2004 Archives
Kiwis
Matt and Minette, I don't have your email addresses. Are you guys going to New Zealand soon? Is it permanent? Are you already there? Do you want to come visit us between 12/21 and 12/30, when Jan and Dick will be here? Are these the hardest questions anyone has asked you in a long time?
f l o w e r p o w e r
Moral conscious of America?
Two articles I recently came across that by themselves are not earth shattering, but the fact they were published at the same time is very interesting. In the first, defeated representative Brad Carson of Oaklahoma talks about red-state America rejecting "the general direction of American culture". Then, another article reveals the top-rated network television programs in these same areas (along with the rest of the country) to be awash in sex and violence. I guess it's hard to resist all that sin.
Democrat "Ownership Society"
Republicans invision an "ownership society", where all things are private and free markets reign. Elliot Spitzer recently had an interesting article talking about how Democrats should explain how their adgenda attempts to solve the failures of those policies.
Freedom to Farm
I started reading Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas? recently, and it's really interesting. I especially liked this excerpt that talks about the Freedom to Farm Act of 1996. It's funny the way congress names bills, I think. Who would possibly say "I don't want any freedom in my farming!" But titles can be so deceiving...
Religion at the workplace
Another interesting article about religion in the US, this time focusing on faith at the workplace.
Without a Doubt
This article from the NY Times Magazine in October was really interesting, about religious decision making by George W. Bush: Without a Doubt
I heart "I Heart Huckabees"
Minette and I saw I 
Huckabees last Friday, and I came out of it seriously wishing reality was just like that movie. This was the best comedy to come out of Hollywood is some time!
Evil cube threat eliminated
Thank goodness the Department of Homeland Security is actively pursuing security threats.
iEat
I've been working on a new project recently. It's basically a recipe database. If you've got a favorite recipe you'd like to share, why not cruise on over to iEat and add it in! There are plenty of quirks in the application, but hopefully it's intuitive enough to work with.
One note, if you're still using a crap browser like Internet Explorer, snap out of it and get yourself Firefox already! If you're on a Mac then Safari works, too.
Fear and Loathing in NYC
Found this video from my friend Brahm's blog. Yowza!
Pollution is not a family value
Came across an interesting interview with Martha Marks, founder of Republicans for Environmental Protection.
Trinity Alps
Minette & I stole away last weekend up to the Trinity Alps Wilderness, which is west of Redding in northern California. We didn't see any bears, unfortunately, but everything else was fantastic. I put some photos of the trip here. One more thing, if you're ever traveling up there along the 5 and are getting hungy, pull off in Willows and visit the Brown Bear Diner! Ummm... good find.
Pumping Iron director's new film!
George Butler, of Pumping Iron (and Pumping Iron II) fame, has made a new documentary called Going Upriver about no other than John Kerry regarding none other than his Vietnam experiences. Now this should be interesting!
Afghanistan, Iraq, whatever... I've been to Italy!
Bush confused Iraq with Afghansitan, in front of Allawi, sort of like parents mixing up their kids' names.
Football Fans for Truth
This site is hilarious, and includes poetry Kerry has read to deer while hunting!
Earthquake today
We got a little quake today that I felt... my desk rocked gently for 10-15 seconds, then went away. I saw a report about a 5.9 or so out in the Central Valley...
Far graver than Vietnam
Former head of the NSA calls the present situation in Iraq "...far graver than Vietnam. There wasn't as much at stake strategically, though in both cases we mindlessly went ahead with the war that was not constructive for US aims. But now we're in a region far more volatile, and we're in much worse shape with our allies." Reported in the Guardian.
Kerry to English translation
Slate has a concise take on Kerry's nuance vs. Bush's disregard.
Baghdad Year Zero
I found this article from the latest Harper's particularly interesting in its examination of the US's shaping of Iraq's govornment/economy. It pits the "pragmatists" versus the neoconservative "year zeroists" in a plot that reads like a fiction thriller. Sadly this is our reality.
Kings Canyon bears all
Minette & I, joined with friends Don & Rebecca, recently did a 6-day hike in Kings Canyon National Park. It was totally gorgeous, and aside from a little thunderstorm at the start and a weird condensation problem one night, we had glorious hot days and cool, star-filled nights. The trail started at the end of the CA 180, due east of Fresno, at 5,036'. We climbed as high as 12,466'.
I've put some pictures up from my camera (Minette hasn't developed her film yet). We saw no less than 3 bears, all on the last day, and plenty of deer, a rattle snake, a marmot, some horses, and despite the ranger telling us on the outset that he "hadn't seen any" mosquitoes lately, plenty of mozzies below 7,000'.
