Rhetorica, the books…
Year-end wrap-ups annoy me.
The line we cross at midnight on 31 December moving into 1 January is purely artificial–a concoction of man’s need to define, his will to control his fate, and his desire understand his place in the universe.
Perhaps it is appropriate to begin a new year around the time that the sun appears to second guess its retreat and favor us by returning to a high place in our sky. And, again, perhaps it is appropriate to reassess ourselves during the dark time.
But the wrap-ups still annoy me. Although you may find this one amusing–about all funky business in magazines in 2004. Here’s a taste:
In 2004, the New Republic ran a cover story called “God Bless Atheism.” Rolling Stone ran an editorial that proclaimed: “Janet Jackson’s breast is the 9/11 of the new culture war.” Archaeology Odyssey published an article titled “Roman Latrines: How the Ancients Did Their Business.” And Details, the metrosexual men’s mag, revealed a hitherto undetected social trend: “Marrying a relative isn’t just for the trailer park anymore.”
Should I wrap-up the year for Rhetorica? That seems inappropriate because as of December this blog is two years and eight months old. Perhaps I’ll wait for three–three! Can you believe it? The total word count for the site over that time, including comments, is 719,567. So, let’s subtract–rough guess–half for comments and we have enough words for three large books.
What would these books be about?
Okay, I won’t subject you (further) to my own year-end wrap-up. Time to look ahead.
I get nostalgic so you don’t have to. Rhetorica posts on 12/22/03 (no post on the 21st): 1) David Shaw’s 10 low points of journalism. 2) Was it a mistake for Wesley Clark to say he’d beat the (bleep) out of anyone who questioned his patriotism? and 3) Rhetorica update. Then on 12/21/02: 1) Lazy journalism as structural bias (concerning the Lott kerfuffle) and 2) Gallup shows Lieberman 25%,Kerry 21% and Hillary 40%.
What if they gave a Culture War and nobody, um, came?
Via Rhetorica (who finds wrap-ups annoying), I found an interesting WaPo take on 2004: In 2004, the New Republic ran a cover story called “God Bless Atheism.” Rolling Stone ran an editorial that proclaimed: “Janet Jackson’s breast is the 9/11…