WHERE THE HELL IS THE NEWS?
Ok, now sometimes I must speak of things that I do not like.
There is no news today, AGAIN.
Oh, by the way, Michael Jackson is dead.
I recall 25 years ago watching VH1 and this skinny guy in
his early twenties was dressed up as a walking corpse, like dawn of the dead
and doing some dance. Of course, I immediately turned to MTV and watched Sting.
But that is about it. I mean actually know nothing about this guy. It might as well been some movie star of Bollywood.
Bollywood (Hindi: बॉलीवूड) is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the Indian film industry.[1] Bollywood is the largest film producer in India and one of the largest in the world.[2][3][4] The name is a portmanteau of Bombay (the former name for Mumbai) and Hollywood, the center of the American film industry.[5]
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Bollywood is generally referred to as Hindi cinema, though frequent use of poetic Urdu words is fairly common. There has been a growing presence of Indian English in dialogue and songs as well. It is not uncommon to see films that feature dialogue with English words and phrases, or even whole sentences.[6]
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The Bollywood industry is usually the largest in terms of films produced and box office receipts,
just as Urdu/Hindi speakers outnumber ...
In point of fact, we do think of all Indian films as part of
Bollywood.
But my point here is that billions of dollars are made in
the arena of filmdom known as Bollywood. More than in the good ole USA.
So there are 'stars' I never heard of in India.
Stars with followings that I could never conceive in my wildest dreams. And if
one of them dies, well I imagine with over a billion people in India,
there would be a lotta grieving.
Oh, and India
exports more movies than we do. So people outside of India
would be grieving also.
I would, of course, be unaware.
I know nothing about Michael Jackson. Yet they tell me one
billion people will follow the funeral rites and such world wide today. So
there is no news.
Just like everything else in Michael
Jackson's life, his memorial will be on a grand scale with the world watching.
The event will be held at the Staples Center in Los
Angeles, a
20,000 capacity arena, and 11,000 free tickets will be made publicly available.
How they will be distributed has yet to be determined, but the memorial
service, which will likely be followed by a small private funeral, is expected
to draw many thousands more to the streets outside the arena. Jackson rehearsed
at the arena just two days before his death, and video of his practices
recently surfaced. Read it at Los Angeles Times http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-sheet/archives/2009-07-03/
It is now 12 days following his death. And there still is no
news. I mean there was some news about Palin on jughead this AM. And jughead
was able to squeeze in the 'absolute fact' that there are more conservatives in
this country than liberals.
Then of course Mika had to show us how someone on ebay was attempting
to sell a funeral ticket for ten grand.
I thought it was kind of customary to have a funeral after
kith and kin die in about three days.
That was my experience except for my 8th wife.
They felt a need to perform an autopsy. They just had never really seen someone
impale themselves on a garden rake before. Oh well...........
Now there is Wolf (talk about walking corpses) kind of doing
a play by play of the festivities involved in the funeral of MJ. Wolf really
has got his serious face on. He did not look that serious when he reported on
the war crimes in Darfur.
But twelve days. I mean at our home in the old days we did not even celebrate the twelve days of Christmas.
Bill O'Reilly expressed shock today at a Pew study showing that African-Americans are far more interested in coverage of Michael Jackson's death than white Americans.
O'REILLY: Black
Americans are much more engaged in watching this stuff than white Americans,
even though Michael Jackson has white children -- and he chose to have white
children -- and the face deal, don't even want to get into... So what's that
racial thing all about? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/06/gretchen-carlson-michael_n_226707.html
All the while O'Reilly is interviewing to women whiter than one
of Boehner's dress shirts.
Who was he?
More information is
trickling out about Michael Jackson's final days. Police have found Diprivan
(Propofol), a very strong sedative, at his home, sources tell ABC News, in
addition to the previously reported doses of pain medications Oxycontin and
Demerol. Jackson is believed to have used different doctors
and aliases to obtain the drugs. In other new development, Us Weekly is
reporting that the 50 year-old singer had a cancerous lesion removed from his
nose just days before he died on June 25. "This is not a man who suffers
pain well. He likes painkillers. So he got some from here, he got some from
there--who knows how much," biographer Diane Dimond said. http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-sheet/archives/2009-07-03/
This is a not a man who suffers pain well. KILLER. Wow.
I guess I am glad I am not running for office like that
horrific repub in NY who referred to this music god as a pervert with a drug
problem or some such.
Can we all get back to the real news now?
I mean where is Sara Palin fishing today?
Does Sanford have
other girl friends we do not know about?
Did Vice President Biden tell us again how the depth of the
current depression was not correctly ascertained until just recently?
Did Senator Ensign get reborn again?
And what about Palin's grandaughter's father? What the hell has he been doin?
NO WONDER PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE TV ANYMORE.
Ha! About one paragraph in my thought was "Damn, I'm glad I don't have TV anymore!"
July 7, 2009 6:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
hahahahahaaha. I know. KGB I have it on background all day. You know Leno says he cannot write without something else interrupting his thought...
But Ford's death, Reagan's death did not go on this long did it?
July 7, 2009 6:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, no, but for about a month in 1980 or 81, Saturday Night Live's weekend Update kept including "In Spain, President Francisco Franco is still dead."
July 7, 2009 10:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dave I forgot about that:
AND GENERALISSIMO FRANCISCO FRANKO IS STILL DEAD!!!!
Shit I forgot that wonderful line. hahahaahahhaha
You know Dave, we neeeeeeeeeeed lines like this.
It started something. Something that Mad and then National Lampoon had really begun.
hahahahaha
July 7, 2009 10:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, speaking of Mad - I found some pre-better comics code mad on the net.
Mickey Rodent
http://johnglenntaylor.blogspot.com/2009/01/mickey-rodent-mad-19.html
One of my all time favorites. I love the little humans on leashes and the "curb your mortals" sign.
Starchie
http://derivatittie.fileave.com/03.jpg
just type in "/04.jpg" to get to the next page, and so on till /10.jpg.
A classic. I think it was done during the Congressional Hearings on Juvenile Delinquency.
July 8, 2009 2:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good segway. Thanks for the link.
That Starchie comic rang a bell. I remembered the line on the last page about his cris crosses turning grey. I'm just older than dirt.
July 8, 2009 7:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Re: ...Ford's death, Reagan's death...., recalled your query reading the Business Section this morning--
from
Blowout Ratings for a Farewell, Online and Off
New York Times, July 9
The part of the article that really suprised me was that Neilsen recorded nearly the same rating for watching the not-guilty verdict in Jackson's sexual abuse trial in 2006 as for the memorial. I had no idea there was that large a number interested in his life. I thought his death was a shock and then nostalgia thing (i.e., "oh my god, we did not appreciate him when he was alive,") but apparently this many people have been following news of his life all along.
