Time Capsule: A Slice of Americana
May 08, 2007You know something like this will be our legacy for a future civilization. Per comment below, still tweaking the audio mix . . . (transcript after the break). Thanks for patience.
All This Can Be Yours, This Vista. What? The Curtains?
January 29, 2007
Tonight, the World's Richest Man will be sitting down with Jon Stewart to promote his latest mediocre product, Microsoft Vista. One hopes Stewart will overcome awe of wealth and summon his writers' best skepticism. A gratuitous Blue Screen of Death or two would be a nice touch. If we had to bet, we'd guess instead an on air air-kiss.
Why write about it all? We're not a tech blog and know little about such things. A change in a Microsoft product is not the seismic event it was 8 or even 10 years ago. But it can still pose challenges to a national economy such as South Korea - which deploys possibly the widest bandwidth in the world (far greater than the U.S.) (The Koreans built all their governmental secure online transactions in 1999 using Microsoft technology which Microsoft changed this version; now none of the secure government transaction sites will work with the new software unil a work around is developed). Still, the Family Values crowd here in the U.S. should be glomming on to this meme. Married couples spend more time with their PC than their spouses, after all.
Why write about it all? We're not a tech blog and know little about such things. A change in a Microsoft product is not the seismic event it was 8 or even 10 years ago. But it can still pose challenges to a national economy such as South Korea - which deploys possibly the widest bandwidth in the world (far greater than the U.S.) (The Koreans built all their governmental secure online transactions in 1999 using Microsoft technology which Microsoft changed this version; now none of the secure government transaction sites will work with the new software unil a work around is developed). Still, the Family Values crowd here in the U.S. should be glomming on to this meme. Married couples spend more time with their PC than their spouses, after all.
Jack Bauer, Meet The Shark
January 15, 2007
Last season's '24' likely was an impossible act to follow, let alone top. The acting? Inspired. Jean Smart and Gregory Itzen were superb as a totally dysfunctional First Family. William Devane chewed scenery as SecDef and Peter Weller did a terrific villain turn. The nefarious plot was at once elegant yet simple. A Neocon-ish plan to use “Sentox Nerve Gas” to force a president to act after provoking an international incident was in fact masterminded by the POTUS himself. Just expertly crafted manipulative television.
So far it looks like Jack's sixth day is bordering on the self parody. The producers are in a jam, of course. '24' can never become a Sorkin-esque dialogue or character driven show. One imagines the show's bible probably with “There is no more time!” as a header on every page. Plot contrivance as adrenline stimulant has been perfected by the '24' team.
Such a plot driven mechanism is on rails. A monotone “I don't know if I can do this anymore” is about all Sutherland's Bauer can do to even suggest a three dimensional character without destroying the formula. But what can the producers do to up the stimulant if it has already dosed the audience, then again on repeats and yet again on DVDs?
Unfortunately so far, the manipulative choices forced on Jack in the first 4 hours are even more mechanistic and predictable than before. The dispatch of a long time colleague was foreshadowed more heavily than a return of Halley's Comet. The by-now predictable coerced Middle American family confronting a gun toting character reprising essentially Dennis Hopper's “What do you do?” plot device from Speed is now worn thin. At a certain point the audience can be forgiven for simply asking the hyper stereotyped villian to pull the trigger and just end everyone's agony.
Even worse, this White House is bland. For a show like 24, bland is death. In the face of the plot elements laid before them, they are all acting like qualude-chugging participants in an encounter group with a president as soft spoken therapist. Fortunately, word has leaked out that Itzen will re-appear as his wonderfully weasely and manipulative president somehow.
The “shocker” — a small yield nuclear bomb going off in LA — was extremely predictable. The show had no where else to go. Should a Season 7 materialize, an asteroid strike or a plot to foil voting on the Americon Idol finale is about all that is left to top events. We're not prepared to write off the show yet given the early stage and the show's demonstrated expertise at adrenline manipulation. But at least so far, we do have visions of Sutherland putting on water skis . . .
Tags: 24, nuke, Jack Bauer, Fonzi, jump the shark
So far it looks like Jack's sixth day is bordering on the self parody. The producers are in a jam, of course. '24' can never become a Sorkin-esque dialogue or character driven show. One imagines the show's bible probably with “There is no more time!” as a header on every page. Plot contrivance as adrenline stimulant has been perfected by the '24' team.
