Tuesday, July 31
So parents think kids these days are
more spoiled than in past decades. Coincidently, in
one of the articles linked for Opensewer 9/"The American Dream," a quarter of the teens surveyed think they will be "millionaires" by the time they're 40 - their aspirations are not to be "doctors," "astronauts," or "teachers," but specifically, "millionaires." Read
here and attend (or start) an Opensewer gathering in your town to discuss this interesting topic.
Monday, July 30
Late last week there was a lot of talk on
Metafilter (via
Megnut) about Bush's tax rebate not really being a rebate at all, but rather an advance payment on next year's refund. We told you about this
back in June.
A majority of Canadians support
restricting car use on smoggy days. Would we ever see support like this in America?
Sunday, July 29
Opensewer 9: Two gatherings done, and two to go!
Saturday, July 28
Anne Sterrett's photographs of strangely familiar organic surfaces explore the similarities between body and landscape.
Friday, July 27
Location for Opensewer 9 Cleveland has been announced.
Go >>
Good news NYC people! Tiona has just confirmed the New York Opensewer date: Wednesday, August 8.
More details >>
Sincere apologies to all - we've recently noticed that visits to our "Guestbook" also include a pop-up ad. Oh, the horror! We're working on getting a new provider who doesn't do ads. Bear with us...
Good or bad development? Is there really a way to distinguish complex human motion?
Moles but not rats, and Stephen King does Lars Von Trier's The Kingdom. (Do these people know when to quit?) Ummmm ummmm -
dynamic fall lineup for ya!
Thursday, July 26
Opensewer 9 starts tonight in Columbus. Wes has provided
even more reading material with which to arm yourself before the meeting. Pick and choose as you please--there's too much there to read it all!
Corporate sponsorship of
cities.
Senator John Edwards, a Democrat from North Carolina, has introduced to the Senate a bill called the “
Location Privacy Protection Act.” This bill, if it were to become law would prevent any entity that gathers location information about you (via cell phone, PDA, vehicle navigation system, etc.) from using it beyond the purposes of the transaction for which it was generated. However, it doesn’t prevent the government from using the information as it pleases.
Wednesday, July 25
I can't resist posting this link to an interview with
a fascinating man.
Tuesday, July 24
Another update: Thanks to Josh for some
additional reading material on the American Dream topic for Opensewer 9. Good stuff!
Update! Update! The Cleveland Chapter of the next Opensewer gathering is being held on Wednesday, August 1st rather than Thursday, August 2nd as previously announced. We're still confirming the location so keep checking back for
details.
Monday, July 23
This week there is an excellent article by Nancy Updike in the LA Weekly about the
state of artist’s rights in America. Since we at OS deal with indy artists on a regular basis, we see many of these issues in action. According to Updike, many Americans view artists as “…weird, potentially dangerous people who often care less about money than is acceptable…”—and our national policy on copyright reflects this (via Metafilter).
Christopher Phillips has been promoting Socratic thought and organizing informal gatherings of philosophical inquiry for some time now. He first started gaining recognition
back in 1998, before Opensewer even started, and since then has toured the country promoting “philosophy for the common man,” and
written a book. His cause is similar to (though not exactly the same as)
ours, and we greatly admire his efforts. You really must respect someone who decides to uproot himself and do this kind of thing full-time. Opensewer still operates “in the margins”—in the stolen moments that aren’t dedicated to life’s other necessary and unnecessary endeavors.
Whether you join an OS gathering, a Socrates Café, or delve into the meaning of things on your own, time spent looking inward is time well spent. Take a long, hard look at Christopher’s very well put together website, Philosopher.org.
Saturday, July 21
The
G8 underwear ban in Genoa--no wonder there was so much turmoil.
Friday, July 20
So you say you want a
revolution weh-ell you know, we all want to
change the world--there are better ways to accomplish this.
Today in Salon:
The Napster diaspora.
"...the crackdown on Napster is now leading directly to the widespread adoption of alternatives that are less legally and technically vulnerable to the kind of attack that has hamstrung Napster." Grassroots--in action. Most of these alternatives have been out there for a while, and are already in use by people who spend a large percentage of their time on the internet. But now, with Napster down, everyone's learning to exploit peer-to-peer file sharing.
Thursday, July 19
NBC executives defend reality TV shows. Can you say
the lowest common denominator?
In other news, after Chris and Luke were derided by the likes of us last year, someone on Metafilter today is actually, in a sense, congratulating them on their first sponsor. Yipes!
