Noise

Ever been in a meeting and wondered why you are there and what the heck you are doing there? Do you feel compelled to say something? Do you feel compelled to keep your mouth shut because you are afraid you will just be uhmmm…, Noise? Talk shows and cable news is just a lot of noise.

Yes, Noise.

Dr.Phil was on AC 360 the other day. I watch AC 360 podcast. It is not great but it is the only video podcast I can get of something I don’t hate. He is better than Lou Dobbs, Larry King, Wolf Blitzer…So anyway, Dr.Phil is on AC360 and Anderson Cooper has already mentioned it couple times that later in the show Dr.Phil is going to give some tips on how we can _thrive_ in this economy. Teeee Teeee Teee…My antennas go up…After few news briefs they break to commercial (which I don’t have to watch on podcast) and just before breaking again says Dr.Phil will share some ideas on how to thrive in this troubling economy. Oh come on, man! Come on!

I should have known better. Dr.Phil comes on air…says troubling economy is an opportunity for us to focus on other things. Like spending time with family, getting to know each other better and focusing on things outside the financial trouble. Ah, is it so? Says the dude making millions of dollars selling BS on television? I do not mean to disrespect any psychiatric treatment here but how is that not common knowledge and why do I need TV to tell me that? People are hurting here man. Walking out of homes because they can’t pay mortgages, pulling kids out of colleges, stopping medication. Focus on aspects outside financial trouble? Yes, we will, jerkwad! Next time, do this on your own show or write a book or something. “..ways to thrive in this troubling economy....” Ha! Pure noise, my friend, pure noise!

Gloria Borger; senior political commentator or whatever at CNN. IMO, she is senior paraphraser at CNN. I used to watch a lot of CNN during the presidential election period (yes, I suck!) and they had a typical format. Wolf Blitzer or AC or whoever would host a few commentators/analysts and ask them some questions. Those guys will spin the wheel and after watching few news cycles (literally) you will feel like a hamster running in the CNN wheels. Anyway…so say Ed Rollins (another commentator) makes a comment like “Barack Obama is up against a formidable force a.k.a the GOP. He has to be tough and plough his way through it to show the American people his true leadership.” Now that itself is such a load of horse shit but Wolf Blitzer would look at Ms.Borger and go “Gloria?” And she will respond to it with something like this “Obama’s leadership is under test here. The GOP is testing it and they are tough and he has to be tougher. Once he gets out there he is facing the American people and they need to see him as true leader”. Ok now, that sounds good on TV but really is there anything new and valuable added here? Nope. Simply, Noise!

Meet the Press. Not the same anymore. I used to be a huge fan of this show. Used to watch it on TV until they had the podcast out and used to eagerly download it for my Monday AM ride! It was the first talk show I started watching and was a huge fan of Tim Russert. The show is definitely not the same without him. The new guy David Gregory has his own style and it is probably not fair to compare him Russert. But as a viewer, the reasons that brought me back to that show every week are simply not there anymore. Russert was objective and persistent but never really boxed anybody in with his questions. He would tie in many different pieces into his questions and provided a great look into the most pressing issues. I liked the part where he would ask someone “Will you run for President in xxxx?” and keep repeating till they answer. Everyone says No and when they come back after deciding to run he would play the tape from before. It wasn’t “gotcha” at all and was really fun because each of them had a reason as to why they wouldn’t run and how it has changed now for the “greater good”. The show was unique and very classy. It was a fun show and 45 mins or so would just fly by. Gregory is more robotic and scripted I think. Maybe he needs couple years or so to step into this role. I hope so. Until then, that show is just noise. But I am willing to give it a shot so still download and “skim” through it on Mondays.

Except for the AC360 podcast I don’t watch any cable news anymore. I would like to watch Jon Stewart on comedy central but don’t really have the time to watch it on TV (nor do I have cable) and it is not free on podcast. I listen to all the NPR shows on podcast though and I like them. “Wait, wait don’t tell me”, “This American Life”, “Fresh Air”, “Talk of the nation”…All good. Also, listen to 60 minutes podcast, “Real Time with Bill Maher” – all free podcasts on iTunes. My reading has taken a hit due to my podcast listening on the train though. Maybe I should have couple days allocated for reading and not, uhmmm, noise? It is a thought.