Saturday, September 21, 2002
Sun, Work, Fog, Dirt
From my hometown paper:
The overwhelming majority of Californians have no interest in visiting Bakersfield, moving to Bakersfield or relocating their businesses to Bakersfield, according to a survey commissioned by Greater Bakersfield Vision 2020.
That’s the lede. And to let you know change is surely imminent, here’s the last two grafs of the story:
Powers said the area's location, high unemployment rate and unskilled work force combined with a strong work ethic makes Bakersfield an ideal place for more manufacturing and distribution plants.
"You can reach San Diego, Las Vegas and San Francisco in less than five hours," he said. "You can't do that anywhere else in the state."
When I was a kid, the city had this sign on the freeway that said “Sun, Fun, Stay, Play” which we always mocked because the “sun” part meant 110 degrees in the summer and no one in their right mind would want to stay and the only reason they usually did was because their car broke down on the Grapevine. A columnist for the paper, I think it was Mark Grossi, did a column when I was probably in junior high school, asking for replacement terms for the sign. My favorite had a more truthful ring to it: Sun,Work, Fog, Dirt.
Preserving the View
There’s a rather remarkable artwork at the New York Historical Society that was done in response to Sept. 11. “In Light of Memory” by Christopher Evans is an incredibly detailed 360-degree painting of New York (and Jersey) from the top of the WTC south tower. The painting is on a sphere and you walk around looking at it to get the view you would have seen looking out from South tower’s observation deck.
A few days after Sept. 11, “it suddenly struck me that that view from the top was also gone forever,” Evans writes in the description of the exhibit. He used pictures he had taken from the south tower and then set off on this search to clip images from magazines, newspapers, postcards, street maps and satellite images from the Web. Then he sent about painting “the city bathed in the golden light of a winter sunset.”
The detail was incredible. I could pick out the former Reuters office building on Water Street and The Archive building, 2 miles up Greenwich Street, which would have just blocked the view of our former apartment building two blocks up.
There are pictures of the sphere online, but it doesn’t quite do it justice. Look here for views toward the Brooklyn Bridge, the North Tower, the Woolworth building and Wall Street.
Friday, September 20, 2002
Memories and Race
There’s an astute race story on the front of the NYT Metro section today about jury selection taking place for another ex-officer charged in the Abner Louima case. Here’s the crux:
The contrast between the memories of many of the black New Yorkers who were summoned and those of many of the white potential jurors displayed a racial divide in perceptions about the case. Many of the blacks described Mr. Louima's ordeal as they would a cultural touchstone, like the case of the Scottsboro Boys or the Birmingham church bombing. A black hotel worker remembered reading about the case in Jet or Ebony magazine and knew, without hesitation, that Mr. Louima had been sodomized with a broken broomstick.
For some of the whites, the Louima case was a half-forgotten news story.
However, the story does later say that there were “some whites who remembered a good deal about the case and some blacks whose memories were cloudy.”
Drink Bloggers, Drink
According to the NYC Bloggers, there are now more than 1,400 blogs in New York City, yet only 29 people have RSVP’d for tonight’s Big Apple Blogger Bash? Maybe they’re not telling us something.
Havel and Giuliani
Went into Manhattan this morning to see Czech President Vaclav Havel present an award to Rudy Giuliani at St. Paul’s Chapel, which sits next to Ground Zero. The award was the presidential medal for bravery and accomplishment, which Giuliani said he accepted on behalf of the rescue workers and the people of New York City.
St. Paul’s not only served as the “home away from home” for many of the rescue workers, but was also the spot where George Washington came to pray shortly after his inauguration down the street and was the place Giuliani gave his farewell address as mayor in December.
As Havel and Giuliani walked in the chapel this morning, everyone in the place immediately stood up, and stayed standing until the rector asked them to sit. Though Giuliani twice referred to Czechoslovakia rather than the Czech Republic, it was a solemn little ceremony.
I don’t have a lot in my notebook, but here’s some bits. Havel, speaking entirely in English, said of the Sept. 11 events: “It was an attack against us all, against civilization, against humanity.” And Giuliani described Havel as a man who understands the human soul.
Dodger Dogs in New York City
As part of its “Baseball in America” exhibit, the American Museum of Natural History’s food court is pushing a “Hot Dogs as America” menu. You can order any of these national treasures: a Dodger Dog, Fenway Frank, Texas Corn Dog, Rochester White Hot, Chicago Red Hot, New York Deli and Street Dogs, Milwaukee Brat or Cincinnati Cheese Coney.
And to give you that realistic ballpark feeling, the price for any one of these legends is $3.50. You can also purchase a bottle of Budweiser for $4, or even a box of Cracker Jacks.
Amy’s review: Save your money and buy three from the vendor on the street outside. They may be Dodger Dogs in name, but certainly not in taste.
Thursday, September 19, 2002
Dummies in the CEO Tent
Here’s a sign of the times from the Bakersfield Business Conference. From The Bakersfield Californian:
Several authors of the "For Dummies" books will be running a series of how-to seminars in the business speakers tent previously inhabited by company executives.
