Voice of Reasonable Doubt

Broker Cry(man)babies

2008-10-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

Manbabies!

Brokers with hands on their faces!

A Citizen's Dilemma!

2008-10-15T10:50:00.001-07:00

vs.

Neighborhood Fun

2008-10-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

On Monday I took the water taxi home to the Hunter's Point stop in LIC with my co-worker, Jess. As we pulled into the dock, a mere, um, three minutes after leaving the other dock (whatever, it's cool to commute by boat, even if it doesn't really make sense), we heard some pretty sweet beats coming from Harry's water taxi beach. That, combined with the cool grind-train party that seemed to be happening in the tent area, clearly caught our attention, so we went to check it out. At the door I asked if there was a special event and was told that "these guys are doing music...and raising a couple bucks for Obama." Right. Then we were stopped to donate to some unnamed entity, and we were skeptical, but were promised free food, so we threw in a couple bucks. We grabbed some sangria and sat down, but couldn't decide if we should face the sweet Manhattan skyline views in front of us or the amazing people-watching behind us. Clearly, we chose the people-watching. The Empire State Building isn't going anywhere soon (although, apparently, the Pepsi Sign is, but I have yet to see evidence). It was a pretty funny mix of people, from the aforementioned grinders in the tent, to the severely underdressed (and potentially underage) girls who started doing weird acrobatics on the picnic tables, to scattered groups of seeming European tourists (EuropeanOrHipster.com?). Anyway, we somehow figured out what was actually going on (sort of), because we saw one tiny sign about "House the Vote," which was being put on by "The Melting Pot Global in association with Oyasound & Liquid Sound Lounge." What precisely this has to do with voting, Obama, or anything else, I'm still not sure, but everyone seemed to have fun. And turns out that this was the last day Harry's was open this year, so good thing we got in there when we did! Jess and I also checked out Domine's Hoek, a bar that I've never actually been to, even though it's between the 7 train and my apartment. It's a really nice place, with a great little back patio that was still open thanks to this warm October weather. Shame to finally discover how nice it is right in time for the onset of fall. Global warming, pull through for me, please, so I can enjoy PBR cans in outdoor tea light-filled terrace comfort.

Palin Confused, God's Rep. On the Line

2008-10-14T11:08:00.001-07:00

Two things:

1) Sarah Palin accidentally calls her supporters protesters. Maybe she was confused by the "loud noises" and just assumed they were boos for her? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY_-PTAcs5I

2) A pastor calls to "his" God to ensure that McCain wins, and also to prove that He is bigger, better, faster stronger than "other Gods." As far as I knew, Allah=God? Maybe I'm wrong, there, but either way, does this mean that if McCain loses, "God" officially loses to all the "other gods"?? What stakes! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5fdzji2C54

...And these people do, too.

2008-10-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

Here's more of the scary, sad same.

Mindy Green Thinks Obama is a Terrorist!

2008-10-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

Solid line of reasoning, here, as to why Barack Obama is a terrorist. A) His name. B) His blood line. C) From ages 1-6 he was hanging out with terrorists.

Best part is around 4:10 when some guy with an really high-quality sign is asked when he first heard of Sarah Palin (when she was announced as VP pick, like most of us) and then when he first heard of Barack Obama, to which he responds "Never."

Apple, iLove You, But You're Bringing Me Down

2008-10-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought tuning in eagerly to watch Part 1 of 2 of the Project Runway finale couldn't get any lamer, Apple had to slap me in the face with yet another ad for one of their products with a catchy song that I actually like. I wonder who picks those songs… probably the same awesome smart person who creates their genius playlists, because I totally was suckered into buying it on- yes- iTunes. What marketing! Anyway, it's called "Bruises" by Chairlift, and it's a great song, so I don’t feel too badly. Plus, duh, I can identify with a song about being black & blue. Check out the ad below (but the rest of the song is better, look up it up on iTunes, or Google it or YouTube it or steal it, or something). So, thanks for the sweet song, Apple, and for making me feel like a huge tool.

Update: Uh, there’s a lot of bruised knee imagery here. Maybe this isn’t just about handstands. Shit.

I Always Wondered if This Was Possible!!

2008-10-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

This is neat.

