:: Archipelapogo ::

:: 30.10.03 ::

Unsticker (n) -- ???

Yesterday, Jaq posted this over at the Collab.

Kevin Drum posts a couple of excerpts from the President's news conference yesterday.

It's probably a given that George W. Bush is not the best speaker out there -- he's adequate with a prepared text, but in my ears he's dreadful off the cuff. Is this important? What should be our reaction to a President of the United States who uses words like "unsticker"? Should we be amused, mortified, ambivalent? Does this indicate anything?

I wanted to put something on here rather than leave a comment over there so I could expand my thoughts a bit further.

There's often a lot of hullaballoo made over the President's speaking patterns. Accents, verbings, mispronounciations, misattributions, etc. are all fair game (and rightly so) against the President. It is embarassing. It is worrying. Espcially when so many people today have a trouble stringing together a coherent statement as it is.

However, when I'm forced to have my ears lambasted by the President's speeches, those are only a minor humorous nuance for me. What troubles me even more is not how he says, but what he says, or presumably, what he means.

I heard excerpts of the Press Conference that Drums links to on NPR the other day. After every question about the state of proceedings in Iraq, or the ever-rising casualty numbers, or the "Mission Accomplished" banner, every response started with : "Remember I said Iraq is a dangerous place", or "I never said Iraq wasn't a dangerous place" or some variant of that statement. Then, of course, he would follow up about pressing on and not being afraid of the terrorists and Saddam loyalists and wind up completely avoiding the question.

It reminded me instantly of the first few weeks of the Gubernator's campaign. The first time I saw him speak on the subject was at his official announcement rally where he declared that he's rich so he's not subject to the hands of corporate financieers and special-interest groups.

Following that speech, at every interview, when asked what his policies for California were or what he would change, he would simply say that he's not at the mercy of speical interest groups. Never once did he say what he would change about California energy-policy. Nor did he say what he would do about education, immigration, or taxes, until he was finally pressed hard enough (or had enough time to have some assistance in forming a plan, or at least claim to have one) to address an issue. Unfortunately, the press doesn't have that kind of leeway with the President. The ability to force him back into a corner no longer exists. The issues are avoided and press conferences are cut short. Official statements have no rebuttals and the questions remain unanswered. That's what bothers me most about the Bush speeches.

It's rather easy to be diverted by the flaws in Bush's Bushisms. It's natural to dwell on those points. But doing so seems to be a bit misguided to me. It's the substance (or lack thereof) that needs the attention, not the dyslexicon.

To make one more analogy: I'm sure most of you at some point in time in high school or college had a class where you had to make an oral presentation on something. The teachers were often as concerned about the presentation skills and style as much as they were the substance (if not more so in some cases). Very often we were handed tip-sheets about looking people in the eyes and addressing them personally and making hand gestures and good lead-ins for transitions. I don't know about you, but in my classes, there was always at least one person that you knew didn't do enough research, didn't spend enough time properly writing a report, whose logic had loopholes big enough to drive a Hummer through. But man, did they nail those style points to a T. Just exactly as they were laid out. Almost ad nauseum.

And like clockwork, those bastards always got better grades.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Quickies

::An interesting follow-up to the now decade-old Davidian cult. I'm pretty sure I met Clive Doyle when I went out there in '97. I think he's the guy that would sell you a "souvenier ticket stub" for a dollar and lead you on a tour. The tree memorial is very saddening, especially when the nameplates are for children.::

::Butterfly Alphabet via thingsmag::

::If you've got a spare 20 minutes, be sure to read this: Writing for Outside magazine, Stuart Stevens took human growth hormone, steroids, and other performance-enhancing drugs for half a year to see what they accomplish for athletes. Via SpoFi::

::Entering "chupacabra" in a google image search gets you some interesting results::
:: Scott [+] ::
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Ugh

Is it just me or is the Stars new alternate jersey really disgusting?


:: Scott [+] ::
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The world's first "radio weblog"?

The Guardian is reporting that blogger Matt Wake, writer of the fictional blog the South London Diaries, has signed a contract to broadcast his stories on Resonance FM. Wake claims that this makes him the world's first "Radio Weblogger".

The drama revolves around three characters' search for a solution to their problems, Wake explains. The narrator, Drew, needs to find a job but has no skills, while his sister Sandra wants a child but is single. His friend Eammon is facing the fact that nobody likes his fiancee.

