Street Jazz

Hardly a week goes by when I am not sent at least five or six invitations to join the Twitter Nation, to become one of those who feverishly check their electronic devices six thousand times a day to see if someone has sent them a Twitterization.

Bear in mind, Rogue Reader, that I already check my email feverishly several hundred times a day -  but adding Twitter to the list? Well, that way just lies madness, I believe.

Part of my aversion to Twitter could be the whole, “Ug make Fire” type of messages that I have seen go out, truly a lot of it is that the messages seem so mundane.

I had a great breakfast.

I’m going to work now.

I’m stuck in traffic.

Simply put, I don’t care.

And I realize that I just sound really, really callous (and really, really old) when I write things like this. I realize that some people have a need to share this information. God knows, I’ve been on enough city buses when people have used their cell phones to call home just to share the same information.

I haven’t really taken the bait when anyone has asked me to Twitterise with them, even though  what they Twitterate may be of vital importance. It’s just a matter of time, basically.

Not trying to be rude, really. Then again, it took me years to get into blogging. No doubt one day I’ll be . . .
      
Oh, I don’t know. Boy, I sound old when I read over this!

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FOIA: And then there’s’s Matthew Petty

Matthew? Twittering your time away at public meetings? And to only a select few?  The most obvious question - and lots of folks have been asking it this week - is this:

What are we paying you for?

There’s an old-fashioned concept of actually “being there” at public meetings, and not just sending out messages to the Matthew Petty Fan Club.

And unless and until Petty reveals everything that he was sending out, that’s essentially just what it was. The folks watching at home aren’t privy to what Petty was sending out, and the the folks in the council chambers certainly weren’t. Certainly the other folks on the council - the other aldermen who may have benefitted from Petty actually being in the real world, and not the virtual one - were not privy to them.

If Petty isn’t prepared to share what he has weritten with the world at large, he should refrain from Twittering (what a silly word) during meetings. Or maybe he could refund part of his paycheck for the time he wasn’t actually paying attention to the Real World.

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It should be like the lesson we learned in school, Matthew

Remember what the teachers always told us about chewing gum in class?

“If you didn’t bring enough to share with the rest of the class, don’t chew it yourself.”

Time to share with the rest of the class, Matthew. It is an open meeting, after all.

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Quote of the Day

If you can play golf and bridge as though they were games, you're just about as well adjusted as you are ever going to be. - Manitoba Co-operator

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Mark Warren: Glory Road

This week video artist Mark Warren and I sit down and discuss Alan Dean Foster’s popular science fiction novel, Glory Road, and the world of science fiction in general.  Foster, one of the most prolific science writers in the world, is well-known for his stories set in the Humanx Commonwealth.

He is also famous for his well-written movie and television adapatations, including his highly-regarded adaptations of the Star Trek animated series into book form. This year will mark the first time in 30 years he has written a Star Trek novel, when his adaptation of the new Star Trek movie hits the bookstores.

To read more about Alan Dean Foster:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Dean_Foster

C.A.T. is shown on Channel 18 of the Cox Channel line-up in Fayetteville. Those outside the Fayetteville viewing area can see the program online at: www.catfayetteville.org

Show days and times:

Sunday - 7:30pm

Wednesday - 4:30pm

Thursday - 7:30pm

rsdrake@nwark.com