How Reddit Got Obama Interview

Reddit icon
(from Forbes)

Barack Obama made Internet waves earlier this week when he participated in the news-sharing site Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" segment.

Siliconvalley.com's interesting reporter Peter Delevett wrote a brief story noting how 44 and Reddit got together. While Obama held center stage on the web, Mitt Romney's acceptance speech was overshadowed by Hurricane Isaac, Paul Ryan's speech (for better or worse), and Clint Eastwood's rambling endorsement performance.

California Legislature Considers Bill to OK Robot Cars on Public Highways

Google's "driverless car"
(photo from Edmunds Inside Line)

Would you get into a robot-driven car? How would you feel if you shared the road with such a vehicle? If you are a pedestrian, would you feel "comfortable" knowing robot cars are sharing the intersection you're about to cross?

Well, the California legislature is currently considering a motion that would permit robot-driven vehicles to travel on the state's public highways. The measure has already passed the state assembly and is expected to reach a state senate vote soon, according to a story in today's San Jose Mercury News. Governor Jerry Brown is expected to sign the measure.

The notion of robot-driven cars is not far fetched. Google engineers and their Stanford University counterparts have each created and tested vehicles in which computers do the driving. There does seem a sense of inevitability about humans taking a figurative back seat. According to the Mercury News story, humans can intervene during the drive. I suppose that offers some comfort, but computers don't handle "watch out" warnings very nimbly.

The story also raised a number of intriguing issues, such as insurance liability and legal culpability in the event of an accident. The possibility of issuing a moving violation to a computer was great fun to contemplate. Finally, the article raised the question of a computer crash leading to a vehicle crash. And, despite the smug assurances of electrical engineers, computers do crash, sometimes with disastrous results.

If I were a hitchhiker, I would view computer-driven cars with distaste. The chance of a robot vehicle stopping to pick up someone with their thumb out are nearly zero. Driverless hitchhikers, along with other extraneous "human elements," just don't add up for a computer-driven vehicle.

Former FBI Director Sells His Investigation/Law Firm

Louis Freeh (left) with Attorney General Eric Holder

Former FBI director Louis Freeh recently sold his successful legal practice and investigation group to the white shoe Philadelphia corporate law firm Pepper Hamilton.

Freeh returned to the headlines this summer with his searing report about the Penn State pedophile scandal. He has also not been shy about cultivating high profile clients, such as Jon Corzine's MF Global. What's most intriguing is that Freeh, according to The New York Times, "does investigative work for Wynn Resorts around the world."

Perhaps the former Feebee will be shocked, as Captain Reynaud in Casablanca was, to discover that gambling has been taking place in the casino.

My First Tropical Storm

Some time ago, I planned a business trip to Fort Lauderdale for the third weekend of August. The company president told me that I should anticipate some stormy weather. He had gone on the trip last year and just escaped ahead of a hurricane.

I had a feeling I would also "enjoy" some South Florida "weather." I had never experienced a hurricane or a tropical storm. Over the years, I watched them on television and thought they were a sort of drummed up, made-for-TV drama. Young hustling reporters typically braved high winds, driving rain, and roaring tides to tell the world a story of unleashed Nature. It all seemed very far away.

That sense changed for me over this past weekend. The rain did arrive, creating an ominous, Biblical setting. However, what really concerned me was the sense of being trapped. I was eager to get home, and the storm had the potential to force airlines to cancel flights and local authorities to close the dreadful Fort Lauderdale airport.

The businesspeople I was visiting lived in the area and were quite calm about the whole affair. They said storm situations don't really get serious until Category Three was declared. We weren't at that level; it was unlikely we would be. That calmed me down, but didn't allay my sense of urgency about getting my flight out. My plane was the last scheduled departure to New Jersey, where I live. I felt similarly as Bogey did catching the last train from Paris in the movie Casablanca. However, my heart was not broken or anything like that. I simply wanted to get home.

