Joshua's Journal

09/11/2008 16:11 #45642

Interesting Politico "Arena" Entry

The Politico, which is a site I read multiple times daily, has recently posted in its "Arena" page a group of statements from experts commenting on the strange focus on the trivial. What causes it and to what degree is the media responsible?

It is a worthwhile read and a lot of salient points are made. Personally, I'd suggest that the media certainly is complicit in focusing on silly stuff. If the topic isn't about politics then it is about "celebutards" such as Paris Hilton and such. News is sensationalized for the same reasons in the US as they are anywhere else - to make money. It isn't as if the mainstream guys are doing good business, particularly in print. I think the media is desperate to compete for attention and are generally willing to extend remarks on the most trivial of topics if it means gaining an edge.

dcoffee - 09/11/08 22:02
I never watch TV, and I'm usually late when I try to catch the news, the past couple times I hit Inside Edition or Entertainment Tonight, or some other BS Hollywood show that talks about shoes and celebrity babies. They're covering the election. and it makes my head hurt. It's handled through the same lens of sensationalized trivia. It's so weird. I don't recommend watching it. It just makes me go "oh my god, is this how people get information?!" Sorry, I'm rambling.

I agree Josh, profit motivates the news media now more than ever. News outlets used to compete to be the first one to get the 'scoop', expose lies, fraud, and abuse of power. But now they've cut their staff so much that they can't do investigative journalism, they leave that to people who write books. And the networks are only concerned about ratings. I honestly do not see the point of TV news, on cable they just repeat the same bullet points over and over again. And the network news spends all this time trying to get you excited about what's "coming up", you hear about a story five times before they actually get to it, and then they finally give you 3 minutes of coverage. Just skimming the headlines on any website or newspaper gives you way more info than network TV. I like the interviews, but that's about it.

You should watch the movie Network if you haven't already, part of that story is true. The news departments used to be self sufficient and self governed. The parent companies didn't care if the news division made a lot of money because having the most credible news team made the whole network look good. The news divisions had a sort of fraternal pride, and fought to be the first to dig up the facts and expose them to the American people. The Networks have since lost their independence, the CEO's and accountants are more hands on now.

another side note, I think Fox News should just hire Rush Limbaugh and switch their format to opinion. I think MSNBC should do the same, except hire Randi Rhodes on the left. They'd get better ratings, and we'd all accept the bias as a given. We'd all be better off.

As you can tell, the media is on my mind lately. Lipstick on a pig.. what the hell are these people wasting my time for.

tinypliny - 09/11/08 16:55
Somehow I really like the layout on that website and that the debate has a moderator (with a differently coloured comment box). Very spiffy and easy-on-the-eye design.

tinypliny - 09/11/08 16:54
Looks like the website mandatorily wants commentators to list their occupations. Interesting.

09/09/2008 11:43 #45613

McCain: 15-pt. lead among independents

Gallup Poll: McCain Rides Wave, Opens Gaping Lead Among Independents

I have to admit, I'm very surprised by this. I expected McCain to get a bit of a bump after the convention, but a 15-point lead? Truly unexpected. There are a variety of factors that contribute to this shift, but it is a fairly obvious statement that Gov. Palin and her appeal has drawn more voters to the GOP. Love her or hate her, obviously she's been effective at getting middle America and political independents on John McCain's side.

Actually, if you read the data you'll see that among voters that are purely independent, McCain has a 20% increase over Obama among those individuals.

At this point the parties are entrenched in their choices, so very little shifting is going to occur. It remains to be seen how many conservative Democrats will shift over - according to this Gallup data the number of conservative Democrats favoring McCain over Obama has increased from 15% to 25%. Also unknown is how much further the numbers will increase on the GOP side as a result of additional enthusiasm among conservatives, who have helped to pull McCain's numbers higher as well.

Former Mayor of SF stokes Democrat Fears of the "Palin Effect"

Willie Brown, former mayor of San Francisco, is one of the most colorful and interesting politicians you'll ever meet. If you ask me, it is too bad that SF term limits allowed Gavin Newsom to slither into office. The man has had a very interesting political career in California that started in the 1960's. Anyway, he wrote a piece that appeared in the SF Chronicle that very much surprised me.

