ramble through the bronx

Monday, January 31, 2005

you know?

This fills me with more happiness than I can ever express.

Thanks. Thanks, New York.

jane 9:23 PM [+]

The Speech Bush Should Have Given in 2002, and others

Can be found here.

(via Brian Leiter's blog.

(Brian Leiter is a prof. of philosophy and law down at the University of Texas at Austin; he's the maintainer of the infamous Leiter Report, which ranks all the philosophy graduate programs - this report has been criticized in the past for its attitude toward continental philosophy, which, of course, I study. That said, he's a good source of academic gossip - i.e., who's where, who's taken a job where, moved where, been granted/denied tenure, all that sort of stuff - in the philosophy world).

Further along in Leiter's blog is his quotation of Bush's notorious second inaugural speech, with Leiter's addenda:

--

[I]t is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture [unless we are doing active business with them], with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world [a goal that will clearly require armed military interventions, given the number of tyrannies out there, and even discounting those we are presently doing business with]

This is not primarily the task of arms [though it is, admittedly, a task of arms], though we will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary....[including "defending" ourselves and them when there is no actual threat, as in Iraq]

The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it. [Get ready for a lot more bloodshed! And don't be wimpy about it!] America's influence [read: military might] is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed [who are not killed or slaughtered by the invading forces], America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause.

My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people from further attacks and emerging threats [i.e., make-believe threats, or threats visible to no one other than Bush & his bestiary of madmen]. Some have unwisely chosen to test America's resolve, and have found it firm.

We will persistently clarify [as we did with Saddam] the choice before every ruler and every nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong [unless we do business with you], and freedom, which is eternally right.... [In other words, it will now suffice as a pretext for military invasions that the country we are invading is not on the side of eternal rightness, of which the U.S. is the arbiter]

Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world [i.e., you are now being warned]...:

The rulers of outlaw regimes [i.e., Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and Venezuela et al.--but not Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, et al.] can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did: Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God [whose instrument is the United States], cannot long retain it.

The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know: To serve your people, you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of progress and justice and America will walk at your side....[Don't do as we say, and we will attack you]

All Americans have witnessed this idealism [i.e., the invasion of foreign nations and the toppling of their governments], and some for the first time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its character. [In other words, brace yourselves to be drafted.]

--

OK... anyway, I'm just going to keep reading and refrain from sharing extensively... a lot of it is shop-talk...

jane 10:00 PM [+]

And the left goes on...

My friend Anne sent me this link, a new group some friends of hers in Chicago are starting up... sounds like an interesting idea to promote service. There's not much there so far, but stay tuned, it could be good.

I quote:

"In using ‘prodigal,’ we also kind of like the implication of returning. We don’t want to tangle with Bible scholars, translators, and the dictionary in our usage here, but if ‘prodigal’ is commonly understood as a reference to homecoming, then we’ll use it to mean that we’re returning home to the ideals of the Left. We’re returning to liberalism and generosity.

"No, we’re not a religious organization in any way shape or form. We’re also not opposed to the religious beliefs of others. The Prodigal Left is simply trying to demonstrate that goodness is more than just religiosity and that “Help is on the way” needs to be more than a slogan. We’re reminding ourselves that political action has more to do with helping people than it does with helping politicians. We hope that you agree."

jane 9:44 PM [+]

And more congratulations are in order

Way to go, Caitlyn. I went to high school with her, and she rocks. (Look, the person in my life who introduced me to Neil Gaiman is going to permanently rank as one of the bright shining stars, OK? Even aside from her great DJ mixes).

And the leaflet on Trans Youth Ottawa is beautifully done.

OK, no more internet for me today... two cute boys wrote back to my messages on the onion personals, and one cute boy wrote to me of his very own accord, having liked my profile. huzzah. now I need to clean house and get some research done before waterpolo tonight.

jane 1:58 PM [+]

Please think happy congratulatory thoughts for my dad

who just became a Canadian citizen yesterday, the 29th of January, after 38 years in Canada. Yes, despite his hatred of the British monarchy, he managed to stumble through the loyalty oath, and sang the National Anthem loud and clear:

"I took a deep breath and managed through the HRH bit without biting my
tongue, and I sang the National Anthem as loudly as I dared without
offending anyone not tone deaf."

Yes, my father walked through -36 weather to get to the Citizenship Court (what better a test of Canadianness?), and it's done. My father is now a Canadian.

My mom, who works with an nonprofit agency that helps newcomers settle in, has said that every Canadian ought to attend a citizenship ceremony, to see the pride the newcomers take in their new home. From what my dad says about his ceremony, that makes sense -- he called it oddly affecting, and wondered how much more so it must be for folks from places culturally farther away than Scotland. (although, of course, this being my crazy father, he didn't quite put it that way, but ah well).

--

Has anyone reading this not seen the documentary "Outfoxed" yet? You should see it; I have a copy & can lend it to anyone near me in the Bronx. Anyway, one of the stories in it involves a news reporter at Fox who thought it might be nice to put together a heartwarming piece on the citizenship ceremonies of new citizens in the United States; to show how much they appreciate coming to America, and all the things that folks born in the US take for granted. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

It was rejected by the upper echelons at Fox, as they saw it as glorifying the freeloaders, blah di blah di blah..... as if the citizenship of these people, who chose to come the US, is somehow worth less than the citizenship of the people who were merely born here.

--

Which of course brings me back, as per yesterday, to how much I love the CBC; and, of course, how proud I am of my dad.

--

In other news, congratulations also to the 8 million Iraqis who managed to vote. The CBC writes,

"Iraq's Electoral Commission said voter turnout has exceeded expectations, with about 60 per cent of eligible voters casting ballots, down from an earlier estimate of 72 per cent."

Here's the story.

Condi was happy: "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Iraqi elections went ``better than expected'' Sunday, despite conflicting reports about the extent of voter turnout in areas plagued by intimidation and violence." (From the NY Times.

Does anyone mistrust this 'better than expected' result? Can we just be happy for a little bit of good news? Is anyone else kinda wondering what level of accuracy or truth is getting reported here, when the Bush administration has so much to prove and so much at stake in this process going well?

Kerry, of course, pointed out (also in the Times article): "It is hard to say that something is legitimate when whole portions of the country can't vote and doesn't vote."

What the Bush folks have at stake (from the tail end of that Times article)

"Bush had sought to declare victory before the polls even opened by arguing that just the fact that Iraqis are voting means success.

"If the Iraqi elections lead to a stable government and open the way to a phased American troop withdrawal, Bush's image around the world would be buoyed. Republicans on the ballot in 2006 and 2008 also would be relieved. On the other hand, problems with the election could complicate Bush's efforts to pass costly items on his second-term domestic agenda, such as partially privatizing Social Security.

"So far, more than 1,400 U.S. troops and many thousands of Iraqis have lost their lives. The United States is spending more than $1 billion a week in Iraq."

Yay fun!

jane 11:45 AM [+]

I love the CBC!

Way to go, Fifth Estate! Man, this is awesome.

"In the past, O'Reilly has called the CBC radically to the left, the Globe and Mail a "far-left newspaper," and Canadian health care "socialist.""

If the Globe is "far-left," then what the hell would O'Reilly call the Star?

Ah, CBC, you are my hero. I love you. I really will tattoo the CBC logo on my ass.

And --
'"The Canadian government gives them a billion dollars to put this sort of stuff on the air, and the Canadian government is really at fault here, isn't it?" O'Reilly said to one guest.'

I really do wish the government regularly gave the CBC a billion dollars.

That would be truly, truly lovely.

jane 4:27 PM [+]

Mirrormask -- I can't wait, can you?

Previously posted:
Review of Mirrormask here.

looks good!

OK, a couple of new reviews, via Neil Gaiman's blog --

This one is breathlessly excited about the film.

This one sounds a little more jaded, though it still likes the film.

