December 31, 2006
Before We Turn The Page
You didn't think I was going to let this year come to a close without some sort of retrospective and completely subjective list, did you?
Best Movie I Saw: United 93 Paul Greengrass has enough artistic maturity to get out of the way and let the events of the hijacking unfold without embellishment or gauzy revisionism. An important film both for its historical accuracy and intellectual honesty.
Best Book I Read: Case Histories by Kate Atkinson I really like Kate Atkinson's dry wit--you Brits do dry and witty with so much more style than we Americans. The book isn't a great mystery, but it's a great character study.
Best Song I Heard: "Stars above Us" by Saint Etienne. This song got my groove on for much of the past summer. It makes you smile, but not in a dopey sort of way. It makes you want to throw your own roof party and invite all your hip, urbane friends. I still can't figure out how this band flew under my radar for so long.
Best Album I Purchased in its Entirety: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood by Neko Case Gorgeous voice. Gorgeous arrangements. Neko's work with the New Pornographers is impressive, but this album conclusively demonstrates that she is more than a power-pop chanteuse. Country music couldn't figure her out, but so much better for the rest of us.
Best TV Show I Watched: The Wire I enjoyed both Battlestar Galactica and The Office, but this season's run of The Wire was stunning. Its devastating tale of Baltimore's barely functioning civic institutions (schools, city hall, and the police), told by a cast of bureaucrats, cops, assassins, and politicos, was as compelling as any well-written novel.
So there you have it. 2006 as seen through my personal pop culture lens.
My hopes for the new year remain the same. Still need to finish the book. Still need to kiss a pretty girl. But mostly, I'm just waiting to see what one more spin around the sun will bring.
It's snowing pretty heavily as I write this. I hope 2007 brings you something grand. Thanks for putting up with me.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 05:37 PM | Comments (2)
December 30, 2006
A Crutch Without An Owner
Harriet McBryde Johnson, perhaps the most visible disability rights figure in the national media, published an op-ed piece that appeared in the New York Times over Christmas. Her subject, of course, is Tiny Tim. She finds something laudable in Dickens' creation, a subversive symbol of social justice garbed in the crowd-pleasing garb of a crippled child. I'm not certain Dickens was being quite so clever; I think Dickens pitied Tiny Tim as much as his audience. But I'll confess that I haven't given the text a close reading. Perhaps next year.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:01 PM | Comments (0)
December 29, 2006
Popularity Contest
According to an AP poll, Bush is Villain of the Year. He even beat out bin Laden and if I didn't have a pounding headache, I'd make some pithy observation about that fact.
By a smaller percentage, he was also chosen as Hero of the Year, which only makes my headache worse.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:09 PM | Comments (0)
December 28, 2006
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
My guests have departed, but they left me with a lovely little cold. Thus the absence of a post yesterday. I'm trying to tell myself that this particular microbial visitation feels pretty mild and I can kick it relatively quickly. Honestly, this is getting old. But there's not much I can do except grin and bear it. Send exotic dancers and bottles of Vitamin C post-haste.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:05 PM | Comments (0)
December 26, 2006
Mode Of Transportation
My brother, the professor, is in need of a new car. I believe he's narrowed it down to two favorites of the Bay Area liberal elites: the Mini Cooper and the Toyota Prius. I'm trying to nudge him towards the Prius for a few reasons:
- He'll save more on gas (the cost of which will only go up, especially in California)
- It's better suited for highway driving
- It's roomier
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 11:06 PM | Comments (2)
December 25, 2006
Bad Dog
The Siegel family spent this morning exchanging gifts and enjoying some secular holiday cheer. I have plenty of books and DVDs to keep me amused through the winter months and everyone seemed happy with the presents I had chosen for them. The only blemish on the day was the abscondment of the holiday stollen by Sasha, the notorious Agoraphobic Golden Retriever.
