Monday, September 24, 2007
QUICK HITS
A few random bits:
~ I've been interested in "The Tirade," an outburst by Oklahoma State University coach Mike Gundy against Oklahoman sports columnist Jenni Carlson. She wrote a column that upset Gundy, leading him to launch a missive against her during a press conference. Gundy said that 75 percent of Carlson's column was wrong, but won't say what. ESPN's Monday night coverage: All they showed was the tirade. None of the aftermath -- or before-math.
~ President Bush and I agree on something! My father would be so proud. I did a story on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at Columbia University, and local students' reactions. My personal view: What better way to show a Holocaust-denier what America is all about than to let him speak? Bush agreed with me. His quote to the Associated Press: His appearance "speaks volumes about really the greatness of America."
~ I wish I could receive KSPR-TV, based out of Springfield. After seeing a few Internet videos of their newscast renovation, I'm mighty impressed. Heck, I'm just glad to see Joe Daues back behind the desk and out of Hammons Field. At the new gig, Daues comes across as more relaxed and authoritative than he ever did at KOLR-10 -- and he was pretty good for that station, too. But I'm most impressed with the diversity of stories the news staff is getting. They are probing deeper, asking tougher questions, and producing solid reports. I hope Joplin TV stations are paying attention.
~ I've been interested in "The Tirade," an outburst by Oklahoma State University coach Mike Gundy against Oklahoman sports columnist Jenni Carlson. She wrote a column that upset Gundy, leading him to launch a missive against her during a press conference. Gundy said that 75 percent of Carlson's column was wrong, but won't say what. ESPN's Monday night coverage: All they showed was the tirade. None of the aftermath -- or before-math.
~ President Bush and I agree on something! My father would be so proud. I did a story on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at Columbia University, and local students' reactions. My personal view: What better way to show a Holocaust-denier what America is all about than to let him speak? Bush agreed with me. His quote to the Associated Press: His appearance "speaks volumes about really the greatness of America."
~ I wish I could receive KSPR-TV, based out of Springfield. After seeing a few Internet videos of their newscast renovation, I'm mighty impressed. Heck, I'm just glad to see Joe Daues back behind the desk and out of Hammons Field. At the new gig, Daues comes across as more relaxed and authoritative than he ever did at KOLR-10 -- and he was pretty good for that station, too. But I'm most impressed with the diversity of stories the news staff is getting. They are probing deeper, asking tougher questions, and producing solid reports. I hope Joplin TV stations are paying attention.
Labels: GOVERNMENT, NEWS, TIME-WASTERS, TV
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
ROWLING'S PORTRAYAL OF JOURNALISTS: RIDDIKULUS
I've read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," and my review is below. It contains spoilers. But before I get to that, I'll share an interesting Potter-related press release I came across.Interesting study from MU released today: Apparently, Rowling's portrayal of journalists doesn't affect college students' perceptions of journalists.
You know... Rita Skeeter, Xenophilius Lovegood and the like. One's a fame-obsessed chronicler who alters the truth and uses unethical methods to get the story, the other publishes the wizarding world's equivalent of the Weekly World News. When those two characters aren't mentioned, the media seems to be in the pocket of the government and/or mired with incredulity. Rowling's books are not very kind to journalists.
At least doctoral student Daxton R. Stewart was careful to ask more than 650 non-journalism students on the MU campus how they felt about journalism and if it was really as horrible as Rowlings portrayed. Of course, the results came back in favor of the media. Note how the press release refers to "first year students," not "freshmen." How Hogwartsish.
But why does this release suggest that media are a little wounded Rowling's treatment? First of all, it's hard to find ANY fiction that is kind to journalists. Nothing against Stewart's study, which is no doubt interesting. But Rowling's portrayal is hardly unique, and nothing compared to the fictions about journalists spoken often by many talk-show radio hosts (despite the large amount of content newspapers provide their shows).
