2008 August «

Two-Way Street

August 21, 2008 at 10:42 am | In Middle East, Miscellaneous | Leave a Comment

I have a new article in Salon today that they’ve called “Pushing Right-Wing American Politics — In Israel.” You can read it here.

It will be my last article for a little while, and since I’m going to take some time off, this will be my last blog post for a bit as well.

I’ll be back in these parts on Wednesday, September 3rd, and I hope to see you then as well.

I Should

August 20, 2008 at 6:46 pm | In Miscellaneous | Leave a Comment

have a new piece up in Salon in a few hours.

You should read it.

The Other Israel

August 18, 2008 at 9:36 am | In Culture, Miscellaneous | Leave a Comment

Through a search for something else entirely, I got this:

From the wonders of google video, it came to me, and from the magic of having nothing else to post at the moment, I give it to you.

And: I won’t be around tomorrow – ah, summer! – so this is my proud, total output of content for the next 48 hours.

Echoes of Milton in the Works of Milton

August 15, 2008 at 10:10 am | In Books, Culture | 2 Comments

Besides whatever other discussions one might have about the fact that Franz Kafka’s pornography collection has been unearthed, I just want to point out that this article in The Times refers to Kafka himself as…”Kafkaesque” (paragraph 4).

Have You No Shame?

August 14, 2008 at 6:07 pm | In Books | Leave a Comment

A book recommendation for this quickly dying summer: Rachel Shukert’s Have You No Shame?

I met Rachel when I participated in This Sort of Weird Thing, and quickly read her excellent book. The book is funny, smart, and fast-paced. People will inevitably compare it to Philip Roth and Woody Allen, but I think Rachel has her own unique thing going on too. Highly recommended.

Related:

From the Department of That Makes More Sense

August 13, 2008 at 11:56 am | In Middle East | Leave a Comment

Remember when that Iranian Vice President announced that Israel and Iran were BFF? Well, now the Iranian parliament is all like “oh no, you didn’t,” and the VP is all like “I did,” and the parliament is totally like, “Oh snap!” and all “You better respond to questions, ambiguities, and criticisms!” Total drama.

Related:

From the Department of Huh?

New Book Update

August 11, 2008 at 1:31 pm | In Books, Culture | 1 Comment

The good news is that I have finally finished drafts of the major parts of my new book proposal. The bad news is that I can’t tell you anything about it at this point, even though you graciously provided me with feedback about some of the possibilities.

More good news, though, is that you probably don’t really care anyway, because I have noticed that these dog days of summer have brought a dramatic decline in the number of readers of this blog. As they should.

The even better news, though, is that I don’t really care anyway either, because I’m leaving my desk in an hour and not coming back until Wednesday morning. I will miss you, but to keep you company while I am gone, here is a baby trying to juggle:

I think her (his?) shirt is a tad egotistical, even for a juggling baby.

My Advice To You

August 8, 2008 at 10:31 am | In Culture, Miscellaneous | Leave a Comment

Kids,

If you decide to get into political journalism, and one day need to get in touch with former spies — especially ones in a country on the other side of the world — don’t do it on a Friday.

It’s just frustrating, and while you wait to hear back, you end up watching this video again and again and again:

And, really, that is not a good use of your time.

Emergency

August 7, 2008 at 5:12 pm | In Miscellaneous | Leave a Comment

If you had gone into a sandwich shop and placed an order, and the order came back not exactly to your liking — without, say, ”everything” you had asked for — what would you do?

Precisely. Like me, and all right-thinking people, you would surely call 9-11.

That’s what a Florida man did recently.

Now, if for some reason the police didn’t show up even after you explained the problem, what then would you do? Exactly: you would call again, and once they arrived and saw how upset you were and that the store had not only left your sandwich untended to but had actually locked you outside, surely you would expect justice!

It is a travesty that no justice was forthcoming for the Florida man. No wonder then that when the police tried to “explain to him the proper way to use 911,” he would not cooperate and had to be arrested.

But, at very least, when he insisted the faulty sandwiches were thrown away, they listened to his request.

[firstcoastnews]

Civilized Workers Cheering Squad

August 6, 2008 at 2:24 pm | In Culture, International Relations | Leave a Comment

So. China is training its citizens how to cheer properly at the the Olympics, and to chant things like, “I participate, I’m healthy, I’m happy.” They are also being given “audience etiquette” lessons by the “Beijing Civilized Workers Cheering Squad.”

All this reminds me of an article I wrote many moons ago, after my own stint in Beijing.

Also: I would like to join the Beijing Civilized Workers Cheering Squad.