Wed, 04/08/2009 - 11:34am — herb the verb
He's so cool, he doesn't even watch the news:
"“When you hear he likes ‘Entourage,’ you have to go, ‘That figures,’” said Robert Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University. “Anything Obama does is cool by definition. He’s the Internet president, he’s the BlackBerry president, and now, I suppose, he could be called the HBO president.” Obama likes “Entourage” so much he even rearranged his campaign schedule not to miss an episode."
Via BTD at Talkleft.
Personally, I think Blackberries suck, But I have no strong feelings about Obama's tv habits*.
*But Ari Gold (Ari Emanuel, the real one) was once my college roommate. True story.
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Nixon updated
"Well, when the president does it that means that it is not uncool."
Could we maybe chip in and get the President a DVR, or a cable system with on-demand showings?
I too was inconsolable
When Battlestar Galactica ended.
h/t iceblinkjm in Talkleft comments.
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I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me.
BTW, nice use of the "blub" tag
Meta-good fun.
Great! I need the glossary and it's on hiatus? Does "blub"( to
weep, snivel, cry or whine with snuffling) come from "blubber" the verb? I didn't see "blubber" on the web definitions, just "blubs," "blubbing."
BTW, I am so uncool I have never heard of Entourage
Also, was Gore considered "cool" for his Blackberry use? Back when, iirc, Blackberry was the tech leader?
The blub tag
is probably one of the best tags here. I don't know who first used it, but hat's off.
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I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me.
Entourage is cool?!
You got to be kidding me. The Wire and Mad Men, I understand, but Entourage? Fuck
no.
A good psychohistorian would have a field day with this.
Remember the degradation of the image of American labor goes hand-in-hand with the fandom we now exhibit toward movie stars, captains of industry, scoundrels, and anyone else that can Get Away With It.
I think Mr. Obama sees himself in a slightly more intelligent and witty version of Vinnie and the boys, without all that crossing streams ickiness.
And yes, I'll harp on it again: After the sexism and misogyny shown during the campaign, it surprises anyone that a favorite show of his features Chase's crew manipulating a blogger critic with porn star antics? He's giving youse a map, people; read it.
Well what about The Wire then?
Sometimes a tv show is just a tv show.
If Obama is beaming secret messages with his tv choices, then being a fan of The Wire means he likely understands the corruption inherent in the whole drug war concept. I am down with that, but I don't believe he sees either program as anything deeper than brainless tv entertainment.
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I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me.
If Obama does understand, then he's horrible not to end it
The Wire explodes the myth that the "drug war" is anything remotely benign, let alone good, and yet Obama not only refuses to tackle the issue head-on, but openly mocks those who even try.
And I don't think Entourage is just meaningless. Every show either reinforces or challenges our cultural assumptions. The genius shows tend to be the latter, hence, them sticking out (e.g, BSG, Life on Mars the original version). Entourage is lame and boring to me, but very comforting to those who want the world in which (straight, white) men are at the top.
dunno Entourage, thought The Wire overdone, and hate
Mad Men.
But then I'm escapist.
I miss ER already, but I hope Noah Wyle will make more Librarian movies.
My favorite show is NCIS. I like SVU and I'll sometimes watch Bones.
We can admit that we’re killers … but we’re not going to kill today. That’s all it takes! ~ Captain James T. Kirk, Stardate 3193.0
1 John 4:18
Why is cool so important?
Why can't we have wonk, or burning-the-midnight-oil-working-his-ass-off, or being something a lot less self-interested and conscious of image?
Seems to me that whatever it is Obama is, or wants to be, it is turning out not to be the opposite of GWB, but just something a little emotionally older - the 15 year old to Bush's 12 yr old - someone I can picture trying out his best lines in the mirror.
Last week, when the G-20 were meeting, I saw video that accompanied some moronic network report. The video was of the whole crew gathering for the "yearbook" photo. I saw Obama, with an emotionless affect - just kind of flat, looking a little bored, maybe a little over it all. Then, the photographer must have said the equivalent of "Say Cheese!" and Obama, in a finger-snap, went from dim-bulb to 150 watts, huge smile lighting up his face - a completely different person from who he was the split-second before. It was disturbing.
No, I don't need or want cool; this isn't a Hollywood movie, I'm not a teenage girl looking for the man of my dreams; we have problems that need fixing and I want smart, wonky, in-love-with-details, can-hardly-sleep-because-he-loves-to-work-so-much.
That's not who Obama is. And how all of this goes is going to reflect that essential boredom with the pesky details of actual work, and his real desire to be the coolest.
"but just something a little emotionally older"
That's a good observation, IMO. My characterization of him has always been that he's more curious about the world than Bush, which was a huge plus, for me, but for me it was one of the only measurable/meaningful differences in personality/outlook.
But, we've always been at war with Eastasia...
why isn't cool okay?
I prefer it to bluster. I far prefer it to whine.
I definitely prefer it to laziness, indifference, bullying, incuriosity, and dangerous lack of self-control or self-discipline.
We can admit that we’re killers … but we’re not going to kill today. That’s all it takes! ~ Captain James T. Kirk, Stardate 3193.0
1 John 4:18
There's cool
And then there's chilly, eh?
I guess, to be charitable, that all politicians have to turn on the wattage, on demand. Sigh.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Nothing inherently wrong with "cool"
What's wrong is when its contrived (which it too often is), and/or its the only thing you've got or the biggest tool in your toolbox.
Nothing wrong with cool, but it's not enough to just be cool, or have it being your overarcing narrative when tangible results are expected of you. Perhaps, one could make an argument that "cool" can be enough for an artist, but that's about it.
But, we've always been at war with Eastasia...
And
the crowned "brilliant" one stopped his campaign to watch the first showing. Were he and his staff not aware that there are any number of ways to record and view at a more convenient time?
that was my first thought
"have these people not heard of dvr?"