rachel getting married

I discovered RedBox - movies for $1. i just saw Rachel Getting Married. It received great reviews. It was a marriage ceremony from hell; then again, a typical marriage ceremony. Kym comes home from rehab for her sister's wedding - an implausible situation, but this is a movie not real life. anyway, Kym is going through incredible self analysis, and she is dumped on her family which is full of dysfunctional people. Most of all, Kym's mother, a cold blooded witch. Kym survives her sister's wedding, Rachel's wedding, and is better and stronger for it. i think Kym will be ok at the end. The fu**ed up family member is her mother. But others contribute too. Kym was anorexic, drug addict, sick, a "model," but everyone seemed to miss the symptoms (remind you of anyone???) so Kym is getting together, but her family misses the point. No matter how hard they try, like Kym's dad. the movie is long, could be edited better, filmed in a quasi documentary style, great acting, Anne hathaway is superb, swhat a performance. and the mom, Debra Winger, is also great.

Revolutionary Road

What a movie ! Of course Leonardo DeCaprio and kate Winslet are a great pair, the acting superb. The film is about unhappiness, emptiness. April wants to go to Paris, get job with a US agency or non profit, Frank could go back to college, find something meaningful to do with his life. Frank works for an ad agency, April is suburban housewife. When they announce they are moving to Paris, the next door neighbors wife breaks down (after april and frank leave) - to me, she obviously feels the same way, empty, meaningless existence, her sadness and ennui comes out. The realtor and her son come to visit: son is a mathematician, depressed, had electric shock therapy, has lost his math knowledge, his mind destroyed - but he is left with his depression, based on his own perceptions of the meaninglessness of life. he sees through Frank and April, when they announce they are not going to Paris after all. As someone who has battled depression my entire life (became very debilitating at age 21) I do understand the unhappiness in this movie. These people are living in existential angst (fear and loathing unto death) but they dont know what to do - they are not able to act (Sartre would tell them, "Do something ! Act ! You are living in bad faith ! " ) But these people are lost.

So what is the message? Are we all Frank and April? Measuring out our lives in teaspoons? do we dare presume to ask the overwhelming question.....do we dare disturb the universe?

This film made me examine my life. What am i missing in life, what is it that i need? great movie. Really made me reflect upon myself.

Tyson The jerk

Regent Sq theater is showing "Tyson," the documentary about Mike Tyson. It has received great reviews and it is a fascinating portrait of a very confused, troubled man. Iron Mike comes off as very human, very damaged from childhood, perhaps having some severe personality disorders. But very likeable. Regent sq is also showing "The jerk" the Steve martin movie one showing only sunday night. Sooooo, the marques read "Tyson The Jerk" advertising both movies. I thought it was very funny. Did they notice the marques after they posted it? An inadvertent double entendre?

The Mysterious Bog People

I dont know if I have posted this before, but the bog people exhibit at the Carnegie Museum couple years ago was fantastic. here it is online. I give it a 10 on a 10 scale. One of the best museum exhibits I have ever seen.

France Airbus diaster

Air France is replacing pitot tubes on its airbuses. These are external tubes that collect the pressure of atmosphere as plane flies and based on indicated air pressure it shows up as indicated air speed on the main airspeed/artificial horizon instrument. Charles Linbergh's plane had a pitot tube, its a basic airspeed instrument. But here is where I am confused. The airbus is all digital instruments, fly by wire controls. Airspeed is calculated by an GPS instrument, powered by electric grid in plane. Pitot tube might be a good back up air speed indicator, but I cangt understand why an Airbus would have a pitot tube as THE airspeed indicator and not an electric generated instrument, like the digital instruments display. So why is Air France changing the pitot tubes? To show it is doing "something" about the crash, to reassure customers? Pitot tubes are heated on commerical all weather planes, so why did it freeze up? Why didnt this happen before? Why didnt designers of Airbus ask, "what if the pitot tube freezes up?" Something is missing here. I dont believe the pitot tube is to blame. And they cant find any crash debris, just ocean garbage. This whole story is very very myseterious.

UPDATE: an anonymous comment explains that pitot tube gives indicated airspeed, GPS is ground speed, two different speeds (presumably). That is correct. I am trying to come up with a way to measure indicated airspeed other than pitot tube, and I can't. Pitot tube is the most simple, straightforward way of measuring indicated airspeed. Searchers are now finding wreckage, and bodies, mystery I guess is over. Still amazes me that something like a blocked, iced pitot tube could cause such a terrible disaster. The last minutes on board that plane must have been terrifying.

Pres. Obama and the Egyptian Pharoh Kar

President Obama was in Egypt, trying to initiate middle east peace. Something his predecessor didnt do in 8 yrs. anyway, he walks into a tomb and sees an outline of Pharoh Kar. As you can see from Kar's mummy, Kar had big ears and a long face. Pres. Obama laughed and said it looks like him, his aides (including Rahm Emanuel) agreed. funny. Obama can joke about himself. Like JFK. he is serious, but doesnt take himself seriously.

Cheney equates freedom with Gay Marriage

VP Cheney has come out and supported gay marriage. he says its up to states, not federal government. But maybe he is right about States passing laws. His daughter is gay. But just as I think he actually makes sense, he comes out today and says there is not evidence Iraq had anything to do with 911. he blames the CIA for bad intelligence. Lets take this slowly: while VP, he tells the CIA to find a link between Iraq and 911, they try hard, come up with some BS stories about Atta being in Czech republic meeting Iraqi intelligence (not true)- he and Rumsfeld do their best to link "war on terror" with Iraq, and then........Cheney explains that it was the CIA's fault we invaded Iraq. dear god........

