Friday, September 30, 2005
Witty remarks
There are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don’t.
—from Dyed in the Wool

Today's horoscope: Good news! The stars do not control your destiny. You do.
—from Happy News dot Com

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 5:19 PM

1st anniversary
It's been a whole year! Amazing. Happy blogiversary to me!! Special thanks to my son-in-law who showed me how and was encouragingly enthusiastic. In honor of my one year blogiversary, here's an apt comment from Peter Abelard (courtesy of Simian Farmer):
Against the disease of writing one must take special precautions, since it is a dangerous and contagious disease.
A longer reflective post, this weekend.

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Permalink | 3 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:05 AM

Thursday, September 29, 2005
Indoor golf
Ha, you thought I wrote "indoor" but meant "miniature" but this is both. So there. Courtesy of the NY Sun and Hospitality Design Magazine, one learns that Glenlivet City Links has set up a 10,000-square-foot golf course at 7 Times Square in NYC. Modeled on a Scottish 9-hole course, and beginning with three weeks here, the course and its clubhouse will also spend three weeks apiece in Boston, Chicago and Dallas, then end their tour with three weeks in San Francisco in March 2006. If you join or belong to the Glenlivet Society, you'll get free rounds of golf and invitations to events in each city. A tad exclusive and outré but cute.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:47 AM

Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Is change progress?
Yes, another redesign. As I've mentioned, I used to move furniture periodically. Redesigning a web page is unlikely to make me bump into anything on my way to the refrigerator, causes far less wear and tear on my muscles, and is just plain fun. However, I notice that different browsers and, sometimes, different computers, display things extraordinarily differently. On Opera, e.g., the sidebar links are really tiny whereas they're small but okay on IE. Let me know what you think.

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Permalink | 6 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:39 AM

Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Banned books
It's the annual last-week-of-September Banned Book Week and though it makes for a long post I can't resist listing the American Library Association's one hundred most-frequently-banned books, especially since I've read over 60% of them, I am proud to say. It's obvious (wrong, but obvious) why some made it but, even allowing for warped thinking, I can't figure out why Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic or Where's Waldo? are included. Anyway, wouldn't it be best if we all read anything then thought and decided what we do or do not like or believe based on knowledge rather than assumption? Honestly, where's the harm in that? (How many have you read? Feel free to share your grand total in a comment.)

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz

51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (A. Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100.Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

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Permalink | 3 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:29 AM

Monday, September 26, 2005
A boy, a man, and a horse
Good news

A boy (17-year-old high school student Joe Tignangelli), and a man (Red Hook, NY resident Pat Hirsch) and a horse (now named Patty, after Mr Hirsch). Put them together and you have a fantastic story that you couldn't make up nor be believed if you did. Joe is an enthusiastic and talented rodeo-style rider. Last April, his mother died. In June, he and his horse, Gator, qualified for summer High School Rodeo nationals. Then Gator was injured in a car accident and had to be put down. But Joe rallied again and competed on a borrowed horse, qualifying to compete in this fall/winter Rodeo Association season. But it seemed irrelevant since he had no horse of his own . . . until Pat Hirsch played white knight riding in on a horse, and gave Joe a quarterhorse. Can you imagine such generosity? These days, Joe gets up at 4:30, tends to horse chores, goes to school, comes home, does homework and rides Patty. They have lots of practicing to do for January's calf-roping competition but who can doubt they'll do well?

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:00 AM

Sunday, September 25, 2005
Happy news dot com
Good news

The Cincinnati Ballet is staging Midsummer Night's Dream for its opening production and, needing bunches of well-built Roman soldiers, enlisted inmates from Cincinnati's River City Correctional Center who will thereby work off community service requirements. Awesome flexibility on all their parts. (Thanks to happynews.com for its "real news, compelling stories, always positive" coverage.)

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:16 PM

A little whining
What's with tv recently, even cable reruns? Programming has been so repetitive or just plain awful that even I am challenged to find something to have on longer than while surfing. It doesn't help that I'm not a football fan or a news junky, and I've seen way more hurricane coverage than makes sense, and I've even seen most of the WE, Hallmark, AMC and Lifetime movies before, and TCM's movies have been shown over and over and over, and PBS is slipping in more of those 'watching paint dry' shows, and the home decorating shows are repeats too, and I need a break from the personal make-over hosts' insults. There are a few swell exceptions like Rome on the History channel and Foyle's War and Law & Order reruns, but they're only a few hours a week. The upshot is that I stay up until 1:30 or 2 because late night reruns are funny and endlessly rewatchable. Please tell me the new season will help.

