Where Is My Mind?

Why We're Here

2011-04-26T11:03:00.005-04:00

After a year of writing and about that much time working to layout, edit, design and do it all over again - Why We're Here: The Powerful Impact of Public Broadcasters When They Turn Outward is finally finished. Drawing lessons from our work with public broadcasters, Why We’re Here, documents how these organizations (and others like them) innovate, become more intentional in relating to communities, engaging and mobilizing people and ultimately in deepening their impact in people’s lives.

Oh, and I'm an author along with my boss (Rich Harwood).

Real or Not

2008-11-06T09:52:00.002-05:00

I was wondering, if states that support Barack Obama are fake America - where have most of our presidents come from. Turns out fake America is whooping ass.

Name	State	Real?
Clinton	AR	Yes
Nixon	CA	No
Bush, GW	CT	No
Carter	GA	Yes
Hoover	IA	No
Reagan	IL	No
Lincoln	KY	Yes
Adams	MA	No
Adams, JQ	MA	No
Kennedy	MA	No
Bush, GHW	MA	No
Truman	MO	Yes
Polk	NC	No
A. Johnson	NC	No
Ford	NE	Yes
Pierce	NH	No
Cleveland	NJ	No
Van Buren	NY	No
Fillmore	NY	No
Roosevelt, T	NY	No
Roosevelt, F	NY	No
Grant	OH	No
Hayes	OH	No
Garfield	OH	No
Harrison	OH	No
McKinley	OH	No
Harding	OH	No
Buchanan	PA	No
Eisenhower	TX	Yes
Johnson, L	TX	Yes
Washington	VA	No
Jefferson	VA	No
Madison	VA	No
Monroe	VA	No
Harrison	VA	No
Tyler	VA	No
Taylor	VA	No
Wilson	VA	No
Arthur	VT	No
Coolidge	VT	No

Grateful. Proud

2008-11-05T11:52:00.001-05:00

Dave pointed out last night that Obama won every single state I've ever lived or worked:

Indiana,
Ohio,
Minnesota,
Iowa,
Michigan,
Wisconsin,
Colorado,
Washington,
DC,
Maryland.

Where were you when...

2008-10-29T19:39:00.003-04:00

I'd venture a guess that most of the folks who are inclined to read this blog (or for that matter any blog) come from a generation without a lot of epic shared moments. I'm talking about moments that years later you can reflect on and say without a doubt where you were when XYZ happened. For most it's the Challenger explosion, September 11, Tieneman Square, A couple of Very Special Episodes of Blossom. I mean sure there are probably others, but honestly we're a generation where you may remember where you were when your parents told you where they were when Kennedy was shot.

I wonder if the lack of these moments and the obsessive self-congratulatory nature of the Boomers is why we're so prone to nostaligic overcompensation. Remember the 80s, the 90s. Etc. Either we're really insecure and are trying to redefine our relevance through a constant repetition of meaningless tv jingles, one hit wonders and cartoon icons, or we're all far too close to goldfish when it comes to our memories. Made happy by the castle, or the flashback each time, no matter the interval between the moment and the memory. Speaking of which, remember Ani Difranco's album Little Plastic Castle. Yeah, less than 10 years ago was great.

The moments, the ones that seem to belong in that Jungian collective conscious are often shocking, tragic and sudden. For a generation with "appointment tv" the great moments fall outside those scheduling blocks.

But next week, you can plan for one of these moments. Given the millions (or a lot) of hours of our lives which never leave a lasting imprint on our memories, there's something truly compelling about knowing ahead of time that a moment will be with you forever. That what you're about to experience will be recalled, shared, replayed and definitional. But Tuesday, upon the election of Barack Obama - another moment will be made into memory. I wonder if knowing that in advance will change my perception, if the lack of shock will rob it of its luster.

In the end, I'm left with a thought inspired by David Berman - Tuesday, I will watch as a moment becomes a monument.

State your case

2008-10-21T10:18:00.004-04:00

Downloading from Youtube a couple of songs (oh, yes you can strip out the audio from Youtube) I happened to notice that I'd chosen Nebraska by Springsteen and Ohio by CSNY. I started to wonder two things - which states have songs named for them and of these what's the best state name song. Earlier on this blog I'd posed a question about how many songs you could name with colors in the title. So now the question (without a time constraint) is how many songs are there with states as the song title. I'd also add, how many songs are there with cities as song titles.

My list off the top of my head, please add others in the comments

STATES
California Dreaming - Momma's and Papas
Ohio - CSNY
Ohio - Modest Mouse
Ohio - Damien Jurado
Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen

CITIES
Allentown- Billy Joel
Atlantic City - Bruce Springsteen
New York, New York - Frank Sinatra
Twin Falls - Built to Spill
Dallas - Silver Jews
New Madrid - Uncle Tupelo
Istanbul - TMBG

Where is my mind?

2008-10-14T17:18:00.000-04:00

When I first started writing this blog I thought myself somewhat witty for selecting the title “where is my mind.” I imagine, I don’t remember well enough to say with certainty, that I was pleased with finding a good pop culture reference, something not too obscure, something not too mundane.

I’m trying to remember the person I was when I first started this blog. It was more than four years ago, I’d not yet lived in Colorado, Washington, or DC. Then like now, I was searching for who I wanted to become, searching for what to make of ability and injury, doubt and arrogance. I believe I began with a desire to share my thoughts, an urge to make known what I believed about the world, myself, and to some extent my place within that world. When I started this blog, Where is my Mind was posed as a question, but first and foremost it was a declaration. A statement that the words below would, if read, and reprocessed illustrate where I was, mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. When I started this site was an outlet, a microphone, a platform to explore, rant, announce and share. For several years it served me well, and gave me a sense of my own voice, and a way to be public and present in the lives of a great many I love.

As I return to this space, to these pages, to this site. I find that I still like the title. It still seems apt, and slightly cooler than its author. But instead of a certain declaration that the words to follow will add up to some coherent whole, I’m finding myself questioning. I wonder, more than I have allowed myself to in a long while: Where is my mind. I’d like to see what I can learn about the man I am, and the man I seek to become – and I’m eager to see whether this site can give me just such an outlet.

A video I created

2007-12-19T16:25:00.000-05:00

Working at The Harwood Institute I find myself getting to write and edit and create all kinds of things. My latest foray into the gaping maw that is media was this video. It's not great, but it's a step in the right direction. And if nothing else, it's a great excuse to play with FinalCut.

And yes, the intro and outro music are from a Josh Ritter song, but I'm hopeful that because the video is educational that it's alright.

New Camera

2007-10-16T11:38:00.001-04:00

Updates:

New job (Communications Manager at The Harwood Institute) More on this later (I hope).

New camera. I bought a Nikon D40. I'm in love with this thing. Click here for a whole mess of galleries the most recent 5 or 6 taken with my new toy.

Regionals -- BRDM finished tied for 7th. We upset the 6 seed in the first round on universe point. On universe point I had a d in the endzone and then scored the game winning goal. So that was a nice feeling. We played well the rest of the tournament narrowly missing out on a chance to play on day two.

This is game point...

What's next

2007-10-16T11:35:00.000-04:00

So with Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize, he's now won a U.S. Presidential Election, Emmy and an Oscar.

So what's next?

Monster truck driver of the year? I figure that's about all that's left. Though when he unveils Big Carbon Foot Print it's all over

Hello, is this thing on.

2007-08-06T13:34:00.000-04:00

So after an unpardonably long hiatus I've decided to revisit this time-suck, ego stroke endeavor I call a blog. Sadly I've missed out on telling some really fun stories and so on. That said, I'm back. Or at least I intend to be back.

Since I last wrote I've been to Alaska. That's probably the most noteworthy change in my life.

I've posted a bunch of photos from the trip on my picasa site.

Sometime soon I hope to write up an account of the stories (story) that give some structure and background to the photos. All in all it was an amazing experience. One of the most transformative of my life.

Since returning I've had a fairly strong gnawing desire to travel. To see more of the world. Something about being in a place largely unbothered by development and encroaching strip malls was incredible. It's made me want to see other ways of being. I want to go to other places. The trip also helped me to be a more adventurous traveler. The best story (one I'll write up soon) essentially convinced me that I can handle tough situations, that with Jess (particularly) I can figure out how to deal with unexpected circumstances and be alright. So I want to go to new places to see new things. I want to bring back stories and photos and memories. Suddenly just going to Boston or Seattle or Columbus feels slightly less satisfying. Not that there aren't amazing and incredible parts about those trips, but now I feel compelled to broaden my horizons as it were. To see what I haven't and try what I haven't.

I know I sound a little like a Sophmore coming back from a backpacking trip through Europe, but there is a little of that naive excitement for travel brewing. We'll see how long it lasts and how quickly I return to the cautious hermit I've long been. But here's hoping I get to see more of the world. It's a great regret of mine right now, and one I'm hoping to fix soon.

Four new works.

2007-05-02T13:27:00.000-04:00

I have continued to play around with painting and have 4 new "pieces" to present. I don't know if these are the kinds of paintings that will make the ultimate cut - namely whether they will be scrapped when I need more canvas or if they'll be the kind of work I want to preserve even as I run low on painting surfaces.

A chief frustration right now is that I don't have the technique necessary to express any great ideas, and given that my view of art and interaction with art has been and I imagine will continue to be as conversation, I'm struggling. I'm trying to string together babble and syntactically flawed sentences all while hoping to express something of note. This is the same frustration I had learning French. I don't have the familiarity with the language I need to express the ideas I have. That said, it's still an interesting process. Pieces that I like and those that I disdain seem to emerge as if by accident. It's like some cosmic artistic slot machine. Sometimes I put in the effort and it's apple, orange, plum -- nothing. Other times it just seems to happen that it's cherry, cherry cherry -- and voila it's something I enjoy looking at. Hell with the "Blue Shirt" painting (titles suck) I found myself getting up in the middle of the night to look at it again. Something about it works for me. Scares me, but works for me.

Without further explanation and apology here are some of the things I've been working on lately. Critiques are welcomed. Please, help me get better. If, to continue an already belabored metaphor, I'm misprouncing things, or using bad visual grammar, someone let me know. Oh, and the paintings all look much better in person. In addition to my failings as a painter, I struggle as a photographer of my works. Go figure.

It's warm out. I wonder if that is why I'm hot.

2007-05-02T12:45:00.000-04:00

I guess not, apparently according to the tautologically gifted Mims the reason I'm hot is more likely because I'm fly, not because it's warm out. Who knew.

See:

A while back Ann sent me the link to this Village Voice article which is a brilliant analysis of Mims' "This is Why I'm Hot."

A particularly good section of the article, supported by a graphic no less:

The other remarkable, oft-quoted line in "This Is Why I'm Hot" is "I could sell a mil' sayin' nothin' on a track." Critics gibe that "This Is Why I'm Hot" proves precisely that; others muse on what Mims would sell if he deigned to actually say something on a track. Would he sell less than a mil'? Exactly a mil', as when he said nothing? Or a great deal more than a mil'? The song does not elaborate.

In any event, note that he can do those things, not will, which suggests he might not. As these claims and predictions are speculative, there are more possible outcomes; it seems reasonable to assert that Mims can't sell more than a mil' sayin' nothin'. Though we would love to see him try.

If you haven't heard the song, click here. It's catchy, though oddly annoying simultaneously. Like a rap version of "Mmm Bop."

You Said Something.

2007-04-30T11:34:00.000-04:00

For the past few days I've been obsessively listening to Talib Kweli and "You Said Something" by PJ Harvey. I've brought the two together into my new running mix. Nothing like mixes to, well, mix up artists into strange new combinations.

The lyrics to the PJ Harvey song that's been rotating through my consciousness for the past few days.

On a rooftop in Brooklyn At one in the morning Watching the lights flash In Manhattan I see five bridges The Empire State Building And you said something That I've never forgotten We lean against railings Describing the colours And the smells of our homelands Acting like lovers How did we get here? To this point of living? I held my breath And you said something And I'm doing nothing wrong Riding in your car The radio playing We sing up to the eighth floor A rooftop, Manhattan At one in the morning And you said something That I've never forgotten You said something You said something You said something That was really important.

From the Talib Kweli "Get By" remix featuring Kanye, Jay-Z and Mos Def.

