The Last Great Deal
When was the last time you found a "great deal?" I can't remember. Maybe the first time I tried In and Out. Or Neil Young's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere vinyl for $1 at a garage sale. Occasionally a book on amazon for $4.
Yesterday, I came home midafternoon from the airport and decided to take the bus from LAX to my house, which I knew offered service since I live right off Lincoln. You take a shuttle to the bus station and can hop onto a number 3 bus. It was fairly painless. I got home in 45 minutes after my plane landed. Cost - $1. Shuttles cost $20 plus tip and take almost as long. Taxi probably costs $30. Rides are free, but tough to get midday during the week and end up costing the other person something in gas. Yes, you can't beat the bus. The only problem is that I suppose it works a lot better during the day than at some awkward time. But still, what kind of deal is 20-30 times less expensive than the alternatives? (Taxi is not a fair comparison because it is way more convenient).
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
People Be Crazy
Woman lies about rape. Totally randomly.
The penalty for lying about rape ought to be as serious as penalties for rape. I see no reason why character assassination is less serious than the physical harm.
Woman lies about rape. Totally randomly.
The penalty for lying about rape ought to be as serious as penalties for rape. I see no reason why character assassination is less serious than the physical harm.
Lay Off Scottie Pippen
Jesus...the media are a bunch of freaking tyrants. The Scottie Pippen story about saying LeBron might be the best player (over Jordan) won't die. I heard the radio program. It was a fairly innocuous comment and he even qualified himself as saying "not yet," but maybe in the future. But everyone is jumping on the guy for just the pure drama and having nothing to talk about. I'm vulnerable to this kind of stuff as much as the next guy, but when history views this period, they're going to see how emotions and the media fuel all sorts of hysteria. Over time, we might even come to see the War on Terror and the Tarp bailout as a massive, disproportionate overreaction. But I don't know...
Jesus...the media are a bunch of freaking tyrants. The Scottie Pippen story about saying LeBron might be the best player (over Jordan) won't die. I heard the radio program. It was a fairly innocuous comment and he even qualified himself as saying "not yet," but maybe in the future. But everyone is jumping on the guy for just the pure drama and having nothing to talk about. I'm vulnerable to this kind of stuff as much as the next guy, but when history views this period, they're going to see how emotions and the media fuel all sorts of hysteria. Over time, we might even come to see the War on Terror and the Tarp bailout as a massive, disproportionate overreaction. But I don't know...
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Finals
Via the eyeball test, the Heat looked better. Even when the Mavs were ahead in the beginning. That said, Dallas missed a lot of easy shots. And the game was in Miami. Maybe Miami figured out Dirk is more dangerous falling away from the basket than going to the basket.
The Mavs look terrible on rebounding. That killed them. And missing the easy shots near the rim.
Miami looks very strong. James seemed like he didn't even need to exert full energy.
I don't understand why Dallas can't exploit their height difference. They ought to be pounding the paint the entire game and getting open 3s.
I think Miami will win the series, but I'm rooting for Dallas. Dirk will play better than he did tonight. And they'll shoot better from 3 range at home. But if they don't fix their defensive rebounding, it could be a short series.
Via the eyeball test, the Heat looked better. Even when the Mavs were ahead in the beginning. That said, Dallas missed a lot of easy shots. And the game was in Miami. Maybe Miami figured out Dirk is more dangerous falling away from the basket than going to the basket.
The Mavs look terrible on rebounding. That killed them. And missing the easy shots near the rim.
Miami looks very strong. James seemed like he didn't even need to exert full energy.
I don't understand why Dallas can't exploit their height difference. They ought to be pounding the paint the entire game and getting open 3s.
I think Miami will win the series, but I'm rooting for Dallas. Dirk will play better than he did tonight. And they'll shoot better from 3 range at home. But if they don't fix their defensive rebounding, it could be a short series.
Anti-3D Sentiment
Go Wall Street.
