Saturday, September 25, 2004
What really happened to Howard Dean?
Howard Dean electified the Democratic party when he burst on the scene. What struck me at the time was the number of right-wing media outlets that were saying, "Oh please nominate Dean!" in the same tone as Br'er Rabbit cried, "Oh please throw me into the briar patch to Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox who had him in their clutches. Remember that they did throw him in the briarpatch — where he wanted to be — and he escaped their clutches.

Howard Dean ostensibly destroyed himself in Iowa, but did he really? Here is a link to a column by Michael Hammerschlag that gives a perspective on the Dean candidacy, the mainstream media, and the Democratic establishment. If you believe his words, it's almost enough to make you want to vote for Ralph Nader.

He concludes, "Was the media unfair to Dean? Not in the contemptibly dishonest way they were to Al Gore, who I think didn't run again because of that. But taking all the exaggerated attack THEMES together, and the dishonesty about his foreign policy, YES, absolutely."

- Posted by MadWycliffe


Friday, September 05, 2003
Men in suits from outer space - Time was when a dark suit and white suit were the official adult male uniform. Now a person dressed like this may very well be a religious proselytizer to be shunned at all costs. You've seen them, these young men in their badly tailored, two-button suits, standing alone or in small groups on street corners, packets of paper in their hands, or engaged in earnest conversations with passersby who are smiling wanly and edging away.

But is their goal simply to convert you to their religion? Isn't it just possible that they are space aliens who learned the secrets of appropriate business attire watching Perry Mason beamed into space as they hurtled toward earth from Alpha Centauri, and then, wanting to blend in, sought out similar attire, perhaps from a thrift store, upon debarking in our neighborhood?

What do space aliens really want?

- Posted by MadWycliffe


Saturday, April 05, 2003
Operation Iraqi Liberation: too much news -- or not enough? -- These dark days have turned us all into news junkies. But are Fox, CBS, New York Times, and CNN our only Internet news options? They all begin to sound the same after awhile (well Fox is of course a little more rabid --probably as a result of its "fair and balanced" policy. But news alternatives do exist, other places you can go to go to get information and commentary about OIL. A few are listed and linked below.

The Tocqueville Connection - "The insider's Web source for French news and analysis."
The Guardian Unlimited - "The UK's most popular newspaper website."
Arab News - "Saudi Arabia's first English Daily."
Unknown News - "The news you need, whether you know it or not."
Cursor.org - "Combines original material with a media and politics Web log that comments upon the work of major news organizations."
Salon.com - "Unflinching daily political news, analysis and commentary."
Common Dreams News Center - "Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community."
and
BBC News - So good it doesn't need a tag line.

- Posted by MadWycliffe


Monday, January 13, 2003
Sic Transit - Oreo, commonly thought to be the best cat in the world, quietly left us about ten minutes to seven on Saturday evening. She was 17.

- Posted by MadWycliffe


Sunday, September 29, 2002
Haggis Fest - Have just returned from a trip to Glasgow and Edinburgh, courtesy of Scottish Enterprise and am seriously jetlagged. It was my intention to post pictures of said trip this weekend, but technology has failed me again. The lab said that their machine couldn't read the barcode on my role of APS film. So they sent it off to Kodak for extreme measures. In the meantime, I have to work on the program for the spring conference and further my studies of single malt scotches, which finally, at my advanced age, I discovered in Edinburgh.

Oh. Haggis. Pas mal.


- Posted by MadWycliffe


Friday, July 05, 2002
Man Bites Dog -- Walking to work one morning, I encountered a crowd outside of the Wells Fargo bank headquarters on Montgomery Street. The first floor of the offices is taken up by a museum and an authentic Wells Fargo stagecoach. I arrived at the bank in time to see the venerable stage, drawn by four regulation majestic steeds, roll out of the bank (horses in the bank?), turn down Montgomery Street, rumble down Montgomery to California Street where it turned left and disappeared from sight.

This was not an anonymous event. A reviewing stand had been set up in front of Wells Fargo, and hundreds of people crowded into Montgomery Street, blocking automobile and pedestrian traffic. It took me quite awhile to navigate through the crowds, which actually made me a little late to work.

In short, on my way to work that morning, I was held up by the Wells Fargo stage.

- Posted by MadWycliffe


Tuesday, June 18, 2002
Wallowing in Technology -- Today I bit the bullet and ordered a new computer. Toots made me do it. She wants mine. She also wants broadband. Keeping up with her technological demands is a challenge. I went along with it because hey, I could use a little more rendering horsepower. Realsoft is greedy for CPU cycles. I'm pretty much done with trueSpace. The user interface just gets funkier with each generation. How does anyone do any work with it?

Also bought a keyboard, a Casio WK-1630. My piano playing annoys the guy downstairs. (The guy upstairs plays bass in a band; he hasn't complained). So how do I practice at midnight without being murdered by people in the building?

Duh! I'm amazed at how long it took me to figure this out. A volume control and headphones can do much to engender amicable relationships with neighbors.

- Posted by MadWycliffe