Archive for September, 2004

Thoughts on the Debate

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 30, 2004, 8:04 pm UTCPosted in: Politics

I think that Kerry had a very forceful showing in tonight’s debate (I was watching on PBS at the j-school).

- He was articulate, clear, and didn’t get into long-winded answers.
- He was polite, and listened attentively to Bush.
- Bush committed the same error that Gore did in the 2000 debates, he jumped in right after Kerry spoke. Of course, Gore actually interrupted, and Bush didn’t, but Bush seemed ready to pounce on whatever Kerry said.
- Bush looked meek and sounded defensive. He had this sort of mock resolute nod that he would do sometimes when he was done speaking, but it made him seem a little cocky.
- Bush apparently has been taking lessons on the word “nuclear.” He can say it properly now.
- I also wondered if after the 2000 incident where Gore and Bush came out wearing essentially the same outfit if they both coordinated their ties. Kerry was in a red tie and Bush in a blue tie. Kerry came out on the camera’s left and Bush on the camera’s right. A subtle message?

Verdict?

On a scale of 1-10:

Kerry: 8
Bush 6.5

Back to normal

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 30, 2004, 3:20 pm UTCPosted in: Blogs

After spending lots of time agonizing over my blog, and with Lux from the OCF, I managed to restore my blog as it should be. Thanks!

Please bear with me

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 30, 2004, 8:12 am UTCPosted in: Blogs

Moveable Type seems to be doing strange things to me. Forgive me while I attempt to correct the problem. My whole right-side menu seems to have disappeared and I can’t figure out why. If anyone can help, please email me.

Update [8:23 PDT]: Ok now it cuts off after “Scott Rosenberg.” Argh. Any MT gurus out there?

What if half of the adult male population were charged with sexual assault?

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 29, 2004, 7:59 pm UTCPosted in: Travels

Then you’d be living in Pitcairn Island, one of my favorite geographical oddities.

This island, population 46, currently has seven of its men undergoing a total of nearly 100 counts of sexual abuse, including the mayor. These charges stem from 1999, when a British policewoman visiting the island was told of abuses by a local Pitcairn girl.

The residents of the island are descendants of the mutineers from the HMS Bounty and the local Polynesian population in 1790.

I love this guy who lives in Little Canada, Minn., who has an updated page on Pitcairn Island, including all the names and some photos of all the Pitcairners. Even the Government of Pitcairn has a link to his page.

I’ve just ordered a used copy of Serpent in Paradise, written by a British journalist and travel writer that spent a year living among the Pitcairners in the 1990s.

Postcard Love

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 29, 2004, 5:39 pm UTCPosted in: New York City

So it completely slipped my mind. If you want me to send you a postcard from lovely NYC, drop me an email (not comments) with your address.

“You drink two Red Bulls in the morning, and you’re set to go.”

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 27, 2004, 5:32 pm UTCPosted in: Columbia

Today we hit up the courts in downtown Manhattan.

It was the opening of the murder trial of NY rapper Freaky Zeeky who was injured in a gun battle in May 2003 that left him injured and his bodyguard dead allegedly at the hands of Chauncey Dillon, 29. Our whole RW1 class went down into the courtroom and watched from the very beginning as they went through the jury selection process and everything. Wow, that’s amazingly boring. They have about 20 or so people and when they call them forward, they’re allowed to say if they have any moral objections or something else that would prevent them from being impartial. Some people claimed that their jobs would prevent them, and one guy said that he got queasy at the sight of gory violence. Once that was over, the trial got underway. Opening statements were presented by both sides, and the prosecution got one witness, some surveyor/inspector from the DA’s office before a recess was called at 1 pm.

By that time we headed over to Luke Rettler’s office, chief of the Homicide Unit at the DA’s office. He gave us a pretty interesting account of drug gang, particularly one that he helped bring down about 10 years ago called “YTC” or “Young Talented Criminals” (who were involved in selling Yellow-Top Cocaine) that operated in the Harlem and the UWS area. He had a slide presentation with mugs of all the thugs and surveillance photos of them selling cocaine on the street. All of them had various street names that he knew, like “O-Dog” and less creative ones like “Timmy”. Timmy apparently was a real all-star member of YTC. He was referred to as a “pitcher,” someone pretty low on the drug gang food chain, who was responsible for handing off drugs to buyers. In drug lingo he was also referred to as a “Dixie Cup,” meaning that if he got caught or killed, that the gang could just throw him away without a second thought. Apparently this guy during gun battles (eight that he was involved in) managed to shoot himself six times, and also burned down an apartment building when he lit some candles inside because he was cold. And when he finally was caught and made deals with Rettler’s office, and Rettler did a sort of pre-trial rehearsal with him in the courtroom and told him that he had to swear on a Bible, Timmy stole a Bible from the hotel that he was staying in and brought it to his court appearance. Not quite the quickest of cats. And apparently the jury believed him basically because he “wasn’t smart enough to lie.”

