Don't Read This. I'm Too Tired, and It Dosen't Make Sense

Perspective and Balance. I keep coming back to it. Perspective and balance.

I want to an interesting event tonight, basically a round table discussion about the role of the ethnic press in the media today, and about the minority reporters who straddle the world between the mainstream press and the ethnic press.

The whole crew was pretty dismissive of the Mainstream media, which I agree with, but the final discussion of the entire evening just reinforced what I had already learned in Shamanism at school: All that it takes to be good at News is what it takes to be good at Anthropology: you have to continually re analyze yourself, your subject, and the relationship between the two.

However, unlike Anthropology, Media adds another new wrinkle: Who, exactly, is the subject? Who are we watching? And how do you know if your even studying the right crew?

Let take, for example, the Fort Dix case. Big Hullabaloo, three of the men arrested were illegal immigrants, lots of this that and the other. Muslims plotting to attack an American army base. Crazy stuff. But no matter how well we hash and re-hash the story, no matter how much we interview enough people and get the right take on Albanians, and get the right take on Muslims...

Because the same week, there was a bunch of true blue Americans down in 'Bama who had grenades, lots of ammo, and were charged with planning to kill as many Mexicans as possible. No mention of terrorism there. No mention of it, really, in many American Main Stream news sources. This is a place where perspective fails.

But the real issue is: do I have the omniscience to ever pull good reporting from my White Southerner Perch? I mean, even if I do manage to guess at what the important news stories are, and even if I am aware of all the realities of reporting, and even if I get to the right place at the right time with the right mindset: Who knows if I'm talking to the right people? Or are there just so many opinions that my perspective and my internal balance wont be enough? How do you battle through?

I'm exhausted and full of self doubt. There is just too much to be constantly weighing every day when you start a new thought. Consciouses truly truly is a curse.

But I can say this with complete confidence: There is no way that another human being has been doing as much thinking about this issue and agonizing about this issue as I have. If there are point in this new Show hire process for having done the thought in what it takes to reach a larger population of ethnic audiences, I have done that thinking. I don't have any answers, but by god... I have perspective. And I have balance. And I don't think its enough to matter.

To Jobo, With Love

Some Quick Hits on Today's thoughts:

I don't have the energy to hold down a full time job, produce a once a week TV show, do anything physical, think about GRE's and Grad School, research Green Energy, and have a social life. I just don't. Something has to give. And I can't just drop the one of those that seems the least important to me right now.

****************************************
More info on the Tintin Movie.

Getting more excited about this movie. Seems like good people are combining to work on it. And the fact that they are going to do three movies excites me for some reason, like they will give the time to the thing that I (in my nerdy focus) believes that it should get.

It does look like the article will answer the first part of my concerns: What will it look like?

Jackson said WETA will stay true to Remi's original designs in bringing the cast of Tintin to life, but that the characters won't look cartoonish.

"Instead," Jackson said, "we're making them look photorealistic; the fibers of their clothing, the pores of their skin and each individual hair. They look exactly like real people — but real Herge people!"

That. Is. Cool.

*************************************************
To bad the NBA has no testicles, and hates its fans. You never like to see a thug break the rules and then get rewarded for it. I really really hope that the rest of the Suns throw together a great effort tomorrow and somehow pull off the win, but you got to feel like Robert Horry cheated to get the Spurs a championship. As someone who has liked and defended the Spurs style of play for a long time, this sucks. Go Suns.

**************************************************
And finally, after reading a lot of Vitriol from people that I like on the left about Jerry Falwell's death this morning, and bracing myself for the great man anthologies that are sure to come from the right, I have some thoughts:

1. I hate Jerry Falwell. Really hate him. Hate the fact that he, allegedly spoke for me and for where I am from, hate his hypocrisies, despise his stance on almost all issues, but also hate that he allowed people to lump Christians and people from the conservative south together as frothing lunatics, and thus discount them. He, more then anyone I can think of this side of Karl Rove, is directly responsible for the fact that no one listens to anything the other side says anymore. I challenge anyone to come up with a more Machiavellian and cut throat person that will still be hailed by many Americans as a good and moral person.
   
