Boviosity!

Blair & Lileks Q&A

Tim Blair has the question on his site today (Or tomorrow. Or yesterday. He's in Australia. It's a whole thing):

My own childhood leftism involved the standard “destroy the state” yowling, as well as loathsome, almost Gonzalez-like opinions about anyone in uniform -- indeed, about anyone not on the Left. It’s time to confess, people!

And, coincidentally, Lileks provides his own unforgettable answer in today's Bleat:

[A]t the college paper we lived in a warm capacious womb, dogpaddling in the amniotic fluid of our unexamined assumptions, writing sentences as bad as this one and thinking ourselves quite clever. These things we knew: Soviet influence in Central America could be blunted by a complete withdrawl of American support; Ronald Reagan was indifferent to the possibility of nuclear war; Europeans were wise rational Vulcans to our crass carnivorous Earthlings, except for isolated throwback horrors like Margaret Thatcher. All new weapons systems were boondoggles that wouldn’t work and would never be needed, and served as penis substitutes for Jack D. Ripper-type generals who probably went home and poured lighter fluid on toy soldiers, lit them with a Zippo and cackled maniacally. A nuclear freeze was the first step to a safer world, because if everyone had 10,237 ICBMs instead of 10,238 we might be less inclined to use them. The Soviets were our enemy only because we thought they were, which forced them to act like our enemy. Soldiers were brainwashed killbots or gung-ho rapist killbots who signed up only because Reagan had personally shuttered the doors of the local steel mill, depriving them of jobs. Of all wars in human history, Vietnam was the most typical. Higher taxes on the rich resulted in fewer poor people. The inexplicable mulishness of big business was the only thing that held back widespread adoption of solar power.

Yep. He omits the fact that government responsibility for people's well-being started at the cradle and ended at the grave, and those who would demand that people actually earn the money to buy their own groceries must just enjoy seeing people starving in the streets. Always in the streets.

Late Weedwhacker Wednesday entry

(I meant to do this on Wednesday but technical difficulties prevented me from doing it.)

Another thing I've been meaning to do on this site is add links to books or music I'm enjoying lately. So here's one now. Earlier this year I reread Peter Straub's "Ghost Story," and now I'm rereading another one of his marvelous books, "Mystery."

This book is part of Straub's "Blue Rose" trilogy, and is a unique (to my knowledge) coming-of-age story in the form of a murder mystery. It's a little slack in places, but the evocation of the story's settings (a Caribbean island and a Wisconsin lake resort) are masterful and the mystery is thrilling. And it has a bonus in the form of one of those fictional females you just fall headlong in love with, the strong and beautiful and, yes, plucky Sarah Spence.

Although it doesn't have many of Straub's patented "grab-you-by-the-throat-and-squeeze" moments, it's a masterful and satisfying read. And it really whets my appetite for the other books in the trilogy, "Koko" and "The Throat."

(To give proper due, the opening of the book contains one of the most amazing set pieces I've ever read, but to reveal it here would be completely unfair to future readers.)

I'll probably finish it this weekend and I will report back if my throat gets grabbed and squoze. Even without that, I highly recommend this book.

You know who I feel sorry for?

You know who I feel sorry for?

This kid, that's who (click on the photo to enlarge.)

Pat's Ride

Driving in this morning - I never did commit to MARTA as I kept mentioning months and weeks ago - I got to thinking once again about riding. I was also thinking about the various blog efforts to raise money for our troops and the war effort, and thought that riding MARTA would make me feel as if I were making a sacrifice of some kind for the war effort. America doesn't look or feel like a nation at war, frankly, and that disturbs me. (I haven't participated in the Spirit Of America because I haven't really had time or the money to donate. Won't you? I linked to the Liberty Alliance because Boviosity owes a huge debt to Dean's World.)

Then I thought, "I guess I'll start on Monday. New month, and it's supposed to rain tomorrow, who needs the tsimmes? And as a bolt out of the blue, I thought of Pat Tillman. I wondered if he was uncomfortable in Iraq. I wondered if his death was painful. And I realized that to the extent that I believe riding MARTA is a sacrifice that will aid the war effort, I should be doing it. So I'm starting tomorrow.

