officers' log

OFFICERS' LOG

[10_09_03 L.B. Deyo] STAY TUNED
Will JInx officers visit the Leonard Lopate show in October? Will Jinx officers appear on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien in November? Will Invisible Frontier become a television show-or a feature film? Will the Laughing Boy's bank account remain below the five hundred dollar mark? Will he be able to feed his dog? Will he have to eat his dog? All these questions and more will be answered-in time!

[10_08_03 L.B. Deyo] LITANY
Sometimes I get tired of sitting around thinking about all the things I can't stand. Like Adbusters. Tevas. People talking about "body image." Euphemisms and buzz words like "issues," "gender," "economic justice." Rollerblades. Going to see a band. People talking about "hipsters," and who's a hipster and who's not. Men wearing their hair in lush, thick curls. The Smiths. College professors and intellectuals making references to pop culture. Pop music. Independent film. Emoticons. The United Nations. The retard whose fax machine calls me every morning. Retro-crap. Protest marches. Pot. The friggin' '80's. Teenage thugs screaming outside my window. The Dell Dude. People who say "dude." People who don't watch TV. People who bitch about the inane things they can't stand on their stupid Web logs.

[10_07_03 L.B. Deyo] READINGS
Invisible Frontier authors Lefty and L.B. will read from the book twice this month. The first reading is scheduled for Sunday, 19 October at 2pm, at Wave Hill. The second reading is Thursday, 30 October at noon, at Urban Center Books. Don't miss either one.

[09_26_03 L.B. Deyo] THE STATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Either this is a practical joke, or Invisible Frontier is now required reading at the University of Florida for the course "AML 2410: Writing New York City Into Cultural Memory . "

[09_26_03 L.B. Deyo] NEW PHOTOS
We've added some new monastery photos to the library.

[09_26_03 L.B. Deyo] REST IN PEACE
No human death should be celebrated. The tomb is rightly clothed with solemnity, a solemnity independent of the life preceding it. We owe a duty of respect even to the lowest man when his hour rings. This much we pay even to a base liar, a fraud, an ingrate and a traitor. Edward Said, RIP.

[09_26x_03 L.B. Deyo] NEW TO THE SITE
We're proud to announce two new features on the Jinx site. The Photography page offers a library of Jinx images for your browsing pleasure. The Staff page is your introduction to Jinx officers, operatives, and K-9 Division personnel. Pull-down menus allow you to jump to articles by the various staffers. Please .

[09_23_03 L.B. Deyo] ANOTHER REASON NOT TO GARDEN WHILE HIGH
What did he have against his tongue? Thanks to the Brain for the link.

[09_23_03 L.B. Deyo] DID YOU KNOW?
A recent survey of Jinx personnel produced some surprising results.One hundred percent of respondents said Tevas, Birkenstocks and flip-flops are repulsive .

[09_16_03 L.B. Deyo] IMAGINATION AS A GATEWAY TO REALITY
In his Six Degrees of Separation, playwright John Guare offers an interesting view of imagination. Rather than a means to escape reality, he writes, imagination is a crucial tool in embracing and understanding reality.

The truth of this idea becomes clear when we read history, particularly ancient history. Our record of the ancient world is fragmented, illuminated as if by flashes of lightening. The scattered remains of the Alexandria Library tantalize with their hint at the vast knowledge which has been lost. We need imagination to fill in blank spaces and form a coherent picture of this lost world.

This is the view of the city in urban exploration. In the ruins of old structures we see the faint outlines of a lost society. We see the shadow of a skeleton. The important thing is to realize that this is normal, not exclusive to history or exploration but an essential feature of everyday life: All of our perceptions are fragmented, incomplete. Our minds fill in the gaps and make our phenomenology fluid, but this is an illusion. It takes imagination to form a truer picture: Theory, conjecture, research, experiment. If we can capture a detailed snapshot of a single moment in time and space, we have grasped a lifetime1s worth of knowledge.

09_13_03 L.B. Deyo] MAGNIFICENCE OF MIND
Rome produced few intellects to rival Cicero's. Yet summing him up, Plutarch wrote that Cicero "was without magnificence of mind." This criticism was aimed not at the man's genius, but at his character. By "magnificence of mind" Plutarch meant confidence, self-assurance, an ability to live on one's own terms. Cicero's rhetorical gifts were largely squandered in a search for public approval. He was forever justifying himself. He scraped and flattered, fearful of censure, depending on the praise and support of his contemporaries.

If I could change one thing about myself, it would be this quality, which I share with Cicero. I would acquire a just contempt for the opinions of others. I would trust my own judgment. I would weigh criticism objectively, rationally evaluating its worth. Instead, I credit criticism in proportion to its negativity: I lightly dismiss praise, but hear insults as the word of God.

