It has only been about three months since I have even heard of Regina Spektor. Born in the Soviet Union in 1980 and immigrating with her parents to the U.S. (and locating in New York City) in 1988, she is quite an extraordinary musical talent, an accomplished pianist and vocalist. Her albums, totaling five so far, are all of her own compositions. Her style is usually a fusion of disparate forms, including jazz, rock, hip-hop, adult alternative, rock, folk, and something that I can only term as "quirky". But more than anything, Regina Spektor has captured my listening imagination, even more so than did Sufjan Stevens a year ago. She is my #1 top favorite musical act right now, so it was interesting to find out that she recently performed solo for President Obama, Vice-President Biden, and their families at the White House. It's nice to know that the folks up there nowadays have some musical taste.
As I usually do in this sort of article, I am listing my favorite Regina Spektor songs, along with the albums they are from in brackets. I have all of her works and am eagerly waiting for more. I noticed that, after her first two albums, which were exclusively of her voice and piano, the last three (which I like more) contained many songs with a wide variety of instrumental accompaniment. But all five albums are quite good. Anyway, here are my favorites:
#1 Us [Soviet Kitsch (2004)]
#2 Man of a Thousand Faces [Far (2009)]
#3 20 Years of Snow [Begin to Hope (2006)]
-------------------
#4 The Calculation [F]
#5 Folding Chair [F]
#6 Better [BtH]
#7 Human of the Year [F]
#8 Pavlov's Daughter [11:11 (2001)]
#9 Hotel Song [BtH]
#10 That Time [BtH]
#11 The Flowers [SK]
#12 Samson [Songs (2002), BtH]
#13 Genius Next Door [F]
#14 Edit [BtH]
#15 Dance Anthem of the 80's [F]
#16 Laughing With [F]
#17 Wallet [F]
#18 Après Moi [BtH]
#19 Lady [BtH]
#20 Reading Time with Pickle [S]
By the way, I must remark that, although I like just about everything that Regina Spektor has done, the top three songs Us, Man of a Thousand Faces, and 20 Years of Snow, are much greater than the rest, in my estimation. So if you are "pressed for time", try to see if you can't at least hear those three.
I like Regina Spektor's music so much that I have all of her songs on my MP3 and currently listen only to her songs and to none of the many other quality artists whose songs I have on my player. That should say something about how good she is. And once again I am confounded by how broadcast radio has virtually ignored her, just as with Sufjan Stevens. The genre that she seems to have been placed in is either "indie" or "adult alternative". At least her songs are played on cable radio and the Internet.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Race Organizers Need to Post Results
I have participated, starting with February's half-marathon here in Gainesville, in one running race per month. This year marks my greatest participation in races ever and I'm having a fun time doing it. So far, I've run:
February: LifeSouth Five Points Half-Marathon
March: Climb for Cancer 15K
April: Run Amuck With the Duck 5K
May: Somer's Summer Run 5K (in Orange Park)
June: Chad Reed Memorial 5K (in Cross City)
Each of the above supported a worthwhile charity. The organizers were sincere in trying to raise money and awareness for their particular causes while at the same time putting on a good event for the runners (and sometimes walkers) to enjoy. I recognize that nobody's perfect and that I could find faults with each of the races I was a part of. But I do have more of a beef with the last race (in Cross City).
For the LifeSouth, Climb for Cancer, and Somer's races, my time was recorded and the race results were posted on the Internet. The "Duck Run" (for lung cancer research) was conducted differently: BEFORE the race (that's important), runners were told that only the top three finishers would be timed and their results recorded. Knowing that, I set my own watch and timed myself. No problem. And now we come to the Chad Reed Memorial 5K.
Wonderful cause, which that run was for, no doubt. I hope that the well is dug soon and benefits the people that Captain Reed had wanted to help. That having been said, I feel let down by the way that those running this event seem to have "packed up and gone home" afterwards. No results have been posted, to my knowledge. If they have, no one has bothered to notify me (although at the pre-race registration time I filled out a form that gave information to them that would have enabled them to do so). Fortunately, I timed myself on my watch and know my final time. But I don't know how I did among others in my age group, which is my primary competitive interest. The website RaceSmith has a spot for this race's results should they ever post them, but so far it is blank, ten days after the event. I also noticed on their site, though, that other races seem to take place each week in which the organizers don't bother to post results, either.
I don't intend to demean the important causes underlying many of these races, but there are some basic expectations that runners have when they shell out the registration fee to enter them. Here are two: (1) they want to be timed and (2) they want the race results posted publicly, with the Internet the most convenient medium for this. That shouldn't so burdensome for someone to do, but it seems that with many of these races, times and results are never made public.
Still, it is my participation in the race that rules over everything else. I won't make too much of a deal about various shortcomings I've experienced in them other than to write about the most glaring and then "letting it go". Failing to publicly post race results IS a glaring shortcoming. So now I've written about it and am "letting it go".
February: LifeSouth Five Points Half-Marathon
March: Climb for Cancer 15K
April: Run Amuck With the Duck 5K
May: Somer's Summer Run 5K (in Orange Park)
June: Chad Reed Memorial 5K (in Cross City)
Each of the above supported a worthwhile charity. The organizers were sincere in trying to raise money and awareness for their particular causes while at the same time putting on a good event for the runners (and sometimes walkers) to enjoy. I recognize that nobody's perfect and that I could find faults with each of the races I was a part of. But I do have more of a beef with the last race (in Cross City).
For the LifeSouth, Climb for Cancer, and Somer's races, my time was recorded and the race results were posted on the Internet. The "Duck Run" (for lung cancer research) was conducted differently: BEFORE the race (that's important), runners were told that only the top three finishers would be timed and their results recorded. Knowing that, I set my own watch and timed myself. No problem. And now we come to the Chad Reed Memorial 5K.
Wonderful cause, which that run was for, no doubt. I hope that the well is dug soon and benefits the people that Captain Reed had wanted to help. That having been said, I feel let down by the way that those running this event seem to have "packed up and gone home" afterwards. No results have been posted, to my knowledge. If they have, no one has bothered to notify me (although at the pre-race registration time I filled out a form that gave information to them that would have enabled them to do so). Fortunately, I timed myself on my watch and know my final time. But I don't know how I did among others in my age group, which is my primary competitive interest. The website RaceSmith has a spot for this race's results should they ever post them, but so far it is blank, ten days after the event. I also noticed on their site, though, that other races seem to take place each week in which the organizers don't bother to post results, either.
I don't intend to demean the important causes underlying many of these races, but there are some basic expectations that runners have when they shell out the registration fee to enter them. Here are two: (1) they want to be timed and (2) they want the race results posted publicly, with the Internet the most convenient medium for this. That shouldn't so burdensome for someone to do, but it seems that with many of these races, times and results are never made public.
Still, it is my participation in the race that rules over everything else. I won't make too much of a deal about various shortcomings I've experienced in them other than to write about the most glaring and then "letting it go". Failing to publicly post race results IS a glaring shortcoming. So now I've written about it and am "letting it go".
Monday, June 14, 2010
Quality, Utility, and Expense
I recently came across a bicycling magazine that seems to be devoted to competitive racing. On the back cover is an ad promoting an apparently very good bicycle, specially designed and built to give its owner the best possible performance in a race. To my untrained eye, it looked just like an ordinary bicycle. But its price, $3300, was anything but ordinary.
A couple of weeks ago, I went to my local Wal-Mart and happened upon the bicycle section. There was a mountain bike for sale, at $75. I bought it and rode it around the neighborhood. Perfect, for my purposes.
Just do the arithmetic: for the price of that one racing bicycle, I could have bought 440 of the Wal-Mart bikes! But I am not a racer; I bicycle for the exercise and fun, more than anything else. I am not into the marginalism involved in trying squeeze out a competitive edge in order to beat out my opponents. So I can go cheap in this area.
But suppose it is a different area in my life where a margin or edge does matter. Perhaps I am a stickler for gourmet cooking; then I might dole out quite a sum on high dining. When someone else might be satisfied with simpler and less expensive food. Or I may feel the need to wear only clothing that has been specially tailored to perfectly fit me, and anything else simply will not do. In these cases, as with the bicycle, it is the “margin” of quality that drives up their costs much more than then the basic utility of the good.
The question I have to ask myself is what areas should I personally take a stand in and insist on the “highest quality”, even when this entails paying much more for it than I would for the “basic package”. And having been rooted in simple utilitarian living, this is not something easy for me to answer.
I tend to search out the cheapest ways to attain the best variety of goods and experiences for myself and my family. There are no areas in my life that I can firmly state I am committed to spend whatever it takes to attain an elite level of quality. Maybe this is good, maybe not. Or am I selling myself short?
Right now, I am interested in running. I would like to invest some money in traveling to various places that hold races. Not only would I expand my running experiences, but it would be a lot of fun sightseeing as well. Or perhaps it is in the area of learning foreign languages where I have been selling myself short. After all, the best way to learn a foreign language is to live for a while among its speakers. This requires money and time, something I have heretofore been unwilling to commit.
Well, I’m not getting any younger, so I had better decide which if any areas in which I really want to take the plunge and invest that substantially higher level of money and time necessary to have optimal outcomes. I don’t want my old age to be a time of regret for opportunities passed by. But I do know one thing right now: no way am I going to blow $3300 on a bicycle!
A couple of weeks ago, I went to my local Wal-Mart and happened upon the bicycle section. There was a mountain bike for sale, at $75. I bought it and rode it around the neighborhood. Perfect, for my purposes.
Just do the arithmetic: for the price of that one racing bicycle, I could have bought 440 of the Wal-Mart bikes! But I am not a racer; I bicycle for the exercise and fun, more than anything else. I am not into the marginalism involved in trying squeeze out a competitive edge in order to beat out my opponents. So I can go cheap in this area.
But suppose it is a different area in my life where a margin or edge does matter. Perhaps I am a stickler for gourmet cooking; then I might dole out quite a sum on high dining. When someone else might be satisfied with simpler and less expensive food. Or I may feel the need to wear only clothing that has been specially tailored to perfectly fit me, and anything else simply will not do. In these cases, as with the bicycle, it is the “margin” of quality that drives up their costs much more than then the basic utility of the good.
The question I have to ask myself is what areas should I personally take a stand in and insist on the “highest quality”, even when this entails paying much more for it than I would for the “basic package”. And having been rooted in simple utilitarian living, this is not something easy for me to answer.
I tend to search out the cheapest ways to attain the best variety of goods and experiences for myself and my family. There are no areas in my life that I can firmly state I am committed to spend whatever it takes to attain an elite level of quality. Maybe this is good, maybe not. Or am I selling myself short?
Right now, I am interested in running. I would like to invest some money in traveling to various places that hold races. Not only would I expand my running experiences, but it would be a lot of fun sightseeing as well. Or perhaps it is in the area of learning foreign languages where I have been selling myself short. After all, the best way to learn a foreign language is to live for a while among its speakers. This requires money and time, something I have heretofore been unwilling to commit.
Well, I’m not getting any younger, so I had better decide which if any areas in which I really want to take the plunge and invest that substantially higher level of money and time necessary to have optimal outcomes. I don’t want my old age to be a time of regret for opportunities passed by. But I do know one thing right now: no way am I going to blow $3300 on a bicycle!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Downtown Pedestrian Experience
While Melissa and I recently stayed in St. Augustine, we had the occasion to go to the city’s historic district (we’ve been there many times before). This is a concentrated zone of shops, restaurants, and museums in the heart of town. The roads are narrow and the buildings close together. And pedestrians rule there, actually controlling the “main” road, St. George’s Street.
We pulled into the excellent parking garage on Cordova Street (parking around there wasn’t always so simple) and, after we left it, joined the throng of walkers. And suddenly I was transported back in time to a similar type of experience in Manhattan, New York.
I think most cities deeply want to have a section of their downtown where people can just walk around freely down the sidewalks and visit the various little businesses, as was the case in Manhattan and St. Augustine. My old childhood hometown of Hollywood, Florida was eventually successful (long after I had moved away) at transforming a section of the area around Hollywood Boulevard just west of Young Circle into such a zone. And they always had their very popular Broadwalk along Hollywood Beach. My current hometown of Gainesville has, however, struggled unsuccessfully to create a similar effect in their downtown area. I think I know why, too: not enough is there to attract visitors.
In order to attract people for a “night out” on the town, there has to be a sense that visitors can walk around to many places and browse shops or step into restaurants as they find them on their walks. Also, there needs to be a sense that the cars on the streets are subservient to the presence of the pedestrians. Neither of these is present in downtown Gainesville. You’re still dodging traffic while desperately looking around for SOMEPLACE interesting to go to. I also think that the Gainesville police, for all of the good work that they do protecting us, tend to overdo it with their overt presence downtown. So Gainesville still has a lot of work to do to build up its downtown area.
But St. Augustine was entirely different. The effect of being around the crowds mulling about did remind me a lot of New York. We just stepped off the sidewalk into a popular local restaurant (Scarlett O’Hara’s), instantly plopped down into a booth and were promptly waited on. It reminded me of our Junior’s experience on 45th Street near Times Square. Melissa and I even later went to a dessert shop and enjoyed some Italian ice cream (gelato) as we had done in Little Italy almost two months earlier. And yes, there were plenty of little stores selling tee shirts, caps, trinkets, books, and other items just as there were along Broadway in Midtown Manhattan.
We’re thinking about spending a little time in downtown Atlanta in a couple of months, and I can assure you that we will be looking for that “downtown pedestrian experience” again.
We pulled into the excellent parking garage on Cordova Street (parking around there wasn’t always so simple) and, after we left it, joined the throng of walkers. And suddenly I was transported back in time to a similar type of experience in Manhattan, New York.
I think most cities deeply want to have a section of their downtown where people can just walk around freely down the sidewalks and visit the various little businesses, as was the case in Manhattan and St. Augustine. My old childhood hometown of Hollywood, Florida was eventually successful (long after I had moved away) at transforming a section of the area around Hollywood Boulevard just west of Young Circle into such a zone. And they always had their very popular Broadwalk along Hollywood Beach. My current hometown of Gainesville has, however, struggled unsuccessfully to create a similar effect in their downtown area. I think I know why, too: not enough is there to attract visitors.
In order to attract people for a “night out” on the town, there has to be a sense that visitors can walk around to many places and browse shops or step into restaurants as they find them on their walks. Also, there needs to be a sense that the cars on the streets are subservient to the presence of the pedestrians. Neither of these is present in downtown Gainesville. You’re still dodging traffic while desperately looking around for SOMEPLACE interesting to go to. I also think that the Gainesville police, for all of the good work that they do protecting us, tend to overdo it with their overt presence downtown. So Gainesville still has a lot of work to do to build up its downtown area.
But St. Augustine was entirely different. The effect of being around the crowds mulling about did remind me a lot of New York. We just stepped off the sidewalk into a popular local restaurant (Scarlett O’Hara’s), instantly plopped down into a booth and were promptly waited on. It reminded me of our Junior’s experience on 45th Street near Times Square. Melissa and I even later went to a dessert shop and enjoyed some Italian ice cream (gelato) as we had done in Little Italy almost two months earlier. And yes, there were plenty of little stores selling tee shirts, caps, trinkets, books, and other items just as there were along Broadway in Midtown Manhattan.
We’re thinking about spending a little time in downtown Atlanta in a couple of months, and I can assure you that we will be looking for that “downtown pedestrian experience” again.
Friday, June 11, 2010
World Cup (yawn) Commences Today
Today the World Cup in international soccer opens in South Africa with the host nation playing Mexico. Tomorrow the United States plays England. So what.
Like many of "my fellow Americans" (with a nod to LBJ), I really couldn't care less what goes on in the World Cup. Neither do I care whether the U.S. does well or not. I don't even like watching soccer, which has to rate as among the most boring sports ever to be broadcast on television. And I can see this particular blog article going nowhere in a big hurry!
