Thoughtful Preparations: Media Spin Blog

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet and proprietor of City Light Books in San Francisco, has written about the “Howl that was heard around the world” in today’s SF Chronicle. The poem and the book Howl and other Poems launched a mileston free speech trial in 1956. More about Allen Ginsberg.

Getty Images is one of the world’s largest stock photography agencies. They’ve created an interactive Flash web site with ten extraordinary visual experiences for web browsers to explore: 10 whey ays.  The cosmic zoom of way number 2, information, is amazing.

Donald Rumsfeld blew many a smokescreen in his days of diffusing clarity on the purposes and strategies of the invasion of Iraq. He projected an air of superior intelligence in his obfuscations. He will be remembered for this rambling poetic cosmic theory:

“There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns,” he said.

See the video.

So, I’m listening to the President’s post 2006 election press conference today on the radio, a bit more intently than usual, because I was assigned to write a news story about it for the Ohlone Network News. Much of the press Q & A seemed to be directed around what message the President had received from the sweeping Democratic Party victories.

As W is known to do, he lapsed into Texas talkin’ and mentioned this isn’t my first rodeo and it was a thumpin’. Amusing, colorful talk. Here is the NPR.org transcript:

“I mean, look, this is a close election. Race by race, it was close. The cumulative effect, however, was not too close, it was a thumpin’. But nevertheless, the people expect us to work together. That’s what they expect. And as I said in my opening comments, there comes responsibility with victory, and that’s what Nancy Pelosi told me this morning. She said in the phone call she wants to work together, and so do I. And so that’s how you deal with it.”

“This isn’t my first rodeo. In other words, this is not the first time I’ve been in a campaign where people have expressed themselves and in different kinds of ways. But I have learned that if you focus on the big picture, which in this case is our nation and issues we need to work together on, you can get stuff done.”

Here is the version from whitehouse.gov:

Look, this was a close election. If you look at race by race, it was close. The cumulative effect, however, was not too close. It was a thumping. But nevertheless, the people expect us to work together. That’s what they expect. And as I said in my opening comments, there comes responsibility with victory. And that’s what Nancy Pelosi told me this morning. She said in the phone call she wants to work together. And so do I. And so that’s how you deal with it.

This isn’t — this isn’t my first rodeo. In other words, I haven’t — this is not the first time I’ve been in a campaign where people have expressed themselves, and in different kinds of ways. But I have learned that if you focus on the big picture, which, in this case, is our nation and issues we need to work together on, you can get stuff done.

Not a great difference, but let’s face it, -ing is not used in Texas ranch slang speech. So, which information source do you really trust?

Funny, because later that night, a student in the news writing class called my use of the quote “totally innacurate.” It’s clear that Bush and many Republican faithful are still in a stubborn state of shock, awe and denial. Tough when the shoe is on the other foot, ain’t it pardner? Yee haaw!

BTW, gotta love the Huffington Post headline: “IT WAS THE WAR, STUPID…”

Plus Bye, bye Santorum.

No more “stay the course.” The American people voted yesterday to clean up the corrupt, unaccountable GOP Congressional war machine mess. In search of diversion, Republicans turned their attention to Britney Spears divorce of Kevin Federline. It’s a relief to see the American system still works. This is a vote for a movement towards government accountability and a more peaceful world.

Army Times newspaper editorial, “Time For Rumsfeld To Go”

Ghost on the Highway: A Portrait of Jeffrey Lee Pierce and the Gun Club will be screening this coming Thursday and Friday at SF’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

I was fortunate to make contact with the filmmaker, Kurt Voss, in the latter stages of editing in time to include a few of my photographs of Pierce and the Gun Club in the movie.

Yerba Buena’s Film Schedule

A message in a bottle washed up at my doorstep the other day, a CD from an old time friend from the shores of Long Island, Tommy Davis. He’s the lead guitarist in surf twang band, Shecky and the Twangtones.

Many folks on Long Island know Tommy for his reggae and blues guitar music, and the tiki lounge surf rock sound of The Ventures and Dick Dale is an exciting new addition to his repertoire.

Live Diamondhead performance video on YouTube. More videos on the Shecky web site: BAJA and Around and Around.