Speaking of fat cats, what better way to get them to sit still than plop them in front of the television set. (Sound familiar, parents?) I promised my friends I wouldn't become a crazy cat person. But my cat may be exceptional. It's been less than a week so I'm trying to be objective but all the signs are there.
Last night, as Kevin and I are watching
the Yankees-Red Sox game, Tilly jumps up and sits next to the console. As Boston players are at bat in that horrible four-run inning, Tilly would lift her left paw and take a swipe at the screen. Kevin figures she was trying to fake out Bill Mueller but I'm not so sure.
And now lo and behold, there will be
a cat program on cable. Not a show about cats or for cat owners. But a show FOR cats. I love the cable television industry. At one time, I might have been a little outraged at the silliness of this. But last night convinced me that they may be on to something.
What the hell are we paying these guys for? We'll give fat cats a rebate for a car...that costs 10 times what some people earn in a year. And
THIS provision (registration required) is what falls through the cracks? This takes outrage to a whole new level for me.
Can't we fire someone? Oh yeah - they're called elections. So why in god's name do so many of these imbeciles return to office term after term? Because people don't get outraged enough. And this is not a cry for term limits. We already have term limits - they're called elections. If the public is so numb to what's happening - or not happening with their elected representatives - maybe the system is working. Which just pisses me off even more.
Do members of Congress even know what it is they vote on? And I worked on Capitol Hill - so I know they don't read - but don't they pay people who are supposed to read? Isn't there one staffer - JUST ONE - that this was important enough to verify and confirm it survived the conference feeding frenzy? None of this is new - this is how bills become law. So where the fuck was everyone? They were more concerned with capital gains and stock dividends than they were about people who pay taxes and earn $25,000 a year - with children!
When is the revolution we so desperately need going to start? And what outrages me is the revolution is so simple - find candidates who are not career politicians and can relate more to clipping coupons to make ends meet than to what to do about stock dividend income. Once we find them, deliver a majority vote.
How exactly is
this provision going to help the economy and restore lost jobs? How exactly? And wasn't I outraged enough
back in January? Obviously not.
I've been looking for a full time position on the content side of the web publishing industry since being laid off almost a year ago. I've had two interviews in nine months. I'm not holding my breath that any element of this tax cut package for the wealthy is going to help me any.
Speaking of outrages. An okay piece today in the NYT about the
Long Island Sound. I live about five minutes from Huntington Harbor - 10 minutes from Northport Harbor - both of which feed into the Sound. During the summer, you could walk across the boats that are moored there to get from one side of the harbor to the other. I always thought it was outrageous. Which is why I love it best in the winter (not too cold though) when you can actually see the water.
But why only focus on Connecticut? Long Island gave it its name. Seems a little one-dimensional to me.
Oh, wish that it were so and we lived in a world where
Sorenstam beats Singh (registration required). She's someone I'd like to sit down and have a beer, or two, with. That's actually my thought process when I meet or read about new people: could I stand at the bar and finish a Sam Adams without thinking what the hell am I doing here? Sorenstam's been added to the list.
Today marks the 120th anniversary of
the opening (registration required) of the Brooklyn Bridge. Who da thunk it? NYT's come a long way since then -- or has it?
Crazy day yesterday - Kevin and I adopted a cat from the local shelter. I had been talking about getting a kitten for months but fell in love with a really beautiful cat named Tilly. There's a song there somewhere. Not sure how long this link will be good but
here she is.
I'm almost at a loss for words now that Jayson Blair has
come out of hiding. A fucking book deal? It is my fervent hope that he starts being treated like the pariah he is and that his celebrity status ends now. I keep seeing the previews for "Catch Me if You Can" but instead of Leo, it's Blair being featured. But without the whole redemption angle.
I refuse to let this asshole shake my firm belief that in the end only kindness, and honesty, matter. And that ultimately, you pay for your sins. Not in the religious sense - in the cosmic sense. I gotta believe.
I just broke my own rule and signed up to pay for content on Salon.com. It goes against every principle I hold dear. But I just couldn't stand reading a quarter of an article any more.
So at what point does the viewing public start to feel, well, outraged that these bachelor-no-more shows never really go anywhere? It's all just a big waste of time. If one of these couples made it beyond a few weeks maybe I'd lighten up a bit. I said maybe.
So now we have another "
engagement." I don't watch any of these shows and I feel so used. Makes me wonder why the people who devote hours of their lives to this don't feel the same way. Makes we want to take a shower just
reading about it. At this point, not sure I'll ever really feel clean again.
