what happened

'it feels like i must have had some fun'

we all must have had some fun...what else could explain the unpleasant aftermath hanging over us [and yet in early stages]?  broad decay of society through an economic lens...

the employment situation is bad.  as always, 'good news is on the way', but for now it looks pretty bad to me.  long term unemployment in the us is higher than any point since 1948 when the bls started tracking - data here.  in spain the unemployment rate hit 20% according to the most recent government report.  back in the us, unemployment benefits have been extended to ~100 weeks in response to the crisis, but we can not afford it.  wages are steadily declining so government bravely steps in to ease the pain.  the result: large scale population dependency on central government that is economically reckless.

what could go wrong?  i am not predicting the next greece just yet, but close attention to the modern greek drama should be informative.

on to solvency...apparently the big us banks were solvent all along - per the official line.  i do not personally believe this, but assume it is true [i will come back to the banks].  the next question is whether the governments who backed the banks are solvent.  this seems to be open for discussion.

greece is clearly insolvent, pending unnatural and politically unpopular wealth transfers from foreign tax payers.  paul krugman traces the evolution of the present euro dilemma here.  my guess is that the bailouts will delay but not prevent debt restructuring.  bond markets seem to agree - the yield on greek two year bonds moved close to 20% this week.

here in the us things are not nearly as bad, not yet.  like greece the us is at the mercy of debt markets that can change quickly.  the weakness in europe makes us debt more attractive for the near term, but easy money was also an option for greece in the not-too-distant past.

back to the banks.  anyone may know my regard for the big banks: they work largely against the interest of society to benefit the economic and political elite [with a thin line separating these respective elite classes].  i was hostile toward goldman prop trading long before it became mainstream...

a mix of journalism, government investigation, and investor lawsuits has put the unethical and antisocial behavior of goldman on center stage.  other firms will follow.

however the government investigation is suspect, grandstanding and fist shaking for the camera aside.  they are late to act and in many cases complicit in unethical [and possibly illegal] activity.  our government feeds alongside wall street at the same circular trough full of money and political favors.  hopefully the doj will add henry paulson and geithner to their criminal investigation, for aig if nothing else.

so where does this leave us?  a society with weakening appreciation of productive effort, pro-social values, and personal accountability.  there is a collective desire to consume more than we produce, a strong sense of entitlement that it is our right to do so, and an expectation that someone else should be accountable for making it all happen.  the political class welcomes such dependency to fuel the expansion of increasingly parasitic government.  the economic elite conspire with the state to hoard massively disproportionate resources.

the question becomes: who is the sucker?  we all are because none of this is sustainable.  [the good times are killing me]

winter-holiday-card-blog

the first...the first...blog of the month...the month...month (and year...go watch my stash!)

this post is about my interest in the tradition and practice of sending holiday cards.  i look forward to receiving cards, especially those with family photographs - watching each person age another year every december.  i do not send photos myself, however, the idea seems ridiculous.

in place of a photograph this year i mailed an audio cd with a hand picked blend of holiday music.  music of others seems better than a photograph of me.  so hopefully people enjoy it.  

similar to a portrait, though, this collection of music may contain personal data - obvious or thinly veiled.  it may also provide a stronger personal link.  i expect to listen to the cd ~100x this winter.  if a person listens a couple times then we have something in common.  i attempted a collection that is short (~40 mins), unique, and good.

what does 'personal data' mean?  a family photograph may be glanced at briefly and tossed aside.  however i study it intently, devouring the 'data' within.  strain in a man's face, a jubilant smile, a nicely furnished backdrop, newly attained sexual maturity - all important, all complex, all potentially visible in a holiday-card-photograph.

study of these photos may be enhanced with an accompanying holiday-card-letter/narrative.  again, i relish receiving these, but the thought of sending one is making me feel ill.  why?  it is an imposition - the receiver is obliged to read based on the effort/thought extended by sender.

how does this winter-holiday-card-blog fit in?  the world has gone digital - check the internet.  this blog completes the coup de grace of my 2009-2010-digital-holiday-card-strategy.  there is no need for physical cards anymore, of course, digits may fully replace these.  my strategy this year is to use digital holiday card endpoints with luscious physical innards.

