Thursday, August 29, 2002
Running North to escape the summer heat
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
Oak Island, N. S. Weary of the August heat wave, this family decided to take a long week's seaside vacation, driving to cool Nova Scotia.Saturday early we were in the car, trunk hastily packed, ready for the air-conditioned trip north on I-95, our favorite south-bound escape route. Unfortunately, the north-bound passage is clogged with trucks, commercial vans and other escapees, and tie-ups due to accidents. It took the whole day to get to Newburyport, MA, our chosen midpoint. The I-95 in New England is not decorated with plentiful little signs announcing Day Inns and other tourist refuges, and we thought the famous watering spot of the proper Bostonians would provide an overnight roof. [he AAA's preferred route of FDR Drive- Bruckner Blvd- Sprain Brook Pkway- connect to 684 -84 -290-495 to Amesbury, then I-95 etc is also pretty busy, as we experienced on the return trip.]
Arriving with the sinking sun, we found that Newburyport has no hotels, in fact, the local gentry is currently fighting a waterfront hotel proposal. The two inns and five bed-and-breakfasts were full up, as we established through the courtesy calls of Jennifer, the helpful receptionist at the neat Garrison Inn, who dialed up as far as New Hampshire in helping us find a spot to settle down for the night. Finally, a room was found in Ipswich, half an hour's drive back.
This entire trip was a preservationist's dream. Newburyport's access road, High Street, has a mile or two of stately mansions to admire, well preserved, mostly in Colonial/ Georgean styles, with nary a "For Sale" sign. The down- and up-hill streets, Green and State, leading to the busy harborside were full of summer seasonal visitors. Ipswich was more of the same, although less upscale. Our B&B, an old family home decorated with new Sheraton furniture, had 11 bedrooms and charged $120 a night. The local phone book had no listings for hotels, motels and B&Bs, although Main Street was chuck-a-block with tourist restaurants. We settled into Zabaglione, a classy Italian eatery which allowed no modest appetizer-and-salad dining, by charging applicants of that scenario the price of the least entree ($17.50) for any appetizer. That pushed me into the pasta with clam sauce category (Ipswich clams are famous), not a bad choice. The restaurant is small, and tries to get the most out of the short season. Ipswich also has good beaches; the best, on the Crane Foundation estate, charges $20 a carload, but we had no time to explore, Nova Scotia was calling.
On we went, now on the seaside Route 1, for local color. That too was crowded, once we passed through the short New Hampshire stretch. The State of Maine greeted us with four outlet centers, right at the border. Once we untangled ourselves, there was Ogunquit, the road full of cars and walkers crossing, stopping traffic at the marked pedestrian lines, in unending succession. States poor in traffic lights do that, obstructing the movement of vehicles. We used the opportunity to stop for our first taste of a lobster roll, at one of the ubiquitous seafood bars. Lobster was advertised along the road at $3.99 and $5.99/lb, with whole dinners starting at a modest $11.99. Maine, unlike its southern neighbors, revels in attracting tourists, with seafood, motels, outlets and miniature golf courses decorated with hokey Disneyworld- like features.
After Kennebunkport (no Bush in sight) we got off the lobster-shack route, back on I-95. The traffic had lightened, and we got to Freeport, the town that L. L. Bean built, without holdups. We are not strangers to the place, although some 20 years had elapsed since our last visit, looking for supplies for our Maine summer camper. Nevertheless, we were astonished at the growth. Every building in town houses an outlet store of a renowned brand. The parking lots behind Bean's 7/24 emporium, named after plants and animals, were immense. I forgot my creature's name, and spent an hour looking for our car. That delayed our arrival at the last destination, Bar Harbor, 160 miles away. Luckily, we had a reservation at the Regency Holiday Inn and Resort, hastily called in after the Newburyport fiasco.
As it turned out, Bar Harbor, located on Mount Desert Island , had plenty of facilities. The Holiday Inn, next door to the catamaran ferry terminal to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, was upscale - we heard an arrival complain about the $350 ocean-view room rate. Our modest park-view (actually, parking-lot view) room was a lot less. The hotel, mostly run by scores of blond Lithuanian and Russian college students on summer break, working as waiters, room attendants and porters, was pleasant, and the kids were attentive and eager to talk. Some were repeaters, although 9/11 had made their pre-arrival screening more difficult ("Blond terrorists? Gimme a break!")
Bar Harbor is tourist friendly, with free buses from the hotel Route 3 every quarter-hour to Main Street, another shopper paradise, although the brand names are more campy. "Cool as a Moose" is the main ladies' fashion house. Had a discussion with another Russian waitress as to who won WWII. There is a concert on the town green most every night, rock and traditional.
The big attraction is Acadia National Park, with the 1,500 foot high Cadillac Mountain, highest in the Northeast, as a major objective The park lends itself to a fast drive-through, along the one-way Park Loop, or a more leisurely hike-interrupted perusal. The two major beaches fill up their lots early. Resourceful visitors drop their cars along the roadsides, undisturbed by park police. The park has ranger programs throughout the day, although self-guided hikes are the norm. Popular is a two-mile relatively flat stroll along the side of the bay. For the hardy there are both easy and difficult mountain climbing opportunities.
Bar Harbor is best suited for the visitor who enjoys the hustle and bustle and wants to meet people. Luckily, Mount Desert Island has small towns, such as Northeast Harbor, where the vacationer can enjoy an uncrowded and private Maine oceanside summer, boating, fishing or walking along lilly ponds. We managed a walk or two, although our two days were crowded with activities, before the 49-mph whale-rich (not kidding) 3-hr ferry ride to Nova Scotia.. More next week. Happy Labor Day weekend!
