Do you say Pop or Soda? Apparently this is a large enough debate that a guy from CalTech is doing a mapping study. He's doing an online survey of what term people use to describe carbonated beverages (non-alchoholic of course). Go here to add your self to the map. It's quite interesting how regional it is, who knew people referred to them as "coke"?

After seeing the effect of the Sept. 11 attacks on the WTC on the North American (and world I suppose) population, I have to wonder about countires where this happens all the time.

Obviously you would get somewhat desensitised to it, but it must be an awful stress in people's lives. Somewhere like Isreal or India (just 2 of many possible examples), at least once a week, sometimes much more often, there is a tragedy where innocent people have lost their lives because of someone elses narrow-minded hatred towards them.

How do these people deal with this? They go back to their "normal" lives within days of these kind of events. Maybe part of the reason for ongoing fights like these are that people become unaffected by the events, so the memories of particular tragedies don't stay in their minds. It's easy for me to say I remember many details of my day on Sept. 11, 2001, but how many Palestinians can say the same thing of attacks on them a year ago? I guess it could be a coping mechanism too, if they don't hang on to the memories their lives are less tragic.

I'm sure it's one of those things that you can't understand until you are in the situation. I hope I will never fully understand.

A few days ago, James Lileks talked about what it was that he liked about blogs versus the general media. One of those things was that he felt most bloggers write just for the sake of writing, where columninsts must satisfy many people and come up with topical things to write about. It's this slice-of-life sort of banality that he felt really set blogs apart from other forms of media. At least, I think I paraphrased well enough, you'll have to read it.

Anyway, my resaon for the long intro is that it made me realize that I don't write unless I have something really inportant to say. I should just write for the sake of writing. So from now on I resolve to write at least once a day whether I have anything brilliant to say or not (of course you're probably saying "He hasn't written anything brilliant yet...").

WIll I do it? We'll see.

When I awoke this morning to the unending drivel on the radio marking the 1 year anniversary of the "attacks", I was more determined than ever to criticize the way this anniversary is being handled by people. Really, how many times to we have to hear "Imagine" edited to include news clips of the latest disaster.

I still feel that way, however after reading a number of blogs and news sites, I've decided that this isn't really the time to do that. Mostly it's just the media choosing to do what they think will boost their ratings and get more people to watch them rebroadcast the images of planes flying into the WTC than the other network.

I guess in some ways I should feel relieved with that. What's more American than replaying tragedy over and over and over again until you are completely sick and tired of it. It's good to see that this tragedy hasn't changed the American media.

On a more personal and sympathetic note; I always remember people talking about where they were the day that... As a kid I could never understand how something could affect you so deeply that you would remember not only the event, but where you were on when it happened. It wasn't until the Challenger disaster that I realized how this happens. Now as a 30-something adult, I can also say the same thing about when Princess Diana died, probably because we'd just finished watching the movie Evita. We couldn't understand what people must have felt for that lady that her death would affect them so deeply. Turned off the movie and there was the news showing people's reactions to Diana's death. I didn't feel that way, but it's something I 'll never forget.

Now I add the WTC disaster to that (unfortunately) growing list. And maybe that's why I tire of the never ending tributes etc that have been shown over the last week. I will never forget that day, ever. I remember hearing the first news report about a plane crashing into the WTC like it was yesterday. I remember thinking of Tom Clancy's Debt of Honor when I heard that a second jet had flown into the towers and that they were passenger jets, not private small planes. I remember everyone being in a daze at work and that all we did was surf news sites (when they weren't down) and watch TV. I remember getting a call from my wife saying that a friend of ours was in the WTC but had gotten out safely. I remember trying to avoid it while watching TV with my daughter so that she didn't have to see all the footage of buildings collapsing and people screaming and crying.

I remember all this and more so vividly. I will never forget that day, or where I was, or how it made me feel. So please media, don't bombard me with your memories; I have more than enough of my own.