Epenthesis Enterprisestag:www.epenthesis.org,2007-09-07://12008-04-27T07:36:51ZWe put the "P" in "Hamster."Movable Type Publishing Platform 4.0Spinning Into Buttertag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89212008-04-27T07:30:17Z2008-04-27T07:36:51ZAmanda Marcotte apologizes for "offensive" imagery in her book: I'm sorry. Plain and simple. I didn't pick the offensive imagery...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
Amanda Marcotte apologizes for "offensive" imagery in her book:
I'm sorry. Plain and simple. I didn't pick the offensive imagery in my book, but I should have caught it sooner than now. I didn't and there's no excuse. It was my first book, I was excited and happy, but I needed to have a more critical eye. I would do anything to remove racist images from the first printing of the book if I could, and I am relieved and happy to say that they will be removed from future printings. Seal Press has their note of apology up too, and they accept full responsibility for these mistakes. I really recommend reading it.
I'm a lot prouder these days to be a Democrat than to be a liberal, because we're just a bunch of lily-livered pussies. Amanda used those images because of their dated, privileged, white male view of the world, in equal measure sexist and racist--and people are outraged because they are, in fact, sexist and racist?
Baloney. These "sensitivity" issues have their place, but when they start driving wedges between communities who ought to agree, they should be tossed aside like the stupid distractions they are. Amanda, having lost a job over exactly such a situation, should be aware by now that it's a game you can never win.]]>
Everything Old Is New Againtag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89202008-04-23T05:56:40Z2008-04-23T05:59:08ZWindows Vista, 7, and Singularity: The New Copland, Gershwin, Taligent -- RoughlyDrafted Magazine Microsoft's current and future operating system projects,...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
Windows Vista, 7, and Singularity: The New Copland, Gershwin, Taligent -- RoughlyDrafted Magazine
Microsoft's current and future operating system projects, Windows Vista, Windows Seven, and Singularity, share too much in common with Apple's failures of the mid-90s. Each project bears a striking resemblance to the three catastrophes that nearly killed Apple in the early 90s, and for many of the same core reasons. Here's why, and what this means for the future of the PC desktop, the Windows platform, and new emerging mobile markets.
There aren't a lot of Mac columnists better than Daniel Eran Dilger these days--this one is particularly good.]]>
In A Foreign City, In A Grumpy Moodtag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89192008-04-18T03:20:20Z2008-04-18T03:44:48ZThose few who saw my rant late last night can ignore it. Man, I was pissed off (at something to...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
Adrift in Macao: fun. But Peter Melnick's got a ways to go before he'll be ready to write the score to a full-size Broadway musical.]]>
Double Double Standard Standardtag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89172008-04-14T21:33:05Z2008-04-14T21:53:08ZObama supporters, feminists, young voters, Hillary Clinton | Salon Life Yet some female voters have begun to express nearly as...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
Obama supporters, feminists, young voters, Hillary Clinton | Salon Life
Yet some female voters have begun to express nearly as much disenchantment with the Obama-mania of their peers as with their Clinton-promoting mothers. And even while they voice dismay over the retro tone of the pro-Clinton feminist whine, a growing number of young women are struggling to describe a gut conviction that there is something dark and funky, and probably not so female-friendly, running below the frantic fanaticism of their Obama-loving compatriots.
Fair-minded though this article might be (most of the subjects actually are Obama supporters), I find this troubling--just not in the way Traister intended.
Hillary Clinton has behaved so badly in this campaign that I, someone who proudly planned to vote for her until well after her first losses, and someone who has seldom had a kind word for her opponent, have been driven to despise her. She is now clearly fighting to preserve her chances at '12, this season a total wash. Obama cannot ever again be a viable candidate if she's to return to the White House, so she has to take him down despite the fact that he is certain to be the nominee. The degree of selfishness inherent in this plan of action is staggering; she may well be dooming hundreds of thousands of Iranians to death and millions of Americans to abject poverty by giving McCain a free ride. But she will not stop.
What, though, is to be our response? Can men not hate her? Why is "I want to punch her lights out" not a valid reaction to what she's doing? I've hated politicians of both sexes for far less. (Reread some of my screeds on Bloomberg or, well, any Republican pol.) Can we not hate women in the same way we hate men--can they not handle it? What do we have to do, pull our punches because she's a girl, lest other girls get upset and start crying?
Is this seriously what feminism hath wrought? There are still ugly associations to male anger against women, but when individual men--even progressives, even gays--can't be openly angry at individual women who are public figures who are behaving disgracefully, there's a problem. You worry that we're going to lose you? You're losing us.
