HeiBlog

October 22, 2004

Small town newpaper

Filed under: Fun little bit — Tyler @ 9:00 pm

I picked up a free copy of the Brookline Tab this morning just to have something to read and I find the most amusing set of headlines. A resident of Chestnut Hill, Mr. Lu (and co-founder of BioDefense Corp.) had installed the MailDefender in front of his home. This is a phone booth like device (made by Mr. Lu’s company) will sterilize up to 8 pounds of mail in 45 minutes. Mr. Lu did not obtain proper permit to build the structure and his neighbors were complaining how unsightly it was. Not to worry the owner will be moving it behind his front gate and will change the construction to make it appear as a doorman’s quarters. Maybe I can get a grant from this guy if he has money to through away (full article).

In other news Downes Field (one of 21 town-owned athletic fields) may be covered in artificial turf. Also visitors to the Brookline public library can rest easy as the flasher who exposed himself to a library worker has been apprehended.

October 18, 2004

Calling George, Calling George Orwell

Filed under: Soap Box — Tyler @ 3:04 pm

Maybe I should not had read 1984 in 10 grade and been fascinated by dystopian societies sense then, but it seems that each year since 9/11/01 we as a nation are getting closer and closer to a police state where the government doesn’t function for the benefit of the people and operates simply out of self-preservation. At what point do the people no longer become the holder of the real power and become a commodity to be consumed for the protection of the State (which of course says that it is acting for the benefit and protection of the People).

First we get the Patriot Act. Now both houses of Congress are pushing through a fun little bill. Cnet ran an artical highlighting the House and Senate versions of the new bill today. The basic function of the bills is to reform communication between branches of the intelligence gathering arms of the US, some of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.. Databases will be integrate, offices linked, and access facilitated. They say that they will “preserve civil liberties”, but if the Patriot Act is any example what constitutes a civil liberty they seem up for interpretation.
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October 17, 2004

In the Shadow of No Towers

Filed under: Interesting bit — Tyler @ 10:29 am

I just picked up Art Spiegelman’s (of Maus fame) new book, “In the Shadow of No Towers”, a compilation of broad page comics about how he deal with (and is still dealing with) the events of 9/11. He and his family live on the doorstep of Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.

I’ve just started to read it, but one paragraph from his forward resonated with me:

I had anticipated that the shadows of the towers might fade while I was slowly sorting through my grief and putting it into boxes. I hadn’t anticipated that the hijackings of September 11 would themselves be hijacked by the Bush cabal that reduced it all to a war recruitment poster. At first, Ground Zero had marked a Year Zero as well. Idealistic peace signs and flower shrines briefly flourished at Union Square, the checkpoint between lower Manhattan and the rest of the city. That was all washed away by the rains and the police as the world hustled forward into our “New Normal.” When the government began to move into full dystopian Big Brother mode and hurtle America into a colonialist adventure in Iraq —while doing very little to make America genuinely safer beyond confiscating nail clippers at the airports — all the rage I’d suppressed after the 2000 election, all the paranoia I’d barely managed to squelch immediately after 9/11, returned with a vengeance. New traumas began competing with still-fresh wounds and the nature of my project began to mutate.

Amen brother! One thing I love about artists is there ability to explore themselves in the open. Therapy by exposure you might call it. “Here is what I am thinking. Here is what I feel. Think about that would you?”

October 14, 2004

Are Conservatives the real trouble makers?

Filed under: Soap Box — Tyler @ 10:31 am

A few weeks ago I joined up with a group action organization, called True Majority started by Ben Cohen (of Ben and Jerry’s fame. Their basic mission is to give people a venue to have some voice. They pick issues and ask the membership to act on them. In there last email they had a new Flash movie that asked the question of why we were at war with Iraq and why people who protest this action are considered by many to be trouble makers and in the worst case terrorists.
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October 2, 2004

Random Citation

Filed under: Fun little bit — Tyler @ 10:08 pm

I’m sitting in the Park Street T station waiting for a Red Line train (outbound) and a woman sits down next to me. She looks normal enough, just minding her own business and reading her book, we don’t exchange any glances. Just as a train comes we both stand up to head to the opening doors. She turn to me, says “read this it’s funny”, and hands me this piece of paper. Odd, very odd.

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