45 calibre grammar

what happened

2010-05-01T23:28:00.000-07:00

'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

2010-01-07T21:39:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-08T22:11:00.000-08:00

'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

2009-09-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

'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

2009-09-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

'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

2009-09-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

'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

2009-08-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

'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

(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.

get out of town

2009-08-28T00:50:00.000-07:00

this is not a blog post. but related to this one: i finally got my vinyl [way to go young brother].

many thanks to stockpile media in ma for the high quality press at a reasonable price.

just wanted to post these photos. in the first, i excitedly unpack my new possession. in the second, neil explains that he is not above suspicion in this land of conditions.

so this is permanence, beer's shattered pride

2009-08-27T00:15:00.000-07:00

i read the news today, oh boy. we have an economic recovery, and good times are coming. the politicians say it: things may not be getting better, but at least they are getting worse at a slower pace. green shoots and all that...but i am still not happy, i feel like there's something wrong...

as it turns out, this feeling is not strictly the result of paranoia, misanthropy, or other admitted personal defects. the price of beer is rising, again - most regretful. beer is among the few sources of pleasure available to a plebeian like myself. according to the wsj article linked above:

"""

"We do plan on taking prices up in the fall on the majority of our volume in the majority of the U.S.," said David Peacock, president of Anheuser's U.S. division. "The environment is very favorable, we think."

"""

what does he mean exactly in reference to these favorable conditions? do beer drinking folks have more cash to blow [ie the green shoots thing]? well no, not really. the article goes on:

"""

MillerCoors also said it will raise prices.

"""

and

"""

The two companies, which account for about 80% of U.S. beer sales, increased prices at about the same time last year.

"""

personally i could not care less what MillerCoors does with prices. i did not even realize miller and coors were the same company until now. i am concerned about budweiser though; it is an american classic and a personal staple. i do not care that inbev took it over nor that hipsters appear to favor it as of late. belgians and hipsters can eat a dick.

it is interesting and seemingly illegal and/or unethical that two companies own 80% of a market and coincdentally raise prices at the same time, twice in two years. probably just a coincidence and not duopolistic price fixing though. maybe prices are just increasing across the board, but according to article:

"""

Still, beer prices in the U.S. have risen faster than other consumer goods. In July, the price of beer, ale and other malt beverages sold for consumption at home rose 4.6% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, consumer prices in the U.S. overall were down 2.1%, the biggest 12-month decline since 1950, according to Labor Department data.

"""

so that does not seem so jake. to add to this:

"""

Both U.S. giants have reported strong profits this year, in part by raising prices to offset flat volumes. MillerCoors's adjusted income rose 27% in the first six months of this year from a year ago. Anheuser's North America division posted a 29% gain in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in this year's first half.

"""

so heavy profits during a tough economic climate...

i love budweiser in a way most could never understand. but if the belgians or anyone else want to piss on that, fine. f them.

join me and stop buying from these assholes. if your income is going up 27% per year, keep drinking beer by all means. if not, drink something else - personally i am going with stoli. if 80% of us stand up, then at least we can have a good fight. i drank my last beer tonight; please join me, and we will see what 80% of zero is worth for these guys.

what the democrats don't want you to know about quinoa

2009-08-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

the talk about neil and collaboration has been a little heavy. time for something lighthearted and practical: quinoa.

you may have heard the exaggerated or perhaps false anecdote of a person [we do not know her/his identity] - down on luck, burdened with mounting and unfair medical bills exacerbated by faceless, greedy capitalists - who is forced to chose between food or health care on a daily basis. democrats, including dear leader, frequently made use of this cliche during the campaign. so perhaps you have heard it more than once.

the story may be false, but it provides a compelling parable that demonstrates how ineffective the government had been leading in to 2008 election. yes, the very government where biden played a central role for decades. even mr president got in a couple years - enough to get the hang of governing and polish his 'change' rhetoric, though not so long as to permit contribution of any meaningful legislation on health care or any major issue. he did author a bill that was remarkable in its way - 'health care for hybrids'. The bill proposed to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayers to detroit auto industry in order to help pay for union retirement health care plans. in exchange the government would meddle in the product design, operations and overall strategy for the benefit of these public companies. a great combination of humor and tragedy, foreshadowing both his deep ineptitude regarding the serious matter of health care reform as well as a brazen willingness to trample law and public interest to protect an important voting bloc. like biden said post inauguration, amid deep economic recession, while attending a luxury florida getaway for labor [afl-cio] leaders: the administration has every intention of 'going home with the one who brought us to the dance' - to use a turn of phrase, biden's actual remarks are somewhat less elegant - linked at the ny times article above.

