links for 2007-12-29
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The dirt on former Republican Mayor Steve Goldsmith, whom the new mayor is hell-bent on imitating.
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Very funny.
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FOX steals copyrighted images from Flickr user to use in public NFL broadcast.
50 Most Loathsome People of 2007
The Beast’s list of the most loathsome people of 2007 is excellent, especially #9:
9. You
Charges: You believe in freedom of speech, until someone says something that offends you. You suddenly give a damn about border integrity, because the automated voice system at your pharmacy asked you to press 9 for Spanish. You cling to every scrap of bullshit you can find to support your ludicrous belief system, and reject all empirical evidence to the contrary. You know the difference between patriotism and nationalism — it’s nationalism when foreigners do it. You hate anyone who seems smarter than you. You care more about zygotes than actual people. You love to blame people for their misfortunes, even if it means screwing yourself over. You still think Republicans favor limited government. Your knowledge of politics and government are dwarfed by your concern for Britney Spears’ children. You think buying Chinese goods stimulates our economy. You think you’re going to get universal health care. You tolerate the phrase “enhanced interrogation techniques.” You think the government is actually trying to improve education. You think watching CNN makes you smarter. You think two parties is enough. You can’t spell. You think $9 trillion in debt is manageable. You believe in an afterlife for the sole reason that you don’t want to die. You think lowering taxes raises revenue. You think the economy’s doing well. You’re an idiot.Exhibit A: You couldn’t get enough Anna Nicole Smith coverage.
Sentence: A gradual decline into abject poverty as you continue to vote against your own self-interest. Death by an easily treated disorder that your health insurance doesn’t cover. You deserve it, chump.
Julia Carson’s replacement should be LGBT Friendly
This is really disturbing – one of the names being discussed as a possibility for Julia Carson’s office by the Democrats is Indiana State Representative Carolene Mays, who voted in favor of SJR-7, the amendment to ban equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. More from Jerame Davis on Bilerico:
The passing of Congresswoman Julia Carson has left a gaping hole in Indiana political life. Julia Carson was a great leader and a strong progressive voice. As we consider her replacement, we should not forget the legacy Julia left and who can best live up to the service she provided and the strong support she gave to the LGBT community.
The winner of the special election to fill her remaining term will likely win the seat in the November general election and go on to serve a full term in Congress. This is not a decision to take lightly. Of the names coming forward as likely replacements, one in particular should infuriate LGBT voters in the 7th District.
Carolene Mays is no Julia Carson. She doesn’t even deserve the honor of being named among the possibilities to replace her and it is a disgrace to think she could live up to the job.
On paper, Carolene Mays looks like the perfect replacement for Julia. Mays is the president and publisher of the Indianapolis Recorder, the paper of record for the African-American community in Indianapolis. She is a 3 term Indiana State Representative. She serves (or has served) on numerous non-profit and foundation boards. She’s won numerous awards for service and she’s even a member of the same church Julia attended.
The area she falls most short of Julia is her support of LGBT Hoosiers. As a State Representative, Carolene Mays voted in favor of SJR-7, the Indiana Constitutional Amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Mays has never disavowed her support of the marriage amendment – an amendment Julia spoke against often – and she has shown no indication she would change her vote if it came before her again.
Carolene Mays is no Julia Carson. Either she’s a shameful political opportunist, who worried more about her political skin than the rights of LGBT citizens or she is a true believer in discrimination against LGBT Hoosiers. Either way, she pales in comparison to the Julia I knew.
We could count on Julia to stand up for us; there was no question. She was a regular presence at our Pride festivals. She’s been lionized by the Stonewall Democrats. She was instrumental in helping Indianapolis move forward with an inclusive human rights law. She voted against DOMA. She supported ENDA.
We cannot count on Carolene Mays for any of these things.
Julia was usually right and stood up for her beliefs. She voted against the war and spoke against both the war and George W. Bush long before it was popular to do so. Her funeral was a panoply of leaders and dignitaries who spoke of the fire and determination Julia had for her issues and her constituents.
If Carolene Mays will kowtow to the religious right over something as non-critical as gay marriage, how can we count on her to make the right decisions when it comes to war and peace or life and death?
links for 2007-12-28
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Indianapolis Star writes about my butt. Heh.
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A local green builder has some great projects for downtown, including renovating a beautiful historic apartment building at 22nd and Broadway that I’ve had a crush on for years. That’s wonderful news.
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Christian Terrorists set fire to to two Planned Parenthood clinics in Albuquerque, NM.
Books I Got for Christmas 2007
Part of the awesome loot I got this holiday season from my family.
The Daring Book for Girls
by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz
The Best of MAKE Magazine
by Mark Frauenfelder and Gareth Branwyn
Guerrilla Gardening: A Manualfesto
by David Tracey
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 1: The Long Way Home
by Joss Whedon
Readymades: American Roadside Artifacts
by Jeff Brouws
Monopoly: The Story Behind the World’s Best-Selling Game
by Rod Kennedy
The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books
by J. Peder Zane
The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen
by Syrie James
Greetings from Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer
by Mari Sangiovanni
The Great American Road Trip
by Eric Peterson
Forbidden Knowledge: 101 Things Not Everyone Should Know How to Do
by Michael Powell
Far Out: 101 Strange Tales from Science’s Outer Edge
by Mark Pilkington
Magnum Magnum
by Brigitte Lardinois
A landmark book celebrating the engaging mix of photographer as both reporter and artist that has defined Magnum for sixty years. Magnum Magnum brings together the best work, celebrating the vision, imagination, and brilliance of Magnum photographers, both the acknowledged greats of photography in the twentieth century—among them Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Eve Arnold, Marc Riboud, and Werner Bischof—and the modern masters and rising stars of our time, such as Martin Parr, Susan Meiselas, Alec Soth, and Donovan Wylie. And it shows the work at a breathtaking scale: the vast page size of Magnum Magnum—12 by 15—gives the photos an impact never seen before in book form.