Oak Island, N. S. Weary of the August heat wave, this family decided to take a long week's seaside vacation, driving to cool Nova Scotia.Saturday early we were in the car, trunk hastily packed, ready for the air-conditioned trip north on I-95, our favorite south-bound escape route. Unfortunately, the north-bound passage is clogged with trucks, commercial vans and other escapees, and tie-ups due to accidents. It took the whole day to get to Newburyport, MA, our chosen midpoint. The I-95 in New England is not decorated with plentiful little signs announcing Day Inns and other tourist refuges, and we thought the famous watering spot of the proper Bostonians would provide an overnight roof. [he AAA's preferred route of FDR Drive- Bruckner Blvd- Sprain Brook Pkway- connect to 684 -84 -290-495 to Amesbury, then I-95 etc is also pretty busy, as we experienced on the return trip.]
Arriving with the sinking sun, we found that Newburyport has no hotels, in fact, the local gentry is currently fighting a waterfront hotel proposal. The two inns and five bed-and-breakfasts were full up, as we established through the courtesy calls of Jennifer, the helpful receptionist at the neat Garrison Inn, who dialed up as far as New Hampshire in helping us find a spot to settle down for the night. Finally, a room was found in Ipswich, half an hour's drive back.
This entire trip was a preservationist's dream. Newburyport's access road, High Street, has a mile or two of stately mansions to admire, well preserved, mostly in Colonial/ Georgean styles, with nary a "For Sale" sign. The down- and up-hill streets, Green and State, leading to the busy harborside were full of summer seasonal visitors. Ipswich was more of the same, although less upscale. Our B&B, an old family home decorated with new Sheraton furniture, had 11 bedrooms and charged $120 a night. The local phone book had no listings for hotels, motels and B&Bs, although Main Street was chuck-a-block with tourist restaurants. We settled into Zabaglione, a classy Italian eatery which allowed no modest appetizer-and-salad dining, by charging applicants of that scenario the price of the least entree ($17.50) for any appetizer. That pushed me into the pasta with clam sauce category (Ipswich clams are famous), not a bad choice. The restaurant is small, and tries to get the most out of the short season. Ipswich also has good beaches; the best, on the Crane Foundation estate, charges $20 a carload, but we had no time to explore, Nova Scotia was calling.
On we went, now on the seaside Route 1, for local color. That too was crowded, once we passed through the short New Hampshire stretch. The State of Maine greeted us with four outlet centers, right at the border. Once we untangled ourselves, there was Ogunquit, the road full of cars and walkers crossing, stopping traffic at the marked pedestrian lines, in unending succession. States poor in traffic lights do that, obstructing the movement of vehicles. We used the opportunity to stop for our first taste of a lobster roll, at one of the ubiquitous seafood bars. Lobster was advertised along the road at $3.99 and $5.99/lb, with whole dinners starting at a modest $11.99. Maine, unlike its southern neighbors, revels in attracting tourists, with seafood, motels, outlets and miniature golf courses decorated with hokey Disneyworld- like features.
After Kennebunkport (no Bush in sight) we got off the lobster-shack route, back on I-95. The traffic had lightened, and we got to Freeport, the town that L. L. Bean built, without holdups. We are not strangers to the place, although some 20 years had elapsed since our last visit, looking for supplies for our Maine summer camper. Nevertheless, we were astonished at the growth. Every building in town houses an outlet store of a renowned brand. The parking lots behind Bean's 7/24 emporium, named after plants and animals, were immense. I forgot my creature's name, and spent an hour looking for our car. That delayed our arrival at the last destination, Bar Harbor, 160 miles away. Luckily, we had a reservation at the Regency Holiday Inn and Resort, hastily called in after the Newburyport fiasco.
As it turned out, Bar Harbor, located on Mount Desert Island , had plenty of facilities. The Holiday Inn, next door to the catamaran ferry terminal to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, was upscale - we heard an arrival complain about the $350 ocean-view room rate. Our modest park-view (actually, parking-lot view) room was a lot less. The hotel, mostly run by scores of blond Lithuanian and Russian college students on summer break, working as waiters, room attendants and porters, was pleasant, and the kids were attentive and eager to talk. Some were repeaters, although 9/11 had made their pre-arrival screening more difficult ("Blond terrorists? Gimme a break!")
Bar Harbor is tourist friendly, with free buses from the hotel Route 3 every quarter-hour to Main Street, another shopper paradise, although the brand names are more campy. "Cool as a Moose" is the main ladies' fashion house. Had a discussion with another Russian waitress as to who won WWII. There is a concert on the town green most every night, rock and traditional.
The big attraction is Acadia National Park, with the 1,500 foot high Cadillac Mountain, highest in the Northeast, as a major objective The park lends itself to a fast drive-through, along the one-way Park Loop, or a more leisurely hike-interrupted perusal. The two major beaches fill up their lots early. Resourceful visitors drop their cars along the roadsides, undisturbed by park police. The park has ranger programs throughout the day, although self-guided hikes are the norm. Popular is a two-mile relatively flat stroll along the side of the bay. For the hardy there are both easy and difficult mountain climbing opportunities.
Bar Harbor is best suited for the visitor who enjoys the hustle and bustle and wants to meet people. Luckily, Mount Desert Island has small towns, such as Northeast Harbor, where the vacationer can enjoy an uncrowded and private Maine oceanside summer, boating, fishing or walking along lilly ponds. We managed a walk or two, although our two days were crowded with activities, before the 49-mph whale-rich (not kidding) 3-hr ferry ride to Nova Scotia.. More next week. Happy Labor Day weekend!
