I wasn’t going to do any normal blogging this week –in lieu of the year-end stuff- but there are a few news stories that I felt I should comment on:
- I’m just sick about this Tsumani story, as it’s hard to imagine the horrors that those people are going through- here's a list of charities that are accepting donations. A co-worker of mine was vacationing in Thailand, but thankfully she sent word today that she’s all right.
- So, after all of the year-end celebrity-death montages and magazine features have been completed, we get three relatively major ones in four days. I’ll miss Jerry Orbach most of all, although he’ll thankfully live on forever in around-the-clock “Law & Order” re-runs all over cable. Reggie White’s passing has set off major Blogosphere debate over whether it’s right for obits to mention his virulent anti-gay comments before the Wisconsin State Legislature a few years back; I say it merits mention, along with White’s athletic greatness and off-the-field good deeds. As for Susan Sontag, my first thought upon hearing the news was whether or not Sullivan will award the customary Sontag Award next week- and my second to remember one of the better quotes from “Bull Durham.”
UPDATE: Sullivan has, in fact, re-named the Sontag Award- you guessed it- the Moore Award.
- “The Wire” concluded its third season with a brilliant finale on Sunday that would serve as a sublime coda for the series, if it is in fact canceled. But fortunately, there’s a movement afoot to prevent that, including the “Save the Wire” campaign- which (borrowing a plot from the past season) asks fans to send disposable or toy cell phones to HBO headquarters. I like that. And Matt Yglesias has been running “Wire” threads every week, which I unfortunately didn’t discover until the season was already over.
- Speaking of HBO, they’ve been re-running Season 5 of “The Sopranos” this week, and I’d forgotten just how great it was. How, exactly, did Vince Curatola not win an Emmy?
- Mike Tice had his 2005 option picked up as Vikings coach. Ugh. The Vikings are in the playoffs if they win Sunday, OR the Rams lose, OR the Panthers lose. After last year, I'm totally prepared for none of the three to happen.
- The generally authoritative Village Voice “Take 6” film critics’ poll is out, and it names “Before Sunset” as the surprise winner, followed by “Eternal Sunshine,” “Dogville,” “Sideways,” and “Goodbye Dragon Inn.” As a pleasant surprise, “Fahrenheit 9/11”- which I would’ve predicted as the winner- comes in at #25. Also in the Voice- Michael Musto's gutbustlingly-funny year-end column.
Watch for the Shameful Events list tonight, and that’ll likely be it for me in ’04.
Posted by Stephen Silver at December 29, 2004 09:52 AMI disagree about the Tsunami coverage. More people died in that than in Iraq, 911 and any other bombings this year combined. It's going to take lots of money and support to help those people and if we weren't in Iraq, I am sure out troops would be there actually making some progress and not losing their lives...so let's throw that in Bush's face all the more!!!
Posted by: A at January 2, 2005 02:32 PMHaving spent the bulk of my life in Green Bay, and thus being a fan, I have mixed emotions on Reggie. From a football standpoint, I have nothing but good things to say. There's no doubt in my mind he played as important role in the improvement of the team as Favre, Holmgren and Wolf did, perhaps more so by making Green Bay seem like an okay place to play. His leadership in the locker room and on the field, not to mention incredible athletic ability, he was a valuable part of the franchise.
But Reggie as a person, that's where I have issues. He made an ass of himself to the state legislature, and his comments regarding homosexuality were just plain stupid, and it was a glimpse of who this man was. In the mid 90s, his Church in Knoxville, TN burnt to the ground due to arson, and the people of Green Bay and Wisconsin spontaneously chipped in money to help rebuild the Church. I can't remember the exact dollar figure but a pretty high amount, and the Church was never rebuilt, and the money never accounted for from that day on, which pissed off quite a few people...although having read media reports out of Green Bay and Wisconsin, there is no mention of it...how quickly they forget.
I'll remember Reggie as both a great football player and leader to his team, and also his conduct off the field.
Posted by: Laura at January 3, 2005 04:30 PM