It's Hopeless
This WSJ op-ed is making me rethink what I said a few days ago about AIDS funding in Africa:
Why does a powerful and rich country, the United States, which for 25 years has done next to nothing useful to educate its own poor black children think it can reverse the even grimmer biology of death from AIDS across the whole continent of Africa?
On the surface it is, as the writer points out, The Shrub's hubris and wishful thinking. This money -- and 15 billion is no small fee -- can work only an empty gesture. We're talking about a continent that is unfathomably ravaged. This is a place where a crisis exists of infants raped because rapists believe myths that you can cure AIDS by having sex with a virgin.
Does the government need to spend $15 billion dollars to show that we sympathize with the people living in this desolate, unthinkable nightmare? Or it is just a cowardly way for the US government to redeam itself in the international community considering the inhumanity it plans for Iraqi civilians
Update: Jerry emails to tell me I need a comments feature and that, "the initiative is just a way for Bush to say, 'I like [don't hate too much] black people and gays.' And bonus: he can be self-righteously satisfied with himself for being such a good Christian."
Friday, January 31, 2003 12:05 a.m.
What Money Can Buy
A recent conversation brings me back to a favorite subject of mine, the discrete virtue of johns. Simply put, I think more guys should visit prostitutes in the event than one's hand is just not enough. If someone I were interested in told me he bedded a thousand prostitutes, I wouldn't mind (so long is it was done safetly,) besides my typical cost-benefit frugality (it would cost a lot of money, after all.) A john is far superior to some morally reprehensible "playa" who has no objections to leading someone on (having sex) and ignoring her the next day.
It happens all the time, say you meet some girl who's maybe a little fat and a lot lonely; you don't neccessarily want to be seen with her -- keep rationalizing pal, but you're an asshole. Why not save someone's self-esteem and visit a professional for the price? I can't understand why anyone would intentionally hurt another person's feelings, and fucking someone who you barely find attractive certainly falls within that description. Then again, a lot of guys prefer dating unattractive women because then there's no risk of rejection.
Thursday, January 30, 2003 04:44 p.m.
SOTU SFW, Part 2 The Sorry State of the Union couldn't have run more smoothly, unless perhaps it hadn't of been so damn cold that night. Although I could have gone without my yearly dose of government propoganda, I did catch the spiel on a diminutive b/w TV backstage. And the organizers kindly broadcasted it with subtitles on a large screen near the stage while Thievery Corporation did their thing.
It was, if nothing else, an outstanding photo-op, with the Capitol building sitting beautifully in the background. The logo -- with stars and the bars forming barcodes-- will sell a million tshirts at Urban Outfitters someday.
One of my favorite bands, Milemarker played an amazing set. The keyboardist wore a shirt that says "Bush You Sneaky Fuck." Several video shorts were also entertainting. I especially enjoyed a send-up of Teletubbies with W's face in the lieu of the baby in the sun. Zoe, who organized it all, has more.
Also, Bill and I were drinking to the address before anyone saw that corny website. Last year, he took a shot for every time Bush said "stimulate," and I was on for "bipartisanship." We started with "terrorism" but might have died of alcohol poisoning if we continued.
[T]his is bad public policy. Hydrogen fuel cells are an encouraging field of research. So encouraging, in fact, that the finest minds in the private sector -- auto makers, oil companies, private technology firms -- have been studiously working on them for decades. These smart innovators have had some notable technical breakthroughs; car companies such as Honda even have produced (very expensive) prototypes.
Which is all the more reason taxpayers shouldn't be forking more over to the effort.
Thursday, January 30, 2003 09:20 a.m.
Large Price for a Small "Gift"
A lot of people I know are weirded out by this week's Savage Love column on gay men actively seeking out the AIDS virus, apres Rolling Stone's faulty 25% statistic. The Spectator interviewed several "bug-chasers," all of whom speak of it like a religious experience.
As far as the ‘bug-chasers’ are concerned, the man who gives them ‘the gift’ is a hero, brave enough to ignore convention. One man told me that he had taped his ‘conversion’; it had pride of place in his VHS collection — just as videos of the birth of a child do in millions of suburban front-rooms.
These men know that what they want is overwhelmingly likely to hasten their death. ‘The excitement, I guess, comes from the risk aspect; as does the fear, I guess,’ says Jon. ‘I don’t want to reach 70 or above! The control aspect is that with something as final as HIV I have to take focus of what is left of the time I have.’ The language that he uses is macabre, very like that of the patient told he has unwittingly caught a terminal disease. ‘Yes, it could only be a matter of a couple of years, or it could be 15 or 20; however long, it will make me put some focus to my life.’
It is awfully sad. This "progressive" age has colored their lifestyle to be one of freedom and fun, but it's still not easy to be homosexual. Intense internal conflicts begin at adolescence and never end. It can be a very lonely, heartbreaking existance.
Thursday, January 30, 2003 08:08 a.m.
