I found this great clip of O’Riley and Stewart – 80% intoxicated viewers? Right O’Riley I am sure.

I love it how O’Riley totally downs our younger generation because he’s P.O.ed that unlike his generation we all actually go out and vote – sounds like someone is really cranky!  He’s a total idiot and a shock jock.

And O’Riley thinks that France hurt the U.S. – I love it how Stewart just shuts him dow, about everything.  O’Riley is super upset too that a presidential candidate bypassed him to interview with Stewart.  Amazing.

Just a little fun nugget for your night.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Kids love hate it.  New York thinks she’s an idiot.  I can’t stand her.

That’s right, Sarah Palin’s new book, “Going Rogue”, is out!

Oops, I forgot to post the link to buy it.

However, I will post some hard evidence on Sarah Palin:

Article 1 /  Article 2 / Article 3

I would like to welcome Green Lantern Corps new and old to the newest fan-blog for everything Green Lantern related, OA. OA is a blog dedicated to everything Green Lantern: Comics, Animation, Movies, and everything in between and out there.

We’ll be covering every weeks new releases related to the Green Lantern and his fellow Corpsmen, as well as news relating to the Green Lantern live action film being produced by Warner Bros. starring Ryan Reynolds. We’ll even be posting spoilers here as well, however, there will be a tag when something contains a spoiler for the film.

Once again, I would like to welcome you to OA.

Lou Dobbs has always been a very interesting political figure and not least of all because of current events: he quit CNN. In this article off the front page of The Huffington Post, John Stewart and Dobbs talk about why he left CNN, his political views, and health care. Understandably, they did not discuss typos in the news!

THP quoted Stewart as saying:

This idea that somehow getting a health care plan through takes us back to the days pre-revolution is bunk.

Stewart probably didn’t say that exactly. As a copywriter, this is what I would have written:

This idea that somehow getting a health care plan through takes us back to the pre-revolution days is bunk.

Enjoy the articles and the videos.

From Today’s Truth-Driver Commentary on WKZO Talk Radio AM 590 (mp3 file):

So what’s wrong with a little white lie? How about a white lie that comes from a TV news channel? While they all do it, my commentary today was born of an ethics blog I read this morning, mentioning John Stewart’s recent undressing of Sean Hannity over what some might see as harmless exaggeration to make a valid point. What did Fox News do? When reporting on the November 5^th gathering of Tea Party opponents to current healthcare bills, Hannity/Fox created a highly deceptive video report of the event, which conveniently bolstered the guests’ exaggerated claims of the size of the crowd. In truth, the footage of the event was mostly footage from the much larger Glenn Beck rally back in September, interwoven into the current story in way that clearly makes the smaller crowd appear giant, so the video would match the hyperbole.

So what’s wrong with that, really? The other channels certainly do it too. Well, to me it matters because our NEWS channels are no longer dedicated to news, and to truth, and to intellectual honesty. They play to the base for ratings. I was a Fox fan for many years, but just like MSNBC and the others, news is no longer the primary function of news channels. And frankly, that is tragic—at least if you believe that real progress in the real world is made through pursuit of truth, as I do.

A friend of mine routinely laments the days of old when NEWS was about, imagine this, READING THE NEWS!—back when Hugh Harper or Walter Cronkite read the news from a piece of paper. They didn’t toss cutesy banter back and forth, they didn’t have to roll fake or sensationalist video that was hard to see behind tickers and swirly, animated graphics; they read the news, and they cared whether or not it reflected reality and truth. But now editorialized content masquerading as news is the norm, and as someone committed to discovering truth, it bothers me, regardless of which channel is doing it to play to their particular audience.

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(Stephen L. Gibson is the author of  A Secret of the Universe, a critically acclaimed, citation-rich novel about the intersections of science, reason, and faith. Still an emotion-driven thinker in recovery, Steve shares his journey in search of ever-elusive truth with thousands via his Truth-Driven Thinking podcast, and his Perspectives blog. © 2009, Truth-Driven Strategies LLC.)

