carefully selected garbage

Pakistan's Dandy UN Ambassador

2012-01-27T11:48:00.000-05:00

Pakistan's UN Ambassador, Abdullah Hussein Haroon, seems like he just stepped out of a Rex Stout novel.

Still not convinced? Watch this:

I bet he has a fantastic orchid garden.

Going Across the Sea

2012-01-06T08:50:00.001-05:00

To thine own self be true

2011-12-22T15:56:00.001-05:00

Cosa de Gringos

2011-12-19T10:07:00.000-05:00

Botswana

2011-12-08T08:12:00.001-05:00

Time to get a better job

2011-10-12T15:13:00.000-04:00

Maybe it's that I'm a new father. Maybe it was growing up during the Reagan era that made me a sucker for this advertising aesthetic. Whatever the reason, I keep seeing this ad in the NYT Magazine, and it's really managed to get under my skin.

This fine watch can be mine, and someday, my son's. We can start our own tradition. All it requires is $49,000.

Travel by Classic Rail Car

2011-09-03T07:39:00.000-04:00

Partition

2011-07-06T09:58:00.000-04:00

Unbiased at least he was when he arrived on his mission,
Having never set eyes on the land he was called to partition
Between two peoples fanatically at odds,
With their different diets and incompatible gods.
"Time," they had briefed him in London, "is short. It's too late
For mutual reconciliation or rational debate:
The only solution now lies in separation.
The Viceroy thinks, as you will see from his letter,
That the less you are seen in his company the better,
So we've arranged to provide you with other accommodation.
We can give you four judges, two Moslem and two Hindu,
To consult with, but the final decision must rest with you."

Shut up in a lonely mansion, with police night and day
Patrolling the gardens to keep the assassins away,
He got down to work, to the task of settling the fate
Of millions. The maps at his disposal were out of date
And the Census Returns almost certainly incorrect,
But there was no time to check them, no time to inspect
Contested areas. The weather was frightfully hot,
And a bout of dysentery kept him constantly on the trot,
But in seven weeks it was done, the frontiers decided,
A continent for better or worse divided.

The next day he sailed for England, where he could quickly forget
The case, as a good lawyer must. Return he would not,
Afraid, as he told his Club, that he might get shot.

-W.H. Auden, 1966

Rossini at the Kennedy Center

2011-04-03T20:10:00.000-04:00

Last night I took my wife to the Kennedy Center for the National Symphony Orchestra performance; something I should really make time to do more often. The opening piece was Rossini's overture to La Gazza Ladra, and it was spectacular. The video above is of the same piece, but performed by the Vienna Philharmonic about ten years ago.

One note on attending concerts at the Kennedy Center: While there is no enforced dress code – and, by all means, the most important thing is that you attend – people often ask what would be appropriate to wear. The easiest way to answer that question is to simply wear what you would to church. Unless, of course, you're an evangelical.

Post Iraq Ergo Propter Iraq

2011-03-29T10:18:00.002-04:00

Christopher Hitchens column for Slate today argues that, "if Saddam Hussein were still in power, this year's Arab uprisings could never have happened." This is a bit of rhetorical sleight of hand, and I can't believe Hitchens doesn't know what he's doing.

First of all, I find it hard to believe that between The Leys School and Oxford no one bothered to explain post hoc fallacies to Hitchens. That's not to say that Bush's Iraq misadventure has had no effect at all on Arab politics, only that Hitchens' claim that recent uprisings "could never have happened"* requires a post hoc reliance that is not supported by the evidence.

Second, I don't recall anyone arguing that Saddam Hussein should have remained in power. The argument was over how he was deposed – the lies, the hubris, the lack of planning and forethought – the causal, amateurish adventurism that defined the entire episode. Hitchens conveniently ignores the uncomfortable historical details, in effect arguing that the ends justified any means.

I share Hitchens' hope that we will soon see "a new Libyan provisional government on the soil of a free Iraq". But I'm afraid that will not "have closed the circle—and vindicated all those brave people" who died in George W. Bush's Iraq fiasco. Such vacuous rationalizations may sooth Christopher Hitchens' conscience, but not mine.

But what really made me chuckle (and the true impetus for this post), was this line:

Can anyone imagine how the Arab spring would have played out if a keystone Arab state, oil-rich and heavily armed with a track record of intervention in its neighbors' affairs and a history of all-out mass repression against its own civilians, were still the private property of a sadistic crime family?

Yes, it's quite hard to imagine, isn't it?

* emphasis added

Pour Faire une Jam

2010-11-11T16:33:00.002-05:00

Whose Fault Is It Anyway?

2010-08-30T09:37:00.004-04:00

This past Friday I saw The Other Guys, the new Will Ferrell-Mark Whalberg buddy comedy. I really enjoyed it for what it was - a light-hearted send-up of the buddy cop genre. What bugged me was that the closing credits were accompanied by a bunch of "shocking" financial statistics: the growing gap between CEO pay and employee pay; the size of Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme; the amount of TARP money that went to AIG. Fine statistics all of these, but like any numbers, they require context - none of which was provided in the closing credits. In fact, it seemed like something of a non sequitor (despite the rather loose connection to a plot point of the film).

Across town, people from all over the country were gathering to hear Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin preach one form of populist economics, certain that our nation is sliding down a path towards dirigisme or worse.

The truth is, the economy has been bad for a couple of years, and it remains in pretty fragile shape. As for whose fault that is? To quote every lawyer in history: "It's complicated."

Thankfully, Raghuram Rajan provides a grown up and serious perspective on the causes of and solutions to the present economic crisis. His latest book, Fault Lines, explores what led up to the recent economic meltdown, and identifies hard decisions that will have to be made if we're going to get through it intact.

The central theme of the book is that big economic shifts such as we saw around 2007 are much bigger than any hedge fund manager banging the close or any disaffected worker exploiting unemployment insurance. The tectonic plates of the global economy shift when the entire system gets too imbalanced - when certain nations become too reliant on domestic consumerism or exports to fuel economic growth, or when social welfare programs are misaligned with the domestic economies that they're meant to support.

These imbalances and misalignments can be corrected through a series of modest policy changes, stabilizing the economy and preparing us for the next phase of growth in the world. But the proper policy corrections require political will, and too often political will lags behind economic reality. Blaming greedy CEOs or irresponsible mortgage holders may be cathartic, but it won't get the economy back on track. It's time to stop bickering and start looking at serious solutions.

Rajan's book has been praised by pundits on the left and the right both, making it something of an anomaly in popular economics - and one that we might want to pay attention to. The Wall Street Journal's David Wessel and FT's Martin Wolf both found the book thought-provoking. I recommend you check it out as well.

Bernard Knox: Classicist, Author, Badass

2010-08-29T11:23:00.002-04:00

After training as a parachutist, he fought with a special force organized by the O.S.S., the British and the Free French to coordinate elements of the French Resistance with advancing Allied troops after the Normandy invasion. He also instructed members of the French Maquis in the use of explosives.

The O.S.S. later sent him into northern Italy for an equally dangerous mission with the Italian underground, and it was there that he rekindled his passion for the classics. Holed up in an abandoned villa, he discovered a bound copy of Virgil and opened it to a section of the first Georgic that begins, “Here right and wrong are reversed; so many wars in the world, so many faces of evil.”
Professor Knox recalled, in “Essays Ancient and Modern,” “These lines, written some 30 years before the birth of Christ, expressed, more directly and passionately than any modern statement I knew of, the reality of the world I was living in: the shell-pocked, mine-infested fields, the shattered cities and the starving population of that Italy Virgil so loved, the misery of the whole world at war.”
He continued, “As we ran and crawled through the rubble I thought to myself: ‘If I ever get out of this, I’m going back to the classics and study them seriously.’ ”

-New York Times, 16 August 2010

Home Run

2010-06-05T14:24:00.003-04:00

This weekend's required reading comes from Peggy Noonan.

When Galarraga hears the call, he looks puzzled, surprised. But he's composed and calm, and he smiles, as if accepting fate. Others run to the ump and begin to yell, but Galarraga just walks back to the mound to finish the job. Which he does, grounding out the next batter. The game is over.

The umpire, Jim Joyce, 54, left the field and watches the videotape. He saw that he'd made a mistake and took immediate responsibility. He went straight to the clubhouse where he personally apologized to Galarraga. Then he told the press, "I just cost the kid a perfect game." He said, "I thought [Donald] beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw until I saw the replay. It was the biggest call of my career."

Galarraga told reporters he felt worse for Joyce than he felt for himself. At first, reacting to the game in the clubhouse, he'd criticized Joyce. But after Joyce apologized, Galarraga said, "You don't see an umpire after the game come out and say, 'Hey, let me tell you I'm sorry.'" He said, "He felt really bad." He noted Joyce had come straight over as soon as he knew he'd made the wrong call.

What was sweet and surprising was that all the principals in the story comported themselves as fully formed adults, with patience, grace and dignity. And in doing so, Galarraga and Joyce showed kids How to Do It.

Take a moment to read the whole thing. It's a great reminder of the fact that you don't have to be a showboat or a crybaby. Handling yourself with class doesn't make you weak. It makes you an adult.

Contrapunctus

2010-05-15T16:16:00.005-04:00

If you listen closely to old recordings of Glenn Gould, you can hear him in the background humming as he plays. This drove recording engineers nearly mad as they tried to remove the ambient sounds. They never could scrub it quite clean, though. If you've ever really listened closely to recordings of Glenn Gould playing Art of Fugue, you would understand. What you're actually hearing is neither Glenn Gould nor Bach. It is the voice of God.

You're Doing It Wrong

2010-05-13T14:28:00.005-04:00

Look, I get it, all right? Politics is a tough business, and the campaign trail is never ending and unforgiving. But pull yourself together, Rand Paul. How is anyone supposed to trust you to shepherd a fragile economy in uncertain times when you're wearing your kid's shorts and sandals? For God's sake, put on some pants. And before you reach for those shorts again, please take a moment to read the rules.

Triple A Fun

2010-05-07T11:45:00.003-04:00

I miss going to Round Rock Express games. Sure, the Nats are great. In fact, going to games last year was sort of like watching a minor league team play. This year, well, it's more complicated.

But Express games were always a joy, and were exactly what a baseball game should be: fun. Thirsty Thursday's beer specials and a stadium that doesn't have a bad seat to it made for some great summer nights north of Austin, Texas. And the guys who are playing aren't prima donnas or whiners. These are guys who are out to do two things: Make a career out of playing a game they love and have fun doing it.

Krauthammer's right, "You get there and the twilight's gleaming, the popcorn's popping, the kids're romping and everyone's happy." And if Rojo Johnson's pitching, all the better.

Ledbury Launch DC

2010-05-06T07:43:00.007-04:00

Last night, Ledbury had their DC launch with a pop-up store in Georgetown. Featuring bluegrass music, drinks, and some pretty great shirts, the launch seemed to be a great success for the two Pauls and their emerging line of menswear.

Ledbury has a fairly limited selection of shirts right now, but what they have are quite nice. They've stuck to classic colors and lines, building a solid foundation from which to build. The material selection is excellent. The only complaint I have is that there appear to be an extremely limited selection of sizes. For example, if you have a 17" neck, you only have the option of a 36" sleeve. I'm sure this suits someone well, but it's not me.

Ledbury is definitely doing a bit of lifestyle marketing with their launch, and the bluegrass, hunting trophys, and equestrian decor is clearly meant to invoke Southern gentility. While, admittedly, I'm a sucker for this marketing, it is something that seems to be quite the vogue right now, and is often far too obvious. Ledbury has thankfully avoided attaching too-clever-by-half logos to their shirts or artificially inflating their line with branded koozies, flip-flops, and sunglasses retainers.

