Hard Drive Crash - Blog Hiatus

Left: the bane of my virtual existence

The hard drive on my relatively new Toshiba Satellite A505-S6980 failed, and consequently my Internet access will be spotty the next few days. Luckily both Windows 7 and the Toshiba utilities recognized that the hard drive was failing, and I was able to back up and save most of my files and applications.

Thus, it may be another day or two before my life returns to normal and I update this blog. I am already going through laptop withdrawal, though I suppose I could design furniture using paper and pencil if I became especially bored.

BBC Video on Youngstown Features Gun Pointed at Obama

Left: click for larger image of screen capture

While showing a short video to my Ohio History class produced during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign by the BBC about the city of Youngstown, Ohio, one of my students noticed something odd: the producers of the spot deliberately paired up one image of an Ohio man pointing a rifle alongside another image with then-candidate Barack Obama standing with blue collar workers in Youngstown.

The lecture focused on the central status of post-industrial Ohio as sort of the epicenter of the American Rust Belt, and I intended the video to be a conversation starter about how Ohio cities might rebuild and once again thrive. The last time I showed this video I noted that it took a few political cheap shots, like the political cartoons it showed while broadcasting a speech by John McCain that referenced Youngstown. However, I completely missed the photographic implication of violence by an Ohioan toward a presidential candidate.

Now, I might be willing to write this off as an unfortunate choice in editing were it not for the fact that the image of the rifle-pointer is Henry P. Nemenz Sr., a Youngstown area grocer. Moreover, while the image appears, a BBC reporter is interviewing Nemenz, and the business owner says the following words:

"I guess there's one real strong reason why I d not support Obama, and he has made a promise to the unions in the United States that he will make it easier to unionize businesses."

It is clear to me (and to my students) that the BBC deliberately chose an image of Nemenz pointing a gun at Barack Obama to use during the portion of the interview in which Nemenz spells out his distaste for Obama's politics. Here is a link to the video, and the image and interview in question can be picked up around the 6:45 mark:



Now, I might disagree with some of the political views of Henry Nemenz, but I highly doubt that the business owner would advocate taking the life of an American president, even one with whom he holds divergent political opinions. Heck, I doubt that even Michael Moore would cross the line into the legally questionable area of suggesting violence be meted out to political opponents, even in a moment of video snarkiness.

I call a low blow, and I urge the BBC to apologize to my fellow Ohioan Henry Nemenz if they have not already done so. One article suggests that Nemenz may not be a saint, but he is far from a President-shooting lunatic, and the BBC owes him an apology.

On the 2010 Arrival of Tiger Lilies and Regional Climate Observations

I have been in the habit the last few years of using my garden photography and blog posts as virtual markers for the seasons, and the arrival of the first tiger lily of 2010 sent me back into my blog archives. The first of these orange beauties arrived on June 21 in 2009, on June 18 in 2008, and on June 17 in 2007. Tiger lilies, which have the scientific name of Hemerocallis fulva, first bloomed in my yard on June 17 in 2006.

Thus, in keeping with the early arrival of an especially mild spring in 2010 in Northwest Ohio, it should not be surprising to find that the tiger lilies (also known as "ditch lilies") are beginning to bloom in my yard a full eight days ahead of the earliest date I have recorded.

No, I am not attributing any change in blooming schedule to global warming, though one might make a case that the 2009 El Niño could be involved. Many meteorologists blamed El Niño for the subtropical conditions at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and we went frost-free in Northwest Ohio after about April 10 or so this year. Normally I use Mother's Day as my guide to start planting seeds, a date after which there is less than a 10 percent chance of frost, but this year I rolled the dice and started planting seeds around April 12.

Reporting Malware to Google

While engaging in some Internet research yesterday, I clicked on a site that tried to upload malware and viruses to my laptop. Fortunately my antivirus licked in and protected my computer, but I was pissed that the site so cleverly disguised itself as a legitimate academic site, as I tend to pride myself on my ability to look at search summaries and URLs to avoid such virtual garbage.

While pondering my options after the attack I mentioned to a friend the incident, and this person said: "Hey - Google has a malware/evil website for reporting such nonsense." Sure enough, Google does indeed have a site to report malicious software delivered by websites, and the form is quite simple: just enter the URL, enter a CAPTCHA code, and briefly explain the nature of the malware problem.

I am not sure about the effectiveness of the tool to date, but keep this in mind the next time some malevolent site designer tries to jack your computer.

On the Death of Larry Kaczala and Predictable Toledo Blade Hatchet Jobs

It was with shock and sadness that I read today of the apparent suicide of Larry Kaczala, former Lucas County auditor and local fixture in Republican political circles. I met Larry a few times over the years in my work as a journalist (and once years ago when I was a card-carrying member of the Republican Party), and I found him to be a likable, friendly, and honest public servant who always returned calls and provided accurate and insightful commentary.

