Mile Zero
no matter where you go, there you are
Mile Zero is the personal website of Thomas Wilburn. All statements and opinions here are my own, and do not represent the views or policies of my employers at Congressional Quarterly, Ars Technica, or other publications.
For my mom.
06:42 x Thomas x /random/comedy_and_tragedy x link x 1 comment
The past week has been a little crazy. B-SPAN is really starting to hit its peak season, combined with the stress of training my replacements. We've got some sessions coming up on the effects of mass media and leadership that look promising, though.
Take Your Kid to Work Day took place yesterday, and I was drafted to teach kids about radio and sound production. I'm personally convinced that the main purpose of Take Your Kid to Work Day is to convince childless coworkers that their loins should remain unfruited.
The job search continues, as I just finished an interview with a local progressive think tank and have an upcoming interview with an offshoot of one of the national news organizations. Let's hope one of them works out, since rummaging through trash bins in search of sustenance and commentary doesn't appeal much to me.
In musical news, attempts to form a band via Craigslist have yielded little, besides an increasing frustration with over-optimistic college students who post five or six times a week in need of a front man. Watching them humiliate themselves online has reminded me that the most reliable way to actually find other musicians is to go out and play. Accordingly, I'm going to start hitting open mikes again.
10:03 x Thomas x /meta/announce/delays x link x 1 comment
More than anything, Chocobo Tales makes me wish I was playing Magic: The Gathering. Which is impressive, because I haven't wanted to do that since high school.
I don't even remember where I got my first deck of Magic cards. I'm pretty sure that I never spent very much money on it, although I guess $10 decks and $1 booster packs can pile up over time. At lunchtime, friends and I used to go to the library and play a few games. We weren't very serious about it, and I was less serious than most--I tended to build strange, uncompetitive decks, like one that was completely themed around rats. Eventually, we stopped playing as much, and I sold my collection to another student for enough money to buy a nice harmonica.
So Chocobo Tales reminds me of the game in a couple of ways. First, it's got a card battle system that's a bit like Magic in its simplicity, although without the metagame rule-bending that really made Richard Garfield's invention fun. Second, getting cards is an expensive pain, if you consider time to be money, because it requires you to obsess over a set of minigames that would probably be more fun if you weren't trying them for the 300th time. If it were balanced, Squaresoft would make the value of the cards recieved inversely proportional to the amount of effort required. I'm not sure yet if they've done so, and don't know if I'll bother to try to figure it out.
It's too bad that this is a one-off game, though, because with some more meat it would make a fine central concept for a full title, instead of just a boss challenge. The CCG genre is well-suited to the DS, I think, especially since WiFi is a great environment for it. But to really give depth to the experience, it needs more: more cards, more oddities, and more room for people to build their own unique decks. Maybe someone will port Magic Suitcase or Magic Workstation to the DS homebrew and fill the gap.
18:28 x Thomas x /gaming/software/chocobo_tales x link x 1 comment
To the surprise of even myself, I'm going to say nice things about Myspace.
In a recent conversation over in the bass forum, I got into a kind of genial alteraction about the nature of music production. Some poor, helpless guitar player wandered over and wanted to know how to buy a bass for recording "professional results." After a few of the usual answers, a forum member who works as a session bassist in LA stepped in with a more complicated--and much more expensive--answer.
For real professional results, he said, you should be running through a good DI and preamp, proceeding to name preamps that run in excess of $3000 each. At the very least, the recommendation was a Universal Audio unit that starts at $700. In further posts, much was made of the barely-audible differences between analog, tape-and-tube recording versus digital recording, even at very high sampling rates and resolutions.
Now, this rubbed me the wrong way. Part of it was just the invalidity of the argument--clearly, a great album can be made without spending money on ridiculously expensive components. But another part was the elitism of it all: your music isn't "professional" unless it's gone through one of these preamps, or been recorded in a certain prescribed way, or distributed on vinyl (last refuge of music snobs, despite its limited dynamic range and high noise floor).
