Matthew Ford’s Infernal Blog

Kat and I (and by extension, Dylan) became Australian citizens on Australia Day 2008, which is… come on, you know it! I know it! (In fact I took a citizenship qualification test which made me memorize it forever, along with the wattle and Phar Lap) …January 26th. (continued »)

I propose here the best of all bad options regarding Iraq. It’s obvious that nothing will really change until the new President takes office, meaning a truly new course can only start in 2009. This is obviously much too long to wait, in light of lives lost, money spent, damage wrought to reputation, and fuel supplied to terrorist enemies. The USA is a house on fire. So: I do not support remaining in denial, which is the Republican plan. I do not support waiting it out for political gain, which is the unspoken center Democrat plan. I do not support the left Democrat plan, which is a cutoff of funds to force Bush to start a pullout immediately. Here is the solution I support: In Congress, make a bipartisan deal. In exchange for immediate impeachment of Bush and Cheney, all the Democrats in the line of Presidential succession let it pass over them. President Condoleezza Rice leads the best possible pullout effort until the next elected President takes over in January 2009. (continued »)

Sometimes it takes a random, horrible event to symbolize a larger, more complex problem. If illustration of such an event were called a cheap shot, it mistakes my intention. The flagpole could have been anywhere, so the event in itself does not prove anything. And replacing all the flagpoles in America won’t address the underlying problem. All the same, I find this story about a rusted-out flagpole falling and killing a child at her primary school a potent symbol of the inside-out, slow, but entirely visible destruction of a great country, threatening not to end its supremacy with the bang now being so strenuously, and justly, if not efficiently, prevented, but with the whimper at the end of a downward spiral. Citizens of America, please join me in my call– to politicians, neighbors, and friends– to take a new look at all that threatens the country; and to give solutions– even the non-sexy, non-spectacular solutions– their proper due. Ending with a whimper is just as much an end as ending with a bang. Let’s prevent both.

It’s quite telling, and a bit sad, that I am categorizing a story about a medical issue as a “news and politics” issue. But that’s the world we live in.

Australia is thankfully tilting in a way different from the USA when it comes to stem cell research. Vigilance is still required, but it’s not bad at the moment. Here is a political excerpt I wish I saw more often: “Both these positions are moral positions and both deserve respect.”

Some observations on Katrina sparked by Kanye West’s outraged speech at a fundraiser and the media coverage of “finding” versus “looting” food.  Interesting stuff, though it’s ill advised to make sweeping claims based on two cherry-picked photos out of thousands. Snopes did an admirable job of showing all sides of this.

I believe that overheated claims of racial bias ultimately help propagate true racial bias. I’d like to see people restrain themselves and stick to facts. There are plenty of indisputable facts which show racial bias in America; to fling around accusations without very good backup just makes the substantiated claims suspect. As promised, I’m all too willing to call out the foolishness of the Left as well.

A related, interesting, and more substantial discussion is about the media’s use of the term “refugee” to describe the victims of the hurricane. (continued »)

I was getting too uptight about work. I had to remind myself recently that I came to Oz not in pursuit of superachievement, to work in the most perfect environment, or to fit into a perfect team. If I’d wanted to pursue those things I’d have stayed in the states. I came here to: learn about how to lead a game development team; make my mark on a company; and most importantly, to learn to mellow out a bit. All those things are still right here for me. I took this opportunity to move to Oz because the time was right for me and my family to go on this adventure. I came here to enjoy life the way Aussies do. I came here to internalize the attitude I saw when I worked in Sydney and which exists here in Brisbane too: that though work is important and we all want to do a good job, work is not everything. It’s not cool to get too uptight here. You aren’t measured entirely by the height of your achievement or profit. You don’t get anywhere by stressing out, by being bullish, by fighting the dominance game which is endemic to the US cities where I’ve worked. If there’s one thing I really want to learn by living and working here, it is to learn how to say: She’ll be right. Wish me luck.

Good god, another blog entry on this movie, who needs it? But at least I have the somewhat unique experience of being a Yank seeing it in Oz. Went to see Fahrenheit 9/11 today with Kat. I think was quite good and also depressing, it exposes so much misery and wrongness. I can’t believe that Bush is not already ridden out on a rail; the fact that this election is looking like it will be close is horrifying. Even if Kerry wins, it will not be by much it appears, and what does that say about the American people, that they have not turned against Bush and his cronies?

Here is Oz there is a great deal of concern about the direction the USA is going, (continued »)