Posts
It's been raining steady now for about 24 hours. I think that it's time that I begin building my ark, as the water in my little stream bordering my property is now over its banks. I guess into every life, a little rain must fall--this however is getting ridiculous.
The house in the country (has a nice bourgeous ring to it, don't you think?) where I live has always been afflicted by rain storms. Being that my wife and I were never home-ownership material, but bought into the whole "you must have a house because there are tax advantages" mentality, we built the one and only domicile that wasn't a rental unit for us. When I say built, we actually had a contractor who allowed us to do alot of the work, such as the interior and exterior painting, landscaping, finish work outside, etc.
Because the house was built on the cheap, some of the materials used were probably not first-quality--you know, the types of things that the "beautiful people" all have in their homes. Take for instance the windows in our daylight basement. One of them always leaks when the rain blows from the north, which during most torrential rains (like this one), alway necessitates buckets and drop cloths to soak up the water that drips continually until the rain stops. In addition to the leaky window, I now have sprung a leak around my chimney, as the seal around it obviously is compromised, so during wind-driven rain storms, I now have water dripping through the ceiling around my chimney, necessitating another bucket. I'm thinking it won't be long before I have buckets littering my house during each and every rainstorm.
To make matters worse, when we have rain of the magnitude of the current storm, my septic system floods and I'm unable to flush my toilets until the water level goes down, usually 8-10 hours after the deluge ends. On particularly heavy rains (like this one and one or two other times per year), the toilets begin to gurgle and "pop" in a creepy sort of way, which freaks out my dog and he starts barking at them. All of this is starting to remind me of the movie, The Money Pit, with Tom Hanks.
Adding to salt to the wound of all the minor headaches of home ownership and the little things that need repair, are the increasingly frequent power outages caused the many minor windstorms. I feel like I spend much of my life resetting digital clocks.
Frankly, I'm sick of home ownership! I think I'd like to move south in a couple of years and just live in a condo. No lawn to mow, no house to paint, no snow to shovel--just pay my monthly/yearly maintenance fee and kick back and enjoy life.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Celebrity blogging
So Arianna Huffington is starting a new blog and inviting all the biggest names to blog with her? Funny; I didn't receive my invitation.
What I feared would happen to blogging--that it would become co-opted by those who don't really get it--has begun in earnest.
From the NYTimes:
"She has lined up more than 250 of what she calls "the most creative minds" in the country to write a group blog that will range over topics from politics and entertainment to sports and religion. It is essentially a nonstop virtual talk show that will be part of a Web site that will also serve up breaking news around the clock. It is to be introduced May 9."
Here are "the most creative minds" she line up thus far:
Walter Cronkite, David Mamet, Nora Ephron, Warren Beatty, James Fallows, Vernon E. Jordan Jr., Maggie Gyllenhaal, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Diane Keaton, Norman Mailer and Mortimer B. Zuckerman.
Seems like a celebrity c-jerk to me; Just because someone says he/she is a blogger, doesn't mean they are operating in the spirit that makes the blogosphere the place to be for information and content not run through the corporate blender.
According to the Times, Jay Rosen from Pressthink doubts that celebrities would be driven by the same passion that drives many regular bloggers. As Rosen deftly indicated,
"These aren't exactly people who lack voice or visibility in our culture," he said in an e-mail message. "Gwyneth Paltrow has no incentive to speak candidly and alienate future ticket buyers. Barry Diller doesn't have time to hunt down juicy links for his readers. And where does Jon Corzine fit into any conversation those two might be having?"
Exactly!!
I blog because in many instances, I don't have a voice in many of the traditional outlets available to Huffington and her well-heeled celebrity friends. When I am allowed to speak, I must carefully follow "the rules" of politeness and tip-toe carefully, so as not to offend. Here, I can try things, work on articles or op eds that might never make it to the mainstream, but certainly should be given an airing. As I am learning firsthand, much of what is rejected by newspaper and magazine editors has little to do with quality and much more to do with acceptability. The parameters of publishing are extremely narrow. Furthermore, in the same way that Gutenberg revolutionized the 15th Century with his printing press, the blogosphere gives a platform to those who lack a voice. Many of those maintaining blogs, would have been the pamphleteers of Gutenberg's day.
