Eliot Markell's Art Blog "White Elephant On Wheels"

My friend Eliot Markell (photo) writes a blog about artists, exhibits, and other matters that matter to the art world. Markell brings a practicing artist's eye to his subjects, while avoiding the specialist's proclivity toward dense prose and recondite subjects. As a fine art layperson, I find Eliot's perspective a refreshing one. Additionally, he's been around the New York art world and understands its currents and eddies. That gives his viewpoint a useful edge that eschews groupthink.

I do not always agree with Markell's opinions, but his point of view is generally the result of reasoned argument and genuine sentiment. Here's the link to his blog, called "White Elephant On Wheels."

"Father of Java" James Gosling Says "Good-Bye Android, Hello Robots"

James Gosling (photo), widely respected for his key role in the development of the Java programming language, has left Google for the greener pastures of robot development. The detailed story about Gosling's departure appeared in today's Mercury News.

The robots are not tin men. According to the Mercury News story, they are seven-foot-long machines resembling surfboards, designed to collect and transmit data from the ocean. Liquid Robotics, the firm that manufactures the bots, makes about one-third of its money from selling the data mined from the robots. The balance of the firm's income is derived from selling the robots and from research and development.

France's Canal du Midi to Lose 42,000 Diseased Plane Trees

France's Canal du Midi, a waterway that combines Gallic beauty and extraordinary engineering skill, is facing something of an existential crisis. A fungal disease is mortally affecting the 42,000 plane trees framing the nearly two-century old structure. Every tree must be replaced. According to an article in today's Los Angeles Times, new trees will be slowly be introduced along the canal's 155-mile length. (A story on the same topic, with some French domestic politics noted, appeared in the July 27th edition of the Guardian.) As it happens, plane trees take a long time to mature. Consequently, the historic canal's gorgeous canopy will not have the aesthetic impact it currently does. This is a matter of some poignancy for local citizens as well as the nearly two million tourists who annually visit the canal.

A journey along the Canal du Midi, while cliched, really does provide a memorable "south of France" travel experience. The boats travel around five miles per hour. The bankside towns and cities have largely been spared warfare's destructive impact. Industrial development has not marred the canal's singular charm.

UNESCO recognized the Canal du Midi's unique character and declared it a World Heritage Site. Hopefully, you'll take a leisurely reading voyage and read more about this civilized passage from the Mediterranean to Toulouse. Also, you're welcome to explore another post I've written about allées, both the canal-side styles and elegant, framed walkways.

Steve Jobs' Speech at Stanford University 2005 Commencement

Commencement speeches are among the most deadly dull forms of public address. Steve Jobs' words of wisdom to Stanford's 2005 graduating class are an exception. His brief remarks provide useful insight based on Jobs' life and career experiences. They include a window into the mix of thoughtful understanding and irritating hubris characteristic of Apple's guiding light. They're worth reading; his "don't settle" advice is spot on.

Here's the link from Scott Herhold's column in the San Jose Mercury News. The photo is from the June 12, 2005 edition of the Stanford Report. Its associated story noted that Jobs wore jeans and sandals under the traditional black graduation gown.

Finding a Quality Movie Theater via "Cinema Treasures"

For approximately a century, films were meant to be seen on big screens. To this day, sitting in a movie theater remain far and away the best way to watch movies. However, finding a quality screen in an era of cookie-cutter plexes and indifferently maintained local theaters is a trying exercise. Further, one wonders if the era of HD screens and streaming access will accelerate the trend toward fewer, and lower quality, movie theaters and a parallel degradation of visual taste.

Fortunately, movie going remains a stubborn habit, especially for whom film offers an enriching experience. One can only suppose that was a reason why the Criterion Collection's Facebook site recently posted information about Cinema Treasures.

According to the Cinema Treasures website, it offers access to information about 30,000 theaters in the United States and elsewhere in the world. It provides useful news and interesting photos of movie venues, as well as a blog. The site is a brainchild of Patrick Crowley, whose resume includes A-list production credits (such as the quartet of Bourne movies), and UCLA Cinema and Media Studies Ph.D. Ross Melnick. The latter founder also co-authored a 2004 book titled, well, Cinema Treasures, which explores "the cultural and industrial history of theatrical motion picture exhibition in the United States from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century," according to culturaltreasures.org. (A different, thoughtful perspective on Melnick's work with students is available via UCLA's "Graduate Student Profile.")

Thanks to Criterion for publicizing Cinema Treasures. The above photo shows the interior of New York's Ziegfeld Theatre, housing arguably the city's premier movie screen and viewing venue. The photo originally appeared online in cinematreasures.org.

Taiwan Semiconductor Founder Feels US Should Keep More Manufacturing Ventures

Dr. Morris Chang is not a household name outside the semiconductor field. However, Taiwan Semiconductor's founder and chairman draws media swarms when he makes public appearances in the island nation (or "renegade province," if one follows the party line of the People's Republic of China). He visits his firm's Silicon Valley offices a few times each year, hardly a surprising development for one with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford.

Chang's comments during a recent interview are instructive. He feels the United States should retain more of its industrial base. "Maybe Silicon Valley or the United States has given up too much manufacturing," he said. Read that comment and the complete Mercury News story here.

Tim Burton's 53rd Birthday

Hey, happy birthday, Tim! The movie director turned 53 today. According to the LA Times, Burton is in the UK, working on his Dark Shadows project. The new film will star Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Burton has the knack for choosing unusual subjects. Dark Shadows, based on a daytime soap opera, continues that trend.

