Kids and texting: Shooting arrows around corners
I don’t know how you even count such things, but one prediction states that in 2011 the world will send seven trillion—nope, I have to write it out: 7,000,000,000,000—text messages. [Read more →]
Entries Tagged as ''
Lisa reads: The Sweet Relief of Missing Children by Sarah Braunstein
The Sweet Relief of Missing Children begins with the story of Leonora. She is pretty and tidy and protected. She has her vaccinations, she knows not to talk to strangers, she eats her vegetables and she never takes the shortcut through the alley. She is precious to her parents and she understands these precautions because she understands that she cannot be both precious and free. In the end, none of it matters. [Read more →]
Privacy may not be dead, but your brand needs a little work
In this great, big social-media-ish world of ours, just where do we draw the line between the personal and the professional? Do you tweet an article in your field and then bitch about your wife? How about friending somebody you met an an industry conference, who will then have access to your vacation photos? It’s a challenge sufficiently daunting that Big Names like David Brin, Scott McNealy, and Mark Zuckerberg have declared privacy to be dead. Maybe that’s true — or maybe, it’s less true than the fact that we have to be a bit more honest with ourselves about how we market our personal brand to different audiences. [Read more →]
The Trash Man
Six months ago, as Atlantans were preparing for school and work, they might have seen an unremarkable fellow; black, burly and in dark glasses, tossing their curbside refuse into the back of a stinking trash truck and thought, you know what? That cat looks like the mayor. And he should. Because he is.
“I know not ‘seems'”
Hey, we all have busy weeks. Here’s a meditation on parenthood and artistic identity that originally appeared on my blog:
Quite often, we’ll be listening to my iPod or the radio in the car and one of my young sons will ask me: “Is that you dad?” In my entire life, nothing has been as satisfying as that question. It means my boys see me as a composer and as a singer.
The audience that really counts gets it. [Read more →]
Is the “real Me” real?
Last week I came upon this quote from the English novelist John Fowles: “There comes a time in each life like a point of fulcrum. At that time you must accept yourself. It is not anymore what you will become. It is what you are and always will be.” [Read more →]
Bad sports, good sports: Warren Moon claims racism where there is none
One of my least favorite things in sports is the bizarre tendency for athletes and commentators to cry racism when there is simply no evidence of it. It happens with such regularity that it has become a cliche of sorts. The NFL, in particular, seems to be a hotbed for claims of prejudice and bigotry, especially when it comes to discussion of African-American quarterbacks. This week, it was Warren Moon, former signal-caller for the Houton Oilers, who was accusing the public and the NFL draft experts of criticizing Cam Newton, soon to be NFL player out of Auburn, simply because he is black. This was completely misguided. [Read more →]
Top ten indications that Sarah Palin is qualified to be our Commander-in-Chief
10. Her failed vice presidential candidacy and half-term as governor
9. Her ability to keep an eye on Russia from her house
8. The millions available to her, since the Tea Party is an extremely pro-Big Business movement financed by the billionaire Koch brothers and disguising itself as populist
7. If she doesn’t feel up to giving a State of the Union message, her ability to have Tina Fey substitute for her
6. Her eight-episode reality show Sarah Palin’s Alaska
5. Her keeping in touch with voters through tweets and a Facebook page – even though they were actually written by cyber ghostwriter Rebecca Mansour
4. Her launching a Facebook page under the name Lou Sarah, so she could praise the work of the fake Sarah Palin
3. Her ability to write her acceptance speech on her hand
2. As a Pentecostal, her belief in Armageddon as predicted in the Book of Revelations
1. As Commander-in-Chief, her ability to make sure Armageddon happens on schedule
Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.
Pathetic Military Action
Was anyone else at first baffled by the koran-burning mob attack? As far as anyone outside Jones’s congregation knew, the koran burning was proposed then cancelled weeks ago. So what happened? He thought about it and went ahead and did it a few days ago. Had you heard? Hell naw. There was a total news blackout on it. No “responsible” media wanted to foment… oh, I don’t know, a mass attack on a UN compound that might result in some good old-fashioned kaffir beheading. Of course some malefactor with a vested interest in foment informed the ass-up praying crowd at the next opportunity. Was this Ossama or some other renegade mufti we are trying to paint with a laser sight? Nope, it was Harmid Karzai, the “President” of A-stan and now that Mubarak is on the unemployment line he is the highest paid employee on the US payroll. [Read more →]
Excuse me … you did WHAT?
Here, in the heart of the oil patch that is the Permian Basin of west Texas and southeast New Mexico, one often hears complaints about the image oil & gas companies have among the general public … mostly negative, and often unwarranted. And on that point, I agree … it IS mostly negative, and it IS often unwarranted. [Read more →]
The food pyramid
Enjoying that Big Mac? You should. For many years the leading publication on economics, The Economist, has used the relative prices of the Big Mac in whatever currency as a way of discovering the true value ratio between, say, a dollar and a peso. Of course there are many more official and formal ways to do the same thing. Armies of statisticians, flacks and hacks on the payrolls of government and business labor to find those proportions and fortunes are made or lost in the fray. But the Big Mac Index has proven itself among the most accurate measures. Perhaps Numero Uno. Why? Because unlike lira, greenbacks, gold or rare stamps, you can eat a Big Mac and in the end, that is the foundation for all value. Consumption. [Read more →]
New boss on The Office: Chris Brown
Some things are meant to be. On the one hand, you have a long-running show that’s losing its star. While the program is still profitable, the most die-hard fans would concede it has become predictable even by sitcom standards. (Dwight did something most people would find socially inappropriate again?) On the other, you have a man who is full of surprises for all, whether you’re his girlfriend or a segment producer on Good Morning America. Steve Carrell’s replacement is clear: the new boss on The Office should be Chris Brown. [Read more →]
Ervin Phillip Ashton: The strange facts in the case of the eerie life
The early 20th century was a golden age of American horror and fantasy fiction. Inspired by the works of such great gothic writers as Bram Stoker, Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, Mary Shelley, Matthew Lewis, and Edgar Allan Poe, a new breed of writer was crafting tales of fancy, suspense, and supernatural horror. In publications like Weird Tales and FantastiFiction, heroic, larger-than-life heroes strode across harsh landscapes to do battle with incredible creatures, witches fought for the souls of the innocent, and a house itself might come to life and attack its tormented inhabitants.
The literature of fantasy, heroism, and horror is one of pure entertainment. The crafters of these stories were interested primarily in offering to readers a diversion from the trials of their everyday lives. In many cases, their literary skills were unequal to their visionary imaginations, and the entertainments they created were considered disposable. It is only a select few of the pulp authors of this era whose names are remembered today, and continue to charm a new generation of fans with a taste for exotic storytelling.