Such a plot driven mechanism is on rails. A monotone “I don't know if I can do this anymore” is about all Sutherland's Bauer can do to even suggest a three dimensional character without destroying the formula. But what can the producers do to up the stimulant if it has already dosed the audience, then again on repeats and yet again on DVDs?
Unfortunately so far, the manipulative choices forced on Jack in the first 4 hours are even more mechanistic and predictable than before. The dispatch of a long time colleague was foreshadowed more heavily than a return of Halley's Comet. The by-now predictable coerced Middle American family confronting a gun toting character reprising essentially Dennis Hopper's “What do you do?” plot device from Speed is now worn thin. At a certain point the audience can be forgiven for simply asking the hyper stereotyped villian to pull the trigger and just end everyone's agony.
Even worse, this White House is bland. For a show like 24, bland is death. In the face of the plot elements laid before them, they are all acting like qualude-chugging participants in an encounter group with a president as soft spoken therapist. Fortunately, word has leaked out that Itzen will re-appear as his wonderfully weasely and manipulative president somehow.
The “shocker” — a small yield nuclear bomb going off in LA — was extremely predictable. The show had no where else to go. Should a Season 7 materialize, an asteroid strike or a plot to foil voting on the Americon Idol finale is about all that is left to top events. We're not prepared to write off the show yet given the early stage and the show's demonstrated expertise at adrenline manipulation. But at least so far, we do have visions of Sutherland putting on water skis . . .
Tags: 24, nuke, Jack Bauer, Fonzi, jump the shark
Intermission
January 09, 2007
We had planned to post our item on 'Negropotentate-The Community-And-All-That' today, but something far more transcendent occurred. We speak of Jobs' latest.
Our need for multi-media on the go and office email in and around the Imperial City eventually led us to grab a Windows Mobile 5.0 device when it became available. Blackberries were fine for email but too limited in other respects. Our problems with the 5.0 device we've written about tongue in cheek here.
Make no mistake, it is far better than a Blackberry for mobile email and document generation (although the newer Blackberries are getting better), has a decent keyboard, Wi-Fi so it can speed surf the web, etc. From all across the Imperial City, the device works. But in the end, it is a frustrating, annoying, kludgy . . . Microsoft thing. We've had to exchange it 3 times under warranty. Usually, the rule of thumb with Microsoft is avoid any product 1.0 or even 2.0. By 3.0 they usually get things more or less close to what should have been released at 1.0. But we remain underwhelmed even now.
So this inspires us. A truly mobile data device with intentional and thought out design. Apple (particularly its recently departed Brit head of industrial design Jonathan Ives) has done much to revive and infuse modernist sensibilities into mass culture.
Our need for multi-media on the go and office email in and around the Imperial City eventually led us to grab a Windows Mobile 5.0 device when it became available. Blackberries were fine for email but too limited in other respects. Our problems with the 5.0 device we've written about tongue in cheek here.
Make no mistake, it is far better than a Blackberry for mobile email and document generation (although the newer Blackberries are getting better), has a decent keyboard, Wi-Fi so it can speed surf the web, etc. From all across the Imperial City, the device works. But in the end, it is a frustrating, annoying, kludgy . . . Microsoft thing. We've had to exchange it 3 times under warranty. Usually, the rule of thumb with Microsoft is avoid any product 1.0 or even 2.0. By 3.0 they usually get things more or less close to what should have been released at 1.0. But we remain underwhelmed even now.
So this inspires us. A truly mobile data device with intentional and thought out design. Apple (particularly its recently departed Brit head of industrial design Jonathan Ives) has done much to revive and infuse modernist sensibilities into mass culture.
And You Better Pick Yourself Up From The Ground Before They Bring The Curtain Down
December 30, 2006
Yes, I told you that the light goes up and down. Don't you notice how the wheel goes round?*
Winners and Losers after the break. Add your own. Or tell us where we blew it.
Winners and Losers after the break. Add your own. Or tell us where we blew it.
Obligatory Bond Post
November 15, 2006
Bloggers, unknown to most, are contractually bound to refer to one pre-fabricated mass-merchandized entertainment product once every six months. Appendix II to the main blogging contract sets out the stark terms --albeit in small print. Failure to comply can result in stiff penalties. Enforcement is spotty, mercifully.
Which brings us to the tired Bond media juggernaut. Eon and MGM share a unique honor along with Lucasfilm and a few other similar offenders. They flogged this franchise into profitable ubiquity and saturate our psycho-cultural ether. In so doing, Bond became largely an irrelevant abstraction. No one really watches Bond anymore because we have been imprinted indelibly with the imagery. Those such as Simon Winder who pretend that the franchise product has a grander sociological meaning just embarrass themselves. Bond simply IS.
