"I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!"

The Independent | Bush 'planted fake news stories on American TV'
Federal authorities are actively investigating dozens of American television stations for broadcasting items produced by the Bush administration and major corporations, and passing them off as normal news. Some of the fake news segments talked up success in the war in Iraq, or promoted the companies' products.

...faux news broadcasts, known as Video News Releases (VNRs)...

This has been common practice for going on at least thirty years, which is about how long ago I found my own informational pamphlet -- oh, all right, "press release" -- for the SCA published verbatim in a local newspaper. (My only regret was that I hadn't put my name on it.)

Frankly, I've been ignoring this story for the last week or two, astounded that any responsible news organization has the nerve to present this "scoop" with a straight face. Press and media relations, corporate and governmental, are based on the reality that if you release a publication-ready story, many publications will use it. That's the point.

77 television stations over ten months? Hell, everyone does it. Every television station, every radio station. Every television and radio network. Every newspaper, every magazine. And every outlet that's been reporting this story with the wide-eyed innocence of Casablanca's Captain Renault. It's a real and expected part of where your news comes from.

Should you know about this? Certainly, yes. Should you be concerned? Occasionally. Should you be surprised? Not if you've actually been paying attention to the news and "news" you consume.

I'm much more concerned that the Centre for Media and Democracy is attempting to play it as a "conspiracy".

Just Because

Why now?

When noted political analyst Natalie Maines recently took back her apology for having insulted the President in London in 2003, I found myself doing my best imitation of Alec Guinness in Star Wars: Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. A long time.

I was content for that to be so, though not particularly concerned. I'd assumed she'd retired. I wondered what the occasion was for her return to the public eye. Had poverty forced her to return to work? Had she just escaped from a political prison? Was she looking for her shadow? (And would it mean six more weeks of American Idol if she saw it?)

The next day, I had my answer. You may not realize it, as she is not one to brag, but in the lean times between political analyses, Ms Maines is a musician of sorts. She and her friends had an album to promote, and the no-respect-for-the-President demographic was her target audience. As one of her friends said:

I'd rather have a small following of really cool people who get it, who will grow with us as we grow and are fans for life, than people that have us in their five-disc changer with Reba McEntire and Toby Keith. We don't want those kinds of fans. They limit what you can do.

What a nice way of saying We have enough money, thanks. At least the poor girls won't be forced to appear naked anymore.

Which way?

Did you know that, in Atlanta, if you head southbound on Northside Drive, you'll go through West End on your way to East Point?

Northbound, of course, will take you to West Paces Ferry and South Cobb Drive.

North Avenue, on the other hand, is a puzzle: You can't go north on North, only east and west. East Avenue also runs east-west, but it's south of North.

So, you see, we're in deep trouble even without 37 Peachtree streets.

Fame sucks

Yeeeah! | Mandy Moore has Unlimited Orgasms
Mandy Moore was horrified when she saw the cover of the May 2006 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. Next to her face, there’s a headline which says “orgasms unlimited”.

Well, let's see. Looking elsewhere on the cover, I see: "4 things you do that turn him off"; "8 new places to have sex"; "A deadly disease that's striking young women"; and "Touch him there!" Which of those would she have preferred? (Well, yeah, there are a couple of innocuous headlines on the cover, too, but they're badly outnumbered.)

Perhaps she just needs to instruct her agent not to sell her photos to Cosmopolitan. Is he the same guy who sold Jessica Alba's bikini pose to Playboy?

Philips hates us

New Scientist | Invention: The TV-advert enforcer
Philips suggests adding flags to commercial breaks to stop a viewer from changing channels until the adverts are over. The flags could also be recognised by digital video recorders, which would then disable the fast forward control while the ads are playing.

Philips' patent acknowledges that this may be "greatly resented by viewers"...

No. You think?

...who could initially think their equipment has gone wrong. So it suggests the new system could throw up a warning on screen when it is enforcing advert viewing. The patent also suggests that the system could offer viewers the chance to pay a fee interactively to go back to skipping adverts.

