That big game time decision? Yeah, it was a no.
I was tempted, in a vague kind of way. I missed out on every major clichéd high school experience in the books, so there was a little tickle that was urging me to go- just so I could say that I had gone. It wasn't especially about the people: there were a few people there I would have been happy to say hello too, more I would have been even happier to say absolutely nothing too and at the end of the day, nobody I was particularly close with on the guest list.
Plus, I had to sound like a tight-fisted bastard, but $30 at the door is a lot! And what did we get for this door fee? Well, we got free beer, limited appetizers, a DJ and a stroll down memory lane. Hard liquor? For that there was a cash bar. (And if you want to make me pay $60- because damn sure I'm not going to do this without the Missus- the least you can do is spring for an open bar, I think.)
But I kept debating going right up until 7 PM last night, I really did. Part of me felt it was foolish not to go, as we are literally maybe 2 blocks away from the First Avenue Club where it was being held. At the end of the day, however, a night of non-action, Love Actually, ice cream and falling asleep to episodes of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia won out. Plus, I needed a shower and a shave and was just plain exhausted after a long weekend in Omaha.
Oh well: 2021, I'm totally there!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
10 Years Gone
I've been meaning to try and put together some coherent thoughts about it being 10 years since I graduated high school, but I just can't. High school was...
Well, let's start at the beginning. High school was high school- there were good times and bad times and times in between, but at the end of the day, I was sexually frustrated, unatttractive and completely inept socially speaking. But despite that, high school was probably one of the best things to ever happen to me. From 2nd to 8th Grade, I was an unwilling attendee of The School That Shall Not Be Named on the north side of Iowa City. (Think about it people. You'll get what school I'm talking about.) It was a decent enough school, I suppose, but it was small. Cliques were the order of the day and if you weren't in the right tax bracket, you weren't cool and people let you know it. I know one girl who actually transferred schools the bullying got so bad, which is just ridiculous. (Girls, especially the high school variety of girls can be downright vicious when they want to be.) In short, if being a teenager wasn't bad enough, I had few, if any friends (but the friends I did have were good ones- a habit of mine that continues, I'd like to think, to this day) and was pretty miserable outside the normal teenage bullshit.
So transferring to City High was a breath of fresh air. God, to this day, I can think nothing but good thoughts about that school. It was amazing and going there and graduating from there is one of the things that I will always, always be thankful for- and proud of. (Go Little Hawks!)
I was a little nervous transferring schools- but I got over it. Quickly. After skipping my 8th Grade Graduation- what a psychotic idea that was. I mean, what the hell were you graduating too? Oh that's right- 4 more years of the same old shit. I arrived at City High and hit the ground running. It took me a year or so, but I found a little corner, found out plenty of things I didn't know about myself, went on a few dates and did a whole lot of growing up. Some of it sucked, but a lot of it didn't.
Yet, I find myself curiously indifferent to the thought of my 10 Year High School Reunion. It's not that I didn't consider going, it's just that I looked at the guest list and didn't really get all that excited about it. I looked at the price ($50 for the Missus and me- $25 a pop! And it'd be more now) and became even less thrilled, despite the lure of free beer.
But The Quiet Man, who's been writing extensively on this topic for awhile now mentioned a good point. Mervgotti (another one of the gang from high school) isn't going because he feels like people haven't changed all that much in 10 years. I'm starting to wondering if he might be right... I found the idea of five year reunions ridiculous- people are barely out of college, for cryin' out loud.
So, to go or not to go? Part of me thinks it'd be nice to just go, relax, chill with people and get completely smashed on free beer. The other part of me resents what these reunions can end up being about: the 'ooh, look at me' factor. That's just irritating. I don't have a damn thing about my life to apologize for, so I think I'd just resent the hell out of being put in a situation where I might think about doing so. Plus, as the Missus pointed out at her ten year reunion with Facebook you tend to already know what's going on in everybody's life anyway (more than you probably want too, if you're being really honest about it) which tends to dull the conversation a little bit.
To go or not to go? At this point, given the fact it'd cost me $40 big ones at the door I'm leaning more towards no and yet...
I think this might be a game time decision, kids- tickets are apparently staying at $25 at the door. So stay tuned!
Well, let's start at the beginning. High school was high school- there were good times and bad times and times in between, but at the end of the day, I was sexually frustrated, unatttractive and completely inept socially speaking. But despite that, high school was probably one of the best things to ever happen to me. From 2nd to 8th Grade, I was an unwilling attendee of The School That Shall Not Be Named on the north side of Iowa City. (Think about it people. You'll get what school I'm talking about.) It was a decent enough school, I suppose, but it was small. Cliques were the order of the day and if you weren't in the right tax bracket, you weren't cool and people let you know it. I know one girl who actually transferred schools the bullying got so bad, which is just ridiculous. (Girls, especially the high school variety of girls can be downright vicious when they want to be.) In short, if being a teenager wasn't bad enough, I had few, if any friends (but the friends I did have were good ones- a habit of mine that continues, I'd like to think, to this day) and was pretty miserable outside the normal teenage bullshit.
So transferring to City High was a breath of fresh air. God, to this day, I can think nothing but good thoughts about that school. It was amazing and going there and graduating from there is one of the things that I will always, always be thankful for- and proud of. (Go Little Hawks!)
I was a little nervous transferring schools- but I got over it. Quickly. After skipping my 8th Grade Graduation- what a psychotic idea that was. I mean, what the hell were you graduating too? Oh that's right- 4 more years of the same old shit. I arrived at City High and hit the ground running. It took me a year or so, but I found a little corner, found out plenty of things I didn't know about myself, went on a few dates and did a whole lot of growing up. Some of it sucked, but a lot of it didn't.
Yet, I find myself curiously indifferent to the thought of my 10 Year High School Reunion. It's not that I didn't consider going, it's just that I looked at the guest list and didn't really get all that excited about it. I looked at the price ($50 for the Missus and me- $25 a pop! And it'd be more now) and became even less thrilled, despite the lure of free beer.
But The Quiet Man, who's been writing extensively on this topic for awhile now mentioned a good point. Mervgotti (another one of the gang from high school) isn't going because he feels like people haven't changed all that much in 10 years. I'm starting to wondering if he might be right... I found the idea of five year reunions ridiculous- people are barely out of college, for cryin' out loud.
So, to go or not to go? Part of me thinks it'd be nice to just go, relax, chill with people and get completely smashed on free beer. The other part of me resents what these reunions can end up being about: the 'ooh, look at me' factor. That's just irritating. I don't have a damn thing about my life to apologize for, so I think I'd just resent the hell out of being put in a situation where I might think about doing so. Plus, as the Missus pointed out at her ten year reunion with Facebook you tend to already know what's going on in everybody's life anyway (more than you probably want too, if you're being really honest about it) which tends to dull the conversation a little bit.
To go or not to go? At this point, given the fact it'd cost me $40 big ones at the door I'm leaning more towards no and yet...
I think this might be a game time decision, kids- tickets are apparently staying at $25 at the door. So stay tuned!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Sigh... Must There Be A Trophy?
Well, it's not as bad as the Epic Fail of a Cy-Hawk Trophy they had to withdraw, but all in all, consider me uninspired. A block of a wood topped by a football? It looka nice, I'll give it that and I'm coming around to the concept of a Heroes Game- I'm actually thinking it's pretty cool when you start thinking about it.
But if heroism is the theme, instead of sticking shields to the side of a wood block, why not have the trophy be a full on shield? THE CORN SHIELD TROPHY for the ANNUAL HEROES GAME. That sounds pretty bad ass to me. I'm sure these guys would agree as well.
Saleh Out?
I'd like to believe it, but hasn't he agreed to transfer power like six times before? I will believe it when I see it, put it that way-- but hopefully, it'll happen.
Anne McCaffery, 1926-2011
Noted science fiction and fantasy author Anne McCaffery has died at the age of 85. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award, was elected a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 2005. Her book, The White Dragon was the first science fiction novel ever to land on the New York Times best seller list.
She is also widely credited for changing the genre of science fiction-fantasy as we know it. Her blending of both genres was groundbreaking and she wrote her first novel Restoree in response to the unrealistic portrayals of women in science fiction and is all around one of my favorite authors of all time.
Although she was 85, this really and truly makes me sad. Of all the authors I've ever read, McCaffery has influenced me the most- she, along with David Eddings and probably Tolkein helped me to inculcate a love of reading and books that has never gone away- and something I hope never will go away.
Dragonflight, Dragonquest and The White Dragon remain some of the best books of the genre I've ever read. I remember we had an omnibus edition containing all three books and I must have read that thing so many times, it fell apart in my hands- and such was the love of these book in our house that when it fell apart, all three books were replaced. And I'm sure when those fall apart, they'll be replaced again.
The Rowan and its subsequent sequels and prequels were also eagerly devoured by me- I think I own all of them, scattered around either my house or my parents house and I'm sure a few of them will need replacing at some point in the near future, they've been read so many times.
Basically, her books got me through junior high and high school. They were comfort and escapism when I sorely needed them, they forever knocked down any notions of science fiction and fantasy being 'bad literature' or 'not literature' at all- read them and see for yourself. The women she wrote about in her books were strong, fierce and independent- knocking down another stereotype and influencing my own writing in the process. No scantily clad damsels in distress for McCaffery!
Everyone has authors that change their lives and Anne McCaffery changed mine.
She will be missed.
(And if you haven't picked up Dragonflight or The Rowan, stop what you're doing and find them. Now. You won't regret it, I promise you...)
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Indoctrinate U?
Hmmmmmm... I get leery when people start equating education with indoctrination, I really do. I'll acknowledge the shortcomings of the education system, but I never swallowed the b.s. my professors dealt me and I found it irritating when some of them were a little to obvious about their political leanings. I wasn't, after all, there to be preached at- I was there to learn something. Probably why I stayed firmly planted in Comparative Politics.
But, the Great Guru Instapundit linked to this article which has, I have to admit, a fairly decent analysis of Marxisms role in the Left's philosophy these days. It's an interesting read and just underlined the fact that I need to bone up on the political philosophy in a big way. I think I'll tackle Hernando De Soto after I finished my current book and keep going from there...
But, the Great Guru Instapundit linked to this article which has, I have to admit, a fairly decent analysis of Marxisms role in the Left's philosophy these days. It's an interesting read and just underlined the fact that I need to bone up on the political philosophy in a big way. I think I'll tackle Hernando De Soto after I finished my current book and keep going from there...
This Can't Be Good
Syrian rebels have launched an attack- their first- in Damascus, hitting a largely empty Baath Party building sending 'a message to the regime.' Syria is continuing to spiral out of control by the day and while a month ago, I thought Assad seemed more stable that Qaddafi ever did, now I'm not so sure. The Syrians might just manage to oust their dictator without a single NATO jet taking to the skies. (If there's any international intervention, I'm betting heavily on Turkey. They've got regional power aspirations and they're getting annoyed with Damacus and Assad's inability to see anything remotely resembling reason- while the Free Syrian Army gets more members by the day.)
But this does send a powerful message- Assad is in trouble. God willing and the creek don't rise, the Ayatollah and all his Merry Men might not be that far behind.
But this does send a powerful message- Assad is in trouble. God willing and the creek don't rise, the Ayatollah and all his Merry Men might not be that far behind.
Now This Is A Protest
Anyone who was on the Interwebs yesterday undoubtedly saw the video of the UC Davis Officer pepper spraying the Occupy protestors who were refusing to move on their campus. To me, that seemed somewhat excessive. First of all, there's no need to show the big-ass can of pepperspray to the crowd- second of all, they want to be arrested. You're going to end up dragging them away anyway, so why not just roll up your sleeves and get going with it? Pepper spraying just seemed unnecessary to me.
