ben's blog

The Boomcase

2011-11-30T23:20:00.002-05:00

If it wasn't $500+ I would've bought myself one of these months ago. Instead I'll have to satisfy myself knowing that the Hartman suitcase I have was complimentary of the New York Mets circa 1978.
More about The Boomcase at Decurate.

Symmetry

2011-08-18T22:27:00.001-04:00

Randomly stumbled across this. Watched it three time now, and am still impressed with it's simplicity/depth. Amazing.

Even more goodness here: www.everynoone.com

Saturn V

2011-02-15T18:35:00.001-05:00

The largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever brought to operational status. Read more or watch Apollo 11 lift off here.

Benny Digital

2010-12-15T11:12:00.001-05:00

Joey Roth : Designer Extraordinaire

2010-12-04T13:27:00.006-05:00

Dude's been on my radar for a while with his beautiful teapot and these awesome ceramic speakers. When Kob posted pics and vid of the kettle on his blog, I came across this piece of work.

It distills my love of simplicity, design, infographics and work ethic into a piece of art. Bullshit walks. Amen.

Summer's Over. Bummer.

2010-09-21T00:05:00.003-04:00

The shadows are getting as long as it's been since I updated. I've been keeping busy the past four months, this has been the soundtrack the whole time:

> DOWNLOAD THE SUMMER BUMMER 2010 MIX HERE

When form is function

2010-05-18T17:40:00.009-04:00

"Form ever follows function."

Louis Sullivan - Architect

If this quote is to be taken as true - and to many designer it is gospel - then what we see below may be designs of pure genius. I'm not sure how I first came across Project Dream Ball, but it was featured on Upon a Fold, and I think it's truly brilliant. In this instance the form serves as a function.

Following Unplug Design's directions a simple cardboard container can be recycled into a plaything for children in countries receiving humanitarian aid, giving them vital supplies and a bit of fun - both of which are in short supply in many parts of the world. A simple idea which can bring big rewards. Read more about it here.

I know for sure I saw Emily Pilloton, the founder and ED of Project H Design on the Colbert Report (watch it here). She was promoting a design solution to a problem common in developing countries, that is almost as ingenius.

The Hippo Roller was designed by a South African 15 years ago to make transporting clean water, which sometimes may be miles away, as efficiently and as safely as possible. According to their website

The Hippo, with it's large drum capacity of 90 litres / 24 gallons, frees women and children from having to spend a large portion of every day dedicated to collecting water for their households. Far less effort is required to roll the heavy weight of water along the ground as opposed to carrying only one bucket on the head.

In both of these cases the form itself is serving multiple functions. Simple and sublime.

Read more about the Dream Ball here.
Read more about the Hippo Roller here.

Watch This

2010-04-26T15:46:00.004-04:00

from Engadget.com

I don't even wear a watch (ostensibly because "I don't abide by man's time" - but really because my Blackberry tells me what time it is), but these are pretty cool.

Clocks themselves fascinate me, I once spent more time in the "Clock Room" at the British Museum than any man should. Yes, very geekish, but you can't deny the pieces below are on another level.

Devon Works Tread 1

Hooray for music!

2010-04-14T16:50:00.009-04:00

It's a good day. Discovered the updates to Google Docs which include a new draw tool, and just opened a package from Amazon.com. Been looking forward to hearing all of these, glad I finally got em delivered to my door (R.I.P. Tower Records). All for the low, low price of just over $10 a piece. I can get with that. And now that I've got that fiber optic digital hookup into my amp I can enjoy with crystal clarity.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings

I Learned the Hard Way
@Amazon

With James Brown gone, I don't think there's a funkier act around. They even cracked the Billboard Top 20 this week! Looking forward to what's shaping up to be a spectacular set at the legendary Apollo Theater in a couple weeks.

RJD2

The Colossus
@Amazon

The CD sticker reminded me that as well as being featured on the original Beats by Ben, RJD2 also composed the theme to Mad Men. Biggup!

Method Man, Raekwon & Ghostface
Wu-Massacre
@Amazon

Can I get a suuuuuuu? Good to see the Wu Brothas keeping it raw. Dope album artwork too - Album artwork, remember that?

Bill Withers

Live at Carnegie Hall
@Amazon

How I've gone this long without having heard this whole set, I don't know. So soulful.

Retro Gamers

2010-04-08T18:37:00.001-04:00

8 bit classics invade Manhattan in this awesome piece of animation. Makes me want to break out the Commodore 64. Props to Koba Yashi for the find.

Opening Day, 2010 - ESPN Promo

2010-04-05T22:32:00.006-04:00

Baseball returns, and all is right with the world.

Initially caught this last year, I'm glad ESPN brought it back again, and happy I could find a copy online to share. Created by David Y Chun for National Television the short animated promo is a poem chock full of brilliant baseball euphemisms.

Let me show you a land
the greatest of all
with borders that stretch
from the spring to the fall

Emerald fields plush with diamonds
and pearls gleaming white
with meatballs becoming taters
soaring into the night

A land of hot corners
where hoses throw heat
into your kitchen
where there's plenty to eat.

There's pickles, there's pepper
there's peas, and there's cheese
And shoestrings making catches
with the greatest of ease

Many eye-pleasing sights
also found on display
An ace that throws dueces,
a tailor-made double play

Ducks on a pond
wait for springing line drives
to hitch a ride home
on pop-ups and slides

This land welcomes all
to dream and to play
This land is Baseball,
It's Opening Day.

Happy Opening Day. Let's Go Mets!

Nas & Damian Marley:Distant Relatives

2010-03-23T17:50:00.007-04:00

Strong Will Continue + As We Enter + bonus

From Amazon
Distant Relatives is an album created by two serious artists to explore and celebrate the correlations and deep-rooted connections between reggae and hip-hop, tracing both sounds back to the African motherland that is both the cradle of humanity and the wellspring of mankind's music.

And who better to fulfill this mission? The youngest son of the legendary Bob Marley, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley garnered his own place in music history when he became the first ever reggae artist to win a Grammy Award outside of the Reggae category, taking home an award for Best Urban/Alternative performance for his smash 2005 single "Welcome To Jamrock." The acclaimed breakthrough album of the same name also won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.

A hip-hop icon since his immortal guest verse on Main Source's 1991 "Live At The Barbeque," Nas burst out of the Queensbridge housing projects, a hotbed of rap artistry since the early '80s. The son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara, Nas has since gone on to sell over 20 million albums worldwide over the span of his legendary career, and has acted as an ambassador for hip-hop culture throughout the globe."

One Love x 2

Pre-order at Amazon.com

More at Listen Recovery
More at Real Hip Hop since 79

2 Wheel Motion

2010-03-12T17:15:00.005-05:00

The warmer weather's got me thinking about getting my bicycle out of the garage. And while the $100 I spent on my budget Huffy still ranks as one of my best investments ever, I sure wish I was riding this electric piece of beauty. Word from Engadget is the frame is "composed completely of a conductive carbon fiber weave that allows the bike's body to not just pass electricity to the motors, but actually store it like a giant capacitor." I want.

