Lentorama 2014: We're Ready for Your Close-Up, Your Holiness
Day 3: Pope Leo XIII Being Carried in Chair Through Upper Loggia, No. 101
The first documentary in our series, this short from the American Mutoscope Company is exactly what it says it is: a film of Leo XIII in a chair that's being carried through a doorway. American Mutoscope is better known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, which would later just be known as Biograph Studios, a launching pad for many of film's early stars (including Lillian Gish and Lionel Barrymore) and directors (like D. W. Griffith and Mack Sennett).
But it made its earliest mark with one to two minute documentary shorts of things like an old Italian man being dragged around in a chair. For what its worth, this 1898 film made Leo the first pope to ever appear on film.
07 March 2014
06 March 2014
Lentorama 2014: We're Ready for Your Close-up, Your Holiness
Day 2: Cagliostro
Based on a real-life figure involved in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace (among other things), the count in this 1975 film has developed a number of supernatural powers through occult studies, and is traveling Europe healing the sick and working with a secret society that aims to free the continent from oppression. This, not surprisingly, catches the attention of Europe monarch and Pope Clement XIII, who move to eliminate the count. They do succeed in imprisoning him, but with surprising results.
The pope is played by Robert Alda, who is probably best known as the father of Alan Alda, of M*A*S*H fame.
Day 2: Cagliostro
Based on a real-life figure involved in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace (among other things), the count in this 1975 film has developed a number of supernatural powers through occult studies, and is traveling Europe healing the sick and working with a secret society that aims to free the continent from oppression. This, not surprisingly, catches the attention of Europe monarch and Pope Clement XIII, who move to eliminate the count. They do succeed in imprisoning him, but with surprising results.
The pope is played by Robert Alda, who is probably best known as the father of Alan Alda, of M*A*S*H fame.
05 March 2014
I've been having my annual flirtation with not doing Lentorama, but in looking back I've seen I've done it, in one form or another, since 2007. So I kind of feel compelled to do it again.
Lentorama 2014: We're Ready for Your Close-up, Your Holiness
Yup, 40 days about movies featuring a pope, either real or fictional. Let's get started.
Day 1: Apollo 13
So you're probably wondering to yourself, how did Ron Howard squeeze the Pope into his dramatic retelling of this dramatic failed mission to the moon? He pops up in a voice-over where Walter Cronkite says the Pope asked people to pray for the astronauts. Somehow this enough to earn the "pope" keyword on IMDB.
We could be in for a long 40 days.
Lentorama 2014: We're Ready for Your Close-up, Your Holiness
Yup, 40 days about movies featuring a pope, either real or fictional. Let's get started.
Day 1: Apollo 13
So you're probably wondering to yourself, how did Ron Howard squeeze the Pope into his dramatic retelling of this dramatic failed mission to the moon? He pops up in a voice-over where Walter Cronkite says the Pope asked people to pray for the astronauts. Somehow this enough to earn the "pope" keyword on IMDB.
We could be in for a long 40 days.
10 February 2014
Book Log 2014 #2: On the Noodle Road by Jen Lin-Liu
The author, a journalist and cooking school owner, noted in her travels the development of noodles as a primary part of both Chinese and Italian cuisine and wondered, as many have before, if they were developed in one location and then spread to the other. In this case, she decided to travel (to the greatest extent possible) the Silk Road, to see what evidence could be found in history, folklore and current cooking to support a theory of how noodles came to be.
If you're looking for a definitive answer, (spoiler alert) you're not going to get one here, and to be fair you're unlikely to get one anywhere. The occasional 4000 year old noodles notwithstanding, there's just not enough information out there to come up with a unified noodle theory.
The author begins to realize this pretty early on, as the noodles of Beijing give way to square noodles (sort of like single-thickness ravioli without the filling) and then, for much of Central Asia, a rice pilaf-like dish called plov that is more or less inescapable. But she soldiers on, and turns the trip into as much of an examination of the role of women and marriage as seen through food as anything else. This includes practical considerations (how to dress when traveling through a variety of Islamic countries) and broader concerns (how will being married to a fellow journalist and potential diplomat change her life).
There's a certain similarity to Paul Theroux's travel works here, with a shift from writing to cooking. The author does trade her services in the kitchen for lessons, and like Theroux often gets a more personal look at the people and cultures he encounters. The writing isn't at the same level, but the general idea - the full educational experience of travel - is familiar.
It's not perfect, but it's certainly worth a read.
The author, a journalist and cooking school owner, noted in her travels the development of noodles as a primary part of both Chinese and Italian cuisine and wondered, as many have before, if they were developed in one location and then spread to the other. In this case, she decided to travel (to the greatest extent possible) the Silk Road, to see what evidence could be found in history, folklore and current cooking to support a theory of how noodles came to be.
If you're looking for a definitive answer, (spoiler alert) you're not going to get one here, and to be fair you're unlikely to get one anywhere. The occasional 4000 year old noodles notwithstanding, there's just not enough information out there to come up with a unified noodle theory.
The author begins to realize this pretty early on, as the noodles of Beijing give way to square noodles (sort of like single-thickness ravioli without the filling) and then, for much of Central Asia, a rice pilaf-like dish called plov that is more or less inescapable. But she soldiers on, and turns the trip into as much of an examination of the role of women and marriage as seen through food as anything else. This includes practical considerations (how to dress when traveling through a variety of Islamic countries) and broader concerns (how will being married to a fellow journalist and potential diplomat change her life).
There's a certain similarity to Paul Theroux's travel works here, with a shift from writing to cooking. The author does trade her services in the kitchen for lessons, and like Theroux often gets a more personal look at the people and cultures he encounters. The writing isn't at the same level, but the general idea - the full educational experience of travel - is familiar.
It's not perfect, but it's certainly worth a read.
07 February 2014
As you may have heard, the Winter Olympics have returned, this time at the Russian resort city of Sochi, where a mere $51 billion dollars have been spent (or siphoned off or otherwise thrown down a hole somewhere) to bring us, to date at least, journalists mocking the shoddy nature of the accommodations and dog murder. Things will likely even themselves out as the actual competition starts, but it got me to thinking what the potential is for similarly humorous Winter Olympic shenanigans in the future?
Turns out they're not great. The 2018 Games will be held in a handful of towns in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and, agitation from the north notwithstanding, will likely be free of nonsense. So what about 2022? There are five potential hosts, with varying potentials for public failure, which I will rank here in increasing order of potential chaos.
5. Oslo, Norway. An absolutely solid choice that would provide zero opportunity for amusing failure. They'd be on the other end of this list if we were looking at the likelihood of actually winning the Games, though probably not at the top as bribery opportunities will be limited at best.
4. Beijing, China. Proved in 2008 that they can put on an event of this size, and would be able to do so again here, but without Sochi-level fun as corruption on that scale in China often ends with the grifter taking a state-sanctioned bullet to the head. We'd just have to wait a couple years after the games to go back for a second dose of ruin porn.
3. Krakow, Poland. I suppose there's some potential for shenanigans, but any comparison to Russians would likely be met poorly, so I'm assuming work would be mostly on the level.
2. Lviv, Ukraine. Probably not fair to lump the current unrest in Ukraine with double toilet bathrooms and hotels without lobbies, but should the country continue to more closely align itself with Russia maybe we'll get something similar out of their Olympic preparation. Not sure there are enough oligarchs to rack up as much waste and skimming as Sochi, but maybe Russia will lend them some.
1. Almaty, Kazakhstan. Former Soviet republic, only one president since independence, awash in petrotenge and looking to build its international profile. I'm surprised the IOC just hasn't awarded them the Games by fiat. I expect the bribes are already flowing to get the votes they need in 2015. On the down side, Kazakhstan has or will host some Olympic-style events, so may already have enough infrastructure in place to not have the sort of problems that were reported in Sochi.
So while there's some potential for things to go sideways in 2022, the best option is actually in another sport: Russia hosts soccer's World Cup in 2018. Start rounding up the dogs now.
Turns out they're not great. The 2018 Games will be held in a handful of towns in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and, agitation from the north notwithstanding, will likely be free of nonsense. So what about 2022? There are five potential hosts, with varying potentials for public failure, which I will rank here in increasing order of potential chaos.
5. Oslo, Norway. An absolutely solid choice that would provide zero opportunity for amusing failure. They'd be on the other end of this list if we were looking at the likelihood of actually winning the Games, though probably not at the top as bribery opportunities will be limited at best.