2. I do not like celebrating death. Disgrace, fine. Failure, sure. But Death seems weird to me. So I guess, at the end of the day, I'm not glad he's dead, I'm really just sorry that he ever lived. I wish that he had never had come along and polarized America to the point that his Legacy is damn near immortal.
   
3. I think its crucial to remember that Fundamentalism cripples people. I honestly do not understand, from the bottom of my heart, how Jerry Falwell could claim that the prophet Muhammad was a terrorist, while continuing on the path he chose.
   
4. Working hard at something, and believing fervently in what you do is not enough for you to be a good person. Its a great start, but you have to avoid being evil.
   
5. A pretty great quote from another reverend that I find a lot of solace in seems like a good closer. Clearly, I need to follow this advice myself, because I can't forgive Falwell at all. But I don't get how he and MLK fall under the umbrella of the Christian God.
   

   “It’s not only necessary to know how to go about loving your enemies, but also to go down into the question of why we should love our enemies. I think the first reason that we should love our enemies, and I think this was at the very center of Jesus’ thinking, is this: that hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe. If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back and you hit me back and go on, you see, that goes on ad infinitum. It just never ends. Somewhere somebody must have a little sense, and that’s the strong person. The strong person is the person who can cut off the chain of hate, the chain of evil. “

Living the American Green

The beginnings of a Business Plan. What else do we need in our opening statement?

Our project, called "Living the American Green" (LtAG), will critically evaluate the green movement in the united states with the goal of shifting people's perceptions about "living green." Americans still view Green energy as a fringe part of everyday life, as something that does not apply to the suburban commuter or the small town Mom and Pop store. While they may be wrong about this, the proponents of green energy also overstate their claims of energy savings and environmental goodwill. We will create an internet media channel dedicated to unpacking these issues by documenting our own attempts to "Green" an energy inefficient average American suburban home. We hope to convey our successes, our failures, and our thoughts throughout the project, while creating a human example of the amounts of effort and money that would go into installing alternative energy sources in your home.

Regardless of the personal sentiments of the participants, it is our stated goal to approach the project with skepticism. This, combined with a sense of humor and a general spirit of exploration, will make the show palatable to an audience who are not currently convinced that Alternative Energy applies to them.

Central to our efforts of reaching a large audience will be creating fun, entertaining, and humorous documentation of our efforts for distribution through our website. "Living the American Green" will not be shrill or lecture at the audience. While straight forward lecturing might be effective for some, we believe that it misses a very large and very important part of the American population. In lieu of lecturing to our audience from a conclusive standpoint, we invite viewers to learn and laugh with us as we apply various "green" living solutions to our own living situation. Part product review, part myth-busting, part reality TV, we plan to expose, confirm, and appreciate the green movement as it applies to American suburbia.

The Project Plan: LtAG will begin when we move into an unmodified suburban house picked out for its size and general energy inefficiency. We will try and find a house that fits the classic definition of a “McMansion.” We will first live in the house for a month or two to get a basic control reading of the amount of energy the house uses.

We will then begin modifying the house along two basic green lines:

A) Energy Types: Wind, Solar, Hydro (if at all possible) and Biomass power in a series of head to head comparisons. In this branch of the project, we will try and isolate exactly how much energy production each of these energy types is capable of producing in an environment not specifically cultured for their success. We will also try and experiment with different models and options commercially available within each energy source.

B) Energy Efficiency: Insulation, moderation, more efficient devices, etc. In the second Branch of LtAG, we will try and come to grips with the different ways you can improve on the energy you are already using, as well as get a hands on idea of what it means to use a little more or a little less Wattage per Hour. After we have been in the house for a few months, we will be completely removing ourselves from the grid to dramatize the situation a little and raise the hypothetical stakes of the project.

These hands on demonstrations both make our project something that many home owners will easily identify with, as well as help them parse through some of the different options available by seeing how much work they are and what they actually realize.

