the beat goes on

The general consensus, in the office today, on the matter of the Libby indictment is a. good and b. what about rove? Yes, the liberals have a blood thirst, although as far as weeks go, this sho hasn't been much of one for Bush. Truth be told, I don't feel, and have never felt, that burning liberal hate for the Bush administration. I tend to hold the political view that all politicians are the same (what is that view called again?) but, still, it's nice to see something resembling justice and I enjoyed this Salon piece about the situation (you have to watch a quick ad to read the article, FYI).
Man, this has been one convaluted and crazy scandal. And it ain't over yet. Of course, the role of the media is part of what makes this all so interesting.
On another note, slightly related, note, at least Robert Vigil resigned. Finally. Just got the press release from the gov about the search committee to replace Vigil. FYI:

Governor Bill Richardson today announced the members of a bipartisan search committee he has appointed to identify qualified candidates for the position of State Treasurer.  The committee will be co-chaired by Kim Sanchez Rael, a member of the Board of Finance and an Albuquerque businesswoman, and Craig Reeves, the President and CEO of the First National Bank of New Mexico in Clayton.  The group will present a list of three finalists to the Governor in about a week.
“The new Treasurer must be a have extensive experience as a financial manager, impeccable credentials and unquestionable character,” said Governor Richardson.  “I am confident the committee will provide an outstanding list of candidates, and I will choose the best of them to help restore the credibility and integrity to this important office.”
The committee consists of legislators, financial experts, and representatives of business and banking.
“This process will be non-partisan and non-political,” added the Governor.  “The main goal is to rebuild public confidence in the office and show the investment community New Mexico has resolved this difficult situation and is on solid financial ground.”
According to the state constitution, the Governor must appoint a replacement to serve until the next general election, which takes place in November, 2006.  The members of the search committee announced today by the Governor include:

Phil Archibeck- Banker, Albuquerque
Richard Ledbetter- Banker, Farmington
Bruce Malott- CPA, Albuquerque
Paul Bardacke- former NM Attorney General, Albuquerque
Rep. Jeanette Wallace, Los Alamos
Rep. John Heaton, Carlsbad
Rep. Larry Larrañaga, Albuquerque
Rep. Kiki Saavedra, Albuquerque
Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort, Albuquerque
Sen. Joe Fidel- Grants
James Jimenez, DFA Secretary
Don Kidd- Banker, former state senator, Carlsbad
David Weymouth- Banker/Investor, Albuquerque
Steve Keene- CPA, Albuquerque
Derrick Watchman- Banker, Phoenix
Judy Espinosa- State Treasurer’s Office, Bureau Chief Admin. & Outreach, Santa Fe
Don Chalmers- Businessman, Albuquerque/Rio Rancho

So there's that.
In a completely unrelated piece of news (except everything's connected, right?), as you may recall Chilacas was slated for a council review and, Wednesday night, as we had our Halloween party, the council voted down letting Chilacas be a nightclub (my friend Joe Ray Sandoval, who has been running hip hop there since The Paramount closed) stopped by our party afterwards to give me the 411. As a result, tonight's Love Gun and Holllis Wake show, booked for Chilacas, have been cancelled, and the band members I've spoken to were pretty bummed. They also wondered how it was that the council drags its feet on so many things, but managed to vote this down so quickly (hey, it's a perception, thus valid). The band members are now out all the money they shelled out for this gig, not to mention the money they turned down for other gigs (Halloween weekend a big night for working musicians). They also have a newly embittered view of city politics. I see that as the bright side, though. It's hard to get certain segments of Santa Fe's populace particularly interested in Santa Fe politics, unless it hits home, and now it has. I told one of the band members it's not too late for him to run for city council.
I, however, must now decide how to spend my Friday night. I'm thinking Half Rack. I'm also secretly thinking SLEEP (well, not so secretly I guess), but I'm trying to stay motivated. Jesus, though, Halloween kind of takes it out of you around here. There's way too many Halloween thangs. On the bright side, I don't have to judge and/or MC the Swig Halloween Party this year, since they are not speaking to us (they're mad that we wrote that they were for sale after they denied it to us; but we had heard it all over town so, you know, we are a newspaper. Actually, I've now heard multiple times who they've sold to, but I haven't nailed it down yet).
On another tip, we had an interview with SF Police Chief Bev Lennen this week because I knew she was retiring and asked Dan to interview her. Lo and behold, on Thursday, both The New Mex and Journal run stories about her retiring. I wrote The Journal a snippy note asking them to remember to credit us when they follow our stories. The reporter told me he'd known for a while Lennen was retiring but was holding off on running it. Uh huh. I believe him; I thought everyone knew. But Lennen told Frosch that everyone started calling city hall after our article came out, so it wasn't really public knowledge, and apparently the dailies hadn't done anything on it. I love accidentally scooping people. I kind of assumed it had been written about already, which is why we covered it in the interview, rather than as a news article per se. But I guess the only place it had been made public was on Channel 16, during Zozobra.
 Well, I need to go talk to my reporters. There's a Fran Gallegos scoop in the air today they need to find out about before I let them leave.
Hey, Happy Halloween. Remember, any holiday that's about chocolate and dress-up is good.

