Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Spoiled
The netbook has spoiled me. I could do almost everything without coming down to my basement office. Hence I did more entries here, etc, but not without it, I must make the effort to get down here before I can write anything. I am eager to get the netbook back!
Upcoming profile
Primus St. John has retired from the university. He's been here for decades. I did a long interview with him and will put together a profile over the break. Downloading something for it now. He's been an extraordinary contributor of video to the review in the past few years, and he says he will continue doing that. I hope so.
It just keeps getting better
One thing to do today, practice the banjo! And I have one script left, an auditor.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Video
Editing one of two videos by Primus for the review. Should be up in an hour or so.
Otherwise a gray lazy day.
Otherwise a gray lazy day.
Wrapping up
Off to the university soon to see if I can find this missing final. Then double-check grades and my break officially begins. Reading, music, brooding about a couple lowkey future projects.
Rain, rain, rain.
Rain, rain, rain.
Monday, December 13, 2010
One foot after the other
Netbook is in the shop. Pick it up in a few days and hopefully all is back to normal.
Have a missing final exam I have to try and track down tomorrow. Final deadline for grades is tomorrow at 5.
Have a missing final exam I have to try and track down tomorrow. Final deadline for grades is tomorrow at 5.
Egypt and hyperdrama
Rec'd email from an Egyptian scholar studying hyperdrama and starting an analysis of my most ambitious hyperdrama, The Seagull Hyperdrama. He posed some questions, to which I just responded.
Great to get this kind of interest. I've had it before, from two scholars in Scandanavia, and it's always overseas, never interest here at home. Well, not quite right, the recent hypertext conference solicited a hyperdrama presentation from me a couple summers ago.
What impressed me about this scholar is that he's read the entire Chekhov hyperdrama. This really pleases me (and he "enjoyed it so much"). I bet only a handful actually have read it all.
Great to get this kind of interest. I've had it before, from two scholars in Scandanavia, and it's always overseas, never interest here at home. Well, not quite right, the recent hypertext conference solicited a hyperdrama presentation from me a couple summers ago.
What impressed me about this scholar is that he's read the entire Chekhov hyperdrama. This really pleases me (and he "enjoyed it so much"). I bet only a handful actually have read it all.
Eat my dust, America!
China is on a roll. China is spending over $2 trillion on a crash program to develop green industries like alternative energy sources, wind, solar, etc. And then they turn around and loan us money so Americans can pay lower taxes. What is wrong with this picture?
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Progress
Had fun reading in a busy holiday mall.
Came home and made progress, getting Kindle connected to the home network!
Tomorrow I hope I can get the netbook fixed.
Came home and made progress, getting Kindle connected to the home network!
Tomorrow I hope I can get the netbook fixed.
Life without netbook
Haven't made a blog entry from my basement office in a long time but here I am. The damaged netbook screen took a turn for the worse. I'll take it into a computer shop tomorrow.
The timing was ironic. In my head, I'd composed a Book v. Kindle blog entry. It went like this.
Forget for a moment the romantic Luddite's love affair with the book. All a book is is a delivery system. It delivers language. So does a Kindle. I maintain that from this perspective, the Kindle is far superior to the book as a language delivery system. With the Kindle, you have control of look, size, placement of text. It is easier to hold, lighter than a book. It is easier to read. Indeed there is only one area I can think of where the book is superior to the Kindle: longevity. Its battery doesn't run out. It doesn't have electronic issues.
Ah, the gods! What comics. Shortly after composing this in my head, but before I wrote it down, my Kindle screen went blank. Menus worked but no book text. I couldn't believe it. Well, to make a long story short, snooping around on the net gave me some things to try and one of them, what is called a soft reboot, worked, and it's been fine ever since. I also learned how to take off the back cover and do a hard reboot if I ever have to.
But for a moment there I was thinking, hmm, maybe the typewriter and book weren't so bad after all.
Saw the opera Don Carlo on Saturday morning, all four and a half hours of it. Extraordinary music! And watching, I understood something more clearly. Here the lyrics serve to define relationships and conflict, quickly, directly, and all nuance and subtext of the drama is in the music. This is why reading libretti feels like reading doggerel. It is doggerel, taken alone. But it has a different function than dialog in drama, which must do everything. In opera, lyrics define the context of the music but it's the music that matters most.
Without music, this opera would be a terrible soap opera. With music, it is engaging and moving.
Going with H to the Christmas music service at the Unitarian church. Then across the river to Vancouver for a quick visit with her grandson, on an excursion of some kind, and I'll like escape to a Starbucks with my Kindle and read for a few hours while they go bowling or something. They like time alone. Well, so do I for that matter.
