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Monday, 27 May 2013
Feedly
Feedly is a free RSS feed service that I've been using for a while now. It's really easy to add pages to and to organize them into folders, which is mainly why I decided to forgo using googleReader. I also like the ease-on-the-eyes colour palette they used and although that may not be a main feature, it does make my life a little bit more pleasant.
Feedly
Feedly
Sunday, 26 May 2013
"World Nutella Day" Editorial
Now, I'm generally somewhat irritated when people create days for products and brands as though they were a charity or cause and not something that is likely making a group of shareholders obscene amounts of money.
However, I do find it silly and actually somewhat irritating that Ferrero has cancelled 'World Nutella Day', seeing as how they only stand to benefit from it. Companies will even hire people to get memes started for them.
Why Ferrero has decided to be the killjoy on this project is uncertain, but until future notice I'll infer that they simply lack a sense of fun and good market sense.
Resources:
Chocoholics Devastated as World Nutella Day Cancelled - by Manufacturer
Nutella Demands Immediate Cancellation of World Nutella Day
However, I do find it silly and actually somewhat irritating that Ferrero has cancelled 'World Nutella Day', seeing as how they only stand to benefit from it. Companies will even hire people to get memes started for them.
Why Ferrero has decided to be the killjoy on this project is uncertain, but until future notice I'll infer that they simply lack a sense of fun and good market sense.
Resources:
Chocoholics Devastated as World Nutella Day Cancelled - by Manufacturer
Nutella Demands Immediate Cancellation of World Nutella Day
Logical Fallacies in "Pascal's Wager"
There is a famous argument by Blaise Pascal, a historical scientist and theologist, intended to convert atheists and agnostics into belief by ways of a wager.
He asserts that you have two choices: belief in God or no belief in God. If you believe in God you will be gifted with endless pleasures in the afterlife in heaven. If you don't believe in God then you have only the pleasures in the finite world around you. Believing in God, he claims is the most rational choice because the payoff is so great and the loss is only finite (loss due to being pious and maintaining that lifestyle). Therefore the best choice for a rational individual would be to believe in God.
However, the flaws in this argument are great, if not immediately apparent. First of all:
It is not an argument for the existence of God.
The whole argument is about the potential payoff for either choice and not about the likelihood of either outcome. In this case, I think some of his basic assumptions are true for only some people out there.
First of all: He assumes that pleasure is the only goal or value of a rational individual by including no other values in his wager. However, I personally value the freedom of thought and the pursuit of truth over a potential paradise. If I were to believe in God simply to get the end 'payoff', then I would be blindly believing and not seeking truth or allowing myself freedom of thought. If I got the 'payoff' in the end, I would still know that I had blindly followed an idea for selfish reasons and that would be a sort of self-betrayal.
Second of all: He assumes that it is possible for all people to simply choose their beliefs. My mind doesn't work that way. When I was a child I went through an existential crisis that I couldn't handle yet, so I desperately tried to believe in God. It didn't work; I couldn't just choose to believe, all I could do was pretend to others that I did. My beliefs are based on my experiences and interactions with the world around me and though I allow myself a modicum of doubt on everything, doubt does not equal belief.
Third of all: One still has to make a choice between all the possible Gods out there in the world of religion. All the Gods who would really care if I believed in them or not have personalities I cannot abide (since that very trait is attention-seeking) and their techniques for dealing with atheists tend to be brutal (another trait I cannot stand) and, even if I would regret it later, I could not stand to bow to them. The 'nice-guy' gods, if they turned out to be real, wouldn't care that I hadn't believed in them and some of them would congratulate me for having made the rational conclusion with the information I had available.
As logical fallacies go "Pascal's Wager" includes an "Appeal to Consequences" (the consequence of not being admitted to heaven if it turned out to be real) and a "False Dilemma" (there are many choices because many of the other potential God's would be angry if you believed in the 'wrong one', thereby making the liklihood that one's belief in God would payoff infinitesimally smaller).
Resources:
Stephen's Guide to Logical Fallacies
What is Pascal's Wager?
The Argument from Pascal's Wager
He asserts that you have two choices: belief in God or no belief in God. If you believe in God you will be gifted with endless pleasures in the afterlife in heaven. If you don't believe in God then you have only the pleasures in the finite world around you. Believing in God, he claims is the most rational choice because the payoff is so great and the loss is only finite (loss due to being pious and maintaining that lifestyle). Therefore the best choice for a rational individual would be to believe in God.
