When a minority is no longer a minority. And where.

Everyone "knows" that America is divided between white and black, and that the majority white has "oppressed" the minority black.

But in the 21st century, at least a few observers have noted that "the" minority has not only challenged the majority in a country where democracy supposedly rules.

The most conspicuous example is that of African-Americans, who make up among the overall population of the United States one in eight Americans.

Obviously, in the world of pro sports--football, baseball, basketball--African-Americans constitute the majority.  Whites are the minority, and Asian-Americans and Hispanics even smaller minorities (especially Asians, 5% of the population, who are hardly ever present except for the very recent Jeremy Lin).  African-Americans are not a minority within the NBA or NFL.

In the world of pop music, again, African-American singers consistently top the charts in a wildly disproportionate share (Beyonce selling 300,000 albums within what was it 24 or 48 hours).

Going to the movie theater would lead a foreign visitor to the U.S. to even believe that African-Americans are 1/3 of the population rather than one minority among other minorities (although for historical reasons arguably the "most significant").

Nor in many of the largest cities of the U.S. such as Detroit or Philadelphia or Atlanta or D.C. are blacks a minority.  They are the majority (or the largest racial group).

In California, Hispanics, not blacks, are by far and away the largest minority, 35% of the population compared to 5% (Asians, 12%; whites, 44%).  If you'd watch a Hollywood film, however, you'd think the percentages were reversed, blacks 35% and Hispanics 5%.

At the metropolitan YMCA in Seattle, you're often more likely to see blacks as whites (or Asians, for that matter, who are actually the largest minority here) on the gym floor.  You can certainly hear them more.

Obviously, with the black birth rate twice that of whites and significant immigration, legal and illegal, from Latin America, demographics are in flux, with whites in proportional decline.

* * * * *

It would be far more significant to refer to minorities as minorities within a particular geographical locality or demographic segment.

But in this way, I think, some minorities would lose their hold on victimhood.

America's original sin: robber-baron, laissez-faire global capitalism

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Wealth

Does anywhere in America resemble this except The Highlands, Washington or Jupiter Island, Florida?

Americans have a touching innocence, a child-like belief in their country and in toys (gadgets) of all dimensions, colors, sounds, smells, and shapes, that I think is a specific reflection of their country's history and geography.

Many Europeans and some Asians, in general, seem to have a more nuanced approach to things like, for instance, capitalism ("versus" socialism).

What strikes me as particularly pertinent in this century and the last is that you have American values of liberty and democracy on the one hand and the aggressive, often times ugly and vicious capitalism that has made 1% of the population extremely rich (as in having more than 40% of the wealth of the country, possessing bank accounts in Switzerland and houses in the south of France as well as their own private jets, and living segregated in walled compounds), the middle class a minority, and tens of millions of Americans living in abject poverty whose physical, educational, and moral conditions shock countries and people around the world.

The middle and upper middle classes, respectively, apparently  content themselves with aping "their betters" and in living in a dream, the American dream, the rest of their hard-working lives.

(And this does not even begin to touch upon what rapacious Coca Cola, Chiquita Bananas, Anaconda Copper, etc. have done in Latin America and other parts of the Third World.   Or the effects of consumerism on the environment).

What will happen to the United States--the second Garden of Eden for conservatives--with its promise of eternal youth, beauty, material bounty, happiness, and expansion (in many senses of the term)?

* * * * *

Only in America would global warming be seriously considered a hoax.

Only in America--and countries ruled by right-wing, often military, regimes--would being anti-corporate be considered anti-American.+

* * * * *

American capitalism has served as the model for development in China, India, Brazil, and other developing countries, with, without exaggeration, disastrous effects.

Is ignorance truly bliss?

Take down the wall (of ignorance), Hollywood, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citibank, Comcast, the big oil companies...*

No, we don't need 200+ cable television channels, a more awesome dance club, or even 4D special effects or 5G networks to be happy.  Or to find meaning in a life.


* But would we then lose the very innocence--some might say "stupidity"--that many Americans still possess, this belief in "the system," in the "American way of life" as the Garden of Eden?

If you can't have it, keep trying harder, Americans.  

(The American dream is one of God's eternal truths). 

