Month: December 2006

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Gonzo Sure Can Shoot (Photos)

Stopped by the opening of a masterful display of Hunter S. Thompson original photo prints this weekend, at M+B Gallery somewhere near the crux of BH, WeHo and CC.

I stood in front of each of the 25 photographs while sipping a Wild Turkey on the rocks (how fitting) and was thoroughly impressed. I’ve been a huge fan of Thompson’s work since becoming enraptured with his writing (I originally discovered in the pre-pubescent 1980s between the covers of a Rolling Stone).

And we know ol’ boy could shoot — he loved him his bourbon, loved him his guns — but the photography, from Hell’s Angels, to self-portraits w/ typewriter @ Big Sur, adds to the freak flavor of the planet’s first and only “gonzo journalist.”

Check out all the photos at the gallery Web site, or pay a visit (bring yer own Wild Turkey, prices start at $3,500 on the prints).

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iPods, TiVos and the Cheap-Ass Media Mongrels

The other day I blogged about Edgar Bronfman’s disclosure that he spanked his kids (or something) for all the music they illegally downloaded.

Now Reuters’ MediaFile blog details the iPod obsessions of the media moguls who attended last week’s Reuters Media Summit.

The follow-up questions aren’t printed, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that these big-timers took advantage of much of this digital media free-of-charge, and most likely with comped iPods as well. Plus, they’re all hooked on TiVo and/or satellite radio, wisely avoiding the endless spew of lame adverts for, uh, TiVo and iPod (and Chevy). Check these excerpts and ask yourself if these cats have ever dropped a dime on a rhyme:

Richard Parsons, CEO / Chairman, Time Warner: “I like music. I have iPods everywhere. I had the whole bunch of (the Warner music collection) files put on before we sold it….”

Dick Cook, Chairman, Walt Disney Studios: “…For fun, I have a little iTunes and that kind of stuff. The only time I get to read books is when I listen to it so I have a lot of books on iTunes.”

JEAN-MARIE DRU, CEO, TBWA/CHIAT/DAY WORLDWIDE: “…I have five kids, so we are 7 at home and we have more than 15 or 16 iPods in the family.”

Ah, behold the aristocrats pirates of megalomediahackland.

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Hypocritical Media Hogs and Their Digital Hang-ups

The other day I blogged about Edgar Bronfman’s disclosure that he spanked his kids (or something) for all the music they illegally downloaded.

Now Reuters’ MediaFile blog details the iPod obsessions of the media moguls who attended last week’s Reuters Media Summit.

The follow-up questions aren’t printed, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that these big-timers took advantage of much of this digital media free-of-charge, and most likely with comped iPods as well. Plus, they’re all hooked on TiVo and/or satellite radio, wisely avoiding the endless spew of lame adverts for, uh, TiVo and iPod (and Chevy). Check these excerpts and ask yourself if these cats have ever dropped a dime on a rhyme:

Richard Parsons, CEO / Chairman, Time Warner: “I like music. I have iPods everywhere. I had the whole bunch of (the Warner music collection) files put on before we sold it….”

Dick Cook, Chairman, Walt Disney Studios: “…For fun, I have a little iTunes and that kind of stuff. The only time I get to read books is when I listen to it so I have a lot of books on iTunes.”

JEAN-MARIE DRU, CEO, TBWA/CHIAT/DAY WORLDWIDE: “…I have five kids, so we are 7 at home and we have more than 15 or 16 iPods in the family.”

Ah, behold the aristocrats pirates of megalomediahackland.

Originally posted in the Set-Top Cop blog on December 3, 2006

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Rumsfeld: ‘Be More Like Saddam’

rumsfeld hearts saddamFormer SecDef Donald Rumsfeld evoked his madman self one more time in a memo submitted to the president prior to his “resignation” last month. The NYT has the story and the full memo.

Is Rumsfeld getting sympathy if not credit for what reads as a wholly ridiculous “sorry, buddy, I lied, we ARE losing” mea culpa?

Personally, I can’t seem to get past this particular passage:

Provide money to key political and religious leaders (as Saddam Hussein did), to get them to help us get through this difficult period.

It’s beyond me why this memo is grabbing headlines and moreso why it was considered by Baker’s Iraq Study Group. Their report will be released this week — its recommendations are expected to be resisted by the White House. But as evidenced by Paul Richter’s blunt reporting in today’s L.A. Times, Middle East leaders have had enough of Bush and his boys:

instead of flaunting stronger ties and steadfast American influence, the president’s journey found friends both old and new near a state of panic. Mideast leaders expressed soaring concern over upheavals across the region that the United States helped ignite through its invasion of Iraq and push for democracy — and fear that the Bush administration may make things worse.

In lieu of wasting anymore time on this rubbish, I’ll refer you to D-Day