Bob Schwartz

June 5, 2012

Bobby Kennedy: To Strive and Not To Yield

June 6th is the anniversary of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. The assassination of his brother John F. Kennedy is a milestone, a marker between eras. The assassination of Bobby Kennedy is a touchstone, a regular reminder that bright possibilities exist for a while, but things get in the way. Life goes on, just not the way you imagined or dreamed.

It seems useless to add to the volume of words about Bobby Kennedy. Not as many words as those devoted to his brother, who was, after all, President. After all, Bobby Kennedy was not President, and maybe would never have been. Maybe destiny planned all along to serve us up Richard Nixon. Maybe that Kennedy presidency could never live up to expectations or aspirations. We have learned that he was not a personal or political saint, but that was not a surprise. Saints belong in churches, not politics. We want and need heroes, which often means tragic ones. Bobby Kennedy was that and more.

For those unfamiliar with his life and career, here is the condensed version, courtesy of Congress:

KENNEDY, Robert Francis, (brother of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Edward Moore Kennedy, grandson of John Francis Fitzgerald, uncle of Patrick J. Kennedy, and father of Joseph Patrick Kennedy II), a Senator from New York; born in Boston, Suffolk County, Mass., November 20, 1925; graduated from Milton (Mass.) Academy; served in the United States Navy Reserve 1944-1946; graduated from Harvard University in 1948 and from the University of Virginia Law School in 1951; admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1951; attorney, Criminal Division, Department of Justice 1951-1952; campaign manager for John F. Kennedy’s election to the United States Senate in 1952; assistant counsel, Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations 1953; assistant counsel, Hoover Commission 1953; chief counsel to the minority, Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations 1954, and chief counsel and staff director 1955; chief counsel of Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field 1957-1960; campaign manager for John F. Kennedy’s election to the Presidency in 1960; Attorney General of the United States from January 1961, until his resignation September 3, 1964, to be a candidate for the United States Senate; elected as a Democrat from New York to the United States Senate and served from January 3, 1965, until his death; died from the effects of an assassin’s bullet at Los Angeles, Calif., June 6, 1968, while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination; interment in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.

Bobby Kennedy was a lover of literature and poetry. He frequently quoted the poem Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. It is the tale of the old warrior Ulysses, who eschews comfort for mission. He has already sacrificed family life for duty, and he can’t help but set out one more time. It is not about glory, but about the dullness of a life of ease and about fiercely pursuing a dream until the end of days.

The poem closes with one of the great calls to action in the English language, both realistic and idealistic. “That which we are, we are,” Ulysses says. Bobby Kennedy was what he was.

…Come, my friends,
‘T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

This is how it ends: Bobby Kennedy giving a victory speech after his winning the California Presidential primary. All these years later, the divisions he speaks about seem just as present and pressing as ever. Could he have healed them then? Could he heal them now? Not too late to seek a newer world:

I think we can end the divisions within the United States. What I think is quite clear is that we can work together in the last analysis. And that what has been going on with the United States over the period of that last three years, the divisions, the violence, the disenchantment with our society, the divisions—whether it’s between blacks and whites, between the poor and the more affluent, or between age groups, or in the war in Vietnam—that we can work together. We are a great country, an unselfish country and a compassionate country. And I intend to make that my basis for running.

Update: A check mid-day on June 6 shows that a Google News search for “Bobby Kennedy” results in 7 hits and a search for “Robert F. Kennedy” finds 24, and some of those concern gossip about his son Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. It might be that the 44th anniversary of any event is less important than the rounder numbers like 40 or 50. Besides, we aren’t obliged to pay attention to anything, present or past. There is some tendency, not only today but maybe always, to dismiss looking back at pivotal events as pointless nostalgia. But history is not nostalgia, a confusion related to the very current idea that trivia is news. This endless political season is filled with lots of lesser mortals on all sides, not indictable because they are flawed, but because their flaws so outweigh their nobility. The point of the post is to remind us that this doesn’t have to be true, and there was a time when it wasn’t, and might yet be again.

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June 4, 2012

The Ultimate Notepad?

The best reason to get a very expensive, very powerful smartphone is to have it serve as the ultimate notepad.

No. But if you are someone whose practice has been, since the beginning of time (that is, since the earliest digital days), to go around with a pocket memo book, you may have noticed that the notepad has become vestigial, like a no longer useful appendage about which you still maintain some habitual affection, even if it is no longer useful.