Missed the Army-Navy game but taped it and see Navy won handily. I'll watch the ending later. I like to see the good sportsmanship because it has become rare in college football apart from academy games.
Our basement survived the rain, so far at least, knock on my wooden head.
The timing was ironic. In my head, I'd composed a Book v. Kindle blog entry. It went like this.
Forget for a moment the romantic Luddite's love affair with the book. All a book is is a delivery system. It delivers language. So does a Kindle. I maintain that from this perspective, the Kindle is far superior to the book as a language delivery system. With the Kindle, you have control of look, size, placement of text. It is easier to hold, lighter than a book. It is easier to read. Indeed there is only one area I can think of where the book is superior to the Kindle: longevity. Its battery doesn't run out. It doesn't have electronic issues.
Ah, the gods! What comics. Shortly after composing this in my head, but before I wrote it down, my Kindle screen went blank. Menus worked but no book text. I couldn't believe it. Well, to make a long story short, snooping around on the net gave me some things to try and one of them, what is called a soft reboot, worked, and it's been fine ever since. I also learned how to take off the back cover and do a hard reboot if I ever have to.
But for a moment there I was thinking, hmm, maybe the typewriter and book weren't so bad after all.
Saw the opera Don Carlo on Saturday morning, all four and a half hours of it. Extraordinary music! And watching, I understood something more clearly. Here the lyrics serve to define relationships and conflict, quickly, directly, and all nuance and subtext of the drama is in the music. This is why reading libretti feels like reading doggerel. It is doggerel, taken alone. But it has a different function than dialog in drama, which must do everything. In opera, lyrics define the context of the music but it's the music that matters most.
Without music, this opera would be a terrible soap opera. With music, it is engaging and moving.
Going with H to the Christmas music service at the Unitarian church. Then across the river to Vancouver for a quick visit with her grandson, on an excursion of some kind, and I'll like escape to a Starbucks with my Kindle and read for a few hours while they go bowling or something. They like time alone. Well, so do I for that matter.
Missed the Army-Navy game but taped it and see Navy won handily. I'll watch the ending later. I like to see the good sportsmanship because it has become rare in college football apart from academy games.
Our basement survived the rain, so far at least, knock on my wooden head.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Dumb dumb dumb!
I took my netbook to my basement office, we had company upstairs -- and managed to drop it! Now 1/3 of the screen is white. One outfit told me it's not worth fixing, buy another, but another said they can fix it for $100, which is half of what I paid for it and worth it. Anyway, maybe I'll take it in Monday. If more is wrong, I'd get a new one. My stupid stupid stupid dumbass fault.
Tricks of the Movie Promotion Trade | Magazine
Tricks of the Movie Promotion Trade | Magazine:
"Movies don’t start with the opening scene; they start with the trailer. And buzz surrounding this alpha piece of promotion can make the difference between a blockbuster and a straight-to-DVD bust. Benedict Coulter, founder of top editing house Trailer Park, reveals a few industry secrets.
Top Gun was the Citizen Kane of trailers: Those two minutes of quick cutaways and hair-gel-smooth action clips were the best of the best."
Top Gun was the Citizen Kane of trailers: Those two minutes of quick cutaways and hair-gel-smooth action clips were the best of the best."
Reading
Couple of good pieces in recent magazines. In The Nation, a piece on Prop 19 in Calif and its failure because of opposition by marijuana growers themselves who see legalization as de facto surrender to the corporate manufacture of pot. In other words, they see the issue as small farmer v. corporate farmer!
Also, in new New Yorker, very moving piece by Joyce Carol Oates on losing her husband.
Also, in new New Yorker, very moving piece by Joyce Carol Oates on losing her husband.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
3x tuition
Mellow Thursday
Only half a dozen or so more students to deal with. I'll do some, maybe all, today and surely finish up my grades tomorrow. Saturday is a Big Day: a 5-hr morning opera, Don Carlo at Live at the Met HD, then come home to watch my taping of the Army-Navy game.
Then I begin next week with my official term break and a focus on music, especially banjo and piano, though I also have found several candidates for the lyrics to my art song project. I also have two new videos to edit for the review.
First things first, more grading. A gray mellow day on which to do it.
Then I begin next week with my official term break and a focus on music, especially banjo and piano, though I also have found several candidates for the lyrics to my art song project. I also have two new videos to edit for the review.
First things first, more grading. A gray mellow day on which to do it.
Glenn Greenwald on the Arrest of Julian Assange and the U.S. "War on WikiLeaks"
Glenn Greenwald on the Arrest of Julian Assange and the U.S. "War on WikiLeaks":
"'Whatever you think of WikiLeaks, they have not been charged with a crime, let alone indicted or convicted. Yet look what has happened to them. They have been removed from Internet … their funds have been frozen … media figures and politicians have called for their assassination and to be labeled a terrorist organization. What is really going on here is a war over control of the Internet, and whether or not the Internet can actually serve its ultimate purpose—which is to allow citizens to band together and democratize the checks on the world’s most powerful factions.'"
