Schadenfreude

This has got to be some sort of record for investigative journalism:

ABC's Brian Ross reported yesterday that Republican Florida Congressman Mark Foley had sent... arguably inappropriate emails and sexually explicit instant messages to a sixteen-year-old boy who used to work as a Page on Capitol Hill.

Today, 25 hours later, Republican Congressman Mark Foley resigned as a result of this reporting.

Of course, Foley was a huge "family values" guy, and a big advocate of strengthening sex offender penalties.

This is nearly always the case. These consevative whack-os who talk the loudest about family values and the sanctity of marriage turn out to be the ones diddling adolescents and forcing their wives to have sex with farm animals.

It's one thing to be sexually deviant. And there's absolutely a rung in hell for pedophiles and rapists. But I really do find it even more despicable when someone is hypocritcally calling for stronger federal controls over sexual behavior (not even deviant sexual behavior - things like homosexuality), and they turn out to be a pedophile, a rapist, or something else of that ilk.

And yes, if/when I had/have time, I can/could dig up a list of at least 10 REPUBLICANS who have fallen into that category in the past decade.

I wish I could write about the people I'm interviewing for these open positions, but at least two of them did their homework on me, and read this blog.

I find this alternately creepy and comforting. If they already know who I am, we can dispense with the bullshit. On the other hand, now they know about all of my troubles with the law, my torrid affairs with celebrities (all pre-Sarah, of course), and my weird - almost fetishist - affinity for... oh, fuck it. I can't even continue this post.

Love and Toys

I got two new toys today - a Blackberry and a 30GB Video iPod.

I could play with them tonight, or I could spend quality time alone with Sarah - something we haven't done in many days.

It's an easy decision... but the iPod is really pretty!

Worst Essay Ever

"Enframing means the gathering together of that setting upon which sets upon man, i.e., challenges him forth to reveal the real, in the mode of ordering, as standing reserve."

- Martin Heidegger, from The Question Concerning Technology

What the fuck?

- Isaac Josephson, from the reading notes on The Question Concerning Technology

L'Shana Tova

Ever been couped up for a whole weekend with six kids under the age of ten who aren't allowed to watch tv, listen to music, or color?

Welcome to Rosh Hashanah in an Orthodox household.

Sarah, Asher and I hung out in Forest Hills (the part of Queens where her parents live) for the holiday. Sarah's sisters Debbie and Naomi were there too, as were her brother David, his wife Shani, and their children Eliana (9) Michal (7), Sammy (4) and Yishai (9 months). Sarah's cousin Hilly also came with her husband and their one-year-old. Asher was, of course, right in the thick of things, running around, yelling, and knocking over various things that shouldn't be knocked over.

I love them all dearly, but oh man did the din get to be too much. We are NOT going back there for Yom Kippur.

Best Out-Of-Office Message
Okay, now this one is really the best. It's from my friend Matt who is in the video game industry:

Thanks for your email. I will be out of the office until Tuesday, October 3 -- working in Seoul and then traveling to Tokyo. I will of course be checking email, but there will be significant lag due to the time difference (13 hours). Not to mention the giant monsters attacking the city.

Looking forward to catching up with you upon my return.

Sayonara,

Matt

Don't You Want To Get Out..

"Hey Amy - Dave and Mills are playing down the block tonight. Can you guys get a babysitter and come?"

"Wow, this must be 1993," she said.

"They're opening for Freedy Johnston."

"Oh, then it's 1997."

We all went to college together - Amy and her husband Dan, Dave, Chris Mills and I. And we've been going to see Mills and Dave play in their various projects for the past fifteen years - in many cities, through ups-and-downs in friendships, through births and hair loss and other life changes.

Last night was a good time - and not just a nostalgia trip. I can honestly say that Chris is one of the most talented singer-songwriters on the scene, and Dave Nagler is a brilliant composer/arranger. Too bad I had to leave early to relieve the babysitter.

Chris' next show in the area? November 4th at the rock club Southpaw. He's playing a 10:30am set with his new children's music band that includes Sally and Jon from the Mekons.

The more things change...

I'm busy, but happy.

Last night, I sketched out a treatment for a new section of ABCNews.com while Sarah finished watching Proof (Surprisingly great movie, by the way! Paltrow is a truly gifted actress.)

This morning, I got up at six to go to the gym. As is my routine, I was stumbling around in the dark in search of my running shoes when a small voice came floating softly down the hallway.

