The blog has been quiet. I'm not sure if it's just the weekend, and people aren't around their computers or you're all on your best behavior on the last post. Whatever the reason, Bring Da Noise!!!
Try to be nice to each other, but have at it: Anything you want to talk about - politics, sports, movies, rain (yay!!!).
But, with freedom comes responsibility - no bickering, please. It gives me a headache in my eye...
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Oh STFU FH! :)
I just took a poll on AOL news about: Do you believe in Conspiracy Theories? I thought, surely only a few people believe in such things. However, "Yes" was at 56% last I checked... is this significant of anything?
After a drought, I've seen a few good movies on DVD. Changeling is fantastic, although a bit harrowing. Body of Lies is one of the better movies about Iraq and City of Ember is a fun little movie, soon to be a cult classic.
WV-Sping what you get when the letter R see its own shadow.
I've been busy going to Mass, learning how to make linguica from my stepmother and taking pictures in the rain. I had a headache all day, but it finally went away after I went traipsing around in the rain I mentioned earlier.
I apologize for my silence. It's Lent.
Well, sad day at the xoot compound. The spirits inhabiting a rabbit AND a tough old cat both left their furry bodies today and went elsewhere. (Gina, is there a heaven for the souls of blameless beasts?) The cat's been fighting in the bottom of his ninth for a long time, so that wasn't so bad. But big time trauma re the rabbit. The 11 year old went to replenish the food dish and water bottle. I heard him say "Hi bunny." Then silence. The look on his face when he came walking slowly back into the room is one I'll never forget.
And as if that wasn't enough, the pre-season Little League game got rained out! Good thing we had the music lesson to focus on for a while.
If any of you are famililar with the wonderful website Pandora, more bad news. I just glanced at Oakland magazine (very thin mag, btw) while waiting in line at the market and learned that the agency in charge of setting charges for web radio shows has jacked the royalty rate sky high. Terrible news.
(Go to Pandora, type in a favorite and see what happens.)
wv: asests -- bailout, from the bank's point of view.
Xoot - I guess that bunny didn't want kitty to have to make the journey alone... I'm so sorry for the Xootsuit household, especially the little one. Few things are as heartbreaking as finding a dead pet. (sniff!)
Oracle - glad to hear your feeling better. I didn't get around to it on the other thread, but I'm glad you're getting the chance to get to know your father. You probably didn't even know that it came with linguica making lessons - bonus!
WT - I think it's a conspiracy that the believers in conspiracy theories is only 56% - seems a little low to me.
YC - Right back at ya!!! ;-P
So you're running into the arms of the Church, Oracle? And just any Church but one whose Pope is homophobic, has courted a fascist, and baited Islam? And what's the point of religion anyway?
In traditional religions, renunciation, obedience, submission are rewarded because they smooth the way to other-worldly salvation. In this tutelage of the people in obedience, in diverting them from this world, from the improvement of their earthly fate and from the fight against the corrupt might of rulers, the role of religion in bolstering oppression is given clearer expression than in its direct political-economic manifestations in questions of usury, interest, trade and wages.
Take this example from French history.
According to the Jansenist scholar, Father Nicole, the main concern of humans should not be life but death:
"Everything consists of dying well. Woes, whether long or short, large or small, vanish and get lost in eternity…
If we strive to have eternity in our hearts, everything appears the same to us: riches, poverty, health, illness, nobility, baseness, glory, ignominy.
When Jansenists marry, the life of the married couple ought to become “a Christian life which is, in itself, a serious life, a life of labour and not of amusement, joy and pleasure”. Accordingly, the Jansenist does not strive for upward mobility, because he “knows that every degree of fortune, honour and nobility increases the dangers that we face and makes our salvation more difficult. Therefore, do not envy the great”
we were supposed to mix it up, right. and onr more thing: Mick LaSalle is da man
Mr. Hartal, you communist, you! Good news.
Now, what is your plan? How do you, personally, get to the root of the problem? How do you intend to disrupt the violence of capital, to corrode its hegemony?
Well, maybe you are not familiar with Gramsci.
Why would you call me Commie? That's a pretty standard Enlightenment criticism of religion.
I'm not sure that business has hegemony.
It's surprising that this crisis is not giving succor to the right (including its fascist wings) but strengthening the populist left in this country.
I think this is as much a shocker to the intelligentsia as was Obama's victory (though that did come with the greatest racial polarization in our electoral history--that is, the difference between the percentage of blacks and Latinos voting for the Democrat and the percentage of whites for voting the Democrat has never been higher).
