Normally I find the New York Times Thursday Style trend pieces a little silly, but I think this one, on the trend towards longer, billowy hemlines in women's skirts and dresses, has two things to recommend it. First, the accompanying photo, in which Julie Houts (far right) pulls off this look to absolute perfection. Second, the fact that the author (Ruth La Ferla) actually does a good job placing this style in its historical context, rather than trying to intimate that it's something completely new and extraordinary. Most fashion is a recycled idea, and trying to pretend otherwise is disingenous at best, so this article certainly gets my approval.
— C.
Maxi Skirts Making a Comeback (NYT)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
New Music from Arcade Fire
Possibly one of the greatest indie-rock success stories of the past decade, Arcade Fire has now announced that their third full-length album, The Suburbs, will be released August 2nd. Two tracks from the upcoming album have made their way online, and are available here. They're as musically dense and complex as prior Arcade Fire efforts, and extremely catchy from my first few listens. Hopefully these are a good indication of what the full album will hold!
— C.
— C.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The Hold Steady: "Heaven Is Whenever"
I've never quite been able to peg The Hold Steady. Listen to the music and not the lyrics, and they're a "fun" band – lots of uptempo guitar, jangling piano, and catchy hooks. Listen to the lyrics, though, and a powerful dissonance often shines through. These are not glittery songs about having fun and being famous. They're often as much about feeling lost as being found, and trying to get to where you want to be.
The Hold Steady's newest album, Heaven Is Whenever, doesn't do much to change that paradigm. The tight yet ebullient songwriting is still there, the sometimes melancholic, sometimes ecstatic lyrics keep you from locking down exactly where the band is coming from. And this complexity is no curse: it gives the album, like their impressive 2006 album Boys and Girls in America, a richness that stands up to repeated listens under any conditions.
— C.
First Listen: The Hold Steady's Heaven Is Whenever (NPR)
The Hold Steady's newest album, Heaven Is Whenever, doesn't do much to change that paradigm. The tight yet ebullient songwriting is still there, the sometimes melancholic, sometimes ecstatic lyrics keep you from locking down exactly where the band is coming from. And this complexity is no curse: it gives the album, like their impressive 2006 album Boys and Girls in America, a richness that stands up to repeated listens under any conditions.
— C.
First Listen: The Hold Steady's Heaven Is Whenever (NPR)
The iPhone 4
Over the weekend, the technology blogs Engadget and Gizmodo brought the world pictures of a prototype for Apple's next iPhone, presumably to be named the iPhone 4.
More than a few commentators have focused on what this leak says about Apple's legendary security, but I'd like to take a moment to focus on perhaps the most obvious physical upgrade that the prototype phone received since the iPhone 3GS: a front-facing camera. The obvious use for this camera, pointed out by Gizmodo in its dissection of the device, is for video chat.
I think the obvious question is worth asking: is it useful to have video chat capabilities on a mobile phone?
I'm a big believer in the iPhone; I've owned two. The hardware and software features of the iPhone 3GS have made it an indispensable device for me. But I can't ever see using my iPhone to video chat.
The first, and possibly most obvious, reason for this is that the ability to process two lines of streaming video over existing cellular data networks is basically non-existant. Even over 3G, my iPhone can take a little while to load a webpage – how can I expect it to stream anything approaching useable video? Let alone what a bunch of people trying to video chat will do to AT&T's already-overloaded 3G network in metropolitan areas.
But more importantly, I simply don't think video chat is congruent to the purpose of a mobile phone. The point of cellular phones is that they free you to be mobile, to talk and walk, to be disengaged from the process of a phone call. A video chat ends all that: you need to be stationary, you need to be focused on the phone.
Sure, there are times when you want to video chat, there are times when you can be stationary and want to see what's going on at the other end of the line. But at that point, you can probably open up your laptop. I think video chat functionality would make a lot of sense on the iPad, which to use means to focus on exclusively. I don't think it will prove to be a useful feature on the iPhone.
— C.
This is Apple's Next iPhone (Gizmodo)
More than a few commentators have focused on what this leak says about Apple's legendary security, but I'd like to take a moment to focus on perhaps the most obvious physical upgrade that the prototype phone received since the iPhone 3GS: a front-facing camera. The obvious use for this camera, pointed out by Gizmodo in its dissection of the device, is for video chat.
I think the obvious question is worth asking: is it useful to have video chat capabilities on a mobile phone?