Okay - I admit I spent way too much time today reading about Buffy's last episode. For the record, here are the corrections required now that all of the Fourth Estate stands up and announces in unison how
brilliant the show...WAS. Where the hell were you people the past six years? And doesn't anyone hire copy editors anymore? (all minor I know - but when will Buffy get the respect she deserves?)
1.
New York Post: Hello! BtVS moved to UPN two years ago.
2.
AlterNet.org: Buffy's mom did not die of a brain tumor, despite the fact that UPN says so too. The anyerisum that killed her was possibly a complication from the brain tumor but it could have happened to anyone. Any time. Which made it even more frightening.
3. Central Ohio's
News Journal: There's no Internet rumor - WB announced it. (And as it turns out Spike saves everyone, you halfwit.)
4:
Statesman Journal: I've seen this one elsewhere. Once and for all, in Conversations with Dead People, Willow talks to Cassie Newton. She's not allowed to talk to Tara.
5.
The Star: Spike didn't really call himself a champion; or at least he didn't really believe it until Buffy handed him the amulet.
I will continue to monitor the outpouring of grief that the national press has been so kind to share with us over Buffy's final passing. So it's okay to close your eyes and go to sleep now.
I haven't been writing my screenplay. I've been preparing myself for
the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer tonight. When I worked at A&E, a VP asked me "what's so great about Buffy?" My response: she's a woman who fights evil and kicks ass. What else is there really?
I haven't enjoyed it as much since the move to UPN and I am one of the original watchers (no pun intended) who feels that the time has come to end a great story. She
deserves a rest. I hope she gets it.
I was so focused on the goings on in the NYT newsroom that I completely lost focus on what it must be like for the other denizens of Gotham's Fourth Estate -
this article in the New York Post (NYP) and
this article in the Daily News (NYDN) give a little hint. They've taken the Times' superior attitude and putdowns for decades - or in the case of the NYP, centuries. I can almost taste the giddiness felt by everyone, from publisher to intern, at those papers. Or, according to
this article in the Washington Post, the
schadenfreude that's going on. (Honest to god, it's a perfect word but what librarian dug that one up? I'm not embarrased to admit I had no idea what it means - enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others - so don't feel bad - ya learn something new every day.)
And thanks to Poynter's Jim Romenesko -
his column today covers all the bases in the Blair story, including
internal NYT memos about the crisis. The Newspaper of Wreckage - I love the
New York Post.
I wear sneakers almost all the time. And have for the past 20 years. So there's no surprise that I'm all for tomorrow's
Sneaker Day, courtesy of the Women's Sports Foundation.
There isn't an outfit I own that I can't wear with sneakers - except for a couple of business suits. But since I rarely wear a suit, it doesn't bother me so much. Don't know what I'd do without my Keds - particularly in the summer. I also have a pair of Rockport walkers and Reebok multis, whatever that means. And for whatever that's worth.
It looks like the Texas State Democrats won't be
arrested any time soon. But what about the criminals who used a federal agency to
track their whereabouts? You know, it's this kind of story that makes me glad I started Outrage.com. It's amazing how the hits just keep on coming.
And if you don't hear from me for awhile, it's because I'm working on my screenplay about this story. Hell, if we'll watch the Texas Cheerleader Mother Murder mystery, what will they give me for the Texas Tax Hikers Tuck Tail story? (remember, all Democats raise taxes, get it?) I'm thinking HBO, maybe TBS or even better...USA Network.
Condolences to the family and friends of
Dave DeBusschere. I worked in Bill Bradley's Senate office as a receptionist and assistant to Bradley's personal secretary back in the mid-80s. There's no question DeBusschere was like a brother to him.
This story just keeps getting better and better. The
meeting (registration required) held yesterday to allow NYT staffers to vent was closed to the media (understandably). But that shouldn't extend to the NYT staffer who covers media (that's just whacked) and had to write about it after the fact. They've been self-flagellating for a week - why stop now? Gotta wonder what they're smoking over there in Times Square.
Is Emily Litella sitting on the New York bench? If not, her spirit is alive and well as the justice system forces the MTA into a big
Never mind! concerning its bogus fare hikes. I told you they wouldn't get away with it so easy, didn't I?
I don't agree completely that Blair did no harm, but
Alexander Cockburn raises some excellent points on the subject. And anyone with any news experience at all had to be looking for
this story. Man would I be pissed - not at Blair, but at the managers who could have stopped it but didn't.
UPDATE: Nice piece in the Voice. Last paragraph sums it up quite nicely.
I'm starting to feel cheated about
Buffy's final episode. And I have a whole week to feel this way before it actually airs. What's that about? Thanks James for sending
this link my way.
