View from a Farley The Current Events and Opinion Weblog of Chris Farley

Starting Over

Starting over is easy for most people. A teenager who has messed up their high school career can easily re-invent themselves in college. And again in graduate school. And again at a job. And again at another job. There are many, many opportunities for people to pick up and move on. The impressions that other people have of a person don’t change easily, so it makes sense to just move on having benefited from past experiences.

The starting over concept doesn’t have to be on such are large scale as starting over on one’s life. I do it all the time when I write. After a few paragraphs, I decide that my writing has gone in a bad direction, so I delete and start over.

So what would happen if we apply this concept on a much larger scale? How about our system of government? It seems that the government that has served us relatively well for the past 200 years would benefit from a shake up. No, the government isn’t in total collapse, but wouldn’t it be better if we applied our past experiences to government today?

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness” [sic.] But Americans have always just “dealt with it.” I’d love to see a huge shake up to keep things fresh and to keep government honest.

But it will never happen. Just something to think about if anyone wants to buy an island and start a government with me.

Ones and 0s

I’ve dealt with only a few negative comments in my blogging career, but I’ve seen other people get all sorts of hateful comments.  I hope up-and-coming bloggers and podcasters are inspired by Geoff Smith’s song, “Ones and 0s” and video, produced in conjunction with Jonathan Davis.

Ones and 0s by Geoff Smith from Cali Lewis on Vimeo.

Buy Geoff Smith’s new dynamic album at ringtonefeeder.com.

Different

There are few things more ironic than a conscious effort to be different. And it’s not just the people who dress all in black or tattoo their entire bodies that I’m talking about. Every time somebody does something just for the sake of setting themselves apart from everyone else, I cringe.

It’s obvious to me that the people who so consciously try to be different are reacting in an extraordinarily predictable way. It’s the Tom Sawyer effect in action — a parent, or more likely society-at-large, implicity or explicitly, forbids something, like destroying one’s appearance. The response is to do exactly what is forbidden. The choice to be different is irrational precisely for that reason. In this case, the person is not rebelling against society’s ideology but against its expectations.

Similarly, I know of one case in which the sibling of a friend consciously made a decision to be different. She came from a family that loved red meat and would eat steak or something similar most nights. The person decided to become a vegan. A more rational decision would have been to just cut back on red meat, but she had decided to be different at all costs.

Of course, the irony of such a decision lies in its hypocrisy. Entire groups form whose sole mission is to be different from everyone else. In the end, trying to be different just pushes people from one organized group into another. In that sense, they fail to achieve their goal every time, but they succeed in alienating a whole bunch of people.

So why do I care? People should be finding ways to do things that work for them, not do things specifically because they don’t work for other people. If people deviate from the social norm for a legitimate reason, then I accept that, but people who do things just to be different are living a life of hackery. The problem is that people in the second category believe themselves to be in the first category.

I look forward to your comments!

The Capitol Steps

My range of emotions needs to be stretched for me to show outward happiness. I smirk, but I don’t often smile. I chuckle, but I don’t usually laugh. Political satire, however, can usually put me over the edge. I was in the Berkshires last weekend and, for the fourth or fifth time, I saw The Capitol Steps. Their satire is spot-on and takes quite a while to get old.

Their humor is dry and the product is musical! When political satire and music collide, the result is funnier than just political satire on its own. They post weekly audio clips of their songs at their website, www.capitolsteps.com, but it’s really a shame to miss the visual aspect.

I’m not sure how the justices would feel about that, but President George H. W. Bush said of them, “The Capitol Steps make it easier to leave public life.” The group is a mix of former congressional staffers (both Republican and Democrat) and professional musicians. It’s a combination so dangerous that no one is safe. The TSA gets butchered in this next clip.

Mike Huckabee is the target of this next one. The Beatles’ “Let it Be” has been turned into “Huckabee.”

The Capitol Steps perform live at the Ronald Reagan Building and Internation Trade Center in Washington every Friday and Saturday. If you’re in Massachusetts, they’re at the Cranwell Restort, Golf Club, & Spa in Lenox, Massachusetts every night except Tuesday, through August. I strongly suggest seeing them live. They’re constantly on tour so they may be coming to a town near you. I promise you that you’ll laugh if you’re even vaguely aware of current events. Failing a live show, buy their new album, “Campaign and Suffering.” I’m sure you can find more of their work if you crawl around YouTube, as well.

UPDATE: Thanks to Max Murphy from Mac News Weekly for the new image.

Cali Live

I’ll be on Cali Live this evening between 9 and 10 PM EDT.  My segment will be towards the end, sometime after 9:30 PM EDT.

Check out CaliLive.tv for the stream, or go directly to UStream if that link does not work.

Theme Change

Surprise! View from a Farley is switching designs at this very moment. There are a few bugs that will have to be ironed out, but, to use Bill O’Reilly’s words, we’ve decided to do it live!

You may notice a few bugs. I’ll keep you updated here!

UPDATE (23 July 2008): Still working through some issues, including pages appearing like posts. There will also be some minor design changes.

Olympics in China

Whoever thought having the Olympics in China was a good idea is probably trying to bury themselves very, very far underground right now. For something that should be raising China’s worldwide reputation, the preparation for the Olympics is serving as confirmation of everyone’s worst fears about China – repression of citizens, Tibet, and pollution that makes 19th century London look like Yosemite.

