June 2007 Archives

Your iPhone Essay Exam

By David W. Boles on June 29, 2007 8:48 AM | 15 Comments | 1 TrackBack

Welcome to the Brave New iPhone World! To celebrate this semiotic change in memes and thinking, we are offering you the opportunity to opine with us -- in essay form -- on the role of technology changing the terms of our living. Are you tired of the iPhone coverage yet? Are you getting an iPhone today? If not, what's wrong with you? If yes, what is your plan to get your hands on one?

Continue reading Your iPhone Essay Exam.

Of Blood Oaths and Sacred Vows

By David W. Boles on June 28, 2007 7:40 AM | 25 Comments

Why do we require Blood Oaths and Sacred Vows? Why isn't a person's word their bond? Why bring the body and holy into the covenant of our truth telling with others?

Why do we place more value in vows sworn on Bibles and other imbued relics than simply assuming one will tell the truth by default?

Is there an added potency to a claim when it is sworn "on my dead mother's grave?" What is the purpose of secret handshakes, candlelight ceremonies and swearing in those who seek public service? Is our punishment more severe when blood oaths and sacred vows are broken?

Nothing New Under the Sun and the Cannibalization of Ideas

By David W. Boles on June 27, 2007 7:40 AM | 24 Comments | 1 TrackBack

Is there such a thing as an original idea? Or have all inspirations already been had? Are all thoughts actually the result of cannibalization?

Continue reading Nothing New Under the Sun and the Cannibalization of Ideas.

Are Nurse Practitioners and Minute Clinics Good Medicine?

By David W. Boles on June 26, 2007 6:55 AM | 21 Comments

The New York Times reports today 43.6 million people in the United States -- more than 14 percent of our population -- do not have health insurance. Minute Clinic is a for-profit medical office staffed by nurse practitioners and they are located in malls and at places like Wal-Mart and pharmacies like CVS. There are some entities -- mainly the American Medical Association -- that thinks healthcare options like Minute Clinic are dangerous to your health.

Continue reading Are Nurse Practitioners and Minute Clinics Good Medicine?.

Paris Hilton and the Million Dollar Bounty

By David W. Boles on June 25, 2007 8:15 AM | 24 Comments | 3 TrackBacks

Paris Hilton is finally due to be released from jail tomorrow after serving 23 days in the hoosegow. There's a million dollar bounty for Paris Hilton and last week I received email asking me to be a part of the hunt for Ms. Hilton before she is released from the Big House.

Continue reading Paris Hilton and the Million Dollar Bounty.

Beating Flies and Beetles Cracking

By David W. Boles on June 22, 2007 8:57 AM | 19 Comments

Flies are hunting me. Beetles -- the flying kind -- are bothering me. Every year at this time, the flies come out of hiding along with their red, flying, beetle buddies -- they all love to say hello and land on me and my computer. I am tired of shuddering and shooing. My arm is aching from all of the swatting.

Continue reading Beating Flies and Beetles Cracking.

Stem Cell Veto: Hurry Up and Die Already!

By David W. Boles on June 21, 2007 8:49 AM | 18 Comments

Yesterday's veto of Stem Cell research -- Bush's second attempt at stopping human longevity -- creates an uncomfortable schism between "Doing the Right Thing" and a narrow religious view pressed into the heart of human suffering favoring the possibility of life over established self-sustained living. Bush once again presents to the world his indefensible selfish view of pretending to save lives while perpetuating incomprehensible, international, deaths on the battlefield.

Continue reading Stem Cell Veto: Hurry Up and Die Already!.

Invasion of the Orange People

By David W. Boles on June 20, 2007 9:28 AM | 28 Comments

We all know there is nothing good for you under the sun. I wholly support the idea of not getting a suntan from the sun. I am, however, confused by the idea of "sunless tanning" where orange dye is applied to the skin in order to give a full and healthy glow. There's even a "reality" TV show on the E! network called "Sunset Tan" where we get to watch feeble-minded people turn their skin orange for a thousand dollars a session.