(about Gramsci...it's not surprising that the most creative Marxist thought came from someone held in fascist prison and thus outside the direct influence of a stifling Stalinist Party. I am no Communist. )
I used a lower-case "c" deliberately, Mr. Hartal.
Fairly standard "enlightenment" critique? You are quite the intellectual, Mr. Hartal.
Have you read Horkheimer and Adorno on the "enlightenment"? You should do so. I think you will like that book.
Oh everyone here is an intellectual. I don't really get the dilemma about the Enlightenment. It was an advance for reason, and expressed confidence that through reason we could better understand the world to change it to meet human need. I don't get what the dilemma would be, but I am not as well-read as I would like to be.
Well, moving on then.
I occasionally take a young child -- twelve now -- to the movies. His mother has to approve my choice. (She was a pain in the ass as a child, herself.)
What do you people think about Slumdog Millionaire? Would it be appropriate to take a 12 year old to see that? (The child specifically has asked to see that movie.)
Oh, no, it's rated R for a reason. Our older one was with my parents, and we timed it so the younger one would sleep all the way through. Not for kids, though I don't know quite yet what an eleven year old is like. There's torture, mutilation and rape in the movie.
"torture, mutilation and rape"
Graphically portrayed?
The boy is nearly 13. He thought The Dark Knight was entertaining. I was slightly appalled.
(He's a sweetheart, by the way. I perceive no real interest in violent games or movies.)
It just would have been too upsetting for our kids, but they are very young, and I just don't know yet what's appropriate for a 13 year old.
Oh well the attempt to mix it up on religion did not work. And I didn't get Michelle Bachman right. I should have said: Mick LaSalle, you be da man. And Jindal seems to have made up the story at the center of his first presidential bid speech. I can't see how the Republicans go with Romney or Gingrich given how far they'll be out of their last office by 2012. It's incredible but Palin may win the fight over Pawlenty.
Lefty - That movie is not for kids, IMO. How does he do with subtitles, because part of the film is in Hindi. I think most of the violence is off-camera, if I remember correctly, but it's still pretty gruesome. Plus, I think some of the themes may be over your typical 12 year old's head...
I just wanted to thank Ferret for answering all our comments individually. Not everyone would do that. You da Ferret! ;-)
I actually am serious about this Slumdog question. I promise the boy a movie on a regular basis.
I think he would do fine with subtitles. Themes over his head would probably inspire him. It is the violence that concerns me. His mother watches 24 with him every week. Would Slumdog be worse than that? (You know what I mean by "worse.")
Now I suppose if I really were a revolutionary I would not be so concerned about this, right? Damndest thing.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16680-porn-in-the-usa-conservatives-are-biggest-consumers.html
Winkingtiger, you didn't quite get it right. You BE da Ferret.
Hartal, you got me all wrong. First off, I'm no republican. I'm conservative--there's a difference. I'm no intellectual, and I'm not much of a Catholic, either. I've stated, or have proved all of these things. I'm not a prude, either, which if you were familiar with my posts, I'm rather a slut. I enjoy sex, and have stated that, too. In fact, although I dislike pornography as you are trying to suggest with your link, I do like erotica...I think it's art. I believe I posted something of that nature awhile back on my blog. In fact, I'd love to do a book on men categorizing by shape, size and color...you know--a spectrum thing. I think women would go crazy over it, don't you? Would you care to be my subject?
Xoot. One of my rabbits just died, too. It appeared really healthy the day before. And it's a young one. I guess they're kinda touchy animals.
One thing I've realized living here on this funny farm is how much dying is so much a part of living.
Thank you for your kind words, ferret. My dad is a really decent person. So is my stepmom. I'm having a great time.
Oh, thanks hartal! (practices... you BE da man...you BE da man...) ;-)
Apparently, the recent storms have done a number on my cable connection at home--the digital picture goes out as frequently as 10 times a minute, and the DSL connection was extremely unreliable, hence my silence. I did want to second Yogi's opinion of Changeling--that was one difficult movie. I'm really becoming a big fan of Amy Ryan after her run in The Wire and her roles in this movie and Gone Baby Gone. Another one, not quite as good but very interesting, was Blindness.
Looks like I'll be moving "Changeling" up on my Netflix queue. I really like Jeffrey Donovan, it'll be interesting to see him play a bad guy - he's so charming on "Burn Notice".
The scary thing about Changeling is that it's a true story, in fact the real case was even more disturbing in that there was an evil mother involved that wasn't in the film. Donovan was good in this film but I couldn't figure out what his accent was supposed to be. Irish, New York Irish.
"torture, mutilation and rape"
Graphically portrayed?
