NAQOYQATSI - Na-qoy-qatsi: (nah koy? kahtsee) N. From the Hopi Language. 1. A life of killing each other. 2. War as a way of life. 3. (Interpreted) Civilized violence.

This is the upcoming conclusion of a trilogy of films by Godfrey Reggio and Philp Glass. This one, to be released in mid-October purports to be about how technology is altering everything: media, art, entertainment, sports, politics, medicine, warfare, ethics, nature, culture and the very face of the human future. It's predecessors, 1983's Koyaanisqatsi (Life out of Balance) and 1988's Powaqqatsi (Life in Transformation) were powerful, non-verbal explorations of today's world. Admittedly, Glass' music can be an acquired taste (one I acquired through a 5-hour, no-intermission production of Einstein on the Beach, but which my wife, who has forbidden me to play his stuff when she's within earshot, has not.), but there is no denying the impact of his collaboration with Reggio on these films. Their influence is seen everywhere from commercials to Madonna videos.

hmmmm . . . Maybe that's not such a wide range of examples after all. ;-)