Did you see...

some guy dressed as Batman intruded Buckingham Palace?

there's going to be a Final Chronicles of Thomas Covenant? (via davidsmc on MeFi) Stephen R Donaldson's official website. The Prologue for Runes of the Earth, Book One of The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (pdf). Looks intriguing, though self-indlugent (prose-wise). Why is it most things I read these days strike me that way: Pat Conroy, Jane Hospital, Donaldson. Am I onto something or just getting snootier? Are contemporary authors more prosaic in a bad way?

SportFilter

The Cubs are stinking. If they don't get their act together, they're going to miss the Wild Card spot.

The Vikings were amazing yesterday. And Dallas was supposed to be a good defense. We'll see if the Vikings can keep it up.

The Hawkeyes squeezed out a victory over the Cyclones. Go Hawks!

Even the lowly Gamecocks played #3 Georgia tough.

NewsFilter

Have I really not posted since Wednesday? Sorry about that. I've had some thoughts, but just havent' followed through.
Part of it is that I've finally gotten totally tired of the political posturing in the presidential campaign. It was only a matter of time. Issue wise (*gasp*):

• I read an article recently (that I can't find today) where Nader said poor health care is a bigger danger than terrorism because more people die from it. I think there's something to that.
• Bush has no room to talk about spending because he has spent so much money while cutting taxes. What's worse than tax and spend? Cut taxes and spend.
• I don't get letting the ban on assault weapons lapse, either.

Blair's going to start pushing Bush on the environment. Do we owe Blair? Will that help him?

One of the most disturbing things about Israel's role in the conflict there is how much of it seems to be politically driven. I feel like Netanyahu's making a power play here, not pursuing what's best for peace.

Destination: Space!

Beyond the XPrize, there's the Elevator 2010 challenge. Seriously cool.

Was 1984 the best year ever?

Jason links the Sports Guy article on why it was. It convinced Jason.

I don't disagree. But how much of this is because that was such a formative time for us - twelve, finishing sixth grade and starting seventh.

My thoughts:

• The picture of Larry Bird out in front of David Stern(?) makes him look even bigger.
• I watched pro football, but didn't watch the rest enough to be as enamored.
• However, we watched the Olympics big time! I was sick some that summer (unusual), so laid on the couch under a blanket and watched the Olympics. I mostly remember Gymnastics, Track, and Diving. What I remember most from Sarajevo is *blush* the commercials: IBM typewriters and Beatrice, especially.
• I don't precisely remember the Macintosh coming out, or the commercial during the Super Bowl, but I do remember Macs from that era.
• We watched 'The A-Team' a lot: (IIRC) 'A crack military commando unit was sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit. They promptly escaped from a maximun security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. If you need help, and you can find them, maybe you can hire, The A-Team.'
• We were Love Boat/Fantasy Island/Three's Company watchers, so it was the ending of an era.
• Men's Sychronized Swimming is one of the all-time best Saturday Night Live sketches (though I saw it later).
• 'Thriller' still possessed us: the album, the videos, the Moonwalk, the glove.
  
• It was a great year for MTV, which we watched at my gramma's house. Faves: Dancing in the Dark (I though Courteney was very cute), Jump, The Reflex, and Magic.
• I didn't get into alternative until 89 (Jason helped me out there).
• I loved Duran Duran and liked The Thompson Twins and Howard Jones.
• 'Purple Rain' was huge that fall.
• Movies I liked: "Romancing the Stone;" "Indiana Jones 2;" "Ghostbusters;" "Footloose;" "Karate Kid" (including 'Cruel Summer')
  
• Ahhhh. Intellivision.

A murder of crows

Also from AskOxford, Collective Terms for Animals

(Back in the day, say, high school, there was a tshirt I really liked with a bunch of these listed that I think was called 'Multitudes'.)

Primary, secondary, tertiary...

I have wondered what comes next for a looong time and simply forgot to Google it. But the other day I remembered when I was at the computer, so I give you the AskOxford answer:

The sequence continues with quaternary, quinary, senary, septenary, octonary, nonary, denary. Words also exist for `twelfth order' (duodenary) and `twentieth order' (vigenary).

For what it's worth, I figured the next word was 'quaternary' or 'quarternary'.

Links from yesterday

A lovely post from John 13 about baby Fiona.