Let's see, there are 32 teams right now at the opening, divided into eight groups, each naturally comprised of four teams. In the opening round, the groups are engaged in round-robin play among themselves, ending after three games. The two teams with the best W-L-T records in each group advance to the quarterfinals (the World Cup version of the "sweet sixteen") while the remainder get a "sayonara baby" and pack up.
The U.S., whom I supposedly should be following, will play (favored) England along with Slovenia and Algeria. Mexico, which is getting a disgustingly high degree of biased adulation on my U.S.-based Spanish-language cable TV channel Univision, is in an "easier" group competing against a weaker France (they made the final game four years ago in the last World Cup), a possible dark horse in Uruguay, and a very weak South Africa (who are in this 32-team field only by dint of being the host country).
And then there are the usual favorites as in every World Cup: Brazil, Spain, Germany, Italy (the 2006 winner), Portugal, England (of course), ... the Netherlands are supposed to be real good; I'll take the opinion of the experts about them at face value. The absolutely worst team, perhaps besides South Africa, might be North Korea. I'd like to see a game between them and South Korea, who also made the World Cup field. But since they're in different groups, this is very unlikely to happen.
Like many of "my fellow Americans" (with a nod to LBJ), I really couldn't care less what goes on in the World Cup. Neither do I care whether the U.S. does well or not. I don't even like watching soccer, which has to rate as among the most boring sports ever to be broadcast on television. And I can see this particular blog article going nowhere in a big hurry!
Let's see, there are 32 teams right now at the opening, divided into eight groups, each naturally comprised of four teams. In the opening round, the groups are engaged in round-robin play among themselves, ending after three games. The two teams with the best W-L-T records in each group advance to the quarterfinals (the World Cup version of the "sweet sixteen") while the remainder get a "sayonara baby" and pack up.
The U.S., whom I supposedly should be following, will play (favored) England along with Slovenia and Algeria. Mexico, which is getting a disgustingly high degree of biased adulation on my U.S.-based Spanish-language cable TV channel Univision, is in an "easier" group competing against a weaker France (they made the final game four years ago in the last World Cup), a possible dark horse in Uruguay, and a very weak South Africa (who are in this 32-team field only by dint of being the host country).
And then there are the usual favorites as in every World Cup: Brazil, Spain, Germany, Italy (the 2006 winner), Portugal, England (of course), ... the Netherlands are supposed to be real good; I'll take the opinion of the experts about them at face value. The absolutely worst team, perhaps besides South Africa, might be North Korea. I'd like to see a game between them and South Korea, who also made the World Cup field. But since they're in different groups, this is very unlikely to happen.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
World Golf Village and Golfing
A couple of weekends ago, I spent some time with Melissa at the World Golf Village on the outskirts of St. Augustine, Florida. It was as part of a marriage retreat, and we stayed at the Renaissance Hotel there. It was also as if I had entered a foreign country with a fanatical following of the great sport of golf.
Oh, by the way, I have never golfed before. Unless you count my experience playing miniature golf (and I’m pretty damned good at it, thank you) or my childhood adventures with croquet, swinging a stick at a ball lying on the ground to make it go to a specific place has never taken off in my imagination. But I think I might get good at it were I to practice; I just don’t know. Anyway, I felt completely out of place at the World Golf Village, which naturally has a humongous course, practice holes, a golf hall of fame, and a couple of golf-themed restaurants. The stones comprising the floor of the nearly half-mile circle around which our hotel, the hall of fame, two restaurants (one of which has all of their many TVs tuned exclusively to a golfing channel), other golf-related businesses, and an IMAX theater were situated feature the names and signatures of famous golfing hall-of-famers from around the world. It made me wonder what I have been missing out on all these years, having basically ignored what appears to be such a significant and magnificent sport with all of its important heroes (most of whom I had never heard of).
I do know that golfing has quite its share of fanatics. Golfers I know tend to get pretty worked up talking about their recent outings, although they tend to only discuss their golfing with other golfers. Meanwhile, I can only eavesdrop and naturally have nothing substantial on my own to contribute to their weighty conversations other than something like, “Hey, I’ve beaten my family at miniature golf three straight times”. And I’m not dumb enough to do that, so I usually just keep my mouth shut.
So I don’t know about golf. I would like to engage in it with Melissa as a fun outdoors activity that the two of us could share into our retirement, but I don’t see myself spending an exorbitant amount of money on it or becoming a raving fanatical lunatic about it. And that World Golf Village was nothing if not fanatical.
Right now, my #1 golf experience was the vicarious pleasure I derived at watching James Bond have a “little fun” with Mr. Goldfinger by switching golf balls on him during a match. It would probably behoove me to delve a little deeper into the sport than that! But when?
Oh, by the way, I have never golfed before. Unless you count my experience playing miniature golf (and I’m pretty damned good at it, thank you) or my childhood adventures with croquet, swinging a stick at a ball lying on the ground to make it go to a specific place has never taken off in my imagination. But I think I might get good at it were I to practice; I just don’t know. Anyway, I felt completely out of place at the World Golf Village, which naturally has a humongous course, practice holes, a golf hall of fame, and a couple of golf-themed restaurants. The stones comprising the floor of the nearly half-mile circle around which our hotel, the hall of fame, two restaurants (one of which has all of their many TVs tuned exclusively to a golfing channel), other golf-related businesses, and an IMAX theater were situated feature the names and signatures of famous golfing hall-of-famers from around the world. It made me wonder what I have been missing out on all these years, having basically ignored what appears to be such a significant and magnificent sport with all of its important heroes (most of whom I had never heard of).
I do know that golfing has quite its share of fanatics. Golfers I know tend to get pretty worked up talking about their recent outings, although they tend to only discuss their golfing with other golfers. Meanwhile, I can only eavesdrop and naturally have nothing substantial on my own to contribute to their weighty conversations other than something like, “Hey, I’ve beaten my family at miniature golf three straight times”. And I’m not dumb enough to do that, so I usually just keep my mouth shut.
So I don’t know about golf. I would like to engage in it with Melissa as a fun outdoors activity that the two of us could share into our retirement, but I don’t see myself spending an exorbitant amount of money on it or becoming a raving fanatical lunatic about it. And that World Golf Village was nothing if not fanatical.
Right now, my #1 golf experience was the vicarious pleasure I derived at watching James Bond have a “little fun” with Mr. Goldfinger by switching golf balls on him during a match. It would probably behoove me to delve a little deeper into the sport than that! But when?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The Running Tourist Denied
Earlier this year, while investigating the blogs of others who had run marathons in Florida, I came across the blog of a woman who had run in January’s Disney World Marathon. Her article was very interesting in that she carried a camera with her to photograph her ongoing experience while running it. It was as if she were just continuing her vacation at Disney World as a tourist, only while running in an athletic event.
That idea has simmered within me to the point where I have seriously considering doing the same with my runs. In both May’s Orange Park 5K race and June’s Cross City race, I felt like carrying my digital camera around with me during the runs but put it away at the last minute both times. Why the inner resistance?
When I am not in the “running” state of mind (and it is a special state of mind for me) I see things a little differently. And that includes the idea of taking pictures while running. But when the immediacy of a race is directly in front of me, I tend to want to shed myself of anything that I think is superfluous. Just think of that scene at the beginning of Platoon when experienced combat veteran William Dafoe examines new arrival Charlie Sheen’s pack and keeps throwing out stuff, repeatedly saying “You don’t need this”. That’s kind of like how I feel when about to race. So not only do I put back my camera, but I also take off my cap and glasses (including sunglasses). But I think I’m missing out on something by not photographing my experience.
Take Orange Park: much of the race was along the pretty St. John’s River just south of Jacksonville. And Cross City: they have their magnificent Greenway that I, living here in Gainesville, am so envious of. Plus, there are all of those great “people” and “running” shots that shouldn’t be so hard to set up during a race.