Of course, the Chancellor, Police Department and the University are all under fire- so when the Chancellor finished up her press conference on the matter yesterday, she walked out of the Admin building and was greeted with more protestors. Sitting in silence- lining her 3 block walk to the her SUV. Whether you agree with the Occupy crowd or not (I generally don't, but in this case, the police officer was in the wrong- there was no justification from what I can see for dousing peaceful protestors with pepper spray) you have to admit that it's a pretty powerful scene.
NPR has the vid, here. (Pepper Spray vid is also included.)
Of course, the Chancellor, Police Department and the University are all under fire- so when the Chancellor finished up her press conference on the matter yesterday, she walked out of the Admin building and was greeted with more protestors. Sitting in silence- lining her 3 block walk to the her SUV. Whether you agree with the Occupy crowd or not (I generally don't, but in this case, the police officer was in the wrong- there was no justification from what I can see for dousing peaceful protestors with pepper spray) you have to admit that it's a pretty powerful scene.
NPR has the vid, here. (Pepper Spray vid is also included.)
Friday, November 18, 2011
Late Night Chronicles 85: I Want To Believe
Published on Facebook, 11/18/2011
I'm frustrated. I've finally come to the conclusion that I just don't understand liberals and it's start to depress me because it's looking increasingly like I never will. I've listened and I've tried and tried- I own all seven seasons of The West Wing. I read Huffington Post every single day probably- I check out Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos from time to time. I love NPR. I can't get through a day without it. Shit, I've ever started reading Mother Jones all in an attempt to understand and finally achieve that long sought after break through so I can finally understand just where the hell liberals are coming from.
And don't get me wrong: I'm not a Republican by any stretch of the imagination. There's a fundamental hyopcrisy about modern conservative though that just nauseates me. I can't stand sermons about the evils of government followed by demands for control of pornography, marriage, women's bodies, what's on television and what we listen to in the very next breath. Either you're for small government or you're not. Pick one.
So I can't be Republican. I just can't do it. I might be able to dabble in aspects of Libertarianism and even (the chill, non-violent, I'm a political theory class so leave me alone, all right?) bits of Anarchism, but other than that? Pass.
Problem is, intellectually try as I might, I just can't get all the way onboard with the whole Progressive-Liberal-Lefty thing and after much deep, dark, deliberation I think I've come across some reasons why:
It makes me insane when liberals keep throwing the past in my face. What are y'all? Conservatives? You can't throw the whole 'but the Republicans want to take us back the 50s and the uptight, racist, misogynist Leave It To Beaver Crap' when Progressive ideology seems bent on achieving the ultimate goals of the New Deal- from the 30s!. Fight for unions, you say- you can take bathroom breaks and have the 40 hour work week and 8 hour work day, thanks to them. And I do thank them. But when unions are fighting for two-tiered wage systems that penalize younger workers (like myself) in favor of older ones and when new teachers hired and usually the first fired, I've got to ask: just what have they done for me lately?
Take to the streets, you say- protesting stopped Vietnam! I remember when my Russian politics professor told me that on the eve of the Iraq War. We were going in there, come hell or high water and I had resigned myself to it at that point- I was just praying that we could do the job with a level of competence that wouldn't cost our fighting men and women their lives needlessly. I was wrong about that- and it still makes me angry to this day- but we were going in there. The decision had been made and no amount of drum circles or nostalgic rallies trying to get the graying ranks of academia to recall the follies of their youth was going to change that. The hard work of true Revolution is done at the ballot box- something that I'm hoping the Occupy Crowd wakes up to sooner rather than later.
And then, there's socialism. My God, all this weird obsession with socialism. European Social Democracy must be imported immediately! Nationalized health care! Nationalized banks! Take all the profits from the rich, greedy bastards and redistribute them amongst the masses! After all, it's only fair. After all, it's equal, after all- it works! Look at Europe! Yes, let's stop and look at Europe for a moment shall we. The Soviet Union collapsed in a heap and the European Union is about to implode. Still want to be like Europe? Still want nationalized health care? You probably shouldn't. Everyone think it'd be awesome if the government covered everybody and sure enough, everybody would have access to health care- but it's free health care. Just because something is free doesn't make it good, in my book. Do you really want the quality of your health care dependent on the government we elect? Sure, we elected Obama who seemed pretty competent at the time- but then again, we elected Dubya as well. Would you want him running your health care system? Then there's the most damning thing of all: people want the government to do things for them in this country. They just don't want to pay for it. Until you can square that circle at the ballot box with a convincing win- true national health care will remain just that: a dream.
The obsession with recapturing their youth that drives the Baby Boomer Generation is doing horrible, horrible things to Progressive-Lefty-Liberal politics in this country. The insistence on marches, because marches change the world! Occupation, because camping out in a park is going to make a difference! It's chock full of the same attitudes that pissed off 'the silent majority' way back in 1968 and got Nixon elected. When Newt Gingrich starts shopping around his secret plan to end the war, I'd start looking for ways to move to Canada, kids.
But despite my issues- I tend to lean left on a lot of things- and if not left, the pure hardcore libertarian. I want legalized pot. I want to end the Drug War because it's a waste of money. I'd like to end the Death Penalty for the same reason. I believe in marriage equality and get angry when a Democratic President doesn't have the balls to do the right thing because his 'views are evolving.' I do get queasy about abortion- I'm sorry if that's a true piece of heresy, but I do. Not because I know what it's like to have a uterus or anything, but because I think it sends a terrible message to young men that 'sowing your wild oats' is free, easy and for a few hundred bucks and cab fare to Planned Parenthood, entirely without consequences- at least for the young men. That offends me, because I was raised to take responsibility for my actions- and so, I think were a lot of other people. But aside from that I have problems with the notion that 'government knows best.' It doesn't. Abortion, whatever your feelings on it ultimately comes down to the actions of individuals faced with that choice.
And thus we expose the hyopcrisy inherent in modern Progressive-Liberal-Lefty thought: for drugs, marriage, abortion, the death penalty and a whole host of other issues- the government most definately does not know best. For everything else though, it does. And that confuses me. Congress, while millions of Americans are out of work and there are war raging across the world, today decided to declare that pizza was, in fact, a vegetable.
And you want these people running our health care system?
Now, I know what you're going to say: but Tooooooommmmm, it's not Congress, it's the evil corporations and banks that hold them in thrall! If we just get the right people in there, we can really get a lot of good things done for the country.
That's not going to do the trick kids. We send good people to Congress all the time. They've got modest incomes and big dreams and genuinely believe in public service and doing good for people yet somehow they stay forever retire after 20 years and step right into a lobbying job to soak up the big bucks. You want to get serious about this, you have to neuter the entrenched political class... but there are too many sweetheart deals heading to the Lefty-Progs-Liberals, so you won't.
It's all the more depressing, because I really do worry about the health of democracy in this country. (Some people worry about paying their bills, this is what I worry about. I'm a PoliSci freak- so don't judge!) I want strong, sensible, consistent ends to my political spectrum. I'd like voting reform so we can squeeze in at least one more party to keep the other two honest. I'd like a government that can lend a helping hand when people genuinely need it and then leave everyone else the hell alone as much as possible. I'd like to go to a Caucus and not worry that I need neurological examination because I believe the candidate who wants to put us back on the Gold Standard is the least bad option of all the options out there- left and right! I'd like to be proud to vote for a true Liberal or even a true Conservative- a true anybody would be a good start!
I know that true Revolution is more than camping in a park or marching in a street. It's meetings- a shitload of 'em. (Tell me where, kids, I'll show up.) I know we can do better as a country- I'd just like a little hint that I'm not alone in that thought. I'd like to put hardcore, fierce Independents directly into the mainstream of political discourse in this country and I'd love to take down the entrenched establishment in the process.
But when it comes to mainstream- whatever that means- politics in this country, I feel a lot like Fox Mulder right at the very start of The X-Files. Big glasses, crappy haircut and a burning, feverish desire to believe.
I want to believe. Can you help me, please?
.
I'm frustrated. I've finally come to the conclusion that I just don't understand liberals and it's start to depress me because it's looking increasingly like I never will. I've listened and I've tried and tried- I own all seven seasons of The West Wing. I read Huffington Post every single day probably- I check out Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos from time to time. I love NPR. I can't get through a day without it. Shit, I've ever started reading Mother Jones all in an attempt to understand and finally achieve that long sought after break through so I can finally understand just where the hell liberals are coming from.
And don't get me wrong: I'm not a Republican by any stretch of the imagination. There's a fundamental hyopcrisy about modern conservative though that just nauseates me. I can't stand sermons about the evils of government followed by demands for control of pornography, marriage, women's bodies, what's on television and what we listen to in the very next breath. Either you're for small government or you're not. Pick one.
So I can't be Republican. I just can't do it. I might be able to dabble in aspects of Libertarianism and even (the chill, non-violent, I'm a political theory class so leave me alone, all right?) bits of Anarchism, but other than that? Pass.
Problem is, intellectually try as I might, I just can't get all the way onboard with the whole Progressive-Liberal-Lefty thing and after much deep, dark, deliberation I think I've come across some reasons why:
It makes me insane when liberals keep throwing the past in my face. What are y'all? Conservatives? You can't throw the whole 'but the Republicans want to take us back the 50s and the uptight, racist, misogynist Leave It To Beaver Crap' when Progressive ideology seems bent on achieving the ultimate goals of the New Deal- from the 30s!. Fight for unions, you say- you can take bathroom breaks and have the 40 hour work week and 8 hour work day, thanks to them. And I do thank them. But when unions are fighting for two-tiered wage systems that penalize younger workers (like myself) in favor of older ones and when new teachers hired and usually the first fired, I've got to ask: just what have they done for me lately?
Take to the streets, you say- protesting stopped Vietnam! I remember when my Russian politics professor told me that on the eve of the Iraq War. We were going in there, come hell or high water and I had resigned myself to it at that point- I was just praying that we could do the job with a level of competence that wouldn't cost our fighting men and women their lives needlessly. I was wrong about that- and it still makes me angry to this day- but we were going in there. The decision had been made and no amount of drum circles or nostalgic rallies trying to get the graying ranks of academia to recall the follies of their youth was going to change that. The hard work of true Revolution is done at the ballot box- something that I'm hoping the Occupy Crowd wakes up to sooner rather than later.
And then, there's socialism. My God, all this weird obsession with socialism. European Social Democracy must be imported immediately! Nationalized health care! Nationalized banks! Take all the profits from the rich, greedy bastards and redistribute them amongst the masses! After all, it's only fair. After all, it's equal, after all- it works! Look at Europe! Yes, let's stop and look at Europe for a moment shall we. The Soviet Union collapsed in a heap and the European Union is about to implode. Still want to be like Europe? Still want nationalized health care? You probably shouldn't. Everyone think it'd be awesome if the government covered everybody and sure enough, everybody would have access to health care- but it's free health care. Just because something is free doesn't make it good, in my book. Do you really want the quality of your health care dependent on the government we elect? Sure, we elected Obama who seemed pretty competent at the time- but then again, we elected Dubya as well. Would you want him running your health care system? Then there's the most damning thing of all: people want the government to do things for them in this country. They just don't want to pay for it. Until you can square that circle at the ballot box with a convincing win- true national health care will remain just that: a dream.
The obsession with recapturing their youth that drives the Baby Boomer Generation is doing horrible, horrible things to Progressive-Lefty-Liberal politics in this country. The insistence on marches, because marches change the world! Occupation, because camping out in a park is going to make a difference! It's chock full of the same attitudes that pissed off 'the silent majority' way back in 1968 and got Nixon elected. When Newt Gingrich starts shopping around his secret plan to end the war, I'd start looking for ways to move to Canada, kids.
