Countdown on MSNBC

MSNBC, the self-proclaimed cable news network for politics, has a series of hour-long shows devoted to analyzing (and often poking fun at) politicians, issues, and the daily news. They're a mix of serious analysis/commentary and outright entertainment or "politicomedy". Like the neologism? Now keep in mind, a viewer of MSNBC (or any of the other network/cable news shows) must always be aware of exactly where to place the show in question along that frequently fluctuating spectrum running from real journalism, through entertaining and provocative commentary, and finally to news-inspired farce. Let's put NBC's Meet the Press at one end and Jon Stewart's Daily Show at the other. Well, this leaves a lot of room in the middle, and to varying degrees, that's where you'll find many of MSNBC's news programs.
(One important feature of today's news biz that should not go unmentioned: There are certain stories which seem to have the power to disrupt totally the standard continuum. This isn't because of their epoch-making, profound significance; in fact, in a changing world, it seems to concern more their triviality. I'm speaking, of course, of the phenomenon of celebrity. So when it comes to Anna Nicole Smith, Donald Trump, Britney Spears, Don Imus, or Mel Gibson, all bets are off. The force of celebrity is like a black hole to the news biz: nothing can escape its gravitational pull. Even Barbara Walters has been turned into Rosie's lapdog.)
Consider MSNBC's show Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Olbermann knows the magic of wearing many masks. For the most part, he takes a rather lighthearted approach to summarizing current events and can engage in politicomedy with the best of them. His model seems to be David Letterman's well-tested shtick. For example, typical routine is naming "the worst person in the world", a title he often uses to label Bill O'Riley on FOX. And Olbermann is not above orbiting the celebrity black hole -- and seeming to enjoy it!
But, just when you don't expect it, he employs a different mask. Under the heading of making a "special comment", Olbermann becomes possessed by the ghost of Edward R. Murrow. (This tactic is especially fascinating and ironic given the recent movie Good Night and Good Luck which re-affirmed Murrow as a genuine icon.) Sometimes you need to invoke an icon in order to be iconoclastic, and that is precisely Olbermann's game. His special comments have been strikingly serious critiques of President Bush. In particular, Olbermann criticizes Bush for taking political advantage of 9-11 and mismanaging foreign policy, especially the war on terrorism.
Olbermann's performance raises an interesting question: Is there an advantage to cutting and pasting styles in order to communicate more effectively? If cable news has evolved into a continuum (or a mosaic of styles), does it make sense to use everything in the toolbox? I'm not sure about the answer. Olbermann hits the target, but after the next commercial, he'll make a joke about Paris Hilton, and somehow the moment passes...all is right with the world.
I guess what's really at stake here concerns the perception of the viewer, or more precisely, how that perception is (intentionally) crafted by the content and style of the presentation of the news. Olbermann's approach reminds us, even at times confronts us, that we're caught between two worlds: one world is deadly serious (9-11, war, genocide, poverty) and the other world is a farce that feeds off the deadly serious world. There's reality and then there's the dream, the escape from truth. The one can't exist without the other. And so it seems neither can we.
So looking at this little box that lights up with the news each day, we should not be surprised to see the same clashes, tensions, and dualities that we encounter as citizens in the larger box of the global theater. Olbermann is a fellow traveler here. Take a moment to think about your angst, but don't forget to dream and to laugh.

America's Next Top Model

The number of reality shows that we can find on TV today is humongous. Although all of them have the same set-up – a group of people placed in a closed and controllable environment, behaving in strange and sometimes unexplainable ways – some shows can be surprising and more interesting than others. Now for viewers, it is about personal taste and maybe even the immediate mood they’re in. It is for each person to distinguish among these shows and decide which one might be appealing. Some involve danger and physical abilities (Fear Factor, Survivor); some just look at a group of people that would never be together if it wasn’t for the show (Big Brother, Real World) and watch how they behave or rather misbehave; some follow the lives of people that are already famous but crave more publicity, fame and, of course, money (Simple Life and again Fear Factor).
America’s Next Top Model is a reality show with a twist, at least that’s my opinion. A group of young women competing for fame in the fashion industry, recognition in the TV world, and money will sooner or later behave in weird ways. Add two or three divas – some of them already famous – and there’s a recipe for a successful and entertaining show. And yes, Tyra Banks is a diva as well as Ms. Jay and some of their friends. But all that only adds spice to this show.
Talking about divas, I really miss Janice Dickinson. She was a great judge. I thought she was a reason to watch this show. The self-proclaimed “first supermodel” never held back, and there was always some surprise – her speech, her manners or just her facial expression – that made the show a lot more entertaining than it is now. She has her own show now which doesn’t do that well though. And, no surprise, it is about the fashion world! Twiggy, Janice’s replacement doesn’t have the entertaining personality that Janice does, and she doesn’t seem to be trying. Just a world of advice: “British humor doesn’t go well with American reality shows, especially when it is the humor from the 60’s!” Still with Tyra getting wilder and tougher and given the variety of guest judges on the show, it is pretty entertaining.
It is questionable how much credibility those girls have in the fashion world. I don’t recall ever seeing any of them on TV again or in a magazine as a face for Covergirl cosmetics – which is one of the main prizes for the winner – nor on the catwalks of renowned fashion designers. But maybe that will change this season.
This season has a hot favorite – a Russian girl from Texas – who is just a great pain in the neck for the rest of the contestants. There is a girl who looks like a “little Janice”, and that makes me wonder how this will affect Tyra’s judging. Generally, this season has prettier or at least more appealing girls than some of the previous ones. Or maybe the level of competition got better with the past experiences, and there are more beautiful girls promising unusual behavior. As with the rest of reality shows, the goal of ANTM is to entertain. So, girls, if you are pretty and photogenic, think about how much entertainment value your personality has. Because having just good looks won’t help you. No one wants to see a pretty but boring girl.

