Economic Metaphors That Never Were...

Is anyone else sick of the financial tsunamis and holocausts and meltdowns? I think it's time for a new genre of financial hyperboles. How about:

1. Equity Bukake Fest
2. Financial Gangbang
3. Treasury Dominatrix: Paulson
4. Foreclosure Orgy
5. Families in Credit Bondage
6. CEO Golden Showers
7. Federal Reserve Deep Throats Wall Street

Ok, you get the gist. Wall Street Journal, I'm here if you need some fresh ideas!

China takes gold in boobery

The Beijing Olympics is already gearing up to be the greatest sh*t show ever. You really have to question the intelligence and judgement of China's leadership when they decide to censor the Internet in the Olympic Press Center. Can you imagine what kind of mood Katie Couric is going to be in when she finds out her access is blocked! Talk about biting the hand that portrays you...

NYT: China to limit web acccess during games

Take me out to the news game!

As a common citizen of the world, I have little control over the many events that make up the daily news. However, I find myself rooting for certain stories and booing others, much like an arm-chair sports fan hoping to cheer his team to victory through the screen. In my case the home team is truth, justice, human rights, the environment, technology, and progress. They are pitted against authoritarianism, corruption, greed, lies, and ignorance. My team is definitely the underdog. Here's my own play-by-play of this week's world events:

Go Team! (encouraging rallies by progress and justice)

• Al Gore's energy speech -- Though it is nothing more than a statement, the fact that a powerful and important figure like Al Gore is putting it out there gives it wings.
• Serb war criminal caught -- A vindication of international legal institutions, and a reminder that even dictators don't escape justice.

Foul Ball! (signs that regressive negative forces are gaining the upper hand)

• Consumer debt trap -- Powerful faceless corporations have reduced America's lower classes into financial slavery
• Olympic news networks on tight leash -- The Chinese Communist Party is increasingly using its economic power as leverage to get foreigners to toe its propaganda line.

Team Schadenfreude (this is a special category for unfortunate events that in actuality could lead to positive changes)

• Ford on the brink of bankruptcy -- The age of gas-guzzlers is over, Detroit. Did you miss the memo?
  

Why Don't Chinese People Say I Love You?

Except for rare intimate moments between passion-swept lovers, "wo ai ni" (I love you) is never spoken by Chinese. I began to wonder if you could extrapolate larger cultural truths from the absence of this word in their society.

Chinese parents and children and husbands and wives never exchange such sentimental words as "I love you." The Confucian structure of Chinese family, in which the parents care for the children who then care for their parents when they are old, is basically an economic arrangement. Social security, day care, health care, and disability insurance are all built into it. The individual is tied into this system by pure necessity for life, so enthusiastic emotional displays are unnecessary.

In Western culture, individuals are like freewheeling atoms, liable to break and form bonds at any time. That is one reason, out of countless many, why we so often repeat the words "I love you." It is a constant affirmation of the emotional bond that is keeping us together. We cannot take for granted these connections, since they are not based on ancient rigid societal structure, but rather the free will of all parties involved.

This illustrates a more general difference between China and Western societies. In Western societies, the individual is ascribed a multitude of personal rights and responsibilities. With regard to law, the individual is held accountable to conduct himself in a reasonable manner. In effect, he must hold perpetual court with judge and jury in his own mind. For lapses in rational conduct, he is rebuked by his other rational peers.

The bar is set high for individuals in Western societies. We are essentially a one-man ethics panel, required to reflect on and regulate our own behavior. Heavy educational resources must be expended to produce all these individual ethicists. In a way, Chinese get off easy. They are expected to do no more than closely obey instruction from higher ups, who in turn obey instruction from higher ups, in an endless game of responsibility hot potato.

The difference between individuality and collectivity helps us to see why Chinese don't say "I love you." Westerners say "I love you" because the individual "I" is taking personal responsibility for an action "love" directed at another free acting individual "you." Because Chinese relationships are so often proscribed by society, there is not reason to vocalize additional enthusiasm.

