Showing posts with label The Bmar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Bmar. Show all posts
Great Writing
Great internet writing is much more available than it used to be. But I'd like to flag two unusually terrific recent articles about Roger Ebert, the Chicago Tribunes' illustrious and prolific (and Pulitzer-winning) film critic (TWO THUMBS WAAAAAY UP). I've never been a big fan of his work, but as he's gained the public spotlight in recent weeks, I've realized that there is a lot to appreciate about him. Following a recent feature in Esquire, which looks at his life and career after a half-decade of debilitating cancers that have robbed him of his voice, his jaw, and the simple pleasures of food and drink, I've gained a newfound respect for Roger Ebert.
Which is why I read this article by Will Leitch, the founder of Deadspin and one of the best internet-primarily writers out there. I recommend this Leitch article if you've ever had a mentor or an adviser (or mom or dad) that you ever disappointed or embarrassed ("embarrassed" is too small of a word, really). Especially, please take note of how Ebert responds to Will Leitch; I wish I had read this article 5 years ago, or in junior high...Ebert is so expert at letting Leitch know he has been disappointed by his friend's behavior, without sounding petty or attacking Leitch back. What a great bit of writing. Two Thumbs Up. (couldn't resist).
I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams.
Awesome versions of classic Stephen King movie posters. Sweet minimalism. A gentle reminder of how ugly most movie posters really are.
Worst. Politician. Since. Palin.
In February 2010, the Democratic candidate for Illinois Lieutenant Governor decided to resign from the race. He decided to leave the race midstream because of some interesting allegations that came to light. Before leaving the race, he participated in one of the most bizarre television interviews ever. Drugs...sex...politics...crazy ex-wives...delusions... it makes John Edwards and Mark Sanford look like decent guys.
After the jump, the awesome photos of the "massage therapist."
After the jump, the awesome photos of the "massage therapist."
SNL: Back in the Saddle (for one night, at least)
SNL was very funny last night. As has happened before, the show had a week off and then came back with a top-notch host, both of which seemed to charge up the talents of the cast. Jon Hamm has quickly entered the pantheon of outstanding SNL hosts. Everybody's favorite Mad Man returned to the brilliant heights of last year's episode (John Hamm's "john ham") and maybe broke new ground with fastest-reoccurring bizarre character in SNL history (watch the three clips in order).
The Debacle at The Tonight Show
As has been widely reported, NBC has initated a major shakeup to its prime time and late night programming. Jay Leno will no longer host a 10 pm nightly talk show. Instead, he'll return to a talk show at 11:35 pm (i.e. immediately following the local news). Conan O'Brien, who had inherited The Tonight SHow after NBC had pushed Leno from the gig 7 months ago, was given a choice: accept a demotion (hosting a the show at 12:05 pm) or leave. Conan, in the single greatest press release I've ever seen (click continue reading for the full release), has refused NBC and appears poised to leave. Whether O'Brien will collect his remaining paycheck for the next 4 years while sitting on a beach is unknown (he'll get the big C in 20 minutes due to his pasty skin, though). Conan may head to another network (Fox? Or replace Kimmel? Or succeed Letterman?) and compete against Leno.
And that is what I want, a direct competition with Leno. In fact, I think that's what all Conan fans have unwittingly wanted from the very start: the chance to see Conan beat Leno at his own game. Conan never had a chance to succeed during the seven months he hosted "The Tonight Show." As he brilliantly notes, "It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both." That's a great swipe at Leno, who was the "prime-time schedule" that floundered. Read the funny, wry, and cutting press release after the jump.
People of Earth:
In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.
Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.
But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.
Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.
So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.
There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.
Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.
Yours,
Conan
Iron Man 2: I thought ScarJo was a big star?
Look pretty cool. Everything looks sweet, actually, except for the villain's shtick. That was the failing of the first Iron Man movie, too, but they kept it hidden until the very end of the movie. Here, Mickey Rourke (as "Whiplash") is front-and-center throughout most of the trailer, waving his laser whips around. It reminds me too much of Arnold playing "Mr. Freeze": bulbous head, maniacal laugh, oversized props, and cheesy accents.
Trend Watch!
Italian Prime Minister Silvio "Tiger Before Tiger" Berlusconi was punched in the face. No word if the punching happened in a Jersey shore bar. Or if the punching was done by a Scandinavian wife that he done wronged.
No word yet on whether "attacking prime ministers" is a new trend.
Get Your Sparks while they last
The FDA is weighing a decision to ban caffeinated alcoholic beverages. Which is garbage. They're viewing this as a ban on Sparks or similar products. But it reasonably would prohibit bar staples, such as red bull and vodka* or rum-and-cokes. More pointedly, it would prohibit irish coffees, which I can imagine that more than a few congressmen have quaffed on occasion. However, if the type of nanny state government that Bloomberg has imposed on New York become instituted nation wide (no trans fat! no smoking in bars!), this will be on the list.
*True story--I met a girl who ordered a red bull/vodka once at a bar. I told her that I'd never heard of a "Red Bull" and wanted to know what it was. She proceeded to extol the virtues of the drink, and buy another 3 or 4 for us in quick succession. This incident occurred in late 2006. The lesson learned: it can be fun to tell people that you've never heard of a common, well-known product and watch as they overreact.
Hattip-Sports Guy
Tiger Does not Keep an Eye on Fire Hydrants
Looks like Tiger Woods will be cited for reckless driving for his predawn, post-Thanksgiving automobile accident. This story is pretty bizarre, and since it came on the heels of tabloid allegations that Tiger has a secret mistress, speculation runs rampant: did Woods intentionally smash his car, to coverup injuries sustained elsewhere*, such as in a physical altercation with Mrs. Elin Woods? Was Tiger distraught over the end of his marriage, causing one of the world's greatest athletes to drive soberly off the road? Wanda Sykes has some input...
*This is the "Sons of Anarchy" theory, for those in the know.
Norm! Skiing/Snowboarding!
I think Norm is funny and a great talk show guest. But I love Conan's reaction to him best of all. By the by, has America decided whether we like Conan as the host of The Tonight Show? It still feels like the jury's out on that one, right? I'd say that most of the U.S. generally likes him, a smaller segment misses whatever Leno brought to the table, but many people suddenly realized that they no longer care about The Tonight Show and simply watched Leno out of fossilizing habit. So they have no opinion.
SNL--It's been a bad year, but even a stopped clock...
SNL has been garbage this year. It really was a good season last year, grinding out the last of the comedic juices from Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, while catapulting supporting cast members to moderate heights.
But this year, the show just feels like its running on fumes (Kenan Thompson, interestingly enough, has emerged as the best player on this 35th SNL season). NBC's inflated expectations, after the success of last year's prime time specials and Tina Fey's brilliant Sarah Palin, led the network to air repeated back-to-back-to-back live shows as well as several live primetime specials....all of which have drained the talents of the writers and players. Furthermore, the hosts have been unimpressive. The January Jones-hosted episode last weekend has become a universally mocked episode: lots of squinty line reading, uninspired monologue, loads of fart jokes, and because the comedic content was missing, 3 songs by the Black Eyed Peas to fill up the episode's 90 minutes.
Which is why I enjoyed the absurdity of last night's Andy Samberg/Kenan Thompson sketch. original, absurd, and funny, it is what SNL can do best and why it can fill a very different spot in the late night hierarchy than The Daily Show or Conan O'Brien. Here's to more of that in 2010.
Blowout elbows
This is not an entirely new subject for this blog, but it's worth returning to.
What do you do with your blownout shirts? I have about a dozen shirts with elbow holes (some discreet and subtle, others ragged and shredded "like wizard's sleeve"...BORAT). Some are/were cool shirts: worn-down pink oxfords, subtle windowpane dress shirts appropriate for an interview or oral argument at court, or do-it-all white broad collars from Brooks.
I wear them all semi-regularly, usually rolling up the sleeve to prevent appearing more disheveled than usual. Sometimes I conceal the sleeve hole by wearing a sweater over the shirt.
But these shirts are dying. I'm simply reanimating their corpses, out of love, appreciation, and the inability to suddenly replace 12 decent shirts on my budget.
So, what do I do? I cannot, in good faith, give these shirts to the Salvation Army. They are unfixable (many a tailor has tried, but the stitches do not last). The more I wear them, the worse they get. Is there a way to wring one more moment of value from these shirts? Do they deserve the dustbin of my history?
Bill Maher Makes Dr. Bill Frist Look Good
On Friday, noted idiot Bill Maher went on national television and tried to convince people that H1N1 can't kill you "if you're healthy" and that pregnant women shouldn't get the H1N1 vaccine. Dr. Bill Frist, formerly the Senator from Tennessee and major family donor to Princeton University, tries to talk the liberal jackass Maher off the ledge. To no avail.
Does anyone remember when Bill Frist was supposed to be elected President in 2008? I mean, I understand that he was an awful Senate Majority Leader and a crazed ringmaster in the Terri Schiavo right-to-die circus, and that's why he isn't the current U.S. President, but how come we never talk about that brief period in 2001-2002 when everyone in politics was humming the Bill Frist tune?
(S)wine Show
H1N1 has broken out at Dartmouth.
175 students report illness and Dick's House estimates that 2/3 have the flu. Hey [Apple-Symbol] and Domeoho, hurry up and become doctors.
Hat tip: Block on the picture (who else?)
Safire, Valiant Conservative in a Liberal World (hi Scos)
William Safire, former speech writer for Richard Nixon, longtime renowned conservative columnist (3,000 columns) for the left-leaning New York Times, and all-round prolific wordsman, passed away today. I always enjoyed his columns, in part because he always seemed to say new things. Other NY Times columnists return again and again to the same well to repeat their same greatest hits, but Safire always kept his ideas fresh. I especially enjoyed his annual "predictions" column, wherein he'd speculate about "what will the President's biggest global challenge be in the new year?" as well as "what will win the best picture Oscar?"
Safire, a college drop-out, also wrote "On Language" for the newspaper's Sunday magazine. That feature considered trendy terms in news, politics and life, as well as the misuses and abuses of language by public figures. The Times' obituary included a smattering of his advice, called "Safire's Rules for Writers":
--Remember to never split an infinitive.
--Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
--Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
--Avoid cliches like the plague.
--And don’t overuse exclamation marks!!
Safire, a college drop-out, also wrote "On Language" for the newspaper's Sunday magazine. That feature considered trendy terms in news, politics and life, as well as the misuses and abuses of language by public figures. The Times' obituary included a smattering of his advice, called "Safire's Rules for Writers":--Remember to never split an infinitive.
--Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
--Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
--Avoid cliches like the plague.
--And don’t overuse exclamation marks!!
