Archive for January, 2016

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Something lighter.

Friday, January 29th, 2016

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s list of “Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas”.

Good for a few chuckles, at least. For example, the entry on “Eastern Caribbean University”: “…master’s degrees were offered in “Classical Studies” which actually was the study of any ‘classic’ TV or movies series such as ‘I Love Lucy’ or the James Bond movies. Closed by action of the CB.”

I also like “Irish International University”: “The Irish government has requested that Malaysia close this entity on grounds that it is neither Irish nor a university.”

(“The Partridge Family were neither partridges, nor a family. Discuss.”)

Posted in 1970s, Law, TV | Comments Closed

Buddy.

Friday, January 29th, 2016

In another life, I used to travel between Austin and Rhode Island regularly (once a year or so).

The first time I went, I stayed downtown, at the Biltmore. This was 1995, I think, and it seemed that downtown was dead.

But I kept going back (this was the business I had chosen) and downtown Providence got better. They built a big new mall within walking distance of the Biltmore. They started Waterfire. The last time I was in Providence, it was a fun, exciting place to be. I miss it.

Buddy Cianci was responsible for a lot of this.

===

He wasn’t a hero of mine, and I never really “met” him. I did encounter him a couple of times.

It was a running joke among my coworkers (and the folks we worked with in Rhode Island) that you should eat at Joe Marzilli’s Old Canteen at least once; not only was the food good, but if you got lucky, you might see Buddy.

Well, one night I was in there with some of my coworkers and some of our Rhode Island contacts. So was Buddy. He actually came over to our table and commented on how cute and well-behaved the young child who was with us was. (As I recall, he was accompanied by a stunning, and very young, woman.)

Later on that trip, I shared an elevator ride with him. I didn’t say anything to him; didn’t seem like the time or place. I kind of wish I had said something nice to him now.

===

The Prince of Providence is a swell book about Buddy and Providence politics, though I don’t know if it has been updated since 2003.

===

Buddy reminds me some of Robert Moses. Both were examples of The Man Who Got Things Done. And it seems that both were also examples of the “rude to the waiter” rule. (I watched him get kind of snippy once with a desk clerk at the Biltmore who didn’t recognize him. To be fair, though, he was actually living in the Biltmore at the time…)

I was always conflicted by him. As a Libertarian, he represented a lot of what I hate about big government. As a connoisseur of politicians, especially crooked ones, he was one of the last examples of a type we probably won’t see again.

And I always thought his second conviction was questionable. He was charged on 27 counts, and was acquitted on 26. The one thing he was found guilty of was “racketeering conspiracy”. What the hell does that even mean? What “racket” was he “conspiring” in, if he wasn’t guilty of the other 26 charges?

Then again, I Am Not A Lawyer, and maybe I’m inclined to make excuses for someone I kind of liked.

===

He may have been a crook. But he was my crook, damn it.

Posted in IANAL, Law, Obits, Rhode Island | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 29, 2016.

Friday, January 29th, 2016

Paul Kantner, guitarist and founding member of Jefferson Airplane. SFGate. NYT. A/V Club.

In the ‘70s, Kantner and Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick recorded Blows Against The Empire, a sci-fi concept album that was even nominated for a Hugo Award.

Perhaps someone more familiar with Hugo history can answer this: was Kantner the only guitarist ever nominated for a Hugo (either individually or as part of a group)?

This was by way of Lawrence, who asks, “Has there been a huge number of important deaths this month, or is my view just distorted?” If his view is distorted, mine is, too.

I think there have been studies that show a peak in deaths in January: people who are on the edge try to hold out through Christmas and the new year, but after January 1st there’s nothing to hold out for and they’ve used up a lot of their strength. Even taking that into account, this January has been one of the worst months I can remember.

At some point, I may run a comparison of how many obit watches I’ve posted in January since I began this effort. If I do, I’ll post it here. (And I know that will be kind of skewed, too, but it is at least a start.)

NYT obit for Buddy Cianci. That’s something else I’ll try to get posted today.

Posted in Music, Obits, Politics, Rhode Island | 2 Comments »

TMQ Watch: January 26, 2016.

Thursday, January 28th, 2016

Our apologies for the delay. We intended to work on this last night, but the standard Austin issue cold/allergies/creeping crud knocked us flat, and we ended up sleeping for roughly 12 hours instead. We’re somewhat better now, thanks to Claritin-D, naproxen sodium, and lots of water.