However, the flaws in this argument are great, if not immediately apparent. First of all:
It is not an argument for the existence of God.
The whole argument is about the potential payoff for either choice and not about the likelihood of either outcome. In this case, I think some of his basic assumptions are true for only some people out there.
First of all: He assumes that pleasure is the only goal or value of a rational individual by including no other values in his wager. However, I personally value the freedom of thought and the pursuit of truth over a potential paradise. If I were to believe in God simply to get the end 'payoff', then I would be blindly believing and not seeking truth or allowing myself freedom of thought. If I got the 'payoff' in the end, I would still know that I had blindly followed an idea for selfish reasons and that would be a sort of self-betrayal.
Second of all: He assumes that it is possible for all people to simply choose their beliefs. My mind doesn't work that way. When I was a child I went through an existential crisis that I couldn't handle yet, so I desperately tried to believe in God. It didn't work; I couldn't just choose to believe, all I could do was pretend to others that I did. My beliefs are based on my experiences and interactions with the world around me and though I allow myself a modicum of doubt on everything, doubt does not equal belief.
Third of all: One still has to make a choice between all the possible Gods out there in the world of religion. All the Gods who would really care if I believed in them or not have personalities I cannot abide (since that very trait is attention-seeking) and their techniques for dealing with atheists tend to be brutal (another trait I cannot stand) and, even if I would regret it later, I could not stand to bow to them. The 'nice-guy' gods, if they turned out to be real, wouldn't care that I hadn't believed in them and some of them would congratulate me for having made the rational conclusion with the information I had available.
As logical fallacies go "Pascal's Wager" includes an "Appeal to Consequences" (the consequence of not being admitted to heaven if it turned out to be real) and a "False Dilemma" (there are many choices because many of the other potential God's would be angry if you believed in the 'wrong one', thereby making the liklihood that one's belief in God would payoff infinitesimally smaller).
Resources:
Stephen's Guide to Logical Fallacies
What is Pascal's Wager?
The Argument from Pascal's Wager
Honeybees Being Trained to Search for Land-mines in Croatia
Honeybee behaviorist, Nikola Kezic, is training honeybees to locate concentrations of TNT which could help in the future to locate land-mines.
The process of training them is mixing tiny amounts of TNT into sugar water so that the bees associate TNT with food. The problem right now is training large numbers of bees as well as finding a way to get them to also ignore the flowers around them so that they all congregate on the land-mines.
“It is not a problem for a bee to learn the smell of an explosive, which it can then search,” says Kezic, “but training their colony of thousands becomes a problem.”
http://grist.org/list/croatia-is-training-honeybees-to-locate-landmines/
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/national-world/article_9cc3b41f-65e6-5d84-81b2-12296c686b77.html
The process of training them is mixing tiny amounts of TNT into sugar water so that the bees associate TNT with food. The problem right now is training large numbers of bees as well as finding a way to get them to also ignore the flowers around them so that they all congregate on the land-mines.
“It is not a problem for a bee to learn the smell of an explosive, which it can then search,” says Kezic, “but training their colony of thousands becomes a problem.”
http://grist.org/list/croatia-is-training-honeybees-to-locate-landmines/
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/national-world/article_9cc3b41f-65e6-5d84-81b2-12296c686b77.html
Coca-cola and Obesity
In the attempt to retain their 'family-friendly' image, Coca-cola released 'Coming Together', an ad campaign focused around Coke products being part of a healthy lifestyle.
However, this ad campaign is deceptive and manipulative for the following reasons:
1) The low- and no-calorie options they tout are sweetened with artificial sweeteners. These have not proven themselves to be a better option in long-term independent studies.
Reference: Artificial Sweeteners and Weight
2) "All calories count, no matter where they come from, including Coca-cola and everything else with calories. If you eat and drink more calories than you burn off, you'll gain weight." This is a gross-oversimplification of weight gain and weight loss and it doesn't take into account that nutrient-dense foods are always a better option than pop. They don't point out that their products are treats and not actually a part of a healthy diet.
I'm not saying that an indulgence now and then would hurt most people, but the idea of cutting healthy food from your diet in order to reduce your calories so that you can have coke really irritates me and that is an unspoken implication of this ad.
3) Encouraging children to drink more juice is a better option than pop, but a much poorer option than water. Juice is simply so sugar-dense and lacks the fibre that is found in a whole fruit. Also, bottled water is an unnecessary waste of food-grade plastic
3) It is yet another ad that implies that a major corporation like Coke has any goals other than ever-increasing profit. A corporation's only goal is to make money, so if they tell you they've got your best interests at heart, unless you're a major investor, probably not.