I like the breathless excitement one... "Frankly, I'm not a good enough writer to adequately describe all the wild magic that Gaiman and McKean have concocted here. Suffice to say that MirrorMask had me wide-eyed and practically hypnotized...kinda like we all were the first time we saw The Wizard of Oz. It's a movie that will undoubtedly have many viewers scratching their heads in disbelief, because MirrorMask is as bizarre as it is beautiful. Essentially we're talking about a film that's bound to become an "acquired taste" - which in movie terminology means "cult classic." Personally, I cannot wait to get a copy of the DVD and dissect the thing bit by bit. I only hope that many of you end up feeling the same way."

That sounds close to how I feel about Neil Gaiman's writing.

Anyway, can't wait to see it...!

jane 1:22 PM [+]

Thanks, Megan and Paul

...for bringing up a new topic in the comments section of the previous post, that I invite folks to contribute to. Thanks! (I'm sad I never met Joe Heath while I was at U of Toronto... he seems like a smarty.

Oh, and my class today absolutely bombed. Oh well, I guess that's how it goes now and then.

Giving my paper tonight; hopefully it'll go better.

jane 10:20 AM [+]

Yay Michel!

According to the CBC, Michel Therriault will be playing Tommy Douglas in an upcoming mini-series about Tommy Douglas.

All I can say is: Huzzah! I've loved Michel Therriault since we Ottawa folks saw him in Stratford years and years ago (what was the first role we saw him in? Camelot, I think?); and obviously Tommy Douglas -- what's not to love? (Although I particularly loved Eric Peterson's playing of Tommy in the Pierre Trudeau miniseries a couple years back.)

Ah, CanCon. Who doesn't love it?

Anyway, too bad, Kiefer,, but I'm sure you're busy enough as it is.

(who promises to tape said miniseries for me once it airs? please please?)

jane 5:10 PM [+]

"So, where are you from?" asked the cute waitress

My friend Reuben wrote the first chunk of his PhD psychology comps yesterday (the next chunk is next Friday), and he and Doug the Jesuit and I went out last night to celebrate. As it was chilly (well, for New Yorkers it was cold; for Torontonians it was a bit nippy; for Ottawans it was a day at the beach), we took Reuben's car & got a sweet parking spot in Greenwich Village right across the street from a Washington Mutual (Reuben's and my bank). We were all set for a Night of Fun! We had Doug for the charm, and me to keep Doug company while Reuben tried to hook up, if he tried to hook up. All good. We all looked great.

We first hit The Fat Black Pussycat, a great bar with a great happy hour - all drinks half price, from 4- 8pm. It was super crowded, but eventually we managed to get drinks and a table, and had a great time chatting & drinkin' & so forth. Two of Doug's Jesuit friends dropped by, we joked with the one who's auditioning for Broadway that it would be a great to have a Jesuit in "Naked Men Singing". Blah di blah blah.

Four drinks apiece later, we're walkin' together to to Cafe Gitane for French - Moroccan food (Cafe Habana was too busy). There was a 20 minute wait, and even the bar was full up, so we ordered a bottle of wine and the super-cute waitress brings us the bottle and 3 glasses. As we're still just standin' there, in our coats, she grins and says "Hey, I know this isn't classy, but here you go" and we joke around & hey, wine is still wine. Since there's nowhere to put the bottle, she says, "Well, I may as well fill your glasses all the way up" and we joke around some more. She puts the bottle by the bar.

So we've been in this cafe for all of 10 minutes, we've been jokin' around, and I look around -- everyone in this cafe is super-cute, adorable, super-cool. I joke to Doug, "Hey, are we cute enough to be here?" There's also a super-cute waiter who looks a little like Bonny "Prince" Billy. Sigh!

OK, I'm getting to the punch line.

We finally sit at the bar with our wine, and we're chatting & laughing & joking, and the waitress comes over to talk to us.

"Where are you from?" she asks me.

"Canada..."

"Oh... 'cause I'm from Minnesota, and I was noticing a similarity..." Minnesotans and Canadians have a connection. I've noticed this before. "Also -- my ex-boyfriend went to the University of Toronto, and you reminded me of people from Toronto. You have a Toronto-style going on."

Here I am, in NoLiTa NYC, the heart of NYC trendiness, being told by a cute waitress (an actor, of course, as we found out, like all waiters), that I have Toronto style.

