September 2011 – Page 18

Accent Prejudice

Teachers in Arizona have been singled about because of their Spanish accents [NYT]. Dreher takes a step back:

It’s not as bad today as it was when I was growing up, but it’s still the case that having a pronounced Southern accent gets you branded by many people up North as a hick. It’s unfair and it’s untrue, but this is how it goes. In the UK, of course, class politics having to do with one’s accent are even more pronounced, and vicious. Anyway, I love the accent of the part of the South where I was raised, and would resent the hell out of it if the government took it upon itself to send in agents to punish teachers for not speaking its idea of standard English pronunciation.

So what if a teacher says “waw-tah” instead of “wah-terr”? In my town, black folks and white folks pronounce some words differently. For example, black folks say “Bat’n RUDGE” for the capital city, while whites say “Bat’n ROOZH.” Nobody corrected anybody else; everybody knew what was being said by the other. In point of fact, both blacks and whites pronounced “Baton Rouge” incorrectly — the original French is “Ba-tawhn ROOZH” — but so what? French people don’t live there; American people do, and that’s how they say it.

I take Rod's point – as long as teachers remain comprehensible to their students. My own accent made its biggest shift when I realized that half of what I was saying when teaching moral philosophy at Harvard to undergraduates was lost on them. When an Englishman says "Aristotle" it's almost one guttral syllable. The blank looks forced me to slow down the pace of my speech and lengthen the vowels. Arrristaatttle. It worked.

“I Dream Of Another Recession”

Ryan Avent captions:

Between the remarkable take on the global economy in this video and the interviewee's traderly insouciance, I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. Or grab a pitchfork. Or call him for investment advice.

Joe Coscarelli wonders if the interview was a hoax:

BBC Business Editor Robert Peston wrote this morning on Twitter, "BBC (& I) may have been hoaxed by YesMen," referring to the culture jamming group that touts itself as, "impersonating big-time criminals in order to publicly humiliate them. Our targets are leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else." Peston and the Internet's doubters pointed to this Yes Men stunt, which features a fake Dow Chemical spokesman who bears some resemblance to Rastani, the trader.

The Yes Men are denying involvement. Rastani insists that he's legit. Felix Salmon weighs the evidence.

(Hat tip: Metafilter)

Could Banks Go The Way Of Newspapers?

A challenge:

[W]e’re pretty much in a perma-recession, small banks are failing left and right, the biggest ones get bailed out, but the people who are in charge of the financial world–which is now optimized for algorithms, not people–are still burning $100 bills to light their Cohibas. Isn’t this the kind of primordial soup that spawns an industry’s overhaul?

I mean, people in my line of work got our asses handed to us by the democratizing effect of technology. Journalism used to be a few powerful people dictating what information you need to know, and now look at us. Blogs, twitter, well, I don’t need to rehash this old saw. Journalism was gutted by technology, in some cases for better, in some cases for worse…. Instead, how might the world change if we abstracted the bank?

What Bloggingheads Needs, Ctd

A reader writes:

Given your extremely literate and hip readership, I'm sure you've already gotten this from at least a few people, but just in case: David Foster Wallace pretty much called this one in Infinite Jest. There's a hilarious extended digression in which the narrator goes into great detail to tell the reader why, even though the story is set in the future, people are still using plain old telephones. The gist is that, once upon a time, someone invented videophony chatting. People liked it at first, but eventually we started feeling more and more self-conscious about our appearance on the phone. One thing led to another and companies started manufacturing masks for people to wear. These masks became more and more realistic until eventually the whole point of talking to someone via videophony become a lost exercise. Hence, everyone went back to the telephone.

I found a post from Jason Kottke that provides a few excerpts, and the pages from the text that the story occurs on. It really is one of the funniest passages in the book.

Rest assured that we won't be adding celebrity filters to our new video feature.

“It Is Our Tradition To Question God From Top To Bottom”

Kimberly Winston looks at atheism's diffusion amongst self-described Jews:

Atheism is entrenched in American Judaism. In researching their book “American Grace,” authors Robert Putnam and David Campbell found that half of all American Jews doubt God’s existence. In other groups, that number is between 10 and 15 percent. Those figures have some in the Jewish community alarmed. A recent issue of Moment, a magazine of Jewish thought, asked influential Jews if Judaism can survive without God. The answers were split.

“I Have Never Seen Europe’s Policymakers As Scared”

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What's happening in Europe right now may not be as much fun as watching Ron Paul on Jon Stewart, but it's hard to avoid the conclusion that much of our fate now lies in their hands. The euro was always predicated on voluntary sovereign governments' compliance with strict rules on debt. Those rules were either openly broken, or secretly flaunted or allowed to drift. All of this could be kept afloat for a while with the lubricant of economic growth – but take that away, and watch the bad debts chase the bankrupt governments chase the banks in even the strongest economies, like Germany.

We are at that moment when either the EU unravels because there is no collective will to bail out Greece (and Portugal and Italy) affirmatively or the Germans decide that it is time to take serious charge of the continent again. Zachary Karabell makes the case for optimism here. But I'm afraid I can't see a path between – although I am relieved that Tory euro-skepticism kept Britain from strapping itself to the euro mast.

Ryan Avent sketches the choice ahead:

On the one hand, it's as clear as ever that the euro zone needs a massive, ambitious policy to avoid a catastrophic financial scenario. And on the other, it seems ever less likely that the euro zone's leaders can agree on such a policy and muster the domestic political support to ratify and implement it. If Europe simply can't do what it needs to do, that leaves the euro zone, and the world, facing a very dark economic reality.

That reality is a darkening, intensifying depression, caused ultimately by governments, banks and individuals putting short-term ease over long-term stability over the last decade or so. My bet, I'm afraid to say, is on the euro's collapse. Sometimes, the pressure on such a new and risky experiment becomes too much. And this recession may prove Thatcher right again. You can't have a single currency for long without a single government. Pretty soon, I suspect we'll have neither.

(Photo: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou (4th from R) attend a convention of the Federation of German Industry (BDI), where Papandreou spoke in an appeal for more German investment in Greece, on September 27, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. By Sean Gallup/Getty Images.)

The Rogue And The Media

A reader writes:

Good for you in the discussion of the McGinniss book. I'm still barely more than 1/3 into it, but like you, I find the book to be marvelously well written and entertaining. And I feel I am learning something about the subject. She's no lofty intellectual, and indeed, she doesn't give a shit about policy issues–she backs into those issues based on her sense of what position would move her base. Her life is trashy, cheap and genuinely American.

For me the reaction that the McGinniss book spawns is even more entertaining than the book itself, especially the inside-the-Beltway reaction.

This review by Matt Dallek at Salon could almost be a self-parody of Beltway attitudes. McGinniss has done us all a great disservice, it argues, because the book is giving Palin another chance to play victim at the expense of major media, a game she plays so well:

"Palin's defenders have used, and will continue to use, the book as proof that her enemies will not stop in their single-minded quest to destroy Palin. Thus, a book like 'The Rogue' actually helps the former governor, deepens the image of her as a media victim, lending the veneer of credence to her charge that enemies are out to tarnish her reputation at any price."

The smart, liberal Washington set therefore know that the best approach to take with respect to Palin is to ignore her, but perhaps join in with her by suggesting that those who expose the dark underside of her existence are just nutters. What's the matter with this picture?

The people actually do have an interest in knowing something about what drives the people who seek high office and whose banter drives public debate. And in the case of the lady from Wasilla, the distance between her proclaimed values and her actual conduct is enormous. She presents herself as a morally stalwart, family values woman. But her own life is morally compromised at every corner, and her conduct shows that her family is little more than a stage prop. When one wonders will a Palin child ever actually graduate from Wasilla High School? And why shouldn't we know this?

I wish the reviews would actually deal with the compelling narrative McGinniss has provided, instead of constantly positioning themselves among their peers as anti-anti-Palin. In fact, I wish much of the media would stop the positioning and deal with the facts in the book, none of which the Palins have specifically denied. They've just thrown out broad accusations, including the ludicrous one attacking an email that actually demonstrates McGinniss's scrupulousness in not including the countless stories and rumors that abound in Wasilla in the book.