We all know the general pattern of Bond and the Cold War. Initially set in a fairly concrete fictional universe featuring Soviet adversaries and SMERSH, the franchise evolved along with detente into the Roger Moore years of self aware camp and farce. Those Moore efforts also meshed perfectly with a post-Vietnam mood of sensation and diversion, disco and cocaine, etc. Late 70s Soviet adventurism kick started the Cold War again at the end of the Carter Administration. Moore's Bond followed, featuring the then-unique return to “Flemming-esque realism” in “For Your Eyes Only” and “Octopussy”. (Let's forget about “Moonraker's” attempt to cash in on Star Wars).
The Soviet Union's demise has been unkind to Bond. Each new product flailed around grasping for trendy geo-political relevance. Misfires included flirtations with the War on Drugs, arms merchants, a Rupert Murdoch-like figure, Oil Politics and finally North Koreans with father issues. Pierce Brosnan did deliver galactic bucks back to Eon. But the product became anchorless and generic. The last installments blur together in an unfortunate tableau of Denise Richards, Teri Hatcher, invisible cars and sputniks gone beserk. Matt Damion's outtings as Bourne were far superior even as merchandized franchise.
Our new Bond, Daniel Craig, allegedly returns the franchise back to its roots. His is a violent, nihilistic Bond. When asked if he prefers his martinis shaken, not stirred, Bond replies “Do I look like a give a damn?” Oh SUH-NAP. Such a self-aware diss of the product line is marketing genius. “Casino Royale” has been filmed twice before. The 1950s CBS TV portrayal starred Barry Nelson as James Bond in a live broadcast for an American audience. Bond is a CIA agent, Leiter is from MI6 and Peter Lorre plays villainous Le Chiffre. In the 60s, it returned as an intermittantly funny spoof with Peter Sellers, Woody Allen and Orson Welles (DVD of which has the B&W CBS show too).
Is the third time the charm? Anthony Lane's “Of Human Bondage” has the details on the lastest version. We agree that a departure from the video game mind set of the last outing is welcome. But we wonder if this Bond is really in sync with the times — or pehaps more in tune with the America of pre-Fallujah.
One concedes that the New Bond matches the 2001-2006 Age of Bush in one respect. Blondes now dominate our consciousness of Superior Political Phenotypes. We see it everyday from the botoxed lips of the blondinka Fox News fluffers (and their imitators) to the Natalie Holloway crisis du jour. Slate's Jack Shafer documents it all. It is only natural that Hollywood's exemplar of Man of Action molt as well.
Will this Bond's nihilism match the post 2006 epoch in American socio-political consciousness? We tend to think not. Certainly, after a few bottles of bourdeaux, Perle might feel simpatico with the violence. Clumsy imitators down-market in the pundit chain such as Peters and VDH are always on board for senseless violence. And the idea of an empty Bond being essentially an efficient “Hitter” bureaucratically at least fits the Administration's belief that kinetic wet work and snatch n' grabs will solve its problems. If Boykin et al. had their way, their Bond would find redemption in the second act through evangelical Bible study and emerge a vengeful servant of their Hulk Hogan-like God. But that's a quibble.
Curiosity will draw in crowds. We predict a solid open. A straight actioner will be easier to sell around a world still prone to reject American soft power cultural exports in the Age of Bush. Bond is out of sync with the prevailing American mood. We think it is one of cautious hope, not emptiness. We haven't looked at cross tabs on our friends' recent poll data; so more a surmise or SWAG. But Americans can see the reality of empty violence for free every night from Iraq. We suspect Craig's next Bond outing will have to catch up with the times.
Tags: James Bond, Bond, Casino Royale, Perle, EON, Simon Winder, Daniel Craig, New Yorker, Anthony Lane
Which brings us to the tired Bond media juggernaut. Eon and MGM share a unique honor along with Lucasfilm and a few other similar offenders. They flogged this franchise into profitable ubiquity and saturate our psycho-cultural ether. In so doing, Bond became largely an irrelevant abstraction. No one really watches Bond anymore because we have been imprinted indelibly with the imagery. Those such as Simon Winder who pretend that the franchise product has a grander sociological meaning just embarrass themselves. Bond simply IS.
