Xark!

Which one is smarterer?

Building a Better Nashville Star

While Nashville Star is now in its sixth season, this is the first year that it has appeared on broadcast network television, appearing on Monday nights on NBC (having been on USA through the first five seasons).  For those who haven’t watched it, Nashville Star is a country music step child of American Idol (hereafter, AI)--which is sort of odd in that Carrie Underwood, one of the current darlings of pop country music, emerged on American Idol. 

While I am a fan of American Idol and a sometimes fan of pop country music, I did not watch Nashville Star until this season.  The set up is similar to AI in that the early show shortens the list of procedures from the masses down to a smaller number (12 in the case of Nashville Star) and the following weeks—all with themes—allow “America” to vote to eliminate one singer each week.  While there are a few minor differences in the format, the show is very similar to AI. 

All in all, it’s an adequate show and fairly entertaining.  While there is no one with the charisma of Simon Cowell, John Rich does a wonderful job as the sarcastic centerpiece in the judges’ chamber.  Country music newcomer, Jewel (yes, for those who haven’t been paying attention, she’s hitting the country charts now) is far more thoughtful and useful than Paula Abdul and singer-songwriter Jeffrey Steele actually gives advice beyond “That was pitchy, dog.”  The singers are hit and miss, just as on Idol, but you can find yourself getting emotionally connected to the show. 

That said, the show does have some glaring problems that, if corrected, could make for a strong rival to American Idol.  Here, then, I propose, five ways to improve Nashville Star:

Eddie Izzard's Psychological Inner Peace

On Friday night, my Bonnie and I attended Eddie Izzard’s “Stripped” performance at the Ryman Auditorium.  Having been a dedicated fan since actually catching his “Dress to Kill” show on HBO several years back (even given my disappointment with some of the other performances available on DVD), it was with great anticipation that we took our seats. 

Izzard did not disappoint.  Pound for pound, the guy is the funniest man on the planet, and for almost two full hours, my stomach hurt.  When I wasn’t looking at Bonnie to see if she “got the joke,” I was banging my arm on the chair in front of me as a form of physical relief. 

Izzard’s performance worked for any number of reasons.  First, there was something especially delicious and slightly ironic about watching him in this former church and former home of the Grand Ole Opry.  Given his general left of center views, his engaged dismissal of religious based explanations of almost anything, and his occasion forays into transvestism, there is simply something rather non-Rymanesque about Izzard (well, on second glance, the transvestim fits elements of both country music and religion).  I felt it, and the entire audience understood it as well.  This was one of those magical moments when the setting itself made us all feel like we were part of a conspiracy.  With that as a starting point, Izzard had us as soon as the lights went down.  And with his quick pacing, he never let go.

In Praise of Cancellation

In 1996, Fox television aired six episodes of Profit, a weekly hour long drama focusing on Jim Profit, a newly promoted Jr. Vice-President of Acquisitions at Gracen & Gracen, a family owned multinational corporation.  The show focuses on the intrigues and unethical underhanded dealings that we might imagine take place in such a workplace.  What makes the show tick, however (and it ticks beautifully), is the behavior of Adrian Pasdar’s very complicated Jim Profit character (Believe me: this is a more interesting character than his Nathan Petrelli on Heroes).

Fox didn’t plan on airing only six episodes, of course.  No, this dark and uncomfortable show was supposed to become a regular series.  According to the commentary on the DVD set, the show was cancelled both due to struggling ratings and a number of complaints about the show’s themes (e.g., stepson-stepmother sex, child abuse, lesbianism).  Fox still had two shows in the can, and the entire series can be found in one small DVD box set (just a bit over $11.00 used--what a bargain!) This summer, with my normal TV viewing group down from 6 folks to 3, we decided to rewatch the show and, given the way the show makes me twist uneasily on the sofa, I recommend it highly.  It would make an idea Saturday marathon or a fun two night viewing party.

Media sexism

I'm not a Hillary Clinton fan, and my estimation of her has diminished geometrically since April. But when Clinton supporters say that they're mad about sexism in the news media, don't dismiss it as sour grapes. They've got a legit beef.

Americans should demand better.

FOX ATTACKS: Going after Obama

The FOX VIRUS...

Even Chris Wallace gets disgusted by it...

Just for context on the M.O. of Rupert Murdock's corporate news philosophy, The Investigators meet The Buzzsaw...

No, of course we're not surprised. I'm sure they originally prepared for an all-out assault on Hillary Clinton, but they retrenched, retooled, and sent their minions out after Barack Obama instead. And let's face it: The GOP is going to continue this steady drumbeat of sleaze from now through the election, supposedly at arm's length via their "remote operative," Roger Ailes, at the FOX News Division.