Tomorrow, for my story assignment for the week me and a few others are assigned to a Brooklyn court. We’ll be there all day and then have a story due at midnight. Wednesday I’m covering a story for Wired News, which should be cool.

This past weekend I went up to Hartford again to take care of Martin while Heidi was away in Switzerland. She was supposed to come back on Sunday night but she got held up in Amsterdam for some reason. Martin worked all day Saturday, so I spent most of the weekend watching Star Trek TNG: Season 3 on my laptop and then when he was home, playing FIFA 2004 on his XBox. We hit up Frank Pepe’s for dinner on Sunday night in New Haven — man is that good pizza.

My ride home on the Chinese bus turned out to be a van, and a couple people were left standing at the curb when they hadn’t bought their online tickets to guarantee them a space. Our driver (who provided the great, but yet somewhat scary quote for the subject line) was this energetic guy who kept getting pissed at the traffic and would radio in with the other Chinese bus drivers every so often. One thing nice about the van is that he dropped me on 125th/2nd Ave instead of going down to 86th, which puts me closer to my apt. We ended up hitting traffic due to construction and an accident in a few places and so what should have been a 2 hr trip ended up being a 3.5 hr trip. The driver told me a few interesting tidbits about Fung Wah Transport:

- If you buy five one-ways in the span of six months, you are a priority passenger and get a guaranteed spot.
- If you buy ten one-ways in the span of six months, you get a free ticket.
- Hartford’s business has been rapidly increasing as of late. They are the only Chinese bus company to serve Hartford (they stop en route from NY to Boston).

Books finished in the last couple weeks:

V.S. Naipaul’s Beyond Belief
9/11 Commission Report
Randy Kennedy’s Subwayland

All excellent. Given that I have a 2 hour round trip commute to Crown Heights, I can tear through books pretty quick.

“PS: This is what the alphabet would look like if Q and R were removed.”

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 24, 2004, 7:29 pm UTCPosted in: Humor

Well, technically it was the comedian Darrell Hammond, he of “Saturday Night Live” fame, a man whose imitation of the former president is so dead-on it is difficult to separate the two in your mind. Mr. Hammond, who had dropped in unannounced with a Yankees cap on his head, took the stage and promptly started a pretty good imitation of the current president and his use of the word terror.

“I like the way he says it: `Tear-ah!’ ” Mr. Hammond said, going into his Bush imitation: ” `I don’t need the O or the R to protect America!’ “

The Politics of Funny, or Vice Versa
The New York Times
By JESSE McKINLEY
September 24, 2004

This month in Muslim (and Sikh) world issues . . .

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 24, 2004, 7:17 pm UTCPosted in: WTF?

Eight female Muslim students were the victims of a hate crime Thursday night when three males threw water on them and screamed derogatory statements, police said.

The UC Berkeley students were stargazing from the Vista Parking Lot at the Lawrence Hall of Science when they were confronted by three white males in a black car about 10:30 p.m., said UC police Capt. Patrick Carroll.

The males sprayed the victims with water and threw water bottles at them before driving off, police said.

8 Female Muslims Victims of Hate Crime
By MARY-KAMEKO SHIBATA
The Daily Californian
Contributing Writer
Monday, September 20, 2004

Fifty students flocked to Crossroads Dining Commons last night to protest dining staff who tried to kick out a Sikh student for carrying his ceremonial dagger while eating his lunch last week.

Dozens of students donned the daggers to rebuff the dining staffÕs actions, which they called discriminatory and an attack on civil liberties.

Last Friday, freshman Mansheel Singh was told to remove his KirpanÑa ceremonial dagger devout Sikhs are required to wear at all timesÑby two Crossroads staff members.

The dining staff told Singh he would not be allowed inside the DC until he removed his 7-inch Kirpan, even after he explained that it was a religious article he could not take off, Singh said.

Students Rail Scrutiny of Sikh
By SONJA SHARP
The Daily Californian
Contributing Writer
Friday, September 24, 2004

EDITOR’S NOTE: Andrea Armstrong graduated from North Bend High School and was voted the Midwestern League girls basketball most valuable player her senior season in 1999-2000.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Andrea Armstrong doesn’t look like the enemy, yet she stands accused of being a traitor. She doesn’t act like the enemy, yet she’s been insulted, threatened and stalked.

Her crime? Wanting to play basketball at South Florida while being true to her religion:

Islam.

“I swear, I’ll send my degree back to USF if they cave on this. But then, she’d need to shave her beard and moustache off.”

