Is it wrong to complain about a free service? How about if you would gladly pay for said service, and then have a justification for expecting a certain level of performance, but no such pay service was available? “You’re welcome to this free Yugo. It breaks down a lot, and once in a while it dumps you beside the road. You can always come back and get another free one, when this one explodes.” Grrr.
Month: May 2001 (Page 5 of 7)
Those anti-TV types don’t know what they’re missing. Last night, the death of the beloved Mrs. Landingham on The West Wing at the hands of a drunk driver was a shocker, and proof that a well-told story and an interesting character can be deeply affecting, no matter what the medium. It was handled in a brutally abrupt way, just as an unexpected and tragic death of a friend would be. There’s no foreshadowing, no big leadup. “Is she OK?” says Leo McGarry. “No. She’s dead,” says Charlie Young. The West Wing has the best writing on television, bar none. How do they keep doing that?
Just finished “How to Overthrow the Government” by that closet populist, Arianna Huffington. Entertaining, witty and funny, it’s a fantastic (if not too shocking) account of how our public servants are neither. If the book has a flaw, its that the title isn’t really fulfilled – activism is dealt with only sketchily at the end. I wouldn’t mind a sequel.
Here’s a sample, dealing with Bob Dole’s cringe-inducing ads for Viagra:
[Dole] even compared his campaign to Betty Ford’s fight for breast cancer awareness. As far as I know, no drug company ever paid Betty Ford. Pfizer’s chairman, by contrast, not only paid Dole but pomposly praised him for making “men’s health issues a priority for 1999” and “advocating for Americans with disabilities.” (So that’s why all those handicapped spots are always taken.)
Jon Stewart at The Daily Show has done it again. While I christened GWB the “pseudo-president,” he has done me one better by coming up with the perfect moniker for Dick Cheney: “President Vice-President.” That’s classic. So from now on, I will refer to him as PVP Cheney. Words mean things.
Have you noticed that it’s always called a ‘moonroof’ now, not a ‘sunroof’? Or are these two different things and no one told me? If not, why the overwhelming change to the moon? Is it more romantic or something? No implications of skin cancer from the moon, after all. Maybe that’s it. These things puzzle me.
I am a Blog of the Day. I am pleased.
Jon-Jon is shutting down his blog. This comes at a weird time, since I’ve been finding my inspiration stockpile to be a little low these days as well. I’m still enjoying it, but I guess I’m just at a low biorhythmic ebb or something. Which is especially weird since I’m feeling good, the weather is wonderful, and things in general are going well.
I’m going to go outside and sit on the deck overlooking the lake and try to recharge. See you later.
Rosie O’Donnell gives me the heebie-jeebies, and I can’t even explain why, exactly. My friend Wendy asked me to tape the Rosie show today, since much of both Survivor casts would be on it. I took this as an excuse to sit down and watch the entire thing. I guess what bothers me most about the show is Rosie’s compulsion to foist gifts on everyone within shouting distance – she gives guests big gifts, and has fake contests for audience members so they too can bask in the splendor of Rosie’s beneficence, clutching a camcorder or Tivo as they go back to their seats. To me, this just seems like a case of ‘you won’t like me unless I give you gifts.’ It also reminds me of an interview I read with Oprah, the woman who loves to buy houses for close friends and send her entire audience on vacation, who said that if a friend ever actually asked for something, she would be offended. People who give gifts as a way to control others are extremely troubled – and that’s all I have to say about that.
Funniest moment from the Rosie show: a montage of Colby, mainly shirtless, with “I Honestly Love You” playing in the background.
Moment that makes you go “Hmmmmm….”: Tina’s hand rarely left Colby’s knee during her entire interview.
NEWS FLASH: The American way of life is a blessed one, which evidently means God wants us Yanks to use as much gas as we can get our grubby, SUV-driving hands on. Hallelujah!
In line with my general self-improvement kick lately, I’ve taken to walking 3 miles around my neighborhood every day. It’s been great, and I’ve been enjoying myself. So yesterday I’m in the home stretch, and on the opposite sidewalk I see a teenage girl pushing a baby carriage. I’m walking as fast as I can push myself, while she’s ambling along, pushing the pram, casual as can be. We’re even. I keep pushing, but we stay even. I’m getting a little peeved, so I try hard to pass her, doing everything but break into a run. Meanwhile, she’s strolling along like she’s on the boardwalk at Atlantic City. We’re still dead even! Finally, after two blocks, I give up and stop, just enough to let her rocket on past so I don’t feel too embarrassed that I’m still trying to keep up.
God I’m old.