Not long ago an investment banker worth millions told me that he wasn't in his line of work for the money. "If I was doing this for the money," he said, with no trace of irony, "I'd be at a hedge fund." What to say? Only on a small plot of real estate in lower Manhattan at the dawn of the 21st century could such a statement be remotely fathomable. That it is suggests how debauched our ruling class has become.
Why is cool cool? Why is it hip to be jaded? Why are the hippies made fun of? Why is goodness considered passe? Why is it taboo amongst the cool to wear all of your heart on your sleeve?
Maybe it's all perspective; we all see the world through lenses that change in color as we age. If I listen with a jaded ear, I hear the cold twang of a music exec's market research, and miss the artist's original emotion. If I watch with a jaded eye, I see drama written to capture attention and breed compulsion, and miss the underlying, mediating emotional content.
One function that art can serve is to make the private public; to bridge the gap between our lives on the inside, and our constrained, socially purposeful behavior on the outside.
I think what we're to take from this NY Times article is that we'd all be better off if congress & the FBI joined us 20-somethings in getting all of our news from The Daily Show.
"Can you tell a Sunni from a Shiite?"
This reporter has made a habit of asking this simple question at the end of each interview he does with anyone in Washington, D.C. He tells them he's not asking for intricate details, just who's who and what they want now, basically. He describes how many in congress & the intelligence community are entirely unable to answer the question.
Can you? How about Iran: Sunni or Shiite? How about Al Qaida? Saddam Hussein? Hezbollah? Do you know the fundamentals of what they disagree on?
Here are some answers for ya' (and for you, Mr. Congressman):
About a month ago (according to stickers on the engine) my 1987 Volkswagen Scirocco turned 20. I was very proud. Then, a week later, she died. I heard some nasty rattles from under the hood, took it into the shop, and they told me to be safe on the road I needed to replace the front tie rods and ball joints on both sides, all of the brakes (entirely, not just pads), the A/C compressor clutch, the head gasket, and a couple of other things. The bill would have been around $2000. Fortunately, I found a great home for the car, selling it for $400 to a young mechanic & Volkswagen enthusiast in who had drooled over the car every time I'd brought it in for an oil change. He was very, very excited about the car, and is planning to fully restore it & probably make it a show car. Pretty cool.
Losing the Scirocco also made me accelerate my search for a new car. I'd already settled on the exact model & color, but I thought I'd have to order one and wait a few months. Instead, a dealer managed to find one - in Long Island, NY - secure it for me, and get it driven up here to MA. I took delivery this weekend. I love this car.
It's an Aurora Blue 2007 Mazda 3, completely loaded. It's fun to drive, with a 2.3 liter, 4 cylinder, 151 Horsepower engine, a very smooth manual transmission, and a sweet sport-tuned suspension. It's safe, with ABS, EBD, Traction Control, Dynamic Stability Control, front, side, & curtain airbags, and HID headlights. And it's luxurious, with a leather interior, heated seats, an 8-speaker Bose stereo system, a moonroof, and automatic climate control. All of this for a total price of under $22,000. I couldn't ask for anything more.
Oh, and I have a very cool, very nerdy customization coming soon. I'll post pics when it's done. :-) posted by Miles 12:57 PM
Arrest This Man, He Talks In Maths 
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
