Excuse me, but antelope are not deer, thank you very much. There’s a reason the lyric is “where the deer and the antelope play”, not “where the deer and the deer play”.
Nits. Picked.
April 4th, 2012Callooh! Callay!
April 3rd, 2012John Motlz, one of the small number of authentic geniuses the Internet has produced (right up there with Kibo, Roger David Carasso, and Jim Treacher), is back with a new website.
You may remember Mr. Moltz from such websites as Crazy Apple Rumors (and I swear some day I am going to visit Tacoma and stay at the Silver Cloud Inn), American Drink (which I don’t visit nearly as often as I should), and the occasional post at In The Line Of Duty.
But what of his new site, you ask? It’s very nice.
…money can only make you so happy. And writing, well, that can make you miserable forever.
I’d like to say something positive about the TSA for once.
April 3rd, 2012Jars of mayonnaise are also banned from carry-on luggage in the U.S.
Thank God for the TSA, protecting us all from the threat of mayonnaise, the vile emulsion.
Random notes: April 3, 2012.
April 3rd, 2012Sunday’s Statesman ran a couple of articles on rabies in Texas. Briefly, there was a 30% increase in reported cases over 2010; the drought is being blamed for that. Here’s an interesting list of the most rabid counties in Texas by way of the TM Daily Post. (That links back to one of the Statesman articles.)
The aspect of the coverage that intrigued me, as an amateur neurologist, was Brenda Bell’s article about treating rabies. As I’m sure many of you know, once symptoms develop, rabies has been pretty much 100% fatal. I recall reading that there was one documented case of a 6 year old boy in Ohio surviving in the 1970s, but other than that nothing. (And I can’t find a reference now.) (Edited to add: This site claims that there were actually three documented cases in the 1970s, all involving patients who were given vaccine before symptoms presented.)
This was the case until a few years ago, when a 15-year-old girl survived after being given highly aggressive treatment (an induced coma, combined with antivirals). That course of treatment became known as the “Milwaukee protocol”. There are two problems:
- It doesn’t always work, and nobody knows why. Four other people have survived treatment with the Milwaukee protocol: 32 have died.
- It is expensive; way too expensive for treatment in poorer countries, where rabies is most common.
(Edited to add: If you want to get really technical, here’s an article from the CDC’s “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report” (aka the lazy journalist’s friend; at least every other week, I can find an article pulled straight out of MMWR) about the 17-year-old patient in Houston mentioned by the Statesman.)
In other news, the NYT is sad that the black golf caddie is disappearing. Gee, I wonder why that is? Oh, yeah:
Plus, golf carts, and fewer caddie training programs. Plus:
Art, damn it, art! watch. (#28 in a series)
April 2nd, 2012Not really anything new, but by way of the Statesman, we learn that Damien Hirst is having a retrospective exhibition, opening on Wednesday at the Tate Modern.
You may remember Mr. Hirst as one of WCD’s favorite modern artists, responsible for such works as “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living”:
Yeah, that one. I believe last time we touched on Mr. Hirst’s work, he was making wheel covers for 4x4s.
According to the exhibition’s website, the shark will be there. Which raises some questions: last we heard, the shark was not in the best of shape. (EtA: I forgot about the NYT article stating that they were replacing the shark.) And how do you move a tank full of formaldehyde with a shark suspended in it? (Answer: “Very carefully.” Thank you, I’ll be here all week.)
My other favorite quote:
“like flies over a cow’s head in a Damien Hirst installation” is my new favorite analogy, replacing “The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.” I encourage people to join me in making frequent use of this turn of phrase.
“I haven’t laughed so much over anything since the hogs ate my kid brother.”
March 30th, 2012Current TV fires Keith Olbermann.
Raise your hand if you didn’t see this coming the moment his hiring was announced. Oh, wait: Ray Charles could have seen this coming.
But it gets better. Would you like to know who is replacing Keith Olbermann? Why, none other than Eliot “Client Number 9” Spitzer himself!
And if you’d like to read Olbermann’s response, you can find it here.
(And subject line hattip here.)
Random notes: March 30, 2012.
March 30th, 2012I don’t mind eels
And the way they feels.
—Ogden Nash
(One of our local restaurants has a poster of that poem hanging in the men’s room, which I’ve always found kind of odd. Personally, I’m very fond of eel sushi, and would be very happy to try elvers.)
Obit watch: Harry Crews. (NYT. A/V Club.) I haven’t read any of his work, though I had heard of him. With descriptions like “the unofficial poet laureate of bare-knuckled, white-trash culture” and “a world of hard-drinking, punch-throwing, snake-oil-selling characters whose physical, mental, social and sexual deviations render them somehow entirely normal and eminently sympathetic”, I may have to give the man a try. He almost sounds like a mainstream version of Charles Willeford.