In short, he was a rarity in politics.

Yet in some ways I was even more disturbed to see that the Toledo Blade, the largest local paper and a newspaper long known around these parts for its transparent political agendas, chose on the day of this tragedy to once again smear the name of Larry Kaczala. You see, the Blade in mid-2005 ran a series uncovering the illegal activity of Tom Noe, a local political kingmaker whose fall from grace is encapsulated in the scandal known as Coingate. Kaczala's "sin" was to have accepted a total of $6,000 from Noe in elections in 2002 and 2004, long before the truth about Coingate began to leak.

Of course, it does not matter that practically anyone with an "R" after their name in local and regional politics unknowingly accepted what would later be discovered as tainted campaign cash. Heck, even the campaigns of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and President George W. Bush received funds that were connected to Noe.

Of course, those well-funded campaigns could easily refund the cash and wash their metaphorical hands. Kaczala's campaign war chests had long been emptied by the time the Coingate story broke, as he lost handily in the 2004 election to incumbent Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. Thus, for Kaczala to "clear" his name in the eyes of the Blade's editors and publisher, he would have had to use personal funds to try and buy his name back.

Here is the Blade's cheap-shot post-mortem attack on Kaczala (documented here in case they decide to edit their online tackiness):

Mr. Kaczala had unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) in 2004, a campaign that many felt cost him the auditor's race two years later because it allowed Ms. Lopez to raise the fact that convicted GOP fund-raiser Tom Noe and his wife, Bernadette, gave Mr. Kaczala $6,000 for his campaign to unseat Ms. Kaptur.

The poor man is not even in the ground yet and the Blade is tossing around Coingate for a pathetic attempt to once again rehash a story that should have long ago died its natural journalistic death. Unfortunately, the Blade continues to milk every possible mile out of the Coingate story, and any story with even the most remote of Noe connections gets the Coingate treatment. Even worse, a well-placed local source apparently spoke a few hours ago with Dave Murray, the Blade's managing editor, and he was quoted as indicating that the "Coingate reference was news-worthy and they would be writing more about Larry's Noe connections in tomorrow's article." Maybe Murray feels a little guilty right about now, as his latest Twitter post says that Kaczala was a "great guy."

Shame on you, Toledo Blade. Your attempts to squeeze cheap ratings at the expense of Larry Kaczala are as unabashedly sickening as anything the paper has ever done, and one wonders how Murray and the writers associated with this vile nonsense can sleep at night.

Let Larry Kaczala rest in peace.

Full disclosure: I occasionally work as a freelance writer for other local papers, including the Toledo Free Press. This post probably dooms any future I might have as a freelancer for the Blade, but I doubt I would be able to work with an organization with such few corporate scruples and still respect myself in the morning.

Helping the Lake Township and Dundee Tornado Victims

Left: tornado damage in Millbury, OH; photo courtesy of Toledo Blade/ Dave Zapotosky

Like many people, I am shocked at the extent of damage that killer tornadoes wrought upon Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan Saturday night and Sunday morning. I thought I might use this post to spread the word about the need for donations and how people might help the tornado victims.

If you would like to volunteer to help tornado victims in Dundee, please call the Dundee Municipal Offices at 734-529-3430. People who want to donate to the Monroe County chapter of the Red Cross should call 734-289-1481.

Due to the outpouring of donated food and clothing by residents of Northwest Ohio in the first two days after the tragedy, the Red Cross no longer requests donations of goods. The organization is now seeking monetary donations for the tornado victims in Millbury and other affected areas in Ohio. People can make donations at All Saints Church, 628 Lime City Rd. in Rossford or by visiting the Greater Toledo Red Cross website. Concerned area residents can make monetary donations at the Red Cross regional offices, which is located in the Westgate area at 3100 W. Central Ave.

RIP: Collingwood Manor and Georgian Manor

Left: The former Georgian Manor on Collingwood Boulevard in Toledo

(Toledo, OH) While walking with my wife through Toledo's historic Old West End today (this is the final day of the Old West End Festival) I stopped to gaze for a few minutes at a pair of old buildings that once operated as hotels: the Georgian Manor and Collingwood Manor. Unfortunately, the Old West End Historic District Commission recently voted to demolish these structures, and two more pieces of Toledo's vanishing history will likely fall victims to the wrecking ball.

Even more distressing is that these once-proud buildings are in such a state of decay that it would take millions of dollars to refurbish them even to the point where an investor might be willing to consider purchasing them. The only residents the buildings have hosted in the past few years have been squatters, though the thoughtful article by J.C. Reindl of the Toledo Blade claims that units were rented out until a few years ago.

