Recent Stuff
I won't bother to apologize for how long it's been since the last post. As far as I can tell (with the one exception of a response I just wrote to a comment on a post from quite some time ago), nobody really reads this anyway.I've spent the last few days reading and watching stuff that's been on my list of things to read and and watch for some time now.
Books:
Fast Food Nation:
There's going to be a fictionalized version of the book in theaters near you. A very in-depth book. Most of the general information I knew, but it has very good insights into how the fast food industry has affected nearly every aspect of modern life. I recommend it to anyone willing to be repulsed by what they eat and what "fast food" has done to life as it was. Be prepared for some heavy reading along with the revulsion though.
Freakonomics:
Recommended to me by a friend that thought I'd appreciate the way the guy(s) that wrote it think(s). She was right. It turns out that when you listen to someone using sound, economic investigative techniques on everyday occurrences and rarely thought of comparisons, you get a VERY interesting book. I highly recommend it! Do teachers cheat as often as students? Something to think about (Education...or lack of... is something I think about lately).
Documentaries:
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised:
This is from 2002. It chronicles the failed military coup in Argentina to oust the democratically elected president (Hugo Chavez). It focuses on the media coverage at the time. It also portrays how a poor majority can triumph over a rich and influential minority. Wealth does not equal control. A very scary thought for some very powerful people. You can believe Mr. Chavez's ideas and policies or not, but look at the media roles. Look very closely at who owns and controls mass media and how it works with regard to public opinion.
Why We Fight:
The military institution since WWII with a focus on how it is commercially driven. I kind of got shut down before it finished (my computer has problems with really long streams). I plan to finish this soon. This is a very good, rarely considered background on most of the major events of the last 60 years. I also believe that this should be kept in mind when you look at politics in general in the U.S. today.
I saw a few other documentaries that were worth mentioning but I'm tired and actually what to post something today.
Think what you will, but I believe that fast food has (directly through the industrialization of agriculture and indirectly through a variety of means) made this world a lesser place than it was. I think that lack of education in critical and so-called "out-of-the-box" styles of thinking about issues is a serious misgiving that should be rectified. I believe that mass media (by which I mean media in control of a very few, very wealthy people) is largely to blame for most of the current problems on this planet.
We can change. We can cause change. Stay informed. Stay informed through all sources. Use the internet. Doubt what you see and hear...mass media especially (follow the money). Doubt the internet. Doubt it all. Check the sources. Being informed means listening to a variety of sources and sorting through them. Please consider pretty much all of the news services of any one country as just one source.
posted by Steve @ 9:35 PM
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