The HouChron has apparently fired society writer Sarah Tressler for the grievous crime of…being a stripper in her spare time.
You know, I’m kind of in agreement with that. Really, what was the point, Houston Press? Page views for your dying alt-weekly?
Setting that to one side for the moment, the HouChron hasn’t had good luck with society writers recently; Douglas Britt, who covered both society and art for the paper, left after he basically went crazy (or was driven crazy by the Art Guys).
Question for the huddled masses: what is the point of having a “society” reporter any longer? I know it sounds kind of class-warfare-ish, but it seems to me that “society” is basically code for “an in-group of rich people who get together and admire each other, and occasionally raise money for their favored charities”. What is the point of continuing to give news coverage to these people? If an event is newsworthy, such as an art opening, let the writers on that beat (art, music, etc.) cover it. Why assign a writer to basically stroke the egos of the “beautiful” people?
Final note: the gun blogger who went by “Newbius” passed away suddenly this week. He wasn’t somebody I knew at all; our paths never crossed (I wish they had), though I did hear him a few times on Vicious Circle. By all accounts, he was a good man, and shall be missed. Jay G. is posting tributes here.
…and a pussy’s good for maybe six or seven at the most…
March 29th, 2012Taxing meat pies? Oh, the humanity!
Cahiers du cinéma: Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
March 29th, 2012This should be fairly short, since I’m not sure I have much to say other than this:
If “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” plays anywhere near you, I recommend that you go see it. If you have teenage children, I would seriously consider taking them along.
This is a movie about more than a world-class (as in, three Michelin stars) sushi chef. It is also a movie about finding work that you love, trying to be as good as you can at it, and working hard every day at it. In some ways, I think this is a movie about virtues we as a country have lost, and virtues that may be passing away in Japan as well.
Setting that aside, there’s also a lot of wonderful shots of Jiro’s sushi, the Tsukiji fish market, and raw tuna being prepared. It is a beautifully shot movie, worth seeing on a large screen.
(Jiro talking about his routine reminded me, of all things, of a quote from Don Winslow’s The Winter of Frankie Machine
Scrape them off, Jim.
March 29th, 2012Apparently, the great science fiction author Norman Spinrad wrote a script for “Star Trek: Original Recipe” that never got used. The script resurfaced a few months ago, and Spinrad began selling copies of it online. He also made arrangements with the “Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II” folks to do an adaptation of it.
At least, all this was going to happen until CBS put the kibosh on it.
Question: the Onion A/V Club describes the script as being about “the Enterprise crew’s encounter with a self-proclaimed messiah”. So how, exactly, does this differ from…well, pretty much every “Star Trek” episode written by Gene Roddenberry? Not to mention “Star Trek V”.
(Feel free to post in the comments and tell me I’m wrong. Especially you, A.T. After all, my hatred for “Star Trek” is a well known fact. But I think it is also a pretty well known fact, pointed out by notables such as Harlan Ellison, that “the Enterprise meets God” was a recurring obsession of Roddenberry’s.)
Obit watch: come and listen to my story about a man named Earl…
March 29th, 2012…Earl Scruggs, that is.
Edited to add: By way of FARK, here’s a nice tribute to Earl Scruggs from the New Yorker.
Edited to add 2: The Onion A/V Club’s very nice obituary.
More sad violin.
March 28th, 2012Speaking of stories that tug at the emotions and then make you say, “Wait…”, there’s another one in today’s Statesman.
We previously noted the fire at a downtown condominium. That was January of last year, and the management is still working on restoring the eighth floor (where the fire was). The process is a little complicated, due to building code and insurance issues.
So there’s this older couple who owns a condo on the eighth floor, and who haven’t been able to occupy it yet. The Statesman notes that they’re somewhat upset because they still have to pay the maintenance fee for the condo’s common areas. (That fee, in their case, amounts to $561 a month.)
At first blush, that sounds unfair. After all, they can’t live in their property; why are they being charged a fee? But wait a minute…
- Those fees, as noted, are for maintenance of the common areas in the building; the lobby, the pool, hallways, parking areas, etc. The couple isn’t being denied use of any of those areas. Indeed, the manager notes that they’re still fully entitled to all the benefits of property ownership in the complex.
- The Statesman quotes their son as stating “It’s been a hardship for my elderly parents, who are on a fixed income. My parents have paid $9,000 in fees that we dispute.” But hang on; they would still be paying the fee if they were living in the condo, so how is their fixed income relevant?