The best lines come from Jay-Z, which is saying something given the others on the record:

Soon as I closed my eyes
Then I woke up behind
Thinking either I load up these nines
Or blow up with rhymes
cause this flow of mine is like blow up but lines of coca
And your folks think Hov' just wrote stuff to rhyme
Nah, I'm a poster for what happens seein your mom
Doin five dollars worth to work just to get a dime
So pardon my disposition
Why should I listen to a system that never listened to me?

What are you going to do with all that junk.

2007-04-20T10:43:00.001-04:00

Alanis Morrisette covers My Humps.

I bow before the genious that is this t-shirt.

2007-04-13T14:28:00.000-04:00

All hail, the best merger of high culture and pop culture in recent memory

They are sold out of the tshirts, but I will get one. Oh yes, I will.

If you don't get the reference click here.
I don't know how you da that Dada that you da so well.

Man that was a great moment in weather.

2007-04-13T13:28:00.000-04:00

While searching out the weather for this weekend I happened upon an ad for The Weather Channel's "100 Biggest Moments in Weather." The host of the show is Harry Connick Jr. Because when I think of a person capable of fully debating the relative merits of various moments in weather, I would choose a jazz pianist. You know, why not? I've long believed that I can and sometimes will argue any topic for any reason. But this, this is almost beyond my capacity. Honestly the 100 Biggest Moments in Weather? How the fuck does one judge that? That's like the 100 Most Important Electrons of All Time. It's moronic and largely impossible to give meaning to things like that.

For instance, I would have to believe that things like a meteor smashing into the earth and creating a cloud of dust that blotted out the sun and rained ash might count as a big one. But I'm guessing since there's no footage that won't make the list. If the 100th Biggest Weather Moment is any clue the list is going to be ridiculous. They list the 1982 playoff game between the Jets and Patriots where it snowed a lot as the 100 Biggest Weather Moment of All time. We live on a planet that once lacked a water cycle. I figure the creation of a system whereby water moved about the planet would have to include something like 100 moments of greater import than a playoff game (not even a superbowl) in which snow played a factor.

In these list shows usually there are widely recognized if not always trusted "experts" who debate these things. There's Henry Rollins and Melissa Etheridge telling you about how great T-Rex really was. But who the heck is going to bring color to this. Is it a bunch of weathermen sitting around saying, "Man it sure did rain that day." "Yeah, but it wasn't as windy as March 11, 1974, boy howdy that was a Noreastern." Sigh. Nostalgia over weather.

Maybe they'll have sepia toned photographs and slowly pan over them as a robust but reassuring narrator explains the significance of the day by overenunciating and adopting an accent so as to read a copy of the weather report from the day in question. "Wow, Suzie you're right, that Mindy is one "dog-gone" cute puppy. And now for a look at Paul's wacky weather. Better make to bring in Mindy and all her doggy pals today. It's not safe for our four legged friends to be out there tonight. We're expecting winds out of the North East at 30-40 miles per hour. Because, when they're out 'reaching to capture a moment Everyone knows it's Windy.'"

More Knut

2007-03-28T09:15:00.000-04:00

My former co-worker Jennifer sent me news that some papers in Berlin are blaming Knut for the death of one of Berlin's pandas. This is slanderous. I will not stand for it.

Oh, and it's innacurate, but still.

Can you imagine this little guy hurting anything. I mean apart from my heart which aches when I look at his cute little self.

And yes, I realize that polar bears are fantastic killing machines and that they hunt humans. Blah, blah, blah. Whatever Jack London groupies. This Knut, he's adorable, and I'm sure cuddly.

Pi is all a"round" you.

2007-03-26T15:20:00.000-04:00

Just up the street from my house.

Knut

2007-03-22T17:50:00.000-04:00

Knut the polar bear cub at the Berlin zoo may be the cutest animal ever. Which is odd, because rarely do I associate cute with Germans. And this video vindicates that sentiment. Or at least further explains why German is not a language that can be made to comport with notions of playfulness and cuteness. This "music" video is adorable visually (it's a polar bear cub playing around it's gotta be cute) but annoying and largely disconcerting aurally. The childlike voice just makes it creepier. See if you agree.

Oh and then there's this, an Australian new broadcast about the cub, refers to him as cuddly Nut. Which is different, I'd argue than cute Knut. Apparently the Aussies don't have much experience with the name Knut, or you know the interest in asking anyone how to pronounce the name. Sweet. They're like Americans that way.

Know when to hold 'em.

2007-03-22T16:33:00.000-04:00

How fucking thrilled is Ari Fleischer that he's not the White House spokesman right now? Seriously, do you figure he just wakes up, flips on CNN (well FoxNews) and thanks God that he is not having to answer for all this shit.

Ari Fleischer managed to govern his career by the logic of Kenny Rogers

Know when to hold 'em. Know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away.

Distract and Delay

2007-03-22T11:25:00.000-04:00

Tom Delay was interviewed on Hardball and when asked about some harsh statements he made in his book about Dick Armey he flat denies writing them. Matthews reads aloud from the book. Still Delay refuses to admit writing it. Finally Matthews hands the book to Delay. He's going to have to admit it now, right. Nope, he simply explains that he doesn't have his reading glasses. Bravo. He's a virtuouso.

The Party, "remixed."

2007-03-21T11:45:00.000-04:00

A silly endeavor -- I spent a few hours last night editing the photos from the birthday party into a little video. I would need more photos to really have it fleshed out but it's fun if nothing else.

Beatboxing

2007-03-15T10:55:00.000-04:00

A minute and a half of the best beatboxing I've seen.

The iRack

2007-03-15T09:42:00.000-04:00

A funny, if overly obvious, sketch from MadTv. I wasn't aware the show still existed or that it was ever capable of humor. But this is fairly good.

Hillary "Flips Out"

2007-03-14T09:42:00.000-04:00

What does the logo look like to you? Yeah, me too. I saw this photo of Hillary and thought, wow she's really getting tough. She's like "Fuck you all." I was impressed by her tenacity and gumption. I mean she's in front of an array of hands flippin' off someone. Then I read the caption, apparently those are buildings. "Democratic Presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., gestures during a speech before the National League of Cities meeting in Washington, Tuesday, March 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)" The National League of Cities needs to get a new graphic designer. And someone on Hillary's staff should suggest that standing in front of a bunch of hands flipping the bird might not be ideal.

Though honestly, it's the coolest photo of the campaign so far.

Zach brings up a great idea: HRC staffers should really have a Top 10 list of things never to have her stand in front of.

1) Monica Lewinsky
2) Anything that suggests a giant penis. (it's safe for work)
3) The homeless
4) Alex Rodriguez

What others should she avoid.

The Aftermath

2007-03-12T12:06:00.000-04:00

This weekend was Asheley's birthday and mine as well. We held a party. Pictures were taken.

Pictures like these.

Aaron and Asheley Birthday Party 07

Rudy

2007-03-08T17:05:00.000-05:00

So back in 1993 Rudy Giuliani ran this ad It's both horrifically creepy and really transparent. The scene where she says he seemed strong and at the same time gentle, has the feel of a douche ad. It's uncomfortably awkward.

Then a couple seconds later she talks about wanting to have children with him. Fine. Except there she is in a hospital bed with Rudy by her side. Since the quality of the footage doesn't change it's clear that this was shot after the event. Meaning Rudy's wife got back into a hospital bed and pretended to have just given birth for a political ad. That's creepy. Later on in the ad we see Rudy with his child. Rudy is sitting there in a catchers stance, but his child is hitting off of a tee. He slaps his glove like someone is going to pitch to him. But the ball is clearly in front of him on a tee. Also, what the fuck is wrong with Rudy's son that he requires a catcher for a ball sitting on a tee? I know that he was once married to his cousin, but I thought that the son in the ad was not inbred.

I can only hope that he continues to use whatever firm produced this incredible drivel.

Uncle Ted

2007-03-08T15:27:00.000-05:00

Ted Stevens, or as Alaskans call him, "Uncle Ted" is a prodigous provider of pork (and apparently alliteration). He suggested the "Bridge To Nowhere" among other amazing uses of Federal Tax dollars. I love an Alaskan. And I love the idea of Alaska, but a state where residents are paid to live there and where the Federal Government basically backs up a dump truck of money every year is not a place where people should get to simultaneously pretend that they are rugged and wholly independent. If you have a local economy almost entirely because of the generosity of tax payers in Evanston and Tempe and wherever else, you should not be too quick to complain about Democratic spending. But that's neither here nor there. The point of my little rant is that this year Ted Stevens has topped his "Bridge to Nowhere" with a train to the North Pole. Seriously, there is a town in Alaska called North Pole and they are about to receive 4 million dollars to expand a railroad. Ignoring the preposterousness of a town named North Pole for a moment,the town has 1,700 residents, which makes is suburb worthy in Alaska. He's literally funding the Polar Express, a train that goes to the North Pole. The attack ads are too easy to create. It's like Fisher Price my first negative ad.

The amazing thing about Stevens is just how brazen he is. Stevens is the guy who gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar and asks for the jar as well.

Stupid

2007-03-06T12:55:00.000-05:00

Paul forwarded me this "Stupidity Tester."
According to this test, I'm 23% stupid. Which is apparently okay. Paul was only 12% stupid so either I'm twice as stupid as he is, or I'm one half as un-stupid as he is.

Now I wonder what I missed.

Another 5 minute music challenge

2007-03-01T11:48:00.000-05:00

So a while back I posted a music challenge, name as many songs as you can in 5 minutes that contain references to color.

This challenge is similar. Take five minutes and post to the comments as many band names as you can that contain a living entity - a plant or animal (non-human).

I'll post my five minute list in the comments.

UPDATE
So exactly 5 minutes later I could think of 20 bands. It's far harder than I would have expected. Let's see what y'all can do.

Slowly but...

2007-02-28T17:17:00.000-05:00

So as I continue to somewhat haphazardly apply paint to canvas board, I figured I'd upload a few photos of the latest works. Earlier I posted my first painting a take off on Jasper Johns' targets. This online set has another one. This one is better color wise, it's less pure primary color and I think that helps. Right now I'm playing around with collage, which creates depth far better than I could using just paint. Trompe L'oeil masters don't have much cause for worry.

From Aaron's Work

Suggestions? Titles for the works? How can I make these better? What's missing?

Left Behind

2007-02-27T15:00:00.000-05:00

I saw this finely made, discarded boot while walking to the gym. I like to think of the story behind the loss. Did the boot fall out of a bag? Was it horrifically uncomfortable? Why just one? Where is the other? I cropped the photo to accentuate the vertical lines and the different textures. I wanted to emphasis the distance and the length of separation from other objects.

Thoughts?

Oscars: The Grouch.

2007-02-26T11:01:00.000-05:00

The Oscars lasted so long last night that I'm pretty sure Abigail Breslin is able to drink. I think when they started Peter O'Toole still had facial affect. Seriously, it was a long show. According to the Post the broadcast was just under 4 hours making it nearly 1.5 hours longer than last year. I feel like a general rule for the Oscars should be to have a show that is not longer than the combined length of all the short subject films combined. Instead of watching the Oscars you could have watched An Inconvenient Truth and Little Miss Sunshine and still had time to see the opening monologue and the final two awards and probably one of the short features.

A few highlights: Ellen's opening monologue was really pleasant. Not outstanding but funny. And it featured one truly hillarious joke: "If there weren't blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars...or anyone named Oscar, if you think about it." Another quality Ellen moment came when she asked Steven Speilberg to take a photo of her and Scorcese. Then corrected his framing, and asked for a second try.

Little Miss Sunshine won a few awards, too few for me. Al Gore was funny. Jennifer Hudson appeared in serious danger of wardrobe malfunction but the collective forces of gravity and cotton's tensile strength prevent the scandalizing of everyone involved. Martin Scorcese and his caterpillar-etic eyebrows finally won, and people were happy about that. I was largely unaffected by this news, but was happy as it signaled the end of the show.

Crossover, not if Tim has anything to do with it

2007-02-15T18:24:00.000-05:00

Tim Hardaway, part of the Golden State Trio Run TMC, is best known for his great crossover dribble. The essence of a crossover is the ability to go either way with the ball. Turns out this only applies to basketball. Because when it comes to sexuality, Tim is straight. He's only going one way. And boy does he hate you if you're not like him.

`You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States.''

What an ignorant moron. Tim Hardaway hates gay people. Alright, but honestly who really cares what Tim Hardaway thinks. He doesn't think that's right.He would ask for the teammate to get traded. But, according to the host, most other teams wouldn't want a gay player. So they come to the conclusion that their career should end.