In short, this ad campaign is misleading and manipulative to a degree that is not often seen in one short advertisement. If I wasn't so angry, I'd give them kudos for it.
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Higgs Boson
Monday, 20 May 2013
March Against Monsanto- Winnipeg
People will be gathering at the Forks in Winnipeg this Saturday for the Manitoba branch of 'March Against Monsanto', an international day of solidarity and demonstration against the Monsanto corporation.
The Monsanto corporation is the biggest player in genetically modified crops right now, largely with their 'Round-up Ready' brand of glyphosate-resistant seeds. Glyphosate, under the name 'Round-up' is Monsanto's own invention and their most widely-ued herbicide.
The press-release from 'March Against Monsanto' organizers can be found here.
The facebook page for the Manitoba branch is found here.
Saturday, 18 May 2013
Texas Grandmother Arrested for Trespassing on her Own Land
Eleanor Fairchild, a 78-year-old Texas grandmother has been arrested for trespassing on her own land. The U.S. government has ruled that, through an eminent domain ruling, TransCanada gets a legal right to her land. However, Fairchild has refused negotiations, saying "I don't want tar sands anywhere in the United States."
Eminent Domain is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: "a right of a government to take private property for public use by virtue of the superior dominion of the sovereign power over all lands within its jurisdiction".
This law is largely used for government construction jobs considered to be in the common good of the public such as building roads, parks and rail, so it's use for a private foreign investor is being questioned.
Daryl Hannah and 7 Other Celebs Arrested While Crusading for a Cause
History of the Federal Use of Eminent Domain
Daryl Hannah and Eleanor Fairchild Defend Family Farm from Tar Sands Pipeline
Eminent Domain is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: "a right of a government to take private property for public use by virtue of the superior dominion of the sovereign power over all lands within its jurisdiction".
This law is largely used for government construction jobs considered to be in the common good of the public such as building roads, parks and rail, so it's use for a private foreign investor is being questioned.
Daryl Hannah and 7 Other Celebs Arrested While Crusading for a Cause
History of the Federal Use of Eminent Domain
Daryl Hannah and Eleanor Fairchild Defend Family Farm from Tar Sands Pipeline
Thursday, 16 May 2013
The Zipper and the Arctic Bob
Two Summer Fair rides have arrived! Th Zipper and the Arctic Bob. Both are parked at the Keystone Centernear Richmond Avenue.
Update: Major Digging @ BU
I reported yesterday on the backhoe and flatdeck truck parked outside Flora Cowan yesterday. The flatdeck was not here today at noon or at four o'clock, bit the backhoe still is. It appears that there is a damaged pipe, since the hole has standing water at the bottom and a large pipe visible.
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Major Digging @ BU
There is a large pile of dirt being created outside Flora Cowan and a large flatdeck is blocking half the road beside the Brodie building.
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
'Transient Obsession' Official Launch!
I'm so excited for my new blog of vaguely orderly randomness! My first entry is done in an imitation of the blog-style of "Hyperbole and a Half" by Allie Brosh. I really loved this style, but it was a lot more challenging than I first thought it would be (which has a lot to do with my patchy photoshop experience and my lack of skill with a wacom tablet).
Anyways, please check out my first post and stay tuned for more!
My new blog: Transient Obsession
Anyways, please check out my first post and stay tuned for more!
My new blog: Transient Obsession
Monday, 13 May 2013
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Into the weird part of biology....
Microchimerism: the state of having tiny amounts of another person's cells functioning in your body.
Microchimerism has now been found in the brains of mothers and has been linked to lower levels of Alzheimer's. The study focused on women who had male cells inside them because women have two X chromosomes and men have an X and a Y chromosome, so it's easier to find a male cell in a female, just watch for the Y.
It is currently unknown as to why there is the correlation with Alzheimer's as the field is far too new for much to be said definitively.
For more information: The Scientist: Swapping DNA in the Womb
Microchimerism has now been found in the brains of mothers and has been linked to lower levels of Alzheimer's. The study focused on women who had male cells inside them because women have two X chromosomes and men have an X and a Y chromosome, so it's easier to find a male cell in a female, just watch for the Y.
It is currently unknown as to why there is the correlation with Alzheimer's as the field is far too new for much to be said definitively.
