Since many asked earlier, this is the Big Hole River in Montana
Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, noting the gro
Makes me wish all the more for spring!
ReplyDeleteI know.... this is definitely where I would rather be right now. I actually used to "fish" this river a lot in the summer after work when I lived in Butte. I put fish in "" because fish were never in any real danger when I was out there. I mostly just waded around in the water with a pole. Very relaxing.
ReplyDeleteAnd in another real meander, Keith Olbermann just announced that tonight's was his last show. I'm stunned. I guess the new buyers don't approve of his politics. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how CNN, MSNBC, even PBS offer conservative opinion on their networks, usually from reasonably intelligent persons, but the best Fox can offer is Juan Williams. Seems these conservative media giants have no interest in anyone rocking their boats.
ReplyDeleteAvrds, I just saw your comment to the NY Times piece on Olbermann. #3. You are very quick. I had Olbermann on when he said his goodbyes, but it took me a while to find anything online about it. Of course it's all over the internet now.
ReplyDeleteI hate when anyone like this is silenced. I suppose he will show up again somewhere else, but he has a non-compete agreement with NBC. I don't know how long he has to stay off of TV.
There is a facebook page that is urging CNN to hire him. I doubt that it will happen.
As much as I like Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell, this has soured me against turning to MSNBC at all. And then there is the garbage they run all weekend starting at 10pm Eastern Time Friday.
I really must call Time Warner Cable and go back to basic or no cable TV. I'm wasting too much money (especially for someone in my current financial position). I use TWC for high-speed internet and landline phone but must keep those.
Marti, I was watching it last night for the first time this week and was simply stunned when he said that. The first thing I did was go to the internet to see if there was some explanation of what had happened.
ReplyDeleteAs we were discussing earlier, I prefer the Matthews show and format, but I feel about Olbermann and Maddow, the way our parents felt about Walter Cronkite and some of those early establishment broadcasters. They are people you can trust.
The Times still doesn't have an explanation but my guess is it had something to do with Olbermann's comments about Liebermann on Wednesday, which was the only controversial story I could find online. I didn't see the show, but the Huffington Post did a story on it:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/20/keith-olbermann-on-lieberman_n_811450.html
Remember how he read a snarky promo about Lieberman for the Rachel Maddow show and then added "and I didn't even write that." They'd probably just had enough of his mouthing off.
Sad to see someone as smart as he obviously is silenced.
For some reason, I can't stand Lawrence O'Donnell.
ReplyDeleteThis after all the fuss Fox and other conservative groups made over PBS giving dear Juan the boot.
ReplyDeleteWonder where all their fuss is about Olbermann? My guess is he'll end up back in sports, which he loves. But it does seem like a loss for those of us interested in the sport of politics. He had the knack.
ReplyDeleteSome book news:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/books/la-ca-douglas-brinkley-20110123,0,5114152.story
I'm sure Olbermann will resurface on another network. He has a pretty substantial following.
ReplyDeleteThe video with Keith O. talking about Liebermann is here, along with footage of Liebermann talking about himself.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedailybanter.com/tdb/2011/01/keith-olbermann-on-joe-liebermans-retirement-good-riddance-.html
I agree with KO.
Oh, but that was also included in the Huff Post article that Avrds linked to.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Comcast or whomever the new corporate parents are take control this week?.Seems it came from the "new leadership".Avrds thanks for the beautiful shot of the Big Hole River.
ReplyDeleteIMO, the only reason the conservatives took after PBS over firing Juan Williams is that he is black. Objecting here kinda helps the Repubs get over dumping Michael Steele. Or so they think.
ReplyDeletePlus Juan Williams is basically a conservative. Michael Steele is basically just ... Michael Steele.
ReplyDeleteBo, I read that the Comcast deal was approved last week, so you know that had something to do with it. Olbermann was surely a difficult person to deal with, but I really will miss him, particularly during big events like the State of the Union. I will be watching more C-Span like the old days I guess.
ReplyDeleteAnd did anyone see the non-committal response from Rachel Maddow on Bill Mahr? She is a brilliant journalist, and deserves her place in the lineup, but I don't think she would have had the break she needed without Olbermann. It's a dog eat dog world out there I guess.
Can't figure out what happened to Juan. I liked him back in the good ol' days when he was writing books on the Civil Rights and occasionally trading barbs with the conservatives on Crossfire. But, it seems Juan was looking for a bigger audience and joined Fox, serving as one of their token "liberals." Quite a comedown for a man once seen as one of the leading liberal intellectuals.
