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Friday, July 30, 2004
Unpleasant surprises
Posted by Lis Riba at 10:01 AM
 The political before the personal: So I was wrong. Ashcroft didn't hike up the terror levels during the convention week. However, we did get a July Surprise. Remember the New Republic article I quoted the start of the month? A third source, an official who works under [Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)]'s director, Lieutenant General Ehsan ul-Haq, informed TNR that the Pakistanis "have been told at every level that apprehension or killing of [high-value targets (HVTs)] before [the] election is [an] absolute must." What's more, this source claims that Bush administration officials have told their Pakistani counterparts they have a date in mind for announcing this achievement: "The last ten days of July deadline has been given repeatedly by visitors to Islamabad and during [ul-Haq's] meetings in Washington." Says McCormack: "I'm aware of no such comment." But according to this ISI official, a White House aide told ul-Haq last spring that "it would be best if the arrest or killing of [any] HVT were announced on twenty-six, twenty-seven, or twenty-eight July"--the first three days of the Democratic National Convention in Boston. Well, guess what. If you've been following the news, Pakistan announced yesterday the capture of a high value Al Qaeda target. They actually caught him several days ago, but delayed their announcement until yesterday afternoon, mere hours before John Kerry's speech at the Democratic National Convention. Convenient timing isn't it? Almost as if it had been planned that way... On the personal front, my computer is still acting flaky, and we've been keeping it powered off more than on (thus the dearth of posts from Ian and me, and the lack of our comments in other people's journals). This morning, I ran a rigorous chkdsk on my hard drives, suspecting that I just had some bad sectors -- perhaps at the fringe between used and free space, so the corruption might only turn up with cached or temp files or swapping virtual memory. Chkdsk found no errors. Why does that make me feel more worried? [Okay, I actually can answer that question: because chkdsk eventually resolved my problems last summer, I figured this was more of the same. Maybe a greater extent (that sinkhole metaphor) but same cause and solution. If it's not, then I'm not quite sure what we're dealing with, and I don't like that.] 
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
When it rains it pours
Posted by Lis Riba at 8:42 PM
Greetings from the Wakefield Public Library! Don't know what percentage of you are longtime readers, but remember the harddrive problems I had last summer? (if not, you can follow the link) They're ba-ack! Most times if I paused what I was doing and let the machine go thru whatever it was going through, operations would return to normal, but I've twice gotten BSODs (some kind of inpage error involving atapi.sys). Each time when I restarted my machine, I briefly got the terrifying message "Operating System Not Found" but if I shut the machine off fully and then turned it on, it rebooted normally. I suspect more bad sectors on the hard drive. Which means disk scans and compacting and praying I didn't lose any data and hoping that I can fence off enough space around the problem patches to resume normal operations. I really can't afford to be without a computer now, as I'm doing much of my jobhunting online, and I really can't afford a new computer either. By the way, since I know many of you are interested in political language and framing issues, may I recommend this article in today's Globe with some words of wisdom about John Kerry.
Reader's digest
Posted by Lis Riba at 4:15 PM
In today's Media Log Dan Kennedy makes a pointed observation about journalism at the convention: Everybody's writing. Nobody's reading. And my gut reaction to this is, that's what bloggers are for. As I've dabbled across the fringes of convention-Boston, I realized that as much as I'd like to hobnob with the famous and influencial, I'm not really interested in being a credentialed press blogger. I think one of my real skills in blogging is my ability to look through the mass of material already written and parse it all: making comparisons to point out inconsistencies, or going into further depth, or just highlighting interesting tidbits that might otherwise get lost in the crush. I see my strongest suit in the role of a filter(tm Steven Johnson), not an interviewer on the front lines. As much as I'd like the publicity and attention (and job offers) that I could've gotten thru a DNC-assisted spotlight, I think the kind of blogging such an event would require me to produce isn't the kind of writing I prefer or excel at. I can already see other bloggers griping about what the credentialed bloggers are and aren't writing about. I don't need that kind of pressure. Even when I attended Bloggercon, I wasn't instablogging as events were happening. I took about eight pages of notes (on paper) which turned into about fourteen posts, most of which didn't appear until the week afterwards, when I had time to process and synthesize it. Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote a lengthy essay on why and what I blog. It still makes sense to me, and perhaps I should've reread this sooner before pining over might-have-beens that I really probably shouldn't. It's useful every now and again to remember where one's strengths truly lie. So that's what I'll try to do here. Besides providing updates on my personal life, I'll try to be more of the reader Dan Kennedy wishes we had, and share those insights with you. Sounds good?
