MICHAEL O. ALLEN

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Rwanda’s story

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I have been reading stories in newspapers and magazines lately about the anniversary of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

I was in South Africa in early spring covering the first all-race elections in that theretofore benighted nation when I got news of the atrocities in Rwanda. Nelson Mandela had been released from decades of imprisonment and he had, by sheer force of will almost, led South Africa to the brink of renewal as a nation.

It was a great development in the history of mankind: a tyranny, essentially, relinquished power to the people it once oppressed.

To be sure, there were elements in the country that resisted the new dawn that was about to eclipse their world. The AWB, a militant Afrikaner group, for instance, mounted a bombing campaign that failed to halt the votes. Also, while the demise of apartheid meant the end of the despicable ideology of white supremacy on that continent, it did very little for women of all races who still had few rights in the new South Africa and were subject to incredible violence.

But those were days of hope and that was how I and the platoon of journalists from all over the world that descended on South Africa covered the story.

Then dark tidings reached us of violence convulsing another part of the continent, genocide in the East African nation of Rwanda.

On April 6, 1994, a mysterious plane crash killed Juvenal Habyarimana, president of Rwanda. The Interahamwe, militias made up of Hutus, the majority tribe, commenced a reign of bloodletting that did not stop until an estimated 1 million of their fellow Rwandans had been killed. The dead consisted of mostly Tutsis, the minority tribe, but Hutus considered opponents of the government were also slaughtered.

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April 19, 2008
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Camille, Paul & Scott

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I’ve come to bury Paul (and Scott) not to praise Camille.

When a hard time about the race whenever I’ve run into him. He insisted he campaigned hard. In 2006, Paul Aronhson did better than anyone has done against Scott Garrett and it still wasn’t close, 55-44. For long stretches, Aronhson was simply invisible.

My premise was the July 4 Parade in Ridgewood. Garrett, hardly a man of the people, was highly visible. People on his staff were everywhere. Aronhson

Yet, on that showing, some have pronounced Garrett vulnerable. I’m not so sure.

One thing that is certain is that Garrett has to go. This man is a disgrace to the 5th Congressional District.

April 18, 2008
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'Barthelmismo'

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Here’s a bit of Donald Barthelme’s “The Big Broadcast of 1938” ”

“Tell me about your early life,” she said.

“I was, in a sense, an All-American boy,” Bloomsbury replied.

“In what sense?”

“In the sense that I married,” he said.

“Was it love?”

“It was love but it was only temporary.”

“It didn’t go on forever?”

“For less than a decade. As a matter of fact.”

“But while it did go on. . .”

“It filled me with a somber and paradoxical joy.”

“Coo!” she said. “It doesn’t sound very American to me.”

“Coo,” he said. “What kind of an expression is that?”

“I heard it in a movie,” she said. “A Conrad Veidt movie.”

“Well,” he said, “it’s distracting.””

–From deviantART

There are reviews galore of new collections of Donald Barthelme. I’m offering (as if it’s mine to do so) a couple here:

Where Now? Let’s Go! by JOANNA SCOTT, The Nation, the April 28, 2008 issue

I don’t think Donald Barthelme would have minded being called a confusing writer. Confusion was a favorite subject for him in his essays and reviews, and it’s enacted in his fiction in a mishmash of dizzying incongruities. “The part of the story that came next was suddenly missing,” one of his narrators admits in a signature Barthelmean moment, and what follows is a hodgepodge of what could be said, what won’t be said and a series of “good-quality” lies spun on a whim. Not that all the details are important. We can’t count on any incident having lasting significance, nor can we trace a reasonable relationship between cause and consequence in these stories. Events rarely follow logically, and with all the bewildering pronouncements that Barthelme’s fictional spokesmen make about the state of the world, it’s hard to decipher any coherent idea.

But it’s important to consider the different meanings of confusion in order to discuss its effects. While the word denotes disorder and perplexity, in its early usage it also described the physical action of mixing elements to create something new. Through the fusion of fluids, of thoughts, even of people in friendship, confusion was understood as a process that could generate coherence, if only temporarily. Put these different meanings together, and we get the kind of confusion that Barthelme conjures up–an experience that can be as productive as it is unsettling.

