Irish pubs are a great place to go for the New Year's celebration. Just ask humorist Larry Miller:
"Now, God knows, I've done some stupid things in my life. Seriously stupid. How's walking into an Irish bar on Second Avenue at three in the morning singing "There Will Always Be An England"? I was punched out immediately. (You know you're drunk when you go to brush something off your shoulder, and it's the floor.) Then they picked me up and bought me a pint."
Happy New Year to all.
Monday, December 16, 2002
I used to think that Jane Austen was a little hard on English clergymenmost of them, like Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice, are portrayed as boobs of the first order.
Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for this item, revealing that things have not changed much since Austen's time.
(Last week, some Anglican drip told a bunch of 5-year-olds that Santa Claus was dead.)
My favorite quote:
"If we are brutally honest, Christmas is probably a real chore. For some, it is more than a choreit is the most painful time of the year."
Most Americans realize that this is the typical roundabout way that an Englishman admits the obvious: that the real reason he doesn't like Christmas is because he's cheap.
And you thought Scrooge was from the 19th century.
Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for this item, revealing that things have not changed much since Austen's time.
(Last week, some Anglican drip told a bunch of 5-year-olds that Santa Claus was dead.)
My favorite quote:
"If we are brutally honest, Christmas is probably a real chore. For some, it is more than a choreit is the most painful time of the year."
Most Americans realize that this is the typical roundabout way that an Englishman admits the obvious: that the real reason he doesn't like Christmas is because he's cheap.
And you thought Scrooge was from the 19th century.
Boston Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert writes, "This weekend, Al Gore managed to be loose and amusing as the host of Saturday Night Live - and then stiff and smug as ever on '60 Minutes."
This doesn't surprise me at all. I bet the straw that broke the camel's back for Gore (and his poor wife, God Bless her) was the realization (probably after viewing the mess on Saturday Night) that he just didn't want to have to deal with running a campaign that would have to become part carnival act several times per month just to win votes.
I'm glad he came to his senses. Political campaigning in this country has become ridiculous. George Bush didn't appear on SNL (unless I'm completely mistaken), and I don't think Joe Lieberman, Dick Gephardt or John Kerry have to in order to win their party's nomination either.
Who pressed this idea on Gore? Chris Lehane?
This doesn't surprise me at all. I bet the straw that broke the camel's back for Gore (and his poor wife, God Bless her) was the realization (probably after viewing the mess on Saturday Night) that he just didn't want to have to deal with running a campaign that would have to become part carnival act several times per month just to win votes.
I'm glad he came to his senses. Political campaigning in this country has become ridiculous. George Bush didn't appear on SNL (unless I'm completely mistaken), and I don't think Joe Lieberman, Dick Gephardt or John Kerry have to in order to win their party's nomination either.
Who pressed this idea on Gore? Chris Lehane?
Sunday, December 15, 2002
This made my day. Thanks to Merde in France for this wonderful note from an American servicewoman currently serving in Bosnia:
He began to get belligerent at that point, and I told him if he would like to, I would meet him outside in front of the Burger King and beat his ass in front of the entire Multi-National Brigade East, thus demonstrating that even the smallest American had more fight in them than the average Frenchman.
He called me a barbarian cowboy and walked away in a huff.
With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Read the whole thing. Priceless.
He began to get belligerent at that point, and I told him if he would like to, I would meet him outside in front of the Burger King and beat his ass in front of the entire Multi-National Brigade East, thus demonstrating that even the smallest American had more fight in them than the average Frenchman.
He called me a barbarian cowboy and walked away in a huff.
With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Read the whole thing. Priceless.
Friday, December 13, 2002
I'm sure Cardinal Law's resignation will be all over the blogs and the news todaywith lots of commentary, lots of judgment, lots of speculation. I personally do not feel any sense of triumph or satisfaction. Just sadness.
All I want to do for today is remember the good priests. As of today, they can begin to get back to what they do and have done throughout the long years of their vocations.
