PHILOSOPHICAL MONEY

Sophisms of the Anti-Protectionists

2011-01-06T03:10:00.000-05:00

In college I was taught in Economics 101 that protectionism simply just doesn't work. If this is true however, then why is it that China has about twice the amount of economic growth per year than America - seeing as how China applies so much protectionism to their economic policies?

And furthermore, why is it that the sector of the American economy which is historically the most ideologically opposed to protectionism - the financial sector - so successful at securing protectionist bailouts for themselves whenever they fuck shit up beyond repair?

Does anybody else find this anti-protectionist rhetoric which spews forth from the mouths of Wall Street Economists to be, oh I don't know, complete-and-utter hypocritical nonsense bullshit?

Could it be that we're being lied to?

Perhaps they should rewrite Economics textbooks to say that protectionism doesn't work - until shit hits the fan. Or perhaps they should just stop pretending that protectionism doesn't work - you know - for the sake of reality.

Hey what do you call an Economics student that graduates last in his class? You call them an Economist.

But what do you call a college dropout who majored in Economics but wasn't smart enough to hack it through college? Well you call them an employee of Rupert Murdoch of course!

Why Stronger Economy Means Stronger Government

2011-01-03T03:44:00.000-05:00

It's not possible to have a strong government without a strong economy because government services are funded by tax revenues. Higher tax revenues resulting from a stronger economy result in more funding for government services.

Democrats achieve stronger government by generally advocating economic policies which increase the circulation of goods and services, which lead to higher tax revenues and thus more funding for government services. Republicans however achieve weaker government by consistently advocating economic policies that weaken the economy - such as free trade, deregulation, and the outsourcing of jobs to other countries.

Societies that weaken their government by weakening their economy become less functional as well as more discordant than societies that strengthen their government by strengthening their economy.

Think about it.

Fox News Rapes America

2010-12-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

Political debate & discourse on Fox News bears a striking resemblance to monkeys throwing shit at each other while jumping up and down screaming ooh ooh ah ah. Of course the soulless automatons on Fox wear suits however to better deceive their viewers from seeing through to their true uncivilized monkey natures. To be fair to actual monkeys however, they could probably do a better job of keeping us informed than these loudmouth asshat anchors on Fox who spew near-constant shit-farts from their mouths in projectile fashion. The only positive contribution that Fox News makes to society is that it serves as a perfect example of how not to think, feel, or behave. Sadly most of its viewership is somehow completely incapable of understanding this. And tragically the New York Times isn't much better.

An Important Media Advisory

2010-12-11T15:15:00.001-05:00

This important media advisory should be read to the voice of Hunter S. Thompson in your head:

Mainstream American journalism has been diseased with a sociopathic anti-intellectualism for far, far too long. Historically and up until recently, the Powerstablishmentary Complex, with its inherent slutty whorishness, has been far too successful in infecting the minds and hearts of establishmentary media swine in much the same way that many a prostitute are often far too successful at spreading venereal diseases amongst the masses - a tale quite possibly as old as humanity itself. It's time we start cutting away at this soulless, diseased sickness on our society - or at least force our "good-ol'boy corporafascist plantation-owning masters" to start "wearing rubbers" or something, so to speak. If our all-powerful captors are going to keep fucking us hard in the ass over and over again against our will, then they could at least exercise some level of respect or decency, right? At least for the sake of our children!

Forecastle 2010 Interview with Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips

2010-07-25T23:56:00.000-04:00

Forecastle 2010 Interview with Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips from Patrick Yen on Vimeo.

Interview with Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips for the 2010 Forecastle Festival.

Interview by Cory Greenwell,
Production by Patrick Yen.

Understanding Capitalism

2010-01-31T04:22:00.003-05:00

All I ever needed to know about Capitalism
I learned from no-limit Texas Hold'em poker.

Winning at life requires both luck and skill,
but mostly luck.

In the end a few will win,
but most will eat shit and die.

Is the Internet Facilitating Social Anarchism in the 21st Century?

2010-01-13T21:03:00.002-05:00

The internet appears to be eliminating numerous barriers that were once more defined than they are now, barriers that are both horizontal and vertical, political and economic, geographical as well as linguistic. There appears to be the emergence of a multidisclipinary & multicultural form of intellectual society that is essentially global ('world-wide') as well as transnational in nature. A planetary-civilization or global-culture, so to speak.

Is easier, cheaper, and ever farther-reaching access to educational and economic opportunities eliminating previously stronger social strata and class division within society on a global, world-wide level?

Could these various political, cultural, and economic effects be characterized
as an emerging form of 21st century 'social anarchism' or left-libertarianism, on a global scale?

What are your thoughts?

***

anarchism |ˈanərˌkizəm|

noun
belief in the abolition of all government and the organization of society on a voluntary, cooperative basis without recourse to force or compulsion.

• anarchists as a political force or movement:
socialism and anarchism emerged to offer organized protest against the injustices of Spanish society.

ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Greek anarkhos ‘without a chief’ (see anarchy ) + -ism;
later influenced by French anarchisme.

"Said Jesus to the Masses": A Bible Summary

2010-01-13T19:54:00.003-05:00

"Hey now, try not to be such assholes,"
said the loving liberal Jesus to the masses.

"Fuck you!" replied some hateful conservatives in power.

Dear VII Photo,

2009-12-16T00:00:00.002-05:00

Please pardon oh great photo ubermenschen overlord masters (and I mean that lovingly) if this sounds wrong,
but I am writing this for the proletariat everyman:

“According to Jesus’s Golden Rule moral teachings, of treating others the way you want to be treated,
it’s not entirely fair to fuck others in the ass unless you yourself are also willing to take it up the ass.”

Criticism is the lifeblood of our industry and comes with the territory of being on top.
True journalists would accept this criticism with a smile on their face.
Man up, face the music, and go with that flow, baby.

Criticism is a journalist’s fuel.

How Obama Might Achieve World Peace?

2009-10-09T22:04:00.004-04:00

I had a dream tonight
and in that dream
was

Free Energy!

In my dream
the Nobel Peace prize was awarded to Obama
under the presumption that he would make free energy universally available
thereby solving many of the world's problems
as well as engineering real peace.

Dreams can come true..

Evolve, Survive, and Reproduce - is this the Meaning of Life?

2009-10-06T23:31:00.007-04:00

Evolving, surviving, and reproducing
appear to be the rule of nature..

Most animal and human behaviors,
be they conscious or unconscious,
appear to revolve around these three characteristics..

Is this the Meaning of Life?

Is man an end product of nature,
or merely a stepping stone to something greater,
perhaps a greater manimal that's yet to be fully realized?

Upon close examination of human history,
I can only conclude that man has a long way to go..

Throughout history, the creatures that appeared to survive and thus carry on
were the ones who could adapt and become better than they originally were.

What do you do to make yourself better than you are?
Are you thriving or merely surviving, and why?

We Live in A World Full of Lies

2009-08-25T19:27:00.002-04:00

If everybody could read each other's minds all the time
then could there be any lies
would there be any crime?

Pretty Lights at the Belle of Louisville

2009-08-18T15:14:00.002-04:00

Pretty Lights at the Belle of Louisville from Patrick Yen on Vimeo.

"Pretty Lights" performs on July 11, 2009 at the Belle of Louisville during the annual Forecastle Festival's afterparty.

Video shot and produced by Patrick Yen for the 2009 Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Ky.

See That Which Cannot Be Seen

2009-06-28T12:14:00.010-04:00

Human perception is incredibly limited.

For example, bees can see frequencies of light that most humans cannot,
dogs can hear frequencies of sound that most humans cannot,
sharks can sense smells that are incomprehensible to man.

What humanity is capable of perceiving to be real and true
is really only a small sample of objective reality..

..perhaps knowing too much would drive us all mad?

In psychology there exists a concept natural to man known as the “overconfidence bias”
which states that people are inclined to think they know more than they actually do.

Overcoming this fallacy of perception is perhaps the first step
to seeing that which cannot be seen,
or knowing how not to know?

***

See That Which Cannot Be Seen - Images by Patrick Yen

We Cannot Solve The World's Problems With The Same Thinking That Killed The Newspaper Industry

2009-04-26T23:09:00.003-04:00

Duh.

Is everybody crazy, if only God is sane?

2009-04-23T10:21:00.008-04:00

"You'd have to be crazy to be so sane," said the Evil Banshee of Change,
"but lucky for you that really everybody is crazy, because only God is truly sane."

"What do you mean by sane?" asked the Crazy.

"By truly sane I mean 'all-knowing' or omniscient, and of course rational,"
replied the Evil Banshee of Change, "Nobody is sane by those standards."

"Oh," said the Crazy, "Well now I don't feel so alone!"

Quick Restructuring of J-Schools Reaffirms Total Failure of Mediastablishment, Need for New Leadership

2009-04-22T01:24:00.005-04:00

Here's an excerpt from something I wrote during April 2008:

"The options in the new media route allowed me to study and prepare for print, radio, broadcasting, and web journalism all in one degree. I think this is essential, to prepare for any kind of media route. Media is converging.

I also minored in Entrepreneurship because I anticipated the collapse of the industry. Business classes I took that I think should be incorporated into journo programs include:

Advertising
Marketing
Economics
Entrepreneurial Business Management
Personal Finance
Accounting
Business and Professional Speaking
Business Law.."

***

As of more current..

“J-Schools Play Catch-Up”
By BRIAN STELTER, Published April 14, 2009

Excerpt:

The changes are forcing colleges and universities to rethink what a journalism education should look like. The perennial debate about journalism programs — theoretical teaching versus professional skill building — has been displaced by more urgent questions: How can you help students find sustainable business models, while introducing the formerly verboten subject of the business side? What are the implications for the craft of journalism in the shift to digital? And how do you position students for an uncertain future in the media?

“I don’t know a journalism dean in the country who knows what the solution is, or where the journalism industry is going,” says Christopher Callahan, the dean of the Cronkite School. “I am convinced that those answers are going to come from people of their generation,” he says of the students. “Not my generation.”

To raise its national profile, Arizona State has invested heavily in its journalism program. In a new curriculum, Mr. Callahan is trying to instill an ethos of innovation — a sea change for an industry that has acted for decades like a slow-moving train, with J-schools the caboose. “Newsrooms have tended to be highly inflexible; innovation was not encouraged,” says Mr. Callahan, former associate dean at the University of Maryland’s journalism school. Deans across the country say they can’t afford to be the caboose anymore.

The new forward-thinking approach is to bracket traditional journalistic values withWeb classes and an entrepreneurial spirit. Take the weekly entrepreneurship course at Arizona State taught by Dan Gillmor, a former columnist for The San Jose Mercury News, in which students create products for news consumers — last fall, a team built a site for local filmmakers. The purpose of the course, Mr. Gillmor says, is to learn to “invent your own jobs.” (Because they may have to.) Mr. Gillmor also runs the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship, a catalyst for the student projects; that the center even exists is a testament to the changes that are afoot within journalism education.

First-year students at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University now take “Multimedia Storytelling” and “Introduction to 21st-Century Media.” In the fall, the school of journalism at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, will be adding an immersion experience in “communication, business and entrepreneurship.” With $8 million from the former newspaper executive Leonard Tow, the graduate schools at Columbia University and the City University of New York are creating two centers for new media innovation.

Rich Beckman, a professor of visual journalism at the University of Miami and a guru of new media education, confirms the evolution:“There were deans all over the country saying, ‘We’re never going to teach computer programming in J-school.’ Well, now they are.”

***

Oh, how the stale cookies of the mediastablishment continue to crumble..

Payment Model for An Ultramodern Media Publication of the Future

2009-04-20T13:56:00.000-04:00

Angry Journalist #8554:

#8551: Talk up a decent paycheck and maybe you’ll get names.

***

AJ 8554:

Here's what I'm thinking in terms of compensation..

Base pay would be about $52,000 a year per full-time employee, with four weeks paid vacation for each employee. That's about $1,000 per week, or $200 per day of work per full-time employee.

Every employee would receive the same base pay, however, each employee would receive ad revenue profit-sharing for any exclusive content they create that is published through this publication or syndicated via iTunes. For example, say you write a story that has ads running with it, you would get a cut of that revenue in addition to your base pay. If you produce better content that gets more views (or more downloads from iTunes) then you get more pay, in addition to your base pay.

As for what percentage this will be, that has yet to be determined. However, I believe it should be at least 20 percent. This will provide more merit-based compensation to employees that perform better.

If the content you produced was co-produced by others, that cut of the profits must be divided between the contributors. This process will all be automated by computers and the royalty checks will be automatically printed every week, with no room for mistakes or inefficiencies that are the result of human error.

In addition to producing news, this publication will also produce music, entertainment, humor, cartoons, educational programming, iPhone applications, advertising production, et cetera. Larger revenues made from music and iPhone applications will go towards subsidizing the production of other media such as news production, which may not earn as much revenue as other media.

This organization will adopt more of a newer, matrix-type organizational structure rather than the traditional top-down hierarchical structure. This matrix-type structure will allow for more adaptability than is normally allowed through more traditional business models, as well as increase productivity and decrease inefficiencies. I can't go into more detail about this particular organizational structure here, however, because it is the secret to this organizational model that I have developed that will essentially drive the success and profit of this hypothetical publication.

I would also like to provide benefits to full-time employees, but the range and scope of these benefits would be completely dependent upon how much startup capital I could acquire for the initial formulation of this company, as well as the kinds of profit margins that materialize.

Much of the work would also be produced by freelancers, who could expect to make more than current freelance rates for media production.

I am also considering a merit-based system that would provide my top producers with "merit points" that could be applied toward acquiring partial ownership of the company, as well as towards promotion within management of the matrix cells of the company's organizational structure.

Because base pay would be the same for all, then any "raises" would thus be tied and proportional only to performance and merit, rather than favoritism or nepotism. Moreover, the relatively higher cost of compensation would help ensure that only the relatively best would get hired in the first place, at least for full-time employment. Any increase to base pay would be applied equally to all employees at the same time.

Anybody who works hard enough towards the success of this company could become partner or work their way up through management. Managers who have stopped performing, however, could just as easily be demoted to dynamically make way for better talent to replace their positions of authority within the matrix structure of this organization. That way, the company always gets better, more innovative, more efficient, and more profitable over time, without being stagnated in the long-run by cronyism or prima donnas.

Thoughts?

***

Update:

Also, if I might add one more critical detail without giving too much information away..

This publication will be heavily oriented towards providing services for individuals. Products will be produced, yes, such as computer programs or iPhone applications, but there will also be a strong emphasis on service-oriented tasks which may include but are not limited to:

Transferring people's old home movie films to video,
editing videos for businesses and consumers,
providing/organizing focus group marketing research,
producing news stories on-demand,
helping to co-author books or autobiographies for clients,
providing affordable educational workshops,
trade/vocational training - licensing - testing - and certification services,
renting recording studio space to musicians,
producing high-tech super interactive multimedia classifieds that are produced on-demand,
producing high-tech interactive expositions of real estate properties on-demand at a cost to the consumer,
et cetera et cetera et cetera.

This is necessary I think because there is essentially more scarcity of services than there is scarcity of digital media. There are also many people afraid of computers who are willing to pay decent money for computer or digital-related services, that may not be willing to pay nearly as much money for digital media that they can more easily pirate or view for free. Providing more service-related resources for consumers may also bring in more readers/viewers for the media that is published through this hypothetical publication.

Revenues generated from these services will help sustain the operational costs of the media production, and the media that is published - produced - and viewed - will help bring light to the various production services that are also directly available to viewers through this hypothetical company.

It's all about diversification here, essentially, as well as making full use of what this kind of high-tech media publication has to offer.

Fund me. Pretty please. Fund me and help save journalism. Now.

***

Update 2:

I for one am tired of watching the journalism industry flop around in a slimy goo of failure. It could do so much good in the world, help so many people, but instead it continues its kamikaze death march towards oblivion. I feel I have answers, and solutions, to help prevent the dystopian future that is most likely going to be an unavoidable reality after the current flawed leadership of the media industry takes its last breath of zombie death. If you know somebody that has money who wants to help curtail the moral and intellectual degradation of society then please let me know.

Thank you.

Help Us Help Me Help You

2009-04-16T12:42:00.000-04:00

I am seeking the names of specific individuals who would seriously be willing to fund the construction of an ultramodern media publication of the future.

The main thing that has held me back from better developing particular ideas that relate to this for so long is having no capital to do so. Almost everything I have produced, much of which has never been published, has been produced on zero funding. I consider almost everything I’ve produced up to this point to be mere practice and child’s play compared to what I could (and should) actually build with adequate funding.

Many films are produced annually on budgets of $70 million or more. For less than one sixth of that kind of funding I could build my vision for the supreme media publication of tomorrow, the likes of which has yet to be fully realized, ever.

I want to rebuild the journalism industry as well as make it a valuable profession again for the right people with the right drive who have the right training and the right vision. That is my goal here, to save journalism and to better society with better journalism. My goal here is not to attain wealth or power over other individuals, but having adequate funding and executive control over the creation of this project will be absolutely necessary for the successful completion and full realization of this project, at least in the short term.

Trying to retrofit or restructure any existing businesses or institutions simply will not do if I am to build what it is that I envision in particular, to the scope that I envision it. I have to build this one from the ground up and I need to be the one with executive control over its creation if it is to truly succeed, as quickly as possible. Of course, I have no problem collaborating with others on its creation for I would certainly plan on hiring many talented people that I have in mind, but this project is simply not going to be fully realized if I do not have executive control over its creation (at least within the short term).