They Rule "aims to make some of the relationships of the elite of the US ruling- class visible". Track from a corporation to its board member and on out, to see who is actually ruling the world. Incredibly useful and done with a fabulous interface. And you can add notes and maps of your own. Gotta have flash, sorry. Very worth checking out.
For a quick example of how it works, click on "load map" and then click on the first one, the most popular, "pepsi vs. coke" to see just how snuggly close
they are.
Wink wink! (Article suggested by John Alston. Thanks John.)
Wednesday, July 18
Since the
Webby awards will be celebrating the internet today with uproarious glee, it’s probably a good day to remind ourselves of the digital divide:
Contrary to the utopic [sic] vision of the Internet creating markets without barriers, the bite of reality left fairly deep marks this weekend when the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the consulting group Accenture presented their report to world leaders, revealing that that the vast majority of the world's population remain cut off from the economic benefits rendered by the Internet (Markets and Exchanges).
In another interesting wrinkle, it seems that the digital divide in America is not so much purely defined in terms of race and privilege—but also by differing levels of physical ability. For example, 74% of people with a walking problem have never used a computer. Sixty-four percent of people with hearing problems have never used a computer. Our spin on this: the internet does not accurately represent America, or the world—and we shouldn’t pretend that it does (because we do). Read the report >>>
Tuesday, July 17
VPs Cheney, Gore - whomever... does anyone find
$186,000/year in electricity bills a bit outrageous? Granted it's a 33-room mansion. I say, put on an extra sweater and conserve! What's more, the Navy's been footing the bill. (NYTimes article: login - opensewer; password: iswatching)
Jason made a t-shirt that reads, "I Hate Professional Sports" on the front and has our Opensewer logo on the back. It's amazing to watch the responses he gets when he wears it, some in agreement and some not.
This matter supports the tee. I mean c'mon folks, a $1,000,000 claim for injuries sustained while attending a baseball game? Have we forgotten what it's all about? Gimme back Billy Martin and a good old fashion fight with Steinbrenner anytime.
Monday, July 16
Yes yes yes yes
yes. My hope for humanity restored! Has the revolt against reality television begun?
I agree, Megan. And, if you’ll pardon me for blogging out of turn, I just want to give a little dose of flaming derision to
Big Brother 2, the latest infection from the plague of reality television. This People-magazine Weekly-World-News rotten-cotton-candy shallow gossipy-blue-haired-old-lady National-Enquirer Entertainment-Tonight-style crap has—not zero—but negative socially redeeming value. Watching this stuff is like eating your own excrement. It’s like drinking a twelve pack of Colt 45 malt liquor in 10 minutes—ultimate brain cell destruction. It may be time to wage war against reality television. Of course, we’ll lose. In the long run, we’re all just animals. The tawdry, the mindless, the sensational—this stuff always wins. From dust we came and to dust we return. Why bother aspiring to anything great in between?
I am ashamed to live in a country where
this just isn't a surprise.
Sunday, July 15
New sculptor
Seth Augustine explores the relationship between industrial materials and natural forms.
Saturday, July 14
Did you see
this article about traffic in USNews back in May? It’s pretty interesting. So is the New York Times
forum where I found it. Username: opensewer. Password: iswatching.
Friday, July 13
Ahhh but I
couldn't resist posting something about Bush! The Nostradamus quote at this site made me do it.
I woke up this morning in the mood to
bitch about Bush but then saw this about
The Bunny. (NYTimes: Login-Opensewer, Password-iswatching)
Thursday, July 12
We're talking about banning soft money and we'll continue to talk about it until it's done...
a long time from now.
Wednesday, July 11
Today is a day for art.
Here’s something nice: Inspired by this morning’s sale (for around $8.4 million) at Sotheby’s of a recently discovered Michelangelo sketch, the Guardian has produced a yummy bite-sized history of the highlights of the artist’s life, supported by oodles of interesting links. Spend half an hour there, if you can spare it.
FYI: We will be publishing a new artist on Opensewer this coming weekend.
Tuesday, July 10
"Before, I used to have to talk people into telling stories," she said. "Now I am getting 20 names in the hat." Good for
Moth. (NY Times; Username: opensewer; Password: iswatching)
More details for
Opensewer 9 have been posted. Mark your calendars!