Robert Reich: Why the Obama Tax Deal Confirms the Republican Worldview
Robert Reich: Why the Obama Tax Deal Confirms the Republican Worldview:
"The solution is to reorganize the economy so the benefits of growth are more widely shared. Exempt the first $20,000 of income from payroll taxes, and apply payroll taxes to incomes over $250,000. Extend Medicare to all. Extend the Earned Income Tax Credit all the way up through families earning $50,000. Make higher education free to families that now can't afford it. Rehire teachers. Repair and rebuild our infrastructure. Create a new WPA to put the unemployed back to work."
Dec. 9, 1968: The Mother of All Demos | This Day In Tech | Wired.com
Dec. 9, 1968: The Mother of All Demos | This Day In Tech | Wired.com:
"1968: Computer scientist Douglas Engelbart kicks off the personal computer revolution with a product demonstration that is so amazing it inspires a generation of technologists. It will become known as “the mother of all demos.”"
Climate change: the daily reality for farmers - Commentators, Opinion - The Independent
Climate change: the daily reality for farmers - Commentators, Opinion - The Independent:
"I have yet to meet a small scale farmer who has not noticed the shifts in weather patterns affecting their livelihoods. And who does not fear for the future of themselves and their families. These are people struggling to survive on the edge of a precipice. They remain the forgotten and unheard voices in the climate discussions."
U.S. Falls In World Education Rankings, Rated 'Average'
U.S. Falls In World Education Rankings, Rated 'Average':
"America has received scores around 500 on a scale that goes up to 1,000: 487 in math, 500 in reading and 502 in science."
Absolutely appalling and why fixing this isn't a national emergency tells more than I want to know about our priorities. One problem is that far too many among us take the Bible literally and therefore believe extraordinary falsehoods about the origin of the planet. Here the failure of education has dire consequences in politics that affect all our lives. It's hard not to feel that we are doomed.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Mirren blasts Hollywood for penis worship - Films, Arts & Entertainment - The Independent
Mirren blasts Hollywood for penis worship - Films, Arts & Entertainment - The Independent:
"'I resent in my life the survival of some very mediocre male actors and the professional demise of some very brilliant female ones,' Mirren told an audience including some of the most powerful women in Hollywood.
'However, with all due respect to you many brilliant and successful women in this room, really not too much has changed in... Hollywood filmmaking that continues to worship at the altar of the 18 to 25-year-old male and his penis.
'Quite small, I always think,' she added, to gales of laughter."
'However, with all due respect to you many brilliant and successful women in this room, really not too much has changed in... Hollywood filmmaking that continues to worship at the altar of the 18 to 25-year-old male and his penis.
'Quite small, I always think,' she added, to gales of laughter."
Talking Kindle
Tried out the text-to-speech feature on my Kindle and am impressed. Can control speed, gender of reader. Comes out loud and clear and there's an earphone jack as well. Take a Kindle to bed.
40 year anniversary for oldies show
KRVM is celebrating a very special anniversary! We’re celebrating the 40th anniversary of my Son of Saturday Gold oldies show, which has been on the air since 1970. We’re throwing a 40th birthday party on Thursday, December 16th, at Mac’s Restaurant and Night Club at the historic Vet's Club. I'll DJ an evening of dancing to the classic recordings that have made the show an Oregon favorite for 40 years. In addition, The Tones (above) will make a rare personal appearance, performing live acapella doo-wop classics.I'd love to make it but am not sure I can. But I found out I can catch John's show on the net on Sunday mornings! So I shall be listening and maybe even phoning up to request some Midnighters or Penguins or Flamingos. Doowop lives!
Again:
Come Rock ‘n’ Roll with “Son of Saturday Gold”Public radio oldies show is an oldie itself — bash celebrates 40 years on the airWHAT: KRVM “Son of Saturday Gold” 40th Anniversary PartyWHEN: Thursday, December 16, 2010Main event 8:00–11:00 p.m., preceded by tribute jam at 6:30 p.m.WHERE: Mac’s Restaurant and Night Club – inside the Veterans’ Building1627 Willamette Street, EugeneCOST: –FREE–CONTACT: John Etheredge, KRVM volunteer DJ, john@krvm.org
Evolution Survives Assault on Louisana Textbooks | Wired Science | Wired.com
Evolution Survives Assault on Louisana Textbooks | Wired Science | Wired.com:
"“Since they can’t attack the science, they don’t have the expertise, they’re trying to attack the process” of textbook approval, said Barbara Forrest, a philosophy professor at Southeastern Louisiana University and co-author of Creationism’s Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design."
