Babies and Autism. There must be a sort of in-built audience for this story, because there have been so many scary scary articls about it. Thermasol (sp?), which is to say mercury, in vaccinations (it's not there anymore — but try telling that to crunchy moms across the country!). Asperger's syndrome with its chattier, but almost equally disconnected little victims. Temple whatsername, who made the kinder cow chutes for slaughter houses and has autism. Autism is scary stuff for this world of would be Skinners.
I don't think the baby autism thing is interesting because people don't want their kids to catch it — although that's certainly part of it. I think it's another symptom of this world of irrational fear we Americans live in. It's scary to think there are things that are completely out of your control that can go wrong — having an autistic baby, losing all your money in a stock market crash, sitting on a dirty toilet seat and catching Ebola — in America more than any other country. Why? Because although this country is wealthy, it is fundamentally extremely dysfunctional with its money. It forces individuals to look out for themselves. You are very much on your own out here if something terrible happens to you or your family and you don't have health insurance, or a gun to defend yourself, or a personal cash cache under the bed. Having an autistic child in a society that demands you carry the burden of the financial responsibility and emotional responsibility (which can be mitigated with finances, natch, to varying degrees) yourself has got to be terrifying. It creates a series of choices that must be heartwrenching for any family of modest means; moreso for a single mother.
And people try so hard to have the perfect kid. Now that babies are virtually guaranteed to survive the first five years of life, each one has a different kind of value attached to it than 100 years ago. Which is a good thing in so many ways. But it puts a lot of pressure on these little creatures to be perfect; there aren't seven or eight backups coming through.
An interesting item about Susan Sontag and Annie Leibovitz. They were sweeties, doncha know. You wouldn't have learned it from the NYT's obit, and this was a fairly raging debate on Romenesko about three months ago, when Sontag died. Way to be on top of the ball, there, NW. Well, it was motivated by a fairly recent meeting of LGB reps with NYT people, who said they couldn't get any confirmation that the two actually had a relationship. I would have thought plenty of NYT staffers would have gone to the illuminary-filled parties Sontag and Leibovitz were known to swan about at. What's the point of being a NYT staffer if you don't get to go to the cool parties?
On to the last sentences that made me groan:
"If AT&T can hang up, anything is possible." Hey, didn't you guys crib from 1908's "Looks like the era of rail travel has, well, run out of steam" when writing about the internal combustion engine in the Model-T?
"It contained questions: about life, about suffering, about the nature of God." That's reading a lot into an elderly and ailling pope's not making it to the Lenten retreat.
"Putin needs to be coaxed out of his shell — gently." I like it when they give advice. Especially advice that makes it sound like this cagey and totalitarian man is a) introverted and b) a shy widdle cwab.
"If Bush wants to get Europe's help, he needs to talk not just to its rulers but to its people." Ah, Fareed? This might have been a good time to mention this. However, don't think Fareed is being soft on Bush. This is actually a piece that catalogs how bad certain policy failures have been and how he thinks some, like this whole Lebanon-Syria thing, should be addressed. But it would have been nice to mention that Bush is afraid of being confronted by real people.
Laura Bush: "We don't actually get invited to that many dinner parties." Interesting.
"And, for a growing number of users, HIV." Because the quote didn't include it, and that's the angle on the gay sex and meth connection, and by God, NW has to get its moral on extra sledgehammery!
"... he could use all the friends he could get. Especialy ones with deep pockets."
Killer detail in the autism article: an autistic girl, who has written and is featured in an Oscar-nominated film based on her "awakening," says she knows she looks "retarded" carrying handfuls of spoons, but can't help herself. That's awesome. Worth the whole baby autism scare, almost, really worthy of a good McSweeney's piece. This chick has a David Sedaris quality but she'll never "pass." She's edgy.
However, the last sentence is: "A fleeting moment, a developmental milestone — and, if all goes well, a new world of possibilities for a sweet little boy with dimples." Sugar rush!
"The group reached consensus on one thing: more research is needed." Drinking wine, that is. Insert Beavis laugh here. It's not the worst last sentence. It's just so flipping formulaic.
"If and when the NHL resumes play, it may find that all that is left is scratch." Wag that finger, NW.
"'Project Runway' shows how ugly fashion can be — and that's a good thing." Do they have a machine that spits this stuff out? Tragically, the rest of the article is about as illuminating. Although I, too, stood behind Jay (especially once Kara Saun did that stupid conflict-of-interest thing with the shoes), I wouldn't go touting him as my favorite in the magazine. I also wouldn't have given in to Wendy Pepper's delusions. Those almost ruined that great show for me, please, please be careful because with NW I'm already on the edge.
"When you leave the pooch alone, it lets out a yelp and heads for the doghouse. WIth practice, your spouse might do the same." Meow! I never get tired of spouse-training jokes. Sike.
Also noticed:
When quoting "Zagat's" "selectively," "sometimes" the words can be "read" in "an all-too-ironic" way that is "counter" to the "way" they "were meant to be read."
On the "The Technologist" page, I've noticed NW has a little grafcito here called "Blog Watch." They want people to read Jerry Brown's blog, at least, they put a clever graphic next to it that looks like a blue computer key marked "Save." Here's a sample of Governor Moonbeam: "It is curious how people perceive platitudes and extremism on my part when I perceive the same thing in them. Schopenhauer said that extracting truth from oneself required putting one’s mind on a rack and subjecting it to relentless interrogation—so prone are we to delusion and denial. Of course, the ideologues know nothing of such anguish because they rarely leave the refuge of their own tightly held identities. (paragraph) Bloggers are a force. The established order of politics (EOP) and the MSM face a big challenge from this fearless army. Tragically, in some countries, the challenge is met by enforced silence."
Bleh. Even this pile o crap blog is more lively than that. Boy, NW, you need to be careful about what you pimp!
Also, once again a letter writer, David L. King of Geneva, NY, proves to be a more insightful questioner than the person who wrote the article about "The New Game of Retirement." I think restructuring the entire Social Security Administration — one of the best and most popular programs in the history of the nation — demands a level of "WTF???" questioning. Also, a letter writer from the FBI, the fetchingly named Cassandra M. Chandler, notes that the email that was compromised was handled by a private firm, not the FBI. Which begs for an article about the effects of privatization on federal security. How much of our govt security is in the hands of private firms? In Iraq, Afghanistan, and here in the US? What does it mean when the technicians and the smartypants all are employed by contractors? Where are they coming from? Alas, like her namesake, I fear NW will not heed this clarion call for an investigation.
Oh, thank God a week of NW-free time awaits! Hallelujah! Bring on the New Yorker! I need it intravenously! Stat!
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