Beyond the sheer hilarity of it, I wanted to post this because some news outlets are refusing to replay it. As protest gestures go, I think it’s fantastic. The President was in no actual danger, which is for the best, and I’m hoping that this guy will get set loose sooner rather than later. The gesture of it, in my opinion, is just such a perfect encapsulation of what so many people around the world would love to do: huck something at George W. Bush. I can just imagine the catharsis. I really feel for that guy though, as he’s probably had a very rough couple of days since then. His fate aside, little would amuse me more than for this to become some kind of pattern — if everywhere Mr. Bush went from now on, someone flung a shoe at him.
My hat is all the way off to Keith Olbermann and the most spectacular string of on-air editorial I’ve ever seen or heard. I see here the kind of outrage that should be all over our media coverage right now. It’s a tremendous example of an informed journalist holding a politician truly responsible for what they say. What’s more, though the Right would surely color it as slant, this diatribe is fiery righteous indignation. That’s what I imagine those in the Right would have us miss. The press is “out to get them” because they haven’t swallowed their lies hook, line, and sinker. Rather, the media is at times getting in the way of their propaganda machine, and thank God for it.
Last week on The Daily Show, John Stewart had former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on the show. Stewart asked a lot of hard questions about Blair’s stance on the Iraq war, terrorism, and his support of President Bush. Blair was very gracious and patient with Stewart’s light-hearted, hard-hitting questions, but was also equally vague in his answers. What Stewart was trying to push Blair on the hardest was retrospect, and wondering if the military route, especially in Iraq, could ever actually solve the heart of the terrorism issue. He made one especially insightful point.
“The only point for me is, 19 people flew into the towers. It seems hard for me to imagine that we could go to war enough to make the world safe enough that 19 people wouldn’t want to do harm to us. So it seems like we have to rethink a strategy that is less military-based, in general.”
With the plug pulled on the first two Bill Gates / Jerry Seinfeld ads, a new “Life without walls” campaign launched last week. The ad starts with a John Hodgman look-alike and plays off of Apple’s brilliant “Hello, I’m a Mac. And I’m a PC” campaign. The dejected man greets viewers saying, “Hello, I’m a PC and I’ve been made into a stereotype.” The ad then cuts to people of varying backgrounds and activities embracing the “I’m a PC” label.
This ad is well executed, but it’s the strategy that I think is a $300 million mistake. More on why after the jump.
I quit watching SNL years ago. Access to cable television and a social life that actually gave me something to do at 10:30 on a saturday night have conspired to cut SNL cleanly from my pop culture to-do list. Thankfully, because of the internet I no longer have to wade through an hour of bad sketch comedy to mine out the one funny bit of the whole night. In the case of this weekend, that bit was this biting and dead-on parody of a joint address from Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. Hilarious, and just so right on. Thanks Tina!
A lot of shows on PBS start with little quick 10-second commercials. I just flipped past Antiques Roadshow and saw an add for Lunesta, a prescription sleep aid. The voiceover said “Lunesta is proud to support Antiques Roadshow.”
I thought the voiceover should have said “If Antiques Roadshow doesn’t put you to sleep, Lunesta can.”
Here’s an episode of Mythbusters that NEEDS to happen.
We’ve all seen it, that episode of CSI. The mystery seems to be coming to a halt, then they find the ATM security camera footage from across the street. Sure, it’s midnight, the crime happened 20 yards away and the lens on the ATM camera makes fisheye look like a telescope. But never fear, we’ll “enhance it” and it will come out perfectly clear, revealing details crucial to the case. “We’ll take the image, and extrapolate from that the skin texture on the right side of his face, and from that we’ll create a 3D model of his face, and from that we’ll be able to determine whether or not he speaks with a New England accent.” We see it over and over again. Blurry picture instantly becomes sharp pictures. Small photos become huge enlargements in vivid color and perfect detail. Read more…
@ericalm - See I think there's a side business waiting to happen: funky DOT-approved headwear. Scooterists would totally wear a pumpkin lid! in reply to ericalm3 hrs ago
Those folks at JimmyJohn's make a damn fine sandwich. A damn fine sandwhich. 3 hrs ago
Dammit. Have actual work to do and can't geek out on Keynote stuff. 5 hrs ago
@intheloop - How? The canvassing board came to a decision. Franken made a public victory statement. Coleman camp made "we'll sue" statement. in reply to intheloop1 day ago
@intheloop - Well, I'd hope the MN state canvassing board would have a better reputation than a governor mired in scandal. Makes sense 2 me. in reply to intheloop1 day ago