I should probably let my father humiliate me at chess. Maybe he'll go easy on me since I just gave him a new chess set and board.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 04:53 PM | Comments (1)
December 24, 2006
Feel-Good Movie Of The Year
A friend of mine and I, in celebration of the holiday season, went to see the rather bloody Apocalypto today. Mel Gibson may be an anti-Semitic crank with a drinking problem, but I'll give the man credit: he can make a damn entertaining film. Apocalypto has a simple plot, but it's briskly told and many of the visuals are stunning in their sweep. If you want look for a deeper meaning (perhaps something about how the decline of civilizations can be foretold by their use of manipulative spectacle), that can be found as well.
The theater was nearly empty, which was both pleasant and a little eerie. There wasn't as much of a communal viewing experience, but there were also fewer distractions (if I had heard a baby crying in the audience during this film, I would have called social services on the spot).
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 11:58 PM | Comments (0)
December 23, 2006
Give 'Til It Hurts
Blogging may be light over the next few days as I'll be entertaining guests. But don't worry: my OCD streak won't let me stay away for long.
And if you're still looking for charities to give your end-of-the-year contributions, might I suggest:
VSA Arts of Minnesota: I may be biased because I'm president of its board of directors, but this nonprofit does an amazing job of giving kids and adults with disabilities opportunities to experience and create art.
Doctors Without Borders: I give to them every year. They are in many of the world's most ravaged spots, providing health care to the neediest while serving as their voice to a world that has largely ignored these people and their plights.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
December 22, 2006
Man Of The People
I really should run for Congress. If the people of central Virginia are willing to elect a xenophobic, ignorant rube, then it can't be too much of a stretch to imagine that the good folks of the Twin Cities could someday elect someone like me, wheelchair and tubes and extra orifices and all. Of course, I'll have to wait until Rep. Ellison has moved on to other things before I can truly begin to plan my my campaign. But if a Muslim representative is enough to give men like Congressman Goode the vapors, I imagine that the presence of an atheist in the halls of Congress might provoke an even more visceral reaction. Fortunately, my nurses are also trained bodyguards, so I've got that front covered.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:54 PM | Comments (1)
December 21, 2006
Sales Pitch
Ours is a society that likes to define social phenomena in militaristic terms. There's the war on drugs, the war on terror, the culture wars, and, of course, the war on Christmas. For the past few years, conservative Christians have made a great deal of political hay by sounding the alarms and warning the faithful about the insidious forces attempting to secularize the holiday. Leaving aside the legitimacy of these claims, the war on Christmas is a cash cow for conservative organizations. Some statistics:
- The Mississippi-based American Family Association says it has sold more than 500,000 buttons and 125,000 bumper stickers bearing the slogan "Merry Christmas: It's Worth Saying."
- The Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal aid group that boasts a network of some 900 lawyers standing ready to "defend Christmas," says it has moved about 20,000 "Christmas packs." The packs, available for a suggested $29 donation, include a three-page legal memo and two lapel pins.
- And Liberty Counsel, a conservative law firm affiliated with the Rev. Jerry Falwell, says it has sold 12,500 legal memos on celebrating Christmas and 8,000 of its own buttons and bumper stickers.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:39 PM | Comments (0)
December 20, 2006
Southpaw
My good friend Adam Wahlberg has a wonderful article over at MSNBC in which he unapologetically shares his obsession for Rocky, while also giving some critical props to Sylvester Stallone. Give Adam some love and go read it.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:32 PM | Comments (0)
December 19, 2006
Force Of Will
Fifty-foot tall brain-controlled robot + shoulder-mounted rocket launcher on said robot + shoulder-mounted laser cannon on said robot + me = best benevolent despot ever.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:43 PM | Comments (1)
December 18, 2006
Goes Down Smooth
Patrick O'Brien is a filmmaker with ALS who is attempting to raise funds for a film he's creating about his experiences as a person living with a potentially fatal condition. He also wants to promote ALS research. To aid his efforts, Patrick is making available this poster of himself. 
You can buy the poster here.
I really like this picture. It speaks to the fact that life's pleasures are not beyond the reach of people with severe disabilities, even if those pleasures are enjoyed via nontraditional means. I also like Patrick's sly, fuck-it-I-wanna-drink smile.
