Friday, December 31, 2004
This is starting to get my goat
There's no escape. Turn on the TV and all you get is up-to-the-minute tallies of which country has given what to the tsunami relief effort. The broadcasters have made it into some kind of horrible contest; it is itself becoming the story, rather than the devastation.
It might not be so bad if the unstated yet poorly hidden goal of this kind of reporting wasn't to bash the US. It started with that bastard Englund, Kofi's underling, who said that the US is stingy. You have to wonder if we could have avoided his rebuke if Bush had ordered C-130s to circle the Indian Ocean, dropping pallets of cash, and maybe some bottled water.
And it was all over a much-publicized initial figure of $35 million, which, even if that figure is smallish, is a very narrow and deceptive measure. But even now that the figure has grown by an order of magnitude to $350 million, the implication is that we're not giving enough. I say that's piffle.
Have these pundits bothered to make a survey of private giving, of individuals and charitable organizations stepping up big-time? No, and it's not bloody likely they will either. If they took the trouble they would see a massive effort, having and needing no impetus from the US government, to raise money and food, water and medical supplies. That's the way this country has always given most and best.
The broadcasters have become so shrill in flogging this horse that I have to wonder why they lead with this "contest" - given that their motives must be as clear as the blue sky to even the casual observer. Well, actually they have found something else to lead with. It's this: the prez was relaxing in Crawford, cruising fence-line, instead of making grand gestures of this country's concern for the lost and suffering. W should have been standing at a podium with a pouty look on his face, feeling the victims' pain.
Action speaks louder than words. And action is what we are seeing from the USA. Bush is in the by-now familiar position of being damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. He's pounded as greedy and uncaring for staying out of the limelight, foregoing opportunities to make nice for the cameras. Yet had he called in the national media to lament the suffering and make high-profile pledges to the stricken, he would have been excoriated for making political hay out of the tragedy.
It's a bunch of b.s.
It might not be so bad if the unstated yet poorly hidden goal of this kind of reporting wasn't to bash the US. It started with that bastard Englund, Kofi's underling, who said that the US is stingy. You have to wonder if we could have avoided his rebuke if Bush had ordered C-130s to circle the Indian Ocean, dropping pallets of cash, and maybe some bottled water.
And it was all over a much-publicized initial figure of $35 million, which, even if that figure is smallish, is a very narrow and deceptive measure. But even now that the figure has grown by an order of magnitude to $350 million, the implication is that we're not giving enough. I say that's piffle.
Have these pundits bothered to make a survey of private giving, of individuals and charitable organizations stepping up big-time? No, and it's not bloody likely they will either. If they took the trouble they would see a massive effort, having and needing no impetus from the US government, to raise money and food, water and medical supplies. That's the way this country has always given most and best.
The broadcasters have become so shrill in flogging this horse that I have to wonder why they lead with this "contest" - given that their motives must be as clear as the blue sky to even the casual observer. Well, actually they have found something else to lead with. It's this: the prez was relaxing in Crawford, cruising fence-line, instead of making grand gestures of this country's concern for the lost and suffering. W should have been standing at a podium with a pouty look on his face, feeling the victims' pain.
Action speaks louder than words. And action is what we are seeing from the USA. Bush is in the by-now familiar position of being damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. He's pounded as greedy and uncaring for staying out of the limelight, foregoing opportunities to make nice for the cameras. Yet had he called in the national media to lament the suffering and make high-profile pledges to the stricken, he would have been excoriated for making political hay out of the tragedy.
It's a bunch of b.s.
The top 5
Our local classical station is just wrapping up its end-of-the-year countdown of the 100 most popular pieces of music, based on voting by listeners. Just now, the big cajuna is playing, 4th movement, Schiller's poem.... it's too early in the day for this!
Here's the top 5:
5. Piano Concerto #5 (Emperor) by Beethoven
4. Symphony #6 (the Pastoral) by Beethoven
3. Symphony #9 (New World) by Dvorak
2. Brandenburg Concerto #1 by J. S. Bach
1. Symphony #9 by Beethoven
I'm a bit surprised at the Pastoral creeping in to the top 5; I would have guessed that Beethoven's 5th symphony would have come in ahead of it. Still, I can't put up much of a fuss over this ranking.
Here's the top 5:
5. Piano Concerto #5 (Emperor) by Beethoven
4. Symphony #6 (the Pastoral) by Beethoven
3. Symphony #9 (New World) by Dvorak
2. Brandenburg Concerto #1 by J. S. Bach
1. Symphony #9 by Beethoven
I'm a bit surprised at the Pastoral creeping in to the top 5; I would have guessed that Beethoven's 5th symphony would have come in ahead of it. Still, I can't put up much of a fuss over this ranking.
Some good bits
Lileks is funny today, which in itself is not unusual. But I got a kick out of a couple of his bits. He's trying to answer his young daughter Gnat's difficult question about God:
“We don’t know, because our brains really aren’t capable of getting that part, anymore than Jasper (their dog) can understand how cars work; it’s enough for him to know that they move. Of course, this could all be an echo of some ancient coping mechanism that ascribed the inexpicable manifestations of natural forces to a patriarchal, interventionist superbeing who demanded slavish obedience from the brutish, mewling meatbags he had created, and smote them when the mood took him. That’s what some would say. That’s too easy, by my lights. Either one requires faith; it depends what you want to have faith in."
And as his piece has touched on many unanswerables he finally decides he'd better just hang it up for the night:
"Time to stop before I sink completely in the murk of dorm-room stoner-think..."
Hilarious. You ought to read the whole thing.