I know that I never shut up about how bad .mp3 and other compression sounds to me, or how ugly and misformed Myspace is. But at the same time, let me praise these two technologies for how they have immeasurably improved the state of the small-time musician, and how they have democratized music. While Myspace in particular hasn't lived up to the hype--with one or two widely-publicized exceptions, nobody has been able to use it to bypass the studio distribution system--for "local bands" and other unsigned musicians, it has opened new doorways for the hobby. You might be able to get 500 people to buy a homemade CD, but it's easy enough to get 1500 friends on Myspace to listen to at least one song, and it beats putting up fliers on lampposts to announce gigs.
Privileging "professional" production and distribution methods is a way of locking out the poor or the unprepared from being "real" musicians. Digital production and distribution, which make it possible to write and record music cheaper and faster while still maintaining a basic benchmark of quality, threatens that heirarchy. It won't necessarily produce superstars, but it forces us to ask: what does "professional" even mean? What do we value in music? And how successful do we really want to be?
14:37 x Thomas x /music/business/distribution x link x 1 comment
All I'm going to say about Bank scandals
If I never have to read Christopher Hitchens drunkenly rambling about my workplace anywhere ever again, I may die a happy man.
12:04 x Thomas x /bank/events/external x link x 1 comment
Conferred thanks to Making Light.
00:00 x Thomas x /meta/announce x link x 0 comments
Seems perfectly reasonable and aboveboard to me. Let me just dig out my copy of Islamic Terror Organizations and their Front Groups: The ACLU, Hillary Clinton, and Hollywood before I fill out my application.
I don't know what I find more appalling, the sheer paranoia dripping from every word or the fact that it will probably be a raving success.
00:00 x Thomas x /politics/issues/defense x link x 0 comments
In which I inflict more pictures of my pets on the world.
But seriously, they're just getting a little too close to each other lately.
They're beginning to synchronize. I think they may be plotting something. Besides, look at this cat:
Remind you of anyone?
Be afraid. BE VERY AFRAID.
12:57 x Thomas x /random/personal/filthy_beasts x link x 1 comment
Dotster just sent out an e-mail saying that .es and .cn domains are now available. I'm always tempted, when informed about new domains, to register a bunch just in case. Now I'm trying to think of clever uses of the suffix. I can't think of any for .cn, but .es is a goldmine, assuming they're not already taken (www.mistak.es, sadly, has already been reserved).
Or maybe I just really want elvs.es and its subdomain, tricksy.elvs.es (hence the title, my preciousssss).
11:29 x Thomas x /random/tech x link x 1 comment
Congress Killed the Net Radio Star
The administrators of Pandora Internet radio have started a web campaign to petition against the retroactive increase in broadcasting fees for web-based radio, located at SaveNetRadio.org. I have always been critical of the online letter-writing campaign, but I think the past has shown that they actually work for putting pressure on representatives who are not necessarily well-informed about these issues.
Why save net radio? For myself, this is the primary way nowadays that I discover new artists. If it weren't for places like Pandora and Last.fm, I wouldn't know about Actionslacks, Mon Frere, or Viva Voce, just to name a few. You're certainly not going to hear them on terrestrial radio, assuming that I had time to listen to that anyway these days.
I thought it was interesting, in an interview with the AV Club, when Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) made the point that his was the first generation that could "own" a copy of a movie. Before the VCR, you could see a movie while it was in the theater or on TV, but you couldn't have a version to watch and pore over on your own schedule. Music went through that transition long before, and in a way the next step was the formation of net radio stations, where people could not just take ownership of the music, but could also program it into playlists and share it. If independent record shops hadn't already been fatally wounded, this would have killed them. I think it's important that we not let this channel of discovery die.
00:00 x Thomas x /music/business/distribution x link x 0 comments
PeterB reviews Crackdown:
I actually felt uncomfortable panning the game. Technically brilliant, this is still a game whose idea of a good time is shooting a rocket launcher into a crowd of racial stereotypes.
