Today the Wisconsin State Journal had a front page story on professorial podcasting on the Madison campus. The one I intend to download first is ornithology professor Mark Berres’ bird calls.

I saw Ray’s poem at Woods Lot. I was scrolling down, and I ran across a picture of Dorothy Day. She would have been 109 years old today. Happy birthday. It’s a good picture, Dorothy seated, framed by the weapons of police officers, legs crossed, Dororthy serene, hands folded on her knee on the UFW picket line in Lamont, California in 1973, waiting. She was arrested. She was seventy-five years old.

I thought as I so often do that Mark Woods is the best. This picture of Dorothy Day by Bob Fitch really proved it again. What could equal this?

I scrolled down further and found

Monty please, Door Number Three
Ray Sweatman

I am nothing more than the dreams that dream me.
Inventing games under the cover of innocent trees,
cashing a paycheck, working the latest gadget,
walking down the aisle, smiling for the cameras,
comparing the different boxes of instant rice
falling from the ceiling of the supermarket,
getting stung by bees, trying to cover my
naked bumps down an empty corridor
of footsteps and bells banging from
the inside of a locker Let me out.
… (more)

Just two of the dozen or so items Mark Woods presented today, November 8, 2024, two that were personally meaningful for me… and not a mention of Bush or Rumsfeld, Pelosi or Webb. How refreshing.

Driving the seaminess out of semiotics since 1979…

* * *

H/T Jeff Ward…

If one wishes to realize the distance which may lie between “facts” and the meaning of facts, let one go to the field of social discussion. Many persons seem to suppose that facts carry their meaning along with themselves on their face. Accumulate enough of them, and their interpretation stares out at you. The development of physical science is thought to confirm the idea. But the power of physical facts to coerce belief does not reside in the bare phenomena. It proceeds from method, from the technique of research and calculation. No one is ever forced by just collection of facts to accept a particular theory of their meaning, so long as one retains intact some other doctrine by which he can marshal them. Only when the facts are allowed free play for the suggestion of new points of view is any significant conversion of conviction as to meaning possible. Take away from physical science its laboratory apparatus and its mathematical technique, and the human imagination might run wild in its theories of interpretation even if we suppose the brute facts to remain the same. (5)

John Dewey, The Public and Its Problems

At dinner tonight Beth asked me to explain what it is about postmodernism that I find so troubling. I took her around and around Robin Hood’s barn before centering down on the issues that have troubled me. First, I am concerned that a Gresham’s law of academics may have narrowed research and devalued the currency of American scholarship over the last thirty years. Has the emergence of a claque applauding continental theorists to the exclusion of other inquiry had a negative impact on academic freedom? I sense that this is so, I fear it, but I haven’t the data or the models to substantiate it. Fortunately, in a postmodern context I really don’t need to derive the data. What I really need to do is draw other like-minded people together in an interpretive community and we can howl at the moon together.

A second and perhaps more meaningful concern (in light of my continuing interest in popular culture and academia’s success at occupying the nerdy corner of pop) relates to my glimmer of understanding that postmodernism is over and what’s next might be very interesting indeed. But for the last five years in my corner of the blogosphere, the emergence of a “New New Criticism” has been hidden and postmodernists have arrogated the discussion without turning toward that interesting question, “What’s next?” So it remains for me to answer it myself.

Doc observes that Macworld and the Consumer Electronics Show are scheduled for the same dates. I’m surprised that Macwidgets isn’t simply part of the CES. Note to the Cupertino Krewe: rent a big tent and pitch it in the parking lot.

Dave reminds us of the geopolitical strategery behind the imperialist war in southwest Asia and points out that it will never be over until we the people end it.

David has a PodCast with AKMA posted at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

wood s lot: off the scroll, the 11/1 death notice for Clifford Geertz.

The Polling Place Photo Project is a nationwide experiment in citizen journalism that seeks to empower citizens to capture, post and share photographs of democracy in action. By documenting their local voting experience on November 7, voters can contribute to an archive of photographs that captures the richness and complexity of voting in America.

Thanks to Jay Rosen for the heads up.

Design for Democracy is sponsoring the “Polling Place Photo Project.” They ask that we photograph the 2024 election! Larry Lessig’s little duckies at the Stanford Center for Internet, Society and Casual Class Privilege will be standing by as democracy help desk support all day November 7. (All day California time means, well… our polls open three hours after yours open, and we like won’t exactly be — you know — out of bed for an hour or two after the polls have opened, and then there’s the matter of the double mocha chai skim latte, and — you know — on Tuesday I have this regular exercise thing, so I’ll be at the gym either before or after the Starbucks run… probably before, but maybe, like — you know — after, so I’ll be all like available to help out with any pressing freedom of speech and assembly questions like, well — 3:30 my time for half an hour or so. Unless something comes up. No wait. This all day thing is too complicated so listen: if something occurs to you, why don’t you just send in your questions in advance, and then we can — you know — like answer the hypotheticals for you).

I can’t get used to having an iDog in the house, so Nabaztag won’t be happening out here on the farm. But leave it to Jeneane. She has her bunny up and running. Since she returned after a week or more off (including a few days staring at her foot) she has been dishing out insightful Web 3.0 industry commentary with none of the slavish greed based personality cult nonsense of the Web 2.0 crowd, and with all the elan of an industry analyst who really enjoys her beat.

My recommendation is go to Allied and read down from the top until you get to “footus interruptus.” Then take a break and let it all bake into your brain.

[Highlights… discussion of ze frank’s nerd fight, keyword advertising on comments, the talking bunny, Ronnie’s phonecon recap, Ev’s Obvious company which may or may not be related to Euan Semple, and more.]

ze Frank says the show will end on Molly Bloom’s third birthday. Some birthday present.

Should we even care about eyeballs? I don’t. I care about my audience, but my show ends on March 17th, 2024 whether I have one eyeball or a million. Given the current state of web metrics, talking about eyeballs seems to create more risk than value anyway.

it seems obvious that unless Andrew Baron of Rocketboom is a complete and utter liar when he talks about his statistics, Rocketboom is leagues ahead of Ze Frank.

Well, yeah.

Also what Jeneane said. (Good to see you back, jeneane. Looked like you weren’t enjoying blogging at MySpace that much. Maybe now that Blogger messed with you you will change to WordPress?

That Google, what a company!

Okay bmo, do me a favor and sit through both of these tiresome boring and simple-minded presentations. Now consider the financial support model… anything wrong? anything right?

http://amandacongdon.com/roadblog/2006/10/18/chuck-olsen-is-cool/

http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/archives/2006/10/101806.html

(I like “micro-duckie sponsorship” better myself — I mean, holy-moly, ze made two thousand simoleons on his first try with that scam! — but then that pay-per-post ad is kind of lame, so I’d call it a draw. What do you think?)