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It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up

This fall, Senator Barbara Boxer of California and Richard A. Clarke, the ubiquitous counterterrorism expert, became the latest inductees into an elite political fellowship, one that doesn't discriminate on the basis of party affiliation, security clearance, home state or prayer breakfast attendance: the politico-novelist set Political Fictions

Art of Living & Literature Across Frontiers: The rules of sarcasm
They say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Yeah, right. Assuming "they" are the same experts who tell us "Look before you leap" and "He who hesitates is lost", then I think we all know how incisive and invaluable their advice is. What would we do without it?

Sarcasm is so ubiquitous these days, it almost goes unnoticed. But, as David Beckham proved, when he was sent off this week for seemingly clapping a referee who had just booked him, not everyone is a fan. The trick is to use sarcasm intelligently, and sparingly

• The tricks of Sarcasm [ Researchers to uncover secrets of Gladstone's library ; It is quite something to live in an age of riotous immorality, and yet to be accounted the most dissolute individual of the time Johnny Depp and the Libertines: The history behind his new role ]
• · American political novels have suffered from a case of ''arrested development. Beltway belles-lettres ; Carrying a Maya Angelou or having an Alice Walker poke out of your rucksack signalled cultural sensitivity in a far more effective way than a Nuclear Power Nein Danke badge on your denim jacket Books can be badges — and beacons, too
• · · Like Australia, the United States of America has absorbed countless cultural influences through hundreds of years of immigration. But Americans have also developed their own unique forms of expression, jazz being the most obvious. And they've contributed more than anyone to the development of modern dance. Now a new documentary, called simply Rize, reveals the latest step in this evolution Film: Rize ; The more pornographic our society becomes, the more it loses interest in procreation. As a result of the constant onslaught of stimuli, female desire in particular is faced with irreconcilable paradoxes. And men leave the role of the hunter to women From Pornography to Withdrawal
• · · · Sports and philosophy go hand-in-hand It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up ; We have determined the 100 things that most make you quiver like a schoolgirl 100 things that make us scream
• · · · · The secret of impressive writing? Keep it Plain and simple ; Most people would prefer life in prison to being executed. This does not show that death is a superior deterrent to life in prison because: Moral Choices
• · · · · · Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography Why the United States needs opinionated loudmouths Ideological Warfare ; From Australia, a review of Telling the Truth about Aboriginal History ; How does one locate exciting works of history?: Historians' Triumphs

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If you want to appear like you're at the cutting edge of net culture but can't be bothered to spend hours online, then never fear Lazy Guide to Net Culture: Make this a blog?

The Blog, The Press, The Media: CEOs warm to blogs

But are still shy of blogging about their own jobs...

Despite the media’s new-found obsession with all things blog, you may still be asking what it actually means to the discerning on-line music fan. Well, basically, a blog is an on-line journal you can customise, the format of which has been taken on by music fans world-wide in order to spread their love of music.

• Blogging: What You Need To Know... [ Now anyone can blog; E-Marketers Descend on New York for ad:tech ]
• · The Cliopatria Awards recognize the best history writing in the blogosphere The 2005 Cliopatria Awards Nominations ; Ontario man's blog of 'mashups' draws fans of Google maps
• · · Rupert Murdoch discusses the Internet, satellite television and The Wall Street Journal. Bring It On! ; Blogging confessions
• · · · The days of carefree blogging are over. As more and more blogs get into the public domain, the danger of being sued can only increase Bloggers beware! Big brother's watching;
• · · · · A story about an Ohio politician who allegedly plagiarized a blogger has fueled an interesting online debate over whether there should be a political price to pay Politician plagiarizes blogger, so what? ; So a Sherrod Brown staffer used some lines from one of my blog posts. Who frigging cares? Becoming Part of Sherrod Brown Campaign Story; Congressman's office takes back plagiarism acknowledgment
• · · · · · Blog details suspect’s night life, galpal ; The engines, namely Google, are striking back at sploggers and their malevolent creations, the splogs. Blog Wars: Attack Of The Splogs