Is it at all possible that this is a hoax? Naah, it's all too typical. The usual reaction when the "old media" people are feeling threatened by "new media" technology is to make the "old media" even less attractive by comparison, in a misguided attempt to protect their intellectual property.

Something for everyone

While everyone else is watching Natalie Portman do gangsta rap, you can be ahead of the curve and watch Brokeback Mountain. In 30 seconds. Re-enacted by bunnies.

King Canute 2006

EFF: DeepLinks | RIAA Says Ripping CDs to Your iPod is NOT Fair Use

If I understand what the RIAA is saying, "perfectly lawful" means "lawful until we change our mind." So your ability to continue to make copies of your own CDs on your own iPod is entirely a matter of their sufferance.

That is to say, it's not lawful because the law says it is, it's lawful because the RIAA says it is. In the RIAA's view, they have graciously granted permission for consumers to rip CDs into their iPods, because they're such nice people. Fair Use has nothing to do with it.

On the other hand...

This is Really Not It | The undertaker is measuring the Big Four record labels for a wooden overcoat

The time will come when the artists will find they have an option. They can sell record their music themselves on cheap equipment, or hire independent studios. They can distribute their music directly to their fans over the internet or via contracts with small print shops. Fans get their music without them needing to manufacture more than a few bytes. And in the future, promotion will open up to them too. Advertising companies may decide to cut out the middle man. Online communities like myspace are opening up new possibilities. The all conquering TV may even begin the serve the artist. And then the record labels will rue the day they served their shareholders over their artists and customers.

The day has come. Artists have options now. The RIAA may or may not have figured it out: They're either willfully ignorant or in denial.

Jeez, I turn my back for a day or two...

Ann Coulter:

"I think our motto should be post-9-11, 'raghead talks tough, raghead faces consequences.'"

(Responding to a question from a Catholic University student about her biggest moral or ethical dilemma) "There was one time I had a shot at Clinton. I thought 'Ann, that's not going to help your career.'"

Jill Edwards, University of Washington Student Senate:

(Discussing a resolution calling for a tribute for Col. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, USMC ) "Jill Edwards questioned whether it was appropriate to honor a person who killed other people. She said she didn’t believe a member of the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce." Update.

Look! Up in the sky!

It's a plane! It's a tank! It's...

It's a mistake, is what it is. Too heavy to fly, too light to withstand fire.

But, it not being too close to April 1, I'm forced to assume it is, or was, real. Damn Interesting has the story.

Did I hear that correctly?

ABC Sportscaster Al Michaels was traded to NBC, in return for... Oswald the Lucky Rabbit?

I tell ya, ya can't make up stuff like this.

By now you've heard this

Filming is about to begin on "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." They've announced casting for Dolores Umbridge, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Bellatrix Lestrange, Nymphadora Tonks (photo), Mrs. Figg and Luna Lovegood.

I think I'll write a children's book

Ted Kennedy pens children's book
The book explains how a bill becomes a law, the roles of Congress and the Senate and other details of the U.S. system of government. It also has biographies of Splash and Kennedy.

50 Cent To Write Children's Books
“The stories will have a positive message, something that kids can learn from.”

Victoria Beckham to write children's book
The sexy 31-year-old star has revealed she is working on a story collection to tie in with a range of clothes she's designing.

J.K. Rowling confirms new children's book
J.K. Rowling has confirmed in an interview that she has written a new, non-Harry Potter based children's book.

Sarah The Duchess of York Ferguson
Budgie the Little Helicopter has a broad grin and freckles, wears the brim of his hat turned up and works very hard.

Spike Lee
Filmmaker Spike Lee and wife Tonya Lewis Lee join the ranks of other celebrity kids' book writers with their sweet, rhythmic read-along about the endless energy of a toddler blasting through a busy day.

Jerry Seinfeld
The trick-or-treating mindset involves two words: "Get candy."

Cussler turns to kids' books
"The kids book took me three months before I could even write the first sentence. I had to get into a whole new style. I just had no idea how difficult it was to write a children's book."

