Posted on September 9th, 2007 by Andy
During the final pages of Alan Weisman’s intriguing humanless utopia - “The World Without Us” - the following assessment of Mayan collapse seemed prescient when applied to today’s culture.
“…a culture wobbling under the weight of an excess of nobles all needing quetzal feathers, jade, obsidian, fine chert, custom polychrome, fancy corbeled roofs, and animal furs. Nobility is expensive, nonproductive, and parasitic, siphoning away too much of society’s energy to satisfy its fivolous cravings.”
Reading this excerpt without the contextual surroundings results in an understandable dosing of cynicism. Simply replace quetzal feathers, jade, obsidian, etc with modern status driven, resource wasting possessions like the Suburban family driving a rugged all-terrain vehicle exclusively on manicured roads. Plastics, steel, petroleum, etc.
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Posted on September 6th, 2007 by Andy
After a year of rumors from Engadget and other leading technology blogs, the New York Times reported a fall 07 release for Amazon’s digital reading device, named The Kindle. The device employs technology similar to other e-book platforms including the Sony Style Portable Reader, relying on E Ink for display. Amazon’s offering, however, injects the ability to browse the textual web for magazines, newsletters, etc. Digital media evangelists will have to continuing waiting for an all inclusive device - eye friendly, familiar book feel, complete with vivid video images. Don’t fret…the future is never far from reality. For more information on The Kindle visit TechCrunch for some Michael Arrington analysis.
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Posted on September 5th, 2007 by Andy
Tom Brokaw’s 1998 bestseller “The Greatest Generation” examined the triumphs (largely military) of people entering their sexa and septuagenarian twilight. Decades passed before Brokaw venerated the WWII generation with supreme greatness, allowing years of accumulated mythology to shape his story. Notable progressive Howard Zinn contests in “The Greatest Generation?” that Brokaw uses the romanticism of war to reinforce the connection between “greatness” and military heroism. With help from Brokaw and countless others, the word “greatness” transforms into a military adjective rather than a description of social contributions or valiant acts of humanity.
Brokaw’s limited definition of greatness ignores some detrimental consequences of the prolonged war machine spanning both World Wars and the Korean Conflict. The proliferation of plastic, the atomic bomb, detachment from…
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During the final pages of Alan Weisman’s intriguing humanless utopia - “The World Without Us” - the following assessment of Mayan collapse seemed prescient when applied to today’s culture.