Appalling how much power illiteracy has in this country.
Running on empty
I think I've run out of gas for the day. Back to the finals tomorrow.
Running On Empty is one fine film!
Running On Empty is one fine film!
Michele Bachmann & Allies: Obama Doesn't Say 'God' Enough
Michele Bachmann & Allies: Obama Doesn't Say 'God' Enough:
"Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and her colleagues on the Congressional Prayer Caucus penned a letter to President Obama Monday, attacking him for his alleged failure to the use the word 'God' and 'Creator' more in his public speeches, especially abroad."
And these people get elected.
Doubts Brew About NASA’s New Arsenic Life | Wired Science | Wired.com
Doubts Brew About NASA’s New Arsenic Life | Wired Science | Wired.com
I love science. There's a methodology for disagreement and folks seldom get hysterical, which is the norm in politics. Look at the fight among progressives over the tax deal. Jonathan Swift nailed this kind of "discussion." Alas, nothing changes. Each generation reinvents the wheel. Each generation pisses in public (Norman Brown's definition of politics).
Final exams
Reading finals and turning in grades are the ticket today and tomorrow and maybe Friday.
I have some new "invisible" projects in mind, invisible in the sense that I won't be discussing them here, they are for the archive and nothing more.
Been catching up on banjo and plan to get back up to speed during term break. I have much more work to do with piano but I hope to get a start there as well.
Brooding about the next short video, THE VOLUNTARY VICTIMS.
Read THE GREAT GATSBY and really enjoyed it. It's been a while. Forgot how compelling it is. And now I've started a reread of THE GRAPES OF WRATH. Kindle city.
I have some new "invisible" projects in mind, invisible in the sense that I won't be discussing them here, they are for the archive and nothing more.
Been catching up on banjo and plan to get back up to speed during term break. I have much more work to do with piano but I hope to get a start there as well.
Brooding about the next short video, THE VOLUNTARY VICTIMS.
Read THE GREAT GATSBY and really enjoyed it. It's been a while. Forgot how compelling it is. And now I've started a reread of THE GRAPES OF WRATH. Kindle city.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Heat!
How nice to come home wet and cold and to find the furnace fixed and the house warm! Ah, civilization.
Winter
Cold outside -- and our furnace crashed, somebody over to fix it, I presume, tonight. I came to my office early to keep warm. Pick up finals at 430 and go home.
Have my Kindle so I have lots of reading to do until then.
Have my Kindle so I have lots of reading to do until then.
'The Sing-Off': Eugene's On the Rocks scores with 'Bad Romance' | OregonLive.com
'The Sing-Off': Eugene's On the Rocks scores with 'Bad Romance' | OregonLive.com:
"When On the Rocks performed the tune during one of their weekly campus shows at the U of O, a fan videotaped it, put it on YouTube, and a viral phenom was born -- the 'Bad Romance' video got more than 6.5 million views, which led representatives from 'The Sing-Off' to encourage On the Rocks to audition for the short-run a cappella competition."
The Killing of Crazy Horse - The Barnes & Noble Review
The Killing of Crazy Horse - The Barnes & Noble Review:
"The Killing of Crazy Horse should stand alongside Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee for the authority and art with which it recounts this moment in a people's shattered history."
Daily Kos: Indians 101: European Diseases and American Indians
Daily Kos: Indians 101: European Diseases and American Indians:
"There were an estimated 18 million Native Americans living north of Mexico at the beginning of the European invasion. Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, American Indians were remarkably free of serious diseases. People did not often die from diseases. As the European explorers and colonists began to arrive, this changed and the consequences were disastrous for Native American people. The death tolls from the newly introduced European diseases often reached 80-90 percent. Entire groups of people vanished before the tidal wave of disease."
Monday, December 06, 2010
Daily Kos: Edward R. Murrow and the Irresponsible Media of Today
Daily Kos: Edward R. Murrow and the Irresponsible Media of Today:
"'Just once in a while let us exalt the importance of ideas and information.'
-Edward R. Murrow"
-Edward R. Murrow"
Phil Knight on Oregon Ducks as they play for BCS National Championship: 'We're exactly on plan' | OregonLive.com
Phil Knight on Oregon Ducks as they play for BCS National Championship: 'We're exactly on plan' | OregonLive.com
Notice the WE. I thought this was a university, not a corporate subsidiary. Yeah, right. And nobody will give a shit because winning is everything.
Need a break
Still a few more projects to look at but I really need a break. Big time. So I'm taking it.
