:: Archipelapogo ::

:: 31.12.02 ::

Letters to a Young Contrarian

Over the past few weeks, I picked up Christopher Hitchen's Letters To a Young Contrarian at various bookstores in Dallas, Tulsa, and Austin and read it. I had it on my wishlist after I heard an interview with Hitchens on a local (Tulsa) NPR program discussing the book. It sounded like a very interesting read, which it was, but I never bought it primarily due to the fact that it is only available in hardback and is some $22 for only 140 pages. Hmmph!

Regardless, it was a good read, but it's far from the guide to life that I was hoping it might turn out to be. It's based on Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet (which I have not read) and takes the form of quite a few letters to a non-explained, and probably fictional, young student. Hitchens has taught several courses at the University level and probably based the "questions" or "responses" (which you don't get to read, but he refers to quite often) on actual conversations or exchanges with students.

The book runs the gamut of simple advice about travelling, who to read, and humor to personal anecdotes from Hitchens career as a reporter, activist, and teacher. Some of the most interesting material stems from his time in Bosnia during the early 90's when he went (in his own, butchered words) because he found no reason that he shouldn't.

My main beef with the book is the way that Hitchens is very dismissive and over-simplifying (to an offensive level) in his disdain for religion and religious people. He comes across as humorless and derrogatory when referring to people of religion (I believe that there was one exception in an anecdote about a friend of his that was religous, but Hitchens goes out of his way to point out that he liked this person "in spite of" their religous beliefs). I'm not humorless when it comes to religion, and I have as many issues with organized religion and zealots as most staunch atheists. However to make as many condescending, sweeping statements about all religious people as Hitchens does did, basically, offend me, even when he was not referring to my particular religion. If those are his beliefs, fine. But he comes across as almost an old white man sitting on a porch smoking a pipe and referring to "them coloreds". Not cool.

Regardless, I've enjoyed Hitchens for some time. His recent departure from The Nation was a shame. They probably could use a pro-war columnist on their staff. I guess it got to be too much for him to handle, though. For educational purposes, though, I picked up a copy of The Trials of Henry Kissinger (also by Hitchens, which he refers to several times in Letters...). I'm thinking it will not involve so much of Hitchen's bias and be a lot more factual in presentation.

Anyways, I would recommend reading Letters... (it can probably be done in one or two sittings if you have it at your house) but I don't think I'd recommend buying it unless it came out in paperback. Go read it at Borders or try to find it at a library.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Josh's Favorites

On my drive back in last night, I tuned in to the Adventure Club's last show of the year. For those not in the know, the Adventure Club is this guy Josh's three hours to play indie and whatever the hell he feels like music for three hours on Sunday Nights on a corporately owned station. Think an aural 120 Minutes (but 180 minutes long....)

Anyways, I had been listening to ESPN radio for way too long and was furiously switching b/w that and the edge to see if I could pick up the signal yet. When I finally got it I saw that he was doing his end of year top 35 songs show. I snuck in around number 18 and number one was playing by the time I was back in my apt. unpacking. The list is pretty good, although (and Josh mentioned this several times) most of the songs in the top ten had been played on the AC a lot this year. But I guess that's what it's for. By looking at the playlist, you can see that he's a bit of a brit-pop heathen, but that's okay by me. The Bright Eyes song at #2 is no surprise either, as he has confessed almost every week his penchant for all things Oberst-ish. That song was actually a live acoustic recording that Conor did back in October but wasn't aired until a couple of weeks ago. Actually, it was a four song acoustic set with some interviewing b/w Josh and Conor inbetween songs. It was pretty cool.

Also of note: Three of the top twenty songs were on my swap cd. But I only heard one of them (the Idlewild song) on the AC.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Back in the Saddle Again

Back in Dallas. Back at work. Ho ho hum. And I'm quite tired. I had a good week in tulsa though, spending way too much time and money at Yankee's Hideout playing trivia and hanging with old friends. Even saw some folks that I haven't talked to in years. But I suppose it all had to end, huh? Show show show, here we go.
:: Scott [+] ::
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I'm alive, just, well, not on the computer

Hey anyone who stumbles here with any kind of regularity, I'm just letting you know that I'm alive. I'm in a snow-covered (at least until this afternoon) Tulsa and don't spend much time on the computer while I'm at home, traditionally. Normal blogging should resume on Monday. Two things of note though:

1) Today is the first day of my life that I have ever gotten a paid vacation day. I think it's good. Real good.