The Tibet problem came to a head a few months ago, but over the past several weeks, the Olympic preparations have become even more disturbing. China has decided to bar entertainers it deems “threatening.” Assault with a deadly microphone. Unheard of environmental protections are being put in place to cut down on pollution ahead of the Olympics. If only that was a permanent measure!

Despite China’s misdeeds, the Olympics are a perfect opportunity for China to become part of the “rest of the world.” The Chinese government can try all they want – throw a tantrum, restrict the flow of information – but you can’t have thousands of press descend on your country and not have some things escape control. The Olympics are about nations coming together. China’s national identity should not overshadow the collective identity of the entire world because if it does, then China’s identity will have overshadowed the entire meaning of the Olympics.

This isn’t the first time the Olympics have been held in an unsavory country. The Olympics were held in Nazi Germany in 1936, shortly before World War II. At those games, Jesse Owens won four gold medals, much to the chagrin of the racist Nazi party.

Put simply, watch the games now (or in a few weeks, to be precise) and criticize China later.

The Not-So-Funny Work Stories

A quick note, some of the stories that I share within this post are second-hand, particularly the ones involving the wait staff, because I do not usually stay for night-time events.

In a month working at a club, I’ve learned more about human nature than can really be put down on paper. It’s the type of thing that you can only gain through experience and for that reason I’m incredibly grateful for my job. The type of interaction that I have with club members every day speaks volumes about the diversity of attitudes and general dispositions among humans – people who feel entitled to everything; the ones who ask for things, and the ones who don’t; the ones who are constantly upset about something; the extremely friendly people; the clueless; the snobbish.

I discussed a few of my favorite moments in an earlier post, but the staff is faced daily with these laugh-or-cry scenarios. We usually laugh and we’re not indifferent to the fact that we are subservient to the members. It’s not so amusing when a member becomes so clearly rude and obnoxious that we want to “accidentally” push them into the pool. It’s not so amusing when the wait staff has to stay around until 12:30 AM for one table that won’t leave. It’s not so amusing when the members at the table see that they’ve been the only table for over an hour, but they still stay.

Just last night, there was one table that didn’t get up until 12:15 AM after being seated at 9:45 PM. Reservations are required, but they came anyway. The last tables are usually seated at 8 or 8:30 PM, but they waltzed in at 9:45 PM. Unfortunately, the staff can’t turn them down because of some ongoing friction between members and management, but that’s a different foxhunt all together.

I’m told that at one point during the evening, one person at the table that stayed late (a guest of a member) remarked that they ought to leave because they were keeping the staff late. The member responded, “I’ll stay as late as I want. They get paid, you know.” The staff didn’t take that too well. In fact, everyone who has heard about it is quite insulted by the obnoxiousness of the comment. Several of the staff members don’t even get paid hourly!

This will come back to haunt those particular members, though. The staff really appreciates the nice families, of which we have several, so we go out of our way to make sure they have a great time. When this crowd comes through again, they’ll get the bare minimum amount of service. The staff will be courteous, but not kind. This is a good lesson to learn – people are nice to people who are nice to them.

Coldplay

Artwork from Coldplay's Latest Album

A year ago, I really did not like music. To a certain extent, I still dislike music to this day. I can’t stand rap (for philosophical reasons because it’s awful) or country music (because it’s just bad). I almost changed my tune (no pun intended) when Coldplay came out with their new album a few weeks ago. First, I just downloaded “Viva la Vida” after hearing it in an iPod + iTunes commercial, but after a few days of trying to resist, I downloaded the whole album. I still dislike most music, but I’m a bit of a Coldplay crazy now!

Coldplay has managed to blend excellent music with provocative lyrics. Alternative music groups have a tendency to make their lyrics so outlandish that you are more likely to find their meaning by visiting your local astrologist and using a decoder ring than listening to and thinking about the lyrics. Viva la Vida is probably the most played song from the new album, but the song also has the most interesting lyrics. The song begins:

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

The song is what somebody with whom I work would call “kill yourself music.” I admit the song isn’t upbeat, but the lyrics are fascinating. I can’t post them here for copyright reasons, but the song is about a fallen hero. I’ve often wondered what happens when people fade from the spotlight and this song expresses that. After the Clinton years, for example, I wondered how Clinton coped with moving from a busy life as commander-in-chief to the memoir-writer-in-chief.

Coldplay isn’t afraid to leave several minutes of silence, either. “Life in Technicolor” has about a minute without vocals at one point.

Other great songs include ” Clocks“, from an earlier album (with a great piano section you may recognize) and “Lost!” from this album. Even the people that don’t usually like this type of music should at least listen to “Viva la Vida.” It remains my favorite.

The Real Financial Loss

Merrill Lynch reported a $4.7 billion loss last quarter. IndyMac was seized by federal regulators. The U.S. government is bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But this isn’t the worst news. No, this doesn’t even register when viewed in light of the real bad news. The Coca-Cola Company’s second quarter net income fell 23%! I may have to make a very large purchase of Diet Coke to bail them out. I assure you this fall in their profit was certainly not because of me. I keep them in business!

I’m not sure how to weigh in on the current state of the economy. I’m not an economist, but I’ve been reading quite a bit and I’m pretty firmly in the pro-globalization column. If the crisis in the United States means than more of our companies are owned by foreign companies, then some good may have come out of this ordeal. In the meantime, I suppose I’ll just have to put my trust in the United States Department of Treasury, of all places.

In the meantime, I hope your money is safe! If they’re not, I encourage you to make yourself feel better by pouring yourself a Diet Coke. It’ll make you feel better!