Still Life:  Boy Underneath a Tree Reading

A couple of weeks ago I saw something startling on the campus where I teach.  It was an adolescent boy sitting under a tree reading a book.  Just reading.  Not a textbook, not listening to his I-Pod, not using a laptop, not taking notes, but just reading a book for the sheer pleasure of it.  It is sad that it is such an unusual sight nowadays even for a college campus.  You usually see students outside smoking, talking, using their cell phones, or some combination of the three. If they have a test that day they might franticly be going over their notes or exploring a neglected text book which heretofore has severed no other purpose than a profitable commodity for some publisher or as ballast in a backpack. Think about that, on a college campus it is unusual to see somebody just sitting under a tree reading a book.  He wasn't even a student, but I hope one day he will be.  It is nice to have students that actually like to read, or even students that will read if pressed. 

When I was a young man I spent several weeks in France.  Most of that time I was in Paris, and one thing impressed me.  The street people in Paris always had paperback books.   Say what you want about France, but that impressed me, and I have never heard anyone else mention it.  Every single street person I saw had a book, and usually they were even reading it. 

My oldest daughter, to my surprise, was deficient in her reading when she finished the third grade.  That summer I launched one of my most successful parenting initiatives ever.  That summer I took her and my son to the library each week, and they were allowed to check out anything they wanted.  I also selected various books for each of them.  Everyday they had an hour of sustained silent reading.  No television, no stereo or radio, but just reading whatever they liked.  The books were stored in milk crates at the end of the hallway.  The one thing I asked was that they try to remember to put the books back in the crate so that our cards would not be blocked.  The first few days were tough.  They complained, they were inattentive, and I spent more time redirecting them than they did reading.  But, by the end of the week they were into it.  I never told them when the hour was up and before long they were going way over the required time.  My daughter today is an English major and an avid reader. 

Of all the inventions and gadgets we have produced as a species I doubt if anything has been, or will be, as marvelous as the written word.  I also think it will stand the test of time.  Audio recordings and video are nice, but there is something very very special about books. After that I think the next best innovation we have come up with is the public lending library. 

In my own life I have been profoundly moved, educated, and inspired by books of all kinds.  To me reading is one of life's sweetest pleasures, and it opens up the world.  I can read about what it is like to live in Casablanca and restore an old house that was once occupied by a caliph (Tahir Shah's outstanding A Year in Casablanca:  The Caliph's House).  I can read the exquisite science fiction of Arthur C. Clark, the visionary/prophetic science fiction of Isaac Asimov, and sweeping historical novels such as the Raj Quartet.  I do not understand people that do not read. They are as mysterious to me as country music.

This summer, many years after my oldest daughter had her successful summer of reading, I have two younger daughters.  As a family we have severely curtailed television, and are very near the point of eliminating it altogether.  Frankly it was a hard thing to do for all of us.  It is so easy to just park kids in front of the television and have their minds turned into mush rather than finding something productive for them to do.  Something like playing outside, conversing, writing a letter, or reading.  I shudder to think of the time we have all wasted preoccupied with something as totally useless as television, and frankly sports comes in a close second.

I wonder what that boy was reading.  I wish now I had asked him, but at the time I did not want to disturb him. 

White Bread Television

 

Sitting in the shade at the pool I was waiting for my daughter to finish swim class.  Sitting on the sidelines a couple of chairs down was another parent talking on her cell phone.  She was involved in a detailed conversation about that inane talk show The View.

 

The focus of the conversation was on the controversy surrounding Barbra Walters, that faux newsperson, along with what various web sites or articles were saying about this riveting issue.  In order not to overhear I would have had to have gotten up and moved to another location – I was not trying to eavesdrop.  It is amazing how people will have these open conversations in public as if their cell phone emits some kind of privacy screen.  Anyway, this was obviously a conversation between experts who were well informed and big fans of the show.  It was amazing to me that I was sharing my time on this earth with two adults who actually had nothing else better to do with their time than:

 

A:  Watch The View

B:  Read articles and related information about the show.

C:  Actually cared about what happened concerning the show, and if Barbra Walters was an asset or liability (seems like they approved of her).

D:  Would spend well over a half hour discussing it.