Later today I'll write about This Film is Not Yet Rated, which I think has something similar to say about the movie industry.
08:54 x Thomas x /gaming/media/online x link x 1 comment
The first thing that you take away from This Film Is Not Yet Rated is a genuine distaste for Jack Valenti, the president of the Motion Picture Association of America from 1966 to 2004. The documentary's subject is the troubling mechanics and implications of the MPAA's film rating system, particularly the NC-17 rating when applied to sex and violence. Since he created and strongly advocated for the rating system, Valenti--whose swollen visage at times resembles a grandfatherly pumpkin--is featured prominently in archive footage, bookended by examples that directly undercut his words.
The second thing, oddly, is sympathy for the ratings board. The MPAA insists that its raters (all of whom, it says, are parents of children between the ages of 5 and 17) must remain anonymous to do their jobs well, a fact that galls a number of the interviewed filmmakers like Matt Stone and Kevin Smith. In response, director Kirby Dick hires a private detective to track down the raters and manages to find 11 out of twelve. These parts of the film evoke the most mixed feelings, and seem to have been the most controversial. On the one hand, it's genuinely enjoyable to watch the investigator (a middle-aged lesbian named Becky) as she tracks down the raters using a mix of surveillance and social engineering. On the other hand, it does seem like an invasion of privacy. In the end, for me at least, I think the investigative stunt proves worthwhile, because if these raters are supposed to represent "the public" we should be able to see the sample. Unlike other reviewers, I don't think Dick mocks the subjects--he simply uses them to show that they're not who the MPAA says they are: they're older, mostly White, and probably wealthy, with kids that probably long ago left home.
Not Yet Rated is on more solid ground when it discusses the inconsistencies of the ratings board, particularly when it comes to the differences between sex and violence. Put simply, the board is much more tolerant of violence than sex, and it's far more tolerant of heterosexual sex than homosexual pairings or group sex. Dick illustrates the latter by putting scenes with nearly-identical framing and action next to each other, one gay (NC-17) and one straight (R). It's not convincing on its own, but collectively the evidence shows an agency that's increasingly puritanical about the bedroom, but also increasingly permissive when it comes to violence.
The occassional stunts and gimmicks used throughout Not Yet Rated, as have become traditional in pop-culture documentaries, can be hit or miss. But one of the big hits, and the dramatic climax of the film, comes when Dick submits the documentary itself--including its reveal of rater identities--to the MPAA for a rating, receiving an NC-17 (most likely for the clips shown of sex and violence from other, similarly-rated films). Upon appeal, the draconian nature of the entire process is highlighted (and supported by testimony from other filmmakers). Dick is not allowed to refer to other films that have received ratings by way of comparison, nor is he allowed to know the identities of the members of the appeals board (which, we discover, includes two members of clergy). Repeating her performance from the first ratings board, Becky the detective hunts down the appeals board members despite the best efforts of the MPAA. The result is a checklist of distributors, cinema chain VIPs, and studio executives, confirming the industry's control of its own rating system. Needless to say, the appeal is denied, and the current version of the film is unrated.
This Film Is Not Yet Rated provides few solutions for the problem, other than to advocate for a government-run board, which could be appealed through a standard legal suit and would keep public documentation on its process. I feel that it also draws uncomfortable conclusions about the influence of the media on the populace, a debate that has raged practically since Birth of a Nation. Perhaps it's also cynical to wonder if a government board, particularly given this government, would be any better. But the questions raised by the film are nonetheless thought-provoking, and (especially given how movie ratings are often cited as an example by the gaming and other artistic industries) need to be asked.
And for that matter, as with any movie that revels in the backstage intrigues at the edges of family-friendly entertainment, it's a lot of fun to watch.
