One of my favorite pastimes is what I call "media theft." On the train ride in to work I love to read the newspaper by gazing over the shoulders of my fellow commuters. I can get a good heaping from this simple snooping technique and I save penny or two as well.
Unfortunately, this week I am depriving myself of all traditional media in the interest of blogology. I want to see if I can stay informed by blogs alone. Alas, there can be no news thieving this week.
So far I feel I am doing well. (Steve Outing close your eyes!) I read all about Haliburton, Sadaam's gun, Jose Padilla, Julia Roberts, Mel Karmazin, the mosque bombing and much more. You can sample my news and politics blog diet in this OPML file.
What has been very hard, however, is remembering to turn away from news. It really is everywhere. I constantly have to remind myself to turn my head when I pass by newsstands. Last night I asked my mother to avoid talking about Iraq over the dinner table. I delete any email newsletters as soon as they arrive. I temporarily deleted all media RSS feeds and I have asked my fiancée to place the coupons on top of the newspaper so I don't glance at it by accident.
In short, for this week at least, the media is my Medusa. With one look I worry I will be turned into stone and this experiment will be tainted. Thankfully I only have five more days to go and I am staying on track.