While Burton is best known for Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, my personal favorite is the black & white film Ed Wood. Ever since I first saw it, I thought Ed Wood touched something any film maker, from the greats to the dreadful, would understand. The quick takes, the desperate work with clueless funder/producers, the desire to make a movie regardless of circumstances, characterize the fever that film makers have. There's not much art, but there's a lot of chutzpah and just plain blind faith in the medium, its audience, and "Hollywood U.S.A."

All Shook Up Over East Coast Earthquake

Yesterday's East Coast earthquake, with its unlikely Virginia epicenter, was felt in my suburban New Jersey workplace. I happened to have just pulled into an office parking space in what my mechanic calls a "high-mileage Honda" when I felt the car shake horizontally. I thought something was wrong with the engine, so I turned off the ignition. I started the car again; it ran smoothly; I returned to the office wondering about the state of my automobile.

When I walked into the office, my colleagues asked me if I had felt any shaking. I thought about it and said "yes." They then informed me about the earthquake.

It's not the first time I've been in an earthquake on the East Coast. A couple of decades ago, I was living in New York's Astoria neighborhood when tremors struck around 4:00 am. I woke up immediately and thought to myself "that was an earthquake." The irony is that I've been in two earthquakes on the East Coast, while never experiencing one while living in seismically active San Francisco and central Italy.

To my knowledge, no immediate members of my family have ever gotten all shaken up. However, some of my friends and acquaintances have. Of their many stories, I'll simply mention three. On the benign side, an Anglo-American couple were staying in a Venetian albergo when the building shook, a result of a calamitous tremor in Montenegro. Nothing more drastic than swaying chandeliers and askance furniture resulted. Our former New Jersey neighbors were living in their native city, Santiago, Chile, during that South American country's disastrous 2010 seismic events. They and their residence, as far as I know, survived the encounter. However, not all my friends and family were so fortunate. One of my cousins survived Southern California's 1994 Northridge quake, but his San Fernando Valley house did not.

The oddest seismic experience for me was watching a World Series game interrupted by what turned out to be the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Watching an earthquake live and in color was profoundly unsettling. Today, the ubiquitous phone cameras make such transmissions almost routine, as footage from Washington, D.C., in particular, demonstrated. The big issue, though, is that there's nothing routine about an event where everything gets "all shook up."

The photo shows Washington, D.C. law enforcement officials directing the evacuation of the Lincoln Memorial after Tuesday's earthquake.

Songwriter/performer Nick Ashford -- RIP

Nick Ashford, the "Ashford" of the songwriting/performing team Ashford and Simpson (photo), recently passed away from cancer at age 70. The Associated Press obit appears in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

I saw Ashford and Simpson walking together on New York streets a few times during the height of their songwriting fame. They strolled as one, sensing each other's physical presence while talking or not speaking. Seeing them in person as a couple enjoying an early summer afternoon, rather than as "are you ready" performers, lent a gentle perspective to their songs.

Their songwriting skills are what I remember best about Ashford and Simpson's music. Singers from Ray Charles to Whitney Houston used their material to create terrific music. The duo wrote hits, such as "You're All I Need to Get By," that Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell brought to such completely satisfying, moving interpretation. Ashford and Simpson also performed their own work, which I believe helped them understand what made a song something special. That grasp, formed through intuition, experience, and training, is something no algorithm can duplicate, yet alone master.

Ashford is survived by his wife, Valerie Simpson, and their two children.

Area 51 -- Insiders Speak Out

Area 51, the world's best-known secret military base, generates more interest than nearly any other federal facility. The Nevada base has been associated with flying saucers, wacky weapons, spook-run activities, and just about any military fantasy in the Cold War playbook. One reporter, Annie Jacobsen, managed to interview some of Area 51's personnel in 2009. The most recent issue of The Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine, where Jacobsen is a contributing editor, ran the piece. It's great fun to read. Her book on the same subject was released earlier this year, and got plenty of attention.

Enjoying Coney Island While It's Still There

My wife, the photographer Amy Becker, and I visited one of our favorite New York destinations -- Coney Island -- yesterday. It was an ideal time to visit, with the weather reasonably, rather than unbearably, warm. Recent rains briefly cleaned New York's polluted sky, making the sea breezes and salty tang in the air that much more inviting. People dancing on the boardwalk were loose, rhythmic, and not trying too hard to have a good time. We were far away from political nuttiness and fiscal fecklessness, at least for a day. The scene felt good.

Unfortunately, the forces of "progress" have Coney Island in its sights. Plans exist to turn the beachfront into a homogenized hotel/condo zone. This year, the City of New York trial ballooned the notion of using concrete rather than wood on the boardwalk's surface. City spokespeople maintained cement would be safer and cheaper than screwed boards. The comments did put into focus just how much the money mattered more than any other consideration.

One wonders if Coney Island will share Times Square's fate. Many years ago, the "Crossroads of the World" was sanitized and morphed into a backdrop for morning television programs. Coney Island's carny personality would not survive a "Times Square" treatment. That would be a significant loss for all of us.

Walking through Coney Island yesterday suggested that the unwelcome process of "development" had already made significant inroads into the area. The amusement park looked wholesome, lacking the Casbah atmosphere it had as recently as two years ago. It is as if the equivalent of a Baron Haussmann transformed Coney Island's narrow alleys and funky streets into clean, easily managed, strangely charmless thoroughfares. Coney Island's poetry became harder to identify, but the sales fulcrum was all too easy to see.

