lullaby pit

While he underestimated some things, like the staying power of Big Media institutions, it’s remarkable how well Crichton saw the coming years when he wrote “Mediasaurus” for WiReD back in 1993. Thanks to drdenny for reminding me of it.

There have been some pretty stupid Internet hoaxes about taxing e-mail in recent years, but this latest bit is real. I encourage everybody to read Boztopia’s take here and then do whatever you feel is appropriate. Thanks. We now return you to your free Internets.

(Ummm, no, not him.) As a general rule, if you have to ask the question “Am I Jesus Christ?” the answer is probably “no.” But you be the judge. Start with “I am a genius or maybe even Messiah,” which is one of the key entries in his “Thoughhts.” [THX: felixwas] :xpost:

A little story. I know a guy who works for a company that was recently bought by a large corporation. I shan’t be naming the guy or either company, for a variety of reasons. Anyhow, as the deal nears its closing date, this man has been presented with the employment contract he’ll have to sign if he wants to stay

If you hate Bush, you’ll love this. If you love Bush, you’ll hateit. And if you used to love Bush, but have recently come to the conclusion that he may not be everything you’d thought or hoped he was, it’s going to make you a little uncomfortable. Heck, it may make you downright mad. In any case, Jane Smiley’s recent

Let me begin by saying that Iran probably needs its butt spanked. In principle. That’s a far cry from necessarily advocating that the US needs to whip out the paddle. This being said, let’s examine the back and forth over whether or not Dubya is a-fixin’ to encore his wildly successful Operation Whaq Iraq with a new tune he’s working

Couric move all but certain Updated 4/4/2006 12:37 AM By Peter Johnson, USA TODAY One of the longest guessing games in TV news — whether NBC Today star Katie Couric will leave to join The CBS Evening News as the first solo female network news anchor — appears to have been resolved. Couric and CBS have tentatively reached a deal

Mike e-mailed me after reading my rant yesterday on the infernal world of poetry. The exchange allowed me to elaborate on some of the reasons why we’re where we are, although I will tell you right up front, most postmodern scholars will read my take on the critical theories here and tell you I’m missing it completely. Of course, when

First, the backstory. As some of you may know, I’m a writer. I write all kinds of things, but my particular passion is poetry. I’ve been at it a long time, and I feel like I’m pretty good at it. Not all readers agree, of course, but if it were unanimous it probably wouldn’t be art, huh? Anyway, I went

One good guy, one bad guy: The Football Association have complained to UEFA about the treatment of referee Mike Riley by a club president after he interrupted a UEFA Cup quarter-final to try to quell racist abuse. Riley was called ‘a British homosexual’ by Levski Sofia club president Todor Batkov after he stopped their home tie against Schalke when the

I don’t expect George Mason to win the NCAA tournament this year, but I will be rooting for them (along with a majority of the nation, I suspect). The why is simple – I respect the hell out of the school’s commitment to doing it right. I find that I’m watching fewer games in all sports and at all levels

I’m grateful for the press sometimes. For example, without them, I wouldn’t even know that there was this new sculpture of Britney Spears giving birth. I wouldn’t know it was controversial. And I wouldn’t know that the reason it was controversial was because it’s a pro-life commentary of some sort. Thank the gods for that last part, too, because if

Halfway through the Sweet 16 and we’re down to BC carrying the flag for the ACC. Damn. This is not your father’s Oldsmobile. “Pittsnogle” is the coolest name in basketball history. I hated to see the ‘Neers go down last night, and am going to be interested to how they deal with a Footer who has that kind of release

The top story at Mojo City News right now is “Our Press of the 21st Century. It’s Failing Us. And We’ve Failed It.” Start there. In essence, Cody Barstow wonders where the new Cronkites are going to come from. Where is that Cronkite-person these days? I hate to say it, but I’m thinking the postmodern world has infused itself into