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G day. Webdiary represents diversity of opinions and Irfan Yusuf’s new piece on how at 5:00 am this morning Sydney was burning

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Diversity means different things to different people and the blogs I read value All People. Diversity is 'otherness' or those qualities that are different from our own and outside the group to which belong. There are many dimensions to diversity such as age, ethnicity, gender and other qualities that can be changed such as marital status, income, educational background, geographical location and work experiences. Diversity means more than just acknowledging or tolerating difference. Diversity is a set of conscious practices that involve appreciating interdependence of cultures. To me diversity means sharing all kinds of stories at Media Dragon. The concept of diversity encompases acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique. The whole wide world of the internet is moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the RICH dimensions of diversity contained within each individual. Who could be more diverse than Shel and Robert ;-)

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: An Interview with God
What would you like to ask God?

The beautiful and powerful presentation that has inspired
millions will bring you closer to God

• God is Light: Beautiful Flash presentation [A study links information and communications technology to political 'place-making' efforts A sense of place ; From Business Week, a cover story on Ikea: How the Swedish retailer became a global cult brand. Ikea ]
• · Cross City Tunnel scandal threatens to sweep up the former premier, two of his ministers and the state' Scandal hits premier's men ; Real estate is a national obsession in Australia but this week comes warnings that the market may be in for hard landing. Prices have already come off 10 percent in Sydney Safe as houses ; According to this premise, when a real-estate bubble bursts, It smells like syrup
• · · Who deserves to be a citizen? Migrant Worry ; Ex-communist countries are competing hard in the global education bazaar From Marx to marketing
• · · · What Chou En Lai said about the French Revolution holds for the Russian as well: Too soon to judge (subscription req) ; After Nov. 1, 1755, the new Lisbon would be a monument to the Enlightenment, a living metaphor of effective government. Stirred, Not Shaken
• · · · · An article on the demise of Canadian ideas Intellects can't be public without good magazines ; Christian pacifists ignore the true ambitions of terrorists Peace Now
• · · · · · Francis Fukuyama knows how to toss out an idea that, like a baby rattle, is big enough for small minds to hold onto. History in the Remaking ; The conservatives may look to be imploding at the moment, but liberals have a serious long-term problem that won't go away Can We Talk?

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Toby Bloomberg links to advice for new bloggers

The Blog, The Press, The Media: Links of Love: Blogging the Enteprise Conference: The [Re]Play by Play
Bloggers from enterprises both large and small were in attendance along with a cabal of PR flack trying to get their arms around this whole blogging "thing" (it's a phenomena, people, not the Creature from the Black Lagoon) -- and the discussion was quite good: very forward thinking with lots of great questions.

John Moore from the Brand Autopsy reminded us that blogging can make "small companies big, and big companies small," and Shel Israel, co-author with Microsoft blogger Robert Scoble of the coming blogging tome "Naked Conversations" did some great real-time blogging during the event (Shel, how do you cover so much ground so quickly typing with those two index fingers???) even as he also participated in a panel and led us down the path of blogging righteousness in a full-on pitch that identified blogging's "sinners and winners."

• Find, Listen, Engage, Empower [ What would Jesus blog? blogs4God.com of course! 15,000 Blogs Added to Topix.net Database ; Web logs, usually considered the domain of alienated adolescents and home for screeds from middle-aged pundits, are gaining a foothold as a new leisure-time option for senior citizens Senior citizen bloggers defy stereotypes ]
• · Steve Rubel of Micro Persuasion has started The Skin Cancer Blog; A business blog consultant loves his business; A rich entrepreneur with a blog network is set to make even more money
• · · Beware of the Blog, It Creeps... ; News Flash: Teens are blog savvy
• · · · Bloggers Blog discusses the blogging for money bubble; Can you avoid the blog bash; Business Opportunities Weblog
• · · · · Entrepreneur's Journey two of my favorite business blogs; Lee Hopkins asks if multi-tasking reduces productivity; A business blogger gets sued by a bad business
• · · · · · Everyone wants to rank well for what they consider to be their ideal keyword phrases Is it Smart to chase rankings? ; DigitalGrit Launches Business Blog Service

