Mar 31, 2009
Mar 30, 2009
The concept of culture is notoriously problematic to integrate into political analysis because of its nebulous multifaceted nature; and the assumption that culture is nearly impossible to observe has lead to slippery extension in its concept formation. Some have written off its influence as distractingly tautological: assigning causality to culture supposedly being akin to saying people are how they are because that is how they are. This view simplistically sidesteps the challenge of grappling with culture as a variable. Other political scientists have incorporated the notion of culture, but often have too broadly operationalized it as a static monolithic characteristic innate to large groups (e.g. nations) which, in fact, are internally quite heterogeneous in their sensibilities and significations. On the other side of the social scientific spectrum, postmodern anthropologists frequently interpret particular instances of culture as manifestly unique and inherently incoherent, and therefore incompatible with any attempt at quantification or generalization.
While duly noting epistemoligical irreconciliability, Lisa Wedeen challenges political scientists to reconceptualize culture as a useful, dynamic and variegated variable. Her focus on culture as “semiotic practices” involves the dialectical interplay between structure and agency in the making of meaning and the meaning of making. Dominant structures disemminate hegemonic symbols and norms, but much of this cultural significance is (re)formulated at the point of reception and (re)interpretation; and then, through active practice, feeds back into “common knowlege”. Her point is not for positivists to uncritically accept such dynamic processes as recounted in mushy postmodern speak; rather that instances of culture can be observed and thus used empirically in a causal equation. Wedeen seeks to render the general mechanics of culture as a variable with legs that can be fruitfully applied in diverse situations where the particular belief systems and traditional customs bear no superficial resemblance.
Mar 29, 2009
Anyone have a problem with this?
Personally, I don't. Maybe its the Nike-sponsored courts in PDX but I think these private/public partnerships can work well if done tastefully. As long as there isn't anything permanent it seems like a good way to fund public projects. I realize it could lead to a slippery slope, however I'd rather get paid (via lower taxes or better use of tax dollars) for viewing advertising than not. Advertising is all around us anyway, whats a little more if done reasonably.
Mar 27, 2009
Latin American countries and islands tend to produce high levels of happiness with minimal resources.
Mar 26, 2009
From The Economist:
Transport companies from each [NAFTA] country were supposed to be able to operate freely in the others by 2000. The Teamsters union, whose members include American truck drivers, has fought a long and largely successful rearguard action against this provision. It argues that Mexican trucks are unsafe and polluting and their drivers insufficiently trained.
An American court rejected these arguments. So did a NAFTA dispute-settlement panel, which ruled in 2001 that the United States was violating the agreement and gave Mexico the right to impose retaliatory tariffs. Mexico chose not to do so, to give the United States a chance to honour its commitment. The Bush administration tried, but was thwarted when Congress approved a measure setting 22 new safety standards for Mexican trucks.
...
The Teamsters’ victory [through congress] means that most Mexican goods going north will continue to have to be unloaded at the border, reloaded for the short hop across it, then loaded again onto an American truck. This amounts to what Mexicans call a “trucking tax”.
...
Mexico’s response was swift. On March 18th it imposed tariffs of up to 45% on 90 American agricultural and industrial imports, ranging from strawberries and wine to cordless telephones. The list was carefully chosen to avoid pushing up prices of staples in Mexico while hitting goods that are important exports for a range of American states. That way, it could have maximum political effect north of the border.
...
Mr Obama’s early capitulation to a transparently protectionist lobby sets a worrying precedent. On March 25th Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, will visit Mexico, dispatched by Mr Obama originally to discuss security issues. Her task will now also be to reassure America’s second-biggest trade partner that her country honours its commitments. Perhaps Mexican officials should invite her to make the return journey by truck.
Mar 25, 2009
Maybe this is obvious - I'm sometimes oblivious to what is out and popular for movies - but Charlie Kaufman's latest almost fell off my radar screen. Don't let it fall of yours.
Its not for everyone (its long, sad, surreal and complicated) but it should be seen, as should anything by Kaufman really. Someone named Corina Chocano called the film "wildly ambitious ... sprawling, awe-inspiring, heartbreaking, frustrating, hard-to-follow and achingly, achingly sad". I agree with that.
