"In 21st century America, everything is recorded, but nothing is remembered."

Overheard in the (former?) Imperial Capital, Washington DC

image from

Comments

  1. dnmaxwellJanuary 28, 2021 at 12:56 PM

    I suppose the intention of recording everything is to have a record of everything, just in case there is disagreement about these things later. So then we can go back and check to see who is right. That seems to be the way it works in theory. On the other hand, we need a system to be able to find the facts we want to check on. The more complicated the world is, the harder it becomes to maintain such a system. Perhaps someday the system will no longer function as well as we think it does.

    When and if this happens, this failure will be kept a secret. Many probably suspect that this has already happened, so they distrust what they are told. This may be what has happened in the recent election.

    ReplyDelete
  2. John Brown's Notes and Essays, including on Public DiplomacyJanuary 28, 2021 at 2:01 PM

    Maxwell -- Thank you for your wise & articulate comment. Didn't know you had a blog! Pls. keep on truckin'. Best john

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Full List of Companies That Have Stayed in Russia – And The Ones That Decided to Leave [Updated Weekly]

Image
  Full List of Companies That Have Stayed in Russia – And The Ones That Decided to Leave [Updated Weekly] from Read, websiteplanet , via ame liabrunolh@gmail.com With this in mind, how are companies responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? We’ve compiled the internet’s most extensive list of multinational companies and their responses to the invasion. While some companies have been praised for their efforts, others have been justifiably accused of not doing enough. This article covers those companies that have left or partially left Russia, and those that have stayed. We’ll provide regular updates to keep the information accurate and relevant, so make sure to check back in! Disclaimer Our report can only reflect companies for which data is available from independent sources, or that have publicly stated their response to the war in Ukraine. A full investigation of all companies operating in Russia, or not, isn’t possible at this time, due to a lack of transparency. Countries with mo
Read more

Social Breakdown Starts With Skipping a Stop Sign

Image
Even with fewer cars on the road in 2020, traffic fatalities were up. Blame receding law enforcement. Image from article: Heavy traffic in New York, June 4   PHOTO:  NIYI FOTE/ZUMA PRESS By Warren Kozak , The Wall Street Journal , July 25, 2021 4:31 pm ET New York You’ve probably never heard of Henry Hale Bliss, but he holds a dubious distinction in American history. On the evening of Sept. 13, 1899, Bliss, a 69-year-old real-estate developer, stepped off the Eighth Avenue trolley at 74th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan. As he reached back to assist a female rider off the trolley, he was hit by an electric taxi driven by Arthur Smith. Bliss was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, where he died the next morning, thus becoming the first recorded automobile fatality in the U.S.   Bliss image from Wikipedia The accident made headlines in New York papers. Today, unless the victim is a celebrity, traffic deaths are rarely considered newsworthy. That might be because there have been rough
Read more

[updated 12/17] Plastic Water Bottles Collection/Eradication in Cleveland Park, Washington DC

Image
For the previous entry to this blog [11/30],  see ; scroll down for 12/17 Due to a number of factors, your scribbler has been unable during the past several weeks to keep up his blog on his minor, personal efforts to pick up (and dispose of, in public waste receptacles) plastic water bottles (PWBs) and other trash, ranging from left-over plastic gloves to used prophylactics, in his Cleveland Park neighborhood in the NW Quadrant of Washington, DC: Today, your blogger, in better shape, " Afoot and light-hearted ," returned to his near-daily account of his neighborhood PWBs/other trash excursion, which covers the following area of Cleveland Park: --Tilden Street, at its intersections with Connecticut Avenue and Spring of Freedom Road; --Spring of Freedom Road with its intersection at Rock Creek Park;  --Porter Street at its intersection with Connecticut Avenue; --Connecticut Avenue at its intersection with the University of the District of Columbia (UDC)
Read more