I am looking for specific names of specific people who would genuinely be interested in funding this initiative. They could be venture capitalists, philanthropists, celebrities, whatever – so long as they are individuals. Groups, such as the “Knight News Challenge,” I am absolutely not interested in hearing of, at all. Most of the ideas they fund are an absolute joke in my opinion.

Large groups and committees are often way too conservative and myopic to understand the value of ideas that are “ahead” of their time (or even ideas that are in their time right now, that society is already currently ready for). And when I mean “conservative” I do not mean “economically or fiscally conservative,” I mean “completely and utterly debilitated by group think” to the point to where they have little or no foresight in their thinking, whatsoever.

Many individuals, however, are often not nearly as myopic in understanding the value of ideas that are categorically ahead of their time (especially the right individuals). Landmark creative individuals such as “Steve Jobs” are not going to suffer from the same flawed, myopic reasoning as compared to groups like “The Wall Street Journal” or “The Knight Foundation.” Steve Jobs would not have been able to accomplish what he has accomplished if he was forced to work under the likes of Dick Cheney or was funded by the likes of Rand Corporation.

If you happen to be one of these such individuals or happen to know any of these individuals specifically, then please let me know.

Many people with the capital and will to rebuild journalism don’t necessarily have the right ideas to do so, and most people with the right ideas and initiative to rebuild journalism simply just don’t have the capital to do so. That’s why we need to work together.

Help us help me help you. Thank you.

Nature and Newspapers

2009-04-11T10:12:00.003-04:00

Part of what separates the strong from the weak within Nature is the will to survive
(as well as the ability to successfully adapt to a changing environment).

Therefore, it could easily be argued that most of these hidebound newspaper executives
who are refusing to take the necessary steps and hire the right people to actually save their companies,
must either be tremendously weak or weak-willed within spirit, as well as
fundamentally incapable of successfully adapting to a changing climate.

Think survival of the fittest, they are not the fittest.

The slow and weak will get eaten by lions if they slow down the pack for too long,
that's just the natural order of things, so to speak.

Sorry hidebound newspaper executives,
but Nature and the pack are both saying, "No."

Death By Ineptitude?

2009-04-07T12:20:00.000-04:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Better Know a Lobby - Newspaper Lobby

comedycentral.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

NASA Name Contest

From here, circa March 31, 2009:

"Last question.."

"Sure."

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"The death of the newspaper industry."
-Stephen Colbert

***

From Pat Thornton's Journalism Iconoclast - "It’s time to reinvent the newspaper industry"
circa April 6, 2009 (emphasis by me):

"When an industry goes from so high to so slow, so fast, it’s ultimately because its leaders became complacent.

They never thought that the monster profit margins would end. They never thought that diversification was important. Instead, they gleefully doubled down on print in recent years with ill-advised acquisitions.

After all, why diversify away from newspapers when they make so much money?

When you look at industries that ultimately fail, it’s because their leaders never thought a new technology or a new way of producing a product could come along. They thought they would be able to do the same thing forever. That short-sighted thinking is ultimately doomed to fail."

[...]

"If newspapers want to reinvent, it means a lot more than just finding new ways to disseminate old content. Reinvention means thinking of completely new products that tap into separate markets.

That’s why a computer maker gets into the portable music space. That’s why a computer maker starts selling movies. That’s how a computer maker becomes a dominant player in the cell phone space.

If Apple executives insisted on only being a computer company, Apple would have gone bankrupt. Instead, when the chips were down, they decided to start taking major risks and those risk paid off. Newspaper companies have to start taking real risks, and they have to be captained by those willing to take risks."

[...]

"We cannot change the complacency of the past, but we can change the course of the future. We must make a pact never to be complacent again. New technologies will be rapidly forming and changing lives in the coming years.

If the remnants of the newspaper industry want to survive and ultimately thrive, we have embrace new technology and get out of front of trends, not behind them. We have to embrace change. And, yes, that means we have to employ people in all ranks who are not married to the past and are willing to be a part of a revolution.

And so, the newspaper industry eventually won’t have that much to do with paper. Like Apple with computers, newspapers will still have print products (and they should, after all there is a market for them), but newspapers will be so much more than papers. They’ll produce products that are wildly different from newspapers.

That’s the only path forward."

***

So..

..how many times do you have to prove yourself to newspaper executives
before they start paying you to save their companies from certain doom?

Hey newspaper execs, hire me to save your company. Now. Seriously.
What are you waiting for?

Death?

I may not have all the answers, but I know enough to know
that other people are not coming up with the same ideas
that I’m just sitting on, yet to be published,
waiting for media publications to give me a call.

It’s time for the executives of media companies to swallow their pride
and pay me for my ideas, you know, if they want to have any chance for survival.

Or they could just continue on their kamikaze suicide run..

***

Here’s some classist humor for you guys..

How many overpaid wealthy change-hating newspaper executives does it take 
to screw in a lightbulb?

None,
that’s what the unpaid interns are for!

Haha, oh.. 
I’m laughing so hard I almost shit my pants!

Not really,
it’s almost criminal how so many of these executives have absolutely destroyed
the livelihoods  of so many decent, hardworking journalists
with their ineptitude.

You might think that the absolute shame of their utter failure
might drive more of these executives  to step down
or at least hire the right people to save their companies,
but apparently not.

Death by ineptitude?

Everybody Deserves To Be Hugged By Somebody..

2009-04-02T13:12:00.000-04:00

..everybody deserves to be loved?

If you happen to have any beauty or smarts..
then share it with someone you love?

Four Things That Make People Jealous

2009-04-02T11:50:00.002-04:00

Four things that cause jealousy are..

***

1) Wealth  

A) Economic Wealth 
Surplus of time, money, mobility, or other material wealth - relative to others.

B) Social Wealth 
“Social capital” - a surplus of love, respect, fanfare, or popularity relative to others. 

2) Power

A) Authority 
Ability to exert formal or institutionalized political power & control over others, 
such as elected officials, law enforcement, or business managers.  

B) Influence 
Ability to effect change through less direct & more informal means, 
such as celebrities, academics, or lobbyists.

3) Beauty

A) Scientific or Natural Beauty 
Symmetry, health, or innate capacity for survival within nature.  

B) Culturally Defined Beauty 
Qualities & traits which are inclusively selected or deemed valuable by society.

4) Smarts

A) Intelligence 
Natural & innate logic or reasoning abilities that may include, but are not limited to, 
strength of memory, problem-solving abilities, or speed of thought.  

B) Knowledge 
Street smarts, social mores, information, or wisdom learned & obtained culturally 
through social institutions such as family, school, community, or media.  

C) Creativity 
Inventive abilities relating to imagination, abstract thinking, 
& the ability to generate new or original ideas & concepts.

***

Wealth, power, beauty, and smarts. These are the things that make people jealous..

Watch out!

Sara Catania's "How To Fix American Journalism"

2009-03-16T10:40:00.000-04:00

"How To Fix American Journalism"
By Sara Catania, Posted March 12, 2009 | 11:46 AM (EST)

Excerpt from the Huffington Post article..

***

If American journalism is to save itself, it must look to non-profits and universities for funding and support, forging partnerships hinged on hard-hitting investigations and led by a new crop of reporters trained to gather and not simply comment on the news.

That was the message conveyed by media watchdogs who gathered Thursday morning for a two-day conference at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.

"Let's invite a group of our leading private universities and colleges to create, fund and operate a non-profit demonstration model for investigative journalism," said Bevis Longstreth of the Fund for Independence in Journalism, a conference sponsor.

Longstreth dismissed calls for a government-funded media bailout as "crazy, absolutely crazy" because one of the chief roles of an independent media is to report on government abuse. "Being fed by the hand one is trained to bite won't work," he said.

Media partnerships are already underway at schools across the country, said Charles Lewis, founder of the Center for Public Integrity and president of the Fund for Independence in Journalism.

In recent months programs have launched in Wisconsin, Illinois, and the state of Washington, as well as in Boston, Los Angeles and Miami, Lewis said. More established models include Lowell Bergman's UC Berkeley students working on projects for the New York Times and Frontline, as well as David Protess' death row innocence project at Northwestern University's Medill School.

"The diaspora of immensely talented journalists are going out and creating their own centers," Lewis said.

Sheila Coronel, director of Columbia's investigative journalism program, said such partnerships are crucial to a healthy media future. "Most of the watchdogs we have are middle aged - like me," she said. "We need watch puppies, and this is where universities can play a role."

***

For background, How to Save the New York Times
circa December 8, 2008.

Media publications must attempt to combine with Universities
if they are to survive in the near future.

The real crisis? We stopped being wise..

2009-02-18T14:32:00.000-05:00

Barry Schwartz: The real crisis? We stopped being wise
February 2009

"Barry Schwartz makes a passionate call for “practical wisdom” as an antidote to a society gone mad with bureaucracy. He argues powerfully that rules often fail us, incentives often backfire, and practical, everyday wisdom will help rebuild our world."

"Barry Schwartz studies the link between economics and psychology, offering startling insights into modern life. Lately, working with Ken Sharpe, he's studying wisdom."

***

Extra..

Elizabeth Gilbert: A different way to think about creative genius
February 2009

"Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk."

"The author of Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert has thought long and hard about some large topics. Her next fascination: genius, and how we ruin it."

***

I would agree that everybody possesses some form of genius,
it just has a tendency to be beaten down and stifled by others while growing up.

Perhaps one of the most universal human tragedies is when everyday people
are robbed of the opportunity to achieve their fullest potentials
and to live a happy productive life.

I wonder how many Einsteins were born in places like Kenya who could’ve been but never were
because their growth was stunted by the circumstances of their environment?

Tragic.

NY Times "News You Can Endow" Op-Ed Article Circa January 27, 2009

2009-02-17T22:27:00.004-05:00

News You Can Endow
By DAVID SWENSEN and MICHAEL SCHMIDT
Published: January 27, 2009

"Although the problems that the newspaper industry faces are well known, no one has offered a satisfactory solution. But there is an option that might not only save newspapers but also make them stronger: Turn them into nonprofit, endowed institutions — like colleges and universities. Endowments would enhance newspapers’ autonomy while shielding them from the economic forces that are now tearing them down."

[...]

"By endowing our most valued sources of news we would free them from the strictures of an obsolete business model and offer them a permanent place in society, like that of America’s colleges and universities. Endowments would transform newspapers into unshakable fixtures of American life, with greater stability and enhanced independence that would allow them to serve the public good more effectively."

---

To give a little background on this for those who may not already know,
I spend a lot of time trying to come up with solutions
on how to save the journalism industry.

Here is a piece I wrote on December 8, 2008 entitled, "How To Save The New York Times":
http://www.newglobalorder.org/2008/12/how-to-save-new-york-times.html

Though I am deeply honored to read some of my ideas expanded upon and published by two financial experts in the New York Times (within just two shy months of me submitting this "How To Save The New York Times" op-ed material to the NY Times President, Publisher, & Editor), I am a tad disheartened that I never received any legitimate response or follow-up from the NY Times regarding my material.

Of course, it probably goes without saying
that I never received any citation in this Op-Ed article
and never received any compensation from the NY Times for sharing my ideas.

Horseracing and The Death of Journalism

2009-02-17T19:57:00.000-05:00

Most all the Winning Horses that run in Horseraces
are Alpha-type Horses or direct descendants of Alpha-type Horses..

That is to say, they're wild.. rebellious.. warring.. cunning..
hyper.. risky.. fast..

perhaps even a lil' bit dangerous sometimes..

..but ultimately they're warriors
who'll either win, or die trying

Excerpt From 10,000 Words, "Multimedia... but why?"

2009-02-11T17:51:00.001-05:00

"There are so many sources of news in the crowded online market that making print articles available online is enough to attract a substantial readership, but not enough to stand out from the crowd. Considering many web readers skim content rather than read it, interactive and multimedia news stories force users to interact with the content rather than passively consume it.

In addition, a good interactive story can yield thousands of Diggs and Stumbles, hundreds of mentions on Twitter and other social networks, and a slew of saves on social bookmarking sites like delicious, which in turn means hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of visitors. All that is worth the extra man hours if it means higher page views which also translates to, for those concerned with the business side of journalism, greater revenue.

A nice multimedia presentation doesn't even have to be a complex database like those created by the New York Times. Popular Mechanics' interactive map of proposed North American high-speed train projects could have been a simple infographic, but its interactive Flash graphic was Dugg more than 1,700 times, bookmarked on delicious by more than 60 different users and was Stumbled a gajillion times."

Albert Einstein Quotes

2009-02-09T15:56:00.001-05:00

"Through the reading of popular scientific books I soon reached the conviction that much in the stories of the Bible could not be true. The consequence was a positively fanatic orgy of freethinking coupled with the impression that youth is intentionally being deceived by the state through lies; it was a crushing impression. Mistrust of every kind of authority grew out of this experience, a skeptical attitude toward the convictions that were alive in any specific social environment - an attitude that has never again left me, even though, later on, it has been tempered by a better insight into the causal connections."

-Albert Einstein, Autobiographical Notes, edited by Paul Arthur Schilpp

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly."

-Albert Einstein, letter to Morris Raphael Cohen, professor emeritus of philosophy at the College of the City of New York, March 19, 1940. Einstein is defending the appointment of Bertrand Russell to a teaching position.

"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions."

-Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions (1954)

"The Internship"

2009-02-03T03:33:00.002-05:00

"Listen kid, we know that you're the best candidate for this position. There's no question about it. It's just that, well, I'm gonna be completely honest with you kid - you deserve at least that much..

It's just that we're total whores for money, all the managers here. Every single one of us would suck a dick hard for a million bucks you see, but within reason of course. Know what I mean?

The truth is that every single one of us managers here, we've all got these rich friends of ours who have these spoiled kids that are essentially unemployable. Most of them are actually total dumbshits, but their parents are willing to pay us thousands upon thousands of their hardly earned trust-fund dollars to make it look as though their kids have real work experience on paper, for simply making our coffees and stroking our massively undeserved egos for a couple of months at a time.

As I'm sure you already know, our company is more than likely collapsing, and we really have no choice but to stoop to any low humanly possible to protect our seven-figure salaries by slashing costs, even if that means charging our interns to work for us.

We know that you're the best candidate, but to be honest, you'll never have any chance in this market because you're poor, and quite frankly, that's the way we think it should be in this world run by whores. You know, real whores for money and power - pigs, swine like us - the plutocracy.

Now if you had a nice pair of tits and low enough self-esteem to suck my dick every morning for nothing in return, then I might be willing to give you a chance, but in this market, no, you'd never have any chance at all even though you're the absolute best candidate for this position.

See kid, your problem is that you're too good. When you're a privileged and powerful imbecile such as myself, nothing intimidates or threatens you more than a poor, talented young man like yourself with exceptional leadership abilities. Every single supervisor here, including myself, is afraid that you will take their job away from them, because none of them are nearly as talented, hard-working, or capable as you are. We'd much rather give this internship as well as any possible future promotions to some bumbling idiot who represents no threat to our authority or egos - a real go-getter who will do or say absolutely anything that we tell him to do or say without question, whatsoever. That's just how prostitution - I mean capitalism - works. We want somebody who we can pin the blame on whenever we fuck up real bad, as we usually do, so that we can continue to collect our seemingly undeserved multi-million dollar bonuses as well as travel to exotic places on our personal jets. Jet fuel isn't cheap you know, especially nowadays.

You see kid, how it works in the real world is that people like me don't get into our positions of power by being nice guys or making the right decisions or hiring the right people or being honest. No sir, we get to our positions of power by lying, cheating, stealing, and killing our way to the top. We get into our positions of power by sabotaging our more capable co-workers by any and all means necessary. It's a dog-eat-dog world kid, and that idealistic disposition of yours will get you nowhere fast. Hell, I used to be an idealist myself when I was your age, but then I had a family and joined the military - which got me over my 'freethinking' real fast. Having to kill dozens of crying children who are running towards you - children who may or may not be bearing grenades - will teach you a thing or two about 'fairness' real quick.

It's a dog-eat-dog world kid, and unless you're extremely rich or willing to play dirty - then you're never gonna make it in this industry. Ever.

Now go away kid, I've got an important meeting with the mayor."

Angry Journalist #7977

2009-02-02T23:48:00.002-05:00

dear newspapers:

fuck you. and your low-paying jobs. and your constant layoffs. and your inability to innovate. and your inept managers. and your broke business model. and your spirit-breaking, soul-sucking demands.

i hate you.

***

(I have no clue who wrote this but I feel your pain, hang in there fella! Hope you feel better!)

Paying To Work: Worse Than Unpaid Internships

2009-02-02T16:45:00.001-05:00

From Do You Want An Internship? It'll Cost You
By SUE SHELLENBARGER, JANUARY 28, 2009..

"Faced with a dismal market for college summer internships, a growing number of anxious parents are pitching in to help -- by buying their kids a foot in the door.

Some are paying for-profit companies to place their college students in internships that are mostly unpaid. Others are hiring marketing consultants to create direct-mail campaigns promoting their children's workplace potential. Still other parents are buying internships outright in online charity auctions.

