By a 55-to-40 vote, the Senate overturns Powell’s media ownership rules. Even if the Senate vote goes nowhere (and between the contentious House and a Dubya veto, that’s pretty likely), this should hopefully awaken Michael Powell to the fact that there is significant bipartisan resistance to his agenda of carte blanche deregulation. Instead of freeing the Big Boys from any entangling agreements, perhaps Powell should work on making them honor the agreements they’ve already made – namely, HDTV roll-out and public interest requirements. This isn’t about big government, it’s about getting our money’s worth. Since we’ve given the networks use of bandwidth valued at $70 billion, we have every right to expect something in return.
Author: KcM
Fables and Reflections.
The Village Voice checks in with Neil Gaiman. “I remember once ranting [about the state of the comics industry] to Dave Sim, who did Cerebus, and he said, ‘So what are you doing about it?'” Well, Dave, to Gaiman‘s credit, at least he didn’t go flat-out bonkers.
“Politics ain’t Beanbag”
Also in the Voice, Rick Perlstein, author of Before the Storm (which I raved about here), argues for the Dems to come out swinging against Dubya in 2004. Amen.
Alphabet City.
So the big TV story in Blog Nation and elsewhere today is K Street. With this and Carnivale, I now really wish I had HBO, but ah well. At any rate, I for one am rooting for K St., not only ’cause I’m big fans of all involved, but also because there’re many politicians out there (Orrin Hatch, for example) who only recognize the worth of a given position if they hear themselves saying it. (Take, for example, the debate wrought by Soderbergh’s own Traffic.) I do think, however, that the quick turnaround time between episodes will cause problems in the later going…not only is it often hard to get pols to commit their schedules so quickly, but the show is one controversial moment away from being on the butt-end of a freeze-out sponsored by some touchy soul like Tom DeLay. Nevertheless, it sounds like a fascinating show well worth watching, even if the life it depicts is considerably less glamorous and frenetic than it lets on.
Knick the Quick.
Word is from Frank Isola that the Knicks are Warriors are discussing a trade that would bring Nick Van Exel to NY. As y’all know, I’ve been really down on this incarnation of the Knickerbockers, particularly with Spree gone for (ugh) Van Horn. But this proposed trade – Van Exel for Thomas and Ward – might turn me around right quick. To my mind, Nick Van Exel is the clutchest guy in the league. There’s nobody – nobody – I’d rather have shooting a last-second fadeaway 3 to win the game. Look at the playoffs last year – he single-handedly willed the Mavs past Portland and Sacramento. Dallas were idiots to trade him…At any rate, I very much hope this goes through – it sounds like such a great trade for NY that I have my doubts.
The Secrets that you keep.
Apparently it doesn’t matter if you talk in your sleep – researchers can now figure you out just by looking at you. “The freefall, flat on the tummy with the hands at the sides of the head, is the most unusual position. Only 6.5 percent of people prefer it and they are usually brash and gregarious.” Strangely enough, this is pretty much the only way I ever fall asleep, and I had assumed it meant the opposite.
First and Ten.
It’s unofficial – Wesley Clark will become the tenth contender in the crowded Democratic field and – barring an early screw-up of monumental proportions – has to be considered one of the frontrunners immediately. It’ll be interesting to see how he shakes up the race – I expect he’ll take some of Dean’s mavericks, Kerry’s military men, and, perhaps most importantly, Edwards’ Southerners. (Perhaps sensing the threat, Gore alumnus Chris Lehane left the Kerry team.) In other election news, Edwards officially announces his candidacy (Poor luck that Clark’ll steal his media today), while the NY Times‘s David Brooks examines why GOP ops love Dean. (I, for one, don’t really buy it – Dean has to be more worrisome than a milquetoast like Graham.)
Red Skies and Bluegrass.
Hey y’all…busy weekend over here in these parts. Aside from a final orgy of TIME-reading to put an end to my summer research work, I also went to go check out the Creative Time fireworks show, where I spent most of the 4-and-some-odd minutes trying to prevent Berkeley from having a coronary (Lousy judgment on my part bringing him…I thought he might enjoy night in the Park, but he clearly thought he was back on Hill 243.) And I got to see St. Felix Station, my friend’s great bluegrass band over at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg (and was delighted to find said candy store has a weekly trivia night…booyah.)
Long Black Veil.
“‘Til things are brighter, I’m the man in black.” R.I.P. Johnny Cash 1932-2003.
(What with Warren Zevon and John Ritter too, it’s been another terrible week for entertainers.)
Empire of the Knight.
The word has come down from director Chris Nolan: Christian Bale will be Batman. Of the possible contenders, I’d say that’s definitely the right choice. Now for everyone else…I’ve been hearing Aaron Eckhart as Commissioner Gordon for years, and still think that’s spot-on Year One casting. As for the villain(s)…it sounds like they’re leaning toward Ras Al Ghul and the Scarecrow. (Cillian Murphy, Raz?) Those are two of the creepier denizens of Batman’s Rogue’s Gallery, and if done right this film could be great fanboy fun, a la X2. I think they could just have easily used a young, whip-thin, and terminally insane Joker, particularly if they are trying to reboot the Batman mythos as intended, but oh well. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting to see what the director of Memento does with Arkham Asylum.