Thursday, August 15, 2002
The McCall/Cuomo contest
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
O n Tuesday September 10 a good portion of New York State's five million registered Democrats will vote in the primary, choosing the party's candidate for Governor. The winner is expected to lose by a 2:1 margin to the popular Republican George Pataki. This will nor be as dramatic as the Rudy/Rick vs Hillary contest in 2000, nor as unexpected as the Green vs Bloomberg contest, delayed by the 9/11 events, but it does have strong elements of drama.
The party's choice, 68 year old Comptroller H Carl McCall, first African-American to be elected to a statewide office, twice, has service medals beyond compare. Son of a poor cleaning lady, he graduated from Dartmouth and attended Newton Theological School and the University of Edinburgh. Eight years a VP at Citicorp, he was also the President of the NYC Board of Education, a director of the NY Stock Exchange, Ambassador to the United Nations, Commissioner of the Port Authority Of NY and NJ, as well as a three-tern NYS Senator. Appointed by Gov. Cuomo as Comptroller in 1993, upon the resignation of Edward V. Regan, after some struggle with the kingmakers in the state legislature, he has been elected twice, in elections dominated by the Republicans. He is married to Dr Joyce Brown, President of SUNY's Fashion Institute of Technology, and they have a daughter, Marci.
His highest responsibility is overseeing the State pension fund, which grew from $56 billion to $112 billion, but did lose big millions due to the WorldCom and Global Crossing debacles. He has sued the Governor, twice, objecting against incursions into the Pension Fund.
McCall has substantial backing of the state's Democratic party officials. He is endorsed by Senator Schumer (Hillary is sitting this one out), Attorney General Spitzer, 10 of 19 Dem Congresspersons (Rangel and Maloney included), 62 Assemblypeople (Speaker Silver, Sanders, Gottfried, Grannis) and 28 City Councilmembers. Statewide, he has 15 of the 62 county Democratic county organizations. The four local Democratic clubs and their District Leaders , in Steve Sanders's 63rd Assembly District (soon to be the 74th), are supporting McCall
The against- the- stream candidate, 44 year old Andrew Cuomo sees a chance to take back the office his father, the great orator Mario Cuomo, held for three terms, 1982-94, losing to Pataki. Mario, Secretary of State 1975-78 and subsequently Lt Gov, author of three books of reflections and currently partner in the white-shoe law firm Willkie, Farr, and Gallagher, has joined the campaign (Andrew was going to do it alone), cashing in some chips owed to him from the old days.
Andrew has some good credentials of his own. An astute pol (Mario's campaign manager), he has the Clinton allegiance, earned in eight years as the Secretary of HUD. A modern Democrat who learned much from his patron, he has moved away from the classic Liberalism of his father and Ted Kennedy, although the latter also campaigns for him, since Mrs. Andrew is Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, daughter of the late Robert F. This is truly a dynastic family, with (it is whispered) expectations of bringing up their three daughters in the White House.
Andrew, considered a ruthless politician by many (usurping the Gubernatorial candidacy from McCall is particularly grating), claims to have vastly better chances than the latter against Pataki. The polls sgive him a lead, though the results are contradictory - early ABC findings gave McCall a seven-point advantage, while late Quinnipac University poll finds show Cuomo well ahead, 47 to 32 percentage points. Both campaigns dispute the latter, Cuomo claiming a 10-point advantage. Besides the dynasty thing the dynamic Cuomo does have a good record. as an. advocate for housing and development, and of the homeless (see the E.13th Street residence).
Hor deep the feelings run shows in the steps taken by the contrarian Dr Alan Chartock, professor of Political Communications at SUNY Albany, publisher of the Legislative Gazette, a TV commentator, author of two weekly columns, and Chairman of WAMC, the 10-station Northeast Public Radio, where he is also the executive editor of several programs.
For 18 years, 10 while Mario was governor and eight thereafter, Alan had a weekly interview program with the golden orator, in a "look here, kid" role. The last years were called "Me and Mario." The WNYC sophisticates sneered at him, and aired his programs at 5AM , but it was both entertaining and informative, much better than the bulk of serious NPR programming. But the worm turned. In April 2002 Alan did a kind of a funny reprimanding attack on Andrew, the spoiler. Mario did not sit still, and resigned from the WAMC program, with a poetic "There is a season...and the season has ended for 'Me and Mario'." Chartock responded with an acknowledgment of understanding, as a father himself, of what Mario had to do, and invited him back to visit. But, since then, all references to "Me and Mario" and its archives have disappeared from WAMC on-line records. Ah...
To explain the Democratic clubs and their District Leaders, the latter are the lowest level of elected political officials. Some day soon I'll write an update of their history. Before millionaire candidates and TV, clubs did the donkey work of gathering signtures on designating petitions. Club borderlines run within Assembly Districts. Parts A (ST&PCV) and C (Gramercy) of the 63rd AD are shared by the Samuel P. Tilden and Gramercy Stuyvesant Independent Democrats (District Leaders Louise Dankberg for Tilden and Tom Nooter for GSID; the other pair are Steve Smollen and Myrna LePree). North of 28th Street the Eleanor Roosevelt Democrats (Arlene Bluth and Charles Buchwald ) hold sway, while Margarita Lopez' CODA (Coalition of Democratic Action, Rosie Mendez and Jose Delacruz) have the territory south of 14th Street, West of Park Avenue South reigns the Chelsea Reform club (Tim Gay and Kathleen Kinsella). The Gramercy Park Republicans (Gary Papush) are not involved in the primary; although the Conservatives have a situation, with billionaire Thomas Golisano trying to wrestle away the candidacy from Pataki, who's acting too liberal for the Conservatives' liking.
