Missouri's first State Poet Laureate. Walter Bargen. I can't tell you how pleased I am by this. Walter is a first-rate poet and, just if not more importantly, a decent human being. He will be formally introduced on February 13th at the state capitol. After that, he will serve a…
I came across an article a few days ago written by John Hockenberry, an award-winning journalist who once worked for NBC's Dateline and is now a fellow at MIT's Media Lab. Titled "You Don't Understand Our Audience": What I learned about network television at Dateline NBC, this article is a…
Personal anecdote time. Yesterday (Sunday) we went shopping. We stopped at Office Depot to buy a new chair. As we approached the entrance, I spotted a friend of ours and called her name. We gathered outside the entrance to chat. As we talked, a man approached us, begged our pardon,…
I remember when the FBI unleashed their "Carnivore" internet monitoring system in the 1990's. Everyone was up in arms because the FBI could listen in to all email and run it through filters to store a database of all emails containing suspicious phrases, or from specific addresses. The controversy got…
Edge.org has just released it's Annual Question. This year's version: WHAT HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT? WHY?" I've read a couple dozen answers so far. As always, the answers are intellectually stimulating, challenging to common sense and entertaining. Television producer Karl Sabbagh weighs in this year with his realization that expertise has serious…