Posted 9:10 PM by Gene

Paul Harvey was at the heart of modern radio. He was, first and foremost, a salesman; and the perceived efficacy of his pitches surely helped lead petty tyrants like LOWSY MAYS and ZONNNNNNNNN to build their radio empires, dedicated to the notion of selling, the listener be damned, empires built with enormous debt, now imploding under it. Just this week the NYSE delisted Harvey's employer, Citadel. By all accounts he was a gentleman and had respect for his audience; and we don't blame him for what radio is now, for the ungentlemen and disrespect for the audience that turned radio into one continuous shill, which is why (thankfully) it's in one continuous heap of trouble today.

Posted 5:21 PM by Gene

A RORSCHACH TEST OF MU-SICK: When our daily news whines are having trouble covering city hall, when Rocky Mountain Newses are folding, when newspaper chains are declaring bankruptcy or cutting their dividends, it is hard to believe the Boston Globe has what seem like twelve rock mu-SICK cri-TICS. And their schtick here is exasperating: they mock overrated acts and praise acts they admit are mostly bad -- and tellingly their mocks are far longer than their praises, which we can't ascribe to mere guilt feelings for the latter. It is exasperating because our news hacks have only spent the last four decades telling us we live in an age of unprecedented cultural bounty, yet now, now in 2009, they must concede the Four Mop-Haired Jesus Christs have become tiresome through overexposure, and that William Shakespeare Dylan cannot sing -- and that it seems like the first time such concerted common sense has run in a paper makes this effusion of would-be iconoclasm even more exasperating.

Posted 4:50 PM by Gene

Here's a great way to improve public-opinion polls: Divide the results by IQ.

Posted 9:23 AM by Gene

Buffett admits mistakes in annual Berkshire letter

ST. WARREN is...MORTAL?!?

P. S. at 11:40 a. m. NO:

Warren Buffett still optimistic after rough 2008

Nifty job changing the hed on us, ASSPRESS!

P. S. at 1:20 p. m. The ASSPress does even better:

Buffett sees economic shambles, still optimistic

Shut up, ASSPRESS!

Posted 8:47 AM by Gene

FURTHER INTRANSIGENCE FROM NRO:

The Rand Brand [John J. Miller]

The Age of Obama and the rotten economy have been good for the Rand estate: Sales of Atlas Shrugged are surging. (Hat tip: Kyle Smith.)

02/27 08:18 PM

Meaning more WIZARDS OF OZ, meaning more BUBBLES, meaning more DEPR -- ECONOMIES.

Posted 8:43 AM by Gene

The Obama Team's Drink of Choice? Coke, Not Pepsi

Make that TWO HUNDRED ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWSES.

P. S. As of 2007 there were 1,422 total newspapers. Given reporting like this a couple of hundred missing ones (and one already AWOL NEWSRAG) wouldn't matter.

Posted 8:12 AM by Gene

Porn in the USA: Conservatives Are Biggest Consumers

A press release like this shows us that an occasional bankruptcy in the news biz is a good thing. Such stories serve only two purposes: to make fun of conservatives or to be in with the in-crowd. And really hacks in their straitened circumstances shouldn't be risking what little they have of their reps. If it takes a hundred ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWSES to clear such scourges from the system, and restore legitimate reporting to their place -- so be it.

And despite THE BEATLES!!!!! and DICKIE V ESPNCORP is only $6.78 from SINGLE-DIGIT TERRITORY.

Posted 7:24 PM by Gene

In our latest episode of THAT UNANONYMOUS ALCOHOLIC and his BESOTTED WORD CLOUDS:



I second the motion! Let the bankrupt TRUMP take over!

And at NINE CENTS (down almost THIRTY-SIX PERCENT TODAY) he can even afford the NYSE-EXPUNGED CITADEL!

The company expects to begin trading on the over-the-counter (OTC) market on March 6 under a new symbol.

How about HICCQ!

Posted 7:19 PM by Gene

TNR comes up with a stupendous suggestion of Illinois's soon-to-be-vacated Senate seat: the Missus. You pining for Mike Kinsley a bit too much?

Maybe GOLDILOCKS KUDLOW should campaign for THAT. Pffffffffffffffffffft!

Posted 7:09 PM by Gene

The Paper of Re-CORD's Boston edition site points us to two crimes that can at best be called the height of stoopid: A court clerk had sex with a prosty and a promise of getting her off the hook and a school's "assistant director of information technology" (ta-DA!!!!!) installed "a hidden video camera in a women's bathroom". What went through these bozos' non-existent brains when they plotted these brilliant capers? Duh, I want sex?

Posted 6:39 PM by Gene

Great: Remember that awful train collision in LA? Not only was the engineer of the commuter train text messaging, the conductor of the Union Pacific freight allegedly did a "controlled substance." One may wonder after this whether mandatory drug testing captures only the innocent.

Posted 6:19 PM by Gene

The good news: The One's new FTC boss doesn't shrink from regulation.

The bad news: He worked for DR. EVIL.

Posted 6:04 PM by Gene

Our favorite PR man Rog tells us LUKE SPIELBERG will make up for all those JUNKY MOVIES by doing an AMISTAD OF THE AIR!

Oh wait, didn't the other LUKE already do it?

Posted 5:55 PM by Gene

Well, when a PATsy says what a great guy CHAS is....

Do the loony right and the loony left shake hands at their ends?

Here's another stopped clock, despite the DUHB and PILLHEAD. I've removed it from its one-day place in my bookmarks.

Posted 5:30 PM by Gene

On the other hand maybe in the back of his head he doesn't want to lose Iraq. Maybe.

Posted 5:27 PM by Gene

We will, for now, give The One the benefit of the doubt regarding "conscience regulations", but why do we think his stances on social issues will always be dictated by the looniest leftists in the lower rungs?

Posted 5:01 PM by Gene

The One's going to Durban II! No he's NOT going to Durban II! The One's upping defense spending! No, he's cutting it!

Which One is it?

Posted 3:30 PM by Gene

GE BANCORP cut its dividend by 68 PERCENT!

When do we nationalize it? (NOT kidding.)

Posted 11:53 AM by Gene

Here's an idea from THE WORLD'S FLYER-FRIENDLIEST AIRLINE:

Ryanair may charge £1 for lavatory use

Posted 11:39 AM by Gene

ENTERPRISING LISTICLE REPORTING FROM THE BIZ ON GE:

One share would buy you little over half of a General Electric (GE) brand PC Stereo Headset (at Target for $15.49).

Which is not made by GE.

Posted 10:55 AM by Gene

"Scripps is in the best financial shape of any newspaper company in America, save the Washington Post Co."

With a share price of $1.10 and a market cap of $59.2 MILLION.

Dave also forgets: Kaplan, Inc. is AN EHDYUKAYSHUN COMPANY FIRST.

What do sports columnists know?

(Via the usual Romy)

Posted 10:10 AM by Gene

The good news is, Speaker Babs will not be a rubber stamp.

The bad news is -- "I AM THE PRESIDENT!!!!!"

Posted 9:52 AM by Gene

GEKKO KUDLOW tells a well-placed source who tells JENNI-FER HE'S RUNNING FOR THE SENATE IN CONNECTICUT!

A chicken in every pot and $500 MILLION FOR EVERY CEO!

"Oh, God!" should run against him. TWO demagogic imbeciles.

P. S. "Message to all you worrywarts out there: The U.S. economy remains strong! There is no recession ahead!! GOLDILOCKS RULES!!!!!!!!!!" End of campaign.

Posted 9:14 AM by Gene

And then PINCH tap-dances on His desk about The One's "Honesty About Taxes" and makes us wonder about the hacks again.

Posted 9:08 AM by Gene

Oddball circumstances led to the newspaper situation in Denver, which doesn't make it any more palatable. The fact remains, through their Web sites newspapers now exist on a national scale. This offers promise, regardless of the financial side. A great newspaper can't exist solely on the Web but it can exist outside the usual media enclaves.

Posted 8:35 AM by Gene

DUELING FIFTH-RATE CABLE NEWS CHANNELS: GE BANCORP'S MESS (aka "The Oh, God! Channel") calls The One THE MESSIAH, THE LORD, whatever. GE BANCORP'S BIG C calls him A MENACE TO THE ECONOMY.

