Curator as DJ

A trend that's gathering momentum is the notion of "curators" for the vast aggregation of contemporary popular music digitally available. A curator implies one with a defined point of view, a clear concept of taste, and a sense of direction. Finding curators whose values and judgements one respects is quite challenging.

A way to approach the new year is to suggest "curators" I value. Admittedly, they're not self-proclaimed or institutionally ordained "curators," but these emissaries to music essentially perform a curatorial role through their choices and mixtures. It's fun to listen to their selections, enjoy them, and debate their merits. They're certainly not as stuffy as the art-world suit in the illustration (right) from "Curator as DJ," from Modern Masters, a comic book published by DC Comics for PS 1/MOMA. They also provide one other, unstated, but deeply felt value: a reminder that life is meant to be savored and appreciated.

I have a trio of "curators" in mind. You're more than welcome in the comments to share your own choices.

1. http://www.thebocx.com/ -- Phil Dorsey. Very wordly taste, with a preference for funk, neo-funk, jazz, electronic, r&b, downtempo, acid jazz, but not limited to those genres by any means.

2. Gilles Peterson -- a European providing interesting choices. He has a number of recordings available via the digital transaction sites.

3. Ibiza Sonica -- An Internet radio station that plays club music from the pirate island.

Happy New Year!

Former Neo-Nazi Jailed for Auschwitz Theft

A Polish court sentenced Anders Hoegstroem, a 34-year-old Swede to a two-year, eight-month prison term for his role in the theft of the "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work Sets You Free") sign at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Two co-conspirators were also given prison sentences by the court. It is thought a fourth suspect remains at large.

The sign, which the thieves had cut into three pieces and hidden in a Polish forest, was recovered three days after it was stolen.

Mr. Hoegstroem's dossier includes time as a leader of the neo-Nazi movement in Sweden, although he later dropped out of the movement. The Associated Press story published in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz offers the most detail.

Ed Rendell's "Nation of Wussies"

Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell's political comments enlivened a dull National Football League game this past week. The governor, upset by the league's postponement of a Philadelphia Eagles home game due to a blizzard, questioned the decision. He wondered openly if the league's action was an indication that the United States had become a "nation of wussies" incapable of handling inclement weather or presumably other forms of adversity.

He pointedly compared our citizens to those of China, asserting that the Asian country's people were tougher, smarter, more competitive than ours are.

The truth of his assertion is unknown. What's much more interesting is the fear the governor expressed. That's the fear that comes with diminished power. It's on peoples' minds, but the solutions are not.

Reconsidering Annual Predictions

This week is the tippy-top of the peak season for the annual prediction business. Stories are rolling out either reflecting on the accuracy of 2010 forecasts or presenting 2011 projections. These offerings have a brief shelf life, then get tucked away and are largely forgotten. From the middle of December until early January, a select few are dusted off for a comparison between the year's history and what was anticipated.

Roger Nusbaum, in his thoughtful Random Roger financial blog, pointed out the difficulty of a given forecast fitting neatly into a calendar year. This wise observation, if embraced, would take the steam out of many year-end anxieties characterized by ardent New Year's resolutions. That's easier said than done. The December holidays offer a ready-made break for planning, along with the psychologically potent atmosphere of renewal associated with the new calendar year.

Nusbaum pointed out that an entire stock market cycle is a better, more sensible time frame for financial forecasts. If one extends that concept to other endeavors, the benefits could be substantial. That sounds like a good way to start the new year.

National Enquirer's Publishers Emerges from Bankruptcy

American Media Incorporated, Florida-based home to the National Enquirer, WWE, and other publications, will emerge from bankruptcy "as early as this week," according to a Palm Beach Post report posted in today's Miami Herald.

The Enquirer is a curious media creature. It specializes in publishing salacious stories about public figures. Its approach involves working the edges of the First Amendment and the dodgy side of human behavior. Its reporters are not exactly "investigative reporters"; rather, they are similar to private detectives unearthing dirt on behalf of divorce clients. In this case, the customer is the Enquirer's readership.

Who reads the Enquirer? Well, millions of Americans do, although it's difficult to envision the publication's subscription list. The Enquirer is an impulse purchase typically done in supermarkets and the endangered species known as the news stand. Many people read it standing on line, killing time in a laundromat, or getting a haircut. I am among them.

The Enquirer and like-minded tabloids have occasionally provided revealing stories that have entered the national dialogue. The articles typically demonstrate a combination of old-fashioned journalistic hustle, pay-to-tell sourcing, and a shameless shaping of fact to drive reader interest. As with its Britsh and other Anglo-Saxon cousins, the Enquirer has always proudly flown journalism's version of the pirate flag. However, unlike Rupert Murdoch's politically slanted slander sheets, the Enquirer is intriguingly nonpartisan. It has broken stories on right-wingers such as Rush Limbaugh's drug addiction and left-wingers such as John Edwards' love child.

The Enquirer is Hollywood's particular bete-noire. Stories about movie stars provide a volatile amalgam of fully founded facts and lurid speculation that provides readers with the feeling of opinionated escape. The American public insatiably devours this information. To feed the public's craving for dirt, the Enquirer is cozy with the hellhound paparazzi that mercilessly track celebrities, relentlessly invade their privacy, and commercially benefit from their exploitation. Agents, publicists, and attorneys have a love and (mostly) hate relationship with the publication's writers, editors, and lawyers. It's not a business for the faint of heart.

During my undergraduate years at the University of Wisconsin, I worked on the student newspaper. One of its editors at that time later joined the Enquirer staff and eventually became a name near the top of its masthead. Given the editor's collegiate years' interest in radical leftist politics, I found his career move a puzzling one. I have never understood his motivation to work, and achieve a sort of success, with a supermarket tabloid. By extension, I don't know why any Enquirer reporter chooses to call "home" the dicey neighborhood where fact, innuendo, and dark motives uneasily co-exist.