I'm sure there are other, more drastic sacrifices I could be making. As they occur to me, I might even adopt them. But the power of this experience this morning says something to me. I'll ride the train. I might have to go to bed earlier and get up earlier in the morning and I might get a little wet or get delayed now and then, but I'll do it anyway. What else could I do?

Thirsty Thursday

Hmmm. The wife took my bottle of Bushmills with her to a retreat last weekend "in case anybody wanted some." They wound up drinking wine instead so I guess I'm lucky it made it home.

I'd better polish it off this weekend lest she get further ideas about what to do with my whiskey.

America Left, and the advertisers led the way

I've been making a concerted effort to listen for paid advertising on Air America (or "America Left," as it's (prophetically?) labelled on my XM Radio display). The network's content is so awful - the exact kind of thing that embarrassed me about being a Democrat back when I was one - that I have to make a bargain with myself: I only have to listen until I encounter one paid spot. I left the house at 7:38 this morning and came in on the end of a commercial break, which was filled with an XM Radio promo feature, Megabyte Minute or some such. Then I had to listen to an entire segment, including the "Recovery Corner" (wherein one of the hosts takes on the role of a recovering alcoholic preaching to his "honorary sponsee George W.") in which the humorous point was made that since it's Saddam Hussein's birthday, George W. should apologize to him.

No, really.

I also heard my first "long time listener/first time caller" caller to Air America. Man, is it in radio callers' *genes* to say this? Even when it's obviously not true?

Oh, and an absolutely breathtakingly unfunny fake call from "William from Chappaqua/Bill from Harlem" (Good Bill Clinton/Bad Bill Clinton) which reminded me of nothing more than one of Kim Peterson's "Newsmaker Line" bits, complete with utterly out of proportion laughter from the hosts and the caller.

Anyway, hope sprang at the top of the hour: a commercial break! One minute of XM radio promos later, we were treated to headlines, which included the "news" that Republicans were questioning John Effin' Kerry's qualifications for the Purple Hearts he was awarded in Vietnam "because of his later war protests." I hereby challenge them to document this claim.

Anyway, mercifully, after headlines was an ad for Bill Hillsman's book, "Run The Other Way." As befits a commercial on Air America, it was probably one of the worst professionally-produced radio spots I've ever heard, purporting to be a warning from the government not to read the book. So they are apparently filling paid ad space, at the rate of perhaps one minute out of thirty.

I was so thrilled for them in a sort of patronizing way that I kept listening, to be told that only idiots believe anything George W. Bush says. Dang.

UNSCam Speculation

I think it's quite telling that the UN oil-for-food scandal, which involved billions of dollars in under-the-table payments from Iraq to UN representatives who then vocally opposed the invasion of Iraq, has not gotten massive and unrelenting coverate in the US media.

What will it take for UNScam to break as big in the US media as, say, the Enron scandal or the Martha Stewart case? My guess: any whiff of a link to the current US administration. Until then, for reasons easy to speculate but actually known only to themselves, it's a non-starter at ABC, NBC, CBS, Knight-Ridder, Tribune Media, Cox, the NY Times, etc.

TMI Tuesday II

Please tell me this doesn't mean what I think it means. From Andrew Sullivan's site today:

I can't blog on percaset. I just took the last one, tho. See you in a bad mood tomorrow. If I can sit down.

And if it does mean what I think it means, why would he be in a bad mood?

TMI Tuesday

Boviosity points the TMI-Meter at itself this week on TMI Tuesday. Scroll down to yesterday's "Medical Monday" link and you'll see what I mean. Sorry bout that. What is it in the human beast that wants to tell disinterested others of its ills?

Let's be honest here...

Haven't we all, at one time or another, felt like this guy?

"[...]I'm hungry and I want to get intoxicated."

Link via Romenesko.

Medical Monday

Uggh. Called in sick today. Low grade fever, chills, coughing, and sneezing. Drinking cold water helps. As they say in the country, "Well, thin my secretions!"

Attention Alanis

Irony is when one's post mentioning better editing at Neal Boortz's site is headed with the "word" "Congragulations."

