Letters by Boz

Sleepless in America

National Public Radio had an interesting story about how a good night's rest in considered a waste of time in today's go-go-go world, and how people take pride in how little they sleep. Some quotes:

I live and report in New York City, and there is definitely a kind of pride or resignation here about lack of sleep. I started listening to people talking about sleep habits in the coffee shop where I get my morning coffee.

"Sleeping more than five hours feels like a waste of time. You could be reading or on eBay," Evangeline Morphos, a Columbia University professor, told me.

Attorney Carolyn Schrager's high-school-age daughter told her the one thing she wishes she could change about her life is to do away with the need for sleep.

This is really sad and pathetic. People are so driven by their need to "make it" and be "successful" that they are willing to abuse themselves by denying their body something it truly needs. What is the toll on their health, their well-being, their personal relationships? Or thus that not matter as long as you've got the corner office and a McMansion?
    All those who take pride in not sleeping, in always being on the go, no doubt think they are living life to its fullest. They are not. They are avoiding living life by immersing themselves in what is ultimately busywork, instead of concentrating on the truly important work of simply living and being a well-rounded human. Workaholicism is like any other kind of addiction... it is a way to avoid reality, and essentially a form of cowardice.
    Sleep on it.

Tennis for Clods

Viewing sporting events on television is not exactly a hobby of mine, and I especially make sure to avoid the neofascist spectacle of team sports at all costs. Yet sometimes I do  watch tennis, as it is a game I enjoy playing once in a while.
    This weekend I found myself watching some of the Australian Open. While the play was consistently good, the tournament itself was a rude awakening, with emphasis on “rude.” Spectators in attendance were amazingly boorish, chanting and hooting throughout the games. And  when did tennis fans begin indulging in juvenile antics such as face painting? This wasn’t a NFL game, after all. Fans attending the Sony Ericsson Open in Spain comported themselves with far greater dignity.
    The players were more of a mixed bag. Many of the U.S. players are grating and obnoxious. There are the bitchy Williams Sisters , who don’t dress quite as trampy on the courts anymore but still seem to thrive on arguing with judges. Then there is the perpetually frattish Andy Roddick, known for his snotty press conferences, condescension towards ball boys, and general jackassness. He also seems incapable of wearing shirts that fit, as they are always too loose, necessitating  constant readjustment of his clothing. Sometimes Roddick just plays without a shirt, as if he is auditioning for the homoerotic “Boys Gone Wild” videos or perhaps an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog. And I’m fairly certain I saw Roddick’s pal Mardy Fish spit on the courts. Lots of class there! At least James Blake carried himself with enough dignity and grace to overshadow somewhat the antics of his countrymen.
    In a 2006 issue of The Weekly Standard, Jeffrey Hart wrote about how far tennis had come since the days when being a gentleman or lady mattered just as much as winning games. He starts with a telling anecdote:

During a junior tournament at the Los Angeles Tennis Club, Don Budge, then the best young player in northern California, won a match impressively. Expecting a compliment from Perry Jones, czar of West Coast tennis, he instead received a snarl: "Budge, those are the dirtiest tennis shoes I ever saw in my life. Don't you ever-don't you ever-show up again on any court anywhere at any time wearing shoes like that."

Budge had grown up poor in Oakland. He remembered that, and all that it meant, including respect for the game.

    I don’t believe Jones would have approved of Andy Roddick’s shirtlessness, and really, no one should.
    Hart’s piece ends on an optimistic note:

Though the gentleman Arthur Ashe won the men's U.S. Open in 1968, tennis was assaulted beginning in that same antinomian era by such talented vandals as John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, whose manners were unacceptable, atrocious. But today the gentlemanly ideal is reasserting itself, notably in Roger Federer, who understands his place in tennis history, and so is aware of something much larger than any individual or any match. He shows this awareness in all aspects of his behavior: his tennis clothes, for example, and his flawless demeanor.

    While Hart is right to praise Federer, watching the Australian Open makes me wonder if tennis now belongs to the barbarians.

Obama's Brave Stand

I don't expect to be developing a case of Obamamania anytime soon, but I did like what his response to a woman's question at a recent town hall meeting in Nevada. From the AP:

What about animal rights?" a woman shouted out during the candidate's town hall meeting outside Las Vegas Wednesday after he discussed issues that relate more to humans, like war, health care and the economy.

