NEWS MEDIA SHOULDN'T ALLOW IDIOTS TO COMMENT ON STORIES

You frequently hear people lament that the news media of today is not as good as the news media of the past. Then again, you hear that about everything. When I entered college as a media major, being in the news media was considered one of the ultimate jobs a person could have. After all, the news media was America's window to the world. If I wanted to I could choose the path to belong to that elite group with such people as Walter Cronkite, Chet Hutley and David Brinkley, and Peter Jennings (All pictured above). I've got a surprising eye opener for you. Watch the evening world news on CBS, NBC and ABC, then watch an old evening world news cast on You Tube from the 60s, 70s or 80s. They haven't changed except for the technology and personalities.

On the other hand watch a clip of CNN from the 80s and then watch a little of it now, you WILL see a big change. Personally, cable news has went down in quality. Also, you would be shocked if you saw Internet news pages of the 90s versus today's.

Let me give you my opinion about what made the men above trusted voices. They were larger than life figures in Washington, DC or New York. When they told you what happened, you accepted it as the truth and didn't argue with them. Now thanks to Facebook, Bubba in Bois D'Arc or NellieBelle in Piedmont, Arkansas can make a snide remark about a story KYTV or KOLR ran on the 6 pm news or bad mouth Brian Williams or Scott Pauly.

I feel the comments on local news stories on Facebook has reached some very dangerous and tacky levels. After a recent tragic accident here in the Ozarks, people began leaving comments accident if the man and woman, who died in the accident were having an extra marital affair. WHAT DOES THAT MATTER? WHY WOULD PEOPLE BRING UP THAT AT SUCH A DELICATE TIME?

Another problem is how Internet news like Yahoo and MSN is driven not by importance, but what people have shared, searched or read. Never mind important world news or national news, Yahoo and MSN is going to give you headlines on Anne Hathway's ugly dress or a video of cute kittens on You Tube.

Let me also add that it is either time to do away with Letters to the Editor in newspapers or make stricter rules on what letters get printed. Some local newspapers run letters from the same idiots week after week and day after day. I was recently looking at some back issues of the Springfield News Leader and discovered that many of the crazy right-wing letters in the 80s and 90s were from the same people EVERYDAY. Many of these were stupid too. Case in point: Ron Davis in his Chatter column (which was hated by these idiot NL letter writers) had said that he wished Guns N Roses would perform in Branson. Several brain damaged individuals didn't want Guns N Roses in Branson, because they considered them "vulgar" and "untalented." You know who else they didn't want to come to Branson? ANDY WILLIAMS. Yes, the Letters to the Editor section in the Springfield News Leader was once filled with hateful letters from Ozarkers who didn't want Andy Willaims to bring his "Hollywood values" and "Las Vegas values" to "ruin" the Ozarks. This was after he had told some an interviewer that some of the Branson shows were crappy.

The one thing I have learned from working in the media is that the majority of people think you do a great job but never tell you. The people who constantly criticize the media are insanely jealous of media people because they chose a bad career, like real estate or auctioneering.

Of course, opinions like these are why I'm considered the Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! 

YAHOO NEEDS TO STOP WITH THE FASHION POLICE REPORTS

Many times, when I'm at work, I go to Yahoo to see if there is any breaking news from Associated Press or Reuters. They used to be pretty good at displaying the latest news headlines. Lately, Yahoo has been trying to draw attention to OMG, Yahoo's gossip sight which tries to be TMZ, only without the "Let's-hunt-down-and-kill-celebrities" mentality. It tries more to copy Perez Hilton's snippy, caddy comments on celebrities clothing. The difference is Perez is gay guy who is fascinated with celebrities, where as OMG's comments remind us of those cranky, fat, zit-faced girls who had find the least little flaw in the cheerleaders ("Her hair is way too wavy and her butt is round instead of square like mine.") The OMG headlines are just stupid and useless.