But despite my issues- I tend to lean left on a lot of things- and if not left, the pure hardcore libertarian. I want legalized pot. I want to end the Drug War because it's a waste of money. I'd like to end the Death Penalty for the same reason. I believe in marriage equality and get angry when a Democratic President doesn't have the balls to do the right thing because his 'views are evolving.' I do get queasy about abortion- I'm sorry if that's a true piece of heresy, but I do. Not because I know what it's like to have a uterus or anything, but because I think it sends a terrible message to young men that 'sowing your wild oats' is free, easy and for a few hundred bucks and cab fare to Planned Parenthood, entirely without consequences- at least for the young men. That offends me, because I was raised to take responsibility for my actions- and so, I think were a lot of other people. But aside from that I have problems with the notion that 'government knows best.' It doesn't. Abortion, whatever your feelings on it ultimately comes down to the actions of individuals faced with that choice.
And thus we expose the hyopcrisy inherent in modern Progressive-Liberal-Lefty thought: for drugs, marriage, abortion, the death penalty and a whole host of other issues- the government most definately does not know best. For everything else though, it does. And that confuses me. Congress, while millions of Americans are out of work and there are war raging across the world, today decided to declare that pizza was, in fact, a vegetable.
And you want these people running our health care system?
Now, I know what you're going to say: but Tooooooommmmm, it's not Congress, it's the evil corporations and banks that hold them in thrall! If we just get the right people in there, we can really get a lot of good things done for the country.
That's not going to do the trick kids. We send good people to Congress all the time. They've got modest incomes and big dreams and genuinely believe in public service and doing good for people yet somehow they stay forever retire after 20 years and step right into a lobbying job to soak up the big bucks. You want to get serious about this, you have to neuter the entrenched political class... but there are too many sweetheart deals heading to the Lefty-Progs-Liberals, so you won't.
It's all the more depressing, because I really do worry about the health of democracy in this country. (Some people worry about paying their bills, this is what I worry about. I'm a PoliSci freak- so don't judge!) I want strong, sensible, consistent ends to my political spectrum. I'd like voting reform so we can squeeze in at least one more party to keep the other two honest. I'd like a government that can lend a helping hand when people genuinely need it and then leave everyone else the hell alone as much as possible. I'd like to go to a Caucus and not worry that I need neurological examination because I believe the candidate who wants to put us back on the Gold Standard is the least bad option of all the options out there- left and right! I'd like to be proud to vote for a true Liberal or even a true Conservative- a true anybody would be a good start!
I know that true Revolution is more than camping in a park or marching in a street. It's meetings- a shitload of 'em. (Tell me where, kids, I'll show up.) I know we can do better as a country- I'd just like a little hint that I'm not alone in that thought. I'd like to put hardcore, fierce Independents directly into the mainstream of political discourse in this country and I'd love to take down the entrenched establishment in the process.
But when it comes to mainstream- whatever that means- politics in this country, I feel a lot like Fox Mulder right at the very start of The X-Files. Big glasses, crappy haircut and a burning, feverish desire to believe.
I want to believe. Can you help me, please?
.
Albums2010 #49: Achtung Baby
I'm not convinced this is as good as The Joshua Tree. But then again, I really think that U2 peaked with The Joshua Tree and it's been more or less downhill ever since for the lads from Ireland. However, in making that assessment, I never really took the time to actually do an up close and personal listen of the follow-up to The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby.
There's a nice contrast between Joshua and Achtung that's worth exploring, I think. To me, what makes Joshua beautiful is it's scale. It was very much an album of place, a product of it's setting in the American west. You hear songs like 'Where The Streets Have No Name' and it's everything west. West of here, east of the ocean. It's big, bombastic and beautiful. I'll always love it.
Achtung is a little different. It took me a little bit to twig to it, because when the casual listener thinks Achtung Baby, I think they think of 'Mysterious Ways' and 'One' and that's pretty much it. If you're a bit of a U2 fan you'll dig deeper and the contrast becomes clearer. This is a break with U2's previous sound- they're moving into darker, edgier, industrial territory with elements of electronica and alternative rock thrown in for good measure.
A scan of Wikipedia (the font of all knowledge) reveals this was a tough record for U2: they came close to breaking up over it and seeking inspiration on the eve of German reunification, they recorded part of the album in Berlin only to find the German capitol wrapped in a malaise that didn't help matters any. Ironically, the band smoothed over their difficulties when they came together and broke through on the writing of 'One'.
As for the album itself: Basically, the first five tracks of the album are good. Really, really good. 'Zoo Station' is a growling, explosive opener that serves notice that this isn't going to be The Joshua Tree or Rattle and Hum, so buckle up. 'Even Better Than The Real Thing', 'One', 'Until The End Of The World' and 'Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses' all build the album nicely. I didn't really have an issue with this album until I got to track number 6, 'So Cruel'- where Bono gets a little too... moaney, wailey? I don't know. He gets annoying.
He makes up for it one the next track with 'The Fly'- 'Mysterious Ways' (which follows 'The Fly') is classic U2- and probably one of the more radio friendly tracks they've got in their catalogue. 'Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World' slows things down nicely- but Bono keeps his moaning and wailing under control. 'Ultra Violet' features some wicked bass and guitar work. 'Acrobat' is nice and then it closes with 'Love Is Blindness'. Over all, it's a nice departure for U2- not as a political- Bono hasn't quite reached his peak of saving Africa from absolutely everything yet and the band really explores personal themes, probably, I would venture to guess mirroring some of the tensions in the band at the time.
Their sound shifts too, which is one of the things you have to admire about U2. You go from angry young Irish men in War to big, bombastic rock in The Joshua Tree to more hardcore, edgy, industrial sounding electronica type of sounds in Achtung Baby- that despite the shift in their sound, still remains fundamentally, rock n'roll.
Overall: I remain steadfast in my love for the The Joshua Tree- however, kids, I'm forced to admit that if you're going to go through the grueling process of deciding what are the best U2 albums ever made, you've got to put this one up there. Maybe, just maybe, it comes in second behind War. Maybe- and if it does, it's by the skin of it's teeth. But still- a very good album!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The Captains-- A Review
Kids, this might not be a galloping shock to you, but I'm a nerd. And I love Star Trek. So when I heard about this fascinating little documentary, I was hoping, hoping, hoping that it would end up streaming on Netflix and lo and behold, it has. And it rocks.
What is it? Basically, William Shatner (the original Captain Kirk) goes around and interviews all the other Star Trek captains (Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula and Chris Pine) to find out how they got their start in acting, what drives them and how they brought their own unique perspective to the role- in other words, the original Captain is out to see what makes all the other tick and how Star Trek (and it's various incarnations) changed their careers and their lives. Even if you're not a fan of Star Trek, it's a fascinating little portrait of, whether you dig that sort of thing or not, a bona-fide piece of pop culture.
You don't think about it when you watch television, but a full-time weekly television show is one hell of a time commitment and the personal cost of throwing that much of yourself into your job is something you don't really think about it. Bakula's been divorced, so has Shatner and Stewart. Mulgrew had kids (and was a single mom) while she was on Voyager and they resented the hell out of her job and it's time commitments. (Shatner and Mulgrew have a fascinating discussion about gender identities in Hollywood-- motherhood and nature versus nurture, Shatner seems like he doesn't get it, but he finally gets Mulgrew to admit that she could have done more- and wanted to do more its almost heart breaking.)
Could I just say: I love Avery Brooks in this- he comes off a little strangely at first, but it's amazing to realize that the guy's life centers around music. Once you twig to that, you get it: he's a laid back, jazz musician with a touch of new age guru about it. (And he's the only one of the Captain not to have been divorced, interestingly enough. I don't know if that means something, but it's interesting to note.)
The other thing that was fascinating to watch was the ties of commonality between all of these actors- Stewart points out that Shatner originated the role and the rest of them just developed off of what he did. These are all hardcore actors who've done some heavy, heavy things over the years and with Shatner aboard for the ride, things get a little heavy- Shatner speaks of his fear of death, they discuss what comes after and Avery Brooks, wow, this guy steals the whole show, really- because he's so connected to music and so musical in a very real sense, he speaks more with his piano than with his voice.
Overall: **** out of ****! This is a fascinating little movie- I love it. It's an absolute must-see for any fan of Star Trek- but more importantly, I think, it's a quiet journey by Shatner to come to grips with the big, career defining role of Captain Kirk and gain insight into just what makes the Captains that followed him, tick.
Write An Email, People...
Kids,
I know like 3 people read this thing on a regular basis- and for that, I thank you, but it's time for a little bit of internet activism
http://americancensorship.org/
Congress wants to censor the Internet. Please tell them to stop it. Right now... write a letter, email, whatever it takes!
cheers,
The Cigar
I know like 3 people read this thing on a regular basis- and for that, I thank you, but it's time for a little bit of internet activism
http://americancensorship.org/
Congress wants to censor the Internet. Please tell them to stop it. Right now... write a letter, email, whatever it takes!
cheers,
The Cigar
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
The Scorecard #6
HS: Regina is still rolling it's way towards another state title... not that should surprise anyone all that much. (But Dyersville-Beckman made 'em work up a sweat to get back into the title game! There are chinks in the juggernaut, apparently.)
Bonus HS: In an unusual turn of events, City High took on West High in an all Iowa City 4A volleyball title game- West took the big prize, 3-2-- but nice job by both teams getting there. Always cool to see Iowa City grab a title in anything....
College: Well, what can we say? I had a feeling we were going to split the Michigans and I was proved correct, but I don't think it necessarily had to be that way. Iowa pretty much spent the first half gift-wrapping the game and helping Sparty tie a pretty bow on top and that first quarter- wow, that was a complete shambles. The week-to-week consistency with this Iowa team is probably the most frustrating thing about it, but watching them surge back to grab 21 points in the second half showed that we can actually play football. It's just that for whatever reason, we took the first half off yesterday. I do think we've got a decent shot against Purdue (if Sparty can learn not to suck on the road, so we can we) and Nebraska will be super-tough at home, but I think we've got the skill level to at least give them a game. (Though curiously, Nebraska's been up and down this year too. How do you stomp Sparty and then lay a turd against Northwestern the very next week? Iowa can apparently give you lessons, if you're wondering.) So I'm thinking 7-5 would be optimistic (and would probably land us a bowl appearance of some kind) and 6-6 would be more likely making a bowl appearance something we should thank our lucky stars for, if we get one at all.
I'm sure the usual howls for heads of the coaching staff will probably go up, but I'm willing to take a breath and let the season play out before we talk about that. I'm sure Hayden Fry reshuffled things from time to time during his tenure and I'm sure Ferentz will (hopefully) get around to doing the same thing. I don't think we need to radically alter our basic offensive philosophy (Iowa will always be a run first kind of team) but getting an offense that's not so damn 1 dimensional would be nice. How many times did Coker run straight up the gut for a half a yard yesterday? Did we try pitching it? Rolling it to the outside? A reverse? Anything? If the entire conference can read your playbook, we should probably do something the other guy's not expecting from time to time and see what happens. At this point- what do we have to lose?
And kids: Sparty took more dives than a European soccer team yesterday. Neither our defense nor our offense is that big, bad and mean... The Cigar smells some horseshit at work.
Bonus College: I know it's only a football game, but Penn State versus Nebraska provided some of the most powerful, emotional moments I've ever seen on television. Penn State lost- but only by 3, but I think they took the first steps towards turning a corner on this horrible, horrible mess- and that should be seen as a win in the long run. (Question of the day: former AD Curley and VP Schultz perjured themselves and covered up child rape yet are still employed by Penn State- they're on administrative leave. Joe Paterno told the people he was supposed to tell, yet got fired. Everybody should still get fired, kids- but there's two more people that need pink slips out there.)
And in a creepy interview last night on NBC, Jerry Sandusky admitted to showering with kids, but denied being sexually attracted to young people and being a pedophile. How you square that particular circle is beyond me...