Along with being the indefatigable force behind the University of Houston Creative Writing Program for many years, Barthelme is the author of more than seventeen books, including four novels, a children’s book and several collections of stories. John Hawkes called him “one of our greatest of all comic writers.” Thomas Pynchon coined the phrase “Barthelmismo” to describe the unique “transcendent weirdness” of his work. With Barthelme’s death in 1989, we lost one of our most admired–and confusing–writers. Now the independent publisher Shoemaker and Hoard has brought Barthelme back to center stage and given us a chance to reconsider his influence. Flying to America is a collection of unpublished and previously uncollected stories, as well as stories that were left out of his two earlier compendium editions, Sixty Stories (1981) and Forty Stories (1987). In addition, Counterpoint has reissued two volumes of criticism, The Teachings of Don B. and Not-Knowing, which gather together Barthelme’s essays, reviews and interviews.

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April 18, 2008
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The hype, don't believe it

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At least so says Eric Gwinn of the Chicago Tribune.

In a piece first published in late March, Gwinn went to town explicating why some of the things you may have first heard about some cool gadgets (some of them even from him) may not be what they were first cracked up to be.

I put a big photograph of Eric up here because I like his smile, which reminds me of my late dad, when he was smiling at me.

Buzzworthy, or buzzkill? byEric Gwinn,Gadget Adviser,

chicagotribune.com,March 6, 2008

The hype machine actually exists. I’ve seen it. It’s a Trojan horse whose big round head sprouts huge message-blaring bullhorns. It floats on a cushion of hot air created by marketing professionals, breathless gadget-lovers and by people like me who want to tell you about the latest, greatest thing.

When all riled up, the hype machine is so loud that it’s disorienting. Only after it blows past you can you gather your senses and figure out what is left in its wake. And that’s what I’m doing here, looking at a few things that recently have emerged from the belly of the hype machine.

LCD HDTV

Hype: Ads leading up to the Super Bowl touted LCD sets, especially higher-resolution 1080p models.

Reality: 1080p is better not just for viewing, but for stores’ and HDTV brands’ bottom lines.

“LCD TV obviously made up the bulk of the advertising [leading up to and during this year’s Super Bowl], but what is compelling is the increased push for 1080p televisions, which ensures greater overall profitability for resellers and manufacturers,” says Samir Bhavnani, director of consumer technology for market researchers The NPD Group.

My take: If you have a Blu-ray player or watch a lot of sports (or other fast-moving programming), 1080p makes sense. Most TV is broadcast in 720p or 1080i format, so a 1080p TV has to convert that signal to a higher resolution. So, for many TV watchers, a 720p or 1080i TV is HD enough. Consumers are still confused by HDTV, so they look to 1080p as a marker that “this television is better than others.” They don’t mind paying a little more, which helps retailers — who aren’t making the margins they were in the early days of HDTV sales. As the 1080p craze abates, the next “in” thing will be thin TVs. So next Super Bowl, it’ll be a race to see who can sell the thinnest HDTV.

iPHONE

Hype: Looks like the future, performs like a dream. With its sexy touch screen and slim design, it was promoted as the smart phone for the rest of us.

Reality: Despite its $399 price tag and inability to do some of the things a true smart phone can do, the iPhone sold 1 million units in just 2 1/2 months.

My take: People who see the iPhone as a phone are missing the point. Yes, there are phones with better reception, faster Internet speed and true smart-phone specs. But the iPhone is really a portable Internet device with a slick “Go ahead, touch me” control surface that also makes phone calls. The real point of the iPhone is expected to crystallize today, when Apple is scheduled to announce new tricks that other software companies have programmed the iPhone to perform. By letting other companies make software for the device, Apple speeds the process of giving people new ways to use the iPhone. And it still makes calls.

HD RADIO

Hype: It’s technology that lets you hear a different side of your favorite radio station in clear, high fidelity — which you can hear only if you purchase a special receiver.

Reality: A big-budget ad campaign still hasn’t moved the needle significantly in terms of purchases. Recently, it was revealed that only 330,000 HD radio receivers were sold in 2007, according to Ibiquity Digital Radio Corp., the company behind HD radio technology. By contrast, Nintendo sold four times as many Wii systems in December alone.

My take: Only recently have high-priced HD radios started dropping toward the $100 barrier, but even then, it will struggle to compete with MP3 players, as carmakers make room for those music devices in their cars. Besides, I’ve heard HD radio, and it didn’t blow me away.

MACBOOK AIR

Hype: It’s a laptop computer that can double as a breakfast pancake! Look! It fits in a manila envelope! How cool is that?