So, that's my two cents. These guys seem to have a good grasp of what's important - quality over quantity, substance over style. In the future, I'm sure they'll expand their line somewhat, but in the meantime they seem to be concentrating on doing one thing very well. Hopefully, they'll offer shirts for the thicker-necked of us who aren't 6'2". So, there you have it. I'll let Paul Trible take over, now, and speak for himself.

Shave and a Haircut

2010-05-05T14:16:00.005-04:00

A couple of months ago I attended the wedding of a great friend of mine in New Orleans, Louisiana. The day of the wedding, all the groomsmen got together and ate ~~ourselves sick~~ lunch at Port of Call, then made our way down to Aidan Gill for a shave.

As previously noted, I'm picky about barbers. I'm also not easily impressed. There are plenty of places in DC that pretend to be what Aidan Gill is, but its easy to tell when you're dealing with a knock-off. Aidan Gill is the real thing.

Now, this was a shave unlike any other. The whole process took between thirty to forty-five minutes and was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The young lady that shaved me used no fewer than eight hot towels and probably half a gallon of moisturizer and salve. The shave was incredibly close, and the facial massage that it required was sinful. With Coltrane wafting through the air, it was hard to get out of the chair when the whole thing was over.

I will take issue with Mr. Gill's contention that modern multi-blade razors are "far, far superior to anything that has come before." I traded my Mach 3 for a Merkur safety razor a few years ago and I've never looked back. Why? I get a better shave. But, to each his own. Shaving is something you have to do at least once a day, so you might as well do it as you like.

Still, if you're going to New Orleans, sleep in one morning and let Aidan Gill take care of the grooming. It's worth it.

Pool Party

2010-05-03T10:48:00.003-04:00

I know it's only May, but the temperatures have started pushing up into the 80s and 90s with high humidity. It's just about time to get in the water. I have fond memories of summer days at the natatorium, which weren't entirely unlike this:

As an adult, you're required to be a lot more civil. More lap swimming, less ogling the lifeguard; more treading water and having banal conversations, less dunking heads. Which is too bad, really. After a long week at the office, we all deserve a caddy day.

Year of the Yuppie

2010-05-01T17:31:00.005-04:00

My previous post on Yuppies resulted in severe taunts from my friend, whom I assured that I'm already filled with self-loathing. Well, self-loathing and gin. The Mrs. did a little Googling of her own and found this blog post with some great scans that I've ~~pirated~~ borrowed and re-posted here. The scans are from the December 31, 1984 issue of Newsweek which declared 1984 the "Year of the Yuppie."

I bought a house in the city a few months ago, and we've been doing some pretty major renovations. A lot of people come in and gut these houses and then renovate them to look like every other suburban home on the market. We're trying to preserve as much of the original house as possible, keeping with the period of the original construction. Speaking of which, while places like Community Forklift are a good place to find vintage materials, I highly recommend checking Ebay for that missing antique brass door knob. People seem to be a little less proud of their stuff there. Also, notice this couple grinning as they plaster a wall. That is what is known as 'trick photography.'

Now, maybe you could get away with a Burberry scarf in 1984. These days you might as well be wearing a knock-off covered in Louis Vuitton logos. The wooden squash racquet is a nice touch, though. My wife thinks the fashion displayed is a sign of how unfair the world is. The woman's outfit is horribly out of date. (It is almost 30 years old.) Asked what she thought about the man's wardrobe, she replied, "Don't you own that?"

Dead Disco

2010-04-30T09:42:00.001-04:00

Follow-up to the Last Days of Disco reference in yesterday's post.

Die Yuppie Scum

2010-04-29T12:30:00.006-04:00

A good friend reminds us this morning via Twitter:

AMERICA. You forgot the yuppies. You forgot the yuppies. Hipsters are a diversion.

As if they were checking Twitter on their smartphones, a couple of gentlemen during my morning commute carried on a rather loud conversation about how "they" are pushing "us" out of the city. Wearing argyle socks, a pink OCBD and a windbreaker while reading the morning's WSJ, I couldn't help but realize that I was the "they" in that conversation.

I'm not a hipster. I'm too old, too married, too employed. I have clients, a mortgage and a lawn mower. Sure, I once dabbled in facial hair, band t-shirts and radical politics; I know my way around cheap beer, pawn shops, and house shows. But when I go out now, the kids see me as some boring old guy - if they see me at all. Guy Debord may still have a place on my bookshelf, but the truth is I've become much more establishment than situationist.

I would argue, however, that I'm not a Yuppie, either. For one thing, I don't know what the cutoff age is, but I've got to be approaching it. For another thing, I don't wear my duck boots with a suit.

That said, I do own pink pants and bit loafers. Crap.

Anyway, my friend is right. You don't hear much about Yuppies anymore. Of course, we all agree that we hate Fabulous Fab, and we're definitely disgusted with the foppish elitism of a President who eats dijon mustard. But 'Yuppie' just sounds so quaint.

So what does all this mean? Well, hopefully someone will vouch for my character when Red Guard finally comes to strip me of my docksiders and haul me off to a re-education camp. In the meantime, I'll take the excuse to post clips from Last Days of Disco.

Thanks be to cod.

2010-04-26T13:13:00.005-04:00

A dreary day in Old Town. What better lunch than fish and chips? Eammon's provides the golden fillets and curry sauce, all served up in a beautiful package of dark wood and beveled glass.

The Bangles - Hazy Shade of Winter

2010-04-21T15:50:00.001-04:00

Another failed attempt at making cocaine look unappealing during the 1980s.

The Boating Party

2010-04-18T14:19:00.006-04:00

Orvis is offering a couple of items that I am naturally inclined to, but just can't bring myself to buy. It's not 1923, and I would look like an extra from a Merchant-Ivory film. Too bad. I already own enough marginally practical clothing that I don't think I can justify this set until I get drugged and taken to The Village.

I'm not saying 'never,' of course. Someday maybe I'll have a practical reason to buy a boater and saddle shoes. In the meantime, I'll just admire from afar. Anything to distract from the fact that the Nats are down 10-0 in the first inning.

Foxy Golf

2010-04-16T21:09:00.003-04:00

You never know who you'll be paired with at the local muni.

That was awesome.

2010-04-15T19:28:00.001-04:00

How to dress like Kennedy

2009-12-24T18:18:00.004-05:00

"Good morning, George," were usually John Kennedy's first words of the day as the valet laid four morning newspapers on his bedstand. [George] Thomas, a fifty-five-year-old Negro, had been a gift from Arthur Krock, who repaid past debts to Joseph Kennedy by sending his own valet to take care of Joe's son when he came to Washington in 1947 as a young bachelor used to being taken care of by servants. Thomas laid out the first suit of the day. Kennedy had a habit of changing clothes from the skin out as often as four times a day, sometimes using six shirts. He was surprised once when Ben Bradlee told him that he and a lot of the other men wore the same shirt two days in a row. The President owned eighteen suits, with European-cut, two-button jackets different from the three-button models worn by most American men. If Kennedy's back was troubling him, Thomas would help him into his clothes.

From President Kennedy: Profile of Power by Richard Reeves

Thanks Given

2009-11-26T17:56:00.004-05:00

"I just noticed your pants are tweed."

"That's right."

"I've seen a tweed jacket, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone wearing a tweed suit."

"Now you can say that you have."

"Thanks!"

"Anytime."

The Most Important Cultural Critic You've Never Heard Of

2009-11-13T10:31:00.003-05:00

Nadeem Paracha is not a household name in the West, but he should be. Born in Karachi in 1967, Paracha is a journalist, cultural critic, and political satirist in Pakistan. Arrested twice by General Zia’s right-wing dictatorship for “anti-state activities,” Paracha knows a thing or two about what it's like to speak truth to power.

Something of a Cassandra in Pakistan, Nadeem Paracha is a voice of reason in a deafening cacophony of wild conspiracy theories and anti-Western propaganda.

Paracha is an interesting case, too, because he very readily admits that he spent his early career parroting many of the same anti-Western tropes that he debunks today. Oh, and Paracha is mad as hell, and he's not going to take it anymore.

In a recent post on the website of English language daily Dawn, Paracha describes the reaction to a terrorist bombing at Islamabad's Islamic University that took the lives of eight innocent students:

Here we have a university that was attacked by a psychotic suicide bomber who slaughtered and injured dozens of students so he could get his share of hooris in Paradise. The attack was then proudly owned by the Tekrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. And in its wake, we saw enraged students protesting against the Kerry-Lugar act? What a response!

What did the Kerry-Lugar act have to do with the suicide attack? Wasn’t this remarkably idiotic ‘protest rally’ by the students actually an insult to those who were so mercilessly slaughtered by holy barbarians?

Paracha takes on misdirected attitudes wherever he sees them, including in a recent article about a near traffic accident that serves as a clever allegory for Pakistan's political woes. He sees people acting foolishly, but he doesn't condemn them - he tries to set them on the right path, to make them think. For Paracha, the end goal is to goad his countrymen into fulfilling their potential.

But Paracha has no patience for fellow journalists who spin ridiculous fantasies and attempt to pass them off as legitimate news. And he's not afraid to name names, either.

What I am getting at is that in Pakistan where democracy has always been a struggle, we have to keep a concerned eye on the lunatic fringe that (mainly through the mainstream electronic media) is having a ball with the whole democratic notion of freedom of speech and expression.

Obviously, this fringe, largely made up of certain TV personalities, conspiracy theorists, politicians and televangelists, may have been able to find applause from within some of the country’s urban middle and upper-middle-class drawing rooms, but they remain largely demagogic and focused on attacking democracy — either as a ‘destructive Western/ Zionist construct’ or worse, an ‘unacceptable Hindu offering.’

What is offered as an alternative are high-flying Utopian arrangements weaved together from a largely mythical understanding of Islamic and Pakistani history in which certain prominent Muslim and Pakistani figureheads are spun into becoming glorified hate-mongers. This is then explained away as a ‘proof’ that Islam (and Pakistan) are historically not compatible with liberal democracy and its principles.

Men like Munawar Hussain, Imran Khan, Zaid Hamid, Shahid Masood, Aamir Liaquat, Mubashar Lucman (and growing) will stir and shake passionately on the mini-screen, like doing a modern-day impersonation of the great Aziz Mian Qawal; they will sweat, they will shout, wring their hands and clench their fists, pleading at the top of their voices the meaning of ‘true patriotism,’ and ‘Islam’ and how both Pakistan and Islam are in danger of being infiltrated, adulterated and eventually obliterated by strange sounding ‘lobbies’, whose existence may make fictional sense in Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings; they smell of cynical, demagogic paranoia.

In a recent segment on Dawn News TV, Paracha gives a fascinating insight into Pakistan's conspiracy-theory journalists, as well as his own journey from young radical to voice of reason.

While Paracha has shifted his work to primarily debunking conspiracy theories in political discourse, he's not done with popular music. In a recent video produced by The New York Times, Paracha takes to task popular Pakistani rock bands for their willingness to propagate anti-Western themes while remaining completely silent about the Taliban extremists that are bombing their own neighborhoods.

In a post-colonial country that (understandably) views the West with suspicion, that's besieged by fundamentalist religious terrorists, and with a media more apt to broadcast conspiracy fantasies than actual news, Paracha is not just a breath of fresh air - he may be the hope of a nation.

Hey, look over here!

2009-11-12T16:10:00.002-05:00

Due to a severe lack of time for more involved blog posts, I've set up a Tumblr blog here.

While I plan to keep this blog around in case I have more time to dedicate to bloviation, I'm probably going to be doing a lot more posting on the Tumblr blog for the time being.

Check it out!

Flower Plower

2009-10-15T21:20:00.003-04:00

"The only thing they're going to be putting pressure on is the grass."

- Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on protest demonstrators.

Farewell to Summer

2009-09-21T09:18:00.008-04:00

With October just around the corner, I'm having to admit to myself that another summer is already come and gone. While I've already packed away most of the summer wardrobe, it's still not quite cool enough to feel like fall in the mid-Atlantic. Amidst this seasonal segue, I find it's nice to take the opportunity to make some small trips that help bridge the seasons. Yesterday, my wife and I revisited one of our favorite day trips with my brother and his wife who recently relocated to DC.