Bonus Bonus College: Boise State? Seriously? Again? Yep, they muffed a kick and ended their BCS title hopes- such as they were at home against TCU yesterday in a thoroughly entertaining game I watched on Versus. (Daddy like his Direct TV, yee-haw!) What blew my mind though: their kicker had a long of 32. That seems awfully short to me-- for all the high powered offense they have, you'd think they'd invest in a decent kicker.
Stanford lost to Oregon meaning that there are 3 unbeaten teams left standing right now- Oklahoma State, LSU and Houston. Houston, although I think Case Keenum is ridiculous (how do you score 9 TDs in one game? Even if you are playing Rice, that's riDICulous...) doesn't have the resume, though if they go undefeated they should feel free to bitch about the short comings of the BCS- everybody else does! Oklahoma State has Iowa State and then the Bedlamn against Oklahoma left. LSU has Ole Miss, Arkansas and then a probable SEC title game against Georgia (I'm assuming) left. If the two of them win out, then they should be in, no problem. If they don't, then all heck will break loose and if I'm Houston, I'd be gentley pointing out that I'm the only undefeated team left standing (that's if they get by SMU and Tulsa, which I'm betting they will.) The tiresome arguments about LSU-Bama, LSU-Oregon rematches will re-emerge and it'll just suck. So Cowboys: you best stay focused these last two games...
Pros: 45-7, Green Bay. 'Nuff said...
Bonus: I know it's only a friendly, but England managed to slide past defending World Champs Spain to the tune of 1-0. Impressive!
Bonus HS: In an unusual turn of events, City High took on West High in an all Iowa City 4A volleyball title game- West took the big prize, 3-2-- but nice job by both teams getting there. Always cool to see Iowa City grab a title in anything....
College: Well, what can we say? I had a feeling we were going to split the Michigans and I was proved correct, but I don't think it necessarily had to be that way. Iowa pretty much spent the first half gift-wrapping the game and helping Sparty tie a pretty bow on top and that first quarter- wow, that was a complete shambles. The week-to-week consistency with this Iowa team is probably the most frustrating thing about it, but watching them surge back to grab 21 points in the second half showed that we can actually play football. It's just that for whatever reason, we took the first half off yesterday. I do think we've got a decent shot against Purdue (if Sparty can learn not to suck on the road, so we can we) and Nebraska will be super-tough at home, but I think we've got the skill level to at least give them a game. (Though curiously, Nebraska's been up and down this year too. How do you stomp Sparty and then lay a turd against Northwestern the very next week? Iowa can apparently give you lessons, if you're wondering.) So I'm thinking 7-5 would be optimistic (and would probably land us a bowl appearance of some kind) and 6-6 would be more likely making a bowl appearance something we should thank our lucky stars for, if we get one at all.
I'm sure the usual howls for heads of the coaching staff will probably go up, but I'm willing to take a breath and let the season play out before we talk about that. I'm sure Hayden Fry reshuffled things from time to time during his tenure and I'm sure Ferentz will (hopefully) get around to doing the same thing. I don't think we need to radically alter our basic offensive philosophy (Iowa will always be a run first kind of team) but getting an offense that's not so damn 1 dimensional would be nice. How many times did Coker run straight up the gut for a half a yard yesterday? Did we try pitching it? Rolling it to the outside? A reverse? Anything? If the entire conference can read your playbook, we should probably do something the other guy's not expecting from time to time and see what happens. At this point- what do we have to lose?
And kids: Sparty took more dives than a European soccer team yesterday. Neither our defense nor our offense is that big, bad and mean... The Cigar smells some horseshit at work.
Bonus College: I know it's only a football game, but Penn State versus Nebraska provided some of the most powerful, emotional moments I've ever seen on television. Penn State lost- but only by 3, but I think they took the first steps towards turning a corner on this horrible, horrible mess- and that should be seen as a win in the long run. (Question of the day: former AD Curley and VP Schultz perjured themselves and covered up child rape yet are still employed by Penn State- they're on administrative leave. Joe Paterno told the people he was supposed to tell, yet got fired. Everybody should still get fired, kids- but there's two more people that need pink slips out there.)
And in a creepy interview last night on NBC, Jerry Sandusky admitted to showering with kids, but denied being sexually attracted to young people and being a pedophile. How you square that particular circle is beyond me...
Bonus Bonus College: Boise State? Seriously? Again? Yep, they muffed a kick and ended their BCS title hopes- such as they were at home against TCU yesterday in a thoroughly entertaining game I watched on Versus. (Daddy like his Direct TV, yee-haw!) What blew my mind though: their kicker had a long of 32. That seems awfully short to me-- for all the high powered offense they have, you'd think they'd invest in a decent kicker.
Stanford lost to Oregon meaning that there are 3 unbeaten teams left standing right now- Oklahoma State, LSU and Houston. Houston, although I think Case Keenum is ridiculous (how do you score 9 TDs in one game? Even if you are playing Rice, that's riDICulous...) doesn't have the resume, though if they go undefeated they should feel free to bitch about the short comings of the BCS- everybody else does! Oklahoma State has Iowa State and then the Bedlamn against Oklahoma left. LSU has Ole Miss, Arkansas and then a probable SEC title game against Georgia (I'm assuming) left. If the two of them win out, then they should be in, no problem. If they don't, then all heck will break loose and if I'm Houston, I'd be gentley pointing out that I'm the only undefeated team left standing (that's if they get by SMU and Tulsa, which I'm betting they will.) The tiresome arguments about LSU-Bama, LSU-Oregon rematches will re-emerge and it'll just suck. So Cowboys: you best stay focused these last two games...
Pros: 45-7, Green Bay. 'Nuff said...
Bonus: I know it's only a friendly, but England managed to slide past defending World Champs Spain to the tune of 1-0. Impressive!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Post-Election Hangover: 2011 Edition
It's been a couple of days now but I've had enough time to digest what happened and here's my rundown on what happened:
Mississippi: That idiotic Personhood thing went down. I was extremely happy about this- by all accounts, this, had it passed, would have made abortion, most, if not all forms of birth control illegal as well as IVF. The concept remains disgusting to me not only on a philosophical level but a moral and theological one as well. My biggest issue with the pro-life movement remains their conflicted and frankly immoral stance on the issue of birth control. You can't yell and shout about a genocide of the unborn and then not use every weapon you have at hand to combat such a moral evil. That means, Plan B, Condoms, whatever it takes- yet there's this moral equivalence and insistence on forcing procreation on people who do not want it. If you're not willing to take care of and love a child, you should not be bringing one into the world! And if the government takes away your ability to responsibly plan a family, then that government is guilty of a great moral evil indeed. If it ain't going to work in Mississippi, then it ain't going to work anywhere else. Hopefully this idea dies. Forever. (And as someone who's trying to start a family, the idea that the government might restrict something like IVF and take away- potentially anyway- my right to have a family is disgusting.)
Ohio: Hmmmm... the anti-union thing failed. But I don't think this is the end of it- I think Republicans will convene again after the New Year and take it one piece at a time and probably get a lot of it through- especially the parts about public employees contributing more towards their pensions and health care. So I don't think this is the titanic victory that Democrats want this to be.
Iowa: Senate District 18, however, was a big victory. Liz Mathis blew out Cindy Golding up in Marion last night, despite a last minute, disgusting robo-call informing voters that Mathis endorsed homosexual acts and they should ask her which specific ones she was down with-- it's hysterically funny to me that when Kim Kardashian can spend 10 million on a wedding and get divorced after 71 days, that Republicans are worried about gay marriage. Get some perspective, Republicans. Quickly please.
Iowa City/Johnson County: Hayek and Payne, Dobyns and Throgmorton all got in- though Payne clipped Patel (whom I voted for) by a mere 232 votes. Chicken Man Mitchell was a distant 4th out of the at-large candidates. I stand by my votes- I didn't bother to vote for District A or C- and was kind of surprised that was an option and didn't want to risk spoiling my ballot by doing so. By all accounts Throgmorton is a solid choice. Dobyns seems to be the lesser of two evils in District A.
But anyway- I stand by my votes. Hayek has done nothing particularly to offend me- he's a young, competent guy who has made an impressive commitment to the community. Patel had similar credentials, but it was his age more than anything else that sold me. In a community where large amounts of young people play an integral part in community life and contribute to the economy we need someone young on the Council- his potential perspective was what I valued the most. Payne was too much of an insider and Mitchell... well... was way too out there for my liking.
What bugged me though, was the damn hippies in College Green Park. What the hell is this Occupy thing worth if they can't make any meaningful impact on local politics? Hell, even electing Mitchell would have been something- campaigning for voter turnout sure would have been nice. When University Heights can muster 59% of its eligible voters to the polls and Iowa City can't even crack 20% it's time for Occupy to get off it's ass and do something- quit occupying College Green Park and try a voting booth on for size. It'd be warmer at least... Cease killing grass and wasting space and produce a tangible result- otherwise, what's the point? The old maxim- All Politics Is Local holds true- if they want to change the world, they have to start right here in Iowa City. The lack of local agenda, the lack of any effort on their part to give a shit about this City exposes the local bunch of Occupiers for what I've long expected them to be: posers.
However- it's not just their fault! Iowa City as a whole has shown an impressive lack of connection to local politics yet wonders why downtown and the City as a whole works the way it does... I hate to sound preachy and liberal, but maybe some Aaron Sorkin might actually get through to the denizens of the People's Republic of Iowa City: decisions are made by those who show up.
We get the Council we deserve and as a result our local apathy will get us the town we deserve. On the whole, I believe that Iowa City can and should strive to do better.
Mississippi: That idiotic Personhood thing went down. I was extremely happy about this- by all accounts, this, had it passed, would have made abortion, most, if not all forms of birth control illegal as well as IVF. The concept remains disgusting to me not only on a philosophical level but a moral and theological one as well. My biggest issue with the pro-life movement remains their conflicted and frankly immoral stance on the issue of birth control. You can't yell and shout about a genocide of the unborn and then not use every weapon you have at hand to combat such a moral evil. That means, Plan B, Condoms, whatever it takes- yet there's this moral equivalence and insistence on forcing procreation on people who do not want it. If you're not willing to take care of and love a child, you should not be bringing one into the world! And if the government takes away your ability to responsibly plan a family, then that government is guilty of a great moral evil indeed. If it ain't going to work in Mississippi, then it ain't going to work anywhere else. Hopefully this idea dies. Forever. (And as someone who's trying to start a family, the idea that the government might restrict something like IVF and take away- potentially anyway- my right to have a family is disgusting.)
Ohio: Hmmmm... the anti-union thing failed. But I don't think this is the end of it- I think Republicans will convene again after the New Year and take it one piece at a time and probably get a lot of it through- especially the parts about public employees contributing more towards their pensions and health care. So I don't think this is the titanic victory that Democrats want this to be.
Iowa: Senate District 18, however, was a big victory. Liz Mathis blew out Cindy Golding up in Marion last night, despite a last minute, disgusting robo-call informing voters that Mathis endorsed homosexual acts and they should ask her which specific ones she was down with-- it's hysterically funny to me that when Kim Kardashian can spend 10 million on a wedding and get divorced after 71 days, that Republicans are worried about gay marriage. Get some perspective, Republicans. Quickly please.
Iowa City/Johnson County: Hayek and Payne, Dobyns and Throgmorton all got in- though Payne clipped Patel (whom I voted for) by a mere 232 votes. Chicken Man Mitchell was a distant 4th out of the at-large candidates. I stand by my votes- I didn't bother to vote for District A or C- and was kind of surprised that was an option and didn't want to risk spoiling my ballot by doing so. By all accounts Throgmorton is a solid choice. Dobyns seems to be the lesser of two evils in District A.
