Oh No!

It looks like I support THE GAY AGENDA!

Idiot du jour

Today's idiots: Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, who rewrote Democratic amendments to a law to make it look like Democrats were protecting sexual abusers of children. What a-holes!

Narrative Threading on T.V.

This article from the New York Times Magazine discusses how narrative threading techniques from soap operas combined with tough story lines to improve television drama. Hill Street Blues is hailed as the first prime time drama that effectively combined multiple story lines with many characters (like Dallas did) with meaningful and powerful plots and themes (like Dallas didn't).

The article goes on to discuss "flashing arrows," the narrative device used to explain things that the audience isn't likely to understand: "Don't touch that, or we'll be blown to bits!" or something like that. There's a lot less of that nowadays, which is good, because it presumes an intelligent audience.

Lots more in the article. The author, Steven Johnson, has a book coming out entitled Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter.

Update: Dana Stevens (aka Liz Penn) over at Slate has a rejoinder to the Johnson article.

Idiot du jour, Monday, April 26

The Army Office of Inspector General, in a blowout!

I'm Back

Lots of work this week finishing up the manuscript. Will print tomorrow and Thursday, with aims of getting it in the mail by Friday. UPF has some interesting formatting requirements that I didn't remember from the first time I sent it off, so I had to make some changes I didn't expect. Anyway, one more ream (less 65 sheets) and I'm done.

No hot links today, but I'll post an idiot du jour soon. So many idiots, so little time.

I couldn't resist

Click here and click on the thumb.

New Feature: Idiot du jour

Today's winners, in a tie: Rick Santorum and the morons at Accuweather. They want to cut off public access to the National Weather Service's forecasts. Link.

The Creative Class

A good interview with Richard Florida on the creative class and the impact on the economy. (Registration or day pass req'd.)

Another Reason to Hate Microsoft

This post at Americablog details how Microsoft has abandoned support for gay rights legislation in its home state of Washington, apparently because some idiot right-wing religious zealot threatened them with a boycott. What are they gonna do, go to Apple (which does support gay rights) or move to Linux (which the narrow-between-the-eyes set can't figure out anyway)? That Microsoft blinked at this meaningless threat is disturbing in the extreme. I expect Hell-Mart to support right-wing issues, but the Tech field is filled with a much more diverse population, and for Microsoft to cave like that is not only absurd, it's ridiculous.

Individual-i

A new site, and idea, to promote the rights of individuals.

Coulter

I can't stand Ann Coulter, but I can't write as well as James Wolcott, so I'll just link to what he has to say about her and Time magazine.

Juan Cole has it right:

"Universities are about skewering sacred cows. Anyone who doesn't want their views challenged or their feelings hurt should stay away from them. If you can't handle an intellectual challenge, you shouldn't be on campus."

See the whole article, which is about why he's cancelling his subscription to the New York Times, here.

My Language

Your Linguistic Profile:

45% General American English

40% Dixie

10% Yankee

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Haplogroups

National Geographic is doing a project in which individuals can trace their ancestry back to a common African ancestor. See more here. Very cool.

uh, yeah

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The worst job in the court of Henry VIII -- other than queen -- may have been "groom of the stool." Link

So Gay

So, it seems that rightwing consultants can love, and get married, even to fellow males, by taking advantage of one of our more intelligent states. I'm happy for the guy (Arthur Finkelstein), but a little irritated that in order to make money, he helped bring Jesse Helms to power and keep him there.

Hypocrisy? You decide.

AP

Lots of stuff on the AP photo pulitzer, but the rightwing reaction, especially by Powerline, is taken to task by Athenae at First Draft. Awesome.

I'm also into cars. This one's from the Euro 2004 Auto Show held at the BMW facility in Greer (Greenville-Spartanburg) SC. While I'm at it, the relationship between cars and politics was covered in this NY Times article (registration req'd.) I drive a Honda Odyssey, which skewed highest in the minivan category for Democratic drivers.