:: groupthink ::

:: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 ::

it's me again, and this time we've got some cuba for your viewing pleasure,
along with a brief stop in mexico city. fidel sends his regards.

http://www.bubble-squeak.com/myview/

what? a week in the sun to ward off winter misery
huh? another 26 photographs and a few minutes of motion

take care out there
-jason
:: jason 1:09 PM [+] ::
...

if you have the radio on today check out This American Life on public radio. (see www.thislife.org or your local public radio station website for program times and archives).

there is a great segment on reliving the "stories" of your life over and over and over till they morph into something far more entertaining than the original. But the best part is a commentary by this woman (sorry, forgot her name) on how every cause in America is trying to forge some connection to Rosa Parks. it's poignant and delivered beautifully.


:: Rachel 11:38 AM [+] ::
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Following up on Rachel's recommendation of "Ararat", I can recommend another movie by the same director (Atom Egoyan). It's called "The Sweet Hereafter" and it deals with the unimaginable grief that pervades a small Canadian town after a schoolbus skids off a road, drowning many of the children riding in it. For those of us used to the pacing of most US-based films, the story moves slowly, but I soon realized that the topic being dealt with demanded it.

The emotional intensity of this story is searing and one of the young actresses, Sarah Polley, is simply extraordinary. I saw her in another film called "Go", a springy, joyous romp. It was hard to believe that the actress who had been that hard-edged and wild in that movie was the same one who had been so muted and melancholic in this one.
:: Sukumar 10:59 PM [+] ::
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all the trimming- without the bird... time to stuff yourself with some more information...

how much for that turkey in the window? this past wknd- PETA - (people for the the ethical treatment of animals) launched a new campaign trying to reach out to the gobbler gobblers among us. they took a hidden camera into a turkey farm in minnesota, to show folks the life of the bird before it ends up on a plate... or in a sandwich... i haven't come up with an exact number of turkeys that are sold just through the holidays but the US Census bureau- has some interesting turkey factoids for example- the average American consumes 13.6 pounds of the bird throughout the year. I don't consume any, so that means someone is consuming a bit more than 13.6 pounds... (then again i'm still an Indian Citizen so...) another interesting -did you know- is that we actually import most of the turkeys from Canada- and the sweet potatoes from the Dominican Repulbic but we make it up in selling everyone some cranberries. bizarre.

black friday - the day after thanksgiving is the day when retailers are supposed to head into the black from all the red they've been bleeding all year. this year, walmart seemed to be the uber-champion... with a reported record one day total of 1.43 BILLION compared to their meager 1.25Billion from a year ago. seems like a stock to buy eh? well before you press buy buy buy on your ameritrade account... you might want to look around a bit at the controversies that swirl around the superstore chain named by Sam Walton (not to be confused with THE TV WALTON) this might come as a surprise to some of you- but walmart is the second larges employer in the United States (1.3 to 1.5 million employees) second only to the US- gov. its a little factoid that i first remember seeing on PBS- during an interesting documentary- Store Wars about Walmart's "predatory" practices when they move into a new town. according to one report, they have plans to add 800,000 employees in the next five years, which would make them larger than the US armed forces. Walmart is embroiled in at least one worker harassment suit taking place in Portland, OR and a sexual discrimination suit in California. along with protests in Chicago , and other parts of the country from unions- who are trying to establish a presence within Walmart.

fascinating piece on 60 minutes this past wknd- on a challenge from one of the world's leading painters (david hockney) who claims that the realism that we see in so much of European paintings after the 1430s might be the work of optics. he contends that painters essentially used a concave lens, and projected a reflection of their subjects onto the canvases, and began the art of tracing around the projection. it sorta rocks the art world some- but i don't think it'll devalue all the art one may peruse for free at the getty museum. unfortunately 60 minutes has no links posted to their site as of blogtime...but there is a quick interview that hockney did with the getty folks at some event.

digest.

:: h 6:24 PM [+] ::
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