"Daddy?"

I had seen Asher for all of ten minutes last night, and will probably not get to seem him at all tonight (working late, seeing Dave Nagler and Chris Mills play). So, I chucked the running shoes, and hung out with the kid for an hour. It's all about trade-offs.

Busy Times

I've been trying to capitalize on some social opportunities lately, PLUS work the gym back into my routine, AND prove my mettle at ABC. In between, there's readings for class, family time, and the usual juggernaut of life maintenance tasks.

As a result, I'm not really sure whether I'm coming, going, here, there, asleep, awake, dreaming that I'm awake, or actually in the midst of a fantastic psychotic/delusional episode and I'm really a 47-year-old divorced insurance claims examiner living in Des Moines, Iowa.

Last Saturday, I went down to Washingon D.C. for five hours to say goodbye to JR before he shipped out. We spent the whole time with our high school friends Tom and Ryan in Ryan's boat, puttering around the Potomic, drinking cheap beer, talking trash and politics, and enduring Ryan's god-awful penchant for pop country music.

Class tonight. We're reviewing Plato's Phaedrus. The last time I read that was fifteen years ago.

Now Hiring

Anyone know anyone who might be interested in coming to work for me at ABC News?

Product Manager
The ABC News Digital Media group is looking for a product manager to own our digital video initiatives. The successful candidate will have experience managing internet or rich media products from conception to completion, and be able to effectively communicate the trade-offs involved in scope creep. (S)he will be equally comfortable talking use cases with engineers, user acquisition with marketing execs, and wireframes with designers. The ability to rigorously prioritize in a fluid environment is always a plus, and an honest love for the details is essential. The product manager will also be tasked with proactive, ongoing competitive analysis, as well as evaluating products outside the news paradigm to see how they can be adopted to fit the ABC News Digital Media business. Related experience: 5-7 years.


Reporting Analyst
The ABC News Digital Media group is looking for a strong reporting analyst to support ABC News' large and growing network of free and premium online and mobile services. The Reporting Analyst will create reports that help drive key business initiatives and recommend strategies based on synthesis of customer behavior and product usage trends. The Analyst will work frequently with the technical team to assess technical requirements for tracking, the editorial team to understand their information needs on content usage, the marketing team to understand drivers of user retention and acquisition, and finance, ad sales and business development to help inform economic questions associated with performance reporting. The ideal candidate will have a passion for unlocking potential customer value through rigorous analysis, familiarity with reporting methodology and analytics tools such as WebSideStory HBX, Omniture and WebTrends, previous exposure to product management business practices, and some level of fluency in technology as it relates to website and digital media architecture. Related experience: 2-5 years.

Urban Dexterity

Can anyone tell me how to read a magazine while standing up on a crowded subway, holding a bag AND (the goocher) a wet umbrella?

Why can't all music come with as much depth, pathos and mirth as the new Yo La Tengo CD I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass?

My iPod died, and I need a new portable digital music player.

iPod Negatives: three-year shelf life, does not work with Rhapsody

Other Devices: clunky interface compared to iPod, music management software pales in comparison to iTunes, three-year shelf life, slightly higher pricetag since yesterday's Apple announcements

I don't really need something that works with Rhapsody. Is this a no-brainer?

Paging Mr. Derrida

I finished up the reading for tonight's class on the train this morning - writhings (as Lester Bangs would put it) by John Durham Peters, Ferdinand de Saussure, and Vilem Flusser.

Each attempted to address the philosophy of communication - Peters through a postmodern lense masquerading as modernism, de Saussure through linguistics, and Flusser with his outline of discourse/ideological vs. dialogue/episteme.

Once I got over the bad writing (Are these academics deliberately obtuse, or just poor communicators? The former is offensive. The latter is ironic, given their area of expertise.), I had a good time with this stuff.

Peters seems like a pretty smart dude with a good grounding in philosophy from at least the Enlightenment forward. I'm not sure why he can't pull the trigger on the whole postmodern thing, though. It's all there in his work - communication as ontology rather than epistemology, the push to cheerfully reconcile ourselves to the notion that we can never truly reconcile communication issues, and so on. Maybe, he doesn't want to throw in with such a politically charged (and probably passe, by now) group. Maybe, he's just repressed - After all, he IS from Utah.

