I meant to post this last week…
Recently, I got to play with one of these and see one of these. Both fun toys that I likely won’t ever own, but both confirm that we’re still making technological progress.
Last Tuesday night I saw My Name is Rachel Corrie, which confirms we’re really not making much progress in other domains. It’s a well-done show – technically outstanding with great acting – and if you’re in Seattle before May 6, you should really go. It tells the story (in first person) of a young woman from Olympia who ends up as a human shield in Palestine, and ultimately is killed by an Israeli bulldozer. Without getting into the politics, I’ll say it does a fine job of opening up quite a few difficult subjects for discussion.
Unfortunately, I think there are a lot of folks out there who aren’t interested in letting those discussions happen, and that’s a shame. Very few people will take what they see in the theater at face value (it might be different if it were a TV show), and sparking interest and encouraging people to ask questions or learn more is rarely a bad idea.