I live in Branchburg, New Jersey, just across the Delaware river from Easton, Pennsylvania. It is about a twenty minute drive to Bethlehem from my house, a drive that I often make.
Odds are that some of these people actually live near me.
These are the people in your neighborhood.
Mister Rogers wept.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Racism, Ignorance, and Hatred at the PA Palin Rally.
More insightful video of my friendly, thoughtful neighbors in Pennsylvania...
I'd like to think that not all McCain/Palin supporters view the Civil Rights movement as something that happened to other people. I really would.
I'd like to think that not all McCain/Palin supporters view the Civil Rights movement as something that happened to other people. I really would.
Pennsylvanian Republicans Show Their Ignorance
The truly sad part is, I live next to these people.
It's nice to know that Hannity's America is actually educating the masses. Jesus.
It's nice to know that Hannity's America is actually educating the masses. Jesus.
The Big Lie: Taxes equal Welfare
I've got to blame Obama on this one. He knows who he is dealing with, and he knows how they think. He should have known better to actually utter the phrase "Spread the Wealth" within earshot of anyone, let alone camera crews.
That was all the McCain Campaign needed ramp up their "Liberals are Communists" paranoia. After all, "Spread the Wealth" sounds a lot like "Take from the Rich and Give to the Poor", right? And what could be more UnAmerican than that?
Now, to be perfectly fair to the American public as a whole, I will admit that this is not a tactic that will work across the board. On the contrary, you'd have to be either a complete idiot or a die-hard Republican to actually buy into the idea that Taxes equal Welfare. That's almost like claiming that your landlord demanding rent money is tantamount to Extortion.
Or, to be more blunt, it's a Big Fucking Lie.
Of course, the McCampaign has been throwing BFL's left and right since the race officially started, so tossing one more on the fire doesn't seem like a big deal. But it is almost mind-boggling how big the balls of the Republican Party are when they come right out and say that Taxes are anti-American, except when they do it.
That was all the McCain Campaign needed ramp up their "Liberals are Communists" paranoia. After all, "Spread the Wealth" sounds a lot like "Take from the Rich and Give to the Poor", right? And what could be more UnAmerican than that?
Now, to be perfectly fair to the American public as a whole, I will admit that this is not a tactic that will work across the board. On the contrary, you'd have to be either a complete idiot or a die-hard Republican to actually buy into the idea that Taxes equal Welfare. That's almost like claiming that your landlord demanding rent money is tantamount to Extortion.
Or, to be more blunt, it's a Big Fucking Lie.
Of course, the McCampaign has been throwing BFL's left and right since the race officially started, so tossing one more on the fire doesn't seem like a big deal. But it is almost mind-boggling how big the balls of the Republican Party are when they come right out and say that Taxes are anti-American, except when they do it.
McCain Political Ad #576: Cut his head off
What do informed, educated McCain supporters think of Obama's economic policies?
In the last debate, when racist and violent obscenities shouted during McCain/Palin rallies were brought up, McCain was expected by most logical people to condemn those attacks. Instead, he complained that there were t-shirts at Obama rallies that he thought were hurtful to him, and then went on to defend his supporters against some imagined/unvoiced attack against them as a whole.
It an easy yet transparent trick. If he condemns the idiots in his crowd, he is admitting that a percentage of his supporters are idiots. So instead, he paints a quick picture of his entire base as two-job-working hockey moms and patriotic military veterans, and acts outraged that anyone would dare cast aspersions on these fine Americans.
Meanwhile, realizing that the Ayers/Obama link is gaining little or no ground outside of Hannity's America, the GOP Noise Machine and McCain's Campaign are now lifting the bar by screaming out more recognizable catch-phrases, such as "Marxist" (which I challenge most people leveling the claim to properly define), "Anti-American" (In case you think Markist is that guy with the mustache that walks funny), and "Welfare" to describe any taxes under Obama's plan. The later will probably be the most effective, as the Republicans have spent the last couple of decades heaping fear, lies, and misinformation upon the general public to the point where just hearing the word Welfare evokes mental images of lazy minorities with seventeen illegitimate children cashing government checks and driving off in fur-lined Cadillacs to buy drugs with food stamps. Isn't it great to know that a portion of people on the far Right still see poor people through the filter of seventies exploitation flicks?
