Edward Wasserman writes occasional "think" pieces for The Miami Herald which usually have some connection to Journalism. In his latest piece, though, he conflates two different types of writing: factual reportage vs point of view (op-ed) news columnists. I am utterly baffled as to why he did that.
# An intriguing glimpse inside the Al Jazeera English (AJE) newsroom in Doha which focuses on the process of techno-interactive journalism by Nikki Usher and Seth C Lewis at the Nieman J Lab.
# Muslim Rage at Romenesko:
Shawarma with no garlic sauce and more.
...
Tuesday, September 18
Friday, September 14
Most Hated: Part 4 -
How good was Dr Phil's
presentation of this story?
I'd say it was only so-so. Dr Phil is a psychologist who became a Television Agony Aunt. His staff prepares and gives him his poker hand for the show, which he plays out as best as he can.
I was disappointed that in his role as a psychologist, he missed a legitimate issue which should be explored in this case: it's not whether Zimmerman should have exited his vehicle that is the crucial question; it is, rather, whether the father of the young victim should have walked away from his son, leaving the teenager to his own devices.
The father in this case seems like a bit of a rolling stone. There is nothing wrong with having more than one maternal figures in a child's life. In my own personal life, I had three aunts who supplemented my mother's efforts at raising me, and I do not feel that was to my detriment. But it was the father who had custody of the teenager that night. And a juvenile is not considered responsible for making adult decisions.
Where was Tracy Martin when his son really needed him? Does Tracy Martin have any regrets about his decision to leave the children alone that night. If he could do it all over again, would Tracy Martin make the same choice? Unfortunately, we do not often have the opportunity for do-overs in Life. Has Tracy Martin learned anything from this tragedy? And, if so, what has he learned?
This afternoon, I understand, Dr Phil will present another show on the case. I'll try to catch it if I can, though I am not a fan of this practice. After a while, my patience tends to wear thin. And I don't like to get obsessed with any one case. Dr Phil's Staff maintains a discussion forum, also, for those who wish to express their reactions.
I don't expect to win any popularity contests by writing this. I am quite confident that Dr Phil already knows he has viewers who watch with a critical eye. If we can agree on anything, let's agree to support giving Due Process a chance.
Blog when you can!
...
presentation of this story?
I'd say it was only so-so. Dr Phil is a psychologist who became a Television Agony Aunt. His staff prepares and gives him his poker hand for the show, which he plays out as best as he can.
I was disappointed that in his role as a psychologist, he missed a legitimate issue which should be explored in this case: it's not whether Zimmerman should have exited his vehicle that is the crucial question; it is, rather, whether the father of the young victim should have walked away from his son, leaving the teenager to his own devices.
The father in this case seems like a bit of a rolling stone. There is nothing wrong with having more than one maternal figures in a child's life. In my own personal life, I had three aunts who supplemented my mother's efforts at raising me, and I do not feel that was to my detriment. But it was the father who had custody of the teenager that night. And a juvenile is not considered responsible for making adult decisions.
Where was Tracy Martin when his son really needed him? Does Tracy Martin have any regrets about his decision to leave the children alone that night. If he could do it all over again, would Tracy Martin make the same choice? Unfortunately, we do not often have the opportunity for do-overs in Life. Has Tracy Martin learned anything from this tragedy? And, if so, what has he learned?
This afternoon, I understand, Dr Phil will present another show on the case. I'll try to catch it if I can, though I am not a fan of this practice. After a while, my patience tends to wear thin. And I don't like to get obsessed with any one case. Dr Phil's Staff maintains a discussion forum, also, for those who wish to express their reactions.
I don't expect to win any popularity contests by writing this. I am quite confident that Dr Phil already knows he has viewers who watch with a critical eye. If we can agree on anything, let's agree to support giving Due Process a chance.
Blog when you can!
...
Most Hated: Part 3 -
What did I think about Mr and Mrs Osterman?
I respect their Freedom of Speech. TV Talk Shows depend to a large extent on guests plugging their new movies or books. But, regardless of anything they may have said, I did not appreciate being shown photos of Trayvon Martin at eleven years old or photos of him which appeared to be flagrantly manipulated.
This started out as what appeared at first to be a simple shooting, but the victim's father quickly got lawyered up, and the lawyer jumped into his advocacy role in a rush while making some very wrong guesstimates about what had happened. For example, it may have seemed like a White on Black Crime initially, but later turned out that the shooter is not a Caucasian; he is a mestizo or mixed-race Latino. The lawyer guesstimated that the underlying root cause of the shooting was Racism. Wrong again.
Then, the "aboutness" of this story started slipsliding away. Instead of Racism, it slowly emerged that the teenager was lacking adult supervision and was left to make his own juvenile choices.
If only teenager Trayvon Martin had never left that condo, he would certainly still be alive today. If only his father had sternly instructed him not to leave little Chad alone and not to go outside. But his father was busy somewhere else and was not there to instruct Trayvon. Perhaps, that decision to leave Trayvon behind will haunt his father for the rest of his life. Or perhaps not.