Jen, Dan and I at SFR's Halloween Party at Vanessie's. Look for more photos on our website from the many, many attendees. Hope you were one of them. We had a blast.

playing catchup

OK, first of all, WTF?. I really don't think airplanes should be able to fly into NY buildings anymore. Not good.
Closer to home, this morning we had our endorsement interview with US Sen. Jeff Bingaman, which wasn't exactly exciting, but definitely more exciting than his challenger, Allen McCullough, who was one of a handful of candidates over the last decade who just wouldn't do our our pop quiz, and who during the primary just didn't even bother to show up for an endorsement interview and whose arrival for his scheduled general election endorsement interview I also am not holding my breath about (hello: grammar?) Actually, I thought Bingaman did well and provided some interesting insights, or at least commentary, on the current state of the world, which I should probably go write down this afternoon so I don't have to replay the entire cassette two weeks from now (a pile of cassettes of these interviews are piling up about three inches from where I am sitting now).
A few thoughts on the McCullough situation. Many of the more conservative/Republican candidates will occasionally remark, when coming in for endorsement interviews, upon their belief that they are unlikely to receive our endorsement. But they come in and they talk and they explain their views and answer our questions. Because they are running for office. They participate in our pop quiz series because we have 50,000 plus readers and they are running for office. It's what you do. You don't have to, but you're not insulting us when you refuse to participate, you're insulting our readers. And, for the record, we have endorsed plenty of Republicans in our time. We endorsed Pat Lyons four years ago for that matter, and some appeals court judges, I believe, and, anyway, the point is, this is part of the process. Refusing to return phone calls, not showing up, basically just gives a preview to what kind of public servant you'd be: the kind who doesn't bother responding those you believe to not be your loyal supporters, which doesn't strike me as a very viable option for positive public service. I mean, hell, John Dendahl is on his way in here this afternoon. I would wager a guess that every candidate will show up. So what's the deal here? That kind of arrogance drives me bonkers. So we'll see if I have to recant and if McCullough does indeed show up for his endorsement interview. If he does, I will be sure to note it!
Anyway, here's Slate's piece on the status of the mid-term elections.
The #1 technorati search term at the moment is "jonny," but when you search on it all you get is an error message. Lots of those error messages with technorati lately. Very annoying.
George Johnson finally weighed in our water piece from a few weeks ago. I was a little surprised to not have heard a word from him on this, since George's blog has probably watchdogged the water situation here better than anything/one. But I suppose being in Santa Barbara is a pretty good excuse for being a few weeks behind on things.
I feel perpetually behind on everything, but it's entirely possible that I'm a perfectionist. An extremely sloppy one, but, still.

deadlines

I am controlling myself from checking on the writer-who-is-running late today, but it is taking all of my control. The writer has good reason to be late: lots and lots of copy, a great little story that I can't wait to hit the streets tomorrow, all written under the glaring eye of an editor who can't stand it when things are late. I seriously can't stand it. I am a deadline freak. So I am distracting myself by blogging distractedly. OK, well, here's some good news, which is that we actually found Lalo. I have never known a missing cat to be found before so this was quite an accomplishment, although it seems to me, now, that Lalo wasn't so much missing as perhaps hiding. Anyway, Dan, Jonanna and I set out wandering the Zia Vista Apartment Complex, armed with my ridiculous flyers ("old, skinny, no tags, likes tuna"). Because I grew up in an apartment complex sort of like Zia Vista and spent quite a lot of time wandering about it pretending I was a private detective (long story) this sort of made me feel like a kid again, particularly as we stumbled upon residents and others, all of whom seemed suspicious, and began hatching a theory that Lalo had, in fact, been abducted (as everyone wants an old, skinny cat with tuna breath). We also began trying to venture down into the Arroyo to search for Lalo (or his body), but were thwarted by bramble and our own sockless shoewear (this was not exactly a Search and Rescue team here). Anyway, we then spotted Lalo in the parking lot, pretty much right by Darius' house. He proceeded to run away from us (hence my hiding versus missing theory), but we coaxed him back upstairs and began speculating about what might have happened to him (I was voting for amnesia). We then fed him tripe (blech) and tuna (ugh) and attempted to rebond and show him some love. All's well that ends well. Meanwhile, back at my own animal house, the handicapped dog ramp has been completed, but the aged dog in question is having nothing to do with it. The other dog loves running up and down it (it's actually carpeted), but Kita puts one foot on it and then turns around and stomps away very crankily.
OK, I'm checking my in-box for the last story of the issue one more time now. More later, I hope.

