snap culture: December 2006

  1. If you read one thing about Iraq, read this... William, 12/30/2006 0 comments
  2. the future of humor? ben, 12/20/2006 0 comments
  3. I'm hip, I'm with it ben, 12/12/2006 0 comments
  4. Uncanny prediction by the Sports Guy ben, 12/09/2006 0 comments
  5. is our children learning? ben, 12/08/2006 0 comments
  6. Wouldn't it be great... William, 12/07/2006 0 comments
  7. Dontrelle Willis needs your wedding gifts... William, 12/07/2006 0 comments
  8. Hegel would be proud ben, 12/05/2006 1 comments
  9. Tabernacle! William, 12/05/2006 0 comments
  10. Better late than never William, 12/04/2006 0 comments
  11. Racism in the broadcasting booth? William, 12/04/2006 0 comments

12/30/2006 Add a comment

Things have been sparse here during the holidays, but while catching up on reading with all my free time, I read this series in the Columbia Journalism Review. It's an oral history of the Iraq war, told by journalists who were there, and it is at times shocking, sad, and disappointing. William

Comments

12/20/2006 Add a comment

The latest SNL digital video from the Lonely Island boys is one for the ages (and not safe for work): here is the (still inappropriate for work) edited version, and here is the uncensored version.

These guys are amazing. I've blogged about them before, making the leap from internet celebrities to the hallowed halls of Saturday Night Live. I think they're on to something great and different, but the quality of their stuff is uneven. They're doing basically one truly brilliant video per year. See last year, and the year before.

They also just finished their own movie, Hot Rod. I have no idea if it'll be widely released or not, but I expect it to be, like all of their work, uneven with flashes of brilliance.

Also, if you missed it, this recent skit they wrote for SNL with Ludacris is hilarious. ben

Comments

12/12/2006 Add a comment

The latest craze on the Conan O'Brien Show: A horny and inappropriate manatee as a college mascot. Read about it in today's NYT, then go check it out at hornymanatee.com. The website has already had 3 million hits, and once the Times covers it it's usually old news, but this was the first I'd heard of it. Maybe I'm losing my touch. ben

Comments

12/09/2006 Add a comment

At SnapCulture, we're all regular readers of the Sports Guy. When I read this in yesterday's column, I didn't think much of it:
What about seven Bengals players getting arrested out of 53? That's 13 percent of the team! Imagine if 13 percent of your office or classroom had been arrested in the past few months? Can they get to 10 before the end of the season? You figure with holiday parties coming, that's good for one DUI. And the holidays bring visitors and family members, which usually brings trouble, so that's good for some sort of incident at a party or a club. So we only need one more wild-card arrest -- something harmless like speeding and attempting to evade an officer, or shoplifting a Christmas present of something -- and then we'll be at 10. Now that would be something. Ten Bengals arrested in one year? We'll be telling our grandkids about that one. Keep your fingers crossed.
And then this morning we see that the 8th Cincinnati Bengal was arrested for DUI, Pro Bowler Deltha O'Neal. Amazingly prescient commentary by Simmons. He should win a prize or something. ben

Comments

12/08/2006 Add a comment

one of the many perks of being at a institution of higher education is being surrounded by so many intelligent young people. This excellent blog, Left Behind at the Fishbowl, surveys the work of those young people who would not fall into the "perk" category.

The fishbowl is the large computing space on campus, and this guy skims the printed materials that are discarded or left on the printers at the end of the day. It's a brilliant idea, and then, to make it even better, he often annotates the papers. This "paper" on what investment bankers do, or more appropriately how investment bankers use Microsoft Office, is truly inspiring. Honestly I don't even know how you screw up the page numbering so that every page comes out as page 3! ben

Comments

12/07/2006 Add a comment

if during a Yankees-Devil Rays game at Yankee stadium, Red Sox fans showed up in droves to wail on Yankees fans? Welcome to the world of Serbian basketball, where local rivals show up to root, and fight, for the out-of-towners. William

Comments

12/07/2006 Add a comment

The man is getting married and is registered at Macy's and Crate and Barrel. I like the paper towel holder. (From Deadspin) William

Comments

12/05/2006 Add a comment

The dialectic is running its course. First the thesis of the sitcom (1950-1999, roughly Leave it to Beaver up to Seinfeld), which ran its course when the show about nothing destroyed every other formulaic sitcom out there (though according to the Nielsens, human beings watch According to Jim and Everybody Loves Raymond).

Then the antithesis of the reality t.v. program (2000-2006), which is now running to a standstill in Holland, the front line of the reality t.v. movement. People are being turned off by how "real" their reality t.v. has gotten. Shows too extreme for US tv, about graphic sexual acts, picking sperm donors, and watching colonic cleansings (though the latter happened on Jackass) are being yanked from the air or getting lower than anticipated ratings.

So the question becomes, what's the synthesis? What's next? I still like my idea of picking random people to act in a sitcom setting. Get your average squad of reality show bimbos, man-whores, racists, bigots, homosexuals and minorities, to write, direct, and act in an 80s style family sitcom. Have Gary Coleman be the host and Alan Thicke can be the acting coach, the law firm of Malcolm, Jamal, and Warner can be the writing coach, and UBU3 can be the mascot.

I don't think I'm stealing this idea from somewhere, but correct me if I'm wrong. It's got millions written all over it. ben

Comments

  1. Anonymous Anonymous: I keep thinking you write that the dielectric has run its course, at which point the nerd in me feels for whatever capacitor is about to flame. 12/08/2006  

12/05/2006 Add a comment

That's a very strong curse in Quebecois French. Rather than sexual or scattalogical terms, French-speaking Canucks swear using religious terms. It's based on history, and the Catholic church was repressive in the province. William

Comments

12/04/2006 Add a comment

A great piece about Don Carman, a former journeyman pitcher, and his discovering a box of unopened fanmail. He then responded to the letters from 15 years ago. William

Comments

12/04/2006 Add a comment

It sure does seem like an awful lot of sportscasters make race-tinged remarks on-air. Why? They are often not well-trained for broadcasting (former athletes, e.g.) and there is so much airtime to fill. William

Comments