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Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Category: Personal Page 33 of 59

Reconsidering Minnesota Nice: Raids in Advance of the RNC

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On August 30, 2008

In Law, Personal, Politics

Looks like even the Twin Cities are trying to live down to GOP standards:

Protesters here in Minneapolis have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets. Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff’s department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than “fire code violations,” and early this morning, the Sheriff’s department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying.

Now, I’ve seen (with my own eyes) enough high profile protests to know that there is always a dumbass who behaves in such a way as to give the police an excuse to come crashing down.  But it’s the crashing down that ends up *really* starting the ball rolling on the things for which protesters are arrested.  Honestly, if I were sitting in one of those houses this morning, and all of a sudden I had some guy kick in a door and start screaming at me and throwing me on the floor, it’s entirely possible (probable) that I’d be facing an assault and battery charge tonight.  You can’t treat people like this and not expect them to fight back.  And really, the fighting back?  It’s what they’re counting on.  I hope the folks in Minnesota can keep themselves to a higher standard than I could.

10:15/Saturday Night: ATL Edition

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On August 30, 2008

In Music, Personal

I don’t have many positive things to say about Atlanta these days, but I certainly have had some grand times there.  In the mid 90s, just after college and before moving to DC, I (along with M.) was among the first handful of gentrifiers* of downtown Atlanta’s Fairlie Poplar neighborhood.  We snagged the first lease of an apartment in the Muse’s Building, a renovated former department store that had been joined with a number of other buildings to form an interesting collection of residences.  But the residences weren’t nearly as interesting as the residents.  In one small community we had ourselves, a university president, a handyman, a fashion buyer, a stripper, a bank VP, an old writer, a political con man, pot-smoking business professors, and the mega-rich owners.  And we all knew each other, sharing spaces, drinks, and parties.  I sometimes wish I’d not been in such a rush with my life – it was an incredibly positive and stress free time (I mean,  lived at 50 Peachstree St. and worked at 100 Peachtree St.  Does it get any easier?).  Alas, time flows and we move on.  A few tracks, however, bring me right back there:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUrJdf4PbEk[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVL-zZnD3VU[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_kZetNY5so[/youtube]

*Do you still count as a gentrifier if you’ve moved *from* Vine City, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the area?  (Note that that article is from 1966.  Nothing had improved by the time I lived there.)

Photo courtesy coka_koehler

Midweek Makeover: Political Soundtracks

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On August 27, 2008

In Music, Personal, Politics

Okay, I had great ambitions for this evening’s effort, but the complete result will have to wait until tomorrow.  For now, I’ll tease it with one of the songs I’d love to see work its way into the rotation at this fall’s rallies:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrHHAZFPmMY[/youtube]

(Hey, I never said it would be a good idea.  Just said that *I* would love to see this song.)

On Taking Photos

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On August 27, 2008

In Personal

A post over at Boing Boing pointed me toward this very Utata post on the joy of shooting in natural history museums.  Full of really great stuff – who *hasn’t* thought of what it would be like if it were humans all preserved in the jars by a smarter species? And then came upon this:

I try to look as much as I can, and when I have looked until I have seen, I take out my camera.

That, in a nutshell, is my ideal approach to photography.  I can list the regrets of all the times I’ve not been able to follow this.  And I have no regrets from the times that I have.

Obama’s “Bizarre” Life Story

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On August 26, 2008

In Personal, Politics

“Bizarre” is how NBC’s Brian Williams described Obama’s life story, the other day. This follows on the heels of Cokie Robert’s calling Hawaii some “foreign, exotic place.”  And then there’s the whole father-from-another-country thing.

I am, at best, a cautious supporter of Barack Obama.  Of course, it should go without saying that I find him almost infinitely preferable to the alternatives.  It’s just that I don’t believe the hype, and that I am old enough to know that every of of them will disappoint you, in the end.  And as great as I think Obama may be, he deserves a lot of criticism, on the merits.

That said, I am surprised by my deeply personal and visceral reactions to those that attack Obama’s status as an American.  He and I share a lot.  Our “foreign” fathers married midwestern American mothers, we’ve lived all over the world, and neither one of us desperately need to present America as the savior to the world’s problems.  Oh, and we also shared that Hawaiian experience.  This is my world, growing up:

What a foreign bunch, eh?  No matter what, there are going to be more like me and Obama than there are those like John McCain and Mark Penn.  We.will.win.

