tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52079802011-04-21T18:16:07.628-04:00Essays on politics and cultureMatthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.comBlogger1481100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1127839537846093562005-09-27T12:36:00.000-04:002005-09-27T12:47:09.396-04:00

My blog at sodsbrood.com has been resurrected from the dead, twice no less. After some more prodding of administrators via the site5 forums, my site was finally unlocked last night around eight o'clock. Within ten minutes, I had promptly, but accidentally, deleted the entire directory where my blog is stored, blog and all.That deletion has to rank up there with the most stupid things a man has

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1127735837766783372005-09-26T07:35:00.000-04:002005-09-26T07:57:18.886-04:00

On Friday, exactly seven days after my blog went dark, I finally had an email from technical support, from the same person who emailed originally to say the directory where my blog lives was being locked. Short and sweet, the email said that the directory could be unlocked if I could tell them what applications and scripts I was running. That I did. A profound silence ensued, and the blog

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1127480761690498902005-09-23T08:50:00.000-04:002005-09-23T09:08:05.583-04:00

Among other items I would have blogged about this week, if my stream of patter hadn't been interrupted with technical problems, was the introduction of the New York Times "Times Select." Otherwise known as yet another attempt by newspapers to start charging for what they have been giving us for free for nearly ten years.I was slightly annoyed on Wednesday to discover that I could not read

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1127392971161687492005-09-22T08:26:00.000-04:002005-09-22T08:52:16.740-04:00

The experiment at sodsbrood may be over, at least for me, anyway. I have been locked out of my blog since last Friday, and as another Friday is fast approaching, I have to consider that I may never post at sodsbrood again.My technical difficulties began sometime late in the afternoon on Friday the sixteenth. My friend, an administrator of sodsbrood, sent me an email he had received from the

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1098635162895969792004-10-24T11:55:00.000-04:002004-10-24T16:51:54.193-04:00

This may be my last post here at my blogger site. I recently joined a group of friends, acquaintances, and strangers in founding a communal website at sodsbrood.com. It is founded in the spirit of other literary and social communes through history, from the seventeenth century to the modern era. An interest of mine in Graduate school was the radical Christian and political reform movements of

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1098552196333139802004-10-23T13:21:00.000-04:002004-10-23T13:34:38.950-04:00

In the spirit of digression and disjuncture which seems to characterize my posts today, I wish to comment on some of the ads I've seen in these final days of the campaign. Last week I saw one for Kerry that I thought absolutely brilliant. It was not an ad designed by the Kerry campaign; it was designed by Rob Reiner for MoveOn, and it is perhaps the best ad this season. You can download the

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1098547791579540942004-10-23T11:43:00.001-04:002004-10-23T13:21:45.996-04:00

Despite the frenzy that the candidates themselves feel in the final days of an election, these last two weeks always seem to me to be the quietest. Everyone I meet has already made up their mind and are for the most part tuning out the news and election coverage. Much of the campaigning, and almost all of the reporting, has turned negative anyway, as it aways does this time in the season. I

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1098275182199813322004-10-20T08:26:00.000-04:002004-10-21T16:23:20.686-04:00

Pat Robertson was on Paula Zahn's CNN program last night. He had some pretty outrageous things to say, as usual, including the claim that he warned President Bush there would be casualties in the war in Iraq, and that Bush responded with confidence that he did not believe there would be any."And I warned him about this war. I had deep misgivings about this war, deep misgivings. And I was trying

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1098220110269666132004-10-19T16:54:00.000-04:002004-10-19T17:10:58.906-04:00

Jon Stewart's Friday appearance on CNN's lame "Crossfire" show has generated lots of mixed press for Stewart. Happily, you, too, can watch the entire segment on-line. Considering that "Crossfire" is broadcast at 4:30 in the afternoon, at a time when only housewives and felons under house arrest are at home, it seems likely most people without TiVo will be viewing the segment online. Stewart's

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1098216907223782012004-10-19T14:52:00.000-04:002004-10-19T16:20:27.120-04:00

Lately, the newspapers are full of frank foreboding about how and when Election 2004 is going to be decided this year. Litigiousness looms as the incalculable determining factor in the election. Among the pundit class, conservatives seem to be the most worried about a close election and the possibility of a run-off in the courts. For MSNBC today, George Will writes about the Dooomsday Scenario

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1098203071926847822004-10-19T13:24:00.000-04:002004-10-19T13:40:07.526-04:00

I'm so tired. I slept badly last night. A couple nights a week now, this happens. If it happens on the weekend, it's not so bad because I can stay abed longer, dozing away the morning, or even sleeping deeply if I have finally sunk into somnolence. This morning, however, I gave it up at four-thirty and rose to get ready for work, after a night of wakefulness. I have blamed my insomnia on

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1098130589593980922004-10-18T15:53:00.000-04:002004-10-18T16:16:29.593-04:00

At the risk of prolonging a story that, like an obnoxious, drunk party guest, refuses to go away, take a look at what Bush's campaign advisor said yesterday in response to a Tim Russert question about "Bush's bulge." The exchange is actually a three way between Russert, Ken Mehlman (the Bush advisor), and Bob Shrum, Kerry's campaign advisor.MR. RUSSERT: Before we go, Mr. Mehlman, clear up this

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1098120778831951632004-10-18T13:34:00.000-04:002004-10-18T13:51:51.003-04:00

This week's New Yorker is an all-politics issue, so I am in Heaven on my daily commute to and from work. There is an article in it about John Zogby. You may remember last week I wrote here about a question in a recent Zogby poll. For whom would you vote, the Tin Man or the Scarecrow, in an election for the President of Oz? Several weeks ago, I signed up to take the Zogby on-line polls, and

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1098102430103317122004-10-18T06:40:00.000-04:002004-10-18T09:27:27.613-04:00

The last two weeks of an election cycle always seem to draw out both the best and worst characteristics of candidates for office. Mostly we see only the worst. I don't know if it is because the candidates begin to get a little panicky when they don't have a clear lead in the polls, or if its because their campaign team saves its dirtiest tricks for the bitter end. Maybe it's a little of both.

