82 posts tagged with spin.
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An honest hack
I always try to live by what Thoreau said, which is that it’s very important not to let your knowledge get in the way of what’s more important—which is your ignorance. As long as I know that I’m ignorant, I can learn something. from SPIN DNA: William T. Vollmann on Journalism
Without Changing a Thing
Starting in 2017, NW Natural promoted the potential of “renewable natural gas” to counter the movement to ban new fossil gas hookups and electrify residential heating and cooking. A trove of more than 100 insider documents shows that NW Natural has done a lot less than promised in their Less We Can campaign. [more inside]
Honest Government Ad | COP31 Australia & the Pacific
The Australien Government made an ad about its bid to host the 2026 UN Climate Summit (COP31) with the Pacific, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative.
A minimal game to waste your time
We were once so close to heaven
30 years and 6 months ago, They Might Be Giants released their first major-label album, Flood. 6 months ago, a number of accomplished musicians spoke to Spin magazine about what the album meant to them, as did John Flansburgh. In addition, Spin republished their original review of the album, which was much more positive than Rolling Stone's dismissive 2/5 star review. [more inside]
After a certain point it's just patch, patch, patch
"Figuring out how to “get better” at being a woman is a ridiculous and often amoral project – a subset of the larger, equally ridiculous, equally amoral project of learning to get better at life under accelerated capitalism. In these pursuits, most pleasures end up being traps, and every public-facing demand escalates in perpetuity."
On Electric Scooter Shares
What is it like to see at bat?
“I see spin. I don’t see color. I don’t see red,” he said before a game with the Blue Jays. He thought for a second, though. “Maybe I do and I don’t think I do.” What can hitters actually see out of a pitcher's hand?
It's the tops
You spin me right round, baby / Right round like laundry, baby
Electronic music couple Matmos have continued their career-defining run of making music by sampling weird and/or thematic sounds
(various stuff, “western” instruments, medical devices and procedures, martial instruments, things related to the lives of famous gays and lesbians)
by recording Ultimate Care II, a single piece of music made entirely of samples recorded from the selfsame Whirlpool washing machine.
A Pitchfork interview on the process. Music videos for excerpts three, five, and nine. A live performance on their own washer.
(various stuff, “western” instruments, medical devices and procedures, martial instruments, things related to the lives of famous gays and lesbians)
by recording Ultimate Care II, a single piece of music made entirely of samples recorded from the selfsame Whirlpool washing machine.
A Pitchfork interview on the process. Music videos for excerpts three, five, and nine. A live performance on their own washer.
CORBYN CRONY'S LUST FOR BLOOD
Can You Survive A Week As Jeremy Corbyn? The press hates you, lots of your party hates you – can you make it through a week without resigning? (NSFW, Buzzfeed, Choose Your Own Adventure format)
"The changes we make to existing pages are rarely challenged.”
Is it really a concern that some high-level decision maker at Medicare or a hospital system might be making billion-dollar decisions based on information from Wikipedia? “Yes,” Heilman insisted. “Definitely.”
Even minor changes in wording have the potential to influence ... how millions of dollars are spent. How can a site run by volunteers inoculate itself against well-funded PR efforts?In The Atlantic.
It is then that I know I have lost. Had lost long ago.
The greatest spell in cricket history
"Next thing you know, you're packin' extra socks!"
"In this excerpt from Keith Cameron's new biography Mudhoney: The Sound and the Fury from Seattle, spanning the end of grunge's golden era (Fall 1993 to Fall 1994), we have Mudhoney opening area tours first for Nirvana and then Pearl Jam - the latter of which is shattered by Kurt Cobain's suicide - and joining Vedder & co. for a tour of the White House, during which President Bill Clinton meets with Eddie Vedder to discuss whether or not he should address the nation about Cobain's suicide."
Tiny Time Machine
In the December 2004 issue of SPIN, we published Los Angeles journalist/musician Liam Gowing's detailed, empathetic look at the last years of Elliott Smith's life and the circumstances that led up to the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter's apparent suicide. "Mr. Misery" was difficult to read, a tremendous challenge to edit and fact-check, and one of the most remarkably intimate pieces in the magazine's history. On the 10th anniversary of Smith's death, it's now available for the first time on the site. [more inside]
iPods for the pokey: no jailbreaking here
Ho-hum, it's another music download service and MP3 player - but this one's been created with the needs of correctional facilities in mind and is already in use in a dozen states and some federal prisons.