Keep reading People magazine, people...and buying more stuff...and stuffing your God-fearing self.

  

The Gospel of Loud:  Loud is always bigger and better.  Don't stop rocking (but don't rock the boat).

A New Year's Dream

Giovanni Bellini, "Feast of the Gods" (1470's?), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.




A voir  
http://www.webexhibits.org/feast/

A Minority View of Minorities

If it's always the fault of others, I guess we don't have to look for answers inside.

By this I mean, (1) assuming responsibility for finding whatever meaning one's existence has and (2) working towards a personal goal beyond blaming others.

In this particular case, I am thinking of the inconvenient truth that racism in the United States, or for that matter in France or elsewhere, may not be the one handy-all explanation and cause of the misfortunes of certain racial, ethnic, or religious groups.

For example, Charles Mudede, a writer at The Stranger, and President Obama* "know" with certainty what really happened to the Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates when he was arrested attempting to break into his own house (he had accidentally locked himself out).   [Note:   I intentionally use the words "happen to," as that was in all likelihood the state of mind that Gates was in that and every evening of his life].

Consider if you were a policeman in one of the two most liberal cities in the country, Boston/Cambridge, and witnessed a man breaking into a house, a man who happened to be black but more than that.  If my intuition is correct on two accounts, then what happened was that when confronted by the policeman, Henry Louis Gates not only became indignant, he flew into a fury and was belligerent as only a minority that has been taught over half a century that they are eternal victims of a conspiracy to keep them in chains, literally or figuratively.

Of course, the press in this case immediately had a great story whose headlines could be splashed on the front pages of every newspaper in the country:   (Even) A black Harvard professor is arrested just for entering his own house! 

 Ergo, clearly, (White) Racism (against black people) is rampant.

I myself, a non-white person, have been on more than one occasion the object of the fury of a black person who was either in a very bad mood and/or believed that I  was worthy of denigration (as a bad, stupid, worthless person).

If my hunch is correct, the police officer was sincerely attempting to prevent what he thought was a burglary in the happening but that Gates--who I will not state is a bit supercilious--bludgeoned him verbally and emotionally in much the way that I have been in the past (for example:  my moving a package left on a bench at the YMCA that an elderly African-American was sitting on, so that I could sit there, too; the man apparently thought I would actually sit on his belonging, and "really let me have it").

Most sensible people-- whatever their race, ethnicity, social/economic status simply--do not become aggressive with a police officer.

Who in the earth would believe, much less actually say, that African-Americans can be "disorderly" or "difficult" (behave in a belligerent/arrogant towards others)?

The irony is that the scholarship in American history Henry Louis Gates III has been engaged in over the past 30 years has only made him increasingly rigid, bellicose--entrenched in his views--and just barely tolerably supercilious.

When we need new approaches to race problems in this country, it is of little comfort to know that those in power still stubbornly cling to the past and to a vision of the world that does not reflect present realities.

The devil is inside

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Louis_Gates_arrest_controversy



* who, as you recall, threw his own reverend of 20+ years "under the bus" when it was inconvenient to have association with him.





* * * * *




Yes, if you believe that things keep "happening to you" and that you are powerless (as in, against a wicked world intentionally oppressing you and making you miserable), you will feel very frustrated, angry, and resentful.  And explode, flying off the handle at the very least "provocation."

In this case, the maxim that "one sees the world not as it actually is, but as one is" is applicable.  The external world is a reflection of your own mind.

You see the ghost of racism everywhere, and you react.




* * * * *



I think that Nelson Mandela understood that the endless spiral of violence and hatred in society is kept intact by blame ("finger-pointing") and the repetitive desire for and re-enactment of vengeance, over and over again, for wrongs real, historic, or imagined.


What if No One's Doing It to Us, except Ourselves?

How many Comcast executives have their own private planes or jet planes?

Comcast execs in Hollywood; joining the high-flying jet set class.

Who said anything about an unholy union?

As the nation's largest cable provider and probably its most aggressive--rolling in cash, with the billions in liquid assets (or the equivalent) to be able to recently purchase Universal Pictures outright and 35% interest in MSNBC--one might expect Comcast to be more solicitous of its customers.  Well, it certainly pays lip-service to the notion of "customer satisfaction."  But the reality is most definitely otherwise, as reviews on sites like yelp.com demonstrate.