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Permalink | 5 comment(s) | posted by jau at 7:32 PM

Fairness
In today's NY Times, Byron Calame's "Public Editor" column entitled "Even Geraldo Deserves a Fair Shake" is a refreshing discourse full of calm and reason.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:44 AM

Saturday, September 24, 2005
Can the earth trip?
Over the last ten eleven days, seven eight eleven people I know have broken a foot, ankle or wrist, and I've seen several more with casts and/or crutches in the same places. Considering that bone breaking isn't viral or bacterial and considering that I'm a conspiracy theory enthusiast, I can't help wonder why these injuries and why now. Can the earth's rotation get sticky, do you suppose? Just for just a millisecond, just long enough to throw a few people off-balance. Oh, yes, of course I'm kidding, but it seems peculiar that so many people have such similar specific injuries. Early spring, sure. Once the leaves are falling and wet, sure. Mid-September when it hasn't snowed or rained or been foggy or anything, puzzling. Any ideas?

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:39 PM

Friday, September 23, 2005
Good luck to Good. . .Luck

The movie has its American premiere tonight at the NY Film Festival (see earlier post). Good luck to David Strathairn today, especially, as he begins to gain the further and wider renown that he richly deserves. ♣ See the film's websites here and here; the director's website here; and some biographies of Murrow here (Museum of Broadcasting), here (Radio Hall of Fame) and here (an article written by Joseph Wershba, played in the movie by Robert Downey, Jr.).

Update: A.O. Scott's review in the NY Times is as much an essay on the people and times as a review, but/and is worth reading. He says, "I can best sum up my own response by recalling the name of his flagship program: See it now."

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 3:28 PM

Thursday, September 22, 2005
Reporting good news
I've decided to write about specifically good news at least a few days each week. I don't mean these to be personal, thus they will not include things like hugs from my children, unquestionably good though they are. Also, note that this doesn't mean never complaining or criticizing in other posts. Nor does it mean religious or loony things (which, I hasten to add, does not mean to suggest that religious means loony or vice versa). I merely want to add my tiny focus to the positive side of things, which is huge if we would but look at and recognize it.

House of Representative members Tom Lantos (D-Calif) , Christopher Shays (R-Conn), and Barney Frank (D-Mass), are sponsoring a bill to require state and local disaster preparedness plans that wish to use FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) funding to include household pets and service animals. Many people who refuse to leave their homes when bad weather is approaching say that they are unwilling to leave their pets, and pets are often prohibited in emergency shelters. This seems like a great idea. I'll post the bill number here so we can call our congressmenpeople with encouragement for a quick vote.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 4:12 PM

Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Then and now
Question: notice any difference between the school buses in the picture on the left and the ones in the picture on the right? Answer: the school buses in the photo on the right are taking people away from Houston as Rita whirls her way there whereas the under water (but not amphibious) buses on the left are in New Orleans, shown a couple of days after the mayor must've forgotten that they were the key to evacuating car-less people.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 4:02 PM

"Stuck on stupid"
Yes, the phrase is bound to become part of our lexicon after first being uttered at yesterday's press conference with N.O. Mayor Nagin and Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (transcript, audio, and commentary at RadioBlogger and video at The Political Teen). Impolite, provoking, perhaps insensitive, all those things for sure. But what a kick to hear someone in authority tell a reporter that a job is getting done as it should and that the details are inappropriate to publicize. Just think how much less human degredation would have occurred if the mayor and governor had allowed Honoré to be in charge when the feds offered the troops, before Katrina.
P.S. For chuckles, think about the uproar if any politician refused a question from the press with the new phrase.
P.P.S. The t-shirt should just say "yasos".