But anyway- I stand by my votes. Hayek has done nothing particularly to offend me- he's a young, competent guy who has made an impressive commitment to the community. Patel had similar credentials, but it was his age more than anything else that sold me. In a community where large amounts of young people play an integral part in community life and contribute to the economy we need someone young on the Council- his potential perspective was what I valued the most. Payne was too much of an insider and Mitchell... well... was way too out there for my liking.
What bugged me though, was the damn hippies in College Green Park. What the hell is this Occupy thing worth if they can't make any meaningful impact on local politics? Hell, even electing Mitchell would have been something- campaigning for voter turnout sure would have been nice. When University Heights can muster 59% of its eligible voters to the polls and Iowa City can't even crack 20% it's time for Occupy to get off it's ass and do something- quit occupying College Green Park and try a voting booth on for size. It'd be warmer at least... Cease killing grass and wasting space and produce a tangible result- otherwise, what's the point? The old maxim- All Politics Is Local holds true- if they want to change the world, they have to start right here in Iowa City. The lack of local agenda, the lack of any effort on their part to give a shit about this City exposes the local bunch of Occupiers for what I've long expected them to be: posers.
However- it's not just their fault! Iowa City as a whole has shown an impressive lack of connection to local politics yet wonders why downtown and the City as a whole works the way it does... I hate to sound preachy and liberal, but maybe some Aaron Sorkin might actually get through to the denizens of the People's Republic of Iowa City: decisions are made by those who show up.
We get the Council we deserve and as a result our local apathy will get us the town we deserve. On the whole, I believe that Iowa City can and should strive to do better.
Fire Everybody
Kids, I was wrong. I had hoped, struggling to understand just what the hell happened at Penn State that there was something, some crucial piece of information out there that might have given credence to Joe Paterno's claim of 'misunderstanding' exactly what the graduate assistant was trying to tell him, but that doesn't appear to be the case. What he was told was that 'something of a sexual nature' had occurred.
Color me crazy, but even that is pretty clear. In fact, if someone told me, hey there's the 60 year old guy showering with a 10 year old boy, I'd be calling the police to make a report. At that point, the dignified thing to do was not issue some statement announcing your retirement, magnanimously trying 'to make things as easy as possible' for the Board of Trustees. The dignified thing to do was resign right then and there.
Turns out the Board of Trustees at Penn State didn't need the help from JoePa to make things easier. They fired him. Over the phone.
And then, there was a riot.
Yes, 2,000 plus students took to the streets of Happy Valley last night expressing their outrage over Paterno's ouster and flipped a news van, took down a light pole, gave ludicrously idiotic interviews to national media and got pepper spray fired at them for their troubles. The Post Paterno Era at Penn State began this morning with rumors swirling that Sandusky and his charity pimped young boys out to rich donors.
Jesus.
First of all: Fire everybody. Tom Bradley's first act as Interim Head Coach should have been to relieve Mike McQueary of his job. If you witness a rape and do nothing- I don't want you within ten feet of me much less working for me. Schultz and Curley, the Vice President and AD that covered this crap up? I believe they've been placed on administrative leave. Let's step up and up that to firing, shall we?
Second of all: students, you need to get some perspective... if you're going to have a riot, please, have a riot for the right reasons. After all, various officials at your university covered up child rape. Are your tuition dollars going to be used for legal fees? Are any of these scum drawing pensions from the University? Two crucial questions worth getting answers too and protesting about. But props to the students that held the candlelight vigils for the victims- it'd be nice if y'all would remember that this is about more than football. It's about the rape of children...
I have this ugly feeling that this is going to get worse. The Board of Trustees at Penn State might not even survive this- and one thing is for certain, they need to make the right hires at the top of the food chains so that the whole house has to be scrubbed shiny and clean.
Fire everybody and try not to drag this out. The Catholic Church has been trying obfuscation and shuffling and quiet 'putting out to pastures' for years and despite what you might read in the news, instead of tackling their scandal head on, they reduced it to death by a thousand cuts. A death that's still going on... again, kids, I'm not a Penn State fan. I'm not even from Pennsylvania- I'm just saying, proactive house cleaning is in order. Steam cleaning. Sand blasting. Whatever it takes and quickly.
Color me crazy, but even that is pretty clear. In fact, if someone told me, hey there's the 60 year old guy showering with a 10 year old boy, I'd be calling the police to make a report. At that point, the dignified thing to do was not issue some statement announcing your retirement, magnanimously trying 'to make things as easy as possible' for the Board of Trustees. The dignified thing to do was resign right then and there.
Turns out the Board of Trustees at Penn State didn't need the help from JoePa to make things easier. They fired him. Over the phone.
And then, there was a riot.
Yes, 2,000 plus students took to the streets of Happy Valley last night expressing their outrage over Paterno's ouster and flipped a news van, took down a light pole, gave ludicrously idiotic interviews to national media and got pepper spray fired at them for their troubles. The Post Paterno Era at Penn State began this morning with rumors swirling that Sandusky and his charity pimped young boys out to rich donors.
Jesus.
First of all: Fire everybody. Tom Bradley's first act as Interim Head Coach should have been to relieve Mike McQueary of his job. If you witness a rape and do nothing- I don't want you within ten feet of me much less working for me. Schultz and Curley, the Vice President and AD that covered this crap up? I believe they've been placed on administrative leave. Let's step up and up that to firing, shall we?
Second of all: students, you need to get some perspective... if you're going to have a riot, please, have a riot for the right reasons. After all, various officials at your university covered up child rape. Are your tuition dollars going to be used for legal fees? Are any of these scum drawing pensions from the University? Two crucial questions worth getting answers too and protesting about. But props to the students that held the candlelight vigils for the victims- it'd be nice if y'all would remember that this is about more than football. It's about the rape of children...
I have this ugly feeling that this is going to get worse. The Board of Trustees at Penn State might not even survive this- and one thing is for certain, they need to make the right hires at the top of the food chains so that the whole house has to be scrubbed shiny and clean.
Fire everybody and try not to drag this out. The Catholic Church has been trying obfuscation and shuffling and quiet 'putting out to pastures' for years and despite what you might read in the news, instead of tackling their scandal head on, they reduced it to death by a thousand cuts. A death that's still going on... again, kids, I'm not a Penn State fan. I'm not even from Pennsylvania- I'm just saying, proactive house cleaning is in order. Steam cleaning. Sand blasting. Whatever it takes and quickly.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
No Schadenfreude, Not This Time
Since I've been present on this Earth, there's only been one Coach at Penn State. Granted, they only joined the Big 10 when I was 10 in 1993, but my young mind didn't really pick up on that fact. All I knew back then was that Iowa didn't beat them all that much. There was that that one, glorious win at Happy Valley in my youth- in 1996, as it turns out, which was Iowa's first win against Penn State since 1983, 13 years before.
That (if memory serves me) was a huge win. In overtime. I remember someone (I want to say it was Sedrick Shaw) during that game smacking into The Coach and bowling him right over. He was a younger man then, so he picked himself up, brushed off his pants, fixed the player in question with a steely gaze from behind his now iconic, darkened glasses and continued coaching.
There have been other moments of course: the 'kick' in 2008, that blocked punt in 2009... but for some reason, of all the moments I remember, it was that win in 1996 that seems to stick out the most.
I'm not a Penn State fan. I grew up in Iowa City. I bleed, poop, pee black and gold- and ironically, it took working a third shift job and picking up a ton of hours of overtime to really do it, but I would probably consider myself a hardcore fan of Hawkeye Sports now for the first time in my life. But while I know who to cheer for whenever we play the Nittany Lions (and in recent years, beat the Nittany Lions) I can't say that I really hold any hardcore grudge against them. (Ohio State and Northwestern are victims of my ire currently. Give Michigan a couple of years and they'll probably be back on my shitlist too- yet, curiously, I've had little to no problem with Wisconsin, even when we play them. Probably because I love a good rivalry as much as the next person and it's all knotted up at 42 a piece between the Badgers and Hawkeyes, I'd say that qualifies- statisically at least.)
Penn State has always just kind of been there, guarding the Eastern most approaches to the Big 10 and I've never really thought of them as anything but a member of the Big 10. They seemed to fit right in, which is probably what made them such an attractive candidate to the Big 10 to begin with. There was something comforting almost about the sight of the wrinkled face and the raspy voice flashing across your television screen and growling, 'Come to Penn Staaaaate....' Coaches came, Coaches went, but there was always Paterno. He outlasted Schembechler and Hayes, Carr and Fry, Alvarez, Bryant and Bowden... meeting him, I've often thought, would be a lot like meeting Moses.
While I'll admit to a certain amount of schadenfreude at Ohio State's scandal, this isn't something you can gloat over. This is just sad, tragic and shocking all wrapped up into one awful bundle- and I'm nowhere near State College, PA right now. I can't imagine what loyal Penn State fans must be thinking right now- ESPN dug up a sportswriter who posted a nice column on Grantland today and interviewed him (plugging, of course, Grantland as they did so) and the poor guy looked to be absolutely shell-shocked. Scandals, it seems were something that happened at other schools. Penn State was built on Paterno's motto of 'success with honor' and it must be ringing very hollow for a lot of people today.
Multiple heads have got to roll but I don't know if Paterno's would be first on my list. The President of Penn State, Graham Spanier apparently gave his unqualified support to the two assbags that have been indicted for covering this up. He should resign. Today. Instead, it would not surprise me one little bit if he still has a job at the end of all of this while Coach Paterno takes the fall. That's not to say that I think Paterno isn't without some culpability in this- I just have to wonder if something got lost in translation at some point. If a graduate assistant came to you and said, 'hey, I saw a ten year old boy getting raped in our showers' I think I'd be calling the police first AND then my supervisors. I'd hope that the message got muddled or confused somehow- because if it was that direct, then while Coach Paterno may have fulfilled his legal responsibilities, he fumbled the ball on the moral ones.
So I hope the Penn State Board of Trustees does the right thing: let Coach Paterno finish out the season and retire with some semblance of dignity at least. (He's on the last year of his contract- it'd be easy just not to renew it, which is what I'm betting will happen.) The University owes him that. And I hope that the house cleaning is extensive and the Board takes as many heads as they need to in order to send the crystal clear message that they have absolutely zero tolerance for this kind of thing. Zero tolerance for covering it up and that they're going to do their utmost to make sure this never, ever happens again.
That (if memory serves me) was a huge win. In overtime. I remember someone (I want to say it was Sedrick Shaw) during that game smacking into The Coach and bowling him right over. He was a younger man then, so he picked himself up, brushed off his pants, fixed the player in question with a steely gaze from behind his now iconic, darkened glasses and continued coaching.
There have been other moments of course: the 'kick' in 2008, that blocked punt in 2009... but for some reason, of all the moments I remember, it was that win in 1996 that seems to stick out the most.
I'm not a Penn State fan. I grew up in Iowa City. I bleed, poop, pee black and gold- and ironically, it took working a third shift job and picking up a ton of hours of overtime to really do it, but I would probably consider myself a hardcore fan of Hawkeye Sports now for the first time in my life. But while I know who to cheer for whenever we play the Nittany Lions (and in recent years, beat the Nittany Lions) I can't say that I really hold any hardcore grudge against them. (Ohio State and Northwestern are victims of my ire currently. Give Michigan a couple of years and they'll probably be back on my shitlist too- yet, curiously, I've had little to no problem with Wisconsin, even when we play them. Probably because I love a good rivalry as much as the next person and it's all knotted up at 42 a piece between the Badgers and Hawkeyes, I'd say that qualifies- statisically at least.)
