Of Video Games and Video

It was surprising to see that people are videotaping themselves playing video games and then posting it on YouTube (and other video-sharing sites). What was intended as an interactive video experience becomes a passive video experience. When I asked my kids why watching these videos is interesting to them and why they themselves produce them sometimes, here's what they said:
It's fun;
You get tips about how to play the game;
You can learn how to do something difficult by watching someone else do it;
You gain confidence in your own game-playing skills.
So, while it's not immediately interactive, there is something of a "time-delayed" interactivity involved in the enterprise.

Attack of the Unemployment Rate

I've been reflecting recently on the trend in popular culture to feature the undead. Current examples of horror novels, movies, and TV shows, as well as undead-related advertising, are many. "Twilight" may have been the spark, but the oxygen fanning the flames of this new paranormal obsession is the angst over the current economy.

We keep hearing that the unemployment rate is more than 10 percent, but it's actually more than 17 percent when you count those who are underemployed and those who have given up altogether. Compared to that, I'd happily face a vault full of vampires, a gaggle of ghosts, and a zoo of zombies. It's comforting to know that, while the undead are frightening, we are more afraid of losing our homes. As I tell my children: "The only scary thing in our house is the mortgage."

Election Day

Ah, Election Day! The day we know the end is near: the end of the campaigns and the end of the campaign advertising. One more day of this political publicity pollution and then we can all get back to normal.
Election returns are so anti-climactic these days. Even ballot counting that goes on for weeks would never qualify as a "cliff hanger." And mailing your ballot, along with your gas bill and birthday card to your sister, just doesn't have the same cache that going to the polls had. I miss the nice retired ladies with the cookies in the church auditorium. What are they doing now?
It is a lot more convenient, though. So why do election officials expect only 56 percent of registered voters to submit their ballots by midnight tonight?
Has the plethora of political ads led to greater apathy among voters? And, if so, can we fight fire with fire? Perhaps we need a public service campaign (another advertising campaign?!) to combat voter apathy. Rock the Vote and Washington Bus are two programs aimed at activating teens during elections, but what about us old folks? Only half of us are voting right now. Seems like there's a lot of room for improvement.