the blog of July 17, 2006

Hans Blix deserves an Apology

And the Dubayah Bush went out into the desert, and he encountered a Burning Bush. And the Dubayah Bush stood staring at the Burning Bush, not sure what to make of it. And then the Lord said "Dubayah -- Hear me out. You're always dropping my name publicly, and yammering on about how you listen to me. Now listen to me. Sit down!" And Bush sat down next to the Bush. The Lord continued, "What a fine mess you and your cronies have made of the world. Didn't anyone ever explain to you that I'm more of a democratic socialist than a free market capitalist?" And the Dubayah Bush said "Well, I... I mean... What I'm trying to say is..." And the Lord said "I don't think you fully understand the effect you've had on the world, and I don't mean that as a compliment. But you are still my child, so I forgive you. I am going to give you a chance to redeem your name, and start the long process of healing the world. How does that sound?" And the Dubayah said "Well, I... I'm... I'm honored and flattered by your offer. I truly am." "Now listen" said the Lord, "and do as I say. Will you do as I say?" "Why of Course Lord. Of course I'll do as you say. What would you like me to do?" And the Lord replied, "There are many things I want you to do -- many, many things. But to start with, before you do anything else... I want you to publicly apologize to Hans Blix. Hans Blix deserves an apology. He is a good man, and was doing good work when you brushed him aside." The Dubayah took this in, and said "And what else do you want me to do, Lord?" And the Lord said, "Tell John Bolton not to be a cold-hearted bully, but to chill out and understand that the UN is My gift to man." And the Dubayah said "OK".

the blog of June 30, 2006

the dream of the square contact lenses

It was a slightly frustrating dream. The contact lenses were square, and I was somehow supposed to peel them off a plastic sheet. My mind was grappling with everything that was wrong with this picture while an unfamiliar man with curly, black, shoulder length hair was trying to get me to try them.

In the typically characteristic way that the subconscious seems to illustrate familiar figures of speech, I realized that the square contacts are a clever play on "putting a square peg into a round hole".

the blog of June 27, 2006

Jamaican Hans Blix

As I spend most of my day driving, I also spend most of my day listening to the radio. For reasons unknown to me, there is a private preparatory school in Pebble Beach that broadcasts BBC news round the clock. Sometimes it makes for good listening.

There is a broadcaster on BBC World Briefing named Neil Nunes. He has a very distinct manner of speech that I find strangely entertaining. I was convinced he was transplanted either from Scandinavia -- he has that deep, Hans Blix nasality -- or some corner of Continental Europe -- maybe Belgium or Luxembourg? For some reason his specific brand of proper Queen's English made me think of Tin Tin comics. Then there was the name - Nunes, pronounced like the Spanish Nunez, that didn't quite fit.

Anyway, it turns out the guy is from Jamaica, and that his distinct accent has created a controversy in the UK. Half of BBC listeners don't like it, find it irritatingly "grating" or "American", which from my perspective makes no sense. The guy sounds as American as Hans Blix. The other half of the UK really likes it, finds it pleasantly exotic. I'm with these folks. He doesn't sound Jamaican to me, but I love Jamaica. So I am pro-Nunes.

the blog of June 25, 2006

An Inconvenient Truth

Today we saw "An Inconvenient Truth" at the Osio in Monterey. A fine film. Not so much cinema, as an important message using that medium. I read "Earth in the Balance" about a decade ago, and clearly this film is a continuation of Gore's life work, which is more than mere politics. He was using politics then just as he is using the media now: to launch a national debate on global warning. He's a true American hero, someone who brings hope and dignity to a nation that for six years now has been dragged through Neoconservative sludge.

Bush may be the "Decider", but in the real world that most Americans live in, Gore is a true leader.

the blog of June 24, 2006

Knife in the Water

Since we are going to Poland, I thought it might behoove us to watch "Knife in the Water", Roman Polanski's first feature film, shot in black & white in 1962. I'd seen it many years ago. It has all of those things that I like in films of that era: the profound mellowness, simplicity, and attention to detail which reminds me of Bergman's early films. Sure some of the acting is bad, but that only adds to its charm. Plus we were learning Polish. So I was a little nonplussed when Lisa flailed her arms in disapproval, declared that the film sucked, and stormed out. I thought it was a delightful piece of cinema.

the blog of June 21, 2006

Drive

Who among us has not been going a little crazy trying to identify the REM song on those pesky Progressive Insurance commercials?

