Archive for April, 2007

Back From Texas

Yo, Internet.

I just got back from a trip to Texas with my family, visiting my bro to celebrate him getting his wings. (Shoutout.) It was my first time in the state. Some thoughts from your correspondent:

• The University of Texas seems like a cool place to go to school. You get to chill in Austin, there are plenty of things to do just near the campus itself, there are friendly people at the Mellow Mushroom who are good at recommending beers, and even though I have almost no interest in conferences that aren’t the Big Ten, we all know the Longhorns have a strong football program. (Then there was that freshman-year reality show on Showtime a few years ago that started out kind of interesting, but I got tired of those kids by the fourth episode and gave up on it.)

  Then there was what I will euphemistically call “people watching”. A fellow can participate in some unbelievable “people watching” at this campus. You see as many “individuals who catch your eye” as anywhere else I’ve ever been. So it’s got that going for it.

• While that’s true of Austin, the bars we hit up in San Antonio were some strange places. The crowd dresses the same as they do in NYC or DC, but they seem to be on average about eight years older, which is the opposite of what I expected thanks to the Bible Belt reputation as a place where people marry and settle down earlier. These bars seemed to contradict that: lots of people in their 30s, 40s and perhaps even later out there, dressed and drinking like they’re looking for action. It was a little jarring, but then, we all gotta fight for our right to party.
• I’m a left-leaning dude, and while I disagree with right-wing America almost all of the time, I do respect it when conservatives use logic and reason to back up their arguments. However, don’t expect me to respect your intellect when the best argument you have for voting Bush/Cheney in 2004 is that “Kerry is retarded.”
• In four days, I think I only ate two meals with finite portions. Every other one had either unlimited buffet, unlimited chips, etc. But that’s probably more a commentary on me being hungry than on the state of Texas cuisine.
• San Antonio and Austin are actually pretty green places, not desert. Where the cactus at? Apparently Arizona.

Yee to the haw.

Haters

Hey readaz.

Geeta and I were talking this weekend, and we noted that we’re in two of the least-respected professions in America. It seems 38% of respondents to a Gallup poll rated lawyers as a low or very-low respected profession, while the same survey in 2004 found only 16% of people rated newspaper reporters as “high or very high” in respect. (TV reporters had 23% approval - WTF?)

What’s up with this? My theory is that lawyers and reporters are most visible at the same time that they’re at their worst. People tune in to the news when something bad happens, so there’s already the subconscious association of reporter = bad happening. Then you add in the endless TV shots of victims crying while being asked, “How do you feel?” and things look even more invasive. (Nevermind that there’s a huge demand for such stuff.) Why are newspaper reporters ranked lower than TV? I think the negative side of TV washes off onto the newspaper, as a newspaper frequently breaks the negative story in the first place (when was the last time TV news broke a scandal of any kind that required number-crunching analysis?) and print reporters generally aren’t the polished, beautiful people we see on TV. It’s a lot easier to forgive and forget with a blow-dried smiling dude than it is with a gruff, cheap-suited newspaper bulldog.

As for lawyers, when I hear “attorney”, the first person who comes to mind after Geeta is Edgar Snyder (”391-2101!”), accident and injury lawyer from the Burgh. Edgar apparently has one of the bigger ad budgets among Pittsburgh law firms, with Berger and Green seemingly in a close second. These guys are in every city, and their advertising is ubiquitous, so ambulance-chasing isn’t hurting for brand recognition. The other time lawyers make a major media appearance is with high-profile criminal trials. When it’s a case where the public has made its mind up in favor of a guilty verdict, they’re going to have a hard time liking the defense lawyers who are arguing the opposite.

Anyway, all you readaz should remember that for every Geraldo, there’s a Helen Thomas; and for every Berger and Green, there’s a well-respected judge. Peace.

Bummer.

It ended too soon, but they still exceeded expectations. Good jorb, Pens. See you this fall.

The Poisonous Comment Snake

I just read this phat piece by Jonathan Freedland of The Guardian and found myself nodding a “Hell yeah” in agreement. Freedland really nailed the problem with comment sections on blogs, news articles and nearly everywhere else online, and I’m in full agreement that a set of orderly online debate rules would be nice.