That's a shame. For the price of a subway ride, New Yorkers have free beach access, an historic boardwalk, and an amusement park available to them at Coney Island. New York's iconic beach destination also serves as a reminder that New York faces the Atlantic Ocean, a fact not at all evident in Times Square. Most significantly, New Yorkers from those countries the Atlantic touches --such as Ireland, Morocco, Senegal, and Brazil, just to name four -- can freely mingle at Coney Island. They can dance, drink, get goofy, work on a tan, or enjoy the sea's benign aspects. In fact, the very lack of rules at Coney Island reminds one of what once made New York great -- its disdain of boundaries, its ethos of enjoying the moment, its atmosphere of expectation, its moments of tolerance. In contrast, contemporary New York feels much too calculated, and it's just too expensive in the Big Apple to attempt anything involving risk (except Wall Street's hunger for risking other peoples' money). The consequences are notable in the arts, in which more and more energy and ideas are originating beyond Gotham, while New York arts events seem more like oppressive coronations than exciting, ground-breaking adventures.

Ishmael Reed, in his new novel Juice!, compared Manhattan to a Disneyland marked with recurring episodes of what he characterized as "ethnic cleansing" (such as the migration of poor minorities from the Lower East Side and their replacement with prosperous classists). One gets an ominous feeling that the same destiny awaits Coney Island's beachfront. As my wife took photographs of the here-and-now Coney Island, we reflected that many structures from only a couple of years ago had vanished. Her photographs this weekend were taken with a sense of urgency. We both acknowledged that, next year, Coney Island might lose more of its outsider personality. The only unchanging aspect, which soulless developers cannot expunge, will be the ocean and its musical, eternal rhythm.

The photograph above, which my wife took yesterday at Coney Island, shows me wearing a "Bee Positive" shirt.

Ishmael Reed's "Juice!"

Ishmael Reed's most recent book, Juice!, reminds me why I've enjoyed his work over the years. The novel uses trickster characters to deliver humorous and sharp observations of life in these United States. His book is filled with spot-on observations regarding race, social class, politics, and the media. Reed's darts, aimed at those who profited from the Simpson circus, are particularly effective. He also points out that backdoor racism, notably bubbling around some of President Obama's critics, is not news for minority groups that live in America. It's an everyday event, especially for African-American males.

Satire as a means of intellectual expression has a long, honorable history. Juice! is a worthy addition to works that compel readers to consider look at themselves and the society in which they live. It's a book of imagination, style, and intellectual courage that's sorely needed now. For a taste of Reed's current ventures, take a look at Konch Magazine.

Plant, Animal Migration To Cooler Climates Accelerates

A report published in the most recent edition of the journal Science asserts that plants and animals are accelerating their migration to cooler climates. The story was reported in today's Washington Post.

The report's researchers studied the movement of animals and plants in Malaysia, Europe, Chile, and North America. Their findings noted what were in many cases striking, dramatic mobility from warmer to cooler environments. However, opportunities for species movement are complicated. In a poignant observation, the climate science director for the Center for Biological Diversity said "mountain species, in particular, 'are struggling to keep pace' with global warming...'We're concerned many species won't be able to move quickly enough' -- or that they will run out of mountaintop to flee to."

Ironically, humans are going in the opposite direction of plants and animals. More people want to live in warmer climates, such as Florida's, versus Minnesota's. However, what if the plants and animals have the right idea?

Hostile Press Conference Atmosphere, Hoop Brawl Mar US-China "Goodwill" Week

Two events this week in China involving high-profile American visitors raise disturbing questions about the government and public mood in the Middle Kingdom.

First, the Financial Times reported that Vice President Joe Biden, in China on a diplomatic mission, had his message of the two nations' "mutual cooperation" drowned out by uptight Chinese security agents and foreign ministry flaks. The situation deteriorated to the point where the Chinese hosts pushed White House aides and journalists in an effort to hustle them out of the press conference room.

Second, a "goodwill" basketball game between Georgetown University and a Chinese roster filled with soldiers became a wild melee. Things got so hot that Georgetown coach John Thompson III pulled his players, staff, and fans and got them on the bus pronto. The story appears in today's Washington Post. Unsurprisingly, this story, initially reported by some Chinese websites, was censored by the state security apparatus.

These two exhibits of crude, hostile behavior, seem symptomatic of something deeper, and very troubling about life and times in the People's Republic of China. (Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins' article on this connection discusses this point.) Meanwhile, in appraisals of China's rise to world prominence, one doesn't get a sense of exhilaration or hope. Most, especially China's Asian neighbors, are rightfully wary of Beijing's ambitions. What does China bring to the world community that would benefit other nations? I haven't heard of anything positive. Rather, one gets a sense of Orwellian censorship, systemic corruption, ghastly environmental degradation, state-encouraged piracy of intellectual property, belligerent militarism, repellent xenophobia, and unapologetic racism. It's a shame. At its best, China demonstrates resiliency and pride, with its extraordinary post-Mao economic progress and enterprise being Exhibit A. The country's rich cultural legacy remains a source of great pride and distinction. However, those positive qualities alone can hardly enable China to carry the world's leadership role on its shoulders.

China has a long, long way to go before the global community can accept any sort of leadership role from Beijing. Like it or not, the world still needs the United States and its sense of unfettered freedom and self-defined opportunity.

The photograph shows Biden and his daughter Ashley after their arrival at Beijing's airport.

