Goin' on Prime Time

Reading through some old blog entries from Paul Wells, I came upon this interesting bit:

Wolf Blitzer said something amazing tonight while George W. Bush was striding across Lafayette Square to give his latest New Orleans spiel: [This] was the nineteenth time this President has spoken live, at some length, to the American people on prime-time television.

Can you imagine such a thing happening in this country?

No, this is not a fan letter to George W. Bush. He is doing no more, and in fact he has done quite a bit less, in the way of public self-explanation than modern presidents since Nixon have done. People will write and tell me, Of course Bush had to give a big speech; he's sliding down the popularity drain. Great, that explains prime-time speech number 19. What about the first 18?

Nor, on this side of the border, am I singling out Paul Martin for blame. True, his only prime-time speech was the Please For The Love of God Don't Fire Me extravaganza of April, but it is impossible to believe Stephen Harper would be any chattier if he ever won the big job.

[...]

But who seriously believes that if you're having a hard time getting your message out, the solution is to spend less time trying? I mean, who besides our current national leaders?

It's a strange time in this country. Our leaders are saying as little as possible and then complaining nobody understands them. Apparently we're supposed to guess.

Thought for the Day

I've just had an apostrophe.

-- Smee, Hook

LJ Interests

I don't do many LJ memes, but this one seemed kinda fun.

1. buffy
   This is an easy one. I got hooked on Buffy in season 3, and like so many others, fell in love with the writing of Joss Whedon. Unlike a lot of others, I really enjoy the darker parts of the show -- I liked Season 6 of Buffy when so many people really didn't. I also really liked Season 2 of Angel. I'm also fascinated by Joss' use of subjective camerawork, especially in "The Body"
2. dismantling the master's house
   This comes from an Audre Lordes quotation: "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house".
3. foxtown manor
   This is the name of a web comic I was drawing a while ago. I went to some cartooning classes in order to get better at it, but then I got distracted and have neglected it in a big way.
4. jory nash
   Jory Nash is my favourite Toronto-based folk singer. I've seen him perform in several different folk-y venues in the city: C'est What, Hugh's Room and Free Times Cafe. In fact, I'm going to see him perform next week. Some of Jory's music played a role in a previous relationship of mine, and when that relationship went sour, I was a bit worried that Jory would be bittersweet for me. I'm pleased that that hasn't been the case, 'cause I really like his stuff.
5. ndp
   Some people say that having two left-leaning parties splits the left vote. Me, I think it moves political debate to the left, and that creates an environment in which more people are sympathetic to leftist ideas. Or at least that's my take on Canadian politics over the last 40 years or so. Some days I have difficulty deciding if I'm a Democratic Socialist or a Social Democrat or just an all-around anti-establishment type.
6. putting my arms akimbo
   One day, the_siobhan was making fun of me and I said, "Don't make me put my arms akimbo!"
7. sarcasm upsets me
   Hands up if you have discerned that I'm sometimes a bit sarcastic. Okay, so if I said, "I don't like sarcasm; it upsets me", how would you take that?
8. the bechdel ginger benchmark
   I stole this from kalmn or possibly firecat. It's a cool and groovy litmus test for films.
9. trans spirituality
   "Carl Jung once remarked that the ancients had gods, we have complexes." I go on a trans spirituality retreat every August, and, for me, trans-ness is a deeply spiritual state.
10. wiscon
    The absolute, bar none, best convention on the planet. The type of conversation that goes on there is so thought-provoking, I get drunk on it every year. If Leny Nero from Strange Days really existed, I'd buy up experiences of wiscon and play them over and over again.