Infrequently Noted

I just finished Michael Chabon's "Kavalier & Clay". It feels odd being able to read for pleasure (as opposed to edification, which can be pleasure, but isn't always so). This follows on the heels of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" which I finished a month or two back, and while they are supposedly some of the best books recently written, I have a hard time calling them "Great Books". Chabon's work won the Pulitzer Prize, and while an excellently written book that makes you truly empathize and connect with it's characters, it's not Pulitzer Prize quality.

What it doesn't have in terms of beleiveability (although it gets close in places), "Kavalier & Clay" makes up for in Chabon's description rich writing style that leads you around a room, giving you a panoramic view into the world and the minds of his characters, who are lovingly written but never given over to excessive pitty at the hands of the author. The story is always king, and it's a good thing. It's not a "Great Book", but it's definantly not a waste of time. Heartily recommended.

I'm going to try to get through "My War Gone By, I Miss It So" next. It'll probably take a while at this rate.

I'm so embarassed to be an American right now. I'm embarassed that in the last election the current fear-mongering, trigger happy, diplomatically challenged, fact and truth averse excuse for a President was a better option than Al Gore. It makes my blood boil that the best this country could come up with in service to it's people was a pair of corporate shills with nothing to offer but war and petty "consensus" building (respectively).

It's humiliating to know that my tax dollars are funding the diversion from pressing domestic problems that is Mr. Bush's lame attempt to inflate his poll numbers by sending my generation into harm's way.

Yes, Saddam Hussein is evil Yes, he should be deposed. We should have FINISHED the job the first time, not let it sit for 11 years and then trott it out whenever a sitting president needs a diversion from the economy or his lewd behviour. I deplore what Saddam has done to his people, and I deplore what we have LET Saddam do to his people, but the pretenses that Mr. Bush is producing in the defense of his blood thirsty agenda gall me. A bullet in the brain pan is arguably too good for Saddam, but if we're going to go ahead with this course of action, there can't be any question about the motives. Unfortunantly Mr. Bush's motives appear anything but honest. Frankly it's an ugly way to start a war (if, you know, you suddenly find yourself in the war starting business).

If Mr. Bush would like to reduce the proliferation of WMD, perhaps he should (fully) fund the cleanup of Russian nuclear facilities and/or do something constructive to help the Russians keep their military from rusting from the inside out? Or perhaps he'd like to force Pakistan and India to dissarm as well? Or perhaps Israel and Egypt (although Israel's nukes are, admittedly, legal)? Or maybe revoking China's MFN trading status until they stop exporting missile technology?

Fact is that there are a lot of UN resolutions that the US isn't likely to stand behind, and so the hipocracy and transparent electioneering of Mr. Bush's newfound love of international resolutions stands out as the bald ploy it is. What of Kyoto? Where's the emphasis on dissarming the entire region of WMD that the cited UN resolution so clearly calls for?

I'm not the kind of person that is going to oppose what Mr. Bush's stated aims are, but I have really big problem with being lied to. I'll support the military wherever they may go. Hell, I could be one of them. But I'm also going to assign the blame for sending them there squarely on the bloody hands to which it belongs. Mr. Bush, this is on you.

I'm so embarassed.

If ever there were a useful Mozilla DOM reference, this is it.

Ed Felten is a genius

My employer just got a corporate subscription to Linux Weekly News, and it's a Good Thing ^TM.

I never really appreciated LWN until now, but it's something of an institution for those the rely upon Linux on a day-to-day basis. It's deep coverage of all things Linux blows discussion sites like Slashdot right out of the water, so if you like or use Linux on a regular basis, I highly recommend either getting a personal subscription to LWN or pestering your employer to get a corporate subscription. Keeping something like LWN around is good for everyone, and every little bit helps.