Things that strike me, of no relation to one another:
'Is This Russia?' What a strange mix of capitalism, feudal resignation, and Communist paranoia Putin's Russia is:
"Even the Communist Party, the only remaining opposition party in Parliament, has said that its leaders are kept off TV.
And it is not just politicians. Televizor, a rock group whose name means TV set, had its booking on a St. Petersburg station canceled in April, after its members took part in an Other Russia demonstration.
When some actors cracked a few mild jokes about Mr. Putin and Mr. Medvedev at Russia’s equivalent of the Academy Awards in March, they were expunged from the telecast."
A bit over the top, no?
Happy Curmudgeon I recognize that I am increasingly out of touch when it comes to the time-consuming energies of our chat, message board, and flaming Internet world. The silly things that get people riled up like talk-radio callers.
But usually when I peak through the crack in the door, it only affirms my status. Of this list of the "Web's 10 Most Hated People" -- people that incite message board and blog-comment ire -- I've heard of only two of them. And one of them, I wouldn't have heard of if her scandal hadn't been local (apparently it made national news, because the media loves White Girl Dies/Kidnapped scandals). For the most part, all that anonymous Internet anger ... over what?
American Idol, Bradifferlina's new drama, which Nascar drivers hate each other -- of these things it's usually comforting not to know.
A Different Kind of Drama Meanwhile -- like your addicted friend who seems beyond help -- the universe is tearing itself apart at an ever-increasing rate, and we've still no idea why. We're more likely to be extinct before it becomes an issue, of course. But scientists would sleep a little better if they had more of an inkling.
How daunting would it be to feel fairly certain there are multiple universes -- when we don't even know how to contact other life forms within our own galaxy?
Maybe the new multi-billion-dollar particle accelerator in Geneva will unveil clues to mysterious dark matter (and the stench of hockey equipment) ... and maybe it won't.
As you may have noticed, the site has changed. Sampa, the free-site host, did a version 2 of some sort.
Despite an FAQ that made it sound like allowing one's site to go through v.2 surgery would be okay, there were several flexibilities that surprisingly disappeared with the click of a button. (e.g. I cannot believe sidebars like this one are even narrower than before.)
And I'm told -- miraculously! -- that the conversion cannot be undone. Truth be told, I'm actually quite pissed. But free is free. Sampa has otherwise been good to me.
So I need to sort through site "features" to see how I can make do. Except that I don't have the time at the moment, in the middle of graduate classes and Lighthousehockey.com. (btw, I've removed that Lighthouse RSS feed so that you're not clogged with random Islanders hockey gibberish).
But I promise to touch up the accessories when I get a chance, and return to irregularly scheduled blogging.
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February, 2008