And yes, I've poured beer down my g-tube. But never the whole bottle. Given my size, one bottle would be enough to make me start thinking the girl across the room is actually giving me the look. And then all sorts of embarrassment would ensue.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:10 PM | Comments (0)
December 17, 2006
Cop Out
According to Time magazine, I'm the person of the year. And before you get too envious, it turns out that you are, too. Why do I get the feeling that the editors came up with this idea the morning after the holiday office party? Sure, the Web now gives everyone the tools to generate content for the masses, but that doesn't mean all content is created equal. Hell, I'm not even saying my content is worth reading.
And did the editors at Time really have a dearth of potential individual candidates? What about Rahm Emanuel, one of the chief architects of the Democrats' rise from the ashes? What about the actual creators of YouTube? What about George Bush, whose war dominated the headlines this past year and was likely a major deciding factor in the elections?
I canceled my subscription to Time exactly because of this kind of milquetoast journalism.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 04:27 PM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2006
Devoted Follower
What with all the attention given to Christmas and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, we acolytes of His Noodliness the Flying Spaghetti Monster can feel a little trodden down. Fortunately, there are those us who are using the traditional conventions of the holiday season to remind people that there is only one true path to enlightenment. Behold:
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:17 PM | Comments (2)
December 15, 2006
The Season For Giving
Well, I finished my holiday shopping without stepping foot in a mall. I heart the internet so much this time of year. And I didn't even buy anything for myself. I should be commended for my restraint.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:24 PM | Comments (2)
December 14, 2006
Scouting Report
Now that the 2006 political season is over, what's a political junkie to do? Why, start studying the field of candidates for the 2008 presidential no-holds-barred deathcage elimination ultimate slugfest smackdown. Let's start by looking at the Democrats:
John Edwards: I really liked Edwards' "Two Americas" campaign theme; it seems to resonate with a lot of people who are feeling anxious about their jobs, their health care, and their retirement. And he's a Southerner, a characteristic that seems to be a prerequisite for Democratic presidents in the last few decades. He seems to be doing well in the early Iowa polls, but he's also been away from the political scene for a while, which could hurt him in terms of fundraising and putting together an effective campaign team.
Hillary Clinton: She's got the name. She's got the cash. She's got the connections. And if she is the nominee, the Republicans will unleash their vast hordes of underworld minions to do massive amounts of oppo research to provide fodder for attack ads that will make the Swift Boat spots look like gentle teasing. Part of me wants her to run because I think she would make a formidable candidate. Part of me wants her to sit out so I don't have to look at right-wing sloganeering like this.
Barack Obama: He could be the lightning in a bottle that Democrats have been looking for. Bright, articulate, handsome, young; it's like he was engineered in some secret lab funded by George Soros. But he has a troubling tendency to be all things to all people. Then again, so does Hillary.
Al Gore: I think he's having too much fun going to Hollywood parties and doing the talk show circuit to put all of that on hold for the unforgiving rigors of a political campaign. But if he does decide to run, pass the popcorn and enjoy the dirty looks exchanged between him and Hillary during the debates.
John Kerry: You're kidding, right?
And then you have the also-rans like Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, and Bill Richardson. Then again, Bill Clinton was a second-tier candidate in the eyes of many pundits.
