Conan the Maligned: A Followup
Conan O’Brien hates cynicism.
For the record, it’s my least favorite quality, it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen. I’m telling you, amazing things will happen.
The former Tonight Show host, on his final broadcast Friday night, thanked his supporters for turning a “sad situation joyous and inspirational.
O’Brien’s last show was a reminder that, though his tenure lasted less than a normal human pregnancy, dignity is more important to a person than anything. Or should be. And Coco left with his dignity intact.
He could have ripped NBC to shreds for throwing him under the bus. He could have lashed out against Jay Leno, who reportedly did very little to stop the bleeding. But in the end, Conan O’Brien thanked the network for being his home for over two decades.
In short, Conan took the high road. There aren’t many cars following.
Conan the Maligned
NBC does not like Conan O’Brien.
The lithe Tonight Show host is poised to leave his late-night perch, ceding it to the man he replaced last year: Jay Leno. Imagine taking over your father’s successful business, only to sell it back to him because of a few dismal quarters. So the ratings haven’t been great. Have you watched NBC primetime?
O’Brien is quirky. Leno isn’t. But he’s safe. And that’s what NBC wants.
Leno has long been the peacock network’s whipping boy, especially with the complicated handling of Johnny Carson’s retirement from the program in the early nineties. Viewers and critics were skeptical that Leno could successfully handle hosting duties, especially since it was clear to everyone David Letterman was the man Carson wanted to succeed him. Funny how history repeats itself.
I’m a big fan of Conan, but not of Leno. Conan appeals to my generation; Leno appeals to the few generations preceding mine. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
It’s Shit, Sherlock
Sherlock Holmes looks like the worst piece of cimematic crap to come down the Hollywood pike in a long time.
At least, since the last piece of crap.
Robert Downey, Jr. stars as literature’s greatest detective and plays him as a fool. Rather, he turns Holmes into a bumbling ass.
And this is really only based on the hideous previews.
Confessions of a Terrible Proofreader
I have a confession to me: I am miserable at proofreading my work. I always have been. It’s probably not going to stop.
It’s not because I don’t care about what I’ve written. Quite the reverse. Its root cause is laziness. Pure and simple laziness. Who wants to go back and read what they have just written? Since I’m so hard on myself, I’d just end up rewriting what I had already finished writing. Which means I’d accomplish nothing. Garbage would pile up. Laundry would never be washed. Stubble would never be shaved. Teeth will decay; I will stink.
When I do proofread, I don’t always catch errors. Not because I’m infallible (I’m not), or because there aren’t any errors (there are), but because I don’t always see my errors. It’s weird. The second I spot something grammatically obtuse, I’ll cry uncle. Improper semicolon use? A horror. Bad syntax? You may as well cut my eyeballs out and feed them to a dog.
But when it’s my own mistake, I miss it. I don’t know why.
Another confession: seldom do I know the “right” way to end an entry. An open-ended question? Humorous observation? Oh, wait… I know…
A sentence fragment.
NPR: On the Hunt for Roadside Bombs in Afghanistan
You’ve probably heard about these in the news. IEDs — improvised explosive devices — have been responsible for killing many a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.
On my way home from work yesterday, I listened to a fascinating story on NPR’s All Things Considered: manually exploding the deadly devices one at a time.
It’s worth a read and a listen. And it proves that journalism still exists, in noncommercial form.
Random Musings
I’m not disciplined enough as a writer to concentrate on a specific topic. Thus, what follows are quick thoughts. Most likely there’s no linear connection between anything.
* It’s far too early for snow. But it’s also nice waking up to (until you have to dig out your motor vehicle).
* There’s nothing on television between Friday and Sunday nights
* The media went into a frenzy when the Dow Jones reached 10,000 the other day. Is the recession over? No.
* I would probably never send my son up in the air, in a crudely-designed balloon. Unless money or coffee is being offered.
* My hearing is slowly worsening.
* Jon Meacham is a remarkably good writer.
* Anytime I see a picture of Jon Gosselin, I throw up a little in my mouth.
Nothing profound.






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