After a night cheering the Longhorns as they defeated Texas Tech 34-24, we met up early Sunday morning and hit the links for a quick 9 before driving out to Annapolis for lunch.

Annapolis is home to one of my favorite eateries, Jimmy Cantler's Riverside Inn. Cantler's has an atmosphere that is just about perfect for making me forget that eventually I'll have to return to the office. Situated right on the water away from downtown, it's easy to believe that you're far away from the Sisyphean world of workaday drudgery and morning commutes. Much of the staff appear to be local high school kids, which reminds me of the family restaurants where I grew up, making it all the more homey. Oh, and the food is fantastic. We plowed through a dozen large crabs with coleslaw, fries, and hush puppies. All washed down with cold beer in a warm September sun.

After lunch we walked around City Dock and downtown Annapolis. Much to our delight (the the chagrin of fellow tourists, no doubt) our wives permitted us to stop at the tobacconist for cigars. With Montecristos alit, we made our way down the boardwalk and ogled the boats in ego alley. A personal favorite, and one that duly impressed my brother, was the Manitou, JFK's presidential yacht. If GWB's Crawford ranch was "The Western White House," the Manitou was the White House on the Water.

Interestingly, the Manitou is for sale. Had I the means, I'd grab that baby up in a heartbeat. As it were, though, I hope it goes to an appreciative buyer.

Annapolis is also home to some great haberdashers. Laurence Clothing on Main Street is a standard bearer for traditional (what my brother still calls 'soulless', but I'm working on him) menswear, and a regular stop anytime I'm in town.

Another Annapolis tradition is Johnson on the Avenue. Sadly, the shop across from the Maryland State House is no more. Visiting Johnson's was always a treat. The shop was filled with dark woods, classic tweeds, and gentlemen browsing some of the finest clothes in town. Johnson's provided tailoring for officers and midshipmen at the Naval Academy, and stepping inside their State Circle store always filled one with a strong sense of tradition. I made my regular pilgrimage and attempted to describe to brother what he'd missed out on by taking so long to get there. I understand from their website that Mr. Johnson's granddaughters are maintaining the store as an online shop, and I wish them the best of luck.

It was a great Sunday outdoors, uninterrupted by petty distractions and life's frivolities. The four of us were able to concentrate on what's really important in life - family, food, and having a laugh. Here's to fond summer memories and looking forward to an equally adventurous fall.

Soul Power

2009-09-10T19:08:00.004-04:00

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

There was a time when R&B meant something other than trite warbling over glorified Casio rhythm presets. Once upon a time performers like Ray Charles and Al Green moved feet and hips and hearts. They made music with soul.

The music was infectious, and it freed a generation of youth from the shackles of their parents' outdated ideas about race, class, and culture.

Brown v. Board of Education may have integrated schools, but Stax Records really broke down the barriers of racial segregation in the hearts and minds of America.

Soul music seemed poised to make a brief comeback after the release of films like The Blues Brothers and The Commitments. As great as those films are, they were really just bringing attention back to standard soul classics. They were all nostalgia, no renewal.

Enter Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, a group of musicians from Austin, Texas that are bringing soul back - and in force. Their debut record, Tell Em What Your Name Is! was released by Universal Music Group's Lost Highway label in March. I may be late to the show, but thank God I found a ticket. This music is HOT.

If you're like me and you're just hearing of these guys, check out the video for their song Sugarfoot. This already has me planning the playlist for a soul disco in the basement.

In their infinite wisdom, Universal Music Group has disabled embedding, so I can't actually show you the promotional video they paid a lot of money to produce. I can only provide you a link to click through to watch it somewhere else.

Take the extra step, though. It's worth it.

Blue Horseshoe Loves Endicott Steel

2009-09-08T11:38:00.005-04:00

Oliver Stone is making a sequel to his 1987 hit Wall Street, sending pomade futures through the roof. When Wall Street came out I was too young to really know what was going on, but it was one of those films (like Real Genius) that we could all recite verbatim in high school.

And why not? The film had everything you wanted in the late '80s - slicked back hair, expensive suits, cellular phones, and arrogance for miles. In the end, all of this went into the dustbin when we got old enough to realize that girls were far more interested in Doc Martens and ratty cardigan sweaters. But for a period, Wall Street was the lifestyle movie of choice. It's where, as young teenagers, we first saw in action the contrasting collar and silk braces that represented "success." Will we see, this time around, a resurgence of Zegna stripes? God, I hope not.

Of course, none of this was by design. Wall Street was meant to expose the excesses and moral failings of the players at the time. That it became a hagiography should, perhaps, have been foreseen, but it's not an uncommon dilemma for filmmakers, I would think. I will be interested, however, to see how Stone approaches the recent market shenanigans, and whether the bad guys again come across so damn cool.

I've also been wondering lately when we'd see a follow-up to James Stewart's book, Den of Thieves about the Milken, Boesky, Siegel, and Levine scandals of the period. That book was a must-read when I was in high school, though, much like Wall Street, we all took the wrong message from it.

Den of Thieves really is a thrilling read, as I remember it. I should pick it up again. The backstory for the past decade has equally compelling characters, though, and I hope a sequel is, like its cinematic cousin, Wall Street, in the works.

Slightly off topic, but thinking about this reminded me of the great anti-drug PSAs of the time. This was always a favorite.

"And buy a decent suit. You can't come in here looking like this. Go to Morty Sills, tell him I sent you."

-- Gordon Gekko

Maybe all you need is love, but money sure helps.

2009-09-03T07:49:00.000-04:00

I had no interest in economics in college, either. I belonged to that great tradition of academic bohemia which stretches from the fifteenth century riots of François Villon's to the Phish tours of the present day. For University hipsters, there is (no doubt Villon mentions this in his Petit Testament) nothing more pathetic than taking business courses.

My friends and I were above that. In our classes we studied literature, anthropology, and how to make ceramics. We were seeking, questing, growing. Specifically, we were growing sideburns and leg hair, according to gender. It did not occur to us that the frat-pack dolts and Tri-Delt tweeties, hurrying to get to Econ 101 on time (in their square fashion), were the real intellectuals.

-- P.J. O'Rourke, Eat the Rich

Not unlike O'Rourke before me, I spent my college years writing papers about deconstructing gender identity tropes in slave narratives and discussing Foucault over cheap wine. I grew a ratty beard, and my band played a benefit to raise awareness of the struggles of indigenous peasants in southern Mexico. The closest I got to economics was reading neo-marxist critiques of contemporary film theory.

Also not unlike O'Rourke, I've grown up and found myself a little more concerned that things like "current account deficits" are a larger issue than whether or not I wrote a bad check for beer. Unfortunately, I understand current account deficits now about as well as I understood then why the bank was sending me overdraft notices about a $5 check to "The Beer Barn."

With this background I recently picked up a copy of Benn Steil and Manuel Hinds' new book, Money, Markets, and Sovereignty. The amount of knowledge packed into these short 246 pages is astounding. What's even more, the book is accessible even to me.

Prior to reading Money, Markets, and Sovereignty, I long held the belief that money was a ridiculous concept. After all, what but mass delusion results in billions of people trading small pieces of paper for actual objects of intrinsic value? As it turns out, the answer is something like mass delusion. But I now find it anything but ridiculous. After all, this mass delusion is, essentially, what makes the world work. It's the same mass delusion that allows us to live without constant fear of being hit by a car or contracting a deadly disease. We all go along because, well, things just wouldn't work otherwise.

That's not to say that things can't go wrong. They can. Horribly, horribly wrong, in fact. Take, for example, the fact that $5 USD will buy you a 100 Trillion Zimbabwean dollar note on Ebay. Or, for an example a bit closer to home, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Steil and Hinds' book presents an easy to digest history of money and monetary policy, concluding with present day issues that face central bankers and governments the world over. The authors outline the unique role the US economy has played since 1944 saw the signing of the Bretton Woods Agreements, and even more so since the Bretton Woods exchange markets closed in 1973. Most important, though, Steil and Hinds make exceptionally clear the urgency with which the US needs to get its house (the Fed) in order if we are to prevent further deterioration into a global financial crisis that will make the past year look like a cakewalk.

Those who recoil at the idea that globalization could actually be helping, rather than hurting, global standards of living will certainly find some of the authors' points hard to swallow. I would recommend reading their thesis with an open mind, though, as it's quite convincing. And I invite anyone with alternative readings to post them in the comments for future review.

Next, Kay bites the head off a bat

2009-09-02T13:25:00.005-04:00

A few years ago I posted that a rumor was going around the Sen. Hutchison (R-Texas) was thinking about resigning from the US Senate to challenge Rick Perry for Governor. As is well known by now, the rumor was true, and Sen. Hutchison is running for Gov. I said at the time it was going to be fun.

I didn't know the half of it.

This definitely goes down as one of the funniest political ads I've seen. Frankly, I didn't think old Rick Perry had it in him. I can't wait to see what comes next.

On the Cusp of Autumn

2009-09-01T10:39:00.002-04:00

While I love summer and all the promises of sun and relaxation it brings, my heart will always belong to Autumn. Already the air in DC has cooled down a bit, and as Labor day weekend approaches, our house is gearing up for the first Texas football game of the season.

And what better song to prepare for the impending Autumn season than the Avett Brothers' song November Blue:

The Office

2009-08-29T17:56:00.003-04:00

I'm on a mission to evangelize for the film, In the Loop, a new comedy that is really fantastic, only nobody seems to know about it. I figured someone I knew would have seen it, but apparently not. I think perhaps people are put off by the idea that it's a political film. While there is certainly political humor, the film is really about office politics more than anything. Though if you've ever done time in DC, you'll well appreciate several quite recognizable characters.

That's how I roll

2009-07-29T10:28:00.002-04:00

Market Share

2009-06-07T10:51:00.004-04:00

Headed to the farmer's market this morning to pick up some food for the week. We love the market not only because it allows us to get fresh, locally grown produce, eggs, and meats, but because the market, so much more than a large grocery store, fosters a feeling of community.

While she was looking at some mushrooms, my wife was able to talk to the woman who farms them, get advice on the best way to prepare them, and chat generally about food, farming, and the beautiful day. Much more personal than the interactions you get at the supermarket. "If it's not on aisle three, we don't have it."

But there's more than just food going on at the market. There are people taking photos, people playing music. People are catching up over coffee while the kids dance or pet one of the many dogs that are enjoying a walk in the sun.

In a city where we're all too often pushing past each other to cram onto a train, trying not to make eye contact and wishing we were somewhere else, it's nice to see people smiling and sharing a sunny summer morning.

And, to top it all off, our menu for the week looks fantastic.

Cue the sauce

2009-06-02T19:39:00.003-04:00

Pork short ribs, green beans, and sweet potato fries. Could've stood to cook for a few more hours, but I was too hungry. Not pictured: Glass of lemonade.

Soundtrack: Bill Monroe
Secret ingredient: 2oz Woodford Reserve, taken directly

True story

2009-05-28T11:34:00.001-04:00

We made our way to the pear trees that grew
Back behind Grandma and Grandaddy’s house
To pick what we could so mom and my aunts
Would bake a fresh pie to eat after lunch.

Grandma made homemade vanilla ice-cream
Which sent Grandaddy to Mr. Berkman’s
Across the road from the old cotton gin
Because there never was enough rock salt.

Up that tree I was on top of the world,
Ten years old looking out over the fields
And the horse pasture next to the old barn,
When wasps stung me square between the shoulders.

I tried not to cry when I ran inside,
But I’m afraid my eyes gave me away.
Still, nothing beats the healing power of
The love those women baked into that pie.