Very Very Very Littler Jeffrey's having it both ways as he slowly leaves the executive suite.

(Link via JENNI-FER, who sees nothing wrong with a KEITH O!!!!!!!!!! so long as he's RIGHT-WING)

Posted 8:15 AM by Gene

It's official: Citi's virtually nationalized.

Gee thanks for all that brilliant banking!

The bank's chairman, Richard Parsons, said Friday the troubled financial services giant plans to reconstitute its board through a majority of new independent directors "as soon as feasible."

TRANSLATION: We're rearranging the rubble.

Posted 6:53 PM by Gene

The One's Toulouse-Lautrec SELLS OUT!

Maybe it's to pay for his legal expenses.

Posted 6:42 PM by Gene

The One is set to try an alleged terrorist in the CRI-MI-NAL JUS-TICE SYS-TEM.

And if he's acquitted and commits terrorism? Well, look at this way: OJ was caught the second time.

Posted 6:01 PM by Gene

There's been a big stink in Con-SER-va-tive Land over this Charles Freeman, with lockstep knee-jerk liberals joining in the mix. That Democrats are turning increasingly gung-ho against Israel does not comfort us, nor does the man's background (and toadying), but this writer has a point. Intelligence needs brutal honesty, something it hasn't exactly had in bushels of late. To be sure the Beltway has its own odd definition of brutal honesty, and so may The One, but let's give the man a little time to become an embarrassment -- and maybe he won't.

Posted 5:45 PM by Gene

Cablevision's dimwits, having paid vastly too much for Newsday, now want to turn it into a private social club.

Our prediction: A few prominent sites go pay -- and then when their audiences fall off a cliff they slinkingly go free again. Yes, we understand why they would do this, but one thing that got them in this mess was paying too much for properties -- or stock buybacks.

(Via the usual Romy)

Posted 5:43 PM by Gene

In a clever bit of budget making, Obama is taking advantage of George W. Bush's dishonesty to make his own budget look better.

TRANSLATION: The One is...no, we dare NOT say that about the one -- can we?

FURTHER TRANSLATION: The One isn't dishonest; DUBYA is. Only Dubya isn't president anymore.

Posted 5:33 PM by Gene

Top 5 best conservative movie moments.

I won't look because if I know WALTER WINCHELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JR. and the likes of Jo-NAH three of the five involve lopping someone's head off and the fourth involves somebody being shot fifty times in slow motion. NO THANK YOU, SLIMESTERS.

Posted 5:21 PM by Gene

I presume these WorldNetDaily-Exclusive! tea parties will be PILLHEAD fests, giving off enough hot air to heat millions of gallons of tea, but any president who would change the world may ignore his people at his peril.

(Via Seeking Alpha)

Posted 5:15 PM by Gene

Pelosi: I would have raised taxes faster

Well, it appears she didn't quite say that; but Speaker Babs would raise taxes until the turnips her national constituents bled, and she is deaf, dumb, blind and politician enough to know how to not distinguish between a tax increase and ending an unnecessary tax cut.

Of course if he were majority leader, the Senator from Kentucky would have cut taxes until we had the second coming of Herbert Clark Hoover.

Posted 5:02 PM by Gene

The dreadful folding of the Rocky Mountain News shows the absolute pickle such outfits are in: Too small to compete nationally, too bland (perhaps) to compete locally. Being an award winner as it was isn't enough as people see awards as back-slapping. Only a paper with true character could survive in a middle market, and today's papers don't have character enough. (We don't count Frisco's Chronicle which has character of the wrong kind). As for the notion fees would have saved such enterprises, we say somebody would have been first and biggest with free news. End of experiment.

Bad as this is we note America has survived the folding of many papers, including some which it would profit us to read. But ever since electricity newspaper owners have tilted at windmills, and the Web is but their latest; more to the point, we should never forget the obscene profits they made from local TV, whose video police blotters brought such disgrace to the news and made the print business that much less tenable, and credible. We expect more carnage; we hope it is limited; and we hope the survivors will realize they can't make money by getting along and going along, whatever the handicaps of this -- economy, or free news, or CRAIGSLIST.

Posted 3:27 PM by Gene

A man who astonishingly is not among the con-SER-va-tives' favorite presidents -- Herbert Clark Hoover -- was evidently not such a nice guy.

But didn't he succeed Coolidge?

Posted 1:19 PM by Gene

Gwyneth's GROSS! Web site is attracting unwanted attention.

Combine dubious health and beauty tips, celebrity and a dose of "omniscience" and of course the result is a FARCE.

Posted 1:12 PM by Gene

That PC clod at PepsiCo who turned her flagship brand's logo into a whatisit has DITCHED her redesign of the Tropicana brand. We can guess why -- it was confusing, it didn't stand out from the other brands -- and it was flat out BAD.

Posted 10:20 AM by Gene

An article on street people that does NOT mention the ACLU?

Posted 10:14 AM by Gene

Politico is threatening to become a "humorous" site.

Please guys, stick with what you don't know.

Posted 10:01 AM by Gene

Be vewwy vewwy quiet:

Obama budget predicts $1.75 trillion deficit

Posted 9:35 AM by Gene

...an absurdly incredible story lashed to a strangely banal climax....

Lenny, former master of the Beltway universe, has written a "novel"!

Posted 8:48 AM by Gene

The next target for the enviros: soft toilet paper!

You wean we can't recycle paper soft?

Posted 8:24 AM by Gene

TRANSLATION: We'll have fewer earmarks NEXT fiscal year -- after we've taken care of this convoy-load of earmarks for THIS fiscal year.

Posted 6:35 PM by Gene

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE, MUTINY MUTINY MUTINY -- you mean con-SER-va-tives (even of the Pat kind -- or maybe especially) are getting fed up with those AUTOMATIC RIGHT-WING WIND MACHINES?

(Well yes, it is the DUHB, and he is a little, shall we say, off-center? Better that, we suppose, than being complete out of kilter.)

Posted 6:27 PM by Gene

THE NEXT RONALD REAGAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SHUT UP, PILLHEAD.

(Via Ross Douthat. By the way, why did somebody hack theatlantic.com?)

Posted 5:19 PM by Gene

Even the CW types at Grate.com have their doubts:

As if to complete yet another State of the Union tradition, Obama spent a great deal of time on the laundry list of programs he was proposing. He increased the number of troops, hinted at the need for more bailout money, promised universal education through college and universal health care. At one point, he even promised to cure cancer.

This causes at least two problems. It sounds too good to be true (and it is), and the groaning basket of policy dreams creates dissonance with all of Obama's recent talk about fiscal stability. The polls show Americans list the deficit as their top concern. This won't settle their fears.

Which didn't stop the bozos who gave us the deceptive MEIN NUTS!!!!! from going,



Or rather, "IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (Kinsleyesque with-a-wink-and-a-leer overemphasis added)

And elsewhere in Kaplan, Inc.:

We will soon find out how President Obama proposes to do all of this without making theoretical national bankruptcy a reality.

Yes, I guess we will -- and we'll have you hacks to thank, in no small part.

Posted 5:09 PM by Gene

TRANSLATION: The money from the rich won't be there, and the "savings" won't be there, but the spending WILL be, meaning this contraption will cost so much that -- but who cares about costs, right One?

Posted 5:02 PM by Gene

"Humor" as defined by MOVEE S&M PHREAKS:

Madea's brother, Uncle Joe, also played by Perry, is a crusty old coot who breathes with the aid of an oxygen tank while smoking marijuana throughout the movie (he even wears a bong around his neck). Madea, ever the boss woman, scolds him mercilessly about the dangers of mixing fire and oxygen. And -- here's where the audience howls -- as Madea waddles past, her behind wide as a doorway, Uncle Joe cracks: "King Kong ain't got nothing on her."

Pardon me while I do not collapse on the floor in hysterics.

Posted 3:10 PM by Gene

Vandals cut down nearly two dozen trees that blocked view of billboards

CHEAP CHANNEL! BUY WORLD WIDE RUSH!

Posted 3:02 PM by Gene

The question isn't, "When will Phil Griffin be fired?" No way. The question surely isn't, "When will Phil Griffin be promoted to Zuck's job at Goodthings Entertainment?" No, the question is --

"WHEN WILL PHIL GRIFFIN RUN GE BANCORP?"

