If the hype is wrong, and the world at large is not craving freedom and democracy, are we guilty of force-feeding?
As some modern philosophers are saying, there is no such thing as "humanity" or "civilization." There is only a world of billions of individuals ebbing and flowing into patterns that work, or don't.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Observatio
Thinking about this revised FISA law as I read about Oliver Wendell Holmes has raised an interesting idea. Holmes believed that "rights" exist only to the extent that the judiciary is willing to protect them. That is, what's on paper concerning, say, your privacy is only as good as the government's willingness to enforce the underlying law.
The new FISA, especially if it contains amnesty for the telecoms, is our government's way of saying that a constitutional right to privacy is passe. Cross-reference this with the quote from an administration official a while back, who said that Americans are going to have to get used to the idea of their communications being monitored. It's a fait accompli, and yet it's unconstitutional.
There will be more such adjustments to come.
The new FISA, especially if it contains amnesty for the telecoms, is our government's way of saying that a constitutional right to privacy is passe. Cross-reference this with the quote from an administration official a while back, who said that Americans are going to have to get used to the idea of their communications being monitored. It's a fait accompli, and yet it's unconstitutional.
There will be more such adjustments to come.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Opinatio
The Amazon Kindle is here. It's supposed to revolutionize the e-book and hurry the demise, I would imagine, of the paper and ink book so that all the trees can live. Except for the ones we chop down and ship to Japan and China as lumber.
I don't like the e-book, frankly, because I love the analogue book so much. I love the way a real book feels in my hands. I love the smell of books, old and new. I can't imagine, except while on a trip, really, holding this cold piece of plastic and flipping pages with a thumb-button. I want to read in the bathtub, you see, and that would be foolhardy with a Kindle. I don't want seven hundred books in this one apparatus, I want my books on shelves where I can see them all and browse them and change their order or stack them differently. I like their different sizes and colors and textures, and I like seeing their titles on the spines, which write, in a sense, a narrative about my own life. The e-book is an appliance, and it costs ($399) about as much as a new stove.
Think about how many real books you can buy with four hundred dollars. (And as I understand it, the four large you put out for a Kindle is only the beginning of your costs. There are the books themselves at ten bucks a pop, and then the electronic subscriptions and transfer fees, etc etc that will all add up over time.) Conservatively, buying paperbacks, used books, and hardbounds on sale, you can expand your library by forty to sixty titles, and who reads that many books in a year anyway? (I do, probably, but I'm a writer and I read for a living.) You can also resell some of them when you're finished if you want. On Amazon.
Hey, what if somebody steals your Kindle? What if you drop it down a hole? Suppose you wreck your car and it gets wrecked too? You're out a hell of a lot of money.
I won't go into the limited formats the Kindle can read, but the main one is a propietary format, which means that e-books you buy on Amazon (that's the whole point, isn't it?) can be read only on a Kindle. The business mind strikes again.
Oh, and there's the tradition of sharing books. You can't do that with a Kindle, unless you lend someone the entire machine, and that's like loaning someone your wallet.
I don't know. It seems to me we're going to sacrifice one of humanity's most practical inventions in favor of an overly complex and expensive toy. A book is a means of delivering ideas, whereas the Kindle appears to be a means of delivering customers.
I don't like the e-book, frankly, because I love the analogue book so much. I love the way a real book feels in my hands. I love the smell of books, old and new. I can't imagine, except while on a trip, really, holding this cold piece of plastic and flipping pages with a thumb-button. I want to read in the bathtub, you see, and that would be foolhardy with a Kindle. I don't want seven hundred books in this one apparatus, I want my books on shelves where I can see them all and browse them and change their order or stack them differently. I like their different sizes and colors and textures, and I like seeing their titles on the spines, which write, in a sense, a narrative about my own life. The e-book is an appliance, and it costs ($399) about as much as a new stove.
Think about how many real books you can buy with four hundred dollars. (And as I understand it, the four large you put out for a Kindle is only the beginning of your costs. There are the books themselves at ten bucks a pop, and then the electronic subscriptions and transfer fees, etc etc that will all add up over time.) Conservatively, buying paperbacks, used books, and hardbounds on sale, you can expand your library by forty to sixty titles, and who reads that many books in a year anyway? (I do, probably, but I'm a writer and I read for a living.) You can also resell some of them when you're finished if you want. On Amazon.