Let’s Not Make a Deal - NYTimes.com
Let’s Not Make a Deal - NYTimes.com:
"Last but not least: if Democrats give in to the blackmailers now, they’ll just face more demands in the future. As long as Republicans believe that Mr. Obama will do anything to avoid short-term pain, they’ll have every incentive to keep taking hostages. If the president will endanger America’s fiscal future to avoid a tax increase, what will he give to avoid a government shutdown?
So Mr. Obama should draw a line in the sand, right here, right now. If Republicans hold out, and taxes go up, he should tell the nation the truth, and denounce the blackmail attempt for what it is.
Yes, letting taxes go up would be politically risky. But giving in would be risky, too — especially for a president whom voters are starting to write off as a man too timid to take a stand. Now is the time for him to prove them wrong."
So Mr. Obama should draw a line in the sand, right here, right now. If Republicans hold out, and taxes go up, he should tell the nation the truth, and denounce the blackmail attempt for what it is.
Yes, letting taxes go up would be politically risky. But giving in would be risky, too — especially for a president whom voters are starting to write off as a man too timid to take a stand. Now is the time for him to prove them wrong."
Where is Harry Truman when we need him?
Afghanistan Poll: Afghans Lose Confidence In U.S. & NATO Forces
Afghanistan Poll: Afghans Lose Confidence In U.S. & NATO Forces
It's tragic that we learn nothing from history. We are terrible at "winning the hearts and minds" of citizens whose countries we occupy, for whatever reason, and we are terrible at playing the long game, as opposed to the short game. We are good at beating the shit out of someone quickly. Unfortunately, the Middle East now clearly will be even worse than Vietnam, and we eventually will leave without accomplishing anything positive. Another tragic waste of lives and resources. As Pete Seeger used to sing, and probably still does, "When will they ever learn ...?"
Sunday, December 05, 2010
2010-11 bowl schedule - ESPN
2010-11 bowl schedule - ESPN
The games I'll be watching:
Las Vegas
Utah vs. Boise State
Dec. 22
Poinsettia
Navy vs. San Diego State
Dec. 23
Holiday
Nebraska vs. Washington
Dec. 30
Sun
Notre Dame vs. Miami
Dec. 31
Rose Bowl
Wisconsin vs. TCU
Jan. 1
Fiesta
Connecticut vs. Oklahoma
Jan. 1
Orange
Stanford vs. Virginia Tech
Jan. 3
Hunger
Nevada vs. Boston College
Jan. 9
BCS National Championship Game
Auburn vs. Oregon
Jan. 10
The games I'll be watching:
Las Vegas
Utah vs. Boise State
Dec. 22
Poinsettia
Navy vs. San Diego State
Dec. 23
Holiday
Nebraska vs. Washington
Dec. 30
Sun
Notre Dame vs. Miami
Dec. 31
Rose Bowl
Wisconsin vs. TCU
Jan. 1
Fiesta
Connecticut vs. Oklahoma
Jan. 1
Orange
Stanford vs. Virginia Tech
Jan. 3
Hunger
Nevada vs. Boston College
Jan. 9
BCS National Championship Game
Auburn vs. Oregon
Jan. 10
Perspective
H is at the beginning of her new career as an artist. She spends incredible energy marketing and entering work in juried shows, time and energy hauling paintings hither and yon. She frets and gets depressed when a show rejects her but then feels good when she sells something in another show.
Been there, done that. I'm at the end of a career. I no longer market anything at all and consider this a great relief. I work primarily for my two archives. And for my own enjoyment and occasional enlightenment. I have some fans and support, about all I need at this stage of my life. All the same, I like surprising strokes as much as the next guy. Now and again I get some.
I'm glad I'm not at the beginning of a career again. I'm glad I'm where I'm at.
Been there, done that. I'm at the end of a career. I no longer market anything at all and consider this a great relief. I work primarily for my two archives. And for my own enjoyment and occasional enlightenment. I have some fans and support, about all I need at this stage of my life. All the same, I like surprising strokes as much as the next guy. Now and again I get some.
I'm glad I'm not at the beginning of a career again. I'm glad I'm where I'm at.
Moore leads No. 1 UConn over Sacred Heart 86-32 - College Women's Basketball - Rivals.com
Moore leads No. 1 UConn over Sacred Heart 86-32 - College Women's Basketball - Rivals.com:
"The Huskies are on track to tie the UCLA men’s all-time Division I winning streak of 88 games on Dec. 19 against Ohio State in New York, and could break it two days later in Hartford against Florida State."
Policy-Making Needs Science | Science/AAAS
Policy-Making Needs Science | Science/AAAS:
"Over the long run, any nation that makes crucial decisions while ignoring science is doomed."
