Clay Shirky---WOW!

Somehow, I had not heard of Clay Shirky until today. He studies cultural changes and identifies sometimes positive, sometimes unsettling trends that we have already begun to experience. Below are links to two knock-your-socks-off lectures in which Shirky expounds upon his findings.

In the first one, Shirky discusses what he calls cognitive surplus. He suggests among other things, that a tiny decrease in the amount of time Americans watch television would free up enough free time for us to create a couple thousand Wikipedias a year.

In the second video from TED.com Shirky explores changes coming about due to technology and predicts that these transformations will shake many established institutions to the core in the coming years. Shirky says that this will have ramifications that we can’t imagine today. Fascinating stuff.

Shirky’s online writings can be found at http://www.shirky.com/.

Striking Back

Tired of spammers and telemarketers? It’s time to do something. But what? Below are links to items by 2 culture heroes who have already struck back.

The first of these shows one method of dealing those maddening calls that often come at mealtimes.

The second is an admittedly lengthy exchange of emails that resulted from a guy responding to one of those spams promising thousands of dollars if the spamee will only come to the assistance of a persecuted Nigerian family. This sometimes verges on the absurd.

If these sound too good to be true, you may be right. Still, they are laugh-out-loud funny.

The End Is Near!

I am not usually a prophet of doom sort, but about a month ago I read an article in the Atlantic magazine called “Is Google Making Us Stupid?." In it, the author suggests that frequent use of the Internet is having negative effects on our brains, one of which is the inability to read extensive pieces of text ( e.g. books).

Then, today I came across some sites that indicate we are nearing the end—at least the end of something, perhaps civilization as we know it.

First, is the narcissistically appealing How Many of Me, which tells a person how many people with his or her first and last names were recorded in the last U.S. Census. Of course, I checked my name. Surprisingly, there are supposed to be six people with my moniker.

A step down from that-- or perhaps up, depending on your point of view is Bubble Wrap Heaven. At this site one can burst a virtual sheet of bubble wrap bubbles and then request another, and another, and another…. paging Mr. Monk.

Finally, we come to the End of the Internet. Another page calls itself The Last Page on the Intenet. As the site says, “You have reached the last page of the internet. Now you can turn off you computer, go outside and play.” If you head back in the other direction, you might come to the Exact Center of the Internet.

As I say, the end is near.

The Fly Guy

If you are running low on whimsy and would like a refill, try the FlyGuy site. By just touching the arrow buttons on your keyboard you'll be flying into the air past birds, airplanes, and some stranger flying objects. Don't be afraid to let the strongman launch you into outer space. This site is good for at least five minutes of mindless fun.

Judy Henske

Most of you probably never heard of Judy Henske. She had some popularity as a singer in the 1960s and might be considered sort of a cult figure today. She sings a mixture of blues, folk, jazz, and pop music. I came to be a fan sort through the back door. In the early 60s I was a devotee of the Kingston Trio, and when Dave Guard left the trio, I was interested in what he would do next. Well, he formed a group called Dave Guard and the Whiskeyhill Singers, which produced one album. Among the songs in this collection was the best version of “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” I have ever heard-- Judy Henske does a solo, with some tasteful 12 string guitar for accompaniment. The Whiskeyhill Singers soon broke up, and Judy pursued a solo career. I bought at least three of her albums. One of these contained a terrific version of “High Flyin’ Bird” written by Billy Ed Wheeler. Judy Henske's website can be found at http://www.judyhenske.com/

Street View on Google Maps

If you haven’t visited the Google Maps site recently, check it out. They’ve made a startling—at least according to some people I’ve shown it to—addition. For many an address in larger cities, Google now provides a “street view,” a 360 degree panoramic photographic view of the street. One can then do a virtual walk down the street, and turn corners on to neighboring avenues. It doesn’t appear that they’ve gotten to North Dakota or South Dakota yet, but if you live in the New York City area, as I do, people from Google have likely driven down your street. While some people say “Oh, Wow,” others see this as an invasion of privacy. I’m with the “Oh, Wow” crowd, but I do understand the concern for privacy. What do you think?