Zcom_simple

Hello,

Blogs are a familiar feature on the internet - where users post content in an accumulating manner, with comments, and search options, etc. They facilitate expression and exploration, and via attached comments, also debate and synthesis.


Reading and
Navigating Blogs

Our blogs are quite powerful. Each writer can post, as is typically the case. Sustainers who have the option can also post, however. All Blogs appear in the blog system, and sometimes also in content boxes the top page of ZNet - and always via the left menu of the top page - and can be found via searches, etc.

Commenting on blogs follows the blogs, attached at the bottom, and blog comments, like all others, are also visible in many places that show comments including in the forum system. In addition, the entire blog system gathers content for everyone - but one can look at the accumulating content in many ways.

  • For example one can look at one writer's efforts - so one is seeing what is effectively a blog system for that one writer, or Sustainer.
  • One can also look at the content by topic, seeing blogs that are tagged as being about a certain topic - or place, as well. Thus, when doing that, it is a blog system about a topic, or a place, with many contributors.
  • One can look at only writer blogs, or only sustainer blogs, as well.
  • One can look at blogs for particular Groups, too.

All this is easily done using the left menu. Searches allow even more variables and refinements.


Creating Blog Posts

If you are a Sustainer with permission, and are logged in, you will see a link in the left menu for you to post a blog - and you can use that to post one, and then tag it various ways (such as with a topic or place, or a group tag), and once you do, it is in the system with you as the author.

You can also use the console button to the left to post a blog - anytime and from anywhere in the site, as long as you are logged in.

Meanwhile, enjoy the blogs - and, by the way, if you are a Free Member or a Sustainer with a ZSpace page, of course you can put one or more content boxes on it, pulling blog links of any sort you may want to filter for, for example, by you or by your friends or by others - and by topic, about places, for groups, etc.

Blogs

The Politics of Batman

By Michael McGehee at Jul 21, 2008


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Nearly every movie (and not to forget, literature) can be relied on to express political idealism.

Art is art.

There is a reason why the phrase "bleeding hearts and artists" exist and it's not just because of Roger Waters.

Art is a medium of self-expression.

Over two millennia ago there was Asinus aureus (The Golden Ass) by Apuleius. A story about a man named Lucius who through his fascination in magic gets turned into an ass. This provides him a looking glass into class divisions and how the lower realm of humanity is exploited by the rich

Half a century ago we had classics like Salt of the Earth, that showed us the importance of the labor movement.

Today we got The Boondock Saints, where the movies opening statement derides the "indifference of good men."

In the Disney/Pixar film, A Bug's Life, there is a heavy emphasis on the importance of solidarity.

In Spiderman, Uncle Ben reminds us that, "with great power comes great responsibility."

And yesterday I was pleased to hear Lt. Gordon, in The Dark Knight, say something to this effect: "I don't need idealism to score political points. I work with what I got."

In other words, lofty ideals about how things can and should be is not enough and certainly not as important as working with what one has now.

This is the common argument of reformists.

And it's not that idealism isn't important. We need to be able to see beyond our noses. To have ideals about what we want. We also need to be grounded to the present so we can best see how we plan to get there.

There were other valuable moments in the movie (i.e. Batman's views on heroes, the scene about the decisions on the boats, etc) that could be used culturally to reach people, but I will probably need to watch the movie a few more times to synthesize it.

The point is that the culturally shared values are there. The idealism is there. But as Lt. Gordon so eloquently pointed out, what is needed to score political points is direct action.

Person

By minot, Minot at Jul 22, 2008 07:00 AM

So, is "working with what one has now" an argument to support Obama, or do we need "direct action," which support of Obama is certainly not?

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Re:

By McGehee, Michael at Jul 23, 2008 05:05 AM

depends on the person and their preferences. personally, i dont think the options are that narrow. for example, I would look at ways of using what we have to work with now to be a bit more radical than an Obama supporter. from an economic perspective im leaning towards parecon (shocker) and the current economic crisis (ie what we have to work with) may be fertile ground for establishing consumer councils or the revival of the labor movement. we could be using dissastisfaction of corporate america and the governments handling of the economy to push for a more desirable alternative.

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