In the last debate, when racist and violent obscenities shouted during McCain/Palin rallies were brought up, McCain was expected by most logical people to condemn those attacks. Instead, he complained that there were t-shirts at Obama rallies that he thought were hurtful to him, and then went on to defend his supporters against some imagined/unvoiced attack against them as a whole.
It an easy yet transparent trick. If he condemns the idiots in his crowd, he is admitting that a percentage of his supporters are idiots. So instead, he paints a quick picture of his entire base as two-job-working hockey moms and patriotic military veterans, and acts outraged that anyone would dare cast aspersions on these fine Americans.
Meanwhile, realizing that the Ayers/Obama link is gaining little or no ground outside of Hannity's America, the GOP Noise Machine and McCain's Campaign are now lifting the bar by screaming out more recognizable catch-phrases, such as "Marxist" (which I challenge most people leveling the claim to properly define), "Anti-American" (In case you think Markist is that guy with the mustache that walks funny), and "Welfare" to describe any taxes under Obama's plan. The later will probably be the most effective, as the Republicans have spent the last couple of decades heaping fear, lies, and misinformation upon the general public to the point where just hearing the word Welfare evokes mental images of lazy minorities with seventeen illegitimate children cashing government checks and driving off in fur-lined Cadillacs to buy drugs with food stamps. Isn't it great to know that a portion of people on the far Right still see poor people through the filter of seventies exploitation flicks?
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Author David Foster Wallace Found Dead, Suicide
CLAREMONT, Calif. - David Foster Wallace, the author best known for his 1996 novel "Infinite Jest," was found dead in his home, according to police. He was 46.
Wallace's wife found her husband had hanged himself when she returned home about 9:30 p.m. Friday, said Jackie Morales, a records clerk with the Claremont Police Department.
Wallace taught creative writing and English at nearby Pomona College.
"He cared deeply for his students and transformed the lives of many young people," said Dean Gary Kates. "It's a great loss to our teaching faculty."
Wallace's first novel, The Broom of the System, gained national attention in 1987 for its ambition and offbeat humor. The New York Times said the 24-year-old author "attempts to give us a portrait, through a combination of Joycean word games, literary parody and zany picaresque adventure, of a contemporary America run amok."
Published in 1996, "Infinite Jest" cemented Wallace's reputation as a major American literary figure. The 1,000-plus-page tome, praised for its complexity and dark wit, topped many best-of lists. Time Magazine named "Infinite Jest" in its issue of the "100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005."
Wallace received a "genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation in 1997.
In 2002, Wallace was hired to teach at Pomona in a tenured English Department position endowed by Roy E. Disney. Kates said when the school began searching for the ideal candidate, Wallace was the first person considered."The committee said, 'we need a person like David Foster Wallace.' They said that in the abstract," Kates said. "When he was approached and accepted, they were heads over heels. He was really the ideal person for the position."
Wallace's short fiction was published in Esquire, GQ, Harper's, The New Yorker and the Paris Review. Collections of his short stories were published as "Girl With Curious Hair" and "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men."
He wrote nonfiction for several publications, including an essay on the U.S. Open for Tennis magazine and a profile of the director David Lynch for Premiere.
Born in Ithaca, N.Y., Wallace attended Amherst College and the University of Arizona.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Book Review: Severance Package by Duane Swierczynski
Brutal. Violent. Relentless. Fun. This could be easily be a four-word review, as these particular words go a long way in preparing you for Duane Swierczynski's third novel, out on the heels of The Blonde. Severance Package does a wonderful job of combining corporate office politics and the deadly world of nothing-is-as-it-seems espionage, raising the question of exactly which profession is more ruthless, cut throat, and soullessly ambitious. One would be tempting to describe it as a cross between The Office and Three Days of the Condor, but that would barely be doing it justice.
Duane Swierczynski’s writing style has one major asset that many authors tend to overlook these days: brevity. His descriptions are colorful and informative, yet they aren’t weighed down by their own poetic license. Characters and locations are set up and knocked down as quickly and efficiently as dominoes, without ever leaving the reader confused or unsatisfied.
Even the story itself, which takes place in the time frame of a few hours, is tight and compact, with all of the action and suspense layered delicately from beginning to end. Swierczynski’s storytelling style is as quick and hard hitting as a lead sap to the temple.