Blame Nirvana
The 40 Weirdest Post-Nevermind Major Label Albums "As a snapshot of the era, here are the 40 weirdest, most uncompromising, riskiest, and most surprising albums that were released on a major label in the wake of Nevermind's explosion, during the mania's time-frame of 1992 until 1996."
Two-Headed Canon
Is a List of Greatest Guitarists Without Jimi Hendrix Worth Talking About? vs. SPIN's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time
A primer on spin bowling
Nirvana's Nevermind: 20 year later, covered by friends and fans
Nirvana's second studio album, Nevermind, turns 20 this September and Spin Magazine has put together a collection of covers. The covers span a lot of ground, from Meat Puppets (of who Nirvana were big fans) to Amanda Palmer, and newer acts including Jesica Lea Mayfield and Telekinesis, plus Charles Bradely & The Menahn Street Band, a surprise funk track by 62-year-old "soul shouter." Read more and download the album from Spin (link sent to an email address), or listen to them on YouTube. [more inside]
got to go 'round
The Original Indoor Cycle Gymnastics. Since 1999
"The previous cycling was conducted by using the general cycle with two wheels, but JACKIE SPINNING ™ is the Group Exercise Program using specially designed stationary bikes." [more inside]
Guitar Spin Idiots
Spin Magazine 25th anniversary shows
Spin's 25th Annivesary: 5 nights of live music. I am a day late with this as the Smashing Pumpkins played last night, but you can see the rest of the free live streaming concerts this week, in order, one per night, The Flaming Lips, The Black Keys, The National, and Spiritualized. [more inside]
800 Wickets
Spin Magazine's early days: putting the Gucci in Guccione
Founded in 1985, the first year of Spin Magazine spilled ink on all sorts of great American fringe music. Swans, Sonic Youth, Jandek, Glenn Branca, Hüsker Dü, and Squirrel Bait.
The magazine's entire run is available on Google Books. [more inside]
Cause It's Hard to Say What's Real, When You Know the Way You Feel
Ever wonder how to get a book on the NY Times best seller list? Step one: Set up a PAC. ABCNews and others reporting on the recent revelation that Sarah Palin funneled upwards of sixty grand to a PAC she established to buy thousands of copies of her own recent "best-selling" book.
2668 Days Without an Attack, I'm Having One Now
After the Obama party, the Bush team continues to spin. "Whether Barack Obama is standing on the Capitol steps to be sworn in a second time depends on whether he succeeds in replicating Bush's achievement." "If Obama weakens any of the defenses Bush put in place and terrorists strike our country again, Americans will hold Obama responsible -- and the Democratic Party could find itself unelectable for a generation."
Palin & Africa Redux
CLAPDRINKUNDRESSSHOOTSPIN
SOMEHOW, THE FOLLOWING VIDEO CLIPS SEEMED APPROPRIATE FOR INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY: WORLD'S FASTEST CLAPPER - WORLD'S FASTEST DRINKER - WORLD'S FASTEST UNDRESSER - WORLD'S FASTEST SHOOTER and WORLD RECORD 124 HEADSPINS.
See who's editing Wikipedia
See who's editing Wikipedia. The most shameful Wikipedia spin jobs and another one from Fox News. Meet Virgil Griffith and find a few interesting Wikipedia battles of your own with his new creation.
Today's Adventures of Spinspin: Alistair Campbell's media whirlwind
Tony Blair's ex-Master of Spin and closest adviser is on a media whirlwind promoting his diary. Campbell's apparently straight talking nature gives the prospects of some tantalizing insight into the inner workings of number 10 for the majority of Blair's premiership. He's not getting it all his own way, though. BBC Radio 4's John Humphrey's on the Today Programme (Real audio) (MP3) was more interested in the failings of a government and political movement for which he was an architect and key player, and particularly Campbell's legacy of elevating the role of spin in British politics, even in the inner working of government, allegedly sexing up an intelligence dossier in order to make a more compelling case for war in Iraq (See 10 ways to sex up a dossier). The Guardian, in an article titled Did he mean me?, invited some of those named in his diaries to give feedback, or should that be biteback?