What a lovely compliment.

Anyway, my question for all of you is: what is the Toronto style? What separates it from New York style? I do think there definitely is one, and I like it -- whenever I'm back in Toronto I'm struck by how cute I find everyone. But to have it pointed out, so out of the blue!

Anyway, the rest of the evening was lovely... nothing super-exciting, I never got a chance to talk to the cute waiter, but we joked around for a while with the other waitress, who's from Australia and teaches drama classes here in New York. We had a good time, though Reuben didn't get anyone's number. We then walked back toward the car, stopped for tea/hot chocolate/hot water* along the way, and went home. I slept like a baby.

Toronto. I think I'll never really leave....

* Doug likes plain hot water. Is this strange?

jane 2:08 PM [+]

One More Thing!!

Check it out:

I'm giving a paper at the January meeting of the New York Pragmatist Forum!

Yay me!

This is the same paper I've also sent to that Royce conference at Vanderbilt. Wish me luck on that... but at least I'll get to present it once.

jane 6:48 PM [+]

For once, a Thomas Friedman article I enjoyed

Today's column by Mr. "Sure I'm a Liberal but I'm sure Bush is doing the Right Thing here" Friedman was actually enjoyable -- here's the link (you may need to register to see it, I don't know -- let me know & I'll see what I can do. Registration is free, anyway).

Here are a couple chunks:

"Why are Europeans so blue over George Bush's re-election? Because Europe is the world's biggest "blue state." This whole region is a rhapsody in blue. These days, even the small group of anti-anti-Americans in the European Union is uncomfortable being associated with Mr. Bush. There are Euro-conservatives, but, aside from, maybe, the ruling party in Italy, there is nothing here that quite corresponds to the anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-tax, anti-national-health-care, anti-Kyoto, openly religious, pro-Iraq-war Bush Republican Party."

...

"Before Mr. Bush's re-election, the prevailing attitude in Europe was definitely: "We're not anti-American. We're anti-Bush." But now that the American people have voted to re-elect Mr. Bush, Europe has a problem maintaining this distinction. The logic of the Europeans' position is that they should now be anti-American, not just anti-Bush, but most Europeans don't seem to want to go there. They know America is more complex. So there is a vague hope in the air that when Mr. Bush visits Europe next month, he'll come bearing an olive branch that will enable both sides to at least pretend to hold this loveless marriage together for the sake of the kids."

...

"The one concrete result of the U.S. election will probably be to reinforce Europe's focus on its own efforts to build a United States of Europe, and to further play down the trans-Atlantic alliance. "When it comes to emotions, the re-election of Bush has reinforced the feeling of alienation between Europe and the U.S.," Mr. Moisi said. "It is not that we are so much against America, it is that we cannot understand the evolution of that country. ... This election has weakened the concept of 'the West.' " " [Dominique Moisi, quoted here, is "one of France's top foreign policy analysts", according to TF]

...

Anyway, I don't know about the trans-Atlantic alliance, but what about the trans-49th alliance?

Oh well.

Hey, I finished my lecture for tomorrow! It only took me 5 or 6 hours to write! Huzzah! (argh!)

(Also worth reading, while you're on the NY Times site, is the wonderful Frank Rich's column On Television, Torture Takes a Holiday. Thanks, Frank!

Oh, and the editorial about losing 20 Arabic speakers in the US military 'cause they're gay. That's a good one too. To quote the editors of the NY Times:

"The military's experience is no more encouraging, with intelligence results muddied at times by a rush, as one inquiry put it, to recruit Arab convenience store owners and cabdrivers, who couldn't handle the task. The military is right to rely more on its language schools, but it can take several years to produce fluent graduates. The folly of using "don't ask, don't tell" policy against such precious national resources amounts to comfort for the enemy.

"When President Bush was asked last week by The Washington Post why Osama bin Laden had eluded capture, he replied, "Because he's hiding." So is the Pentagon - it's hiding from reality."

OK, done for now...

jane 6:36 PM [+]

oh yeah, and it's inauguration day

Um....

