Rough Beast Slouching

The State of the Union Address 2012

2012-01-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

Did anyone else find the State of the Union speech offensive? I couldn't help but be disturbed by the sinister undertones, mostly with regards to businesses and individuals who don't jump on the Big Government Cheerful Support Bandwagon. That is, with regards to those who think of themselves as free men and women. As Don Boudreaux put it, the whole thing "[grated] like fingernails on a chalkboard to anyone who has no desire to be a happy cog in the Great Collective as it is portrayed and lauded by our Leaders."

Theoretically, under the Social Contract Theory we're born as free men and women, and we contract away some of our less important liberties to the government for protection of our more important ones. If the government doesn't uphold its end, we can cancel the contract and change the government. But I guess it goes the other way now: The people are born as children of the State and if they don't obey, the Government has the right to yoke them into the great harness of the Nation. Everyone's going to do their part, you see, for the common good. Do wealthy members of society have an obligation to bankroll, by working a third or more of the year for the federal government, any and every project the Big Thinkers in Washington can dream up? I guess so. Do businesses have an obligation to help the economy grow? Apparently. Are manufacturers like Boeing obligated to keep manufacturing in places with compulsory union laws? Of course!

At times, it feels like the People are a marionette, the Federal Government the manipulator up above, and the tax code is all those strings in between. The Big Thinkers are busy working the strings, implementing their Big Plans. That model might work for government if the People were an inanimate object, but we're not: we're a big, heaving, powerful thing whose movements can be affected by the string pulling, but hardly controlled. Certainly not in predictable ways. That is, the puppet master's attempts to control the puppet have unintended consequences. Cases in point: Cash For Clunkers, intended to help the poor, helps auto makers but makes it harder for poor people to get an inexpensive car. Minimum wage laws, intended to help less educated workers, leads to unemployment. Rent control, intended to protect tenants, creates housing shortages.

President Obama speaks like he's the boss and we, The People, are his employees. Or better yet, like he's our dad, telling us to "Eat our peas" and "Pull our weight around here." He's like a dad, just not a benevolent one: he's the foolish dad that incurs mountains of debt to pay his kids' incomes, even though they aren't working and don't care to. The kind of dad that squanders the family's money gambling. (From last night's speech: "We bet on American workers. We bet on American ingenuity." Too bad the bet he's talking about was a bet on GM--a bet that's not likely to ever pay out.) The kind of dad who, once you've taken his money, tells you how you're going to live your life, including what kind of credit contracts you can enter, the kind of health care policy you can get, the type of light bulbs you can buy, and on and on.

FINALLY: The Ender's Game film is coming in 2013

2012-01-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

Ender's Game on IMDB and Deadline New York.

Who is John Galt?

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Wow. Trains and natural resources. Buffett and Barack in bed. It's looking more and more like Atlas Shrugged out there all the time. Now I'm justwaiting for the government to pass an Anti-Dog-Eat-Dog Rule or an Equalization of Opportunity bill.

And check this out: 'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years in the WSJ. An excerpt to whet the appetite:

The current economic strategy is right out of "Atlas Shrugged": The more incompetent you are in business, the more handouts the politicians will bestow on you. That's the justification for the $2 trillion of subsidies doled out already to keep afloat distressed insurance companies, banks, Wall Street investment houses, and auto companies -- while standing next in line for their share of the booty are real-estate developers, the steel industry, chemical companies, airlines, ethanol producers, construction firms and even catfish farmers. With each successive bailout to "calm the markets," another trillion of national wealth is subsequently lost. Yet, as "Atlas" grimly foretold, we now treat the incompetent who wreck their companies as victims, while those resourceful business owners who manage to make a profit are portrayed as recipients of illegitimate "windfalls."

Do your fair share, or else

2012-01-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

I just read this over at WLS (via Drudge):"The President emailed a video preview of his address to supporters over the weekend. In it, he promised a 'blueprint for an American economy that’s built to last,' with the government assisting the private sector and individuals to ensure 'an America where everybody gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everybody plays by the same set of rules.'"The president wants to "ensure" that everyone "does their fair share"? That sends a shiver down my spine. It kind of evokes bureaucrats assessing fines, officers with guns, etc. Looks like this administration considers my life and yours to be owned by the federal government. You serve the country, or else. And, of course, the feds will decide what your "fair share" is.

Buzz Words: "Sustainability"

2012-01-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

Is anyone else tired of hearing the word "sustainability" in its various forms applied to EVERYTHING? I recently attended an education conference that featured a talk about "sustainability in education." Let me tell you, it was a painful hour. The word, through overuse and over-application, has become hollow.

Looks like Greg Linster, Tony Fry, and many more are also thinking about this one. Jeffrey Folks says sustainability is a nonsense word that justifies certain aspects of the left's agenda. I think that's about right. And now corporations are using the term as an advertising pitch.

One thing's for sure, as today's XKCD points out, the growth of the use of the word is completely unsustainable. Thank goodness.

The Citizens' Arrest: A Poem in Alliterative Verse

2012-01-23T08:36:00.001-08:00

The Citizens’ Arrest:

A Poem in Alliterative Verse

Detailing the True Story of Scott and Jeff Lind's Stopping a Seedy Thief

as was Witnessed by Their Goodly Friends
Having taken place in August 2003

By Scott K. Lind, September 2011

“To SevenPeaks!” Jeff said to us,

For theafter-hours slides, a dance with our friends

We’d be thereby dusk and play on ‘til midnight

And we did, wehad fun, until midnight had come.

My brother, hiswife, some friends, and I

Returning fromriding some waterslides,

And realizingthe need to get going at last,

Were wantonlywalking across the park,

Approaching ourthings in the dark of the night.

We’d walked forsome time through crowds still thick

But that thinnedas we came to the place where we’d left

Our junk. Andthere, standing over our things

With my shortsin his hand was a wife-beatered man.

They wereclearly my shorts for my carabineer shone bright

In the glare ofthe lamps overhead in the dark.

We called tohim, asked him what business he had

With our stuffat his feet and his hands on my shorts.

He mutteredaggressively, muscles a-flex,

Said he thoughtthat the shorts he held were his own

But Jeff boldlybade him to drop them or else,

Since we sawthat the man clearly wore his own pair.

Jeff snatchedback the shorts from the sniveling thief.

We watched indisdain, disbelief, and pity.

I attemptedsome sort of defiant tough talk,

But bungledeach word in my haste to reprove.

He muttered andturned, intending to go.

We thought fora moment and decided to follow.

He headed forthe exit, navigated the crowd,

We followed andfigured he knew we were there.

He hurried,seemed worried, he pushed through the crowds,

And rather thanrun in pursuit, we just stopped

When we saw anattendant. We knew he was done!

A radio rattledalong at her hip

Which, whentold of the robber she put to her lips.

She barked a commandto her man in the front,

Which set himin motion, like lightning; such speed,

We could see,would soon catch the thief.

The robber hadpassed through the black turnstile

When he startedto run through the park’s parked cars.

Our pursuerrushed out—he was like a gazelle—

And gained onthe thief. He tackled the man!

Oh the glory hegarnered, that great chaser of game.

Thewife-beatered youth was brought down in a pile.

The cops’search of his pockets revealed that he’d taken

A huge wad ofcash and cards and such.

They cuffedhim, and stuffed him away In their car,

As inside, Jeffand I filled out statements galore

Of what had happenedand what we had seen.

And then wewaited, sat for awhile

As the police readiedthe thief for his fate.

They came tous, told us they needed our help,

For not havingwitnessed the crime for themselves,

It fell to us,who had witnessed the fiend at work,

To arrest theperp, pursuant to the law.

We followed theofficer to the front of the park

Where we’dentered and where he had parked his car.

The perp sat,hands cuffed

In his lap, inthe back, glowering, and oily,

Gnashing histeeth, awaiting his fate.

A crowd hadgathered, ringed round the car,

Attracted byblue and red rotating lights.

We steppedthrough, approached the open

Door. Having beencoached, we uttered

The words thatsealed the wicked’s fate:

“We place youunder citizens’ arrest.”

And then, “We turnyou over to the police.”

To cheers fromall around, we slammed

The door to thecar. The resounding thud

Punctuated thepathetic end of that perp.

The next thingwe knew, he was whisked away,

A tenant ofsome downtown cell,

Soon to meet ajudge and jury

And find whatfate would make of him—

What poor punishmenthe’d have to pay .

The policeinvited us to help them search,

To show theway, to guide the job.