Ken Jennings keeps raking in on 'Jeopardy'. (via kottke)

audio post: Prince songs

I disagree with the candidates

Without getting into another big, long screed, I disagree:

- that the war in Iraq was [necessarily] right for America. This is a criticism of method on my part, of rhetoric. Whether the war was right or not is debatable, moot, and it remains that way. Just saying it was right doesn't make it so.

- that we should [necessarily] pull our troops out of Iraq within the next 4 years. I know it plays well in the press to people who want the troops back home. And I want the troops out of combat operations and the reserves back home. But we have had regular (non-reserve) American troops stationed overseas for a very long time, and it can be very strategic, not just for our national interests (though it is), but for world interests. Having troops stationed in Iraq long-term, not for peace-keeping and security but for presence in the Middle East could be a really good thing. Not to mention that we have paid a very high price to liberate Iraq. Of course, then it would be incumbent on us to use our power there for good for the whole region and not just in our interests. You might say we haven't yet, so we don't get the privilege, that we've forfeited the right. Maybe. But that's debatable, too. So, while we debate it, and sincerely work to represent what's good for the region, I say we keep some troops stationed there for the long-term to do good.

Thoughts from my short trip

I've been thinking about Hurricance Frances with Charlie not long gone and Ivan close behind:

How do disaster planning, insurance, and relief work? How much insurance are people required to carry who live in likely disaster zones (earthquake, hurricane, flood, tornado, forest fire, etc.)? What standards do buildings have to be built to?

And, in the not-out-of-it category...

pray for the Floridians about to be nailes by another hurricane. In these circles that means especially Paul and Carol (Paul has an interesting post about preparations).

Sorta out of it

I feel really lax for having missed Jaq's return to logging and the health-troubled birth of his son, Quinn. I'm so relieved that Quinn is doing better. Best wishes, Jaq and family.

A couple from today

Paul Ford thinks Google has become boring. (via Anil)

Scott linked the geek Bush protest sign which reportedly came from a tshirt. Clever sign.

Steven den Beste is fed up

I haven't posted anything by or about Steven for a long time. I used to interact with him quite frequently. Lots of people dislike him, but I like him.

Checking out MeFi in the ol' newsreader yesterday, I was surprised to see that Steven is hanging it up, at least for now. The quote from Steven's post for the MeFi post caught my attention:

No matter what I write, and no matter what I say, there are always people who either think I was wrong, or think that there were things I left out and should have included. I've been putting up with that for two years, and I guess I'd gotten used to living with a low-level throbbing headache all that time... But for the last two weeks it's been gone. And I'm not so sure I want to go back to doing the activity which caused that headache... there's something wrong. I'm tired. Does this mean I'll never post again? Damned if I know. But it won't be soon.

My thought: If Steven's goal was to be regarded by his readers, both friend and foe, as all-inclusively correct, then it's no wonder he flamed out.

For my part, I wish him well.

Did you see... (The Ellipsis Post)

...that the Yankees got rocked by the Indians 0-22 and the Indians have a player named Coco Crisp?

...that there are signs of life again on both Collaboratory and twinlog?

...that John Hardy posted on audioblogging to MetaFilter? (I just happend to stop by, but more on that later...)

...that the defective yeti has a new Tricks of the Trade website?

OK, I think that's all I wanted to fit under that title...

Christian voting

I learn to appreciate Paul more and more. He's got a great post about voting. Some Christians have certain issues that are make or break issues for them (in this case abortion and homosexuality). But Paul and I do not. We can imagine cases where you'd vote for someone you disagreed with on those issues because you thought her/him a better candidate. I acknowledge that, for some people, those are the the most important issues, and that's OK. However, I think in a lot of cases people haven't thought critically about whether they should be make or break issues or not (meta-thought? thinking about thinking...). I think many (most?) Christians approach politics too simplistically.

The big to do over Kerry's Vietnam record

Good comments on the McCain thread below. Are the charges against Kerry's record lies or not?

I was thinking about it last night after Macon sent me his latest post (on the Kerry camp saying the publisher should pull 'Unfit for Command'). I'll start by responding thereto:

1. Calling for a book to be pulled is probably a bad idea.
2. Tying Kerry's fitness to command to his Vietnam service is too simplistic. However, I think the Kerry campaign set the tone for this debate when that was the main illustration of what was most certainly their top talking point.
   