to be fair they probably deserve it - labor, right? [rooms start at $200] not like those folks who were laid off or the clowns trying to salvage the auto makers doomed to fail largely in connection with the miami beach crowd - they are organized labor, why should they not receive unsustainable compensation programs and retreats to miami beach. indeed it did become a full blown circus when 'fly vs drive' from michigan to d.c. became a hot button issue for our legislature during testimony of wagoner and others - puerile - who votes for these idiots? it was a sensitive economic time after all. sure the government was throwing our money at various dancing partners, but they are elected officials. i suspect the detroit ceos flew because they had work to do, and it would be idiotic to drive, particularly an american car. the concern for work was less discernable among the miami crowd. but hey they just won an election and so time to dance! i bet it was an awesome party. at least biden was honest, but i almost prefer not to know how unabashed and real is the disdain these guys hold toward pretty much anything outside personal political objectives and the associated machinery. i do wonder how many made the drive to miami beach?

perhaps i am too bitter though, and too pessimistic. maybe i am just not organized enough myself - labor, community, political - sure there is room for one more parasite. why produce with all those sheep out there just dying for someone to organize them? i could learn the old chicago back scratch or the delaware reach around... maybe get a senate seat somehow though election feels passee now. i can just imagine the taste of that sweet, sweet graft. nah not worth it - not really interested in organizing myself in such a manner, and these people make me sick. i admire the talent in some cases [biden excluded naturally], but as humans these guys are unacceptable.

never mind the past though, we need to look forward - these are change men, watch them change! we are down so goddamn long...

but this post was not intended to discuss ineptitude of our leaders and their dishonesty. well no more - there will be time for that later. we return to the tragic character deciding between medicine and food.

let us assume for the sake of this post that the health care thing is not solved quickly by the geniuses of our legislature and executive branch. this may plausible since they have failed at pretty much everything aside from pissing on our constitution and bankrupting the country. nothing ever came of the 'health care for hybrids' proposal, brilliant though it was. maybe a health care miracle will happen, but it does not matter. i want to approach our tragic character's dilemma from a different angle.

quinoa is native to the andes mountains like so many gifts to humanity. i always thought it was a grain - it has a grain like texture and looks the part. however, wikipedia states that it is a grain like seed and not technically a grain. perhaps such distinctions make little difference, but i find it mildly entertaining to parse the minutia here. and good trivia. and accuracy counts on this blog - see last post where i establish a full set of principles - section 10.

i am not one to trust wikipedia, but i have validated that quinoa is indeed a member of the goosefoot family - a weed related to beets and spinach - and not at all a grain according to modern science. there is an academic paper here if you want the details. the paper further states that 'quinua' [sic] means 'mother grain' in incan language. this seems at odds with the just established goosefoot assertion, so one can see this is a confusing and complex matter. the inca have had several millenia of experience with quinoa, though i suppose much of this predates modern notions of grain. also they were probably too jacked up on abel to remember much.

quinoa is delicious, easy to prepare and goes with many dishes - similar to grains ironically. quinoa is also full of nutrition. it provides a nice balance of protein, fat and fiber. additionally it is rich with vitamins, minerals and amino acids - basically a super food. a one cup [cooked] provides

~200 calories [10 % of USDA recommendation]

~8g protein [15%]

~5g fiber [20%]

why not have two portions? relative to other grain-like-foods, quinoa creates lower glycemic load. it is glutin free, and i just found out that it is kosher to boot; apparently many other grains are not kosher.

cost analysis:

- 1 lb dry quinoa, organic, at whole foods in sf: $3.50

- roughly 4 dry cups per 1 lb

- roughly 8 cooked cups per 4 dry cups - it more than doubles in size while cooking