Harold and Kumar go to Guantanomo Bay

Great movie. Laughed my posterior off. One adventure after the next, with increasing absurdity. A must see. I might show this in American National Government class in the fall. Very educational. I also liked the script. "Suck it anus." very literate. "Don't make me come down there and kick your cyclops ass!"

"New Muslim cool" - pittsburgh movie

A film from pittsburgh, New Muslim Cool. Hamsa Perez was an ex con, from Connecticut, who decided to move to pittsburgh with his brother and a few close friends. he converted to Islam in prison. his neighborhood crew did also. they set up a mosque in the burgh. he and his friend also are rap artists. he also works with inmates giving programs on spirituality - the Pres. Bush spiritual faith based prison programs. he finds a woman online with a muslim dating service and they marry. she has children from former marriage, as does he. They form a beautiful family. he is a devote muslim man; doesnt drink, smoke, swear, responsible to his wife, children, community. But the FBI wonders what these muslims are doing in the burgh, they set up a raid of their mosque. No one is arrested, but the mosque is damaged. Hamsa is Puerto rican, so he is a Puerto Rican, ex con muslim. Who raps. And counsels inmates at the Allegheny Prison. this film is about him, and his wife and children, his friends, and his mosque. is there a difference between Muslim americans, and Arab Muslims? You bet ! Hamsa shows how American muslims are different, culturally, politically, from Arab muslims. Hamsa explained (in an extensive question answer session after the movie) that America is young, 300 yrs old, is evolving, that Islam is old, thousands of years, so Muslim America is emerging, its different, but its uniquely american. here is a you tube trailer. And here is another video location trailer. the reception before the film was great, great food, they had a bean, onion, parsley salad which was to die for, really great. the reception was great. Wonderful people. Two children came up to me, little boy and smaller girl, and they said "Salam Aleikum" and shook my hand. So beautiful. Priceless.

We live in such irrational fear, the FBI doesnt know what to make of a Puerto Rican, ex con, Muslim rapper who counsels prison inmates - i think there is a cynicism that overtakes police and FBI, they dont believe this guy is real, sincere. Thats understandable, given the con artists they have dealt with. But Hamsa is real, sincere, wonderful man, husband, father, artist. wow ! so many unique wonderful people in Pittsburgh. this was a great evening, first peter max reception, then this reception, great food, great movie, wonderful people.

Peter Max exhibition Squirrel hill, pittsburgh

So Peter max has an exhibition in squirrel hill at a gallery on Forbes. Is this art? I dont know. I like some of his acrylic on canvas paintings, but his mixed media on paper confuses me. Paper? How does he color the paper? Am i right that he sketches with a marker? then finishes with acrylic? Is this art? Or poster pop art? None of his work is less than $3995, the mixed media on paper. but how many of those does he turn out a day? like an assembly line? Is the asking price because of his name, notoriety, or because of the quality of art? he will be there next weekend, he will sign back of artwork, "To Mark, best wishes, Max" - is this one step away from selling paintings to tourists on a street in NYC? I liked some of his work, esp the large canvas with acrylic - bold strokes, unusual color combinations, vivid. but $59,000? I looked close: I think I could copy some of them. Would that then be art? I just spent an afternoon at the National Gallery in DC, so you can understand my confusion. Is Max in the National Gallery? If not, should he be? But I enjoyed the exhibition, the champagne and veggie dip was good.

craig ferguson and why I can't sleep at night

I can't sleep at night - why? I watch Craig Ferguson on the late late show, i need my shot of Craig before sleep, and when he does his puppets i think its the most entertaining show on TV. here is an example. Here is an even more absurd example. Here is his shark week intro: "do these teeth make me look fat?" "usually, when people see me, they say, Aghhhhhhh!"

Sugar : Film about Dominican Republic and MLB

Great movie! Sugar is from DR, good pitcher. he gets drafted by kansas city farm team, travels to Iowa and plays in Class A minors. he sees how latino hispanic players are treated, like race horses, only worse. they get injured, hurt, they dont perform, they are sent down. they have limited education - nothing other than baseball. Most dont make it. Sugar decides to keep his life under his control, and escapes to NYC. This is a beautiful film, the actor who plays Sugar is amazing. the contrast between DR and USA cultures is good, on many levels. Its about immigrants, discrimination, prejudice, courage, and in the end, about baseball: its about having fun, its a game, dont ruin it. the metaphor is for life: life is supposedly to be fun, find a way of enjoying it (I am still working on that). Must see movie. Esp if you like baseball.

Lemon Tree (Etz Limon)

Salma owns a lemon grove on the west bank in palestine, but the defense minister of Israel Navon builds a house adjoining the grove. His security forces decided the grove is a threat and must be torn up. there is precedent - Olive groves have been torn up, used presumably by terrorists to infiltrate into Israel or launch rocket attacks. Salma is a strong woman and hires a poor young lawyer, Ziad. Minister Navon's wife, Mira, has sympathy for Salma, but is torn between her loyalty toward her husband and her sympathy for Salma. The reviews of this movie I think miss the complexity of the film. Mira admires her husband, who has protected her family over the years, and who has protected Israel. But she also recognizes that the protection has a price: their new home is like a prison. the end of the movie is anything but simplistic: families are destroyed, Jews and Arabs live in a man made prison of their own creation, no one is happy. Sound familiar ? And of course there are plenty of opportunists who benefit from this stand off. Sound familiar? The film itself had some good camera angles, good scenes, captured the land of the west bank, captured the faces of the people (I suspect most of the Arab actors were actually jewish...I will check this out - update; I checked it out, a few were israelis playing arabs, but Salma is a palestinian arab who has appeared in many films including Munich, some others are arab-christians) But the copy of the film I saw had some bad edits, I am sure some scenes were cut out by a sloppy copy of the film. i dont know how the film was delivered - I didnt here the projector going, so this must have been a disc or some kind. I think the film transfer process to the disc cut some of the film. Who knows. anyway, I enjoyed it. it is much better than the reviews. Would provide lots of discussion for a class on middle east politics.