Smartphones are remarkable notetaking devices. Even without the added convenience of voice-to-text, with the right keyboard (recommended: SwifKey) and the right app (recommended: AK Notepad), the flash-of-brilliance scrawl has now become the flash-of-brilliance digital non-scrawl, polished, spell-checked, and ready for prime-time.

A state-of-the-art memo book (Mead top-bound) ended up squarely on a desk next to a state-of-the-art smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S2). Here are some observations.

They are both quite elegant. They are almost exactly the same size: memo book 3×5 inches, smartphone 2.60 x 4.93 inches. The memo book is considerably cheaper, less than a dollar (pen not included), while the smartphone can be hundreds of dollars, depending on the contract. There is no contract available for the notepad.

Obviously, the notepad will never run out of battery power, even if the notetaker does. The worst that can happen is that you run out of ink, at which point lipstick, burnt matches, or dozens of other things will do in a pinch. The upcoming J.J. Abrams television series Revolution is about a world where all electric devices suddenly and completely stop working. Dystopia or utopia, if this possibility lurks on the fringes of your thoughts, for eighty cents or so, you can buy an insurance policy against your most groundbreaking but ephemeral thoughts being lost forever. Seems like a bargain.

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June 1, 2012

Going Naked On Your Smartphone

It is a continuing discussion among thousands of people in the smartphone world: Use a screen protector or “go naked”?

What is so glaringly notable about the debate is how much it echoes the same discussion about sex: Use a condom or go naked?

It is about sensation and response. The thicker and less sophisticated screen protectors seem to reduce the touch and responsiveness of the device.

It is about size. Many people find that screen protectors they purchase don’t fit their device, even when the manufacturers claim they do. Trimming and adjustment are often required.

It is about aesthetics. Even the thinnest and most expensive screen protectors seem to take away from the inherent beauty that has been designed into the device.

It is about messiness. One of the biggest complaints about screen protectors, even among those who choose to use them, is that they are a mess, tending to slip off and be constantly in need of readjustment.

It is about unwanted and unexpected outcomes. No matter how careful you are, screens can get scratched. Once that happens, the experience with and the relationship to the device are never the same again.

That last is a risk many seem willing to take. Maybe they can’t be blamed, because the feel of a gliding fingertip on Gorilla Glass instead of plastic, and the instant, electric response you get is like nothing else. If there’s a price to pay for going screen naked, to a lot of people it’s worth it.

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May 31, 2012

Money, Power & Wall Street: The Don’t-Miss Can’t-Watch Documentary

It is hard to recommend the four-part PBS Frontline documentary Money, Power & Wall Street and hard not to. Difficult as it is to watch the financial crisis unfolding, the film is superior even by Frontline’s high standard of excellence. As a history and prospectus, it is an insightful, even-handed and essential work of reporting. As a source of optimism, it is a complete failure, because the conclusion is that nothing has substantially changed, and that maybe nothing will.

It is as good as any disaster movie in pulling us in and moving us inexorably along. We see the scenes in detail, meet the cast of characters—lead and supporting actors—and have a growing sense of foreboding: this can’t end well.

It is different than most disaster movies in two ways. Most have some heroes, and with a few exceptions, there are no heroes here. And most disaster movies end with some movement toward rebuilding and reform, and with a sense of lessons learned: we will keep better watch for asteroids, we will build a system of asteroid warning and protection, we will come out this with a fundamentally better society. There is none of that here.

Yet Money Power & Wall Street has to be seen by every American. Those with political agendas will no doubt point to particular decisions or non-decisions, or particular actions or inactions, to prove a partisan point. But when they do, they will have missed the bigger point. In a world where financial forces become too big to understand or control, it is still our job as citizens and public servants to understand and control them. Because when it finally hits, ideologies and political badges are not really going to matter.

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May 29, 2012

Mime Is Money

In the too-much-is-never-enough world of television, singing competitions are spawning wild speculation about what might be next. If successful, ABC’s just-premiered Duets is sure to be followed by singing groups of increasing size, leading to shows like Trios, Quartets, Quintets, and most audience-grabbing of all, Sextets.

One way to deal with too many shows is to thin out the herd. But another way is to do a 180-degree turn. That’s the idea behind a new competition show with the working title Mime Is Money, where silence will be golden.

