Okay, let’s get this straight right off the bat. I’ve never wished to try goat meat. I’ve never tried goat meat. In the past, I could have gone my entire life without eating goat meat. The thought of goat meat never even entered my head, and I lived happily in ignorance. After reading Henry Alford’s “How I learned to love goat meat, (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/dining/01goat.html?scp=1&sq=how%20I%20learned%20to%20love%20goat%20meat&st=cse)” however, I find that I must try goat meat.
I was engaged in the story from the very first sentence. The writing flows very easily, and sounds like someone is just taking (but obviously a person with a huge vocabulary). It was friendly and humorous, taking the reader in, and not letting him go.
Honestly, what is possibly the most boring subject on the planet that no one would ever want to read about? Doubtless there are a few answers, but I have no reservations when I state that goat meat would definitely be up there. Way up there. However, even a subject such as this was made fascinating by the style it was written it. It was truly a lot of fun to read.
Weaving in a lot of quotes, statistics, and descriptions of stores I will never see nor care about, he brought the topic to life. It was marvelous.
As it stands at present, I still haven’t tried goat meat, and I have no idea where to find it. However, thanks to this article, the petting zoos will have to lock the doors securely tonight.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Portuguese Drugs
Recently (just now), I took a departure into the wonderful world of CATO, my favorite think tank because I noticed an article they had upon a topic that has piqued my interest for years. Namely: the legalization of drugs.
In his article – part of a longer piece for CATO – “Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies (http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10080)” Glenn Greenwald briefly explores what has been done in Portugal. As the headline suggests, Portugal recently “decriminalized” drugs. Greenwald is careful to note that this does not entail legalization. Oh no! All this means, is that they are taken out of the criminal sphere. In other words, you can be busted for having drugs, but you won’t be prosecuted in a criminal court.
Greenwald studies this in more detail in the 31 page piece he wrote on this idea (yeah, I read this too) but he notes in the piece that all the negative effects that Portugal thought this move would have (i.e. drug rates skyrocket, Lisbon becomes a drug haven, etc.) haven’t actually happened. This prompted Portugal to look more favorably upon the process of “decriminalizing” things. Apparently, and according to Greenwald, it’s quite effective.
Overall, I thought the piece itself was a fair appraisal of the issue at hand. The article that appeared on the CATO website was rather disappointingly devoid of bias, something one gets used to when reading things put out by CATO. It was just the facts. Normally, this works quite well, but as a think tank article, it didn’t quite satisfy like CATO generally does. However, the writing was good enough to make a rather complicated idea quite clear to the layman (me).
In his article – part of a longer piece for CATO – “Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies (http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10080)” Glenn Greenwald briefly explores what has been done in Portugal. As the headline suggests, Portugal recently “decriminalized” drugs. Greenwald is careful to note that this does not entail legalization. Oh no! All this means, is that they are taken out of the criminal sphere. In other words, you can be busted for having drugs, but you won’t be prosecuted in a criminal court.
Greenwald studies this in more detail in the 31 page piece he wrote on this idea (yeah, I read this too) but he notes in the piece that all the negative effects that Portugal thought this move would have (i.e. drug rates skyrocket, Lisbon becomes a drug haven, etc.) haven’t actually happened. This prompted Portugal to look more favorably upon the process of “decriminalizing” things. Apparently, and according to Greenwald, it’s quite effective.
Overall, I thought the piece itself was a fair appraisal of the issue at hand. The article that appeared on the CATO website was rather disappointingly devoid of bias, something one gets used to when reading things put out by CATO. It was just the facts. Normally, this works quite well, but as a think tank article, it didn’t quite satisfy like CATO generally does. However, the writing was good enough to make a rather complicated idea quite clear to the layman (me).
Hugh Masekela turns 70
Peter Biles of the BBC did a fantastic job of illustrating the life present and past of Hugh Masekela, a civil rights, anti-apartheid, South African trumpet player as Masekela celebrates his 70th birthday today (April 4th). In my recent foray into the wonderful world of personal writing I honestly wasn’t expecting anything this interesting or well written. Don’t ask me why.
Biles begins with a description of the balance and peace that the famous trumpet player has found in his later years, which serves as a unbelievable backdrop when he then goes into the history behind the man and the music. You really begin to get a feeling for the man himself as Biles writes. As opposed to so many other biographical pieces, Masekela becomes three-dimensional, like you could actually meet this person on the street.
The article, “Healing sounds of Hugh Masekela (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7974730.stm),” is even accompanied by a video at the top of the page of Masekela himself playing trumpet. Everything was in an effort to bring out the man himself, and in this respect, he did a fantastic job.
Biles begins with a description of the balance and peace that the famous trumpet player has found in his later years, which serves as a unbelievable backdrop when he then goes into the history behind the man and the music. You really begin to get a feeling for the man himself as Biles writes. As opposed to so many other biographical pieces, Masekela becomes three-dimensional, like you could actually meet this person on the street.
The article, “Healing sounds of Hugh Masekela (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7974730.stm),” is even accompanied by a video at the top of the page of Masekela himself playing trumpet. Everything was in an effort to bring out the man himself, and in this respect, he did a fantastic job.