We took themout to where we’d been—

The dusky,dark-filled nighttime park,

The shadowshiding loot galore,

Which soon wesaw by flashlight’s beam.

Great piles ofclothing, gobs of gear,

Strewn willy-nillyall about

The darkenedpark’s deserted places.

We found bagsand boxes, every sort

Of sordid loot—Outerwear,underwear—

Spreadeverywhere as the thief had ransacked

People’spurses. The officer’s light

Divulged thedevil’s secrets, singing

Out ourtriumph. We proudly held

The light forthe officer, watched as he gathered

The great pilesof plunder and packed them away.

He told us we’ddone good things that night,

Commended our pains,and said good-bye.

And home wewent, recounting the tale

Again and again,as heroes do.

On the Speed of Thought

2011-10-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

Interesting ideas about how fast we think and how.

"So when Helmholtz recognized that thought moves at a finite rate, faster than a bird but slower than sound, he missed a fundamental difference between the brain and a telegraph. In our heads, speed is not always the most important thing. Sometimes what really matters is timing."

Taking control of your life

2011-10-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

Check out this Master Plan for Taking Control of Your Life that Cafe Hayek's Russ Roberts linked to today.

Making Driving Safer

2011-10-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

A little something from Steven Landsberg about spikes and steering wheels.

"Work We Must": Some more interesting Nibley

2011-10-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

Nibley's "Work We Must, But the Lunch is Free" discusses how we should spend our time. Interesting implications for income, saving, retirement, and Christ's New Testament teachings in Matthew 6:19-34 that God will provide for us if we trust him.

One part, to whet your appetite:

Imagine then that at the end of the first school year your kind benefactor pays the school a visit. He meets you and asks you how you are doing. "Oh," you say, "I am doing very well, thanks to your bounty." "Are you studying a lot?" "Yes, I am making good progress." "What subjects are you studying?" "Oh, I am studying courses in how to get more lunch." "You study that? All the time?" "Yes. I thought of studying some other subjects. Indeed I would love to study them–some of them are so fascinating!–but after all it's the bread–and–butter courses that count. This is the real world, you know. There is no free lunch." "But my dear boy, I'm providing you with that right now." "Yes, for the time being, and I am grateful–but my purpose in life is to get more and better lunches; I want to go right to the top–the executive suite, the Marriott lunch." "But that is not the work I wanted you to do here," says the patron.

Nibley on "The Black Robes of a False Priesthood"

2011-10-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

Some interesting commentary on Hugh Nibley's ideas about the university being a counterfeit of the temple.

Here's the speech, too.

I want to work in these spaces.

2011-09-27T08:44:00.001-07:00

Sweet home offices.

Moving GIFs

2011-09-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Here's something awesome to look at. Go! Look!

Milton Friedman on "Ask not what your country can do for you . . . "

2011-04-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

I've just been to JFK's gravesite and thought of this commentary from Milton Friedman about the famous words from Kennedy. As usual, Milton Friedman has it right.

Interesting piece on American Ed decline

2011-03-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ben Wildovski of FP offers a little different perspective than you frequently hear on the meaning of international comparisons of math, science, and reading test scores.

Education Links

2011-03-12T21:56:00.000-08:00

A bunch of links about school reform. I plan to update this section as I find relevant pieces. My hope is to form it into an outline eventually.

Education
   Wikipedia "Education"
Cato Institute's Education Policy Reading List

Prussian Education System
   Wikipedia "Prussian education system"

Education in America
   Wikipedia "Education in the United States"
   Thomas Sowell on American education:
       Wikipedia, "Thomas Sowell: Education"
   Inside American Education
   Milton Friedman on education:
"Free to Choose" Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6
CNBC interview from 2003
Reason Interview with Nick Gillespie
   John Stossel
      Stupid in America videos
      "Stupid in America" blog post

Public Education

   Ed History

   Systemic Reform
School Vouchers
   Jay Greene's School Choice Blog

    Milton Friedman's Foundation for Educational Choice
             The research on school choice
John Stossel's 20/20 "Stupid in America"
Stossel, Friedman, Williams, Sowell in "The Case for School Vouchers"

Parent Involvement
Milton Friedman "Educational Vouchers": subsidizing students gives parents freedom

Student Involvement

Summer Learning Loss
Summer Learning Loss, Wikipedia

Government Involvement

Financing Education

School Choice
   Vouchers
Stossel, Friedman, Williams, Sowell in "The Case for School Vouchers"
Milton Friedman "Educational Vouchers": two kinds of government subsidies: subsidizing students, subsidizing schools; subsidizing students achieves better results;
      Feulner at Washington Times on DC's voucher program
    Armey at Washington Times on school choice and union opposition

Teachers' Unions
   DT: "Collecting pieces on Public Sector Unions"

Report Cards
   School Report Cards Work; the paper

Homeschooling

Classical Education
In the news: St. Jerome Classical School in DC

Value of College
   Harvard Report Questions Value of 'College for All'
   Another ‘Good Thing’
   Is More Education Necessarily a Good Thing
   The Value of College
Declining by Degree
   And one about law school, in particular Is Law School a Losing Game?

Academic Inflation
   Academic inflation on Wikipedia

Apprenticeship
   Apprenticeship on Wikipedia

Reform ideas
Acceleration

Uncollege Movement

    The Flipped Classroom

    Eliminate summer break
Summer vacation on Wikipedia
    Summer learning loss on Wikipedia

    Let students test out of curriculum

    Early graduation

    Online resources
         Khan Academy

    Changes to compulsory ed laws

    Privatize education

    Close the Department of Education
          Cato Institute on closing Dept of Ed
          Cato Institute links on federal ed policy

American student comparisons to international students
      Does the large number of immigrant and poor student skew numbers?
      Here's someone at NEA about students of poor Americans.

I'm looking for socio-economic, race, and primary language info on American students represented in international comparison numbers. Anyone have access to that info?

State by state or region by region how do American students stack up against other countries' students?

Sheldon Richman on elimination of public education

A good piece on Affirmative Action

2011-03-04T10:53:00.000-08:00

CLEGG: At age 50, affirmative action looks tired

Collecting pieces on public sector unions

2011-03-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

The Economist: Showdown in Madison
George Will: Out of Wisconsin, a lesson in leadership for Obama
David Harsanyi: Paul Krugman's Third World Fantasy
Iowahawk: Longhorns 17, Badgers 1
Deroy Murdock: Unions thugs unleash violence

Economic Backwardness of Political Goals

2011-03-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

It drives me nuts to hear politicians talk about education. They try to impress the populace with their obvious concern for our economic future; they formulate grand plans to get everyone a bachelor's degree, making the degree itself the goal; they tax the populace then pump money, often in ridiculously wasteful ways, into universities and programs get public school kids into college. We see it all the time. For example of such scheming, Obama spoke at length about education it in his State of the Union address this year. He has some good ideas; some not so good; some really not so good.

The idea of subsidizing education and pushing for people to get bachelor's degrees may be good in some ways. But it's pretty wasteful in others. We still need electricians, plumbers, carpenters, etc.--all jobs which don't require bachelor's degree. There are millions of such jobs in America. And some kids just aren't interested in academics. Or their skills better suit them for non-academic work. Targeting four-year college with our ed system is probably misdirected and wasteful since it fails to account for such kids.

Fortunately, some people still understand practical economics. Check out these pieces.

Harvard Report Questions Value of 'College for All'

Another ‘Good Thing’

Is More Education Necessarily a Good Thing

The Value of College

Declining by Degree

And one about law school, in particular Is Law School a Losing Game?

The Playboy Mansion is, as always, disgusting

2011-03-01T15:03:00.000-08:00

In high school chemistry class, Mr. Monson taught us that VD=misery. Unfortunately, I no longer remember the chemistry significance of the line, but I've never forgotten the lesson about venereal disease.

That being said, there's just nothing sexy about infectious disease, which is one of the reasons I have always avoided all things Playboy. Nothing screams "Get your VD here!" like any human bearing the Playboy bunny logo. That stylized little bunny head is, essentially, the Syphilis Seal of Approval.

Case in point: Did you "catch" this one last month? (bwahaha) Well, it turns out there's something truly foul going down at the Playboy Mansion, and it's not the same foulness-as-usual. Just another reason to avoid that place like the plague, and by "the plague" I mean "Legionnaire's Disease." I know it's not sexually transmitted, and that just makes it so much worse. The Playboy mansion turns out to be a sprawling, biological, geographical catch-22: they should pass out hazmat suits at the door.