Yet, as most journalists would admit, there's something about the hunt for the story that deeply matters to them. It's in every good journalist's blood, from the Pentagon Papers' Neil Sheehan on down. Enquirer reporters fit quite comfortably into that way of being, although they find embarrassing sexcapades more compelling than national policy.

The Enquirer supposedly faces an uncertain commercial future. Analysts cite its declining audience, inability to draw sufficient advertising, and competition from specialized Internet sites and dreadful television programs. We'll see. The psychological phenomena that form the foundation of tabloid success are essential elements of our collective character. They are unlikely to disappear, and neither will the public's desire for a publication that provides a goofy look into our lives' shared, unseemly desires.

However, the Enquirer could be literally killed. In the fall of 2001, an American Media employee died from anthrax delivered to the premises, and the building had to be abandoned for a substantial period of time. The subsequent federal investigation suggested a domestically-based scientist produced the deadly material. The episode remains part of the anthrax scare mystery, in which high profile targets experienced fatal consequences. Not even the Enquirer's top reportorial bloodhounds could find a trail, or enough printable information to pass its editorial and legal team's scrutiny. One wonders why.

Unwanted Christmas Gifts

Vator.tv reporter Faith Merino recently posted about the "five worst Christmas gifts ever." She's made some apt choices. One of them is the first known breastfeeding doll, shown in the image. If you want to know what you don't want from your Secret Santa gift this year, take a minute to read Ms. Merino's post, and see if you agree with her findings.

If you're unfamiliar with vator.tv, it's a Bay Area-based website that tracks emerging technology, venture capital projects, and ideas that percolate from Silicon Valley's busy minds.

The doll is manufactured by a Spanish firm, and is not the unwanted love child of a Silicon Valley developer and an angel financier.

Wall Street Bond House Expands Its Vegas Sports Gambling Operation

The New York Times, bless its soul, published a story in its Christmas Eve edition about a Wall Street firm and its links to legitimate gambling.

The firm in question is Cantor Fitzgerald, one of The Street's major bond players. The firm is a very important provider of market data; Bloomberg Radio, for instance, reports Cantor's Treasury market data. Cantor is also known for its tragic 9/11 legacy, when much of its World Trade Center workforce was wiped out.

Cantor's connection to gambling over a decade ago in the United Kingdom. The firm's Las Vegas initiative began in 2005, according to the Times piece, when Cantor approached Nevada gaming authorities to approve mobile gambling anywhere within the state. Player participation requires that clients maintain accounts with certain designated casinos which have agreements with Cantor Gaming, as the enterprise is known.

If Cantor succeeds in its mobile gambling wager, the firm could land a bonanza. Connect that fact with the marketing allure of smartphones, and Cantor would be able to provide the consumer world's version of the Tree of Knowledge. The combination would be both irresistible and tragic for clients as well as for Cantor.

A Cantor spokesperson noted in the Times story that the bond market bid-ask schemes and sports point spreads are conceptually similar. What went unsaid was the breakdown of the division between investing and speculation that have turned equity, bond, and other financial markets into thinly disguised casinos. More and more Wall Street analysts and executives openly characterize putting money into the financial markets as "betting."

Not so long ago, investing money required financially qualified customers, suitable risk management, and realistic goals. It wasn't for everyone. That notion changed in the past couple of decades. Now, everyone's a player.

Here's an example of what's different. A diner near my office has two televisions. One broadcasts sports programming. The other shows a financial TV network. Both get plenty of attention, from players with a range of skills and smarts. The allure of the Tree of Knowledge is on display at the diner. Cantor and its Las Vegas allies know this, and intend to profit from it. And rule #1 of the casino is that the house always wins in the end.

The image shows a flyer featuring the late Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry warning against legalized gambling.

LA Times' Restaurant Reviewer "Outed"

Just in time for the holiday season, the LA Times' restaurant reviewer S. Irene Virbilia was "outed" by an irate Los Angeles restaurant ownership partner. In this case, the outing involved posting the reviewer's photograph on the Web, along with including some harsh words about her. The ownership partner also threw her out of his new restaurant, a Vietnamese-styled place called "Red Medicine," so that she could not review it. The details are available via la.eater.com; the story originated in LA Weekly.

The presumed case for anonymity involves a notion that a restaurant needs to be appraised by a reliable witness who has a characteristic dining experience in the establishment. If he or she were "known" by the restaurant, the reviewer would in all likliehood have an experience skewed to impress their judgement and thus garner a favorable outcome for the restaurant. The implicit belief among most readers of major publications is that restaurants can't "game" the major pub's way of reviewing, thus ensuring the reader an "impartial" opinion of the experience. A case in point is The New York Times. If you were to poll, say, 100 Times subscribers, it's a safe bet that nearly all would say the impartiality of the paper's critics (not only those who monitor the food world) is above reproach.

Restaurant owners cannot afford to be indifferent to a critic's power. The business stakes are often high ones, and a lukewarm review by whoever is carrying the flag for (name your prestigious mainstream media outlet) can mean financial calamity for the enterprise. What "Red Medicine's" ownership partner did was something almost every other owner and chef has wanted to do at some point in his or her career. It's safe to say one could extend that notion to the arts, with the movies being Exhibit A for the plaintiffs.

While one may agree that unflattering reviews are a risk that comes with the territory, the bigger problem is the concentration of opinion in one reviewer's control. It is a curiosity that the most politically liberal cities in the United States feature publications whose reviewers can single-handedly make or break a business or project. The lack of diversity in tastemaking accepted by the urbane, often politically liberal readership in those cities implies a desire for groupthink. I would find this phenomenon off-putting, and even disturbing, except that chasing the "hot" new restaurant is a useless activity. Who cares?

The phenomenon is not limited to restaurants, shows, or handbags. Wall Street is notorious for groupthink; The Street's one distinction is the number of firms providing opinions on a firm or an offering. Of course, there's more than groupthink going on with the financial players. There's big money at stake. Not following the herd or the "desired" opinion can lead to analysts and salespeople being denied information or opportunities to offer products to clients. (Two examples of these sharp elbows were Hank Greenberg's AIG and Jack Welch's GE.) The result is a barrage of information to which few insiders give any credence. Further, we got a heavy dose of Wall Street bullshit twice within the past decade, during the Internet bubble and the disastrous, systemic corruption which led to the financial catastrophe of the past few years. Do these episodes generate any faith in the positive value of groupthink?

