Playing Nice with the Press

Jen and Tony Snow!

History Will Judge

As we wind up for the elections of 2008 and the political slap fest it entails, I can't but wonder: when the dust settles, how will we judge the Bush II presidency. How will we jot him down in history books, and how will we explain these past 8 years to our children? Because of my age and political experience, this is the first administration I thought critically about from start to finish. This will be the white house standard I will hold all future administrations to (with the exception of my beloved Bill of course, but that was because he was hands down one of the greats. It was not until I started studying his policies that I later realized why.)

In the Washington Post, I ran across an article that addressed this very issue. I don't know how history will judge him, but I feel as though it is my responsibility as a journalist, and more importantly as a citizen to judge his work, his decisions, because it is his decisions that ultimately ripple down to me.

I like most, agree that Mr. Bush has made some poor choices, but I also know after studying those decisions and their effects, he truly believes he is doing the best thing for all of us. But why did he make those choices. I am trying to understand, because his path is not the one I would have chosen. So where is he coming from? Is he really that ignorant, that oblivious to the repercussions of his actions as we in the media have pegged him? I don't think so.

Some of the excepts that stuck me:

"It's a marked difference in his physical appearance," Rep K Michael Conaway (R-Tx.) said. "It's an incredibly heavy load. When you ask men and women to take risks, to send them into war knowing they might not come home, that's got to be an incredible burden to have on your shoulders."

"You don't get any feeling of somebody crouching down in the bunker," said Irwin M. Seltzer, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who was part of one group of scholars who met with Bush. "this is either extraordinary self-confidence or out of touch with reality. I can't tell you which."

"He has a terrific knack of not looking through the review mirror." Conaway said

"There is nobody there who can stand up to him and tell him,"Mr. President, you've got to do this. you're wrong on this.' There's no adult supervision. It's like he's oblivious. Maybe that's a defense mechanism." an ex-aide said.

As great of an ethical excersize as this article was for me, the heart of the issue is someone voted for him. In fact quite a few 'someones' voted for him - agian. If I can't figure out where he is coming from, how will I ever figure out where they are. Looks like I have some research to do. It's not so much how will I personally judge him, I already have; more importantly how will they - the "someones."

That's My Gerry

In an earlier post on our group blog Copa Cabana - I spoke of my triumph of leading Gerry back to WMAL. But I'm not sure I mentioned just how much I admire Mr. Conolly, not just as a politician, but as a genuine person, committed to his consitiuents. I'm sure a bit of this is rhetoric but for the most part, Gerry is a true statesman: He sets his sites on the fights he can win and finishes the projects he starts.

I have been interviewing quite a few local delegates from the neighboring 13 northern virginian counties over the past couple of months. Of those counties 11 of them have to some degree jumped on the anti-illegal immegration band wagon. They are bound and determined to route out every last illegal so they say. How?

They have been proposing everything from separate detention centers, closing day labor centers, barring them from college, right down to revoking a business licence from anyone who hires them. Bottom Line: Grab a pitchfork and make a racket but in the end ICE does't have time nor the funds to deport anyone. Sounds like an expensive clatter to me.

And thankfully Fairfax county is keeping their fingers, and thier checkbooks, out of this mess. Thank you Gerry.

Straight from the Desk

As a desk assistant for a morning news program, my job basically is to do as much of the leg work for a story as possible so the anchor can cover a story for the morning drive. That includes getting tape of news makers, writing, pitching etc. Well because the morning drive time runs from 5 am to 9 am, getting tape for the morning often involves waking up a few people, and if they are consistently making news.....then I am consistently waking them up.

What is interesting is not only the relationship you build with the news maker overtime, but also with their family. In my case, care of marvels of modern technology like caller id - the families know "that Jen" is calling again and it's time to stir daddy from his slumber. In honor of my preceding reputation - Bill, morning news editor extraordinaire, created this iconic manifestation for the caller experience!

