09.09.09
Posted By Cliff Tuttle | September 9, 2009
Posted by Cliff Tuttle (c) 2009
INTRODUCTION: This is a short fluffy commentary on trends in the news which you might find entertaining or even thought provoking.
Signs of the Times on 09.09.09:
– September 9, 2009, with its unique numerology, was selected as the release date of the digitally remastered collection of the Beatles’ music for reasons too complicated to repeat here.
– Why was there a tempest in a teapot over the Presidential address to students, considering that we live in a media-rich world where it is impossible to protect anyone from any point of view? Don’t parents and school administrators know that you only make the message more interesting by banning it? Or do they?
– Later this month, TV news programs will give plenty of exposure to the opinions of G-20 protesters. They do so only because the news media is constantly searching for something different from yesterday’s report.
– The G-20 security perimeter around the convention center made the top of the front page of both papers. This recognizes the importance of traffic alerts in the Pittsburgh hierarchy of news value. Did you notice that 28,000 National Guardsmen (Guardspeople?) will be on hand, as PLBT had suggested some weeks ago? That should impede traffic, too.
– The Roethlisberger civil lawsuit is being conducted primarily in the media and only incidentally in the court dockets. We thought about covering the case in PLBT, but we don’t do sports or entertainment.
– The use of country and rock concerts to enhance sporting events has now become routine. PG headline: “McGraw, Black Eyed Peas kick off 2009 NFL season.”
– The Pirates finally set a much-predicted record for consecutive losing seasons. Yet the team is profitable and attendance is not too bad for a perennial loser. And how about that Jones kid? In this era of free agency, when it is possible to buy a championship in a hurry, our Pirates are committed to another path to the top. Good for them!
– The Gadgeteer reports that you can buy a personal sleep coach.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, AN ECONOMIC-SOCIAL NOTE:
– Even the worst times do not reach everyone. The “Pet Menu” of a Chicago Hotel features a 10 oz. filet, available 24 hours by room service. Those lucky dogs! No champagne, though.
CLT