Two weeks back, on his show, Hardball, Chris Matthews, while talking with Katherine Harris of Florida, said he felt the Democrats would be better off if they simply advocated an immediate and complete pull out of Iraq, rather than talking about timetables and re-deployments "you're either for staying there or pulling out", failing to realize that maybe their positions are not about political posturing, but about their actual beliefs as to how the situation should be handled. Just keep it to the extreme ends of the ideological spectrum and you're sure to drum up an audience, it's good theater, but that doesn't make it good policy or politics.
When asked what her opinion was, Katherine Harris answered that she supports the current course because, as she saw it, the only two alternatives are "cut-and-run" and "set a timetable so the terrorists know when we are leaving." That's it? There are no other options?
These are the same people who regularly decry "Islamo-fascists" as "extremists"....well, I guess it takes one to know one.
The day prior, Al Franken made the statement on, I believe it was his own radio show, that conservative "don't like details" in regards to persistent attacking of Democrats for lacking a strategy on Iraq. He said when he is invited on those shows and people ask him if he has a strategy, they expect him to say no or be flustered, but he claims he actually has a plan and he will "explain it slowly and in full detail, because those people hate details."
I think we all agree on the "big picture". We want to reduce and eliminate terrorism and create a stable Middle East without a nuclear North Korea, Iran, or Al-Qaida. Unfortunately, there is little discussion on how to achieve this end through "details", "small picture" victories. It's been 1270 days since Mission Accomplished was declared and yet we are currently on pace to have one of the deadliest months for our troops in this war, because all this administration has conveyed to us is that they can see the their big picture, sadly, without seeing the details.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Sunday, October 15, 2006
What I've Been Reading This Weekend...
I did too much reading to do much writing, so here's what you do: look at what I read, mix it all together, output something cohesive and coherent and imagine that I wrote it.
Why I Gave Up on Hip-Hop
James Zogby on the lack of real discussion on Middle East politics
Confessions of a Defeatocrat by John Murtha
The writings of David Bordwell, America's foremost film scholar.
Reveling in 'round-trip' translation
Roger Ebert's first review since his long summer battle with cancer.
Mark Cuban on the potential rise of Euroleague basketball, and the NBA bringing it's own decline
Tommy Tuberville boo-hoo-ing about the BCS being unfair to the SEC, while forgetting that LSU was the BCS champ in the '03-'04 season.
Why I Gave Up on Hip-Hop
James Zogby on the lack of real discussion on Middle East politics
Confessions of a Defeatocrat by John Murtha
The writings of David Bordwell, America's foremost film scholar.
Reveling in 'round-trip' translation
Roger Ebert's first review since his long summer battle with cancer.
Mark Cuban on the potential rise of Euroleague basketball, and the NBA bringing it's own decline
Tommy Tuberville boo-hoo-ing about the BCS being unfair to the SEC, while forgetting that LSU was the BCS champ in the '03-'04 season.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
That's Funny, I Don't Care Who Y'are
Saw my fourth Marx Brothers movie yesterday, and I am now thoroughly convinced Groucho Marx is the most consistently funny, and really, THE funniest person I've ever seen in a movie. 90% of his jokes are funny, (and it would probably be 95% funny if I knew more about life in the 30's.)
He spouts one-liners fast and furious and his timing, delivery, and mannerisms are just perfect, every time. The other brothers are all great too, but Groucho's inspired comedic performances stand out and are still hilarious, even some 70 years later. There's something to be said for timeless comedy and this is a rare source where you can find it. I wonder what from today will still be funny into the 2070's.....certainly not me (and probably not Larry the Cable Guy, either).
Maybe it's a sign that things(or humor, or people) haven't changed so much in the decades since. Maybe not, maybe it's just funny and searching for social significance in it is all for naught.
Regardless, I recommend all of you seek out Duck Soup (widely considered the best of their movies, and in my view, rightfully so), Animal Crackers, Horse Feathers, or A Night at the Opera, and probably any of the other films they made that I haven't seen yet.
Not convinced? Check out this scene from Duck Soup (courtesy of Youtube)
In other news (because I doubt anyone will heed my advice on the Marx Brothers movies), I think I've decided (as no doubt several others have before me have as well) there are 3 kinds of people in the world: participators, observers, and recluses. I see myself as being an observer, with reclusive tendencies.
