The Devil You Know

So. John Ashcroft, that deeply deluded and evil man, is resigning.

Why does that worry me? It's hard to think of anyone worse in that position of great power.

What worries me is that maybe Ashcroft is too soft for the tastes of this administration and their masters from the dark side. Maybe they want to get someone really effective in there.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

And that worries me, too. Why is Soviet era humor now so fitting for the US?

Get Your Facts Straignt

I'm of two minds on Michael Crichton. Sometimes he can produce a reliable beach read. He certainly makes entertaining TV and movies. For the most part. But there are other times, such as his novel "Prey" which could benefit from a strong editor and a swift kick in the behind.

But he is one smart dude, evidenced by this speach:

Why Speculate? A talk by Michael Crichton International Leadership Forum La Jolla April 26, 2002
"Those are the lengths you have to go to if you want to be certain that your information is correct. But when I tell people this story, they just stare at me incomprehendingly. The find it absurd. They don't think it's necessary to do all that. They think it's overkill. They live in the world of MSNBC and the New York Times. And they've forgotten what real, reliable information is, and the lengths you have to go to get it. "

He's right, speculation is entertaining, but far too easy. Much harder, it is, to speak clearly about what happened before (said in my best Yoda imitation). And talking and writing about the recent election is difficult. And not so entertaining about what dark days and events lie ahead.

Here's what I think about this election. Most people, including most Americans, are fucking idiots. They know nothing about the reality of the universe and the lives they live. They remain lost in a world of myth and speculation all laid out for them as fact. It's not about liberals and conservatives, it's about Thinkers and Believers.

And here's the important part: believing is a bad thing. Belief forbids thought and insight and understanding. Thinking requires all of these things and demands the very careful checking and processes to makes sure our information is reliable, makes sure our theories work and describe the universe and the lives we lead to the best of our abilities.

You know what? Today isn't any darker than yesterday. It's the same damn place it's always been. It's almost always been this battle, but there are more thinkers today than there have ever been. We're making progress.

At least that's what I believe.

Comforting Words From Captain Randy

You're fucked.

Royally fucked. Bury the family silver in the back yard. Hunker down and see you in four years.

Actually, I'm more than a little interested to see if they'll now let the mask slip, reveal the slithering evil inside. Will events and circumstances keep them restrained, or will they let loose with a barrage of repression, trying to shape the country after their own desires for the next fifty years?

It's a bad time, folks. But it's made clear that a full half of the country wants it exactly this way. I'm beginning to wonder if a little class warfare isn't a good idea after all.

More, after my coffee . . .

OK, here's the bright side. Bush will now have to deal with his mess in Iraq. Had Kerry won, he would have been saddled with it and I don't think there's a solution that doesn't turn out badly for everyone. So it will be completely in Bush's lap.

And in the good news front. I can now get a drink (soon) in historically dry Westerville. I'm gonna need it.

Wearing My Sticker Proudly

My wait at the polls was only 45 minutes. I arrived right at a quarter to 10 and was out by 11. I voted, exercised my franchise, but somehow that didn't do much to ease the tension or my sense of impending doom.

Let's hope tomorrow brings clear, unambiguous good news.

Investing For (or By) Idiots

I'm either a savvy long-term investor or a rather lazy, stupid one. I
tend to hold stocks forever. I like picking good companies that I
believe in, then sticking with them as long as I still believe.

Cry, Beloved Apple
Stock / Jobs & Co. just made our columnist a tidy profit. So why is
selling the shares so damn hard?

Like Mr. Morford, I've owned Apple forever. I bought my first block
before the Newton came out - I'd been a Mac user since 1987 and saw the
Newton and handheld market as the brilliant future. OK, so the Newton
didn't work out, but the Palm did. But I still believed in Apple. I
bought another, larger block just when Jobs came back.

My broker thinks I'm a genius, but I just like the company. I've
thought hard about selling now and taking the profits, but here's why I
won't: I still believe in the company and think there's more growth
there.

And I like owning part of the company.

I did the same thing years ago, buying Blockbuster stock because they
were developing print-on-demand video. That never happened, but the
stock went up. Eventually, Paramount purchased blockbuster, then
Viacom bought them. All good. Now, Blockbuster's being spun back off.
And I'm staying with them. Now here's the paradox: I hate
Blockbuster. I don't rent videos/DVDs. I dislike there selection and
policies. But I think that there's big growth there and potential in
markets that they can compete in, like home delivery (i.e. Netflix),
and eventually wired delivery. And I have hopes that they'll compete
on discount sales, which they are well positioned for with their
stores, but have yet to enter. So, even though I don't like them as a
consumer, I understand their business and market and like them as an
investor. I'll have no problem selling when I think they're ripe.