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Let me make a prediction. Five years from now, the blogosphere will have developed into a powerful economic engine that has all but driven newspapers into oblivion, has morphed (thanks to cell phone cameras) into a video medium that challenges television news, and has created a whole new group of major companies and media superstars. Billions of dollars will be made by those prescient enough to either get on board or invest in these companies. At this point, the industry will then undergo its first shakeout, with the loss of perhaps several million blogs — though the overall industry will continue to grow at a steady pace.
And, at about that moment, Forbes will announce that the blogosphere is the Next Big Thing for investors.
-Boing Boing

Maryam Ghaemmaghami Scoble's musings about Life, Love and Everything Else ... Advice To My Step-Son as He Begins His Blogging Adventure

Art of Naked Conversations and Blogging Educating Steve Forbes about Honest and Naked Conversations
Well the saga continues. After Forbes Dan Lyons did a cover story likening bloggers to a lynch mob, all 20 million of us met secretly last week in my backyard.

Shel and Robert ere ready to string him up, but no one remembered to bring any rope, so I published an open letter to Lyons. A day earlier, Steve Rubel had suggested Dan read Naked Conversations so that topically, he could learn the difference between an elbow and a buttock.

• The future will make liars out of blogless PR [Shel Israel on lynch mob An Open Letter to Forbes Magazine ; If markets are conversations. And blogs are the power tool of that, how are you gonna pull off having a conversation with a moos? Naked Conversations will actually have some new content in it, and not just be a re-hashing of what we've been reading on the web over the past year ; Get over Command and Control PR ]
• · Richard Dudley This seems like a perfect time for anyone at Sony to read Chapter 13, "Blogging in a Crisis" (Maybe Shel or Scoble will e-mail them a PDF of the chapter) Naked Conversations Comes To Life ; Ken Yarmosh: If I were to be on the back cover of Naked Conversations, what quote would be attributed to my name Naked Conversations
• · · Neville Hobson Naked Conversations Is A Cracking Read; Randy Holloway: Executive blogging matters- the more senior people in your organization that join the conversation, the more impact you'll have. Passion & Authority- A review of Naked Conversations
• · · · Jeff Clavier Naked Conversations: why corporate blogging is for you - indeed ; Adrian Kingsley-Hughes Naked Chefs
• · · · · Jack Nork ; Dan Farber An antidote for blogs attacks
• · · · · · Jozef Imrich A Small Virtual Key Open Big Door ; Jason Boog Why Corporate Blogs Are Boring (and How to Fix Them)
• · · · · · · James Governor: Shel says the way we live and govern is not about rich and poor, us and them, red and blue, rather it should be about decency; making a contribution My inaugural Got The Funk award goes to... ; James Governor: Shel has a widespread readership, which could be significantly magnified by the Scoble effect Could Shel push up Sun's share price? bloggers and stock pickers ; Backbone Blogging Survey Blogger Relations Is Not Public Relations
• · · · · · · · Pencil Bros. Geology, Inc. VistaDB Takes A Page From Naked Conversations ; Shel Israel: Ever since you broke Kryptonite's nine months of silence and joined the conversation at Naked Conversations, you have been doing a remarkable job on behalf of your company - Not only does the blogosphere need more “good, intelligent conversation,” as you put it, the whole world needs it Open Letter to Donna Tocci: Time to Blog ; Shel Israel at Naked Conversations liveblogs the Blogging Enterprise event: If you are not participating in the conversation the silence is deafening. That goes back well before Cluetrain. IBM was active on Compuserve chat. In a way, we've come full circle except now the audience are much bigger Shel Israel's notes from Blogging Enterprise

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Living in (Sydney or) New York is like being at some terrible late-night party. You’re tired, you’ve had a headache since you arrived, but you can’t leave because then you’d miss the party.
-Simon Hoggart, America: A User's Guide