I'm a big believer in the iPhone; I've owned two. The hardware and software features of the iPhone 3GS have made it an indispensable device for me. But I can't ever see using my iPhone to video chat.
The first, and possibly most obvious, reason for this is that the ability to process two lines of streaming video over existing cellular data networks is basically non-existant. Even over 3G, my iPhone can take a little while to load a webpage – how can I expect it to stream anything approaching useable video? Let alone what a bunch of people trying to video chat will do to AT&T's already-overloaded 3G network in metropolitan areas.
But more importantly, I simply don't think video chat is congruent to the purpose of a mobile phone. The point of cellular phones is that they free you to be mobile, to talk and walk, to be disengaged from the process of a phone call. A video chat ends all that: you need to be stationary, you need to be focused on the phone.
Sure, there are times when you want to video chat, there are times when you can be stationary and want to see what's going on at the other end of the line. But at that point, you can probably open up your laptop. I think video chat functionality would make a lot of sense on the iPad, which to use means to focus on exclusively. I don't think it will prove to be a useful feature on the iPhone.
— C.
This is Apple's Next iPhone (Gizmodo)
Sunday, April 11, 2010
The Problem with Political Journalism
In an otherwise-unremarkable process article about the primary race for the Democratic Senate nomination in Arkansas, Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times drops in this paragraph:
So how would Mr. Halter have voted on health care? When asked in the interview, he said, “You’re not going to like the length of my answer” and talked for four minutes without a specific answer. Asked again, he said, “Yeah, I would have voted for it.”
So how would Mr. Halter have voted on health care? When asked in the interview, he said, “You’re not going to like the length of my answer” and talked for four minutes without a specific answer. Asked again, he said, “Yeah, I would have voted for it.”
A political candidate attempts to give a nuanced answer to a complicated policy question, and this is explained essentially as an attempt to avoid the question. Rather than brush aside Mr. Halter's desire to explain his position fully, Mr. Zeleny focuses on the soundbite.
There's no question that it's interesting to investigate the dynamics of the primary races that are taking place right now, which have very real consequences for the composition of the Congress. But to do so at the expense of elucidating the policy debates that are shaping those races does a disservice to the reader and to the trade of journalism.
— C.
Family Feud Shaping Up in Democratic Senate Race in Arkansas (NYT)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Net Neutrality: Not Optional
Very little needs to be said about the importance of net neutrality. The basic premise is that internet service providers (ISPs) should not be able to control the speeds at which certain data gets to consumers.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit handed down a ruling yesterday in Comcast v. F.C.C. that held the F.C.C. did not have the statutory authority to regulate ISPs and enforce net neutrality.
The D.C. Circuit is probably right, but the modern American administrative state is replete with examples of independent agencies skirting the outer limits of their authorizing statutes to regulate emerging or novel industries. If the Supreme Court doesn't grant certiorari to review this decision, or if it eventually upholds it, Congress should act immediately to give the F.C.C. the authority it needs to ensure that web traffic is not subject to any form of artificial policing or content control.
— C.
Comcast Corporation v. Federal Communications Commission (No. 08-1291) [PDF]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit handed down a ruling yesterday in Comcast v. F.C.C. that held the F.C.C. did not have the statutory authority to regulate ISPs and enforce net neutrality.
The D.C. Circuit is probably right, but the modern American administrative state is replete with examples of independent agencies skirting the outer limits of their authorizing statutes to regulate emerging or novel industries. If the Supreme Court doesn't grant certiorari to review this decision, or if it eventually upholds it, Congress should act immediately to give the F.C.C. the authority it needs to ensure that web traffic is not subject to any form of artificial policing or content control.
— C.
Comcast Corporation v. Federal Communications Commission (No. 08-1291) [PDF]
Obama Administration Authorizes Targeted Killing of American
The Obama Administration has authorized the targeted killing of an American citizen, the radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. The Times article linked below doesn't come right out and say it, but there's no question that an order like this needed to come from Obama himself.
Stepping back from the predictable responses to an order like this, consider the most important thing it says about Obama himself: this closes once and for all the debate over whether Obama is a foreign policy dove. By focusing so systematically on his opposition to the Iraq War while a candidate, Obama gave many Americans the impression that he was anti-war. His recent moves, in concert with Russia, to reduce the nation's strategic nuclear arsenal – and concurrently to revise American nuclear response protocols – would give the same impression when considered myopically.