As for Flusser, I always find it ironic when academics engage in a discourse on the need for dialogue to replace discourse. You'd think they'd at least acknowledge the oxy-moron. Alas, those that cannot see the two are inextricably linked all take themselves too damn seriously to do that.

And de Saussure... What can we say that Stephin Merrit (Magnetic Fields) hasn't already sung? Try slogging through 77 pages of 19th century linguistic theory with that song in your head.

"Turn on the TV. I think the terrorists are attacking us."

I got back from the Montreal-to-Maine AIDS ride the afternoon of September 10 (flew Portland > Boston > San Francisco). Sarah picked me up at the airport, and took me to the beach at Half Moon Bay for some sun, schnitzel and wine. We parted ways early that day, because she had to get some sleep before her 3-11am shift at a local cable news station.

September 11.
My alarm went off at 6:15am, California time. The radio was tuned to NPR, and as I groped my way back to consciousness, I heard Bob Edwards repeating rather frantically that both towers had been hit. I jumped out of bed, and called Sarah who was monitoring the news feeds at work. "Turn on the TV," she said. "I think the terrorists are attacking us."

The rest of the morning was probably like every other American's 9/11. I watched in horror as the Towers collapsed, as the Pentagon was hit, and as the plane went down in Pennsylvania. I got a call from my brother who was living in New York City and temping on Wall Street. He let me know he was okay. Shortly afterwards, the city's telephone circuits overloaded, and we didn't hear anything from friends or family for two days.

Where were you on September 11?

My old friend JR is being sent to Iraq.

JR is one of the youngest Majors in the United States Army, and the recipient of the elite McCarthur Army Leadership Award. His professional resume inspires respect in the most established of Army veterans. He's a West Point graduate, and a Ranger. He did three years of service on the Korean DMZ. He recently completed a Master's in International Relations.

Ever since I met JR in 7th grade, he has valued honor, honesty and diligence more than anyone I know. Back then, it was in terms that a middle schooler could understand, though none but JR could ever articulate. When we broke minor rules (and JR did, right along with us - I'm not claiming he was an angel), it was JR who spoke eloquently of the guilt he felt for letting his parents down.

In college, while the rest of us were struggling with identity and occasionally losing ourselves to the vices suddenly available to an 18-year-old on his own for the first time, JR always kept his eye on the ultimate goal. He gutted out four long years at West Point, and transitioned into his career with a surefootedness that left all of us in awe.

JR commands respect.

And this Fall, he will be commanding a group of solders whose task it is to embed with the Iraqi police - not one of the safer assignments over there.

Good luck JR. I know you will continue to be honorable and honest to yourself. My thoughts are with you.



JR is 2nd from the right, next to General Shinseki

Working at a major news organization means...

... hearing/seeing Bush speak on a thousand televisions all over the office, and not being able to shout, throw things, or even mutter obscenities.

Long Weekend Re-Cap

I took the train up to Boston for my friend Gail's wedding. Saw some old Northwestern friends and their offspring. Sarah and Asher stayed behind to fight off the residual effects of the boy's latest round of Coxsackie.

The train ride home took nearly seven hours, and featured fun events like an all-terrain vehicle in the middle of the tracks, a ripped up train engine, and a bridge that was stuck in the "up" position. Amtrak's solution was to put the passengers from the (oversold) dead train onto the (oversold) train that was (barely) transporting yours truly. Snack bar ran out of food. Bathrooms broke down. Hilarity ensued.

Asher's Coxsackie morphed into a cold complete with a croup cough and stuffed nose.



My first class is tonight. My maintenance shift in the co-op (where I shop, not where I live) is tomorrow night. I'm out of clean shirts, and I have a zit the shape of Staten Island on my nose.

It's a rainy weekend here in New York City, as we get hit with the tail of Hurricane Ernesto. Asher and I braved the playground this morning, but sought refuge in the Tea Lounge when the weather got too rough. A dozen or so other parents had the same idea, and Asher had a whole pack of kids to play with - much to the dismay of the non-parent patrons. Oh well, that's what you get for living in Park Slope - the per capita baby capital of the world.

Right now, Asher and Sarah are napping. I'm slogging through a mess of co-op financials (where I live, not where I shop) that should have been addressed a month ago.

We had planned to go to Boston this weekend for my college friend Gail's wedding, but Asher's latest bout of Coxsackie made that impossible. Instead, I'm taking the train up tomorrow morning.