Ok, and why, pray tell would I recommend reading the news with scissors? Well, I read anywhere from two to five or more newspapers at least 4 days a week, and I'd read more if I could get the daily papers here. While I know I can read any newspaper in the world on-line, I love the paper version. And besides I hate the Web pages designed by newspaper with all the links to everywhere and everything and the ads, endless ads. With a real newspaper you can simply pile by the chair and select the sections you want to read, which I do spread across the table by the window with a large mocha (hot or cold depending on the season).
Ok, I wandered, but it's a pet peeve with me about news Websites, too much hype and junk, and you have to search through section Web pages to just browse which I like to do, start at page one to scan and read every page, except the stock pages. And I read the newspapers in a certain order, from local to national, always ending with the New York Times. I'd love to get the Washington Post, but it's not printed locally. They're missing a good audience, but probably not profitable enough to print and distribute locally. And other cities' newspaper only come with Sunday's version on Friday. What's with that?
Ok, still wandering around the topic. When I read the newspapers I put a pair of 30+ year old Singer scissors next to the coffee cup and on top of a 3x5 notepad and pen. As I read I cut out articles to write about later on MySpace, the ramblings of a far(out) Northwesterner. When I see something to remember, I cut it out. After reading all of the papers, I stack the articles on the pile of things to reread and write about for the day or a column of more thoughtful reflection (ok, only slightly more).
Depending on events scheduled or rescheduled for the day, I try to sit down every day or so and add a new post to the MySpace Web page to if only make people smile, think, ponder, or unlink to my rants. I also listen to NPR news and other radio shows. The Morning and Weekend Edition shows and All Things Considered are terrific for the broad brush of the news and stories. It's always worth the two hours in the morning and one to two hours in the afternoon or evening. Add to that Democracy Now and other alternative news shows, and you get a really wide view of the world.
So, I like to read and hear the diversity of the world. It's saddening that most of the time it's sad or worse. We're better than that, and I blame the media for hyping many of the wrong things, and worse, creating news from nothing simply to appear to be news. Since when is an "expert's view" of something news? What happened to actually reporting something that happened than something someone thought may or may not happen? Think about it. Do you recognize the difference? That's why both physical and mental scissors are necessary, cut out what's just hype and focus on what's real. I try. Do you?
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Such an active approach would require not just critical thinking skills but also an wider interest in the world outside us, to say nothing of time.
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