2) I know I'm about 5 days late, but R.I.P. Joe Strummer. This burying the heroes of punk thing is getting pretty old. In tribute, my favorite Clash song:

From the album "Clash"

(Strummer/Jones)

Yankee soldier
He wanna shoot some skag
He met it in Cambodia
But now he can't afford a bag

Yankee dollar talk
To the dictators of the world
In fact it's giving orders
An' they can't afford to miss a word

I'm so bored with the U...S...A...
But what can I do?

Yankee detectives
Are always on the TV
'Cos killers in America
Work seven days a week

Never mind the stars and stripes
Let's print the Watergate Tapes
I'll salute the New Wave
And I hope nobody escapes

I'm so bored with the U...S...A...
But what can I do?

Move up Starsky
For the C.I.A.
Suck on Kojak
For the USA
:: Scott [+] ::
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Molotov Cocktail, Google Style

FuckICLS.net
:: Scott [+] ::
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Endorsements that weren't asked for

Thanks to this spiel by Sean and the ensuing discussion in his comments, I did some research on Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold (of McCain-Feingold fame) and have discovered a Democrat that I can root for. Wow. Feingold, in his own words, on some issues --

-- Regarding Iraq: He's got some questions that he wants answered -- For example:

1. I'm troubled by the administration's shifting justifications for invading Iraq - sometimes they claim that it is because Iraq harbors terrorists, sometimes they focus solely on concerns about Iraq developing weapons of mass destruction. What exactly is the mission being proposed? Are there viable options for achieving that mission short of full-scale invasion?

2. If we believe that Saddam has weapons of mass destruction, how confident are we that military invasion would secure them rather than spurring him to use them or provoking the government of Iraqto sell them off to the highest bidder? Do we have a clear plan for securing weapons of mass destruction in the confused aftermath of a military campaign?

--On the Environment -- I am an original cosponsor of S.411, which would designate the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge as wilderness. This bill was introduced by Senator Lieberman on February 28, 2001, and is similar to legislation I cosponsored with former Senator Roth in previous Congresses. I oppose drilling in the Arctic Refuge because it does not advance our domestic energy security, and because of its potential effect on existing wilderness that has already been designated in the Arctic Refuge. We do need to develop a new energy strategy for this country. I disagree strongly however, with the idea that drilling must occur in this particular location, which I feel is deserving of wilderness designation. I stand ready to work to find other sources of energy, to use existing sources more efficiently, to address consumption and to promote sustainable sources.

-- On Campaign Finance Reform -- It costs too much to run for office, and interests with big money to contribute to candidates or spend on ad campaigns have the inside track to access in Congress. The search for ever-increasing sums of money to finance campaigns dominated by expensive TV advertising has led politicians and both parties to stretch the rules and create new loopholes.

Soft money-unlimited contributions from corporations, unions, or wealthy individuals- is the biggest loophole, and led to the biggest scandals in the 1996 and 2000 Presidential campaigns. That's why I am pleased that seven years after John McCain and I introduced our campaign finance reform bill, Congress passed our legislation and the President signed it into law.
(Editor's note: The McCain Feingold Bill may get shot down in the Supreme Court...more on that as it develops).

And he's against the Death Penalty.

I know all of these are just words and that Feingold's actions and voting record may not reflect the ideals that he espouses on his website. However, he does a pretty good job of citing (and linking to) examples of where he has taken action on his positions. I've not heard anything about him making a run for the Democratic nod in '04 (and frankly, I think it might be better for him to wait until '08 anyways) but he's definitlely somebody I'm going to be keeping an eye on over the next few years.
:: Scott [+] ::
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My Girlfriend is a Badass!

