Author: ssw15

Umm, some stuff:

Empire State Building did tribute to Fay Wray, most known for her King Kong fame. Of the obits I’ve read, I liked the NY Times one – it made Wray’s life and thoughts interesting. This quote from the NY Times obit:

“‘When I’m in New York,’ Miss Wray wrote in The New York Times in 1969, ‘I look at the Empire State Building and feel as though it belongs to me, or is it vice versa?'”

It’s both Ms. Wray – you and the Empire State Building made each other.

The Associated Press obit was also nice, even if less wordy.

This NY Times article on the inequities of internships is not news to me; if you can afford it and tolerate it, sure, go for the unpaid internship for the opportunities and experiences. But, it ain’t a fun thing when you’re not earning money and need a living or else trying to justify a living without that feeling of being exploited. To me, unpaid internships are just part and parcel of the haves vs. the have-nots. Take them or leave them, I guess.

Boy, this NY Times editorial on the selection of Alan Keyes as the Republican candidate in Illinois’ US Senate race is just a tad harsh. Just a tad. And, really, how many editorials refer to… Mighty Mouse and Obi Wan Kenobi in the same sentence? –>

“In the noble tradition of the Marquis de Lafayette, the Seven Samurai, Mighty Mouse and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Alan Keyes is leaving home to go to the aid of a pitiable band of outgunned, hopeless supplicants: the Illinois Republican Party.”

Umm, ok. Whoever in the editorial board thought this up gets extra credit points for ingenuity.

Associated Press, via CNN, reports of cannabilism at a wedding banquet in the Phillippines. Guests were too drunk to realize what was happening… oh, good grief, where do these news guys get this stuff?

Tonight (8/10/04) Charlie Rose on PBS doing an interesting profile of Japan, coinciding with the anniversary of the WWII nuclear bombing – touching on politics and cultural topics. And, I’ll end on that positive note.

I’ve read the criticism in TV Guide: Matt Roush notes that PBS can actually hurt itself sometimes with the way it times its fundraising schedule. It’s the August pledge drive, so instead of showing the 4th episode of a Masterpiece Theatre mini-series (as per the national PBS schedule), local PBS did another round of either Jonathan Pond’s investing tips; the Dr. Phil lookalike show; or Great Performances.

Okay, so I like Great Performances; sometimes the investing stuff might be helpful (but the Dr. Phil stuff should really come from, well, Dr. Phil); and, I’ll applaud our local PBS for keeping “Now with Bill Moyers” at its regular time slot and same with Lehrer newshour.

But, I think that if you, Hypothetical Person in Charge at PBS, are going to seduce people into donating, keep doing your good A-stuff, not your weird, New Age-y, C-level stuff.

Example: like, tell people to give any amount for pledges during the convention, especially since you Guys at PBS are the only ones in free-tv showing it and without the partisan talk garbage. Lehrer’s ratings were up for the Democratic convention, so you know people are watching; tell the audience that it’s a public service or something, you know what I mean? (ok, that’s my Public Awareness message for the day; if you want to donate to PBS yourself, go right ahead). (and, yeah, I’m a PBS snob, can’t help it). 😉

Sunday’s NY Times’ does a story on Los Angeles’ Koreatown, a hip happening place, apparently.

Slate.com’s William Saletan parodies the Vet(erans) Against Kerry with his Vet(erinarians) Against Kerry (Vets Who Don’t Buy that Kerry Saved his Kids’ Hamster, because they were really, really there). Too funny. (plus, a weird little picture of a hamster).

Olympics at the end of the week. Cool, even if there are concerns about terrorism; how Athens will pull it off; and figuring out who among the athletes are on illegal performance enhancing drugs.

Is it just me or are these Back-to-School ads getting on earlier and earlier every year?

I know I should, but I couldn’t resist avoiding the previews/spoilers for the upcoming 4th (maybe last?) season of “Star Trek: Enterprise.” Can it get better? I’m still a little pissed about that annoying season cliffhanger. It can’t get any worse, I guess. Just keep an open mind, I’d say.

“Fruit of the Loom” – the Fruit are back, with a commercial wherein they visit a firehouse to see if their undergarments are approved. Nice to see the Fruit back – there’s something amusing about guys in fruit suits. (the Apple guy gets stuck in the firehouse pole’s hole – forgetting that his foam can’t fit…)

Back to your regularly scheduled Monday…

ABA E-Journal reports on “What Young Lawyers Think,” and apparently, the young lawyers (or lawyers new to the profession – in their first 10 years – since we can’t always be sure about their ages anyway) are more stressed out in the big firms requiring more hours and more billing and all that other stuff. I.e., it’s about the quality of life, not the quantity. Not entirely a surprise to me.

There’s the story in the news that the Illinois Republicans are trying to recruit Alan Keyes to run against Barack Obama in the Illinois US Senate race – even though Keyes doesn’t even live in Illinois. That bothered me, until I remembered that even Hilary Clinton wasn’t really from NY when she ran – but at least she had a year of preparation/listening tour/buying that Chappaqua house before Election Day. Keyes, if he is the candidate, has only three months to go. Slate.com’s Explainer explains how it is possible for Keyes to do this (apparently, he just has to live in Illinois by Election Day).

Flipping through the pages of the latest Entertainment Weekly – and, gasp, saw the ad for the DVD of the 1st season of… “Happy Days.” Fonzie, Potsie, Ralph, and Richie (plus appearances of Richie’s long lost brother) in digital format. Ayy… What isn’t a DVD by now? (umm, actually lots of stuff aren’t on DVD, but I just wish some of this stuff was still in reruns on regular tv like they used to be rather than me paying bucks for DVD’s).

WEEKEND.