Tom Shaw as model
The last "full time job" I had was Managing Editor for Oregon Business Magazine, which evolved from an earlier magazine Business Success News -- indeed I was hired to make the transition, which I did with the considerable assistance of Rob O'Lenic, our art director. So we founded the first business magazine in the state. It was fun until it was done, and then the job was boring. I received a well-timed fellowship for writing and quit and never looked back.
While I was there, I got Tom Shaw, the movie producer for whom I'd worked, to pose for a cover. He was great! Perfect for the part. (Thanks to the 2 Dans for photo.)
More about the eccentric Shaw at Remembering Tom Shaw, a documentary film.
More about the eccentric Shaw at Remembering Tom Shaw, a documentary film.
3 gadgets that changed my day's rhythm
- Acer Netbook. This has changed my work and daily rhythms significantly. I spend about 10% of the time I used to spend in my basement office because now I can take all the chores I did down there with me. I do all my routine tasks here except finances. I even can edit video here, though for major projects I prefer to work downstairs because all the archival material is on two external hard drives down there. But the netbook has changed my rhythm more than any other gadget.
- Hand pump coffee maker. I used to go out for coffee several times a day. Now I make it at home. So this eventually will be saving me money as well.
- Kindle. The new kid on the block but I already see how much more reading I do with it. It's so damn convenient and it's so easy to switch between books -- I'm always reading more than one at once -- and I think it is "easier" to read the text on the Kindle than on a page.
These three together have changed my life's rhythms in major ways.
Surprises
Reading student projects. A student who has been extremely quiet through class and never struck me as remarkable did a very nice job. Always nice to see.
Will try to read about half today and finish up tomorrow, giving me Tuesday to gather loose ends before returning them and collecting final exams. Still hoping to have my grades in by Friday.
Will try to read about half today and finish up tomorrow, giving me Tuesday to gather loose ends before returning them and collecting final exams. Still hoping to have my grades in by Friday.
What Else Would $60 Billion Buy? - NYTimes.com
What Else Would $60 Billion Buy? - NYTimes.com:
"On average, the affluent households that benefit from these cuts will save $25,000 annually. What else might that $60 billion a year buy?
•As much deficit reduction as the elimination of earmarks, President Obama’s proposed federal pay freeze, a 10 percent cut in the federal work force and a 50 percent cut in foreign aid — combined.
•A tripling of federal funding for medical research.
•Universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, with relatively small class sizes."
•As much deficit reduction as the elimination of earmarks, President Obama’s proposed federal pay freeze, a 10 percent cut in the federal work force and a 50 percent cut in foreign aid — combined.
•A tripling of federal funding for medical research.
•Universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, with relatively small class sizes."
And more ... (use link)
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Daily Kos: Congress bans those annoyingly loud commercial breaks
Daily Kos: Congress bans those annoyingly loud commercial breaks:
"The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act would authorize the Federal Communications Commission to regulate the volume of advertisements to ensure they aren't noticeably louder than the programs they interrupt, a problem that has annoyed consumers for decades. The bill passed the Senate in September and has been endorsed by Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine."
Polanski Sweeps European Film Awards – Deadline.com
Polanski Sweeps European Film Awards – Deadline.com:
"...the Swiss authorities were so understanding about Polanski’s need to finish editing The Ghost Writer, they moved editing equipment into the prison where he was being held while facing deportation back to the U.S last year."
Hard to imagine this happening in an American prison.
What's with Jiminy Cricket?
For the last several days, over 100 folks have been sent to this blog after doing a Google search for Jiminy Cricket. They are located all over the U.S. What is the sudden Jiminy Cricket fever about?
Can Oregon beat Auburn?
Should be interesting. To be sure, Oregon has the best team Nike's money can buy. It should be a competitive game.
Halftime
The favorites are on track to win -- and in truth, Oregon-Auburn would be an interesting game with the Ducks underdogs for a change.
Need to start reading final projects later today, this evening. A few each of the next 3 or 4 days.
Need to start reading final projects later today, this evening. A few each of the next 3 or 4 days.
MFA vs. NYC: America now has two distinct literary cultures. Which one will last? - By Chad Harbach - Slate Magazine
MFA vs. NYC: America now has two distinct literary cultures. Which one will last? - By Chad Harbach - Slate Magazine:
"In his 2009 book, The Program Era: Postwar Fiction and the Rise of Creative Writing, Mark McGurl describes how American fiction has become inseparable from its institutional context—the university—as particularly embodied in the writing workshop. The book is remarkable in many respects, not least for McGurl's suggestive readings of a host of major American writers, not just Flannery O'Connor and Raymond Carver, the compact form and ashamed contents of whose work have made them program icons, but also verbally expansive writer-professors like Nabokov and Joyce Carol Oates. In terms of the intellectual history of the writing workshop, The Program Era marks a turning point after which the MFA program comes to seem somehow different than it had previously seemed. It feels, reading McGurl, as if the MFA beast has at last been offered a look in the mirror, and may finally come to know itself as it is."