The plane did leave, with me on it, about an hour later than its scheduled departure time. (The following day saw mass airline cancellations in Fort Lauderdale and Miami.) We were between storm bands, so the aircraft didn't jostle up and down like an unruly washing machine. When I got home -- around one in the morning -- I told my wife about the experience of my first tropical weather event, and how I couldn't bring myself to watch The Hunger Games while seated 35,000 feet above the storm.

Malone's Liberty Media About to Control Sirius XM Radio

Liberty Media and its jefe John Malone have lusted after Sirius XM Radio for some time. Their valentines have been rebuffed, so Malone decided to acquire a sufficient amount of Sirius stock to gain majority control of the firm. According to a story in the LA Times, Liberty Media recently filed documents with the SEC that said it held 48% of the stock and had every intention of acquiring the necessary 2% to assume control.

Liberty Media is a major league player, and Malone is a very sharp customer. Whether his ownership of Sirius will be beneficial for the radio brand is hard to say. It's difficult to imagine anything exciting or innovative coming from Malone's minions. We'll see.

Paul Thomas Anderson's New Film and the Question of Digitized vs. Celluloid Movies

Paul Thomas Anderson, one of America's best living directors, is preparing for the September release of his latest film, The Master. Films such as this one typically start with some film festival showings, then a New York-LA opening. After that, the picture is distributed in the hinterlands. However, Anderson arranged for a unique preview of the film in Chicago. (J.R. Jones' review from the Chicago Reader is linked here.) The story of the Chicago preview offers a window into directors who really give a damn about how their creations look on a screen, the state of movie theatre viewing, and the community of critics, film business insiders, and highbrow fans who shape the taste of movies present, past, and future.

Music Box Theatre
(photo from CBS/Chicago)

P.T. Anderson's picture, thanks to the drumbeat and intercession of some local Chicago film critics, received a one-time celluloid showing at The Music Box, the Windy City's leading venue for art house movies. The packed house was unquestionably drawn by the rare opportunity to see a 70mm movie on celluloid rather than a digitized product. According to Drew Hunt's excellent blog post in the Chicago Reader, the quality of old-fashioned film simply trumped a look dependent upon bits, bytes and algorithms:

Proof of this was spilled all over the Music Box's 35-foot screen last night: every detail of the image was stark, vivid, and even lifelike. If films are meant to provide gateways to other worlds, then the cinematic world of The Master was more tangible than anything I've ever seen projected in digital format. As Music Box general manager Dave Jennings noted when he introduced the film, "If you can't see a difference [in 70-millimeter], you're not looking at the screen."

Considering the chances of seeing The Master in 70-millimeter again are slim to none—Jennings did mention that the Music Box is hoping to bring it back for a proper theatrical run, but as of now nothing is confirmed—last night's screening was nothing short of monumental, a testament to those who still value celluloid and are striving to maintain its relevance.

Trailer from The Master

For visual products, digital advocates have consistently poo-poohed non-digi versions. They've cited digital's "crispness" and "reliability" as virtues. Its hard-edged visual sensibility seems inevitable, given its foundation of visual experience as a mathematically precise arrangement of squares. Unsurprisingly, animation has been a primary beneficiary of the digital movement. It's not a coincidence that the late Steve Jobs' wildly successful movie business, Pixar, focused on animation.

The digital revolution has unquestionably saved some films from extinction and given some others a much wider audience. These are very desirable outcomes.

Martin Scorsese
Film Foundation board member and guiding spirit

What's less desirable is the shift in visual taste from rich, luminous tableaux to something that resembles screen shots from a Zynga game. Most theatre screens are simply dreadful, pint-sized objects little better than a white bedsheet. Meanwhile, American film auteurs, especially those connected to the Film Foundation, continue to fight the good fight for the quality of their movies and for the preservation of filmed versions of important motion pictures. Directors such as Clint Eastwood and Wes Anderson do this because they care about how their work appears and how an audience will see it. So does P.T. Anderson, and he should be applauded -- along with the Music Box and selected Chicago film critics -- for standing up for what's best for cinema.