 

As I write this there are several major crises in the world including the ongoing agony of the train wreck of our involvement in Iraq, and a new crisis between Hezbollah and Israel.  Not to mention the possibility of global warming, the Sudan, and dozens of other tragedies playing themselves out throughout the world.  Forget about other such issues as homelessness, the debate over minimum wage, and the chronically under funded mental health infrastructure.  These fans were not bad people, they are just numb people.  Let me explain.

 

I have noticed that many Americans just don't want to hear it. Any of it. We have already forgotten about 9-11 as if it happened in another era and maybe it did.  We are on the fast track with short memories caught up in the moment consumed by consumerism.  So we tune it out.  We have no efficient filter mechanism and we either hear too much about some issue or too little.  It seems like that most people, except cranks and those who show up at city council meetings, opt for hearing less rather than more.  Otherwise it is too overwhelming.  Yet, what bothers me the most is what people choose to do instead.  I call it White Bread Television.

 

Ever look at the ingredients for store bought manufactured white bread?  Probably the only people who really know what is in it are the manufacturers, a handful of nutritionist or food scientist, and the Orthodox Union.  It is a bland, unhealthy, staple of the American diet.  Just like television.  It contains additives, we consume it without thinking, we consume a lot of it, and while there are better alternatives we just keep shoving it down our gullets.  White bread numbs the pallet just as television numbs the mind.

 

There are better alternatives to store bought white bread.  There are also better alternatives on television other than The View but somehow we just consume what is in front of us that does not make us think or call for any effort on our part. It is truly amazing that most cable channels are as horrific as network television so that the promise of some kind of redemption for television arising out of cable has just not materialized. 

 

If you have ever made homemade bread, even white bread, you know how good it tastes, but also how much trouble it is to make it.  You have to be mindful, you have to plan ahead, and you have to actually do something.  Good television is like that.  Good television is something that inspires and informs.  Yes, good television can even entertain. 

 

My next posting will be about reading. 

Bush Lost The Debate

I am watching the debate between Kerry and Bush. Man. Kerry kicked Bush's ass. Bush's voice is cracking, he is befuddled, and so angry. He becomes lost for words. He reminds me of a bully who somebody is standing up to. If anybody ever doubted the intellectual and character capacity of Bush that should now be over. Bush is weak. I can not believe how he folds and how weak he appears. Sticking his little pouty lip out like some spoilt brat. Our president is truely a horses ass.

I'll Take Sir Fergus Montgomery Any Day

Today the news reported that two American's were beheaded in Iraq. Today "President" Bush spoke to the United Nations and jutted out his jaw - the tough cowboy sticking to his guns still defying the opinion of the rest of the world. Bush still insists that Iraq and Afghanistan will be shining examples of democracy, but the military is having to go into next year's budget to finance the call up for troops that are going to be required for the elections. Gosh, those Iraq's sure show their gratitude in strange ways (beheading, and car bombs - those guys party scary). All of this and Bush is still leading in the polls.

Bush has had his chance. He was 100% right about Afghanistan although we have not finished the job. I was not sure going into Iraq if it was the right thing to do, but I thought that maybe Bush was right. I support the missile defense initiative, and I mention that to show that I am not 100% a liberal nut. What is wrong with being able to shoot down incoming missiles? Yet, Bush has blown it on Iraq. He has made our nation an outcast, he LIED about why we should be going into Iraq, and he has bungled the rebuilding of Iraq.

Will Kerry be better? I have no idea, but he will not be worse. Bush is a failed president who has LIED to us, and mismanaged our military might. Why are we so stupid about this?

Last night I heard a local newsperson say that 90% of the Iraq people support us. Why in the world did that bonehead say that? Is he some expert on Iraq? Does he have some inside information that nobody else has? How many people believed the stupid thing that said?

Well, Bush is leading in the polls and one thing remains absolutely true. The American people always get the president they deserve.

I met Sir Fergus Montgomery today. He is a member of the Conservative Party in England and a friend of Margaret Thatcher. He was a Conservative MP for many a year. He is living proof that conservatives do not have to be stupid, and that they can have a sense of humor. It is not conservatism that is dangerous, not at all, but a lack of intellectual depth. I'll take Sir Fergus Montgomery any day.