As I mentioned on another thread, it behooves to remember that the news channels and programs don't make any money in the summer (can't deliver much an audience to advertisers,) unless they have a story like this. It may seem there are a lot of year-round serious news junkies on the net, but we are still pretty small in number (and smaller in summer) compared to the audience for "human interest" story delivered through a celeb vehicle that people consider almost as a friend or family.
I recall stories of people in 19th-century London waiting in lines to buy the weekly newspaper for the next serial installment of a Dickens novel, people that never would consider buying a paper for news; they wanted to know what Pip was going to do next, that's what they cared about. Also remember something about Henry James bitching about Dickens' tacky sentimaental pandering to the masses.
July 9, 2009 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
P.S. That said, let me bring up my own past bitchin about the Sanford story coverage here on TPM. I believe the net offers, more so than cable TV, an opportunity to "pander" to niche elite audiences, like serious news junkies. There is less reason to try to get the big giant general audience like HuffPo obviously is trying to do, and I fear, TPM sometimes. But the more expenses, the more overhead, the more likely to pander to get those audience numbers, it's a Catch-22. It's not easy keeping a vehicle like the New York Times profitable without pandering to a big audience, they've had the luxury in the past of having an elite readership that was a niche advertisers wanted, and, in the bad times, a family involved in ownership willing to stick to an original mission and stick it out. Will a place like TPM do that, or, once they build up a high overheard, be tempted to court the bigger audience numbers when they need cash flow?
July 9, 2009 11:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Last year, I told my ex-boyfriend that he could stay here in the apartment with me over the summer in order to save up his money so he could find his own place. I know, I know....I'm just too damn nice.
Well all summer goes by and he seems to be saving money cuz I don't see him spending any, and I'm thinking, "This is good..."
So one weekend I go up to visit Mom in PA and I get this text message from him, and he says, "I have a surprise."
I figured maybe he'd been nice and done my laundry for me or something. So I get home on Sunday, hoping to find clean folded clothes sitting on the dresser....and there's this huge 32" flat screen sitting in the living room instead. He'd been paying Circuit City on layaway for the damn thing all summer long, the bastid.
Anyway, I kicked him out shortly thereafter and he left the TV with me because he was afraid it would get stolen in his new place. He told me he wanted $700 for it. I told him I'd been paying his rent and bills for 5 years and I didn't think I owed him a red cent. I still have it, it sits here in my living room every day, but I'll be damned if I ever watch it unless it's to view a DVD or watch House on Monday nights.
Honest truth.
TV sucks....and the news ain't news.
July 7, 2009 6:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
THE END
Hopefully
July 7, 2009 6:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, and did I mention it's an HDTV??? Heh heh...
July 7, 2009 6:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not sure what planet you have resided on in which you know nothing about an individual who has been in the public eye for 40 of his nearly 51 years. I find that hard to believe.
However, as much as I like Jackso's music, I say, enought is enough! It has bee MJ for the past 10 days or so. Still, what were we seeing before: Palin, Sanford, Limbaugh, Cheney, Iran, Iraq, Afghaistan, . Korea, China, mass murderers, spree killers, serial killers, high unemployment, recession, foreclosure, healthcare reform.
I got tired of hearing about those issues, people, countries too. So what is the alterative?
July 7, 2009 6:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Um, reading blogs?
July 7, 2009 6:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Writing about something interesting.
July 8, 2009 1:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Reading a book?
July 7, 2009 6:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I tried to explain a book to SOMEBODY here once...
They were terribly confused so I dropped the subject.
Not the book. Just the subject.
July 7, 2009 6:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
How to explain the concept of a book in our post-modern world: It's a book. Think of it like a very, very, very, very, very long Tweet.
July 8, 2009 12:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
A very, very, very long Tweet.
1849, I luv repeatin myself but I need that 1.5 second delay.....
I hereby award you the Knightly Line of the Day Award for this here TPMCafe Site, given to all of you from all of me.
PERFECT, JUST FUCKIN PERFECT. HAHAHAHAAHAHHAH
July 8, 2009 12:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
You know that you can read a, um, book on twitter, right? It's called Twitterature. You can read a book "in 20 tweets or less". Next time you say "who's the twit who wrote the book?" you could be making a pun.
http://mashable.com/2009/06/23/twitterature/
(I want to see them do Shakespeare. Hamlet's soliloquy in 140 characters? Now that would either be funny or tragic.)
July 8, 2009 1:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
SHAKESPEARE IN 140 CHARACTERS?
I, er.........how many characters in Hamlet? I mean total.
Rosancrantz and Gildenstern.
Oh yeah, and never attack me for spelling. I mean nobody knew how to spell in them days anyway!!!!
July 8, 2009 1:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm sure someone's actually counted (or has it on a Word doc and just clicked that counter thing-a-ma-bob).
Still, I'm morbidly curious about these twitter books. I'm guessing that they are like Cliff Notes that my rabbit has gotten a hold of: random chunks and the occasional page just ripped out of the thing.
July 8, 2009 1:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Gladly accepted!
July 8, 2009 1:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hahahaha - had my tv on and actually watched a bit of the coverage BEFORE the funeral and it was sooooooo over the top it actually made me feel ill. Of course that might have been due to the mammouth blueberry muffin from Perkins that I ate for breakfast. Nonetheless- some stupid anchor was actually showing the crowds in front of the Stapler place - it looked more like camera crews to me but who am I to judge.
Turned it off and spent the day listening to music which did not include ANYTHING by Jackson.
Now I hope we don't have Michael sitings like we had with Elvis. They will no doubt break into the news of some important nature to tell us about it.
I give up on news!!!!!!!!!!
Well done as always, DD.
July 7, 2009 6:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks Maggie, but I liked your story about Nana more than i did this one.
I bet Jen does tooooooooo. ha!!!
I bet you are a great grandma.
July 7, 2009 6:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry, Mum, he has already been sited.
July 8, 2009 12:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's MJ on Nightly News ... not on public TV, though.
July 7, 2009 6:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sure? Starts in fifteen here Donal.
