Japan: how about some real coverage?

I find the coverage of Japan to be really lacking. Very surface...no solid info.

Also, no coverage of the political crisis and weakness of the current gov'ts. Japan supresses all unfavorable coverage--it's a sort of cultural trait compounded with the language issues. As one that lived in Japan even for a short time (1 year) the gov't and crime scandals that are covered in the local press are amazing. Constant gov't scandals in Foreign Ministry, etc.

The Japan nuclear industry was also routinely shabby--I would lay money that most of the bad stuff happening due to the earthquake at the affected reactors will be found to have been completely preventable if the regulators would have enforced actual law. 2 backups both down? On all reactors?

Japan's leadership and excellence in the private sector (Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Hitachi, Sharp, etc.) is only matched by the routine corruption and incompetence of it's government. Go read www.japantimes.co.jp and www.yomiuri.co.jp for a few years, you'll see what I mean.

Good luck to all--people of Japan deserve better!

KTCA Almanac

http://www.tpt.org/?a=almanac

Yes, Almanac is an excellent program. Easily the most worthwhile weekly MN public affairs program--also the only one.

Yet, it is so suffused with "default" leftist thinking that it is infuriating to watch. Any GOP/IR guest that counsels limited gov't, limited spending is routinely insulted and mocked by the rest of the panel...who have such outrageous views that they are literally hilarious.

DFL = never enough spending, always need more spending, must have gov't solution for everything.

Is MN a particularly worst case? Or is it that the overwhelming leftist leaning of the media is even more acute at the local level nationally?

MPR also suffers from this same problem. Ironically, they are staffed by the same people on air--who knows about behind the scenes?

Sadly, the U of MN constantly is in the left camp. Is there no amount of funding that the U can succeed with? Is the U leading in anything anymore? Except spending? Why isn't there a widely available and trustworthy benchmark for higher ed spending...some index based on teaching & classroom vs. admin costs?

headphones

So...bought some Sennheiser 203's the other day. Not sure I like them better in terms of sound or comfort compared to my zillion-year old Sony MDR-V150's???

On Wisconsin!

Could it be that the "blue lefty meanies" of the MSM are undone at last? The strife in Wisconsin over the place of unions in education and government seems to indicate that the jig is up. The left there seems to posit that "give me more money" is the only correct and defensible position. Any attempt to thwart that aim must therefore be more than wrong: evil! So any lengths are sanctioned in turning back the tide of refuseniks on gov't spending. The MSM immediately carried this narrative.

What would have happened without the diversity of the blogosphere, talk radio, and FNC?

Similarly in MN, not only MPR is constantly running petulant "you stole my cheese" spots while asking for money! The discussion of MN State budget, and particularly "Local Government Aid" is likewise hilarious. Why should Minneapolis, St. Paul--or any Ramsey or Hennepin County cities--get any LGA at ALL??? If they can't find a way to provide "basic services" with nearly 100% of the population and capital (and the Capitol!), shouldn't the buggers all be turned out in the next election for city and county???

Wall St 2: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

YATOSM: Yet Another Terrible Oliver Stone Movie.

This time "Wall St 2".

Wow...rare is the movie that I have to force myself to finish...but this was one. Terrible script, terrible direction. HORRIBLE SOUND TRACK of random crap by David Byrne!!!!??? Felt bad for all the actors...must have signed on before final script???? Nonsense plot that made no sense...and OPENS with bogus fusion science stuff. It was almost as dumb as in "Twister" where the bad guys were "corporate tornado chasers"--the bad guys in Wall St 2 are the same as the good guys--boring investment bankers.

Terrible direction...there was a scene near the end that should have been important--if it had dialogue and real characters--that had the character in the foreground out of focus with Shia LaBeouf in focus in the background. There was no importance to the composition--I think it was just sheer laziness.

TERRIBLE! DO NOT RENT! NOT EVEN TO SEE "what happens". A WASTE!

Last Tango in Paris (1972)

So, I decided again to watch a classic from a while back. It's a supremely odd movie. The plot makes no sense--and doesn't really try to. It's pretty cliche, actually, as are the metaphorical events and characters. Not sure why the famous NYT review by Pauline Kael is such a big deal. The acting is a sort of high point...very weird stuff...very spontaneous feeling. I guess the language and content would have seemed very daring in 1972? They too are just sort of dull and cliche now. Techinically, I don't think the film has anything to offer today's audiences, either. Seriously, there is no reason to watch this film for the contemporary audience. It is a historical curiousity. Wanna watch a classic from the 70's? Try "Planet of the Apes" or maybe "Soylent Green" or something. Late 60s? Try "Blow Up".

Apple Mac App Store: A Question

Of course (how could one avoid it) everybody has seen that Apple opened their new Mac App store today.

What do you think about it? Will it be success? What magnitude? Why, why not?

Pro:
*Cheap s/w
*almost zero cost for authors, rev. split with Apple
*"Apple" branded == walled garden with nice people in it only, you can trust the Steve--he's on of the Steves!
*access to new market with little risk for authors
*yet another iTunes store extension
*market seems to accept this new channel strategy--is credible for tech. and "quality" reasons. Apple takes "permission" to yet another level. it was sort of "necessary" for iPhone...now it just plain seems like a good idea that works
*expectation set for cheaper, single use apps thanks to iPhone apps...utils, gimmicks, games. spectrum from "flashlight noisemaker to "Angry Birds""
*cloud is OK for everything now! Netflix, Apps, what next? your whole iTunes library?
*add'l value in the free updates (presuming that carries over to Mac Apps)
*new route for shareware/freeware to monetize? I'd "buy" OpenOffice from the App Store if it was cheap enough and I felt the $$$ were going to the good guys?

Con:
*not filling an empty niche?
*s/w market already had distinct monetization/channel schemes?
*low prices...and share revenue with overlord Apple?
*value stack not special/unique/required as it was for iPhone?
*expectations different for s/w on computer vs. portable device?
*if a failure, black eye that injures the Apple teflon coating.

If this is such a great idea, why didn't Microsoft do it already? Guys like Digital River have done it as the "back office" for many vendors and authors already. What's the big deal? Why didn't somebody else do this...one the big mail order houses that made the seen for PC and Mac back in the day?

Paging Mr. Porter, your "5 Forces" are required...paging Mr. Porter...