A lot more stories are coming out about how American newspapers and other corporate media are eliminating jobs in their own communities only to send the same work to cheaper labor overseas or to larger, out-of-town companies. The hypocrisy and arrogance displayed in these efforts is so galling, it’s enough to inspire even more people to never buy, read or watch these corporations’ sorry products again.
But in the world of corporate media- I’ll state again for credibility reinforcement that I was a willing participant in their atrocities for more than thirty years- the emphasis has gone from community service to mere business survival. Many are suggesting that journalists be trained as business people as well as writers, photographers, graphic artists, legal, political, social and psychological experts. I think that’s a great idea- if you don’t want to work in the corporate media.
In trying to turn reporters into sales people, corporate media executives are committing an gargantuan journalistic sin by not asking the most important question:
IF I KNEW HOW TO BE ALL THOSE THINGS, WHY THE F**K WOULD I WORK FOR YOU INSTEAD OF MYSELF?
That’s the reality that ultimately dawned on me and I’ve been using my broad range of skills to keep all the money for myself, work better hours, and help stimulate the American economy- not just further exploit my employees, eliminate their jobs anyway and cheapen my product to keep some out-of-town accountants in their mansions and luxury SUVs. Talk about an industry that deserves to die…Â
I think I speak for the entire human race when I beg the corporate media: please stop reporting on Britney Spears sad self-destruction and do the job you’re supposed to do. If we learned anything from Anna Nicole Smith, Paris Hilton Lindsay Lohan et al, it’s that chasing stupid, talentless trailer trash may be fun for some. But for an entire industry to become so obsessed with it that they ignore the biggest stories of the century- Bush’s assault on democracy and the world, human-induced climate change and the media renaissance of the Internet- is even stupider than the loser semi-stars they consider newsworthy.
When I blog, I listen either to KBYU which plays classical music or KRCL, a community-owned station that plays all sorts of new stuff from reggae to bluegrass. This morning on KBYU, the long-running classical music program “Performance Today” featured a recent presentation by the BBC Orchestra of Igor Stravinsky’s “Petrouchka.” It was originally a ballet but became so popular, it’s been performed as a symphony for decades.
For me, it’s not only a spectacular, funny, sad and wild story told vividly through instruments and arrangement. It’s the greatest piece of music ever created: even better than “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “FM.” I remember the first time I heard it back in 1972. My friend Matt, a long-time Chicago musician, was attending music school at Northwestern and knew somehow I would like it. But was he right- but he usually is. That’s another story.
If you’ve never heard it, pick it up in any CD section at any of the big bookstores or on-line. It’s not background music by any means. It will challenge, delight, wrench and reward you each time you listen to it, as it has me, for your entire life.
Reports of the death of “clean coal” were apparently not exaggerated as the U.S. Department of Energy officially withdrew from the FutureGen plant project yesterday. The Bush Regime promises to help FutureGen and other coal plants with their carbon sequestration projects. But the whole idea was to help utility companies build this type of plant, not force them to build it themselves then change the most important element of them.
The death of FutureGen is good news for the environment, another major victory for the green, really-renewable power movement (led by the Sierra Club) and bad news for the Bush Regime’s nearly non-existent credibility and greedy, monopolistic utilities who are realizing that with Bush and The Dick slowly sneaking out of the White House, they are losing their most powerful allies and may have to start answering to the public again.
Word is that FutureGen, an ambitious federally-supported “clean” coal burning plant project, may lose its backing from the Energy Department (read: Bush administration). The timing of the withdrawal is particularly telling, coming just one day after His Ludicrousy paid more lip service to the environment in his finally-final State of the Union blather.
It’s been clear from Day One that Bush has nothing but contempt for renewable energy, the environment and science. This development merely confirms his sadly consistent attitudes. I only wish his State of the Union was his farewell speech.
Talk about the wisdom of Nature. The Utah prairie dog is in advertantly using its federally-protected status to prevent the further destruction of southern Utah in the name of human “progress.” When I first encountered these wiley rodents after moving to Colorado in 1981, I never thought they were in danger of extinction. But as the years went on, I developed my current opinion that every non-human species on Earth is endangered even by overabundance to eradication of predators i.e. deer and wolves.
Thanks to federal protection and the accelerating onslaught of human sprawl, even the lowly prairie dog ascends from victim to hero status without even trying. So if you follow the Hollywood formula, what does that make developers? The bad guys with the black hats. Now there’s a metaphor that westerners will understand.
The most encouraging thing about What’s-his-name’s final State of the Union last night was that it was his final State of the Union. There is indeed hope again in God’s country. If only presidents were allowed to retire early. I’d be in line to hand King George a bucket full of gold watches.
This suit has been in the works for some time since the Bush Regime and corrupt BLM and state government officials conspired to kill off the recovering wolf population. My guess is it won’t stop ranchers and other minute minorities from exercising their inordinate power over public policy and opening fire on these incredible and essential predators. Bush’s last day in office can’t come soon enough.
For those lamenting the demise of the situation comedies, dramas and other prime time fare due to the writers strike, take heart! Tonight, every major network premieres a new, live and guaranteed hilarious new show: President Bush’s State of the Union Address. I for one plan to pop some Orville Redenbacher, pour a cold Bobsled Brown, kick back and laugh my posterior into extinction. Plus, it’s one of the few shows the entire family can enjoy together!
From reading most blogs, you’d swear the Internet was overwhelmingly pro-environment. But when you consider the power-sucking machines we use and the ever-increasing need for speed and processing larger files, we are not exactly model netizens. However, there are indications that’s changing.
In response to the unfathomable volume of old computers piling up in landfills globally, more users are addressing the issue of product life. This article discusses how you can tweak your current computer to use less power and last longer. The same ZDNet writers put out a list of the greenest computers available and another questions the effects of wi-fi routers on human health.
Even Seventeen Magazine provides tips to their readership of teenage girls including this one showing that sending text messages via their cell phones uses 30 times less power than sending them from their desktops and laptops.
As my studio and business grow, I use more grid power. I offset nearly all of it through my solar array, using power strips to shut off power entirely to my stuff when I’m not using it instead of running it on hot standby, charging batteries efficiently so they last longer and selling or recycling old equipment instead of throwing it away. Hollywood and the video production industries are some of the biggest power hogs on the planet. But we’re far from leading the pack. Conserving electricity, investing in renewables, and offsetting pollution should be priorities for every business.