4. Beijing, China. Proved in 2008 that they can put on an event of this size, and would be able to do so again here, but without Sochi-level fun as corruption on that scale in China often ends with the grifter taking a state-sanctioned bullet to the head. We'd just have to wait a couple years after the games to go back for a second dose of ruin porn.
3. Krakow, Poland. I suppose there's some potential for shenanigans, but any comparison to Russians would likely be met poorly, so I'm assuming work would be mostly on the level.
2. Lviv, Ukraine. Probably not fair to lump the current unrest in Ukraine with double toilet bathrooms and hotels without lobbies, but should the country continue to more closely align itself with Russia maybe we'll get something similar out of their Olympic preparation. Not sure there are enough oligarchs to rack up as much waste and skimming as Sochi, but maybe Russia will lend them some.
1. Almaty, Kazakhstan. Former Soviet republic, only one president since independence, awash in petrotenge and looking to build its international profile. I'm surprised the IOC just hasn't awarded them the Games by fiat. I expect the bribes are already flowing to get the votes they need in 2015. On the down side, Kazakhstan has or will host some Olympic-style events, so may already have enough infrastructure in place to not have the sort of problems that were reported in Sochi.
So while there's some potential for things to go sideways in 2022, the best option is actually in another sport: Russia hosts soccer's World Cup in 2018. Start rounding up the dogs now.
31 January 2014
Book Log 2014 #1: A Conspiracy of Faith by Jussi Adler Olsen
The case at the center of this third installment of the Department Q series springs from a message in a bottle, written years before and discovered by British authorities and only getting back to Denmark by chance. The note leads the department to a string of cases involving the kidnapping and murder of children from families belonging to certain religious sects. And while the department is piecing this together, we get to spend a fair amount of time with the criminal himself as he plans and executes his next kidnapping. This isn't unprecedented - the last book in the series did something similar, albeit well after the killings in question - and it does help to give some context to why he does what he does and make it seem more plausible.
There's also a decent amount of time spent on the two assistants - we learn more about Assad's homelife, and meet Rose's oddly familiar sister, who comes in to help when Rose takes an impromptu hiatus - and we continue to work through the case that paralyzed Hardy and sent Morck to the basement to look at cold cases. All in all its an effective entry in the series.
The case at the center of this third installment of the Department Q series springs from a message in a bottle, written years before and discovered by British authorities and only getting back to Denmark by chance. The note leads the department to a string of cases involving the kidnapping and murder of children from families belonging to certain religious sects. And while the department is piecing this together, we get to spend a fair amount of time with the criminal himself as he plans and executes his next kidnapping. This isn't unprecedented - the last book in the series did something similar, albeit well after the killings in question - and it does help to give some context to why he does what he does and make it seem more plausible.
There's also a decent amount of time spent on the two assistants - we learn more about Assad's homelife, and meet Rose's oddly familiar sister, who comes in to help when Rose takes an impromptu hiatus - and we continue to work through the case that paralyzed Hardy and sent Morck to the basement to look at cold cases. All in all its an effective entry in the series.
31 December 2013
Book Log 2013 #27: Bloodshot by Stuart MacBride
The third entry in the Logan McRae series focuses on two sex crime cases. The one that initially involves McRae is a John Doe who is dumped at a hospital after being sodomized to death. The other case, involving a violent serial rapist, actually involves McRae's girlfriend, PC Jackie Watson, whose physical approach to policing compounds the trouble that their suspect, a prominent footballer, is lawyered up and has strong alibis from his mother and girlfriend.
As in the previous books, McRae has to (eventually) balance work in both cases with the needs (both professional and personal) of his supervisors. There's a further romantic complication when Jackie appears to be stepping out with a colleague, which sends McRae into the interested arms of a junior prosecuting attorney. Also as in previous books, McRae has to suffer his ration of shit before finding a way to solving both cases.
It's a pretty disturbing entry in the series - the ending is one of the more mindbending I've come across - but it's another well-written entry, balancing the action and tension of the cases with the personal issues (McRae's love life, McRae's relationship with reporter Colin Miller, and a dive into the BDSM scene in northern Scotland, thanks to a lower-ranking officer). The only thing I didn't like was the title change from the original. A series to pick up if you haven't already.
The third entry in the Logan McRae series focuses on two sex crime cases. The one that initially involves McRae is a John Doe who is dumped at a hospital after being sodomized to death. The other case, involving a violent serial rapist, actually involves McRae's girlfriend, PC Jackie Watson, whose physical approach to policing compounds the trouble that their suspect, a prominent footballer, is lawyered up and has strong alibis from his mother and girlfriend.
As in the previous books, McRae has to (eventually) balance work in both cases with the needs (both professional and personal) of his supervisors. There's a further romantic complication when Jackie appears to be stepping out with a colleague, which sends McRae into the interested arms of a junior prosecuting attorney. Also as in previous books, McRae has to suffer his ration of shit before finding a way to solving both cases.
It's a pretty disturbing entry in the series - the ending is one of the more mindbending I've come across - but it's another well-written entry, balancing the action and tension of the cases with the personal issues (McRae's love life, McRae's relationship with reporter Colin Miller, and a dive into the BDSM scene in northern Scotland, thanks to a lower-ranking officer). The only thing I didn't like was the title change from the original. A series to pick up if you haven't already.
Book Log 2013 #26: The Baker Street Letters by Michael Robertson
Lawyer Reggie Heath has just moved his legal practice into a building on Baker Street in London, and was in such a hurry to sign a sweetheart lease that he misses the one aspect of the lease that's not exactly boilerplate - Reggie's practice is now responsible for answering all letters sent to the building by people who write Sherlock Holmes, and failing to do so (or going public with the practice) leads to significant penalties.
Thankfully, Reggie has his brother Nigel, whose legal career is in a kind of perilous limbo, to handle the letters. But when he comes across one from a girl in Los Angeles seeking her father, who is somehow connected to a geologic project whose plans were attached, he takes up the case, and eventually flies out to LA to find the now-adult girl. Problem is he does so on the day he has a hearing about getting his law license back, and also on the day a member of the first is found dead in Nigel's cubicle. Reggie takes it upon himself to go to LA to find his brother and hopefully smooth things over with the local bar and Scotland Yard. But he gets forced onto the Holmes case when a man in LA turns up dead and Nigel is arrested.
I can't say I was hooked by this book - there's a lot of time spent in taxis and hotel rooms where things slow down - though the plot (which involves the LA subway and the entertainment industry) is interesting. Funny thing here is that if I followed my usual rule about series and started with this, the first book in the series, I don't know if I'd have kept with it. But having enjoyed the third book, and liking parts of this one, it's a series I'm going to stick with.
(Random observation - for a book written in 2009, there's a suspicious lack of technology involved. No one seems to have a cell phone, for example. Not a problem, just odd.)
Lawyer Reggie Heath has just moved his legal practice into a building on Baker Street in London, and was in such a hurry to sign a sweetheart lease that he misses the one aspect of the lease that's not exactly boilerplate - Reggie's practice is now responsible for answering all letters sent to the building by people who write Sherlock Holmes, and failing to do so (or going public with the practice) leads to significant penalties.
Thankfully, Reggie has his brother Nigel, whose legal career is in a kind of perilous limbo, to handle the letters. But when he comes across one from a girl in Los Angeles seeking her father, who is somehow connected to a geologic project whose plans were attached, he takes up the case, and eventually flies out to LA to find the now-adult girl. Problem is he does so on the day he has a hearing about getting his law license back, and also on the day a member of the first is found dead in Nigel's cubicle. Reggie takes it upon himself to go to LA to find his brother and hopefully smooth things over with the local bar and Scotland Yard. But he gets forced onto the Holmes case when a man in LA turns up dead and Nigel is arrested.
I can't say I was hooked by this book - there's a lot of time spent in taxis and hotel rooms where things slow down - though the plot (which involves the LA subway and the entertainment industry) is interesting. Funny thing here is that if I followed my usual rule about series and started with this, the first book in the series, I don't know if I'd have kept with it. But having enjoyed the third book, and liking parts of this one, it's a series I'm going to stick with.
(Random observation - for a book written in 2009, there's a suspicious lack of technology involved. No one seems to have a cell phone, for example. Not a problem, just odd.)
Book Log 2013 #25: The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure
In occupied Paris, an architect who is living on the margins stumbles into a lucrative, but troubling offer: modify apartments and houses so they can be used to hide Jews and a local construction magnate will get him commissions to build factories for the Nazis. The architect is reluctant to participate - getting caught would mean certain death, and he doesn't particularly care for Jews - but the money and potential fame of the larger projects brings him aboard.