More on the HMK 561 electric bicycle concept @Engadget

3 Titans "The Life of a Scholar" (feat. Menahan St. Band)

2010-02-18T16:55:00.002-05:00

Radiohead Audio Videos

2010-02-08T23:58:00.002-05:00

A while back on the blog I mentioned Radiohead and their 'pay-what-you-feel' pricing structure for In Rainbows. Along with their "open source pricing" they also let loose the wisdom of the crowds by releasing each songs unmixed stems allowing fans to remix each of the albums songs, as well as asking fans to create and upload their own album covers.

They also did some great stuff with their music videos. This first was created and submitted by a fan, winning the Aniboom In Rainbows Animated Music Video Contest. Fantastic animation and a great concept.

This 2nd video was created by a favorite digital artist of mine, Aaron Koblin, using the Processing program.

They also released the code used to create this video, allowing people to create their own animated versions, two favorites here and here.

Good ad

2010-02-02T20:14:00.001-05:00

It's not often I post commercials, but this one kinda worked on me. Nice looking car too.

Social Media Week: Social Media & The Haiti Disaster

2010-02-01T16:06:00.076-05:00

Live Blog

5:54: ===END=== Time for dinner and a drink!
5:53: Wrapping up

5:46: RT @rachellehoude: Twitter and YouTube are removing the financial value of information and its control through citizen sharing. Awesome & responsible. #smwnyc

5:45: AC: My father told me "What is true is not always fair."

5:41: More Q&A from the audience.

5:36: EP: Tweeting info while others weren't able to 'file stories' because of electricity outages.

5:32: "Take this, in case I don't live through this shit" EP as he hands over iPhone before climbing into rubble of a building.

5:31: Watching EP video from the first minutes after quake. Powerful.

5:28: First hand account from ~~Rob Mackey~~ Erik Parker who was in Haiti at time.

5:26: AR: Haiti may be tipping point of using social media to save lives.

5:26: First use of "tipping point"

5:25: DWB: Use social media/crowd sourcing to pinpoint where needs are

5:18: AC has become "gatekeeper" with what she retweets... AC: "Everyone wants to use you"

5:16: AR: "global consciousness"

5:15: AC: Reporting has gone from "look how terrible this is" to "look how terrible, now do something!"

5:14: AC: Group of people with niche knowledge will drive interest from old media.

5:14: AC: "Niche knowledge"

5:13: AC Twitter joined broader community in raising and capitalizing awareness on a way that's useful. Sms donations

5:11: AC: How do we get people to know/care about stories that aren't "trending"?

5:10: Personally, I'd like to hit pause and explore "narrative arc" more.

5:09: AR: create hashtag #dontforgethaiti

5:09: "Narrative arc" - Insightful!

5:08: Create narrative arc via social media - to keep new audience engaged. Use 'grounds' to keep telling people what is actually happening ie: post-op care, surgery still needed, etc. Stories that effect people's lives long term.

5:07: DWB: Definitely going to leverage social channels to maintain support.

5:06: Yes, can exert pressure on government.

5:05: Ras: Can we use social media to keep attention / maintain support on Haiti?

5:04: Ras: Wikipedia page became 'hub' of Haitian Earthquake information, communication

5:04: AC: give people information and you give them power.

5:03: Rasiej: Most journalists describe themselves as journalists, not 'information hounds' - not in the information business, in the journalism business

5:00: Just thought of the web of communication used within minutes of the crane collapse in 2008. No Twitter, but SMS, email, phone to reporter, reporter to web - all within first hour.

4:58: AC: Many people in journalism have misunderstood the power of Twitter. "Why would you limit any opportunity to convey information to people directly?"

4:58: First use of "top-down hierarchy." Regarding 'old media' dismissing Twitter.

4:56: AC: Twitter needs to be used how "people who use Twitter want it to be." BF: There was a Wired article on this recently...

4:54: Rasiej "Can we look forward to the potential of "Twitter Pulse"?

4:53: AC: What happens when 9/11 type event is tweeted? Reading people's last words via a public forum. MAybe help investigators.

4:52 AC: with Iran images "really thought we crossed a line" No news organization would have run images that were tweeted.

4:47: AC: Twitter contacts became "overwhelming" and "very difficult" when Tweets started becoming personal ie: Need water __here__. "Wall" between reporter, audience broken down

4:46: AC: Twitter added "another layer" to reach out and connect in 'real world'

4:44: AC: dig at AT&T service in Haiti - inadvertent? Who knows, crowd laughed.

4:43: AC: "Road paved" "connections made" w Twitter contacts

4:41: DWB: Turned to Haitian radio to get message out to Haiti public, to dispel rumors. Old models still apply - must be evaluated in case by case basis.

4:40: DWB: Able to maintain a dialogue when they otherwise wouldn't have.

4:40: DWB: Chaos allowed more freedom to the information they were putting out

4:39: Also annoying, baseball people using the term "lights out" when describing a pitcher.

4:38: Personal question "Is there a better term than twittersphere or Blogsphere? Those annoy me like "Redzone" annoys John Madden.

4:37: On the projection screen www.tweetgrid.com - "Whoa, that's a lot of info!"

4:36: Rob Mackey/NYT: Iranian protest brought the "verification & identification" issue to the forefront

4:34: Andrew Rasiej - "Readers, I like to call them partners" reader/partner interaction

4:33: Network can verify

4:32: Twitter more so than web has 'degree of trust'

4:30: Does this change the news media ecology?

4:29: AC: "Twitter is teaching people the power of information" "positively as well as negatively"

4:25: Ann Curry: Twitter contact -> Phone Call -> Phone Interview on NBC Nightly News

4:22: Users starting to understand diff between 1st person and "hearsay" - location feature becoming valuable for verification.

4:21: How to filter through all the information, "remove all the chaff"?

4:20: Doctors were going to Haitian markets to purchase saws for amputation!

4:17: DWB -> NBC's Ann Curry -> US Airforce via Twitter in matter of minutes.

4:15: DWB and Haiti airport conversing via Twitter feeds

4:15: Cone: For us it's really changed the way we think about social media - 7,000 FB fans to 20k since disaster. Most important place to interact w public"

4:13: Twitter instead of press release to publicize obstacles DWB encountered - able to make noise about difficulties of plane landing, stir up support.

4:10: Comm. Director for Doctors w/o Borders is on the panel - Jason Cone. Let's make it good.

4:08: Follow this on twitter: #smwnythaiti

4:05: 15th Floor of the NY Times building, a hush has fallen over the crowd composed of internet geeks like myself.

Audio / video

2010-01-31T21:50:00.002-05:00

I've mentioned the Decode: Digital Design exhibition I saw in london previously. Here's another piece that was featured focusing on audio-response, entitled Solar Rework, designed by Robert Hodgin. You can read about how it was built, here.

