When will they just let me sit under my guava tree, eating my guavas

"Did you listen to the interview on NPR with an Indian-American poet?" she asked.

I used to listen to NPR. A lot. In the morning. In the evening. On Weekdays. On weekend.

It has been a long time since I tuned in.

I still pay my dues every month.  Automatic recurring donation. 

But, I rarely ever turn on the radio to listen to NPR.

All because of one man.

tRump.

I simply cannot bear to listen the orange, arrogant, bloviating pomposity that looks like a human but isn't.

I know I have missed out on a lot by shutting NPR off.  But, I prefer my sanity. My peace of mind.

"He was born in Bangalore, and immigrated as a child."

It rang a bell somewhere.  I tucked away the comment.

Today, I looked up the NPR schedule and tracked down the segment.  I recognized the name: Vijay Seshadri.

The name is familiar because I have blogged about him.  As I wrote there, even winning the Pulitzer is not as big an achievement as "an Indian-American stating to his parents about his wish to be a poet, when the "norm" is to enter the more traditionally high-income occupations."

Seshadri says in that NPR interview:

What we call poetry, I think, riddles and penetrates everybody's life, whether they realize it or not. And it's as simple as creating a narrative of the things you're doing in a day to something as complex as reconciling yourself to things like grief and things like devastation. I would appropriate all of that for the realm of poetry.

Yes, we could all use a little poetry. 

The poem that Sehadri read at the end seemed odd.  So, I looked it up.  It turns out that he read only a part of the poem.  Either that, or they edited the first part because of time issues.

Here's that poem in full from my favorite magazine.

Visiting San Francisco
By Vijay Seshadri

I wanted to curl up
in the comfortable cosmic melancholy of my past,
in the sadness of my past being passed.
I wanted to tour the museum of my antiquities
and look at the sarcophagi there.
I wanted to wallow like a water buffalo in the cool,
sagacious mud of my past,
so I wrote you and said I’d be in town and could we meet.
But you think my past is your present.
You wouldn’t relent, you wouldn’t agree
to dinner or a cup of coffee or even a bag of peanuts
on a bench in North Beach.
You didn’t want to curl up or tour or wallow with me.
You’re still mad, long after the days
have turned into decades, about the ways I let you down.
The four hundred thousand ways.
Maybe I would be, too.
But people have done worse to me.
I don’t think I’m being grotesque when I tell you
I’ve been flayed and slayed and force-fed anguish.
I’ve been a human cataract
plunging through a noose and going to pieces on the rocks.
I’ve been a seagull tethered to Alcatraz.
What can I say, what more can I say, how much more
vulnerable can I be, to persuade you
now that I’ve persuaded myself?
Why can’t you just let it go?
Well, at least I’m in San Francisco.
San Francisco, where the homeless are most at home—
crouching over their tucker bags under your pollarded trees—
because your beauty is as free to them
as to the domiciled in their
dead-bolt domiciles, your beauty is as free to
the innocent as to the guilty.
The fog has burned off.
In a cheap and windy room on Russian Hill
a man on the run unwraps the bandages
swaddling his new face, his reconstructed face,
and looks in the mirror and sees
the face of Humphrey Bogart. Only here
could such a thing happen.
It was really always you, San Francisco,
time won’t ever darken my love for you,
San Francisco.

Take a couple of minutes and listen.

NPR beats up Jordan on gerrymandering, when the US invented it!

Robert Siegel is normally better than how he was earlier this evening when he interviewed Jordan's foreign minister, Nasser Judeh, about the elections there.  But, today, he was awful. Siegel seemed to think that he had figured out the hole in the Jordanian "elections" and asked the minister about complaints that districts have been drawn that work against the voters of Palestinian origins.

I loved it when the minister replied using the word gerrymandering--he denied that they practiced gerrymandering.  Without explicitly doing so, he seemed to remind Siegel and the audience that it is a process invented by us Americans!

Despite that response, Siegel rephrased his question all over again.  I hoped that the Jordanian minister would bluntly remind Siegel about our practices.  But, he is their chief diplomat, after all, and he chose a tactful route.

If there is one thing about US politics that worries me, it is this atrocious practice of redistricting, which works out to be anti-democratic.  The polarization doesn't worry me, though I think the illogical statements and claims by politicians reflect their incompetence and, thereby, our own incompetence in electing such lunatics to offices.  But, redistricting is a completely different story--it means that once the lunatics take over, well, we sane ones are in trouble.

Tom DeLay went about systematically redistricting Texas, to make sure that it would be completely red within a couple of elections.  His success later was also the cause of his downfall, yes.  But, he showed how to rig the process and rig it well.  Pretty soon, many other states followed suit.  The net result?

[How] did Republicans keep their House majority despite more Americans voting for the other party—something that has only happened three times in the last hundred years, according to political analyst Richard Winger? Because they drew the lines.
After Republicans swept into power in state legislatures in 2010, the GOP gerrymandered key states, redrawing House district boundaries to favor Republicans. In Pennsylvania, Democratic candidates received half of the votes in House contests, but Republicans will claim about three-quarters of the congressional seats. The same is true in North Carolina. More than half the voters in that state voted for Democratic representation, yet Republicans will fill about 70 percent of the seats. Democrats drew more votes in Michigan than Republicans, but they'll take only 5 out of the state's 14 congressional seats.

Haha, the joke is on us!  The next census isn't until 2020, only after which will the lines be redrawn again.  That means we are kind of locked into the split for a while:

If there is any testament to the amount of progress Republicans made in redistricting, it is this. GOP-controlled states drew about four times as many districts as Democrats did, and Republicans reaped significant benefits from that on Election Day. ...
And going forward, it suggests Democrats will need to have a strong wind at their backs (bigger than Tuesday’s) to take back the chamber.

If this is the story in a country that has been democratic for more than two hundred years, what was Siegel trying to prove with his question on redistricting in Jordan?  Other than to show that we don't practice what we preach?

By the way, it doesn't mean that the GOP is the only sinner; the Democrats too will do that if they had the chance--but, I doubt if they will be ever as brazen as the likes of DeLay.

I miss listening to NPR. Hope I haven't lost my groove :)

On the Rick Perry version of NPR's "Wait, wait ... don't tell me" :)

Like I do on most afternoons, I was listening to NPR during my drive back and was laughing away when I heard the following in the report on Rick Perry and his brain freeze:

It's rare that somebody actually gets worse every debate. Normally, they start bad and get better. He's kind of a trailblazer in that regard
watching the Texas governor tackle a complex policy question was like watching a chimp with a locked suitcase.
I can't imagine a worse debate night than he had last night, short of grabbing the microphone and beating somebody to death.

These were not comments from a Democratic operative or from comedians.  Nope. "Mike Murphy is a Republican political consultant"

NPR is the mirror image of the rabidly right talk radio. Except, it is not!

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Shabana Azmi on NPR ... what a pleasant surprise!

A couple of mornings ago, I was driving to work and listening to NPR when it was a segment on Shabana Azmi.  Yes, that same Azmi from Indian movies.  It was cool. 

Today, I was thinking about that as I was driving back home, and I realized that I couldn't recall any particular song from her movies.  I mean, Azmi was not one who was that stereotypical song/dance Bollywood actor.  There was a lot of arty and intellectual aspect in her acting and the characters she played--even in the commercial films. 

My earliest memory of Azmi is from a wonderfully classic Shatranj ke Khilari (The Chess Players.)  I simply loved that movie, which I recall watching at home on television.  We had only one channel--Dhoordharshan--which would telecast the art movies that rarely ever screened in movie halls because these were not the formulaic ones.  I had my fill watching quite a few non-Bollywood movies that way, and enjoyed them all.  But, I digress ...

Much later in life, here in the US, I did watch the controversial Fire.  While the actors, with Azmi in the lead role, did a great job, I didn't care much for the movie because it raced to the sexual angle and played it up more than the love itself.  It would have been an awesome movie if only Deepa Mehta had taken the time to tell the story of love between the two women in those very oppressive contexts.

Anyway, thanks to YouTube, I am able to enjoy this song here--though, as one who watched very few movies when I was a kid and teenager, I admit that I have always liked this song even though I have no clue about the movie itself.

All we are is dust in the wind ...

Triggered by the NPR story on four hundred years since the King James Bible, which I was listening to when driving back home. 

A wonderful song it is ...

GOP completely fixes economy by ... guess what?

Here is the report from America's Finest News Source:

Unemployment plummeted and stocks soared Tuesday after Republican leaders fulfilled their promise to cut funding for National Public Radio, a budgetary move that has completely rejuvenated the flagging U.S. economy. "Since eliminating federal spending for NPR, America's economic outlook is brighter than it's been in decades, with manufacturing on the rise and† millions of jobs once sent overseas now returning to our shores," said Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), adding that by eliminating funds for NPR, the deficit has been slashed by 0.000004 percent and a newly thriving middle class once again has cause to believe in the American dream. "Pulling funding for Car Talk and Planet Money alone has created 4.2 million jobs and generated a $2 trillion budget surplus." Republicans announced Thursday they will now turn their attention to cutting the National Park Service, a move that should ensure Social Security's solvency for the next 350 years.

US bombs US schools

A simple explanation for the loud talk shows on TV and radio

And the explanation comes from centuries before modern communication technologies were even invented!

उच्चैरुच्चरितव्यं यत्किंचिदजानतापि पुरुषेण ।
मूर्खा बहु मन्यन्ते विदुषामपि संशयो भवति ॥

- सुभाषितसुधानिधि

One must talk loudly even when talking about whatever little you know. Fools will think you are right and the wise may also be put in doubt.

- Subhashitasudhanidhi

So, whither NPR and PBS? :)

Mara Liasson's $2 million contract? :)

Way back, in February 2009, was my blog post that NPR should not renew the contracts with Juan Williams and Mara Liasson.  Well, she is the "other" NPR analyst over at Faux Noose, and I wonder if it is only a fistful of dollars that Roger "fat cat" Ailes is dangling in front of Liasson.

Image of the day: on Juan Williams and NPR

I was one of the many who had opined that Juan "I fear Muslims" Williams ought to be fired from NPR as soon as I watched that video.  And, was glad that NPR did, though the "psychiatrist" remark ought to have been avoided.

Well, I came across this tweet today:
(on Twitter, I am "congoboy," which is how I sometimes called my dog, Congo, who died almost five years ago!!!)

I suppose Ceeb2 will be happy to know that my faculty and administrative colleagues decided that I am not qualified to be a "Professor" and I am only an Associate Professor :)

The Daily Show and Colbert on Juan "I fear Muslims" Williams

Hilaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarious :)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
NPR Staffing Decision 2010
www.thedailyshow.com
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The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Colbert Report: 10/25/10 in :60 Seconds
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive

I am a NPR listener

In the traditions of "I am Spartacus" :)

I will leave it James Fallows, who has an excellent post on the importance of defending NPR against the ruthless and unprincipled attacks from Faux Noose:

We don't have so many first-rate institutions -- in general, and especially in journalism -- that we can afford to let one this valuable be delegitimized. Its leadership made a mistake in its handling of Juan Williams, but people who care about the news environment should recognize how much it has done right and defend it against the current cynical attack....

Imagine for a moment what NPR's Robert Siegel or Neal Conan or Scott Simon or Melissa Block, among many other long-experienced interviewers, might have done with such an opportunity. This is an illustration of different standards. More simply, NPR could have said: You want to continue being a personality and commentator on Fox? Fine -- it's your choice. That's a different kind of operation from ours, and we wish you all the best there.

*** Here are two illustrations of how I have seen the sense of personal embarrassment about something inaccurate getting on the air.

One: During early stages of the Iraq war, I was on "Talk of the Nation" in the studio with Neil Conan. I carelessly said "soldiers" when I should have said "troops," because the operation in question involved Marines. ("Soldiers" = Army; "airmen" = Air Force; "seamen" = Navy; "Marines" = Marines. "Troops" = any and all.) A pained look came across Conan's face -- he didn't want his show to contain an error -- and, without saying anything directly, he steered the conversation over the next two minutes so that both he and I had several opportunities to talk about the "Marines" who were fighting.

Two: A few months ago, I recorded a discussion with Guy Raz of Weekend All Things Considered about increasing polarization and logjam in Congress. As an illustration, I said that Obama's stimulus plan had received "no Republican Congressional votes." What I meant was, "no votes from Republican Congressmen" -- ie, members of the House, which was accurate. But half an hour later, just before airtime, producers called back to re-record the segment at the last minute, so I could use proper language to clarify the House/Senate difference -- and note that in the Senate three Republicans had voted for the plan. They were that determined not to have an error on their show.

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A neat letter to Juan "I fear Muslims" Williams

A simple one, which responds to the latest development that Faux Noose has upped the ante for Williams.  It says a lot in just these sentences:

Juan: You are not a hero. You're a decent guy who said something dumb. Apologize, try to improve, and move on. More importantly, these people, these newfound supporters, Sarah Palin and Bill O'Reilly and Mike Huckabee and Pat Buchanan and Roger Ailes, are not your friends. They are using you, Juan. They are using you because of who you suddenly are: a black, moderate, journalist who was fired from NPR for saying you don't like Muslims. Those credentials are extremely valuable for Fox News, and for the right wing at large. Because they can be easily presented in a way that bolsters the myth of the "liberal media," a myth which the right wing has used to shockingly successful effect over the last two decades, to systematically erode the influence of media outlets that they don't like. Respected, earnest, good media outlets. Like NPR. Now, Juan, you are a convenient tool in their furtherance of this campaign. $2 million is cheap, for them.
If you had said that you feared white people, Juan, would you have so many new friends? No, you would not. But you fear Muslims, just like they do, and so there they are. This episode is nothing for anyone to be proud of. At the same time, it doesn't need to be the beginning of the end of your legitimate career. Of course you're angry at the people who fired you. But letting go of that resentment and moving forward will be its own great reward. Simply apologize, go get a new job with a real media outlet that is not a propaganda arm of the Republican Party, and this will all soon be forgotten. Once you climb aboard Fox New for good, Juan, all of the respect that you've earned in your long career will immediately begin to disappear, until it is all gone, and you are just one more empty talking suit on the shameful, dishonest panorama of American cable news. You can do better.

ht

BTW, that letter refers to Juan Williams justifying himself after NPR fired him.  This justification further confirms his bigotry and how he doesn't understand that it is bigotry:

Yesterday, NPR fired me for telling the truth. The truth is that I worry when I am getting on an airplane and see people dressed in garb that identifies them first and foremost as Muslims.
This is not a bigoted statement.

