Transcript of the David Foster Wallace Interview...(this is almost entirely for Scott)ironic function like in postmodern fiction started out with a rehabilitative agenda. Largely it was supposed to explode hypocrisy -- certain hypocritically smug ways the country saw itself that just weren't holding true anymore. The problem is that when irony becomes in and of itself just a mode of social discourse, that is it's not really about causing any sort of change any more, it's just sort of a hip, cool way to do it -- to speak and to act, to sort of make fun of everything and yourself... <a href="http://www.daily.umn.edu/ae/Print/1997/08/st/interv.html">minnesota daily.</a>this guy is so cool he can cooly be uncool. 07ElsewhereDanielSaturday, November 16, 2002publishSaw 8 Mile tonight and it was good but that has nothing to do with this postMusic piracy is not about ethics. It just seems that way, because the RIAA and the free music mafia have framed it in those terms. On planet Earth, however, song-swappers aren�t looking to strike a blow against the evil record industry. At least, I�m not � I�m just sick of high album prices and limited availability, which defy sense in the Internet age. <a href="http://wired.com/wired/archive/10.12/view.html?pg=2">wired: burn baby burn.</a>Don't u ever wonder why a little internet startup gets the full frontal from the RIAA and yet established hardware manufactures have been making duplication devices for decades without so much as a peep? 06MusicDanielSaturday, November 16, 2002publish1,000,000's of blog tools overcome humble homespun developerI've violated my promise to myself to only blog once today three times already, but...more blog tools, some in a very similar vein to what I'm doing...still deciding if this is really worth it... --<a href="http://bigblogtool.com/index.php">bigblogtool</a> heh, he said "tool" --<a href="http://nucleuscms.org/">nucleus cms</a> frighteningly close, but is it close enough? --<a href="http://wbloggar.com/">wbloggar</a> just a win32 client for the BloggerAPI; maybe I should just support the API and use something like this on the desktop --unrelated but anyway <a href="http://www.theweblogreview.com/index.php">theweblogreview.com</a> --<a href="http://www.cafelog.com/">b2</a> i've known about and don't think it's as classy as billed --<a href="http://www.blogalia.com/">blogalia</a> i was like "blog ale ya?" or "blog ails ya?" until i saw it was en espanol. maybe kathy (hi! u still out there?) can use this one. --<a href="http://www.drupal.org/index.php">drupal</a> wowowow ...although 2 things i always notice with OS projects are 1. lack of decent docs and 2. lots of dredge (my word for useless or overly complex features) --<a href="http://scoop.kuro5hin.org/">scoop</a> good lord i'm just at this a few minutes and they keep popping out of the wordwork! maybe i should make a list a while... I'm still trying to figure out why everything is so blog-centric. Blogging is so...so...linear. ...Also, I fixed some amazing freudians in my first post of today. 05DesignDanielThursday, November 14, 2002publishTribunal Judges Order Psychiatric Evaluation for Milosevic<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/14/international/europe/14HAGU.html?ex=1037941200&en=ffe6abab4a57c409&ei=5040&partner=MOREOVER">Yeah</a>.How about this one from a psych grad: he's a homocidal fookin loony.Ok. 04BalkansDanielThursday, November 14, 2002publishSoftware Release SchedulesOptimistically, we could have a 1.0 by the end of 2003. Pessimistically, it will be 2004. I've never been entirely comfortable with this response, so this is my chance to dissect the issues surrounding Chandler's schedule...Software, like construction projects, is typically late, sometimes very, very late. It typically takes longer and is much harder than any estimates....this from a <a href="http://blogs.osafoundation.org/mitch/000044.html">very big wig</a>, working on a high-profile ...um... something, that, like SWM, isn't much more than vaporware ATM... 03DesignDanielThursday, November 14, 2002publishTom Petty is Awesome<img alt="petty_logo.jpg (5K)" src="images/petty_logo.jpg" height="304" width="180" align="left">You know, I saw a billboard in New York I wish I had photographed. It was for the TNN network. It said three words against a patriotic background of red, white and blue - BIGGER, YOUNGER, RICHER. Just one of many jems: <a href="http://rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=16913&cf=399">tom petty in rolling stone magazine</a>, (itself a bastion of gross consumption). Tom has been one of my musical heroes for a while, but now he's just my hero. (via <a href="http://mpt.phrasewise.com/2002/11/10#a383">mpt</a> via my newsreader, of course) 02MusicDanielThursday, November 14, 2002publishThere are only going to be two themes on this site for a while......the progress of SWM and the progress of M's health... I'll start with the easy one: SWM is s-l-o-w, but moving. Good thing is I'm building this site on it, so that's a little motivation. Other good news is I'm building it in Cold Fusion for a client, which will mean it will be released in CF and PHP version right off the bat. Other good news is I've spent a lot of time thinking hard about the architecture, making sure I don't do something that will seriously screw things up in the future. I don't want to be completely rewriting this thing down the road just because there's some killer feature I need in it. I'm also trying to build it in proper Object Oriented PHP. It's not there at all yet, somehow I still have to think linearly (you can