The neighborhood is faced with essentially two choices: tear down history or watch it continue to decay. I had to scrape away a few years of accumulated leaves and debris to read the still beautiful glazed tile that once welcomed guests to the hotels:

Left: decorative ceramic tiles in front of the former Collingwood Manor

This is an era of tight municipal, county, and state budgets, so it probably would not even be worth the effort to seek government preservation funds for such dilapidated buildings. Yet it still bothers me that these buildings have been allowed to become demolition-worthy sources of urban blight.

Then there is the issue of the post-demolition empty space that will remain after these buildings are razed. The Old West End is a nationally registered historic district, and future development must meet the rigorous standards associated with erecting new structures in a historic district. My suspicion is that these tracts will simply end up turning into vacant weed-infested land that the city will cut twice a year.

That does not sound much like "progress" to me.

Book Review: The Buck Stops Here - The 28 Toughest Presidential Decisions and How They Changed History

Thomas J. Craughwell and Edward Kiester, Jr.

Fairwinds Press, 2010

288 pages

Though I am not a historian who spends much time on the oft-derided Great Man theory, I am sensible enough to recognize that powerful individuals can sometimes exert a significant effect on the course of history through their actions. The authors of The Buck Stops Here - The 28 Toughest Presidential Decisions and How They Changed History waded through American political, military, and diplomatic history in their pursuit of those moments when individual presidents made decisions with profound consequences.

A number of the profiled decisions are no-brainers for a list like this, such as Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Yet other decisions selected by the authors were quite unexpected, such as Theodore Roosevelt's dinner invitation to Booker T. Washington in 1901 and Dwight D. Eisenhower's decision to create the Interstate Highway System.

The authors of The Buck Stops Here selected 28 presidential decisions that proved to be particularly influential in the unfolding of U.S. history, and each decision merits a separate chapter in the book. This highly readable text contains a wealth of relevant images and scanned primary source documents, placing this text somewhere between mere popular history and the more rigorous material found in academic texts. While I disagreed with some analyses and the choices of presidential decisions (for example, no mention of George W. Bush and the Iraq/Afghanistan wars or Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act), the book was both thoughtful and entertaining, and a wide spectrum of readers will find The Buck Stops Here to be an excellent read.

Fiddlehead Fern

While traveling last week in Montreal I paid a visit to the city's Jean-Talon Market district. Though I consider myself fairly well versed in all matters related to the culinary arts, I was surprised to see the intriguing fiddlehead ferns depicted on your left. These are unfurled young ferns that are harvested for use in salads or as accompaniments to dishes such as seafood or poultry.

The fiddlehead ferns are apparently an excellent source of antioxidants, though there are some concerns about the toxicity of some varieties. However, I cannot provide a first-hand report on the taste of the ferns, as the vendor only spoke French and I was not bold enough to stuff a slimy-looking and unknown plants down my gullet. More experienced connoisseurs of the fiddlehead fern may weigh in with a gastronomical opinion in the Comments section of the blog.

Architectural Symmetry

(Montréal, QC) Pictured on your left is an image taken from just north of the Place d'Armes in Vieux-Montréal. I was struck by the geometric near-perfection of the way the buildings seemed to seamlessly descend as they approached the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal, which can be seen in the lower right hand corner of the image.

Given the fact that these buildings were constructed in different eras, it is doubtful that there was much in the way of planning involved in this view. More likely this is an eye-appealing coincidence that only geeks like me would notice, people fascinated with symmetry in nature and human attempts to reshape the natural world. There does not yet exist an architectural equivalent to the stretch marks creams that produce aesthetically appealing results, so we have to find visually stunning vistas where we can.

I have yet to capture in an image my favorite piece of architectural symmetry, which is an old church in Detroit that - when approached by southbound Interstate 75 near Interstate 94 - stands just below the Renaissance Center in the view toward downtown. The effect is intriguing, as the church appears to be a miniature shadow of the RenCen.

Someday.

The Quote Shelf

A frequent feature on this site; feel free to comment on the quote or to supply a competing quote.

That's the problem with drinking, I thought, as I poured myself a drink. If something bad happens you drink in an attempt to forget; if something good happens you drink in order to celebrate; and if nothing happens you drink to make something happen.
-- Charles Bukowski

Department of Unwritten Captions: Café Arsenik

(Montréal, QC) First a disclaimer: the Café Arsenik is a very real restaurant, and this is not PhotoShopped faux-tography. The Café Arsenik is attached to the Montréal Science Centre, and the food offerings are surprisingly tasty for a place with such a sinister-sounding name. Unfortunately the friendly-but-Francophile Québécois behind the counter only knew about 50 words of English, and my attempts to discern the name choice did not bear fruit.

Still, the Café Arsenik's name is also ripe for parody and satire, not to mention humorous captions. Feel free to offer suggestions in the Comments section of the demented uses for the name "Café Arsenik" that come to mind, though acne products reviews might be a rhetorical stretch.