Authorizing what amounts to covert assassination of an American citizen, though, is not the move of a man who is unwilling to use necessary force. We can only imagine the kind of intelligence that Obama was presented during the decision-making process here. Given the nearly-unprecedented response, it surely describes the kind of events we hope never to see in the pages of newspapers instead of C.I.A. briefs.
— C.
U.S. Approves Targeted Killing of American Cleric (NYT)
Stepping back from the predictable responses to an order like this, consider the most important thing it says about Obama himself: this closes once and for all the debate over whether Obama is a foreign policy dove. By focusing so systematically on his opposition to the Iraq War while a candidate, Obama gave many Americans the impression that he was anti-war. His recent moves, in concert with Russia, to reduce the nation's strategic nuclear arsenal – and concurrently to revise American nuclear response protocols – would give the same impression when considered myopically.
Authorizing what amounts to covert assassination of an American citizen, though, is not the move of a man who is unwilling to use necessary force. We can only imagine the kind of intelligence that Obama was presented during the decision-making process here. Given the nearly-unprecedented response, it surely describes the kind of events we hope never to see in the pages of newspapers instead of C.I.A. briefs.
— C.
U.S. Approves Targeted Killing of American Cleric (NYT)
New Music from The Chemical Brothers
Back in the 1990s, the Chemical Brothers were one of the undisputed masters of the burgeoning electronic music art form. Their seminal album Dig Your Own Hole has more than stood the test of time. Stalwarts that they are, they've continued producing exceptional music long after the boomlet of purely electronic music has faded (though many of its hallmark features have trickled down into R&B, and house music has clearly transformed what constitutes 'danceable' hip-hop for the Top 40).
Their last two albums, Push the Button and We Are the Night both won Grammy awards for Best Electronic/Dance album, and this new 12-minute track off their forthcoming album Further (due out this June) indicates they're not giving up yet. With a two-minute intro that slowly builds steam towards a sophisticated, driving beat, the Chemical Brothers have once again used their considerable mastery of the form to drive their production forward without abandoning the elements that have made them so successful in the past.
— C.
— C.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Reshaping U.S. Detention Policy
In an extraordinarily well-researched and well-written review of the way the Obama Administration conducts detention policy, Charlie Savage details the behind-the-scenes debates over how to define the legal status of present and potential detainees. The Bush Administration took an easily-formulated hard line position on these and other Executive power issues, simply claiming a broad Article II power, with a little AUMF justification thrown in, to detain whomever they pleased in whatever way felt necessary.
The Obama Justice Department is being led by individuals who made no secret of their disagreement with the Bush policy. But, once in office, they're finding the issue to be significantly more difficult to resolve when there are national security considerations that must balance their views on the law.
Even if, as Mr. Savage quotes a former Bush lawyer as saying, the changes made by the Obama Administration are largely about tone rather than substance, they still mark an important shift. Even in the context of a legal system dominated by judicial review, what the Executive says about its powers matters.
What this article reveals more than anything else, though, is the application of thoughtful consideration to these pressing national security concerns. It's surely easier to just ask John Yoo to draft a memorandum outlining the government's position on detention and torture and just accept the result as Administration policy. The result, however, isn't the kind of legal framework that America should have when it conducts something as fraught and delicate as detention policy in the context of a war against a shadowy network of combatants without flag or uniform.
Even if your politics lead you to disagree with the result, it can't be defensibly argued that the improvements in procedure aren't a good thing. A considered approach is more likely to stand the test of time, and to survive review by the courts, and I for one would rather live under a government that thinks before it acts.
The Obama Justice Department is being led by individuals who made no secret of their disagreement with the Bush policy. But, once in office, they're finding the issue to be significantly more difficult to resolve when there are national security considerations that must balance their views on the law.
Even if, as Mr. Savage quotes a former Bush lawyer as saying, the changes made by the Obama Administration are largely about tone rather than substance, they still mark an important shift. Even in the context of a legal system dominated by judicial review, what the Executive says about its powers matters.
What this article reveals more than anything else, though, is the application of thoughtful consideration to these pressing national security concerns. It's surely easier to just ask John Yoo to draft a memorandum outlining the government's position on detention and torture and just accept the result as Administration policy. The result, however, isn't the kind of legal framework that America should have when it conducts something as fraught and delicate as detention policy in the context of a war against a shadowy network of combatants without flag or uniform.
Even if your politics lead you to disagree with the result, it can't be defensibly argued that the improvements in procedure aren't a good thing. A considered approach is more likely to stand the test of time, and to survive review by the courts, and I for one would rather live under a government that thinks before it acts.