Hey, what if somebody steals your Kindle? What if you drop it down a hole? Suppose you wreck your car and it gets wrecked too? You're out a hell of a lot of money.
I won't go into the limited formats the Kindle can read, but the main one is a propietary format, which means that e-books you buy on Amazon (that's the whole point, isn't it?) can be read only on a Kindle. The business mind strikes again.
Oh, and there's the tradition of sharing books. You can't do that with a Kindle, unless you lend someone the entire machine, and that's like loaning someone your wallet.
I don't know. It seems to me we're going to sacrifice one of humanity's most practical inventions in favor of an overly complex and expensive toy. A book is a means of delivering ideas, whereas the Kindle appears to be a means of delivering customers.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Opinatio
The great educator and philosopher, John Dewey, was all for American involvement in World War I. Until it was over, that is. He rejoined the ranks of pacifists like Jane Addams when he understood that the hype of making the world safe for democracy was just that -- hype.
More and more, as I watch the global situation unravel, I get closer to accepting the pacifist creed that no war is worth fighting. Any pacifist will likely agree that defense of a nation's sovereignty and existence is the only acceptable use of violence, but these days our wars are never in that category. Our wars are not only wars of choice, they are inherently destructive to our own national coherence. They don't unite, they don't affirm our values, and they don't achieve their self-declared aims. It's no safer here now than it was in March 2003, an irony that shouldn't be lost on any American.
Like Dewey, many of us who thought that firm, decisive action after 9/11 would pave the way for a world without terror, democracy in the Middle East, and tranquillity at home will come to change our minds when this is over. If it is over in our lifetimes.
More and more, as I watch the global situation unravel, I get closer to accepting the pacifist creed that no war is worth fighting. Any pacifist will likely agree that defense of a nation's sovereignty and existence is the only acceptable use of violence, but these days our wars are never in that category. Our wars are not only wars of choice, they are inherently destructive to our own national coherence. They don't unite, they don't affirm our values, and they don't achieve their self-declared aims. It's no safer here now than it was in March 2003, an irony that shouldn't be lost on any American.
Like Dewey, many of us who thought that firm, decisive action after 9/11 would pave the way for a world without terror, democracy in the Middle East, and tranquillity at home will come to change our minds when this is over. If it is over in our lifetimes.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Consternatio
Richard Bruce Cheney is in the hospital with an irregular heartbeat. I don't like the feeling of ambiguity that comes when I imagine his silent passing. As I always tell one who is dear to me as she waits for an inheritance, It's bad karma to root for someone to die, you know.
Her answer: "Is it?"
Her answer: "Is it?"
Observatio
I am coming to the sad conclusion that I’m no longer demographically relevant in our culture. My age, if you’re familiar with the old style, is L, and it seems like when you hit L in this culture you’re ready for the glue factory as far as mass media is concerned. It will shoot Centrum Silver ads at you, sure, and AARP spots and pitches for absorbent underwear and supplemental insurance, not to mention quick fixes for your inevitable ED, but it refuses to make art for you, or even basic entertainment.
Full disclosure compels me to admit that I’m a fiction writer who has had a book published, but getting the second nailed down is apparently impossible. That’s because, partly, I’m L and I swing outie genitalia twixt my legs, but it’s also partly because the prime American demographic doesn’t read novels much anymore, or at least not literary ones. These people go to movies and download music and play video games, and that pretty much covers their spare time.
Two examples: I recently rented megahit “Spiderman III” and came away going “Huh?” It was pure garbazh from start to finish, a mishmash of poor special effects imposed on a moronic plot. It made no sense, had no internal logic, touched on no themes more complicated than “be true to yourself” or “good conquers evil,” and didn’t even offer the campy artistry of an old-time comic book. It was just something shiny to look at for two hours, which is enough to fascinate the 18- to 34-year-olds in our withering land. There are currently several high-quality movies out that deal with the fiasco in Iraq, but they are flopping. Meanwhile, the grown-ups’ movie season has arrived, not that anyone would notice. It’s artsier offerings are sure to vanish without a blip on the radar, making room for something more beefy: “Aliens vs. Predator -- Requiem.” Look for it on Christmas Day.