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097787965168518232004-10-14T17:06:00.000-04:002004-10-14T17:25:57.036-04:00

After the debate last night, my wife said, "I sort of feel sorry for Bush." I said, "Don't feel sorry for him until November 3rd." My wife said she felt that at the end of the debate, after Bush had calmed the almost manic disposition he had displayed all night, he finally came across as at ease and likable. His sense of humor is self-deprecating, which makes it hard to blame him for faults he

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097702864420723652004-10-14T06:30:00.000-04:002004-10-14T09:20:40.686-04:00

Finally last night, John Kerry had a few words to say about his religious faith. To millions of Americans like myself who have made the decision to vote for John Kerry, or are leaning that way, there is no more important issue than the question of John Kerry's faith and what it means to him. It has increased in importance in my mind as Kerry has remained resolutely silent on the matter. Indeed

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097685704787609042004-10-13T13:36:00.001-04:002004-10-18T08:50:57.943-04:00

Oliver Stone has done an interview with Playboy in which he defends his newest film from charges that the gay sex in it is too explicit. He also has a few words to say about the election.The highly political Stone also discusses the presidential candidates in the interview, which hits newsstands later this week. Speaking of John Kerry, who was a senior at Yale when he was a freshman, Stone says:

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097671380673365812004-10-13T07:30:00.000-04:002004-10-18T08:49:24.200-04:00

Queen Elizabeth the First is reputed to have said that the past cannot be cured; and like some terrible disease, John Kerry's past keeps relapsing at the most inopportune times. There seems no cure for it. Last night, I was watching Special Report with Brit Hume and his clan of Talking Heads on Fox, and the subject on the table was John Kerry's anti-war actions following his return from Vietnam

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097586549392831052004-10-12T13:20:00.000-04:002004-10-13T07:30:30.640-04:00

FactCheck.org Distortions galore at second Presidential debate Apparently, Bush does indeed own a timber company.Kerry: The president got $84 from a timber company that he owns, and he's counted as a small business. Dick Cheney's counted as a small business. That's how they do things. That's just not right. Bush: I own a timber company? That's news to me. (LAUGHTER) Bush's Timber-Growing

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097582972523861212004-10-12T08:03:00.000-04:002004-10-12T14:44:48.200-04:00

For whom would you more likely vote for president - the Tin Man, who is all brains and no heart or the Scarecrow, who is all heart and no brain? I voted for the Tin Man. But what about the Cowardly Lion, who was all fear and no courage? Or even the Wicked Witch of the West, who was, well, wicked? Surely she has some redeeming feature, even if it be only her crystal ball in which she might

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097503305813127372004-10-11T09:42:00.000-04:002004-10-11T10:05:04.263-04:00

I sometimes wonder how and why a story enters the news cycle. CNN.com is reporting a story about a Bush campaign ad that has not aired yet, but which is based on a Kerry quote (perhaps taken out of context) from a New York Times Magazine interview. What exactly is newsworthy about this? Is it newsworthy because it is so egregious an example of demagoguery? Or is it newsworthy because CNN

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097501865928256472004-10-11T09:20:00.000-04:002004-10-11T09:42:09.726-04:00

Today is Columbus Day, if that matters to anyone who is not a Federal employee. My son is in school, my wife at work, as I suspect every other adult is as well. I am surprised some upstart crow of a congressman has not proposed doing away with this racist, colonialist holiday as a way of promoting himself. We went away for the weekend, so I did not have a chance to comment on the second debate

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097173819022368242004-10-07T14:30:00.000-04:002004-10-07T14:38:25.130-04:00

Is Bush Wired?: The Voice in Bush's Ear Conspiracy theories abound on-line. I read in the Washington Post this morning a story about a flash video popular on the Internet that supposedly illustrates the contention that the strike on the Pentagon on 9/11 was not a strike by terrorists, but by our own government. The article is titled Conspiracy Theories Flourish on the Internet. The theory's

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097158304282996882004-10-07T10:11:00.000-04:002004-10-07T10:11:44.283-04:00

Robert Novak: No victory in Iraq Despite being a Republican Party lapdog, Robert Novak has twice now puked on the GOP rug in two columns in about as many weeks. Presuming Novak is correct in this article and his previous article of September 20, the Bush Administration plans to cut our losses and exit Iraq after the elections in January. I think that is exactly what we need to do, but it

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097084077013292502004-10-06T13:34:00.000-04:002004-10-07T08:22:57.953-04:00

Report Discounts Iraqi Arms Threat (washingtonpost.com) One has to ask, is there a point at which the bad news for the Bush Administration actually starts to affect the President's approval ratings and reelect numbers? Or conversely, is there a point at which the news is so consistently bad that people just shrug and stubbornly refuse to acknowledge it, rather like the President himself? The

