legs

Poly Speed Dating

Hello all. We are doing another poly speed dating in the Boston area, and you should come (if such an activity is appropriate to you).

Event Details:
Tuesday, December 9th, 2014
Held at Anthony's Function Hall, Somerville
156 Highland Ave
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Doors open at 6:00pm for food and registration
Doors close at 7:15pm with dating beginning at 7:30
Food is different from our usual; please see below.
There will be a full (pay) bar.
$16 per person if you pre-register, $25 at the door.
Each registration comes with a ticket good for a $6 discount on food or drink.
No person turned away for lack of funds--please contact us!

Getting there: There is good public transportation, with parking spaces besides. Anthony's, on Highland Ave in Somerville, is a quick bus ride or 20 minute walk from Davis or Porter Square. Further details on bus schedules and parking locations will be sent closer to the date.

Go to boston.polyspeeddating.com to learn more and to register!
legs

Letter to KQED

Dear KQED,

I was just listening to your morning news program. You had a brief blurb about the bank transfer day and the occupy movement. I was glad that you are actually covering news, but I take issue with what was presented as unbiased reporting. In particular, the sum total of the blurb was to say that some credit unions are privately insured and that putting your money in them could be considered financially risky. You conclude with a remark about some of them having predatory loan practices. Nowhere did you mention that many large banks suffer from various poor practices. You gave no indication of how prevalent private insurance or predatory loan practices are for credit unions (it is probably quite low as I understand it). You did not acknowledge that the bank transfer day also includes moving money to small community banks. You did not mention that you could easily find a small bank or credit union with federal insurance. In sum, the blurb comes across as a simple attack on the idea of moving money out of big banks and seems to me to have been an attempt to undermine the entire concept of the bank transfer day–and that seems more like a political agenda than a presentation of news.

I used to give you money. I no longer do. I am now moving to encouraging my friends to no longer give you money. You can do better.

Sincerely,
legs

Let's make it like Somerville, but with better food

My next-door neighbor is swinging into gear and renting his house. Listing here:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/ap…

It is actually quite nice. Additional unmentioned perks: live next door to my kids. Very nice hot tub. Access to guest cottage as well. Apples, good food. Lovely mixed drinks. Garden space if you want it. Other great neighbors a block or so away. Potential for growing a real community that is actually local.
legs

Write to your mainstream press

Their article is here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/arti…
Here is my blurb.

To the reporters of the Oakland post-verdict article in the SF Chronicle

In your "After dark, mobs form, smash windows, loot" article you report on the size of the mob, kick off the piece with the violence and sensationalism. Where are the numbers of peaceful protesters? Where is any in-depth coverage of what happened from, say, 5-9pm? What little you have is buried towards the end. Your headline only covers a small aspect of your story. What about "Oakland's reactions to verdict mixed" at the very least? Or even "Some violence contaminates otherwise peaceful gatherings"?

Other alternate news sources, witness, etc., speak of actions the more peaceful protesters took to help keep things calm. Alternate views might suggest that it was more than police work that kept things as limited as they were. They give a more complex picture (in fewer words) of what happened in Oakland.

Coverage such as yours, on the other hand, is simplistic and feeds into peoples expectations. It is generic and thus, in the end, dull. I find it sad that every time I turn to mainstream press to get coverage of things I care about, I only end up angry and unsatisfied. You all actually have some money. You must have come from some place of general idealism and perception to be reporters in the first place. You need to do better.

Sincerely,
etc.
legs

Chewing on my guts...

The Nation Magazine has been publishing a very interesting series of articles on the system of the United States Government and associated organizations. It is giving eloquent voice to my frustrations with nearly everything that is happening now, my anger at Obama and the Democrats in general, and my anger at those who feel that Obama et al. are simply being thwarted by evil Republicans and are not complacent in maintaining the status quo. These articles have captured my heart for their wonderful, snarky tone---"'Audacity' fits nothing on the list of last year's activity, save the suggestion that this is the administration the candidate [Obama] has promised."---that is in addition to, rather than in lieu of, substantive commentary.

In particular "How to Get Our Democracy Back" (Feb 22, 2010) gives an excellent definition of corruption is, and then demonstrates how our congress is completely corrupt and bankrupt. It quickly traces how money is integral to the system, and how this intertwining is consistently excused or ignored. A quote from John Edwards, in some ways far more radical than Obama: "there's all the difference between a lawyer making an argument to a jury and a lawyer handing out $100 bills to the jurors."

A much shorter, earlier, piece, "System Failure" (Feb 1, 2010), examines "what ails us" and traces this to the accumulation of capital and power in the hands of the few. Indeed, US history is a continuing cycle of the pooling and spreading of such power (see "The Nature and Logic of Capitalism" by R. L. Heilbroner for an excellent read of how it all goes down). In particular “System Failure” draws a charming parallel between an allegory of parish priests having to choose whether or not to help struggling businesses pay an organized crime’s protection racket, which would substantively improve the lives of the owners yet reinforce the system of power overall, and the intra-left battle over the Senate version of the healthcare bill. It also handed me the lovely term “corporatism”: the governing philosophy that fuses government and large corporations as a means of providing services.

William McDonough, an amazing designer (please do read “Cradle to Cradle”, a beautiful vision), commented that if you are trying to drive to Mexico and are headed to Canada at 80 miles an hour, slowing down to 20 is not actually going to help. And so here we are.

Links to the articles mentioned:
“System Failure” - http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100…
“How to Get Our Democracy Back” - http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100…
legs

Mushroom print

The following print of mine is now homeless (in Boston area):



It is quite large. Does anyone want it? Reflections and slight warping by the photo of it not included. It would have to be picked up in Somerville, MA.

My critique: It is a bit darker than I would have liked. The size mixed with the grain does provide some interesting texture effects. Overall, the print has elements of good design, but has some flaws in the execution of the printing.