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Permalink | 2 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:00 AM

Monday, September 19, 2005
David Strathairn
Wonderful news! On September 10th, David Strathairn won the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival for his portrayal of Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, And Good Luck which is directed by George Clooney (yes, that George Clooney). David is one of those actors highly thought of by theater-goers but only known to movie-goers who read the credits although most would recognize his face. He's been in nearly 70 movies including Eight Men Out, River Wild and Memphis Belle (read his filmography and biography.) In addition to being a fabulous actor, by the way, he's a really decent person according to all who've talked about him; plus, he even remembers casual acquaintances like me and always makes you feel as if talking with you actually matters to him.

The title Good Night And Good Luck is the words with which Murrow ended every newscast. And also in it are actors you "may" have heard of: Robert Downey Jr., Ray Wise, Jeff Daniels, George Clooney (who?), Patricia Clarkson, Frank Langella etc. What a treat it must have been to watch this being made! Check out the official website and trailer including an awesome photo of David leading off the "gallery". GNAGL will open the New York Film Festival on September 23rd (!), has its U.S. Premiere on October 7th and its London Film Festival premiere on November 3rd. And there's already Oscar buzz about David's performance. The script will probably get lots of attention given its focus on Murrow's tangles with Joe McCarthy so I hope it's well and carefully written. It would be great if people see it who both do and don't already share its viewpoint, and then discuss it afterwards, however heatedly, as long as they listen to each other. In David's acceptance speech in Venice (spoken in Italian!), he said the film emphasizes a belief that journalists can "bring truth to all of us so that we can make better decisions about our lives". A salutary thought, regardless of one's political allegiance. But more to the point here: cheers to David!!

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 1:20 PM

Sunday, September 18, 2005
Well said
Nykola has outlined Katrina events, natural and otherwise. Blessedly free of hysterics, politics and emotion.

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Permalink | 3 comment(s) | posted by jau at 2:10 AM

Two birds with one stone chicken -OR- How's bayou?
Two apparently all-but-insurmountable problems: (1) restoring New Orleans to a vibrant, clean, healthy city that people will want to live in and visit and (2) avoiding an avian flu/pandemic. Solution: take all the fowl from the Near and Far East, the places that appear to be breeding and grounds zero for sick birds who can cross-species pass the flu on to us, pack up the birds and take them to New Orleans, then offer them as voodoo sacrifices so New Orleans can be a healthy happy city. (OK, yes, I'm kidding, but in one of those wildest dream moments, doesn't that sound like a dandy way to solve both problems?)

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 1:11 AM

Friday, September 16, 2005
Listening <–> attacking
What's with the vitriol and knee-jerk anger that so many people spew these days about politics and loads of other topics. When did heated arguments get tossed aside in favor of slamming people against the wall? Why would someone think personal attacks are helpful or effective in any way shape or form as a way to express disagreement? Why would anyone prefer to express blind fury than try to have a discussion or argument, even if it were to be intense? Slamming people and personal attacks and blind rage make it impossible to hear, let alone understand, someone else's ideas, or to clarify your own, even if the ideas or point of view were to have merit. Let's face it, if I want to be persuasive, it won't make you likely to listen to me if I start off by telling you that your ideas are stupid and the people you support are drunks and morons. These vitriolic attacks come from and to both sides of the political spectrum and, yes, there are many difficult things going on these days, but if we would listen to lots and lots of ideas, even those with which we're pretty sure we disagree, we'd learn what other people believe as well as more about our own ideas and then maybe also get a sense of how to put forth our own ideas compellingly. Look, if you really think your friends are idiots, maybe they shouldn't be your friends. But if you don't think they're idiots, then they're worth listening to.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 2:40 PM

Fear is a waste of time
That statement comes from a wonderful Tony Snow article. As he puts it, he now has street credibility about sickness, life, death, love, survival, etc. He's upbeat and joyful, and you shouldn't miss his article.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 1:04 PM

Arnie for governor
Exactly 22 years after he became a United States citizen, Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced that he'll run for a second term as governor of Kal-ee-forn-ee-ah. He's funny and parody-able but cool, too. People really can do whatever they want if they have enough guts and energy.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 12:43 PM

ttcgitw, more

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:46 AM

Thursday, September 15, 2005
Baseball analogies
I have to say that I'm amused by the fuss about the baseball analogies and metaphors during John Roberts' confirmation hearing. I used to work for someone who thought baseball was tantamount to blessedness so he must be torn between delight at Roberts' introducing the concept, wariness at his assertion that judges should ideally be umpires since umpires are his least favorite baseball personnel, and utter horror at liking anything said by a conservative, even if it is about baseball.