We have a whole year before it actually expires so I'm not going to get
too worked up about this. Yet. Hopefully, it will be
anything but quiet concerning the fact that AK-47 automatic rifles might once again be legal. What possible good can come from this?
Discrimination appears to be this week's theme. When it rains, it pours. I wonder if it's really still
a firestorm when someone retracts his comments - or at least provides some apology? Apparently so. But still, it wasn't what he said so much that outrages me. It's ABC's use of inflammatory language that pisses me off.
The whole Sorenstam controversy raises so many questions - none of them about golf. It's split between what does equality really mean and how stupid are ABC.com producers? Why doesn't ABC properly identify Singh - who besides me knew that his first name is Vijay? (just kidding - I had to doublecheck the spelling with Kevin); and is it true grown men still worry about being beaten by "the girl?" You'd think with everything else men get away with, a little thing like a game of golf wouldn't be so important.
I don't envy her - the pressure to perform well will be tremendous. I hope she has as good a game as she can. Usually, that's saying something.
Speaking of discrimination, apparently now that the war is over, all the "inquisitive" men who are the backbone of The History Channel's viewership have returned, according to
this article. And can you stand the banner ad on top? Men get it. Get what? All the Hitler programming you can stand? I know that the demo skews male, but why say "fuck you" to every woman who does "get" history. Oh yeah, wait a minute. That's what dim-witted, insensitive, misogynistic men do. So odd given that, for many years, the network's GM was a woman. So this now officially marks my boycott of The History Channel. I know - big deal, but it makes me feel better. Where's
NOW when you really need 'em?
In the interest of full disclosure (you know by now I'm all about that), I was laid off by THC's parent company, A&E Television Networks, nine months ago so it could be argued that I'm a disgruntled former employee. Former, yes. Disgruntled, naaahh. But it wasn't until I saw that insulting banner ad a few months ago that I was finally able to be thankful that I had been laid off.
This isn't anything new, and it mirrors a good deal of my experience, but it's even sadder when you think of
the discrimination that's occurring on a global scale. The thought "well, at least I'm not alone" just doesn't make me feel any better. It will likely always be a source of outrage for me until something significant is done to fix it.
Now that Aaron Sorkin has abandoned West Wing, I won't have to worry so much about taping it so that I can watch Angel now that's it's been
renewed for a fifth season. And Spike moves from Sunnydale to Los Angeles; all is right with the world. (Thanks JH for the link and for ending the suspense.)
The irony of the television industry is that truly great shows are only appreciated when they're gone, or going, as in
Buffy's case.
Pretty amazing to watch the New York Times
cover the Jayson Blair story. As a former weekly reporter who was told by one too many dailies, we won't even consider talking to you without five years of daily experience, I find the ease with which he found himself going from intern to full time reporter a little disturbing. Jealous? Bitter? You bet your ass.
But given that, I'm still not sure I would have used the analogy of "a huge black eye" to describe the current situation. Even
Safire's column today uses it. Until
the contradictions in this story are cleared up, and someone offers a reasonable explanation for why a person so obviously in need of firing wasn't, I'd think the Times would be a bit more careful with the words it uses.
My birthday was yesterday. Here's what my horoscope says about me:
IF MAY 11 IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: Surrealist artist, sculptor, writer Salvador Dali (born 1904 ) shares your birthday. You are bold about expressing your individuality. Fantasy comes easily to you, and you use this in your work.People invariably underestimate you because they don't understand you. Important choices arise this year.
IF MAY 11TH IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: There's an unusual twist to your personality. You would make a wonderful undercover agent. You are drawn to the clandestine and are usually a step ahead of yourself and others. Frequently you sense what is around the corner. Your sensitive nature is intrigued by mystery. You want to be in control. You're a born teacher and extremely intuitive. Expect rewarding personal relationships this year and long-distance travel. September, October bring rewards and romance.
IF MAY 11 IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: This year, you live up to the priorities you set. Less-than-ideal circumstances fade away when you take charge of your life. New love is dazzling this month, and marriage is likely by August. Gemini and Pisces make ideal love partners. In business, you can do more alone than with financial partners up until September, when it's best to join forces. Your lucky numbers are 5, 33, 21, 40 and 38.
(Just for the record - it's all true. Except maybe the marriage in August. I have no intention of emancipating Kevin any time soon, much to his chagrin. Marriage of like minds, marriage of bank accounts, marriage of laundry, perhaps? After almost 12 years of marriage, Kevin and I keep our laundry separate. I think he figured a long time ago that if he does it, at least he knows it'll get done. With me, you just never know. Keeping to a schedule, or cleaning my room for that matter, has never been a high priority for me. And yes, I had a very nice birthday.)
