Archive for July 2nd, 2010
Why not pictures of the BP oil spill? I don’t want to take…
Why not pictures of the BP oil spill?
I don’t want to take away from the awfulness of this mess, but media hype still exists, yes? One problem with letting a picture tell the story is it can’t tell the whole story. Even this image is only 30-50 square feet of one beach on an immense coastline of an even bigger gulf. The photographer, his editor, and the papers that rehash this image are primarily interested in finding the picture that carries the maximum impact and attracts the most eyeballs.
There have been a lot of exclamatory articles in the past few weeks about BP !!!burning endangered sea turtles alive!!! that are another example of this hype-driven journalism. BP isn’t having a sea turtle BBQ. They are, however, managing controlled burns of oil to prevent more of it from washing up on shore. Allowing sea turtle rescuers into the burn zone means accepting the risk/liability for the lives of the rescuers. (Also, any turtle in the burn zone might unfortunately come to an easier death than the one that dies from choking on oil.) Choosing between less oil and the lives of the sea turtles is not an easy one, and decrying BP without discussing the agonizing nuance of the situation is disingenuous.
This cassette tape was found in a friend’s car — I…
This cassette tape was found in a friend’s car — I think his initials were Marc Glazer — and now every time I hear it; I picture him driving down the freeway, windows/top down, wind in (what’s left of) his hair, singing at the top of his lungs. Sing away, free bird!
If you know what I’ve been coping with at work…
If you know what I’ve been coping with at work you’ll know why I’m posting this. If you don’t…I bet you can empathize anyway.