If the Beltway gave McGinniss the same respect they give Bob Woodward – whose sources are just as mysterious but far more powerful – we'd have advanced in our understanding of the Palin disaster in the GOP and America. But liberals more than anyone want this understanding shut down. Because the poor fuckers are afraid of being called lefty haters. What a bunch of cowards and poseurs.

The View From Your Window Contest: Winner #69

Screen shot 2011-09-23 at 5.56.16 PM

A reader writes:

The stucco buildings, the balconies and the palm trees all suggest a tropical setting. The blue building with the curly gable hints at a Dutch influence. The mountain in the background looks blasted away – as though to make room for incoming or outgoing planes, perhaps? I'm thinking Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

Another writes:

The first thing that crosses the mind is the rain gutters and the vintage SUV parked in the driveway. These point towards any city in USA. Given the contest's reputation, the limited landmarks in the image further bothers me to select USA. The style of housing with red roofs and blue color for housing suggests countryside. The most haunting clue is the sand butte in the background. This is a typical geological structure seen in the 'Colorado Plateau'. This strongly reminds me of the documentary Sons of Perdition, a film about the kids that escape the FLDS fence only to find a bigger challenge for survival. Anyway, my gut feeling says Colorado City, Arizona.

Another:

Looks a lot like New Mexico. But that truck and the architecture doesn't look like it's from the U.S. I'm going to pick the Mexican state of Chihuahua, because it has the most similar geology/landforms to New Mexico and it's right next door. That's all I've got, sadly.

Another:

Another hard one. Precious few clues to narrow it down. The palm trees – a date palm and a fan palm – indicate at least a sub-tropical climate or warmer, which I think might disqualify the Grand Canyon. The place apparently does have rain, according to the gutters and downspouts on all the buildings. But the unusual looking tailgate on the pickup truck says Mexico to me. It used to be common, where I live along the border, to see American-made pickups with beds that were clearly made somehwere else. These trucks invariably had Mexican license plates and I suspect the custom was for the dealers there to buy American trucks without the beds and then install locally manufactured ones. So I'm sticking with Mexico, perhaps somewhere in the state of Sonora.

Another gets very close:

I believe this photo was taken in Sun City, South Africa. Sun City is just to the west of Table Mountain near Cape Town. The mountain is bathed in the fading light of the setting sun. Also, note the Dutch (Boer) influence on the buildings in the foreground.

Another nails it:

After years of marveling at the obsessiveness of VFYW contestants, I've finally become one of them. Clearly, this week was an easy one, since it took a novice like me about 10 minutes to narrow it down to Cape Town, South Africa. The blue building with the fabulous gables is the Table Mountain Lodge on Tamboerskloof Road in Cape Town. The photo was taken from the building next to the lodge on Burnside Rd:

I'm going to guess it was from the window on the back of the second floor marked below. (The angle almost looks like it could have been taken from the back balcony, but then would that count for VFYW?) This week's contest makes me hope I get the chance to visit Cape Town sometime. At the very least, I learned a little about Cape Dutch architecture. Thanks!

A different angle:

Another:

The lovely Delft blue building is the Table Mountain Lodge, but if you really like this view, an apartment in this very building is available for vacation rental here. The owners, the Millingtons, are an Anglo-Irish couple living in France and they play in a band called The Portraits. Here is a sample of their music, I quite enjoyed it. Perhaps this week's photographer has heard them rehearsing a floor or two above.

I imagine there will be quite a few correct guesses this week, and I'm relatively new to the game (but very proud that my Ulaan Baator and Hofn guesses were published!) So to increase my very slim chance of being a book winner this week, I'll include a link to a video of a cute beagle puppy.

Pandering at least gets you posted. Another:

The lilac house was built in 1885 as a farmhouse in the Cape Dutch style, which is unique to the Western Cape province. We see a side of the house. The rounded gables were derived from the townhouses of Amsterdam. when first built, It was probably white with a thatched roof. The palm trees in the background are common around Cape Town.