I’m starting to wonder if Fox News even cares if they appear to be honest or not. I’m almost convinced they really don’t care, but instead are completely happy being the channel of make believe. I guess as long as their viewers feel better after an hour of lies, fake footage and hate they won’t be changing formats anytime soon.

At least not until a Republican is back in the White House anyway. Then they’ll have nothing but positive and glowing reports on how their country is thriving.

Last week John Stewart (well not just John but he has a tv show) noticed that Sean Hannity was using footage from Glenn Beck’s 9/12 protest as the footage for the Michele Bachmann disaster rally which they of course helped promote with Dick Armey providing the teabaggers with free transportation to D.C.

Are they at it again? Maybe so.

The footage they keep showing on the television claiming it’s the crowds showing up to book signing’s on Sarah Palin’s book tour but it certainly looks like footage from McCain/Campaign rallies.

We begin with Blackest Night and the death of Kyle Rayner in Green Lantern Corps No. 42, which hit the comics world like a nuclear blast. Even if Kyle does come back in some strange manner, the fact that writer Geoff Johns wasn’t afraid to off one of the four main Green Lanterns shows that Blackest Night will reshape the DC Universe for years to come.

I’m sure Johns was walking around all bow-legged this week, what, with his huge pair of brass ones. If Devastator had survived Revenge of the Fallen, he’d blush.

If anything, Kyle’s death was unexpected. If any of the four human lanterns looked like he was about to join the ranks of the Black Lantern Corps it was John Stewart, who is literally walking into a death trap on Xanshi, which seems to have come back as a planet-sized Black Lantern (heads up, Mogo!).

Who knows what Johns has in store for him?

What we now know, though, is why Guy Gardner is about to join the Red Lantern Corps. After the cover of GLC No. 43 was released, showing Guy ripping off his trademark Green Lantern vest to reveal a flaming Red Lantern brand, everyone has been wondering if it was just ruse or if the possible death of Ice or Kyle would push him over the edge.

With the deaths of Red Lantern Vice and Kyle, and Guy’s legendary bad temper, it is now a done deal.

Now the question is whether or not Guy will be able to control his rage. Many argue that Guy will be just like Atrocitus and able to keep his rage in check. This also adds a twist to Hal Jordan’s recruitment of the other lanterns.

You gotta remember that in the Green Lantern: Secret Origin arc (Green Lantern, vol. 4, 29-35), Atrocitus hunted down William Hand because he wanted to bring about Blackest Night on his own.

Makes you wonder what Atrocitus will do now that Blackest Night has come, and why he came after Larfleeze and demanded the Orange Lantern battery. Will Atrocitus cooperate with Hal and the others, or will he and Larfleeze hold out?

In that case, will Guy step in for Atrocitus as a representative of the RLC?

Also, Johns still hasn’t revealed how the Indigo Tribe members came about or earned their rings. What we do know is that they represent compassion, and that compassion is always linked to great sacrifice. So, I ask you, what greater sacrifice than that of Kyle? Is that the path to becoming an Indigo Lantern? Or, will Kyle become a Black Lantern?

So many questions. Don’t you love it?

By the way, in case you haven’t read them yet, the Blackest Night offerings of R.E.B.E.L.S. and Booster Gold are remarkable. Pick them up if you haven’t do so already.

Rage on, Guy. RAGE ON!

John Stewart med mer intelligent mediekritikk. Skjønt, man bør ikke være spesielt intelligent for å gjennomskue Fox News’ objektive journalistikk:

But Sean Hannity and his team did more than cover the event. They not only inflated the number in attendance with their words, but actually used footage from a heavily-attended protest this summer to make this health care rally appear more popular. Hannity even pointed out that this was a huge crowd for a Thursday, when the protest footage they used was from a Saturday.

Fox News ble startet av mediemogulen Rupert Murdoch. Wikipedia:

Many observers say that Fox News Channel’s programming promotes conservative political positions.^[3][4][5][6] Fox News Channel denies any bias in the channel’s news reporting, and says there is a distinction between its news coverage and editorial programming.

