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Not your mother's comic book |
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| Topic: Arts |
9:19 pm EST, Mar 15, 2003 |
Salon interviews Jamie Gloeckner, writer and artist of a graphic novel series based loosely upon her own life. She has some very interesting views on the catharsis of creating art and how it affects not only the viewer, but the creator as well. The interview itself is a very good read, even if you never pick up a copy of the "Dairy of Minnie" series. "OK," she says, taking a deep breath. "I believe that all art is about the artist," she says. "So, yeah, my work is about me. But being an artist -- art is artifice, it's creation. By reading that book, you're not experiencing what I experienced. You're perhaps experiencing my interpretation of it, but you're bringing yourself to it. In that way, I always hesitate to say this is a true story. I'm not attempting in any way to make documentary. You can never represent everything. It's always a selective process. "I mean, really, my motivation is, 'This all happened to me. I feel really totally fucked-up. I don't understand any of this. Let's look at it. Let's not look at it sideways or make it look prettier, but let's just look at it for what it is.' I think the reason people relate to it is because I don't avoid things that may seem unpleasant. I don't really judge things ... I just look at them." Not your mother's comic book |
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CivilCity.org: Advocating Respect for People, Places, and Things |
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| Topic: Miscellaneous |
3:20 am EST, Mar 15, 2003 |
] People sometimes behave badly, rudely, or in other
] socially unacceptable ways; this can happen either
] accidentally or on purpose. You may have been one of
] these rude people if someone gave you a CivilCity Card.
] Did you recently behave badly in one of the following
] ways? CivilCity.org: Advocating Respect for People, Places, and Things |
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Weight Watchers recipe cards, circa 1974 |
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| Topic: Humor |
3:13 am EST, Mar 15, 2003 |
] Weight Watchers recipe cards from 1974 I know you're thinking, "WTF??" Just look at the cards and the commentary. They are pretty funny. Weight Watchers recipe cards, circa 1974 |
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Can Farscape Fans Reinvent TV? |
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| Topic: Arts |
12:22 am EST, Mar 15, 2003 |
By focusing on the ratings, 'Scapers are playing by the rules of the television industry. The problem is, no one knows whether those rules even apply anymore. There is a growing sense in the broadcasting industry that the governing business model is dysfunctional. Most media executives agree that scripted television programs (i.e., sitcoms and dramas) are too expensive to produce and don't guarantee audiences large enough to justify higher advertising rates and cover costs. To make matters worse, media companies rely on data collected by an outmoded and flawed ratings system, which remains heavily reliant on the paper "viewing diaries" collected by Nielsen. Acknowledging the industry dissatisfaction with its system, Nielsen recently introduced its "People Meter," a semi-Orwellian set-top device that monitors who is in the room and what they're watching on TV. About 5,000 families currently coexist with a People Meter, and the "overnight ratings" Nielsen accumulates from them have become crucial figures that can make TV careers, or end them. Even if ratings were collected with absolute accuracy, it might not be enough for an industry that prefers to chase after elusive demographic segments instead of cultivating advertisers eager to reach the audience that's already watching. In "Farscape's" case, Sci Fi wanted the show to perform better with boys. But the show has already attracted a broad audience, including large numbers of women attracted to the show's strong female characters, feminist storylines, and the sexual tension between human John Crichton and his alien flame, Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black). The Neilsen system is not only outdated, it is rejected by anyone with a sense of self worth. As one who has been targeted as a Neilsen household, I know just what their approach is. You get a diary in which you're supposed to keep track of every show that you watch. That's fine, I suppose I can handle that. But wait, they add an insult to it. There's a $1 bill in the envelope and a letter that says, "If you were honest about what you put in the diary, please keep this dollar. If not, please return it with the diary." That's got to be the biggest load of crap I've ever read, yet it was there in black and white in front of me. Granted, it may be more than $1 (I participated in the mid 90s, though, so it's not *too* long ago) today but I doubt by much. Using 5,000 households to track the viewing habits of 200 million people is just patently wrong. Like the article states, you then have to hope that those 5,000 people have more than a basic cable subscription and can get the SciFi Channel! One of the current 'Scaper tactics that was overlooked in this article is in patronizing the advertisers. There are web sites that list who advertised each week and fans are encouraged to let them know how much the corporate support is appreciated. I'm sure that has to make some level of impact, but probably not until the series is already gone. Dolemite Can Farscape Fans Reinvent TV? |
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| Topic: Miscellaneous |
12:21 am EST, Mar 15, 2003 |
Listened to the Morning Edition NPR at this link (RealAudio req'd.) 5 minutes long. Pretty interesting blurbs from a battalion in northern Kuwait getting ready for combat. They're switching to MRE's, getting combat ammo, and breaking the seals on their biosuits. This battalion was scheduled to go home this week. Looks like they're staying and getting ready for war instead. A friend who served in Desert Storm said, "Sounds familiar." I think it will hit in the next couple of weeks, what do you think? Locked and Loaded |
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Norman Lear to co-write South Park episodes |
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| Topic: Current Events |
12:21 am EST, Mar 15, 2003 |
Norman Lear, the Emmy-winning producer of All in the Family," said Wednesday he will collaborate on several episodes of the Comedy Central satire South Park." sweet! Norman Lear to co-write South Park episodes |
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BBC NEWS | Africa | Latrine deaths over Kenyan cell phone |
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| Topic: Miscellaneous |
12:16 am EST, Mar 15, 2003 |
quoted:
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Three men have died trying to retrieve a mobile phone from a pit latrine in the Kenyan town of Mombasa. University student Dora Mwabela dropped the phone into the latrine while she was answering a call of nature, the Daily Nation newspaper reports. She offered a reward of 1,000 shillings ($13) for anyone who could recover the phone, worth 6,000 shillings. Most Kenyans survive on less than $1 a day. ... "The fumes inside must be extremely poisonous considering the short time it was taking to disable the retrievers," he said. The cell phone was not found.
BBC NEWS | Africa | Latrine deaths over Kenyan cell phone |
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