We all know the general pattern of Bond and the Cold War. Initially set in a fairly concrete fictional universe featuring Soviet adversaries and SMERSH, the franchise evolved along with detente into the Roger Moore years of self aware camp and farce. Those Moore efforts also meshed perfectly with a post-Vietnam mood of sensation and diversion, disco and cocaine, etc. Late 70s Soviet adventurism kick started the Cold War again at the end of the Carter Administration. Moore's Bond followed, featuring the then-unique return to “Flemming-esque realism” in “For Your Eyes Only” and “Octopussy”. (Let's forget about “Moonraker's” attempt to cash in on Star Wars).
The Soviet Union's demise has been unkind to Bond. Each new product flailed around grasping for trendy geo-political relevance. Misfires included flirtations with the War on Drugs, arms merchants, a Rupert Murdoch-like figure, Oil Politics and finally North Koreans with father issues. Pierce Brosnan did deliver galactic bucks back to Eon. But the product became anchorless and generic. The last installments blur together in an unfortunate tableau of Denise Richards, Teri Hatcher, invisible cars and sputniks gone beserk. Matt Damion's outtings as Bourne were far superior even as merchandized franchise.
Not Your Great Grandfather's Bond
Our new Bond, Daniel Craig, allegedly returns the franchise back to its roots. His is a violent, nihilistic Bond. When asked if he prefers his martinis shaken, not stirred, Bond replies “Do I look like a give a damn?” Oh SUH-NAP. Such a self-aware diss of the product line is marketing genius. “Casino Royale” has been filmed twice before. The 1950s CBS TV portrayal starred Barry Nelson as James Bond in a live broadcast for an American audience. Bond is a CIA agent, Leiter is from MI6 and Peter Lorre plays villainous Le Chiffre. In the 60s, it returned as an intermittantly funny spoof with Peter Sellers, Woody Allen and Orson Welles (DVD of which has the B&W CBS show too).
Is the third time the charm? Anthony Lane's “Of Human Bondage” has the details on the lastest version. We agree that a departure from the video game mind set of the last outing is welcome. But we wonder if this Bond is really in sync with the times — or pehaps more in tune with the America of pre-Fallujah.
One concedes that the New Bond matches the 2001-2006 Age of Bush in one respect. Blondes now dominate our consciousness of Superior Political Phenotypes. We see it everyday from the botoxed lips of the blondinka Fox News fluffers (and their imitators) to the Natalie Holloway crisis du jour. Slate's Jack Shafer documents it all. It is only natural that Hollywood's exemplar of Man of Action molt as well.
Will this Bond's nihilism match the post 2006 epoch in American socio-political consciousness? We tend to think not. Certainly, after a few bottles of bourdeaux, Perle might feel simpatico with the violence. Clumsy imitators down-market in the pundit chain such as Peters and VDH are always on board for senseless violence. And the idea of an empty Bond being essentially an efficient “Hitter” bureaucratically at least fits the Administration's belief that kinetic wet work and snatch n' grabs will solve its problems. If Boykin et al. had their way, their Bond would find redemption in the second act through evangelical Bible study and emerge a vengeful servant of their Hulk Hogan-like God. But that's a quibble.
Curiosity will draw in crowds. We predict a solid open. A straight actioner will be easier to sell around a world still prone to reject American soft power cultural exports in the Age of Bush. Bond is out of sync with the prevailing American mood. We think it is one of cautious hope, not emptiness. We haven't looked at cross tabs on our friends' recent poll data; so more a surmise or SWAG. But Americans can see the reality of empty violence for free every night from Iraq. We suspect Craig's next Bond outing will have to catch up with the times.
Tags: James Bond, Bond, Casino Royale, Perle, EON, Simon Winder, Daniel Craig, New Yorker, Anthony Lane
Stopping To Smell The Roses
November 09, 2006Watching Imperial City political and media orcs reel from the unaccustomed loss of guidance from the Great Eye is a lovely thing. How many “journalists” will actually have to work now to replace a newly irrelevant rolodex? And how many will now molt before our eyes, protesting that they were always part of the Resistance in spirit if not in fact? We know who the Collaborators were.
Amidst all the joy, promise of a better tomorrow and partial relief from the Shadow, we stop to remember our old friend, Jim Baen. As we wrote earlier, he passed away this summer. I know from our conversations during earlier political earthquakes in the 1980s and 1990s, including 1992 and 1994, Jim would have welcomed Tuesday. Jim was part of Newt's kitchen cabinet, true. But corruption, incompetence and hypocrisy were anathema to him. The system still works, Jim.
