Rod Amis - Unbound

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PHOENIX, AZ, USA - 4 December, 2004: This is the second time in less than a month that I have had real difficulty starting this column. Either I have more topics than should reasonably go into one edition of this magazine or I have none at all. Well, almost none. Part of the reason for being so sparse this week is the conclusion I reached last week: It does little good to give you the details of impoverishment and the trials it puts me, through. You know, from long experience, that my existence and that of this journal are always tenuous. You know that we only make it through th e kindness of lovers and strangers. IF you decide to be one of that company will not be decided by the minutiae of the problem ...

So, I've concluded that I'll forego that minutiae and only discuss the broad outlines of the situation as it evolved until I am made to fall completely silent. Either I and this edifice where you find me will disappear or it shall not. Period.

NEWS TO ROD

ITEM ONE: I was interested to read, in the New York Times this week, a report about a study published by the National Academy of Sciences here in the US that appears to verify something we've all known intuitively. It seems, according to researchers Dr. Elissa Epel and Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn of the University of California at San Francisco, that stress does indeed kill -- by aging us faster than the passing of chronological years.

Medical doctors have noted for decades that people under high stress are more likely to contract colds, heart disease and diabetes. What we didn't suspect, until now, was that there might be evidence that stress kills at the genetic level.

According to the findings of these two researchers, there are dramatic changes at the DNA level for people under prolonged stress. Their research seems to show that the telomeres at the tip of each of our cell's chromosomes simply give up and die when i ndivi duals endure these prolonged periods of stress.

Reading this, I was reminded of the comment by G21 contributor DAN VANDEMORTEL a few years back.

... Reading all the stuff you've been through, Rod, I would have expected you were at least eighty years old! ...

Certainly feels like it some times.

ITEM TWO: In a Christian Science Monitor article by Tom Regan, on 29 November, 2004, entitled "They Hate our Policies, Not Our Freedoms" we find these interesting snippets:

Late on the Wednesday afternoon before the Thanksgiving holiday, the US Defense Department released a report by the Defense Science Board that is highly critical of the administration's efforts in the war on terror and in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 'Muslims do not hate our freedom, but rather they hate our policies [the report says]. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing, even increasing, support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and the Gulf states. Thus, when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy.'


... The report also takes the administration to task for talking about Islamic extremism in a way that offends many Muslims. In stark contrast to the cold war, the United States today is not seeking to contain a threatening state empire, but rather seeking to convert a broad movement within Islamic civilization to accept the value structure of Western Modernity '... an agenda hidden within the official rubric of a 'War on Terrorism,' [the report states].

You can read the full text of Mr. Regan's article, which includes comments from other sources both foreign and domestic, about this "quietly released" report here.

Rod
Amis

ITEM THREE: I SUSPECT we'll have to lose that "... NPR of the Internet" comment from one of our Loyal Readers pretty soon now as National Public Radio is about to go through a facelift --- along with all of the United States' Public Broadcasting System (PBS) --- in an attempt to make it more suitable to the self-generate d media perception of the tenor of our times. In short, they are moving toward being more "fair and balanced." You know where that catch-phrase comes from, so you know to read that as saying, "Let's feature more neo-conservative Talking Heads."

It seems that the long-in-tooth "McLaughlin Group" is no longer enough to achieve those ends. So now PBS is actively recruiting and featuring people already known to us from places like Fox News Channel.

(I'm chuffed! Aren't you?)

In keeping with all of this, one of our favorite journalists and commentators, Bill Moyers is leaving PBS. Another era comes to a close. First Brokaw, then Rather and now Moyers move out of the spotlight of our public discourse and others move in. Television news becomes more monosyllabic by the moment, more chatty, catty and dumbed-down.

Of the three, the loss of Moyers is probably the one I shall personally feel the most. From his ground-breaking interview series with people like the late Joseph Campbell to his restrained and dignified way of analyzing tough issues, Bill Moyers was one of a kind. Bill says that he'll being going on to do more investigative pieces but one can not but wonder where they'll be shown and how often.

CONSIDER THIS, from a speech given by Moyers, in 1991, entitled "Yearning for Democracy":

But beneath the general buzz, you can, by listening intently, hear something else. You can hear people say that it's not just new legislation or more programs that will make the difference. What they want is to be invited into the conversation of democracy.

Partly this aspiration comes from watching a series of astonishing democratic movements topple dictatorships from Latin America to Europe, movements fired by a vision of citizens as actors in the drama of history. In contrast, what we get here in America is the continuing monopoly of experts and insiders - professional communicators in advertising, public relations, lobbying and the media - packaging and promoting ideas in an effort to engineer the consent of the governed. In this model, the experts operate on the premise that they alone possess the necessary knowledge to shape the policies on which they seek consensus. They assume that the public, in its ignorance of the issues, has little of value to contribute to formulating policies; that people then need to be educated so they can better understand and support the experts' conclusions.

Suppose we did it differently. Suppose we acted as if the public was no fiction and actually we treated d emocracy as a two-way conversation. ...

You can find the full text Mr. Moyer's address here at the Context Institute's Web site. I highly recommend it to you, Luv.