Some decry the lack of quality and the randomness of the phenomenom. I personally find that many of the same rules apply here that apply in stand-up comedy, musical performances, or even print media and television. If you don't have anything worth saying, it won't take long before you are found to be a fraud and ultimately, someone's going to heckle you, walk out, or ultimately, turn the page or the channel. Basically, it's the old "put up, or shut up" at work.
Whether or not Huffington, Bill O'Reilly, or even George Bush have a blog (there's a truly scary visual), I'm still going to do what I do because of why I do it. My goals aren't to brighten my star of fame, make money, or induce others to join my undertaking. Make sense?
What I feared would happen to blogging--that it would become co-opted by those who don't really get it--has begun in earnest.
From the NYTimes:
"She has lined up more than 250 of what she calls "the most creative minds" in the country to write a group blog that will range over topics from politics and entertainment to sports and religion. It is essentially a nonstop virtual talk show that will be part of a Web site that will also serve up breaking news around the clock. It is to be introduced May 9."
Here are "the most creative minds" she line up thus far:
Walter Cronkite, David Mamet, Nora Ephron, Warren Beatty, James Fallows, Vernon E. Jordan Jr., Maggie Gyllenhaal, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Diane Keaton, Norman Mailer and Mortimer B. Zuckerman.
Seems like a celebrity c-jerk to me; Just because someone says he/she is a blogger, doesn't mean they are operating in the spirit that makes the blogosphere the place to be for information and content not run through the corporate blender.
According to the Times, Jay Rosen from Pressthink doubts that celebrities would be driven by the same passion that drives many regular bloggers. As Rosen deftly indicated,
"These aren't exactly people who lack voice or visibility in our culture," he said in an e-mail message. "Gwyneth Paltrow has no incentive to speak candidly and alienate future ticket buyers. Barry Diller doesn't have time to hunt down juicy links for his readers. And where does Jon Corzine fit into any conversation those two might be having?"
Exactly!!
I blog because in many instances, I don't have a voice in many of the traditional outlets available to Huffington and her well-heeled celebrity friends. When I am allowed to speak, I must carefully follow "the rules" of politeness and tip-toe carefully, so as not to offend. Here, I can try things, work on articles or op eds that might never make it to the mainstream, but certainly should be given an airing. As I am learning firsthand, much of what is rejected by newspaper and magazine editors has little to do with quality and much more to do with acceptability. The parameters of publishing are extremely narrow. Furthermore, in the same way that Gutenberg revolutionized the 15th Century with his printing press, the blogosphere gives a platform to those who lack a voice. Many of those maintaining blogs, would have been the pamphleteers of Gutenberg's day.
Some decry the lack of quality and the randomness of the phenomenom. I personally find that many of the same rules apply here that apply in stand-up comedy, musical performances, or even print media and television. If you don't have anything worth saying, it won't take long before you are found to be a fraud and ultimately, someone's going to heckle you, walk out, or ultimately, turn the page or the channel. Basically, it's the old "put up, or shut up" at work.
Whether or not Huffington, Bill O'Reilly, or even George Bush have a blog (there's a truly scary visual), I'm still going to do what I do because of why I do it. My goals aren't to brighten my star of fame, make money, or induce others to join my undertaking. Make sense?
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Fever Pitch
I finally made it out to see the movie, Fever Pitch. For those who live outside of Red Sox Nation, the film is a romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon. Directed by New England's own (They grew up in Rhode Island), the Farrelly Brothers, (There's Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber) the film manages to capture the spirit of fanatacism and dare I say, insanity that inhabits New England every summer, courtesy of the Red Sox.
Fallon plays an obsessive Red Sox follower who inherits season tickets from his deceased Uncle Carl, who began taking the youngster to games when he was seven years old. Fallon's character, Ben Wrightman, is being raised by a single mother, and the uncle, a died-in-the-wool Red Sox fan initiates young Wrightman to the dysfunction that is Red Sox Nation, at an early and formative age. The youngster is hooked and joins the countless thousands of others who hang on every pitch over the six or seven months it takes before the Red Sox rollercoaster ride comes to its regular September screaching halt.