- 8 cooked cups x 200 calories/cup = 1600 calories for $3.50.

and these are good calories, the gourmet expensive shit. two other points: a) one could probably find a better deal than whole foods; and b) the above estimates are conservative - i expect it is actually slightly less expensive than i estimate here.

punchline: one of the healthiest foods on the planet provides daily caloric needs for ~$5. i am not recommending a 100% quinoa diet, but lets stop the food vs medicine bullshit. in a previous post, i referenced the obesity problem in america that is connected to serious health problems.

take this quinoa and eat it: it is healthy, delicious and shall be given up for you for a modest price.

we might even try for two birds with the quinoa stone: reduce health care needs with healthy diet; and fatten the old paper stack to buy more quinoa, or bank bailouts, or maybe a surprise trip somewhere nice for biden and his blue collar buddies.

at this point i am more than 2x my 500 word target. i guess i strayed a bit on the leadin, but this post is about quinoa, really. given this, i will add a bit more about my personal quinoa experiences [and promise not to mention biden in the process]. next time i will write something short, maybe about american idol.

preface: i owe everything to my brother josha, praise him. he introduced my to much of what i know about quinoa and healthy eating in general.

i generally buy quinoa in bulk and store it dry in mason jars - it creates a nice aesthetic, especially when combined with other colorful and healthy foods [eg beans, brown rice, coffee, etc]. food can and should provide deep fulfillment on many levels in my view. i love my jars with textured, colorful, healthy [and inexpensive] foods. i like selecting my foods at the market. i like chosing particular ingredients for a meal. the preparation and of course delicious consumption. i like the healthy feeling of a thoughful diet. food makes me feel good. food is essential to life, and this is not true of many things. sex and art, then food. of course these can further be blended and taken to new extremes and experimental forms in the modern day...

once quinoa is cooked it keeps easily for a week, so i usually prepare 1-2x per week and always have some in the fridge ready to go. cooking is similar to rice - i use 1:1.5 quinoa to water ratio and place them in sufficiently large pot on high flame [remember it will expand 2-3x in size]. once the water comes to a boil, reduce flame so that water reaches low simmer and put lid on pot. leave on low heat with lid fully covering for about 15 minutes. at this point i usually consider it done, because i prefer a somewhat harder texture. for softer texture or if water is not fully absorbed, you can leave for another five minutes or so with heat off but pan still covered. i typically just poke a fork in and have a taste to get it right. you are really checking for texture and water absorption. if i am cooking a meal, i will keep some out to use immediately and put the rest away in airtight container in fridge.

quinoa is great on salads [cold], and i often add some last minute to veggie stir fry. it makes a good side dish in most occasions and can be added to almost anything - dips, curries, wraps, etc. if i am feeling lazy, i will occasionally take some out of the fridge, throw in a frying pan with some olive oil and add fresh chopped garlic if i have some around. let that simmer on low heat for a bit and season with yellow curry powder, and perhaps a little red chili powder or habanero extract if it suits you. then just salt and take in the deliciousness. the lazy option takes about five minutes, costs very little and is quite healthy. i typically eat about 1.5 lbs per week.

please contribute your own recipes and positive experiences with quinoa. we can start a real movement - educate your brothers and sisters about how to be healthy on the cheap. this seems modest, but this is the change those posters are talking about - the real kind. carrying posters does not change much. health care is about being healthy, not necessarily shoving money all over the place and getting government involved. lets have quinoa in schools; let people know there is an alternative to wonderbread for healthy calories. teach someone who never heard of quinoa before about its miraculous nature. knowledge is power, quinoa is power; be wary of governments bearing plans to grab power and enrich themselves [we don't need that fake ass scenario]. and they will tell you it is for you; that is a lie quite simply; however quinoa is for you, enjoy :)

for more recipes:

http://www.google.com/search?q=quinoa+recipes

collaborative blogging

2009-08-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

i want to explore the concept of collaborative blogging. why?
1. technology allows it
2. no one else is doing it as far as i know - creating posts through informal collaborative process; companies 'collaborate' but i am seeking different objectives here
3. it is an extension of blogging where people react and comment etc; but i want the original posts to be collaboratively formed
4. if the idea works, the posts will be superior and we can still argue over them ex post; but we need to maintain cohesion, which seems difficult :|
5. it is a virtual step toward my artist colony concept
6. i steal all my ideas anyway, particularly the good ones
7. i need blog posts; collaboration is what good managers do to distribute work away from themselves
8. [in a collaborative paradigm, you would be able to contribute additional reasons...or remove nonsensical ones].

