Abulafia






						f F E B R U A R Y 2 8 , 2 0 0 3 Option 2 for dinner Homemade pizza (Option 1 involved ham from the deli, which sounded complicated, plus there was no one at the deli when I got to the store.) Asparagus, tomato, cheese, fresh basil Amy to Columbus r F E B R U A R Y 2 7 , 2 0 0 3 Yellow (Website) [NB: Buy yellow duct tape] Everybody needs pollsters A fundamental difference between the administrations: Clinton used polls to determine his deepest, most heartfelt concerns. Bush uses polls to determine how to sell his deepest, most heartfelt concerns. There are pluses and minuses to both approaches. Right now, the current approach means we are going to war with Iraq as soon as the pollsters tell us why. Choir rehearsal Commercial Developers Power Breakfast There were no food fights Topic: The Future of Downtown Columbus There seems to be an awareness that City Center needs to be oriented toward the street. Can it be done? Friedl Bohm believes that downtown should be conceived inclusive of Franklinton to Franklin Park, German Village to Victorian Village. Yes. Parking. Public transportation. Parks. Housing. Well, housing is coming (slowly), anyway. w F E B R U A R Y 2 6 , 2 0 0 3 Bush outlines a vision of post-war Iraq Only if we try to win the peace will a war be worth attempting. Only George Bush's determination to confront Saddam Hussein led to U.N. inspectors having a final, failed opportunity to verify Iraq's disarmament. Although the anti-war protests of last weekend seem to have encouraged Hussein to renege on some of his capitulations of just last week, the world's opposition to war has forced the U.S. administration to formulate a plan for what happens after the war. Only now have they felt it necessary to explain why Iraq will be beeter off if the U.S. invades. To make a credible attempt at establishing a functioning, democratic government is the sort of visionary American attitude that is worth trying. Replacing Saddam Hussein with another local tyrant is not worth a war. It's also not too late to support Afghanistan in that nation's rebuilding. Bush's budget proposes no money for this task in the coming year. Surely it is worth something to ensure that the country doesn't collapse into misrule only a year after the U.S. risked its soldiers' lives to rescue the country from a misrule that sheltered terrorists. George Bush and Condoleeza Rice came to Washington strongly opposed to nation-building. Perhaps they have now come to recognize the national interest in supporting functional governments around the world. Or perhaps it is just another attempt to justify the war that seems to have been decided on long ago. Either way, as the war does seem inevitable, the long-term interests of the United States rest in convincing the administration to build the best independent Iraq possible. t F E B R U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 0 3 M, D back from San Antonio Stephanie back from Bexley CLC Communications Committee Actually did meet, though the office said not It could be worse The country of Nauru is missing. It's telecommunications system collapsed in January, and the island nation hasn't been heard from in several weeks. It is not known who the current president is; the government appears to have no money and the presidential residence probably burned in December. Recent attempts at boosting the faltering economy had included contracting with Australia to maintain a detention camp for asylum seekers (after a riot, the (primarily Iraqi) detainees were left to run their own detention center), and breaking into the lucrative "offshore banking" market (investigators found 400 banks registered to one mailbox). (BBC) m F E B R U A R Y 2 4 , 2 0 0 3 Yet more snow Easier to walk to work again Noopy Oopy's new Lego organ n F E B R U A R Y 2 3 , 2 0 0 3 To Columbus White Noise Dom DeLillo s F E B R U A R Y 2 2 , 2 0 0 3 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Caught up on the last three episodes Giles might as well be evil if all he can do is try to prevent the other characters from enjoying themselves -- somehow that seems to prevent the audience from enjoying itself either. There is enough misery going around outside of TV-land that the old levity in the face of certain apocalypse would be far easier to watch than the mind-numbing seriousness of some of these late episodes. To Akron f F E B R U A R Y 2 1 , 2 0 0 3 Sleep And more sleep After a long day at work getting out the Commercial Developers Resource r F E B R U A R Y 2 0 , 2 0 0 3 Choir rehearsal Legos w F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 0 3 Polybag night All newspaper pages to press by end-of-day Hyacinths Fragrance fills the room t F E B R U A R Y 1 8 , 2 0 0 3 The Evening of Shifting Meetings NEAC Zoning at 6:30 p.m. cancelled OTT transition meeting scheduled during the day for 6:30 p.m. CLC Communications meeting, I called the office during the day and was assured the meeting was still scheduled; arrived, doors were locked, RaeEllen and I banged