Fremde Frau

Grammaeryn, I was trying so hard not to notice. My efforts were a failure.

Maculae, I sent you a PM, although I'm not really an expert on the subject, either. For anyone in or around Toronto: Jon's film Rosewater will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Oh, but I like your version better, ktwo. Now I'm imagining Cuomo questioning Jack Bauer about the situation. I'm sorry, maculae. It must be such an emotional situation to deal with, especially if you're separated from family. I hope that his family remains safe in all that is happening. I was wondering that, as well, and not only visiting Egypt but also filming in Jordan. Where in Jordan was he filming? Amman, I think? That's so close to the West Bank, I wonder if it had any influence on how he viewed the Israel/Palestine situation. How ashamed should I be to admit that I've never seen Lost?

Milburn Stone, that story scares me to death just in general, given what it means to the distribution of information and not only for here in the US. Time Warner is resisting but is still vulnerable through shareholders. It drives me up the wall that so much of the coverage is being couched in terms of good business sense and the free market. As someone mentioned in the comments of this (worth-reading) article, when you consider the issue of net neutrality and the ramifications of the Trans Pacific Partnership, this concentration of control is a nightmare. Corporations are the new empires, and while the media watches it happening, the politicians are paid to facilitate it. TDS did a segment on Murdoch last year, but if ever a story called for LWT's slow, steady, unflinching deconstruction that would inevitably go viral, Murdoch's empire is it. dusang, that has bugged me, as well. It's absurd that some reviewers and such act as though a person can't watch both LWT and TDS/TCR. It's not an either/or situation at all! I also agree with your first point. The benefit of not having a central news source, like Cronkite, is that a diversity of voices are represented (theoretically). The disadvantage is that people can stick to the narrow source that reflects back their worldview and never venture out. I think the most a lot of people see of dissenting opinions are misrepresentations of content through the hyperbolic headlines by the blogs or TV news sources that they already watch.

That opening bit was light and goofy, but it spoke volumes in its way. I do hope that they give the situation a full segment sometime this week. I hadn't heard that zombie plane story about MH17. It's right out of Sherlock. What could possibly motivate the rebels to come up with such a bizarre conspiracy theory? It's as ridiculous as the black hole theories about MH370. Jon does a pretty good Reagan impression.

Thank you for your service, Stephen. Now I cannot unsee that shirtless image of you and Putin. Nancy Pelosi is so inarticulate on these shows; her nerves seem to get the better of her, and that makes it hard to watch her.

Thank you, Athena. I don't usually go on like that. The Sesame Street segment I think was one of their perfect bits: it was both satire, for the adults, and honestly insightful and educational, for any kids watching. There is such damage in how the prison system creates and maintains a culture of abandonment. Especially given how institutionalized racism conditions younger generations to interpret the environmental background and individual motivations of crime differently depending on the race of the criminal, this encourages a culture where the privileged don't examine the underlying problems of poverty and systemic failures of education, public services, healthcare, etc., and instead abandon millions of people as if they are destined for crime, if not already behind bars. John said it so well in just that one brief line: "prisoners are people."

Athena, thank you! Rick's show sounds interesting. I may be moving to Canada next year, so I'll definitely have to check out his correspondent pieces, too! I agree with everything you said on LWT. It's so amazing that he's hit the ground running, immediately showing creative authority and command over the material. It's not just that he came from a great comedy family and brought some of that talent with him, but he's articulating his own vision for the show, and it is exciting to watch. You never know what they're going to cover, whereas TDS and TCR are generally attuned to the news cycle, except for segments like the correspondent pieces. I appreciate, also, what you point out: that he's able to create narratives that incorporate his interviews. I can't count the times I've felt deflated with the third segment of TDS or TCR; it's not their fault, since I guess they're obligated to have interviews every show, but the guests rarely have anything to do with the rest of the episode. I just get frustrated when writers interpret that, or something like the time constraints, as a creative failure on the part of Jon and Stephen, or act as though research, intelligence, and genuine care are a new thing.

I loved the irony of his audience laughing at the rape jokes that he was criticizing, before it dawned on them. The jokes were few and far between on this one (until the puppet finale). It was more like a Maddow investigative segment than comedy. I was expecting more on racism, but I appreciated what he covered and how he covered it. It hit close to home for me, since my oldest brother had once been incarcerated (in Japan), for getting mixed up with the Hiroshima yakuza when he was young. I was only twelve to fourteen at the time, but I remember writing him letters (I wasn't allowed to visit). He never talked about his experience when he got out, but it was an incredibly rough time for everyone and mostly for him. He felt completely alienated from everyone, and we felt alienated from him. I remember being frightened of him, and ashamed of being frightened, and he didn't seem to know how to talk to any of us normally anymore. Nobody helped us on our end, and nobody helped him find his way out of that space, psychologically. He finally found some peace, but the prison system there (and how he was treated here as an ex-con) was damn sure never about rehabilitation. I don't know why I just let all of that out. I'm sorry. Blab, blab... Why do so many people in this country swear by privatization? Less regulation, more privatization, and that will solve all inequality, they say. Yeah. Because that's how it works out whenever it's given the chance... Anyway, great show. The Sesame Street song at the end was sublime.

