"Thank you for explaining that the amount correctly corresponds with a number you have based it on."

It's always fun to follow the interaction between a customer service representative and an overly intelligent, smart-alecky crackpot.

In fact, the whole website is something of a terrific timesuck - I can spend many enjoyable hours here.

HT: TDW (now that's more like it!).

Fact. I Heard It Somewhere.

Watch and listen to this interview with assorted Beckheads at this past weekend's odd little gathering in DC. Watch, listen - and marvel at how colossal ignorance is no barrier to vehement and indignant opinion.

HT: TDW, oddly enough. And to Sarah Silverman for inspiring the title of this post.

I, Too, Am Confused

Funny:

HT: David Mixner.

You Can't Argue With Statistics

And what they say about Harold Bloom's wayward personal hygiene is shocking.

Just sitting there, you were ‘disordered’.

In the London Review of Books, Colm Tóibín has an engaging article on the Catholic Church and gays - the love some of the latter have for the former, and the growing hatred the former has for the latter. The case of Ireland, which Tóibín, an Irishman, knows and describes particularly well, aptly demonstrates that the Church is now reaping the harvest from the seeds of dishonesty and oppression that it sowed, there and elsewhere, for centuries.

The suggestion that the Church's obsessive hostility to gays is rooted in deep-seated sexual repression - a suggestion made in the book by Angelo Quatrocchi, reviewed by Tóibín in the article - is certainly not new. It is one of those banal truisms that never become less banal even as they are shown to be less true than previously thought. Quatrocchi seeks to make great hay from it; parodically protesting too much, he titled his book The Pope Is Not Gay! and speculates therein that the Pope may be gay.

Tóibín, for his part, makes some effort not to take Quatrocchi's suggestion for more than it is worth. Nevertheless, he gives more credence than I would to the notion that the Pope's close personal relationship with his comely personal secretary, along with other indicia, at least suggest that the Holy Father may be, in Quatrocchi's phrase, "the most repressed, imploded gay in the world."

I see no real reason to believe such a thing, much less to be convinced of it. Suggestions like these always seem to have the same aim that Lyndon Johnson had when he floated the notion that a political opponent had sex with pigs: "make him deny it." But believing it is different from suspecting it, and in this sense, Tóibín makes a very lucid connection between the child abuse scandal and the nominally unrelated speculation on the Pope's sexuality. Tóibín notes that, as the Church has systematically destroyed its own credibility by coddling sexual predators, it has inadvertently allowed doubt and suspicion to cast shadows where once they would never have fallen. This is always the consequence of a loss of credibility, and the fight to restore it is always fought on many or indeed all fronts. So now the Pope, that arch-scourge of gays, finds his own sexuality questioned, and however specious that speculation is, it cannot be dismissed summarily. He is reaping what he sowed.

Stall Art

Banksy's got nothing on this. I like this one, even though it's like, so 2003:

But I don't like this one at all:

Ever Wonder Where Bill O'Reilly Learned to Sell Himself?

Porn, natch.

In Praise of Dirty People

Andrew Sullivan has another link to another study showing that clean people (I suppose they mean obsessively clean people) are more prone to make harsh judgments about others than people who are not so obsessed with cleanliness. I know of one neat freak who is a complete judgmental bastard, so it's borne out in my estimation.

Still and all - it's good to be clean.

It's Because It Starts to Mean More

Andrew Sullivan is linking to a study suggesting that a hook-up culture doesn't seem to eviscerate an ability to enjoy a committed relationship. Plus, there's a funny video.

Oh, and where was the study conducted? Chicago.

All the same, I wouldn't start saying that a hook-up culture has no effect. My guess is that it's really the difference between learning a lesson the easy way and learning it the hard way. Chronic hook-ups without any real connection only makes you yearn for the one thing a hook-up can't give you: love.

Ridiculously Adorable

The Daily What has a fondness for videos of cute dogs and cute cats doing cute-dog and/or cute-cat things. Here are two:

• Cute Dog

• Cute Cat

All I can say is - cutetastic.

And Now, Some Humor

Whew, my morning got off to a heady start, what with those last two posts and all. Time for a crass joke. The Daily What, take it away...!

To Those Catholics Who Fulminate Against the Building of a Mosque Near the World Trade Center Site

Read, remember, and deal.

PS - I have decided that any post about September 11 will now be tagged as (among other things) "history." Because by now, that's what it is.