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Permalink | 2 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:32 AM

Daily
I've made a vow to write at least one or two sentences every day here - to use jmbm to discipline myself better about my writing. But I find myself without anything I'm absolutely dying to say. So I feel as if this post is a little like one of those free form writing lessons: put words down and keep putting words down and see if they take some kind of shape. Can I do this? Will I?

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:08 AM

Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Dinner for two
Who would you invite if you could ask one now-living person to have dinner with you at home so you could talk and exchange ideas? What is it about him or her that you find interesting? What two questions would you like to ask? What would you serve for dinner?

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Permalink | 2 comment(s) | posted by jau at 3:41 PM

Blogger
Upate 2: OK, I did something that got the codes to "take". Really logical and simple, too. Not. Closed the IE window and reopened it (which I'd tried before), republished a post (which I'd tried before), then republished the blog (which I'd tried before). Something about the sequence seemed to work. Illogical but hey.

Upate 1: All I can say is "grrr" and "@#$%^&*". Posting is taking forever and changes aren't registering. I click "Publish Post", watch the usual clucking. . .but changes don't show even though I see them in the codes. Grrr.

I warmly acknowledge my debt to blogger.com. Its excellent free (!) service makes it easy and fun to learn websiting in the blink of an eye. But I also must voice enormous frustration because of the (too) many times when the server is very slow and things go utterly awry. What's worse and puzzling, they do not provide back-ups even though one just knows they have back-ups on their servers. During a previous blast of these problems, many bloggers took their words elsewhere. The last few days are reminiscent of that time, as I reconstruct two days' work. Yes, I can redesign; no, it's not the end of the world; yes, it may result in better design in the end. It is, however, hit-your-head-on-the-wall frustrating to save, only to see "this page cannot be displayed" and discover that a mere ten or fifteen lines of code remain.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 12:30 PM

Tuesday, September 13, 2005
New NEA Jazz Master
Many enthusiastic and warm congratulations to John Levy, named today as a National Endowment for the Arts Chairman "living legend of American music". Born in 1912 in New Orleans, a place we are all a bit more familiar with than we were two weeks ago, the great-grandson of Louisiana slaves and George Shearing's former bassist, Levy will officially join the ranks of the NEA Arts Jazz Masters in January at a ceremony in NYC. Already a member of the International Jazz Hall of Fame, he will receive the Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy for his career as a manager for more than 85 artists, eight of whom are previous NEA Jazz Masters. Details about the award, jazz, and Levy, etc. are available in the press release, Levy's website at lushlife.com and the award's site at neajazzmasters.org.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:18 AM

Friday, September 9, 2005
The world is two blocks big
The internet, accessible microcosm of the world that it is, is an amazing place. Two days ago, visiting Reflections in D Minor, I decided to look at some of her sidebar links. One link's name, DevraDoWrite, made me chuckle (remember Dudley Do-Right?) so I went there. Serendipitously, it turns out. The first thing I noticed was the striking page design but, not wanting to judge a blog by its cover, of course, I began reading. The first post whose title piqued my interest referred to The Magnificient Obsession and talked about how much she liked the songs and feeling of The Five Pennies, the Danny Kaye/Louis Armstrong movie about jazz trumpeter Red Nichols. I was struck partly because I also love the movie's triumph-through-caring message and its music, and partly because my aunt, Barbara Bel Geddes, who plays Red's wife, Bobbie, died about a month ago. I wrote DDW to say that I loved both the site and the post and, by the way, did she know that BBG had died recently. A flurry of email and reading each other's blogs ensued as we grew ever more surprised at the many parallels between our lives, from living in the same part of NYC as children, to having fathers who were well-known in the jazz world, one a musician and one a writer, and even to our mothers' professional similarities. With her permission, please read her post from yesterday, at the end of which she drew three superb conclusions.
1) trust your instincts and listen to those inner voices;
2) people cross your path for a reason — be open to the experience; and
3) talk to strangers as they may turn out to be someone you know.
I must say that I'm still a bit breathless from the whole thing and I'm sad my parents aren't alive to enjoy this discovery with me but it is a blessed discovery.