Obama responded that he cares about animal rights very much, "not only because I have a 9-year-old and 6-year-old who want a dog." He said he sponsored a bill to prevent horse slaughter in the Illinois state Senate and has been repeatedly endorsed by the Humane Society.

"I think how we treat our animals reflects how we treat each other," he said. "And it's very important that we have a president who is mindful of the cruelty that is perpetrated on animals."

Considering the mocking he will surely receive from not only the GOP but from the redneck wing of the Democrats, this is a very brave position for Obama to take. If he pledges to consult with, say, Wayne Pacelle,  Michael Pollan, or Matthew Scully about reforming America's factory farms, then I'd really stand up and cheer.

Pelosi's Tasty Triumph

Much to my dismay, I find myself in agreement with Nancy Pelosi about something of great importance. That something is food.
    According to Politico.com, the Democrats have ushered in a culinary revolution at House eateries:

The processed cheese has been replaced with brie. The Jell-O has made way for raspberry kiwi tarts and mini-lemon blueberry trifles. Meatloaf has moved over for mahi mahi and buns have been shunted aside in favor of baguettes.

Of course, the GOP continues to want to pretend to be the party of ‘jes folks,’ so there have been complaints from the meat n’ potatoes wing of the Republicans:

“It’s a big jump from high school cafeteria to fancy-pants gourmet,” said Caryn Schenewerk, a staffer for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).... One House Republican aide lobbed attacks at the Democrats over e-mail. “I really don’t like Nanny Nancy telling me what I can and cannot eat for lunch. If I want to eat unhealthy, I should have that choice!” the aide fumed.

(“Fancy-pants?” Does Ms. Schenewerk think she’s Grannie from ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’?)
    In describing the new, better foods now being served, the author of the article, Josephine Hearn, also seems to want to play the “don’t know nuthin’ ‘bout that gor-met stuff” angle:

There are vegetables with funny names, like bok choy, arugula and jicama. There are baked goods with Italian names, like biscotti, focaccia and frittati.... There are foods in funny colors, like yellow tomatoes and purple Peruvian potatoes. There are things that are free of other things, like “cage-free shell eggs,” “rBGH-free milk” and “free-range chicken.”

    C’mon now, Ms. Hearn! Stop pretending to be such a hick. You can get arugula at McDonald’s of all places.
    All in all, I tip my hat to the Dems for improving the culinary fare available at the House. As for Republicans, the food populism thing was tired when they used the “brie and chardonnay” shtick to attack John Kerry supporters in 2004. It is even more tired now.

Where's the E-Coli?

In the beef of course! From The Ethicurean:

First major E. coli-related recall of 2008

Well, the meat’s from 2007, but why quibble when we have this exciting new graphic to guide your decision whether or not to eat a burger of questionable provenance?

Details: Rochester Meat of Minnesota is recalling approximately  188,000 pounds of ground beef products because — drumroll! — they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced yesterday. Wisconsin and California’s public health departments alerted the agency after six illnesses were reported.

The possibly contaminated products were produced on Oct. 30, 2007, and Nov. 6, 2007, and shipped to restaurants and food service institutions nationwide. (Box numbers here.) Because of the size of the recall — that’s easily half a million burgers we’re talking about — and the fact that it’s not a retail-establishment recall, the Ethicurean Department of Gastrointestinal Security has run our scientific algorithm and assessed the risk of a burger-induced bathroom attack as Orange, for High.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Since I eat a pretty much vegetarian diet, I often get asked if I miss things like good, old-fashioned hamburgers. Sometimes I do... but not so much after reading news items like this.

I just read...

... All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.
    I came late to the works of McCarthy. When his great book The Road won the Pulitzer, I decided I had to pick it up. I was curious as to what a literate post-apocalyptic novel would be like. It was a fantastic read, harrowing and heart wrenching, and easily one of the 10 best novels I’ve read. Shortly thereafter I read No Country for Old Men, another great book. (Incidentally, the Coen Brother’s film disappointed me. They got many of the details right, but somehow didn’t capture the soul of McCarthy’s original work.)
    All the Pretty Horses was an interesting change from the other two books. The classic Cormac McCarthy prose was still in full effect (no quotation marks for him!) but the story was far less dark. There was an air of melancholy to be sure, but not the oppressive doom of his more recent work. It was a simpler tale, a coming of age story about a young post-WWII cowboy struggling to find his place in a world that was changing too soon.
    Billy Bob Thornton made a film of the novel a few years back, starring Matt Damon in the lead. I haven’t seen it, but apparently the final picture was so badly edited by the studio as to ruin it completely. As I read the book myself, I couldn’t help but think the one director who could really bring it to life is dead: the late, great Sam Peckinpah. Known for his ultraviolence, he also had a softer side, as seen in such films as Junior Bonner and Ride the High Country. That’s the Peckinpah that was made to direct All the Pretty Horses. Oh well... one can dream.