**
Lefty, and everyone else, this is a slight spoiler alert
Torture: Mostly slapping around but there's a brief electricty zapping
Mutilation: Kind of side viewed, shadowy but explicit enough to scare kids (and adults)
Rape: Subtley done. Adults will get it. Children may not.
There are also a couple of fairly graphic shooting.
Definately an R rated movie
My favorite item on this morning's TV news was about Robert Gates, who was quoted as saying that he believes Obama's timetable for withdrawal of most U.S. troops from Iraq is justified, and noted that Obama is more "analytical" than GWBush. No shit, Sherlock!
imdb.com has a parental guidance feature for movies reviewed there.
I heard a news story on the radio yesterday about the surge in movie-going. People want to escape into the dark for a while, etc. etc.
I wonder. Do you think it's some sort of herd-instinct response? People want a safe, temporary sense of communion or solidarity with strangers?
DSG - My cats are more analytical than GWB! I thought that was pretty darned funny, too!
Lefty - It's a great movie, and deserves to be seen. If mom is okay with the movie, then go ahead. Personally, I don't think I would allow my 12 year old to see it, but I'm not exactly an expert on parenting (though I like to play one on a blog)...
I've met the Romers a few times -- the wife and husband team of economists from Berkeley who've gone to work for Obama. She's head economic adviser. There's a great article on the UCB website about their first work for Obama (last year, I think). They worked everything up and sent him a sort of useful, executive summary. He quickly wrote back and asked for more detail and back up. They were hooked.
Obama demands in depth analysis, apparently.
I was thinking about the same thing regarding movies. I think people are tired of spending their money on stuff They want to be exposed to new ideas--be given some direction on how to handle life's complications. Sitting a dark room with strangers learning the same lesson makes it all easier to digest, I think.
Now, if we could just get Hollywood to put out some meaningful stuff, everything would be great. Maybe all of these out-of-work journalists ought to get their pens out and start writing scripts for movies.
Here's an idea: BLOG!
Christina Romer seems to have taken flak for two things: her own research into the Great Depression showed that the pivot for recovery was the panic inflow of gold from Europe to the US, not fiscal policy (her colleague Brad DeLong said she had been misunderstood in the blogosphere); second she has wrongly estimated the multipliers--overestimating the multiplier from certain tax breaks and overestimating the multiplier from government spending. Kathleen Pender wrote a bizarre criticism of Obama asking where all the government jobs are in the stimulus plan. But Romer openly said that only 10% of the projected jobs would be created directly by government spending. The bulk comes from contracts to private business and the general multiplier effects.
My concern is that anticipated profitability from new investments is so weak that whatever demand support government spending provides in hopes of encouraging new investment will be neutralized by the discouragement of investment due to expectations of future higher tax rates cutting into future profits.
I certainly don't agree with the Republican point that we'd better off without the stimulus because then demand would fall off the cliff and we'd enter into a debt deflation spiral. But I'm not sure that the stimulus will be as stimulative as Romer and Obama hope. I do so hope that they are right.
And Oracle I won't be available for your picture book. But I wish you the best, and am glad that my link on conservatives and porn gave you something to talk about.
Kathleen Pender's headlines always sound interesting. Her articles always disappoint. Featherweight stuff.
I remember one article on the AMT. I saw the headline and thought, hey, maybe I can finally get an explanation. Turned out to be her confession that she was stunned to find out that she had to pay it. Nothing more, really.
wv: bless
Oh, Hartal, that's quite ok. I have quite an active imagination. You not only got me talking, you got me inspired.
Just for you:http://ineedashotofredemption.blogspot.com/
Gina, why did you leave out twinfan and winkingtiger and yogi?
You seem to have the same eye for men that the old masters brought to the slave auction block. Maybe that's where your problems begin--with what you can see. Your mind's eye by the way is certainly weak.
I imagine it's because they were so big they didn't fit into the picture.
And Hartal, not only did I have slave owner's in my family, my last name is Kaiser--which means I had a Queen or two.
wv:symegi--Hartal's first name
And you're serious that your favorite movie is Gone with the Wind. Wow that's twisted and sad at the same time. But it fits.
Everyone has a slaveowner and a queen in their genealogy. But if that's what gets you through the day...
what are all these postscripts beginning with wv: ?
Gina, just remember, when life hands you a lemon, it doesn't mean it should be used as a sex toy.
hartal, I'll tell you what wv is if you give me the straight story on your reinstatement at SFGate.com.
Has "she has wrongly estimated the multipliers," hartal?
Pretty funny.
wv, truly this it: uppity
Well yes Oracle has underestimated the multipliers. There is also the advantage of clean arteries from a mostly vegetarian diet.
