Month: August 2010

by Chris Bodenner

Facebook is suing a tiny startup called Teachbook because of the similar name. Money quote:

[Managing director Greg Shrader] said the term “book” is a natural fit for his website, since it relates to teachers and education.

by Chris Bodenner

A great white shark is roaming the waters off Provincetown, as evidenced by this footage of a seal getting nailed 20 yards from shore. So far no sightings in any tidal pools. Stay safe, boss.

by Patrick Appel

Larison goes another round with Douthat:

As far as I can tell, what Rauf’s critics want is not merely someone who is a moderate Muslim, which presumably means someone moderate in his interpretation of Islam as a religion. What they would apparently also like is someone who has no sympathy for the political causes or grievances of any other Muslims in the world. If moderation is defined in that unreasonable way, there probably aren’t very many moderate Muslims after all.

by Patrick Appel

Marc Lynch reads up on the Arab press's coverage of the Park 51 controversy:

Where the anti-mosque movement and escalating anti-Islam rhetoric is really resonating is with the Arab mainstream — that vast middle ground which had hoped that the election of Barack Obama would mark a real change from the Bush administration but have grown increasingly disappointed.   The mosque issue has been covered heavily on Arab satellite TV stations such as al-Jazeera, and the images of angry Americans chanting slogans and waving signs against Islam have resonated much like the images of angry Arabs burning American flags and denouncing U.S. policy did with American viewers after 9/11.   The recent public opinion surveys showing widespread hostility towards Islam among Americans have also gotten a lot of attention. 

It all contributes to the ongoing deterioriation of their residual hope in Obama's ability to bring about meaningful change. It's confirming the worst fears of too many mainstream Arabs and Muslims, and thus providing fodder for the extremists who hope to exploit that atmosphere.

Today on the Dish, we debated Americans' obsession with moderate Islam and how it eclipses the greater battle against extremists. Exum declared a different sort of victory in Iraq; we saw a another side of the war in Afghanistan; Wilkinson and Conor debunked the myth of the much brighter past; and this reader mused on memorials. Frum found Romney's Achilles heel; Reid went negative; and sometimes rental inspectors save the day.

We got a glimpse of the view from your recession; some blowback on the Cash for Clunkers debunking; and Mehlman came out of the closet. We wrapped our minds around the fallout from the housing market crash; tuned in to drop-outs; and tackled why no one really wants to live in the middle of the woods and get paid in cash. Pensions came back to haunt us; Kinsley pushed for more stem cell research; and Bernstein put liberals and conservatives into their respective camps.

We compared cats and children; kept an eye on Christianists, and an ear on Marin's Christian apology. VFYW here; MHB here; FOTD here; long form accolades can be found here and here; the case against envy here, and poking continued across international lines. We inducted Neutral Milk Hotel, Nick Cave, and Black Sabbath into the annals of hip Christian rock; Infinite Jest battled infinite Joyce; and liberals and libertarians all wanted to swim in the deep end. 

— Z.P.

by Patrick Appel

Ackerman digs up "extremely rare footage of the war in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province — from the Taliban’s perspective" shot by journalist Paul Refsdal:

Most American troops spend their tours in Afghanistan with only the vaguest idea of who they’re fighting. June, a Special Forces A-Team in the south reportedly couldn’t find the Taliban. It wasn’t so hard for Refsdal. This self-described “tall white man” managed to effectively infiltrate the insurgency in one of its bastions. The only other person we know to have done anything similar is our crazy friend Nir Rosen, who’s been known to pass himself off as a Bosnian Muslim.

by Conor Friedersdorf

Cletus writes:

What I find most annoying is…envy.