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097067315623606562004-10-06T08:45:00.000-04:002004-10-06T09:48:54.133-04:00

Even before Cheney mentioned it last night, I have been referring to the Factcheck website to verify many of the statements made by both campaigns in this election. I referred readers here to that website back in the summer. What becomes clear upon visiting Factcheck a few times is that both Kerry and Bush and their minions lie through their teeth, misrepresent their opponent, conveniently

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1097064803208238102004-10-06T06:15:00.000-04:002004-10-06T08:22:23.000-04:00

I am writing this early in the morning, not yet having seen or read any interpretation of the debate. My first impression is that Cheney dispatched Edwards without much loss of his own or the President's blood. Edwards landed a couple decent punches, but Cheney countered harder than Edwards delivered, and in the end I do not think Edwards did the Kerry campaign much good last night. However,

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1096918961340829302004-10-05T06:35:00.000-04:002004-10-05T07:09:40.506-04:00

For some reason, all my Google-generated ads in the sidebar of my Gmail account assume I am Republican. Today, I noticed an ad for W Ketchup™, and I clicked on it (thus probably inadvertently putting more money in the pocket of some already-too-wealthy Republican). This product, and its site's advertisement of it, struck me so funny, I re-wrote their "About W Ketchup™" page. Here is my

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1096899493797574012004-10-04T13:06:00.000-04:002004-10-04T13:05:39.866-04:00

For about two weeks now, I have had my absentee ballot sitting on my desk at home, waiting to be voted. Yesterday I voted and walked it to the mailbox. I would rather vote on election day, but I wanted to avoid taking time off to do it, so I voted absentee this year. Though voting in a booth on the first Tuesday in November is ultimately more satisfying, there is also something elemental and

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1096648733876497292004-10-01T13:38:00.000-04:002004-10-03T14:41:59.486-04:00

For the past couple weeks, in the back of my mind, I have been thinking to myself, "After this election, I am going to have to seriously consider changing my party preference on my voter registration." Last evening, my wife and I went to a "Meet the Candidate" party for a local Democrat candidate. Drank a couple beers, ate some hours d'oeuvres, and suddenly I found myself verbalizing for the

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1096600978731329582004-09-30T22:56:00.001-04:002004-10-01T15:22:13.910-04:00

My immediate reaction to the debate is that Kerry bested President Bush pretty handily. Two or three examples will serve to illustrate how the entire debate went in Kerry's favor. Kerry's best rhetorical shot of the night came in response to Bush's perhaps unintentional linkage of Saddam to 9/11. In response to Bush's comment that "they" attacked us on 9/11, Kerry pointed out that it was Bin

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1096584064050875032004-09-30T17:53:00.000-04:002004-09-30T18:47:40.473-04:00

As the candidates for President of the United States prepare to go onstage for their first live Presidential debate, there is one question I am hoping the moderator will ask of President George W. Bush. "Mr. President, why do you contend that we are safer today than four years ago?" I do not believe the President can give a satisfactory answer to that question. Any answer will be an opening

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1096550410681144472004-09-30T08:57:00.000-04:002004-09-30T09:31:23.136-04:00

Perhaps I am blowing this out of proportion, but I wrote Chris Matthews an email about his interview with Bill Maher the other evening. The transcript of the Matthews program is available here. You can read my letter below:Dear Mr. Matthews, I am writing you to express my disappointment in a segment of your show "Hardball" which I happened to catch last night. I saw a portion of your

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1096460860539683112004-09-29T08:27:00.000-04:002004-09-29T15:42:54.726-04:00

Yesterday evening was blustery and wet. When I left work, rain was pouring from the sky comme une vache qui pisse, as the French say, and it was being blown nearly horizontal by strong gusts of wind. I actually saw a woman struggling with an umbrella that had been turned inside out by the wind, and I stopped to help her; however, it was obvious the umbrella was broken. Some of its spines were

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1096396947992503412004-09-28T14:42:00.000-04:002004-09-29T07:28:45.876-04:00

Kerry's Vision Disappoints a Yearning World (washingtonpost.com) The election is still more than a month away, and already the post-mortem has begun. Why did Kerry lose? One writer in London claims that Kerry's failure is attributable to "the long, disreputable tradition of anti-intellectualism in American politics." Others point to Kerry's inability to articulate a clear difference between

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1096372502514099492004-09-28T07:55:00.000-04:002004-09-28T07:55:02.513-04:00

Secret Service Examining Threats Made by a Heckler You may have heard about his story—or not. It was mentioned one day last week on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart because of the humorous way the woman spelled "groin" in her threat. Otherwise, it did not make the news, as far as I know. The Washington Times reports that this "heckler" (as they are invariably called) was shouted down with

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1096305935984542652004-09-27T13:25:00.000-04:002004-09-27T13:29:02.770-04:00

Grisly Path to Power In Iraq's Insurgency (washingtonpost.com) In the debate about the proper place of the war in Iraq in the overall War on Terror, much is posited, but little stands up to scrutiny. The Bush Administration overstates its case when it asserts collaboration between Iraq and Al Qaeda, but those on the opposite side of the issue have to ignore some compelling facts in order to

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1096216566594687472004-09-26T13:36:00.000-04:002004-09-27T07:13:35.600-04:00

Election May Hinge On Debates (washingtonpost.com) I always wonder at how every election is always the most negative yet, the most divisive, the most important in history; and every election always "hinges" on the debates. Part of this is the media's need to have a dramatic horse race. Still, having experienced several of these elections now, one only feels the drama of the situation if one