Media Time Machine

Like all my good ideas, I'm sure this one has already been done. Does anyone know if there is a way I can enter any date, say 10/17/2007, and go back in time to that date? I would only see news and information from that date, nothing after.

For example, if I wanted to get a feel for the mood on 10/17/2007, I could see the New York Times home page exactly as it would appear on that day, or even at a specific hour or minute. I could go to CNN and watch the breaking news as if it were really 9:30 am on that day. If I Googled some recent phenomenon, it would return no results. Is there a way to freeze the Internet in time like that?

If so, does any one else think it would be interesting to time travel online? I would love to see what proclamations people were making this time last year about Hillary, the economy, and such.

Sign of the Times

I was counting up all of my change to take down to the change counter machine at the grocery store. I thought the image of coins lined up on the floor was poignant, so I took a photo. Here is $ 6.95.

Some people are like bits of driftwood floating along on the waves. I want to be the one making the waves.

Impoverished Free Time

Does any one else ever have a perfectly good chunk of free time which, for lack of money, you spend doing nothing but sitting at home watching TV?

Encyclopedia of Irrational Beliefs and Practices #1

Chinese people have a saying "eat something, nourish something." It means that if you want to nourish your dry skin, you eat dog skin. If you want to nourish your weak eyes, you eat fish eyes. If you want to improve your mental agility, you eat monkey brains.

The Encyclopedia of Irrational Beliefs and Practices is a collection across all cultures and religions of the nonsense that people actually believe in today. The purpose is to shine a light on the prevelance of mystic and superstitious thinking in humanity, and to promote critical scientific thinking. Please feel free to contribute your own entries below.

Like I Always Say...

If it's a good point it bears repeating.




If it's a good point it bears repeating.

Senator: China plans to spy on Olympic hotel guests

Funny, holding the Olympics in Beijing was supposed to improve China's human rights record. It seems, rather, to have given China the opportunity to infringe on even more people's rights. What's more, for the first time, China's brand of authoritarianism is encroaching onto foreign citizen's rights.

Why I Feel Threatened by China

The towering red tsunami of Chinese nationalism that has recently swept across the world has been a matter of the gravest concern for me, occupying much of my time and energy as I consume every piece of news and analysis on the matter. It is not an unfamiliar phenomenon to me, as I lived through a clone of this flurry of hysteria and irrationality during the anti-Japanese protests in Beijing in April, 2005 (it must be the Spring that excites the mobs). I decided to turn the question inward for a change, and ask myself, "Why does the surging Chinese nationalism bother me so tremendously on such a deeply personal level?" That is when I realized that modern-day authoritarian China threatens my core values and identity. The possibility of authoritarian China extending its influence across the globe could destroy everything I cherish and strive for.

• China stands for censoring information, I stand for acquiring all kinds of knowledge.
• China stands for tightly controlling the behavior of its citizens, I stand for unlimited possibilities of living.
• China stands for muzzling voices of dissent, I stand for freely speaking my opinions.
  
• China stands for uniformity of opinion, I stand for new ways of thinking.
• China stands for accepting dogma, I stand for the pursuit of truth.
  
• China stands for submission ("obey and tremble"), I stand for independent thought and action.
• China stands for raw power over truth, I stand for the power of raw truth.

She Loves Me

Great effort was made to accurately recreate the historical era of the original work, including warbly Mary Poppins-style singing. While a great accomplishment in itself, this effort seems less laudable than finding ways to make it fresh, relevant, and creative. The one exception to mere historical reenactment was Katie Pickett, who brought a hearty serving of personality and sexiness to the show. (Isn't that exactly what makes Broadway so fun anyway?) Her Technicolor performance stood out all the more against the gray backdrop. Perhaps the director would have done better by making her pizazz the rule rather than the exception.

