I finally joined the 21st century

I bought this marvelous thing called a cable and used it to connect mp3 player to a tiny jack in my dashboard and now I can listen to podcasts in the car! WOO! nerd out!

Is anyone else...

...as annoyed by the Sara Palin soap opera as much as I am? Sheesh! I love how everyone on her team keeps saying she has foreign policy experience because she lives in the one state closest to Russia. Huh?

Newsflash, ladies: "it doesn't matter how smart or award-winning you are, you still have to flaunt your body to get attention."

Kira Cochrane's depressing but true Guardian article.

I have subscribed to Vanity Fair for years, but over the past two or so, the misogyny has really reared its ugly head and the editor has dumbed it down to the point where when renewal time comes around, I won't be sending in my check.

A telly clip

Watch Michael Moore ask Wolf Blitzer to apologize for not reporting real news, but instead presenting infotainment as "news". Yes, Moore is a very in-your-face propagandist, but he does have a point. Mainstream media doesn't work for democracy anymore. It works solely to promote the ends of the corporations that support and/or own various media outlets.

The Art of Distraction

Yep, the CIA kept detainees in secret prisons in Europe and tortured them; however, that's not the top news for today. That would be, of course, someone with the initials P.H. Thanks, mass media! You're doing a heckuva job!

Yup, ABC is a bastion of superb journalism

Check out the image ABC chose to post with a story about a controversial Massachusettes rape case. Great choice, right?

Here's the text of the comment I left:

Hey ABC --- what's with the tacky photo accompanying this story? Sure, this story may have a very sensationalist bent (look at the many reactions!) but putting a "steamy" picture of a couple in bed next to a story about rape is poor judgement and even poorer journalism. I get it that internet reporting is image-dependent; however, this choice was an extremely bad one.

A hip hop dippity do!

I'm a little delirious this morning. Not sure why.

Putting the coffee down. Backing slowly away...

In other news: some jackass put a bag bomb in front of a women's clinic here in town yesterday. I'll never understand those kind of people: "Oh, I'm 'pro-life' but I'll happily kill doctors, nurses, and patients to save a blob of tissue..." Oh, puh-leese! Logic just doesn't get any more twisted than that! [Insert giant eye-roll here.]

Anyhoo, NPR has been running stories and interviews all week on the abortion debate because of the recent Supreme Court ruling that partial-birth abortions are not allowed. So the topic is kinda on my mind. I feel that I'm like most Americans when it comes to this issue: I'd rather that no woman had to have an abortion. Instead, I wish that attitudes and access to birth control and contraceptives were more accepted and widespread. American attitudes toward sex are so bizarre and unhealthy and guilt-ridden, I don't know how any babies get made in the first place!

Speaking of Americans' unhealthy and guilt-ridden attitudes toward sex: New Hampshire's sure to get backlash for legalizing civil unions in that state. NPR has an interactive map of what states allow same-sex marriage and/or civil unions and which ones don't. I find it odd that the map's blue states (the ones with so-called 'Defense of Marriage' Acts in place) don't also outlaw divorce. I mean, come on! Allowing divorce isn't really defending marriage, now is it? Someting like fifty percent of married couples divorce! It seems marriage is really just a sham in most instances, a multi-billion dollar industry designed to pressure people into getting married in a lavish ceremony, not really an institution of love. Why gays wanna get in on that crazy institution is baffling (although there are some nice perks)*.

Thus concludes today's political confusions and resulting rants. Thank you, Gentle Readers, for your love and devotion.

*Disclaimer: I have often considered gay marriage (yes, this robot is a 'mo) but my state doesn't allow it. Besides, all one really needs is a good lawyer and some handy documents...

Holy sh*t

I was out enjoying dinner with friends Wednesday night, so I did not watch this week's episode of America's Next Top Model. Come to find out (via Feministing) that this week's challenge was for the contestants to be "beautiful corpses" via a "CSI"-style photoshoot.

To echo many of the comments made on Feministing, WTF, Tyra?!

An open statement to Tyra Banks:

Trya, I know you're a ditzy but fun-loving showbiz-crazed gal, but for god's sake, what is wrong with you? It's one thing to herd this gaggle of naive model-wannabes through the hoops of your show; but to glorify violence against women is completely sick and utterly reprehensible.

I've watched all 7 "cycles" of your show, but will watch no more. That's it, it's over. I put up with your and the other judges' comments about the "fat" size 8 girls, comments about the ethnic attributes of some of the girls (see our banner), and the objectification of your willing contestants, all in the name of entertaining television; however, when you have 19- and 20-year old young women painted with bruises and fake blood, their eyes rolled back in their heads and their legs splayed, all in the name of selling fashion, you're sending a very powerful message about the disposability of not only the contestants, but women in general, to viewers.

I get it that the girls are competing (hence, the "knifed by a model" etc themes of the shoot). But I have to say murder is not sexy. Never has been, never will be. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Sincerely,

Tiny Robot

Paris or North Korea?

AP Wire services have decided to no longer carry stories about Paris Hilton, unless it's an actual news item (like she kills someone or dies or whatever).

"...There was a surprising amount of hand-wringing. A lot of people in the newsroom were saying this was tampering with the news." Washington added that one editor's response was: 'This is a great idea -- can we add North Korea?' "

I'm not sure if the editor meant to ban stories about North Korea as well, or perhaps publish more stories on the controversial communist nation in place of vapid "news" reporting on Ms. Hilton's antics. Hopefully, the latter.

Time's Man of the Year

So did I violate the heart of my first post with this title or what? Yes, because I do long for the days when only men, manly men, and their manly accomplishments could be the most important (or most popular) of an entire year. So who is Time's Man of the Year? None other than George W. Bush. Well, not really, but in a superficial way, yes, technically its true, but unfortunately the only way he'd know is if he actually read the Time article. Of course a deeper read of the article means that Bush would actually have to know what a blog, YouTube, or MySpace is. So no, he is not, but You are. Yes, you reading this right now. But its not all hugs and kisses. People love idol worship and now TIME has insidiously taken it from them. Seriously, at this time of year especially we need something to worship, and if not (insert some douchebag) then who? BTW, WTF with the spell check not recognizing the word "blog."