In ostensibly "liberal" Seattle, Comcast got the optical cables underground laid down for it forever and a day with very little return (reminding one of how Paul Allen was able also to get his South Lake developments, including a "S-L-U-T" that very very few people use at all for little in return).  The City seems to bend over backwards to give huge corporations what they want and demand.

* * * * *

A message sent this morning to the Office of Cable Communications/City of Seattle:

The Comcast technician who came out yesterday afternoon was borderline rude.  He did not seem to believe me when I told him, for instance, that the clicking/popping/skipping sounds could be heard on the television speakers as well as the external speakers (he expressed open skepticism).

He stayed about 10-12 minutes (compared to the previous tech, who stayed perhaps 25 minutes) and in the end could not pinpoint the problem ("if there really was one," from his point of view*) except to blame the equipment (my receiver or speakers), even though I told him twice that there was no problem when I played my DVD/blu-ray player.

On the way out, the tech stated that he could address only "signal problems."

The truth is that he did very little while in my apartment, asking about issues that I had already addressed.  It seemed like he just wanted to get the visit "down with" and not really want to be there.

And in the end, Comcast higher-ups don't seem particularly interested in helping me get to the bottom of things.  Someone deduced, with particular acuity, that the issue must be with "television equipment," and that Comcast cannot do, thus, anything, rather than at their end.

But my HDTV is fine.  I only have had these issues on one channel, the one I pay an additional  fee for (and the only real reason I have Comcast Cable at all).

In fact, Comcast has had a long history of trouble transmitting International Premium Channels, as a technician had candidly admitted to me a few years ago.

* * * * *


It's infuriating that Comcast bombards its subscribers with promotional schemes. hawking different permutations of its 500+ stations at different price/promotional schedules and.  No wonder people don't know or understand what and why they are being charged for.

You wonder wonder whether the top-tier executives--after they have bought their mansions, other real estate, jet planes, stock options, jewelry, and other investments --take early retirement (as in their early 40's).

But they got "their stuff" from gouging the public, in millions, you and me.  The "services" they provided are most likely related to advertising campaigns and coming up with what resembles most closely scams, that under different legislation, might make them the plaintiffs in lawsuits.

* Why I would make up a story about audio problems is hard to fathom.  I have had Comcast for about 10 years and the audio was NEVER a problem before.

the peacock and the cock have consummated their union

 SEE
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/comcast-comcast-cable/seattle-washington-98124/comcast-comcast-cable-hidden-fees-deceptive-customer-service-seattle-washington-606209

The Anatomy of a Cyber Monday Hustle

from The Atlantic (online):

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/12/the-anatomy-of-a-cyber-monday-hustle/281960/

The Anatomy of a Cyber Monday Hustle

How fake prices can make it seem as if you're getting a deal, when you're really paying full price

ALEXIS C. MADRIGALDEC 2 2013, 11:14 AM ET

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Last year, my wife received a fancy blender as a thank-you gift for delivering a lecture. The Breville BBL605 XL is a nice blender with a built-in smoothie setting and everything.
When my dad came to visit, he employed this smoothie setting and was delighted with the results. (He makes a lot of smoothies.) So, I figured I'd get him his own Breville BBL605 XL for Christmas.
Like a good American I thought I might get a Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal on the blender this weekend. So, I popped the model number into Google.
Instead of a bargain, I found a Macy's hustle. It highlights the way retailers use the hype around these imaginary shopping holidays to dupe consumers into paying full price while they think they're getting a deal.
Here was the blender in Macy's mobile catalog on Friday:

There are two things to notice:
1) Holy moly, this is an expensive blender!
2) And yet, a 40-percent discount seems like a lot! ​I did the math really quickly: 334.99-(0.4*334.99)=$200.99
Sorry, Dad, even with the discount, you're not getting a $200 blender. But hey, it seemed like a good deal.
At least until I googled around a little more for the blender. Every other store on the Internet was offering the same item for $200 or less!