If you heard Charlie Kaufman (adaptation, eternal sunshine..., being john malkovich, etc.) and said "sold." or were already intending on seeing it, don't bother with the preview below. Like most previews, IMO, it gives away too much. But if you're in doubt, here you go...
Mar 20, 2009
I'm currently three days in to an interesting reading experiment. Sci-Fi writer Max Barry is publishing his new book, Machine Man, via RSS. 
This is how it works: you sign up for free and then get to read the book one page per day through your feed reader. This is actually a very interesting concept--Barry is basically writing a serial novel as you read it and, because he's blogging it, you can actually provide him with real-time feedback. Who knows--maybe some of the user feedback will even work its way into the book. It's kind of fun and it's also interesting to see how Berry plays with the idea--the pages remind me a little of the old-time daily comic strips: short snippets with a reminder of what's going on, a revelation, and then a cliff-hanger to bring you back the next day.
Mar 18, 2009
The Lankownia household recently got a $6,000 tax refund from the government. (Yes, we've updated W-2 exemptions since.) But this presents a nice problem to have - what to do with it. I'm stumped.
We have enough short-term savings that this is essentially unexpected free money that can be spent however. I'm looking for the smartest long-term spot for it.
Options I've considered:
A. Make it rain! TV, clothes, restaurants, furniture, art, trips, wine, cigars.
B. Save it for a rainy day (anti-!) Stick it in a savings account.
C. Buy a 1-year CD. Slight improvement on option B but still losing relative to inflation.
D. Invest in the market. Risky, obviously, but I'm doing it via IRAs so the goal is long-term gain.
E. Invest in lankhouse. Spend money on partial kitchen remodel, deck, maybe new windows, etc. Nothing is a big need though.
F. Pay down the mortgage and build equity. Our interest rate is 5.75%. Discounting for tax benefits, it'd be like earning 4% or so on an investment, with that decreasing over time.
Options A and B are probably out. But I can't decide between the others, even after much deliberation. So I'm going to the most informed source I know: mVc.
Is it a good time to venture back into the market?
Mar 14, 2009
Guabi Guabi guy – I don’t know who you are and I don’t know who you THINK you are. Maybe you’re a high school kid. Maybe you’re even a twenty-something. Maybe you’re friends with that guy that tagged Half Turk’s house. But, you’re definitely not nice. It was one thing when you so cleverly wrote “GUABI GUABI” in small letters on my freshly laid cement while I was blogging inside of my house in the middle of broad 
daylight. It was quite another when Ms JGW smoothed out your message, only to find that you had come back sometime in the night and been so upset by our audacity to clear your message, that you decided to write it again, this time far uglier and bigger. I don’t know what GUA BI GUABI means. An internet search led me to some Arlo Guthrie lyrics but only confused me further. But, regardless of what it means, I don’t appreciate it. You can be assured that when the cement company comes back to do some patch work on the sidewalk I will be waiting and watching. You won’t get away with it again.
Kanye West – Who’s not giving you enough love today Kanye? Is it the Grammies who you whore yourself out to every year only to find that they didn’t give you enough awards? Is it some music critic who didn’t give you enough love, despite the fact that music critics as a whole made you the most overrated hip-hop icon of all time? Or, is it Jay Gee Whiz, who just put you on notice? The best thing you ever said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people”, was probably said not because you actually cared for the victims of Katrina, but because you wanted to cause a stir as the rapper who just didn’t give a fuck. If you weren’t already known as the guy that threw temper tantrums because you didn’t win best music video direction, someone might take the assertion seriously. Your lyrics are sophomoric, with trite lessons that some people gush about as being so insightful “for a rapper” but in actuality are just the conclusions drawn by any adolescent teen. As for your latest theatrics and costumes, you’re not the next Michael Jackson and the 80’s aren’t THAT back.
Pitchfork Music Magazine – Apparently the only things worth listening to are super lo-fi indie experiments and super hi-fi glossy disco throwbacks. Your top 100 singles and top 50 albums of the year lists couldn’t be a worse selection, in this guy’s humble opinion. Your look back at history is even worse, as I can definitely assure you that New Wave was not the most important thing to happen to pop music in the last 50 years. And what’s up with your staff picks for best singles of the year? Why are they all the so similar? I know that you guys all work together and therefore all hang out and listen to the same music, but your lists are so similar it’s like you’re in some kind of cult. Not everyone could have thought Beyonce’s “All the Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” was a top-ten single of the year. Somebody had to stand up and say “Actually, I think it’s shit.” No?