Another:

After too many hard views, this is too easy. This looks very much like one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited – Capetown. Table Rock is a striking and very wonderful backdrop for this city, and is visible from nearly everywere because of it's overwhelming size and distinctively flat top.

Another sends a stunning photo:

Another:

Excellent contest this week, which means I was able to find it. Table Mountain in Cape Town is quite recognizable, and even if you didn't know it, it's the second picture on the Wikipedia listing for Mesa.

Another:

My parents lived in South Africa for four years before I was born. My oldest sister was born there, my middle sister was conceived there, then they moved to Detroit before I was born. Thanks, mom and dad (I kid, I love Detroit). The sister who was born there eventually studied abroad at the University of Cape Town, and I was lucky enough to tag along with my folks to visit her there when I was 19. The scenery, the wine and the beaches were enough to convince me that I would eventually need to move there at some point in my life (still waiting on that). It was a big deal to be able to drink with my parents at only 19, as I'd gotten into quite a bit of trouble with the law already for underage drinking. It was the first time I realized there was more to drinking wine than guzzling Franzia out of a box. Vineyard-hopping in Stellenbosch changed my life.

Another:

I know this one! The blue building is the lovely Table Mountain Lodge guest house on Tamberskloef Road in Cape Town, where I stayed a couple of nights to do some sightseeing in and around Cape Town after a conference in 2009. Lining up the corners of the buildings, it looks as if the view was taken from the window marked by an arrow in the adjacent apartment building, called "Bagamoya", on Brunswick Road. One of my favourite pictures from that trip:

I have my book already – now it's all about the thrill of the chase!

Another:

I spent an eye-opening academic year abroad in the mid-'80s at the University of Cape Town as an 18 year-old American watching the apartheid state seize up and begin to crack apart. The stunningly beautiful city and its mountains and coasts were a welcome balm amid all the fear and anger, even as the access I enjoyed as a white tourist underscored the system's rank injustice. Still, the walk I took from the city's main train station to the foot of Table Mountain, straight up its eastern face to the top and then back down under the peaks known as The Twelve Apostles to Camps Bay on the South Atlantic is in my humble opinion one of the great day hikes in the world.

Here's a nice shot from the web of the cable car station atop the Table on the left, and the Apostles in the center. Hiking trails descend directly to posh beachside neighborhoods just below.

Another:

The pimple on the far right of the table-top is where the cableway starts and ends. Tears came to my eyes as I saw this picture … I was born and brought up there.

Another:

Yo! this is Capetown! I know it. It's one of the seven apostles (the huge mountainous formation in the back is Table Mountain). Besides, the house is typical Dutch colonial. But anyways, I climbed that fucker on foot with my girlfriend. We thought it would be easy. There was a path that seemed to go up. The path turned to nothing after a while. It took us eight hours to get all the way up, thanks to the help of an eccentric Swiss expat who knew his way around the rocks and rubble. It was actually dangerous at times. At the end, it was all foggy and damp. We had a couple of bottles of that amazing Graham Beck Champaign to celebrate, at the cafe next to the cable car station. Here's a picture from our ascent:

Dorks. We're still smiling because we were only about halfway through.

Another:

The cable car station, with about a million visitors a year may, be one of the top destinations in South Africa. My cousins and their parents and I lived on Bridle Road, about the highest road on the mountain until 1965, when my aunt and uncle were banned by the regime and had to leave the country. They did come back 25 years later, to see the rebirth of this awesome country. Cape Town has jaw dropping scenery of mountains, white beaches and blue ocean sprinkled with massive rounded granite rocks. At the same time, it’s a blended mosaic of First and Third World, new and old. It’s 350 years old. It resisted the Apartheid regime more than any city, and it is a true rainbow city, an addictive place.