— C.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
On Abbreviations
Writing, like all other stylized activity, comes with rules. Here's an important one, so often overlooked in our haste to say things ever more quickly.
When abbreviating, use an apostrophe when the final letter of the abbreviation is the same as the final letter of the original word, and otherwise use a period (but don't capitalize the next letter, regardless of what MS Word Autocorrect would lead you to believe).
So:
Seems like a small detail, but it's only way to abbreviate with style.
When abbreviating, use an apostrophe when the final letter of the abbreviation is the same as the final letter of the original word, and otherwise use a period (but don't capitalize the next letter, regardless of what MS Word Autocorrect would lead you to believe).
So:
— Association becomes assoc. or ass'n
— Amendment becomes ame. or amd't
— Amendment becomes ame. or amd't
— Continued becomes cont. or cont'd
Seems like a small detail, but it's only way to abbreviate with style.
Cooking Marea's "Fusilli: red wine braised octopus, bone marrow"
Every so often, you get the opportunity to experience something nearly incomprehensible. Michael White, the chef at Marea in New York City, offers just such an experience in this dish, a purely decadent mixture of fusilli pasta, bone marrow, and baby octopus braised in a tomato purée and Sangiovese stock for over an hour. The dish is almost unbearably good, and nearly every chef or food critic who came into contact with it last year proclaimed it one of the greatest things they'd ever eaten. I wouldn't disagree — and so I decided to try to make it myself.Because I don't have access to the variety of produce Mr. White undoubtedly has right at his fingertips, assembling the necessary ingredients took quite a bit of time. The bone marrow wasn't terribly difficult because it could be kept frozen until ready for use, but the baby octopus needed to be fresh. It took about two months finally to assemble everything, and then one Friday night it was time to give it a try.
Once the octopus was almost done, I cooked the fusilli to about a minute under al dente, and sautéed the bone marrow with salt, pepper, and thyme to begin the rendering process. I then added the fusilli to the sauté pan, swirled to coat them with the marrow, and then started spooning the octopus and sauce over them. A little fresh basil stirred in, and they were ready for plating, and a sprinkle of breadcrumbs on top finished the plate.
It wasn't a taste-for-taste match, but it was pretty fantastically good. Mr. White's kitchen can surely pull off a more sophisticated version, but for two hours of cooking – and only about $30 worth of ingredients, all told — this made a pretty excellent Friday night dinner for two.
— C.
Think broadly.
The Cold Open
This is an omnivorous blog. Don't let the name mislead you — we're not going to be spending all our time discussing tie widths and Empire waists. Think broadly about what it means to have style, to move through the world with a projected identity. This is a blog about those identities, and while it's going to be mostly infused with mine, comments (and open dissent) are allowed and encouraged.
With that in mind, this blog aims to cover:
News: current events of every category and source, with an eye towards commentary rather than unfiltered fact
Food: more than just restaurants: notes from the trenches of cooking at home in the 21st century, thoughts on contemporary food culture, &c.
Fashion: taking 'style' at its common use here, both current trends in fashion and general thoughts (and rules) about our daily practice of walking around in an outfit
Music; Movies; Literature: not a mere latest-and-greatest approach here, but an attempt to filter what's worth experiencing and why
Culture: I'm not trying to limit myself here, so here's the catchall category: everything touching or impacting modern life is on the table
Every post will be tagged with one of these seven categories, so the blog can be easily searched by typing a category into the search bar on the left. Read this as a variated stream or filter it down, I won't object either way.
And so without further ado, let's begin.
— C.
With that in mind, this blog aims to cover:
News: current events of every category and source, with an eye towards commentary rather than unfiltered fact
Food: more than just restaurants: notes from the trenches of cooking at home in the 21st century, thoughts on contemporary food culture, &c.
Fashion: taking 'style' at its common use here, both current trends in fashion and general thoughts (and rules) about our daily practice of walking around in an outfit
Music; Movies; Literature: not a mere latest-and-greatest approach here, but an attempt to filter what's worth experiencing and why
Culture: I'm not trying to limit myself here, so here's the catchall category: everything touching or impacting modern life is on the table
Every post will be tagged with one of these seven categories, so the blog can be easily searched by typing a category into the search bar on the left. Read this as a variated stream or filter it down, I won't object either way.
And so without further ado, let's begin.
— C.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)