Continued . . .
...
I respect their Freedom of Speech. TV Talk Shows depend to a large extent on guests plugging their new movies or books. But, regardless of anything they may have said, I did not appreciate being shown photos of Trayvon Martin at eleven years old or photos of him which appeared to be flagrantly manipulated.
This started out as what appeared at first to be a simple shooting, but the victim's father quickly got lawyered up, and the lawyer jumped into his advocacy role in a rush while making some very wrong guesstimates about what had happened. For example, it may have seemed like a White on Black Crime initially, but later turned out that the shooter is not a Caucasian; he is a mestizo or mixed-race Latino. The lawyer guesstimated that the underlying root cause of the shooting was Racism. Wrong again.
Then, the "aboutness" of this story started slipsliding away. Instead of Racism, it slowly emerged that the teenager was lacking adult supervision and was left to make his own juvenile choices.
If only teenager Trayvon Martin had never left that condo, he would certainly still be alive today. If only his father had sternly instructed him not to leave little Chad alone and not to go outside. But his father was busy somewhere else and was not there to instruct Trayvon. Perhaps, that decision to leave Trayvon behind will haunt his father for the rest of his life. Or perhaps not.
Continued . . .
...
Most Hated: Part 2 -
Instead of exploring this issue . . .
Dr Phil attempted to Define Deviancy Downwards. Isn't the normative standard among the Black population to dump their kids somewhere and walk away from them? No, it isn't. Most of my longtime African-American friends came out of strong Baptist home environments. They represent a very large chunk of the Black population. They maintain more normative standards of parenting and child rearing.
By the traditional normative standards of a very large percentage of the African-American population and by virtue of some common sense, Trayvon was on that evening a "wayward youth in need of adult supervision." While the situation may not rise to a legalistic level, most adults should be able to recognize what has happened to the discussion of this case.
What is the predominant concern of the mainstream African-American family? Among my Black friends over the course of many years, one topic that often arises among African-American women is the thought:
Am I being too overly protective of my son
in light of the potential perils that may await him?
Youngsters need to learn to make choices and decisions; they learn from their mistakes, but the cost of my son making a poor choice may be too dear.
If I am too overly protective of him, he won't be able to learn from his experiences in making choices.
Over a long period of time, I have sat in on countless discussions about this topic, sometimes lasting until the wee hours. It is an often painful topic.
The Trayvon Martin situation deviates from the above mainstream template in one notable way:
It was the father, Tracy Martin, who was the custodial parent that night, not a maternal figure.
I honestly cannot imagine any Black mother I've known simply dumping their son in a strange place and then just walking away from him, leaving the kid to his own devices. To begin with, there is a long list of social signals such mothers are concerned about, trying to avoid taboo signals in order to avoid anticipated trouble or misinterpretation and emphasizing more positive social signals. Yet, even under the best of circumstances, a mobile phone device could be misapprehended as a weapon.
Happily, on that ill-fated evening, little Chad who was left behind all alone, did not stick his finger into an electric socket or drown the hamsters in the toilet bowl.
Unfortunately, the outcome for the teenager Trayvon was not so felicitous.
Continued . . .
...
Dr Phil attempted to Define Deviancy Downwards. Isn't the normative standard among the Black population to dump their kids somewhere and walk away from them? No, it isn't. Most of my longtime African-American friends came out of strong Baptist home environments. They represent a very large chunk of the Black population. They maintain more normative standards of parenting and child rearing.
By the traditional normative standards of a very large percentage of the African-American population and by virtue of some common sense, Trayvon was on that evening a "wayward youth in need of adult supervision." While the situation may not rise to a legalistic level, most adults should be able to recognize what has happened to the discussion of this case.
What is the predominant concern of the mainstream African-American family? Among my Black friends over the course of many years, one topic that often arises among African-American women is the thought:
Am I being too overly protective of my son
in light of the potential perils that may await him?
Youngsters need to learn to make choices and decisions; they learn from their mistakes, but the cost of my son making a poor choice may be too dear.
If I am too overly protective of him, he won't be able to learn from his experiences in making choices.
Over a long period of time, I have sat in on countless discussions about this topic, sometimes lasting until the wee hours. It is an often painful topic.
The Trayvon Martin situation deviates from the above mainstream template in one notable way:
It was the father, Tracy Martin, who was the custodial parent that night, not a maternal figure.
I honestly cannot imagine any Black mother I've known simply dumping their son in a strange place and then just walking away from him, leaving the kid to his own devices. To begin with, there is a long list of social signals such mothers are concerned about, trying to avoid taboo signals in order to avoid anticipated trouble or misinterpretation and emphasizing more positive social signals. Yet, even under the best of circumstances, a mobile phone device could be misapprehended as a weapon.
Happily, on that ill-fated evening, little Chad who was left behind all alone, did not stick his finger into an electric socket or drown the hamsters in the toilet bowl.
