Harlan Ellison on God

The writer Harlan Ellison discusses his views on god and religion in the documentary 'Harlan Ellison: Dreams With Sharp Teeth.

Harlan Ellison -- Pay the #Writer #journalism

A memorable (and timely) rant from the upcoming feature documentary on Harlan Ellison, "DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH". Go to www.dreamswithsharpteeth.com for more excerpts!!
See the full trailer here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=dmfzKKM49uY

What happened in 1951, my birth year?

http://whathappenedinmybirthyear.com/

In 1951, the world was a different place.

There was no Google yet. Or Yahoo.

In 1951, the year of your birth, the top selling movie was Quo Vadis. People buying the popcorn in the cinema lobby had glazing eyes when looking at the poster.

Remember, that was before there were DVDs. Heck, even before there was VHS. People were indeed watching movies in the cinema, and not downloading them online. Imagine the packed seats, the laughter, the excitement, the novelty. And mostly all of that without 3D computer effects.

Do you know who won the Oscars that year? The academy award for the best movie went to An American in Paris. The Oscar for best foreign movie that year went to Rashomon. The top actor was Humphrey Bogart for his role as Charlie Allnut in The African Queen. The top actress was Vivien Leigh for her role as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. The best director? George Stevens for A Place in the Sun.

In the year 1951, the time when you arrived on this planet, books were still popularly read on paper, not on digital devices. Trees were felled to get the word out. The number one US bestseller of the time was From Here to Eternity by James Jones. Oh, that's many years ago. Have you read that book? Have you heard of it?

In 1951... The new United Nations headquarters officially opens in New York City. Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with a 1-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flat, northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. Hank Ketcham's best-selling comic strip Dennis the Menace, appeared in newspapers across the U.S. for the first time. The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins. The United Kingdom begins an economic boycott of Iran. I Love Lucy made its television debut on CBS. Judy Garland begins her legendary concerts in New York's Palace Theatre. The National Ballet of Canada performs for the first time in Eaton Auditorium. John Huston's drama film, The African Queen, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, premieres in Hollywood. The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than $13.3 billion USD in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.

That was the world you were born into. Since then, you and others have changed it.

The Nobel prize for Literature that year went to Pär Lagerkvist. The Nobel Peace prize went to Léon Jouhaux. The Nobel prize for physics went to John Douglas Cockcroft and Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton from the United Kingdom and Ireland for their pioneer work on the transmutation of atomic nuclei by artificially accelerated atomic particles. The sensation this created was big. But it didn't stop the planets from spinning, on and on, year by year. Years in which you would grow bigger, older, smarter, and, if you were lucky, sometimes wiser. Years in which you also lost some things. Possessions got misplaced. Memories faded. Friends parted ways. The best friends, you tried to hold on. This is what counts in life, isn't it?

The 1950s were indeed a special decade. The American economy is on the upswing. The cold war betwen the US and the Soviet Union is playing out throughout the whole decade. Anti-communism prevails in the United States and leads to the Red Scare and accompanying Congressional hearings. Africa begins to become decolonized. The Korean war takes place. The Vietnam War starts. The Suez Crisis war is fought on Egyptian territory. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and others overthrow authorities to create a communist government on Cuba. Funded by the US, reconstructions in Japan continue. In Japan, film maker Akira Kurosawa creates the movies Rashomon and Seven Samurai. The FIFA World Cups are won by Uruguay, then West Germany, then Brazil.

Do you remember the movie that was all the rage when you were 15? Madame X. Do you still remember the songs playing on the radio when you were 15? Maybe it was Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones. Were you in love? Who were you in love with, do you remember?

In 1951, 15 years earlier, a long time ago, the year when you were born, the song The Tennessee Waltz by Patti Page topped the US charts. Do you know the lyrics? Do you know the tune? Sing along.

I was dancin' with my darlin'
To the Tennessee Waltz
When an old friend I happened to see
I introduced her to my loved one
And while they were dancin'
My friend stole my sweetheart from me
...