No fair

Y'know, I've thought the same thing, but this isn't really fair. Boreanaz bulked up considerably between Season One and Season Two and nobody complained; that he looks like a Rat-Packer now could easily be explained by any number of plot devices.

Like, oh, 10000 years in a hell dimension? Or maybe watching his son sleep with his girlfriend?

Anyway, I'm with Treacher on this mostly. A vampire-based show needs some way to explain the actors' aging. Marsters could probably pull off Spike for another few years, but Angel's obviously played. I predict the upcoming series finale will not be pretty for our boy Angelus.

Thirsty Thursday

As Hank would say, Yep.

Or, as they say in Ireland, "Oh, aye."

Got the twelve pack.

Yep.

Oops.

Hell is other diners - the return

Irony alert! John Kessler encounters the hell that is other diners:

I've got my eye on the pastichio I see a lady at the next table moaning over.

If I ever open a restaurant, I'm going to institute a strict no-moaning policy. At least try to keep it to your own table, lady!

Weedwhacker Wednesday

Wherein Boviosity! mentions, and maybe even writes, on something that he's been meaning to talk about for awhile.

Today's Weedwhacker Wednesday entry is necessarily brief, as I am actually working today. OK, ready? Here goes.

Attention Atlanta Drivers: When you have the right-of-way, I do not welcome your generous attempts to award right-of-way to me unless I am clearely displaying signs of traffic distress. Just go. I'll do fine without you.

However, if you have the right-of-way and do not take it, I'm likely to look you right in the eye and take it myself.

Yes, I'm funny that way.

TMI Tuesday

Hello, and welcome to TMI Tuesday here at Boviosity. This is a new feature to try to goad myself into actually updating the site every now and then.

Today on TMI Tuesday: Jim Treacher!

I'm really tired and I smell like curly fries.

This has been TMI Tuesday on Boviosity. Here we will point and laugh at bloggers who tell us just a little more than we really wanted to know about them. Keep coming back to Boviosity for more new features coming up!

Congragulations, Neal!

Neal Boortz has frequently answered complaints about typos and incoherencies on his "Nealz Nuze" site saying that the site is just his program notes and that if you want the polished version you should listen to the show.

That always rang a little hollow with me - after all, if you're going to put something out there for people to read, it doesn't help if it looks as if was written by Peter Fox after an all-night espresso bender.

Anyway, it looks as if he's either taking more care with his output, or (seems more likely to me) has taken on an editor. The page looks a lot more polished and the content a lot more professional. Check it out!

He's already gotten several Instapundit links in the last few weeks, much more regularly than he had before. Good work. And his commentary today on Air America really is a must-read.

Air America: Love Radio for Lowbrow Listeners

Been awhile since I've posted. I was on vacation last week and I've been working pretty hard at my paying job since then. But in light of my recent Air America posts, I think this bears mention. You have to promise me you'll follow the link, though, to appreciate the full lameness of it.

In a page titled "The Sludge Report" (Good grief, is there no originality at all connected to Air America? This is the third Air America entity I've found, after "Morning Sedition" and "The O'Franken Report," that uses a supposedly witty rendering of another media outlet's moniker) we read:

After just two weeks on the air, Air America Radio, the fledgling liberal talk-radio network featuring Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo, and that really loud woman from Florida, appears to have encountered serious cash-flow problems.

Stop the presses!!! There’s nothing more exciting than half a story from a third hand source!!!!

Note the preening adolescent tone which, as with most adolescents, seems to hide a whine just beneath the surface. It goes downhill from there:

But Arthur Liu --- not funny. He lied to us, he ripped us off and now we’re chasing him down with a pipe wrench. It’s a metaphor.

Here’s what really happened:

This Liu-ser was ripping off our boss Evan Cohen big time (he can’t do that, that’s our job). Evan found out about it and he stopped payment on a check to keep Liu-cifer from ripping him off even more.

Gads, the rapier wit. I'd say I'm through with Air America and Morning Sedition (I listened for a few minutes this morning - the three hosts were taking turns discussing three different subjects, talking across each other as if they were all talking about the same thing. Not pretty.) but it's beginning to look as if they'll put themselves out of their own misery sooner than anybody predicted.