How can one achieve magnificence of mind? The answer strikes me as complex and elusive. The quality is largely psychological. Healthy people are far more self-confident than depressed people. Interestingly, depressed persons tend to have a more realistic appraisal of themselves and their prospects. Healthy people operate under a veil of self-deception that is unphilosophical, unrealistic, yet highly adaptive. Another component is character. A dishonest person can't trust himself. An immoral person can't dismiss society's moral approbation. This is a strong argument for right conduct. Self-assurance comes from self-mastery. To "keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you," to "trust yourself when all men doubt you," requires that you be levelheaded, trustworthy, blameless. This is a first step toward magnificence.

09_12_03 L.B. Deyo] IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW
Design is Kinky rules this mother.

09_12_03 L.B. Deyo] MAN IN BLACK
Johnny Cash, RIP.

09_11_03 L.B. Deyo] REDESIGN
Welcome to the redesigned Jinx Magazine. Our aim has been to improve readability, navigability, and the site's appearance. if you have any technical problems or other comments.

08_28_03 L.B. Deyo] LOVE IN A DIM LIGHT
Slate magazine has a funny take on MTV's new show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. Apparently Jessica Simpson and her boy-band husband are not quite the next Algonquin round table.

[08_25_03 L.B. Deyo] HEGEMONY?
Niall Ferguson examines the question of American Empire in Foreign Affairs.

[08_25_03 L.B. Deyo] IN GOD WE TRUST, INC.
Does the combination of politics and religion debase both? Judge for yourself. Link courtesy of the Brain.

[08_21_03 L.B. Deyo] MESSAGE BOARD ADJUSTMENTS
We've added a new forum, BOOKS, to the Jinx Message Board. Let us know what you're reading, what you recommend, etc. Also, we've fixed a bug that was rendering new posts as gibberish.

[08_16_03 L.B. Deyo] THE HISTORY OF URBAN EXPLORATION
Infiltration has yet again proved itself the final reference point for the movement. Its Urban Exploration timeline is fascinating and authoritative. No one with even a passing interest in the avocation can afford to miss this resource.

[08_11_03 L.B. Deyo] WHY ARE YOU NOT NOW ROCKING OUT?
Your vital rocknroll connections are live at Rick Henrickson and Teenage Prayers.

[08_11_03 L.B. Deyo] INTEL LEAKS Critical intelligence up on Propaganda and DefenseTech.

[08_06_03 L.B. Deyo] THE ASSUMPTION OF RISK
Check out Todd Seavey's latest editorial, Smoking Risks and Resistance, on Health Facts & Fears. (Okay, this is another self-referential link, but it's really an excellent article. So read it.)

[08_06_03 L.B. Deyo] CINCINNATI'S ABANDONED SUBWAY
Here's the thorough and fascinating illustrated history of a doomed transportation system.

[08_06_03 L.B. Deyo] THE FEELING IS MUTUAL
Sorry to be posting so many self-referential links here in the Officers' Log (not our usual practice), but this one meant a lot to us. Arts & Letters Daily is an absolute must-read at Jinx International Headquarters; it is an unparalleled source for the most interesting writing on the Internet. We've linked to them many times, but never imagined they'd heard of us. So to find our magazine listed among their Favorites is a great surprise and sincere honor. Thank you, ALDaily.com.

[08_04_03 L.B. Deyo] IT IS INDEED A NICE UMBRELLA
Cloudtravel offers a few words on the Jinx Project.

[08_03_03 L.B. Deyo] THERE'S NO GODDAMNED SAFETY CABLE
An interesting thread up on Metafilter.

[08_03_03 L.B. Deyo] OVERHEARD
Enjoy-and contribute to-Overheard In New York.

[07_23_03 L.B. Deyo] PARTY PEOPLE IN THE PLACE TO BE
Photos and commentary from last night's Invisible Frontier book release party are up on Malice's site.

[07_18_03 L.B. Deyo] LUCIFER'S AQUARIUM
Enter the dark realm of Malice.

[07_15_03 L.B. Deyo] HOW FULTRONIC CAN YOU GET?
For Pete's sake, don't tell me you still haven't checked out Fultronics. Please don't tell me that.

[07_07_03 L.B. Deyo] GOOD LUCK
Go to Google, enter "french military victories," and hit "I'm Feeling Lucky." Thanks to Todd Seavey for pointing out this marvelous phenomenon.

[07_07_03 L.B. Deyo] INTO DARKNESS
What are you waiting for? Check out Danvers State Insane Asylum and Urban Venture.

[06_26_03 L.B. Deyo] THE BIG CHILL
The greatest threat to free expression in the United States isn't the Department of Justice or Operation TIPS. It's the willingness of the courts to punish "offensive" speech. Volokh has more.

[06_19_03 L.B. Deyo] LAST NAIL IN THE COFFIN
Civilization has collapsed.

[05_06_03 L.B. Deyo] THE GREAT SASUKE
Who was that masked man?

[05_05_03 L.B. Deyo] A COP ON THE EDGE
Above and beyond the call of duty.

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