Portrait of Michel Houellebecq (2010)
☛ The New Yorker: accompanying photo for James Woods’ review of The Map and the Territory by Michel Houellebecq, January 23, 2011, p. 79. Photo by WireImage contributor Dominique Charriau. © WireImage. The original caption by WireImage reads as follows: Michel Houellebecq gives a press conference after he received the 2010 Prix Goncourt at Restaurant [...]
Egypt: The Revolution Was Televised
These responses would seem to dispel one of the myths that have sprung up around the events of January 25. Although the role of Facebook, Twitter and SMS are widely discussed, Egyptians overwhelmingly seem to have relied on television for information. And, as their second choice and third choice, most people relied on talking to [...]
67 Years Ago: D-Day
☛ Library of Congress / American Treasures: The New York Times, June 6, 1944, front page (from the Serial & Government Publications Division, item 68A.1) General Dwight D. Eisenhower did not announce the Allied landings on the coast of France until 3:30 a.m on June 6, 1944. As the last edition of the day, this [...]
Metaphors, terrorism and violent crimes
Public discourse about crime is saturated with metaphor. Increases in the prevalence of crime are described as crime waves, surges or sprees. A spreading crime problem is a crime epidemic, plaguing a city or infecting a community. Crimes themselves are attacks in which criminals prey on unsuspecting victims. And criminal investigations are hunts where criminals [...]
“The Century of Disasters” (Slate, May 13, 2011)
[W]e need to keep things in perspective: The apparent onslaught of disasters doesn’t portend the end of the world. Beware disaster hysteria in the news media. The serial disasters of the 21st century will be, to some extent, a matter of perception. It’ll feel like we’re bouncing from disaster to disaster in part because of [...]