I went to Macy's again this morning on my computer (out of spite). Of course, the supposed Black Friday deal was not a Black Friday deal. And I noticed a link that wasn't available on the mobile site. It said, "Pricing Policy."
"'Regular' and 'Original' prices are offering prices that may not have resulted in actual sales, and some 'Original' prices may not have been in effect during the past 180 days," it read (emphasis added).
In other words, they may not have sold a single blender at $334.99 and they may not have even tried to price the blender that high. To call the price "Regular" is a lie. And they think they can tell it because they've added this link.
Perhaps they should change the name of the Pricing Policy to "Caveat Emptor."
If you still want to bargain hunt, I'd stop doing the research yourself and trust the folks at The Wirecutter, who are hand-selecting the best (real!) deals right now.

Kshama Sawant to become Seattle's first socialist City Council member

"I have been waiting for this day all my life" -African-Americans on the election of Barack Obama in 2008.


"I have been waiting for this day all my life, too" -my reaction on the election of Sawant to the Seattle City Council

* * * * *

from Kiro-TV:
http://www.king5.com/news/local/Conlin-concedes-Sawant-wins--232133551.html


Wonderful news.  Conlin concedes Friday evening.

Socialism is not a dirty word.   Yes. tax the rich and super-rich.   And take Comcast to court for price-gouging.

http://www.king5.com/news/politics/Extended-interview-Kshama-Sawant-232121181.html


* * * * *

Kshama, help us change the racial politics of Seattle.

As she represents the Central Area, among other places, I hope that she will address, as The Stranger so courageously pointed out time after time, the problem of racial inequity there (African-Americans commit disproportionately high numbers of unspeakably violent crime).

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Bail-set-at-350K-for-teen-accused-in-Metro-robberies--233548481.html#comments

I am hoping that she will state that encouraging minorities to wallow in self-pity, false pride, and self-righteousness* is not helpful to anyone at all--except for demagogues.

She undoubtedly is aware of the fate of one of her own countrymen a few years ago--Manish Melwani, who worked in a 7-11 in Ballard and was shot to death by a young African-American, in a robbery.

Manish Melwani

* As in "We were oppressed for over 200 years; we are oppressed; and we will be oppressed (until we overthrow our 'masters.'"  I've got a megaphone to make my point.

What people won't admit about racial profiling: There is a context within which racial profiling occurs

I do not justify racial profiling.

There are Asians, Caucasians, Hispanics, African-Americans, Arab-Americans, Native Americans who commit violent crimes.

A while back I was a victim of racial profiling myself.

But after the four Lakewood cops were killed in cold blood a couple of years ago, I think people need to address the issue from a different angle.

In my opinion, racial profiling does not occur just because a bunch of rogue cops want to harass people of color without any reason whatsoever (except for 'racism').

* * * * *

This evening I took a bus from downtown Seattle towards the Seattle Center.   I was the only one on the bus until an African-American man got on, who almost immediately began to growl in a hostile, angry tone of voice, "Why are all the windows of this bus open?" (It was raining and windy outside).

A few stops later an Hispanic man got on the bus.  He started to sing rather loudly, not caring whether other passengers heard him or were annoyed.  Okay, I thought, "a drag," but one has to put up with things like this.  A few minutes later, I heard the African-American ask, "Why the hell are you singing?"  At that point I had the queasy feeling and thought that a knife-fight on the bus would ensue.

To my surprise, the last question must have been in jest, as the two man began to talk to each in very friendly, familiar terms.   The continued to chat.  At one point, the Hispanic man spoke of "I got of jail...and I then almost broke that guy's nose.   I mean, I didn't I broke it...he was down on the ground.  Luckily, I could have said, 'Self-defense.'  'He started swinging first.'"

* * * * *

Racial profiling of African-American and Hispanic males must be seen in the context of extremely high rates of violent crime among both demographic groups.*  Those who omit this inconvenient fact in their condemnation of racial profiling are not being forthright.   I would include President Obama among them.

To reduce or eliminate racial profiling, we need to first understand (1) what racial profiling actually is, (3) how and by whom it is determined, and (3) why it happens in different situations to certain groups.

Does a backlash against ostensible racial profiling lead to perpetrators getting off "scott free"?

A frank, open discussion is still forthcoming.  Until there is a tolerance for different viewpoints, this will not happen.