Solar rework from flight404 on Vimeo.

Dear Google,

2010-01-28T13:37:00.009-05:00

Dear Google,
Now that I've condensed my mail, docs, photos, videos, bookmarks and blog onto your servers, please don't be evil with my data.
Thanks, Ben.

PS. Way to go re: China's censorship.

Data Privacy Day is an international celebration of the dignity of the individual expressed through personal information. In this networked world, in which we are thoroughly digitized, individuals are asking ‘How can I protect my information from being misused?’ Read more.

Social Media Week

2010-01-26T14:51:00.002-05:00

Social Media Week conferences take place simultaneously in multiple cities around the world. The aim of each event is to advance the use and understanding of social media in the corporate, public and non-profit sectors.

The second annual conference will take place between February 1st – 5th, 2010 simultaneously in New York City, Berlin, London, San Francisco, Toronto and São Paulo. The five day conference will explore the profound impact that social media has on culture, business communications and society at large. LEARN MORE.

I'll be attending Social Media & the Haiti Disaster, should be interesting and hopefully insightful.

DJ Shadow - 6 Days

2010-01-23T15:04:00.004-05:00

Six Days by DJ Shadow from 'The Private Press' LP. Video directed by Wong Kar-Wai, available on Vimeo.

www.djshadow.com

Design by Numbers

2010-01-17T17:34:00.010-05:00

On my latest quick trip to London, I made some time to head to the Vitoria & Albert museum to see a new exhibit entitled Decode: Digital Design Sensations, produced in conjunction with onedotzero, a digital arts organization. Touted as "the latest developments in digital and interactive design, from small, screen-based, graphics to large-scale interactive installations."

It was a very interesting combination of a number of different art/technology mediums, using computers to collect, react and interpret collections of data. Along with the interactive pieces which allowed for immediate interaction, my favorite piece was a digital interpretation of flight patterns by Aaron Koblin "an artist specializing in data visualization. His work takes social and infrastructural data and uses it to depict cultural trends and emergent patterns."

Using a program called Processing - available via open source distribution - Koblin took FAA data of flight plans to produce a 24 hour time lapse map of flights over North America. The final product is a visually stunning piece of art you can view below.

I highly recommend clicking here to view it in full screen.

When you start digging deep enough, there are all sorts of little treasures on the web, like Kobin/Processing produced Radiohead video for 'House of Cards' or the hundreds of videos in the Processing group on YouTube. Watching these made me think of an earlier post featuring a Jay-Z video.

Atleti, Atleti...

2010-01-14T00:10:00.001-05:00

My new favorite team on the continent:

But how long until I can meet the Mets?

Ten years of BlackBerry

2009-12-28T19:07:00.002-05:00

If you know me, you know I love my Blackberry. Believe it or not, it's been a decade since Research in Motion first jumped on the scene, and Engadget has a comprehensive article on the smartphone makers who IMHO have gotten it right.

Siftables

2009-12-20T18:32:00.003-05:00

Developed by the MIT Media Lab, "Siftables are cookie-sized computers with motion sensing, neighbor detection, graphical display, and wireless communication. They act in concert to form a single interface: users physically manipulate them—piling, grouping, sorting—to interact with digital information and media. Siftables provide a new platform on which to implement tangible, visual and mobile applications."

Almost endless possibilities, all of which chip away at the wall between programs and users. Take a good look at the video to see what I mean. Learn more at Sifteo.com.

One of the first applications I've seen using this sort of physical/virtual control are Musiblocks. The physical placement and movement of the blocks affects the commands they send to the computer -> the higher the blocks are placed, the louder the volume gets. Click here to watch a You Tube video of the Musiblocks in action.

Breaking into the 3rd dimension

2009-12-18T14:20:00.003-05:00

One of the ideas I continue to roll around in my head is exactly how to break into the 3rd dimension when designing a website. 2D tricks of perspective and shadow can only do so much, but this is taking it to the next level.

In reality the science/math of this is "not that difficult", as long as the computer knows the angle you're viewing from, the proper computations can be made to account for perspective. Since making a splash with this video almost 2 years ago, Johnny Chung Lee's been scooped up by Microsoft to work on their gesture computing project, Natal.

FFFOUND this online.

2009-12-15T02:57:00.000-05:00

FFFFOUND! is a web service that not only allows the users to post and share their favorite images found on the web, but also dynamically recommends each user's tastes and interests for an inspirational image-bookmarking experience!!" Pretty cool idea. I just stumbled across this animated gif, and felt like sharing. It's from the design site todayandtomorrow.net

Andrew Zuckerman: Bird

2009-11-24T23:12:00.003-05:00

I found photographer Andrew Zuckerman's book Creature absolutely fascinating, so much so that I had to share it as a Christmas present to my niece and nephews. His new book Bird just came out last month, enjoy a stunning video.

So Soulful pt. 2: Modern Vintage

2009-09-04T13:27:00.000-04:00

A little "classic" sounding soul from the past couple years to to take you to the end of your summer with a smile.

> DOWNLOAD IT HERE

01 Hurry On Now | Alice Russell

02 How Do I Let a Good Man Down? | Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings

03 Hiding (Quantic Soul Remix) | Breakestra

04 Valerie w. Mark Ronson | Amy Winehouse

05 Just Ain't Gonna Work Out | Mayer Hawthorne

06 Home Again! | Menahan Street Band

07 This Time (I'm Gonna Try It...) | DJ Shadow

08 Don't Joke w. a Hungry Man | Quantic

09 Pick it Up, Lay it in the Cut | Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings

10 Getcho Soul Together | Breakestra

11 Your Lovin' Aint' Pleasin Nothing | Mayer Hawthorne

12 He Can Only Hold Her | Amy Winehouse

13 How Long Do I Have to Wait... | Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings

14 Detroit Twice | El Michels Affair

15 Esma | Menahan Street Band

> DOWNLOAD IT HERE

and enjoy...

-------------------------------

More Music For You if Ya Missed it First Time:

Summer Bummer 2009

2009-08-07T16:57:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I dropped a new mix for all y'all notty headed mutha cluckers. Been sitting on a couple of em which will eventually see the light of day, but after trading a couple of tracks with the fam I was inspired enough last night to slap one together real quick.

Yes, I know they're not all 2009 songs (hell, one of the tracks is 7 years old) but they're what I've been listening to lately (and last summer as well). So download, plug into your iPod or music delivery device of choice, get yourself a frosty beverage, get out into the sun and enjoy.

Summer Bummer 2009

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.............................Vampire Weekend
Wash in the Rain................................................A Band of Bees
Laurie...............................................................Datarock
Tribulations (Shallow Version)..............................LCD Soundsystem
Time to Pretend.................................................MGMT
Animal..............................................................Miike Snow
Show Me ft. De La Soul.......................................Mint Royale
Make Her Say ft. Kanye West, Common & A-Trak....Kid Cudie
Birthday Girl ft. Patrick Stump of Fallout Boy..........The Roots
I'm Yours Remix ft. Lil Wayne & Jah Cure...............Jason Mraz
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

More Music For You if Ya Missed it First Time:

Jump on it, tell your friends, spread the love.