Unfortunately, the outcome for the teenager Trayvon was not so felicitous.
Continued . . .
...
Dr Phil's Most Hated Man -
Credit the Dr Phil Staff for coming up with a fresh angle to the Trayvon Martin Shooting Case: the substitution of the teenager's longtime stepmother, Alicia Stanley, for his birth mother who has been much featured in the Media heretofore.
Unfortunately, this substitution could give viewers who haven't been following the case closely the impression that Trayvon was with his stepmother before he ventured outside to buy some refreshments. He was not.
Moreover, this figures into a trope which has been circulating about this situation. Dr Phil referred to this trope when he exclaimed that Trayvon went out for some candy and came home dead. Similarly, it has been frequently repeated that Trayvon was where he was supposed to be when the tragedy occurred. Sadly, this is not the case at all.
Many former Latch Key Kids can tell you that when they came home from school, they were responsible for supervising their younger siblings in the absence of their parental figures.
Keeping in mind that Trayvon Martin is not on trial here, he was a juvenile who cannot be held responsible for making choices about adult matters. His custodial parent was responsible for dumping the teenager in a strange place and then walking away from his son. Even if the father had to leave his son there, the father should have strictly instructed his son to stay in the condo and do not leave the premises, because Trayvon was left with a nine-year-old child.
When Trayvon left the condo to buy refreshments, he left the young child, Chad, unsupervised. The little boy could have stuck his finger into an electric socket or turned on the stove or put hamsters in the toilet bowl. Trayvon should have stayed in the condo that evening.
Continued . . .
...
Unfortunately, this substitution could give viewers who haven't been following the case closely the impression that Trayvon was with his stepmother before he ventured outside to buy some refreshments. He was not.
Moreover, this figures into a trope which has been circulating about this situation. Dr Phil referred to this trope when he exclaimed that Trayvon went out for some candy and came home dead. Similarly, it has been frequently repeated that Trayvon was where he was supposed to be when the tragedy occurred. Sadly, this is not the case at all.
Many former Latch Key Kids can tell you that when they came home from school, they were responsible for supervising their younger siblings in the absence of their parental figures.
Keeping in mind that Trayvon Martin is not on trial here, he was a juvenile who cannot be held responsible for making choices about adult matters. His custodial parent was responsible for dumping the teenager in a strange place and then walking away from his son. Even if the father had to leave his son there, the father should have strictly instructed his son to stay in the condo and do not leave the premises, because Trayvon was left with a nine-year-old child.
When Trayvon left the condo to buy refreshments, he left the young child, Chad, unsupervised. The little boy could have stuck his finger into an electric socket or turned on the stove or put hamsters in the toilet bowl. Trayvon should have stayed in the condo that evening.
Continued . . .
...
Wednesday, September 12
Libyan Fanatics Claim Provocation -
The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, has been murdered, reportedly by a fringe group of militant Salafi-style religious extremists there, and Gainesville Florida Pastor Terry Jones is being blamed for promoting an anti-Moslem movie which is alleged to have caused this death as a violent reaction to film clips from it which were posted on the Internet.
The security level at U.S. diplomatic posts worldwide has been raised in response to these developments.
:: TampaBay :: - - - :: Reuters ::
...
The security level at U.S. diplomatic posts worldwide has been raised in response to these developments.
:: TampaBay :: - - - :: Reuters ::
...
Tuesday, September 11
Browsing Around -
Even more on the
Philip Marlowe Controversy . . .
with Ace Atkins commenting. I don't have a very crisp residual image in my mind of what Philip Marlowe must resemble. Bogart was always just Bogart to me; I thought Powers Boothe did a pretty good job of it.
Who or what is Philip Marlowe anyway? I think he is best summed up by the famous "Mean Streets" quote, which may define a formula or a sensibility. Certainly, I have a clearer residual image of Jim Rockford, even though I never paid much serious or active attention to each episodic story. I was hooked on his telephone answering machine messages. Yes, I was addicted to them. Each week I tuned in just to hear them.
Does Philip Marlowe deserve to live on?
If enough people want him to survive, he will.
# Jo Nesbo, the Norwegian crime
writer, comments on Anders Breivik.
# SI Rosenbaum writes about the
late comics genius, Harvey Pekar.
# Much Buzz: Telegraph Avenue
by Michael Chabon reviewed
by Jess Walter at SFGate.
...
Philip Marlowe Controversy . . .
with Ace Atkins commenting. I don't have a very crisp residual image in my mind of what Philip Marlowe must resemble. Bogart was always just Bogart to me; I thought Powers Boothe did a pretty good job of it.
Who or what is Philip Marlowe anyway? I think he is best summed up by the famous "Mean Streets" quote, which may define a formula or a sensibility. Certainly, I have a clearer residual image of Jim Rockford, even though I never paid much serious or active attention to each episodic story. I was hooked on his telephone answering machine messages. Yes, I was addicted to them. Each week I tuned in just to hear them.