There's a kid outside, shouting, playing. It doesn't care about time. It doesn't know about time. It shouts and it plays and thinks time is forever. You were once that kid.

When you were 9, the movie The Absent Minded Professor was playing. When you were 8, there was The Shaggy Dog.

6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... it's 1951. There's TV noise coming from the second floor. Someone turned up the volume way too high. The sun is burning from above. These were different times. The show playing on TV is The Roy Rogers Show . The sun goes down. Someone switches channels. There's Truth or Consequences on now. That's the world you were born in.

Progress, year after year. Do you wonder where the world is heading towards? The technology available today would have blown your mind in 1951. Do you know what was invented in the year you were born? The Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill. Liquid Paper. The Nuclear Power Reactor.

He was born on a summer day, 1951
And with a slap of a hand, he had landed as an only son
His mother and father said what a lovely boy
We'll teach him what we learned, ah yes just what we learned
...

That's from the song Lonely Boy by Andrew Gold.

In 1951, a new character entered the world of comic books: Schroeder from the Peanuts. Bang! Boom! But that's just fiction, right? In the real world, in 1951, Gordon Brown was born. And Jane Seymour. Charles De Lint, too. And you, of course. Everyone an individual. Everyone special. Everyone taking a different path through life.
It's 2010.

The world is a different place.

What path have you taken?

#tweet4rights Social media creates new tools for change

Social media creates new tools for change

TORONTO, Feb. 24 /CNW/ - #tweet4rights: An Evening of Rights Media invites the local Twitter community to meet face to face to explore the incredible potential of social media to promote and raise human rights awareness. The February 26 "tweet up" event, a first for jhr, will empower participants to use social media tools to make a difference.

David Silverberg, Digital Journal editor and veteran slam poet will open the evening with an original piece on the importance of journalism. Then, jhr's Education Specialist, Carissa MacLennan, will follow with a presentation on the concept of "Rights Media" - the process of writing, collecting, editing, producing and distributing media that creates societal dialogue on human rights issues - and how it can be used in the exciting new field of social media. The Cryptic Canvas gallery, a hidden gem in downtown Toronto, will provide the backdrop for an educational and inspiring evening. Following the presentation, guests are welcome to mingle and enjoy complimentary snacks and alcoholic beverages available for purchase.

"The amazing thing about this '#tweet4rights' campaign is that it gives our supporters the chance to take the lead role in raising and spreading awareness of human rights that is so integral in mobilizing change," says Justine Yu, Social Media Coordinator at jhr. "It's about giving the people the power to make the lasting difference that we so desperately want to see."

jhr is a Toronto-based nonprofit organization that works internationally in close partnership with local media owners, editors, journalists, journalism professors and students to improve the overall media environment. jhr's mission is to make everyone in the world fully aware of their rights.

This event is open to the public but registration is required. To register, visit: http://tweet4rights.eventbrite.com/.

    What:       #tweet4rights: An Evening of Rights Media hosted
                by Journalists for Human Rights
    When:       February 26, 2010, 6pm to 10pm
    Where:      The Cryptic Canvas Gallery, 8 Waterloo Terrace (off Adelaide
                 Place)
    How Much:   Free! Limited tickets, sign up online:
                http://tweet4rights.eventbrite.com/

For further information: Media Contacts: Emily Agopsowicz, Event Coordinator, t: (416) 413-0240 ext. 202, e: emily@jhr.ca; Justine Yu, Social Media Coordinator, t: (416) 413-0240 ext. 207, e: justine@jhr.ca

Do you have a multimedia emergency plan?

Do you have a multimedia emergency plan? #journalism & #technology
http://ow.ly/17mLG

A news story that will make national or international headlines is
breaking. Quick...what do you do? If you don't have already have a game
plan for how to report a crisis online, now's the time to start making
preemptive plans. Most newsrooms already have reporters to turn to for
print stories and broadcast news coverage, but here are few multimedia
components to consider so the internet audience is informed as well.