Well thanks to Google I have learned that it's the song "Drive" from a 2003 release of the same name... Not a full-blown album but one of those things we used to call an "EP" back in the days of vinyl. Something between an LP and a Single. So what do they call those now?

And why the shameless sellout by REM? Don't they have enough money? But it's probably the other way around -- the insurance industry needs REM more than REM needs their stinking money.

the blog of June 9, 2006

Grizzly Man

Sometimes Wernher Herzog himself is more entertaining than his films. Whatever the results, he's man with a vision.

Just watched "Grizzly Man" which is good, but also has some of the heavy-handed awkwardness that was the problem with "Little Dieter Learns to Fly".

On the dvd the is an extra feature of WH in a recording studio, coaching a collection of musicians as they score the film with beautiful Popul Vuh-esque music. Richard Thompson is an adept guitarist, whose picking goes well with cello and WH's role, which seems to be to direct the spirit of the music.

The feature is nice but it is long.

the blog of June 5, 2006

the Krakow-Kyoto analogy

I didn't plan this coincidence, it just happened:

Both Krakow and Kyoto are considered the cultural hearts of their repective countries.

Both Krakow and Kyoto are former capitol cities, embodying earlier eras of their counties' histories.

Both Krakow and Kyoto were spared destruction during World War Two.

Both Krakow and Kyoto are smaller than, and south of, the current capitols of Warsaw and Tokyo.

Both Krakow and Kyoto begin with a "k".

the blog of June 1, 2006

living next to a freeway

I don't know the statistics, but it's probably safe to say that in the US, a large percentage of the population lives within a mile of a major freeway. I grew up next to the Long Island Expressway. Now I live a stone's throw from the 101.

It occurred to me recently that, unlike the arrangement in Old Westbury, NY, where the murmur of the expressway was a nearly round-the-clock ambient accompaniment, I don't generally notice the sound of the 101. Could it be that the river somehow "absorbs" the noise?

Stranger still... No sooner did I start pondering why I wasn't hearing the freeway, than I suddenly did start hearing it. Of course, that was during a long holiday weekend, and there was almost certainly more traffic.

Since then, I notice the sound of traffic some of the time.

the blog of May 23, 2006

Diego Garcia

Among the long list of national disgraces one must now include the story of Diego Garcia Island, part of the Chagos Chain in the Indian Ocean. As recently as thirty years ago our government, in collaboration with the British, expelled the natives of this tropical paradise so as to build a major US military base.

A British court recently ruled the action as unethical. The Brits are always slightly ahead of us in renouncing their imperial shenanigans, but what is supposed to happen now? Declare the military base a mistake and give the island back to the natives? I think the whole world would like to see that, and it's about time someone set the precedent for "reverse imperialism" -- reparations, repatriatization, etc. (Sierra Leone was a good start).

the blog of May 12, 2006

rats

On Monday, as part of my job, I was literally out in a field looking for a well. I went up to a storage tank, and saw a pipe leading to something that I thought might be the well, but it was covered with a wooden enclosure. I lifted this box to discover a large, freaked-out rat beholding me, a larger, freaked-out human. There were other rats hiding under the storage tank. It appeared as though the big one had built a nest in the enclosure that covered not the well, but a pump.

the blog of May 12, 2006

what's next, Fripp & Garfunkle?

I heard on NPR that Paul Simon recently worked with Brian Eno... I'm trying to imagine the results. I cannot possibly judge music I have not heard.

the blog of May 12, 2006

burning pier

I'm thinking that the huge warehouse that recently burned down in Greenpoint, Brooklyn may be one I spent some time in because, if it's the one I'm thinking of, it was full of artists lofts back in the late '80's.

Not sure if that means anything to any of you but the news brought back the memory of that strange neighorhood.

the blog of May 1, 2006

six by ten

Seen today in King City: the largest Mexican flag I've ever seen, maybe six by ten feet, flying from a car. I was on my bike, witnessing history in the hot sun, because history was not happening in my apartment.

the blog of Apr. 30, 2006

a tale of three Pondicherries

Recently, I was looking at a map of southeast Asia, and the city of Pondicherry caught my eye on the northeastern coat of India. The problem was, this seemed too far north for the Pondicherry I'd heard of, the former French colony on the southeastern coast of India.

So I turned the page to check the full map of India, and no sooner had I learned that there were two Pondicherries on the east coast of India than I noticed a third one on the west coast.

So there you have it -- three Pondicherries