In fairness, the LA Times' Virbilia tried to perform her job with integrity. Her approach won't change because an ego-driven, financially uptight restaurant owner outed her. In fact, the incident might make her job simpler and end the unsustainable, pointless need for anonymity. However, the incident does highlight a desperate need for more opinions with a developed point of view. Opinion aggregators such as Zagat simply don't offer any depth of reasoning beyond a smarmy, "pithy" comment. The Michelin Guides roll on, with their teams of anonymous inspectors making very credible evaluations. The problem is that Michelin's Delphic utterances don't articulate in detail why a restaurant is worthy of patronage. Well, at least it's a start in the right direction. Sophistication takes a big step forward when one craves something more than groupthink, and is not satisfied with limiting ideas to one reviewer's thumbs up or down.

The image shows the iconic Michelin figure with chefs during a 2008 Tokyo event.

Syracuse and Living with Big Snow

The New York Times published an article in today' s editions about Syracuse, New York and snow. The story notes that this winter has been particularly severe in Syracuse, with nearly 72 inches having already fallen on the central New York city. However, for an area that averages ten feet of snow annually since 1951, six feet and counting before Christmas is not exactly an unusual phenomenon.

The best quote in the story is provided by a man whom the writer characterized as an avid skier. "I left Minnesota," he said, "because there was hardly any snow. It was just cold."

One is not cheated out of winter in Syracuse. I know, because I lived in the area until I was eleven years old. Most of my immediate and extended family, who also resided there at different points in their lives, can easily swap snow stories. For all intents and purposes, winter has a mythological weight for these family members and for me.

The Times story was spot on characterizing the perspective locals have toward winter. Managing winter is a matter of pride. Walking past six foot-high snow piles is part of everyday life. Though not mentioned in the article, driving in snowstorms is not a big deal. Snow days are rare and begrudgingly taken. Coexisting with winter, enjoying it, and defying it, are all feelings that stay in the blood, remembered, even cherished.

That background served me well over the years. During my collegiate years in Wisconsin, some felt that, because I came from New York, I would be shocked by the Midwestern state's heavy snows, bitter winds, and bleak winter landscapes.

I knew I would feel right at home.

Even now, in New Jersey, where I live, I appreciate the beauty of a heavy snowfall. My wife understands this, and knows I'll willingly go out and shovel snow. Fortunately, my bride enjoys snow and what a Russian rocket scientist I once taught called "the serenity of winter." He would have understood central New York, too.

Housing Market "Perks Up"

The headline in today's WaPo proclaims that the housing market has perked up. However, the story's penultimate paragraph notes that "distressed properties, including foreclosures, made up about one-third of existing home sales in November, roughly in line with the previous month and the previous year."

Does that sound perky to you?

Vintage TV Commercials

Today called for a lighter touch, and even a laugh. To get there, I chose to look up some vintage TV commercials. This kick started with some YouTube searches to find Ernie Kovacs segments. He made a number of comic commercials for his program's sponsors, Dutch Masters cigars.

The YouTube links include a Kovacs commercial, a late '60s ad for the Pontiac GTO, and a few other curiousities. Enjoy them, and don't let the government's spying get you down.

Kovacs

Pontiac GTO

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes

Hai Karate Aftershave

Colt 45 Malt Liquor, with Billy Dee Williams

Monitoring Civilian America

The Washington Post published an article by two of its reporters, Dana Priest and William H. Arkin, called Top Secret America. The gist of this well written, capably researched story is that agencies at many areas of federal, state, and local government agencies are collecting data and otherwise monitoring citizens who often have not committed a crime. The driver for this profound information gathering on often entirely innocent people is the belief that these efforts thwart terrorism and prevent other, serious crimes that do not threaten people's lives or national security.

The most disturbing part of the article notes how surveillance technology, equipment, and investigative techniques used in our current Asian wars have been brought home and leveraged by local law enforcement. What's even more troubling is the STASI-like storage of hearsay information, and law enforcement agencies' seeming preference for it, rather than for the methodical development of good, old-fashioned, evidence-based material.

Read the WaPo article.

Euro Currency Creator Dies

Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, an Italian economist who was the brains behind the creation of the Euro, died recently. The dry BBC obit tells the story.

I still have some pre-Euro currency sitting someplace in our residence. Confident French francs, many-zeroed Italian lire, serious Deutsche Marks, some Dutch guilders are part of the grab bag of now worthless coins and folding money. While the Euro has made currency transactions in Europe far easier, I miss the various sovereign coins of the realm. The Euro lacks a certain soul that coins celebrating "liberte, fraternite, equalite" proclaim. One wonders, given Europe's current financial crisis, if we'll see a return to national coinage. If that happens, I'll be ready for it.

The Donovan McNabb Benching

The Washington Redskins, which entered the season touted as a playoff contender, have played poorly nearly all season. Someone had to take the fall for their tawdry record. Coach Mike Shanahan decided it wouldn't be him. Instead, he chose to bench his starting quarterback Donovan McNabb for the season's final three games. Further, Shanahan implied McNabb would not be with the Redskins next year, or any year after that.

Washington traded with Philadelphia for the rights to McNabb earlier this year. The Skins gave up a second round draft pick, and a lower pick, for the player they envisioned as one who could get the team to the playoffs. That 2nd rounder, along with Michael Vick's incredible year for the Eagles, is making the deal seem like a steal for Philly.

The fact is McNabb plays on a bad team now. Washington can't run the ball. It can't pass protect. Some starters have had more experience on the practice squad than against bona fide NFL teams. The Skins have more than the usual quotient of prima donnas, even for a glamour franchise such as Washington. The coaches are blessed with very high opinions of their own abilities that do not consistently correspond with their performances. Somehow, McNabb was supposed to transform this base lead into playoff gold. He never had a chance.