on the education door and were let in -- she found her meeting, I never found mine, though was told of one other committee member who had been sighted wandering the halls. m F E B R U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 0 3 Snowed in Not really, but left the car in the garage and walked to work n F E B R U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 0 3 Veronica By Nicholas Christopher s F E B R U A R Y 1 5 , 2 0 0 3 The first touch of blue On the hyacinths -- there's hope yet Thank you, Liz & John, for the vases Perhaps I'll risk fish (Stephanie says that was the intent) after the hyacinths Play Finally Stored the last of the Christmas decorations away and reclaimed the front room. Be yourself IM Reverend Harper: Have you ever tried to persuade him that he wasn't Teddy Roosevelt? Abby: Oh, no! Martha: Oh, he's so happy being Teddy Roosevelt. Abby: Oh, do you remember, Martha, once a long time ago, we thought if he'd be George Washington, it might be a change for him, and we suggested it. Martha: And do you know what happened? He just stayed under his bed for days and wouldn't be anybody. (From Arsenic and Old Lace) Snow Snow, snow, snow, ... Foreign service notes -- Iraq The U.S. has been (essentially) at war, bombing and overflying Iraqi territory, with Saddam Hussein's regime since Desert Storm. Iraq has never met the conditions which were imposed upon it by the international community to justify the curtailment of that war. The sanctions that have been imposed on the country have impoverished its people but have left Hussein free to develop proscribed weapons. As time accumulated, more and more countries felt free to flaut the sanctions and trade with the regime. Hussein was so emboldened as to expel U.N. inspectors from Iraq although they had been unable to complete their work. Only the (believable) threat of war has brought about Iraq's capitulation to re-admit inspectors, though they are still not able to perform their intended function. To simply argue that inspections need more time is to misunderstand what they are in Iraq for; it is to see Hussein's evasions as acceptable behavior. U.N. inspectors have been operating in Iraq since (I believe) 1992. They were given a job which is fairly simple and need not take longer than several months -- Iraq is to disclose what proscribed weapons it had, and to demonstrate to the inspectors that it has indeed destroyed them. This is a process that has worked in South Africa and at least one former Soviet republic. It fails (and is inappropriate) if the country in question does not intend to disarm. With Iraq, this process has stretched past the decade mark-- obviously because Iraq has no intention of voluntarily disarming and prefers to pretend (with the support of a considerable portion of the U.N.) that inspectors are intended to play an infantile game of hide-and-seek with deadly weapons as the ever-hidden goal. An anti-war position would be far more credible if there were some alternative to war which was appropriate to the situation. Unless Hussein recants all he has held most dear for the past ten years, inspections are a waste of time. Sanctions are cruel and have proven ineffective. Containment has proven unsustainable. In this theory, the inspectors are not expected to actually do their job (verify the destruction of Iraq's weapons), but merely to play the cat and chase the mouse up and down the countryside in order that Iraq might remain too distracted to turn the mouse into a lion. Although Iraq may currently be too preoccupied to develop its weapons capabilities, that containment has come at a high price. Already the U.S. has mobilized a destabilizing and costly military force to the Middle East. The U.S. cannot afford (both in dollars and in global politics), to maintain the military threat over time that has temporarily forced Hussein to some, minimal, concessions. The pro-war position has the only answer to the problem -- if Saddam Hussein will not disarm and allow verification, he will be disarmed. Yet they have failed to explain (or at least to convince) why this undertaking is necessary right now, amid numerous other security concerns. Additionally, the U.S. followup in Afghanistan leaves deep concern about the aftermath of an invasion. An Iraqi-al Qaeda link appears (from the U.S. administration's own releases) to be driven by the U.S. focus on Iraq, in diametric opposition to charges that the Iraqi focus was driven by a pre-existing link. Iraq is in material breach of the latest U.N. resolution. But Iraq has been in material breach of resolutions calling upon it to disarm and verify that to the world for years. The U.S. has simply shown little to convince the rest of the world that the status quo is untenable and war preferable to inaction. What comes after Saddam Hussein? Another dictator with territorial aspirations would hardly be an improvement. The Bush administration has proposed a budget (already in mind-boggling deficit) that omits any war costs, let alone money for rebuilding