Brooklyn Go Hard

2008-12-04T13:59:00.002-05:00

Dope Song, dope video. Jay-Z on the vocals, Kanye on the beat.
And it's for (RED), a noble effort.

Jay-Z on iLike - Get updates inside iTunes

A little prouder to be American today

2008-11-05T12:13:00.000-05:00

Who said NY isn't 'Real America'?

NYC celebrates.

[ Photos from Union Square ]

Redman with band

2008-09-17T11:21:00.000-04:00

Red puts on one of the dopest live shows to begin with. Add a live band to it, and it gets even better. Him and Met were promoting a new Blackout album, plus a How high? Part II, which hopefully will be as mindlessly funny as the first was. Hopefully Lisa Turtle will be back as well!

Red in Atlanta

Redman Performing @ The Loft in Atlanta from Broccolicity TV on Vimeo.

Fresh!!

2008-09-14T22:45:00.000-04:00

I believe the Department of Defense created the internet so we could watch dope ass old school videos like this.

Where can I get a magic 45 like the one JMJ has at 1:32?

The Hutchersons

2008-09-05T15:55:00.000-04:00

HEY!

These guys are funny. And they play good music.

Be

2008-08-29T12:38:00.001-04:00

The chosen one, from the land of the frozen sun. Where drunk nights get remembered more than sober ones. Walk like warriors we were never told to run, explored the world to return to where me soul begun. Never looking back, or too far in front of me, the present is a gift and I just want to be.

Rock The Bells

2008-08-05T20:45:00.000-04:00

Damn, Sunday was dope, everything I coulda hoped for.
Nas & Jay-Z

Two more angles from Jones Beach here

10 minutes of Tribe's performance, which featured an acapella Scenario with a bananas Busta Rhymes.

Blue Lines

2008-07-01T22:15:00.000-04:00

I'd heard the name Massive Attack before, but it wasn't until I was diggin through Ian's CD collection in London once, that I actually listened to it. I liked it enough to rip it for myself. Not until a certain Brazilian told me it was her favorite album, that I really got into it.

From Wikipedia:
Generally considered the first trip hop album, though the term wasn't coined until several years later, Blue Lines was a massive success in the United Kingdom, though sales were limited elsewhere. A fusion of electronic music, hip hop and dub music, the album established Massive Attack as one of the innovative British bands of the 1990s and the founder of trip hop's Bristol Sound. The city of Bristol, consisting of a large working class, became the epicenter of the trip hop movement. The album incorporated sounds of hip-hop, 70s soul music and reggae.

Simon Reynolds writes that the album also marked a change in electronic/dance music, "a shift toward a more interior, meditational sound. The songs on Blue Lines run at "spliff" tempos - from a mellow, moonwalking 90 beats per minute ...down to a positively torpid 67 bpm."[2] The group drew inspiration from concept-albums in various genres by artists such as Pink Floyd, Public Image Ltd., Herbie Hancock and Isaac Hayes.

The album places in the top 100 of numerous British Best Albums Ever lists, and Rolling Stone gives it #395 in their 500 Greatest Albums Ever. It would definitely place higher if it was a product of the U.S.

I also was intrigued at the theme to some British detective show, which turned out to be another one of Massive Attack's biggest hits, Teardrop. Included that for your listening pleasure, as well as a José González cover of the same track which appeared on his latest album 'In Our Nature'. (González's music is also featured in the previous post, in the "Balls" commercial)

Email me if you want the Massive Attack album, or search for it here.
I'll let you in on a little secret, great album to get busy to :)

Downloads

Safe From Harm (off Blue Lines)

Be Thankful for What You've Got (off Blue Lines)

Unfinished Symphony (off Blue Lines)

Teardrop (off Mezzanine)

Teardrop (Jose Gonzalez cover)

Streaming

Color

2008-06-20T17:37:00.000-04:00

4 of the most creative ads I've ever seen. The paint one blew me away. Youtube quality isn't the best, there's a link for hi-res versions of them underneath, plus behind the scenes video.

Paint

Hi-Res and behind the scenes

Balls

Hi-res and behind the scenes
This was also my introduction to José González

Play-Doh

Hi-res and behind the scenes

String

Let's Go Mutts

2008-06-18T11:58:00.000-04:00

Jon Stewart is by far the most honest Mets fan on TV.
On Willie's firing:

On the Mets 2007 collapse:

Undisputed

2008-06-13T15:56:00.000-04:00

Nas - Hero

So Fresh

2008-06-13T10:32:00.000-04:00

The Art of Storytelling pt. IV

Royal Flush ft. Raekwon

Believe in this?

2008-06-11T18:15:00.001-04:00

I'm with Mr. Met, I don't even think I can watch anymore... but lord knows I'm a masochist so I'll be back out at Shea soon, to root, root, root for the home team.

Ugh, it's painful.
Metsblog.com: The Black Cloud

Gnarls Barkley: Moving On

2008-06-10T16:39:00.000-04:00

I was never really into Goodie Mob, but loved the first two Cee-Lo solo albums. While "the Odd Couple" isn't as good as the first Gnarls Barkley collabo, there are some top notch soulful tracks on it. This being one, performed live on Letterman.

Washington for the Weekend

2008-06-09T14:50:00.001-04:00

Young Professionals for International Cooperation and UNA-USA Chapter Conference.

Web 2.0 Presentation

2008-06-09T14:06:00.000-04:00

Download the .ppt

Big Daddy Crane

2008-06-06T14:27:00.001-04:00

What a way to wake up in the morning.

Me on MSNBC.com

In Rainbows

2007-11-17T23:00:00.000-05:00

If you've talked to me about it, you know I can go for hours about how much respect/admiration I have for what Radiohead has done with giving away their album, for whatever price you feel is appropriate. The story I've read is that they came up with this idea on their own, but I'm thinking they were reading the same academic research papers on the subject that I was reading in 2006.

I'm listening to it now, and diggin it. Can't say the same about first listen of the last album 'Hail to the Thief.' This has more of a Kid-A vibe, which is the album that got me into Radiohead in the first place (good rec Greg.)

There's not even an official cover for it which has led to people creating their own. There's quite a collection of well done / creative / funny covers here.

Delli found this on a message board. Haven't tried it yet, but it's pretty interesting:

Preceding the release of IN Rainbows, Radiohead started releasing "info" on the new album simply by putting a bunch of what appeared to be Binary numbers up on their website (101010). After the release of the album, a bunch of bigger Radiohead geeks than me figured out what they think it all means. The album was released on 10-10-2007, 10yrs after OK computer. And furthermore, something they figured out between the album name In Rainbows (rainbows=alternating colors), the alternating 1s and 0s, the song "Jigsaw Falling into Place," as well as hints on the OK Comptuter album cover itself, was that In Rainbows is the "second half" of OK Computer. The songs are supposed to alternate, and they fit together/fade together perfectly. I even noticed the beats to "15 Step" and "Paranoid Android" are extremely similar. Anyways, thought I'd share, cuz it's kinda sweet.

