ComicsPundit

The never-ending conversation on life, liberty, and sequential art…

…with Shawn Levasseur.

Archive for September, 2005

Art imitates life:

Posted on September 25th, 2005 by Shawn L.

The Jedi Library, as seen in Star Wars Episode 2 is discovered as being modeled after a real life site in Dublin via OxBlog

Music Meme

Posted on September 23rd, 2005 by Shawn L.

As seen over at Near Mint HeroesA. Go to http://www.musicoutfitters.com.B. Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function.C. Bold for the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline your favorite. Do nothing to the ones you don’t remember (or don’t care about).(I’ll also add commentary in italics)Top […]

Merry Marvel Blogging Society: X-Ethics

Posted on September 21st, 2005 by Shawn L.

from Hit and Run:Why do bioethicists increasingly sound like old X-Men villains? Ron Bailey defends your right to mutant powers.

Telecom taxes: Time for a tea party

Posted on September 14th, 2005 by Shawn L.

From Network World, Johna Till Johnson writes about an obsolete tax that needs to go in Telecom taxes: Time for a tea party:For more than a century, the federal government has found it easy and convenient to tax telecom because the taxes were hidden in high cost and higher profitability. Now that disruptive technologies such […]

Okay.. Okay… the last word from me… (I think)

Posted on September 9th, 2005 by Shawn L.

All this ranting against the state and local failures is not to give a pass to FEMA and the other federal efforts that weren’t up to snuff.It’s just that I don’t expect any better out of them. It’s the nature of Big Government to be lumbering and inefficient. The worst of the federal beuaucrats should […]

The answer to the title is “No.”

Posted on September 9th, 2005 by Shawn L.

Okay, let’s shift gears to accentuating the positive…from Reason: “Nightmare in New Orleans: Do disasters destroy social cooperation?:”People do look out for each other in emergencies, even when other socialbonds begin to break. The best response to a disaster will embrace that.

TCS: Tech Central Station – The Machine Stops

Posted on September 9th, 2005 by Shawn L.

from Tech Central Station, “The Machine Stops”:And that is the real problem. E. M. Forster’s THE MACHINE STOPS, published almost a century ago, posits a world in the future in which the human race gives up any individual responsibility to an immense computerized system that meets every need — until it fails.Read the whole article. […]

Carnival of Liberty #10

Posted on September 8th, 2005 by Shawn L.

Mover Mike hosts the latest Carnival of Liberty

Toxic Politics… Undermining government

Posted on September 8th, 2005 by Shawn L.

My worry about “Toxic Politics” a few posts back isn’t just wanting everyone to “play nice”. There are very real consequences to this problem.For example: what happens when every statement from a government official is viewed through the prism of partisanship? When every action is assumed to be a political tactic? When even the most […]

Okay, enough blame… What do we do to be ready for the next disaster?

Posted on September 6th, 2005 by Shawn L.

Jeff Jarvis examines what communications technology and organizaton, better applied, can help in future crises.All the focus on ever expanding government powers is disturbing. Jeff’s discussion about what the rest of us can do is reassuring and hopeful that we are putting our heads together no matter what “authority” we may or may not have.As […]

“Tribes” – A broader look.

Posted on September 6th, 2005 by Shawn L.

Once again, comparing 9/11 and Katrina, but this time looking through the prism of leadership and character, is an excellent essay over at Eject! Eject! Eject!, “Tribes“.Please read it.

Mississippi got it worse… yet it’s Louisiana that hosts “N.O. Man’s Land”

Posted on September 5th, 2005 by Shawn L.

For all the hype about New Orleans’ situation Mississippi’s coast took a much harder hit.Compare and contrast the situations between LA and MS at Arthur Cherenkoff’s(via Instapundit)

Toxic Politics

Posted on September 4th, 2005 by Shawn L.

Contrast the immediate bickering over N.O. with the unity (no matter how brief) over 9/11.What’s the difference? I do think that the competence and leadership in NYC and the lack thereof in NO is a major factor. But I’m more worried that the overall nastyness of the political climate is the bigger culprit.The quest to […]

Eulogies for a city.

Posted on September 4th, 2005 by Shawn L.

Is New Orleans gone forever? Maybe, but even if not, it will never be the same New Orleans.Over at Dynamist.com, Virginia Postrel notes that two writers who have close ties to the city, have written, in essence., obituaries for the city they knew and loved.

N.O. Man’s Land

Posted on September 4th, 2005 by Shawn L.

From a letter by John LaCour, as posted in Powerline:A very close friend’s sister lived in New Orleans, stayed at her home through the hurricane and only made it out yesterday. On Wednesday she and her neighbor decided they had to leave even though their homes were in the 20% that didn’t flood. They spent […]