I wish we could do a new version of "Guess who's coming to dinner" ... Put together a great surprise party honoring Juan Williams and everybody in the room will be in "garb that identifies them first and foremost as Muslims" ... wouldn't that be hilarious!

NPR should fire Juan Williams

Back in Feb 2009, I blogged my hope that NPR would get rid of Juan Williams and Mara Liasson.  Now, Williams has provided all the more evidence for why he belongs only at Faux Noose and not anywhere else.  What did he say?  Over to the Root:

On Monday's O'Reilly Factor, Fox News analyst Juan Williams told Bill O'Reilly that he supported his statement that "Muslims killed us on 9/11," and he feels nervous when he sees Muslims on the same plane he's on. In the words of ghetto prophet Ed Lover, "C'mon, son!" Is this another version of The Sixth Sense? Does Williams bury his head under his airline blanket and whisper, "I see Muslim people"? Guess what? We get nervous whenever Williams is about to speak. However, Williams should know nervousness, since plenty of paranoid folks feel nervous when they see him as a black man walk onto a plane or just walk down the street. Too bad he can't make the leap from one example of fear and paranoia to another, probably because of his Fox-induced coma.

Some Kool Aid they have at Faux Noose for Williams to preface these comments with "I am not a bigot." Yes, you are a bigot to say what you said.

A few of the awesome people at NPR

Listening to Liane Hansen remark this morning about the timetable for her exit strategy from NPR triggered me to find out how she looks--the (dis)advantages of being a radio person means that most of us do not know how those journalists look, right?
Hey, thanks for the wonderful Sunday morning programs over the years :)

So, in addition to , Hansen, whose photo is here on the left, ...
here are a few other people... can you guess who they are? :)  Answers at the very end ... after the jump BTW,do you ever wonder whatever happened to Bob Edwards?

A.
Hint: She is on the air in the afternoon

B.
Hint: she reports from Culver City, CA

 C.
 Hint: She reports from Afghanistan

D. 
Hint: On the air on Saturdays, and refers a lot to Chicago :)

How much would you pay for the universe?

Earlier this morning, NPR had a segment on the final remaining space shuttle rides.  I recalled how my high school friend, Srikumar, and I were excited to hear about a space shuttle program--yes, we were back in India, in a small town.  It sounded absolutely beyond my imagination that there would be this spacecraft to take astronauts back and forth.  All the more wild it was given that I hadn't seen the inside of an airplane up until then--actually, it was quite a few more years after all this that I actually stepped into an airplane.

Over the last few years, the US has not been able to figure out what its space policy ought to be.  It was bizarre when in the middle of two wars, one day, President Bush jumped up and said that we are going to Mars.  That sounded so hollow.  And now President Obama's comments are far from encouraging when it comes to NASA and space exploration.

I suppose we need a Carl "billions and billions" Sagan to get us all pumped up .... Neil deGrasse Tyson does his part ...

Jail time for teaching geography? More on the law is a ass!

A couple of days ago I wrote about the case that was waiting for the Supremes--the retired pacifist 80-year old judge whom the government has tagged as a terrorist! 

Earlier this morning, there I was having my morning fresh brew and listening to NPR when I almost choked with the coffee going down the wrong way--all because I heard Nina Totenberg say that according to the Patriot Act teaching political geography is a crime.  I was sure it was my sleepiness that made he hear things that did not happen ....
So, I checked the transcript over at NPR, and it is true:

the way the U.S. government interprets this law is itself so complicated that the courts have said, so far, that an average person would have a hard time knowing for sure what is a crime. For example, the government says teaching geography is not giving expert advice, but teaching political geography is.

I will quote Dickens yet again: the law is a ass--a idiot!!!  The Patriot Act is a large herd (is that the word?) of asses, perhaps the largest collection in our legal system.  Oh wait, there is one that is even worse: the claim that waterboarding is not torture!

Superfreakanomics: Quote of the day

if you find yourself writing, in all seriousness, as a practical proposal, the phrase "pumping large quantities of sulphur dioxide into the Earth’s stratosphere through an 18-mile-long hose, held up by helium balloons", it is probably time to take a step back and ask yourself if something has gone a little bit wrong with your life.

That was via Brad DeLong on Superfreakanomics, which was featured earlier today on NPR.

Did Levitt and Dubner not learn from Hollywood that most sequels to highly successful movies do not do well, neither at the box office nor with the critics?