Hint: No matter what you think is going on, you don't get yourself pushed off the air in your second and third largest markets.

It occurred to me that these are the same people who refer to Right-wing Talk Radio as "Hate Radio." Where's the Love, folks? Bad satire is one thing. Self-satire is even worse. I usually listen to talk radio (of either stripe) until such time as the host embarrasses himself beyond recovery. It usually takes about 30 minutes with Rush, maybe 10 minutes with Hannity. Air America's Morning Sedition must have set a land speed record this morning...and they didn't even get to their daily reference to Bush as a "Dry Drunk" this morning before I had to, sadly, switch stations.

As someone who is interested in issues I should be able to listen to broadcasts from any side of the political spectrum without feeling embarrassed for the participants and myself. The only person on Air America who seems to have any future at all in broadcasting (if there's any justice) is Randi Rhodes, and she's insane.

(Link via a newly redesigned Instapundit.)

Things I Learned Listening to Air America

I've got to stop listening to Air America. This is not going to become an Air America blog if I can help it.

I listened to a very patient explanation of blogging on the network today. I learned that blogs were a minor phenomenon before 9/11, mostly consisting of liberals fact-checking the New York Times and other conservative news outlets (no, really), then after 9/11 right-wing blogs took off, with their single-minded focus on revenge against Muslims, but that now the left is starting to take back over, behind such reasoned and rational bloggers as Joshua Micah Marshall and Eschaton at Atrios.

Oh, I also learned that right-wingers have an easier message to get across because they simply tie everything into smaller government and personal responsibility, messages that stupid people like. And these stupid people ignore the left because the left doesn't have a single message like the right, and doesn't have any guiding principles since they take such an intellectual and subtle approach to everything, a fact which leaves them open to false charges of having no principles.

Ooooh...kay.

I will personally write a limerick praising Ed Schultz if George Soros or some other deep pocket isn't still writing checks to this network on a regular basis for the next year. Assuming they last that long, that is.

Happy weekend

It's Miller time!

(Link via Treacher)

Whittaker Chambers

Orrin Judd at The Brothers Judd has a fascinating review of Whittaker Chambers's "Witness." Reading his comments on the divide between the common man and the leftist elites, as embodied by the anti-communists and the anti-anti-communists, is certainly striking in these days of the anti-terrorists vs. anti-anti-terrorists.

Morning Sedition plugs Sirius on XM

Taking my life (or, at least, the life of my mind) in my hands, I listened to the Randi Rhodes program on Air America on the drive home last night.

Think of a know-nothing Kim Komando crossed with Dr. Laura minus the moral compass and you'd begin to approach the shrillness and moonbat cluelessness of this broad.

I loved it. I'll be back. She has a sort of spittle-flecked charm, like she's purposely adopted the worst caricature of a right-wing host to make some kind of point. But her snark is at least somewhat witty (usually not more than "somewhat" but you have to take what you can get) and she knows who she's dealing with: she kept reminding her audience that, even though it's hard and all, they might actually have to read a book in order to learn something. Of course, the first book she recommended has to do with the Bush dynasty's desire to bring about the Apocalypse by manipulating the Middle East. So she's, you know, insane, but hey, it was enjoyable. Somewhat.

Rhodes also walked into a wasp's nest of irony when she was talking about the conservative media news - you know, NBC, CBS, etc. (No, I'm not kidding.) She advised her listeners to stick around for the commercials on their favorite news shows - those are the people who are really running things! I decided to try the same thing for the Randi Rhodes show. Now, since I'm listening on XM Radio, I'm assuming that XM is selling the commercial hole. So far, the advertising consists almost exclusively of XM Radio "news byte" promos, some of which are sponsored. The only non-XM-specific commercial I heard was for an herbal weight-loss supplement or some other nostrum.