In case any one needs to be reminded, that includes:
Getting up at ungodly hours to visit the beds of the sick in the hospitals or the homes of nearby parishioners;
Getting themselves out of bed to light up a cold dark church at 6AM so the regulars can receive communion;
Driving miles and miles to churches out in the boondocks, parishes that cannot afford their own priest, to serve a second community on top of the one that commands most of their lives;
Sitting for hours on a wooden chair inside a coffin-like confession box every day while we all shuffle in, trundling our little sins, our pathetic ones, our dirt, misery, resentment, our mortal sins, our betrayals and our guilt to dump in their lap so that they can absolve us;
Saying Mass every day no matter how distracted they may be, no matter how much pain they may be in, no matter how many oras is more likely the casehow few come to sit in the pews;
Keeping their lights on and their doors open in the rectory, perhaps even when they should be having a normal dinner, for anyone who may need their help or consultation;
And last, but not least, patiently enduring the mockery and abuse that is heaped on their vocation and profession by our otherwise oh-so-tolerant culture. Just when they thought they could take a few minutes out of the day to sit back and enjoy a little television in the eveningthey get to be hectored and lectured by the morally superior auteurs of our entertainment industry.
So for all that, today, I'd like to say "Thank you, Father", and "I'm glad you're still here."
All I want to do for today is remember the good priests. As of today, they can begin to get back to what they do and have done throughout the long years of their vocations.
In case any one needs to be reminded, that includes:
Getting up at ungodly hours to visit the beds of the sick in the hospitals or the homes of nearby parishioners;
Getting themselves out of bed to light up a cold dark church at 6AM so the regulars can receive communion;
Driving miles and miles to churches out in the boondocks, parishes that cannot afford their own priest, to serve a second community on top of the one that commands most of their lives;
Sitting for hours on a wooden chair inside a coffin-like confession box every day while we all shuffle in, trundling our little sins, our pathetic ones, our dirt, misery, resentment, our mortal sins, our betrayals and our guilt to dump in their lap so that they can absolve us;
Saying Mass every day no matter how distracted they may be, no matter how much pain they may be in, no matter how many oras is more likely the casehow few come to sit in the pews;
Keeping their lights on and their doors open in the rectory, perhaps even when they should be having a normal dinner, for anyone who may need their help or consultation;
And last, but not least, patiently enduring the mockery and abuse that is heaped on their vocation and profession by our otherwise oh-so-tolerant culture. Just when they thought they could take a few minutes out of the day to sit back and enjoy a little television in the eveningthey get to be hectored and lectured by the morally superior auteurs of our entertainment industry.
So for all that, today, I'd like to say "Thank you, Father", and "I'm glad you're still here."
Thursday, December 12, 2002
Since Al Gore and John Kerry are so solicitous of what our allies think, perhaps they should read this. Ditto for the anti-war left. (Thanks to Glenn Reynolds.)
Japanese cellular company DoCoMo's new handsets support 3GPP, an open standard technology built on MPEG-4—and thus can play video or audio content using Apple's QuickTime 6.
That's right, you will soon be able to watch QuickTime movie trailers and more on your cell phone.
According to Ryan Jones, an analyst with The Yankee Group, this is good news for Apple. The company needs more electronics manufacturers to adopt their standard so they can compete with Microsoft Windows media outside the PC realm. (I'm not going to mention Real, because frankly, just about everyone on the street in this business thinks Real will be bankrupt or sold within a year—Microsoft and Apple are the big two.)
According to Yahoo News: "The big hurdle that QuickTime has to clear is that it isn't a nicely bundled solution of video creation management and security," said Jones. "They don't have some of the content management and DRM capabilities that Real and Microsoft have."
Authoring content for the service can be done in a variety of applications such as Cleaner, Final Cut Pro and a new version of QuickTime, that Apple said would be released by the end of 2002. The new version will feature support for the file format and codecs used by DoCoMo.
"We've opened the platform to a whole new industry—this is big for the adoption of MPEG-4 and the standards-based approach," said Brian Croll, Apple's senior director software, Worldwide Product Marketing. "Ultimately this positions Apple as the platform of choice for content creation."
I hope to God that Apple is right now negotiating with makers of home DVD players, licensing the software to them to enable new players to play QuickTime movies burned straight to DVD. Because that's where the market is going to be.