Penn State has always just kind of been there, guarding the Eastern most approaches to the Big 10 and I've never really thought of them as anything but a member of the Big 10. They seemed to fit right in, which is probably what made them such an attractive candidate to the Big 10 to begin with. There was something comforting almost about the sight of the wrinkled face and the raspy voice flashing across your television screen and growling, 'Come to Penn Staaaaate....' Coaches came, Coaches went, but there was always Paterno. He outlasted Schembechler and Hayes, Carr and Fry, Alvarez, Bryant and Bowden... meeting him, I've often thought, would be a lot like meeting Moses.
While I'll admit to a certain amount of schadenfreude at Ohio State's scandal, this isn't something you can gloat over. This is just sad, tragic and shocking all wrapped up into one awful bundle- and I'm nowhere near State College, PA right now. I can't imagine what loyal Penn State fans must be thinking right now- ESPN dug up a sportswriter who posted a nice column on Grantland today and interviewed him (plugging, of course, Grantland as they did so) and the poor guy looked to be absolutely shell-shocked. Scandals, it seems were something that happened at other schools. Penn State was built on Paterno's motto of 'success with honor' and it must be ringing very hollow for a lot of people today.
Multiple heads have got to roll but I don't know if Paterno's would be first on my list. The President of Penn State, Graham Spanier apparently gave his unqualified support to the two assbags that have been indicted for covering this up. He should resign. Today. Instead, it would not surprise me one little bit if he still has a job at the end of all of this while Coach Paterno takes the fall. That's not to say that I think Paterno isn't without some culpability in this- I just have to wonder if something got lost in translation at some point. If a graduate assistant came to you and said, 'hey, I saw a ten year old boy getting raped in our showers' I think I'd be calling the police first AND then my supervisors. I'd hope that the message got muddled or confused somehow- because if it was that direct, then while Coach Paterno may have fulfilled his legal responsibilities, he fumbled the ball on the moral ones.
So I hope the Penn State Board of Trustees does the right thing: let Coach Paterno finish out the season and retire with some semblance of dignity at least. (He's on the last year of his contract- it'd be easy just not to renew it, which is what I'm betting will happen.) The University owes him that. And I hope that the house cleaning is extensive and the Board takes as many heads as they need to in order to send the crystal clear message that they have absolutely zero tolerance for this kind of thing. Zero tolerance for covering it up and that they're going to do their utmost to make sure this never, ever happens again.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Bookshot #35: The Great Gatsby
Damn. Damn. Damn. So, I guess I'm going to have to confess, kids. I guess I'm going to have to bend over backwards and make that most humilating of admissions: I was wrong. Not only that, I was extremely wrong. For the life of me, I can't imagine what was I reading or thinking when I dragged my way through this book in the 11th Grade, because The Great Gatsby is a truly magnificent piece of literature that's eminently worth of inclusion in the curriculum of any American Lit class out there.
I think my original objections to Gatsby centered around one particularly long, painful discussion about the meaning of the green lantern at the end of Daisy Buchannan's dock in the book. In fact, for some reason, I seem to remember a lot of conversations about symbolism- and not just in reference to Gatsby. It seemed to be a recurring theme that year and I must have overdosed on excessive discussions of symbolism because by the time we got around to yellow cars and green lanterns and daisies on Daisy's dress, I had just had enough. I didn't care- I wanted straightforward, no bullshit, no hippy-dippy crap about the human experience or blah blah blah.
And that, kids, was a truly sad, tragic mistake of my youth: The Great Gatsby is amazing.
Gatsby tells the story of Nick Carraway, a young man who ventured out East to try and make some money in the bond business after World War I. He's very much out of place in the high-minded upper crust of East and West Egg New York, (two affluent communities on Long Island) but soon discovers his cousin and her husband have settled nearby (Daisy and Tom Buchannan). Carraway is pleased to visit his cousin, but shocked when someone reveals that her husband has a Mistress in New York City- and along with that, everyone is dying to get into one of the parties of Carraway's mysterious neighbor, the titular character of the book, Jay Gatsby.
In due course, it's revealed that Gatsby has harbored a long, unrequited for Daisy Buchannan and the two of them are soon reunited and renew their love- a renewal that eventually has tragic and unforeseen circumstances for all the characters.
And yes, that's all I'm going to say. The Great Gatsby may well be a classic of literature but that doesn't mean I'm going to give you spoilers to sink your teeth into. Go read it for yourselves! A couple of things are worth mentioning though: first of all, is the language. Fitzgerald's lyricism is almost poetic and although he tends to wander off into the land of metaphors a little too much for my liking, it knocks your socks clean off. Fitzgerald, although my young, naive and foolish brain refused to see it, is one helluva writer. Honestly, reading this, I'm going to have to check out more of him.
Second of all: there's a plot. Color me crazy, but the depth of action and plot was not something I remembered from this book, but it's all there and then some. This is actually a really good book. I can't believe I got this book this wrong!
Overall: If you have a list of 'Books You Should Read Before You Die' this book should be somewhere on it- the writing is amazing and leaving that aside, the story is short (at about 180 pages) and compulsive readable and all of that makes for a pure diamond of a literary classic. I was utterly and completely wrong about this book. I've never been happier to be proven wrong.
Bonus: Along with Catcher In The Rye, this completes #17 on my 30 for 30 List...
Lost In Translation
Oh Lord. American Catholics are getting set for the roll-out of a new translation of the Roman Missal. And it's probably going to make me crazy! They changed the translation a few years back and it made me nuts, especially on Good Friday. In the reading of the Passion, where Jesus is confronted in the Garden, he responded with: 'I am he.'
In the new translation, it was boiled down to a stupendous: 'I AM' Which, I guess still makes sense, but seemed a bit jarring to me- I've never liked it. And now that is going to be joined with these awesome changes:
At The Opening Prayer-- the Priest opens with 'The Lord Be With You' to which the congregation responds 'And also with you.'
That's going to be changed too: 'And with your spirit.' (I can't resist: The Lord's got spirit yes he do, the Lord's got spirit, how about you?)
The section on Funeral Rites has been changed to the 'Fraternal Offices of Burial' (Which sounds like the local Moose Lodge, am I right? There's the KCs, the Eagles, the VWF and the FOBs...!)
Because The Vatican hasn't heard of New Coke yet (give it another century or so) they've decided to mess with the Nicene Creed as well, changing 'one in being with the Father' to 'consubstantial with the Father.' (Brother. Give me a break! I'm not saying 'consubstantial.' I absolutely refuse- it's the same reason I skip over that part about 'for us men and for our salvation...')
This one's my favorite though:
Of course, the Vatican's goal with all this idiocy is to bring the translation as close to Latin as they can manage. Unfortunately, in doing so, they confuse the lay people, make the language of the mass sound stilted, confused and if it was done on Babelfish.com (now with Latin and Aramaic, just for the Pope!) And generally show just how out of touch they are with the needs of ordinary Catholics...
One of these days, I might settle on a Church. I'd like it to be Catholic, but that's looking increasingly unlikely these days....
In the new translation, it was boiled down to a stupendous: 'I AM' Which, I guess still makes sense, but seemed a bit jarring to me- I've never liked it. And now that is going to be joined with these awesome changes:
At The Opening Prayer-- the Priest opens with 'The Lord Be With You' to which the congregation responds 'And also with you.'
That's going to be changed too: 'And with your spirit.' (I can't resist: The Lord's got spirit yes he do, the Lord's got spirit, how about you?)
The section on Funeral Rites has been changed to the 'Fraternal Offices of Burial' (Which sounds like the local Moose Lodge, am I right? There's the KCs, the Eagles, the VWF and the FOBs...!)
Because The Vatican hasn't heard of New Coke yet (give it another century or so) they've decided to mess with the Nicene Creed as well, changing 'one in being with the Father' to 'consubstantial with the Father.' (Brother. Give me a break! I'm not saying 'consubstantial.' I absolutely refuse- it's the same reason I skip over that part about 'for us men and for our salvation...')
This one's my favorite though:
When a priest prays over the Holy Communion bread and wine, he will ask God for blessings "by sending down your spirit upon them like the dewfall."Bwahahahahahahahahahaha! 'And let magical rainbows shoot laser beams from your eyes, Oh Lord and bless these gifts of bread and wine...' Wow oh wow oh wow... unbelieveably ridiculous! And the dewfall? So we want the spirit to develop overnight with the cold and dark? What? I'm totally confused.
Of course, the Vatican's goal with all this idiocy is to bring the translation as close to Latin as they can manage. Unfortunately, in doing so, they confuse the lay people, make the language of the mass sound stilted, confused and if it was done on Babelfish.com (now with Latin and Aramaic, just for the Pope!) And generally show just how out of touch they are with the needs of ordinary Catholics...
One of these days, I might settle on a Church. I'd like it to be Catholic, but that's looking increasingly unlikely these days....
The Scorecard #5
High School: The Playoffs roll on... West High, Lone Tree and Solon all went down (City High went down as well to Cedar Falls) so the only team left in the hunt for Iowa City is Ridiculous Regina whom I believe has a date with Mighty Mediapolis in the next round. Both of them are undefeated.
College: First of all- Iowa won! That was very gratifying to see- our defense showed up in a big way and contained Denard Robinson and although the last two minutes were pulse-pounding and nail biting, Coach Ferentz in an admittedly ballsy move, put it on the defense and they delivered. So we're Bowl eligible and technically still alive in the hunt for the Legends Division title. But Michigan State is going to be tough (how tough is an interesting question, but we'll find out Saturday) and then hopefully we can ride the momentum into at least one win on the road. We've got to be able to figure out the whole road thing at some point, right?
Second of all- the much bally-hooed 'Game Of The Century' between 'Bama and LSU was anything but. I had a feeling it was going to be a defensive struggle and sure enough, if 'Bama had actually made one or two of the five field goals they missed, it could have been a different game. Oklahoma State continued its winning ways as did Stanford (both of whom would be a lot of fun to watch against an LSU or 'Bama in a title game) and Boise State has a big test lurking against TCU at home next week.
Pros: I was finally home long enough to soak up some of that NFL Sunday Ticket we snagged with our Direct TV package. Daddy like. Daddy like quite a bit- even though Denver won against Oakland, which will undoubtedly spark yet another week of tiresome, never ending debate about Tim Tebow and you know, what he's all about. (The Vikings were off this week.) Another pleasant surprise: the 7-1 San Francisco 49ers. I'm glad they're showing signs of life again- I dodged the Joe Montana bullet when I was a kid- though I do remember how awesome they were back in the day. My 'team' apart from the Vikings would indeed have to be the Broncos- and no, I don't care about Tim Tebow. The circular arguments make me crazy- the only way to know once and for all if he's going to succeed in the NFL is to let him try. And he's winning games... so I'd say, so far, so good- though he tried a couple of truly insane 'up the gut' style runs yesterday against Oakland that had me shaking my head a little bit, but it works out in the end.
Bonus Roundball: Holla ballas! Basketball is back... The Iowa Men were tested by Northwest Missouri State but pulled together and pulled away for a 20 point win and the Iowa Women (freshman Samantha Logic making her debut) pulled away in the second half to put Winona State away.
College: First of all- Iowa won! That was very gratifying to see- our defense showed up in a big way and contained Denard Robinson and although the last two minutes were pulse-pounding and nail biting, Coach Ferentz in an admittedly ballsy move, put it on the defense and they delivered. So we're Bowl eligible and technically still alive in the hunt for the Legends Division title. But Michigan State is going to be tough (how tough is an interesting question, but we'll find out Saturday) and then hopefully we can ride the momentum into at least one win on the road. We've got to be able to figure out the whole road thing at some point, right?
Second of all- the much bally-hooed 'Game Of The Century' between 'Bama and LSU was anything but. I had a feeling it was going to be a defensive struggle and sure enough, if 'Bama had actually made one or two of the five field goals they missed, it could have been a different game. Oklahoma State continued its winning ways as did Stanford (both of whom would be a lot of fun to watch against an LSU or 'Bama in a title game) and Boise State has a big test lurking against TCU at home next week.
