Category Archives: mainstream media

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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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 →

Posted in humor, mainstream media, pop music | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

The provocation game in France

Posted on January 8, 2015 by oddmanout215

Juan’s Cole’s analysis of the bloody assault on the office of the satiric magazine Charlie Hebdo wasn’t as stirring as Salman Rushdie’s, but Cole got to the heart of the matter: This horrific murder was not a pious protest against … Continue reading →

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Regarding Rushdie and the limits of satire

Posted on January 8, 2015 by oddmanout215

Salman Rushdie has issued an eloquent denunciation of the fanatics who slew 12 in Paris in the name of their god: I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, history, humor, mainstream media, plutocracy, terrorism, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Get 700,000 e-books for $9.99, then an Amazon crock-pot

Posted on December 31, 2014 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I were eating collard greens — the new kale! — and reading about Amazon’s all-you-can-eat strategy for handling books: …For much of the last year, mainstream novelists were furious that Amazon was discouraging the sale of some … Continue reading →

Posted in down and out, economic collapse, fiction, food, humor, mainstream media, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

‘Abundance without attachment’ is right-wing doubletalk

Posted on December 17, 2014 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I huddled next to the wood stove and pored over a cheery Christmas article by economist Arthur C. Brooks, who wants people to make an attitude adjustment regarding possessions. He urges readers to “collect experiences, not things,” … Continue reading →

Posted in apocalypse, down and out, economic collapse, food, globalization, Great Recession, humor, liar, life in the big city, mainstream media, philosophy, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Damn lies and statistics in the NY Times

Posted on December 6, 2014 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I were jawing about a NY Times report on the high unemployment rate in France. The story seemed to imply that those left-leaning Frenchies had turned their country into an economic basket case by not scrapping a … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, health care, mainstream media, New York Times, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street, world-wide economy | Leave a comment

Casinos to laid-off workers: Happy Labor Day!

Posted on September 1, 2014 by oddmanout215

I was telling Swamp Rabbit about my Labor Day Weekend trip to Atlantic City, where three casinos are closing and more than 5,700 casino workers are being laid off over the next two weeks. “Closed” stickers were slapped onto the … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, fiction, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, NJ, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Robin Williams, media vultures and the art of fiction

Posted on August 13, 2014 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit was watching the news on my laptop and feeling blue. The media vultures were picking over details of comedian/actor Robin Williams’ life, as if trying to shed light on why he killed himself. I tried to help the rabbit feel less … Continue reading →

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