Brace for President Pence

So if you've been reading the Twitter feeds I recommended here a few days ago and here on October, then you know that today's fast-unfolding news re: Trump and Russia has been a long time coming, and you even have an idea of what's coming next.

Trump's downfall will be a joint venture between the Intelligence Community (who Trump was foolish enough to war with) and right wing anti-Trumpers who are equal parts 1. patriotically outraged by everything Trump is, does and stands for, and 2. excited indeed about the prospect of President Pence.

Trump's through, it appears. This is a tip of the iceberg, and this is mostly just salacious except for the critical part about Trump's attorney's Prague trip last summer to meet with the campaign's Russian handlers.

For an advance look at the next shoe to drop (contradicting the BuzzFeed leak, it's been reported that Trump's engagements in Russian go back way more than five years, and involve alleged laundering massive cash for the Russian mob, which explains, among other things, how a frickin' casino can go broke), scroll down to Jan 9 at 10:33 AM on this Twitter feed of a very respected intelligence dude, and read forward.

Clickbait Score

For twenty years I've been forwarding science articles to my friend Pierre, who knows everything, and he's written back each and every time to tell me how they're doubtful, overblown, or complete bullshit.

Today, my ship came in. We may actually all be growing ourselves toothy stuff, per A Drug Meant for Alzheimer’s Treatment Regrows Human Teeth

Pierre says (and I feel like the Earth reversed its rotational spin):

"Yes! One of the few truly monumental advances in health care since vaccination! If it pans out, of course, but it does look good."

I can't help but wonder what else might be grown. What if this stuff makes me grow, like, toenails in my liver?

Official News feed of Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea

The Twitter account of the North Korean DPRK News Service (so dead-on and dry that many people wondered for a while whether it was legit) is hitting it out of the park today:

A Quiet Truth About Working in the Arts

Here's a truth which was whispered to me occasionally as I strived towards my writing and music careers: it's not true that it's hard to make a living in the arts.

Yes, there are tons of people angling to get through that door, but if you weed out the poseurs, the assholes, and the self-destructives, the remainder is a comically small group.

The (non-trivial) problem is to avoid that weeding-out, yourself. For one thing, you've got to be good - not just sort of "good enough" (people who settle for "good enough" count as poseurs).

It's a serious problem that a certain number of poseurs, assholes, and self-destructives make it through in spite of themselves, giving false hope all around. Plenty of wannabes survey the scene and conclude that's part of the gig.


Among the remainder - the comically small group - any sense of competition is an illusion.

Leaking Back to Russia...Or the Appearance Thereof

I've been plumbing the Twitter feeds of people (like Mr. Dog Tags Hot Tub, here) who are tapped into America's intelligence Community ("IC") to try to glean some perspective on the Trump/Russia thing. And one oft-repeated thought is: it's got to be tough for intelligence officers to be briefing Trump (and/or his team) about their delicate, hard-won information sources and methods, when Trump's so phenomenally undisciplined and he (and especially his cohorts) has such uncertain ties with Russia.

These briefings are some of the scariest, most worrisome things these guys have ever had to do. I haven't heard anyone suggest the following, but I like to try to look ahead to the "next step" of things:

If Putin's goal is to build up Trump as an American strongman vulnerable to his manipulations, he won't touch any of these sources or block any of these methods, even if Trump (or, more likely, Flynn or Manafort) send him a full accounting (which, for the record, I think is unlikely).

But if Putin's goal is to sow maximal chaos in America's Democratic process and institutional confidence, his move would be to burn as many sources and methods as he's able to identify - even if nothing's leaked to him! - to ensure maximal division and uncertainty within American government. If a secret American mole or two (perhaps one previously identified but left in place for just such an eventuality) gets slaughtered, that'd certainly, as Larry the Cable Guy (who I assume voted Trump) would say, "get 'er done."

I suspect Putin would rather burn us down than further build an erratic Frankenstein who's influenceable for lord know how much longer. So, maybe not now, but in due time, I'd imagine he'll try to make CIA think Team Trump leaked - no doubt planting evidence with Democrats. This strikes me as the KGB way.