00:00 x Thomas x /movies/reviews/documentary x link x 0 comments
It Rubs the Lotion On Its Skin
Great moments in band ad responses from Craigslist:
08:53 x Thomas x /music/performance/band x link x 1 comment
To: SquareEnix, makers of Chocobo Tales
CC: Everyone else making games for DS
Dear entertainment software teams,
So, how about those minigame collections? I see that you've discovered them again. As long as they don't wear out their welcome, either in the individual segments or the overarching structure, I approve. But let me make a quick suggestion: any game, micro or otherwise, that involves scribbling furiously at the DS touch screen needs to be redesigned, ASAP.
Because while you may be thinking that this is going to be an enjoyable diversion, I'm thinking it greatly increases the risk of gouging deep scratches into the screen, and that makes me twitch a little. Repeat after me: the stylus was not meant to be used as a replacement for button-mashing.
Sincerely,
Thomas
Tip for protective DS owners: If you don't particularly care for screen protectors, but you need to pass one of these obnoxious minigames, a piece of scotch tape makes a fine temporary solution. Just lay it down across the screen, scribble away, and then peel it back off. This used to be the height of Macgyver-style cleverness back in the early PalmOS community.
17:49 x Thomas x /gaming/hardware/control x link x 1 comment
Reason #15,398 I can't use a Mac
Forget the right mouse button: where the ^@#$# is all the keyboard navigation?
15:10 x Thomas x /random/tech x link x 1 comment
I remember reading on Ars Technica that there are Youtube variations popping up all over the place now. There are a couple for porn, of course, but there's also GodTube (for fundamentalists) and RuTube (for Russians). I'd like to propose another, if it hasn't already been done: there needs to be a free streaming-video host for activists and small non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in developing countries.
From my perspective at the Bank, video streaming's going to increasingly be a big deal. It's getting faster and cheaper to shoot video nowadays, especially if you stay digital instead of going back and forth to tape. And if you don't need to edit, uploading to Youtube or Google Video is a one-step process. Once the video is there, it can be embedded anywhere you want, and the only payment required is a small amount of branding.
Even an organization like WBI has a very limited streaming capacity. We max out at about 300 low-bandwidth users. In Brussels, we blew through that almost immediately. And we're the World Bank: smaller organizations almost certainly can't afford to be hosting video for very many people. For those NGOs and civil society actors, something like Google Video or Youtube is a godsend. There's a tremendous potential for raising money and awareness through online video, but it also gives a tremendous amount of power to the services that host this material. And while Google has promised to "do no evil," for NGOs that are aware of how the company caved in China, that may not be terribly reassuring.
The Internet Archive may be one solution. But it doesn't allow embedding Flash, and it's not completely immune to political pressure, as when it bowed to the Church of Scientology. So we probably need something else. Sure, it's possible for an organization to purchase web space or rent from a provider, but why restrict activism only to those who have credit cards and reliable Internet access? Why force them to reinvent the wheel?
My favorite social movement in recent memory, the Otpor youth movement against Milosevic in Serbia, accomplished a lot of its work through grassroots activism and smart media stunts. It turns out that they also channeled large amounts of funds from Western donors who were captivated by their oddball non-violent resistance. Both the activism and the fundraising might be made much easier in other countries with a trustworthy Internet vehicle: an NGOTube.
Update: Colleagues note that some groups are already working on this--WITNESS, which documents human rights abuses, will be launching the Hub sometime this year.
00:00 x Thomas x /bank/analysis/development/technology x link x 0 comments
Have you seen this ridiculously pretentious article from the Washington Post Magazine? The writer got an award-winning classical violinist to play in a downtown Metro station here in DC, then put a camera on it to see how many people stopped to listen. Not surprisingly, no-one did, a fact that the author milks for all kinds of "why has beauty died?" angst.
It's possible to respond to this rationally: to mention, for example, that the people walking through L'Enfant Plaza station are probably going to work at the Department of Transportation, the FAA, the Department of Energy, or any of other government agencies located nearby, and if they're late they could be fired. They don't necessarily have time to listen to music, no matter how good it is. That would even be true if they're riding an efficient, reliable underground system, which (as any visitor to the city can attest) the DC metro is emphatically not.