Posted 2:40 PM by Gene

TRANSLATION: SUMNER's turning His cable channels into an ad agency, meaning His extrusions will be even worse.

And how will this lure back audiences, O LORD GOD SUMNER?

Posted 2:26 PM by Gene

Iran's reformers put hope in 'New Khatami'

That's putting your hope in a coin. Which Khatami is heads and which is tails?

Posted 2:24 PM by Gene

The good news: Business isn't laying off so much.

The bad news: That's because business laid off so much.

Posted 2:01 PM by Gene

We missed this good news yesterday from SUPERNIKKI!!!!!:

Some Good Hollywood News: Marvel Made Ton Of Money In 2008

That's good news?!?

Posted 1:55 PM by Gene

Yankee Alex Rodriguez booed loudly at first spring training at-bat

Another supremely profitable year for SELIGISM!

P. S. at 2:32 p. m.

2:00 p.m.: And Alex Rodriguez just went deep. He launched a 2-and-2 pitch off Ricky Romero to left center field, a two-run shot to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the fourth after Robinson Cano got on to start the inning when he was hit in the bill of his batting helmet. He was cheered as he rounded the bases.

Fan outrage can be mighty fickle.

Posted 1:49 PM by Gene

Why Dick Parsons? Why Now?

Maybe somebody felt sorry for that man with the tin cup out on the street.

Pffffffffffffffffft!

As for the Citi position, Frederick says Parsons might have been the only high-profile exec who wanted it.

Or maybe he felt sorry for them.

Pffffffffffffffffft!

Posted 1:34 PM by Gene

Well whadya know? Another Madoffian scam.

Who knew so many creepy crawlers lived on Wall Street?

Posted 10:15 AM by Gene

Just 1 in 4 want to give Detroit more cash

A good reason for the Feds to give it to 'em, no doubt.

Posted 10:11 AM by Gene

Schwarzenegger to play himself in Stallone film

As what, an incompetent governor?

Or maybe one of his odder tattoos?

(A respectable 77% thumbs-down from the Cheat Sheet, from whence this came)

Posted 10:02 AM by Gene

Every time The One opens his mouth....

Posted 6:52 PM by Gene

"While our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover."

All right -- it's afternoon in America.

Posted 6:38 PM by Gene

How the Tobacco Business Got It Right From the Start

First it put nicotine in the product, then....

Jonathan Salem [SIC!!!!!] Baskin is the author of "Branding Only Works on Cattle" and blogs at Dim Bulb.

NO COMMENT.

Posted 6:15 PM by Gene

TRANSLATION: Somebody thought he'd invented a Wall Street version of a perpetual motion machine. Just one problem: No one's invented a perpetual motion machine yet.

(Via Seeking Alpha)

Posted 5:33 PM by Gene

Gibbs hints at 'Reaganesque' speech

Hey Bob, how 'bout "It's evening in America"!

Posted 5:27 PM by Gene

Barney, we have an idea: Say cutting the defense budget is "patriotic." It's patriotic because we need to cut our budget deficit at a time of crisis, thus saving the money so we can patriotically spend it in a time of crisis on health care and education and jobs and people losing their homes and...oh, never mind.

Posted 5:13 PM by Gene

And in our last Os-CAR® mention until September, we would note ShowBizData pointed out yesterday that its ratings wore off as the evening wore on; not even THE JOKER'S ASCENT TO HEAVEN could stop it. We still submit the vast bulk of Americans have either lost interest in movees or actively dislike them, and all the admirers of ugly dresses can't make up the loss.

Posted 5:04 PM by Gene

And in other tiresome comic-book...GRAPHIC-NOVEL talk, THIS is what SLIME and the TWXSTERS fought over:

[I]t was supposed to be all so different. We were promised darkness. We were promised maturity.

But what we’ve got, is 163 minutes of tin-ear dialogue and absurd violence, capped with one of the most trouser-wiltingly laughable sex scenes since Nomi Malone went outboard motor in the Showgirls swimming pool.

We will not attempt a comment on that "maturity" gag (nor on the "darkness" gag, the movee biz these days being the blind leading the retarded), but we will say this: It sounds as if the comic-book geeks got exactly what they wanted -- and definitely what they deserved.

Now if only someone would make a movie pitting the SUPERVILLAIN SLIME against the SUPERVILLAIN MR. BEW-KES -- in a battle BOTH would lose.

P. S. NWSA and TWX closed for a grand total of $14.00 today -- far less than what either stock would have sold for ALONE a year ago. Good!

(A demerit for the fact that Robbie shows SLIMEDOM can take it, but even SLIME's craven hacks can sometimes tell the truth -- like the proverbial stopped clock.)

Posted 1:44 PM by Gene

Mark your calendars: the Spider-Man® theme park opens next February 18 in Branson East!

I wonder: Will the owners issue half-price tickets for the "previews"? Six Flags would do it.

By the way, the full title is Spider-Man®: Turn Off the Dark. Clever Branson East tourist-guide writers might rework it as Spider-Man®: Turn Off the Lights.

(Via ASSPress)

Posted 1:41 PM by Gene

OOOOOH, I don't think con-SER-va-tives will like this: Ford Motor may have to give a board seat to the UAW!

It's worth a try, though; it might give the unions more incentive to put up or shut up.

Posted 1:14 PM by Gene

Penny stocks are safe on the Big Board!

Wall Street won't be coming back for a while.

Posted 11:47 AM by Gene

It was only 13 years ago that Bill Clinton declared before a joint session of Congress that “the era of big government is over.” President Obama’s challenge on Tuesday night is to declare that, out of ugly necessity, big government is back — and then to make a persuasive case, with a specificity he has avoided until now, that if done right, this era will not last for long.

Co-President Babs says good luck!

The same New York Times/CBS News poll that found that Mr. Obama instills a remarkable sense of confidence — 76 percent of Americans say they think he will make the right economic decisions — also found that Americans dislike many of the choices he has made thus far.

Fifty-nine percent said that the bank bailout would help bankers far more than it would help the country. More than two-thirds had no stomach for bailing out G.M. and Chrysler, even if the alternative is liquidating the companies.

Though we detest public opinion polls as the hacks have fashioned them into blunt instruments to beat us silly we wonder if, in carefully controlled doses, they might still be useful. Then again we wonder if they contain so many quirks and paradoxes as to be useless except as blunt instruments.

Posted 6:05 PM by Gene

The STEVE TAX will not work with netbooks. Low-cost makers dominate the field with snazzy technology like solid-state hard drives (which reputedly are no faster than the spinning magnetic kind and may wear out faster). The alleged superiority of His software may be irrelevant too. Stevedom had a gimmick with the iPod and the iPhone. Excepting touch pads (which will never be made smudge-proof) you do not add a gimmick to an already useful device.

Posted 5:25 PM by Gene

Brian Tierney should not have worked for two Philadelphia papers. He should have worked for John Thain.

Here's guessing he still feels underpaid.

(Via the usual Romy)

Posted 5:04 PM by Gene

As expected, Pete came to realize that, like SUMNER, SLIME intends to live forever.

Just how forever is not clear as His stock hit a sixteen-year low, despite the lucky bounce.

Posted 2:41 PM by Gene

Our favorite PR guy Rog, back from a phantasmagorical revival meeting at the Kodak Theater, and the happy hours attendant thereto:

And here’s something else: on Sunday, in the late afternoon, Snark died. The website defamer.com, which prided itself on miserable comments about Hollywood, went out of business. It was merged into its mothership, Gawker.com, a site that that has long presented itself as the web version of the long defunct Spy magazine.

One of my favorite writers, David Denby, of the New Yorker, recently wrote a whole book on the subject of Snark. What’s interesting is that snarkiness is not going to go over in the era of Obama, or in this economy. That’s why Defamer is gone. I predict that other Hollywood-bashing sites – all of which pounced incorrectly all over the Academy Awards how last night because they weren’t invited—will be gone soon. The absolute worst is one run by former New York Times writer Sharon Waxman. As usual, Waxman just doesn’t get it. Go ahead, bite the hand that feeds you, Sharon. Soon you’ll be out of another job.