1. Airbag (OKComputer)
2. 15 Step (In Rainbows)
3. Paranoid Android (OKComputer)
4. Bodysnatchers (In Rainbows)
5. Subterranean Homesick Alien (OKComputer)
6. Nude (In Rainbows)
7. Exit Music (For A Film) (OKComputer)
8. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (In Rainbows)
9. Let Down (OKComputer)
10. All I Need (In Rainbows)
11. Karma Police (OKComputer)
12. Fitter Happier (OKComputer)
13. Faust Arp (In Rainbows)
14. Electioneering (OKComputer)
15. Reckoner (In Rainbows)
16. Climbing Up The Walls (OKComputer)
17. House Of Cards (In Rainbows)
18. No Surprises (OKComputer)
19. Jigsaw Falling Into Place (In Rainbows)
20. Lucky (OKComputer)
21. Videotape (In Rainbows)
22. The Tourist (OKComputer)

Enjoy a couple of my favorite tracks, or go download it for yourself.

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi

Click the Divshare logo to download

Reckoner

Click the Divshare logo to download

Kanye Cum Laude

2007-09-11T16:53:00.001-04:00

With all the hype, I actually lowered my expectations. Shouldn't have, great album. Gets a little R&B soft in the middle, but I'll survive. What I don't understand is why Drunk Girls is 5 minutes instead of 2. Or why this song was only included on the Japanese release:

Good Night

Click the Divshare logo to download

MUSIC: Summer's End Soundtrack

2007-08-30T18:09:00.000-04:00

A couple of new mixes and an older one that I hadn't posted. As usual click the title, if it doesn't automatically start downloading, click the link on the right. Then just unzip and add to your library.

August Mix

Adding to the monthly mix series, a 50 minute continuous mix of hip-hop (with a lil bit of soul) to wind the summer down with. Definitely got out of NY for this.
w. Outkast, Common, Kanye, T.I., Jay-z, Nas, Amy Winehouse + more

Broken Ankle Boogie

Right about now I'm having issues walking, let-alone dancing. But if I could do either, these would get me moving. Some electronic big beats and thumping house.
w. LCD Soundsystem, The Postal Service, The Chemical Brother's + more

Guests with Ghost

Put together in anticipation of Fishscale, this mix of Ghostface and friends accompanied me on many a London Transport trip.
w. Wu-Tang, MF DOOM, Redman, Scarface, Cormega, Kool G + more

MUSIC: Miles + Nas = Dope

2007-08-17T14:22:00.000-04:00

So Delli mentions the song on the Soup, Ben downloads it from Nahright.com, and has been blacking out with it countless times in the past 24 hours!

Freedom Jazz Dance

MUSIC: LCD Soundsytem

2007-08-10T01:05:00.000-04:00

I was put on to LCD Soundsytem by the "blogosphere" and I dig them. This is a great song. They were also featured on my "May Mix" available below.

A great article about the band and the song.

MUSIC: Bill Withers

2007-08-01T18:32:00.000-04:00

I can't walk left-footed, and accordingly I give to you two tremendous tracks from Bill Withers. You should already know Ain't No Sunshine, Lovely Day, and Just the Two of Us, so I've upped two less popular songs. (You can download them by clicking on the DivShare logo and following the link on the right)

I Can't Write Left-Handed
A live version of a song written about a returning Vietnam Vet. Poignant and oh-so soulful.

Use Me
Hands down one of my all-time favorite songs. So funky.

MUSIC: FiBENacci Sequence

2007-07-20T02:04:00.000-04:00

This never used to happen with cassettes!!

It's been brought to my attention that the tags on the two latest mixes, weren't correct in newer versions of iTunes, so when you add them to your library the order of the playlist isn't what it should have been.

The file names themselves are correct, but the tags aren't... so, below are the tracklists for June Tunes 2007 and Lay Lady Lay, as they should be sequenced. Hopefully you'll take the time to re-number the mixes as they were intended to be listened to. Sorry for any inconvenience, if you already burned the disk, get the right sequence and burn it again, it's worth it! If not, they're all good songs so you'll still enjoy (just maybe not as much!)

I've also changed the files that are posted online if you want to delete what you've got and download them again instead of going through all the trouble with tagging. Won't happen again, I promise. I'm working on a couple of new mixes so keep your eyes open.

June Tunes 2007

01. Summer Breeze: Emiliana Torrini
02. Notice: Gomez
03. Left Behind ft. Jose González: Zero 7
04. Mushaboom: Feist
05. Your Love Gets Sweeter: Finley Quaye
06. A Minha: A Band of Bees
07. Young Folks: Peter Bjorn & John
08. Yesterday Never Tomorrows: The Stills
09. Haiti: Arcade Fire
10. Backyards: Broken Social Scene
11. Summer Skin: Death Cab For Cutie
12. Paper Aeroplane: Angus & Julia Stone
13. Lonely Lonely (Frisbee'd Mix): Feist
14. Even After All: Finley Quaye
15. Say Something New: The Concretes
16. Remind Me: Röyksopp
17. Join Hands: Groove Armada

Lay Lady Lay

01. The Shining: Badly Drawn Boy
02. High and Dry: Radiohead
03. Shiver (acoustic): Coldplay
04. No Other Way: Jack Johnson
05. River Man: Nick Drake
06. Flowers in December: Mazzy Star
07. Such Great Heights (Acoustic): Iron & Wine
08. Flying High: Jem
09. The Other Side: David Gray
10. Strange & Beautiful: Aqualung
11. Holes: Mercury Rev
12. Broken Drum: Beck
13. Lover's Spit: Broken Social Scene
14. The World at Large: Modest Mouse
15. Closing Theme of a Motion Picture Soundtrack: Radiohead

MUSIC: Mixes Online

2007-07-11T01:29:00.001-04:00

Streaming files, or you can download them using the link on the right

Memorial May Mix
An hour of continuous summer soul with the usual assortment of rock, pop and hip-hop, past & present.
w. Jackson 5, Ol Dirty Bastard, Q-Tip, The Arctic Monkeys, INXS, + more
April's Mix
A 30 minute continuous mix to get a party going strong.
w. Stevie Wonder, Pete Rock, Prince, White Stripes, Snoop Zepplin, + more

