New Media vs Old Media

Wow, CNN playing the "we weren't aware" card while firing a popular blogger. Who do they really believe is going to buy this? As the media industry implodes around us I think stories such as this one are going to become more prevalent. I have friends now who are waiting to see if they are going to be among the 150 to be laid off by the L.A. Times.


Chez Pazienza: Say What You Will (Requiem for a TV News Career) - Media on The Huffington Post

Paste Magazine :: News :: Conchords' Clement, Sam Rockwell to star in Broncos

Yay! What could be better than a collaboration of Conchords and the same duo who gave us Napoleon Dynamite? If you've seen Eagle vs. Shark you know Clement will fit right in.


Paste Magazine :: News :: Conchords' Clement, Sam Rockwell to star in Broncos

Forget Oprah!

San Francisco Bay View - Toni Morrison, who labeled Bill Clinton ‘1st Black president,’ backs Barack Obama

Wow, Toni Morrison has endorsed a candidate in this presidential election. Morrison's writings are among the greatest things this country has ever contributed to the world. Toni Morrison is brilliance it's self. For a while now, I've been meaning to post what this democratic primary means to me.

My Mom would often tell me when I was little, " you choose your battles by the number of enemies you face. You"re a woman first and a Latina second always remember that." And I've tried to live my life that way. I don't want more from society for woman. I want equal footing. From the beginning I loved Obama's message of change. As Super Tuesday looms, I started to waiver it'd be awesome to have a woman president. Clinton's moment of emotion on the campaign trail put me off (I refuse to call that crying). It was an obvious stunt, and it worked.

So what do you vote? Do you vote just to be proud? Out of a sense of recognition of your own identity. Or do you vote your conscious under the belief that the world has changed and the way we align ourselves must change as well?

Once Again

Once Again, a Legit Nominee - Carpetbagger - Movies - Oscars - Awards - David Carr - New York Times Blog

Glad this got cleared up. Once deserves more than just the best song nomination. It was looked over in all the other categories the least Oscar could do would be to include it as a part of the best song nominations. Let's hope it wins! But like every year with Oscar most likely it won't because it deserves it the most.

Are You Irish?

Will Ferrell Roasts Ireland As He Wins James Joyce Award - Entertainment on The Huffington Post

Highly entertaining but why Will Ferrell?

Always Watching

Last Sunday night I almost had a television break down. There was absolutely nothing on t.v. And though various columns and news stories had warned me this would be coming the horrible reality of it was almost too much to take. I was reduced to going through a bag of shreadables to see if there was anything in it useful for my taxes this year. Who does that? Clearly a sign for help. Thank God for good friends. The silver lining to this horror story is this: I've discovered the Sopranos and the Canadian television series Slings and Arrows.

No doubt my mention of the Sopranos has left you thinking I'm not that into t.v. as I say I am. And to that I say, yes, yes I live in the United States, and yes, I heard all the buzz. But by the time I ever considered the Sopranos it felt way too late. Only now after all the hype and the parodying of its ending can I quietly catch up. And good for me! Because while others are suffering with nothing to watch I'm watching the series that revolutionized t.v. and brought serials to cable television, which most likely saved the medium by reinventing it.

"To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?"Hamlet (Act 3, Scene 1). There is where Slings and Arrows takes its title from. A great show which begs the question what is art? What is it useful for? Should it be useful?And when old forms of accepted art become overused and overwrought are they still viable forms of art? This show is so funny, touching, black, and honest that the word entertainment isn't enough to describe it. It layers and layers and makes fun of everything and nothing. Mostly it reminds us of our own definition of art and whether or not we should suffer the slings and arrows to achieve what we want to in search of our own creations.

Both shows take their characters and stick them into extraordinary circumstances. Allow their characters to get away with things most of us only dream of and that is apart of their draw and entertainment factors. What keeps viewers coming back for more is the honest portrayals of the complexity of human relationships.

?Que Paso Google?

For some razon the Defamer was using google translator to translate a Heath Ledger article into Spanish and came across an unusual programming error. I tried it myself and thought hum maybe they just put in Tom Cruise's name for any name used. So I tried typing in Ryan Gosling instead, and wouldn't you know it Ryan Gosling translated to Ryan Gosling.

Maybe Google should reconsider whoever it is using for English-Spanish translation.

Vote 4 Flick

The first time I thought about discussing the Tracy Flick/Clinton video I came to the conclusion it was best to leave it alone. I hadn't seen the video but thought for sure a guy is responsible for this. A woman with any sort of political ambition is going to be compared to Tracy Flick's character in Election because its an easy way to make her look hysterical. Finally, this morning I gave into the temptation and looked at the video. And you know what, just like at the end of the movie. I actually want Tracy Flick to win because, as long as we are on the same side, I think Flick is the candidate who would be willing to do whatever it takes to get things done. And right now, that's what this country needs a candidate who is going to be able to fix a lot of what has been undone.