Secondly, and more importantly, Rowling isn't very kind to many careers and vocations. Look at her treatment of government officials: Both of the Ministers of Magic in the seven books are detestable, and it's hard to find anyone in the Ministry, other than Arthur Weasley, who makes us admire a position with the state. Barkeeps and/or restaurant owners aren't exactly role models. Bankers? They're goblins. Even authors get a bad rap. Remember what happened to Gilderoy Lockhart?
We in the media tend to do our share of navel-gazing. If we're bent out of shape about Rowling's treatment of journalism, then we're probably a little too sensitive.
'DEATHLY HALLOWS' REVIEW
Here's a message for those who predicted Harry lives, and those who predicted Harry dies: You're right! I predicted back in December that Voldemort would hunt Harry and that the book would focus on the construction and history of Hogwarts. Wrong and wrong. I can admit it.
I can also admit loving this book. Since I am a Potter fanboy, I can forgive little quibbles, such as all the confusion over the wands, the excessive angst over Ron leaving, the cheesy way he came back, the emo-style burial of Dobby (contrasted with the "whatever" treatment Fred Weasley's death earned) and the weird, hurried way the war at Hogwarts started.
One of the main gripes seems to be over the epilogue, "19 Years Later." For fans wanting to say goodbye to Potter, this was a hurried shove out the door. What happened? Did he become an Auror, a teacher at Hogwarts, the star Seeker of the Chudley Cannons, the new editor of the Daily Prophet? All we know is that he still dislikes Draco Malfoy, he married Ginny and -- most importantly -- he lives happily ever after. It's likely that Harry's life turns quite dull after destroying the greatest dark wizard of all time, leading Rowling to believe that "Harry Potter and the Numerous 401(k) Rollover Forms" is a story best left untold. BUT GIVE US SOMETHING, FOR THE LOVE OF MAD-EYE!
The epilogue (here I go with unbridled speculation, AGAIN) leads me to believe that Rowling will not stop writing stories about the beloved wizard.
Labels: BOOKS, MEDIA, TIME-WASTERS
Monday, July 02, 2007
IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT MEME
Dagnabbit. I got tagged for another vicious meme. This one: "Eight things you'll regret asking about." So I have to write about eight things that are deep, dark, TMI blurbs of info? Fine, Ron. But I'm not telling them about the photo shoot using clothes from Town and Country.
~ I am scared to death of bees, hornets and anything stingy, even though I wasn't stung by one (four, actually -- plowed through a nest of bald hornets; they weren't happy) until I was 33.
~ I am a huge gamer: I spend way too much time playing and collecting Pirates of the Spanish Main.
~ I am completely awed by my girlfriend and her capacity to care for others. I feel like I take advantage of her, because I don't feel like I could ever love her as much as she loves me.
~ I grew a beard because a girl broke my heart.
~ The next girl I dated I treated like absolute horse manure, because I wanted to break a heart for once.
~ I once asked the president of the University of Missouri about relations between Mizzou and Mo. State a year after the name change -- in a room filled with journalists and graduates of Mizzou.
~ I met Joe Satriani, got his autograph and blubbered like a moron. When I heard him play "Flying In A Blue Dream" live, I cried.
~ I have Reggie Bush's autograph on my Saints helmet.
Alright, Sniderman, Randy Turner, Secret Drinker and Red Pen, Inc. Your turn to dish.
~ I am scared to death of bees, hornets and anything stingy, even though I wasn't stung by one (four, actually -- plowed through a nest of bald hornets; they weren't happy) until I was 33.
~ I am a huge gamer: I spend way too much time playing and collecting Pirates of the Spanish Main.
~ I am completely awed by my girlfriend and her capacity to care for others. I feel like I take advantage of her, because I don't feel like I could ever love her as much as she loves me.
~ I grew a beard because a girl broke my heart.
~ The next girl I dated I treated like absolute horse manure, because I wanted to break a heart for once.
~ I once asked the president of the University of Missouri about relations between Mizzou and Mo. State a year after the name change -- in a room filled with journalists and graduates of Mizzou.
