50K And 67

There have been many milestones since I started this blog. Many of them I had preconceived notions from the very beginning as to when they would occur. I was completely wrong regarding this latest one as I originally thought that it would happen sometime during the fourth year of writing. This was later revised to a timeline slightly more optimistic than reality but it really was slight. Basically it breaks down to the originally projection of about one thousand views per month later revised to over two thousand.

Well, just over two years since the first words were posted, I hit the 50,000 views mark. While a big number (at least for me) when you first look at it, it is even bigger when you think about it. This blog has been viewed 50,000 times which breaks down to roughly 67 views per day. Obviously some posts have been more popular than others and some days have been more active than the rest. That is the ebb and flow of writing in general and blogging in particular.

Think about that for a second. On average, there were 67 clicks specifically with the intention of reading the content that I have posted. Given the lack of interesting content that has been produced overall, this just goes to show that really anyone can do this. With that said, I appreciate each person and each click that has been made since this blog was launched. It was never my intent to gain a large readership but it is certainly nice to see people enjoying what I am writing (or getting pissed off by it).

The sheer volume is still completely foreign to me. I have written for a variety of companies and executives over the years where these numbers are pretty insignificant but having something with my name on it being read to such an extent is kind of astounding. Of course, this is coming from someone who started off in the poetry market where exposure and popularity are tremendously small in comparison to other genres. Having this many people read my work now would have been unthinkable in those days a decade ago.

The trick now is trying to find the balance between past and present, quality and quantity, honest and opinion, originality and reporting. It is a completely different way of writing these days and something that I am still getting used to. I treat this as a journal but have to maintain some kind of coherence in the posts. It is a balance of writing and of time. It is work and play.

So, thank you again for all your support but don’t just sit back and read. I encourage you to do the same, write about what you want to record about your life. Put yourself out there. Enjoy the process and the sharing of ideas. And, of course, let me know if there is anything that you would like me to write about and I will do my best to accommodate.

I’m Not Dead Yet!

Earlier this week People Magazine posted a well written obituary of Kirk Douglas. It was the kind of tribute that you would expect to read when a Hollywood legend passes away. The only problem is that Kirk Douglas is still alive. I wonder if John Cleese had anything to do with the decision to declare someone dead before they stop breathing. Maybe Eric Idle?

While uncommon, unfortunately this is not the first time that such an error has been made especially in the celebrity sphere. While there was a concerted effort to curb such leaps made in the wake of the Reagan assassination attempt, in an era of the 24 hour news cycle and the ever presence of social media, these kinds of things will almost certainly become more common as time passes. This leaves us asking the question of who is going to be the next person to read about their own demise.

While disturbing in many regards, there can be some good to come from such an egregious error. Mark Twain is the most famous example of the good humor that can come about when one is forced to face their inevitable fate a little earlier than nature or reality has intended. Although, in this instance, no actual obituary was published word spread and Twain eventually found himself on the receiving end of his own departure. Specifically, he is quoted as saying, "The report of my death was an exaggeration."

On the other side of things, some are forced to come to terms with their legacy no matter how good or, as in the case of Alfred Nobel, bad. When it was thought that the inventor of dynamite had departed this world for the next, a French writer did not hold back in his obituary titled “Le marchand de la mort est mort” ("The merchant of death is dead") etching into the mind of the millionaire that he “became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before.”

It was this obituary that made Nobel reconsider his life and his legacy. It was because of the premature reporting that he took his considerable fortune and created the Nobel Prize. A bit of misinformation and the world was changed in an instant changing the historical perspective of what many considered a controversial person in his own time.

For now, despite recent rumors and false obituaries, Kirk Douglas, Macaulay Culkin, and numerous other public figure of varying stature as still alive. But, with the inevitable increase of such instances bound to take hold in social media, it makes you think about the changes that could possibly occur as a result of this increased penchant to find the breaking news before anyone else. The question for everyone is, what would your obituary say if you were thought to be dead?  

Waking Up To Terrorism

Don't believe everything you read!

This morning I woke up to an all too familiar stream of posts on Facebook as there were ‘news’ reports and updates from friends in Israel letting me know of the terrorist attack that had taken place while I was sleeping. Some reports were accurate while others were, at the very least, skewed. After reading through many of the comments and condolences, I finally pulled up the Reuters article which summarized the events that took place within the first sentence, “Two Palestinians armed with a meat cleaver and a gun killed four worshippers in a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday before being shot dead by police, the deadliest such incident in six years in the holy city.”

Reuters reported the news while other agencies made their attempts at relaying the ‘news’ to their audiences. CNN was the first to demonstrate a lack of judgment and proper editorial oversight by including a headline that inferred that the terrorists were also victims during the attack. Later in the morning they also referred to the Orthodox synagogue where the murders took place as a mosque. I understand the rush to deliver the story but these kinds of things are not acceptable.

While over the top, one friend in Israel asked how people would have reacted had the 19 terrorists been included as killed during 9/11. Again, he took it a little too far but the message was clear. Also, I give him a lot of leeway as he was one of the first responders at the twin towers.

Of course, over in the UK, The Guardian decided to omit the mention of Palestinians altogether. They took the Reuters story and omitted all evidence of Palestinian involvement. This would be understandable if there were still some questions revolving around what had happened but events did not leave anything to interpretation. This was simply a means of not entering into the debate and placing blame on those who deserve it.

Even with all those ‘stories’ rife with inaccuracies, misleading statements, and omissions, what really bothered me once I finished reading through all of the articles was the Reuters story. In it, the publication included a quote from a statement released by President Obama in which he stated, "I strongly condemn today's terrorist attack on worshippers at a synagogue in Jerusalem, which killed four innocent people, including U.S. citizens Aryeh Kupinsky, Cary William Levine and Mosheh Twersky, and injured several more." There is nothing to disagree with here, the President said what needed to be said and condemned the actions of the terrorists.

However, when speaking to reporters, the President’s words fell far short of reason. On a day when innocent Israelis were slain in their own place of worship, their own sanctuary, the President called for “both sides to lower tensions.” Really? During a time when Israel is the victim of heinous acts of terrorism (there have been a lot recently this is just the latest), Israel is put on equal footing as the cause of these horrendous events? That is, by far, a greater insult than that which was misrepresented in the media.