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1096028063591651752004-09-24T08:14:00.000-04:002004-09-24T08:16:44.540-04:00

Congress Votes to Extend Tax Cuts (washingtonpost.com) The issue of taxes is probably the single reason I usually vote Republican rather than Democrat. Four tax cuts in as many years, as President Bush has done, is pretty impressive. Whether the latest tax cut, or any of the tax cuts, will survive the need to control the deficit next year remains to be seen. What if John Kerry is elected

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1095945327129782042004-09-23T09:15:00.000-04:002004-09-23T09:30:01.873-04:00

Following is the playlist currently playing on my iPod: The Star Spangled Banner—The Simpsons America—Waylon Jennings America—(poem) Allen Ginsberg America—Simon & Garfunkel American Patrol—Glenn Miller and his Orchestra Born in the U.S.A.—Bruce Springsteen Christ for President—Billy Bragg and Wilco Dear Mrs. Roosevelt—Bob Dylan Fortunate Son—Creedence Clearwater Revival God Bless America—Kate

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1095875704364657292004-09-22T13:55:00.000-04:002004-09-22T14:06:10.706-04:00

Since buying my iPod, I have purchased a couple accessories that I think are essential, new earbuds and an FM transmitter. As every new iPod owner quickly discovers, the best thing to do with the hard, uncomfortable earbuds that come with the iPod is to sell them on eBay to one of those people who do not own an iPod, but want to wear the earbuds so everyone will think they own one. I auctioned

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1095785011623921762004-09-21T13:12:00.000-04:002004-09-21T12:47:37.326-04:00

CBS Arranged for Meeting With Lockhart This is a story you will not find mentioned in either the Washington Post or The New York Times. USA Today and CNN are reporting that one of Kerry's newer advisers, Joe Lockhart, contacted Bill Burkett a couple days before the 60 Minutes story broke about memos concerning George Bush's National Guard service. According to both reports, CBS arranged for

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1095701944717387172004-09-20T13:55:00.000-04:002004-09-20T16:32:25.556-04:00

Portrait of George Bush in '72: Unanchored in Turbulent Time The media will not let go of this story. In some ways, the irrational passion with which the press is investigating such an inconsequential story is reminiscent of the unreasonable hatred so many Americans hold for the man himself, George W. Bush. No doubt this investigation is in some measure retaliation for Kerry's "Black August,"

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1095686254225549552004-09-20T09:17:00.000-04:002004-09-20T09:34:33.813-04:00

Walmart.com - Apple iPod from HP 20 GB Digital Music Player This is something I never expected to see in my lifetime. Wal-Mart is selling an Apple Computer product. So far, the iPod is being sold on-line only, but it would not surprise me if it did not show up in the bricks-and-mortar store sooner rather than later. Last week, I bought an FM transmitter for my iPod at Wal-Mart, and at the

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1095255226913126372004-09-15T08:08:00.000-04:002004-09-15T09:47:26.930-04:00

The September 13 issue of The New Yorker features an excellent article on Al Gore titled "The Wilderness Campaign." I would quote a couple passages as relevant to the current campaign.Gore didn't really want to talk politics at first, but when the subject of the press came up he seized on it and gave ... a twenty-minute discourse on the degradation of "the public sphere," a phrase coined by the

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1095096867354223172004-09-13T13:35:00.000-04:002004-09-13T16:25:39.183-04:00

While riding the train to work in the early morning hours today, I had the thought that in some ways, the present feels very much like the past. To be specific, in some ways I feel like time is slipping and the present is intersecting at various points with the nineteen-eighties. Perhaps this feeling of déjà vu was precipitated by watching the Michael Moore film Roger and Me for the first time

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1094749875770917272004-09-09T13:08:00.000-04:002004-09-09T15:25:44.380-04:00

I woke up this morning, and I got myself a beer The future's uncertain, and the end is always nearNo, I am not an alcoholic; just listening to the Doors today on my iPod. Morrison is often praised for the poetry of his words, but in his more purely poetic works, such as the mostly spoken "Ghost Song," he rather sounds over-inflated. At one point in the song, he refers to a child's "eggshell

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1094650865264515602004-09-08T13:06:00.000-04:002004-09-09T10:34:05.406-04:00

Anyone who listens to The Prairie Home Companion on NPR knows that Garrison Keillor has some pretty strong feelings about George W. Bush. In this article, Keillor finally lets all those feelings out into the open. The result is an intelligent, humorous critique not just of the President, but of the Republican party generally. Keillor's thesis is developed via contrast: the Republican party of

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1094576321606277342004-09-07T13:58:00.000-04:002004-09-07T16:20:28.203-04:00

The New York Times > Krugman: A Mythic Reality Apparently the Democrats, via Paul Krugman, are already developing their excuses for why they lost Election 2004. Seems a bit premature, yet the initial polls following the Republican convention last week are creating an atmosphere of despair among the Democrats. Personally, I think the surge of support for Bush is directly related to the fact that

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1094572142482598272004-09-07T11:58:00.000-04:002004-09-07T12:28:07.386-04:00

Suddenly, summer is over; and appropriately enough, the past two days have been rainy and drear. The change in the weather reminds me of that old Billie Holiday song, "Gloomy Sunday." Well, perhaps things aren't quite that bleak. A better choice would be the Johnny Mercer tune "Autumn Leaves," as sung by Nat King Cole (or perhaps Edith Piaf; I like both versions).The falling leaves drift by

