1984 at the Notre Dame DeBartolo

Every war when it comes, or before it

comes, is represented not as a war but as

an act of self-defense against a homicidal

maniac.

~ George Orwell

I'm so there for the opening night performance on January 22nd...  This version of Orwell's 1984 is directed by Mr. Susan Sarandon... that is, Tim Robbins... Apparently, the play will be updated to relate more with current day events, as if Orwell's version was not timeless enough.   

Playwright, Michael Gene Sullivan, who adapted 1984 writes that:

About seventy years ago, with America in the grip of poverty and starvation, threatened with belligerent militarism from overseas, and a growing right - left animosity at home, a new American President stepped up to the mic and told the nation "There is nothing to fear but Fear itself."

Given the situation being afraid seemed like a reasonable response, but that President knew fear could paralyze a country, and the only ones who benefitted from ongoing, blinding fear were those who spread that fear.

And that is still true today. In the new millennium, with a crumbling infrastructure, a startling and growing gap between the rich and everyone else, governmental cronyism, corporate looting, and privatization of public wealth, there is a need to distract the citizens from corruption at the top. Our country has been attacked before, but never have we been so blinded by fear. Now we are led to believe we all under constant threat from terrorists, foreigners, strangers, the different, the guy at the Seven Eleven, the black kid on the corner!  Every suicide bombing, Osama Bin Gangsta, Radical abusive nanny Environmentalist is out to get you, so please don't notice that the Nation your parents built is being stolen in front of your eyes, and the rights won with a hundred years of blood are being taken. Doubt is treason, and Fear will distract you, so the message has become "Be afraid - be very afraid."

And at the center of this tornado of fearful despair sits a calm, assured - who?

"Citizens of Oceania! Together we will crush our enemies, and our long road to victory will be over!" But until then do not ask questions - the less you know the better. And in a nation at war certain rights must be curtailed to preserve Liberty. Oh, and keep shopping.

Or, as Big Brother says, Ignorance is Strength, Freedom is Slavery, War is Peace.

Egads.  I've been a bit sentimental lately, but, wow, I get a heart flutter and a bit near-teary reading these words.  In a goodish way.  Before Election Day 2008, this would have been much more bittersweet!

Dream Vacation -- Palau, Micronesia

This photo by Eric H. Cheng is a beautiful shot of one of about 70 lakes in the Pacific Island of Palau.  The jellyfish in the photo are decendents of spotted jellyfish.  The lake in this photo is commonly referred to as Jellyfish Lake... The other similar lakes in Palau are protected from people interfering with their natural ecosystems.

Since the jellyfish have no predators and they dine on algae, very small crustaceans and plankton, the stinging cells are so small that people can very comfortably and painlessly swim and dive with them.  Jellyfish Lake is composed of 12 acres of seawater that is supplied through fissures in Palau's porous limestone foundation.  Other than the fissures, Jellyfish Lake is isolated from the ocean.  Within these mere 12-acres lives 20 MILLION jellies!  

According to the National Wildlife Foundation website, "Palau’s first marine lake formed just 12,000 to 15,000 years ago after the last ice age ended and sea levels rose. Palau’s rock islands were limestone peaks riddled with erosion-carved channels, fissures and depressions. Seawater seeping through the limestone transformed the largest depressions into marine lakes and swept in the larvae of spotted jellyfish and other sea creatures. In a mere moment of evolutionary time, the landlocked jellyfish radiated into five different subspecies, each attuned to its own isolated “island” of seawater. The jellies in the deepest lakes, which filled first and are therefore the oldest, diverged the most from their lagoon-living ancestor."

I am very fascinated with the idea of one day swimming with the jellyfish of Jellyfish Lake. I've seen video footage of others doing so, and it is so surreal on a television screen--I imagine that doing it in person would be beyond words.

Check out the YouTube video below to get a better idea of the otherworldliness that is Jellyfish Lake... and BONUS... jam to a little Tears for Fears ala "Everybody Wants to Rule the World."

And then there were 5..

(Chart Source: "The Great Media Monopoly"... Click on the chart to make it large enough to read.)

One of the reasons the idea of independent news sources appeals to me is the fact that in 1983, when I was a mere 9 years old, there were 50 corporations that controlled the majority of the media in the United States. 10 years down the road, this number dwindled down to fewer than a dozen corporations. Flash forward to 2004, and there are only 5 corporations that control the majority of American media: Viacom, AOL/Time Warner, News Corp, Clear Channel, and Disney.

