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Big Bird Flies Right

The common take is that NPR is the only bastion of left-leaning media in a field of right-dominated network and cable corporate conglomerates. But that view doesn’t stand up to the facts, according to a new report by FAIR, which found more right-wing sources and airtime than left on the network. In a time when it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find balanced coverage anywhere on TV, even PBS is becoming toxic.

“Republicans not only had a substantial partisan edge,” according to a report accompanying the survey, “individual Republicans were NPR’s most popular sources overall, taking the top seven spots in frequency of appearance. ” In addition, representatives of right-of-center think tanks outnumbered their leftist counterparts by more than 4-to-1, FAIR reported.

And PBS’ legendary editorial independence is now being threatened by the fact that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting – whose job it is to shield public broadcasting from ideological prssure — is now becoming subject to just that via right-wing appointees

CPB’s primary mission has always been to serve as a “heat shield” between government and public broadcasting, protecting programming from government interference.  But instead of serving as a “heat shield,” CPB now is the agent of ideological interference.  And public broadcasting’s news and public affairs programs in particular will be harmed if conservative members of the CPB have their way. The New Yorker’s expose, “Big Bird Flies Right,” documents several disturbing trends.

For example, CPB’s recent decision to fund two conservative-driven shows and cut Bill Moyer’s program from 60 to 30 minutes.

Music: Tom Verlaine :: The Deep Dark Clouds
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Shell Scripting Class

Decided to further my career and become UNIX certified. Have never taken a computer class in all this time; everything I know I’ve learned “on the road” over the years. I’ll be taking a series of classes through UC Extension one evening a week — a series that will last several semesters, since I have limited time to dedicate. The first class wasn’t scheduled for this semester, so am starting with a shell scripting class taught by John Muster, a gentle and wise Einstein-like figure. His book UNIX Made Easy is our text — he sees the book as a “sherpa,” which I can relate to.

Did a ton of shell scripting in the BeOS days (the 1,000-line RipEnc was my piece de resistance) and so thought I could coast through this, but after tonight, it’s immediately apparent we’ll be rowing this boat hard. Entire first session was on vi; I’ve got enough vi to get things done (which is exactly the level of knowledge he presupposed), but Muster wants advanced vi/vim usage to be like breathing.

Music: The Flaming Lips :: All We Have Is Now
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June the Hitchhiking Mannnequin

An old friend visited yesterday. Said his dad reads memepool and had forwarded him a link he had found there, to the story of June the Hitchhiking Mannequin. My friend recognized the domain – birdhouse. This is one of the oldest pieces on birdhouse classic – originally posted in Summer 1995. And memepool is just finding it now? Sometimes I almost forget about all the content sitting around on the original incarnation of birdhouse, unpruned but not unloved.

Music: Mission of Burma :: Einstein’s Day
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Geese, Fuselage

Amy headed for NY for four days; for the first time I’m taking care of Miles alone for an extended period. This morning, she calls when she’s supposed to be in the air – her plane headed out of OAK had run into a flock of migrating geese over the bay, their bodies thudding into the fuselage. She said it sounded like parts were being ripped off the plane. Then, inevitably, one was sucked into the right jet engine. Passengers felt the plane lurch in the air, blood and entrails all over the wing. Smoke started to pour out of the engine. The captain cool as a cucumber: “Those darn geese.” They turned around, landed. Stranded. Had to bring a spare plane in from another city. She returned home to reschedule. On the phone to Jet Blue, she learned that the same thing happened again an hour later, to another flight.

The wrong version of man vs. nature.

Music: The Lemon Drops :: I Live In The Springtime
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Jamaica Images

80 photos from our trip to Jamaica with Roger, Paula, Amelia. May be updated with images from their collection later. Negril, Treasure Beach, Montego Bay. Rain and shine, on land and water, grey skies and sun. No underwater images unfortunately. Should have rented an underwater housing for the G2. But am told that disposable beach cameras are good to 100 ft. Next time…

Music: Junior Delgado :: Effort
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Ackee and Salt Fish

Jamaica was everything we had looked forward to, and more. A very different kind of vacation, traveling with four adults and two babies – a lot of things we couldn’t do with toddlers in tow (e.g. river rafting), but we traded child care back and forth enough that we were able to do almost everything we wanted.

Always odd to be an American in a 2nd world country — the constant realization that you have plenty of what they lack. The difference results in an ongoing “hustle” which takes some getting used to — after a while you develop the ability to be friendly and open but simultaneously firm and on-guard.

We traveled in the off-season, before most schools let out and while the Spring rains are still in effect. Rains keep the temperatures down and the bulk of tourists away. Accomodations were cheaper, and we had many beaches to ourselves, or almost. In exchange, we dealt with daily rain between around noon and two p.m., sometimes torrential. But it’s a warm rain, and you dry out quickly when it finishes. It’s a bit of a hassle at times, but I love to walk or swim in a warm rain – part of the tropical experience.

Food in Jamaica is salt-of-the earth, elemental, right out of the ground. Seldom overly sweet or fatty. Jamaicans rarely eat dessert, and most people are very slender, glowing with health. A few of our staples / favorite dishes:

Curried goat
Ackee and salt fish
Jerk chicken, jerk pork
Conch stew, jerk conch
Breadfruit
Fried plantain
Calaloo
Fresh papaya, pineapple, mango, melon

For me, a trip to the Carribean is as much about the reefs and the world underwater as it is about the island above sea-level. I felt myself quickly returning to my diving roots, and was able to fit in two major scuba and two major snorkle trips, plus many casual swims. Amy understood how important water time is to me, and was so gracious watching Miles as I dove (though we all took turns in the water).

I want to spend more personal energy raising awareness of the world’s coral reefs, their intimate connection to the ecosystem, and the grave danger the reefs are in.

Creatures experienced in the wild for the first time in two short weeks:

Sea turtle
Moray and spotted eels
Dolphins
Crocodiles
“Rat Bats”
Chameleons
Giant moths

As we traveled from Montego Bay to Negril, down to Treasure Beach, and back to “Mobay,” kept notes in my Visor. I’ve edited them a bit and posted / backdated them here in the previous 11 blog entries. Click the MORE links for continued descriptions of each day.

Update: Images from the trip are here.

Now home to cold gray skies in California, an unwelcome (for me) end to the humidity, a mysteriously dying lawn, and tomorrow, back to work.

Irie.

Music: Augustus Pablo :: Selassie I Dub
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Sea Turtle

An interesting bit of cultural relativism: Met a woman who told us that when her baby had a runny nose (babies can’t blow their noses; it’s very hard to get their noses clean), she would put her mouth over his nose and suck out the snot, then spit it out. “It’s my baby and I love him. What is the harm?” Then she told us that when a breastfeeding friend had pain from engorgement, her husband sucked out the milk to relieve the pain. She was careful to emphasize that he spit it out. What interested me was that she saw both acts as being on the same grossness par. I’d expect it would be rare to find an American woman who would be willing to suck out her baby’s snot; but it’s probably not uncommon for men to sample their nursing wives’ breast milk.
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Life Is Good

Before leaving home, I bought a hat with an insignia on the brow reading “Life Is Good,” which is how I felt almost every minute of every day on this trip. That insignia was like a tatoo on my mind. Feeling so positive about life, the universe and everything.
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Carl the Dog

Miles and Amelia like to read about the adventures of Carl the Dog — Carl babysits and the baby rides on his back — madcap hijinx ensue. In front of Clarissa’s house is a life-sized dog sculpture that looks much like Carl. Miles immediately climbed up on his back, so delighted. Thereafter we could not pass the sculpture without Miles taking a “ride” on Carl.
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