Digital Chum - Virtual fish guts and other nonsense

television

Increased absurdity

Huh?!?I didn’t think it was possible. I mean, Sarah Palin has pretty much been the definition of the phrase "inane absurdity" (I know that comes perilously close to being redundant) for well over half a decade*, but today she appeared on The Today Show and was briefly interviewed by Matt Lauer. She has a new book about the (fictitious) "War on Christmas" but he first asked her some questions about the health care law, Chris Christie, and general politics before getting to the book.

I’m almost sure there wasn’t a single thing she said that was not either blatantly false or patently absurd. I cannot fathom why… no… wait. I can fathom why this woman still has a public platform, but it pains me to think there are  enough people in this country to voluntarily and enthusiastically provide it for her. That so many either agree with or believe her is truly indicative of a sad state of affairs in this country.

If only McCain had chosen someone else.

* Palin would occasionally lend the definition to Michele Bachmann.

Louis C.K. – Everything’s Amazing!

I never heard of Louis C.K. until today when I saw this video clip from his appearance on Conan O’Brien’s show. This is just brilliant!

(via)

Evian Roller Babies

Evian’s promo featuring roller babies. Too funny!

(thanks to spajadigit @ Infidelicacy)

Burn Notice to the rescue!

burnnotice After writing the last post about Rush Limbaugh, I got a bit of a sickening feeling in my stomach and realized that today’s post made three in a row about Rush. That’s both depressing and unacceptable. So in order to remedy that sad state of affairs, I figured it’d do a quick write-up of Burn Notice, a spy/drama/action/comedy television show that is in its third season. The accompanying photo is way better than a bloated Rush face, too.

I got hooked watching Burn Notice a few months ago when I happened to catch a couple episodes on USA Network. It had a great Miami Vice meets Beverly Hills Cop kind of style. Netflix hooked me up with the Season 1 and Season 2 DVD’s and Hulu provided me the opportunity to completely catch up with this season.

Sadly, now I have to wait a week (or longer) between episodes.

The show, however, kicks ass. I frequently find myself laughing out loud… and then sitting on the edge of my seat… and then getting a little choked up. The mood mixing is done very well and the style of the show is such that it’s a visual treat as well.

Though there is an over-arcing storyline, each episode generally contains a standalone storyline as well, making it very easy to pick up in the middle and still understand most of what’s going on. The characters have phenomenal chemistry. Jeffrey Donovan and Gabrielle Anwar constantly have a cool, sexual tension heat while Donovan and Bruce Campbell have great buddy charisma. Sharon Gless, who plays Donovan’s mother, is a perfect mix of doting, overprotective mother and nagging bitch. Mix all that up with the spy back story and Donovan’s informative voiceover narrative and you’ve got a terrific show that is a delight to watch.

And you learn lots of pretend spy stuff. 😉

“Folksy” doesn’t belong in the White House

Say "nuclear"

Say "nuclear"

I’m dismayed by the number of people who seem to think that being “folksy” is a good qualification for a presidential or vice-presidential candidate. Being able to connect with people is one thing. Using slang, bad grammar, and incorrect pronunciations for common words is something altogether different. Comedians and television writers get damned good mileage from it, but do we really want it from our public officials?

Personally, I want someone smart in public office, especially in the office of President of the United States of America. When I say “smart,” I don’t just mean IQ. I mean having enough of an education to know how to speak in public, to use proper grammar, to pronounce common words correctly, to know enough about science to talk intelligently, to process information rationally, to negotiate effectively, to look at evidence objectively, and to know when to ask for help. There’s more to it than that, though. Someone “smart” understands that appearance matters… visually, audibly, and behaviorally.

Folksy appears uneducated. It probably doesn’t appear that way to uneducated people, but to anyone else (who has an ounce of honesty)… it does. However, everyone looks favorably upon well-spoken, even folksy people. Well-spoken doesn’t mean using big words, literary flourishes, clever allusions, and mythological references. It means having the ability to get your point across cleanly and clearly, using proper grammar and a relatively solid grasp of the English language. That doesn’t offend or alienate anyone.

That’s what I want in the office of President. We haven’t had it for 8 years now and, although McCain has it (or used to), his runner-up has precious little of it. Obama has it in abundance. Biden has it, too. When I visualize our president sitting down with other world leaders to discuss matters of global importance, I cringe to think of someone saying “new-cue-luhr” and “you betcha” and winking and stumbling over facts and simple scientific issues. If that happens, it reflects poorly on us as a country. It looks laughable. It looks farcical. It looks sad.

C’mon, November 4th!

It will be so nice once November 4th has come and gone. It’ll be even nicer after all the legal challenges and recount demands and accusations of voting irregularities are finished, too.

I haven’t seen many of the TV ads because I don’t watch much television, but I’ve seen a few. I think I may even have seen one or two that were not misleading… but I may have only dreamt that. Most of what I see, from both candidates’ sides, is misleading at best and blatantly incorrect at worst. The few that have not been terribly misleading were ones where the candidate doesn’t talk about his opponent. They’re refreshing… sort of.

Presidential elections seem to bring out the worst in people… emotionally and intellectually. Once the election is done and the winners cheer and the losers sigh, perhaps things can get civil again. They usually have in the past. I hope this year is no exception.