Does Philip Marlowe deserve to live on?
If enough people want him to survive, he will.
# Jo Nesbo, the Norwegian crime
writer, comments on Anders Breivik.
# SI Rosenbaum writes about the
late comics genius, Harvey Pekar.
# Much Buzz: Telegraph Avenue
by Michael Chabon reviewed
by Jess Walter at SFGate.
...
Saturday, September 8
Tea For Two or Maybe More -
The "aboutness" of this story
is becoming increasingly slippery . . .
Dr Phil McGraw's TV show on this coming Monday September 10th will feature Mark and Sondra Osterman, who are friends of George Zimmerman, and Alicia Stanley-Martin, the woman who raised Trayvon Martin on a day-to-day basis. A preview of the show is available.
I am linking to an entry on another Blog which follows this case because the blog entry addresses an issue which has become increasingly cogent in the Mainstream News Media: the relationship between Astroturfing and Semiology.
In the field of Semantics
they often say: The map is not the territory.
That means that the sign is not the same as the thing which the sign is describing or pointing to. This is an important distinction.
Journalists are taught to get not only the basic facts, but they are also taught to collect as much detailed information as they can because one can not predict whether some little factoid will become much more pertinent and important at some future point in time.
It has been reported that Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton were Trayvon Martin's parents. But what does "parent" mean?
The word has numerous and diverse meanings: sperm donor, biological parent, birth parent, custodian, significant adult, etc. It turns out that "parent" can be a fungible issue. It may take a village to raise a child if his parents are serial polygamists and busy elsewhere.
Who were Trayvon Martin's real parents and where were they after they abandoned the teenager on somone else's private estate which conspicuously warns: You are under surveillance; any suspicious behavior will be reported to
the police.
Of course the Dr Phil Staff has to come up with an "angle," because that's what the Media does. Will the "aboutness" of this story still be the same after the Dr Phil Treatment?
I don't know and can't predict that, but
I'm going to try to catch the program, too.
:: Last Refuge Blog :: on Dr Phil Show ::
...
is becoming increasingly slippery . . .
Dr Phil McGraw's TV show on this coming Monday September 10th will feature Mark and Sondra Osterman, who are friends of George Zimmerman, and Alicia Stanley-Martin, the woman who raised Trayvon Martin on a day-to-day basis. A preview of the show is available.
I am linking to an entry on another Blog which follows this case because the blog entry addresses an issue which has become increasingly cogent in the Mainstream News Media: the relationship between Astroturfing and Semiology.
In the field of Semantics
they often say: The map is not the territory.
That means that the sign is not the same as the thing which the sign is describing or pointing to. This is an important distinction.
Journalists are taught to get not only the basic facts, but they are also taught to collect as much detailed information as they can because one can not predict whether some little factoid will become much more pertinent and important at some future point in time.
It has been reported that Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton were Trayvon Martin's parents. But what does "parent" mean?
The word has numerous and diverse meanings: sperm donor, biological parent, birth parent, custodian, significant adult, etc. It turns out that "parent" can be a fungible issue. It may take a village to raise a child if his parents are serial polygamists and busy elsewhere.
Who were Trayvon Martin's real parents and where were they after they abandoned the teenager on somone else's private estate which conspicuously warns: You are under surveillance; any suspicious behavior will be reported to
the police.
Of course the Dr Phil Staff has to come up with an "angle," because that's what the Media does. Will the "aboutness" of this story still be the same after the Dr Phil Treatment?
I don't know and can't predict that, but
I'm going to try to catch the program, too.
:: Last Refuge Blog :: on Dr Phil Show ::
...
Thursday, August 30
New Judge For Zimmerman -
An appellate court has ordered Judge Kenneth Lester to recuse himself and directed the chief circuit judge to name a replacement after George Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara accused Lester of bias against his client.
Zimmerman, a mixed-race Latino, faces one count of second-degree murder for the death of Miami Gardens teenager Trayvon Martin earlier this year. Zimmerman was his neighborhood's Crime Watcher, according to a HOA newsletter.
The Sanford Police Department’s decision not to arrest Zimmerman immediately triggered protests and threats from Black Power groups. An elderly couple unconnected to the case was forced to flee their home in fear for their lives after allegations that they were somehow implicated in the death of the teen. And a special team of Community Affairs officers from the DOJ had to be dispatched to calm the area.
The private gated community which was the scene of the tragedy may be facing a bleak future, as some of the groups want it demolished and Trayvon Martin's mother has many years of experience in administrating Public Housing.
The Orlando Sentinel expects Lester's replacement to be Circuit Judge Debra S Nelson, 58, who is another felony trial judge with a reputation for tough sentencing.
...
Zimmerman, a mixed-race Latino, faces one count of second-degree murder for the death of Miami Gardens teenager Trayvon Martin earlier this year. Zimmerman was his neighborhood's Crime Watcher, according to a HOA newsletter.
