by Paul A Philips

“The people will believe what the media tells them they believe.” — George Orwell

“It’s not a matter of what is true that counts but a matter of what is perceived to be true.” — Henry Kissinger

“Whoever controls the media controls reality.” — Peter Jennings

“When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic.” — Dresden James
Continue reading How the Mass Media Controls Consensus Reality →

by David Cain at Raptitude

Southeast Asia is always teeming with Western backpackers, and there’s a silent competition among them to appear the most relaxed. You can get an idea of who’s been “in country” for some time based on how unfazed they appear in sketchy situations. Something that rattles you on the first day in Bangkok—a taxi ignoring a red light, a housecat bedding down beneath your table in a restaurant, a motorcycle using the sidewalk to sneak past a traffic jam—seems mundane a week later.

So when you’re on an overcrowded boat that seems as if it’s about to capsize with every wave, some of your fellow passengers can appear almost supernaturally relaxed. It’s hard to know who’s truly at ease in the tumult, and who’s trying to look like they are. Continue reading How To Worry Less →