For All You Adrenaline Junkies
Jim Lowney and I paid a visit to the New York City Police Museum in the financial district yesterday. We were there to work on a story but found our way up to the third floor where an extremely nice uniformed officer asked if we’d like to try the firearms training simulator.
I think I’ve touched a hunting rifle, but before yesterday I’d never as so much held a real gun, let alone fired one. But what do you know, after a few minutes on the simulator, I was shooting a modified Glock and managed to get off a fatal shot at a squirrely guy who was trying to escape arrest on a felony warrant. Granted, he was crouched in his kitchen and had already fired at me twice so I might have been dead by the time I fired my weapon.
This simulator really is amazing. You stand in darkened room and this video screen, which must be about 6 feet tall, plays about 10 feet in front of you. Our uniformed friend sat at a control panel and ran the scenario. He could make the actors on the screen respond to my commands (“Put the baby down. Put the baby down, sir! Put the baby down and drop the machete!”) or change what the actors did (run vs. pull a weapon.)
Jim shot a guy who was reaching for his wallet in his back pocket, and I’m sure I died when I completely failed to comprehend that the guy I thought was merely pinned in a crashed car wasn’t really hurt, but was firing multiple shots at me.
The thing is, it feels very realistic. You feel like you indeed are responding to a call, walking into someone’s house and listening to the victims tell you what happened. They may be hurt, crying, hysterical and walking toward you – and you certainly don’t want them walking toward you because you get distracted trying to figure out if the person is a victim or actually the perpetrator with the weapon. When people are struggling, you hear the profanity, punches and eventually the gunshots.
After each sequence, Jim and I would start talking rapidly, asking the cop what we should have done, explained what we were thinking, what we wondered, why we had so many shots in the wall, floor, ceiling, etc. We were amazed how, even after it was all over, we were still wondering what we could have done differently to minimize the risks of getting shot or of shooting the wrong person. It really makes you think.
Searching the Web this morning, I found a couple first-person stories from reporters who have tried it out. There’s one from Court TV and one from Village Voice .
The simulator is open to the public and is free (though the museum requests a $5 donation at the entrance) but the simulator only operates at limited hours -- basically around lunchtime on weekdays. But if you happen to work downtown, I highly recommend it. I suspect it's an experience I'll be thinking about for years to come.
So Much for the Do Not Call List
The Onion has a good story under the headline “Report: Al-Qaeda Allegedly Engaging in Telemarketing”. Good thing they said allegedly. Here’s a bit:
"This video, obtained from a credible third-party source, features grainy footage of a group of men strongly believed to be al-Qaeda members making phone solicitations for vacation-home rentals, long-distance phone service, magazine subscriptions, and a vast array of other products and services," CIA Director George Tenet said at a press conference. "Many of these calls have occurred, unthinkably, during the dinner hour."
He’s a Weather Watcher
In case you’re tired of guessing the identity of A. Beam, you can start wondering about the WeatherWatcher.
Wednesday, September 18, 2002
Can I Get a Mulcher With That, to Go?
Here’s another sign Amazon.com might be slipping. They have a “gold box” promotion that allows you to buy deeply discounted items, but only if you act within 60 minutes. Their info page promises the “offers are assigned based on the stores in which you've previously shopped,” but I have my doubts. I buy mostly books from Amazon, along with some CDs and electronic equipment. You might think they’d load up the gold box with impulse buys, things you’ve thought about getting and might just add if it’s not too expensive. Yet here’s a list of some of my exciting gold box offers:
Black & Decker MM275 18" Electric Mulching Mower: $139.49
Porter-Cable PCH2401 2,400 PSI @ 2.5 GPM 5 HP Honda Powered Pressure Washer: $449.99
Ingersoll-Rand IR-2131 1/2" Ultra Duty Air Impact Wrench : $161.99
Paslode 900600 Impulse Angle Finish Nailer: $338.19
Nesco American Harvest FD-50 Snackmaster Pro 4-Tray Dehydrator: $46.79
Ryobi 132R Electric Grass TrimmerPlus with SpeedSpool: $67.49
Freud SH-5 Professional Micro-Adjustable Router Table Fence: $71.99
Magic 8 Ball Party Game: $7.20
Libbey 4-Piece Heidelberg Beer Mug Set: $13.49
Porter-Cable 9845 19.2-Volt 6" Cordless SawBoss Kit: $226.19
Fire Engine with Costume: $39.98
And my favorite:
Harley-Davidson Barbie #4: $55.99
Tuesday, September 17, 2002
Prague Flood Recovery
The NYT Travel section this weekend had an update on Prague’s recovery efforts. The story said the metro will not be running a full schedule at least until Christmas; the Jewish Museum will be closed until Oct. 1 and even the Four Seasons, the InterContinental and Hilton hotels will all remain closed through this month. There are other updates here and at CTK’s flood news page. CTK also reports that sea lion Gaston died of exhaustion and infection, according to the autopsy.
Farm Living
Spent a long weekend with some goats, chickens donkeys and cats in Amish country in Pennsylvania. But who knew they were so big on freeways, Wal-Marts, outlet malls?
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