Perfect timing! (Via Portfolio.com)

P. S. at 6:53 p. m. Out six weeks and two stars on Amazon.com, with 33 one-star reviews out of 61. OooooOOOOOoooooh, thahyt smarts!

Posted 12:06 PM by Gene

Four years ago, while Chief Justice Rehnquist was dying of cancer, we suggested the Nine Fingers be elected -- with term limits. Now a group of legal thinkers has endorsed the term limits. It sounds agreeable to us (if somewhat convoluted) but as the Fingers are so susceptible to political winds we still say let's get the "objectivity" business out of their deliberations and admit what they do is political, that other judges are popularly elected, and that the people deserve to choose the Nine Fingers.

Posted 11:28 AM by Gene

Shucks, we were hoping they'd be down. Fortunately it now appears the audience problem won't go away. Let's throw some more stupid ideas at the Os-CARS®, Mogul's Friend!

Posted 11:01 AM by Gene

THE SOUND OF EYES ROLLING:

In regard to transparency, Mike Mitchell, a Kraft rep, said that the company’s new logo is a manifestation of a bottom-up change at the company. The visual treatment, he said, is designed to convey Kraft’s new mantra: “Make today delicious.” It symbolically represents various Kraft products. The triangle shape “is invocative of pizza,” he said.

How about mac 'n' cheese?

Cal McAllister, co-founder of Wexly School for Girls, a design firm that has worked with Microsoft, Nike and others, said the new logos are a reflection of a desire to at least appear more approachable and transparent. “Everyone is working off the same brief,” he said. “They say, ‘Give me something natural, like a sun or a flower,’ or ‘Make it soft and make it seem friendly. It’s the opposite of IBM’s logo, which is ‘Trust us.’”

Since such sentiment is based on consumer research, McAllister speculated that the gloomy times may be prompting consumers to gravitate to such imagery.

“Because we’re in a tough time and people are getting laid off, I think there’s a subconscious desire to take you back to when you weren’t worried about things like that, which is why we’re seeing these almost hand-drawn logos,” McAllister said. “And when you see a logo that’s boxy and the edges are hard and sharp, and the company just laid off 10,000 people, you get mad at them. But if it’s a watercolory rounded logo, you feel kind of sorry for them.”

I? feel sorry for CORPORATE AMERICA?!?

Nevertheless, Steve Lamoureux, chief innovation officer of design testing firm Affinnova [don't you love all these cute names?], said that companies like Kraft may be falling victim to a fad: “There’s a risk associated with changing your ID to be on-trend because trends come and go.”

Why not monthly logos?

Posted 9:24 AM by Gene

Those who believe the government needs to pay our top civil servants more will please explain the Postal Service.

Posted 9:20 AM by Gene

And the clatterclatterclatter isn't confined to the Journals. Michelle of TNR confides to us that The One is "self-conscious" and "kind of a dork." This being TNR we don't now whether the joint's deking us out with its traditional Kinsleyism; but while we're not sure we'd use a word like "dork" we might ask why it took so long for one of America's leading opinion rags to see flaws in a saint.

Posted 8:49 AM by Gene

As we've mentioned before we imagine one of the hacks' favorite songs is "The Typewriter", as they can type idly away to the obsolete clattering of a keyboard and think they're saying something. Well, one doesn't have to be a hack to use a typewriter, and this perfesser did a whole lot of typing thinking our current...economy might produce an effusion of artistic genius. If someone can identify a new F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sherwood Anderson, James Agee, Edmund Wilson, etc., etc., etc., I will happily agree. Certainly with logrolling as strong as it is in book revueing the temptation is unavoidable. Unfortunately, unless you're a book revuer or movie ad-blurbist the chances of a reincarnation of twenties genius in our age are about as strong as the second coming of Jimmy Cagney.

(Via the usual AhtsJournal)

Posted 11:19 PM by Gene

DAMMIT! Too late for a bailout: STINKYINKY PUBLISHING CO.'S FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY!

Another pointless acquisition.

(Via Cheapie Marketwatch)

Posted 10:34 PM by Gene

Being unable to sleep I'm following God's Gift to Man on three separate live blogs. Here's one from VanityFair.com:

John Lopez: Wow, Slumdog's really rubbing it in The Dark Knight's face with this sound mixing award.

And here's one from the inimitable Freep:

Go back to watching your favorite homosexuals parade their anti-American values.

Oiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii....

OR:

Jim Windolf: Wow, Eddie Murphy presenting an award to the future version of himself [Jerry Lewis].

OoooooooooOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooh!

And on A. V. Club:

Josh Modell: ...Didn't Eddie read the EW article in which Jerry said he wishes he hadn't let Eddie re-do The Nutty Professor?

Double oooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooh!

Posted 10:17 PM by Gene

Citi's talking with the Feds for a kinder, gentler nationalization.

Posted 7:55 PM by Gene

When movies were worse than today's: These last few days I've been utterly fixated on Lionel Newman's recording of Korngold's Kings Row theme, from the 1961 Warner LP that brought his film music back from the dead. You've probably heard it: John Williams wrote it for Star Wars. (He called it a homage, which is merely pretentious; but plagiarism is too strong, so let's call it for what it is: photocopying.) It is disappointing to learn the mighty Warner orchestra did not record it or the rest of the album despite its appearance on the company label; it was done by a second-string orchestra in Munich but they do a very good job imitating it. And if the theme seems out of place given the subject matter (I've never seen the film) it would take ears of stone to deny its majesty. One would call it awesome had DICKIE V and stupid teens not relegated the word to ridicule. Well, there's a better way of putting it: "There are the greats -- and then there is Korngold."

It is annoying, though, to learn that ten years ago the TWXSTERS dedicated the Burbank sound stage where Korngold and Steiner and Waxman and the others recorded to THE GREATEST ACTOR-TURNED-DIRECTOR EVER, whose forays in music include an AHTHOUSE bio of BIRD, and singing flat in Paint Your Wagon.

Posted 7:42 PM by Gene

Luxury Manhattan Real Estate Could Fall Another 50% - Barron's

Let's see -- Bernie was half of that, and....

...a glut of condo conversions.

Oh, really?

True that once-in-a-lifetime deals like Brooke Astor’s $46 million penthouse can now be had for $29 million, but how much less will that be in 2009? Buyer beware.

Could I snatch that up for 200K?

Posted 7:36 PM by Gene

Are all those overeager well-intentioned young Turks at the bottom rungs preparing a big embarrassment for The One in Durban?

(Via Marty, who also reminds us that Phil Gramm stinks, as if we didn't already smell it)

Posted 7:21 PM by Gene

In the Baltimorean world of NO SNITCHIN'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:

"Studies have shown that these crime-scene dramas, such as CSI, have done damage to courts across the country," said Maj. Terrence McLarney, who commands the Police Department's homicide unit. "The expectations are unreasonable - just way out there - and some of the science is not even true. ... And the ability to recover fingerprints is way overblown."

Give yourself a beauty treatment -- SUMNER.

Posted 7:05 PM by Gene

If it's Sunday it must be BIG DOUBLE-A-SCRIBBLE TIME:

1. The Ranceoids remind themselves who reads their rag by shouting, "TV COMMERCIALS WORK BETTER THAN EVER!!!!!!!!!!"

BUT:

Despite the improved effectiveness since 1995, more than half the advertisers (16 of 29) in the study still lost money by running their TV ads. "The ones that did make a profit, though, did very well," said Mr. Lodish, to the extent that on the whole, advertisers in the study made a profit from their TV ads after 1995, but lost money before 1995.

That's obviously a serious caveat to the value of spending on TV. The other caveat is one that other marketing-mix analysts also report from client work that creative quality makes a big difference, in many cases explaining more about success and failure than media choices.

Mr. Lodish said he still doesn't really know how TV advertising effectiveness could have increased since 1995. Mr. Brooks can't really explain it either, though he has a theory that the highly analytical clients using marketing-mix modeling or matched-market tests may compensate for the impact of DVRs, fragmentation and clutter by making smarter bets.

TRANSLATION: We still don't know, no one knows, but the best part is we have a tenuous excuse for wasting our clients' and our CUSTOMERS' money annoying people into buying our goods.

2. And how well does annoying your customers work when most of them are switching to PRIVATE-LABEL?

Posted 6:17 PM by Gene

Now it's a stimulus czar.