How many home movie makers are going to want to shell out the $1000 for a DVD authoring program, and then want to spend the time it takes to figure out how to make DVDs, when it will be much easier to just burn their movie files straight to a blank disk (which can be had for less than $4 now at Best Buy) and pop it into the home player without all the bells and whistles?
For my money, that's where this war is going to be fought and won. And I hope Apple is making the deals now. Not six months after Microsoft and Panasonic roll out the first line of players that use Media 9....
That's right, you will soon be able to watch QuickTime movie trailers and more on your cell phone.
According to Ryan Jones, an analyst with The Yankee Group, this is good news for Apple. The company needs more electronics manufacturers to adopt their standard so they can compete with Microsoft Windows media outside the PC realm. (I'm not going to mention Real, because frankly, just about everyone on the street in this business thinks Real will be bankrupt or sold within a year—Microsoft and Apple are the big two.)
According to Yahoo News: "The big hurdle that QuickTime has to clear is that it isn't a nicely bundled solution of video creation management and security," said Jones. "They don't have some of the content management and DRM capabilities that Real and Microsoft have."
Authoring content for the service can be done in a variety of applications such as Cleaner, Final Cut Pro and a new version of QuickTime, that Apple said would be released by the end of 2002. The new version will feature support for the file format and codecs used by DoCoMo.
"We've opened the platform to a whole new industry—this is big for the adoption of MPEG-4 and the standards-based approach," said Brian Croll, Apple's senior director software, Worldwide Product Marketing. "Ultimately this positions Apple as the platform of choice for content creation."
I hope to God that Apple is right now negotiating with makers of home DVD players, licensing the software to them to enable new players to play QuickTime movies burned straight to DVD. Because that's where the market is going to be.
How many home movie makers are going to want to shell out the $1000 for a DVD authoring program, and then want to spend the time it takes to figure out how to make DVDs, when it will be much easier to just burn their movie files straight to a blank disk (which can be had for less than $4 now at Best Buy) and pop it into the home player without all the bells and whistles?
For my money, that's where this war is going to be fought and won. And I hope Apple is making the deals now. Not six months after Microsoft and Panasonic roll out the first line of players that use Media 9....
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Wishful Thinking Dept. This week's New Yorker features Ken Auletta's profile of Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein, "Beauty and the Beast." Weinstein has apparently developed the same self-destructive tendencies that undermined super-agent Mike Ovitz. Supposedly this could be the beginning of his own fall from the Hollywood heights.
Yeah right. And all I'm thinking as I read this was, "How can I get a copy of my movie (Richard the Second) into this guy's hands?"
Yeah right. And all I'm thinking as I read this was, "How can I get a copy of my movie (Richard the Second) into this guy's hands?"
Glenn Reynolds hits the nail on the head about the real motives behind "digital rights management":
"And I believe that much of what's being marketed as 'digital rights management' to prevent 'stealing' of big-media works is in fact intended to serve as 'digital restrictions management' to protect big-media operations from competition by making life harder on potential competitors.
"I think they're doomed, technologically. But if Big Media let their position go without a fight to keep it by fair means or foul, they'll be the first example of a privileged group that did so. So beware. "
Here's the rest of his excellent column. Must reading for all independent music composers and movie producers.
"And I believe that much of what's being marketed as 'digital rights management' to prevent 'stealing' of big-media works is in fact intended to serve as 'digital restrictions management' to protect big-media operations from competition by making life harder on potential competitors.
"I think they're doomed, technologically. But if Big Media let their position go without a fight to keep it by fair means or foul, they'll be the first example of a privileged group that did so. So beware. "
Here's the rest of his excellent column. Must reading for all independent music composers and movie producers.
Michael Kelly does a good job dissecting liberal Democrats' latest hallucinationthat 'liberal media bias' is a myth and now right-wingers are running the country's leading news organizations.
Tuesday, December 10, 2002
Andrew Sullivan (as Glenn Reynolds did previously) links to a wonderful paper by Canadian author David Warren on his experience living in Pakistan and his take on the threat of militant Islam.