What I Read in 2007 (38 Titles)
Definitely not a banner year for reading for me. I’m hoping with my New Year’s Resolution to concentrate more on my own library, that I’ll get through a few more books next year. This is the 11th year I’ve recorded everything I’ve read; I began in 1997, a year in which I read 92 books. Of course then I didn’t own a house or have a girlfriend, dog or DVR, and I read a lot of crap. But I did read A LOT of crap.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno
The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime by Jasper Fforde
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Sword of the Guardian: A Legend of Ithyria (Legends of Ithyria) by Merry Shannon
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
Route 66 Adventure Handbook: Updated and Expanded Third Edition by Drew Knowles
YOU: The Owner’s Manual: An Insider’s Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet Oz
On Beauty Zadie Smith
EZ66 Guide for Travelers Jerry McClanahan
Hogs on 66 : best feed and hangouts for road trips on Route 66 by Wallis, Michael.
Route 66 lost & found : ruins and relics revisited and
Route 66 lost & found : ruins and relics revisited, volume 2 by Olsen, Russell A.
Route 66: Images of America’s Main Street William Kaszynski
Route 66 Remembered by Michael Karl Witzel
Roadside Giants Brian and Sarah Butko
Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon by Thomas M. Myers, Michael P. Ghiglieri
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder David Weinberger
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Chicago from the Air by Marcella Colombo, Gianfranco Peroncini
Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft by Simon Houpt and Julian Radcliffe
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl
A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder–How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and On-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place by Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart and Carson Ellis
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Purchase and Watch Your Every Move by Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre
Collage Discovery Workshop: Make Your Own Collage Creations Using Vintage Photos, Found Objects and Ephemera by Claudine Hellmuth
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union: A Novel by Michael Chabon
Lois Lenz, Lesbian Secretary by Monica Nolan
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
The House of a Thousand Candles by Meredith Nicholson
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel by Haruki Murakami
End of Year Reading 2007
I’ve read a lot more the last two months of the year, thanks to the writer’s strike. (Go, writers!)
Collage Discovery Workshop: Make Your Own Collage Creations Using Vintage Photos, Found Objects and Ephemera
by Claudine Hellmuth
One of the best collage craft books I’ve found, I’m going to buy this one for some future projects.
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union: A Novel
by Michael Chabon
What if the Jews had be given Alaska after World War II, instead of Israel? Chabon’s detective novel started slow for me, but a few chapters in, I was hooked.
Lois Lenz, Lesbian Secretary
by Monica Nolan
Funny comedic lesbian novel – very entertaining.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick
Illustrated children’s book – lovely, and I enjoy anything about clocks.
The House of a Thousand Candles
by Meredith Nicholson
Nicholson wrote this novel on 1905 while a resident of my neighborhood in downtown Indianapolis. Set on an estate in Northern Indiana, it’s a rollicking adventure novel/mystery story, and much more fun than I expected.
Maisie Dobbs
by Jacqueline Winspear
A detective novel with a female protagonist, set in post-World War I England. The first of a series; Maisie Dobbs’ history is nicely fleshed-out in a flash-back that sets this apart from a simple genre mystery.
The Jane Austen Book Club
by Karen Joy Fowler
Nice light reading, especially if you love Jane Austen.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel
by Haruki Murakami
Following the first (and second!) rule of book club, I can’t summarize this one yet. But you should read it, definitely.
It seems like there’s a book I forgot to add to this list, but I haven’t figured out what it is yet….
Spychips by Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre
Recent reading: Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Purchase and Watch Your Every Move
by Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre
From the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) “tags” are small wireless devices that emit unique identifiers when interrogated by RFID readers or sensors. Today, both government and the private sector are using and promoting the use of RFID tags for many applications, from consumer items to government ID cards. EFF believes, however, that society is moving too quickly to adopt RFID technology. Used improperly, RFID can jeopardize privacy, reduce or eliminate anonymity, and threaten civil liberties.
Want a book that will give you some serious paranoia? This is definitely it. Albrecht and McIntyre are privacy advocates who research and report on Radio Frequency Identification microchips that corporations and governments have patents and plans to embed in nearly everything – consumer goods, credit and loyalty cards, identification, money, even under your skin:
“As you walk down the street, a tiny microchip implanted in your tennis shoe tracks your every move; chips woven into your clothing transmit the value of your outfit to nearby retailers; and a thief scans the chips hidden inside your money to decide if you’re worth robbing. This isn’t science fiction; in a few short years, it could be a fact of life.”
When the book was written in 2005, there were only handful of companies using RFID technology, but through patents and leaked corporate documents, the authors were able to find some of big businesses very disturbing plans, including embedding permanent RFID chips in clothing and even human beings.
In the two years since, some of the books predictions have come to pass – Passports now contain an RFID chip, as well as many toll booth ez pass cards, and some schools are tracking students. IBM has advanced to patent applications for “Identification and tracking of persons using RFID-tagged items.”
And even more disturbing – the chips have been show to cause tumors in animals who have been chipped for identification purposes.
The books draws some very nightmarish scenarios – it’s hard to tell whether they’re paranoid or just extraordinarily cautious, but it’s a subject that seems to be flying under the radar of much of mainstream media and the average person.
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