For those of you interested in technology news the options are many but most are seriously deficient. One hand, you have sites whose news consists mostly of cut and pasted press releases and those who kiss the feet of Microsoft. On the other hand, you have the whining anti-everything hacker-wannabe sites.

For those in the middle, try The Register. This British tech news site seems to be written by actual human beings capable of sarcasm. One recent headline about the earthquake in Seattle read:

Gates: the earth moved for me
Billy Boy’s speech interrupted by God

Earlier this week I asked for some feedback on the phenomenon of using TV to relax and the moral repercussions (seeing as your TV watching time is being resold). The good levelheaded readers of aov have responded and each response is very much appreciated.

The consensus (how many people to do you need to have a consensus?) seems to be that, like most things, there is nothing inherently wrong with watching TV. It all depends on what you watch and why you watch it. While this is certainly the case, I still think Neil Postman is right when he points out that TV is incapable of serving as the medium of coherent public discourse. But I guess that’s not the point of TV, is it? Don’t think I’m a pretentious preaching critic. I’m not sure I have any constructive criticism. I’m just thinking out loud and interested in the thoughts of others.

The feedback I received was encouraging on a few fronts. Firstly, the half-hour of TV I was complaining about was quickly put to shame by the amount of TV most people watch. Also, several alternative methods of relaxing were also suggested, some more interesting than others (use your imagination).

Bottom line according to the readers seems to be: Don’t watch it if you don’t want to. I don’t think I can argue with that.

The Cadre (UPEI’s student (news)paper) will be producing a poetry issue this March. It will be featuring published and unpublished poets, professors, students and non-students, Islanders and people from elsewhere. And you.

I need content for this thing, and lots of it, which is where you come in. I need you to send me your poems – preferably two or three unpublished works. If you wish, you should also send any images or secondary material you like to accompany your work, as well as any ideas you have for layout, though this is not necessary.

Please note that all remuneration for your efforts will be of the karmic, rather than the monetary, sort. Also, this will be a way for you apathetic wanks to redeem yourselves for not submitting to the uber-titled thing.

TV is a drug. I realize that this is not a groundbreaking statement, but let me elaborate.

I have criticized my friends in the past for relying on television to help them relax at the end of the day. Some can’t even sleep until they’ve watched their half-hour of TV (it usually doesn’t matter what show in particular). I now find myself in the same sorry position. I have just gotten home from a long day at work. It’s late, and I should go to bed, but I won’t be relaxed enough to sleep until I’ve sat down for some TV.

My question is: Is there anything wrong with this?

I’m not sure myself. On one hand, it’s just like anything else people use to relax: reading, writing, tea, etc. It’s a way of giving your mind some down time. However, the key difference here is that I’m not living in a bubble. Someone (the TV networks) is selling my relaxation time to advertisers. A part of my daily routine that I sometimes rely on (as do many North Americans) to fall asleep at night is being sold to the highest bidder.

I can’t make a clear argument for why, or if, this is wrong. Maybe it’s not. I’d like to your what you think. Email me at steven@actsofvolition.com.

Anyhow, I’m off to bed. Right after I watch an episode of Newsradio (reruns on A&E!).

In an effort to broaden the cultural horizons of you unwashed masses, witness this work in progress unwittingly donated to aov by the ringleader of that infamous all-star rock group, Windom Earle:

Sweatpants by ll coolbreeze

If you’re more interested in coolbreeze’s sister than his music, check out his website which currently features Maggie getting busy with Cuba’s aquatic life.

Dave Eggers is the editor of McSweeneys and the author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

This is a series of emails sent from Eggers to journalist David Kirkpatrick, and vice-versa. They concern Kirkpatrick’s hatchet job of an article, written about the release of the paperback version of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Though Eggers over-reacts slightly to the final piece (which appears in the New York Times), Kirkpatrick does pull a number of mean and unethical stunts.

Get Fuzzy is a comic starring a cat, a dog and a person. Not an orginial concept, but one well executed.

I recommend starting with these two strips.

After almost a year of switching record companies and redoing tracks and all those other things that rockstars do to delay album releases, I have discovered (I’m not sure when this was released) that Spacehog are about to release thier third album, “The Hogyssey” in April.

You can sample thier tune “I Want to Live”.

Go Spacehog!