I figured out one of the main problems with the Morning Sedition crew: they're just not that bright. It's not their politics that tells me this - heck, there are brilliant people all over the political spectrum. No, it's their humorous bits. I enjoy good satire regardless of whose ox is getting gored. These numbnuts (Mar[c|k] Maron especially) ain't gorin' nothin'. They're a bunch of know-nothings who think that having a snarky attitude toward things they hate is enough. This morning's allegedly "comic" bits featured a fake "Morning Devotional" (in which they prayed to 'God' for President Bush to adhere to the 12 Steps, which apparently cannot be squared with national defense and opposition to partial-birth abortion) (no, really) and something else equally stupid. At least the other two hosts were with the program, laughing uproariously. They must have adopted a hand signal of some kind, or maybe they've learned to read Maron's body language to determine when he thinks he's being funny, and the bits seemed better-rehearsed. Still, pathetic.

Oh, I just remembered the single most utterly pathetic thing I heard on the show this morning. The three were doing that staple of morning zoo shows, the wacky news stories, and the female cohost chose a story about a woman's advertising group that's condemning a Sirius Satellite Radio ad featuring a scantily-clad Pamela Anderson.

Not only did they mention Sirius Satellite radio several times during the bit, they also bitched about how they're "only on a few broadcast stations."

Situational awareness, people. Situational awareness.

I should point out that I'm well aware that a lot of these same criticisms can be levelled at right-wing hosts. I've posted before about how I usually only listen to Hannity until he embarrasses himself, which doesn't usually take long. No, I'm not saying they're *uniquely* stupid; just that they're stupid. Hey, I thought this was supposed to be nuanced, super-brain-powered radio for people who were tired of conservative hatah hacks.

I'll try Morning Sedition in another month or so. Right now, they sound like conversations I had with my know-nothing stoner friends in high school. Ho-hum.

XM Radio's display for Air America features an older version of the name of the network: "America Left." Yes, it looks like an epitaph. So sue me.

UPDATE: My comment on Sirius radio above was apparently mistaken. The network is carried on that network after all.

Fun new game!

What's that you say? Your XL2000 class is just dragging on and on?

Turn off the sound on your computer and try this new game!

Hi, is this the audition for "Hair?"

XM Radio is carrying Air America so I thought I would give it a listen. I refuse to listen to that tool, Ed Schultz, whose entire schtick consists of reading conservative writings in a real sarcastic voice and then saying, "Unbelievable!" and then breaking for commercial. In my view, Air America's first really smart move was not to let him anywhere near drive time. So I got to listen to "Morning Sedition," the network's kooky morning show.

First off, that stupid title: "Morning Sedition." This kind of in-your-face, "ooo, look at us we're speaking truth to power" vibe is almost as lame as Al Franken's show title, "The O'Franken Factor." It gives the show a hole to dig itself out of right from the start, sounding like nothing more than a spotty adolescent who's just figuring out some of his ideas might be unsound and so has to preempt criticism by saying, "I know I'm just a spotty adolescent," implying thereby that any dissent is spot-based and not factual.

The hosts are a hard-to-listen to bunch; I hope they're beautiful to look at because they certainly don't have voices made for radio. One guy sounds like he's gargling and the woman's ready-for-BBC accent made me want to check whether I was actually listening to NPR. I'll stop there, because I'm not going to address the various rough edges on the show (the too-loud segue tapes, etc.) I'm not a radio professional so I'll just assume they're going to work this stuff out. More experienced folk can pipe up if they find that inexcusable.

First guest I heard was Michael Stipe, whose group REM, we are informed, is well-known for the political bent of their songs. Well, maybe. I know they occasionally mention world hot spots in their songs, but mostly they seem to be about a curious mixture of world-weariness and nostalgia, and they've always appealed to me. I learned something I didn't know: Stipe lives a few blocks from the WTC site and was at this home when the attacks occurred. He avoided any mention of the war on terror but said that touring in Canada is interesting because he's still in North America and yet outside the influence of the big, powerful United States. He was saying something about how the people there just sort of ignore us and was interrupted by one of the personalities who said, "So it's a codependent relationship then? Hah ha." I would have been interested in hearing an exploration of that, but Stipe just immediately assented and then the conversation moved on.

I've described this at such length because this and other incidents during the broadcast made me think I'm listening to people with an utterly different worldview than most of the people you hear on the radio. These people have a certain set of cultural and intellectual touchpoints beyond which no exploration is necessary. I'm sure Hannity and Boortz et. al. do, too, but perhaps since I'm, theoretically, immersed in it I don't notice it. Like the fish said, "Water? What water?" However, I think that if they hope to illuminate this worldview they'll need to move beyond mouthing these silly code words and actually talk about the meaning behind them. I know that right-wing talkers are just as guilty - Rush Limbaugh's near-pornographic relish whenever he uses the word "producers," for instance, is just button-pushing. Ho-hum.