Monday, July 9
A study finds that
votes of the poor are
less likely to be counted. Sigh. (NY Times; Username: opensewer; Password: iswatching)
Friday, July 6
OK so at first I felt bad about Eunice Kennedy Shriver getting in an auto accident, thinking to myself, "Those poor Kennedys. They just don't have any luck." Then I discovered in
this article that she was driving a truck whose registration was expired and she wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I wonder what kind of charges will be filed, and I also wonder what would happen to someone if they
weren't a Kennedy...
Lordy. A
mayoral candidate who actually makes Rudy Giuliani look good. This is a crazy world we live in, Pilgrim.
Um...sorry about the down time. We had some DNS problems on Wednesday and Thursday, but now everything is back to normal and happy. Additional details for
Opensewer 9 will be posted this weekend, thank-you.
Wednesday, July 4
In a recent poll taken by Gallup, one in four Americans couldn’t correctly identify the country from which we declared our independence 225 years ago. One in six of our citizenry did not recognize the connection between
July 4th and the birth of the United States. (Source:
The Gallup Organization.)
In the first quarter of 2001, the Home Shopping Network offered an attractively-priced digital camera. They sold more than 20,000 in one day. A few days later, ten percent of these customers returned the camera dissatisfied, saying that they couldn’t find anywhere to load the film. (Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.)
Conclusion? We can rest, assured that Americans are smarter about their shopping habits than their history.
Tuesday, July 3
A friendly reminder from our Friends at
Adbusters: Participate in the
Independence Day Flag Jam this 4th of July! Also check out the
list of cities where the Corporate US Flag will wave in the wind! Be there!
Monday, July 2
I am so glad that my
television is watching me, that companies will
know so much about me that they can give me only the
advertising I need. Such a relief.
It's almost like they're
playing a big joke on these wealthy patrons of the arts...and someday the artists are just going to yell, "Gotcha!" and walk away happily with all that cash (via Metafilter).
Archives
05/01/2000 - 06/01/2000
06/01/2000 - 07/01/2000
07/01/2000 - 08/01/2000
08/01/2000 - 09/01/2000
09/01/2000 - 10/01/2000
10/01/2000 - 11/01/2000
11/01/2000 - 12/01/2000
12/01/2000 - 01/01/2001
01/01/2001 - 02/01/2001
02/01/2001 - 03/01/2001
03/01/2001 - 04/01/2001
04/01/2001 - 05/01/2001
05/01/2001 - 06/01/2001
06/01/2001 - 07/01/2001
07/01/2001 - 08/01/2001
08/01/2001 - 09/01/2001
09/01/2001 - 10/01/2001
10/01/2001 - 11/01/2001
11/01/2001 - 12/01/2001
12/01/2001 - 01/01/2002
01/01/2002 - 02/01/2002
02/01/2002 - 03/01/2002
03/01/2002 - 04/01/2002
04/01/2002 - 05/01/2002
05/01/2002 - 06/01/2002
06/01/2002 - 07/01/2002
07/01/2002 - 08/01/2002
08/01/2002 - 09/01/2002
09/01/2002 - 10/01/2002
10/01/2002 - 11/01/2002
11/01/2002 - 12/01/2002
12/01/2002 - 01/01/2003
01/01/2003 - 02/01/2003
02/01/2003 - 03/01/2003
03/01/2003 - 04/01/2003
04/01/2003 - 05/01/2003
05/01/2003 - 06/01/2003
06/01/2003 - 07/01/2003
07/01/2003 - 08/01/2003
08/01/2003 - 09/01/2003
09/01/2003 - 10/01/2003
10/01/2003 - 11/01/2003
11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003
12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004
01/01/2004 - 02/01/2004
02/01/2004 - 03/01/2004
03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004
04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004
05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004
06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004
07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004
08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004
09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004
10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004
11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004
12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005
01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005
02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005
03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005
04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005
05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005
06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005
07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005
08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005
09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005
10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005
04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006
10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007
11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007
12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008
01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008
02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008
03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008
04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008
05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008
06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008
07/01/2008 - 08/01/2008
08/01/2008 - 09/01/2008
09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008
11/01/2008 - 12/01/2008
12/01/2008 - 01/01/2009
01/01/2009 - 02/01/2009
02/01/2009 - 03/01/2009
03/01/2009 - 04/01/2009
04/01/2009 - 05/01/2009
05/01/2009 - 06/01/2009
06/01/2009 - 07/01/2009
07/01/2009 - 08/01/2009
08/01/2009 - 09/01/2009