Konservativsme er en ting, men denne typen journalistikk er bare uverdig.

(tips: kjetilLismoen)

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-november-12-2009/jane-goodall

Watch this hilarious video of Jane Goodall’s appearance on The Daily Show with John Stewart!

I saw this video on Hot Air of Sarah Palin, and once again am floored by the absolute disgusting treatment of her, even though at this point, I shouldn’t be surprised. Whatever your personal feelings are about the former governor, you have to agree that the level of harassment and disrespect by the media towards her has hit catastrophic proportions. And this video is no different. The treatment of her is dishonest, disgraceful, and of course it’s a horrible double standard. For example, just last week Hannity aired incorrect footage of the Anti-Health Care rally that took place in Washington DC.  Jon Stewart immediately pointed it out, which he should, and  Hannity did the right thing and apologized, which HE should.  So where’s this going? In this appalling MSNBC video, they show doctored pictures of Sarah Palin’s head on other female’s bodies wearing very little clothing while they proceed to poke fun of her and berate her. So where’s John Stewart on this one I wonder? And will MSNBC apologize for the use of its disparaging pictures? Heh, what do you think?

-Hannaloves27

Off the front page of The Huffington Post, the short article, “Stewart Responds to Hannity’s Apology: Nothing’s Worth Sitting Through His Show,” has a few typos I, as a slightly obsessive compulsive copywriter, must correct.

What THP wrote:

Earlier this week, Jon Stewart did a segment on Sean Hannity’s health care protest coverage in which he revealed that the Fox host had used footage of a different, larger event to make gathering look more impressive.

What I would have written:

Earlier this week, Jon Stewart did a segment on Sean Hannity’s health care protest coverage in which he revealed that the Fox host had used footage of a different, larger event to make the gathering look more impressive.

The second THP typo:

“He” came came out on stage to take a bow and…

What this seasoned freelance copywriter would have written:

“He” came out on stage to take a bow and…

And there you have it. Linguistic perfection.

You’re in a hurry and that’s the only reason you’ve made the phone call to begin with.

You just want the answer NOW. You know you can get the answer through just a wee bit of trial and error, but you have to run out now and you plan on doing this LABORIOUS task later, and you just w…a…n…t (yes, say in a whiny way) to be ready when you get back so you can get to work on something you REALLY know you WON’T like doing, but that MUST BE DONE.

So you make the call to: TECHNICAL SUPPORT. No names, no put-downs here – it could be for a refrigerator, a dishwasher, a pc, a laptop, an ISP, a whois change – WHATEVER. And the guy knows LESS than you.  That’s not a brag; IT’S A DISAPPOINTMENT!!!!!

yOU called because you HATE – or severely dislike (Yes, Mother, I remember – NEVER say hate) – the rote task you will have to do – OVER AND OVER – in order to accomplish what you must…and you’re on the phone with someone who is having trouble understanding you, LOOKING things up in a book (more training, please before you get on the phones by yourself – I have done  such work, so I feel authorized to say so) … And he keeps repeating as he’s looking up, and he’s honest, poor soul, and doesn’t hide that he’s looking up….as he goes along…trying, really trying to help.

AND………SO………you go through all the testing while you’re on the phone with him – figure it out – and now know WHAT MUST BE DONE – even MORE steps than you imagined (and they call this the super highway!??? – I’d say there are PLENTY OF YIELDS and blinking yellows around this cyberspace).

Anyway…guess it was just meant to be…and guess the bright side is, I had company while figuring it all out, which I couldn’t seem to find the patience for on my own….so

Thank you, Mr. Customer Service Man.  I have yet to do the LABORIOUS work that awaits me…but I now I know how!

-beeha

Yesterday the Library and Information Science world was abuzz when the University of California at Santa Cruz announced that it is seeking applicants for a Grateful Dead Archivist position.  According to the job posting, the ideal candidate would have an ALA-accredited MLS (and all of the relevant professional knowledge and experience that such training entails) and an “expert knowledge in the history and scholarship of contemporary popular music and American vernacular culture, preferably the history and influence of the Grateful Dead.”