Wake had written the story specifically for the web, but decided to answer Resonance FM's call for writers for its weekly "drama testbed" slot in a bid to reach a wider audience.

He submitted an edited manuscript of his weblog story, which the radio station agreed to turn into a radio drama called All Roads Lead to Neasden.

However, the weblog needed some tweaking before it was ready for the radio format.

"When I was writing for the weblog, the writing didn't have to be really tight. On the radio, I wanted to get the get the hook out as quickly as possible," Wake explains.

Despite his success, Wake is doubtful whether weblogs can break into mainstream arts culture.

"I think weblogs are a fairly recent phenomenon, but I don't think they have evolved very much. People seem fairly happy to keep it in a closed community," he says.

Call me skeptical, but doesn't this just seem like any other serial radio program? Yeah, it's cool that Wake tested the waters of this particular story via a weblog, and that's something we could see more of in the future, but I don't think this really makes him a "radio weblogger". Serial radio dramas have been around as long as the radio has been broadcasting. While the interest in radio serials has waned since the advent of the televisionization of our culture, what he's doing isn't exactly innovative, it just stemmed from a different format with the same end result. Pretty interesting none-the-less.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Sports History

Hickok Sports. Your source for quick and dirty histories of badminton, bobsledding, croquet, petanque, and a host of other sports.

I also posted this to SpoFi. It's a fascinating page.
:: Scott [+] ::
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EXTERMINATE!

The World's longest Hedge/Garden Maze is located at Longleat, an apparent tourist trap somewhere in the UK. Extra bonus: They've got a pretty cool looking Dr. Who exhibition.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Movin' on up

So, new address. I'd spent a little more than two and a half years on blogger's space. I finally got my own. The good folks at 1and1 are offering three free years of web space (5 Megs) and pretty damn cheap domain hosting ($5.99 a year), so I figured it was a good opportunity to make the move. I'm going to stick with Blogger for my publishing needs though. I don't need anything fancy and they've become a lot more stable since their Google buyout. Some subtle changes may be made to the format, but nothing major.

Thanks to Charles for pointing me out to the Blogspot Jihad (who pointed me to 1and1). And thanks to Sydney the resident County webmistress and amberglow who helped me a little bit in moving the 'pogo to FTP publishing. Time to get cracking.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Holdouts

January 1972
Corporal Shoichi Yokoi was found by two hunters while he was fishing along the Talofofo River. He brought back his army-issue rifle, which he said he wanted to return to "the Honorable Emperor," adding: "I am sorry I did not serve his majesty to my satisfaction." He had seen reports of Japan's surrender in leaflets and newspapers scattered about the island but refused to surrender because he thought they were American propaganda. "We Japanese soldiers were told to prefer death to the disgrace of getting captured alive," he said.

Many more stories like this on the No Surrender Japanese Holdout page of Registry. (via things mag)
:: Scott [+] ::
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Hit and Run

I've been reading the Amazon reviews for the new Simpsons: Hit and Run game. I believe it's available on both PS2 and Xbox. From what I've read so far, they've made some vast improvements over Simpsons Road Rage.

I'm not a huge gamer, so I took the good with the bad on Road Rage. The graphics are poor and the gameplay is extremely repetitive. Little Easter Eggs like having Apu dressed as Santa when you play the game on Christmas Day were nice, but it isn't a game I've invested a lot of time in, although I still do play it occasionally.

The reviews I've read of Hit and Run (which is more of a GTA kind of game) are pretty promising. Apparently the graphics are much improved, and the interface is a lot more diverse and not so simplified. I haven't played the game yet, so many of the positives and negatives are lost on me.

However, one of the frequent negatives does stand out. Many people say that the missions are repetitive, only increasing in difficulty. I wonder what games these people play and why they would even chance a game such as this. Looking at the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games that I love so much, there is a lot of repitition. Many of the missions on each level are the same but with increasing difficulty. Fine by me, I keep playing. Any sports video game is going to be that way. Even a lot of GTA Vice City was repititious. Chase down this person, whack them with a golf club. Chase down that person, whack them with a chainsaw. Later, Rinse, Repeat.

If that's the biggest qualm that a lot of these people have about this game, then I'm feeling pretty positive with it. Granted, those that have bought it already are either gaming freaks or Simpsons nuts, or a combination of the two, so they're going to be both the most critical and the most fanatical. Myself being one of those that is a sucker for most things Simspons related, I know that it's a foregone conclusion that I'll get this game and waste many an hour on it. Between this and Tony Hawk UnderGround (Yes, THUG...I know it's cheesy but they're great games, and my friend eyeballkid swears that it won't be as hard as THPS 4), looks like me and my PS2 will become quite good friends this winter.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Go Fish!