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:46 AM

Cool idea
Rent books online at booksfree.com, like movies at Netflix and Blockbuster.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:23 AM

Thursday, September 8, 2005
Good deeds
—Check this out! And you thought classical musicians were aloof.
—At hurricanehousing.org, people can find and/or offer temporary beds, housing, jobs, enroll children in a local school, buy/send clothing and food, and even take in pets. More than 215,000 beds have been provided by people all over the country, so far. Read about it at hurricanehousing.org and/or offer help. Thanks to DevraDoWrite for the reference. As she notes, this is truly giving.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:07 AM

Congratulations
Brava! to Lynn whose Reflections in D Minor was voted the "best culture blog" in the Okie Blog Awards. I read it for her well-worded thoughtful comments and observations on everything from classical music (which she loves) to politics to technology to flowers and more. Plus, there's always at least one beautiful photograph. She links to and references lots of unfailingly unexpected ideas and sites, adding to my own growing list. Not to mention making every day more fun and interesting. Kudos and three cheers!!

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:23 AM

Tuesday, September 6, 2005
Katrina, p.p.s.
Update: If what this articles says is true, heads shouldn't just roll, they should be displayed on proverbial spears and spit upon. (Referred by Riehl World View.)
Update: Interesting germane articles here and here.
We might well keep in mind that U.S. involvement in the Kyoto Accords was rejected by the Senate when Clinton was president and environment-Al Gore was veep, voting it down in a real squeaker. At least if you call a unanimous vote of 99-0 a squeaker. (In other words, it wasn't the administration now in office, the aliens with three heads and devious plans to wreck the country and the world, if they can, who caused all this awfulness.) This disaster has been warned about for decades. Plus, it seems to me that a city below sea level with eroding delta silt is self-evidently unsafe. Yet the Louisiana Governor never authorized money for more law enforcement personnel or regenerating the delta or even for thorough preparedness drills. She will not relinquish her state's jurisdictional authority over the National Guard (one wonders what part of 'national' she disagrees with) and had delayed calling them in until Wednesday while poker-facedly allowing the feds to take the rap for the delay; she argued publicly with the mayor about who had jurisdiction over relief specifics (while New Orleans burned, so to speak) and she continues to argue with the feds about the same thing. I respect her passion for her state's right to autonomy, but these circumstances demand the powerful organization and strength that the federal government can provide quickly and efficiently.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:37 AM

Freedom
Harvey Mansfield's interesting provocative description of independence and freedom:
"A free person in the highest sense of free is someone who doesn't live off another person's word or doesn't live by the authority of his society and our society, the authority of public opinion."

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:05 AM

Monday, September 5, 2005
Katrina, p.s.
Random Jottings lists an informative timeline: the levees didn't break until after the hurricane had more or less passed but N.O. has so few police that they couldn't handle it so the National Guard was needed but the mayor and governor didn't ask - and in a states' right country they must - until Wednesday. Mobilizing of 4200 began immediately and the troops arrived on Thursday. That's really not so slow when you know the facts. Maybe in a perfect world the feds would know when they will be needed and swoop in, but I'm also betting that would be hugely not wanted by most of us. RJ also points out that Biloxi, Mississippi was wiped out every bit as much as was New Orleans. (Have you seen the photo of their Hard Rock??) Their mayor and governor made all the requisite requests immediately and help began immediately. And Mississippians famously own guns but there has been no violence there. None. Which isn't to cast blame just to point out that the MSM has once again overlooked positive news and some people's resilience and strength.

One more thing. Emergency kits - remember them? - would be really good for all of us to have, don't you think? My office provides each of us with one and a friend suggested we make one at home too. The one I put together has a light stick, a lightweight blanket, a battery radio, and several days of non-perishable food (dried milk, bottled water, beans, tuna fish, etc.) Inexpensive, and easy to put together, but think how life saving if needed.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:53 AM

Sunday, September 4, 2005
Online photos
Seeking recommendations for a good way to store and share photos and short videos online. My requirements seem simple to me but boyoboy am I having a hard time finding the "right" place. I want a service that:
1. is a bit sophisticated in appearance (doesn't look "plasticy")
2.a. allows organization by topic and/or title not just by date
2.b. allows reorganization if/when I want to change things around
3. allows unlimited storage (all the major sites do this but I don't like the way most of them look)
4. provides some photo editing tools
5. creates backup cds or dvds
6. has options for displaying thumbnails and slide shows
7. has at least somewhat user-friendly instructions and faq's
8. provides several ways to purchase physical pictures
Gee I sure would like to find at least one place like this.