Cadillac Sky - Born Lonesome

2009-05-26T14:30:00.002-04:00

(h/t Garden & Gun)

The Good Life

2009-04-04T14:53:00.004-04:00

"The issue is how we define the good life. Are the unlimited acquisition of material possessions and ever-higher use of energy the ultimate definition of the good life? How is this going to be sustainable on a global basis?

I don't think the answers will come easily. They certainly will not come wihtin the term of any one president. This is a debate that has to start within the country that, in a sense, has set the worldwide standard for material attainments and which, in the current global era, has to ask itself whether that standard is compatible, literally, with continued global survival."

- Zbigniew Brzezinski, American and the World, p.244.

Let my people go

2009-02-24T08:40:00.005-05:00

Digging ourselves out of the current economic crisis will require more than injecting capital into banks, and more than overhauling the financial regulatory system. Both are necessary, to be sure, but we should take the opportunity to negotiate sustainable improvements to global trade regulations that would free the flow of not only goods, but human capital.

The current economic downturn has revived calls for economic protectionism, despite the proven benefits of global trade. The $787 billion economic stimulus bill signed by President Obama last week contains a "buy America" provision requiring federal stimulus money to favor domestic suppliers, regardless of their ability to provide the best products and services at a competitive price, and threatening to set off a chain reaction whereby countries across the globe pass similar protectionist regulations, thereby threatening our ability to do business in the global market.

Cooler heads prevailed, thankfully, and the provision was qualified with language such that the regulation be "applied in a manner consistent with United States obligations under international agreements." If there is ever a time to revert of economic isolationism, a global financial crisis is certainly not it.

Unfortunately, we still seem to be looking in the wrong direction in one area of global trade. The Wall Street Journal reported last weekend that the stimulus bill imposes disincentives for companies to hire foreign workers. This is a move in the wrong direction.

Instead of placing obstacles in the way of US firms hiring international workers, we should be using the incentive of increased numbers of H1-B visas to arrange agreements with other nations to ease restrictions on American workers coming to their countries, creating a smoother and more regular flow of people across the globe. Freeing the flow of human capital promises significant economic and national security advantages as well.

Economic Advantages

Broadens the pool of available talent for struggling companies.

Increases productivity by increasing competition for top jobs.

Broadens the pool of economic opportunities available to American workers.

Increases number of young workers in the US, reducing the strain of future entitlement spending as the native population ages.

National Security Advantages

Increases number of foreign workers in the US, resulting in an increase in financial and cultural remittances to foreign countries and strengthening ties between the US and the world.

Offers a rational solution to undocumented immigration from the South.

Increased the number of Americans working abroad, creating bonds of friendship and cultural respect that improve America's image abroad.

These are but of few of the potential advantages for improving global economics and security. Global trade liberalization has seen millions of people across the world lifted out of poverty. It has resulted in better living conditions, and better health care across the world. But for too long we've focused solely on increasing the freedom of movement for goods, keeping the most valuable resource nations produce chained down.

It's time for the workers of the world to break their chains and move freely through the global marketplace, creating a more prosperous and secure world for all.

Planes Trains and Automobiles

2009-02-21T08:41:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, my brother took the train down from Syracuse for a professional networking event in the District. As he was traveling, I sent him an SMS saying that "Train is by far the most civilized form of transport." He replied, "Because it's slow and expensive?" Touché.

It's an unfortunate fact that rail transport in the US is far less efficient than it is compared to other places, Europe in particular. For all the complaints we hear about train schedules overseas, our European cousins have nothing on Amtrak. And for anyone who finds this an argument for car commuting, I say enjoy your stay on I-66 in Virginia, Loop 610 in Houston, or any number of fantastic examples of the wonders of American car culture.

Today's Wall Street Journal includes an interesting look at the effect of the stimulus bill on Amtrak, and the main obstacle to an efficient nationwide passenger rail system in the US - lack of infrastructure.

But as long as most Amtrak trains run on crowded freight-rail tracks, the U.S. will remain far from building a European-style network of bullet trains. Amtrak's swiftest offering, the Washington-to-Boston Acela service, briefly hits a top speed of 150 miles per hour but averages only 62 mph between New York and Boston. Many of its trains get bogged down on lines that are owned and operated by freight railroads. By contrast, the 190-mile Brussels-to-Paris trip averages about 140 mph.

"We're not Europe," Mr. Boardman said. "We have a huge and world-renowned freight rail system in this country, and that's where we run most of the miles we run on Amtrak."

The intentional creation of the interstate highway system in the US propelled America forward both culturally and economically. Opening interstate transportation dramatically allowed goods and labor to flow more efficiently, reducing costs and increasing productivity. It also allowed people to move around and experience more of the cultural diversity in their country.

But as efficient as we are, there are significant improvements that could be made. A key investment should be the creation of infrastructure to support a national passenger rail system. That Texans can't easily take a train from Houston to Austin is simply ridiculous. And that is costs as much or more to take the train from DC to New York as it does to fly points to serious problems in efficiency.

If we're going to be throwing around trillions of dollars to stimulate the economy, we would be wise to invest that money in sound projects that have proven returns on investment. National passenger rail service is one of those.

A well run rail service with adequate infrastructure would be faster than driving, more comfortable than flying, and provide more efficient transportation of human capital in a time when we need to be finding ways to make sustainable improvements to our economy that will keep us competitive in the global market.

Besides, it's just more civilized.

David Brooks may dream of Denver, but I dream of Leiden.

Those were the days

2009-02-03T20:10:00.003-05:00

Christmas 1975: Francisco Macías Nguema, President of Equatorial Guinea, had 150 alleged coup plotters executed to the sound of a band playing Mary Hopkin's tune Those Were the Days in a national stadium.

Inauguration Day

2009-01-24T14:09:00.003-05:00

I hadn't planned on going downtown for the Inauguration. People infinitely better connected that I am couldn't get tickets, and even conservative estimates of the crowds made it clear that actually seeing anything other than crowds was unlikely. I briefly considered going downtown with a camera just to record the event, but hadn't made up my mind.

Monday evening, though, I was leaving for a party when we got a phone call and a friend offered us tickets. The tickets turned out to be for the parade, not the Inauguration ceremony, but that was just as well. An opportunity to bear witness to an historic event is an opportunity to bear witness to an historic event, whether one is on the West side of the Capitol, or on the sidewalk between Treasury and Old Ebbitt.

Being the Inauguration of the President of the United States, I wore grey flannel, white OCBD, blue repp tie, and a black wool overcoat. I wasn't the only one who dressed appropriately for the occasion, but I was certainly in the minority. This country really needs a national moratorium on jeans.

A native Texan, I'm not inherently opposed to denim - but everything has its place. If you paid $200 for your jeans, it doesn't make them "dressy," it just makes you a fool. And wearing jeans with a coat and tie doesn't make them appropriate for presidential occasions, either. I'm sure I'll get a lot of flak for this, but I'm okay with that. Somebody needs to say it.

Jeans notwithstanding, a lot of people were really dressed up. Maybe not to my taste, but at least they were trying to be respectful. And as Peggy Noonan rightly observed, PETA really took one on the chin. Who knew there were that many full length fur coats in the world? And not just on women!

The coolest people on the street were by far the Secret Service.They are the classiest of the law enforcement branches, I'd say. Well dressed, polite, and quiet. At one point a couple of guys came walking down the street with big bags and equipment slung over their shoulders. My wife said, "here come the cameras!" Then we noticed that they weren't news media, they were snipers.

The rooftop snipers were out in numbers. We had blue tickets, for the end of the parade route, right around the corner from the presidential viewing stand. It was clear that we were in the safest place on the planet. The atmosphere was so jubilant, though, that rooftop snipers never felt remotely threatening. People just waved and cheered them. Sort of strange in retrospect, but at the time it seemed to make perfect sense.

The weather was brutally cold, so after the president and vice president came by, we went to Old Ebbitt to warm up with bourbon and crabcakes and watch the rest of the parade through the windows. At the end of the day, I was exhausted and near frozen. But I was glad to have had the opportunity to witness up close such an historic moment.

How Lordly is the life I lead

2009-01-23T20:27:00.003-05:00

This was a popular film in my house when I was a child. My takeaway was that it's better to put your pennies in the bank than to give them to poor people. Also, a red carnation in the lapel is becoming. People have always told me that there's some other lesson to be taken, but I haven't found it yet. Perhaps they're talking about how great it would be to have a cannon on the roof?

I still sing this song at my wife on occasion, just as a reminder of what it's like to be me.

The rhythm would speak for itself

2009-01-15T20:06:00.004-05:00

Today's WSJ draws attention to a quote in The Guardian that I can't stop thinking about.

"It was the very first production at Hampstead Theatre, in 1960. He wrote to me and asked me to play Riley [in "The Room"]. It was a very dense play and I didn't really understand it, but I was very flattered he'd asked me, so I thought, "Why not?" On the third day, there was a frightful row between Harold and Vivien Merchant on the rehearsal floor. She said: "I can't say this line. What does it mean? It doesn't seem to make sense." He said: "Just say the line, observe the pauses and it will work." I was heartened to know that I wasn't the only person who was puzzled. When Vivien complained to him about saying the lines, it meant that even as his wife, she hadn't been able to understand. . . . But I learned that if you said the lines exactly as he wrote them -- observing the pauses, the commas and semi-colons -- the rhythm would speak for itself."

Thomas Baptiste quoted in "Old Times: Actors Remember Harold Pinter," the Guardian (London), Jan. 8.

"Close the door"

2009-01-13T19:32:00.014-05:00

While pulling Esquire's Handbook for Hosts off the shelf yesterday to look up their recipe for a hot toddy, I spied another must-have reference for young men in America: P.J. O'Rourke's The Bachelor Home Companion.

O'Rourke is, of course, one of the finest wits of the 20th century, and a master of American culture and politics. I first discovered him when I was in high school and Parliament of Whores was number one on the New York Times bestseller list*.

While famous for his political satire, a few of O'Rourke's early books took aim at a quickly disappearing culture - the Ty Webb style cad. Bachelor Home Companion is the second such book, the first being Modern Manners. As a young man coming of age in the age of political correctness, O'Rourke's books were more than just humorous reflections on "the performance of gender in 20th century American society,"** they were a celebration of all that was good in the world. Well, maybe not all. But they were damned funny.

And Bachelor Home Companion is more than just satire. It also includes helpful information that I've put to use both before I was married, and when my wife was traveling a lot for work.

Table of Equivalents

Bachelor Measuring Units	Customary Household Measuring Units
1 shotglass	3 Tablespoons
1 handful (dry measure)	1/3 cup
1 handful (liquid measure)	1/2 cup
1 mouthful	1/3 cup
1 good splash (from tap)	4 Tbsp
1 good splash (from wine bottle)	1/2 cup
1 good splash (from whisky bottle into highball glass)	6 fl oz
1 beer can	1 cup
1 dog dish	1 pint
Customary Household Measuring Units	Bachelor Measuring Units
1 teaspoon	too much salt
1 Tablespoon	too much instant coffee
1 cup	too much mixer
1 pint	not enough whisky
1 quart	too much gin
1 gallon	enough beer to last until halftime
1 peck	I forgot to buy sweet corn
1 bushel	I bought too much
1 pound	3 oz of T-bone steak after 15 minutes on the grill

Today, O'Rourke is H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, and he continues to write for a variety of publications. His contemporary writing may not be what it once was, but his place in the history of American satire is firmly set.

* Today's number one is ~~Sideshow Bob~~ Malcolm Gladwell's recent tribute to the obvious. And so our society crumbles before our very eyes.
** I'm pretty sure I took that class in college. We did not read P.J. O'Rourke. The class would have been more interesting had we.

Doctor's Orders

2009-01-12T17:11:00.002-05:00

Falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon yesterday should have been a good indicator. But I suppose I was in denial. After all, being sick is no fun. Yes, you get to stay home from the office. But you also get to worry about work piling up and clients frantically calling for help. And, being sick, you don't even get to enjoy your time off.