You could also point out, to the author's snotty suggestion that every child stopped while every parent urged their wayward offspring on, that children also enjoy stopping to talk to crazy homeless people and eat candy that they find on the ground. Children are not flawless barometers of musical enchantment. When I was a kid I listened to Wee Sing and watched Ernest movies, but I don't see anyone suggesting that we should install the corpse of Jim Varney with a recording of folk songs in Metro stations. Kids in that part of town mean that the parents have to drop them off at daycare before work, which no doubt makes the family schedule less flexible.
Don't forget to take note of the "high culture" snobbishness of the article. How dare those lowlife office workers not recognize the genius of this world-class violinist, playing the greatest music ever made? Except of course that beyond a certain level of competency, hardly anyone ever notices the subtleties of musicianship. Most people are not musicians. They don't care that someone added a fine semi-tone quaver to a phrase, or that you did something tricky in the dorian mode there (good job, by the way!). Even many music buffs do not really notice the intricacies of a given tone or instrument. Especially, I want to stress, in a Metro station.
And is this the greatest music ever made? That's a little Eurocentric, isn't it? Why didn't the Post put a great tabla--or gamelan, or mbira--player into the Metro station? Perhaps because that music would be something a little more out of the ordinary. People might have actually stopped for that--still not many, during a morning rush hour, but a few. And then no-one gets to write a condescending article about it.
But I think the best response to the article that I've seen is from composer Richard Einhorn, a.k.a. Tristero at Hullaballoo. He writes that we should do this more often:
Exactly. And perhaps more importantly, let's stop putting those great musicians on pedestals in expensive auditoriums, where only the rich can pay to see them, and the price tag grants them a gleam of exclusivity far in advance of their talents. I'm not denigrating great musicians. I'm not saying that Joshua Bell's playing isn't a thing of great value. But instead, consider how terrible it is that most people will never really listen to this kind of music because it is presented poorly and to only a privileged few--or moreover, how discouraging it is for most people that good musicians are seen as untouchable (and unattainable) for the common man.
11:59 x Thomas x /music/performance/busking x link x 1 comment
They have installed a solar-powered faucet in the men's room at work. I work on the second floor, in a building with eleven floors, so there are no skylights in the bathroom. Neither are there windows.
In theory, this makes more sense than you'd immediately think, because it's one of those water-conserving auto-faucets, and the solar panel means that it's powered as a side-effect of the bathroom flourescents, instead of requiring its own electrical connection.
But it's still a little odd.
08:53 x Thomas x /bank/experience/personal x link x 1 comment
Eight years ago, Sega put out the first hi-def console. The Dreamcast was able to output in 640x480 VGA mode for most games, offering a sharper picture and more accurate colors than any other console out there. Then Sega made a lot of very silly business decisions and collapsed into a largely insensate heap. Today it only revives itself long enough to output terrible Sonic the Hedgehog spinoffs, and the Dreamcast is considered long-dead.
I still have a Dreamcast around, because you can't play Virtual On Garou: Mark of the Wolves, or the original Jet Grind Radio anywhere else. It's also really homebrew-friendly, if I ever decided to get back into that, and I used to have disks that would play movies or SNES games. And now I have an HD TV to go with it, one that even accepts a VGA input.
Unfortunately, I lost my VGA box for the Dreamcast. At least, I think I lost it. Maybe it's in the basement from when I moved last year, but I didn't see it after five minutes of looking around down there, and that means I probably threw it away. It was a little broken anyway. The point is, I need a new one. And unless there's a different, VGA box-filled Internet out there that I can't find, my only options are: A) pay $40 to have one imported from the UK, or B) make my own.
In other words, televisions finally caught up with the Dreamcast, and I still can't afford to play in high-definition.
