The latest from NPG Online LTD news section... I thought I'd
help illuminate what some of the references are to...



McLuhan (1911-1980) is considered the "patron saint" of
Wired magazine. He was a leading scholar in examining
the relationship between media, technology, and society.
He is credited with such quotes as "the medium is the
message." He earned his Ph.D. from Cambridge University
in 1942, and ended up teaching at the Univ. of Toronto
for the rest of his career. His ideas on "media literacy"
were popular in the 1960s, and have experienced a resurgence
in the internet age. It is likely that he's on Prince's
reading list as part of his "studies," as McLuhan's ideas
have increased relevance in Prince's contemplation on how
to use the internet.



On Wednesday, May 17, two of the suspects in the Sixteenth
Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama turned
themselves in after being indicted for the crime which
occurred 36 years ago! In the midst of the civil rights
movement, in one of the worst cities at the time, on Sunday,
September 15, 1963, a bomb exploded at the Sixteenth Street
Baptist Church near the church's basement, where children
were engaged in Bible study. Four girls were killed. This
bombing was the subject of a moving documentary by Spike Lee
for HBO some time ago. It is a considered a significant turning
point in the civil rights movement, as it demonstrated to
all of America how vicious racism was. That justice is being
brought against some of the perpetrators a full 36 years later
goes to show how much of the civil rights movement is yet
to be completed! Clearly, Prince's reference to this is part
of his continued evolution as an artist interested in human
rights and social justice.



Prince mentioned at the press conference on Tuesday, that he
was watching C-SPAN where republican congresspeople were
raising these same questions. A recently released report
from the Department of Interior indicates that the attempts
to fight the fires that broke out in New Mexico were not only
negligent, but that the measures undertaken actually exacerbated
the situation and caused more fires! One attempt at fighting
fires is to set "control fires" around the perimeter. After
warnings from the weather services that weather conditions
made such a strategy dangerous, officials in New Mexico, still
went forward, creating uncontrollable blazes that have already
consumed 220 homes.