Maybe it's because of the Christmas season coming up, but what struck me, close to the end of his article, was this passage:
"We Christians believe ourselves to be completing that ancient, Jewish covenant in the new covenant of Christ, to be carrying the Jewish spiritual logic forward, in an enlargement of the chosen people to include all the elect of God, all who can see the Messiah. The Gospel message is radically anti-tribal, and the apostle Paul carries this into practice in the very cosmopolitan, urban world of late Hellenism and Rome. The whole doctrine of the Virgin Birth, quite apart from the question of its historical veracity, has the practical effect of bringing Christ into the world, and taking him out again, without leaving male blood relatives. (my emphasis)"
That last sentence is truly striking. I think even religious people today are brought up with the vestiges of Humean skepticism when it comes to the idea of miracles and the supernatural. We assume, for completely a priori reasons, to rule out the supernatural, supposing it to be an embarrassing appendage to faiththe fabrication of interfering church fathers or those in power to embellish the story of Christianity for the purpose of impressing the ignorant. It's refreshing and startling therefore to read someone suggest a purely practical reason for God deciding to suspend natural law (in this case for a virgin birth)after all, how would Christ have left any lasting message or tradition, if the immediate aftermath of his departure was attended by a great conflict over who was his successor?
Not an unsound strategy for God, when you consider the murderous slaughter that has all too often followed the reigns of kings and queens, precisely because of the problems posed by "male blood relatives."
Maybe it's because of the Christmas season coming up, but what struck me, close to the end of his article, was this passage:
"We Christians believe ourselves to be completing that ancient, Jewish covenant in the new covenant of Christ, to be carrying the Jewish spiritual logic forward, in an enlargement of the chosen people to include all the elect of God, all who can see the Messiah. The Gospel message is radically anti-tribal, and the apostle Paul carries this into practice in the very cosmopolitan, urban world of late Hellenism and Rome. The whole doctrine of the Virgin Birth, quite apart from the question of its historical veracity, has the practical effect of bringing Christ into the world, and taking him out again, without leaving male blood relatives. (my emphasis)"
That last sentence is truly striking. I think even religious people today are brought up with the vestiges of Humean skepticism when it comes to the idea of miracles and the supernatural. We assume, for completely a priori reasons, to rule out the supernatural, supposing it to be an embarrassing appendage to faiththe fabrication of interfering church fathers or those in power to embellish the story of Christianity for the purpose of impressing the ignorant. It's refreshing and startling therefore to read someone suggest a purely practical reason for God deciding to suspend natural law (in this case for a virgin birth)after all, how would Christ have left any lasting message or tradition, if the immediate aftermath of his departure was attended by a great conflict over who was his successor?
Not an unsound strategy for God, when you consider the murderous slaughter that has all too often followed the reigns of kings and queens, precisely because of the problems posed by "male blood relatives."
Monday, December 09, 2002
A reading of many Greater Boston newspapers as well as listening to some of the commentary on radio talk shows leave little doubt that the media is building a campaign to force embattled UMass President William M. Bulger to resign his post as head of the Commonwealth's sprawling system of higher education. The cozy relationship which existed between Bulger's fugitive brother, notorious killer Whitey Bulger, and two former FBI agents who also played a role in the "brooming" of the 75 State Street federal and state investigations, is at the heart of the media's push to oust Bulger. The former Senate president was a principal in the lengthy 75 State Street probes triggered by the Boston Globe's Spotlight team.
Senate majority leader Trent Lott is his own worst enemy:
What came out of his mouth was the most emphatic repudiation of desegregation to be heard from a national political figure since George Wallace’s first presidential campaign. Lott’s words suggest that one of the three most powerful and visible Republicans in the nation privately thinks that desegregation, civil rights, and equal voting rights were all a big mistake.
Anybody else miss Newt Gingrich?
What came out of his mouth was the most emphatic repudiation of desegregation to be heard from a national political figure since George Wallace’s first presidential campaign. Lott’s words suggest that one of the three most powerful and visible Republicans in the nation privately thinks that desegregation, civil rights, and equal voting rights were all a big mistake.
Anybody else miss Newt Gingrich?
Friday, December 06, 2002
Last night I gave a little seminar at Boston University's Film & Television school for the Boston Macromedia Users Group. In spite of the snow, a lot of people turned out. But even more uplifting to me was the dominance of Apple technology throughout the department. There were iMacs in the hallways, in the classrooms, everywhere. All the students I spoke with were working in QuickTime to embed their own projects in web pages of their own design.