Continue reading Invasion of the Orange People.

The Second Betrayal: Stung in the Smothering Sky

By David W. Boles on June 19, 2007 7:29 AM | 24 Comments

Were you ever lost as a child and the experience shook you so much that the experience sticks with you today? When I was young, my cousin and I were playing together at a park -- a proving grounds -- during a Fourth of July city celebration and it was a night I will never forget.

Continue reading The Second Betrayal: Stung in the Smothering Sky.

The Bionic God

By David W. Boles on June 18, 2007 6:41 AM | 15 Comments | 1 TrackBack

Should we be required to live in the body in which we were birthed? The Bionic ear is with us in the form of the cochlear implant. We have bionic arms and legs attached to the war wounded. Now the Bionic Eye is here.

Continue reading The Bionic God.

MacBook Pro 15-inch LED Review

By David W. Boles on June 17, 2007 11:59 AM | 18 Comments | 1 TrackBack

While I was dealing with the bulging battery on my Apple MacBook Pro 17-inch laptop last week, a brand-new MacBook Pro 15-inch laptop with the new LED screen was winging its way to me from Shanghai, China. Those few days arguing with Apple over a battery and tracking my new MacBook online as it wended its way through the world to me was the utter definition of a Love/Hate relationship!

Continue reading MacBook Pro 15-inch LED Review.

Loving Judge Judy

By David W. Boles on June 16, 2007 11:36 AM | 26 Comments

I am in love with Judge Judy.

She is smart, tough, funny, compassionate, and she can read a phony from a mile away and tells them she knows they're a fake right to their face.

Judge Judy has many television judge imitators but none of them have ever touched her intellect or fun factor.

One of my favorite Judge Judy events happens when someone fumbles to answer a simple question by uttering, "Um..." as a response and she immediately snaps at them and says, "'Um' is not an answer!" I am also quite fond of her philosophy, "If it doesn't make sense, it isn't true."

As we grow older and win more experience, our gut guides us to truths we know are hidden by layers of deception.

If we begin to think more like Judge Judy -- What you're telling me doesn't make sense, so it isn't true -- I think we'd be in a better place in our neighborhoods and together in our standing as a nation.

Continue reading Loving Judge Judy.

On Being Clever

By Kathakali Chatterjee on June 15, 2007 8:02 PM | 8 Comments

Kathakali Chatterjee wrote this article.

I am sure the word "clever" is insulting and derogatory to some people -- they would "rather be good" than be clever. I was one of them until I read this, mostly because "being good" sounded more pleasant than "being clever" and there is no one on this earth who would like to be known as "nice" than "shrewd. It's not even possible to use the word "clever" as simple praise without being sarcastic or down right abusive.

Continue reading On Being Clever.

Impulsive Web Rage and the Online Disinhibition Effect

By David W. Boles on June 15, 2007 8:10 AM | 31 Comments | 2 TrackBacks

We have discussed why it is important to use your real name on the internet; we have also dissected the difference between Hate Mail and Spam and concluding there is no difference. Now the New York Times explains the research behind Web Rage.

Continue reading Impulsive Web Rage and the Online Disinhibition Effect.

One Year Master

By David W. Boles on June 14, 2007 8:22 AM | 15 Comments

There is a curious phenomenon going on in Higher Education today: The One Year Master's Degree. Ten years ago a Master's degree meant something and required a two or three year commitment to be in class, on campus, in a traditional brick-and-mortar university.

Continue reading One Year Master.

Quod Me Nutrit, Me Destruit

By David W. Boles on June 13, 2007 7:00 AM | 84 Comments | 1 TrackBack

"Quod me nutrit, me destruit" is a kitschy Latin phrase that generally translates into "What nourishes me, also destroys me." Young people love to spout that phrase because they relate the idea of "nourishment" to sex, drugs, alcohol and probably, at one time, Rock and Roll. Angelina Jolie has "Quod me nutrit, me destruit" tattooed on her lower abdomen along with a thick, black, cross -- making one wonder if the "destruction" is in the semiotic cross or what the bottom of the cross is pointing to while she sucks her thumb.