Iraq. It provides no money for Afghanistan, either -- an astonishing retreat from a country that is in grave danger still of relapsing into the hands of radical Islamists. Will Iraq be different? Despite the sympathy the September 11 terrorist attacks generated for the United States, this country's posture since (and before) has been that of a bully, not a leader. To make the world a safer place, (and with the weapons that exist today, it's got to be the whole world -- the U.S. can't withdraw across the oceans anymore), to make the world a less hospitable home for terrorists, the United States will have to alter its approach to the world. Quinn Tetris for OS X Not improved, just the real thing Highly dangerous (Website) Internet radio Live 365 Tried it a couple of weeks ago, still enjoying it (Website) f F E B R U A R Y 1 4 , 2 0 0 3 Happy Valentine's Day I wish I was in Akron Amy -- I love you, -j. Thank you. Very useful For Business First to imitate. (Courtesy our sister publication, the Washington Business Journal). List inputs Ad information r F E B R U A R Y 1 3 , 2 0 0 3 Talked to Carey Stocking up on duct tape, planning for hoped for NC move Choir rehearsal In the sanctuary, IHN (Interfaith Hospitality Network) occupying the choir room for the week Made the mistake of taking a nap beforehand -- it was unbelievably hard to get up and out the door And still the weather Cold. Light flurries in the morning. Winter storm watch for the weekend. Did I mention cold? Oh, and cold. w F E B R U A R Y 1 2 , 2 0 0 3 OTENA general meeting Hal Keller, Ohio Capital Corp. (OCCH) OCCH is purchasing the Broad Street Management Portfolio, which has earned a great fortune for its owners while subjecting its (Section 8) tenants to deteriorating apartments and disastrous (often criminal) neighbors. Supposedly HUD was to ensure reasonable conditions for Section 8 residents (no one with a housing choice would choose Broad Street properties these days)-- they failed miserably. OCCH intends to renovate most of the portfolio, to among many (many) other things, install showers (what century is this?). The Section 8 deed restrictions are to be renewed on most properties for another 20 years. Again, HUD will have the only effective oversight. Is it any wonder the neighborhood wants to deconcentrate as many of these properties as possible? OCCH appears to be interested in quality renovations. They appear to have a quality management plan. The neighborhood has no choice but to hope that this is the case. COTA cancelled. They wish to build a transit center on Main Street in Olde Towne. Unable to find a vacant lot to their liking, (the large selection notwithstanding), COTA seems intent on using public money to demolish a historic commercial building. OTENA is, understandably, unhappy. Has COTA no justification? t F E B R U A R Y 1 1 , 2 0 0 3 Tour committee meeting At Peg's condo Remembered to duck under the (beautiful) light fixtures in the hall m F E B R U A R Y 1 0 , 2 0 0 3 HomeFront to press Easier than usual n F E B R U A R Y 9 , 2 0 0 3 And the Father will Dance Over You in Joy Choir anthem Well, we have a second chance at it next Sunday, at the early service I Love to Tell the Story A wonderful hymn, but it is smooth, legato, lilting, ... "Tell me a story" kindliness, not brash A Garrison Keillor voice would have improved it much. s F E B R U A R Y 8 , 2 0 0 3 Roving Made it to Charlie's, the last stop Lonely Saved by a phone call Trapped Had to get out of the house f F E B R U A R Y 7 , 2 0 0 3 Camille Paglia On the (possible/probable) war with Iraq (Salon) Reread The Dictionary of the Khazars Milorad Pavic In which the devils are unconcerned that man might learn more of death. They are determined that man not learn more of life. Two notes: a) Some books I never read. Some books I read many times. Hearing the same advertisment over and over can make even a bad promotion unforgettable. Reading a good book, which is a thousand times more subtle, a second (or third ...) time through, is far more beneficial to the reader and considerably less dangerous to his pocketbook. (Please don't mention this in regards to A la Recherche du Temps Perdu, where it is perilous to his clock.) b) When I list books here it is under a general sort of date. I have probably not begun it nor finished with it on this date. I approve of the example of Petkutin, whose story is told in the Red Book of the Khazar Dictionary: On Monday evenings he could take a different day from his future and use it the following morning, in place of Tuesday. When he came to the day he had taken, he would use the skipped Tuesday in its place, thereby adjusting the total. Under these conditions, of course, the connecting seams of the days could not fit together properly, and cracks appeared in time, but this matter only gladdened Petkutin. (PAGE 35) On this date, I have indeed been perusing this book (and all of it after dinner (PAGE 1)). (Amazon) Orange (Website) r F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 0 3 Choir rehearsal