Misc. comments

I saw "National Treasure" last week. It's nothing Earth-shattering, but it was fun and entertaining in that usual Jerry Bruckheimer sort of way. It has also put Diane Kruger on my list of celebrity crushes.

I picked up U2's latest CD ("How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb"). It's a bit of an unwieldy title, but a great album. Not that best ever, as I believe Time magazine proclaimed, but definitely worth listening to.

I finished "Halo 2" the other day. I'd like to say that the planet is now safe from alien invasion, but the ending sort of ... sucked. It was very anticlimactic and just a lead-in for the next "Halo" game. I hate when they do that.

Boston has finally gotten around to starting the process of removing a law that bans American Indians from city limits. Good for them. (Alabama, incidentally, is beginning its recount this week of the close, failed vote to remove segregation language from the state constitution.)

3M has created this Fire Protection Fluid that looks like water and can be used to put out fires but doesn't have any of the bad side effects. You can actually immerse electronic equipment in the liquid, and it'll work just fine afterward. How crazy cool is that?! But maybe that's just my inner science nerd talking...

Renter beware

Well, I got back from vacation late last night, and, yes, I had a very nice Thanksgiving. A funny anecdote from the trip:
Because we were going to be hauling around seven people (my immediate family and three relatives), my parents decided to rent a bigger vehicle from ... I'll call it "Hurtz." They got a Chevy Venture, a minivan with automatic sliding doors on both sides. This thing seems to have a number of design flaws, but the biggest problem came when, after one of the side doors wouldn't close automatically, my dad went to do it manually ... and the door came off in his hand. Yes, the entire door fell off. Needless to say, a call was made to "Hurtz" and a new vehicle arrived, along with a flatbed truck to take away the minivan turned sideways convertible.
The second vehicle was also a Venture. The first thing that seemed off was that the windshield wipers were either designed badly or had the wrong size blades in them -- they stuck together when you turned them on, thus somewhat minimizing their efficiency. After driving it for about 10-15 minutes and parking, we discovered that the battery was dead. (The clock was way off when we first got in, indicating that perhaps this had been a problem in the past.)
So another call to "Hurtz" and another vehicle: This time, no Ventures. We got a Ford Explorer instead, which retained all of its doors and did not die once. Woohoo.
In the course of this, I discovered that a car manual can provide some pretty interesting reading. A couple of excerpts:
(From the Ford Explorer)
Using this vehicle as a snowplow
Do not use this vehicle as a snowplow.
Using this vehicle as an ambulance
Do not use this vehicle as an ambulance.

(And my favorite, from the Chevy Venture)
Warning! Going through a car wash may cause automatic sliding doors to open. Be sure to turn off automatic-door function before entering car wash.

That's just classic.

Happy Thanksgiving

This will be quick as it's late and I need to catch a flight out of the Twin Cities tomorrow (Thursday) morning, which involves getting up before dawn to drive down there. But I just want to say that I have much to be thankful for this year, including flying down to a warmer climate (Florida) for a few days to see family. I hope that this year has brought all of you a bounty of things to be thankful for as well. Happy Thanksgiving!

Veggie Tales

I forgot to mention: My experience with the yuca root was mixed. At the suggestion of a couple of friends, I decided to turn them into potato chips (but, ya know, yuca chips). They tasted alright, but were very hard. It was weird. I'm not sure if this was a result of how I made them, or if yuca root is not as prone to being made into a chip as potatoes. Either way, I think potatoes are generally easier to deal with.
My next vegetable from the store: asparagus.
I'll take any suggestions on how to cook 'em up.

Are you ready?

There's quite a hoopla brewing over the intro to this week's Monday Night Football, which featured characters from the ABC show "Desperate Housewives" and (gasp) a woman clad in a towel who shed the towel to reveal (double gasp) a bare back. Apparently, there were numerous complaints, including from the NFL, which is still smarting from the Janet Jackson debacle. I, for one, thought the spot was actually kind of funny, but maybe I'm just prurient like that. (If you missed it, you can see the clip on www.ifilm.com.) ABC is now tripping over itself to apologize for its judgment in airing a segment that isn't half as sexual as the show it was promoting. While I'm willing to accept that there's criticism from some parents who see Monday Night Football as a family event, I think it's somewhat hypocritical from the NFL. This is the same organization that dresses hundreds of women in tight, skimpy outfits and parades them on the field as eye candy, is it not? Maybe I'm just missing something. Even funnier, all the attention this has gotten has led to the promo being shown over and over on news networks and Internet sites, effectively quadrupling the audience. Man, what a wacky world we live in.