Maybe I've been working in the medical environment too long. Surrounded by Windows-based technology, you start to think Apple's market share is dwindling rapidly away to zero. But as Professor Jim Lengel told me last night, QuickTime still offers the best tools and creative freedom for students studying media and learning how to create it themselves.
Maybe I've been working in the medical environment too long. Surrounded by Windows-based technology, you start to think Apple's market share is dwindling rapidly away to zero. But as Professor Jim Lengel told me last night, QuickTime still offers the best tools and creative freedom for students studying media and learning how to create it themselves.
Thursday, December 05, 2002
While many more copies of bestselling books are sold today than 25 years ago, a new study said, it has become difficult for critically acclaimed tomes to achieve bestseller status.
In 1975, two books that were hailed by reviewers and editors as worthy of plaudits such as the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award also made that year's list of bestsellers. None made the 2000 list, though some appeared on weekly rankings of top sellers, according to the study, which was released last night.
Read morefrom Newsday.
In 1975, two books that were hailed by reviewers and editors as worthy of plaudits such as the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award also made that year's list of bestsellers. None made the 2000 list, though some appeared on weekly rankings of top sellers, according to the study, which was released last night.
Read morefrom Newsday.
William Safire's excellent take on the Bulger saga:
What will be the consequence of the Good Seed's brotherly protection of the Bad Seed? My guess is that President Bulger will loyally stick by his brother and be forced to resign.
Message to Whitey, wherever you are: Loyalty runs two ways. Call your kid brother. Surrender to the F.B.I. through him. Hasn't he laid his career on the line by being fiercely loyal to you? You're an old man now; have you thought of returning that loyalty by saving him from the taint of having helped you?
Won't happen. The bad seed is probably laughing at his brother for being such a sucker.
More.
What will be the consequence of the Good Seed's brotherly protection of the Bad Seed? My guess is that President Bulger will loyally stick by his brother and be forced to resign.
Message to Whitey, wherever you are: Loyalty runs two ways. Call your kid brother. Surrender to the F.B.I. through him. Hasn't he laid his career on the line by being fiercely loyal to you? You're an old man now; have you thought of returning that loyalty by saving him from the taint of having helped you?
Won't happen. The bad seed is probably laughing at his brother for being such a sucker.
More.
Hub Blog is on fire todaywith some good points about the nonsense going on under editor Howell Raines at the New York Times. And yes, I'm sure non-NYT reporters are enjoying every minute of this....
Wednesday, December 04, 2002
Wired looks at Apple's endurance and sees more than just user-friendly computers:
Marketer Marc Gobe, author of Emotional Branding and principal of d/g worldwide, said Apple's brand is the key to its survival. It's got nothing to do with innovative products like the iMac or the iPod.
"Without the brand, Apple would be dead," he said. "Absolutely. Completely. The brand is all they've got. The power of their branding is all that keeps them alive. It's got nothing to do with products."
Marketer Marc Gobe, author of Emotional Branding and principal of d/g worldwide, said Apple's brand is the key to its survival. It's got nothing to do with innovative products like the iMac or the iPod.
"Without the brand, Apple would be dead," he said. "Absolutely. Completely. The brand is all they've got. The power of their branding is all that keeps them alive. It's got nothing to do with products."
This is the sort of thing I always used to associate with the French, not the Germans:
Germans do not yet want to see where, in the bit of the recent past they are proudest of, their troubles originated: with the 1940s compact between unions and employers. At first it created the incentives that made the Wirtschaftswunder generation rich, but it ended by draining the vitality out of Germany.
The lavish social benefits, secure jobs and cushy retirement incomes that went with “Rhineland capitalism” made for complacency andwhisper who darespervasive inefficiency. Germans came to view sick leave as an additional holiday entitlement; free massages, health spas and even daughters’ first communion dresses were standard perks. The public sector, too, became so cosseted that a staggering 42 per cent of all budget spending this year will go on civil service pensions.
Read more. Via Glenn Reynolds.