Today,David Drake has a list on Amazon of the Top Ten science fiction books he and Jim discussed before his passing. They are:
This list is not unrelated to Tuesday and our predicament of a failed presidency and a catastrophe in Iraq. As David notes on the Amazon link, when he and Jim discussed Foundation, for example, Foundation was an important literary effort to show that understanding human nature was more important than sheer military force. Much food for thought.
-------------
A good list. Well done old friend.
Tags: Jim Baen, Newt Gingrich, elections, sci fi, science fiction
Postapocalytic Daydreaming
October 18, 2006
James Poniewozik in this week's Time muses about the growing mainstream media pre-occupation with post apocalyptic imaginings. He catalogs new non-religious post apocalyptic media products across the board.
One example is the best selling Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road. This book depicts a destroyed America wallowing in barbarism. Or NBC's TV show “Heroes”, where Poniewozik says Manhattan is destroyed (we haven't watched it). On the Sci Fi network “Battlestar Galactica” deals with the after effects of the nuclear destruction of almost the entire human race. And he concludes by noting that CBS's Jericho features a Kansas town alone and cut off after a nuclear catastrophe has destroyed the rest of the country. Had he gone back last year he could have added the Cruise “War of the Worlds”, ABC's “Invasion”, and the CBS alien invasion series “Threshold”.
Is he right that American popular culture is newly fascinated with with apocalypse? We remain unconvinced. But if he is correct, what if any are the social-political linkages? In the past, with the benefit of hindsight, booms such as invasion/creature movies during the new Atomic Age and McCarthy era acted out new tensions and fears. One might draw the same conclusion about the spate of disaster movies and novels of the 1970s accompanying collapse in Vietnam and Watergate at home. At first glance Zelazny's Damnation Alley from the 1970s doesn't seem all that different from 2006's The Road. And Skynet from 1984's “Terminator” gave California a new governor.
Whether Poniewozik is right overall, we think he is on to one thing: popular imaginings of apocalypse in 2006 defintely have a post-Katrina, Jerry Bremer sensibility — government incompetence. In the non-Rapture end times, the government is feckless, impotent and/or irrelevant. Although “Galactica” is obviously an offspring of 9/11 being written in 2002, the other offerings today are more likely as not driven by Iraq and Katrina.
How damaging to the American psyche is defeat in Iraq? The most technologically dominant army in the world, unconstrained by a Superpower patronage ala Hanoi, will leave in defeat. If the Asian debacle was the beginning of the shift to the coming Asian ascendancy, here the West as personified by the United States is humbled by another rising ecumenae. No wonder the Yeatsian center feels it can not hold.
Bush's presidency may effectively end in three weeks. Perhaps we may see the light at the end of the tunnel and bring to a close this anti-Enlightenment Age of Ideology and Belief. Perhaps post November 2006 we can begin the long march back to empirical rationality. If the Time essay is right, that may also have an impact on the pop culture merchandising of apocalypse.
Just as sobering is this insight from Clint Eastwood elsewhere in the issue:
“But all that said [about the nature of heroism], is there a hunger among Americans for heroic behavior? I think there is a hunger. I think that most people would love to see a heroic figure step forward. I can almost sound like one of those Christian-right guys: Where is the Messiah?”
In other words, apocalypse may be here but at least we are competent.
That unfortunately sounds alot like an invitation for McCain and “National Greatness”.
Tags: Apocalypse, Battlestar, Galactica, Time, Road, Jericho, SciFi
One example is the best selling Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road. This book depicts a destroyed America wallowing in barbarism. Or NBC's TV show “Heroes”, where Poniewozik says Manhattan is destroyed (we haven't watched it). On the Sci Fi network “Battlestar Galactica” deals with the after effects of the nuclear destruction of almost the entire human race. And he concludes by noting that CBS's Jericho features a Kansas town alone and cut off after a nuclear catastrophe has destroyed the rest of the country. Had he gone back last year he could have added the Cruise “War of the Worlds”, ABC's “Invasion”, and the CBS alien invasion series “Threshold”.
Is he right that American popular culture is newly fascinated with with apocalypse? We remain unconvinced. But if he is correct, what if any are the social-political linkages? In the past, with the benefit of hindsight, booms such as invasion/creature movies during the new Atomic Age and McCarthy era acted out new tensions and fears. One might draw the same conclusion about the spate of disaster movies and novels of the 1970s accompanying collapse in Vietnam and Watergate at home. At first glance Zelazny's Damnation Alley from the 1970s doesn't seem all that different from 2006's The Road. And Skynet from 1984's “Terminator” gave California a new governor.