Tokyo Sonata - great film

yes, a great film but you have to have patience, because it is slow, and foreign. it is about a changing japanese society and culture, influenced by heartless ruthless American capitalism and jingoism, and emasculation of japanese men. it is also about beauty, and hope. I was almost bored at one point, but concentrated on the scenery, the shots of Tokyo. then the ending came, and I was blown away - wow ! beautiful. hopeful. This was directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and you can see his other films here.

Snow Angels - the movie

Wow ! Depressing film. However, great acting, great location, and great script. the dialogue is fantastic. I really enjoyed the movie. yes, it is hard to watch. it is about relationships, at various stages. the ending is hard, metaphoric in a very religious sense, but the film does offer hope. I will take any hope i can get.

here is the video where Eric Clapton shows his tone settings, and his basic riffs

of course he explains his "sound" and then demonstrates it (3:20 into clip) and it is amazing. and here is Buddy Guy explaining where jimi hendix and eric got their sound.

Bush and Bible stories

This is almost unbelievable, I would suspect this is a conspiracy theory of the left, however it is true. read about Bush and the Rumsfeld bible briefings on Iraq here.

Assuming this is not some kinda practical joke, if this is truthful, then Rumsfeld read Bush's superficial brain - this is just way over the top. Old Testament quotations mixed with Iraq briefings? ! After 8 years of lutheran schooling, including many theology classes, and forced chapel attendance (I was once given detention for not singing during chapel, some medieval song about the plague and how christians are safe behind the walls of the castle - really relevant to a teenager in high school in the '60's) the old testament is jewish, the new testament is christian. Christians do not consider themselves jewish, or the chosen people, christianity is a gentile religion. So the old testament I dont think gives guidance to christians to begin with. But this old testament advice on the war in Iraq is just way over the top.

The whole world now hears about this. What do they think of us? We actually re elected this guy for another 4 years.

I shouldnt post this - It speaks for itself I guess and doesn't need my commentary.

Tough, Cool and Rational

Obama is our Spock. After having 8 years of Klingons in the White House, we finally have someone tough, cool and rational.

Lymelife

Coming of age movie about 1970's Connecticut suburbia. Mickey Bartlett is an architect who wants more, more, more. Played by Alex Baldwin he is great - Alex can play comedy very well (like his SNL hostings) but he is also a strong dramatic actor. This movie is a dracomedy, intense scenes, but also knee slapping funny scenes. Great cast. The end is ambiguous, or multibiguous - we dont know the ending, it could go one of several directions. This is an independent film, shot for $1.5 million in 22 days - that is amazing. the sets were great, the interior shots of houses definitely 1970's - the film gets the setting and costuming correct. Absolutely great film - it really drew me in, the characters were very well developed, you couldnt help but care about them. Excellent film.

Kabuli Kid

Khalid is a cab driver, and a woman in full veil (burga) leaves behind a child in his cab. The movie is about Khalid's attempts to find the mother. He has a wife and 3 daughters, cannot afford another child (or another wife for that matter). He and his wife do not have a son, the baby is male, and this creates a crisis between khalid and his wife. Most of the movie is about Khalid driving around Kabul arranging for a radio announcement to give a $100 reward for the mother to come to Radio Kabul offices and pick up child. Everything gets sorted out in the end. Not much of a plot, but the setting is amazing. We get to see Kabul and its neighborhoods, we meet Khalid's cabbie friends, is wife and children, his father, and we learn about the fate of women ( they get married at a young age, some must deal with mulitiple wives, a child out of wedlock is a life damning event). Khalid is a good muslim man, his wife and family wonderful people, and the film gives faces and identity to the Afghan people we read about (civilian deaths and so forth in the paper).

Ting Che (Parking) movie from Taiwan

great movie here is trailer.
On Mother's Day in Taipei, Chen Mo makes a date for dinner with his wife, hoping to bring their estranged relationship back together. While buying a cake on his way home, a car unexpectedly double parks next to his car, preventing his exit. For the entire night, Chen Mo searches the floors of a nearby apartment building for the owner of the illegally parked car, and encounters a succession of strange events and eccentric characters: an old couple living with their precocious granddaughter who have lost their only son, a one-armed barbershop owner cooking fish head soup, a mainland Chinese prostitute trying to escape her pimp's cruel clutches, and a Hong Kong tailor embroiled in debt and captured by underground loan sharks. After many hardships, Chen Mo finally gets his car out of the parking space, and, with new friends riding beside him, advances toward a new horizon in life.

What a great movie ! Flashbacks tell the story of many characters, and somehow they all intersect. I can't remember the quote at the end, but its something like "there are turning points in your life, then everything disappears." something like that. and the millipede, slowly making forward progress. What is great about the film is its ability to bring everything together at the end. the film broke about 15 min from end, and many people left ! WTF ?! You go to a film festival, $9 on the weeknight, great movie, and you leave because the film breaks almost at the end? The film brings it all together in last few minutes. Awesome soundtrack, the last song with the credits is amazing. Wow! great movie.