3. I'm sure what they meant to do is contrast it with President Bush's service record, and this is a legitimate point.
4. I have concluded that what this is really about is Kerry's antiwar protests. Many veterans don't want a commander in chief who said and did the things Kerry did re: the Vietnam War. 'He did accuse fellow servicemen of war crimes; he was a leader in Vietnam Veterans Against the War, a group headed by a fraudulent "veteran" who was a far-left ideologue; the North Vietnamese did use Kerry's public statements to demoralize American prisoners of war.' Another legitimate point.
5. Kerry had a lot of reasons to protest the Vietnam War. There were war crimes, undoubtedly. My major objection to the conduct of the Vietnam War is the political side (no surprise). There were a lot of lies, some for good reasons in the eyes of those who lied, but lies nonetheless. Another execrable political aspect: the lack of a determination to win that led to conflicting goals in the military execution of the way. It conflicted those putting their lives on the line, and the results were and have been terrible.
   
6. It's awfully hard to support the troops and criticize a war at the same time. But I think this is legitimate. I know soldiers take it personally, and it would be very hard not to.
7. Unfortunately, this debate has become too simplified in the media. The headline is about service records and not about the issues, including criticism of Vietnam.

So, I conclude that Kerry served honorably in Vietnam. As Macon's post says, he should be given the benefit of the doubt. In addition, I think the bulk of the evidence points that way. I think veteran objections to Kerry's antiwar record have driven the re-examination of his service record.

I don't have a problem with Kerry's criticism of Vietnam. The organization he was in might have had a sketchy guy. There may be other things that detract. But I would much rather have someone who thinks critically about war and the attendant problems than someone who does not. I'd like to hear more nuance from President Bush on these kinds of issues. The fact is, when you take on a war, you get into things like the difficutly of winning 'hearts and minds' and 'the peace' during an occupation. You get war crimes, like the Abu Ghraib prison. These potential and resultant problems, not to mention the Law of Unintended Consequences, should contribute to going to war being a last resort (though way short of unacceptable compromise).

Actually, what diminishes my estimation of Kerry most is his political posturing relative to his service record and his antiwar protestations.

So, one way of thinking about the decision that faces us (on this issue) is: do you want a president who served bravely in Vietnam, later protested it, and subsequently compromised in political posturing or a president who served during Vietnam, has had little to say about the negative realities of that war or this one, and has compromised in his political posturing?

For my part, the politics makes both choices distasteful.


Update: Jason has a very interesting post referencing this one that talks about Stanley Fish's view of minimalism.

Eric's weblog

Eric has been stopping by 'interact' and commenting. Thanks, Eric. Check out his weblog: Streams of Consciousness.

Research: Korean War

I was reading Clancy's 'Special Forces' and got interested, in the Korean War. Here's a timeline
and a good map of the Korean Peninsula (though it doesn't have Inchon, which is due west of Seoul, on the Yellow Sea).

South Korean and UN forces got rocked almost off the peninsula. McArthur helped change the tide with the daring Inchon Invasion.

The Battle of Chosin Reservoir was largely a fighting retreat where the Marines distinguished themselves. If you read that link, here's the map.


And a bonus link, also research coming from Clancy: Russian Aircraft Carriers (synopsis: not much).

Cthulhu for president!

Don't settle for the lesser evil! (via Scott)

Check out the bumper sticker at Chaosium.

Alice Cooper v. politics

GREAT article about Alice Cooper's view of rock and politics. Nicely humble, too. (via Walter at Kith and Kin)

See, because, as Jonathan Demme says in Walter's other link (featuring a testy Denzel Washington):

It's fundamental to a democracy that you're not only permitted to speak out, you're supposed to have an opinion, you're supposed to speak out, you're supposed to engage in a discourse. And in this way, we arrive at ideas that can move us forward in a positive fashion. I wish everybody could get on TV and talk about how they feel. Maybe we'd learn something."

But it's best if that opinion is informed, and some of those stars' opinions aren't very informed, now, are they? And most of them aren't nuanced, which is something I value.

From the news

Duke gives out iPods. Don't see how this will be educationally advantageous, but, ok.

Israel Denies Spying on American Allies. There's no doubt in my mind that Israel is spying on us and that we're spying on them.

