Garage Door Repair
Started the day with the garage door opener shredding a nylon gear. Opened it up to the white powder of what was left. Fortunately, it’s a Craftsman, and the Sears parts outlet had it in stock. The install was a snap, but the adjustments were a pain. It’s a safer door now, though, since I used the occasion to adjust for it stopping on the slightest resistance. Grab it, and it stops! Sweet deal tho, being able to get the gear.
Nature: Clever Monkeys
The trailers and excerpts don’t do it justice. This, to me, is the most powerful film about animals ever. I can’t recommend enough that you skip the excerpts and go all the way through the film. Widely available.
How to Talk to the Police
This is a great little college lecture on how the 5th Amendment to the US Constitution applies to interactions with law enforcement. Whether you’re involved in a simple march for Earth Day, a rally outside the WTO, or just got pulled over in your car, this is a helpful lecture.
Hachiko: A Dog’s Tale
Hachiko is a great little film. It’s not epic. But it’s incredibly revealing and goes quite well with Clever Monkeys, if you’ve seen it. When I listen to people who have never read anything about the psychology of dogs, who claim they don’t really think, have an emotional life, or communicate, and are focused solely on gratification, it’s helpful to have ways of dispelling the ignorance. I don’t mean that they are open to seeing it a different way – just that those of us who are more aware of contemporary science and understanding in these areas need some refreshing material once in a while that’s neither too “Disney” nor just an argument.
The New American Century
A lot of the early parts of the film are old hat for some of us, but the later stuff is enraging and, in my mind, makes the documentary. Highly recommended.
Full documentary is here:
Conspiracy of Silence
This documentary is about the international pedophile ring run by Larry King in the US and involving key US political figures. Scheduled for the Discovery Channel in 1994 (according to TV Guide), but pushed to cancellation by powerful members of US Congress, and all copies officially destroyed, you’re unlikely to find this documentary in your local video store. Discovery Channel & Yorkshire Television were reimbursed hundreds of thousands in production costs, all to bury this thing. But it’s still obtainable, if you look hard enough, and worth it to watch. Thank goodness for Youtube, and no wonder political forces are trying to shut down it’s ability to operate freely.
Remember, this kind of censorship still goes on. Nova documentaries before 1996 (before Exxon/Mobile became a primary underwriter), like The Deadly Deception (about human experimentation on syphilitic black sharecroppers) have been removed from the Nova archives online, made unavailable on video, and nearly all mention hidden, as though Nova didn’t start broadcasting until the late nineties. Again, if you want it badly enough, you can still get it.
“My job as a chess player is to crush your mind.” – Kasparov
(quoted by Sting on NPR from game with Kasparov, Sting and several friends).
New York City (again)
Went all over NYC again – well, lower Manhattan – everything below Central Park. This time went to Queens (Astoria), too, and made another visit to Jersey City. Wish I’d had time to visit Flushing, but just to see it. If I lived in Queens, it’d be Astoria most likely. Still, like Manhattan far better. What I saw of Brooklyn on the way to the airport last time didn’t impress me. This time, we flew LaGuardia exclusively (next time it’ll be Newark). Jersey City – gosh – I couldn’t bear actually living there unless I was one stop from Manhattan. The trains take longer, come less frequently, don’t announce the stops, don’t identify themselves (the maps are the same on all the trains), and when you get out, there’s not much there, except a nice tiny farmer’s market at Journal Square. Still, that was Journal Square. Exchange Place seemed nice, but I didn’t go far from the hotel there, either, last time. So I don’t know. I guess I’m more suited to Manhattan. Spent a lot of time in K-Town this time. That was great. Was in the bowery some, Soho, Noho, Nolita. Best breakfast – I kid you not – out of principle more than anything – was from a bagel cart street vendor.
Grand Hyatt New York - from Hyatt.com
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Chicago (yet again)
Fifth or Sixth time here, at least. Hotel Burnham. Wow! What a great hotel, and right in the loop. Explored the North side. Liked most of the areas off the red line. Andersonville was great, if kind of awkward, but Edgewater sucked, other than Francesca’s where I had dinner – that was good. The area off the Fullerton exit by DePaul, I liked a lot. In fact, stumbled past the Apollo Theater and caught a show. That was a high point.
Hotel Burnham - from TripAdvisor
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9/11 & American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out
Excellent piece of skeptical analysis of 9/11 events. At its core, a refutation of the ad hominem claim that only kooks and crackpots are skeptical of the official and popular version of events.
