viz.

Image credit: Chan Lowe, The Lowe Down

The above cartoon, republished yesterday on the artist’s blog, makes a very effective argument against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The use of flag-draped coffins, signifying shared tragedy, suggests that dying for one’s country has little to do with sexual orientation and that is rather the work that an individual does—in this case, sacrificing his/her life for the United States—that matters.  In this kind of public sacrifice, the image suggests, everything individual is erased. However, this message seems more complicated when considered in relation to one of Tim Turner's earlier posts and the wider cache of meanings that these coffins suggest.

Image: Ángel Franco

Via Lens Blog, New York Times

The above image is a part of a series by photographer Ángel Franco that documents the aftermath of violence, but not in the way you might expect. The series, which is published weekly on Lens, the New York Times documentary photography blog, is filled with images that are haunting in large part because of what is not shown.

Image credit: Destructoid

The above is a screenshot from upcoming Electronic Arts (EA)/DICE title Medal of Honor, a reboot of the 8-year-old video game franchise. The game, set in the early stages of the ongoing war in Afghanistan, has drawn national attention both because of its setting and the developer’s decision to allow players to play as the Taliban in multiplayer mode. While I won’t take a side in the debate here, these images and the debate that surrounds them provide an interesting opportunity to think about the distinctions we draw between gaming and watching.