Et tu, dear reader?
(p.s. I've also decided I use parenthetical notation too frequently in posting here)
He spouts one-liners fast and furious and his timing, delivery, and mannerisms are just perfect, every time. The other brothers are all great too, but Groucho's inspired comedic performances stand out and are still hilarious, even some 70 years later. There's something to be said for timeless comedy and this is a rare source where you can find it. I wonder what from today will still be funny into the 2070's.....certainly not me (and probably not Larry the Cable Guy, either).
Maybe it's a sign that things(or humor, or people) haven't changed so much in the decades since. Maybe not, maybe it's just funny and searching for social significance in it is all for naught.
Regardless, I recommend all of you seek out Duck Soup (widely considered the best of their movies, and in my view, rightfully so), Animal Crackers, Horse Feathers, or A Night at the Opera, and probably any of the other films they made that I haven't seen yet.
Not convinced? Check out this scene from Duck Soup (courtesy of Youtube)
In other news (because I doubt anyone will heed my advice on the Marx Brothers movies), I think I've decided (as no doubt several others have before me have as well) there are 3 kinds of people in the world: participators, observers, and recluses. I see myself as being an observer, with reclusive tendencies.
Et tu, dear reader?
(p.s. I've also decided I use parenthetical notation too frequently in posting here)
Friday, October 13, 2006
The Wisdom of Albert Einstein and John Cage
This is a story I once heard about Albert Einstein, whether or not it is accurate, I know not, nor do I care...and with that preface, I commence my tale:
*************************
A prominent East Coast University invited Albert Einstein to come and speak. He accepted the invitation and they were filled with glee. They set up an Albert Einstein Day on the campus, they had a look-alike contest, passed out fake mustaches and wigs, etc.
Upon his arrival, he was whisked around campus on a guided tour by the university President himself and other prominent campus figures.
There was a glorious banquet prepared that evening and everyone feasted. Then it was time for Einstein to get up and deliver his lecture. He makes his way to podium, stands up and says something to the effect of, "Thank you all for inviting me here. Unfortunately, I have nothing to say." The crowd laughed. Then he sat down. The laughing stopped. He then walked back to the podium and announced, "When I do have something to say, I will return." Then he sat down again.
Several months later he kept his word, returning to deliver a speech.
**************************
Taking my cue from Albert Einstein, I see no need to continue to write every day. I will, however, return when I have something to say.
Or to put it a different way, in the words of avant-garde artist John Cage, "I have nothing to say and I'm saying it; and that, is poetry."
*************************
A prominent East Coast University invited Albert Einstein to come and speak. He accepted the invitation and they were filled with glee. They set up an Albert Einstein Day on the campus, they had a look-alike contest, passed out fake mustaches and wigs, etc.
Upon his arrival, he was whisked around campus on a guided tour by the university President himself and other prominent campus figures.
There was a glorious banquet prepared that evening and everyone feasted. Then it was time for Einstein to get up and deliver his lecture. He makes his way to podium, stands up and says something to the effect of, "Thank you all for inviting me here. Unfortunately, I have nothing to say." The crowd laughed. Then he sat down. The laughing stopped. He then walked back to the podium and announced, "When I do have something to say, I will return." Then he sat down again.
Several months later he kept his word, returning to deliver a speech.
**************************
Taking my cue from Albert Einstein, I see no need to continue to write every day. I will, however, return when I have something to say.
Or to put it a different way, in the words of avant-garde artist John Cage, "I have nothing to say and I'm saying it; and that, is poetry."
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Live
A few things I saw recently:
-There was a segment on World News Tonight about children with terminal cancer.
-There was recently a young man (20-something) on ESPN2's morning show Cold Pizza who was terminally ill attempting to accomplish his life's dream of going to a game at all of the Major League Baseball ballparks.
-This blog post, linked to this Washington Post article, lamenting the decline of writing by hand.
-The movie 'Human Nature' by Michel Gondry, penned by inimitable screenwriter Charlie Kauffman (the same writing-directing team behind the acclaimed 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind')
-I spent about an hour outside cleaning the pool and front porch, typically not the most enjoyable tasks, and yet I was just happy to be outdoors for a change. (I think most of us, especially me, spend far too much time in buildings, offices, cars, and houses.)