Wally Dobelis thanks Louise Dankberg and Carter Avery.
O n Tuesday September 10 a good portion of New York State's five million registered Democrats will vote in the primary, choosing the party's candidate for Governor. The winner is expected to lose by a 2:1 margin to the popular Republican George Pataki. This will nor be as dramatic as the Rudy/Rick vs Hillary contest in 2000, nor as unexpected as the Green vs Bloomberg contest, delayed by the 9/11 events, but it does have strong elements of drama.
The party's choice, 68 year old Comptroller H Carl McCall, first African-American to be elected to a statewide office, twice, has service medals beyond compare. Son of a poor cleaning lady, he graduated from Dartmouth and attended Newton Theological School and the University of Edinburgh. Eight years a VP at Citicorp, he was also the President of the NYC Board of Education, a director of the NY Stock Exchange, Ambassador to the United Nations, Commissioner of the Port Authority Of NY and NJ, as well as a three-tern NYS Senator. Appointed by Gov. Cuomo as Comptroller in 1993, upon the resignation of Edward V. Regan, after some struggle with the kingmakers in the state legislature, he has been elected twice, in elections dominated by the Republicans. He is married to Dr Joyce Brown, President of SUNY's Fashion Institute of Technology, and they have a daughter, Marci.
His highest responsibility is overseeing the State pension fund, which grew from $56 billion to $112 billion, but did lose big millions due to the WorldCom and Global Crossing debacles. He has sued the Governor, twice, objecting against incursions into the Pension Fund.
McCall has substantial backing of the state's Democratic party officials. He is endorsed by Senator Schumer (Hillary is sitting this one out), Attorney General Spitzer, 10 of 19 Dem Congresspersons (Rangel and Maloney included), 62 Assemblypeople (Speaker Silver, Sanders, Gottfried, Grannis) and 28 City Councilmembers. Statewide, he has 15 of the 62 county Democratic county organizations. The four local Democratic clubs and their District Leaders , in Steve Sanders's 63rd Assembly District (soon to be the 74th), are supporting McCall
The against- the- stream candidate, 44 year old Andrew Cuomo sees a chance to take back the office his father, the great orator Mario Cuomo, held for three terms, 1982-94, losing to Pataki. Mario, Secretary of State 1975-78 and subsequently Lt Gov, author of three books of reflections and currently partner in the white-shoe law firm Willkie, Farr, and Gallagher, has joined the campaign (Andrew was going to do it alone), cashing in some chips owed to him from the old days.
Andrew has some good credentials of his own. An astute pol (Mario's campaign manager), he has the Clinton allegiance, earned in eight years as the Secretary of HUD. A modern Democrat who learned much from his patron, he has moved away from the classic Liberalism of his father and Ted Kennedy, although the latter also campaigns for him, since Mrs. Andrew is Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, daughter of the late Robert F. This is truly a dynastic family, with (it is whispered) expectations of bringing up their three daughters in the White House.
Andrew, considered a ruthless politician by many (usurping the Gubernatorial candidacy from McCall is particularly grating), claims to have vastly better chances than the latter against Pataki. The polls sgive him a lead, though the results are contradictory - early ABC findings gave McCall a seven-point advantage, while late Quinnipac University poll finds show Cuomo well ahead, 47 to 32 percentage points. Both campaigns dispute the latter, Cuomo claiming a 10-point advantage. Besides the dynasty thing the dynamic Cuomo does have a good record. as an. advocate for housing and development, and of the homeless (see the E.13th Street residence).
Hor deep the feelings run shows in the steps taken by the contrarian Dr Alan Chartock, professor of Political Communications at SUNY Albany, publisher of the Legislative Gazette, a TV commentator, author of two weekly columns, and Chairman of WAMC, the 10-station Northeast Public Radio, where he is also the executive editor of several programs.
For 18 years, 10 while Mario was governor and eight thereafter, Alan had a weekly interview program with the golden orator, in a "look here, kid" role. The last years were called "Me and Mario." The WNYC sophisticates sneered at him, and aired his programs at 5AM , but it was both entertaining and informative, much better than the bulk of serious NPR programming. But the worm turned. In April 2002 Alan did a kind of a funny reprimanding attack on Andrew, the spoiler. Mario did not sit still, and resigned from the WAMC program, with a poetic "There is a season...and the season has ended for 'Me and Mario'." Chartock responded with an acknowledgment of understanding, as a father himself, of what Mario had to do, and invited him back to visit. But, since then, all references to "Me and Mario" and its archives have disappeared from WAMC on-line records. Ah...
To explain the Democratic clubs and their District Leaders, the latter are the lowest level of elected political officials. Some day soon I'll write an update of their history. Before millionaire candidates and TV, clubs did the donkey work of gathering signtures on designating petitions. Club borderlines run within Assembly Districts. Parts A (ST&PCV) and C (Gramercy) of the 63rd AD are shared by the Samuel P. Tilden and Gramercy Stuyvesant Independent Democrats (District Leaders Louise Dankberg for Tilden and Tom Nooter for GSID; the other pair are Steve Smollen and Myrna LePree). North of 28th Street the Eleanor Roosevelt Democrats (Arlene Bluth and Charles Buchwald ) hold sway, while Margarita Lopez' CODA (Coalition of Democratic Action, Rosie Mendez and Jose Delacruz) have the territory south of 14th Street, West of Park Avenue South reigns the Chelsea Reform club (Tim Gay and Kathleen Kinsella). The Gramercy Park Republicans (Gary Papush) are not involved in the primary; although the Conservatives have a situation, with billionaire Thomas Golisano trying to wrestle away the candidacy from Pataki, who's acting too liberal for the Conservatives' liking.