What a great job, right? John Stewart jumped on this one last night in his opening sequence to The Daily Show. A job that requires expert knowledge of the Grateful Dead and top-flight organizational skills?  Stewart’s monologue is nothing more than a string of pejorative conceptions about what it means to be an information professional.  Clips like this are why there’s so much professional insecurity and meaningless backpedaling in LIS graduate courses.

Still, I’m seriously thinking about applying for this job, and I hired an interview coach to grill me on possible job interview questions.  I’ve got the educational credentials (and more) plus some experience.  Here’s a top three list of potential questions I could hear.

1.  So, Mr. Battista, do you feel that Jerry became a little too attached to the mixolydian riffs in the “Scarlet Begonias/Fire on the Mountain” medley during the Summer ‘72 tour?

2.  What’s your favorite “Dark Star?”

3. How do you account for Donna’s inconsistent vocals in the Summer ‘77 tour?

Should I apply?

John Stewart called out Sean Hannity on Tuesday for misusing video, again. This time Hannity spliced bits of health care protestors together with video of the much larger tea-party protests. The differences in the videos are easy to catch, the trees have leaves and then abruptly don’t, and the sky is sunny in one instance and cloudy in another. The Daily Show has crossed over into the media watchdog relm, catching an inaccuracy that forced Hannity to later admit, “It pains me to say: Jon Stewart was right.” John Stewart is in a position to call out some of the glaring misrepresentations at Fox News, and so the Daily Show finds itself in a more important role, both in politics and in keeping a large part of this country sane and laughing. Hannity confession here.

John Stewart video here

Glenn Beck is a prime example of the abuse of the first amendment.

When I went to college at Penn State, I took several classes on media and the role the media plays in our society, and after watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night I felt like I needed to comment on something. The very first Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America is one entailing the freedom of the press. Since then the press, paparazzi included, have hidden behind this shield in order to sell papers even when it is slander against people. That is not what the founding fathers meant when they made that as the first amendment. What the founders of the great nation wanted was for the press to be the leader in controlling and monitoring government and commerce in the nation. To expose any corruption or usurpation of power that is not in the best interest of the people. What we find today is very different. We find all “News” programs and papers reporting more about the new president’s hobbies and his basketball statistics from High School. During the lead into the financial crisis the papers and wallstreet reporters knew what was happening with the hedge funds and futures trading and no one reported it. If reported earlier things today might not have been so bad and guys like Bernie Madoff wouldn’t exist… maybe. The media sits back and waves its hands saying that it is not responsible for the current crisis, when in fact there is no one, not even I, that is innocent. We all sat back and rode a “high” hoping it wouldn’t end. Our ignorance is our own doing, but could have been prevented if the media had stepped in. The Declaration of Independence called for it: “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and provide new Guards for their future security.” In other words, those who have the power and ability to take action are the ones with the responsibility to take action. We as a people depend on news groups, programs, and even blogs now to help us form our opinions on where and why we stand on issues that affect our lives. When this information given to us is false we tend to make bad decisions, but thats what they (the man) want because it makes them more wealthy. Ignorance can no longer be tolerated. I hope that, of the few people who made it through this entire shpeall, that half of you will get involved in some way with your local politics. We elected a new government and gave power to a relatively “green” man, but please remember that Government derives its power from the governed. And that for the government to head in the direction we want it to we must make our voice loud and clear. Write your senator, congressman, or even mayor to entice change in the direction you want. Thanks for bearing with me on this; “Good night internet, and good luck.”

Well, granted it was a half-assed mea culpa when he said that their use of video from an earlier protest was “inadvertant,” but we all know what Fox News is about.