While I'm not a huge fan of the romantic comedy genre, I thought the Farrellys did a credible job of capturing the long-suffering nature of Red Sox fans. Anyone who has ever spent any time rooting for the Sox, knows perfectly well how prior to last season, they were prone to rip your heart out in their own unique way.
A couple of things struck me in the film. When the young Wrightman walks into Fenway Park for his first game and is in awe by the experience of the sights, sounds and smells of the ancient ballpark, it reminded me of my first trip to Fenway when I was nine. At the time, the grass seemed greener than I ever imagined and the smells of the park were something I've never forgotten.
The group of hard-core fans who inhabit the box seats where Wrightman's tickets are, just behind the Sox dugout are all very Boston working-class. Wrightman, an inner-city teacher at a local Boston High School is not who you're likely to find in the seats he and his other blue-collar mates inhabited during the film. At one time, this was who attended Sox games at Fenway. However, like all professional sports, these same fans are steadily being priced out of these seats, as well as the sport altogether. I honestly can't imagine this assortment of working stiffs sitting in these seats today. Possibly the bleachers, but not the primest of Fenway's spectator real estate.
Obviously, the Farrelly's were over-the-top in some areas. When Barrymore's character, Lindsey Meeks breaks up with Wrightman, the heartsick school teacher decides to sell his box seats to a yuppie asshole. When Meeks finds out, she comes to Fenway in the 8th inning of game four of the ALCS game against the Yankees. Meeks manages to jump on the field in center and eludes security while running across the playing surface to the third base box seats in order to foil Wrightman's bid to sell his tickets.
I recommend seeing it, particularly if you've ever invested more than a passing interest in the Sox. I often wonder what will happen to The Nation with the Sox now occupying the uncharacteristic role of champions, rather than loveable losers? Will it change what it means to be a Sox fan?
When the movie ended, I stayed in the darkened theater to watch the credits roll in order to hear my friend Jose Ayerve's contribution to the movie. Ayerve co-wrote "Moonshot Manny" with Joe Pernice (Pernice Brothers) and the song is the third song that plays during the credits. Ayerve can be heard singing in Spanish, "iPega Luna Manny".
Fallon plays an obsessive Red Sox follower who inherits season tickets from his deceased Uncle Carl, who began taking the youngster to games when he was seven years old. Fallon's character, Ben Wrightman, is being raised by a single mother, and the uncle, a died-in-the-wool Red Sox fan initiates young Wrightman to the dysfunction that is Red Sox Nation, at an early and formative age. The youngster is hooked and joins the countless thousands of others who hang on every pitch over the six or seven months it takes before the Red Sox rollercoaster ride comes to its regular September screaching halt.
While I'm not a huge fan of the romantic comedy genre, I thought the Farrellys did a credible job of capturing the long-suffering nature of Red Sox fans. Anyone who has ever spent any time rooting for the Sox, knows perfectly well how prior to last season, they were prone to rip your heart out in their own unique way.
A couple of things struck me in the film. When the young Wrightman walks into Fenway Park for his first game and is in awe by the experience of the sights, sounds and smells of the ancient ballpark, it reminded me of my first trip to Fenway when I was nine. At the time, the grass seemed greener than I ever imagined and the smells of the park were something I've never forgotten.
The group of hard-core fans who inhabit the box seats where Wrightman's tickets are, just behind the Sox dugout are all very Boston working-class. Wrightman, an inner-city teacher at a local Boston High School is not who you're likely to find in the seats he and his other blue-collar mates inhabited during the film. At one time, this was who attended Sox games at Fenway. However, like all professional sports, these same fans are steadily being priced out of these seats, as well as the sport altogether. I honestly can't imagine this assortment of working stiffs sitting in these seats today. Possibly the bleachers, but not the primest of Fenway's spectator real estate.
Obviously, the Farrelly's were over-the-top in some areas. When Barrymore's character, Lindsey Meeks breaks up with Wrightman, the heartsick school teacher decides to sell his box seats to a yuppie asshole. When Meeks finds out, she comes to Fenway in the 8th inning of game four of the ALCS game against the Yankees. Meeks manages to jump on the field in center and eludes security while running across the playing surface to the third base box seats in order to foil Wrightman's bid to sell his tickets.
