Was surprised to learn that Keith Olberman is yet another Bill Hicks disciple. I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the anti-authoritarian, silly streak in both of them. Yet, this was a pleasant and totally unexpected convergence. Happy to have attended the LA premiere of this.

I heard it bandied about in a YouTube comment thread that there is a growing belief that Bill O’Reilly invites Jon Stewart to his show so much because he is, in fact, a double agent working to destroy Fox News from the inside. I support his efforts.

Lecturer of MoveOn.org fame, Eli Pariser, delineates the newest threat to information freedom – taste algorithms. This is an automated ‘service’ provided by the likes of Facebook and Google that shield you from things you’re less likely to be interested in, while facilitating your access to all sorts of useless drivel that you may spend the better part of your wasted existence ingesting. And this taste algorithm will ensure that you never break out of your Bieber-addled nonsense consumption. Because even if you want to look for things outside your usual circle of uselessness, the taste algorithms will prevent you from finding them. Frightening.

Blogger, know thyself?

From The People’s View, a fascinating article about where the Glenn Greenwalds and Jane Hamshers of the world–you know, the ones who became liberal when a black man took office and dared to create and sustain progressive policies without consulting them first–get their respective bread buttered.  The next time self-described left wingers start throwing the term “corporatist” around within earshot, ask them if they’ve seen any investment disclosure statements from the Huffington Post lately.

This video should be mandatory viewing for any and all American citizens. The closing Dostoevsky quote sums it up,

“While nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer, nothing is harder than to understand him.”

Craig Fergusen with some unusual insight into the demographic targets of our consumer culture. Leave it to a Scotsman to solve our problems of perception for us.

I’m not entirely sure why Star Trek: The Next Generation has stuck in the minds of so many mashup artists. Most likely it has to do with the timing of the show, arriving in the early 1990s just in time to conquer the brain-spaces of kids who grew up to be today’s internet meme-creators. Admittedly, Captain Picard’s face is a very comforting one. His deeply concerned reaction to the ravings of an aphasia-stricken television reporter is priceless.

Not to take the debate back to Greg’s and my epic battle over the Rose Art Museum, but this example of modern art is where most such “art” belongs – in the landfill.

Read More »

Otherwise known as, we probably have no genuinely new ideas. Ever.

The Internet has become the lifeblood of Democracy. It’s up to all of us to speak for those who do not have it – or who have had it taken away. I think I safely speak for all Meppers when I say that our thoughts and hopes are with our brothers and sisters in Tunisia and Egypt who have risen up against their oppressors.

FYI, here is a fantastic video feed that has continuous updates on anything that breaks in Egypt.