Pout
Posted by Lis Riba at 9:11 AM
Just feeling rather petulant this morning. I wanna go to the DNC events today. It's not like I'm going to have many chances when the convention will be local. And yet I need to find a job, and as little as I like the jobhunting process, it must be done. So I will stay home and do what I need to, rather than what I want to. But that doesn't mean I'll be happy about it. As a friend once commented (and as I have oft quoted): "'Being an adult sucks, huh?' 'No, being a responsible adult sucks.'" Oh, and it's Wednesday, which means another Free Will Astrology horoscope: Warning! Too-much-of-a-good-thing alert! Take a few deep breaths and consider the possibility that sweet satisfaction may be on the verge of mutating into overripe excess. Examine your life to see whether well-crafted luxury is in danger of becoming grandiose exorbitance or whether your fair share is close to becoming too hot to handle. I'm not saying any of these developments have occurred yet; just that they might unless you take action immediately. As a Cancerian myself, I know how we Crabs sometimes indulge in the fantasy that hoarding stuff protects us from the world's unpredictability. Though it can on occasion, this is not one of those times. Et tu, Rob Brezsny? Pout.
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
I'm blogging this
Posted by Lis Riba at 11:45 PM
Reeeeally exhausted, but I really want to blog these before bed. Most important thing: sorry for not mentioning this earlier, but tomorrow and Thursday at Hynes Convention Center, Democratic GAIN is holding training sessions for people interested in getting involved in politics. Lessons on campaign finance, demystifying polling, Joe Trippi on "grassroots technology" and so on, and so on. Lots of nifty classes. Plus, Wednesday only, a full day of "DNC General Election Training." I have no idea what this entails, but it sounds serious. [The flyer I have for it says "Space is limited, so please arrive early. Closed to the press." I'm tempted to show up tomorrow with my blogger t-shirt, but I really need to focus on my job search.] So, how was my day? Having the DNC in town really isn't too bad. I had some business to attend to downtown, so I accompanied Ian on the train to work. As we left Copley Sq. station, somebody offered us a free Boston Globe. A block further on, somebody gave me a free Washington Post. I started looking around for other free papers, but those seemed to be all. A few blocks after that, I saw the C-Span bus, which was offering free tours. Nifty-keen, and I got a free pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution as a souvenir. My appointment required me to wear a suit, but once that was over, I slipped into something more comfortable. I entered a hotel restroom (because I had been warned about the bathrooms in the BPL) and changed into my "I'm blogging this" babydoll T. I felt like Clark Kent or Peter Parker changing into costume. I head over to Hynes to check out the Democratic GAIN talks. Barely a minute after I enter the auditorium, somebody with a Staff badge walks up to me, hands me his card and says that if he can be of any service or if I have any questions, to please let him know. I'll respect his privacy and refrain from sharing his name or contact information, but according to his card, he's the DNC Director of Specialty Press. Wow. While I was hoping for this kind of VIP treatment from wearing the shirt, I really wasn't expecting it. The rest of the afternoon, I had to restrain myself from trying to take advantage of my blogger-ness by demanding special treatment. ["Excuse me, can I get a front row seat? I'm blogging this. Can I cut in the line? I'm blogging this." No, I didn't do anything like that, but it was a tempting fantasy.] At any rate, I gave the DNC guy my business card, though I wish I'd planned ahead and made up special cards with my direct blog address, rather than my usual cards that only list my homepage. A few other people saw my t-shirt and asked what my blog was called (gave him my card, too), or whether I was one of the official bloggers (alas, no, though reading Jessamyn's description of the press-pass security makes me wish I could borrow somebody's for an hour, just to see). Two other people, slightly older folks, asked me to explain what blogging was, which I did. [I called it a kind of online opinion column.] All-in-all, the t-shirt lived up to my expectations of it. The main event I wanted to see was a talk by James Carville and Stan