Zipped Files - downloads automatically then unzip on your computer

June Tunes 2007
Breezy summer tunes to keep you swinging or swimming.
w. Feist, Finley Quaye, Peter Bjorn & John, Gomez, Death Cab + more
Lay Lady Lay
Mixed August 2005. A melancholy mix to reminisce with.
w. Jack Johnson, Radiohead, Nick Drake, Coldplay, Modest Mouse + more
Lady Sings Volume III
...Midnight Mix. Downtempo grooves to lounge or lay down.
w. Esthero, Massive Attack, DJ Shadow, Zero 7, Sneaker Pimps + more
Lady Sings Volume II
...Good Morning Synths. Chilled electrics & vocals to start the day.
w. Jem, Frou Frou, Telepopmusik, Moby, Broken Social Scene + more
Lady Sings Volume I
...You Dance. Uptempo electrics and vocals to move to.
w. Esthero, Dido, Janet Jackson, Morcheeba, Frou Frou, Telepopmusik + more
Beats By Ben II
Mixed in 2004; hard hip-hop beats to get you moving.
w. DJ Shadow, Eric B, Wu-Tang, Tribe Called Quest, Talib + more
Beats By Ben I
Mixed in 2003; smoothed out beats for a Greek Beach.
w. Quantic, RJD2, Outkast, Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang + more
Summer Bummer 2005
Some of the best hip hop from 2004 til 2005
(with a little extra electrics to close it out).
w. Nas, Mos Def, The Roots, Ghostface, Common, Quantic & more

2007-07-11T01:29:00.000-04:00

Memorial May Mix
An hour mix of summer soul with the usual assortment of rock and hop.
w. Jackson 5, Ol Dirty Bastard, Q-Tip, The Arctic Monkeys, INXS, + more
April's Mix
A 30 minute continuous mix to get a party going
w. Stevie Wonder, Pete Rock, Prince, White Stripes, Snoop Zepplin, + more

Zipped Files

Lady Sings Volume III
A chilled out midnight mix to take it downtempo
w. Esthero, Massive Attack, DJ Shadow, Zero 7, Sneaker Pimps + more
Lady Sings Volume II
Good Morning Synths, chilled electrics and vocals to start the day
w. Jem, Frou Frou, Telepopmusik, Moby, Broken Social Scene + more
Lady Sings Volume I
Beats By Ben II
Mixed in 2004; hard hip-hop beats to get you moving
w. DJ Shadow, Eric B, Wu-Tang, Tribe Called Quest, Talib + more
Beats By Ben I
Mixed in 2003; smoothed out beats for a Greek Beach
w. Quantic, RJD2, Outkast, Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang + more
Summer Bummer 2005
Some of the best hip hop from 2004 til 2005 (with a little extra thrown in)
w. Nas, Mos Def, The Roots, Ghostface, Common, Quantic & more

MUSIC: Coco Rosie

2007-06-13T18:09:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted anything about how great I think LastFM is, but a perfect example of just what it does is introducing me to this song: By Your Side by Coco Rosie. It's kind of Sarah Vaugh meeting a RZA sample, with some electro bips and boops thrown in, and I love it. Amazing song.

Download it
Coco Rosie page on LastFM

FUNNY: Things that've made me laugh

2007-06-05T19:56:00.001-04:00

Stephan Colbert - "Hot dogs were invented when a family of raccoons got lost in a toothpaste factory."

Troy McClure - "You may remember me from such movies as 'Lead Paint: Delicious But Deadly!'

Phillip Wellman - The hand grenade makes it

LIFE: Long Beach and a Bike

2007-05-31T23:25:00.000-04:00

Temperature is up, Sun is out, I'm heading to Long Beach.

Man I love riding the boardwalk! I think I was on a beach twice the entire time I was overseas, not nearly enough to keep me sane. Granted, one was Barceloneta, Spain, but that was only for two days! 16 miles on the bike, hopefully my legs will holdup for the O's doubleheader on Sunday.

MUSIC: May's Mix Online

2007-05-29T12:14:00.000-04:00

It's done and ready to download or stream it below.

May Mix
An hour mix of summer soul with the usual assortment of rock and hop. Junkies, monkeys, maneaters and blondes abound!
w. Jackson 5, Ol Dirty Bastard, Q-Tip, The Arctic Monkeys, INXS, & more

MUSIC: May's Mix

2007-05-24T01:19:00.000-04:00

In the works as I type is the next in the "calendar series" of my mixes. Digital crates are being dusted off, MP3s are getting spliced and a Memorial May mix is on its way. Some rock, some hop, some soul, some 80's, some Oughts.
Update: the playlist is finalized, final cut being mastered.
The other mixes I've posted online:

April's Mix
A 30 minute continuous mix to get a party going
w. Stevie Wonder, Pete Rock, Prince, White Stripes, Snoop Zepplin (?) & more
Lady Sings Volume III
A chilled out midnight mix to take it downtempo
w. Esthero, Massive Attack, DJ Shadow, Zero 7, Sneaker Pimps & more
Beats By Ben II
Hard beats to get you moving
w. DJ Shadow, Eric B, Talib & more
Summer Bummer 2005
Some of the best hip hop from 2004 til 2005 (with a little extra thrown in)
w. Nas, Mos Def, The Roots, Ghostface, Common, Quantic & more

SPORT: A weekend of baseball

2007-05-22T14:04:00.000-04:00

Subway Series 2007 pt.I is finished, Mets take a solid 2 outta 3 and move up a couple of games on Atlanta. Willie's got them making good progress, in the last 2 1/2 weeks (what the 'experts' were labeling a test for the team) they won series vs Arizona, the Giants, Brewers, Cubbies and the Yanks. A couple more wins in the ATL would move things along nicely. Mr. Wright is starting to hit as well, now if Delgado could find his stroke...

The Orators doubleheader in New London, CT turned out much better than I anticipated when I woke up Sunday morning. Weather held out, and we had two competitive games, although we played very sloppy defense again (myself included.) Served as hurler for the second game. I like this pitching thing, gonna have to work on it a little more. Was able to keep the strikers off balance, but a knuckler in the arsenal could be devastating. The photo's of your truly bringing home a duck on the pond during our first home game last week at Seaside Park. It was featured in the Connecticut Post. Check out our media coverage in the CT Post and the Westport Minuteman. Orator's Homepage.

POLITICS: Al Gore and Washington's Assault on Reason

2007-05-18T03:00:00.000-04:00

The Assault on Reason
By Al Gore

Not long before our nation launched the invasion of Iraq, our longest-serving Senator, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, stood on the Senate floor and said: "This chamber is, for the most part, silent—ominously, dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. There is nothing. We stand passively mute in the United States Senate."

Why was the Senate silent?

In describing the empty chamber the way he did, Byrd invited a specific version of the same general question millions of us have been asking: "Why do reason, logic and truth seem to play a sharply diminished role in the way America now makes important decisions?" The persistent and sustained reliance on falsehoods as the basis of policy, even in the face of massive and well-understood evidence to the contrary, seems to many Americans to have reached levels that were previously unimaginable.

A large and growing number of Americans are asking out loud: "What has happened to our country?" People are trying to figure out what has gone wrong in our democracy, and how we can fix it.

