Media - General: October 2009 Archives

There was a story posted on The Daily Beast by Rebecca Dana titled AYN RAND POWER DRESSING in which she writes:

Ayn Rand--author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, mother of Objectivism, and the conservative movement's most rapacious cougar--leapt back into popular culture this year as the hero of the Obama-hating far-right.

But it's not just Glenn Beck and his minions who are drawing inspiration from the writer, who died in 1982.  This fall, the dowdy Russian émigré is en vogue with a whole different set: the free-wheeling, Obama-loving, arugula-eating fashion world.

Now, I do not follow the antics of Glenn Beck (though I may follow a few of "his minions" depending who they are) and I realize that Rebecca Dana did not actually call Ayn Rand a Conservative (just "the movement's most rapacious cougar")... but I just need to put down for the record that she was a staunch anti-Conservative and actually speaks with an almost hatred of them in this extensive audio interview (about 3:30 into the interview she states "I am not a Conservative nor is Objectivism a Conservative philosophy."):

http://atlasshrugged.com/ayn-rand-works/ar-conservatism-vs-objectivism.html

For readers of Ms. Dana's blog who may not actually research her statements, I fear they would form a completely wrong opinion of Ayn Rand - especially by carelessly linking Ms. Rand to Glenn Beck.  (Having done a little quick research on Mr. Beck, I will refrain from opining on him as I do not want to draw the bloodthirsty freaks in his audience into this discussion.)

Jill Kennedy - OnMedea

Seriously, Sharon? 

Are you f-ing kidding me? 

This is why TheWrap.com is necessary?  "Sex On The Set, Part 2:  How Fake Is It, Really" - a story so probing, so important, so searing that it needs TWO PARTS! 

When I punched up TheWrap.com this morning (to see what stories Deadline Hollywood had broken earlier) and saw in giant 32+ point type "Sex On The Set, Part 2:  How Fake Is It Really?", my immediate reaction was Albert Brooks' reaction in Broadcast News while he is watching a fluff piece that William Hurt put together.

"Can we turn on the news?", he says.  "Sorry... sex, tears... this must be the news."  Later, he adds:  "You really blew the lid off nookie."  

With stories like these and upcoming headlines like "Actors Who Adopt ShowBiz Pets" and "Which Models Have Veneers And Which Have Caps", Sharon Waxman (along with "Sex On The Set" writer Gina Piccalo) have fulfilled TheWrap.com's mission as a "primary news source focused on the business of entertainment and media" and are well on their way to becoming THE HOLLYWOOD SOURCE FOR... WHATEVER DRIVES TRAFFIC!

Jill Kennedy - OnMedea

[Thanks to James L. Brooks and Albert Brooks for my blog headline today.]

... Ben Silverman doesn't.  I would give Ben the benefit of the doubt, but we all know his new $100 million company with Barry Diller is not going to work (or create anything remotely new or ground shaking). 

As soon as Ben launches his new company (whenever the F that is), the rest of the world will realize that he doesn't get it.  The sooner we get him to retire to the penthouse of The Palms in Vegas so he can bang cocktail waitresses two at a time, the sooner we can move on with our quest for a workable New Media business model.

BUT LEO LAPORTE (founder and chief guru of twit.tv - or This Week In Technology) GETS IT! 

Please watch this 40 minute speech he recently gave to the Online News Association and you will see what I mean.

As long as we stay away from and stop encouraging these inane ultra Hollywood-types who have no vision, we just may get somewhere.

Jill Kennedy - OnMedea

OK - it's time to redesign your website.  That's just hideous!

Come on - you're called DIGITAL HOLLYWOOD!  A site like that makes people go running back to Analog.  Simplified complexity, please.

Jill Kennedy - OnMedea