October 11, 2009
"In defense of Polanski"--??
A screenwriter named Michael Chase Walker has been twittering, commenting, and, yesterday, letter-to-the-editoring, variations on this line:
Artists must by definition redefine their own moral universe, and this can be a terrible, ugly and devastating process. But what they "pay back" to us, what they contribute to society are enduring legacies we would barely fathom in our quotidian lives.
Is this guy for real? It sounds so much like satire. We're supposed to walk away from confessed child rape in exchange for the great art mined from the abhorrent behavior?
Posted by John at 01:17 PM | Category: Personal Journal
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May 27, 2009
Mt. San Antonio, record time, record sore
Last Sunday I snuck away and climbed San Antonio for the first time this year. Only tiny patches of snow near the summit and clinging to north slopes. It was cool and breezy and the top, lots of hazy sun. I made the Sierra Club ski hut in 55 minutes, 20 minute snack, and then 1:40 to the summit. I had lunch on West Baldy, a little less crowded than Baldy summit on Memorial Day Weekend! I bombed it straight back to the car, 1:50 and a couple of blisters. Sore thighs ever since! :-(
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February 11, 2009
Luiza's First Day of Real Walking
January 29, 2009 (click picture for video):
Posted by John at 01:28 PM | Category: Personal Journal
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More Oliver-isms
Last night I'm sitting Oliver's bed and he comes in eating a banana. His chair is in the middle of the room. He points to the chair and says, "That's my time-out chair. It's blue." I say, "It is, but you can sit there for other reasons too." He says, "Like banana reasons!" and sits down. "Like monkey reasons," he adds.
Posted by John at 12:02 PM | Category: Personal Journal
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January 20, 2009
Oliver's New President
It occurred to me this morning while watching the inauguration that Barack Obama is the first President that Oliver knows about (even though I'm quite sure he doesn't yet have a clue what a President does. Wave a trident and say "so be it," maybe, since King Triton is a likely reference 'round about now.) From all the posters and magazine covers, he learned to recognize Obama's image way back last spring, and he enjoys saying "Barack Obama" very much. This morning he saw all the fuss at the Capitol and we explained that the man we had been seeing and talking about all last year is the "new President." Not "first Black President" or any such thing, just "our new President." It gives me some hope to think that this experience will change the way Black people are perceived by Oliver's and Luiza's generation in the years to come.
Yeah, I feel hopeful today.
Posted by John at 11:04 PM | Category: Politics
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December 26, 2008
Christmas 2008
Luiza's first Christmas. Oliver's third, but his most aware yet. (Ask him about Santa Claus!).
The menu (just the four of us):
Ham with glazed apricots
Succotash with herbes de Provence (sort of Aix-em-Savannah)
Carrots with Marsala (a la Elizabeth David)
Sweet potato and apple purée
Apple and Mincemeat Pie
sugar and pepparkakor cookies
Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne
Lots of Christmas music courtesy of Usenet.
Notable presents:
a laptop lap desk for me, great books
a pink dragon and "The Lonely Moose" for Oliver (his pick, my pick, respectively)
It's super quiet in the dorm! Haven't seen a campus safety patrol even since Dec. 23! The dog walker and jogger comes by. Beautiful views of the snow-drenched San Gabriels in between rainstorms.
Posted by John at 09:34 PM | Category: Personal Journal
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November 10, 2008
Oliver-isms at age 3
"Oliver, your five minutes are up." "No! My five minutes are down!"
"I don't want that bandaid. That bandaid is ridiculous."
For a long time, after returning from Brazil in August and making the difficult transition back to using both English and Portuguese, Oliver said porque for "because" and quando for "when" in all his English sentences. He still says quando, but porque has morphed into "that's why" instead of "because," which makes sense if you look at the literal translation of porque/por que, which, of course, is used both for "why?" and "because."
For instance: "It's hot that's why the sun is out."
Posted by John at 08:55 PM | Category: Personal Journal
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November 05, 2008
Best birthday ever?
With the exception of a couple of California Proposition absurdities (Props 8 & 9), the election results gave me one of the best birthdays ever. Yay Obama! (It is all about me, right?)
Having my parents here for the day was great too :-).