That was one of the many chat-room e-mails sent to Armstrong. She is one of the first American athletes in the post Sept. 11 era who wants to practice Islam in public. Judging by the reaction, Muslims aren’t the only ones who should be worried.

Commentary: The enemy is not on the court
The Register-Guard
Eugene, Oregon
Friday, September 24, 2004

Passengers on a Moscow-Hurghada flight refused to fly to Egypt until a woman dressed in a hijab, traditional Muslim dress, was taken off the plane.

Several minutes before take-off a group of five people, including a woman dressed in a hijab, boarded the Tu-154 passenger jet belonging to Krasnoyarsk Airlines, the NTV television network reported on Thursday morning. The five were reportedly students from the southern Russian republic of Dagestan that neighbors Chechnya.

The plane took off only after the group of passengers was put on another flight.

Russian Tourists Refuse to Fly to Egypt With Muslim Woman
MosNews
Moscow, Russia
Thursday, September 23, 2004

Russians, still in shock at the Beslan tragedy, have reacted angrily to a music producerÕs plans for what he calls a Òterror concertÓ, with a female singer dressed as a suicide bomber on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The singer, called n.A.T.o. in a spin-off of the Òlesbian schoolgirlÓ t.A.T.u. duo that took the West by storm, wears a long black dress, a veil, and sings in Arabic. Producer Ivan Shapovalov, who launched both groups, does not deny that the resemblance to a suicide bomber is intentional.

Tickets to SaturdayÕs show have also been made to look like plane tickets.

ÒShapovalov is exploiting the topical theme of terrorism … The tragedy in Beslan did little to stop his creative drive,Ó the Izvestia daily wrote.

Shapovalov, meanwhile, does not rule out that there may be problems holding the concert. ÒBecause everyoneÕs so scaredÉI feel some doubts on their part,Ó he told MosNews, speaking of the organizers.

The concert will feature the latest news footage from the Middle East, and references to al Qaeda and Iraq.

TATU Producer Angers Russia With Suicide Bomber Singer
MosNews
Moscow, Russia
Thursday, September 9, 2004

Gemar Chatimah tovah

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 24, 2004, 10:44 am UTCPosted in: Baseball

I hope that all who are observing Yom Kippur have an easy fast this weekend.

And particularly to Shawn Green, who has found a way to balance his heritage with his duties as a baseball player. And for this weekend, for those who care — GO BLUE!

He is someone who does not practice his faith but wants to honor it nonetheless. He is someone who does not consider baseball more important than life, but who does not want to abandon his responsibilities there, either.

In a sports world where most things are black and white, there is plenty of gray here. Just like in that other, real world.

“In religion, I don’t think there is an ‘all or none,’ ” Green said. “Everybody has to go about it their own way.”

As with anyone in this land of glorious religious freedom, here’s hoping Shawn Green is allowed to do so unimpeded.

“Dodger Lead Grows”
by Bill Plaschke
Los Angeles Times
September 24, 2004

Public Service Announcement

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 23, 2004, 7:58 pm UTCPosted in: Music

For all you folks still in the Berkeley/San Francisco area, if you’re interested, go check out my friend Katie Saxon’s singing trio from the University of Oregon who will be performing in Berkeley this Saturday:

“Real Gothic Death Metal: Secular Songs of the 14th Century.”
7:30pm, September 25th at the Dzogchen Community West
2748 Adeline Street, Suite D, Berkeley, CA 94703
$10 at the door, $5 students and seniors
www.sospiro.org

Yeah, that’s pretty much why I have an iBook

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 22, 2004, 8:22 am UTCPosted in: Apple

“Macs are the shit,” Ledy said. “They’re the easiest to use and Apple’s interface is just so slick. [By comparison] XP looks like Fisher-Price.”

“First iPods, Now Computers: Apples Are In”
By Owen Hearey
Columbia Daily Spectator
September 22, 2004

How far do we have to take this absurdity?

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 21, 2004, 9:44 pm UTCPosted in: WTF?

From Boing Boing:

WASHINGTON (AP) — A London-to-Washington flight was diverted to Maine on Tuesday when it was discovered passenger Yusuf Islam – formerly known as singer Cat Stevens – was on a government watch list and barred from entering the country, federal officials said.

United Airlines Flight 919 was en route to Dulles International Airport when the match was made between a passenger and a name on the watch list, said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration. The plane was met by federal agents at Maine’s Bangor International Airport around 3 p.m., Melendez said.

Homeland Security Department spokesman Dennis Murphy identified the passenger as Islam. “He was interviewed and denied admission to the United States on national security grounds,” Murphy said, and would be put on the first available flight out of the country Wednesday.