PS: What kind of "conference" is held at the Playboy mansion? Definitely, like, stamp collectors or accountants. A "global Internet conference" you say? Ohhhhhh. Say no more.

Good read about Tea Party senators

2010-11-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

"Welcome, Senate Conservatives" by Jim DeMint

Cure for the Common Cold? Yes, please.

2010-11-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

Check it out. It's like five-ish years away with testing. I hope it works.

Jeff's Salt City Hoops story about us

2010-08-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

Jeff blogged a funny story about us, complete with pictures, from 1988 on Salt City Hoops, the ESPN affiliated Utah Jazz blog. Check it out!

Math Whiz

2010-07-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

More news!

2010-06-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Uplifting New Da Vinci Invention Design Found

By Miles Vandichout

June 10, 2010

FLORENCE, ITALY—A new invention design by Leonardo da Vinci was recently discovered hidden amongst the over 13,000 pages of his journal. The design was found during using a chemical preservation treatment pioneered at the University of San Giovanni in Florence, Italy. The treatment disclosed drawings of a complex machine as well as words written in Da Vinci’s trademark mirror-image cursive. The main text of the drawing states, “Per i miei critici, al fine di renderle il più vicino possibile a Dio.” (“For my critics, to bring them as close as possible to God.”)

The drawing depicts an intricate, approximately 12-foot frame built to bear great weight, with a single crank attached to eight individual pulley systems, each rigged with cables and self-closing hooks—cousins to the modern ropework carabiner. The hooks are portrayed as attaching to the back flap of an individual’s pants or—as Dr. Alfonso D. Monteverdi, Da Vinci expert and dean of San Giovanni’s College of Da Vinci Studies, suggests—underpants. Dr. Monteverdi interprets the invention to have one clear use: to cause simultaneous discomfort to eight Da Vinci critics by “lifting them off the floor and lodging their underpants or other clothing between their buttocks with the simple turn of a crank.” Monteverdi suggests that “only Da Vinci could have been capable of administering so many wedgies at once. He is truly a genius. Our genius!”

Da Vinci detractors have challenged the drawing’s authenticity and the validity of Monteverdi’s interpretation, citing the fact that, as Bulbi Vicentiezo stated, “Leonardo was immature, but this is beyond even ‘the Master’ himself.” Monteverdi responded that “It seems that[Vicentiezo] and Da Vinci's other critics would benefit from experiencing Da Vinci's elevating ideas.”

Breaking (fake) News from My Desk

2010-06-09T07:47:00.001-07:00

US Congress Pushes High Quality Mandates

By Miles Vandichout

WASHINGTON—In response to complaints from consumer watchdog group US Consumers for Consuming Consumers’ Consumption, which has found some high-quality US products to be “too expensive for middle and working class buyers,” House speaker Nancy Pelosi has set a strict timetable for lawmakers to act on bills that would mandate “sky-high minimum quality standards” and “rock-bottom maximum prices,” create a new executive branch oversight authority, and designate violation of the law as a third degree felony. President Barack Obama joined Pelosi’s call for quick action, citing a US quality management system that is “deeply fractured” and which he believes ought to be “reset, and yesterday, if possible.”

The bills making their way through the US Congress share two common traits: they are all relatively lengthy bills and all emphasize perfection. The longest bill, introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Rep-Ohio), is over 1,300 pages long, while the shortest bill just tops 900 pages. The shared basis for all nine of the “Quality Bills” is the early 1990s lyrical truism penned by Robert Matthew Van Winkle—better known by the stage name “Vanilla Ice”— stating that “Anything less than the best is a felony.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Rep-Nev.) introduced the lyric to senior leaders of the Democratic Party in late May, urging them to “whip this up ASAP, because not only is it true that sub-par quality and prices are a criminal action against the American people whose rights we, the United States Congress, must protect, but also, we need to energize our voters.” Kucinich, among others, moved quickly to draft lyric-inspired legislation and introduce his bill. Under the Kucinich bill, the third degree felony would be punishable by up to three years in prison and a $10,000 dollar fine.

President Obama stated that “[i]f we are quick to act, we can make the words of ‘Rob the Rapper’ not just a dream, but a reality. Our swift response to this, the pressing crisis of our times, will show Americans that we are still capable of doing hard things—things like making first-rate caviar and Rolex wristwatches affordable for all Americans, not just Fat Cat bankers, CEOs, and politicians.” Obama has pledged that with passage of any of the bills he will appoint a new Luxury Goods Czar—his “deLux Czar,” he quipped. He said, “The days of eating crummy street-vended hotdogs are over. Everyone will inexpensively enjoy top-quality everything from now on. And I mean everything.”

Milton Friedman on Health Care

2009-11-12T09:13:00.000-08:00

Here's Milton Friedman's take on how to cure health care, entitled--wait for it!--"How to Cure Health C are." His final paragraphs:

Medical savings accounts offer one way to resolve the growing financial and administrative problems of Medicare and Medicaid. It seems clear from private experience that a program along these lines would be less expensive and bureaucratic than the current system and more satisfactory to the participants. In effect, it would be a way to voucherize Medicare and Medicaid. It would enable participants to spend their own money on themselves for routine medical care and medical problems, rather than having to go through HMOs and insurance companies, while at the same time providing protection against medical catastrophes.

A more radical reform would, first, end both Medicare and Medicaid, at least for new entrants, and replace them by providing every family in the United States with catastrophic insurance (i.e., a major medical policy with a high deductible). Second, it would end tax exemption of employer-provided medical care. And, third, it would remove the restrictive regulations that are now imposed on medical insurance—hard to justify with universal catastrophic insurance.

This reform would solve the problem of the currently medically uninsured, eliminate most of the bureaucratic structure, free medical practitioners from an increasingly heavy burden of paperwork and regulation, and lead many employers and employees to convert employer-provided medical care into a higher cash wage. The taxpayer would save money because total government costs would plummet. The family would be relieved of one of its major concerns—the possibility of being impoverished by a major medical catastrophe—and most could readily finance the remaining medical costs. Families would once again have an incentive to monitor the providers of medical care and to establish the kind of personal relations with them that were once customary. The demonstrated efficiency of private enterprise would have a chance to improve the quality and lower the cost of medical care. The first question asked of a patient entering a hospital might once again become "What’s wrong?" not "What’s your insurance?"

The Legacy of Cash for Clunkers

2009-11-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

Sure, lots of folks took advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program, swapping out their old cars for a federal hand-out. Good for certain individuals? Sure. Good for the auto industry? Maybe (especially those based in Asia.) Good for the country? Really--does anyone, even among those who traded cars, really believe this was good for America? In essence, it was a matter of destroying capital and transferring wealth from taxpayers to certain individuals. And here's the latest wrinkle: purchasers of used cars are paying a lot more this year than they have in the past. Why? Supply and demand, my friends--a concept apparently not on the radar in Washington.

Steve Landsberg Weighs in on Health Care Debate

2009-10-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

Gavin and Greg Mankiw both hit this one today. Having just read and enjoyed Landsberg's thought-provoking Armchair Economist, I am interested in his views on health care. I think he's right on about this stuff.

It's Time To Do As You're Told

2009-10-22T06:54:00.008-07:00

Huma Kahn quotes President Obama:

"Sometimes Democrats can be their own worst enemies," the president said during a speech in New York City Tuesday. "Democrats are an opinionated bunch. You know the other side, they just kind of do what they're told. Democrats -- ya'll [are] thinking for yourselves. I like that in you, but it's time for us to make sure that we finish the job here, we are this close and we've got to be unified."

Number one: this is the guy who's not trying to score points against his opponents?

Number two: "Republicans are sheep." Awww. Just another reason Republicans are liking him so much right now.

Number three: "They're sheep. So should you be." Y'all better wake up and recognize who's the boss of you. Father knows best, after all.

Cato Institute: Downsizing the Federal Government

2009-10-05T15:56:00.003-07:00

Much of the time, the federal government isn't the solution; it's the problem. The Cato Institute shows what needs to go and why. It's time to make good decisions rather than merely popular ones.

Enslavement of Medical Personnel?

2009-09-21T09:45:00.004-07:00

Here's a Swiftian piece for you health-carers out there: Sheldon Richman's "A Modest Health Care Proposal." (No, it doesn't suggest we eat the sick.)

Excerpt:

"If we have a right to health care and if we are unable to obtain those services, our rights have been denied or violated. That is something the advocates of health-care “reform” say we must not tolerate.