Snow and freezing rain -- slipped and fell on the ice in the church parking lot. Felt foolish. Now blooming -- in the kitchen There is plenty of color, decoration and excitement at Christmas. February, the deepest, darkest cold (figuratively) of winter, is when an Amaryllis is absolutely wonderful. w F E B R U A R Y 5 , 2 0 0 3 A Day of NO Meetings Desparately needed. Reread The Trial Franz Kafka I recall once reading a book that made me deeply protective of the rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. At a time when many of those rights are being challenged, I read that book again. And I got nothing similar out of it. This reading was almost existential. The High Courts didn't feel like anything run by a mysterious, tyrannical government, but a will within the human mind. Joseph K. needed some reason, some motivation, some cause to get up in the morning. He couldn't find one in his world. [The protection of the rights in U.S. Constitution feels a very provisional (almost procedural) cause -- rather like the lawyer's dithering with which K. grew unsatisfied.] Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. I'm sure it's still in there. t F E B R U A R Y 4 , 2 0 0 3 Bill Moss's tirade Listened to the Columbus School Board meeting on WCBE. Bill Moss, school board member (first elected 1975) and (in his opinion) "voice of reason crying out in the wilderness," attempted a Nikita Khrushchev impression after arriving for the meeting dressed in mlitary fatigues to protest a restructuring of committees that left him out a chairmanship. (There should be enough images here for quite an illustration). Moss banged his shoe on the table for nearly half and hour, chanting and railing against the corruption and incompetance he sees everywhere in the school system; he was intermittently joined in chorus by at least one member of the audience. He jeered at his fellow board members with "there are the corrupt ones" as they finally fled the room to discuss how to adjoin a meeting in which they couldn't hear each other. The shoe-pounding paused during their absence, long enough for Moss to berate another audience member unhappy with Moss's "antics." Moss likened himself to Jesus overturning the temple money-changers' tables. Moss accused the audience-member of not caring that the district was in academic emergency and of supporting the crooks who were too busy stealing to educate the children. ... For an organization with well-known accounting weaknesses, the incident Moss first complained about and then cited as the cause of his committee's demise is indeed troubling. But that as a grown-up, and a veteran elected leader, Moss can do no better than throw a public tantrum to embarrass the school system does not recommend his abilities as a board member nor his qualities as a role model to the thousands of children the district ought to be educating. His continual recourse to devisive tactics alienates and discourages those who work for or with the district. Moss cannot educate the children alone. He needs the adminstrators, the teachers, the parents, ... and his fellow school board members. After 27 years, it seems unlikely he will realize this. OTENA Trustees meeting Low-key. Hope to confirm COTA for general meeting next Wednesday. How to "prevent" stress; courtesy Jer (Website -- Prevent) • (Website -- Skyy) m F E B R U A R Y 3 , 2 0 0 3 Garden Club The year of the iris. BREAD website Preliminary design polyphony.org/bread n F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 0 3 To Columbus s F E B R U A R Y 1 , 2 0 0 3 Rhodin, A Magnificent Obsession Akron Art Museum Cantor Foundation exhibit (Website) The Hours Film based on the book by Michael Cunningham (Website) > JANUARY
		2 0 0 3 JANUARY L I N K S AAA Abulafia Boardwalk Bread CHN Christ Lutheran Church Neighborhood Research Institute Old Oaks Olde Towne Polyphony INTP Business First Business First Daily Edition Call and Post Columbus Alive Columbus Dispatch Columbus Free Press Columbus Post Communicator News The Daily Reporter Inner Art The Lantern The Other Paper Suburban News Publications Short North Gazette NBC4 Columbus WSYX 6 10TV WBNS ONN BBC World Service CNN Christian Science Monitor The Guardian IndiaTimes New York Times StarTribune Washington Post Washington Times William F. Buckley Jr. John Ellis David Frum Hit & Run Instapundit Mickey Kaus Little Green Footballs Joshua Micah Marshall The Note Virginia Postrel Wes Pruden Jim Romenesko Andrew Sullivan Doonesbury Ted Rall Peter Steiner Tom Toles Tom Tommorow Rob Pegoraro Matt Drudge Communication Arts Acme Art Company Ballet Met CCAD Columbus Arts Columbus Arts Festival Columbus Metropolitan Library Columbus Museum of Art Columbus Symphony Dialogue Franklin Park Conservatory Glass Axis Music in the Air Opera Columbus Thurber House Wexner Center City of Bexley City of Columbus Columbus City Council Columbus Police Columbus Public Schools OTENA egroup OTENA-NIC egroup OTENA-tours egroup OTENA-trustees egroup Old Oaks egroup Ohio Parsons Blockwatch egroup