Our job is to recognize it, name it, talk about it, share it. Human beings, like many living things, are quorum sensors (bacteria do it chemically; we do it psychologically). So it isn't just the quality of the signals we receive from our environments that matter -- the number of signals of certain types that we receive quite literally count toward shaping our image of reality.

Ailes, Rove and others on the Right understood this many years ago.

Which is why I say: Share these videos. Embed them. E-mail them. Every time you use the power of human relationships and social networking to spread this exposure of media sleaze you are acting as an antidote to the sickening virus FOX keeps deliberately injecting into our culture. We have to become D.I.Y. media antibodies in defense of our society. We must inoculate ourselves against bullshit. When you show a thing that attempts to be secret, you remove some of its power.

To clarify: I have no quarrel with anyone who opposes Obama for policy reasons. Don't like his ideas about Iraq, or social security, or economics, or taxation? Fine. I disagree, but I respect reasonable disagreement.

But if you think that Obama is a Muslim, or a black racist, or a shadowy figure who secretly hates America? Conversation over.  You've just defined yourself out of  relevancy. My suggestion? Take another look at why you believe what you believe, and then rejoin the rest of us in our imperfect lurching toward a better future.

Hat tips: Janet, Revere at Effect Measure, MoveOn.org, Robert Greenwald.

The banned episode of TV Funhouse

Via Chaz.

Surviving the Writers' Strike

Umpteen weeks into the writers' strike, television is becoming a precious commodity at our house.  At first we were rationing, not wanting to go through the DVR recordings too fast in order to make them last longer.  Then we went to hoarding.  At this point the DVR is stuffed full of shows we don't even particularly like but which we might have to resort to as stocks of our preferred programs dry up.

I'll tell you something, though.  It's a real blessing to be a sci-fi fan right now.  Dramas takes longer than comedies to put together, and and sci-fi takes longer than regular dramas because of the addition of special effects. Ergo, the science fiction series have faired pretty well so far since scripts had to be finalized farther out in order for final production to be on time.  As such, Smallville is still running, as is Stargate Atlantis.  Battlestar Galactica hasn't even tapped its reserves yet thanks to that much-hated hiatus they took.  Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles was also blessed with a late start.

In fact, the strike has forced us to give a few series second looks.   Both me and my husband have actually upped our opinions of Sci-Fi Channel's Flash Gordon as we slowly sift through previously ignored episodes on the DVR.  Not great, but its at least entertaining, and the characters are starting to actually develop personalities, which is always nice. 

We are not so far starved of TV yet as to watch our hoarded episodes of Moonlight, however.  An actual discussion  went something like this:

"Hun, is there a reason we're still recording Moonlight?"
"Because in another month we may be desperate."
"Not that desperate."

And yet, we're still recording it.

And we've re-remembered another source of entertainment: British TV.  They aren't on strike, after all.  And with the second season of Torchwood starting up, and Doctor Who's fourth season schedule for March, I predict Moonlight can ignored on the DVR a while longer.

We report, you decide

Ed Cone: "It's almost as if they were reading from a script..."

South Carolina Primary Numbers

So here's a few numbers from the South Carolina Democratic Primary. They are, of course, unofficial, and gleaned from sites such as CNN and Charleston.net:

Total number of votes cast
Dem Primary (1/26):     530,322 (54.5%)
GOP Primary  (1/19):     442,918 (45.5%)
Total:                                 973,240

87404 more voters went to the polls in the Democratic Primary than GOP primary. Yes, it was raining and cold on the 19th. It was overcast and cold on the 26th as well. In fact, as Dan and I walked to our polling place, it was sprinkling and windy and made my eyes water.

2004 Dem primary:      280000

Using the total number of votes in both primaries, here are some figures calculated by xark and rounded:
Percentage of total votes in both primaries:
Obama             30%
McCain            15%
Clinton          14%
Huckabee      13%
Edwards           9%

Another fun figure:
If you take the top two vote-getters in each  primary,  Obama and Clinton  for Dems and McCain and Huckabee for GOP, the Dems got 44% of the total  number of votes cast, compared to  28%  for the  Republicans. Interesting, if nothing else.

Breaking news: Concentric circles, pulsating red dot

Breaking News: Series Of Concentric Circles Emanating From Glowing Red Dot

Who was in the Focus Group?

Throughout his brief 17 years on earth, my son has routinely looked up at me after seeing an advertisement on television for a product he didn't like or understand, and ask, with incredulity in his tone, "Why would they make something like that?  No one will ever buy it." 