Even as the economy slows, internship-placement programs are seeing demand rise by 15% to 25% over a year ago. Critics of the programs say they deepen the divide between the haves and have-nots by giving students from more affluent families an advantage."

***

plutocracy |ploōˈtäkrəsē|

noun (pl. -cies)
government by the wealthy.
• a country or society governed in this way.
• an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.

DERIVATIVES
plutocratic |ˌploōtəˈkratik| adjective
plutocratically |ˌploōtəˈkratiklē| adverb

ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Greek ploutokratia, from ploutos ‘wealth’ + kratos ‘strength, authority.’

USAGE See usage at aristocracy.

***

From Opportunity for Sale
Psst! Wanna buy an internship?
By Timothy Noah, Jan. 28, 2009..

"It's a huge misconception to say this is a program for rich kids," Eric Lochtefeld, CEO of University of Dreams, told the Journal. "The average student comes from the middle class, and their parents dig deep." To whatever extent that were true, inegalitarianism would shade into encyclopedia-salesman-style exploitation. The company "has begun funding scholarships and grants for low-income applicants," the Journal reports. But that merely lowers the price of opportunity. Whoever said a summer internship was something you had to pay for? The idea of getting a job is that they're supposed to pay you.

***

Why is this happening?

Is it merely the result of unregulated market trends
or could many people actually be losing their minds?

***

From Studies find mercury in much U.S. corn syrup
Tue Jan 27, 2009 6:15pm GMT..

"We went and looked at supermarket samples where high fructose corn syrup was the first or second ingredient on the label," he said. These 55 different foods included barbecue sauce, jam, yogurt and chocolate syrup.

"We found about one out of three had mercury above the detection limit," Wallinga said.

***

We already know that the mercury levels in fish are at an all time high
because of environmental deregulations under Bush.

Interesting how this story about mercury in common products such as soda pop
comes out just as soon as Bush leaves office..

Mercury poisoning can result in insanity
as well as a permanent reduction of your IQ,
depending on how much mercury you've been exposed to.

I would be willing to bet
that those who are paying money to work at for-profit companies
are actually exhibiting symptoms of mercury poisoning,
in addition to being filthy rich.

History has shown us beyond any reasonable doubt
that power coupled with insanity
can be a very destructive combination.

***

The government needs to intervene on this practice.

This practice of paying to work is much worse
than sweatshop slave labor or even prostitution.

What are your thoughts?

(You may need to have your mercury levels tested.)

My Case for a Job or Fellowship in Academia

2009-01-29T13:32:00.001-05:00

I have not published or distributed what I believe is my best work and journalism research. I have a great deal of original material that would be very well-suited for a Master's thesis or for course materials directly related to any "Interactive Multimedia & Entrepreneurship" faculty positions. Let me stress that this is original research and philosophy that has yet to be published anywhere else on the web by anybody else, ever.

The reason I have not published or distributed what I feel is my best work is because I have been plagiarized numerous times without citation, often times from people in academia. I have become somewhat disheartened by a seemingly thankless industry that has also made me somewhat cynical. I am also not in a position to afford being able to publish my best material for free.

As a "futurist" I have demonstrated a strong tendency to write original theories, philosophy, and predictions years in advance of them coming true or being legitimized through hindsight. I understand this frightens and intimidates many people, but I feel I have demonstrated my abilities to the point that the professional journalism industry needs to provide me with a legitimate forum to conduct funded research as well as publish my findings. I believe I have more than demonstrated my abilities to potentially help rebuild and restructure the journalism industry successfully given the chance, and that any continued dismissal of my work would represent a great disservice to the journalism industry - perhaps even a disservice to America.

If that requires deleting certain things I have written online in the past then I am more than willing to do so in exchange for a fellowship or a well-paying instruction position. I understand that some of my writing might be considered rather coarse to some, but when you are forced to the margins by those high up then it tends to have certain effects on your psychology. In any case, much of my seemingly anti journalism-establishment rhetoric has indeed been thoroughly legitimized in hindsight.

Petition for a U.S. Secretary of the Arts

2009-01-28T00:07:00.000-05:00

Quincy Jones has started a petition to ask President Obama to appoint a Secretary of the Arts.

While many other countries have had Ministers of Art or Culture for centuries,
the United States has never created such a position.

Please take a moment to sign this important petition
and then pass it on to your friends and colleagues:
http://petitiononline.com/esnyc/

Signature 210808, Patrick S. Yen says:
"Many artists are especially being hit hard by the current economic recession.

The ingenuity and creativity of many American artists can be harnessed for the public good
if strategically fostered and supported by the government."

(PS: I would love a job in the U.S. Department of the Arts!)

Short Films By Patrick Yen

2009-01-25T14:52:00.003-05:00

I've recently updated my portfolio of short film productions
but it doesn't showcase any of my longform work
and it hardly showcases any of my newer stuff:
Patrickyen.com/films/

I've also left out most of my abstract, experimental, and comedy pieces
for marketing reasons.

Thanks. Also, resume here.

Unpaid Internships Are A Scam & Why Paid Interns Are Better Than Unpaid Interns

2009-01-24T21:43:00.002-05:00

From the comments section of "The Biggest Scam In Photography"
by Rob Haggart..

***

Patrick Yen wrote:
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:22 pm

An even bigger scam is unpaid internships. You may get scammed out of a couple hundred dollars for a B.S. photo contest, but that sure as hell beats being exploited for thousands of dollars and months of your valuable time.

---

A Photo Editor Reply:
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:19 pm

@Patrick Yen,
We had unpaid editorial interns at one magazine and paid at another. Maybe it had more to do with the quality of the publication but the unpaid interns were horrible.

---

Patrick Yen Reply:
January 24th, 2009 at 2:03 am

@A Photo Editor,

Numerous reasons for this.

1) Most people aren’t motivated to work as hard when they aren’t getting paid for their labor.

2) Employers tend to be more selective with paid internships because they want a better return on their investment. Also, more people want paid internships than unpaid internships so employers get to choose from a larger, more competitive pool of applicants when hiring for paid interns, resulting in a higher probability of hiring better workers.

3) Only about 10-15% of the wealthiest can afford unpaid internships, so the whole practice of offering unpaid internships automatically locks out at least 85% of potential applicants, in which case the best are not chosen but simply the wealthiest.

4) The wealthiest have not had to work as hard throughout their lifetimes. The poor have, and tend to make better workers because of it - especially ones who have had to serve food or alcohol. They naturally tend to develop better social/communication/people skills that the privileged have not had to develop as a means to ensure their survival.

So yeah, unpaid interns aren’t as good as paid interns.

---

jimmyD Reply:
January 24th, 2009 at 8:17 pm

@Patrick Yen, I used to be partnered in a small video post-production facility. We had two Avid Media Composers and a few linear editing systems. This was back in the mid-90s thru early 00s, before everyone and their mothers were able to afford a Final Cut Pro system.

We had prospective interns lined up at the door. They were falling all over themselves to get quality time on an Avid. A few of those we selected worked full-time hours, without pay, as long as we provided a fair amount of that time for them to spend on the systems and that we, my partner and I, also spent some of our time training them, mentoring them, and sharing what we knew. (Training, sharing knowledge, and mentoring should always be part of the deal… if it ain’t go intern elsewhere.)

Without exception, each of those interns went on to land great jobs in the motion picture industry– First, as paid Assistant Editors and, later, as Editors.

Each of them credit their internships as being one of the most important avenues to their chosen careers.

---

Patrick Yen Reply:
January 24th, 2009 at 9:20 pm

@jimmyD,

You said:

“Without exception, each of those interns went on to land great jobs in the motion picture industry– First, as paid Assistant Editors and, later, as Editors.

Each of them credit their internships as being one of the most important avenues to their chosen careers.”

Would you be willing to provide me with their names? I would like to contact each and every one of them to verify your claim that each and every one of them landed great jobs without exception and that each credit their unpaid internships as being one of the most important avenues in their careers.

It seems more logical to me, that while they may cite their internships as significant educational experiences, many of them were probably pretty upset about working for free, and many probably felt taken advantage of.

While I’d like to believe you, jimmyD with no last name or website to link to - or with your specific company listed, I think you’re exaggerating and/or blowing smoke up my ass.

I myself learned on a Media100 system during high school before Final Cut got big, but not because I worked as an unpaid intern somewhere - rather because I had a job that paid actual money and afforded me similar opportunities.

Memo: Pro Journalism Ethics Are Changing Completely

2009-01-17T04:08:00.002-05:00

From "Journalism ethics 2.0: As the Internet changes the market, some conventions must change as well"
by Robert Niles, from the Knight Digital Media Center OJR (posted: 2009-01-16)..

"The old rule: You can't cover something in which you are personally involved.
The new rule: Tell your readers how you are involved and how that's shaped your reporting."

"The old rule: You must present all sides of a story, being fair to each.
The new rule: Report the truth and debunk the lies."

***

Clearly, the world is a better place because of Robert Niles! =)

Jon Stewart on the Gaza Conflict

2009-01-14T08:05:00.002-05:00

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Strip Maul

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Mayor Bloomberg: If you're in your apartment and some emotionally disturbed person is banging on the door screaming, "I'm gonna come through this door and kill you," do you want us to respond with one police officer, which is proportional, or with all the resources at our command?

Jon Stewart: I guess it depends if I force that guy to live in my hallway,
and make him go through checkpoints every time he needs to take a shit.

Excerpt from "Countries that will miss George Bush" BBC Article

2009-01-13T18:42:00.001-05:00

"It is generally accepted in the US that Bush has generated hatred for America around the world," says Peter Berkowitz, a fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution.

"But the picture is not black and white," he added.

In the last days of his administration, Mr Bush again demonstrated his unwavering support for Israel as it pounded Gaza.

Analysts in the US observed that Israel may have deliberately timed the military offensive so that it took place before Mr Bush's departure.

Israel knew it could count on the current president to support its actions, but felt less certain about how an Obama administration would react.

US ties with Israel have always been strong, but some believe the relationship was even stronger under Mr Bush and that - depending on how Mr Obama handles the Middle East - the outgoing president may be appreciated even more in Israel once he has left the White House.

"Israel is probably the only place on earth where Bush can still get a standing ovation," says Mr Berkowitz, who was in Israel at the time of Mr Bush's visit in May for the 60th anniversary of Israel's creation, when he got several standing ovations.

Fighting Fire With Fire

2009-01-10T05:58:00.000-05:00

You can only fight fire with fire for so long
before you end up burning down the whole fucking world.

Is What the Meaning of Life?

2009-01-10T03:13:00.004-05:00

What is the "Meaning of Life," and
what is the role of government?

Is the 'Meaning of Life' to make others happy;
of governments to spread joy?

If this is true, then what is to be said
of those who perpetuate misery?

Are their lives without meaning?

What Obama's Upcoming Inauguration Means To Me

2009-01-08T23:23:00.001-05:00

To me this inauguration means the very rebirth of America,
like a phoenix rising from the ashes - reborn and renewed.

It represents the triumph of knowledge over ignorance,
generosity over greed, peace over war, love over hate.

I feel it demonstrates the power of America - and indeed of humanity
to learn from our mistakes, and to transcend our limitations by working together.

It demonstrates the ability of individuals from diverse backgrounds - who do not always agree
to be able to work together for the greater good, and for a better tomorrow.

It represents the fulfillment of Martin Luther King's dream
as well as the dreams of those who have fought for peace and justice - all throughout the world.

It could even be said to represent the transformation of our very consciousness;
a giant leap for mankind.

As a "mixed" American myself
who is from a multicultural background
and has always had more of a "global" perspective,
the inauguration of Barack Obama carries even stronger meaning for me..

That those who are mixed are no longer marginalized for their multiculturalism,
but that heterogeneous societies can work, and that democracy can function.

Why America Needs To Rebuild Palestine

2009-01-06T12:59:00.002-05:00

After WWII, America helped rebuild Germany's and Japan's economies.

Germany and Japan, as a result, are now two of America's greatest allies
and enjoy two of the strongest economies in the world.

The reason we rebuilt Germany and Japan
was because of the lessons learned from WWI and the American Civil War.

You see, during the Civil War, the North waged total war on the South.
Civilians were killed, towns were burned down, railroads destroyed, economy shattered.

The North never rebuilt the South's economy, and as a subsequent result,
Southerners started scapegoating blacks and other minorities for their hardships.

After WWI, we didn't rebuild Germany's economy, and as a subsequent result,
people started scapegoating Jews and other minorities for their hardships.

By the end of WWII, social scientists were smart enough to realize
that rebuilding Germany's and Japan's economies was essential
to prevent these long-term problems from manifesting.

Now, I ask you, who has rebuilt Palestine?

What long-term pattern do you see emerging if nobody rebuilds Palestine,
based solely upon the lessons of history - lessons that are not disputed?

I doubt Israel will do anything to rebuild Palestine.

Who funds Israel's military operations? America. American tax dollars.
Which means that the responsibility to rebuild Palestine falls upon America.

This is our mess, we made it, and now we have to clean it up.

We need to provide Palestine with US military protection, from Israel - but only in exchange for the demilitarization of Hamas.
When Germany and Japan were rebuilt after WWII, they were not allowed to have offensive militaries,
though they were allowed to have defensive militaries.

We need to rebuild Palestine's infrastructure - modernize sanitation, sewage, and electrical systems, et cetera.

We need to provide Palestinians with full-ride scholarships to study at Universities all across America
in much the same way that Native Americans are entitled to a free college education in America.

We also need to provide free medical care for Palestinians, at least for the short term,
as well as provide top-notch psychiatric help - especially for the children.

We must also provide many of the children in particular with hearing aids
as well as provide other necessary prosthesis to those who have been injured through conflict.

The right thing to do is to grant Palestinians with political refugee status
so that they may come live in America if they so choose, as well as provide them with free government housing if necessary.

FakeMustaches.org Redux

2009-01-06T00:42:00.004-05:00

So I've relaunched FakeMustaches.org
as a randomized moustache diptych picture generator.

Clicking on either of the two images
will randomly reload two different images from a pool of about 788 images.

I calculate that there are about 620,944 possible diptych combinations.

An archived version of the original FakeMustaches.org minisite
may be viewed here.

Moreover, the original "Web Publishing Final Report" from early May 2006
that I wrote for my "Web Publishing" class at WKU
may be viewed here.

Thanks.

Hey, is it just me..

2009-01-02T00:15:00.001-05:00

..or are socialists smarter than assholes?

President Dance Machine Needs Your Help!

2008-12-28T21:08:00.002-05:00

The following is a message from President Dance Machine..

***

Warring factions spend too much time fighting with words and fists,
instead of cooperating with their hips.

I would like to call upon our brave military servicemen and women to withdraw from all current conflict zones
and instead come home to provide community service in the form of dance brigades all throughout this great nation.

I call upon the National Guard to distribute much needed dance music, shoes, and other necessary supplies
to critical areas where there is a dance deficit, so as to get the party started.

See, the socially and emotionally destructive effects of alienation
have led us to an all time high of non-dancification.

And sadly, far too many white people in particular have lost touch with their inner African,
and haven’t enjoyed adequate opportunity to practice steppin’ to that drumbeat.

We need to require schools to start teaching compulsory dance classes,
so that no child is ever left behind on the dance floor.

While there will surely remain inequality throughout the dance ability spectrum,
we should at least do our part to provide equality of dance learnin’ opportunity
so as to help bridge the rhythm gap that exists between those with and without soul.

We need to invest more money in stem cell research and medical technology
so that those who have lost their ability to dance might someday dance again.

Times are hard right now, I know.

You may not have enough money to send your children to college, or even feed them,
but at least you can dance for free!

And fellas, you don’t need money to win your woman’s love..
Can’t afford that diamond ring? No problem. Just learn how to dance!

The way to many a woman’s heart is actually through the dance floor!

Dancing produces endorphins, makes you happier, burns calories, attracts others.
Think about all that flab you’ll burn and all that money you’ll save by dancing instead of doing drugs!

As Mark Twain once said,
“Sing like no one’s listening, love like you’ve never been hurt,
dance like nobody’s watching, live like it’s heaven on earth.”

So get out there and dance like a winner before your hips give out!
Life’s too short to be uptight, insecure, or prude.

Get out there and be somebody, if only on the dance floor!

And hey, if the world’s gonna fall apart
then we might as well dance!

Yours in Dance,
President Dance Machine

Mixed Media/Multimedia, Compositional Literacy

2008-12-27T11:12:00.000-05:00

Patrick Yen Says:
December 26th, 2008 at 6:54 pm

Here’s my take..

The elements of composition, in my opinion,
are surprisingly universal through various media.

Placement, balance, subtraction, highlighting, etc.

Traditionally people have been educated to learn the elements of composition as they apply to one specific medium - just writing or just painting for example.

Before teaching specialization in one medium, I would like to see more educators provide a more generalized, holistic approach as to how the elements of composition are relevant throughout various media.

Good music tells a story, good writing tells a story,
good paintings tell a story, et cetera.

They accomplish this by evoking mood and feeling,
eliciting a response from the viewer.

Whether you’re composing with words, or photos, or paint,
or sounds - is ultimately irrelevant in my opinion.

It’s not how you communicate,
but what you communicate that ultimately matters.

Certain media have their own advantages and disadvantages. A classical composition by Beethoven is virtually universal to a global audience, without needing to be translated like words. Conflict photography that connects to viewers through universal themes of human struggle doesn’t necessarily need to be translated into different languages in much the same way that words need to be - to be understood.

