http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Fri, 23 Jul 2004 13:46:50 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/23/134650.php Jim Andrews "Make way for the bloggers- they give us news with attitude"The above was the top, across the entire page headline, in the Austin paper's Friday the 23d edition, Gary Chapman, who teaches at the University of Texas in Austin and writes an occassional column for the Austin American Statesman, the daily paper, bemoans the fact that, "The hyper-linked character of e-mail and the Web lead heavy Internet users to a diversity of information sources that older people find difficult to to grasp."I'm older than most of the blogging contributors to Blogcritics and I have to assume that he overlooked the simple fact that the world extends beyond his classroom or Austin, Texas for that matter. Yes, Gary, the are many folks out in the real world that can write and have valuable opinions and one of these days, in the not too distant future, the politicians and their controlled media will awaken to the fact that we are real tax paying, voters who have friends and family that have not succumbed to the pap disgorged on a daily basis by the boob tube and the local parrot cage, fish wrappers.I mentioned that I was a bit older than many of the contributors to this great blog and to support this I will turn 80 this November 1. I also would like to share that I have been a practicing professional journalist since back in the 50's. I will watch and read with great interest the comments from the 35 bloggers that have been "granted crredentials" to the National Democratic Convention, next week.I hope that Blogritics can locate these blog sites and publish them so that we can share their wisdom and comments with the rest of the civilized world. Culture17758@blogcritics.org Fri, 23 Jul 2004 13:46:50 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/20/133235.php Jim AndrewsCivility Is In DeclineAccording to some very learned philosophical types, "Civility is in decline." Now that seems to be a rather astute observation, and it bears some red-neck examination. As many of you readers are aware, I was christened with the title, "red -neck", from my formative years when I rode a horse for butter and egg money, and often failed to wear my bandana around my neck. You city folks have no earthly idea of the excruciating pain this can foment. (But I digress). We were going to look into how and/or why, civility is in decline. We could begin by trying to reach some common ground as to exactly what "civility" is. As, with any proper scribe, I am equipped with many voluminous tomes, some called dictionaries, some called thesaurus, or if as in my case, more than one, thesauri. Some of mine sit on shelves, while others hide in the bowels of my one eyed monster, that bears the deceptively disarming logo of an apple with a bite taken from it. I called on these various and sundry resources and have made some interesting discoveries I'd like to share. But first! Lets see what some of the more learned phylo's have to say on the subject. They point to TV shows like CNN"S Crossfire, where everybody talks at once and hurl half truths about, like cascarones . Hell, I watch a Saturday morning fishing show where they do the same thing. Before we let our superior attitude kick in and start to cut these "entertainers", down, it's only fair to point out that they are getting paid to commit these shenannigans. Now put the shoe on the other foot. When's the last time "you", ran a red light, or passed a loading school bus, or parked in a handicapped zone? Decided to "not get involved" when it would have really helped out some poor soul? How about getting the kids to help us look for cops, as we tool along, above the speed limit, often in school zones. When was the last time you told someone to answer your phone and tell the calling party that you weren't in, just to duck some civic responsibility that you darn well needed to meet? We seemingly have lost all respect for the aged, we have neglected our kids to the point that we have lost a couple of generations, while we stand around wringing our hands and beating our breasts in frustration. (I ask, "Frustrated with whom?")Lets get away from all this homespun stuff and go to where the rubber meets the road. According to Rogets Thesaurus Two- "Civility", represents well-mannered behavior toward others. (courtesy-politeness-courteousness). This includes no hand salutes to your fellow motorists. The American Heritage Dictionary, standard edition, allows as to how, "Civility", is (1), Courteous behavior, and (2), A courteous act or utterance. My perception is that you don't kick dogs, and cuss your neighbor. (Politicians are not allowed to kick nor cuss.) Columnists like myself are exempt from all these constraints as we hunt and kill where we find game, and thats everywhere. I include the following example: "Reganomics", was a prime example of the rich wanting to get richer, and the heck with the common folks, but Slick Willie's, "Abracadabra Economics", (now you see it, now you don't), is the back swing of the pendulum. We common folks ain't got a chance!Thats called, two for the price of one, in columnists talk. There was absolutely no intent to mask the foregoing as civility, just fact. So think about this, If we don't learn to respect each other, whats at stake? Really not much, just..........................our children.... Culture17652@blogcritics.org Tue, 20 Jul 2004 13:32:35 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/13/151009.php Jim AndrewsYou are a professional person, perhaps an engineer, a doctor, an attorney. You name it. Carpenters, welders, and store clerks are also included. You are over the age of 50, "retired," and living on a fixed income, the amount is of no importance. You are automatically expected to extend your abilities and expertise to the general public, and pick up your expenses to boot, for free.You are now a "volunteer"! You have automatically been cut off from any supplemental income other than a "job" that pays minimum wage, or thereabouts. Since this "job" is generally for less than 40 hours, it's classified as part-time, exempt from normal employee benifits, such as insurance, retirement benefits, etc. It makes no difference that you may need productive employment at a decent remuneration, to help meet unexpected family needs that exceed your aforementioned "fixed," or controlled income. Many employers don't think about the potential worker resources available to them, because we older folks have been stereotyped as "over the hill." Well, we "seniors" can out-work and out-think a lot of those, "younger" than we. We can drive, operate office equipment, are reliable, and the list goes on. Often, we don't mind a minimum wage slot as we really need the money, and are limited in the amount of supplemental income we can earn, thanks to Social Security Regulations. We are established in the community, and could likely be a substantial fiscal asset by our mere mature presence in your business. I really get hacked when I submit a resume for a position I could easily handle and have some young/middle age "human resourse" type, tell me I'm "overqualified." Bull muffins! These folks don't have the guts to tell me to my face, that in their "considered" opinion, "I'm too old." Thats a no-no, and I might file an age discrimination suit. It's a shame we can't force them to take a polygraph test, and file suit against those caught lying to a potential employee. There is one theory being kicked around that these people have a subconscious fear of letting anyone over 50 enter the work place, as a defenitive threat to their generation..........Could be. Why are we being put out to pasture when we are in good health and are living to age 85 or longer? Consider that we have the potential for paying taxes for as much as an additional 30 years, and me, I'd love to. Can you imagine the chaos that would occur if we seniors stopped "volunteering" for a month, and just went fishing or something equally productive? I'm tired of getting a "Thank You" letter, or my picture in the paper, when what I really need is a job that pays real money. This would go a long way toward helping me subsidize my volunteer work, and keep my personal self-esteem above shoe level. I challenge the business community to give employment opportunities to the experienced human resources in this geographical area that are available, if they would just reach out. "Help Wanted" ads are cheap, and a sign in the window is even cheaper. Try it, you just might get a pleasant surprise, and make a few more bucks too boot. Culture17403@blogcritics.org Tue, 13 Jul 2004 15:10:09 EDT