Posted by John at 09:12 PM | Category: Politics
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Election profundities
On the WNCT television website, an article on the still-unconfirmed presidential result in North Carolina, includes the following quotation:
Johnnie McLean with the State Board of Elections says, “I believe that the reason that it is that close is that the state was pretty equally divided.”
Uh...makes sense to me!
Posted by John at 09:09 PM | Category: Politics
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October 07, 2008
David Brooks had it right tonight
David Brooks had it right in the post-debate commentary tonight on PBS: these debates basically let both candidate play the "cdroms in their heads." They have been utterly useless exercises in pseudo-democracy.
Posted by John at 07:44 PM | Category: Politics
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May 31, 2008
Citizenry to Scott McClellan: Go to hell
For maybe the only time in my life (unless we have similar taste in ice cream or something), I agree with Karl Rove: Scott McClellan should have spoken up before about his "qualms." One more confirmation of what everybody of any conscience and consciousness knew at the time is just not all that helpful. Let's see, help to save hundreds of thousands of innocent lives from a murderous, lying administration or wait for the carnage and the book deal? Screw you!
Posted by John at 08:50 AM | Category: Politics
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May 18, 2008
How about this great prospective tenant?
my is Cindy,25yrs lady straight raised up in United States of American,Am looking for nice peacefully cool place to rent in Ur city on this month, B's have a great project to do in Ur city for my company this month I saw your advert and I am sincerely interested in renting Ur place and I 'am writing just to confirm if you still have the place available for me to rent. More in formations About Me Basically an easy going woman and I am a little on the goth/punk side but get along with most everybody not picky about people.I'll trust you the way you trust me I'm a very outgoing person and also a roommates who are down to earth relaxed and respectful I d stay out of the way and pull my fair share and am a very open minded woman,I would like to extend my friendship, and perhaps even more with an honest gentle roommate of integrity of the area i found my self in I speak many European language- meeting people from other cultures would not impose any difficulty and have spent the last few years raft-guiding in the summer and traveling in the winter. I feel that people that are important to you should be made to feel that they are important. Life is shorter than it should be sometimes. I don't want my roommate ones to wonder if I cared. A good sense of humor is a must! What fun would life be without laughter? I like funny movies, love Jeff Dun ham, Dane Cook, Ron White, etc. I enjoy going to the Comedy Club, and love sit Com's. With all of the bad things and evil in the world today, thank God for laughter and humor! For FUN I enjoy training (karate), walking/running, interior decorating, TV, cooking, flea markets, music, etc. Oh, I'm also a big Tiger fan. I love to go places and do a variety of different things. It would be nice to have someone to share things with. favorite hot spots: I'm not a huge fan of bars, but I do like live music. I enjoy eating out. I enjoy trying new places and new foods. I love to try "hole in the wall" places. I love both the mountains and the beach. I haven't been to either in quite some time though. favorite things: Food: Southern, Italian, Greek, Thai, Chinese, Mexican- Easy to please. Colors: It depends. When it's raining, I like to read, watch TV, cook, cuddle, do puzzles, etc. TV and Music: wide variety of both. (I Love Lucy and Andy- mindless and wholesome) for fun: What I enjoy at 50...HM…. *Laughing with family & friends - they are my core *Shopping for the unique * Walks at sunrise/sunsets *An accurate drive-Thur order *The thought of being a Grandma someday (No rush kids Wait)! I have been single for a few months now and think Im ready for a new adventure. I am an honest and trustworthy person who is looking for mutual respect. I am fun-loving, passionate, silly, hard-working, and have a great sense of humor. I am not perfect, (and do not expect to find "perfect"), and have my scars like the rest of us. But, I have a lot of love, laughter, loyalty, and friendship to offer to the right guy who is looking to enjoy life and a loving relationship. I am a self-employed artist and have a crazy/flexible schedule and love traveling, animals, hiking, walks on the beach, quiet nights at home, going out to see live music of all kinds. I'm really friendly, open mind kind of person, don't get upset for nothing, I'm clean and really organized and when I cook I leave no trace behind Before going back, I hate cheating and riding and I'd love to give the best i can to all my roommate and i knew that its not gonna be easier for only you to be responsible for all the payments method for the house and i think on that i can do every-things to please you to make sure we both both put hands together to pay rent bills and every-things regarding for the house payment regularly and i knew its gonna be a great happiness for you to have a hard working, disciplined,easy going and a clean down earth person, easy to get along with as your roommate preference, if you think am a very lucky lady for you as this time you can rent out your room with please i would appreciate if you can get back with me via my private contact Email Address: siliconcindy @ gmail.comNOTE: PLS ANSWER THE QUESTION BELOW CAREFULLY
(1) QUESTION`S(2) Do you like quiet or parties?
