Archive for the ‘reflection’ Category
two thousand twelve, a year in review »
Friday, January 6th, 2012
Prospectus for twenty twelve? In a word: terrifying. However, who can really sum things up in a word?
Sure, there’s the anxiety associated with owning a residence, or horrific and joyous events, or, obviously, the realization of a prophecy from a long-dead culture woefully ignorant of religious and macroeconomic tendencies. (Whoever forgot to mention “The White Man” should be downsized, amiright?)
Any of those would send a goth up into a tree for days. (more…)
Wisconsin’s a symptom »
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
The protests and the uproar are nonsense. That’s sad, right? I mean, DEMOCRACY!! and the PEOPLE and whatever?
Early last November, a highly conservative, mostly elderly crowd, made their way to vote across the nation. There was no uproar, no shipping of pizzas from all over the world for volunteers and no schools closed.
On that day, the events of the past weeks were set. A mass of uninformed ideologues took to the streets, single file. In an orderly fashion, the battle was won without signs, chants or sleeping bags. (more…)
what will it be worth? »
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
My father’s habit of listening to Clark Howard convinced me to snag a few podcasts. The man isn’t so much a financial guru as a commonsense voice. (Things like avoiding pyramid schemes or not using a computer if you’re old.)
He does tend to be thorough, though. Unfortunately, one he breezed over was the oft-repeated tale of how only a few hundred dollars invested early will make you a millionaire.
It goes like this: investing $2k every year from 16 years old to 21, you’ll have a million when you retire even if you don’t invest more. After so much depth in other areas, why is this never expanded to what that million will buy you? (more…)
the thing about metered ramps »
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
The idea is sound: when there are too many cars on the road, setting ramp entrances to set intervals maintains the flow of traffic. It decomposes in practice (read: “free” market).
Why? (People are stupid, impatient dolts?)
Most are on their way to Very Important Things in their Very Cool Cars texting in their Very Smart Smart Phone. Someone inevitably prematurely accelerates.
Some Guy smarter than most of your family spent weeks away from his, in front of a humming set of circuits. He calculated when the light should stop blinking yellow and how long between each flash of green.
Then boom! some dim hits the wrong pedal or can’t be bothered to wait. The next person (like Pavlov’s mutt) can’t help but jolt forward when faced with the splash of green.
Too many of these renders the meters useless and proves to Some Guy his life is worthless. Which is a shame, because he seems nice.
Similar happens when a lane closes on a freeway. Some Very Important Douche has to wait until the last fifty feet to merge. More do the same and traffic slows to intermittent stops.
Of course, these law-abiding observations come from someone who recently got another speeding ticket and would rather bus an hour than drive twenty minutes. Take them with a grain of salt.
the case for CoCo »
Friday, January 15th, 2010
Inferred in the title, I’m a staunch Conan “People of Earth” O’Brien supporter. This does not mean I regularly watch his show. In fact, I rarely see it since I slimmed my subscriptions in Hulu but I watched regularly at first and enjoy his humorist tendencies.
That and his competition is sub-stellar.
David “Ahead of the News” Letterman is a better interview. His bits and monologue are tired but he, especially with guests he sees as inferior, is a master behind the desk (though, James “Your Favorite Curse” Lipton has him beat hands down in overall style).
Jay “Have You Heard This?/Am I Right?” Leno has a tired monologue, uninteresting interview skills but can make fun of stupid people and typos. Jerry “Show About Nothing” Seinfeld is a genius in observing the comedy in the mondane. Leno’s genius is in trying to be Seinfeld.
Craig “Who’s That Guy?” Ferguson has filled the shoes of Craig “Where’s My Mirror” Kilborn well. Still, he’s a complete goof who I have only watched once or twice. He seems to have a following.
Jimmy “Stick Around After Grey’s” Kimmel has a stronger following than Ferguson and seems to have the staying power. At least on his network, which has ratings, I think, from televisions being left on after “Modern Family” or “Grey’s Anatomy” or, in some cases, “General Hospital“.
Because I’m such an impressive blogger*, I’ll even mention Wanda “Rock-Splitting Voice” Sykes and George “I’m Hispanic” Lopez. Neither are original (or funny) but both have shows (Fox Saturday and TBS during the week, respectively) because networks need to advertise pharmaceuticals to insomniac, depressed, middle-aged viewers. (Pills!!)
NBC’s decision to scrap their Tonight Show (a legacy of fifty-five years) for some hybrid option was rightfully opposed by O’Brien (his statement). After only a few months, O’Brien’s show had a younger audience, something coveted by most studio execs (lower proportion on a fixed income = more money = lucrative advertising). In any case, even Leno defended O’Brien’s ratings issues.
What no one’s talking about is how much Leno’s show sucked. I mean, it’s terrible. His monologue is just as abismal as it was an hour and a half later but the laid back format is boring, the interviews still terrible and his choice in up-and-coming comedians doesn’t fit his demographic. He can still make fun of stupid people but is that better than O’Brien?
No.
Mr O’Brien’s intellectually goofy style is more modern and more in-tune with the not-yet-middle-aged audience. It’s fresh and unique in a landscape of desks and couches. Jimmy “Look at My Gadget” Fallon has taken to the role of goofball after-The-Tonight-Show host, Jon “Say WHAAAAT!?” Stewart covers political humor and Stephen “Even I Don’t Take This Seriously” Colbert has a lock on mockery, so O’Brien can work his niche accordingly.
Playing one off the other here, as NBC is doing, provides a ratings boost and then built-in buzz for O’Brien’s next step. This, I’m behind. As long as he moves to a Hulu-friendly network… (who can stay up that late nowadays?)
* You may have noticed I didn’t even make a case for Conan’s staying at The Tonight Show or moving to another network or just retiring. I’m that good.