here is how it works - this will evolve of course. all collaboration will use google docs for a platform - get with the times people! also download google chrome, toolbar, search more, buy GOOG, and send checks to me payable to cash...and click on ads...and buy stuff [good for economy, etc].

i will invest the checks or 'investments' in our collaboration project or else hide the assets in panama since switzerland seems to be out now. or we can incorporate as a small business and really cheat the shit out of us tax system [meaning citizens - that is us!]. but we will be the backbone of economy and maybe even appear on cable tv shows and/or run for office in alaska, illinois, etc. regardless, we will get plenty of useless and undeserved praise from el presidente and the other clowns at the circus tonight.

9. there are three categories of collaboration
a) direct collaboration on a post in progress
b) suggest/begin a new post
c) meta collaboration - ideas on improving structure/process of collaborative blog project

10. founding principles of this blog must be respected [at first, we can piss on them later]
a) humor
b) misanthropy
c) in depth analysis of critical issues
d) improve society through ideas and awareness [really]
e) raw humanity; keep the bullshit to a minimum and no conscious fronting
f) 500 words is ideal length for post; themes can persist of course across posts; if there is more to say then go for it
g) two legs good

11. collaboration will be open at first, but eventually restrictions will be put in place to weed out low performers.

12. i have final edit writes; it is my blog although the concept of individual is bullshit of course - hence this experiment. if you do a great job you might get ep credits :) if you want to post a different vision elsewhere, by all means...

13. no 'monetization' will occur on this blog. money is the root of all evil, darkness. ideas and collaboration collectively are the light and the resurrection of our culture, if you believe it.

14. start here

on the beach

2009-08-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

'the world is turning. i hope it don't turn away.'

the title of this post reminds me of a phrase that i learned during my brief stint as a management consultant. well i never actually started, but i suppose i was on the beach for a while - about 200 days. it was good getting paid; in some ways those were the happy times. then the money was not so good - in the end the economy kindly deconstructed my occasion to work as an entry level consultant. praise christ, i did the best i could.

a more important connection to the title: neil young album from 1974. the best i have heard from him. i consider myself a fan, but had not heard this work - nor of it - until recently. if you follow neil young with any interest, it is necessary to consume this work.

apparently the album was not popular at time of release. rolling stone [stephen holden] has a great review here:

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/neilyoung/albums/album/300632/review/5943429/on_the_beach

from the review:

"""

Ironically, Young achieved superstar status with his most compromised album, Harvest, a sweetened rehash of ideas from After the Gold Rush.

"""

on the beach is a dark album indeed and a stark contrast to the two referenced albums that likely earned him recognition. it is superior to his other work in terms of technical depth and lyrical content. again, his best album.

but what do i know. the album was released in 1974, and i just heard it last month - umm 2009. apparently the non vinyl sound media were not sufficient to carry the content in the estimation of dear artist. and the vinyl is difficult to find. due to the bitterness, it did not sell many copies. along with some other young albums from surrounding period, it was only recently made available at broad scale. the catalyst: the advent of hdcd in 2003, whatever that is:

http://www.google.com/search?q=hdcd+neil+young+on+the+beach

anyway i now have it and love it. you might too. i was still trying to track down the vinyl and currently listening to audio cd format ~5x/week. in sf, i have checked the usual record stores but no luck. so i went to amazon.com and took less than two minutes to order. yay technology, praise christ.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_2_18?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=on+the+beach+neil+young&x=0&y=0&sprefix=neil+young+on+the+

i realize this album has been out since 1974, and again since 2003. but i keep meeting people in the same position as i was recently - appreciate neil young but do not know the album. if this describes you, i envy your pleasure when the album touches you for the very first time, dark though it is. like a time capsule, like a rolling stone. dig it.

one last point: the r-s review is a great read, but i do not agree with the overall assessment. particularly this:

"""

"On The Beach," the seven-minute title cut, is the album's most questionable inclusion, a lethargic, whining meditation on the reasons not to remain psychically isolated in Los Angeles. It shows Young immersed in self-pity — one of the taboos of rock that Young has long sought to redeem.

