Some days Facebook seems pretty mundane and boring. But then, every once in a while, a conversation like this takes flight … and keeps me coming back.
On Bolo Ties … and How They Can Redeem Facebook.
Reply
Monthly Archives: December 2012
Happy New Year – A Year or Two in Brief
Happy New Year, everyone.
First an Apology
Yes, I know how pathetic this is. I haven’t done a New Years blog post in as long as I can remember (maybe 2009), but I’m going to try to sum up a few years in one post for the folks who are at a greater distance and for those we don’t see very often.
Can We Just Listen Once? Hallelujah!
The other night, NBC’s The Voice opened with a stirring tribute to the fallen innocents of the Newtown, Connecticut massacre. As each contestant and judge held the name of one of those tragic souls, the judges took turns singing the moving stanzas, and the entire group joined in for the chorus. As usual, when I hear that song, I choked up. It is a powerful piece of music, and juxtaposing it with the memories of slain children amplified that power immensely. I have little doubt the producers of the show knew that. That’s what they were aiming for. This is television after all.
Dialogue is Hard
I truly believe that engaging in dialogue is a better solution than standing on opposite sides of the fence throwing stones at one another. But dialogue is hard. I think it’s the “di” part of dialogue that makes it so tough. You know, as in, “It takes two to tango.”
Anyway, here’s a Twitter exchange I was stupid enough to engage in today. Man, I really have to pick my dance partners more carefully in the future.
On Flippant Analogies and Gun Control
In the aftermath of the Connecticut school shooting, I’ve spent much of the past 48 hours angry, angry at the senselessness of the event itself, angry at the media’s handling of the coverage, and angry at idiotic reactions like this one, “Blaming things like this on guns is like blaming spoons for making you fat.”
Yes, in case you’ve missed it, this is International Dipshit Analogy Week. Just chemically lobotomize yourself if you want to participate. It was one such analogy in a comment on a friend’s Facebook post that sparked the conversation below.
China 2012 – Rumination #4 – On Air Quality, Cleanliness
Travelling to a developing country as populous as China, we were fully prepared to adjust our expectations when it came to cleanliness of public spaces. What we discovered in our three weeks there, at ground level at least, pleasantly surprised both of us.