The information dangers in the digital age.


http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/is-the-global-rise-of-demagogues-a-product-of-information-overload?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox#link_time=1479224163

Hair We Go

They say it's your Tax Day, well it's my Tax Day too yeah.

Well today is Tax Day and people are protesting for smaller government and less taxes. Interestingly enough there is a report in the news which shows almost half of Americans pay no federal taxes and some even receive refunds beyond what they had withheld, making today a payday. So my message to all protesters out there is "Job Well Done." "Mission Accomplished." "Stand Down, good soldier."

I wonder if some of the protesters are among the people not paying. They must be. How weird would that be? You're out there dressed up like John Adams holding your sign and all the time knowing that you received a unearned windfall compliments of Uncle Sam (whose likeness happens to be on your sign, but with Obama's face and a Hitler mustache.) I bet they really keep that quite.

And don't these people have jobs. Who has time to travel around the country protesting? Don't they have children? When you think about it the last person person in the world who would be able to go around protesting is an employed, middle-class worker with a spouse, two kids and a dog.

I could never imagine myself saying to my wife, "Sorry, honey, we can't go on vacation this year because I flying to Washington D.C. to protest irresponsible spending. By the way, have you seen my authentic John Adams suit I bought with the kids' college fund?"

Maybe they're mostly single.

the perfect world

In our more centered moments, most of us probably see that the world is perfect - it’s a perfect mess - that’s the way it is and that’s the way it’s always going to be and that’s just fine.

But aside from those 7 seconds each week, most of us who aren’t Buddhist monks probably yearn for a bit more from the world. It seems like when I look at world history, each era has some good with some bad. Every generation has it’s assets and it’s liabilities. But if you could create your own “perfect world” from bits and pieces of yesteryear, how would you do it? What area of the world at what time in history would you choose to emulate for clothing styles, for example. And what about music? Movies? Haircuts?

For me, I’d start with the fashions of the mid-twentieth century. Anything from the late ‘20s to the early ‘60s looks fantastic. People looked so damned NICE back then. Even the middle class was all polished and sparkly. Take a look at some old family photos from the ‘40s or ‘50s and look at how much pride most people took in their appearance. And the movie stars were sooooo beautiful. Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Rock Hudson, Bettie Page... the list goes on and on and on. Many of our beautiful “celebrities” today look like cheap whores and dirty hoods compared to the stars of bygone years.

I’ll take that same era for architecture and automobile styles. Let’s face it, Art Deco was (and still IS) a great look.

For music, I’m going with the 1964 - 1970 era: The British Invasion. New sounds, lots of energy and lots of experimentation. The bands from that era are still influencing young musicians today. Hey, every rock band STILL wants to be the next Beatles.

Movies? I think I’ll take the ‘70s. TONS of great and influential movies came out then. It’s almost like the energy of the ‘60s cultural revolution caught up to film makers in the ‘70s. The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Apocolypse Now, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Exorcist, Annie Hall, Star Wars...geez... again, the list goes on and on.

But if you’re talking technology, you gotta go with the present time. We’re living in a really exciting time, technologically. iPhones and computers and the internet have radically changed our way of life. It seems that what is now possible is almost limitless. Who knows, maybe someday soon, we’ll be able to create our own perfect world. Not virtually - literally.