(3)Would anyone consider getting to know me & possibly get an
apartment together?(4) Do you pay your bills on time?
(5) Are you one who eats others leftovers?
(6) What is your biggest pet peeve??
(7) What is your religious background??
(8) Are you married or Do you have a person who would be over often?
(9) cool pic of you and the pics of the room?
(10) little introduction about Ur self?
(11) Total cost to move in as first month rent?
I will be very glad to have all this questions answered with out
leaving a stone unturned.
Pls for quick respond & Fax Email kindly write me back via my gmail
account. siliconcindy@gmail.com
Posted by John at 09:21 AM | Category: Personal Journal
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Apartment Scams
If these ever learn just to say "Is the apartment still available," we could be in trouble. In the meantime, who is going consider an inquiry like this?:
Hi, My name is Julian ,22years old,female, a very simple and quiet person to live with. I love travelling, sporting and enjoy meeting people. I don't smoke but do not mind people who do being around me. I am cool, pretty laid and easy going person and like to have a roommate or landlord who is very responsible and understanding . I saw your advert and i am sincerely interested in the room advertised as i will be moving i leave here [Australia].I am writing just to confirm if you still have the room for
rent..............If YES Please I will like to have answers to the
following questions below:
1) I will like to have the description of the room, size, and the
equipments in there.
2) I will like to have the rent fee per month plus the utilities.
3) I will also be coming with some of my furniture, that is if it is
allowed, like bed, book shelf because I read alot, shoe rank etc
4) If the 4 questions are YES, I will like to know the total cost for
the initial move as in first month rent plus utilities and if deposit
is necessary.
5) I will like to know the major intersection
Note my question is not compusry if you can not answer all.
Thanks as i anxiuosly await your mail. I am looking forward to
hearing from you soon.
Regards
Julian.
Posted by John at 09:15 AM | Category: Personal Journal
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May 07, 2008
Obama versus anti-intellectual pandering...
...from Hillary, not McCain so much, at least not yet. I'm no great fan of Obama, but Hillary and Bill are making me so angry. All the stupid lapel-pin and Minister Wright crap, of course, but also the pandering to the lowest denominator à la "W" that we've seen in response to Obama's completely reasonable theory about "guns and religion" as a bitter response to worsening economic position and then her attacks on economists and their support for Obama's position against the Clinton-McCain gas tax holiday idea. I have this feeling that smart people wouldn't be so routinely vilified in an Obama administration as they have been in the eight-year Bush nightmare, or possibly as in a possible populist Clinton one.
Posted by John at 08:56 PM | Category: Politics
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New Cell Phone Law
I can't wait for the new California cell phone law to go into effect. I believe that cell phone use causes lots of accidents (and I know that hands-free doesn't help). What galls me on a daily basis are the little discourtesies, the obliviousness at intersections and in parking lots. The offending gabber usually drives on by never noticing the cars that made quick stops or gave up their right-of-way to accommodate their idiotic habit.
Posted by John at 08:47 PM | Category: Letters of Complaint
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April 24, 2008
Jeff Kent, Goat in Blue
As a fan of the game of baseball more than any particular team, I place a high value on good sportsmanship. I've been watching the Dodgers a lot this season and, despite their rough start, enjoying the players and especially Joe Torre. What a bummer tonight to see their frustration boil over so stupidly. Jeff Kent's force play at second is ruled safe, his foot apparently off the bag, by an umpire standing six feet away, staring straight at the play, and ruling immediately. Maybe he was wrong, but, hey, he had the best view in the house and it was too close to call on tv in slow-mo. Kent argues and argues, well past the point when he should have been thrown out, forcing Torre to come out and argue too. Then in the next inning he shoots his mouth off again, his face so contorted with rage he looks like the killer rabbit in Monty Python's Holy Grail. He eventually gets tossed, as he should have, and forces, I assume, Torre to get tossed too, in the late innings of close game. What an idiot. It will take a while for the bad taste of that one to clear. In the meantime, there's always the Angels to enjoy....
