Archetypes, Stereotypes, Cliches

Archetype - The Thinker (source: Google images of Rodin's sculpture, The Thinker)

Stereotype - The Thinker (Source: collegehumor.com)

Cliche - The Thinker (source: http://th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/~jr/physpiceinstein.html)

These three images effectively portray an archetype, stereotype and a cliche about intellectuals.

Rodin’s The Thinker creates a universal position of someone in deep thought.  No doubt, throughout history, cultures all around the world have witnessed someone sitting on wall, a stool or a tree stump in deep thought.

The nerdy intellectual, with the black pen in his pocket, the bow tie and the large glasses is an image that commonly comes to mind when people think about the stereotypical person who’s always in deep thought.

Albert Einstein has become a cliche of a brainy intellectual.  Many people use the expression, “what are you, Einstein?” or something similar to address a person in deep thought.

Guitarists that made an impact in 2008

In 2008 I saw a few of the greats in person, most notably, bluegrass legend Tony Rice and jazz legend Pat Martino.

Rice was an eye opener for me, playing his 1934 (I believe that’s correct) Martin with lightening-fast riffs and beautiful tone.  He performed a version of “My Favorite Things,” that, was, of course, made famous in jazz circles by John Coltrane.  Tony Rice is a unique stylist capable of crossing many boundaries.  

I had the chance to meet Pat Martino and witness his machine-gun speed within a few feet of my face.  Pretty amazing.  The show at DC’s Blues Alley in May was excellent!

These two stylists were the highlights of my year for live performances.  With each, when you hear them, you know who they are…..a great play develops his own signature that is unmistakable.  That’s the wonderful thing about the instrument!

Influential guitarists and styles……

My major influences span a wide range of types of music and styles.  Among my favorite guitarists are, in pretty much chronological order of when I was turned onto them are……the guitarist for the Kingsmen…..does anyone know his name?….that great Fender reverb surf sound….then there was Eric Clapton and his “bend the note with passion” bluesy approach….then Jimi Hendrix…..then John Ambercrombie, Pat Martino, Pat Metheny, Mark Knopfler and now back to Pat Martino and Pat Metheny.

That Kingsmen guitarist used a Ventures style with heavy reverb and a surf backbeat.  Pretty common during the day.

Clapton used a structured, controlled blues style with lots of intensity, vibrato and (you could tell, even in the studio) volume.

Hendrix used a souful experimental explosive approach that incorporated gospel-like chording but with a rock’n'roll and funk feel.  Listen carefully….he was so funky he could have played with Sly and the Family Stone.  That R&B background really shines through!

John Abercrombie, to this day, is quite prolific, but with his work with drummer Billy Cobham’s band and on the early ECM albums like Timeless and Gateway (with the awesome bassist Dave Holland), he created a style built on triplets that run up and down the neck, either using a minor or major scale.  John McLaughlin used this technique as well, though he was a little faster and, in my mind, a little more “mechanical” sounding and not quite as musical.

Mark Knopfler developed a signature sound using volume swells and and unusually tasteful note bending.

Metheny was the boy wonder with Gary Burton’s band in the 70’s and, when we went out on his own, there was no turning back.  Here’s real inventiveness using a unique legato style and is hardly ever real bluesy, but still very, very appealing and sophisticated, built on various modes and, yes, feelings.  He’s one of the best at creating a feeling with a composition.  (Why doesn’t he do more movie soundtracks.)  With his legato style,  I don’t think Metheny could reproduce a Clapton solo if his life depended upon it (and, of course, vice versa)….but that’s the beauty of discussing all of these individual styles and approaches to the instrument.

And then we have Pat Marino.  For single note jazz playing, the master, in my opinion.  The sheets of sound (bebop-influenced), keep coming and coming.  And the notes fit so well!  He’s has some interesting theories about approaching the music some on his website, but, for me, it’s all about his touch, phrasing (when the notes are played) and the sheer speed of his playing that can be at once melodic and bluesy.

Final Project: The Impact of Handheld Devices on Business and Social Life

burton_713_fa08_essay

For my final project, I chose to survey information on the significant impact of handheld devices on business and social life.  Readers can view my essay using the above link.

Handheld devices, from cell phones to Blackberries and iPhones, have made a significant impact on business and social life.  With this essay, I explore the different ways in which this has occurred.  Key questions included: How have handheld devices changed the lives of Americans and people around the world?  How are users of these handheld devices thriving in the business world?  How do these devices affect their social life?