Pilgrims, Hip Hop, Religious Fervor and a Dash of Tepid Resistance

A colleague just asked me if I thought it "bad" that she was happy Good Friday pilgrims were getting cold this morning as they walked to Chimayo. She said she found herself thinking, "that's what they get for being zealots." I told her I didn't know if it was "bad," but, certainly, not a great use of energy. I, personally, have nothing against religious zealots per se. I've interviewed people making that pilgrimage many times. I think whatever people need to make themselves happy, stronger, better people is fine, be it religion, pilates or good works. So be it. Just stay out of my business and don't tell me how to live, I'll stay out of your business and we can all do our part to try to make the world suck a little bit less. As philosophies go, it's neither original nor brilliant but it is, nonetheless, becoming a bit rarified.
I know I said I was going to lay off the morning TV news, but addictions are hard to break and, apparently, getting worked up over coffee and CNN is an addiction for me. All the segments this morning had religious overtones. At first, forgetting it was Good Friday/Easter weekend, I found this alarming. Once I remembered there was reason for all the religion in the news this morning I felt, um, well, no less alarmed actually. CNN showed the protesters in front of Terri Schiavo's hospice first. Now that is a heartbreaking story. I can fully understand her family not wanting to give up or let go or take the chance that their daughter is going to experience starving to death and then die when there's a possibility that wouldn't happen. And yes there is a possibility. There is, after all, always a chance anything can happen. But that doesn't excuse the interference by politicians and others. Perhaps their interest is
deontological but I doubt it. One thing I can say for sure, it's a pretty suck time to be an empiricist.
The second story was about the connections between religion and rap music, and cited Kanye West's
"Jesus Walks" as a prime example, and also interviewed Rev. Run [DMC] who, apparently, may end up with an MTV show that follows him and his congregation (presumably in Reality TV-style). The segment was, as TV news tends to be, somewhat lacking in context or useful insight, although I did enjoy it when the interviewer asked the MTV reporter if this meant that now "Jesus is cool."
Finally, I would like to draw y'all's attention to the tepid New Mex editorial about The Patriot Act. The editorial notes that an ad-hoc organization called Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances has formed and is trying to find some modest middle-ground changes to The Patriot Act and hope that by keeping it modest, they may be able to appeal to Bush and other right-wingers who are inclined to leave The Patriot Act as is. Thus, opines The New Mex, "New Mexicans and the rest of the nation should take heart in this approach to the recovery of basic freedoms."
Yes, New Mexicans and the rest of the nation, take heart in the fact that the ACLU and others are so desperate to repeal some of the most anti-constitutional measures of The Patriot Act that they will join forces with conservatives (the few that are constitutional conservatives, not just the religious kind) to try to repeal just a few things, like letting the government search libraries and tap phones and search houses without warrants). Let's compromise on freedom of speech, separation of Church and State. After all, it is heartening to know we might be able to get a little leeway on these things.
I know one shouldn't take anything for granted but you know what? We should be able to take those things for granted and there should be no need to compromise. They shouldn't have been passed in the first place.

Foiled by Javascript and my Inadequacies

Well, I've just wasted more time than I can stand to admit attempting to load a poll onto this blog. Apparently, it won't load or, possibly, I am html-challenged. Sigh. Anyone who can help me troubleshoot this will be given a major shout-out (I know, very motivating).
In other news:

It is like so summer. I wasn't quite ready for the sudden 90 degrees. On the bright side, my friend Darius' pool is open. On the downside, people may go spontaneously blind upon viewing me in a bathing suit. Or turn to salt. Or stone. Or something.
But, toward the goal of less jiggle I have joined the WOW Sunbelt Challenge. Info on this project from the Office of women's Health can be found at this website Basically, I've attached a pedometer to my jeans which is now tracking my every step. My goal is to walk 10,000 steps a day which, in the course of three months will put me on a virtual course through Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico (which are not, for the record, the states I would choose to walk through if, for some reason, I decided to spend three months walking across states). Now, for those of you who know me, you might find the prospect of me signing up for some health-related walking challenge a little out of character, and you wouldn't be wrong. This is what happens when you accidentally become friends with people involved in public health issues. God I miss my crack-addict friends (note to FBI: I'm joking). So, wish me luck. How many times do you think I have to walk around the block to reach 10,000 steps a day? A million? In all seriousness, I have a very competitive nature and plan to try very hard to make it to Louisiana. Maybe we all get imaginary gumbo when we're done.
In other news, yesterday the papers announced that City Councilor David Coss had announced his possible consideration of running for mayor. Coss mentioned this to me a month or two back when we were both at a social function, but I guess I didn't realize it was news (so much for that killer news nose). In all seriousness, Coss is one of several councilors rumored to be a mayoral contender. Also Pfeffer, and Wurzburger, and I wouldn't be supershocked if Ortiz jumped in either. Not to mention Larry running again. And realtor Karen Walker, who already said she was running. And Muni Judge Fran Gallegos, also "considering" running. And God knows who else. This is why it would be a good idea for the city's Charter Commision to revamp the charter for runoffs before the next mayoral election. First of all, the city needs some shaking up and it doesn't need a mayor elected by 25 or 30 percent of voters. Runoffs will clarify and change the entire tenor of the election and help ensure that the next mayor was, at least, the majority of voters' first or second choice. So go charter commission.
On another note, I think these stories about people "considering" running for office stuff BS. Basically, it really isn't a news story, it's a cheap way for prospective candidates to let as many people as they can know (without lifting a finger or spending a dime, except to call the dailies' city reporters) that they might run if they get enough support. You get a page 1 story about a potential candidacy and no one calls, you're in trouble.
Speaking of trouble, this story about wild horses really bothered me. In a nutshell, the House is blocking the government from selling wild horses because those horses have been "ending up in processing plants and on the tables of foreign restaurants." I mean, I'm glad they are blocking it, but I just feel really sickened at some of the things that happen in this world of ours. And things that happen to animals and children, who can't protect themselves, are the worst.
I can't offer a segue, but here's my next topic.
Both The New and The Journal had stories today about the RFP for the next LANL manager. The New Mex's story seemed more thorough (which was surprising, I usually think of The Journal as having much better LANL coverage), but there were several things in The New Mex's story that seemed weirdly unexplained for the average reader. Or, perhaps I should say, for this reader. They were:

1. In discussing the criteria for the RFP, one of the areas given the greatest weight is science and technology, "bidders must show they can foster an environment of scientific skepticism..."

Now, a quick google search helped me out here, as I learned that scientific skepticism is not the same as good 'ol regular skepticism. According to Wikepidia:

"Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (UK spelling, scepticism) sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a scientific, or practical, epistemological position (or paradigm) in which one does not accept the veracity of claims unless they can be scientifically verified.
This article does not deal with philosophical skepticism which is the school of thought in which one critically examines whether the knowledge and perceptions one has are true, and whether or not one can ever be said to have true knowledge."

In other words, the next LANL manager needs to test the science to make sure it works, not just walk around saying things like, "Yeah, right, that's gonna clean up radioactive waste."

2. I didn't really understand how one is supposed to synthesize the idea that the RFP scores each contender on a variety of factors numerically with the fact that "the person selecting the winning proposal" is Thomas Paul D'Agostino..."he is functioning now as the landlord for Los Alamos..."

Um, three things.

1. Why is he choosing if they are being scored? That doesn't sound like the most epistemological thing I've ever heard. I mean, even the hot dog vending permits in Santa Fe had a committee evaluate their proposals.
2. What the hell is "the landlord for Los Alamos"
3. Who is this guy again?

I have, at this time, gotten nowhere in answering the first two questions, and made little headway with the third, except to learn that in the late '90s, D'Agostino was a DOE representative who attended a 10-month program at the College of Naval Warfare. This from an online government newsletter archived on the Internet:

"The CNW, the senior-level program at the Naval War College located in Newport, Rhode Island, focuses on national security policy and strategy, national security decision-making, and joint military operations. Tom D'Agostino, who was recognized as a "Distinguished Graduate" for his contributions and for graduating in the top 10% of his class, states that "my experience at the Naval War College was exceptional and unique. The College provided me with the knowledge and expertise to deal with national security policy issues, understand and implement different decision-making processes and tools, and most importantly, interact with senior civilians and military service members on a variety of national security concerns." According to Mr. D'Agostino, "a significant benefit of having a DOE representative at the Naval War College was that it provided the opportunity to explain the Department's role in national security." Upon completion of this program, graduates receive a Masters of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies."

Believe it or not, there is almost nothing else about this guy out there. But I've only done a perfunctory search. I thought I might go do my work now and play Crazed Internet Detective later.

