/usr/bin/vacation tangentialism
Today, I walked into a diving equipment shop on 6th Avenue and asked about a waterproof housing for my camera. The owner didn't have any housings in stock, but he held me there for half an hour trying to sell me fins, masks, cheap underwater cameras, and diving lessons. I eventually managed to escape (with a brochure for future diving lessons, if I am so inclined), reminded of how intense New York is, and how, even when I'm trying to equip myself for some downtime, I find myself caught up in someone else's panicked retail neurosis. This is why I am so excited about tomorrow.
Friday afternoon, I will be in a plane headed to Puerto Rico, where I am scheduled to meet another flight destined for Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. I haven't taken a totally hedonistic vacation in at least a decade, so I'm looking forward to nine days of uncomplicated beachside leisure. Plans include: staring at things underwater, listening to foam hiss at the edge of the waves, eating strange fish, reading things, writing on paper, listening to the Bach 'cello suites (thanks, Andrew!), and spending every sun-addled minute with my girlfriend. Most importantly, I will be separated by the entire North American continent from my laptop and broadband connection--I'm sure I don't have to elaborate on why that's a good thing.
When I get back, two Mondays from now, I'll have plenty to say about Arthur Chi'en, my camera, t-shirts, the New York Post, food I recently ate, and the virtues of dance music's commercial decline. I am loving this right now, but I'll love it even more once I've gotten some sand in my eyes. Be nice.
meta-ish , vacation-ish by tangentialist at 01:03 AM on 27 May 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)
Chi'en Continued: WCBS Replies, or: What's So Profane About It?
The triumph of evil over good that tossed Arthur Chi'en to the broadcasting curb like so much bundled newspaper continues. After sending a quick note off to WCBS, encouraging them to suck it up and rehire Chi'en, I received this terse note in my inbox today:
Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. The Viacom Television Stations Group has a clear policy regarding the use of inappropriate language. All employees are informed of the policy and are expected to conform their conduct to it. We appreciate knowing your viewpoint and hope that you will continue to watch WCBS-TV.
After having been the target of penalties for both Janet Jackson's gilded nipple and Howard Stern's unfettered mouth, Viacom have clearly given in. They've been punished, and they've got a rule: No Bad Words.
But would the FCC really have levied a fine for Chi'en's use of the so-called F-word? It seems much less provocative than most other profanity issues on the airwaves today. Take Stern, for example; setting aside any particular definition of "profanity", Stern's show uses rough language and sexual references to explicitly provocative effect--and while he has used profanity judiciously in the past, he could succeed brilliantly without resorting to Carlin's Seven Forbidden Words. Even Bono, whose "fucking brilliant" elicited a questionable flip-flop reversed ruling from the FCC, could be said to have used the word in a more direct and intentional fashion than the WCBS reporter's spin-and-drop-the-mic use of "fuck". Certainly, the "Crazy Cabbie" guy from Stern behind him, with his raised middle finger, was an small order of magnitude more offensive than Chi'en. Don't even get me started on Jackson's nipple.
While Chi'en clearly lost his cool and Viacom has warned their employees about using naughty words, the fact that an accomplished reporter with no prior record was fired on the spot for reacting to on-camera provocation in a understandably angry but relatively less provocative fashion is absurd--and more than a little worrisome. If Viacom's not willing to examine the facts for at least a day or so before taking action, what kind of message does that send other networks, the FCC, and the general public? That a single word is more powerful than a reasoned decision?
By the way, where, in all this live TV, was Viacom's celebrated seven-second delay?
arthur chi'en-ish , speech-ish by tangentialist at 05:39 PM on 24 May 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (1)
Girlfriend's Line Of The Day
Via AIM:
"i am not used to him making out with his friends that are girls"
aim-ish , laurea-ish , lotd-ish by tangentialist at 01:27 PM on 21 May 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)
Chi'en Revolution!
It was going to happen, anyhow. I am particularly partial to the Arthur Chi'en Revolution tote bag.
[Chi'en Revolution Store @ Cafepress]
arthur chi'en-ish , geek-ish , t-shirt-ish by tangentialist at 03:30 PM on 20 May 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)
Arthur Chi'en Fired: Why He Had No Choice
Have people forgotten what it means to live in this city? Do we not hold our media to the same standards that govern our own social interactions? Why, then, has WCBS fired Arthur Chi'en for turning around and dealing with two Opie and Anthony snipers as any good New Yorker would? Let's consider a few alternative reponses, and why Chi'en went with the money:
- "Hey guys, can you please cut it out?" Standard fourth-grade teacher material. It's the kind of thing you're urged to say "next time", rather than throw sand in someone's eyes when they're clearly coming for your goodies. We've all seen reporters use this one, and it's totally emasculating.
- "Stop it", a.k.a. "Quit it" We all know where this one is headed.
- "Go away." Now, on one hand, this is probably the response of choice--a demand for relief, unambiguous, clean, and humiliating. Still, there is a much better version of this one, and it suffers from the same vocabulary issue that got Chi'en fired in the first place. Compared with "fuck off", "go away" sounds like what you say to ghosts when you're ten.
- The Non-Response The "gold standard" of anti-heckling, non-response has a reporter taking the high road. This should, in principle, work for the duration of a fifteen-second standup; let the morons do their thing, confront them during the cutaway, leave the dirty work to the producer. A network expects this sort of thing from their reporters, the stoic face of impartial reportage. The problem with that is, you have two guys waving an Opie and Anthony poster around behind your head, toying you and your network like elementary school crossing guards, and you're going into your segment with millions of New Yorkers going, "Man, Arthur Chi'en's a dork--why doesn't he do something? Maybe he should have stayed at NY1." No, Arthur Chi'en grew up here, and he says "fuck that".
Yes, given the options, it is clear that Chi'en did the right thing. Confronted by brown-nosing radio interns on a dare, our man on the scene finished his sentence, turned, and asked the appropriate question: "What the fuck is your problem?" Why fire the guy? CBS should have given him a fat raise.
[The footage]
[Gawker's take on Chi'en's firing]
arthur chi'en-ish , speech-ish by tangentialist at 12:05 PM on 20 May 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (1)
Citizen Journalism: Where I See It, My First Attempt
Citizen journalism is both better than it's ever been and far worse than it could be. Depending on where you sit in the arena, the battle between big media and blog media is, alternately: raging, tepid, tragic, heroic, and insignificant. The good news is, the once-distant dream of pervasive publishing has reached critical mass, with blogs having become not just free and easy-to-create but incredibly popular for everything from personal journals to local news filters. The bad news is, those sites that make news are routinely denied access to primary sources, and when they stumble on them, they can be made to suffer...
When bloggers-slash-citizen-journalists cannot protect their sources and popular, respected local news sites like Gothamist cannot obtain credentials, it bears remembering that while, as Jay Rosen says, "Bloggers vs. Journalists is Over", neither governments nor corporations really see it that way. Maybe it's the objectivity/fairness thing, but maybe it's also the format. I met the lead technology guy from NowPublic at last week's NYC Photobloggers meetup, and I lost his card (if you're reading this, technology guy, email me). He immediately threw down the "citizen journalism" gauntlet and mentioned a photojournalism contest; I reminded myself to look at it later.
It wasn't until this afternoon, when I saw three helicopters over my neighborhood, that I thought about the site again. Since they were news helicopters, I hopped on my bike and rode out to see what they were looking at. When I arrived, I learned that a building had collapsed, trapping several construction workers and attracting a huge crowd. I shot a few photos, came home, and posted this story on NowPublic. My verdict: It's a very interesting site, and still needs a lot of fine-tuning. But the pitch is great; finally, a citizen journalism site that allows members to assign stories, shoot footage, write and edit coverage--a miniaturized news network, with all the roles represented. I used to be all about Indymedia, and they've had a few good moments of coverage (and an inevitable run-in with the FBI), but Indy suffers from a dearth of editing and filtering that results in a surplus of stories I either don't trust or can't decipher. I hope that NowPublic doesn't suffer the same fate, but I believe they can make an impact in the journalism scene, if they get the attention.
Give the site a look over, maybe sign up for a membership (it's free, of course), and comment on the site and the stories, as I have. Projects like this need support, for the sake of everybody who wants their small voice respected by the public they love.
journalism-ish by tangentialist at 07:40 PM on 19 May 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)
Union Picnic: Thanksgiving Sandwiches For The Ungrateful Hipster
As southern food goes, at least in Williamsburg, Union Picnic is surprisingly good. With the shiver-inducing exceptions of Jabz' Joint and Lazy Catfish (Jabz has since closed, thank god--see my review--and Catfish is nothing more than a SYSCO front), Williamsburg hasn't always had a standby comfort food haven, leaving adherents of chicken-fried steak and meatloaf no option but to trek into the city for Duke's or Chat 'n' Chew.