Why isn't there just a VGA port on the back of the machine in the first place? Why don't most game consoles put their outputs out where you can get to them, like DVD players or other AV equipment? Maybe it's to simplify the circuit boards, and bring down costs. Personally, I suspect it's so that they can make more money by selling cables.
Anyway, if anyone's got a spare Sega VGA box, it's a seller's market. I've noticed that Gamecube cables are already getting hard to find, and they changed the socket on the Wii. Stock up now.
21:38 x Thomas x /gaming/hardware/dreamcast x link x 1 comment
I love theme songs. If the Bank promised me I could write one a week, I'd never leave. I'd also never have time to write here, as you can tell.
I like this one. It's for a narrated slideshow on gender statistics, aimed at policymakers. I spent an hour or two writing it, and although I really wanted formless female vocals to fill it out, there aren't a lot of singers in my department, and I think the Cello in Sampletank is lovely.
So I call the task manager in to listen, being very proud of myself. He gets through ten seconds, and then says: "No, no, no. This sounds like a theme for gender statistics. I don't want that."
You didn't?
"No. Gender statistics is exciting! I wanted something with a beat!" You didn't say that. I can only write for what I'm told. "What did we use for those instructional videos?" So I play him the crappy stock music, and "Perfect. That's what we'll use."
Anyone want a cello theme? Slightly used? But seriously, I'm thinking about fleshing it out a bit this weekend, and it could be a great backing track. Not a total loss.
This snippet is for a self-running slideshow on urban slum upgrading. In the next thirty years, urban areas will grow tremendously in the developing world, and most of them will be slums unless we do something about it. The slideshow is meant to give people a few options, and keep them from losing the political will to take action, because the solutions aren't honestly that difficult.
It's also being presented in Nairobi in a week or two, and the task manager wanted drums. I hate drums as a shorthand for Africa, and I always feel hypocritical doing it. So I worked with one of the team leaders from the project, and proposed doing something more like this instead. It uses a rhythmic synth drone to give the piece movement and an urban feel, a little West African-wannabe guitar, and kalimba to provide the "tick-tock" sounds. There's African instrumentation, in other words, but it doesn't scream "Tarzan." It also doesn't sound too depressed, too excited, or too martial, all of which would be inappropriate for slums.
21:33 x Thomas x /music/recording/production x link x 1 comment
In an ongoing series of elaborate plans to force science fiction onto Belle's friends, I suggested Philip K. Dick's Ubik to the book club this month. After we all got done snickering about his last name, the suggestion was accepted. It's a short read, and I finished it this weekend. If anyone would like to participate from home, I'd like to propose the following helpful discussion questions:
13:24 x Thomas x /fiction/litcrit x link x 1 comment
Myspace is Terrible: Jealous Rage Edition
So what exactly is the protocol when another musician you've contacted through Myspace sends your significant other a friend request, but doesn't send one to you?
Inquiring minds want to know.
12:23 x Thomas x /culture/internet x link x 1 comment
They say you can't appreciate some bands until you see them live. It's news to me. But from the Black Keys website, I found Fab Channel, which has collected an alarming number of live concerts in full, including the Keys:
You might also be interested in a few other shows they've got there:
20:45 x Thomas x /music/artists/black_keys x link x 1 comment
Developing photographer (and unfailing commenter) Lucretius wants more exposure. Ha! See what I did there? But seriously, Lucretius asked a week or so ago if I would help highlight his artwork, and I'm more than happy to do so. Here's his introductory statement:
Early on, I started with, and often return to, the ever-popular form of digital art known as clones. From photo-shoot to Photoshop, you must have a substantial amount of control over what happens in the image. It can be hard and tiring, but it's worth the work once an image is completed. At the same time, I'm usually much more intrigued by side projects/series and other miscellanea, such as my recent series "His Last Few Papers," or my penchant for ghosts. Those are similar to the clones, yet much more satisfying and, to me, eye catching. In fact, I'm planning a new project based on the ghosts of inanimate objects.
Artists have a multitude of subjects with which to work. The world is full of things to draw, write, and sing about. And yet here I am taking self-portrait after self-portrait. For me, this is the purest form of art, because it's the most literal form of self-expression, and my most direct connection to the audience. I'm much more comfortable when that connection is made through myself, rather through something or someone else.
Be sure to check out those links to his portfolio. I think these are really very cool images that showcase a lot of potential, and I don't just say that to flatter a reader. Two of my favorites are here and here.
08:28 x Thomas x /random/linky x link x 1 comment
I'm not usually either fooled or amused by April Fools Day, but this intranet story at the Bank this morning had me going for a while. That probably says a lot about either the budget rumors going around, or (more likely) my precarious relationship with much of pop culture.
Three coalitions of VPUs are being formed for a two-day budget planning exercise. Each VPU will be represented by its vice president and its senior resource management officer.
The first group comprises all the Operational units, including all Regions. The second team is made up of a coalition of Financial and Administrative Units--led by Human Resources (HR), the Information Solutions Group (ISG), General Services Department (GSD), and External Affairs (EXT). Development Economics(DEC) is leading the third group, which includes the World Bank Institute (WBI) and all the Network VPUs.
The meeting to determine the Bank's resource allocation for the next fiscal year will be held off site, on the island state of Vanuatu next week. "The objective of the island meeting is simple: to allow a natural self-selection process to take place," explained Chief Financial Officer Vincenzo La Via. "This will greatly simplify budget planning for the Managing Directors."
Partnership and Competitiveness
Each of the coalitions will compete in a series of development exercises, to be evaluated on the basis of how well they apply their group's comparative advantage to the problems put forth. A global audience of staff and stakeholders will vote hour-by-hour on who deserves to stay in the competition. The BBC World Service has agreed to broadcast the proceedings, in partnership with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The team with the greatest number of surviving vice presidents at the end of the 48-hour marathon will receive 10 percent budget increases for all their VPUs, including 10 percent SRIs and a double complement of H-level staff positions.
The losing VPUs will receive a full 10 percent cut for the next three years, as well as loss of all H and I level slots and Blackberry devices. Also, their international staff will all be converted to local hire status.
Review Process
President Wolfowitz announced that international activist and actress Angelina Jolie and renowned investor Warren Buffett will co-chair a special group of outside judges on the island.
"Angelina has visited more IDA countries than I have, and has seen many of our projects in the field. She has an excellent head on her shoulders about money, and she has certainly made a lot of it. Warren Buffett's wisdom is well known. We are grateful to both of them for agreeing to lend their objective, outside perspective to the reallocation exercise. They will guarantee fair play," said Wolfowitz.
Going Forward
Today interviewed the leaders of each coalition. The Operational Units--dubbed the 'Road Warriors'--are being led by Jim "Don't mess with me" Adams of EAP. He said, "We figure that with Shigeo, we've got a strong competitor; Pam's learned a lot from LAC's strong military tradition that will come in handy; and I've gotten our Asian clients to agree to flood Western financial capitals with sell orders if the situation gets tight. We fully intend to go all the way with this."
The administrative units, recently renamed DFU (Don't FAC with Us), said they will not be intimidated, and that they can pull the plug on the air conditioning of the other units if push comes to shove. Team leader Guy-Pierre De Poerck of ISG added, "Everyone needs to remember that we gave you connectivity, and we can take it away."
Chief Economist Francois "I know a recession when I see it" Bourguignon, leading the Wonks for Global Justice coalition of Bank Networks, said ominously, "Information is power, and we have the data. We will not hesitate to use it, either. Consider yourselves warned."
Today will keep staff posted on this story as it develops. "We are relieved, to tell the truth," said Sumir Lal from Internal Communications. "The budget stories usually pull our readership numbers way down during sweeps week, so this unexpected initiative is very welcome."
00:00 x Thomas x /bank/events x link x 0 comments