For Christmas, Denise got me:
-- The Fellowship of the Rings four-disc DVD set with extra footage and more special stuff than you can shake a stick at
-- Traffic on DVD (the Michael Douglas et al movie)
-- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for PS2
-- A teapot. Yeah, a teapot. I like tea, okay?
-- A Homer Simpson beer opener that plays a little "Beer! WooHoo!" thing when you press down on the lever.

I know stuff doesn't equal love and all that jazz, but she was going to buy me something, and she bought me some way cool stuff. Thanks, boo!
:: Scott [+] ::
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Not all sinking stocks are necessarily a bad thing

McDonald's to report first-ever quarterly loss -- McDonald's Corp., struggling through a year of sluggish sales at home and abroad, said Tuesday it expects to report the first-ever quarterly loss in its 47-year history.

The announcement sent shares in the world's largest restaurant company down $1.68, or nearly 10 percent, to $15.70 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The price dipped below the seven-year low of $15.75 reached earlier this fall.

Sales at established McDonald's restaurants worldwide were down 1.6 percent for the quarter - including 1.6 percent in Europe, 5.2 percent for its Asia-Pacific-Middle East region and 2.5 percent in Canada - and down 2 percent for the first 11 months.

I heard a report on NPR not too long ago about people (mostly franchisees) worried about their U.S.-based businesses overseas, especially in the Middle East and how business may lag due to anti-american sentiment. Looks like this may be happening. Less french fries for the people is a good thing though.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Hmmmm, maybe it's time to change my grad school plans

I've been doing some research on CollegeView.com trying to find some enrollment statistics for area colleges, and found (via a regional search) some interesting colleges in Texas. Sure, there are all kinds of beauty schools and aeronautical places and whatnot...but a couple of 'em definitely stand out. For example:

Texas Allbreed Grooming School located in Arlington, enrollment: 40 (with a 50/50 male to female ratio).

The Texas College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, located in Austin. Enrollment: um, they have the number listed as 0. How very zen.

and finally,

Texas State Horseshoeing School located in Kennedale. Enrollment: 20 (also a 50/50 male to female ratio).
:: Scott [+] ::
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Froogle!

Remember when I asked for advice on a digicam? Well, thanks to google's new Froogle (and more importantly, the advanced search) my quest just became a lot easier. Here's my listing for digicam's less than $200 and links and stuff. I haven't sifted through the options yet, but I get the impression that this is very good. And it's only in public Beta testing, so it'll probably get better.
:: Scott [+] ::
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An exercise in karaoke with links

Wargasm, by L7. From the album "Bricks Are Heavy".

wargasm, wargasm, one two three
tie a yellow ribbon 'round the amputee
masturbate, watch it on tv
crocodile tears for the refugees

wargasm, wargasm, one two three
smutty bloody pictures, ecstasy
blue balls waiting impatiently
from alcatraz to lady liberty

body bags and dropping bombs
the pentagon knows how to to turn us on

wargasm wargasm one two three
pit bull, pit bull, ecstasy
wave those flags high in the air
as long as it takes place over there

wargasm, wargasm, wargasm, wargasm

body bags and dropping bombs
the pentagon knows how to turn us
turn us on
turn us on, wargasm
turn us on, wargasm
:: Scott [+] ::
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Busy Busy, Bumblebee

I've pretty much done all of my Christmas shopping, work isn't too bad, but I feel super stressed for some reason. Hmmm. Anyways:

Tonight: Thanks to some buy one get one free tickets, Denise and I are going to the Mavericks game against the L.A. Clippers tonight. My goal: don't worry about Steve Nash's stats for fantasy basketball. Just enjoy the damn game.

Tomorrow night: Avail / Planes Mistaken for Stars show. Yay! (with Hey Mercedes and another band who's name may or may not be the Shift)

Thursday night: Office Christmas dinner at casually upscale Italian restaurant.

ho ho ho.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Hmmmm

There are people in the world that subscribe to the theory that there is a finite amount of energy floating around that we all share. Any energy that I expend goes into another living thing and vice versa. When somebody dies, their energy is ejected into other living things and the cycle renews. It's all kind of crazy, and I don't think it's even worth discussion.