What if it was Dwayne Wade? He says that couldn't be. Apparently you cannot be good and gay. Who knew. Tim Hardaway expert.

====
UPDATE
As I was heading for work I saw Tim Hardaway on ESPN explaining how upset he was and how he's going to have to do a lot of thinking. I'm guessing his agony is less related to concern for the hatred he expressed, than for the paycheck he's likely to lose because of this. ESPN, I would imagine, is less inclined to have a virulent and public homophobe serving as analyst. Didn't they tell him you have to be homophobic off the record, geez.

"A" Team.

2007-02-14T11:46:00.000-05:00

Petty? Yes. Outstanding, you bet.
Congressman Weiner has apparently had enough of the Republic Party and their inability or disinterest in governance.

Accumulation

2007-02-14T11:36:00.000-05:00

According to the National Weather Service it looks like we had about 2 inches of snow/rain/sleet. So there you go. I was wrong. Oh well. Still, not that big a deal, except here - where all the schools were cancelled.

Fell.

2007-02-14T10:42:00.000-05:00

Listening to The Clash today. Finding it particularly nice for an overcast day with a little slush everywhere. Nothing more elaborate than that. Just an update on the irrelevant minutae of my life.

"I wasn't born so much as I fell out"

Over Under

2007-02-13T13:55:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago my boss and I were talking about the "blizzard" forecasted for the DC area that evening. I told him that my general belief was that whenever dealing with DC and snow take the under. Meaning if the weather folks and general public expect 2 inches, I bet below that. In those situations I anticipate half an inch, or something like that. Today everyone seems to be buzzing about this major storm we're supposed to receive. I haven't checked any weather reports, I haven't paid any attention. Why? Because whatever happens, I know I'll have dealt with more and worse conditions, and no matter what I'll be at work tomorrow. So anything else is only interesting for guessing game purposes.

Like I said I haven't checked the weather, so I'm not sure what we're supposed to receive. But the general feeling on the street seems to be like children before a snow storm they expect will close school. So from that I have to believe that there is a good deal of snow expected and or a lot of freezing rain.

My prediction, using my patented DC General Hysteria Dopler Radar, is that we'll get an one inche of snow and maybe some sleet that will freeze. Oh, and that everyone who braved the lines at Whole Foods to stock up on staples like sushi, mangoes, quinoa and 13 dollars a pound cheese to outlast the blizzard of 2007 will find themselves going to work tomorrow.

Care to place bets on the snow fall for the next 24 hours.

My prediction is 1 inch. What's yours?

Minnesota Party

2007-02-12T12:45:00.000-05:00

Photos from Libby's 3rd Annual Minnesota Party.

I went as Tangled Up in Blue. I wore a blue blazer, blue jeans and was wrapped in blue yarn and blue painters tape. I also had a "book" of Italian poetry from the 13th Century and a cook book on cuisine of the "Great North Woods." Hooray for abstract costumes.

MN Party 07

Teasing

2007-02-09T15:23:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week former NBA center John Amaechi announced he is gay, marking the first time anyone who has ever played in the NBA admitted to being gay. Professional sports are rarely described as places of great enlightment. I'm guessing there tends to be better racial understanding in the NBA and NFL than in a lot of other work places. I don't imagine that being an out man in the NBA would be easy.

A lot of players have been quoted and some sound pretty dumb, some informed and then there is Shavlik Randolph

Shavlik Randolph: "As long as you don't bring your gayness on me I'm fine." Apart from the general "ew icky" factor and the incredible lack of understanding about the way the world works...he doesn't even manage to couch his fear in a grammatically sensical way. Bring gayness on me. What? Force gayness on me, sure. Bring gayness around me. For the love of god Shavlik if you're going to graduate or at least attend Duke learn how to put together a fucking sentence. I mean, ideally that sentence would be more progressive, informed and enlightened than the one he stumbled through, but come on. Somewhere at Duke an English teacher just lost tenure.

There's a part of me that wonders whether Shavlik is simply lashing out at others to make up for his own difficult childhood. I am trying to imagine a middle school kid with the name Shavlik not getting mocked, wedgied and taunted mercilessly. I don't care if he was 6'10 at 11 years. If your first name has the work "lick" in it, things will be said. Oh, yes. Things will be said. So maybe Shavlik (which looks a little like shave lick, which gives you to bites at the taunting apple) is just getting out his aggression for prior insults. Or maybe he's frustrated that a gay Brit was able to average 6.2 points per game in the oh-so macho NBA, while he (Randolph) struggles to score 3 points a game for a decimated, truly inept Philly team.

Johns can rest easy

2007-02-08T10:51:00.000-05:00

Knowing that I represent no threat.

Inspired by the Johns exhibit at the National Gallery, I went to an art store plunked down 40 bucks and got a bunch of paint, two brushes and some canvasses and canvass boards. What I didn't get, and don't have is any ability. And yet, it's still pretty pleasant. Posted below is my first painting ever. It's bad. I realize that. I think I need to mix the paints more to get a less "primary" looking set of colors. Oh, and you know learning technique could also be good. That said, it was oddly pleasant to sit hunched over my little master work.

Well Said

2007-02-07T09:47:00.001-05:00

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

A quote I got from Evin.

Jasper Johns

2007-02-05T16:30:00.000-05:00

If you're in the DC metroplex do yourself a favor and go see the Jasper Johns' exhibit. Ann, Ashelely and I went yesterday. It's great stuff. I'll try to write more about the exhibit, and would be happy to respond to any emails about it, ie more personal than this. But for me, it's rare that I see an exhibit that makes me chuckle let alone laugh out loud. This exhibit was fantastic, pulling together a bunch of pieces from Johns first 10 years. They focused a lot on his target works, his colors (yellow, red and blue) his devices, and his fascination with mapping and depicting the body. But as you walk through the exhibit you watch Johns begin to deconstruct his own work, and tease himself. After doing numerous targets and no doubt hearing people explain that they could do that, or when would he expand his vision, Johns assembled a DIY kit. The piece was a line drawing of his iconic target, and a set of three small Crayola style paint cups -- red, yellow, blue. It's like he was saying, fine if you think you can do this, please do. He's taking modern art and making it a coloring book, but without a touch of anger, arrogance and condescension. He even has a line on the painting where he's signed the painting and includes a space for his "collaborator" to sign the work.

I burst out laughing when I saw it. It's a perfect work of modern art. It's clearly an example of art as a series of choices. It's not that I couldn't do what he does. I can -- and he is encouraging that thought, if not that action. It's that I wouldn't have thought to make the target, let alone to deconstuct the art to the point where I divorced myself from the making of the art. In a New Yorker article a month or so ago, Johns was interviewed and explained that he views all art as a collaboration between the creator and the artist. It's a fairly well travelled idea, that art is about the interface between creation and observation, experience. But with Johns he's intentionally leaving the artwork unfinished (though you could make a pretty strong argument that the artwork is only finished when left uncompleted by his collaborator -- allowing any person a chance to envision what it would be like to work with and on a painting by a famous artist). By gently mocking the assertion that anyone can make modern art Johns is honoring his vision of art as collaboration. Johns work invites you to feel a part of it. It's art as conversation. When I walked through the rooms, I was filled with questions. I regressed to the age when an entire discussion could be conducted using the question "Why?" You remember those days, when you'd ask your parents a question and just keep lobbing "why" out there like an accusation of insufficient information. I don't want art to teach me through an entirely external voice and point of view. I want, and believe great art, can help me come to these conclusions on my own, and with my own additions to the work. Is it possible that I am giving Johns credit for ideas that he never conceived while painting these works? Of course, but art is collaboration, and together Johns and I came to these conclusions. I have to believe that your collaboration with Johns will yield different results. It sounds overly post modern and relativistic and entirely too soft, but I like to think of it a little like all those rap records where a couple of artists work together. You have to believe that Jay-Z featuring Pharell will be a functionally different work of art than Jay-Z featuring Missy Elliot. So it is with visual art.

Super Bowl Photos

2007-02-05T12:36:00.001-05:00

Photos of the Super Bowl as oberserved at Henry's yesterday.

Henry's Super Bowl Party 07

Endorse.

2007-02-02T13:06:00.000-05:00

With the growing ubiquity of Peyton Manning and Jay-Z commercials, I've come to one obvious conclusion. Jay-Z should endorse Peyton Manning. But, you say, Peyton Manning isn't a product, and even if he were his brand would be tied to his own celebrity. To this I say, "Hey look over there."

Now that smarty pants is occupied staring at the side of the monitor, or inspecting the keyboard for defects I can return to my brilliant and unassailablly sound idea.

SETTING
Jay-Z faces the camera, medium distance. He leans against a stool, wears a designer suit. A matte black backdrop is the only other element in the frame.

"Growing up in the projects you learn to bet on a winner. You don't get many chances to be wrong. As a young man, I knew enough to bet on myself. I knew I was going to be legendary. I've made hit after hit, record after record. That's how you build a reputation in my game. Peyton Manning, he's taken hit after hit, and set record after record. Seeing him on tv every night it was endorse or be endorsed. It was him or me, and I'm not going to be shown up by some one whose white as chalk, and just as salty. "I'm from the projects you take opportunity, before someone takes it from you. That's why I'm proud to endorse Peyton brand DVDs, the finest DVDs. Whether it's breaking down defenses, or breaking down MCs, these DVDs deliver the finest performance -- like Peyton in the regular season."

What do you say.

2007-02-02T10:13:00.000-05:00

On last Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Frank D. Hargrove, a Republican lawmaker in Virginia's House of Delegates, said that instead of seeking a formal apology from the commonwealth for slavery, "black citizens should get over it." Hargrove also reportedly wondered how far such apologies should go. "Are we going to force the Jews to apologize for killing Christ?"

Old Favorites

2007-02-01T10:07:00.000-05:00

I've been enjoying my new fancy external hard drive. It's allowed me to take all the files off of an older computer I had been keeping in my closet. So now I have all my photos and music from the past 5 years. I've been using Picasa to edit and upload some photos as I find them. You can go here and find photos I took in previous iterations of my life. Check out the photos in the Arches and Mt. Rainier collections as well. I'm particularly proud of those.

Old Favorites

You know you get a goalie, right?

2007-01-31T13:42:00.001-05:00

Did someone tell Thailand that you get to have a goalie in hockey?

Kazakhstan beat Thailand in hockey pool play 52-1. That's kind of a dick move, to beat a team by 51 goals. It's not like a 15-1 drubbing would have been less resounding. Were the Kazakhstanis playing for fantasy points? Were they recruited to play by Spurrier? Granted it's not like Thailand is known for its ice. I mean, hell, Thai Iced Tea is about the only time I associate ice and Thailand.

I don't know much about hockey, but given that a normal sized person accounts for like 80% of the total area of the goal, shouldn't sheer size mean that you'd block a few. Just random chance.

UPDATE:
Apparently two goalies did manage to stop 39 shots. That means there were 90 shots fired at the goal. I guess they stopped more than 40% of the shots. Oddly enough they did a better job of tending the net than the Kazakhstani goalie who allowed one goal on four shots. So maybe it's less about the Thai goalies. Let's go through a checklist, were the forwards given skates and sticks. Because those are both pretty important. Maybe instead of skates they were given stilettos, with 4 inch heels? Another concern, did the Thai center have his helmet facing open side out. Because it doesn't work nearly so well if you have it on backwards. Seriously, allowing 90 shots and only taking 4. Do you figure they were aware that you can take the puck away. Or were they used to playing some variation of flag-hockey where you have to grab the flag upon which time the offensive player gives you the puck. Were they starting John Mark Karr?

UPDATE II
===
Shamik points out that maybe the progeny of Yule Brenner wouldn't make the best hockey squad. However it would equip them well for discussing the scoring in the game.

Hockey player to reporter: "First they scored a goal. Et cetera. Et cetera . Et cetera."

UPDATE III
====
I have been thinking more about this and have some suggestions. At some point, say when you're losing by 20 goals, don't you figure the coach has to start thinking of silly plays. I mean Jesus, you're getting killed, you gotta do something.