- I understand the couple and their son dispute the fees. However, as the Statesman notes, those fees are set in the condo association’s governing documents, and the association has no power to waive them. (That is, unless 2/3rds of the property owners and their mortgage lenders agree to amend the rules.) The lesson here is: make sure you understand the documents you signed. (Second possible lesson: make sure your insurance coverage deals with situations like this.)
- Their fixed income might be relevant if they were coming out of pocket for alternative housing while they were displaced. But as I understand it, the condo association (or, at least, the insurance companies involved) are paying for alternative housing while owners are displaced. (If I’m wrong about that, someone correct me in the comments.) If the condo association isn’t paying, it would seem like homeowner’s insurance would cover that as well (depending on how the policy is written). And, the capper…”He and his wife have been living rent-free in a house owned by [their] daughter”.
So they’re not coming out of pocket for any rent. The only thing in dispute is the fees for the common area, which they would be paying no matter what, and which covers things they can still make use of while they’re temporarily displaced.
This is news?
Edited to add: I didn’t think of this until now. $561 * 14 (January 2011 – March 2012) = $7,854. So where does the “$9,000 in fees that we dispute” figure come from?
News of the world: March 28, 2012.
March 28th, 2012I previously noted the indictments of 11 people associated with Yassine Enterprises, owners of a string of downtown clubs.
Today’s Statesman covers a hearing yesterday in the case, and…better start making popcorn, folks, because this is going to be even more entertaining than I expected:
- One of the suspects is allegedly associated with the Texas Syndicate (one of our homegrown prison gangs).
- “… thousands of dollars were transferred to a Yassine relative in Lebanon who is reportedly connected to the militant group Hezbollah, considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.”
- The owner of Yassine Enterprises was named as a “person of interest” in an unsolved homicide.
(I note that today’s article lists 10 people as being involved in the case, while previous coverage specified 11 people, one of whom was unnamed at the time. I’m not sure what is going on with that.)
How often do you read a story in the newspaper that tugs at your heartstrings…at least at first? And then, when you think about it, the questions become overwhelming?
There’s a story like that in today’s NYT. Michael Romanelli was a firefighter until he was injured on the job in 1989. He’s been fighting since then for a full disability pension (which would work out to 3/4ths of his salary, tax free) and took out a full page ad in the New York Post yesterday to continue his lobbying.
At first glance, this sounds awful. Guy was hurt on the job, surely he’s entitled to a disability pension, right? I have a lot of respect for firefighters, and frankly I feel awful for him.
But wait a second…
There’s got to be more to the story than the NYT playing the violin here. If he’s been through the system, and been through the courts, and lost his case for a full disability pension (even though the department found him not fit for duty), I have to think there’s something the Times either isn’t telling us, or didn’t look into.
(“He said he had no job, lived on an annual pension of $22,000 and had no money in the bank. “ So is he getting a pension from the NYCFD, just not the full disability one he wants? What would a full disability pension for a firefighter injured in 1989 work out to, compared to the $22,000 he’s getting now? Are there cost of living increases built into those disability pensions? Who are the politicians who became involved in this?)
Hope and the law.
March 26th, 2012In May of 2009, a man named Robert Carroll Gillham set a fire at a Gallery Furniture store and warehouse in Houston. The fire did $20 million worth of damage; fortunately, nobody died.
(For those of you outside of Houston: Gallery Furniture is run by a colorful local character named Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, and is somewhat famous for their commercials. Especially the tag line: “Gallery Furniture SAVES. YOU. MONEY!” Their YouTube channel is here.)
What, pray tell, is a “de facto loan sharking business”?
But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. You see, Mr. Gillham’s trial has been delayed, and he’s being sent to a state mental hospital.
Why? Is he crazy?
No. He has a brain tumor.
Well, okay. If he’s having cognitive problems, well, part of the foundation of a fair trial is that you be able to effectively participate in your own defense.
So what’s the problem?
He hopes? He freaking hopes that the doctors are going to remove the tumor, rather than letting Mr. Gillham continue to suffer from cognitive issues? Hopes?
What. The. F–k. Dude. I see this kind of thing a lot; as a matter of fact, I was discussing it with some coworkers this morning.
Hope is not a strategy.
It is nice to hope things go well. It is nice to hope everything works properly. But it is much better to plan and prepare and make sure, whether you’re jumping out of a helicopter with jet engines and a kitchen table strapped to your back, or defending a client with a brain tumor. Hope is never a substitute for planning and preparation. Hope is not an effective backup plan. Nor, for that matter, is it an effective plan for much else.
I understand, of course, that Podolsky isn’t going to be doing the operation himself. But…
Yeah, well, if I were you, dude, I’d be asking some pretty hard questions, especially since Gillham has already been in the hospital several times because of this.