"""

in my view, there is nothing questionable about the song's inclusion, and this is lethargic, reductionist and useless commentary by the reviewer. though i cant tell him how to feel. but i sympathize with neil on this track more than any other.

healthcare

2009-08-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

ok first post: healthcare

all the talk about healthcare makes me sick. ironic, right?

thinking about supply

what is fascinating and concerning is that discussion seems myopically concerned with demand side. we want everyone to have access to healthcare. okay. in many cases we want someone else to pay for it. okay as long as it is not me [you], right? lets just tax the rich [richer than me and you]. problem solved. or is it? if there are people who need incremental medical service, do we have spare capacity sitting around somewhere? who is talking about increasing the number of doctors, hospitals, research funding, etc? who is talking about scientific innovation [starting with immigration policy so we can get some more doctors who actually want to be here]? oh well perhaps there is enough aggregate healthcare, and we just need to spread it around like president change suggested so thoughtfully. and who would not want to join the medical profession? one can enjoy the satisfaction of supporting social justice via top marginal tax rates and maybe even a 'surtax' to pay for the very services they provide. or one could become a banker, skip the medical school thing, provide unclear social value, and get a taste of that sweet bailout money [i will have a more thorough criticism of banking industry in future post]. hmm...

demand side

discussion of demand side has been more comprehensive, de facto. but as a society we seem incapable of substantive evaluation of some of the most critical and difficult issues. we have 'blue pill good red pill bad' [i like both types personally] straight out of Orson Wells, or was it president change? two pills that are more difficult to swallow: end of life costs and depressed wages.

-- end of life costs

a disproportionate amount of cost is thrown at folks who are almost dead. sorry but we all have to go. speak to sister morphine. the costs are outrageous:

"""

Thirty percent of Medicare's annual costs are spent on the five percent of beneficiaries who will die in a given year. Additionally, about one-third of those dollars spent in the last year of life are spent in the last month.

"""

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS194058+19-Mar-2009+PRN20090319

so we need to fix this.

-- depressed wages

if your employer provides your healthcare, this is part of your total compensation. do you know how much? probably not though perhaps you pay a portion. oddly employers are not required to reveal this information. it is big, though, and growing. this means that more of your total comp is in the form of healthcare so the cash part gets squeezed. too bad because we all love cash - we need it to eat and pay taxes. here is the point: if you frivolously consume healthcare it comes out of all your coworkers' pay. if you consume very little then you are receiving less cash in order to fund the aforementioned frivolity. despite my pleas, doc will not prescribe pills - red or blue - and i happen to be in good health, so i unfortunately fall into the latter category. we have a social obligation to protect sick people, but folks need to be connected to their consumption of healthcare. who knows, they might even pursue better health if they have some exposure to the cost. meanwhile the rest of us are in the dark about costs. hmm...

-- obese people [rant]

according to CDC

"""

Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

"""

and

>30% of US adults are clinically obese.

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/index.html

so maybe we could have less obese people to reduce the demand for healthcare. just a thought for anyone who does not _need_ to be obese...

can we get real?

much of the debate is reduced to:

a) people have a fundamental right to healthcare... ok

b) (a) requires someone to provide care and payment for service

we already talked about the supply side problem, so setting that aside: does the above imply that everyone has the right to healthcare _and_ has the right for someone else to pay for it? okay i guess. plenty of folks do not mind working a little bit extra for obese folks who are entitled to healthcare but need expensive pills because 'diet and exercise are not enough'. happy to help out...

i am too tired and bitter to continue in a productive manner. wake up people. we have an important issue in front of us. get informed, even if it means skipping an episode of american idle [yeah intentional]. you do not need to agree with me, in fact you probably should not. just think please. it is not about red pills and blue pills though. and lose some fucking weight.