Posted by John at 10:26 PM | Category: Personal Journal
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April 07, 2008
The pure joy of a second-time baby
For practically Oliver's whole first year, I'm not sure I ever looked at him asleep without wondering in the back of my neurotic mind if I could remember the details of infant CPR if needed. With Luiza...
...no such problem. She sleeps for hours in my arms and it's pure pleasure.
Plus, I took a CPR refresher last month :-)
Posted by John at 10:34 PM | Category: Personal Journal
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Torii Hunter
He spells his name funny, but I think we'll keep him. Here's why.
Posted by John at 10:23 PM | Category: Personal Journal
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March 21, 2008
If spammers and scammer could spell...
If Internet spammers and spammers could invest a little in correct English in their emails, they might get a lot more victims. Could the fact that they don't mean that they get enough victims anyway? Advertising our condo for rent on the open market for the first time ever, we got one of the infamous Craigslist scam attempts yesterday. Something about this inquiry, "sooth my taste," I think, piqued by suspicion and in thirty seconds on Google I found the exact same fractured text on many real estate sites:
Please let me know if this unit is still available for rent. I will be living in this unit with my wife and daughter. Provide me adequate information on your rent procedures, and the current situation of this unit. Is this house furnished? I would prefer it unfurnished as i intend placing order for my own kind of furniture that will sooth my taste. Can you send me a few pictures of the house?. Treat as urgent pls. +44 70457 46081 Cordial Zoran.
Posted by John at 10:54 PM | Category: Personal Journal
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February 12, 2008
New Baby!
Our daughter, Luiza Maria, was born on Feb. 6. She weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. Unlike our nearly glabrous first-born, Luiza came out with a full head of dark hair, about an inch and a half long!
Oliver, taking a bath a couple of nights later, heard her crying. "Luiza is crying!" "Why do you think she's crying?" asked Dad. "Because the dragon eating her!" replied Oliver happily.
Pix are here.
Posted by John at 12:29 AM | Category: Personal Journal
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October 16, 2007
Another Quake
I was sitting in the living room at a little before 2 a.m., listening to Sibelius Symphony No. 5 through headphones. I felt a quick, sharp vertical movement and thought I heard a bit of a bumping noise. Did I doze off? Was it noise from the study lounge upstairs? Or was that an earthquake? I immediately ran to the computer and the SoCal seismic site, refreshed the browser a couple of times and saw this:
I was right! A 4+ (4.2), just on the other side of the San Bernadino Mts. Event Id ci10285533 at 1:53 a.m. There were five more little shocks of 2.0 or less at the same location within the next fifteen minutes or so, but I didn't feel them. It looks like the first 4+ quake in at least a week, maybe more.
Here's the detailed list:
Posted by John at 02:03 AM | Category: Personal Journal
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October 04, 2007
MLB.COM scam
So this really pissed me off today:
If one were, for instance going to be without cable tv for the baseball playoffs because, for instance, one is in temporary housing thinking one will move to permanent housing any week and thus never got cable, and if the new permanent home where one is actually moving in a day or so can't be wired for cable tv right away because the cable guys only come on Wednesdays and today is Thursday, one might go to the site of Major League Baseball on the Net, mlb.com. There one would see a little box with games in progress. A series of icons points to ways to follow the games: a tv icon to watch, if one is a paid subscriber, the game on mlb.tv; a speaker icon to listen to (paid subscription) audio; and a baseball diamond icon to get the free, live cartoon game representation call "GameDay." If one is frugal, like yours truly, GameDay suffices during the regular season. If one were to think, however, "Let's see how much it costs to see the playoff games" and then clicks on the TV icon, one is transported to a page which looks like this: View image.
The page says, "to access this content, you will need to purchase one of the subscriptions below." The options are for "2007 MLB.TV postseason domestic package" or "2007 MLB.TV postseason international package." If one reaches the logical conclusion that, being based in the US, the domestic option will allow one to "access," i.e., watch (because one has just clicked the tv icon and then connected "watch" with "access") all the games online and clicks the purchase button, one sees this: View image.