And otherwise....

Hello, is it me you're looking for? (via blort)
:: Scott [+] ::
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Today in History

(A new service brought to you by the editors of Archipelapogo semi-sporadically, or, more likely, when I've got nothing else to post about)

Today we can all celebrate the 210th Anniversary of the beheading of Marie Antoinette. The Queen of France and wife to King Louis XVI, she was convicted of treason and executed after the French Revolution. According to this pretty in-depth biography, she held her head high on her way to the guillotine and kept her self-respect as she was being carted through the streets of Paris on the way to her death. Reportedly, while on the scaffold, she accidently stepped on the foot of one of her executioners. Her last words were "Monsieur, I ask your pardon. I did not do it on purpose."

Even more interesting though, is the history of the guillotine. While it was made famous during the French revolution and used for executions in France until 1977, when on September 10, Hamida Djandoubi was the last person in France to be executed via these means. Four years later, France abolished the death penalty.

However, predecessors to the Guillotine pre-date the French Revolution by several hundred years. The Halifax Gibbet is reputed to be dated as far back as the Norman Conquest in 1066, although the first reference to it dates to 1280. The Scottish Maiden is another example of pre-1700s guillotine, arriving in 1564.

However, the guillotine as we all know and love it is named after a Dr. Guillotin, who in October of 1789 submitted to Assembly a proposition in six articles which included a recommendation that death, without the accompaniment of torture and by means of decapitation, should become the sole and standard form of capital punishment in France.

Plans were mapped out for the modern guillotine and the first model was constructed in April of 1792, and it was tested on sheep and calves. Throughout that month, many tests were also performed on human corpses. On the 25th of April, 1792, Nicolas-Jacques Pelletier was the first person to be executed by a machine called "the Guillotine".

Throughout history, up until 1977, the Guillotine saw many different forms in France and also in countries such as Sweden and Vietnam.

The main page of the Guillotine site that I've been linking to and using for information is here. I would've used more diverse sources, but this site is delightfully thorough.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Conviction

A British man has been convicted of infecting two women with HIV.

In a landmark ruling, an HIV carrier was today found guilty of causing "biological" grievous bodily harm after he infected two lovers with the Aids virus.

Mohammed Dica, 38, conned his first victim into having unprotected sex by claiming he had had a vasectomy, and then persuaded a mother-of-two to sleep with him by declaring his love for her.

Dica's conviction is the first successful prosecution in England and Wales for sexually transmitting Aids, and the first for 137 years for infecting someone else with a sexually transmitted disease.

The father of three from Mitcham, Surrey, did not give evidence, but when interviewed he told police both women had known of his condition before going to bed with him.

The jury - made up equally of men and women - convicted Dica of two charges of causing "biological" grievous bodily harm at Inner London Crown Court in central London. Judge Nicholas Philpot refused a defence application for bail.

"If I had to sentence him today there is no doubt he would be going to prison and for a long time," he said.

This is a monumental precedent. I wonder if it will ever happen in the States. More likely, I wonder when it will happen, and the ensuing march to the Supreme Court (you know it will happen) will be something to watch.

Loosely related, the Vatican is lying to people in HIV-heavy countries, saying that condoms don't prohibit the spread of AIDS.

The Catholic Church is telling people in countries stricken by Aids not to use condoms because they have tiny holes in them through which HIV can pass - potentially exposing thousands of people to risk.

The church is making the claims across four continents despite a widespread scientific consensus that condoms are impermeable to HIV.

A senior Vatican spokesman backs the claims about permeable condoms, despite assurances by the World Health Organisation that they are untrue.

This is enraging. The WHO and many other organizations are fighting a very tough uphill battle trying to stem the flood that is the spread of HIV in Africa and Latin America. To have the leading authority on religion for much of those regions blatantly lying to the populous and putting them at further risk is unconscionable.
:: Scott [+] ::
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The Spirit of St. Louis

I'd been to St. Louis twice before. The first was with some very good high school friends the summer after graduation as a last hurrah before we all left to various colleges. The excuse was to see Phish at the Riverport Ampitheatre, a band I have never enjoyed and who did little for me live. I didn't get to see much of St. Louis on that trip though, since the Riverport is not really in St. Louis and we were only there for about 30 hours total.