Nicolas Poussin and Moses Exhibition in Paris

A Gobelins tapestry that echoes Poussin's La Manne dans le desert.

Take time during these late summer days to explore a brief online display of works entitled "Nicolas Poussin and Moses." The objects include paintings and exquisite tapestries either from Poussin's hands or from those artists obviously influenced by him. The works can be found on the culture pages of the Le Monde website. If you're in Paris and lucky enough to be staying at the Plaza Athenee, you can see some of this delightful art at the hotel's Galerie des Gobelins.

eBay to Ban Sale of Some Supernatural Items

A sample from the Visconti-Sforza
tarot deck

The online marketplace eBay has prohibited sales of certain supernatural goods and services, according to an LA Times story picked up by the tech oriented siliconvalley.com.

Well, just where does one go to buy experiences outside the "normal" ones, now that eBay has vanished as a market? Apparently, good ol' Craigslist is the "medium" of choice for these out-of-this-world transactions.

Craigslist's legal disclaimer, though, offers some unintended tongue-in-cheek humor: "...we are not responsible for any paranormal activity that may or may not occur."

Twitter Co-Founders Launch "Medium"

Biz Stone (photo from mediabistro.com)

Evan Williams and Biz Stone, fresh from their stunning success with Twitter, have taken aim at publishing. Their most recent endeavor is called "Medium." According to a story in siliconvalley.com, the new venture is a "publishing tool" that sounds like a cocktail of social media initiatives. The idea, in its simplest form, is the formation of "collections" of text and photos. You'll have to read the siliconvalley.com piece to find out more. And, no, I haven't put my post into "Medium" yet.

In Wake of Paterno-Sandusky Scandal, Penn State Warned On Its Accreditation Status

Joe Paterno

Three years ago, Joe Paterno ruled Penn State and, by extension, held sway in the Keystone State. Revelations about Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse of young boys pulled Paterno off his Happy Valley pedestal, though the late coach's name remains on the university's library. Now the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which certifies that schools are in compliance with accreditation standards, has warned Penn State its accreditation is "'in jeopardy'". The story, originally reported by Bloomberg, appeared in today's online edition of the Chicago Tribune.

For a major university, even a whiff of lost accreditation sends shock waves throughout the institution. It's almost inconceivable that a big-time school could be put on academia's version of a "death sentence." And make no mistake about it, loss of accreditation is fatal. Federal funding -- the lifeblood of major universities -- is contingent upon accreditation. Loss of DC dollars would compel a massive restructuring of the institution in question. Of course, money is at the heart of the morally corrupt culture at the heart of so many American universities.

It will be fascinating to see if Middle Schools pulls the plug on Penn State. Happy days are definitely not here again in Happy Valley.

Larry McMurtry Auctions 300,000 Books

Larry McMurtry (photo from LA Times)

Larry McMurtry has led a charmed life, as authors' professional lives go. He's produced commercially successful books for over a generation. A number of works have achieved critical recognition, notably his Pulitzer Prize winning novel Lonesome Dove. Some of the Texan author's books have become fully realized movies, with The Last Picture Show and Brokeback Mountain among the best known projects. McMurtry has also opened and continues to operate an independent bookstore. If the adage "do what you love, and the money will follow" has any practical substance, McMurtry's activities would qualify to support it.

The 76-year-old author-businessman, who recently married Ken Kesey's widow, recently decided to auction two-thirds of his bookstore's 450,000-unit inventory. His rationale, according to a Reuters story picked up by the Chicago Tribune, was estate management. The decision had nothing to do with e-books, declining patronage, or "content yearns to be free" ideology.

Commercially successful authors such as McMurtry are increasingly becoming business enterprises. In that way, writers now mirror other highly individualized talent, such actors and athletes. "Personal branding" will only exacerbate this trend toward sophisticated business structures. We've come a long way from Henry Miller and Anais Nin, whose erotic works were among the items sold at McMurtry's auction.

What Are Your Ten Favorite Movies?

