I've been antsy for the past couple of days, but my energy level isn't there yet. Everyone who's been noting this is the absolute best time for me to be temporarily unemployed (crappy weather, bad sleep cycle, husband employed for the foreseeable) isn't kidding. I was hoping I'd make some more headway in my wish list of personal projects, including things like blogging here and at ComicMix, but after all that's just a wish list so I'm not that concerned. At least I'm caught up with blog reading even with the laptop still out for repairs (apparently a part is on order), so why not have a blogaround? This is dedicated to Mustang Bobby, whose play Can't Live Without You will be performed by the Manhattan Rep Company next month (Robin and I can hardly wait to see it, even though it'll mean braving the cold NYC streets which we tend to steer clear of in winter) and who is so consistently kind to me every week in his own blogaround.
• Congratulations are also in order for Jon Swift on his second blogiversary (do check out his essay about steroids in baseball, it's a credit to the writer for whom he's pseudonamed), Terry on her third, Digby on her fifth, and Mark Evanier on his eighth! Even though the last two brilliant writers use the occasion to blog-beg their readers to support their hobby, I'd once again implore folks, particularly at this time of year, to consider donating to bloggers you like who actually need the cash to help with survival expenses. Also congrats to Roxanne on the new job which will move her a bit closer to NYC so maybe I'll see her more often!
• I'm still 100% in support of the WGA of course but dang, I miss the Daily Show and Colbert! Nikki Finke has just reported they're slated to return on January 7, albeit sans writing staffs. Meanwhile, John Hodgman (currently co-featured in at least the third ad series to do a Rankin/Bass animation takeoff this season, if you also include Geico and the Food Network) mentions that he and John Oliver will be appearing on January 19th at 826NYC in Brooklyn to participate in a very strange tournament called "Scrabble for Cheaters" that sounds like a lot of fun. (Hey Jamal, that's in your neighborhood, isn't it? We should do lunch!) Oh, speaking of Colbert, he's just won AP's Celebrity of the Year, nudging out JK Rowling (Entertainment Weekly's Entertainer of the Year and Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of 2007) and Al Gore (Oscar, Emmy and Nobel Peace Prize winner all in the same year).
• I miss my favorite comedy shows as well, but Jenna Fischer's keeping busy and is really psyched about her role in Walk Hard, which she advises has "full-frontal male nudity too. That's right ladies, we have penis. There is a ton of nudity in this movie actually. I mean, it's the story of a rock-n-roll star! I don't get naked in the film. I should probably say that. But I do showcase the ladies quite a bit. I had to be sewn into most of my costumes to make sure they were as tight as possible. My wardrobe assistant's main job was making sure my boobs didn't fall out. It was hilarious. I would see her across the room starring at my chest all day."
• It's that time of year when people need to be reminded that naming someone "this-or-that Of The Year" is not awarding them anything. In many cases it's like saying Wanker of the Year or Idiot of the Year. It's an acknowledgement that someone's stood out, not a reward for doing so! Why this was well understood when Hitler made Time's Man of the Year for 1938 and it's not understood when Putin gets the same notoriety is beyond me. Not comparing Hitler to Putin, obviously, just comparing the relative intelligence of the American public then and now. As the media shoulders much of this dumbing-down blame, I don't feel a bit sorry for the Time spokesjerks who have to keep going on the 24/7 cable news stations to tell their TV counterparts that it's an acknowledgement, not an award. Even some bloggers don't seem to get this, as Jamie of Crooks & Liars notes. I'm guessing much of this has to do with all the entertainer/fascinating person/celebrity of the year "awards" mentioned above.
• Some interesting cultural debates going on: Colleen Doran wants to know your opinions on copyrights. Mine is that people who create stuff deserve to benefit financially from it, and people who appropriate stuff should ask permission and never, ever seek to profit from theft; information wants to be free, yes, but entertainment isn't information. And Val D'Orazio makes some fearless predictions on what may be in store for the comics industry in 2008 and beyond; I wish I had the kind of imagination, energy and cleverness needed for this type of essay.
• For some reason lots of people are writing about religion recently. PZ Myers offers his condolences to England on its newly homegrown creationists. I remember Robin telling me they just didn't have that sort of Dominionist nonsense there. Well, they do now. Lawrence O'Donnell examines Mitt Romney and Mormonism, and Melissa McEwan has some interesting things to say about "the new atheism" which, to me, doesn't seem to be atheist as much as anti-theist, and you're never going to make any real progress if your movement is anti-something (except if it's anti-anti, if you know what I mean... anti-intolerance, anti-oppression, that sort of thing).
• All hail King Theresa! Back when Emma Thompson's variety show was on, a bunch of friends from the movie apa called CAPRA used to call Thompson "the king." I agree that, as unfortunate as it is in this day and age, that title does seem to carry more weight and cachet than "queen."