This causes certain disruptions - his wife considers him a collaborator (as do many other Parisians), and he gets involved in a triangle with his mistress and a high-ranking Gestapo agent - but as he continues to build his small and large projects he begins to understand why the man he's working for is hiding Jews, and how the risks serve a higher purpose.
The book isn't perfect - the characters' inner monologues are little too expositional at times, and there's a subplot involving the Resistance that doesn't do much for me - but it's an interesting book, thanks to the author's architectural background, which is used to great effect.
In occupied Paris, an architect who is living on the margins stumbles into a lucrative, but troubling offer: modify apartments and houses so they can be used to hide Jews and a local construction magnate will get him commissions to build factories for the Nazis. The architect is reluctant to participate - getting caught would mean certain death, and he doesn't particularly care for Jews - but the money and potential fame of the larger projects brings him aboard.
This causes certain disruptions - his wife considers him a collaborator (as do many other Parisians), and he gets involved in a triangle with his mistress and a high-ranking Gestapo agent - but as he continues to build his small and large projects he begins to understand why the man he's working for is hiding Jews, and how the risks serve a higher purpose.
The book isn't perfect - the characters' inner monologues are little too expositional at times, and there's a subplot involving the Resistance that doesn't do much for me - but it's an interesting book, thanks to the author's architectural background, which is used to great effect.
Book Log 2013 #24: The Given Sacrifice by S. M. Stirling
The latest book in the Emberverse series sees the High Kingdom of Montival putting the Church Universal and Triumphant on the run, making the deliberate slog to their capital city in Montana. This would usually involve detailed descriptions of troop movements, battles, etc, but in this case things wrap up pretty quickly with the apparent destruction of the CUT. There's not much focus beyond the core second-generation characters, and even then some of them show up briefly.
The last third of the book covers the journey to adulthood of Orlaith Mackenzie, the crown princess of Montival. We see snippets of her life in a peaceful kingdom, and its expansion into the Bay Area, where peace is shattered when sea-borne raiders (an apparent mix of Haida and Japanese, with one surprise guest) appear on the scene. The titular sacrifice end the book, and while it's expected I wasn't thrilled with the randomness of it. Even if that was a more likely way for it to happen.
There's nothing inherently problematic with the book, but it did feel like it was written specifically to make a break between all of the previous books and the coming series where Orlaith is in charge. Keep your expectations in check.
The latest book in the Emberverse series sees the High Kingdom of Montival putting the Church Universal and Triumphant on the run, making the deliberate slog to their capital city in Montana. This would usually involve detailed descriptions of troop movements, battles, etc, but in this case things wrap up pretty quickly with the apparent destruction of the CUT. There's not much focus beyond the core second-generation characters, and even then some of them show up briefly.
The last third of the book covers the journey to adulthood of Orlaith Mackenzie, the crown princess of Montival. We see snippets of her life in a peaceful kingdom, and its expansion into the Bay Area, where peace is shattered when sea-borne raiders (an apparent mix of Haida and Japanese, with one surprise guest) appear on the scene. The titular sacrifice end the book, and while it's expected I wasn't thrilled with the randomness of it. Even if that was a more likely way for it to happen.
There's nothing inherently problematic with the book, but it did feel like it was written specifically to make a break between all of the previous books and the coming series where Orlaith is in charge. Keep your expectations in check.
30 December 2013
Book Log 2013 #23: The Hidden Oasis by Paul Sussman
When a woman goes to Egypt after her sister dies, she discovers that there may have been more to her life there than meets the eye. When she connects with a local academic in the search for the titular hidden oasis - and the weapon it apparently contains - she stumbles into a world of intrigue that includes a local strongman and the CIA.
I didn't like this book as much as I liked Sussman's previous two books, and I think the reason is that the protagonist of those two books, Inspector Khalifa, only makes a cameo here. Without him and his perspective, this becomes more of a standard thriller, with Egypt serving as a generic backdrop.
I'd say skip this one and move on to the next Khalifa book.
When a woman goes to Egypt after her sister dies, she discovers that there may have been more to her life there than meets the eye. When she connects with a local academic in the search for the titular hidden oasis - and the weapon it apparently contains - she stumbles into a world of intrigue that includes a local strongman and the CIA.
I didn't like this book as much as I liked Sussman's previous two books, and I think the reason is that the protagonist of those two books, Inspector Khalifa, only makes a cameo here. Without him and his perspective, this becomes more of a standard thriller, with Egypt serving as a generic backdrop.
I'd say skip this one and move on to the next Khalifa book.
13 December 2013
Book Log 2013 #22: Last Train to Zona Verde by Paul Theroux
In Dark Star Safari, Theroux traveled from Cairo to Cape Town, returning to places he first saw while in the Peace Corps and reflecting on the changes in Africa - and to himself - that occurred in the intervening years. Last Train to Zona Verde picks up in Cape Town, and is planned as a last trip through the continent, a journey to see new places, meet new people, and say goodbye.
This trip is up the west coast, and does not go well. There are travel delays (and a notable lack of trains, the preferred method of travel), lack of services, unfriendly locals, and a serious case of theft. This all mounts over the course of the trip, resulting in a first (spoiler alert!): the trip is abandoned, with a fair amount of pessimism towards the purpose of the trip and Africa in general.
The end of the trip says as much about the author as the conditions he encountered, as there's much musing about age and the idea that this is his last big trip. I'd like to think that I'd be game to try such an adventure when I'm 70, but I'm probably not even game now. I am hoping that Theroux will get the travelin' jones and make the one trip he's not made - a lap around the US on Amtrak. I'm not holding my breath.
I can't say I liked this book, as the way things transpire make it hard to use the word "like" in reference to it. But if you've read Theroux's other books you can't not read it, I suppose.
In Dark Star Safari, Theroux traveled from Cairo to Cape Town, returning to places he first saw while in the Peace Corps and reflecting on the changes in Africa - and to himself - that occurred in the intervening years. Last Train to Zona Verde picks up in Cape Town, and is planned as a last trip through the continent, a journey to see new places, meet new people, and say goodbye.
This trip is up the west coast, and does not go well. There are travel delays (and a notable lack of trains, the preferred method of travel), lack of services, unfriendly locals, and a serious case of theft. This all mounts over the course of the trip, resulting in a first (spoiler alert!): the trip is abandoned, with a fair amount of pessimism towards the purpose of the trip and Africa in general.
The end of the trip says as much about the author as the conditions he encountered, as there's much musing about age and the idea that this is his last big trip. I'd like to think that I'd be game to try such an adventure when I'm 70, but I'm probably not even game now. I am hoping that Theroux will get the travelin' jones and make the one trip he's not made - a lap around the US on Amtrak. I'm not holding my breath.
I can't say I liked this book, as the way things transpire make it hard to use the word "like" in reference to it. But if you've read Theroux's other books you can't not read it, I suppose.
12 December 2013
If you follow soccer at all you've likely heard the grousing about the 2014 World Cup draw, which has the US in the "group of death" with Germany, Portugal and Ghana and England in a very difficult group with Italy, Costa Rica and Uruguay, while host Brazil and (of course) France get what are considered to be fairly easy pathways to the round of 16.
All of which got me to thinking - is there a way to improve this? I think so, leading to...
MAKING IT BETTER: World Cup Draw Edition.
Here are my five suggestions for improving the tournament draw, leading off with one major change for the tournament itself.
1. Expand the field. I think the field should expand to 40 teams. That's still less than 20 percent of all FIFA members, and would allow for eight groups of five teams each (which I know presents various challenges, which I will presently ignore). I have no plan for how to expand beyond giving each confederation at least one more guaranteed spot (I'd limit UEFA and CONMEBOL to only one new slot each). But by expanding the field you'd create more cushion within groups. You'd likely still have a group of death somewhere, but not the sort of murderer's row we're getting in some of the groups for 2014.
2. Fix the FIFA rankings. The eight seeded teams for 2014 were determined by their FIFA ranking as of October 2013. The ranking is based on how a team has performed over four years, with results earning points, and with the final ranking based on some sort of averaging. Problem is that teams can game this system, as Switzerland did by not playing as many friendlies, and not against teams that are towards the bottom of the rankings. This article gives a good idea of how the ranking works and how teams can make it work in their favor.