Random House has announced another big step beyond traditional publishing with the creation of long-term "creative and strategic filmmaking partnership" with Focus Features, the division of NBC Universal run by David Linde and James Schamus. Together the companies will develop, co-finance and co-produce "a substantial slate of feature films for theatrical release" based on books published by Random House, where "rights are available and can be acquired." The films will be jointly owned by the two companies, with Focus controlling worldwide sales and distribution rights Random House Enters Film Business

Art of Living & Literature Across Frontiers:
I’m very interested in the interface between philosophy and psychiatry. For me, a lot of the great writers and philosophers that I’ve read, including people like Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, people who’ve straddled philosophy and psychology like Sartre and Camus have a lot to teach us about that

Literature meets philosophy meets psychotherapy when Ramona Koval speaks with Irvin Yalom, the author of The Schopenhauer Cure. As well as being a novelist, Irvin Yalom is emeritus professor of psychiatry at Stanford University. His latest book, like his previous titles When Nietzsche Wept and Lying On The Couch, reflects his day job and interest in marrying the ideas of great philosophers with those of psychiatry

• Thanks to G The Schopenhauer Cure [Deep in The Goebbels Diaries A little light reading with Joseph Goebbels ; My old Daddy used to say: You walk around a horse once It’s about the same with a man or a woman ]
• · The first thing they did when we came was to put us in refugee camps and ... Do me a favour, will you, everybody ? Find a little crazy streak in you. Think up a trauma or two if need be. I don't want to lose my job The Ministry of Pain ; False Maps
• · · New Orleans’s civic shame is not racism or poverty but a culture of murder so vicious that it terrorizes and numbs the whole city Who’s Killing New Orleans? ; A world becoming more peaceful?
• · · · PDF version: Rewire your head: learning to navigate the future ; Arthur Koestler was a lone wolf, better at annoying and offending people than making and keeping friends Arthur Koestler
• · · · · The man who invented album covers Make 'em sing; A mighty voice from the past
• · · · · · The other good thing about sex We need sex ; Amazon.com has previewed a service to sell just a few pages or chapters of a Cold River Amazon takes page out of iTunes book ; Unattached, sober and working like a navvy, the wild child of Brit art has even discovered moisturiser. Stephanie Bunbury meets Tracey Emin Bad girl brought to book

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I was trying to think of a way to make the point that this whole war is such a waste. But I also wanted to honor the troops I believe our government wrongly sent to Iraq Luckovich spent 13 hours working on his "Why?" cartoon
(Mike Luckovich's Wednesday editorial cartoon has the hand-written name of every American soldier killed in Iraq)

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: The Polish autumn
The double election victory of the Law & Justice party has left Poland’s leading political actors embracing new friends and old enemies, finds Adam Szostkiewicz.

From Open Democracy, the double election victory of the Law & Justice party has left Poland’s leading political actors embracing new friends and old enemies

• Polish political sclerosis [French people’s impatient distrust of their ruling class is a symptom of a deep political and Social malaise ; Latin Americans do not want to go back to dictatorship but they are still unimpressed with their democracies Democracy's ten-year rut]
• · Byelection hopefuls quizzed on sex life ; Economist.com Cities Guide: Sydney Briefing - October 2005
• · · James Q. Wilson to Californians: Lawmakers stole your vote; Research Service, Parliament of New South Wales Industrial relations reforms: the proposed national system
• · · · Essential liberties are lost in imitation ; An overview of the effectiveness of closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance
• · · · · George Williams surveys the High Court career of Justice Michael McHugh Democracy and the High Court ; The political process is being used to wage a civil war in Iraq, writes Derek Woolner War by other means
• · · · · · Will Howard investigate seditious leaks on terror scare against his public wishes? (rhetorical question) ; Webdiary

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Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory
-Albert Schweitzer

Comrade Pavlik: The Rise and Fall of a Soviet Boy Hero by Catriona Kelly A Little Swine

Art of Living & Literature Across Frontiers: Tough Bunnies
Two academics decide to take a scholarly approach to Playboy's playmate prose

First surprise: Playboy centerfolds are tough, say two social psychologists who did a content analysis of the biographical text that runs with the photographs of Playboy's playmates.
Second surprise: There's text with those centerfold spreads?