Does anything NOT have a czar in this administration?

Posted 5:53 PM by Gene

I pledged to hold my peace on the Os-CARS® but Dick "GUNS CAUSED COLUMBINE!!!!!!" Corliss came up with an idea: Make the votes public.

Methinks Dick thinks if you-know-who had been in it might have helped our SYNERGY.

And bringing up former SYNERGISTS, when MR. MELLERDRAMMER writes, “I see the Oscars as a long, boring, idiotic joke. The awards are about politics and prejudices and have next to nothing to do with the quality of film-making. I’m braced for another less-than-stellar gay movie to win”, in the back of his head he wouldn't mind it winning, for an idiotic joke of a reason. Better to be honest about it than cute, but if MR. MELLERDRAMMER weren't cute he wouldn't be MR. MELLERDRAMMER.

I believe we've seen more Os-CAR® jackassery from news hacks this last week than ever.

P. S. And yes, even The Econowiz had to weigh in:

What viewers will see on Sunday night is an industry talking to itself.

Think of a rag all the CEOs pay all that money for not reading so they can show it off on their desks coming up with THAT!

Of course the 'Wiz could have gone one step further -- it could have mentioned all the Os-CAR® debaters engaging in verbal onanism.

More onanism at six minutes before HIS-TORY: Os-CAR® Central™ goes into the whole female-uglification-for-an-award gag, and more than one commenter calls the piece sexist. (One or two commenters also call it SYNERGY.) We say it is not sexist to bemoan the lack of memorable faces in the biz, because it cuts both ways. Who is Gary Cooper? (And no, it's not that twerp D'Antonio, or whatever his name is.)

Neither is it sexist to note that we highly doubt MM, Liz, Sophia, Audrey, Barbara Stanwyck, Jennifer Jones, Irene Dunne, and the other goddesses had to uglify themselves to be artistically acceptable. (Although we would note Mary Pickford did uglify herself for Stella Maris in 1918, but that was well into her career, and she also played a woman who looked like Mary Pickford.)

Posted 10:22 AM by Gene

OR:

Please, Chinese, pretty please, remember, we're part of your surpluses. Please, pretty please, pretty pretty please, we want the money!

Posted 10:20 AM by Gene

Schwarzenegger: Obama needs team players now

TRANSLATION: VEE VANT DER MONEY!!!!!!

Posted 10:00 AM by Gene

Finally (amazing -- as Kaplan, Inc.'s stock goes down our links to it go up!) somebody tells the potential Os-CAR® winners how to speak, which they should have learned before accepting their coveted awards, which pretty well says without a script they're without a clue.

Now to keep quiet about it, and concede the ratings will improve, if for no other reason the Os-CARS® have no other place to go.

Posted 9:55 AM by Gene

Elsewhere The Daily Kaplan devises a new gag: it blames GITMO for turning a meek, mild Muslim into a SUICIDE BOMBER!!!!!

Well, maybe. Or maybe he was always angry and his anger found an excuse. Or maybe, since the holy cockroaches always yak about whom they call their "God", dear old "God" waited until he was out of Gitmo to tell him to do his deed. The Daily Kaplan is the sister rag of the NEW! IMPROVED!! ECONO - NEW YO - ATLAN - ZEITGEIST, which has told us for years why we're on the brink of catastrophe in IraqAfghaniPakistan, and told us so often we couldn't believe it, which is not why it's drastically shrinking its circ and becoming another magazine.

Posted 9:50 AM by Gene

Now that his broadcasting biz is falling apart MB2 comes to the rescue -- to complain for the umpteenth time against CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM!!!!!

And when do YOU retire, MB2?

Posted 6:39 PM by Gene

Here is why the Os-CARS® no longer work: It was a big ceremony for big people. At least all those big people excused all the lunkheaded winners. But the big people slowly vanished, increasingly exposing their successors as very little people, and the winners as ever more lunkheaded; and where regardless of production numbers some taste came naturally to the big people the very little people tried to invent it and merely showed they had no taste (remember Rob Lowe and Snow White?); so the A-ca-de-my® has now opted to shrink the proceedings with the ever-increasing danger of turning them into just another TV show* -- an odd thing in that all but the industry's most stalwart toadies must admit the biz became TV a long time ago, and that's part of why, whatever the show's many faults, the biz and the Os-CARS® are now so irreversibly little.

*Think the long-overdue reduction of the Best Song category to a medley -- and that is too much exposure. (And incidentally we found this twaddle from TVGuide.com that makes us wonder why the owners couldn't have deep-sixed the whole property when they had the chance. The dimwit mentions only two songs before 1965, and one, "Moon River", he calls a "masterpiece." Ladies and gentlemen, we have found an Academy Award®-winning definition for the word DORK.)

P. S. at 8:53 p. m. Moving the Os-CARS® up to January won't make them less of a joke. Getting tentpoles among the nominees may make them more of a joke.

P. P. S. at 9:12 p. m. Ann of The Daily Kaplan turns ac-TING into nuclear physics. When will all the hacks' accreting garbage finally become an environmental concern?

"[T]hey're not just in the now, they're in the now of the now."

And your horse-and-buggy business is in the THEN OF THE THEN.

Posted 4:54 PM by Gene

Obama Has Plan to Slash Deficit, Despite Stimulus Bill

And I have a BRIDGE...oh, never mind.

Posted 1:55 PM by Gene

IN THE HOME OF THE 2016 GAMES!!!!!:

"It's very sad that many children have lost their lives at this intersection in less than 12 months."

It's also very sad that the official neighborhood motto is most likely "NO SNITCHIN'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" -- meaning many more children must lose their lives.

ONE!!!!!, ATTORNEY GENERAL COWARD, where ARE you?

Posted 1:35 PM by Gene

Today (in what is turning into something of a roadshow) HERR DOKTOR faces off again with the LEFT-WING JO-NAH here in the Quonset Hut, and we're close to liking the guy -- how can you not like the guy for talking this way? And then we remember he hasn't had a "hit" (for him a hit) for close to two decades, which makes his KULT like him all the more, and we like him some more.

(Via AhtsJournal)

Posted 1:22 PM by Gene

Say "but" often enough, U. S. Muslims, and you'll wind up in more crucibles. Only when you stop saying "but" to everything from terrorism to obscene domestic crimes will you get out of those crucibles.

Posted 12:03 PM by Gene

THIS is what gets con-SER-va-tives mad -- not that The One's "socializing" the economy, not even that he's further screwing up home mortgages, but that he's LIMITING CEO PAY!!!!!!!!!!

A lot of good those big bonuses did HAHVAHD MUTUAL FUND.

And AIG FINANCIAL PRODUCTS.

(Via JENNI-FER, who really must take up the proverbial cudgel and protest at the White House, carrying a sign: "YES FOR EXORBITANT CEO PAY!")

Posted 11:38 AM by Gene

WHOOPS: Hahvahd Mutual Fund has been in the tank for some time -- and Larry Summers, who some con-SER-va-tives called a HERO, and who The One chose as an economic savior, is partly to blame.

Posted 11:29 AM by Gene

Another word cloud from that ALCOHOL CLOUD:



I don't know, WHISKEY WUSSY -- you almost seem to want to give up your job!

GO FOR IT!

CDL AT FOURTEEN CENTS.

I have a better number, though: The combined age of Geraldo, Imus and Cavett is just over 206. I guess that explains "OLDTHINK".

P. S. Ol' Bourbon Fumes claims to have given up the sauce 21 years ago, but we suspect more than once in the presence of friendly press agents like JEFF "MENSA" GREENFIELD he'd say he did his best "work" drunk. He certainly said this:

"Some people don't deserve to be picked on, who I picked on -- so I don't do it anymore."

Some basketball players at Rutgers thoroughly disproved this. And the obverse is true -- witness DR. EVIL. And as we all know, once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic -- so he shall always be an honorary drunk to me.

Posted 11:04 AM by Gene

Here is why no editorial cartoonists will ever do a good caricature of The One: First off, face it, he doesn't have a truly distinctive feature for them to hang their pencils on -- at best they make him preternaturally skinny; but more important, they're afraid if they do their jobs too well they'll be racist. Rest assured, cartoonists, given your biz' rep and stock prices the last thing you do is your jobs well.