Greenberg on behalf of their organization, Democracy Corps. From what I heard in their talk and saw on their website, Democracy Corps provides research and "strategic advice" to benefit the Democratic party. And they have a mailing list for people who wish to receive monthly research reports. [I should contact them, because I want a copy of today's slides.] Everybody in the audience left with a huge packet of polling data on a variety of topics. Greenberg spoke first, and showed polling data that looked very favorable for Kerry. On taxes and Iraq, two of the GOP's central issues, more voters agree with the Democratic POV than the Bush party line. Voters prefer Kerry's message to Bush's, and hearing Kerry's message moves more people towards the Democrats -- a definite opportunity. There's been a huge drop in support for the GOP, without much rise in public opinion on the Democrats -- much of our work has been done for us, but we still have to try harder to explain why to vote for Kerry, rather than just against Bush. [I've got more detailed polling info, which I'll explain maybe later.] Then Carville came up to speak. Great reaction from the crowd, including a few enthusiastic "LSU!" kids a few rows behind us. He started with a few jokes (he did have a 4.0 at his graduation -- blood alcohol level, that is). He kept his promise to say something nice about the President: Bush is the best civics teacher we've ever had, finally convincing many people that every vote really does make a difference. I've never heard Carville speak live, though I've read many of his writings and certainly heard soundbites. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. It certainly fired the audience up, but was much... calmer... than I expected. Impassioned but not raving, if that makes sense. His basic message was that the Democratic candidate is the better man, and if we can't talk that, then we're failing. He urged folks to do "whatever is in your power" to work for the campaign. "Be able to look yourself in the face on November 3rd. ... Sacrifice for your country: be willing to do something the government is unwilling to ask of you." I wish there had been more time for Q&A, not the least because my friend Teddywolf was in line but unable to speak. Two Larouchies tried to push their agenda rather than ask actual questions. Once the audience realized what the second one was up to, he was drowned out by our groans. People asked questions about polling information on disabled voters and the Jewish vote (Bush's efforts to consolidate his base may be alienating American Jews). Somebody asked whether marijuana legalization should be in the Democratic platform. In response, the speakers pointed out that this year's platform is fairly short and focuses on the thematic big issues, rather than providing a specific laundrylist of policy proposals. Another questioner asked about a Democratic equivalent to the GOP's 11th Commandment. Carville talked about how easily and decisively Kerry won the nomination, and that the #1 candidate chose the #2 candidate for his running mate, which demonstrates a respect for the voters' choice. And, yes, somebody did ask how to get the media to pay attention. If Kerry's message is a winning one with voters, then how can we get the news to stop focusing on horserace trivia and talk about policy proposals. Carville basically said that we have an election to win, and we can try to rebalance the media after November. He pointed out that we have learned from the Right that "when it comes to media, intimidation works" (see these recent comments by network anchormen for confirmation) and that we on the Left can and should take advantage of that. He also noted that the old imbalance regarding money and fundraising no longer exists, so we can overcome this as well. I wasn't entirely happy with Carville's answer, though I can understand the pragmatism behind his narrow focus. Too bad Teddywolf didn't have a chance to ask his question, about the media and framing language. And I'd love to hear what Dave Johnson would have to say in response. The lines for autographs were too long, so even though I brought my copy of We're right, I didn't stay for the signings. He seems like a funny and intelligent man. I'd really love a chance to talk with him further... A few final tidbits:
I'd like to write more, but I'm tired and should go to bed. I'd really like to go out into Boston tomorrow and do more DNC-related sightseeing, but I don't know if my jobhunt can afford another day off.