• Unconventional Wiz is shocked, shocked! [A look at research on avoiding the Desperate Housewives syndrome ; A nation of sidewalk publishers ]
• · From empty shell marriage to realising that trials give you strength, sorrows give understanding and wisdom ... Remember sadness is always temporary. This, too, shall pass are you ready to be happy? Secrets of Meditation e-course ; As the alcoholic says, my best friend is the bottle Happiness, Depression and Self-Esteem
• · · Ugly Feelings is a thought provoking book in the aesthetics of negative feelings with insightful reflections upon the social and experiential impact of artistic creations Negative emotions ; Have you heard the one about the new trend in standup comedy? Cleanliness. Good money is being made by unsmutty comics like those represented by Cleancomedians.com. There Once Was a Man From Nantucket . . ; The Faith-Based Encyclopedia
• · · · And on unearthing books embedded in pop culture (Watch out Weezer) ; Rethinking the debate on Male traditionalists who wring their hands at the "grim" lives of young women Empathy and Choices ; Summer in Vienna?
• · · · · From Salon, what do you get when you design a condom that men want to use? Sued. Inside the twisted patent battle over prophylactics ; Severed foreskins have all sorts of adventures Precision circumcisions
• · · · · · I wouldn't presume to advise beautiful and wealthy celebrities how to get along in life, and yet I think someone—some agent or manager or kabbalah rabbi—ought to lay down the law: No video cameras in the bedroom Porn of the Gods ; Lapping it up: What price a good time? ; Living With Debt a report on Americans' changing attitutes

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Charges related to alleged corporate hacking in Australia claimed a high-profile scalp this week as Nick Morris, chief executive of ACIL Tasman, elected to step away from the helm CEO steps down over email scandal

The Blog, The Press, The Media: Single Source, Multi-Channel Publishing
XML publishing of the "Go-To" Guides at Time Out New York, edocmagazine

Published in major cities throughout the world, Time Out is an international brand. Since launching over 35 years ago, Time Out's weekly magazines and city guides have become the leading source of information for English-speaking residents and visitors.
Time Out opened its New York offices in 1995. Today, our weekly magazine, which we brand as "the obsessive guide to impulsive entertainment," is the essential and most comprehensive listings publication in New York. It is considered the "go-to" guide for discovering the hottest things to do in the city each week. Time out New York's strong brand and unrivaled reputation for significant and reliable information continues to drive expansion. Locally, Time Out launched Time Out New York Kids in 2004, and launched its sister magazine, Time Out Chicago, in 2005

• The Need for Multi-Channel Publishing [Jonathan Rauch on the political dot-com boom: On the Web, business finds a new way of doing politics. political dot-com boom; Dot Digital ]
• · DG researchers study the culture, practice and innovation of building congressional web sites - the web sites can become a one-stop shop for constituent services Mr. Smith Goes Out On the Web ; Good advice for bloggers: Blogging for older readers
• · · I’m feeling quite grown up today - I’ve recently hired an accountant and today we’re getting together to talk company structures, bookkeeping, tax and the like Blogging as a Business - Business Structures are Key ; Value Added Blogging
• · · · A 16-year-old girl under arrest for poisoning her mother in Japan with the toxic chemical thallium recorded the deterioration of her mother on her blog Blog-murder ; What do Blogs Bring to Knowledge Management and Communication within the Enterprise? – KM Forum
• · · · · Gianna walk the talk ; A bold new approach to learning about legal blogging Join Your Colleagues At BlawgThink 2005
• · · · · · Publishers Offer Wider Public Access to Online Medical Literature ; Web logs are the prized platform of an online lynch mob spouting liberty but spewing lies, libel and invective. Their potent allies in this pursuit include Google and Yahoo Who is Pamela Jones? Forbes Attacks Blogs

