"today's Internet is killing our culture" and an actual heinous murder

So I read in the paper the other day about Andrew Keen's new book, The Cult of the Amateur: How today's Internet is killing our culture. I haven't yet read it, so I shouldn't really judge it, though my first reaction is to roll my eyes and recall Victorian exhortations concerning the evils of reading.

I thought of it yesterday when I read about Aaron Hall, who was brutally murdered (to pathetically understate the situation); those charged with his murder are trying to use the "Gay Panic" defence (which has worked before, which is just appallingly wrong as well as worrying). I learned about Mr. Hall's death via the Internet, because it has been woefully underreported, and that made me think about Mr. Keen's statement that this very sort of news transmission is a *bad* idea.

So.

Meanwhile, I have letters to write.

Missives (LOTR ficlet, Bolgers and Brandybucks, PG-13)

Title: Missives
Fandom: LOTR
Characters/Pairing: Rosemary Brandybuck, Estella and Freddy Bolger. Others discussed.
Rating: PG
Based on: The fact that Rosemary doesn't let a little thing like being dead keep her from making me tell her stories.
Disclaimer: I came up with Rosemary Brandybuck; Estella and Freddy may be hers, and certainly are Professor Tolkien's, but aren't mine.
( Rosemary's tease died on her lips when Estella turned pale as a bowl of milk )

A Song for the Solstice: Redemption Song

It's the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hempisphere and the Winter Solstice in the Southern. (I was hoping to have my Saint Lucy poem done today for that reason, but it's really not. Ah, well.) This song doesn't have to specifically do with the solstice, but it does have to do with history and with hope, both appropriate themes for the day. (And I don't post enough here about being from Jamaica, but be that as it may.)

( Redemption Song by Bob Marley )