Reality: If you don’t need the power of a MacBook, there are so many small, light computers that are half the price and ready to roll. (The MacBook Air starts at $1,799 before you toss in the $99 CD/DVD burner, while the Asus EEE PC costs a third less.) The competition isn’t nearly as thin, but they’re cool-looking in their own way.

My take: I’m gradually becoming a Mac fan, but to me, this is like a proof of concept, a “Hey, look what we can do.” Still, it is cool. But if, like most folks, all you do on a laptop is surf, chat, listen to music and watch video, there are alternatives.

HIGH-DEFINITION MOVIE DISCS

Hype: HD movies and their players add depth to your home theater experience.

Reality: Many people considered the now-deceased HD-DVD format superior to Blu-ray, in terms of image quality. It doesn’t matter now, though; everyone gets Blu-ray and regular old DVDs.

My take: Don’t have a 1080p TV? Then don’t worry. Only those HDTVs will deliver the full glory of Blu-ray and only when displaying movies shot with high-definition cameras. “Godfather”? No. “It’s a Wonderful Life”? Uh-uh. Blu-ray players do improve the looks of those old DVDs, but so do so-called upconverting DVD players that cost a couple of hundred less. As more movies, concerts and TV shows are shot with high-definition cameras, more of that video will be on Blu-ray discs. So, a Blu-ray player is not a must-have right now.

egwinn@tribune.com

Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune

April 18, 2008
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ESPN's shame

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I am not a fan of the Houston Astros, never lived in Texas and don’t plan on visiting there any time soon. I am only a casual follower of the Baltimore Orioles or the Oakland A’s. And I neither like nor dislike Miguel Tejada. I know him to be a talented shortstop and a very good hitter.

ESPN, in an investigative program last night, ambushed Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada yesterday, in the process shaming itself.

The story seems to be that Miguel Tejada’s age in the Astros program says his birth date is May 25, 1976. Because this is an issue of national importance, ESPN sent lawyers to the Dominican Republic who obtained from the government the birth certificate that Tejada’s father filed. The document showed Tejada’s birth date to be May 25, 1974.

Here’s the thing, as this Houston Chronicle article shows, Tejada green card, his driver’s license, and all documents he has show his true birthdate. So, what exactly is the big problem?

If ESPN wants to do an investigation, why does it not try to find out how Major League Baseball preys on kids wanting to be the next Tejada, the mills that Major League Baseball runs in Latin American countries for academies that sell people major league dreams only to casually toss them aside when the league no longer has any use for them.

Tejada has more integrity than any of the people involved in the Congressional investigation of him, more honor than anyone at ESPN or MLB offices.

Miguel Tejada is a wonderful baseball player who overcame much adversity to reach where he is in baseball. There was never any guarantee he would make it. He was simply too poor to have such dreams. Someone sold him on the hope of becoming a baseball player. But, first, he had to change his age to be accepted.

What other kid in his circumstance would not have jumped at such a chance. I know I would have.

This was a disgraceful performance by ESPN and it ought to be ashamed of itself.

April 18, 2008
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Rugged toys

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Polaris Industries’ Ranger RZR

REINVENTING THE WHEEL_Stylish Off-Roaders By JONATHAN WELSH, April 17, 2008; Page D8

What It Is: A new group of small recreational utility vehicles are bringing horsepower and style to a previously dowdy segment of off-road driving. For years farmers and ranchers have used small two-seat utility vehicles to get around on their land. The machines, which fit somewhere between all-terrain vehicles and small off-road trucks, are hard-working but slow — about 15 miles an hour at most. Now a small group of companies are building faster, sportier models that appear better suited for racing across the Baja peninsula than hauling hay bales. Some of the new models can top 50 miles an hour and have shunned the plain, boxy styling of their predecessors. RUV sales represent a small but rapidly growing part of the overall utility-vehicle market and totaled about 80,000 units last year, up from 20,000 in 2005.

How to Get It: Kawasaki, a motorcycle maker also known for its lineup of utilitarian but unglamorous Mule work vehicles, recently rolled out the Teryx. The new machine is fast and looks almost like a sports car next to the Mules. Polaris Industries Inc. added the RZR (pronounced “razor”) to its range of Ranger utilities for 2008. Yamaha and Arctic Cat, known mainly for motorcycles and snowmobiles, respectively, added the speedy, sportier versions of their Rhino and Prowler vehicles.

