Monthly Archives: May 2006

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24: Season 2: This show is darn addicting.

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24A summer or two ago my sister-in-law got my hooked on the TV show 24. We did a netflix subscription and watched the entire first season in a week or so. I think all TV can be extremely addicting if you don’t have commercials and you can watch one eposide after the next.
Earlier this week I did something foolish and watched a free download of an eposide of 24 that was offered. You can’t watch just one. I did the Netflix thing again and Mindy and I watched nearly the first 12 hours of the show already. For anyone who hasn’t seen this show, let me suggest: I really like it, but it’s probably not worth your time.

I think I’m going to have some commentary on the show later, cause there are some things about it that I’m rather uncomfortable with, but all in all I really like the show.
24 - Season Two

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In the news today…

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At work today, I happened to catch the news and there where a few things I thought worth commenting on.

Bush and Blair on the war in Iraq. I want to believe, and I do to some degree, that the statements Bush shared in a press conference yesterday were sincere. Bush acknowledge regret for saying things like “Wanted, Dead or Alive,” and “Bring it on.” He also acknowledge the setback and wrongdoing that occurred at Abu Gharib. I saw a couple of clips of Bush speaking and he definitely seemed candid and sincere.
This seems to be a different Bush then the steadfast and unwavering Bush of the last six years. Yet, I can’t help but think what has caused this change in Bush’s attitude. You might know that the polls show Bush losing support, and any politician knows they need to do something about that. So, Bush needed to do something about that, and maybe that meant putting on a regretful face for the camera.
What do you think? Was Bush’s regret sincere or just a political ploy to garner some more supporters?

Enron Verdict. I wrote about watching the documentary, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, not too long ago. Yesterday the verdict was reached convicting Kenneth Lay and Jeff Skilling of multiple accounts of Fraud and more. They could each face life in prison for what they’ve done. I heard someone make a statement about how this shows that we treat Corporate Fraud by CEO’s as severely and seriously as street criminals. Ironically, both Lay and Skilling are still roaming free today on $5 million bond. Thousands of Enron employees lost their pensions, or should I say had their pension’s stolen by Lay and Skilling. Does anyone else find it wrong that these guys can be roaming around on $5 million of money they are guilty of stealing?

Teacher and student. The Today Show interviewed the now married teacher and student whose affair started when the student was just 13 years old and the teacher 34. The interview was not negative, it was sincere, and came across kind and positive. I can’t help but think this sort of thing would never have happened if the teacher had been a male. And before you misunderstand me, I believe that in both situations the wrong doing should be taken more seriously. I fear this is one of those situations where the stereotype of males being the more powerful and dominating, as well as sex hungry, diminishes the wrong doing that was committed in this situation.

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I bought a bike…

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I always hesitate after big purchases, but for better or worse, I just bought a new bike. It’s the same brand and style as my two previous ones (I’m starting to express some brand loyalty). Here’s a picture:
my bike

A few questions for the audience as it relates to my recent purchase:

  1. This will be my main mode of transportation. Did I pay too much for it? How do I decided good stewardship on something like that?
  2. Should I uglify this one like I did my previous bike? Bumper stickers all over and more?
  3. Is it right to want nicer things because you’ll use them more?
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An explanation of that magazine’s name

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Because I was sure it would inevitably be mentioned, here is the explanation from the website about that magazine’s name:

For as long as we’ve been publishing B****, there’s one question that gets asked over and over. And over. “Why did you choose that word as the name of your magazine?” While we’re aware that our title is off-putting to some people, we think it’s worth it. And here’s why.

When it’s being used as an insult, “b****” is most often hurled at women who speak their minds, who have opinions and don’t shy away from expressing them. If being an outspoken woman means being a b****, we’ll take that as a compliment, thanks.

Furthermore, if we take it as a compliment, it loses its power to hurt us. And if we can get people thinking about what they’re saying when they use the word, that’s even better.

And, last but certainly not least, “b****” describes all at once who we are when we speak up, what it is we’re too worked up over to be quiet about, and the act of making ourselves heard.

Now for my quick two-cents: I’m not sure whether I necessarily agree full-heartedly that these sorts of negative words can be redeemed, but I have to agree the words seem to lose “its power to hurt us.” Maybe that’s not the case at all though, maybe it’s a sign that the agressor wins. The “N” word is another example, and there is heated disagreement about it between the younger and older generation. Is there a fully right answer one way or the other? I’m not sure.

I do know as a male, I’m not sure I’m really at liberty to enter my opinion into the conversation. If these women choose to use B**** as an empowering term, I’m not one to argue. Nor do I think that gives me any excuse not to listen.

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Laptop’s for the developing world

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$100 laptops
Your looking at a $100 laptop developed by MIT students to help bridge the digital divide in the developing world. This could potentially be a wonderful invention.

From One Laptop per Child

Why do children in developing nations need laptops?
Laptops are both a window and a tool: a window into the world and a tool with which to think. They are a wonderful way for all children to learn learning through independent interaction and exploration.

More info on One Laptop per Child

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Why most guys should read Ms. Magazine and B****

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I was reading the other day when a guy looked over and asked what I was reading…
“Ms. Magazine,” I said, “It’s really good.” All I got in return was a funny look. I think I tried to justify it, but nothing was going to convince him.