New Hero: Carlos Kleiber

The rabbit hole du jour I've been plunging down to avoid doing work: Carlos Kleiber, a conductor I'd never heard of until two days ago when pianist/thereminist/velamintist Rob Schwimmer posted this video, entitled "Carlos Kleiber in Agony", to his Facebook feed:



It's slow-burn comedy gold, but, as Rob noted, it's especially impressive to musicians for the fact that this mofo never, ever misses a beat (watch his unperturbed baton hand's sweeping, lovely motions while his other hand cringes). I had to learn more, and, woah, was there ever a lot to discover. Here's a map of my subsequent surfing:

Wikipedia: Carlos Kleiber Good starting point.

Carlos Kleiber, A Reclusive Genius An article accompanying an ambitious radio profile.

Carlos Kleiber Audio Documentary That radio profile streaming online, complete with tons of musical excerpts.

Carlos Kleiber - Complete Recordings On Deutsche Grammophon Free to stream if you have Amazon Prime.

1990 article from The Guardian Lots more background here.

Tristan Und Isolde from the above collection As mentioned in that Guardian article.

Corresponding with Carlos: A Biography of Carlos Kleiber

A Study In Contrasts – Carlos Kleiber I just love that he left "Kleibergrams" on the stands of individual musicians.

2004 Obituary in The Telegraph The first part of the eighth paragraph is extremely affecting.

The thoughts of inveterate contrarian Norman LeBrecht

Trolling Trump on Russia

Well, you come here for unorthodox opinions, and here's something you won't hear amid the deafening chattering re: Trump and the Russian hacking.

Why is Trump being so weird about the Russian hacking? One might figure it's because the Russians have something on him. And they very well may. But even if Putin has a sex tape of the guy being impotent (nothing else would suffice), or if Putin's slipped him a couple of his alleged hundreds of billions of dollars, what Trump's doing now isn't helping Putin (who is definitely not afraid of a congressional investigation), And it's certainly not helping Trump. So why is he doing this - denying the undeniable, fighting the intelligence community, and allowing himself to look thoroughly squirmy?

Easy. This parses to Trump and his circle as an attempt to delegitimize the election. We're trying to take away his win, so he's doing what Trump does: fighting tooth and nail, against all logic and sanity. The reaction is entirely predictable. An eight year old could have seen this coming, yet I haven't heard anyone on the left or even the anti-Trump right concentrate on this.

If the anti-Trump forces were truly outraged at Russian behavior, above/beyond any issues with actual election results - if they actually want everyone to transcend partisan bickering and focus on Putin, they would tell Donald Trump this: Relax. Have your win. This isn't about you. Join us in getting to the bottom of this, and we pledge that even if Putin personally hacked voting machines, we will let the election results stand uncontested. And he'd go along even if Putin was his daddy, because appearances. 

But I've not heard anything like that out of Schumer or Pelosi, have you?

In the absence of such reassurance, Trump is doing what Trump does; pushing back as hard as he can. Which makes him look bad. Which is of course, the point. It's a trap. I don't mean the Russians didn't really interfere; they plainly did. But by not reassuring Trump, the main priority becomes apparent. If the Democrats really wanted to rise above politics, they'd address Trump's point of anxiety. They won't, because this is a trap; a trolling. 

I can't say I completely object. I think Trump's an existential threat. But I feel we need to be careful not to damage institutions in the effort to deflect and deflate a man whose chief peril is his disregard for institutions. I worry this trolling will create the same sort of destabilization we fear Trump generating. The medicine can be worse than the disease.

I will say this: it's a clever trap. And I'm happier to see Americans trapping and manipulating Trump than foreigners.

High Impenetrability From My Pointy Pointy Head

That last posting had a Flesch–Kincaid readability score of 8.81. Here, courtesy of Wikipedia, is how that breaks down (god help me):

I can only hope my rhythmic flow (I try to write like Elvin Jones plays) redeems it.

Here's where I measured.