But I'm on the wrong list. I am not a horny single. Happily married. Well I can post to SF Gate from my network at the office, though my IP address at home remains blocked. Phil Bronstein and Vlae Kershner are trying to figure out how LaSalle had that done without having my user account blocked. They by the way saw no need to take down my comments on LaSalle's SF Gate article (intellectual thug who once threatened to vomit if Obama won) though LaSalle is editing out my old comments at his blog space. So not everyone agreed I was abusive, much less libelous!
People have varying tolerances for abuse, which is how I'd view it. Still, SFGate.com is a private forum, so any speech restrictions are not violative of the First Amendment, though they're still generally misguided, in my opinion.
Depending on how you post here, Blogger has a word verification requirement (i.e., you have to type a series of blurred characters in order to post a comment). Some of the character sets used for word verifications are pretty weird and/or apropos.
DSG - OMG! LMAO!!!!!
That said, she'd never have to worry about feeling 'fresh' as a summer's eve!
FH, one of the side effects of playing in a rock and roll band is sharpening one's skill at quick, snarky responses.
I never claimed that blocking my IP address was a first amendment violation, and I had to put up with at the very least as much abuse as LaSalle did at his blog. Oh, yes, it's his blog, you say, so he need not put up with it. Well he was the one poking and prodding the Obama supporters long before I began replying to him. He's the one who said only a disingenuous person could have liked SM. He's the one who decided to restart the Cold War propaganda against Che. He's the only who made up a list of the best actors in the world, and forgot to mention any out of Euro-America.
And then he calls himself Maximum Strength. He punches, he gets punched back, and then he goes crying to the hall monitor.
The guy needs some self-respect.
But don't get me wrong: Mick LaSalle still be da man.
hartal, I never said that you said it was a first amendment violation, I was simply expressing an opinion. As for crying to the hall monitor, it seems like he took matters into his own hands without asking the hall monitors, doesn't it? Seems like he's the one with the mojo to do what he wanted to do. I tell you, fighting with them is a sucker's game. My own experience with newspapers is that, once you're on the outs with someone at a newspaper, you're screwed as far as that paper's concerned.
FH, for some reason, your response to my lemon comment brought to mind that old SNL skit that featured a ball whose guests included the Earl of Sandwich, Lord Salisbury, and Lord and Lady Douchebag.
LOL!!I can hear Garrett Morris' voice right now. Thanks for the memory, DSG
Ted, he really dragged out his enunciation there, didn't he?
wv: brionisu No, he is not.
I think, dsg, you're just upset that I ordained you the skinny carrot--that's what I think.
Gina, honestly, I'm not upset, I laughed at the photo. Then again, I wasn't the baby carrot.
On the other hand, I just recently saw all those photos of goats on your blog. Still, it was funny.
Why, thank you. I did make you nice and long and as hornlike as I could imagine.
wv: outum--not kidding!
I don't have a comment, I just wanted to do the wv.
wv: logdan
Me too. wv: evals
The child-bearing discussion on the other thread sure brought out what I guess I would call some surprising arguments.
TS, I was surprised to see you describe women on maternity leave causing increased labor load on single male workers. Clearly, it's the boss man who's to blame for not replacing the "vacationing" woman. But maybe I read the post too quickly and missed some context.
In any event, I know a number of women professors and lawyers who went through hell trying to have and raise kids and pursue their professions, too. None of them were slackers.
xoot, the 'boss man' has simply transferred the burden the pregnant employee has placed upon the business to the other employees. The fact is, if a woman needs to take a paid leave of absence in order to have a baby, then she's bitten off more than she can chew. We can argue about whether as a society, we should feel obligated to pitch in to correct this situation, but the causal relationship can't be ignored. I'm not suggesting that working women who have babies are slackers, or even that stay-at-home moms are slackers. They aren't. Child raising is a full time job. If a woman can handle two full time jobs, more power to her, but if she can't, there's a productivity gap that needs to be filled.
My argument is objective, not emotional. I love children. I know moms. I support them in the endeavor. But instead of thanks, I'm scorned (not by all, of course) for choosing to remain childless. What's wrong with this picture?
And again, why is it that people assume that because one has made one choice, that implies condemnation of the other? The fact is, coupling and reproducing, while perfectly natural, represents an active transition from the default single, childless state. There's nothing wrong with making that transition, but there's certainly nothing wrong with not making it.
Well, the woman on maternity leave is probably annoyed at her husband for not helping enough with the baby because he's putting in too much OT at the job to help cover for one of his co-workers who's on maternity leave.
