Thursday, November 05, 2009

Some Things We Couldn't Help Notice

The Secret History of Swine Flu...Revealed.

A Dynamic as Inevitable as Rainfall. Spewers of hatred inevitably become targets of violence themselves. For teletyrant Lou Dobbs, a latter-day Father Coughlin in pancake makeup, and his disgusting campaign against immigrants, he's merely reaping what he's sown.

And Speaking of Teletyrants in Pancake Makeup...We got a kick out of learning that John Stossel, the mustachioed right-wing ideologue who has been masquerading for years as a consumer reporter on ABC, has moved his sad little act to Fox News. We think that's right where he belonged the entire time. He'll fit in marvelously.

The Head-Turning Mrs. Kucinich is Back in the News. And even these female columnists can't help referring to her right up at the top of the piece as a "gorgeous redhead." We almost feel sorry for her, given the seeming obsession about her looks (during Kucinich's last presidential campaign, GQ writer and Cleveland native Scott Raab tagged along with the couple and spent much of his memorable article exploring the many sides of his lust for her). We wonder if she ever finds all this attention to her looks a bit off-putting.

Gloria-ous Recovery. Our friend Gloria Ferris has made a remarkable, even miraculous, recovery from a stroke and other complications. Last month, she returned to Cleveland's MetroHealth Hospital to tell her story to a conference of stroke survivors. We're so glad to have you back in fine form, Gloria.

Question of the Day: How much lower can the once-august Time Magazine go in chasing readers downmarket before it becomes US News & World Report, an unread and unreadable mess? Answer: we hope it can't get any worse than this pathetic sop to pet lovers masquerading as a serious magazine piece (but of course it can, and probably will). It made us embarrassed for the entire magazine industry.

6 Comments:

At 11:27 AM, Blogger FreshGreenKim said...

Any resemblance to a diatribe may just be some latent frustration.

Please accept my attempt to be diplomatic in advance.

RE: Mrs. Kucinich

It drives me crazy that women's looks are newsworthy, one way or the other. It sets up a horrific cycle of measuring or not measuring up.

Rarely do I hear accomplished men described as "the tall, dark, & handsome so and so". We endlessly hear women described in terms of how they look... too thin, gaining weight, changed her hair, bad outfit, pretty, not pretty, etc.

I'm not suggesting we don't compliment or notice someone's looks. We are human and that's our first impression. It's a nice way to break the ice. However, to lump it in with a myriad of other accomplishments both minimizes the other feats and overinflates the ability to look good. Seriously, looks are more or less genetics. Attractive is in the eye of the beholder, anyway.

But she is pretty... Pretty accomplished! I love her mission. Nothing like encouraging healthy living to get me excited!

 
At 11:35 AM, Blogger Art Durkee said...

That's the best overview of the swine flu virus history I've run across so far. Thanks for linking to it. I'm going to pass that on to several folks I know.

 
At 11:36 AM, Blogger John Ettorre said...

Yes, Kim, you've nicely summed up pretty much what I was thinking as I first read this. It struck me that even women writers fall into this trap. Let me stipulate that I do find her quite attractive, as no doubt many others do also. But it's just getting a little old, all this to-do about her looks.

On the other hand, as one friend mentioned in an email this morning, after reading this, "methinks that Ms. Kucinich enjoys having her pix taken." That's also obvious in most photos, and I think it does play into some or perhaps even much of the tone of the coverage. If she did a tad less vamping for the cameras, perhaps there'd be a tad less attention paid to her looks.

Take me, for instance. I stay out of the glare of the cameras, and when's the last time anyone made a big fuss about my appearance? Well, on second though, maybe this isn't terribly pertinent...

 
At 11:38 AM, Blogger John Ettorre said...

My thoughts also, Art. There in one article was a great encapsulation of most of what I've wondered about on this subject. How nice to get all your answers in a single article.

 
At 12:29 PM, Blogger FreshGreenKim said...

Now I may come off as sending mixed messages, but perhaps it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

We women KNOW someone will comment on our looks, so we take extra measures to look good. Which came first, chicken or the egg?

Mrs. K. perhaps is using whatever tools she has to be heard? I notice for example, John, you don't use a photo on your site, but I use one on ALL mine. (maybe that's why nobody makes a fuss about your appearance?)

 
At 1:51 PM, Blogger John Ettorre said...

You're right, of course. And since my photo sure wouldn't help me be heard or otherwise noticed, I generally stick to the writing itself as lone slim reed upon which rest all my hopes of drawing attention.

 

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