For more information: The Scientist: Swapping DNA in the Womb
10 Strategies for Successful Blogging
As I continue on this journey in this class I'm starting to actually think I could not just potentially utilize this information in the future, but actually apply it now. I'm a packrat by nature, so when I see something unusual or useful-looking I usually grab it without a specific application in mind and I think this class was one of those things.... until now.
I've been looking through some awesome blogs and webcomics thinking... hey, these people make a living, or part of one, off talking about their interests to other interested people... how do they manage that? Well I've been looking into that and aside from gathering information, knowing how to write it and social networking, there are a few other strategies people utilize to get their blog 'out there'.
1) Self-promotional BALANCE: First of all, I hate being the one nagging people to check out something I did.... but then I really want people to look at stuff I'm proud of too, so I usually 'self-promote' things in weird little fits and spurts (story of my life right there). However, the most effective strategy is common-sense once you think about it: about once a week and/or when there is a legitimate reason to mention it (for example, if you write a book about space travel and someone talks about Commander Hadfield, then feel free to mention something applicable).
2) Summarize for newcomers: If your blog is long-term developing idea, then give people a quick-start guide so they can jump in without having to spend hours reading ALL your old posts (which they might not have time for).
3) Site Design: This is obvious, but critical and frequently ignored. We don't all have the funds to hire a designer, nor do we all have skills with aesthetics, but reading up on some basic design principles can't hurt. When in doubt, get a color scheme that isn't overly intense (and stick to it throughout) and organize your page to be user-friendly. Think about how you want someone to move through your 'narrative' and see your page and make your page with that purpose in mind.
4) E-mail newsletter: I hadn't even considered this one, since I rarely read the many that I get to my inbox, but thinking about it... there aren't many major blogs that don't have one. Also, even if the person just deletes them, they have to read the tagline.
5) Don't try to force yourself: Write because you have something to say, not because you need to say something. It's easy to see when a writer is bored with their writing so how do you expect others to be interested in it?
6) Find yourself: Honesty of personality comes across in writing, but it's hard to not become a cliche if you don't spend time getting to know yourself. I usually over-do this one and lose myself in something excessively existential, but I'm sure there's a happy medium out there somewhere....
7) Don't think about the money: THAT is the trick with professional writing; when you do it for the money you fail, when you do it for yourself you succeed... sometimes. Artistic and philosophical affairs are always capricious ways to make a living, but so often they require that level of commitment. Be ready to walk the tightrope, but try to forget that it exists, most of the time.
8) Monetize your blog right away and don't try to figure out how that doesn't clash with rule #7. At the risk of becoming excessively existential, everything in life is made of shades of grey, there are no set rules, but sometimes you have to break them anyways.
9) Be community-oriented: Find other like-minded bloggers and comment on their blogs. Networking is critical. Make friends and have fun and make sure you lend your talents as well. Other blogs don't have to be competitors, they are your lifeline.
10) Allow your ideas to mesh: When you bake bread you let the dough rest for a period of time before doing more with it. If your finished, or you hit a wall, take a moment and come back to it before posting. You might come up with something to add or think better of something potentially harmful.
All in all: Blogs are communicative devices and human beings are highly social creatures. Enjoy yourself and throw yourself into to social sphere!
Resources:
6 Pillars of a Successful Blog
12 Steps You Must Take to Quickly Become a Successful Blogger
I've been looking through some awesome blogs and webcomics thinking... hey, these people make a living, or part of one, off talking about their interests to other interested people... how do they manage that? Well I've been looking into that and aside from gathering information, knowing how to write it and social networking, there are a few other strategies people utilize to get their blog 'out there'.
1) Self-promotional BALANCE: First of all, I hate being the one nagging people to check out something I did.... but then I really want people to look at stuff I'm proud of too, so I usually 'self-promote' things in weird little fits and spurts (story of my life right there). However, the most effective strategy is common-sense once you think about it: about once a week and/or when there is a legitimate reason to mention it (for example, if you write a book about space travel and someone talks about Commander Hadfield, then feel free to mention something applicable).
2) Summarize for newcomers: If your blog is long-term developing idea, then give people a quick-start guide so they can jump in without having to spend hours reading ALL your old posts (which they might not have time for).
3) Site Design: This is obvious, but critical and frequently ignored. We don't all have the funds to hire a designer, nor do we all have skills with aesthetics, but reading up on some basic design principles can't hurt. When in doubt, get a color scheme that isn't overly intense (and stick to it throughout) and organize your page to be user-friendly. Think about how you want someone to move through your 'narrative' and see your page and make your page with that purpose in mind.
