Brendan I. Koerner's Blog, page 68
July 2, 2010
Rocky's Red Glare
We're operating on the assumption that the masses have either a) already bolted for the holiday weekend or b) are too absorbed in the World Cup quarterfinals to pay attention to fresh information on The Tubes. As such, we're signing off for a spell with the most patriotic scene from 1980s filmdom: Sylvester Stallone's final speech from Rocky IV, in which he single-handedly convinces the Soviet Politburo to abandon Communism, tear down the Berlin Wall, and authorize the export of Stolichnaya a...
July 1, 2010
A Feat Worthy of Zatoichi
Count us among the many millions who are counting the seconds until The RZA's directorial debut, Wu-Tang vs. The Golden Phoenix, hits the big screen. In the meantime, we must sate our martial-arts jones with less cinematic fare, starting with this 13-year-old account of Manipuri swordfighting. The denizens of the Indian province have long been renowned for their skills with the blade, dating back to the region's spell as one of the British raj's more unruly possessions. Prior to the...
Us on the Wireless
Audio above of our morning appearance on The Takeaway. The other guest was a 14-year member of AA from Kentucky—many thanks to her for coming on. And apologies for a couple of malapropisms strewn throughout—we hadn't yet gotten our requisite caffeine dose, and the gentle strains of Winnie the Pooh emanating from Microkhan Jr.'s room caused a small bit of distraction.
Rosie the Deminer
Do women make for better deminers? That could be the case in Sudan, in part because of the culture's traditional division of labor:
In these war-torn communities it is typically women who are involved in gathering wood and water for their families in more remote locations. Due to their knowledge of these lesser-known areas, women have the most information in these rural communities regarding which areas are the most dangerous. These women, however, are typically an untapped resource of...
From the AA Mailbag II
As a counterweight to the critique offered in the post below, I offer one of the more intriguing pro-AA responses I've received this week. It comes from a longtime AA member who offers an unusually harsh take on the organization's history:
I'm 28 years sober…My master's thesis looked at the influence of James and Jung on the thought of Wilson. My conclusion, Wilson really did not understand what either was saying. But it did not matter. [Though:] Wilson was the ultimate flim flam man (well...
From the AA Mailbag
As noted in the post below, I've been absolutely deluged with e-mail responses to the Alcoholics Anonymous piece. I've been doing my best to read each and every one, and to respond when appropriate. Apologies to those who don't receive replies—I've only got one brain and two hands.
Though the vast majority of the feedback has been positive, there's been some hate mixed in amidst the love. Most of it has come from AA members who feel that the article denigrated their beloved organization. But I...
June 30, 2010
Buffer Overload
Sorry for the slow start to the day. We're working on a couple of solid posts, including a great kidnapping yarn from the '70s, but getting clear of our other chores is taking longer than anticipated. That's in part because of the five million e-mails that currently sit unopened in our inbox—the Times piece on our AA story sparked a major response, and we're doing our best to read as many notes as possible.
More as soon as we're able. In the meantime, won't you settle for Oneida in Paris?
June 29, 2010
The Fugitive Bake-Off
One of our favorite cop-show cliches is the one about the streetwise detective who's consigned to desk duty after committing some grievous procedural sin. The implication is that doing paperwork is significantly less useful than pounding the pavement, not to mention less manly. "Pencil pusher," after all, is invariably an insult, is it not?
In reality, however, well-done paperwork can often do far more to crack a case than roaming the streets in search of clues. That's the lesson we took away ...
Quick and Clean
What little we know about the efficacy of the 12 Steps, the system at the heart of Alcoholics Anonymous, comes from a lengthy study called Project MATCH. As I mention in my Wired piece, Project MATCH confirmed that the Steps perform as well as other therapies when applied in a clinical setting—though, as critics like to point out, no alcoholism treatment produces especially laudable results.
One of the most provocative papers to make use of Project MATCH's data is "Are Alcoholism Treatments...
June 28, 2010
Ye Olde Tyme Robo-Banjo
We can trace our lifelong fascination with technology to a few choice childhood experiences: our first time playing Pitfall on an Atari 2600, watching The Black Hole on Betamax, and, perhaps above all, visiting The Magic Castle. The foyer of said castle featured a self-playing piano, which responded to audience requests (as long as those songs were on its rolls, we presume). There was something undeniably awesome about seeing the keys press down in rapid succession, even though no human...