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann held an anti-health-care-reform rally on the steps of the Capitol last week although she and other GOP members of congress wanted to call it a press conference and act as if this many concerned citizens just happened to use their own hard earned money to travel to D.C. to hear them speak. Bachman estimated that at least 20,000-45,000 people attended the event, while the Washington Post reported it was actually more like 10,000.

As expected the mainstream media reported on the event and gave the politicians their free air time to rail against the very government they belong to. One particular television personality thought he needed to put his own spin on the event, no matter how dishonest. Who might that personality be? None other than Sean Hannity. He and his show not only inflated the number in attendance with their words, but actually used footage from a heavily-attended protest this summer to make this health care rally appear more popular. Hannity even pointed out that this was a huge crowd for a Thursday, when the protest footage they used was from a Saturday.

And just as we might also expect one up and coming journalist Jon Stewart and his team caught the falsehood Hannity and team were running and ran with it. Stewart pointed out neither the color of the leaves nor sky in the tacked-on video match that of the actual footage of last weeks event. Stewart and team of course went on to mock Fox by adding more video to the interview, this time from Woodstock and the movie “300” which is well deserved.

Unfortunately it isn’t the first time Hannity has pulled a stunt like this and sadly it certainly won’t be the last time he attempts to create the news he’d really like to report.

If its Friday, then it must be time for our gang (gaggle?) of GonzoGeeks to take you on a trip through the wonderful world of the web as seen through our seriously skewed worldview.

But before we set off on our journey, let me offer you a slice of cheesecake.  This week, its Daffney, TNA superstar and all around cool chick.

Why you may ask?

The answer is quite simple.  Before it was cancelled, this was the scheduled weekend for Wizard World Texas, an event Stephe and I attended for all of its years, including last year where we met Daffney and convinced her to be our first celebrity interview.  Since then, Daffney has gone on to play The Governor (TNA’s parody of Sarah Palin) and emerge on the other side as the goth chick she was meant to be.  She’s currently rehabbing a broken arm.

***UPDATE 11/20/09 – Got an email from Daffney yesterday.  It wasn’t a broken arm, but rather a very serious concussion.  The injury is corrected but the sentiment remains the same.***

Get well soon Daff!

Now, on to the links.

1.  Everyone’s favorite uncle…Television!
2. More cool custom toys!
3. A toy Stephe says he must have!
4. The latest from the Mayor of Parts Unknown.
5. Sean Salisbury is suing DeadSpin.  Could be a watershed case when it comes to the blogosphere.
6. One of John’s favorite angles from the territorial days of wrestling.
7. This week’s episode of PWF internet TV.
8. This joke by Tommy West about Lane Kiffin has Tennessee players fired up for some unfathomable reason.  It’s barely a decent joke.
9. Rob Zombie calls Hollywood chicken.
10. Still a loner.  Still a rebel.
11. John Stewart does Glenn Beck.
12. I would have been far more surprised to find out Tim Lincecum didn’t smoke dope.
13. Stay classy Joe!
14. All this and yet no Canyonero.
15. Rastaman litigations.
16. As someone who just completed the American Community Survey, I say thanks Ron.
17. Continuing last week’s crytozoology theme.
18. Was his name Goose?
19. Christopher Walken sings Lady Gaga’s Poker Face.
20. Do you know who was the original choice to play Indiana Jones?
21. Surely Marc Singer wasn’t busy.
22. Josh Whedon wants to buy the Terminator franchise.
23. A zombie film currently in production in Tennessee.
24. Can’t be any worse than the prequels.
25. Oh the irony.  Mexico dealing with aliens.
26. Before I delete the bookmark, here’s the story that was the basis for American Gangster.
27. Our weekly link to David’s Iraq deployment blog.
28. And, if you like what you see, then become a fan on Facebook.

I was going to rant a bit and ask why both “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” featured Al Gore shilling his new book while promoting the same old “humans are making the earth hot and the oceans are going to rise and drown us all” nonsense.  (Did he not get the memo about saying “climate change” instead of “global warming”?)

What the hell?

Then I remembered.  Both of these shows are on Comedy Central.

