For me the concept behind oldjewstellingjokes.com is great. Some young media-folks are using modern technology to capture and preserve the fascination of charismatic people giving everyone a laugh with their favorite jokes. Sometimes I am asking myself if the general average of jewish jokes is really so much about sexuality like within the ones presented in this project, but never mind. The people are just great and it is very much inspiring to read the short cv underneath every clip and learn about their carrers and achievements. The technical background is ok as well, so guys, if you want to have a laugh, give oldjewstellingjokes.com a try!
Sad but true. Everyone who works in media business knows that meanwhile a lot of the aspects shown in the video above are becoming standard within the industry. So even though for some of you it may be close to gallows humour I hope you will have at least a little fun with that video and perhaps even laugh about how crazy the whole situation has become.
Barack Obama (Wikipedia) already has a guaranteed place in the history books, no matter how many of his aims he will be able to reach. He has – with a little help from his supporters and voters – already made this world a bit more tolerant and better. He is the first “black” president of the US. He is an intensive user of new forms of communications for political processes. And last but not least he has become an idol of the loving father and modern husband, who sees his wife not only as ornament but as equal partner.
“Exact!”, will be the answer of like-minded Obama fans. “Again a pitiable naive, caught by propaganda”, the conservative critics will comment. But what makes me so sure that the harmony shown by the presidential couple isn’t indeed fake? What if Barak in reality is an asshole, who smiles in the lenses of journalists and otherwise loves to be served by others? In this case I would like to point to a picture shown on the official Flickr account of the White House.
Meanwhile everyone has seen the clip on Youtube, in which the president kills a fly during a interview on television (Link to the clip on Youtube). Not so known by far is the picture, taken after this in which he collects the dead insect from the floor (Link to the picture at Flickr).
I love symbolic pictures. And this one shows alongside other things that the president of the United States of America even beside all his responsibilities and everything he has to bear in his mind, instinctively needs to go down in this expensive suit for a dead fly. I don’t care, if he did it out of respect for the creature, out of respect for the cleaning staff of the White House or just because his wife trained him this way.
Wikipedia says: “Presented chronologically from President Bush’s State of the Union Address in January, 2002 (the Axis of evil speech), and continuing up to the announcement of formal U.S. military action in Iraq on March 19, 2003, the film presents selected interviews, speeches, and press conferences given by Bush and his administration, including Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. Non-U.S. sources include British Prime Minister Tony Blair.”
The topic is interesting anyway, but the film and its internetpage leadingtowar.com are as well a good example for political communication in our times.
As you are reading this text, I assume that you are using the internet. In case you are using it not only to read my blog but also do other stuff, you should really consider to take a look at “The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet”. Author Daniel J. Solove is telling about the chances but as well the dangers of our digital times in which we are vulnerable to until now unknown phenomena like virtual witch hunts in blogs, chats and social communities. Fortunately for us Solove, who is having a blog as well, convinced Yale University Press to publish the book not only as a commercial paper edition but as a free pdf-version, that can be downloaded from the books webpage. So now nobody has an excuse not to take at least a short glimpse in this volume. And I can only suggest to do so, because it contains some fundamental lessons about the internet as we live with it and in it today.