One then clicks "proceed to checkout," and pays the $14.95. Then if one returns to the link and tried to watch, say the Cleveland-New York Game 1, one is told that the "game is blacked out in your region." One thinks, hey, I live in California, this is a mistake. Then one notices the message that if one thinks this is a mistake, one should call such-and-such toll-free number. One does and quickly learns that the blacked-out regions for ALL the games are: the United States (all of them), Guam, Japan, Korea, and the Virgin Islands. What the are actually selling - accessed via the TV link and under the name "MLB.TV package" - is live AUDIO of the game, and delayed, "archived" video. There is, you will notice in the images, a little tiny link to more information which lays all this out, but how much more information would a normal, intelligent person need for a "2007 MLB.TV postseason domestic package"?
When one calls the number and yells five or ten versions of "WTF?", one is quickly promised a refund "within seven to ten days" and assured - fake conspiratorially - that this confusion has happened one or two times before.
Criminy!
Posted by John at 10:10 PM | Category: Letters of Complaint
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October 01, 2007
Go to work, daddy!
Friday afternoon, I'm home after a day - nay, a week - of work, Oliver comes in with my shoes, sets them down in front of me and says, "Papai...sapatos...trabalhar" ("Daddy...shoes...to work")! Smart kid, but a stern taskmaster.
He's also figured out that Leda is more responsive to people who call her by her name, and now when he really wants action he yells "Leda, Leda." He's also taken to calling me and his Avó by our names as well, "John Norvell" in my case, "Dona Maria" in hers.
Posted by John at 08:34 AM | Category: Personal Journal
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September 28, 2007
A new gripe, a new blog category
I write a lot of letters of complaint, sometimes with real expectations of results, sometimes just to cool off. Usually I send them, sometimes not. I will inaugurate this new category with a letter I wrote last night after hearing the clink of chains and running downstairs here at our Brighton Park exile to find a tow truck about to haul our car off. The gripe letter will be in the mail today. Grrr. Idiots.
Dear Brighton Park Management:You tried to tow our car at 9:30 p.m. last night. I heard the noise and forestalled this with only seconds to spare. We have several objections which we wish to put in writing.
First, our understanding, confirmed by the manger who responded last night, is that unregistered cars cannot be parked in the open spaces after 10:00 p.m. So what were you doing hooking our car up at 9:30?
Secondly, we only received one warning. You have two stubs for warning tickets, so obviously one of them must have fallen off or been taken off by someone else. We had no idea that we were at risk of being towed for just one infraction. This possibility, of course, is one reason responsible management makes every effort to give fair warning before towing a car.
Having a car towed is expensive and a huge inconvenience. As property owners in a nearby condominium and active participants in the condo association there, we know that sometimes cars need to be towed and sometimes even residents’ cars, but we take this step only after making every effort to resolve the issue in some other way and giving ample warning. Since we have several times requested temporary permits for this car and it is clearly known to the security patrol, you could have called us or left a notice on our door or even fined us, for instance. We would have been doubly careful to move the car into the garage on time (not that that would have helped us this time!).
Third, your parking policy is unfair. Reasonable residential complexes assign two parking spots, often one outside stop and one inside spot, to two-bedroom apartments. If a resident has only one car, they can choose which to use. Your policy, under which we have been unable to register our car because we only have one, is patently unfair. It also, of course, encourages dishonesty, which we did not employ, but in retrospect we now think we should have told you we had two cars and registered the actual car for outside parking. In our case, our garage is far from our unit, and we have a toddler, so parking in the garage is a burden.
Finally, rules are of course important for the smooth functioning of a residential complex, but when, as we have observed here, management routinely charges infractions for petty things—the occasional bicycle (in a complex without bike racks!) or, gasp, a car that backs into a spot (what is that about?), this generates ill-will, low morale, and even lower rates of compliance. We have noted this in the complex where we own. Lighten up.
But most of all, if you’re going to be sticklers about rules, at least follow them precisely. We are conscientious and try very hard to follow all the rules. Nine-thirty is not 10:00, and we expect an apology.
Posted by John at 12:05 AM | Category: Letters of Complaint
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September 27, 2007
Names for things, names for people
Oliver is now starting to realize that there are two different languages in his life, I think. For a while now, he will call things by two names if he knows them both and especially if he really wants something: "barco, barco, boat, boat" when he wants to watch his "on the go" Baby Einstein video, for example. His vovó/grandmother now routinely asks him, "how do say that in English" and he will answer.