--(I also saw the debut of Mr. T's incredible new show, 'I Pity the Fool', on TV Land last night. I don't know that it's really related, but I wanted to mention it too as long as I was mentioning things.)
All of this combined to make me keenly aware of the nature of life. Life is not something we've earned, or to which we are entitled. No, it is a gift, freely and undeservedly given to us all. We are alive because of reasons beyond our control or comprehension, and so to we will all die.
I feel like most of the time we just take Life, capital L, for granted, assuming we'll live out our 3 score and 10 and then shuffle off this mortal coil, on to some after-life (or to reincarnation, or a state of non-existence) and don't realize what a gift it is to be on the aforementioned mortal coil.
Nothing is guaranteed, we could all be gone tomorrow. So I urge you, I implore you (and myself), don't be a "couch potato", don't be a "mouse potato", don't live unconsciously.
Choose to Live.
Choose Life.
-There was a segment on World News Tonight about children with terminal cancer.
-There was recently a young man (20-something) on ESPN2's morning show Cold Pizza who was terminally ill attempting to accomplish his life's dream of going to a game at all of the Major League Baseball ballparks.
-This blog post, linked to this Washington Post article, lamenting the decline of writing by hand.
-The movie 'Human Nature' by Michel Gondry, penned by inimitable screenwriter Charlie Kauffman (the same writing-directing team behind the acclaimed 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind')
-I spent about an hour outside cleaning the pool and front porch, typically not the most enjoyable tasks, and yet I was just happy to be outdoors for a change. (I think most of us, especially me, spend far too much time in buildings, offices, cars, and houses.)
--(I also saw the debut of Mr. T's incredible new show, 'I Pity the Fool', on TV Land last night. I don't know that it's really related, but I wanted to mention it too as long as I was mentioning things.)
All of this combined to make me keenly aware of the nature of life. Life is not something we've earned, or to which we are entitled. No, it is a gift, freely and undeservedly given to us all. We are alive because of reasons beyond our control or comprehension, and so to we will all die.
I feel like most of the time we just take Life, capital L, for granted, assuming we'll live out our 3 score and 10 and then shuffle off this mortal coil, on to some after-life (or to reincarnation, or a state of non-existence) and don't realize what a gift it is to be on the aforementioned mortal coil.
Nothing is guaranteed, we could all be gone tomorrow. So I urge you, I implore you (and myself), don't be a "couch potato", don't be a "mouse potato", don't live unconsciously.
Choose to Live.
Choose Life.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
I Just Wasn't Made For These Times
There is a message board I occasionally visit that recently had a thread asking members to list their 100 favorite movies, and as I can't pass up any opportunity to talk movies, I hastily threw together my own list (then spent 2 hours revising). Anyway, what I realized is just how many on the list were released decades before my nascence: about 70 of them. And then if you add in the ones released before I hit junior high, you're left with about 6 from the last decade. Clearly, I wasn't made for these cinematic times (that or this is the cinematic dark ages).
And then when I think about my favorite music today, it's a lot 60's pop, The Zombies (progenitors of my all-time favorite album 'Odyssey and Oracle'), The Beach Boys (hence the title of the article), The Kinks (I'm currently hooked on their hit All Day and All of the Night ), Love, etc and 70's R&B, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Earth Wind and Fire, etc. And then I bought the incredible new Ray Charles album last week and it made me sad that some people got to listen to that as their popular music while we have gibberish like Lil Jon barking "snap ya fingers, two step, you can do it all by yourself" at us. I also bought Solomon Burke's new album and his voice is so expressive still, over 40 years after he started, Johnny Cash was still popular at his death, Bob Dylan recently had a #1 record, Elton John is still working and even talking about doing a hip-hop album. How many career artists do we see in our generation of popular artists?
Last night I randomly found myself looking up all the great statesmen and orators of the American Revolution (no idea why) and wondering what it would be like if we had politicians like Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, and James Madison today, elected representatives who sounded intelligent when they spoke, instead of ones who give us, "I'm the decider and I decide what's best" and "It depends what the definition of "is" is...
Sure there's stuff out today that I enjoy (and I'll get to that shortly), but given my preferences, sometimes I think I'd prefer to have lived been a teen in the 1960's.