Revolution & Revolutionary Defined

2008-12-19T14:20:00.000-05:00

According to the Mac OS X Tiger Oxford American Dictionaries..

***

Dictionary
revolution |ˌrevəˈloō sh ən|

noun
1) a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system.

• (the Revolution) the American Revolution.
• (often the Revolution) (in Marxism) the class struggle that is expected to lead to political change and the triumph of communism.
• a dramatic and wide-reaching change in the way something works or is organized or in people's ideas about it : "marketing underwent a revolution."

2) an instance of revolving : "one revolution a second."

• motion in orbit or a circular course or around an axis or center.
• the single completion of an orbit or rotation.

DERIVATIVES
revolutionism |-ˌnizəm| noun
revolutionist |-nist| noun

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French, or from late Latin revolutio(n-), from revolvere ‘roll back’ (see revolve).

Thesaurus
revolution

noun
1) "the French aristocracy was ill-prepared to quell a revolution"
rebellion, revolt, insurrection, mutiny, uprising, riot, rioting, insurgence, seizure of power, coup (d'état).

2) "a revolution in printing techniques"
dramatic change, radical alteration, sea change, metamorphosis, transformation, innovation, reorganization, restructuring;
informal shake-up, shakedown.

3) "one revolution of a wheel"
turn, single turn, rotation, circle, spin;
circuit, lap.

4) "the revolution of the earth"
turning, rotation, circling;
orbit.

***

Dictionary
revolutionary |ˌrevəˈloō sh əˌnerē|

adjective
engaged in or promoting political revolution : "the revolutionary army."

• (Revolutionary) of or relating to the American Revolution.
• involving or causing a complete or dramatic change : "a revolutionary new drug."

noun (pl. -aries)
a person who works for or engages in political revolution.

Thesaurus
revolutionary

adjective
1) "revolutionary troops"
rebellious, rebel, insurgent, rioting, mutinous, renegade, insurrectionary, insurrectionist, seditious, subversive, extremist.

2) "revolutionary change"
thoroughgoing, thorough, complete, total, absolute, utter, comprehensive, sweeping, far-reaching, extensive, profound.

3) "a revolutionary kind of wheelchair"
new, novel, original, unusual, unconventional, unorthodox, newfangled, innovative, modern, state-of-the-art, cutting-edge, futuristic, pioneering.

noun
"political revolutionaries"
rebel, insurgent, revolutionist, mutineer, insurrectionist, agitator, subversive.

Revolutionary Quotes

2008-12-19T13:41:00.002-05:00

"Every generation needs a new revolution.”
-Thomas Jefferson

"Revolution is not a dinner party, nor an essay, nor a painting, nor a piece of embroidery;
it cannot be advanced softly, gradually, carefully, considerately, respectfully, politely, plainly, and modestly.
A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.”
-Mao Zedong

"A revolution is an act of violence whereby one class shatters the authority of another."
-James MacGregor Burns

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.”
-John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.”
-Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara

“Every revolution was first a thought in one man's mind.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A great revolution in just one single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a society
and, further, will enable a change in the destiny of humankind.”
-Daisaku Ikeda

“Revolution is a serious thing, the most serious thing about a revolutionary's life.
When one commits oneself to the struggle, it must be for a lifetime.”
-Angela Davis

“Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade.
It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit.”
-Abbie Hoffman

“Revolution is the festival of the oppressed.”
-Germaine Greer

“In art, all who have done something other than their predecessors have merited the epithet of revolutionary;
and it is they alone who are masters.”
-Paul Gauguin

“The Internet revolution is going to be like all the other revolutions we have seen in history.
It's going to be over before a lot of us even know it started.”
-Adolfo Suarez

“In America, the land of the permanent revolution, ulcers and cancer often become, for the men at the top,
the contemporary equivalent of the guillotine.”
-Ted Morgan

“No real social change has ever been brought about without a revolution - Revolution is but thought carried into action.”
-Emma Goldman

“When you invite people to think, you are inviting revolution.”
-Ivana Gabara

“A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past.”
-Fidel Castro

“We have two American flags always: one for the rich and one for the poor.
When the rich fly it means that things are under control; when the poor fly it means danger, revolution, anarchy.”
-Henry Miller

“Revolution, in order to be creative,
cannot do without either a moral or metaphysical rule to balance the insanity of history.”
-Albert Camus

"The young are generally full of revolt, and are often pretty revolting about it."
-Francois la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
It is its natural manure."
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to W.S. Smith, Nov. 13, 1787

"Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God."
-John Bradshaw, inscription on his tombstone

"A little rebellion now and then is a good thing and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical."
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, Jan. 30, 1787

"You should never put your best trousers on when you go out to fight for freedom and truth."
-Henrik Ibsen

"...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men,
for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."
-T.E. Lawrence

"Tap the energy of the anarchist and he will be the one to push your company ahead."
-Anita Roddick

"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world."
-Robin Williams

"Never listen to a revolutionary, the bastards are always trying to change things."
-Patrick Yen

The Arrogant Madness of Revolution

2008-12-13T06:40:00.000-05:00

"How dare he try to change our beloved craft, even if it is in the shitter!"

"I know, you'd have to be arrogant to try to change somebody's craft! Nobody does that.
Revolutionize journalism? Pah-lease. Gimme a break."

"And how dare he call us out on our bullshit, we're the ones in charge!"

"I know, you'd have to be crazy to speak truth to power! Everybody knows that.
Democratize communication? Pah-lease. Gimme a break."

The Elephant in the Room

2008-12-12T17:12:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time, there was an elephant in a room full of journalists.
These journalists were very stubborn, arrogant, and some were extremely elitist.

This elephant was a poor elephant
but had a knack for making accurate predictions about what was going to happen.

Often times, this elephant would try in vain to warn these journalists in the room - to help them.

And, occasionally, this elephant would even appear to be completely wrong at first
but would actually end up being completely correct - after a couple of months or years had passed.

Some of the journalists in power would actually make it a point to punish this elephant
for daring to speak the truth to them - in anyway they could.

And sometimes they would even steal his ideas while presenting them as their own.

Most of the other journalists would simply ignore this elephant altogether,
as if he wasn't there or simply didn't exist.

A few of the younger interns in this room, however, were quietly listening
and would secretly give this elephant a little food money so he wouldn't starve to death.

Finally the elephant decided to give up on trying to help these journalists anymore.
The room they were in was on fire, and was sure to burn down to the ground.

Before the elephant left the room with some of the younger interns
he tried once more to reason with the journalists to save their lives.

"You're all going to die unless you take my advice now," the elephant remarked,
"This room wouldn't have even caught fire if you had simply listened to my advice in the first place."

"Fuck you," replied one of the older journalists in charge
before promptly crossing his arms and turning around to face the opposite direction.

The elephant left the room as it burned with all it's occupants to the ground.

"Oh well," thought the elephant as he walked to the bar with the young interns, "At least I tried my best."

The elephant may not have had the journalists' respect or even enough money to pay his bills
but at least he had his life, his youth, and enough pocket change to buy a beer.

How To Save The New York Times

2008-12-08T23:16:00.000-05:00

Tear down all walls between information and education.

Combine information with instruction;
produce knowledge, information, and wisdom - together as one.

-I. Become An Online University-

Imagine if the New York Times became an online university..

By diversifying as a pubic university that is research-oriented,
the New York Times becomes eligible for substantial government funding..

NY Times employees who are qualified to teach academic courses, as well as give lectures or seminars,
start making interactive presentations of these lectures and seminars available to all who are online - for a fee..

(Look to Lynda.com for a subscription/payment model..)

The New York Times continues producing news while producing educational material,
and revenue generated from the educational material helps fund the production of news..

While most people may not be willing to pay to read a Stanley Fish editorial (if they can read it online for free),
some people might be willing to pay to view a Stanley Fish lecture on Law - something that may cost a lot of money at a university..

-II. Business Payment Model-

Imagine four levels of educational payment and participation..

1) A small limited-size class for each available lecture/seminar costs the most for participants
who want to learn and participate on-location - as well as receive college credit..

2) A moderately larger-size audience pays less to stream live lectures and seminars from remote locations,
with certain abilities to ask questions and participate in real-time - via VOIP video-chat conferencing..

3) A substantially greater audience pays a much lower rate to stream videos of prerecorded lectures and seminars,
without the ability to actively participate or ask questions in real-time during these lectures and seminars - and without course credit..

4) The largest audience continues to receive free ad-supported access to all of the NY Times news articles..

-III. Division of Labor-

Imagine that some employees just teach, some employees just produce,
and some employees do both..

NY Times employees have free access to each other's educational materials
and gradually become even more knowledgeable and educated over time
by sharing in the fruits of each others' labor..

The NY Times staff is given free daily access to quality multimedia literacy training
that is constantly available on-location and on rotation at the NY Times..

NY Times staff members who voluntarily participate in this free interactive/multimedia literacy training
gradually increase their skill-set over time, as well as their value to the NY Times Company..

When producing informational or educational material for multiple platforms (web, print, radio, or television)
NY Times staff are paired into groups of about five people consisting of a writer, photographer,
multimedia producer, interactive designer, and voiceover/anchor person..

-IV. Scholarships-

Imagine that some of the best academics, journalists, and journalism students, from all around the world,
are given special scholarships to study at the NY Times..

NY Times instructors and editors give these scholars assignments for their journalism "courses"
and these students produce content for potential publication on the NY Times website..

Imagine that inexpensive and modest dormitory-type housing (and food)
is made freely available to these scholars on-location at the NY Times,
so they may eat, sleep, learn, and work - all at the same place..

Decreasing costs, decreasing commute times, maximizing efficiency..

Through this process the NY Times increases their base of specialized freelance journalists and instructors over time,
individuals who have received some of the best and most prestigious training available from the NY Times themselves..

-V. Operational Mobility-

Imagine that the NY Times also generates additional revenue by contracting NY Times instructors
to travel and give special and exclusive lectures, seminars, or workshops - to schools and universities from all around the world..

NY Times instructional staff conduct special lectures or seminars while at remote locations (perhaps while on assignment)
using specially designed and easily portable "Mobile Multimedia Multiversity" equipment..

-VI. Restructuring & Reorganization-

Imagine that individuals such as myself were paid exclusively in NY Times stock (rather than money)
to come in and restructure the NY Times into a Multiplatform Multimedia Multiversity..

That way, it would substantially pay for these agents of change (such as myself)
to successfully transform the NY Times back into a profitable organization,
because the NY Times stock would rise in value - creating an incentive for success..

Whereas the stock would lose value if these change agents were unsuccessful,
creating an effective deterrent for failure..

-VII. Appendix & Further Reading-

A) Multimedia Multiversity

The following is a rejected Knight News Challenge proposal I drafted from November 2007
outlining my concept for a newsroom or classroom model for the future..

  I would like to invent a new kind of classroom (or newsroom) for all kinds of media professionals.  

I would like to invent a Multimedia Multiversity (or newsroom) in which there is a classroom that is circular and all the seats are arranged in a circle. In front of every seat, there exists a computer touch-screen for all the students or media professionals who are interacting in this environment.  

There are two monitors in front of every subject, one connected to the Internet that the subject controls, and one monitor that shows whatever is on the teacher’s (or moderator’s) interactive computer screen.  

The teacher (or editor or moderator) has a control switchboard which allows them to temporarily transfer control of the non-interactive monitors to project the interactive monitor of whomever is speaking or “has the floor” during a discussion, lecture, or debate.

  In addition, there is a circular dry-erase board (which spans all around the classroom) behind the seats, in which students, teachers, professionals, (or politicians alike), can get up and draw or write notes behind them. Due to the circular nature of this room, anybody in this environment can see each other's notes with relative ease and transparency.

  This model would use a dialectic, Socratic seminar approach. The room itself would be structured in the form of a panopticon.

All debates could be recorded with a camera in the middle of the room and the recorded videos could be made available freely (or for a fee) online as an educational resource to anybody in the world who wants to watch them.  

Ideally, these seminar rooms would be constructed to seat no more than 18-24 people, seeing as how smaller class sizes are more conducive to Socratic debate, analysis, and dialectic.  

Moreover, each seat would have the ability to project a video image of somebody in another location who is participating in the discussion but is unable to be there physically in person due to geographical constraints. These participants could even be reporting from “on the scene” at a news event.

  I think this classroom model makes sense because universities and newsrooms can’t keep up with the progress being made in multimedia journalism and communications.  

This model could accelerate and enrich the learning process with media as well as democratize the teaching process, since more and more college students (or subordinates in newsrooms) are surpassing their professors technically speaking in the fields of multimedia journalism and communications.

  It is an environment that could prove very conducive to the formation, maximization, and application of raw creative mental energy.

  It’s purposes could be equally useful for government officials, education, journalism, politics, advertising, public relations, or even courtrooms.

  (Edited) Imagine a scenario in which the active participants in this experimental classroom were graduates from various fields of communication from all around the world.  

There is no telling how valuable the research and knowledge attained from this project could be for the journalism industry and society as a whole.  

This is something that could change the world by changing the way we think, learn, work, and communicate. By accelerating communication with this environment structure, we could very well accelerate our capacity as a species to solve a great deal of the world’s problems.  

B) Newsopticon - Knight News Challenge Proposal

The following is a rejected Knight News Challenge proposal I drafted from November 2008
which adds to the previous Multimedia Multiversity excerpt.. 

Describe your project:  

Newsopticon is a multifaceted project which aims to accomplish numerous goals. It will primarily serve as a think tank and as an educational resource.  

In addition to providing premium content for content publishers that can be syndicated for free on any website, 
Newsopticon will also provide journalists in particular with free multimedia training as well as essential entrepreneurial business training.

  I will assemble a cutting-edge interactive multimedia studio based on my Multimedia Multiversity concept for a newsroom/classroom of the future.  

There will be five computer consoles arranged in a circle (turned inward) and room for one moderator as well as four other participants. There will be a 360 degree video camera placed in the center of this studio, which will videotape each participant as they speak.  

Each of these five participants will have their own computer in front of them with high-speed internet access.

At each computer console, there will be two computer monitors, one monitor hooked up to the computer that the individual participant controls, and another monitor which broadcasts whatever is on the computer of the participant who has the floor during the discussion.  

Thus, during debates, the moderator will use a switch board to direct the non-interactive monitors to broadcast the interactive monitor of whomever has the floor during the debate. As a participant is speaking, they will be able to show the other participants interactive/audiovisual material and resources from the internet that will enrich the discussion.

  A socratic seminar of the 21st century.  

In addition to filming these discussions, a screencast recording will simultaneously capture whatever is being broadcast on the non-interactive monitors. Once published to the internet, the screencast would be displayed next to the 360 degree video of the participants speaking, resulting in a high-tech form of show-and-tell as you see what the speaker is talking about while they are speaking.  

This multimedia studio, consisting of 5 computers, 10 monitors, and 1 camera, will be fully portable and mobile. Though there would be a specific studio location for this multimedia studio, it would be tremendously easy to move this studio around to various other universities, newsrooms, or conference rooms to setup shop in various locations.  

Participants who can't make it to the studio in person would also be able to participate remotely via video chat.  

I would arrange and schedule interviews, debates, discussions, and seminars with some of the world's leading journalists, entrepreneurs, economists, professors, philosophers, politicians, artists, writers, futurists, et cetera.

  Newsopticon would cover many topics. While the focus would certainly be on providing free open-source multimedia and business training for journalists all around the world, Newsopticon would also simultaneously produce free syndicatable content relating to multiple fields of interest.  

Content publishers from all around the world would be able to embed Newsopticon videos into their websites for free, allowing them to even generate advertising revenue off of Newsopticon material without having to pay royalties or subscription fees (unlike the AP model, for example). Each video would be fully transcribed for the hearing-impaired, and I would program a translation engine into the Newsopticon website's functionality which would dynamically translate these transcriptions into various languages of the viewer's choice - effectively bridging a great deal of linguistic barriers and making the content more accessible to a global audience.

  Moreover, I would program functionality into this content that would also allow people to embed just a small segment of these videos into their websites instead of the entire video. That way, if a publisher just wants to highlight a soundbyte or a couple-minute portion of an hour-long video, they could do so with relative ease (similar to how Google Books allows users to link to specific pages of digitized books), instead of having to embed the entire video.

  I would primarily serve as coordinator, producer, and publisher of Newsopticon. While I would plan to moderate certain discussions, I would invite many others to guest moderate these panels. Other people would even have the opportunity to book the studio space and schedule their own panels during times that the studio is not in use.  

While I would plan to base the studio out of New York City, I would also plan to setup these discussions at universities and newsrooms all across the world via the "Multimedia Multiversity" mobile unit. New York City seems to make the most sense to base the studio out of since it is a publishing epicenter, with one of the largest pools of potential qualified participants.

  How will your project improve the way news and information are delivered to geographic communities?  :

1. It would provide free multimedia literacy training, as well as essential entrepreneurial training to journalists and others all around the world.  

2. It would provide free, open-source information to content publishers all around the world, covering a plethora of relevant topics.

  3. The dynamically translatable transcriptions will make the content more accessible to people of non-English speaking origin.

4. It will allow people to embed or link to portions of Newsopticon content.  

5. Downloadable & embeddable videos will make the content accessible for broadcast, radio, and web outlets who may wish to syndicate the videos.