~ I met Joe Satriani, got his autograph and blubbered like a moron. When I heard him play "Flying In A Blue Dream" live, I cried.
~ I have Reggie Bush's autograph on my Saints helmet.
Alright, Sniderman, Randy Turner, Secret Drinker and Red Pen, Inc. Your turn to dish.
Labels: BLOGGING, MEMES, TIME-WASTERS
Monday, June 11, 2007
HUZZAH! MST3K SNARK RETURNS
MST3K is back!Well, sorta.
Wired News reports that the creators of Mystery Science Theater 3000 have returned with more snarky comments about popular B-movies. At Rifftrax.com, you can download Mike Nelson's commentaries and listen to them alongside many popular DVDs.
The one thing I wished MST3K would have done is slaughter popular B-movies and other sci-fi classics. Nelson does that: For $3 a pop, you can hear his commentaries about The Matrix, Star Wars 2: Attack of the Clones, the pilot episode of Lost, Eragon, Casino Royale and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory -- old school style, not that Tim Burton abomination. Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot won't be appearing, but the guys who did the voices -- Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett -- will.
Here's a freebie from their Web site. Enjoy.
Labels: GEEKS, SCI-FI, TIME-WASTERS, TV
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
AUDIO BLISS, GEEKING OUT
What a wonderful day. Systematic Chaos is out. I'll have a review later.
I went to get it during lunch (heck yeah, I bought the special edition with the bonus CD/DVD that has a making-of documentary and every track in Dolby 5.1!) and brought it back to work. I was hoping that I could listen to it while writing, especially since the battery on the iPod was dead and the Musak in our office is more loud than it used to be. I don't care what anybody says: It's difficult to write stories when "Free Bird" is playing.
Yeah. "Free Bird."
ANYWAY... Long story short: Through the miracle of technology, my computer geekiness and iTunes ver. 1.1 (Yeah. iTunes ver. 1.1), I was able to hear parts of it while writing my story. Initial impression: Wow. This album is fierce. I thought it would be corny, but WOW. I really think that Jordan Rudess is the best thing to happen to Dream Theater. Not that KevMo and Derek Sherinian weren't great, nay, incredible. But as awesome as those two are, JR is on "a whole nother LEVEL." He brings and enhances the band's compositional skills, turning a standard rock song the "The Dark Eternal Night" into a blend of grungy camp and blistering thrash. The unisons between JR and John Petrucci are amazing -- their first unison in the first minutes of the first song almost brought me to tears. And the slower songs, such as "Repentance" and "Ministry of Lost Souls" are powerful yet restrained.
Like I said, I'll post a review, once I'm done geeking out.
I went to get it during lunch (heck yeah, I bought the special edition with the bonus CD/DVD that has a making-of documentary and every track in Dolby 5.1!) and brought it back to work. I was hoping that I could listen to it while writing, especially since the battery on the iPod was dead and the Musak in our office is more loud than it used to be. I don't care what anybody says: It's difficult to write stories when "Free Bird" is playing.
Yeah. "Free Bird."
ANYWAY... Long story short: Through the miracle of technology, my computer geekiness and iTunes ver. 1.1 (Yeah. iTunes ver. 1.1), I was able to hear parts of it while writing my story. Initial impression: Wow. This album is fierce. I thought it would be corny, but WOW. I really think that Jordan Rudess is the best thing to happen to Dream Theater. Not that KevMo and Derek Sherinian weren't great, nay, incredible. But as awesome as those two are, JR is on "a whole nother LEVEL." He brings and enhances the band's compositional skills, turning a standard rock song the "The Dark Eternal Night" into a blend of grungy camp and blistering thrash. The unisons between JR and John Petrucci are amazing -- their first unison in the first minutes of the first song almost brought me to tears. And the slower songs, such as "Repentance" and "Ministry of Lost Souls" are powerful yet restrained.
Like I said, I'll post a review, once I'm done geeking out.