That's no way to treat your Mother Earth

A recent newspaper story from the Los Angeles Times talked about how the Bush administration is planning on revamping environmental laws so as to help the industries affected by them -- focusing on preserving jobs and bottom lines. This means, among other things, making a number of pollution rules more lax, refusing to regulate carbon dioxide emissions (to help prevent global warming), opening up areas of the Rockies and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling, and relaxing laws that help animals and plants from going extinct. While I'm not against considering economic and industry concerns when crafting environmental law, this is the same administration that let the energy industry craft the nation's energy policy -- sometimes word for word. So I can't imagine that this bodes well.
On the subject of global warming and such, this article is an interesting look at how science articles (including those on global warming) are reported by the mainstream media. The argument, and I believe it's a fair one, is that in many reporters' efforts to present a "balanced" story, they oftentimes give fringe science a greater importance than it deserves. This leaves readers with, at best, confusion about what is true and, at worst, a misinformed belief that the fringe beliefs are mainstream.
http://www.cjr.org/issues/2004/6/mooney-science.asp

Nerdfest 2004

One Xbox: $150
One copy of "Halo 2": $50
Using a system link to connect four TVs and Xboxes so that eight people can play "Halo 2" against each other in the same room for five hours: priceless

aurora borealis

Oh, I almost forgot, I had one photo from the northern lights earlier this week that turned out alright. It's not a great photo, but this gives you an idea of what it looked like.

TGIF

I arrived at work today to find that I had written a headline for a brief yesterday that read: "Accident destroys spotlight."
In fact, it was a STOPlight that had been destroyed.
Oops.
This, two days after I mysteriously deleted the date from the flag of the paper on the front page. (Luckily it was fixed for the second-run papers.)
Following this embarassing discovery, I had to endure a budget meeting that lasted an hour and 10 minutes. I was about five minutes away from gnawing my arm off or faking a seizure in an attempt to escape. (For non-newspaper people, budget meetings are when we decide which stories will run where in the next day's paper; or on Fridays, which stories run where in the Saturday, Sunday and Monday papers. Still, the meeting should never be that long.)
In other disturbing news, they've come out with self-destructing DVDs that you can watch for about 48 hours before they become unusable and you can throw them away.
As if we need more disposable things in this world...
Alabama residents recently took a vote on whether to delete langugage from the state Constitution that mandates racial segregation -- and it failed! (The segregation is obviously not enforced, but still...) The vote was close and so there will be a recount at the end of the month, but why is this even a close vote?!
And finally, there were a number of ABC affiliates around the nation that chose not to show "Saving Private Ryan" on Thursday, Veterans Day. They said it was because of the violence and language. While I understand the desire not to offend people, especially with the chilling effect of the FCC's overzealousness lately, couldn't you just put a warning on it that tells people it contains graphic violence and language and then let people and parents decide for themselves if they want to watch? It's considered one of the most realistic portrayals of war, but some stations felt the need to shield ALL of their viewers from that. Wouldn't a better way to honor our veterans be to show the hell they endured for our liberties, rather than to stymie artistic expression and speech?

In the news

I had just finished putting together the front page of the paper and begun the jump pages inside when we got word that Yasser Arafat had died. It was about 10:10. Deadline is 11:05. I did my version of swearing, which was to loudly yell, "FRICK!" and we began to rearrange everything. My computer froze shortly thereafter and erased the jump page I was almost done with. But after that, things went as smoothly as these last-minute, deadline-pressured things can go. I was lucky because my partner-in-copy-desk-crime, Capt. Dusty McAwesome, had spent the better part of the evening preparing a full page on Arafat that we were going to use whenever he died ... in the future. But, as they say, the future is now. But if that hadn't already been done, it would have been a much more difficult hour. As it was, we got four pages, including the cover, reworked to handle it all and got it out by deadline. Go team.
I'll be curious to see what happens next in the Middle East. I think Ariel Sharon has largely been using Arafat as a scapegoat to avoid peace talks. If a more moderate person takes Arafat's place, he will no longer have that excuse and we'll see just how committed to peace he is. The major problem, though, will be the Palestinian radicals. Without Arafat's influence to rein them in at least a bit, it could get even uglier, if such a thing were possible. Or maybe the moderates will rise up and make it clear that they will no longer tolerate their actions and have the lives of the majority of Palestinians be dictated by the abhorrent actions of the few. We shall see.