In other news, we have now reached the point in the season at which we don’t care any longer. All of our teams are out, and we’re already tired of hearing about Peyton Manning.

But formalities must be observed. Also, we only have (maybe) two more columns left after this one. So, after the jump, this week’s TMQ…

(more…)

Posted in NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 28, 2016.

Thursday, January 28th, 2016

In great haste, because my lunch is about to end and I’m busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest: former Providence, Rhode Island mayor Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci Jr.

ProJo coverage. I expect I’ll have more to say later.

Posted in Clippings, Obits, Politics, Rhode Island | Comments Closed

More Marvin.

Wednesday, January 27th, 2016

I really like this remembrance of Marvin Minsky by Stephen Wolfram.

Edited to add: By way of Lawrence, Kevin D. Williamson in National Review on Minsky and economics.

Not Minsky, but worth linking to: Hal Linden on Abe Vigoda.

Posted in 1970s, Geek, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Crime and punishment.

Wednesday, January 27th, 2016

The first three paragraphs of this article push one of my hot buttons, so you might take that into account when considering my recommendation.

However, I really like Kathryn Schulz’s “Dead Certainty”, about “Making a Murderer” specifically, and the general trend of reporters conducting their own “extrajudicial investigations”.

Nearly seventy years have passed since Erle Stanley Gardner first tried a criminal case before the jury of the general public. Yet we still have not thought seriously about what it means when a private investigative project—bound by no rules of procedure, answerable to nothing but ratings, shaped only by the ethics and aptitude of its makers—comes to serve as our court of last resort.

Schulz puts her finger on something that’s bugged me for a while. I’m not proud of this, but I used to watch “America’s Most Wanted”. Sometimes, it reminded me of a scene from “Fahrenheit 451”, where Montag is being pursued and the pursuit is broadcast live on television, complete with a host who sounds a lot like John Walsh.

I don’t have a dog in this fight: I didn’t watch “Making a Murderer” and I didn’t listen to “Serial”. But I think what Schulz says is worth thinking about:

It is largely because of these systemic weaknesses in our judicial system that we find ourselves with a court of last resort. While that court cannot directly operate the levers of the law, it has drawn attention to cases that need review, and innocent people have been freed as a result. Yet in the decades since Erle Stanley Gardner launched his column, none of the forces that put those people in prison in the first place have changed for the better. Nor have we evolved a set of standards around extrajudicial investigations of criminal cases. However broken the rules that govern our real courts, the court of last resort is bound by no rules at all.

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Law, TV | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 27, 2016.

Wednesday, January 27th, 2016

For the historical record, Abe Vigoda: NYT. A/V Club. abevigoda.com.

I loved “Barney Miller” (and really need to pick up the complete box set when it gets cheap), and I don’t remember being a fan of “Fish”. And I actually saw the Broadway revival of “Arsenic and Old Lace” with Vigoda and Jean Stapleton the last time I was in NYC. That was a lot of fun.

But the one thing that stands out for me when I think about Vigoda is this:

It might be because I saw it again recently, but I think this is an amazing scene. Watch Vigoda’s face, and the range of emotions he goes through: shock, disappointment, resignation, and that heartbreaking last line: “Tom, can you get me off the hook? For old times’ sake?” Who else could have played that scene?

Posted in 1970s, Movies, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Marvin Minsky.

Tuesday, January 26th, 2016

NYT obit. 1981 profile from the New Yorker by Jeremy Bernstein.

Dr. Minsky was another of my personal heroes that I never got to meet. I first read about him in the pages of Hackers, which was a Christmas gift from my mother one year (and about which I’ve written before).

Later on, I got interested in AI, which led me again to Minsky by way of The Society of Mind. (Which, oddly enough, I have also touched on before.)

I wish that I had more to say, but I’m struggling to find words right now. (I blame this mostly on allergies.)

Posted in Books, Clippings, Geek, Obits | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 25, 2016.

Monday, January 25th, 2016

I didn’t get a chance to note this over the weekend, but Bill Johnson, downhill skier and Olympic gold medal winner, has died.

I’m not a huge follower of the skiing sports (though I find them fun to watch) but Johnson’s obit is one of the saddest ones I’ve read recently in the NYT.

Henry Worsley has also died. Mr. Worsley was a British explorer who was trying to recreate Ernest Shackleton’s attempt to cross the Antarctic: he was within 30 miles of finishing when he was forced to call for a medical evacuation, and passed away in a hospital a day later.