Abercrombie & Fitch's "Jersey Shore" Situation

Today's publicity stunt involving Abercrombie and Fitch and MTV's Jersey Shore series generated the attention both firms most devoutly desired.

However, it raised issues that ironically get to the malignant heart of both brands' success. According to The New York Times article on the manufactured flap, A&F offered to pay MTV so that Jersey Shore's actors would not be shown wearing its clothing. As A&F noted in a statement, "This association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans."

If the fans are "distressed," then they have way too much time on their hands. However, A&F makes it clear the issue is entirely about social class. Jersey Shore is popular because it's a caricature of perceived lower class stupidity and foolishness. In the bad old days, condescending, demeaning shows used African-American caricatures as entertainment vehicles. That faded away in the aftermath of the Civil Rights movement. However, the mockery of lower classes has returned more or less in tandem with the recent, increased division of America into a "have" or "have not" society. Jersey Shore has successfully tapped into this unsavory zeitgeist, the same one that produces Abercrombie and Ken's "aspirational" branding.

Jersey Shore has something else in common with the old minstrel shows. Its principal character, Snooki, is "swarthy." She is as distant from the look of, say, Pippa Middleton or any number of pouty Russian blonde supermodels, as one can be. Snooki doesn't portray a very bright woman. She celebrates her grotesque cheapness, which enables an audience to indulge in feelings of class superiority. Snooki's dark complexion and moronic character are part of the "lower class" package, a backdoor form of racism that has morphed into classism.

Depressingly, American classism extends across ethnic lines, age, sexual preferences, and gender. It's now routine for American discourse to coalesce around assumed class structures. NPR, for example, has implied its audience's level of sophistication is essentially a matter of class. "Aspirational" fashion brands such as Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie and Fitch are entirely about social striving. Sex and the City was basically a valentine to decidedly unswarthy women whose greatest goal in life was to enjoy the bourgeois life of America's "aspirational" capital, Manhattan South of 96th Street.

A different Abercrombie and Fitch message was heard on Wall Street last week, when A&F announced quarterly earnings. As financial journalists often say, "analysts were disappointed," and A&F's shares promptly fell 8 percent. If that corporate performance continues in the same way, Abercrombie and Fitch may end up worn by the "wrong" people, seen in the "wrong" places, and perceived the "wrong" way. A&F will be on the wrong side of the social tracks, and they won't get Snooki and The Situation to wear their clothes. Even if Abercrombie and Fitch paid them.

The photo shows Jersey Shore cast members; the shrimpy woman is Snooki.

Poll: 93% Affirm They're Paying More For Groceries Than Last Year

For some time, the drumbeat from Washington and Wall Street is that inflation hasn't and isn't happening here. The usual dodge is that food and energy prices are "volatile" and therefore don't count. This bizarre logic does not change the fact that most people have less spending power.

A recent poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports noted that 93% of those Americans polled believed they are spending more on groceries now than they did last year. Four percent said they're not paying more. I would like to meet some four percenters and ask them just how they reached their conclusion. (Thanks to the financial blog Zero Hedge for posting the Rasmussen Reports story.)

There are times the official denial of reality just gets tiring. One can pretend necessities don't cost more only for so long. One can deny the federal government is essentially bankrupt, even though the nation has lurched from billions in budget considerations to trillions in a breathtakingly short amount of time. But how does that denial help the nation soberly consider solutions to the fiscal disaster?

It may be convenient to avoid discussing the routine race baiting of an American president. However, our country would greatly benefit from confronting the racism and racists. It may feel good for some to call the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank a traitor. We all know what happens to traitors, don't we? Yup -- they get executed. Does this sound like a cogent view of reality? One can claim the recession is over, but only by ignoring the grim fact that there are an historically high number of Americans receiving food stamps.

Does one really need a poll to conclude that something is dreadfully wrong in the United States?

Special Prosector Named in Probe of Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices' "Physical Altercation"

It's good to see that Wisconsin has retained its politically feisty personality. In a scenario ripe for television, two Wisconsin supreme court justices recently got into the rough stuff in chambers. Charges, stemming from what the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel termed the July 13th "physical altercation" between the pair, will be probed by a special prosecutor.

The discovery process in this case should be fascinating. On one side is conservative male jurist David Prosser, who narrowly won re-election in a vote held in the aftermath of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's and GOP state senate majority's successful move to drastically reduce public employee contract negotiation rights. In the other corner is liberal female justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who is alleged to have put up her dukes and approached her male counterpart with intent to assault. She has claimed that the male judge, rather than countering with an old school combination of right hooks, placed her in a radical, Tea Party-style chokehold.

Unsurprisingly, the professional disputers are in their element, making claims and counterclaims. What's particularly delicious about this story is that four other members of the state supreme court witnessed the episode. Let's see how "the rule of law" plays out when judges are suddenly, and probably unwillingly, witnesses for the prosecution or for the defense of their own peers.

The image shows Justices Prosser and Walsh during presumably more amicable moments.

Interview with Director of Medical-Marijuana Testing Lab

The San Jose Mercury News recently ran an interview of the director of SC Laboratories, an enterprise that specializes in testing for medical-marijuana specs. The lab's head (no pun intended), Josh Wurzer, offered some interesting insights into this largely unregulated business. He also has some tongue-in-cheek comments that are pretty funny.

Wurzer, by the way, is from Wisconsin. According to the Mercury News story, Wurzer's father worked for the Green Bay Packers for many years. Wurzer fils worked on the sports desk of the Green Bay daily newspaper. You'll find those details, and others, in Mercury News staffer Patrick May's brief piece.