Overall I thought Willie was astute in his analysis of the Palin effect, love it or hate it. The only thing I really would take issue with is Mayor Brown's assertion that the press will treat Palin as the have Obama. Beeeeeeee Essssssss. That has already been proven wrong.

As an aside, Willie has a funny entry at the very bottom, addressing the recent string of restaurant robberies in Oakland (think Pulp Fiction):

By the way, there's a new dining tip for people going out in Oakland.

Be sure to order soup.

That way when the robbery starts, you can slip off your jewelry and drop it into soup so the robbers won't see it.

Ok, now that is funny. I wish we had more politicians capable of social commentary like this. It might actually endear them to us!

ajay - 09/10/08 12:34
For a guy who hates SF, you do spend a lot of time obsessing about the city, (e:josh) :-D

Willie Brown is the consummate politician; as much at home in City Hall as in some mafioso's den.

Oh, and about the press? Last time I checked, Palin was hiding from the press, just like Dick Cheney. Seems like a Republican thing: send someone else out to fight your wars, while you soil your pants in the bunker.

tinypliny - 09/09/08 19:03
Hahah.. that's a good tip about soup. I will be sure to remember it when I am in Oakland!

08/31/2008 09:55 #45521

PBS HD - Sesame Street

It turns out that one of my favorite channels to watch since we got the upgrade is PBS HD. This morning we were flipping through and noticed Sesame Street was in HD - I don't know why this was so mind blowing to (e:jay) and I. I guess we never considered that this show might be produced in HD these days. Anyway, it made me think of the single greatest thing to ever have been shown on Sesame Street. Funky music, pinballs, mechanical animals, the Washington Monument used as a cannon - you know exactly what I'm talking about because you love this video too! This is a compilation - go ahead and bliss out for 7 minutes.

tinypliny - 09/01/08 20:02
Don't think I ever saw that... Very retro-cool :)

mrmike - 08/31/08 11:38
Insanely great

terry - 08/31/08 11:10
God, I love that thing. I couldn't count how many times that tune has gone thru my head since I was 5 or whenever. Thanks for posting it.

08/28/2008 14:31 #45486

Contorting My Face

The wi-fi station is greatly improved at JFK now. I really wish we had a Jamaican announcing the flights back home like they have here.

I had to switch into my grody other shirt because I got mustard on the one I wore today. Oh snap.

Josh

tinypliny - 08/29/08 13:59
But really, I am just worried about my using swear words via influence. It's not that I don't ever swear. If you are an Indian, swearing is a way of life. Since I can't use literal translations of all those oaths here, maybe I am unconsciously substituting the swear words commonly used here. Hearing people swearing encourages me to be lazy and unimaginative in my speech and I don't like that.

tinypliny - 08/29/08 13:45
Also, JetBlue's concourse has a better selection of food stalls than concourses elsewhere at JFK. I made it through alive and well from Prague last year because of the awesome food at the JetBlue stalls.

Laziness. Poverty. Does it really matter? The outcome is obnoxiousness, exponentiated.

joshua - 08/29/08 12:23
(e:paul) - I don't know when you've been to JFK last but JetBlue's wi-fi hot spot is nice. I think you'd like it - it is one of the best I've seen around the country by far. they installed lounge chairs with tables, and taller steel tables with AC outlets and monitors. The monitors were touch screen menus - you can order at the hot spot and someone brings you your food while you surf/work/whatever.

(e:tiny) - I swear a lot but it is not down to a poverty of expression. I am just lazy at times!

tinypliny - 08/29/08 08:27
The lighting in that picture is so "future-scapey". It's like you are standing in the booth of fluorescence.

I like that expression! It's better than swearing. I am probably turning into this 80 year old hag but I am starting to dislike swearing more and more. I feel it reflects poverty of expression. Lately, I can't tolerate being around people who swear without purpose. It's depressing because I feel they are rubbing off on my language and I resent that.

jason - 08/29/08 08:14
The Oh Snap comes from the Biz Markie song "Just a Friend". Biz says "OH, SHNAP, Guess what I saw?"

paul - 08/29/08 00:08
Nice pic. Where does the "snap" come from? My boss (e:mrdeadlier) says it all the time.

