It's A New York Times Kind Of Day
If you haven't signed up to read The New York Times on the web, then do so. It's free, for pete's sake. And you can use a dump e-mail account (like "myself_nyt@yahoo.com") if you're concerned about random spam (which I haven't had a problem with). Anyway, today's entry is going to be about stuff I read in the Times, with links.
Jeter's Shoulder Dislocated
Some of you could give less of a shit. I was seriously ill last night and listening to the season opener game over the radio because watching television was making my head/stomach that much worse. I heard about the collision when it happened, leapt out of bed and ran to the T.V. They played the colision over and over and showed them trying to reposition his shoulder while his teammates looked on.
Derek Jeter does not wince. He never shows any sign of pain. That's just the way he is. Except last night, when he was obviously crying out in pain. The picture shown in the link isn't the same as the picture on the front page of today's sports section, which is of him on the ground, fully baring his teeth in a grimace. I nearly cried while watching this last night, and I'm still worried. This is my team. I can't think of anything that would work so my tiny readership would understand how I feel, except maybe if Michael Jordan dislocated his shoulder during his prime with the Bulls. But then, that only works for one of you. Ah, well. Just know I was upset enough last night to watch television until I puked and am still upset enough today to get myself on the computer, in spite of still being wobbly, health-wise.
NYU Raises Fees 6.3%
I read this and was super-pissed off. The education at NYU isn't even worth what they're charging now. They're one of the most expensive private institutions out there, and the name does not yet merit the cost (you don't get instant-hire for being an NYU alumni as you might for being a Harvard alum). I know there are people who feel they got a decent education there, but I think the quality of the teaching and the requirements here at U-Albany is, in some ways, superior to what I experienced at NYU. For pete's sake, they have an actual historian running the Medieval & Renaissance Studies program here, as opposed to an ignorant French professor who knows next to nothing about the course of study. And, to be honest, considering what they charge, the students should be getting far more than a decent education and the occasional good professor.
NYU has squandered their funds for years on unnecessary projects. My dad got angry with them some years ago for putting more emphasis on money for themselves than educating their students (he was in a position to know).
Grr! Arrg! Anger!
Paul Zindel, Writer of a Lot of Teen Books, Dies
I read a bunch of his books when I was in junior high and high school. They were left over, mostly, from when my sisters were that age. In some ways, his books were very 70's, but they were mostly timeless in the angst and weirdness which teens face. They were mostly suburban tales and I'm not entirely sure the folks reading this blog would like Pardon Me, You're Stepping On My Eyeball as much as I did, but Zindel's books are a part of my childhood and I feel I should acknowledge his passing.
(As for the play mentioned through most of the obituary, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, it mostly stands out in my memory for the description of a girl's method of obtaining a cat skelleton. Ugh.)
Daniel Patrick Moynahan, Former New York Senator, Buried At Arlington Yesterday
He was an amazing man. I'm not sure how much the folks when spent their youth up in New York State heard about him during his years in office, but he was on the television almost daily during my years outside of D.C. His obit is here. The details on his funeral, here. Again, I feel the need to acknowledge this important man's passage.
Interesting bit at the end of the description of yesterday's ceremony: "[Maura Moynihan, the Senator's daughter] explained later that she chose the verse ["Do not go gentle into that good night"] because her father knew Mr. [Dylan] Thomas and sometimes drank with him at the White Horse Tavern in Greenwich Village." Now I want to go to the White Horse Tavern.
Finally, Investigation Into 9/11
Really, there's not much for me to add to this article. Just read, but be prepared to be angry.
Jeter's Shoulder Dislocated
Some of you could give less of a shit. I was seriously ill last night and listening to the season opener game over the radio because watching television was making my head/stomach that much worse. I heard about the collision when it happened, leapt out of bed and ran to the T.V. They played the colision over and over and showed them trying to reposition his shoulder while his teammates looked on.
Derek Jeter does not wince. He never shows any sign of pain. That's just the way he is. Except last night, when he was obviously crying out in pain. The picture shown in the link isn't the same as the picture on the front page of today's sports section, which is of him on the ground, fully baring his teeth in a grimace. I nearly cried while watching this last night, and I'm still worried. This is my team. I can't think of anything that would work so my tiny readership would understand how I feel, except maybe if Michael Jordan dislocated his shoulder during his prime with the Bulls. But then, that only works for one of you. Ah, well. Just know I was upset enough last night to watch television until I puked and am still upset enough today to get myself on the computer, in spite of still being wobbly, health-wise.
NYU Raises Fees 6.3%
I read this and was super-pissed off. The education at NYU isn't even worth what they're charging now. They're one of the most expensive private institutions out there, and the name does not yet merit the cost (you don't get instant-hire for being an NYU alumni as you might for being a Harvard alum). I know there are people who feel they got a decent education there, but I think the quality of the teaching and the requirements here at U-Albany is, in some ways, superior to what I experienced at NYU. For pete's sake, they have an actual historian running the Medieval & Renaissance Studies program here, as opposed to an ignorant French professor who knows next to nothing about the course of study. And, to be honest, considering what they charge, the students should be getting far more than a decent education and the occasional good professor.
NYU has squandered their funds for years on unnecessary projects. My dad got angry with them some years ago for putting more emphasis on money for themselves than educating their students (he was in a position to know).
Grr! Arrg! Anger!
Paul Zindel, Writer of a Lot of Teen Books, Dies
I read a bunch of his books when I was in junior high and high school. They were left over, mostly, from when my sisters were that age. In some ways, his books were very 70's, but they were mostly timeless in the angst and weirdness which teens face. They were mostly suburban tales and I'm not entirely sure the folks reading this blog would like Pardon Me, You're Stepping On My Eyeball as much as I did, but Zindel's books are a part of my childhood and I feel I should acknowledge his passing.
(As for the play mentioned through most of the obituary, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, it mostly stands out in my memory for the description of a girl's method of obtaining a cat skelleton. Ugh.)
Daniel Patrick Moynahan, Former New York Senator, Buried At Arlington Yesterday
He was an amazing man. I'm not sure how much the folks when spent their youth up in New York State heard about him during his years in office, but he was on the television almost daily during my years outside of D.C. His obit is here. The details on his funeral, here. Again, I feel the need to acknowledge this important man's passage.
Interesting bit at the end of the description of yesterday's ceremony: "[Maura Moynihan, the Senator's daughter] explained later that she chose the verse ["Do not go gentle into that good night"] because her father knew Mr. [Dylan] Thomas and sometimes drank with him at the White Horse Tavern in Greenwich Village." Now I want to go to the White Horse Tavern.
Finally, Investigation Into 9/11
(excerpt) As witness after witness addressed the commission, several gnawing questions were either articulated or implied: Who, if anyone, would ever be held responsible for failing to stop the attacks? Did the commission have the authority to truly make changes? And would a world focused on the latest war have the stomach, or the attention span, to listen again to the facts surrounding Sept. 11?
"I am convinced that this tragedy did not have to happen," said Stephen Push, a spokesman for Families of Sept. 11, which pressed for the establishment of the committee. "Too many politicians put re-election over national security. There were people who failed us on 9/11."
[...]
Afterward, some family members, while encouraged with the initial opportunity to have their say, expressed a queasiness over whether their words would stick, or whether political considerations would eventually erode their concerns.
Really, there's not much for me to add to this article. Just read, but be prepared to be angry.
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