(From Cynical C Blog)

Debatable

2008-10-08T06:38:00.001-07:00

I considered trying some sort of liveblogging of last night's evasion-fest 2.0, but then I laughed at myself and realized that no one would even remotely be interested, and that there are already great liveblogs out there. But I thought I'd just share a few, pretty irrelevant things that I came away with from the debate. Overall, I really didn't think it was too incendiary, decisive, or opinion-changing. I think both senators held their ground reasonably respectably, although I do think that Obama came off as more eloquent, natural, and informed (and more intelligent, reasonable, likely to be a good leader, etc. etc., but that's another issue altogether).

* I thought it was weird that John McCain came out and began writing right away- either he has some brilliant idea on his walk from backstage (which I doubt, because he certainly shared nothing particularly light-bulb worthy during the debate), or, more likely, his septuagenarian memory skillz are fading fast.

* McCain made a bunch of really stupid jokes. (Not even counting his thinly veiled dig that it was "Nice to see Obama at a Town Hall meeting.") I'm not sure if viewers liked this, but it just creeped me out. I really don't need to know about a potential hair transplant for John McCain. Further, I think that his little joke about "not choosing you, Tom!" for the Treasury Secretary was just a really poorly veiled attempt to stall for time. And also ridiculously un-funny.

*Why on Earth did John McCain choose to attack money spent on a planetarium? Really? That was the most flagrant foul he found? I mean, true, it was in Illinois (OMG, that's where Obama is from, too!), but seriously?

* The amount of evasion these two can manage is really astounding. And yes, I do see that this is part of being a good debater, but when you are asked a yes or no question and neither of them says either "yes" or "no," that's a little ridiculous. And when both were asked to prioritize three important issues? McCain decided that there's no reason "we can't do all three at once!" Oh the irony, coming from a man who barely managed to handle both a debate and an economic crisis when he wasn't even in any position of real power, just a couple weeks ago! And McCain even had the audacity to call Obama out for not answering a question somewhere down the line- honestly, neither of them directly answered most of the questions that were put to them, instead cleverly trying to insert their pet topics- energy! taxes! earmarks!- whenever they saw an inch of opportunity.

* McCain seems to make an awful lot of his points by simply reitterating that "yes, that is a major problem" or "yes, Americans are scared about this, and it is a huge challenge" and then reaching an edifying conclusion of "Yes, we can do it!" Social security? EASY. OK, good, that one's solved. Maybe if he says that he can do it enough times, it will come true? I'm not sure. But snaps for self-confidence!

*John McCain noted that there were "many qualified Americans!" to take on the job of Treasury Secretary. And, more importantly, that the key factor should be that a potential TS would be someone the American people could identify with. Firstly, he must have a seriously whack interpretation of "qualified", which, yes, we already gathered based on his veep pick. But secondly, why the hell do we need to be able to identify with the Treasury Secretary?? I would rather this person be far too smart, far too wayyy out of my realm of knowledge and expertise to be "identifiable." Seriously, the drive to laud people for being Average Joes and "relatable" Americans is pretty ridiculous, when what we really need is someone far above average to be running our country. I'd rather dude be unrelatably brilliant and talented (and sure, maybe kind of socially awkward) than be someone I'd like to grab a beer with.

*Also, stop saying "My friends," John McCain. It's condescending, and worse, false, to be addressed as your friend.

* When asked about what they don't know, both candidates were quick to avoid actually admitting any sort of ignorance, and both slyly tried to focus on that which they did know. McCain hilariously conceded that he did not know what would happen in the future. Thanks, John, good to know that you're only human! And not, as we all suspected, some sort of fortune-teller.

*Do you think John McCain could have mention Ronald Reagan more if he tried? Interestingly, he said that RR was his hero, and five minutes later said the same thing of Teddy Roosevelt! Who wants sloppy seconds of McCain's hero status, honestly? Oh, and then he proceeded to stumble through the quotation that he probably thought was a killer rhetorical technique (he must have, because he said it twice!) Uh, walk softly, no, speak softly...uh, I dunno, but you gotta have a big stick.

* Finally, I enjoyed that McCain mentioned that we had been seeking (I forget what, Bin Laden, or oil, or terrorists and their cronies, or something) in the four corners of the world. Ha ha, John McCain thinks the world is flat! Then again, his running mate thinks humans frolicked with T-Rex, so maybe that's actually not so far out of the realm of possibility...

Say it Ain't So, Guv!

2008-10-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

Oh, Keith Olberman, and your crazy ranting antics. Special Comment on Sarah Palin, below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnSXGTFQ0Ak

There's a handsome guy inside this comic. Literally.