Posted in Obits, Sports | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 21, 2016.

Thursday, January 21st, 2016

David Hartwell, noted science fiction editor and personality, has died.

SF Signal. Scott Edelman. Lawrence. Kathryn Cramer.

I’ll leave it to others to discuss and dissect his impact on the field. I did not know him well. I was at a few conventions with him, and I think maybe he could have picked me out of a police lineup. But in the limited interactions I had with him, and what I saw of his interactions with others, he came across as one of the nicest people in the world. I think it is fair to say that he was a gentle man, and a gentleman.

He was also a snappy dresser.

The world is a lesser place today.

Posted in Books, Obits | Comments Closed

TMQ Watch: January 19, 2016.

Wednesday, January 20th, 2016

How does Gregg Easterbrook deal with the fact that Chip Kelly won’t be returning to college football, but instead will be coaching the Santa Clara San Francisco 49ers?

The answer after the jump in this week’s TMQ…

(more…)

Posted in NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 19, 2016.

Tuesday, January 19th, 2016

This was a long long time ago, when I was a professional small child.

My family’s primary car was a Chevy Suburban. I don’t remember what year it was (though I know it was purchased used), but I do remember that it had an 8-track tape player. At the time, my sister and I thought that was pretty cool.

One year, for Father’s Day (I think) my sister and I decided to pool our funds and get another 8-track tape for my dad to play in the car. We went down to Foley’s…

(To give you some idea of how long ago this was:

  • 8-track tape players and tapes were still a thing.
  • Foley’s was still a thing.
  • Foley’s still sold recorded music, including 8-track tapes.

)

Anyway, we bought Hotel California on 8-track tape. Really, I am not making this up. I’m pretty sure this was my idea, and that I’d heard the title track on the AM radio.

I’m not sure if my dad actually enjoyed the Eagles, or just tolerated them for the sake of his children. (Speaking of which, this is a swell essay by Ken White, if you haven’t read it.) I do know that we played the crap out of that tape, as it was one of the handful we had. (The only others I remember were a tape of trucking songs – probably from Radio Shack – that included “Wolf Creek Pass”, with the track break right in the middle of the song, and “The Muppet Show” album. To this day, a vital part of my brain is occupied with part of the lyrics to “Lydia the Tattooed Lady”, and “Good grief! The comedian’s a bear!”)

All this is by way of saying: rest in peace, Glenn Frey. A/V Club.

Posted in Clippings, Music, Obits | 1 Comment »

Obit watch: January 17, 2016.

Sunday, January 17th, 2016

Catching up on a few from the past couple of days.

Dan “Grizzly Adams” Haggerty, for the record. NYT. A/V Club.

Both of the times Mike the Musicologist and I have gone up to Tulsa, Haggerty was a “special guest”. I thought about getting an autograph and maybe even a photo with him – if nothing else, as a present for my brother – but somehow, in all our wanderings around the show (and remember, it is a huge show) we never made it past where he and the other guests were sitting. I kind of regret that now…

Noted Austin public radio personality Paul Ray died on Friday. Statesman. KUTX.

Posted in 1970s, Austin, Clippings, Radio, TV | Comments Closed

Those Darn Episcopalians!

Friday, January 15th, 2016

Credit on this is due to Lawrence, who sent me a link yesterday. I also mostly stole the title from him.

I’m not Episcopalian (or Anglican) and, while I don’t talk about my religion here, I am fascinated by the way various religions work (or don’t work, as the case may be). The link Lawrence sent me pushed my hot buttons, but to be honest, I had to re-read it a few times before I felt like I understood it.

So the archbishop of Canterbury apparently called a big meeting of the archbishops of the Anglican Communion. As I understand it, the Anglican Communion is sort of the governing body of the Anglican churches. This may be a poor analogy, but it seems like you can think of the archbishop of Canterbury as the Pope of the Anglican church, with the other archbishops sort of being the equivalent of their Catholic counterparts. (But there’s a lot more democracy and fellowship involved.)

In this case, the meeting was of what the church calls “primates”, which (again, if I understand correctly) are basically the archbishops who head up the regional Anglican churches in the Communion.

Results of this meeting leaked out yesterday, and the Primates were forced to issue a beautifully written statement:

Today the Primates agreed how they would walk together in the grace and love of Christ. This agreement acknowledges the significant distance that remains but confirms their unanimous commitment to walk together…
This agreement demonstrates the commitment of all the Primates to continue the life of the Communion with neither victor nor vanquished.