“We don’t know, because our brains really aren’t capable of getting that part, anymore than Jasper (their dog) can understand how cars work; it’s enough for him to know that they move. Of course, this could all be an echo of some ancient coping mechanism that ascribed the inexpicable manifestations of natural forces to a patriarchal, interventionist superbeing who demanded slavish obedience from the brutish, mewling meatbags he had created, and smote them when the mood took him. That’s what some would say. That’s too easy, by my lights. Either one requires faith; it depends what you want to have faith in."
And as his piece has touched on many unanswerables he finally decides he'd better just hang it up for the night:
"Time to stop before I sink completely in the murk of dorm-room stoner-think..."
Hilarious. You ought to read the whole thing.
Tsunami photos
15 yards, for piling on
I mentioned metaphors in my last post. Here is a grand one with all the trimmings. Enjoyable and humorous though it is, I am tempted to throw the yellow flag; it seems like piling on after the sack. Of course that assumes that MSM has been playing by a set of equitable rules for the last ? years.
Thursday, December 30, 2004
The rising tide
Wretchard, in his recent Belmont post on the blogosphere, has held up a mirror; and everyone is getting a better idea of what this 'thing' looks like. Metaphors abound. In its effects it is like a flood tide, lifting all boats - well, unless the boat is MSM, in which case the hull is badly fractured.
Putting it more bluntly is one of the commenters on the 'thread', who characterizes the mismatch this way: "The blog world is to the MSM what a thousand Bruce Lees with numchuks are to a blindfolded, one-armed fat man wearing cement overshoes." That is hilarious, but humor aside this same person makes some very interesting observations, not the least of which is that "2004 will be seen as the inflection point" in the rise of the blogs.
Not a few high profile bloggers have linked to Belmont on this one. The thread, taken together with the recent appearance and likely impact of Hugh's new book, does indeed suggest a self awareness, as Wretchard would have it.
The Belmont piece will go down as one of the big "food-for-thought" essays of the year.
Putting it more bluntly is one of the commenters on the 'thread', who characterizes the mismatch this way: "The blog world is to the MSM what a thousand Bruce Lees with numchuks are to a blindfolded, one-armed fat man wearing cement overshoes." That is hilarious, but humor aside this same person makes some very interesting observations, not the least of which is that "2004 will be seen as the inflection point" in the rise of the blogs.
Not a few high profile bloggers have linked to Belmont on this one. The thread, taken together with the recent appearance and likely impact of Hugh's new book, does indeed suggest a self awareness, as Wretchard would have it.
The Belmont piece will go down as one of the big "food-for-thought" essays of the year.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Late to the party
Pig herder blog is brand new as of 12/29/04. I am, as usual, late to the party - in this case the blog party. I have been reading them for some time; and even sending links to them via email. The more one reads these things and follows their links to the ends of the blogosphere, the more he is struck by the networked intelligence that the universe of bloggers represent.
Doing a far better job than I could of describing this 'intelligence' and its ramifications is my favorite blog, The Belmont Club. Leave it to Wretchard, its author, to see far and straight.
Doing a far better job than I could of describing this 'intelligence' and its ramifications is my favorite blog, The Belmont Club. Leave it to Wretchard, its author, to see far and straight.
The car quandary
I am in the car market. I've ruled out the Euros, and I don't like front-wheel drive. What's that leave? Subaru, for one thing. All wheel drive is their forte. Sedan or wagon? I'm not sure, but I think I'm leaning toward wagon; it has more flexibility and it's more suitable for hauling Ripper around.
Subaru builds at least two wagons: Legacy and Impreza, the former being a mid-size and the latter a compact. The GT and the WRX, respectively, are turbo-charged versions. I like the idea of the smaller car (it's 15" shorter - a plus for in-town driving); but the GT is a more refined car, giving a smoother and quieter ride. (Just about every owner is very pleased with the Legacy GT.)
I test-drove the Legacy GT the other day, albeit in a sedan version. Once the turbocharger spools up the car is very quick. Friends have advised that the turbo lag can get annoying. But having flown a turbine powered aircraft I am familiar enough with slower throttle response. At this stage I'm inclined to think it matters more what you've got once the power is up. As far as handling, it's pretty nice: I took it around a typical freeway cloverleaf onramp at a pretty good clip and the car did not feel at all loose. However, the braking did not feel up to the standards of my old car.
I owe it to myself to test drive the WRX too, before pouring myself a tumbler of new car Kool-Aid. I dread the pinch of the buying experience, but sooner or later I'm just going to have to hold my nose (and grab my ankles).
Have a look at the Legacy GT Wagon and the Impreza WRX Wagon. And please leave any suggestions in the Comments section below - I have that nagging feeling that I'm not seeing the picture clearly.
Subaru builds at least two wagons: Legacy and Impreza, the former being a mid-size and the latter a compact. The GT and the WRX, respectively, are turbo-charged versions. I like the idea of the smaller car (it's 15" shorter - a plus for in-town driving); but the GT is a more refined car, giving a smoother and quieter ride. (Just about every owner is very pleased with the Legacy GT.)
I test-drove the Legacy GT the other day, albeit in a sedan version. Once the turbocharger spools up the car is very quick. Friends have advised that the turbo lag can get annoying. But having flown a turbine powered aircraft I am familiar enough with slower throttle response. At this stage I'm inclined to think it matters more what you've got once the power is up. As far as handling, it's pretty nice: I took it around a typical freeway cloverleaf onramp at a pretty good clip and the car did not feel at all loose. However, the braking did not feel up to the standards of my old car.
I owe it to myself to test drive the WRX too, before pouring myself a tumbler of new car Kool-Aid. I dread the pinch of the buying experience, but sooner or later I'm just going to have to hold my nose (and grab my ankles).
Have a look at the Legacy GT Wagon and the Impreza WRX Wagon. And please leave any suggestions in the Comments section below - I have that nagging feeling that I'm not seeing the picture clearly.
Note to self: don't forget to read this
Holiday
a test