I recommend seeing it, particularly if you've ever invested more than a passing interest in the Sox. I often wonder what will happen to The Nation with the Sox now occupying the uncharacteristic role of champions, rather than loveable losers? Will it change what it means to be a Sox fan?
When the movie ended, I stayed in the darkened theater to watch the credits roll in order to hear my friend Jose Ayerve's contribution to the movie. Ayerve co-wrote "Moonshot Manny" with Joe Pernice (Pernice Brothers) and the song is the third song that plays during the credits. Ayerve can be heard singing in Spanish, "iPega Luna Manny".
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Shuffle play
All Catholic, All-the-time:
CNN, the official Catholic News Network, is now reporting on apparitions of the Virgin Mary. An apparent salt stain on a Chicago underpass has been hailed as an image of the Virgin Mary. As the ability of Americans to process basic information continues to fall to new levels of absurdity, we descend backwards into the swamp of superstition and hocus-pocus.
When I hear religious conservatives decry America's lack of faith and religious observance, I just scratch my head and wonder what rock they just crawled from under. I want a vacation from the Pope, the Church, and religion in general and I can't get away from it. At every turn, my TV, newspaper, radio news and and even sports talk station is blathering on about the Pope!
Speaking of superstition and lack of knowledge, most Catholics know little about the theology that undergirds their institution, the Church. The new pope, Benedict XVI, holds an uncompromising view concerning the primacy of Catholicism in relation to the world's other religions.
What the Catholic-in-the-pew knows little about, but should, is that their Church's teachings proclaim Catholicism to be the living embodiment of Christ on Earth and that it is "the instrument for the salvation of all humanity." In a nutshell--you 'ain't going to heaven unless you pass through Rome! That's not very 21st century and inclusive, but it's the official position of the Church, which hasn't wavered over the past 2,000 years. I bet not too many of the blathering empty suits at the networks and cable outlets even know that.
The current Pope holds to the following doctrine; better yet, for the past 24 years, he has been the prefect (president) of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. His role has been to uphold and affirm the sanctity and the truth of official Church teaching.
However, for those who knowingly and deliberately (that is, not out of innocent ignorance) commit the sins of heresy (rejecting divinely revealed doctrine) or schism (separating from the Catholic Church and/or joining a schismatic church), no salvation would be possible until they repented and returned to live in Catholic unity.
The above has a certain 15th century ring to it, doesn't it? So very narrow and exclusive. Oh well, I guess I'm on the road to perdition.
Speaking of perdition;
Those ethical folks over at Wal-Mart:
You 'gotta love old Sam Walton and his Wal-Mart empire. How did this simple man from Arkansas manage to dupe the American public so well and thoroughly? He's managed to single-handedly do more to kill small town America than any other human in recent memory. He couldn't have done it any better than if he had planted a bomb in the center of Main Street in every little town and village in the U.S.
While the corporation has been on a recent crusade to rehab an image slightly tarnished by a string of stories showing Wal-Mart in all its local economy-killing, union-busting, low-wage worker exploitation glory, the truth keeps popping up at the most inopportune times.
Just recently, former Vice Chairman Tom Coughlan was found to be using his reimbursement account to run an anti-union sting operation. Apparently Coughlan was using company spending accounts to payoff union workers to "rat out" fellow union organizers at various Wal-Mart locations.
With all those low, low Wal-Mart prices, come some pretty low morals and even lower business ethics.
A new voice added to life's soundtrack:
I love community radio. For the uninitiated, there still exists those low-power, community-supported, freeform outlets on the radio dial. Portland, Maine's contribution to this potpourri of non-corporate musical offerings is WMPG. Every Friday, Winn hosts his "Aching Spirals of Black Vinyl" from 3-5pm and week-after-week, I'm clued into some new artist or band I've never heard of before.
This week, it was singer-songwriter Todd Snider, of East Nashville, Tennessee. Snider sings about personal demons and offers us personally uplifting songs about jail, death, suicide, addiction and love; all those groovy things that make up life-as-we-know it for those of us who wouldn't be classified as being part of "the beautiful people" crowd.
Snider, who hails from East Nashville, which is the "wrong side of the tracks" section of the home of all that's schmaltzy about today's country music. Snider's music is more in the John Prine, Billy Joe Shaver, Joe Ely vein, if you catch my drift.
