Second Banana

Earlier this week, you may remember this post about a fairly sizable earthquake and associated aftershocks rocking Japan.

With all the political hubbub in the air, you may not have realized that a volcano erupted in Ecuador yesterday.

Now I'm no geologist, but as a former archeology student, I became extremely familiar with the sequences of events that result from shifts in the Pacific Plate (the submarine tectonic plate that connects Coastal Lands from Alaska to Hawaii to South America to Japan) and I would venture to guess that we're going to see a lot more activity along the Ring of Fire before the year is out.

Obviously, I have very little scientific evidence to back this assertion, but it's become clear to me that my "feelings" of late are often more accurate than most people's "science".

Now I'm not claiming to have any clairvoyant gifts, I just seem to be drawn to certain topics days and weeks before they become news. And it seemed unusual to me that I even NOTICED this article, because the report comes from half-a-world away from Ecuador, and it seems like the whole world is looking for its next big story from the Middle East, not South America.

Legion of Stooges

My "close" readers (aka people who address me by my REAL name) know that I try whenever possible to honor those whose work inspires my one good typing hand to write.

Those "close" readers know that whenever I attach Roman Numerals to a title, it's usually a subtle reference to the series of films that William Peter Blatty's book Legion inspired (aka The Exorcist, Exorcist II: The Heretic, and so-on).

But sometimes I take the opportunity to set the record straight about the reference itself. The Exorcist (William Friedkin's original movie based loosely on Legion) is a unique work in its own right, but Hollywood has a knack for forgetting its literary roots. I, myself, realize that both filmmaking and novel-writing are painstaking arts--unique from (but mutually dependent on) each other.

This places me in the netherworld of being respectfully misunderstood (no one is supposed to actually appreciate BOTH arts).

One is invariably expected to deify one and trash the other.

I can't seem to do this. I can see that BOTH are ill-appreciated crafts. Which is why I hesitate to mention the 1990 film: Exorcist III.

I don't know how Blatty and Friedkin feel about EACH OTHER, but I know that Blatty is a MUCH better author than he is a director, because the cinematic presentation of Exorcist III leaves something to be desired, even though I understand Blatty's desire to re-assert ownership of Legion.

But I'm not sure Exorcist III accomplished that.

In reality, ALL the movies seem to drive directors back to their more humble storytelling roots. I've already mentioned both Friedkin and John Boorman (The Exorcist and Exorcist II: The Heretic) in previous articles, and I think their work outside of The Exorcist speaks for itself.

My feeling is that William Peter Blatty also deserves to be remembered for his books, rather than for his arguably reactionary foray into film directing. It may seem to be an odd connection, but it strikes THIS AUTHOR (AKA ME) as ironic that so many humorists wind up being drawn into horror so readily.

I think I know why, but maybe those hypotheses are best left unspoken. I'd hate for my insight to turn into Blood Drinkin' Monsters of the Deep (without at least an honorable mention) ;)

--Mattergy

Archival Possession

I am forever baffled by people who claim to understand politics, yet have never seen Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph des Willens (AKA Triumph of the Will in the USA).

It's understandable that people don't want to/can't see this documentary (it's banned in Germany) of a 1934 Nazi rally at Nuremberg, (featuring Adolf Hitler himself)...but any serious student of history or self-made political analyst cannot IMHO say that they fully understand the powerful nature of political speech without ever having seen this movie (or, God-forbid, having experienced Hitler's Germany--or some other dictatorship--first-hand).

It's genuinely scary stuff, so I'm not recommending it for all audiences. But if you ever wondered why grandpa yells at the TV when Fox News comes on, you owe it to yourself to understand the dark nature of political propaganda embodied in Triumph des Willens.

Rude Awakening

It never fails...when arrogant men think they have a corner on the news, REAL trouble comes along to put life back in perspective.

Although those of us who live on the Ring of Fire know that seismic destruction is an inevitable fact of life, the shock of seeing lives colossally altered by earthquakes never quite subsides.

So I thought I would take a moment to remember those in Japan who've had their lives disrupted by yesterday's earthquake and today's aftershocks. The people of California understand your trouble, but know that when people work together, they can turn destruction into hope.

Best wishes--Mattergy

Dumbass II: The Heretic

OMG...is there a global competition in-play for who can be the biggest dumbass? Because this morning's news of 15 British sailors being summarily and unlawfully detained by the Iranian Navy has pretty much ruined Iran's chances of EVER being re-integrated into the world economy on friendly terms...mark my words.

