Challenges of Conversational Journalism
“The most visible journalism these days — aka the loudest journalism, namely cable news, pop culture blogs, tabloid magazines, TMZ, Buzzfeed, HuffPo, talk radio, etc. — mostly takes the form of opinionated conversation: professional media people discussing current events much like you and your friends might at a crowded lunch table. A side effect of this way of doing journalism is that you rarely hear from anyone who actually is an expert on the subject of interest at any particular time. That approach doesn’t scale; finding and talking to experts is time consuming and experts without axes to grind are boring anyway. So what you get instead are people who are experts at talking about things about which they are inexpert.”
Forgetfulness by Billy Collins
You don’t want to be typical
It took me a long time to learn that typical is no good. There’s no reason to regard it as the “good enough” line. Typical health is pretty bad. A typical career is draining and unrelated to the worker’s real interests. Typical credit card debt is in the thousands. The typical level of fulfillment in a person’s life is far below where it could be with some self-examination and habit overhauls.
Nobody dreams of being typical. You do not want a typical job. You do not want typical credit card debt. You do not want typical health. You do not want to retire at the typical age. You do not want typical results. You do not want a typical level of fulfillment. Nobody does. Stop pretending.
Southern Discomfort
From article by George Packer in The New Yorker:
The region was an American underbelly in the semi-tropical heat; the manners were softer, the violence swifter, the commerce slower, the thinking narrower, the past closer.
Following the upheavals of the civil-rights years, the New South was born: the South of air-conditioned subdivisions, suburban office parks, and Walmart. Modernization was paved with federal dollars, in the form of highways, military bases, space centers, and tax breaks for oil drilling.
the Southern way of life began to be embraced around the country until, in a sense, it came to stand for the “real America”: country music and Lynyrd Skynyrd, barbecue and nascar, political conservatism, God and guns, the code of masculinity, militarization, hostility to unions, and suspicion of government authority, especially in Washington, D.C.
As its political power declines, the South might occupy a place like Scotland’s in the United Kingdom, as a cultural draw for the rest of the country, with a hint of the theme park.
Contrition
I’m not clear what Lance Armstrong hoped to accomplish with his highly publicized interview with Oprah. I watched only a few minutes and — based on lots of news items — gather it wasn’t well received.
I’m not a sports fan so when Mark McGwire, Roger Clemons, Tiger Woods or Lance Armstrong get caught lying/doping/gambling/etc, I’m not shocked or disappointed.
But Armstrong’s high-profile apology get me thinking about what I might have said and how I might have said it. Obviously one can’t really know this until they’re in such a situation, but just for fun…
Oprah, before you ask your first question, let me set the record straight on some things.
I’m a liar. I’ve lied about doping from the beginning and there’s no reason for anyone to believe anything I say today.
I used my power and money and influence to attack and destroy those who told the truth about what I was doing. I’m going to try to apologize to each of these people personally. I don’t expect forgivness, it just seems like something I should do. Many of them proably won’t want to see my face and I can’t say that I blame them.
While I can’t undo all the harm I’ve done, there are some things I need to do to try to make amends.
I’ve made a lot of money from product endorsements and other ventures and I’m giving every penny to those I’ve harmed. I’ve asked (insert name of someone with some integrity) to oversee this process which I want to be completed within 90 days. He will make the determination of how to distribut my assets, including my homes, cars, everything. I’m keeping nothing.
As for my future, I will never compete professionally again. I wil do no endorsements (in the unlikely event someone should ask). I’m going to get a regular job to support my family and try to live as anonymously as possible for the rest of my life.
My actions did imeasurable harm to the sport I loved. Cycling should never have been about fame and glory and money. If there is any positive legacy for me, maybe it’s to remind people of that.
What’s your first question, Oprah?
Funny Animals Talking
Larry Page Interview
“If you’re not doing some things that are crazy, then you’re doing the wrong things.”
“Companies fail because they do the wrong things or they aren’t ambitious, not because of litigation or competition.”
“Governments are now afraid of the Internet because of the Middle East stuff, and so they’re a little more willing to listen to what I see as a lot of commercial interests that just want to make money by restricting people’s freedoms.”
Larry Page
Soldier of Fortune Tour: David Brazeal
I’ve started dropping pins on my Soldier of Fortune Tour map. I drove down to Springfield, MO yesterday to have lunch with David Brazeal. We worked together for many years and he’s self-employed now so he was generous with his time. We talked for 3 hours. As much as I enjoy digital communication, there is no substitute for sitting across a table from a friend. Looking forward to doing more of this.
“Your hands are not made to type memos”
“Technology, outsourcing, a growing temp staffing industry, productivity efficiencies, have all replaced the middle class. The working class. Most jobs that existed 20 years ago aren’t needed now. Maybe they never were needed. The entire first decade of this century was spent with CEOs in their Park Avenue clubs crying through their cigars, “how are we going to fire all this dead weight?” 2008 finally gave them the chance.”
“Your hands are not made to type out memos. Or put paper through fax machines. Or hold a phone up while you talk to people you dislike. A hundred years from now your hands will rot like dust in your grave. You have to make wonderful use of those hands now.”
From an article on TechCrunch