Reading List

It appears that I haven't done this recently, but it's not that I haven't been reading--just that I haven't been reading much worth mentioning. But I did like these two, for similar reasons--because RR (author of Empire Falls, Nobody's Fool, Mohawk, etc.) does small-town CNY atmosphere better than almost anyone, and RP (author of Clockers, Freedomland, etc.) gets NYC in a way few do. It's worth pointing out that many of both of their works have been made into movies, but with the exception of Nobody's Fool (Paul Newman), I didn't like 'em much.

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Afghanistan: To Surge, or Not to Surge?

My extended family is having a burning email discussion about the proposed Afghan surge, with Mark and SAZ on the no-surge side, and my bro (with Lisa the only one of us who's actually been there [and worked on their Constitution, BTW]) quite vehemently pro. It's been an interesting and wide-ranging battle, involving 95-year-old Grace as well as the somewhat younger generation. I expect it to continue. We'll see whether anyone is won over.

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Guilty Pleasures

I'm enjoying Pandora Radio, which allows you to customize a "radio" station on your computer with music you like. Hate a song? Dump it forever. Find a new artist you love? Create a new "station" around him or her. It's created by the Music Genome Project, which is a wonderful name for a bunch of people who dissect music based on a multitude of factors and create a sort of musical taxonomy that says if you like artist X, you might well like artist Y and Z. Sometimes they're wrong, but not that often!

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From Wall Street to Main Street

When it comes to people who garner my sympathies, Wall Street executives aren't usually high on the list. However, this NYT article on the expected drop in Wall Street bonuses is disconcerting enough that Central NY School Board Association is sending it around. Here's the clincher:

The state’s budget department estimated that the projected decline in bonuses would reduce state tax revenue by about $700 million this fiscal year, which ends March 31, said Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman for the department.

Don't think for a minute that your school, town, or county will be immune.

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August Harvest

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See Through NY

It's essentially unusable at present, because they didn't anticipate the traffic they've seen, but if they ever get the bugs out, this site will be brilliant. Want to see how your teachers' contract compares with that in Tioga County? Want to compare judges' salaries? It will all be there.

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Low Road Express

It can't be usual for a campaign to use its own website to dissect the ads of the opponent's campaign, but that's what's going on with Obama's new "Low Road Express." The campaign asks you to send in particularly low blows you spot on the Internet. I hardly know where to begin; it seems as if Bill sends out a new one he's received every few days. Not much substance in this campaign so far, and it's August already.

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