> My friends & I have been talking about media stampedes, especially about
> the recent hoarding of rice in the USA and Canada. The headlines scream
> "rationing" and "shortages," but in America all that means is people are
> being limited to buying two 50-lb bags of rice at Sams or Costco.
>
> It's no news that the rate-of-cycle on news stories has increased
> dramatically in the past twenty years along with a general shelf life
> decrease in all media. I see this going hand-in-hand with an increased
> use of anxiety-inducing media techniques, from screaming headlines to a
> broader negativity in popular arts and culture. The advertising
> profession is renown for employing anxiety-inducing imagery (status
> differential, solution-to-problem) to appeal to unconscious motivations,
> to reify in the mind of the consumer "need for product." These
> techniques have evolved to a dark art for quite a while (from the almost
> inobtrusive "Burma Shave" ads to the insidious "Get laid with a
> quadruple-blade razor" images on TV) and are now firmly planted in
> attention-grabbing statements in politics and media. Remember the
> Reagan-era concern about the use of "hot buttons?" It didn't go away, it
> was simply flushed down the memory hole. ...

> But wait a minute,
> does this not imply that the people in power are actually *acting for
> the good of the common man*? That the "TECHNIQUE" you speak of is not
> actually being used for GOOD - and precisely because it DOES work?

> On May 5, 11:51 pm, pseudomodo yahoo.com> wrote:

>> My friends & I have been talking about media stampedes, especially about
>> the recent hoarding of rice in the USA and Canada. The headlines scream
>> "rationing" and "shortages," but in America all that means is people are
>> being limited to buying two 50-lb bags of rice at Sams or Costco.
>>
>> It's no news that the rate-of-cycle on news stories has increased
>> dramatically in the past twenty years along with a general shelf life
>> decrease in all media. I see this going hand-in-hand with an increased
>> use of anxiety-inducing media techniques, from screaming headlines to a
>> broader negativity in popular arts and culture. The advertising
>> profession is renown for employing anxiety-inducing imagery (status
>> differential, solution-to-problem) to appeal to unconscious motivations,
>> to reify in the mind of the consumer "need for product." These
>> techniques have evolved to a dark art for quite a while (from the almost
>> inobtrusive "Burma Shave" ads to the insidious "Get laid with a
>> quadruple-blade razor" images on TV) and are now firmly planted in
>> attention-grabbing statements in politics and media. Remember the
>> Reagan-era concern about the use of "hot buttons?" It didn't go away, it ...

> On May 6, 12:15 am, Renli gmail.com> wrote:

>> But wait a minute,
>> does this not imply that the people in power are actually *acting for
>> the good of the common man*? That the "TECHNIQUE" you speak of is not
>> actually being used for GOOD - and precisely because it DOES work?

>
> oops:
> ...the "TECHNIQUE" you speak of is (not) actually being used for GOOD
>
> I mean, it -is- actually being used for good. See? I outdid myself
> again hehe
>
> -

>My friends & I have been talking about media stampedes, especially about
>the recent hoarding of rice in the USA and Canada. The headlines scream
>"rationing" and "shortages," but in America all that...

> On Mon, 05 May 2008 10:51:11 -0500, pseudomodo yahoo.com> wrote:
>

>> My friends & I have been talking about media stampedes, especially about
>> the recent hoarding of rice in the USA and Canada. The headlines scream
>> "rationing" and "shortages," but in America all that means is people are
>> being limited to buying two 50-lb bags of rice at Sams or Costco.
>>
>> It's no news that the rate-of-cycle on news stories has increased
>> dramatically in the past twenty years along with a general shelf life
>> decrease in all media. I see this going hand-in-hand with an increased
>> use of anxiety-inducing media techniques, from screaming headlines to a
>> broader negativity in popular arts and culture. The advertising
>> profession is renown for employing anxiety-inducing imagery (status
>> differential, solution-to-problem) to appeal to unconscious motivations,
>> to reify in the mind of the consumer "need for product." These
>> techniques have evolved to a dark art for quite a while (from the almost
>> inobtrusive "Burma Shave" ads to the insidious "Get laid with a
>> quadruple-blade razor" images on TV) and are now firmly planted in
>> attention-grabbing statements in politics and media. Remember the ...

>
> OMG. We agree.
>
> We'll soil the nest for a while longer yet until tech brings us both
> fusion & high efficiency levels. Fusion will take longer, but the tech
> is starting to line up in its favor. Techs just being developed now will
> lead to big efficiency gains in 15 years.
>
> Obama's & Hillary's goal of 80%% reduction in emissions by 2050 would
> either require BTU/capita falling to pre-19th century levels OR reducing
> carbon emissions by going largely all-nuke and all-electric.
>
> Check out the firefly & supercapacitor battery techs. The 'burbs are
> there, and there to stay. Parts of them will also become more compact as
> the cities also fill back in, but if people can afford it they will find
> a way to continue to...

> On May 6, 1:09 am, pseudomodo yahoo.com> wrote:

>> OMG. We agree.
>>
>> We'll soil the nest for a while longer yet until tech brings us both
>> fusion & high efficiency levels. Fusion will take longer, but the tech
>> is starting to line up in its favor. Techs just being developed now will
>> lead to big efficiency gains in 15 years.
>>
>> Obama's & Hillary's goal of 80%% reduction in emissions by 2050 would
>> either require BTU/capita falling to pre-19th century levels OR reducing
>> carbon emissions by going largely all-nuke and all-electric.
>>
>> Check out the firefly & supercapacitor battery techs. The 'burbs are
>> there, and there to stay. Parts of them will also become more compact as
>> the cities also fill back in, but if people can afford it they will find
>> a way to continue to pay for the basis of their lifestyles.

>
>
> Well first of all, the burbs are not there to stay, in fact the major ...

> My friends & I have been talking about media stampedes,
> especially about the recent hoarding of rice in the USA
> and Canada. The headlines scream "rationing" and
> "shortages," but in America all that means is people are
> being limited to buying two 50-lb bags of rice at Sams or
> Costco.
>
> It's no news that the rate-of-cycle on news stories has
> increased dramatically in the past twenty years along with
> a general shelf life decrease in all media. I see this
> going hand-in-hand with an increased use of
> anxiety-inducing media techniques, from screaming
> headlines to a broader negativity in popular arts and
> culture. The advertising profession is renown for
> employing anxiety-inducing imagery (status differential,
> solution-to-problem) to appeal to unconscious motivations,
> to reify in the mind of the consumer "need for product."
> These techniques have evolved to a dark art for quite a ...