A try at a first post, for me. I have now entered the blogosphere.
Fast Company‘s cover article for December is a good overview of what Wal-Mart is doing to our economy. It is more even-handed than many others very critical of WM, so perhaps more useful for discussion with frequent shoppers whom we all know.
Then there’s the PBS StoreWars report, which is more polarizing. And for a real exposure of the oxymoron “Wal-Mart ethics,” try here.
Just put your lips together and blow…
Back in the 1980s, I had a video about research into dolphin communication put together by Jacques Cousteau. In it, there was a section on Silbo, a whistling language used in the Canary Islands off Spain to communicate long distance (it was meant to show that you could communicate effectively through whistling. Well, bless the Canary Islands, because they’re making sure that Silbo sticks around. Nice article, and it has an audio file of an interaction in Silbo, plus its translation.
[ updated the link to the same story on CNN. ~c ]
Beauty contestants… Poor things – they allow themselves to be displayed for the pleasure of the public, not realizing they’re being completely objectified (or in some cases, realizing but not caring). Only now it’s our cyber sisters being treated like…meat? Virtual meat?
As Strong Bad would say, “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!” It looks like PBS is offering the entirety of a NOVA series on modern physics for online viewing. Even better, they’re offering it in a good-quality QuickTime stream with closed-captioning!
Between this and the BBC’s Reith Lecture series on the human brain, the future of public broadcasting online seems very promising.