  6. Transcriptions of each video available on the site will make the content accessible for print, web, broadcast, and radio outlets who may wish to syndicate the videos.

How is your idea innovative (new or different from what already exists)?:  

The model for both the production and publishing of Newsopticon is considerably different than any existing talk show format. Geared for the internet, the simultaneous presentation of the speakers presenting (in 360 degree view) on one side of the screen, along with the exposition of any interactive/audiovisual material they may be citing on the other side of the screen, is original and unlike any existing talk show or radio show format. Moreover, Newsopticon will be produced and published in such a way that it's content can be easily syndicated for print, web, television, or radio outlets - making it's delivery multiplatform as well as multimedia.

Robert Niles on Creative Insubordination

2008-12-01T21:05:00.000-05:00

"Successful entrepreneurs bring something new to the market, whether it be a new product, new approach or simply a new promotion. They challenge existing market options. They are, therefore, by definition, not "team players," but team challengers, destabilizers or ever destroyers.

But when technology upsets monopolies or oligopolies, as the Web did with local information markets, those established businesses need a healthy does of creative insubordination, to help them learn how to compete.

Unfortunately, most successful institutions became successful because they evolved to employ and promote individuals who did things the corporate way. Market changes, unfortunately for them, is Darwin's revenge. The workplace natural selection process that made great corporate employees leaves the organization unlikely to accommodate, much less promote, the very people the organization will need to adapt to the change, and survive."

Help Patrick Yen Help You

2008-12-01T17:13:00.000-05:00

The following is a message from Patrick Yen..

***

I am currently looking to acquire a Canon 5D Mark II digital SLR
as well as a new 2.53GHz 15-inch MacBook Pro w/AppleCare Protection Plan.

At the time of this writing, the Canon 5D Mark II camera body is $2,699.95 before taxes,
and the MacBook Pro w/AppleCare is $2,848.00 before taxes.

In exchange, I can provide a multitude of creative services to a person, group, or organization
who is willing to purchase this equipment for me.

I am willing to provide two weeks of my time in exchange for the Canon 5D Mark II
or four weeks of my time in exchange for both the Canon 5D Mark II and the MacBook Pro w/Applecare.

For each week of my time
I can provide up to six, 12-hour days of creative services.

Therefore, two weeks would be comprised of up to twelve 12-hour days of work,
and four weeks would be comprised of up to twenty-four 12-hour days of work.

My standard day-rate for creative services is $1000 per day,
so twelve days over two weeks of my time would normally be priced at about $12,000
and twenty-four days over four weeks of my time would normally be priced at $24,000.

This is a rare opportunity for an interested person, group, or organization
to receive my creative services at a substantially lower cost than is typical.

***

-Why I Am Doing This-

While I have been very fortunate to be able to obtain all of the equipment I have been using over the years,
my equipment is relatively old and not up to current professional standards for my line of creative work.

My MacBook is not powerful enough to process high-definition video in a timely manner
and I do not own a high-definition video camera, which impedes my ability to get more freelance work.

In addition, the market for freelance creative services has been tremendously impacted
by the current economic recession, resulting in a substantial decrease in the amount
of freelance creative work available around my area of residence.

Moreover, I would like to be able to work with the Canon 5D Mark II in particular
because I feel the revolutionary nature of this camera represents, substantiates,
strengthens, and inspires - my personal artistic vision in numerous ways.

***

-What I Can Do For You-

I own licensed copies of Final Cut Pro Studio 5.1 as well as Adobe CS3 Web Design Premium,
which includes Photoshop CS3 extended, Flash CS3, Dreamweaver CS3, and Illustrator CS3,
all of which I am proficient with.

Primarily, I can help you produce interactive multimedia projects,
as well as help produce other media across multiple platforms.

I can edit videos for you,
build you an interactive website to showcase your work,
shoot (or assist you in shooting) still photography & video,
train you on how to use certain computer programs,
write articles or scripts for you,
interview subjects for you,
gather or edit audio for you,
help you storyboard or brainstorm,
record voiceovers,
conduct focus groups,
animate motion graphics,
design interactive or printed media,
help you to manage or direct production teams,
provide you with research & development services,
or even speak or act on camera for you if your project requires.

The list goes on and on.

For a better idea of what kinds of services I can provide you with,
various multimedia journalism & interactive design examples that I have produced may be viewed here:
lightstalkers.org/links-to-some-of-my-work-interactive-multimedia-journalism-and-design-examples

Moreover, my resume and contact info may be viewed here:
patrickyen.com/resume.html

***

-Ideal Candidates-

Ideal candidates include, but are not limited to:
independent artists,
photographers,
newsrooms,
universities,
workshops,
filmmakers,
producers,
museums,
designers,
creatives,
et cetera.

My personal knowledge and expertise would probably be best allocated for larger media organizations
such as the New York Times, The Associated Press, NPR, CNN, or any other media organizations
looking for workplace-related training, research & development, problem-solving, restructuring,
or crisis-management.

I could also provide quality testing and research for numerous camera companies (such as Canon),
as well as provide creative advertising and marketing solutions for these companies.

***

-General Terms-

If interested, you must cover all related sales tax and shipping costs associated with purchasing this equipment.
Moreover, I want to receive the equipment before providing you with my creative services.

Thus, my creative services will act as payment for the equipment,
instead of the equipment acting as payment for my creative services.

You must cover the cost of all round-trip tickets
if you wish for me to travel anywhere
to work with you on-location.

As for housing accommodations, my requirements are very minimal.

I am used to sleeping on a hardwood floor for my posture,
so all I would need would be a heated place for me to sleep in my sleeping bag.

Also, access to a shower and toiletry would be ideal.

While not a requirement, preference will be given to those who can provide me
with access to a gym where I can work-out for a few hours each day.

Preference will also be given to those who can provide me with high-speed internet access
if I am required to work anywhere on-location.

Finally, I would prefer to have Sundays off, but I will work with you around your schedule.

***

Hire Patrick Yen on the cheap for a limited time only!

Guess the Stache- Democrat or Porn Star?

2008-11-27T12:16:00.002-05:00

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

"Rep. Henry Waxman is the new chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which means the mustache is back and for once, it's not in a porn movie. Can you tell a Democratic mustache from a porn star moustache? If you guess wrong more than twice, chances are that, within the year, you'll be watching C-SPAN with your pants off."

(Happy Thanksgiving!)

Poll: Should Magnum & VII Photographers Pay Their Interns in Exchange for Skilled-Labor?

2008-11-26T14:09:00.000-05:00

Unpaid Internships (or How to Spot an Apologist for Slavery)

2008-11-26T08:49:00.000-05:00

apologist |əˈpäləjist|
noun

a person who offers an argument in defense of something controversial : an enthusiastic apologist for fascism in the 1920s.

ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from French apologiste, from Greek apologizesthai ‘give an account’ (see apologize ).

Thesaurus
apologist
noun

one of Eisenhower’s better-known apologists defender, supporter, upholder, advocate, proponent, exponent, propagandist, champion, campaigner; informal cheerleader.

antonym critic.

***

slave labor
noun

labor that is coerced and inadequately rewarded, or the people who perform such labor :
most of production is carried out by slave labor | they treat us like slave labor.

***

From What Was Life Like Under Slavery?:

“Prior to the Civil War, abolitionists charged that slaves were overworked, poorly clad, inadequately housed, and cruelly punished; that slavery was a highly profitable investment; and that far from being content, slaves longed for freedom. Apologists for slavery, in turn, accused abolitionists of exaggerating slavery’s evils, asserting that slaves were rarely whipped, that marriages were seldom broken by sale, and that most slaves were able to maintain stable family lives. They maintained that paternalism and public opinion protected slaves from cruelty; that slave insurrections were rare because most slaves were contented with bondage; that slavery was an economic burden that planters bore out of a sense of responsibility; and that slaves enjoyed a higher standard of living, a better diet, superior housing, and a greater life expectancy than many free urban workers in the North and in Europe.”

***

From More on Slavery Apologists:

“Even after slavery ended, it was replaced by its surrogate sharecropping. This was followed by White racist violence, rapid disfranchisement of Black men, and the establishment of Jim Crow segregation. Let’s not pretend this didn’t happen. While a select few Whites did engage in the abolitionist movement, the majority of Whites sat idly by or actively participated in slavery, and nobody should be grateful for that.”

***

I suppose slaves were actually treated better than unpaid interns
because they were actually given food and a place to sleep..?

***

Gonzo Journalism Defined

2008-11-17T14:55:00.000-05:00

"..Gonzo Journalism. It is a style of “reporting” based on William Faulkner’s idea that the best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism – and the best journalists have always known this.

Which is not to say that Fiction is necessarily “more true” than Journalism – or vice versa – but that both “fiction” and “journalism” are artificial categories; and that both forms, at their best, are only two different means to the same end. This is getting pretty heavy . . . so I should cut back and explain, at this point, the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a failed experiment in Gonzo Journalism. My idea was to buy a fat notebook and record the whole thing, as it happened, then send in the notebook for publication – without editing. That way, I felt, the eye & mind of the journalist would be functioning as a camera. The writing would be selective & necessarily interpretive – but once the image was written, the words would be final; in the same way that a Cartier-Bresson photograph is always (he says) the full-frame negative. No alterations in the dark-room, no cutting or cropping, no spotting . . . no editing.

But this is a hard thing to do, and in the end I found myself imposing an essentially fictional framework on what began as a piece of straight/crazy journalism. True Gonzo reporting needs the talents of a master journalist, the eye of an artist/photographer and the heavy balls of an actor. Because the writer must be a participant in the scene, while he’s writing it – or at least taping it, or even sketching it. Or all three. Probably the closest analogy to the ideal would be a film director/producer who writes his own scripts, does his own camera work and somehow manages to film himself in action, as the protagonist or at least a minor character.

The American print media are not ready for this kind of thing, yet. Rolling Stone was probably the only magazine in America where I could get the Vegas book published. I sent Sports Illustrated 2500 words - instead of the 250 they asked for - and my manuscript was aggressively rejected. They refused to even pay my minimum expenses . . ."

ATTRIBUTION:
Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939), U.S. journalist.
The Great Shark Hunt, “Jacket Copy for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” (1979).

View it here on Google Books
or here on the Owl Farm Blog.

***

Also,
watch John Nichols speak about "the failure of gonzo journalism and the triumph of gonzo citizens" here
from the July 2007 Aspen Institute-hosted symposium on the work of Hunter S. Thompson.

A Generation Defined

2008-11-15T13:22:00.000-05:00

From Praising A 'Grown Up' Digital Generation on npr.org..

"Eight characteristics, or norms, describe the typical Net Gener and differentiate them from their boomer parents. They prize freedom and freedom of choice. They want to customize things, make them their own. They're natural collaborators, who enjoy a conversation, not a lecture. They'll scrutinize you and your organization. They insist on integrity. They want to have fun, even at work and at school. Speed is normal. Innovation is part of life."

Liberal vs. Conservative Morality

2008-11-15T12:36:00.002-05:00

Jonathan Haidt: The real difference between liberals and conservatives

"Psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies the five moral values
that form the basis of our political choices,
whether we're left, right or center.

In this eye-opening talk, he pinpoints the moral values
that liberals and conservatives tend to honor most."

Get Your War On: New World Order

2008-11-11T23:38:00.000-05:00

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

This New Global Generation is the Smartest Generation in the History of the World

2008-11-06T16:23:00.000-05:00

'Nuff said?

***

Update..

From Praising A 'Grown Up' Digital Generation on npr.org..

"Eight characteristics, or norms, describe the typical Net Gener and differentiate them from their boomer parents. They prize freedom and freedom of choice. They want to customize things, make them their own. They're natural collaborators, who enjoy a conversation, not a lecture. They'll scrutinize you and your organization. They insist on integrity. They want to have fun, even at work and at school. Speed is normal. Innovation is part of life."

Why Journalism Competitions Are Inherently Flawed

2008-11-02T12:42:00.000-05:00

According to Clay Shirky, groups of people are inherently conservative.

Journalism competitions are arguably flawed
because they are judged by groups.

My experience with most competitions, especially journalism competitions,
is that the most original and innovative work almost never wins.

Mediocrity is king. Mass-market reigns supreme.

When groups of people judge competitions,
they almost always pick the “safe” choices,
the ones that don’t color outside the lines.

The ones that don’t take any risks.

Of course, in the arts, it's always been like this.

Most of the best art and literature throughout history
was years ahead of it's time.

As for journalism competitions in particular, many new media competitions
are judged by journalists with relatively inadequate multimedia experience.

What's the point in paying money to have your work judged by people
who don't even work in the same mediums as you?

Not to sound cynical or anything,
but I rarely waste my time on journalism competitions anymore.

Newsopticon - Knight News Challenge Proposal

2008-11-02T03:32:00.000-05:00

The following is a proposal I wrote for the 2009 Knight News Challenge.

This is the rough draft version I wrote before I had to severely edit it down
to meet the character limits on the Knight News Challenge website.

***

Describe your project:

Newsopticon is a multifaceted project which aims to accomplish numerous goals. It will primarily serve as a think tank and as an educational resource.

In addition to providing premium content for content publishers that can be syndicated for free on any website,
Newsopticon will also provide journalists in particular with free multimedia training as well as essential entrepreneurial business training.

I will assemble a cutting-edge interactive multimedia studio based on my Multimedia Multiversity concept for a newsroom/classroom of the future.

There will be five computer consoles arranged in a circle (turned inward) and room for one moderator as well as four other participants. There will be a 360 degree video camera placed in the center of this studio, which will videotape each participant as they speak.

Each of these five participants will have their own computer in front of them with high-speed internet access.
At each computer console, there will be two computer monitors, one monitor hooked up to the computer that the individual participant controls, and another monitor which broadcasts whatever is on the computer of the participant who has the floor during the discussion.

Thus, during debates, the moderator will use a switch board to direct the non-interactive monitors to broadcast the interactive monitor of whomever has the floor during the debate. As a participant is speaking, they will be able to show the other participants interactive/audiovisual material and resources from the internet that will enrich the discussion.

A socratic seminar of the 21st century.

In addition to filming these discussions, a screencast recording will simultaneously capture whatever is being broadcast on the non-interactive monitors. Once published to the internet, the screencast would be displayed next to the 360 degree video of the participants speaking, resulting in a high-tech form of show-and-tell as you see what the speaker is talking about while they are speaking.

This multimedia studio, consisting of 5 computers, 10 monitors, and 1 camera, will be fully portable and mobile. Though there would be a specific studio location for this multimedia studio, it would be tremendously easy to move this studio around to various other universities, newsrooms, or conference rooms to setup shop in various locations.

Participants who can't make it to the studio in person would also be able to participate remotely via video chat.

I would arrange and schedule interviews, debates, discussions, and seminars with some of the world's leading journalists, entrepreneurs, economists, professors, philosophers, politicians, artists, writers, futurists, et cetera.

Newsopticon would cover many topics. While the focus would certainly be on providing free open-source multimedia and business training for journalists all around the world, Newsopticon would also simultaneously produce free syndicatable content relating to multiple fields of interest.

Content publishers from all around the world would be able to embed Newsopticon videos into their websites for free, allowing them to even generate advertising revenue off of Newsopticon material without having to pay royalties or subscription fees (unlike the AP model, for example). Each video would be fully transcribed for the hearing-impaired, and I would program a translation engine into the Newsopticon website's functionality which would dynamically translate these transcriptions into various languages of the viewer's choice - effectively bridging a great deal of linguistic barriers and making the content more accessible to a global audience.

Moreover, I would program functionality into this content that would also allow people to embed just a small segment of these videos into their websites instead of the entire video. That way, if a publisher just wants to highlight a soundbyte or a couple-minute portion of an hour-long video, they could do so with relative ease (similar to how Google Books allows users to link to specific pages of digitized books), instead of having to embed the entire video.

I would primarily serve as coordinator, producer, and publisher of Newsopticon. While I would plan to moderate certain discussions, I would invite many others to guest moderate these panels. Other people would even have the opportunity to book the studio space and schedule their own panels during times that the studio is not in use.

While I would plan to base the studio out of New York City, I would also plan to setup these discussions at universities and newsrooms all across the world via the "Multimedia Multiversity" mobile unit. New York City seems to make the most sense to base the studio out of since it is a publishing epicenter, with one of the largest pools of potential qualified participants.

***

How will your project improve the way news and information are delivered to geographic communities?

1. It would provide free multimedia literacy training, as well as essential entrepreneurial training to journalists and others all around the world.

2. It would provide free, open-source information to content publishers all around the world, covering a plethora of relevant topics.

3. The dynamically translatable transcriptions will make the content more accessible to people of non-English speaking origin.

4. It will allow people to embed or link to portions of Newsopticon content.

5. Downloadable & embeddable videos will make the content accessible for broadcast, radio, and web outlets who may wish to syndicate the videos.

6. Transcriptions of each video available on the site will make the content accessible for print, web, broadcast, and radio outlets who may wish to syndicate the videos.

***

How is your idea innovative? (new or different from what already exists):

The model for both the production and publishing of Newsopticon is considerably different than any existing talk show format. Geared for the internet, the simultaneous presentation of the speakers presenting (in 360 degree view) on one side of the screen, along with the exposition of any interactive/audiovisual material they may be citing on the other side of the screen, is original and unlike any existing talk show or radio show format. Moreover, Newsopticon will be produced and published in such a way that it's content can be easily syndicated for print, web, television, or radio outlets - making it's delivery multiplatform as well as multimedia.