Wally Dobelis thanks Louise Dankberg and Carter Avery.
Thursday, August 08, 2002
Mind games and other diversions
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
Looking back I recall that in my youth I could never resist intelligence quizzes, Readers Digest word tests and other such challenges. Where others in the office feared the mysterious Sanford-Binet aptitude tests and other inquisitive tricks cooked up by Personnel (Human Resources to you, young whippersnappers) before the Privacy era, I looked forward to them. Over the years the lure has faded, but in our basement, submerged in news clippings and other saved treasures there are, I'm sure, old Mensa and Saturday Review of Literature quiz books.
It was therefore a real challenge to receive an unsolicited e-mail message from eMode ("The World's leading Self-Assessment Company"), challenging me to take their Ultimate IQ Test, free of charge, with immediate analysis. I fell for it, and invested the time. In self-defense, the testing was prompted by concerns with passage of years, advancing decrepitude and questions of synapses failing to snap the neurons together, i.e. slowing-down memory.
It turned out to be a 40-question proposition, equally divided into tests of spatial relationships, mathematical and verbal skills. My answers put me in a high category. Elated, I mentioned this event to some younger members of my acquaintance, all brought up on mammoth scores in the SATs, LSATs, GMATs and similar, with Kaplan a household name. No one was interested, and I was told that the crude types of the post-college generation who talk Mensa and match SAT scores in bars and know precisely when the SAT was cheapened are dorks and worse.
Somewhat chastened, I went to eMode's home base to try to figure whether this is a credible site, and found it is a veritable honeycomb of entertaining tests, one leading into another .
Who can resist a Right Job, Wrong Job Test of 41 questions? I grabbed it and found out that I am analytical and creative, but a detailed multi-page personalized report identifying my best, #1 job choice, would cost $14.95. This led into The Career Personality Test. To further intrigue you, the quiz is described as based on the theories of psychologists Raymond Cattell (Building Blocks of Personality, 1965) and John L. Holland. A sample report on a fictional Jeff tells him that his ideal jobs are in computer network administration, or law, or piloting airplanes, and intriguingly, that he should stay away from architecture. You want to know more, you fork over the ubiquitous $14.95.
An Ultimate Personality Test, in 50 questions, judges you on confidence, apprehensiveness, willingness to take risks and your focus on experience vs appearance. I am a good person and a seeker. Going on to Are You a Natural Leader - guess what. There is scoring on efficiency, being organized, on teamwork emphasis and on confidence. My adherence to the motto, borrowed from the radio lawyer/market guru, Adrienne Berg, "not always right, but never in doubt," must be shining through.
As a Risk-Taker, I'm less the picture of perfectitude, being off the wall, willing to be silly, but ready to take dangers and accept emotional challenges. At this point eMode teases you to take a 30-question test, What Kind of Dog Are You At Work? It turns out that I am a German Shepherd, who hides his competitiveness, speaks up when he is sure of himself and is careful in interoffice relationships. The Are You a Workaholic questions tell me to take it easy, the Enough Sleep? urges me to get some, Naughty Or Nice determines that I'm not a girl. A Handwriting Analysis tests me in the areas of wittiness, life enthusiasm, positive attitude, warmth and optimism, and whether I'm turned off by projects, all affirmative. Hmm, I like projects. But the trickiest is Discovering Your Past Life. This reveals that I am a Siberian Hamster named Vladimir, who drinks vodka, organizes health spas and has fled the Bolshevik life for the flesh-pots of America. Hey, guys, you're getting uncomfortably personal.
Emotionally exhausted by the revelations, I decided to take a break, and turn the psychologists' attention to other members of the family, our young cats.. What Is Your Cat's True Identity revealed that the girl cat, Benny, who salivates in apprehension every time we enter the car, is truly a Marco Polo, a discoverer at heart, to be watched for fear that her natural curiosity will take her too far away. That is true, Ben is always ready to run out the doors and disappear in the bushes. We worry that she has formed some form of after-dark league with the chipmunks, the nasty woodchuck and even the garbage tearer-upper, raccoon. Her brother Daisy is a Winny the Poo, according to the tests, always eager to cuddle and lounge around in the company of people. Equally true, except that he also hunts chipmunks and brings them to us, gladly surrendering them for release.
Pop psych is fun, and eMode has some 15 million members, wf which some must fork over an occasional $14.95 score, to keep the site's PHDs in reasonable bread if not in Veuve Clicquot. It will never be a psych-entertainment empire, such as the sports-entertainment behemoth. Speaking of the latter, I tried to e-mail my opinion about the potential MBL strike to the baseball players' officials, but the site refuses to accept messages. The arrogance of the organization is frightening. Not only do the 850 players average $2.4 million in pay alone, they also, unlike other sports organizations, do not penalize steroid use and do not impose real discipline to deal with substance abuse within its membership. Their shortsightedness may well succeed in destroying baseball. Maybe the players should meet some educational and language skills requirements. This is the only livelihood for which the essential skills are a carry- over from the cavemen hunters of the wooly mammoth.