I searched for sources of information using the Google Scholar, Google and Yahoo! search engines and the Dogpile metasearch engine.  I had a specific mission to seek the most up-to-date information possible, since the Internet and related technology change and develop so rapidly.  That was somewhat of a challenge because scholarly papers and research take a good deal of time to be published.  I worked to use sources that were no more than five years old.  The only exception was a single quote from a poet in 1970 that captured the essence of the impact of the new personal media, “the revolution will not be televised.”

My sources included scholarly papers from university students and professors, research studies, newspaper stories, technical journals, scholarly essays and a television news show.  Except for the television show, all of the information was accessed online.

My conclusion is that with the proliferation of handheld devices across the globe, lines will continue to blur between business and social life and private and public life.

I discovered that a revolution is upon us.  Personal media will likely overtake mass media some day, and this transition will be driven by handheld devices as Internet and communications activity moves away from desktop computers.  Relationships and behavior will continue to change as a result.

Reaction to Corruption in Global Digital Communications

This blog entry from nadine08 highlights a problem that affects every adult using the Internet: Corruption in Global Digital Communications. She quotes the FBI, an excellent source, which confirms that cybercrime is one of the top five threats in 2009 and beyond.

When most adults consolidate all of their financial and personal information onto a computer and onto web sites, the dangers are obvious.  Is the vast improvement in convenience and speed of access offset by the danger of compromise?  As in many digital issues, I think technology is the answer.  What got us here can get us out.  I believe improvements in encryption technology, firewalls and other elements can prevent data compromise.

Nadine says “Personally, I know that I seem to spend a lot more time trying to get my money back….”  That sentence points out the real frightening aspect of this entire issue.  In cases of cybercrime against your own personal data, the onus is on you to be the one to discover it and do something about it!

Gone are the days when your money in the bank is protected by a vault.  Gone are the days when you are protected by having a special place in you home to keep your wallet or purse and personal information.  Gone are the days when someone would have to use a disguise to pretend to be you!  In today’s technological world, you have to watch your back.  To me, that’s the alarming aspect of this issue.

Nadine’s story of the internet forum called “Dark Market,” which sounds like a clearinghouse for stolen credit cards and identities is truly frightening.  Her story about the restaurant using her debit card twice after just one visit is appalling.  While the fact that her bank starts charging her $30 a month on a free checking account is probably a clerical error at the bank, it really doesn’t matter.  In all of these cases, Nadine, like all adults, is responsible for protecting her own personal information, and in most cases, discovering the problems herself.  As she so aptly puts it, “I don’t recall having to expend so much effort to protect myself financially 10 years ago.”

What’s the solution?  Many organizations and web sites, including MSN, provide handy guides for protecting personal information.  Nadine provides some good sources and ideas as well, but the sad fact remains that, in today’s digital world, you have to be your own policeman.

Reaction to EOTO: GPS Technology

Katie Lowrance’s Each-One Teach-One blog entry on GPS technology rang true for me after I had a personal experience using a GPS over Labor Day weekend.  During a fly fishing trip to the Bristol, TN area, one of my friends sported a new toy attached to the dashboard.  It was a portable GPS which showed the location of all the roads and river crossings in the hilly, confusing terrain surrounding the South Holston River.  That device actually allowed us to spend more time fishing and less time wandering around during a hectic three-day weekend hunting for trout.  It proved to be pretty amazing!

As Katie says, “GPS is a lifesaver.”  I had never used one before and, in fact, never driven around with a GPS in a car before, so, for me, it was a real eye-opener.  Katie’s examples of how NASA and the military use GPS heavily are good ones, and I’ve heard about various geocaching events around the world.  According to the geocaching web site, there are 681,348 active geocaching “treasure hunts” around the world.

Katie’s description of how criminal offenders are tracked using GPS was enlightening.  I’d never thought about that application, except for the use of cell phones to locate individuals using a type of similar technology, although one that is driven by cell phone towers.

I’m sure that Katie’s mention that GPS has been used for “centuries” by other countries must be a typo.  I learned from Garmin’s web site that GPS is satelitte-based.  Below is their description of GPS:

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. There are no subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS.

This is fascinating stuff.  I knew very little about this technology until reading Katie’s blog.  Now, of course, I want a new toy myself….a GPS for Christmas!

Reaction to Shock Waves

In her blog entry, Shock Waves, Tyler Ritter explores the phenomenon of rising sensationalism on the Internet.  As she declares, “it has become obvious that people are consuming sensational material on the Internet at alarming rates.”  

