Welcome to Diane Patterson's eclectic blog about what strikes her fancy
Posted on Written by Diane
Damn! How come I didn’t know about Rance until now? A blog ostensibly by a Hollywood star seeking somewhere anonymous to vent? I don’t know if it’s for real or not, but given the link I followed from Gawker, I envision Owen Wilson typing away and laughing maniacally.
Any other blogs out there I should know about and don’t?
Posted on Written by Diane
I have my rare afternoon to myself and I spent the first part of it running around doing errands. As an extra bonus I got the all-too-rare treat of listening to the news, and you know: maybe I just shouldn’t any more.
The show was “The World” on NPR, which they tell us approximately every 2 and a half seconds is a co-production of the BBC and PRI. And within ten minutes I heard one story talking about Fallujah in which the reporter attributed the uprising to (I paraphrase, but this is pretty much the list): Saddam supporters, Islamic terrorists, malcontents, and common criminals.
The anchor then asked what the normal citizens of Fallujah, who support the Americans, are doing. I mean, you know: it’s a total given, right?
Jon Stewart put it the best way last night: “Pockets of resistance? Right now we’d settle for pockets of acceptance.”
The next story was about the kidnapping of three Japanese in Iraq, during which the British reporter, discussing Japan’s national reaction to this crisis, described Japan as a nation unfamiliar with the turmoil of warfare. (Again, not an exact quote. But close.)
And my first reaction was: are you fucking out of your mind?
Now, I do not doubt for a second that modern Japan is sincerely pacifist and is not the militaristic, belligerent nation of the past. But give me a fucking break. If he’d said “all too familiar with” I would have said, Yup, yup. If he’d made some allusion to how much Japan has changed in the past 60 years, I’d be right there with him.
But this nonsense?
This is news for people who have zero historical knowledge. This is news for idiots.
Do yourself a favor. Get your news from a variety of blogs. Here are my top five must-checks every day:
The best thing, of course, that blogs add is analysis. The trick is to find blogs by informed people who have a memory longer than the last commercial break. And who don’t say stupid things like how resisters to an occupation in their own country must of course be Islamic terrorists and common criminals.
§
Billmon has a typically lucid and brilliant analysis of why I think lefty blogs are more on point than righty ones.
Posted on Written by Diane
Tamar told me she wondered what the hell my last entry meant. Simon came down with something or other on Monday. He’s still got it. I got it yesterday. I have been hip-deep in vomit and shit all week.
It hasn’t made for a happy Di, let me tell you.
How Moms who have multiple children all sick at the same time do it…I have no idea. I’ve come pretty close to just letting Simon run free, as nature intended, to make clean-up easier.