The phrase “throw ____ under the bus” – I heard this a lot at work and at the time it seemed to make sense. If someone failed to accomplish something, and they put blame on you, they essentially "threw you under the bus.” It implied that they backstabbed or ratted you out when you weren’t expecting it. However, as this became more and more popular to say at work it lost all meaning. Then I started hearing this expression used everywhere. And it just being used to mean “said something bad about or caused harm to.” The more I think about it, the more the metaphor had no meaning in the first place. What the hell does it mean? If someone can explain it to me, I’ll take it off the notice board.
Pteradactually – I know you didn’t survive for millions of years by not adapting, but I can’t figure out where you stand on anything anymore. A little consistency to your character would be nice.
Space Zombie – Enough with the comic book covers and stud of the week pictures. I want some more robot &animal paranoia and I especially want the next installment of the Polish Ninja. If I don’t get what I want, I’m moving you up the board. And don’t think I forgot about your attack rap. Once I get back from my musical hiatus, you’ll get yours.
Paul Pierce – This may not be the sports blog, but I haven’t forgotten about you. I’m watching you, Paul.
Hard Boiled Eggs – Why are you so damn hard for me to peel? I follow all the tips and tricks – boiling, shocking in ice water, cracking on top - and I still get millions of molecular size pieces of shell stuck to the egg white. You’re delicious but I’m not going to bother with you anymore if I can’t figure you out.
"In effect, over the past 12 months, we’ve implemented demand management through the combination of higher gas prices and a weaker economy"
So, a bad economy has some benefits. One of them is fewer people driving leading to less air pollution and fewer traffic jams:
peak hour congestion on the major roads in urban America decreased nearly 30% in 2008 versus 2007*,” and nationally, “congestion was lower every hour of every day in 2008 versus 2007 – between 15% and 60% lower depending on the hour and day(these guys say so)
Its not just that fewer people are driving, its that everyone else can go faster.
traffic congestion is subject to a tipping point–what economists call non-linearities. Add an additional car to a crowded road at rush hour, and traffic slows down a bit, and then the “carrying capacity” of the road declines. Traffic engineers estimate that most roads carry their maximum throughput — number of vehicles per hour at about 40 miles per hour — so as traffic slows below that speed, the road actually loses capacity and goes slower and slower, producing a traffic jam.
Leading to a damning comparison.
we ration traffic capacity the same way the old Soviet Union rationed bread – by having everyone wait in line. It’s a wasteful way to allocate bread, and it’s a wasteful way to allocate scarce road space at rush hour.
So, if/when the economy rebounds do we just go back to inefficient use of the highway and traffic jams? OR...
we could just as effectively–and more efficiently–accomplish the same purpose with other policies, especially variable road pricing...Pricing the roads to reduce peak volumes even slightly – by encouraging those with flexible schedules to take the trip at some other time, go by another mode, or forego the trip altogether–makes the system work better for everyone else and actually increases its capacity...There’s a huge free lunch of additional carrying capacity in our road system that could be used if we managed demand slightly better.
This is demand management, which sounds sort of ominous like "big brother" and "social engineering". Government policy dictating the behavior of people. Libertarians would say that the only reason to give up freedom is safety. Liberals would say highways were built with public dollars and poor people will be unfairly burdened by having to pay - they should remain free and not become "Lexus lanes" for the rich to get around faster.
What do you think?
Some economists suggest another option: A voluntary tax... with a catch.
The government would offer a $500 advance tax rebate each year for every car you choose to sign up for the tax. In return, you would commit to pay an extra $1 for each gallon of gas you buy. The actual tax paid would be based on miles driven and fuel economy. Thus a Chevy Impala rated at 19 m.p.g. would be charged $5.26 each 100 miles, while a Prius rated at 46 m.p.g. would be charged $2.17 per 100 miles.
For cars with average fuel efficiency (22.4 m.p.g.), you’d break even if you drove 11,200 miles a year. People who already drive their cars less or who drive fuel-efficient cars would be particularly likely to opt for the independence bonds. But even these folks would have a strong economic incentive to reduce their driving.
