No News Is Bad News

Thursdays's announcement that newspaper trade publication Editor and Publisher will shut down immediately comes as quite a blow to all the ink-stained wretches out there who toil(ed) in the trade.

What better indicator that the newspaper industry is suffering serious wounds? To think that E&P is dead is just inconceivable to me.  A long, long time ago, when I was working in my first serious job out of college, living on a diet consisting largely of Swanson's TV dinners, I still found the money to buy a subscription to Editor and Publisher.  It kept me in touch with the rest of the business; made me feel that though I was in a crappy job, in a crappy company, in a crappy town, in a crappy state, I was part of something bigger and more important.

I suppose that there are other forums now for people in the business; back then there was no Internet, and all that personal technology has brought us -- the same technology which is killing print as we speak.  But, just as there is something to be said for the tangibility of the newspaper, there is something very good indeed about a magazine that makes one feel like a professional in a world that very much wants you to be just another worker bee.

Worst Use Of A Rock Song In A Commercial...

We boomers have endured years of classic rock music rehashed as themes for TV commercials.  Even the Beatles and Led Zep turn up in ads these days; probably the most creative use of Rock as Advertising was  Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll " to reposition Cadillac in the marketplace.

What I don't understand is Pachanga Casino's use of "More Than A Feeling" by one of my favorite bands of all time, Boston.  Yeah, I know, I know... baby boomers (supposedly) have money to burn at the gaming tables. Some genius says, "let's use a classic rock song nobody else has used to lure them in" and voila, we're hearing Brad Delp (RIP) implying that playing slots owned by the Indians is some sort of transcendental experience.

 Right.

No, it's not right.  It's wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.  It's jarring.  The images don't fit the soundtrack. There's no audio or video subtext to explain the use of the music.  Gag.

Boston should have held out for the 2011 Mustang, or some energy drink, or something else that takes the spirit of their music and uses it to better effect.

 Oh well, I hope they got a good paycheck.

Add This To Your Bookmarks, America

Think of all the crap the late, belated Weekly World News wanted you to believe was true.  Now think of a web site that had real, serious stuff that the world would prefer you not know.  Let me introduce you to Wikileaks.  Nothing frivolous here -- just stuff that's out there, floating under the radar that you won't find Katie Couric purring about on the CBS Evening News.

Linky:

http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/Wikileaks

Speaking of Hanukkah...

In my last post, I wondered about why no Christians write Hanukkah songs, as so many Jews write (very good) music about Christmas.

As it turns out, someone has.

It's quite a catchy tune.  What makes it really interesting is the source.

Would you believe the song's author is the senior Senator from Utah, Orrin Hatch?  I kid you not.  And Hatch is a Mormon.  Go figure.

I can't figure out how to create a link to the song, but you'll find it at NPR's web site.  Enjoy.

Random Thoughts; Not Well Thought Through.

Don't, as I found myself in a dream last night, find yourself in a circa 1970 Vietnamese village with only five rounds remaining in your M16 rifle. Especially if the village looks like Redlands. (Warning: the VC are forming up at the donut shop on the boulevard.)

Meredith Baxter is a lesbian?  Damn!  I've had a crush on her for 35 years. I couldn't be more surprised if Rosie O'Donnell came out and said she was straight.

Turkey isn't just for Thanksgiving anymore.  Turkey purchased at a cut-rate price after Thanksgiving tastes even better, and the leftovers can stretch on for nearly a week.  Yummy.

If so many Jews have had huge success recording Christmas albums (Neil Diamond? OMG...) why isn't there a market for Christians singing songs for Hanukkah?  Is there a message there someplace?  And, by the way, when is Michael Jackson's lost Kuanzaa album due out?

I've obviously lived a sheltered life.  Apparently everybody but me knows that Ambien is a sexual stimulant.  This has come to light thanks to Tiger Woods' short drive into a tree.  Maybe they ought to rebrand it as "Escalade" in honor of Tiger's damaged Cadillac.  Seems like a great name for a product of that nature.

Sophia Loren is 75.  Seventy-five years old?  No freaking way.