Labels: DRUMS, MUSIC, TIME-WASTERS
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
THE MOTHER OF ALL MOVIE REVIEWS
Very rarely does the Mailbox come across a movie review like this: Moriarty of Ain't It Cool News calls this -- Neill Cumpston's review of "Grindhouse" -- the only review of Grindhouse you need to read. This was sent to the Mailbox from a guy who does some pretty classic reviews himself -- Scott Meeker of the Globe. The Mailbox loves the first 'grafs of his review of "Black Snake Moan":
Before reading Cumpston's review, the Mailbox was not the least bit interested in Grindhouse. "Whooo," it said. "A girl with a gun for a leg? Bruce Campbell called, and he wants his idea back." Now? Well, the Mailbox is still uninterested by Grindhouse, but may now consider watching it at the dollar theater.
"He could f--- a bulldozer into eight Mini Coopers." That's just prize-winning reviewing right there.
It was one of those movies that would be difficult to recommend to many people. Now, if someone were to come up and ask, “Do you know of any good movies about a nymphomaniac who is beaten and left for dead on the side of the road, then discovered by an old bluesman who chains her to his radiator and cures her savage sex drive through some scorching Southern blues? Well, that’d be easy. “Black Snake Moan” is your movie, my friend...As for anyone else, ehhh ... it’d probably be a safe bet that it’s not going to be your cup of tea.
Before reading Cumpston's review, the Mailbox was not the least bit interested in Grindhouse. "Whooo," it said. "A girl with a gun for a leg? Bruce Campbell called, and he wants his idea back." Now? Well, the Mailbox is still uninterested by Grindhouse, but may now consider watching it at the dollar theater.
"He could f--- a bulldozer into eight Mini Coopers." That's just prize-winning reviewing right there.
Labels: HUH?, MOVIES, TIME-WASTERS
Monday, February 26, 2007
I AM NOT MIKE PORTNOY
Yep. Learnt that myself. Real quick.
I've been listening to Dream Theater religiously for close to five years now, but for some reason, I never got the idea to play along with the god of thunder himself. So, I cranked up the iPod, duct taped the earphones in and rocked out on my six-piece Yamaha with double-bass pedals to "Honor Thy Father" and "Blind Faith."
My leg hurts. That's all I have to say.
Dream Theater is releasing a new CD in June, by the way. Track listing is up on their Web site. Too bad their forum is no more...probably because so many whined and complained that Octavarium and Score wasn't anything like Awake. Makes it tough to talk to Dream Theater fans. There were some good people on that forum, and I don't know where they went. Also, there were some jerks on that forum, and I hope they didn't pay their electric bills.
Still, the band probably canned the forum because there was too much complaining. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking. Does Dream Theater have such a thin skin that they can't handle criticism? Probably, but Dream Theater fans are irritatingly picky about music. An entire CD can be ruined because of one chord to some fans. But, the band just started a MySpace page. What the hell do band members think they are going to see there?
What's this, you say? Never heard Mike Portnoy or Dream Theater? Enjoy:
Labels: MUSIC, MYSPACE, TIME-WASTERS
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
IS THIS WHAT I MISSED?
OK, this is admittedly old, but I laughed anyway. Michelle, official friend of the Mailbox, posted this video on her blog. I can only hope that some of the talking heads in Joplin are as creative and fearless.
The Mailbox is a big fan of the original "Lazy Sunday." For the most part, the video is funny, despite being painful at parts. Best part: "And I'm gone like Snyder!" The line about Dowe and Justice was pretty funny, too. Apparently, the Mailbox has a lot to learn about Joplin's Medialand (with apologies to Ron Davis).
The Mailbox is a big fan of the original "Lazy Sunday." For the most part, the video is funny, despite being painful at parts. Best part: "And I'm gone like Snyder!" The line about Dowe and Justice was pretty funny, too. Apparently, the Mailbox has a lot to learn about Joplin's Medialand (with apologies to Ron Davis).