Also highly comical is the propensity for high levels of absurdity! Especially from those FM station folk, whereas we AM news junkies are all serious all the time...just see!

Mile High Adventures

My mom used to tease me, well I thought it was teasing, but she may have been serious but that's another story, that I could anyone to death, and when no one was left, I would start talking to the walls. Over the years, that theory has time and again validated itself, says the blogger - now I don't even need a real wall - a virtual one suites me just fine.

There is of course one exception to this rule, and if you know me well, you are keyed into my one anti-social zone; one that literally tracends space and time - that is my flying time. It is the one space I shut down completely and am usually chapters deep in the story of slumber before the plane as finished boarding, let alone take-off. Whether its the idol chit-chat, the much needed sleep time, or the fact that you are cemented in your seat, and your seatmates for that matter, for a min. of 5 hours for my typical transcontinental flights, I go into cacoon mode.

So when my seatmate solicited polite conversation on my last flight from San Diego to DC, I entertained the a brief exchange as I dug through my extremely oversized tote to find the headphones that mysteriously (and yet consistently) are amputated from my beloved Lilly (ipod). Once those two were reunited, the conversation would be curbed. Well in this particular instance I was again informed that my petite duffel I was slightly overweight, and rather than cough up $25 for my prized possessions I found room in my carry on! (I'll show you united!)

Needless to say my coveted sleep time was inching away as I grappled for my ipod - I clear flag marking my path to isolation! Well my aforementioned seatmate was actually quite pleasant as we chatted about his interest in science and his admiration for his wife and grandchildren. The convo continued to a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet when a gentleman on his way to the mile high Porto-potty interrupted.

He jumped into gush about a speech my seatmate had given a few years back and how much it changed the path of his career. Sold. I was immediately interested - how could this sweet older man have impacted so greatly another passenger. Keep in mind we're in coach.

Relieved from my dialogue duties I started to hear some buzz in the cabin about my seatmate. Well the starstruck Porto-pottier took the vacant seat in our row - soon to take up permanent residency. They went back and forth as I eavesdropped. Unfortunately the specifics of their identity were never reveled except for their names.

Being the obnoxiously curious Google freak that I am I looked them up and sure-as-you're-born the sky-way celeb was none other than the Nobel prize winning physicist who developed the big bang theory! Whoa! Needless to say - I did not sleep on that flight a wink!

Women Inherit the Earth

"God creates Dinosaurs, God destroys Dinosaurs, God Creates Man, Man Destroys God, Man Creates Dinosaurs.......Dinosaurs eat man, women inherit the earth"



Well it seems through a freak accident, women may be able to create life without men!

An analysis of a now-discredited South Korean stem cell line suggests the scientists may have inadvertently created the first human embryonic stem cells derived from human eggs alone, researchers said.

Using a new genetic sleuthing method he derived with colleagues, he said they have determined that the South Korean cell line was derived from parthenogenesis, a type of asexual reproduction in which an egg develops into an embryo without sperm.

Full article

Just Another Day at the Office

I am still waiting for the day when I come into InnovaTech only to find a camera crew filming the next episode of the office - because you just can't write this into a script!

This is our Network Manager Brian! He may be the next label for Jones Soda!

Well, Well, Well

Here's to the crew who hits the station before you have a chance to hit the snooze! Go team AM - o'dark hundred!

That's Our Jim!

It is said the greatest understanding one can have is of one's self, and after interviewing Jim about twice a week I can confirm his chatty charm!

Moran's Q&A and Then Some

Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) was spotted at Landmark's E Street Cinema on Friday taking in the 7:30 p.m. screening of "No End in Sight," Charles Ferguson's new film that documents the U.S. occupation of Iraq from an insider's perspective. A Q&a followed the movie, and an audience member asked Moran to offer his impressions. He spent five minutes praising the film's integrity and also held forth on war profiteering in Iraq, reports Style's Allison Wolfe. After the Q& A, Moran continued fielding questions from several people who stuck around. Before leaving, the congressman walked over to one of the film's producers to give her his card and muttered, "I know, I talk too much!"

