Aural Stimulation for an Offbeat Generation

     You know, I'll be honest... I've had a Livejournal for some time, now. I have written through some of my most abbrasive and trying times, and I've loved it for that, but it's also weighted down with such futility. The formatting, exposure, and archival advantages of Livejournal over this Blogger aren't quite clear at the moment, so I'm hear to putz around and see if I can't cozy in.

     And now I'll be completely honest.. honestly this time... My Moleskine probably gets the most love from me, but it also lacks a certain multimedia capacity that a Livejournal or a Blog possesses. Therefore, this will be much less of an account of my life (you can thank me later), and more of a funneling-in of my thoughts and ideas as stimulated or solidified by the internet.

     Resources, resources, resources. This Blog will mainly be a collection of resources. Resources and sources.

Resources like:

»Commercial Alert, founded by Gary Ruskin, is a not-for-profit organization aimed at eliminating harmful advertising, especially when it is marketed towards young persons. Help them get the attention of the FDA, Congress, and the like by signing petitions and voicing your beliefs.

»MoveOn.org: Democracy in Action, started by Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, is another petitioning organization focused more on national political issues such as the war in Iraq, and has formed a political action committee (PAC) to help in their efforts of bringing political influence to the people. From the site:

"In 1998, MoveOn PAC was formed as a political action committee so that like-minded, concerned citizens could influence the outcome of congressional elections, and in turn, the balance of power in Washington, D.C. Now known as MoveOn.org Political Action, this organization provides individuals, who normally have little political power, an opportunity to aggregate their contributions with others to gain a greater voice in the political process, and brings people together to take important stands on the most important issues facing our country."

»Guerrilla News Network, A NYC and Berkeley, CA based underground and independent news network aiming to expose its readers to important global issues through cross-platform guerrilla programming.

     ...And the likes. It will also contain tidbits and bytes from throughout the internet that I may find while perusing other blogs, journals, news sites, forums, podcasts, etc...

Bytes like:

»Naom Chomsky on No One's LIstening:
Naom Chomsky gives a what's what over on KSFS (SanFran State U)'s "No One's Listening", and dives into the world of Corporate-sponsered news and the facts of ad-driven entertainment. What's interesting is Naom's take on the parallels between corporate and political advertising techniques. Excerpt:

"Both political parties and the media are far to the right of the general population on a whole host of issues. And the population is just disorganized, atomized... And that's why the media and campaigns keep away from (political) issues. They know that on issues, they're going to lose people. So therefore you have... George Bush... this pampered kid who came from a rich family and went to prep school and an elite university. And you have to present him as an ordinary guy who makes grammatical errors, which I'm sure he's trained to make--he didn't talk that way at Yale--and a fake Texas twang, and he's off to his ranch to cut brush or something. It's like a toothpaste ad. And I think a lot of people know it."

In the same podcast, Gary Ruskin (founder of Commercial Alert) gives his opinions on advertising and the youth of today. If you think adults are susceptable to marketing ploys, imagine what happens when such blatant propaganda finds its way into the morning classroom setting, every day, for 12+ minutes...
(Boingboing.net)

     And so ends my first entry fleshed out into the vast unkown that is the blog universe. And so begins an enjoyable way to voice my opinion, share information, and collect facts. And though this process can be fun, it can also be tedious, so if there are any of you out there that are actually liking what you see and want to contribute, please email me at pedmands@gmail.com with any submissions and I'll obviously give full credit where credit's due.

Until next time.