Labels: HUH?, TIME-WASTERS, TV
MYSPACE A GREAT WAY TO WASTE TIME
Darn, those masses.
I knew I wanted to stay away from MySpace, which is today's equivalent of AOL. It's a great way to send dumb forwards and surveys to people, while keeping them out of your e-mail inbox.
I resisted as long as I could. I should have got into MySpace a couple of years ago, before it went nuts. Jenn-Jenn, official friend of the Mailbox, told us about it. She showed us how to become a friend of the Barenaked Ladies. I also used it to discover Coheed & Cambria and Scale the Summit (that band actually asked to be my friend). But, I didn't set up a profile until recently.
I still don't use it that much. My page is unpimped, I have three pictures and no videos posted and I refuse to fill out my MySpace blog (especially since this one is oft-neglected, I see no reason to torture myself). And I ignore all those scary TV news reports about pervs on MySpace that roll around during sweeps week. If you have a brain and use it, you'll be safe from creepy people on MySpace.
Now, it's a decent way to keep up with friends -- no, that's not true. It's a great way to advertise who your friends are. I find myself immaturely shuffling my "Top Friends" according to strange rationale: "OK, he's my cousin, so he has to be in the top four at LEAST...of course TLP is No. 1...where do I put these two guys? Haven't known him long, but he's a better friend than her...and why is SHE here? I don't even like her." And if you have someone famous (Mike Portnoy is a friend of mine), then the ethical implications multiply.
The Mailbox doesn't quite understand where MySpace fits in to the whole digital world. It's a meeting place of sorts...a place where, using ugly templates and bad layout, you can show other people how great your life looks, and force your musical tastes upon them. Seriously: Two of my friends have MySpace pages and design news pages for a living. Their pages are ugly because they are ALL ugly. How the hell do they tolerate looking at their own pages? How can anyone READ this?
I'll stick with MySpace for the time being, because it's still kinda fun. I've put in friend requests to Carl Sagan, Charles Darwin and -- my hero -- Johannes Kepler. I hope they all approve me.
I knew I wanted to stay away from MySpace, which is today's equivalent of AOL. It's a great way to send dumb forwards and surveys to people, while keeping them out of your e-mail inbox.
I resisted as long as I could. I should have got into MySpace a couple of years ago, before it went nuts. Jenn-Jenn, official friend of the Mailbox, told us about it. She showed us how to become a friend of the Barenaked Ladies. I also used it to discover Coheed & Cambria and Scale the Summit (that band actually asked to be my friend). But, I didn't set up a profile until recently.
I still don't use it that much. My page is unpimped, I have three pictures and no videos posted and I refuse to fill out my MySpace blog (especially since this one is oft-neglected, I see no reason to torture myself). And I ignore all those scary TV news reports about pervs on MySpace that roll around during sweeps week. If you have a brain and use it, you'll be safe from creepy people on MySpace.
Now, it's a decent way to keep up with friends -- no, that's not true. It's a great way to advertise who your friends are. I find myself immaturely shuffling my "Top Friends" according to strange rationale: "OK, he's my cousin, so he has to be in the top four at LEAST...of course TLP is No. 1...where do I put these two guys? Haven't known him long, but he's a better friend than her...and why is SHE here? I don't even like her." And if you have someone famous (Mike Portnoy is a friend of mine), then the ethical implications multiply.
The Mailbox doesn't quite understand where MySpace fits in to the whole digital world. It's a meeting place of sorts...a place where, using ugly templates and bad layout, you can show other people how great your life looks, and force your musical tastes upon them. Seriously: Two of my friends have MySpace pages and design news pages for a living. Their pages are ugly because they are ALL ugly. How the hell do they tolerate looking at their own pages? How can anyone READ this?
I'll stick with MySpace for the time being, because it's still kinda fun. I've put in friend requests to Carl Sagan, Charles Darwin and -- my hero -- Johannes Kepler. I hope they all approve me.
Labels: INTERNET, MYSPACE, TIME-WASTERS
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