Providence RI mayor wants to tax students

The mayor of Providence wants to slap a $150-per-semester tax on the 25,000 full-time students at Brown University and three other private colleges in the city, saying they use resources and should help ease the burden on struggling taxpayers.

Mayor David Cicilline (sis-ah-LEEN-ee) said the fee would raise between $6 million and $8 million a year for the city, which is facing a $17 million deficit.

If enacted, it would apparently be the first time a U.S. city has directly taxed students just for being enrolled.

The proposal is still in its early stages. But it has riled some students, who say it would unfairly saddle them with the city's financial woes and overlook their volunteer work and other contributions, including money spent in restaurants, bars and stores.

"We want to support the city as best we can, but financially is not really what we can afford to give," said Heather Lee, president of the Brown Graduate Student Council. "We're more able to provide labor, we're more able to apply the things that we're learning in the classroom, than we are to write a $300 check."

Cities often look for revenue from universities to compensate for their tax-exempt status, and many schools already make voluntary payments to local governments. Providence's four private schools — Brown, Providence College, Johnson & Wales University and the Rhode Island School of Design — agreed in 2003 to pay the city nearly $50 million over 20 years.

This is so lame - students buy all sorts of stuff in providence, pay sales tax. The mayor is clueless.

Israel's strike on alleged Syrian Nuclear reactor

Here are some before and after pics. I just dont get it. It doesnt look like a nuclear reactor. where is the water supply? Supposedly there are water pipes shown, but any building needs a water supply, that doesnt make it a reactor. Also, the damage appears to be cleaned up quickly. If you blow up a fortified building, wouldnt there be a mess left behind? And why would Syria build it within striking distance of Israel? Wouldnt it have been located further away from border? Wouldnt Syria have radar to detect incoming planes? surface to air missles hidden underground? I mean, middle school students can see the holes in this story. So (1) what was Syria building (2) why did Israeli planes get in and out without losses and (3) why is the site cleaned up so neatly? Other pics I have seen dont even look like the same location - i mean check it yourself, google Sryian Nuclear Reactor and you can see lots of pics, and the after pics sometimes do not resemble the before pics at all, there are physical characteristics of the ground that dont line up.

BTW I am not a grassy knoll person who sees conspiracies in everything, but this story is so full of holes i wonder what is going on.

world's smallest car !

Noah sent me this clip of the world's smallest car. This is an amazing story. I thought my MR2 was the smallest car, but it looks like I'm wrong. Here is yet another small car. And here is the Nano, the Indian car.

Denmark Happiest Country

The list of happiest countries is out and the US doesnt even make the top ten. Here is the list: Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Norway, New Zealand, Canada, Switzerland, Belgian.

Some sample questions: Did you enjoy something you did yesterday? Were you proud of something you did yesterday? Did you learn something yesterday? Were you treated with respect yesterday? In each country, a representative sample of no more than 1,000 people, age 15 or older, were surveyed. The poll was scored numerically on a scale of 1-100. The average score was 62.4.

Economic indicators explain part of happiness. Those countries in the top ten have been least affected by the world wide recession. But wealthy US didnt come in the top ten, and New Zealand, poorer than the other top ten nations, came in 7th in happiness. so money doesnt explain happiness.

Balance between work and leisure is also important, with the scandinavian countries coming in top with balance: work week in Norway is only about 37 hrs. then again, the French work about 35 hrs a week, and they werent in top ten.

Low unemployment is also a factor: Norway's unemployment is about 2%, while the US is 9% and rising.

According to a 2005 editorial, published in the British Medical Journal and written by Dr. Tony Delamothe, research done in Mexico, Ghana, Sweden, the U.S. and the U.K. shows that individuals typically get richer during their lifetimes, but not happier. It is family, social and community networks that bring joy to one's life, according to Delamothe.

That happiness is not connected with wealth gives me some consolation: I have accepted that I will not be a wealthy person by Sen. John McCain's standard (he said you need to have at least $5 million to be considered wealthy) but I still have a shot at happiness.

Che Part 2

Che Part 2 was similar to Part 1. Part I showed the guerilla movement in Cuba, and Part 2 was about Bolivia. I am reading a book about Che so I know a bit more now than I did when I saw Part 2. In 1965 Che disguised himself and ended up in the Congo by way of Moscow. Part 2 starts with Che in disguise, only after the Congo misadventure, and at the beginning of his Bolivian adventure. Che wrote a diary of his Bolivia experience and Part 2 is very close to the diary itself.

Problems Che had in Bolivia: 1) the Bolivian Communist Party didnt support the guerilla movement, thinking that it would only end in bitter reprisals from the dictatorship 2) the Guerillas were not supported by the local peasants, the peasants were afraid of reprisals from the dictatorship 3) Bolivian army received training from US Army Rangers, and the CIA 4) unlike Cuba or even Congo, the CIA knew Che was behind the Bolivian guerilla movement, and were one step ahead of him in tactics.

The end of Part 2 was described as "depressing" from my colleague Dan, who met me at the theater. Dan is one of the few people who actually meets me to see movies in Pittsburgh - he is a true colleague. "Depressing?" I guess so. I think Che was right in his analysis of the exploitation of 3rd world countries. So much of the pain and suffering in Africa and latin america is still left over from colonial periods, and post colonial imperialist periods.

Che expected to be killed in action. He knew he was taking on dangerous enemies - not just opposing government armies, but international economic interests (mining and diamonds) and owners of these industries relied on dictatorships to keep the money rolling in. In Africa he knew he was up against racist South Africa and Rhodesia.