YOU SUCK

You Suck. That's how Christopher Moore's sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends is named -- and that's how it starts. Those who know Christopher Moore know that he isn't gentle or overly careful when it comes to his choice of words. He plays with them and is not afraid of spicing things up a bit with slang and rude expressions.

Fulfilling his readers' wishes, Mr. Moore wrote a sequel to his first vampire story about a redhead named Jody, who lives in San Francisco, and isn't leading a very interesting life. Well, at least not until she is changed into a vampire. Bloodsucking Fiends deals with her growing accustom to the fact that she's half dead and with her relationship to a young writer wannabe named Tommy. You Suck brings some twists and turns as Tommy is himself turned into a vampire. Now both Jody and Tommy have the same schedule and can enjoy each other much more, but there is a problem with who will run the day errands or have the day shift. Both of them, even as strong creatures, cannot go out in the sun, because, yep you got it, they would burn to death. But the problem is that most of the stuff they need to take care of must be taken care of during the daylight hours.
For example, it is a little tricky to find a new apartment in the night. The newly transformed Tommy decides that he will find a minion who will work for them. And he gets lucky and meets a very eccentric and dark teenager named Abby. Abby Normal, which isn't a real name by the way, is into dark, mystic, and freaky stuff, and she gladly agrees to take the place of a minion.

To make the whole story more twisted, there is an old vampire character, a crazy homeless person who claims he's the Governor of San Francisco, and Tommy's drug addicted ex-workers, and many others who just add to the complete disorder.

Moore is poking fun at different stereotypes, but his work is not what we would call a satire. We all know at least one person who is like Jody before she turns into a vampire or someone who could be Abby's twin. And how many times did we hear about someone coming from the Midwest and trying to succeed in California like Tommy does? What Moore does so well is take these characters to the extreme and come up with very amusing plots. It seems that his mind is going 100 miles an hour. The product is a very funny, relaxing read that one would reach for in a time of needed diversion. Few contemporary authors are as wonderfully and consistently bizarre and entertaining as Moore. His offbeat work makes him an "uncategorizable" contemporary author.

I very much enjoyed this book. Just the name and cover art made it instantly clear that this book could be a fun read. I became a fan of Christopher Moore after reading his novel Dirty Job, and since then I’m hooked. You Suck is great, but if I would have to recommend only one of his books, it would be Lamb. But let's stop here and let the reader begin to explore.


HarperCollins Publishers (2007)

www.chrismoore.com
www.harpercollins.com

Woman's Best Friend

Have you ever received email from iVillage? I receive email from this website (http://www.ivillage.com/) on a daily basis. The emails have tips, advice, and news with topics that I crafted myself. This website is a woman’s best friend. It is a magazine and lexicon with hands-on features from A to Z. Anything you want to know about -- entertainment news, health, cosmetics, fashion trends, your favorite stars, dieting, parenting, home decorating, wellness, and fitness -- you can find there. It is very easy and entertaining to browse through all the iVillage pages. There are always new tips and interesting articles. By working with professionals in various industries, they offer an interesting mix of education and fun.
The whole set up is very appealing and keeps you browsing longer than necessary, because there is always so much fun stuff to read or do there. Trying new looks is very easy with their make-over feature which allows you to download your picture and try new haircuts, make-up styles, and clothing without the inconvenience of leaving your home and risking the consequences of wrong decisions. That is probably the greatest thing I've ever seen from looking at similar pages. The iVillage website is, like many others, based on advertising, but the way they do this is very gentle and not invasive. They manage to incorporate promotion in anything they write about without irritating their readers.
To gain all the benefits that this website has to offer, a reader has to sign in and answer a few questions. They offer an email newsletter where readers can choose from many different areas of his or her interests. I imagine that they don't keep this information just for themselves, but rather they share it with advertisers and marketers. But not to forget, iVillage is involved with topical communities too, and this makes it very easy for readers to find the one closest to his or her heart and become a part of it. They also help people to get closer by creating social networks, where you can create your own group, find people with similar interests, or just post and view homemade videos and pictures. iVillage offers educational courses for women. They have computer, business, entrepreneurship classes, and many others complemented by interviews with top women in the business world.
iVillage reached the point of such great popularity that they launched their own TV show, which is broadcast every weekend at noon by NBC Universal in Orlando, and viewers are able to watch it on select NBC stations or online at 12 P.M. EST. In Philadelphia, tune into WCAU1O.
I personally like this website. I always find good tips and articles that I’m in the mood to read. I think that with the wide variety of topics to choose from everybody can benefit from this website. I enjoy the emails, especially the "Conquer Your Cravings" advice, which helps me to stay in front of my computer and work without munching on all my week-long snack supplies in a day.