Curated knowlege, trenchant insights & witty bon mots
An NYT piece talks about the eternally-relevant George Carlin, who will be doing his first concert special for HBO in nearly four years. Some excerpts: Mr. Carlin's new 75-minute HBO show is an extended meditation on the three aspects of life that have preoccupied him for nearly a half-century: the little experiences we all seem [...]
Fri, November 4 2005 » Main Page, Minutiae » Comments Off
There is almost no good news for Dubya in the current ABC News-Washington Post poll. “On almost every key measure of presidential character and performance, the survey found that Bush has never been less popular with the American people. Currently 39 percent approve of the job he is doing as president, while 60 percent disapprove [...]
Fri, November 4 2005 » * Big Picture Stuff, Main Page » Comments Off
Aaron Brown has “agreed” to leave CNN. Moving into Brown's old timeslot is Anderson Cooper, who gained profile during hurricane Katrina. Here's a few NYT story excerpts: Mr. Klein said the moves were made chiefly to elevate the profiles of the two news figures whose popularity has been growing at CNN, Mr. Cooper and Mr. [...]
Fri, November 4 2005 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
Wang Yi's Microphone, run by a teacher in Sichuan province, has just had its chain yanked by the Chinese authorities. An excerpt from the BBC story: Reporters Without Borders says the site deals with “sensitive subjects” – including local officials' corruption. It is the latest move by Beijing to impose its control on the use [...]
Fri, November 4 2005 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
Ethiopia and Eritrea (which separated from Ethiopia in 1993) have massed troops along each other's borders, and there are fears it wouldn't take much to trigger a serious conflict. The two nations have had a ceasefire since 2000, which ended a two-year war. See the BBC story for details.
Fri, November 4 2005 » * Big Picture Stuff, Main Page » Comments Off
On Thursday, the Toronto Star produced its regular front page, but it also had some Grade 9 students come up with what they thought should be the top stories. You can see the page here (it's a .pdf file), while here's a story on the exercise. Interestingly, Rosa Parks' funeral got very splashy play, while [...]
Fri, November 4 2005 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
The big par-tee will also be used to promote the relaunch of the magazine, showcasing the emerging vision of editor-publisher Ken Whyte. An excerpt from the Nov. 3 Globe and Mail story: Since being named both publisher and editor of the magazine in March, former National Post editor-in-chief Kenneth Whyte has initiated many changes, including [...]
Fri, November 4 2005 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
French film director Jean-Claude Brisseau appeared in a Paris courtroom Thursday to defend himself on charges of sexual assault and harassment. Four young actresses claim he made them masturbate as part of auditions conducted between 1996 and 2001. The director, credited with discovering Vanessa Paradis, “denies the charges of sexual harassment and sexual assault, insisting in [...]
Fri, November 4 2005 » Film, Main Page, Minutiae » Comments Off
Rebekah Wade, 37, the editor of Britain's The Sun tabloid, who recently started a campaign in her newspaper against domestic violence, has been arrested on such a charge. An excerpt from the Media Guardian: (Rebekah Wade) found herself in a police cell in Battersea, in south-west London, after being subjected to fingerprinting and DNA testing. Her husband, [...]