Daily Kos: The First Information War
Daily Kos: The First Information War:
"With corporations controlling both the MSM and Web providers this is becoming easier with each passing day. Controlling dissemination of information is at the heart of controlling the people. Orwell would be finding this most interesting."
I hate the BCS
Championship Saturday -- and here's what will upset the BCS more than anything. Oregon State upsets Oregon. South Carolina upsets Auburn. That eliminates #1 and #2. TCU faces one of a number of one-loss teams, and no matter which gets the BCS bid, the controversy will be MAJOR. This is good for getting rid of the BCS.
But it won't happen. I just hope Oregon State makes it interesting.
But it won't happen. I just hope Oregon State makes it interesting.
Friday, December 03, 2010
People
Ah, the news tonight. 2 guys pickpocket a 92 y/o man at the grocery. A woman steals a holiday wreath from a church door. People! Happy holidays.
Sarah Palin is wrong about John F. Kennedy, religion and politics
Sarah Palin is wrong about John F. Kennedy, religion and politics:
"Palin's argument seems to challenge a great American tradition, enshrined in the Constitution, stipulating that there be no religious test for public office. A careful reading of her book leads me to conclude that Palin wishes for precisely such a test. And she seems to think that she, and those who think like her, are qualified to judge who would pass and who would not."
Game of Numbers: How the BCS Rules College Football | Playbook
Game of Numbers: How the BCS Rules College Football | Playbook:
"In fact, everything about college football today is done on a grand scale. Millions of dollars are pumped into local communities, thanks to roving bands of fanatics, and books like Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer have taught us that college football might as well be religion in some areas. All of which, BCS critics say, is why the system should be scrapped and replaced with a traditional bracketed playoff."
Freezing Out Hope - NYTimes.com
Freezing Out Hope - NYTimes.com:
"After the Democratic “shellacking” in the midterm elections, everyone wondered how President Obama would respond. Would he show what he was made of? Would he stand firm for the values he believes in, even in the face of political adversity?
On Monday, we got the answer: he announced a pay freeze for federal workers. This was an announcement that had it all. It was transparently cynical; it was trivial in scale, but misguided in direction; and by making the announcement, Mr. Obama effectively conceded the policy argument to the very people who are seeking — successfully, it seems — to destroy him."
On Monday, we got the answer: he announced a pay freeze for federal workers. This was an announcement that had it all. It was transparently cynical; it was trivial in scale, but misguided in direction; and by making the announcement, Mr. Obama effectively conceded the policy argument to the very people who are seeking — successfully, it seems — to destroy him."
Art Scatter » Blog Archive » Gulliver’s Travels, unbowdlerized
Art Scatter » Blog Archive » Gulliver’s Travels, unbowdlerized
Good timing as I return to the classics, unbowdlerized.
Good timing as I return to the classics, unbowdlerized.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
US misses out on international sport yet again - Yahoo! News
US misses out on international sport yet again - Yahoo! News:
"First the Olympics, now World Cup. When it comes to landing sports' biggest events, the United States can't win."
Sen. Bernie Sanders: A Real Jaw Dropper at the Federal Reserve
Sen. Bernie Sanders: A Real Jaw Dropper at the Federal Reserve:
"What we are seeing is the incredible power of a small number of people who have incredible conflicts of interest getting incredible help from the taxpayers of this country while ignoring the needs of the people."
Like it or Not, the iPad is a Kindle-Killer - Yahoo! News
Like it or Not, the iPad is a Kindle-Killer - Yahoo! News
This may be true in the marketplace but not for me. Kindle smokes iPad as an ebook reader.
NASA Finds New Life Form | Wired Science | Wired.com
NASA Finds New Life Form | Wired Science | Wired.com:
"Hours before their special news conference today, the cat is out of the bag: NASA has discovered a completely new life form that doesn’t share the biological building blocks of anything currently living in planet Earth. This changes everything."
Man, oh man, I'll say it changes everything! This is incredible.
Starbucks at PSU
The interview with Primus was great, eager to edit and see what we have. Covered a lot of ground.
We have 2 university Starbucks, and I'm at one of them. Lunch, coffee, read. Then back to the office in case students with final day panic are looking for me. I know one who had better be ha ha.
We have 2 university Starbucks, and I'm at one of them. Lunch, coffee, read. Then back to the office in case students with final day panic are looking for me. I know one who had better be ha ha.
Hyperdrama
Here's an interesting stat: less than 20% of the recent visitors to my hyperdrama web page are from the U.S. I've seen other evidence that hyperdrama is more popular in Latin American and Europe than here.