Still, I have to say, when it comes to this whole LANL RFP my guess (or vote, if I could figure out how to put this freaking javascript poll up) is that the fix is in already as to who the next manager will be.
But, ya know, I'm a bit of a skeptic, the regular—not scientific—kind.

back from evanston

It was, as expected, hot and muggy in Evanston, a little suburb of Chicago, where I spent the weekend at the Medill writers' workshop, both attending and working. AAN's editorial and diversity committees met over the weekend, and I am a member of both. I also critiqued four writers attending the workshop. In between, I attempted to make the Internet work in my hotel room and tried not to pass out from the humidity. Highlights of the weekend were visiting the home of the Chicago Reader owner (the outgoing owner I suppose I should say ) Bob Roth, who has the most insanely impressive collection of Outsider Art I've ever seen, including at least three by Henry Darger. (As proof that I am really not fit for polite society, I actually attempted to photograph some of the art on my cell phone when the host wasn't looking. Fortunately, they are such bad photos that I am not going to embarrass myself by posting them.
I have a strange antipathetic relationship with Evanston, which is a perfectly pleasant town that works my nerves. On the one hand, it's very lively and easy to get around (even for me, queen of getting lost while walking around the block). Within three blocks of the hotel are: Whole Foods, Starbucks and Urban Outfitters, my favorite evil corporate chains. Unfortunately, there never seems to be a whole lot else—although I haven't really given it that thorough a search. It's pretty and the university campus is nice, the lake is lovely. I don't know. I may just be psychologically incapable of saying anything nice about the suburbs, although in some ways it's less suburban than parts of Santa Fe. Although I never really think of Santa Fe as being suburban at all...except for, maybe, Eldorado and Rancho Viejo.
Anyway, I digress. I flew home yesterday feeling quite under the weather, passed out upon reaching home and now, here it is, Monday again. I am trying, now, to plan a real vacation (well, a real three-day vacation anyway) with the boy for LA in September. Am researching cheap deals online. I need to see the beach! And now I need to get back to work!

blog roundup on Richardson

I can't even begin to fathom the Journal's five part series on Richardson. I mean, on the one hand, that's ambitious journalism. But on the other hand, that's just too much information. At least for me. Joe brought up some interesting points about the Journal's series, you can find it toward the bottom of his post, under "hometowning it" or something like that.
Right now, Hillary is #1 in the technorati searches and Richardson isn't even in the top 10, but a search of blogs about him did reveal a this amusing post.

My Great Big Fat Newspaper Conference with David Iglesias, Rudy Giuliano

I'm home! And it is really hot here and people still drive badly! But I only have seven phone messages!

I am having technical difficulties with the interview of me interviewing former US Attorney David Iglesias. Iglesias was the keynote speaker at AAN's First Amendment luncheon. He did very well and seemed to be well-received. I have the interview in two clips, one short and below, one long and too big for me to post to youtube. I'm working on figuring out how to get it online. If you have any suggestions, let me know.



And here is the photo of me with Rudy Giuliani, which was taken by accident. Giuliano was NOT a guest at the AAN convention. He was down the street at a coffeeshop where I unwittingly went in search of a bagel. Giuliano assumed Byron (my colleague from Willamette Week) were there to see him. So he came up and shook our hands. Byron whipped out his camera, Rudy moved in and, voila. Can you see the fear in my eyes?

