Josh over at Registan.net tagged me on this little meme thingy that’s popped up everywhere. The idea?
I. You have to look up page 123 in the nearest book around you.
II. Look for the fifth sentence.
III. Then post the three sentences that follow that fifth sentence on page 123.
IV. And then tag five people, just like you were tagged!
Sounds lame, right? But Registan’s turned up some neato stuff. And it just so happens I’m reading Polish sci-fi madman Stanislaw Lem’s robot collection Mortal Engines, so lucky you. Here goes:
Annihilation! But from where? How?
Ah — if ever three sentences summed up American foreign policy since 9/11 …
Now, sorry to break the rules, but I’m only going to tag my buddies Thornwell Simons and Geoff Edwards. Guys, if you read this and care, post your three sentences in the comment section. Or don’t.
Related posts:
I was going to post mine but… the results were real… lame.
Mine turned out alright:
Black musicians were quick to appropriate technologies that classical music adopted only fitfully. The protagonist of Ralph Ellison’s epochal novel Invisible Man sits in his basement with his record player, listening to “(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue.” He says, “Perhaps I like Louis Armstrong because he’s made poetry out of being invisible.” The invisible man broadcasts on the “lower frequencies” to which society has consigned him.
From Alex Ross’s The Rest is Noise.
I have a legitimate question
props to your nerve for going, no doubt you’ve got balls, I’d have you pegged for late nights of HALO 3 and frottage, but props to you, I’ve been freelancing for years and yet to get a chance, despite contacting National Guard, USCG, etc
but:
rather than posting everything to youtube (i imagine for some promotion) and saying what the Economist says about every crisis spot and conflict (but only w Western interest), and publishing books that roughly inspired but do not match Herr, etc, why not actually serve?
also, I am surprised that you haven’t hit Sinaloa MX or Port au Prince yet, for a cheap month and some easy filings about chimaera in Cite Soleil
or have I not found “Haiti causes Hemerroids?”
Whitallen,
Legit question. First, I’d point out that I’ve spent more time at war than many serving soldiers. So I’m not balking from what I see as a responsibility to participate in my generation’s conflicts.
But I am not suited to being a soldier. I know this for sure because I was in ROTC in college. I tried to make it work; I failed. I’m bad with authority, I balk from inflicting pain and I don’t like early mornings.
But many of my friends went on to join the Army and, ultimately, to deploy. My guilt at watching them trot off to war without me was a major factor in my decision to become a war correspondent.
got it
why post to youtube? why myspace? honestly, no doubt you’ve been there, but if I can hit CNN (or BBC, or Langeweische, etc), why do you need to post your reports to youtube? don’t THEY go to war, so you don’t have to?
Whitallen,
Selling to CNN or BBC is easier said than done. That said, I do make money on my video work. I have sold b-roll, and I do regular features for C-SPAN. In fact, many of my Youtube videos are actually C-SPAN pieces.
and might I add, keep safe and cheers on a good career
Whitallen,
I realized I didn’t answer your question. Yes, you can get your news from CNN. But the more news, and the more diverse, the better, no? Plus, CNN does NOT go to Somalia. I did.
right, stay safe, you’ve got the balls, stay safe
I’ve had a day to think on this (yes I’m slow)
but I’m still curious
now I still have the same aspirations you had pre-Jan 05, and i certainly respect you for your ambition and persistance and journalism
so with respect I ask: do you go to war–meaning, do you file to low-circulation periodicals/ low traffic sites–truly out of journalistic necessity for us? or you? now, three years after your first assignmnet in Iraq, after the books, etc? I understand the market for assignments is tight, but in a sense, if that’s the case, do you need to go for society? I mean, all respect for doing it, but in an exercise, lets remove C-Span from the picture. Again, with big media–with Kirk Semple, CJ Chivers, DiGiovanni, JL Anderson, the rest of the millionaires who can draw on extensive foreign affairs, military affairs, economics, legal knowledge–going to war, do you feel that you need to? I had a chance to go to prot au prince during the instability, well before Preval showed up, but it was for a free arts weekly in RI and the wage, exposure, prestige, didn’t seem legit.
Help me understand, b/c I’m a father and if an assignment to do something crazy–”embed” w Boston PD gang unit or something–is it really needed?
Whitallen,
You’re right that the fame and cash aren’t worth the danger and expense … not when you’re a freelancer. I do this for other reasons, obviously: namely, I’m curious, and I believe the work is important … and my contribution is important … even if I lose money on it.
again, more power to you