March 10, 2008
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snow, yelling at pundits and tom cruise
Ah, the things I miss when I’m out of state – as recorded by my mom and sister, here is the blizzard of ’08 in a central Ohio suburb, where the most snow we usually ever get is six inches.
Eighteen inches later . . . my dad’s 6’2″ and the snow comes up to his knees.
(you might want to mute the video unless you want to hear my mom’s “YAY ELLIEEEEEEEEEEE” – fair warning)
One more tangent, and then I’m done – the one thing I love about election season is watching my Sunday morning politics shows. Starting at 11 a.m., I can catch Meet The Press and the McLaughlin Group and be completely caught up with the week’s punditry by noon.
Meet The Press is a good way for candidates to refute the week’s media blitzkrieg of rumors and to assert their positions with the wonderful Tim Russert (who my mom loves because she heard that he calls his father after every show to get his approval of the episode). After you bask in the glow that is Timmy and the credits roll, it’s McLaughlin time.
The McLaughlin Group, with graphics that rival those of public access channels, features five analysts sitting around and, essentially, screaming at each other. John (see right) comes up with an issue and each explains his or her opinion, then Eleanor (see left) yells over top of everyone and tries to butt in at least four times before anyone lets her finish her sentence.
But what I love about both of these shows, educational or not, is that they aren’t flashy with sweeping orchestral “PANIC! NOW!” music like you get on Fox News (or even CNN) . . . it’s just people sitting around and talking/screaming.
And it is good.
edit: *~my roommate~* (who is . . . not much of a reader) let me borrow her copy of the Tom Cruise biography – the writing is absolutely horrendous but it’s a fast read so far and makes me more squeamish about the free stress tests I always see in the Times Square subway . . . I’m about halfway done but I’ll let you know how the couch jumping is!
edit again: i really can’t stand the Dan In Real Life DVD ads – they’re probably the worst representation of that movie ever! i can’t believe the shots they picked of juliette binoche featured her obscured by dane cook’s hair.
Comments (36)
I think the weather around here is really grating on me more than anything else; it’s warm, then it’s cold, then it’s nice, then it’s a fucking blizzard; it’s warm, then it’s cold, then it’s nice, then the power goes out. So forth and so on…
@Drakonskyr - i can’t believe you guys lost power – what did you do? just sit around and wait for it to come back on?
That is a lot of snow!!! We’ve had like 55 inches of snow this winter but not quite that much in one time.
Tim Russert is a keeper. Have you seen his book Big Russ and Me?
As much as I am into following politics I can’t stand most of the political shows. I do tune into The McLaughlin Group once in a while.
Fox News is for idiots.
This is a lot of snow, we been quite lucky so far this year and only had a little bit of snow which did not last too long.
I am so glad it went there and not here! Besides, Elie looks like she is really enjoying it.
We had a wicked rain and wind storm and lost power,the kids loved playing by coal oil lamp light!
We only had 4″ of snow so far,I hope for a blizzard before April!
@angi1972 - she looooooves it, and you can tell in the vid
@seedsower - didn’t you guys freeze?! do you have a generator in case something like that happens?
We have a generator but do not use it unless we have to,we have a gas stove and can always put the oven on it we light it manually. And we have covers and blankets out the wazoo.
@seedsower - phew. i heard some people were out of power during the whole mess and had no idea how anyone could deal with it!
We are in the country! We have a spring for water ,a shithouse if we need it and a summerhouse with a fireplace and bake oven if worse comes to worst and we have canned food on the shelves from the garden that I put up last summer. If there is a big storm headed your way you can come here!
@seedsower - you guys are completely self-sustainable, which is awesome . . . if i were caught in a giant storm, i’d be toast.
No not toast…frozen bread .
Silly,I know!
meet the press comes on at 9am on the west coast.
some kinda snow! it’s been reported that this has been the largest snow pack across north america in general in many years
I just noticed the lightbulb thingy in front of our Xanga name. Cool.
thanks for your reply, but i don’t use *themes*…am i screwed? i’m one of those old people who don’t like change
i just want my subs list back like they were and without themes…do you know how this can be done?
thanks.
~ lea
@be_the_rain - nah, you’re not screwed. try http://www.xanga.com/private/subscriptionsmgr.aspx – make sure it’s on “show” at the top and you’ve got the order you like.
@skanickadee - me too! i actually had it off and liked the way it looked, so i turned it back on. I DON’T CARE IF THE WORLD KNOWS I’M ON THIS SITE AT LEAST TWELVE HOURS A DAY!
i wish we would have snow in sc
Wow. I have never seen that much snow in my life. You northerners are Luuuuck-eee.
i miss ellie.
