1 hour ago
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Income vs. Debt
I just found this pretty cool blog(?) called "Visual Economics" and stumbled upon the following post GDP vs National Debt by Country Please go check out the truly scary graph.
Clash of the Left
Skimming through Megan McArdle's post on Bruno titled "Sacha Baron-Cohen Strikes Again" got me thinking about the man behind the camera, Larry Charles.
Charles has very little name recognition outside of television and film geeks but his name belongs in the same breath as Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David for his work on Seinfeld. It was Larry Charles who helped imbue, through writing, the Kramer character with the qualities and attitudes that made him the icon he became. He has said that he gave Kramer a distrust of authority (not necessarily a bad thing) which added depth but also setup a number of Kramer-focused story arcs.
Larry Charles directed Borat. Charles has also directed a number of episodes of Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm and direct the Bill Maher feature Religulous.
So, putting aside Baron-Cohen, what is Larry Charles trying to say? As a contributor to Democratic causes, he must be unhappy with the stink that GLAAD is making about the film. Granted, the anger of the activists has trumped their understanding of the obvious intent of the film. It must annoy nonetheless that they are not forgiving him offense for the sake of making everyday America look xenophobic, Islamaphobic, sexist, racist and anti-semitic (Borat) or xenophobic, homophobic (Bruno). He must think, "Don't you see what I'm doing? I'm exposing the very heart of a cruel America. How can you not support that in whatever form it comes?"
It always makes me chuckle when the Left clashes with itself.
Charles has very little name recognition outside of television and film geeks but his name belongs in the same breath as Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David for his work on Seinfeld. It was Larry Charles who helped imbue, through writing, the Kramer character with the qualities and attitudes that made him the icon he became. He has said that he gave Kramer a distrust of authority (not necessarily a bad thing) which added depth but also setup a number of Kramer-focused story arcs.
Larry Charles directed Borat. Charles has also directed a number of episodes of Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm and direct the Bill Maher feature Religulous.
So, putting aside Baron-Cohen, what is Larry Charles trying to say? As a contributor to Democratic causes, he must be unhappy with the stink that GLAAD is making about the film. Granted, the anger of the activists has trumped their understanding of the obvious intent of the film. It must annoy nonetheless that they are not forgiving him offense for the sake of making everyday America look xenophobic, Islamaphobic, sexist, racist and anti-semitic (Borat) or xenophobic, homophobic (Bruno). He must think, "Don't you see what I'm doing? I'm exposing the very heart of a cruel America. How can you not support that in whatever form it comes?"
It always makes me chuckle when the Left clashes with itself.
First of what I hope are many posts
I am a long time blog reader and once-upon-a-time group blogger. It's been about 5 years since I put words to digital paper but I thought it was time to get back into the game.
What makes a good blogger to the masses? If the goal of a blogger is to grow audience share, the following 3 skills are critical for success:
1) Compelling writing - whether it's politics, religion, culture, sports or something else entirely the writing has to be engaging and accessible. Go read a post-doctoral comparative literature thesis. Then write in the opposite way.
2) Excellent arguments - shoddy reasoning and a poor grasp of the facts will never stand the test of aggressive fisking. Everyone is out to get someone they disagree with. Be prepared with a counter-argument.
3) Relevant and timely - in the age of immediate news and commentary, bloggers must address the most up-to-date information available. Don't come to a post with information that's already been debunked or invalidated.
This is why blogging is so damned demanding. Who has the time to exercise all three of those skills together on a regular basis? We'll see if I do.
What makes a good blogger to the masses? If the goal of a blogger is to grow audience share, the following 3 skills are critical for success:
1) Compelling writing - whether it's politics, religion, culture, sports or something else entirely the writing has to be engaging and accessible. Go read a post-doctoral comparative literature thesis. Then write in the opposite way.
2) Excellent arguments - shoddy reasoning and a poor grasp of the facts will never stand the test of aggressive fisking. Everyone is out to get someone they disagree with. Be prepared with a counter-argument.
3) Relevant and timely - in the age of immediate news and commentary, bloggers must address the most up-to-date information available. Don't come to a post with information that's already been debunked or invalidated.
This is why blogging is so damned demanding. Who has the time to exercise all three of those skills together on a regular basis? We'll see if I do.
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