AND, if you like Moyers the way This Journalist likes Moyers and haven't seen his interview with BuzzFlash last October, you can find it here.

You're welcome, my dear.

ITEM FOUR: I'll have nothing to say about the choice for the new U.S. Homeland Security Tsar. I'll just let you read what one reporter had to say at one of his hometown newspapers.

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5 December, 2004: Years ago, while I lived in San Franciscco I believe, and was invited to attend a Scotch whiskey tasting by Johnny Walker's brand (Great fun, quite classy, wonderful hors d'oeuvres! I believe Matt and one other friend went with) I was also added to the e-mailing list of the Glenlivet Society. Every now and again, they send me along an e-mail offering their special treats.

Considering the season, it's no surprise that they sent me along one this week. It linked me to this video. Now there is the face of a Scotch Drinker , if I ever saw one!

Which brought me to thinking of the answer to the question I've gotten from some of our Loyal Readers over the transom this week. "What do you want for Christmas besides 'World Peace,' Rod?"

The question made me think of a song I was taught as a child. It was a very simple song whose lyric began

All I want for Christmas
Is my two front teeth
My two front teeth
My two front teeth

I don't find the lyric so humorous, anymore, because I actually do. Or at least their replacement.

But, in my new bid to try to exhibit a bit more hope than I have in past months of this year, I decided to attempt a serious list. I decided to try thinking in terms of things, like a true American, instead of merely ideas.

The G21 Christmas Wish List

1. One or more Iomega 100 Mg. Zip disks (Macintosh compatible) so that Rod's computer can off-store files and gain more disk space
2. Food (This category does always include chocolate.)
3. Cigarettes (My brand is American Spirit Non-filters)
4. A new battery for Victoria (the Edtior's computer) so that we can be mobile again
5. A bottle of Glenlivet Scotch
6. Capitalization of the magazine so that this danged (Thanks, Tom Hart!) place can hire its hard-working Editor
7. A new pair of comfortable shoes.

FEED THE HUNGRY. You can h elp someone else in this world and IT WON'T COST YOU A DIME. If you simply remember to drop by The Hunger Site every day that you surf and click a simple button ONE LESS PERSON WILL GO HUNGRY. The food is distributed by the United Nations World Food Programme and paid for through the sponsorship of companies that care. Do your part.

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An Editor's Confession

A small, independent and outspoken magazine like this one can't reach you every week without the support and patronage of its readership. As our way of thanking those who have committed to keep your World's Magazine here on your desktop through their generous donations, we feature their names and cities here in our Roll of Honor. SUSTAINING PATRONS CHERYL HILL NATION, West Fairlee, VT, USA DARHL STULTZ, Largo, FL, USA DRAGAN & DRAGANA VICANOVIC, Belgrade, SERBIA MATT STOWELL, New Orleans, LA, USA TERRY TERRIAN, Sebastopol, CA, USA TIMOTHY MEADOWS, Anaheim, CA, USA Supporting Patrons BARBARA ATWELL, Berkeley, CA, USA BECKY ALTEMUS, Houston, TX, USA IAN CRYSTAL, Ph. D, New Orleans, LA, USA LARS KEFFERSTAN, New York, NY, USA RIC WILLIAMS, Austin, TX, USA STEVE VIVIAN, New York, NY, USA STUART ALTMAN, ESQ., New York, NY, USA We encourage you to add your name to this Roll of Honor. GENERATOR 21 cannot continue and thrive without your support. Thanks in advance. To support G21, please send checks or money orders to: G21: The World's Magazine Attn: Rod Amis 2332 W. Glenrosa Avenue, #249 Phoenix, AZ 85015-7039 To donate by credit or debit card, please go to the Western Union website by follow ing the highlighted link. Should you donate via Western Union, please notify us via e-mail. Please make all remittances payable to Rod Amis. Again, thanks.

I was put to thinking this week about how the job of an editor, if my over ten years of experience is any clue, actually is to accept the proverbial "sow's ear." I must confess that over that span of time of doing this magazine, approximately seventy percent (70%) of the material I've been given to work with has not excited me in terms of its literary quality. More often than not it's been the subject matter or the general topic that's propelled my effort, rather than the quality of the writing.

That has meant that when a truly exciting writer comes along -- the other thirty percent (30%) of my time -- I've done handsprings. Those are the moments that truly glow.

In the former category, I remember running the very convoluted work of a contributor -- this was about five or six years ago now -- whose work was painful for me to e ven read. "Convoluted" doesn't begin to describe this individual's writing style and means of presenting their argument. Every time I saw their name in my e-mail box I would inwardly cringe, knowing that I was faced with the choice of either rejecting their work out of hand or forcing myself to try to find some reason to at least read it again.

In those days I was still over-indulgent of writers and seldom, if ever, rejected any submission. (Huge mistake. Yes.) This went on until it reached the point where other writers here started asking me, "Rod, when are you going to lose XX. His writing is AWFUL! Is anybody reading it -- or trying to! -- more than once?"

I finally bit the bullet. To this day, the mere mention of the person's name makes me shudder.