Germans do not yet want to see where, in the bit of the recent past they are proudest of, their troubles originated: with the 1940s compact between unions and employers. At first it created the incentives that made the Wirtschaftswunder generation rich, but it ended by draining the vitality out of Germany.
The lavish social benefits, secure jobs and cushy retirement incomes that went with “Rhineland capitalism” made for complacency andwhisper who darespervasive inefficiency. Germans came to view sick leave as an additional holiday entitlement; free massages, health spas and even daughters’ first communion dresses were standard perks. The public sector, too, became so cosseted that a staggering 42 per cent of all budget spending this year will go on civil service pensions.
Read more. Via Glenn Reynolds.
Tuesday, December 03, 2002
Is it something in the water? Is there some kind of high tech fluoridation that makes equipment work better in Palo Alto, Austin, or Cambridge (Massachusetts) than in Edinburgh, Cologne, or Cambridge (England)?
Brad DeLong in Wired on Europe's declining economies.
Brad DeLong in Wired on Europe's declining economies.
Box Office Mojo's take on why George Clooney's Solaris bombed over the Thanksgiving holiday:
A $47 million remake of the long, slow-moving, artsy Andrei Tarkovsky 1972 movie of the same name, 'Solaris' has given Clooney his first utter failure since jumping from 'ER' to the big screen. Perhaps not coincidentally, it was the second picture after the sleeper hit 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' that Clooney carried completely on his own.
A $47 million remake of the long, slow-moving, artsy Andrei Tarkovsky 1972 movie of the same name, 'Solaris' has given Clooney his first utter failure since jumping from 'ER' to the big screen. Perhaps not coincidentally, it was the second picture after the sleeper hit 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' that Clooney carried completely on his own.
Monday, December 02, 2002
For an interesting take on how some successful novelists deal with the movies, read this.
I myself hope to have the same 'problems' these guys do...some day.
I myself hope to have the same 'problems' these guys do...some day.
It was France 2 (state owned TV channel) that ordered the voice analysis of the latest tape of Osama bin Laden from a Swiss research institute. The Swiss experts stated this past Friday that, with 95% certainy, the voice on the tape was not Bin Laden's. As these results do not tie in with the official French press line that the US war on terrorism does not have any traction, not a word of these results has been reported by the major French media (including France2).
More from Merde in France.
More from Merde in France.
Did the Globe sports writers miss this? This could be the most important decision the Red Sox make in terms of the team's long-term futureand here it is, in the New York Times:
A couple of Saturdays ago, in a borrowed office at Fenway Park, Bill James realized what all his writing, theorizing, number crunching and head scratching were about. For six hours, Theo Epstein briefed James on potential trades and free-agent signings the Boston Red Sox could make this winter. James, baseball's ultimate outsider for 25 years, was suddenly very much on the inside. And he loved it.
"I really had a feeling like this is what I've always been preparing to do," James said, reflecting on that meeting last week. "This is what I should be doing."
A couple of Saturdays ago, in a borrowed office at Fenway Park, Bill James realized what all his writing, theorizing, number crunching and head scratching were about. For six hours, Theo Epstein briefed James on potential trades and free-agent signings the Boston Red Sox could make this winter. James, baseball's ultimate outsider for 25 years, was suddenly very much on the inside. And he loved it.
"I really had a feeling like this is what I've always been preparing to do," James said, reflecting on that meeting last week. "This is what I should be doing."
Sunday, December 01, 2002
Mark Steyn presents more wisdom from our friends in France:
"A man like George W Bush is simply not possible in our politics," I was told by an elegant, cultured Parisian this spring. "For a creature of such crude, simplistic and extreme views to be one of the two principal candidates in a presidential election would be inconceivable here. Inconceivable!" Two weeks later, Jean Marie Le Pen made it into the final round of the French election.
(Via Glenn Reynolds.)
"A man like George W Bush is simply not possible in our politics," I was told by an elegant, cultured Parisian this spring. "For a creature of such crude, simplistic and extreme views to be one of the two principal candidates in a presidential election would be inconceivable here. Inconceivable!" Two weeks later, Jean Marie Le Pen made it into the final round of the French election.
(Via Glenn Reynolds.)
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