Originally uploaded by JoeDuck
Don’t you just hate people who go all the way to Beijing, China, home to some of the world’s most outstanding asian cuisine, only to eat .. McDonalds Burgers along with the huge crowds at this Wangfujing McDonalds! Who is this jerk?
As the dad of an 11 year old I’ve seen more than my share of the Disney Channel’s huge TV hit: Hannah Montana. But I don’t mind because Hannah Montana is a great family show. Unlike so much of the garbage that passes as family fare these days, real life father and daughter Miley and Billy Ray are delightful and charming in a funny and clever show which often brings in subtle and important lessons about teens navigating the complexities of an unusual life. The show is so appealing in fact that Miley is on her way to being one of the world’s youngest …. billionaires …. as the show and concerts and spinoff merchandies are already pulling in more than that much each year for Disney, and this franchise is likely to last for many more years.
The Media hurricane surrounding Vanity Fair’s publication of mildly provocative pictures of Miley Cyrus is a sorry commentary on the state of TV news, but it has also given us an opportunity to see the *right* way to handle media scrutiny. Miley Cyrus has apologized to her fans and many have very reasonably criticized Liebowitz, Vanity Fair, and the parents for failing to see that a few of these pictures were simply not appropriate for this legitimately very wholesome superstar (failing to see may be generous – I’m guessing that provocative was what they wer after here as that’s going to sell far more Vanity Fairs).
I think the jury is still out on whether photographer Annie Liebowitz and Vanity Fair took advantage of the fact that the Cyrus family – mom and dad were present at the session – is hardly going to start telling Liebowitiz how to do her job. The pictures were not all that outrageous in a current media context, but I think for many of us who greatly value Miley Cyrus’ modest dress and attitude the pictures came as something of a disappointment.
But that said I’m still a big Hannah Montana fan and I’m happy to have my daughter continue to enjoy a great show – still one of the few islands of childhood modesty and sensibility in a world largely under seige from Hollywood’s onslaught of violence and sexual propaganda fueled by our own sad yet powerful prurient interests.
Park near Tiananmen Square, Beijing
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck
This public park off of Tiananmen Square was very well kept, I think these were sweeper carts for the folks who … sweep up. Those folks are everywhere and I’m not sure who pays them or how much.
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck
The Forbidden City and Great Wall of China are the top attractions in China even for locals and people who come to Beijing from around China. In April we enjoyed the fact there were no crowds (though I think a few weeks later – May 1 – is the worst time to travel in China because people are all over the place celebratintg May day).
CNN is reporting today on a new study that shows Americans are getting increasingly reluctant about Organic products: http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/23/news/companies/organics_backlash/index.htm?postversion=2008042314
Folks, that is a good thing because for the most part the whole concept of organic food superiority is at best wrong and at worst…fraudulent and marketing hype driven.
In terms of pesticides and other chemical concerns, few regular vegetables have more measurable problems than organic vegetables. However for other concerns, such as insect contamination – you can make the case that organics are riskier since those production methods have eliminated from the production chain chemicals and treatments that prevent bugs, rot, or other forms of biological contaminations. But I’m not trying to make a case here that organics are “more dangerous” than non-organics. Rather they are indistinguishable in terms of the health impact on a human, and therefore generally a waste of time, money, and resources. We surround ourselves with huge risk every day in the form of traffic, smoking (for those who do), and a plethora of contaminants we largely ignore despite the fact they represent measureably far more risk than vegetable items which are far overregulated at almost every part of the production cycle.
It might make your mind *feel* better about your health to eat organic, but unlike hundreds of other behaviors you don’t worry about (bikes in traffic, no seatbelts, smoking, etc, etc, etc) eating organic is not having any measureable impact on your health.
I’m very open to criticism on this and trying to keep an open mind, so if anybody knows of any research on health and organic stuff I’d be very interested in reading it.
This remarkable story is ongoing as the friend of journalist James Karl Buck still appears to be detained in Egypt after helping report on food riots and unrest there. Mohammed Maree is missing as of Saturday Morning, last seen after a second and unauthorized detention by police. Buck was released and is back in the USA.
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Why this matters: Many would reasonably ask me why I would focus on this single individual after writing so often that we should use math and reason to allocated our time and funding to the masses who suffer under the yolk of poverty and disease, mostly in the developing world. I’m not sure I’m being consistent here because I do have an intellectual bias towards writers and journalists, but I believe that online journalism of the type done by James Buck and Mohammed Maree represents a very important change in news and communication and a very positive one. Without this type of reporting much of the world’s news – already severely distorted by the buffoonery of media pundits and commercial fluff –goes unreported. Citizen journalists acting like this and reporting like this will play an increasingly powerful role in how we collect and react to the massive informaiton flow all over the world. It’s up to all of us to protect and encourage them, and to make sure that authorities respect the fact that their role is not to harass, detain, or manage those who report – rather to protect them in the same way they usually seek to protect all citizens.
This remarkable story is ongoing as the friend of journalist James Karl Buck still appears to be detained in Egypt after helping report on food riots and unrest there. Mohammed Maree is missing as of Saturday Morning, last seen after a second and unauthorized detention by police. Buck was released and is back in the USA.
China’s Great Wall – Simatai 812
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck
At Simatai the Great Wall of China goes up from a valley in both directions, then winds around a steep moutainside. Incredibly this wall was begun over 2000 years ago, though I think most parts were completed during the Ming Dynasty which ruled China for about 300 years – from 1368 to 1644. The Ming were the last of the Han and were deposed by the Qing Dynasty who ruled until the Nationalists kicked their butts in 1911.
This just in (sort of – the news is actually 70,000 years old) from the “Phew, that was a close one” department:
Humans barely escaped extinction 70k years ago when there were only about 2000 of us left on earth:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/24/close.call.ap/index.html
I thought it was kind of funny when the head architect of social site Twitter, hugely under fire for failing to scale up the application properly as it grew, was giving a talk at the ongoing Web 2.0 Conference about scaling up big websites.
But today’s news that Jeff Pulver of PulverMedia has resigned…..from PulverMedia, has got to be one of the best examples of the crazily ironic internet world. It’s also annoying that prominent bloggers are now often kept from writing about their own stories by complex contractual obligations they take on when going big time. It’s enough to make you abandon all those silly A list bloggers for …. good old fashioned regular guy and gal bloggers.
I wonder if he’ll start up a new company and if so what you gonna call it? NotPulverMedia.com?
Joe Duck 