That said, this is something that I think Obama could be good at addressing. At the root of his words on racism is the simple imperative that we need to learn to empathize with one another, and perhaps eventually understand if not forgive prejudice against ourselves. It applies just as well to all groups that figure in identity politics. There's an unhealthy degree of tension between men and women as well as between people of different races, and we certainly need to have an uncomfortable dialogue about that, too.]]>
Democracy Suckstag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89162008-03-28T04:31:34Z2008-03-28T04:53:15ZThe candidates these days are pissing me off somewhat less than their supporters. Obama's people are creepy. There's this cultish...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
believe. But Clinton supporters...with quite a few of them we're crossing over from devotion into mental illness, plain and simple. They believe that seating the Florida and Michigan delegations, unabridged and with no revote or reallocation, would be fair. They believe that Pennsylvania will be enough to give her a lead in votes cast. They believe that Obama's state senate experience is irrelevant, but Hillary's years as First Lady count almost as much for her as they do for Bill. They believe that the country would unite behind her even if she were nominated without having actually gotten the most votes. And they're really deeply bothered by Rev. Wright, though one suspects they're not going to be so concerned about the psychos lining up behind McCain. Perhaps worse than anything, they have no idea that they've lost--Hillary is still running in the hopes of getting an unexpected shot at a Hail Mary, but there's no explanation for why they're so unperturbed that she's lagging far, far behind without much time left on the clock.
Obama's people believe some pretty stupid shit, but Clinton's are living in their own little world. My choice is clear.]]>
We're So Fuckedtag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89152008-03-26T01:32:44Z2008-03-26T01:35:31ZJustices Rule Against Bush on Death Penalty Case - New York Times Just to be clear: Bush's argument was that...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
Justices Rule Against Bush on Death Penalty Case - New York Times
Just to be clear: Bush's argument was that the condemned defendants had been unfairly denied their rights.
The Supreme Court came down on the right of Bush.]]>
Eye Rite Gudtag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89142008-03-21T06:37:49Z2008-03-21T06:55:54ZI don't talk much about work, but I want to go on record saying that I'm not satisfied with my...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
I don't talk much about work, but I want to go on record saying that I'm not satisfied with my ability to get things right the first time. That's key for editors--the later you notice a problem, or change your mind about whether a problem exists, the more loudly it's going to be amplified. I spotted something today at the last possible moment, and while it's still fixable and will not cause crisis (it wouldn't have if it had been printed, frankly), I'm pretty sure the team's disappointed with me.
We all have an error rate, and we don't always have the time or concentration necessary to connect every dot. There are going to be cock-ups. The goal is to get their numbers as low and as insignificant as possible, and that's goal number one for me in the coming months. Assuming my ass isn't fired. *knocks wood*
Get Out Of My Head!tag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89132008-03-21T03:29:03Z2008-03-21T04:28:01ZI've tried writing this a few times and it has never come out right, but it needs to be said....Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
hate talking about my feelings...at least, when it isn't on my terms. When it's done awkwardly, I might appreciate the gesture intellectually, but it stings like salt in a wound.
(There's also the fact that every so often I post something in the hopes that a certain person will see it, and instead someone I'd have preferred never see it is the one who responds. I could fix this by just switching outright to Livejournal and being careful about friends-locking, but I'm stubborn about such things, so I'm not doing that.)
It's perfectly natural to want to respond to things I say, so I don't know exactly what kind of reaction I can expect to this. All I can say is that it's what's kept me from posting. ]]>
Birds of Paradisetag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89122008-03-13T06:10:27Z2008-03-13T06:29:56ZImagining you Takes all of my powers. It's all I can do For hours and hours. Inventing amusing phrases only...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
Imagining you
Takes all of my powers.
It's all I can do
For hours and hours.
Inventing amusing phrases only you would say,
We have conversations every day that way.
Imagining you
In new situations.
We have our first fight
What sweet complications.
My life is in black and white compared to what I see,
Imagining you in love with me.
Time just forgets to exist,
And it lets me spend light years alone with you, meeting your gaze.
I'm too far gone to resist
If it's crazy to think that somehow I could win you,
I'm crazy enough to continue
Imagining you
Without your permission.
I conjure you up,
Just like a magician.
I whisper your name, and you appear at my command,
Except that it's nothing more than sleight of hand.
Imagining you
Your face when you're sleeping.
The places you go,
The secrets you're keeping.
As though I'd been locked away and left without a key
I have to make do till I can get free
Imagining you in love with me.]]>
Schadenfreudetag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89112008-03-10T21:14:43Z2008-03-10T21:19:08ZAmazing how far Spitzer fell--well, no, many have fallen that far, but not with such speed. Good riddance, too. He...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
Amazing how far Spitzer fell--well, no, many have fallen that far, but not with such speed. Good riddance, too. He had some nerve selling himself on ethical conduct when this is how he intended to conduct himself.