So it’s all set in my mind: I will take pictures during my next race, whenever and wherever that may be. Because that lady running the Walt Disney Marathon had the right idea! I AM a tourist of sorts when I run races, especially out-of-town races. I drove the distance, paid my fee, and will hereby gawk at the sights and photograph them like any tourist worth his mettle (whatever that means) walking down Broadway in Manhattan!
That idea has simmered within me to the point where I have seriously considering doing the same with my runs. In both May’s Orange Park 5K race and June’s Cross City race, I felt like carrying my digital camera around with me during the runs but put it away at the last minute both times. Why the inner resistance?
When I am not in the “running” state of mind (and it is a special state of mind for me) I see things a little differently. And that includes the idea of taking pictures while running. But when the immediacy of a race is directly in front of me, I tend to want to shed myself of anything that I think is superfluous. Just think of that scene at the beginning of Platoon when experienced combat veteran William Dafoe examines new arrival Charlie Sheen’s pack and keeps throwing out stuff, repeatedly saying “You don’t need this”. That’s kind of like how I feel when about to race. So not only do I put back my camera, but I also take off my cap and glasses (including sunglasses). But I think I’m missing out on something by not photographing my experience.
Take Orange Park: much of the race was along the pretty St. John’s River just south of Jacksonville. And Cross City: they have their magnificent Greenway that I, living here in Gainesville, am so envious of. Plus, there are all of those great “people” and “running” shots that shouldn’t be so hard to set up during a race.
So it’s all set in my mind: I will take pictures during my next race, whenever and wherever that may be. Because that lady running the Walt Disney Marathon had the right idea! I AM a tourist of sorts when I run races, especially out-of-town races. I drove the distance, paid my fee, and will hereby gawk at the sights and photograph them like any tourist worth his mettle (whatever that means) walking down Broadway in Manhattan!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Cross City’s Greenway
Last Saturday’s Chad Reed Memorial 5K race in Cross City gave me the opportunity to travel to a place where I hadn’t been before. In some ways, Cross City is pretty much like any rural little northern Florida town. But one thing stood out like a sore thumb: the Greenway.
The Cross City Greenway is actually a small section of the Nature Coast State Trail, part of a program designed to convert old railroad tracks into usable trails, and I experienced it firsthand: most of the race took place on it! As the trail's website indicates, the trail starts (or ends, depending on which direction you're going) in the cities of Cross City, Trenton, and Chiefland, with a "central" hub in Fanning Springs. I experienced it as a long stretch of relatively wide (one traffic lane in breadth) asphalt pathway generally running parallel (with some notable deviations) to US 19. I noticed it long before I entered Cross City proper. This is a remarkable asset for such a relatively small community as Cross City, or this entire very rural part of northern Florida, for that matter. Gainesville has a minor "rails-to-trails" version of a greenway, but it doesn't really go anywhere useful. I recall seeing a similar pathway (from the rooftop of my tour bus)…in extremely densely populated Manhattan, running along the East River and wonder whether that might also have been a converted railroad track. I hear that Knoxville, Tennessee, has something similar. As most likely do several of the bigger cities. But Cross City? CROSS CITY??!!
Unfortunately, I don’t think Cross City makes a lot of use out of its greenway. Except for the Chad Reed Memorial Run, I didn’t notice anyone using it anywhere. Man, could I use something like that here in Gainesville! You can bicycle, walk, run, dog-walk, skateboard, pogo-stick, you name it. In Cross City, it’s readily accessible from just about any point in town. If I could place such a greenway in Gainesville, I would have it run along West 34th Street from the northern tip of town to the southern borders. That way I could either run or ride my bicycle to and from work with a minimum degree of exposure to the loony tune drivers who plague this town! Of course, there would still be that touchy matter of crossing busy streets…
The Cross City Greenway is actually a small section of the Nature Coast State Trail, part of a program designed to convert old railroad tracks into usable trails, and I experienced it firsthand: most of the race took place on it! As the trail's website indicates, the trail starts (or ends, depending on which direction you're going) in the cities of Cross City, Trenton, and Chiefland, with a "central" hub in Fanning Springs. I experienced it as a long stretch of relatively wide (one traffic lane in breadth) asphalt pathway generally running parallel (with some notable deviations) to US 19. I noticed it long before I entered Cross City proper. This is a remarkable asset for such a relatively small community as Cross City, or this entire very rural part of northern Florida, for that matter. Gainesville has a minor "rails-to-trails" version of a greenway, but it doesn't really go anywhere useful. I recall seeing a similar pathway (from the rooftop of my tour bus)…in extremely densely populated Manhattan, running along the East River and wonder whether that might also have been a converted railroad track. I hear that Knoxville, Tennessee, has something similar. As most likely do several of the bigger cities. But Cross City? CROSS CITY??!!
Unfortunately, I don’t think Cross City makes a lot of use out of its greenway. Except for the Chad Reed Memorial Run, I didn’t notice anyone using it anywhere. Man, could I use something like that here in Gainesville! You can bicycle, walk, run, dog-walk, skateboard, pogo-stick, you name it. In Cross City, it’s readily accessible from just about any point in town. If I could place such a greenway in Gainesville, I would have it run along West 34th Street from the northern tip of town to the southern borders. That way I could either run or ride my bicycle to and from work with a minimum degree of exposure to the loony tune drivers who plague this town! Of course, there would still be that touchy matter of crossing busy streets…
Monday, June 7, 2010
Cross City’s Insane Street Grid
I tried Google Map to find out where Dixie County High School, the starting point for Saturday’s 5K race, was in relation to Cross City. Google had it spotted far east of the main town on US 19. But in truth, I had to drive through most of Cross City before I reached it. At least Google had the part about it being on US 19 correct. But maybe Google isn’t completely to blame; Cross City’s street plan is kind of weird, to put it mildly without using profanity.
Before my visit, I already found out that Cross City’s street plan was bizarre. The roads north of US 19 have a completely different numbering system than those lying to the south. And the numbers tend to be very high. As a matter of fact, while on US 19 approaching the area, in the middle of the boondocks, I saw a sign advertising “592nd Street”!
View Larger Map
As you can see on the pictured Google Map (press the "+" square in the map's upper left corner a couple of times to zoom in better), I could go south on NE 147th Street, cross US 19, and then suddenly be on SE 304th Street. And note that SE 22nd Avenue, on one side of US 19, is slightly north of NE 190th Avenue on the other. Quite disorienting. But that’s not all.
The day before the race, I looked at a fold-out city map of Cross City available at my Publix grocery store to see if they had Dixie High School on it. Which they didn’t. But I noticed something else: none of the roads were numbered as they were on Google; instead they had proper names! When I visited the area in person, though, the numbered signs were there.
It’s almost as if Cross City is at once a site of two alternative realities connected by a wormhole (US 19) and a third alternative reality (named, not numbered streets) somehow in play. I don’t get it, but the folks living there probably don’t think anything of it, I bet. Seems a little spooky to me, though. I wonder if there isn’t a black hole in the center of town causing all of this.
Before my visit, I already found out that Cross City’s street plan was bizarre. The roads north of US 19 have a completely different numbering system than those lying to the south. And the numbers tend to be very high. As a matter of fact, while on US 19 approaching the area, in the middle of the boondocks, I saw a sign advertising “592nd Street”!
View Larger Map
As you can see on the pictured Google Map (press the "+" square in the map's upper left corner a couple of times to zoom in better), I could go south on NE 147th Street, cross US 19, and then suddenly be on SE 304th Street. And note that SE 22nd Avenue, on one side of US 19, is slightly north of NE 190th Avenue on the other. Quite disorienting. But that’s not all.
The day before the race, I looked at a fold-out city map of Cross City available at my Publix grocery store to see if they had Dixie High School on it. Which they didn’t. But I noticed something else: none of the roads were numbered as they were on Google; instead they had proper names! When I visited the area in person, though, the numbered signs were there.