Union Picnic is inconveniently located on Union Avenue, across the street from Royal Oak, another popular and far-flung destination. This short voyage away from the predictable strip of Thai restaurants on Bedford does not appear to deter the crowds, which is a good sign, and the trip does indeed pay off. I haven't had their fried chicken, of which they appear quite proud, but I have had the aforementioned chicken-fried steak; it's definitely not the top of the heap, but it's a good approximation of a Texan hunk of tough, breaded beef--and that's good enough for Wednesday night, delivered. My favorite test of a comfort food counter, though, is the Thanksgiving sandwich, and Union Picnic gets this right. My brothers will quibble with me on this, but the canonical recipe for a Thanksgiving On A Bun is:
- Turkey, sliced thick and reheated
- Cranberry sauce, preferably canned, still in its natural "ridged disc" form, placed directly on the turkey
- Bread stuffing, also reheated
- Turkey gravy, definitely reheated (cooking the turkey in the gravy is a reasonable expectation on the day after Thanksgiving, but this step can be omitted for convenience)
- Hamburger bun, toasted
Union Picnic tries to out-junk me in the bread department by using untoasted Wonder bread, which I'll grant is pretty authentically last-Friday-in-November, but the sponginess of the white slice is a pale substitute (no pun intended) for a crisp potato roll. Still, when you're not keen on roasting a bird, this is about the best interpretation of a Thanksgiving On A Bun that you're likely to find anywhere in the city; I have looked, and most pale in comparison to Union Picnic's simple example.
I will probably go back for a shot at their fried chicken, and I will probably be disappointed, but this whole Thanksgiving sandwich thing is an example of my new dining theory: let restaurants play to their strengths (i.e. the pork buns at Momofuku), and rather than curse the gods of Williamsburg cuisine for lack of a culinary powerhouse, enjoy the fact that you can live in Brooklyn and get a solid Thanksgiving sandwich delivered, until 11 PM, every night of the week.
food-ish , williamsburg-ish by tangentialist at 08:51 PM on 16 May 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)
New York Times Ruminates On Class, Tries Not To "Sound Too Rich"
The New York Times, for the next three weeks, is publishing a series of articles called Class Matters, the first of which appeared in today's issue. Though they point out that "the series does not purport to be all-inclusive or the last word on class", the first article drills deep into contemporary American class structures and the state of upward mobility (short version: not as common as we think). One key argument in this first article is that class is no longer (and maybe never was) as simple as Lower, Middle, and Upper--we look, by necessity, to several factors that delineate our place in society.
The best part, as always, is the How Class Works learning aid crafted by Ben Werschkul and his geek minions. (Werschkul, where's your blog? I've saved you a spot in my RSS reader!) Pick your occupation, education, income, and wealth to see where you stand in the class firmament. I always liked percentiles when they came back high, but I was shocked to find out just where my mix of smarts and dollars put me. Fortunately, this elegant tool has helped me to find the secret to true class happiness: become a surgeon, get a professional degree, make more than $100K a year, and be worth over half a million. Ah, sweet 96th percentile; I shall never fail you again.
journalism-ish , new york times-ish , social studies-ish by tangentialist at 04:18 AM on 15 May 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)
Google: Accepting Inch, Taking Mile
How could this really be a good idea? One week ago, Google was just going to keep track of what you searched, but now they're in for the whole bagel. I'm not trying to be alarmist, and I'm sure Google has other things besides the sovereign privacy of the world's citizenry to plunder with each new tool, but I think it's important to note what Stewart at Ludicorp had to say in the panicked anti-Yahoo! backlash after Flickr's purchase.
Google is great, sure, but so was Yahoo! when they first hit the scene, and it seems to me that the sense of noble invincibility that now surrounds the geniuses at Google grows thinner with every creepy new announcement.
geek-ish , google-ish , paranoid-ish by tangentialist at 07:59 PM on 04 May 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)
Katamari Rears Its Head Again
1up.com have the first review (as far as I can tell) of the sequel to Katamari Damacy. It feels like a positive review, but the faint praise is unmistakable. The original is the only console game I've truly loved since Super Mario Bros. 3, so they'd have to shoot pretty high to beat it with a sequel. On the other hand, if I'm going to draw parallels with Mario, the first American sequel was pretty pale, too.
I have promised not to buy a Playstation Portable unless they develop Katamari for it. Please develop Katamari for the PSP.
[via Boing Boing]
games-ish , katamari damacy-ish by tangentialist at 12:07 PM on 03 May 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)