God bless Sir Fergus Montgomery, God bless England, God bless America, and God save us from George Bush. I'm not kidding. Ask yourself this. Is it pleasing in the eyes of God for us to do what we have done Iraq? I really do not think so.

Ted Koppel - Tell Us It Ain't So!

Is Ted Koppel sleeping with Barbara Walters? Does Barbara Walters have some kind of dirt on Ted Koppel?

I like Ted Koppel but I'm worried. No, I'm scared - please hold me. Ted (notice I'm writing like he and I know each other when in actuality we have never met) is one of the last true news reporters on network TV. Oh, he has his little flaws like that hair piece (Ted, we know it is a hair piece so be a man and go bare headed we don't gave damn) but you can overlook that. True confession: I experimented with Grecian Formula this year so who am I to throw stones. Yet, he has been a real news person when everybody else is doing crap. He is no Jim Lehrer but who is?

Tonight he actually did a special on Barbara Walters. Do you realize tonight that we actually had a one hour news special about nothing more than another blindly ambitious half-talented news person? Is that metanews? I do not think I have to say anything more than that.

Why is it that people like Ted Koppel and Barbara Walters are so vain that they think we actually want to hear drivel about them? I am so tired of people who think they are "stars" being so full of themselves that they actually interview each other.

Important things are going on. No wonder the American public is profoundly stupid. You are what you eat and the networks are feeding us shit.

Cheny A Coward? No, Just A Hypocrite

Okay. Let's see if we can straighten this out. Sen Harkin called Cheney a coward! Now, where I come from those are fighting words, and Tom Harkin hadn't ought of called our vice president a coward unless there is evidence to back it up. In the public interest I have decided to set down and attempt to sort of cypher out this mystery. The following is the result of my exhaustive examination of the evidence at hand:

Part 1
Kerry - volunteered for Vietnam and actually experienced combat.
Bush - "served proudly" in the Air National Guard but never attempted to actually prove his mettle in combat (unlike his father who DID put his life on the line).
Cheney - received five deferments and never served in the military.

Part 2
Kerry - after firsthand experience, actually in Vietnam, decided that he was against the war.
Bush - kept his mouth shut and partied his ass off.
Cheney - kept going to school and NEVER served in the military.

Part 3
Kerry - least Hawkish
Bush - moderately Hawkish
Cheney - extremely Hawkish


Discussion:

If anybody has evidence of Cheney actually showing physical courage such as rescuing someone at the peril of his own life, standing up to a bully, or any other act that would demonstrate real courage please let me know. "Standing up to the democrats" or "those commie bastards" is only rhetorical so we can not count that kind of nonsense. Until then, I will have to stick with my conviction that if I was going into a real fight Kerry would be the one who I would want on my side. Oh, he would probably whine about it latter but at least he would be there for you. Bush and Cheney have not been proven in any kind of real trial by fire. But, is Cheney a coward? No, he is just a hypocrite.

Conclusions:

A. At least with these three men their tendency to be war mongers is inversely related to their actual military experience.
B. Republicans send democrats into combat to actually do the fighting .
B. Sen. Tom Harkin was incorrect to call Cheney a coward. He is just a belligerent, bullying, pathetic hypocrite.

Don't even tell me that Bush or Cheney have shown their courage in the fight against terrorism. Please. It is easy to act big with the Secret Service guarding you, and the whole United States military at your beck and call.

You know what I would pay good money to see? Let Cheney prove he is a big man. Put him and Saddam Hussein in their underwear and let them wrestle in pay-per-view. Just image what kind of world audiance that would have. Every Arab, and every red blooded American would be glued to their seats. I know I would. Who do you think would win?

Culture of Fear
Part 1: Christianity

This country, the United States, is controlled by fear. Stephen King is one of our best selling writers and the underlying theme of his books is fear. We tote guns out of fear. Americans demand the "right" to keep guns in their homes to shoot criminals that just might happen by, and those same criminals often carry guns because they are afraid of being shot by homeowners who keep guns because of criminals. What is interesting about that situation is that more children, the very ones we are trying to protect from the criminals who might have guns, are killed by those guns we use for their very protection than are actual criminals! Everybody is armed. It is some kind of pistol packing mutually assured destruction - just like MAD from the cold war days. More on guns at a future date.

Then there is Christianity. But, not just any kind of Christianity because Christianity as a whole is really a pretty good religion. I admire it a lot. Who on earth could argue with the Golden Rule or the Sermon on the Mount! Unfortunately here in the U. S. we have a special kind of Christianity that scares the bejesus out of the rest of the world that sees us as a nation populated by trained marksman (remember we have to have guns at home to protect our children from the possibility of criminals who are armed because we are ... anyway), and we have a born again president in the form of a rather dull witted George Bush Jr, who is not shy about bitch slapping whatever country gets in our way. You see, George had kind of a substance abuse problem awhile back. Instead of AA he went to Jesus because he was afraid of his own out of control behavior (Jesus is a whole lot easier than AA which requires reading and regular ongoing attendance at meetings). He was also motivated by fear of going to hell. You see, George Bush is an Evangelical Christian. Let us take a look at Evangelical Christianity.

Evangelical Christianity is the dominant religious bent, besides indifference, in the United States and it has a peculiarity about it that is not characteristic of Christianity in the rest of the world. Our homegrown flavor of evangelical Christianity is full of apocalypse, hell, and visions of doom unless you accept Jesus as your Saviour. We are all going to hell because we can not meet God's standards. Think about this sequence:

1. You are a sinner and deserve to go to hell for breaking the rules even if you were never told what the rules actually are.
2. Even if you tried like heck to be good and made up all kinds of rules (like Jews and Muslims) to govern your behavior it is a vain attempt to please G-d because we can never be good enough. And my kids think I am hard to please.
2. People go to hell for eternity. So, there is NO end to their punishment no matter how short their life was on earth.
3. G-d came down here to earth in the form of Jesus who was really G-d (evidently there are three versions of G-d but there is really one - you figure it out but this drives Muslims to distraction as they trip over the logic while Jews just try to ignore the shennanegans of those wacky goyim who have always been so well armed, and Buddhist just smile politely as they walk quickly away).
4. Jesus died and Mel Gibson made a documentary of G-d's death. There is something fundamental to our nature in that scary film.
5. Jesus died so you do not have to go to hell but there is a catch.
6. The fine print, the catch, is that you have to believe and accept that Jesus died for you. If you do not accept it then the whole deal is null and void and you go straight to hell because you are a sinner no matter what you do or do not do.

That is kind of how it works. Now, what is the net effect of this form of Christianity? What effect does it have when the emphasis is on avoiding hell rather than being a decent neighbor, an honest person, and a competant person? Pardon the sexist language but it is kind of an "every man for themself" type of thing. You gotta grab onto Jesus first and hold tight before anything else.

The first effect is that this creates the illusion of their being only ONE path to heaven and you are either on that path or not. Buddhist, Jews, Muslim, Hindus, and folks too confused or hungry to declare an official religion are all going to hell. You are either with us or against us. Now, you tell me. How far does this type of thinking go into creating a tolerant, diverse world? I think not very far. Maybe that is why we are so dogmatic about everything else. America is the best, democracy is the best, our way is the best (no matter what others say or what kind of logic you may try to trick us with). Everybody else is going to hell anyway so how could they possibly offer us anything culturally, politically, or especially on a spiritual level. Oh, they may have oil, gold, aluminum, uranium, or some other natural resource that we need. They may have lots of cheap labor, poor souls going to hell anyway, that we can exploit, but we really must not take them seriously as people. We are willing to do business with them but we can not leave it at that because fundamentally we are missionairies spreading the gospel of Jesus and market capitalism (market capitalism is sort of tangled up in all of the relegious stuff in a way that is hard to sort through). We are obligated to correct their misguided behavior, and particularly their misguided beliefs.

Don't believe me? Why is the rest of the world so pissed off at us? It is not because we bought their oil or whatever they had to sell. Nobody had an argument with that. It was because we could not stay out of their business, we were arrogant, and we tried to tell everybody else what to do. Not only that, we had the will, resources, and skill (remember we are a nation of excellent marksman) to try to make others into our own image. In other words, the proselytizing we learned in church, saving sinners from hell, carried over into our diplomacy, foreign trade, and world view.

blogger.com

INTERNET & Digital FREEDOM UNDER SIEGE

First of all I want to give my sincere thanks to the Berkman
Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. Their
latest newsletter, The Filter (issue No. 50) is the source
for all of the factual information listed here. The opinions
are my own.