WeedMaps, cited in May's article, is a "free cannabis dispensary website," according to the Wikipedia entry on it. The website's premise is that it provides a forum where medical-marijuana users or prospective users may freely communicate and determine the quality of legal pot providers.

As Wurzer pointed out, the medical-marijuana industry is a largely unregulated one. For the time being, most information on sources and their quality belongs to word-of-mouth's uncertain world.

Venture Capital Funding of Bay Area Firms/Second Quarter 2011

Here's a quickie Sunday FYI. Chart about VC funding via the San Jose Mercury News. If you're interested in VC, the landscape of tech innovation, and the horizon where ideas and practical (well, sort of) applications intersect, you'll want to explore this information. I admit it's not for everyone.

A Mercury News article on the same subject, by Peter Delevett, fleshes out the charmless Excel-style chart and adds details about affected industries and national trends.

Public Pensions, Muni Bond Ratings, and Who Gets the Financial "Haircut"

Earlier today, I talked with a postal clerk at the PO where I get my business mail. He told me, when asked, about the USPS' brave new world of job cuts and pension plan "reform." Yes, he has a job, and he's grateful for it. However, the clerk is now on what the USPS calls a "weekly schedule," and does not know which post office branch he'll be assigned in any particular week. In addition to the ambiguity of his schedule, he was concerned about his pension and health benefits. The clerk's concern was legitimate, as he's worked for the Post Office for around two decades.

I suggested he read an article in today's New York Times about a municipal employee pension case in Central Falls, Rhode Island. It's not exactly fresh news: the story's particulars are months old. What is new, and unsurprisingly provided on a slow-news August Saturday, is the story's punch line for the town's pension plan participants. The Times article interviewed a legal academic, who suggested publicly what others have privately whispered: some of the pension guarantees "are unclear or untested....Just how those promises would stack up against promises made to others, like bondholders, is unclear. It is unclear how (state laws) would hold up in federal bankruptcy court, which has its own ranking of creditors."

The key concept here is that pension beneficiaries are defined as "creditors." That means they have no particularly special standing when an entity declares bankruptcy. "The federal bankruptcy code," the story notes, "says pensioners and general-obligation bondholders are both unsecured creditors, stuck at the back of the line and treated as equals."

Well, maybe some are more equal than others. The Times article cited the state of Illinois' approach to state pension funding requirements and bondholder payments. The Land of Lincoln "has some of the strongest bondholder protections anywhere, which explains how a state that began its fiscal year with $3.8 billion in unpaid bills from last year -- and whose pension system has less than half of the money it needs -- is able to keep selling bonds. Meanwhile, the muni bond market is ripe for corrupt practices, as I pointed out in a blog post earlier this year regarding the JP Morgan/SEC settlement regarding bid rigging allegations.

The prevailing wisdom about pension plans is that their benefits are legally sacrosanct. This smug belief emerges in conversation I've had with just about anyone unfamiliar with the finer points of pension regulations. I'm certainly not an expert in pension law, but a reading of history suggests these seemingly solid legal guarantees could be in play, especially during inconvenient times for society.

It seems likely that government entities may compel its employees for greater pension plan and health care contributions, similar to what occurred in Wisconsin earlier this year. A story in today's San Jose Mercury News reported that a "pension reform" group funded by a former Enron trader and current hedge fund manager proposed that California state and local governments move their pension plans to a "hybrid retirement plan" similar to that used by the federal government. The idea is that the move would "save billions." (Click here for California Watch's background report on the group, ironically named the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility.)

The employee givebacks and increased payments into their benefit packages are de facto "haircuts". This concept, while relatively new to individuals, is not news in the bond markets. The current Euro sovereign debt crisis profoundly involved the degree to which institutional bondholders, including Europe's largest banks, would endure losing money -- the "haircut" -- on Greek, Irish, and other Euro nation bonds. That approach is strikingly different from the United States, where the pension beneficiaries get the trim. Bondholders get paid in full.

Underlying the American scenario is the use of credit ratings as a financial hammer. In Rhode Island, Central Falls officials were informed that postponing or stiffing bondholders' payments would not only affect the municipality's credit rating, but would negatively impact those of all Rhode Island towns and cities. Meanwhile, the same credit agencies that routinely provided AAA ratings to fraudulently packaged mortgage backed securities -- and got away with it -- are now demanding fiscal probity from municipal and state governments. At the same time, major US financial players have avoided "haircuts" on dog shit financial instruments they held; many were simply used as collateral by the Federal Reserve for TARP money and other backdoor subsidies.

A couple of years ago, I discussed the brewing pension/benefit crisis with a hard-working, capable municipal library director. I told her that I wouldn't be surprised if she received a notice stating that, due to unfortunate, unforeseen fiscal conditions, municipal employees and retirees would be "asked" to take a "haircut" on their benefits. I suggested the trim would be forty cents on the dollar, all in the name of financial solvency. It would be an offer they "could not refuse."

The librarian, whose parents had survived the Great Depression and told her vivid stories about similar situations, looked at me and paled.

One of PC's Originators Says Its Time Has Passed

Dr. Mark Dean (photo), who holds three of the nine patents on the original PC, noted in a recent blog post that the machine is no longer a leading innovative tool. His observation was noted in a BBC story that appeared today.

For the IBM engineer, the PC's passing is a matter of some poignance. "When I helped design the PC," he wrote, "I didn't think I'd live long enough to witness its decline." His primary computer, he pointed out, is now a tablet.