2008-10-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

HA! Saw this literal take on A-Ha's "Take on Me" vid on kottke.org and had to share. I cried awesome tears of laughter at work, and you should ch-ch-check it out now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HE9OQ4FnkQ

Update: In seeking more hilarity, I came across a few other funny things. These are mostly literal images made to suit original songs, and not as good as the A-Ha video, but still pretty entertaining.

Panic at the Disco
This is Why I'm Hot (and more, including "Paperback Writer")
Ben Folds, Bitches Ain't Shit
I Heard It Through the Grapevine (mostly consists of a guy sitting there, but props for the effort).

Look! Books on Fifth

2008-10-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was walking up 5th Avenue, and stopped in my tracks when I saw this guy sitting in a store window, reading. Well, turns out it wasn't actually that guy, but a volunteer reader stand-in, but I got the gist.

Dave Farrow is a famous speed-reader and memorizer who is sitting in this window for 30 days as part of a Sony promo to promote reading (and, surprise surprise, their new electronic reader product). The Sony Electronics “Reader Revolution” has been created to “combat a nationwide decline in reading, particularly among young people.” For each page Farrow reads, Sony is giving away an eBook library of 100 titles to an educational institution- and with his goal of 1,000 pages a day, that's...a lot of books.

So go check him out. And yay for reading! Nice work if you can get it. Sony, I am also available to sit and read.

Mr. November

2008-10-07T07:40:00.000-07:00

Barack your body!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF8UprwgwVU

PS- Irony points for otherwise apt background music: "i'm the great white hope."

oh what a beautiful view (from my seat)

2008-10-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

NB: My friend Elise recently posted on her tumblr about how she likes when album titles are taken from song lyrics, so this title is a shout to her coolth. (And to Marching Bands of Manhattan.)

Anyway, last night I went to see Death Cab for Cutie at Radio City. Overall, I thought it was a great show. What was strange, though, was to be at a concert with actual seats (and by "seats" I do not mean tickets that say "GA" for general admission which you mistakenly interpret for some sort of seating code). I don't think I've been at a show with seats since Bruce @ MSG (or maybe, like, Hanson when I was 13). It was kind of weird to be sitting in a sea of immobile bodies that you know under other circumstances would be awkwardly swaying and bopping and sort of rocking out (but not so much that they'd look too into it). I know this might be embarassingly uncool of me, but I was actually really into sitting down at this show. Firstly, I was tired. But secondly, I kind of like not feeling the pressure to do the awkward sway and bop, and sitting down made me able to just relax and watch and listen. That said, of course, once the first few patches of people standing up began to grow, everyone was on their feet within a few songs, and the show transformed into a regular, stand-up, pot-smoke-hazed, awkward sea of swaying. It was a great show, and even though I'm not that into the drawn-out intros (of which there were several), the meat of the music was good stuff.

Maybe I should go see the Rockettes this year. I don't think people get on their feet for them?

A Crisis: Faith

2008-10-06T12:03:00.001-07:00

I went to see Religulous on Friday with some friends. It's a documentary by Bill Maher that firmly comes down against the dangers of religion and tries to point out many ridiculous aspects of what we normally excuse in the name of "faith." What he asks many times, and what I find compelling about the movie, is- but what's so great about faith? What's to be admired about ardent and often violent belief in something without proof or evidence, and how has this crutch of "faith" become not only acceptable justification of behavior from irrational belief to support of war, but a praise-worthy and laudable trait of a Good American. How many times do our politicians refer to "faith" in attempts to win their way into the hearts of the American religious majority? And why oh why and when oh when did we decide that "faith" in God or his "plan" are acceptable justifications for actions that, in reality, should be judged based on earthly, real scales like morality. Many people, granted, recognize how ludicrous it is when, for example, Sarah Palin says that the war in Iraq is a mission from God- but far too many Americans are instead comforted and inspired by those kinds of words. I just hope that we start to hold our government accountable for explanations and rationalizations based on what is right, what is effective, what is humane, and what is feasible, rather than what some batty ex-beauty queen tells us is the path of God.

In my search for common opinion in my own struggle against what I see as the ridiculous nature of religion, I've also been reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. I think he does a brilliant job of logically pointing out fallacies within religious and about religion as whole, and of mandating that we hold religious "beliefs" to the same standard of scrutiny to which we take for granted that we can hold any other belief. Much in line with the faith-bashing above, I completely agree with much of what he says, including the question of why, if it goes against more basic laws of, say, morality or kindness, putting something under the umbrella of "religious belief" completely immunizes it from judgment or scrutiny. While I do believe that people should be free to practice religion, on a basic level, I think that the level of "religious freedom" can sometimes be so high that it means excusing things that are violent, hateful, and would otherwise be criminal. I read about a boy who wore a t-shirt to school that expressed some sort of homophobic sentiment, and a case was brought against the school for sending him home- the boy eventually won the case, because the shirt allegedly was just expressing his religious freedom. I just don't get how something falling under some strange banner of faith or religious belief allows it to become acceptable. Granted, this was probably in an uber-conservative southern religious community, and would likely not have ended the same way in other places, but it's still scary to think that such things can be tolerated in the powerful and dubious name of God.

help, I'm in a nutshell!

