When the emperor has no clothes, stagecraft is very important.
Keepers of Bush Image Lift Stagecraft to New Heights
The New York Times on the Web
On Tuesday, at a speech promoting his economic plan in Indianapolis, White House aides went so far as to ask people in the crowd behind Mr. Bush to take off their ties, WISH-TV in Indianapolis reported, so they would look more like the ordinary folk the president said would benefit from his tax cut.
Who says the Japanese aren’t emotional? A friend sent me an e-mail tonight with the following string of “emoticons” included in his message:
The message itself seemed sane, but judging from the emoticons, I’d say medication is called for.
(For help deciphering these symbols, consult this deconstruction of Japanese emoticons.)
Strands of paper cranes hanging at a shrine in the hills near Nagano.
David Weinberger has written an excellent editorial for Wired, wherin he argues that the movement to strictly control the use of content via copy protection technology and the law violates basic social mores.
We’re on the verge of instituting digital rights management. What do computers do best? Obey rules. What do they do worst? Allow latitude. Why? Because computers don’t know when to look the other way.
We’re screwed. Not because we MP3 cowboys and cowgirls will not [sic?] have to pay for content we’ve been “stealing.” No, we’re screwed because we’re undercutting the basis of our shared intellectual and creative lives. For us to talk, argue, try out ideas, tear down and build up thoughts, assimilate and appropriate concepts — heck, just to be together in public — we have to grant all sorts of leeway. That’s how ideas breed, how cultures get built. If any public space needs plenty of light, air, and room to play, it’s the marketplace of ideas.
There are times when rules need to be imposed within that marketplace, whether they’re international laws against bootleg CDs or the right of someone to sue for libel. But the fact that sometimes we resort to rules shouldn’t lead us to think that they are the norm. In fact, leeway is the default and rules are the exception.
Fairness means knowing when to make exceptions. After all, applying rules equally is easy. Any bureaucrat can do it. It’s far harder to know when to bend or even ignore the rules. That requires being sensitive to individual needs, understanding the larger context, balancing competing values, and forgiving transgressions when appropriate.
Over at Boing Boing, Cory Doctorow picks apart the terms of service agreement of a Canadian internet service provider.
That’s standard Asshole Contract language, of course, but it just galls me every time I read it. Can you imagine the chutzpah you’d need to characterize this as an agreement? “Here’s something we’re shoving down your throat, agreed? What’s more, we reserve the right to shove more crap down your throat, without notifying you, and you’ll agree to that too. By the way, did you know that last week you agreed to let us come over and eat everything in your fridge? You’re so agreeable. That’s what we like about you, our customer.”
Thailand’s finance minister had to be rescued from his car after the vehicle’s computer crashed.
Suchart Jaovisidha and his driver were trapped inside the BMW for more than 10 minutes before guards broke a window. All doors and windows had locked automatically when the computer crashed, and the air-conditioning stopped, officials said.
What was that line a few years back comparing crash-prone Windows with the auto industry? Looks like the distinction is no longer valid.
A caravan of all-white vehicles has been making its way through central Japan in recent days, causing alarm and concern among communities and government authorities. The vehicles carry members of a religious sect who believe the world will end this Thursday.
Pana Wave Laboratory members wear white clothing, which they believe protects them from electromagnetic waves. With the all-white clothing and vehicles, I’m imagining them quite at home in the current Apple universe — spokesmodels for iPods and iBooks, perhaps?
Louise Bourgeois’ spider sculpture at the new Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo.
Um…okay. I’m sorry I complained. Tonight it’s so cold it feels like winter again.