Quote redux of the week:

[Mike Wallace] quoted co-correspondent Morley Safer: "A crook doesn't feel as though he's really made it until he's been on 60 Minutes."

This piquant squib is from a story in the San Francisco Chronicle by Leah Garchick about how Mike Wallace, during a phone interview with her about his new book, got pretty ticked of by some of her questions. A juicy read. He accused her of being petty and unprepared, and from the article itself, which doesn't even mention the title of the book, Mike Wallace Asks: highlights from 46 controversial interviews, I would be willing to bet that he had a point there.

The book sounds great. If anyone would be so kind as to send me one, I'd love to read it. We don't get 60 minutes here in China. I miss it, and miss Ted Koppel's Nightline as well. The CNN broadcast we do get used to feature NewsNight with Aaron Brown and it was always the highlight of my day. It was odd watching it mid-morning, but whenever we could, we did. But for some reason they stopped showing it. It's hard to say whether there was any official reason for dropping it from the schedule, but our CNN is definitely an emasculated version. We get their stupid shows about golf and 'design,' but no more Aaron Brown. Miss you, A.

Belatedly, I want to mention and honor the passing of "Mother" Rosa Parks, who died last week and to say how gratifying it is that she'll be the first woman to lie in state in the Capital Rotunda in Washington, DC.

(CBS/AP) Rosa Parks, the seamstress whose act of defiance on a public bus a half-century ago helped spark the modern U.S. civil rights movement, will join presidents and war heroes who have been honored in death with a public viewing in the Capitol Rotunda.

Parks, who died Monday in Detroit at age 92, (pic RosaParks.jpg) also will be the first woman to lie in honor in the Rotunda, the vast circular room under the Capitol dome.

There are a lot of good stories about the American Civil Rights movement on that page, for you students (ni hao) who visit Crackpot Chronicles. And note too, how America honors her heroes and heroines, even if, and often especially if, they are dissenters. One of our founders said "the highest form of patriotism is dissent." One of the more interesting and relevant differences in our two cultures.

Tab Hunter, 74 (!), teen heart-throb of the 1950s and George Takei, 68 (Star Trek's Mr. Sulu),-- came out. I look forward to an America where people, even media stars, don't have to hide who they are for most of their lives.

Finally, Happy Hallowe'en, White House. Trick or treat--thy comeuppance is nigh.

The only blog contests I've ever known about are those sponsored by bloggers I know and they're usually coterie popularity contests that I vote in because some other blogger I know asks me to vote for their weblog. But the German newspaper Deutsche Welle is sponsoring an international Best of the Blogs contest that's very well organized and tres fun to cruise.

Finalists in nine languages are competing for honors as Best Weblog, Best Multimedia Blog, Best Podcasting Site, a special award from Reporters Without Borders and Best Journalistic Blog in each of the contest's languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Persian, Portuguese, Russian und Spanish).

Click this banner (opens in a new window) to take a look at the nominations.
Go ahead--If Crackpot says its cool, you know it's chillin'

When you get there, click on one of the languages to see the blogs in each language. Each candidate has a page with nice snapshot and synopsis (in English or any language you choose from the drop-down) of each blog. It's fascinating, even if you don't read all the languages, to see the quality and variety of some blogs you might not know to look at otherwise. In English, the Afghan Election Blog and Baghdad Burning (by by a Sunni Muslim sister) are amazing.

A rainy day begins for me. Have fun wherever you are. I think I'll cocoon and watch the Bush administration unravel on CNN. A little more interesting and consequential than watching grass grow. Right now I'm watching a business story about the China Construction Bank's IPO, which was underwhelming.

In a Sept 23 post here about the effect of Katrina's devastation of New Orleans' music scene and in particular, the destruction of radio station WWOZ (known as OZ) to locals, I asked you to consider contributing to getting them back on the air. If you did, you did good, it helped! And even if you didn't, I'm overjoyed to report that WWOZ is Back On The Air!

Musical 'heart and soul' back on the air

By Bill Nichols, USA TODAY
WWOZ-FM, a tiny public radio station that serves as a voice of the multihued New Orleans sound and a lifeline for area musicians devastated by Hurricane Katrina, made it back on the air for its first full day since the storm smashed its New Orleans studios. "It's a beautiful day," Freddie Blue, real name Fred Goodrich, crooned from a temporary studio in Baton Rouge. "And it's great to play some music."