Thanks to stations like WMPG, I've discovered another gem of an artist, whose been flying just below my radar screen.
What's not to like about a guy who puts up the hand-drawn symbols of a heart (love), a peace sign and the symbol for anarchism. Now there's a guy after my own heart!
CNN, the official Catholic News Network, is now reporting on apparitions of the Virgin Mary. An apparent salt stain on a Chicago underpass has been hailed as an image of the Virgin Mary. As the ability of Americans to process basic information continues to fall to new levels of absurdity, we descend backwards into the swamp of superstition and hocus-pocus.
When I hear religious conservatives decry America's lack of faith and religious observance, I just scratch my head and wonder what rock they just crawled from under. I want a vacation from the Pope, the Church, and religion in general and I can't get away from it. At every turn, my TV, newspaper, radio news and and even sports talk station is blathering on about the Pope!
Speaking of superstition and lack of knowledge, most Catholics know little about the theology that undergirds their institution, the Church. The new pope, Benedict XVI, holds an uncompromising view concerning the primacy of Catholicism in relation to the world's other religions.
What the Catholic-in-the-pew knows little about, but should, is that their Church's teachings proclaim Catholicism to be the living embodiment of Christ on Earth and that it is "the instrument for the salvation of all humanity." In a nutshell--you 'ain't going to heaven unless you pass through Rome! That's not very 21st century and inclusive, but it's the official position of the Church, which hasn't wavered over the past 2,000 years. I bet not too many of the blathering empty suits at the networks and cable outlets even know that.
The current Pope holds to the following doctrine; better yet, for the past 24 years, he has been the prefect (president) of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. His role has been to uphold and affirm the sanctity and the truth of official Church teaching.
However, for those who knowingly and deliberately (that is, not out of innocent ignorance) commit the sins of heresy (rejecting divinely revealed doctrine) or schism (separating from the Catholic Church and/or joining a schismatic church), no salvation would be possible until they repented and returned to live in Catholic unity.
The above has a certain 15th century ring to it, doesn't it? So very narrow and exclusive. Oh well, I guess I'm on the road to perdition.
Speaking of perdition;
Those ethical folks over at Wal-Mart:
You 'gotta love old Sam Walton and his Wal-Mart empire. How did this simple man from Arkansas manage to dupe the American public so well and thoroughly? He's managed to single-handedly do more to kill small town America than any other human in recent memory. He couldn't have done it any better than if he had planted a bomb in the center of Main Street in every little town and village in the U.S.
While the corporation has been on a recent crusade to rehab an image slightly tarnished by a string of stories showing Wal-Mart in all its local economy-killing, union-busting, low-wage worker exploitation glory, the truth keeps popping up at the most inopportune times.
Just recently, former Vice Chairman Tom Coughlan was found to be using his reimbursement account to run an anti-union sting operation. Apparently Coughlan was using company spending accounts to payoff union workers to "rat out" fellow union organizers at various Wal-Mart locations.
With all those low, low Wal-Mart prices, come some pretty low morals and even lower business ethics.
A new voice added to life's soundtrack:
I love community radio. For the uninitiated, there still exists those low-power, community-supported, freeform outlets on the radio dial. Portland, Maine's contribution to this potpourri of non-corporate musical offerings is WMPG. Every Friday, Winn hosts his "Aching Spirals of Black Vinyl" from 3-5pm and week-after-week, I'm clued into some new artist or band I've never heard of before.
This week, it was singer-songwriter Todd Snider, of East Nashville, Tennessee. Snider sings about personal demons and offers us personally uplifting songs about jail, death, suicide, addiction and love; all those groovy things that make up life-as-we-know it for those of us who wouldn't be classified as being part of "the beautiful people" crowd.
Snider, who hails from East Nashville, which is the "wrong side of the tracks" section of the home of all that's schmaltzy about today's country music. Snider's music is more in the John Prine, Billy Joe Shaver, Joe Ely vein, if you catch my drift.
Thanks to stations like WMPG, I've discovered another gem of an artist, whose been flying just below my radar screen.
What's not to like about a guy who puts up the hand-drawn symbols of a heart (love), a peace sign and the symbol for anarchism. Now there's a guy after my own heart!