McNabb's career has been haunted by a weird combination of outsized expectations, underestimation of his skills, solid performance, and disappointing games. He has endured draft day boos from Philadelphia fans. He managed to co-exist with coach-killer teammate Terrell Owens. McNabb's Super Bowl puke moment continues to dog him. Unlike many other NFL quarterbacks, it was always McNabb's fault when his team didn't make the playoffs (which was rare). It was infrequently noted that Philly's receivers in McNabb's best years were dog shit (except T.O.), and McNabb made the best of the situation. That included a decade in which Philly was a consistent playoff contender, and McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook were the essence of the offense. All they did was win.

McNabb also happens to be the highest profile African-American quarterback in the league. Race baiters view McNabb as a target. Most notably, he was the victim of malicious, highly public racist statements in 2003 from unfair, unbalanced closet drug addict Rush Limbaugh. McNabb showed in that episode such strength of character that it should have presumably ended all questions about his heart and mind.

Nonetheless, complete respect for McNabb's career accomplishments continues to elude the Chicago-born player. Washington coach Shanahan's entourage has leaked various

unflattering comments about McNabb's work ethic, mastery of detail, and other flaws. The spin just doesn't add up, and the evidence from the Redskin players says as much. Shanahan's coterie, which enabled surly drunk Jay Cutler in Denver, at one point painted a picture of a "lazy" McNabb who "lacks the necessities" for the position. The parallels with racist smears are disturbing ones, and especially unseemly in a city whose population is predominantly African-American. Anyone who thinks these ideas don't come from Shanahan himself should look up the former Denver coach's deep desire and willingness to exert iron control.

I hope the Skins drop McNabb. He can follow former Redskin (and African-American) quarterback Jason Campbell out of town, someplace far away, someplace where McNabb will finally be appreciated for what he brings to his job every day. Campbell has never looked back to DC, and I don't think McNabb will, either. However, DC will look back at them and ask why they are successful elsewhere, but not in Landover. The answers won't be pretty.

Captain Beefheart R.I.P.

A moment of silence for Don Van Vliet, a/k/a Captain Beefheart, who passed away recently. The Washington Post noted his death.

He was a sixties/early seventies rock musician who played for a time with Frank Zappa until he went out on his own. I listened to CB in high school, and he was wacky, even for me. I wasn't a CB fan; he was more of a curiosity to me, and I don't buy the "avant-garde" tag hung on the Captain. However, I can still hear his vocal from "Hot Rats" in my head without trying too hard.

The image is the cover from CB's album Trout Mask Replica.

Blake Edwards R.I.P.

Blake Edwards, an interesting director whose work defied easy, intellectually sloppy categorization, passed away at age 88. Rather than comment on his life and work, I'll simply suggest that you read the LA Times' obit.

The photograph shows Edwards (right) and Peter Sellers on the set of The Pink Panther. The photo suggests a collaborative relationship; in fact, Edwards and Sellers were often quite contentious with one another. Somehow, they managed to make five Pink Panther movies together, as David Mermelstein noted in a Summer 2009 piece he wrote for the Directors Guild of America Quarterly. (The photograph is taken from Mermelstein's article.)

LA's "Ghost of NFL Franchise Future"

The Christmas season brings us another appearance of LA's version of the "Ghost of NFL Franchise Future." This apparition was reported by the LA Times' NFL reporter Sam Farmer. The story includes a watercolor rendition of a new football stadium earmarked for some fanciful downtown location.

The NFL's LA franchise has been the league's wetdream ever since Pete Rozelle wanted a piece of the action more than a generation ago. Currently, Los Angeles does not have a pro football team, an absence that greatly annoys the television pooh-bahs that sell advertising time for its NFL telecasts. Every year finds another team on the list kicking LA's tires and wondering when it will get a test drive of the southern California market. Current contenders include the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, and Buffalo Bills. One team not in the running is the St. Louis Rams, which moved from the Southland many moons ago because there was more money to be made on the banks of the Mississippi than in the shadows of Hollywood.

Did Yankees Fall Off Cliff?

The New York Yankees, presumed front runners for the services of free agent pitcher Cliff Lee, were jilted by the left-handed ace today. Lee signed with one of his former employers, the Philadelphia Phillies, for more millions than most of us will ever see in a lifetime.

Lee's choice of brotherly love over Bronx cheer makes sense. The thirty-two year-old player is much more likely to thrive in the National League, where pitchers hit and the teams are far weaker offensively than in the opposing league. Lee joins a roster whose key everyday players are in the prime of their careers. He also bolsters an already formidable trio of starting pitchers, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halliday. In this way, Lee doesn't have to be the team's ace. He merely has to win a lot, as he did in Cleveland when his pitching partner was C.C. Sabathia.

For the Yankees, losing the Lee lottery might be a blessing in disguise. New York's most important players, except Mark Teixeira, are in their thirties. The elder statesmen, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, are well past their prime. Andy Pettitte is ready to retire. One wonders how many more strong innings are left in the great Mariano Rivera's right arm. The Yanks' general manager, Brian Cashman, has skillfully tried to make the team younger while navigating a contender filled with aging stars. Lee's return to Philadelphia may make Cashman's goal of creating a younger, cheaper Yankee team easier to accomplish.

This coming season could very well signal a decline for the Yankees from their 95-win heights. They could finish in third place in the AL East, behind the Red Sox and Rays. The pitching just isn't there, at least on paper. However, it's not as if Lee's signing with the Phillies meant the Yankees fell off a cliff. This is a Yankee team with heart. It's interesting that the strongest notes of caution about the Yankees came from Boston. The Red Sox, even with their acquisitions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, understand it's too soon to write off their rivals to the south. Far too soon.

Naked Gawker

When Gawker Media's lead story's headline in its "News" page read "Gawker Media Leading the Way in the Evolution of Modern Media," they probably didn't have the hacking phenomenon in mind. Perhaps Gawker's editors and owner Nick Denton will reconsider its stance in light of the recent hacking of its user database. Over one and one-half million accounts were compromised in the hackers' action against Gawker.