(Via the usual Romy)

Posted 11:01 AM by Gene

Sandy did it! Sandy "Mozilo" Dodd did it! He opened his mouth and caused the markets to tank! Jo-NAH!!!!! JENNI-FER!!!!! Why aren't you doing something about this! Sandy's an ENEMY OF CAPITALISM!!!!!

And there is NO GREATER CRIME than to CAUSE STOCKS TO FALL!!!!!

CEOs and Madoffs excepted.

Posted 10:35 AM by Gene

We're a cat lover, and we know what it's like to lose one, and of course we feel sad for Socks, but ASSPress, don't you think 671 words is too many for even a Presidential cat, especially given all the fine people who never get to merit one because YOU choose not to find out who they were?

Posted 7:11 PM by Gene

Mr. Douthat points to this TNR blog entry in which the author confesses to his "glibness". If we're going to condemn "glibness" let's go back to the inventor of glib: James Boswell. Boswell worshiped Dr. Johnson as a great intellectual; but ultimately he turned his biography into a collection of his quips; he had to simply because Boswell was such a sharp-eared journalist and Dr. Johnson was such an overwhelming wit. Of course the quips helped firm the Dr. in the public mind for all time. Perhaps glibness has a bad rep as it's so intertwined with cheap partisanship. Very understandable. But as I say too often I'd rather hear an amusing sound-bite than a deadly diatribe. The Volokhheads' success points to the excruciating appeal of longwindedness, because to some longwindedness is thought. It might merely be an expulsion of air. I'll take glib any day if it gets to the heart of the matter.

To be sure, however, shortwindedness is not a virtue when Twittering is merely longwindedness in fast-forward.

Posted 6:24 PM by Gene

On September 15 12.2 billion years ago there was a gamma-ray explosion for which cataclysm is but a word, something again denoting the infinite universe and infinitesimal man.

That it was 12.2 billion years before Lehman went broke should also help us put our cataclysms in perspective.

Posted 5:35 PM by Gene

Speaking of HARVEY WHINER's Os-CAR® winner (whom this Kaplan, Inc. keyboard tickler must refer to as an ac-TOR) we paraphrase Mark Twain's old line: We'd rather go to bed with Audrey Hepburn in full regalia than Kate W. stark naked.

P. S. DAMMIT! Kaplan's still well off its lows. But ST. WARREN hit a new one (though it recovered, double-dammit).

P. P. S. We had to alter that Twain paraphrase because the quote seems to take several forms -- and we can't even be sure he said it because no one can point to a specific source. Just because it sounds like him doesn't mean it is him.

Posted 5:32 PM by Gene

That $49,050,000,000 must have gone somewhere.

Switzerland and Africa do seem good bets, the first for protecting crooks and the second for its kleptomania.

Posted 5:21 PM by Gene

S&P, which specialized in GRADE INFLATION, now says the credit crunch has just started.

Given the source do we dare hope this isn't definitive?

It is also worth mentioning that Standard & Poor's apparently failed to predict the bankruptcy of Iceland in 2008, a country that had a very high rating until it suddenly collapsed.

Apparently.

Posted 5:15 PM by Gene

Let us guess, the "stimulus" leads may-ERS to do what they do best: create bloated bureaucracies and convictions -- until the money runs out and they have to fire lots of people.

We hope we're wrong, but we live in a city.

Posted 5:09 PM by Gene

And speaking of, when was the last time someone at THE BIG C didn't open his mouth -- and put his foot in it?

In the annals of CNBC cluelessness, this morning’s outburst by the channel’s Rick Santelli is up there with the worst.

The Big C IS an annal of cluelessness.

We understand what this BIG C MOUTH is saying -- we shouldn't have to bail out deadbeats. But we could be past the time when we can comfortably make that moral distinction.

Posted 5:07 PM by Gene

Maybe we should get HARVEY WHINER on the case and OPEN HIS MOUTH. He makes money opening his mouth.

At least he used to.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Posted 4:59 PM by Gene

Okay Paul, so now that the "Crisis May be Even Worse than Depression", what would you do about it?

[I]t was important to take decisive actions, including a more effective regulatory structure and some movement toward uniform accounting systems, Volcker said.

He said all financial institutions that are deemed too large to fail should be subject to increased scrutiny, echoing the findings of the Group of 30, a panel of policy-makers and influential economists, which he leads.

Well! We're glad YOU'RE on the case!

Posted 3:07 PM by Gene

PRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAISE GOD! LUKE SPIELBERG IS A CONSERVATIVE! HE SAYS NO TO CEO PAY LIMITS!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMEN!!!!!!!!!!

Lucas said he does not make $500,000 per year as the CEO of Lucasfilm Ltd.

“I don’t make that much money – not by a long shot,” he said.

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Via ShowBizData)

Posted 1:06 PM by Gene

Madoff Trustee Says Firm Likely Bought No Securities

So where did $49,050,000,000 go?

Simple: Bernie was a Potemkin trader.

Posted 9:09 AM by Gene

People who insist that we need big newspapers may be missing the point. No news organization can ever get all the facts; we need multiple sources, which we get on the Web. Consider these two takes on the used-car biz. It is hard enough to discern which is right (or righter), but I'd rather have more than one news source any day on any topic.

After all, we know about doctors and second opinions, and most jernalists aren't smarter than doctors.

Posted 8:35 AM by Gene

Not that anyone recalls President Obama asking....

TRANSLATION: Some people can never stop being president.

Posted 8:30 AM by Gene

This should be easy: a bio of THE LAUREATE. A few choice personal tidbits and 500 pages of logrolling.

We're not mocking Mr. Begley; we'd just say regardless of who writes it that will be the outcome.

(Via MediaBistro)

Posted 8:10 AM by Gene

The Paper of Re-CORD admits after a few months people may not like us regardless of who's president.

Nirvana may not be all it's cooked up to be.

Posted 8:15 PM by Gene

Comparing any group to The Beatles risks musical heresy. That said, these lads are on the manic trail.

Heresy? In old "Accent-on-Net's" rag? It would be heresy NOT to call them the new Beatles!

A NEUHARTHISM OF THE...oh hell, nearly every article in USAOKAY!!!!! is a NEUHARTHISM.

GCI AT $3.86 -- A THIRTY-YEAR LOW.

Posted 5:24 PM by Gene

Speaking of PEOPLE WARNER, that sound of a thousand air compressors you hear is the TWXSTERS preparing an SI swimsuit issue.

Posted 5:21 PM by Gene

Speaking of the A-WARDS®, we suppose this story broke because 1. She has her Os-CAR®, 2. She has her synergistic drooling toady (MARK! MARK!), 3. She has the law of diminishing returns, and 4. Even Hollywood ac-TORS do not get any younger.

Posted 5:06 PM by Gene

Oscar ad revenue is expected to be significantly lower for ABC this year; ABC is currently offering one particular deal at a cost of $765,000, down from $1.14 million.

Culver's what?

Posted 5:02 PM by Gene

BRANSON EAST's biggest theme park is delaying its opening, presumably until the owners figure out how to work in the 3D.

We are not altogether kidding.

Posted 4:59 PM by Gene

It is very sad that PAPEROFRECORDCO has suspended its dividend, but it is very sad that The Paper of Re-CORD still refuses to listen to reason.

Posted 4:54 PM by Gene

Well, at least he won't pull a Vesco.

Posted 3:02 PM by Gene

GE BANCORP BREAKS TEN BUCKS INTRADAY!

A few dollars more and it may have to be nationalized!

Posted 2:01 PM by Gene

According to reports—which may well be apocryphal—Sir Allen had tried to charter a corporate jet near Houston, but was turned away because the operator would not take his credit card.

Pffh-hh-hh hh hh hh hh hh hh hh hh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!

Posted 1:48 PM by Gene

KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH!

Academics – long prolific political contributors – were among the biggest donors to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

And now the idealism's paying off!

Posted 1:24 PM by Gene

THE NE PLUS ULTRA IN RENDELLISM! (posted in full)

While PA-backed movie plan flops, private Phila studio is a hit!!!!! [Hooray for Phillywood!!!!! overemphasis added]

While plans to create a 100,000-square-foot movie studio at a Norristown shopping center with $10 million in Pennsylvania taxpayer funds have languished and the very idea of state subsidies for Hollywood is under attack, a King of Prussia developer has turned an empty Philadelphia factory building into a larger "studio filming space" that's already attracted an A-list project, and interest from others, without a dime of government money.