To take another example, for the first time in American history, the Executive Branch of our government has not only condoned but actively promoted the treatment of captives in wartime that clearly involves torture, thus overturning a prohibition established by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

It is too easy—and too partisan—to simply place the blame on the policies of President George W. Bush. We are all responsible for the decisions our country makes. We have a Congress. We have an independent judiciary. We have checks and balances. We are a nation of laws. We have free speech. We have a free press. Have they all failed us? Why has America's public discourse become less focused and clear, less reasoned? Faith in the power of reason—the belief that free citizens can govern themselves wisely and fairly by resorting to logical debate on the basis of the best evidence available, instead of raw power—remains the central premise of American democracy. This premise is now under assault.

American democracy is now in danger—not from any one set of ideas, but from unprecedented changes in the environment within which ideas either live and spread, or wither and die. I do not mean the physical environment; I mean what is called the public sphere, or the marketplace of ideas.

It is simply no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse. I know I am not alone in feeling that something has gone fundamentally wrong. In 2001, I had hoped it was an aberration when polls showed that three-quarters of Americans believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for attacking us on Sept. 11. More than five years later, however, nearly half of the American public still believes Saddam was connected to the attack.

At first I thought the exhaustive, nonstop coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial was just an unfortunate excess—an unwelcome departure from the normal good sense and judgment of our television news media. Now we know that it was merely an early example of a new pattern of serial obsessions that periodically take over the airwaves for weeks at a time: the Michael Jackson trial and the Robert Blake trial, the Laci Peterson tragedy and the Chandra Levy tragedy, Britney and KFed, Lindsay and Paris and Nicole.

While American television watchers were collectively devoting 100 million hours of their lives each week to these and other similar stories, our nation was in the process of more quietly making what future historians will certainly describe as a series of catastrophically mistaken decisions on issues of war and peace, the global climate and human survival, freedom and barbarity, justice and fairness. For example, hardly anyone now disagrees that the choice to invade Iraq was a grievous mistake. Yet, incredibly, all of the evidence and arguments necessary to have made the right decision were available at the time and in hindsight are glaringly obvious.

Those of us who have served in the U.S. Senate and watched it change over time could volunteer a response to Senator Byrd's incisive description of the Senate prior to the invasion: The chamber was empty because the Senators were somewhere else. Many of them were at fund-raising events they now feel compelled to attend almost constantly in order to collect money—much of it from special interests—to buy 30-second TV commercials for their next re-election campaign. The Senate was silent because Senators don't feel that what they say on the floor of the Senate really matters that much anymore—not to the other Senators, who are almost never present when their colleagues speak, and certainly not to the voters, because the news media seldom report on Senate speeches anymore.

Our Founders' faith in the viability of representative democracy rested on their trust in the wisdom of a well-informed citizenry, their ingenious design for checks and balances, and their belief that the rule of reason is the natural sovereign of a free people. The Founders took great care to protect the openness of the marketplace of ideas so that knowledge could flow freely. Thus they not only protected freedom of assembly, they made a special point—in the First Amendment—of protecting the freedom of the printing press. And yet today, almost 45 years have passed since the majority of Americans received their news and information from the printed word. Newspapers are hemorrhaging readers. Reading itself is in decline. The Republic of Letters has been invaded and occupied by the empire of television.

Radio, the Internet, movies, cell phones, iPods, computers, instant messaging, video games and personal digital assistants all now vie for our attention—but it is television that still dominates the flow of information. According to an authoritative global study, Americans now watch television an average of 4 hours and 35 minutes every day—90 minutes more than the world average. When you assume eight hours of work a day, six to eight hours of sleep and a couple of hours to bathe, dress, eat and commute, that is almost three-quarters of all the discretionary time the average American has.

In the world of television, the massive flows of information are largely in only one direction, which makes it virtually impossible for individuals to take part in what passes for a national conversation. Individuals receive, but they cannot send. They hear, but they do not speak. The "well-informed citizenry" is in danger of becoming the "well-amused audience." Moreover, the high capital investment required for the ownership and operation of a television station and the centralized nature of broadcast, cable and satellite networks have led to the increasing concentration of ownership by an ever smaller number of larger corporations that now effectively control the majority of television programming in America.

In practice, what television's dominance has come to mean is that the inherent value of political propositions put forward by candidates is now largely irrelevant compared with the image-based ad campaigns they use to shape the perceptions of voters. The high cost of these commercials has radically increased the role of money in politics—and the influence of those who contribute it. That is why campaign finance reform, however well drafted, often misses the main point: so long as the dominant means of engaging in political dialogue is through purchasing expensive television advertising, money will continue in one way or another to dominate American politics. And as a result, ideas will continue to play a diminished role. That is also why the House and Senate campaign committees in both parties now search for candidates who are multimillionaires and can buy the ads with their own personal resources.

When I first ran for Congress in 1976, I never took a poll during the entire campaign. Eight years later, however, when I ran statewide for the U.S. Senate, I did take polls and like most statewide candidates relied more heavily on electronic advertising to deliver my message. I vividly remember a turning point in that Senate campaign when my opponent, a fine public servant named Victor Ashe who has since become a close friend, was narrowing the lead I had in the polls. After a detailed review of all the polling information and careful testing of potential TV commercials, the anticipated response from my opponent's campaign and the planned response to the response, my advisers made a recommendation and prediction that surprised me with its specificity: "If you run this ad at this many 'points' [a measure of the size of the advertising buy], and if Ashe responds as we anticipate, and then we purchase this many points to air our response to his response, the net result after three weeks will be an increase of 8.5% in your lead in the polls."

I authorized the plan and was astonished when three weeks later my lead had increased by exactly 8.5%. Though pleased, of course, for my own campaign, I had a sense of foreboding for what this revealed about our democracy. Clearly, at least to some degree, the "consent of the governed" was becoming a commodity to be purchased by the highest bidder. To the extent that money and the clever use of electronic mass media could be used to manipulate the outcome of elections, the role of reason began to diminish.

As a college student, I wrote my senior thesis on the impact of television on the balance of power among the three branches of government. In the study, I pointed out the growing importance of visual rhetoric and body language over logic and reason. There are countless examples of this, but perhaps understandably, the first one that comes to mind is from the 2000 campaign, long before the Supreme Court decision and the hanging chads, when the controversy over my sighs in the first debate with George W. Bush created an impression on television that for many viewers outweighed whatever positive benefits I might have otherwise gained in the verbal combat of ideas and substance. A lot of good that senior thesis did me.

The potential for manipulating mass opinions and feelings initially discovered by commercial advertisers is now being even more aggressively exploited by a new generation of media Machiavellis. The combination of ever more sophisticated public opinion sampling techniques and the increasing use of powerful computers to parse and subdivide the American people according to "psychographic" categories that identify their susceptibility to individually tailored appeals has further magnified the power of propagandistic electronic messaging that has created a harsh new reality for the functioning of our democracy.

