Sad news from England today. It is quite different to hear about current events via blogs and news feeds than it is to hear it on the radio or television. I first heard of the bombing attack indirectly, by reading commentary on some of the blogs I read daily, like, "Thinking of our dear friends in London today", which led me to news.google and nytimes.com to read the facts. Then I went to flickr.com to see some images, which made the events more vivid. With traditional media, the images/news/commentary are simultaneous and therefore cause a more heightened reaction.

There are so many things I do online that I used to do in a different way. Shopping, communicating, reading news, viewing photos, reading, the list goes on and on. Today I'm listening to the men's international barbershop convention webcast. I have spent quite a bit of time putting together travel arrangements to Pittsburgh this month (for Grandma's memorial). Today I listened to a recording of my brother sing and play guitar, in preparation for a hymn we are going to sing together. I'm going to add some harmony and send a recording back. Virtual rehearsals.

Barb and I were talking a bit about whether 200 years is a long time or a short time. Since I am 50 years old now, I think about children born this year, and then two more 50-year spans ahead (or behind). That period seems quite short. But think about how far removed we feel from the life styles of those who lived in 1805! Think of all the things I do now online that I couldn't conceive of, only 10 years ago!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 07, 2005 at 1:50 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.