Whether Poniewozik is right overall, we think he is on to one thing: popular imaginings of apocalypse in 2006 defintely have a post-Katrina, Jerry Bremer sensibility — government incompetence. In the non-Rapture end times, the government is feckless, impotent and/or irrelevant. Although “Galactica” is obviously an offspring of 9/11 being written in 2002, the other offerings today are more likely as not driven by Iraq and Katrina.
How damaging to the American psyche is defeat in Iraq? The most technologically dominant army in the world, unconstrained by a Superpower patronage ala Hanoi, will leave in defeat. If the Asian debacle was the beginning of the shift to the coming Asian ascendancy, here the West as personified by the United States is humbled by another rising ecumenae. No wonder the Yeatsian center feels it can not hold.
Bush's presidency may effectively end in three weeks. Perhaps we may see the light at the end of the tunnel and bring to a close this anti-Enlightenment Age of Ideology and Belief. Perhaps post November 2006 we can begin the long march back to empirical rationality. If the Time essay is right, that may also have an impact on the pop culture merchandising of apocalypse.
Just as sobering is this insight from Clint Eastwood elsewhere in the issue:
“But all that said [about the nature of heroism], is there a hunger among Americans for heroic behavior? I think there is a hunger. I think that most people would love to see a heroic figure step forward. I can almost sound like one of those Christian-right guys: Where is the Messiah?”
In other words, apocalypse may be here but at least we are competent.
That unfortunately sounds alot like an invitation for McCain and “National Greatness”.
Tags: Apocalypse, Battlestar, Galactica, Time, Road, Jericho, SciFi
Truth In The Basic Cable Ghetto
October 09, 2006
A modest firecracker mercifully pushed Anna Nicole Smith et al. off the airwaves. More on that in a bit.
For now, here are two items about censorship in America today and musings on the implications. We even sneak in the obligatory pop culture reference to prove our street cred with the Kool Kidz.
First, the curiously misnamed Anti-Defamation League celebrates its stifling of a public lecture by Jewish professor Tony Judt at the Polish NYC Consolate. With an assist on the fastbreak by the American Jewish Committee. Readers may recall we have cited Judt's writings here before.
Judt was silenced by ADL pressure because he criticizes Administration and current Israeli policies and the Americans promoting them. Mere disagreement even among Jews now constitutes unacceptable “defamation”. Perhaps Judt can be thankful that the ADL is not “necklacing” him yet.
The Stiftung finds intriguing the cartoonish extremes Likud-esque proponents will go to muffle debate here in the States. Even during the hey day of Clyde Prestowitz's frantic warnings about Japanese domination and Crichton's Rising Sun, the Japanese never went to such frenzied clumsy limits. And Sumitomo, Nomura and others then really were literally buying up the cash starved policy community for a song.
We think there is fear of brittleness behind such censorship — not the cheap AgitProp smears of “anti-Semitism” — but recognition that the policies pushed on U.S. simply will not withstand objective analysis and criticism. This latest “triumph” has the whiff of being a rear guard action even so. Merely postponing, not preventing that day.
The Stiftung supports Israel. Until 2001-2006 we thought we were even a friend of Israel. But apparently any divergence of opinion is not permissable anymore. How odd to see the healthy debate on these very subjects in Israel itself — yet that is not permissable here.
More censorship — former DO officer Gary Berntsen claims the Agency neutered his book (Jesus, literally everyone has a book!) deliberately in retaliation via the clearance review process.
A tough case for the Stiftung for a variety of reasons. We are actually sympathetic to the Agency's efforts to dial back the cashing in by officers and their books, movie deals and the like. In addition to the green badge revolving door we've written about here long before it became vogue to do so in the “traditional media”, no organization can function when personnel seek to create personal branding opportunities and merchandize their careers.
Yet what can one do? Witness John McClaughlin for example as he sits by the phone like a high school junior waiting for Wolf to call him once more into the absurdly branded “The Situation Room” (God help us). And he is only one of many.
Why permit some to morph into cable news Paris Hiltons opining on all kinds of national security matters (even outside their professional purview)and hinder marketing by others? We believe Berntsen's basic concerns (no we didn't bother reading his book). Back in the day (this is dating the Stiftung a bit), Stansfield Turner had a similar problem with his book after his disasterous tenure. We even spoke to him about the process afterwards and there is little doubt that the system was gamed.