the paper chase

There comes a point, in my office, where the OSHA hazard reaches such a critical juncture that not only can I not find anything, but even I am distracted by the mess. My office has reached that point and then some, but I am ignoring it until I get through the ignomonious task of sorting all the writing contest entries into their respective piles. I am, these days, my own intern and when people ask me if I have an assistant I give a sad little laugh that sounds very much like a cough.
Yesterday was one of my favorite holidays: FALL BACK DAY! Part of my weird penchance for privacy includes a love of the early morning. It's not enough for me to be alone in my house, I can only really feel alone if I know that the vast majority of people in town are still asleep. FALL BACK DAY is great because I am up even earlier than usual! Unfortunately, by the time it hits 8 am, so are many other folks. The other downside of FALL BACK DAY is the early onset of darkness. I don't actually mind that for my own sake (it could be dark all the time as far as I'm concerned; except when I'm at the pool or the beach) but I do mind it for poor Nero's sake. Yesterday, he seemed to get very frantic, starting at about 4:30 pm. I could almost see him thinking: "Listen, we got less daylight. You need to take me to the dog park EARLY. If go at the normal time, it will be DARK and I won't be able to see what I'm humping." By the time the boy was off work and we were actually at the dog park, Nero had worked himself into quite a state. He ran and ran and ran up to every single dog, wagging his tail so hard, one person remarked that it looked like it was going to break in two. Nero learned how to hump just last year and, while I'm grateful he doesn't hump every dog, he does usually find one dog to jump on, despite my explaining to him, repeatedly: "You have no balls. I was there when they were cut off." (In point of fact, I assisted in the surgery and held up his balls in order for them to be cut).
The great family visit is over, culminating in a nine-person dinner Friday night. Some of you may recall that last year I found out that, via marriage, I have some kind of familial connection to state Supreme Court Judge Patricio Serna. Anyway, the cousins through which that bond exists drove down here from Colorado, and a friend of my mom's flew in from Texas, and Serna and his wife also joined in, thus the 9-person dinner. There was lots of talk, earlier in the evening, of family and traditions. For example, it turns out that it is actually a genetic trait that women on my mother's side of the family are bad housekeepers. And independent, although in my grandmother's generation, this was apparently difficult to pull off because the women tended to put off their careers for their husbands. Case in point: My grandmother only finished two years of law school (I personally find it kind of remarkable she went to law school at all back then). My mother's cousin also pointed out that on my mother's side of the family there are only seven living relatives left (that counts me). I guess we are doing our part to combat population growth. He also wanted to know the reason I have blue eyes, since every other person in my family (on both sides) has brown eyes. According to my mother, this can be traced to my maternal great-grandfather, who was, allegedly, Lithuanian. I say allegedly because it turns out there is actually no information about virtually any of my ancestors, and no trace of them (my mother attempted some kind of geneology search). My cousin had thought my eye color might be related to some long-ago Cossack rape. (The first time I'd heard that theory).
Unsurprisingly, on Saturday, when the family visit came to an end, I took a very long nap. Sat. night, a group of us went to St. Francis where we had abysmal service, although there seemed to be some kind of movie-related drama going on...I couldn't figure out what it was though, I'll have to see if I can do so today. What else? Oh yeah, Tom Udall. Clearly he's the Dems' best bet for that seat and I'm guessing he'll go for it. It's the right thing to do, although I guess it looks like Chavez could take down either Wilson or Pearce too. (My money is on Wilson to win that primary). I sort of wish Udall would stay put, since if he runs it looks like I'll have to conduct endorsement interviews for the third congressional race with every Democrat breathing in northern New Mexico.
Ah the burdens we bear.

it's all about me

OK, obviously it isn't, but I was just catching up on my blog reading and came across Steve Terrell's recent look at the phrases or keyboards that bring people to his blog. (You know, someone does a search for something and your blog comes up on google or msn or whathaveyou). Steve had gotten the idea from Mario and I thought it would be fun to check out recent phrases people had searched under that had brought them to my blog as well. Here they are:

blog julia nicaragua 2005
julia goldberg
santa fe lesbian blog
julia goldberg and blog
julia goldberg
julia goldberg
julia goldberg
noah santa fe blog
giovanna rossi
clementine daniel kovnat
julia goldberg
bill payne santa fe
mormon weddings
san isidro jeff branch
julia goldberg

Ahem. I think this is a good sign my blog has been way to obsessed with julia goldberg lately. Well, shit, it's my blog and I'll self obsess if I want to.
So this morning I woke up and almost freaked out when I realized that, for the first time in a long time, I actually felt like a human being. I walked my dogs with a bounce in my sneakers and I only blew my nose once.
I fell asleep last night reading an advance reader's copy of Jay McInerney's The Good Life in which the characters from Brightness Falls ( a very good novel) are back. This time, the decadent 80s are behind them, as are the faux-conscientious '90s, and a 40-something couple are plunged into New York, circa 9.11, where they grapple with marital problems amidst a city that has been attacked by terrorists. McInerney's a good writer, but the book is pretty lame; it feels cheap to me. Cheap and dated. Is there anything of less interest than how 9.11 impacted wealthy, spoiled and disaffected New Yorkers? Because emotionally that's pretty much all that's going on here and it's freaking irritating. And, frankly, the entire book smacks of insincerity. I mean, if McInerney was Armistead Maupin that would be different. Then it might be OK to have serial characters in real situations reacting. But this is 4 years after 9.11 and McInerney seems to be trying to pass off the vagaries of people struggling with their romantic lives after 9.11 as profound. Further, the insider literary world McInerney did so well in Brightness Falls doesn't play as well in today's real literary world where every ambitious publishing assistant and their sister has published their own first novel filled with insider looks at the New York publishing world. I mean, seriously, who cares? I love that kind of shit and I don't even care.
OK, enough railing on Jay McInerney (I guess I'm disappointed; I really did like Brightness Falls).
Tonight I'm going to hopefully see Munich. I haven't left my house in six days, except to work, so this will be my first attempt to be amongst people and remain germ free. No, I will not be wearing a face mask (although I finally understand the allure of such things).
OK, now that I feel better, I hopefully can say I am back. After all, with so many blogs, I may need to rachet things up to keep my readers. I don't want to lose them to The Bill Richardson Blog after all.