Global Electoral College

2008-10-13T14:12:00.003-04:00

"Global Electoral College - What if the whole world could vote?"
http://www.economist.com/vote2008/?a=true&cid=169&v=true

Last time I checked this interactive piece from the Economist.com,
the world would elect Obama 4-to-1. 81% to 19% to be exact.

No wonder the Republicans have to steal elections.

(PS: Last time I checked, Facebook will not let people post a link to this Economist article. Creepy.)

Patrick Yen Now A Professional Muse

2008-10-10T16:54:00.000-04:00

Patrick Yen, a mixed-media creative,
has recently opted to become a professional muse.

Hire him to inspire you.

Priced for the recession, his daily muse rate
is currently half of his regular daily-rate
for creative work.

As an interdisciplinary mixed-media creative
who has worked extensively in mass media art & communications,
Patrick Yen is well-equipped to provide professional inspiration for:

artists,
scientists,
writers,
designers,
engineers,
inventors,
actors,
musicians,
creatives,
journalists,
philosophers,
professors,
lawyers,
politicians,
activists,
comedians,
aristocrats,
filmmakers,
futurists,
producers,
marketeers,
advertisers,
businesspeople,
military personnel,
and many, many more!

All! Around! The world!
His services are available to people all around the world!!

Fly him in to inspire you for as long as you want!

For more information on how to contact Patrick Yen, click here.
Write him or call him with any questions for more details on his musing services.

Homer Simpson Tries To Vote Obama -AND- The Hidden Cost of War (3 Trillion)

2008-10-02T21:33:00.002-04:00

Homer Simpson tries to Vote Obama..

The Hidden Cost of War (3 Trillion)..

Might I point out that
you could provide everybody in the world
with a $100-$200 OLPC laptop for less than that sum,
and thus provide everybody in the world with a free education.

Yeah, the establishment is CRUMBLING!

Journalism Degrees, Still Living in the Past

2008-10-01T20:39:00.002-04:00

"Degrees in the Past" by Vin Crosbie..
http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3629344

"What I found were faculties resistant to change and students whose insights and mastery of new media were being eroded by the authoritative resistance to change of so many professors."

***

"But another quarter of the faculty is just as ardently trying to prevent any change. They're obstructionists because they either deny things are changing (for example, one still thinks the Internet is a fad that will disappear) or they've grown too comfortable teaching the same curricula year after year for 20 or more years. They are tenured and so can't be fired, and the doctrine of academic freedom allows them to teach whatever they see fit."

***

Just watch those established ivory towers of academia crumble..
and they are crumbling!

(Link via the venerable Mindy McAdams)

Forecastle Festival Multimedia

2008-09-30T18:45:00.000-04:00

View it with permalinks here.
Or on the Forecastle Festival website.

The first link listed above dynamically creates a specific URL for each of the videos/photos
allowing you to send direct links to specific photos/videos in the presentation.

You can view the presentation in full-screen
by clicking the button on the bottom-right of the photos/videos.

You can toggle between the galleries by clicking the button
on the bottom-left of the photos/videos.

Rolling over the photos/videos often reveals a credit/caption
which you can click to link to a related website, or even the photographer's website.

Einstein's Manifestos

2008-09-26T00:50:00.000-04:00

Einstein wrote two manifestos that I know of..
both still kinda apply today.

Here they are..

I. The Russell-Einstein Manifesto
Issued in London, 9 July 1955

Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein

IN the tragic situation which confronts humanity, we feel that scientists should assemble in conference to appraise the perils that have arisen as a result of the development of weapons of mass destruction, and to discuss a resolution in the spirit of the appended draft.

We are speaking on this occasion, not as members of this or that nation, continent, or creed, but as human beings, members of the species Man, whose continued existence is in doubt. The world is full of conflicts; and, overshadowing all minor conflicts, the titanic struggle between Communism and anti-Communism.

Almost everybody who is politically conscious has strong feelings about one or more of these issues; but we want you, if you can, to set aside such feelings and consider yourselves only as members of a biological species which has had a remarkable history, and whose disappearance none of us can desire.

We shall try to say no single word which should appeal to one group rather than to another. All, equally, are in peril, and, if the peril is understood, there is hope that they may collectively avert it.

We have to learn to think in a new way. We have to learn to ask ourselves, not what steps can be taken to give military victory to whatever group we prefer, for there no longer are such steps; the question we have to ask ourselves is: what steps can be taken to prevent a military contest of which the issue must be disastrous to all parties?

The general public, and even many men in positions of authority, have not realized what would be involved in a war with nuclear bombs. The general public still thinks in terms of the obliteration of cities. It is understood that the new bombs are more powerful than the old, and that, while one A-bomb could obliterate Hiroshima, one H-bomb could obliterate the largest cities, such as London, New York, and Moscow.

No doubt in an H-bomb war great cities would be obliterated. But this is one of the minor disasters that would have to be faced. If everybody in London, New York, and Moscow were exterminated, the world might, in the course of a few centuries, recover from the blow. But we now know, especially since the Bikini test, that nuclear bombs can gradually spread destruction over a very much wider area than had been supposed.

It is stated on very good authority that a bomb can now be manufactured which will be 2,500 times as powerful as that which destroyed Hiroshima. Such a bomb, if exploded near the ground or under water, sends radio-active particles into the upper air. They sink gradually and reach the surface of the earth in the form of a deadly dust or rain. It was this dust which infected the Japanese fishermen and their catch of fish. No one knows how widely such lethal radio-active particles might be diffused, but the best authorities are unanimous in saying that a war with H-bombs might possibly put an end to the human race. It is feared that if many H-bombs are used there will be universal death, sudden only for a minority, but for the majority a slow torture of disease and disintegration.

Many warnings have been uttered by eminent men of science and by authorities in military strategy. None of them will say that the worst results are certain. What they do say is that these results are possible, and no one can be sure that they will not be realized. We have not yet found that the views of experts on this question depend in any degree upon their politics or prejudices. They depend only, so far as our researches have revealed, upon the extent of the particular expert's knowledge. We have found that the men who know most are the most gloomy.

Here, then, is the problem which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war? People will not face this alternative because it is so difficult to abolish war.

The abolition of war will demand distasteful limitations of national sovereignty. But what perhaps impedes understanding of the situation more than anything else is that the term "mankind" feels vague and abstract. People scarcely realize in imagination that the danger is to themselves and their children and their grandchildren, and not only to a dimly apprehended humanity. They can scarcely bring themselves to grasp that they, individually, and those whom they love are in imminent danger of perishing agonizingly. And so they hope that perhaps war may be allowed to continue provided modern weapons are prohibited.

This hope is illusory. Whatever agreements not to use H-bombs had been reached in time of peace, they would no longer be considered binding in time of war, and both sides would set to work to manufacture H-bombs as soon as war broke out, for, if one side manufactured the bombs and the other did not, the side that manufactured them would inevitably be victorious.

Although an agreement to renounce nuclear weapons as part of a general reduction of armaments would not afford an ultimate solution, it would serve certain important purposes. First, any agreement between East and West is to the good in so far as it tends to diminish tension. Second, the abolition of thermo-nuclear weapons, if each side believed that the other had carried it out sincerely, would lessen the fear of a sudden attack in the style of Pearl Harbour, which at present keeps both sides in a state of nervous apprehension. We should, therefore, welcome such an agreement though only as a first step.

Most of us are not neutral in feeling, but, as human beings, we have to remember that, if the issues between East and West are to be decided in any manner that can give any possible satisfaction to anybody, whether Communist or anti-Communist, whether Asian or European or American, whether White or Black, then these issues must not be decided by war. We should wish this to be understood, both in the East and in the West.

There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal as human beings to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death.

Resolution:

WE invite this Congress, and through it the scientists of the world and the general public, to subscribe to the following resolution:

"In view of the fact that in any future world war nuclear weapons will certainly be employed, and that such weapons threaten the continued existence of mankind, we urge the governments of the world to realize, and to acknowledge publicly, that their purpose cannot be furthered by a world war, and we urge them, consequently, to find peaceful means for the settlement of all matters of dispute between them."

Max Born
Percy W. Bridgman
Albert Einstein
Leopold Infeld
Frederic Joliot-Curie
Herman J. Muller
Linus Pauling
Cecil F. Powell
Joseph Rotblat
Bertrand Russell
Hideki Yukawa

II. Manifesto to the Europeans
October 1914

While technology and traffic clearly drive us toward a factual recognition of international relations, and thus toward a common world civilization, it is also true that no war has ever so intensively interrupted the cultural communalism of cooperative work as this present war does. Perhaps we have come to such a salient awareness only on account of the numerous erstwhile common bonds, whose interruption we now sense so painfully.

Even if this state of affairs should not surprise us, those whose heart is in the least concerned about common world civilization, would have a doubled obligation to fight for the upholding of those principles. Those, however, of whom one should expect such convictions — that is, principally scientists and artists — have thus far almost exclusively uttered statements which would suggest that their desire for the maintenance of these relations has evaporated concurrently with the interruption of relations. They have spoken with explainable martial spirit — but spoken least of all of peace.

Such a mood cannot be excused by any national passion; it is unworthy of all that which the world has to date understood by the name of culture. Should this mood achieve a certain universality among the educated, this would be a disaster.

It would not only be a disaster for civilization, but — and we are firmly convinced of this — a disaster for the national survival of individual states — the very cause for which, ultimately, all this barbarity has been unleashed.

Through technology the world has become smaller; the states of the large peninsula of Europe appear today as close to each other as the cities of each small Mediterranean peninsula appeared in ancient times. In the needs and experiences of every individual, based on his awareness of manifold of relations, Europe — one could almost say the world — already outlines itself as an element of unity.

It would consequently be a duty of the educated and well-meaning Europeans to at least make the attempt to prevent Europe — on account of its deficient organization as a whole — from suffering the same tragic fate as ancient Greece once did. Should Europe too gradually exhaust itself and thus perish from fratricidal war?

The struggle raging today will likely produce no victor; it will leave probably only the vanquished. Therefore, it seems not only good, but rather bitterly necessary that educated men of all nations marshall their influence such that — whatever the still uncertain end of the war may be — the terms of peace shall not become the wellspring of future wars. The evident fact that through this war all European relational conditions slipped into an unstable and plasticized state should rather be used to create an organic European whole. The technological and intellectual conditions for this are extant.

It need not be deliberated herein by which manner this (new) ordering in Europe is possible. We want merely to emphasize very fundamentally that we are firmly convinced that the time has come where Europe must act as one in order to protect her soil, her inhabitants, and her culture.

To this end, it seems first of all to be a necessity that all those who have a place in their heart for European culture and civilization, in other words, those who can be called in Goethe's prescient words "good Europeans," come together. For we must not, after all give up the hope that their raised and collective voices — even beneath the din of arms — will not resound unheard, especially, if among these "good Europeans of Tomorrow," we find all those who enjoy esteem and authority among their educated peers.

But it is necessary that the Europeans first come together, and if — as we hope — enough Europeans in Europe can be found, that it is to say, people to whom Europe is not merely a geographical concept, but rather, a dear affair of the heart, then we shall try to call together such a union of Europeans. Thereupon, such a union shall speak and decide.

To this end we only want urge and appeal; and if you feel as we do, if you are likemindedly determined to provide the European will the farthest-reaching possible resonance, then we ask you to please send your (supporting) signature to us.

Fascism and Corporatism Defined

2008-09-23T21:59:00.000-04:00

The following is a must-watch half-hour speech from RFK Jr..

From RFK Jr., Mike Papantonio: "Is Your Vote Safe?" via Truthout.org,
circa September 22, 2008.

***

fascism |ˈfa sh ˌizəm| (also Fascism)

noun
an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.

• (in general use) extreme right-wing, authoritarian, or intolerant views or practice.

The term Fascism was first used of the totalitarian right-wing nationalist regime of Mussolini in Italy (1922–43), and the regimes of the Nazis in Germany and Franco in Spain were also fascist. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one national or ethnic group, a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach.

DERIVATIVES
fascist noun & adjective
fascistic |faˈ sh istik| adjective

ORIGIN from Italian fascismo, from fascio ‘bundle, political group,’ from Latin fascis (see fasces ).

Thesaurus
fascism

noun
his brand of so-called patriotism sure seems like fascism to me authoritarianism, totalitarianism, dictatorship, despotism, autocracy; Nazism, rightism; nationalism, xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism; jingoism, isolationism; neofascism, neo-Nazism.

***

corporatism |ˈkôrp(ə)rəˌtizəm|

noun
the control of a state or organization by large interest groups.

DERIVATIVES
corporatist adjective & noun

***

In The Know: Are Politicians Failing Our Lobbyists?

***

From politicalcompass.org/analysis2..

Tomorrow's Truth

2008-09-23T17:09:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow's truth is yesterday's heresy.

The Definition of Avant-Garde

2008-09-22T02:42:00.000-04:00

According to Apple's Oxford American Dictionaries..

avant-garde |ˈavänt ˈgärd; ˌavä n |

noun (usu. the avant-garde)
new and unusual or experimental ideas, esp. in the arts, or the people introducing them : works by artists of the Russian avant-garde.

adjective
favoring or introducing such new ideas : a controversial avant-garde composer.

DERIVATIVES
avant-gardism |-ˌdizəm| noun
avant-gardist |-dist| noun

ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting the vanguard of an army): from French, literally ‘vanguard.’ Current senses date from the early 20th cent.

Thesaurus
avant-garde

adjective
this year's avant-garde fashion statement
innovative, original, experimental, left-field, inventive, ahead of the times, cutting/leading/bleeding edge, new, modern, innovatory, advanced, forward-looking, state-of-the-art, trend-setting, pioneering, progressive, Bohemian, groundbreaking, trailblazing, revolutionary; unfamiliar, unorthodox, unconventional; informal offbeat, way-out.

antonym conservative.

If I was wealthy..

2008-09-19T19:45:00.000-04:00

If I was wealthy..

I would go on the road to provide free (or cheap) hands-on multimedia training
to various newspapers, magazines, and schools - all around the world.

I would travel with all the equipment necessary
to setup a circular multimedia classroom - everywhere I went.

I would drive (or fly) from state-to-state, country-to-country.

I would focus on providing multimedia-literacy training
to those in less-fortunate communities - as well as those in developing countries.

I would videotape many of my lessons and produce numerous tutorials
and make them freely available on the web - for all to see.

If I was wealthy,
then everybody would win - because I would spread the love.

***

A definition for a "circular multimedia classroom"
can be read under "Multimedia Multiversity" at:
http://tinyurl.com/495ybj

***

What would you do if you were wealthy?

An Old Excerpt from "The Plight of Right-Brained Thinkers"

2008-09-19T17:45:00.000-04:00

The following excerpt was originally published October 29, 2007
on a Lightstalkers post I wrote entitled "The Plight of Right-Brained Thinkers."

I am republishing the conclusion here for the sake of posterity.

***

In summation, communication has changed and continues to change relatively quickly. We can no longer deny or ignore this. Journalism and educational professionals in particular can no longer deny this.

It can be argued that human consciousness is also changing as well, particularly for the younger, ‘ultramodern’, ‘postindustrial’, or even ‘poststructural’ generations. In many developed nations, it is not uncommon or unusual for children to have hours of daily ample exposure to , and stimulation from, a plethora of media including (but not limited to) the Internet, video games, television, music, movies, and other interactive media.

This modern phenomena has fundamentally altered the way that many people (but not all, of course) think, communicate, learn, interact, relate, and socialize.

This acceleration of communication (and perhaps human consciousness) has the potential to better allow greater numbers of people to more fully live up to their unique individual potentials. With, perhaps, increasingly less regards to their geography or socioeconomic status.

Moreover, it can be argued by many that ‘war’ is the opposite or in opposition to ‘language’, with war generally being action-oriented and language generally being more thought-oriented.

By accelerating language and communications (as well as people’s capacity for language and communication), you may effectively reduce the prevalence, brutality, or ‘need’ for warfare.

For journalism and education to effectively adapt to an ever-changing world and the ever-changing needs of people, they must more actively work in doing so. Highly traditional and authoritarian bureaucratic structures are inherently disadvantaged when it comes to being able to more quickly and dynamically adapt to change. As change accelerates, slow-moving organizations may find it increasingly difficult to sustain themselves as well as legitimately meet the changing needs of the people they serve.

If they cannot adequately adapt, they cannot maintain their legitimacy or the respect of the people they serve.

To affectively adapt, journalism and educational institutions must develop a greater tolerance and respect for different, new, and alternative ways of thinking. Thinking perhaps more typically associated with right-brained thinkers. That means rewarding creativity as well as rewarding debate and rewarding disagreement. It also means acknowledging and rewarding individuals on the proven and demonstrated strength and merit of their original contributions to others, as opposed to punishing these people on the basis of trivial, petty, or personal office politics.

By arrogantly punishing or ignoring (rather than actively rewarding and acknowledging) these different types of thinking and perspectives, many of these institutions are only harming themselves as well as their perceived legitimacy. This holds to be even more true if these institutions are frequently being surpassed on various levels by the people who they refuse to adequately acknowledge or legitimize.

A discussion somewhat demonstrating this reality can be read here:

“Do you find that most reporting awards overlook serious investigative reporting done by alternative press and new media journalists and bloggers?”

http://www.linkedin.com/answers/career-education/ethics/CAR_PET/92171-9017318?browseIdx=3&sik=1189635351728&goback=.ama

Because people generally have a tendency to hate what they do not understand, concepts and ways of thinking which are difficult for the majority of people to immediately understand are often met with fierce retaliation and opposition.

To eliminate our hatred, it is imperative that we further our understanding. For many journalism professionals, this could mean better acquainting ourselves with the reality of alternative thought processes (ways of thinking) prevalent in some people, as well as actively working to develop a better tolerance, understanding, and appreciation for those with different thought processes, perspectives, and approaches.

While the minority perspective is always subject to ridicule in any given society, a truly democratic society is supposed to be one of the few kinds of society which actively welcomes and encourages the free and open expression of minority perspectives, especially as a means to better facilitate a truly free marketplace of ideas.

If you want people to be honest, you must reward honesty.
If you want people to be transparent, you must reward transparency.
If you want people to both acknowledge and solve problems, you must reward them for doing so.
If you want people to be genuine and upfront, you must also reward these behaviors as well.

Sadly, many journalism institutions and people have yet to understand the importance and value of encouraging such attributes in people.

Often it appears as though many journalism professionals are instead rewarded for their capacities to do as they are told, to hide who they really are or what they really think, to never question authority, and to both live and think fatalistically or nihilistically.

Any journalism institution that is opposed to or punishes the expression, communication, and exposition of different, new, and alternative perspectives is inherently undemocratic or less democratic. Just because many journalists supposedly offer exposition to different perspectives, that does not mean that the range of perspectives isn’t severely limited or that many important perspectives are not frequently marginalized, censored, or grossly under-reported.

As time has consistently demonstrated to me, many minority perspectives which are initially marginalized or ridiculed have a very funny way of eventually becoming both normal and accepted over time.

Or, as some may say, prophecies can have a way of fulfilling themselves.

***

-Clarification-

Here are two quotes that I hope will add clarity
to my original statements about the opposition of language and war..

“War is what happens when language fails.”
-Margaret Atwood

“The pen is mightier than the sword.”
-Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 (?)

Two Kinds of Classrooms?

2008-09-19T16:45:00.016-04:00

The following is an old poem I originally wrote
shortly after it was announced
that integration for public schooling
was overturned by the US Supreme Court.

It was originally published on July 8, 2007
under my "Multimedia Multiversity" post at Lightstalkers.

***

Journalism and education are inherently related.

Us journalists have a duty to deliver
integration and diversity through the media
regardless of whether or not it’s delivered in schools,
but especially if it’s not.

The following is a poem I wrote
in response to yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling.

I’m sure the wording is poor,
for I have no formal education in education.

I wrote it very quick with little editing
so it isn’t nearly as good as it could be.

[Edited] Perhaps I should preface it by stating that I attended a place called
the J. Graham Brown [Public] School in Louisville, KY for high school
which is about 50% white and 50% minority.

If I’m not mistaken,
I believe it was the first school to integrate in Kentucky.

I’m sure many of you could articulate
what I am trying to say better than I can
but I just felt like sharing.

It is pretty short
and I hope at least some of you find it stimulating or inspirational
if you have time to read it.

Thanks.

Two Kinds of Classrooms?

I.

The political nature of a society is,
to some degree,
reflected by how it chooses to educate its citizenry.

How the classroom is constructed,
to some degree,
reflects the nature of a society.

Is the classroom arranged in a circle,
or do all the chairs face one direction?

Allow me to attempt to diagram the difference
between a decentralized Socratic classroom
and a centralized autocratic classroom..

II.

In a traditional autocratic classroom,
all students face the teacher,
who is the center of attention.

The teacher generally dictates
what is to be perceived or accepted as true,
and the student must be granted permission to speak
by the authority or hierarchy of the classroom
who is typically the teacher.

The student plays a subordinate role to the teacher,
even if the student knows as much or more as the teacher.

In this method,
the student is indoctrinated
by a strong centralized system of education.

The flow of information travels
more from the top-down unidirectionally (one-way)
similar to the flow of information through television.

In this method,
the student is socialized to do and conform.

Group think.
Herd mentality.
Dictatorialism.
Authority.
Homogeneous uniformity.
Order.
Structure.

Extremes of this form of classroom
may incorporate a uniform dress code
in which personal expression
through appearance and individuality is either eliminated, suppressed, or regarded
as a threat to the herd or the team.

The banishment of books and censorship of speech
is almost always to be expected within this system.

III.

In the decentralized Socratic circular classroom,
the teacher asks questions instead of making statements.

The role of the teacher is to direct the flow of question
as well as mediate debate between the students.

All participants can view each other,
effectively dividing everyone’s field of view and attention
more equally and democratically between the participants.

The flow of information travels
more from the bottom-up omni-directionally (two-way)
similar to the flow of information through the internet.

Critical analysis, debate, and question
is actively pursued and rewarded
rather than avoided and punished.

In this method,
the student is socialized to think independently and to defy.

Individualism.
Perspectivism.
Relativity.
Liberty.
Diversity.
Chaos.
Anarchy.

Extremes of this form of classroom may eliminate
the practice of addressing the teacher formally by their last name.

In rare instances this can also result in various forms of anomie
like sexual relations between student and teacher.

IV.

To some degree,
the difference in these models parallel
the difference between democracy and totalitarianism.

One could even argue a parallel between
the ancient city-states of Athens and Sparta.

Americans are often stereotyped internationally as being
“doers” and not “thinkers.”

The next time you are flabbergasted at how people are complacent to
and disaffected by the systematic elimination
of their individual freedom, rights, and political power,
just contemplate how they were educated or socialized
to behave within the classroom.

Two Old Knight News Challenge Proposals (that were rejected last year)

2008-09-19T16:45:00.015-04:00

Here are excerpts from two rejected proposals I wrote for the Knight News Challenge.

The first proposal is about how I think automation
could help improve the payment/rights system in journalism
and the second proposal is about how I think we could improve the newsroom
to facilitate better and faster multimedia training.

Both proposals were rejected.

***

1) I would like to research and develop an open source automated program which tracks online ad-revenues made from news content and handles monthly royalty payments to news and media producers.

With basic web-statistics like Google Analytics, online media companies can now know exactly how much revenue is made precisely on every page of their websites. The profits generated from every online story (multimedia or otherwise) can be determined with very high precision. This is unlike print, where it is not possible to calculate exactly how much ad revenue your stories have generated because that is not how print works.

Given this new economic and statistical reality, it only seems fair for online media publications to share profits with their content producers. This system would effectively reward news content producers on the merit and quality of their productions because stories that get more views would make more money over time. This could perhaps give media employees more economic motivation to retrain, learn more, or perfect their job skills.

Because web stories can be archived ‘permanently’ online, profit-sharing royalties could serve as retirement for media professionals if their stories have considerable replay value or long-term appeal.

One example of an ad-revenue profit-sharing model is MetaCafe’s Producer Rewards program. Metacafe is similar to Youtube, and with their producer rewards program, Metacafe shares revenues that they have made from advertising which they have placed on the same pages as content producer’s uploaded videos.

Some of the top producers on Metacafe have already made over $40,000 within the past year just off of the sharing of advertising profits.

Imagine if at least half of the revenue generated from news and media content was given to the content producer.

The automated program I would develop would make it easy and cheap for newspapers and other media outlets to pay their content producers royalties. Ideally on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.

(Edited) This software could potentially ‘rescue’ the journalism industry.
It could potentially revolutionize the economics of the entire global journalism industry.

It will more effectively reward journalists and other media producers on the proven strength and merit of their work.

Over time it will increase the quality of published journalism and media because it will put more money behind quality.

I know many multimedia gurus who I could get on my team to help produce the open source software with the greatest precision.

***

2) Multimedia Multiversity

I would like to invent a new kind of classroom (or newsroom) for all kinds of media professionals.

I would like to invent a Multimedia Multiversity (or newsroom) in which there is a classroom that is circular and all the seats are arranged in a circle. In front of every seat, there exists a computer touch-screen for all the students or media professionals who are interacting in this environment.

There are two monitors in front of every subject, one connected to the Internet that the subject controls, and one monitor that shows whatever is on the teacher’s (or moderator’s) interactive computer screen.

The teacher (or editor or moderator) has a control switchboard which allows them to temporarily transfer control of the non-interactive monitors to project the interactive monitor of whomever is speaking or “has the floor” during a discussion, lecture, or debate.

In addition, there is a circular dry-erase board (which spans all around the classroom) behind the seats, in which students, teachers, professionals, (or politicians alike), can get up and draw or write notes behind them. Due to the circular nature of this room, anybody in this environment can see each others notes with relative ease and transparency.

This model would use a dialectic, Socratic seminar approach. The room itself would be structured in the form of a panopticon.

All debates could be recorded with a camera in the middle of the room and the recorded videos could be made available freely (or for a fee) online as an educational resource to anybody in the world who wants to watch them.

Ideally, these seminar rooms would be constructed to seat no more than 18-24 people, seeing as how smaller class sizes are more conducive to Socratic debate, analysis, and dialectic.

Moreover, each seat would have the ability to project a video image of somebody in another location who is participating in the discussion but is unable to be there physically in person due to geographical constraints. These participants could even be reporting from “on the scene” at a news event.

I think this classroom model makes sense because universities and newsrooms can’t keep up with the progress being made in multimedia journalism and communications.

This model could accelerate and enrich the learning process with media as well as democratize the teaching process, since more and more college students (or subordinates in newsrooms) are surpassing their professors technically speaking in the fields of multimedia journalism and communications.

It is an environment that could prove very conducive to the formation, maximization, and application of raw creative mental energy.

It’s purposes could be equally useful for government officials, education, journalism, politics, advertising, public relations, or even courtrooms.

(Edited) Imagine a scenario in which the active participants in this experimental classroom were graduates from various fields of communication from all around the world.

There is no telling how valuable the research and knowledge attained from this project could be for the journalism industry and society as a whole.

This is something that could change the world by changing the way we think, learn, work, and communicate. By accelerating communication with this environment structure, we could very well accelerate our capacity as a species to solve a great deal of the world’s problems.

(Originally published January 3, 2008 on Lightstalkers)

Aid for Fallen Journalists?

2008-09-19T15:49:00.004-04:00

Journalism can be a very dangerous profession.

Many journalists risk death or injury everyday just to keep the public informed.
Many journalists have given their lives while in the pursuit of truth.

Perhaps it would be ideal if somebody or some organization
could setup some kind of fund specifically for the families and children of these fallen journalists?

Perhaps a foundation that could provide financial aid to the families of journalists
in the event they meet death or injury while doing their jobs?

Perhaps this hypothetical foundation might even be able to provide legal assistance
to families who are seeking justice from the parties, institutions, or individuals
who are responsible for any acts of atrocity committed against journalists
while in the line of duty?

Maybe some kind of Global Journalism Union even?

If there was some kind of union that members were paying into,
then perhaps a certain percentage of all dues paid
could go directly towards this memorial/justice fund
for these fallen or injured journalists?

Perhaps this foundation could even provide some kind of insurance plan
for journalists who are risking their lives to keep people informed?

The Supply and Demand of Written Content vs. Multimedia Content

2008-09-18T21:41:00.004-04:00

Here is another must-read from the Journalism Iconoclast about multimedia:
http://patthorntonfiles.com/blog/2008/09/18/supply-and-demand-is-a-bitch/

From "Supply and demand is a bitch" by Patrick Thornton:

"Right now, there is simply more supply of written content
than there is of demand for it from advertisers."

"Advertisers love video ads and pre-roll."

"..realize that video content can get a much higher ad rate
than printed content can."

"News organizations need to diversify their content.
This means more audio, more video, more multimedia
and — yes — less written content."

Isn't it wrong to have too much power?

2008-09-18T00:54:00.003-04:00

Questions are politically neutral, as compared to statements.
Can You Argue With A Question?

Article - "Young Journos Do Have a Future -- If They Are Nimble"

2008-08-14T18:43:00.003-04:00

From "Young Journos Do Have a Future -- If They Are Nimble" By Maegan Carberry:

"I agreed with a 26-year-old beat reporter from Missouri who wrote to me: “In all areas of the newspaper (editorial, circulation, marketing, advertising), the people who have lacked innovation to change the industry to the changing needs of readers are the same people who are largely still in charge.”

So we should probably encourage the kiddos to boldly pursue their dreams while planning to be critical, vocal, participants in the innovation process once they’re on the job.."

***

As for the timeliness of this article - I must say
This kind of truth was considered heresy just a couple of years ago.

All the most important movements in philosophy, science, and art
were literally years ahead of their time.

Things/people/ideas that are mass-marketable, and thus pop-culture or popular,
are almost never ahead of their time, but are rather "current".

You see this pattern occur repeatedly throughout history.

During the middle-ages, for example,
if you spoke out against the church you were labeled as crazy and often imprisoned, or worse.

Tomorrow's truth is yesterday's heresy. Interesting how that works.

Book - "SuperMedia: Saving Journalism So It Can Save the World"

2008-08-14T18:34:00.006-04:00

"SuperMedia: Saving Journalism So It Can Save the World" is available here on Amazon
and is authored by Charlie Beckett.

(Link via Mindy McAdams.)

Link: "CNN to double U.S. newsgathering presence"

2008-08-14T18:32:00.001-04:00

From CNN to double U.S. newsgathering presence:

"The goal is to have a mix of traditional network correspondents and what CNN calls "all-platform journalists" or APJs, who gather news using lightweight kits that include laptops, cameras and editing tools for Internet as well as on-air programming in all 20 cities.

"Everyone's a reporter now," Nancy Lane, senior vice president of newsgathering for CNN/U.S., said in an interview. "Even our viewers."

Lane said APJs will not replace traditional correspondents, but will be supplemental to news coverage."

Forecastle Festival 2008 | Multimedia

2008-08-01T20:15:00.006-04:00

Forecastle Festival 2008 | Multimedia

This was my first time using Slideshow Pro (for Flash).

It’s got a great caption engine built-in,
but the media player appears to have trouble loading videos.

There is a “Full-Screen” button in the galleries located on the bottom right-hand corner
and you can also toggle between the video and photo galleries
via the button on the bottom left-hand corner in the galleries.

You can rollover the stills or videos to view the caption/credit information,
and clicking the captions will link to an external website,
usually the photographer’s website.

There are currently 4 videos:
a 3-and-a-half minute interview with RFK Jr.,
a 4-minute “Ode to ODB” performance by the GZA,
a speech RFK Jr. delivered which is about 1-hour-long,
and a 10-minute interview with DEL the funkee homosapien.

SUBVERSION OF OUR DEMOCRACY | INTERVIEW WITH RFK JR.

2008-07-29T20:18:00.001-04:00

SUBVERSION OF OUR DEMOCRACY | INTERVIEW WITH RFK JR. from Patrick Yen on Vimeo.

Interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on July 27, 2008 at the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Ky.

Cover Photo by Brian Bohannon,
Interview by K. Alison Brotzge,
Videography by Chris Little,
Production by Patrick Yen.

Are You Normal?

2008-07-26T11:12:00.002-04:00

Thesaurus Synonymy for "Normal"

adjective
1 they issue books in the normal way usual, standard, ordinary, customary, conventional, habitual, accustomed, expected, wonted; typical, stock, common, everyday, regular, routine, established, set, fixed, traditional, time-honored. antonym unusual.

2 a normal couple ordinary, average, typical, run-of-the-mill, middle-of-the-road, common, conventional, mainstream, unremarkable, unexceptional, garden-variety, a dime a dozen.

***

Are you normal?
Is that necessarily such a good thing to be?

Should Journalists Endorse Candidates For President?

2008-07-23T05:13:00.003-04:00

Should journalists endorse candidates for President?

I suppose that all depends on whether or not the fate of the world
depends on who wins.

Despite what many traditional "objective" journalists
(who preach nihilism as religion) would have you believe,
some ideas are, in fact, better than other ideas,
such as the world being spherical as opposed to being flat,
or the world not being the center of the universe
as opposed to it being the center of the universe.

Would you believe that many people used to think otherwise?
Many still do.

The fact of the matter is, you can objectively say
that some ideas are in fact better than other ideas
just as some candidates are in fact better than other candidates
despite what half, or even most people think.

Just because a lot of people believe in a lie
doesn't mean that it's true.

If you're not being upfront about your bias as a journalist, even if you're wrong,
then you're just bluffing and bullshitting people
so that more people will accept you,
rather than telling the truth.

Honesty is the best policy. Not nihilism.

Are You Living Up To Your Full Potential?

2008-07-21T15:00:00.005-04:00

The Internet is making it more possible than ever before
for greater numbers of people all around the world
to better educate themselves - as well as
live up more fully to their unique individual potentials.