Have you ever spent an evening with the envious type? This is the guy or (or woman) who will bend your ear for hours speculating at great length about what a co-worker or neighbor is earning—usually with an undertone of resentment. Generally, the envious mind tends to focus on the material possessions of other people — the exact amount of Pete's bonus, what Randy paid for his house, the cost of Gretchen's new phone, how Ron was able to afford his vacation to Italy etc. To these people there's no such thing as ability or hard work — other people simply "gamed the system" or "figured out a wrinkle" that allowed them to get ahead. The envious man is the type that will literally froth at the mouth at the sight of a guy with an attractive woman. He'll get visibly angry and repeatedly point out that "he doesn't deserve her." In some instances, It will make him so upset, if he's had a few, he may even invent a fancied grievance and try and start a fight with a complete stranger. 

As a society we've been led to believe that jealousy and envy are interchangeable. They're not. Jealousy actually serves an important social purpose. It typically involves an individual, a cherished relationship, and a fear that the relationship may be in danger. While there is certainly a small minority of  "jealous types" who take this emotion to violent extremes and do great harm, by and large, some sociologists believe a certain amount of low-intensity jealousy is good for society as it helps maintain social stability. 

Envy, on the other hand, is the irrational resentment of another because he or she possesses something you don't have and it can create all sorts of ugliness.

As I wrote long ago in an essay on the topic: "Envy radiates from the literary enemy who obsessively critiques the work of a superior writer, the bungling criminal who informs on a successful rival, the co-worker who vandalizes the property of a gifted colleague, and at its most terrifying, the irrational despot who seeks to execute all men of ability…"

H.L. Mencken once wrote that he could never fully support democracy because he was incapable of envy. While I don't share his opinion about democracy, I'm happy to say I do enjoy his complete disregard for other people's possessions, finances, or abilities. I like to think that each individual should be responsible for setting his or her own standards for success — and my definition of success has more to do with such intangibles as personal or intellectual growth, creativity, dedication, openness to new experiences etc. Unfortunately, I know others who think differently and they can be excruciating to be around.  

by Chris Bodenner

A reader writes:

Whenever anyone mentions religious musicians, my first thought is always Nick Cave. The man's no model Christian; he was in and out of prison for petty crimes when he was young, was a heroin addict for many years, and writes a lot about death and murder. His faith, though, is something that always shines through in its own inimitable way (not unlike Leonard Cohen, actually).

Probably the most blatant instance of this is the song 'There is a Kingdom', off the album The Boatman's Call (the song doesn't appear to be on YouTube, sadly, but it's worth looking up). He's generally rooted in Biblical; he has a song and album called "The Good Son", about the brother of the Prodigal Son in Jesus's parable, while songs like "Tupelo", draw heavily on Old Testament imagery. Probably my favourite example is the brilliant "The Mercy Seat", in which a death row prisoner imagines his impending execution simply as a means of getting to Heaven, comparing the electric chair to God's throne.

Those are just a few examples off the top of my head; he's released a lot of albums in a 30-year career. He's also on record as despising the use of organised religion to score political points, as in the song 'God is in the House' [seen above]. In any case, I would describe him as both "hip" (in his own bizarre way) and religious (again, in his own way).

Another writes:

I haven't yet seen any references to the original and prolific dark angel – Nick Cave. When Johnny Cash covers you ("Mercy Seat"), it doesn't get much hipper than that.

Cave talked about his faith to a University of Vienna audience in 1999:

To write allowed me direct access to my imagination, to inspiration and ultimately to God. I found through the use of language, that I wrote god into existence. Language became the blanket that I threw over the invisible man, that gave him shape and form. Actualising of God through the medium of the love song remains my prime motivation as an artist. The love song is perhaps the truest and most distinctive human gift for recognising God and a gift that God himself needs. God gave us this gift in order that we speak and sing Him alive because God lives within communication. If the world was to suddenly fall silent God would deconstruct and die. Jesus Christ himself said, in one of His most beautiful quotes, "Where ever two or more are gathered together, I am in your midst." He said this because where ever two or more are gathered together there is language. I found that language became a poultice to the wounds incurred by the death of my father. Language became a salve to longing.

(Hat tip: Patrik Hagman)