So, you fight back against whatever microscopic invaders have penetrated your defenses. You hunker down for battle, scrambling the white blood cells and declaring your immune system at DEFCON 1. For a first strike against the enemy, you unleash the hot toddy.

Hot toddy recipes vary, of course. My wife includes honey and black tea. I tend to make it up as I go along. Today, though, I've opted today for the classic recipe*:

Mix double shot of favorite whisky or brandy with 1 teaspoon (or less) sugar. Fill glass with hot water and garnish with clove studded lemon slice and bits of stick cinnamon.

I will now retire to watch The News Hour and ponder the fate of the world. Question at hand: Does the fate of the world matter if I feel like this?

* Esquire's Handbook for Hosts. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1949. p. 174

Poeta, poetinha vagabundo

2009-01-09T09:46:00.003-05:00

It's been all about the bossa nova at my house lately. A glass of claret and a Toquinho record. It's the cure for what ails you.

Ready Made Disposable Society: Bespoke

2009-01-06T19:15:00.009-05:00

A couple of years ago, I was at a local tailor for alterations to a suit I'd just purchased. While I was waiting, I was looking at a couple of bespoke suits in his shop, all quite impressive. We talked for a while, and I asked him what it would take to have a bespoke suit tailored. He told me that his suits typically start around $3,000, but that they can go up quite a bit depending on the fabric one chooses.

$3,000 being well out of my budget, I thought I'd take it down a notch. "How about just a pair of trousers?" I don't remember exactly, but I think it was somewhere around $750. I humbly picked up my ready made suit and went home.

The first I remember learning the term bespoke was around 1989. I was thumbing through a copy of GQ magazine, and, while I wasn't entirely sure what the term meant (I would have been all of 13), it was fairly obvious that that was the suit one wanted. Since that introduction, I've always kept bespoke suiting in the back (well, middle, anyway) of my mind. It's kind of like a Rolls Royce - I'll likely never have one, but it's nice to know they're still out there.

A few years ago, though, I found myself in Bangladesh where tailored clothing is not yet only an option for the wealthiest of society. To be sure, you can go to a tailor in Dhaka and have a suit tailored for $2,000, if you so desire. But there's a wide range of tailors below that level - everyone from the guy with the rented sewing machine in the alley of the local bazaar, to the more mid-range shops filled with bolts of fabrics and people haggling over the price of a shirt. I picked one of the latter for my first foray into custom clothing.

I went in and was fitted by a tailor, picked out a collar, cuffs, and some fabric Between my broken Bangla and the tailor's broken English, we communicated pretty well, and I left with a claim slip for a single shirt and a pair of pants. A couple of weeks later, I returned and picked up my packages. Total cost for one shirt and one pair of pants: $32.

When I got home, I tried on the clothes and they fit perfectly. One of the worst consequences of industrialization and economic efficiency is the dominance of ready made clothing. After years of off-the-rack clothes that surely don't fit anybody, I finally had a set of clothes that was made to measure - and it felt like it. The next day I returned and ordered several more shirts.

I returned to pick up my packages and rushed home to try them on. When I slipped on the first shirt, I started to panic. The sleeves were about a half inch too short. I tried on the next one - sleeves were a full inch too short and too narrow, chest was about an inch too narrow. Each shirt I tried on got progressively smaller.

I was really distraught, and returned to the tailor hoping to get things corrected. Taking out a custom tailored shirt isn't exactly easy. Or possible. It requires a new shirt. And Bangladeshi economics subscribes very much to the theory of caveat emptor.

To be fair, the tailor was clearly as distraught as I was. It was pretty clear that, while he'd done the first order himself, this second order was likely delegated to hired help. It was right before Eid, after all, and business was really busy. And who would believe that a man could really have arms that big*!

I ended up moving back to the US, and never was able to recover my other shirts. Total cost: $50. Sure, I was out $50, which stung at the time, but looking back, it was worth the experience.

I still have the original pants and shirt, and they continue in regular rotation. My neck has gotten a little bigger since I've been back in the land of donut, but it still works. The pants are some of the most comfortable I've ever had.

Maybe someday I'll go back for that $3,000 suit from the tailor in Georgetown, but until then, I'll always have Dhaka Tailors and Fabrics.

* I'm not really that big, but much more so than the average Bangladeshi.

Ready Made Disposable Society: Detachable Collars

2009-01-04T10:02:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, I was putting away laundry when I noticed a white shirt collar that will soon resign the shirt to weekend-around-the-house wear. I do what you can to keep my collars and cuffs white, but living through Texas or DC summers, you're fighting a losing battle. When I lived in Bangladesh, the woman who washed my laundry dyed all my white shirts blue. I suppose that's one way of attacking it.

I started thinking about what a waste it is that the collar and cuffs of a shirt, probably all of 10 percent of the actual shirt, will often dictate the fate of the rest of the shirt. Hardly equitable, now, is it?

Now, unless you're attending Eton or, I don't know, a practicing barrister, perhaps, your collar is more than likely permanently sewn to the rest of your shirt. I wouldn't suggest that we should all be wearing wing collars or anything, but what's to keep from making day-to-day shirts with detachable collars? Nothing, it would seem, since one can find a shirt with a detachable collar, for a price.

But why should this option be reserved for people who buy $125 shirts? And even those are few and far between. When I think of how much easier, cheaper, and less wasteful it would be to worry about replacing a collar than an entire shirt, I can't help but wonder why more people aren't clamoring for them.

This really brings up a much larger issue, which is that in our economic quest to provide as much low-quality merchandise to as many people as possible, we've created a society in which most people never buy anything of value. We get to feel wealthy with our disposable fakes, while the wealthy continue to enjoy quality goods and services.

I hate the idea of looking costumey, and given the choice, I'll keep cycling out 90 percent perfect shirts. Maybe that's the tradeoff. But judging by the photo of the Clerk and Teller shirt linked above, it shouldn't have to be.

The typed and the printed and the spelt all wrong

2009-01-02T18:28:00.007-05:00

I was out to dinner with a friend recently who mentioned that she was looking for pen pals for her son as "he needs work on his penmanship." I was really overjoyed to hear this, not because I delighted in her child having poor penmanship, but because I at times despair that I'm the only person left who finds penmanship and letter writing worthy of consideration.

Growing up, I regularly had pen pals my age, and loved writing and receiving letters. This was right before the Internet took over all forms of communication, and before cellular phone companies made long distance charges all but obsolete. If you had a friend in another city or state, you were still best off keeping in touch via written letter.

Despite the ubiquity of Internet communications, I'm always on the lookout for the opportunity to write letters. When a good friend taught English in Japan for a year, we exchanged letters regularly. When I lived in Bangladesh, I wrote letters at least twice a week.

What's so great is, letter writing is an opportunity to give someone a gift. Who doesn't like to open the mailbox and see a hand addressed envelope with a letter inside? And it's so much more personal to receive a hand written missive than a three word SMS.

I once wrote an extensive letter to a film historian, a few of whose books I had just read, and received in reply a lengthy handwritten letter and a photograph of the author with John Wayne! Daniel Clowes sent me a postcard in reply. In college, I wrote a letter to my favorite author at the time, Haruki Murakami, and received, several weeks later, a letter from his assistant informing me that Mr. Murakami did not answer interviews. In a fit of rejection, I threw the letter away - a move I have regretted ever since.

For Christmas this year, I received a new fountain pen. I have a small collection of fountain pens that belonged to my Grandfather and Great Grandfather that my Grandmother gave me a few years ago. I treasure them, of course, and it's nice to add one of my own to the collection. Besides, there's nothing like sucking the ink up into a new pen and setting it to paper. I immediately went out and bought a new box of stationery, and look forward to a new year filled with new opportunities to write.

Chega De Saudade

2008-12-29T16:59:00.004-05:00

The sky is clear and blue, and the air is cool. It's the perfect day to go for a walk and marvel at the sunlight sparkling off the downtown architecture. Sure, the economy is in the tank, and senseless wars rage on. But a new year is just around the corner. Let's bossa nova our way to tomorrow.

Merry Christmas From the Family

2008-12-24T09:29:00.003-05:00

A holiday favorite, it could have been written about my grandparents' house in the early '80s. I have fond memories of family holidays growing up, and I enjoy them even more now that I'm old enough to appreciate how lucky I am to have a large, close family filled with utter lunatics. I'm missing them terribly this Christmas, but I'll be sure to give them a phone call tomorrow. And I can always watch this video if I need a peek at what's going on back in Texas. Feliz Navidad, ya'll.

Barberism Begins at Home

2008-12-22T18:33:00.005-05:00

Bobby Kennedy, a man with a good haircut

Since moving to DC, I've been on the lookout for a decent barber, a prize that has proven more elusive than one would hope. The problem, it seems, is that I require neither salon nor stylist. I very rarely put any sort of holding product in my hair, and I don't blow dry. I'm a low-intensity, wash and go kind of guy. No mess, no fuss, no hassle.

At home in Texas, a barber is not hard to find. From small town to big city, you will usually have your choice between more than one small barber shop that features: a stack of magazines (sports and outdoors), a refrigerator (soda), Pinaud talcum powder and after shave, straight razors, black combs, and your choice of haircut: regular, flat top, or buzz cut. I prefer regular.

DC has a lot of boutiques that are little more than overpriced suburban strip mall salons. These are pretty easy to spot, though, by the overworked young women who would rather be somewhere else, and the shiny black plastic sinks they want to wash your hair in before they cut it. I suppose if you've a head full of gel, that's probably necessary.

DC also has more than one "gentleman's salon" that features complimentary cocktails, dark wood, and hunting prints on the wall. But while the decor in these places may nod towards traditionalism, once seated in the chair, one is berated with suggestions as to how one might accomplish the latest gauche trends out of California or New York. One fellow (clad in all black, nach) even went so far as to roll his eyes and proclaim that the haircut I requested was "boring." If you want to be an artist, buddy, go buy some paint. All I need is a haircut.

Tonight, however, after renewed research, I found a barbershop in Foggy Bottom that looked promising. I trekked through the freezing cold in the hopes that I'd have a decent haircut for Christmas. It all felt right. There was Pinaud, hair all over the floor, Sports Illustrated (current), and a row of guys getting good old, boring, red-blooded-American, regular haircuts.

All signs point to fully satisfactory at this time. I was wearing a hat to protect from the cold, so hat hair is skewing the results. But the man didn't flinch when I requested, "long, but off the ears." He'd clearly heard it countless times. We talked about the weather, the best plan of attack for shoveling snow (consensus: if you need to shovel in DC, just take the day off), and how paying a bank every month isn't the same as "owning" a home. It felt right.

Christmas Movies

2008-12-20T17:27:00.004-05:00

Every year, new films are rolled out for the Christmas holiday. Some become classics, others, well, less so.

One great Christmas sleeper film is Walt Stillman's 1990 film, Metropolitan. Nominated for an Oscar (Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen), and a Grand Jury Prize at Sundance (Dramatic), Metropolitan is the story of a group of Manhattan debs and their escorts as they wiling away the time over a Christmas holiday discussing politics, society, and, of course, each other.

The group of friends, self-identified as the Sally Fowler Rat Pack, or SFRP, is accidentally infiltrated by Tom Townsend, a middle-class Fourierist who disapproves of conventional society, and debutante balls in particular, but finds himself attending out of "nothing better to do." The SFRP adopt Townsend and a story of alienation, youthful angst, and friendship emerges.

The film stars Chris Eigeman, who is a favorite from Noah Baumbach's 1995 film, Kicking & Screaming, a film with which Metropolitan also shares a penchant for dry, witty dialogue spoken by precocious, over-educated youth.

Not a film for everyone, I suppose, but a Christmas classic, nevertheless. Certainly one that will endure.