Today there are democratic mass movements of national socialism in Venezuela and Ecuador and I think Che would be pleased with this result. The elected socialist governments of Latin America have many enemies, with the US at the top of the list. I fail to see how a socialist Venezuela is a threat to US security. It is a threat to US capitalist interest I guess. Then again, I failed to see how Iraq was a threat to our national security.

The fear by the US government of Che and his movements was part of the Domino Theory of the 1960's, that one by one the spread of communism would occur and disrupt the peace of nuclear coexistence. Even Russia wanted Che to go slow - the Russian communists were afraid of provoking the west into global war. The Chinese seemed more supportive of Che's movements.

The movie didnt go into the trials and executions that took place after the cuban revolution, and over which Che presided. Most books i have browsed so far seem very critical of Che, criticizing what the authors perceive as bloodthirsty part of Che's personality, at odds with his profession of medicine, or the affection he showed to his wives and children. I want to find a book that isnt biased to begin with.

I really liked this movie, I think i liked Part 2 better than Part 1, because it showed Che for what he was: a global revolutionary, misunderstood by just about everyone except his close comrades from the cuban revolution.

Che Part 1

I just saw part 1 of Che, the two part film produced by Benicio del Toro and directed by Steven Soderbergh. Lots of hand held cameras. Almost documentary but really is a drama film. Skips back and forth from Cuban revolution to early 1960's and UN appearances. Che is part 1 is very Idealistic, honest, has incredible insight into popular revolutionary movements. We will see what happens in part 2, when he becomes Che the executioner. I havent read much about Che, and he is very controversial, either demonized (american writers) or idealized (latin writers). The IMDB.com site is full of messages about Che as Hitler and so forth. Part 2 is tomorrow.

Video of Air Force One flyover NYC

Here is Air Force one photo shoot over the Statue of Liberty, with a fighter jet chasing it. Listen to the panic. See the people running. WTF ? What were they thinking of to do this, and to do this without notifying the public? Didn't they ever here of Photoshop? You can put a picture of Air Force One anywhere, just cut and paste.

Rep. Joe Barton proves you don't have to have brains to be in Congress

Of course most of us already know you dont have to have brains to be in congress, but Joe Barton takes a special prize. he asked Nobel Prize winner and Sec of Energy, Steve Chu, where oil comes from that is above artic circle. Chu had to take some time to understand the question. He responded by explaining plates that move in the earth, how these plates moved and the oil/coal created by dead dinosaurs ended up north. Barton's reason for asking the question, is that Barton doesnt believe in global warming, and even if there is such a thing, Barton thinks its normal. In other words, the world was warmer once, so much so that dinosaurs lived in the north pole. Unspoken might have been his opinion that humans also lived near the north pole, when it was warm, along with the dinosaurs. He is on you tube here.
Not only that, but even when Chu explained the continental plates to him, he still didnt get it. On top of that (yes, there is more) in response to Pres Obama opinion that there should be a national playoff series for college DI football, Barton said the current system is "communism." he meant that you can't fix it so you need another model. He is pissed that his college, Texas A&M, doesnt have the vote power that the big seven conferences have (he is right). so, the current system benefits the big seven conferences, the elite teams that make alot of money out of the bowl system, and hurts the other teams. Most of these teams are subsidized with state and federal tax dollars, only the elite teams turn a profit at football. So Barton is right, the BCS system should be called the BS system (he said that) but his comment about communism is....WTF?

physical therapy

After suffering from a bad neck for 5 weeks, I finally did it: threw the neck and shoulders out completely. I have survived, mostly from physical therapy, chiropractor and drugs. I somehow got some work done today, mostly grading papers. I am home in a drug induced stupor and plan to take it easy.

Let the Big 3 automakers go bankrupt: then see what's left

Rumor has it that the United Auto Workers and the US gov will own GM. UAW gets 39% and USA 50%. If the thought of the Union and the US gov running GM isnt scarey enough for you consider the following. The UAW has bargained with the big 3 auto makers as a unit - basically, the UAW was a union monopoly. The big 3 had little choice but to "bargain" with them. then came the foreign car imports. GM and UAW knew they couldnt compete cost wise, so UAW and big 3 agreed to employee buyouts, some closures. UAW protected the most senior members. Foreign imports cost about $2000 less a car than GM, ford or Chrysler cars, so they couldnt make money on cars. but the gov has a 25% tariff on imported trucks, AND, the gov didnt count passenger trucks as cars that had to meet mpg fuel standards. So, the US gov made a deal with UAW, the Big 3 - make a profit from truck and SUV sales. Since the Big 3 knew they couldnt make money on cars, the quality of cars declined. Now we are part of the global economy - china plans to make suv's in Mexico and import them. And the price of gas went up, as a recession was building. the end product is that the Big 3 cars have a reputation that is bad, even though the cars are good - the new malibu is good, ford has some great cars too. Even their good cars wont sell now, give their past reputation, and the recession. (the big 3 once made great cars, like the Corvette split window coupe shown). The Silverado truck is still the best selling GM product. But what will happen when the UAW is both owner and union? with the US gov the majority owner?

My vote: let the Big 3 go bankrupt. At this point, the taxpayers will not get their bailout money back. Its gone. so just let them go broke without more bailout money. the more money the US gov gives them, the more money the taxpayer will lose.

The problem is that the Big 3 operated in a government regulated industry - between the UAW and the US gov, the Big 3 had little control over their destiny.

Arlen Spector becomes a Democrat - not really!