i used the internet to research, purchase, and organize the collection of music for this year's disc.  ink, stamp and my laptop cd burner brought physical presence to virtual origins.  while the cd makes a reasonable proxy (i think) for a missing photograph, there was no attempt at narrative until this post.  rather than leave interpretation to the listener, i will interpret directly here.

how does this represent progress?  two ways.  first, my approach is fundamentally digital/online.  second, the idea of imposing a narrative is unpalatable.  however, posting a narrative-blog is different.  if you are reading this it is because you came here (digitally/online).  i will not be to blame if you have a bad time.

liner notes:

listenability is first concern for the collection - i want something brief/unique/good.  multiple rotations mean that i am hitting two objectives: utility (people like the music); and establishing common experience (i am currently on ~40 of my ~100 expected rotations).

in deference to tradition, my second concern is that the collection employs a winter holiday theme.  i will likely drop this constraint in future iterations.  no explicit religious affinities are contained in the collection - my third concern, complicated somewhat by the second...

act i

1. baby it's cold outside. dean martin / martina mcbride. 1959 / 2007

a classic tale that is close to my heart - a man tries to convince female counterpart to stay at his place using inclement weather as the foil.  modern techniques are less charming but perhaps more persuasive.  the dub with martina mcbride two years after the death of dean martin adds a bit of irony.

2. winter wonderland. harry connick jr. 1989

from when harry met sally - a favorite film & cliche.  this track begins a theme of instrumental music to escape limitations of language.

3. let it snow. ella fitzgerald. 1960

an obvious member of the non-religious-winter-holiday-song category; i also want ella somewhere in the collection...badda bing badda boom.  this song delivers two additional themes: first, cold as a metaphor for the condition of human misery; second, the ability of love to combat the cold.

4. sound of silence. paul simon. 1987

this is my favorite track on the cd and easily the most didactic.  it stretches the winter holiday constraint - the only reference to season occurs when paul turns his collar to the cold and damp.

the song provides a voice for me, ironically and paradoxically as it deconstructs the ability of language/sound to provide useful human guidance.  this live version with urubamba and the jessy dixon singers adds variety and provides a hymn-like quality.  yes, ironic, yes - hear my words that i might teach you...

act ii

5. sleigh ride. bela fleck. 2007

the second act is purely instrumental.  this song is another traditional but non religious classic, here with a funky bluegrass tint (the song was originally conceived for orchestral arrangement).  it hits all the main themes - the presence of cold/winter, salvation through love, the incompleteness of language.  

two small shifts are introduced in addition:

first, the song as conceived embraces existence overwhelmingly - the cold merely supplies backdrop for a joyous sleigh ride (with friends waving).  the fact that love is involved only enhances the pleasure.

second, in this particular version some abstract anxiety underlies the frantic notes.

here comes the paradox: we replace the confined anxiety of cold weather with the abstract anxiety of nothing at all.

6. linus and lucy. vince guaraldi. 1965

any reader of this blog may know my regard for vince guaraldi.  this song appears in the charlie brown christmas tv special, but there is nothing religious contained in the title or lyrics.  linus and lucy are siblings, suggesting love without the connotations of lust.

7. winter moon. stan getz / laurindo almeida. 1963

takes a relaxed attitude toward anxiety.  have a good time...

act iii

8. ive got my love to keep me warm. billie holiday. 1937

early recording - billie is 22 here.  this song returns to the earlier construct of cold as the embodiment of existential suffering with love as vehicle for salvation.

9. chilly winds dont blow. nina simone. 1965

largely the same theme as prior track, but with more conscious recognition of the metaphor - this song is about love, not weather patterns.

10. la vie in rose. louis armstrong. 1960

the dual themes of cold vs love are resolved here.  this song abandons any reference to the issue of cold.  it is a euphoric endorsement of life, experienced from a condition of love.

rose is a warm color though - the final theme.  reddish hues and overwhelming euphoria replace the early anxieties connected to cold weather and nihilism.  this live version was recorded during a gig with the us state department in africa in 1960.