July 7, 2009 6:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, on public TV we have Lawrence Welk, who has been dead even longer than Michael Jackson. :-(
July 7, 2009 6:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
hahahahaha. You know I look back and I KNOW, positively, one of the reasons I played 'outside' all the time as a kid was Lawrence Welk. My idiot drunken parents would watch it every time it came on. Here this is a gift from LisB and Bwak:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UV3kRV46Zs
July 7, 2009 7:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is weirdly hilarious. Not sure why, though. On second thought, it's a bit disturbing too seeing adults do what looks like the hokie pokey (how's that spelled, btw? I first wrote 'hockey pokey' and then got mentally an image that looked like the equivalent of Disney's Gretzky on Ice.)
July 8, 2009 1:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
hahahhaa. Matyra. Now you have me laughing. ha
middle of the nite you know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wokIM_cBh7Q
July 8, 2009 1:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
which is the only time my jokes are actually funny, I think. Oh well, gotta actually work in the morning....
July 8, 2009 1:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ohmigod! The blond girl is wrapped so tight she can't raise her arms or wiggle her butt!!! I think she has a steel rod in her back. Thank Michael Jackson we can spread our legs and grab our cratches. Now THAT'S dancing!!!
{moonwalks off stage Left}
July 8, 2009 12:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
The chicken-dance: Finest German musical export since Beethoven's ninth! HAHA ... oh why did you make us watch that, Dick...
;0)
July 8, 2009 1:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
The sad truth here, DD, is that TV news has become this "celebrity dead-pool" monstrosity because that is what the viewers tune in to see.
If CNN ran all serious international coverage all day their ratings would be infinitesimal. And despite Ted Turner's proud proclamation that they'd be on the air to cover the end of the world, they'd be replaced by something a lot closer to E! than either of us would ever like to see.
I've commented before on how it's now possible to know exactly when in a newscast the viewers switch away. (It's during the "foreign" stuff.) And anyone who still thinks there's a firewall between the news and ad sales departments is only fooling themselves.
Oh yes, also: Ask yourself why local auto dealers are rarely if ever the subject of investigative journalism for their dubious practices. Here in MN, for example, we had Denny Hecker, one of the worst auto dealer crooks imaginable, running a massive series of scams and games, and who ever made the slightest bit of fuss? Not the news shops, not the papers, certainly nowhere he bought ads. And he bought a lot of ads. And if he paid for ads, he also wanted to know that people saw them, so he didn't buy on shows that didn't sell, and news from "over there" doesn't deliver the eyeballs.
And paparazzi are out there only because there is a demand for the photos they produce. If starlets and "pop-tarts" begin wearing underwear again, the public will want something else, and the paparazzi will go there. Bet on it.
Per Walt Kelly - "We have met the enemy and they is us!"
July 7, 2009 6:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yea for Pogo.
Sells toothpaste and private extenders and sponges on a stick I suppose.
Over and above the 100 people who died from gunshots and car accidents today. I suppose more than 100 rapes and 1000 dying of heart and lung problems.
And Desi I think does this thing on the IG firing. I go to links....18 pages here.....21 pages there and then I realize this goes back more than a month...And I am lost on probably a big nationwide story of gov graft. And I aint that dumb.
This more 'local' scam which is not local at all really, takes time and effort...
All these car loan scams for instance...I mean GS and BOA...they are part of the story, not just the mortgages.
But like Desi shows me, the facts are out there. Real investigative journalism. WE HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND FORGET TV FOR NEWS ANYWAY.
So, with some exceptions grouch, for sure, cable news is now an arm of Echannel...ha!!!
Oh, but I will check out Keith O. tonite anyway. He and Rachel ought to piss off somebody. hahaha
July 7, 2009 7:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's not widely known that Kelly first uttered that immortal line while draped, in a semi-conscious alcohol-induced haze, over a Saigon bar. I caught the reference in John Laurence's outstanding Vietnam memoir, The Cat From Hue.
July 7, 2009 7:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Television has gotten so bad that it seems like I've been turning it off twice as much as i've been turning it on.
I've successfully avoided all MJ coverage--and that takes skill, some serious hand/eye coordination--instantly clicking away from commentators the nanosecond they mention anything about MJ. In fact, as soon as their lips start to form an "M", I'm gone.
July 7, 2009 7:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hand/eye coordination Gary. ha
You got that right.
See I like KeithO in the background, I know how much he pisses off the powers that be.
About five or six dramas a like.
You know though....since I got this fantastic pc set up, I can watch tv shows i like. But the music...the music. Listen to it all day.
And the TV has been behind me, literally, for three months. hahahahahahaa
If I did not catch a sponge stick from time to time...I mean i would have less to write about.
July 7, 2009 7:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
One would think there would be one tv news producer out there who would pledge to be MJ free. The market for people who don't want to watch MJ news is probably bigger than the small slice of the pie they get with the over-saturated news coverage.
I guess it comes down to a scientific law about people I discovered in high school: People Are Stupid!
July 7, 2009 7:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
No I think it is more like this Batman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awi14wDTxNw
But that is why I have been soooooo excited over the Web. I mean nutso's and notonutso's and journalists that cannot sell paper anymore
Amazing to me.
July 7, 2009 7:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Perspective:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/michael-jackson-bad-and-very-dangerous-1731258.html
July 7, 2009 7:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've been pissin' and moanin' about the media coverage of this for the last 10 days! Sadly, it is documentary evidence of what is wrong with both media news and society. But, that is a whole other post.
However, I now must admit - that while never a big MJ fan, I did (quite unitentionally) click on TV and it was the beginning of the 'We Are The World' group sing (at the end of the memorial service) followed by 'Heal The World'. And I gotta say, I was moved by the words, music and sentiment. After this segment was done I clicked off (intentionally) and went back to work.
That said, the other 9 days were insanity and proof positive there is no viable news outlet (at least on broadcast TV) with possible exception (sometimes) of PBS.
Thanks for post dd - so glad you are on site!
July 7, 2009 8:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey Auntie always gooooooooooood to see you.
Yeah quite a show today.
ONe billion people? wow
July 7, 2009 8:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
All I can say, dd, is "Thank God he never ran for office!"
I so agree with your post. :-)
July 7, 2009 8:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
hhahahahahaha! But those who do better not talk about him! hahahahsa
How ya doin dear TheraP?
July 7, 2009 8:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
I mean where is Sara Palin fishing today?
Kanakanak Beach, Dillingham, AK
Does Sanford have other girl friends we do not know about?
Please be more specific, as in ones that he has or has not crossed lines with?
Did Vice President Biden tell us again how the depth of the current depression was not correctly ascertained until just recently?
No, he has moved on to Israel's rights of self defense.
Did Senator Ensign get reborn again?
Are reborns something like the 9 lives of cats? In that case, not yet, but stay tuned to the reborn channel.