For the most part, 3D is an expensive gimmick and stupid. Who likes to wear those glasses? It rarely looks good. The only two movies that were interesting for the 3D were Cave of Forgotten Dreams and Avatar. You get some "neat" moments with animated 3D stuff, but overall, I don't see the appeal. Even Avatar and Cave, however, had their limits. Both were uneven in the visuals - Cave - whenever you were outside the Cave - was 50/50 - some shots were cool, but others were awful. The only amazing moments were in the cave itself. As for Avatar - the computer-animated creatures and forest were superior to the filming of the human characters. So what you've got with 3D is the ability to shoot the least interesting stuff when it comes to narrative filmmaking - cartoons and inanimate and unmoving objects. The best stuff - movement and the human face - suffer from the 3D process.
Also, I'm not sure I enjoy HD television shows - particularly dramas. Actually, sitcoms look fine in HD, but I watched Friday Night Lights at my parents house this weekend in HD and prefer the regular TV. Too clean. It lacks artistry. It reminds me the difference of reading a real book vs. a kindle. Just something about the kindle is less enjoyable.
Go Wall Street.
For the most part, 3D is an expensive gimmick and stupid. Who likes to wear those glasses? It rarely looks good. The only two movies that were interesting for the 3D were Cave of Forgotten Dreams and Avatar. You get some "neat" moments with animated 3D stuff, but overall, I don't see the appeal. Even Avatar and Cave, however, had their limits. Both were uneven in the visuals - Cave - whenever you were outside the Cave - was 50/50 - some shots were cool, but others were awful. The only amazing moments were in the cave itself. As for Avatar - the computer-animated creatures and forest were superior to the filming of the human characters. So what you've got with 3D is the ability to shoot the least interesting stuff when it comes to narrative filmmaking - cartoons and inanimate and unmoving objects. The best stuff - movement and the human face - suffer from the 3D process.
Also, I'm not sure I enjoy HD television shows - particularly dramas. Actually, sitcoms look fine in HD, but I watched Friday Night Lights at my parents house this weekend in HD and prefer the regular TV. Too clean. It lacks artistry. It reminds me the difference of reading a real book vs. a kindle. Just something about the kindle is less enjoyable.
Wrong Model
Some push back on the claim Iran does not seek nuclear weapons.
The question about rouge states gaining nuclear weapons centers around intelligence gathering and finding a smoking gun. Our instinct, especially because the intelligence was wrong about Iraq, is to try and prove that rouge regimes possess or are in the final stages of possessing a nuke before taking any radical action against it. This strikes me as foolish. The cost of being wrong - in the case of allowing rouge regimes to gain nukes - are immensely high. Much higher than letting a criminal go free. Not only for the possibility of the nuke being used by a rouge regime or terrorist proxies, but also in terms of global power and emboldening illegitimate regimes.
I'm not arguing we need to go in and conquer Iran, but it strikes me that we are using the wrong metric in terms of evaluating the cost/benefits of action vs. inaction.
Some push back on the claim Iran does not seek nuclear weapons.
The question about rouge states gaining nuclear weapons centers around intelligence gathering and finding a smoking gun. Our instinct, especially because the intelligence was wrong about Iraq, is to try and prove that rouge regimes possess or are in the final stages of possessing a nuke before taking any radical action against it. This strikes me as foolish. The cost of being wrong - in the case of allowing rouge regimes to gain nukes - are immensely high. Much higher than letting a criminal go free. Not only for the possibility of the nuke being used by a rouge regime or terrorist proxies, but also in terms of global power and emboldening illegitimate regimes.
I'm not arguing we need to go in and conquer Iran, but it strikes me that we are using the wrong metric in terms of evaluating the cost/benefits of action vs. inaction.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Skyboxes
Why skyboxes are bad for American sports.
The man makes a few good points. The rich wonder why Sarah Palin has a crass appeal to Americans...maybe they ought to sit in the bleachers at a baseball game once in awhile.