* Such information is not easily found for reasons, I believe, of political correctness.   In addition, as far as the anecdotal goes, certain communities decry the mention of the race of perpetrator(s) and victim(s) in news coverage.

Aujourd'hui, le 8 novembre 2013, lendemain du centenaire d'Albert Camus

The Visitor

Franz von Stuck,, "The Wild Hunt," (1899), Musee d'Orsay, on loan to the Frye Art Museum until February 2, 2014.


I had a secret admirer until recently.  Now she has gone public.

A blogger named Water has commented on my blog posting "I am curious (Do you feel the love too?)."


This is what Water wrote:


I found your blog through a particularly uninformed and poorly written review on Yelp, where you seem to be fond of writing one star reviews. 

My god, what a ignorant and pointless diary this is. People like you who are not only unlikeable in every way and feel the need to spread their own brand of miserable and boring "thoughts" AND have the audacity to critique things you so clearly know nothing about are what makes this city so often insufferable. 

You don't know how to use a comma and your hyphen over/misuse is shameful. I can only assume that your only "social" outlet is "writing" because no one can stand to actually be in your presence. 

If I believed in superstitious cliches, I might write something about how the universe will correct itself in some way by severing your fingers and or cutting out your tongue, but since I'm not delusional I will just have to find humor in knowing what a disgusting, friendless and just plain stupid sack of human waste you are. 

My advice: don't advertise it. 

P.S. I anxiously await your witty retort, but since I will never read or think about your blog again, I'll just have to dream about it and hope I don't choke to death on my own vomit while unconscious. That probably won't happen, however, because I don''t have to sleep alone. 




Rest, Water, Rest. 

Puvis de Chavannes, "Le Reve" (1879), Musee d'Orsay

Updated review of the Frye Art Museum (on yelp.com)

"evening star" of franz von stuck, museum villa von stuck, on loan to the frye art museum, seattle, nov. 1, 2013-feb. 2,2014.  The actual painting is of a different hue, much more deep, dark green- aquamarine.

Khnopff, "I Lock My Door Upon Myself" (1891) in Munich.   Not in the exhibition, which is devoted to Franz von Stuck.

Note:    I am a member of the Frye and eat at the cafe, as I believe that the Frye, with its free admission, and well designed galleries deserve support from the community.

I also have great respect for the Frye's unfailingly gracious, knowledgeable director Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker.   I am thrilled with the fact that they have someone with a very European sensibility who has an intimate knowledge of late nineteenth century German/central European art.

She strengthens immeasurably the Frye with her understanding of the main collection and relations with continental museums.

It is nonetheless wonderful that late 19th century German art, which if only for historical reasons and not aesthetic ones alone, has long been in the shadow of French art, has a local spokesperson.

Americans of all backgrounds (races/religions/political affiliation/ethnicity) need to know something about European history and culture.  I'm one of those who believe that Americans, far from from being Eurocentric*, would do well to have at least a modicum of interest and knowledge of the ancestral home of at least 70% of them rather than a narrowly focused attention on the history of  slavery and civil rights in America, important as that may be ("To Kill a Mockingbird," "Beloved," "Django Unchained," "The Help," "The Butler." "Ray"...)."

What about the Norwegians, Polish, Dutch, Scots, Irish, Russians, French, Lebanese, Austrians, Japanese, Mexicans, Native Americans...?

The experiences of all peoples are equally important, even if they are less "dramatic" than those of some.

Recent contemporary art exhibitions at the Frye, in my opinion, have left something to be desired.

* * * * *

The Frye in recent years has become a little too conventional ("everyone says this is 'cool,' so we've to do something similar") and risk-averse.

The following is a good example.

We all--well most of us--understand how dying one's hair a bright henna maroon-purple is a statement of individuality, courage, and originality. 

I'm think it's great that the Frye has so assiduously the past several years tried to open its galleries to contemporary art.   In particular, the current "Burial" exhibition by Mark Mitchell is a direct dialogue between "old" art and "new" art, the former being the collections of the founders of the Frye, mainly paintings.

(So the Frye is no longer a stody museum of post-Victorian continental European painting of the late 19th century and early 20th century).