For the Project, we will have 6 people living full time in the house: 3 as permanent staff and 3 as live in commuters and support staff. The Three permanent members will be: a researcher/writer, A technology/engineer (for the installation and maintenance of the different energy sources) and a web support/video editing person. The three support staff will all keep personal track of their energy use, as well as write down thoughts and tribulations around living a green life. Potentially on of the three commuters could also be a live in person in charge of publicity/community/financial issues. All of these rolls are subject to crossover as needed, and all 6 of our staff will also be doubling as the subjects for our documentary work.

Today, we are playing the GRE Game. Today was Angry to make up for Yesterday.

Which of the following is the best example of "Irony"?
A) The man in charge of 16 Billion Dollars of U.S. Aid, much of which is being spent on Aids prevention through ABSTINENCE ONLY programs, is caught ordering hookers.

B) A.G. breaks multiple Laws, obstructs justice.

C) Support our Troops Congress forgets to check conditions at Troop Hospital, Large Fungal Colonies grow on the walls of Walter Reed
(Editors note: I find it completely infuriating that no one is talking about this anymore. How is it not still a big deal? Support the god damn troops, or stop saying it on all your press conferences. Those are your options)

D) Rice leads press charge accusing Nancy Pelosi of being a traitor for visiting Syria. Promptly Visits Syria, and speaks with Iranian representatives.

E1) Man masterminds a war that effectively destroys America's world standing. Is immediately put in charge of the World bank
E2) Come into world bank on anti corruption platform, transfers girlfriend to new job, gives her 60K in raises and guarantees her good reviews regardless of performance.

Others receiving votes. Not specific, as much as Ironic based on circumstance, both past and present: Dana Perino:
"Perino went on to claim that no one at the White House has ever 'played the patriotism card' against the Democrats in the Iraq debate."

George W. Bush, in 2000, swears to uphold the law.

Please Watch These

If you ever, EVER take advice from me about anything, please watch these two clips.

The first one comes from Boy1 Via Aunt3 (a cryptic scoring system that only a few people in the world will understand). But it gives me so much hope. And so much happiness. And if you make it through the Jon Stewart one, watch the TalkingPointsMemo guy. These people are thoughtful. They are articulate. And they understand the game being played, and how to engage in that game.

You will be a better person, and better able to participate in a democracy if you watch this half hour PBS show.

Next up is Hometown Baghdad. I've had the great pleasure to meet and speak with one of the producers on this program (I wish I could expand on that thought, but it would violate my no-proper-nouns clause in the blog)

This, represents for me, all that is great about journalism in the new world of the Internet. It portrays the humanity of people living in Iraq, and disabuses us of that easy notion that they are all numbers on an ever growing death count. Even more so because they are SO MUCH like me. And they are strong and interesting... anyway, another reason that this week, the Bush Junta isn't rattling my cage. You know why? Because greatness does exist in the face of everything they have come up with, and we will overcome. Voices from Iraq that matter.

And, just so you don't think I have lost my sense of outrage: Glenn Beck is on a Straight Roll these days. The CNN commentator, last week compared America leaving Iraq to the moral equivalent of Slavery. (and I'm not paraphrasing here. he said exactly that).

And now, this week, he is playing my least favorite card ever: that someone is basically the same as Hitler. But who, might you ask, raised Glenn's Ire? Check this out:

"Al Gore's not going to be rounding up Jews and exterminating them," Beck is careful to explain. "It is the same tactic, however. The goal is different. The goal is globalization. The goal is global carbon tax. The goal is the United Nations running the world. That is the goal. Back in the 1930s, the goal was get rid of all of the Jews and have one global government ... You got to have an enemy to fight. And when you have an enemy to fight, then you can unite the entire world behind you, and you seize power. That was Hitler's plan. His enemy: the Jew. Al Gore's enemy, the U.N.'s enemy: global warming ... Then you get the scientists -- eugenics. You get the scientists -- global warming. Then you have to discredit the scientists who say, 'That's not right.' And you must silence all dissenting voices. That's what Hitler did."

Damn James. Thats some harsh words. Remember Jon Stewart. Remember Jon Stewart.