Another:

The mountain historically has been preserved in a manner similar to America's National Parks, glorifying the white European settlers who "tamed" the landscape and kicked out other indigenous people in the name of preservation, and the schematic/mental maps of the city typically draw the mountain as facing from the ocean from the northwest looking southeast. Interestingly, as Cape Town slowly progresses out of apartheid and works towards equality, the stories and traditions of Table Mountain of the non-Afriikaners have begun to gain importance. New efforts by these groups and their allies have begun building narratives around how other members of South Africa's Rainbow Nation have thought about, related to, recreated on, and mythologized Cape Town's signature monument. If you look at a map, you'll see that the majority of the town's townships are located to the east of the mountain; the "skyline" of table mountain appears very different from the townships.

Somehow, there's a metaphor here about how pluralism and multicultural democracy needs more people who are actively willing to look at what they perceive to be their gigantic civic monuments from different perspectives, to see something beloved and cherished from the view of those literally living in its shadows, to think critically about how the semiotics of these iconic places are implicated in larger discussions about equity and representation in a still largely unequal, unrepresented society.

Another:

My job has taken me to Cape Town and other areas of South Africa many times. My organization provides technical assistance to the Ministry of Health for developing, implementing and evaluating prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV programs. I have watched the tremendous progress made in HIV care and treatment between the abysmal government (non) response from the start of the epidemic to the long-dreamed of availability of treatment in almost every corner of the country. The rate of mother-to-child transmission has recently plummeted. I'm proud to say that nurses are making all the difference, as it is mostly nurses who manage antiretroviral treatment in primary care settings.

Another:

Well, I am probably the billionth person to get this right this week. Those mountains are very distinctive for anyone who knows Cape Town, South Africa (which I don’t). And those same mountains have appeared in previous VFYWs here and probably also here. Good luck choosing a winner. (I have already won one by sheer luck.)

Another:

I feel like I cheated! You've published this precise photo before, on May 25, 2006.

It's been very difficult finding candidates for the contest, so we had to look in the archives for interesting photos to run. Speaking of which, a remarkable email we just received:

Alright, alright … I'm kind of freaking out. First of all, I know exactly where that picture was taken, because I'm the guy who took it. I was an American visiting Cape Town, with my partner, who at the time lived in India. It was our first trip abroad together. We were (and still are) a same-sex bi-national couple, and I remember you included part of my letter when you published the photo, which you didn't normally do.

The second reason that I'm freaking out is that I haven't been back there since I took that photo more than five years ago, but today (Sunday), I'm going back there, back to that very same apartment. I'm writing to you from LAX. My partner's not coming along this time because he's going to India next week to visit family. But that's good news in a way, because he lives in Canada now after I moved there and sponsored his immigration.

So five years down the road, and … things do get better. Sort of. Life is complicated, and the recession sent me back to America. But we're only a few hours apart now and see each other all the time. We're not always under the same roof, but at least we're in the same time zone.

PS: The address where the photo was taken from is 3 Brunswick Ave, Tamboerskloof, Cape Town, South Africa. You can see a 3 or 4 level apartment building on the east side of the street. That's the place.

About two dozen readers correctly answered 3 Brunswick Avenue. Breaking the tie wasn't easy, so we looked to the two readers who so narrowly lost last week's contest. As it happens, one of them answered 3 Brunswick:

Thanks to everyone else for the excellent entries.

(Archive)

How Porn Powers Tumblr

An explanation on the occasion of Tumblr surges in fundraising and pageviews.

Quote For The Day

"I did favor the tax cut, but the quote Mr. Suskind attributes to me is fabricated. I didn’t say anything even remotely similar to what he quoted me as saying, and I didn’t make a recommendation in that meeting. I know this with certainty because this was the first big Presidential meeting in which I had a significant speaking role, and I was, to say the least, nervous …

It’s a small point, and something that only I would notice. Neither Mr. Suskind nor anyone else affiliated with the book had contacted me about the quote before publication, and indeed I never interacted with the author until I met him accidentally several years later.

Had the book purported to characterize my view, rather than actually quoting me, I might have shrugged it off. But when you see a fabricated, unverified quote attributed to you in a book that claims to be a historical description of an important policy meeting with the President, it sticks with you," – Keith Hennessey.