08/27/2008 17:45 #45472

Lawn Guyland (Take 2)

I'm back in Hauppauge today, revisiting a pharmaceutical facility our company audited a few months ago. I flew to JFK, picked up a car and proceeded to get from JFK to Hauppauge in 45 minutes! I was even able to speed on the Belt Parkway - that was a far cry from my introduction to this road earlier in the year, which was quite rude indeed.

After work I plugged Trader Joe's into Ye Olde Garmin and went to Commack to get some food. Typically I don't mind eating alone, but I wasn't really feeling it today. Unless I'm in a place I'm really excited about, for me eating alone is a bit of a bummer. Instead I went grocery shopping. I love Trader Joe's - they are all about healthy and sometimes unusual food, at very fair prices. I'd love to have one in Buffalo - sorry Co-op.

My room has a little couch, a king-size bed and all the news channels I can stand! I wonder what Slick Willy will say tonight. Anyway, I got a bag full of stuff, including the bag, for $22.50. The bag is actually made from 100% consumer PET harvested from transparent chips, which originated from plastic bottles. The result? A $0.99 reusable white plastic bag that didn't need to be bleached for its appearance.

From back to front, side to side -

4oz. dried mangosteen (very rarely seen outside of Asia, at least according to the packaging) - $3.79
1 Qt. Mango + Antioxidant drink - $3.69
1 Qt. 1% milk $0.99
Instant Thai Mushroom Noodle Soup - $0.99
1 lb. 3-berry granola - $3.29
4oz. dried dragon fruit - $1.99
4.4oz. dried and sweetened hibiscus flowers - $1.99
8oz. "apocryphal pita" - 8 small pitas - $1.29
8oz. chipotle pepper hummus - $1.79
1 banana
1 apple
1 cool mint chocolate Clif Bar (I don't remember having tried this flavor)

Plus tax, etc.

I can't eat/drink all of this. I'm bringing back the dried stuff, and perhaps the granola.

chico - 08/28/08 16:58
Mentioning JFK, the Belt Parkway, and Commack made me a little teary-eyed with homesickness. So far there is no WNY equivalent of the frenetic, shoulderless, sometimes-raceway sometimes-parking lot of the Belt (*sigh*). The best is to take it all the way to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. I love that crazy highway.

And Trader Joe's! The one in Commack isn't even all that great and still it's great. I'd love to see one where Latina's was but there's no way they'd open one on Elmwood, I think the Co-op is too great a barrier to entry for the natural/organic foods market (which, despite the proliferation of vegan cupcakes in Elmwood cafes and ice cream parlors, is still relatively small.)

I was just talking with a new friend about mangosteens last night. She said that they're amazing, and that they're so rare that they can sometimes fetch $25.00 apiece in New York City.

Why am I rambling about Asian fruit?

joshua - 08/28/08 14:26
Now don't be talkin' crazy James!

tinypliny - 08/27/08 22:28
Hey, want to do a signature campaign for bringing them to downtown?? :)

james - 08/27/08 21:27
Trader Joe's.... I would even move to Jersey for you.

joshua - 08/27/08 21:19
I've half-thought about sending them photos of the 'hood and say, "Joe's, you belong next door." Seriously - quality food, great prices, eclectic selection in a city like ours would be a great service to the people. I wouldn't shop anywhere else unless I'm buying beer or bulk stuff. The one I visited in California was a bit bigger and my only complaint was that the produce seemed skimp.

tinypliny - 08/27/08 19:27
WHAT IS THE SECRET PLAN????? I AM WILLING TO DRESS IN BLACK AND EAT EXCLUSIVELY APPLES FOR A WEEK if it helps!!! (Not that I don't do this already, but just showing commitment to a worthy cause) Trader Joe's is an ULTRA WORTHY cause!!! DREW< COME ON!! SPILL IT!

janelle - 08/27/08 18:49
Mangosteen rules! I had it fresh in Vietnam.

drew - 08/27/08 18:15
you talk like a conservative, but you eat like a hippie.

I love Joe's, too. Someday I will share my secret plan to get them to Buffalo.