Edging Al Out of Our Herd and Hearts, Stage Left

To your right is a headline snapshot from the venerable New York Times (NYT).

Many have termed this anti-Gore piece as "slime" and "sloppy" journalism. But is it? Is it slop or broadly speaking, a work of superb craftsmanship? Did NYT journalist William Broad author all of this all by himself? Or is it just another example of journalistic pretexting? Did he have help? And if yes, from whom?

An up close inspection is warranted here Watson. Who is William Broad? How can such a precisely engineered psycho-linguistic banner ("Rapt Audience"), overlaid on a photoshopped photo of a Green Glowing Gore be an example of "sloppiness"? Maybe, instead it is a carefully orchestrated hit job, a swift boat torpedo strike caught in its tracks? And launched from none other than the S.S. NYT?

Michael Shaw unveils here one of the many visual connotations to be drawn between the photo and placement of the banner word, "Hype".

Joe Brewer reveals here a "framed" view of the NYT torpedo launch.

See the original NY Times article here.

But there is so much more to be found in the fine details of this crafted work. There is the picture. There is the headline. There are the three alarm fire words.

What's In a Picture?

Now remember to use {Alt}+{Tab} while toggling {Tab} to jump back and forth as you launch this blowup of picture A (from the NYT page). and this blowup of picture B (from an independent source).

Do you see any differences? Keep switching back and forth.

Are you starting to notice anything? Was that dirty storm a creamy donut in the center? Was Al's shirts faded and dirty or bright shiny blue? Not sure about what Al's shirt usually looks like? Then look here. And here. Do a little comparison shopping. Have you been photo-shopped? Surprised? Here is the original NY Times page again.

What's In a Word?

Look at the NY Times Headline. What's in a title?

Note the "Rapt Audience". Observe that "Rapt Audience" resonates with "Wrapped Audience".

Yes, "wrapped" as in separately covered, insulated, safe, and spaced apart from the looney loner on stage. The Green Glow Geek is out there on stage left and "we" are all here, safely wrapped in the audience, cuddling up with the doubting scientists. Why that makes all of us "doubting scientists". That makes all of us rational thinkers. And we are proud to be so. Proud to be part of the main stream. The creamy white center.

Only lonely, looney Gore is out there, marginalized on stage left and listening to the "wrapped audience" hissing at him, telling him to Cool his Hype. It's all true. Isn't it?

Go ahead and deny it.

But your brain isn't that dumb.

It saw.

It understood.

It received all the mixed messages.

It absorbed all the mixed messages, subconsciously, behind your forehead.

We could go on and on to demonstrate the reverse suspension of disbelief in the opening line of the NYT hit piece. The substantive message of Gore's performance is stealthfully twisted into an "alarmist's" delusions, an on-fire film. It is the work product of the few loonies of Hollywood and of the gullible majority of scientists. But luckily for us, a cadre of doubting Michaels have emerged from the dark audience, from the wrapped silence, to cool our minds with their hypnotizing hyperbole. And for that we thank them.