And what about Palin's grandaughter's father? What the hell has he been doin?
Welcoming Michael Jackson to his new Neverland.
July 7, 2009 9:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, Ok, Seashell. Now thank you for the updates.
But for heavens sakes (blesses himself even though nothing appears capitalized) the nine lives of the cat always ring true to me.
I was getting sick of Bereshit, but I am spurred on to continue at least thru Noah and looking at my notes...........geeeeeeeeeez, it never ends.
At any rate, I like this rebirth stuff.
But can you really PONTIFICATE when you are only reborn? I was watching an old Spencer Tracy flick, he is older and the only American in this English Stage Play that has been made into a film.
I mean he really is supposed to be Lord Fontleroy or some such..........
So I had my own scene in my head where they had some vocal coach for Tracy and he said, no I demur.....hahahahahhahaahah
So he was the only one in the film with an American accent. hahahahhahaha
It had to be like '49 cause he was lookin so old......
Good flick........I mean better than anything Adam Sandler could do.......
THE END
July 7, 2009 9:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
But can you really PONTIFICATE when you are only reborn?
If you are a Republican, you can PONTIFICATE even if you're only half reborn and have your fingers crossed behind your back.
Hope I've been helpful, dd. As always, I love you!
THE END
July 7, 2009 9:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well news of the day around here was my actually deciding after two weeks of dithering to go with my mechanic's choice of tires instead of Costco's or Big O's- the latter a chain I only just encountered out here in California. John's a good mechanic.
Oh, but you agree that something wonderful happened in the Senate chamber today Dick, don't you of all people? Ha! Congratulations, Minnesota! I really like this Senator.
July 7, 2009 9:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hi Loosey.
Loosey, I am so ecstatic over this, I cannot explain it without four pages, which is my normal blog instead of this piece of .......
I have been looooooooooking for a successor for Wellstone, Paul we like to call him. His ghost was there when Coleman...a young Repub who could have unraveled graft in the procurement area like HST.........he could have raised holy hell, and he made me so goddamnable mad (blesses himself, alittle)
And now.........I sure hope Al says, hey!!!!!!!I can do this into my seventies........
He is a shoe in for 2014. I mean a shoooooooin.
Wait, it will be such fun for worthless people like myself to see him doin gigs on the Senate Floor, I mean abominating hubris and hypocrisy.
I Looooooooook forward to this.
ha!!!!!!!!!!
July 7, 2009 9:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
One thing to remember:
From my indirect evidence, I'm betting that nearly all of the posters on this blog are in any valued demographic. I'm sure that the world looks odd from that vantage point.
For some (not me, but some), Michael Jackson was as important as the Beatles. Indeed, Michael Jackson broke MTV's video barrier. He also wrote Antisemitic lyrics and was an accused pedophile.
Such is life.
I do wish, however, that a Congresswoman didn't rep at his funeral. That's not the people's business. That's grandstanding.
One thing is certain: he did do more than Princess Diana for the world and Princess Diana's funeral had the same type of coverage. (Recall Princess Diana died around the same time as Mother Theresa and essentially blow Mother Theresa off the newspage.)
July 7, 2009 9:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good points, there. Princess Diana's death was just as shocking as Michael Jackson's and the coverage was just as crazy then as now.
And his fans are truly mourning. I know I felt that way when John Lennon was murdered by Chapman. I was as saddened as if a family member had died. Silly, I suppose, but I was.
Jackson definitely did a lot for charities and promoted many good causes, and for that I owe him respect. His personal life was crazy, but the man certainly was gifted.
All that being said, it would be nice if tomorrow the news cycle would recycle back to news....such as it is.
July 7, 2009 9:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I really do think that John Lennon is in a different category. He survived his celebrity-dom. He was murdered by a crazed fan.
Jackson pretty much did himself in -- just like Elvis. It's always the courtiers that kill the King.
Personally, I always though Jackson was a hypocrite. McCartney begged Jackson not to allow Beatles' songs in commericials, but Jackson allowed it. At the same time, his own stuff was verboten.
One thing that we have seen today is that the exploitation of natural ability -- starting as it did at age 10 -- doesn't even abate in death.
It's documented that
a) Joe Jackson was a child beater -- but, hey, let's look at the crocodile tears from him at the ceremony.
b) Michael Jackson surrounded himself with children. In fact, male children. Specifically. And in bed. But, hey, today we ignored all of that.
c) "Sue me, Jew me, Kick me, Kike me." "We are the world." Yep.
Much more than simply media coverage -- it was a media whitewash of the whole history. I find that an offense to rationality.
This was much more like the spectacle of an Elvis. Who also died of drugs given to him by his entourage and taken, in part, to help deal with the celebrity bubble. And who also gave to charity.
Elvis was a great singer. Michael was a great dancer.
And tomorrow, as you point out, we must face the economy and a growing oil crisis.
And we will have to do it without television media.
;-)
At least those of you outside LA could get on with your lives if you chose. We had all of downtown shutdown!
July 7, 2009 11:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Princess Diana also did a lot for causes, I'll add.
And I agree with you about Michael, I was just trying to look at it from both angles because someone came to chat tonight with a different point of view - a fan of Michael's. And I like to look at everything from both sides, now.
Heh, Joni Mitchell ref.
Feel free to join us in chat, btw.
July 7, 2009 11:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can you post the chat room? (Or put it in your bio so I'll know where it is?)
July 8, 2009 12:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
CT, 1 billion people.
If I could have appeared on that, seven hours later I would have k's worth 5 million
I could have just stood there with sponges on a stick and yelled: Killer or whatever.
make no difference.
IT IS ALL A LIE
And some of my favorite people appeared on that stage
July 7, 2009 10:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hmmm.... not sure I followed all that. But thanks!
July 7, 2009 10:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, I think you might be wrong about that, CT. Because there are not one, but two polarized worlds from which it is an achievement to become distinguished, and mourned: from dire poverty, and from dire privilege. Neither demographic is expected to amount to much. When someone does, transcending their birth and the expectations people have for them, it is something worth noting. So, did Michael Jackson transcend his beginnings in music? Yes, he certainly did. As did Diana transcend her world of privileged ennui to become an example that even princesses -- whether royal, Jewish or Episcopalian -- can ultimately serve as inspiration to the masses.
July 7, 2009 11:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Michael Jackson was from a working class background. But by the time he was ten he lived a better life than you and I (except for the chucking of his childhood which is considerable but not about poverty).
I get you about Princess Diana... but the Queen of England also does a lot of charity work. Just didn't figure out how to use the media as well. And the Queen looked a bit more dowdy.