Whereas the West has tolerated Iran's oil-for-stability extortion since the 1970's, it is a sure bet that the Royal Navy can't be expected to exercise restraint where its seamen are concerned. I doubt any force (save the Crown) could prevent conflict now.

If only the demagogues of the middle east could understand that MANAGEMENT OF SEA LANES, not POLITICAL IDEOLOGY is the driving force behind the West's seemingly passive acceptance of Iran's naval presence in the Persian Gulf...Yes, the West respects Iran's sovereignty along its coast, but not enough to acquiesce to a brazen act of WAR on the HIGH SEAS!

Some people will NEVER learn...sigh.

Author's Addendum 7:20 AM PST 3/22/07:
After studying this incident more closely I realize that my assertion that the event occurred on the High Seas may be in error. The British Naval vessel in question seems to have been patrolling a waterway that is technically Iranian Territory. But regardless...I am certain the event is going to chill Iranian/Western relations greatly, AND I am certain that the methodology employed by the Iranian Navy will most likely be perceived as an ACT OF WAR.

Dumbass Protection

I've been trying to resolve problems PAYING for a product I've been using since it was introduced (in the early 1990's).

Of course the fact that this US company processes all its payments through a German bank doesn't help matters. Because of their methodology they managed to trigger the FRAUD PROTECTION on my bankcard, and now I can't process ANY transactions!!!

I worked with the knowledgeable people at MY bank, but then this US/German Brundleco (a word I coined in the mid-1990's to describe a company that is essentially a conglomeration of so many micro-units that it is practically a genetic abomination [like Seth Brundle in the horror-classic "The Fly"]) went and triggered the FRAUD PROTECTION again (AFTER I had just resolved the PREVIOUS transaction-error caused!!!).

The irony of all this is that unknown to the software company (the company marketing the product I am ATTEMPTING to renew) I personally was one of the key influences in assuring that their product received widespread exposure in the academic community in the fledgling years of the software's existence (before the term "internet" was even in general public use!!!).

But since it is now the practice for companies to hire transaction service-personnel who know next-to-nothing about the companies they serve, there is really no one to contact who might care, so MY readers are really the only people who know the truth.

And just so my readers know that I'm not making this up...the WS in the company's (unnamed) product stands for WINSOCK, the Windows-based protocol that made such a product usable by the general public. Now a part of the Windows operating system, WINSOCK is the core protocol that allows all kinds of products to use TCP/IP as the Transport Layer of OSI (Open Sytems Interconnection) seamlessly and silently.

Now if only the company's FINANCIAL transactions could be conducted seamlessly and silently, I might not have to subject it to further ridicule.

I'm not expecting any special treatment...I would only hope that the US DoD's old DARPAnet would be put to better use than the sending of repeated emails about how some German bank is having trouble verifying my identity (on a purely domestic-US purchase!)

Countersibilance

Every once-in-a-while, my odd neural disability (Multiple Sclerosis, for all of you new kids) short-circuits my motor functions in such a way that I find myself remembering old and potent "Neural Sequences" ("kinetic" memory is hard to explain, so let's just agree that the hop-skip-and-jump you do around that toy your pet always leaves in the middle of a walkway...that sequence of movements gets stored somewhere in your unconscious memory right next to the smell of the toast that got burnt the day you forgot to "2. skip" and woke up face-down in a bowl of kibble.)

Anyway, this particular bit of mumbling I had done somehow reminded me of a chant my classmates concocted during an impending teacher's strike nearly 35 years ago. The chant itself is fairly simple, but the vividness of the memory made me recall things I hadn't thought about in decades.

It goes like this:

Mr. Moore knows more
Mr. Wright is right
Mrs. Russell's got the muscle
So let's fight, fight, fight!

There was actually a fourth teacher teaching in that same group, but she was either blessed with a name that made her inclusion in the chant phonetically unpalatable OR she DIDN'T participate in the strike (kids are amazingly conscious of hold-outs in ANY group of otherwise assenting adults).

Anyway, among the memories that followed was a very Gestalt-ish realization that much of my adult personality has it's roots in Mr. Wright's class, but not for the reasons most daytime-talk-shows might presume.

On one very uneventful day, the class had become extraordinarily unruly, and Mr. Wright became extremely agitated. In an exasperated declaration, Mr. Wright suddenly announced that we would be required to do a new assignment: to write a report of X-length...on TIME.

