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Not Waiting I have been assigned an exercise, or rather one has been suggested to me. It's been producing surprising results, so I hereby irresponsibly put it out there for general use. I warn you, however, that it's useless for kids. (Or am I bizarrely wrong?) Seems right for the times, however, so here goes: This sounds simple, but it is not. What would you do, what would it feel like, if you weren't waiting? That's it! Not waiting for him, her, them, or it. More I need not say, except that this may create a space where a way out of "either/or" can grow. Most of us love stasis, however, and hardly anyone will try this, 'cause it's SCARY out (down? in?) there. I let slip a partial result of this a few posts back. Wonder if anybody noticed? All right, never mind. Back to whatever you were doing. P.S. By the way, the best actual news today is that SOMEONE isn't "waiting," by damn: the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights is filing suit in Germany to charge Rumsfeld, Tenet, and eight others with war crimes in Iraq, namely the Abu Ghraib torture policy. More proof that our future lies in speaking out and networking with the rest of the world, not sitting on our collective asses waiting for the clampdown. P.P.S. This is not a drill.

Martin Gray has come a long way from mountain hermit to photographer. For ten years he lived in a monastery in India, dedicating his life to meditation. Now, he is an anthropologist and photographer specializing in the study of sacred sites and pilgrimage traditions around the world. 

From Macchu Pichu in Peru to the Monastery of Rousanou, Meteora, Greece, his Web site sacredsites.com features photos and stories from twenty years of visiting and photographing over 1000 sacred sites in eighty countries. It’s quite a feat, well-organized and nicely done. At the very least it’s a great way to experience some of the world’s more alluring places and people without leaving your chair. 

Reuters: Merck Execs Protected in Case of Takeover. Merck & Co. Inc. has adopted a severance benefits plan aimed at protecting key managers in the event the company is taken over -- a growing possibility since the withdrawal of arthritis drug Vioxx sent shares tumbling.

Just when you imagine that corporate America couldn't get any more arrogant and self-serving, something like this comes along. Astounding, and wrong in almost every way.

How are we going to explain to our grandchildren what is was like to live without it? On Ask MetaFilter today, there were two pecularities. The worst concerned a traumatic event:

My cousin and his family were found dead yesterday. While he and I were not close in recent years because we'd lost touch, I feel deep sadness for what my aunt and uncle are going through. (I am still in touch with them.) This leaves me with two questions. What is the normal process of a homicide investigation?

Where, even five years ago, could you ask that question and get reasonable, free advice? The second incident involves a remarkable coincidence.

Several years ago (12+) I saw a poem in a magazine, but it wasn't really "printed" in the magazine -- it appeared on a computer screenshot as a companion graphic to the main article.

The writer goes on to describe where he thought it might be, and to make a guess at the poet's name. Read the comment thread for the utter flukiness that the Internet enables.

Want to feel old? A survey of a middle, high school, and college students in South Korea found that over two-thirds of students there rarely or never use email and supposedly young people are starting to think of email as something overly formal that you use only for business purposes or to communicate with your less tech savvy parents or grandparents who are still stuck in the Nineties (when email was king). For them it’s all about text and instant messaging, and by comparison, even email seems like an incredibly slow way to communicate. Do they even have postal service in Korea anymore?

[Via SmartMobs]