Washington Budget Deal to Impact State Revenues

During the recent debt ceiling negotiations, the impact of federal government funding to states wasn't really discussed very much. Yet Washington provides states with considerable money for key social net programs. The federal budget haircut will compel states to swallow some bitter fiscal medicine.

An article in today's Miami Herald noted that federal funds "accounted for 34.7 percent of state budgets." In Florida, the story noted, Uncle Sam provides the Sunshine State government with its single largest source of money. This situation puts its Republican governor, Rick Scott (photo), on the spot. Florida has many issues connected to the funding agita, such as the state's AAA bond rating and a large elderly population that's vitally interested in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

These issues are mirrored in nearly every other state in the Union. There are no easy answers, and absolutely no one knows where the money will come from. The notion that the country, or individual states, can economically grow their way out of this fiscal disaster seems more of a hope than a plan.

Patrick McGilligan's New Bio of Director Nicholas Ray

Pat McGilligan, the rare film historian who prefers living in America's interior to either coast, has just published a biography of director Nicholas Ray. He discusses his new book -- Nicholas Ray: The Glorious Failure of an American Director -- in an interview in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

McGilligan, with whom I was acquainted during our undergraduate years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, does his work the old-fashioned way. He really interviews subjects, does plenty of documentary due diligence, and takes a professional approach to his writing. Some of his books, such as his George Cukor biography, are significant contributions to film histories written in English. My personal favorite is Backstory, a five-volume series McGilligan edited and, in some cases, wrote. The books feature intelligently conducted interviews with screenwriters who discuss their experiences in the movie business over many decades. The interviews' length, depth, and respectful treatment of its subjects are in marked contrast to the harried Q&A film journalism that clutters many contemporary magazines and newspapers. They also offer a useful window into how movie projects became finished films. In that way, the interviews provide a dose of reality about a business resolutely involved with illusion.

Nicholas Ray's body of work, and his controversial personal life, make the stuff of a great tale. My guess is that Pat McGilligan relates the director's story well, and the book would be a stimulating, enjoyable book to read. You should check it out.

Charles L. Gittens, First African-American Secret Service Agent -- RIP

Charles L. Gittens (photo), who broke the Secret Service's color barrier in 1956, passed away recently in North Carolina. The Herald-Sun of Durham carried his obit; the link requires a further name search or patient scrolling to find the special agent's notice. After a full, upwardly mobile career with the Secret Service, Gittens retired and subsequently joined the Department of Justice. He became a Deputy Director of the Office of Special Investigations, where he was in charge of hunting down Nazis living in the United States.

Gittens lived long enough to have a scholarship named in his honor. The Charles L. Gittens Scholarship Award is offered to graduating high school seniors interested in a criminal justice or law enforcement careers. NOBLE -- the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives -- has more information about the scholarship.

Rep. Darrell Issa Issues Subpoena to NLRB in Boeing-Union Case

On a day when the financial markets dominate headlines, some interesting news slips through the cracks. Today's example involves Republican congressman Darrell Issa, the National Labor Relations Board, Boeing, and the state of South Carolina.

Issa (photo), whose San Diego district is over two thousand miles from Boeing's Chicago headquarters, has taken a strong interest in the aircraft manufacturer's efforts to staff a new facility in South Carolina. The Palmetto State is among 22 right-to-work states, which one can fairly identify as anti-union. Boeing has experienced struggles with unions over the years, and that history may have influenced the development of the North Charleston, South Carolina facility. The National Labor Relations Board has filed suit against Boeing in 2009, citing violation of federal labor laws.

This incident has become something of a GOP cause celebre. Issa, among the wealthiest members of the House of Representatives, believes in the power of congressional subpoenas and investigations. As with Democratic (and fellow Californian) congressman Henry Waxman, the congressional hearing becomes a mix of show trial, veiled or explicit threats, payback theatre, and stroking favored constituencies. In Issa's situation, he is acting on the proposition that federal bureaucrats should not obstruct corporate, propertied interests in their business pursuits. To that end, Issa has requested the NLRB to produce considerable documentation about the Boeing case, which has the potential to undermine the federal agency's legal strategy.

Two perspectives on this story are linked here. One is from the right-wing Washington Times; the other is an AP file run in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Issa's campaign is consistent with the Republican Party's goal of placing increasing power in the hands of the powerful, while weakening the federal government, the weak's last line of defense. The effort is consistent with the GOP philosophy that created the Wisconsin political uproar over public employees' collective bargaining rights. Wisconsin's state senate recall elections, which take place tomorrow, are a visceral public reaction to the provocative right-wing political agenda. Meanwhile, as far as the Republicans are concerned, there should be no labor rights at all. For Issa and his GOP colleagues across the country, those were the good old days, and they want them back.

Postscript on August 9th: A federal judge on Monday, August 8th, ruled that South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and state labor department head Catherine Templeton were within their rights to express "political animosity towards unions." The plaintiffs had asserted that government officials should be neutral in labor disputes, such as Boeing and the machinists union are currently experiencing in South Carolina.

Baltimore Budget Cuts May Compel Edgar Allen Poe House Closure

Baltimore officials recently indicated the budget-strapped city may have to suspend funding of the city's Edgar Allen Poe house (photo). The decision's impact would effectively prevent the public from entering the structure, exploring its slim collection of Poe artifacts, and understanding its role in Poe's life and work. The house itself, included in the National Regsiter of Historic Places and owned by the Baltimore City Housing Authority, would remain intact.