That was a great read, Victor the Crab. I loved how Mercer phrased this comment, which explains why Stephen, Jon, Bill Maher, and now John have resonated so well with audiences: I'd heard of his two shows, The Rick Mercer Report or This Hour Has 22 Minutes, but I've never seen them. Now that I finally made the effort to find some of their videos, I'll have to give them a look!

Well, I think some writers recently are also describing TDS and TCR in a very reductive way in order to justify some of the more extravagant descriptions of the "revolutionary" nature of LWT. The questions about cultural significance and revolutionary influence that John is asked in interviews are uncannily similar to those asked of Stephen in response to the White House Correspondents' Dinner, testimony in front of congress, and Super PAC coverage and of Jon at least as far back as 2004. (I wasn't watching then, but I've been binging on interviews, articles, podcasts, and the two archives since I started watching last year.) Some writers have really shortchanged the relevance of and care put into those two older shows in order to praise LWT, which I feel is more reflective of the media's insatiable need to hype the next new shiny, meaningful thing than of any qualitative difference in the three shows (and Maher). LWT is a great show, and I don't understand--except as a cultural phenomenon--why other things just as worthwhile have to be downgraded to call it great. John makes full use of the time he has (the week of preparation and the full thirty minutes of content), and that is a fantastic choice to trust the audience for so long with material that is often very dense and difficult. A lot of shows might have wanted something more immediately rewarding, cut into the 5-minute segments that people believe is all the Internet is capable of digesting at any given moment. I love that they spend 13, 15, 17 minutes on a single story. But when writers say that TDS or TCR reduce things to facile soundbites and don't/can't trust the audience for as long, that ignores how many two- or three-segment episodes they've had on issues also ignored, dense or difficult, or how many long-running segments, not to mention Jon's frequent, extended interviews on heavy topics and everything that Stephen did with the Super PAC. TDS and TCR can't really help the fact that there are commercial breaks on their channel. Anyway, I'm new to all three shows, and in comparing LWT to the archives of TDS and TCR, I don't notice a drop-off in research, care, or quality, so it makes me want to pull my hair out that so many writers are running with that theme. I feel split in two: I love what they're saying about John, but why do they have to dismiss Stephen and Jon at the same time? Argh! Of course, this is always subjective, and I can only speak for myself. I'm just glad that we have three fantastic political comedy shows from this gene pool, with another on the way!

The Daily Beast: How Jon Stewart Made It Okay to Care About Palestinian Suffering, by Dean Obeidallah I've been wondering what approach Jon will take with Gaza and Israel this week, seeing as it will be nearly impossible to avoid talking about it. So many people, not only in the media but regular people who are sympathetic with Gaza or sympathetic with Israel or sympathetic with the whole situation, are waiting to see what he says. EDIT: I stumbled across a link to this 2009 interview (extended part 1, part 2) with Anna Baltzer and Mustafa Barghouti. I was so impressed by how Jon handled that interview, not only his respect for both interviewees and for the subject matter itself but also for the audience member who called out. He didn't dismiss the moment as a joke or ignore it but saw it as an articulation of the emotions involved in the conflict. That was really beautifully done.

Here are two articles on Last Week Tonight and John Oliver's role/impact. The second one is particularly worth reading, for LWT fans. Rolling Stone: John Oliver Steps Up on 'Last Week Tonight' Hazlitt: The Depressing Feel-Good Comedy of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight

Oh, what a cute story! I can just imagine their banter! I wish I could listen to John talking about it; I tried the Bugle website, but the archive only goes back to 2012. Darn! At least the Daily Show archive is available. I've missed out on a lot of Oliver goodness, since I only recently found out about The Bugle. That is the story of my life: always years behind everyone else. (Now that I revisited this page and saw the link to that clip, I had to watch it again. I might be addicted to it.)

Rick Perry is sending in the National Guard.

Some while ago, I was looking at World Cup videos in the archive and found these great bits between Jon and John from 2010, covering the England vs US match. They filmed two "alternate World Cup outcomes" depending on which team won and then the "real" bit with actual footage. The alternates are just Jon and John bantering, and they're fantastic. US ties England Alternate: US beats England Alternate: England beats US My favorite is probably the "US beats England" clip. The last half of the clip is utterly hilarious, with priceless exchanges between Jon and John about how much the World Cup loss hurts, not to mention England losing the Revolutionary War. I am in love with how John delivers the line, "Actually, it does hurt! Good guess!" And Jon's giggly smugness was pitch perfect. What fantastic chemistry they have! It always just pops off the screen. They seem to enjoy each other's company so much.