I don't have a particularly good idea of what to use to replace it (Nate Silver's Soccer Power Index is an interesting example), but I don't think teams should be penalized for playing friendlies against lower ranked teams. If FIFA can give Qatar a World Cup based at least in part on growing the game in certain parts of the world, it can easily support that ideal by making games against teams from those areas not be an albatross around the higher-ranked team's neck.
3. Use the improved ranking to place teams in pots. As it stands now, there's one pot that includes the ranked teams and then the pots have some sort of geographic theme to them, so as to avoid any confederation from having more than one team in a group (or in the case of Europe, two teams). There's no seeding in those other pots, which is how you can get teams of similar ranking but different continents in the same group.
If you use rankings all the way through, you'd likely get groups that are more consistent with each other, and still use different pots to bring about geographical diversity (although using the SPI you could still wind up with a group having Germany, the US, and Portugal, as the US would the lowest seed in their pot and Portugal the highest in theirs).
4. Have someone outside of FIFA manage the draw. No one trusts FIFA. Even with a draw as apparently transparent as the recent one, you'll still get conspiracy theories based on FIFA's long history of corruption and cronyism. So just as the Oscar results are tabulated by an outside accounting firm, find someone else to run the draw. Not sure who exactly could do this that wouldn't have a vested interest in some team getting an easy group. Maybe some Canadians. They never make the World Cup.
5. Cut back on the pomp during the show. It's only an hour, but it's like some awful combination of the American Idol results show and the Eurovision song contest. If the lottery folks can draw six balls in under a minute for Mega Millions, we could wrap up the draw in ten minutes, easy. That'd give everyone an extra 50 minutes to complain about their team's group and devise conspiracy theories.
There you go, FIFA. Get crackin'.
All of which got me to thinking - is there a way to improve this? I think so, leading to...
MAKING IT BETTER: World Cup Draw Edition.
Here are my five suggestions for improving the tournament draw, leading off with one major change for the tournament itself.
1. Expand the field. I think the field should expand to 40 teams. That's still less than 20 percent of all FIFA members, and would allow for eight groups of five teams each (which I know presents various challenges, which I will presently ignore). I have no plan for how to expand beyond giving each confederation at least one more guaranteed spot (I'd limit UEFA and CONMEBOL to only one new slot each). But by expanding the field you'd create more cushion within groups. You'd likely still have a group of death somewhere, but not the sort of murderer's row we're getting in some of the groups for 2014.
2. Fix the FIFA rankings. The eight seeded teams for 2014 were determined by their FIFA ranking as of October 2013. The ranking is based on how a team has performed over four years, with results earning points, and with the final ranking based on some sort of averaging. Problem is that teams can game this system, as Switzerland did by not playing as many friendlies, and not against teams that are towards the bottom of the rankings. This article gives a good idea of how the ranking works and how teams can make it work in their favor.
I don't have a particularly good idea of what to use to replace it (Nate Silver's Soccer Power Index is an interesting example), but I don't think teams should be penalized for playing friendlies against lower ranked teams. If FIFA can give Qatar a World Cup based at least in part on growing the game in certain parts of the world, it can easily support that ideal by making games against teams from those areas not be an albatross around the higher-ranked team's neck.
3. Use the improved ranking to place teams in pots. As it stands now, there's one pot that includes the ranked teams and then the pots have some sort of geographic theme to them, so as to avoid any confederation from having more than one team in a group (or in the case of Europe, two teams). There's no seeding in those other pots, which is how you can get teams of similar ranking but different continents in the same group.
If you use rankings all the way through, you'd likely get groups that are more consistent with each other, and still use different pots to bring about geographical diversity (although using the SPI you could still wind up with a group having Germany, the US, and Portugal, as the US would the lowest seed in their pot and Portugal the highest in theirs).
4. Have someone outside of FIFA manage the draw. No one trusts FIFA. Even with a draw as apparently transparent as the recent one, you'll still get conspiracy theories based on FIFA's long history of corruption and cronyism. So just as the Oscar results are tabulated by an outside accounting firm, find someone else to run the draw. Not sure who exactly could do this that wouldn't have a vested interest in some team getting an easy group. Maybe some Canadians. They never make the World Cup.
5. Cut back on the pomp during the show. It's only an hour, but it's like some awful combination of the American Idol results show and the Eurovision song contest. If the lottery folks can draw six balls in under a minute for Mega Millions, we could wrap up the draw in ten minutes, easy. That'd give everyone an extra 50 minutes to complain about their team's group and devise conspiracy theories.
There you go, FIFA. Get crackin'.
26 November 2013
Book Log 2013 #18-21: Cryptonomicon, Quicksilver, The Confusion, The System of the World, all by Neal Stephenson
We moved over the summer, and as part of the unpacking I ran across these books again and decided to re-read them. It was the third or fourth time I've read Cryptonomicon, but the first time going back to the other three books, all of which I was fairly ambivalent about upon first reading. I was surprised that I'd not talked about them before, but then realized they all predate when I started logging books.
Cryptonomicon is split between the present day and the period from roughly 1935 to 1945. In both timelines, members of the Waterhouse and Shaftoe families cross paths when emerging technologies (mostly computer related) find themselves intertwined with the quest for gold. In the World War II timeline, it's the Japanese hiding of gold they've stolen/taken in from the Germans and the development of mechanical computers; in the present timeline, it's the development of a data haven and online currency, financed by that same gold.
The other three books (known collectively as the Baroque Cycle) cover a period of about 50 years in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, jumping across timelines (and around the world), and pull together changes in a wide range of disciplines. These books take a much broader approach, showing how a new breed of people - smart, often outside of the ruling class - used a growing understanding of the natural world, economics, technology, etc. to change the very way in which the world worked.
If you do read these, you really have to commit to all four. Together they total something like 3400 pages, and you easily go hundreds of pages between story lines (especially in The Confusion, which is written as if two novels are interspersed). I found the the Baroque Cycle a little disappointing at first read, but I think it was because I was reading them as they came out, which made it harder to remember what happened in previous books. Reading them straight through alleviated that, and I found I enjoyed them much more the second time around.
Part of me wonders if it would be worth reading them in chronological order rather than publication order, to catch references and Easter egg-type things in Cryptonomicon that you'd not get without reading the Cycle first.
I do recommend all four books, whichever way you choose to read them. Just give yourself plenty of time and try to read at least a little bit every day.
We moved over the summer, and as part of the unpacking I ran across these books again and decided to re-read them. It was the third or fourth time I've read Cryptonomicon, but the first time going back to the other three books, all of which I was fairly ambivalent about upon first reading. I was surprised that I'd not talked about them before, but then realized they all predate when I started logging books.
Cryptonomicon is split between the present day and the period from roughly 1935 to 1945. In both timelines, members of the Waterhouse and Shaftoe families cross paths when emerging technologies (mostly computer related) find themselves intertwined with the quest for gold. In the World War II timeline, it's the Japanese hiding of gold they've stolen/taken in from the Germans and the development of mechanical computers; in the present timeline, it's the development of a data haven and online currency, financed by that same gold.
The other three books (known collectively as the Baroque Cycle) cover a period of about 50 years in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, jumping across timelines (and around the world), and pull together changes in a wide range of disciplines. These books take a much broader approach, showing how a new breed of people - smart, often outside of the ruling class - used a growing understanding of the natural world, economics, technology, etc. to change the very way in which the world worked.
If you do read these, you really have to commit to all four. Together they total something like 3400 pages, and you easily go hundreds of pages between story lines (especially in The Confusion, which is written as if two novels are interspersed). I found the the Baroque Cycle a little disappointing at first read, but I think it was because I was reading them as they came out, which made it harder to remember what happened in previous books. Reading them straight through alleviated that, and I found I enjoyed them much more the second time around.
Part of me wonders if it would be worth reading them in chronological order rather than publication order, to catch references and Easter egg-type things in Cryptonomicon that you'd not get without reading the Cycle first.
I do recommend all four books, whichever way you choose to read them. Just give yourself plenty of time and try to read at least a little bit every day.
22 November 2013
The idea of a Summer Olympics in Boston reared it ugly head again recently. It's a horrible idea for any number of reasons, from the stress it would put on an already taxed transportation infrastructure to the cost of developing new venues to the usual inability to recoup costs. Unlike London, we don't have a section of the city we can level to build an Olympic park, and we're not going to have the sort of governmental backing they did.
But let's say, just for the hell of it, that Boston was going to host. Where would we put everything? Here's what I see, by sport, using London as a guide where possible.