"Oz," as the station is known to listeners, has become more than a radio station in the new world of New Orleans, where any link to pre-Katrina life is cherished.

The city's musical community sees the station as its central nervous system, and the news that it was back on the radio dial was cause for celebration.

You can listen online to OZ (sometimes, keep trying, it's worth it) at http://www.wwoz.org/exile.php Great jazz, blues and quirky deejays, wonderful community radio. Gumbo for the ears and spirit.
Listening right now to a tribute to Gatemouth Brown, who died this week. Deejay said, "doctors said he died of a heart attack, but we know he died of a broken heart seeing what that bitch Katrina did to New Orleans."

Louisiana-born, Texas-raised multi-instrumentalist Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown has been dishing up his unique blend of blues, R&B, country, jazz, and Cajun music for more than 50 years. A virtuoso on guitar, violin, harmonica, mandolin, viola, and even drums, Gatemouth has influenced performers as diverse as Albert Collins, Frank Zappa, Lonnie Brooks, Eric Clapton, and Joe Louis Walker. (excerpt from his bio on the website)

I got to see Gatemouth at the one New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, better known as Jazzfest, that I went to, in 2002. Joseph and I made a wonder-full cross-country drive, from L.A. to N'awlins, coastal Mississippi and points between, to say goodbye to America just before we moved to China, the instigating event of which was Kim and M.C. Gainey's wedding at Jazzfest. So many memories...

The Fairgrounds site of Jazzfest, in the Gentilly section of New Orleans was hit hard. (Any excuse to type the name Gentilly.)

Let the good times and the good music rock and roll. Hao Hao New Orleans, it's coming back! Of course.

The story's unlinkable without a subscription to Women's Wear Daily, so here are some of the more amusing hotspots of the American Magazine Conference held in Fajardo, Puerto Rico noted in a WWD report by Jeff Bercovici. Hundreds of American magazine editors, publishers and executives attend this annual event.

Thanx and a tip o' the byline to my brother, Ken Sander, tech journalist and S.O. of Marlene Kahan, Executive Director of the American Society of Magazine Editors.

From Bercovici's list of tidbits:

Best Snappy Comeback: Elle editor in chief Roberta Myers, who watched as Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith dubbed Britney Spears, pictured pregnant on Elle's cover, a "man-made disaster." When Myers got her turn on stage, she pointed out that the issue in question, October, was on pace to be Elle's best seller in 10 years.

Best Bill Clinton Impression: Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper, who moonlights as a stand-up comedian when he's not busy protecting his sources. At a dinner with Sen. John McCain on Sunday night, Cooper's boss, Jim Kelly, encouraged him to perform his Clinton and George Bush imitations for the table. Kelly stopped short of asking Cooper to do his McCain, [who was in attendance].

Second-Best Bill Clinton Impression: John McCain. In the middle of a two-hour gambling session, the Arizona senator introduced himself to an attractive young brunette and invited her to join him at the craps table. He soon declared the woman, who was attending the conference on behalf of a Rhode Island-based technology firm, to be his lucky charm, and forbade her to leave while his winning streak lasted.

Best Casual Male: New York editor in chief Adam Moss, who beat the heat at Sunday night's banquet by wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. The soaring temperatures were no joke; one elderly conventioneer even passed out from heat exhaustion, but quickly came to with the help of tech journalist and former Army medic Ken Sander [my brother].

Best Loser: Playboy editorial director Christopher Napolitano, who shrugged off several hundred dollars in blackjack losses, saying, "I'm lucky in love." The fates rewarded him for his persistence with a winning run at craps that lasted until the casino closed at 3 a.m.

Best Unintentional Pun: National Geographic editor in chief Chris Johns, who transformed a roomful of grownups into giggling third-graders when he advised against sucking blood from the head of a fighting cock. (He was talking about avian flu, people.)

I didn't catch this when it first came out, but couldn't resist passing it on. From Iranian.com, a web home for Persians in the U.S.



A 'MullahBurger' figure, referring to U.S.-Iranian relations, is seen on a float during the traditional carnival parade in Dusseldorf, western Germany, on Monday, Feb. 7, 2005. Words on hamburger bun read: "Mullah Burger, featured soon at McBush's." (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Winning hearts and minds all over the world, shrub. Giving rectums everywhere a bad name (Warning: explicit content).