The biggest threat to the internet and the open distribution of
information is the entertainment industry.

Now down to business. Boycott Sony and ANY other company that
sells music CDs that will not play on your computer. A recent
release of a Celine Dion CD sold in Europe is copy protected and
will not play on a PC. In addition, it will cause your system to
crash and lock up. If we put up with this they will only become
more mean-spirited and controlling. This is a TEST to how far
consumers can be pushed.

Anything digital can eventually be copied. The entertainment
industry has lost the battle unless they can persuade government
to institute the most Draconian methods possible. Digital means
a whole new paradigm where newer, and more creative, models are
required. Instead of looking at newer business models the enter-
tainment industry is seeking to mold the information revolution
into a contorted shape that will only serve their purposes.

Michael Eisner of Disney is also waging a high profile battle for
restrictive copy protection advocating for such technology to be
manufactured into computers and software.

Where is all of this headed? The internet and the information
technology revolution is in danger of being yanked out of the
hands of the people, and turned into nothing more than a revenue stream.

I am calling for a world-wide boycott of companies that are
selling CDs that can not be played on a computer (without the use
of proprietary software available from the producer or some
other ruse), and that disable our ability to make copies of
the music we buy.

Why We Have Not Found Bin Ladin

It's hard. Consider this. I looked at the FBI's
ten most wanted but from the information provided
could not find how long the individuals have been
on the loose even though I am sure that most of
them have been on the lam for years. I looked at the
U. S. Marshall's 15 most wanted and found the following
information about some less notorious desperados who
have eluded law enforcement:

*Vincent L. Walters since 1989
*Larry P. Chism since 1988
(even though he escaped in 1978)
*Reginald D. Boxley since 1998

These were the FIRST three people that I looked at!
In less than five minutes on the Internet I found three
people who have eluded capture for years. Some for
over ten years! Even in the United States where we
have sophisticated communication, law enforcement, and
overall national infrastructure we have a hard time
finding people who do not want to be found. Especially
those who are clever, determined, and resourceful.

Supposidly in Afghanistan we have something less than 10,000
personnel (including military and spooks), and Afghanistan
is certainly a nation wannabe - most certainly a work in
progress where the future is unfortunately still in doubt.
Here in America their are neighborhoods where the police
seldom venture, and even small pockets of relative lawless-
ness. In Afghanistan you find small pockets of relative
lawfullness.

I'm certainly no law enforcement expert but I imagine that
most criminals who make a run for it are caught for three
basic reasons. They are stupid, do not change their old
ways, and eventually their luck runs out. Those that do
make it on the run are a bit smarter (certainly more
cunning), make a concerted effort to change their ways,
and make their own luck. I suppose that many also have
resources such as cash or associates that can be trusted.

We have not found Bin Laden because he has friends, resources,
and he is clever. In addition, despite all of our technology
the world can still be a very big place to hide. It is nothing
new for outlaws to evade detection, and some do it forever. If
we do find him it will be because we got lucky (even though we
will be able to make the odds a bit more in or favor), because
he is betrayed by someone close to him, or because he makes a
mistake. Of course we have to keep looking but it is more
important for us to address the injustices, and despair, that
fuel terrorism.

If we have a hard time finding people right here in the United
States, on our homefield, it is little wonder that a determined
fanatic such as Osoma can remain on the prowl.

The Gentrification of the Internet

There have always been barriers to Internet access for low income persons. However, hardware prices have gone down, and perfectly serviceable second-hand computers became available as users upgraded their systems. One of my old computers went to my sister before it finally ended up at my parents (where it is still working), and I am sure this is now a rather common pattern. At one point it even looked as if free Internet service might become available, and even Microsoft was looking at the possibility of drastically slashing their prices or offering free dial-up access. During that time the Internet was an open, anarchistic, and largely democratic
community, and it was becoming accessible to persons with even relatively modest means. That Internet was designed to share, and facilitate, the transfer of information. In that Internet what was available to one person was largely available to another. That era, which many of us thought would last forever, has passed, because not all Internet access is created equal.  Another development is that the Internet is starting to become stratified.