11. pink and glitter. tori amos. 2009

we end in the present, picking up the themes of reddish hue, love, and exhilaration.  

a family friend introduced this song through a cd given to my grandmother - a modern collection of christmas music beginning with this track.  immediately i seized this song and her idea of a holiday music blend.  

so only fitting to end with these notes.  it has been a tough year - have some champagne.  enjoy life & red hot love!  the blog is ended, go in peace...

economic grammar

'Always the same it's just a shame that's all'


good times are not coming.  not soon.  the administration and our government are incompetent or viciously corrupt - probably some combination.  we have little to show for the fed loan support and direct taxpayer infusions.  less than a year ago the federal stress tests pondered a worst case single digit unemployment scenario, just to ask 'what if'?


things have deteriorated from a very bad point one year ago.  speaking about jobs is exactly that.  so called stimulus has been terribly inefficient.  the current regime seem obsessed with mediocrity and incrementalism, but at massive scale.  here are some reasons why i am pessimistic.


1. interest rates.  you can only go to the well so many times as the saying goes.  interest rates will rise substantially in 2010.  as the deficit expands beyond reason the cost of borrowing money will surely rise.  repurposing the tarp surplus for more 'stimulus', escalating wars, expansive healthcare spending, oh my.  there is much more of course, cutting back on spending/borrowing is not a serious possibility.


2. jobs.  the domestic job market is a disaster.  the november #s are a seasonal glitch and result of people falling off the rolls.  real unemployment is of course well above ten percent.  the number of people moving into >six months 'unemployed' increased 200k that month as opposed to the overall # which excludes people no longer eligible for benefits.  the bright spots are manufacturing/exports/multinational which benefit from weak usd.  usd will strengthen based on #1.


3. housing.  low income, fundamental overvaluation, and credit conditions will put negative pressure on home prices.  as well the federal inability to spend additional taxpayer/creditor money to subsidize home sales.  banks will take a beating, and who knows how the government will choose and/or be allowed to respond.


all these amount to worsening conditions for average consumer who previously drove the economy.  reality is getting closer though oddly distant still.  my plan: just sit back and watch it roll in.

keep your head up

'trouble in mind, that's true
i have almost lost my mind'

things seem negative - economy, politics, disease, terrorists &c.  it is upsetting for me to watch the deterioration because i feel unable to alter what looks like a series of pretty negative trajectories.  this hints for a different strategy to work against the downward spiral: positive reinforcement of social benefits.

'positive reinforcement' is pretty vague.  money is probably the easiest mechanism but with variable efficiency.  these are some categories that i am actively supporting.  yours may be different, but a large scale collection of modest individual contribution provides an effective counterweight against the onslaught of some important and structural negative developments.

education:
- political activity.  in california the unions have too much power and we have significant dead weight loss in our education system.

- funding.  the fiscal idiocy of california and many other states have left poor funding for some important and not wasteful [though waste is a huge problem] programs across the board.  even the top tier schools suffered enormous wealth loss in the past year.  ~20-30% was the norm for big guys [eg harvard, yale].  public universities in california provide remarkable social good and suffered significant funding constraints recently.

actions

1. form an opinion on teacher unions and support change that is positive [i will reserve the balance of my personal opinions on the matter for another time]

2. contribute money to:
- uc system
- cal state
- local k-12
- your own alma mater
- etc

public parks

there is a ken burns documentary on the national parks - it looks pretty good - airs end of september so have not seen it.  i love our state parks and federal parks though.  unfortunately these are first to get cut/closed/neglected when we need money for auto companies, banks, and other bullshit we can not afford.

actions:

3. support your national parks with money or other

4. support ca parks with money or other

public media


funding for public media is also quick to go.  i have qualms about all media, but these guys are trying in earnest and provide a lot of value in my view.  npr and kqed in san francisco are important to me.  the radio broadcast is good and available for free streaming persistently from the website.  there is also a lot of good video content there including features as well as daily programs like newshour.  they will even be hosting the ken burns parks documentary that i mentioned.

actions:

5. support NPR - this site takes you to your local station.  donations to kqed are especially encouraged.

right now we are all pissed about what is happening [okay that is largely me projecting].  but everyone i know has some combination of {time, money}.  there are powerful forces destroying this country that seem difficult to stop.  perhaps we have the collective ability and responsibility to stand up for our values, even if they are diverse.  stand up for your rights, especially now.