UM professor gets cocky on Iraq
University of Michigan professor Juan Cole has a thing or two to say about the current situation in Iraq. He claims to not want to sound cocky, but even though he does come off that way you have to admit he does have enough justification to say "I told you so!" and has many an interesting point to make.
OB/GYN's must be allowed to practice free love
President Bush recently disclosed his concern that many OB/GYN's across America are not able to make it with their patients.
Everybody for Truth now!
Isn't this election campaign just a hoot? First those SBVT folks sought the truth, now Texas citizens seek it, too.
msqr.us: Death, and Resurrection
Minette and I ran off into the bear-infested wilds of Kings Canyon last week, and although we made it safely (but did have close encounters of the bear kind!) the morning after we returned I got up only to notice a strange sound, not unlike a bear snorting, coming from the office.
1989
I found my 8th/9th grade diary this weekend. Here is a line from it: "I am so bored right now, just watching Miami Vice."
Chain emails: political clout for the right
Remember when chain emails were harmless and mildly amusing? Like "forward this message on to 10 people and you'll be rewarded with sex within 2 days!" Now chain emails have a way of spreading bogus propaganda that manages to shape popular opinion. Harper's magazine has an interesting dissection of this trend, where Jon Lackman tracks down the author of one of these emails to find out the story behind the email's story.
That matters to me, too
In case you didn't catch Barak Obama's speech from the 2004 Democratic National Convention, he was a fantastic speaker and it's worth listening to or watching and distilling some of the topics he mentions. I've copied the transcript along with highlights of my favorite parts, along with links to the video.
Wilsonian?
Is America isolationist? Imperialist? Promoter of self-determination? The Democrat Republican explores these ideas.
ouch
My tummy hurts.
G.I. Joe Veterans for Truth lash out
G.I. Joe, our Real American Hero, has come under political fire!
Manufacturing Consent
So I think Noam Chomsky is very interesting. I rented a documentary film (made in Canada, by Canadians (!)) and have to say I think it's very good. Here's a little clip from the film that highlights one thing I agree with whole-heartedly: it takes a lot of work to make informed decisions about politics, work I'm afraid many people can't or choose not to make.
Elite concerns
I'm still in the middle of Noam Chomsky's latest book, Hegemony or Survival. He can be pretty far "out there" at times, but even then relentlessly points out so many well-thought and researched observations that you at least have plenty to think about, no matter what you agree/disagree with.
Check out this sub-chapter called Elite Concerns from early in the book to get a taste.
Fogalicious
San Francisco has a reputation for being foggy in the summer. It's quite true, but I love watching the fog. At least when I'm looking at it from in the sunshine. I snagged this video (40", 3.2 MB; also available at 1.4 MB or 336 KB) yesterday from atop my favorite perch above the city. These were taken on my little digital camera, thus the quality is something to be desired.
Also, here's an experiment in mood swings: the same video, this time with either joyful or sobering musical accompaniment (each 3.9 MB). Which do you prefer?
Errol Morris
Error Morris is my favorite documentary film maker. For me it started with Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, which I found utterly fascinating both in content and style. His latest film, Fog of War, was exceptional and strikingly relevant today (even knowing McNamara was nostalgic about his own acts, I found him to at least have a soul, a stark contrast to Rumsfeld).
How he's produced a series of potential ads that interview people who voted for Bush in 2000 that have decided to vote for Kerry this November. Their stories are clear and personal, touching on issues that affect normal, everyday peoples' lives.
Speaking of documentaries...
With all this talk of Fahrenheit 9/11 I must mention another documentary I recently saw....that's right folks.....Some Kind Of Monster.....METALLICA baby!!! It truly was awesome and insightful. Who knew that a psychiatrist to the stars makes $40,000 a month (the guy Metallica hired made almost a million I believe).
Now don't laugh... no other band in the world has the balls to show what happened during those two years in the making of the St.Anger album. It was very brave on their part and truly shows how great of a band they are. Matt - on a personal note, they got started in the Bay area, call San Francisco their home, started to record St. Anger at a home-built studio in the Presidio, moved out and built their own studio called HQ somewhere near San Rafael.
Ringing true, 11 years later
I stumbled on a magazine clipping in one of Minette's books today. It's an interview with Noam Chomsky from the New Zealand Listener from October 1993. The strangest (and perhaps most telling) thing about the piece is that it could have been written today... some things have not changed much in 11 years.
Like a Rock
I read an interesting article a few weeks back, and thought I'd scan it in and post it here. It talks about the White House's "decisiveness" and , as the White House would make the argument at least, John Kerry's "flip-floppiness". It's an interesting piece, touching everything from Bush's "I belive God wants me to be president" to Chirchill's "I am finished!" to FDR's "Above all, try something".