Okay, let’s not tolerate it. Let’s make sure no one’s right to health care is violated. Let’s get serious for a change.

But how? I can think of only one efficient way to accomplish this. Let’s enslave the providers of medical services — doctors, nurses, paramedics, dentists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, psychiatrists, and the rest. My proposal may shock people, but I am confident that this feeling will wear off as we think about how logically it flows from the principle that we have a right to health care."

And:

"Of course, this wouldn’t be free. I’m no pie-in-the-sky utopian. The doctors and the others would have to be fed, clothed, and housed. They’d need certain comforts. That’s understood. But it would be far easier to keep a lid on costs by enslaving the providers than by the patchwork system we have now, or would have under Mr. Obama’s plan."

Thanks to Foundation For Economic Education.

Bill Whittle on iconography

2009-09-19T14:22:00.005-07:00

Bill Whittle of PajamasTV, whom I found through this post on CafeHayek.com, is a perceptive guy. On his blog he has some very interesting observations to share about iconography and Obama's branding.

An excerpt:

"The fact that we see the Obama logo attached to health care proposals means that we are seeing an individual brand – that of Barack Obama – being used alongside and in many cases in place of the logo of the President of the United States. That is interesting and I don’t like it.

The man won the election and the right to use the Seal of the President of the United States. The fact that we continue to see the Obama logo used by the Democratic National Committee tells me that this is a perpetual campaign and that what they are branding is in fact an ideology centered around a Cult of Personality. We have seen in the past the dangers of branding an ideology with an icon. The two great totalitarian ideologies of the early 20^th century both used powerful icons to represent their ideas. I will not show those here because it would be obscene to compare them and the horror they generated – 150 million dead, no less – to what is going on here, today. That was mass murder. This is merely advertising. We’ve just never seen this kind of thing before, in America."

Health Insurance Profits

2009-09-18T06:27:00.003-07:00

One criticism of health care plans and hospitals is that they are hugely profitable. The data shown by Mark Perry's post "Health Insurance Industry's Profit Margins Rank #86" suggest that's not the case.

It's interesting that Obama continues to rail on the industry as anti-competitive when, as Mark points out, the insurers in the 50 states have government-imposed cartels.

One more: Giving, and Getting, the Finger

2009-09-17T13:56:00.007-07:00

Shikha Dalmia at Forbes.com has an awesome critique of the Obama speech on health care. She concludes that "the president's speech was the policy equivalent of the middle finger."

Harly on rationing

2009-09-17T13:49:00.002-07:00

Harley weighs in on rationing of health care.

You Call This "Change"?

2009-09-17T11:20:00.007-07:00

From Sheldon Richman's Obamacare: Status Quo on Steroids:

"The solution to the problems caused by what I’ve described above cannot be to encourage people to believe, childishly, that they have a right to health care — that is, a right to other people’s labor — or that resources are not scarce. Yet that is what Obama & Co. are doing. A core principle of their scheme is that no one could be turned down for insurance because they are already sick. That’s not insurance; it’s welfare, with the costs to all of us disguised and the politicians unaccountable."

Seriously: where are people getting this "right to health care" business? It's a nice idea--that the federal government will provide everything each citizen needs, like a kindly father--but it's certainly not a fundamental right, guaranteed by our government. Those are all found in our establishing documents. Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness: yeah, those are in the Declaration of Independence. There's also a lot of good stuff about "rights" in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. But I don't see heath care or other welfare items. Where are they?

A step in the right direction on health care: Repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act (1945)

2009-09-17T11:11:00.003-07:00

Excerpt from Devon Herrick, Ph.D.'s interesting 2006 "Interstate Competition in the Individual Health Insurance Marketplace":

"Many State Markets Are Not Competitive. In competitive markets, producers seek to reduce costs and to offer products that meet customer demands. However, the United States does not have a competitive national market for individual health insurance. Firms in each state are protected from interstate competition by the federal McCarran-Ferguson Act (1945), which grants states the right to regulate health plans within their borders. (Large employers who self-insure are exempt from these state regulations.) Thus there is a patchwork of 50 different sets of state regulations, and the cost for an insurer licensed in one state to enter another state market is often high. As a result, consumers have little choice among plans — forcing them to buy an overpriced product, or forgo insurance altogether."

Obama's Plan (What Plan?)

2009-09-17T11:00:00.004-07:00

This is another interesting article (thanks to Russ Roberts @ Cafe Hayek) about health care. Arnold Kling's "The Biggest Lie on Health Reform."

The point:

"If you are going to repeatedly refer to "my plan" or "this plan" or "the plan I'm proposing," then unless you have a plan you are lying. The only question is whether it is a little lie or a big one. Obviously, most people think it is only a small lie, or the President would have been called out on it. However, I think that health care policy is an area where there is too much temptation to promise results that are economically impossible to achieve. In that context, my opinion is that giving a speech in favor of a nonexistent plan is a really big lie."

Health insurance reading

2009-09-16T09:17:00.003-07:00

Check out these interesting articles about the economics of health care and health insurance.

What Hunger Insurance Can Teach Us About Health Insurance
The Theraputic State: The Myth of Health Insurance
Obama's Health Insurance Cartel
Obamacare: Status Quo on Steroids
The Immorality of Government Regulated Health Care
Trusting Strangers
Young Adults Likely to Pay Big Share of Reform's Cost

The difference between dorks, nerds, dweebs, and geeks

2009-09-09T11:01:00.003-07:00

Harley has posted a hilarious Venn diagram explaining.

Mixed Messages?

2009-09-09T10:40:00.008-07:00

The following "politics as usual" moment is excerpted from "Obama lays out boundaries for healthcare overhaul," from the LA Times [bracketed material is my between-the-lines contribution]:

Asked about maintaining his focus in the midst of recent controversies -- such as the weekend resignation of a White House environmental advisor, Van Jones, following an assault by conservative commentators on Jones' personal politics, Obama said: "It's not hard for me to stay on message[ after what I learned from my ill-advised involvement in the Henry Louis Gates arrest controversy.]

"My job is not to be distracted [ever again, if I can help it] by the 24-hour news cycle," the president said. "My job is to stay focused on what's going to help the American people and not try to score political points [unless, of course, the opportunity is irresistible.]

"I have tried to maintain a tone, and my White House has tried to maintain a tone, that is open to all comers," the president said. "In spite of all this, there is this unyielding partisanship, and I think in some ways it has gotten worse."

Reasonable voices have been "shouted down" in the process, the president said, with his appearance before Congress arriving at the end of a summer of tumultuous congressional town halls.

"I hope that the Republican Party can rediscover that voice," Obama said. "I think they'll find they have a partner in the White House on a whole lot of issues[," he said, scoring points against the whole of the extremely unreasonable Republican Party. Unreasonable="doesn't agree with me." Just so we'll remember who's reasonable and who's not, come election time.]

I like the way John Mackey thinks

2009-08-19T13:06:00.002-07:00

Heard about the boycott of Whole Foods? It's all about what John Mackey wrote in this article in the WSJ. I agree with him.

Stormtrooper Antics

2009-08-18T14:09:00.002-07:00

Jeff posted a link to these stormtroopers on their day off photos. I have to pass it on, because it seems STs and I share many of the same interests.

Taxes

2009-06-21T19:11:00.001-07:00

The Flat Tax explained. Pretty convincing, especially since I had to go through completing my taxes twice this year. :(

It's the End of the World as We Know It

2009-05-27T07:21:00.001-07:00

The federal budget is out of control.

American Idol and Popwatch

2009-05-20T09:02:00.008-07:00

Yous guys: I can't express to you in actual Eng-li-lish words--there are not adjectives to describe--how much I love EW.com's Popwatch "On the Scene" American Idol blogs of Adam B. Vary and Whitney Pastorek. They exhibit a nigh-perfect balance of cynicism and fanaticism, which is very appealing in a world full of unabashed one-sided American Idol love or hate.

I, for one, love to hate much about the show, appalled as I am by the cliche, mind-numbing commentary provided by the so-called "judges" (if I hear one more comment about "artistry," "singing one's face off," or "singing the phone book," so help me . . . !) I'm equally turned off by the majority of the singers and songs; karaoke is fine for a gathering with friends, but since, as Randy Jackson continues to remind us ad nauseum, this is a singing competition, I wish the music was better over the length of the show's season.