And if we are going to use Election to heighten our candidate's profiles in this presidential election couldn't Bush's presidency be viewed as what would happen if Paul Metzler defeated Tracy Flick? I mean wouldn't the nation then be just like crying for a president like Tracy Flick? And really isn't that the position we find ourselves in now?

Q: Are We Not Men?

This week I went with some friends to Mac Blast! The launch party for the mac version of Windows 08. A friend of mine who is a huge Devo fan found out they were playing and we all decided to try for one of the limited number of tickets which were offered to the public through a Devo fan site. Above should be video of their opening number. Sorry for the poor sound quality. I got my first smart phone for Christmas and am still trying to figure the thing out. I'm hoping my slow internet speed is the reason the video isn't looking too great for me.

Even though we had tickets we stood in line outside the venue for two hours so we could be among the first to get in. My friend had heard that there would be band freebies for the first two hundred. We watched as the line was separated into two by security guards and entertained ourselves by trying to guess who would turn to go into the strip club next door as they passed. This turned out to be more challenging than we thought it would be and we only got one person right. Then about an hour before the doors were set to open the line was divided again and a "friends of the band" line was created. We were really feeling rejected by not being chosen to be apart of that line. But we made it in! And were rewarded with a MacBlast/Devo t-shirt, Devo playing cards, and power point M&Ms (tasty). I've include the video the band played before their final song. Devo encouraged us to go home and become the epicenter for something "new." We should all go home and disconnect our computers from the internet and throw them out the window.



Awesome! Even though my first reaction when Devo took the stage was, "they're old!" They proved they still got it. I don't think I really appreciated Devo's music until I saw them that night. It was the first time I've seen them live and I'm so glad I got the chance to do it. I really wish I would have caught their performance of Uncontrollable Urge on video. It was the highlight of the night for me. Watching them while Mark Mothersbaugh ripped their contamination suits off and stripped them to their skaterish shorts and shirt uniforms. Below is the return of Booji Boy who apparently had been cryogenicaly frozen for this evening's performance of Beautiful World. Its even more surreal to see him appear as a white energy blob on the video because the stage light behind him drowns out his image.

Paper Or Plastic?

I take no pride in admitting that I too have fallen into the nasty habit of reading all of the gossip blog information I can find on the Britney Spears' melt down. Its horrible, its like admitting to looking at the bodies when you finally pass the traffic accident even though the car looks like a crushed soda can and you know it ain't gonna be good. I can't help it. And I've been trying to think about why I can't help it. I know the interest helps sells gossip rags and tabloids, which in turn buy these paparazzi shots and the whole thing perpetuates so I should stop but I don't. Is it part of our culture? Its certainly not novel to point out Americans love to create heroes and myths, and equally love to tear them down. But that's not it, it maybe part of the reason why we are so fascinated by the meltdown, but its not why we keep tuning in. Maybe its too see how far we're going to let it go before someone actually does intervene.

Clearly, nobody thinks this erratic behavior can be attributed to a bratty celebrity gone wild. The woman is obviously suffering from some sort of mental illness and needs help to rein it in if she can, but nobody seems to be stepping up. I was checking out of a store today and a woman behind me was commenting on all of the tabloid headlines with Britney on the cover. She said, "Is no one going to help her?" And when I turned around, to see who had said it, I noticed she was accompanied by a caregiver who was unloading her cart and helping her get her money together for her purchase. For some reason this really struck me. I have had several friends who have had to deal with loved ones who suffered from depression. You can't control the person's actions. From the outside it's easy to say if that were my loved one I'd... and I wouldn't let them blah blah blah. But the truth is, when the person is an adult there isn't really much recourse for their loved ones to help them unless the person cooperates or the family has them declared unfit to take care of themselves. What are the chances that someone who isn't in their right mind is going to cooperate with loved ones trying to take away their freedom?

Many who have never been in this situation also seem to equate crazy with dumb. Just because a person is all of a sudden acting manic or unstable doesn't mean they've lost their intelligence. Sometimes it's harder to help because they can control their illness enough so that many around them can't see the pain they're in. Take for example the noted academic who recently gave a rousing New Year's speech to the preparatory school he was president of and hours later threw himself off a building. Is the fascination with depression because the numbers of those who suffer from it is on the rise? I know a number of people, normal friends, who have taken anti-depressants to get through situational depression. And what clinically is situational depression isn't it just life do you really need a pill to get through it? More and more I think our fascination with Britney and others is likely because we see that depression and mental illness can affect anyone and in some sick way maybe people take solace in that.

Richard Corey

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich-- yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869)

Hybernation and the Rain

Between my housebound illness and the rain in the Bay Area I should have my ark ready no later than February. Whatever super cold/cough/flu thing that's been going around got me on New Year's Day. Happy New Year! Last night was my first night out on the town in a week. I went to see No Country For Old Men the latest Cohen brothers flick. It was worth all the attention its been getting even though I didn't understand the ending at all.

Miramax has the screenplay available online so I could at least read the last scene again (it didn't help). If you've seen it and have a theory let me know what you think. If not its a good movie you should see it and then explain the ending to me.