Is it true that, as Tyler says, “we just can’t get enough” shocking news?  Or does this type of news on the Internet just attract certain personality types?  Given the increase in unique user traffic during tragedies like the Virginia Tech shootings and September 11th, perhaps all Americans are drawn to tragic stories.

I believe that these were both huge news stories that had many human elements that touched us all.  After all, September 11th was worst attack on the US since Pearl Harbor, and the Virginia Tech shootings was apparently one of the worst crimes in American history.  Is it the horror that attracts traffic on the web, or is it because what’s happening is a major news story?

I agree with Tyler’s quote from author Richard Wright, “when stimulation comes from every side, we reach a point of being unable to react with much depth to anything any more.”  I’m not sure I believe his remaining summation that “like drug addicts, we want a bigger fix the next time.”

According to Comscore data reported by Marketing Vox and other web sites, web traffic rose sharply in September due to economic news and the election.  While the suffering economy drove traffic, it was not due to “blood and guts,” but rather, real news that affects real people.

Tyler’s report of how domain names related to tragedies are quickly registered is a good example of the strangeness out there in cyberspace, but couldn’t that be the activity of just a handful of weirdos?

The web has virtually no boundaries, and like the bowels of a big city, you can find anything you want there.  I agree with Tyler’s concerns about exposure to children, manipulation, lies, and her other points, but is sensationalism a trend that is fed by the web?  I’m not so sure.

Reaction to Healthcare 101: Basic Health Literacy as a Basic Human Right

Windye’s blog posting, “Healthcare 101: Basic Health Literacy as a Basic Human Right,” explores an extremely important and timely issue.  Barack Obama was just elected president of the United States yesterday, in part because of his views on this subject.  Today, I spoke with a close friend about the election and, in my friend’s opinion, this issue is a pivotal one.

How can it be that one of the world’s most affluent and successful nations has such a large population without any health insurance?  Windye’s quoted figure of 47 million people without health insurance is astounding.  Regardless of who or what system is to blame, the question is “how can this be?”  In America, basically you’re on your own to obtain a job where health insurance is provided or at least partially paid for by your employer.

Windye seems to have chosen to focus on people’s healthcare literacy and knowledge of healthcare issues “so that they will find solutions that are relevant to their own individual sets of circumstances.”  I believe literacy is a minor part of the problem.  Many people can have knowledge of diseases and conditions and not have the resources to do anything about their problems.  To me, the real issue is economic and financial, not literacy.  So is basic health care a basic human right?  If society sets up systems to cure the sick and treat the injured then society should find a way for everyone to have access to receive treatment, in my opinion.  While it sounds like socialized medicine, there can be several different solutions where those without health insurance can be covered.

Those of us who have jobs with health insurance are covered.  Those who have not started working, are between jobs or who have lost their jobs or whose job does not provide coverage can be covered by a national health plan specifically for those individuals.  If every working person pays a little, then the cost per person could be relatively small, I believe.  Someone covered by their employer would pay less that someone who chooses the national health plan.  Some variation of this should be feasible to eliminate this huge group of uninsured population.

Reaction to “False photos exacerbated via the Internet”

This blog entry on “false photos exacerbated via the Internet” has some similarities to my each-one-teach-one issue, the spreading lies and misinformation via emails.  Blogger Alex Molaire says “people can manipulate photos…..the result is not-so-truthful or inaccurate images.”  My blog entry speaks too of falsehoods being manipulated, but through words, not pictures.

One could argue, as Alex does, that manipulated photos within news stories on major news sites can have an even more detrimental effect than false emails that randomly sent around the globe.  News photos are presumed to be accurate, straight ahead depictions of who, what, where or how.  With today’s technology, virtually anything can happen, as the example Alex tells of how a dead soldier’s head was placed on another dead soldier’s body.  As Alex points out, a major concern with photo-editing software is the difficulty in spotting a manipulated image.

With false emails, there are ways to research backgrounds to discover the truth.  With doctored photographs, if there are no photographs of comparable scences, who’s to say what is a true photo?

I agree with Alex’s possible solutions, particulary the development of software to detect manipulation in digital images.  Establishing photo editing policies and special tags for news organizations are good too, but I believe using technology to solve the problem is the answer.

