A Slight Delay

In lieu of writing an entry today, I’ve made an update to the site. Two pages–Links and Resources, and Quotes–have been added. Both pages will be updated from time to time, as the inspiration strikes.

Case in point as to why this blog is titled “A Slight Delay”: Some time back, I had the idea to do a “Turn Off Your Computer Day.” Turns out, they beat me to it.

They, in this case, are Michael Taylor, Denis Bystrov and Ashutosh Rajekar. Since anyone who advocates a less plugged-in life usually gets pegged as a Luddite, it should be noted that Messrs. Taylor, Bystrov and Rajekar’s professions both heavily involve computing. What they’re suggesting isn’t the eradication of computers and all that goes with them; rather, they’d like people to realize that there is a world beyond the one of Warcraft, or of Messenger, MP3 downloads, blog surfing, or any of the hundreds of other timekillers that exist on our desktops and online.  (more…)

A few days ago, I overheard a conversation among a few coworkers who were wondering why the economy wasn’t in better shape, given that we’re at war. To quote Phil, I’m not terribly knowledgeable of this issue, but that won’t stop me from commenting. When people think of war “improving” the economy, they generally point to World War II helping to end the Great Depression. They’d be right about the WWII part, but not so much about any of the more recent wars.

See, the United States’ economy went on a wartime footing a short time before we entered the Second World War, and it’s never really left it since. There have been differences in the degree of intensity, certainly, but the military-industrial complex against which Eisenhower warned has been with us, in one form or another, and to one degree or another, for nearly three-quarters of a century now.

Economic fixes are a bit like drugs; that initial hit may give you a pretty intense high, but over time, if you keep using, you build up a tolerance. The initial “high,” if you will, from putting the American economy on a wartime footing lost its effect over time with repeated use. The economy has become so dependent on this that it would take a much higher dose, at a much higher intensity, to acheive the same effect, and it’s at best questionable (to put it kindly) whether the end result would be even remotely worth the cost.

Since the government seems to have realized, gradually and belatedly, that trying to scare the hell out of the populace with threats of terrorist attacks doesn’t have the same political effect that it used to, I’m thinking there’ll probably be a change in tactics for the ‘08 elections. With prices both of crude and of gasoline reaching all-time highs (and with gas prices here on the east coast projected to top $4.00/gallon in time for Memorial Day weekend), fuel prices have become a hot-button issue. My gut tells me we’ll see either some form of negotiated deal to drop prices, or a release from the strategic reserves, timed either for the Democratic convention, or some time around Labor Day weekend. I could be dead wrong here (lord knows it wouldn’t be the first time), but this administration has played politics with enough other issues that it wouldn’t take a hardened cynic to see the possibility.

Why I will never write a cookbook, Exhibit A:

Ingredients:
1 package flour tortillas
1 package of hot dogs, preferably uncured since you don’t want nitrates interfering with the lips-and-assholes goodness of your weenies.
1 package of shredded cheese. You could use cheddar, or one of the many “Mexican” blends that no self-respecting Mexican has ever been seen buying.
1 can of refried beans
Chili powder or some other, similar, blend of spices

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The April 12-18 issue of The Economist has an intriguing special section on wireless telecomm that you can read here. The series’ premise—reduced to ridiculous simplicity—is that the technology has had an enormous impact on the way we live, work, write, and… do other things. While that’s not exactly a revelation, there’s something to be said for how it’s reported; you’ll find neither hand-wringing jeremiads or breathless praise. While the report finds much that’s praiseworthy in the world o’ wireless, there’s also some clear-sighted criticism and questioning of the technology, as well as the uses to which it’s being put. Especially worth reading (at least for people concerned with reading and writing) is the last segment, “Homo Mobilis.” There’s likely a longer blog post buried in there somewhere, but you’d do better to just read the original.

The promotions make it sound so enticing: motion pictures and events on demand, high picture quality, a variety of channels, and service that rivals cable. Then there’s the tagline: “Friends don’t let friends subscribe to cable.” Let’s just say that after having their service for nearly a year now, I know why so few of my friends and family have DirecTV. The channel selection’s not what it’s cracked up to be, picture quality is merely passable, and the service… well, I’ll let one story stand in for the several I could tell about the nail-biting experience that is DirecTV.
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Checked my Yahoo account today, and thought for a minute I was reading some descendent of Lewis Carroll, or maybe Hugo Ball. Spam seems to be Yahoo’s bread and butter, judging by the amount of it that clogs my inbox every time I log in, but lately it’s taken on an almost poetic, musique concrete quality. The Ali Zapatas and Zenobia Q Titmouses of the world have given us some real gems, reprinted here as poetry (n.b. the typos are theirs, not mine):

pricrot Tort Radmid
Priant Alpher bato spire
Horth Guitchop Botather
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Maybe it’s just a byproduct of being in the New York media market, but it seems like radio is a fickle place. Radio stations don’t last, and the few that have seem to have mutated beyond all recognition. At any given point from the late ‘70’s to the early ‘90’s, you could spin the dial and hear anything from Nektar, The Clash, Elvis Costello, PiL, the Smiths, the Cure, Joy Division, and the Style Council rubbing elbows with the likes of PWEI, Killing Joke, Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, King Crimson, Big Youth, Pat Metheny, The Wonderstuff, and others, sometimes side-by-side.

Times have changed. WQCD is off the air (thankfully), while WNEW and WHTG have changed call signs and formats multiple times. These days over at WBLS (which Ross Davis once described as a “crack house with turntables”—does anyone else remember Paco?), if anyone tried to play a Clash dub plate back to back with the Sugarhill Gang, someone’d throw a Molotov Cocktail in the lobby. (more…)

First, the not-so-good news: Frank Miller, co-director of Sin City (2005) and co-writer of 300 (2006) is in the director’s chair for a film adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit, due for release in January, 2009. Now, the good news: Frank Miller, author of the classic Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, is in the director’s chair for a film adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit, due for release in January, 2009.

The film likely has an enormous budget; Miller’s other properties have, thus far, been a good ROI, and I’m sure that the people producing this one expect no different. The cast includes the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Paz Vega and Dan Lauria, with Gabriel Macht in the title role. If the film falls flat, it won’t be for lack of money or star power.
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