My wife and I were driving in a nearby community which invited people to sit on the grass and watch Casablanca. I admit it's a little surprising to cruise along and suddenly see a big, unexpected black and white movie playing in the great outdoors.

Casablanca

While outdoor movies leave a bad taste in many cineastes' mouths, I enjoy them. My favorite outdoor venue was a ruin in the center of Rome. A large crowd watched an old, British-style horror movie, complete with mad scientists. I didn't think the movie and the crowd violated the setting; in fact, Romans have done far worse to their patrimony than hoisting a movie screen where emperors once ruled.

Seeing Casablanca in New Jersey made me think about favorite movies. I freely admit Casablanca is among them. In the film discussion group I facilitate, we came up with the idea of listing our ten favorite movies. They didn't have to be highbrow films or certified "winners." We just wanted to name names. Well, a warm summer dog day is a good time to have a dialogue about the movies.

With that in mind, here are my ten faves, along with Casablanca. (I have more than ten, but I'm trying hard to avoid greediness.) They are in no particular order.

John Huston (left) and Jack Nicholson, from Chinatown

a. Before Sunset. I'm sentimental, and especially so about this movie.
b. Chinatown. Yes, A-list movies can be special. John Huston "gets" evil.
c. L'Avvenutura. Antonioni's most fully realized picture, where story and directorial perspective are flawlessly matched. No American could have made this picture.
d. The Tall T. A Randolph Scott-Budd Boetticher western. Spare and splendid.
e. LA Confidential. Stylized truth. Acting, sets, story, sleaze....everything, really.
f. The Horse's Mouth. Alec Guinness wrote and stars in it. The more I see it, the more I like it. Think of the movie as a darkly funny meditation on being an artist.
g. The Palm Beach Story. Preston Sturges unleashed. Witty and human.
h. In the Mood for Love. Wong Kar-Wai's valentine to a vanished Hong Kong. Visually beautiful, imaginative directing, superb acting.
i. The Bourne Identity. I like the first of the Bourne trilogy the best. Movie hinges on buying into Franka Potente's character. She doesn't get enough credit for her performance, especially given her pairing with a very strong Matt Damon.

Kieslowski (left) with Jean-Louis Tritignant and Irene Jacob

j. Red. Kieslowski's meditation on the heart, the soul, and the role of chance in human affairs. I enjoy Red far more than The Double Life of Veronique.

As I wrote, I could easily add another twenty movies. (I'm going to sneak in Orson Welles' critically unloved Mr. Arkadin for honorable mention.)

Feel free to comment and/or add your own top ten faves.

Caesarian-Era Boat Found Off Italian Coast

Amphorae in the Musee Archaeologique/Saint Raphael.
These jars are similar to the amphorae found in
the shipwreck noted in the BBC piece.
(photo from Athena Review)

I admit I'm a sucker for stories about antiquity and archaeological finds related to Greece and Rome. With that in mind, I read with interest today's BBC article about the discovery of a presumed ancient Roman commercial vessel in the Mediterranean Sea. What's intriguing about the finding is that the boat is nearly intact, as it was concealed in mud for centuries. We'll see what mysteries the discovery illuminates, or what enigmas the ship generates for a new generation of archaeologists and those simply curious about the ancient days.

Curtis Martin and Gabby Douglas: Two Perspectives On Competition and Sport

Curtis Martin at the Football Hall of Fame
(photo from Football Hall of Fame)

Curtis Martin, who played running back for two NFL teams, was inducted yesterday into the Football Hall of Fame. What's notable about the event was Martin's speech at the Canton, Ohio ceremony.

The address is a moving testimonial about hard times and dedication. Martin talked about his Pittsburgh childhood in bleak, graphic terms. He witnessed his father literally torture his spouse. He was terrified to watch television because tongue-in-cheek scary scenes seemed all too real. Martin's mother trained him to use the key to get into their residence, because she was working two or three jobs to keep the household afloat. She did this while wearing makeup to hide the bruises from the beatings her husband administered.