By the way, I really enjoyed surfing Iranian.com. They have interesting articles, many in English, and music clips which I enjoyed immensely. I love Persian music, something I was introduced to when I was a semi-pro bellydancer in Los Angeles. I did that for more than 10 years and kinda miss it here in Beijing.

To all Jews everywhere, from our house to yours.

Happiness, health, and above all, PEACE.
Shalom

Here's my results. No surprises.

You are a Social Liberal (68% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (28% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: click to take it yourself

They also ask you to suggest a law that you want enforced. Mine: that the authors and/or proprietary holders of any entity that changed the contents or behavior of a personal computer (including the OS), without the computer owner's knowledge, understanding and permission, be liable for prosecution and heavy fines.

This stunning false-color view of Saturn's moon Hyperion reveals crisp details across the strange, tumbling moon's surface. Differences in color could represent differences in the composition of surface materials. The view was obtained during Cassini's close flyby on Sept. 26, 2005.

Hyperion has a notably reddish tint when viewed in natural color. The red color was toned down in this false-color view, and the other hues were enhanced, in order to make more subtle color variations across Hyperion's surface more apparent.

(photo & caption from NASA)

To me, it looks like a piece of coral.

The answer in red, below.

From AsiaMedia, an online publication of the UCLA Asia Institute, who got it from the South China Morning Post.

CHINA: Paper banned over cover-up report

Henan Business News says it was banned by the General Administration of Press and Publication and the Central Propaganda Department after reporting on bribery committed by local officials

South Morning China Post
Thursday, September 29, 2005

Authorities in Henan banned a newspaper from publishing for a month after reporting on a mine accident cover-up, in which journalists allegedly accepted money from mine operators to keep quiet.

A staff member at the Henan Business News yesterday confirmed that the paper was banned from September 17 to October 16, but declined to give details.

The ban, ordered by the General Administration of Press and Publication and the Central Propaganda Department, followed the paper's August 18 story about a mine flood in Henan's Ruzhou city, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Details of the July 31 mine flood have not been officially disclosed. The original article said an unknown number of miners were killed or injured.

The reporter who wrote the story, Fan Youfeng, said local officials offered each journalist showing up after the flood 500 yuan in "hush money." Fan wrote that he took a total of 1,000 yuan on two visits, and gave it to his office.

As news of the bribes spread in Ruzhou, more than 500 people turned up claiming to be reporters and looking for money, said the Henan Business News.

Staff answering phones at the General Administration of Press and Publication yesterday asked for a written inquiry, and did not immediately reply.

Fan and his editor, Ma Yunlong, have both left Henan Business News, according to a report by a journalism academic forum.

Of course, press and cash go hand in hand in America too, these days.

From today's New York Times:

Buying of News by Bush's Aides Is Ruled Illegal

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 - Federal auditors said on Friday that the Bush administration violated the law by buying favorable news coverage of President Bush's education policies, by making payments to the conservative commentator Armstrong Williams and by hiring a public relations company to analyze media perceptions of the Republican Party.

read the rest

If the word had gotten out, would other "journalists" have shown up and demanded their share?

Did you know that the last school day in September is officially Ask a Stupid Question Day? I didn't know that. Did you know that? Why didn't I know that?

Well, I have a candidate. When stupid people ask me what I do and I tell them I'm a writer, they ask "what do you write about?" Another candidate: "What's up?" That's a totally stupid question as an opener.

The late Timothy Leary once told me that he was often astonished at the number of people who approached him in public and asked "Tim, do you remember me?" He'd usually reply, "is this an intelligence test?"

Ask a Stupid Question Day
From the Urban Dictionary: A holiday which falls on the last skool (sic) day in September, usually September 30th...self-explanatory; a day that is celebrated by asking a lot of stupid questions, mainly to your teachers/professors only funny if you get many people to participate, in which case it can be the most fun and looked-forward-to day of the year it is perfectly placed, in that it is soon enough after summer that everyone is still sad that summer's over and could use some laughs, yet it is late enough that you have already gotten to know your teachers fairly well, and know the limits to how many stupid questions you can ask them and not get into trouble.