Then I started thinking, maybe it's good that I live in the present, rather than back then because, in addition to that whole Jim Crow business, I'm sure there was plenty of the suck back then too, and only the good has lasted; the wheat has separated itself from the chaff; the cream of the crop has risen, and so forth.
Maybe that's the case, but it seems to me that much of this entertainment was popular in it's day and has lasted because it was good, while today it seems like for most of the good stuff "you have to know where to look." I don't want to have to plumb the depth of cyberspace, searching to and fro for quality entertainment; it should be, in the immortal words of Van Morrison, "ever present everywhere."
However, since we do live in the present, I must deal with it, so here are some current music releases I enjoy and can recommend for just about everyone.
John Mayer - Continuum. I referenced this a few times when I first started this place up and I still think it's good. It's a maturing John Mayer, dealing with growing into adulthood and his place in the world, and of course, the requisite relationship angst.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band - Colorblind. My goodness these guys are awesome. If you've never heard them, you have to immediately. They're sound is like Blues crossed with Funk crossed with Gospel crossed with Rock...it doesn't fit into any genre really. This is the 2nd studio album and it's got more of a rock feel than the first and it's higher energy and features more of Robert's amazing pedal steel guitar solos. If you've got extra money lying around, get their first album, Unclassified as well.
Robin Thicke - The Evolution of Robin Thicke. This one comes as a more modest recommendation because about half of the album is really good. The rest is good, but nothing too special. It's probably better to just buy the best songs, 2 The Sky, Angels, Lonely World, Ask Myself, Complicated, Cocaine, Can U Believe, and Shooter w/ Lil Wayne on Itunes, (or download them for free if you're, you know, a criminal) and leave the rest. His first album, A Beautiful World, is a better whole, in my opinion, but this has some great moments on those songs I listed. His biggest problem is that all of the songs this time around seem just a little too long; there is only 1 song under 3.5 minutes.
Amos Lee - Supply and Demand. Amos' sophomore effort is mostly a continuation of his first album stylistically and lyrically, which is a good thing. At times he does try to stretch himself a little bit musically, but not too far, sticking to a winning formula from that solid eponymous debut. It's good music from start to finish, the title track being the standout the couple times I've listened.
Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche. I understand this is an album of outtakes and leftovers from his album "Come on, Feel the Illanoise"...while I haven't heard that one, if these are the outtakes, either he has no idea what he's doing by leaving off some of these tracks, or he is a musical wizard and that album is pure magic.
Corinne Bailey Rae. This debut is a great summertime, feel-good album, so you kinda missed the boat on it if you missed it. The two times I was Malibu over the summer I just turned it on, turned it up, drove around and smiled for 11 songs. That isn't to say it only works in summer, good music is good all the time (except Christmas Music...it's only acceptable from about Thanksgiving til Dec. 25th, then that's it, shelve "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" and its ilk til next year.) I can't think of an acceptable comparison....musically, I'd say her style is somewhere between Craig David and Kelly Clarkson.
Anthony David also has a new album out, but I haven't heard it, although the single "Words" with India.Arie is pretty good.
Weird Al's "White and Nerdy" may be the funniest song I've heard since MaddWest put out "Ugly Friend" about 4 years back.
Van Hunt is my favorite modern artist, and his two albums and Live EP are fantastic. I am anxiously awaiting the upcoming(Oct. 24th) release of the new John Legend CD, his single "Save Room" is, as Ben might say, tasty.
In movies, I'm not sure if they're all still in theaters but The Last Kiss, The Illusionist, and Little Miss Sunshine are all fine films, and The Lake House and Thank You For Smoking hit DVD recently, and both of those come highly recommended. Oh, and the recent Platinum Edition DVD release of The Little Mermaid is worth every penny, it's an even better film than I remembered it being. Finally, if Spike Lee's Hurricane Katrina documentary "When The Levees Broke" is playing on HBO, you should give it a shot, even though the 4 hour running time is daunting.
And there is a TV show called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip it comes on NBC, Monday nights at 10. I suggest you watch it. It is very good television. And watch the Project Runway finale coming up tomorrow and next Wednesday. And of course, catch Entourage, The Boondocks, and The Daily Show whenever possible.
OK, I just finished listening to the Robert Randolph CD all the way through....you must get it.
So there you have it, maybe these times aren't so bad after all.
