Category: Society

Living by Joe WilcoxApr 11, 20064:47 pm

MySpace Isn’t the Problem

Shoot, will people lay off poor MySpace. Today the company hired a new Chief Security Officer, in response to a bunch of news stories about kids online safety. Yesterday, my mom called to make sure that I didn’t miss a Dateline story about the dangers of MySpace. Sorry, Ma. I spent time with my daughter rather than watch about parents that weren’t looking after their kids.

The problem isn’t social networking sites, but unmonitored kids and their uninvolved parents. In December I warned of kids risky, online behavior. But the greater risk is from the parents. C’mon, if kids are posting on public blogs, why should predators be reading them and not the parents?

Living by Joe WilcoxApr 8, 20064:44 pm

The 9-11 Degrees of Separation

I have been thinking about Zacarias Moussaoui’s trial and an important lesson taught by the tragedies of September 11, 2001. We really all are connected, in more obvious ways than we realize. There’s a concept […]

Culture by Joe WilcoxApr 6, 20066:05 pm

Funerary Relief Bust Lament

I took my daughter and her friend downtown today, hoping to catch some remnant of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. But there was none. Day before, my daughter and I braved the steady (and pelting rain) for a few short hours. We gave up on the parade, but managed to shop the merchandise along Pennsylvania Ave. I bought her a kimono jacket and trinkets.

But, today, cars rather than merchants filled Pennsylvania Ave. So we continued the walk up 12th Street to the National Mall. For young girls the mall means someplace to shop, so I explained the difference of this Mall. I have yet to break my daughter of calling the Washington Monument, which flanks one end of the Mall, the “big pointy thing”.

Living by Joe WilcoxApr 3, 20063:24 pm

Let Be the Midwives

The New York Times looks at the prosecution of midwives in Indiana, where only doctors and nurses can legally assist births. I believe the same may hold true in Maryland, where we used a licensed midwife-nurse for our daughter’s birth.

Midwifery certainly predates any law governing the practice or the modern-day practice of hospital deliveries. This doctor-hospital thing is a fairly recent practice, while midwives have been birthing babies for millennia.

Digital Lifestyle by Joe WilcoxMar 30, 20065:19 pm

Where Washington Works

I can’t blame Intel for promoting Centrino, and I like the result: The chipmaker worked with Sperling’s Best Places to rank the top cities for teleworking (Whatever happened to calling it telecommuting?). Washington ranks #1.

Living by Joe WilcoxMar 29, 20068:39 am

From (Docking) Cradle to the Grave

How much do some people love their cell phones? It’s a grave question, as some people choose to take along their cell phones when they die—or so claims the BBC.

Seriously.

People by Joe WilcoxMar 28, 20065:12 pm

Super Lawyer

Geek Entertainment TV has an interview with Lawrence Lessig: Mr. Creative Commons and champion of reasonable copyrights. I’m a big fan of both. Lawrence’s work supports the spirit of the the early Web.

Society by Joe WilcoxMar 28, 20063:03 pm

Way to Go, Kids

Now this is what social networking should be for: High school students use MySpace to organize a walkout over proposed immigration changes. The kids are right. It’s wrong to make illegal immigration a felony. The […]

The Arts by Joe WilcoxMar 27, 20066:00 pm

Stoning ‘Philosopher’s Stone’

While traveling this month, I started reading J.K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, with the shameful, Americanized title. The book is properly known in the UK as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Given the Potter series’ popularity (six books and four movies), I had high expectations of the bestseller, but lowered them upon reading.

Coming from Northern Maine, where remain cultural ties to Canada and Britain, I quickly picked up on the mishmash of very British references. I’d say that Rowlings includes just about every magical or ghoulish creature known on the British Isles. The book borrows heavily from literary consciousness. The lacking originality, of plopping together concepts and creatures familiar to many generations of Britons, is astounding—unless her originality is humor. I take the book to be farcical, humorous in its plopping together so many creatures steeped in British cultural heritage.

Living by Joe WilcoxMar 12, 20064:31 am

Twisted Tales for Girls

In today’s New York Times, author Naomi Wolf looks at “cute” books for teenage girls that are anything but sweet.

Teenage girl series, such as “Clique” or “Gossip Girls”, are fitting to the adage, “You can’t judge a book from the cover”. Beneath the banal paperback covers are pages rife with status, shopping, and sex. Excerpted from one of the “A-List” series novels, one teen describes sex with her boyfriend: “We used to jump each other, like, three times a night. When we went out to the movies, we’d sit by a wall and do it during the boring parts”.

Living by Joe WilcoxMar 11, 200610:57 am

Smokers’ Revenge

My daughter and I hauled over to Quiznos for lunch. On Saturdays, kids meals are 99 cents. More importantly, it’s about 20 Celsius in Washington and perfect day for eating on Quiznos’ outdoor tables. Humph. […]

Apple by Joe WilcoxMar 8, 20068:23 pm

Mac’s Back

The New Year started with my full-time return to Windows, so that I could test Windows Vista and Office 2007. This evening, after many days’ deliberations, I picked up a MacBook Pro from my local Apple Store. I will continue Windows Vista and Office 2007 testing, but no longer use Microsoft’s operating system on a full-time basis.

In typical fashion, I managed about two months on Windows before retreating back to the Mac. Reasons are same as always. My resolution to go back to Windows and stay there is a shambles. But that’s a good resolution to have broken.