What You Don't Know

(Image Credit: theseminal.com)


Of course, the problem (or great thing, depending on your mood) about learning is that once you begin to learn about something, you realize just how much more there is to learn. Now that my curiosity about Pakistan has piqued, I've begun asking myself more questions. I've also had the pleasure of attending an exhibit recently that outlined the history of the civil rights era (which is not uncommon in the US as we gear up for Jan and Feb). In thinking about those times, I began to think about the philosophers who influenced Dr. King. Ghandi in particular. And I want to know more about others who participated in SNCC and the SLC. There are women civil rights leaders beyond Rosa Parks that I'd never even heard of, like Fannie Lou Hamer.

The idea did occur to me to begin to specialize my interests, to think about one or two issues or categories and focus from there. I've decided not to do that just yet, however. Because there is so much, I think it wise to just take the first few weeks, if not the first few months, to just explore things as they arise. Then once I see a trend, I'll embrace it.

One of the things that has also been on my mind is how I'll ever find the time to read everything. Or how I'll find the money to travel. Or where I might go to experience some of the finer things.

In the meantime, I'm reading a very intellectual book that I began a while before I set up this challenge: The Devil Wears Prada. I've got to get through that one first. I'm on chapter 9. One of the things I'm discovering as read this book is that Andrea (so far) has had very little interaction with Miranda, and yet she fears her based not on what she has come to know as the truth, but based on what others tell her. Who wouldn't be intimidated by someone who you've been told is one of the meanest, coldest b's in the workplace. She doesn't have to say a word to get power. Everyone has already just handed it to her.

That is why this book rings so universally for so many people. It's the reason why it's a bestseller. More than once, each of us has fallen prey to hype or hearsay. We get scared because someone else tells us something, and immediately it affects the way conduct ourselves. And that little tidbit is important. If I'm going to read about things and experience things to broaden my knowledge about the world, I must be ready to grapple with it, to challenge it. The easiest thing to do is to read and believe blindly, but it is another to read, question, and truly understand.

My Own Private Challenge

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster.com and NYT on the Web)


As the new year approaches, people generally begin to think about ways they can improve themselves. For some, it's weight loss. For others, it's reconnecting with their talents or ambitions. For me, it's developing my sense of the world. I've never been able to sustain a ritual like diary writing or dieting on a truly daily basis, and I'm imagining that the same will be true when I tell you that I'd like to continue this blog as a daily account of my progress in learning about my world.

This challenge will include learning more about world affairs, learning about cultures, learning about the science that governs the world. It will also be about learning about religion, learning how to be a good friend, learning to contribute.

My first step happened just this morning. Just past midnight. I had returned home from a church meeting and spent a few minutes talking on the phone with a friend. Then I directed my attention to my looming curiosity over the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Usually, upon hearing of an event like this, I would read an article or two and leave it at that, without really understanding the depth of the politics and warfare the events could portend.

I'm no scholar yet, but as I read the latest article describing the Mumbai attacks and Pakistan's most probable next tactical moves, I did something I've never done before. I googled a map of the region and looked through it as I read the article. My goodness! You cannot believe how just that simple act opened up doors of understanding for me. It's something they teach you to do in elementary school, but how many people really apply that to their daily lives? Don't know a word? Look it up. Don't know where a country is? Find it on a map. I now know that Pakistan is bordered by Iran and India, and Iraq is just one country to the West. And the coast! I never realized how vulnerable thses countries were (and powerful) because of their geographic positions.

The meeting of my challenge has no prescribed regimine. Whatever I choose to explore in the world and however I choose to explore it is entirely up to me. We'll see where the Lord takes me from here.

ewe

Frederick, Maryland

Here's a great article about Frederick, Maryland. I travel there sometimes when I'm on vacation on the East Coast. It's a refreshing respite from hustle of Philly and Baltimore. Click here for the NYT article.

Publishing not immune

The publishing business has never been immune to ecomonic downturns. It seems that when people start losing money, one of the first things they do is stop reading. Logically, that seems like the opposite of what people should do. Turn off the television. Log off the computer (after you've read your daily blogs :0)). Then open a book. Check out the newspaper. Write something.

Here's a New York Times article about how the economy is effecting publishing, with an emphasis on how cutbacks on advertising are leaning luxury publications.

Netflix lovers and Computer gurus unite!

In another NYT article today, a reporter talks about the frenzy online over Netflix's contest to beat its Cinematch program. Cinematch is a program Netflix uses to help determine best picks for movie viewers based on their ratings for previously viewed films. For example, if you've seen and watch a movie like The Pianist and rated it with 5 stars, then you might be likely to also enjoy a film like the Red Violin. Several programmers are coming close, but none have been able to improve upon the Cinematch program by more than 10%. To win the contest prize of 1 million dollars, contestants must do just that. Good luck to them all.

Teen suicide -- media nonsense

An article in the New York times online reported today that a young boy committed suicide on a live Webcam essentially on a dare. He did it on a website called Justin.tv where people set up Webcams, tape themselves live, and broadcast it over the Internet.

Click for article.

As the boy died, Internet onlookers were reported to have egged him on or to have simply watched as he overdosed on prescription medication for his bipolar condition. What makes this so much of a tragedy is that before his death, the boy was obviously reaching out. He needed friends, he wanted friends, and somehow he must have thought his online acquaintances WERE his friends. The online world has blurred definitions of relationships. People you haven't spoken to in years can feel like they've been in contact with you all along thanks to facebook and myspace. I wonder if the boy had had real friends would he still have died. If he'd been able to understand that the Internet is not the real world, would he be with us today

Hulu.com

I've taken to reading the Times online and I stumbled across this great article. YouTube is now facing competition for viewers from NBC's hulu.com. The popularity of hulu may also impact dvd rentals and sales. Hulu.com works like regular television. It includes full episodes of your favorite television shows, but with commercials. The difference between it and watching television the traditional way is that hulu.com features intervals of commercials no longer than 30 seconds in length. To me, this is much better than having to sit through 3 minutes of commercials at a time to get through one half-hour show.

Click here to read the article from the New York Times