Not a natural public speaker..but will be speaking publicly later today on a webinar to public safety officials....please help me acknowledge current events in a thoughtful, authentic way, before kicking off the conference call.
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posted by dmbfan93
on May 21, 2013 -
5 answers
I'm preparing to teach an honors-level college composition class themed around authenticity. What are some cool texts (in any media) that I can show my students to get them thinking about different aspects of authenticity?
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posted by littlegreen
on Apr 17, 2013 -
45 answers
A quote from a recent NYT article about American-invented
Chinese takeout boxes states, "The structure has come to represent the idea of Eastern cuisine in Western society even though this packaging is not used for food containment in Chinese culture." Is there a term for these kinds of cultural placeholders, objects which end up symbolizing another culture, while not actually having anything to do with that culture in reality? Are there other examples of this?
posted by Blazecock Pileon
on Jan 15, 2012 -
67 answers
A couple years ago, I read a really intriguing essay that compared the American cultural ideal of "effortless cool" to the theological debate over the importance of grace vs. good acts. I believe that the writer identified the Puritans as coming down on the side of grace, and made a connection between their influence on early America and our cultural preference for grace (i.e. "effortless cool") over good acts (i.e. "trying too hard"). I would really love to cite this essay, but unfortunately, my Google-Fu is failing me. I remember that I read it online, and it was probably linked from a comment on The Blue. Any idea what I read or who wrote it?
posted by Afroblanco
on Sep 7, 2010 -
11 answers
In light of the
widespread adulteration of olive oil, how does one find authentic extra-virgin olive oil? Do protected designation of origin, organic, or fair trade certifications help? (
Previously.)
posted by parudox
on Aug 25, 2010 -
11 answers
I'm looking for examples of things - anything - for which the "authentic" version is exceedingly rare or non-existent, and most or all of the real-life versions are imitations/knockoffs/replicas/synthetic/fake. Especially if the fake versions are commonly believed to be real.
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posted by Metroid Baby
on Mar 27, 2010 -
81 answers
Does anyone have "hidden camera" footage of people from the 1950s and before having candid conversations? When they're giving prepared/on-camera remarks in any footage I watch, people seem very very stilted - like unskilled actors. I'm wondering if this was just the style of the "public voice" at the time, or if people actually talked to each other in day to day conversations this way
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posted by crayz
on Nov 25, 2009 -
14 answers
I want to donate my car to a charity, specifically for breast cancer, how do a choose and how do i know they are for real?
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posted by matthelm
on Aug 5, 2009 -
5 answers
Did they really get the bright idea to host a college football game in Soviet Russia, and then have to cancel it because they couldn't sell enough vacation packages? The Wikipedia entry about the
Glasnost Bowl has a bunch of outdated angelfire pages as its sources. The
1989 New York Times article that mentions it doesn't treat it as very interesting. I think it would make a publishable journal article if it's real and am looking for more info.
posted by srs
on Jul 4, 2009 -
1 answer
I'm looking for writing on or examples of "irony"/hipsterism and taste/authenticity/postmodern self-consciousness, etc., or alternatively, historical writing on atomization and society.
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posted by kensanway
on Apr 7, 2006 -
15 answers