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1094218361453957362004-09-03T08:56:00.000-04:002004-09-07T13:12:28.110-04:00

The speeches are over. The balloons have dropped. Nothing now but the race. So where do I stand? Have I made my decision? I feel I have reached a decision and am comfortable with it. I really do not expect anything to change my mind between now and November. First, to comment on the President's speech last night, the stagecraft behind it was incredible. The round stage in the center of

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1094147474543247272004-09-02T13:51:00.000-04:002004-09-02T22:42:03.093-04:00

Remarks Made by Senator Zell Miller I think most of the pundits expected the best speech last night to come from Dick Cheney. Instead, the speech everyone is talking about today was Zell Miller's. Barring some miraculous bestowal of the gift of mellifluous eloquence on George W. Bush between now and ten o'clock tonight, I think Miller will have delivered the best speech of the entire

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1094128365350431072004-09-02T07:43:00.000-04:002004-09-02T09:05:32.710-04:00

Last night as I got off the train, there were three people standing around outside the station trying to buttonhole commuters. As people walked by, ignoring them, they would say, "Hi, can I talk to you a minute about our newspaper?" The only people to even consider stopping would pause only long enough to see the title of the newspaper. Still, they rattled off their greeting randomly, "Hi, can

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1094058185438869332004-09-01T12:36:00.000-04:002004-09-01T13:22:21.323-04:00

[note: Speak the following lines with the Frenchified accent of the Spongebob Squarepants narrator] Ah, lunchtime. Time to recharge ze batteries in preparation for ze afternoon beezness meetings. Time to feel one'z bellie with the sustenance necessary for completing ze day of work. Time to update ze blog ... I added a Washington Post News Ticker to my sidebar. I never had time to update my

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1094044264474939792004-09-01T06:24:00.000-04:002004-09-01T09:27:33.736-04:00

Last night I watched two rather incongruous pieces of fiction, a Bernardo Bertolucci film, The Dreamers and the Republican convention in New York. The two are incongruous, but not incomparable. I actually think the French title is better than the English title, but both titles capture a particular aspect of the characters in the film. It is set in 1968 in Paris during the student-led riots

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1093960899880440892004-08-31T06:01:00.000-04:002004-08-31T10:05:36.526-04:00

In N.Y., GOP Hails Its Chief (washingtonpost.com) Perhaps I should not have been surprised, but Bush's comment that the war on terror cannot be won has generated criticism from the right and the left. Last night on Special Report with Brit Hume, the conservative-leaning Fred Barnes and Mort Kondrake both assailed Bush's comments as inept and inexplicable. Meanwhile, the President's Democrat

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1093884212223580782004-08-30T12:43:00.000-04:002004-08-30T12:44:01.410-04:00

Bush Revisited (washingtonpost.com): Nancy Gibbs and John F. Dickerson write (in Time) that "if Kerry's test in Boston was to show voters that he is not weak, Bush's task at the Republican Convention in New York City this week is to show that he is not wrong, that his strength comes not from a six-gun temperament but from judgment that has matured through three years of hard testing. His vital

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1093872649556533282004-08-30T06:20:00.000-04:002004-08-30T09:45:35.453-04:00

I read the following in a Washington Post story this morning:Bush also acknowledged in the interview that the administration did not anticipate the nature of the resistance in Iraq, and he said that was his greatest mistake in office. "Had we had to do it over again," he said, "we would look at the consequences of catastrophic success, being so successful so fast that an enemy that should have

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1093794130243221922004-08-29T11:42:00.000-04:002004-08-30T07:53:48.600-04:00

GOP Will Showcase Bush's Leadership (washingtonpost.com) Bush advisers said not to expect big new initiatives or detailed proposals. Instead, they suggest the president will use a broad brush while raising the stakes of the choice in November. He will offer a vigorous defense of his belief that his aggressive approach to terrorism will keep the country more secure than Kerry's approach.It sounds

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1093540987500737742004-08-26T12:48:00.000-04:002004-08-26T16:46:26.366-04:00

Just before lunch this afternoon, I attended what I thought was going to be another ordinary meeting, but before it ever began, the subject of politics came up. Why do people bring up the subject of politics amongst a group of relative strangers? And why is it almost always Democrats who do this? Five of us were sitting around a table waiting for everyone to arrive, and the Creative Writer

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1093456614232343802004-08-25T13:56:00.000-04:002004-08-25T16:43:35.166-04:00

The John Fogerty website is pretty cool. You can listen to the title song of his new album, "Deja Vu All Over Again," which is an anti-Iraq War song. You can also hear him sing an acoustic version of "Lodi." Good stuff. I was introduced to CCR by my Dad. Dad had quite a record collection from the late sixties/early seventies, and CCR was his favorite. Most of the best records, such as those

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1093382219119902202004-08-25T06:50:00.000-04:002004-08-25T09:09:44.016-04:00

I need a fix cause I'm goin downAfter a coffee-less day yesterday, this morning, I could go on no longer. I am supposed to cut down on my caffeine this week, but that can't possibly mean no caffeine at all. Can it? One cup in the morning can't hurt. Besides, it isn't Starbucks, just regular coffee; and I drank it while eating a bowl of Special K with strawberries. That's gotta count for

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1093368998929950252004-08-24T13:36:00.000-04:002004-08-26T14:28:22.206-04:00

I finally went to the doctor yesterday concerning my sleep problems. She said its difficult to diagnose the origins of sleep disorders, and then its also difficult to cure them. Insomnia can be caused by any number of factors including diet, health, age, mental wellness. Have I been depressed? She asked. What's my caffeine intake during the day? What triggers my waking in the middle of the

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1093346999924291892004-08-24T07:29:00.000-04:002004-08-24T08:53:02.340-04:00

Posted by HelloMy iPod arrived Thursday of last week. Unfortunately, my blog has been on hiatus since then, though not for any particular reason. I am very happy with my iPod. The picture above is not great, but I wanted to show as much as possible what it was like to open the box. The box itself was a plain, brown box, with the words "Genuine Apple Refurbished Product" on the side and top.