1) I'd line 3 or 4 players around the crease, a la soccer players during free kicks. Clearly covering their junk.
2) Give the goalie two sticks.
3) Take the goalies big catching glove and give it to a player whose only job is to go around crazily skating and screaming in either Thai or Kazakhstani "I am lobster man."
4) Try the wedge play from Mighty Ducks
5) Hell, try the picket fence from Hoosiers.
6) Give one player an acetelyne torch to melt the ice immediately around the crease.
7) Call in a bomb threat
8) Start heckling their players "BOOORR - AAAA - TTT. BOOORR - AAAA - TTT."
9) Come out for the second period dressed like Disney Characters and try to convince the Kazaks that they are interrupting your performance of Disney on Ice.
10) Take out the little lightbulb in the red light that signals goals.
11) Whenever a Thai player gets the puck have him sprinkle rock salt all around himself as he moves, slowing down the opposition.

Who said this...

2007-01-31T09:48:00.000-05:00

"The truth is more important than the facts."

a) Frank Lloyd Wright
b) Stephen Colbert
c) Hunter S. Thompson
d) Yogi Berra

ANSWER

(a). How about that?!

Colbert Explains the President's Health Care Plan

2007-01-30T16:55:00.000-05:00

"It's so simple. Most people who couldn’t afford health insurance also are too poor to owe taxes. But...if you give them a deduction from their taxes they don’t owe, they can use the money they're not getting back from what they haven't given to buy the health care they can't afford."

The Warrior Way.

2007-01-30T09:59:00.000-05:00

The best and brightest of Westerville make news.

When I attended WNHS (Westerville North) a lot was made of the Warrior Way. Imagine a cross between a cursory glance at a Successories poster and a 30 minute survey course of Christianity. That was the basic precept of the Warrior Way. We're all great, love each other, etc. Certainly not a bad thing, but it was drilled into us as the personal mission of the our principal who fancied himself a paternal figurehead. Everyone seemed to love him, while I just found him marginally annoying. He never failed to recall the names of any and all football players or basketball stars. However, having handed me awards at every single academic banquet (mock trial, in the know, tennis thing) for 4 years, he had no clue who I was.

But this is not about Jim McCan who was, by all accounts, including my own a good guy. This is about the newest claim to fame for our not so humble (we're sorta annoyingly self confident) school. A student greased himself up and streaked through the lunchroom before being subdued. It took two taserings to bring down the be-oiled nude runner. The CNN report indicates that grapeseed oil was used to give the naked guy his sheen. A couple of questions: 1) Isn't grapeseed oil really fricking expensive. I know Westerville is a place of some affluence, but really, you didn't want to go with a nice Canola or vegetable oil. Maybe some EVOO. 2) How did the police know that he was covered in grapeseed oil. Did someone sample the evidence? Was there a little CSI Westerville where someone swabbed him and tasted the oil?

====
UPDATE
After a little research I found this about grapeseed oil: "Grapeseed oil is a neutral flavored oil with a high smoke point making it great for cooking grilling or fondues or as a carrier in a vinagrette where the chef wants the non-oil flavors to dominate the experience." Maybe the streaker chose it for the high smoke point, or because he was concerned that a stronger flavored oil might overwhelm the flavor of freshly tasered flesh. Also grapeseed oil is really expensive, 16 oz cost 7 bucks.
Another question--If you've covered yourself in oil and are going to try and run across the WNHS tile, do you wear shoes? Does that negate my previous descriptions of him as naked?

I hate you spatial relations, I hate you so much

2007-01-29T10:09:00.000-05:00

After spending the morning waiting for, and then leisurely enjoying brunch at Open City, I spent the afternoon at Paul's playing games. Towzer, Libby, Paul, Ann, Jess and I tried our hands at Carcassone and Settlers. We've newly acquired Carcasonne, and it attacks my spatial cognition weakness with precision usually only seen in those grainy 1992 Pentagon smart bomb videos. A large portion of the game involves placing tiles in such a way that you continue to build a logical and cohesive board. But that often means being able to rotate the tiles in your head. This being a task that I simply cannot do. Those tests you took in elementary school where they show you a sheet of paper and then describe the folds and the incisions made to the paper and then ask what the sheet will look like unfolded, those were a special kind of torture. Hell, I'd have scrap sheets of paper, fold them, cut them and still not get it right. I can't tell you want any object apart from a circle looks like when rotated 90 degrees. But I still enjoy Carcassone and am getting better.

After Carcasonne and some yummy apple pie courtesy of Libby, we settled down to play some settlers. Libby opted for some New Yorker reading instead, which given the frustration I felt in gettting smoked by Paul (eventually winner) and Jess (2nd place) might have been a better choice for me.

We finished off the evening with some Martinique beer and some Pennsylvannia beer (Yeungling) and a second game of Carcasonne. After a somewhat narrow loss in the first game. (Finished 5th of 5). I managed to get destroyed in the 2nd game. 6th place, and I'm sure if we could have found another sentient being to join us I'd have placed 7th. But abject failure aside, it was a great game and a really enjoyable evening.

Pictures of the participants below.

Game Night at Paul's.

28*2.65

2007-01-25T20:11:00.000-05:00

There is the fact that raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do. And there is the fact that raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do politically. So how do 28 US Senators end up voting for a bill that would eliminate the Federal minimum wage? How politically tone deaf do you have to be? How wrongheaded do you have to be? Oh, and by the way, John McCain voted to end the Federal minimum wage. If I don't hear that repeatedly during the campaign I'm going to scream.

Eliminating the Federal minimum wage would have the lowest allowable wage revert to the state minimum wage for each of the states. For instance the state minimum wage in Kansas is $2.65. There are 28 people in the US Senatethat believe families in Kansas should live on $2.65. And you wonder why we don't have balanced federal budgets, 28 people have no fucking clue what it costs to be alive in this country in this year. I feel like Bill Cosby trying to explain to Theo how money works. Except instead of a wayward teenager on a sitcom, I'm trying to explain this to more than 25% of the most esteemed legislative body in the world. Sweet.

We're going to examine two examples. The first is a guy who is living alone and working in Kansas. He has no dependents, just him. He works 40 hours a week, and never misses a day and never takes a vacation. Meaning he works 40 hours at $2.65 for 52 weeks. That means, not considering state local taxes, that he earns a grand total of 5512 dollars a year. Again that's working full time, never missing a day, never being sick. Just $5500. Sorry, $5512, I shouldn't short change this guy his 12 bucks afterall that represents more than half a days worth of work for him (4.5 hours to be exact). According to HHS the 2007 the Federal Poverty line for a single adult is $10,210. You'll note that this gentleman makes less than that. How much less? The unscientific answer is a moral-crisis-inducing call-Sally-Struthers-to-sponsor-this-full-time-working-guy amount. The more scientific answer is: $4698. So for our guy to climb up the economic ladder and become poor, he'd need to work another 34 hours a week at his job. The plus side of this scenario, the 74 hour work week, is that by being at work all the damn time you really save on the cost of housing.

Let's look at another example. In this one our single guy decides to get married, and he and his wife start a family and have two kids. Hooray! The miracle of life, etc. After the kids are born, oh and neither parent took off time for the birth, couldn't afford to. Instead they just went to the home and garden aisel in Wal-Mart and got some gardening gloves and well you know. So these two parents live near inlaws who raise the kids. And both parents work full time, both making 2.65 an hour. What do they make in a year? A robust $11,024. Now I realize with dependents there are tax advantages, etc. But we're talking about four people living on $11,024. In this case the poverty line is miles away. The poverty line for a family of four is $20,650. They're 9,626 dollars away from that. Meaning that each of the parents has to work 74 hours a week, and even then they're 256 dollars short. It's okay, making up those $256 dollars only requires each of them to work an additional 48 hours. That's barely anything.

There are times when I can believe that there are true ideological differences between political opponents. That there are times when the differences are not between right and wrong or good and bad but between two competing ideas about how to make the world better. I cannot continue to believe that in this case. Voting to get rid of the federal minimum wage is just wrong. In Kansas there are 27,000 people who currently earn the minimum wage. I will make a promise to any of those 28 Senators. If they will go to Kansas and tell a worker earning the minimum wage that she is being overpaid and that the best thing for this country would be for her to take home half next year as this year, I will gladly pay for their time. Let's see 28 x 2.65, yeah I can swing that.

Je suis fatigue.

2007-01-25T09:36:00.000-05:00

For the past week I've been staying late to work on a series of interviews. They're like one person focus groups, but because they're with "civilians," ie people at their homes instead of professionals at work I've been working until 9PM most nights. So this week has been a taste of my former life, my "life" as a campaign worker. I show up at 9am (would have been 8am on the campaign) and don't leave until 9pm (usually would have been 11p-12A on the campaign). It's downright exhausting. This more rigorous scheduled, coupled with my efforts to eat more healthfully and less overall has me feeling rundown. Oh, and toss in the fact that I've been doing pilates each of the last two days, and I'm just cooked.

I'm hoping to be finished with these interviews soon, though I have 13 out of 30 done, so if you extrapolate...well, it's unpleasant. So I'm sorta muddling through. If my communications and writing have the stench of inattentiveness and the clarity of Lake Erie water you'll have to excuse me. It's amazing that I was able to sustain this for months on end during the campaigns. I think a large part of it comes down to the energy of the office. Having people milling around working hard while you are working helps. Being alone in a Dupont office for 3 hours while dialing and interviewing is lonely and grinding. But, all that said, I'm feeling pretty well lately. I'm feeling fairly healthy. Looking forward to some touch football. I might even get to play ultimate this weekend, for the first time in three weeks. I'm pretty sure I'll remember the basic rules.

Glutton for punishment that I am, I packed my gym clothes. Here's hoping that myth of exercise giving you energy starts to seem more plausible. So far the equation seems pretty clear, using energy to exercise leaves me with less energy.

Kerry (on) My Wayward Son...

2007-01-24T17:57:00.000-05:00

John Kerry decides not to run. More over at Jagged Skyline.

Are you ready for some football....

2007-01-24T17:10:00.000-05:00

This month Jess and I have joined several friends in anchoring a weekly touch football game in a nearby park. After some serious cajoling Jess decided to attend three weeks ago, and is hooked. We've recruited Ann and Chris our former co-worker. All in all it's an awfully fun group. The games tend to be largely silly with the "get open and catch it" offense tending to dominate. I'm not sure if we're running the West Coast version of that offense or not. Given the loose resemblance to football formations that we sometimes (rarely) achieve it's hard to give official names to the arrangements. One formation used by Chris, Ann, Jess and I to great ends was the "Big I." The formation consists of the quarterback, and three backs directly behind him or her. From that formation we had all kinds of strange motion plays, described by a defender as looking like Moses parting the Red Sea. In the end, no matter the play we draw up, the best offense comes down to throwing toward people who are uncovered, and expecting them to catch the ball. A pretty simple offense, but honestly far less satisfying than a very complex play. So I've been thinking, in my spare time of random football plays. I've regressed to age 10 when I played Madden 1 and reveled in the fact that you could make up your own plays and then watch them run by your pixelated gridiron titans. That last sentence is much better if you imagine it read by the voice of NFL films, and if you imagine the little video guys moving in super slow motion.

One result of the game has been a rise in Jess' interest in football. She eagerly and of her own volition suggested we watch last week's playoff games. Both she and I rooted for the Saints and wished specific ills upon the Bears. Midway through the game Jess was getting frustrated and even a little upset. I explained that being a fan means, paying attention and cheering victories, and enduring the inevitable disappointment. Her response was perfect, "I don't like the second part." And that encapsulates what makes being a fan of any team hard, knowing that around every joyous corner is a sucker punch. I guess maybe I have a more jaded view having grown up a Brown's fan, and watching countless John Cooper led Buckeye teams fail against Michigan or some lowly-happy-to-be-here bowl opponent.

But the game galvanized Jess. We're both rooting against the Bears. And while I know this could have been the fans of any team, seeing this banner makes me particularly eager to watch the Bears fail. One final reason I relish the defeat of the Bears, Rex Grossman is a stereotype of the dumb frat jock. He's like a charicature of that idea. It's not that he's terrible, though that's debatable. It's that he's dumb. He called a timeout illegally last week. He talks to the press as though his sentences and ideas are being constructed by a team of monkeys using only magnetic poetry. I mean we're talking dumb. Like bag of Quikcrete dumb. Like three evolutionary generations past speech dumb. We're talking about a man for whom the admonition, "Don't forget to breathe" represents sound and necessary medical counsel.

So this week, without big boy football, Jess and I will have to get our fill from touchfootball. Should be a good time. I tried to remember to take photos last week, but I was playing all the time (we had even numbers). And honestly taking photos of others is way less fun being the subject of photographs. Here's hoping I get a chance to do both this weekend.