Clearly, the message was that we were wasting TIME: ours, his, the world's.

But being the rather impetuous kid that I was, I was determined to show him that "I" was not the one causing the problem: if he wanted a report on TIME, he was going to get EVERYTHING THERE WAS TO KNOW (even if he ended up wasting three days of his life reading it!).

The result (for me) was that I learned more about chronometric matters than even most adults NOW know. And ironically, the subject turned out to be the centerpiece of ALL 21st-CENTURY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (even though I only have a high-school diploma, I still out-gun people with advanced-degrees in my understanding of technology, largely because of the research I did for that one report!).

Ultimately, I am thankful for that moment of exasperation on Mr. Wright's part, though many people wouldn't agree with his tack. But I cite the example for educators who may feel that their stubborn dedication to their craft goes unnoticed ;)

Making it to the bus on time is no longer a trivial affair for SOME of us!

Hijacking Your Mind

Computer operating systems are complicated (the unseen magic they do is appreciably complex, regardless of one's personal prejudices for STYLE--saying that this or that operating system is THE penultimate solution is the height of naivety, IMHO...just as saying something like: "X-brand CHOCOLATE RIPPLE DELIGHT is the best dessert ever made" is a patently ridiculous assertion [I'm sure people who are allergic to chocolate DON'T share the opinion]).

But the ever-present temptation to declare one OS/one school-of-thought/one methodology superior to all others when all are equally INCOMPLETE is a fairly fascist way of thinking.

I recently had the annoying problem of having a computer DIE after only 8 months of active service...and lost everything. OK, so I didn't REALLY lose EVERYTHING. But that is only because I have learned over the years to maintain a fairly extensive collection of external data repositories...meaning that I make a habit of keeping more copies of data in more independent locations than most people would think is necessary.

Most people would also consider this behavior to be a bit obsessive. But then again, I have more experience than most people credit me...I also have more to LOSE.

For example, even though I mention fairly often that I have an extremely disabling lifetime-disease (Multiple Sclerosis), I find that I still need to remind people with whom I speak weekly...if not daily. The result is that I frequently sound like a broken record...but the benefit is that I don't get tripped-up nearly so often as I could be.

Still, I find that people want to think for me ALL THE TIME. So I must practice a fair amount of stubbornness with regard to methods that work best for ME.

The problem is that we seem to be living in a culture where patronizing less-able people has become synonymous with helping them. One of the results is that ostensibly unchanging computer operating environments are in constant turmoil.

This is akin to a child's game where the rules keep changing to the immediate advantage of one particularly impetuous kid (also known as: "it's my game...shut up or I'll take it home!".)

There's no equitable solution to the situation, as ANY parent can tell you. And though we'd like to say "Mr. XXXXX, you are NOT welcome here anymore. Go home!!!", the truth is that automation has literally hijacked a portion of our better judgment.

I wonder just how much stress in the world is now attributable to the fascist thinking of just a few derelict minds.

Kill Grandma...Eat the Grandkids

People who work for a living often scoff at recipients of State and Federal services as being "people milking the system."

Ironically, when circumstances change to make working impossible...the very same people are often the ones most likely to harass innocent junior-employees of these same agencies for their apparent lack of competence in providing needed services.

I myself refuse to act in either manner.

Yet, I have had the unfortunate experience of being on BOTH SIDES of this conversation: as both the person-in-need and as the flak-catcher for the agency-in-question. Neither experience is very pleasant.

The flak-catcher is bound by the voluminous rules-memos issued by the agency's brass. The person-in-need is implicitly bound by their own disability.

There is little "freedom" to be experienced in either situation. Coincidentally, these are the only roles I have played wherein I have seriously considered suicide.

But the keyword here is "considered"--what standardized medical language refers to as SUICIDAL IDEATION. The crazy part is that S.I. is frequently encouraged by the very same people whose service is supposed to help alleviate such "ideation".

...and in case you're wondering what triggered this sudden flurry of "negative thinking", it's a very oblique bit of bureaucratic nonsense entitled "Notice of Action" that I received in yesterday's mail...one that is going to necessarily throw me back into the same fray of idiocy that seems to encourage thoughts of self-imollation.

I guess the idea is to distill my paltry contribution to humanity into oblivion. Thank God for redundant data-keeping.