Friday
Color me flummoxed over Imus. I listened to him when I lived in Detroit in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I liked him; I didn't like Howard Stern. I found Imus somewhat urbane, if occasionally outrageous; I found Stern consistently obnoxious. When I started listening to Imus, I didn't realize he was already a national figure. I didn't know about syndication. To the extent I considered the matter all, I just thought the Detroit radio station had a special deal with a related NY station.
And now he's gone, for a three-word slur. A good person who said a bad thing (Imus' words), targeted by a bad person who says bad things (my words), and the media elite fell into line and fired him.
There's a part of me that likes the accountability: Imus said a bad thing (though I don't even know for sure what "nappy head" means). He's being punished for it. It's simple justice. But just as Imus occasionally went over the top, so does this punishment. He's gone over the top before. Was he ever warned, suspended, fined? Here's a Wikipedia link that recounts various Imus controversies. There's no mention of previous punishments (and that's as far as I'm researching it for now; I did a few other searches and nothing popped up).
The best commentary I found this morning is by Pat Buchanan over at Lew Rockwell. Excerpt:
Compare, if you will, what was done to [the Rutgers basketball players] ”“ a single nasty insult ”“ to the savage slanders for weeks on end of the Duke lacrosse team and the three players accused by a lying stripper of having gang-raped her at a frat party.
Duke faculty and talking heads took that occasion to vent their venom toward all white "jocks" on college campuses. Where are the demands for apologies from the talk-show hosts, guests, Duke faculty members and smear artists, all of whom bought into the lies about those Duke kids ”“ because the lies comported with their hateful view of America?
And hate is what this is all about.
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Looking for good family or religious viewing but (i) don't know what to get or (ii) frustrated with your local video outlet's selection? Consider this combo: Ignatius Press' DVD catalogue and a subscription to Netflix. Based on a hit-and-miss search of the Netflix database, I'm guessing they carry about 75% of the titles listed in Ignatius' most-recent DVD catalogue.
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My great shame: I watch American Idol. Not all of it, by any stretch, but I probably watch about 1/2 of the total air time each year. I watch because it's an enjoyable way to spend time with my children. Only Abbie votes. I say, "Vote for Sanjaya," then go to bed. Though I don't really care about the voting, I've been consistently impressed that Fox is able to keep a lid on the voting results. I've never heard of a leak, never heard of a margin of victory. The voting itself is driving people batty, especially those who think the results might be skewed, and they're going to great lengths to get to the bottom of it. Check out this article. At points, I began to think it was satire, but it's not (if I've misread it, feel free to correct me). Excerpt:
I tested the HCD survey and was impressed. I couldn't advance to the voting stage until I'd viewed each clip, which played in a 3.5 by 4.5 inch rectangle with slightly blurry video but clear sound. Before the dial test, the program measured my responsiveness to stimuli by having me click a button when a stoplight on screen turned from red to yellow (in three tests, my times were 788 milliseconds, 297 ms and 291 ms). No one could vote without being exposed to the entire clips; no one could vote twice; and votes from rabid “Idol” fans and people who'd never seen the show counted equally.
All this over Idol?
Brews You Can Use
Can't consume gluten? Poor thing. It's found in wheat and barley. But beer manufacturers are trying to take care of you (heroes are born every day). Here are the details. (Via Realbeer.com)
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This site was hosting a beer poetry contest. I missed it by eight hours. I'm not a poet. I tried for a little while, but I got taunted whenever I asked the bartender to turn down the juke box so I could concentrate on how to turn "lovely little flower" into something that rhymes with "fair maiden, how have I loved thee." Anyway, about five years ago I wrote a poem about beer. I forgot about it, until I saw the beer poem contest. It's too late to send it into the contest, but it's never too late to offend the aesthetic readers of this blog:
The day grows long, and I start to desire
The cold bitter taste and the amber hue,
Of a cold draft beer or one brewed by fire,
Wanting to relish its wet peaceful dew.
The first sip sends a deep heave to my chest.
The second sip and my worry cowers.
The third, and my eyes close, for a brief rest.
After the fourth, I gaze at God's flowers.
The bottle is half full, but I am not
Ready to cease my peace-seeking chores.
For a week, life has put me in knot,
I want only joy, to forget all its bores.
'Bout gone, I thank God for barley and hops,
The corn and wheat, and every grain's brother.
Now I grin wide as I swig the last drops,
Jumping up thinking, 'I'll have me another!”