Continue reading Quod Me Nutrit, Me Destruit.

Captcha if You Can

By David W. Boles on June 12, 2007 9:36 AM | 38 Comments | 1 TrackBack

The New York Times had a great article concerning the bane of "Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart" -- "captcha" for short -- on our virtual lives. If you don't recognize the word "captcha" you will certainly recognize their semiotic power over your online life:

Continue reading Captcha if You Can.

Die Sopranos Die!

By David W. Boles on June 11, 2007 7:24 AM | 50 Comments | 1 TrackBack

I have never been a big Sopranos fan. The acting on the show has been generally pretty good, but I never drank from the Sopranos well of dedicated fanaticism and I missed the first few years of the show when they originally aired. I am now caught up on all the episodes and -- after watching last night's dreadful "Final Episode" -- I am left, once again, wondering what all the fuss was about over a mediocre show.

Continue reading Die Sopranos Die!.

Rotten AppleCare and a Bulging MacBook Pro 17-inch Battery

By David W. Boles on June 10, 2007 1:58 PM | 22 Comments | 1 TrackBack

We all have our unnecessary demons. For the past three days I have relentlessly been dealing the "pros" at AppleCare technical repair over getting a bulging battery replaced on my MacBook Pro 17-inch machine. The reputation of AppleCare is that, for around $300 USD, you are supposed to get the most incredible and kind service. I did not have that experience.

I found the experience rather rotten as I felt AppleCare were giving me the runaround on the bulging battery. It's as if they hadn't ever heard of the problem before, but doing a simple search on the problem reveals scads of complaints and images like this one:

Continue reading Rotten AppleCare and a Bulging MacBook Pro 17-inch Battery.

A Lesson for Scooter in Paris

By David W. Boles on June 9, 2007 10:06 AM | 16 Comments | 3 TrackBacks

Are we sick of Paris Hilton yet? Will we ever be rid of her now or is she now an American meme a powerful as Plymouth Rock? Have we tired of her Weeping Semiotic?

Continue reading A Lesson for Scooter in Paris.

Withering Hands

By Kathakali Chatterjee on June 8, 2007 7:01 PM | 16 Comments

Kathakali Chatterjee wrote this article.

These hands. Strong and powerful. Soothing and gentle. As if these embody a complete character, the whole persona. A person engrossed in her life, fulfilling its duties religiously. Duties as a daughter, as a wife, as a mother, as a homemaker -- as an epitome of tolerance, patience and acceptance as life comes. Her hands do not have manicured fingers as an epitome of fashion; her hands are age ridden, filled with lines, time-worn yet experienced and comforting. You are seeing the hands of my 79 year old grandmother. Her hands are diligently working on an Indian cutting utensil.

Continue reading Withering Hands.

Celebrity Semiotic: The Bad Parenting of Paris Hilton

By David W. Boles on June 8, 2007 8:13 AM | 44 Comments | 2 TrackBacks

As a cogent and mindful people we are faced, once again, with the inappropriate disparity between rich and famous and the poor and unknown. I call this disconnect: The Celebrity Semiotic.

Continue reading Celebrity Semiotic: The Bad Parenting of Paris Hilton.

How Secure Are You?

By David W. Boles on June 7, 2007 8:41 AM | 21 Comments

We are taught, early on in our lives, to be cautious and to watch our backs and to look out for each other. We obediently lock our doors. We psychologically brand our children. We learn to buckle up. We are a nation of Safety First. Are you as safe in securing your online life?

Continue reading How Secure Are You?.