Mime has become the object of only partly-deserved ridicule. Bad singers and dancers don’t give song and dance a bad name; they just reflect badly on their own lack of artistry. But untalented mimes have, until now, subverted any chance of the classic art of pantomime being taken seriously. This show could change all that.

Still in the concept stage, Mime Is Money will feature much more than the clichéd mime acts. For example, producers are hoping to include at least one example of mime ventriloquism, a little-known but strangely entertaining form. Mime ventriloquism is an outgrowth of the 1930s development of radio ventriloquism, pioneered by Edgar Bergen in the 1930s. Even though listeners couldn’t see Bergen performing with his dummy Charlie McCarthy, the Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy Hour was on NBC radio for twenty years. In the case of Mime Is Money, the viewer can see the ventriloquist and the dummy, but can’t hear them, and so are guaranteed to experience the most perfect ventriloquism act ever.

Also being considered is the possibility of the judges remaining silent too, rendering their opinions only with motions and gestures. In addition to thumbs-up and thumbs-down, the possibilities are limited only by the creativity of the judges and producers. One hope is that if the show proves popular, some of the gestures will become like catch-phrases that will brand the show and will sweep across America.

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May 22, 2012

Smooth Newt and Newtsex Models

Sometimes posts don’t make it to the blog on time. The Republican Presidential primaries moved so fast that yesterday’s hot item becomes tomorrow’s “Who?” or “Who cares?” in a flash. Newt Gingrich is back in the news today, with the apparent collapse of his business mini-empire. This is in no way kicking a man when he’s done, since it is simply fascinating, not critical.

For those who think that “Smooth Newt” and “Newtsex Models” refer to something about a Presidential candidate, you are in for a shock. They are in fact references to four Newtsex models (known as Mark I, II, III and IV) that are part of a very sophisticated biological study of the courtship of the smooth newt (triturus vulgaris). The article How Long Will Newts Wait? explains:

The Newtsex model simulates the behavioural transition between two parts of newt courtship, Retreat Display and Creep, and models the interaction between four causal factors: the behaviour of the female, the male’s spermatophore supply, his need for oxygen, and feedback from the male’s own behaviour. The model predicts that, if feedback from the female is withheld at a critical point (Tail-touch), the male will revert from Creep to Retreat Display after an interval, the duration of which is proportional to his spermatophore supply. The results of an experiment in which the female’s behaviour was controlled support this prediction, but a high level of variance in the results suggests that respiratory constraints on male courtship behaviour require further investigation. (Behaviour, March 1991)

Newtsex. Tail-touch. Creep. Retreat Display. This is science. You cannot make this stuff up.

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May 18, 2012

It’s In The Grooves

Grooves are gone, mostly, from recorded music. Vinyl is still around, maybe even growing a little as a cool, specialty format.

Whether or not those circular scratches in plastic remain how we listen to music, the fundamental truth that was uttered back in the day still holds:

It’s in the grooves.

Meaning: You—artists, arrangers, producers, managers, record labels, media, fans—can blah, blah, blah about business, production, charts, back story, gossip, about what is, what could have been, what should have been.

But in the end, it is about the music, as it plays, as it sounds. Nothing anybody says, no matter how central, no matter how insightful, enlightening or fascinating, changes that.

The real life and real world concerns surrounding a record are far from unimportant, especially to those directly involved. But if that is the beast, then the heart of the beast, or its soul and essence, is the music.

So if you find yourself deeply engaged in all the music chatter, when you can, once in a while, shut out the extraneous and, politely, shut up and listen. Because even if the grooves are gone, they are still the only place recorded music actually lives.

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May 18, 2012

Donna Summer

For those who never stopped listening to Donna Summer, the news of her death was more than nostalgia or a pop culture milestone.

Fans might have wished that the iconic tracks could somehow be stripped of the signature Giorgio Moroder disco production, so that all you could hear was simple pop gems sung by an angel. Maybe that will happen. But in their time, the voice and the thumping beats were what helped elevate disco and make these monster dance floor hits.

True talent overcomes. Her first record I Feel Love was an attempt to exploit her sex appeal as much as her voice, sort of disco porn. That lasted one record. Even though there was plenty of sexiness to come, she was never again presented that way. She was a star, not a sultry gimmick.

She didn’t get enough opportunity to showcase on record all that she was and could do. There are some live recordings that include non-dance arrangements, but these are too rare.