Bite Your Tongue

National St. Hotties Day - The day dedicated by the ladies of pink cashmere to honor the hotties of the world kicked off three years ago. The patron saint - who else - Val Kilmer or ICE MAN! On this holy day of worship followers watch at least one film starring the stud!

Well some of our confused worshipers has wondered from our saint, and blasphomously espoused doubt. To you I say...big boys need love too! See below.

Linds: National St. Hottey, Val Kilmer has put on a little weight. We may need a new idol. (I know jen, its blasphemy)

Seriously?

After President Bush's speech yesterday in Cleveland, the White House distributed talking points titled "Iraq Fact Check: Responding to Key Myths." The following are e xcerpts from the document's 13 "myths" regarding the war -- without specifying who is spreading them -- and the administration's "facts" that rebut them:

MYTH: The war "is lost."
FACT: Our commanders and ambassador do not believe that. . . . The surge of operations is just beginning. . . . We have seen promising indicators since the President announced the new strategy in January.

MYTH: The U.S. is playing "whack-a-mole" in Iraq.
FACT: U.S. and Iraqi forces are conducting offensive operations against terrorists while simultaneously providing security in neighborhoods with joint security stations and patrols. . . . The primary reason for the "surge" in troops was to give U.S. and Iraqi forces the ability and flexibility to conduct such offensive operations in and outside of Baghdad without having to shift troops out of so many areas where
they were needed for security. This is why commanders held off on many of them
until the brigades were in place -- to avoid the problems of past offensives.

MYTH: Setting a timeline and pulling troops out of Iraq regardless of conditions on the ground would be a responsible end to the conflict and/or would put needed pressure on Iraq's government.
FACT: The collective judgment of our intelligence community is that this would increase, not decrease, the violence and hinder national reconciliation.

MYTH: Gen. [David H.] Petraeus does not believe the U.S. military can make a difference in Iraq.
FACT: Democrats sometimes quote Gen. Petraeus when arguing that the U.S. should give up in Iraq, but they completely misrepresent the General's views. While Gen. Petraeus has indeed said the ultimate solution to Iraq's problems is a political one, he has consistently argued that such a solution can only come with the improvements in security he is trying to achieve.

MYTH: Iraqis are going on a two-month holiday and are not defending their own country.
FACT: Iraq's Parliament decided not to take a two-month recess and instead will continue working on legislation critical for Iraq's future.

Golden Age of Pixar

Growing up in the Golden Age of Disney, we have become conditioned to the greatness. I of course am referring to the brilliance of classics like Little Mermaid, Lion King, Aladdin my personal favorite, Beauty and the Beast; grand stories of ordinaries living the extraordinary. However, after the oratory faceplant of films like Hercules, Hunchback, and the painful serious of obnoxious sequals signaled the demise of Disney, the Company made one solid move - the accosting of Pixar, Inc. Thank god - just in time for the next generation of rugrats - particularly Katie Santos!

Old School, Inc.: Beneath Pixar's digital dazzle lies reverence for the past

NEW YORK (AP) - The films of Pixar are radical in their advanced animation techniques and digital rendering. The studio has topped even itself in the shadowy Paris quays, the bright, bustling kitchens and the humanistic expressions of its furry star in its new ``Ratatouille.''

Yet the visual splendor of Pixar (owned by the Walt Disney Co.) again has obscured its most essential characteristic: old-fashionedness.

Beneath the eye-catching CGI sheen of Pixar's dazzle lies a nostalgia and style indebted to classic filmmaking.

``People in Hollywood, the press always fixates on technology because it's easier to quantify,'' Brad Bird, director of ``Ratatouille'' and 2004's ``The Incredibles,'' recently told The Associated Press. ``The truth of the matter is the technology has never been the answer. The same answers to making a good movie are the answers that were around 80 years ago.''

