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Evolution of the Bloody Neda Semiotic

The killing of Neda Agha-Soltan during the election turmoil in Iran has become an instant semiotic full of rage and mortal memeing.  Neda’s bloody death mask is now the face of hope for repressed Iranian citizens looking for a way out of the morass of religious repression.

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Does Fair Mean Unhappy?

Yesterday, during an intensive discussion of murdered doctor George Tiller,
I made this comment concerning the Hegelian idea of tragedy:

As my first attorney told me: “If no one on either side is happy after I write up a contract, then I know I’ve done my job.”

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See the Word Be the Word

If you’re a word lover, then you’ll go bonkers for the fun and learning you can have with Visual Thesaurus.  Just type in your word and you’ll be presented with an associative visual mapping.  In the example below, I keyed in “duplicitous” as my base word.  The various branches extend the meaning and history of the word with other words.  Hover over any of the words in the Visual Thesaurus interactive box and you’ll be presented with extended definitions.

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The Horror of Qui Tacet Consentire Videtur

“Qui tacet consentire videtur” is a Latin phrase the law translates into:  “Silence equals consent.”

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The Wonder of Experience Without Meaning

I’m sure you’ve met them before — the people that do a thousand things yet have no meaning or magnitude attached to the learning in the experience.  They live overwhelmed and without wonder.

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Separating Semaphores from Semiotics

We love a Semiotic world where images can have a variety of meanings and influences depending on the eye perceiving the message.  

We also live in a Semaphoric world where specific images have a specific, non-negotiable, meaning that cannot, and must not, be open to individual interpretation.  In the image below, those flags, in that exact position, mean “Romeo” or “R” and if you don’t understand that Semaphore, you are unable to communicate or be understood.
 

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