Publishing 3.1 - Death By Twitter

Blood and horror at SXSW.

In A World Beyond Irony....

.....We have DABA, or Dating A Banker Anonymous. Please tell me this is a clever hoax. Or shoot me.

Spheres Of Consensus

Here is a very good article,"Audience Atomization Overcome: Why the Internet Weakens the Authority of the Press" by Jay Rosen. Essentially, Rosen describes why the journalist class sound so unbelievably out-of-touch when dealing with any topic. As seen on the graph above, the pundits and reporters view themselves as the gatekeepers for the coveted positions within the "sphere of consensus" which, for them, defines issues that lie beyond all questioning or legitimate inquiry. Rosen argues that the sphere of consensus, as determined by the so-called MSM is deteriorating, and one gets the feeling that he sees this as a good thing.
I'm certainly inclined to agree, though I think there is a counter-argument that this is symptomatic of a decline in consensus of any kind and thus a risk of true societal deviancy and civil disintegration.

NoScript Rocks

The last straw for me was having to wait two minutes for every page at the NY Times website to load. Thanks to Firefox's NoScript add-on, this kind of bullshit is now a thing of the past. This is the bestest add-on ever. In fact, it is indispensable. Turn it on or off, as needed. No more worries about whatever blumpkin backfire some Madison Avenue web hack has decided to inflict upon your browser.
It's also a good safety measure and is Open Source to boot. Get it here if you don't use it already.

Joe The Plumber v. The Aztec Mummy

In the event that further evidence of the intellectual deterioration of the once feared Republican Party was necessary, I point you to Ace Of Spades who takes the line that the Party should draft Joe The Plumber as a candidate for office. Personally, I think Lindsey Lohan would be an even better choice, just as a matter of demographics, but de gustibus non est disputandum and all that.

Should they unleash The Mighty Joe upon us, the Democrats will have little choice but to dig deep into their bench and draft the Aztec Mummy, who has more Hispanic appeal and cultural cachet, and who is indisputably stronger on defense.

P.S. Why is it that every time I hear the phrase "Joe The Plumber", I start to hear the Bowie song "Joe The Lion".

Man The Ramparts

This seizure by Steve Beshear, the creepy Governor of Kentucky, the kind of move that ought to be widely opposed by the left, the right, and by everyone who wants the internet to thrive and develop. Quite aside from the fact that this is precisely the sort of situation that lies within the ambit of the commerce clause,as Radley Balko's article sort of highlights, upholding this boneheaded ruling will open up the internet to just about any idiotic legislation that any State legislature cares to throw out there. Obscenity, sure, but also a crazy-quilt of laws respecting indecency, defamation, sedition....you name it. Very Bad News.