tell I'm not a proper programmer), then I can pull out each piece and create an object for it. But hell, even the basic functionality isn't there yet; I'm still building the XML by hand. The entry form is next on the agenda. M's health is really bad. I don't know how else to put it. You've noticed the chaotic period I'm going through right now? Yeah. Have I mentioned that if God was here right now I'd beat the shit out of him (or die trying)? No growth is worth this. I want her to be well. I (we) would sacrifice anything and everything for her health. Being hungry, cold, outcast--nothing is as bad as this. Even people with terminal illness have some endpoint; they know their suffering will end. Miriam doesn't have that luxury. If you're wondering what the suffering is like, she's described it as feeling like she's being burned alive at all times, except never being consumed. Being burned alive is one of the worst deaths I can imagine. Imagine if you never died. I know she's not making it up. I watch her shake from the pain. I hear her get up throughout the night. I feel the knots in her back from her muscles clenching, fighting back the pain, trying to keep her body from writhing. I see her move very slowly, each stretch of the skin or brush against clothing an added strike, another blow delivered from the cruel hand of providence. I see her unable to sit back in a chair or lay on the bed, every part of her body except the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet effected. Now I'm going to tell you a story. I've given up on the medical profession. Yesterday we spent 4 hours in the ER. In the end, they prescribed oral steroids and more antihistamines and sent her home. This latest outbreak, an outbreak on top of outbreak on top of outbreak, the one that finally made us resort of going to the ER, was because of a reaction to antihistamines. Her total time with the doctor was about 3 minutes. 3 minutes in 4 hours. A prescription. The doctor admitted she'd never seen anything so bad. It really looks like a burn all over M's body. Steroids and the door. Oh, and hopefully an appointment with a dermatologist (a field we'd given up on long ago) within the next 3 months. Their waiting time is 2.5 months. The ER doctor called. Hopefully they will squeeze us in sometime. In the meantime, endure being burnt alive. Now, western medicine is good at what they know. If this were a real burn, trauma burn unit. Cancer. No problem. Other trauma, trauma ER (which this wasn't; oh and by the way this was Georgetown University Hospital, supposedly one of the best in the area). I'm not saying they'll cure you, but they'll at least know what to do. But when they don't know something, they can't face it. They send you away. Any research in this area? Any new treatment? Any ideas? No. No. And no. We have this drug that should treat the symptom so here you go. Never mind that the drug is also killing you softly and, most likely, exacerbating the root problem of the illness. Here's the kicker. Drugs. That's western medicine's solution for every problem. M was on an antihistamine back when the pain was only a "9 out of possible 10" (aside: this is a great question--how is this pain on a scale of 1 to 10? I don't know, here, let me shoot you with a flamethrower and you tell me.) and it had taken her to the level where we're going to the ER for this. They prescribed a different antihistamine. But check this out. On the information for the antihistamine--the one they prescribed at the ER yesterday: "Side effects: Headache, fatigue, dry mouth, thirst, dry nose, or hoarseness may occur. These effects should lessen as your body adjusts to the medication. If any of these effects persist or worsen, notify you doctor or pharmacist promptly. Tell you doctor immediately if any of these unlikely but serious side effects occur: nervousness, rapid or pounding heartbeat, unusual weakness, stomach pain, dizziness, diarrhea, wheezing, increased physical activity...An allergic reaction to this drug is unlikely, but seek immediate medical attention if it occurs. Symptoms of an allergic reaction include: rash, itching, swelling, severe dizziness, trouble breathing. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist." I thought that's what we did. It's like if Advil had a side effect of headaches. And you know if they have those things listed as side effects, they happened to people in the trials. And still the drug is not only approved, but prescribed in mass quanities. You want to talk politics? Yeah. The money and the power, the power and the money, same old story, same old 'me so horney'...(i really need to record that tune...one of my newest and one i'm quite proud of, 'American Dream Town'...sorry for anyone not seeing me at open mics you have to wait a bit...once SWM 1.0 is done...). Don't hate me cuz I'm beautiful / Don't go lookin' for my long lost soul / Some time and money is all you need / Give ya a shot and start to kneed / Yer face like dough, there's no need to know / Yer true light within, just spin spin spin / Slap a logo on yer chest / Don't worry about the rest / In this town / This American town / This American Dream Town Don't think about the consequences. Just fix the problem. In medicine as in life as in the world. Bomb the bad guys, drug the sick guys, pay the smart guys. Fuck the rest. Fernando: I think you are right. Things will get better. they have to A Snider: well i'd say technically "things" have historically proven their ability to do whatever the fuck they want, but yeah... 01MinutiaDanielThursday, November 14, 2002publish