4) E-mail newsletter: I hadn't even considered this one, since I rarely read the many that I get to my inbox, but thinking about it... there aren't many major blogs that don't have one. Also, even if the person just deletes them, they have to read the tagline.
5) Don't try to force yourself: Write because you have something to say, not because you need to say something. It's easy to see when a writer is bored with their writing so how do you expect others to be interested in it?
6) Find yourself: Honesty of personality comes across in writing, but it's hard to not become a cliche if you don't spend time getting to know yourself. I usually over-do this one and lose myself in something excessively existential, but I'm sure there's a happy medium out there somewhere....
7) Don't think about the money: THAT is the trick with professional writing; when you do it for the money you fail, when you do it for yourself you succeed... sometimes. Artistic and philosophical affairs are always capricious ways to make a living, but so often they require that level of commitment. Be ready to walk the tightrope, but try to forget that it exists, most of the time.
8) Monetize your blog right away and don't try to figure out how that doesn't clash with rule #7. At the risk of becoming excessively existential, everything in life is made of shades of grey, there are no set rules, but sometimes you have to break them anyways.
9) Be community-oriented: Find other like-minded bloggers and comment on their blogs. Networking is critical. Make friends and have fun and make sure you lend your talents as well. Other blogs don't have to be competitors, they are your lifeline.
10) Allow your ideas to mesh: When you bake bread you let the dough rest for a period of time before doing more with it. If your finished, or you hit a wall, take a moment and come back to it before posting. You might come up with something to add or think better of something potentially harmful.
All in all: Blogs are communicative devices and human beings are highly social creatures. Enjoy yourself and throw yourself into to social sphere!
Resources:
6 Pillars of a Successful Blog
12 Steps You Must Take to Quickly Become a Successful Blogger
Friday, 10 May 2013
Case Study: Hyperbole and a Half
Hyperbole and a Half is a webcomic/blog written and drawn by Allie Brosh in a very distinctive, messy style that nevertheless is extraordinarily human and genuine. She has recently recovered from a severe depression and has started posting again.
The writing and the comics are weaved together throughout each blog entry without any definitive pattern. The comics are hand-drawn in a Microsoft "Paint" style with stick figures and bold colours. The expressions on the characters are exaggerated, but very clear. The stories are told in the first person and the main character is the writer herself and the plot is her take on her own life.
Anyone prone to anxiety, who has an offbeat and vaguely snarky sense of humour will love this blog. It may also make a connection for many people who wondered where the "all the things!" meme started.
Check her out! Hyperbole and a Half
The writing and the comics are weaved together throughout each blog entry without any definitive pattern. The comics are hand-drawn in a Microsoft "Paint" style with stick figures and bold colours. The expressions on the characters are exaggerated, but very clear. The stories are told in the first person and the main character is the writer herself and the plot is her take on her own life.
Anyone prone to anxiety, who has an offbeat and vaguely snarky sense of humour will love this blog. It may also make a connection for many people who wondered where the "all the things!" meme started.
Check her out! Hyperbole and a Half
Blog Topics and Test Blogs
So I've decided that this is basically my test blog to mess around with before I figure out what I want to do. HOWEVER:
I KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW.
*angels singing*
*cherub drumroll*
*cherub finally puts some clothes on for the event*
My Topic IS.....
....
........
.............
.....................Blogs.
Yup! I know, how inventive! Good show ol' girl and wut wut!
Okay, well my idea has more to it than that.
I'm going to study a few blogs I like and work on creating some original work in those styles. This is based on the 4-H theory of 'learn to do by doing'. So If I want to create an original and genuine new blog, why try to re-invent the wheel? First I'll learn what other people already know and how to apply that, then create something on my own.
*panics*
I KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW.
*angels singing*
*cherub drumroll*
*cherub finally puts some clothes on for the event*
My Topic IS.....
....
........
.............
.....................Blogs.
Yup! I know, how inventive! Good show ol' girl and wut wut!
Okay, well my idea has more to it than that.
I'm going to study a few blogs I like and work on creating some original work in those styles. This is based on the 4-H theory of 'learn to do by doing'. So If I want to create an original and genuine new blog, why try to re-invent the wheel? First I'll learn what other people already know and how to apply that, then create something on my own.
*panics*
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Panic and the Human Species
So, life doesn't end when you panic, it just feels like that sometimes.
I couldn't figure out why my room-mate's dog was screaming, but she was anyhow, and life didn't end. Turns out she's fine.