I don't care that the folks at OMG think that Nicole Kidman had too much make-up on, Miley Cyrus is dressed like Moms Mabley or Lindsay Lohan has a runner in her hose. They also seem to have a bizarre hatred of high-waisted jeans like the ones Audrina Partridge is wearing in the photo above. I have no problem with this sight being listed as part of Yahoo, but to the OMG headlines have to dominate the Yahoo home page over the national news headlines.

I also think jeans like this are STILL SEXY! Of course, opinions like this are why I'm considered the Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I ATTENDED THE OCTOBER BLOGGER MEETUP

Once a month Springfield area bloggers meet at Patton Alley Pub. I was able to attend for once. I met some bloggers I was unfamiliar with. I will be adding them to my blog role. The only person there that I already knew was Sarah Austin of SGF Blogs and A Fool of Myself.

Since I rarely attend, I thought I would take some photos to prove I was there. Here they are, even though they are kind of fuzzy. I can build giant robots and ray guns, but I can't take photos with my Blackberry yet. Left to right: Nigel Holderby of Tome Curator, Carie Benton of Our Crooked Tree, Uli Gulje of Half Past Awesome, Sarah Austin of A Fool of Myself & SGF Blogs, Linden A. Mueller of Linden's Pensieve.

This is me with Carie Benton, Sarah Austin and Linden A. Mueller.

I always have fun at these meetups. I wish I could attend more and I still need to get my Blogaroni from Larry Little. The good part was no weenie-bloggers showed up. If they had I would have vaporized them with my raygun. Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I HATE TROLLS!

I hate Internet trolls. Whether they are creeping around on message boards or posting comments on blogs, I don't like them! That is one reason I stopped allowing comments at all. They don't really contribute to the conversation.

There seems to be a glut of trolls in our area. There were some rather amusing ones who posted over on Busplunge's blog. Art Morris' Missouri Radio Message Board has been attacked by two creeps known as TommyT and AMMan. They may be either Mr. Mike, who was kicked off of the board last year, or the old Missouri Radio Message Board bully Talk Radio Guy. All I can say is both of these trolls butcher the English language as bad as the webmaster at the KSGF website. HHHMMMMM!

Worst post by a troll this week was on Ron Davis' Chatter, where a self-proclaimed conservative businessman said "Liberals should be aborted." Not a very classy person, if you asked me.

I'm also heard from several former and current News Leader employees, who are critical of the comments on the News Leader website. They point out the double-standard that the News Leader requires a name and a phone number for a letter to the editor, but people can hide behind fake names on the comments section. Also, remember all the editorials a few years back about anonymous blogging (I thought those were about me, but it was actually another blog - probably that Weenie-Blog run by a guy named Scooter).

Point is, I DON'T LIKE TROLLS AND I'M KEEPING THEM OFF MY BLOG!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

STUPIDEST THING POSTED ON FACEBOOK

A well-meaning friend sent me an invitation to a cause on Facebook. Now I have no problem supporting causes that are non-partisan or dealing with public safety issues, but after reading the comments on this by supporters I decided not to join.

One comment struck me as one of the stupidest statements that a person could ever make. Some bonehead posted, "I don't remember where I was when I heard that Michael Jackson died, but I will always remember where I was on 9-11."

Well Dumb-bell, Michael Jackson died in June. I was at work producing a local sports call-in show. HOW COULD YOU NOT REMEMBER WHERE YOU WERE THREE MONTHS AGO??? DO YOU HAVE ALZHEIMER'S OR ARE YOU A METH & MOONSHINE ADDICTED REDNECK WITH NO TASTE IN MUSIC???

I wish Facebook would remove both the Michael Jackson-haters and the President Obama-haters from Facebook. Of course, opinions like this are why I'm considered the SUPER-VILLAIN OF THE OZARKS!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

PUNCH UP YOUR RESUME WITH 70s PORN CHIC

An out-of-work copywriter named Lawson Clarke came up with a great way to attract attention to potential employers. Ad Age's Bob Garfield reports that Clarke created a 70's porn themed website showcasing some of his best work and his half naked body. The site, malecopywriter.com, looks like a Playgirl centerfold with Clarke posing on a bearskin rug with his "best work" displayed on a neo-Panasonic portable TV. When you first arrive on the site the TV is playing, what appears to be, an old "Sign-Off" tape. Maybe that is what this blog needs to attract readers - a picture of me naked.

