Today's Word: Lid

Holding it all down in the middle of the party as the scream built in his throat. He couldn't compress the recreational horror of the guests taking sniper rifles to the crowd of homeless in the park, trying to find cover.


Brought to you by The Blue Pill

A couple of pieces worth your eyes and/or ears. First, award-winning author and former Newsday reporter Laurie Garrett talking about the state of American news today. Garrett's been covering disease outbreaks for a couple decades, traveling around the world to see organic death in motion (and you thought your job sucked). She wrote "The Coming Plague" and "Betrayal of Trust," both I'd recommend unless you scare easily or are a hypochondriac.

Second, also from Democracy Now, is a bit on VNRs or Video News Releases. Long story short, the New York Times published a report on Sunday saying the government has been crafting up fake news reports (they look like the real thing, but aren't) to beam out on the airwaves to make the viewers have a certain impression of a topic. In other words, propaganda. Paid for by taxpayers.

While it's not a new concept, I marvel at how much the Bush White House hates reporters. Lying to them, having former male prostitutes sit among them in the press room, and now doing an end run around them and beaming their reality into the homes of millions of Americans. The word we are looking for is "contempt." Contempt for the truth and the public's intelligence.

Tom Tomorrow (start here) has a bunch more about the New York Times article, including a startling little dissection that makes the brouhaha over Dan Rather look like peanuts.

It's a shame that a reporter probably won't continue to cover the government's peddling fake news to the public. Sounds like there a real story here with a White House having to distort reality to look good. There's likely fame and fortune in doing some investigation. As well as a good dose of honesty that needs to come out.

Kicking and Screaming

Found this today. It's a transcript from a panel discussion at the recent GDC in San Francisco. Sounds like a raucous time had by all. While I don't agree with Warren Spector's take that Wal-Mart totally controls the sales of gaming, I nearly swooned with the rants by Greg Costikyan (Big budgets will kill innovation in gaming) and Brenda Laurel (An interesting, if rambling, take on "responsibility" in gaming).