What you pay attention to matters
I love television; probably too much. Last night Kathy and I were watching Mad Men, the best show being made right now. Each episode reveals a lot about the many characters and leaves you with…
Hey, media: stop letting Apple use you as its PR department.
For all the talk of social media being the future of marketing, one company stands outside it all: Apple. This company’s every move is speculated about constantly on every social network, but how many people…
Network: When Satire Becomes Reality
I just watched Network, the classic 1976 film. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: our reality today resembles the satire of the past to an alarming degree. Network predicts the blurring of…
Gas Is Too Cheap
Gas prices are too low. Far, far too low. Within decades we will regret ever charging as little as four dollars a gallon for gas. Divide global oil reserves by global oil consumption and we’ve…
“The Party” exposes China’s mysterious leadership
Americans love conspiracy theories. Even if you know man stepped on the moon and Bush didn’t cause 9/11, there’s something sickly fascinating about speculating that government has something to hide. At the very least, it…
Bush’s “Decision Points” is profoundly surreal
Perhaps others will read it differently, but to me Decision Points reads like the memoir of a trust fund kid who happened to stumble into the presidency.
Wikileaks Is Inevitable. Is it Good?
Time will reveal whether WikiLeaks results in a more open world, a less peaceful world or both. The web made these leaks inevitable; humanity decides their impact.
Stewart, Maddow and the real problem with cable
I don’t think the focus on left-versus-right controversies is the problem with the American media. I think it’s a symptom of a deeper issue: the almost complete non-existence of international political news on those channels.
What Impact Will The Peace Prize Have In China?
A week after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo it’s unclear what impact the news will have. People there largely don’t know who Liu Xiaobo, a long-time pro-democracy activist jailed in 2008 for speaking out, is.
Freakonomics: A Fun Film Your Brain Will Like
As a huge fan of the Freakonomics books I was thrilled to see the new film based on them last night. I’m still not sure if the film lived up to my massive expectations, but…