Jagged Skyline

2007-01-24T09:58:00.000-05:00

For the simple fact that I was bored at work today, I created another blog. Well, boredom and the desire to try out some of Blogger's newer features without risking damage to this venerable institution. So to these ends I created Jagged Skyline. I'm not sure whether I'll write there much or if it'll become just a vast wasteland, whereas this blog is a vast wasteland of mediocrity. Anyway, to justify creating the blog, I posted there. Hooray for that.

SOTU

2007-01-23T16:54:00.000-05:00

I'm heading over to Ann's for this evening's State of the Union. I've learned to expect little from these affairs (SOTU's not Ann's parties).

Last year I made up a drinking game with words I expected, and didn't expect to hear in the SOTU. This year, Brian did the same. We exchanged lists and he suggested I post mine here. So here you go, my State of the Union drinking list. My apologies if following this list either gets you very drunk or not at all.

1 Shot words
Addiction to foreign oil	Bipartisan
Border	Carbon
Culture of life	Democracy
Ethanol	Freedom/Free People
Global warming	Greenhouse gasses
Immigrants	Irag
Iran	Nuclear
Shiite	Stem cell
Sunni	Surge
Surveillance	Syria
Veto

2 Shot words
Clinton (either)	Ethics
God (apart from God bless America)	Hurricane Katrina
John McCain	Legacy
Palestine	September 11
Spying	Terrorist
Wire Tapping	Corruption
Gerald Ford	Humble
Joe Lieberman	Minimum Wage
Pelosi	Snowflake Babies
Terror	Warrant

10 Shot Words
Addiction to cocaine	Dick Cheney shot a man in Reno just to watch him die
Hugo Chavez	Iraq Study Group
Macaca	Mary Cheney’s Baby
Osama Bin Laden	Sunni Delight
Vietnam	Al Gore
Don Rumsfeld	His father
Inconvenient Truth	Jack Abramoff
Make a joke about InSURGEnts	Michael J. Fox
Scooter Libby	Tri-partisan

Straight.

2007-01-23T14:50:00.000-05:00

"I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight." Isaiah 45:2

John McCain just can't get his straight talk to come out straight. He keeps pandering and lying and generally abusing the goodwill he engendered decades ago when he at least behaved as though straight talk were something more than a slogan. Nowadays John spends a good deal of his time outright lying to people. For instance he proposed the surge, and now is backing away from it so fast you wonder if he might break the sound barrier in so doing. The media has built him up as this paragon of independent virtue, and he's daily tempting fate by lying every chance he gets.

From ThinkProgress

The new Capitol Hill newspaper, The Politico, launches tomorrow. In its lead story — an exclusive interview with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) — the senator lashes out against Vice President Dick Cheney. Roger Simon writes:

With his presidential hopes tied to an administration whose Iraq policy he supports but cannot control, John McCain for the first time blamed Vice President Cheney for what McCain calls the “witch’s brew” of a “terribly mishandled” war in which U.S. forces are on the verge of defeat.
[…]
Although McCain had once lavished praise on the vice president, he said in an interview in his Senate office: “The president listened too much to the Vice President … Of course, the president bears the ultimate responsibility, but he was very badly served by both the Vice President and, most of all, the Secretary of Defense.”

At a July 15, 2004 appearance in Michigan, McCain called Cheney “one of the most capable, experienced, intelligent and steady vice presidents this country has ever had.”

Also in the interview, McCain continued his back-pedaling from the escalation strategy that he first proposed. After offering a full-throated endorsement of the Bush plan just days ago, McCain opened the door to the redeployment of U.S. forces back to the borders of Iraq should the president’s plan fail. He added, “I don’t know if this is enough troops or not. I can’t guarantee success by doing this.”

A question, which of the following similes is most apt:

John McCain's talk is as straight as:
A) Billy's (from Family Circus) route to a friend's house
B) Clay Aiken's sexuality
C) a spirograph drawing
D) Marilyn Monroe's silhouette

Feel free to pick the best simile, or make up your own.

Dylan

2007-01-23T10:14:00.000-05:00

I stole this link from ABJ who got it from Tal.

"Bob Dylan" video... well worth the look.

Makes Sense.

2007-01-19T11:37:00.001-05:00

"I wanna hang a map of the world in my house. Then I'm gonna put pins into all the locations that I've traveled to. But first, I'm gonna have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won't fall down." ~ Mitch Hedberg.

New Camera

2007-01-19T11:03:00.000-05:00

I adore my new camera. It's so small I carry it with me daily. It starts up in less than a second. It's largely intuitive and makes it easy to change settings on the go. I'm thrilled.

Here are a couple of the random shots I've taken so far. These aren't particularly good, but for shots taken while waiting for the bus, they're not terrible.

1st Tries

Fake is the New Real

2007-01-18T17:03:00.000-05:00

A guy I vaguely knew at Oberlin (and I'm pretty sure it's someone I didn't like) has this website Fake is the New Real. It's a collection of his art. It's largely conceptual and built around mapping ideas, connections and images. It's good stuff.

I particularly like his map of Chicago. It's a photograph of hundreds of street corners in Chicago. Each tracing the relationship of Chicago's gridded plan.
Anyway just a site I found interesting, and I do have a moral obligation to give credit to the myriad Obies doing fun things in the world. There's a completely non-sensical feeling of reflected glow from the accomplishments and efforts of my former classmates. Silly, I know.

Words of Wisdom

2007-01-18T12:58:00.000-05:00

A little quiz, which inventor said the following: "Peace prevails when food suffices."

Answer: Momofuku Ando, who invented instant ramen noodles -- an undeniably monumental contribution to the gastronomy of college students everywhere. Ando died this week at 96.

Vick Sacked

2007-01-18T11:37:00.000-05:00

Michael Vick proves himself to be a giant moron. Trying to smuggle his stash of pot onto a plane, Vick decided the best place to hide it was inside a water bottle. Because you know there hasn't been any discussion about airport security taking water away from people. That never happens. Especially not in 20oz containers.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was reluctant to throw away his 20-ounce water bottle at a Miami International Airport security checkpoint Wednesday morning.The reason, police say: The plastic bottle had a secret compartment that, when opened, had a dark residue and a pungent odor of marijuana.

It strains credulity that he's this ill informed. Apparently an inability to read coverages is not so different from an inability to read signs, or pay attention to news coverage.

The other shoe has dropped, and it's on the other foot.

2007-01-18T11:34:00.000-05:00

Or something like that.

Maliki just called out Rice for giving a morale boost to the terrorists. I wonder whether the Bush Administration will enjoy being carelessly accused of aiding and abetting terrorists.
From the WaPo article

"The prime minister said statements such as Rice's "give morale boosts for the terrorists and push them toward making an extra effort and making them believe they have defeated the American administration," Maliki said. "But I can tell you that they have not defeated the Iraqi government."

West Coast vs Really East Coast

2007-01-16T17:27:00.000-05:00

"I'd kick David Beckham's ass on any given day," the Game said when asked about Beckham. "I'd just pick the ball up and kick the shit out of the stadium, game over."

And people wonder why soccer has never taken off in America. For reasons that logic, and, I venture, even heroic quantities of alcohol and other mind altering products, fail to explain The Game recently said he'd kick David Beckham's ass. I can't imagine a lamer feud. Seriously, it used to be East Coast vs. West Coast, Biggie vs. Tupac. Now it's Beckham vs. The Game. You know you're struggling as a rapper when you are trying to pick fights with a soccer player. Is he going to call out Posh Spice on his next album, insinuate that he didn't really like her contributions to SpiceWorld?

Oh, and what on earth does it mean that he "would kick the shit out of the stadium, game over." Would he kick the ball out of the stadium? Does he think that it's like when the ball goes into the grouchy neighbors yard? I mean I'm betting even after spending 250million on Becks, the Galaxy can afford two balls. I mean, hell they could probably borrow one from the soccer moms in attendance if it got really scarce. Next up, The Game explains how he would totally beat the shit out of the bowlers for Pakistan, and would show them who is "over"

Power of Photography

2007-01-16T14:21:00.000-05:00

Photos of "illegal" immigrants dressed as Superheroes. Includes their occupation as well as the amount of money they send home to their families. It's incredible looking at the amount some of the people are sending home. Some are sending back multiple hundreds of dollars a week. The kind of jobs they're working pay very little, and to be sending that much home is an incredible sacrifice.

Olbermann

2007-01-11T10:12:00.000-05:00

I'm reposting Olbermann's words from yesterday. They're far better than my own.

Olbermann: President Bush makes no secret of his distaste for looking backward, for assessing past results.

But in our third story on the Countdown tonight… too bad.

Any meaningful assessment of the president's next step in Iraq must consider his steps and missteps so far.

So, let's look at the record:

Before Mr. Bush was elected, he said he was no nation-builder; nation-building was wrong for America.

Now, he says it is vital for America.

He said he would never put U.S. troops under foreign control. Today, U.S. troops observe Iraqi restrictions.

He told us about WMDs. Mobile labs. Secret sources. Aluminum tubing. Yellow-cake.

He has told us the war is necessary…Because Saddam was a threat; Because of 9/11; Osama bin Laden; al Qaeda; Because of terrorism in general; To liberate Iraq; To spread freedom; To spread democracy; To keep the oil out of the hands of terrorist-controlled states; Because this was a guy who tried to kill his dad.

In pushing for and prosecuting this war, he passed on chances to get Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Muqtada al-Sadr, Osama bin Laden.

He sent in fewer troops than recommended. He disbanded the Iraqi Army, and "de-Baathified" the government. He short-changed Iraqi training.

He did not plan for widespread looting, nor the explosion of sectarian violence.

He sent in troops without life-saving equipment.

Gave jobs to foreign contractors, not the Iraqis.

Staffed U-S positions there, based on partisanship, not professionalism.

We learned that "America had prevailed", "Mission Accomplished", the resistance was in its "last throes".

He has said more troops were not necessary, and more troops are necessary, and that it's up to the generals, and removed some of the generals who said more troops would be necessary.

He told us of turning points: The fall of Baghdad, the death of Uday and Qusay, the capture of Saddam, a provisional government,the trial of Saddam, a charter, a constitution, an Iraqi government, ¤elections, purple fingers, a new government, the death of Saddam.

We would be greeted as liberators, with flowers.

As they stood up–we would stand down, we would stay the course, we were never 'stay the course',

The enemy was al Qaeda, was foreigners, terrorists, Baathists.

The war would pay for itself, it would cost 1-point-7 billion dollars, 100 billion, 400 billion, half a trillion dollars.

And after all of that, today it is his credibility versus that of generals, diplomats, allies, Republicans, Democrats, the Iraq Study Group, past presidents, voters last November, and the majority of the American people.

Pain.

2007-01-10T10:34:00.000-05:00

According to research published in the Journal of Pain taking caffeine after working out may reduce by 50% the pain associated with exercise. Intersting right.

But even more interesting is the realization that there is a Journal of Pain. That sounds to me like part of the made of back story of a wrestler.

Announcer: "Professor Death graduated from the University of Agony with a Masters in Injury. His Ph.D thesis 'Hurtin' for Certain: The Psychological Effects of Paliative Care for the Terminally Ill' was recently published in The Journal of Pain. And now.... For his next CLASS he's going to KICK SOME ASS. Professor DEATH!!!"

Or maybe the Journal of Pain is what you read on the coffee table at the House of Pain.

Pants.

2007-01-09T12:54:00.000-05:00

This week I'll be on the road a bunch. I'm travelling to Hartford, Raleigh and Tampa. All for work, all for short bits. Airports like nearly any place that has bitter people in positions of bureaucratic authority, long lines, waiting, and grumpy patrons (often a result of things one, two and three) make me nervous. I worry I won't move quickly enough, or I'll miss a sign, or I'll be called to account in front of others, or that it'll take too long, or I'll be late. Etc. A worrier by inclination and experience airports and the DMV and other such places are my 7th circle of hell. As for flying itself, I love it. I fall asleep quickly and soundly. I eagerly look out the window and try to guess by the topography where in America I am. I love it. Good stuff. But the lines and waiting are taxing. The only pleasant part is watching people. It's a chance to understand the world in a strangely superficial way. But I get such enjoyment from thinking about the people I see. From trying to understand their choices, their path, their lives from incredibly small fragments of information. I like the things that observation allows and forces me to think. The process of thinking and analyzing and wondering is so enjoyable that in the end it hardly seems to matter that I'm almost certainly wrong about them. It's a selfish exercise, but one that I enjoy.

