Benetton caused quite stink (again) earlier this year when they used genuine death row inmates in an advertising campaign. They said they wanted to put a human face on these inmates, hoping, no doubt to provoke people to rethink the death penalty. Well, four Missouri families whose relatives were killed by the inmates were outraged by the campaign. Benetton eventually apologized and donated $US50,000 to the Missouri Crime Victims' Compensation Fund. Part of me has always admired Benetton for their guerilla tactics (especially their colorful, subversive billboards), though I understand they pressed their luck a little here.

Anyway, I'm reminded of this because I stumbled across a site, Prisoners of Age, which features an usual exhibit: photographs by Rod Levine of aged and infirm inmates at perhaps the world's most famous prison. Some of these post-retirement age men are still in jail for crimes like drug trafficking. Others, well, maybe they needn't start hunting for an apartment just yet.

If I'm not careful, this could become another hackneyed, stultifying diary of an unemployed dotcomer. A victim of the dotbomb revolution. I'll try to avoid that.

I used to work for iXL (which may mean something to those in the Web world, but little to anyone else). iXL merged with Scient recently. Our office closed back in early July and I still haven't found work. Until a couple of weeks ago many of my friends were outta work, too. A few have since gotten jobs. I have friends who've been laid off three times in the last year or so. I feel lucky: I just fell prey to a single office closing.

On another subject, this picture really gripped me. It's an Afghani woman the day after the Northern Alliance took over Kabul. You can see the fear in her face. I imagine she fears the possible consequences of her being photographed with her face uncovered. What a sad and beautiful thing.

To bed then.

stribs

Well, today I join the rest of the blathering bloggers. Know now that my blog will consist of infrequent dispatches. I will make no resolutions to post every day or even "regularly." I shall remain resolutely irregular. I guess I can make one resolution: I will not become a compulsive blogger. I have enough compulsive habits as it is, and I can't afford to be managing another. I mean, I 've got this multi-tasking thing down pretty well, but why throw something else into the mix. Know wot I mean?

Here's a quote from one of me favorite writers to get things rolling:

But we mustn't go too far back, must we, we mustn't go too far back in anybody's life. Particularly when they're poor. Because if we do, if we go too far back--and this would be a journey made in a terrible bus, with terrible smells and terrible noises, with terrible waits and terrible jolts, a journey made in terrible weather for terrible reasons and for terrible purposes, in terrible cold or terrible heat, with terrible stops for terrible snacks, down terrible roads to a terrible room--then nobody is to blame for anything and nothing matters, and everything is allowed.

Martin Amis, London Fields

Check out the Martin Amis Web, Professor James Diedrick's comprehensive site devoted to Amis.

Enough already.

stribs

larrikin