CTV’s cancellation of Canadian Idol this season means that nearly 650 people across Canada won’t be able to find short-term work with the reality show as they did last year.
Oh noes! Whatever did they do before Canadian Idol came on the scene? Who will think of the children?
Design Altruism Project: POSTprofessional
A number of years ago, long after I’d left the Scouts, I penned a self-righteous screed criticizing the inherent myths of expertism. I must confess, at the time I was not armed with the most credible objections, and at least one of my grad-school mentors had trouble accepting the apparent irrationality of my discontentment. More recently, while reading John Thackara’s wonderful In the Bubble, I came across his reference to Ivan Illich’s 1973 book Tools for Conviviality. Here, in 110 jam-packed pages, Illich advanced all the arguments I was lacking in my own earlier critique of professionalism. According to Illich, industrial growth and efficiency demands that man “submit to the logic of his tools.” Since it is in the nature of man’s “vital equilibrium” to resist such a dynamic, men must be manipulated by education, engineering, and bureaucracy. “People feel joy, as opposed to mere pleasure, to the extent that their activities are creative; while the growth of tools beyond a certain point increases regimentation, dependence, exploitation, and impotence.”
via Metafilter
Very good summary of Illich and the implications of his ideas; he was pretty much right about a lot of things, i think.
From Stop Me Before I Vote Again:
The electoral ratchet permits movement only in the rightward direction. The Republican role is fairly clear; the Republicans apply the torque that rotates the thing rightward.
The Democrats’ role is a little less obvious. The Democrats are the pawl. They don’t resist the rightward movement — they let it happen — but whenever the rightward force slackens momentarily, for whatever reason, the Democrats click into place and keep the machine from rotating back to the left.
A Bridge Loan? U.S. Should Guide G.M. in a Chapter 11
First, let’s recognize that G.M. doesn’t need life support. What it needs is Chapter 11. The bankruptcy process is not a bad thing — indeed, it should be embraced. Bankruptcy allows companies to do tough things they could never do in the normal course of business.
Let’s see.
Daily Kos: State of the Nation
” […] Then something happened. Nixon played to it of course but it really came into play in the 1990’s and even more this past decade. Republicans turned their backs on smart people. Just like that, being smart was less important than being ‘real’. Being qualified was about being ordinary.
[…]
He stopped for a moment and took another sip from his mug. “The Republican party is the party of the bowling alley. It’s the party of the poker game. It’s the party of pseudo patriotism and talking points masquerading as a platform. It’s the party of shrillness and fear and I couldn’t in good conscience be a part of that smoke and mirrors any longer.”
Can’t get an interview with Sarah Palin? We’ve got you covered.
Q: What is the role of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Iraq that John McCain has done, that has to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we’re on, reform of government and these regulatory agencies back on the anniversary, in this nation, at this time. It is for no more politics as usual, the cronyism that has to exercise all options out there on the side of the U.S. domestic supply of energy, that I can help the ticket, if you ask that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the lobbyists play in an issue that we see the United States of America, where where do they go? It’s Alaska.