What makes me ill is that the skyboxes are essentially paid for by the tax payer. The costs are so expensive, only corporations buy them and then deduct them as business costs. Essentially, corporations look at the options - pay the money in tax or buy a skybox for our clients. This is the element of the American upper class that is completely uncouth - they don't even pay for things out their own pocket. Do they realize how expensive it is for a middle class person to take their family to a baseball game? You're looking at $200 for a family of 4 to buy decent tickets and food and maybe a shirt for one of kids. That is probably almost half a monthly entertainment budget for a middle class family. And then you have corporate folks making six-seven figures sitting above everyone else, not even paying for it out of their own pocket, and passing on the costs to the Federal Government by means of tax write-offs. What a joke.
Why skyboxes are bad for American sports.
The rich have been lording it over the poor since Lazarus kicked the bucket at Dives's gate. Why should we expect Giants Stadium to be any different? Because it has been different. While professional sports have willingly contributed to some of society's most malignant evils (materialism, sexism, egomania), they have seldom been promulgators of pretension. And that traditional egalitarianism has never been more necessary than it is now, as America's delicate social balance becomes increasingly strained. As Kevin Phillips and other political watchers have shown so powerfully in recent years, it's not just that the gap between rich and poor grew wider in the eighties, but that the rich seemed less and less willing to acknowledge that the gap exists - while at the same time more and more willing to put themselves at a safe distance. It may seem far-fetched to suggest that mere games could connect the classes, but as long as there's been a team to root for, history has borne it out. In Chicago, L.A., and Boston, the very experience of watching a team could and did build cohesion among diverse racial, ethnic, and economic groups. That's an opportunity few of America's urban centers should overlook today. Unfortunately, nobody's looking.
The man makes a few good points. The rich wonder why Sarah Palin has a crass appeal to Americans...maybe they ought to sit in the bleachers at a baseball game once in awhile.
What makes me ill is that the skyboxes are essentially paid for by the tax payer. The costs are so expensive, only corporations buy them and then deduct them as business costs. Essentially, corporations look at the options - pay the money in tax or buy a skybox for our clients. This is the element of the American upper class that is completely uncouth - they don't even pay for things out their own pocket. Do they realize how expensive it is for a middle class person to take their family to a baseball game? You're looking at $200 for a family of 4 to buy decent tickets and food and maybe a shirt for one of kids. That is probably almost half a monthly entertainment budget for a middle class family. And then you have corporate folks making six-seven figures sitting above everyone else, not even paying for it out of their own pocket, and passing on the costs to the Federal Government by means of tax write-offs. What a joke.
Bring Them To Justice
If a congressman's twitter account was legitimately hacked and someone posing as the Congressman was reporting to be him, I say figure out who and press charges. This shit is serious.
People think things like these are pranks. Fine. Do a prank. Fess up. Everyone has a laugh. But when people don't fess up and the prank ceases to be funny and becomes malicious, you are talking about identity theft and libel. When it is used against a politician, this is particularly harmful as their reputation is everything.
Basically, this is someone getting an unpleasant picture of the guy and using it via twitter. It's fucked up.
If a congressman's twitter account was legitimately hacked and someone posing as the Congressman was reporting to be him, I say figure out who and press charges. This shit is serious.
People think things like these are pranks. Fine. Do a prank. Fess up. Everyone has a laugh. But when people don't fess up and the prank ceases to be funny and becomes malicious, you are talking about identity theft and libel. When it is used against a politician, this is particularly harmful as their reputation is everything.
Basically, this is someone getting an unpleasant picture of the guy and using it via twitter. It's fucked up.
On Medicine
Interesting graduation speech on the medical profession. Sounds like they need to import some successful GMs of sports franchises to get hospitals working like teams.
Interesting graduation speech on the medical profession. Sounds like they need to import some successful GMs of sports franchises to get hospitals working like teams.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Cognitive Bias Against LaBron
Interesting analysis.
Also, good digs at Kobe in here. Stats back it up: Kobe is not clutch.
Interesting analysis.
Also, good digs at Kobe in here. Stats back it up: Kobe is not clutch.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Losing Libraries?
