You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'Media' category.
I just got into work not too long ago. Beamed up the news of the morning, and found out that George Carlin passed away last night. It wasn’t all too long ago that Carlin was touring, and if it wasn’t for the lack of money at the time I would have liked to have been there.
His HBO comedy special from a few years back is the only stand-up show that I laughed through the entire time, having to watch it more than once to catch the jokes I missed while catching my breath. While he didn’t exactly have kind things to say about religion, government or even the game of baseball, he had a way to make everything funny. The only guy that really forced you to sit back and say, “Hey, wait a second. He’s right!”
He lived a good life, didn’t take shit from anyone, and made a living doing it. I think one of the saddest parts of the whole story is that there isn’t anyone that I can see filling his shoes. Ever. He’ll be very missed.
And thank god for DVD collections. Even if George didn’t believe.
…Well, at least Cleveland, Ohio.
While it appears that the move to hand out “Crybaby” t-shirts looked good on paper, I’m willing to bet that any backlash this week will lead to one less branch manager in the D.C. area this week.
And I must say that while I personally won’t be going to a Papa John’s any time soon – it’s just not convenient given my location – a complete boycott likely isn’t the best idea.
I’m too big of a proponent of Cleveland-based business to put up any sort of fight against success around here. It simply was not a good business move on the D.C. guy’s part. And I have a feeling The Man will let that be known. I’m sure there’s more to come. Now if we could just get the Plain Dealer to link or drop a URL instead of saying “bloggers….”
Sigh.
By now, you should have heard about the whole “Costas Now” spat between Buzz Bissinger (author) and Will Leitch (blogger). If you haven’t do a YouTube search, I’m sure it’s there.
And while I apologetically have not posted here much, I felt that a comment regarding the issue deserved some more attention. It’s not often the blogs link to comments, eh? Either way, AOLSportsblog commentor “Steve Body” let his thoughts be known. Check them out here:
I’m in my mid-50s and worked as a journalist for many years. As such, I could be expected to do a back-slapping apology for Buzz Bissinger and try to explain away his bombastic sermon as a traditionalist flailing against technology. The truth is that Bissinger’s rant is as old as journalism itself and was NEVER justified by anything. It’s simple bad manners and arrogance and should be treated as such. One of the reasons I’m not a journalist, anymore, is that I got fed up with that stiff-necked, down-the-nose attitude that says that writing is a sacred quest, best left to the professionals and NEVER to be entrusted, in any form beyond the occasional letter to the editor, to the Great Unwashed. Young writers lucky enough to be hired by a newspaper or magazine were expected to shut the F___ up for a decade or so and learn from their betters, conveniently ignoring that the vitality of their imaginations is exactly what the veteran writers so frequently lack. They worship structure and correct form and most manage to pack in about as much emotional content as the nutrition info on a Twinkie. There are a lot of Bissingers out there, lacking only an invitation to Costas’ show to find their own spectacular meltdown on youtube. Will Leitch, writing on deadspin, showed what I thought was remarkable restraint in his handling of Bissinger’s baloney, saying how much he liked his books and how he really hoped that whatever was eating Buzz would heal up soon. It won’t. What NOBODY – well, that’s an exaggeration: very few – veteran journalists refuse to understand is that writing was ALWAYS man’s primary means of expressing himself in any way that has permanance. Spoken words rely only on the hearer’s memory and receptiveness. Writing is far more permanent. And back when we all scratched our wisdom on stone tablets, anyone could play. Then, along came ink and presses and, for 600 years, it was the sole provense of those who owned those resources. With the internet, the written word is finally back in the hands of those who were supposed to own it in the first place: YOU and ME. Certainly, there are utter fools and jackasses who write blogs, just like there were fools and asses who owned and edited newspapers. But there is also an OCEAN of witty, funny, thoughtful, wise, touching content that deserves to be written AND read…and, at long last, we can ALL find it – IF we’re not too lazy. Bissinger, for all his talent, lives in that country-clubby past…and he rails at Leitch as being the “future”? Guess what, Buzz? The future is here NOW.
It’s not every day that you’ll find someone of “Steve’s” demographic willing to take this stance. You’ll have to pardon the lack of spell-check on Steve’s part, but you get the picture. For the original post, head here.
Judge Hugh Bennett released a summary of his ruling Monday but had withheld the full judgment until the outcome of Mills’ appeal.
Bennett on Monday ordered McCartney to pay Mills 24.3 million pounds ($48.6 million) in their divorce.
Mills had sought an award of nearly 125 million pounds ($251 million), the court said, while McCartney proposed 15.8 million pounds ($31.6 million).
So, if I read this right, this Mills woman lost the court hearing and only came out with $50 million. Must be rough. Part of me wonders if John Lennon is somewhere, laughing hysterically.
But as Chris Rock put it best, McCartney “ain’t starvin’.” But he would understand…
Even though my name is neither Eliot, Spitzer, nor Kristen, I still think that I would attend this event – for full price – had I reside in Macon, Georgia. How can you go wrong with around-the-clock Sinatra?
Music announce plans for Eliot Spitzer night [Macon Telegraph]
The writers may be back at work following their extended (and very justified) holdout, but that doesn’t mean all is well out there.
Internet auction giant Ebay has apparently ticked off a few of their key sellers by altering a few of the fees among other functional changes – and the sellers are fighting back. While this plays out very well for smaller auction companies, its also great to see that it is actually providing results; as seen in the 13 percent drop in listings.
Drops in listings will provide drops in profits, so as the users unite, the Giant gets kicked in the shins. Whether or not anything happens from this is to be seen. Just like those that like to send emails out about not getting gasoline on certain days, for example, fail to realize that sometimes, you just have to do certain things. Whether or not EBay users are willing to forgo all of the hard work that has gone into getting their “ratings” and “Power Seller” status to sell things at another site is the big question.
As much as people like change in the technology world, I’m willing to bet that this one won’t be long – even if it is “extended” for now.
