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March 13, 2004 - Saturday
Media tidbits: Diane Chang, former Star-Bulletin editorial page editor, is has been named editor of Gannett's Pacific Media Publications, which publishes several community and classified papers. She replaces Emily Viglielmo, who becomes Managing Editor. A reader noticed the change in the staff listing in the latest Leeward Current, which goes to residents in Aiea and Pearl City, although it appears she's in charge of their various papers.
Editor & Publisher reports that "Digital Slob", a humorous technology column by the Star-Bulletin's Curt Brandao, is now being distributed by Universal Press Syndicate. To review recent columns, check out the Digital Slob web site.
Apparently yesterday's photo provided just enough additional information to push lots of people to the correct conclusion--we've been in Las Vegas this week.
One reader reacted: "Perhaps so few got it right about where you are/were because who would ever have believed that you of all people would go to Las Vegas?"
Well, believe it or not, Meda is among thousands of cops, corrections workers, and academics gathered for the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences at the Riviera hotel/casino. I'm just here as official escort, I suppose. While Meda's conferencing, I'm just hanging out.
We're staying across the street at the Stardust. This end of the Strip is apparently the regular-unleaded end of the Vegas continuum. All the "nice" places--the ones people suggest we be sure to visit--are somewhere else, and anywhere else is a very long walk. And there isn't much to do here if you're not into gambling. Almost nothing, if the truth be told, without a car or the will to spend money to escape. Even the cheap food that everyone talks about isn't anywhere to be found around here, at least not cheap edible food.
Not only are we in this well worn hotel on the tired end of the Strip, we got stuck in the oldest section of the hotel. They try to boost guest spirits by calling these the "Villa" rooms. They should more aptly refer to it as the Triathlon Wing. First you swim the sea of smoke, then haul your bags up the stairs (no modern conveniences like elevators here), and then finally hike the longest hotel hallway I've ever seen. We've got a nice view of the service entrance to the back parking lot, although there are mountains visible in the distance, so not all is lost.This older section was apparently retrofitted with a sprinkler system, which is "hidden" under a false ceiling that lowered hallway heights to the point where the exit signs hit me mid-forehead if I fail to walk right down the center of the hall
| And there are other anomalies, like this flashback to "Being John Malkovich". The low ceiling and mystery door to who-knows-where had me wondering whether I might actually step through and view the world through his eyes. |
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Sensory deprivation does have its advantages.
March 12, 2004 - Friday
Can it be true? Honolulu Weekly current issue includes a one sentence notice that editor Robert Meyerowitz has departed, less than two months after arriving in the islands (click here, then scroll to the bottom). At least one local online forum was getting comments yesterday. This isn't good news. The last thing the Weekly needs is another extended period of editorial instability.
With campaign observers noting that President Bush is perceived as out of touch, columnist Jimmy Breslin tells us one reason why--his feet are not allowed to touch dirt. For real.
| Only three astute readers have figured out our whereabouts so far, but this photo of the hotel after dark could lead to more correct guesses from those who have been here before. |
Night sight |
| This photo, taken at the hotel across the street, probably doesn't give any clues to the location. But it does say something about what corporate America is pitching at boys and girls. In the background, a large display of dolls. Closer to the camera, a mechanized toy soldier valiantly crawls towards the exit, weapon firing, while a length of string around his ankle kept him from escaping. |
His and hers
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What can you say? TGIF.
March 11, 2004 - Thursday
Media tidbits...Just noticed--According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, Star-Bulletin owner David Black put in a bid late in 2003 for the British Columbia newspaper holdings of Hollinger International. Apparently the financial condition of the Star-Bulletin hasn't drained his available capital, and expansion is still the name of the game.
One study of media concentration in Canada found Black already controls 39% of newspapers in British Columbia and has amassed "the largest community-newspaper chain in Canada." Black and Hollinger together reportedly account for 71% of BC's papers.
I've never been a fan of Howard Stern, but his ouster by Clear Channel has set him up as perhaps the most widely recognized public critic of media concentration:
Since his ouster, Howard Stern has been on the attack, taking no prisoners, and connecting the dots between the Bush administration's far-right social agenda, the religious right, the Patriot Act, media consolidation, campaign finance, cronyism, and freedom of speech. Stern has been making a powerful case that the mainstream media is missing the big picture, that Clear Channel cut him loose not because of vulgarity, but because of a shift in his political views. Far more than a question about decency standards, Stern argues, this is a question about the censorship of political speech. And if Stern is right, then nothing short of the First Amendment is at stake, and arguments about the dangers of media consolidation are no longer hypothetical.
The Nation this week features excellent columns by Tom Hayden (commenting on Jane Fonda and the right wing) and William Greider (on Greenspan's doubletalk). Both provide good reading.
| We spent Wednesday developing strategies for avoiding second hand smoke. And discovering bits of Hawaii in unexpected places. Code this as another clue to our whereabouts. |
Just like home!
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No, we're not in San Francisco, Southern California, or China. But those were all reasonable guesses. Just one sharp reader has so far interpreted the minimal information and correctly named our location.
March 10, 2004 - Wednesday
| You're right. This posting is late. I plead jet lag and time zone change.
We arrived at this undisclosed location after slipping quietly out of Honolulu early Tuesday morning, arriving here in the late afternoon.