[The Associated Press ; by Leslie Miller ; Sept. 21 2004 11:21 pm EDT]

Two good articles from Slate and the LAT

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 20, 2004, 4:24 pm UTCPosted in: Media

Somehow, Sacha Baron Cohen, in the guise of a British would-be gangsta with a penchant for malapropisms and misunderstandings, managed to secure another passel of interviews with people like former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman (who conceded that, yes, whale feces “have got to be massive”) and archconservative Patrick Buchanan (who said that Saddam Hussein “was using BLTs on the Kurds”). In one episode, Richard Kerr, a former deputy director of the CIA, found himself debating whether terrorists could drive a train into the White House.

How can so many supposedly media-savvy operatorsÑeven members of the intelligence communityÑstill be so easily fooled?

. . .

One source, who declined to be named, provided Slate with a copy (click on the thumbnail for an expanded view) of one such letter, which explains that an entity named Somerford Brooke Productions is creating a six-part series called “The Making of Modern America (working title).” Lauding the recipient’s “unbridled reputation,” the letter invites him to appear on a show that will “present issues in a fresh and innovative way that will engage young viewers.” It says that the producers hope the show, ahem, “won’t just be seen in the UK but world-wide.”

In other words, it’s all fastidiously accurate, but vague.

[Respek! How does Ali G keep conning famous guests? ; Slate, By Sam Schechner, September 20 2004]

And completely different:

No one has hunted harder than Mike Law and Wendell Flint. For 33 years, the two friends drove, hiked and thwacked their way through hundreds of miles of cragged Sierra forest in search of Sequoiadendron giganteum. As for Flint, “he’s been doing it for 15 years prior to that,” says Law, an apple-cheeked wall-design painter from Temple City.

Law often speaks as if Flint were still alive, scoping out a new specimen around the next bend. He died of diabetes complications two years ago, on a day he and Law were planning to take a trip into the national parks’ Giant Forest grove once more. Flint was 82 and blind.

“He couldn’t see the trees,” Law says, “but he could smell ‘em.”

Flint and Law never did find the Big One, but they painstakingly measured 61 other giants, putting them on “the list.”

Law’s quest this year in the Sequoia National Forest is as much about a lost companion as a phantom tree. He wants to discover one more giant, and name it for his old friend. Wendell Flint would take his place on the list alongside Old Job, Chief Sequoyah and the others.

. . .

“This is it. This is our tree.”

It is impossible to comprehend the size of a truly giant sequoia, 3,000 years old or so, until you are underneath Ñ head thrown back, gazing at a tree larger than the Statue of Liberty. The bark alone is 30 inches thick.

Each aging behemoth assumes its own shape, a grizzled totem sculpted by gales, lightning and wildfire. Law eyes the new specimen like a jeweler appraising a rough-cut diamond.

“That middle trunk certainly packs a volume,” he says. “It’s not a particularly tall tree. About 200 feet.”

He takes a few steps closer.

“I don’t know what it looks like in the back. It’s very impressive, though, very stout. Robert?” he hollers to Flint’s nephew, along for the hunt. “Has it got a downhill buttress?”

A buttress, a lower section of trunk that swells when a tree anchors itself into steep slope, adds considerably to its bulk Ñ and record-setting potential.

Bergen disappears into the tree’s enormous shadow, then hollers back, “No!”

Law slumps. He hobbles around the lower side.

“This isn’t it,” he says in a flat voice. “This is a very large tree, but it’s certainly no competition to the Sherman.” There is no point even naming it or putting it on the list, Law says, appraising it soberly.

["Greatest Show on Girth" ; Los Angeles Times, by Janet Wilson, September 20 2004.]

Nothing Robotic About Robo-Art

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 20, 2004, 3:30 pm UTCPosted in: Journalism

My first foray into photography.

Wired News publishes my photo essay on the ArtBots festival in Harlem last weekend.

A Raw Deal to Rye

By
Cyrus Farivar
 – September 19, 2004, 9:27 pm UTCPosted in: Travels

So courtesy of Lane, I got a quick trip up into Connecticut. He was taking some Japanese friends living in NYC to visit life outside the city. I hung with Heidi and Martin while the four of them went canoeing and various other things in the Litchfield, CT area.

All went well on our way back in our rented PT Cruiser until we hit Armonk, NY and Lane’s friend who was driving said that the accelerator wasn’t working right, roughly around 8 pm. We pulled off to check it out in a parking lot at the intersection of Highways 433 and 22. After letting the car sit for five minutes we started it again, or rather tried to. It sputtered and then died. A few more times it didn’t even sputter.

Long story short (and two French vanilla coffees later), myself and the two girls ended up getting driven by a random stranger to the nearby town of Rye, NY where we caught the Metro North back into the city. Lane reported that as of 11:30 pm he and the Japanese guy friend of his (I forget his name) had gotten a new rental and were finally en route back.

By then, I was making myself a sandwich for dinner, on rye.

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