Friday, August 01, 2003
CALLING ALL MEDIA REFORM ACTIVISTS
Here's an e-mail I got the other day that I want to pass on in case you missed it. It's important to sign up now as space is limited, and as the e-mail points out, the conference fee is reduced prior to September 7th.
Subj: National Conference on Media Reform
Date: 7/30/2003 1:21:34 PM Central Standard Time
From: moveon-help@list.moveon.org
Dear MoveOn member,
Congress is taking its August break before addressing the proposed FCC
rollback in September. In the meantime, there is an important media
reform event coming up, and you are invited.
Working with Free Press, Common Cause and others, we have helped
illustrate that democracy demands an independent, diverse and
accessible media system.
This November 7th through 9th in Madison, Wisconsin, Free Press will
host the National Conference on Media Reform, a watershed forum on how
to build a better media system in local communities, in Washington,
and across the nation. It is an event for people who want to take
action and actively join the media reform movement. I hope you'll be
able to make it.
Interested? You can sign up now at:
http://www.mediareform.net/conference
The 3-day event will feature panelists from a wide range of political
and activist communities working together to create specific policies
and strategies towards meaningful media reform. The conference will
cover a broad range of media issues -- not just media ownership.
Conference participants will join legislators, activists,
policymakers, academics, journalists and many others working to build
a more democratic and public-interest-minded media.
Over the event's two days, conference participants will enjoy access
to all panels, plenaries, keynote speeches and workshops, performances
by internationally famous artists, and an opportunity to meet with
other activists to build a stronger and more effective grassroots
network.
Confirmed speakers already include: US Senator Russ Feingold; US
Representatives John Conyers, Jr., Jan Schakowsky, Bernie Sanders,
Sherrod Brown, and Tammy Baldwin; FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and
Jonathan Adelstein; Entertainers Don Henley, Billy Bragg and DJ
Spooky; Writers Barbara Ehrenreich, Naomi Klein, Free Press founders
Robert McChesney and John Nichols; AFL-CIO President John Sweeney; and
Amy Goodman of Democracy NOW!
For further information, including schedules, panelists, online
registration and travel information, please visit:
http://www.mediareform.net/conference
I recommend you sign up now, as space is limited. If you register
before September 7, the conference fee is reduced. Reduced
registration fees and scholarship applications are also available for
students and lower-income people.
Over 2.3 million Americans contacted Congress and the FCC during the
past few months. Congress is listening. The media is becoming an issue
in America; now it's time to take the next step. I hope you'll be
able to make it to the National Conference on Media Reform.
Sincerely,
--Eli Pariser
MoveOn.org
So What Do YOU Think? COMMENTS
Here's an e-mail I got the other day that I want to pass on in case you missed it. It's important to sign up now as space is limited, and as the e-mail points out, the conference fee is reduced prior to September 7th.
Subj: National Conference on Media Reform
Date: 7/30/2003 1:21:34 PM Central Standard Time
From: moveon-help@list.moveon.org
Dear MoveOn member,
Congress is taking its August break before addressing the proposed FCC
rollback in September. In the meantime, there is an important media
reform event coming up, and you are invited.
Working with Free Press, Common Cause and others, we have helped
illustrate that democracy demands an independent, diverse and
accessible media system.
This November 7th through 9th in Madison, Wisconsin, Free Press will
host the National Conference on Media Reform, a watershed forum on how
to build a better media system in local communities, in Washington,
and across the nation. It is an event for people who want to take
action and actively join the media reform movement. I hope you'll be
able to make it.
Interested? You can sign up now at:
http://www.mediareform.net/conference
The 3-day event will feature panelists from a wide range of political
and activist communities working together to create specific policies
and strategies towards meaningful media reform. The conference will
cover a broad range of media issues -- not just media ownership.
Conference participants will join legislators, activists,
policymakers, academics, journalists and many others working to build
a more democratic and public-interest-minded media.
Over the event's two days, conference participants will enjoy access
to all panels, plenaries, keynote speeches and workshops, performances
by internationally famous artists, and an opportunity to meet with
other activists to build a stronger and more effective grassroots
network.
Confirmed speakers already include: US Senator Russ Feingold; US
Representatives John Conyers, Jr., Jan Schakowsky, Bernie Sanders,
Sherrod Brown, and Tammy Baldwin; FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and
Jonathan Adelstein; Entertainers Don Henley, Billy Bragg and DJ
Spooky; Writers Barbara Ehrenreich, Naomi Klein, Free Press founders
Robert McChesney and John Nichols; AFL-CIO President John Sweeney; and
Amy Goodman of Democracy NOW!
For further information, including schedules, panelists, online
registration and travel information, please visit:
http://www.mediareform.net/conference
I recommend you sign up now, as space is limited. If you register
before September 7, the conference fee is reduced. Reduced
registration fees and scholarship applications are also available for
students and lower-income people.
Over 2.3 million Americans contacted Congress and the FCC during the
past few months. Congress is listening. The media is becoming an issue
in America; now it's time to take the next step. I hope you'll be
able to make it to the National Conference on Media Reform.
Sincerely,
--Eli Pariser
MoveOn.org
So What Do YOU Think? COMMENTS
Thursday, July 31, 2003
"The heart has reasons that reason does not understand."
- Jacques Benigne Bossuet
- Jacques Benigne Bossuet
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
THIS POST IS FOR THE LATE NIGHT CROWD WHO COMES BECAUSE THEY CAN'T SLEEP
REGULAR POST FOR TODAY IS BELOW
I am going to try again to reach out to the sleeping impaired. Readers are still searching google for I don't sleep, you don't sleep; he, she, the kids don't sleep. With this title they are bound to end up here but unless they use the site's search engine when they get here they aren't going to find the information I left for them on sleep disorders. And, surprisingly, they do come, despite quotes in google that are a bunch of mixed up nonsense from the archives about new templates, blog documents, system restores and Diet Coke. I feel an accidental sense of responsibility because of the title of this blog, so I am again pointing the very groggy to the post for July 21 down below with the sleep disorder information. And as long as you made the trip, I am providing some bizarre bits of flotsam and jetsam I found floating in the River Yahoo under I Don't Sleep. There's got to be something that will soothe you, put you to sleep, or at least keep you company until you eyelids feel heavy. There are I Can't Sleep poems, songs, prayers, moments of silence, short stories, movie reviews, I forget what else and a movie. We can look at some of it now.
Let's start with the Late Late Show. That used to work for me when I was a kid. This one is called Lola Can't Sleep about a 13-year-old girl who has gotten to "second base," and her 14-year-old cousin who brags that he has gone "all the way" twice. It's really very sweet, and might just put you to sleep. At one point Lola comes down the stairs with her pajamas on and into the living room where her family is vacuuming, dancing and going crazy as usual in the middle of the night. "I can't sleep," she tells her mother. Her mother replies, "It's a family curse. I haven't slept in years." Maybe some of you feel like that too.
I have a couple of movie recommendations for you to rent. The first sounds made to order. It's Insomnia with Al Pacino and Robin Williams. The suspense builds as Al Pacino as a detective in Alaska works frantically against time trying to solve a case on little and then no sleep while the Alaskan sun shines 24 hours a day until he completely loses his ability to sleep. Are you yawning yet?
Well, then, have I got the film for you. While you're at the video store wander over to the foreign section and pick up this 1994 French film with subtitles, I Can't Sleep. Look at this review. This may just be the Phenobarb of your late late show and not because it's boring, au contraire. It's a film noir about serial killings in what the French called the granny killings in the 1980's in Paris. But look at that review--tailor-made for the sleep-deprived: The film, says the review, has no beginning and no ending. It is existential and keeps its characters at arm's length. The audience member is an indifferent observer. "Involvement at the emotional level is almost impossible." "Interesting but no involving." And here, I saved the best for last, "...beautiful but detached--and unhurried to the point of somnolence." Three nods and two giant yawns to this one.
In case you are running out of movies to rent yourself to sleep to, this sitewas listed under I Don't Sleep. It does have some good categories for listing films, lots of reviews and great film sites.
This is getting long and I do want to save some for other posts. Here's one someone could have sent me: From Me To You.
Sweet dreams.
So What Do YOU Think? COMMENTS
REGULAR POST FOR TODAY IS BELOW
I am going to try again to reach out to the sleeping impaired. Readers are still searching google for I don't sleep, you don't sleep; he, she, the kids don't sleep. With this title they are bound to end up here but unless they use the site's search engine when they get here they aren't going to find the information I left for them on sleep disorders. And, surprisingly, they do come, despite quotes in google that are a bunch of mixed up nonsense from the archives about new templates, blog documents, system restores and Diet Coke. I feel an accidental sense of responsibility because of the title of this blog, so I am again pointing the very groggy to the post for July 21 down below with the sleep disorder information. And as long as you made the trip, I am providing some bizarre bits of flotsam and jetsam I found floating in the River Yahoo under I Don't Sleep. There's got to be something that will soothe you, put you to sleep, or at least keep you company until you eyelids feel heavy. There are I Can't Sleep poems, songs, prayers, moments of silence, short stories, movie reviews, I forget what else and a movie. We can look at some of it now.
Let's start with the Late Late Show. That used to work for me when I was a kid. This one is called Lola Can't Sleep about a 13-year-old girl who has gotten to "second base," and her 14-year-old cousin who brags that he has gone "all the way" twice. It's really very sweet, and might just put you to sleep. At one point Lola comes down the stairs with her pajamas on and into the living room where her family is vacuuming, dancing and going crazy as usual in the middle of the night. "I can't sleep," she tells her mother. Her mother replies, "It's a family curse. I haven't slept in years." Maybe some of you feel like that too.
I have a couple of movie recommendations for you to rent. The first sounds made to order. It's Insomnia with Al Pacino and Robin Williams. The suspense builds as Al Pacino as a detective in Alaska works frantically against time trying to solve a case on little and then no sleep while the Alaskan sun shines 24 hours a day until he completely loses his ability to sleep. Are you yawning yet?
Well, then, have I got the film for you. While you're at the video store wander over to the foreign section and pick up this 1994 French film with subtitles, I Can't Sleep. Look at this review. This may just be the Phenobarb of your late late show and not because it's boring, au contraire. It's a film noir about serial killings in what the French called the granny killings in the 1980's in Paris. But look at that review--tailor-made for the sleep-deprived: The film, says the review, has no beginning and no ending. It is existential and keeps its characters at arm's length. The audience member is an indifferent observer. "Involvement at the emotional level is almost impossible." "Interesting but no involving." And here, I saved the best for last, "...beautiful but detached--and unhurried to the point of somnolence." Three nods and two giant yawns to this one.
In case you are running out of movies to rent yourself to sleep to, this sitewas listed under I Don't Sleep. It does have some good categories for listing films, lots of reviews and great film sites.
This is getting long and I do want to save some for other posts. Here's one someone could have sent me: From Me To You.
Sweet dreams.
So What Do YOU Think? COMMENTS
AH PAREE!
I watched Lance Armstrong clinking his flute of champagne against the television camera and I was overcome with emotions. I was reminded, of course, that he has survived testicular cancer and still won this grueling race five times. I remember the drug rumors to which he replied, "What am I on? I'm on my bike." If Tour de France were as popular in this country as basketball he'd be as big as Michael Jordan.
I was out to dinner a few months ago with a friend of many years and her family. My friend's adult daughter Elizabeth, who had just come from playing soccer, asked each of us if we could do it over what competitive sport we would work to excel at. I didn't have to think about it too long. For about 20 years my French racing bicycle was my prized possession. I would crank up my Sony Walkman to ten ( what did you say?), and imagine I was racing in the Tour de France. I lived in Southern Illinois at the time and there were some big hills that served as my mountains. I didn't own a car then, as I don't now, and that bike and I went everywhere we had to go, and a lot of places we didn't just for the fun of it. I loved that bike. I still have it. Up until a few years ago I was still taking it out to the bike trail and cranking it up with my tunes three times a week. But for now it sits in pieces in the basement while I ride a clunker. I am afraid to see if it can be fixed for fear it can't be restored to its former running glory. I don't care how it looks. It is pretty old now. I will keep its gears, chain, handle bars and frame like petals pressed in an old scrapbook.
This brings me back to the present and the flute of champagne in Lance Armstrong's hand at the Champs-Elysee and Paris. It's the end of July and I haven't taken a vacation yet. I've decided the blog and I will go to Paris. My dear friend Ellen, who is French, just returned from there and is ready to go back in September. She has a lot of family in Paris. My one trip to Paris was memorable but way too short.
So let's celebrate Paris shall we. Did you see the new beach on the banks of the Seine? Leave it to the French to use their joie de vivre to create a temporary beach in the heart of city. They have placed barge loads of sand on the banks. Voila! The Paris Plage. People need no more encouragement than that to show up with their chaise lounges, books and sun-tan oil. Wish I was there.
In the meantime, here is foto Paris. Here you can find some postcards to send; read about living aboard (not abroad), a boat in Paris ; make arrangements for your cruise on the Seine; discover the Paris underground--the real underground as in tunnels and caves; look at Paris from the webcam on the Eiffel Tower and so much more. And, what the heck, stop by Paris, Texas as long as we're doing all things Paris. I think I found this link over at Anne's semi compos mentis where you can find tons of good things. She gave me permission to help myself and I do.
Bon voyage cheri.
So What Do YOU Think? COMMENTS
I watched Lance Armstrong clinking his flute of champagne against the television camera and I was overcome with emotions. I was reminded, of course, that he has survived testicular cancer and still won this grueling race five times. I remember the drug rumors to which he replied, "What am I on? I'm on my bike." If Tour de France were as popular in this country as basketball he'd be as big as Michael Jordan.
I was out to dinner a few months ago with a friend of many years and her family. My friend's adult daughter Elizabeth, who had just come from playing soccer, asked each of us if we could do it over what competitive sport we would work to excel at. I didn't have to think about it too long. For about 20 years my French racing bicycle was my prized possession. I would crank up my Sony Walkman to ten ( what did you say?), and imagine I was racing in the Tour de France. I lived in Southern Illinois at the time and there were some big hills that served as my mountains. I didn't own a car then, as I don't now, and that bike and I went everywhere we had to go, and a lot of places we didn't just for the fun of it. I loved that bike. I still have it. Up until a few years ago I was still taking it out to the bike trail and cranking it up with my tunes three times a week. But for now it sits in pieces in the basement while I ride a clunker. I am afraid to see if it can be fixed for fear it can't be restored to its former running glory. I don't care how it looks. It is pretty old now. I will keep its gears, chain, handle bars and frame like petals pressed in an old scrapbook.
This brings me back to the present and the flute of champagne in Lance Armstrong's hand at the Champs-Elysee and Paris. It's the end of July and I haven't taken a vacation yet. I've decided the blog and I will go to Paris. My dear friend Ellen, who is French, just returned from there and is ready to go back in September. She has a lot of family in Paris. My one trip to Paris was memorable but way too short.
So let's celebrate Paris shall we. Did you see the new beach on the banks of the Seine? Leave it to the French to use their joie de vivre to create a temporary beach in the heart of city. They have placed barge loads of sand on the banks. Voila! The Paris Plage. People need no more encouragement than that to show up with their chaise lounges, books and sun-tan oil. Wish I was there.
In the meantime, here is foto Paris. Here you can find some postcards to send; read about living aboard (not abroad), a boat in Paris ; make arrangements for your cruise on the Seine; discover the Paris underground--the real underground as in tunnels and caves; look at Paris from the webcam on the Eiffel Tower and so much more. And, what the heck, stop by Paris, Texas as long as we're doing all things Paris. I think I found this link over at Anne's semi compos mentis where you can find tons of good things. She gave me permission to help myself and I do.
Bon voyage cheri.
So What Do YOU Think? COMMENTS
Monday, July 28, 2003
WHY I WANT TO BECOME A GEEK
Four months ago I didn't have a computer to call my own. Today I can make mine belch, moo, heehaw like a donkey, croak like a frog, and say "Bite me dough boy" among other sounds to mark various computer functions . I can make it play David Letterman's mail song when I have mail. It impresses the kids anyway.
I can also uninstall and install drivers. I can fix the printer when it won't print. I can fix the mouse when it gets all squishy. When the computer gives me error messages, I can pop the hood and take a look-see and sometimes fix the problem. I never expected to go beyond the keyboard.
I'm doing it because I don't want to have to depend on someone else. There really is no administrator to run to here but me. I don't want to wait on hold with Dell tech support so they can tell me to do yet another system restore regardless of the problem. I figure I don't want to be stuck in the middle of trying to do something and not be able to do it because of computer problems that I don't know how to fix. So I read books, visit techie sites, hang out at news groups, try to get beyond the beginners' doors of help and support for Windows XP.
And I'm not the only one who is surprised to find herself becoming a computer repair person. Here's an article I came across the other day about how other people are finding themselves in the same position. But the truth is I want to be the person other people call to come fix their computers. I enjoy it. I lose all track of time when I'm working on mine. I get deeper into its secrets and I get lost. I'm in another world without time or space, and then it's five in the morning and I have to be at work in a few hours. It's a high. I was out in the garage last night (over at help and support) running diagnostics on this baby. They do a long list of tests. She passed them all. But I am working on a project. I can't find out what to do about event 24--"signalling command completed with ATMOS error." But I will.
I have been to the soft environment and I know things. I have seen some of this computer's secrets. Last night I saw a new place where it keeps its information about me, but not the registry file. It's always spying on me and there's no spyware detector for that. Somewhere it has a password that I don't know. It happens when I try to run a new program. It will show my real name instead of a screen name and then it tells me as I run through every password that none of them is the right one. I have to get to that password. User accounts doesn't have it. I doubt that McAffee Privacy Services has it. I think the computer is just playing with me.
The computer plays lots of tricks on me. The more I learn the more interesting the tricks. I confess that I do keep statistics on this blog. Its fun and interesting to know how many read it, what search terms bring people and all of that. I was trying one day to put Blogpatrol, the service, as a link on the taskbar. I guess I had been hitting it a lot. I went to the desktop later and there was my new wallpaper: a giant logo from Blogpatrol. The computer did it. I didn't.
But the worst thing the computer does is really embarrassing. Dell wants me to do a repair reinstall. I'd rather not yet. I've been to newsgroups and no one has answers for me. I've been everywhere and can't find an answer. Here's the problem. My text files turn into pictures. I can file a piece of paper that I type or from the internet, and an hour later it is a picture of a safety pin or a shoe. It's bizarre. And I don't believe it's a virus. I've gone through and changed every single file association "open with." The computer just prefers gif to text.
I suppose I don't want some big fix for this problem because I am determined to find a rational answer and fix it myself. I have two files (paper) of information on fixing files. I collect it. I download material all the time on fixing files. I am gonna get this son-of-a-bitch.
So What Do YOU Think? COMMENTS
Four months ago I didn't have a computer to call my own. Today I can make mine belch, moo, heehaw like a donkey, croak like a frog, and say "Bite me dough boy" among other sounds to mark various computer functions . I can make it play David Letterman's mail song when I have mail. It impresses the kids anyway.
I can also uninstall and install drivers. I can fix the printer when it won't print. I can fix the mouse when it gets all squishy. When the computer gives me error messages, I can pop the hood and take a look-see and sometimes fix the problem. I never expected to go beyond the keyboard.
I'm doing it because I don't want to have to depend on someone else. There really is no administrator to run to here but me. I don't want to wait on hold with Dell tech support so they can tell me to do yet another system restore regardless of the problem. I figure I don't want to be stuck in the middle of trying to do something and not be able to do it because of computer problems that I don't know how to fix. So I read books, visit techie sites, hang out at news groups, try to get beyond the beginners' doors of help and support for Windows XP.
And I'm not the only one who is surprised to find herself becoming a computer repair person. Here's an article I came across the other day about how other people are finding themselves in the same position. But the truth is I want to be the person other people call to come fix their computers. I enjoy it. I lose all track of time when I'm working on mine. I get deeper into its secrets and I get lost. I'm in another world without time or space, and then it's five in the morning and I have to be at work in a few hours. It's a high. I was out in the garage last night (over at help and support) running diagnostics on this baby. They do a long list of tests. She passed them all. But I am working on a project. I can't find out what to do about event 24--"signalling command completed with ATMOS error." But I will.
I have been to the soft environment and I know things. I have seen some of this computer's secrets. Last night I saw a new place where it keeps its information about me, but not the registry file. It's always spying on me and there's no spyware detector for that. Somewhere it has a password that I don't know. It happens when I try to run a new program. It will show my real name instead of a screen name and then it tells me as I run through every password that none of them is the right one. I have to get to that password. User accounts doesn't have it. I doubt that McAffee Privacy Services has it. I think the computer is just playing with me.
The computer plays lots of tricks on me. The more I learn the more interesting the tricks. I confess that I do keep statistics on this blog. Its fun and interesting to know how many read it, what search terms bring people and all of that. I was trying one day to put Blogpatrol, the service, as a link on the taskbar. I guess I had been hitting it a lot. I went to the desktop later and there was my new wallpaper: a giant logo from Blogpatrol. The computer did it. I didn't.
But the worst thing the computer does is really embarrassing. Dell wants me to do a repair reinstall. I'd rather not yet. I've been to newsgroups and no one has answers for me. I've been everywhere and can't find an answer. Here's the problem. My text files turn into pictures. I can file a piece of paper that I type or from the internet, and an hour later it is a picture of a safety pin or a shoe. It's bizarre. And I don't believe it's a virus. I've gone through and changed every single file association "open with." The computer just prefers gif to text.
I suppose I don't want some big fix for this problem because I am determined to find a rational answer and fix it myself. I have two files (paper) of information on fixing files. I collect it. I download material all the time on fixing files. I am gonna get this son-of-a-bitch.
So What Do YOU Think? COMMENTS