"LOCK UP THE DATE!" --FBI for writers
FBI 101 -- "Essentials for Writers," an "exciting and informative" interactive workshop for writers being offered to members of my union -- the Writers Guild of America, East - by the FBI Office of Public Affairs and FBI New York. ... -- Very interesting account of a workshop the FBI puts on for writers in NY.
What's in it for the FBI? ...The only question we have for you is 'Will it show us in a good light?'" ...
"The station's gaffes have included broadcasting in December 2006 a 68-minute call to arms against Israelis by a senior figure of the terrorist group Hezbollah..."
Al Hurra television, the U.S. government's $63 million-a-year effort at public diplomacy broadcasting in the Middle East, is run by executives and officials who cannot speak Arabic, according to a senior official who oversees the program.
That might explain why critics say the service has recently been caught broadcasting terrorist messages, ...
from their About US page: Alhurra is operated by non-profit corporation “The Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.” (MBN). MBN is financed by the American people through the U.S Congress. US Govt. Accountability Office abstract about other MBN problems here.
The First Casualty of War? Truth
War vs. Democracy: Untold Stories from the Lynch / Tillman Hearing -- ...U.S. soldiers whose injuries or deaths remain mired in secrecy. Pat Tillman's brother and fellow Army Ranger Kevin Tillman advocated strongly for other families still waiting for answers. ... "The family was told, it was -- quote -- 'an ambush by insurgents.' Two years later, they found out that those -- quote -- 'insurgents' happened to be the same Iraqi troops that he was training. Before his death, he told his chain of command that these same troops that he was training were trying to kill him and his team. He was told to keep his mouth shut." ... Thorough and eye-opening examination of the many ways the military spun, lied, withheld information on soldier deaths and injuries for propaganda purposes (and even delayed action until cameras were present in the Jessica Lynch rescue).
Analysis of 115 episodes with propaganda analysis techniques
Them dirty l.....ls ! Some students examined six months worth, or 115 episodes, of some very well know "show" using propaganda analysis techniques made popular after World War I. The IU researchers found that the host called a person or a group a derogatory name once every 6.8 seconds, on average. Who's this sizzling firecracker ? We make audience , you decide ! Link to full paper.
A documentary on Llaguno Bridge violent events
Llaguno bridge is a documentary offering an alternative point of view
on some of the violent events that took place in Venezuela during the coup d'etat attempt of 2002 [1]. Some local private television are accused of deliberatedly picking some facts in an attempt to support the ongoing coup ; different videos taken from different angles show how some people were wrongly accused of shooting at unarmed masses of demonstrators. Regardless of political preferences and actual events, it is an interesting documentary on how easily facts can be misrepresented.
Spinning openness
How to control your look of openness by Microsoft. An inside look at how Microsoft spun wired's article covering Microsoft's video site Channel 9. It's an interesting peek at how PR works.
any color you want as long as it's black
To hear Rupert Murdoch's newspaper The Australian tell it, "Science" is now tempering its claims about the urgency of Global Warming. Arts and Letters Daily goes even further, declaring a "Catastrophe Postponed" on its front page. But a closer look at the meager factual content of The Australian article (as opposed to the specious inferences and dramatic allusions to "leaked IPCC documents") suggests that, in fact, "Science" has just gotten more specific about its Global Warming claims, and the real situation remains as urgent as ever if we continue on our current track. Meanwhile, in tangentially related news, Chevron is reporting a massive new oil find in the Gulf of Mexico. Not to imply any kind of conspiracy here (since, you know, "Science" has proven that actual conspiracies are an urban myth).
Monty Panesar!