DOES FACEBOOK ONLY WANT RIGHT-WINGERS?

I finally decided to get a Facebook account even though I'm still not crazy about it. I believe some of my fears about it may be right - it is a nest of conservatives and people who didn't like me in high school. I ought to report these people to MIAC.

People are always wanting you to join some conservative cause which, of course, I'm not interested in. Plus there are these personality quizzes, which are usually harmless stuff like "Which Brady Bunch Character Are You" (I hope I'm Vincent Price living in a cave in Hawaii or the Guy Who Took Marcia's Virginity).

One of the quizzes is called The Political Meter. The questions are poorly written with bad multiple choice answers that seems to be slanted against anyone to the left of Rush Limbaugh. They are actually sound like some bad stereotype of a progressive thinker perpetuated on local radio but Chucky Booms or Vincent David Jericho.

I took this quiz and this was what it said: "Your trendy bleeding heart beliefs may need some work. Try watching the O'Reilly factor and listening to right wing programs to balance your bombardment of liberal media. You may learn something about the country and yourself. "

Excuse the living Hell out me! I WILL NOT CHANGE MY BELIEFS SO I CAN FIT IN WITH A BUNCH OF BORING PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK! I'LL GO BACK TO MYSPACE WHERE THE COOL PEOPLE ARE!

I think Facebook needs to stop some of this right-wing recruitment garbage and be more like MySpace, with loud music players on every page and photos of drunk girls. Opinions like these make me the SUPER VILLAIN OF THE OZARKS!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I'M TOO COOL FOR FACEBOOK

Everywhere you go, you hear someone talking about Facebook. Most of what I have heard about Facebook was more positive than about MySpace. Also I was hearing this from people in my age group and older people as well. That should have been a tip off right there as to what it was. Facebook is boring and dull. It is like someone said "How can we make a website like MySpace more like a Polk Directory?"

My twin brother decided to start a profile since our high school class is getting a reunion together on Facebook (I might show up). I noticed that unlike MySpace that Facebook seems to be very anal and uniform. Then I looked at a few profiles and noticed they were not as much fun to look at as the MySpace profiles. There was NO MUSIC. What is a profile page with out your favorite Metalica song?

People on Facebook have to use their real names not fun monikers like on MySpace. I was on there for an hour and didn't see any pictures of drunk, single girls with there skirts stuck in the waistband of their pantyhose dancing on a table.

I believe Facebook was created for people too boring and dull to be on MySpace. It is for overachievers who seem to see everything as a part of their status. There are people on Facebook telling how much money they make, how good their grades were in high school, how much many cars and houses they own, how many kids they have, how many wives and concubines they have. Too many guys who list themselves as Republicans on there.

Granted, unlike MySpace, I didn't find any photos or profile of former male classmates in drag ("Hey, I don't remember this chubby blonde girl in my class - Omigod! That's Tommy Farquar.")

I think I'd rather be on MySpace because it is more like a fun college party and Facebook is like a bad Chamber of Commerce meeting. Of course, opinions like these are what make me the SUPER VILLAIN OF THE OZARKS!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHA!

VIRUS WARNING: E-mail from CNN!!!

I don't know about the rest of you but I received an e-mail that looked to be an advertisement from CNN promoting their on-line videos. I had an uneasy feeling because I had received a e-mail the previous week mentioning CNN on-line, but the content on that e-mail was "Did you see this on CNN?" and a link that WASN'T to CNN. I deleted that. I tried to click on one of the on-line video headlines. A security warning came up saying the link was to a VIRUS!

Earlier in the week I was getting badly constructed e-mails from Ad Age that supposedly went to their videos. Ad Age has never mentioned on their website or other e-mails that they had on-line video.

I thought I should warn some of you of this virus carrying e-mail going around.

Embarrassing Banner Ad

Some ads on news websites and blogs are to advertise things related to the content. Adland has this rather amusing screen capture from CNN.com. Ooooppps!