A-Pauling

The New Republic’s website featured a scathing article about Ron Paul that is well worth reading. I don’t say this lightly, as I am no fan of the piece’s author, James Kirchick, who once wrote a hatchet job on a former boss of mine. Yet in the case of the Paul piece, Kirchick is on pretty solid ground, digging up some truly awful bits of writing associated with the libertarian Texan. Basically, Ron Paul comes across as the vaguely bigoted, conspiracy theorist, antigovernment nut that he most assuredly is. For more on the matter (from a conservative perspective), check out Michael Medved’s “Open Letter to Ron Paul.”
    It boggles my mind that so many smart, thoughtful people have been swayed by the bizarre Paulian cult of personality. Of course fundamentalist libertarians would swoon for him, but Andrew Sullivan? At least I can take comfort in the fact that Ron Paul has no chance of winning.

Fireworks=Dead Pets

A news story from Honolulu's KHON provides yet another reason for Hawaii (and any sensible state in the union) to ban the private use of fireworks.

A late night fire in a Waikele garage severely damaged a home, and killed two cats. The home owner says the fire started after used fireworks ignited a wooden work bench in his garage.... [Homeowner] Randy Dixon said, "We brought three cats out here we thought they were dead. And they gave them oxygen. They cut off bottle tops to make little masks and stuff for them. And brought three out of five of them back to life.".... All thanks to neighbors.... Sherry Dixon owns a pet boarding business. Seven of the nine cats lived, but two boarded pet cats died.”

So the irresponsible, immature actions of someone's neighbors led to a two unfortunate dead cats. Gee, was it worth it, pyros? Is hearing things go BANG! and watching the shiny colors worth the lives of innocent animals?

A Bold 'Bolero'

For those who did not spend New Year’s Eve getting blindingly drunk or contributing to air and noise pollution by setting off fireworks, PBS provided some great grown-up entertainment. “Live from Lincoln Center” featured some truly memorable performances that evening. Joshua Bell's playing of Fritz Kreisler's "Liebesleid" ("Love's Sorrow") was superb, but the standout was the New York Philharmonic’s version of Ravel’s chestnut “Bolero.” I tend to have mixed feeling about conductor Lorin Maazel, but under his baton the orchestra really made the piece come alive. I look forward to picking up a CD of one of Maazel’s recording of this modernist masterpiece.

Ex-Con on Football Team? Shocking!

I just learned that the quarterback for the University of Hawaii football team is a convicted felon. The player, who sports the rather gay pornstar-sounding name of Colt Brennan, previously attended the University of Colorado, but “was kicked off the football team after a woman made accusations against him. Brennan was convicted of burglary and trespass for not leaving her dorm promptly and was sentenced to seven days in the Boulder County jail. Sexual assault charges were dismissed.”
  Is anyone really surprised to hear about some college football jock involved with crimes against women? Consider this information gleaned from Infofacts Resources: College Athletes and Alcohol and Other Drug Use:

    “In a study of victims of sexual aggression at a large midwestern university, male athletes were greatly overrepresented among the assailants described by the women surveyed. Though men on sports teams were less than 2 percent of the total male population on campus, they made up 23 percent of the attackers in sexual assaults and 14 percent in attempted sexual assaults.”
    “At another university, an anonymous survey found that men on varsity, revenue-producing teams, such as football and basketball, self-reported higher rates of sexually abusive behavior.”
    “Gang rapes on campus are most often perpetrated by men who participate in intensive male peer groups that foster rape-supportive behaviors and attitudes. One review of 24 alleged gang rapes found that in 22 of the 24 documented cases, the perpetrators were members of intercollegiate athletic teams or fraternities.”

Yet for some reason people consider these thugs to be heroes and role models?