My stock pick for the day? Buy a good mutual fund. Don't pick stocks.

We have a word for that in English

"We believe this emotion is known in English as schadenfreude."

Uh, no, not English. In fact, we don't have a single word for it.

Unless you refer to Mel Brooks, "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die."

You know you should worry when . . .

Pat Robertson starts sounding like a reasonable person with good judgement.

CNN.com - Robertson: I warned Bush on Iraq casualties - Oct 19, 2004: "'You remember Mark Twain said, 'He looks like a contented Christian with four aces.' I mean he was just sitting there like, 'I'm on top of the world,' ' Robertson said on the CNN show, 'Paula Zahn Now.'

'And I warned him about this war. I had deep misgivings about this war, deep misgivings. And I was trying to say, 'Mr. President, you had better prepare the American people for casualties.' '

Robertson said the president then told him, 'Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties"

But then ol' Pat restores my faith in him and goes ahead and endorses Bush. Because even though Bush is completely certifiable, dangerous, and deaf to all criticism, he's still has "the blessing of heaven" on him. That's certainly a relief.

HBO Says "Screw You, Subscribers"

I really like HBO's original programming. I'm a big fan of "Deadwood". But I don't currently watch any of their movies - it's just too big a hassle to watch a movie when they want to show it to me.

I do, however, want to record their program, which I pay for, and watch it when AND WHERE I want to. It's my right, and it's legal.

But they're working against me. You too.

HBO freezes fair use; plugs analog hole

So screw them. HBO, you're cancelled. No more money from Captain Randy.

Not So Funny

I'm a big fan of William Gibson and I'm pleased to see he's speaking out and blogging again.

President Bush Answers Your Questions

Hedwig might not find this funny either. It hits far to close.

What scares me is this: I've always thought the worst of this administration, but they've continually shown that I'm not nearly cynical enough. They've disappeared prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq. They continue to hold American citizens indeterminately and without access to lawyers. Should they win or steal the coming election, they'll rule as if they one by a landslide and an iron mandate.

Don't ask any questions, Billy.

That's Entertainment!

I just placed my order for the That's Entertainment! movie collection (Amazon - much better price than the local Best Buy). I'm hoping it arrives quickly.

Then, rather than watching the final presidential debate and the consequential spinning, I can seal myself up in my theater, pour myself a rather large dirty martini, and smile myself silly as I watch all the great moments of the MGM movie musicals in a truly grand motion picture extravaganza.

Sing along with me, won't you?

Rest In Peace, Mr. Reeve

I was deeply saddened this morning to learn of the passing of Christopher Reeve. He was both a fine actor and after his life altering accident, an inspiration and true hero.

Although many remember him only as Superman (and who could not?) I found him to be a talented actor. See his performance in "Remains Of The Day" to witness his clear and controlled performance.

I had really hoped to see him walk again.

As If I Didn't Hate Microsoft Already

Christ.

'iPod users are music thieves' says Ballmer - silicon.com

When did Karl Rove start working for Microsoft? Ballmer's comments are a massive smear at iPod users - backed up with nothing. Lies. It's viscous and mean. And it's an insult.

Microsoft is so greedy that they can't stand success anywhere but by themselves. I'm an iPod user - I'm still using my 1st generation 5 gig iPod - my daughter bought a 3rd generation 10 gig for herself. Not one song on either is stolen. Every one is either burned from CDs I own or from music I legally purchase online.

Oh. Wait. I didn't purchase any of that stuff from Microsoft. So let me restate what Ballmer was trying to say. "If you didn't buy it from us, you're stealing from us."

And directly to Mr. Ballmer. You can't see me right now, but I'm giving you the finger. Asshole.

Captain Randy Declares For Kerry

It's not exactly as if I had a choice.

I've been living under a cloud of dread since the 2000 election. I feared the worst from Bush and his gang and got exactly what I feared. War. Loss of civil rights. Massive national debt with nothing to show for it. A world teetering on the edge of generational warfare and inherently unsafe for travel outside our own borders. A deeply divided America.

And my sense of dread for the coming election is palpable. I couldn't bring myself to watch the debates - mainly because I can't stand listening to Bush.