vince guaraldi and bola sete live at el matador

'there were too many of us; we had access to too many, uh, too much money'

i found a great album in sf for any {jazz, vince guaraldi, bola sete} fans.  it caught me by surprise even though i am big guaraldi fan and sete fan.

as you can see i found this at amoeba [sf] for $6.  aside from the awesome cover photos, the vinyl is red and looks cool.  quite a steal.













the vinyl:

there is some cool vg stuff on a side, but the b side is where the magic happens.  bola guitar and vince piano hit hard on two hot tracks live from 1966 in sf club el matador.  apparently vince introduced bola to popular us jazz scene.  note the cd version includes a studio album from a few years earlier and not as good.  last two live tracks [favela and black orpheus suite] well worth adding to your collection.

sf darkly

'i know you've supported me for a long time, somehow i'm not impressed'

i have lived in sf for about a decade, and i love this place - interpol lyrics aside.  but recently i have observed the city through a darker lens. what was once overwhelming civic pride yields more these days to detachment and unrest.

crime is a reality in san francisco like any city. according to 2006 government statistics on violent crime: sf rates below nyc but well above detroit. looking at sf stats over time: there has been an increase in violent crime since 2000, but rates remain low relative to the late 80's and early 90's. it is difficult to find updated and comprehensive trend data, but it feels to me that sf has deteriorated significantly over the past 18 months.

i met a friend for dinner the other day.  she chose a restaurant in a familiar neighborhood, but a neighborhood that i generally bypass to avoid hipsters and crime.

as i waited a few minutes outside the 'upscale' establishment, a violent crime did take place. a decent sized fellow was blindly and brutally attacked - apparently for his wallet and phone.  it was 8p, and the street was crowded. i made eye contact with the attacker as he ran off. he appeared unconcerned, like some square with a cube job might usually look during business hours.

at dinner i was shaken and unable to forget the scene.  an ambulance was called to assist the victim.  the flashing lights from the street reflected through the window.  i attempted small talk with my friend and her friends with whom i had just been introduced.  my thoughts were as they are now though: focused on the state of our society, culture and city.

when you live here long enough, you are likely to confront violent crime in some way. i have been fortunate personally, but good friends have been robbed, beaten and threatened with lethal force in a fairly broad range of settings.

the concept of social contract underlies my recent mood toward sf.  it is a concept that seems lost upon this city, ironically, as we tend to view ourselves as socially 'progressive'.  sf is a city of 'tolerance'.

when it comes to gay marriage or mj, i am all for tolerance.  there is nothing tolerable or progressive about severely beating someone for his wallet and phone.

most crime in this city results from our collective lack of will to stop it.

one of the strangers at the dinner challenged me on this issue.  i will not rehash the argument as it lacked a foundation in logic and not worth the keystrokes.  my other friends are thinking about getting married, career progression and so forth.

the city is filled with people of privilege.  some employ privilege to distort philosophy to accommodate and even celebrate incorrect social behavior.  some employ privilege to avoid consideration of social contract altogether.  i am personally guilty of both.  nonetheless, these attitudes sicken me.

our politicians demonstrate the behaviors perfectly, even comically.

speaker pelosi is concerned with her political future and not much affected by crime given her wealth and place in society.  she wants to spearhead healthcare reform.  what about preventing some guy from getting his ass beat for a wallet?  will that reduce healthcare costs?  or is it the insurance industry's fault that we refuse to prevent common and violent crime in sf?

or take chris daly, a city politician from suburban maryland who tirelessly defends the poor from intolerance and crime prevention - a radical who represents some high crime districts in sf.  it is true that he moved his wife and kids to the suburbs, but who could expose his family to the violent crime that results from poorly constructed social philosophy?

a good friend was beaten and robbed on the street near his home in daly's district a couple years ago.  he had opportunity to confront daly about this event.  the supervisor responded with harsh criticism and accusation of prejudice, reminding me of the gentleman in black at dinner.