That's not to say I have many complaints about the last month's singing (don't get me started on the dancing, though.) We've had some singers (Oh, Alison!) and some drama. This has been maybe the best season yet. Still, we had to endure the legion tortures of Megan Joy, the loveably bad soft rock of Scotty M., old what's-her-face's channel-change-challenge rendition of "Jolene," and--dare I say it?!--Adam's eastern-tinged, swirlerific, and nigh-unwatchable "Ring of Fire" (which my mother-in-law suggested was like watching the devil. Poor "Ring of Fire.") And how could any worst-of list leave off the consecutive train wrecks that were "No Boundaries" sung by Adam and "No Boundaries" sung by Kris (did we mention "No Boundaries" was co-written by Kara???).

Anyway, this week's On the Scene had this lol inducing moment:

"Next up on the Nokia stage: Kris. The crew wheeled in and polished Kris' piano while his video package noted the guy once gave his mom coupons good for a song from him, causing mothers everywhere to swoon and begin cracking their texting knuckles. After Kris finished burning up 'Ain't No Sunshine,' the tiny little girl four rows ahead of me was so overcome with emotion within her wee frame that she began to fricking lose her mind and had to be tended to by her overwhelmed parents."

Here's a nudder one:

". . . [A]gain, Allison, Scott and Jorge remained standing through the entire song, causing Smirkel to remark that they were essentially the real life version of the cast of Glee.

At the ad break, Randy and Simon left -- no doubt racing to get out of earshot of Kara so they could collapse into a pile of giggles -- and then we went through the entire painful ritual once again: Kris climbing a mountain with every step, finding it harder to believe with every breath; Allison, Scott and Jorge earnestly cheering Kris to don't stop believin'; Simon and Randy biting down on their cheeks so hard they almost draw blood."

I know, I know: I should have told y'all about this sooner.

The Paintings of Amy Bennett

2009-05-06T14:54:00.006-07:00

Check out Amy Bennet. Her. Paintings. Are. Awesome.

Thanks to Black*Eiffel. Also, see the post at If It's Hip, It's Here.

A Damn Good Fisking

2009-04-01T08:27:00.007-07:00

Gavin set me on to a terrific economics blog--that of Don Bordreaux and Russ Roberts called Cafe Hayek. I don't know how anxiously the rest of you have followed the jaw-dropping developments in the auto industry (oh please just let GM sing its swan song and die; chapter 11 bankruptcy is actually designed to help companies become viable again, if at all possible, so GM's death could be less of a swan's death than that of a phoenix rising from its own ashes.) I can't take much more of this.

Russ Roberts has gone through the president's latest auto speech and has given it a good fisking. It's scathing and rational. It's also wildly inflaming or, alternately, deeply depressing, depending on your temperament. Have a read here, then hold me and tell me it'll all be OK.

What David Lynch was doing in 1980, or, I Thought I Knew You, Twin Peaks

2009-03-16T15:01:00.003-07:00

Listen: it's 1988, you're 10, looking for movies at the video store with your 8-year-old brother, and the two of you find one called The Elephant Man. An elephant man?! That sounds like a show for kids. A FUN show, at that. So the two of you rent it, and, with much anticipation carry it home and pop it into the VCR.

That, my friends, is what disappointment is made of.

Ghost Town (2008)

2008-12-12T08:43:00.005-08:00

Aside from some profanity, what seems like a mismatch of the romantic leads, and the boom mic hanging in the top of many shots (why, why, why???), Ghost Town was $1.50 well spent. Of course, at $2.00 I would've felt a bit ripped off.

Peter Schiff was right. And he's still right.

2008-12-04T16:07:00.006-08:00

I heard this piece about Peter Schiff on NPR. Interesting how the media scoffed at his ideas and mocked him, rather than considering or investigating his ideas. Thanks for nothing, media.

The piece says that "Schiff says he did hundreds of interviews, and the reception was typically hostile. 'People were calling me things like a communist. … People would roll their eyes at me. You know, they would snicker.'

These days, Schiff is in demand as a pundit, but his views remain unorthodox. For one thing, he favors pegging the dollar to the value of gold, which hasn't happened for nearly 40 years. And he opposes new government spending and strict government oversight of the markets. He also thinks domestic automakers should be allowed to fail."

I don't know anything about pegging the dollar to the value of gold to the dollar, but I favor the rest of his ideas. That's the kind of sense that someone ought to be talking right now.

Just shoot me now

2008-12-04T09:04:00.003-08:00

Being a Republican has been *really* lame lately. Bush fumbles his presidency, John McCain tanks, congress is captured by Democrats . . . and now we have all this talk about Sarah Palin for president in 2012? Really?? Does anyone remember that election last month? Remember how Palin sank McCain's ship? Good job, McCain. You have created a monster. You've elevated and given traction to an inarticulate but attractive governor. How much traction? We can only hope the implosion of McCain's campaign did lots and lots of damage.

Something to rent: Howl's Moving Castle

2008-11-27T15:24:00.005-08:00

Studio Ghibli, which made the awesome Spirited Away, released this in '05. I've just rented it and it was great. Check out the trailer.

John Scofield + John Mayer + Ray Charles = Goodness

2008-11-27T15:22:00.001-08:00

Wilco on the Colbert Report

2008-11-25T08:57:00.001-08:00

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Exclusive Wilco Song

Ron Paul Interview
Bob Barr Interview

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

A Little More Wilco

2008-09-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here's Wilco in action--the encore, in fact--on August 8, 2008, at Red Butte Garden in SLC. AMAZING.

Original vs. Cover 2: Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

2008-08-23T21:50:00.009-07:00

This one's essential--it's Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit, which, as you'll see, is a pretty versatile song.

Nirvana:

The Bad Plus (check out Ethan Iverson's fishing hat):

Tori Amos:

Paul Anka:

My vote goes to The Bad Plus.

Check out last time's song: Wilco's "Jesus, Etc."

J.J. Johnson is the best

2008-08-23T21:48:00.001-07:00

More Wilco goodness

2008-08-23T21:34:00.001-07:00

Wilco's Set List from Red Butte Garden, August 18, 2008

2008-08-18T23:14:00.005-07:00

Here it is, folks--Wilco's set list from tonight's concert. The show was a Wilco fan's delight, as you'll see.

Remember the Mountain Bed (Mermaid Avenue 2)
You Are My Face (Sky Blue Sky)
Hummingbird (A Ghost is Born)
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)
Handshake Drugs (A Ghost is Born)
Shot in the Arm (Summerteeth)
Side With the Seeds (Sky Blue Sky)
Via Chicago (Summerteeth)
Impossible Germany (Sky Blue Sky)
Hell Is Chrome (A Ghost is Born)
Airline to Heaven (Mermaid Avenue 2)
Jesus, Etc. (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)
California Stars (Mermaid Avenue)
Theologians (A Ghost is Born)
Poor Places (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)
Kidsmoke (A Ghost is Born)
---Encore 1-----
Hate It Here (Sky Blue Sky)
Walken (Sky Blue Sky)
I'm The Man Who Loves You (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)
Monday (Being There)
Outtasite (Outta Mind) (Being There)
---Encore 2-----
Passenger Side (A.M.)
Heavy Metal Drummer (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)
Kingpin (Being There)

My music blogs

2008-08-09T03:08:00.002-07:00

Nostalgic much?? Check out my two new music blogs--Louder Than Bombs, with videos of old '80s tunes, and Bullets With Butterfly Wings, covering the '90s in all its glory. There's nothing to read--just a lot of videos cataloged by year. You'll laugh, you'll cry . . . .

Time to learn Chinese

2008-08-09T02:51:00.007-07:00

China is the new USA. That's all there is to say after tonight's display of Chinese culture, artistry, and discipline in the 2008 Summer Olympics' Opening Ceremony. Manned moveable type boxes moving with computer precision, sprouting cherry blossoms?! Acrobats tumbling every which way on a gigantic globe?! A flying torch bearer lighting a fuse that ignites the Olympic cauldron?! True, with a budget of--what?--$300 million bucks even I could have put on an AMAZING show, but come on. That amazing?! NO WAY. I'm not sure what $300 mil gets you in the ol' US of A, but I'm pretty sure it isn't half as simultaneously awesome and dread-inducing as what I saw on TV tonight. I have seen the future, my friends, and it is not red, white, and blue. Just red.

Two Scorseses

2008-08-07T00:25:00.003-07:00

I recently saw Scorsese's The Departed (2006), which was awesome, even edited. The NYC cops vs. the mob story is intense, gritty goodness.

