1984 (1,5) Across the Crowded Room

Our lunch hour with Winston is about over. The whistle is about to blow, but, wait, what is this?

At this moment he was dragged out of his reverie with a violent jerk. The girl at the next table had turned partly round and was looking at him. It was the girl with dark hair. She was looking at him in a sidelong way, but with curious intensity. The instant that she caught his eye she looked away again.

Tsk, tsk, next they will be passing love notes.

Of course, Winston is in hysterics, though not because of sexual excitement. He still sees her as this ultra-orthodox virgin who is looking to send him up for thoughtcrime or facecrime or any kind of crime. He now sees himself “in the cellars of the Ministry of Love within three days”.

Three days is actually a little premature, and of course these things will work out differently than he is imagining, but isn’t that the way it usually goes?

1984 (1,5) Across the Crowded Room

Our lunch hour with Winston is about over. The whistle is about to blow, but, wait, what is this?

At this moment he was dragged out of his reverie with a violent jerk. The girl at the next table had turned partly round and was looking at him. It was the girl with dark hair. She was looking at him in a sidelong way, but with curious intensity. The instant that she caught his eye she looked away again.

Tsk, tsk, next they will be passing love notes.

Of course, Winston is in hysterics, though not because of sexual excitement. He still sees her as this ultra-orthodox virgin who is looking to send him up for thoughtcrime or facecrime or any kind of crime. He now sees himself “in the cellars of the Ministry of Love within three days”.

Three days is actually a little premature, and of course these things will work out differently than he is imagining, but isn’t that the way it usually goes?

The Boom and Bust Generation

The prodigality of the baby boomers is an old theme, but it deserves mention every once in a while, and Thomas Friedman does that well:

Indeed, if there is one sentiment that unites the crises in Europe and America it is a powerful sense of “baby boomers behaving badly” — a powerful sense that the generation that came of age in the last 50 years, my generation, will be remembered most for the incredible bounty and freedom it received from its parents and the incredible debt burden and constraints it left on its kids.

But, hey, it's also the generation that brought us civil rights, rock and roll, and the Internet. Creativity isn't cheap.

(Source: Thomas L. Friedman for The New York Times)

The Boom and Bust Generation

The prodigality of the baby boomers is an old theme, but it deserves mention every once in a while, and Thomas Friedman does that well:

Indeed, if there is one sentiment that unites the crises in Europe and America it is a powerful sense of “baby boomers behaving badly” — a powerful sense that the generation that came of age in the last 50 years, my generation, will be remembered most for the incredible bounty and freedom it received from its parents and the incredible debt burden and constraints it left on its kids.

But, hey, it's also the generation that brought us civil rights, rock and roll, and the Internet. Creativity isn't cheap.

(Source: Thomas L. Friedman for The New York Times)

The Murdoch Drama

Murdoch. The end of your global media domination is nigh. Be afraid!

-- LulzSec

Apparently one of Murdoch's papers was hacked by LulzSec, a notorious hacking group, to make it look like there was a report about Murdock committing suicide. The above quote was tagged onto this piece of mindfuck.

What makes this all the more intriguing is that, not long before this, we have a real story about the whistleblower to this hacking scandal being found genuinely dead:

News of the World phone hacking whistleblower found dead

Sean Hoare, the former News of the World showbiz reporter who was the first named journalist to allege Andy Coulson was aware of phone hacking by his staff, has been found dead, the Guardian has learned.

Hoare, who worked on the Sun and the News of the World with Coulson before being dismissed for drink and drugs problems, is said to have been found dead at his Watford home.

Hertfordshire police would not confirm his identity, but the force said in a statement: "At 10.40am today [Monday 18 July] police were called to Langley Road, Watford, following the concerns for welfare of a man who lives at an address on the street. Upon police and ambulance arrival at a property, the body of a man was found. The man was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.

"The death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious. Police investigations into this incident are ongoing."

Not thought to be suspicious, eh? Why do I feel this is the kind of police work we can expect to continue to find in this Establishment-shaking affair.

I knew this jolt to the Murdoch empire was a big deal, but I didn't know things were going to get this wild.

(Additional Source: New York Magazine)

The Murdoch Drama

Murdoch. The end of your global media domination is nigh. Be afraid!

-- LulzSec

Apparently one of Murdoch's papers was hacked by LulzSec, a notorious hacking group, to make it look like there was a report about Murdock committing suicide. The above quote was tagged onto this piece of mindfuck.

What makes this all the more intriguing is that, not long before this, we have a real story about the whistleblower to this hacking scandal being found genuinely dead:

News of the World phone hacking whistleblower found dead

Sean Hoare, the former News of the World showbiz reporter who was the first named journalist to allege Andy Coulson was aware of phone hacking by his staff, has been found dead, the Guardian has learned.

Hoare, who worked on the Sun and the News of the World with Coulson before being dismissed for drink and drugs problems, is said to have been found dead at his Watford home.

Hertfordshire police would not confirm his identity, but the force said in a statement: "At 10.40am today [Monday 18 July] police were called to Langley Road, Watford, following the concerns for welfare of a man who lives at an address on the street. Upon police and ambulance arrival at a property, the body of a man was found. The man was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.

"The death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious. Police investigations into this incident are ongoing."

Not thought to be suspicious, eh? Why do I feel this is the kind of police work we can expect to continue to find in this Establishment-shaking affair.

I knew this jolt to the Murdoch empire was a big deal, but I didn't know things were going to get this wild.

(Additional Source: New York Magazine)

Pic of the Day

The night is the perfect time for loneliness.

(Courtesy of InspirePlease)

Pic of the Day

The night is the perfect time for loneliness.

(Courtesy of InspirePlease)