Archery - in London, they used Lord's Cricket Ground, a venerable venue considered the home of the sport. It was well-suited for the event, with its open space and seating for 28,000 or so. Based on the history and capacity, the most obvious Boston equivalent is Fenway Park. It's not like it'll be needed for baseball, as the Sox will certainly spend the entirety of the Games on the road (sorry, team!).
Athletics - The largest existing arena in the area that could fit this is Harvard Stadium, which is too small and not well-situated for traffic. As the athletics venue also typically hosts the opening and closing ceremonies, you'd need some space. My guess is that we'd knock down a significant portion of a neighborhood that abuts 93 and is within reasonable bus distance to South Station and the Red Line. This will be one of the many times we'll muse on the redevelopment of the Bayside Expo Center, which is owned by UMass-Boston and plays multiple roles in the current development of their campus. It is close to 93 and the JFK/UMass stop on the Red Line. Is it a big enough parcel for a stadium? Not without some eminent domain, I think.
Badminton - was held at Wembley Arena, which seats about 6,000. A similarly sized venue is Agannis Arena, on the campus of Boston University. BU also has a track and tennis center that could be used for something, although the capacity may be a little low (based on London venues, which seemed to bottom out at 5,000).
Basketball - was held in two separate venues, one in the Olympic Park that sat about 12,000 and the North Greenwich (ne O2) Arena, which seats closer to 18,000. While TD Bank Garden would serve as the larger venue, there's not a second arena of similar size in Boston proper. The Conte Forum is probably the next biggest arena that's close, but it seats under 10,000. If we're not being too picky about keeping things in Boston, you've got Worcester's DCU Center or Providence's Dunkin' Donuts Center.
Beach Volleyball - the site for this in London was Horse Guards Parade, which is the sort of flat, wide-open space Boston doesn't have in abundance. One completely impractical idea would be to have this on Georges Island, squeezing the court and stands inside the walls of Fort Warren. One idea that could have merit would be rehabbing the Wonderland dog track, which is a big enough parcel, across the street from a Blue Line stop which has a big new garage, and right next to a commuter rail line that could spawn a temporary stop. It's not a great site for cars - it's on a very heavily traveled section of Route 1A.
Boxing - this was one of many sports held at the ExCeL Center, a large convention center that could be configured for events seating 5,000 to 10,000. And while I don't think it's quite as big, I do think that the Boston Convention and Exposition Center could host this and a few other events. Its location near highways belies the fact that the Seaport District is one of the hardest parts of the city to get into and out of during rush hours. Though there are plans to start running a train from the BCEC to Back Bay using a currently unused track the state owns.
Canoeing - there were two separate venues outside of London, one for flat-water canoeing (the same lake used for rowing) and a man-made whitewater course. They weren't near each other in London, but could be close by if placed on Lake Quinsigamond out in Worcester. It regularly hosts rowing events, and it's got enough open space near it to put in the whitewater course.
Cycling - the variety of cycling events - track, road, mountain and BMX - will require completing a number of new venues.The road course would involve Boston streets, I assume, but timing would be key as it's going to be hard enough to keep things moving without shutting down streets for racing. A velodrome and Olympic-level mountain bike and BMX courses would need to be built, and I think that putting them all in one place would make sense not only for the Games, but as a potential post-Olympic cycling center. As for where I'd put it, I'd suggest either Devens or the former Weymouth Naval Air Station, both decomissioned military facilities with a reasonable amount of open space. My preference would be Devens, as we're already putting enough stress on the Red Line and 93.
Diving - would be part of a new build aquatics center as discussed under swimming.
Equestrian - London used Greenwich Park for this, and there's not really a comparable space in Boston. I would look to have this held up in horse country somewhere, like Andover. If we did want to keep it in the city, Franklin Park could probably host it, although it's a pain to get to and touches on some of the less salubrious neighborhoods of the city.
Fencing - was one of the events at the ExCeL Center, and could be held at the BCEC. But it could also be run at the Hynes Convention Center, a downtown location near the T that could handle those large, out of control fencing crowds.
Football - this is typically the most spread out event, and for London they held games all over the UK. I'd not spread it out that far, but if we were looking for five stadiums to use for this I'd go with Gillette Stadium (with temporary sod), the Yale Bowl, Rentschler Field, MetLife Stadium (also with temporary sod), and Lincoln Financial Field.
Golf - Forgot that they added golf. Ugh. An obvious location would the The Country Club in Brookline, which hosted the 1999 Ryder Cup. Should they pass, there's also TPC Boston, which is Norton and close to 495 and 95. There are also two muni tracks in the Boston area - William J Devine (which is in Franklin Park) and George Wright in Hyde Park, both of which are 18 holes. I have no idea if they're of the appropriate quality for Olympic golf, as I would like to ignore that there is such a thing as Olympic golf.
Gymnastics - London used two venues, one for artistic (i.e. regular) and trampoline, the other for rhythmic. The same thing could be done in Boston with rhythmic and trampoline at Agganis or Conte and artistic at TD Bank Garden. Though there's part of me that thinks you could put rhythmic and trampoline somewhere smaller, like Matthews Arena.
Handball - would, based on London, wind up in the secondary basketball venue. I would wind up bumping it to either Agannis or Conte and then find a new home for badminton (such as Matthews) if needed. The medal round would wind up at TD Garden.
Hockey - a temporary venue was constructed for London, with 15,000 and 5,000 seat facilities. As this is the one sport that favors Astroturf over FieldTurf, there's not a place of the right size in Boston that could also hold that number of spectators. You could potentially do something temporary in Fenway after archery is done (probably not with two fields, though).
Judo - as one of the ExCeL sports, would go either to the BCEC or the Hynes.
Modern Pentathlon - would be split as appropriate for each discipline, with the advantage of combining running and shooting (and the recent adoption of laser guns) opening up a venue like the Public Garden or the Esplanade. It's a fairly small event - 72 competitors evenly split by gender - so there's some wiggle room.
Rowing - out at Lake Quinsigamond with canoeing.
Rugby - thankfully, synthetic turf appears to be OK for this, so you can put some combination of Harvard Stadium, Alumni Stadium, and Nickerson Field into play. You could potentially also use Parsons Field in Brookline, though 7,000 seats may be too small.
Sailing - taking a page from the America's Cup, it'd be great to do this on the Charles River. I don't know if there's enough room on the water, though. This could be where we revive the idea of using the harbor islands, or perhaps move things out to a more sailing-centric location, of which there are plenty.
Shooting - there is not an existing military structure in the Boston area that could hold this and provide potential seating for 7,500 spectators. This may be another event for Bayside depending on what sort of shape it's in for indoor events.
Swimming - would require building a facility, as the only way you could approach the sort of capacity that London had would be to construct a temporary pool at TD Bank Garden, which is out of the question.Once again we look to Bayside as a possible location for a new build facility (assuming the existing buildings have been demolished by then).
Synchronized Swimming - also at a new aquatics center, wherever it is.
Table Tennis - BCEC or Hynes.
Taekwondo - Also BCEC or Hynes
Tennis - while its name would imply otherwise, the Longwood Cricket Club played a pivotal role in early US tennis history - the Davis Cup was first contested there, for example - and it hosted a pro tournament for years. It's not quite up to Wimbledon's standards - no roofed center court, for example - but it's almost certainly the best option in the Boston area outside of a new build.
Triathlon - I would move this up the coast a bit, with swimming at Revere Beach and then the cycling and running heading in whatever direction makes the most sense. You could either cycle down 1A and bring competitors back into Boston for the run, or go up 1A and host the run somewhere like Salem. A pain if you want to drive 1A, but accessible by public transport between the Blue Line and commuter rail.
Volleyball- in London, volleyball was held at Earl's Court, a well-known exhibition center of which there's no real equivalent in Boston (at least at the stated capacity of 15,000). The more of these events show up the more I think a newly-built (probably temporary) general purpose arena is needed, which is unfortunate.
Water Polo- had its own venue in London. I'd suggest a combined venue with swimming, though the logistics may be problematic. The London venue was next to the aquatic center, and they shared some facilities, which would help. Not sure there'd be enough room at Bayside to build two buildings, but perhaps something with pools on multiple levels?
Weightlifting - Would go to BCEC or the Hynes normally, but I like the idea of using the Citi Performing Arts Center to create more drama. Probably too small at roughly 3,600 seats. Could go to Matthews.
Wrestling - at ExCeL in London, I'd prefer it to be in an arena venue like Agannis or Conte.
Three additional considerations to this nonsense:
1. The Paralympics. The Olympic host also hosts this event later in the year, which means a second disruption (or a longer initial disruption), although of less severity as there are fewer spectators. The Paralympics in London required a couple of venues not used for the Olympics (for wheelchair tennis and a cycling road course). Still, adding this in you'd get a pretty solid month of activity to deal with.
2. Non-athletic venues. On top of everything listed above, you'd also need an Olympic Village and a broadcast center. Personally, I think you could stick the broadcast center somewhere like the World Trade Center, though it tends to be in the middle of things, so might require something built close to the main stadium. The village is an even bigger concern, as I don't know where we'd drop a development for 17,000 people.
3. Timing. Of late the Summer Games have been happening in August, with the Paralympics in late August or September. The problem with that is going into September would clash with the return of 100,000 or so college students to Boston. Starting in July would help, but would also have things happening during the hottest (and muggiest) part of the year. We're not Qatar, but it'd be a bit uncomfortable. June would be best, not sure how much we'd have to bribe the IOC to make that happen.
But let's say, just for the hell of it, that Boston was going to host. Where would we put everything? Here's what I see, by sport, using London as a guide where possible.
Archery - in London, they used Lord's Cricket Ground, a venerable venue considered the home of the sport. It was well-suited for the event, with its open space and seating for 28,000 or so. Based on the history and capacity, the most obvious Boston equivalent is Fenway Park. It's not like it'll be needed for baseball, as the Sox will certainly spend the entirety of the Games on the road (sorry, team!).
Athletics - The largest existing arena in the area that could fit this is Harvard Stadium, which is too small and not well-situated for traffic. As the athletics venue also typically hosts the opening and closing ceremonies, you'd need some space. My guess is that we'd knock down a significant portion of a neighborhood that abuts 93 and is within reasonable bus distance to South Station and the Red Line. This will be one of the many times we'll muse on the redevelopment of the Bayside Expo Center, which is owned by UMass-Boston and plays multiple roles in the current development of their campus. It is close to 93 and the JFK/UMass stop on the Red Line. Is it a big enough parcel for a stadium? Not without some eminent domain, I think.
Badminton - was held at Wembley Arena, which seats about 6,000. A similarly sized venue is Agannis Arena, on the campus of Boston University. BU also has a track and tennis center that could be used for something, although the capacity may be a little low (based on London venues, which seemed to bottom out at 5,000).
Basketball - was held in two separate venues, one in the Olympic Park that sat about 12,000 and the North Greenwich (ne O2) Arena, which seats closer to 18,000. While TD Bank Garden would serve as the larger venue, there's not a second arena of similar size in Boston proper. The Conte Forum is probably the next biggest arena that's close, but it seats under 10,000. If we're not being too picky about keeping things in Boston, you've got Worcester's DCU Center or Providence's Dunkin' Donuts Center.
Beach Volleyball - the site for this in London was Horse Guards Parade, which is the sort of flat, wide-open space Boston doesn't have in abundance. One completely impractical idea would be to have this on Georges Island, squeezing the court and stands inside the walls of Fort Warren. One idea that could have merit would be rehabbing the Wonderland dog track, which is a big enough parcel, across the street from a Blue Line stop which has a big new garage, and right next to a commuter rail line that could spawn a temporary stop. It's not a great site for cars - it's on a very heavily traveled section of Route 1A.
Boxing - this was one of many sports held at the ExCeL Center, a large convention center that could be configured for events seating 5,000 to 10,000. And while I don't think it's quite as big, I do think that the Boston Convention and Exposition Center could host this and a few other events. Its location near highways belies the fact that the Seaport District is one of the hardest parts of the city to get into and out of during rush hours. Though there are plans to start running a train from the BCEC to Back Bay using a currently unused track the state owns.
Canoeing - there were two separate venues outside of London, one for flat-water canoeing (the same lake used for rowing) and a man-made whitewater course. They weren't near each other in London, but could be close by if placed on Lake Quinsigamond out in Worcester. It regularly hosts rowing events, and it's got enough open space near it to put in the whitewater course.
Cycling - the variety of cycling events - track, road, mountain and BMX - will require completing a number of new venues.The road course would involve Boston streets, I assume, but timing would be key as it's going to be hard enough to keep things moving without shutting down streets for racing. A velodrome and Olympic-level mountain bike and BMX courses would need to be built, and I think that putting them all in one place would make sense not only for the Games, but as a potential post-Olympic cycling center. As for where I'd put it, I'd suggest either Devens or the former Weymouth Naval Air Station, both decomissioned military facilities with a reasonable amount of open space. My preference would be Devens, as we're already putting enough stress on the Red Line and 93.
Diving - would be part of a new build aquatics center as discussed under swimming.
Equestrian - London used Greenwich Park for this, and there's not really a comparable space in Boston. I would look to have this held up in horse country somewhere, like Andover. If we did want to keep it in the city, Franklin Park could probably host it, although it's a pain to get to and touches on some of the less salubrious neighborhoods of the city.
Fencing - was one of the events at the ExCeL Center, and could be held at the BCEC. But it could also be run at the Hynes Convention Center, a downtown location near the T that could handle those large, out of control fencing crowds.
Football - this is typically the most spread out event, and for London they held games all over the UK. I'd not spread it out that far, but if we were looking for five stadiums to use for this I'd go with Gillette Stadium (with temporary sod), the Yale Bowl, Rentschler Field, MetLife Stadium (also with temporary sod), and Lincoln Financial Field.
Golf - Forgot that they added golf. Ugh. An obvious location would the The Country Club in Brookline, which hosted the 1999 Ryder Cup. Should they pass, there's also TPC Boston, which is Norton and close to 495 and 95. There are also two muni tracks in the Boston area - William J Devine (which is in Franklin Park) and George Wright in Hyde Park, both of which are 18 holes. I have no idea if they're of the appropriate quality for Olympic golf, as I would like to ignore that there is such a thing as Olympic golf.
Gymnastics - London used two venues, one for artistic (i.e. regular) and trampoline, the other for rhythmic. The same thing could be done in Boston with rhythmic and trampoline at Agganis or Conte and artistic at TD Bank Garden. Though there's part of me that thinks you could put rhythmic and trampoline somewhere smaller, like Matthews Arena.
Handball - would, based on London, wind up in the secondary basketball venue. I would wind up bumping it to either Agannis or Conte and then find a new home for badminton (such as Matthews) if needed. The medal round would wind up at TD Garden.
Hockey - a temporary venue was constructed for London, with 15,000 and 5,000 seat facilities. As this is the one sport that favors Astroturf over FieldTurf, there's not a place of the right size in Boston that could also hold that number of spectators. You could potentially do something temporary in Fenway after archery is done (probably not with two fields, though).
Judo - as one of the ExCeL sports, would go either to the BCEC or the Hynes.
Modern Pentathlon - would be split as appropriate for each discipline, with the advantage of combining running and shooting (and the recent adoption of laser guns) opening up a venue like the Public Garden or the Esplanade. It's a fairly small event - 72 competitors evenly split by gender - so there's some wiggle room.
Rowing - out at Lake Quinsigamond with canoeing.
Rugby - thankfully, synthetic turf appears to be OK for this, so you can put some combination of Harvard Stadium, Alumni Stadium, and Nickerson Field into play. You could potentially also use Parsons Field in Brookline, though 7,000 seats may be too small.
Sailing - taking a page from the America's Cup, it'd be great to do this on the Charles River. I don't know if there's enough room on the water, though. This could be where we revive the idea of using the harbor islands, or perhaps move things out to a more sailing-centric location, of which there are plenty.
Shooting - there is not an existing military structure in the Boston area that could hold this and provide potential seating for 7,500 spectators. This may be another event for Bayside depending on what sort of shape it's in for indoor events.
Swimming - would require building a facility, as the only way you could approach the sort of capacity that London had would be to construct a temporary pool at TD Bank Garden, which is out of the question.Once again we look to Bayside as a possible location for a new build facility (assuming the existing buildings have been demolished by then).
Synchronized Swimming - also at a new aquatics center, wherever it is.
Table Tennis - BCEC or Hynes.
Taekwondo - Also BCEC or Hynes
Tennis - while its name would imply otherwise, the Longwood Cricket Club played a pivotal role in early US tennis history - the Davis Cup was first contested there, for example - and it hosted a pro tournament for years. It's not quite up to Wimbledon's standards - no roofed center court, for example - but it's almost certainly the best option in the Boston area outside of a new build.