I can’t remember the last time I read a full comments thread on a large-scale news blog or media website, as the instant I see “144 comments” at the end of a piece, I know I’m going to wander headlong into a vitriolic swamp that I’d rather avoid. The people who “win” these kind of debates are usually those most willing to spend hours at work hitting F5 and typing out “Go crawl back in your liberal/Zionist/fascist/terrorist/Fox News hole and die a slow death.” Every publication at which I’ve worked gets loads of this in e-mail format each day as well, often fired off with no name. Yet nearly 100% of the time that I’ve responded to these irate people in a polite fashion, I get an apologetic e-mail back. So yes, commenter: you did know it was wrong to address somebody in the illest way, and when you were called on it, you knew better.

While you can’t force people to use a real name when commenting, I’m of the belief that those who spew awful venom without using their real name should be shunned by other commenters. It shouldn’t be an official policy of websites to block people from using anonymous handles, because as Freedland points out, sometimes this really does allow for real-life freedom that wouldn’t occur otherwise. (And I mean the good, democratic kind, the type they don’t have in Egypt or China.) But if you’re a Westerner living in a free society, you need to accept the fact that actions have consequences, and that freedom of speech isn’t freedom from irate reaction. Our democracy runs on both freedom AND order.

If you want to throw bombs at other people that don’t address the subject of their arguments, man up and use your real name.

Say word.

Which Britain?

Hey readaz.

I went through a series of feelings on Iran’s catch and release of the British sailors in the Persian Gulf in the past month. At first, I wondered how Iran, which has displayed no shortage of savvy in taking advantage of its shifting regional reality, could be so unaware as to play directly into the plans of Cheney and other American planners looking for a pretext for war with Iran. Had the sailors been American, the Tomahawks would be flying within about three days. But, being sailors from America’s closest ally, it was still a possibility that the U.S. would take action on Britain’s behalf. So at first, the atmosphere was one of dread that another war was about to begin, and disbelief that Iran would be equal parts defiant and self-immolating.

But then as time went by, and the Iranians paraded their apologetic captives while the British government kept nearly silent in terms of displeasure at the situation, I worried less about war and more about how great of a propaganda victory this was going to be for the Iranians. And sure enough, Iran released the hostages with perfect timing, allowing Ahmadinejad to come out looking benevolent (even though it was likely Khamenei and Ali Larjani who pushed him into the release) and–even though they got what they wanted and avoided a broader conflict–Britain looking supplicant. With the sailors selling their stories to the Daily Mirror, there’s no shortage of criticism of their behavior. I can’t speak to that, mainly because I don’t know the full circumstances of their capture and that makes me hesitate to join in the chorus of boos. But seeing things go down as they have is still surprising in contrast to the behavior of British civilians in the July 2005 London bombings.

After that terrorist attack, British stiff-upper-lipism was in full swing. Workers and residents wasted no time going back to their daily routine, very publicly demonstrating their resolve not to bow to those who would call for Britain’s destruction. One of TIME’s cover subjects from that attack stopped by the office in New York, and he was the most chilled-out guy, both in general and about what had happened and how he had helped the injured woman through the whole ordeal.

It’s some weird stuff here to see expected societal roles turned on end, in this case the civilians playing stoic in contrast to the anxiety-ridden military. I give credit to Britain for avoiding a wider war, but I don’t think this is the public image they wanted to present, nor does it fit in with how they’ve reacted recently on the world stage.

Pens in the Playoffs

Back again, readaz.

I’m in Pittsburgh for Easter, and definitely feeling good about the Penguins’ chances this NHL playoff season. Tonight’s the regular season finale against the Rangers, so as my friends and I get together to watch, I’ll be watching the following in particular:

• Marc-André Fleury - a few months ago, I regarded him as the wild-card for the team. But now he’s looking pretty solid, so I’m all good with this.
• Third-line play - Laraque was a great pickup, but more than being just a tough guy, he’s got good skills as the third-line anchor. The dude can play, plus he beat Donald Brashear real good at the last Capitals-Pens game I attended.
• Gary Roberts - combined with Laraque, this guy represents part of the best trade the Pens have made since 1992. He’s got a great ability to get under other teams’ skin around the opposing goal, and I don’t think things will be any different against (most likely) the Senators.

Point is, I’m amped. Let’s do this.

Up and At Them

Hey readaz,

Here it is, the new site. Time to get this thing rolling.

Your ace,
Pat