Meanderings

… and, I must say, I’m a bit ambivalent.  MSNBC dropped their simulcast, CBS fired him, the media’s “analysts” can’t stop talking about it, Al Sharpton claims a victory, Rutgers accepts his apology … and I can’t help but think:

“Are we going to consistently treat everyone who uses racially improper speech with an equal amount of vitriol and retribution?”

If so, then good.  If not, then how many of those loudly screaming now will be silent the next time?

I really hate jumping in on major public brawls like this.  Everybody who’s anybody (and plenty of people who aren’t) have already opened (and will continue to open) their mouths.  But there’s another issue here that’s being marginalized:  “What happens the next time?” 

Whether Imus went too far or not isn’t the issue moving forward, consistency of response is.

tags: tv, politics, observations, media

… and talks like the RIAA, it probably is extortion.  It’s about time that word got associated with the recording industry’s latest tactic.  Wikipedia’s entry is most interesting, including such tidbits as:

• “the simple four words “pay up or else” are sufficient …”
• “…may also be committed as a federal crime across a computer system …”
• “the message only has to be sent … to commit the crime …”

Sounds interestingly familiar, doesn’t it?  Even more interesting is it appears to be completely legal for the RIAA, which is a private entity (not a wing of the government).

tags: observations, media

In Neal Stephenson’s book The Diamond Age, one of the more intriguing (at least, to me) mechanisms was “the feed”, a connection that served up atoms for replicator-like devices to use to construct whatever they were programmed to make.  Fantastic fiction?  Perhaps … but now, it seems that science has discovered a means to bring that concept into the real world.  Maybe not for years, but at least it’s moved from fantasy to crudely demonstrated theory.

tags: technology

I’ve been getting into Librivox, the site that takes public domain literature and (through a network of volunteer readers) creates audio versions that are freely downloadable and shareable (think Audible but older books and without the monthly fee).  Right now, there’s a project going on where a group of “voicers” are attempting to construct a complete recording of Shakespeare’s King Lear in a single week.  This week.

Check out the progress in their forums … then, see if you can figure out which part I’m reading.

tags: media, podcasting

Well, they sentenced the bastard who killed my friend yesterday.  Actually, “bastard” is too good a word, as it implies “human” and Derick Holliday is anything but human.  Life in prison without parole.  He deserved worse, much worse (the death of a thousand cuts comes to mind) … but, I guess, it’s the best that can be hoped for.

As for that moron’s family, spare me your remorse.  No “good boy” takes a .44 Magnum and chases another human being down a crowded street shooting at them over an altercation in a movie theater.  If you’re looking at someone to blame … look in a bloody mirror.

Actually, one thing could make things a (very) little better:  If there was a service available that one could subscribe to that would send a single (postal) letter at a specific time once a year for the rest of Holliday’s life, I’d pay to send the same letter to him each year on the anniversary of his conviction.  Why that date?  Because that’s the day that, after being found guilty of murder in the first degree, he had the brainless audacity to look at the parents of the man he killed (because he got in the way of him trying to kill someone else) and say, “I hope you’re happy”.  Idiot … but I digress.  I’d pay to send the same letter to him each year:

Derick,

In answer to your question … no, I’m not happy.  But I’m satisfied that you will never be free to live your life the way you want to.

tags: personal