And then when I think about my favorite music today, it's a lot 60's pop, The Zombies (progenitors of my all-time favorite album 'Odyssey and Oracle'), The Beach Boys (hence the title of the article), The Kinks (I'm currently hooked on their hit All Day and All of the Night ), Love, etc and 70's R&B, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Earth Wind and Fire, etc. And then I bought the incredible new Ray Charles album last week and it made me sad that some people got to listen to that as their popular music while we have gibberish like Lil Jon barking "snap ya fingers, two step, you can do it all by yourself" at us. I also bought Solomon Burke's new album and his voice is so expressive still, over 40 years after he started, Johnny Cash was still popular at his death, Bob Dylan recently had a #1 record, Elton John is still working and even talking about doing a hip-hop album. How many career artists do we see in our generation of popular artists?
Last night I randomly found myself looking up all the great statesmen and orators of the American Revolution (no idea why) and wondering what it would be like if we had politicians like Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, and James Madison today, elected representatives who sounded intelligent when they spoke, instead of ones who give us, "I'm the decider and I decide what's best" and "It depends what the definition of "is" is...
Sure there's stuff out today that I enjoy (and I'll get to that shortly), but given my preferences, sometimes I think I'd prefer to have lived been a teen in the 1960's.
Then I started thinking, maybe it's good that I live in the present, rather than back then because, in addition to that whole Jim Crow business, I'm sure there was plenty of the suck back then too, and only the good has lasted; the wheat has separated itself from the chaff; the cream of the crop has risen, and so forth.
Maybe that's the case, but it seems to me that much of this entertainment was popular in it's day and has lasted because it was good, while today it seems like for most of the good stuff "you have to know where to look." I don't want to have to plumb the depth of cyberspace, searching to and fro for quality entertainment; it should be, in the immortal words of Van Morrison, "ever present everywhere."
However, since we do live in the present, I must deal with it, so here are some current music releases I enjoy and can recommend for just about everyone.
John Mayer - Continuum. I referenced this a few times when I first started this place up and I still think it's good. It's a maturing John Mayer, dealing with growing into adulthood and his place in the world, and of course, the requisite relationship angst.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band - Colorblind. My goodness these guys are awesome. If you've never heard them, you have to immediately. They're sound is like Blues crossed with Funk crossed with Gospel crossed with Rock...it doesn't fit into any genre really. This is the 2nd studio album and it's got more of a rock feel than the first and it's higher energy and features more of Robert's amazing pedal steel guitar solos. If you've got extra money lying around, get their first album, Unclassified as well.
Robin Thicke - The Evolution of Robin Thicke. This one comes as a more modest recommendation because about half of the album is really good. The rest is good, but nothing too special. It's probably better to just buy the best songs, 2 The Sky, Angels, Lonely World, Ask Myself, Complicated, Cocaine, Can U Believe, and Shooter w/ Lil Wayne on Itunes, (or download them for free if you're, you know, a criminal) and leave the rest. His first album, A Beautiful World, is a better whole, in my opinion, but this has some great moments on those songs I listed. His biggest problem is that all of the songs this time around seem just a little too long; there is only 1 song under 3.5 minutes.
Amos Lee - Supply and Demand. Amos' sophomore effort is mostly a continuation of his first album stylistically and lyrically, which is a good thing. At times he does try to stretch himself a little bit musically, but not too far, sticking to a winning formula from that solid eponymous debut. It's good music from start to finish, the title track being the standout the couple times I've listened.
Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche. I understand this is an album of outtakes and leftovers from his album "Come on, Feel the Illanoise"...while I haven't heard that one, if these are the outtakes, either he has no idea what he's doing by leaving off some of these tracks, or he is a musical wizard and that album is pure magic.
Corinne Bailey Rae. This debut is a great summertime, feel-good album, so you kinda missed the boat on it if you missed it. The two times I was Malibu over the summer I just turned it on, turned it up, drove around and smiled for 11 songs. That isn't to say it only works in summer, good music is good all the time (except Christmas Music...it's only acceptable from about Thanksgiving til Dec. 25th, then that's it, shelve "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" and its ilk til next year.) I can't think of an acceptable comparison....musically, I'd say her style is somewhere between Craig David and Kelly Clarkson.