Director M. Night Shyamalan and Paramount Pictures are filming parts of "The Last Airbender" at a 180,000-square-foot former Budd Co. warehouse in East Falls, says Nicholas P. Cannone of landlord Preferred Unlimited Inc.

"Paramount and M. Knight's team are currently constructing massive sets, some close to three stories high, making use of the staggering 35-foot ceiling heights and 75-foot column bays" where Budd used to build stainless-steel railcars and auto parts, Cannone told me.

Filming starts this spring, with a sequel on the drawing board. "We hope to have Paramount and M. Knight on site for a few years." Cannone says Sony Pictures and other "major studios have toured our site in hopes to reuse the remaining warehouse space on site as studio space."

Preferred, owned by developer Michael O'Neill, has rehabbed other parts of the Budd complex as a 260,000 square foot office building for Temple University Health Sytem [Hooray for Phillywood SIC!!!!!] on Hunting Park Ave. and a 30,000-square foot Fresenius Medical Dialysis Center. And it donated 12 acres to the Salvation Army "to be developed into a Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center," funded by the late McDonald's founders' foundation, where construction began last month.

IN SHORT: A bad-movee shoot maybe one month of the year, and most of the rest of the space rented to non-profits. Add in the twelve-acre tax break and that not-a-dime-of-government-money talk is baloney. We wouldn't expect otherwise from a paper making noises about its own handout.



Give yourself a hand, EDDIE!

Posted 9:27 AM by Gene

Sorry, Kaplan, Inc's. posthumous favor shows the world doesn't need a LACK of newspapers for corruption to fester.

Posted 8:53 AM by Gene

The Daily Kaplan successfully spins NewsMAX's reporting on DR. EVIL by making him a victim of J. EDGAR -- because some REPUBLICANS wanted people to believe he was GAY.

Why do you need to do favors two years after this clown died, ST. WARREN?

A special NEUHARTHISM OF THE MONTH AWARD TO JOE!

Posted 8:38 AM by Gene

In continuing news of SUH ALLEN, DA POST reports that a prominent sports management firm agreed to have him "advise" its clients -- who included TIGER, ARNIE, SERGIO....

Why am I thinking this scam wouldn't have been half it was if SUH didn't have the chance to pal around with athuhletes?

And of COURSE he had to be a tax deadbeat, which made him the PERFECT fit.

Posted 8:16 AM by Gene

IMPORTANT NEWS FROM AL REUT:

• Mickey Rourke's beloved brown and white Chihuahua dies at 18

OR:

Mickey Rourke loses beloved chihuahua in Oscar week

The link was on Yahoo!'s home page, so it must have been important.

Posted 7:23 PM by Gene

Yet another PGA TOUR sponsor goes broke.

FOLLOW THE LACK OF MONEY!

Posted 6:58 PM by Gene

In more (and postdated!) professional dimwittery from Pvt. Zell's hacks (whatever happened to him? Doing permanent KP?) we learn (although Rachel would rather not have to say it) some of the AHTISTIC WOMEN OF FILLUM may have second thoughts about doing it in the ALTOGETHER when they may wind up on PRON sites.

Well who'd have known AHT would have its -- BAD SIDE?



ANOTHER NEUHARTHISM OF THE WEEK AWARD -- TO RACHEL!

(Whoops! That's what you get when you use Google Images!)

P. S.

Buyers purchased buildings at what, in retrospect, were vastly inflated prices. Lenders provided lavish, even excessive, financing based on unrealistic expectations of rising rents. And now that values are tumbling, vacancy rates are rising and credit has become impossibly tight, many on both sides are struggling against default, foreclosure or bankruptcy.

Pvt. Zell really spread his business acumen around! What happened to the $39 billion?

Posted 6:43 PM by Gene

Rap producer Marion "Suge" Knight has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery for beating a woman in a Las Vegas parking lot last year.

Another [C]RAPPER makes a BRILLIANT career move.

Posted 6:41 PM by Gene

And SUH ALLEN's exploits may be worse than Bernie's because he had tendrils in Latin America, where the folks already love us.

Posted 6:34 PM by Gene

Then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas used Stanford’s private jet at least 16 times from 2003 through 2006, financial disclosures show. Senator John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, was the third-largest recipient of campaign donations from Stanford, his employees and the company’s political action committee.

Well how do you like them Democrats!

But then what scam would be complete without Sandy Dodd and CHOLLY in the mix?

Posted 6:08 PM by Gene

IDIOTS ON THE MARCH!

(Via Chronicle.com, where we hear too many people shaking their learned bobbleheads in agreement)

Posted 6:04 PM by Gene

Stanford Gave Hypothetical Data as Actual Performance

Doesn't Wall Street?

Posted 6:02 PM by Gene

The formerly (and repudiated) Wizard of Oz is for bank nationalization. The current Wizard is against.

Which Wiz is?

Posted 5:56 PM by Gene

EM runs a "fictitious story" about the WAXMAN reviving the Fairness Doctrine because of the possibly fictitious notion the Dems don't want to revive it.

Six of one....

Meantime, somewhere, the President, or one of his interns....

Posted 5:09 PM by Gene

Diane Ravitch falls into that trap of mistaking the END OF BOOK REVUEING for the end of LITERATURE. How many times must we say it -- because of culture, because of the media-industrial complex, because of academe, and because of boring authors themselves, more and more books are exactly alike, and more and more readers read fewer and fewer books. And who wants to read dull revues of dull books? Yes, reading mind-numbing Web sites creates GIGO, but it's better than nothing. I too bemoan the lack of a high culture, but we're closer to not getting it the more we wail about THE DAILY KAPLAN cutting its BOOK-REVUE SECTION. I'd rather read an airhead typing phonetically than THE LAUREATE or HISTORY'S GREATEST SATIRIST LOGROLLING.

Posted 5:05 PM by Gene

When CBS cuts its dividend by 81 percent does that hurt SUMNER's piggy bank?

Posted 4:59 PM by Gene

Speaking of, a fight between NRO and Head Scratchin' Jonny Alter is a fight over who has the bigger spitball.

Posted 4:53 PM by Gene

A KNEE-JERK LIBERAL can't tell the difference among 1. The person who, through no fault of his own, finds himself on the street, suddenly destitute, and in grave need of help; 2. The mentally ill substance abuser who lives on the street, also in grave need of help, but needing others' help as he can't help himself; and 3. The professional beggar annoying people on the street. One justifies all three, and allows the knee-jerk liberal to be a pig head.

A KNEE-JERK CON-SER-VA-TIVE thinks a man's worth is his net worth. (Unless, of course, he's GEORGE SOROS, or contributes to LIBERAL causes, like BERNIE and SUH ALLEN.)

Posted 2:47 PM by Gene

WOW!!!!! Jo-NAH the RIGHT-WING FRANK RICH tells us what we're missing by not bothering with THE PROFESSOR anymore:

How Much Does the Stimulus Weigh? [Jonah Goldberg]

Via Instapundit, Dave Foulk says it's 86,759 tons — in one dollar bills. That's more than an Iowa class battleship. In pennies, that'd be 216,898 tons, which by my rudimentary math is what scientists call, "even heavier."

02/18 02:24 PM

Like, WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted 2:30 PM by Gene

Playboy Open to Sale Talks
Reports $145.7 million fourth quarter loss.

OUCH!!!!!

This will happen when under-17s turn to PRON-pirates.

Then again, it couldn't have happened to a nicer social visionary.

...interim chairman and CEO Jerome Kern....

We think you'd be better off writing music, Jerry.

(Via the usual Romy)

Posted 2:23 PM by Gene

Oh oh, Pirate Bay comes to KOLLEDGE TEKSTBUKS!

Some university presses — along with other publishers — are trying to join forces to deal with the problem.

Stop charging $400 per might help.

Posted 2:17 PM by Gene

Vijay Singh Will Continue To Wear Stanford Financial Logos

This should make him almost as popular as Wrong-Way!

Oh wait, he already is.

Posted 1:53 PM by Gene

And speaking of our favorite press agent, he tells us Hollywood's Legal Cause Celebre isn't coming back to the U. S., evidently because he had sex with a 13-year-old.