For some, Gawker had it coming. It dishes celebrities, roasts politicians, reveals compromising corporate information. That "transparency" about others, while maintaining a rigorous privacy about one's own life, made Gawker a juicy target. Bringing down Gawker offered satisfaction for some who experienced Gawker's revelations. One wonders how Gawker will proceed, and how many users will trust their contact information to a third party database.

Ishmael Reed, Obama, and Progressives

Leave it to Ishmael Reed (shown at left) to hit a topic on the head. The award-winning author contributed an opinion piece in today's New York Times which points out the fault line between race and the perspectives of white political progressives, using perceived "deportment" as a point of departure. The final two paragraphs of the piece offer Reed's challenging insights:

When these progressives refer to themselves as Mr. Obama’s base, all they see is themselves. They ignore polls showing steadfast support for the president among blacks and Latinos. And now they are whispering about a primary challenge against the president. Brilliant! The kind of suicidal gesture that destroyed Jimmy Carter — and a way to lose the black vote forever.

Unlike white progressives, blacks and Latinos are not used to getting it all. They know how it feels to be unemployed and unable to buy your children Christmas presents. They know when not to shout. The president, the coolest man in the room, who worked among the unemployed in Chicago, knows too.

For some time, I viewed white progressive embrace of Obama as fundamentally a class issue, in which progressives brushed aside race. Obama was "someone like us." He went to Harvard, he played basketball, he was thin, he was an attorney, he was comfortable with ideas that played well in aspirational households. In many ways, Obama was the anti-George W. Bush, whose boorish behavior and thoughtless leadership repulsed progressives (and others, eventually).

The class prejudice became evident when the Republican Party nominated Sarah Palin as its vice-presidential candidate in the 2008 presidential election. The smarmy vituperation against the former Alaska governor was striking for its free-for-all intensity. She was "white trash," "stupid," "vain"; she was the anti-Hillary Clinton. She didn't read what "our kind of people read," a point Katie Couric's interview with Palin made evident. The point of Couric's question was to give Palin a chance to show she was "someone like us." (That approach of Couric's inquiry has been the essence of the "fairness" argument on the CBS News anchor's behalf.) Once Palin whiffed on Couric's question, the classists expressed alarm that a backwoods moron could be a McCain heart attack away from the Oval Office. (The classists conveniently forgot about Ronald Reagan and his equally light intellectual curiosity.)

White progressives have assumed since the 2008 Democratic primaries that Obama was "one of us." Instead of viewing the then-US senator as a human being with ambitions and flaws, he became a "cause" with "fans." This fragile, insubstantial perspective would inevitably be shattered once Obama became president. To some extent, Obama courted this disenchantment by vaguely promising "change" in the 2008 election.

The wake-up call for classists came in the 2010 election, in which right-wing candidates routed nearly anyone associated with Obama and the Democratic Party. For classists, the election meant a return to being out of power, and taking comfort in an unjustified attitude of smug superiority. Maybe they could take a collective year away, like Elizabeth Gilbert did, write a memoir about their experiences, and have Julia Roberts be the bankable star for the film version of the work. The bad news for the classists is that Sarah Palin wrote a best-selling memoir, too. Unlike Gilbert, she does not have a Hollywood doppelganger.

Let's just say each book had its unique audience. Obama, to his credit, understands this class divide. Now he has to work to maintain a coalition of classists and out-of-the-money folks (mainly African-American and Latino) to counterpoint Tea Party fanatics, in-the-money fixers, and those who profit or believe in the American political status quo.

Keep in mind Republican harassment of Obama, via congressional hearings and other dreadful witch-hunts, will escalate in January 2011. Now there's a "deportment" issue waiting to happen.

How Bees See Their World

The BBC posted a fascinating, brief story about a creation of British researchers called the "Floral Reflectance Database." Essentially, the information enables humans to "see" plant colors as bees and other pollinating creatures would view them.

We've come to understand the importance of bees in plant propagation. In recent years, a mysterious disease called Colony Collapse Disorder dramatically reduced the estimated bee population in New Jersey, where I live. This episode alarmed farmers and agricultural experts, and informed casual observers not to take bees for granted.

Bees also form part of our lore, whether one considers cliches such as "the birds and the bees," "busy as a bee," or "stings like a bee." Their connection to humankind has antecedents including Pharaonic Egypt, ancient Israel, and Homeric Greece. Bees play interesting roles in various mythologies and religions; their connection to fertility is unmistakable and timeless.

A long time ago, I knew someone who decided to become a beekeeper. At that time, France was concerned about a rural population drain in the Pyrenees. To encourage a more permanent, sustainable population in that area, the government permitted immigrants to settle there, as long as they performed some useful agricultural occupation. The program enabled participants to eventually become fully enfranchised French citizens. My acquaintance and her partner determined that the program was something they wanted to do, and off to southwestern France they went.

I still have a slide showing me and the beekeeper standing in front of a Parisian boulangerie.

Lately, my wife and I occasionally visit a local farm which has an apiary. We enjoy its reliable, fresh honey and gain comfort from its humble, yet important work. This support, which doubles as a simple, accessible pleasure, is something more of us can do. We need bees--and they need us.

The color photograph shows a bee pendant from Crete; the ornament is associated with bee worship. The other photograph shows a Sumerian bee goddess.

Snowtime in Paris

I don't associate snow with Paris. My image of the French capital consistently includes tree-shaded gardens and other botanical phenomena that one associates with mild weather. That picture received a jolt earlier this week, when over four inches of snow fell on the City of Light.

This episode illuminates how strongly images affect one's conception of the world. It's difficult to imagine a more artistically rendered city than Paris. Characteristically, these images show a vibrant, extroverted city that manifests itself best in warm weather. Few mitigating images interfere with this dreamy version of everyday Parisian reality. One becomes conditioned to a vision of how an environment ought to be. Then, an event such as a snowstorm compels us to look with fresh eyes at seemingly familiar scenes.