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092920484907263772004-08-19T09:01:00.000-04:002004-08-19T09:06:05.543-04:00

Kerry Decries Bush's Military Realignment (washingtonpost.com) Kerry's reception by Veterans was apparently pretty cool. Here are the relevant excerpts:Kerry received his most enthusiastic response from 6,000 VFW members when he strongly advocated improving health care, disability and other benefits for veterans. But overall, he was received here far less enthusiastically than was Bush, who

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092838579142167152004-08-18T10:16:00.000-04:002004-08-18T10:38:39.393-04:00

Ignoring History In Iraq (washingtonpost.com) In this editorial by a noted Conservative columnist, George Will suggests through implication, if not directly, that the American invasion of Iraq ranks in Imperial hubris with the war with Mexico (1846-1848) and the war with Spain (1898). Comparatively, as Will points out, the war in Iraq has already lasted longer than either of these two wars, and

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092764498171984642004-08-17T13:41:00.000-04:002004-08-17T15:37:47.803-04:00

The Front-Porch Chat: Birth of a Kerry Campaign Tactic John Kerry was on vacation this past week at his home in Sun Valley, Idaho. If I were one of the staunchest of the Bush-haters, I'd be feeling a little perturbed. Important hand-shaking and baby-coddling time is being lost here, People! Can't he skip vacation until after the election? Who knows, he might have more time off than he

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092760768598250122004-08-17T12:04:00.000-04:002004-08-17T12:44:00.806-04:00

I went to bed last night with a thumping headache, cause unknown. I could not find an aspirin in the house when I went up to bed at ten, so I just had to hope that lying down would relieve the pressure. I hardly ever get headaches, so this was a new experience for me. I slept restlessly until about 2:30, at which time I woke and did not go back to sleep. I was too preoccupied with my aching

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092741689303851692004-08-17T06:15:00.000-04:002004-08-17T11:08:48.236-04:00

Last night I watched one of my favorite political movies, The Contender (2000). Jeff Bridges plays a Democrat President nearing the end of his second term of office. When his vice-president dies, he has to choose the successor, one of only a handful of times this has ever happened in United States history. He foregoes the obvious candidate, a Governor played by William Peterson (now of C.S.I.

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092675764697344392004-08-16T12:01:00.000-04:002004-08-16T16:25:02.046-04:00

Howard Kurtz in his Media Notes today draws attention to the fact Election 2004 looks a lot like Election 2000. Depending on which newspaper you read, the advantage goes to either George Bush or John Kerry. Duh. Kurtz first references the Cook Political Report for an analysis of the polls that concludes that President Bush is in a world of hurt. Meanwhile, an article in Kurtz's own newspaper,

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092664312863136342004-08-16T09:51:00.000-04:002004-08-16T10:00:32.783-04:00

Oh look, someone has helpfully made available the MP3 of the Cure's Friday I'm In Love.

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092663632967433792004-08-16T09:40:00.000-04:002004-08-16T09:51:53.323-04:00

My iPod is officially scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Just in case, I taped a note to the door yesterday evening, addressed to the FedEx person, stating that if we are out, he or she could leave any packages next door. FedEx requires a signature, so if we miss them, which is likely since they usually deliver during the afternoon, I would have to wait another day to receive my package. I am

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092522843289447712004-08-14T18:28:00.000-04:002004-08-14T18:34:03.290-04:00

I am still waiting for my iPod. I am beginning to think I should have been less cheap and paid for a faster shipping speed. Apple pays for Standard Shipping, which I suppose means it is coming by mule train. According to the FedEx website, my iPod departed Sacramento August 11 at 10:38 AM. The tracking information has not been updated since. Scheduled delivery date is next Tuesday. When the

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092494681202268702004-08-14T10:43:00.000-04:002004-08-14T10:48:49.253-04:00

Kerry 'couldn't think' on 9/11 / The Washington Times The low-point of the Kerry-Edwards campaign for the Presidency was John Kerry's recent comment that had he been President on 9/11, he would not have sat idle in a school classroom for seven minutes after learning of the terrorist atttacks. Kerry's second-guessing was arrogant and self-righteous. Everyone remembers 9/11; everyone remembers

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092369675289629722004-08-13T00:01:00.000-04:002004-08-13T13:08:33.360-04:00

High Court in Calif. Nullifies Gay Marriages (washingtonpost.com) This is no victory for those who are opposed to gay marriage. The California Supreme Court has decided nothing that will lay this issue to rest once and for all. Indeed, I suspect it has only galvanized the strident homosexual activists who have made marriage their cause in life, We will still be debating this ten years in the

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092315290622060172004-08-12T08:54:00.000-04:002004-08-12T09:10:57.880-04:00

Singles queue for man pillows (August 5, 2004) A man pillow? That leaves me feeling rather superfluous today. And of course the "vibrating alarm clock" on the man pillow is really, honestly, just an alarm clock. Mmm-hmmm. Before you know it, the world is going to look like Wonder Woman's Amazon Island. White Goddess of the Dark Jungle ... She offered ECSTASY and DEATH!"