I'll give the Republicans a similar treatment in the next few days.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:15 PM | Comments (1)
December 13, 2006
Unwiring
Another headset for my cordless telephone gave up the ghost, so I'm thinking it may be time to cut the cord and get rid of my landline in favor of a cell phone and Bluetooth earpiece. I use a Bluetooth earpiece with my VoIP phone at work and people seem to hear me fairly well. Those RAZR phones look kind of cool, but I still wouldn't be able to make calls or answer the phone myself. Maybe I should just wait a while and see if my cable company can eventually offer me a set-up similar to what I have at the office. And no, Skype isn't the answer; the quality of Skype calls is still too erratic for me to depend on it as my primary phone.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:11 PM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2006
Tofu: Satan's Favorite Snack
Evil, thy name is soy. According to an evangelical commentator, soy is turning our country's men into sissified nancy boys. Sorry, I have to call shenanigans on this. My own diet is primarily soy-based and, aside from an aversion to talking about sports, I consider myself pretty masculine. I like girls. I obsess over my gadgets. I can recite every line from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
I thought the religious right ascribed to the notion that homosexuality was a choice, not the result of too much soy milk when you were a kid. I wonder if the election results are causing some conservatives to lose whatever tenuous grip on reality they may have had.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:29 PM | Comments (1)
December 11, 2006
Not Again
Having decided that the field of Democratic candidates for president just isn't crowded enough, Dennis Kucinich has decided to make another tilt at the windmills. When I heard the news on the radio, the ensuing flashbacks were almost enough to make me curl up into a ball and whimper. But I'm nothing if not resilient. As part of my ongoing efforts to therapeutically address the trauma he inflicted, perhaps I'll go to one of his rallies carrying a sign that says:
DENNIS, NO MEANS NO!
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:31 PM | Comments (2)
December 10, 2006
L00t!
Congratulations to Angela F. and Jim V. They're the two winners in the Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 giveaway. Thanks to everyone who entered. Hopefully, I'll have more swag to give away in the future. Before you know it, this blog will be nothing but a marketing tool for my yet-to-be-determined corporate masters.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)
December 09, 2006
I've Been Very Good
I have few wants in life, but that doesn't mean I don't like receiving presents as part of the celebration of your winter holiday of choice. Here's what I've had my eye on lately:
Forbidden Planet 50th Anniversary Edition because even though I already own this fantastic re-imagining of The Tempest, the included Robbie the Robot model would look way cool on my desk.
Oldboy Collector's Edition because this Korean revenge flick has a twist that had my jaw in my lap.
The West Wing: The Complete Series because, unless Obama is elected, we're probably not going to see a real-life Commander-in-Chief as articulate as President Bartlett anytime soon.
Robot Chicken Season 1 because it's one of the funniest things on television.
The God Delusion because I want any visitors who scan my bookshelf to know exactly where I'm coming from.
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War because it has the words "zombie" and "war" in it.
Lost Girls because I want to see if this is literature disguised as porn or porn disguised as literature.
James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon because I want to learn more about this intriguing sf author.
Assorted Geek Goodness
Samsung 204B 20" LCD Monitor because this blogger's eyes deserve the very best.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:02 PM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2006
Collegial Atmosphere
A short entry tonight because I just finished hosting a holiday party for my co-workers. I am fortunate to work with people I like and respect. And I'm not just saying that because they used words like "awesome" and "fabulous" to describe my condo, although such observations do reflect good taste on their part. Good thing I remembered to hide my massive collection of, er, imported erotica. That could have been embarrassing. So my scheme of fooling everyone into believing I'm this urbane intellectual seems to be working thus far.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 11:13 PM | Comments (1)
December 07, 2006
Regifting
I'm supposed to bring a "white elephant" present to a work holiday party tomorrow. I have no idea what sort of item I own that other people want. Some comic books? My old VCR?
This time of year is so stressful.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 11:11 PM | Comments (1)
December 06, 2006
Is This Really So Hard?
According to a UN-commissioned survey of websites around the globe, only 3% meet the minimum standards for web accessibility for users with disabilities (particularly visual disabilities). Future Tense has an interview with one of the study's directors, who bemoaned the lack of training that web developers receive regarding how to create accessible websites.
Care to guess which American website scored highest in terms of accessibility? Wal-Mart. Somebody might want to point that out to the executives at Target, who are currently defending a lawsuit charging that Target's website is inaccessible. The worst offender, according to the study, is the New York Times. I'm not surprised. As much as I love the Times, its homepage is still a cluttered mess.