Pros: I was finally home long enough to soak up some of that NFL Sunday Ticket we snagged with our Direct TV package. Daddy like. Daddy like quite a bit- even though Denver won against Oakland, which will undoubtedly spark yet another week of tiresome, never ending debate about Tim Tebow and you know, what he's all about. (The Vikings were off this week.) Another pleasant surprise: the 7-1 San Francisco 49ers. I'm glad they're showing signs of life again- I dodged the Joe Montana bullet when I was a kid- though I do remember how awesome they were back in the day. My 'team' apart from the Vikings would indeed have to be the Broncos- and no, I don't care about Tim Tebow. The circular arguments make me crazy- the only way to know once and for all if he's going to succeed in the NFL is to let him try. And he's winning games... so I'd say, so far, so good- though he tried a couple of truly insane 'up the gut' style runs yesterday against Oakland that had me shaking my head a little bit, but it works out in the end.
Bonus Roundball: Holla ballas! Basketball is back... The Iowa Men were tested by Northwest Missouri State but pulled together and pulled away for a 20 point win and the Iowa Women (freshman Samantha Logic making her debut) pulled away in the second half to put Winona State away.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
#OccupyThis
Kids:
I've got my share of issues with the Occupy crowd. I don't think camping out in a park is a particularly radical act of anything much at all. I think if what we had isn't working then time should be spent figuring out how to fix it and if it can't be fixed then figuring out what the best solution actually is.
Ironically, in one of those weird inversions that happens from time to time- it turns out that the greatest defenders of the status quo are, in fact, the so called Progressives that are fueling this movement.
But leaving that aside for a second: I'm getting really, really tired of condescending editorials from the right-wing blogosphere about the Occupy crowd. Like I said, I've got my issues with them- but as a Millenial, I understand wholeheartedly where they are coming from and then some. My generation was sold a bill of goods and then some: go to college (no, it doesn't matter what you major in- as long as you go) get a job, pay off your cheap, easy student loans (and no, it doesn't matter where you get them from either) and then get house, wife, kids, white picket fence, typical all-American cliche bullshit. That's what we were sold. That's what we expected. That's what we were told that we were entitled too...
Except it doesn't work anymore, does it? The Establishment- both sides of it, sold us on this idea that we've all got this God-given right to be suburbanite cliches and then the economy took a shit and they can't deliver. It was all right in the 90s: you could major in video games and peanut butter and carve out a life for yourself. No longer.
I don't know what the solution is supposed to be yet, but please, let's not piss all over these people. Attack their ideology. Attack their 'I want a pet unicorn' myopic excuses for policy making. But don't attack them. They're angry, they're pissed off and there's a damn good reason why.
We was robbed. And thems that doin' the bitchin' about Occupy are those complicit in the robbery of an entire generation...
I've got my share of issues with the Occupy crowd. I don't think camping out in a park is a particularly radical act of anything much at all. I think if what we had isn't working then time should be spent figuring out how to fix it and if it can't be fixed then figuring out what the best solution actually is.
Ironically, in one of those weird inversions that happens from time to time- it turns out that the greatest defenders of the status quo are, in fact, the so called Progressives that are fueling this movement.
But leaving that aside for a second: I'm getting really, really tired of condescending editorials from the right-wing blogosphere about the Occupy crowd. Like I said, I've got my issues with them- but as a Millenial, I understand wholeheartedly where they are coming from and then some. My generation was sold a bill of goods and then some: go to college (no, it doesn't matter what you major in- as long as you go) get a job, pay off your cheap, easy student loans (and no, it doesn't matter where you get them from either) and then get house, wife, kids, white picket fence, typical all-American cliche bullshit. That's what we were sold. That's what we expected. That's what we were told that we were entitled too...
Except it doesn't work anymore, does it? The Establishment- both sides of it, sold us on this idea that we've all got this God-given right to be suburbanite cliches and then the economy took a shit and they can't deliver. It was all right in the 90s: you could major in video games and peanut butter and carve out a life for yourself. No longer.
I don't know what the solution is supposed to be yet, but please, let's not piss all over these people. Attack their ideology. Attack their 'I want a pet unicorn' myopic excuses for policy making. But don't attack them. They're angry, they're pissed off and there's a damn good reason why.
We was robbed. And thems that doin' the bitchin' about Occupy are those complicit in the robbery of an entire generation...
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Ahhh... another agenda!
Salon.com worked up a New Declaration of Independence... it's... interesting, but doesn't do much to advance Progressive Politics away from socialism- which is something that's sorely needed, in my opinion. Kids, I've said it before and I'll say it again: if socialism doesn't work and capitalism doesn't work (or at least doesn't in its present form) then we need to figure out what does. Which means getting down to the nitty gritty of what government should and shouldn't do...
Anyway, I was curious about what Salon had to say, so I careful read the thing. Here's my take:
Point 1: Debt relief, while sexy sounding misses the real problem- too much waste in higher education. Too much administration and institutions that so far, have encountered no resistance from consumers when passing on wasteful spending to students in the form of constant tuition hikes. That's the real problem with higher ed. In terms of student loans, I tend to agree with the Great Guru Instapundit's proposition: make student loans dischargeable by bankruptcy- but only five years after graduation and put schools on the hook for 10% of any loans that default. If nothing else, that should make higher ed more aware of how much their product costs. Homeowners... well, I think keeping homeowners in their homes makes sense. More aggressive moves would be cautiously welcomed by me- but the government also needs to back off. Let banks determine if people can handle a home loan. They at least know money. The Government just spends it.
Point 2: Wow. A sexy notion, but how do we pay for it? Progressives seem to struggle with this- people want the government to do things for them, they just don't want to pay for it. That's asking for fiscal disaster. But I'm not totally against this idea either...
Point 3: Ummmmm... I'm increasingly against this. The moves against early cancer screening are sparking an early, unforeseen consequence in the battle for ObamaCare: namely the politicization of the health care process- every medical decision the government makes (it's starting to look like) is up for grabs and debate. I have this sinking feeling that if ObamaCare lasts, it could spark another bloated tentacle of bureaucracy and lobbying that will do little, if anything to reduce costs. Individuals know what's best for their health- put power square in the hands of the people. Design me a public system that keeps Washington far, far away from my health care and we can talk. Until then, I'm going to need convincing.
Point 4: Re-regulating Wall Street would not be a bad idea. Breaking up the megabanks, instituting the Robin Hood Tax that OWS proposed awhile back-- all good ideas. The government needs to make sure people are playing by the rules- not get played by people breaking all the rules.
Point 5: End the War, trim back Defense spending and abolish the Department of Homeland Security? Maybe? Perhaps?
Point 6: Repeal The Patriot Act- no problems from me.
Point 7: Tackle Climate Change.... hmm. My personal environmental policy tends to run in the direction of: 'we have one planet, we should take care of it.' I tend to be dubious when the media gets boners over a scientific phenomenon and with good reason. In the 70s, overpopulation was going to kill us all. In the 80s, it was the coming ice age. In the 90s, it was the hole in the Ozone layer and in the 00s, it's global warming. We've still got ozone, there's no ice age, and although we just hit 7 billion people, birth rates in Europe have crashed and they should start to level out over the next few decades as people have fewer children. But we should take better of the planet- subsidizing biofuels and ethanols needs to stop and we should achieve full energy independence while we do it. You're against imperialism and the wars? Fastest way to get the hell away from the Middle East is to drill and pump our own oil and get to work perfecting green technology to replace it. Don't major in Women's Studies, major in science- and save the world!
Point 8: End the Drug War! Heck yes!
Point 9: Full equality for LGBT community? Yep. No problem here...
Point 10: Fix the tax system... this is a tricky one. The tiresome 'pay their fair share' bullshit needs to stop. End the loopholes, end corporate welfare and then lower taxes across the board. Turn 'pay their fair share' into 'everybody pay something' and you would have a truly equal tax system for the first time ever. Good idea from Salon, but needs some work.
On balance: not all bad. It needs some refinement here and there and I wish, wish, wish the Left could work all the hippy dippy socialism out of it's system once and for all- but there's a lot I could get behind here. Reason.com has a different take on things, of course- and I have to say I'm put in an interesting position. I agree with a lot of what Salon said and I think Reason's critique hit the nail right on the head. See for yourselves, kids.
Anyway, I was curious about what Salon had to say, so I careful read the thing. Here's my take:
Point 1: Debt relief, while sexy sounding misses the real problem- too much waste in higher education. Too much administration and institutions that so far, have encountered no resistance from consumers when passing on wasteful spending to students in the form of constant tuition hikes. That's the real problem with higher ed. In terms of student loans, I tend to agree with the Great Guru Instapundit's proposition: make student loans dischargeable by bankruptcy- but only five years after graduation and put schools on the hook for 10% of any loans that default. If nothing else, that should make higher ed more aware of how much their product costs. Homeowners... well, I think keeping homeowners in their homes makes sense. More aggressive moves would be cautiously welcomed by me- but the government also needs to back off. Let banks determine if people can handle a home loan. They at least know money. The Government just spends it.
Point 2: Wow. A sexy notion, but how do we pay for it? Progressives seem to struggle with this- people want the government to do things for them, they just don't want to pay for it. That's asking for fiscal disaster. But I'm not totally against this idea either...
Point 3: Ummmmm... I'm increasingly against this. The moves against early cancer screening are sparking an early, unforeseen consequence in the battle for ObamaCare: namely the politicization of the health care process- every medical decision the government makes (it's starting to look like) is up for grabs and debate. I have this sinking feeling that if ObamaCare lasts, it could spark another bloated tentacle of bureaucracy and lobbying that will do little, if anything to reduce costs. Individuals know what's best for their health- put power square in the hands of the people. Design me a public system that keeps Washington far, far away from my health care and we can talk. Until then, I'm going to need convincing.
Point 4: Re-regulating Wall Street would not be a bad idea. Breaking up the megabanks, instituting the Robin Hood Tax that OWS proposed awhile back-- all good ideas. The government needs to make sure people are playing by the rules- not get played by people breaking all the rules.
Point 5: End the War, trim back Defense spending and abolish the Department of Homeland Security? Maybe? Perhaps?
Point 6: Repeal The Patriot Act- no problems from me.
Point 7: Tackle Climate Change.... hmm. My personal environmental policy tends to run in the direction of: 'we have one planet, we should take care of it.' I tend to be dubious when the media gets boners over a scientific phenomenon and with good reason. In the 70s, overpopulation was going to kill us all. In the 80s, it was the coming ice age. In the 90s, it was the hole in the Ozone layer and in the 00s, it's global warming. We've still got ozone, there's no ice age, and although we just hit 7 billion people, birth rates in Europe have crashed and they should start to level out over the next few decades as people have fewer children. But we should take better of the planet- subsidizing biofuels and ethanols needs to stop and we should achieve full energy independence while we do it. You're against imperialism and the wars? Fastest way to get the hell away from the Middle East is to drill and pump our own oil and get to work perfecting green technology to replace it. Don't major in Women's Studies, major in science- and save the world!
Point 8: End the Drug War! Heck yes!
Point 9: Full equality for LGBT community? Yep. No problem here...
Point 10: Fix the tax system... this is a tricky one. The tiresome 'pay their fair share' bullshit needs to stop. End the loopholes, end corporate welfare and then lower taxes across the board. Turn 'pay their fair share' into 'everybody pay something' and you would have a truly equal tax system for the first time ever. Good idea from Salon, but needs some work.