Election reaction

It's been a week. A few final (though not necessarily brief) thoughts on the election and then I'll be done.
I was discussing this with some friends earlier this evening and we all agreed that the most shocking aspect of the election's outcome wasn't that Bush won -- it was the realization that there is such a huge cultural disconnect in this country. It was the realization that so many people seemed to be basing their vote off of their hatred and fear of gays. Eleven of 11 states (Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah) approved amending the constitution to ban gay marriage. The Constitution, whether national or state, is a document usually used to give freedom to people and to protect people's freedom. So to see so many people want to amend the documents to take away others' freedom and to make sure they can not be treated equally, was appalling to many of us. I get that some people are uncomfortable with homosexuality and that some people find it immoral from a religious standpoint. But our laws are not based on the Bible, despite what advocates for Ten Commandment monuments would have you believe. And it wasn't as if these measures passed by small amounts -- they passed by large majorities. In Mississippi, 86 percent favored banning gay marriage. It should also be noted that eight of those states also banned civil unions and giving gay couples and their children the same legal rights as married couples. The same people who vilify gays as being promiscuous, strangely, are the first to deny them the ability to enter into a committed relationship and enjoy the benefits of such. I've also never understood the argument that allowing gay marriage diminishes the value of heterosexual marriage. It makes as much sense as saying that allowing interracial marriage or allowing black people to marry each other diminishes the marriages of white people. And that's what this feels like. Racism and Jim Crow laws and segregation for our generation. We also elected a senator from South Carolina who said homosexuals shouldn't be allowed to teach in schools and a senator from Oklahoma who said that lesbianism is so rampant in southeast Oklahoma schools that teachers can only let one girl at a time go to the bathroom. He has also said: "The gay community has infiltrated the very centers of power in every area across this country, and they wield extreme power. Their agenda is the greatest threat to our freedom that we face today." And yet, this guy was elected. Out of fear.
That was what was depressing to many about last week's election. It became clear: We are not a liberal nation. (Despite what many seem to think, I still do not believe "liberal" is a dirty word.) We are more conservative than many had thought ("conservative," also not a dirty word), but more surprising was the realization we as a nation are not yet willing to even entertain the idea that homosexuals are equals.
I was also disappointed in the way the campaigns were run. It seemed like each side kept trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator in people, and each side kept trying to get lower and lower. The wolf commercial run by the Bush campaign was only slightly less ridiculous than Cheney's implication that if we elected Kerry we were more likely to be attacked by terrorists. Kerry's hunting/snowboarding/workcoat-wearing photo-ops were about as pandering as you could get short of him wearing a sign that exclaimed: "LOOK! I'M A REGULAR GUY!! JUST LIKE YOU!!!" Ugh. To all future candidates for president, or most political offices: I, for one, do not want someone just like me to run for office. I want someone better than me, smarter than me, more adept at politics than me. I want someone who has spent years training how to do that job. If I wanted a regular schmoe to be president, I would elect one of my friends. I don't want a drinking buddy, I want a leader.
So here's my idea for how to run a political campaign: Run a campaign of truth. I'm so sick of seeing ads and hearing speeches that distort the truth or just plain lie. You know how after the debates or after campaign ads have run, a lot of media outlets will run "truth squads" that examine them? Wouldn't it be something if all of a candidate's ads and claims were verified as being true? Wouldn't you want to vote for that person? So why is it so hard? Stop cherry-picking facts and statistics to your advantage. Stop taking your opponent's statements and votes out of context. Point out where you stand on the issues, stay consistent and have a plan to accomplish what you say you're going to set out to do. And have a plan to pay for it, for crying out loud. How hard a concept is it that you should have a balanced budget? Defend yourself, but do it with the truth, not with lies. You can attack your opponent, but do it fairly and keep it to the issues. Visit all 50 states, at least once, and meet with the people. Do your standard stump speech that sets out your vision, but then talk with the people. And more importantly, listen to them. Hear their concerns. Care about their concerns and tell them what you can do to help. Or if you can't or are unwilling to do what they want, tell them that and explain why. Be honest with them, even if they may disagree with you; even if it means they may vote for your opponent. Don't pander.
In a time when everyone says they hate attack ads, but studies show them to be the most effective, would a strategy based on sticking to the facts and reining in the relentless negativity really work? Could a campaign of truth actually succeed?
I don't know.
But I'd sure like to find out.

It's here!

"Halo 2" came out today (Nov. 9) and I had pre-ordered my copy a couple of months ago. The Game Stop at the mall was opening from midnight to 2 a.m. so people get their copy early, so I went. There were at least 100 people gathered outside the store at the mall entrance when I arrived shortly after midnight. For a fleeting second, I considered waiting until another time to get the game, but I'm a hardcore gamer and Master Chief wouldn't let something like that deter him, so neither did I. It only took about 25 minutes to get through the line. Thank goodness I paid in full earlier.

