NYCweboy

Morning Morsels: The Saturday Unsurprise

Mostly, it's a Hollywood Minute:

• News story we didn't bother reading: Noel Gallagher Leave Oasis Over Fallout With Brother
• News Story we did wind up reading, but pretty much turned out to be what we thought: DJ AM found dead in New York apartment
• But if you really want to fry your brain, try and figure out why anyone would care what Heidi Montag thinks about Brody Jenner getting tasered during a fight with Joe Francis (no bonus points fo asking "who?" to any of them)
• Okay seriously... you are going to see The September Issue, right?
• Gail Collins fears the robot menace. Why don't you?

LOL Your Fascist Fearmongering

As much as I'd like to just hide out - politically, anyway - for the entire month of August, I  feel like I can't just leave the "anger wave" issue alone; especially since, in the space of a week, we went from some mild concern about protests to lots of slinging of "fascism" back and forth.

In a word... Oy.

There's nothing to be gained, I think, from a lot of the talk - on both sides - about how we're all headed toward a dangerous fascism where the other side would be in control; it's the usual "all about what they did" argument that is about 2 inches away from the "he started it" defenses of one's childhood. It also, more subtly, smacks of a lack of confidence in the appeal of one's own ideas - that angry, powerful mob will get their way... and there's nothing we can do to stop it. It's funny, really, how American debate has become a simplistic "us vs. them" where "they" hold all the cards... perhaps the real indication of a successful fascist is when the one with the cards... is you... not "them."

Almost as funny as the way any suggestion of extensive government action on the issues we face is somehow feared for what it might take away from us, rather than considering any benefit that might accrue. And again, perhaps the real indication of a successful fascist is the one who makes ever increasing government look like the good thing, rather than scary.

Still, it seems as though one ought, semi-seriously, to ponder this "fear of fascism" thing - how did we get here? And why can't we seem to put it aside and get on with debating things that we actually face and are actually likely to occur? How did the healthcare reform debate drift away from any talk at all about our health, as a nation and as individuals... and into figuring out who will be in charge of the storm troopers?

Gone Fishin'...

As previously announced, the NYC Weboy will be on a hiatus from blogging here for the rest of August. Please scroll down, as it's likely that J in Baltimore and RedStar may fill in the gaps with musings, links and photos of their own. You may also find me blogging some critical things over at newcritics. I will not be checking this blog on any kind of a regular basis, but I can be reached via e-mail (nycweboy at nycweboy dot com)... and I do welcome correspondence. I will resume blogging the Tuesday after Labor Day. Yes, that means I will not blog about the Democratic Convention... but just assume I liked Hillary's speech, that the VP selection is not my favorite choice, and I wasn't all that impressed with Obama's speech.

Have a great summer. Enjoy.

Geek Heaven

Just back from a lovely lunch with Jennifer and my former boss (I almost said "old boss" - oops), always a good time; afterwards, I stayed around to catch up with a bunch of friends and coworkers. And getting reader feedback.

So, for those (she knows who she is) who find politicszzzz er, boring, here's a fun one via Ezra: the dueling summer blockbuster comic stars of Marvel and DC. And if I have my way, tonight is Ironman night.

Bitter, Party Of One

Nobody said this next part would be pretty.  There's bound to be a lot of this sort of stuff as things play out (and if you don't know why I'm feeling so good, check out Clinton here, or her poll numbers here). [And a hat tip to Anglachel, who drives traffic to me, and whose enthusiasm for Clinton makes me unworthy.]

I don't know where we heard it, or came up with it, but among my gay friends we used to have a little phrase for people who were feeling too jaded by romance: a mock Maitre D call in a restaurant - "Bitter, party of one? Your table is ready."

In the spirit of that, let's give a little sympathy to those feeling the pain:

• Bitter, Party of One.
• Bitter, Party of One.
• Bitter, Party of One.
• Bitter, Party of Two Or More, All fomenting over much ado... about very little.

...Or, We Could Also Worry About Those Winged Pterodactyls On Skull Island, I Suppose...

You may have noticed I'm taking it a bit easy today; the political weekend wore me out a bit (not mention what felt like a long spate of working at the 'bucks). I'm going to work on a few lighter things, and leave the heavy politicking for later.

In the meantime, if you're dying for a fix:

• The Obama thing: Oh I don't know... try here or here or here or here or here or here... It seems to me we're talking this thing to ever-lovin' death. Since I already said my peace, I have little to add - except this: I don't think "the media" is the problem here, really I don't. Obama said something that was a mistake, and he's being, fairly I think, taken to task for a set of assumptions that deserve a challenge; however, I think the problem is that "the problem with what Obama said" is poorly defined, and too much of it has become "Easy Reader Elitism" that isn't the real issue here.
• As Ana Marie Cox says, yes, I read that Chris Matthews thing.  And so should you.
• Torch Song Trilogy: Count me among those who didn't realize that the Olympic Torch protests around China's poor Human Rights record (especially in relation to Tibet) would make such a splash. Then there's the whole Leni Riefenstahl-Berlin-1936 thing about the Torch Relay generally... and hey, you've got a weeks' worth of discomfort right there.
• Save The Robots: Apparently, the geek love affair with talking about the robot menace just will not go away. I already played, too. This is serious stuff people. Don't say you weren't warned. :)