Category: Culture

Critters by Joe WilcoxNov 4, 20147:41 am

Maine Decides Whether to Shoot Bear Like Ducks in a Barrel

On this election day, I long to be back in Maine, so that I could vote on the initiative to ban bear barrels. It’s a practice unfamiliar to me. I grew up in a family of hunters, which killed for sport and food. They tracked the animals, not lured them with sweet throwaways.

I only learned about the referendum this morning, from a news story in my RSS feeds. National Geographic violates Betteridge’s Law of Headlines by asking question: “Should We Bait Black Bears With Doughnuts?” I am embarrassed for being so out of touch with important issues and politics in the Pine Tree State—they matter to family there, and to me. I may be long-time removed, but Maine will always be home. I identity myself as a Mainer, more than by any other measure.

Living by Joe WilcoxNov 2, 20147:42 pm

O Canada, What Say You?

What do two forts share in common? Kaci Hickox, the 33 year-old healthcare worker from Fort Worth, Texas, taking refuge in Fort Kent, Maine. Surely you know of the so-called Ebola nurse and the legal scuffle about quarantining her. As an Aroostook County native born about 70 kilometers (okay, I rounded up) southeast of FK and having traveled widely across the Lone Star State, I know something about the character of both regions. Think independent-mindedness times two, which equals “Don’t tell me what to do”.

The simple story: She volunteered in Sierra Leone, where the disease rages. She returned to the wrong state, New Jersey, which put her in isolation. She fled to one of the most rural and remote areas of the Northeast. Maine’s governor demanded voluntary quarantine. She defied it. A federal judge ruled against the Gov. News reporters who couldn’t find Fort Kent with a Google Map ruined the autumn tourist trade by filling up the only hotel. We all wait to see if she stays symptom free through November 10. Pass the popcorn. The suspense is thicker than a horror flick.

Culture by Joe WilcoxOct 20, 20146:26 pm

Viral Before There was Viral: 'The Blair Witch Project'

As Halloween approaches, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences takes a long look down memory lane—eh, scary forest paths—with a short documentary about “The Blair Witch Project“. Before there was Facebook and Flickr […]

Living by Joe WilcoxOct 16, 20147:27 pm

The Underemployment Crisis

When I worked as an analyst for Jupiter Research a decade ago, the editorial philosophy was “data-driven analysis”. But sometimes single stories—one or a few individuals—define a trend. That’s my renewed feeling today meeting Tim in the alley behind our apartment.

I measure San Diego’s economy, and in some respects that of America, by the people who dumpster dive our alley. We moved to the city seven years ago yesterday and were taken aback by the number of people who pull redeemable bottles and cans from recycle and trash bins. But the collectors’ character changed in 2009, following the financial crisis of late 2008. No longer did we see just clearly weather-worn homeless, but paler and better-dressed folks not long laid off from office jobs. Professionals.

Society by Joe WilcoxSep 1, 20147:39 pm

Apple Apologists are Dinosaurs

Three-and-a-half years ago, “I am not anti-Apple” posted to BetaNews. I reaffirm that position in the first of two posts looking at my experience dealing with Apple fanatics—the majority who appear to use tactics taught by Guy Kawasaki in the late-1990s when he was the company’s chief evangelist.

Any long-time journalist knows the drill. You write X story about Apple and the innuendo-carting cultists swarm in accusing you of Windows bias and shilling for Microsoft. Or in this decade, Google. The accusations whack the writer’s credibility often with no substance (e.g., facts) to support them. I credit (some would blame) Guy for the Mac cult attack squads that still clobber people writing presumed negative Apple stories today. Sure their numbers are diminished, but the ferocity of the few still bites.

Living by Joe WilcoxJun 21, 20149:01 pm

‘Friends Forever’ is More than a Cliché

I can’t express how much we enjoyed hosting Richard Abendroth, Andreas Hochmuth, and Jake Mas. The young men, all in their earlier twenties, motorcycled across the country, from Maryland to California. They left here yesterday heading up the coast, with an eventual destination of Seattle before traveling back East.

These are fine young men, whose comradery and energy inspire me. Jake’s description of the three huddled together under the rocks at La Jolla Cove watching the sun set over the Pacific for the first time was evocative. “Friends forever” is more than a cliché. It is a living vital force as demonstrated by the travelers’ familiarity and trust.

Society by Joe WilcoxFeb 26, 201411:37 am

My Millennial Mind

Now I understand why my music tastes and many attitudes are more like my daughter’s, hehe. Take Pew Research’s “How Millennial are You?” quiz. Find out, if like me, you were born into the wrong […]

Society by Joe WilcoxFeb 21, 201412:33 pm

Mob Journalism shouldn’t take away an Olympic Gold Medal

As I write, 1.7 million people have signed a Change.org petition to: “Open investigation into judging decisions of Women’s Figure Skating and demand rejudgement at the Sochi Olympics”. The signatories and the news media’s response to them is classic example of “Mob Journalism”, a term first used on this blog in April 2010.

I coined Mob Journalism, or thought so four years ago, to define a populist response that is a social media byproduct. Services like Change.org, Facebook, Twitter, and others with online reach, enable the mob (referring to the masses not the mafia) to have a much louder voice. That’s quickly, too, unlike letter-writing campaigns used by protesters of earlier eras. Rapid response benefits societies, as explained in June 2009 analysis “Iran and the Internet Democracy“. The news media’s response is another matter.

Society by Joe WilcoxFeb 14, 201410:24 pm

Darwin is More Evolved Than This

Ten days ago Bill Nye (yeah the Science Guy) debated Christian author Ken Ham about evolution vs creationism. Their live-streamed slugfest is a social media lovehug (for the sharing) and fistfight (for fierce debate). I see posts supporting one or the other, or neither, still several times a day.

Living by Joe WilcoxFeb 10, 20144:34 pm

Tale of Two Cities

There is no denying that the home of the summer of love is now experiencing a winter of fear and loathing. Rory Carroll Superbly-written take on the revolt around San Francisco against tech giants like […]

Living by Joe WilcoxFeb 2, 201410:04 pm

What's This Thing with Llamas?

Saturday Night Live Season 39 Episode 13 includes a llama in the opening monologue. Once again, like four years ago with post “Tweet If You See a Tooting Llama“, I wonder about the apparent fascination New Yorkers have with the creatures. So I did a new web search. July 3, 2013, New York Times story “The Llama is In” explains much.

Reporter Jennifer Kingson says the beasts have an “irresistible quality” and that 115,000 are registered globally. According to the International Llama Registry, there are 634 owners in New York—and that’s not many. California, Oregon, and Texas have the most, with 2,496, 2,084, and 2,036, respectively.

Living by Joe WilcoxFeb 2, 20147:43 pm

Better (RED) Than Dead

Super Bowl XLVIII is a real snoozer, with Seattle’s huge lead, and the adverts aren’t much more interesting. Among the few catching my attention: U2 song “Invisible” free on iTunes, with Bank of America donating a buck to (Product) RED. The promotion/donation ends 11:59 p.m. EST February 3.

On Sept. 29, 2006, I posted a quick analysis about (RED), which was then freshly started, to my JupiterResearch blog. The site is long gone, but I have the posts archived. What follows is the original text, complete with the original links, including to MySpace. Facebook was just a wisp seven-and-a-half-years ago. What that brief introduction…