Friday, April 22, 2005
Agenda-based journalism
I’ve decided to inject some of my thoughts concerning a recent interview done in our local business paper, Mainebiz.
There is a writer, of whom I’m not particularly enamored with, who writes a regular column highlighting Maine businesses, particularly those of the micro-variety. Her overly cute prose reminds me of the type of writing done by high school yearbook staffs and college newspapers. With her far more prestigious pedigree of publications behind her name than mine, one could accuse me of revealing my sour grapes. While I won’t deny some frustration at the seemingly random selection of freelancers for publication by many editors, the issue is much bigger than simply my own issues with editors, however.
When a writer flaunts her skills and calls herself the “Marketing Angel”, then she invites critique when she betrays journalistic integrity by “grinding axes” and portraying an honest and hardworking entrepreneur unfairly. To come out of left field with her leading question painting Susan Price of ChezSuz in an unfavorable light seems rather snarky and smacks of agenda-based journalism. While I’m not opposed to it and practice my own version of the craft here and occasionally elsewhere, the difference is that people know what they’re in for when they come to my blogs. In her column in Mainebiz, the writer, Kimberly McCall leaves her readers with a portrait of ChezSuz that has no balance. A minimum amount of research by McCall would have revealed that Price uses American Apparel as her supplier because she wanted an American-made product, not one produced by sweatshop labor. She also donates part her proceeds to the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Since McCall was keen on drawing attention to the supposed “trashy” quality of Price’s slogans, then she could have at least balanced her journalism with Price’s commitments to the cause of social justice and ethical business practices.
I’ve blogged about it over at JBIWFY, as this is an issue that pertains to Maine and the business scene in our state. Feel free to read the interview and come to your own conclusions.
In closing, I want to say I’m not a fan of Mainebiz for a variety of reasons, not the least of these being the current editor’s lack of commitment to hard-hitting, investigative articles on a number of subjects. Maine lacks a statewide publication addressing many issues that affect our state, particularly the business community and their role in many of the changes that are negatively impacting Maine and its quality of life. It would be nice if Mainebiz would step forward and tackle a few of these issues head on, rather than continuing to play into the PR machines of many of Maine’s larger employers and industries.
There is a writer, of whom I’m not particularly enamored with, who writes a regular column highlighting Maine businesses, particularly those of the micro-variety. Her overly cute prose reminds me of the type of writing done by high school yearbook staffs and college newspapers. With her far more prestigious pedigree of publications behind her name than mine, one could accuse me of revealing my sour grapes. While I won’t deny some frustration at the seemingly random selection of freelancers for publication by many editors, the issue is much bigger than simply my own issues with editors, however.
When a writer flaunts her skills and calls herself the “Marketing Angel”, then she invites critique when she betrays journalistic integrity by “grinding axes” and portraying an honest and hardworking entrepreneur unfairly. To come out of left field with her leading question painting Susan Price of ChezSuz in an unfavorable light seems rather snarky and smacks of agenda-based journalism. While I’m not opposed to it and practice my own version of the craft here and occasionally elsewhere, the difference is that people know what they’re in for when they come to my blogs. In her column in Mainebiz, the writer, Kimberly McCall leaves her readers with a portrait of ChezSuz that has no balance. A minimum amount of research by McCall would have revealed that Price uses American Apparel as her supplier because she wanted an American-made product, not one produced by sweatshop labor. She also donates part her proceeds to the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Since McCall was keen on drawing attention to the supposed “trashy” quality of Price’s slogans, then she could have at least balanced her journalism with Price’s commitments to the cause of social justice and ethical business practices.
I’ve blogged about it over at JBIWFY, as this is an issue that pertains to Maine and the business scene in our state. Feel free to read the interview and come to your own conclusions.
In closing, I want to say I’m not a fan of Mainebiz for a variety of reasons, not the least of these being the current editor’s lack of commitment to hard-hitting, investigative articles on a number of subjects. Maine lacks a statewide publication addressing many issues that affect our state, particularly the business community and their role in many of the changes that are negatively impacting Maine and its quality of life. It would be nice if Mainebiz would step forward and tackle a few of these issues head on, rather than continuing to play into the PR machines of many of Maine’s larger employers and industries.
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