Something I observed while waiting around in airports this week.

1). In the Southwest gate area I saw a well dressed, professional (looking) woman wearing fancy shoes, stylish pants and a stylish top. Nothing too noteworthy there. However, as she turned to pickup her luggage I saw that her pants were festooned with writing. Apparently these stylish pants were taking a cue from those oh-so fashionable jersey (Jersey) shorts popular with the kids these days. You know the pants, those that sport oddly hostile or hubris inspired statements like "You Wish" or "I'm HOT." The veritable picture of class and wit, displayed where those traits must appear--on the pink sweat panted ass of someone from Georgetown. This woman's pants were black, and were cut in such a way that they suggested effort and maturity. The words written on her not yet, but I imagine soon to be sagging posterior were: "London Calling." What am I to make of this? Here is a woman clearly trying to be stylish, in an adult way, but is wearing pants with writing on the butt. But then the writing references the seminal album by the punk rock band The Clash. I can't imagine that The Clash would be really excited about a well to do woman parading around their album and song title like a brand without any context or message. It's just reducing those ideas and that music to a cute cultural reference. She's saying, "Look I've heard of this album." Something about that just seems odd, and maybe even a little off putting. Maybe I'm out of touch here, but I also think making a hoodie with the word Guernica across it would be wrong. Without a supporting message, or context those pants are basically the equivalent of Engrish -- those poorly translated Japanese signs and shirts that feature English sentences or phrases in in-apt arrangements or context. By taking a punk album, grafting it onto pants of a certain style, but with a design that evokes the young and awful hot pants of so many, her clothing was confused and confusing. Maybe I'm missing it, but I cannot figure out what statement a person is making about themselves or their taste or the world by wearing those pants, it's simply a celebration of being in on the joke. It's a celebration of a loose familiarity with pop culture without any consideration for the meaning behind the music, or the place of the reference within a larger societal context.

It's a wonderful thing to be amazed.

2007-01-05T09:36:00.000-05:00

This is amazing and just really nifty. A magnetic "slingshot" that would send satellites into orbit.

Or how about a mug that keeps your beverage hot but makes sure that you don't burn your mouth. Some sort of temparature control chamber that ensures a safe sip still keeps the rest of the mug steaming hot.

Always Be Closing

2007-01-04T14:14:00.000-05:00

As a favor to my mom while I was home I sorted through a closet full of old flyfishing gear. I had forgotten just how much stuff I accumulated during those years of obsession. Suffice to say I was an easy kid to shop for then, anything and everything flyfishing. I was to use an awful pun, hooked. But since I haven't really done any flyfishing in the past decade it seems time to either trash, sell or donate some of my stuff. There's just too much particularly since I don't use it. So I boxed things up and posted it on ebay. Today, after eagerly watching the bids come in, I sold some flies, fly boxes, leaders, etc for 65 dollars. Far less than the value of the items, but far more than I would have gotten from letting them sit in the closet. This got me thinking about other things I have that I could sell. The problem with most items I own and would sell is that they are either ugly, broken, tarnished, unwieldy, or some combination of all four. And besides, they're hard to replace or replenish. This brought me to the idea of selling some of the photographs I've taken this year. Now, odds are this will be a cartoonish boondoggle, but you know maybe people want to buy these pictures. So I put three of the photos I took in Seattle on ebay and am going to wait and see. I don't imagine I'll get any bids, and so I'll lose 2 bucks in the process. Such is life. But it'd be super fun if photos which are a nearly endless resource were something I could put on ebay to make a small bit of cash from time to time. Adding another 10 bucks a month to my income would be fine. Nothing elaborate or gaudy, just a little bit here and there that I can tuck away in savings. We'll see if anything comes of it. I'm betting that people who want to buy "art" will prefer to buy it from people who know what an F-stop does, or can converse ably about apertures, and not some schmuck like me.

To check on the progress of my photos you can go here,here and here*

*Please do not consider this some sort of pitch or plug for bidding on them, I mean really, most of you know me and could just ask for a copy. I'm not trying to get friends to pay for some pics I took.

The Tubes are Clogged, that's why

2007-01-04T09:25:00.001-05:00

"We've heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true." Robert Wilensky

"If you had one chance..."

2007-01-03T20:37:00.000-05:00

My favorite line:

"Talk to a sponge cake for some inspiration
on how to be consumed without heavy mastication."

What are you optimistic about

2007-01-03T13:12:00.000-05:00

A website called the World Question Center asks leading thinkers a question every year. This year the question was what are you optimistic about. I've only looked at a few of them so far (there are dozens) but I loved this one from Brian Greene, author of The Fabric of the Cosmos and the Elegant Universe. He writes with a sense of excitement and amazement. He's gleeful about physics and questions and learning. He captures perfectly the feeling I experience when I'm trying to learn something new.
This is his answer to the question posed above:

The Power of Our Creative and Analytic Abilities

As I help raise my two year old son, I witness a basic truth familiar to parents through the ages and across the continents — we begin life as uninhibited explorers with a boundless fascination for the ever-growing world to which we have access. And what I find amazing is that if that fascination is fed, and if it's challenged, and if it's nurtured, it can grow to an intellect capable of grappling with such marvels as the quantum nature of reality, the energy locked inside the atom, the curved spacetime of the cosmos, the elementary constituents of matter, the genetic code underlying life, the neural circuitry responsible for consciousness, and perhaps even the very origin of the universe. While we evolved to survive, once we have the luxury of taking such survival for granted, the ability of our species to unravel mysteries grand and deep is awe inspiring. I'm optimistic that the world will increasingly value the power of such rational thought and will increasingly rely on its insights in making the most critical decisions.

Say Cheese!

2007-01-03T11:25:00.000-05:00

With some additional money from a holiday bonus, I'm looking to buy a new digital camera. When I last bought a camera I felt like I was on top of things. I knew what I wanted, I found a camera that worked and I was glad. Now I'm completely lost. I don't know enough about cameras and computers to make an informed decision. It's become really overwhelming.

I basically want the following: 1) little lag time -- so the camera clicks when I push the button, and is ready for another photo soon there after. 2) Enough megapixels to take clear crisp photos and ideally enough to have room to crop. 3) Zoom 4x, but I'd be happy with 3 if it came to it. 4) I'd like something with a burst mode, where I could take a couple of photos in rapid succession to capture ultimate shots. 5) I want something that fits into my pocket. So a compact or ultracompact.

I'm willing to spend upto 350 for the camera. What should I buy? I am wading through reviews and descriptions but am seriously lost.

Thoughts?

Stop Motion Brilliance

2007-01-03T09:29:00.001-05:00

I saw a link to this video on BoingBoing. It's one of the best I've seen in a long while. It's a stop motion video, something I played around with when I was younger. I never came up with anything approaching this level of skill. Frankly it's awe inspiring.

Too Bad

2007-01-02T13:08:00.000-05:00

It's too bad that legally changing your name doesn't get you out of playing for the Texans.

A Half Day Sure. But a full day, that's too much

2007-01-02T11:49:00.000-05:00

My friends in the Federal Government get to enjoy an extra day of vacation today. Gerald Ford died recently and so today is a federal holiday/day of rememberance for the late President. But here's the thing, Ford never appeared on a national ballot. He was picked by a disgraced President. Prior to ascending to the Presidency, Ford had only ever represented Grand Rapids Michigan. As a two-week resident of Grand Rapids during the Dean campaign, I can say with a measure of confidence that it is hardly a representative sample of America. Before becoming President, Ford never received a single vote from anyone not residing in Grand Rapids, except when he was voted to the All-College team in 1935.

No one had ever voted for the guy, and when they had a chance they picked Jimmy Carter. He served for a half-term. I have nothing against him, but I wonder, maybe DC could take a half-day for him. You know maybe a late start, time for a brunch then get to work. Similarly, the flags. Half-staff. Come now, maybe they should be at 3/4 staff. That seems fair.

Is it wrong

2007-01-02T10:52:00.000-05:00

Is it wrong that I desperately want to have an ultimate team named Pink Freud.

We could have pink and white jerseys. With a Dark Side of the Moon-esque logo but instead of light refracting it might be a cigar. Or the back could say, sometimes a huck is just a huck. Who knows, but I think it could be such fun.

This Bodes Well

2007-01-02T10:34:00.001-05:00

A friend and mentor, Tim Connolly once explained to me that the American people don't exactly know what a president does, but that they take their campaign as an example of the kind of leadership and judgement that they will bring to the task.

If that's the case, you have to wonder how comfortable Republicans would be with Rudy in possession of nuclear secrets. Just a few days into his charge against the windmill that is the Republican electorate, Rudy's campaign lost its campaign plan. Good start. He's the guy I want to have in control of the launch codes.

A "present" from Stacy

2006-12-22T11:38:00.000-05:00

Stacy sent me this link.

I present it here for your amusement. I'm one tall elf, that's all I can say.

Infinity Goes Up on Trial

2006-12-22T09:33:00.000-05:00

Over the past month or so I've been thinking more and more about art. I've been feeling more and more comfortable with the questions that art poses and helps me ask. In the last month, with Brian's help I've started roughing out a play. Will it ever be completed? Will it suck? Will it be of any external value? I don't know. But there is something about giving myself permission to explore, to find, and to fail. The process of writing, the process of trying to craft words for others, is hard, and rewarding and revealing.

Right on the heels of starting to write and think about this play, I talked with Ann and one thing led to another... and now we're working on a dance piece together. I'm writing the text, and helping with some of the choreography and ideas. She's helping with the text and coming up with all the movements. Here I am thinking creatively about large social issues and the minutia of life. Art is this amazing lens through which you're allowed to ask questions of any size. It helps me to think about these questions and these ideas, and allows me to crudely (I'll freely admit) offer answers.

Again, I have no real reason to believe that what I'll create will be important, or powerful, or even judged a success. But for me so much of the best part of life is the asking of questions, the debating of ideals, the exploration of divergent thought. Art, like my closest friends, is the source of further ideas to understand. It's a means by which to engage others in conversation, to plant a small flag in the stream of discourse and say this is what I think and thought and hope to express.

That's powerful.

I'm reminded of one of my favorite Dylan lyrics:

"Inside the museum, infinity goes up on trial."

I think that captures the power of art for me. Inside museums you can place everything, existence on trial. You can evaluate, examine and debate the greatest things. Things beyond measure and beyond scale are still within the scope of art. In fact art is one of the few ways to critique and comment on things we consider beyond our grasp, beyond words. I used to believe that I was entirely without artistic gift. And lord knows, the output I've generated thus far on these two projects will do little to dispell this idea. But the act of trying, the act of thinking is intoxicating. And if in the end the process creates something that forces another person to think, to ponder, to wonder about their own life, I'll be thrilled beyond measure. I'll be infinitely grateful.

God bless intelligent design

2006-12-22T09:04:00.000-05:00

Lest I be misunderstood, I mean to sanctify the brilliant of intelligent design, not Intelligent Design. Paul and I were talking about art and the home. For a while now I've been really excited by Target's approach to housewares. Granted, the Michael Graves designs do little to nothing for me, and sometimes do a few things to my stomach. They're overly cute and sometimes feel irrelevant, but they carve out an important space for art in the home. Why should inexpensive products be seemingly free of design? Why should a toaster that you buy at Wal-Mart be as generic and industrial and boring as possible? I have long applauded Target for commisioning products that are both functional and aesthetically interesting. It aggrivates me to think that only the wealthy should be able to outfit their homes with pieces that feel well crafted and designed. That's part of why I love Target and Ikea. These are stores that sell inexpensive but artful housewares, and furniture. I have this notion that surrounding yourself with objects that you feel contain some energy, some idea beyond simple utility lifts your thoughts to something more grand than just getting by. A product that browns your bread, but does so while looking aesthetically pleasing may be just the role model one needs for thinking about their own life. Why shouldn't I allow myself to think loftier thoughts, why shouldn't I make a place in my own day for something more than just getting by. I realize this is a little grandiose, but I'm a firm believer in the idea that there's real value in art, real value in being able to live in and among objects that remind us that there is more to life than simply moving from A to B.

Bring me a photo of a pigeon and a shrubbery.

