Did anybody see the new Red Bull commercial of the superhero who, after hearing a woman screaming for help outside his window, goes to his refrigerator and finds he has no more Red Bull? He then shrugs his shoulders: "No Red Bull. No wiiings."

And he does nothing.

This commercial made me shudder. I remember the story of the brutal killing of Kitty Genovese in Kew Gardens in Queens who was brutally stabbed outside and apartment building and then in the vestibule while neighbors did nothing. 38 people heard her scream for help as she was attacked 3 times by her murderer, and nobody did anything. Nobody helped her. Nobody called the police. Nothing.

Does Red Bull know they are repeating this horrible story of people turning a blind eye to those around them? In the commercial, the superhero even closes his window at the end, closing out the woman's screams just as those people did years ago. Truly distasteful. 

I just received a contribution request from the Victory Fund, which is an LGBT organization that "provides strategic, technical and financial support to openly LGBT candidates and officials. It is the only national organization committed to increasing the number of openly LGBT public officials at all levels of government."

While this seems like a good mission to me (though I have never heard of them previously), I wonder if they support candidates simply based on the candidate's sexual orientation, or if there is a political agenda they require? Funding somebody only because they are gay seems a bit short-sighted, especially given the complexities in elected office.

I did notice they expect a candidate to:

• Be openly gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender;
• Demonstrate electoral viability;
• Publicly endorse federal Gay/Lesbian Civil Rights Legislation, and similar state and local anti-discrimination laws or legislation;
• Advocate aggressive public policies and positions relevant to HIV/AIDS research, education and treatment; gay and lesbian health and wellness; and women's reproductive freedom.

These are all issues that are very complex and can be understood on many different levels by those of us who are gay or straight. I am not sure there is a single "party line" (as if there is a party) on any of these, so I am still not sure what criteria they are using. Regardless of these issues and where one falls on them, I am not sure what "women's reproductive freedom" has to do with these gay-focused issues. Perhaps there is a larger agenda? After all, the donation request I received was from Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

I wonder if this insistence on advocating a set agenda is any different on the politically left than it is on the politically right? As I try to do for my own piece of mind and my own attempt at critical thinking, should playing the advocātus diabolī be any different here?

There, I said it. Vagina. 

Did anybody see the interesting article in today's New York Times about three female high school students who were suspended for saying the word Vagina? I did not know this word was so bad or demeaning or cause of the corruption of youth, nor did I know that the book it was taken from, The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, was so controversial that a single word in it should be censored. As an educator, I bristle when learning is closed in the very place it should be safe to be explored.

No, I never read the book. As a gay male, the topic of a vagina does not ordinarily arise in my conversations, but I hate censorship. I hate being told what I can and cannot say. I hate when my voice is silenced, and whatever the three girls did or did not do, I have great trouble seeing how this will somehow make for a better world. Censorship closes minds because it means that some things cannot be discussed or even considered. I wonder who or what feels so threatened that this was worthy of suspension? At least it reminds us the world is not as open as we may wish or suppose.

OK, my curiosity was awoken in the Online Connectivism Conference due to so much chatter about Second Life and its use in education, learning, and business. So, I created an account and played around for about 10 minutes. Amazing graphics, and while I only flew and accidentally (sorta) pushed somebody else into the water, I thought I needed to get back to work.

Well, this is related to my work as I am a learning professional.

I saw this link on Presentation Zen today for a wonderfully postmodern film, Le Grand Content. This short film offers an interesting perspective and commentary on meaning-making and thinking along with the ubiquity of PowerPoint.

According to the authors:

Le Grand Content examines the omnipresent Powerpoint-culture in search for its philosophical potential. Intersections and diagrams are assembled to form a grand 'association-chain-massacre'. which challenges itself to answer all questions of the universe and some more. Of course, it totally fails this assignment, but in its failure it still manages to produce some magical nuance and shades between the great topics death, cable tv, emotions and hamsters.

Last night I saw The First Emperor, a new opera at The Metropolitan Opera by Tan Dun starring Placido Domingo. While the opera had a somewhat slow First Act, the music held enough promise to keep me for the Second Act, one with one of the more memorable choruses I can recall. It was eerily mesmerizing, with the sadness and emotion common to most operas I have attended. For an opera in English (with a little Chinese as well), the chorus piece was astounding.

NY gas smell sends 19 to hospital NEW YORK (Reuters) - A powerful, mysterious smell of gas wafted through much of Manhattan and parts of New Jersey on Monday, forcing building evacuations and a temporary suspension of commuter train service before dissipating by mid-afternoon.

Here we are, more than 12 hours later, and there is still no clear answer as to what caused the smell of gas. When I got to work I had to wait two hours to get in, since my office building was evacuated. With such a strong smell of gas in Manhatten, the boroughs of New York, and even New Jersey, it is amazing to me that there is still no idea what caused this smell. I usually have a great deal of confidence in our Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, but his claim that the gas was not harmful and of unknown origin just does not sit well with me. Why can’t I help thinking there is some cover-up of something? Gas cannot just appear, be smelled by millions of people (literally), and be of unknown cause. Hmmm.

Here in New York City in late December, the air is filled with people wishing one another “Happy Holidays!” In the cultural melting pot of NYC, this seems so very politically correct. The generic “Happy Holidays!” serves Christmas, or Hanukkah or the Winter Solstice, or even New Year’s Eve. What can be a better effort at cultural sensitivity than this?

I have also noticed that there appears to be a direct connection between people wishing one another “Happy Holidays!” and the proximity to Christmas. I wonder if this connection is accidental, or a postmodern way of dealing with the holiday season by trying to be inclusive of such differences? Is wishing “Happy Holidays” an innocent-sounding code for wishing “Merry Christmas?”

Perhaps “Happy Holidays” means “Merry Christmas?”

Whatever holiday, or none, that you celebrate, I hope this season finds you at peace and with happiness.

It is interesting that I find myself wishing people “Happy Holidays” rather than the “Merry Christmas” I used to wish people when I was growing up. At that time, I thought everybody was either Christian (the majority, and therefore the “correct” faith) or Jewish (and all the rich kids at school were Jewish, so I supposed all Jews were rich and smart, too!). Christmas and Hanukkah were always spoken about in school, but now the world seems smaller and more intimate and yet more intolerant all at once. What is one to wish people during this season? How does one, if in an apartment building or public area, celebrate their own holiday without being insensitive to others? How can we be ourselves without confronting others?