Sometimes the world seems more bizarre than usual. Nothing really big, just a bit like looking at a mirror from an angle… It’s the same, vaguely familiar space… and yet slightly different. Too much work has made me ignore the fun part of blogging. What is left is zipping rapidly through the news not really registering what is going on. This becomes a disjointed reality. It’s close, vaguely familiar and yet slightly unreal. Even explaining it all makes it seem stranger than it is.
Here are three examples of “news”
Swedish media is full of the news that we will soon (tonight) have our first Swedish astronaut. Christer Fuglesang is to be the first Swede in space (sounds like an episode of the Muppet Show). Actually it gets a bit strange since the Norwegians seem to be claiming him as well. Well wikipedia says he is one of ours so it must be right.
The Swedish tennis star Björn Borg has sold the rights to his name for 124 million kronor (18 MUSD) to Worldwide Brand Management. WBM has previously had the license to the brand and paid royalties to the Dutch company Fabulous Licensing, which has connections to the Borg family.
NASA announced plans Monday to begin building a permanent base on the moon by 2024, four years after the space agency starts sending crews of four astronauts there for weeklong exploratory missions. The base would probably be located near the lunar south pole and be staffed by rotating teams of international astronauts for up to six months at a time, according to NASA officials.
When I have less time I tend not to follow much “traditional” media (newspapers, radio & television). Then when I see these kinds of news items zipping past the horizon I get the feeling that I am not missing much.
In 2001 Cass Sunstein wrote about the dangers of Internet media in his book Republic.com (sample chapter). He argued that the Internet could weaken democracy because it allows citizens to isolate themselves within groups that share their own views and experiences, and thus cut themselves off from any information that might challenge their beliefs, a phenomenon known as the theory of cyberbalkanization.