a few weeks ago i turned right on a red in daly's district.  i did not come to a complete stop. no one was in danger of any kind, but sfpd were on the scene to enforce the law.  i have since noticed sfpd camping out at the same intersection [3rd and folsom].  the ticket was $450.  still though, it is good to know that some laws are enforced in this city.

the truth

'the truth hurts because the truth is all there is'

recently i have been confronting truth, and it hurts.  the post will avoid further discussion of this as a courtesy to the reader.  this is about a brilliant hip hop work - 'the truth' - on the 'so... how's your girl' album released by handsome boy modelling school in 1999.

the song explores the pain and inescapablity of truth with technical skill and innovative conceptual structures.  it provides somewhat subtle but substantive commentary on philosophical and existential questions around the nature of truth that extends well beyond the direct lyrical content.

roisin murphy of moloko [no plus] is an essential collaborator, contributing vocals and credited as a cowriter. i suspect that roisin is largely responsible for her own lyrical content, but i am unable to verify this.  additionally, an extended sample from 'coffee cold' by galt macdermot provides a foundation and is skillfully integrated throughout the track.

'the truth' combines two separate but commonly used constructs from pop music - the love song and battle hip hop.  the track starts out as a love song with roisin discussing the role of truth in personal relationships.  her tone is largely negative and primarily focused on acceptance of the loss of love:

"""

And the truth is you can't hide from the truth
And the truth hurts because the truth is all there is
I realized some time ago
That I would have to let you go

"""

however she also questions the basis of loss, connected to the equal need for honest recognition of the positive aspects of close human connection:

"""

If happy times are too few and far between
It's a pity, dear
We can't erase the things we've seen
So disappear, vanish if you wish
Just go before you're swallowed up by bitterness

"""

so she is really confronting multiple truths here and making some attempt to reconcile these:

(a) her own understanding of the relationship

(b) her partner's understanding

(c) the meta reality of how (a) and (b) interact

(a) and (b) are further expanded to include explicit consideration of both positive and negative realms.  truth here requires a comprehensive and balanced perspective as well honest treatment of specific issues.

roisin finishes this first section on a rather bleak note:

"""

Just take a look at us, we are heading for a fall

"""

though she does not conclusively resolve (a) or (b), she seems to identify (c) as the overriding reality leading to deterioration of love.  naturally she has internalized thoughts around (a) and (b), since (c) is a function of these.  the exact permutation of (a) and (b) is not clear though.

j-live comes in on the bar immediately following roisin's last verse.  the macdermot sample stays on beat.  aside from this, this transition in uniquely abrupt.  there is no pause between lyricists, the vocal tones and styles are vastly different - from soft lounge female to assertive hip hop male. beyond the contrasting styles, it is difficult to identify much continuity in the lyrical content.

j-live stresses the need for hip hop artists to be truthful with respect to persona and artistic ability.  he employs continuous metaphor from the justice system as a play on the general theme of truth and for the expressive power.  naturally, j-live must evaluate his own capabilities as a hip hop artist, and he finds himself generally superior within the hip hop community.  his verbal ability and content support this:

"""

Stenographers are steady loggin, the jargon
That your counselors are barking, in hopes of a plea bargain
But when you read back verbatim
What they're saying to pursuade them
They realize exactly how i played them
I come with the truth, whole truth and nothing but
'Cause the truth hurts just as much as fuckin' with lies will
I brew skill with refills from now until
Plagiarizing MC's get their flows to steal

"""


roisen joins the 'truth hurts' lyric near the end of the j-live segment, reminding us of the larger issues around the meaning of truth and its intersection with human action.  he is talking about hip hop skills, and she is talking about human relationships, but they are instances of the same fundamental issue.

immediately after j-live has finished, roisin picks up the love song where she left off with only the sample providing continuity.  however in her final verses, she changes her assessment.  instead of resigning herself to the loss of love based on the meta reality, she asks her lover to return:

"""

Baby, I don't die without you by my side
As long as you return into these arms that burn
Baby, I won't die, just take a look inside
Into these eyes that burn

Come to these arms that yearn

"""

so ultimately she focuses on the truth of her own feelings and desires.

we all have truth to confront.  this includes need for balance and comprehensiveness. the universe of every individual's truth becomes another truth.  awesome track - i encourage everyone to own it.