The comic book reminiscent illustrations scattered throughout the book are interesting and fun, even though some might find them a little distracting. Of course, considering that Swierczynski authored the Cable series for Marvel Comics, and is currently helming a six issue run of The Punisher in Garth Ennis’ absence, the presence of the silhouette artwork is understandable.
If you like your novels short, sweet, and chock full of balls-to-the-wall action, you should definitely not pass this one up. Just don’t forget to punch in.
Book Review: How the Rich are Destroying the Earth by Herve Kempf
With a title like this, most people are going to love or hate this book before they even crack open the cover. Polarizing and blunt, the name of the book is the bold declaration of Herve Kempf, and he spares no time in explaining in great detail why he believes this to be true.
The book is slim, a mere 105 pages, with another 17 pages on end notes. But he wastes no time with meandering prose or rampant speculation. Instead, he packs every page with scientific data, researched information, and educated predictions as to where these trends and figures will lead us if they are allowed to continue without intervention.
Some may call such a tome alarmist, but this will not be received negatively, for Kempf is indeed attempting to raise the alarm. His fear is that the rich and powerful of this increasingly global nation are not only depleting and destroying the finite natural resources and life sustaining ecosystem, but the fragile economic balance that keeps the majority of its citizens from being plunged into hopeless poverty and financial ruin.
The message is simple; the small percentage of rich and powerful billionaires who own the majority of the world's wealth are doing everything they can to amass even more, and at the detriment of every living thing on the planet except themselves. It doesn't matter the consequences, they live by three simple rules: Get It, Keep It, then Get More. It is an increasingly unpopular message, especially in an age where unfathomable wealth is easily promised with the click of a mouse, but Kempf does his best to spread the word. He demonstrates not only what damages they wreak upon the Earth and its populace intentionally and with disregard for human life and well being, but also the unintended results that greed and arrogance allow them to overlook.
Yes, most people will indeed judge this book merely by its cover. But that very may well be the point in the first place. If the title of this book angers you, then perhaps you are the one that should be reading it. You might just find yourself surprisingly enlightened.
Book Review: Mental Sharpening Stones by Jeffrey Gingold
Jeffrey Gingold, internationally acclaimed author and Multiple Sclerosis sufferer, has assembled an exceptional collection of articles and interviews featuring techniques for increasing and maintaining cognitive awareness.
The majority of the informative articles in this collection contain numerous helpful tips on how to keep mental faculties sharp and attentive, and ways to keep the stumbling blocks of Multiple Sclerosis from getting in the way of functioning professionally and privately. These include everything from mental exercises and organizational tips, to handy tools that can be utilized to cope with some of the physical setbacks, such as voice recognition programs for word processors.
If you or a loved one has MS, this book will prove to be a useful resource for day to day living.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Book Review: The Alcoholic by Jonathan Ames
The danger with autobiographical works like The Alcoholic is that they tend to run the risk of forgetting about the audience. Some author/artists (Milk & Cheese creator Evan Dorkin springs easily to mind) delve into this territory with good intentions, but invariable end up obsessed with nothing more than their own shortcomings and failings. The reader is reduced to nothing more than a reluctant therapist, or even worse, a captive audience to one artist’s obsession with hating himself.
Not all works of this nature fall into this trap, however, and The Alcoholic manages to maintain a level of entertainment and engagement from beginning to end. Author Jonathan Ames exposes his life long struggles with love, friendship, relationships, and drugs, but always with an eye towards examining human nature as well as his own motivations.
Dean Haspiel’s art, angular and classic without abandoning realism for style, is the perfect compliment to Ames’ story, and never distracts from the book’s focus by battling the author for the reader’s attention.
Much like American Splendor (on which Dean Haspiel also collaborated), The Alcoholic’s narrative comes across as a self-explorative train of thought as, the author explores the path his life has taken. Ames bares his soul to himself as well as the reader, and examines his past mistakes and blunders without ever sounding preachy or whiny.
Ames also manages to keep a level eye on his life as a whole, and doesn’t hang too much significance on any one event. As a resident of New York during 9/11, Ames shares his experiences and emotions about that tragic event in US history. However, he doesn’t make it the focal point of the book, nor does he use it to bookend the narrative. He displays it for what it was; a traumatic world event that affected him directly forced him to reevaluate his personal behaviors yet again, but than eventually moves on with his life. An event like 9/11 is an easy device for a writer to manipulate an audience’s emotions with, but Ames treats it with the respect and perspective that it deserves.
