randomduck

This past weekend, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw accompanied U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on a tour of Alabama, her home state. At a University of Alabama football game, Mr. Straw was announced as being in attendance, confirming attendees’ suspicions about a “special visitor” in the crowd.

However, even though he’d been announce by name on the local TV, by the PA announcer, by the local paper, and via many other sources, people were hard pressed to remember Mr. Straw’s name:

“You’re the English guy,” Joyce Delahoussaye said as she shook hands with the foreign minister of America’s closest ally.

“I’ve seen you on TV, and they said you were from England.”

“He’s Mr. England,” she said, introducing Straw to her son, Randy, as the two diplomats met displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina in Pelham.

At a ceremony to unveil statues in Birmingham, speakers variously called the visitor Mr. Shaw and Mr. Snow.

They also mangled his title, appointing him secretary of state to the commonwealth of the United Kingdom.

It’s really sad the people can’t remember such simple things, given that they wre repeated ad infinitum in the local media. I guess it’s the “Sesame Street effect” that Neil Postman wrote about in Amusing Ourselves To Death.

But the even sadder thing is that in a world that is increasingly global, people don’t know the names of the power players in world politics - especially those of our allies. Now I’m not looking for people to be able to name all of the members of the British parliament, or to know the name of the minister of cultural affairs in Japan. But U.S. citizens should at least know the basic structure of governments in other lands, and the titles of the “big three” or “big four” positions in said governments.

It’s this kind of ignorance that gives the U.S. a very poor image to outsiders: as an ignorant, apathetic, and dumb people. It’s an image that we desperately need to fix - the sooner, the better.

Popularity: 11% [?]

There’s been a bit of noise amongst fans of NBA basketball, the media, ethnologists, fashionistas, NBA players, managers and owners about a new dress code put in place by the NBA.

Basically, it stipulates that players are to wear “business casual” attire whenever engaged in team or league business (other than when they are suited up for gametime). Specifically banned from wear during official team time: shorts, t-shirts, athletic jerseys (even for your own team), sneakers, flip-flops, casual headgear (e.g. do-rags, baseball caps), and jewelry work outside clothing (excepting earrings). While some teams already had this requirement (e.g. the Utah Jazz and the Jordan-era Chicago Bulls), the new rules apply league-wide.

Natually, this rubbed some players the wrong way. Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers) accused the NBA upper management of “targeting… the hip-hop generation” - i.e. him and his peers who are disciples of “streetball.” Iverson and other NBA players have asked whether the NBA will provide a clothing stipend to allow players to retool their wardrobes.

My $0.02 on the matter? It’s about friggin’ time! There used to be a time when NBA basketball was one of the most popular sports in the U.S., where players were known by all and revered for being models of sportsmanship and decorum. Since the late-1980s, however, the NBA has declined not only in fan base, but in public perception. The stories of rampant promiscuity, the “bad-boy” images of players like Dennis Rodman and Iverson, and the increasing tendency for kids to jump directly from high school to the NBA (and the resultant run-ins with the law, inability to manage money and poor social skills that seem to go hand-in-hand) have driven away the paying fan base.

Some will claim racism. After all, many NBA players are black, and the majority of the paying fan base (as well as upper management) is white. But I don’t think that this move is based on racial tensions.

I think this move is being done to help elevate the players to true role models - not just people who “look like me” (i.e. streetballers), but people of achievement. After all, these players achieved a lot by making it into the pro leagues - why not dress the part of somebody who has achieved?

Yes, there is some self-confidence in feeling able to show up at any-and-every event like you’re about to hit the gym. But there’s a much more total air of self-confidence in showing up to press conferences, charity functions and other events where you are representing your employer (these players are not self-employed, after all) dressed up in a smart, tidy manner.

And to the demand for a clothing stipend: puh-leeze! At a minimum, an NBA player earns an annual salary of $398,762. This places him into a decidedly upper class standard of living, one that can easily afford the player some fine threads. Yes, some of these clothes can get pricy if you go for hip couture items, but it’s all about showing true accomplishment.

Perhaps that’s the reason behind the new dress code: to help teach these players a sense of personal responsibility - not only in the way they dress, but in personal conduct and even fiscal responsibility. After all, how many single, young twentysomethings really need a 15,000 square foot mansion, two sports cars, a gas-guzzling SUV, a vacation condo in Hawai’i or Aspen, and the like? Maybe David Stern and the owners are trying to send a dose of good ‘ol common sense to these chumps who call themselves “professionals.”

After all, Allen: I haven’t seen you come back to complete your degree at Georgetown yet - we’re waiting.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Activity: road cycling (on mountain bike)
Location: Washington, DC > Bethesda, MD (Capital Crescent Trail)
Distance: 15.9 miles
Duration: 0:52
Weather: sunny, 63 degrees
Avg HR: 151 (est.)
Type: aerobic

Been a while, hasn’t it?

Well, this is my first official ride since the accident, and it couldn’t have come soon enough! The weather was perfect - it rained yesterday and will rain tomorrow, so timing is everything.

It felt awesome to be back on the bike! Granted, it was my mountain bike - partly on advice of my therapist, partly because the front wheel on my road bike is still in need of repair. So I mounted my commuter slicks on the Marin’s wheels, and voila!

Right now I’m icing the shoulder, as my trapezius is sore. There is still some weakness there, though it’s getting better every day with the litany of exercises I’m doing. Ice and ibuprofen are proven fixes for the pain, though.

But it’s official: I’m back on the bike! Yeah!

Popularity: 17% [?]

This week marked the seaons premiere of Frontline, the long-running PBS news program.

The topic for this week’s show: the ongoing torture scandal in the so-called “war on terror,” and Secretary of State Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s role in this obscene practice. The research that went into the episode is exhaustive, and the presentation is a wake-up call, even for those of us who believe that the entire Bush administration is a pack of criminals.

Click here to watch the entire episode online.

My question: when will the rest of PBS’ funding dry up due to this “liberal-bias” in investigative reporting?

Popularity: 12% [?]

I’m wary of faith outside of actions. I’m wary of religiosity that ignores the wider world.

RollingStone.com: U2 : Bono : News

A first test of Flock as a blogging tool.

The verdict: very overwroght code (though W3C compliant), but it works.

Popularity: 11% [?]

As anybody who knows me is aware, I’m a big fan of Mozilla’s Firefox and Camino web browsers, as well as their Thunderbird email application.

I’m also a big fan of blogs and RSS feeds, which are a great way to do a “one-stop” lookup of your friends and favorites.

Recently, I’ve become very fond of Flickr and its photo sharing network - I’m posting my own photos there, and enjoy the interconnected webs of photos that can be found via tagging.

The biggest stumbling block with all of these online social networking resources is that they are a hodge-podge of sites and services, often requiring multiple applications in order to keep things in order.

That’s where Flock comes in. Flock is an all-in-one online social networking tool. Based on the Firefox browser, Flock integrates blog aggregation (RSS via del.icio.us), Flickr and other online networking tools. Its bookmarking system integrates directly with del.icio.us to allow it to be portable, always accessible from anywhere you can surf the web.

It also integrates with most major blogging platforms, allowing you to post directly from Flock without having to login to the admin panel of your blog. Don’t have a blog? Flock will help you set one up (even going so far as to offer free WordPress blogs to Flock users - very cool).

While Flock is currently in its early stages of development, the product is very promising and very user-friendly. If you want to see the possibilities of next-generation internet surfing, check it out!

Popularity: 9% [?]