Triathlon - I would move this up the coast a bit, with swimming at Revere Beach and then the cycling and running heading in whatever direction makes the most sense. You could either cycle down 1A and bring competitors back into Boston for the run, or go up 1A and host the run somewhere like Salem. A pain if you want to drive 1A, but accessible by public transport between the Blue Line and commuter rail.
Volleyball- in London, volleyball was held at Earl's Court, a well-known exhibition center of which there's no real equivalent in Boston (at least at the stated capacity of 15,000). The more of these events show up the more I think a newly-built (probably temporary) general purpose arena is needed, which is unfortunate.
Water Polo- had its own venue in London. I'd suggest a combined venue with swimming, though the logistics may be problematic. The London venue was next to the aquatic center, and they shared some facilities, which would help. Not sure there'd be enough room at Bayside to build two buildings, but perhaps something with pools on multiple levels?
Weightlifting - Would go to BCEC or the Hynes normally, but I like the idea of using the Citi Performing Arts Center to create more drama. Probably too small at roughly 3,600 seats. Could go to Matthews.
Wrestling - at ExCeL in London, I'd prefer it to be in an arena venue like Agannis or Conte.
Three additional considerations to this nonsense:
1. The Paralympics. The Olympic host also hosts this event later in the year, which means a second disruption (or a longer initial disruption), although of less severity as there are fewer spectators. The Paralympics in London required a couple of venues not used for the Olympics (for wheelchair tennis and a cycling road course). Still, adding this in you'd get a pretty solid month of activity to deal with.
2. Non-athletic venues. On top of everything listed above, you'd also need an Olympic Village and a broadcast center. Personally, I think you could stick the broadcast center somewhere like the World Trade Center, though it tends to be in the middle of things, so might require something built close to the main stadium. The village is an even bigger concern, as I don't know where we'd drop a development for 17,000 people.
3. Timing. Of late the Summer Games have been happening in August, with the Paralympics in late August or September. The problem with that is going into September would clash with the return of 100,000 or so college students to Boston. Starting in July would help, but would also have things happening during the hottest (and muggiest) part of the year. We're not Qatar, but it'd be a bit uncomfortable. June would be best, not sure how much we'd have to bribe the IOC to make that happen.
29 October 2013
Book Log 2013 #17: Visit Sunny Chernobyl by Andrew Blackwell
In the vein of Assassination Vacation and similar offbeat travel books, Blackwell visits the sites of various environmental disasters in this book, ranging from the radioactive wasteland of Chernobyl to the refinery-laden town of Port Arthur, Texas to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It's a pretty interesting read, as the author enters each trip with the expectation of a hellish deathscape, but then has to confront the complexities of each disaster, mostly when dealing with the locals, who are often trying to balance living in or near an ecological nightmare with making a living off of same. And for all of the damage caused, there's a lot about these locations that are banal, from the bland corporatism of the mining company pulling oil sands out of Alberta to the somewhat pointless study voyages out to the garbage patch.
We also get a sort of B-plot of the author's relationship with his girlfriend/fiancee, the ebb and flow of which tends to mirror the time and distance the author spends traveling. It's not overbearing, and helps to break up the travel.
It's been a while since I've read this, and I do remember thinking at times that in some cases the author may have been trying a little too hard to be balanced in some areas, but I'll be damned if I can remember a specific instance. So it may just be me. Anyway, certainly worth a look.
In the vein of Assassination Vacation and similar offbeat travel books, Blackwell visits the sites of various environmental disasters in this book, ranging from the radioactive wasteland of Chernobyl to the refinery-laden town of Port Arthur, Texas to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It's a pretty interesting read, as the author enters each trip with the expectation of a hellish deathscape, but then has to confront the complexities of each disaster, mostly when dealing with the locals, who are often trying to balance living in or near an ecological nightmare with making a living off of same. And for all of the damage caused, there's a lot about these locations that are banal, from the bland corporatism of the mining company pulling oil sands out of Alberta to the somewhat pointless study voyages out to the garbage patch.
We also get a sort of B-plot of the author's relationship with his girlfriend/fiancee, the ebb and flow of which tends to mirror the time and distance the author spends traveling. It's not overbearing, and helps to break up the travel.
It's been a while since I've read this, and I do remember thinking at times that in some cases the author may have been trying a little too hard to be balanced in some areas, but I'll be damned if I can remember a specific instance. So it may just be me. Anyway, certainly worth a look.
25 October 2013
Book Log 2013 #16: Exploding the Phone by Phil Lapsley
For every technology, there's someone who is going to hack it. That's most obvious with computers, but for any technology you can name you'll find someone who is going to put the full weight of their intellect behind getting to know it and doing all sorts of things to see what it can do. This is no less true of the phone system, which for two or three decades in the mid-20th century found itself at the mercy of a group of dedicated phone enthusiasts (or phreakers).
The folks at Bell didn't anticipate this. So as they developed the phone system, they did it in a way that wasn't particularly secure. They also made a lot of their technical information available in journals and other publications. As the phreakers discovered the system's vulnerabilities, and plumbed the available information to develop ways to make the system work for them (most notably the blue and red boxes that let people make free calls), Bell reacted by using the power of a large corporation (allied with the power of government and law enforcement) to go after the phreakers while trying to implement fixes (which were often costly and time-consuming).
That pursuit of the phreakers takes up much of the last half of the book, and is decidedly less interesting than the stories of the phreakers. That really makes the book, and while it's not always easy to identify with the phreakers, they are generally presented as more than the expected stereotype. The stories of how phreaking entered the general populace - and may have had a hand in bringing about the personal computer revolution - carry the book. Definitely worth a read.
For every technology, there's someone who is going to hack it. That's most obvious with computers, but for any technology you can name you'll find someone who is going to put the full weight of their intellect behind getting to know it and doing all sorts of things to see what it can do. This is no less true of the phone system, which for two or three decades in the mid-20th century found itself at the mercy of a group of dedicated phone enthusiasts (or phreakers).
The folks at Bell didn't anticipate this. So as they developed the phone system, they did it in a way that wasn't particularly secure. They also made a lot of their technical information available in journals and other publications. As the phreakers discovered the system's vulnerabilities, and plumbed the available information to develop ways to make the system work for them (most notably the blue and red boxes that let people make free calls), Bell reacted by using the power of a large corporation (allied with the power of government and law enforcement) to go after the phreakers while trying to implement fixes (which were often costly and time-consuming).
That pursuit of the phreakers takes up much of the last half of the book, and is decidedly less interesting than the stories of the phreakers. That really makes the book, and while it's not always easy to identify with the phreakers, they are generally presented as more than the expected stereotype. The stories of how phreaking entered the general populace - and may have had a hand in bringing about the personal computer revolution - carry the book. Definitely worth a read.
Book Log 2013 #15: Birdseye by Mark Kurlansky
Every family seems to have a story about a lost opportunity to make a fortune, from stock advice not taken to real estate investments not made. In my family, there was talk about how my grandparents knew Clarence Birdseye and failed to get involved at the ground floor of his frozen food business. I don't know how much truth there is to the story, but I can remember Birdseye's name coming up regularly around the dinner table when we'd visit. Which explains why I was drawn to this biography of the man a little more than I may have been normally.
The biggest problem with writing this biography appears to have been the lack of source material, as most (if not all) of the people who knew Birdseye are now dead, and there's less documentation - letters, articles, and the like - than one might expect. Though that seems typical for the Birdseye presented here, an inveterate tinkerer whose wandering mind and taste for the outdoors makes him less likely to spend time scribbling at a journal or engaging in voluminous correspondence.
Birdseye is painted here as one of the last of a vanishing breed, a self-taught man who uses observation and experience to solve problems. His "invention" of frozen food came out of observations while living in Canada, where the need to stock up for winter (and the presence of naturally frozen food thanks to long and bitterly cold winters) led him to consider frozen food as an everyday thing.
Kurlansky did a good job of providing a biography out of the available material, and the theme of Birdseye as one of the last great tinkerers is quite apt. I wouldn't say it's presented as a bad thing, but more as an observation on how much more interesting the world was when there were people like Birdseye around. A sentiment with which I'd agree.
Every family seems to have a story about a lost opportunity to make a fortune, from stock advice not taken to real estate investments not made. In my family, there was talk about how my grandparents knew Clarence Birdseye and failed to get involved at the ground floor of his frozen food business. I don't know how much truth there is to the story, but I can remember Birdseye's name coming up regularly around the dinner table when we'd visit. Which explains why I was drawn to this biography of the man a little more than I may have been normally.