Today, these same 5 corporations are holding onto the media with strong hands.

For more information on this...well outrageous...issue, begin with:

• ePluribus Media's blog entry, "Media Consolidation -- a Historical Perspective"

• Truth in Our Time's blog entry, "The Great Media Monopoly"

• The Media Channel.org's website

A Database of Independent News Websites?

David Westphal, the Washington editor of McClatchy Newspapers (the 2nd-largest newspaper company in the U.S.) and the Executive in Residence for USC's Annenberg School for Communication blogged today about building a database that features independent news websites.

Actually, he's been regularly blogging about the emergence and viability of independent news websites (both for-profit and non-profit) since October of this year.

For his series on independent news sites, check out this link.

I'm going to spend some more time reading up on his posts some more, but just to point out some of the independent news websites that he's featured so far, maybe you'd like to take a look at:

• Quincy News (Quincy, IL): 8 month old site run by Bob Gough, who also has been blogging since the inception of Quincy News about the process of running the news site and other topics of interest.
• Ann Arbor Chronicle (Ann Arbor, MI): 3 month old site run by a wife and husband team, Mary Morgan and David Askins
• Voice of San Diego (San Diego, CA): 4 years old, created by Buzz Woolley, a San Diego businessman
• MinnPost (Minneapolis, MN): Founded in 2007, many of writers and managerial staff are highly respected members of the journalism community--Wikipedia covers the MinnPost quite thoroughly: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MinnPost
• St. Louis Beacon (St. Louis, MO): Appears to be about 6 months old (become a Facebook Fan of the St. Louis Beacon at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-St-Louis-Beacon/14091702194)
• ChiTown Daily News (Chicago, IL): 3 years old (actually, on Facebook, you can RSVP for the 3 year birthday party that is taking place today)...Features both professional and citizen journalists (Join the ChiTown Daily News Facebook Group at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=47692979807#/group.php?gid=5926931697 or follow it's Twitter Feed at http://twitter.com/ChiTownDaily)
• The Batavian (Batavia County and Genesee County, NY): 7 months old, launched by Gatehouse Media in May of 2008, "a fascinating example of what can happen when a newspaper company throws the old rules out the window... [that] lets any registered reader contribute posts, and it treats all registered readers as equals...This isn't "traditional" journalism -- it's better..." (Source: Fighting 29th.com)
• Pasadena Now (Pasadena, CA): 3 years old, for a close look at the genesis and evolution of Pasadena Now, check out the blog posts by Eye Level Pasadena.
• Pegasus News (Dallas/Fort Worth, TX): 2 years old, for press releases that feature Pegasus News, check out: http://www.pegasusnews.com/pressroom/
• NewcastleNOW.org (New Castle, NY): 1 year old, the staff includes the editor, managing editor (and photographer), publisher (and Webmaster), advertising executive, 2 freelancers and 100 citizen journalists.
• The Forum (Deerfield, NH): 3 years old, an all volunteer staff: "We are volunteers of all ages. We are long-term residents and newcomers, employed and retired, politically active and apolitical, churchgoers and atheists. What unites us is our dedication to creating a means for open communication with and about our community."
• YubaNet.com (Nevada City, CA): 9 years old, "YubaNet was born at the outbreak of the September 1999 Pendola wildfire in the foothills of Yuba County," (Source: Iconocast.com)
• Texas Watchdog (Houston, TX): 4 months old, "Texas Watchdog is a news Web site and training center that scrutinizes the actions of government agencies, bureaucracies and politicians in Texas...Texas Watchdog will serve as a government watchdog and training center where reporters, bloggers and activists of any stripe will learn how to uncover waste, fraud and corruption in state and local governments. "
• The Dagger (Baltimore, MD) 1 year old, "What began as an experiment, a test case for what might happen when we distill years of conversation into published material, has turned into something real. We have become a living, breathing, kicking, screaming community of readers and writers no longer content to simply watch as the world turns."
• OurVarsity.com (Gwinnett County, GA): 4 months old, formed by Josh Kendall and Carter Strickland, OurVarsity.com is "an online community for high school athletes/students/parents in Gwinnett County, Georgia (18 high schools, one million overall population)...Our idea has been to reach into the high school market by building an online community that not only provides news but allows the students to be involved. A visitor to our site can look through the more than 10,000 photos, videos and stories we have posted. The visitor can also register, set up a personal page and have every piece of media (video, photo or story) involving him or her and published on the site sent directly to that page."