The Duke Spirit - Souvenir

2008-12-19T09:25:00.002-05:00

It's a wet and grey day on the Eastern seaboard. The economy is in shambles, and we're on the threshold of a future unknown. What better soundtrack than The Duke Spirit? With grainy tones and tired eyes, we know we'll get through it all with a little codeine and wine.

Life Imitates The Ritchie Whites

2008-12-16T13:13:00.004-05:00

Employees interviewed by WilmerHale investigators said Walters kept a jar of money -- one person said it contained $20 bills -- on her desk for co-workers, although Walters told investigators that claim wasn't true. After the embezzlement scheme was uncovered by federal law enforcement agents in November 2007, one employee told her boss that no one had raised concerns about Walters because "snitches get stitches."

- Washington Post, December 16, 2008

Ungentlemanly Conduct and the BCS

2008-12-01T10:07:00.002-05:00

Yesterday's BCS rankings left me more than a bit irritated. It's not simply that Texas was ranked third, nor that we were ranked below Oklahoma, though certainly that smarts a bit. But I don't mind being bested - that's part of the game. After all, we lost to Texas Tech because Tech played an outstanding game and, for that 60 minutes, simply outplayed us. I can live with that, and I sent a congratulatory email to my Red Raider cousin following the game.

What irritated me about the BCS rankings are what I fear are the lessons that will be taken. When Oklahoma beat Texas Tech - which was really the decisive game in this situation - OU played their star quarterback and Heisman contender, Sam Bradford, the entire game. At the end of play, the score was 65-21. A 44 point blowout.

Compare that to the Texas v. Texas A&M game on Thanksgiving. Despite the potential BCS implications of not serving up a blowout, Coach Mack Brown pulled Heisman contender Colt McCoy and, instead, giving playing time to the Sophomore quarterback, John Chiles.

The day after Thanksgiving, I was talking to a fellow from A&M about the game. Good natured ribbing overwith, this guy said, "You know, when Mack pulled Colt McCoy, that showed a lot of class. You guys could have really made things miserable for us."

This is an important part of competition - striving to win, but not to embarrass your opponent. It brings to mind Gen. Lee's definition of a gentleman,

The forbearing use of power does not only form a touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is a test of a true gentleman.

The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly--the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light

The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past. A true man of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others.

This is why my father still considers "ungentlemanly conduct" a mortal sin in sports. The object of the game should always to be win, but to win clean and with class.

Mack Brown is a true gentleman. Not only against A&M, but against Kansas, Coach Brown pulled his starting lineup when the game was clearly won. After the game, Coach Brown was very clear about his intentions:

"I'm worried a little bit that people aren't taking people out much in the fourth quarter," Brown said. "People are trying to score so many points. I hope that we go back and really work on sportsmanship and letting other kids play. I'm really concerned about that for our game."

I wish both OU and Mizzou the best of luck in the Big XII championship game. It would be unfair to the young men competing to say anything that might be read to impugn their character. They are performing their duty well, and competing like champions, all.

But I think we must take heed of Coach Brown's words. Competitive sports teaches values to coaches, players, and spectators alike. In our drive to win, to be the best that we can be, we must keep an eye on what truly matters. Winning at all costs will only result in Pyrrhic victories, and will ultimately undo us all.

The Texas Longhorns have shown incredible skill, determination, and, above all, class. Let's hope other programs are taking note.

Mickey 3d - La Mort du Peuple

2008-11-19T09:28:00.003-05:00

"What strikes me is the fact that in our society, art has become something which is only related to objects, and not to individuals, or to life."

- Michel Foucault

When Mr. McGinnis introduced me to Mickey 3d, I was instantly smitten. Searching around on YouTube, I found the video for La Mort du Peuple and went from smitten to spellbound. I recalled the first time I saw a collection of Diane Arbus portraits, and was reminded of a fact that is too often lost on us in our search for the sublime and the beautiful: Art lies not outside or within us; art is us.

Lives: Mrs. Marie-Dennett McDill

2008-11-18T09:34:00.003-05:00

We're all, of course, well familiar with the life of Lord Michael Pratt; as a gentleman and a scholar, an example to us all.

I was saddened this morning to learn that world has lost another example of fine living in Mrs. Marie-Dennett McDill, a beautiful woman who loved the Carlyle.

At age 71, Mrs. McDill learned that she was terminally ill, and, her family wanting to ensure she lived out her final days in relative comfort, took a suite at the Carlyle for her, and brought in some kind young women to see that she was well cared for.

The family hired two attendants from Brooklyn to care for Mrs. McDill: Rose Marie Moore and her sister Shirley Innis. In the evenings, Ms. Moore would sing spirituals for Mrs. McDill.

“She would put her head back and close her eyes and ask me to sing ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.’ She’d say, ‘Give me the long version, Rose,’ ” said Ms. Moore, who took the subway from East New York to stay in the Carlyle with Mrs. McDill.

Mrs. McDill represented a bygone era, one might say. During a time when popular culture has sunk to ever new lows, Mrs. McDill still requested the classics. She was, indeed, herself a classic.

On language: Females

2008-11-15T19:47:00.003-05:00

Please stop referring to young women as "females." They're not Labradors.

Tweedy Autumn

2008-11-13T09:17:00.004-05:00

The following clip is a favorite scene of mine from Alan Bridges' 1985 film, The Shooting Party. It's always what I imagined being an adult would be like. Civilised discourse on the topics of the day, all while wearing country tweeds and shooting pheasant.

Adulthood has so far turned out to be a bit different, but I keep my hopes up. Today it's grey and cool, and all the sidewalks are lined with wet leaves. Rather the perfect day for a hunt. Or, at any rate, a quiet day spent stalking one's thoughts.

"Pretty place, Hindhead."

Armistice Day

2008-11-11T13:34:00.004-05:00

11 November is a holiday recognized by nations across the world, commemorating the same day in history - 11 November 1918, the end of World War I - but differently. The New York Times has a good overview of how Armistice Day came to be remembered differently by different people.

In the years after the war, official ceremonies in the United States reflected these victorious ideals and celebrated “world peace” — it was only after World War II that the day was dedicated specifically to veterans. The touchstone of loss and suffering for Americans remained the Civil War, the world’s first industrial conflict, which 50 years before World War I had taken the lives of more than 600,000 soldiers. Memorial Day (or as it was originally known, Decoration Day) was first instituted in May during the late 1860s to commemorate these fallen.

In contrast, it was only in August 1914 that the horrors and shock of modern warfare came to Europe. The Great War, as the conflict is still known in France and Britain, was a prolonged and vicious struggle demanding the commitment of nations’ wealth and manpower on an unprecedented scale.

War is a terrible thing, though at times unavoidable. And it takes great courage and sacrifice to be willing to risk physical or psychological injury, or death to protect liberty and justice. Today we pay homage to those, the living and the dead, who have given of themselves when called on by their countrymen.

May we soon see the day when the call to sacrifice is silent evermore.

John Coltrane - My Favorite Things

2008-11-07T14:57:00.003-05:00

It's 72 degrees and sunny in nation's capital today, and the foliage is dripping in golds and reds. The autumn leaves on the Eastern seaboard really are something to behold. I love crossing the Potomac on the train in the morning and looking out over the sun-kissed water and the trees lining the river bursting in color. It's Friday afternoon, and tomorrow some friends from London are stopping through on their drive from New York to Florida. Which reminds me, I've got to make sure the city has enough wine for tomorrow night.

Legacy Man

2008-11-05T15:27:00.002-05:00

There's a palpable excitement that hangs in the air today, leftover from yesterday's historic election. But as everyone settles down from the long lines, bated breath, and eruptions of late night tears of joy, I can't help but reflect on one interesting bit of history that seems to have been passed over, and that's the legacy of George W. Bush.

For years people the world over have suggested that the Yalie from Midland would leave as his legacy a smoldering middle east, a crippled world economy, or the loss of the arctic ice caps and much of the world's bio-diversity.

What no one seems to have realized, or at least is talking about, is that George W. Bush's legacy very well may be that he made it possible for a Black man to be elected President of the United States of America.

Obama on the important issues

2008-11-04T09:13:00.002-05:00

On national television last night, Barack Obama spoke about the one issue at the forefront of real America.

"I think it is about time that we had playoffs in college football. I'm fed up with these computer rankings and this and that and the other," Obama said. "Get eight teams — the top eight teams right at the end. You got a playoff. Decide on a National Champion."

With that, Obama won the votes of countless red blooded Americans who were waiting for him to speak truth to power.

And with last night's game, things could be looking good for Obama.

Jesus & Mary Chain - Never Understand

2008-11-03T14:36:00.003-05:00

The first time I heard these guys was one of those moments when, as a young man, you know that you will never look at the world in the same way every again. There's something supernatural about the sounds that are coming out of those amps, a static virus that gets into your brain and permanently alters your metaphysical makeup.

Gore Vidal On Elections

2008-11-01T15:11:00.002-04:00

“You must never underestimate the apathy of the American electorate, and their inability to get the point to anything. I believe that’s quite true of most electorates and ours is no different. In fact, I think we’re rather proud of the way our people can be bamboozled by anyone who’s good on television.”

- Gore Vidal, 1968

Morning Office Banter

2008-10-10T09:22:00.001-04:00

Me: Dammit, I'm going to end up reading this Christopher Hitchens column.

Nate: Well, at least you're not writing it.

Update: Thanks, John

2008-09-29T15:03:00.004-04:00

John McCain suspended his campaign and flew to Washington to save the economy.

McCain To Worsen Economic Crisis

2008-09-24T15:24:00.009-04:00

John "not an expert on economics" McCain has announced that he is suspending his campaign to help solve the economic crisis.

McCain is going to "suspend his campaign" to work on the economic situation? What is he going to do? Go down to Treasury to meet with Paulson and Bernake to share his economic wisdom? Send them his advisors Phil Gramm and Don Luskin to impart their economic wisdom?

And of course, McCain can't debate on Friday night. It's no time to debate foreign policy while the economy is in shambles, right? So, how about we show our cards now? Let's debate the economy on Friday night?

John McCain brings no economic insight to the current discussion in DC. All he does is further inject politics into a discussion that needs to rise above partisan rancor and be founded in solid economics. Better John McCain get back to running his campaign into the ground and leave a fragile economy alone.

Golden DeLay Award for Fiscal Policy

2008-09-24T08:56:00.007-04:00

The Golden DeLay Award for Fiscal Policy goes to...

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.) for his alternative proposal to solve the current economic crisis. Hensarling, chairman of the "Republican Study Committee," offers the following plan: repeal the capital gains tax.

But Hensarling doesn't stop with tax breaks for Wall Street. He also recommends, suspending the "accounting rules that require banks to estimate the market value of their troubled mortgage securities".

Hensarling's plan is, presumably, based on the economic theory that says a big, steaming pile of sub-prime negative amortization loans packaged and repackaged into meaningless derivatives are worth whatever you say they are. This is also known as, "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" economics, but we like to refer to it by its Main Street name, which is "bullshit."

Rewarding destructive financial irresponsibility with tax breaks and weaker accounting rules? Only a true Tom DeLay Republican could come up with something like that.

Congratulations, Jeb Hensarling. You are today's winner.

See no evil

2008-09-22T13:26:00.002-04:00

If you ever get the opportunity to draft your own power grab, be smart, like Hank Paulson, and be sure to write in your own personal protection clause.

Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Eat my shorts

2008-09-18T16:13:00.001-04:00

If you criminalize short selling, then only criminals will sell short.

Conservatives Speak Out Against Sarah Palin

2008-09-16T16:44:00.004-04:00

Interesting times in conservative commentary. First, I read George Will's column in which he, in his typically roundabout way, questions the credentials of the Republican VP nominee.

Then today, I read David Brooks's column in which he takes the gloves off and gives Sarah Palin two black eyes.