Hyperdrama page
Hyperdrama page
Report calls for radical redesign of cities to cope with population growth | Environment | guardian.co.uk
Report calls for radical redesign of cities to cope with population growth | Environment | guardian.co.uk:
"Megacities on the Move report says authorities must start planning their transport infrastructure now for a future when two thirds of the world's population will live in cities"
SHOCKER! First Police Action In Ronni Chasen Murder Results In Another Death – Deadline.com
SHOCKER! First Police Action In Ronni Chasen Murder Results In Another Death – Deadline.com:
"The police source noted that Ms. Chasen was not randomly targeted and that they’re convinced that her murder was not gang-related."
Movie Days « Havana Film Festival
Movie Days « Iván's File Cabinet:
"The Havana Film Festival starts on Thursday, December 2. The 32nd International Festival of New Latin American Cinema.
The common people, who go without milk in their coffee every day, count the coins in their pockets; during the ten days of the Festival they can put aside the burdens and sink quietly into that dark magic is the big screen."
The common people, who go without milk in their coffee every day, count the coins in their pockets; during the ten days of the Festival they can put aside the burdens and sink quietly into that dark magic is the big screen."
Quotation of the day
"The fundamental reason for Palin's strength is the despair of the white working class - a despair certainly merited given the economic forces of the past couple of decades. Their jobs aren't coming back - they've gone to India and China for ever - and their wages have barely risen in a generation. And their response is to blame cultural, not economic elites - as is usually the case in America". --Andrew Sullivan
Last day of class
I think I'll show a DVD today but make it optional. If students have finals they'd rather prepare for, fine. If everybody leaves, I'll leave but otherwise show the DVD, which is part of the series of long interviews with screenwriters.
I'll have about 4 hours to kill before office hours after my video taping. Lots of reading I can get done! I finished Doctorow, will write more about it here after I get my cable so I can download notes and excerpts. I started Philip Roth's first book, Goodbye, Columbus.
I rather like days when I go in early and have lots of time on my hands. I could see hanging out at a university no matter where I lived, just for the good ambiance of the place. On campus I feel a certain protection, or filter, from the general craziness in the land.
I'll have about 4 hours to kill before office hours after my video taping. Lots of reading I can get done! I finished Doctorow, will write more about it here after I get my cable so I can download notes and excerpts. I started Philip Roth's first book, Goodbye, Columbus.
Sen. Tom Harkin On Tax Cuts: 'Have The Republicans Lost All Sense Of Fairness?' (VIDEO)
Sen. Tom Harkin On Tax Cuts: 'Have The Republicans Lost All Sense Of Fairness?' (VIDEO):
"'Have the Republicans lost all sense of fairness? Have they lost all sense of justice? Have they lost all sense of what's right and wrong? I mean, there ought to be moral outrage at the policies that permit million-dollar bonuses to these money manipulators on Wall Street, and yet they're telling the unemployed to get into the soup line for Christmas."
Busy day
Going in early to tape an interview with Primus St. John for a profile for the review. This is his last term before retirement.
Pick up student projects today. May or may not have a class.
The Kindle is wonderful. Adds a kind of convenience, portability and flexibility to reading that the weight of books doesn't permit. Moreover I find it "easier" to read, the type and contrast, and control one ha, make for a more friendly reading environment. Except for some navigation issues ... lack of shortcuts ... I have no complaints whatever thus far. Have easily connected wireless at Starbucks and McDonald's though i still have figured out how to get hooked up at home. But once I get my cable to hook to my computer, I won't need to do that anyway.
Next week at this time I should be finishing up grades.
Next term I may audit a class if there's room, Bill Tate's Film in American Culture. It's noon to two on Tues and Thurs, the days I teach and am on campus. Might be a good thing to do!
My post-project attitude, my semi-retirement attitude, has improved since getting the Kindle. Nothing like losing yourself in good books to drive away the heebie-jeebies. One of my early musical recollections, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, Armstrong croaking, "Got the heebie-jeebies!"
Pick up student projects today. May or may not have a class.
The Kindle is wonderful. Adds a kind of convenience, portability and flexibility to reading that the weight of books doesn't permit. Moreover I find it "easier" to read, the type and contrast, and control one ha, make for a more friendly reading environment. Except for some navigation issues ... lack of shortcuts ... I have no complaints whatever thus far. Have easily connected wireless at Starbucks and McDonald's though i still have figured out how to get hooked up at home. But once I get my cable to hook to my computer, I won't need to do that anyway.
Next week at this time I should be finishing up grades.
Next term I may audit a class if there's room, Bill Tate's Film in American Culture. It's noon to two on Tues and Thurs, the days I teach and am on campus. Might be a good thing to do!
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
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