Wally Dobelis and the T&V staff offer our best wishes to Linda Barr, who is taking a three-month leave of absence to have a baby. We welcome Syd Steinhardt, Assistant Editor and staff writer. Married and residing at Stuy Town, he is a recent grad of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism , and has an MA and BA in Political Science from Brooklyn and Toronto. Syd is also a regular contributor to Improvrev.com and freelances with the Empire State Report and Downtown Review.
Looking back I recall that in my youth I could never resist intelligence quizzes, Readers Digest word tests and other such challenges. Where others in the office feared the mysterious Sanford-Binet aptitude tests and other inquisitive tricks cooked up by Personnel (Human Resources to you, young whippersnappers) before the Privacy era, I looked forward to them. Over the years the lure has faded, but in our basement, submerged in news clippings and other saved treasures there are, I'm sure, old Mensa and Saturday Review of Literature quiz books.
It was therefore a real challenge to receive an unsolicited e-mail message from eMode ("The World's leading Self-Assessment Company"), challenging me to take their Ultimate IQ Test, free of charge, with immediate analysis. I fell for it, and invested the time. In self-defense, the testing was prompted by concerns with passage of years, advancing decrepitude and questions of synapses failing to snap the neurons together, i.e. slowing-down memory.
It turned out to be a 40-question proposition, equally divided into tests of spatial relationships, mathematical and verbal skills. My answers put me in a high category. Elated, I mentioned this event to some younger members of my acquaintance, all brought up on mammoth scores in the SATs, LSATs, GMATs and similar, with Kaplan a household name. No one was interested, and I was told that the crude types of the post-college generation who talk Mensa and match SAT scores in bars and know precisely when the SAT was cheapened are dorks and worse.
Somewhat chastened, I went to eMode's home base to try to figure whether this is a credible site, and found it is a veritable honeycomb of entertaining tests, one leading into another .
Who can resist a Right Job, Wrong Job Test of 41 questions? I grabbed it and found out that I am analytical and creative, but a detailed multi-page personalized report identifying my best, #1 job choice, would cost $14.95. This led into The Career Personality Test. To further intrigue you, the quiz is described as based on the theories of psychologists Raymond Cattell (Building Blocks of Personality, 1965) and John L. Holland. A sample report on a fictional Jeff tells him that his ideal jobs are in computer network administration, or law, or piloting airplanes, and intriguingly, that he should stay away from architecture. You want to know more, you fork over the ubiquitous $14.95.
An Ultimate Personality Test, in 50 questions, judges you on confidence, apprehensiveness, willingness to take risks and your focus on experience vs appearance. I am a good person and a seeker. Going on to Are You a Natural Leader - guess what. There is scoring on efficiency, being organized, on teamwork emphasis and on confidence. My adherence to the motto, borrowed from the radio lawyer/market guru, Adrienne Berg, "not always right, but never in doubt," must be shining through.
As a Risk-Taker, I'm less the picture of perfectitude, being off the wall, willing to be silly, but ready to take dangers and accept emotional challenges. At this point eMode teases you to take a 30-question test, What Kind of Dog Are You At Work? It turns out that I am a German Shepherd, who hides his competitiveness, speaks up when he is sure of himself and is careful in interoffice relationships. The Are You a Workaholic questions tell me to take it easy, the Enough Sleep? urges me to get some, Naughty Or Nice determines that I'm not a girl. A Handwriting Analysis tests me in the areas of wittiness, life enthusiasm, positive attitude, warmth and optimism, and whether I'm turned off by projects, all affirmative. Hmm, I like projects. But the trickiest is Discovering Your Past Life. This reveals that I am a Siberian Hamster named Vladimir, who drinks vodka, organizes health spas and has fled the Bolshevik life for the flesh-pots of America. Hey, guys, you're getting uncomfortably personal.
Emotionally exhausted by the revelations, I decided to take a break, and turn the psychologists' attention to other members of the family, our young cats.. What Is Your Cat's True Identity revealed that the girl cat, Benny, who salivates in apprehension every time we enter the car, is truly a Marco Polo, a discoverer at heart, to be watched for fear that her natural curiosity will take her too far away. That is true, Ben is always ready to run out the doors and disappear in the bushes. We worry that she has formed some form of after-dark league with the chipmunks, the nasty woodchuck and even the garbage tearer-upper, raccoon. Her brother Daisy is a Winny the Poo, according to the tests, always eager to cuddle and lounge around in the company of people. Equally true, except that he also hunts chipmunks and brings them to us, gladly surrendering them for release.
Pop psych is fun, and eMode has some 15 million members, wf which some must fork over an occasional $14.95 score, to keep the site's PHDs in reasonable bread if not in Veuve Clicquot. It will never be a psych-entertainment empire, such as the sports-entertainment behemoth. Speaking of the latter, I tried to e-mail my opinion about the potential MBL strike to the baseball players' officials, but the site refuses to accept messages. The arrogance of the organization is frightening. Not only do the 850 players average $2.4 million in pay alone, they also, unlike other sports organizations, do not penalize steroid use and do not impose real discipline to deal with substance abuse within its membership. Their shortsightedness may well succeed in destroying baseball. Maybe the players should meet some educational and language skills requirements. This is the only livelihood for which the essential skills are a carry- over from the cavemen hunters of the wooly mammoth.
Wally Dobelis and the T&V staff offer our best wishes to Linda Barr, who is taking a three-month leave of absence to have a baby. We welcome Syd Steinhardt, Assistant Editor and staff writer. Married and residing at Stuy Town, he is a recent grad of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism , and has an MA and BA in Political Science from Brooklyn and Toronto. Syd is also a regular contributor to Improvrev.com and freelances with the Empire State Report and Downtown Review.