Sarah Palin has many virtues. If you wanted someone to destroy a corrupt establishment, she’d be your woman. But the constructive act of governance is another matter. She has not been engaged in national issues, does not have a repertoire of historic patterns and, like President Bush, she seems to compensate for her lack of experience with brashness and excessive decisiveness.

Color me befuddled. Here are a couple of heavy hitters in conservative commentary bashing the sacred cow of the newly reborn GOP. What gives?

Coming at the same time that Karl Rove all but calls John McCain a liar, I can't help but think that something is afoot.

I can't quite put my finger on it yet, but I will say that if I was a movement conservative, I would not want to be inheriting what Bush is leaving in his wake. The best bet, for long-term conservative strategy, would be to let the Democrats pick up the tanking economy and the expanding military excursions. Spend 4 years as the opposition party, which has always been the GOP's strongest position, and run a strong "reform" ticket in 2012 that will promise to return us to the golden days of yore (another GOP standard).

Could it be that the conservatives, seeing McCain's poll numbers inch up following the nominating conventions, are trying to put a damper on the unanticipated rally? Perhaps it's nothing. Perhaps it's just that these fellows suddenly prefer the Democratic ticket to the Republican. Whatever it is, though, McCain must be reeling.

Too clever by half

2008-09-15T08:47:00.002-04:00

Indeed, it is increasingly clear that Wall Street chief executives themselves didn't fully understand the risks they were taking on during the boom years of this decade; they have seemed as blindsided as any regulator.

The problems on Wall Street may go deeper. Financial firms have expanded vastly in the past decade, hiring tens of thousands of bright business school graduates to engineer new financial products, find ever more complicated ways to manage other peoples' money, and dream up new ways to combine, divide, and recombine corporate America.

Some large portion of that work, it now appears, wasn't really creating any value for the company's clients or for the U.S. economy. No matter how many times crummy mortgage loans are recombined into clever packages, they're still crummy.

- Washington Post, 15 September 2008

Business journalists today are talking about the new economic architecture, the new financial regulatory regime following the continued collapse of financial services companies that stretched themselves too thin during the recent housing bubble.

The Washington Post citation above hits on one of the core drivers of the current financial crisis - the expectation that companies will exceed market expectations each quarter - the magic trend line that only goes up.

What the business community needs to do, and quick, is to reign in the expectations of business analysts so that investors can make solid decisions and executives are not pressured to try to spin straw into gold.

This is something that cannot be regulated by the government, but requires a conscious shift in corporate culture beginning in business school and continuing in team meetings and corporate boardrooms. Until we change the culture of business in America to reflect not just economic potential, but economic reality, we're fooling no one but ourselves.

Shobji wallah

2008-09-10T14:03:00.004-04:00

Last night I was having dinner at a little Italian restaurant close to my building. It's a low key sort of place, very casual with a small menu consisting of simple dishes like panini, pizza, spaghetti, and calzone. It's a quiet neighborhood place of the sort where you can grab a quick meal when you're too tired to cook. Nothing fancy, but quite good.

I was sitting and waiting for my calzone when saw the most extraordinary thing: a man walked into the nail salon next door holding a giant bunch of asparagus beans and bitter melon. These are not your typical vegetables. In fact, I can't recall ever having seen a bitter melon before living in South Asia. The man was, it appeared, offering to sell these vegetables to the women working at the nail salon.

The first thought in my head was, "my God, that man has a korola (bitter melon)." My second thought was, SHOBJI WALLAH! A shobji wallah is a vegetable hawker. This is not something that we typically see in the US, but is not unusual in some parts of the world, particularly South Asia.

I walked next door to the nail salon and asked the man if he had any more vegetable to sell. This astounded both the vegetable seller and the women at the salon, none of whom, I'm certain, ever expected someone like me to walk over, cash in hand, offering to buy exotic vegetables from a man on a bicycle.

I quickly negotiated a deal for some vegetables, paid the seller, and returned to the restaurant to enjoy my dinner. For the rest of the evening I could not help but fantasize about my neighborhood being treated to all variety of street vendors. I began to recall waking to the sound of the wallahs navigating their routes through village alleys, their voices coming together in a chorus of wares - fish! brooms! vegetables! beautiful dresses! - and looking out from a rooftop to see women leaning out of windows to pick the fattest fish they could afford from a wicker basket atop the head of the neighborhood maach wallah.

This is an unthinkable model of commerce in most parts of the US. We have licensed and regulated away the neighborhood vegetable seller, replacing him with the produce manager at giant chain store. Local farmers markets provide a glimpse at the old ways, but what is more beautiful than a bicycle basket filled with garden fresh produce?

Picturing Politics 2008

2008-09-05T21:18:00.010-04:00

For decades, if not centuries, people have lamented that journalism has become more concerned with entertainment than political commentary. Having suffered through the past two weeks of political coverage, I might be inclined to argue that contemporary journalism has become theatre; but then, I'm afraid that does the art and craft of theatre a disservice. Tonight, though, I was reminded that there is at least one medium where political commentary thrives: contemporary art.

I'm perfectly aware that there is "bad" contemporary art, and loads of it. Like bad art of antiquity, however, most of it will fade into oblivion and future generations will be forced to create their own objets d'banality. But thankfully there is an enormous amount of contemporary art that does precisely what art is meant to do - transport one out of his routine context and, in so doing, expand one's perspective on the world we live in.

I just returned from a reception at the Arlington Arts Center for their exhibition, Picturing Politics 2008. I went primarily to support a friend who has some pieces in the exhibit, but I left wanting to evangelize for a number of the artists represented.

Each of the pieces in the exhibit confronted contemporary political questions facing our society. There were a number of photographs dealing with war and resistance. Of particular note were photographs by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

But the two pieces that left the greatest impression on me were an installation by José Ruiz, and, Season in Hell, a multi-media environment by Randall Packer and John Anderson.

The installation by José Ruiz includes his 2007 work Descendents of Ascension, which provides an insightful commentary on the lives of immigrant laborers in the United States. I actually entered the room without having read the plaque describing the piece, and was not sure what I was looking at at first. After standing and taking in the images for a few moments, I became acutely aware not just of the voice of the artist coming through the objects and space, but that I found myself transported out of an art space and into a world with which I was unfamiliar, yet all too familiar. I found myself facing the invisible world of immigrant labor that is so integral to my life of comfort and convenience; integral, yet almost always out of site, out of mind. This was my first introduction to Ruiz's art, and I will be on the lookout for future exhibits.

The other exhibit that had a great effect on me was Season in Hell. I realized I had seen a part of this exhibit once before, but in a completely different context it did not make the same impression. The exhibit I saw this evening was perfect.

Season in Hell is a multi-media environment made up largely of digital prints and sound. The work is a stark view of the future-present examining the role of art, censorship, authoritarianism, and resistance. I was transported from Washington, DC through the Bible Belt, down to a southern Louisiana swamp, and to the graveyard of American civilization. I traveled each stage as though in trance, and while the artists present a bleak future-present for our society, I could not help leaving with a sense of hope and possiblity, a faith that I was not alone, but part of a vast underground conspiracy of cultural-political insurgents.

And so, while the Republican Vice Presidential nominee refuses to speak to reporters except in carefully controlled political theatre, it was refreshing and inspiring to spend an evening in a venue that openly confronted today's political environment. The exhibit runs through September 27, so if you are in the DC area, I highly recommend making it a point to attend.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not give a warm thank you and congratulations to Rex Weil for curating this exhibit, which is excellent in every respect.

The Political Outsider Who's Been Here All Along

2008-09-04T14:44:00.004-04:00

Sarah Palin's speech last night left me feeling nauseated. Perhaps it was Rudy Giuliani's introduction that first left me with some discomfort, but it was Mrs. Palin's chosen narrative that made me dizzy from uncontrollable eye-rolling.

Mrs. Palin's speech attempted to make two great claims. First, that she is just your average small town hockey mom. Second, that she has at 44 accumulated governing experience enough to qualify her to run the most powerful nation in the world. In the midst of this confusion, Palin's speech was filled with petty put-downs more appropriate for high school hallways than national politics.

To be fair, I can't really blame Palin for her confused identity. After all, she wants to be "your average hockey mom," but in fact she began a career in politics at the age of 28, when she was elected to city council in Wasilla City, Alaska. She went on to become Mayor of Wasilla city at the age of 32, and was elected to her first term as Governor of Alaska in 2006, the job she holds today.

During her relatively short political career, Mrs. Palin hired the lobbying firm Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh to help secure Congressional earmarks for the tiny town of Wasilla. Her lobbyists did a good job, securing somewhere in the vicinity of $27 million for Wasilla.

So, Palin's not exactly "your average hockey mom." In fact, for someone who claims she's "not a member of the permanent political establishment," she sure has spent a lot of her career in politics.

But while Sarah Palin may not be your average hockey mom, she's not exactly a political star, either. The former beauty queen spent some time as a sports reporter for a local news station before getting married and running for city council. And the town where she gained the vast majority of her governing experience? When she was elected Mayor in 1996, it still had fewer than 6,000 residents. Even the State of Alaska, for which Mrs. Palin has served as Governor since December 2006, has a population of fewer than 700,000 making it 48th in the nation and less than 100,000 citizens larger than the city of Washington, DC.

So I guess Mrs. Palin is partly right: As leaders go, she's probably pretty average.

George W. Bush proudly flew the flag of his average-ness, and brought smug belittling to all new levels in the United States. In many ways, Mrs. Palin last night demonstrated that she more than John McCain is heir to the George W. Bush legacy. The question for the rest of America, can we really afford to have another 4 years of George W. Bush?

Will Palin make it to November?

2008-09-02T09:09:00.003-04:00

According to today's Financial Times, the future does not augur well for Mrs. Palin:

Mr Ornstein added: “The McCain campaign has been doing its best to paper over the fact that his selection of Governor Palin was an impulsive choice made at the last minute.” Thomas Mann, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said: “She may well not make it through until November.”

While most people are gossiping about the would-be-Vice President's daughter's unfortunate situation, the think tank crowd is likely more interested in the continued barrage of damaging opposition research that has surfaced almost immediately about the afore unknown candidate. Today's Washington Post reports that, despite Mrs. Palin's initial reputation as a tough-on-pork reformer, Palin was nose deep in the trough:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group.

...

As mayor of Wasilla, however, Palin oversaw the hiring of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, an Anchorage-based law firm with close ties to Alaska's most senior Republicans: Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens, who was indicted in July on charges of accepting illegal gifts. The Wasilla account was handled by the former chief of staff to Stevens, Steven W. Silver, who is a partner in the firm.

If Sarah Palin was McCain's roll of the dice, it looks more and more like it's coming up snake eyes.

Sarah Palin suing Bush for being too friendly to environmentally friendly

2008-09-01T16:58:00.005-04:00

John McCain raised the ire of Republicans by calling President Bush's stance on global warming "disgraceful." McCain's Vice Presidential pick seems to have the same opinion of Bush's environmental position, but from a decidedly different perspective.

As reported in yesterday's Washington Post, McCain's VP pick, Sarah Palin, is suing the Bush administration for being too environmentally friendly.

On Aug. 4, the state of Alaska filed a lawsuit opposing the polar bear's listing [as a threatened species], arguing that populations as a whole are stable and that melting sea ice does not pose an imminent threat to their survival. The suit says polar bears have survived warming periods in the past. The federal government has 60 days from the filing date to respond.

Sarah Palin is joined in her lawsuit by such environmental stewards as the American Petroleum Institute, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the National Mining Association.

Kassie Siegel, climate program director for the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Washington Post,

"The amazing thing about this litigation is that the governor of Alaska is so anti-environmental that she is suing the Bush administration over a claimed overabundance of protections for the polar bear."

Meanwhile, the National Snow and Ice Data Center is reporting that arctic ice is on melting at an alarming rate and on course for another all time low. The Telegraph reports that polar bears have been spotted trying to swim hundreds of miles in search of ice.