I wish I could remember the first alleged joke of the broadcast. I was listening and thinking, "My, my, what a humorless bunch" when one guy, apparently the designated lightener-upper, cracked the most obvious, cringe-inducing gag - so bad that not even the people around him laughed. There was some okay humor later as the guy read the Liberals' supposed marching orders from Barbra Streisand, supposedly ripped right off the fax machine. Mostly of the "Hey, you can't accuse us of being anti-American, because we're making jokes about our supposed anti-Americanism!" stripe. Har-de-har-har.

A fawning interview with Wesley Clark, in which he actually sounded quite sane, was interesting. How do I know it was interesting? Because the in-depth and hilarious commentary after he hung up (all interviews were by phone) consisted of the hosts saying, "Interesting!" to one another for about 30 interminable seconds, followed by discussions of his mid-campaign wardrobe change. To be fair, though, Clark was a good interview and seemed pretty rational about the situation in Falluja and Baghdad, pointing out what this says about Baathist strategy, and the dangers of running away like we did after Black Hawk Down.

By contrast, an interview with Pat Buchanan was hardball after hardball, usually wide of the mark and tendentious in the extreme...except when Buchanan (as is his wont) listed support for Israel as the chief sin of the neoconservatives. (I was waiting for him to say something about Da Jews and unfortunately wasn't surprised when this reference was permitted to just sit there unchallenged.) But the interviewer (who I will call Mar[c|k] because Marc and Mark are the names of the male hosts) had bigger fish to fry. As soon as Buchanan made his (uninterrupted and unfollowed-up-on) case against the neoconservatives, Mar[c|k] launched into a series of challenges based on old comments of Buchanan's that life in the US and Washington DC in particular was better in the 1950's and 1960's; as surely as the night follows the day, Mar[c|k] pointed out that segregation and other institutionalized forms of racism were present in the 50's and 60's and why does such "racialist" considerations inform Buchanan's opinion? Yeah, Mar[c|k], that's the only difference between then and now, bub. (Oops, sorry, this is a review, not a fisking) To his credit, Mar[c|k] did not interrupt Buchanan when Buchanan replied, "That's just silly." I don't know if Buchanan is a racist or not, mind you, but he pointed out actual differences: in the murder rates of then and now, in the illegitimacy rate then and now, in school achievement then and now. It shows that, underneath any discussion of the past is a "racialist" accusation ready to be flung once somebody doesn't like the way the discussion is going. Buchanan's parting shot, that people had better manners then than to throw around accusations of racism, fascism, hatred, and homophobia also was permitted to stand. A good performance, which led to Buchanan being described as "warm and fuzzy" by the female host.

Look. Life in America was crap for Blacks in the 50's and 60's. It was a blot on our national character and many, many people have a lot of atoning to do for it. But to twist every nostalgic reference to those times into pining for Jim Crow is in fact, "just silly."

OK, sorry.

Oh, I remembered, the first gag was a "business report" in which the "funny" Mar[c|k] read a "story" about the launch of Air America and how the morning show needed to be funny and interesting if there was to be a future for the network. I give it about 6 months. I'll be surprised if they make it to the election.

UPDATE: I just remembered the first rant I heard on the show. Mar[c|k] was talking about Tivo and Fox News, and just ranting about how with Tivo he would never have to listen to Peggy Noonan. I hope to find a transcript, because pretty soon it sounded like he was saying he could use Tivo in order not to have to listen to any ideas he didn't agree with. And not in a funny way, either.

April Fools Roundup

Treacher's pretending to quit. The 12:01AM timestamp convinces me it's a prank.

I will say, how a guy who updates his blog maybe 6 times a month on average got onto so many blogrolls, I'll never know. Must be all the other important stuff he has to do.

In other April Fool's related news, a bunch of adolescent hooligans took over a radio studio today and put on a radio show. I'll have a review later.