I've just rediscovered them. Now that I work from home, I'd estimate I go to the library once or twice a week. Usually to write, but also sometimes just to check out books. The Santa Monica library system is awesome. The main library is a great building (with a yummy cafe) and lots of little nooks to plop down and work. It has a great book and dvd selection and I'll often check things out just because I'm curious. I've gotten into this habit of kindling a sample chapter of a book (for free) to see if I want to read it and then going to the library and checking it out. Then there are a couple other branches, one very close to my house down on Ocean Park. It is tiny, but still, it has books I want to read. I just walk down there and pick them up. It gets me out of the house. It's an awesome rediscovery for me (and maybe a little bit of an internet protest) and it don't cost shit.
UPDATE: There are a lot of kids at the library and also a lot of homeless people at the main library. The homeless issue is probably the biggest problem. Weird dudes just sit there staring at the wall, doing nothing and creeping people out. I think if they just picked up a magazine or book they'd be almost charming. Self improvement and all.
I've just rediscovered them. Now that I work from home, I'd estimate I go to the library once or twice a week. Usually to write, but also sometimes just to check out books. The Santa Monica library system is awesome. The main library is a great building (with a yummy cafe) and lots of little nooks to plop down and work. It has a great book and dvd selection and I'll often check things out just because I'm curious. I've gotten into this habit of kindling a sample chapter of a book (for free) to see if I want to read it and then going to the library and checking it out. Then there are a couple other branches, one very close to my house down on Ocean Park. It is tiny, but still, it has books I want to read. I just walk down there and pick them up. It gets me out of the house. It's an awesome rediscovery for me (and maybe a little bit of an internet protest) and it don't cost shit.
UPDATE: There are a lot of kids at the library and also a lot of homeless people at the main library. The homeless issue is probably the biggest problem. Weird dudes just sit there staring at the wall, doing nothing and creeping people out. I think if they just picked up a magazine or book they'd be almost charming. Self improvement and all.
Moron
Mark Zuckerberg only eats what he kills.
We sometimes forget we're handing over an unprecedented amount of personal marketing information to a 27-year old moron with too much money.
Mark Zuckerberg only eats what he kills.
We sometimes forget we're handing over an unprecedented amount of personal marketing information to a 27-year old moron with too much money.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Entertainment People, Beware
I don't watch Glee, but this article correctly points out one of the great traps entertainers can fall into.
For some reason, once creators get successful, they oftentimes feel the need to become "relevant" and use their audience or "power" to promote social issues. The minute you start down this line, you are selling out - not for money, but for politics. You essentially become propaganda. And totally transparent. I hope to have this problem one day and to spit in it's face.
I don't watch Glee, but this article correctly points out one of the great traps entertainers can fall into.
For some reason, once creators get successful, they oftentimes feel the need to become "relevant" and use their audience or "power" to promote social issues. The minute you start down this line, you are selling out - not for money, but for politics. You essentially become propaganda. And totally transparent. I hope to have this problem one day and to spit in it's face.
Giveaway
I would have thought the gigantic muscles and Austrian accent on the kid would have been the giveaway...looking down at your child in the crib and seeing The Terminator. Imagine that.
Rogelio Baena, the ex-husband of the housekeeper who had a child with Arnold, told Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday that he learned just “one week ago” that he was not the boy’s father. Baena said he was, “very, very angry. … Arnold Schwarzenegger, for me, was my hero. Now I feel betrayed.” Baena was originally listed as the father on the boy’s birth certificate but his ex-wife said they had no children together when she filed for divorce in 2008. If he could speak to the boy, Baena said he’d tell him, “I am your father. That’s all.”
I would have thought the gigantic muscles and Austrian accent on the kid would have been the giveaway...looking down at your child in the crib and seeing The Terminator. Imagine that.
Poor Bastard
You gotta kinda feel sorry for John Edwards. The justice department is bringing charges against the guy. His star has fallen very fast.
You gotta kinda feel sorry for John Edwards. The justice department is bringing charges against the guy. His star has fallen very fast.
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