Now we are starting to see a trend where the singular "Internet" is being replaced by a stratified system.  Citing security concerns the U. S. government will almost assuredly carry through with plans to create a separate self-contained web for itself sealed off from the outside world. That means that our government is basically going to opt out of the web as we know it and create their own system. The availability of DSLand Cable hookups for Internet access has begun the process of gentrifying the Internet. Now, instead of having to fiddle with a relatively slow dial-up connection those who can afford it can opt for faster, and more convenient,always on connection. Although I am not sure that the faster connections are worth the money (I can do everything I want on my home network which connects to the web with an old fashioned dial-up line running through a Linux box) it is an  increasingly popular trend which supports using the Internet as a metered conveyance of entertainment (just like cable television and pay-per-view). The dream for business, I think it will eventually be the reality, is that people will access premium services for a price. Those premium services will be movies, music, and games that can be downloaded or streamed to the user for a fee. Without the increased bandwidth of DSL and cable connections such enterprises would not be very practical. Also, I suspect that premium information web "channels" will also develop that will only be available to subscribers. It is the cable tv model applied to the Internet. The end result will be something like that which happened to the last Super Bowl.

Nobody is talking about it but our society went through a major transition with the last Super Bowl. The Super Bowl, which has long been a fixture of popular culture, was suddenly unavailable for those who could not payfor it. The year before anyone with an old black and white television could watch the Super Bowl on network television. This year the Super Bowl was largely available only to those who had access to cable television. I am not a big football fan but it was a little weird to spend Super Bowl Sunday without the game on because we do not have cable television.

Another development is wireless.  Although far from being fully developed wireless computing, including access to the Internet and email, is already starting to mutate into something that will eventually take on its own identity. It is also pretty expensive for the average person. The Internet is changing.  Just as television showed much promise in the early days as a tool for doing much good for society (particularly in terms of helping educate and inform us) the Internet is in great danger of becoming nothing more than a commercial venue for making money rather than for doing good. Pardon my strong language, but the Internet is being reshaped into a whore, business is the pimp, and the government is being paid off to look the other way. As this trend continues the Internet will continue to become more stratified, and the gentrificationwill continue. There will still be some kind of low quality service for the have-nots but you will not be able to watch the Super Bowl on it. If you like infomercials you will absolutely love the new Internet coming your way.

Mike Perkins

Now instead of studying religion we embrace a nebulous concept called "spirituality." For the life of me I have never been able to figure out exactly what spirituality is. I think that is the point. It is vague enough to cover anything, avoids specific reference to G-d, and is highly customizable. It is the ultimate in political correctness. Today, unless you are a priest or a Muslim, it is somewhat impolite to show your colors by wearing religious garb. Orthodox Jews, and others who wear particular clothing with a religious meaning, are rarely seen outside the confines of large urban areas. Even then they are dismissed as kooks or quaint curiosities. I kind of admire Muslims for the fact that even after September 11th the are not too shy to signify who they are by what they wear. My daughter attended a Catholic elementary school (that my friends is a LONG story), and despite the fact that she scored 25 on the ACT in 7th grade she is almost completely ignorant about the Bible. She is also somewhat puzzled as to what Catholicism is all about even though she had a religion class.
Religion has become associated with every vile, and corrupt thing that has ever transpired. We look at the excesses of the Catholic Church and dismiss it's legitimacy. We experience the radical extremism in the Muslim world and suspect fundamental flaws in their faith. Of course we blame Jews for just about everything (I would really like to compile a list of all the things Jews have ever been blamed for and post it here). It is like blaming radioactivity for Hiroshima.
I think the thing that did religion in was "us" versus "them." Us is right, and those fellows over there are heretics, unbelievers, goy, or infidels. Since the others are unbelievers they must either be converted or killed. At the very least we should walk on the other side of the street from them. Although we might not care who is elected for office, we will become hysterically argumentative about how many angels can dance on the point of a needle. Too often we have substituted zealousness for faith. G-d save us from the fanatics of all faiths.
By their fruit you shall know them. That is one of the wisest sayings I have ever heard. Although a tree may bear some bad fruit, or even have a bad year, over time a good tree will be true to its nature and bear a preponderance of quality fruit over bad. One final thing. It has become a truism that we should avoid all talk of religion. Maybe the opposite is true, and what we really need is to learn how to talk about it.

This is my first posting. stay turned.