Thursday, August 01, 2002
Strangers have the best candy and other urban nightmares
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
The huge media interest in the attacks on children, such as the California murder of 5-year old Samantha Runyon and the disappearance of 14-year old Elizabeth Smart from her Salt Lake City home is not pure sensationalism on part of pop TV and newsprint purveyors. It reflects a deep-set public concern over the perils of everyday life and the fate of children of all ages, exposed to unknown dangers on the street as well as in the safety of a home. The public compassion is reflected by the hundreds and even thousands of volunteers who turn up to comb neighborhoods and woods, searching for the victims.
Little Samantha is a case of a stranger luring away a child with candy or perhaps a request for help in finding a lost puppy, an appeal that a good kiddie cannot resisit.. Intern Chandra Levy, who disappeared from her Washington D.C. home in April 2001, and whose dead body was found in a nearby park in May 2002, is typical of the youngsters who leave home after school to seek adventure in a fast moving world of powerful men and willing Monica Lewinskys. The Smart case and the 1996 murder of 6-year old JonBenet Ramsay in Boulder, CO, unresolved to date, open the eyes of the public to questioning the trustworthiness of wayward relatives and household helpers. This is an area in which the sensation-mongers truly thrive. When the same events are reported from poor homes or ghetto areas, such as the May 2 2002 disappearance of 7-year old Alexis Patterson in Milwaukee, on her way to school, the tabloids are less active, claiming that lost-on-the-way-to-school cases are more frequent. The FBI shows for 2001 a roster of 840,279 reported missing person cases, 85-90 percent of them affecting children, or some 2,000 a day. Most frequent are runaways, followed by those lost (75 percent are found in 24 hours). Next categories are those abducted by families, "throw-away" children (those told by their household not to come back), and, finally, non-family abductees (62 percent by strangers, 19 by kinfolk and 8 for ransom).
And then there is the cases of gay children. Matthew Sheppard, a 21 year old student at the University of Wyoming, was lured away from a bar by four racist and sexist contemporaries, to be beaten to death. While society did punish the culprits -two of them were convicted to double life sentences - the inherent exposure to external homophobic and well as in-group health perils haunts the days and nights of gay youngsters' parents.
Urban horrors caused by nightmarish events have created strong public reactions. The 1967 case of Kitty Genovese, a woman who cried for help on a residential street in Queens while being murdered, with 38 neighbors ignoring her screams, roused the national public conscience. The emergence of 911 numbers and neighborhood watching activities can be dated back to that event. The Son of Sam murders - psychopath David Berkowitz shot courting couples at night in 1976, after setting 1,488 fires - brought on laws that stop the perpetrators from profiting by selling their stories. Various forms of street crimes have prompted neighborhoods to band together and do "street watch," both in New York and elsewhere (in Florida I have seen "covered by neighborhood watch" signs posted on picturesque residential streets frequented by tourists). Some schools have parent patrols and "safe harbor" candy stores for children walking through shoddy neighborhoods.
Stalking and peeping-Tom activities still preoccupy us, real and imagined, as evidenced by the obsessive public interest in dysfunctional lives - think of the success of "The Osbournes" and other grunge reality and "talk" shows. Edward Hopper's haunting 1928-29 series of paintings, such as "Night Windows" and "Automat," are examples of the fascination. "Rear Window,"Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 movie, with Jimmy Stewart as a disabled photographer voyeur who discovers a murder while idly watching his neighbors with binoculars, did spark some fears and privacy concerns. Note that YS does does have a law that punishes voyeurs with 6 month sentences.
This is a long way to bring us to a look at the privacy aspects of the newly proposed US security laws. The Homeland legislation, dealing with the protection of Americans against terrorists, has caused substantial privacy concerns, particularly on the issue of TIPS, the Justice Department's Terrorism Information and Prevention System, which would prompt meter readers, delivery truck drivers, cable installers and mail deliverers to register as volunteers and report suspicious information about their fellow citizens, as cautiously described on The public concern prompted Homeland Secretary Tom Ridge to declare that "The last thing we want is Americans spying on Americans," and last week the House Homeland Security Committee, with Majoritiy Leader Dick Armey at its head, passed legislation to kill the operation. But Attorney General John Ashcroft still marches on, claiming that he is merely creating a clearing-house for the investigation of volunteer reports and promising not to create a data base that could be used for such purposes as prospective employers checking out applicants.
Being spied on by service people is a familiar danger for Europeans. The East German STASI had some 4 million reports, filed by concierges and colleagues. In the former USSR one had to watch out for "dvorniks," janitors in the employ of KGB. In Western Europe, France in particular, the old ladies serving as concierges were known to have police connections. European hotels for years had to report arrivals and departures to the authorities. Having to watch your step has been almost second nature to Europeans.
We too have some of the same, particularly since 9/11. Doormen and building superintendents do look for suspicious tenant doings. The Post Office has its own rules for reporting possible illegal activities. Various neighborhood watch groups are alert to possible terrorist threats.
But there is a basic difference between STASI and KGB employed janitors and their US counterparts. In the totalitarian Communist countries the reporting on neighbors was an obligatory function, with scheduled reports required. Skipped reports or persistent absence of negative findings put the reporter under suspicion. To avoid being suspected themselves, the spies had to reveal questionable activities, no matter how minimal, such as talking with strangers or foreigners. It was an atmosphere of fear. The proposed TIPS, no matter how repulsive to Americans, does not suggest obligatory spying. Even in the atmosphere of war against terror the US government has not attempted to descend to that level. This is still the home of the free as well as the brave (and the inventive, and the never-say-die.Think none-for-nine when things look bleak.)
The huge media interest in the attacks on children, such as the California murder of 5-year old Samantha Runyon and the disappearance of 14-year old Elizabeth Smart from her Salt Lake City home is not pure sensationalism on part of pop TV and newsprint purveyors. It reflects a deep-set public concern over the perils of everyday life and the fate of children of all ages, exposed to unknown dangers on the street as well as in the safety of a home. The public compassion is reflected by the hundreds and even thousands of volunteers who turn up to comb neighborhoods and woods, searching for the victims.
Little Samantha is a case of a stranger luring away a child with candy or perhaps a request for help in finding a lost puppy, an appeal that a good kiddie cannot resisit.. Intern Chandra Levy, who disappeared from her Washington D.C. home in April 2001, and whose dead body was found in a nearby park in May 2002, is typical of the youngsters who leave home after school to seek adventure in a fast moving world of powerful men and willing Monica Lewinskys. The Smart case and the 1996 murder of 6-year old JonBenet Ramsay in Boulder, CO, unresolved to date, open the eyes of the public to questioning the trustworthiness of wayward relatives and household helpers. This is an area in which the sensation-mongers truly thrive. When the same events are reported from poor homes or ghetto areas, such as the May 2 2002 disappearance of 7-year old Alexis Patterson in Milwaukee, on her way to school, the tabloids are less active, claiming that lost-on-the-way-to-school cases are more frequent. The FBI shows for 2001 a roster of 840,279 reported missing person cases, 85-90 percent of them affecting children, or some 2,000 a day. Most frequent are runaways, followed by those lost (75 percent are found in 24 hours). Next categories are those abducted by families, "throw-away" children (those told by their household not to come back), and, finally, non-family abductees (62 percent by strangers, 19 by kinfolk and 8 for ransom).
And then there is the cases of gay children. Matthew Sheppard, a 21 year old student at the University of Wyoming, was lured away from a bar by four racist and sexist contemporaries, to be beaten to death. While society did punish the culprits -two of them were convicted to double life sentences - the inherent exposure to external homophobic and well as in-group health perils haunts the days and nights of gay youngsters' parents.
Urban horrors caused by nightmarish events have created strong public reactions. The 1967 case of Kitty Genovese, a woman who cried for help on a residential street in Queens while being murdered, with 38 neighbors ignoring her screams, roused the national public conscience. The emergence of 911 numbers and neighborhood watching activities can be dated back to that event. The Son of Sam murders - psychopath David Berkowitz shot courting couples at night in 1976, after setting 1,488 fires - brought on laws that stop the perpetrators from profiting by selling their stories. Various forms of street crimes have prompted neighborhoods to band together and do "street watch," both in New York and elsewhere (in Florida I have seen "covered by neighborhood watch" signs posted on picturesque residential streets frequented by tourists). Some schools have parent patrols and "safe harbor" candy stores for children walking through shoddy neighborhoods.
Stalking and peeping-Tom activities still preoccupy us, real and imagined, as evidenced by the obsessive public interest in dysfunctional lives - think of the success of "The Osbournes" and other grunge reality and "talk" shows. Edward Hopper's haunting 1928-29 series of paintings, such as "Night Windows" and "Automat," are examples of the fascination. "Rear Window,"Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 movie, with Jimmy Stewart as a disabled photographer voyeur who discovers a murder while idly watching his neighbors with binoculars, did spark some fears and privacy concerns. Note that YS does does have a law that punishes voyeurs with 6 month sentences.
This is a long way to bring us to a look at the privacy aspects of the newly proposed US security laws. The Homeland legislation, dealing with the protection of Americans against terrorists, has caused substantial privacy concerns, particularly on the issue of TIPS, the Justice Department's Terrorism Information and Prevention System, which would prompt meter readers, delivery truck drivers, cable installers and mail deliverers to register as volunteers and report suspicious information about their fellow citizens, as cautiously described on The public concern prompted Homeland Secretary Tom Ridge to declare that "The last thing we want is Americans spying on Americans," and last week the House Homeland Security Committee, with Majoritiy Leader Dick Armey at its head, passed legislation to kill the operation. But Attorney General John Ashcroft still marches on, claiming that he is merely creating a clearing-house for the investigation of volunteer reports and promising not to create a data base that could be used for such purposes as prospective employers checking out applicants.
Being spied on by service people is a familiar danger for Europeans. The East German STASI had some 4 million reports, filed by concierges and colleagues. In the former USSR one had to watch out for "dvorniks," janitors in the employ of KGB. In Western Europe, France in particular, the old ladies serving as concierges were known to have police connections. European hotels for years had to report arrivals and departures to the authorities. Having to watch your step has been almost second nature to Europeans.
We too have some of the same, particularly since 9/11. Doormen and building superintendents do look for suspicious tenant doings. The Post Office has its own rules for reporting possible illegal activities. Various neighborhood watch groups are alert to possible terrorist threats.
But there is a basic difference between STASI and KGB employed janitors and their US counterparts. In the totalitarian Communist countries the reporting on neighbors was an obligatory function, with scheduled reports required. Skipped reports or persistent absence of negative findings put the reporter under suspicion. To avoid being suspected themselves, the spies had to reveal questionable activities, no matter how minimal, such as talking with strangers or foreigners. It was an atmosphere of fear. The proposed TIPS, no matter how repulsive to Americans, does not suggest obligatory spying. Even in the atmosphere of war against terror the US government has not attempted to descend to that level. This is still the home of the free as well as the brave (and the inventive, and the never-say-die.Think none-for-nine when things look bleak.)