The Sanford Police Department’s decision not to arrest Zimmerman immediately triggered protests and threats from Black Power groups. An elderly couple unconnected to the case was forced to flee their home in fear for their lives after allegations that they were somehow implicated in the death of the teen. And a special team of Community Affairs officers from the DOJ had to be dispatched to calm the area.
The private gated community which was the scene of the tragedy may be facing a bleak future, as some of the groups want it demolished and Trayvon Martin's mother has many years of experience in administrating Public Housing.
The Orlando Sentinel expects Lester's replacement to be Circuit Judge Debra S Nelson, 58, who is another felony trial judge with a reputation for tough sentencing.
...
Last Gasp of Summer -
August, when many people go
on vacation, is usually a quiet month in the Press.
Especially just before Labor Day, people often
skip reading newspapers altogether.
That's when the British tradition of Silly Season comes to the rescue, but reporter Jason Rodrigues tells us that this year the stories in this genre have been scant.
Enjoy!
:: Guardian ::
...
on vacation, is usually a quiet month in the Press.
Especially just before Labor Day, people often
skip reading newspapers altogether.
That's when the British tradition of Silly Season comes to the rescue, but reporter Jason Rodrigues tells us that this year the stories in this genre have been scant.
Enjoy!
:: Guardian ::
...
Tuesday, August 28
Browsing Around (5#) -
Quirke, the Banville detective, is going to make his television debut in a new series from BBC One. Gabriel Byrne of
The Usual Suspects fame will portray the character.
# Dorothy B Hughes, a forgotten Mystery writer, is the subject of a recent blog entry by Christine Smallwood at
The New Yorker.
# Cold Hands by John J Niven is a suspenceful crime tale told in flashback from recuperation in Florida; reviewed here by LJ Hurst.
# Detectives investigating the strangulation death of a 16-year-old girl are trying to determine whether her accused killer might have been acting out a violent fantasy from a video game. [via Romenesko]
# A flaneur's memoir: Paris by
Julian Green; reviewed by Charlotte Newman.
+ Have been a bit busy lately.
...
The Usual Suspects fame will portray the character.
# Dorothy B Hughes, a forgotten Mystery writer, is the subject of a recent blog entry by Christine Smallwood at
The New Yorker.
# Cold Hands by John J Niven is a suspenceful crime tale told in flashback from recuperation in Florida; reviewed here by LJ Hurst.
# Detectives investigating the strangulation death of a 16-year-old girl are trying to determine whether her accused killer might have been acting out a violent fantasy from a video game. [via Romenesko]
# A flaneur's memoir: Paris by
Julian Green; reviewed by Charlotte Newman.
+ Have been a bit busy lately.
...
Thursday, August 23
News Notes From Florida (3#) -
George Zimmerman's attorney has filed a motion asking for a modification of bond conditions so that Zimmerman is not required to remain in Seminole County.
# A sneaker flea market dealing in
limited edition athletic shoes has raised the ire
of residents living in one Miami neighborhood.
# More than 1,000 oxycodone pills
went missing in Palm Beach County.
...
# A sneaker flea market dealing in
limited edition athletic shoes has raised the ire
of residents living in one Miami neighborhood.
# More than 1,000 oxycodone pills
went missing in Palm Beach County.
...
Monday, August 20
From Weekend Browsing -
How did an Englishman who was a product of Dulwich College in the UK become one of the most eminent Mystery authors in the United States?
Just in time for the revival of Private Eye Philip Marlowe comes a new biographical study of author Raymond Chandler, A Mysterious Something in the Light by Tom Williams, reviewed here by Xan Brooks.
:: Speaking of Raymond Chandler:
An interview with Tom Williams at The Rap Sheet.
# Memoir of Humphrey
the grumpy grey parrot by Ben Fogle.
# After The Floating Admiral found a new readership from its recent reissue, Harper Collins is reissuing Ask a Policeman at the end of this month, according to Martin Edwards, who has written a new introduction for it.
# An Argentinian thriller called The Islands by Carlos Gamerro is reviewed by Anthony Cummins. It's about a Buenos Aires hacker who gets caught up in corporate skulduggery.
# Elena Seymenliyska interviews writer Joseph Connolly about his nostalgic gallery of colorful characters and his latest novel, England's Lane.
...
Just in time for the revival of Private Eye Philip Marlowe comes a new biographical study of author Raymond Chandler, A Mysterious Something in the Light by Tom Williams, reviewed here by Xan Brooks.
:: Speaking of Raymond Chandler:
An interview with Tom Williams at The Rap Sheet.
# Memoir of Humphrey
the grumpy grey parrot by Ben Fogle.
# After The Floating Admiral found a new readership from its recent reissue, Harper Collins is reissuing Ask a Policeman at the end of this month, according to Martin Edwards, who has written a new introduction for it.
# An Argentinian thriller called The Islands by Carlos Gamerro is reviewed by Anthony Cummins. It's about a Buenos Aires hacker who gets caught up in corporate skulduggery.