The second time was about a year later with my testing the waters after some wierd stuff family. It was a good trip, but, as most vacations with my parents are, we stayed on the beaten path, seeing the things we were supposed to see and eating the things we were supposed to eat. It was a lot of fun, but it didn't really allow me to see what makes St. Louis be St. Louis.

This time, going with Denise, who has a spirit for the less known and the funky, I got to see much of St. Louis that I hadn't seen before. Sure, we did stuff like the Arch and spent 20 minutes at Union Station and went to their wonderful free Zoo (probably the best I've seen, and at least ten times as nice as the shithole that is the Dallas Zoo).

But this time I got to go to places like the Hill, the traditional old Italian neighborhood of St. Louis with its Green, White, and Red fireplugs and amazing toasted ravioli. I also went to the Loop, the area close to Washington University, where I got to do some shopping at Vintage Vinyl and peruse imported goods shops with Fair Trade Coffee available. I got to bum around left bank books for a bit, sipping on a bottle of Fitz's Root Beer. And we did a lot of off-highway driving, passing mile after mile of old brick townhouses, crammed close together and in various states of condition.

We also ate some amazing food, going to a nice little tapas place, an awesome little Brazilian restaurant that was in a converted home (permitting us to see the inside of one of the brick townhouses too), and ate at Chuck Berry's Restaurant. The Shlafly Tap Room allowed me to have a few of the best microbrews I've ever had with a couple of kindred spirits (and I brought a six-pack home). I even got to go out to a college bar by the SLU campus that had a ten dollar cover for all you could manage to get from the bartender well-drinks for a couple of hours.

It was a much needed vacation and a very fun one. It's the first time I've gotten to explore a new city in over two years, which, combined with the reading of some fictional travel-novels, has completely made me miss my days of leaving the country pretty much once a year and discovering new stuff.

I'm hopefully going to D.C. this Spring (I've now got a place to crash out there) and from there on, who knows. With Denise moving to Houston at the beginning of the year, New Orleans is a short jaunt away. One of the things about St. L that really stuck out is that it's an old city (as far as U.S. standards, and definitely as far as Mid-West standards). That just makes it so much more appealing. I'd love to go back sometime to catch some of the stuff that I missed, but for now I'll enjoy trying to burn my good times into my permanent memory drive and lament being back under flourescent lights in my cubicle cell.
:: Scott [+] ::
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. . .

It's been quiet around here due to an unexpected trip up to Tulsa on Sunday. My granddad passed away early that morning, so I had to make the haul up all the way from Austin to be with my family and help out with stuff. I've learned a lot of interesting things over the past few days.

-- My great-grandmother's name was Dicie. Pronounced like Dicey. Best response so far: "What was your great-granddad's name, Shifty?" Oddly, it was John.

-- She took out her aggression on her children, giving them the legal names of Eldon, Elza (my granddad), Lena, and Bobby. Yes, legal birth name is Bobby.

-- Caskets are freaking Heavy.

-- Hearing Taps at a gravesite is more emotional than hearing Amazing Grace on the Bagpipes at the church. This surpised me as AG on the pipes can move me to tears when I'm driving around in my car.

My granddad had a good life though. He survived the Great Depression, served in WWII (Asian theatre) and Korea, stayed with the same company for 35 years, and raised a good family. His health had been declining over the past five years though. He was diagnosed as diabetic about 10 years ago, but that was never more than a pain in the butt. But then he began having some major back problems. Then came the quintiple bypass heart surgery. Then four strokes in about a year and a half. His body weakened by age (83) and wear and tear, pneumonia is what finally brought him down.

The service at the church was very nice and many of my (also deceased) grandma's relatives came out. The graveside ceremony was strictly military with 21-gun salute and the presentation of the flag to my surprisingly torn up Uncle (he's usually extremely stoic).

I think my mom had been preparing herself for this day since the strokes were prevalent, so she did amazingly well. Things are okay now and I think most everyone is at peace, so that's a good thing. I no longer have any grandparents left, but it's cool because I still have a great family and that's the important thing.

Denise and I are taking off for St. Louis on Tuesday, so things may remain quiet around here for the next week or so. When I return though, things should be back to normal posting habits (whatever those ever were). Until then, feel free to peruse the links at the left for some damned fine stuff.
:: Scott [+] ::
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