Cowboy Up - now in plastic!
New England Techwire is reporting that Boston.com, the site of the Boston Globe, is getting record traffic to its Red Sox coverage.

"Boston.com also plans to distribute 10,000 plastic cowboy hats to attendees of Saturday's home game."

As if the Pedro Martinez - Roger Clemens matchup wasn't exciting enough.

5:30:13 PM      trackback [] 

“God is a Red Sox fan”

This is cute. The Sisters of the Episcopalian Society of St. Margaret's Convent in Roxbury cheer on the Sox:

Evidence of their compassion: will pray for comfort for the Yankees when they lose (not until they lose though)

 

(Globe Staff Photo / Suzanne Kreiter)

1:48:37 PM      trackback [] 

Blogging for democracy

I’m fascinated by this idea of the web as a tool for transforming political involvement, for organizing people who have felt disempowered by the Bush administration, particularly in pushing forward their unilateral, preemptive war over the objections of so many Americans, including their own intelligence experts, not to mention the international community. And who have so bungled the aftermath with poor post-war planning despite clear warning from other experts (see the Frontline episode Truth, War and Consequences that ran last night but usually repeats - check your local listings - and can be viewed online here).

The web is being used effectively by groups such as Moveon.org to mobilize people. And it has been used effectively in political campaigning, most notably by Dean (see his blog here). I found a good overview of how the web is changing the political landscape. Here’s an excerpt:

Clearly, though, the Internet has thrown the biggest wrench into the political machinery of campaigns and political coverage as 2004 looms, according to those in the daily reporting mix. Presidential primary reporting, which used to consist of covering debates, following candidates trekking to Iowa and New Hampshire, and routinely reviewing quarterly campaign fund-raising reports, has been turned on its ear.

Now reporters, editors and political analysts need to keep an almost constant eye on the Web -- so as not to miss the latest attack e-mail, fund-raising update, or online-based supporter meeting. "I spend 30% more time on the Web than I did four years ago," says Mike Glover, an Associated Press veteran who covers Iowa. Even David Broder of The Washington Post -- the "dean" of political reporters -- calls the Internet "a central factor."

Meanwhile, Jim Moore, who wrote of the web as the mind of the second superpower, continues to write of the democratizing power of the web in a way that appeals to both the idealist in me and my earthbound practical side:

The web allows millions of people to come together easily and inexpensively. Web discourse on blogs enables the co-evolution of facts and arguments that results in thousands of people becoming more aware of the stakes in any given political decision, and thus more activated to try to be involved.  And the web enables swarms to come together in minutes rather than days.  Our hope is to improve the adaptability and openness of our democracy.

Read more here.

Floundering

In other earth-shattering news, I had friends over for dinner last night and tried this new recipe for Baked Flounder with Tomato Caper Sauce that I found on epicurious.com. It came out fabulous! I actually made it with haddock and I omitted the fennel bulb but used a bit of crushed fennel seed for flavor. Yummy.

 

11:51:11 AM      trackback [] 

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