Among the mannequins is a double of Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes, who The Stranger informs us was "an artist and a black man once brutalized by the Seattle Police."

I believe in equality.  And justice.  And in art as social commentary.

I wonder if the Frye would have the guts to commission clothing from Mark Mitchell to fit a mannequin of Tuba Man, the beloved street musician beaten to death while waiting at a bus stop at the Seattle Center by a group of young African-Americans.

What about four coffins and the everyday clothing of the four Lakewood cops who were murdered in cold blood in broad daylight while sitting in a coffee shop--by a complete stranger?

Or clothes for Justin Ferrari, hit in the head by a stray bullet while driving through the Central Area (he died in his father's arms,  his children, ages 4 and 7, in the backseat)?

It would be truly terrifying--and disturb viewers too much--to consider the possibility of the astronomical proportion of violent crime committed by African-Americans that has nothing to do with racism.  

Hence, the complacent statement of police violence (which occurs at far less than urban beatings/stabbings/shootings/robberies).  

We all love liberal fantasies, after all.


But nothing in this exhibition is not profound.   I'm not even sure if it is art.  It is as didactic, simplistic, and moralizing as anything to be found in mediocre Victorian art, though.

A more inclusive exhibition would be controversial, yes, but would definitely be cutting-edge--challenging the boring status quo--and undoubtedly cause riots but also bring in more bodies (live ones).

That is the very idea behind avant-garde art:  to provoke the viewer into a non-habitual response,

The "Burial" exhibition and its contemporary brethren on the liberal map put the viewer to sleep.

We already know and have memorized the answer:   "Oh yes, isn't racism and police brutality just awful!  Blacks are still terribly oppressed by society."    Amen.



* For instance, ask a few Americans who Voltaire was and see what kind of response you get.  Or why the Magna Carta was important.

Yelp review of The Seattle Times (10-29-13)

Yelp review of 10/29/2013

Yesterday morning, a man is robbed and beaten/kicked to the point that he is in critical condition- with serious head injuries.  

This happened right in downtown Seattle early Saturday morning, October 26.  The victim refused to hand over his backpack to his attackers.

This should be of concern to every Seattleite.  Not just robbery, but the kind of physical violence that is life-traumatizing.

And the Seattle Times does not even consider this worthy of coverage.

I guess this is what the editors and publisher consider "being responsible to the local community."

A man teetering on the brink of death is worth mentioning.

Citizens have a right to know.  And the primary purpose of  a newspaper is to inform them.

Newspapers have no right to withhold news from the public.*

* * * * *

And the Times wants people to subscribe to its online edition.

Don't go for it.

Go to http://kirotv.com instead for local news, as the Seattle Times won't provide it.
http://www.kirotv.com/ne…

I won't wade into what I consider the politically reactionary views expressed by the publisher on the editorial page over the past decade.

* To be fair to the Seattle Times, The Stranger, in its crusade to include incidents of white-on-black violence (as as gay-bashing) across the 50 states and to promote African-American culture, of course, did not consider this much more-closer-to-home news as worthy of coverage, either.  

The policy of The Stranger, even more than at the Times, is to not report black-on-white or black-on-Asian violence, only white-on-black (police "brutality").

I am curious (Do you feel the love, too?)

I am curious.

I am curious as to why the writers and editors of hip newspapers like our local The Stranger feel the need to hard-sell African-Americans and African-American culture.

Week after week, the pages of The Stranger are filled week after week with black people featured in advertisements and in full-length cover stories and columns as well as in plays, films, and music by and about African-Americans (for instance, this week in the film section there were reviews of a documentary on Mohamed Ali and the full-feature "12 Years as a Slave," this on the heels of this year's mega-hits, "The Butler" and "Django Unchained).

Not to forget coverage of sports in this city.

One would think that Seattle were a city of 50% white, 33% black (with the rest a scattering of Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, Muslims, etc.).

What's there not to like about the swagger, assertiveness, self-pride ("You're pathetic"), humor, machismo  ("I'm The Man"), heroic self-pity, ,
truculent defiance, sex appeal ("Me Tarzan, You Jane"), and proud-to-be-loud belly-ache of some African-Americans?