Martin eventually helped his mother understand and recover from her suffering. He somehow found room in his heart to love his father. Martin was also fortunate enough to have a high school coach who convinced his student-athlete that the only way to avoid jail or a swift death was commitment to football.

The future pro did so, while never losing his skeptical view toward football's lucrative, violent aspects. Yet Martin does not come across as cynical or the product of posturing. He kept the sport and himself in perspective.

Gabby Douglas

Compare Martin's thoughtful, poignant comments to those of current American Olympic darling Gabby Douglas. I found the gymnast's outlook on competitive sport to be chilling. As Douglas recounted to The Washington Post, "'You have to just not be afraid and go out there and just dominate...You have to go out there and be a beast. Because if you don't, you're not going to be on the top."

There is a difference between victory and domination, one that an increasing number of American athletes and fans either don't recognize or simply dismiss. The concepts of winning and being a champion are healthy ones; domination steps across the line into neurotic notions of conquest and submission. Domination has become an ugly common denominator in areas such as college football, in which teams that kick sand in weaker opponents' faces are rewarded with higher rankings (which typically translate into higher financial returns for athletic departments). Remember when sportsmanship was considered a useful value for colleges to instill in their young charges? Not any more. Those days are long gone. My alma mater, Wisconsin, shamed itself last season by running up the score on an inferior opponent. The reason? Rankings. On that day, I felt embarrassed to be a fan of the UW football team.

The idolization of "dominating" athletes diminishes and distorts their human drama, especially outside of the arena. Curtis Martin didn't buy into the glory. He kept his values in focus, and his ego in check. He honors the Football Hall of Fame with his induction. Let's see how Gabby Douglas handles fame and her current perch at the top of her game.

Interview with a High Frequency Trader

In the wake of this week's stock market trading calamity with Knight Capital, it's instructive to know more about high frequency trading (HFT). This disruptive force now represents well over the majority of transactions on major US equity exchanges.

Why should you care?

Many Americans now have significant assets in 401(k) plans and other financial tools. Most people, including me, are relatively unsophisticated in their grasp of how the current markets work, even though most of their money is tied up in various, often complex financial instruments. This is especially true with popular instruments such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETF). The commitment of retail investors in the stock market is a tremendous change from the generations that grew up in the mid-20th Century. The market, while followed on daily television, is more opaque than ever before. HFT is an important case in point.

To understand a bit more about HFT, the financial blog zerohedge.com recently reposted a useful, informative insider interview about high frequency trading. It's linked here. The interview is accessible to nonspecialists and frankly is a "must read" for anyone who wants to get a handle on what's really going on in finance.

The facts are not pretty, but the zerohedge.com post reflects reality. Read it now.

My Very Brief Encounter with Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal on the Amalfi Coast
(photo from the Guardian)

When I lived in Italy, I worked with a Canadian who spoke with Gore Vidal at a Roman dinner party. My colleague told me of a way to informally meet the celebrity writer. All I had to do was telephone him; his Amalfi Coast home had a phone number listed under the name of his companion, Howard Austen.

I admit I didn't have the chutzpah to make the call. The situation was saved when the Puccini scholar Deborah Burton simply picked up the phone and inquired if and how a meeting could be arranged. Austen said he and Vidal would be in Ravello (see photo) and they typically took a walk in the early evening. We could meet them on the street.

And that's what happened. Vidal was taller and bigger built than I had anticipated; I stood on a curb to look him in the eye. Greetings were exchanged. I expressed my admiration for his work. He and Mr. Austen thanked us, wished us well, and walked away. No paparazzi, no socially ambitious hostesses, no publicity handlers. Just two men out for their evening passegiata in a provincial Italian town where they, of course, were well known.

No, it was not a big deal from any rational perspective. Yet, seeing the flesh-and-blood people responsible for outstanding literature is, and remains, very special for me. There's nothing rational about it. And make no mistake, Vidal's essays stand among the best in American writing.

When giants move on, we sense its significance. Gore Vidal's passing leaves American belles lettres without a dominant, defining, defiant personality.