As a former advertising major and a person who briefly worked in a marketing firm, I always say with confidence, "Oh, they've tested this product.  They've taken the ads through focus groups; they know what they're doing.  While you might not like it, it'll most likely sell.  These guys know what they're doing." 

After watching--for the fourth week in a row, mind you--that Taco Bell ad for their new "Ultimelt," I'm not so sure.   You know this ad--two guys are jumping around in their office cheering about the Ultimelt, their boss walks in and, suprise, surpise, rather than firing them, she starts cheering just as loudly.  How clever. 

The ad borders as close to uninspired inanity as I can imagine .  I can't imagine the types of folks who made up the focus group for this one.  Who looked at this ad and said, "Yes! You've got a winner on your hands here.  Show up ad nauseum and watch your franchises overflow with people dying to be part of the Ultimelt cheerleading squad."  You tell me.

I can't take it anymore.  I invite you to join me in a worldwide boycott of Taco Bell until this ad stops interferring with my Sunday afternoons in front of the television. 

 

Lunch hour report: Hersh on Iran NIE

(Editor's note) Say what you want about reporter Sy Hersh, but remember this: History gets the last word. His coverage of the Bush Administration's wars just keeps on getting confirmed -- months, even years later, yes, but that's the way things go in the world.

So what does Hersh have to say about the NIE on Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities? Here's a transcript of what he had to say to Wolf Blitzer on CNN last night (-dc)...

Brooks chases his Long Tail

This morning's confounder? A David Brooks column that ran locally under this headline: "Once-unifying music fragmented by society and technology."

The gist? Hipsters and technology are ruining the country. And the Long Tail (Brooks doesn't capitalize it, or explain it) is bad for the culture.

There is just so much here to discuss that perhaps a fisking is in order. But for those of you with lives and/or better things to do, I'll state my conclusions first:

Brooks' true subject isn't music or  economics or technology or even the "hipsters" who seem to bother him so much. What he's really writing about is the desire for a world that is simple, a world mediated by trusted gatekeepers and ruled by institutions that set the boundaries of everything from legality to morality to taste.

That Brooks could write this piece without even mentioning the monopolization of commercial radio betrays his selective myopia. But for the love of Gawd how do you write about "all-purpose" Rock and Roll as some canonized marketing wing of The One True Establishment without even a trace of irony?

Brooks is popular because he speaks to a common anxiety: The world is spinning out of control. Then he provides a reassuring answer: People like you who remember the old values have the right answer. He explains how things got this way: Hipsters and elites have caused a general breakdown of authority and good order. And he prescribes a solution: Stop it!

But here's the way it's going to be, folks: The world is going to change. Rapidly. More rapidly than you remember. More rapidly than you may be prepared for emotionally.  Values and ethics and cultural connections are going to be hugely important to us, as they are now, but they must be portable. Offering them as talismans against change will fail to prevent change and succeed only in damaging the very concepts you claim to hold in such esteem.

Imagining alternatives to your accepted reality is uncomfortable, but it's an absolute requirement for staying relevant in the 21st century. Our country's established conservative voices seem intent on disqualifying themselves from credibility with the next generation, and believe it or not, that's going to become a problem soon. We're going to need conservatives who understand cultural symbols, technology and change as a force of history. But that's a topic for another day.

Fisking after the jump...

Fox News Porn

Farrah's Katrina Ballads/CNN mashup

Cooper & Landrieu - Katrina Ballads from OPP on Vimeo.

For those of you who haven't seen this yet, this is the mashup Farrah Hoffmire made of a performance of Katrina Ballads at the 2007 Piccolo Spoleto Festival and the original CNN footage that inspired the passage. I think it's brilliant. Farrah and Mitchell run this on a loop in a viewing booth at the events they stage on OPP's Hurricane Katrina Media Tour (which, by the way, is going on tour with Ani DiFranco in November).

David Brock: Misinformation vs. motive

David Brock rewrote my operator's manual when he released The Republican Noise Machine in 2004. I'd spent years covering politics and grasped that the rules of the game, at least as I was playing it, were fixed in favor of political professionals who understood my world far better than I understood theirs.  Noise Machine explained the "how" of that better than anything I've read.

Links to that book and and to Brock's watchdog website, Media Matters for America, have appeared on Xark since its inception, so I was excited to attend his appearance Thursday night before The Alliance for Full Acceptance, Charleston's LGBT political group. There was nothing earthshaking about the presentation or the MMA highlights video the group screened: Brock is clearly working to help build a new coalition of progressive activists, and showing the flag in Charleston is part of that.

But I was fascinated by much of what he said during the Q&A, particularly his comments about the ways liberals/progressives are using decentralized networks to counter the power of Big Money and Big Media, and why Media Matters prefers not to talk about "bias"...