Politics

September 2, 2005

Now That's Taking The Second Amendment A Bit Far

Today's New York Times reports that:

A convoy of dozens of National Guard trucks bearing food, water and weapons arrived here [New Orleans] today to begin helping thousands of homeless people…

I'm glad the Guard is on the case, because, and I'm speaking from experience here, it can be hard to loot stuff when you don't have weapons.

Politics

September 2, 2005

Gelf SadLibs™

Let's say you have just shown up in a disaster zone. Maybe you're a TV reporter, or perhaps a conscripted national guardsman. Certainly, the area is a wasteland, but are you in Iraq or New Orleans? There's only one sure way to find out. Use Gelf SadLibs™ to figure out where you are, and who's responsible for the situation. If you find yourself always picking the first option, you're probably in the bayou. If you're generally choosing the second, that means you're most likely in that other gulf.

Sports

September 1, 2005

Stereotypes: It's All About the Delivery

Last month, San Francisco-area radio host Larry Krueger was fired after Giants manager Felipe Alou reacted angrily to Krueger's decrying the team's "brain-dead Caribbean hitters hacking at slop nightly" (SF Chronicle). Krueger certainly gained nothing by referencing the hitters' place of origin, and there are plenty of non-Caribbean free-swingers on the Giants who egregiously fail to get on base. (Moises Alou, Felipe's son and of Dominican origin, leads the team's regulars in on-base percentage; Caucasians Lance Niekro and Mike Matheny can't buy a walk.) But Krueger was merely inartfully recycling and specifying an old yarn about Caribbean hitters that has been repeated in the past couple of months as such august publications as Sports Illustrated and the New York Times Magazine.

Media

August 31, 2005

Rising Faster Than a Pensioner on Viagra

In our second Gelf Cliché Watch, we have compiled even more of the assorted random pop-culture references that journalists like to sprinkle on their prose. Here's one of our favorites, but there are plenty more after the jump. Ballard's problem is that he's filling a niche that has been shrinking faster than Lindsay Lohan's waistline. He's a master of the cinematic endangered species known as "family film"—Chicago Tribune, August 5. The astute Gelf reader will remember that the exact same phrasing about Miss Lohan was used in a Newsweek article about Blockbuster profiled in Gelf's first Cliché Watch. Gelf does not believe that there are proprietary rights to similes.

Politics

August 31, 2005

Some Disasters Are More Equal Than Others

In his sometimes hokey, sometimes endearing book The Prophet, Khalil Gibran admonished: "Do not compare yourself to others, for you will become vain or bitter." It is a warning that Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, and AJ Holloway, the mayor of Biloxi, would do well to heed. Barbour said the devastation on America's Gulf Coast looked like Hiroshima must have, while Holloway unwittingly echoed Kent Brownridge, the publisher of US weekly, in declaring, "This is our tsunami."

Sports

August 30, 2005

ESPN on Race: 'Boo-Yah!'

ESPN is known for its casual approach to sports reporting. The network features SportsCenter and its accompanying catchphrases, the magazine refers to athletes by their nicknames, and the website is the home of Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons. Oftentimes, this relaxed attitude is refreshing. But when the website addresses serious issues like race, as it did twice this week, it seems to think that ironic comments and slang can serve as cover for poorly formed ideas and inflammatory speech.

Media

August 30, 2005

Is 'Mail-Order Bride' a Racist Slur?

John Brogden, a prominent Australian politician, was poised to take over as the premier of New South Wales after the resignation of his long-time political rival, Bob Carr. But celebrating at a bar soon after the announcement one month ago, Brogden committed a series of public gaffes that led to his resignation as the leader of the Liberal Party. Certainly, Brogden is a grade-A sleazebag. But is he being vilified for the wrong thing?

Media

August 29, 2005

Celebrities Who Give Interviews Deserve Their Privacy

In an interview with Time magazine this week, Gwyneth Paltrow announced that she doesn't like the way celebrities publicize their relationships in the press. "Our marriage is between us," said Paltrow of her relationship with Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, in an interview she granted to a magazine with a circulation of 4.1 million. "If we decide to continue being together or not, it's our business." (You can read more in this Associated Press story about the Time article.)

Media

August 29, 2005

Hurricane Katrina v. Media Storm

One of the cooler aspects of modern technology is that ordinary people can report on news, complete with visual evidence. Gelf has reported on this nebulous phenomenon, called citizen journalism (Wikipedia), previously; see our piece about Dog-Shit Girl to get some background. Now, some real news outlets are realizing that there are some benefits to using citizen journalists as well (besides not having to pay them). Take CNN during the height of Hurricane Katrina.

Media

August 29, 2005

Nudity on Georgia's Mind

A comic-books retailer in Georgia is facing up to three years in prison for handing a comic book containing nudity to a minor. After last week's racy cover, New Yorker executives might want to avoid visiting Georgia for a while; a zealous prosecutor could target the magazine because subscribers' children might have pulled the magazine out of their mailboxes.