ReplyDeleteI think all these guys and gals have "followed the money." I don't really pay much attention to any of them, as it is too much a cult of personality here rather than responsible journalism. Granted, some are better than others, but they all look to build their television rating anyway they can so that they can negotiate for 7,8 and 9 figure contracts.
For some reason, Mahr irks me the most. Never liked this guy.
Funny, I don't like Mahr either. Too sexist and homophobic for my taste, although his film on religion was good.
ReplyDeleteI only heard an occasional news commentary from Williams on NPR, and he always struck me as being conservative. After awhile I just assumed he was one of their regular conservatives --like Linda Chavez... Remember her?
But Olbermann really got me out of my Bush funk. And he did it through humor. I had really given up after the invasion of Iraq.
I guess it was on Jay Leno that I first saw Mahr. His political smugness was fine for a minute or two, but stretched out over 30 minutes it was insufferable. He could make the astute comment from time to time, but it wasn't worth watching him that long for it.
ReplyDeleteI just lost a post about Maher and realize that I'd lost my internet connection. I don't find Maher personally appealing, but he is spot-on honest and right about the Tea Party, other Republicans, gun policy, and healthcare. I listen to his HBO show Real Time audio podcast from itunes.
ReplyDeleteLawrence O'Donnell acknowledged Keith Olbermann at the top of the broadcast tonight and expressed gratitude in more depth at the end. Also expressed awe about all that KO did in the 8 years of Countdown. I haven't heard it yet, but Rachel Maddow also spoke about KO at the end of her program (watching on dvr now).
I am going to drop standard cable for basic very soon to save money, so I won't be watching these programs, except for catching some excerpts online. I'm still trying to adjust to going from having middle class salary in perm jobs to being in lower class temp/part time/never knowing when and how much I'm working/no benefits life.
Tough transition. I lost a lot of earning power when I moved to Vilnius.
ReplyDeleteMarti, you can watch Rachel Maddow and I"m assuming O'Donnell (never have been interested) online: rachel.msnbc.com
ReplyDeleteI just watched that clip and was happy to see her acknowledge the role he played in her success.
Sorry you're having such a hard time in the job market. I've worked freelance since the late 1980s, and it's never been easy -- particularly in Montana! But this economy is really really tough. From my perspective, it does seem to be loosening up a bit now. I say that with no real work on the horizon at the moment. It's a good time to write on the dissertation I guess!
Thank you, Avrds.
ReplyDeleteSo did you all watch the state of the union? I am much encouraged. I think (hope) the worst may be behind us, particularly if he can get some money pumped into the economy. I've been doing some work for the Forest Service. Hopefully they'll feel encouraged, too!
ReplyDeleteHere's something just a bit different:
ReplyDeletehttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/on-the-records-a-well-preserved-roadmap-to-perdition/?hp
NYC and its sinful history.
Naughty, naughty!
Just thinking does anyone know what happened to NYT Perdu or Wheatspear or her other names I forget.She was Mary's(Chartres) friend from way back in San Francisco and I haven't seen anything of her since right before Chartres passed away.Also is Robert okay as I haven't seen any of his posts of late but I think a few posts might get past me here.
ReplyDeleteI think NYT still posts at Melba, but she hasn't been posting here since our reading of Henrietta Lacks. Robert has been posting in Colonel Roosevelt. We are preparing to read Ratification.
ReplyDeleteI bet Olbermann wishes he had another shot at Bachman after her post-SOU address comments.
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering about NYTimes, too. She must be a grandmother by now, so maybe she's more interested in that? The Lacks book is getting a lot of accolades, so it sure doesn't need us jumping on that wagon. Carol are you in touch with her?
ReplyDeleteI think Robert is fine. He's reading Ratification.
As for Olbermann, he went to tweeting the night of the the SOU and said the end of his career is highly exaggerated. So he may be back in some capacity -- he's not prohibited from the internet -- although twitter hardly seems big enough for him.
I'm actually getting more reading done now that he's off the air, since there's no excuse to keep watching the news. But it will take a really big story for me to come back to watch Rachel Maddow. (I'm still sticking with Matthews, though.)
Gintaras, have you ever seen Bachman on t.v.? Matthews has taken to calling her a balloon head with her comments about the Founders ending slavery. He also says she looks hypnotized. She definitely gets into some tea-party zone when responding to questions -- including the one about investigating members of the House for unamerican activities. I think she sees an opportunity now that Sarah's star has fallen.