Monday, July 26, 2004
Predictions
Posted by Lis Riba at 4:56 PM
So, according to most accounts, this morning's commute into Boston wasn't significantly worse than normal rush hour. All the warnings kept enough people away that even with the lane restrictions and closures, things really weren't bad. What do you want to bet that tomorrow's morning rush hour is a nightmare as everybody else looks at today's easy commute and decides they can comfortably drive in tomorrow. By the way, get a load of this column in yesterday's New York Times via Suburban Guerrilla: Fear rules. Fear rocks. Fear of terrorism is George W. Bush's only second-term platform to date (unless you count fear of same-sex marriage). Let John F. Kerry roll out John Edwards as his running mate, and Tom Ridge rushes to grab back the TV spotlight by predicting that Al Qaeda will "disrupt our democratic process." Never mind that he had no "precise knowledge" of such an attack or any plans to raise his color-coded threat level; his real mission, to wield fear as a weapon of mass distraction, had been accomplished. Odds are that the next John Ashcroft doomsday press conference will be timed to coincide with the run-up to Mr. Kerry's acceptance speech on Thursday night. That's Frank Rich on July 25, 2004. This is something I wrote here in this blog on August 2, 2003: The 2004 Democratic Convention will be held from July 26-29, 2004. We still have several more days to see whether these hold true, but it's nice to see the New York Times following my lead for a change. Thenk yew. Thenk yew. I'll be here all week, and my services are for hire :)
For those days when you're feeling down
Posted by Lis Riba at 4:04 PM
A new LiveJournal community: Baaaaaby Animals! Fear the cuteness!
Nudge nudge, wink wink, Sigh no more
Posted by Lis Riba at 8:25 AM
You know, if the city is going to spend that much time and effort searching and warning people against bomb plots, then it may not be a good idea to set off fireworks during the week -- or at least, not without informing folks. Ten o'clock at night, we started hearing loud booms reverberating through the Downtown Crossing area. It really sounded like somebody set off a bomb. We couldn't see fireworks displays, even after running back to the common where we might have a better view of where they were coming from, but eventually figured that's what it must've been, since we saw police officers not reacting to them. But the sound certainly shocked us -- and may not be the best idea in a city on heightened alert Second, for those who are curious about MBTA security, we rode the Orange line last night, so let me quickly share my experience. Aside from the lack of trash cans, no problems or hassles getting on the train at Malden Center. Then, when the train reached Community College (one stop before North Station, which lies beneath the Convention center) the conductor announced the train would be stopping for a few minutes. Members of "Transit Police" then came aboard at that time, quickly walked through the cars checking bags, and then they cleared the train to continue on. On our return trip, they took similar actions at Haymarket -- the stop just south of North Station. I don't know if they'll also be conducting the announced random searches today, but what they did made sense -- if their goal is to protect the Convention, they really just need to search the cars about to pass underneath North Station, one stop on either side. At any rate, the reason we discovered these things downtown was that we went to Commonwealth Shakespeare's free Much Ado About Nothing in the park. So let me quickly share my thoughts. The set was gorgeous. The lush rich golds and browns really conveyed a sense of warm Italy on a cold Boston night. The fountain on the set was a nice touch, but I think making it a full pool was excessive -- we couldn't see it from the audience, it played a role in only three gags (we didn't even realize it was a full pool until the first of these, at the start of the second act) and none of those were terribly necessary and only one actually required a full pool. I just have the feeling one should spend the money where it will show, and that didn't seem terribly effective. My biggest complaint was that the director chose the same setting as Branagh's film. In fact, the men's costumes were nearly identical. With all the options open to one, why mimic the most famous portrayal? It set up too many comparisons in my mind and this production appeared the weaker for them. The actor playing Benedick seemed to model his performance on Branagh's -- to the point that I was half expecting him to deliver the line "Love me! Why, it must be requited." as Branagh did: "Love me! WHY!? It must be requited." [He didn't.] The other weakness is in Shakespeare's storyline itself. Don John is a cardboard villain with his only motive that he is evil. Claudio is so naive and jealous that he falls for the stupidest plot. All it would've taken for Hero to defend herself was to say where she was that night, since she wasn't in her room. And the way her father so readily believes the accusers over his own daughter is astonishingly cruel. Aside from the scenes with Beatrice and Benedick, there's not much there there. So, again, on the ride home Ian and I discussed how to stage it to minimize some of these weaknesses. I would suggest increasing the majesty of the prince. If he is raised higher, then his authority make any statements more credible than others (such as his accusations against Hero). That may also lend a hint of divine right or droit du seigneur to make Claudio's jealousy of Don Pedro wooing Hero seem just a smidgeon more understandable. I would possibly move the setting of the play earlier, so Hero's powerlessness doesn't seem quite so glaringly out of place. I can't help wondering whether it would work as a toga piece. Final convention notes: On our way to the play, we had a very pleasant chat with three men from Washington working tech crew at the DNC. Sounds like a fun, cool job. Had I known I would still be unemployed this week, I probably would've sought press credentials. Also, does anybody know what protests were going on last night? I saw several people carrying round red signs with the CNN logo. And at another time, I saw people carrying similar signs but with a no-sign slash across the logo. Protesting the press? People who do and don't want to be on camera? Inquiring minds want to know.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Readin' writin' and...