Weekend Music: Whistlin’ Edition

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On August 22, 2008

In Music, Personal

I was walking down the sidewalk this afternoon, apparently whistling.  And a guy coming the other way looked at me and said “Well, *you’re* having a good day, aren’t you?”  Tis a fine day, but you have to appreciate the power of a song that can make it sound like a good day.  This is what I was whistling:

J Girls – Yellow World:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En9rDa3gBYA[/youtube]

Which brings me to other reliably good mood music.  You know, that stuff that guarantees a smile.  We’ll start with the Violent Femmes’ I Held Her In My Arms:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWWB-Uvc27A[/youtube]

Ack.  That’s a hard video to watch, eh?  Still love it.  One of the few songs that can top that, though, is Everclear’s AM Radio:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JEoFzvxiyI[/youtube]

Seriously, how you can anyone not be smiling after that?

Finally, as a bonus, here is the song that will stop me dead in my tracks and have me sing the whole thing out loud on demand – Louis Jordan’s Beans and Cornbread:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV7_2oy8LMY[/youtube]

If you’re thinking about trying that, though, be careful – willingness to sing doesn’t necessarily translate into ability.

Have a good weekend, all.

Dave Stewart’s American Prayer

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On August 22, 2008

In Music, Personal, Politics

I’m not really one for schmaltzy campaign songs*, but I think Dave Stewart’s done a good job with this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVi4rUzf-0Q[/youtube]

More about the song (process and lyrics) here.

*I was going to say that I’m more into the Mosh sort of campaign song:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOLMVQa0KD8[/youtube]

But then I realized that the most compelling political campaign song/video I’ve ever seen was this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm2OXQh3duI[/youtube]

DC Gets A Downtown Pro Criterium

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On August 22, 2008

In Cycling, DC, Personal

On September 21st of this year, you’ll be able to head down to Penn Quarter and see a real live pro criterium race in the form of the ING Direct Capital Criterium.  It’s a six turn 1km circuit that winds its way among the Federal agencies downtown.

I’ve been waiting for a long time to see something like this happen (in fact, I already know the shot I’ll be aiming for).  As it stands, there’s going to be a Men’s 35+ race, a Men’s 1/2/3, and a Men’s Pro.  No word on who the teams will be yet.

DId you notice something missing from that list of races?  That’s right, no women’s field.  Which is especially disappointing, considering that Cyclelife, a presenting sponsor, has its own women’s team.   They’re aware of that disappointment, and while they haven’t promised anything about next year, they say that they hope to include a women’s field when they can.

The official race site is here, and I’ll post more when details become available.

It’s a Southern Thing: Hitting Kids in School

By

On August 20, 2008

In Personal, Society

The following conversation took place in the 80s, at Riverdale Junior High School:

“Well, Mr. Blacknell, you’ve got a choice.  Detention, or three licks.”

“Three what?”

“Three licks.”

“uhh . . . “

I was standing in the assistant principle’s office, at the time, probably because I’d told a teacher she didn’t know what she was talking about (true in 9 out of 10 cases, in retrospect).  I’d just moved to Georgia (from West Germany), and I was still having a bit of trouble with the accents.  But even putting aside the accent in this case, I didn’t know what the hell a “lick” was.  And as I came to understand that “lick” meant hitting me with a long wooden panel, I was . . . gobsmacked (not a Georgia word, btw).  Never in my life had any adult, aside from my parents, ever even *looked* like they would threaten me with physical violence.  Ultimately, though, I decided that three smacks to my ass were far easier to deal with than 60 minutes sitting in a quiet classroom after school. But it struck me then – as it does now – as an entirely ridiculous approach to discipline.

As in so many other things, it doesn’t seem that much has changed in the 20-something years since then:

Twenty-one U.S. states still permit the use of corporal punishment in schools. In Texas and Mississippi children as young as 3 are struck for transgressions as minor as gum chewing, the report says.

[ . . . ]

Citing U.S. Department of Education data, the report said 223,190 students nationwide received corporal punishment at least once in the 2006-2007 school year. This included 49,197 students in Texas, the largest number of any state.

And we wonder why we’ve got a problem with violence in this country.

Midweek Makeover: A Lighter Note

By

On August 20, 2008

In Music, Personal

Some covers are interesting because they take a work originally filled with energy and just strip it away, leaving a previously unappreciated core.  I’ve got two examples of that today.

The first is Frente!’s cover of New Order’s Bizarre Love Triangle:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ1c9ErCn7w[/youtube]

You know, I somehow missed this when it first came out, and only discovered it when I stole a CD from a friend a few years ago (thanks, P!).  And if that CD had been vinyl, I’d have worn it out by now.

The second one came to me just yesterday via one of those often (and rightly) maligned Facebook applications.  Despite the means, the end is good – Jenny Owen Youngs’ take on Nelly’s Hot in Herre:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwuIIsDjgZg[/youtube]

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