I still say it's the boss man's fault.
On the other side of your post, however -- being scorned because you choose to remain childless -- I agree, that's horseshit. People don't turn into first class citizens just because they have, and one would hope at least try to raise, kids.
TS: "why is it that people assume that because one has made one choice, that implies condemnation of the other?"
I don't know, but I encountered hostility from a few of my child-free friends after my first kid was born. (One woman very oddly recommended the movie "It's Alive" to me; then she got pissed off when I liked it.)
Taking care of kids is important for everyone, parent or not. So maternity leave is important, I think. But, again, THE PARENTS aren't heroes deserving special benefits just because they managed to procreate.
I'm all fine with personal choices like yours TS and Dsg and ferret and suza and so on and so forth. But after awhile, all these empty holes start making for a very bumpy ride. Now it's great that you all chose the luxury of self-indulgence over duty, but the rest of us took responsibility of keeping this Earth chugging along more seriously. Whether you reward us is insignificant. Life will be the one that ultimately decides who gets rewarded for the choices they made.
There's still time boys. I think Marie is an adorable name, don't you?
Gina, it all evens out in the end. My best friend from law school has six kids.
xoot, you've got a good grasp on where I'm coming from. I'm not devaluing the importance of maternity leave, but its costs don't dissappear despite the onset of warm and fuzzy baby shower communal intoxication.
gina, I guess I'll just have to live with being a self-indulgent shirker of duty in your eyes.
I've witnessed resentment from some childless toward new parents because of dwindling attention paid, but I've also seen new parents take on the zeal of the born again. I think a world in which we all had kids would be a very boring place. Sure, children are fascinating, but so are adults and their pursuits.
Gina -- What's an "empty hole"? Aren't all holes, by defintion, empty? Or do some just seem more empty than others?
No, some holes have bottoms. Some holes, black holes for instance go on forever. Those would be known as holy holes.
Ts...I actually agree with you about the working mother thing.I think it's impossible to do both jobs well at the same time.
xoot, the first sequel to IT'S ALIVE is pretty good too
I feel the same way about fathering. Damn that John Lennon!
Thanks, Ted. (Did you check out Black Sheep yet?)
Gina -- don't take this the wrong way. It's a purely theological question, dancing angels or the Albert Hall sort of thing: How many bananas would it take to fill a holy hole?
Not yet. Hopefully this week
Oh, just one very ginormously big one. Eleventy million miles long, at least.
I confess, I've been listening to the Beatles along with Joan Baez these days.
Well, just so long as it's not infinite.
Joan Baez? Ever hear her cover of Gillian Welch's Elvis Presley Blues? Try Welch's. Even better.
What are the social costs of not providing paid maternity leave, opportunity for expressing milk, good perinatal and prenatal care, good preschool education? Either we have children who can't achieve their potential or women who refuse to have children. I really am not following toosense's argument.
Our first child was born to Gillian Welsh.
Welch, hartal, Welch.
What song was playing when you cut the cord? I Wanna Sing that Rock N Roll? I particularly like that one. Saw her perform it live at HSBG a few years back.
We didn't have music playing. I did cut the cord, however. Surprisingly tough piece of flesh. (Non-parents, I'm sorry.)
You know Welch has no real roots in Appalachia? But she did attend UC Santa Cruz. I ascribe part of her genius to that lucky fact.
I agree, hartal. You aren't. Women and their families should be thanking us, not condemning us, for making all of this important work possible for them. The fucking and popping 'em out bit is the easy part. Hell, we do half of it ourselves. Just not the popping 'em out part.
My last attempt to clarify:
Continuity of the human race is obviously important to you who breed. It's also important to those of us who don't, which is why we put up with the burden of others' children through tax dollars to support education, social programs, and picking up the slack at work while mommy takes a paid leave. You're lucky we're all in this together. You're welcome.
xootsuit: my wife brought the revelator album, but it was a "c" so she doesn't remember.
*
toosense, of course there are a lot of things that those who do not have their own children do for which we are thankful. And I don't mean here only adopting. But I am confused as to the reasons for your newly stated belief that the continuity of the species is important to you.
Acknowledgment that human continuity isn't at all cosmically important doesn't negate the human tendency toward self-importance, hartal. I'm not a misanthrope. No more than the next guy. Or the next...
I haven't heard that. Only have had time for the few cd's that I've managed to buy--the ones of just her. She really has a beautiful voice. Dylan is really my most favorite of all. I love him and would probably marry him if he asked me.
And don't sell yourself short. It's not that your contributions are unappreciated, but it's depressing to see things come to an end. There's too many of you.
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