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Is the Prime Minister misusing the Government's Senate majority by rushing to introduce two major pieces of legislation? Emperor Howard

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Terror defence, or slur?
In what is perhaps the most bizarre business idea to spring up since the 9/11 attacks, an American entrepreneur is trying to show that, in the fight against terrorism, the pen is mightier than the sword

An American entrepreneur is trying to show that, in the fight against terrorism, the pen is mightier than the sword

• Revenge [Villawood hunger strike into its 10th day ; Heavy weapons in the home of democracy ; What use is the CIA? asked Richard Nixon. They’ve got 40,000 people over there reading newspapers. Not a bad idea, actually Reexamining the Distinction Between Open Information and Secrets ]
• · Mate! Citizens, aliens and ‘real Australians’: the High Court and the case of Amos Ame ; Peter Mares and Nic Maclellan argue that it’s time to create opportunities for lower skilled workers in our region Knocking on Australia’s door ; World Bank: Doing Business database
• · · More splits for Labor? ; Marc Mauer: Experience from the US suggests that prisoners should keep the right to vote Disenfranchising criminals is bad for democracy
• · · · Derek Woolner: The political process is being used to wage a civil war in Iraq War by other means ; Police probe Liberal Party fraud claims ;Nicolaou chosen to contest Brogden's seat
• · · · · John Singleton made a Fabian Society speech on Labor's chances of winning in 2007; The NSW Police Integrity Commission is probing suggestions that police phone tap warrants used to snare 12 of the so-called exam scammers were obtained using false or misleading information Police watchdog bitten by scandal
• · · · · · You've bought your home and now you want an investment property. So, do what millions have done before you - borrow the money, buy an apartment and write off the interest against your tax. In this special series we debate whether so-called negative gearing is wrong The great Aussie dream - take two ; Sedition, or How I Learned to Love Howard's Terrorising Legislation ; Bibliography of News and Gov. Docs on Libby Indictment

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All truth passes through three stages:
First, it is ridiculed.
Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
-- Arthur Schopenhauer

Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing; a confusion of the real with the ideal never goes unpunished.
- Goethe

The difference between sex and love is that sex relieves tension and love causes it Woody Allen

Art of Living & Literature Across Frontiers: Marriage is a three ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring and suffering
It was only in the last few weeks I developed the spine to look myself deeply and passionately in the eye if I fail at something.

Why is it that our relationship fail? Divorce does not discriminate. No matter who you are or where you live it is fair to say you will know someone who has divorced. For 21 years friends wondered how Lauren and I stay together, with so many divorces around us. And a good friend of ours last year observed, 'It's simple. They have a lot in common. They're both in love with the same (wo)man ... (mmmwwaaaa vs. Hyacinth ;-)' This goes a long way, I think, toward explaining why I have discovered emotional minefields, motivational swamps and creative wildernesses ... In a strange way, Clint Eastwood sentiment rings deep inside me: ‘There's only one way to have a happy marriage and as soon as I learn what it is I'll get married again.’

• Many men find themselves beginning a new life as separated fathers with little or no support from friends or family Obstacles are things that a person sees when they take their mind off their goal ; The only ground for divorce in Australia is irretrievable breakdown of marriage. This is shown by separation for a period of 12 months with no prospect of reconciliation. Grounds for Divorce]
• · Separation is a stressful time for individuals and families. Separation and divorce are steps of great significance. If you believe your relationship has fundamental and insoluble problems, and you wish to discuss the best way forward with someone else, remember that there are a wide range of non-Government services available to you You should make your own assessment of their suitability for your needs ; Humpty Dumpty’s “When I use a word it means just what I choose,” will hardly do, Alice thought. Antonin Scalia has to agree Law & Language
• · · 21 ways to guide your children through divorce Allow your children, as well as yourself; time to adjust to the new order of things. Expect erratic outbursts of temper, tears and periods of tiredness. Your children are probably experiencing a whole range of emotions, from fear through to anger, and this is their way of expressing their feelings Feelings ; Dying for Love
• · · · Telling the Children? ; Good relationships are good for you
• · · · · Forget about loving thy neighbour. Most people don't even trust them. A matter of trust ; Does a monument to the civil rights struggle at Ole Miss need to be Positive?
• · · · · · Former Labor Health Minister Neal Blewett has broken ranks with ALP insiders to sing the praises of The Latham Diaries in this month's Australian Book Review From Colossus to Galapagos Duck ; Richard Posner says he’s like his cat: “cold, furtive, callous, snobbish, selfish, and playful, but with a streak of cruelty Judging Richard