There's no such thing as a new idea. My dad tried to tell me that in 1984 when as a senior in college I had the nerve to say "Gary Hart may really be onto something." (Sorry Fritz, I only wavered once.)
My dad, who was a key writer of the original Clean Water Act as well as numerous public safety laws concerning automobile, drug and pesticide use, had PLENTY to say about that. But all these years later what I remember most is his telling me - "don't let 'em fool you, El. There's really no such thing as a new idea. It's almost always an old idea with a new spin. Truly new ideas are rare and are usually rejected as heresy at the time and the idea-haver is thrown in prison, exiled or killed, depending on what country and century you're talking about." I can still hear his voice, loud and clear, when I think back to that conversation. And I remember too his encouraging me to never give up in finding my own new idea and to be very sure that I never find myself in the mob condemning someone else who may have found their true new idea. But I digress.
When will they stop touting "sound science" as a new idea? It was old when I covered it as an environmental reporter in 1994. It's an old policy trick to make the masses think that you're doing something for their good. It's hooey. So we'll prevent more wildfires with
"sound science" but we won't give the Forest Service
the money it needs to cover the cost of...fighting wildfires. Classic Washington.
The House Agriculture Committee passed the
Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HR1904) yesterday. The bill is intended to protect the nation's forests from wildfire by speeding up the removal of floor growth, an act which has supposedly been hampered by legal challenges to federal forest thinning projects. Challenges that have declined steadily since 1998, according to
research done by No. Arizona University's Ecological Restoration Institute. Challenges that are filed by those leftist, commie liberal environmentalists (of which I'm obviously one).
My favorite factoid in all this is that the bill only applies to public land. Approximately 85 percent of wildfire-risky land in this country is in private hands. So this bill will do almost NOTHING to save forest, homes or lives. It could, however, make it easier for logging companies to move into federally-owned forests. And let's not forget that of the major wildfire disasters of 2002, particularly in Colorado, the fires were INTENTIONALLY set by human beings. Time to cut through the bullshit. I was going to say it's time to see the forest for the trees, but my favorite creative writing teacher once told me "Avoid cliches. Like the plague." I always try to remember that little piece of advice too.
I'm not a big fan, or critic for that matter, of the United Nations but if they vote to give
US control over Iraqi oil revenues they might as well schedule a vote to disband the entire organization immediately thereafter. The oil for food program isn't perfect but it's designed to deliver the same type of relief to the Iraqi people as anything in the U.S. proposal. If we've learned nothing else in our history, we should know by now not to give any Republican administration a slush fund - regardless of how many seeming "checks and balances" there may be. There's always a loophole.
The main question for me remains "Why?" Why is it necessary to take on this responsibility? Why now?
Every now and again, I read something that scares me.
This article is one of them. Not sure if it's the content or the way in which he conveys his facts. I've been following the SARS story for some time now. My take has been the whole thing's being overblown by the media and it will soon pass. I'm not so sure anymore.
A little good news -
Salam Pax is alive and almost blogging again. (An intermediary posted a document that had the posts he would have made if he had Internet access.) Despite the bombing, he kept writing. That's what real writers do. Makes me wonder what I would have done.
And just when you think it's safe to go back in the water, some technical, or should I say marketing, fascist comes up with something else. And lo and behold, according to
this article, DoubleClick's involved in the mix again. But they say "it's different this time." Different, my ass.
I'd almost forgotten how funny Saddam and his
Cyber Palace really is. And it led me to another great site -
News At Ten. Now that's the kind of news I like to see. Check it out when you get a chance.
Some things just speak for themselves. And this is a surprise to anyone? Thanks go to the Honorable Henry Waxman for digging deeper than any news outlet obviously bothered to. Or maybe we'll find out that CNN knew all along but decided not to say anything to protect its employees.
To my sister Colleen,
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Wish I was there to take you to lunch. Love you.
From the "what will they think of next?" category,
Microsoft introduces the iLoo in the UK. Gates obviously has way too much time on his hands. Interesting that the bathroom is also referred to as
a bog across the Atlantic. So what's next? The bog blog?
UPDATE: A hoax, you say? And who says the Brits don't have any sense of humor. But you gotta love this headline. And why did it take a week to reveal. Curious.
As RD so eloquently puts it, IS there no shame? What pie doesn't
Donald Rumsfeld have his fingers in?
And I can't quite figure out why, but going from White House
cybersecurity czar to eBay just doesn't seem like that much of a stretch.
UPDATE: And in the 'what could be more perfect' department, the new DHS privacy czarina comes from - (it's almost too difficult to type) - DoubleClick! I don't retain much (other than water nowadays) but I remember clearly the privacy hell DoubleClick made for themselves. The outrage is endless.