Today is October 1. Here's my prediction. Kerry will begin to slowly pull ahead in the polls. Then Karl Rove and his team of thugs, successors of Lee Atwater (who if you believe in cosmic justice or karma, found that doing evil bounces right back at you - and was man enough to admit it at the end), will go nuclear on every type of smear, dirty trick and outright lies, striking fear wherever they can. There are already reports of "Push Polling" going on - the technique Rove uses to smear a rival like he did for John McCain "Would you still vote for McCain if you learned that he fathered a black child out of wedlock?". For Kerry he's using "Would you still vote for Kerry even though he's going to raise your taxes?"

Here's the facts, America. Rove and company think you are stupid. They believe they can manipulate you. When they're down, they don't stick to the fundamentals. They will do literally anything to win. They have before.

It's just too damn depressing.

But I stand firm and clear. I have hope. Bush is bad for America, bad for the world. Kerry is an intelligent and experienced man who will be dramatically better for all of us. I urge you to support him on election day.

But remember, if you're contacted by a pollster, lie. Let's make it a surprise landslide and make polling useless.

Scary Graphs and Incomprehensible Systems

I do it just to torture myself, but every day I visit this site:

Current Electoral Vote Predictor 2004

Regardless of your political leanings, this type of "predict the outcome" based on polling and projections is stomach churning. In the past few weeks the us map displayed there has shifted wildly.

I restate my advice on polls: lie. Polls are a fundamental invasion of privacy and a direct attempt to nail down the future. Resist! If you're approached, phoned, or mailed by a pollster, run away. Or better yet, take the poll and lie - take the opposite viewpoint from your actual one. Encourage your friends and relatives to do the same.

The only way to stop them is to make them wildly inaccurate. Still can't stop checking the damn site, though . . .

Light Speed In A Chevy Impala

Today is the release of the original 3 Star Wars movies on DVD. I just placed my order on Amazon, so I'll probably have to wait till next week. No problem there. I count myself among those that really enjoyed those movies, but didn't go nuts over them.

But there is an entire generation that went nuts over these films. They are most likely too young to have seen the original Star Wars in the theater, most likely first seeing it on their family VCR. Just like my daughter use to watch "The Little Mermaid" every day when we got home, they sucked it up.

I was 17 when the movie came out. That was an age where the hype you got built slowly. I remember hearing about it on the radio and went to see it by myself. It was a hoot, exciting and fun. On the drive back home I was lucky not to get ticketed as I made the jump to light speed in my lime green 4-door Chevy Impala.

But I was already a long time reader of science fiction. I'd seen many of the movie serials, including Flash Gordon, on TV. And I was a Star Trek fan from the first. So Star Wars was a continuation of the type of thing I enjoyed, not the source of it.

The more recent Star Wars movies are a disappointment. Frankly, they're just not any good. Oh, but the first is a joy.

Perchance To Dream

Ah, what wonderful things are dreams. But not magical or supernatural, I'm afraid.

Sweet dreams are made of this ... have we solved the Freudian riddle?: "Alternatively, the answer to the riddle of dreams may all be quite simple, mundane almost.

'I see them as the cinema of the mind,' said Dr Jim Horne of the sleep research centre at Loughborough University. 'They're there to keep the brain entertained during the tedious hours of sleep and have very little significance beyond that.' "

I somewhat agree with Dr. Horne, but I think that dreams help with sorting out our thoughts and experience. I think that they're our brain's way of telling itself stories. Some are "what if", some are historical dramas of our own lives or with us as a central figure.

I think this work also helps to explain why we love movies so much. Movies are literally dreams made real.


And lastly a word of praise for the good folks at boingboing.net - their posts often intrigue and interest me and results in posting here. Thanks to Davit Pescovitz for this one.

Why Blog?

I am often asked, "why should I publish/write my own blog?" The answer is, "If you have to ask, then you shouldn't."

I write and publish because I can. I've kept sporadic journals since college, filled with mostly navel-gazing and self remonstration for not writing more, and better (and more legibly, sorry about that, future reader). They're stacked in the closet of my den. And although I have the skills to publish a site using raw HTML, it's a bother - blogging makes publishing easy.

So, I write - it's what I do, a big part of who I am. Hell, if you ask me "what do you do?", I'll tell you that I'm in software marketing. If you ask me what I am, I'll tell you "a writer." It's what I was trained and educated to do. Writers write. Some of them publish. Very few earn money at it. I don't need the money (yes, I'd love to be paid for writing, but it's not a requirement to keep me writing). And I can publish.

