Whither Newark?

History will recall that my first reaction to being routed through Newark for my red-eye voyage home was, "I can't explain it, but I've always had a visceral dislike for the Newark Airport."  But the timing worked out and I acceded to the travel agent's suggestion.

San Diego-Newark-Indianapolis may not be the most direct route, but, for a time, it looked like an ideal one.  After a deposition in Del Mar, I managed to meet Sebastian for coffee in San Diego.   (Note:  whatever mental picture Sebastian you have, make him a few inches taller.  Unless you already picture him tall, that is.)  I got to the airport early and had no trouble boarding my 10 p.m. flight.  The logic of hope dictated that the storm that was pummeling Indianapolis and Chicago just then would be somewhere in mid-Pennsylvania when I arrived in Newark, and then would be somewhere in eastern Pennsylvania when my 6:40 a.m. flight departed Newark for Indianapolis.  I would fly over the storm twice, but would not be stopped by it.

It was not meant to be.  My gut reaction was the right one.  And, sadly, the logic of hope is a bitch.

Ahh, well.  At least the airport has wireless internet access.  (And a cafeteria called "A Taste of Newark."  I shudder to think.)

This is your hopeless open thread. 

Comments

[Dianne]

I was supposed to be at Newark today, flying to Atlanta. The storm that stuck you there also cancelled my flight. The one nice thing about Newark is that it has rail connection into NYC, making it relatively convenient to get to. Also to get out of, should you find yourself stuck for the day and desperately needing to get away from the airport. Just take the monorail to the NJTransit station and get on a NYC bound train.

[Ugh]

News:

The Bush administration based a crucial prewar assertion about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda on detailed statements made by a prisoner while in Egyptian custody who later said he had fabricated them to escape harsh treatment, according to current and former government officials.

The officials said the captive, Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, provided his most specific and elaborate accounts about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda only after he was secretly handed over to Egypt by the United States in January 2002, in a process known as rendition.

...

The fact that Mr. Libi recanted after the American invasion of Iraq and that intelligence based on his remarks was withdrawn by the C.I.A. in March 2004 has been public for more than a year. But American officials had not previously acknowledged either that Mr. Libi made the false statements in foreign custody or that Mr. Libi contended that his statements had been coerced.

To paraphrase Inigo Montoya: I want my country back you son of a bitch.

[von]

Thanks, Dianne. I'm still hoping to catch a 10:50 flight but, if that fails, I may be here for a bit. May as well make the best of it.

[hilzoy]

Good luck, von. And yes: the Newark airport is awful. Whenever I'm there, I find myself thinking: well, at least it's not the airport in Maputo, Mozambique, which is much, much worse.

[Jackmormon]

I hate Newark with an abiding, patient hatred, but that wasn't a bad storm last night.

Good luck, Von.

[Jay C]

Hope you get this, von, as it looks like the snow isn't going to stop any time soon.....
Agree with you about Newark: even bt the standards of modern airport design, which generally have taken sterile soulessness to to new heights (or depths) of expression; Newark Int'l still manages to be even more sterile and soulless than the rest. My sympathies. Hope you make your flight.

[Dianne]

"Whenever I'm there, I find myself thinking: well, at least it's not the airport in Maputo, Mozambique, which is much, much worse."

I've heard some faint praise before, but this is the faintest praise I've heard of Newark Airport yet. Of course, every time I'm there I find myself remembering a line from one of Douglas Adam's books which runs something like this: "It can hardly be a coincidence that there is no language in the world with the idiom 'as pretty as an airport'."

Good luck with getting on the 10:50 flight, von. The snow seems to have stopped so you may be able to make it.

[NeoDude]

I would like to do a “Shout Out” for an incredible progressive, Jennifer Dalven, Deputy Director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project.

When I heard she was arguing a case in front of the Supreme Court, Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood, my heart sang. I know Ms. Dalven from high school. Although we went to different schools she was part a community of young progressive activist that understood the significance of solidarity. There were activist from the wealthy, middle-class, working-class and poor neighborhoods, and from all over the ethnic fruit salad that is Los Angeles.

(She went to Torrance High, where Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Beverly Hills 90210 was filmed and I went to Banning, where The Rose was filmed and Narbonne, where some of Bird was filmed, this is how we do it in Los Angeles.)

We were young and would often confuse passion and desire for truth (sound like today’s right-winger?) and Jennifer was always prepared to make sure her homeboys and homegirls stayed rational and focused and analytical. Like a hawk, this lady was! And many of us understood her natural leadership abilities.

She is like, totally, my super hero!

Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood, 04-1144

[cleek]

Here Comes Santa Claus
Santa Claus is Coming To Town
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer
Frosty The Snowman
White Christmas
I'll Be Home For Christmas
Silver Bells
Jingle Bells
Jingle Bell Rock
Let It Snow
Winter Wonderland
Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas
Twelve Days of Christmas
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

classics?
part of the Chirstmas season?
in those that mention Christmas at all, is mention of Jesus?
do Christmas carols hate Christmas ?

[Anarch]

I used to fly through Newark multiple times a year when I was in college, at either the beginning or the end of a 20+ hour trip home and... well... my preferred comparison was "At least it's not bad as Narita before the remodelling" but yeah, it's genuinely craptastic.

[Jeremy Osner]

Hey cool, you're in Newark, right next door! Come on out to South Orange! (:-))

[Mo MacArbie]

That airport is also very close to a Budweiser brewery, so maybe you could work in a tour or two.

[NeoDude]

Forecasts for the American Expedition to Iraq
By Fabius Maximus
November 30, 2005

What comes next in Iraq? Here are some straight-line extrapolations. Nothing certain, but these seem like good bets.

Great Analysis:
What can we expect in Iraq after the Coalition exits?

[NeoDude]

Bad link, above.

Forecasts for the American Expedition to Iraq
By Fabius Maximus
November 30, 2005

What comes next in Iraq? Here are some straight-line extrapolations. Nothing certain, but these seem like good bets.

Great Analysis:
What can we expect in Iraq after the Coalition exits?

[notyou]

Uhh, Neodude's first link leads to a discussion of Abu Ghraib, one that contains some fairly graphic photos.

[NeoDude]

The second post has the link I wanted.