There's a useful value in that fresh look, even if one doesn't particularly like snow.

The image is Effect of Snow at Petit Montrouge, a sketch composed by Edouard Manet in 1870.

Anthrax Investigation Delay

The New York Times reported in today's editions that the F.B.I. has asked for a delay in the National Academy of Sciences' report on the 2001 anthrax scare. It appears the Bureau has found another 500 pages of documentation, even though the Academy had asked for all relevant material when it started its review over a year ago.

The anthrax scare was a weird series of incidents that characterized the creepy fall of 2001. I still possess a Postal Service plastic envelope stating that my mail, sent during the height of the scare, had been irradiated for my safety. The most troubling episode occurred at the Postal Service's Morgan Annex in New York. Postal employees died from anthrax exposure. The federal government's response was to place yellow crime scene tape at an arbitrary point inside the annex, and declare one side anthrax-free. It also meant postal employees returned to an obviously unsafe work environment.

The government's bizarre, unfeeling response to the anthrax scare made one wonder about the sanity of those elected or appointed to represent the interest of American citizens. That question was definitively answered some years later, in the indifferent federal response to Hurricane Katrina's survivors in New Orleans. The government's lethal legacy remains, even though the F.B.I. and other agencies who work the dark shadows would prefer the whole business be forgotten.

The photograph shows a cordoned off mailbox in Washington, D.C. during the 2001 anthrax scare.

Aretha Franklin

A number of published reports have indicated Aretha Franklin has pancreatic cancer. Family members have not confirmed those reports, and told the Detroit Free Press the Queen of Soul underwent what was characterized as an emergency procedure. However, according to the Detroit News and the National Enquirer (which broke the story), Franklin has cancer.

Pancreatic cancer, the Detroit News noted, is among the more devastating and deadly forms of the disease to endure.

Should Ms. Franklin pass away within next few months, it would represent the second major Detroit-spawned musician to die in recent years. The other? Michael Jackson.

The sounds created by Detroit-born and/or bred artists such as the Queen of Soul represent milestones in our country's proud musical legacy. At their best, Detroit musicians showcased musical skills largely derived from sacred music, entertainment value linking them to their audience, and the expression of some form of emotional, timeless truth. Aretha Franklin's finest songs embodies all these qualities.

The YouTube link shows Franklin from a Lady Soul 1968 TV production.

Hackers Threaten DOS Retaliation for L'Affaire Assagne

Zero Hedge reported today that hackers using PirateBay.org have issued a statement pledging electronic hostility toward financial institutions that worked against Julian Assagne. Their current focal points include PayPal and the Swiss bank that closed Mr. Assagne's account.

Brooklyn Merchant Games Search Engine's "Secret Formula"

The Holy Grail for just about any enterprise or enterprising individual working the online world is a top search engine ranking. Corporations, non-profits, and the merely ambitious invest profound amounts of time scheming ways to make their way up search's slippery slope. "Search results," typically displaying the ordered gathering of the results of a misguided popularity contest, has largely done a disservice to the prompt identification of useful, accurate information.

Then again, very few search users have any idea at all about the generation and ordering principles of the information they obtain through search engines. Search firms have made the understanding of their information gathering an arcane, oblique exercise, akin to a secret formula only selected initiates may fully know. In some ways, it's easier to figure out hieroglyphics than to muddle through the sanctimonious explanations

of seemingly sacred algorithms.

An example of how the SEO fever has gone awry is provided courtesy of a story in the Los Angeles Times. The article details how a cynical Brooklynite gamed the SEO system in a way that the Russian novelist Dostoyevski (shown in the photograph) would have appreciated. The Times story relates how eyewear merchant Vitaly Borker, by doing everything possible to antagonize and cheat his customers, goaded them into making nasty online posts about the Brooklyn storeowner's behavior. Ironically, the sheer magnitude of posts landed Borker at the top of the SEO heap (presumably, in his category). He bragged about how he had found a glitch in the world's most popular search engine, and played it for all it was worth. He even bragged to a New York Times reporter about his skills.

Well, it didn't take long for Borker's arrest. The search engine firm quickly fixed the "anomaly," according to the Los Angeles newspaper.

Indian Owls in Peril

Today's WaPo includes an article on the difficulties various species of owls face in South Asia. The biggest issue, unsurprisingly, is that the bird's most significant predator is humanity. In India and other South Asian nations, owls are perceived to have supernatural properties. Shamans use owl parts as the essential item in their magical packages. That's bad news for the live birds, as they are relentlessly hunted, sold, and eventually slaughtered for divine purposes.

I hold owls in high esteem as well, but I don't have any urge to kill them. There are other ways to tap into their mojo, while connecting to their ancient aura, as Harry Potter did (see photograph).

A December to Remember?

The blog's title, borrowed from an automobile's company's annual year-end advertising campaign, made us wonder what would be so memorable about December 2010. Well, there's already enough to fill one's holiday stocking with episodes and incidents worth remembering. The following examples offer some ideas:

1. New Jersey's conservative, Republican governor Chris Christie has discovered YouTube is a very effective propaganda tool. This tactic became evident during a recent town hall meeting, in which a questioner was "escorted" to the stage by a state trooper. Then, in a physically bullying manner, the governor responded to the inquiry without allowing any sort of reply. A trooper removed the questioner and that was that: a perfect YouTube moment available for Governor Christie's fans. The Star-Ledger of New Jersey included the episode in its print coverage (no YouTube, sorry) of the town hall meeting.

2. In fairness, it should be noted Christie did confront a sacred cow of prosperous, typically Republican suburban communities at the town hall meeting. One of his questioners asserted his municipality's right to pay its school superintendent above the $175K cap the Christie Administration has decreed suitable for the position. The municipality used a line of reasoning which must have sounded familiar to its many highly compensated, Wall Street inhabitants: the proposed superintendent's salary was "competitive" with the local school system's perceived peers.