The other example is Guitar Hero, and its new clone Rock Band, video games that make you feel like you can handle an axe. GH costs a hundred bucks, RB one-eighty, and “playing” the instrument in them bears no relation at all to playing the guitar. Ironically, you can pick up a “real” instrument, used, for a hundred dollars and learn enough chords to simulate (in your basement room) all your favorite guitar heroes. The basics of guitar are not that hard to learn. I guess the flaw in it is that no virtual world is created when you play one, so you’re pretty much stuck in your own grim reality afterwards, void of hope and prospects.
I probably sound older than L. In my day, we played baseball with broomsticks and bottle caps and we loved it!
Full disclosure compels me to admit that I’m a fiction writer who has had a book published, but getting the second nailed down is apparently impossible. That’s because, partly, I’m L and I swing outie genitalia twixt my legs, but it’s also partly because the prime American demographic doesn’t read novels much anymore, or at least not literary ones. These people go to movies and download music and play video games, and that pretty much covers their spare time.
Two examples: I recently rented megahit “Spiderman III” and came away going “Huh?” It was pure garbazh from start to finish, a mishmash of poor special effects imposed on a moronic plot. It made no sense, had no internal logic, touched on no themes more complicated than “be true to yourself” or “good conquers evil,” and didn’t even offer the campy artistry of an old-time comic book. It was just something shiny to look at for two hours, which is enough to fascinate the 18- to 34-year-olds in our withering land. There are currently several high-quality movies out that deal with the fiasco in Iraq, but they are flopping. Meanwhile, the grown-ups’ movie season has arrived, not that anyone would notice. It’s artsier offerings are sure to vanish without a blip on the radar, making room for something more beefy: “Aliens vs. Predator -- Requiem.” Look for it on Christmas Day.
The other example is Guitar Hero, and its new clone Rock Band, video games that make you feel like you can handle an axe. GH costs a hundred bucks, RB one-eighty, and “playing” the instrument in them bears no relation at all to playing the guitar. Ironically, you can pick up a “real” instrument, used, for a hundred dollars and learn enough chords to simulate (in your basement room) all your favorite guitar heroes. The basics of guitar are not that hard to learn. I guess the flaw in it is that no virtual world is created when you play one, so you’re pretty much stuck in your own grim reality afterwards, void of hope and prospects.
I probably sound older than L. In my day, we played baseball with broomsticks and bottle caps and we loved it!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Ho rinviato
I took nine months off to give birth to a notion. While I was out, I see that the world didn't improved one whit and in many ways is worse off than when I took my leave. "Disce pati" still applies, it looks like: Learn to endure.
For the record, I think I'm off the clever visuals and cutesy Boing Boing discoveries. Doesn't feel right for the times, really, if you're paying attention to what's going on out there in the national wilderness and global agora. I'm thinking what this country needs is a good five-cent contraceptive. We could stand to have the power cut for three-four days and see how we hold up without "Survivor" or Marie Osmond dancing her way into our subconscious. (Heavens, the TV writer's strike is making it hard enough!) It wouldn't take long to find out that we're not all that civilized, not too terribly enlightened -- in short, just like everyone else on earth, and that might be a good thing. American exceptionalism: Bad idea.
By the way, when are we going to start that fabled middle-class rebellion?
Not today. It's Sunday. The Pats are playin' the Eagles.
For the record, I think I'm off the clever visuals and cutesy Boing Boing discoveries. Doesn't feel right for the times, really, if you're paying attention to what's going on out there in the national wilderness and global agora. I'm thinking what this country needs is a good five-cent contraceptive. We could stand to have the power cut for three-four days and see how we hold up without "Survivor" or Marie Osmond dancing her way into our subconscious. (Heavens, the TV writer's strike is making it hard enough!) It wouldn't take long to find out that we're not all that civilized, not too terribly enlightened -- in short, just like everyone else on earth, and that might be a good thing. American exceptionalism: Bad idea.
By the way, when are we going to start that fabled middle-class rebellion?
Not today. It's Sunday. The Pats are playin' the Eagles.
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