Charm City's Poe house has been something of a tough sell, as it's removed from Baltimore's tourist and literary itinerary. The residence, a period structure in the midst of a grim housing project, diminishes the house's potential allure. Let's face it: most Poe appreciators are more likely to prefer to experience scariness via the printed word rather than at a parking space or bus stop near the author's museum.

Baltimore City's annual support to the Poe museum, according to a New York Times story, equals $85,000. Surely, some collection of funders can be allied to produce a sum less than the annual bonus of the average T. Rowe Price or Legg Mason analyst. (Both financial services firms are based in Baltimore.) Meanwhile, "Gaia," the alias of a Baltimore-based street artist, has donated sale proceeds from 100 limited-edition prints of "'The Raven' (Forevermore), 2011" towards Poe House funding.

More funding is needed, and the push should go far beyond an individual artist's efforts. I do have two suggestions to accomplish this goal. An organization connected to the Poe house or Poe's legacy could set up an online donation page. Contributors could authorize a $9.95 donation to maintaining the Poe house's annual operating costs. That's the typical cost of an e-book. Alternatively, an e-book version of Poe's works, all of which are in the public domain, could be offered by a Poe-related venture for $10.99, with $9.99 going to the Poe house and $1.00 to the e-book provider. In that way, readers honor Poe's legacy and keep his influential works alive for these digital times.

New "Imported From Detroit" Video Features Gospel Group, Cornelius K9 Brundage, Jumping All Stars

"Where there is crisis, there is opportunity." One location where that observation hits home is Detroit. The city and its auto industry, twin symbols of imperial American decline, are beginning to generate renewed, positive activity in manufacturing, technology, and the arts. While it's a long road back to glory for the Motor City, these signs of life are heartening and even exciting.

One senses that energy and commitment in the new "Imported From Detroit" video and song. Commissioned by Chrysler, the video showcases the Detroit area's "Selected of God" choir singing a soulful rendition of Eminem's "Lose Yourself." The video also includes cameos by boxer Cornelius K9 Bundrage, the Jumping All Stars jump-rope ensemble, and the Cass Tech High School marching band. "Imported From Detroit" is available via iTunes. In the meantime, one can see the video now; it's included in the very interesting Detroit Free Press story on the video's inception, purpose, and execution.

According to the Free Press article, proceeds from the video go to selected Detroit nonprofits. According to the story, and consistent with the video, Chrysler product references are very discrete. The firm considers "Imported From Detroit" as a "marketing" piece, rather than a "product" sales item.

The video is another sign that Detroit, with its proud musical and automotive legacy, is beginning to show signs of a rebound. One reason is financial. It's simply less expensive to do any sort of enterprising activity there than, say, in New York, DC, the Bay Area, or southern California. There's also far less hubris in Detroit, a willingness to risk and state a case without obsessing over its impact on self-absorbed, inside-the-Beltway parties or exquisitely calibrated media mafias. Detroit just doesn't have the luxury of posing; it must succeed to survive. As the "Lose Yourself's" lyrics note, "You only get one shot."

Given this weekend's humbling events for the United States, the nation should consider "Lose Yourself's" point. Ironically, it is the once-demoralized Motor City that is showing leadership towards a better day.

The image, from the "Imported From Detroit" video, shows the Selected of God choir in front of the Detroit skyline.

Attorney with Links to George H.W. Bush Files Complaint to Remove Anti-Fox News Media Matters' Tax-Exempt Status

Media Matters for America, a liberal non-profit organization which has virulently criticized Fox News and the Murdoch media empire, has become a target of right-wing legal action. In a recent complaint filed with the IRS, C. Boyden Gray, former President George H.W. Bush's White House counsel, requested the agency revoke Media Matters' tax-exempt status. His reasoning, according to an article by award-winning Fox Business News reporter Elizabeth MacDonald, was that Media Matters "'has executed a partisan strategy,' in violation of U.S. tax law as it exists 'no longer to educate the public but, rather, to declare 'war on FOX (sic),' Gray says, quoting from an interview its founder David Brock (photo), gave to the website Politico."

The story also reveals evidence Gray cited as proof of Media Matters' intent. His IRS complaint, MacDonald's piece noted, asserted that the nonprofit attempted "to disrupt News Corp.'s purchase of BSkyB, a British satellite broadcaster, and its efforts "to turn regulators in the U.S., U.K., and elsewhere against the network."

Gray's concern to mighty Media Matters kicking sand in the Murdoch empire's collective face didn't stop with BSkyB. "Gray writes that aside from Media Matters' 'unsupportable attempt to tie FOX News to the Republican Party, the fact that Media Matters equates FOX News' with the GOP shows the nonprofit's 'own partisan intent.'"

Gray's story, part of a much longer three-part article by MacDonald, appeared on Fox News' website this morning.

The former White House counsel's "evidence" certainly made the rationale for attack clear enough. Big, bad Media Matters tried to block the BSkyB deal. The Murdoch clan is clearly upset their carefully staged plan to seize total control of the UK's single most valuable media asset was thwarted. Their revenge and counterattack, which is probably in its earliest stages, has taken this primitive form. Meanwhile, the notion of associating Fox and the Murdoch media behemoth with the GOP and conservative causes is just plain common sense. When I initially read the piece, I thought Gray was pursuing this line of reasoning to get a bar room laugh. Alas, George Herbert Walker Bush's former legal eagle was quite serious about it.