2006-12-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

The Communications Director for Montana's Congressman Denny Rehberg was busted for trying to solicit hackers to break into TCU and change his undergraduate grades.

The best part of the entire story is reading the emails between the parties. The web site Attrition.org posted the entire back and forth. The site hosts pretended to be hackers and carried on the conversation with Todd Shriber for 22 emails. My favorite email is where they demand that he send them a photo of a pigeon:
"1. A picture of a squirrel or pigeon on your campus. One close-up, one with background that shows buildings, a sign, or something to indicate you are standing on the campus."

Eventually Shriber, after borrowing a friend's camera responds:
"I hope these work, there's no pigeons, but some of other birds and a couple with a squirrel."

I only wish they'd demanded a shrubbery from him.

It really is in my head

2006-12-22T08:56:00.000-05:00

A new study concludes that variability in motions like swinging a golf club or pitching, etc are largely due to variability in the brain. The brain does not draw up the same plan for motion each time. While training can give the brain clues and tools to solve the problem in a similar fashion, it's still not perfect. Sounds like we're built to adapt to situations, which I'm sure has served us well...you know in not getting eaten by large carnivores. But dammit, I want my forehand to be the same everytime. Though I guess given that the defense is not the same eachtime, and my level of fatigue changes, and the receiver changes and the wind changes and the condition of the disc changes, it's probably reasonable to have a brain that computes those variables each time, instead of just generating a generic "forehand to cutter" algorithm.

Unknown to Mankind.

2006-12-21T17:31:00.000-05:00

"I vow that I will attack this endeavor with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind."

Who said this?

A) Robert Gates, the incoming Secretary of Defense, charged with fixing the giant cluster fuck that is Iraq
B) Rudolph Giuliani, former Mayor of NYC and presumptive candidate for President.
C) Jim Harbaugh, former NFL quarterback and newly appointed coach at Stanford
D) Shakira, songstress whose new CD has required 3 complete remixes and will likely require an additional 25 hours of studio time to complete.

The answer is C. That's right, Jim Harbaugh promises to attack with an enthusiam unknown to mankind. He will give 110%. And not just metaphorically. He's serious. That's the level of enthusiasm he's bringing to the Standford job. Imagine if he had the job at a place that had won in recent memory.

Does Harbaugh remind anyone else of Smoove B, from the The Onion. I believe that Smoove B is also going to attack the act of lovemaking with an enthusiasm and gentle caress unknown to mankind. Or womankind. It will be electric.

Can Harbaugh make the following claim, as Smoove does: "I am capable of bringing you to a state of freakstasy that no other man could ever bring you to. You can try to find this level of sexual satisfaction with some other man, but know that if you break from Smoove, I cannot guarantee that I will still be single when you realize that only I can satisfy all your senses."

Some Questions about the Ansar

2006-12-21T12:47:00.000-05:00

Beware morons bearing advice. Yesterday I found myself waiting for my doctor (yes, the same one who has been failing to aid me lo these many months) to write me a prescription for my medicine. His accent is often so thick and his face so uncommunicative that I struggle to understand what he's cajoling me about. He asked if "I knew the Ansar." This struck me as some sort of trick question. So I told him what dosage of what medicine I have been taking. He attempted, though failed, to clarify by saying, "No, the Ansar. The machine." Confused, more than usual, I waited for him to mount up and take a third go at the windmill of basic communication. After some gestures and his full focus on using multiple words to explain the concept in his mind, I began to understand. Well somewhat. He was talking about a great new machine he bought. The machine, I came to learn, cost him $30,000. It was called Ansar. Having satisfied himself that I understood that he owned a machine that was called Ansar he set about trying to explain why one would use this machine.

He promptly explained that there are two parts to the nervous system, the sympathetic and the wait, what is the other one. Oh, right, the parasympathetic one. He told me that the sympathetic is engaged in action, and worry. That it controls focus and depression. While the parasympathetic controls headaches. Now, I'm highly dubious of these claims. Sadly, if he told me I was on fire I might get a second opinion before stopping, dropping and rolling.

I asked what this machine does. It measures whether or not your parasympathetic or sympathetic is stronger and determines if they are in balance. Then it tells him what medicines to prescribe. Then he will know for sure what and what dosages to give me for any problems I might have. I asked whether the diagnosis for say, depression or other conditions would include any discussion of how I'm feeling, what I'm thinking. He calmly and somewhat dismissively said no, that this was better. That the Ansar system would be more accurate.

He then thrust a very phony looking pamphlet into my hand, and reiterated again and again that if I wanted to try the machine he could arrange that. Apparently he needs to pay off his $30,000 investment.

It was appaling to me to think that this machine is supposed to be able to in 30 minutes diagnose any and all problems. That depression is solely a physical condition. That biorhythms and the balance between your various nervous systems will accurately predict the condition, medication and dosage. I guess I'm unwilling to accept that level of analytical expertise from a computer, to say nothing of one hawked by a man unable to identify my various body parts.

I went to the ANSAR web site, looking for any information. Any major journal that has reviewed this favorably. I have to admit I'm largely baffled by the site. If other more trained observers what to help me decode it, I'd love the assistance. From what I can tell, it seems a bit of an overstatement. My favorite statement is

"A balance between the two branches of your ANS is essential for good health. In fact, most illnesses and injuries cause or result from an imbalance between these two branches. An imbalance in your ANS can tell your doctor many things about how healthy you are, as well as what can be done to keep you as healthy as possible.

Am I wrong, doesn't this sound like Homer's great quote about beer. "Beer the cause of and solution to all life's problems." So this imbalance can either be the cause or a symptom of a problem. Without investigating through conversation and medical history how does one know whether you're viewing symptom or cause? Can an over exercise of the parasympathetic lead to more than one problem?

Maybe I'm too skeptical, but when presented by my awful doctor, penicillin would seem risky and worthless.

Best of Where is My Mind 2006: The Third Quarter

2006-12-21T11:39:00.000-05:00

These are the sections, sentences and sentiments that I found most interesting and most worthy of reprinting from July, August and September. Again, if you have others you think are more interesting, witty, or worthy, let me know in the comments.

July:

Bed Bath and Beyond Gets a Letter from Amnesty International

We spent what I believe I consider a Geneva convention violating 45 minutes in the towel section of BBB. Now, contrary to sexist stereotypes this was not because Jess was fretting and fussing. Though there was some of that. A good bit of that. The primary reason we spent 45 minutes there is because BBB seems to hate us. We picked out towels we liked, then tried to find another towel to match it. Nope. Sold out. Sold out of this kind of towel throughout the metro area. Picked another towel. Nope, no good. Another. Nope doesn't match the shower curtain. And so on.

Sorry, this was a lame blogging month. There is this notion that great suffering leads to great art. I neither pretend to have suffered greatly nor to have created great art. For me there seems to be little rhyme or reason to the strong or weak posts. Sometimes when I'm lonely and sad, I write well. Other times those emotions damn up any desire to express myself. Just a thought.

August:

Rock as Lullaby, Brilliant or Bogus.

Is it introducing kids to amazing songs that parents can tolerate and planting a seed for good musical taste. Or is it bastardizing music and potentially ruining their ability to appreciate Led Zeppelin's raucus bad-assity.

Stepping stone or barrier. Put another way is this Fisher Price my first cd collection or is it like Gerber pureed sushi--a bastardization of something great.

Yikes, another month with little redeeming writing. It's a wonder that any of you maintained interest in this blog over the summer. My apologies. Yeesh.

September:

Geographic place or state of existence

We [Amb. Grey] flowed through defenses like Sherman going through Georgia.
...
Then Sunday we have BRDM practice, followed by a scrimmage, followed by a BBQ out in Stirling, which I believe is still technically within the boundaries of the state of Virginia, though I'm not sure, it feels like it's more a metaphysical place, the place you reach when you drive west out of DC and cannot fathom driving any further to see friend or foe and are ready to turn around...that's when you get to Stirling. Sadly, it's never any closer than that.

We're in the way...

2006-12-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

For Person (people) of the Year, Time Magazine absolved itself entirely of the burden of judgement, originality or insight by selecting "You." Not you individually, rather this is you plural, or y'all, if you'd rather. That's right, everyone is man or woman of the year. We're each so powerful and influential that we're a dominant influence on the world. Our impact on one another through our use of the Internet makes us incredibly important.

So Time tells us that we are each exceptional. Everyone gets a trophy. I fully intend to update my resume to include my selection as Time's Man of the Year for 2006. I don't know if it'll give me a competitive advantage, since everyone won. As they say in The Incredibles, "if everyone is special, no body is special."

This cover does fit with the times. Americans seem to exist in a balance between two arrogant notions: 1) That we ourselves are exceptional and that technological and cultural evolution has resulted in our own times and capacity being unique and the nearest approach to perfection. 2) Yet simultaneously we are convinced that greatness is really something from another age reflected upon us from afar. Oh, how we wish we'd lived through Kennedy. Oh, to be at Woodstock. Would that we stormed the beaches of Normandy. To be the Greatest Generation. If only our school were Old.

That we believe we understand the best that human kind can be or has been, seems more than a little arrogant. The Bush administration explaining that the Iraqi war is unlike any other, that the War on Terror is harder than any other war. This desire for exceptionalism, even in suffering is perverse. By what honest assesment does a person judge his own time the "most" anything.

We are a nation that loves the superlative. We revel in hyperbole. I designed a t-shirt a few months back that says: Worst. Hyperbole. Ever. It seems more fitting than before. We want to be alive during exceptional moments, and if this requires us to elevate the normal course of human events to those that are the most, the hardest, the best, the Platonic ideal of whatever, then we seem willing to do so.

I don't know that I can fully articulate my frustration. The intense desire we have to feel exceptional mixed with our equally strong instinct to judge ourselves as a failure against the lofty achievements of those who came before. You know, maybe I'm engaging in exactly the same kind of behavior as those from other generations. Maybe we all have roles to fill.

Thinking about this, I was reminded of a lyric from the Silver Jews.

"The stars don't shine upon us. We're in the way of their light."

A great many things in the universe are entirely unconcerned with us. The sun didn't seek you out to glorify you in your selection as person of the year. You, we, were in the way of its light. And had a lesser or greater person stood where you were, the sun would have struck them as well. It doesn't play favorites. The universe, is in that regard perfectly democratic.

Best of Where is My Mind 2006: The Second Quarter

2006-12-20T15:15:00.000-05:00

Continuing on the idea from the last post, here are a collection of the best parts of this blog from April through June

April:

In search of muscles

In other news of progress, all this going to the gym seems to be having some sort of effect on the shape and capacity of my muscles. Namely they are more bulbous...it's like they're getting larger. And a corresponding discovery seems to be that they can exert more force. Strange things, both. No complaints. Just strange to look at myself in the mirror and wonder whose arms I'm seeing.

~ED NOTE: Slim pickings for April, sorry then. Sorry now.

May:

Captain Awesome Spikes in Clique League

The other telling instance from the game came on game point. One of their players fell and caught the disc, and thinking he was in the endzone sprinted around, spiked the disc and began screaming and gesturing like he'd won the World Championship of Greatness and the Nobel Prize for Awesomeness in the Field of Coolness. Several problems:

1) COORDINATION He fell down while catching the disc, no layout, no jump. Dude was barely able to manage the dual tasks of motion and catching without great failure.

2) COMPETITION He caught the winning score in a quarterfinal game in clique B league, in Washington DC. A quarter final game in a secondary level league, in a tertiary or worse level region. To further illustrate the arrogance, think of the clip of Jordan celebrating his game winning shot over Craig Ehlo. But instead of it being the NBA playoffs, imagine if you acted like that when you beat your friends playing miniature golf in 7th grade.

Aaron on Fox's claim that American Idol has the most sophisticated voting system in existence

It's a show, and not a very important one at that. They're determining who will get signed to a record contract. Time was that these things were settled by young aspiring singers sleeping with producers or sealed over a line of coke. It's not some great holy process. You'd think American Idol was the new version of the conclave. Instead of white smoke it's text messages from pimply teens and disturbing karaoke fans. The process doesn't have to be perfect--you're picking a singer, not a pope or a president.

June:

All I really want is grills!

