My friend José posted something to his blog that really gives me some hope in these seemingly dark times. Basically it is the idea that people are divided into 2 schools of thought: those who really want you to be scared that if "law and order" and the "institutions" break down, civilization will collapse into a Hobbesean nightmare of everyone for themselves, and then other people who recognize that people are basically good and will band together to help each other and protect each other from harm and mishap when the going gets tough.

Like José says in his post, "print out this brilliant comment... and keep a copy handy at all times given the faddish resurgence of doomsday cults."

It's so easy to panic and be afraid. But hey, let's not, okay?

It's been a while since I've blogged here but I've been more active over on my new border news website/blog, http://newsontheline.tv - this was created, as I explained a couple posts ago, for a new border project, which I call "Transition in the Borderlands" - the idea was to travel along the border during the week before and after Inauguration Day, and talk to people about how they think their communities are effected by the border wall and border militarization, and whether they think things will change and how, now that Chertoff and Bush are out, and Obama is in.

Now I'm done with the trip and busy catching up on other things and going over my footage. I'll be editing together several little vignettes, in addition to the 2 that I've already done:

• 08:54 Getting dressed and watching obama?s limo on tv #
• 10:15 Heading 2 Calexico 2 do interviews #
• 11:04 Waiting at the port in calexico 4 my interviewee 2 come thru frm Mexicali #
• 13:24 Back from Mexicali #
• 14:37 At Imperial Dunes Rec Area #
• 21:42 feeling happy to be back in Tucson. #

I drove all the way to San Diego yesterday. I'm starting a new project to visit some spots along the U.S./Mexico border, communities impacted by the wall and other militarization, in the final days of Bush and the first days of Obama.
I'll be blogging in detail as I go at a new site, http://newsontheline.tv/.

• 08:11 waking up and thinking about funding for future projects. #
• 10:22 marvelling at how fascinating it is when u can see 2 or more totally unrelated "friends" on Facebook posting the same video. viral, i guess #
• 13:53 really wanting to blurt some very strong opions here on twitter but would probably bite me in ass someday when i'm running for president. #
• 14:45 feeling very jaded. sigh. #
• 15:57 just spent 2 hours on a conf call. now going for a walk to clear head. not much work getting done. waaah. #

author: Alan Moore

name: Steev

average rating: 4.29

book published: 1986

rating: 5

read at:

date added: 2009/01/13

shelves:

review:

author: Malcolm Gladwell

name: Steev

average rating: 3.67

book published: 2000

rating: 4

read at: 2005/11/01

date added: 2009/01/09

shelves: to-re-read

review:
This is one of those great "big idea" books.



The funny thing is that I read it in 2005 in one night passing through Flagstaff on a film tour. I think I read it so fast that I would benefit from reading it again.