Why we love Monty. Just a few months ago, Monty Panesar was the struggling underdog of the England cricket team to some ("from what I've read of his fielding and batting, I think there's potential for him to outdo Phil Tufnell for sheer comedic value"), and downright butt-of-the-joke to others (Ponty turns around and appeals madly. The umpire isn't amused. "What the f*** are you appealing for?" he asks. "The ball," says Ponty, imploringly. "Can I have the ball please?"). After continued improval culminating in a ten-wicket haul (including the key batsmen) against Pakistan last weekend, now the bookies have the turbanator at 10-1 to be BBC Sports Personality of the year. ("Monty is a left-arm finger spinner for crying out loud. What is he doing spinning it a foot? Not even Danish Kaneria, the second best leg spinner in world cricket, could turn it that much"). Quite the turn-around!
desmogblog
Public Relations professional Jim Hoggan created desmogblog to counter the PR firms that spin the science around global warming.
...the emancipation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from bigotry disguised as religious truth ...
Faith In America asks a simple question: Is using religious teachings to deny equal rights to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people any less wrong than using religious teaching to discriminate against people of color, against equality for women or against people of different cultures wanting to marry? (check their ad campaign too--some great ones) Meanwhile, clueless elected officials like Barack Obama continue to buy into the GOP lies that all people with faith are conservatives/Republicans, and that Democrats are hostile to people with religious beliefs.
Russert: I’m afraid we’re out of time. Satan, I’ll give you the last word.
Meet The Press--in Hell with Jesus, Satan, Coulter, Malkin--... Russert: We’re back with our guests, Bob Satan and Jesus Christ, and our panel Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter. Ann, I’d like to read you a statement by the Virgin Mary, Chairwoman of Mothers Against Armageddon—
Ann Coulter: Oh please. This broad is a millionaire, lionized on frescoes and in scripture about her, reveling in her status as a saint, and stalked by Madonna-parazzies. I have never seen a woman enjoying her son’s death so much. ...
Ann Coulter: Oh please. This broad is a millionaire, lionized on frescoes and in scripture about her, reveling in her status as a saint, and stalked by Madonna-parazzies. I have never seen a woman enjoying her son’s death so much. ...
often using “truth-based” information — to borrow from the vernacular of the military specialists who deal in the manipulation of words and images — as a substitute for truth.
Their view is that psyops can be directed toward global transregional audiences. My view is that that’s not possible because it directs psyops against our own friends and allies and even at our own public. ... In Mind Games, Columbia Journalism Review thoroughly examines the disintegrating lines between Public Affairs, Psy-Ops, IO, the public, and the truth. Some old friends are mentioned too: the Lincoln Group, the Rendon Group, the Pentagon, our own media, and others. If truth is our greatest weapon, as Rumsfeld has said, how can the administration hope to prevail in an information war when it is not honest with itself?
Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed
US TV newsrooms churn out PR companies' spin as real news. Hats off to those broadcasters who turned the spin around to reflect the real truthiness.
Meanwhile while I didn't find similar PR company manipulation in UK TV news, there's certainly an element of government, or more accurately MoD, faking that compares well with the US's.
Meanwhile while I didn't find similar PR company manipulation in UK TV news, there's certainly an element of government, or more accurately MoD, faking that compares well with the US's.
an ever-widening gulf between official language and the reality of the actual situation in Baghdad
Prisoners of their Bureaus--the Besieged Press of Baghdad What it's like to be a journalist in Iraq now--and especially relevant given the current attacks on the media for not reporting all the good that's happening in Iraq-- ...
an ever-widening gulf between official language and the reality of the actual situation in Baghdad. While official language is relentlessly upbeat, the already nightmarish reality has been getting worse with each passing day. ... the insurgent attacks on the US forces and Iraqi government and the sectarian fighting between Sunnis and Shiites have become destructive beyond what most journalists have been able to convey ... (NY Review of Books)
Howzat!
The Googly blog has been launched by Shiny Shiny. With the entry of China into the arena, cricket is poised to become the number one international sport.
it's not just Armstrong, Gannon/Guckert and their pals
The Price of Payola and Fake News? 1.6 billion dollars for just 2003-5 alone. The GAO's new report lays it out. That's how much seven federal departments spent from 2003 through the second quarter of 2005 on 343 contracts with public relations firms, advertising agencies, media organizations and individuals, according to a new Government Accountability Office report. ... The new report reveals that federal public relations spending goes far beyond "video news releases." (full report is a PDF download from there)
And there's another scandal coming, if Wonkette has it right.
Politics
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