Iceland aims to become an offshore haven for journalists and leakers

Iceland aims to become an offshore haven for #journalists & leakers
http://ow.ly/16CtF
"a Switzerland of bits."

[excerpt]

On Tuesday, the Icelandic parliament is expected to introduce a measure
aimed at making the country an international center for investigative
journalism publishing, by passing the strongest combination of source
protection, freedom of speech, and libel-tourism prevention laws in the
world.

Supporters of the proposal say the move would make Iceland an "offshore
publishing center" for free speech, analogous to the offshore financial
havens that allow corporations to hide capital from authorities. Could
global news organizations with a home office in Reykjavík soon be as
common as Delaware corporations or Cayman Islands assets?

"This is a legislative package to create a haven for freedom of
expression," Icelandic member of parliament Birgitta Jónsdóttir confirmed
to me, saying that a proposal for comprehensive media law reform will be
filed in parliament on Tuesday, and that whistle-blowing specialists
Wikileaks has been involved in drafting it. There have been persistent
hints of an Icelandic media move in recent weeks, including tweets from
Wikileaks and a cryptic message from the newly created @icelandmedia
Twitter account.

The text of the proposal, called the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, is
not yet public, but the most detailed evidence comes from a video of a
talk by Julian Assange and Daniel Schmitt of Wikileaks, given at the Chaos
Communications Congress hacker conference in Berlin on Dec. 27:

We could just say we're taking the source protection laws from Sweden, for
example…we could take the First Amendment from the United States, we could
take Belgian protection laws for journalists, and we could all pack these
together in one bundle, and make it fit for the first jurisdiction that
offers the necessities of an information society.

[...]

Women’s Media Fdn. announces Boston fellowship, and Co urage in Journalism award

RT @mediamentor: RT @utknightcenter: #Women #journalists who cover human
#rights can apply for #fellowship:
http://ow.ly/16tx7

[embedded links for below at URL above]

The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) is accepting
applications until April 9, 2010 for the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship and
accepting nominations until March 5 for the Courage in Journalism Awards.

The Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship is named for the Boston Globe
correspondent who was killed in Iraq in 2003. She was a winner of the
IWMF's Courage in Journalism Award in 1998.

One woman journalist will be accepted to spend the academic year in Boston
(September 2010—May 2011) in a tailored program designed to combine
academic research with training in covering human rights. The fellowship
is open to women journalists from around the world whose work focuses on
human rights and social justice. Journalists working in print, broadcast
and Internet media—including freelancers—are eligible. Applicants should
have at least three years experience in journalism. Excellent written and
verbal English skills are required.

Learn more about the fellowship in this press release and these FAQs. See
also this list of previous fellows, who include Jenny Manrique of
Colombia. The application is available here.

Separately, the IWMF is seeking nominations for its Courage in Journalism
Awards. Past winners from Latin Americas include Lydia Cacho and Maribel
Gutierrez Moreno from Mexico; Mabel Rehnfeldt, Paraguay; Marielos Monzon,
Guatemala; Jineth Bedoya Lima and Maria Jimena Duzan, Colombia; and Blanca
Rosales Valencia, Peru. Nominations can be made here.

Journalist's Guide for Disaster and Crisis Coverage

This online guidebook is designed to help journalists everywhere prepare
for future disaster coverage.

An excerpted version of the guide is available as an embedable interactive
widget (left). A PDF version of the guide, including an extended text and
additional sections, can be downloaded
in English here,
http://www.icfj.org/disaster/ICFJ_disaster_ENG.pdf
and in Spanish, here.
http://www.icfj.org/disaster/ICFJ_disaster_ESP.pdf

RT @mediamentor: International Center for #Journalists (ICFJ) #Journalism
Guide > Disaster and Crisis Coverage http://ow.ly/15HPR

'The Creditor and the Plastic Duck Junkie' - Understanding China

Understanding China -
"See a person's means
Observe his motives.
Examine that in which he rests.
How can a person conceal his character? "