Big News Day

At the risk of prejudicing the poll results at right, I think my personal favourite posts are POPnews. I like them because they contain a lot of information, and since the way I've designed them they're meant to anchor each day's posts, their very cruciality demands my admiration. To my mind they're so important that even on days when I post nothing else, I post POPnews, even if I must eschew sleep, nourishment, or common sense to do so.

In many ways, POPnews is what this blog is all about; a distillation of the bewildering amount of information available on the Internet into a refreshing, intoxicating cocktail of history, culture, and humanity. Social studies on steroids I like to call it, although Mr. Gagne's term is understandably both pithier and wittier; he calls it oldscasting.

Obviously, if one is going to attempt to dominate media, one needs a news department; not even Rupert Murdoch has been able to entirely do away with the news, although he has managed to adulterate it to such an extent as to render it simultaneously omnipresent and ineffective. However, as our staff consists of me either creating or compiling it all, and now Mr. Gagne as the new Chief of Commentary (aka Head Cheerleader), I have to do what's likely to keep my inner magpie engaged. Seeing as how I have always felt a long view gives the best perspective, I have decided to view the news through an historical lens.

I prefer to have seven items in each post, but anywhere between five and nine is tolerable. Nothing ruins my day like when I have to post three - in other words, a slow news day. (And yes, I'm afraid I am slightly precious when it comes to the odd numbers.) Today, though, I have the other problem.

Try as I might, having completed my preliminary research, I've been unable to whittle POPnews for October 1st down to less than 21 entries. Even if a couple of them are wrong (which often happens, as my principal source is Wikipedia, which has more conflicts than Central Africa) and I'm able to move a couple of them off as videos, this will still represent the longest POPnews ever, the previous record-holder being 13.

However painful, though, growth is good. So, having procrastinated enough with the writing of this essay, it's time to get to it.

Enjoy!
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