I might even have readers. So I write about what strikes me, when it strikes me, and I put it here. Every once and a while I make a connection with someone and that's interesting, but not necessary. Often I learn something and help clarify my thoughts. And on occasion, I publish a piece of fiction, a little story. Over time it adds up. I don't know what it will become, nor does it matter at this point.

As a reader, I read blogs and web sites that interest me. What interests me the most? Smart, interesting people and the opinions they express.

What's also interesting is what I don't choose to publish. Deleted from this post was a long section speculating about the future, economics, nanotechnology, and human occupations, with the ramifications thereof. But it was also clear that I don't know the hell what I was talking about on that rather broad subject, so that for another day.

Why Blog? It is entertaining and satisfying for me. No other reason would suffice.

On Clowning

Hedwig, the wise old owl, sent me in this direction to see the BBC's photo article about Clowns Without Borders.



It's beautiful and touching photo essay. Smiles are so infectious.

Out of the dark recesses of my past, I too was a clown. In college after I switched from Biology/Chemistry/Premed to Theatre I began to study with a gifted clown, Winston Inslee. The roots of my theatrical training and understanding come as much from the clown as it does from Shakespeare. Or perhaps my understanding of Shakespeare is enhanced by clearly seeing how much buffoonery is central to his work.

My senior project was a performance/play based on the clown character I developed - it helped me get into grad school (accepted into 2 different programs). During my MFA work I also worked on my clowning. I never did birthday parties or entertained at fast food restaurants, thank god, but I did my share of nursing homes and schools. When I shifted my focus from performing to playwrighting, it was the clown who gave me the most inspiration. My full length play, "Grimaldi: King Of The Clowns" got me my degree and after I left, was selected by SIU to perform in their main season. It also went to the American College Theater Festival. That was thrilling and terrifying in itself. (BTW - find Grimaldi's "autobiography" - it's edited by Boz - Charles Dickens - he basically wrote it himself).

After moving to Columbus and entering the business world (starting with nearly 2 years at Bell Labs) I continued clowning, mainly at festivals and some organized busking events (how can you have organized buskers?). I taught a class in clowning for OSU's adult education program for a couple of years - was even featured on the catalog cover. But OSU canceled their adult education and life got more complex with work and kids. I had to decide where to commit my artistic energies - writing won out.

There was also another thing that made me put away the red nose and grease paint - I got to that rare point where I was very good, good enough to see what it would take to be exceptional. I could also see that I didn't have the drive or talent to be what I expected of myself.

I also had/have a very narrow vision of what kind of clowning I like. Cirque Du Sole = wonderful. Bozo=scarry. Crusty the Clown = hilarious. Emmet Kelly=breathtaking (but now overdone, stealing the magic of what he was). I saw Red Skelton perform and when he wasn't being a ham and just plain goofy, he could be a wonderful clown.

You see, the clown is a very specific, very important theatrical form. When I see something like Clowns Without Borders I know it can work because the clown is a key human component - playing off the ridiculous. It is a counter to the Shaman, that claims spiritual authority and great dignity. The clown claims no such thing, and mocks those that do.

And what makes people strong? Laughing together. Theatre is a natural human occupation. Just as Pinker tells us "The mind is something the brain does" the theater is something that humans living together do. We tell stories. We repeat them. We formalize them. And the telling and watching make us feel better.

How brilliant of these people to know and act on this. "People told me that big international organisations give them clothes and food, but that nobody ever makes them smile."

No. There's a difference between changing your mind and lying.

I detest this talk of "flip flopping" on issues. Anyone that insists on never changing your position, never deciding you were wrong, never finding a better way, or since we're talking about politics, never compromises, simply isn't being honest.

For example:

President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief

Assorted shrubbery on car

I heard the always funny Carl Hiaasen on yesterday's "On The Media" and looked up his column.

On the beach, waiting for Frances

My oldest daughter asks, "why are you watching the Weather Channel? It's just endless weather reports!". And I explained to her that watching storm coverage is like watching NASCAR (which I don't do). You don't watch for the race, you watch because someone might crash. It's both horrifying and cool and you'd hate to miss it.

That's why the desktop picture on my 21" Apple Cinema Display at work is a high resolution picture (updated, manually, daily), of Ivan's approach to the Gulf and eventual landfall (get them fresh at http://www.noaa.gov). I don't wish ill on anyone, but man, it's interesting!

That, and more storm coverage means less election coverage.