The vehicle of novelists and poets

2008-08-31T15:29:00.003-04:00

Blaine Harden has a great article in today's Washington Post about the place of the bicycle in modern transportation policy and infrastructure.

Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands have been connecting the dots for three decades. They started in the mid-1970s, in the wake of the world's first oil shock and after 25 years of American-style, car-centric traffic management that had coincided with a sharp decline in cycling.

There is now an integrated system of safe bicycling routes in most cities in all three countries. It allows cyclists to go almost everywhere on paths that are separated from automobiles and in "traffic-calmed" neighborhoods. Besides pampering cyclists, these countries punished drivers with fees and restrictions intended to make commuting by car expensive, slow and frustrating.

The policies have resulted in the developed world's highest per-capita rates of cycling and lowest rates of cycling accidents, the Rutgers study found.

On a recent trip to The Netherlands, I was amazed by the fantastic bicycle culture made possible by the well planned and executed infrastructure throughout the nation. This was a far cry from the transportation culture of Texas, where I was raised. There it is not uncommon for one to drive a car from one's garage to the store down the street to buy a single grocery item.

Most American cities are not only inconvenient for bicycles, they are hostile. During the 20th century, Americans began to equate car purchases as not just a symbol of economic status, but as a right of citizenship. Bicycles are still viewed by most Americans as a toy, as is easily established when bicycle shopping. Yes, there are many high-end recreational bicycles, but they are still recreational, still toys.

Finding a sturdy commuter bicycle or utility bicycle in the US is difficult in all but a few locations. And only in Portland, that I know of, can one purchase anything as utilitarian as a Bakfiets. And commuting by bicycle is still considered an eccentric behavior, despite the fact (or perhaps because of it) that it's far more civilized. From aesthetics to health benefits to environmental impact, intracity bicycling is superior to car culture in every way.

American transportation policy has too long subsidized automobile and related industries in an effort to artificially buttress the American economy. But this policy is not sustainable, and the house of cards is beginning to fall. What better time to take a leadership role and embrace what Europeans are already finding to be a superior form of city transport?

Vice Presidential Picks

2008-08-29T11:02:00.005-04:00

The VP picks this year strike me as particularly amusing. First, Barack Obama taps Sen. Joe Biden, a guy who's been in the Senate for 35 years (since he was 30) and who voted for the Iraq war authorization. Not exactly "change we can believe in."

Then John McCain picks Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to join his ticket. Mrs. Palin is the one term Governor of Alaska, prior to which she served as Mayor of Wasilla, a city with a population of fewer than 6,000 people. Not exactly experienced leadership.

Biden, of course, brings experience and realpolitik to the Obama ticket, grounding what is often easily dismissed as more rhetorical style than substance.

Palin, on the other hand, reinforces the McCain brand as a maverick reformer while bringing some much needed youth to the ticket.

Both VP candidates also bring some unwanted baggage, though. Palin has been accused of abusing the power of her office in a manner eerily reminiscent of the way some people were fired from the Department of Justice.

Past scandals ruined Biden's previous attempts at the White House, and he's known around town as a hothead with a hair-trigger tongue.

The race is still polling close to the margin of error, with Obama inching ahead by about 3.5 points on average. Obama didn't get a bump from the Biden pick. It will be interesting to see if Palin is able to do anything for McCain.

For now, though, I'm dying for the Vice Presidential debates to begin.

[UPDATE] Mr. Gergen is also a bit surprised.

“You could have knocked me over with a feather,” said David Gergen, a former White House adviser in both Republican and democratic administrations, on CNN. “John McCain likes to take risks and this is one of the biggest gambles I’ve seen in a long, long time.”

How much is that widget in the window?

2008-08-27T12:18:00.002-04:00

"Widget" is a nonsense name for an unspecified product or device. Much like "whatchamacallit," "doohickey," or "thingamajiggy." So when you call and ask how much a widget costs, I can't answer you.

Where has the summer gone?

2008-07-30T13:18:00.002-04:00

Labor day is only about a month away. Where has the summer gone? I haven't posted anything for months. Don't know if I'll get around to it again before November the way work is going. In the meantime, here's a peek into what my summer has been like so far.

I'm taking up a new instrument

2008-05-11T17:42:00.001-04:00

Abel Gance double feature

2008-04-25T20:01:00.002-04:00

Two excellent Abel Gance films will be aired without interruption on TCM Sunday night, J'Accuse!, and La Roue. I believe they start at 8pm Eastern. Set your DVR.

Speak no evil

2008-03-24T09:24:00.002-04:00

Both Paul Krugman in today's New York Times and Clive Crook in this morning's Financial Times note the eerie silence coming out of the presidential campaigns on the current American economic crisis.

Krugman makes a compelling case that a President McCain would exacerbate the growing problems on Wall Street, surrounded as he is by economic snake-oil salesmen.

But, Crook really gives it to the Democratic candidates who continue to campaign on trade, when Americans are being hit not by NAFTA, but by an unregulated financial sector.

The separation of presidential politics from the troubles assailing the US economy is now verging on the surreal. With banks collapsing, the dollar reeling, the Federal Reserve making up new rules as it goes and observers discussing a new Great Depression, the presidential candidates are still on scripts they wrote a year ago. The main problem is either the North American Free Trade Agreement (Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton) or high taxes and excessive regulation (John McCain). If delivery from this ordeal depended on any of the contenders saying something intelligent about it, prudence would require that the entire country be written down to a nominal sum.

What makes this even odder is that the Democrats, at least, continue to hammer away at economic anxiety. The squeeze on "middle-class families" gives them an edge against the Republicans in November, they calculate. But they were saying this last year, and the year before - when unemployment was not rising, the economy looked pretty healthy and most Americans still did not know the difference between an SIV and a CDO. The themes are trade and jobs, shuttered factories, stagnant incomes, unlevel playing fields and labour and environmental standards. As for the complete breakdown of the credit system and the danger of a years-long Japanese-style slump - oh, yes, there's that as well.

Part of this is surely due to the fact that noone's got anything intelligent to say on the matter, Democrat or Republican. After all, with an interest rate just above 2% and the Fed bailing out unregulated investment banks, clearly nobody has a good idea about what's going on or what to do about it.

It also speaks volumes to the stranglehold finance has on American politics. No presidential candidate can call for the type of banking regulation that seems necessary in the current financial climate (and, I might add, seemed obviously necessary to many of us in the lead up the crisis).

One need only look to the right of Clive Crook's column today to find a ready rejoinder to the argument for updating banking regulation. And one cannot blame Ms. Robinson of that eminent publication, The Banker for defending the rights of her patrons to unregulated financial industry, backed by the safety net of taxpayer bail outs. But for the rest of us, the case is clear.

No presidential campaign will touch the current economic crisis. It's toxic, and there are no obvious solutions. But that silence speaks more about the root of our economic distress than anything else.

Hillary Clinton Singlehandedly Takes Out Insurgency

2008-03-18T11:08:00.003-04:00

I don't know if you heard, yet, about comedian "Sinbad" making fun of Hillary Clinton's macho posturing on Iraq,

In her Iowa stump speech, Clinton also said, "We used to say in the White House that if a place is too dangerous, too small or too poor, send the First Lady."

Say what? As Sinbad put it: "What kind of president would say, 'Hey, man, I can't go 'cause I might get shot so I'm going to send my wife...oh, and take a guitar player and a comedian with you.'"

Apparently, this rubbed Clinton the wrong way, and she's come out with a rejoinder.

She gave reporters more details of the trip. “Part of the reason we were in the C-17 is because part of it is armored,” Clinton said. “I was moved up into the cockpit. Everyone else was told to sit on their bullet proof vests. We came in in an evasive maneuver. Those of you who have been on a C-17 or C-130 know that one of their great characteristics is that they can take off very quickly and they can maneuver agilely to avoid incoming fire. There was no greeting ceremony and we were basically told to run to our cars. Now that is what happened.”

Clinton went on to describe having to take over the controls and crash land the plane amidst a barrage of incoming enemy fire. She then carried on her back comedian Sinbad, singer Sheryl Crow, and the wounded flight crew as she singlehandedly fought off hundreds of insurgents with only her ~~Rambo~~ Hillary knife and her lethal martial arts.

Florida Primary Do-Over - Illegal?

2008-03-16T11:48:00.004-04:00

The Miami Herald suggests that a do-over for the Florida Democratic primary is all but dead in the water. Most interesting, though, was the notion that a mail-in ballot would actually be illegal in Florida.

Verifying the signatures and identities of people who vote by mail -- either through a conventional absentee ballot or in the Democrats' proposed statewide mailed election -- is considered a key bulwark against electoral fraud.

''There's no authority under Florida law that would allow county supervisors of election or the state to verify signatures in an election of a state party,'' said Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for Florida's secretary of state and Division of Elections.

...

"The Department of State cannot share those signatures -- they are not public record," Ivey said. "We cannot do anything, and even the local supervisors couldn't be able to verify anything unless there was a new statute."

At the same time, the estimated cost for such a venture has quadrupled, now at $12 million.

Mark Schmitt at The American Prospect suggests that the best case scenario for Clinton is actually for the situation to drag on without resolution.

Contrary to the gullible media's belief that "time" is a "powerful ally" on Clinton's side, in fact, Clinton's only ally is uncertainty. The minute it becomes clear what will happen with Michigan and Florida -- re-vote them, refuse to seat them, or split them 50-50 or with half-votes, as some have proposed -- is the minute that Clinton's last "path to the nomination" closes. The only way to keep spin alive is to keep uncertainty alive -- maybe there will be a revote, maybe they'll seat the illegal Michigan/Florida delegations, maybe, maybe, maybe. In the fog of uncertainty, Penn can claim that there is a path to the nomination, but under any possible actual resolution of the uncertainty, there is not.

In the meantime, Ramussen Reports released the results of a new Ohio poll that shows McCain besting either Democratic candidate.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Ohio shows John McCain leading both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama by identical 46% to 40% margins. In the last poll conducted before the hard fought Democratic Primary, McCain had a statistically insignificant one-point lead over Obama and a three-point edge over Clinton.

The once were two cats of Kilkenny...

Democrats of Kilkenny

2008-03-15T15:32:00.004-04:00

John McCain's campaing loves Hillary's red phone ad. On the train today I overheard the following conversation between two very normal looking men in their mid-sixties.

First Man: Well, that preacher said some pretty outrageous stuff.

Second Man: Yeah, but he's just an empty suit if you ask me.

First Man: Yeah, I know.

Second Man: And possibly a Muslim.

First Man: Sure looks like it.

And so the mud sticks.

Michael Hirsh at Newsweek thinks McCain might win, reminding us of the cats of Kilkenny

There once were two cats of Kilkenny,
Each thought there was one cat too many,
So they fought and they fit,
And they scratched and they bit,
Till, excepting their nails
And the tips of their tails,
Insteads of two cats, there weren't any.

Den of Thieves

2008-03-13T19:01:00.004-04:00

What can I say? You build an organization of crooks and liars, don't be surprised when you catch someone with his hand in the till.

The National Republican Congressional Committee told federal authorities that it overstated the amount of cash it held at the end of 2006 by nearly $1 million. A year later, the committee's annual report to the Federal Election Commission — which again was handled by the ex-treasurer — overstated the actual funds on hand by $740,000.

Republican officials said the former employee, Chris Ward, apparently "made several hundred thousand dollars in unauthorized transfers of NRCC funds to outside committees whose bank accounts he had access to" over several years. Most, if not all, of the smaller accounts were associated with GOP candidates or groups.

Ward, 39, "also appears to have made subsequent transfers of several hundred thousand dollars in funds from those outside committees to what appear to be his personal and business bank accounts," the NRCC said in a statement, which accompanied a briefing to reporters.

It was well noted in my office today that $750,000 is enough money to go to prison for a long time, but it's not a lot of money to disappear on. Culture of corruption anyone?