And no, chanting "CLASSIC" ten thousand times doesn't help.

He also tells us the sound of 100 gnats flying is Os-CAR® buzz.

Posted 1:52 PM by Gene

Wait a second! Who's the pope around here?

Posted 1:43 PM by Gene

If you turn the new Pepsi logo and the new Kraft Foods corporate logo upside down you get the companies' true feelings toward the public as revealed through their financing of JUNK TELEVISION.

Posted 1:40 PM by Gene

And speaking of Zeitgeist -- two more glamorous faces contend for the Os-CARS®!

Posted 1:32 PM by Gene

"We'll be more opinionated, but we aren't going to be partisan."

THE BIBLE ENDORSES GAY MARRIAGE!!!!! and ANYONE WHO DOESN'T BELIEVE IN GLOBAL WARMING IS A SOCIOPATH!!!!! would seem to say otherwise.

Posted 1:30 PM by Gene

1:05 PM ProPublica interviews Yale chief investment officer David Swensen - "one of the world's savviest investors." His response to those who say the ale model has failed. "Relative to what?" See also. [From Seeking Alpha]

Beer!

Posted 1:28 PM by Gene

We *all* know the private sector is the problem [*SIC*]

TRANSLATION: We all know the private sector is *never* the problem.

Posted 11:35 AM by Gene

SUH ALLEN GAVE MONEY TO DEMOCRATS!!!!!!!!!!

So?

Posted 6:52 PM by Gene

Last summer we noted how SUMNER (we didn't mention him by name) "[did] a WKRP on The Fugitive". The fans were livid and remained so. Fortunately one of His lieutenants listened. The people will not be denied.

(Via Film Score Monthly -- an explanation for that later)

Posted 4:20 PM by Gene

FROM PEOPLE WARNER CABLE NEWS:

President Obama has approved a significant troop increase for Afghanistan, Pentagon officials say.

Oh well, there goes the campaign.

Posted 3:48 PM by Gene

HMMM, we didn't see THIS:

"SIB's accountant, C.A.S. Hewlett & Co., a small local accounting firm in Antigua, is responsible for auditing the multi-billion dollar SID's investment portfolio. The Commission attempted several times to contact Hewlett by telephone. No one ever answered the phone."

Hey guys, call (268) 462-1373 -- and ask for SHELLY!

Posted 3:09 PM by Gene

KNIGHT COMMAN-DUH OF THE MOST DIS-TINNNNNNNNNN-GUISHED OR-DUH OF THE NATION (Antigua and Barbuda).

Shucks, a few more investments and he'd have been LAWD STAN-FUHD.

Posted 3:00 PM by Gene

Suh also sponsors crrrrrricket -- you know, England's version of SELIGISM.

The new agreement with Stanford is the result of months of negotiations since the staging of the inaugural Super Series in October. It is thought the next contract is worth a fraction of the $100 million deal that was trumpeted by the Texan landing his helicopter on the Nursery Ground at Lord’s.

Hmmmm, I wonder why?

Those who oppose Stanford’s involvement with English cricket may well wonder why the Board have simply not walked away from dealing with him again. But Stanford’s money is an attractive carrot in a recession and in three years’ time the worldwide economy may have improved and he could turn out to be a generous benefactor again.

Or he could be in jail, whichever comes first.

P. S. at 3:22 p. m. Shucks, I guess he won't be sponsoring crrrrrricket anymore.

P. S. at 3:27 p. m. BUT THERE WILL BE GOLF IN MEMPHIS!!!!! (Via Seeking Alpha)

Posted 2:56 PM by Gene

Suh Allen is an official PGA TOUR and LPGA SPONSOR!

(Via Seeking Alpha)

Posted 2:50 PM by Gene

SIB's investment committee, responsible for the management of the bank's multi-billion dollar portfolio of assets, is comprised of Stanford; Stanford's father who resides in Mexia, Tex.; another Mexia resident with business experience in cattle ranching and car sales; Pendergest-Holt, who prior to joining SFG had no financial services or securities industry experience; and Davis, who was Stanford's college roommate, the SEC said.

We be-long to a mu-tuuuuuu-alllllll aaaaaaaad-mi-raaaaaaaation so-ci-e-ty!

Posted 2:31 PM by Gene

Hey Irene! Merge with PepsiCo!

Posted 2:08 PM by Gene

Further on the subject of high finance, we haven't the foggiest idea what John the Don is up to. He's still buying a pink-sheet stock, it's still paying too much to Howell Strong (sp?) and SELIG, and it still has debt due. This sounds about as smart as St. Warren's buy into GE BANCORP.

Posted 1:54 PM by Gene

Another Madoff, in Texas. This is not surprising, as we could have suspected as much, with scams multiplying as they will like flies around money. What is scary is this:

The company claims to have more than $50 billion in assets under management or advisement.

Does this mean potentially $50 billion at risk? That was the Madoff number.

This sounds for all the world like a glorified money-laundering scheme.

(Via The Daily Kaplan, which also notes, "[O]ne of Stanford's companies falsely told customers that it was not exposed" to Bernie. Also, per the Chronicle, this outfit also "falsely claimed" that "[t]he portfolio is subject to annual audits by Antiguan regulators." Let's substitute "Nigerian" for that and see if anyone notices.)

(P. S.: We will NOT credit the FRANK RICH OF THE RIGHT who "linked" to the Daily Kaplan story on his Web site as he only linked to the home page, perhaps still basking in the glory of CONSERVATIVE MOVIES, and as he would not link to any site not recommended by the sixteenthwit WALTER WINCHELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.)

Posted 6:20 PM by Gene

Why not recycle props? Branson East recycles shows.

(Via the usual AhtsJournal)

Posted 6:10 PM by Gene

The good news: the world's petrovillains are in decline.

The bad news: the last time Russia had a revolution it didn't have nukes.

Posted 4:07 PM by Gene

Hello Obama, goodbye meaningful music
Young, Democrat presidents usually inspire lame pop trends

...and lame think pieces about trends inspired by young, "Democrat" presidents.

Did this article take up more time and thinking than any serious reporting on the president at the Mess today? I do think so!



A NEUIHARTHISM OF THE WEEK AWARD TO TONY!

Posted 3:33 PM by Gene

NY senator, husband keep 2 rifles under their bed

Doesn't that make them Republicans? Or does it mean she's campaigning?

Posted 2:37 PM by Gene

By the way, speaking of palsy-walsies, whatever happened to that pompous drunken fraud DON?

Well, David "300" Bauder of the ASSPress says he's bigger and BETTER THAN EVER! (Keep in mind that any article quoting the PUBLISHER OF TALKERS!!!!! is an advertorial.)

Wall Street says his employer's worth SIXTEEN CENTS A SHARE -- down OVER NINETY-THREE PERCENT from when it hired him.

And he's down sharply elsewhere on Wall Street too.

And if David Axelrod hasn't been on with that soused louse, he should be.



And judging from Ol' Sloshing Brine's word cloud of January 14 he isn't attracting JEFF MENSA-MAN GREENFIELDS the way he used to -- and no, Putrid Pickle-Brain, you DON'T have to tell us who's NO. 1. (Odd words here: "Russert", "time" [SIC!!!!!], "Godzilla" and "WHITE.")

But here's one from February 9:



Somebody trying to take over your SHOW, LIQUOR LUNATIC?

And from last Friday, our PICTURE OF THE DAY:



STILL SIXTEEN CENTS A SHARE, ROTGUT REEK.

Posted 11:33 AM by Gene

We likewise find it hard to believe the fool Jerry Jones hasn't found a sponsor. Why are naming rights only a waste of money in a bad economy?

Posted 11:24 AM by Gene

We fear this sudden sponsor urge to abandon the Os-CARS® is but a temporary thing. Then again, so long as the A-ca-de-MY® honors pretentious bores, it should cheerfully pay the consequences -- and cheerful, we suspect, is the word.

Posted 11:19 AM by Gene

Whether a czar or a committee, whoever tries to fix our auto biz will have ample opportunity to be incompetent. We'd bet on the committee approach to be superior for that. Too many cooks bankrupt the auto biz.

And Timmy's just the man to lead the committee burying the business.