Grills, all I really want is grills
And at dinner it's grills
Cause for the cooking it's grills

I like the way that they look
And it's great to use 'em to cook
And I can always make them hot
Piling brickettes in one spot

I bought one just the other day
Mockin' A-Leav to my dismay

Best of Where is My Mind 2006: The First Quarter

2006-12-20T13:35:00.000-05:00

As a kid I really found New Years exciting. We would go to a friends house and there would be neighbors and kids and I'd stay up late. There would be games, and I could try to impress the grownups with just how smart I was, and how good I could be at games. Then I'd retire downstairs to be humbled by my peers at Nintendo and ping-pong. One of the other great parts about New Years as a child, and even now, is that it forces upon people a kind of short term nostalgia. It brings out the top 100 songs of the year, the 10 best highlights on SportsCenter, the 50 most important news stories, the 5 best books, etc. As a person who likes to categorize and count things, and one who likes to be reminded of things I already vaguely know, this time of year is great. So instead of offering a top ten movie list (I don't think I saw more than 5-6 movies anyway) or something like that. I'm going to selfishly and arrogantly recap my favorite lines from this blog. Not entire posts, but the sections and sentences of which I am most proud. If you have other sentences or sections that you think I'm ignoring, something you find particularly fun -- 1st I'm flattered and 2nd you should post it in the comments.

So here, in short (a rarity for me) is the best of this blog-- January - March.

January:

Aaron whines about the time spent waiting for food during restaurant week.

You'd think, with the time we had to wait they were inventing a new country from which to have a cuisine. So first they had to find land, cultivate a culture. get invaded. Retake the country. Develop a national identity. Find and sow local crops. Build a cuisine. Export said cuisine to DC...and then make and serve our food. I feel like an entire Jared Diamond book about the rise and fall of Spanish food could have been written in the time it took to actually get our food. But then again, I think maybe I'm being a little overdramatic. Like I said, it felt like a long time.

The injured ankle prevents further injury--to Aaron's pride

Later in the party some of the more rhythmically competent attendees began to shake: "groove things" and "what your momma gave yous" and generally proceed to "get down." Someone came over and asked if I'd add my awkwardness to the assembled appendages and asses. I slyly reached for my left pant leg. Sorry can't.

I think I may start bringing the air cast to parties when I'm healthy. God bless you AirCast. You protect my ankles and my pride.

February:

Of toddlers, dancers and skaters

he last time I went ice skating was as a senior in college. To describe my efforts that evening as ice skating is much like comparing a toddler who pulls himself up to stand using the coffee table to Martha Graham. In each case the participant is wholly overmatched by gravity, entirely without grace, barely stable, and eager to celebrate even the most basic level of proficiency--which in due course returns them to their humbled normative status. Oh and there's also a good chance that in each case their failure has made their pants wet.

March:

Taxes and guessing games

You fill out your taxes trying to get the right answer. But all along there is a predetermined answer, that you're supposed to arrive at. So it's a little annoying. It's like if the electric company asked you to estimate how much your bill should be and then had the power to punish you for getting it wrong.

As you can see some months engender better stuff, apparently March was mainly uninspiring.

New Rocky Movie

2006-12-20T13:30:00.000-05:00

So I have really no sense at all what happens in the latest Rocky movie. But given the age of the character, to say nothing of the age of the actor, I have to imagine some changes.

A few thoughts:

In the latest Rocky, I believe he fights his toughest enemy, incontinence. This struggle makes it harder for the ring announcer to, in good faith, declare that he wants a good clean fight. But it does help to discourage hitting below the belt.

In this edition, he's fighting the Social Security Administration.

The new Rocky features our Philly hero fighting for the Early Bird Special at 15 minutes past 9, in clear violation of Denny's policy.

Rocky producers are able to subsidize the newest entry in the franchise through product placement. Rocky's trademark raw egg shake is replaced with Ensure.

Instead of training by sparring with a side of beef, Rocky spends the first 20 minutes of his comeback complaining to the Cracker Barrell waitress about the portions on his side order of corned beef hash.

Of men and pigeons.

2006-12-19T10:31:00.000-05:00

In my neighborhood, about 4 blocks from my home there is a 7-11. In the space of these four blocks my area changes from wealthy and white to a much more mixed neighborhood. Mixed in terms of racial and socio-economic terms. The 7-11 is usually patrolled by a crew of 10-15 guys looking for day work, or looking for a wall against which to lean while they watch women and the hours pass them by. On the front of the 7-11 is a sign that informs these men,in Spanish and English, that they are not to loiter. But they do, and from what I can gather no one really cares. None of the ever evolving cast seems terribly inclined to do much more than hang out there and chat about the day and the days gone by.

This 7-11 is right next to what the neighbors seem willing to pretend is a park. A more fair description might be an area of grass surrounded by a fence. But park is more appealling, and requires few keystrokes and words, so a park it is. It's safe to say the men who hang around outside the 7-11 have severely limited means. But it's rare to see one of them without a loaf of bread. The bread is never for their consumption, rather it's torn and tossed to the birds. A mighy flock or phalanx of birds pass their day in the park. These men with little of their own buy bread and corn meal to feed the birds.

Something about this situation struck me as poetic on the bus ride this morning. Here are men with little control over their world. They congregate in a single place to reduce the isolation of too much time, too little structure and far too little control. By seeking a spot and one another they enforce their will on the world in a small but no doubt meaningful way. Similarly using some of their limited income to help another creature must reclaim what all men want--a sense of being able to serve the world. They may or may not receive aid from the government or charities, I have no idea. But I imagine that from time to time each man has needed the aid and comfort and support of strangers to get by. And to be able to afford to give that aid and comfort and help to another, even if it's a lowly pigeon must be freeing. Like the pigeons these men congregate and cluster only to be deemed a nuissance and scattered around, with little concern for their well being, for their needs. I imagine, there is an appeal to being able to provide for another, to care for something else. I may not have much, I can imagine the monologue going, but I can help these birds. I'm able to control this. I'm able to bring order and aid into the life of this creature. I think that power, that control, that agency must be an innate human desire. It's why I'm glad there's a little park by the 7-11. Everyone deserves the right to repay the aid they've been given. Everyone deserves the right to feel like they have something to offer another in this world.

Movies reenacted with stationery

2006-12-15T12:49:00.000-05:00

Because, really, why shouldn't you try to re-enact movies using only stationery.

http://www.stationerymovies.com/

I ended up guessing 14 of the 20 movies. I would love to hear from others how they do. Maybe email me to help me fill in the missing 6.

UPDATE

I got another one, I'm up to 15.

Just a few stray thoughts

2006-12-14T15:43:00.000-05:00

Just a few stray thoughts on the Wyden healthcare plan.

From what I understand previous attempts at universal healthcare were torpedoed because they raised (or were twisted so as to raise) the specter of people being forced into purely socialized medicine, deprived on any choice as to their doctor. While it may not accurately describe the actual practice of medicine these days, I think there is a great appeal for many in the notion of a family doctor, a neighborly person who cares for the entire family for generations. The power of this image is powerful. Just as I wrote earlier that efficiency is viewed with a nearly religious zeal in the U.S. so too is choice. Given the power and appeal of choice in nearly all aspects of politics it makes little sense to propose policies which would limit choice. This is the brilliance of the Wyden plan, instead of ensuring quality care by constricting choice, it expands choice while guaranteeing that all options meet a basic level of care. Everyone has choice and agency, but the options from which they may choose all provide a fair and fitting level of services, this prevents people from being duped or suffering for lack of information and acumen. I'm struggling for a fitting analogy. It's a little like the difference between the government bowling for you and the government setting up bumpers. Few people want the government to make decisions for them, but ensuring that the suite of options available all meet a certain appropriate standard seems right. Think of FDA certification of meats. I don't need the FDA as my shopping buddy telling me what to get, I'd rather know that I can select from options each of which will be safe and appropriate.

People seem to, in all things, like choice. It's a nearly elemental desire. So instead of fighting against that desire the Wyden plan embraces that desire. Instead of fighting against the relentless tide, Wyden uses that energy like a surfer. Takes the desire for choice and agency and makes that the appeal of the plan, makes that the momentum that carries people forward.

In the end it's hard to argue with a proposal that gives Americans that tools necessary to care for themselves, and their children. It's hard to be against legislation that takes as its highest goal making it affordable for Americans to live longer, healthier lives. Think of the additional progress and prosperity that can be generated by an America where men and women can work and strive without fear of crippling healthcare costs. There's no way to calculate that economic benefit, because somethings really do transcend monetary measure.

On the Internet nobody knows you're a rank amateur

2006-12-14T09:48:00.000-05:00

There's a famous New Yorker cartoon with the tag line: "On the Internet nobody knows you're a dog."

Well turns out they don't know you're a rank amateur either. Yesterday I wrote about Wyden's new healthcare plan. Today I find out that my blog is linked to from Stand Tall for America, which I have to figure is his "campaign" site. Or something like that. The list of bloggers referenced includes David Sirota and Ezra Klein, ie, real writers. And then me. It's just more than a little funny to think of people stumbling by this place expecting trenchant analysis (which, I myself stumble into, I guess) and finding some combination of rants, raves and ridiculous nothings. It's fun, though. Even as I realize it's the product of Technorati or some other crawler, it's somewhat flattering to think my words warrant republication and broadcast by someone. It's like those rare moments when a friend tells me, "I always remember you saying 'INSERT HERE.'" The idea that something I've said or written is worthy of commiting to memory or passing along to another person is still strange to me, but almost intoxicatingly pleasant. It's appealing to think that every so often what I think or say is of value to others, and not just as a way of self-congratulations and self-expression.

We'd have the whole country, in a (healthcare) plan. We'd have the whole country in a (healthcare) plan.

2006-12-13T15:44:00.000-05:00

I've been reading a few articles today talking about Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) and his new healthcare plan. First off, it's been said before and by far more eloquent and passionate people, but it's still shocking to me that we don't have universal healthcare. Beyond the moral reasons (of which there are many) it just seems inefficient to have so many people getting sick and missing work. If the highest value in American political life is efficiency, it's just outlandish that healthcare is run as it is. To have car companies adding 1,500 to the cost of a car to pay for insuring their employees seems wrong. So this new plan, as I understand it would force employers to end their current plans. The money the invested in these plans in 2006 would be paid directly to workers who would have to use that extra money to buy into any of a number of health insurance plans each of which are at least as good as that which Congress gives itself. Sounds like doctors would not be socialized, just the health insurance. Folks who lose their jobs would get coverage, etc. So employers are psyched because they don't have to budget for the rising cost of healthcare, and get out of that business. I can't imagine that the CEO of GM is really eager to have a whole division whose jobs it is to administer a healthcare plan. Workers get portable healthinsurance with a minimum level of coverage that's really good (= to Congress). I'm excited. For the first time in a while it looks like there might be a real comprehensive society changing bill that could pass. If it did this would be the most dramatic and powerful social legislation passed in my lifetime. It's not Medicare or Social Security. But it's something. And for millions of Americans it could be a life changing effort, something that makes it so that living with pain, living with illness, allowing children to suffer from easily treated illness--that these are no longer acceptable.

The Sound of Silence

2006-12-13T11:31:00.000-05:00

Neil has a great post on the latest bullshit from the music industry. Trying to ban sites that share tablature to songs. The argument being that some artists occassionally publish sheet music, and by figuring out how to play the songs before the artist tells you how to play it (in a format that a great many guitarists can't decipher) you are stealing from them.

Neil's take:

Apparently, my being able to freely download the chords and lyrics to "hey jude" and "enter sandman" is why Paul McCartney and Lars Ulrich live in abject squalor. Or maybe it's playing songs on the guitar, alone in my apartment, that's forced them into homelessness? And what if I transcribe the tab myself, listening to the music? that must also be a crime. Or if I listen to music, and say to myself 'Oh, it goes A E Dm'?

I have to wonder, is humming the song to yourself also illegal. Or even worse, what if you get a song stuck in your head? If so does writing a catchy song count as an artist aiding and abetting me in the commision of a crime? How about if a friend and I talk about a song and then start singing it, I believe in that case it's peer-to-peer sharing of illegally downloaded/remembered music. Campfire sing-a-longs are clearly destorying the music industry and its ability to make money. Whoever owns Kumbiyah is owed a shit load of royalties, all those fucking hippy theives trying to steal from poor record companies.

A final word from Neil and Jeff Tweedy

Playing a song yourself is just another way to experience it, to make it a part of you -- does that really need to be litigated to death?

And if the whole world's singing your song,
and all of your paintings have been hung
Just remember, what was yours, is everyone's from now on

-- Jeff Tweedy