Jia Lin’s Weblog

A book called �BLOG�

I fetched a book called �BLOG� last night from B&N, assuming it is a general introduction on blogging, and might be a reference to my research. ell, yes and no. Aside from some banal discussion of how political campaign and corporate PR/marketing can benefit from information obtained from using blogs, the author, a republican pundit, took every opportunity to attack liberals and CNN, and singing praise to GOP and FOX news. In a book with the title of �BLOG� that shinning in gold, he proposes that blog, with potential of equal to talk radio, is a weapon that conservatives have been and should be picking up to get even with the prevalence of mainstream liberal media. And he keeps reminding the readers (at least in two places in the book while I flipping the pages): if you are liberal, this book is not for you, go back to your Michael Moore movie. There are some very weird notes through the book, such as, the journalists are all liberal because, they hate their alumni who became richer by working for corporate, and �CNN begs audience to listen�.

My news consuming mostly takes place on cable news channel, and I happen to like almost all CNN news anchors, since they appeared reserved and intellectual (and CNN is going to cancel �Crossfire’ partly because of the criticism from Jon Stewart). When I watch FOX or MNBC, their threatoning and dramatic tone really turn me away. If one thing that Hewitt says right, those anchorman and anchorwoman from FOX do sound full of �revolutionary spirit�. Likewise, what make me uncomfortable about republicans are those conservative fanatics, such as this Hewight, who can not even talk straight about a technology in an impartial and calm tone; or that Ann coulter, the most famous blond right-wing writer in past two years, who declares that her upmost happiness is to see �liberals weeping, crying and threatening to move to Canada� (Time Magazine, Jan.17). Above of all, what make conservatives amazing is their ability to make it sound they are the oppressed group and unheard voice. In Chinese, we have a saying like �the thief call �Catch the thief�. That�s a very smart way to get away with the blame and cover oneself up along with the innocent. And that�s how I felt about him or the book when I flipping over the pages of �blog�. Though everyone knows media is owned and controlled by big corporate, let�s make it sounds far more liberal than it really is; though the nation is totally governed by Republicans, let�s make it sound as though the liberals are overwhelming. As an outsider, I do think the republicans are the noisier and more aggressive ones, however, it is the Democrats and liberals who look desperately seeking for attention.

I don�t deem myself democratic or liberal. Actually I am quite conservative in many ways: very slow accepting new art and new technology, stick to classic music and books (even the futon cover I just bought is so neutral and old-fashioned). I am for free trade, small government, but not low tax (which I think is very irresponsible for the people and society). And I think religion (at least for individuals) and family are very important, and a man married a woman is a better match (in Chinese, we says �yin�, the female, meets �yang�, the male), but just in my opinion. I did wish there was a change of regime only because I disagree with the lot of things the current president and his administration has been doing. His problem solving is really making no sense to me: invading Iraq to fight terrorism while the terrorists are in Afghanistan and nukes are in Iran and North Korea; cutting deficit by privatizing social security while spending more on a war a continent and an Ocean away; improving education by imposing standard exams to all children while cutting education budget; starting medical care reform from limiting legal action towards medical malpractice? The logic behind his proposals is either non-linear or suspiciously crooked. In Chinese we will describe such actions as �scratching the itch on your foot with your boots on�. It really doesn�t help much.

Then the secret weapon that the Republicans still rock the election and the country, after all that the administration has done, might be sought on their highly disciplined and very effective campaign team and the invincible propaganda machine. During the campaign season, we see all these prim and polished republican PRs speaks on TV in such a consistent tone and words, while not much novelty but very disciplined and strategic. And all these conservative pundicts like Hewitt or Coutler, have the courage to voice their partisan rants everywhere, funny sometimes,but very virulent most of times. I went to an assembly led by Michael Moore in UCLA during that time, and I said, boy, Democrats were not going to make it. Loosely organized, with 60�s rock-n-roll spirits, the event was a ride of transitory ecstasy and longer lukewarm stage wait. And it is no secret that Kerry failed by the inconsistency and lack of attacking spirits of his campaign team. Nonetheless, the reason that liberals are liberals is because they are, more or less, anarchical and in contempt of organized and institutionalized propaganda machine.

Then, it just comes into my mind, if Hewitt did not imbed those ideological comments to the book about blog, his publisher ,who seems to be much favor of the religious topics, may not want to publish his book called �BLOG�.