BUT THE GOOD WRITING! The clear, concise, insightful writing that crosses my desktop makes it all worthwhile.

There are a couple of writers in the stable right now whose work I cannot get enough bites at, who delight and inspire this Old Scrivener. More than once, I've felt envy just going over their bon mots and turns of phrases.

You see, Luv, there's a point of commonality among that small class of "the good ones." Good writers are also always readers. Like any other class o f craftsmen, writers don't work in a vacuum. In order to write well, you have to have read extensively and practiced the styles and voices of "the masters." Since our province is ideas, you have to recognize good and bad ideas and good and bad analysis and argumentation.

I can almost immediately spot the work of a writer who has not read very extensively -- or who has only immersed themselves in a single sort or genre of writing -- as soon as I am presented with their work. I seldom advise contributors, or any other writers whose work I see, for that matter, to go out and read more --- but I'd often like to do so.

Reading only one type of writing, as far as I'm concerned, is tantamount to not reading at all. It shows.

In that regard, I was once sitting in conversation with a group of writers when one of them declared, unself-consciously, "No one writes X-style better than me!"

I fell deeper in my own silence listening to this declaration. It reminded me of a woman I'd once known who, as part of her seduction, kept telling me she'd be "the best p---- of a--" I'd ever had. Of course she wasn't. Not even in the top five. She exemplified the rule that people who have to tell you they are "the best" at anything are incredibly insecure. So did the bragging writer.

What I could have told the writer in this meeting was that I'd read his work and that it showed that he had read too much of other people in the same area and picked up too much of their idiom, that he needed to sharpen his analytical abilities, not be so enamored of his own "voice," and read outside of his field.

Maybe that's the big difference between the seventy percent and the thirty percent: the latter group are always working and learning and experimenting and being open to failure. The former contains too many people who are satisfied with their style and voice and abilities and, thus, tend to overrate their production. Maybe.

Finally, I must also confess that the single hardest part of this "job" has been working up the courage to tell a given writer that you readers aren't that chuffed about their work, either.

I constantly look at the readership numbers at this publication in order to gauge what types of articles, what topics, what writers "work" for you, my little loves, and which simply don't. Every now and again, I get a diligent writer who believes his or her work -- think back to that anecdote above -- is interesting when the numbers tell me that work is among the last places you go, if you go there at all.

Every indication is that I should simply stop running their work. But how do I tell that person, "Hey, guess what? I'm sorry. You aren't being read"?

I know writers; most of them would actually prefer to be reviled, like Mr. X above, than actually find out that they are being completely ignored. So I recoil from the prospect of bringing that message to any writer.

I'll have to find some politic way of delivering that message for t he future.

Thanks for coming back this week.

THINGS I PRAY FOR THIS WEEK

1. Anything to laugh about.

2. Respite from constant worry.

3. Resuming my spiritual journey.

"Work like you don't need the money,
"Love like you've never been hurt,
"Dance like no one is watching ... "

Love,
Rod

ROD AMIS has published this magazine since 1990. It first appeared as a hardcopy 'Zine. In March, 1996, he launched it here on the Web. Rod was a Contributing Editor at Suite101.com, where he wrote the " 'Net Publishing" feature. His work has been featured in the San Francisco Bay Guardian Online, NRV8, and at WebLab's Reality Check site. Rod was a lso a contributing writer on technology for Faulkner Information Services. He wrote on Web issues for MethodFive.com's Hyper newsletter.

Rod was a columnist for the Andover News Network, where he wrote over two hundred articles on web design and development issues. He was also principal writer and Editor for IT Manager's Journal, where he reviewed technology issues weekly, producing 383 editorials. He became the Managing Editor for Electronic Mail/Newsletter Publications at Andover.net at the end of February, 2000, and left in September of the same year. He was a contributing writer for ACCESS magazine, which appeared both on- and offline for 10 million readers in 100 newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Post, Boston Herald, Austin American-Statesman, Denver Post and Orlando Sentinel, among others. Rod was the US reporter for Silicon.com, a division of Network Multimedia Television in London, UK, reaching 3.5 million European readers, until May, 2001.

In 2002, he worked as Assistant to the General Manager of a Big Easy company that does restaurants and nightclubs. He did stints as the Resident Philosopher at three separate gin mills in that city in the French Quarter and the Marigny, earning his stripes during two successive Mardi Gras seasons. Oh yeah, Rod's had Day Jobs working construction. Mostly renovations of old New Orleans structures, houses and a bar. Sometimes he designs Web sites for other people so that he can get his creative juices flowing the way he can't at a staid publication like this one. And he's been the instructor in Editing for Internet Publications at the Novi Sad School of Journalism in Yugoslavia. Our Resident Philosopher is now looking for creative ways of re-inventing himself in the Valley of the Sun. He currently teaches a distance-learning courses in Reading and Math to at-risk students online. In his spare time, he chases women in the manner that a fly pursues a spider.

Rod plans publication of the first Glass House book before the end of the year and is already working on the second, sequel, manuscript.

He continues to be committed to integrity, chastity and a dose of humility.

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