The Stranger is preaching to the choir, so to speak.   Or flogging a dead horse, to use another metaphor.

Or is all the effort meant to be directed to an imagined group of racist white homophobic fascist hillbillies  ("white trash") and a coterie of rich white people in Medina?

Oh, unless The Stranger means that if you don't just love African-Americans as it does, you are very suspect.*

Any hold-outs?



* In the spirit of equality, I wonder to myself how many people would feel obligated to love white people just because they are white, Asians just because they are Asian, Jews because they are Jews (and what happened to the Jewish people during the Holocaust) just because many people do and also strongly believe that others should do as well?

Even Forbes magazine (the rag of the proletariat) cannot justify Comcast's bait-and-switch

Comcast's Pricing Shell Game

Timothy B. Lee

About three hours after I wrote this post, I received a call from a nice woman at Comcast’s corporate office, who struggled to explain to me Comcast’s convoluted pricing scheme.

A bit of background: way back in 2009, I signed up for broadband service at an introductory rate of $38 (including modem rental). In March 2010, the rate increased to $50, which I assumed was the expiration of the introductory offer. Then in October 2010 it increased to $65. So I called, pretended to cancel, and was rewarded with an upgrade to their faster “Blast” service (which is apparently 25 Mbps rather than the standard 15) and a lower rate of $45. This rose to $47 in March 2011 and $52 in May 2011. I again pretended to cancel to get the price back down to $47. The price increased to $52 in December, and to $80 this month.

Comcast’s story is that $80/month is the “real” rate for “Blast” service, and I’ve been getting a $25 to $35 discount for the last 18 months. However, they have a new policy that “agents cannot extend back-to-back deals”—though, confusing, the original agent I talked to did give me a $10 off deal.

“Our customers have gotten so used to back-to-back promotions,” Comcast’s corporate rep told me, that it’s been a hard transition to the new, higher-price regime.

She told me that if I wanted to downgrade to the regular non-”Blast” service, that would cost $49, and she could apply the already-granted $10 discount on top of that. Then she told me I should feel lucky because I’m not taking television service and the real price for standalone, non-Blast Internet service is $63.

She also suggested that I was only eligible for an extra-special discounted rate because (presumably due to my original Forbes post) my case had been elevated to Comcast’s central office. Ordinary customer service reps, she said “have to follow procedure”—which apparently means no back-to-back discounts. However, in the corporate office, “we can bend the rules a bit.”

She gave me her direct telephone number in case I had any further problems.

About an hour later, she called back again and told me that due to some computer problem, she had been unable to give me the regular-service-for-$39 deal she’d offered me. Instead, she was giving me “Blast” service for $48 per month with a 12-month contract. We’ll see what my bill says next month.

I assume they called me in an effort at damage control, but I don’t think this makes them look any better. The official story seems to be that there’s a “standard” rate, and that I’ve just been enjoying a variety of discounts over the last three years, which for unspecified reasons had suddenly become (mostly) not available. But given that in the course of a single phone call she quoted me two different “standard” rates—$63 without cable service, or $49 with cable service (but which I’m somehow eligible for despite not being a cable subscriber)—and that she offered me several different promotional packages despite their supposed policy of not giving back-to-back discounts, the whole thing looks like an elaborate shell game.

Moreover, I’m bothered by the implication that ordinary Comcast customers have to live with one set of rules, but that the corporate office will “bend the rules a bit” for people like me who are able to catch their attention. If they’re going to offer me a better deal, they should offer the same deal to all of their customers. Of course, a fair and transparent pricing scheme might not be as profitable.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timothylee/2012/06/06/comcasts-pricing-shell-game/

On appearance in American culture

Recently, I was told by my yoga teacher that I was concentrating too much on (external) appearance, and that the "form" ought to be sensed from the inside.  This was definitely something to be concerned with and reflect on.

As one has not shopped in a department store (and rarely ever in downtown Seattle, unless if I absolutely have to), I wondered if this could be true (and to what extent).

True, often I believe that Americans--including myself--are obsessed with appearance. Not just concerned with it.  And we have exported it, "the, American way of life," around the world to the great detriment of the planet.

"They want our way of life," we gush in self-admiring content.  "Our democracy.  Our freedom.  Our affluence."