Anthony David also has a new album out, but I haven't heard it, although the single "Words" with India.Arie is pretty good.
Weird Al's "White and Nerdy" may be the funniest song I've heard since MaddWest put out "Ugly Friend" about 4 years back.
Van Hunt is my favorite modern artist, and his two albums and Live EP are fantastic. I am anxiously awaiting the upcoming(Oct. 24th) release of the new John Legend CD, his single "Save Room" is, as Ben might say, tasty.
In movies, I'm not sure if they're all still in theaters but The Last Kiss, The Illusionist, and Little Miss Sunshine are all fine films, and The Lake House and Thank You For Smoking hit DVD recently, and both of those come highly recommended. Oh, and the recent Platinum Edition DVD release of The Little Mermaid is worth every penny, it's an even better film than I remembered it being. Finally, if Spike Lee's Hurricane Katrina documentary "When The Levees Broke" is playing on HBO, you should give it a shot, even though the 4 hour running time is daunting.
And there is a TV show called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip it comes on NBC, Monday nights at 10. I suggest you watch it. It is very good television. And watch the Project Runway finale coming up tomorrow and next Wednesday. And of course, catch Entourage, The Boondocks, and The Daily Show whenever possible.
OK, I just finished listening to the Robert Randolph CD all the way through....you must get it.
So there you have it, maybe these times aren't so bad after all.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Where do pulled teeth go? and other such questions
I'll be back to sports next Monday, I promise; I started writing something but I didn't feel like writing on that topic at length this afternoon. Ideally, I'll work on it all week and have it done by next Monday, but in all likelihood it'll be this time next week and I'll be in the same predicament. Oh well. Instead, tonight, I present you with a few questions that have boggled my mind the last week and so I turn to you, noble reader, in search of answers.
Question the first:
What do dentists do with teeth after they pull them out?
Why is Bugs Bunny's incessant cross-dressing never questioned?
Honestly, why do we have Civil War re-enactments?
Why do we assume that aliens, if they exist, look anything like humans and are "higher life forms"?
Why don't doctors just schedule appointments farther apart and later into the day, rather than insisting on being behind schedule all day?
Are there any geniuses alive today on par with Leonardo, Mozart, or Shakespeare?
Seriously, what happened to WTC 7 on 9/11?
Do people actually like reggaeton or do they realize it's dreadful and they just listen for the irony factor?
Calculus....why?
Am I the only one who saw the North Korean army marching and thought of the 'Be Prepared' number from The Lion King?
Question the first:
What do dentists do with teeth after they pull them out?
Why is Bugs Bunny's incessant cross-dressing never questioned?
Honestly, why do we have Civil War re-enactments?
Why do we assume that aliens, if they exist, look anything like humans and are "higher life forms"?
Why don't doctors just schedule appointments farther apart and later into the day, rather than insisting on being behind schedule all day?
Are there any geniuses alive today on par with Leonardo, Mozart, or Shakespeare?
Seriously, what happened to WTC 7 on 9/11?
Do people actually like reggaeton or do they realize it's dreadful and they just listen for the irony factor?
Calculus....why?
Am I the only one who saw the North Korean army marching and thought of the 'Be Prepared' number from The Lion King?
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert vs. The News Media
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have the rare position of being able to poke fun at the ever-present absurdity and inconsistencies in the administration and world politics and events at large, because they are on a comedy show. Everyone else in the news media is forced to play it straight; they are the ones who can hold it up the light a little differently and let us all see just how irreverent even the most "serious" of events in life can be sometimes. Many times they don't even have to deliver punch lines. The facts of an event are funny enough when presented on a comedy show rather than on nightly network news with [insert generic news anchor here].
A University of Indiana study due for publication next summer was recently announced with it's summarized findings released, the buzz being that it shows the substance of news on The Daily Show and that of the average nightly network news program are roughly the same.
I don't know if this says more about The Daily Show or network news. It certainly gives Jon Stewart's show some legitimacy against the inane critics like Geraldo who said Stewart and Colbert make a living by "putting on video of old ladies slipping on ice and people laughing.” Of course, anyone who's seen the show knows how ridiculous this sounds, but say it on Fox News and you're bound to get 89% of viewers buying it.