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:27 PM

Light moments
Deciding to treat today like the middle day of a three-day weekend that it is, I slept about an hour later than usual, watched too many Sunday morning talk shows for my digestion, did some laundry, sipped coffee and read on my porch swing, knitted a bit on one of my projects, crocheted a hat (hey, who ever said crocheting can't be quick), visited a yarn shop I like and bought the new Interweave Crochet issue, watched a couple of distracting but essentially trivial movies, and took myself to dinner at an outdoor restaurant where I downed a platter of peel-your-own shrimp with a glass of Cabarnet Sauvignon. Yum. Now I feel worn out from so much fun and relaxation. It's a good thing holiday weekends are only three days long.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:15 PM

Saturday, September 3, 2005
The blame game
Mother Nature is ultimately responsible for the horror that continues in New Orleans and Mississippi - yes, Virginia, there were huge destructive hurricanes before global warming. Even a perfectly unbureaucratic government wouldn't have been able to fix the ghastliness quickly considering all the water and the political broohaha. For one thing, the local and state governments there deserve loud excoriation. Given the passion with which some people dislike Bush 43, it's inevitable that he's being blamed for the continuing horror in New Orleans but it was the locals who knew the very real possibility of the levees breaking and yet didn't hire enough policemen and didn't have adequate preparedness procedures in place. (3.5 policemen per thousand just isn't enough in a city with a huge murder rate, let alone the danger of devastating flooding.) It was the locals who refused federal aid for rebuilding the levees and they didn't push all the (admittedly ridiculous) bureaucratic buttons until Thursday. And they told the president not to come until Friday when, obviously, his earlier presence would have helped emotionally and, probably, financially. Remember David Duke? Remember Huey Long? Read the numerous articles on how incompetent Louisiana and New Orleans politicians have been and then - only then - decide who's to blame.

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Permalink | 4 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:04 AM

Friday, September 2, 2005
Sheesh
Update: Keep in mind when sending money/resources that many are wary about the biggies (Red Cross, Care, United Way, among others) because they seem to distribute too little where it's needed and keep too much for administration. Strongly recommended are dedicated devoted orgs like Mercy Corps and the Salvation Army.

Hurricane Katrina is a natural disaster of monumental proportions exacerbated by humans' desire to build homes and hotels at the ocean's edge. The seas have always done this periodically to anything at or below sea level, everywhere. And by the way this isn't a political event, but the subject of modernizing the New Orleans levees was brought to (Saint) Clinton's attention years ago but polls indicated that water danger to a mainly poor highly tourist city wasn't interesting to voters so he passed on it. Since then everyone has been crossing their fingers that a "big one" wouldn't happen. Well, it did, as it was bound to do, given geography and meteorology. Furthermore, New Orleans isn't New York and doesn't have millions of people and tens of thousands of policemen and firemen to mobilize. New Orleans is a slightly deteriorating, tourism-driven smallish southern city with a smallish southern police force that didn't expect nor had been prepared for anything like this. Now it's time to bite a reality bullet. There aren't lots of roads in and out and the ground is still unstable and they've been flying day and night rescuing people but the water has to recede and people have to calm down before things can be assessed enough to decide what should and can be done.

For the record, Bush declared the entire area a national disaster before it even began raining. Which allowed FEMA and others to get resources and personnel ready and working immediately. There's buzzing all over the internet and in the foreign press about why it's taking so long to find everyone and clean things up and naturally they're saying Bush is too slow in responding. Which overlooks the fact that feds can't just move in and do things - they must get permission from the governor for everything. And it's simply impossible to do so much very quickly. Impossible. It's not possible to send hundreds of thousands of workers yet because the ground is still covered and wet. This is going to be a ghastly difficult and long job. If we can't go there to help, can't we at least shut up about blaming and focus on how to help and fix things, and send all the money and resources we can?

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:22 AM