It’s almost as if Cross City is at once a site of two alternative realities connected by a wormhole (US 19) and a third alternative reality (named, not numbered streets) somehow in play. I don’t get it, but the folks living there probably don’t think anything of it, I bet. Seems a little spooky to me, though. I wonder if there isn’t a black hole in the center of town causing all of this.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Captain Chad Allen Reed Memorial 5K Run in Cross City
A long blog article title this is, but necessary. Yesterday morning I chose to get in my June public running race (there aren’t very many available to choose from) by going west about fifty miles to the interesting little town of Cross City, Florida. More about what makes it interesting in upcoming articles. But back to the race and its reason for being…
On January 14 of this year, police captain Chad Allen Reed was gunned down and killed by a suspected murderer while on duty. He left his wife and young children behind, as well as a bereaved community comprising two counties: Dixie, where he worked, and Taylor, where he grew up. Reed had a heart for the poor, as he had been working on a project to dig a well that would provide fresh water to some poverty-stricken residents. His death interrupted his efforts only temporarily: this race’s main goal was to raise the money to make Reed’s Samaritan dream a reality. At the opening ceremony before the race, wreaths were symbolically laid for Reed and three other recently-fallen police officers. Reed’s children were accorded the honor of symbolically starting the race.
The heat was stifling on race morning, with temperatures rising from 76 at sunrise to nearly 90 by 11 am. The humidity was horrific as well. I was surprised to see that the race planners had scheduled the race to start at 10, which would guarantee pretty hot, sticky conditions for the runners. But since I have been training for weeks under these conditions, I personally had no issues with that decision.
When the race started (just outside Dixie County High School), I was running well, at a good pace. Or that’s what I thought at first, until a flood of other runners practically sprinted past me as if this were more like a single lap around the high school track. But I kept to my pace, while accepting the first water bottle offered to me and making regular short pauses to swig some along the way. After the initial stretch of the run, I began to pass one tired and overheated runner after another. It got to be pretty funny, as I was getting stronger the more grueling the race became for others. I finally finished it at 23:23, which was my second highest time for a five kilometer run. I was very satisfied with the outcome, although it was a little disconcerting to discover that the race’s finish line was in a different location from the start, about a half-mile away from my car at the school. A police volunteer offered me a ride back, but I said “What the heck” and walked/ran back.
I had to go to work back in Gainesville early that afternoon, so I couldn’t hang around for the usually delayed and drawn-out awards process. Maybe I would have won something, maybe not. But I enjoyed the racing experience, which was the whole point of going there in the first place.
I had first thought, upon discovering that Cross City of all places was hosting a race, how cool! But the reason for it, of course, was this tragic loss of a policeman’s life; I would have preferred instead to never have gone to Cross City and have Chad Reed still around to brighten up his community and family. So sad.
On January 14 of this year, police captain Chad Allen Reed was gunned down and killed by a suspected murderer while on duty. He left his wife and young children behind, as well as a bereaved community comprising two counties: Dixie, where he worked, and Taylor, where he grew up. Reed had a heart for the poor, as he had been working on a project to dig a well that would provide fresh water to some poverty-stricken residents. His death interrupted his efforts only temporarily: this race’s main goal was to raise the money to make Reed’s Samaritan dream a reality. At the opening ceremony before the race, wreaths were symbolically laid for Reed and three other recently-fallen police officers. Reed’s children were accorded the honor of symbolically starting the race.
The heat was stifling on race morning, with temperatures rising from 76 at sunrise to nearly 90 by 11 am. The humidity was horrific as well. I was surprised to see that the race planners had scheduled the race to start at 10, which would guarantee pretty hot, sticky conditions for the runners. But since I have been training for weeks under these conditions, I personally had no issues with that decision.
When the race started (just outside Dixie County High School), I was running well, at a good pace. Or that’s what I thought at first, until a flood of other runners practically sprinted past me as if this were more like a single lap around the high school track. But I kept to my pace, while accepting the first water bottle offered to me and making regular short pauses to swig some along the way. After the initial stretch of the run, I began to pass one tired and overheated runner after another. It got to be pretty funny, as I was getting stronger the more grueling the race became for others. I finally finished it at 23:23, which was my second highest time for a five kilometer run. I was very satisfied with the outcome, although it was a little disconcerting to discover that the race’s finish line was in a different location from the start, about a half-mile away from my car at the school. A police volunteer offered me a ride back, but I said “What the heck” and walked/ran back.
I had to go to work back in Gainesville early that afternoon, so I couldn’t hang around for the usually delayed and drawn-out awards process. Maybe I would have won something, maybe not. But I enjoyed the racing experience, which was the whole point of going there in the first place.
I had first thought, upon discovering that Cross City of all places was hosting a race, how cool! But the reason for it, of course, was this tragic loss of a policeman’s life; I would have preferred instead to never have gone to Cross City and have Chad Reed still around to brighten up his community and family. So sad.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Abby Panders to Ghost Beliefs
In today’s Dear Abby newspaper advice column, Topic Numero Uno was a woman’s fear that ghosts of her deceased loved ones were lurking around her and watching her doing things like going to the bathroom and making love with her husband. She wanted to know whether she was crazy about her lack of privacy due to said ghosts.
Jeanne Phillips (“Abby”) could have just gone straight to the point, agreeably replied “Yes, you’re crazy”, and moved on to the next letter. But no, she instead decided to do something that I term “pandering to another’s narrative” in order to offer some emotional comfort. Phillips flat-out stated as fact that “the departed sometimes ‘visit’ those with whom their souls were intertwined, but usually it’s to offer strength, solace and reassurance during difficult times.” How could she know that? No, all Phillips did was to size up the frightened woman’s belief system, which she realized wasn’t going to change by just saying that ghosts weren’t real. Instead, she made up her own narrative, which naturally affirmed the existence of ghosts, to soften that writer’s fears of privacy invasion. Is this ethical?
I have done this in the past as well, although not with ghosts. I would be with someone whose beliefs were difficult for me to digest, but who still seemed so entrenched in them that the only way I would be able to effectively communicate with them would be to temporarily presume the truth of their underlying narrative, “for the sake of argument”. I would always afterward find this type of experience to be distasteful and that I had somehow debased myself in the process.
More and more, I have become more resistant to what “Abby” did: playing along with another’s absurd notions in order to reason with or comfort them. After all, I don’t notice others bending over backward to accommodate MY beliefs!
Then again, maybe Jeanne Phillips truly does believe in ghosts and how they supposedly “behave” according to some kind of ethical code. Ouch! Say you’re more savvy, Abby!
Jeanne Phillips (“Abby”) could have just gone straight to the point, agreeably replied “Yes, you’re crazy”, and moved on to the next letter. But no, she instead decided to do something that I term “pandering to another’s narrative” in order to offer some emotional comfort. Phillips flat-out stated as fact that “the departed sometimes ‘visit’ those with whom their souls were intertwined, but usually it’s to offer strength, solace and reassurance during difficult times.” How could she know that? No, all Phillips did was to size up the frightened woman’s belief system, which she realized wasn’t going to change by just saying that ghosts weren’t real. Instead, she made up her own narrative, which naturally affirmed the existence of ghosts, to soften that writer’s fears of privacy invasion. Is this ethical?
I have done this in the past as well, although not with ghosts. I would be with someone whose beliefs were difficult for me to digest, but who still seemed so entrenched in them that the only way I would be able to effectively communicate with them would be to temporarily presume the truth of their underlying narrative, “for the sake of argument”. I would always afterward find this type of experience to be distasteful and that I had somehow debased myself in the process.
More and more, I have become more resistant to what “Abby” did: playing along with another’s absurd notions in order to reason with or comfort them. After all, I don’t notice others bending over backward to accommodate MY beliefs!
Then again, maybe Jeanne Phillips truly does believe in ghosts and how they supposedly “behave” according to some kind of ethical code. Ouch! Say you’re more savvy, Abby!
Friday, June 4, 2010
What the Fungus!