But on the off-chance that it's true, I need some of my energy back, you bastards. Quit hoarding it.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Ufez, with one F, Ufez

I know many in the weblog community will be interested in this interview with Frank Black in the Dallas Observer this week, and probably wouldn't see it unless they happened to live in Dallas. Enjoy if you like.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Toss a caption in on this one!

This picture right....wait, are you ready for it? Here!

Okay, the link is fixed. Why didn't someone tell me that link didn't work?
:: Scott [+] ::
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Go Stars!

Denise scored some tickets to the Stars game last night from her boss, so we journeyed to the American Airlines Center for the first time. Being all cool, we took the train and a sweet shuttle provided by Hoffbrau Steaks Restaurant that had cow prints on the side and Moo'ed for a horn. Plus, the shuttle was free, and pretty damn convenient. Much better than paying five or ten bucks to park and sit in traffic.

The AAC is really impressive. It really does look like a hotel inside, which a co-worker had told me earlier. Very well laid out, easy to get up to the nosebleed section (where we sat) and very classy all around. The seats were up there, but we could see everything really well, unless the puck was trapped on the boards nearest to us, but that wasn't very often. The whole process ran like a well-oiled machine.

The Stars were playing the Montreal Canadiens, who aren't very good this year, unfortunately. The Stars won 5-1 thanks in large part to a hat-trick by Jason Arnott and some sweet play by Goalie Marty Turco. I haven't paid too much attention to the NHL this year yet (I usually don't until playoffs) but the Stars are looking pretty good and may make a decent run. Combine that with the inevitable Mavs run (choke disclaimer here) and it could get real interesting in Dallas come April and May.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Coming Soon to a Fox Network Near You

Go. Go to LegoDeath. Thank me.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Random BlogFire

*****
The idjits at A&M fired head football coach R.C. Slocum yesterday. Somebody in Waco had better be on the phone with him right now. Re-kindle the rivalry. Get a very good coach. Re-build your program. Recruit better players. Don't hire an ex-player with no coaching experience (Mike Singletary) or a geriatric man (former North Texas coach Hayden Frye). Call R.C. now! I'm looking at you, Sloan.

*****
Go build yourself a luchador (Mexican Wrestler). Lots of fun via TJ.

*****
Fun drunken Santa flash game. I only scored around 350 points, but I only played once. Maybe I'll play again when I get home. (from MeFi.)

*****
And finally, congrats to fellow Dallas based blogger and MeFi'er Dejah on finally popping her kid out. I know she's been looking forward to it.
:: Scott [+] ::
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"It's kind of like we're at the State Fair" -- my dad

Rather than force another helping of turkey/mashed potato/other turkey day favorites down the already gluttonous blog-o-sphere, I'd rather talk about my lunch on Sunday. You see, today is my granddad's 83rd birthday (happy birthday Granddad, even though you probably don't even know what the internet is) and since my sister and I were both in town on Sunday, we celebrated by going to lunch. It was his choice and, God bless him, he really wanted to go to Golden Corral. Now, I'd never been to the big all you can eat of anything buffet that is the GC, but I've been to Shoney's about twice too many times to know that no good can come of a restaurant like this. It's bad when you are walking in and feel an impending doom, like the iced tea will somehow give you salmonella or the napkins are laced with hepatitis.

So in we saunter. Walking in, you are filled with a sensation of sheer and utter blandness. The walls, booths, tables, dishes, workers, diners (who are mainly a motley crew of seven year old female Nascar fans and nursing home evictees from Coweta or Catoosa or Cushing or somewhere within an hour of Tulsa), etc. are all a medley of shades of grey, beige, mild teal, and dusty rose. The smell is somewhere between a Reno strip joint with a shrimp buffet (not that I'd know, I've never been to Reno) and a truck stop. I lost my appetite immediately.

Relunctantly, I made my way to the salad bar. I've never seen iceberg lettuce so white. Not even yellow or brown. Just white. I picke out as many of the greenish pieces that I could find, added some browning broccoli, some floury looking tomatoes, and some (probably imitation) carrot sticks. Yum.