After World War II, "the American way of life" gained the ascendancy, with the great consumerist society and its accompanying technological leaps the envy of the rest of the world.

We have to keep stoking the fires of Madison Avenue advertising, shopping on-line and off-, 5G networks. Throwing money at Comcast, Verizon...

And keep up with Seattle "cool":   coffee-shops, clubs, stores, buses, airports, gyms, churches, and museums where we can let everyone know how interesting (or uninteresting) our lives are and how cool we are (and uncool others can be).   If we're alone in a crowd, we can always use our our Iphones and smartphones to announce to the world, or at least anyone within 50 meters of us, our importance.  Even if others don't really want to know

And as for physical appearance...

Hollywood movie stars, especially women, rarely have careers after the age of 40 or so. Unlike women like Judi Dench or Vanessa Redgrave--whose beauty as they age radiates from an inner sense, American women are not allowed to age gracefully (gay men, take note:  I think you've learned the wrong lessons from the experience of straight women) and continue to be held in esteem and given decent roles.   Hence, botox, face-lifts, and the like...

We'll see if Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, or Jennifer Lawrence are ever able or willing to (try to) take on roles that are not varying shades of themselves, the contemporary all-American woman.   Lady Macbeth, Mary Tyrone, Blanche Dubois, Hedda Gabler (at least Jane Fonda in her time dared).

Ditto for their male American counterparts, most of whom could not act themselves out of a box even if they had to.

* * * * *

Appearance is a major concern of a good part of the world, and certainly of all Western countries.  It is an inescapable fact of life.  It would appear that China is more materialistic than even the most capitalistic countries on the face of the planet.

But the fact also is that the United States is the foremost defender of the capitalistic system with its emphasis on the profit motive to the exclusion of all other values.   The U.S. also is the world's largest single economy (although the GDP of the European Union is larger) and military power par excellence.

* * * * *

If it makes me look good, I will feel good.  Ergo, my happiness and well-being depend on my looking good (botox, SUV, going out to the coolest clubs...).  And to some extent, looking good will give one a rush, a temporary feeling of well-being but not an inner peace or happiness.   Maybe that is what a spiritual life is supposed to nurture.

* * * * *

from The New York Times (October 20, 2013),

"Lessons From Living in London"

The natives’ reticence, and the prevalence of small buildings instead of high-rise apartment complexes, promote a feeling of self-containment, even isolation. In New York you live in one another’s pockets and in one another’s faces; your business is their business. In London, people keep themselves to themselves, as the expression goes, and this can feel either liberating or lonely.

I could stroll the paths at Kensington Gardens, or jog past the statue of Prince Albert all the way to Hyde Park, and have only the most glancing interaction with another human being, even though those places were full of them. So I spent a lot of time lost in thought. It was freeing to feel so anonymous, so unfettered — but sometimes it made the heart feel a little empty.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/travel/lessons-from-living-in-london.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

I wonder if the London of my youth is still the same, despite the American invasion of Europe of the past decades.  Will the preference for understatement, irony, and civility have given way to loudness, extroversion, exaggeration, narcissism, and unabashed exhibitionism?  

Will the supposed "cold-fish" have given way to a smiling, chirpy ersatz American talking non-stop without nary a pause for breath except at the very end to say "good-bye"?

* * * * *

The emperor has no clothes:   most of American life is concerned only with transactions (buying/selling) of surface appearances.

  

On that there is a social consensus, the driving force of most lives.   ("Keep up the appearances, of 'normality,' and do like everyone else").


One who dares to think differently and who speaks and acts from some other basis is considered "weird."
That person may, in fact, be more "alive" than others. External appearance may be less important than "seeing," "hearing," "touching"...  
  

The inner life ("core") for many if not most people is only incidentally (or coincidentally) touched over a lifetime. 

"evening star" of franz von stuck, in the museum villa von stuck, on loan to the frye art museum, seattle, nov. 1, 2013-feb. 2,2014

* * * * *



It is true:   I don't have much of a spiritual life and I occupy myself much as others in keeping myself distracted.


* * * * *

The dreams one has at night may actually be more important than what one does during one's waking hours, at least from a psychic point of view.