Ms. MagazineMs. and B**** and other magazines like it our written off as “feminist propaganda” and they receive a slim readership because of it. Instead of being the often informative piece of journalism that they could be, they end up preaching to the choir. Unfortunately, the very people that should hear a lot of the things that are said in those magazines, men, are the last ones to ever think about picking them up.

Men, go to your local magazine rack and instead of sneaking around looking at inappropriate magazines, boldly pick up Ms. Magazine and give it a read through. I think you’ll find yourself learning things you never had a clue about, hear stories that will break your heart, and considering new perspectives you’d never imagined.

Of course, you’ll probably need some proof that you might read something worthwhile, so here are a few tidbits:

In September, the court ordered an end to discrimination against menstruating women, confronting a tradition in parts of Nepal of keeping women in cowsheds during their periods.

From Paradise Lost

That expensive blouse you’re wearing? It may have been sewn by a Filipina garment worker laboring in a factory owned by a Hong Kong mogul on a western Pacific island. The Northern Mariana Islands, a territory of the United States, offers the possibility of an American label — Made in Saipan (USA), Made in Northern Mariana Islands (USA), or simply Made in USA — to garment manufacturers, and throws in a unique exemption from U.S. minimum-wage and immigration laws.

From Too Many Women in College?

Although American women still struggle for parity in many arenas, we have outpaced men in at least one: undergraduate college education. Currently, 57.4 percent of bachelor’s degrees in the United States are earned by women, 42.6 percent by men. This is an almost exact reversal from 1970, when 56.9 percent of college graduates were males and 43.1 percent females.

There’s even a pocket guide from an expert in nonviolent confrontation tactics. An anti-harassment tool kit that really works.

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Gentrification: a Case Study of Cabrini-Green

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Photo of Cabrini-Green being demolished

After doing a little searching around for stories of gentrification I came across this photo and an article about Cabrini-Green. Anyone who has previously heard that name most likely knows it as Chicago’s most infamous housing project. Known for it’s crime and gang activity. Well, what you might not know is that that Cabrini-Green no longer exist. In it’s place are expensive condos and townhomes, and some affordable housing. The Chicago Reporter did a great article about the change in Cabrini-Green which I’d encouraging you to read. Here are some statistics from it about the Cabrini-Green neighborhood:

  1. Residential property sales within two blocks of the developments reached a combined total of more than $2 billion

  2. Most of the real-estate activity, nearly $1.6 billion, occurred since 2000, the year the CHA launched its plan

  3. Property values in these neighborhoods have escalated quickly, in some cases, doubling within weeks

  4. While nearly 74 percent of residents in the neighborhoods were black in 2000, nearly 66 percent of new homeowners have been white since then

  5. About 25 percent of the neighborhoods’ households earned more than $50,000 a year in 1999, compared with 82 percent of those who’ve bought homes there since.
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Quick thoughts on gentrification: It’s not good.

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To start here’s a pretty good definition of gentrification:

The rehabilitation of a deteriorated neighborhood by new residents who are wealthier than the long-time residents. This can cause an increase in housing prices and lead to displacement of the long-time residents. via

Recently I’ve been looking at houses in the nearby neighborhood, helping our friends search for a potential home to buy. Every time I turn my eye to real estate I’m flooded with an overwhelming feeling of a need to do something about gentrification.
I first noticed gentrification when we were in Atlanta doing Americorps and the concept was explained to me. It was white flight in reverse. Wealthy folks had long lived on the outskirts of the city, but now there was a desire to move back in. It’s becoming cool to be a city dweller again. Neighborhoods that had been well in-tacked for years contained families that did not have huge incomes, but they had the stability of owning a home, some a home that had been in the family for a while. Money though, is a powerful thing. When a house would go up for sale in one of these neighborhoods (take Grant Park for instance), a realtor would buy it up. They’d then tear it down or do major renovations and double or triple the houses value. This in turn increase the property tax on all the homes in the area, eventually forcing some families to sell who had had the stability of owning their homes for years. Eventually, these neighborhoods turned from what they once where to something completely different. The houses our different, but more tragically, all the people in the neighborhood are different. And what happens to those who used to live there, who used to call that home for years prior? They search for what they can afford, which is now farther from the city, their jobs, their previous community. This is wrong.
Atlanta was not, and is not, the only place this is occuring. Every major city I’ve been in, from Chicago to Minneapolis to Nashville, they are all experiencing serious gentrification. And the terrible thing is there doesn’t seem to be a solution to it. It’s been my experience that those with money do not enjoy or desire to live next to those without (though they often live quite close). Large homes are not built next to public housing in happy harmony. The solution, and the force that drives the problem is Money. If I had a million dollars I could buy up every home in my nearby neighborhood and make sure it was not turned into something that would force out it’s current residents. But I don’t have a million dollars, and in the end it seems no one who has the money or power cares enough to actually try and stop this. I’m looking for stories of solutions, stories of communities that don’t force people out, but figure out a way to peacefully care for all their members. If anyone knows of any solutions, please let me know.