The Republican party quit Arlen Spector - Sen Trent Lott and Pres George W Bush did not treat arlen very well. Arlen thought the clinton impeachment was a waste of time, he voted not guilty, then after Trent Lott threatened him on TV (yes, it was televised without sound, Lott angry, sticking finger in Arlen's chest, obviously cursing him) Arlen voted "not proven" on the next article of impeachment. president bush treated Arlen like he had an infectious disease while battling cancer, there is a picture of bush standing away from Arlen, it was obvious he didnt want to be close to him. Then Pat Toomey is again running in primary against Arlen - Toomey just might win, many Republicans switched registration in 2008 (we are a closed primary state, you have to register with a party to vote in that party's primary)and Arlen thinks this time Toomey would win. Toomey however, is nuts, would never win a state wide race. so Pennsylvania will have another democratic senator, whether Arlen switches parties or not. Arlen will easily win re election. Toomey is destroying the republican party in Pennsylvania. The right wing conservatives, the evangelical southern baptists, have made Republican party the minority party. The republicans so called southern strategy has resulted in making the party more conservative, less inclusive. Republicans won over the southern states votes in national elections, but it has destroyed the Republican party in the process.

sleep deprivation

Last saturday I went to fitness center, ate lunch, and then laid down because I couldnt keep my eyes open. I slept for 3 hrs, had a hard time getting out of bed. I spent the weekend at home, housekeeping duties. Last night I fought with my book chapter and computer (electricity is out on campus, I had to bring printer home) finally got a draft version done 3 am. woke up at 7 am. I am stressed out over not hearing from the new york college i applied at - I thought it was a perfect match, and then I read that they have reopened the search. Bad sign. A reopened search will not find anyone out there that hasnt already expressed interest. I dont know whats going on but maybe this is a sign that I shouldnt have taken a job there. but another year in slippery rock? The electricity is still out on my end of campus, so I have to bring my CPU home with monitor, the finals exams are on that computer, and I have 150 students who need to find the new location for the final, but we cant contact them because there is no power, so we are relying on the old fashioned method of communication: hard copy. We have put signs up all over campus announcing the new location of my final. This should be another intense day. I need routine and normal sleep schedule.

Saddlebacking

Rick Warren prayed at Pres. Obama's inaugural. He thinks homosexuality is perverted, they aren't welcome at his church unless they go through some kinda homo-vaccine program. Anyway, I think it was Steven Colbert who said the name of Warren's church, Saddleback, is a perverted sex act. It is? Turns out, perverts around the world could not come up with an explanation of what sexual saddlebacking is. Sooooo, Dan
Savage, sex columnist exceptional, had a contest. The entries are here. Do not read the link if you are easily embarrassed. How did i find such a perverted contest? Dan Savage's column is in City Paper, the free paper in pittsburgh that gives movie and art and theater reviews, and also has some great local news coverage. the winner? Readers voted and the definition that won is below:

"'Saddlebacking' should be the term for the phenomenon of Christian teens engaging in unprotected anal sex in order to preserve their virginities. 'After attending the Purity Ball, Heather and Bill saddlebacked all night because she's saving herself for marriage.'

Schindler's List

I finally saw Schindler's List, it is a long movie, i think Steven Spielburg's masterpiece. My great grandfather, Isaac, was a jew, but I dont see myself as jewish, and would not be considered jewish by even the most liberal or reformed Rabbi. I see orthodox jews in squirrel hill, with their hats, their curls, and they look very medieval. A tribe unto themselves. I wonder how jews were seen in Poland, with their separate villages, their "Shtetls" - Nonetheless, i have a strange affinity for jewish people, for example, I feel very comfortable in squirrel hill, almost "at home," whenever I see a jewish temple, i smile inside, like there is some kind of familiarity. I have always wanted to go to Israel. so i guess there is some jewish DNA in me, and I get very reactionary whenever someone makes a jew joke, or whenever I hear someone blame something on jews, like 911. Anyway, I have never seen Schindler's list, because i thought "oh no, another movie about the holocaust." Actually this IS the movie about the holocaust. The transformation of Schindler was remarkable - its as though the movie presented the worst side of human beings, but then, Schindler makes this amazing transformation - no matter how horrible human beings can behave, there is always a sparkle of goodness - Schindler becomes a real "mensch" in the face of human cruelty. The end of the movie is amazing - the descendants and survivors all pay respects to Schindler's grave in Jerusalem. Beautiful. Shalom.

Igmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers

What a movie, I mean Bergman outdid himself on this one. Story is, he discussed with a colleague the "cries and whispers" we all have, about our lives, our phoniness, our fear, our existential angst. And he took it from there. Two sisters return home because the third sister is dying of cancer. She has a painful death. She leaves a diary, and in it she refers to a moment when she and her sisters were perfectly happy, when she was happy, when she had no fears about life. What was that moment? You have to watch the film. But lets say we all experience happiness when we are free from existential bad faith, when we are authentic individuals, capable of loving each other.
This film is most famous (i guess) for the eulogy the Lutheran minister says over Agnes, after her painful death. here it is, I typed it from the dvd:

The Lutheran minister’s prayer over Agnes, recently deceased from cancer, a painful death. From Igmar Bergman’s film Cries and whispers.
God in his infinite wisdom Has called you home to him
Still in the bloom of your youth.
In your life he found you worthy
Of bearing a long and torturous agony.
You submitted to it patiently and without complaint
In the certain knowledge that your sins would be forgiven
Through the death on the cross of your Lord, Jesus Christ.
May your father in heaven, When you stop into his presence
Have mercy on your soul.
May he let his angels remove from you the memory Of your earthly pain.
Should it be that you gathered up our suffering in agony Into your body.
Should it be you bore with you This hardship through death.
Should it be that you meet with God As you come to that other land.
Should it be that you find his countenance Turned toward you then.
Should it be that you know the language to speak So this god may hear and understand.
Should it be that you then talk with this god And he hear you out.
Should it be so.
Pray for us.
Agnes, dear child, please listen.
Listen to what I have to tell you now.
Pray for us who have been left in darkness, Left behind on this miserable Earth
With the sky above us, grim and empty.
Lay your burden at God’s feet, The whole of all your suffering
And plead with him to pardon us, plead with him that he may free us of our anxiety and of our
Wearniness, Of our misgivings and fears.
Plead with him that he may make Sense and meaning in our lives.
Agnes, you who have borne Your anguish and suffering so long
Are most surely worthy Of advocating our cause.
She was my confirmation child.
We often had talks together through the many years.
Her faith was stronger than mine.

When this came out in 1972 I went to see it twice with my girlfriend, just one more reason she dumped me I guess. The other infamous scene is when Agnes' sister inserts a broken glass into her Vjay (as Oprah says) as a symbol of the phoniness of her marriage and of her entire life. That MAY be why the film is so famous for some, but I think it is because of the Lutheran minister's eulogy. How Swedish ! I can't imagine the Lutheran minister who gave my father's eulogy giving a prayer to god like that - To better understand Bergman films I took a seminar on Christian existentialism my senior year in college, we read ALL of Kierkegaard. I mean every freakin book. From that course i concluded that having a crisis of faith is what faith is all about. The institutional faith, the cult like faith of some ministers (and not just Luderans, as they say in chicago) is not real faith. Kierkegaard would say that faith involves doubt, but to have faith even though you have doubt, even though you know faith is irrational, is a beautiful thing. That's what faith is: belief in the irrational, belief in something beautiful, something more beautiful than we ugly humans here on earth.

Spoiler: the happiest moment of Agnes' life? When she spent the afternoon with her sisters, playing in the yard, swinging each other on swings, an afternoon full of authentic love, absent of the pretense of everyday life. Thats it: her happiest moment, spending one afternoon playing with her sisters. maybe life comes down to that: a simple truthful moment.

Former colleagues "discover" my topic

so if I do a google on "collaborative public administration" my 2001 book "Creating Sustainable Community Programs: Examples of Collaborative Public Administration." published by Praeger, a good commercial publisher, comes right up, at the top of the search. A child could conduct a literature search on google and find it. It was a straight commission contract, I made a little over $3000 on royalities.

So my former colleagues are publishing "Real World Cases of Collaborative Public Administration" with a publisher that does only academic books. What a coincidence? My book comes up with any google search, or barnesandnoble or amazon search, it was reviewed in Public Administration Review (on which one of my former colleagues is board member), featured in PA Times, I had two panels from the book at the ASPA conference in Newark, it was on display for several years at ASPA conferences.

They are either (1) too lazy to come up with an idea for their own book or (2) clueless to what has been published on the topic of collaborative PA.

I hlope they at least give me a footnote or citation. Working with them for 4 years was the worst experience of my life, ranks up their with having a root canal at the dentist....

UPDATE: forthcoming ME Sharpe book, summer 09, "Sustainable Development for Public Administration," by two different authors, announced as "the first book to focus on application of sustainability and sustainable development theories to public administration." Again, no, mine was. Don't academicians do a simple Internet search before they announce the are the "first" to publish something? I wonder if they will give me a citation....

Vince and Shamwow in Spanish, and the Jesus Christ Shamwow

Here is the Jesus Christ Shamwow commercial, just in time for Easter. And here is Vince selling the Shamwow in Spanish.

Sen. Ted Stevens' conviction overturned

So Ted Stevens (known for his Bridge to Nowhere) has had his conviction reversed. Does that mean he is innocent? No. This guy is a crook, like so many of his congressional colleagues. He was known for earmarking and pork spending in Alaska, which is not necessarily bad for Alaskans, but is nonetheless wasteful. He proposed the Bridge to Nowhere, which was a bridge to unite an island with mainland, to promote development of the island, which is not a bad thing in itself, but the question is how much should gov spend to promote private sector development? We watched a video about the 2002 mayoral election in Newark NJ in class last night, the incumbent mayor drove a Rolls Royce, and serving in an elected office was the only source of income Mayor Sharp James ever had. So how did he get a Rolls Royce? "investments." I told the class never to vote for a politician who drives a Rolls Royce. Ted Stevens did a lot for Alaska, no doubt, but he prospered himself too, and I have a problem with politicians who see elected office as a way of enriching themselves.

Megamouth shark caught, eaten in Philippines

Just the 41st megamouth shark ever identified was caught and eaten by fishermen in the Philippines. The fish was caught at a depth of 660 feet, really deep for divers. So it must have been a bottom trawler net, a net that scrapes the bottom of the ocean. this type of fishing is terrible for the environment, because the net catches everything on the bottom, destroys eco system of ocean floor. It also catches fish and other critters that are not edible but usually die and are thrown back in ocean. then again, these fishermen eat mostly shark, so they were just trying to feed their villages. This is good example of the ethics of environmentalism - hungry villagers eat an endangered species of shark: what is more important, feeding hungry poor villagers of protecting a shark species? The shark was already dead when net was reeled in (most fish die in these bottom nets), so what should they have done with a dead shark other than eat it? Could the villagers be introduced to other fishing that is more sustainable? Do they have to use bottom nets, do they have to eat sharks? Is there no affordable and effective alternative for them?