Tonight I saw Scorsese's Age of Innocence (1993), which was great, beautiful, but oh-so-so-so slow and all about--ummm--clothes. And furniture. Oh, and an awkward non-starter of a love affair in 19th century NYC high society.

My question for someone--anyone--is how in the world could these two films be directed by the same man?! Please! Someone explain! I do see the New York connection, but I need more!

Oh, and no: I don't think you can explain it by telling me that Scorsese's "just using the Force." There must be two Scorseseseseses. (That's not an easy one to pluralize!)

PS: Scorsese's Shine A Light (2008), his Rolling Stones film, is also pretty neat, in case you haven't seen it.

Original vs. Cover 1: Wilco's "Jesus, Etc."

2008-08-05T23:58:00.008-07:00

When Jeff posted his first originals/covers post (The Cars' "All Mixed Up"), I wondered why I didn't think of it first. Then it came to me: it is because I blog at a pathetic once-per-quarter pace and thus never think of anything first. Then I complemented his idea and he demanded I join the fun. I almost never turn down a chance at fun, so here goes nothing. I give you Wilco's "Jesus, Etc.", which I love a lot, and a David Sandström cover, in Swedish, which is my new favorite language.

Wilco:

David Sandström:

Vote for your favorite in the poll to the right, and we'll see whether David Sandström should or should not be laughed off the stage. (P.S. He shouldn't, even if the Wilco is better.)

Check out Jeff's second covers post, on Ryan Adams' "When The Stars Go Blue", as well.

Grumpy old man v. five-year-olds

2008-06-02T02:04:00.004-07:00

Does anyone else remember, with fondness, old Adventure and Learning Park? I whiled away many a happy hour playing with friends in and on its labyrinth, fort, pond, and bike trails. There was never any question in my mind that that park was meant for children and children alone.

Yesterday I revisited that park, and, to my surprise, all the best features of the park I remember are now distant memories. The park I knew was virtually empty of adults--a neverland land ruled by the whims of children. Yesterday, however, the place was full to the top, half kids, half adults. (Judging by Merch's tales of weird goings on in the park's middle period--the 1990s, I think this has more to do with the safety of children than the interest of adults in the park itself.) More importantly, the labyrinth and fort have been replaced with a playground and a parking lot. (Adults have no idea anymore what kids like. Or liability issues have trumped our sense of fun. News flash: the past was better.) The pond is still there (hooray), and still full of nothing bigger than a three-inch-long crap fish, but it now attracts a lot of fishermen, most casual and some--believe you me--VERY, VERY SERIOUS. One old man was so serious about his fishing that he shouted obsceneties and vague threats at children skipping stones on the bank near our picnic spot. He stood up and glared. He made like he was coming over to drown them all in retribution for their ruining his calm. Maybe he eventually did. (We gawked as long as was possible under the circumstances before heading away.) Apparently this old fella thought that Adventure and Learning Park was made for the exclusive enjoyment of angry old anglers. Wait. Yep. I think it was.

Tongue-twister

2008-06-02T01:59:00.003-07:00

As a result of an inane observation I made as we drove around yesterday, Merch and I made up a new tongue-twister that you might want to try saying, um, five, ten, or a hundred times fast (depending on how difficult it is to trip up your tongue).

It goes like this:

"I am a big fan of little flags and a little fan of big flags."

Hilarity will be sure to ensue.

Go Jazz

2008-04-21T21:54:00.001-07:00

Utah Jazz all the way to the top, y'all.

The Poetry of Billy Collins

2008-04-20T13:40:00.009-07:00

Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United States, is terrific. Check out the cool animations that accompany his readings on YouTube.com ("Forgetfulness", "The Country", "Now and Then", and "Some Days", among others) and download for free The Best Cigarette, a 1997 recording of him reading 34 of his poems.

7th grade logic

2008-03-02T00:32:00.007-08:00

I substitute teach when I get the chance, and Friday was one such chance. I ended up at the school that my youngest brother Steve attends. When I arrived, they had me exchange my car key for the room keys, presumably so subs won't forget to return their room keys. Steve and I met up after school and walked together to the front office, where I needed to exchange keys. Steve was with me when they gave mine back. He wondered why I had to give them my key in the first place. In all seriousness he asked, "Is it so subs won't try to escape?"

Bad day (?)

2008-02-28T23:16:00.005-08:00

I thought today was sure to only get worse after my glasses fell off of my counter and into the toilet, which is pretty close to its crisis-clean phase. My disgust was instantly mitigated, however, when I recalled the two occasions on which one of my retainers (always seems to be the same one) fell in a no-less-clean toilet. It can always be worse my friends. This time it could have been a contact lens. And guess what: the day I started with my hand in a toilet will soon end happily with me snug in bed. How about that.

Will It Blend?--my new favorite show

2007-11-12T14:56:00.002-08:00

Have you seen "Will It Blend?" I think you'll agree that you need this in your life. You probably also need a Blendtec blender, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

Rocking the Vote, old school

2007-11-06T20:55:00.004-08:00

So, as I stood in line at my polling location--my old elementary school--awaiting my chance to cast a ballot, I was fascinated by this old feller about ten feet ahead of me in line. As he waited he had adopted this stance with his feet apart and his hands placed, as if in pockets, about six inches into the tops of his pants at his hips. I must say it looked as uncomfortable and awkward as it was bizarre.

I can't wait until I'm old enough to get away with stuff like that.

I'm a week late?! OH! I thought it was Freeze Tag!

2007-11-05T18:41:00.002-08:00

As soon as I understood the gist of Emily's "Tag! I'm it." post, I knew it was going to be my neck next on the chopping block. (Emily will stop at nothing to get me to post.) Sure enough, I have been tagged. Having put off playing along for a week, I thought I was in the clear, until Em started in on me yesterday about never having played along. So here we are. My task, which I guess I choose to accept, is expressed in the rules of the game:

1. The player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves - try to find 6 you haven't already posted about! [This should be pretty easy for me seeing as I post thrice a year, and most of it is fictional in an attempt to make myself seem less dull, if at all possible.]

2. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names, and then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog for the rules. [Don't think you will save yourself by reading no further, because I will hunt you down and make life difficult for you if I tag you and you don't play. After all, misery loveth company.]

That being said, here is everything about Scott that you never knew you never wanted to know.

Fact the first: When in high school I accidently ran over my own dog in the family Suburban. Or, rather, she committed suicide under my wheels when she realized that that was the day on which we were going to take her to be put to sleep. (She was somewhere around a million years old.)

Fact the second: My nasal septum is severely bent, such that I can, if I so choose, and I don't, insert my little finger approximately two inches into my left nostril.

Fact the third: I have never once since being born back in 1978 watched more than one professional football game in a given season, and hadn't even seen a Superbowl game until I was 19.

Fact the fourth: A Palestinian taxi driver once bit me on the thumb and dragged me up a Jerusalem street to introduce me to his friend. (Maybe I'll tell you more about this later.)

Fact the fifth: I like to whistle. It's fun. And annoying, too.

Fact the sixth: I bought my first new car today. I hated the experience: it took what I loathe most about clothing shopping--the fear of making a terrible and costly mistake--to an extreme. I imagine buying real estate is even worse.

There you have it. That list is GLORIOUS!

Oh, and Jake Bryant, Jeff Lind, Jake Freeman, Anna Nagel, Mindy Lind, and Crystal Freeman are now all tagged. For better or for worse, you are all "it", and by "it" I mean doomed to be pestered by me until you divulge your innermost secrets on the Internet.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, Metal Man!"--Halloween 2007

2007-10-29T21:35:00.003-07:00

Over the weekend I happened to get a photo of the up-and-coming hero Cpt. MesoAmerica and his arch-nemesis Metal Man. It would have been nice if they'd have fought it out, but I think MesoAmerica had trouble getting Metal Man's attention.

Drinking Fountains: You can't be too careful

2007-10-24T20:45:00.001-07:00

I was sitting, minding my own business at the law school last year, right next to a drinking fountain on the ground floor, when a little guy--six or seven years old by the looks of him--came up for a drink. He was barely tall enough to get his face about an inch away from the spout. By the time I realized what was about to happen, it was too late. You see, I knew something he didn't: unlike a lot of weak, dribbly drinking fountains I've encountered over the years, this particular drinking fountain is one of those flukes that really launches water, a virtual geyser, wide as a nickel, that rains out the far side of the fountain when the button is fully depressed. The kid must have given it a full push. The stream hit him in the eye, and before he could react and remove his hand from the button, it had SOAKED him. It took only a split second. He staggered backward, as if dizzy. He didn't even think twice about trying again--just turned and limped out the door. His family must have been outside, and as the door swung shut I heard him tell them, in this enthusiastic little voice, "I didn't get a drink, but I got a good spray."