On a separate note, a few recommendations:
Books:
"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. It's a great read and hard to put down. Many thanks to Amber and Melanie for suggesting it to me; and especially to Mel for forcing me to take her copy when I left Chicago.
Movies:
"The Incredibles" -- A very entertaining and fun movie. I highly recommend it.
Roman Polanski's "The Fearless Vampire Killers (Or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth are in my Neck)." Having trouble getting to sleep? If so, I highly recommend it.

Incidentally, I tried the green onion today. After a few bites, I realized that, even if it doesn't look like a normal onion, it still tastes like one. Yech. It took two hours for the taste to go away. Onions are truly the scourge of the vegetable world. On my trip to Cub today, I got a yuca root. It looks bizarre, but the informative little sign said I could treat it much like a potato, which I think bodes well.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to defend Earth from an invading alien species known as The Covenant.

I'm back

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything here. Last week was a rough week, mostly for reasons I can't get into yet. But I will when I can. And at some point I'll have some thoughts on the election results, but on to happier things ...
I saw the aurora borealis tonight. One of the things I was most excited about when moving up to Duluth was the possibility of seeing the northern lights. I was hoping to see them often, but until tonight, had only seen them once -- and it was from the middle of downtown where there was a lot of light pollution. So I was thrilled when, upon waking from a late afternoon nap, I looked outside and saw the shimmering green lights of the aurora borealis. I tried to take some pictures, but you never know how that sort of thing will turn out. If they do, I'll try to post them. But it was awe-inspiring just to watch. They're very dynamic; they don't just shimmer in one place, they move around fluidly -- as if the sky were playing with a colorful liquid mercury, except without all the craziness and death that can accompany that sort of activity.

In other news, it's pledge time at Minnesota Public Radio (probably in all the other states, too, though I don't know if they all do it at the same time or not). The pledge drive is cool in a way because, for instance, I got to listen to two hours of "This American Life" tonight -- sort of a "best of" collection that included two David Sedaris readings. But pledge time is also immensely annoying because every 10-15 minutes you get to hear 5-10 minutes of them begging, cajoling and guilting you into donating money. I think it would be just as effective to ask for money every 30 or 60 minutes for 5 minutes at a time, rather than constantly annoying me to death. I don't really know, but I'd sure like to give it a try. At any rate, I did decide to donate. I'm not a daily listener, but I do enjoy much of their programming, so what the heck. I also get a free gift with the donation. This sort of offer has never really made sense to me. Have we become such a materialistic, self-involved society that people won't even DONATE money anymore without wanting something back? That's not even really donating. It's paying for what will become, over the course of a year, a $120 travel mug. (Actually, they have a really wide range of gifts, which was nice, but it also sort of worked against them. I would much rather have several of the $10-per-month gifts than most of the more expensive ones. Incidentally, I chose the "9/11 Commission Report.")

Nov. 3

Thank you, "Daily Show," for being a light in these dark times.

The morning after

The day you finally get back to the gym when you haven't been for a while feels great.
The morning after ... not so much.

In an important lesson for fellow copy editors, the Daily Iowan made quite a front-page headline mistake last week, for which they wrote a mea culpa Monday morning:
http://www.dailyiowan.com/news/2004/11/01/Metro/
Daily.Iowans.Oct.29.Headline.Error.Inexcusable-788406.shtml
While I'm a little unsure as to why it took them a few days to issue this formal apology, I suspect this is another example of why you should never write anything on a page that you wouldn't want to see in print. I also suspect the Iowan may have a copy editor opening if anyone is interested.
Incidentally, this comes on the heels of the The University of Kansas' college daily stealing the Lawrence World-Journal's voters guide and printing it as their own. As if no one would notice...

Get out the vote

Even though the bitterness of this election is enough to make anyone throw their hands up and walk away in exasperation, I still encourage everyone out there to take the time tomorrow to vote. I'm not going to say it's the most important election of our lives, like many have, because I think that's rather presumptuous, but voting is always important. Ignore the polls (which are largely worthless) and the attack ads (which are even more worthless) and vote on the candidates' actual stances on the issues -- and not just one issue. Even though you'd hardly know it from the campaigns and the media coverage of them, this election isn't just about Iraq or the war on terrorism. The next president will also have to deal with the environment, education, the economy, health care, Social Security and many other foreign and domestic issues -- all of which are also important.
So good luck, watch out for the lawyers swarming the polling places and let's all hope this election ends soon.