Senior management compensation committees and consultants have used the "peer" ploy to boost key personnel pay schemes for some time. The rationale is usually accepted without complaint, and the top dogs make a killing via compliant corporate boards. The superintendents and local boards of education know this game, and have shamelessly played it. Prosperous suburban communities have rarely hesitated to use financial incentives to land the candidates they want. As long as the school system stayed "highly rated," and the connection between a school system's quality and housing prices remained ironclad, the money would be found. While Governor Christie's politics and public personality are repellent, he's on the mark on this issue.

3. China v. Google -- The WikiLeaks material in The New York Times included some profoundly disturbing information regarding the Chinese government's relentless grip on its domestic information dissemination, its mistrust of Google as a tool of the American government (read the Le Monde summary of this episode for some of the juice), and the sinister efforts of elements within China to conduct cyberwarfare against United States interests. Keep in mind China holds trillions of dollars of United States government debt.

4. Google Settles "Street View"/Privacy Lawsuit for One Dollar -- A couple sued Google for its unwelcome photographing of their Pittsburgh area home. According to a story based on original reporting in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Google employees drove 1,000 feet onto private property in order to get the photo of the couple's house. Google fought the lawsuit, only to eventually give in and pay a symbolic one dollar settlement fee. However, the couple had to pay their own legal fees. How many people have pockets deep enough, and time substantial enough, to fight Google? The FCC, meanwhile, is looking into allegations that Google's Street View campaign collected passwords and other personal information from unguarded WiFi locations. That information is quite significant in location-based marketing; the commercial leveraging of it by the aggregate information's possessor has the potential for a staggering financial bonanza.

5. Wild and crazy Mark Cuban made a fascinating post on Vator.tv called "The End of Location-Based Apps?" His thesis involves the increasing use of face-recognition software to identify prospects and customers in a specific location. He also makes a chilling assertion: "few people exclude their basic name and picture information from public search, so FB [Facebook] could be the first to provide a database of names and faces to the commercial world of facial recognition."

6. Zero Hedge posted a CNBC segment in which former Reagan Administration budget director David Stockman tells some very unpleasant truths about the American economy. Stockman notes how offshoring strongly and negatively impacted job creation in this country. (Liberals should take note this happened during the Clinton years as well as the Bush 43 nightmare. The corruption runs deep, my friends.) Stockman pointed out the inconvenient fact that most "new" jobs that have appeared during the Great Recession (Stockman's phrase) are mostly part-time jobs. He noted that government jobs will decline, as municipal and state governments are broke. And implicit in his observations is the time line for "recovery" is very, very long.

A December to remember? More likely, you'll want to take a rain check on this month. As Humphrey Bogart said in Casablanca, "I drink to forget."

Google Decides Buying Better Than Renting in NYC

Google has decided to purchase the building where its New York staff works. The California firm found its Chelsea rental desirable enough to buy for nearly 2 billion dollars. Rumors that Google decided on 111 Eighth Avenue because it came up first in its search engine entry under "New York hipster buildings" is just another Gotham rumor.

Gates v. Ravitch

Lost in the smoke and mirrors of WikiLeaks and the Federal Reserve's admission of massive financial infusions to foreign banks and domestic corporations was a curious dialogue in the Washington Post between Bill Gates and Diane Ravitch (shown at right).

They are an interesting contrast. Gates has embraced the "cause" of "education reform," while Ravitch has sharply questioned the "reformers'" logic and tactics.

Ravitch's position has made her a target for the classist "reformers." Newsweek's Jonathan Alter had this observation regarding the scholar who was once the American right-wing's intellectual darling on education:

(Gates') biggest adversary now is Diane Ravitch, a jaundiced former Education Department official under George H.W. Bush, who changed sides in the debate and now attacks Gates-funded programs in books and articles. Ravitch, the Whittaker Chambers of school reform, gives intellectual heft to the National Education Association’s campaign to discredit even superb charter schools and trash intriguing reform ideas that may threaten its power.

The school debate has shown, among other things, that the classist crowd does not brook dissent. Opposing views are turned into opportunities for vilification, as Alter aptly demonstrated by characterizing Gates' intellectual nemesis as "jaundiced" and a "Whittaker Chambers." Liberals have smugly asserted this style of mudslinging was something only conducted by uncouth right-wingers from backwoods states. Well, take a good look at the left side of the polemical road. It's not very savory.

It's also not very bright. The education scare is just as phony as the 50s Red scare was, an irony lost on Alter. Shameless spectacles, including Mark Zuckerberg's publicity stunt involving Newark schools and NBC's propagandistic "Education Week," were considered contributions to education progress. The big business interests swarming over educational institutions are rarely mentioned. Rupert Murdoch's brazen commercial dance with the New York City school system was noted, and quickly forgotten, in the wake of WikiLeaks.

Diane Ravitch's articulate point of view might help us salvage something from this mess. Her intellectual distinction and her disposition to speak her mind enable her to rally the routed, to slow the rush to judgment, and to enable cooler heads to prevail. We need that voice of reason now.

The photograph on the left (no pun intended) shows Bill Gates sitting between Waiting for Superman director Davis Guggenheim and Michelle Rhee on a recent Oprah Winfrey program.

The World's Piggy Bank

The Federal Reserve knows when to release bad news. The financial institution released more information about the names of Fortune 100 firms that borrowed money at the height of the 2008-2009 panic. In addition, at the same time, a number of foreign banks were essentially subsidized by the Fed. The story is breathtaking and scary.

Yet, who is paying attention? The WikiLeaks brouhaha has stolen all the headlines. What's striking about the WikiLeaks tale is that there isn't anything particularly stunning in the revelations. The talkers who provided the raw information that shaped the cables are naturally a bit uptight. But, honestly, is anyone surprised by the news that Vladimir Putin is a prick?

The Fed story is far more disturbing than just about anything in the WikiLeaks revelations. And that's why the Fed slyly put out the information today. Maybe Ben Bernanke isn't so dumb after all.