Devil Wears Prada Speak

Based on quantitative research and longitudinal studies, I've determined that any situation in the whole realm of human experience can be expressed in one of 10 quotes from the Devil Wears Prada. In fact, it is entirely possible to get through life only uttering these 10 lines. They are as follows:

1. Confusion Where are the belts?
2. Praise Thank God somebody came to work today.
3. Compassion Has she died or something?
4. Trust Find me that piece of paper I had in my hand yesterday morning.
5. Frustration Why is no one REAdy?
6. Surprise Que belle surprise!
7. Rejection Florals? For spring? Ground breaking.
8. Impatience By all means move at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me.
9. Disgust What's that? I don't want that?
10. Conclusions That's all.

If there is an emotion which is not on the list, you probably don't need to express it.

It really works, try it!

CW: I'm taking you out to dinner tonight, dear.
JZ: Que belle surprise.
CW: I could go for some sushi, how about you?
JZ: Sushi? For dinner? Ground breaking.
CW: How about a bowl of pho instead?
JZ: Thank God somebody came to work today.
CW: Do you wanna hang out after dinner?
JZ: That's all.

Why the Olympic Torch Protests are Vital

People who have the right to speak freely
have the duty to speak louder
for the sake of those
who have no right to speak at all.

Stop Loss

Educational, but not engrossing. A good review of all the gory horrors of war, but what was the director trying to say about it all?

By finally choosing to go back to what he knew, the main character showed how hard it is for someone to break out of the constrains of their identity. This is hardly an uplifting conclusion, and not the kind of exceptional story you would expect from an afternoon at the theater.

Classical Fever at The Boston Philharmonic

Brookline House Fire 3/17/2008

Camping in the Moonlight

Picture a quiet night in a clearing in the forest. Nothing but the sound of crickets chirping and the light of the moon.

How I Want to Be

Strong yet like steel tubing
Like singing
Ever fluid
Never static

Julius Caesar

I loved the beautiful cinematic art direction, and Sara Kathryn Bakker was a divine appartition. However, the third movement lost me!

Zzzzzzz....

Last night I slept like a cadaver in a body bag.

Oi vey!

I was just doing some research on Jewish T-shirts, when I found this site, closed for Sabbath!


http://www.teebrews.com/

I get back home and my inbox has exploded like a pigeon at a wedding ceremony.

Its such a funny expression "I'm seeing someone."
Not touching, not interacting, just seeing.

Its like apples and oranges, or in this case cucumbers and string beans if you know what i mean...

The Immortality of Machines

If all human beings on earth died how long would all of the automated systems we have put in place continue to function?

Money

What's the fun of being young if you are too poor to even enjoy it? In fact, you loathe the expanse of time between paychecks when you are in total financial paralysis.

"Do you mind if I ask what youre listening to on your music player?"

There was a girl on the T with a microphone going around asking people that question.

"Ella Fitzgerald" was my response.

I always give of myself what I think others are owed. Is that arrogant and presumptive? Or efficient?

Five Adjectives to Describe My Style

clean
fitted
sharp
European
artsy

Jane Monheit Concert

Jane Monheit doesn't sing as much as she just oozes sensuality.

Yahweh or the Highway T-shirt

I just received a royalty check for a T-shirt I designed on Zazzle.com three years ago!






















http://www.zazzle.com/yahweh_or_the_highway_shirt-235690314078892562

Junk Mail

I was so sick of receiving those pre-approved credit card offers in the mail, so I found a phone number to call to be removed from those lists. 1-888-567-8688. The computerized message asks for your social security number, which I refused to give, and it still processed it anyway. I'll post an update here if there is any change in the amount of junk credit card offers I receive.

I also registered for the Do Not Mail list, to cut down on other junk mail.

http://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/

It was a simple process, so we'll see if that had any effect also.

My policy is to say nothing behind someone's back that you would not want them to overhear.

Kissing

Kissing is for when you feel too much to say it in words

Unhappiness

Unhappiness is the thing which sparks change.

It was unhappiness that got me from Beijing to Taiwan.
It was unhappiness that got me from Taiwan to Boston.
It was unhappiness that got me from teaching ESL to finding a new job.

And I'm sure it will be the siren of unhappiness that brings about the next change in my life.