Despair Makes Cowards Courageous

By David W. Boles on June 6, 2007 7:02 AM | 54 Comments

Do we live in a world led by Heroes or cowards? There's an old proverb -- "Despair Makes Cowards Courageous" -- that has grand resonance in today's social and political climate. Clifford -- in King Henry VI Part 3 -- suggests:

So cowards fight when they can fly no further; So doves do peck the falcon's piercing talons; So desperate thieves, all hopeless of their lives, Breathe out invectives 'gainst the officers.

Continue reading Despair Makes Cowards Courageous.

Does Barack Obama Have a Castrating Wife?

By David W. Boles on June 5, 2007 6:50 AM | 30 Comments | 4 TrackBacks

The sexual tension between men and women can be misunderstood, betrayed, and set on stage for public examination. Michelle Obama, Barack's wife, has been coming under fire for "emasculating" her husband -- in Nebraska we call it "castrating" -- in order to promote her own interests as "a strong black woman" who will bow down to no man... including her husband.

Continue reading Does Barack Obama Have a Castrating Wife?.

Fenway Fans in Blonde Masks: The Power of a Semiotic Social Mob

By David W. Boles on June 4, 2007 8:59 AM | 8 Comments

Over the weekend there was a tremendous moral correction of a public figure offered in public -- in jest -- but its semiotic relevance is an earth-shattering expression of contempt for the facade of stardom and its perks of temptation. New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) -- the highest paid player in baseball playing on the team with the highest player payroll in the biggest media market and currently stuck in last place in the American League East -- was caught by photographers with a blonde stripper that was not his wife. Boston Red Sox fans -- perennial rivals to the Yankees and currently in first place in the same division -- jabbed A-Rod Friday in Fenway Park as he prepared to take the batter's box:

Continue reading Fenway Fans in Blonde Masks: The Power of a Semiotic Social Mob.

Sex Secrets Between the Sexes

By David W. Boles on June 3, 2007 10:37 AM | 38 Comments | 1 TrackBack

Are there any sex secrets left between the sexes? Or do we already know everything about each other? Are sexual modesty and coyness gone forever? If so, is that a good thing or not?

Continue reading Sex Secrets Between the Sexes.

Hate Mail and Spam

By David W. Boles on June 2, 2007 10:45 AM | 25 Comments

I have decided there is no difference between Hate Mail and Spam. Nobody wants to get either one; they each share the intent to bother and wound; Hate Mail and Spam live to burden and bother.

Do you agree Hate Mail and Spam are the same thing?

If not, what's the difference between the two?

What is the worst piece of Hate Mail you received?

What was the silliest Spam you found in your Inbox?

Urban Bioterrorism Attack: Pernicious Tuberculosis

By David W. Boles on June 1, 2007 8:52 AM | 19 Comments

How do you fight an invisible danger?

In our ongoing series of conversations about Urban Bioterrorism, -- we have been struck by several recent realities that confirm our policy of policing the Homeland is wide open to creative and pernicious exploitation of our febrile border defenses.

Our current policy for fighting terrorism on American soil isn't working. We seek to only deter and then punish the body.

We log citizens and their behaviors while completely ignoring the reality that the most dangerous threats to health, freedom and liberty are microscopic and undetectable -- and those dangers live inside people instead of being carried by people as recognizable weapons of mass destruction.

Continue reading Urban Bioterrorism Attack: Pernicious Tuberculosis.

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Kathakali Chatterjee: It depends David! What if they are just incapable to read more
David W. Boles: I guess you need to be mindless to just accumulate read more
Kathakali Chatterjee: That's a lot of hard work David! Most people want read more
David W. Boles: What is wrong with thinking hard, Katha? Why is that read more
Kathakali Chatterjee: Heh! Thanks David! I agree. Majority do not want to read more
David W. Boles: If you'd asked me two days ago, Katha, I would've read more
David W. Boles: I am remembering your Cityscape likes, Katha! SMILE! A true read more
Kathakali Chatterjee: One question about the image David, it seems very familiar...from read more
Kathakali Chatterjee: Hi David! Sydney did look better than Nashville - for read more
David W. Boles: Hi Nicola! I love your Mona Lisa story. I'm right read more

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