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092314474202573282004-08-12T08:41:00.000-04:002004-08-12T08:42:41.660-04:00

White House Backs Off Bush Sales Tax Quip (washingtonpost.com) This is a story buried in the regular Washington Post, but I read it in the Express edition on the way to work this morning. Back on August 2, radio talk show host Neal Boortz reported in his blog that according to Matt Drudge, President Bush is going to make complete tax reform a priority in his second term. Considering how Drudge

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092255825789225952004-08-11T16:23:00.000-04:002004-08-11T16:33:49.160-04:00

The iPod Plays a New Tune While we're on the subject of iPod, Duke University has decided to give a new iPod to all incoming freshmen. Apple may be making deals with other schools as well, even as I write. Geez, I attended West Virginia University, and all I got was this stupid diploma! Shoulda gone to Duke, I guess.

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092149512577841902004-08-11T06:45:00.000-04:002004-08-11T07:08:25.466-04:00

Yesterday, I ordered a new iPod. Well, not a "new" iPod, but new to me. In the end, I decided to order a refurbished, slightly older model, rather than the brand new iPod with click wheel. Perhaps my reasoning bears some explanation, since this is probably the first time in my conspicuously consuming lifetime that I have ever deliberately foregone the purchase of a brand new toy in favor of a

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092159894178174442004-08-10T13:10:00.000-04:002004-08-11T11:58:30.500-04:00

Since John Kerry's candidacy was announced, his war record has suffered about as much scrutiny and scorn from the Republican party as Bill Clinton's love life. I have been thinking for a long time how, and even whether to comment on the one topic conservative talk radio can't seem to get enough of: Kerry's medals, and how he did not deserve them. With the release of an advertisement last week

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092157061980106882004-08-10T12:45:00.000-04:002004-08-10T12:57:41.980-04:00

All of the major speeches made at the DNC two weeks ago are available as free downloads via the iTunes music store. I downloaded most of them and have listened to Kerry and Edwards twice, not counting the first time I heard them when they were speaking live. Most recently, just this morning I listened to Kerry's speech on my iPod. Kerry's speech remains very strong, very effective in my mind. I

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1092139460216218252004-08-10T06:20:00.000-04:002004-08-10T11:21:52.566-04:00

I slept poorly last night. I was in bed by ten-thirty, but awake at 2:51 AM. I lay awake until getting up to go to the bathroom at 3:11, then back to bed, where I lay awake until 4:35 trying to clear my mind like a Jedi Knight of yore. At that time, I decided I wasn't going to fall back asleep, and I might as well get up and go to work. I showered, shaved, and was at the bus stop by 5:20.

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091734677476371982004-08-05T15:36:00.000-04:002004-08-05T15:39:02.170-04:00

Upon the request of a friend, I thought I might take a moment today to think about T. S. Eliot's poem Four Quartets. I will consider today only the first Canto of Burnt Norton, the first of the "Quartets." This may be something I do every once in awhile, that is take a break from the world, step out of time, and digress on some other topic. I remember the first time I heard of T.S. Eliot. Long

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091707750625474622004-08-05T08:09:00.000-04:002004-08-05T08:11:13.130-04:00

People like this make me despair for this country. With suckers like this one, is it any wonder the spammers in the sexual enhancement industry are making a killing?Reg Weber, one of three brothers who run a sausage factory on the edge of town, was waiting for Bush that day in May when he breezed past and was there waiting again this time when Kerry bounded out of his bus to work the rope line,

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091622506017375832004-08-04T07:40:00.000-04:002004-08-04T14:43:51.430-04:00

The above headline caught my eye this morning because of the ambiguity of its meaning. Are the Capitol Police focused on terrorism, or on terrorizing? This morning's Post is chock full of articles reporting the outrage among D.C. politicians over the increased security in Washington, particularly on Capitol Hill. "I don't care if it's a red alert," Eleanor Holmes Norton is quoted as saying.

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091537895061911092004-08-03T05:30:00.000-04:002004-08-03T09:13:55.566-04:00

I watched one of my favorite movies again last night The Road to Wellville, a very much underacknowledged film of the mid-nineties. I think it gets funnier the older I get. My favorite scene is when Matthew Broderick receives his first colonic from Nurse Graves. Invariably, the reviews of this film pan it, usually because it fails to live up to the quality of the book (which I have not read)

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091467732984117622004-08-02T12:21:00.000-04:002004-08-03T07:11:44.250-04:00

"Damage Control," Philip Gourevitch, The New Yorker, July 26, 2004 ...[John Kerry] also shares his father's aversion to grandiose expressions of American exceptionalism. He came of age believing that a misguided foreign policy is one of the greatest threats to America's well-being. One of his Senate aides told me that he recoiled in dismay when Madeleine Albright, speaking about Iraq as

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091449393495596702004-08-02T06:45:00.000-04:002004-08-02T13:37:10.586-04:00

