Englishman in New York

One of the biggest criticisms of weblogs is that they are not “fact-checked like the media.” Next time you read or hear that just remember this about mainstream media reports of death, destruction and mayhem in New Orleans:

But the basic premise of the article that introduced the New Orleans helicopter sniper to a global audience was dead wrong, just like so many other widely disseminated Katrina nightmares. No 7-year-old rape victim with a slit throat was ever found, even though the atrocity was reported in scores of newspapers. The Convention Center freezer was not stacked with 30 or 40 dead bodies, nor was the Superdome a live-in morgue. (An estimated 10 people died inside the two buildings combined, and only one was slain, according to the best data from National Guard officials at press time.)

Reason: They Shoot Helicopters, Don’t They?: How journalists spread rumors during Katrina by Matt Welch

Links for today:
My OJR story being discussed in Germany (via Martin Stabe)
Ricky Gervais to podcast
The left-wing Neocons (via Clive Davis)

Bookmark to:

Just next to the tomb on the Lebanese side is a billboard erected by Hezbollah that directly faces Israel. On the billboard is text written in Hebrew. On the billboard, also, are horrific images of violence and war.

An Israeli soldier with skin missing on one side of his face is depicted holding a rocket launcher in his bloody hands. Dead bodies are shown gunned down in the streets above another photograph of the severed head of an Israeli held up by his hair.

I felt embarrassed for Lebanon that this is what the border looks like from the other side. Anyone who has been here recently, and to Beirut in particular, knows that severed heads aren’t what this place is about anymore. Hezbollah, not the Lebanese government, is responsible for that billboard and the border violence that goes along with it.

Michael Totten files a very interesting report from Lebanon for Tech Central Station.

More Lebanese want peace with Israel than you might think. I’ve met a considerable number of Christians — who make up around 40 percent of the population — who want a treaty right now. That’s not surprising, though. The Maronite Catholics were Israeli allies during the civil war.

But it’s not just the Christians. Nor is my border guide the only Shia Muslim I’ve met who has had enough of the conflict that never ends. I know another Shia, a computer programmer, who said he has no problem with Israel whatsoever. I’ve met a handful of Sunni Muslims and Druze who say the same thing. They are circumspect, though, when they say this to me. Open support of Israel is still a red line in this country.

It’s a red line in part because a lot of Lebanese want it that way. But there is more to it than that. If Lebanon were to unilaterally open peace talks without Syria, many fear Syria’s punishment would be swift and severe.
Link.

More links for today:
Sunny at Pickled Politics takes the pro-war and the anti-war left to task and knocks some heads together.

For the sake of our democracy and for the future of the Iraqis, we have to keep asking our governments to be more honest with their citizens. That is the only way to defeat the disease that is al-Qaeda.

Adloyada points out that Yvonne Ridley is a nutter (via Clive Davis).
Clive Davis addresses the torture question.
There’s a new tool in the British shopkeepers’ fight against teenage pests: mosquitos and zit lamps.
Russkii mult’film (via Alarming News).
PS I’ve recently upgraded my spam fighting tools. If you had problems before they may have been fixed now. Any problems, let me know. Thanks.

Bookmark to:

Since EiNY appears to be veering towards the realm of personal confessions this week I might as well add that my sporting inability is easily matched by my musical incompetence.

I failed miserably at mastering the violin, the keyboard and the recorder. My singing sucks. I trust my ear so little that I often ask people around me whether the singer I am listening to is good or not, although rather than straight out asking I generally use a tactically placed question mark such as “she’s quite good, isn’t she?” or “is it me, or is he slightly off?”

All of which is an elongated introduction to Stephane Wrembel, a gypsy jazz guitarist who never ceases to amaze me with his performances at Barbes, a local bar here in Brooklyn. Take a look at part of his performance last night. He’s good, isn’t he?

Next Sunday is Stephane’s last night at Barbes of 2005. Barbes is on the corner of 9th street and 6th Avenue in Park Slope. Entry is free. Suggested donation for the band is $8. And best of all, whiskey is only $5. More movies here and here (my camera’s limit is three minutes!). And check out Stephane’s website for downloads and gigs.

Bookmark to:

I have a story in the City section of today’s New York Times about Boris the barber from Uzbekistan.

I met Boris by chance a few months ago when I visited The Art of Shaving for my first and only straight razor shave, and he left such an impression that I knew there had to be a story somewhere. It is truly rare in life to meet someone with such humility and humanity.

I’m still not completely sure what the story is but I think it has something to do with family and with the gentlemanly aura that Boris and his brother Ely radiate.

The above photo from the Times shows Boris (in the background) and Ely doing what they do best. If you want to know more read on.

Links for today:
Broke in Berlin thinks it’s a bad sign when a son inherits the leadership of a country from his father.
Guardian cartoonist: Wit or nitwit?