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Nowhere in the world have I encountered a festival of people that has such a magnificent appeal to the whole nation. The Cup astonishes me.
-Mark Twain

Melbourne Cup Day is Australia's most famous Tuesday. It's a day when the nation stops whatever it's doing to listen to the race call, or watch the race on TV, and even those who don't usually bet, try their luck Spring Racing Carnival

Melbourne Cup: The race that stops a nation
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major annual thoroughbred horse race. The race that stops a nation, as it has been called, is for three-year-olds and over, and covers a distance of 3,200 metres.

The race has been held on the first Tuesday in November since 1861 in Melbourne, Australia. The race is held at Flemington Racecourse by the Victoria Racing Club. It is run as a "weight-for-age handicap", in which the weight of the jockey, and riding gear is adjusted with ballast to a nominated figure. Older horses are given more weight than younger ones, and weightings are further adjusted according to the horse's previous results

• Melbourne in grip of Cup fever

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The worst thing about Iranian blogs is that they're written in Persian and as far as I know, only a small percentage of readers of this blog can read Persian 'We Are Iran': A book on blogs in Iran

The Blog, The Press, The Media: What Dave Winer said
I love podcasting because it turns us all into investigative journalists of our own lives

A great story on podcasting being created by real folks (and the equipment they use). Not the cliché story on how podcasting has been taken over by big media companies. Also, it seems to have more outbound links embedded in the story than a typical NYT piece

• Rex Hammock's Weblog [And Now, the Prosecutor
Critic: Fitz came across as a good guy during press session ; Can journalism survive the digital revolution? Online writers can quickly become slaves to instant ratings The Shlock of the News ; Murdoch: "Oh, the Voice, the bane of my existence!" ]
• · No blogger should get ANY ideas about attacking Forbes Magazine. Nope, NOBODY! Woops I spoke too soon Forbes Magazine is Dumb ; Republican senatorial candidate's campaign describes the doctored photograph as 'gutter racism' Blogger defends doctored pic of Steele in minstrel makeup
• · · The News Media: Novel Strategy Pits Journalists Against Source Lewis Libby ; Teens wear their hearts on their blog
• · · · This is the seventh in a series of "How I Got That Story" interviews featuring the winners of the 2005 AltWeekly Awards Newsman figured something bad would follow his Pulitzer ; I talked with Mike Wallace, whose new memoir, "Between You and Me,'' is about his career as a journalist, by phone on Wednesday. We didn't forge a friendship Wallace gets testy with writer when quizzed about book title
• · · · · All is woe and darkness in the house of media. If you were measuring journalists' public standing on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best, right now we're in less-than-zero territory, thanks to The New York Times and its dodgy handling of the Plame spy case The real lesson of NYT scandal isn't that the media are evil ; Seattle Times says VV-New Times deal is bad for democracy
• · · · · · They're seen alternately, if not simultaneously, as egotistical mavericks and missionaries for the common good, dogged and narrowly single-minded, plainly biased and skillfully faceless, self-advancing celebrities and celebrity-proof, demi-saints and fallen sinners Journalists have remained figures of inherent fascination ; When will Tony Ridder stop screwing with the newspapers I love? If Gene Roberts were dead, he'd be rolling in his grave