Living the Liminal

I just found this great media website, Fora.tv, and am currently watching a talk given by George Lakoff, after watching a speech by Neal Stephenson and one by Malcolm Gladwell. If you are interested in watching smart people talk about fascinating subjects, check it out.

The other day I read a piece by Laura Flanders in which she wondered, in the wake of Tim Russert’s death, what would happen if journalists demonstrated the same level of emotions and pain toward other deaths, asking:
I know it’s possibly a subversive thought for all those deluded believers of objectivity in journalism — and [...]

I’m not sure I have anything to say about this, but while Philip K. Dick was kinda crazy, sometimes crazy is kinda right:

The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words. George Orwell [...]

That’s a lot of gas:
If traffic-timing systems were updated using conventional methods, the US could cut fuel consumption by up to 10 percent – about 17 billion gallons a year, the National Transportation Operations Coalition found in its 2007 traffic-signal report card. (Emissions also would be by cut more by than 20 percent.) If Park’s [...]

As if there aren’t enough reasons to avoid your local multiplex:

While at the cinema yesterday, I read a notice posted by the box office that Paramount has intentionally silenced bits of the soundtrack of _Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull_ in order to deter and track piracy. The notice acknowledged [...]

The world is a violent and chaotic place. Ok, I can accept that. I can accept that governments are corrupt and capitalists are greedy and that bigotry and hatred are, perhaps, inevitable consequences of being human. Ok. It’s a tough place out there and life isn’t for the faint of heart or the overly sensitive. [...]

Ahh, it’s nice to know that dumb people live in places other than America. And by dumb, I don’t mean regular, run-of-the-mill ignorant dumb, I mean dumb to such an extent that it is almost awe inspiring:

Of course, we freely give airtime and political power to people as myopic as this guy when it comes [...]

Ha Ha! Dallas has to choose between safety and money. Wanna bet which wins?

Its red-light camera system has been an effective deterrent to motorists running red lights – some monitored intersections have experienced a more than 50 percent reduction. But decreased revenue from red light-running violations means significantly less revenue to maintain the camera program [...]

This seems more like land of the oppressive and home of the craven:

Al-Ghizzawi, now 45, is a Libyan-born man who had been living quietly in Afghanistan with his Afghan wife. They had a small shop selling honey and spices that they later expanded to a bakery. They have a young daughter, now 6 years old, [...]

You should go read “Life must go on in Gaza and Sderot.” Not because the writers are important, but because they aren’t. Because they are simply two men, writing from the front lines, caught in the crossfire, and telling a story that all of us should hear. Please take a moment to visit their blog [...]