According to this businessballs.com article,
Maslow's characteristics of people living up to their full potential include:

"* keen sense of reality - aware of real situations - objective judgement, rather than subjective
* see problems in terms of challenges and situations requiring solutions, rather than see problems as personal complaints or excuses
* need for privacy and comfortable being alone
* reliant on own experiences and judgement - independent - not reliant on culture and environment to form opinions and views
* not susceptible to social pressures - non-conformist
* democratic, fair and non-discriminating - embracing and enjoying all cultures, races and individual styles
* socially compassionate - possessing humanity
* accepting others as they are and not trying to change people
* comfortable with oneself - despite any unconventional tendencies
* a few close intimate friends rather than many surface relationships
* sense of humour directed at oneself or the human condition, rather than at the expense of others
* spontaneous and natural - true to oneself, rather than being how others want
* excited and interested in everything, even ordinary things
* creative, inventive and original
* seek peak experiences that leave a lasting impression"

***

According to this Wikipedia article on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs,
characteristics of self-actualizers include:

"* They embrace the facts and realities of the world (including themselves) rather than denying or avoiding them.
* They are spontaneous in their ideas and actions.
* They are creative.
* They are interested in solving problems; this often includes the problems of others. Solving these problems is often a key focus in their lives.
* They feel a closeness to other people, and generally appreciate life.
* They have a system of morality that is fully internalized and independent of external authority.
* They have discernment and are able to view all things in an objective manner."

***

Furthermore, self-actualizers are also said to exhibit characteristics of:

"1. Awareness

* efficient perception of reality
* freshness of appreciation
* peak experiences
* ethical awareness

2. Honesty

* philosophical sense of humour
* social interest
* deep interpersonal relationships
* democratic character structure

3. Freedom

* need for solitude
* autonomous, independent
* creativity, originality
* spontaneous

4. Trust

* problem centered
* acceptance of self, others, nature
* resistance to enculturation - identity with humanity"

***

The Wikipedia article also provides a more in-depth description of self-actualizers:

"1. Clearer perception of reality. Self-actualizing people perceive reality more effectively than others and are more comfortable with it. They have an accurate perception of what exists rather than a distortion of perception by one's needs and possess an ability to be objective about their own strengths, possibilities and limitations. They judge experiences, people and things correctly and efficiently, and have an unusual ability to detect the spurious, the fake, and the dishonest. They are not afraid of the unknown and can tolerate the doubt, uncertainty, and tentativeness accompanying the perception of the new and unfamiliar.

2. Acceptance of self, others and nature. Self-actualizing people are not ashamed or guilty about their human nature, with its shortcoming, imperfections, frailties and weaknesses. They can accept their own human shortcomings, without condemnation. Nor are they critical of these aspects of other people. They respect and esteem themselves and others. Moreover, they are honest, open, genuine, without pose or facade. They are not, however, self-satisfied but are concerned about discrepancies between what is and what might be or should be in themselves, others, and society.

3. Spontaneity. Self-actualizing people are relatively spontaneous in their behaviour, and far more spontaneous than that in their inner life, thoughts and impulses. Self-actualising persons are not hampered by convention, but they do not flout it. They are not conformists, but neither are they anti-conformist for the sake of being so. They might act conventionally, but they seldom allow convention to keep them from doing anything they consider important or basic. They are not externally motivated or even goal-directed; rather their motivation is the internal one of growth and development, the actualization of themselves and their potentialities.

4. Problem-centering. Self-actualizing people have a problem-solving orientation towards life instead of an orientation centered on self. They are interested in solving problems; this often includes the problems of others. Solving these problems is often a key focus in their lives. They commonly have a mission in life, some problem outside themselves that enlists much of their energies. In general this mission is unselfish and is involved with the philosophical and the ethical.

5. Detachment and the need for solitude. Self-actualizing people enjoy solitude and privacy. It is often possible for them to remain above the battle, unruffled and undisturbed by that which upsets others. They may even appear to be asocial. It is perhaps, related to an abiding sense of security and self-sufficiency.

6. Autonomy, independent of culture and environment. Self-actualizing persons are not dependent for their main satisfactions on other people or culture or means-to-ends, or in general, on extrinsic satisfactions. Rather they are dependent for their own development and continued growth upon their own potentialities and latent resources. The meaning of their life is self-decision, self-governing and being an active, responsible, self-disciplined deciding person rather than a pawn or a person helplessly ruled by others.

7. Continued freshness of appreciation. Self-actualizing people have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again the basic pleasures of life. They experience awe, pleasure, and wonder in their everyday world, such as nature, children, music and sexual experience. They approach these basic experiences with awe, pleasure, wonder and even ecstasy.

8. The mystic experience, the oceanic feeling. Self-actualizing people commonly have mystic or `peak' experiences or times of intense emotions in which they transcend self. During a peak experience, they experience feelings of ecstasy, awe, and wonder with feelings of limitless horizons opening up, feelings of unlimited power and at the same time feelings of being more helpless than ever before. The experience ends with the conviction that something extremely important and valuable has happened so that the person is to some extent transformed and strengthened by the experience that has a carry-over into everyday life.

9. Oneness with humanity. Self-actualizing people have deep feelings of identification, sympathy and affection for other people, and a deep feeling of empathy and compassion for human beings in general. This feeling is, in a sense, unconditional in that it exists along with the recognition of the existence in others of negative qualities that may provoke occasional anger, impatience, and disgust.

10. Deep interpersonal relations. Self-actualizing people have deeper and more profound inter-personal relationships than most adults, but not necessarily deeper than children. They are capable of more closeness, greater love, more perfect identification, more erasing of ego boundaries than other people would consider possible. One consequence is that self-actualised people have especially deep ties with rather few individuals and their circle of friends is small. They tend to be kind or at least patient to almost everyone, yet they do speak realistically and harshly of those whom they feel deserve it — especially the hypocritical, pretentious, pompous, or the self-inflated individual.

11. Democratic character structure. Self-actualizing people are democratic in the deepest possible sense. They are friendly towards everyone regardless of class, education, political beliefs, race, or colour. They believe it is possible to learn something from everyone. They are humble in the sense of being aware of how little they know in comparison with what could be known and what is known by others. They are ready and willing to learn from anyone. They respect everyone as a potential contributor to their knowledge, merely because everyone is a human being.

12. Ethical means towards moral ends. Self-actualizing persons are highly ethical. They clearly distinguish between means and ends and subordinate means to ends. Their notions of right and wrong and of good and evil are often not conventional ones.

13. Philosophical, unhostile sense of humor. Self-actualizing people have a keen, unhostile sense of humour. They don't laugh at jokes that hurt other people or are aimed at others' inferiority — unless it is a convention that for some reason they happen to decide to follow in that situation. They can make fun of others in general — or of themselves — especially when they are foolish or try to be big when they are small. They are inclined towards thoughtful humour that elicits a smile, is intrinsic to the situation, and spontaneous.

14. Creativity. Self-actualizing people are highly imaginative and creative. The creativity involved here is not special-talent creativity. It is a creativity potentially inherent in everyone but usually suffocated by acculturation. It is a fresh, naive, direct way of looking at things, rather similar to the naive and universal creativity of unspoiled children."

***

It is believed by many who support Maslow's theory
that only 2% of people self-actualize.

Are you living up to your full potential?

What It Means To Be Creative

2008-07-17T22:11:00.002-04:00

According to Apple's Oxford American Dictionary..

creative |krēˈātiv|

adjective
relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas, esp. in the production of an artistic work : change unleashes people's creative energy | creative writing.

• (of a person) having good imagination or original ideas : Homer, the creative genius of Greek epic.

noun
a person who is creative, typically in a professional context.

DERIVATIVES
creatively adverb
creativeness noun

Thesaurus

creative

adjective
our students are encouraged to be creative inventive, imaginative, innovative, experimental, original; artistic, expressive, inspired, visionary; enterprising, resourceful.

THE RIGHT WORD

Everyone likes to think that he or she is creative, which is used to describe the active, exploratory minds possessed by artists, writers, and inventors (: a creative approach to problem-solving). Today, however, creative has become an advertising buzzword ( | creative cooking, | creative hairstyling) that simply means new or different.

Original is more specific and limited in scope. Someone who is original comes up with things that no one else has thought of (: an original approach to constructing a doghouse), or thinks in an independent and creative way ( | a highly original filmmaker).

Imaginative implies having an active and creative imagination, which often means that the person visualizes things quite differently than the way they appear in the real world (: imaginative illustrations for a children's book).

The practical side of imaginative is inventive; the inventive person figures out how to make things work (: an inventive solution to the problem of getting a wheelchair into a van).

But where an inventive mind tends to comes up with solutions to problems it has posed for itself, a resourceful mind deals successfully with externally imposed problems or limitations (: A resourceful child can amuse herself with simple wooden blocks).

Someone who is ingenious is both inventive and resourceful, with a dose of cleverness thrown in (: the ingenious idea of using recycled plastic to create a warm, fleecelike fabric).

Definition of Conservative

2008-07-17T00:45:00.003-04:00

According to Apple's Oxford American Dictionary..

conservative |kənˈsərvətiv; -vəˌtiv|

adjective
holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.

• (of dress or taste) sober and conventional : a conservative suit.
• (of an estimate) purposely low for the sake of caution : the film was not cheap—$30,000 is a conservative estimate.
• (of surgery or medical treatment) intended to control rather than eliminate a condition, with existing tissue preserved as far as possible.
• ( Conservative) of or relating to the Conservative Party of Great Britain or a similar party in another country.

noun
a person who is averse to change and holds to traditional values and attitudes, typically in relation to politics.

• ( Conservative) a supporter or member of the Conservative Party of Great Britain or a similar party in another country.

DERIVATIVES
conservatism |kənˈsərvəˌtizəm| noun
conservatively adverb
conservativeness noun

ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [aiming to preserve] ): from late Latin conservativus, from conservat- ‘conserved,’ from the verb conservare (see conserve ). Current senses date from the mid 19th century onward.

Thesaurus
conservative

adjective
1 the conservative wing of the party right-wing, reactionary, traditionalist; Republican; Brit. Tory; informal redneck. antonym socialist.
2 our more conservative neighbors may object to the modern architecture being proposed traditionalist, traditional, conventional, orthodox, old-fashioned, dyed-in-the-wool, hidebound, unadventurous, set in one's ways; moderate, middle-of-the-road, buttoned-down; informal stick-in-the-mud. antonym radical.
3 he wore a conservative blue suit conventional, sober, modest, plain, unobtrusive, restrained, subtle, low-key, demure; informal square, straight. antonym ostentatious.
4 a conservative estimate low, cautious, understated, moderate, reasonable.

noun
liberals and conservatives have found common ground right-winger, reactionary, rightist, diehard; Republican; Brit., Tory.

***

Yankees' 20,000 Fake Mustaches

2008-07-10T17:12:00.001-04:00

Apparently the Yankees gave out
20,000 free fake moustaches
to fans yesterday:

http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/thursday/news/ny-spmust105758499jul10,0,6802964.story

Does anybody have any photos of this?

If so, I would love to run them on FakeMustaches.org
along with a photo credit and link to your website.

The same goes for anybody with moustached ATL-PJ-Seminar 2007 photos.
Just e-mail them to binjiminyin[at]gmail[dot]com and I'll probably run them.

FakeMustaches.org has been experiencing a recession lately
in that fewer people have been submitting photos, et cetera.

I thought they went out of style, those dastardly 'staches,
but apparently they're just now starting to hit the mainstream.

It's moustache madness!

A Must-Read Article By Vincent Laforet

2008-07-07T00:54:00.003-04:00

"The Cloud is Falling" is an amazingly comprehensive SportsShooter article by Vincent Laforet..

“One of the other challenges big media companies face is that they’re run by people in their 50s and 60s – who just really aren’t hip to the current trends, and the internet – relative to the 12-30 year olds that are fueling the growth and evolution of the web..”

“If I were 22-years old right out of college looking for a job or a career path, I wouldn’t be focusing on working on x newspaper to get to y newspaper and then eventually z magazine with my 20 image portfolio that contains 2 spot news photos, 4 sports pix, 4 feature photos, and a 10 picture story. That model is dead – to put it bluntly. I’d be thinking big – realizing that I have a chance to be a pioneer in this new world of opportunity. Trying to think up of the next big thing.”

Vince Laforet has been one of my journalism idols for years.
The man is a genius.

Moderns vs. Traditionals

2008-07-04T13:48:00.003-04:00

People who are afraid of change
are more likely to be oriented towards the past
because the past is unchangeable.

People who embrace change
are more likely to be oriented towards the future
because the future is changeable.

Most people are terrified of change.

Jon Anderson Speaks My Language

2008-07-03T19:21:00.003-04:00

Jon Anderson has just written a brilliant essay on one of his blogs "The Spark of Accident"
entitled "Digital Journalism and Independent Reporting".

"The thing that counts is your vision, which, if it is sufficiently vital, will achieve its inevitable form regardless of whether or not you own the biggest, best, newest thingamajig on the market – the real point is to protect that vision, to ward off the mediocrity and stultification that results from the standardization of our tools and unthinking conformity to the dictates of institutions built out of the boneyard of yesterday’s thinking."

You best recognize, Jon Anderson is a total badass
who is fully capable of crafting run-on sentences that will smack your head about in almost every direction.

Hyperlocal Journalism is the Opposite of Global Journalism

2008-06-28T16:21:00.003-04:00

Hyperlocal journalism is arguably the opposite of global journalism.
Think macro vs. micro, or "big picture" vs. "small picture".

The hyperlocal model, now that it has actually been tested in the market,
has not had the success its pioneers had originally hoped for.

See 'Newspaper suicide watch: the folly of "local-local"':
http://roguecolumnist.typepad.com/rogue_columnist/2008/06/newspaper-suici.html

Global journalism, however, has the theoretical potential to appeal
to a larger audience than hyperlocal journalism can,
and thus has the potential to generate more revenue.

Hyperlocal journalism is certainly relevant and does have it’s place in the market,
but a hyperlocal audience might only comprise 100,000 news consumers in many major cities,
whereas a global audience might provide an ever-growing community of a billion or more news consumers on the web.

The minuscule pay-per-click or CPM ad revenue that can be made from online media
can only amount to anything if the content receives an obscene amount of hits,
hits that can be tapped in more abundance from an ever-growing global audience
rather than that of a hyperlocal one.

Here is an old paper I wrote for my Journalism Ethics class at WKU in May 2007
outlining some basic principles that may or may not
ultimately relate to global multimedia journalism:
http://gonzopj.blogspot.com/2007/06/personal-code-of-ethics.html

Here is an excerpt, please keep in mind that it is now very dated:

"Compounding the ethical issues facing multimedia journalists in America is the newfound importance of creating work that holds up to global international scrutiny rather than just traditional regional American scrutiny. Moreover, multimedia news pieces are capable of being permanently archived online as well as viewable on-demand in perpetuity throughout the future. Most traditional news stories are produced in mediocrity for daily consumption and are often written shortsightedly for the here-and-now. While most revenue is traditionally made from 'news' (notable and current changes in society), just as much if not more revenue can be made in 'documentary' work online by producing stories that are less time or place specific and have more long-term educational or analytical value. Think of it this way, you can produce a story to be published exclusively in your community for just tomorrow or you can produce the same story to be published internationally that maintains its relevance and ability to generate ad revenue forever. The question then becomes how do you produce a multimedia news package that knows no time or place? Not by doing it the traditional way, that's for sure. It also means pursuing higher production value through longer deadlines because poorly and quickly produced stories will prove less successful online, whereas exceptionally produced videos can sale themselves with little or no push-marketing."

Global journalism will ultimately require a completely different philosophy
from that of the traditional journalism model to succeed.

It will require more of a global perspective as well as a more sophisticated delivery method
that is better capable of transcending both linguistic and cultural barriers.

There’s an old saying in science, “Act locally, think globally.”

Barack Obama is like Robin Hood

2008-06-28T02:51:00.002-04:00

Barack Obama is like Robin Hood - because
he wants to steal from the [extremely] rich
and give to the poor.

We can debate all day long whether or not Robin Hood was morally correct
in his wanting to steal from the rich, and thus give to the poor,
but I think most people would agree - that
Robin Hood was a total badass.

You know, kind of like Santa Claus.

Onion Video: How To Pretend You Give A Shit About The Election

2008-06-28T00:44:00.002-04:00

Today Now!: How To Pretend You Give A Shit About The Election

American politics in a nutshell.
I can't even count the number of photojournalists that this reminds me of..

Journalism is like Latin

2008-06-22T16:49:00.003-04:00

Traditional journalism is like Latin,
it's a dead language.

Some people still speak it,
like Catholic priests for example,
but most people just don't understand it.

American Diversity Project 2008 Multimedia

2008-06-04T19:52:00.000-04:00

Aurora Photos is a Great Place to Intern

2008-05-22T16:48:00.001-04:00

I just recently finished a 3 month internship at Aurora Photos in Portland, Maine as a multimedia producer.
I highly recommend interning at Aurora Photos for anyone out there looking for photo internships.

The team at Aurora is amazing and they just recently moved to a very nice office space with lots of square footage.

At Aurora you have the wonderful opportunity of working alongside legends such as Jose Azel (an early pioneer of multimedia), Karl Schatz (former photo editor for Time.com), Peter Dennen, and Lynn Martin, just to name a few.

I haven’t personally worked at the Aurora Select offices in New York,
but based on my experiences with Select, they also get two big thumbs up from me.
David Laidler of Select is a total badass, worthy of all your respect. So is Serena Stucke.

To reiterate, Aurora is wonderful company with a great history and a bright future ahead of them,
and I highly recommend them for any and all services or jobs they have to offer.