And while I agree Diana might have gone the extra mile in terms of charity, I think she still paled to what Mother Theresa did, don't you?
There was a lot of slickness to the memorial today. I felt sad for his daughter, but not for her saying she missed Daddy, but that the family put her on stage to begin with. She is, in fact, the same age as Michael was when he was thrust in the limelight.
And so it goes.
July 7, 2009 11:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
There is my Belle. ha!!!! I write a bunch of drivel in the afternoon and yet:
Neither demographic is expected to amount to much. When someone does, transcending their birth and the expectations people have for them, it is something worth noting. So, did Michael Jackson transcend his beginnings in music?
Belle, it makes me wish to attend a Southern University for one year. Two years if necessary. I sweat a lot.
HOW IN THE HELL DO YOU PUT LANGUAGE TOGETHER LIKE THIS? Oh and do not spend that much time responding to CT. He really would not fathom it.
July 8, 2009 12:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, DD, but the concept of triumphing over poverty or privilege was better than the description of it. (Wince -- I committed the grammar sin of coupling "someone" with "their" rather than with "his or her," an error that makes me grit my teeth when students do it.)
One would think I've been brain-deadened by watching the news, but I can't blame TV, as I haven't had it on since MJ died, precisely for the reasons you cite.
July 8, 2009 2:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
So, on the one hand you say we should laud people like Michael Jackson and Princess Diana, but on the other, you said you turned off your TV to avoid MJ coverage.
What did I not understand about your comments?
July 8, 2009 3:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Apples/oranges, CT -- in my opinion -- though both MJ and PD were subjected to overwhelming socio/economic messages that smothered individuality when they were children, both -- perhaps in consequence -- seemed as adults to be keenly attuned to the voices of children.
Yes, both transcended their upbringings. Both maximized their natural gifts. But the difference between them that I consider to be meaningful?
Although both erred, in terms of generally accepted morality, PD -- who might have been more likely to be in airy fairy denial -- chose instead to address the brutal, practical realities of children under duress due to disease, starvation, war, genocide... whereas MJ built them a theme park in which someone was given permission to escape harsh realities. Was it the children, or MJ himself?
Consider the comparison -- did MJ draw attention to brutality and abomination (HIV, starvation, land mines, etc.) or did he focus on Never Mind in Neverland???? With an undercurrent of a hidden room, with multiple locks.
Just asking.
July 8, 2009 7:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I was at home almost all day for a change. I slept for a while with the TV on and had some very strange dreams of sitting in the Staples Arena(description deleted).
This was not a memorial service but a hagiography to rehabilitate a supremely talented but twisted man's image. How much did L.A. really pay for this extravaganza compared to the help they could have given to, say, their growing homeless population?
PS Where is Sara Palin fishing? She sleeps with the fishes (politically speaking).
July 7, 2009 10:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
One billion people Don. You can make a lot of money showing up in front of the camera on that.
I get real sick of it, nauseous and ill prepared..
I do not know how to prepare for it. Most of the time I shut off the sound and played Bach.
THE END
July 7, 2009 10:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
News of the future:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Iskvknf76Q
July 7, 2009 10:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
It really is not that FAR off as they say Donal.
Really, I mean w had given one of his speeches and such and one of the truckers thought he had said:
I AM THE ULTIMATE DEICER
Well, one thing led to another and they grabbed him and threw him into a gas tank headed for Northern Minnesota and..........
Well that's history for ya. Ha!!!!!
July 7, 2009 10:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
From the time I was in junior high school until about the time of 9/11 I religiously watched NBC or CBS news (couldn't get a good signal on the ABC affiliates here in the hills) to be informed of the world's events. Viet Nam was riveting, probably because there was relatively little filtering, and certainly no blatant intentional hiding of the facts.
Suspicions about MSM were aroused when almost immediately after Clinton was elected in 1992, the Repubs started attacking Clinton and the MSM vigorously reported much of it. At the time I was perplexed at the attacks as, while I never voted for Clinton, I thought he was due some deference for the office he held.
Then comes W and 9/11 and the MSM jumped on the bandwagon of brainwashing and manipulation, utterly failing to hold our leaders accountable.
Television news fact finding and dissemination has become so awful that I have no doubt that it is intentional.
Just finished reading David McCullough's biography of John Adams and learned about Thomas Jefferson surrepticiously paying for publication of falsehoods about Adams in the 1800 election.
Damn, this shit has been going on for a long time.
July 7, 2009 10:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Biker: ITS BEEN A LONG, LONG, TIME COMIN AND A LONG TIME GONE (Steven Stills0
Amazin. Which again, I can afford to be a broken record in pj's.........
This net, makes it sooooooooo very hard to hide. But it really involves needles hidden in haystacks.
Yet so many blogs, and sites and such....
Sayin' : Here's that goddman neeedle. ha!!!
July 7, 2009 10:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
'Going on for a long time.' Hahahaha.
I was brought up in the so-called Christian church.
Apologies to the atheists - I'm not pumping brain control : who remembers the bit where the Sanhedrin - Temple - high mucky-mucks hire professional coached shills to goad the crowd into shouting 'Crucify Him!'
Then they free the crook.
Rather sounds like trolls and politicians today.
July 8, 2009 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
1. From Wikipedia,
Following such coinage as "Bollywood," the colloquial term "Dickywood" arose to stand for Minnesota's porn industry, which dug out a hitherto unexplored market for bestiality & bloggers. See: Cult trilogy "Moose Humps Blogger in Silk PJ's," its sequel, "Ohmigod That Nearly Kilt Me," and the concluding film, "How'd You Get The Goddamn Moose Into The PJ's To Start With?"
2. Afghanistan. Important stories out there on this, including many soldiers dying, the almost complete absence of Afghanis troops, etc. More coverage please.
3. Oh yeah. Screw TV. (Until hockey season.)(Or the World Series.)(Go Cards.)
July 7, 2009 10:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Agreed about Afghapakistan (things brewin' and it don't look good).
BTW, Rumor is Sarah Palin is taking time off to catch up on her blogging and may appear in Moose Humps Blogger in Silk PJs II (which somehow explains why the moose is in silk pj's).
July 7, 2009 11:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
You know Q, I hate aristocrats and I hate golf.
But there was Woods again. Everybody white except for the Asians...........
I think that is how he got in in the first place.
And I have watched him faithfully, like a goddamanable fan, and I love it.
I have it on. I write. I read. ohhhhhhhhhh my god
what a putt.