But what did they actually decide?

It is our unanimous desire to walk together. However given the seriousness of these matters we formally acknowledge this distance by requiring that for a period of three years The Episcopal Church no longer represent us on ecumenical and interfaith bodies, should not be appointed or elected to an internal standing committee and that while participating in the internal bodies of the Anglican Communion, they will not take part in decision making on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity.

The Episcopal Church is basically the branch of the Anglicans in the United States. The Communion is stripping them of their ability to participate in decision making, and seems to be saying the American church is not “in full communion”.

Why? What brought this on? Three words: same-sex marriage.

The traditional doctrine of the church in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds marriage as between a man and a woman in faithful, lifelong union. The majority of those gathered reaffirm this teaching.

The NYT summarizes these developments.

I’m kind of torn by this, even though I don’t have a dog in the fight. On the one hand, I support same-sex marriage. On the other hand, I also support the rights of churches and individuals to make their own decisions based on their faith. I’d violently oppose any governmental effort to force the Episcopal Church to allow same-sex marriage, but if they reached that decision independently, that’s their choice.

It’s more…curious to me than anything else. I had it in my head that the Anglican Communion, and especially the archbishops of Canterbury, were extremely liberal. If anything, I would have expected the communion to go in the opposite direction and allow same-sex marriage in all the churches.

And I’m wondering if this will cause an even bigger split:

The archbishop of Canterbury permitted the participation at the gathering this week of Archbishop Foley Beach, who leads the Anglican Church in North America, a breakaway group formed in the United States and Canada to protest the moves there to ordain gay bishops and recognize same-sex marriages. The Anglican Church in North America counts just over 100,000 members.

I’d welcome discussion of this here, especially from Anglicans/Episcopalians who want to correct my misunderstandings of the church or doctrine.

Posted in Clippings, Religion | Comments Closed

Quick notes: January 14, 2016.

Thursday, January 14th, 2016

Obit watch: Lawrence Phillips, former Nebraska running back, first round draft pick of the St. Louis Rams, and current prison inmate.

Phillips went to prison in 2008 on a sentence of more than 31 years after he was convicted of twice choking his girlfriend in 2005 in San Diego and of driving his car into three teens later that year after a pickup football game in Los Angeles.

He was also suspected of having killed a cellmate. His death is believed to have been a suicide.

Well. Chip Kelly is the new coach of the San Francisco 49ers. This should make Gregg Easterbrook’s head explode.

Posted in Clippings, Law, NFL, Obits, TMQ watch | 1 Comment »

Obit watch: January 14, 2016.

Thursday, January 14th, 2016

Alan Rickman: NYT. A/V Club.

I was actually going to embed my favorite Rickman moment here, but the NYT beat me to it.

I’d kind of like to see Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny, but I’m not going to pay $150 for the DVD…

Posted in Movies, Obits | Comments Closed

TMQ Watch: January 12, 2016.

Wednesday, January 13th, 2016

As always, after the jump, this week’s TMQ…

(more…)

Posted in Movies, NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 13, 2016.

Wednesday, January 13th, 2016

William Del Monte passed away on Monday at the age of 109.

Mr. Del Monte was the last known survivor of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Posted in Clippings, History, Obits | Comments Closed

There’s only room for one and here she comes, here she comes…

Tuesday, January 12th, 2016

I sort of shoved the Bowie roundup to the back of the fridge yesterday, mostly because I felt the coverage had become over-saturated. But I still feel obligated to do something for the historical record.

NYT, which contains links to their extensive coverage. LAT coverage. I know I’m probably being provincial in not linking to a UK paper, but honestly I don’t know which of them is trustworthy these days; if I have any readers in the UKOGBNI who are willing to drop links in comments, please feel free to do so.

Interesting piece from TechDirt about Bowie as music technology visionary.

The A/V Club ran a quick obit, and followed up with a longer “For Our Consideration” piece that’s mostly okay except for the last sentence. Death isn’t “a guise”, and Sean O’Neal should be ashamed of himself for saying that.

I’ve never called myself a Bowie fan, and never spent money to see him live. But when I think about Bowie, I keep thinking about how much of his music I really enjoyed: “Heroes”, “Major Tom”, “Ashes to Ashes”, “Putting Out the Fire”…

It isn’t a great recording, but it is a great song.

