Blogging about the NBA
I’ve begun contributing to my paper’s sports blog, writing about the NBA. This is the first of my regular posts (which will appear on that site on Thursday mornings). It helps fans decide which teams to select for their limited NBA League Pass plans based on their personalities.
I have repeatedly found that I don’t get into most forms of fine art, but I like this type of thing — where art engages with everyday urban life.
Kurt Perschke’s fantastic RedBall Project lands in the most interesting places.
Matt Berninger (of The National)
Sample Lyrics:
I think the kids are in trouble
I do not know what all the troubles are for
Give them ice for their fevers
You’re the only thing I ever want anymore
We’ll live on coffee and flowers
Try not to wonder what the weather will be
I figured out what we’re missing
Tell you miserable things after you are asleepThe Why: Because Berninger’s lyrics can move from heartbreaking to deadly ominous in a moment, and he easily wrenches the listener along with him — we think he’d do even better with the density of prose. You know the man reads — his wife was once the fiction editor for The New Yorker. And finally, because he’s a confident liar, of course, which can’t hurt.
Our Dream Novel: The best book about the bumbling, drifting confusion of a 40-something man-child ever written.
Hokies football coach Frank Beamer took notice of a blog post on this veteran and contacted him. Read the stories on the Washingtonian website.
Really nice story shows determination of an admirable American and the character of Frank Beamer.
My top longreads of 2011
Among all the great longform journalism published in 2011, these were my favorites:
1. A Murder Foretold, by David Grann, The New Yorker: Could have been a fantastic detective book — if it weren’t all true. The package of amazing reporting and brilliant storytelling makes this the best for me.
2. The Shame of College Sports, by Taylor Branch, The Atlantic: The definitive gut punch to the NCAA in a year that had plenty of them.
3. Getting Bin Laden, by Nicholas Schmidle, The New Yorker: There is no better story of how the biggest news event of the year unfolded than the one Schmidle delivers.
4. Taco Bell and the Golden Age of Drive-Thru, by Karl Taro Greenfeld, Bloomberg Businessweek: Fascinating look into the improvement of fast food restaurants, led by the systematic innovation of Taco Bell.
5. Paper Tigers, by Wesley Yang, New York Magazine: Asian American academic achievement isn’t carrying over into the American business world. Why? A surprisingly thorough answer is found in this story.
Some other favorites:
How to Land Your Kid in Therapy, by Lori Gottlieb, The Atlantic
My Ex-Gay Friend, by Benoit Denizet-Lewis, The New York Times Magazine
Can Bill Simmons Win the Big One, by Jonathan Mahler, The New York Times Magazine
How Digital Detectives Deciphered Stuxnet, by Kim Zetter, Wired
The appeal of Louis CK
Louis CK has it figured out.
The comedian is setting the standard for how an average Joe who looks like a bulldog — and also happens to be a ridiculously funny, crude comedian — can become a multi-platform star.
Last week, Louis (seems more reasonable than referring to him as “CK”) released his latest special — the type of thing you usually see advertised as a prime hour on HBO or Comedy Central — on his website for just $5. It is a move reminiscent of Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” strategy, but completely original in the comedy world.
It won’t air on TV. It isn’t on iTunes. Furthermore, it isn’t protected from sharing. He is simply trusting his fans to download it from him — to support his comedy financially.
This is the latest novel idea from the man who also created, produces, stars in, directs and edits a semi-autobiographical TV series on FX, Louie. He was nominated for both writing and acting in the Emmys. He edits many of the show’s episodes — wait for it — on his MacBook Pro.
In that context, the Radiohead-inspired business model seems to fit his DIY approach to the growing comedic media empire he is building.
He is by no means new to the scene. I know my roommate has been cackling at Louis CK comedy specials for years and recently became a fan of the FX show. No, Louis CK is not an up-and-comer.
Instead, it appears he has hit a critical mass of popularity and fan loyalty. Eschewing the establishment and the middle men, he has produced a string of great of work by exercising total creative control.
But maybe what has put him over the edge is his tech savvy. A comedian whose standup work is an extra vulgar brand of middlebrow has won over all demographics.
In addition to his aforementioned ability to basically produce a TV show by himself, he also utilizes the Web to reach the young people who will pay money to watch his comedy on their computers, phones and tablets.
He recently did a Q&A on Reddit. He also did an interview — a really authentic, thoughtful one that was still distinctly him — on NPR. Tonight he is appearing on Jimmy Fallon.
Is Louis CK the funniest man in the world right now? It is certainly possible, but the quality propelling him to omnipresence is his use of technology.
He makes everything exactly what he wants it to be. Then he distributes and promotes everything directly to the people who enjoy it. As it turns out, all of those people have told all of their friends (that is how I watched my first Louis CK special) and his business is booming.
Louis CK is a crude everyman on stage and in his TV show. But behind the (seemingly very authentic) persona there is a tech-savvy mogul who may have just charted the course to stardom for the next generation of great creative minds.
Why Do People Call It “Xmas”?
Lots of people think the X in Xmas is a secular watering down of the word Christ. You know, “we love to celebrate the holiday but don’t believe in Jesus,” sort of thing. But that’s not the case.
The X actually comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of Χριστός. Now, if that’s all Greek to you, Χριστός, of course, means Christ.
[by David K. Israel]
Reporting on athletes and politicians — a blessing and a curse
Just saw this post, and was reminded of a different journalistic phenomenon that is going in a decidedly different direction.
This writer points out that political journos are just serving their subjects, the politicians, questions on a tee. They seem afraid to push the politicians away.
One of the remarkable things about watching media members interview politicians these days is just how bad the questions are. The journalist inevitably starts with a softball set up question that allows the candidate to offer some version of their stump speech for an answer. The journalist either…
Definitely worth a read. There are still those who have managed to be tough on the candidates - Fox’s Brett Baier, Chris Wallace, and Meet the Press’ David Gregory, among them. In general, however, what Political Prof points out is that this is a problem that also exists in sports journalism. When the “talent” can choose whether to talk to you - and talk to your competition instead - one’s ability to be critical is definitely compromised.
But, sports journalists used to fall prey to the same issue. A recent New York magazine story pointed out those once-toothless scribes have grown fangs tuned to seek accountability.
While daily beat reporters may have groused with their fellow hacks about dirt they saw in clubhouses, they were loath to report it, wary of losing access to their subjects. But since the steroid scandals, sports desks have added muckraking to their mandates.
Something that sports journalists may be finding out is that access is nearly inevitable. Athletes are entertainers. They make their living because people want to watch them do something interesting. They can’t live without the media. Sure, maybe they avoid one reporter, but they can’t avoid them all. They probably can’t avoid any single major media outlet.
Politicians, to a lesser extent, depend on the media. Can they do their jobs without doing interviews? Yes, most likely. But in this context, we are talking about candidates.
Especially in this race, nobody is winning the presidency without some serious media presence. Ask the tough questions. Sooner or later, they will have to answer.
If only they got to help make baseball decisions.
The New York Times has got ahold of an early version of the New York Mets term sheet offering to potential investors. My favorite parts:
- Business card with “Owner” title
- Dedicated “VVIP” Owners’ Area
- Owner’s Night in Mo’s Zone
- One annual opportunity to throw out a “1st Pitch”
- Private lunch with SNY announcers
- Mr. Met made available for Owners at Citi Field events
- Access to attend Mets MLB Draft “war room”
- Access to purchase tickets to Postseason games (NOT INCLUDED!!!)
- Discounts on all MLB-licensed merchandise
Go to this brilliant idea of a site to see striking images from Google Street View that remind you just how wide the world is — and how different it can be from where you live.
