After a break of about a year, I started reading the Wall Street Journal again just this week, and promptly encountered the following rather disturbing passage, in a page one feature article about the 300th and final bout of a British boxer, Peter Buckley, who’d lost 256 out of his 299 previous matches:

“With five seconds left Friday night, Mr. Buckley unleashed a wild swing for the last punch of his professional career.  It missed.

“The bell rang.  The crowd rose.  Peter Buckley’s name filled the air of a boxing arena for the first, and last, time.

“The judge’s decision came quickly.  The score was 40 to 38 points.  A tattooed arm was held up.  The perennial loser had won.”

I’ll explain why this particular passage bothered me so much in a moment, but first a word about a word:  “Crapitulation.” [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, trusted media & news by Michael Antman
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Like a lot of Americans, I was glued to the television on Tuesday night. I flipped from network to network evaluating the coverage, ripping apart the guests, and loving the graphics — which were just insane and over the top… but fantastic. It was great that, for a moment, Brian Williams had his director drop out the graphics so viewers could see the green screen Ann Curry was walking on. Those designers certainly deserve a round of applause.

But, by far, the most outrageous bit of new news technology came from CNN with their hologram import of guests and correspondents. Slate V remixes Wolf Blitzer’s debut encounter with this technology into an encounter with Princess Leia. It had me laughing out loud.

Personally, I think I would have rather seen these images sharp and clear on any one of the many HD TVs they had all around the set, but I have to admit, part of me liked it.  Did you think the graphics were cool… or just unnecessary and distracting?

Tags: technology, trusted media & news by Amy Boshnack
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The pop-culture columnist Richard Roeper once said something to the effect that wearing a baseball cap backwards lowers the wearer’s apparent I.Q. by 15 points. 

I think the same principle applies to using e-mail to forward unfounded, out-of-context, or patently absurd political rumors to your friends in order to terrify them into voting for, or against, a political candidate. 

I’ve sworn off reading these e-mails — I don’t think I’ve seen a single one so far that I felt added to, rather than detracted from, the human condition.  [Read more →]

Tags: damned lies, trusted media & news by Michael Antman
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Some things speak for themselves:

In 2001, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 2008 games to China, Wang Wei, the leader of China’s bid told reporters: “We will give the media complete freedom to report when they come to China.”

But for many reporters there now, it’s still unclear how free they will be able to report or not, as the restrictions and red tape seem almost endless, and they never know whether they’ve covered all their bases. “We already have to tell the Chinese everywhere we want to be in August, and what time,” one TV broadcaster, who preferred to remain anonymous, recently told the Associated Press. “We have to provide a list of the guests who will be interviewed and the content of the interview.”

That is, some things speak for themselves where permitted. [Read more →]

Tags: sports, trusted media & news by Jason Sterlace
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Barbie’s new S&M look has whipped up a storm — with protestors dubbing it “filth.” A religious group, the Christian Voice, has been quoted as saying, “this is taking it too far. A children’s doll in sexually suggestive clothing is irresponsible — it’s filth.” [Read more →]

Tags: family & parenting, trusted media & news by Helen Cates
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My wife made a comment the other day that stuck in my head. She said, “I can’t watch the news anymore. I used to turn the TV on first thing in the morning and catch up on what went on overnight. Now I just can’t stand it! I refuse to watch any of it anymore, it just gets me too upset.” [Read more →]

Tags: technology, trusted media & news by David "Preacher" Slocum
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Since this is my first blog, let me start by saying I am not a blogger. At one time I had a website of my own and I posted some rants, but never in a real blog format and not with any real regularity. This blog will be my baptism by fire and I hope you will bear with me as I learn the ropes.

Now that the disclaimers are out of the way, let me continue my inaugural post by thanking my host, Scott Stein. I have always been interested in writing, in sharing ideas with others and, as I mentioned earlier, had made a couple of attempts to share my rambling with the world. Scott came along and scooped me out of obscurity, giving me a place to post in a forum that is actually seen! The inclusion of several of my articles in his WFTC book was a real high point for me.

Thanks, Scott.

Harley Davidson’s Latest Ad Blitz

The Harley Davidson Motor Company recently launched a new ad campaign that is generating buzz around the country, both positive and negative.

One advertising blog touts Harley’s efforts to “build genuine relationships with their customers” while another ad blog derides the company, calling it “massively out of touch”. Yet another blog even says the new campaign “Challenges Prophets of Economic Doom”

The campaign is targeted at the young crowd and encourages the 20-somethings to ignore the current economic situation and purchase an often outrageously overpriced motorcycle, outfit it with the latest, definitely overpriced, chrome do-dads, and “Screw it, just ride.” [Read more →]

Tags: money, trusted media & news by David "Preacher" Slocum
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