The other day I noticed on the front cover of "advice" publication Bottom Line: Personal a small article about an airborne fungus hitting the Pacific northwest, ranging from northern California to Washington. It has been causing respiratory problems, mainly in middle-age to elderly men (according to the Bottom Line: Personal article). And a few deaths have occurred as well. I checked this out on the Internet today and came across several articles on the subject, including this from myfoxny.com. Dr. Joseph Heitman of Duke University has been publicizing this new public health hazard and is the chief researcher. According to the Fox article, symptoms include "severe cough, shortness of breath, chest pain and severe fatigue." And possibly death, I might add.
The fungus problem is not just in the northwest, though. It has been identified in New York City as well, with a 20% fatality rate at this point there (10 out of 50 reported).
I don't know if this fungus will (or already has) spread to Florida. I do know that this pops the fantasy bubble I have been living in of seeing the northwest Pacific area as a kind of paradise with its year-round temperate climate, so conducive to outdoor activity (especially long-distance running). After all, this is "Karno country" (Karno is ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes, who lives in San Francisco). I suppose, though, that every area carries its own drawbacks. Although I don't exactly see developing pneumonia-like symptoms from breathing in fungus in the great outdoors as your typical regional "drawback".
I would hate to see this fungus spread further. Since it had only been discovered in 2005, though, little is still known about it, its growth pattern, and range. This could be an escalating national health concern. I think from time to time I may just type in "fungus heitman" on my Google to see the latest developments on this ominous ongoing news story.
The fungus problem is not just in the northwest, though. It has been identified in New York City as well, with a 20% fatality rate at this point there (10 out of 50 reported).
I don't know if this fungus will (or already has) spread to Florida. I do know that this pops the fantasy bubble I have been living in of seeing the northwest Pacific area as a kind of paradise with its year-round temperate climate, so conducive to outdoor activity (especially long-distance running). After all, this is "Karno country" (Karno is ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes, who lives in San Francisco). I suppose, though, that every area carries its own drawbacks. Although I don't exactly see developing pneumonia-like symptoms from breathing in fungus in the great outdoors as your typical regional "drawback".
I would hate to see this fungus spread further. Since it had only been discovered in 2005, though, little is still known about it, its growth pattern, and range. This could be an escalating national health concern. I think from time to time I may just type in "fungus heitman" on my Google to see the latest developments on this ominous ongoing news story.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Free Tanning: Oh Yeah?
On the way to work, I regularly pass a large complex of townhouse apartments geared primarily for University of Florida students. On the roadside as I pass, I see a small sign that says "$799/Month"; this obviously refers to the rental rate. A few feet past that sign is another: "Free Tanning". Hmmm...
Unless someone just decided to donate their tanning services out of the goodness of their heart, I don't think that the advertised "free tanning" is all that free. Most likely, the "services" are included in the $799/month rent that EVERYONE has to pay, whether they want the tanning or not. So instead of there being "free tanning", instead there is "not-free non-tanning" at these apartments for the majority of (level-headed) residents who choose to forgo this unnecessary and potentially dangerous abuse of their skin. To be sure, those who do use the tanning facilities there will enjoy the effect of reduced rates as the costs are spread over everyone, users and non-users alike. But that still isn't "free tanning".
Speaking of tanning, I cannot fathom why deliberately exposing oneself to harmful ultraviolet radiation is still considered to be a healthful activity in some quarters. I think people should instead enjoy being whatever shade of brown they already are (and we are all, except for albinos, various shades of brown) and get on with more substantial aspects of self-presentation (e.g. personal hygiene, smiling more, speaking positively). While preserving their skin (and life) in the process. Besides, haven't these "tanners" ever heard of cosmetics, which can change skin tone without the harmful and often permanent side effects of tanning? Oh well, to each his own, I suppose.
Unless someone just decided to donate their tanning services out of the goodness of their heart, I don't think that the advertised "free tanning" is all that free. Most likely, the "services" are included in the $799/month rent that EVERYONE has to pay, whether they want the tanning or not. So instead of there being "free tanning", instead there is "not-free non-tanning" at these apartments for the majority of (level-headed) residents who choose to forgo this unnecessary and potentially dangerous abuse of their skin. To be sure, those who do use the tanning facilities there will enjoy the effect of reduced rates as the costs are spread over everyone, users and non-users alike. But that still isn't "free tanning".
Speaking of tanning, I cannot fathom why deliberately exposing oneself to harmful ultraviolet radiation is still considered to be a healthful activity in some quarters. I think people should instead enjoy being whatever shade of brown they already are (and we are all, except for albinos, various shades of brown) and get on with more substantial aspects of self-presentation (e.g. personal hygiene, smiling more, speaking positively). While preserving their skin (and life) in the process. Besides, haven't these "tanners" ever heard of cosmetics, which can change skin tone without the harmful and often permanent side effects of tanning? Oh well, to each his own, I suppose.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Jeff Galloway's Walk-Run Method
As most of you probably have surmised, temperatures in north central Florida have begun to skyrocket as the spring progresses toward summer. This is not a good thing for people like me who like to run long distances and would like to run a marathon at some time this year (the earlier the better). The prevailing pattern is for lows around 70 and highs around 90, with the temperatures destined to rise even further. Quite different from a few months ago, when I could run as long as I wanted in temperatures of 40-60 degrees. So a change in my training strategy was needed, a change that I believe I found a few weeks ago while browsing in the running section of Jacksonville's large Barnes and Nobles store in Town Center.
The book was Marathon: You Can Do It! by longtime star marathon runner and running instructor Jeff Galloway. As I thumbed through it at the bookstore, I quickly discovered the book's overriding theme: intersperse short walking breaks within your long runs and you will drastically improve your ability to cover longer distances (like marathons) and withstand adverse weather conditions (like the heat and humidity). I began trying this on May 14 and have continued to this day. And it works, enabling me to run in conditions that would have been impossible before.
For me, I run the first seven minutes and then, after that, walk a minute and run six minutes. And then repeat the walk-run cycle for as long as I run on that day. This way, I just look at my watch and slow to a one-minute walk each time it hits a multiple of seven (like 21, 28, 35 minutes, etc). Walking for brief stretches like this replenishes my energy and helps me recover from the heat (I also now carry a bottle of Powerade Zero with me on the runs for rehydration). Yesterday I ran 8.14 miles this way while temperatures climbed to 90. It works!
Now some regard accomplishing a marathon as meaning "running 26.2 miles without stopping". In fact, an acquaintance of mine, when discussing his feat of running his first half-marathon a couple of months ago, told me that his main goal was to run it "non-stop", meaning "always running". But according to Galloway, studies have shown that those who use his walk-run method, or some variation of it, tend to finish longer races (like marathons) with faster times than those who run throughout them. Frankly, the prospect of me being able to run a respectable marathon (and training for it in the summer) strongly appeals to me!
Galloway also points out that taking walking breaks within a long run relieves the stress on legs and feet that, over time, could cause injury. And it's true: since I have been following his example, I have experienced very little pain in my feet or legs. Something for all of you runners (or aspiring runners) to consider!
The book was Marathon: You Can Do It! by longtime star marathon runner and running instructor Jeff Galloway. As I thumbed through it at the bookstore, I quickly discovered the book's overriding theme: intersperse short walking breaks within your long runs and you will drastically improve your ability to cover longer distances (like marathons) and withstand adverse weather conditions (like the heat and humidity). I began trying this on May 14 and have continued to this day. And it works, enabling me to run in conditions that would have been impossible before.
For me, I run the first seven minutes and then, after that, walk a minute and run six minutes. And then repeat the walk-run cycle for as long as I run on that day. This way, I just look at my watch and slow to a one-minute walk each time it hits a multiple of seven (like 21, 28, 35 minutes, etc). Walking for brief stretches like this replenishes my energy and helps me recover from the heat (I also now carry a bottle of Powerade Zero with me on the runs for rehydration). Yesterday I ran 8.14 miles this way while temperatures climbed to 90. It works!
Now some regard accomplishing a marathon as meaning "running 26.2 miles without stopping". In fact, an acquaintance of mine, when discussing his feat of running his first half-marathon a couple of months ago, told me that his main goal was to run it "non-stop", meaning "always running". But according to Galloway, studies have shown that those who use his walk-run method, or some variation of it, tend to finish longer races (like marathons) with faster times than those who run throughout them. Frankly, the prospect of me being able to run a respectable marathon (and training for it in the summer) strongly appeals to me!