# Elena Seymenliyska interviews writer Joseph Connolly about his nostalgic gallery of colorful characters and his latest novel, England's Lane.
...
Friday, August 17
Some Loose Lit Links -
Judith Flanders shares some moody background on Benjamin Black, the alter ego of John Banville. I think it might be a mistake to take it too literally, though, since the new Philip Marlowe story would be a Neo-Noir.
# Eve Bowen tells us about a large
compilation of material by the late Edward Gorey.
# Catch a short story by
I.B. Singer at the New Yorker.
# Dark and Stormy Night:
Wretched Writer Winners 2012.
...
# Eve Bowen tells us about a large
compilation of material by the late Edward Gorey.
# Catch a short story by
I.B. Singer at the New Yorker.
# Dark and Stormy Night:
Wretched Writer Winners 2012.
...
Tuesday, August 14
Are These Streets Still Mean? -
Humphrey Bogart is a hard act
to follow; so is Raymond Chandler . . .
When last we heard of the Private Detective Philip Marlowe, he was being portrayed by Powers Boothe in an old HBO production which was broadcast on a subchannel of one of Florida's public TV stations a couple of years ago.
The news that Irish author John Banville will write another story featuring Marlowe has not pleased everyone. Malcolm Jones thinks it's a terrible idea.
Let's try to be optimistic. There have been numerous "neo-noir" stories which have been very successful. Does anyone really believe this fuss is only about a book? Surely, a movie option is a gleam in someone's eye.
Let's remember some of the more enjoyable examples of this genre: Chinatown, L.A. Confidential, Mulholland Falls, Scam, and Get Shorty.
We wish Banville well with his project.
...
to follow; so is Raymond Chandler . . .
When last we heard of the Private Detective Philip Marlowe, he was being portrayed by Powers Boothe in an old HBO production which was broadcast on a subchannel of one of Florida's public TV stations a couple of years ago.
The news that Irish author John Banville will write another story featuring Marlowe has not pleased everyone. Malcolm Jones thinks it's a terrible idea.
Let's try to be optimistic. There have been numerous "neo-noir" stories which have been very successful. Does anyone really believe this fuss is only about a book? Surely, a movie option is a gleam in someone's eye.
Let's remember some of the more enjoyable examples of this genre: Chinatown, L.A. Confidential, Mulholland Falls, Scam, and Get Shorty.
We wish Banville well with his project.
...
Monday, August 13
Weekend Browsing -
A case that started in a Miami hotel room in 1986 involving Krishna Maharaj and Derrick Moo Young is the basis for the book Injustice by Clive Stafford Smith, a book about the death penalty in America.
:: Reviewed here by Michael Burleigh.
# The City of Brighton: "To James and Gaylor, these are crime scenes, real and imagined. The imagined can illuminate the real, James says, and can help us better understand ourselves and each other. He says this is why he writes crime novels."
Vicki Barker on the background
:::: of Dead Man's Grip at NPR.
# "Raymond Chandler's estate have chosen John Banville to write a new Philip Marlowe novel... Can John Banville resuscitate Philip Marlowe?"
# Dennis Wheatley goes to war.
...
:: Reviewed here by Michael Burleigh.
# The City of Brighton: "To James and Gaylor, these are crime scenes, real and imagined. The imagined can illuminate the real, James says, and can help us better understand ourselves and each other. He says this is why he writes crime novels."
Vicki Barker on the background
:::: of Dead Man's Grip at NPR.
# "Raymond Chandler's estate have chosen John Banville to write a new Philip Marlowe novel... Can John Banville resuscitate Philip Marlowe?"
# Dennis Wheatley goes to war.
...
Thursday, August 9
Chameleon Raises Suspicions-
Last week, a 52-year-old Cuban-born man with family in Miami was pulled over on a traffic stop in Central Florida and charged with driving without a valid license and violating his probation in a grand theft case.
At the police station, a police officer observed that Roy Antigua's military ID looked fake, which prompted an investigation into Antigua's background.
Although there is no mention of a search warrant in the Tampa Bay Times article, Antigua was discovered to be keeping a wardrobe of diverse uniforms, law enforcement paraphernalia and costumes in his living quarters in
New Port Richey.
Detectives did not find a weapons cache there, but did find some ammunition and a pair of handcuffs. His vehicle, an Escalade, has a Department of Homeland Security registration sticker.
Law Enforcement would like to know more about him: is he a threat to society or merely an entertainer from a TV series like Burn Notice?
:: Erin Sullivan :: Tampa Bay Times ::
...
At the police station, a police officer observed that Roy Antigua's military ID looked fake, which prompted an investigation into Antigua's background.
Although there is no mention of a search warrant in the Tampa Bay Times article, Antigua was discovered to be keeping a wardrobe of diverse uniforms, law enforcement paraphernalia and costumes in his living quarters in
New Port Richey.
Detectives did not find a weapons cache there, but did find some ammunition and a pair of handcuffs. His vehicle, an Escalade, has a Department of Homeland Security registration sticker.