The Office
At lunch today I nearly dropped my food after looking up to see whom I thought to be David Brent of The Office, walking straight towards me! Was I in trouble? Was he looking for me? Luckily it was not him (or Ricky Gervais who plays him). If you haven't seen the UK television series The Office, I recommend it. It can be a bit on the nausiatingly funny side. The DVD comes with a handy UK english slang dictionary to help make sense of all those British colloquialisms.
How to survive the atomic bomb: paint your house
Did you ever see that movie Crazy People? Dudley Moore plays an advertising executive that flips out and creates a series of "truthful" ads, like "Metamucil: it helps you go to the toilet. If you don't use it you'll get cancer and die." or "Volvo: boxy, but good!" Well here's a commercial brought to you by the US Government (and the paint industry) where you find out that you can survive nuclear holocaust if only you paint your house and rake those leaves in the yard: The House in the Middle. I'm calling my land lords!
My Cup
Jury duty
Linda Ronstadt crazy liberal shocks sin city!
More news from NZ! Or at least, NZ tells American news... I thought you would be interested after that story you told me about Linda Ronstadt getting booed off the stage in Virginia, Carole - well, not only Virginia! The discussion in this article about freedom of speech is really interesting, and so important. I think at the very least Michael Moore's done a real public service by inciting debate about this war,debate which was so strangely absent in the early days of the war as everyone rallied around the flag. For a country with such a strong and proud tradition of freedom of speech, that's a real tragedy. (The article's really from The Independent, an English newspaper, but republished in NZ)
Yet another fun Ask the Pilot
I love Salon's Ask The Pilot column. The author, Patrick Smith, cracks me up and I have been interested in all things flying ever since I started commuting by jet for work. The latest installment carries the column on quite well, and if you've never read this column check out the previous ones!
What is msqr.us, anyway?
I thought I could bait you, the reader, into asking what in earth msqr.us is. Nobody took the bait, however, leaving me pondering the reasons. Perhaps you are not curious. Perhaps you are afraid to ask out of distrust: msqr.us could be a Newton server running foreign software for all you know. Perhaps you couldn't care less. All valid reasons, so here I'll attempt to dispel the myth of msqr.us, once and for all.
Fahrenheit 9/11
I finally saw Fahrenheit 9/11 a few days ago. On the whole, I think the film was pretty good, but I did have a few issues. For example I was annoyed by all the voice overs in the beginning where Mr. Moore says things like "What was Bush thinking when xyz?" and then fills in with some hypothetical answers. Cheap shots: the film is already exposing plenty to think about without Mr. Moore chiming in. And I was left wondering "Why are these soldiers raiding this house on Christmas?" as we only get to follow them along for the raid and the film never tries to explain why they're conducting it. Those annoyances aside, however, I felt the film was something everybody should watch, just to think about some things. I had forgotten, for example, that Mr. Bush was on vacation so much of his time in office prior to 9/11 (42% it turns out -- where can I get that kind of vacation package!) and I had no idea about the strong connections the Bush family has with the royal Saudi family.
m^2 debut
This website is an attempt to provide a medium of communication for my family and close friends. I keep wanting some way, other than email, for us to share thoughts with one another. I say other than email because of a few reasons. First, I myself am a terrible emailer, as just about anyone reading this can attest to. Second, a blog like this allows for a different way of communicating, sort of a "here it is, take it if you want but if you don't feel like responding that's OK" kind of way. Third, I see friends of mine using blogs successfully and keep thinking "My family is full of tech savvy folks, we can do that, too!"
So this is a start. This site isn't complete by any means. The plan is to make the site such that all of us can post messages. We're all adults (as the youngest I can confirm this) and we're all living different lives. Some of us talk frequently, some hardly at all. No need to pretend any differently. Anybody can post, anybody can response. One thing leads to another...
I'm having some issues with the software making this thing work, however, at a technical and philosophical level. But I'm working through the issues, never fear. In the end I'll post instructions on how you can make posts. For now you'll be limited to making comments to things I've posted (if you want something posted in the mean time, I can post it for you).
Finally, I've designed this site to my personal tastes. You could have your very own blog, however, if you desired. It's pretty easy for me to set up, it would just run on this website, say msqr.us/socalmagoffins or msqr.us/canadianmagoffins or msqr.us/ncmagoffins or msqr.us/notmagoffinsanymore or msqr.us/neverwasamagoffin. You could even put a picture of your favorite plant or animal on there, it's entirely up to you.
Or you can just use this blog, of which you may be wondering a few things: what is "m^2"? What is "msqr.us"? What is that background image? Perhaps those questions are enough to engage you in your conclusions, in the form of a comment? Click on "Comments" to continue...