The pup seems to be enjoying the snow in your video. I’ve heard good and bad things about Scientology though mostly on the internet I hear bad things. I’m interested to hear your conclusions about Cruise’s book.
Here’s another person to potentially consider for featured: http://www.xanga.com/jolie_ravioli
She writes very well (though mostly in a personal journal sort of way), has been on Xanga for a long time, is young, good-natured, and stunningly beautiful which is always a good selling feature. Her current post is sort of a general interest one though I don’t know if it’s front page material; that’s your call. Regardless, maybe keep her on your monitor list of potential future candidates.
tom cruise biography? hmmmm
i wish it would snow here…but oh wells -.-
Oh snow. It makes me miss Minnesota. We’ve had a very snowless winter in NY this year.
i LOVE meet the press!!!
best show on NBC, hands down.
must mean i’m getting old.
i used to watch nbc nightly news. but then tom brokaw retired. i almost cried. sigh*
and i’m a buckeye!
trapped under some snow too….
Good Morning!
I have a question for you. A few of my Xanga pals have mentioned that they can no longer see their whole list of subscriptions, I think only 10 now. It is not a problem for me because I am still using the old private page where I can see everyone but I know that would be irritating for me if I were using the new universal inbox. Is there a reason you’ve changed that and is their a way people using the new universal inbox can change that so that they can see all of their subsrciptions?
Thanks for your help!
Mary Beth
*Just read this in my email digest…Wanted to come and see the snow *wow* love it….what fun…:) So nice that your sister and mom* made it and sent it to you..* I was thinking of her * and hope she is doing well…great to see your dog.**.and you dad.**bet you wish you were there….and love those morning shows..my mom and dad always watched them..mom still does* and so I grew to enjoy them..although I don’t think they ever give poor Eleanor enough time..she always has to end up yelling part of her opinion
I still love Fox because of the great opinions and historians they have on etc…take good care…haven’t been visiting much..lots goin on here…but wanted to pop in and say hi..hope all is well….send my best wishes to you know who…..hugs..Lee 
Ps [ in regards to another post], I don’t understand ‘tags’ and what they are…or why or how they are used lots I have to learn about that stuff 
really, it’s pathetic. Take good care..*
yikes..darn pc..these pages are loading 2-3 times before I can even comment..err..just wanted to mention..after reading his book…if you are curious and want the link that ‘tells’ all’ about his religion..I have it….wow* is all I can say..:)
I feel the pain of the snow. It only got 12″ deep here, because we have thick trees that prevent drifting and accumulation, but it just wouldn’t stop.
At least Ellie is tall enough that she could still walk through it. My dogs are both midgets and have to FLING themselves into the air just to make headway. (Poor little mutts.)
Oh, and your family sounds funny. Not their voices per se, but their personalities.
@Jlamar92 - we don’t have it in ny either! we just get rain. blah.
@affectator_de_veritas - you make me feel like a natural yankee
@bandislife - IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII KNOW! but i’m seeing her at the end of the month so on va faire la fête then (y en a DEUX de nous)
@UR_MUSE - thanks for the rec – you always come up with good ones. i’ll check it out, as i was in a dry spell for content yesterday and was searching like a crazy person.
@nuanniel - i was disappointed. was looking forward to a very snowy ny winter, but to no avail.
@brownize221 - brian williams is great, but brokaw > everyone else.
@priorities - i don’t know if eleanor *needs* to talk any more than they let her. girlfriend is crazy. as for tags, they’re just a way to mark your entries for future reference – they’re like little post-its you stick in a book to remember what you read about on a certain page! hope all is well with you and your loved ones
and i’m already learning a lot more than i wanted to know about thetans and xenu – crazy stuff.
@himynameisgusandiscarepeople - awww! she looked like a giant kangaroo bounding around, so i can’t imagine how funny it must have looked with smaller dogs trying to brave a foot of snow. and yeah, they’re goofballs
@Natalia - i’ma faire la fête avec elle at like the end of next semaine. i only have one exam. the rest are papers and a presentation and portfolio i already turned in.
deuuuuuuuuux.
i’m waiting to hear from vines about grad school. i’m supposed to hear by break.
@bandislife - oh that’s hot. i was talking to my wife when i was home last and she said she was reading like 529834 books for their exams that they have to take at the end of the year . . . and you might want to talk to emily ann about getting everything done in one year. but j’ais pas
i’ve never seen real snow. not that we’d ever get any around here.
there are two things which mix supremely well. screaming + television. nothing beats that.
I’ve always loved the McLaughlin Group. It has been a Friday tradition in my family ever since I was 10 or so (I’m now 34). It’s as fresh as ever and is really the grandfather of modern tv news talkshows like o’reilley and olberman.