Zoloft Over-the-Counter As patents expire on medicines, manufacturers of drugs like Claritin are switching from perscription to over-the-counter availablity to boost revenue. Better Humans predicts Zoloft and Zocor, with patents ending in 2005, might follow the trend
AIDS is demolishing the social structure and infrastructure of Malawi. Because the sick are dying so quickly, they don't have time to pass on agricultural knowledge to their children. (Malawi now has 500,000 AIDS orphans in a population of 11 million.) According to Stephen Lewis, the United Nations' special envoy on AIDS in Africa, who's come with us, 14 percent of Malawi's teachers are dying every year, decimating the already marginal education system.
Part of the reason Malawi (like Ethiopia) is overlooked in favor of other African countries such as Sudan and Somalia, is they are too "peaceful." Countries battling large belligerant Islamic factions get headlines, and US dollars from mostly Christian-organizations. But as my former roommate, a South African, explained to me, the minorities claim to be Christian expressly for US dollars, not because they have a real faith. Just like politicians.
Wednesday, January 29, 2003 10:54 a.m.
SOTU SFW
The State of the Union address basically confirms my feelings about W. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, and a less cynical person might easily fall for the ruse. I really don't doubt that he loves his wife and children dearly, and would make a good little league coach. Without his veneer of trustworthyness, Iraq would be an even tougher sell than it already proves to be.
Radley has a more thorough run-down. I especially agree with what he says about funds for AIDS patients in Africa, "if we're going to spend money on foreign aid, this is probably the least worst way to do it. " And good speechwriters, definatly. "If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning. " Nicely put.
Tuesday, January 28, 2003 03:19 p.m.
Avant is Go Avant Browser has recieved raves on Lockergnome. It's IE Opera with a new name and fancier interface. One of its cooler tricks is tiling all your windows next to each other, so you can jump from reading one site to another.
When pension contributions, health and unemployment payments are included, the total tax burden in Germany is 36.4%, as against 37.4% in Britain, 41.8% in Italy and 45.4% in France. The rate in the USA is 29.6% and 27.1% in Japan. Portugal, Switzerland and Ireland have total tax burdens which are even lower than the German figure. But if you calculate the tax burden alone, i.e. excluding social security and pension contributions, the German tax rate is 21.7%, the lowest in Europe, while Japan is at 17.2% and the USA at 22.7%.
Isn't that the place where a single called The Tax Song with the lyrics "I raise your taxes. A cast vote is a vote cast, you can't fire me anymore. That's the cool thing about democracy," is getting major airplay? Growth in Germany this past year was only 0.2 percent. Their deficit is 3.7 percent of the gross domestic product, indicating spending isn't in check. But I suspect the real problem lies in Germany's indirect taxation, i.e. the tightly regulated labor market.
Monday, January 27, 2003 09:35 p.m.
What Does the Easter Bunny and a Stoner Rapist Have in Common?
It sickens me to report that an anti-drug PSA suggesting pot leads to rape is playing everywhere now. This ad replaced the ubiquitous "Want to play with my father's gun --POW!" ads that were in just as poor taste. It shows two teenagers sitting on a couch. He puts away a pipe and leans over to grab the girl's blouse. The scene fades to black with a "No, please, no" moaning voice over. You have to wonder how these people at the Office of National Drug Control Policy sleep at night. Set aside the gross trivialization of a truly horrendous crime --and one that is terrifyingly widespread -- how preposterous is the correlation that is implied? I'd certaintly trust my teenage sister alone with your average pothead before I would leave her with a US Congressman. But Big Brother doesn't play fair.
Monday, January 27, 2003 01:00 p.m.
Cloning Consternation
Michel Houellebecq has an essay explaining why he wants to be cloned even though he hates himself. I love this line, "The mere prospect of having to recount a personal anecdote plunges me into boredom verging on catalepsy. When I absolutely have to, I just lie." Hahaaa.
But the essay takes a turn for the weird when he explains that although he hates himself, he loves his son -- except when his son displays characteristics disimilar to his own. So what's the solution but a Houellebecq part duex! I hate to admit that I relate to Houellebecq's neurotic dichotmy of narcisssism and self-loathing. Pathetically enough, I do consider some of my abilities rare and useful -- just not in this lifetime, as I have seen yet. Maybe by the end of my existence I'll learn that there's a dire shortage of lazy, pretentious, hopelessly analytical females and then I can offer my genes selflessly. Otherwise, I'll leave my cloning fantasy in the files in the back of my brain, along with the ones where I'm a drummer or a gambling addict
Lilian Jackson Braun Spinning In Her Grave
Cc, the cloned cat, has several differences from her original, Rainbow. "Not only does cloning not produce a physical duplicate, but it can never reproduce the behavior or personality of a cat that you want to keep around. There are millions of cats in shelters and with rescue groups that need homes, and the last thing we need is a new production strategy for cats." says someone from the Human Society. I hate cats.
