Did not see that coming

Times:

Four months after the Federal Communications Commission approved a hotly contested merger of Comcast and NBC Universal, one of the commissioners who voted for the deal said on Wednesday that she would soon join Comcast’s Washington lobbying office.

Meredith Attwell Baker, a former Commerce Department official who worked on telecommunications issues in George W. Bush’s administration, announced that she would leave the F.C.C. when her term expires at the end of June. At Comcast, she will serve as senior vice president for government affairs for NBC Universal, which Comcast acquired in January.

Pretty sweet, huh? Bet she doesn't see a damn thing wrong with this, either.

Continue reading Did not see that coming

Deep thought

The words "standing up to the right wing" and "NPR" really don't belong in the same sentence.

Continue reading Deep thought

Edwin Newman

It was just announced today by his family that long time NBC newsman Edwin Newman passed away at the age of 91. Actually my favorite of that generation of newsies, probably more so than Cronkite or Daniel Schorr.

Damn SNL for not making any of his guest appearances available, cause they showed a very different side of the man.

Here's part 1 of an interview from the mid-60s with Marshall McLuhan. Newman had a show called "Speaking Freely," which ran for an uninterrupted hour on, i think, Sunday mornings. The remaining segments are available for viewing (or listening, rather, as it appears that there's no real video of the program) on YouTube. It makes me lament what short attention spans have done to our discourse.

Continue reading Edwin Newman

Crowning achievements in journalism

This AP article spends over a thousand words pondering "why their (Muslims') efforts to be accepted in the United States have been so easily thwarted," without ever mentioning Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, or Fox News. The closest the writer gets is this quote:

Mark Silk, director of the Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College in Connecticut, said the experience of Japanese Americans in World War II more closely parallels the current plight of Muslims. After the Pearl Harbor bombing, Silk said Americans asked, "Are our Japanese different from those Japanese?"

"I don't think we're about to round up all the Muslims and put them in concentration camps," Silk said. "But I don't think we've ever seen the degree of legitimacy given by people in positions of authority to straight-up, anti-Islamic expression."

Emphasis added.

One can only assume that the writer is auditioning for a job with MiniTrue.

Continue reading Crowning achievements in journalism

Your best entertainment value

Commenters at the Charlotte Observer.

Although i gotta say the accompanying photo and caption is a winner as well.

Continue reading Your best entertainment value

Brave new world

From a Guardian article on why foreign investors are so keen on purchasing English football teams:

The new Arsenal Media brand reflects the paradigm shift from a traditional television-centric approach to one that is focused on creating broader, multi-platform content and programme formats that can be effectively delivered and reappropriated across different broadcast and media channels," its chief executive, Andrea Radrizzani, said.

Gah.

In other words, sure you can watch the game on your Droid. Twenty bucks. Buy the whole season for $350.

Where's Guy DeBord when you really need him?

Continue reading Brave new world

I guess i am stupid

Bennett also suggested that Republicans may not have a clear plan to govern even if they do take control of the Senate this year.

I totally forgot that whoever controls the Senate governs the country, regardless of who is in the White House, or who is in the majority of the House of Representatives.

How could i be so stupid?

Continue reading I guess i am stupid

Memo to ESPN

Don't let Jon Miller and Joe Morgan talk about soccer, K?

Thanks.

Continue reading Memo to ESPN

Whaddaya know?

ESPN3.com works.

UPDATE: Well, up to a point.

Continue reading Whaddaya know?

We're number 4

Rumor going around that the Today show thinks Durham is the 4th most livable city in the US.

There goes the neighborhood.

UPDATE: Ah, they're talking about affordability.

Yep, it's all over now.

How many times did she say "cheap" in the Durham segment?

Continue reading We're number 4

WTF is up with this headline?

Obama girls' vaccine: Favoritism or good example?

I'm not even going to read the article. I mean, he's the fucking president. He's got some things on his mind more important than worrying about whether his kids are going to catch swine flu.

Did the AP run one single article in 8 years asking whether or not Bush's kids got favorable treatment for anything? Or was it just accepted that they would because they came from America's royal family?

Continue reading WTF is up with this headline?

You can get paid for this?

If i didn't have to work for a living, this is what i'd do.

Continue reading You can get paid for this?

This is just wrong

Who will save the world from the evil clutches of Value Creation Man?

The Walt Disney Company said Monday that it would buy the comic book giant Marvel Entertainment for about $4 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, Marvel shareholders will receive a $30 a share in cash plus about 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which was valued at $50 a share.

With the acquisition, Disney will acquire more than 5,000 Marvel characters, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and the X-Men.

“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” the chief executive of Disney, Robert A. Iger, said in a statement.

Continue reading This is just wrong

Drudged!

Wow.

Continue reading Drudged!

Ummmm, AP?

Lots of bloggers are justifiably mocking the AP for some of the positions they've taken regarding use of their content.

I want to mock them for their content.

Here's an actual AP headline:

Collision over Hudson interrupts idyllic day

Nine people died in that collision. I'd guess their idyllic day was a bit interrupted, no?

Continue reading Ummmm, AP?

Just wond'ring

Saw this article while i was away for the holiday in the local paper.

A bicyclist was killed when he was hit by a car Saturday night west of Boynton Beach, authorities said.

About 9:35 p.m., Fernando Rodriguez Rosario, 43, pedaled his Autostream bicycle onto West Boynton Beach Boulevard, just east of Florida's Turnpike, despite a red light.

A 2010 Lexus RX 350 driven by Henry Brenner, 76, of suburban Boynton Beach plowed into Rosario's right side, throwing him from the bike and killing him instantly, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report circulated this morning.

The report indicated Rosario was drinking or using drugs.

And it just made me wonder how much energy the local government is going to put into determining who might have provided Mr. Rosario with the drugs or alocohol he apparently consumed to excess, costing him his life.

I'm guessing not much, since he likely didn't leave a half billion dollar estate behind. Wonder if he had any kids, though.

Continue reading Just wond'ring

Learning to count

The attack was the third in a recent wave of unsettling shootings that appeared to have political or ethnic underpinnings.

Four, by my count.

UPDATE: Five?

Continue reading Learning to count

Unintentionally honest headlines

AP:

Alaska's Palin polarizes even as she prevaricates

Reading the article it's clear that they meant to use the word procrastinates, as in, she hasn't made up her mind whether she's running for reelection in 2010 as Alaska's governor, or seeking the GOP nomination for president in 2012.

Sabotage or ignorance?

You be the judge.

Continue reading Unintentionally honest headlines

Moronity

Yeah, i'm on a break, but i couldn't let this bit of idiocy pass unnoticed:

To outsiders, this fixation on dates may seem odd, but it has both cultural and political explanations. Numerology and the calendar have ancient and honored roles in China, Elizabeth Perry, a China scholar and professor of government at Harvard University, said in an e-mail interview. Even today, while Americans identify most major events by their location (the Boston tea party, the Alamo, Gettysburg, Oklahoma City), Chinese people tend to rely on dates.

The May 4 movement, which mixed anti-imperialism with a call for democracy and human rights, is best known to most Chinese as “5/4.” The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and crackdown are universally shorthanded into “6/4.”

9/11.

July 4th.

Juneteenth.

Memorial Day.

Hell - there's ample evidence that the Oklahoma City bombing didn't happen on a random date. Those Chinese, they're just so different from us.

Continue reading Moronity

Olbermann

This was worth watching, in case you missed it.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Continue reading Olbermann