Kids are profound

2007-10-23T23:15:00.002-07:00

Kids make some strange observations sometimes.

OBSERVATION FIRST: When I used to teach guitar lessons I had a student named Nicky--a little guy, seven years old, who had a lisp and loved to play his "gi-tar." He imparted this nugget of wisdom to me midway through one of our lessons: "There's no such thing as maracca lessons. You just shake them to the beat." I still don't know why that sprang to Nicky's mind, or why it has sprung back to mine, but you can't beat that kind of thinking.

OBSERVATION SECOND: I was hiking in the mountains with my brother Matt when he was 11 years old. He was looking around at all the trees when he told me that "A deer standing right here would be like us being surrounded by piles of sandwiches." Truer words have not been spoken.

www.toybugle.com

2007-10-21T14:38:00.001-07:00

My computer is repaired! I had a serious Internet access problem for a while there. The stupid thing would let me be online for about three minutes immediately after startup, then would drop the connection like it's hot. Was hot. Is and was. The network adapter showed that I had contact with the wireless, but it just wouldn't connect. So I did computer surgery, taking the knife to my program list, deleting anything that would want Internet access, and I'm happy to say that the patient made a miraculous recovery. If you must know, I think the culprit was an extra version of google toolbar that somehow got installed after I switched over to the new browsers that already have GT. I know . . . BLAH BLAH BLAH . . . sorry.

Anyway, I have returned and will now be blogging better, both here and at the new blog sensation (!) TOYBUGLE.COM which is well worth a visit. My brother Jeff and one of his friends in NYC are responsible for this blog, which explains the involvement of my sister Emily, my sister-in-law's sister Missy, and me. The blog is already a lot of fun. It's all about cool toys we hunt down on the web. I write under the usual "dawntreader" name, Jeff writes as "bugleboy", Emily as "em", and Missy as "manwagon." There. Now you know it all.

Ryan Adams is a punk, but he's our punk

2007-08-07T12:02:00.001-07:00

So I was among the enthusiastic, and ultimately disappointed, sell-out crowd that showed up to hear Ryan Adams play last week at Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City. Other sources have more fully set forth all the particulars, so I'll just give you my impressions of the night's outing.

First of all, I never want to hear Edith Piaf's voice again, ever. I mean, wow. A couple hours of listening to poor Edith croon out over the loudspeaker prior to Ryan's taking the stage definitely satiated any craving I have had or ever will have to hear dramatic French-language singing. Having seen "La Vie En Rose" did not make the listening much better, either. I really feel for those in the crowd who sat there, unfamiliar with the artist, wondering why the devil this bizarro music was so loudly and insistently blaring at them for sooooooolooooooooooong. Of course, the desperation inspired in me by the music actually led to some much appreciated audience solidarity when, just prior to the show's start, I commented loudly, and probably obnoxiously, that I'd love to pitch a big rock through the speakers. I got serious props from the folks the next row up, and I knew I was not alone in my misery. I did indeed love company that day.

And this brings me to my other points, for Ryan Adams and the Cardinals did in fact arrive and play some music. The band sounded awesome, all the more so because of the contrast between them and Edith's warbling. Granted, the band members, including RA, did not leave their pre-assigned seats for the entire show. But, as I said, it sounded terrific.

Unfortunately, it was short lived, since the band exited the stage a mere hour and a half after having taken it and never returned, clap and hoot and cheer as the audience did for more than ten minutes. It was the first time I have ever seen a band fail to return for an encore, and I have been to a lot of shows, including those of some of the bigger acts around. For some reason Ryan is too good to do the audience the courtesy of singing a couple more songs to top the night off. I'm with many of my fellow concert-goers who, love Ryan Adams as they might, swore off his live shows then and there. It isn't worth it.

So yes, Ryan is a punk. And yes, he's our punk. But I'm not going to pay another $40 bucks to see our punk sit in a chair for an hour. I'll just put on his records at home and prop up a photograph. It amounts to the same thing.

A Must-Read

2007-02-20T12:54:00.001-08:00

I am on a quest to tell everyone I know about the BEST BOOK NO ONE HAS HEARD OF, namely David James Duncan's The Brothers K. His other works are also well worth reading, but start with this.

What I've Been Reading: authors from England, Scotland, and Ireland

2007-02-20T12:30:00.001-08:00

I've got a feeling that my blog readership has dropped off dramatically since Jeff, Mindy, Joe, and Emily left Utah. A big reason may ALSO be that I haven't updated for almost a year. BUT I'M BACK, BABY! But not with a vengeance. It's more of a back-with-a-whisper going on here.

And the whisper? It's a short selection of what I've been reading, since I spend an inordinate amount of time with my nose in a book. I am inclined to say it's not healthy to spend so much time reading, but I feel pretty good. Healthy as a horse, and not just an average horse, but an extra-healthy horse.

So here it is, selections from my recent reading:

Arthur Conan Doyle (English) hit a homerun with Sherlock Holmes, but little did I know his personal favorite among all his novels was The White Company, an adventure story set in England, France, and Spain during the Hundred Years' War. The story follows the exploits of two once-monks, an archer, and a knight as they meet and go to war.

For comics fans, you have to check out Grant Morrisson's (Scottish) Seven Soldiers of Victory, which is a retooling of the DC universe's old SSoV characters. Morrisson takes these old, weird characters and gives them new life and depth, a la Alan Moore in Watchmen. It's got a well-written and complex narrative and teriffic art. As far as plot is concerned, I don't want to give too much away, but I will say heros who try to save the world. (Have I said too much?)

The Third Policeman by Flan O'Brien (Irish) is one of the more bizarre books you may every meander through, but also has some of the most interesting language I've encountered in a long time. Two men plot a murder and robbery, and one ends up on a quest to find the ill-gotten gains after his partner in crime hides them away.

The Bachelor Life, Exhibit 3

2006-03-02T13:14:00.001-08:00

Last Thursday it seemed like such a good idea: I got tickets to a play for Haley and me--to see Saturday night's performance of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Provo Theatre Company. So far so good. The catch is that because this was the last performance of the play's run, and because I had told my friend, a player in the production, that I'd be there, I didn't have much flexibility in what seats I could take. And as it turned out, there was good news and bad news at the box office. The good news: there were still two seats available. (YES!) The bad news: one was on the front row and one on the back row. (NOOOO!) I wasn't about to take the two separated, and I was pretty disappointed that I wouldn't get to see the play, but the box office man had advice: "If people are late or don't come, we have everyone fill in the seats; you'd probably get to sit together." I was convinced. It sounded like a sure thing. We'd be sitting together in no time. So I bought the tickets.

The day before the play, at a birthday dinner with my family, I told them my plan. Sadly, it met with universal disapproval and much mocking. They told me it was a terrible move. They advised me to write a book about how not to do things. They said it was no wonder I'm still single. I said, "It's going to work out just fine. You wait and see." And I really thought it would. I figured it would be cake for me to mention to the usher that we'd like to sit together--would he mind keeping an eye out for some seats. He'd spot us a couple, fix it right up, right before show time. I was cool and confident.

That is, until Saturday night. We arrived and the usher, a heavy, kindly, but somehow-frazzled type lady, showed us our seats. I mentioned our situation and she confirmed that indeed they might fill in seats at some stage, but seemed not to capture the critical point--that we were two of the people who would like to end up closer together as a result of the shuffling around. No problem, I thought as I headed to the back row. She'll keep her eye out. Judging by how few people had arrived by 7:15, come 7:30 there would be plenty of seats for us to occupy.

And by 7:30, there WERE plenty of seats. I thoght we'd be moving now for sure. But the play didn't start on time, and our fragile-witted usher had yet to return. The seats started to fill up. Still no usher. 15 minutes had passed. Still no play; no seat filling; no nothing. Almost everyone had arrived. I was tortured, there on the back row, seeing each additional person file in and take the seats that were, to me, designated as my date-savers. This date was destined for ruin.