She took the over-the-top Jimmy Webb song MacArthur Park, which had been talk-sung into a 1968 hit by actor Richard Harris, and ten years later made it nearly-beautiful and nearly-plausible through the force of her voice. The disco production is still heavy-handed, but she reached notes that Richard Harris only dreamed of during his alcohol days. It was a massive hit.

One thing to know: On the duet No More Tears (Enough Is Enough), Donna Summer outsings Barbra Streisand. The blending of voices is excellent, but before they come together, listen to them trading lyrics. Even Streisand fans should get that this one belongs to Donna Summer. Streisand never did choose to perform this duet live.

We feel love.

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May 16, 2012

Barack and Mitt: The Most Unpopular Candidates in American History

This is an unprecedented Presidential campaign. Just ask the Social Security Administration.

The SSA keeps track of baby names, a database that goes back to 1879. It just released its list of the 1000 most popular male and female names for 2011—Jacob to Armani to Ethen (sic), Sophia to Francesca to Damaris. None of that necessarily matters for the Presidential race.

What does matter is this: Never in American history have both major party candidates for the Presidency had names that were not among the 1000 most popular—ever.

In 2008 it was easy to surmise that one name (not John) had never made it to the Top 1000, and Barack still hasn’t. But this year’s race includes two overwhelmingly unpopular names.

Romney’s real first name Willard has made appearances on the chart: the last time in 1989 when it was #966, and it reached its highest position in 1915 (#58). But that isn’t the name he has ever used. The name Mitt is nowhere to be found.

The Presidential names (including candidates) you think might not make the list do. Woodrow, last seen in 1983 (#954), went from #234 in 1911 to #44 in 1913, Wilson’s first year in office. Ike bounced around the middle to bottom of the pack from the 19th century on, but at least it is on the list, finally falling off the Top 1000 in 1957 (while Ike was still in office). Rutherford always struggled, giving up in 1905 at #910. Even Newt had its day (though not much of one), appearing near the bottom between 1880 and 1907.

But no Barack. And no Mitt.

Does this have any consequence? As for any correlation between electoral success and relative name popularity—at the time of election or at some significant life stage for voters—there is no consistent pattern, no seeming name advantage.

All we know is this: There has never been an election between two candidates with such unusual and unpopular names. Just one more element in an election unlike any other.

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May 16, 2012

MoneyDesignDigitalSex

Sometimes you stumble upon an item that perfectly embodies America, the 21st century, and America in the 21st century. All in a good way. This is from a company called Crave:

Our first product – DUET – was submitted for pre-release funding on international design funding platform CKIE.com in August 2011 where it raised $104,000 from over 950 backers – 694% of the original target. Word of DUET consequently spread across the web, which has effectively raised the profile of the product even before its official release, while also providing a springboard for further CRAVE products and developments.

Crowdfunding. Check. Design. Check.

But what exactly is Duet?

In a world where high technology and luxury design seem to touch every corner of our lives, the most intimate experiences should be no exception. The dominating culture in adult products often feels cheap and sleazy. We were craving something better: something beautiful, something discreet, something environmentally friendly, and something sophisticated. After all, if anything deserves good design, it’s the things we bring to bed with us.

Design, again. Check. Sex. Check.

But what exactly is Duet?

With dual motors and a V-shaped angle, DUET delivers powerful and precise vibration for external clitoral stimulation. The tip, inside edges, and outside edges provide slightly different intensities, while the flat surface is ideal for massaging the area around and on the clitoris. The dual motors’ unique ‘split at the tip’ combines with the four vibration patterns to enable a variety of sensations for you to explore…

Duet will let you how much charge remains when you turn it on. It will pulse one to four times – one pulse meaning 25% full, and four pulses indicating your DUET is 100% charged. When plugged into a USB port, a light indicator will blink to let you know your DUET is charging. The intensity of blinking will change depending on how close to being fully charged. With four vibration modes and four power levels, DUET gives you flexibility to find the perfect intensity and pattern. The settings have been designed to be easily altered at whim, but won’t accidentally change on you in the heat of the moment. Vibration modes include steady, dual pulsing, circular pulse, and wave.

Sex, again. Check. USB port??

Yes, this is Duet. A vibrator and a USB flash drive.

This is, without irony, the sort of creativity that makes America great. Purse-sized vibrators have long been around, as have flash drives. But this story that combines cutting-edge financing through crowdfunding, high-level design, digital capability, and, of course, sex goes well beyond bringing together chocolate and peanut butter. This is American genius.

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