I wrote a couple weeks back about the overall softening of network news, and the eroding of the concept of investigative reportage (outside of John Stossel's hard-hitting, "Fat in America"-type pieces every week on 20/20). It's unfortunate that our news media has to bow to the entertainment divisions of their various media conglomerates. I honestly think people who watch the news will continue to watch if they were to add more substance and less fluff, and people who don't watch the news aren't going to tune in now just because Brian Williams or Katie Couric will occasionally talk about Jennifer Anniston or whoever happens to be celeb du jour. Just report the news, let Mary Hart and Nancy O'Dell worry about who is breaking up with whom in Hollywood and all that drivel with which we've decided to concern ourselves. If we need our news wrapped in a shiny info-tainment package...woe to us all and our declining civilization.
If Jon Stewart, a comedian doing a comedy show on a comedy network, is doing the news as substantively as people who consider themselves newspeople and serious journalists, what does that say about them? It's not like these people are unintelligent, just look at the credentials on some of these correspondents for ABC News, it's rather impressive on paper: Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Stanford, law degrees, Ph.Ds in Political Science, etc.... and yet collectively they muster the same depth and breadth of what's going on in the world as a self-professed comedian on Comedy Central.
I won't even touch on cable news...where news and comment have become indistinguishably intertwined, almost to the point of absurdity, which Stephen Colbert does a great-send up of every night on The Colbert Report, and which Jon Stewart astutely pointed out about 2 years ago as a guest on CNN's Crossfire, an interview which led, directly or indirectly, to the canceling of the show Crossfire and the firing of Tucker Carlson (who unfortunately got a new show on MSNBC, and it's just as bad, although I don't think anything is as bad as Hardball with Chris Matthews. Someone should fill him in on the difference between a question and a statement. I'm sorry, Chris, but "What do you think the president should do? Do you think we should just abandon Iraq and stop fighitng terrorism, because let me tell you that is a terrible idea" is just not a question).
A University of Indiana study due for publication next summer was recently announced with it's summarized findings released, the buzz being that it shows the substance of news on The Daily Show and that of the average nightly network news program are roughly the same.
I don't know if this says more about The Daily Show or network news. It certainly gives Jon Stewart's show some legitimacy against the inane critics like Geraldo who said Stewart and Colbert make a living by "putting on video of old ladies slipping on ice and people laughing.” Of course, anyone who's seen the show knows how ridiculous this sounds, but say it on Fox News and you're bound to get 89% of viewers buying it.
I wrote a couple weeks back about the overall softening of network news, and the eroding of the concept of investigative reportage (outside of John Stossel's hard-hitting, "Fat in America"-type pieces every week on 20/20). It's unfortunate that our news media has to bow to the entertainment divisions of their various media conglomerates. I honestly think people who watch the news will continue to watch if they were to add more substance and less fluff, and people who don't watch the news aren't going to tune in now just because Brian Williams or Katie Couric will occasionally talk about Jennifer Anniston or whoever happens to be celeb du jour. Just report the news, let Mary Hart and Nancy O'Dell worry about who is breaking up with whom in Hollywood and all that drivel with which we've decided to concern ourselves. If we need our news wrapped in a shiny info-tainment package...woe to us all and our declining civilization.
If Jon Stewart, a comedian doing a comedy show on a comedy network, is doing the news as substantively as people who consider themselves newspeople and serious journalists, what does that say about them? It's not like these people are unintelligent, just look at the credentials on some of these correspondents for ABC News, it's rather impressive on paper: Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Stanford, law degrees, Ph.Ds in Political Science, etc.... and yet collectively they muster the same depth and breadth of what's going on in the world as a self-professed comedian on Comedy Central.
I won't even touch on cable news...where news and comment have become indistinguishably intertwined, almost to the point of absurdity, which Stephen Colbert does a great-send up of every night on The Colbert Report, and which Jon Stewart astutely pointed out about 2 years ago as a guest on CNN's Crossfire, an interview which led, directly or indirectly, to the canceling of the show Crossfire and the firing of Tucker Carlson (who unfortunately got a new show on MSNBC, and it's just as bad, although I don't think anything is as bad as Hardball with Chris Matthews. Someone should fill him in on the difference between a question and a statement. I'm sorry, Chris, but "What do you think the president should do? Do you think we should just abandon Iraq and stop fighitng terrorism, because let me tell you that is a terrible idea" is just not a question).
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