Bush Targets Key States Ahead of RNC. This is one thing that's wrong with our electoral system, of course: presidential candidates, including Kerry, only have to pay attention to the 'swing state'. That's not good for representative government, for paying attention to people's concerns.

Another, maybe minor criticism: these guys have jobs they're getting paid to do right now. Are they so light that they can spend so much time working on campaigning?

Kerry, Greenspan Differ on Social Security. Kerry says, "I will never privatize Social Security. I will not cut Social Security benefits. And I will not raise the retirement age." He may not, but I bet all three of these things will happen: the first as a result of market pressures, and all three as a result of factors that will begin to emerge soon. The smart money is on Social Security being totally different by the time most of us get to it than it is today. But you don't have to be psychic to know that.

Democrats Seek More Benefits for Iraq Reservists. I've written about this before and it makes sense to me.

Powell Scraps Plan to Attend Olympics Ceremony. Or, alternatively, Greek hooligans embarrass their nation again. They have a right to behave this way, but it's still asinine. 'Later, about 1,500 members of the Greek Communist Party peacefully marched through Athens chanting "Get the Killer Imperialists Out of Greece."' I didn't know there were any true-believing communists left in the world. I wonder if the Greek government asked Powell not to come. It would certainly be a reasonable request.

Good move, President Bush

You don't see me write that very often, do you? I admit I'm biased. But I think Bush's move to go ahead and expand the powers of the CIA Director is a good one.

A couple more Olympic thoughts

I haven't said near enough about Michael Phelps who was unbelievable and comported himself really well.

The (mostly Greek?) spectators sure have been unruly, eg in the 200 meter men's track final and and the men's gymnastics individual apparatus. Poor show.

Really angry...

You've got to be kidding me...

FIG is asking Paul Hamm for his medal back.

I really can't believe it. Let's review the reasons this is a really bad idea:

1. Paul should not be penalized for a judges' error.
2. FIG initially said the protest was not filed soon enough after the mistake.
3. Watching the tape, the supposed winner had too many grips, resulting in a a two tenths deduction, actually dropping him out of the medals.

At least the IOC has the good sense to know this issue is over.

Am I missing something here?

McCain, the King-Maker

(The President Maker? The Fresh Maker?)

Man, these guys are falling over themselves to please McCain.

I don't see how the FEC can rule against these people. Citizens should be allowed to campaign against a candidate, right? Even though I called for Bush to denounce the Anti-Kerry ads, I still think citizens should have a right to run them. If the concern in the ads is soft money, clamp down on soft money to independent groups. But independent groups should be able to express what they want.

Interesting that McCain is still calling on Bush to do more to stop the ads and the Kerry campaign is still accusing the Bush campaign of collusion. I wonder if this will 'stick' to Bush. I wonder if, politically, it would have been better form Bush to denounce the ads from the start. Or has the damage done been worthwhile?

A longer article about McCain's role, including a new request for Kerry to pull another as about Bush smearing other veterans, including McCain.

This political posturing, on both sides, is both detestable and wearying, aye? I wonder if I'll stop commenting on it soon...

Bush Admits Iraq 'Miscalculations'

I think this is a good move by the president. I sure respect people more who can admit error on some level (though this one might be characterized as 'because it was easier than we feared').

Bush said that Americans will re-elect him to a second term even if they disagree with his decision to invade Iraq.

Bush said voters "know who I am and I believe they're comfortable with the fact that they know I'm not going to shift principles or shift positions based upon polls and focus groups."

Bush told USA Today that "the American people have seen me make the hardest of decisions. That's just going to have to be a part of their decision-making process."

He makes no mention of the fact that lots of people hate him. I guess my point here is that I find these assurances of victory in the future tense annoying from all condidates. Is that supposed to communicate confidence? It communicates 'rhetoric' to me.

Various and sundry

Gregg Easterbrook writes for a long time. I wouldn't recommend reading it all. But I do think the DC team would be better named the Wohnata. (via Cav Lec)

Jason's Best thing I've seen at the Olympics post.

Kottke discovers New Order (including an mp3 of Kylie Monogue singing 'Can't get you out of my head' to 'Blue Monday' posted by Lia in the comments).

Look out: there are TWO posts on Collaboratory!

Two links

"Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully - in Ten Minutes" by Stephen King

Meta-Efficient: A guide to the most efficient things in the world. My first wishlist item? The showerhead.