More whingeing from NBC-U's greedy SOB CEO

NBC Universal supremo Jeffrey Zucker is showing even more chutzpah in new reports of his comments on the southerly heading of his company's deal with Apple Inc. (See MacDailyNews story here.) Since Steve Jobs & Co. won't let him have price increases on the hot new hit shows like Heroes and The Office (as opposed to older shows that may not be pulling the same boffo Nielsen numbers and sales figures), he wants a share of the revenues from sales of the iPod and iPhone themselves, arguing that Apple's gigundo success with these devices is in part due to the iTunes Store's NBC-U show offerings. That's right, folks: Jeff thinks Apple should console him with a cut of the hardware profits for not being willing to allow "flexible" pricing.

As MDN puts it, "We're all for people getting fair compensation for their work, but not for work they didn't do." Hear, hear! The Jeffster's got humongous balls made of brass, I'll give him that, but he's also looking awfully greedy and immature.

Hey, Jeff, hear this? It's the world's smallest violin, and it's playing just for you. What an unmitigated asshat.

"Say No to Crack" has a whole different meaning around here

You might have heard our City Council here in Atlanta recently attempted to outlaw hip-hop fashion, proposing an ordinance banning young men from wearing pants that sag below the waist, exposing their undershorts (at least, one hopes they are wearing undershorts). Didn't go over too well.

Maybe they should have hired this guy to do their PR on it...

Remembering Sparky, one more time

Apropos of yesterday's postings: On February 12, 2000, literally the day before the final installment of his beloved comic strip Peanuts was to be printed in newspapers around the world, Charles Monroe Schulz died of cancer at age 77.

In another uncanny bit of timing—for me, at least—the following May 27th of that year, one day after my own birthday, an entire comics section's worth of cartoonists paid homage in their own strips to the man who had inspired so many of them to take up pen and pencil and do likewise.

I read them again now here, over seven years later...and all gods above and below help me, I still weep like a newborn knowing he is gone. It's like losing a family member—a beloved old uncle who always had good advice to give and funny stories to tell, each just when you needed them.

( My original song for Charlie Brown, from years ago )

Just to cheer me (and you) up

Remember this FoxTrot installment? I do, and it still makes me chuckle even though what I know of computer programming languages would just barely fill a Dixie cup. Even funnier this week since I installed OS X Leopard. Gotta love an über-geeky, smart-assed kid like Jason Fox (unless, of course, you're his big sister and eternal nemesis Paige, or his long-suffering parents).

ADDENDUM, 12:22p: Bill Watterson—yes, the creator of Calvin & Hobbes himself—insightfully and eloquently reviews the new book Schulz and Peanuts for the Wall Street Journal and its website here.

My political posts: "Needs improvement" or "Excellent"?

At least two people on my f-list have called me to account for what they consider to be "uninformed and biased" postings on politics, and accuse me of "blindly parroting the liberal press." (See comments on prior post here.) Well, I never claimed to be unbiased; on the contrary, I am a liberal Democrat and damn proud of it, and I will never apologize for being such, nor have I ever attempted to hide that fact in this journal. And I will never apologize for my beliefs, although I will take responsibility for and attempt to avoid factual inaccuracies and unfairness to individuals or groups.

And I have never considered myself a blind follower of the so-called "liberal press" (one assumes that they are referring to magazines and websites with an explicitly liberal worldview, and not to the mainstream news media, which have long ago been solidly proven to be anything but liberal...and I can cite you chapter and verse to prove it, should you so insist). I make an honest effort to seek out multiple sources for my information, including even ones on the right—whether explicitly so, as with columns by the likes of George Will and Charles Krauthammer and publications such as The Weekly Double Standard, or supposedly "objective" but actually right-leaning ones such as the Wall Street Journal (now likely to be even more so, with Rupert Murdoch taking it over). I try to find out who's funding what I'm reading/watching/listening to, what the writer's or speaker's background is and what axes they may have to grind if I don't already know; and not even the most revered liberal icons get a completely unquestioned free pass from me, despite what some of you may think.

But I am only too aware that there are frequent occasions when I make the mistake of, as an old Cajun-country saying has it, "letting my alligator mouth overload my hummingbird ass." I have a great passion for politics in general and for seeing policy made that expands freedom rather than reducing it, that lifts up rather than grinding down, and that ensures that everybody, but everybody lucky enough to have won the genetic lottery and be born in the USA (or those, like zsero, who have worked hard to earn their way into it) gets to share in the blessings resulting therefrom. Sometimes this passion gets the better of my caution and judgment; and I freely and humbly acknowledge this.

So if you think there are some hard truths I need to hear about how I express myself politically in order to improve them and avoid giving offense unnecessarily, let's have it. And those of you who disagree and think better of my political postings, I'd like to hear from you, too, about why and what I'm doing right. Even if you've posted about it here before, tell me again; I inherited my daddy's hard-headedness and sometimes need to be told more than once. I want to be heard, and to make change happen; but I also want to be fair and factual, otherwise I can never hope to change any minds.

Please try to keep it as civil and reasoned as you can; I'm looking for constructive criticism here. And if you're still reading my rants after years of this, whatever your political affiliation or philosophy, even if you don't post comments often...thank you from the bottom of an old lefty news junkie's heart.

In Memoriam: Robert Gerard Goulet, 1933-2007

It is with a heavy heart that I must report that legendary Broadway/Vegas singer Robert Goulet has died of surgical complications at 73, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA while awaiting a lung transplant. The Associated Press has the story here.

Aside from the man's sheer talent, stage presence and charisma—he was the one who made it possible for musicals such as Camelot† and The Fantasticks to enjoy such long runs on the Great White Way—he was also a tireless and reliable staple of the annual Labor Day fundraising effort for my favorite charity, the Muscular Dystrophy Association. For these things, he has long held a special place in my heart; we even shared a middle name, as you may note above.

Deepest and most heartfelt condolences to his two wives, Vera (current) and Nicolette, his two sons and daughter and all his friends, fans and the many people he worked with in this difficult hour.

Have a favorite memory of Bob you'd like to share, either performing or not? Post it here. Camelot is still my favorite musical not named Les Misérables or Evita, so I'd have to go with Bob as Lancelot singing either "If Ever I Would Leave You" or "C'est Moi" (on the latter of which I based this parody, back in my early filking days, for the obvious character from classic Battlestar: Galactica). Only Bob could have pulled off such seeming arrogance as Lance's...and still make it likable.

———

†Okay, he did have some help on that one, from a couple of Brits named Dick and Julie... :-)