The Rainier Valley Food Bank ran out of canned goods recently. When we heard about it, we went out to Costco, got some stuff, and made a small donation – not because we’re super-groovy people (although there is that to consider), but because it needed to be done. A small drop in a very big ocean, to be sure. Then again: from each, according to his abilities; to each (hopefully), according to his needs. Or something like that.
There was an interesting piece by Michael Pollan in the New York Times magazine this weekend, regarding some of the food-related issues the next president should address. Oddly enough, I’ve recently been thinking about some of this stuff myself. While I don't know that I'm onboard with everything Pollan asks for (the barcode idea seems especially dippy, for example), on the whole I think he's on target.
The idea of intentionally making food more expensive is going to be a tough sell, given the way things are going at the moment. (And may well continue going, as far as I can tell. Given all the expert economist bullshit we’ve been fed all our lives about the market being self-regulating, I don’t think anybody really knows where the economy is headed at the moment.) While I agree that the prices are being artificially propped up, seeing the food bank running out of good this early in “The Crisis” makes me wonder how those props can be removed without creating more economic stress for folks who aren't really getting by as is. Also, it's going to be a task to convince a generation (or two) raised on McDonald's that that good whole food is just as tasty as the processed stuff.
On the other hand, it is really exciting to think that we are on the brink of having an administration in power that won't necessarily dismiss this sort of thing out of hand. I can’t imagine a Bush government addressing… well, anything Pollan mentions, really, and I have no reason to believe that a McCain White House would be any different on that score. On the other hand, I could totally see Barack Obama pushing the idea of, say, Victory Gardens.
One of the things about last week’s presidential debate was when Obama mentioned wanting to deal with the search for alternative energy sources as we did the race to the moon. If he could tie some of Pollan's ideas into that, I'd be pretty damn happy.
Here’s another perspective on that Nick Cave show.
You’ll note that the reviewer didn’t mention the sound problem. I talked to Science Girl about it this morning; she said that she’d noticed it a little, but not enough to have it dampen her enjoyment of the show.
This leaves me sounding like a bitter old crank. That’s not an inaccurate assessment at all, but what I would point out is that I’m not a bitter old audiophile crank. I don’t really mind crappy sound, as long as I can hear what’s going on. At this particular show, I couldn’t.
Might this be due to the earplugs? It might well be. There was no corresponding problem during Earth’s set, though (which was a lot less loud than I was expecting). Also, as I noted in my review, Mr. Cave did not seem at all pleased by what he was hearing from his monitor. Something wasn’t right, and I’m guessing that it was exacerbated by my earplugs.
Frankly, I hate the damned things. I know that I’m missing part of any show I go to now. On the other hand, going to shows was actually becoming painful, so it’s not entirely a bad trade-off.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Earth, The Showbox at SoDo, 9/23/08
I’d really been looking forward to seeing this show since Science Girl told me she’d gotten the tickets. The last couple of Bad Seeds albums have been really strong, of course, and I’d always heard that Cave puts on a hell of a show. When I found out yesterday afternoon that Earth was opening I actually became somewhat giddy, seeing as The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull is one of my favorite albums this year. Win/win, right?
Well, sorta.
I'm not making this up. If I thought a dime of that money would go to Obama's campaign, you know I'd be all over this like a tornado on a trailer park. As it is, I just gave money the regular way. You should, too.
No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.
PT Barnum said that, and I firmly believe that he was correct. And yet I still can’t wrap my little mind around the fact that there are former supporters of Hillary Clinton who believe that Sarah Palin is an acceptable substitute.
Why? Apparently, because she has a uterus.
It can’t be due to her stand on, um, damn near anything. Anti-choice, pro-NRA, supportive of the teaching of creationism in public schools, running with a candidate who voted against equal pay for equal work, and whose healthcare expert believes that all Americans are insured because there are emergency rooms – Governor Palin would seem to be the anti-Hillary. And yet, these dead-enders can’t seem to see any of that. She’s a woman – end of story.
Let’s put the shoe on the other foot for a moment. Say that Hillary had prevailed and won the nomination. Let’s further suppose that John McCain, in an attempt at wooing disgruntled Obama supporters, chose Alan Keyes as his running mate. How many people do you think would say, “He chose a black guy. He’s got my vote!”?
Sarah Palin is not the reformer she’d like you to believe she is. Her opposition to earmarks only came after it became politically expedient to shun them – until then, she’d had her snout in the trough like everybody else. Her foreign policy experience comes from… wait for it… living near Russia and Canada. And she (allegedly) had the state commssioner for public safety fired bcause he refused to fire a police officer who, coincidentally, was in the process of divorcing her sister*
But hey, she’s got ovaries. That makes her qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Look, if you truly believe that a McCain/Palin administration would be good for America, by all means vote for them. But if you’re planning on voting for them out of some bizarre gender solidarity thing, you are dumber than a sack of wet mice really need to reassess your priorities before November rolls around.
*Note to McCain staffers: pointing out the flaws of one of your candidates is not sexist, no matter how much you might want it to be. Palin was chosen in an embarrassingly transparent attempt at garnering some of the angry Hillary vote, just as your claims to the contrary are.
Added 9/3/08: Palin: Iraq war 'a task that is from God'
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told ministry students at her former church that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a "task that is from God."
In an address last June, the Republican vice presidential candidate also urged ministry students to pray for a plan to build a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in the state, calling it "God's will."
Sounds like fiction, right? Oh, hey, look – video!
I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to the vice presidential debate.
Speaking of labor (and I was – check the previous post), yesterday we went down to Georgetown to check out the Fantagraphics bookstore. As it turns out, they share a space with Georgetown Records – mostly vintage vinyl, and some really nice stuff at that. We didn’t buy anything there, since we don’t currently have a functioning turntable. This may change.
Science Girl said that the guy at the counter (I’m assuming he was the owner) reminder her of me. I know what she was getting at – we’re both of a similar age, we both were wearing flannel shirts over t-shirts and jeans, both wearing black-framed glasses, both graying at approximately the same rate. (I’ve got a bit more hair than he does, but I’ve also got a bit more gut.) The place was not exactly buzzing with customers while we were there, so he was spinning some tunes and chatting with the guy at the Fantagraphics counter – who, as it turns out, was Larry Reid.
It’s no fun to be working on a Sunday (no more than it is to be working on a holiday), and there are a whole bunch of drawbacks to being self-employed. That said, I want that guy’s job. Badly. Get up in the morning, throw on some comfortable clothes, hang out and listen to Jimmy Cliff. What’s not to like about that?