Galloway also points out that taking walking breaks within a long run relieves the stress on legs and feet that, over time, could cause injury. And it's true: since I have been following his example, I have experienced very little pain in my feet or legs. Something for all of you runners (or aspiring runners) to consider!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The Manhattan Experience: Streets vs. Buildings
There is no doubt that there is an awful lot to discover and experience on the streets of Manhattan. My three-and-a-fraction days there didn’t even begin to scratch the surface. I know that I could stay there an entire year and still never have a day go by when I ran out of new sights to see. Museums, shows, restaurants, tours of some of the most famous buildings, parks, different methods of transportation, and more…
However, even if I were to exhaust all of the possibilities at street level (and including those “open” buildings like the GE Building and the Empire State Building), I STILL would only be scratching the surface of Manhattan. To understand exactly what I’m talking about, all one has to do is just stand on a Manhattan street and look up and around. At the endless ranges of skyscrapers and tall buildings. Most of which are off-limits to ordinary run-of-the-mill tourists like me. Yet this is where the overwhelming volume of the city works and lives. A very, very, private, restricted, and vast place.
How does one pick a building out at random and then go about touring it by oneself? Or is that possible without the probable locked doors, alarms, and most likely security personnel blocking my advance? And why should I even think I have a right to go inside any of these buildings anyway?
I don’t know, except I remember one particular scene in the old (1967-68) The Prisoner series starring Patrick McGoohan. The episode is The Dance of the Dead and Number Six, the prisoner played by McGoohan, is in a building fleeing for his life from an angry mob. He stops in his tracks and tries a door. It opens and he slips into a room, encountering his nemesis, Number Two. Number Two assures him that the mob won’t follow because, she says, “They lack your initiative.” Are we all so cowed that we are afraid to step up to an unmarked door somewhere and try the knob to see what’s inside? What has happened to our sense of initiative?
Speaking of that, what would happen if I just walked down a busy Manhattan street and tried one door after another, skipping stores and restaurants? Would a tee-shirt vendor or a policeman sense something suspicious and create a general alarm about my activities? What would anyone be able to say, though? Has simple curiosity become a crime in this age of privacy? And what exactly is privacy, anyway?
I live in a subdivision, in a house that is situated on a public street. People don’t have to go through shells of security to reach my residence; I’m just there, pure and simple. And my workplace is similar: just pull into the parking lot and go inside. But Manhattan? How many hoops must one jump and barriers pass before they can visit a friend at home or work?
Finally, I know quite well how intensively patrolled the streets are by the police, not to mention the extensive camera surveillance everywhere. This was borne out by the recent near-tragedy at Times Square and that failed attack. But what about that vast area within all of the buildings? Seems like it would be a completely different type of world up there to me, with its own vision of the law and how people can treat each other. Or am I just speculating too much?
However, even if I were to exhaust all of the possibilities at street level (and including those “open” buildings like the GE Building and the Empire State Building), I STILL would only be scratching the surface of Manhattan. To understand exactly what I’m talking about, all one has to do is just stand on a Manhattan street and look up and around. At the endless ranges of skyscrapers and tall buildings. Most of which are off-limits to ordinary run-of-the-mill tourists like me. Yet this is where the overwhelming volume of the city works and lives. A very, very, private, restricted, and vast place.
How does one pick a building out at random and then go about touring it by oneself? Or is that possible without the probable locked doors, alarms, and most likely security personnel blocking my advance? And why should I even think I have a right to go inside any of these buildings anyway?
I don’t know, except I remember one particular scene in the old (1967-68) The Prisoner series starring Patrick McGoohan. The episode is The Dance of the Dead and Number Six, the prisoner played by McGoohan, is in a building fleeing for his life from an angry mob. He stops in his tracks and tries a door. It opens and he slips into a room, encountering his nemesis, Number Two. Number Two assures him that the mob won’t follow because, she says, “They lack your initiative.” Are we all so cowed that we are afraid to step up to an unmarked door somewhere and try the knob to see what’s inside? What has happened to our sense of initiative?
Speaking of that, what would happen if I just walked down a busy Manhattan street and tried one door after another, skipping stores and restaurants? Would a tee-shirt vendor or a policeman sense something suspicious and create a general alarm about my activities? What would anyone be able to say, though? Has simple curiosity become a crime in this age of privacy? And what exactly is privacy, anyway?
I live in a subdivision, in a house that is situated on a public street. People don’t have to go through shells of security to reach my residence; I’m just there, pure and simple. And my workplace is similar: just pull into the parking lot and go inside. But Manhattan? How many hoops must one jump and barriers pass before they can visit a friend at home or work?
Finally, I know quite well how intensively patrolled the streets are by the police, not to mention the extensive camera surveillance everywhere. This was borne out by the recent near-tragedy at Times Square and that failed attack. But what about that vast area within all of the buildings? Seems like it would be a completely different type of world up there to me, with its own vision of the law and how people can treat each other. Or am I just speculating too much?
Monday, May 31, 2010
On This Memorial Day
Earlier this month, a young Gainesville man, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Philip Paul Clark, who graduated two years ago from my daughter's high school, was killed in Afghanistan while serving our country there. It was very sad news, which hit our community hard. Last Friday, the funeral motorcade went through Gainesville, where he was finally laid to rest. I never knew this soldier, but I do appreciate his service and ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.
Memorial Day, which is today, often touches people in a personal way when one of the fallen is a loved one. But this holiday has a more collective and historical meaning as well, giving recognition and honor to all of our past slain servicemen and servicewomen during all of the armed conflicts of our nation's past. These brave people did not decide on the policies that led them to go off to war, but simply did their duty as they were trained to do.
Heroes.
Memorial Day, which is today, often touches people in a personal way when one of the fallen is a loved one. But this holiday has a more collective and historical meaning as well, giving recognition and honor to all of our past slain servicemen and servicewomen during all of the armed conflicts of our nation's past. These brave people did not decide on the policies that led them to go off to war, but simply did their duty as they were trained to do.
Heroes.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
The Joy of Posing With Dead Animals
I had it all written out: a stinging denunciation of hunting and hunters, complete with my usual jabs at Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin for their hunting follies. But thankfully, my blog instincts directed me to delay publishing my passionate and acerbic article and reflect on it a bit.
And I'm glad I did. Hunting is largely a cultural phenomenon, with its followers often rooted in it due to their family's participation as well as their local community's attitude toward it. So hurling insults at hunters isn't really something I want to do. Besides, I wonder which culturally rooted activities I am currently involved with will be frowned upon (or even condemned) by a future, more "enlightened" society.
Still, that being said, I always find it more than a little disconcerting whenever I run across one of those hunting magazines and find a hunter proudly posing on the cover with an animal he (or she) just killed (usually a deer). The animal is made to look alive, with its eyes open and its expression often a smile. As if to commemorate its first (and last) meeting with its biggest and bestest new buddy (who just ended its one chance at life)!
So that preceding little tidbit will have to be the only sarcasm left from the scrapped article to hurl at hunters. I just wish they would be careful out there with their weapons, especially considering that there are others who are not hunters and would like to go hiking through the wilderness without enduring the hazard of being shot by accident.
And I'm glad I did. Hunting is largely a cultural phenomenon, with its followers often rooted in it due to their family's participation as well as their local community's attitude toward it. So hurling insults at hunters isn't really something I want to do. Besides, I wonder which culturally rooted activities I am currently involved with will be frowned upon (or even condemned) by a future, more "enlightened" society.
Still, that being said, I always find it more than a little disconcerting whenever I run across one of those hunting magazines and find a hunter proudly posing on the cover with an animal he (or she) just killed (usually a deer). The animal is made to look alive, with its eyes open and its expression often a smile. As if to commemorate its first (and last) meeting with its biggest and bestest new buddy (who just ended its one chance at life)!
