This week is the 8th Annual TV-Turnoff Week..
While I understand the reasoning behind this and agree that the statistics linking excessive TV viewing to poor health, family relations, grades and social skills I don't think that turning your TV off -cold - is the answer.
Television is part of our national language - it's an integral part of our cultural literacy. Sure 90 percent of the stuff on TV is crap but in addition to the other 10 percent being not crap, I think it's important to keep up with what we as a nation are interested in. When I was in college I took a popular culture class where the teacher made us watch “Home Improvement” because it was the number one-rated show at the time. At first I found the idea appalling but then I came to understand the importance of seeing this show at least once - and the importance of trying to understand why it was so popular. What about it reflected our nation's values, desires and needs?
That said there is also just some flat-out great entertainment out there. I’m sorry, while I would be the first person to tell you to turn off your set and read a book I’m also not going to miss “The Gilmore Girls”, “The Osbournes”, “Six Feet Under” or “Survivor”.
Instead of attacking television in such a reactionary fashion we should embrace the good things it has to offer and either ignore or get rid of the bad. Write letters to the networks. Write letters to the editors.
Don’t let your life revolve around TV – watch shows with an open, critical mind and use your VCR wisely – but don’t let your life be ruled by conventional, conservative-in-liberal-clothing activists either.

I don't know how I ended up being subscribed to the e-mail list for the Modern Matters web site, (I probably did it myself in one of my usual diet coke-and-jack daniels-induced fogs) but, after a brief look around I think I'll come back and check out more...this short yet sweetly evocative piece on the World Trade Center is what did the trick....

the new Paul Westerberg album comes out next Tuesday.
In addition to this being one damn good record (it's two records, actually. Disc two is a new Grandpaboy album) it's also a good example of the current trend of musical vanguards moving from majors to the label (sometimes by choice, sometimes not...).
For example, Tom Waits and Merle Haggard are both on the punk label Epitaph. Now, it's rumored that Nick Cave might do the same.
How long before major labels are completely irrelevent?
Or are they already?

Slate's rant doesn't cover new ground but it's still refreshing to read - especially in an era when Renee Zellewegger can make me feel fat for refusing to gain 20 pounds (putting the 5'5'' actress at 120 pounds) for the Bridget Jones' Diary sequal.
Read "A La Mode
Vogue's pathetic attempt at body-type diversity" here

As a journalist I'm not too concerned about my job - yet.
I believe that news services, web logs and filters serve one purpose and newspapers serve another.
Most of the time, however, I think television news is completely pointless. Only in times of emergency and national crisis does it seem to function well and provide any real, valuable information.
Read more about the new news trend here (from Wired News)