More people smoke here. Many more. That's one of the first and most unpleasant discoveries.
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Arrival: Undisclosed location |
Goes to show that we've already forgotten (or repressed) those long gone days of free range smoking. Running into it again is way up on the unpleasantness scale.
If you're concerned about the erosion of civil liberties under the current national administration, you might want to stop by this event tomorrow evening. I just got an email about this event, so I hope the "free" description is accurate.
On March 11, 2004 at 7:00 pm, the law school will host its 2004 Patsy T. Mink Tribute. Historic figure Fred Korematsu of the infamous Korematsu Japanese American internment case will be the keynote.
Join us in honoring Patsy by commemorating the 60th anniversary of Korematsu and examining current national security civil liberties restrictions. The event is free and a reception will follow.
Click here for more information.
I expect that my timing will be off for several days while I'm adjusting to this location. I'll try to post as close to my regular time as possible, but expect variations.
March 9, 2004 - Tuesday
Recommended reading: the China Labour Bulletin, which is providing excellent reporting on labor issues in China, including many women's issues.
Congrats to the Star-Bulletlin's Mark Coleman for winning in the country music category of the Hawaii Music Awards.
More on the humor from the Internet front, source unknown:
Pentagon officials believe they have been unable to locate Bin Laden because he has found a place to hide out where: (1) It is easy to get in if you have the money; (2) No one will recognize or remember you; (3) No one will realize that you have disappeared; (4) No one keeps any records of your comings and goings; and (5) You have no obligations or responsibilities. Pentagon analysts are still puzzled, however, as to how Bin Laden found out about the Texas Air National Guard in the first place.
| This was actually one of the weekend mornings, Yesterday was nothing like this. It went from gray to pouring rain. So I dredged back in the photo pile a few days and found these wonderful clouds. It helped to even out the natural highs and lows. |
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I took a small group of students on a mini tour of city hall yesterday. One city council member bemoaned the decline in coverage of the council and city issues in general, including the elimination of full-time city hall reporters by most media. Also mentioned: the unfortunate elevation of uninformed "person on the street" opinion over hard reporting on the processes of government.
March 8, 2004 - Monday
We lost electricity again overnight for several hours. No indication yet of the cause.
Did I hear that right on ABC News last night? Gossip of a possible John Kerry-John McCain ticket? McCain gave sort of a non-denial, saying he "couldn't imagine" a person like himself on the ticket. Did he say "no way"? No way. What a strange year.
From former Star-Bulletin writer Pat Bigold after seeing Kerry's criticism of the administration's failure to provide proper body armor to troops in Iraq:
I recalled my nephew making reference to that very problem in the Boston Magazine article written about him and his fiancee in December. Pat had to improvise to protect his fiancee on the trip from Kuwait to Balad
"The most dangerous part of the mission was the trip up from Kuwait. The Iraqis had hidden mines in burlap bags and put them on the side of the highway and rigged 150 millimeter shells with trip wires so they'd blow up into the side of a truck," says Bujold. Although the soldiers wore Kevlar vests, the Army had not yet issued the unit the ceramic plates that actually stop the bullets. Bujold pinched a small manhole cover from the base and scavenged a metal plate from the workout area, then tucked the steel under Martin's fatigues before she climbed into her Humvee.The convoy made it to Balad without suffering casualties, and the 211 soon received its overdue body armor.
The original story is still available online.
Trying to watch the news on Sunday evening was a real experience. The advertising made it clear that the networks don't expect anyone under 50+ to be among the audience for news.
The advertising was a wave of geezer related products. Stool softener. Something to use when "you always got to go." Multivitamins hinted to help prostate problems. Usually there's also an ad for that product that ends with the warning, "erections lasting more than four hours require immediate medical attention."
Whew.
| We finally had to consign the remains of a favorite cat toy to the round file, with appropriate recognition of its short but active life. Even at the very end, when the former catnip Christmas tree had been reduced to puffs of stuffing alongside shreds of what was once green fabric, Duke and Annie kept watch over the remains. Just click on the photo for a larger version. |
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March 7, 2004 - Sunday
Folks at the Star-Bulletin must be sweating as the new Gannett printing plant nears completion. According to a story in this week's Pacific Business News, test runs of the new presses are scheduled to begin in May, and the full changeover should be complete by the end of the summer.
The new press doesn't only mean a better looking Honolulu Advertiser. Perhaps more importantly, it also strengthens Gannett's already strong position in printing private jobs.
PBN quotes Gannett's VP of production, Mark Mikolajczyk:
"With these presses, you take a look and try to print everything that you can," Mikolajczyk said. "You always want to maximize the amount of the open printing window that you can."
With the Star-Bulletin's survival dependant, in part, on profits spun off by Mid-Week's contract printing, the increased competition posed by the new Gannett presses, along with Gannett's reputation for cutthroat competitive strategies, this must be the stuff of sleepless nights.
For legislative junkies, here's a digest of bills awaiting third-reading votes in the State Senate on Tuesday. It didn't make a perfect translation from an Excel spreadsheet, but it's almost all legible.
| I just added another round of our Kaaawa Morning Dogs. Also included in this batch is a nice photo of Ms. Maisy, the rescued pig. Just click on Axel's photo or the "Mornin' Dogs" banner. |
Click on Mr. Axel for
more morning dogs |
And here's some additional background from the Corporate Crime Reporter
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