He will also now successully answer questions about proper names from relational names: What is mamãe's/mommy's name? Leda. What is papai's/daddy's name? John Norvell. What is vovó's name? Dona Maria (because he's heard me call her that). What is the neném's/baby's name? Oliver!
Posted by John at 10:58 PM | Category: Personal Journal
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June 13, 2007
Tough Guys Don't Dance
After reading Mark Singer's puff piece in the May 21st Talk of the Town, I was intrigued to see the movie Tough Guys Don't Dance, directed by and screenplay by and based on the novel by Norman Mailer. Critics panned it at the time, but, gee it was such rollicking good fun to make etc., etc., etc.
The Critics were Right. This is the worst movie ever (from the ranks of movies whose producers [which included Coppola] never once imagined they might be making the worst movie ever, anyway). Also Ryan O'Neal's worst movie, Isabella Rossellini's worst - need I go on? I stuck with it to the end only with numerous breaks (a fresh martini, fifteen minutes in the spa, some light housework) just for the suspense of seeing how much more wretched it could get.
Posted by John at 11:47 PM | Category: Film and book reviews
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June 11, 2007
Sopranos/Big Love
I loved the end of the Sopranos. It was perfect symmetry. Personally, I think he bought it listening to Journey with an onion ring in his mouth. Do I feel the need to see it spelled out like all the other bloody murders? No.Greatest show in television history, after the Simpsons. For me, it finally edges out Oz as HBO's best.
The season premiere of Big Love may have the been best so far. I love this show, for lots of reasons. Ok, the acting/script type reasons, obviously. I love that alternate sexualities are normalized, to an extent; despite the macho, Joseph Smith/patriarchial take (admittedly more than just a "take" of course, in world history), it shows very imaginatively how some Americans would deal with a stigmatized, alternative sexuality. The whole show can be read as an allegory of homosexuality circa 1975. Why shouldn't people be able to form this kind of family if they want, and are not constrained or coerced or brainwashed (the Juniper Creek bogeyman)?
The show also makes me think of the interviews I've heard on NPR recently where fundamentalist Christians express surprise at the incredibly bizarre things that "otherwise intelligent" Mormons believe. Indeed! Mormonism is so weird and so American and so Christian in a sense that it is a constant reminder and reflection of the deeply irrational basis of Judeo-Christianity in general. The Republican primary is going to be so interesting in this respect: So, paradise is in Independence, MO? Yes, well, the Bible is a biology textbook? So, Jesus was hanging out in Central America? Yes, well, Jesus was born of a virgin? Etc., etc., etc.
Posted by John at 10:24 PM | Category: Film and book reviews
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June 08, 2007
Lee Baca, Sheriff to the Stars
...but boy what fractured syntax he comes out with, almost Bushian.
All this from today's CNN web site coverage of you-know-who going back to you-know-where:
The sheriff later hinted at a news conference that Hilton had psychological problems, and said she would be watched in jail "so that there isn't anything that is harmfully done to herself by herself."
Well put!
"The criminal justice system should not create a football out of Ms. Hilton's status," the sheriff said grimly at a press conference.
Another gem.
Baca also charged that Hilton received a more severe sentence than the usual penalty for such a crime, but said he would not try to overrule Sauer's decision again.
This is true, actually, but how weird to hear this pointed out by the Sheriff!
I can't believe I am actually blogging about Paris Hilton (there, I said the name!), but I spent the whole day in airports and feel like this is the only way to exorcise the demon news story so I can sleep. What a dumb ass she is..
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June 03, 2007
Mt. San Antonio
Back up Baldy again. This trip was about 1:40 to the ski hut, half an hour taking pictures, then about 1:15 to the summit.
Tons of people on top:
It was almost 80 degrees on top. Down via the Devil's Backbone Trail to the ski lodge and then down under the lift and back to the car, hiking for the last part with some nice, serious hiker ladies who showed me the way (I was nearly purchasing a ticket to go down the lift).
It was so dry, but one nice flower, Cycladenia humilis, according to my mother:
Posted by John at 10:10 PM | Category: Hikes
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May 29, 2007
Wifeless & childless
Oh, and I got to go to a baseball game and read the WHOLE newspaper over coffee because wife and son flew to Brazil late Sunday night. I miss 'em. But I don't lack for activities to distract me! :-)
Posted by John at 09:51 AM | Category: Personal Journal
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