When I was a kid they would have these terrible films showing Arnie and Nicholas, you could not see the ball.....oooooooooh what a shot.......what the fuck are you talkin about? what ball?
It was 1997, THE MASTERS, I mean like the coronation of the goddamn pope, and this 'BLACK KID', I mean what the hell do I care what he calls himself, is walking down the fairway......
The first nine (remeber it was his third Masters and first as a pro) he shoots a 40......I mean he is dead again, right? Nooooooooooohe proceeeds to shoot a thirty on the back nine.
By the end of the eighteen for the second day he leads.
WHO IN THE FUCK IS THIS GUY?
And then, the end of the third day, this black guy is leading by a bunch.
And then, of course, he sets a record for the course. A course THAT WOULD NOT LET A MAN OF NEGRO DESCENT EVEN WALK ABOUT ITS WONDROUS BEAUTY WITHOUT CARRYING A BAG AND SAYIN YES MASTER
I saw history. The repub racist pricks who ran that goddamn golf course, could not wait for Bobby Jones to finally die so that they could put in a ringer, some poor black guy on the minor league circuit, to bless the grounds.
And Q, this guy, the son of HST really, a lifer who knew true integration in the armed forces....
He blew them all away. Now he is 5 from passing Nicklas. 14 from passing Snead. AND HE WILL. And if I have to pretend to drink beer to watch it in some nothing bar, I will be there to see it done. I would bet my left leg, in toto, that there are golf fans who argue that he really is Asian and not black at all. hahhahahaha
Yes, hockey, the Cards, the Twins in 87 and 91...
TV has something.
But the NEWS?
Shit. Read about eight blog sites a day...you are ahead of the game.
Sorry,
I get carried away. Boy did i reeally. hahahha
July 7, 2009 11:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're just desperately trying to avoid the fact that Don Key and I have nailed you as a central porn player up there in Dickywood, Minnesota.
Ok. Golf. Played it twice.
1st time, in upstate NY. On the 3rd hole, I peel one into the trees. The guys tell me to take it easy, just tap it out there 20 feet, then proceed as usual. "No way," I say. "Gonna do this Canadian Hockey Player-style." So I give it this massive wind-up, and the club handle wraps itself around the branch I hadn't noticed - about 4" DIRECTLY above my head. The club head breaks off and bashes me in the temple, knocks me flat, bleeding like a pig. I played on, blood red all down one side, and in the end, they give me an Award.
I think I shot 140 or so.
2nd time, in England, 1985. This exclusive club, and my buddy was a member - a great golfer, guy who shoots 70 on real courses. Scottish, natch. Anyway, we start laughing, clowning, talking to ourselves about how serious these other bastards were. With all their golf duds and such. So we're doing trick shots by the 2nd hole, just to keep ourselves amused. The old Chevy Chase one hand Caddyshack shots (with na na na na sound effects)... two handed hockey-stick shots a la Happy Gilmore (but way before him)... plus a couple of Scottish celebratory dances after particularly great (or crap) shots.
On the 3rd hole (again) I'm down on my stomach, betting that I can snooker this one in. Lying there, the club officials/bouncers arrive, and give us the heave ho. What interested me is that those shitty little officials must have been informed, and headed out to boot us off, WELL BEFORE the snooker shot. So they were kicking us off for what? Golfing with one hand? Making na na na na sound effects? Laughing? Scottish dancing?
Pricks.
I hate golfing.
Except I enjoyed playing indoor house golf with my Scottish buddy all through the Winter of 85/86 in this house 7 of us shared. We laid out a frigging GREAT course. The 4th hole was the toilet on the second floor. The 5th hole was our serious American buddy's pillow. He never understood why we always laughed so hard when we chipped successfully into his pillow. Never once asked us where that ball had been. Just smiled as though he was enjoying the joke. We'd be crying ourselves as these filthy golf balls would plop in the pillow of his well-made bed in his immaculate room.
And you know Dick... I think that last story probably explains American TV better than de Toqueville did. Like, the announcers have that stupid, fixed, "we're entertained" smile pasted on... while they haven't the first f*cking clue that the joke's on them.
Ha! de Toqueville THAT!
THE END.
July 8, 2009 12:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
THIS IS GREAT Q. Cause I am workin on a Twilight Zone with LisB.
But Toqueville, I mean it is better than Proverbs.
I have quotes in there that lay me flat like a 3 wood from Woods in the butt--which I witnessed on Sunday. hahahahaha
I mean Toqueville is GOD. He is writing when Sam Clemens is 12.
And he nails it. I mean he nails it. I dont care if he is talkin religion or politics or community organizers.
The French, must have thought him nuts.
Not to bore you further but Toqueville is next.
July 8, 2009 12:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Toqueville was great. I don't give a damn if he got this or that wrong, but to write as well as he, to cover that much ground, with such useful insights - he gets a top ranking.
Of course, I also put Bill Murray up there in my Top Ten Analysts of America too.
July 8, 2009 12:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
I just watched that a one hour show....
On TPM today. Just videos on Al Franken. So delightful.
THAT MAN WILL CAUSE A LOT OF TROUBLE. Or at least he better.
At any rate Toqueful is next. ha!!!
July 8, 2009 1:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
Toqueville was great
Me 3. Superb anthropological reporter. When people bring up the question of "What is American about American culture?," he's still got most of the answers, he spotted them in their infancy.
July 8, 2009 3:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Nice line about the rake...
July 7, 2009 10:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM1NuFhXhgA
Did someone mention a Rake?
July 7, 2009 10:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, a lot of hubbub about all this then.
But there she was, and there was the rake.
And CSI did their stuff
Can WE JUST MOVE ON?
July 7, 2009 11:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am with Quinn on this DD. Either disable the cable and stick to playing DVD's, Videos, and video games on the TV or just shoot the thing and get your news online... you can still see some CNN, MSNBC, etc. online. Why expose yourself to the insanity?
July 7, 2009 11:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
hahhahahahahahhaha
But Sync. where would I get my inspiration? My anger.
hahhaahahahaha
Oh how I love the net......... You know Sync.....
NOBODY TELLS ME WHAT I CAN SAY.
Think about it.
Of course I could log something in a notebook with rings in ink.
But I mean here. Here!!!. People who can read and write will respond to what I write.
It is magic.
And I do see KeithO. my hero.
And his protege Rachel
And they piss off so many people. hahhahaha
And Sync I can write about ancient wisdom and ancient stupidity
I can write about the evil peoples in the world
And those who are not evil at all.......
And people who can read and write, like you, they look to see what I have written.