2008-10-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

Came across this today, and thought it was a pretty neat little nutshell of the Palinator's performance last week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3Bma3vBG5g

To sum: the maverick does mavericky things, doesn't need to answer the questions given to her at the debate- shout outs to my homes back in Wasilla!- loves America, and probably wants extra credit for even participating in a debate with an in-the-tank moderator. PS- maverick. And O'Biden wants to raise taxes. Just sayin' what the Americans want to hear, gosh darn it. Poor kid might have trouble reading about herself in the news these days, since, as we know, the literature that she reads is an extensive list including but not limited to "all of it."

cocktails out of ice and water

2008-09-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

I remember seeing this poem one time on the Tube in London, and really liking it at the time, then rediscovering it some time later. Enjoy.

Animals

by Frank O'Hara

Have you forgotten what we were like then

when we were still first rate

and the day came fat with an apple in its mouth

it's no use worrying about Time

but we did have a few tricks up our sleeves

and turned some sharp corners

the whole pasture looked like our meal

we didn't need speedometers

we could manage cocktails out of ice and water

I wouldn't want to be faster

or greener than now if you were with me O you

were the best of all my days

2008-09-15T14:06:00.001-07:00

This weekend, thanks to having out of town guests and thus without good excuses to be a bum, I did a bit of walking through some less-traveled (to me) parts of the city. With my friend Katie, visiting from Mass., I walked from my apartment in Long Island City over the Pulaski bridge into Brooklyn, through Greenpoint and down to Williamsburg, where we then got on the L and crossed into Manhattan. As we progressed through three boroughs, the farmer's markets got increasingly better, from the pretty sparse one in LIC, to the more vibrant one in Williamsburg's McCarren Park, to Manhattan's more well-known and well-represented market in Union Square. The jeans got skinnier, the Ray-Bans more abundant, and the language more colorful, shifting from English to Polish and back again. Points for artwork on the Pulaski bridge (below), and more points to Georgia V., whose gorgeous jewelry we snapped up at Artists and Fleas (N 6th between Bedford and Berry). We also discovered that she'll be opening her own store, Tria, in October (at Grand between Bedford and Berry) with a reception at the store on the 10th of the month. We didn't even make it much further into the market for the sake of our thinning wallets, but it's definitely worth a look.

Saturday evening we put on our Ohio State party pants and whooped it up with the best of Cleveland at Bar Coastal- thankfully, we also had Jess's birthday to celebrate, as well as hot lashings of beer and wings to ease the pain, as our dear Buckeyes left us with little to cheer for. Even a football illiterate like me knows a good ass-kicking when I see one. Celebrations continued at a karaoke bar, and finally ended with a post-party viewing of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as dead-on Sarah Palin and Hil Clinton.

Sunday saw culinary and cultural treats, as we went out for a delicious brunch at Balthazar, where we rubbed shoulders with the celebs (well...were at least in the same room as at least one celeb, Mr. Gordon Ramsay) and downed bloody marys with the Van Wagenens. After a lazy day of browsing street vendors and relaxing, I had a dinner date with my friend Elise, visiting from DC, at Dovetail on the Upper West Side. We enjoyed their "Sunday Suppa" menu, a very reasonable 3-course prix fixe. Elise and I had, respectively, cauliflower soup and crab ravioli to start, followed by lamb meatloaf and braised striped bass, then topped off with a selection of ice creams and a warm coffee cake. Treats!

"What was a party is now a wake"

2008-09-15T13:41:00.000-07:00

David Foster Wallace died this weekend of an apparent suicide, at the age of 46. Though I've never read any of his books or essays, Infinite Jest has long been on my list. Call it sick and twisted, but his death somehow makes me even more intrigued to check out his work (and I bet I'm not the only one).

Meanwhile, according to Business Standard, a hacker apparently splashed DFW's wikipedia entry with the n-word today: http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=334498. If that's not sick and twisted, I don't know what is.