The biggest problem with writing this biography appears to have been the lack of source material, as most (if not all) of the people who knew Birdseye are now dead, and there's less documentation - letters, articles, and the like - than one might expect. Though that seems typical for the Birdseye presented here, an inveterate tinkerer whose wandering mind and taste for the outdoors makes him less likely to spend time scribbling at a journal or engaging in voluminous correspondence.
Birdseye is painted here as one of the last of a vanishing breed, a self-taught man who uses observation and experience to solve problems. His "invention" of frozen food came out of observations while living in Canada, where the need to stock up for winter (and the presence of naturally frozen food thanks to long and bitterly cold winters) led him to consider frozen food as an everyday thing.
Kurlansky did a good job of providing a biography out of the available material, and the theme of Birdseye as one of the last great tinkerers is quite apt. I wouldn't say it's presented as a bad thing, but more as an observation on how much more interesting the world was when there were people like Birdseye around. A sentiment with which I'd agree.
Book Log 2013 Extra: The Most Famous Book Set in Each US State
The folks at Business Insider came up with this map of the US that gives the most famous book set in each state. There's no real discussion of how they came up with these selections, and in a number of cases there's a real question as to whether on not they chose correctly. Those that stand out to me:
Arkansas: A Painted House. OK, it's hard to argue that a John Grisham book wouldn't be famous, but it's not exactly the first (or second, or fifth) book of his you'd name if asked to name one. True Grit would seem more popular (thanks mostly to the films), and for people of a certain generation Summer of My German Solider would be an option, too.
Connecticut: Revolutionary Road. Maybe it's a little on the nose, but what about A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court?. There's also Long Day's Journey into Night and Ah, Wilderness!, both of which may have been dinged for being plays. And if the only criteria is fame, perhaps The Stepford Wives would be a contender thanks to its movie adaptations (I'm assuming that the movie adaptation of Revolutionary Road helped get it here). Although if we're really only considering fame, wouldn't The Baby-sitter's Club be the obvious choice?
District of Columbia: The Lost Symbol. See, this is where using fame as your sole criteria breaks down. This isn't even Dan Brown's most famous book, and even for him it was pretty much crap. Why you wouldn't go with one of the Alex Cross novels here? Either Along Came a Spider or Kiss The Girls would work.
Also, if you're going to include DC in the list, how about putting it in its proper place alphabetically rather than sneaking it in after Virginia?
Louisiana: Interview With the Vampire. Uh, Uncle Tom's Cabin?
Maine: Carrie. There are any number of Stephen King novels you could choose here, but as King was already selected for Colorado (The Shining), we could go with The Cider House Rules here. Which would give John Irving two entries (for now). As I think of it, Empire Falls may be a better choice.
Massachusetts: Walden. Considering it's almost impossible to get out of high school without reading either The Scarlet Letter or Little Women, I'd have chosen either of them over Walden, which is plenty famous in its own right, obviously.
New Hampshire: The Hotel New Hampshire. Having the state in the title helps, but I'd go with A Prayer for Owen Meany. Were this 20 years ago I'd also suggest Peyton Place.
New Mexico: Red Sky at Morning. I'll admit to never having heard of this book, and while it's possible I'm out of the loop on this one, I would still argue that Death Comes for the Archbishop is a better choice.
North Carolina: A Walk to Remember. Probably correct (the most likely replacement would be another Nicholas Sparks book) but depressing. I'll throw Cold Mountain out there as an option.
Ohio: The Broom of the System. Beloved, The Bluest Eye, Captain Underpants and Winesburg, Ohio would all seem like more natural choices than David Foster Wallace's first novel, at least if we're going by fame.
South Carolina: The Secret Life of Bees. Helped by its recent movie adaptation, but I'm wondering if The Prince of Tides would be a better choice.
I could probably critique every selection, but I think I'll quit while I'm ahead.
The folks at Business Insider came up with this map of the US that gives the most famous book set in each state. There's no real discussion of how they came up with these selections, and in a number of cases there's a real question as to whether on not they chose correctly. Those that stand out to me:
Arkansas: A Painted House. OK, it's hard to argue that a John Grisham book wouldn't be famous, but it's not exactly the first (or second, or fifth) book of his you'd name if asked to name one. True Grit would seem more popular (thanks mostly to the films), and for people of a certain generation Summer of My German Solider would be an option, too.
Connecticut: Revolutionary Road. Maybe it's a little on the nose, but what about A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court?. There's also Long Day's Journey into Night and Ah, Wilderness!, both of which may have been dinged for being plays. And if the only criteria is fame, perhaps The Stepford Wives would be a contender thanks to its movie adaptations (I'm assuming that the movie adaptation of Revolutionary Road helped get it here). Although if we're really only considering fame, wouldn't The Baby-sitter's Club be the obvious choice?
District of Columbia: The Lost Symbol. See, this is where using fame as your sole criteria breaks down. This isn't even Dan Brown's most famous book, and even for him it was pretty much crap. Why you wouldn't go with one of the Alex Cross novels here? Either Along Came a Spider or Kiss The Girls would work.
Also, if you're going to include DC in the list, how about putting it in its proper place alphabetically rather than sneaking it in after Virginia?
Louisiana: Interview With the Vampire. Uh, Uncle Tom's Cabin?
Maine: Carrie. There are any number of Stephen King novels you could choose here, but as King was already selected for Colorado (The Shining), we could go with The Cider House Rules here. Which would give John Irving two entries (for now). As I think of it, Empire Falls may be a better choice.
Massachusetts: Walden. Considering it's almost impossible to get out of high school without reading either The Scarlet Letter or Little Women, I'd have chosen either of them over Walden, which is plenty famous in its own right, obviously.
New Hampshire: The Hotel New Hampshire. Having the state in the title helps, but I'd go with A Prayer for Owen Meany. Were this 20 years ago I'd also suggest Peyton Place.
New Mexico: Red Sky at Morning. I'll admit to never having heard of this book, and while it's possible I'm out of the loop on this one, I would still argue that Death Comes for the Archbishop is a better choice.
North Carolina: A Walk to Remember. Probably correct (the most likely replacement would be another Nicholas Sparks book) but depressing. I'll throw Cold Mountain out there as an option.
Ohio: The Broom of the System. Beloved, The Bluest Eye, Captain Underpants and Winesburg, Ohio would all seem like more natural choices than David Foster Wallace's first novel, at least if we're going by fame.
South Carolina: The Secret Life of Bees. Helped by its recent movie adaptation, but I'm wondering if The Prince of Tides would be a better choice.
I could probably critique every selection, but I think I'll quit while I'm ahead.
08 October 2013
Book Log 2013 #14: 1356 by Bernard Cornwell
Thomas of Hookton, the main character of the Grail Quest trilogy, returns in this book which is skips ahead from the last book in that series to the time right before the Battle of Poitiers. Thomas leads a group of mercenaries who, while in the service of a noble, are mostly allowed to operate independently.
As was the case in the first three books, Thomas becomes embroiled in the search for a religious relic, in this case la Malice, the sword St. Peter used to slice off the ear of the high priest's servant at Gethsemane. Both the English and the French are hunting for the sword, as it's believe that the side which possesses the sword will win what we now know as the Battle of Poitiers, a major battle of the Hundred Years' War.
As you'd expect, there are corrupt churchmen, cruel nobles, and a variety of fighting men who all add their particular color to the hunt for the sword and the eventual battle. But the actual story, the search for this sword, didn't do much for me, and I kind of felt like the book was forced a bit. I'd have rather had the book begin to explain how Thomas would become the "lord of a thousand acres" that's mentioned in Agincourt than go on another religious treasure hunt.
Thomas of Hookton, the main character of the Grail Quest trilogy, returns in this book which is skips ahead from the last book in that series to the time right before the Battle of Poitiers. Thomas leads a group of mercenaries who, while in the service of a noble, are mostly allowed to operate independently.
As was the case in the first three books, Thomas becomes embroiled in the search for a religious relic, in this case la Malice, the sword St. Peter used to slice off the ear of the high priest's servant at Gethsemane. Both the English and the French are hunting for the sword, as it's believe that the side which possesses the sword will win what we now know as the Battle of Poitiers, a major battle of the Hundred Years' War.
As you'd expect, there are corrupt churchmen, cruel nobles, and a variety of fighting men who all add their particular color to the hunt for the sword and the eventual battle. But the actual story, the search for this sword, didn't do much for me, and I kind of felt like the book was forced a bit. I'd have rather had the book begin to explain how Thomas would become the "lord of a thousand acres" that's mentioned in Agincourt than go on another religious treasure hunt.
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