It seems as though the Discover article has created some interest.
Roland Piquepaille blogged it.
And a variety of other folks linked to it.
Why is this interesting to me? Well, i want to know who these people are.. what are they working on? Ah… social networks invade one’s life…
I’ve been very cranky with the whole proposed TIA/Capps II/Patriot II (surprise). One of my main frustrations with this proposed legislation is that most actions will not actually provide security, but will simply eliminate privacy in a way that it will never be returned. We will continue our path towards the Panopticon like a skateboard out of control – faster and faster with no comfortable way to halt.
So, while i still feel useless in making change within this very disturbing government, i support the ACLU in doing so in any way that i can. Today’s action: write your representatives about the CAPPS II Airline Profiling system (as terrorists have figured out how to avoid it while regular citizens are banned from flying).
Because i’m subscribed to the NYTimes, i got to fill out a survey for them. Of course, i obliged ’cause… well, it was a survey. One of the questions that was asked was how i felt about the NYTimes – whether it was my only source of news, my ideal, my favorite, or some negative statement. It made me think.. what is my favorite source of news these days? If i want to see what the news media is saying, i go to google news. But really, the way that i prefer to watch this war is via blogdex. There’s something powerful about a lot of disgruntled bloggers desperately wanting to know what’s going on and thus the popular voice is just fascinating!
The Free Republic community proved the power of action when they freeped the Dixie Chicks after they said a very benign comment about being embarassed. Radio stations pulled their songs thinking that thousands of people were outraged. But those thousands of people were from a very small community who magnifies their voice to sound like they represent everyone. And they make waves.
I was thinking.. the left doesn’t really have an equivalent. I always feel guilty calling some place twice because i want to share my one vote, one voice. It’s weird because i guess we could blast those who are so vigilently pro-war, but it just seems so strange. Thus, things don’t get heard. Like, i was *stunned* today when i found out that most of the east coast media did not even cover Rachel Corrie’s death (or blamed her for being a radical freak). I really want to secede.
To celebrate last night’s stupidity with some humor: Powell Offers Proof of Saddam-Osama Link. In a bold move of social network applications, Powell clearly shows that there are only 6 degrees between Saddam and Osama (and of course, it goes through Kevin Bacon). Of course, like all good connections, it can be simplified from there.
OK… sometimes, humor really is the best medicine – Fun Live Journals:
Controversial Russian lesbian duo a hit: Clad in skimpy tank tops, teenage pop stars Lena and Yulia giggle and clasp hands on a Russian television talk show as their hit music video is played for a studio audience.
A professor told me yesterday that she thought that there’s been a reduction in gay teen suicide because it’s so much more socially acceptable. I wonder how much this is true, or how much it is felt in the more rural areas of the world. I wonder how teen lesbian popstarts would be treated in the US…
In SF, there’s a psy-DJ named KJ who is risking deportation because he’s from Pakistan and doesn’t have the right papers. I don’t know him, although i’ve heard him spin, but i’m so amazed at the way folks in the psy community (and the late night culture in general) are coming together to beg for his asylum, attempting to raise funds and awareness. Another reason that i love SF…
I went out dancing tonite… a fabulous multi-cultural, religious chillout dj. When i reached a point of exhaustion, i treked to the 24 divis busstop to trek home. A cab pulled up, and the driver offered me a ride. I waved him on, saying that i only had my dollar (the only thing left from my adventure, enough to get home). He told me to get in, that it was slow and he was bored, that no one was out tonite. He was from Tunesia, came to the US to study architecture. Studied English for a year, was accepted into Berkeley when 9/11 happened and he was no longer allowed to go. I asked him if it was hard to be in the US these days. He told me that the only trouble living in SF is dealing with the government.. how he has to keep reporting to the FBI and other organizations, how exhausting it is. We reached my home… i tried to offer my dollar but he wouldn’t take it. I love my city… i fear my government.
I Think, Therefore IM is an article from the NYTimes that i never blogged, but am often trying to look up. Therefore, 6 months late, here it is. It’s a little article about IM speech habits.