corruption

This just in:

Rio Arriba County Magistrate appointee David Valdez today informed the Governor’s Office that he was withdrawing his name and would not be able to serve.  Valdez admitted that in 1983 he had been found in contempt of court and had been punished for failure to pay child support, but did not disclose that information prior to his appointment.  Governor Bill Richardson last week announced his intention to appoint Valdez to the position after reviewing a list of qualified candidates offered by a search committee named to assist in the selection of a new Magistrate for Rio Arriba County.
Valdez misled the Governor’s Office by not disclosing the information on his appointment application and lied about it when questioned by Vince Ward, Deputy Chief Counsel for the Governor.  Furthermore, a background check of electronic law enforcement and court databases revealed no indication that such an incident had been reported to the state.

Of course, earlier today former state treasurer Michael Montoya plead guilty to extortion and admited he started taking bribes as soon as he got into office."
And then, last week, Judge Fran resigned and faces criminal charges Nov. 21 in mag court.

I really think the governor should create an Office of Suspicion, or some such thing, and staff it with the most intrepid investigators he can find. They should have total autonomy to oversee all government agencies from top to bottom and root out any corruption and nip it in the bud. It's really kind of disgusting what appears to have gone on, unchecked, in the state treasurer's office, for years and years and years. And not just there. Why the hell was a public education department employee looking at some form of kiddie porn while at work (or at all, for that matter). What is wrong with people? Granted, I am an ADMITTED SPEEDER but so far this has been a victimless crime (not counting the damage I've done to my checking account paying tickets) and I've learned from my mistakes. Now I drive the speed limit and let everyone and their grandmother tailgate me, pass me and terrorize me in general (and never, it seems, get pulled over but hey, let's not get off topic). Is it just the old axiom that absolute power corrupts? Or is there something more insidious at play here?
Or are we back to the Hobbsian world-view I've been working so hard to eschew?

bloody hell

The big problem of the day is that Lalo, Darius' cat, appears to be missing. On the bright side, Dan is in town so I am not actually responsible for Lalo being missing. The downside is, this isn't about me (I know everything isn't about me), it's about poor Lalo. So after work Dan, Jonanna and I are going on a search for Lalo with flyers I've made up (they read as follows: "Old. Skinny. No Tags. Likes Tuna"). There are many other things one could say about Lalo, who actually originally comes from the Middle East (perhaps he's been picked up by Homeland Security? Not funny Julia). I am making bad jokes about Lalo because it's so awful that he's missing I can't even stand it. I also don't know where we are going to look for him as he never really goes anywhere.
In other news, if all goes well we may have quite the little scoop for Wednesday. But I don't want to jinx it... or let the cat out of the bag. Oh God—that wasn't even intentional.

burn baby burn

Our art director asked me if I knew where the fire was as I walked in this morning. I drove here practically still unconscious so I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but then realized he was right: it was hot and hazy and my eyes are burning which normally means something is burning somewhere. Did perfunctory email check (usually get notified of fires) and Internet search, but nothing so far. Fatigue this morning owing to combination of continued insomnia plus staying up too late. I was a judge last night at the Poetry Slam at Bar B, which was the slam that chose the Santa Fe team for the... um, semi-finals in Albuquerque? Nationals in Albuquerque? I don't know. Something. Discovered it's much easier to sit through several hours of spoken-word poetry if you get to hold up numbers judging the poets. Tony Santiago was unbelievably good. Still, wasn't home until 1230 or in bed until 130 and I have vague memories of looking at the clock hourly until giving it up at 730 and getting out of bed. This week I am on major cat-sitting patrol. One of my friends has two half-blind cats I am feeding twice a day. Another has a cat that likes to SCRATCH and needs to be given an antibiotic that HE DOESN'T WANT once a day. Clearly I am going to heaven for all this and/or being reincarnated as a fabulously wealthy beautiful person or, at least, a pampered dog. OK, better get the agenda ready for the morning's meetings. Vayos con dios.

no news is good news

Things I disapprove of today:

1. The expression "no news is good news."
2. A move to change The Museum of Fine Arts' name to The New Mexico Museum of Art. Waste of money and time and also now when a person says, "Oh yeah, I saw it at the MFA" no one will know what they are talking about or, worse, will correct them. Almost as inane as changing Villa Linda Mall to Santa Fe Place (but not quite because nothing is as inane as that).
Let's just call The MFA: Museum #1. Maybe I should change my name to: Woman Three Desks from the Back.
3. Weird dust bits flying through the air today.
4. Instructions on Blogger.com about how to do stuff which are not very clear and are huge time-sucking waste.
5. Today's editorial in The New Mex about Georgia O'Keeffe which was, in news jargon, a big blowjob and very annoying.
6. The fact that someone landed on this blog today by doing a google search on "older people screwing." Why? Why? Why?
7. The fact that my ipod adapter in my car has frayed wires and keeps cutting in and out.
8. The fact that I'm too young to remember anything about Watergate and Deep Throat but starting to get too old for other things (too enervated to go into details)
9. The fact that my good mood of the morning has suddenly become cranky-pants desire to write lists of things I don't like.
10. weird pain in shoulder.

OK, I'm going to go over to Site Santa Fe and see the Paul Sarkisian show and, with any luck, that will bounce me out of this sudden blackness of mood and back into my usual relatively-upbeat productive mode.

An Eight Mile Walk, John Steinbeck, Another Piercing, A New Convention Center, and my friend Darius

As the title of this post may reveal, my thoughts are all over the place this afternoon, following a weekend of some heavy and overdue soul searching. I won't reveal to you the full content of this search, as it's not very news-driven, but suffice it to say I had a little bit of a dark moment that began Friday afternoon after work and continued throughout the weekend. Finally, Sunday morning, I walked for about eight miles from downtown, up to St. John's, back around, detouring here and there finding, as I often do, that thinking while walking usually results in a better result than thinking while sitting, or thinking while drinking (which is what I did Friday and Saturday night).
Trying to muddle through my muddled thoughts, I remembered something from John Steinbeck's "Log from the Sea of Cortez," a book I've always loved. I read it as one of my final classes in grad school, which was a Steinbeck seminar, taught by the late Louis Owens, who also was my thesis advisor, and whose death I still mourn and think of. The point in the book, and I don't remember it precisely, has to do with teleological thinking and un-teleological thinking, as well as a spiritual way of looking at the world called, I believe, "Breaking Through," which is basically like an epiphany, but is a very specific kind of ephiphany in which one realizes that everything is connected and either everything matters or nothing does. So these were my thoughts as I walked and walked and walked and as I walked I made some decisions which are, again, not anything anyone needs to hear about.
One of those decisions (and I realize this probably makes little sense) was to get my nose pierced. A few years ago, after something happened that made me feel about half as stupid as what happened Friday made me feel, I got my navel pierced as a way of sending myself a message along the lines of, "You are acting like a 13-year-old girl." My nose piercing is going to serve as a reminder along the lines of, "Some things are as clear as the nose on your face." Anyway, I can always take it out.
Now on a completely different topic, I think SFR readers will enjoy Arts and Culture Editor Zane Fischer's take on the proposed new convention centers, on display in model form through Wednesday at Sweeney Center. I just looked at the pictures in The New Mex (you can read the article here, but unfortunately they don't have the photos on the online version) over the weekend and they made me laugh, mostly because they all look exactly the same, at least to the non-exacting eye who is unable to distinguish between the slight variations of Pueblo and Territorial style. Yawn.
The New Mex followed up with its Nanos/LANL story on Saturday with, they said, information that was deleted from the story before. Still no mention of Kuckuck's problem with the whistleblower that I mentioned a few days ago. Why is that, I wonder? The Journal Santa Fe weighed in on Sunday, positing that Nanos' exit was good for the lab, noting, somewhat weirdly I thought, that while making everyone mad is a tenet of good journalism, it isn't necessarily "good management." I'm completely unclear about why they decided to gauge the situation in these terms, although given how mad everyone always is at me, I guess by the Journal's standards, I'm doing a good job.
On a completely different, but slightly related (more related than comparing good journalism with good nuclear laboratory management anyway), note there's an interesting AP story regarding Craig's list that I think everyone should read. Basically, Craig Newmark, who started craigslist.org, which has been a major competitor to newspaper classified advertising, wants to expand to the role of community journalist, and have a bevy of amateur journalists digging up news and reporting it. The gist of what he's saying is that regular newspapers have become too staid and that's why they are losing readers, and that guts and energy are more important than constantly quoting officials and being "objective." I'm still processing the article, but I'm interested to hear other's thoughts.
Finally, a shout out to my friend Darius, who is one of many of my friends who held my hand during my little existential breakdown this weekend and is a really good, smart, caring person. Now if we could only clone him!