A Beautiful Sight…

The Lorax

In reading the 1971 publication “The Lorax” by Dr. Suess, you’ll immediately notice something is fundamentally different than the rest of his children’s books. Not only does it look different, with darker and more sinister illustration, but it delves into issues revolving around man and his relationship to nature. What does it mean to be a good steward of this world we live in?

The book was first published on the heels of the counter-cultural energy of the 1960’s, and I first encountered it in 7th or 8th grade in an English class. What I discovered just recently is that “The Lorax” is currently enjoying a new surge in popularity thanks to the environmental consciousness that is being reborn in the American population. Parents are buying the book for their children at a record pace.

A recent L.A. Times article sums up the plot nicely:

The book tells the story of the Once-ler, a greedy businessman, who, literally, can’t see the forest for the trees. The Once-ler builds a huge factory and chops down lush Truffula trees to feed the demand for his product (a frivolous item called a thneed).

In spite of repeated warnings from a creature called the Lorax, who speaks for the trees (but also for the creatures), the Once-ler continues to raze the forest. Eventually, the wildlife become deathly ill before finally moving away in order to survive. After polishing off the last Truffula tree, the Once-ler finds himself alone and out of business, surrounded by a wasteland of his own making.

With hindsight, the Once-ler learns his lesson, but is it too late?

The same could be asked of all of us, the grown-ups who push the buttons in the real world. What is it about taking care of the earth that we don’t understand? If anything, environmental conditions have gotten worse since “The Lorax” came out all those years ago. With the rollback of environmental regulations and the slashing of EPA budgets, President Bush has been a veritable Once-ler in chief for the last eight years.

If you’ve never heard of “The Lorax” I would highly recommend it. I had totally forgotten about the book until I stumbled on this article earlier this week.

“America has lost her footing, lost her elegance,” says 87-year-old Audrey Geisel, widow of the late Dr. Seuss. (He was born Theodor Seuss Geisel and died in 1991 at age 87.) “Globally speaking, it’s not good, and it’s getting less good all the time. We didn’t learn from ‘The Lorax.’ We’re paying a price, and we don’t seem to know it.”

That’s the App Store, not the Crap Store

Apple’s “App Store” for the iPhone and iPod touch  has spawned a new software development and delivery platform that has as much potential as any that’s come a long in years.  One thing I have noticed, however, is how many truly useless apps have popped up for sale on the App Store, most of them priced at 99¢… a tempting price even if you’re risking that your download will turn out to be total crap.

This has begun to create an unforseen problem: while the App store has now grown to include of 10,000 downloadable programs, the prevalence of this “crapware” has begun to squeeze out development of more complex and truly useful applications.  This week, Craig Hockenberry posted an open letter to Steve Jobs explaining this problem as it relates to his work as an iPhone developer at Iconfactory.  Edible Apple also posted some interesting charts and graphs relating to iPhone App sales.  Note the predominance of free and 99¢ apps, as well as that of Games…

It will be interesting to see if Apple does tweak the way programs are displayed and highlighted on the App store, and if this will aid in a sustained commitment from developers to create substantial, killer apps for the iPhone in the future.

The Real Generation X

Check out the latest column by the New York Times’ Thomas Friedman… he looks at the bailouts and economic stimulus and gives a quick take on where he thinks it should be focused and how it will be viewed down the line…

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/opinion/07friedman.html

Political Archaeology

David Sanger of the New York Times has an excellent article on how the executive branch of our government has changed over the course of the Bush administration.  He talks to several Clintonites who are involved in the Obama transition that note that the Defense and National Security apperatus has grown immensely.  He also takes a rather deep look at the video-on-demand technology which Bush has had access to (and that his predecessors did not) and how it has had some unintended consequences on the flow of information and freedom of open debate.  Definitely worth a read!

Joe Lieberman

Joe Lieberman is such a weasel.  I don’t know if you caught his appearance on Meet the Press this morning, but it underscored why I do not care for him.  The non-answers, the smug smile, the nasally I’m better than you attitude.  Ugh.  Click the image below for a recap from Huffington Post…

What’s the deal with “Twilight?!”

Ok, seriously, someone explain to me what the big deal is about “Twilight.” Why do so many people think this is going to be some kind of quasi-religious experience? It looks like a marginally beleivable, over-acted piece of trash to me. Even Rachel Maddow took the time to mock it last night:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/27849574#27849574

Is Recycling Worth It?

Popular Mechanics has a great article on recycling.  They take a closer look at just how economical it is and how much pollution/energy savings is really involved for the recycling of different materials.  No surprise, Houston ranks dead last among major cities for recycling rate (at a measly 2.6%).  Check it out!

Another reason I do not feel proud to live in the South…

So, predictably, the racists and rednecks are up in arms over Obama’s election victory.  All the “white nationalists” and other racist idiots apparently have their panties in a wad:

After Obama’s win, white backlash festers in US

Disagree with Obama on policy if you want, it’s your right and is in fact patriotic.  Hate Obama because of his skin color?  That just exposes you as the narrow-minded ignoramus that you are.

Tom Friedman: We Need “Overwhelming Force” To Green The Economy

Tom Friedman’s take on issues surrounding the “greening” of our economy, and Obama’s role in getting the ball rolling here in the USA.  In case you don’t know who he is, Friedman is an author and writer for the New York Times.  Click the image to read the article…