Posted by Lis Riba at 5:30 PM
Just an assortment of thoughts loosely grouped around these topics, compiled over the last several days: • Our shelving project has been put on hold until the rest of the bookcases arrive. • Finally finished reading Salt: a world history after several weeks of distractions. An interesting and appropriate sensory experience: whenever I opened it, all the pages smelled strongly of brine. I assume that's because a previous reader took the book to the beach, rather than anything intentional by the publisher or printer. Still, very immersive. • While cleaning my desk, I found a Borders gift card. Decided to use it to splurge, and started thinking of books that I wanted, but previously dismissed as unaffordable. Of course, the book I most want is now hopelessly and expensively out of print, but I quickly thought of two others: Manor House (the tie-in to the PBS series) and Eating right in the Renaissance. Then I thought to check the gift card and realized it was only for $25 (for some reason, I thought it was for $50), not quite enough for either book. So, I'm giving it more thought... Maybe I'll buy one and pay the balance, maybe I'll look for something else. Recommendations for further reading always welcome! [Just thought of another one: Reinventing Shakespeare, which I've read and want to own, but it's also out of print.] • Finally, don't forget that next week is the deadline for Hugo voting. If you're looking for reading material, be sure to check out the nominees. • Just got the latest issue of The New York Review of Books. In a previous issue, they offered a special deal on personals written in poetic form. Ian blogged about it when he saw the announcement. Well, this month's issue includes the results. The overwhelming majority were limericks (or one longer poem composed of several consecutive limericks). Although I'm not in the market, I'll confess to some curiousity regarding the identity of the Boston man who begins his sonnet (in rhyme scheme, though not making the meter) with the Marlovian "Come live with me and be my love." • While stopping at the Somerville Library for a book Ian wanted, I noticed a sign for The Writer's Room of Boston. Affordable, quiet, and safe workspace for writers with 24x7 access. I don't actually need it, but it's a nifty idea! • So, what's the big deal about Moleskine notebooks? I've seen the advertising hype and know some of my friends rely upon them, but what's the appeal? Does it really feel that much better than regular notebooks? Or is it just a status thing because certain famous people used them (according to the ads).. • Although the terms she uses are perhaps unfairly loaded, Icarus has an interesting essay on two types of writers. I'm wondering how well her descriptions maps to other writers' experiences. I can clearly see myself fitting the "artist" profile, and many commenters peg themselves among "storytellers." • Finally, even though I know it's a bad idea given current time constraints, I'm still feeling sorely tempted by CooWipp (Complete Our Outstanding WIPs Project). I've got three unfinished stories that I'd like to complete someday. In order of likelihood: Title of WIP: Taken by surprise I'm really hoping I can finish that first story by the end of this month, but definitely by the end of CooWipp. And I'm sorely tempted to work on one of the others. But I really need to spend my time finding a paying job. BTW, I started rereading one of the old stories, and when I'm good, I'm good. What I'm currently working on feels overworked and stale, but once I've gotten some distance, it's pretty hot shit! I suppose that's a good thing for a writer: to be impressed by what you've written? And that's about all for now. We spent the day visiting with Ian's family and being exhausted by his/our six-and-a-half year old niece. And shortly we'll be leaving to catch Much Ado About Nothing over by Boston Common.
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