Pacific heights

Moving to Los Angeles, I found we are badly wanted by landlords. Our current property manager basically begged us over phone after her office hour back to take our current apartment, the second day we were in California. It turns out the applicant before us was a Con artist, who was charged for fraud as Spielberg�s nephew, and who used to pose for Child porn in Internet. Michelle, the manager was so glad that she let us move in the next day, a Saturday when she is supposed at home. She told us she was so worried earlier that we had to leave because the Con was applying first: �I felt so bad that I had to let the right persons go while I knew this guy has something wrong.�

While we started our second run of apartment seeking, after realize how impossible it is we could own a house in this city, we kinds see how disappointed the managers are when we do not take the apartments immediately after they show us. And they made us feel guilty. We used to see a two bedroom that owned by an old Jewish couple. Not very impressed but trying to be polite, the told the amiable old bald gentleman that we could not move in until two months later. You will think he will just let us go, since not many apartments in Westside can be vacant for that long. Guess what, �we can wait�, he said: �good people are more important than the rent�.

We don�t quite understand this logic. We got used to be a repressed class that has to borrow the property of evil capitalists, and were afraid of being kicked out in the cold and snowy winter night, like in movies. Renting in California is such a strict procedure, credit check, rent in personal check with home address, no moving-in if the deposit is in cash, and deposit usually is higher than monthly rent, all the fuss. How could we be begged by the smiley capitalists to move into their nice apartment? Is that because they could do whatever they want to us since we are �nice� and will not fight back (then they will be very wrong)? Is it a trap?

We don�t quite understand until we saw �Pacific heights� on Bravo! in the weekend. Oh, they want us so badly not because they can take advantage of us but because we will not harm them! Such enlightenment! There are so much harm an evil tenant can do to the landlord while being protected by law: not paying rent for a while, changing locks, damaging everything in the property and kept landlords at custody! Wow, Landlords should be very afraid of bad tenants. I wonder if the movie, shot in the late 1980s brought more paranoid to landlords, or the other way around, some desperate landlords behind the production of the movie cooked such a scary but taking story, a story about good landlords revenge against evil tenants since the law protect the latter instead of the former. I kind of withdraw my plan of starting a project of a bad landlord index on line, for the fear of bad tenants taking advantage, and totally give up plan of investing real property and being a landlord� but the movie is cool.

Call me na�ve

I did complain from time to time about scant share of material wealth, while deep inside I indulge in the self-admiration of intelligentsia image. Being in school for my whole life, and married to a man who has no interest at any type of science that serves business or production, I was fostered an ignorance, sometime a contempt, to business world. Call me naivet�; I did not recognize the power of money until recently. I thought power comes from knowledge, from intelligence, from social capital, or determination. No, no, no, all these are nothing to the world without being transformed into money.

Cuiqing, my college roommates back to China ran a small manufactory with her husband for several years. Making Mah-Jongg, the so-called national quintessence of China, is a very competitive business-All manufactures are tough nowadays. Compared to the money they made when they worked for press and advertising, they made less money. They are both well-educated and can just starting anything new or quit the business. �But what about my 100 something workers?� she said, �They can at least brought home 1000RMB today. I have to work hard for them.� Well, though she was the girl used to sleep under my bunk, she was way too beyond me now.

I believe there are tow kinds of people in the world, the innovators, the very few, and the consumers, the rest of us. I just came to realize without consumers, rich or poor, all innovations, technological or artistic, are in vein and may not be made possible. Business bridges the functions of these two groups, and the key persons in business, who controlled the money flow, makes the world different, for good or for bad.

Read an article from MIT technology review the other day forecasting the doomed defeat of Google by Microsoft. The author, who sold FrontPage to Microsoft for $130 million 8 years ago, justified Bill Gates� ruthless business expansion by his philanthropic ambition. Leila, Bin�s English tutor back to Buffalo, who hated everything the big corporations and this administration stands for, once said �I would not mind people like Bill Gates make a lot of money�.

In such a cynical world, it�s hard to declare one�s life goal as noble as fighting for world-peace, human rights, better environment, saving the poor and homeless. People who does that, well, they are so� well, alternative. While these alternative/Bohemian/liberal/idealists are quite preoccupied by all kinds of humanity courses and most of them not afraid to take the pain of those who suffer, the ones really make big difference are the ones hold the money bag. The man who initiated the prop 71 and now head of California stem cell policy board is not a biologist or a physician, but a successful real estate developer who has a son with diabetes. Amazon, Starbucks and Wal-mart are among the first groups, much earlier than President Bush remembered to express his shock at his Crawford ranch, to initiate donation for the South Asia tsunami. Each of them generate as much as money as the initial relief fund from any single nation.

I guess the world is better off with business or corporate, as long as these rich business men are not busy in expanding their ambition at the cost of people�s (employees, consumers and, well, people) interests and not only busy in �conspicuous consumption�(Verblen�s term to describe the rich using ornament and glitz to show off their class and wealth). On the other side of the coin, these two things are not necessarily leading to only negative results. For one thing, huge profit from big corporations often means big charities or art patrons; second, the willingness for extravagant spending, in a lot of occasions, indicates a spirit of innovators or early adoption of new innovations, which generally is a good thing in the process of civilization. In a nutshell, frog leaping from a naivet� to a sophisticator in a one night like I did, we still can�t see the world in black and white.