There were still two seats open right next to Haley. 7:50 arrived--the show was 20 minutes late--and another usher walked to the front row, where Haley was sitting, and said a few words to her. Then he walked out. There was no telling what he'd said, but I got it into my head that he was going to fill those seats. I was about to ambush whatever patrons the usher was going to show to the seats. But he walked back to Haley alone and said a few more words. She beckoned to me to come up, and sure enough, the seat was mine. I was TRIUMPHANT. And while it worked out this time, it was, in retrospect, not a good idea, and I'm not trying it again.

In the course of the play, the only memory of the tense half-hour preceding the play was the occasional heavy laughter from the rear, center of the audience. I turned around the first time I heard the loud guffaws and realized they were coming from the unhelpful woman usher.

The Bachelor Life, Exhibit 2

2006-01-31T13:30:00.001-08:00

I've taken up the practice of sleeping in earplugs, to take the edge off my roommate's heavy snoring. It's no problem--I'm accustomed to it. I make it through most nights without ever having the earplugs fall out i. If one does, and the snoring wakes me, I just feel around in the dark until I find the rogue earplug, replace it, and go back to peaceful slumber.

All this is just context for the singularly memorable experience I recently had in the middle of the night. I must have been irritated by one of my earplugs, or had a strange dream, because at some point I reached up to my ear and pulled the earplug out. And for some inexplicable reason, my subconscious took it upon itself to place that pesky earplug in a safe place: my mouth. I'll tell you right now, to wake up with my own withered old earplug in my mouth is about as abrupt and unpleasant an awakening as I've ever had.

The Bachelor Life, Exhibit 1

2005-12-10T09:21:00.001-08:00

There's a jelly jar on my coffee table, half-full of water. Why? Because someone was thirsty.

Bachelor rationale: Thirsty, but out of clean drinking glasses? Why not use one of those jelly jars we have lying around? Or if you're super thirsty, why not use a wide-mouth Mason jar? No good reason not to. I mean, fitting your lips to the mouth of one of those screw-top jars can't be worse than the hassle of washing and drying a glass. Besides, someone will do a load of dishes eventually. We'll have clean glasses to burn, and they may even clean up that jelly jar.

While we're on the subject of bathrooms . . .

2005-12-09T14:41:00.001-08:00

WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT OF BATHROOMS, I thought I'd give some credit where credit is due. I know a lot of people work long and hard to make their bathrooms pleasant. I know people who try to make it so pleasant that, I have to assume, they pray that company will want to use the bathroom, just so the company can see how sparklingly, refreshingly clean it is in there. Or maybe they're expecting a surprise visit from the President of the United States. I can't really say. What I can say is kudos to those who keep their bathrooms an uncanny spic and span.

BUT THE CLEANLINESS OF PRIVATE BATHROOMS is not what this post is about. Sure, if your private bathroom is tidy, you deserve a pat on the back. You've done yourself a favor. Your moral fabric has been strengthened. You've built character. But if you have cleaned a PUBLIC restroom and made it into a clean, well-lighted place, well, you've done us all a favor that transcends personal character-growth. You've done what 99 out of 100 public restroom operators have yet to accomplish: provide an unclogged, dry-seated toilet rooted to a clean, dry floor, in a space where a person is not deathly afraid to let the sleeve of his coat make contact with any given sink or a wall, and where breathing is not instantly penalized by the olfactory nerves and an unfelt but all-too-real shock to the immune system. (phew.)

CREDIT IS DUE where we find clean, pleasant public restrooms, and I have found one such restroom. On BYU campus, we have one special bathroom that I've recently used and--dare I say it?--enjoyed. I was in the Richards Building on Sunday for a meeting, and stopped into the restroom for a 'rest.' And then it struck me: the place was clean, and it smelled nice. In fact, the nice smell I was experiencing was nothing like that sharp chemical smell that comes from the standard wall-mounted scent sprayer (one of which once sprayed me in the side of the head as I passed), but was actually the very smell that you produce when you brew up a pot of wassail on your kitchen stove on Christmas eve. I'm not kidding: it smells like Christmas in there. When was the last time you had a pleasant sniff around a public restrooom?! It was unbelievable. I had to peek to see if Santa may have been sitting in the next stall. (It wasn't him, but someone substantially less jolly.) All the same, it smelled like Christmas cheer in there. Joy to the world.

Cleaning Bathrooms

2005-12-02T12:56:00.001-08:00

There's something ennobling about cleaning a bathroom, don't you think? I mean, it doesn't even have to be your own bathroom. Think about it: inherent in cleaning anything is the recognition that there's a mess. When you clean your own bathroom, you recognize the mess you made. You see, whatever, uh, "yucky stuff" there may be in there and think, "I made that. It is my yuck."

An insightful cleaner of a bathroom may even acknowledge that, disinfect as he may, he remains a continual introducer of foul physical matter into the world. Yes, as long as the bathroom cleaner lives, he will continue spreading his filth all over. But by the cleaner's act of purging bathroom muck from the world via chemical cleaning agents, the cleaner takes responsibility for what he does, and not only for the visible problems, but for the germy residue as well.

When you clean someone else's bathroom, you are taking it a step further: you acknowledge the familial bonds that tie each human to the next; you bend your will to serve the next guy, despite the fact that he may be perfectly capable of doing it all himself. Is there a more noble act? I venture to say there isn't!

So, whaddaya say: who wants to clean my bathroom? Cleaning checks are tomorrow. I feel noble enough just now to feel comfortable offering this opportunity to somebody who could use a pick-me-up.

P.S. This is going on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Called Out at Lunch

2005-11-21T16:21:00.001-08:00

At lunch today, Jake and I pulled up chairs at another student's table and started to eat. The other student said to me, "Hey--the Ridings live in my neighborhood. They said a lot of nice things about you." I played it cool even though I had no idea who the Ridings are. I figured since they'd said "a lot of nice things" about me, they must know some nice things, and since it takes a bit of knowing me before you find out anything nice, these must be more than mere acquaintences. And of course you don't want that kind of friend to hear that you couldn't place their surname. So I faked knowing them and answered with the obligatory self-deprecating remark: "Those guys! They're exaggerators!"

All was fine in the world; he didn't know I was feigning recognition--but it only lasted about seven seconds because he turned to Jake and said, "They know you too!" And Jake, being equally clueless about who these blasted people are that seem to be our pals, said, "Who? I'm not sure who they are." My heart was racing. Jake was on the verge of picking apart the seams of my polite little bluff. He turned to me. NOOOOO! "How do you know them?" he asked. Having side-stepped this particular socially-awkward moment mere seconds before, I was not eager to talk any more about the Ridings. But there was nothing for it but to answer. "Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, I can't remember where we know them from." Derrrr. Idiotic. I turned to the other student: "Did they say where we knew them from?" No. Jake, at this point, still hadn't caught on to me, so he turned the screws, unintentionally, a little tighter: "What are their names?" GAAAA. I feigned forgetfulness. "Jonathan, do you remember?" He didn't. Time for a generic question from me, to try to reconjure the illusion that I know these guys. "Are they still in school?" The answer was yes. The moment dragged on for only a second longer, and then the subject was dull, the conversation next to meaningless, and it was over.

The Long Blog War is Over

2005-11-21T15:36:00.001-08:00

Sooooo, I feel pretty good about this: a new blog--a clean slate--to mark up as I wish. It's gonna feel pretty good after having waged a long, acrimonious blog war on that other blog I had. (Check it if you like silly things with long addresses: http://spaces.msn.com/members/eurokipper/PersonalSpace.aspx?_c01_blogpart=myspace&_c02_owner=1&_c=blogpart.) Now that the fog of war has lifted and I have a chance to take a look around, I realize that NOTHING HAS CHANGED. We're all a little older, and possibly slightly wiser, but my blog war has not left the world a ruined, debris-strewn mess as I had expected. Maybe no one noticed. Anyway, I have yet to find a new purpose to my blogging life, so until I do, I'll just try my best to make my blog as lame as possible so I can drive off even the most tolerant of blog readers. Read no further: it's all rubbish from here on out. You've been warned.

Halloween 2004

2005-11-21T14:15:00.001-08:00

Check it out: the blue house is Franz Kafka's house in Prague. It's a Halloween MIRACLE!

2005-11-21T14:13:00.001-08:00

Alphonse Mucha's window in Prague

Frozen silly in Belgrade

2005-11-21T14:08:00.001-08:00

Actual Belgrade graffiti: "KILL ALL HUMANS"

Halloween 2005

2005-11-21T14:07:00.002-08:00

Halloween 2005: (l-r) Beetlejuice, Lydia, St. Quinn, Arwyn, Aragorn