One of the big problems with using Twitter is the inability to filter noise. Think of “just got out of the shower, coffee and then fighting traffic with this hangover,” ad nauseam… Stuff like this is an overstatement. The potential is there. The present reality is something entirely different. When you search on #mumbai you find insightful, impassioned texts from all over the world. But you also get airheads saying “omg I need to bake pies for tomorrow but I want to watch cnn!” and gee-whiz-gosh insensitive dorks who insist on impressing [sic] you with some mythical “social media experiment” significance. And don’t forget the big Twitter picture: misinformation, rumor, disinformation and glib ignorance spreading like flu among harpies gathered along neighborhood backyard fences. Suddenly it seems everyone’s got a cellphone and a Twitter account. Just like (supposedly) everyone who heard the Velvet Underground started a band. Problem is– no matter how enthralling the, um, artists found their particular noise– only a small fraction of those bands was ever worth listening to. The story is the story. The medium should not be the headline. One new-ish manner of reporting the story must not overshadow the narrative’s gruesome human and political significance. That kind of self-importance is counterproductive from a journalistic perspective.
George W. Bush will be remembered for his near-comprehensive absence during the current economic crisis. Too tired and/or ashamed, he’s been nearly invisible (and most certainly ineffective) since the financial cratering of September ’08. It seems an absurdly appropriate end to a criminally wrongheaded eight-year Administrative run. It’s left up to the President-elect to try to salvage some public confidence in what’s left of this country’s economic potential while Bush lets the country fall through the cracks for sixty days. Hail to you, Chief.
“You need a little bit of levity in this job.” Palin yammers semi-incoherently while a bloodstain-trouser’d poultry executioner beheads turkeys in the background. The ostensible reason for the media event was the pardoning of a local Wasilla turkey in honor of Thanksgiving. Poised in her Burberry scarf and designer frames, clutching a Starbucks, Palin seems oblivious to the lurid slaughter behind her. When asked by the cameraperson if she really wanted this tableau as a backdrop, Palin chirped “no worries!” SNL can no longer satirize this person. She’s cornered the market.
We saw this in San Francisco after the dotcom bust in 2000. Pets are family members and they are NOT to be unloaded as inconveniences. There’s rentals out there that accept pets. It just takes a minimum of effort to track such places down. People who ditch their pets in this manner never deserved them in the first place.
I haven’t felt compelled to post much lately (obviously). The biggest development– other than this whole Obama thing everyone’s talking about lately, of course– was that I discovered a new trail just down the ridge. Well…new to me, anyway. Is nice.
I’ve reactivated Nicecast streaming. An older Mac laptop is hooked up to a 275 gig hard drive full of AACs and MP3s. It’s feeding an iTunes app set on “shuffle.” The URL is http://limahuli.dnsalias.com:8000/listen.m3u I’ll keep this running until a) I get bored with it, b) the laptop overheats, or c) the RIAA and/or Comcast come through the door with billyclubs. Enjoy.
[update 12/3/08: Due to overwhelming apathy, I've temporarily discontinued the Nicecast stream unless folks email me and apologize for having something better to do, you unsupportive sloths].
[update: sorry, stream has been discontinued for the time being...]
In the same week that Circuit City declares chapter 11, Best Buy gives a gloomy forecast. These two companies are largely responsible for the devaluation of prerecorded music. Their ridiculous expansion rates and loss-leader CD and appliance pricing led to the closing of hundreds of competing record stores and smaller electronics retailers. This, in turn, meant less choice to consumers due the the centralization of supply. The major music labels (and many independent labels) played right into this scenario by lamely buying in to the pay-to-place policies of both retailers. Illegal downloading and CD ripping became common practice at the same time. Now music labels are hurting. And have nothing and no one to blame but their own greed and stodgy, stuck-in-the-seventies marketing strategies. It’s going to be a rotten Christmas for music and gadget retail. Oh, and just imagine– before this time next year it’s entirely possible that– in many non-urban areas– the only retail establishment where you can buy a CD will be Wal-Mart. Pretty damned depressing.
From http://www.kauaiworld.com/ letters section: Obama the ‘elitist’ Barack Obama held his first news conference to reiterate his promises to solve all of our problems. I sure hope that he is successful. KHON TV news did a little puff piece about the eagerly awaited puppy issue. President-elect Obama stated that he would definitely keep his promise. A wise politician would have said “as soon as time permits we will visit the shelter to look for a suitable pup.” This would show the world that he is humble like the rest of us. Then later he could accept a gift from one of the many dog breeders who certainly will make offers in an attempt to get their breed on display in the White House. Instead, he said, “I don’t want to go to an expensive pet shop (asking for freebies?) but many breeds are more hypoallergenic than others. I should go to the shelter but most dogs there are mutts like me (pointing at himself).” I guess this semi-joke was intended to show that he is just a down-to-earth guy. The feeling that I came away with is that there will no “mutts” in his administration. Everybody will be vetted by pedigree– perhaps political lineage, racial lineage or social class lineage. The words that pop into my mind are “racist” (check out Jeremiah Wright to know that not all racists are white), “elitist,” “exclusionary” (Republicans need not apply), “specie-ist” (if there is such a word to describe those who choose a dog based on its AKC papers rather than on its appearance and personality), and “snob.” I sure hope that I am wrong. Stan Godes, Hanalei