On balance: not all bad. It needs some refinement here and there and I wish, wish, wish the Left could work all the hippy dippy socialism out of it's system once and for all- but there's a lot I could get behind here. Reason.com has a different take on things, of course- and I have to say I'm put in an interesting position. I agree with a lot of what Salon said and I think Reason's critique hit the nail right on the head. See for yourselves, kids.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Bookshot #34: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
I'll be totally honest with you: I purchased this book because there's a movie version coming out in December and I wanted to read the book before the movie came out. The movie, by the way, looks amazing- even though early reviews seem to be of the mind that the late 70s BBC mini series with Alec Guiness starring as George Smiley. The new movie has Gary Oldman taking over as Smiley and an all star cast of British talent including Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ciaran Hinds- and a few other people I recognize from various movie but whose names escape me at the moment. The trailer is filled with foreboding and stretched taut with tension.
But did the book measure up? I'm happy to say that I have a sneaking suspicion that the book is, in fact, better than the movie or the mini series. I developed an addiction to Tom Clancy novels in the distant past of my youth, so the spy-thriller genre is not new to me. I've wandered from great to good to trashy and back again and I've come to the conclusion that John Le Carré (along with possibly Frederick Forsyth and Robert Ludlum) might just be among the elite authors in this genre- if not a damn good author all on his own. Le Carré brings actual intelligence experience to his writing and was credited with coining the term 'mole' which had made its way into the professional vernacular of espionage (the author's introduction reveals that, after some digging, someone was kind enough to credit Francis Bacon with inventing the term in 1641.) He also invented other bits of jargon (lamplighter, scalp-hunter, baby-sitter, honey trap and others) that have made their way into professional use- all of which made their debut with this novel. Tinker changed not only the genre of the spy novel but had an impact (albeit minor) on espionage itself.
All of which, needless to say is kind of cool.
Tinker opens in the middle of things- in medias res, making me love this book from the word go. If you're looking for James Bond style explosions and sexiness, don't bother. Le Carré is the master of subtlety and tends to examine his spies on an internal level rather than blowing shit up. Although the reader is initially puzzled by the appearance of a new teacher at a country boarding school in England- all soon becomes clear. That new teacher is Jim Prideaux- and he's eventually revealed to be laying low after a disastrous operation run by 'The Circus' (British Intelligence) goes terribly wrong. The operation has broken the health of Control, the head of the Circus and he's died. George Smiley and a host of other people have been shoved aside and there are whispers that Control was after a mole in The Circus before he died and that last, blown operation has come tantalizingly close to locating him.
Eventually Smiley comes back in from the cold and is put on the chase- and carefully, painstakingly he starts to put the pieces together and starts closing in on the mole- pawn of Smiley's Russian counterpart, the mysterious and shadowy Karla. Together, the two spies engage in a daring and subtle game of chess as loyalties are tested and piece by piece the truth is slowly revealed until finally the true identity of the mole is revealed.
Le Carré makes the reader work it with Tinker, which is awesome! There are several suspects that emerge over the course of the novel and when the true traitor is finally revealed, it's sudden, jarring and more than a little unexpected. Looking back on it, Le Carré does drop some pretty subtle hints, but never confirms them, always leaves the reader wondering- again, awesome! And it's the delicate subtle touch that permeates his writing which really brings the characters and the narrative to life. I think we've fallen into a tendency to view spies in terms of body counts, explosions and martinis- when in reality, the business of espionage is most likely one of dark corners and eavesdropping on telephone conversation- entirely more grubby and a lot less sexy than it's made out to be by Hollywood.
Tinker succeeds in no small part because it fiercely resists glamorizing anything- you read this book and it almost gives you chills, because you get the feeling this may well be more indicative of what espionage is really like than another other book out there.
Overall: Mind-blowingly good. They're not joking when they say this is the novel that re-invented an entire genre. Can't wait for the movie- and if I can get ahold of the mini series, I expect I'll watch that too. Oh- and although George Smiley shows up in a lot of Le Carré novels, Tinker forms the first of a Trilogy- The Honorable Schoolboy and Smiley's People have already been added to my Amazon.com wishlist for Christmas.
This Is A Mystery?
The Press-Citizen amuses me sometimes. This popped right up on their front page and to be honest, I'm amused. This wasn't a mystery to me. I don't know who told me that is was one of the original city markers, but I seem to have had that factoid floating around my brain for years now.
To me, the real mystery is: are there any more out there? If, as the article suggest, the original plot was roughly one square mile, that would put the northeast marker somewhere in the area of Summit and Dewey, on the northside by the cemetary.
Whether they would have had northwest and southwest markers would be interesting to learn as well- (sw would be the Power Plant and nw would be somewhere near Mayflower? Thanks MapMyRun.com!)
But this- this wasn't that much of a mystery.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Bookshot #33: The Catcher In The Rye
Jesus, I hated this book in high school. I loathed every single minute I spent reading what I thought was this festering turd of a book- vastly overrated piece of neo-hippy trash that spoke in precisely no way whatsoever towards my experience as a teenager at the type. Overly hyped, I thought. Holden Caulfield? What a whiny little bitch, I thought. Plus: who pays for a prostitute and then talks to her and cries a bunch before running away? (That's what I thought at the time: I don't have a secret life involving prostitutes. Sickos. Besides, I was like 16 and desperate for any kind of gratuitous nudity/sex just to make what was an unbearable book just a little more bearable.)
It's probably been about a decade since I last touched the thing, a casualty of American Literature in 11th Grade. I don't know: I guess when your teacher raves about how much a book might 'speak to you' you tend to expect to have your mind blown. Mine was most definately not blown back then- and I was, as you might have guessed, a little bitter about it.
So, brace yourselves everbody. Are you braced? Good. Because: I was wrong about this book.
I could say something about the shallow, meaningless cultural drivel that seems to make life so empty and superficial pretty much most of the time, but I won't. Needless to say, at 28 I found Holden to be far, far less annoying than I did when I was 16. Partially, I think, because time has proven him somewhat correct and damn, though I hate to admit it, I think Catcher is one of those book where every generation could read it and find something completely different that speaks to their struggle to figure it all out- however trite a sentiment that might sound.
Holden is correct though: a lot of people are completely phony. Superficiality and bullshit is everywhere to be found in America today. (In a weird tangent: could I just say I have never been so happy than I was when I saw a clip of Beavis and Butthead taking the piss out of Jersey Shore. Welcome back, boys: America has missed you.)
I also found myself sympathizing with his general sense of emptiness and despair about life. What is the point of the education system? Holden gets kicked out of school after school and you get the feeling that he's pretty resentful about being expected to go to a, b, c, get a job, married, kids, house- the prototypical suburban existance. Part of you wants to tell him to grow up a little bit, but part of you gets where he's coming from. When you're young and people expect you to act a certain way, you're initially going to want to resist- and failing that you're going to want to try and think outside the box a little bit. After all, you only get one life- you're going to want a little more than the mundane. Even if only for a fleeting moment.
But Holden also takes a bit of a left turn down crazy lane: towards the end of the book he starts dropping broad hints that he's now living in a mental hospital- and it's pretty obvious his mental state deteriorates throughout the course of the book. He has this odd fantasy about being a 'catcher in the rye' saving children from wandering too close to the edge of a cliff- he wants to save them from losing their innocence, which is impossible really, as all children have to grow up. Holden apparently can't handle that notion all that well, hence his crack-up.
After he's kicked out of the latest school, he drifts back to New York, looks up an old girlfriend whom he alienates and pisses off. Drinks with an acquaintance who tells him to see a shrink and finally goes to crash with a teacher he knew from a former school only to find the teacher getting drunk and possibly making a sexual advance towards him. Needless to say: the guy has a busy few days- but ultimately, it's his sister that pulls him back from the brink.
And that's the odd thing to me. His relationship with his sister, Phoebe (which is a lot less creepy than I remember- I seem to remember thinking it was slightly incestuous. How I got incest out of it is beyond me, so go figure.) Phoebe to me proves to be the ying to Holden's yang- he feels like dying at several points throughout the book, but couldn't do that to her- at the end, it's the realization that he can't protect his sister from the world that forces him to get help. In fact, it seems to be a general desire to make his sister happy that motivates a lot of what Holden does. If he is the cynical anti-hero at the heart of the book, Phoebe is the true hero, because it's she, whether she knows it or not that helps Holden push beyond his depression and move forward with his life.
Overall: All right, all right- fine. Better than I remembered, OK? And yes, the writing is amazingly good (better than I remembered) and I get it. Maybe I didn't get it as a teenager, but I can at least sympathize with Holden now. And that's a big step for me...
20 Years Later...
I was in 3rd Grade, so my memories might be a little jumbled and confused. I do remember looking at the Gazette in Mrs. Zirtzman's class and talking about it. I have another memory of one of the neighborhood kids crying, because her Mom worked at Jessup Hall and nobody knew where she was. I don't remember it being particularly cold that day either.
I remember going to college in 2001 and walking past Van Allen Hall that November and seeing the wreath of flowers by the Lecture Hall and wondering if any of the scores of students walking by knew exactly what the flowers were for. People come and go- faculty move on, staff retire, students graduate, but even now, two decades later, there are still people who remember. There are still people who know.
I wish I had something more profound to say than this, I really do. It feels like something should be said, like the moment deserves a little more. But we live in a world increasingly desensitized to violence- and from that cold November day when I was in 3rd Grade, there seemed to be a non-stop parade of violence that last throughout my youth and beyond. My generation went to high school with Columbine hanging above our heads. And that, more than anything that happened on September 11th, I've come to be convinced defined my generation more than anything else.
Working the job I work, I've become keenly aware of days like this. Moments where tension stretches like a rubber band and you can tell that people out there are nervous. I'll be honest: I really don't want to be at work today- I love day shift hours, I really do- I love the challenges of my job, the way it pushes me each and every single day and how every day is different. I love the creative problem solving and genuinely doing my best to make sure everybody I talk to has a good experience and walks away feeling like they've just spoken to a professional.
But this isn't evening or night shift. We don't get a lot of arrests. There's not the high-pumping, slamming type of shifts which go by in the blink of an eye. There's a tradeoff: the phone could ring at any time and all hell could break loose. Not just the regular kind- actual, life or death type of situations. And you've got to be ready...
I don't put much stock in superstition and I think few, if any will really remember the day- most will probably read about it in the Daily Iowan sometime today. But there's just something about days like today...
I really wish I wasn't at work today.
I remember going to college in 2001 and walking past Van Allen Hall that November and seeing the wreath of flowers by the Lecture Hall and wondering if any of the scores of students walking by knew exactly what the flowers were for. People come and go- faculty move on, staff retire, students graduate, but even now, two decades later, there are still people who remember. There are still people who know.
I wish I had something more profound to say than this, I really do. It feels like something should be said, like the moment deserves a little more. But we live in a world increasingly desensitized to violence- and from that cold November day when I was in 3rd Grade, there seemed to be a non-stop parade of violence that last throughout my youth and beyond. My generation went to high school with Columbine hanging above our heads. And that, more than anything that happened on September 11th, I've come to be convinced defined my generation more than anything else.
Working the job I work, I've become keenly aware of days like this. Moments where tension stretches like a rubber band and you can tell that people out there are nervous. I'll be honest: I really don't want to be at work today- I love day shift hours, I really do- I love the challenges of my job, the way it pushes me each and every single day and how every day is different. I love the creative problem solving and genuinely doing my best to make sure everybody I talk to has a good experience and walks away feeling like they've just spoken to a professional.
But this isn't evening or night shift. We don't get a lot of arrests. There's not the high-pumping, slamming type of shifts which go by in the blink of an eye. There's a tradeoff: the phone could ring at any time and all hell could break loose. Not just the regular kind- actual, life or death type of situations. And you've got to be ready...
I don't put much stock in superstition and I think few, if any will really remember the day- most will probably read about it in the Daily Iowan sometime today. But there's just something about days like today...
I really wish I wasn't at work today.
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