Welcome, everyone, to the single most intense nightly read anywhere on the ‘sphere…The BitsBlog Nightly Ramble
- WEDDING WISHES: Congrats go out to Matt Margolis and his new wife, Beth. (pretty girl, that) If you’re interested, there’s pics of the wedding available. He only proposed last Christmas, if I recall rightly. There are those who would call that fast progress. (grin) Matt, buddy… you and I need to get together for that beer, eventually, though I think you’re otherwise occupied just now.
- OBAMA’S THUGS JUMP THE SHARK: I think we now hae a working definition of stepping over the line between government and politics. Imagine the outcry had Republicans pulled something like this. (BBCT: Lorie Byrd via facebook)
- JUST IN CASE THERE’S ANY DOUBT ABOUT HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT WORKING WITH REPUBLICANS: Read this.
- CA$H4CLUNK#RZ IS A CLUNKER: (Sorry, couldn’t resist) This one pretty much tells the take. Freind Billy Beck looks at the story and tells it this way:
“Here’s the figure: $2.878 billion. That’s how much money the government owes car dealers for the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program.”
I don’t feel sorry for them. They’re the ones who stepped in this goddamned commie nonsense, and they can walk or crawl through it on their knees, for all I care.
When you deal in stolen money, all bets are off. Too bad.
Well, look, Billy… first off, it hasn’t been stolen… yet.You’re quite correct, in that it will be eventually. It is the only way, after all, for anything approaching a payment to come out of this thing. The Federal government made a promise that they’re going to pay dealers with money it didn’t have yet. Funny thing; now we’re talking about whether not we’re going to get tax increases. Gee, you think? But the fact is, that money has not been stolen. Not yet, anyway. What we have here is government operating on paper that it’s been kiting. Far as I’m concerned, it’s even money, that these bills are still going to be outstanding come for years from now when republican is sitting in the white house. The democrats will be sitting on the sideline talking about how it’s the Republicans who raise taxes. Of course, they won’t say a word about why it was required. And secondly, as regards the automakers, let’s be honest; given that what we’re dealing with is the power of unchecked government , what other game was there in town for the automakers?
- AND BY THE WAY, BILLY: I don’t know if my comments will make any sense to you, Billy, but that’s never stopped me before…
Billy Beck
I recently saw video of a huge world-major rock band in rehearsal, during which a couple of principals and the production manager were standing around the lights station while the “operators” (a term I could never come to terms with) were trying to find a pretty delicate little cue turning point in a complex automated sequence. Discussion paused dramatically when it was said, “If you were a musician, you’d know where it is.”
It doesn’t really have to go to that length. There are lots of fine directors out there who are not also musicians. However, while the elemental problems of rock-tour lights are fairly easily solved by contrast to touring audio, the comparison that’s valid is that technology isn’t all there is to it, by far.
In the same way that audio guys have to have an ear, lights guys have to have an eye, first.
You’re quite correct, of course, that being a musician isn’t required for the role. But I wonder if the reference the was making to have to do with the operator (I., too, have a problem with that title) having a sense an understanding of the music and it’s message. Certainly being a musician oneself would help cover that aspect but it’s not the whole deal, either. It’s a breadth of focus thing… and I don’t mean the focus of the lights, but of the op’s experience. I’m reminded of the old joke about how the operation was a success even though the patient died. Half the folks I see running any kind of automation are so tied up in the running of the thing in front of them, they seem oblivious to the larger picture, and why it is they’re there.
As you and I have discussed in the past, Billy, I’m no musician. But I will bet that I can cold load a lightboard to a stage show better than a goodly chunk of folks I see attempting the task these days, simply because I do understand music. Look… Try it this way; You are presenting a musical show. The lights are there to augment the music. Does it stand to reason that one should have a musical understanding before making the attempt? Seems to me that little basic is getting by a lot of people, anymore.
And I wonder if this discussion can’t be used metaphorically to other areas. We make cars that are technical marvels that are a pain in the ass to drive. We’re so busy checking off the boxes on the job list the coporate rulers give us we forget why those jobs were given nd what we’re supposed to be doing there. We’ve forgotten what speed limits are supposed to be for… ostensibly keeping people safe… and the laws end up getting used to beat motorists over the head and the wallet with. And so on. We’ve gotten so invlved with the hole we’ve forgotten the doughnut.
- DID I CALL It? Yesterday I said Rangle wouldn’t see any jail time. Today we hear from Pelosi’s office that she’s going to allow him to retain his position, even with these new revelations. And I’ll bet she can’t understand why the ratings for Congress are in John Crapper’s elegant device.
