(QUICK-HIT, POST-TRIP, MULTI-LINK) NOTES FROM A FRIDAY AFTERNOON
nogging the egg of my mind.
For your consideration: another curious collection
of thoughts, reactions, and observations that didn't make it into a full-length
post this week. So they're sort of like all those under-construction rest-stops
on the westbound Pennsylvania Turnpike. But without the excessive
signage...
• Pass a county-wide smoking ban to protect the health and welfare of the citizenry, and an appeals court is only too happy to overturn it. Pass a county-wide drink tax to fleece the citizenry, jeopardize small businesses, and further enable a dysfunctional transit authority, and a judge is only too happy to uphold it. (Yes, I know there are fine-print legal distinctions to be made here, and that's it not nearly as simple as that. But...) Kinda makes you feel all warm and fuzzy -- or maybe that should be hot and pissy -- to be a resident of Allegheny County this year, doesn't it?
• This week's Obamedia Update: Senator Breath of Fresh Air told an Iowa crowd that his wife won't let him run for President again if he doesn't win this time. This makes me wonder if he'll need her permission to, say, start a war, or maybe have a couple of world leaders over for peace talks. (Not tonight, Barack! I have a headache!) It also confirms -- or at least deepens -- some suspicions I've had about her all along.
• Henceforth, Michelle Obama shall be known on this site as Lady McBama.
• I don't know how in the hell I missed it the first time -- last March, apparently -- but thanks to Bram Reichbaum of the fabulous Pittsburgh Comet for alerting me to this Wired Magazine cover, in which TWM Celebrity Crush Jenna Fischer introduces the concept of Radical Transparency with what can best be described as the allure of Tantalizing Opacity.
• (You'll excuse me for a moment while I regain control of my senses. And most of my motor skills.)
• There is precious little middle ground on the subject of Paul Thomas Anderson. Most people who've seen his films either love him or hate him. Here's a great Slate.com essay that explains why the people who love him are right.
• I've used this space several times before to plug Undertown, the great new Manga from TWM Best Man Jim Pascoe, so it's nice to see the fine folks (and friends of Carbolic) at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review using their space to do the same. This morning's Trib features an excellent piece on Jim, his book, and the local, emotional inspiration they share. Check it out. And then check out the book too.
• When you're done kicking around Undertown, head over to the Pittsburgh City Paper and check out Chris Young's wonderful feature on the ever-expanding Carbolic Smoke Ball media empire. Any article in which I'm quoted so frequently -- and already in the third paragraph -- can't be taken too seriously, and yet, despite that obvious lack of judgment, Mr. Young does a great job of explaining who we are, what we do, and, perhaps most importantly, where we want to go.
• In many ways, we've already arrived. There's the regular WDVE spot, the full-page feature in the Trib p.m., the complimentary City Paper coverage, and now, as you can see from one of those great, whoring, shamelessly self-promoting links that make comment threads -- stay tuned for more on that subject later this weekend -- such a cesspool of self-absorption, we seem to have our first dedicated detractor site. Or else some new form of less-than-formidable competition. (You know, in the same way that the Miami Dolphins are competition for the New England Patriots. Or that the Pirates are competition for an actual Major League Baseball team.) The name and the timing of it — right after, and then appended to, the City Paper feature — made me certain this latest piece of online effluvia would aim to criticize and/or lampoon us. (We have many fans, yes, but we also have plenty of bitter and hopelessly uninspired detractors.) From the look of the first few items that appeared today, I honestly can’t tell whether it wants to be taken seriously as satire, or whether it just wants to be seen as a snarky deconstruction of what we do. Which means, of course, that it’s already a failure...
• Pass a county-wide smoking ban to protect the health and welfare of the citizenry, and an appeals court is only too happy to overturn it. Pass a county-wide drink tax to fleece the citizenry, jeopardize small businesses, and further enable a dysfunctional transit authority, and a judge is only too happy to uphold it. (Yes, I know there are fine-print legal distinctions to be made here, and that's it not nearly as simple as that. But...) Kinda makes you feel all warm and fuzzy -- or maybe that should be hot and pissy -- to be a resident of Allegheny County this year, doesn't it?
• This week's Obamedia Update: Senator Breath of Fresh Air told an Iowa crowd that his wife won't let him run for President again if he doesn't win this time. This makes me wonder if he'll need her permission to, say, start a war, or maybe have a couple of world leaders over for peace talks. (Not tonight, Barack! I have a headache!) It also confirms -- or at least deepens -- some suspicions I've had about her all along.
• Henceforth, Michelle Obama shall be known on this site as Lady McBama.
• I don't know how in the hell I missed it the first time -- last March, apparently -- but thanks to Bram Reichbaum of the fabulous Pittsburgh Comet for alerting me to this Wired Magazine cover, in which TWM Celebrity Crush Jenna Fischer introduces the concept of Radical Transparency with what can best be described as the allure of Tantalizing Opacity.
• (You'll excuse me for a moment while I regain control of my senses. And most of my motor skills.)
• There is precious little middle ground on the subject of Paul Thomas Anderson. Most people who've seen his films either love him or hate him. Here's a great Slate.com essay that explains why the people who love him are right.
• I've used this space several times before to plug Undertown, the great new Manga from TWM Best Man Jim Pascoe, so it's nice to see the fine folks (and friends of Carbolic) at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review using their space to do the same. This morning's Trib features an excellent piece on Jim, his book, and the local, emotional inspiration they share. Check it out. And then check out the book too.
• When you're done kicking around Undertown, head over to the Pittsburgh City Paper and check out Chris Young's wonderful feature on the ever-expanding Carbolic Smoke Ball media empire. Any article in which I'm quoted so frequently -- and already in the third paragraph -- can't be taken too seriously, and yet, despite that obvious lack of judgment, Mr. Young does a great job of explaining who we are, what we do, and, perhaps most importantly, where we want to go.
• In many ways, we've already arrived. There's the regular WDVE spot, the full-page feature in the Trib p.m., the complimentary City Paper coverage, and now, as you can see from one of those great, whoring, shamelessly self-promoting links that make comment threads -- stay tuned for more on that subject later this weekend -- such a cesspool of self-absorption, we seem to have our first dedicated detractor site. Or else some new form of less-than-formidable competition. (You know, in the same way that the Miami Dolphins are competition for the New England Patriots. Or that the Pirates are competition for an actual Major League Baseball team.) The name and the timing of it — right after, and then appended to, the City Paper feature — made me certain this latest piece of online effluvia would aim to criticize and/or lampoon us. (We have many fans, yes, but we also have plenty of bitter and hopelessly uninspired detractors.) From the look of the first few items that appeared today, I honestly can’t tell whether it wants to be taken seriously as satire, or whether it just wants to be seen as a snarky deconstruction of what we do. Which means, of course, that it’s already a failure...
Posted: Fri - December 28, 2007 at 05:53 PM
Quick Links
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Categories
Archives
Terror Alert
Brilliant Satire
Required Reading
Traffic Count
Official Muse
Syndication
Carbolic Wear
Y Chromosomes
Some Perspective
On Tour
XML/RSS Feed
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Jan 16, 2009 04:50 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Jan 16, 2009 04:50 PM