Deceit and Misinformation Circulated by Emails

In a recent NBC Nightly News broadcast, I learned of a “flyer” circulating on the internet via an email that appears to be an official government document, but, in fact, it is fake. The document says something like “Remember, Republicans vote on November 4^th; Democrats vote on November 5^th.” Of course, no one will be able to vote on November 5th.

This is just the latest example of a disturbing trend on the internet: deliberate deceit and misinformation circulated by emails. This activity appears to be used for swaying elections and public opinion, stealing identities through phony bank emails, perpetuating racist and sexist jokes and tapping into the bank accounts of folks who are led to believe they’ve won something.

Some of the emails I receive are from elderly relatives who seemingly blindly forward emails originated by someone else. Others are sent by good-time friends who think they’re funny. The rest are sent by total strangers. Sometimes these emails are disguised to look like official communication from my bank.

Unlike total strangers with malicious intent, the friends and relatives who send these emails mean no harm, but they don’t think about the huge network that they’re creating by forwarding to a group of recipients who sometimes forward them on again. Quite suddenly, that email can be on the screens of thousands of people.

With the presidential election less than a week away, the impact of email blasts spreading lies about candidates could be significant. How many votes will Barack Obama lose because of emails claiming he is a radical Muslim with ties to the middle East. How many votes will John McCain lose because of emails containing lies about his proposed policies?

When I receive one of these emails, I think about what would happen if I were at a social gathering and the email was spoken instead of written. If all these emails were delivered verbally instead of electronically, how would people react? I believe people would think the speaker is rude and distasteful. Forwarded emails seem to have no author. Most don’t know the original source, so how can anyone be blamed?

The real danger lies in the huge numbers of potential recipients. Like social networks such as Facebook or MySpace, the “six degrees of separation” comes into play. That theory says that if you are one step away from each person you know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then you are six steps away from each person on earth. So, an email forwarded to all your friends can soon be circulated to many, many people.

Six Web Sites

“9 Jewish Leaders Say Email Spread Lies About Obama,” The New York Times.

This story from the New York Times explains how nine different jewish organizations have denounced emails saying that Barack Obama is a Muslim who was sworn into his US Senate seat with his hand on the Koran. The emails are false.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/us/politics/16letter.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

A Disgruntled Republican.

This is a blog site where a Republican makes an effort to highlight and correct lies circulated via emails.

http://adisgruntledrepublican.blogspot.com/2008/09/dont-spread-lies-like-obamas-50-lies.html

Emailing Tracing Site.

This is a different kind of site that appears to require a payment via a credit card to research the accuracy of emails.

http://www.cyber-trace.info/emailtracing.htm

A Blog Site: Propoganda and lies on the internet via email – Don’t spread it

This is a blog from a seemly well-meaning individual urging others not to spread lies via emails.

http://ambermoon.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/propaganda-and-lies-on-the-internet-via-emaildont-spread-it/

How to spot email lies.

This site, titled “Liemails,” provides a simple guide for reducing false emails.

http://www.liemails.com/howto.htm

Snopes.com

This is one of the best known sites devoted to correcting erroneous information sent via emails and on the web. It is operated by two individuals who claim the site is supported entirely by advertising revenues generated by the site.

http://www.snopes.com/

Five Biggest Fears

1) Elections can be swayed because voters can be influenced by incessant emails containing falsehoods about candidates.

2) Those who respondent to certain phishing emails can have their identity stolen and bank accounts compromised.

3) Mean-spirited, false emails can increase the amount of hatred, racism and sexism in society.

4) Email blasts of this type can distract readers and reduce productivity in the workplace and other settings. Company valuations can also possibly be affected by such emails.

5) Hate-spewing, false emails can damage family relationships and friendships because they can reflect poorly on the person who sends or forwards such emails.

Possible solutions to curb this activity:

1) Create a national public service advertising campaign to increase awareness of the problem. Someone could create a “human defamation league” to obtain funds and sponsors and coordinate the campaign. Awareness of the dangers and ramifications of these emails could cause many senders and forwarders to think twice about their activity.

2) Major news organizations can devote a certain amount of time and space to correct the facts of such emails. Occasionally, as in the case of the NBC Nightly News broadcast, news organizations do point out and correct erroneous emails floating around the web, but all could make a concerted effort to do this on a regular basis with their normal reporting. These organizations know that more and more people are spending much more time online because they are focusing more of their news efforts online. Why not cover the subject of erroneous emails more fully?

3) The federal government can develop a sort of clearinghouse website posting false emails and correcting them, using sources, similar to what is done currently with sites such as snopes.com.