A double hit of Buffy debris

'Buffy' Fight May Have Slain Two Networks on the Edge - Los Angeles Times
When the obituary is written of the WB network, the cause of death should probably read: complications resulting from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Last week, when the money-losing WB and UPN networks announced that they were pulling the plug to form a single new broadcast network, many television veterans traced the roots of the decision back five years, when a fight over the fate of "Buffy" drove what would prove to be a fatal stake through the WB's heart.

Too bad it didn't do "Firefly" any good.

'Buffy' star channeling Elton John in ABC comedy - Yahoo! News
British actor Anthony Stewart Head, formerly of WB series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," has landed the lead in "Him & Us," ABC's comedy pilot inspired by the life of Elton John.

I'm having trouble picturing this.

Will AT&T become just AT?

LiveScience.com - Era Ends: Western Union Stops Sending Telegrams
After 145 years, Western Union has quietly stopped sending telegrams. On the company's web site, if you click on "Telegrams" in the left-side navigation bar, you're taken to a page that ends a technological era with about as little fanfare as possible: "Effective January 27, 2006, Western Union will discontinue all Telegram and Commercial Messaging services. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you, and we thank you for your loyal patronage. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a customer service representative."

Heck, a lot of people have no idea why we old farts still speak of "dialing" a telephone. Or why we don't just call it a phone.

I can vouch for this one

BusinessWeek: The Top Ten Hybrid Myths
1. You need to plug in a hybrid car.

Whenever I'm driving John's Insight, and another driver works up the nerve to ask me about it, it's their first question: Where do you plug it in? You don't. It runs on gasoline and charges itself, just like any other car.

Can't stop the signal

Having accomplished the impossible once, those pesky fans are at it again.

Joss Whedon's Firefly Season 2
It's possible that subscribers may choose one of three playback options; monthly DVD deliveries, TV On-Demand using your cable or satellite provider, or computer viewing via Streaming Download.

And if there is a gap on your Christmas tree:

Serenity Ornament
Fans of the cult-hit TV series and the major motion picture, now available on DVD, will love this ornament featuring the rogue ship Serenity.

Redefine "fake photo"

The American Thinker | Photo fakery at the New York Times
It appears that the Times, once-upon-a-time regarded as the last word in reliability when it comes to checking before publishing (which makes them so much better than blogs, of course), has run a fake photo on the home page of its website. The photo has since been removed from the home page, but still can be seen here.

It further appears that "fake photo" now means "undoctored photograph of a staged event", which is not what I think when I hear the phrase. The photo is genuine: What makes it "fake" is that the scene it depicts is incorrectly described.

Where's this Eskimo I'm supposed to wrestle?

CNN.com - Study: Waking up like being drunk - Jan 11, 2006

"For a short period, at least, the effects of sleep inertia may be as bad as or worse than being legally drunk."

Hm. So that's what being drunk is like. It's that terror-striken moment after you realize you haven't been to class in ages and you're going to flunk out for sure, and before you remember that you haven't attended school since the Carter administration. Sounds like fun. Set up another one, bartender!

Daily Planet 12-31

• British academics to tackle fashion's bottom line - Yahoo! News

  It is one of the most fundamental -- and, for men, potentially hazardous -- questions of modern life, for which academics now hope to provide the definitive answer: "Does my bum look big in this?"

• Distorted Tunes Test (Warning: Slow download.)

  Ever wondered if you are tone-deaf? The Distorted Tune Test page can help. You listen to 25 simple tunes and judge whether they are played correctly or not (it takes about five or six minutes).
  

• Kids Caught on Tape: Durant Middle School Vandalized

  Have you ever had the dream where you're at school....naked? Three 10-year-old boys in Bryan County did go to a school naked and it was all caught on tape.

• Official Google Blog: I'm feeling silly

  Naturally, we were all curious to see what 250 pounds of Silly Putty would look like.

• Sunbelt Software Silly Putty Task Force

  What happens when you drop a 50 pound beach ball made of Silly Putty off the roof of a building?