Until this Administration we did not truly sympathize with the profound cynicism of the Le Carre classic trilogy (Tinker - People). The notion that a clandestine service is a window into a Nation's subconscious is not wholly without merit. The commodification of careers says alot about us all.
Which brings us to the pop culture moment, supra. As you probably have noticed, there is a growing chorus of acclaim for a show remaking the original Glenn Larson Battlestar Galactica from the 1970s. Back then, the Stiftung recalls Pravda (or was it Izvestia, we forget) denouncing that cheesey show's premise of a sneak attack against humanity by the evil Cylons as promoting hostility to peace-loving Soviet intentions and ratification of SALT II.
The new show seems to have its admirers from Salon to Entertainment Weekly. We don't share the embrace. But this is relevant to our post today, we promise.
As entertainment the show is actually middling, hype notwithstanding. Ron Moore, the creator, continues a trend of refining concepts largely “borrowed” from and explored first by other series such as Bablylon 5. Moore rode B5's pioneering efforts with his efforts on Star Trek Deep Space Nine. The derivative nature of that series took almost entire portions from B5 — from the then pioneering idea of multi-season plot arcs involving war and spies within, strong female characters, etc. In fact, the entire premise of Bablylon 5 was famously “lifted” from a pitch meeting made to Paramount and thus was born Star Trek Deep Space Nine. (B5 was a space station and then suddenly lo and behold, so was Deep Space Nine, etc.) Blood was so bad that Gene Roddenberry's wife guest starred on B5 as a gesture of good will and unification of fans.
Battlestar ultimately fails because like “24” it is almost entirely a joyless plot driven soap opera. Once an episode has been seen, there is almost no point or fun in ever seeing it again. But “24” is expertly crafted adrenlin overload. Battlestar is middlebrow Falcon Crest with the now tiresome Canadian production values. There is no humor. Here, Moore would do well to see how Whedon, a far better screenwriter, could segue effortlessly among horror, comedy and drama within a single hour. Which is why a Whedon series is always re-watchable multiple times.
New season three depicts humanity under Cylon occupation. Moore pulls no punches in the first episode.
Only here in the ghetto of genre basic cable programming can we explore openly what drives a resistance movement such as in Gaza and Iraq. Could Americans ever be suicide bombers? They are here. How a resistance movement is seen from their perspective, how collaborators are seen and feel, etc. — their debates, priorities, conflicting objectives, etc. And how populations loathe the local “police” standing up and want to see them lie down in a pool of blood.
Pathetic that this Nation, under the yoke of the ADL, AJC, The Corner and their AgitProp bretheren banishes such conversations to the dark corner of the Sci Fi Channel. This too says alot about us.
Still may not be great TV. But it hints at serious issues. And without censorship. So far.
Tags: CIA, ADL, Judt, Battlestar, Galactica
For now, here are two items about censorship in America today and musings on the implications. We even sneak in the obligatory pop culture reference to prove our street cred with the Kool Kidz.
Working For The Clampdown
First, the curiously misnamed Anti-Defamation League celebrates its stifling of a public lecture by Jewish professor Tony Judt at the Polish NYC Consolate. With an assist on the fastbreak by the American Jewish Committee. Readers may recall we have cited Judt's writings here before.
Judt was silenced by ADL pressure because he criticizes Administration and current Israeli policies and the Americans promoting them. Mere disagreement even among Jews now constitutes unacceptable “defamation”. Perhaps Judt can be thankful that the ADL is not “necklacing” him yet.
The Stiftung finds intriguing the cartoonish extremes Likud-esque proponents will go to muffle debate here in the States. Even during the hey day of Clyde Prestowitz's frantic warnings about Japanese domination and Crichton's Rising Sun, the Japanese never went to such frenzied clumsy limits. And Sumitomo, Nomura and others then really were literally buying up the cash starved policy community for a song.
We think there is fear of brittleness behind such censorship — not the cheap AgitProp smears of “anti-Semitism” — but recognition that the policies pushed on U.S. simply will not withstand objective analysis and criticism. This latest “triumph” has the whiff of being a rear guard action even so. Merely postponing, not preventing that day.
The Stiftung supports Israel. Until 2001-2006 we thought we were even a friend of Israel. But apparently any divergence of opinion is not permissable anymore. How odd to see the healthy debate on these very subjects in Israel itself — yet that is not permissable here.