The short films that precede Pixar features, for example, offer sound effects and music, but little dialogue. Instead, shorts such as ``One Man Band'' (where two street musicians duel for a child's coin) and ``Knick Knack'' (in which a snowman tries to escape his snow globe) rely on clever storytelling, timing and perspective - what Buster Keaton might make if he were alive today and handed the reins of a giant animation company.

The short playing before ``Ratatouille'' - ``Lifted'' - centers on why a sleeping farmer is hovering over his bed: an alien spaceship driving lesson is to blame.

``Those short films get at the notion of telling a story without words, which is what silent film was about in the first place,'' says Steven Higgins, curator of film and media at the Museum of Modern Art, where he last year curated an exhibit on Pixar.

The studio showed its reverence for Japanese filmmaking legend Akira Kurosawa in ``A Bug's Life'' (1998). Like the Western remake ``The Magnificent Seven,'' the plot of ``A Bug's Life'' was based on Kurosawa's ``Seven Samurai.''

Though Pixar head and co-founder John Lasseter directed ``A Bug's Life,'' Bird perhaps best summarized their backward-looking perspective in a piece he wrote for Animation World Magazine in 1998 about drawing for ``The Simpsons.''

``I started pushing the storyboard artists, many of whom had trained on Saturday morning animation, to think of each episode as a movie, and to look toward Hitchcock, Welles, Kubrick and Scorsese for inspiration rather than other animation,'' wrote Bird.

But Pixar's reverence for the past goes deeper than homage to classic filmmakers. (Spoiler alert: skip the next paragraph if you don't want to know how ``Ratatouille'' ends.)

``Ratatouille,'' which has earned more than $109.5 million at the box office in its first 10 days in theaters, concludes with Remy the rat and his human friends losing their bloated, commercial restaurant, Gusteau's - but then happily starting a cozy mom-and-pop bistro.

This is a typically nostalgic ending for Pixar, which regularly finishes a film with some reconciliation to The New.

In ``Toy Story'' (1995), cowboy Woody's status as a boy's favorite toy is threatened by the arrival of spaceman Buzz Lightyear. In the end, they become pals; the past learns to live with the future.

``Cars'' (2006) centers on the town Radiator Springs, which is nearly knocked off the map after a superhighway replaces Route 66. After being waylaid there, the young, flashy race car Lightning McQueen is converted to the small town's old-time ways. He gets outfitted with white wall tires and makes Radiator Springs his new home.

Likewise, in 2001's ``Monsters Inc.'' the drama begins with the company of monsters that makes energy from the screams of children in decline because of a scream shortage. Kids are becoming increasingly callous and apathetic, and that's bad business for monsters.

A TV commercial in Monster World announces: ``The window of innocence is shrinking. Human kids are harder to scare.'' Eventually, a new system is created when laughter is found to be better fuel than screams.

In ``The Incredibles,'' superheros give up their death-defying duties because of excessive litigation. Mr. Incredible saves a train, but is nevertheless sued by its passengers. Pixar, it turns out, is pro tort reform.

Mr. Incredible and wife Elastigirl teach their children to hide their special powers - a dig at modern parents run amok. Elastigirl tells her son: ``Everyone's special, Dash,'' to which Dash replies: ``Which is another way of saying nobody is.''

MoMA's Higgins wonders if Lasseter and Bird are beginning to show an authorial stamp to their work like Scorsese or Hitchcock.

``What they're really trying to get at in Pixar films is: technology is simply the tool,'' Higgins says. ``What they're really all about is classic storytelling.''

When the superhero family of ``The Incredibles'' finally embraces its powers and triumphs in a battle against the robot Omnidroid, an elderly bystander gawks with delight.

``That's the way to do it,'' he says. ``That's old-school.''
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)