I mean, with stuff like this still floating around, things like this seem a little overstated: "Mr. Bush has said he intends to spend the political capital he earned in his unambiguous, if not overwhelming, victory over Senator John Kerry."

This, too, from the above NY Times article, is also a factor:
"But Chief Justice Rehnquist, who is suffering from thyroid cancer that has kept him away from the Supreme Court for weeks, is 80. The oldest justice, John Paul Stevens, is 84. So it is widely assumed that President Bush will be able to nominate at least one person for the court in his second term."

I don't know. I just don't know.

Anyway, when you're all done donating to the tsunami victims, please remember the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. They're going to need your help. Having personally been helped by Planned Parenthood, I would particularly encourage that. Even if you're in Canada..... when this shit blows, it's going to blow big.

In other news, that Stephen Harper is a real charmer, isn't he? I hope folks at home are upset about this?


Greek-a-licious

And, lastly, via Neil Gaiman's blog, this article about the FCC whining about the opening of the Athens Olympics, with the particularly memorable quote from the Greek games chief:

'"As Americans surely are aware, there is great hostility in the world today to cultural domination in which a single value system created elsewhere diminishes and degrades local cultures," she said in her commentary.

'"In this context, it is astonishingly unwise for an agency of the U.S. government to engage in an investigation that could label a presentation of the Greek origins of civilisation as unfit for television viewing."'

jane 11:10 AM [+]

Art Spiegelman interview

I should go to my office and start prepping for tomorrow's class, but I wanted to recommend this interview to you, just 'cause Spiegelman's great, and mostly, re. the New Yorker, I love Spiegelman's statement that 'And it's very hard to scream "The sky is falling!" and keep your monocle in place.'

jane 11:04 AM [+]

Apple for teacher

First class went well! They said stuff! My boots sounded nice and teachery! We had a discussion! I wrote stuff on the blackboard! I went through the syllabus!

Who knew it would be this fun?

Huzzah! More later...

jane 11:09 AM [+]

And every girl who could be a Slayer, will be a slayer

Richard and I just (well, an hour ago) finished watching the last of the Buffy series, so we now no longer have regular Buffy sessions, which is good good good, since I don't have to worry about doing that, and it was pleasant, and reasonably non-awkward, and a good time.

That's the story, anyway.

Then I went to check my email & found an email from an old high school ex-boyfriend who's still a friend; he and his wife are in Beirut. There's a whole story there I won't get into (a whole ocean of water under the bridge), but I had to laugh -- he was replying to an email I sent over the summer, telling folks about how I'd met a wonderful wonderful man. Ha ha! So funny! Laughing! Anyway, I replied as dryly and briefly and humourously as possible... the whole Richard story is funny, isn't it? When viewed from a distance? In five years, I'll laugh real hard.

Yes, real hard.

In other news, my first class is tomorrow morning, in 12 hours and 28 minutes. ACK! I'm excited, and nervous, and anxious, and looking forward to it, and dreading it, and I'm sure it'll be fine. I hope they like me! I hope they're nice! I hope they like my awesome new black corduroy blazer from Zara! (And if they don't, I hope they love my new brown corduroy blazer with suede elbow patches, also from Zara!)

Clearly, teaching ethics is all about Looking Good.

Oh well, if Buffy can save the world even if she's still just "cookie dough," I can teach a bunch of 18 year olds something about philosophy, even if I'm hopeless about men.

Right?

jane 8:02 PM [+]

Oh God, why am I still awake?

OK, first go to this site. Tell me if you think my sophomores would also find it funny. Or think that I was insufferably corny.

Now, tell me to go to bed. "GO TO BED, JANE!" you should all say. Please. OK.

jane 3:54 AM [+]

Curse the pain!

Argh! My back is aching... a couple days ago I carried, amongst other heavy things, a heavy hammer, in my shoulder bag, and my back hasn't been the same since. Yes, I am horribly unfit. I think I'll take a bubble bath later this evening.