"Overall, we can confidently say that well over 100,000 people are sexually abused in American detention facilities every year."

Well, that sentence woke me up. The New York Review of Books has a distressing piece on the rampant disregard in political circles for this human rights issue. Here's an example of what happens with such a failure of leadership and commitment:

Scott was a gay, non-violent, first-time inmate in a Colorado prison when he was targeted by members of the “2-11 crew,” a white supremacist gang with over 1,000 members in prisons throughout the state. For two years he was forced into prostitution by the gang’s leaders, repeatedly raped and made to perform oral sex. Even after he told prison staff that he was being raped and needed protection from the gang, Scott was told that nothing could be done unless he named his abusers—even though they had threatened to kill him if he did. Because Scott is openly gay, some officials blamed him for the attacks, saying that as a homosexual he should expect to be targeted by one gang or another. And by his account, even those officers who were not hostile didn’t know how to respond to his reports, because appropriate procedures were not in place. They failed to take even the most basic measures to protect him.

Ultimately, despite his fear, Scott did identify some of the gang members who had raped him. Not only did the prison authorities again fail to respond, they later put Scott in a holding cell with one of his previous assailants on the day he was to be released from state custody. Again, he was beaten and forced to perform oral sex. Scott had a civil lawsuit settled in his favor recently, winning financial damages and seventeen policy changes that will now become mandatory in the Colorado prison system. Otherwise, however, nothing about his story is unusual.

Even though Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in 2003, it has not been fully implemented. Why? Here's Attorney General Eric Holder's explanation, in a June 22 letter to two congressmen, a copy of which is found on Huffington Post and a link to which is provided in the NYRB article:

[The new rules should not] impose substantial additional costs compared to the costs presently expended by Federal, State, and local prison authorities.

The NYRB article seems to lay blame for this at Holder's feet. As the article points out, Holder is guilty of a certain amount of foot-dragging. In fairness to him, however, he points out in that June 22 letter that this "no new costs" requirement is found in the PREA itself. In other words, while Congress has required AG Holder to promulgate new standards aimed at eradicating prison rape, it has also required that the costs associated with implementing those new standards must be insubstantial; his hands have been tied by a cheapskate Congress whose members are mollycoddling the treasuries of their home states.

This is absurd. An act of Congress that purports to protect human rights while stating that the efforts cannot result in "substantial additional costs" does not protect human rights. Core human rights cannot be subjected to a cost-benefit analysis. And anyway, morality and legality aside, does anyone doubt that the costs of permitting prison rape - in health care for diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C that are spread by prison rape, in psychological and psychiatric care necessitated by rape, in litigation expenses - far outweigh the costs of preventing it?

A state prison cannot allow prison rape to happen merely because they don't want to spend a "substantial" amount of money in the effort to prevent it. They should stop prison rape or they should stop having prisons.

Dreyfus Undying

The Times (London) has an interesting review of two new books on the Dreyfus Affair. Poor Dreyfus, that unwilling palimpsest, pressed into service for cultural battles he had nothing to do with.

This Week in Non-News

Obama got a free copy of Jonathan Franzen's forthcoming novel, Freedom, before the official release date. Somewhere in Glenn Beck's brain, a blood clot is massing.

BFD, people.

Funny/True

HT: Antonio.

Light, Sky, and Color

Almost immediately upon arrival in Rome, I was struck by the intense and pure quality of the light. As Rome is essentially the beginning of the south, it shares a part of the glorious sky for which the Mezzogiorno is so famous. In none of the cities of northern Italy that I visited did I see a sky with the same persistently rich and saturated hue. Not only was the Roman sky itself attractive, but it brought out to full effect the wondrously deep hues of the city as well - cerulean blues, luscious ochres, warm salmons, vibrant yellows, living greens.

Here is a collection of pictures from my time in Rome, in which the sky and light are as much the subject as the sites.

This was the view from my hotel room, near the Spanish Steps, in the northwest of the city.

A procession of trees in the Pincio Gardens. The gardens run along a ridge and provide spectacular views over the city.

In front of a church in the Campo Marzio - I believe the church is St. Rocco. My real interest, however, was in the cheerful pink building in the background. In the foreground, under the statue, is a typical Italian hard at work.

Delightful ochre. I believe this building is somewhere near the Pantheon.

An illuminated statue on the Ponte Sant'Angelo, opposite the papal redoubt, the Castello Sant'Angelo. To the northeast, a few straggling clouds were massing themselves, something they did not often do - and they could never make more than a minor dent on the otherwise undiluted purity of the sky.