Law Enforcement would like to know more about him: is he a threat to society or merely an entertainer from a TV series like Burn Notice?
:: Erin Sullivan :: Tampa Bay Times ::
...
Monday, August 6
A Trayvon Flurry (4#) -
The psychological warfare against residents of the gated community in Sandford within which George and Shellie Zimmerman lived continues. A new memorial to the teen visitor Trayvon Martin has been set up nearby, but we have not been given a context photo that gives us a sense of its whereabouts within that environment.
Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, has applied for compensation benefits from a state fund which was established to help crime victims and their families pay for funeral and related expenses. A claims analyst with the Attorney General's Office notified Fulton that she had been deemed eligible for benefits from the Crimes Compensation Trust Fund.
Lawyers representing Sybrina Fulton have filed a claim for monetary damages against the Travelers insurance company which insures the Retreat at Twin Lakes homeowners association (HOA), but Travelers issued an insurance policy to the HOA effective March 30th, which commenced after the tragic events on that property. Travelers is seeking some clarification of its obligations.
* * * * *
"Florida’s public-record law needs to bow to a defendant’s right to a fair trial," attorney Jose Baez said. "Some woman sitting behind her computer with nine cats knows more about the case than anybody."
Thank you to Jose Baez - I think - for the left-handed compliment. He was just kidding about the nine cats.
I am not exactly an unknown person. I used to blog for Harvard Law School, among other things. I agree with Jose that Florida's public-record law needs some tweaking in order to better preserve Due Process.
* * * * *
Off the cuff . . . it used to be when there was an untoward death, relatives used to sue for things like: being denied the love and comfort of their spouse or being deprived of a sum of money for their relative's estimated earnings. In this light, the lawsuit going after the HOA's insurance company is not entirely unexpected.
But Trayvon Martin's parents threw in some new wrinkles here by trademarking some discreet parts of him which I haven't been keeping track of. Thus, I'm not really very clear what kinds of litigations we may be seeing.
...
Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, has applied for compensation benefits from a state fund which was established to help crime victims and their families pay for funeral and related expenses. A claims analyst with the Attorney General's Office notified Fulton that she had been deemed eligible for benefits from the Crimes Compensation Trust Fund.
Lawyers representing Sybrina Fulton have filed a claim for monetary damages against the Travelers insurance company which insures the Retreat at Twin Lakes homeowners association (HOA), but Travelers issued an insurance policy to the HOA effective March 30th, which commenced after the tragic events on that property. Travelers is seeking some clarification of its obligations.
* * * * *
"Florida’s public-record law needs to bow to a defendant’s right to a fair trial," attorney Jose Baez said. "Some woman sitting behind her computer with nine cats knows more about the case than anybody."
Thank you to Jose Baez - I think - for the left-handed compliment. He was just kidding about the nine cats.
I am not exactly an unknown person. I used to blog for Harvard Law School, among other things. I agree with Jose that Florida's public-record law needs some tweaking in order to better preserve Due Process.
* * * * *
Off the cuff . . . it used to be when there was an untoward death, relatives used to sue for things like: being denied the love and comfort of their spouse or being deprived of a sum of money for their relative's estimated earnings. In this light, the lawsuit going after the HOA's insurance company is not entirely unexpected.
But Trayvon Martin's parents threw in some new wrinkles here by trademarking some discreet parts of him which I haven't been keeping track of. Thus, I'm not really very clear what kinds of litigations we may be seeing.
...
Saturday, August 4
Low Key Botched Ferret (4#) -
At first, it seemed like a botched narrative in a still murky crime story. Officer Down was reported and something about a drug bust, although the drug wasn't identified. But as the breaking news story continued to unfold, its "aboutness' somehow evaporated . . .
According to this article in a recent issue of The Miami Herald, everything you thought you knew about acquaintances growing marijuana plants in their bathtubs
is wrong.
Instead, three reporters want to persuade us that there are now marijuana moguls who are operating chains or syndicates of marijuana nurseries in middle class bourgeois neighborhoods; each syndicate consisting of maybe 20 such nurseries.
Instead of operating a group of 7-Eleven stores or name brand Pizza shops, they picked marijuana. Instead of growing the crop in an out of the way fallow field or clearing in the woods, they're installing these nurseries in middle class residential neighborhoods.
This seems to be coming straight out of the Ministry of Banana Republic Disinformation, because there is no evidence provided to substantiate the mythos. Numerous Americans living in South Florida have reacted angrily to the allegation. The funniest angry reaction went along these lines:
Don't take this stuff too seriously because many of these stories are now concocted in India where much of this newspaper is currently being manufactured. They don't know beans in New Delhi about what is actually going on in South Florida; it's just more entertainment to them.
As a Crime Watcher in South Florida, have I ever come across a syndicated grow house, which was part of a chain of such nurseries? No, I haven't. I'm not saying you're a liar; I'm just saying that I've never encountered this phenomenon before.