Violates my rule about Christmas music, but I think I can make an exception in this case.

Posted in Clippings, Music, Obits | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 11, 2016.

Monday, January 11th, 2016

Florence King: NYT.

The cultural boils Miss King sought so vigorously to lance included:
Political correctness; feminism (“Feminists will not be satisfied,” she wrote, “until every abortion is performed by a gay black doctor under an endangered tree on a reservation for handicapped Indians”); environmentalism; the antismoking lobby; sentiment; intimacy; weakness; special pleading; lack of breeding (“No matter which sex I went to bed with, I never smoked on the street”); gay liberation; far rightism; far leftism; mild to moderate leftism; democracy (“I believe in a Republic of Merit in which water is allowed to find its own level, where voters, like drivers, are tested before being turned loose”); the Constitution; children (“In order to molest a child you must first be in the same room with a child, and I don’t know how perverts stand it”); the human race.

WP.

Angus Scrimm also passed away over the weekend. He knocked around quite a bit, doing guest shots on various TV series (including “Alias” and “Trapper John M.D.”) and movies. He was perhaps best known as “The Tall Man” from the “Phantasm” movies. Interestingly, he also wrote liner notes for Capitol Records:

During his tenure at Capitol, Scrimm penned liner notes for artists like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and even the Beatles under the byline “Rory Guy”; he won a Grammy in 1974 for “Best Album Notes, Classical” for Korngold: The Classic Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Even after the success of Phantasm, Scrimm continued to write liner notes.

Posted in Books, Movies, Obits | Comments Closed

With a rebel yell, they cried “More! More! More!”

Monday, January 11th, 2016

More firings, that is.

The Houston Texans have fired special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky, receivers coach Stan Hixon and defensive assistant Anthony Pleasant.

Some friends of ours who shall remain anonymous to protect their privacy (thank you, anonymous friends!) invited folks over on Saturday to watch the Texans playoff game. I was tied up with other events and arrived with only five minutes left in the game, but based on what I heard from my anonymous friends and Lawrence (and what I observed personally in that five minutes), it was a debacle.

Question: have the Texans gone far enough?

Posted in Firings, NFL, Schadenfreude, Sports | Comments Closed

Firings watch (and unrelated note).

Monday, January 11th, 2016

Lionel Hollins out as coach of the Nets. The team also “reassigned” General Manager Billy King.

I’ve known about David Bowie for a grand total of five minutes at this point. I want to wait a few hours for the smoke to clear before I post an obit roundup.

Posted in Clippings, Firings, Music, Obits, Sports | Comments Closed

One hundred and sixty two.

Friday, January 8th, 2016

Somehow “tax-fattened hyena” doesn’t seem fitting, and crustacean related jokes seem inappropriate.

So. Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow: guilty.

On 162 counts, “including murder in the service of racketeering, murder conspiracy and racketeering.”

(They said “murder” and “racketeering” twice. They must like “racketeering”. And “murder”.)

LAT. SFGate. SF Examiner. Of course the defense plans to appeal.

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Law, Leland "Uncle" Yee | 1 Comment »

Obit watch: January 8, 2016.

Friday, January 8th, 2016

I’m still kind of hoping for an obituary from a more mainstream news source, but Florence King, writer and National Review columnist, has died. Tributes from Tam and Lawrence.

This was a little surprising:

I’m not going to say she was as influential on my writing as P.J.: I came to her relatively late in life. But she was a damn funny writer (even if I can’t quote some of my favorite lines here), and the world is a lesser place for her passing. Frankly, we could do a lot worse than a monarchy. Especially one run by Florence King.

Pat Harrington Jr. A/V Club.

Interesting career. He started out on “The Jack Paar Show” (or “The Steve Allen Show”, depending on which obit you read).

His film credits include “The Wheeler Dealers” (1963) and “Move Over, Darling” (1963), both starring James Garner; “The President’s Analyst” (1967), starring James Coburn; and “Easy Come, Easy Go” (1967), starring Elvis Presley.

Of course, he was most famous as Schneider on “One Day at a Time”.

Ashraf Pahlavi, sister of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

According to an internal secret history of the C.I.A., she also played a crucial role in the British- and American-inspired military coup that overthrew Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953 and restored her brother to the throne.

Really? I wonder where the NYT got access to this “internal secret history”.

Posted in 1970s, Books, Clippings, History, Obits, TMQ watch, TV | Comments Closed

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