zefrank is one of my subscribed Youtube channels. His mantis shrimp video is pretty great.
But curse you for posting a trivial link below a horrible news story. You're worse than CNN.
There's been a trend of people I know on Facebook and what not to complain about how this is horrible (it is! beyond belief!) and that the news isn't covering it at all. Which has led me to be quite confused--pretty sure I heard about it very soon thereafter, probably via the BBC (although possibly on Twitter) which should certainly count as "the news." This is one of those epistemic closure things, isn't it? My impression is that Americans who only follow mainstream American sources know basically nothing about Boko Haram, even though it's terror campaign is one of the obvious great tragedies happening right now.
It's fascinating that "true facts" started out as totally made up false facts, and is now actual science.
I haven't heard it on my loose commute listening to NPR.
My favorite: These people are called 'cuttleboners.' By me. And now, by you.
I love it when the narrator laughs despite himself.
It's fascinating that "true facts" started out as totally made up false facts, and is now actual science
Well, some of it is.
I like the Floppy Spider narrator, and his delivery reminds me of Will Ferrell, and maybe someone else. Like when he says, "Clams are stupid. I'm sorry, I said it. But they are dumb as hell," that's definitely Will Ferrell-ish.
@5:
In a hallway in my building there's a TV monitor that plays CNN all day with the sound off. From passing by it multiple times every day, my impression is that they are still talking about the missing plane 24/7. That might be what people mean when they say the "news isn't covering it".
By the way, it's unquestionable that the determination to fill up all available air time talking about the plane while ignoring everything else going on in the world is a big fucking joke. But I'm curious, at what point did they definitively cross the line? 1 week?. 10 days?
In a hallway in my building there's a TV monitor that plays CNN all day with the sound off. From passing by it multiple times every day, my impression is that they are still talking about the missing plane 24/7. That might be what people mean when they say the "news isn't covering it".
The Daily Show had a bit recently where they pointed out that on the day the recent IPCC report came out, CNN's entire coverage lasted 2 minutes.
That would be a good website - a daily total of which stories, and how much time, CNN and Fox spent their day.
Word on the street in China is that the CIA knows what happened to the plane, but is keeping it secret to blackmail the Malaysian government. Also, the ancient Mayans were space aliens.
Missing plane is simple and cheap to cover. The IPCC report would require asking the audience to think, and Boko Haram is just more foreigners dying, nothing to keep US audiences interested.
I need to constantly remind myself that there are people who actually watch CNN and Fox outside of doctors' waiting rooms and airport lounges. Weirdly, it's easier for me to understand Fox--I get that they're selling a very specific view of the world that people buy into, and it's just not mine. But as for CNN, I can't imagine why people would watch that. Maybe they're the same people who watch and use QVC? I don't get them, either.
and airport lounges.
I was mostly indifferent to CNN until they started blaring it at me in airports, forcing me to search all over the place to find a quiet spot. Now I viscerally despise it.
http://www.npr.org/2014/04/27/307451067/have-mercy-on-our-little-ones-kidnapping-agonizes-nigerians
So...it got weekend coverage on NPR anyway.
Just turned on the TV and found BBC news at 6, just in time to see a story about bombings in Alepo. So many tragedies, and I feel so powerless in the face of it all.
Between this and the idiot Korean captain drowning a few hundred kids on the ferry, it was a pretty shitty month to be one of humanity's children.
When stuck in nameless chain hotel rooms for business trips I used to look forward to watching the late night interview shows on that Russian cable channel because they had thus really plausible line up until some hard to discern but definitely crossed point when the pro Russ line became fabulously apparent aaaand one was straight through the mirror, out t'other side. Those news stories about the innocent American starter journalists being duped into working for them and then tainted forever seemed silly because it was so obvious... in the end. But now I'm afeared the Ukrainian situation will have polarized things so as to destroy the effect, which was great because only obvious with time.
I've heard quite a bit about this on the BBC. They've had pretty strong Boka Haram coverage, since well before this latest outrage happened.
They had an interesting interview with a member of a group of local toughs where the guy said "we don't really agree with their agenda, but they paid us $3000 to fight on their side, so we help them out when they ask." I'm wondering where the $3000 is coming from. Ransom money?
Sometimes people try to apologize for CNN by saying it is hard to fill a 24-hr news cycle. But NPR is basically doing that. They have morning and evening flagship shows, but some affiliates can, and do, manage to fill an entire schedule with substantial news and information programing, leaving the classical and jazz music for other stations.
CNN doesn't have to suck. It sucks by choice.
I'm wondering where the $3000 is coming from.
Various Saudi royalty.
Oh wow, the octopus at 0:20 looks like one I knitted! I am sort of a squicked-by-octopus* mood right now but might watch more later. Aren't you sometimes just not in the mood to look at an octopus?
*also an I-don't-care-what-the-plural-is mood
27: Actually, no. I'm personally fascinated by them. Plus, one of my few claims to fame was that I was once voted Most Likely To Have An Octopus When You Need One.
Then I can see why you would always be in the mood for them. I was voted "Least Likely to Have an Octopus When You Need One" so maybe it's just some residual hurt from that.
The kids at Wes Anderson High can be so cruel.
||
A(n abortive) limerick about our houseguest from my conversation with Sifu, breaching all SOOBC:
A quiet young man from Seattle
Sang shape note instead of rap battle[s]
I don't have an end
For this limerick, friend
Let's pretend it's the other and say "fuck it."
There's an extra syllable but I have to run off to a home visit so that is that.
|>
Sometimes people try to apologize for CNN by saying it is hard to fill a 24-hr news cycle.
This would fly a lot better if it weren't for the existence of dozens of other 24 hour news channels that aren't as unbelievably awful. Including CNN International. I mean, none of them are good, but CNN takes it to another level of terrible.
I like the who-covers-what-how-long idea in 15. And it's so meta, and possibly automatable.
I dunno what others are reading/listening to, but the abduction story has been all over all sorts of news sites; everything from mainstream to Drudge to Yahoo front page.
I wish Google had "search browser history for this story," because if they can do that for the NSA, why can't they do it for us? (If I could I'd include some links.)
15 is a great idea. Media Matters does it on occasion but would be great to see an ongoing Wall of Shame tally.
PBS Newshour has been covering the Boko Haram story. I have no beef with them as a news program, but have recently encountered people declaring that by god, they're as bad as NPR. This strikes me as circular firing squad territory.
15 is a great idea. Media Matters does it on occasion but would be great to see an ongoing Wall of Shame tally
Pew's State Of The Media report isn't real time, but it's got a lot of useful data - you can even download the (old) datasets.