Mar 13, 2009
A rather intense sequence of fotos capturing a suicide blast in Sri Lanka. Some fotos are just too surreal.
Mar 11, 2009
This game is awesome and I'm betting that you've never played anything like it. You basically control a Lovecraftian monster as it describes its discovery of life on Earth--or is it all a dream? You decide...
Mar 10, 2009
Mar 9, 2009
AKA Monday Misery
AKA 21st Century Blue-collar Blues
AKA Unappreciated music from 2008
AKA This is why they call Atmosphere "emo-rap"
I thought atmosphere came out with a pretty solid record last year that would have them getting a lot of buzz if they didn't already have an established track record for inconsistency/mediocrity. Anyway, there are several good songs. This one has some good lines, though I haven't decided if its possible to take it seriously while watching the video...
I like "months behind everything but the lottery"
Mar 6, 2009
My friend had posted a website that I've been taking a look at, and from there I started looking at a few other ones:
Mar 5, 2009
After Southeast Portland's favorite Democratic Representative, Earl Blumenauer, introduced and passed through legislation banning pet chimps, Space Zombie breathed a sigh of relief. We all know that those bloodthirsty sub-humans are nothing but savages and have no place at our dinner tables, much less wearing our clothes and eating all of our Xanax.
Then, driving home from work, I heard a nice story about how government scientists are using magnet therapy to help get rid of crocodiles. Good: get rid of those cold-blooded monsters by any means necessary! Hell, I'd advocate yoga and aroma-therapy sessions if they would do the trick.
Then today, I heard about the bold steps that the Arizona State Government is taking to ban Hog vs. Dog fight action. Whatever. I didn't even know that dogs were fighting against hogs, but I can recognize a good bit of legislation when I see it. Odds are whoever wins a fight between a dog and a hog is a bad mother-fucker and I for one don't want to see animals like that walking the streets of my town.
Thanks government--looks like we are moving in the right direction: a few steps closer to ridding America of the Animal Menace.
Mar 2, 2009
Animal Collective is the best band in the world.
Merriweather Post Pavilion is the album of the decade.
Do you agree or disagree? I'm leaning towards agreeing (Yes, with my own statement.) but may be swayed by the arguments of others.
After making interesting and original music for a while, the art/noise/abstract elements have receded. They always made pretty melodies and fun harmonies but on their last two albums (2007's Strawberry Jam being the other) they've put it all together. Perhaps they've improved their songwriting or just made it more accessible. Perhaps I've opened up my ears. Either way, they're making great music.
I don't have the desire or vocabulary to describe why it so. It just is. There are gorgeous melodious, excellent harmonizing, big beats, repetitive elements falling in an out, intense soundscapes (listen in your headphones are on big speakers),chaos, noise, beauty, slow builds and releases, drum circles, beach boys, hip hop, whoever paul simon stole from, DJ style sampling. These are elements. Every song is unique. Many are gloriously exhilarating. The lyrics are inscrutable, tender, abstract, unintelligible, insightful, everything. Read pitchfork if you want it put more eloquently.
Or just listen to a song.
Then listen to more songs.
As for the superlative distinction beginning my post. As silly as it might be, someone must have the title. After Nirvana, the baton of consensus BestBandInTheWorld was tossed about from The Beastie Boys, to Radiohead, to Wilco, to White Stripes, etc. Even Oasis and Coldplay got some accolades for being able to write pretty melodies. Animal Collective has already made the Billboard chart, may they be the next BBITW? Probably not, but I challenge the mVc community to give me a better BBITW right now and a better album this decade. Hopefully you put some consideration in to it...
To put some parameters around it, the "will you listen in 20 years" rule must apply. Points for originality and (potential) influence. It can't be an unknown band you happen to really like (though I'd love to hear that too). Nirvana signified something (grunge rock and the rejection of materialism). Beastie Boys did as well - melding hip hop and rock without kitsch. Radiohead -full integration of electronica into rock. Wilco - maturation of alt country. Even the white stripes represented a revolt to stripped-down song writing and reaffirmation of guitar-driven blues. I'm not sure what exactly Animal Collective would or will represent. But like all the acts I'm listing - they are doing something different and writing great songs.
If not AC then who? If not MPP then what?