Upside: Now you can take a friend for a fast ride across the range or along a forest trail more easily and comfortably than was possible with traditional ATVs, which have little passenger room. The new models have car-like features, such as the adjustable tilting steering wheel, disc brakes and digital dashboard gauges on the Arctic Cat Prowler XTX 700 H1 LE. Like older models, the new RUVs have pickup-truck style cargo beds and can tow small trailers.

Kawasaki’s Teryx 750

Downside: Extra power and speed are sure to get unwanted attention from environmentalists and others who frown on noise and potential landscape damage that motor vehicles bring to the forest and other natural areas. (Hunters and outdoor enthusiasts are a target market.) RUVs’ larger size could make them harder to handle on trails and other tight spaces than smaller Downside: Extra power and speed are sure to get unwanted attention from environmentalists and others who frown on noise and potential landscape damage that motor vehicles bring to the forest and other natural areas. (Hunters and outdoor enthusiasts are a target market.) RUVs’ larger size could make them harder to handle on trails and other tight spaces than smaller ATVs.

Cost: RUVs aren’t cheap. Prices range roughly from $9,799 for a basic version of the Kawasaki Teryx to $12,099 for the Yamaha Rhino 700 F1. Special editions are available, from the camouflage-colored Kawasaki Teryx NRA Outdoors model for $11,349 and the Ducks Unlimited version of Yamaha’s Rhino for $11,499.

Write to Jonathan Welsh at jonathan.welsh@wsj.com.

April 17, 2008
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'Race and American Memory'

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Roger Cohen of The New York Times (or should I say the International Herald Tribune?) is fast becoming my favorite columnist. He is a great writer with a searching conscience and vision.

Cohen was writing about the decision by Congress in 2003 to spend $500 million to build the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is set to open in 2015.

The question Cohen asked, after taking a measure of the Holocaust Museum, was why there is no institution before now to wrestle with the America’s tortured racial history, especially as it pertains to slavery, Jim Crow laws, and violence perpetrated against African Americans, including lynchings.

A timely question.

For nations to confront their failings is arduous. It involves what Germans, experts in this field, call Geschichtspolitik, or “the politics of history.” It demands the passage from the personal to the universal, from individual memory to memorial. Yet there is as yet in the United States no adequate memorial to the ravages of race.

The King Center is a fine institution. But it’s a modest museum, like others scattered through the country that deal with aspects of the nation’s most divisive subject. Why, I wondered as I viewed the exhibit, does the Holocaust, a German crime, hold pride of place over U.S. lynchings in American memorialization?

Let’s be clear: I am not comparing Jim Crow with industrialized mass murder, or suggesting an exact Klan-Nazi moral equivalency. But I do think some psychological displacement is at work when a magnificent Holocaust Memorial Museum, in which the criminals are not Americans, precedes a Washington institution of equivalent stature dedicated to the saga of national violence that is slavery and segregation.

I lived in Berlin for three years, a period spanning the Bundestag’s decision in 1999 to build a Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The debate, 54 years after the collapse of Hitler’s Reich, was fraught. It takes time to traverse the politics of history, confront guilt and arrive at an adequate memorialization of national crimes that also offers a possible path to reconciliation.

Germans have confronted the monstrous in them. In the end, they concluded the taint was so pervasive that Degussa, which was linked to the company that produced Zyklon-B gas, was permitted to provide the anti-graffiti coating for the memorial. The truth can be brutal, but flight from it even more devastating.

America’s heroic narrative of itself is still in flight from race.

April 17, 2008
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'Wright loves America'

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Here’s a brief description from wikipedia:

The Reverend Michael Louis Pfleger (born May 22, 1949[1]) is a Roman Catholic priest and social activist in Chicago, Illinois.

A German American from the south side of Chicago, Pfleger attended Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary South, Loyola University and the University of Saint Mary of the Lake. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 14, 1975. Since 1981, Pfleger has been pastor of the mostly African American Saint Sabina Catholic Church in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood. When he was appointed to his present position at the age of 31, he became the youngest pastor in the Chicago archdiocese.His parishioners have affectionately referred to him as a “blue-eyed black soul”. Under Pfleger’s leadership, Saint Sabina has established an Employment Resource Center, a Social Service Center, and also an Elders home.

Father Pfleger’s social activism has brought him recognition throughout Chicago and beyond. He has often collaborated and associated with African American religious, political and social leaders such as Jeremiah Wright, Joseph Lowery, Jesse Jackson, Cornel West, and Louis Farrakhan. What follows are some of his most notable campaigns.

April 17, 2008
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