So that preceding little tidbit will have to be the only sarcasm left from the scrapped article to hurl at hunters. I just wish they would be careful out there with their weapons, especially considering that there are others who are not hunters and would like to go hiking through the wilderness without enduring the hazard of being shot by accident.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Opinions on Plugging Oil Leak
I obviously don't know what I'm talking about, so you might just consider passing this entry in my blog and wait for a more informed opinion at a future date. But with this catastrophic continuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico going on for more than five weeks and with no end in sight, I have a suggestion to end it.
A few days ago I was chatting with a buddy at work when the topic came up and I said, "Why not just nuke it?" That would surely seal the breach and end the leak. And if the possibility of radiation from a nuclear explosion bothers some people, then why why detonate the most powerful conventional bombs (of the order of those dropped in late 2001 while fighting Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan)? I think the results would be the same.
Anyway, my pal thought I had a good idea, although I felt a little bit like Archie Bunker spouting off about something I knew little about. Then, just a couple of days later on one of my rare viewings of Fox News Channel, somebody who claimed to have credentials in the area posed the same solution, claiming that the Soviet Union had bombed their own undersea oil lines several times in the past to seal them. But this "expert" stated that he doubted BP would ever consider this a viable possibility, for doing so would destroy their investment and end their chances of making money from the drill as it is. How cynical! But maybe true...
Anyway, suppose that whatever high-tech, intricate solution that BP tries to stop the leak fails and the government has to resort to a bombing of the ocean floor. And further suppose that this is successful in stopping the spill. Can you imagine the political repercussions coming from this? After all, that would mean that this unprecedented environmental disaster could have been prevented at the start from assertive, bold government intervention and that the current leadership let us down and maybe will let us down in the future. A gnawing, unpleasant feeling I have...
A few days ago I was chatting with a buddy at work when the topic came up and I said, "Why not just nuke it?" That would surely seal the breach and end the leak. And if the possibility of radiation from a nuclear explosion bothers some people, then why why detonate the most powerful conventional bombs (of the order of those dropped in late 2001 while fighting Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan)? I think the results would be the same.
Anyway, my pal thought I had a good idea, although I felt a little bit like Archie Bunker spouting off about something I knew little about. Then, just a couple of days later on one of my rare viewings of Fox News Channel, somebody who claimed to have credentials in the area posed the same solution, claiming that the Soviet Union had bombed their own undersea oil lines several times in the past to seal them. But this "expert" stated that he doubted BP would ever consider this a viable possibility, for doing so would destroy their investment and end their chances of making money from the drill as it is. How cynical! But maybe true...
Anyway, suppose that whatever high-tech, intricate solution that BP tries to stop the leak fails and the government has to resort to a bombing of the ocean floor. And further suppose that this is successful in stopping the spill. Can you imagine the political repercussions coming from this? After all, that would mean that this unprecedented environmental disaster could have been prevented at the start from assertive, bold government intervention and that the current leadership let us down and maybe will let us down in the future. A gnawing, unpleasant feeling I have...
Thursday, May 27, 2010
VW's Vile Ad Campaign
In a VW television commercial, two adult men are sitting in a parking garage, observing and noting the cars passing through. One, a burly, stocky man, is twice the size of his companion. He mentions something about a car and then viciously slugs the smaller man very hard in his shoulder. The victim winces, then acts as if he deserved to be hit. A few seconds later, it happens again. And then again, the aggressor never being held accountable for his actions. In fact, as far as Volkswagen is concerned, he is Mr. Right, the role model whom they want the viewer to emulate (Mr. Right is hip to their great product line, you see).
This isn't the only ad they put out with this theme. With the opening music of the old Andy Griffith show in the background, various people in a town go around slugging others in the shoulder when they see VWs drive past them. It's all good, mainstream, hometown, apple pie, acceptable All-American fun. At least that's how Volkswagen wants you to see it.
No, slugging a fellow human being hard in the shoulder is NOT acceptable. In childhood, this is called "bullying" and "child abuse". In adulthood, this is called "physical assault" and is a criminal act, subject to prosecution. But let me say that if someone tried to slug me like in their vile commercials, the justice process would begin immediately, back in the face of the aggressor!
I thought those old V8 vegetable juice commercials were over the top with the way people in public were being popped in the forehead for having missed out on opportunities to consume their product. But this goes way beyond V8's misguided gimmick. This legitimatizes bullying, and at a time of bullying-related suicides and efforts on the parts of schools to highlight and fight the problem. Boycott Volkswagen for this outrageous pro-violence campaign!
This isn't the only ad they put out with this theme. With the opening music of the old Andy Griffith show in the background, various people in a town go around slugging others in the shoulder when they see VWs drive past them. It's all good, mainstream, hometown, apple pie, acceptable All-American fun. At least that's how Volkswagen wants you to see it.
No, slugging a fellow human being hard in the shoulder is NOT acceptable. In childhood, this is called "bullying" and "child abuse". In adulthood, this is called "physical assault" and is a criminal act, subject to prosecution. But let me say that if someone tried to slug me like in their vile commercials, the justice process would begin immediately, back in the face of the aggressor!
I thought those old V8 vegetable juice commercials were over the top with the way people in public were being popped in the forehead for having missed out on opportunities to consume their product. But this goes way beyond V8's misguided gimmick. This legitimatizes bullying, and at a time of bullying-related suicides and efforts on the parts of schools to highlight and fight the problem. Boycott Volkswagen for this outrageous pro-violence campaign!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The Last Wednesday in May
I don't know about you, but I am a little out of sync with holidays as they stand. I get the significance of all of them, to be sure, but they don't affect me in a very personal sense (except, of course, annual markers like my birthday, wedding anniversary, loved ones' birthdays, and so on). So the idea occurred to me of developing my own personal "holidays", days marking significant events or changes in my own life. And today, the last Wednesday in May, is one such day.
It is a little touchy to reveal much about what this day means, for it involves other people with their own rights to privacy. The first "Last Wednesday in May" happened on May 27, 1970 during my increasingly failing struggle to put a dignified ending to my eighth grade in school (How much should I say?). Let's just say that I was a very vulnerable young teenage boy who also, at the time, had the physique of a concentration camp survivor due to my "off-the-charts" high metabolism and the face of a composite of about five acne commercial "befores". Not to mention extreme shyness and trouble putting words together into coherent spoken sentences. But I was still a benign, kindly character who generally thought well of others and who wanted to develop friendships. On this day, though, I realized that I was more or less on my own and that society was set up to hinder me, not help me.
Unfortunately, this day resonates with me to this day because my changed world view from back then in May of 1970 is still largely the same. It's too bad that I couldn't go into more detail, except to say that this is the way it generally is with writing on this blog: my life is like an iceberg, with the above-ground 10% expressible and the bulk of it submerged and hidden. Maybe I'll expound on the significance on the Last Wednesday in May in future articles while being careful not to reveal the wrong kind of stuff. Now that should intrigue you enough to stay tuned!
It is a little touchy to reveal much about what this day means, for it involves other people with their own rights to privacy. The first "Last Wednesday in May" happened on May 27, 1970 during my increasingly failing struggle to put a dignified ending to my eighth grade in school (How much should I say?). Let's just say that I was a very vulnerable young teenage boy who also, at the time, had the physique of a concentration camp survivor due to my "off-the-charts" high metabolism and the face of a composite of about five acne commercial "befores". Not to mention extreme shyness and trouble putting words together into coherent spoken sentences. But I was still a benign, kindly character who generally thought well of others and who wanted to develop friendships. On this day, though, I realized that I was more or less on my own and that society was set up to hinder me, not help me.
Unfortunately, this day resonates with me to this day because my changed world view from back then in May of 1970 is still largely the same. It's too bad that I couldn't go into more detail, except to say that this is the way it generally is with writing on this blog: my life is like an iceberg, with the above-ground 10% expressible and the bulk of it submerged and hidden. Maybe I'll expound on the significance on the Last Wednesday in May in future articles while being careful not to reveal the wrong kind of stuff. Now that should intrigue you enough to stay tuned!
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