Not a proud day for Democrats, but there's quite a silver lining: whoever the GOP puts up in three years is certainly not gonna be running against Spitzer. As of yesterday we had at best even odds of holding the statehouse, now it's probably going to be a comfortable hold.
A Nice Place To Visittag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89102008-03-07T18:40:11Z2008-03-07T18:51:04ZAdorable. Visit mine, then create your own. Other time-wasters I'm employing on this surprisingly light day of work (the eye...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
Adorable. Visit mine, then create your own.
Other time-wasters I'm employing on this surprisingly light day of work (the eye of the hurricane, between a glut of MLR submissions and a glut of prepress):
*Web Sudoku
*Crosswords, free daily from the Sun and weekly from the NYT and the Onion
*Sleuth!
*A new GROW puzzle
]]>
See You Next Tuesdaytag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89092008-03-05T13:07:06Z2008-03-05T13:09:14ZGuy You Don't Want To See Will Meet You There | The Onion - America's Finest News Source CRESSKILL, NJ--In...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
Guy You Don't Want To See Will Meet You There | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
CRESSKILL, NJ--In news that has made you wonder why you ever even talk to that guy in the first place, David Krysh, that prick you can't stand, has announced his intentions to meet up with you at the Canyon Road Bar & Grill later tonight. Although you had intended for this outing to be restricted to people whose company you genuinely enjoy, the guy who is impossible to have a conversation with will be showing up at 8:00 p.m. and will sit right next to you. Krysh has also announced plans to bring along a few of his friends, including that one tall guy with the sweaty hands, a development you have classified as fucking wonderful.
Do the Onion editors have a direct pipeline into my mind?]]>
One Plus Two Plus Two Plus Onetag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89082008-03-02T20:31:20Z2008-03-02T21:00:18ZI'm utterly addicted to Sleuth: Shades of Mystery, the first new webgame to have caught my attention in quite some...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
Sleuth: Shades of Mystery, the first new webgame to have caught my attention in quite some time. The fact that it's all randomly generated (and therefore completely arbitrary) doesn't matter in the slightest; it still sets the right creepy mood and provides extended replay value with all the things it's possible to do in the city.
If you play long enough, too, crazy and unexpected things happen--you can encounter crime factions that carry over from case to case, you can find documents that pertain to unique scripted cases to be solved separately, you can unlock new characters to help you in your investigations, and you can be in the middle of solving a case only to have a key suspect turn up dead. And the random engine adds moments of unintentional humor; earlier one of my murder victims had a wife and two male lovers, none of whom expressed any jealousy over the others (their potential motives all had to do with stolen jewels or something). It's wild and fascinating and the only thing keeping me from spending all day and night playing it is the thirty-case daily limit. (And I paid for the upgrade; only the first six are free.)
What, you thought I was going to be talking about Garfield Minus Garfield?]]>
Sickotag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89072008-02-26T06:21:00Z2008-02-26T06:41:46ZThe Reality-Based Community (which unfortunately doesn't accept comments; I don't think it's worth a post here) has just gone on...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
The Reality-Based Community (which unfortunately doesn't accept comments; I don't think it's worth a post here) has just gone on a bloodthirsty, naive and oddly ill-informed tear about pharma marketing. Does Mark Kleiman actually know what we do? I spend many hours every day making sure that the materials our clients give to doctors are not just technically accurate but fairly written--I send back copy that attempts to make excessive claims or fails to draw sufficient attention to risks and side effects. If I don't catch those issues, each pharmaceutical company has an internal legal committee to do it. And if misleading pieces end up in circulation, the FDA has mechanisms to stop them and force everyone involved to make amends--and boy, is it ever willing to use them.
And anyone who thinks that general practitioners are going to be regularly relicensed to write simple Rx has got a screw loose. It's perhaps reasonable to make demands that specialists remain abreast of current work in their field, but do you want to have to see a specialist every time you have a common ailment and you need a drug that has no serious side effects?
Finally, the "drugs are cheap to produce" line is just stupid. You're not just putting money into the pockets of the captains of industry here--those revenues pay for R&D. And yes, for advertising, because if they just made the damn drugs and didn't let anyone know about them, they'd never get prescribed. What is the alternative to marketing, word of mouth?
I usually love the RBC, but they're way off base here. The alternatives to the existing direct-to-physician marketplace would be worse.]]>
Haughty Competitiontag:www.epenthesis.org,2008://1.89062008-02-10T10:33:50Z2008-02-10T10:38:36ZThis might be my favorite-ever Project RunGay post. Those boys are, bitchery aside, full of love for the show. I...Mike B.http://www.epenthesis.org
This might be my favorite-ever Project RunGay post. Those boys are, bitchery aside, full of love for the show. I can read their posts many more times than I can watch the episodes, and that's saying something.
I'm glad not everyone recognized them. :-)]]>