WHY ON EARTH WOULD THEY, WOULD YOU?
ha
July 7, 2009 11:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
After I took classes in mass media, I began to see the potential for television to rot the brain. With that said, I have a become a more discriminate television watcher. I can't do with C-SPAN because they are actually talking about something that matters; for example, I just finished listening to another session of the senate sub-committee discussing the mark-up on health care. Watching---listening is more like it--it has been invaluable public service since I can't be in Washington personally. I love the Washington Journal because I get a small measure of the temperature of the country. Where would I be with Q&A, AfterWords, Prime Minister's Question Time, BookTV and a sundry of other programs on C-SPAN?
Why do I watch Prime Minister's Question Time? Well, after I read Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, I was starving to hear the British Parliament debate in real time. It doesn't disappoint.
July 8, 2009 12:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
They get so damn made in Britain. hahahahaa
It is part show.
But I mean they are mean bastards. hahahahah
I love that show. I love CSPAN
1849, I get so excited when Obey gets mad on the floor of the house. When Sir Boner throws the papers on the floor
Maybe I am just a political junky....I do not know
But history tells us when men would be caned on the floor of the House.
Or when the powerful would go out for duels. Ha.
Any rate. I love CSPAN.
HA
July 8, 2009 12:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yea, and Russ Feingold looks just like Soupy Sales - it startles me sometime. And Carl Leven looks like Danny Devito as The Penguin, I swear. I haven't got one for Boner yet - it's there, but I just can't put my finger on it. God bless cspan.
July 8, 2009 3:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
that is without C-SPAN
July 8, 2009 1:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
You woulda thought Abraham Delano Washington died or something.
July 8, 2009 1:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
I know. hahhahahahaaha. I mean whod a thunk?
But we must sell the sponge sticks and the extenders
at least in the old days they sold cars.........
July 8, 2009 1:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
You know Dick, I think for one day, we should turn TPM's blogs into... the MSM. Everyone gets to blog as though they were a favorite show. We could all just write COMPLEAT CRAPOLA. I mean, EVEN CRAPPIER CRAPOLA than we usually write. Think of it. Sponge on a stick. Talk shows. Oprah. Sports. Whatever. AND ABSOLUTELY NO ATTEMPT TO BE POLITICAL OR SERIOUS.
I would write that sponge-on-a-stick guy some stunning new text, I can tell ya. He'd have that sponge doing stuff that would get it arrested in 7 states.
July 8, 2009 2:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
You know I was just chastised for attacking someone here who has no soul.
It is not his fault, I mean his parents probably had no soul either. It is an easy trap to fall into.
I mean as a child he might have read George Will and mistaken him for an expert on Baseball and then
I mean as a kid I thought, world series? And that was before we even got those foreigners in on it like Canada. I mean where is Mexico in all of this baseball stuff. And the Twins, We could never have survived without the Caribbean. But I digress.
I mean we could hardly do worse?
The question mark was just easier to get to than the period with the cigarette and everything.
But then again. We could just, all of us, 300 million send in our own thoughts, aspirations, and itches?
Oh wait. I guess the 300 here at TPM, we could just 'control' the mainstream media....that brings to mind the vision of the dead fish of Palin without any Italians. Maybe her real name is Palini, meaning in Latin, if I recall, Fish innerts. At any rate....
Speaking of any rate, the 300, there is a movie by that name. I think it refers to Greeks who stopped (well ok delayed) the Persians...
Are not we going to war with the Persians. I mean we could really use some good Greeks...but I digress
The 300 TPMers, and did you notice that Josh is getting 300 million big ones (or small ones) for his site, I mean should we not get a mill apeace..
but I digress...
the 300 TPMers take over the MSM...now this has nothing to do with those weirdos that like to put chains on women or nothin...but I digress
Ok so the 300 TPMERS kind of take over the massmedia folks. And then we get to decide what goes on CNN and what does not.
Wait a minute here though. I mean Wolf would have to be filled in on all of this. I mean Wolf has to have some sort of angst or some such....I mean a motivation in the Actors sense, Brandosian sense...I mean we would need contracts and such...
So that those women with the lip glow (you ever see that lip glow stuff Q, I mean I dream of it sometimes, what the hell is that lip glow for anyway, I mean I have non catholic dreams or even creams about this...I love it when 'they'dress up like that, and they put on the...but i digress yet again.)
So now we have the contracts signed, sealed and delivered so to speak, and the 300 get to rule...
I mean we have to SELL something. How about the 300? They were Spartans, and they kind of liked their own kind...so to speak. Queer Spartans for the regular army or something like that.
At any rate, I feel our party so to speak should get one day out of the year to really express our views.
Now we just need a contest to discuss what those views are.
I presently am at a loss.
July 8, 2009 2:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Easily your best comment yet, Dick.
The only part I really disagreed with was that bit about the question mark being easier to get to than the period. NFW. Lean over, ya damn fool, and take a gander at the keyboard. Now I donno how you type, but you got be contorted to say the ? is easier to get to than the .
As for baseball, just let me say this - Justin Morneau, Canuck.
BRING ON THE 300.
July 8, 2009 2:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Quinn if you guys are going to produce athletes like Morneau please give them hockey sticks and tell them that's their nat'l. game. And for god's sake stop sending them to the Twins. It's bad enough we have to deal with homegrown Twinkies like Mauer who could probably hit .300 blindfolded but Morneau is a walking NAFTA violation.
July 8, 2009 11:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Aren't you a Cubbies man, Mark? You guys got Dempster, who I'd normally claim as Canadian, but the big sook's out with a bad toe or something. Clearly, not enough hockey in his upbringing. Bust the damn thing off and get back out there, kid.
But yah, I'm burnt that none of Morneau, Bay, Russell Martin et al are playing for the Cards or the Jays. Idiots.
However, we Cards fans feel bad for Twins fans. Them having to cheat to win the Series and all. ;-)
July 8, 2009 12:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
According to the AP Dempster broke his "right toe" (must be Canadian if he only has one on each foot) stumbling up the dugout steps to storm the field in celebration after a big win. This is what's known in these parts as "Cubbie luck". 15 day disabled list is probably too short but the break will probably do him good. Actually I'm a Sox fan, and no that doesn't mean those perpetual whiners from Boston. My favorite NL team would be the Phillies having lived in the area for 12 years. They have no Canadians as far I know, maybe Werth is one, he doesn't seem to know how to spell his name properly.