(a previous post from the former NuPoppa blog)

Our DVR is peppered with the funny (Graham Norton Show, The Daily Show, 30 Rock, SNL, Flight of the Conchords), what I’ll call WTF (Oliver Twist, Barry Manilow concert — clearly my wife’s) and the simply awesome. The “simply awesome” consists of: Fletch, Animal House, Fletch Lives, Vacation, Caddyshack, Gung Ho! and a Barry Manilow concert (kidding).

I don’t drink (anymore), but the “simply awesome” USED to be called “hangover movies.” These are the movies that, on a lazy Saturday or Sunday (or Wednesday for some of you) you can rely on. You can watch the first 20 minutes with one eye open, then fall asleep for 30 minutes, wake up, finish it to the end and still feel satisfied. Back in the day, that would have included about 5 Advil and 2.6 gallons of water to hydrate. Drooling on pillows and couches was also usually de rigeur.

These are also movies that, sadly or simply awesome-ly, most men can quote with relative proficiency. So, it begs the question: what should be the first movie that my son and I share together when he gets older? Should it be highly quotable? Should it be educational?

Some in the running:

Fletch
Pluses: It is only one of the greatest movies written and made for the male 38-42 set. Period. This tightly-wound romp is highly-quotable. I can already imagine my boy at a party of my peers saying, “John Cock..toas…ton.” Throw a lampshade on his head and he’ll be life of the party.

Minuses: I see none.

Lessons Learned in film: Never trust Joe Don Baker. I think this is a lesson we all should learn. Kidding. He would kick my ass if he read this.

Animal House
Pluses: Filmed in Oregon. Classic dialogue. A heartwarming story about college life. Shama-Lama-Ding-Dong.

Minuses: Otis Day and the Knights have never been the same since.

Lessons learned in film: Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life.

Vacation
Pluses: The late, great John Hughes. Beverly DeAngelo buffin’ it up a bit. Chevy Chase at his finest. The Wagon Queen Family Truckster with the optional Rally Fun Pack. Eugene Levy calling Rusty “Rueben.”

Minuses: Not 100% realistic about what a family vacation is about. It’s more like 96% real.

Lessons learned in film: There is no way in hell we are driving a long distance anywhere. I refuse to put my boy through that.

Out of Africa
Pluses: For our purposes here, very few, though it is a fine film. The late Sydney Pollack was a genius.

Minuses: It’s “Meet Joe Black”-long. I mean, REALLY fu**ing long.

Lessons learned in film: Those rich, white bastards screwed it all up. Africa is best experienced doing humanitarian work. If the boy wants to be in the Peace Corps someday, I’m all for it.

Everyone Says I Love You
Pluses: Great cast. Alan Alda. Natalie Portman. Drew Barrymore. Julia Roberts. Woody Allen. Goldie Hawn. The list goes on.

Minuses: Edward Norton, though a FINE actor, isn’t a very good singer. And he’ll probably kick my ass if he reads this.

Lessons learned in film: If s**t goes sideways, it’s OK to sing a little. Just don’t do it in public, people might think you’re a freak or something.

Die Hard
Pluses: Bruce Willis is from South Jersey, where my family lives. And, of course, Alan Rickman. He’s SO money.

Minuses: The dude with the long blonde hair. He’s creepy.

Lessons learned in film: Kick ass first. Take names later.

Say Anything
Pluses: John and Joan Cusack. Cameron Crowe (who could write something on a cocktail napkin and I’d probably read it). Ione Skye. Piven as a younger man. Seattle. It captured the angst that we all felt when we were in college.

Minuses: “In Your Eyes.” Great song, but I have this uncontrollable urge to buy a boombox and hold it over my head. It captured the angst we all felt when we were in college.

Lessons learned in film: Don’t live in Seattle. You’ll just end up going to London on a study abroad program anyway.

Believe me, we have plenty of time to go over this, but one can never be too prepared. I’d love your thoughts on the first movie I should share with the boy. It can be on the list or one not on the list that you think is a winner.