Friday, January 24, 2003 10:56 p.m.
Repetition Compulsion
An interesting tidbit from Malcolm Gladwell's otherwise lackluster, The Tipping Point is that Nickelodeon schedules to play the same episode of Blue's Clues Monday through Friday of a week, switching to the next episode the following week. At first the idea seemed suicidal, not to mention cruel -- why would children want to see the exact same show they saw the day before? But this television format made the show a hit. Acording to Gladwell, the driving force is not the search for "novelty," but "understanding" and comprehension. Young children enjoyed having a greater capacity to answer the questions and so they feel empowered.
It's about this guy who finds out that his girlfriend of two years has had this surgical procedure which has erased him from her memory. So he's freaked out and trying to live with it and he can't, so he decides to have the same procedure. Most of the movie takes place in his brain as she's being erased, and you see their whole relationship, moment-by-moment, backwards from this sort of bad end to the better beginning. Halfway through, as the memories start getting better, he decides he doesn't want the procedure.
He was also adpating A Scanner Darkly until Richard Linklater(?) stepped in.
Wednesday, January 22, 2003 07:35 p.m.
New Favorite
Nerve has a very hot interview with Will Self. He is described as "eviscerat[ing] gay and straight culture, the Thatcherite bourgeoisie, Princess Diana and the plasticity of the art world. Drugging is described in orgasmic detail, while the sex scenes are almost aggressively anti-erotic." Just the way I like it.
The silence between them wasn't awkward — it was boorish and stupid. Like a drunk, drooling student it bumped about the trendy minimalism of the penthouse, knocking into the blocky blue divans, the huge coffee table, the varnished wood pediments that supported Cathode Narcissus's nine monitors. Dorian was so easily influenced — they both knew this. He took on other people's styles, modes and even habits the way kitchen toweling sopped up spilt milk. And was there any point in crying over this? When he'd begun fucking Helen he'd taken to drinking Lapsang Souchong — now he was getting infused elsewhere. Of course she'd known he was a poof, but only in the way we all know we're going to die.
But this best line of it is, "Helen, I masturbate but it doesn't mean I'm in love with my hand."
Wednesday, January 22, 2003 10:59 a.m.
Altruism is In This Season
Susan Orenstein has an excellent essay in Business 2.0 called The Selling of Breast Cancer decribing wars waged between companies to get their name attached to the Breast Cancer Charity Event of the moment. Like many people, I've had family and friends struggle with breast cancer. But its prevelence isn't the only thing that makes the cause popular with marketing. Breast cancer is an innocent disease you don't get because of smoking or having sex. It also attacks the intimate emblem of womanhood. Every time Revlon throws a "Fire and Ice Ball" or Ralph Lauren has a sale "for the cure," celebrities are given a chance to indulge their sanctimony, relaying their tales of dead aunts to reporters and buying up products because they really care.
Wednesday, January 22, 2003 03:07 a.m.
Milk With That Toast
This evening Alina and I played the video match-up game with "erotic" photos. I've seen them at bars all the time but never bothered to have a go at it. The screen presents two nearly identical photos of trashy, big-hair and busted Eastern European-looking women. Several things in the images will not match up (i.e a pastie is missing in the left photo) and you touch the screen to rack up the points. It was a lot of fun for the intellectual challenge and the side-show element to see skanky women who clearly do not respect themselves or else, why would they be photographed on all fours, holding stuffed animals, and wearing garters?
We marveled that never have we heard a guy disprove of breast implants because of what that would say about the girl's values. Usually, if anything disparaging is said about implants it's by someone who prefers his women gamine and Audrey Hepburn-ish (and even higher-maintainace.) We then decided we must throw a live-action "erotic match up" party and hire identical twin strippers to pose for us and our guests. Expect an Evite sometime early spring
Playing "erotic match up" only reminded me that I prefer the company of even the most used and vulgar skank over a "nice" girl any day of the week. "Nice" girls used to be called "plain," now the term is "sweet." Whatever they are called, they are all the same. Detailing their vapid cookie-cutter origins only unravels cliches. They wear Gap clothes, have Gap minds, and attend the best colleges because they always turned their work in on time. They play by the rules. They play soccer. They keep to their own kind and sometimes have quirky habbits like speaking French and enjoying art films. They work hard, are model citizens, and have caring realtionships with the men that I turn down
Writing as a hobby started at first as an insecurity, as it was the most immediate way to distinguish myself from the Emilys, Katies, and Sarahs in America. That I am kind and considerate of other people's feelings is not because I know no other alternative. I can craft subtle jabs and backhanded compliments with the most cynical bitches, but I chose not to. The end result of putting another person at ease in a conversation always outweights "psyching" them out. At least it does if you're looking to create long-lasting true friendships. Now I consider myself confident enough to let my complexities radiate without resorting to bitchiness. The milquetoast "sweet" girls can't notice my difference, but who cares what they think? They don't think