Gay Marriage in Iowa
The article that appeared April 4th in the New York Times entitled “Iowa Court Voids Gay Marriage Ban (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/us/04iowa.html?ref=us)” was a ray of hope. Finally, someone else is joining the already small (and with California, dwindling) ranks of states that allow same-sex marriages.
The article itself was great. Just the facts, no nonsense, and a fair appraisal of both sides of the ongoing debate. It was fantastically newsworthy without a hint of bias. In fact, it was sometime very hard to get a grasp on what the author, Monica Davey, was saying because it was so completely devoid of bias.
I also felt that it connected with me on a personal level as well, just as a human being. Following, as I have been, the developments in the area of same-sex marriage I’ve been disappointed many times to see how states that once appeared so enlightened have suddenly joined the ranks of the homophobic. It really is very sad, speaking personally. Of course, there is a lot to be said for either side, and a debate is not a debate if it is not argued. That is why, by presenting both sides of the argument and the opportunities for both therein, Davey did a superb job with her article. I found it to be without bias, interesting, and engaging.
The article itself was great. Just the facts, no nonsense, and a fair appraisal of both sides of the ongoing debate. It was fantastically newsworthy without a hint of bias. In fact, it was sometime very hard to get a grasp on what the author, Monica Davey, was saying because it was so completely devoid of bias.
I also felt that it connected with me on a personal level as well, just as a human being. Following, as I have been, the developments in the area of same-sex marriage I’ve been disappointed many times to see how states that once appeared so enlightened have suddenly joined the ranks of the homophobic. It really is very sad, speaking personally. Of course, there is a lot to be said for either side, and a debate is not a debate if it is not argued. That is why, by presenting both sides of the argument and the opportunities for both therein, Davey did a superb job with her article. I found it to be without bias, interesting, and engaging.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Obama Pwned
The Cato Institute is owning President Barack Obama. It's true! The article can be found on the sight of the Cato Institute, a think tank, here: http://cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9931
I was intrigued by the ad they placed in the New York Times (the link is here: http://cato.org/special/stimulus09/cato_stimulus.pdf ) which basically responded to the President's assertion that people agree with his plan, saying that people do not agree with his plan, and that here (note the unecessary bold) is a list of about ten-billion names of people who do not agree.
Though this is an old article (the stimulus plan recently passed) it shows foreshadowing certainly of things to come. According to many sources, the idea of the stimulus plan is less than popular or effective, and if this does turn out to fail, then Cato will have been there first. The thing is a blistering critique of Keynesian ideology (a school of thought that holds that economy will be forced into action by funneling funds into main government avenues) putting it through a rigorous examination, before discarding it completely. I often wonder if Obama thinks of this seriously when it comes out, because he has certainly put his weight behind this stimulus. His job, unforunately, requires him to always be right, so I wonder if this scares him on some level.
Whether it scares him or not, though, it should scare America. The economic future of this country is in serious peril, as we keep sinking further and further into debt and recession. BOOM!
I was intrigued by the ad they placed in the New York Times (the link is here: http://cato.org/special/stimulus09/cato_stimulus.pdf ) which basically responded to the President's assertion that people agree with his plan, saying that people do not agree with his plan, and that here (note the unecessary bold) is a list of about ten-billion names of people who do not agree.
Though this is an old article (the stimulus plan recently passed) it shows foreshadowing certainly of things to come. According to many sources, the idea of the stimulus plan is less than popular or effective, and if this does turn out to fail, then Cato will have been there first. The thing is a blistering critique of Keynesian ideology (a school of thought that holds that economy will be forced into action by funneling funds into main government avenues) putting it through a rigorous examination, before discarding it completely. I often wonder if Obama thinks of this seriously when it comes out, because he has certainly put his weight behind this stimulus. His job, unforunately, requires him to always be right, so I wonder if this scares him on some level.
Whether it scares him or not, though, it should scare America. The economic future of this country is in serious peril, as we keep sinking further and further into debt and recession. BOOM!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Miss Piggy's Bane
Truly there is no hope for humanity.
We have it, we finally do! The heart-attack-on-a-plate is finally here - two pounds of bacon, two pounds of sausage, slathered in barbecue sauce. You can see the full details of said cataclysm at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/dining/28bacon.html?em
Basically, the story relates the tale of two guys out to barbecue using bacon, responding to a challenge put to them on twitter.
The story itself is great, a twist of humor in the prose that lends itself very well to this kind of story. Also, it is easy to read, and catches the attention quickly and well. Moreover, it shows complete impartiality, really only talking about the facts, and not puting a disgusted/delighted spin on it, as I would personally have felt obligated to include.
The humanity of the thing itself is just nauseating.
We have it, we finally do! The heart-attack-on-a-plate is finally here - two pounds of bacon, two pounds of sausage, slathered in barbecue sauce. You can see the full details of said cataclysm at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/dining/28bacon.html?em
Basically, the story relates the tale of two guys out to barbecue using bacon, responding to a challenge put to them on twitter.
The story itself is great, a twist of humor in the prose that lends itself very well to this kind of story. Also, it is easy to read, and catches the attention quickly and well. Moreover, it shows complete impartiality, really only talking about the facts, and not puting a disgusted/delighted spin on it, as I would personally have felt obligated to include.
The humanity of the thing itself is just nauseating.
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