Monthly Archives: January 2015

A ‘fiery sex scandal’ for a slow news day

Posted on January 30, 2015 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I were arguing again. The primary goal of mainstream news organizations is to scare people, he said. Fear sells. Just look at the huge response to news coverage in PA, NJ and NY of the “monster snowstorm” … Continue reading →

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Apocalypse now, or just another dumb forecast?

Posted on January 27, 2015 by oddmanout215

“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate,” I told Swamp Rabbit, quoting from an old movie but referring to Philly-based John Bolaris, one of the shiny happy people paid by the media machine to communicate weather forecasts. Bolaris … Continue reading →

Posted in apocalypse, humor, life in the big city, mainstream media, Philadelphia | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

New tickets to paradise from PA Lottery

Posted on January 26, 2015 by oddmanout215

Nothing says “lower-class desperation” more clearly than state-sponsored lotteries: A new Pennsylvania Lottery game debuts Tuesday, while other longtime drawings are getting new names. The new game is called PICK 2, a twice-daily drawing that allows players to bet on … Continue reading →

Posted in casinos, economic collapse, humor, life in the big city, mainstream media, taxes, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

If Comcast’s CEO had sucked up to Teddy Roosevelt

Posted on January 24, 2015 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit had an interesting thought today. You’ve got to wonder, he said, how many media companies Comcast CEO Brian Roberts would have gobbled up if recent U.S. presidents hadn’t been stooges for big business. Net neutrality is only one … Continue reading →

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‘Deflategate’ a bigger story than state of union

Posted on January 22, 2015 by oddmanout215

I was on the porch at the shack with Swamp Rabbit, critiquing Barack Obama’s sixth State of the Union address. Obama was the embodiment of magical thinking for American liberals, an icon of hope because he was an articulate outsider. … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, globalization, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, Obama, plutocracy, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pope Francis vs. Bill Maher, pope of snark

Posted on January 18, 2015 by oddmanout215

Poor Pope Francis, cast into eternal darkness by comedian Bill Maher, host of Real Time and unofficial head of the Church of the Latter Day Snarks: “I was starting to really like this pope,” Maher said during his monologue on … Continue reading →

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Seeking disaster’s bright side in Atlantic City

Posted on January 17, 2015 by oddmanout215

Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian is like Voltaire’s Pangloss, or Eric Idle in Life of Brian. He always looks on the bright side of life, even life in Atlantic City, which has been in a downward spiral for years thanks … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, casinos, down and out, economic collapse, humor, movies, pop music, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cat Stevens still can’t abide ‘blasphemy’

Posted on January 14, 2015 by oddmanout215

The hippie-era troubadour and Muslim convert Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens, is on the comeback trail and already putting his foot in his mouth. For a recent Rolling Stone article, Yusuf was asked about his declaration that “[Salman Rushdie] must … Continue reading →

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Notes on Anita Ekberg, ‘sex goddess’

Posted on January 13, 2015 by oddmanout215

News of Anita Ekberg’s death at 83 got Swamp Rabbit and I and other Federico Fellini fans thinking of Ekberg’s small but memorable role in La Dolce Vita (1960), her only good movie and one of the greatest movies ever … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, humor, mainstream media, movies | 1 Comment

Ivan Klima covers the NFL playoffs

Posted on January 12, 2015 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I were hungry, so we took a two-day job — strictly commission, unfortunately — peddling magical electricity in a suburban mall. There were flat-screen TVs and football fans all over the place. We caught some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, humor, life in the big city, Philadelphia, sports, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment