Palisades Taiji/Palisades "Taichi"

Review, "Rebirth of a Nation" by Jackson Lears

An excellent re-telling of the period between the American Civil War and the First World War, Rebirth of a Nation is ultimately a critique not merely of American Imperialism, and not even of American Racism, but of American Militaristism, as it has informed its imperalistic and racist history. On occasion enamored of densely-packed sentences reminiscent of many less artful academicians, Jackson Lears constructs a predominately accessible, readable, and fascinating narrative that tells us not just where America has been, but why it is here today.

Thus, throughout his narrative, he draws clear analogies between the choices that a militaristic Teddy Roosevelt made with the ones George W. Bush has made, decisions couched in the language of regeneration-through-blood-and-military-sacrifice that can bring an "American-styled democracy" to all lands. Should not all lands (read: economic colonies) enjoy the riches we do every day? Never mind, he reminds us, that the only way for these other colonies, like present-day Iraq, must be economically exploited for their material and labor resources to ensure the continued livelihood of large corporations whom Bush had invested in.

More importantly, Lears draws a stark picture of racism from Reconstruction onward. As Eric Foner has convincingly shown, Reconstruction was initially an experiment of joint white-black governance of the south, as well as black self-governance, quickly gutted by the successful backroom deals made between Andrew Johnson and white Democrats anxious to re-establish their power base. Too long have Americans ignored the long history of racism and its continued resonance in our policies today.

Lears shines a startlingly harsh light on all these convenient obliviousnesses and demonstrates that we cannot remain blind to these impulses, of self-righteousness in the name of Christianity, of racism couched in moral superiority, and of economic imperalism disguised as benevolent paternalism or cleansing militarism, if we intend to conduct ourselves with true integrity.

Perkins+Will Los Angeles, Architecture, and The Economic Depression

July 17, 2009 marks the beginning of the layoff process at Perkins+Will, Los Angeles. Though there have been rumblings, for example, people leaving over the past few months because of a lack of new projects for the firm, as well as four people who were laid off earlier this year, this has been the first wide-spread move. Fifteen of the staff at P+W Los Angeles were laid off on Friday. Evidently, Friday is the traditional day for such moves, presumably because that way, the ongoing staff will not become overly distressed or frightened.

But they should be. P+W, Atlanta just laid off 20 employees--no, they aren't "workers" because that is a convenient dehumanization that allows people in higher positions to forget that the people they laid off are, well, people--right after the completion of a large project they were on.

This is what happened at P+W Los Angeles. And that is just the latest in a long string of layoffs at multi-national architecture firms that a short two years ago appeared impervious to the signs of recession. Gensler, for one, began its layoff process late last year.

Indeed, the architecture field is in such dire straits right now that international firms have begun bidding for small projects that are normally the purview of small and boutique-sized firms. The first thing that disappears during an economic depression, not recession, is people's interest in building new buildings and urban projects. It's the first thing people realize they don't need more of when they can't afford to put food on the table: buildings or urban projects. Suddenly, all this appears to be a luxury rather than a necessity.

a view on stocks

some thoughts by one of our members on today's stock market:

"

yesterday was up sligtly or not down as much as previous 2 days.

i am still figuring markets down, but compared to last year, markets i think are down 50-100 points, which i think is more normal.

it was going up at about that same pace in april and may, and early june.

any plays to upside, keep tight stops.

possible plays on downside.

morning looks like might be up

markets been channeling up slowly, now seems to be channeling down slowly

agriculture sector seems to be really down.

agu, pot, mos, mos feed, But after a week or so, might provide buying opportunity

steel

internet

some financials, or the ones including ms gs

oil

are weak,

as i said, i think markets are slowly pulling back,

but this should give us opportunity to buy, we hope in a bout a week or so.

but this in heading into summer, typically slower for stock market, until later july early aug, to sep when

fall , and market picks up again."

How To Watch Foreign DVD's

Earlier, I had posted that a combination of DVD Decrypter version 3.5.4 could help with dvd's that have different region codes than the one your computer is set for because the VLC Media Player could then play the files.

Since then, I've changed my mind because my computer has Vista Home Premium, which VLC was crashing.

I then read that if you revealed the extensions on the vob (video object files) that were
made by DVD decrypter to an mpg/mpeg extension, you could play the files on Media 11 Player, which came with my Dell. That was also helpful, but it entailed a lot of work, changing all the extensions. And then you couldn't get subtitles.

Btw, I did this all in service of the complete set of Murphy's Law with James Nesbitt I had purchased from a British purveyor, where the dvd's are set to region 2.

Then I read from another website more about how to use DVD Decrypter. I didn't quite understand it all, but I read something about Daemon Tools, which would create a virtual dvd drive on your computer which could then help the dvd software program on my computer read the ISO file made by DVD Decrypter as if it were a real dvd without any region code problems.

Again, Daemon Tools was not compatible with my OS, so I uninstalled it, which was also a bit of a problem.

Then I read about another program, which is also freeware, that makes a virtual drive on your computer so that my main media-playing software, MediaDirect by Cyberlink, can play the ISO file Decrypter made for me as if it were a region 1 dvd.

It's perfect. The program, Virtual CloneDrive by Slysoft, is their only free program and it creates a single virtual dvd drive on your computer. And for my purposes, why do I need more than one?

It works a treat because now when I use Decrypter to make an ISO file of the Region 2 dvd's I bought, it immediately recognizes that it will be associated with Virtual CloneDrive. I click on the ISO file, and MediaDirect opens it right up.

Perfect.

How To Remove Splinters-Vinegar/Peroxide and Baking Soda

This is the only remedy that really works. Reliably.

Because while other suggest warm water and baking soda, or using a debriding agent like a salicylic patch, these don't work. Those methods may soften the skin sufficiently so that you can remove the splinter a bit more easily, but they don't actually cause a chemical reaction that causes an embedded splinter to move towards the surface of the skin Much as those who rely on the warm water/baking soda aver, there is no chemical reaction going on there. It's inert.

With vinegar/peroxide and baking soda, there is a chemical reaction. That initial bubbling reaction that you get may stop, but the interaction of the two ingredients that causes that initial bubbling? That continues to work more subtly on the finger. And, after about twenty minutes of soaking, the splinter will move closer to the surface of the skin. And it can then be painlessly, and I do mean painlessly, removed with tweezers.

Friends, Kitty-style

Swine Flu and the Racist Discourse

The other day, someone said that he didn't want to be around "Mexican" people at all. He then observed that he didn't feel the same way when there was the media-driven SARS scare. Of course, he is East Asian.

This is an interesting illustration of a few things. First, that while ethnic minorities cannot be racist in that they do not have the social power that allows them to act out their bigotry on a level that can intimidate on a deeper level than just a personal threat, they can harbor racist ideation. Meaning they can have racist thoughts. The big difference, obviously, is that members of ethnic/racial minorities cannot plug into, resonate with, or otherwise take advantage of a long, historically-established, set of institutionalized racist agendas that have made entire racial groups feel oppressed, fearful, and exploited because they are the victims of such behavior. Racism as a practice implies the ability to do just that: plug into a larger, institutionalized, oppressive, and exploitative discourse that regulates our institutions. However, you can be a bigot.

So that was the first interesting characteristic of this particular observation.

The second is this. That the reason this person did not fear for his health during the SARS scare was that he was Asian, and he knew that the likelihood of his contracting that illness here, in the U.S., was remote. And what's more, he knew that he, as an East Asian, had absolutely nothing to do with its spread so the idea that people were demanding that East Asians be confined if they had traveled, was not only preposterous, but as he correctly had identified, was racist.

And this is the thing about identifying these illnesses along with a particular country: they plug into, resonate with, and further institutionalize people's racist ideation, especially those Euro-Americans in power. And here is the true racism, because it can be acted upon through legal, institutional avenues that then reinforce people's racist ideas.

(Chinese) Avian flu, (Mexican) swine flu, (Asian) SARS, all of these illnesses legitimized racist discourses against an entire people, here and abroad.

On returning to this man, he further said that not only would he not want to be around any "Mexicans" at all, but that he didn't think it was safe to go to entire counties because a few "possible" cases might have been identified in those counties. That is akin to asking a person who lives in Los Angeles whether they are alright because an earthquake of 4.4 registered in Morro Bay (that is in the middle of the state). In short, it is quite ridiculous.

Moreover, the chances that you will get sick from this flu strain is very, very small. I mean, really. All the people who have been confirmed to have contracted it had mostly 1)mild symptom, and 2) have added up to may 20. Or 30. All over this nation.

Who is to blame? First, and most obviously, the media. While scientists keep telling the news media that this is not hitting people very hard, even local NPR--for shame--stations rebroadcast the "threat" on the hour, along with the hourly news update.

Second, people are to blame. For being alarmist. Gullible. And watching TV news, which is not news. It's entertainment.

This country seems filled with people who always need a scapegoat, a bugaboo, or some kind of enemy to "fight." Who knows why.

A Good Companion for VLC Media Player

The VLC player is good, but only insofar as it can actually read dvd's from different regions. For one disc I bought (a series called Murphy's Law from the UK), I had no trouble. Indeed, when I bought the third series from a used dvd outlet in Australia called RedeyeRecords, I didn't even have to change my region setting on my new Dell 1525.

But with this entire set of the series, I did have to change the region. And then I discovered this media player and I thought, I'm set, now I can buy all sorts of dvd's of UK series that they just won't sell for an American audience. Shows like Waking the Dead, for example.

Unfortunately, after the first disc, none of the others would play. The picture kept pixelating. I read on the VLC forum that it was because I needed to address the problem at the firmware level.

I reject that because I happen to know, from downloading a free trial of Divx Player that the problem can be addressed at the software level.

However, I have discovered that if I copy my dvd's to my computer using a program called DVD Decryptor, then I can then use VLC player to play the files on my computer. It is a little less convenient because I do have to copy them to my computer, and it doesn't play all the chapter's seamlessly: I have to then click on the next video file. But at least I can buy dvd's from all different regions, now, and not worry about not being able to watch them. And best of all, it is free.

Obviously, the problem with these programs is that they can be used to make illegal copies of dvd's and cd's, which is actually an unfortunate by-product. Really what's great, I think, about them is that they allow you to any region dvd and play them. Without spending money on a silly program.

Best Freeware Region-Free DVD Program: VLC or VideoLAN Player

After doing a bit of searching on the web, and recognizing a few programs, I discovered a few things. One was this article in, of all online publications, Popular Mechanics which discussed a few free programs that deal with the region-specific demands of computers.

Because as everyone has noted, you can only change the region on your computer a max of 5 times and then you're locked for good. While most articles tell you that you can't change that, even if you re-load Windows, you actually can. But it would require that you erase your hard-drive and then completely reinstall everything. I know. I've done it.

So this seemed a more promising route: simply download a program that overrides your DVD player program's demand that you commit to a region. The one recommended in the article was called Remote Selector and it has a rather bare bones approach to how to use the program.

That did not work for me. I have Power DVD's Dell-specific program called "Media Direct" and that wasn't compatible with this program.

The other program the article recommended for MAC users is actually GREAT with Windows users, as well. This is the VideoLAN VLC Player.

In brief, it's awesome!!

You download it. It's an independent player. No interface necessary. Nothing fancy. Just literally a player that recognizes all regions. And it's a shareware, I downloaded the one from Madison University in Wisconsin, and it works an absolute treat. Did I mention the free part? Legally? Because it's shareware. No paying $59.95 or whatever for Div-X or some such thing.

But the absolute best part? All those programs like Div-X and the like require that you actually copy the dvd onto your hard drive and then you can play the movie. What if you don't have enough space? I mean, I do because I just bought a new computer, but honestly. I don't want that cluttering up my computer. And for all those people who say, "Yes, but it uses more energy that way, to run the movie off the dvd itself," I say pshaw. I want to play something immediately, not copy it over to my hard drive first.

VLC is, in short, GREAT!

Texas Rep. Betty Brown: She Didnt Insult "Asians"--She Insulted CHINESE-Americans

Here is the text, cited from Thinkprogress, below.

The problem with her subsequent apology is that it is directed at Asian Amnericans, when her racist comment was directed at CHINESE AMERICANS IN PARTICULAR.

This is an important distinction. Because the discourse of racism directed specifically Chinese either born here in the U.S. or foreign born becomes erased, elided, invisible, by the discourse of "Asian Americans" and the supposed collective group that forms.

Sorry, but Asian Americans are not a discrete group. But Asians encompasses South Asia (such as India), Southeast Asian (Thailand, Vietnam, for example) and East Asia (China, Japan and Korea). So "Asians" is not a cohesive group.

Imagine how insulted Northern Europeans would be to be confused with someone from, say, Italy, and you'll understand.

Who says racism is latent in America?

"“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Brown said.

Brown later told [Organization of Chinese Americans representative Ramey] Ko: 'Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?'

Pomegranates: How to Peel Them Easily

There are all sorts of juices out there to make consuming pomegranates easily. Unfortunately, they are all pretty dismal and strange.

Why not eat the real thing? Of course, some stores like Trader Joe's sell small tubs of the seeds so you can eat them without peeling because it seems so daunting.

No more. This is what to do. Break open the fruit and then peel it in a bowl of water. Voila. The inner vein will float to the top, and the seeds will sink to the bottom. They separate themselves for you in the water.

So enjoy the real thing without fear! And without paying $3.99 for a small tub of seeds.

Vista Patch for HP Duplex Printing

There are some issues with the duplex printing function with several HP printers and a person named Bob Headrick who has authored several patches to solve them. His email is Bobh@proaxis.com and wow, did it fix the problem immediately!

His instructions are a little technical, but if you email him, he'll give you the patch and attach instructions. If they still confuse, essentially, you just have to use the patch he gives you and put it into the folder ending in:

drivers\w32x86\3

Then you have to delete all the files ending in ".bud" because, as he says, they will regenerate with new ones using the patch.

Great!

It worked like a charm, so email him and get rolling.