Sorry this blogaround isn't more political, but hey, when Keith Olbermann takes three days off then comes back on the air to do an Oddball 2007 retrospective instead of hard news; when the airwaves are more titillated by the pregnancy of Britney's sister than by the tragic death of Kucinich's brother; and when more bloggers seem fixated by Tom Tancredo dropping out of the Republican presidential horse race ("film of nothing at 11!") than by the Lakota Sioux' declaration of independence from the US... well, I suppose I can be forgiven for concentrating more on the cultural end of things.
• Congratulations are also in order for Jon Swift on his second blogiversary (do check out his essay about steroids in baseball, it's a credit to the writer for whom he's pseudonamed), Terry on her third, Digby on her fifth, and Mark Evanier on his eighth! Even though the last two brilliant writers use the occasion to blog-beg their readers to support their hobby, I'd once again implore folks, particularly at this time of year, to consider donating to bloggers you like who actually need the cash to help with survival expenses. Also congrats to Roxanne on the new job which will move her a bit closer to NYC so maybe I'll see her more often!
• I'm still 100% in support of the WGA of course but dang, I miss the Daily Show and Colbert! Nikki Finke has just reported they're slated to return on January 7, albeit sans writing staffs. Meanwhile, John Hodgman (currently co-featured in at least the third ad series to do a Rankin/Bass animation takeoff this season, if you also include Geico and the Food Network) mentions that he and John Oliver will be appearing on January 19th at 826NYC in Brooklyn to participate in a very strange tournament called "Scrabble for Cheaters" that sounds like a lot of fun. (Hey Jamal, that's in your neighborhood, isn't it? We should do lunch!) Oh, speaking of Colbert, he's just won AP's Celebrity of the Year, nudging out JK Rowling (Entertainment Weekly's Entertainer of the Year and Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of 2007) and Al Gore (Oscar, Emmy and Nobel Peace Prize winner all in the same year).
• I miss my favorite comedy shows as well, but Jenna Fischer's keeping busy and is really psyched about her role in Walk Hard, which she advises has "full-frontal male nudity too. That's right ladies, we have penis. There is a ton of nudity in this movie actually. I mean, it's the story of a rock-n-roll star! I don't get naked in the film. I should probably say that. But I do showcase the ladies quite a bit. I had to be sewn into most of my costumes to make sure they were as tight as possible. My wardrobe assistant's main job was making sure my boobs didn't fall out. It was hilarious. I would see her across the room starring at my chest all day."
• It's that time of year when people need to be reminded that naming someone "this-or-that Of The Year" is not awarding them anything. In many cases it's like saying Wanker of the Year or Idiot of the Year. It's an acknowledgement that someone's stood out, not a reward for doing so! Why this was well understood when Hitler made Time's Man of the Year for 1938 and it's not understood when Putin gets the same notoriety is beyond me. Not comparing Hitler to Putin, obviously, just comparing the relative intelligence of the American public then and now. As the media shoulders much of this dumbing-down blame, I don't feel a bit sorry for the Time spokesjerks who have to keep going on the 24/7 cable news stations to tell their TV counterparts that it's an acknowledgement, not an award. Even some bloggers don't seem to get this, as Jamie of Crooks & Liars notes. I'm guessing much of this has to do with all the entertainer/fascinating person/celebrity of the year "awards" mentioned above.
• Some interesting cultural debates going on: Colleen Doran wants to know your opinions on copyrights. Mine is that people who create stuff deserve to benefit financially from it, and people who appropriate stuff should ask permission and never, ever seek to profit from theft; information wants to be free, yes, but entertainment isn't information. And Val D'Orazio makes some fearless predictions on what may be in store for the comics industry in 2008 and beyond; I wish I had the kind of imagination, energy and cleverness needed for this type of essay.
• For some reason lots of people are writing about religion recently. PZ Myers offers his condolences to England on its newly homegrown creationists. I remember Robin telling me they just didn't have that sort of Dominionist nonsense there. Well, they do now. Lawrence O'Donnell examines Mitt Romney and Mormonism, and Melissa McEwan has some interesting things to say about "the new atheism" which, to me, doesn't seem to be atheist as much as anti-theist, and you're never going to make any real progress if your movement is anti-something (except if it's anti-anti, if you know what I mean... anti-intolerance, anti-oppression, that sort of thing).
• All hail King Theresa! Back when Emma Thompson's variety show was on, a bunch of friends from the movie apa called CAPRA used to call Thompson "the king." I agree that, as unfortunate as it is in this day and age, that title does seem to carry more weight and cachet than "queen."
Sorry this blogaround isn't more political, but hey, when Keith Olbermann takes three days off then comes back on the air to do an Oddball 2007 retrospective instead of hard news; when the airwaves are more titillated by the pregnancy of Britney's sister than by the tragic death of Kucinich's brother; and when more bloggers seem fixated by Tom Tancredo dropping out of the Republican presidential horse race ("film of nothing at 11!") than by the Lakota Sioux' declaration of independence from the US... well, I suppose I can be forgiven for concentrating more on the cultural end of things.
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