Proof of scuba expedition in Key Largo, Florida

Here is pic of me and eldest son, nathaniel, on dive boat 6 miles off Key largo in the open ocean. I snorkeled and he scuba dived. there is a whole new world "under the sea" as Ariel the mermaid sings about. I loved it. Key Largo rocks, great place.

Movie "The Reader" - Spoilers so watch out

Absolutely incredible film, I read IMDB.com message boards and here is my reaction. First, yes she can't read or write, michael finally figures this out. She is rural, illiterate girl, quits jobs when she is put in position of having to admit her illiteracy. This is not unusual, a fellow at the senior center can't read, he flunked out of school grade 5, he has asked me to help him learn to read. (problem is he is kinda senile, or maybe simple minded, I can't figure if he wants attention or really wants to read, I am caring for a sick cat, I mean there are limits on my humanity ya know?). Anyway, the movie is about Justice, capital J. Not the law (michael is lawyer, his professor is stressing law, not morality or justice, his students dont get it, neither does michael. The reason Hannah doesnt say at her trial, I cant read or write, I am illiterate, I was in bad situation with the world collapsing around me and didnt know what to do, is NOT that she was embarrassed, but that SHE RECOGNIZED HER GUILT even though her comrades didnt, lied, covered for each other, and then blamed her and dumped on her. She paid for her guilt, and in a way the guilt of others denied by them (almost like christ like figure). She leaves what little money she has for the sole survivor of the church fire - its all she can do, in a meager way, her own imprisonment wasnt enough, she finally died for her sins. So who is really fucked here? the morally superior law students who dont understand the complexity of justice; the court that wanted to establish guilt under law, and fit square pegs in round holes to do so; Michael, the prick, he had great sex with this woman but abandons her once she is on trial, how shallow is he? (very). the lone survivor of the fire - does she get it? Well, from her perspective, can there ever be justice even if everyone involved gets life in prison? how can you make something like this "right?" Socrates played with us in the Republic about Justice - it is illusionary, hard to define. The film deals with a joseph Conrad "heart of Darknesss" dilemma, an illiterate rural girl joins the SS as a low ranking guard because she needed a job that would hide her illiteracy, and "Mr. Kurtz, he dead" there was no one to guide her or help her make decisions, esp the c**nts who were her guard comrades. She takes on the guilt, as best she can - how can she atone? Does anyone get this like me, or am I being the political philosopher here and looking back at the cave I just walked out of???? your comments are welcome (just be civil :)

I guess she didn't like his nuts.....Sham Wow guy beats up prostitute

Oh, the humanity. Sham Wow guy gets arrested for beating up a prostitute in South Beach. For the record, I was recently in south beach florida, and I did not get arrested for anything. "Are you following me undercover police guy...?" He said she bit his tongue and he had to punch her to get her off of him - a common problem most of us guys have, how to get a woman we have paid for sex to let go of our tongue. this is just so terribly wrong.....I hear marlon brando saying, "Oh, the humanity...." thanks for the link noah !

AlterNews gets it wrong

Here is AlterNews.com version of why this felon killed 4 police officers: he couldnt find a job. Left out of the story is that he was a suspect in two rapes, so in addition to parole violation, the police wanted to interview him regarding the two rapes. He didnt want to go back to jail: he was a recidivist, he has been in and out of jail his entire adult life. he couldnt get a job: yeah, employment is hard for life time criminals and rapists. This guy was a career criminal, there was no life for him outside of prison, other than more crime. Even among career criminals, few will kill police officers to avoid jail time for a parole violation. This guy knew the police were coming for him because of the rapes, he knew he would be getting life in prison for the rapes (this is california, 3 times a felon you get life without parole). Below is quote from Alternews.com:

The killing of four police officers in Oakland shows the desperation of an ex-felon. Lovelle Mixon was trying to avoid going back to jail and at the same time unable to find any employment that would give him a second chance. It’s a story repeated all over America, even if it does not always end in a killing spree as it did in Oakland.

A general consensus is that it was a deadly mix of panic, rage, and frustration that caused Lovelle Mixon to snap.

What bullshit. Alternews can be good sometimes, but obviously they had an axe to grind and spun this story out of control.

Man survived both Hiroshima and Nagasaki a bomb blasts

this man is certified as having survived BOTH the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki - either the luckiest man alive or the unluckiest, depending upon how you view it. BTW, this weekend is start of cherry blossom festival in DC, a gift from the Japanese people. Don't forget the beautiful vase that japan gave James Buchanan, on display at Buchanan's house in Lancaster.

HIllalry says Palestinian state inevitable !

My misgivings about Hillary were misplaced - I am all for a two state solution, and finally Obama-Hillary are willing to put their political careers on the line for peace between jews and the arabs. Nothing, and I mean nothing, was done the last 4 years. Think of where we would be if we had not invaded iraq, instead, helped the creation of a Palestinian state. The billions we spent on Iraq could have been spent on the new Palestinian state, compensating arabs for lost lands, ending the refugee camps where children for two generations now have been born in poverty and hopelessness. I pray that she can pull it off. She will have to deal with extremists on both sides, deal with militants who will want to derail the peace, she needs to be safe (I mean really safe) about her own security traveling there. But if she can make her way through the mine field of Israeli Palestinian politics, the peace will be amazing - think of the lives to be saved, the human potential that can be tapped. And people from all over the world will be able to vacation once again in the land of the bible, the dead sea, and this tourism will result in alot of revenue for both Israel and the new Palestinian state.