more than this

Update: As Glenn Greenwald points out, the whole "$70/hour" thing is completely misrepresented. GM and other auto employees are not PAID seventy bucks an hour, that's the total cost per worker. The "journalist" then compares that total cost to the average base salary of a midwest employee, which is around $27/hour. And attempts to spin it as a $70 vs. $27 argument, which the auto workers must "give up" as a "concession" in this situation.

This is not an accurate comparison. Argue if you feel like autoworkers are overpaid, fine. But don't you dare use total cost vs. base salary to do it.

SO yes, if you've been curious, I have been living under a rock thank you very much (meet the rocks, by the way). But anyway, mrs_lovett and I have finally started watching thru LOST on dvd. This may be a silly gesture for something everyone else caught years ago but I'll hide commentary ( LOST season 1 spoilers )

Since I am as old as John McCain nowdays, I fall asleep in my chair by 1015. So I missed Letterman. But here's is a wonderful clip of Letterman letting loose. Let's shred this fake politics b.s. once and for all. No law in the arena!

**Edit: Also run, don't walk, over to Glenn Greenwald on the subject of Sarah Palin's interviews with Katie Couric. Glenn's keyboard isn't a poison pen, it's tipped with acid and he's been on a run of very intense writing lately:

One of two things is absolutely clear at this point: she is either (a) completely ignorant about the most basic political issues -- a vacant, ill-informed, incurious know-nothing, or (b) aggressively concealing her actual beliefs about these matters because she's petrified of deviating from the simple-minded campaign talking points she's been fed and/or because her actual beliefs are so politically unpalatable, even when taking into account the right-wing extremism that is permitted, even rewarded, in our mainstream. I'm not really sure which is worse, but it doesn't really matter, because with 40 days left before the election, both options are heinous.

So I've been watching Top Chef again—thoroughly addicted am I—and I found a great blog perspective over at skilletdoux. I left a rambling comment over there that I realize was substantial enough to stand in for a livejournal post over here, so I'm putting it below. Gawd it bugged me this season how everyone talked about how awesome Dale was. Meh, I say. Meh.
( Top Chef rant I posted in comments elsewhere )

yay, Heroes! ( cut for spoilers. seriously don't click these speculations if you haven't seen all the way thru season 1 and this ep. )
Journeyman: I pronounce it more interesting than I thought it might be. Also, how great is it it's set in SF? Pretty great. I can foresee a task or two already.

dammit, I've been saying "lurve" (meaning love, often said with an exaggerated accent) for years; now I've heard it on a tv broadcast and read it in an online magazine. Also, someone on TV said "rawesome" tonight (meaning, presumably, 'awesome' in rooby doo speak of course) . I didn't invent either of these turns of phrase, but I was there when they were being used, way before it was cool. Just had to get that off my chest.

Can I just say that Heroes rocks? If you love comics (and I do), I heartily commend you to watch and/or record it. Mondays, 8pm central. It really geeks me out in many good ways (none of them naughty or inappropriate. consider: that hot teeny cheerleader for example? her power is she can survive getting killed, and does so in all kinds of gruesome ways, totally not sexxy. the scruffy soulful-eyed indian scientist's son? constantly running around the grittier areas of NYC, he looks sweatastic in the worst ways, totally not sexxy) You probably have to like Jeph Loeb to like this show. If you don't like Loeb's work in the print or broadcast medium, you'll find this unpleasant. But he's really near the top of his game right now, occasional stiff dialog notwithstanding. I like his plotting and long-range multi-story development. And of course I loved Batman Begins, so you know I'm going to defend him most of the time. go watch

O ye gods why do I watch Bravo (aka the network for the wealthy, gay or both)?? Because it's Awesome that's why. Last night's Top Chef reunion show? Made me feel Icky, but in all the good, trashy ways. Someone else could maybe explain this to me: on every reality show EVAR there is someone who looks into the camera and says "I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to win." This is supposed to excuse the various atrocities they commit over the course of 8-12 episodes. Yet when the reunion show (a weird new tradition in reality television where everyone gets together to drink and look at clips) rolls around, they (in this case, Tiffani Faison) are surprised when nobody wants to be their friend! You said you didn't want friends. Now you discover that $100,000 is not enough money to "be somebody's monkey"?? Gawd sometimes I want to get on reality tv and rub this crap in people's faces. Man, you're STILL gonna get rich if you get on tv--these days even the first person kicked off a show gets at least one offer from an agent and subsequent appearances in stuff. It's like reality tv is an automatic doubler of your guaranteed 15 minutes. You're still gonna get rich, you might as well have a good time and be nice to some people along the way. Winning is awesome, I'm sure, but it is actually not ever necessary to say that you're not there to make friends. Everybody wants to win, you ninnehammers! I think it would still be Great Television to see some dude trying to make friends and succeeding, then also winning a pile of cash. Would one of my friends (all of whom are universally excellent and nice people) with more free time please audition for one of these shows?

I bet star5 would do well at Project Runway. dangerdhotrod belongs on Unanimous (as the winner of course). mrs_lovett... hm... not wife swap, please! but I bet she'd kill on Colonial House. If they ever re-do The Law Firm, I'd say r0ckc4ndy would work on that. unclebastard has clearly already won Beauty and the Geek, though with the bird thing, none of us is sure which one's the beauty and which the geek*. And of course, lio? Survivor; geez I mean would that not be perfect? does that surprise anyone? Would you not pay to see that?

Oh hey! There you go: your meme for the day: pick five friends from your list and declare the reality tv show upon which they should compete. Post results in your lj. Each of them have to do it with five of their own.


*rimshot!

among several things that piss me off about Project Runway...

listening to these judges talk about "dressing the woman" or "thinking about the woman's body" or "respecting the womans body" when they're totally culpable for the whole culture of ruining women's bodies! these men and women... the fashion editor of Elle magazine? for how many bulimics is this woman directly responsible? respecting women's bodies? what the fuck was Heidi wearing over her little belly? that black/gray/kimono top thing? the way it dangles over her smooth pregnant form? did she "respect" herself when she put that thing on?

the way they don't seem to like things that human beings would enjoy, and instead favor sheer madness. I like Daniel's work generally and he's obviously trampling the others, but that thing from the "inspiration" episode? where he made that tweed skirt and ...that like... puffball mushroom blouse on top?? that won? what over the gutter-water dress?!

the editing. surely they've exaggerated the whole Santino thing. looking at his stuff, yeah, it's pretty aggressive and I'd probably not wear it even if I was a skinny little cokehead, but this whole thing where they've edited his stuff to play up how he's "out there" or "crazy" or whatever. I mean, come on. I think he's a little baroque (look at me, I all like I'm "getting" the baroque, riiight) or something... anyway yeah, he throws a lot into stuff. but maybe it's time for us to get a little fuller, rougher around the edges. or something but also pull in some shiny/contemporary/even space-age elements.

the total lack of smoking. this relats to the editing, I suppose. if all these screechy little queens don't smoke like an AA meeting, I'm a land baron with many bridges for sale. I wanna see them sewing with a fag dangling out of their lips, sweat beading on their brows, teeth yellowing, etc etc. this "stop at midnight" shit is a crock, too.

last season's winner. his presence on the judging panel made me want to open a vein.
and then send the content to the producers.

I STILL miss "Millennium", "Brimstone" and "Dark Angel". At least you whiny "Firefly" bastards have a movie. Great genre tv shows, killed before their time.