The angel from which the Castello Sant'Angelo gets its name. The shaft of light was unintentional, but I think it nicely echoes the diagonal of the angel's sword.

The papal apartments in the Vatican. Note the tart lemon color of the wall in the foreground. Many of the buildings in Rome are somewhat dilapidated, but this only adds to the city's charm, oddly enough - like an old grande dame whose face is lined but who can still look resplendent in her finery.

Roses and a well in the gardens of the Villa Borghese. I took a delightful morning stroll here. The Villa Borghese is directly behind the Pincio, but does not provide the same vantage point for views over the city. For morning strolls, take in the Villa Borghese; at dusk, the Pincio.

The grande dame's faded beauty on the Palatine Hill.

One of my favorite pictures - the Temple of Castor and Pollux in the Roman Forum. It took me a while to take this picture. I love its pure elementalism: porous rock, cool marble, azure sky.

Two pictures taken on the Via dei Fori Imperiali at dusk.

The campanile of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, near the Circus Maximus - catching the light of the late afternoon.

I, for One, Welcome Our New Mushroom Overlords

A headline from The Guardian: "'Zombie Ants' Controlled by Parasitic Fungus for 48m Years."

Sheesh. Long shifts, no union - and I bet the benefits are just brutal, too....

HT: AD.

UPDATE: I knew I had seen a David Attenborough documentary that touched on this. Here is that video. And here we have - holy cow, psychedelic zombie snails, too! Nature, you are one twisted nutter!

Can't Believe I Missed This

Earlier this month, CNN released the very first poll showing that a majority of Americans - 52% - approve of gay marriage. Woohoo!

A "Disgrace"

... that's what The New Republic's Richard Just calls Obama's stance on gay marriage. And you know what? It is.

Game Corner

Time for a game! Okay - which of the following is Julia Gillard, Australia's embattled prime minister, and which one is Jodie Foster, John Hinckley, Jr.'s love interest? You have five seconds starting ... now!

Missing: One Life

Barely used. Ech, Randians give me the willies.

HT: AD.

North Korea Is Gay and Has No Friends

What, it's true! I'm not just being mean (I save that for Philadelphia). Besides, North Korea just winked at me on match.com.

Ew - gonna block yo ass, lil' Kim.

Philly Sucks

Here's reason number a bijillion why Philly is Camden's lamer next-door-neighbor: they wanna make you pay $300 for the privilege of blogging. Hey Philly: how about I give you nothing, trash you at every turn, root for the other team, and get outta here? Sounds like a better plan to me.

UPDATE: Money quote in the video segment from Colin Flatt, blogger: "I think what we really need to worry about here is the use of common sense and discretion, and these are two traits that we don't always see when it involves Philadelphia and the infrastructure here." You said it, brother.

Reading 'Round the World

... a photo essay. (I still like this one better, though they tend to be a bit too waify-hipsterish for me.)

HT: TDW.

Same-Sex Marriage, State-by-State

Here's an interesting graphic from The New York Times, showing support for same-sex marriage in 1994-96 and again in 2010 for each state. Crunching the numbers produces the following interesting findings:

• In 1994-96, same-sex marriage enjoyed majority support in exactly zero states. The highest level of support at that time was in New York, with 39% in favor. (A bill to permit same-sex marriage recently died in that state's senate.) In 2010, by contrast, a majority supports same-sex marriage in 17 states - including 5 of the 30 states that have passed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. Today, pride of place goes to Massachusetts, with 62% in support. In Pennsylvania, support is currently at 51% - better than I would have guessed from Pennsyltucky. (Support in the actual Kentucky is a tepid 31%.)

• Interestingly, support for gay marriage is above 33% (i.e., a third) in a whopping 41 states, including 21 of the 30 states that have passed discriminatory constitutional amendments. That surprised me. In 1994-96, it was above a third in only three states: New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Of those three, however, only Connecticut now recognizes gay marriage - though they are all in the top four of supporters (along with Vermont).

• The average increase over the past 14 to 16 years is 18.12%. (I know, I know, the median increase is the better figure to use here, but I'm lazy.) No state saw a decline in support; every state saw an increase. The greatest increase (29%) came in Massachusetts; the smallest (9%), Alabama - but even there, gay marriage is now supported by 26% of the population. Alabama is as liberal today on this issue as the 23 most liberal states were in 1994-96.

