Monday, July 28, 2008

Q Tips

NPR related comments welcomed.
Posted by Mytwords at 5:31 AM
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1 comment:

Porter Melmoth said...

Yes, gang, it's 'Go After Gwennie' time again!

Ms. Thompkins is still headquartered in Khartoum. Today she was linking Gordon of Khartoum with 'Chinese Gordon'. Gordon is certainly a fascinating historical figure, but GT's treatments always ruin things, in my opinion.

Ever mindful of her audience, and remembering her mission to make darkest Sudan digestible for delicate American stomachs, Gwennie works overtime inventing ways to build bridges to the US heartland. When observing a portrait of the Mahdi (the austere and charismatic leader who opposed the British), she likens his nose to a famous baseball pitcher's. (So famous I can't remember his name, but it was an AQUILINE nose!) And there were a couple of other baseball references thrown in.

WTF??

That one seminal moment in her report makes a burlesque of the whole segment, unintended of course. It wasn't even funny, it was just stupid. (You know, George Washington always reminds me of Groucho Marx - same voice. Har har!!)

I daresay, one could learn a hell of a lot more about Gordon in Lytton Strachey's 'Eminent Victorians' or even in the epic Chuck Heston film 'Khartoum' (1966), with Larry Olivier as the Mahdi. Of course, there was no Chinese connection in the film, and that was Gwen's point in the whole story, I guess. Plus, she's learning as she goes, apparently. She did neglect to add an important footnote. Years later, (1898) the Brits retook the Sudan in the savage Battle of Omdurman, thus avenging Gordon's death. They stayed for 58 more years.

Of course, there's the sub-text of China messing around in Sudan, and Gwennie's perfect for doing a coloring book treatment of it. Typical Neocon Public Relations subversion. I'd love to get a Chinese reporter's take on US activities in Latin America (for starters).

There's a place for Gwen over at the History Channel for Kids, if she wants it . . .

Renayy Mundane was properly entranced by Gwennie's history lesson, and displayed her gigglesome wonder at it. I think she's just jealous of co-temp-host Debbie 'Missy Gravitas' Aimless, so she's being more girly in the absence of kid brother Inskreep.

(Holy crap, I'm beginning to sound like 'Entertainment Tonight', or worse! See what the 'new' NPR does to you?)

7/28/08, 11:25 AM

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