My mental circus, inside and out.

Stomping around and saying the "f" word, Emma is afraid, but relatively good natured and all because of this manuscript. .  . and as a friend quoted Douglas Adams:  "I love the sound of deadlines.  I love the sound they make as they go whooshing past."  They're whoosing all right. 

PLUS, Emma and son sit around trashing the State of the Union almost daily, but let's face it, we are helpless except to read the occasional missives from MoveOn.org and hope for the next election.  There's a lovely graf of Bush's approval rating plummeting, but of course Emma wishes for his enlightenment, oh please.  After all, he seems to *want* to be a good person, but his sense of the good is so distorted as to be incomprehensible, like all those who think salvation is somewhere outside, in an apocalypse and a magical ghost.  One is tempted to believe the strong Darwinians and their theory of viral memes.  But if so, why does religion seem to be an evolutionary advantage over Reason.

Posted by: EmmaPele at August 31, 2006 20:10 | link | comments (2)

more on harsh speech

Emma has been thinking about the Danish cartoon debacle in the early part of the year, reading over other rants about defending free speech, etc.  It seems that some of  the ardent defenders of free speech miss this crucial point: it is also free speech to refuse to speak.  Therefore, it is free speech not to have published the offending cartoons as well as to have published them.  It is clearly not wise to engage in harsh and offensive speech, for the simple, self-serving reason that it *will* come back to bite you.  The self-censorship in the American press that so many pundits (like Lewis Lapham in Harper's) deplored was very wise, just as it's wise not to go trashing your neighbor, your ex-boyfriend, your colleague, or even your enemy.  Divisive thoughts are difficult to control, but divisive speech is highly avoidable.  You just don't let it pass your lips or your pen, and eventually, it is hoped, your thoughts will follow on this peaceful path.  But there is little wise restraint in this world, as was so well advised by the Buddha.

it is hard, though, to give up the delicious gossip of the new year, the power plays in the halls, the feminist who found love with the conservative republican, the revelation that colleagues on a conference junket had gone to see strippers in Melbourne. . . well. .  .

 

Posted by: EmmaPele at August 31, 2006 08:33 | link | comments

The Beast of Capital

Yeah, and in these times nations are brands. . .there's a nation brand index run by some guy, Simon Anholt. . . .nations can trade on their stereotypes or try something new, like the Cool Britannia days or Germany's attempt to look hip during the World Cup.  And it all fell flat when the new slogan turned out to be too much like something Hitler said.  Brands can be culture jammed and then what's a nation to do.  Scots are keeping their kilts but trying to look high tech.  Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Russia have public relations firms selling their brand on CNN.  Is there even the tiniest part of the earth left that is unbranded, that is free from the voracious mouth of the Beast of Capital, consumed and shat out.  And so John said that yeah, down in New Orleans there's a genocide going on, and Emma says, yeah, humans.  That's what stupid humans do.  Better to be Emma's old white cat who flicks her tale, chases after the black squirrel, not that she can ever catch it.  No.

Posted by: EmmaPele at August 29, 2006 09:31 | link | comments (3)

media rant

Emma should do something, like get a little icon that represents her identity for this blog, or learn how to podcast, or post homemade streaming videos on YouTube, or at least charge the battery on her digital camera.  The truth is, the very sad truth is, that Emma has not even watched television for four months.  She is bound by text.  What she does is read *about* media, because why waste time filling your head with a lot of useless bullshit, a position that is being confirmed by all this reading about media.   The television news is nothing but video press releases from PR companies and the federal government, the movies are full of product placements, books are nothing but vehicles to sell spin-off toys, and corporate culture has invaded every niche of our tiny little lives.  Can Emma be paid for mentioning Fed Ex here?  Oh, let Western civilization go down.

Posted by: EmmaPele at August 28, 2006 04:40 | link | comments (3)

the weird world of marketing through blogs

Emma has been reading about how public relations professionals are using blogs now to reach consumers.  Funny thing is they create fake blogs and post to their own blogs under assumed names, so it seems they are just talking to themselves!

Posted by: EmmaPele at August 27, 2006 21:33 | link | comments