Bookmark to:

Thanksgiving is fast becoming my favorite day of the year. It’s the one day when almost everything in New York stops—apart from the trains. Grand Central Terminal was full yesterday with people carrying pumpkin pies in every conceivable pie carrying container known to man.

We spent the day in Connecticut with erstwhile Squibnocket editor Arne de Keijzer who, it turns out, is as deft with a turkey, parsnips and sprouts as he is with a turn of phrase. A wonderful, long day of eating, drinking, talking and playing games ensued.

Because Thanksgiving transcends religion it’s one of the most inclusive and relaxed holidays I have ever experienced. It lacks the pressure of Christmas and the formalities of Passover. It’s just a day to spend with friends and family. Now, back to the gym.

(Pictured above, Noah helps EiNY to defeat Alan in a post-Thanksgiving dinner game of chess.)

Bookmark to:

I’ve never been very good at sport. I’ve tried Judo, Karate, swimming and T’ai Chi and given up very soon afterwards. My football-playing nickname was Talentino because I had none. I was the kid that got picked before the last kid for a football game (that’s soccer to the rest of you). I was the penultimate sporting failure.

I hated games (or physical education or physical training or whatever you call it) at school. I have vague memories of horrifyingly cold, damp afternoons being forced to run distances my legs could not carry me and my wheezing lungs could not cope with. I still can’t believe that teachers actually made me attempt high jump, long jump, discus and javelin! I have no co-ordination. I am not a good dancer.

I am moderately good at chess and slightly better at Scrabble; I scored 110 points in one move yesterday playing the word flaxseed for a BINGO across a triple word score. I have learned, somehow, to throw a Frisbee. My sporting prowess ends there. Or it would have done if I hadn’t joined the gym…and started this blog.

I joined the gym when I arrived in New York two years ago as a counterpoint to the fact that I would be quitting my 15-year heavy smoking habit. For an unathletic asthmatic I was a champion smoker. In the days when I smoked cigarettes by the pack I could chomp through 20 Benson and Hedges in less than a day. When I moved on to rolling tobacco I was smoking a 12.5 gram bag a day. To do that you have to smoke more than you don’t smoke.

So here I was in New York. Jobless. And there was no way I was letting my then girlfriend (now wife) pay for my habit. So I quit. And I joined the gym. Since then I have lost, gained and lost something in the region of eight pounds. Not much. I have considerably fewer chins than I used to have but still more than you will see on Broadway billboards or the cover of magazines. It’s my mini, unremarkable victory.

What is remarkable though is that in the past year I have started to enjoy going to the gym a few times a week to mull over story ideas or to forget about writing completely. I usually run for ten minutes and then workout in the weights room for half an hour.

Last night, in anticipation of today’s calorific Thanksgiving feast, I decided to skip the weights and concentrate on cardio, starting with a little run. So I hopped onto the treadmill, I pushed the button for the 5km track, gave myself a slight incline, and I ran.

At six minutes I noticed that I was not out of breath and that my legs felt fine. At around 12 minutes I was still in pretty good condition; I noticed that at my current speed I was less than half way around the course. At 18 minutes I was approaching the longest time I had ever run on a machine and I started to think “what if you ran around the whole bloody track?” I remembered all of those cross country runs at school that I could never finish and I thought, “I might just be able to do this…and when I get home, I can blog about it.”

Yes, dear readers, knowing that I would be able to blog about it the following day pushed me on for the next 14 minutes to an EiNY record. I ran five kilometers—three puny miles—that most fit people probably run three or four times a week. The last six minutes were hell but I did it in just under 32 minutes. And it felt good!

Now on with Thanksgiving! On with the turkey and potatoes with huge dollops of mayonnaise! On with the wine and the beer and the chocolate! Bring it on!

Thanksgiving Links:
Clive Davis provides Christopher Hitchens’ take on Thanksgiving.
How not to cook a Thanksgiv-ing tur-key in a deep fat tur-key fry-er. (Via boingboing)

Bookmark to:

Craig Newmark intends to shake up journalism. Few people in the UK have even heard of Craigslist but over here you’d have to be living in a closet (that’s a wardrobe to you folks from Leeds) not to know and/or have used Craigslist. Take a look here. I dare you not to be impressed. Now imagine what he could do for news…

I’ve been meaning to blog about this Esquire magazine article written by Wikipedians for a while. Contrary to popular belief Wikipedians are not people from another planet (Wiki) but users of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia (yawn). Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia written by the people who use it. I would challenge anyone not to be impressed by an encyclopedia that includes entries on Leeds Rhinos, Viz and Smiley Faces For the Esquire article, journalist A.J. Jacobs posted an error-ridden draft of a story on Wikipedia and got the community to edit it themselves. You can see the story here. It should appear shortly in the magazine.

Finally, I am pleased to report that contrary to popular belief, I am in fact a Democrat!

You are a Social Liberal (66% permissive) and an… Economic Liberal (33% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Bookmark to: