
On one hand, this would lead to an increase in overall health—including my own. On the other hand, I still don’t understand why it is the government’s business to tinker with my diet.
“Recalling how he worried during his first campaign that voters were not ready to...”
– America’s First Gay President Concludes Historic Second Term | The Onion - America’s Finest News Source
The Onion delivers again.
In the alternative
If my previously suggested sentence for Muntadhar “The Shoe Thower” al-Zaidi is too boring, I could offer an alternative.
Sentence al-Zaidi to having two shoes thrown at him by Bush.
Bush, citing his busy scheudule, declines to go back to Iraq to throw the shoes, but says he’ll send somebody over to do it for him.
While there is speculation at who Bush will choose, Iraqis can...
What to do with the shoe thrower
Here’s what the Iraqi government should do with the shoe thrower.
Try him in a court of law for two counts of simple assault.
Accept a guilty plea if offered. Otherwise, make the trial transparent and, most importantly, boring.
Sentence him to probation or whatever is appropriate for something like getting in a bar fight where nobody is seriously hurt.
Such an unexciting outcome could...
“Barack Obama has learned that lesson, and is applying it in inviting Rick Warren...”
– Thom Hartmann (via azspot)
Rick Warren and the Inauguration
Late last night, I posted about my ambivalence about Rick Warren’s selection to deliver the nomination and the heated reaction it has drawn. I have a few additional thoughts.
On the con side, Warren was incremental in the passage of Prop 8. That wound is pretty fresh. While Warren is willing to pay more attention to things like poverty than a lot of the religious right, he’s still...
Bigots and Majorities
I heard an antisemite on NPR tonight who explained that the financial crisis is all the fault of the Jews. The host handled it gracefully. Too gracefully for the tastes of the next caller. There was a time when this sort of Elders of Zion schtick would have drawn sympathetic nods rather than outrage—but we’ve moved past that as a society.
Many of our heroes had some pretty awful...
“Up to 35 officials in the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior ranking as high as...”
– 35 Iraq Officials Held in Raids on Key Ministry - NYTimes.com
Whoa.
Is Caroline Kennedy qualified to be a Senator? →
There’s a lot of discussion on whether Caroline Kennedy is qualified to be a senator. Out of apathy, I’ve mostly sat this one out. It makes a nice narrative and narratives have a certain political power, regardless of their detractors. If Patterson wants to appoint somebody who will go into the Senate and command a considerable amount of recognition and respect (regardless of whether...
“And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
thrilled me,...”
– Edgar Allan Poe, in “The Raven”
To add to an ongoing discussion of writing, I want to offer these lines of verse as an example of a lyrical masterpiece. I could throw out terms like alliteration, internal rhyme, onomatopoeia, assonance, and trochaic octameter—but to spare those...
I’m a fan of Tumblr’s “like” button. It’s a useful, though unnuanced, feedback tool. Unfortunately, there is no “like, but not in a creepyway” button to respond to posts like this. I’m sure this will be one of the features of Tumblr Pro. So will the button that says, “I only like this ironically.”
Improve your writing
Be concise.
Revise mercilessly.
Read more.
Write more.
Ethiopia's PM Declares 'Mission Accomplished' in... →
Noooo! Don’t do it, man! And whatever you do, don’t get it printed on a giant banner.
“Adolf Hitler Campbell — it’s indeed the name on his birth certificate — turns 3...”
– Holland Township man names son after Adolf Hitler (via 2arrs2ells)
Wanted: Revenue Model for Newspapers
I put a lot of information here. But almost every post is me regurgitating somebody else’s research. I might even be offering my opinions on somebody else’s opinions of something some person way down the information chain discovered. I like to talk about places I have never been and politicians I have never met. As much as possible, I like to check sources or (if possible) read...
Detroit Papers Slash Home Delivery →
All the newspapers are really, really hurting. The Internet is absolutely mauling the newspaper industry. Unfortunately, the newspapers importance is not mirrored by their revenue stream. Even if you don’t personally read newspapers, most of the things you read get their information from the newspapers. More importantly, the newspapers are much more careful than the blogs about checking and...
An Error in the Book of Confessions
I’ve seen people argue that discrimination against homosexuals is justified both by the Bible and by its traditional interpretation. It’s not Biblical—and the church tradition explanation is a little strange as church tradition predates any concept of homosexuality as an orientation by about 1800 years. So when did statements against homosexuality start creeping it into official...
The moderates and the radicals, in music.
...
Scobleizer: Tumblr’s lead dev: “Scoble doesn’t... →
marco:
OK, at least the guy has a sense of humor. My opinion on that, by the way, was formed based on most of his widely publicized statements, speculation, and predictions on Apple products.
Both Marco and I are really good at predicting the future. How’s that Apple stock price looking, Marco?
Actually, I did get a few things right. A few days before the Iowa Primaries I predicted:
...
Reactions from around Iraq to the shoe throwing →
Iraqis are split on whether the shoe thrower is a hero, a villian, or well-intentioned but immature. We’re not so different.
In which I reveal a new hat
Following a number of other questions on weightloss and what sizes people should wear, Julia Allison asked her male readers, “Do women worry too much about their bodies?”
JGH’s response included, “TOP BEFORE POSTING THIS NONSENSE AND THINK ABOUT HOW MAYBE, JUST MAYBE YOU’RE CONTRIBUTING TO THE PATRIARCHAL SYSTEM BY ASKING THESE QUESTIONS IN THE FIRST PLACE.”
...
“In addition, the C.I.A. is able to guard the secrecy of foreign-liaison...”
– Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer - NYTimes.com
It’s guys like this that give me a bad feeling about my country. He’s arguing that respecting human rights and not sending people to Jordan to be tortured is all well and good—unless things get sort of...
“It’s the only possible way.”
– This line is my favorite way to cover a plothole. It (or something quite like it) was successfully used in Snakes on a Plane to explain that filling an entire airplane with blood-crazed snakes was the only possible way for a group of criminals to eliminate a murder witness. Generally “the only...
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A Quick Question
Suppose you sign up for some service like Tumblr. Somewhere in the process, an end user license agreement pops up. You don’t read it—but check the box saying you read, understand, and accept it. You later learn that somehwere in the lengthy agreement was the line:
Use of this service is conditioned upon an annual donation of $10 to the Red Cross every December.
Notably, this...