July 8, 2009 2:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
I like your choice of photo illustration. Since a military coup is an actual part of the current news, there is some strange thing going with my neural nets where Michael looks like a military junta guy that has overtaken the world's attention by force of will. (What the heck was it with the high school band major jackets period with him anyways? The white glove grew out of a nod to Bob Fosse style jazz dance, not zactly the same thing. Seems to me high school and college school starting dancing jazzy AFTER Michael, not before. Sorry to get off on your least favorite topic....)
July 8, 2009 3:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
See AA, it was like a passing truck or something. I just never got into the guy.
I have pictures in my head--like the Zombie thing.
And of course the military uniform. What in the hell was that? Why? He was eight or nine years younger than me. Vietnam was never a part of his life.
Any rate all his photos are copyrighted and such and I just got this one at Wiki. I never have trouble with the Wiki. And I only decided to even post a picture when I saw this.
July 8, 2009 3:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
DD, I have the perfect Rx for TV nausea attacks - I stumbled upon it - in the 60s I had one TV that had no sound, but the picture. I had a second that only had sound, but the channel dial wasn't there. I could turn it with pliers. A common event was that I would be well into watching a show and discover that I didn't have the sound on the right channel. It intrigued me, and more and more I would PURPOSELY tune into the wrong sound. After a while I developed favorites, like the sound from Steve Allen and the picture from I Dream of Geni. I kid you not, the lip sync was amazing, and most of the time hilarious.
Kieth O. sound w/ Survivorman pict. Waddayouthink?
(I also liked to read the newspapers straight across the columns - a real gas.)
July 8, 2009 4:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Forget that "pliers" story Neo... people only come up with genius solutions like that when in one psychological state.
And it's not "low." ;-)
July 8, 2009 1:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Naw, that was the early '60s, when we were winos. But by the late 60s I found Donald Duck cartoons to be profound social commentary and full of conspiratorial messages.
"When We Were Winos" Doesn't that sound like a movie?
July 8, 2009 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
DD... this is a great rant!
By the way, do you know anyone who can score me tickets to the McNamara memorial?
July 8, 2009 10:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'll ask my old buddy Curtis Lemay.
July 8, 2009 10:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah I think Q nailed it. Curtis Lemay. shit
A lot of wealthy people will show up for Mac, I suppose.
July 8, 2009 4:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where to start?
First of all, there was viturally nothing but Michael Jackson news on page one of the LA Times yesterday and it doesn't look too promising today. If you look at the most viewed stories, the top 3 are on Michael Jackson, plus they were Twittering live from the memorial. It was very frustrating.
To live near Los Angeles is to know that 3 major freeways were closed yesterday due to the funeral procession travelling from Encino to the Staples Center. Downtown ramps were also closed, an unnecessary challenge for the people who actually work in the downtown area on a Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m.
3,200 LAPD were in force for security detail; the city of LA is in financial dire straits already. After the Lakers' victory, the city invited private donors to pay for the victory festivities. The city has yet to ask AEG (Staples Center) or the Jackson family to pay for anything. Only one city council member has spoken up about the costs to the city.
Residents from the city of Encino are meeting with officials today regarding the problems in their city and neighborhoods from the "pilgramage" many felt it necessary to take to the Jackson compound for the past 12 days. They are completely fed up. Residents had trouble getting in and out of their own neighborhoods, streets were closed, etc. (Q. Out of curiosity, where do these fans go to the bathroom?)
On a personal note, we canceled a July 4th trip to Solvang because of the circus up in neighboring city Los Olivas (Neverland Ranch). (Not a crisis, just a conscience decision not to participate in the madness.) These are small communities an hour north of Santa Barbara. I'm not sure how they handled the number of media and fans, but I am glad for the economic stimulus in that area. It has been hard hit.
As for the "white children". This article explains that the children are mixed race and why. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090720/williams (The author is African-American.)
Last point: most of the fans I've seen on television are crazy, hysterical white people and Jackson impersonators. None of these people actually new Jackson, had a personal relationship with him, yet they are crying hysterically, claiming that piece of them is now missing. I don't get it, maybe because I HAVE a life???
July 8, 2009 11:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Now, at last some real reporting.
Thank you Limo. I guess I am lucky to be stuck in the middle of nowhere! hahaha
July 8, 2009 4:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Correction: PARTS of 3 major freeways were closed during the morning commute.
July 8, 2009 11:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
This was very good Dickday -- TV news is sort of like Sundays during football/basketball season, sports all the time.
July 8, 2009 11:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
This was very good Dickday -- TV news is sort of like Sundays during football/basketball season, sports all the time.
July 8, 2009 11:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
three ESPN stations and Fox Sports. And CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox regular....
WHAT THE HELL DO I DO WHEN THIS HAPPENS?
July 8, 2009 4:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just saw that you have friends across the pond. Cue background music, "We Are The World," hah....
I do hope you realize, though, that by making your complaint public, you should not expect 12 days of mourning coverage when Bobby Dylan dies. They probably won't do it anyways, that would be boring old people stuff, not a substanial enough demographic.
July 8, 2009 12:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh I shall weep for a month if that happens before I leave this world stage. Ha. Good point.
July 8, 2009 4:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
The "NEWS" was cancelled soooo long ago, it's pathetic.
All one has to do is re-watch Bill Moyers and his show "Buying The War"; which is still available for viewing on Bill's PBS website.
Buying The War
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html
Back then, Bush had roughly 13 people he had pre-selected before the news conference regarding the upcoming Iraq War and Bush himself says how the conference is "Scripted", with specific people on the list for questions and what they would ask.
And the media went along with it without a riot.
July 8, 2009 2:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Really gets me into that conspiracy mode, as they say.
I mean, I am about to make an aluminum foil hat.
July 8, 2009 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, Mr. Day! You obviously don't realize how close Wolf was to Jackson! Like so many others, Wolf *loved* him, *loved* the man! Oh, I'm gonna cry now, DD!
A guy interviewed on MSNBC just said Jackson was greatest performer of all time, and this guy was an insider so he's gotta *know!* So take *that,* Elvis Presley! *Tough break,* Frank Sinatra! Truth *hurts,* Jimi Hendrix! Read it and *weep*, Madonna! Learn to *work the crowd* a little, Bruce Springsteen! Polish that *song-writing,* Bob Dylan! Practice *up,* Eric Clapton! No satisfaction for *you,* Rolling Stones!
All I wanna say is, we don't really care about YOU ALL! We're for *Michael*; loved him *so* much, and love watching TV about him! Love, love, love!
July 8, 2009 2:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
hahahahaha
it appears there is more news today. But earlier I did 'check in' with the 'news channels' and the corpse was still dancing.
July 8, 2009 4:16 PM | Reply | Permalink