“You don’t look sick. Just tired and bitter.” — As Good As It Gets
Silence (Hugh MacLeod)
“If you have something to say, then say it. If not, enjoy the silence while it lasts. The noise will return soon enough.”
— Hugh Macleod
“A crusade for democracy is a contradiction in terms”
“Empire requires an unshakeable belief in the superiority of ones own race, religion, and civilization and an iron resolve to fight to impose that faith and civilization upon other peoples.
We are not that kind of people. Never have been. Americans, who preach the equality of all races, creeds, and cultures, are, de facto, poor imperialists. When we attempt an imperial role as in the Philippines or Iraq, we invariably fall into squabbling over whether a republic should be imposing its ideology on another nation. A crusade for democracy is a contradiction in terms.
While it would be nice if Brazil, Bangladesh, and Burundi all embraced democracy, why should we fight them if they dont, and why should our soldiers die to restore democracy should they lose it? Why is that our problem, if they are not threatening us?
If attacked, Americans fight ferociously. Unwise nations discover that. Threatened, as in the Cold War, we will persevere. But if our vital interests are not threatened, or our honor is not impugned, most of us are for staying out of wars.”
— Pat Buchanan [from The American Conservative]
MSN Music Store
I just purchased my first song online. I downloaded a few songs back in the early days of Napster and KaZaA but never really got into it and –later– hated the way KaZaA scewed with your system. While I love the look of the iPod, I don’t have one and probably won’t buy one, again, just because I’m not into walking around with ear-buds. While the new MSN Music Store might be inferior in every way to iTunes, I found it very easy to use. My Net Passport info was already on file so it took about 15 seconds to agree to let them bill me for music downloads (which will play on just about any device). Jackson Browne’s Stay was my choice for first legal download. MS made this pretty easy and I suspect I’ll buy more music online than I ever have (or would) at the music store.
Put this on a pack of cigarettes.
Dave Winer remembers the hours leading up to by-pass surgery. “If you haven’t had your chest ripped open you can’t imagine what it feels like, not just physically, but psychologically.”
“Baby shower for Helen”
As a general rule, you couldn’t get me to a baby shower at gun-point. But I’m thinking Helen’s (at the Kennett’s Jones Park Pavilian) might have been fun. Photo by Special Correspondent Terry McVey.
Naked Cowboy
“Before I start telling you about the protests, the Broadway show and my next door deli, I must tell you about the Naked Cowboy. He’s a nearly-naked guy who stands in the middle of Times Square (in the island in the midst of the street), plays his guitar and sings. He wears a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and white briefs with the words “naked cowboy” on the rear which kind of reminds me of the sorority girls at college who would have their sorority’s greek letters plastered to the back of their shorts or sweats. Not a good idea to call attention to that area. Unless you are the naked cowboy.”
Radio Iowa News Director O. Kay Henderson blogging the convention in NY.
DSL Death March
I can’t decide if it was really great customer service or really poor customer service. 10 days ago thunderstorm/lightening knocked out voice/net access. Four or five days later, Sprint got the voice up but no DSL. They told me a tech would arrive today between 10:30 and 12:30. After a couple of calls he got there at 1:00 p.m. Nice kid but admitted right up front that he didn’t know much about “this computer stuff” and called in the DSL guy. Five hours later, the DSL guy admitts he’s stumped and call Monica (not her real name). Monica doesn’t even do tech support anymore more is really the only one for a hundred miles that knows how to trouble-shoot the Tough Ones. She was amazing. I lost track of how many IP addresses she could remember. She got me back online and made it look easy. After six hours. If DSL guy hadn’t known Monica and been willing to call her, I still would not have DSL. You could pull my fingernails out and I wouldn’t give you Monica’s name. She’s mine.
How companies re-invent themselves
“…it’s easier to invent a Wal-Mart from the ground up to replace Sears than get Sears to reinvent itself.” — Hugh McLeod
Foul!
I thought I mentioned it here but couldn’t find it. A long time ago, when John Ashcroft was governor of Missouri, he played in a benefit basketball game. I think is was The Governor’s Office vs. The Media.
I somehow wound up on the media team. I don’t fault Mr. Ashcroft for ringer-ing himself with a bunch of gigantic state troopers but this photo of W reminded me what a mean and dirty brand of ball the governor played. Anyone that’s played much pick-up ball knows this type of player. First to swing an elbow…first to scream foul…and incredulous if anyone dared call him on a foul.
The photo of Bush makes me wonder how often he got his ass kicked as a kid.