Not quite a successful
Reverse Ferret. Who botched it?
# To Boldly Go:
:::: Shatner's back, and NASA's got him.
# Pussy Riot Trial:
:::: Some people live for this stuff.
...
According to this article in a recent issue of The Miami Herald, everything you thought you knew about acquaintances growing marijuana plants in their bathtubs
is wrong.
Instead, three reporters want to persuade us that there are now marijuana moguls who are operating chains or syndicates of marijuana nurseries in middle class bourgeois neighborhoods; each syndicate consisting of maybe 20 such nurseries.
Instead of operating a group of 7-Eleven stores or name brand Pizza shops, they picked marijuana. Instead of growing the crop in an out of the way fallow field or clearing in the woods, they're installing these nurseries in middle class residential neighborhoods.
This seems to be coming straight out of the Ministry of Banana Republic Disinformation, because there is no evidence provided to substantiate the mythos. Numerous Americans living in South Florida have reacted angrily to the allegation. The funniest angry reaction went along these lines:
Don't take this stuff too seriously because many of these stories are now concocted in India where much of this newspaper is currently being manufactured. They don't know beans in New Delhi about what is actually going on in South Florida; it's just more entertainment to them.
As a Crime Watcher in South Florida, have I ever come across a syndicated grow house, which was part of a chain of such nurseries? No, I haven't. I'm not saying you're a liar; I'm just saying that I've never encountered this phenomenon before.
Not quite a successful
Reverse Ferret. Who botched it?
# To Boldly Go:
:::: Shatner's back, and NASA's got him.
# Pussy Riot Trial:
:::: Some people live for this stuff.
...
Tuesday, July 31
Miami: Versions & Facsimiles -
Burn Notice, a cable TV spy series which has gone into some broadcast syndication, is reported to be facing an uncertain production future in the Miami area because its lease on the Coconut Grove Convention Center is going to expire in October. The recent Miami Herald article about the problem seems less like reportage and more like free publicity.
I made a point of watching the series a few times mostly because it was supposed to be showcasing recognizable landmarks in South Florida. I thought the series pretext seemed a bit weak, but I didn't mind much because I enjoyed the character portrayed by Sharon Gless.
Roy Greenslade at The UK Guardian is reporting that McClatchy, parent company of The Miami Herald, is planning to erect a paywall on the newspaper website. I don't think this move will have a felicitous outcome. I believe it will mark the demise of The Miami Herald as an English-language publication.
Recent years have seen a massive exodus of English-literate residents in the Miami area. Many of those leaving have complained that fluency in Spanish is now required in order to work there. Many Americans have no interest in learning Spanish or in Hispanic culture. Miami today is widely regarded as a foreign city.
Traditionally, The Miami Herald has been oriented toward the tourist industry and its transient visitors. But in recent years there have been fewer American visitors who now tend to detour to the theme parks in the Orlando area in Central Florida.
I don't think transient visitors would have any interest whatsoever in paying for access to a local newspaper.
I expected the direction the newspaper would take would be toward publishing a paper artifact on Fri-Sat-Sun with the rest of the week online.
I believe the paywall is a big mistake and its failure will be used to end the English-language edition altogether.
What else is in the works around here . . .
I've heard rumors that they're working on a giant vacuum tube which will be used to suck visitors directly from the Miami airport to Miami Beach. But that's probably just a fairytale like the rumors about holographic avatars being installed in other airports. Some people have very active imaginations ;-)
...
I made a point of watching the series a few times mostly because it was supposed to be showcasing recognizable landmarks in South Florida. I thought the series pretext seemed a bit weak, but I didn't mind much because I enjoyed the character portrayed by Sharon Gless.
Roy Greenslade at The UK Guardian is reporting that McClatchy, parent company of The Miami Herald, is planning to erect a paywall on the newspaper website. I don't think this move will have a felicitous outcome. I believe it will mark the demise of The Miami Herald as an English-language publication.
Recent years have seen a massive exodus of English-literate residents in the Miami area. Many of those leaving have complained that fluency in Spanish is now required in order to work there. Many Americans have no interest in learning Spanish or in Hispanic culture. Miami today is widely regarded as a foreign city.
Traditionally, The Miami Herald has been oriented toward the tourist industry and its transient visitors. But in recent years there have been fewer American visitors who now tend to detour to the theme parks in the Orlando area in Central Florida.
I don't think transient visitors would have any interest whatsoever in paying for access to a local newspaper.
I expected the direction the newspaper would take would be toward publishing a paper artifact on Fri-Sat-Sun with the rest of the week online.
I believe the paywall is a big mistake and its failure will be used to end the English-language edition altogether.
What else is in the works around here . . .
I've heard rumors that they're working on a giant vacuum tube which will be used to suck visitors directly from the Miami airport to Miami Beach. But that's probably just a fairytale like the rumors about holographic avatars being installed in other airports. Some people have very active imaginations ;-)
...
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