An autobiographical graphic novel about heartbreak, depression, self-loathing and addiction, The Alcoholic winds up being a tad more uplifting and inspirational than one might expect, and possibly more than the author intended.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Book Review: A Dog in a Hat by Joe Parkin
More often than not, sports memoirs usually fall into two major categories; tell-all scandal sheets designed to sell copies through controversy, and lengthy life stories heavily padded with dull and unneeded information.Joe Parkin's biking memoir does not fall into either of these camps. In A Dog in a Hat, Parkin chronicles the years he spent training and racing in Belgium during the late eighties with brevity and candor, giving the reader plenty of breathing room to enjoy the behind the scenes look at professional bike racing.
Perkin's memoir is about more than just racing. It is a look at the adventures and journeys of an ambitious young man immersing himself in unfamiliar cultures and customs, not only in the intense world of professional team bike racing, but also the foreign land and people that for a short while became his adopted home and family.
Never bitter or overly dramatic, A Dog in a Hat is a professional athlete's fond recollection of a period in his life filled with the experiences and decisions - both good and bad - that not only define the development of an athletic career, but of one man's life journey.
Even if you are not into professional bike racing, A Dog in a Hat is a sports memoir that will amuse, inspire, and entertain.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
What I Learned from Watching Fox & Friends This Morning – 7/30/2008
*Three supposedly educated people can argue about a single topic without hitting on the only logical point about it. In discussing whether or not an area of Los Angeles has the right to ban fast food joints because they are unhealthy, several arguments are raised: Should government dictate what we eat, the rising cost of the “obesity epidemic”, supply and demand economics, and how all fat kids will eventually get Diabetes (you can thank Brian ‘Just Read the Sports Scores and Shut the Hell Up’ Kilmeade for that medical update). What no one thinks of mentioning is that restaurants and delicatessens serve unhealthy food as well, they just charge a bit more for it.
*All of the negative press the economy has been getting recently is merely alarmist propaganda, because the conservative host of a financial radio show received anecdotal evidence in the form of emails and phone calls from listeners, who all say that things are going great.
*A recent study that shows Obama gets more negative media coverage than McCain doesn't disprove the theory that the 'Liberal Biased Media' has a love affair with Obama. What it actually proves is that the 'Liberal Biased Media' is falling out of love and beginning to react negatively to Obama's 'Elite' and 'Arrogant' attitude.
*Writers at Fox News still don’t know how to spell Obama.
*Bill O’Reilly has a temper.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
21st Century Advertising for New Home Builders
The cover of Preston John’s book on 21st Century Advertising for New Home Builders features a digital representation of a house on a sleek new laptop, visually promising a book full of information on utilizing today’s technology to its fullest potential when selling homes in today’s marketplace.
What you’ll find inside, however, is a brief little refresher on the basics of marketing and advertising, the kind that you might find yourself subjected to at an overpriced motivational seminar. With its small novelty book dimensions, the book looks, feels, and reads like something you might receive in a goody bag at such an event.
The book opens with an eight page comparison of the housing market to buying eggs, and the level of usefulness never really rises above that. The selling of new homes is neatly broken down into “The 5M’s” (which I will not reveal out of courtesy to prospective readers), which are listed and explained in great detail, but with as little actual detail as possible.
All of the advice and information given is done so in the broadest of general terms. For example: the chapter titled “Questions & Answers” contains only three questions spend over six (little) pages, and the answers are overwhelmingly self-explanatory. “How should I handle TV advertising?” The answer given, of course, is that you should hire a professional advertiser.
The author urges new home builders to purchase and utilize the proper computer software to chart and analyze their market research, but makes no attempt to recommend any specific programs. The chapter dedicated “Online Advertising” does not site a single website. Not even willing to offer the proper documentation for the definition of “Market”, the author forgoes an actual dictionary and instead offers his own definition of what you might find “If you were to look it up in a very conservative dictionary.”
If you were to look up advice in a very informative book, you might actually find detailed examples and lists of sources for further research. Unfortunately, this isn’t that kind of book.
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