Bob Collins1) DID LIFE IMITATE ART?
This website, as well as the rest of the world of course, are covering the shootings in Colorado last night in which a man apparently tossed a smoke bomb into a crowded movie theater and then started shooting.
We will, of course, be learning more about what happened over the next few hours, but the why of it is possibly going to be a more complex discussion.
It’s the type of thing that would happen in the Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The movie that was playing in the theater? Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. It’s a movie about the very essence of evil. Is there a connection that led someone from art to an evil reality? Does the possibility require additional security in the theaters across the country this weekend?
Here’s live coverage from Denver (mouse over the embed to get the “play” button)…
Meanwhile, Twitter is allowing us to have a heartbreaking connection to the tragedy. Jessica Redfield recently moved to the area to pursue a career in sports journalism…
She, apparently, was one of those killed.
She had recently escaped the Eaton Center mall shooting in Toronto, and wrote about it.
I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift. After Saturday evening, I know I truly understand how blessed I am for each second I am given.
I feel like I am overreacting about what I experienced. But I can’t help but be thankful for whatever caused me to make the choices that I made that day. My mind keeps replaying what I saw over in my head. I hope the victims make a full recovery. I wish I could shake this odd feeling from my chest. The feeling that’s reminding me how blessed I am. The same feeling that made me leave the Eaton Center. The feeling that may have potentially saved my life.
Related: A history of mass shootings in the U.S.
2) FRANKEN AND DAVIS MINUS DAVIS
Tom Davis has died. Long before he became a U.S. senator, you couldn’t say the words Al Franken without also saying Tom Davis. Throat cancer did him in — “deanimated him” as he told the New York Times.
Davis was the funnier one.
3) REPORTERS IN CAMPAIGN ADS
In the latter days of the Scott Walker recall election, the local TVs were filled with Walker ads using footage from TV stations carrying stories about Milwaukee budget woes under his competitor. Does that constitute an endorsement by reporters? No. Is there anything they can do about the perception that it does? No.
Related media: How fake news gets made into real news. It’s not pretty. (h/t: @panndder)
4) REMEMBERING THE VOYAGE OF THE HJEMKOMST
The crew of the Hjemkomst is having its 30th reunion in Moorhead this weekend a testament to the determined dreamer, Bob Asp, who accomplished in a few years what 100 Vikings needed a full year to accomplish. He built the ship in an old potato warehouse in Hawley and found out in the middle of his dream that he had leukemia and had only a few years to live. He kept building. And when he died, others picked up his dream.
5) THE AIRSTREAM MENTALITY
A blast from the past: A sweet profile of a disease from the Pioneer Press’ Chris Polydoroff..
For Airstreams Only from Christopher Polydoroff on Vimeo.
Bonus I: Anderson Cooper observed last night, “Michele Bachmann is denying doing exactly what she’s doing.” But when news organizations ask Rep. Keith Ellison whether he is connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, do they become willing participants in the strategy?
Bonus II: This is the last 5×8 for the next 10 days or so. I’m off to Oshkosh for the annual airshow and gathering of aviation enthusiasts. I’ll be doing a daily talk show about homebuilt airplanes and the people who built them each day from 12 to 1 on EAA Radio, which you can listen to online. It’s an independent operation created by radio volunteers, mostly students and former students at St. Cloud State.
TODAY’S QUESTION
FEMA has been inspecting flood-damaged homes in Duluth and other parts of northeast Minnesota. Homeowners are hoping that President Obama will declare the region a disaster area and open the way to federal assistance in rebuilding. Today’s Question: Does the public have a responsibility to help people rebuild flood-damaged homes?
WHAT WE’RE DOING
Daily Circuit (9-12 p.m.) – First hour: Weekly roundtable on the Olympic experience.
Second hour: The top 10 Olympic moments of all time.
Third hour: Marlene Zuk, professor in the department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. She is the author of several books, the most recent of which is “Sex on Six Legs.”
MPR News Presents (12-1 pm): The TED radio hour: Building a better classroom.
Talk of the Nation (1-2 p.m.) – How Olympic athletes are using technology.
All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) – Cable news outlets give shows to journalists and political celebrities all the time. MSNBC has given one to a political scientist who has written widely on race, gender and religion. NPR profiles Melissa Harris-Perry and a cable news experiment.
