Guilt by lazy association

First off, what country is this? While we can agree that calls for violence and the stoking of religious/ethnic hatred is beyond the pale (um right?), the dialogue in a free society should otherwise be pretty... free. And it should be remembered that tinfoil hat paranoia has been vindicated at least a few times. So if you're offended by someone running down America, try proving them wrong before setting up the stockades.

That said, I think Barack Obama's response
to the reemergence of Jeremiah Wright has been a good one, as presidential candidacies go. He hasn't hidden the personal element in the crackup between the two of them. Whether the things that Wright says are arguable, the effect of his saying them when where and how he has is to sandbag Obama. At best, he doesn't care about his former congregants future or hopes. At worst, it's active sabotage. Obama's anger at that strikes me as very human, and a lot of voters should be able to identify with it. Most of us have friends and relations who could hurt us or hold us back through lack of discretion, and how would you feel if it happened to you?

So I think he's handling it the right way, assuming there's a right way to handle it. There might not be. The media tends to take a "we made you, we can break you" attitude toward would-be political saviors, and that seems to be the implicit line now. With even The National Enquirer taking swings at the jug-eared brown piñata, it's been some time since I heard anything good about Obama outside of a handful of liberal blogs. We may not hear anything good about him again until eleventh hour nominee Hillary Clinton loses to McCain.

I can live with this. In most respects I was more invested in the Dean campaign back in '04, and you remember how that turned out. But you have to wonder. For about twenty years now (since the Monkey Business fallout), national campaigns have been dominated by character issues and questions that go to judgment. As a result we have a president of sterling character and impeccable judgment. I mean, we do, right?

Notes on hygiene

Okay boys and girs, and especially pc users. Know that there are a lot of creepy bugs out there, bugs that can attach themselves to your computer. Know that they may not only slow down your OS, but that they can spit out a bunch of nasty popups that distract you from whatever else you're trying to do. Now, they call it malware for a reason. Whatever these parasites might be advertising, the real reason they exist is malice. Compromising your desktop or laptop is reward enough, apparently.

Now, there are programs that can help you clean the gunk out. I myself have Spyhunter loaded. But there's something you need to know. These spyware removal programs? You need to start your computer in safe mode for them to really take effect. Otherwise you may as well try to floss while you're still eating.

In normal mode, you round up and supposedly eliminate 30 bugs or so, but the popups continue unabated. Run the program in safe mode, and you nab something like 80 or 90. When you restart in normal mode, you may still get the popups. Keep plugging, and eventually you'll get them.

Grant at the Dance

Charlie Grant passed away on September 15, 2006, only days after his 64th birthday. He was home after a two-year hospitalization, and reied on a ventilator to breathe.

This spring's issue of Cemetery Dance, where Grant used to have a recurring column, features a substantial tribute to the late author. The 1.5 year gap can be attributed to the vagaries of publishing a quarterly fiction magazine. The important thing is that they got it right. There are remembrances from his friends and colleagues, including a transcript of his eulogy by Thomas McDonald. McDonald also contributes a biographical essay on Grant's work.

Charles Grant was a Nebula winning science fiction author, and one of his prize winning stories, the novella "A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye" is a worthy companion piece to Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. His real impact, though, was in supernatural horror. "Quiet horror" is the phrase most associated with his writing. While he didn't invent quiet horror, he made it clear that the subtlety of effects didn't just belong in the nineteenth century, and didn't have to be ghettoized in children's books. Although he was skilled at writing child characters, as well as teens and the elderly.

Worth seeking out? The early Oxrun Station novels, especially The Last Call of Mourning. The critically acclaimed The Pet, which was partially inspired by Bill Forsyth's Gregory's Girl(!) The later novels Jackals and Chariot, the latter of which carries an evocative profile of the ever-expanding Las Vegas. The overlapping story collections Tales from the Nightside and A Glow of Candles and Other Stories. All entries in the "Shadows" series, in which Grant as editor brought out the best in both new and veteran writers.

The insight that made Grant a great writer of horror is that people are scary. Not serial killers, not devil-worshippers, not even the noticeaby neurotic. Just ordinary people, because of the secrets they carry and the harm they can do. Yet he showed a great affection for people as well, completing the effect.

Heavy on the story songs: Friday Random Ten

Got an early start today. From my officemate's headphones I heard Laura Ingraham this morning, who always reminds me of Kathy Griffin doing a really long Ann Coulter skit. This effect can be amusing, but I wasn't in the mood, which motivated me to dig out my own headphones in the morning.

1. Neil Young and Crazy Horse*--Pocahontas
2. Lynn Anderson--Rocky Top (live)
3. The Fiery Furnaces--Teach Me Sweetheart
4. Sly & the Family Stone--Spaced Cowboy
5. Nat King Cole--Non Dementicar
6. Beck--Movie Theme
7. Puffy AmiYumi--Red Swing
8. Stone Temple Pilots--Pruno
9. Tori Amos--Jackie's Strength
10. Frank Sinatra--In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning

A few narrative songs here. Actually the Fiery Furnaces song (from their not entirely popular Bitter Tea) is one that I often think of when I'm writing fiction. The air of family tension and insistent animal imagery work well with the musical slow burn.
*This is the third cut I've included from Rust Never Sleeps, but I've neglected Crazy Horse before. Sorry, gentlemen.

Influence of a good strange man

There's an interesting-looking show in New York concerning the influence of Henry Darger. Darger's an odd figure in the art world, even as Outsiders go. He seems to have been an uncomfortable figure in his own life. Some people feel too intensely, see in too high a contrast. Well, for some purposes at least. But if the man is out there, if he's watching and listening, at least he knows he's appreciated.

Blog under reconstruction

Well, more like blogger (not Blogger) under construction. Not plastic surgery construction*, but I am trying to make some life changes, which has cut into posting time. I do plan to return, though. My verbosity knows no bounds.

And now a word from our sponsor.


*I thought about getting the devil horn implants, but then my favorite hat wouldn't fit as well.

Bizarrely jazzless Friday Random Ten

Might be the first such selection here. The Mingus collection I loaded is another one of those sets that refuse to play on Friday. Without further ado:

1. Alison Krauss--Down to the River to Pray
2. Randy Newman--Memo to My Son
3. Gabrielle--Dreams
4. Paul Simon--Sure Don't Feel Like Love
5. Fairport Convention--Come All Ye
6. Tom Waits--Dirt in the Ground
7. T. Rex--Interstellar Soul
8. Isobel Campbell--Yearning
9. David Bowie--Fashion
10. Talking Heads--Psycho Killer