Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Diversity and Creativity on the Web, aka, Converge Ocober 7-8, 2005, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro Friday, a conference on media, diversity, and the web, hosted by the A&T journalism department. Friday night, music for all people in downtown Greensboro. Saturday, podcasting/vidblogging/weblogging, plus politics, faith, business, and some other stuff we're still figuring out. More info, website, and such as we move merrily along... 6:49:17 PM   permalink   comment []

Carolina Christian Conservative: "In recent years, Christian conservatives have firmly aligned themselves in large numbers with the Republican Party. As a former registered Democrat, I know I have. But is that necessarily a good thing?" There are all kinds of opportunities for the Dems to open dialogue with people they sometimes write off. That means listening as well as talking. 3:44:36 PM   permalink   comment []

NYT review of a photography show by Lucian Read, who spent a tour of duty with Marines in Iraq. Many of the Marines were at the opening, "And the opening itself seemed to be in a land as foreign as Iraq. The serious crew-cut men in perfectly pressed green uniforms contrasted with the crowd of Manhattanites, laughing and chatting, many dressed down in carefully unkempt designer clothes." The Times did not say that Read is the brother-in-law of local blogger Elizabeth B (see 5/13, 5/16)...but now you know. Update: the photos. 3:39:32 PM   permalink   comment []

Glenn Reynolds has a big roundup of Uzbekistan coverage. Pay attention, this will be on the test. 3:31:34 PM   permalink   comment []

Hardy Floyd calls Sandy Carmany and Jeff Thigpen "Role Models For Other Elected Officials." Yep. 9:18:22 AM   permalink   comment []

"'The female orgasm,' she said, 'is for fun.'" NYT article on evolutionary purposes (maybe none) of female orgasm. One of the leading authorities on the subject is named Dr. Alcock. Hmm. That's not what I've heard. You can't make this stuff up. 9:11:22 AM   permalink   comment []

Jay Rosen: "The Periscope item in the May 9th issue of Newsweek is a creature from an earlier climate of credibility: when a single-source story was good enough; when anonymous was okay as long as you trusted 'your guy' at the Pentagon or the DA; when the consequences of being wrong were not as great, as instant, or as global; when the game of being first -- which always meant more to journalists than anyone else -- could go on as if it had intrinsic value to the public." 8:37:42 AM   permalink   comment []

Jerry McClough forwards a zip file of Bill Moyers' fine speech on the media, delivered on Sunday in St. Louis. Here's a transcript. Moyers: "I came to see that news is what people want to keep hidden, and everything else is publicity." More Moyers: "Ideologues don't want you to go beyond the typical labels of left and right because people may start believing you. They embrace a world view that cannot be proven wrong because they will admit no evidence to the contrary. They want your reporting to validate their belief system and when it doesn't, God forbid." 8:29:49 AM   permalink   comment []

Brad DeLong on the NYT class series: "This argument--that rising standards of living as a whole are making it appear that class is unimportant while in fact class matters more than ever--is an old one. It is one of the centerpieces of George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier. Orwell is distressed by the consumption of "cheap" by the relatively poor. He thinks" The system is taking advantage of the relatively poor by enabling them to consume commodities that they think are luxuries, but that in fact are not or are no longer so. It is conning them." More here. 8:18:41 AM   permalink   comment []

Keith Olbermann on the McClellan two-step re Afghan riots. 8:12:06 AM   permalink   comment []

AIDS and STDs in the South: "You're better off being born in Costa Rica or some South American countries than in Durham, N.C." Pacific Views says abstinence education is not working. 8:09:52 AM   permalink   comment []

Andrew Sullivan and Atrios both say the NYT's pay plan is a bad idea. Atrios: "My prediction: short term moderate success, long term Worst Business Decision Ever." Sully: "By sectioning off their op-ed columnists and best writers, they are cutting them off from the life-blood of today's political debate: the free blogosphere. Inevitably, fewer people will link to them; fewer will read them; their influence will wane faster than it has already." 8:06:07 AM   permalink   comment []