The Comcast Empire Strikes Back

The enormous financial and popular success of Netflix's movie and TV streaming finally roused the ire of cable companies. Comcast finally struck back at Netflix's most sensitive area -- low-cost distribution into viewers' homes and computers. This commercial struggle is just warming up, and promises to be a slugfest along the lines of King Kong vs. Godzilla.

The corporate behemoths lining up their K Street dream teams would headline a Fortune (name your number) list. Hedge fund darlings Google and Apple, investment banks, and telecoms will step into the struggle. Media black hats, such as Comcast, Disney, and Fox will join in the fray. (The mainstream media's point of view on this conflict should be a fascinating study.) The feds will have their say. Oh, yeah, there's Netflix, playing the aggrieved party angle for all the sympathy it can muster. (I don't buy the strong version of Netflix's "purity" in this tale.)

Comcast's position is a delicate one. The Comcast/NBC merger has not yet been consummated. A number of observers found the concept of a big-time, monopolisitc cable player owning one of the major networks as inevitably inimical to unencumbered access to consumers. Of course, no cable firm wants, encourages, or welcomes competition. The success of Netflix's streaming product has shown that the public prefers entertainment choice to the free crap, subscription plan junk, or hardly better pay-per-view movies cable providers shove down their captive audiences' throats.

What's worse, from the cable providers' perspective, is that Netflix isn't paying very much for this access into people's homes, computers, and phones.

As a consequence, the Comcast empire has challenged Netflix by charging a "toll" for access. Zero Hedge, which took the story from Bloomberg, provides some of the dirt. The post from Nikki Finke adds some legal background; the reader comments are often thoughtful and often appear knowledgeable.

This story will be a long, complicated one. It's a story that will require some diligence to understand, as the media will have a profound stake in its outcome. That assertion suggests a reader has to question every point of view, check every fact, anticipate sudden shifts in declared positions, and have a taste for human weakness. The reward will be a heightened understanding of how we will obtain useful or trival information, and how much we'll pay for the privilege.

The chart above shows the value of Netflix common stock since January 2010; the chart on the right compares Comcast (blue) versus Netflix (green) since the beginning of this year.

Mario Monicelli R.I.P.

Mario Monicelli, the Italian director responsible for Big Deal on Madonna Street (the Italian title is I Soliti Ignoti, or Persons Unknown), committed suicide on Monday. He was 95 years old and was being treated at a Rome hospital for what The New York Times characterized as a "pancreatic condition that appeared terminal."

Monicelli was credited with directing 65 pictures in his career. He was generally considered a master of Italian film comedy, working with actors such as Alberto Sordi, Toto, and Marcello Mastroianni (shown at right in I Soliti Ignoti).

One of Monicelli's last public appearances this year was for the funeral of the great screenwriter Suso Cecchi D'Amico.

The YouTube link connects to a 2008 television interview with Monicelli. It shows an engaged, intelligent person still quite active at age 93, and not simply coasting on his considerable laurels.

"Vogue Italia's" Fall Cocktail: Equal Parts Fashion Statement, Race, and Body Image

The Washington Post's Robin Givhan wrote a story for today's WaPo online edition, in which Vogue Italia and its editor Franca Sozzani were used as vehicles for a larger discussion of fashion, race, and body image.

You're welcome to comment on the issues raised in the piece.

Photo is taken from the recent online edition of Vogue Curvy. I link to the Italian language version; an English language version is available.

Atheist Billboard at Gateway to Midtown New York

Once again, New Jersey has produced a surprise from its collectively tricky sleeve. Its most recent example involves a billboard near the Garden State entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. The Star-Ledger of Newark published a brief story about the billboard in today's edition.

For those readers unfamiliar with this entrance to New York, the Jersey-side roadway is lined with billboards touting goods from mini-cams to casinos. The joker in the current billboard deck comes courtesy of an organization called American Atheists. The outdoor advertisement's content, which questions the religious basis of year-end holidays, is a curious contrast with the barrage of holiday gift-buying and vacation messages.

It takes chutzpah to position a challenging atheistic message in the midst of the Christmas season. One wonders how much web traffic will be generated from the billboard, and how many perspectives will be altered by the advertisement's message.

Knit & Purl

My wife and I visited a local knitting store this afternoon. Neither of us have handled a needle and yarn in decades; the visit was prompted by the store's sponsorship of a musical event offered in conjunction with a holiday arts festival.

The space, gently lit from the afternoon sun, featured light wood floors and multi-colored spools of fabric. A smooth wooden table formed a common area where a half-dozen women and one man sat, absorbed in knitting and purling. Customers moved in and out of the store, while a pair of amateur musicians played baroque music.

I leafed through some knitting magazines and knitting books while my wife talked with a local librarian who knits in her time away from the stacks. As I considered the patterns, material, and suggestions from the writers and editors (including Vogue Knitting), I began to appreciate the curious world of the knitters. They have their own rules, their own milestones of accomplishments, their own understandings. In most ways, the world of knitting and purling has existed largely unchanged since antiquity. The behaviors of this afternoon's knitters -- calm, rhythmic, purposeful -- seem equally unchanged.

I can't say the event inspired me to pick up needle and yarn. However, I felt close this afternoon to something timeless, something humble, something beautiful and alive.

"Time Out" Finds Time to Sell Half Its Business; IPad-Only Publications Ready for December Launch

Time Out, the firm that churns out the Time Out (name your city) guides, just sold a 50% stake in its company to Oakley Capital, a London-based private equity group. The Financial Times, which reported the story in its Thanksgiving Day edition, noted that the publication intends to use the funding toward its shift to become "'a mini search engine or portal' for cultural listings. The brief, stealthily located sidebar on Time Out founder Tony Elliott, is also worth noting.

Meanwhile, Sir Richard Branson intends to unveil an IPad-only digital magazine sometime next week. This would occur around the same time as Rupert Murdoch's IPad-only newspaper is launched. Neither publication will be free. Today's FT has the story.

The photograph shows Branson in 2006 during his involvement in Dubai real estate development.