I hear you. I remember thinking the same thing the day Michael Jackson died. I remember that thread where it was only speculation at the time and there was up to the second reports on every news site, twitters, facebook pages, blackberrys, everything. Its crazy. The information age is so distracting. I remember the days I would go home from work or school and then find out on the evening news about stuff that happened that day. Now I barely digest one thing before some type of alert pops up about another. I'm amazed that anyone in our society gets any work done anymore.
But at least Michael had the courtesy of being "in the balloon".
Location: In a land without pants, or war, or want. But mostly we care about the pants.
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Originally Posted by Azure
How many kids die because they fell out of a hot-air balloon while it was 8,000 feet in the air?
That's what worries me about this story - sure, this particular kid didn't die horribly, but what about all the other kids that are now going to think it's safe to get into a weather balloon and go sky-riding? "Gee, that kid in Colorado ended up fine, so c'mon Billy, saddle up this bad boy and let's go BALLOONING!"
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Talk about people who shouldnt have been allowed to procreate. Just a really shat faced job of parenting - a real Kanye effort you might say.
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How many kids die because they fell out of a hot-air balloon while it was 8,000 feet in the air.
CNN just reported what people wanted to watch.
The major question is, though, were they actually just reporting what we wanted to watch? Or do we feel compelled to watch these things because they are on the news, and thus become the news?
And while I agree it's not a uniquely American thing, that it is a product of the global 24 hour news cycle, I think it is legitimate to point out that cycle does have its roots in the CNN/Fox News US cable news channels.
The major question is, though, were they actually just reporting what we wanted to watch? Or do we feel compelled to watch these things because they are on the news, and thus become the news?
In the 500 channel universe if people didn't want to watch the story, they'd have plenty of other things to watch instead. The fact that this thread is as big as it is demonstrates that this story caught people's attention.
In the 500 channel universe if people didn't want to watch the story, they'd have plenty of other things to watch instead. The fact that this thread is as big as it is demonstrates that this story caught people's attention.
But I wonder how many people were watching it for the news aspect of it, and how many were watching it for the entertainment value.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
The country was riveted yesterday as cable news networks cut away from the president's discussion of rebuilding New Orleans to cover the "balloon boy"--a 6-year-old who was thought to have been aboard a run-away helium balloon. Of course, it turns out the boy was not aboard the balloon at all, but instead hiding inside a cardboard box in his family's attic. This bizarre series of events led to a lot of late night humor, and quicky Web jokes.
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