Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Open Thread

NPR comments? Fire away.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

If anyone else listened to Terry Gross's interview with Boston Globe reporter Charles Sennott (Fresh Air, tuesday), I'd like their impressions.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, I'm allergic to Gross Air.

Porter Melmoth said...

This morning I heard relentlessly upbeat Renee interview an Iraqi fellow in Baghdad who works for NPR, describing life in the city 5 years after the invasion. I got the sense that he wanted to gush with all the bloody details, but knowing NPR as he no doubt does, and knowing of their hi-tech editing skills, he delivered a pretty much G-rated rundown. Toward the end he was sufficiently warmed up to start gushing, but that's when the editing no doubt kicked in. When he mentioned a detail regarding a tiny improvement of some kind, Renee responded with something like: 'Well, then things are just a LITTLE better, aren't they?' As if, 'What have you REALLY got to whine about, you poor thing? Sewage is no longer drying in the street. Can't you just be happy with that?', and it was delivered with all the slightly bemused impatience of a Bev Hills soccer mom who's tut-tutting her Filipina nanny for being five minutes late so that she can rush off to the mall.

I don't need this crap. I want my news delivered soberly and without all this 'magazine' approach. I know this is 'NPR Critique 101' stuff, but I'm getting demoralized again.

I'd really like to see how Renee would handle her trips to the mall if LA were being bombed daily and occupied by invading troops. I know, it's a banal comparison (warfare of a different kind exists in LA, don't we know), but her ditziness, so willingly and proudly displayed, is wholly representative of her type and class.

Because of their increasing exclusivity of audience targeting, NPR should be banished to the wilderness of satellite radio, where it can atrophy and thus expire. Even Murdoch wouldn't bother with that.

Anonymous said...

This cute little number resurfaced invading my memory, especially what with all the 5-year anniversary commemoratin' going on (as if it's such a GOOD thing). Perhaps just a modicum of persuasion to get our favorite chirpy parrots to corral around the mic in studio A to sing a rousing chorus for us on air? Not like they'd be above it, don'tcha know.
And a one, and a two...
_____________________________

In the Big Iraq Candy Mountain, it’s a land that’s fair and bright,
No one’s ever heard of IEDs, and the streets are safe at night.
Kidnappers all have rubber knives, and the car bombs don’t go off.
There’s a nice cool breeze, and no disease,
And we finally found those WMDs,
In the Big Iraq Candy Mountain.

Chorus:
Oh, the flowers and sweets from the crowds in the streets
By the Coca-Cola fountain,
The eagles soar, and there’s no civil war,
In the Big Iraq Candy Mountain.

In the Big Iraq Candy Mountain, the terrorists always lose,
And the folks have purple fingers, and they vote for who they choose.
The women wear just what they want, and the men can shave their beards.
The people are free, there’s democracy,
And Sunni, Kurd, and Shi’a are a family
In the Big Iraq Candy Mountain.

In the Big Iraq Candy Mountain, not a single child is hurtin’,
And billions of dollars are all well spent, thanks to friends at Halliburton.
The schools are freshly painted, ’lectricity runs all day.
They get HBO, and there ain’t no snow,
And the people never, ever want our troops to go,
In the Big Iraq Candy Mountain.?
________________________
(no G-D end in sight)

Anonymous said...

And since I'm on such a self-indulgent roll.... John Prine rocks the known universe!
___________________

But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
They're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war.
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for,
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.

Anonymous said...

Wednesday on ATC, Larry Abramson had an "analysis" of the public schools in New Orleans; the Charter ones, that is. Never did he mention that one of the first items of business for Gov. Blanco after Katrina was to abrogate all teacher contracts. Never was there any mention of the 'grand experiment' foisted upon New Orleans by the Heritage Foundation, as documented by Naomi Klein. Instead it was all rosey. I don't remember if the school children need to interview to be admitted to a charter school. Apparently, the class sizes are larger and the resources much slimmer for the remaining non-charter public schools. The whole story was very lacking in substance, as per all NPR stories, kind of like getting the audience to nod off in a methadone-induced trance, hoping the they will not notice the missing details. Now wasn't that a nice nap? Pleasnat dreams?

Anonymous said...

And I remember driving around with my kids 5 years ago and singing "Flag Decal" when seeing all the ribbon magnets. The young one (maybe 9 y.o.) asked me to repeat the song. I was proud, he understood.

Anonymous said...

That's just it, Lar! I do like my Prine, but didn't realize until after my hit-&-run posting that it was writ in '71; I thought it was a response to the current state of affairs.

Prophetic? Naaaah, not especially - it's just our national amnesia on repeat cycle.

Porter Melmoth said...

Good reminder though, b!-b! And great rendition of the candy mountain utopia nightmare - uh, I mean, dream.

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Who knows - youtube search are different for same text? I likes cat (Simons cat / dog).
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Thanks in advance!

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