This makes me think of the 2012 panic and the many many other apocalyptical panics in human history. This makes me feel safe, but I'm not sure that's the true lesson that should have come out of all that. It is nice that the world goes on in spite of human panic, but I think we only panic like that because we know we're doing a lot 'wrong'.
We are strong, as a group, but in the vast scheme of the universe we are weak, so we need all the strength we can get. Right now our only stronghold is our planet and we keep tearing the health out of it (which is generally acknowledged today as being a dumb thing to do), but in the future, missions like the "Mars One" mission might create us a second. As someone who has compassion for us as an arrogant little group of ever-evolving apes, I want to see us continue and to do that we will need to explore.
So don't panic, instead acknowledge the everyday fears of life and push past them, make life better and try to be the best person you can be, and now and then, maybe go on an (theoretically) inspirational ramble.
I couldn't figure out why my room-mate's dog was screaming, but she was anyhow, and life didn't end. Turns out she's fine.
This makes me think of the 2012 panic and the many many other apocalyptical panics in human history. This makes me feel safe, but I'm not sure that's the true lesson that should have come out of all that. It is nice that the world goes on in spite of human panic, but I think we only panic like that because we know we're doing a lot 'wrong'.
We are strong, as a group, but in the vast scheme of the universe we are weak, so we need all the strength we can get. Right now our only stronghold is our planet and we keep tearing the health out of it (which is generally acknowledged today as being a dumb thing to do), but in the future, missions like the "Mars One" mission might create us a second. As someone who has compassion for us as an arrogant little group of ever-evolving apes, I want to see us continue and to do that we will need to explore.
So don't panic, instead acknowledge the everyday fears of life and push past them, make life better and try to be the best person you can be, and now and then, maybe go on an (theoretically) inspirational ramble.
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
CCleaner for Mac
So we were supposed to install a couple other programs as well as CCleaner, but I have a mac, so they wouldn't really help....
However CCleaner seems pretty easy to use and is fairly customizable. I already moved a few of my 'safe' sites into the 'cookies to keep' list so they won't be endlessly (and annoyingly) deleted.
One thing that I do to keep my computer running well actually is defragging, a common practice for PC users, but something Apple likes to pretend is unnecessary for macs. However their built-in program only works for 'average' sized files, whereas I download "large" files frequently (movies and tv series), so iDefrag is nice to have.
However CCleaner seems pretty easy to use and is fairly customizable. I already moved a few of my 'safe' sites into the 'cookies to keep' list so they won't be endlessly (and annoyingly) deleted.
One thing that I do to keep my computer running well actually is defragging, a common practice for PC users, but something Apple likes to pretend is unnecessary for macs. However their built-in program only works for 'average' sized files, whereas I download "large" files frequently (movies and tv series), so iDefrag is nice to have.
Electronic Journalism: First Day
Yesterday the topic was the discussion of the beginning of journalism compared to industrial journalism and the present world of post-industrial journalism. Originally, journalism was tightly controlled by the crown and as the crown lost hold, people started printing all sorts of ideas. In this time journalism was a wild and woolly world of propaganda, nut-cases and the occasional bout of hard news. Then came the major printing presses, huge machines that only corporations had the money to own, so journalism became largely a business affair.
Corporate journalism is what ultimately drove me away from the career I had chosen (photo-journalism) going out of high-school since I know myself to be an idealist who struggles with compromise (in some places I know that I'm too rigid, in others I'm happy with my strong values). I had some very honest journalist-mentors who I am all-too grateful for, since I am now on a much better route.
However, lately I've been trying to find my place as the sick world's injustice and the growing world's beauty piles up around me; I cannot simply stay silent and hiding. So I sit here, trying to write, with my ears jamming to Against Me! (Reinventing Axl Rose), my brain swimming with snippets of ideas and questions half-formed, unsure what this month will bring.
Isn't that feeling gorgeous?
Corporate journalism is what ultimately drove me away from the career I had chosen (photo-journalism) going out of high-school since I know myself to be an idealist who struggles with compromise (in some places I know that I'm too rigid, in others I'm happy with my strong values). I had some very honest journalist-mentors who I am all-too grateful for, since I am now on a much better route.
However, lately I've been trying to find my place as the sick world's injustice and the growing world's beauty piles up around me; I cannot simply stay silent and hiding. So I sit here, trying to write, with my ears jamming to Against Me! (Reinventing Axl Rose), my brain swimming with snippets of ideas and questions half-formed, unsure what this month will bring.
Isn't that feeling gorgeous?
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