One irritant Gray wants to rub out is Brock's venture. The Bush-41 coterie has deeply disliked Brock, a Republican and Bush-era political apostate who has since become a vocal critic of right-wing tactics and objectives. Brock was mixed up with the Anita Hill hearings and performed some dirty work on behalf of Bush and then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas in that episode.

Gray has vehemently denied any link to Fox, Murdoch, or anything or anyone but himself. He just had time on his hands, and a bone to pick with Media Matters. Maybe Gray just doesn't see the nonprofit as "fair and balanced."

Perhaps there's another reason. Since the UK phone jacking scandal exploded, it has seemed inevitable that the Murdoch empire would strike back against its accusers. August gave News Corp. and the Murdoch family time to catch its collective breath, formulate a counterattacking strategy, call in favors, and use its "leverage." (Some suspect that News Corp.'s attempts at "persuasion" are really nothing more than thinly disguised blackmail threats.) The dreadful debt debacle and shameful downgrade of the United States' credit rating provide further cover for News Corp. The firm, and the Murdoch family, are not the current headline, at least in the United States. The UK, where everyday people felt violated by News Corp.'s reporters' routine phone tapping, is another matter. The disposition of Gray's legal complaint remains to be seen. However, one can assume the Murdochs and News Corp. will soon be on the march, defending Fox News against "scurrilous" attacks from liberal think tanks virtually no one knows or pays attention to.

American Bio-Chem Weapons Expert Jonathan B. Tucker -- RIP

Slipping through today's stock market sound and fury was a Washington Post article noting the passing of WMD and nonproliferation expert Jonathan B. Tucker. (The initial is necessary to distinguish the scientist from an actor with the same first and last name.) His work includes concern over landmarks of American foreign policy. He was a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq in the time between the two American-led wars with that country. His testimony as a respected, trusted scientist influenced Washington's thinking and planning about the second US-Iraq conflict. It's easy and convenient to forget that Saddam Hussein once had a formidable chemical and biological weapons arsenal. Tucker did not forget. In 1997, the Post story notes that Tucker testified before a House subcommittee that Iraq "deployed chemical weapons against coalition forces". That testimony contradicted Defense Department and CIA findings.

For a sense of Dr. Tucker's career, and the respect with which he was held, take a few moments to explore the remembrance posted by the James Martin Center of Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). Tucker's photo is from the CNS website. It also offers links to professional blogs and useful summaries of different aspects of Tucker's work. However, for the layperson, Tucker and his colleagues remain distant and enigmatic. How could they be otherwise? Most scientists who work this truly dark, frightening corner of human endeavor work in obscurity. They reside in a compact, yet global intellectual community that rarely, and deliberately, receives any limelight. The scientists typically know one another's reputations and follow their peers' available published research. These biologists, bacteriologists, and other scientific specialists survive under profound government scrutiny, regardless of their nationality or other allegiances. One wonders why this select group does what it does. Don DeLillo, in his novel Underworld, explored this question via the character of a scientist who worked on the design of nuclear weapons. Even with a novelist of DeLillo's skill, the whole thing remains chilling. What drives people to explore these doomsday tools? That's only explicable by entering the labyrinth that is of the nature of human curiosity. It is a sobering thought that no one has ever returned from that passage with a clear, articulate understanding of their enigmatic journey.

Real-Life "Up in the Air" Frequent Flyers Go on the Record

A recent San Jose Mercury News story focused on the u

ber-elite of frequent flyer travelers. These are characteristically businesspeople that fly hundreds of thousands of miles annually. Similar to George Clooney's character in the movie Up in the Air, these endless travelers scheme and plan to collect as many frequent flyer miles as possible. Yes, they do keep score, and high achievement, as measured by accumulated mileage, greatly matters to them. The story isn't too long, and it's fun to read as a window into this select group.

The article reminded me that Up in the Air's dialogue was pretty good. Here's an example, taken from imdb.com:

Natalie Keener: Hungry much?
Ryan Bingham: Our business expense allots forty dollars each for dinner. I plan on grabbing as many miles as I can.
Natalie Keener: Okay, you got to fill me in on the miles thing. What is that about? You're talking about, like, frequent flyer miles?
Ryan Bingham: You really want to know?
Natalie Keener: I'm dying to know.
Ryan Bingham: I don't spend a nickel, if I can help it, unless it somehow profits my mileage account.
Natalie Keener: So, what are you saving up for? Hawaii? South of France?
Ryan Bingham: It's not like that. The miles are the goal.
Natalie Keener: That's it? You're saving just to save?
Ryan Bingham: Let's just say that I have a number in mind and I haven't hit it yet.
Natalie Keener: That's a little abstract. What's the target?
Ryan Bingham: I'd rather not...
Natalie Keener: Is it a secret target?
Ryan Bingham: It's ten million miles.
Natalie Keener: Okay. Isn't ten million just a number?
Ryan Bingham: Pi's just a number.
Natalie Keener: Well, we all need a hobby. No, I- I- I don't mean to belittle your collection. I get it. It sounds cool.
Ryan Bingham: I'd be the seventh person to do it. More people have walked on the moon.
Natalie Keener: Do they throw you a parade?
Ryan Bingham: You get lifetime executive status. You get to meet the chief pilot, Maynard Finch.
Natalie Keener: Wow.
Ryan Bingham: And they put your name on the side of a plane.
Natalie Keener: Men get such hardons from putting their names on things. You guys don't grow up. It's like you need to pee on everything.

I can't imagine flying nearly a half-million miles, never mind ten million. Would you really want to spend that much time in commercial aircraft and airports?