Not wanting to offend my granddad (or "waste" my father's seven dollars) I ate my salad, grabbed a new plate, and decided to try to find something warm to eat. I looked at the taco/nacho bar, and passed immediately upon viewing the crusty refried beans and ground beef that makes Taco Bell look like prime rib. I knew there was no way I was going to eat anything meat-related though, so I began to look at the vegetable area that surrounded the prime rib and "shrimp" pieces. I picked up some stewed or boiled or something broccoli, some mac and cheese (of all cafeteria foods, cafeteria mac and cheese is by far the best), some green beans, and some potatoes that were sitting in a mystery gravy. Back to the table I go to enjoy my feast.

The mac and cheese was really powdery. I'm guessing that whoever made it didn't dissolve the imitation cheese powder well enough before mixing it with the noodles. It went downhill from there. The mystery gravy of the potaoes was horrid. So I wiped them off as best I could with my spoon, doused them with an unhealthy amount of pepper, and ate them quickly. Moving on to the all too chewy broccoli, and finally winding my way down to the green beans. But they didn't taste like green beans. They tasted like bacon. I almost spit them right into my dad's lap. After swallowing, I asked him if his green beans tasted like bacon too. He took another bite and said, "Yeah, a little". My mom then informed me that it used to be quite common to flavor green beans with bacon seasoning or even grizzle. Needless to say, I didn't eat anymore of them. Canned green beans are pretty bad, but with bacon grizzle? I don't even like bacon. Wow. Imagine bacon flavored chewing gum that is dyed green. Now make it worse in your mind. No, worse. Worse, dammit. Ok, fine, you're getting close.

Fortunately my entire meal was vindicated by the soft-serve with gummy bears that I had for dessert. It at least got the bacon green bean gum flavor out of my mouth. Well, that and about four glasses of salmonella tea.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Commenty Goodness

Now that blogger's finally back up for us non-pro users, I've switched commenting systems from BlogBack to Haloscan. BlogBack served me well for over a year, but they never seemed to update their services. It was free, so I won't complain too much, but I really wanted to have HTML-enabled commenting and a customizable interface on it. Haloscan offers both of these for free. (YACCS, which is much more widely use, also offers these for free, but their site seems to be down an awful lot, and when it does work, it can be annoyingly slow. Besides, they're not accepting new users anyways.) So comment away, and feel free to put stuff in Bold, Italics, or links.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Day Late, but screw it

Okay, so it was yesterday that was AIDS Awareness Day, and I signed up to do link and think again, but I really didn't have time to pull anything together yesterday (or the day before that, or the day before that, or the day befor...) so I'm doing it today. Better late than never, eh?

Courtesy of listening to some NPR on my drive back to Dallas yesterday, here are a couple of statistics...
Current population infected with HIV throughout the world -- more than 40 million.
By the year 2010, the population of HIV-positive people in five combined countries - China, India, Russia, Nigeria, and Ethiopia - will exceed 70 million.
In some areas of Africa, the percentage of the population that has contracted HIV is over 50%. A recent study in an area of Ethiopia found that over half of Pregnant Women were HIV-positive. Also, some areas of Africa have reported that their Armies and Police Squads have an infection rate of over 50 percent.

This has grown to epic proportions. The interesting thing that I heard on NPR was the concern about some of these countries in Africa where they are not going to be able to have any kind of armed defense, police squads, etc. as more and more of their population is infected and weakens and dies. Food won't be planted or cultivated, leading to further famines. These are countries where many U.S. Companies have major oil exploration and other businesses established. This could get IS very, very scary. It will get worse before it gets better.

As per usual, any cool links about the current state of AIDS will be coming from the excellent MetaFilter pagefrom yesterday, where the site was devoted to link and think. Here are a few of my personal favorites:

Some Numbers from the economist.

A Timeline from 1981-2001

Oklahoma's comprehensive HIV/AIDS information network.

Another reason to vote in 2004.

And here's my post from last year's LinkandThink day. It contains some more great links to organizations and whatnot.

Turkey Day talk can wait until tomorrow.
:: Scott [+] ::
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