Send Lawyers, Guns and Money
More censorship — former DO officer Gary Berntsen claims the Agency neutered his book (Jesus, literally everyone has a book!) deliberately in retaliation via the clearance review process.
A tough case for the Stiftung for a variety of reasons. We are actually sympathetic to the Agency's efforts to dial back the cashing in by officers and their books, movie deals and the like. In addition to the green badge revolving door we've written about here long before it became vogue to do so in the “traditional media”, no organization can function when personnel seek to create personal branding opportunities and merchandize their careers.
Yet what can one do? Witness John McClaughlin for example as he sits by the phone like a high school junior waiting for Wolf to call him once more into the absurdly branded “The Situation Room” (God help us). And he is only one of many.
Why permit some to morph into cable news Paris Hiltons opining on all kinds of national security matters (even outside their professional purview)and hinder marketing by others? We believe Berntsen's basic concerns (no we didn't bother reading his book). Back in the day (this is dating the Stiftung a bit), Stansfield Turner had a similar problem with his book after his disasterous tenure. We even spoke to him about the process afterwards and there is little doubt that the system was gamed.
Until this Administration we did not truly sympathize with the profound cynicism of the Le Carre classic trilogy (Tinker - People). The notion that a clandestine service is a window into a Nation's subconscious is not wholly without merit. The commodification of careers says alot about us all.
Which brings us to the pop culture moment, supra. As you probably have noticed, there is a growing chorus of acclaim for a show remaking the original Glenn Larson Battlestar Galactica from the 1970s. Back then, the Stiftung recalls Pravda (or was it Izvestia, we forget) denouncing that cheesey show's premise of a sneak attack against humanity by the evil Cylons as promoting hostility to peace-loving Soviet intentions and ratification of SALT II.
The new show seems to have its admirers from Salon to Entertainment Weekly. We don't share the embrace. But this is relevant to our post today, we promise.
First A Little TV Criticism Before The Main Point
As entertainment the show is actually middling, hype notwithstanding. Ron Moore, the creator, continues a trend of refining concepts largely “borrowed” from and explored first by other series such as Bablylon 5. Moore rode B5's pioneering efforts with his efforts on Star Trek Deep Space Nine. The derivative nature of that series took almost entire portions from B5 — from the then pioneering idea of multi-season plot arcs involving war and spies within, strong female characters, etc. In fact, the entire premise of Bablylon 5 was famously “lifted” from a pitch meeting made to Paramount and thus was born Star Trek Deep Space Nine. (B5 was a space station and then suddenly lo and behold, so was Deep Space Nine, etc.) Blood was so bad that Gene Roddenberry's wife guest starred on B5 as a gesture of good will and unification of fans.
Battlestar ultimately fails because like “24” it is almost entirely a joyless plot driven soap opera. Once an episode has been seen, there is almost no point or fun in ever seeing it again. But “24” is expertly crafted adrenlin overload. Battlestar is middlebrow Falcon Crest with the now tiresome Canadian production values. There is no humor. Here, Moore would do well to see how Whedon, a far better screenwriter, could segue effortlessly among horror, comedy and drama within a single hour. Which is why a Whedon series is always re-watchable multiple times.
Battlestar's Link to Judt
New season three depicts humanity under Cylon occupation. Moore pulls no punches in the first episode.
Only here in the ghetto of genre basic cable programming can we explore openly what drives a resistance movement such as in Gaza and Iraq. Could Americans ever be suicide bombers? They are here. How a resistance movement is seen from their perspective, how collaborators are seen and feel, etc. — their debates, priorities, conflicting objectives, etc. And how populations loathe the local “police” standing up and want to see them lie down in a pool of blood.
Pathetic that this Nation, under the yoke of the ADL, AJC, The Corner and their AgitProp bretheren banishes such conversations to the dark corner of the Sci Fi Channel. This too says alot about us.
Still may not be great TV. But it hints at serious issues. And without censorship. So far.
Tags: CIA, ADL, Judt, Battlestar, Galactica
Goodbye Old Friend
June 29, 2006
Jim Baen, an old friend of the Stiftung's, passed away yesterday. Here's an obituary by one of his oldest friends and authors, Dr. Jerry Pournelle of Chaos Manor (also a friend of the Stiftung's). David Drake, another friend of Jim's and part of the Baen Books family writes here. Jim had been in a coma following several heart attacks.
We will miss you Jim.
We will miss you Jim.
-------------