It's hard to motivate most people to vote, unless it feels like a do or die situation. I voted 100% for Obama in 2008, but I was essentially voting as much against Romney as for Obama in 2012, because the increasingly regressive ideology of the right scares the shit out of me. Same thing for local and state elections here in Georgia: I vote against Republicans/Tea Partiers/conservatives because their policies are abhorrent to me, not so much because I like every track record or talking point I hear from the other (or independent) side. Maybe the lawsuit or an impeachment circus will be absurd enough to deflate and demotivate their side.

One hour ago, from their Twitter account: I hope the first two of those stories will make it on YouTube.

Oh, I know. Their interpretation is not fact-based but belief-based.

It won't work, though, because they have it worked out to as tidy a closed, circular system as Clifford Geertz could have imagined: what with all of our Founding Fathers being Christians [sic], the Bible is the reason the constitution is the way it is, and the constitution being what it is affirms and maintains the authority of the Bible. It's the Möbius strip of values!

Jerry has perfected the art of leaving the audience wanting more, but I do wish the episode with Jon had been longer. That story about his cat on prom night was hilarious; I'm so glad they animated it! They had fantastic chemistry, and it was refreshing to see Jon away from politics and the Daily Show setting. If only Jon could act, I'd want them to do a show together, along with Louis CK. Oh, well. They're all doing perfect shows for their own interests and talents, so I can't really complain! I'm now excited about these two minute "shots" from the vault, as Jerry described on TDS the other night. I had no idea he was planning that.

I think there are stricter laws about emissions in states like California, but it's apparently up to each individual state to regulate (or not regulate) it. Here is a good Slate article about the coal rolling, trow. And here is the EPA's official answer on it. (This TPM article from this month highlights the relevant paragraphs.)

It's amazing to see that the 2:30 minute coverage of the Gaza and Israel situation is still viral. People keep putting it up on YouTube, then it's taken down, then it's up again... over and over. A video that includes a bit of his January 2009 coverage is also making the rounds on FB. There is also such a strong effort to critique and discredit this relatively mild coverage, as well as to critique (and mischaracterize) his equally mild questions during the Clinton interview, that it's sort of mind-boggling to consider what the reactions might have been if they'd spent a full segment or two on it. (For those who cannot view the videos on the website, here is a YouTube link for the extended interview on Gaza and Israel.) In the Frost on Satire special, Jon said that he does TDS mainly for his own catharsis, and a situation like this must be an extremely difficult subject for comedy. It makes me wonder how many stories Jon has walked away from if only because the material is too heavy and the catharsis simply won't come. That said, I suppose it's inevitable--given the escalation with Israel's ground forces and Hamas killing two Israeli soldiers--that TDS will revisit the situation next week. I'm already depressed about 2016, too, but I'm not convinced that this lawsuit or even trying to impeach Obama will have much of an effect, since their infantile conduct over the last five or so years hasn't made a noticeable dint in their electability. Even worse, their constituents seem to be heading to the right of them, repeatedly electing Tea Party candidates with even more extreme rhetoric. In the first couple of years of Obama's presidency, it seemed like the fringe was just that: the Glenn Beck fringe that the GOP kept around as a "beware of dog" warning. But at this point, the GOP is taking a nosedive off the right side of the road just to keep up with their base.

Oh, darn, they talked about knitting? I'm gonna have to watch it now. Over the past two years, I've taken to knitting all presents for friends and family.

Jessica's bit was hilarious. I remember reading about that and wondering how they could possibly justify making regulations like that, apparently without consulting the very servicewomen whose lives they will affect. And why would anyone's natural hair ever be against the rules? That's such bullshit. I don't usually skip interviews, since Jon is able to generate some degree of chemistry with just about anyone, but after all of the particularly heavy news today, I was in the mood for a thoughtful, in-depth conversation with someone like Reza Aslan or Fareed Zakaria, not a celebrity chat. It feels like the worst week to have had two celebrity interviews back-to-back. Seinfeld's interview ended up being enjoyable because there was so much going on between them, but I don't feel particularly compelled to watch this one. Maybe I'll give it a glance over the weekend. Julia, your theory makes sense, unfortunately. That sounds like where their priorities are, both the congressional Republicans and the Tea Partiers. It's pretty depressing here in Georgia when so many people will repeat--without any sense of irony and without any attempt to offer context or evidence--the talking point that Obama is the worst and most tyrannical president in the history of the country.