My coffee this morning is Fair Trade. Looking back at my blog from the past couple months, I see that it has been nearly two months since Starbucks last brewed my favorite coffee, Italian. Both Yukon and Fair Trade have been offered twice. There must be some anti-Italy conspiracy afoot, perhaps because that country has stood by us during the war in Iraq. Yesterday I brought my wife and son

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091281179385670312004-07-31T09:03:00.000-04:002004-08-02T07:33:12.213-04:00

Thursday night, I listened to Kerry's speech on the radio. I did not watch it on TV. TV can be a distracting way to absorb a politician's message because of the showmanship--and the showboating--that goes in to a speech. I wanted just the words. I don't care about the images, what color tie he was wearing, whether he looked like Gomer Pyle when he saluted the crowd as he took the stage and

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091132732992778232004-07-30T08:35:00.000-04:002004-07-30T21:32:05.026-04:00

In case you missed it, earlier this week, RealNetworks announced the availability of a piece of software called Harmony which makes it possible to purchase songs from the RealPlayer music service and play them on the iPod. This sounds to me like a kick in the teeth for Steve Jobs, who a few months ago rejected an offer for a partnership with Real's CEO, Rob Glaser. It remains to be seen how

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091125865868985482004-07-29T12:45:00.000-04:002004-08-26T14:29:10.066-04:00

This entry is set to the easy melody of "Somebody Loves Me" (1946) by Buddy Rich, Lester Young, and Nat "King" Cole. Or, for those like me who have a bad, eclectic musical taste, this entry is set to Tab Hunter's "Young Love." Once upon a time, there was a boy, a boy in the third grade at Ordnance Elementary in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. It so happened that every Christmastime, on a day

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091048275183962412004-07-28T17:35:00.000-04:002004-07-28T17:18:55.796-04:00

Recently I have been thinking about the past almost obsessively. Every once in awhile I become moody and preoccupied with things that happened a long time ago. From about 1978 to about 1984, I attended a small elementary school in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, called Ordnance Elementary. For many years, I have always wondered about the name of that school. Ordnance is defined as the materiel

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091036027419957292004-07-28T13:33:00.000-04:002004-07-28T13:33:47.420-04:00

The striking thing about Kerry's entrance in Boston is that it mimics President Bush flying onto that aircraft carrier last year. Yet President Bush has roundly been criticized for his arrogance in participating in what was clearly a stunt, a photo op, an advance campaign advertisement. Now how long before the Republicans start crying foul over Kerry's stunt, photo op, and campaign

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091034931798934092004-07-28T13:03:00.000-04:002004-07-28T13:18:04.476-04:00

It seems a bit premature to reach that conclusion, since the iPod has not yet been attacked by its first virus. Yet the Merrill Lynch analyst in the article linked to in the blog entry title believes Apple could become as dominant in music as Microsoft is in software. Clearly Apple holds a strong position in the realm of digital music. The question will be whether or not they can hold onto it

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1091033268704229252004-07-28T12:06:00.000-04:002004-07-28T12:51:42.400-04:00

Eponymous must be one of the most misused words in the English language. Many people use it; few know what it means. Its root is the noun eponym.Epoynm: A person whose name is or is thought to be the source of the name of something, such as a city, country, or era. For example, Romulus is the eponym of Rome.William F. Buckley uses the word correctly in his autobiography, Miles Gone By:"...when

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1090948198829356962004-07-27T12:38:00.000-04:002004-07-27T13:34:35.976-04:00

On the recommendation of a friend of mine, I am trying to keep my posts shorter, which may mean I post more than once in a day/lunch hour. I watched the first two prime time hours of the Democrat convention last night, which perhaps resulted in my poor night's sleep and my need to read The Waste Land early this morning. I did not stay up for Bill Clinton's speech at ten. For someone who does

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1090934612789275572004-07-27T12:26:00.000-04:002004-07-27T12:33:51.840-04:00

At least once a year, I take time to read The Waste Land. I never plan precisely when I will read it. Like rain after a long drought, it just happens. At one time I attempted to memorize it, but I only managed the first two "chapters," though theose two chapters have stuck with me fairly well over the years. This morning, unable to sleep, I lay awake in the dark a long time remembering these

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1090861443163014072004-07-26T13:04:00.000-04:002004-07-26T15:22:32.886-04:00

This is the real deal, my blog entry for Monday. So a woman goes into a pharmacy and asks for a product to remove the hair from her schnauzer ... Wait, that's a bad dirty joke my Grandpa told me last week. And by "bad" I don't mean "good." I mean bad. Suffice it to say, it ends with the woman unable to sit down for a week. OK, rewind. I'm bopping along to Elvis on my lunch break, so I'm

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1090856795037023032004-07-26T11:46:00.000-04:002004-07-26T11:49:56.066-04:00

I just spilled a cup of water into my trackball. I think it might be defunct, now. Lucky I have my original black Dell mouse in a drawer. Who would think that not even a quarter cup of water could do so much damage to technology? I turned the trackball upside down, and a stream of water poured out of it. So anyway, I've got that all cleaned up, and my trackball is lying on the bookshelf

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5207980.post-1090762635763752352004-07-25T09:37:00.000-04:002004-07-26T11:05:29.406-04:00

I have not seen Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 yet, but I watched Bowling For Columbine last night. It is the first Moore film I have seen. As polemic, it is pretty good. Moore is best when he simply steps aside and films someone making his case for him, such as when he interviews the brother of Terry Nichols, James Nichols. Nichols makes the usual case that Americans ought to be free to own

Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06623287283750399460noreply@blogger.com0