Saturday, September 04, 2004

Arnold vs History

How could Arnold have seen Soviet tanks in the British occupied part of Austria? Well, he couldn't.
Covering the Hurricane

I'm very sorry about the suffering of people in Florida as Frances hits them. I can't help but note that there was virtually no "action news" coverage when it hit the Bahamas. Do Bahamians suffer too?

Watching the news people standing out in 70 mph winds with rain and debris slapping them around is, well, kind of entertaining if you can forget about the destruction. They always seem to show up in poorly designed rain gear that flaps and blows as they stagger around with their cheeks flapping when they try to talk. Look, if you are going to do the hurricane coverage thing on national TV why not put on a wet suit that will make you look cool. At least the hood won't balloon out and make you look like a drunk Martian.
Who is Zell Miller?

Fred Kaplan has the best point-by-point review of Zell Miller's speech at the Republican Conention. See it at Slate.

Thursday, September 02, 2004

JC Watts and Zell Miller

JC was on MSNBC's After Hours news show tonight. I had to change channels several times so I wouldn't choke on his platitudes. JC is among the best at talking at length without saying anything. Why do the news programs have this guy on?

Now retiring Senator Zell Miller of Georgia says something when he talks! He may be an 18th century lunatic but there's no mistaking what he is trying to communicate. When he wants to challenge a news pundit to a duel he says he wants to duel. If JC Watts ever got passionate I can imagine he might challenge Chris Matthews to " Agree on the facts bearing on the problem and close the issue at hand".

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Reality Video

I was at the back of the Hollywood Video store this evening when I became aware that the violent video being played loudly throughout the store was sounding increasingly realistic. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a commotion. Two men at the front of the store were kicking the poo out of each other. A teenage girl was screaming. The Hollywood Video staff was watching in disbelief. Blood was flying. Were there knives? I ran to the front to see if my daughter was OK - she was smart - she ran to the back. The fight went outside and one of the guys got in his car and sped away. Within minutes a fire truck and three police cars were at the store bandaging the other guy. I rented Kungfu Soccer.