Cooking for a Sensation of Vitality

When I got out to eat, I want either spectacular flavors, or else to be moved by refinement and subtlety. I need something to happen. A lot of people try to recreate the restaurant experience at home, which makes no sense to me. At home, I aim for a feeling of vitality, even if nothing particular is "happening". I don't sit with perfect posture, elegantly flairing my nostrils as I appreciate the perfection of my efforts. I'm not this guy:

Nor do I eat in a sloppy, unconscious rush. I savor, but it's a different kind of savoring. Rather than be all involved with the exquisite depth of my demi-glace, I bask in the afterglow of thoughtful, healthful cooking. Jean Georges is 10,000 times the chef I am, but he cannot offer this. I may leave a restaurant savoring with my palate, but never with my whole body. Wellness isn't the goal, and it's not to be found (even in so called health food restaurants). This is something restaurants don't do - can't do - and it's what I've spent the past 10 years learning to cultivate.

It's a question of finding, via experimentation, an optimal balance of carbs, proteins, and fats, while ensuring that carbs are complex (no white sugar or flour), fats are healthy (e.g. extra virgin olive oil), and proteins are lean and "clean" (pepperoni calzones are not an apt protein). Cook from whole foods (lowercased), not processed. And ease off with the salt (here's a trick).

The last time I wrote about this, I offered this experiment:

If you're unsure of what it even means to feel great after eating, I propose the following experiment. Here's your shopping list:

A jar of organic raw almond butter (budget around $17; this stuff's expensive). Note: I'm not an organic extremist, but concentrated foods (e.g. nut butters, juices, oils, etc.) concentrate pesticides as well as nutrients, so it's worth it to shell out for organic versions.
A loaf of high-fiber, high-protein, whole grain bread (look for at least 4g of fiber and 4g of protein; 5g of each is even better - e.g. Milton's 100% Whole Wheat Bread, available at Trader Joe's)
Some natural, unsweetened no-fat yogurt.


Ok, here's what you do:

Eat a good healthy breakfast, including some "clean" healthy protein (lo-fat milk, egg white/spinach omelette, etc).
A couple hours later, before hunger turns ferocious, toast a slice of the bread and slather it with a tablespoon and a half of the almond butter (mix in the oil if it's separated).
Eat the toast and the yogurt (if you must, mix in a teaspoon of honey).
Set an alarm to go off in 45 minutes.
Go do something productive. When your alarm rings, observe how you feel.

So here's another, using only foods available at Trader Joe's:

Ingredients:

Low-Sodium Chicken Stock (packaged goods aisle)
Lentil Soup with Ancient Grains (refrigerated section)
Frozen Artichoke Hearts (frozen)
Sprouted Tofu (near cheeses)
Baby Spinach (produce)

Boil a half cup of chicken stock (along with a bay leaf if you have one, and perhaps some hot sauce or chili powder).
Add a few artichoke hearts, spinach, and cut-up pieces of any leftover vegetables.
Add half of one of the tofu blocks, roughly diced
Reduce heat and stir frequently.
Once the frozen stuff is warm, add half the container of lentil soup.
Stir violently, cover, and cook 3 minutes on low heat.
Serve into bowl, and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil (I like TJ's "California Estate" oil).

The flavor should be a solid 7.5. But see if you have even the slightest cravings afterwards. See how you feel.


More:

My series "How (Perennially) Fat People Diet"
...and A New Way of Healthy Cooking

Celebrate Good Times....Come On!

I just thought of a clear explanation for why I don't celebrate anything (seriously: anything).

If my life ever reaches a point where I don't feel like I'm really living until Friday rolls around, or until Christmas or my birthday arrive, or until the Mets win a World Series, etc. etc., then a piece of cake won't help. If periodic arbitrary bits of elevation serve as dog-track rabbits - if they're the arrival point - then I'm absolutely fucked. I'd be living Peggy Lee's nightmare.

But I don't fall out of love with the universe when events go this way rather than that way, so I'm never awaiting an arrival point. And if you're not awaiting an arrival point, then what's to celebrate, beyond the unceasing present moment?


That said, if you waited in line all day on a cold Minneapolis afternoon to buy a bottle of Surly Darkness imperial stout, and you were to offer me a taste of it just because it's My Special Day, I'll absolutely play along. And I'll also gladly pretend to celebrate your birthday.