Monday, February 22, 2010

An interesting wrinkle

I have been watching the latest tea-party machinations with growing interest. Glenn Greenwald writes an interesting piece at Salon.com
I finished the article feeling a bit confused. Is Palin not a darling of the tea-party movement? She has been embraced but only for the exposure and recognition, as Greenwald suggests?
Suddenly Paul is gunning for another run at being President and it's only February 2010. I wonder by the time mid-term elections roll around how the scenery will look. The tea-party has already proved a surprise.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Bzzzz. It's your friend from Missouri, who you met in college, and lives in your city now!

Has the universal use of cell phones made area codes more or less relevant? There was a day when people identified with particular area codes, perhaps more distinctly in urban and ultra-rural areas of the country. Are codes have been used to identify location and distance, signifying that a person belongs elsewhere. Sometime in grade school I distinctly remember the addition of a new area code in southern NJ. Suddenly I had to dial an area code to call my best friend. More recently, my wife only reluctantly changed her phone number from her hometown of Harrisonburg, VA to Baltimore with more than a tinge of nostalgia. 
Because we all have cell phones now, and everyone's number programmed into our contacts, it hardly matters what number someone has. It isn't so strange to not know the number of someone in your family, including your spouse. In this way, area codes are increasingly irrelevant and we move closer and closer to simply a 10-digit phone number that has no geographical significance. 
Then, a number pops up on your cell phone and you wonder "3-1-4 Who do I know from that area code? What area code is it." A quick Google search and suddenly you are reminded that you dear friend is originally from Missouri. Roots. Connections. We are not entirely done with our old ways. Just re-discovering them.

Friday, February 5, 2010

A Love Note to Baltimore

Baltimore, I love you this winter. You are actually more than just a drab, sometimes chilly place. You are at the center of big snow. Even now your inhabitants are scurrying for cover like the roaches that infest your 40% vacant housing. I actually enjoyed the camaraderie of standing in line for 45 minutes at the Mondawmin Shoppers last night. And now the street is actually quiet. It will be a good 24 hours of quiet from what the forecast is saying. Quiet and beauty, a white robe over a soiled and naked body. Once the snow stops there will be employment for all- every last hustling dreamers I probably won't have to shovel one bit but by the time I get outside, there will be a fight about who shoveled my ten feet of sidewalk and thus deserves five dollars. Drinks for all at the Two-Spot, on me!