As a result, our democracy is in danger of being hollowed out. In order to reclaim our birthright, we Americans must resolve to repair the systemic decay of the public forum. We must create new ways to engage in a genuine and not manipulative conversation about our future. We must stop tolerating the rejection and distortion of science. We must insist on an end to the cynical use of pseudo-studies known to be false for the purpose of intentionally clouding the public's ability to discern the truth. Americans in both parties should insist on the re-establishment of respect for the rule of reason.

And what if an individual citizen or group of citizens wants to enter the public debate by expressing their views on television? Since they cannot simply join the conversation, some of them have resorted to raising money in order to buy 30 seconds in which to express their opinion. But too often they are not allowed to do even that. MoveOn.org tried to buy an ad for the 2004 Super Bowl broadcast to express opposition to Bush's economic policy, which was then being debated by Congress. CBS told MoveOn that "issue advocacy" was not permissible. Then, CBS, having refused the MoveOn ad, began running advertisements by the White House in favor of the president's controversial proposal. So MoveOn complained, and the White House ad was temporarily removed. By temporarily, I mean it was removed until the White House complained, and CBS immediately put the ad back on, yet still refused to present the MoveOn ad.

To understand the final reason why the news marketplace of ideas dominated by television is so different from the one that emerged in the world dominated by the printing press, it is important to distinguish the quality of vividness experienced by television viewers from the "vividness" experienced by readers. Marshall McLuhan's description of television as a "cool" medium—as opposed to the "hot" medium of print—was hard for me to understand when I read it 40 years ago, because the source of "heat" in his metaphor is the mental work required in the alchemy of reading. But McLuhan was almost alone in recognizing that the passivity associated with watching television is at the expense of activity in parts of the brain associated with abstract thought, logic, and the reasoning process. Any new dominant communications medium leads to a new information ecology in society that inevitably changes the way ideas, feelings, wealth, power and influence are distributed and the way collective decisions are made.

As a young lawyer giving his first significant public speech at the age of 28, Abraham Lincoln warned that a persistent period of dysfunction and unresponsiveness by government could alienate the American people and that "the strongest bulwark of any government, and particularly of those constituted like ours, may effectively be broken down and destroyed—I mean the attachment of the people." Many Americans now feel that our government is unresponsive and that no one in power listens to or cares what they think. They feel disconnected from democracy. They feel that one vote makes no difference, and that they, as individuals, have no practical means of participating in America's self-government. Unfortunately, they are not entirely wrong. Voters are often viewed mainly as targets for easy manipulation by those seeking their "consent" to exercise power. By using focus groups and elaborate polling techniques, those who design these messages are able to derive the only information they're interested in receiving from citizens—feedback useful in fine-tuning their efforts at manipulation. Over time, the lack of authenticity becomes obvious and takes its toll in the form of cynicism and alienation. And the more Americans disconnect from the democratic process, the less legitimate it becomes.

Many young Americans now seem to feel that the jury is out on whether American democracy actually works or not. We have created a wealthy society with tens of millions of talented, resourceful individuals who play virtually no role whatsoever as citizens. Bringing these people in—with their networks of influence, their knowledge, and their resources—is the key to creating the capacity for shared intelligence that we need to solve our problems.

Unfortunately, the legacy of the 20th century's ideologically driven bloodbaths has included a new cynicism about reason itself—because reason was so easily used by propagandists to disguise their impulse to power by cloaking it in clever and seductive intellectual formulations. When people don't have an opportunity to interact on equal terms and test the validity of what they're being "taught" in the light of their own experience and robust, shared dialogue, they naturally begin to resist the assumption that the experts know best.

So the remedy for what ails our democracy is not simply better education (as important as that is) or civic education (as important as that can be), but the re-establishment of a genuine democratic discourse in which individuals can participate in a meaningful way—a conversation of democracy in which meritorious ideas and opinions from individuals do, in fact, evoke a meaningful response.

Fortunately, the Internet has the potential to revitalize the role played by the people in our constitutional framework. It has extremely low entry barriers for individuals. It is the most interactive medium in history and the one with the greatest potential for connecting individuals to one another and to a universe of knowledge. It's a platform for pursuing the truth, and the decentralized creation and distribution of ideas, in the same way that markets are a decentralized mechanism for the creation and distribution of goods and services. It's a platform, in other words, for reason. But the Internet must be developed and protected, in the same way we develop and protect markets—through the establishment of fair rules of engagement and the exercise of the rule of law. The same ferocity that our Founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the Internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic. We must ensure that the Internet remains open and accessible to all citizens without any limitation on the ability of individuals to choose the content they wish regardless of the Internet service provider they use to connect to the Web. We cannot take this future for granted. We must be prepared to fight for it, because of the threat of corporate consolidation and control over the Internet marketplace of ideas.

The danger arises because there is, in most markets, a very small number of broadband network operators. These operators have the structural capacity to determine the way in which information is transmitted over the Internet and the speed with which it is delivered. And the present Internet network operators—principally large telephone and cable companies—have an economic incentive to extend their control over the physical infrastructure of the network to leverage control of Internet content. If they went about it in the wrong way, these companies could institute changes that have the effect of limiting the free flow of information over the Internet in a number of troubling ways.

The democratization of knowledge by the print medium brought the Enlightenment. Now, broadband interconnection is supporting decentralized processes that reinvigorate democracy. We can see it happening before our eyes: As a society, we are getting smarter. Networked democracy is taking hold. You can feel it. We the people—as Lincoln put it, "even we here"—are collectively still the key to the survival of America's democracy.

First Post

2007-05-14T13:35:00.000-04:00

Setting up a new blog for all things ben.

About Me

2006-09-12T16:08:00.000-04:00

Having served as Publications and Technology Coordinator within the
Education Department of UNA-USA, since October, 2007, Ben has now taken on a
leading role in the organization's website redesign and overall online
strategy. The Long Island, NY native received his undergraduate degree from
Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ, and a graduate degree in
'Globalization, Development and Transition' from the
University of Westminster in London, England
(his "home away from home").

Upon completing his studies Mr. Fortney also served as a
visiting lecturer in a variety of undergraduate courses,
focusing on the development, and sociology of the
emerging 'network society' and online environments.

Before joining UNA-USA, Ben filled numerous design, publication, and
promotional positions in both the music and the non-profit industries. A
seasoned traveler both internationally and domestically, he enjoys
discovering new experiences and the personal satisfaction of learning or
accomplishing something new.

While he may describe himself as an "International Man of Mystery" others
would readily apply the title of "nomadic vagabond" to him. In his
spare time, Ben explores the vastness of the internet, and has been
a member of the Pretentious Soup Club, an online experiment
in collective male intelligence (or lack thereof), since 2005.

When not helping old ladies cross the street, or dodging collapsing cranes,
Ben is an avid baseball fan, sharing a love/hate relationship with the New
York Metropolitans, and is an integral cog in the Bridgeport Orators Vintage
Baseball Club. Ben hopes to play Major League Baseball, or own a pub when
he grows up.