My return to New York has been, of course, charming. Such as my flight being 45 minutes delayed so that LaGuardia could clear some landing space since it was too busy; then being another 25 minutes delayed for last minute maintenance paperwork (which clearly could not have been done during the first 45 minute delay, while the plane was just hangin' out at Pearson, minding its own business). Then getting to LaGuardia and not being able to find my friend Reuben, who was picking me up. Then almost losing my funky shoes. Then the horrible rain as we drove back on the highways, such that (a) we could not see anything resembling lanes, and (b) were continually sandwiched between the opposing traffic and Really Big Trucks.

Last night was my friend Ariane's birthday celebration, at a cafe near me... Richard, of course, was there. We chatted for a bit, but then he saw fit instead to chat up a girl we know from Psychology.... for hours, while I tried to ignore them bending their heads toward each other. ARGH! Anyway, I had a lot of wine (of course -- I had to help the birthday girl!), and yelled at Richard as he left with the girl(yes, I yelled, and called him a fucker, in public... very tacky... very unlike me... argh)... then I burst into tears, left the cafe, walked home, called Reuben to ask where the girl lived, walked past her apartment, saw Richard wasn't outside, walked to Richard's... and apologized to him for my behaviour. We chatted awhile, then he walked me home.

All very tumultuous.

Then I read Shake Hands with the Devil for a couple hours.

Yes, of course it put me in a better mood. Why on earth do you ask?

In other news, guess who's speaking on February 11th at the New School? Romeo Dallaire and Samantha Power, that's who! So I've RSVP'ed, and I'm rounding up others to go down. Huzzah!

In still other news, my syllabus is up on the Fordham Library E-reserves section (for some reason the link isn't working right now... but if you go to the Fordham Library site, then choose "Electronic Reserve Desk," then search by instructor "dryden," you can find it. In case you wanted to look at my syllabus). I got my preliminary class list - 15 students! - and my classroom assignation - Keating 317, which is right around the corner from Dr. Tress's office (the professor I used to work for, who I'm doing an independent study with this term). Excellent.

And I sent off my Royce conference submission. Wish me luck! (Of course, now that I've sent it, it's the most horrible paper ever, and they will laugh at me as they read it. Curse you, Vanderbilt! Damn it, but I want to go to Nashville!)

jane 11:20 PM [+]

Holiday Reading Recommendations

OK, sure, I realize not everyone's still on holiday, but I'm sure everyone wants to procrastinate. So here are some recommendations:

Romance

Just finished reading Jenny Crusie's _Bet Me_, which was fantastic. Hilarious. All I can say is seduction by doughnut. I'm going to go and read everything she's written (which includes some essays about Buffy!)

My friend Holly had recommended Susan Elizabeth Phillips. She lent me "It Had to Be You" (1994). I proceeded to read 5 more of her books. Good times. Good strong heroines.

Fantasy Etc.

Finally got around to reading Gregory Maguire's "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister." It was as good as I expected.

While I was pining over Richard, I devoured about ten or eleven Diana Wynne Jones books -- not just for children anymore! They were so satisfyingly inventive, even the ones pitched to quite a young age. The nice thing about reading children's / young adult's fantasy is that there's no excessive romance to muddy up the plot -- which was a relief, since for two months after being dumped I couldn't even hear a reference to love (much less "true love," gack gack) without wanting to cry. (Clearly, as evidenced by the fact that I've been devouring romance novels whilst at Megan's, I'm over that stage of the dumpedness).

(the dumposity?)

(the dumpedality?)

Non-Fiction

Haven't actually been reading any of that nonsense lately. Huzzah! Woo hoo!

jane 2:47 PM [+]

Happy New Year!

Hey, it's only the 2nd, I can wish you all a happy New Year. I'm writing this from Megan's place, and should go to bed soon since I'm quite sleepy, but this made me happy: Neil Gaiman's post "Happy Author" - he's written the end of his new novel, and now just has to fix stuff up, move things around, etc.... and also in that post is news about MirrorMask and a link to its information at the Sundance Festival. So yay, 2005 will be a great year. Right?

Of course today involved a 7 hour drive from Ottawa to Toronto through freezing rain -- which most people will recognize as a bad thing.

ah well.

jane 11:49 PM [+]