Remember, the deadline for entering the Dragon NaturallySpeaking drawing is Friday at 10:00 p.m. CST.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:42 PM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2006
Minutiae
I thought I was compulsive about my blogging, but I've got nothing on the guy who kept a typewritten diary of nearly every detail of his life for twenty years. An interesting experiment, but I think I'll refrain from recounting my trips to the bathroom. My nurses do enough of that as it is. And the descriptions of my meals would get redundant after a while. "For breakfast, I had a can of Osmolte. For lunch, I had a can of Osmolite. For dinner..." You get the idea.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)
December 04, 2006
You Can't Win If You Don't Play
The fine people over at Nuance have asked me to give away two copies of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9, the popular voice dictation software. 
To get your hands on a copy, all you have to do is correctly answer the following two questions:
Question 1:
Which of the following activities can you do while simultaneously using Dragon's NaturallySpeaking 9?
A) Sip your latte
B) Clean your desk
C) All of the above
Question 2
What hands-free feature does Dragon NaturallySpeaking not offer?
A) Create and send e-mails without using your keyboard
B) Hands-free desktop registration
C) Voice-activated control of your kids
E-mail your answers to me at MCSiegel19@gmail.com. Put "Dragon" in the subject line. Answers must be received by 10:p.m. CST on Friday, December 8. I will randomly select two people who answered the questions correctly and notify them via e-mail that they have won. Winners will be posted on this blog sometime early next week.
And for the attorneys in the crowd, here are the official rules:
The Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9.0 promotion concludes 4 days after it is posted by the blogger on this site (check the date of posting). Winners randomly selected among all eligible entries received. Odds of winning depend upon the number of entries received. Winners are to be notified via email and have 48 hours to respond. Two copies of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9.0 Standard Edition are to be given away as prizes each with an estimated retail value of $99.00. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. One entry per person. Only open to residents of the United States. Winners list is to be posted on this blog at conclusion of the promotion.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:30 PM | Comments (2)
December 03, 2006
Critic At Large: King Dork
Like a lot of high school sophomores, I had to read The Catcher in the Rye. And like a lot of high school sophomores in 1988, I didn't really get what the big deal was about that book (besides the fact that Mark David Chapman carried it around before shooting John Lennon). I didn't see why my teacher and so many other adults considered it such a brilliant piece of literature.
Tom Henderson, the narrator of King Dork, doesn't understand the fuss, either. He views the teachers who push Catcher on their students as members of some oddly obsessed literary cult. In fact, Tom finds a lot to dislike about school in general, and this is where the book excels. it's an exaggerated catalog of the petty cruelties and pointless busywork that is inflicted upon most American high school students. But King Dork truly shines in its portrayal of Tom, a confused, sensitive, withdrawn, creative, and typically libidinous adolescent whose greatest dream is to start a rock band with his equally disenchanted friend Sam. And like any pair of teenagers with visions of pop culture grandiosity, they spend most of their time inventing new names for their band (my favorite: The Mordor Apes). The book also has something of a mystery threaded into the plot--an element that feels undercooked and a bit forced. But this is a strong debut for Frank Portman and I look forward to his next work.
I'm now working on The Subtle Knife, the second volume in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:25 PM | Comments (0)
December 02, 2006
Sounds Of The Season
I'm hosting a party next week for work colleagues, so my task this weekend is to find some holiday music that won't be too obnoxious. I used to be a big fan of Mannheim Steamroller, but now I find them insipid and soporific. Great stuff for insomniacs, but this is a party, not a relaxation circle. But you can't go wrong with the Vince Guaraldi Trio.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2006
No Respect
Even though I have a law degree, a career, and a whole resume full of professional and academic achievements, I can't seem to escape other people's compulsion to pat me on the head (or its verbal equivalent). This past week has given me ample material for discrete rolling of the eyes.
- Over the holiday weekend, I was at someone's house and another guest seemed to be under the assumption that I required an interpreter, since most of her questions for me were directed at a third person ("Where did Mark go to school?").
- On the elevator this morning, an older woman asked me how I was doing. "Fine," I replied. This answer must have impressed her, because she gleefully said to my nurse, "Oh, he's so positive! That's what we like to hear."
Hmm, maybe I should turn the above paragraph into a paper. I'll call it something like The Siegel Taxonomy: Observations on Disability and Social Dynamics.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:43 PM | Comments (3)