Ravings of a Random Mind...

I F YOU ARE A NIELSEN RATINGS HO USEHOLD - DO THIS. To see how Neilsen Ratings work (and don't work) click here. If you aren't (and let's face it, most of us aren't), then it doesn't matter what you do or don't watch on television - no one is paying attention. So, watch, don't watch, go outside, join the Women's March on Seattle (or your local protest march, rally, demonstration. Get involved in doing positive work in your local community. Washington DC doesn't represent us; through gerrymandering, voter suppression, foreign influences, and just outright lies and propaganda, RepubliCorp has taken control of 2/3 branches of our Federal Government, but that's not what directly governs most of our daily lives. Yes, they affect much in the Big Picture, but the things we have direct control over - our Cities, Counties, States - we still have the power to affect the positive and progressive change we want to see. Building a movement mea...

This last weekend I went to see the new Guardians of the Galaxy film with my friend JMc. Before the film, we decided to get dinner, and since he's new to Seattle - recently transplanted from London - and there are a number of places I haven't yet been to, I took the opportunity to suggest DragonFish . It was close to the movie theatre, and I'd always walked past it on my way to someplace else, thinking I'd make a point of going later. Of course, later never really happens unless it's on the calendar. I arrived early, put my name in for a table, and was seated outside on the patio. The weather was nice (I'd just spent the afternoon at the beach), the sun was still up, and it was quite warm for Seattle. When JMc joined me a few minutes later, we commented on the lovely weather, "How often do I get to sit outside in Seattle without a cover?" The waitress came by and took our first orders - we didn't really decide to do a sort of tapas, one plate a...

TIME Magazine is one of the most respected Media outlets in the US. So why is it altering the cover stories for it's US market? Here is the cover for the 5 December 2011 issue. Notice that the European, Asian & South Pacific issues all have a common cover story - only the US edition is altered. Interesting to know that TIME has a different cover for US consumption than the rest of the world. Not for the first time, but definitely one of the most enlightening disconnects. Here is the cover from the 8 August 2011 issue, where "Travels Through Islam" is the cover story - everywhere but in the US, where "ISLAM" is a bad word in much of the country. It says a lot about the quality of conversation in our country - that discourse on world events is not only discouraged, but that our Media actively restricts access to the information that we need to have a healthy discussion - on any topic. If you don't believe that your "news" is being spoon-f...