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silveradept...another day of running around doing things. Some of it productive, some of it entertaining, all of it organized chaos.
Speaking of organizing chaos, I've got a couple odd things poking at my brain. The first is a shirt I saw while headed from my umpiring shift. To understand the significance, you have to know that my University uses the cheer "Go Blue" a lot. The shirt I saw had our M, but in black, and underneath it was "Go Black" Naturally, I recognized it for the ethnic statement it was, but at the same time, in a slight bit of disgust, to be honest, I thought, "Well, I wonder what it would be like if we saw our populous Asian contingent wearing shirts that said 'Go Yellow' (they wouldn't, it would probably be 'Go Maize', but still, I couldn't picture it somehow. Sometimes I wonder how much the minority groups can get away with in regards to flaunting their ethnic pride.
Number two comes from me as a sportsman and umpire. In the softball leagues, there are some teams that are rules-mongerers. And that doesn't bother me much. In other places, there are good teams that have it all down and can play the game. They don't bother me either. What does make me want to cry in frustration are the females in the co-rec leagues that look like they have no idea how to hold a bat, much less swing it. This is partly because I, and my siblings all played baseball/softball as kids and so learned that part of things. It's partly frustration at the people for not learning the technique and teaching the basics. Hit the ball, then run. If possible, hit the ball hard and run.
That's my mini-rant, then. Two unrelated materials, as usual.
The musician and semi-artist in me goes "OooOOoOOooooh" at the concept of Sustainable, a seven-part water-gong experience. Any environmental messages that might come along for the ride were probably ignored.
And then the realization that the media can lie to you legally makes you wonder just what "fair and balanced" really means. That, and we censor ourselves without government help fairly effectively, makes me wonder how far into the Dark Ages the administration plans on taking us.
Braaaaains! BRAAAAAINS!
Elves, existing? Possibly.
Bed, for me? Definitely. Greek sport will have my head tomorrow if I don't get some rest.
Speaking of organizing chaos, I've got a couple odd things poking at my brain. The first is a shirt I saw while headed from my umpiring shift. To understand the significance, you have to know that my University uses the cheer "Go Blue" a lot. The shirt I saw had our M, but in black, and underneath it was "Go Black" Naturally, I recognized it for the ethnic statement it was, but at the same time, in a slight bit of disgust, to be honest, I thought, "Well, I wonder what it would be like if we saw our populous Asian contingent wearing shirts that said 'Go Yellow' (they wouldn't, it would probably be 'Go Maize', but still, I couldn't picture it somehow. Sometimes I wonder how much the minority groups can get away with in regards to flaunting their ethnic pride.
Number two comes from me as a sportsman and umpire. In the softball leagues, there are some teams that are rules-mongerers. And that doesn't bother me much. In other places, there are good teams that have it all down and can play the game. They don't bother me either. What does make me want to cry in frustration are the females in the co-rec leagues that look like they have no idea how to hold a bat, much less swing it. This is partly because I, and my siblings all played baseball/softball as kids and so learned that part of things. It's partly frustration at the people for not learning the technique and teaching the basics. Hit the ball, then run. If possible, hit the ball hard and run.
That's my mini-rant, then. Two unrelated materials, as usual.
The musician and semi-artist in me goes "OooOOoOOooooh" at the concept of Sustainable, a seven-part water-gong experience. Any environmental messages that might come along for the ride were probably ignored.
And then the realization that the media can lie to you legally makes you wonder just what "fair and balanced" really means. That, and we censor ourselves without government help fairly effectively, makes me wonder how far into the Dark Ages the administration plans on taking us.
Braaaaains! BRAAAAAINS!
Elves, existing? Possibly.
Bed, for me? Definitely. Greek sport will have my head tomorrow if I don't get some rest.
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no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 04:51 pm (UTC)...
...
...I'm shocked.
Yet another reason to avoid journalism as a career move...
no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 05:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 05:24 pm (UTC)Fair and balanced means "discussion within the acceptable boundaries of dissent". ;)
no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 10:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 01:51 pm (UTC)Journalism is actually a good one to look at for this, although it is a mistake to think that it is restricted to that field. The explicit situation is that journalists have to answer to their editors, who have to answer to their superiors and so on right beyond the top of the company. Decisions on each of the levels will inevitably include considerations of job security, promotion prospects, viability as a story, editorial veto, national restrictions (things like D-notices in the UK which prohibit the publication of information the government deems contrary to the good old catch-all "National Security"), reactions of other journalists and the public*. The vast majority of journalists will ensure that any story they investigate and write up will be acceptable to his superiors and peers, those who don't will soon find themselves either out of a job or the target of other media outlets. This means that, at any given time, journalists will usually ensure that, even if they do have access to information beyond the boundaries of accepted dissent, they will censor or attenuate that information to ensure that it remains acceptable. The situation is part of the whole problem of elite hierarchies and plutocracies - if you want to retain your status within the hierarchy and stand a chance of improving it you will be reluctant to undertake actions that could be demonstrated to be contrary to that hierarchy. Individual journalists may have the best intentions in the world, they may not even be aware of what they are doing, but their instinct for self-preservation and social acceptence will result in a "soft boundary" between the things they know they can report on, say and think and do. They can cross it, but in doing so they risk losing their career and possibly their position in society.
The Emperor has new clothes, and don't they look wonderful?
* the "What's in the public interest is rarely what the public are interested in" foundation for tabloids...
no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 07:40 pm (UTC)Even so, he speaks truth. You'll only go as far as your boss will let you, unless you want to be your own boss. Whatever happened to the ability to think, innovate, and be able to tell your boss where you think he's going wrong?
no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 08:08 pm (UTC):) Sorry, 200% workload tends to make me default to "serious cynical bastard" mode.
As for the rest... could be argued that its another necessary illusion.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 10:34 pm (UTC)