• In those five states that now recognize gay marriage, support has risen by an average of 24.6%. Even in states that have discriminatory constitutional amendments, support for gay marriage has risen by an average of 11.6%. These two facts bolster what conventional wisdom suggests: winning the war for hearts and minds leads to reform, sooner or later. In other words - don't be discouraged by New York, New Jersey, etc.; reform there will come eventually. As for the rest of the states, the focus must be on convincing the public.

• To get a proper gauge on what the "will of the people" is, we would have to know what percentage of people disapprove of gay marriage in each state. But I think it's pretty clear that, unless we're talking about Utah or another one of the knuckle-dragging states, there is no consensus in opposition to gay marriage and a "will of the people" argument against it is a canard. (To say nothing of the fact that majority opinion has diddly-squat to do with fundamental rights anyway.)

• Lastly, these figures do not include the District of Columbia, which approved gay marriage this year.

You know what? After this little exercise, I'm feeling pretty darn good!

A Tail Tale

Tim O'Brien of The Atlantic has some lucid reflections on the centrality of imagination to good fiction.

Things That Shouldn't Be But Are

The Chinese Red Army performs Michael Jackson's "Beat It," or so it would seem.

HT: TDW. (You were expecting maybe CNN?)

Is Literary Parody Just a Form of "Emotional Vulgarism"?

I'd like to think not. Seamus Perry of The Times (London) reviews a new book called The Oxford Book of Parodies, by John Gross. Perry cites with some approval the notion that parody is "shorthand for what ‘serious’ critics must write out at length," and nods at the notion that it is a "vulgar art" - yet he plainly loves it, and Gross's book. He seems to be of two minds of the subject, or perhaps he just loves it as the low brow art of the high brow reader.

Which prompts - what else? - a parody, somewhat arbitrarily in the manner of Coleridge:

It is an ancient scrivener,
And he stoppeth one of three.
He asks, is parody high or low?
"Yes," replies Perry.

None of which is to say that he's wrong, mind you.

The Sienese Palio

The Palio is an awesome festival that takes place twice a year in Siena. The centerpiece is a 90-second horserace around the Piazza del' Campo in the heart of the city, but medieval-style parades and festivities go on all day. Each neighborhood competes vigorously against each other and entertains fierce rivalries with enemy neighborhoods.

Here's video number one, the parade of my adopted Sienese neighborhood (Nicchio):



And here's video number two, of the victor being paraded around the city's narrow streets:



Sadly, my neighborhood didn't win. Surprise, surprise! At least I got some eye candy at the end of it all.

Off to the Netherlands and Italy Today!

Yay!

Prop 8 Eats It in Cali

Rejoice and be glad. When you're done, Rachel Maddow has some snickerworthy gems from the ruling. This is gonna make great plane reading.

Here's the ruling.

Remains of St. John the Baptist Found, Apparently

In Bulgaria, no less. I'd like to know how they can be so sure.

Random Thought of the Day

Some believe that people who find themselves drawn to city life are drawn, specifically, to the constant flux that characterizes any vibrant city. What they crave, it is said, is change - as though a love for the urban life were really just a species of restlessness, or a proclivity to boredom, either of which, I guess, they think would be cured by a spell on the farm. But I don't think this is right. While I draw a great deal of excited energy from living in a city, it is not change that I seek, and too fast a pace of change - as in, say, New York or Los Angeles - can even ruin the urban experience for me. No, what I like about city life can, I think, be shown in what I like about city neighborhoods. They change and they stay the same, though of course not always at the same time. A block that, say, started out as tenement housing may subsequently enjoy a second life as a home for several Vietnamese families, and then another life again as a faux-dive hotbed for hipsters who have far more money than they like to let on. Each of these neighborhoods - the poor one, the Vietnamese one, the poseur one - can last for a spell, but each too is certain to be replaced, as it replaced the neighborhood before it. These little puddles of reality stay for a while, and then evaporate, and then new puddles form, and then they too evaporate.

I don't think city people crave constant changes. I think they crave changing constants.

Where Were They Then?

Here's a clip of Tina Fey's very first acting gig, from 1995 - it's an ad for Mutual Savings Bank. If you think that's bad, you should see the kind of ad she did afterwards.

My only quibble is that they are clearly not eating Chicago-style pizza.

HT: TDW.

Back Now

...but planning my trip to Italy. May take a while for something of substance to appear on here. (Back Row: "Well, we've waited this long, haven't we...?)