Why you should always do a test run before a presentation, what America’s war dead say about the class divide, and how air travel in coach could get a whole lot worse.
On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.
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Class casualty gap
We all know that many more Afghans and Iraqis have been injured and died in the wars than Americans or other allied forces. But we tend to forget about the casualty gap of the U.S. armed forces themselves: poorer and less-educated citizens (and yet-to-be citizens) are much more likely to serve and die than richer, better-educated Americans.
Poverty—uneven demographics
The demographics of the United States of poverty show both that poverty is much worse than the numbers indicate and that poverty can be eliminated.
Why You Should Always Do a Tech Test-Run Before Your Presentation
More than 400 Norwin High School seniors got an eyeful Friday morning when pornographic photos appeared on a giant screen during a presentation on the importance of donating blood, triggering awkward laughter, a police investigation and an apology from school officials.
The Disappearing Line Between Politics and the Media
“Don’t they fact-check this stuff?” This is the perennial cry of the outraged reader and the wronged article subject. The latest party to raise the fact-checking howl is the White House, which yesterday went public with its discontent over Forbes’ ludicrously poisonous new cover story.
Flying Economy Class Could Soon Get a Whole Lot Worse
A new airplane passenger seat called SkyRider could revolutionize the way airlines rip travelers off, by installing “saddle” seats that offer just 27 inches of legroom, or seven inches less than the average airplane seat. That sounds awful.
South Carolina Republicans Have Fun Slavery Dress-Up Party
The National Federation of Republican Women had a board-of-directors meeting in South Carolina over the weekend. Which means that it was the perfect opportunity to have a cocktail party called “A Southern Experience” at the Charleston Country Club, complete with two black people hired to play slaves or something and pose with guests.
NYPD Arrests Watercolor Artist for Painting Outdoors
A few days ago Brooklyn artist Julie Torres contacted Hyperallergic to let us know about a serious legal issue she was facing as a result of painting outdoors. She explained that on July 17, she was enjoying a summer afternoon in Williamsburg as she worked on a large watercolor painting that was taped to a construction wall at the corner of North 11th Street and Bedford Avenue, near Hyperallergic HQ.
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I suspect that’s only if you are short and your legs fit under the seat in front of you. If you are tall, your knees hit the seat back in front and there’s no room at all.
The guy who wrote “Silence of the Lambs” began one of his novels by pointing out that the average width of a coach airline seat was 22 inches. Which was exactly two inches more room than was allotted to the slaves on the old slaveships to America.
But, I bet the slaves got more than 27 inches of leg room.
One of the best parts of being unemployed is no more business trips in slave-class. And there has to be an ocean between me and my destination to get me to fly for ‘pleasure’. Only the masochists would take a plane flight for ‘pleasure’.
What a strange way to run a business. Airlines seem to try to find out just how badly they can mistreat their customers before they completely rebel. Actually, I guess that’s not new at all. After all, that’s the basics of managing slaves.
A Cooler Century? Wait and See
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By Samson, September 21, 2010 at 12:29 pm Link to this comment
There’s 34 inches of leg-room in coach now?
I suspect that’s only if you are short and your legs fit under the seat in front of you. If you are tall, your knees hit the seat back in front and there’s no room at all.
The guy who wrote “Silence of the Lambs” began one of his novels by pointing out that the average width of a coach airline seat was 22 inches. Which was exactly two inches more room than was allotted to the slaves on the old slaveships to America.
But, I bet the slaves got more than 27 inches of leg room.
One of the best parts of being unemployed is no more business trips in slave-class. And there has to be an ocean between me and my destination to get me to fly for ‘pleasure’. Only the masochists would take a plane flight for ‘pleasure’.
What a strange way to run a business. Airlines seem to try to find out just how badly they can mistreat their customers before they completely rebel. Actually, I guess that’s not new at all. After all, that’s the basics of managing slaves.
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