Inside Story - Vetting Joe Biden
|
 |
Sunday, 24 August 08 - 08:20 AM (GMT -05:00) By Mark R Filippi in Naked Soma Video |
| ||
So now we're locking in with Big Joe. Here's a moment in the campaign that may resurface (may?) as we steamroll to November. What I want to point out is that here's an ONTO that even in this low moment can still take the heat and not have to apologize for putting his foot in his mouth. That's a skill, and for a politician, it's a weapon, and for a Vice Presidential candidate, it's a vote getter. It's an odd structure we use to get to this point, where we take all the players from round one in the primaries, who openly discredit each other for months, and then the winner has to sift through the ashes and find one who he thinks can fight with him now. When McCain picks Romney (that's the hunch), we'll have gone full circle and then the next layer of this process, the conventions/pep rallies can take place. Then we settle in for the stretch run of debates and attack ads, while the sitting President offers a running commentary. America the Bodacious!
Observentee Ballot, MRF 08.24
MMD's Wrong Goodbye
|
|
|
Sunday, 17 August 08 - 06:26 PM (GMT -05:00) By Mark R Filippi in Naked Soma Video |
| ||
FRI afternoon was a different day in sports talk radio. We got to be witnesses to something that happens everyday in other walks of life. The summer long drama of the future of Mike & The Mad Dog at WFAN ended suddenly and swiftly on THURS night with the news that Chris Russo (he's the Mad Dog btw) is taking his fanny and his fury off the marque over at WFAN. While the majority of humanity carried on unimpeded, crazy people like myself saw this exchange and felt the rollercoaster of emotions these two sapes but each other and their listeners through for 19 years wash over them. Some of you who know me may argue, but their breakup officially ended my adolescence. I feel 43 years old all of sudden.
Life will go on, but 1:05pm ET will not mean as much. Hey, I just looked in the mirror and I have a few gray hairs! WTF? Say something funny Mikey!
American Why?
|
|
|
Sunday, 06 July 08 - 10:46 PM (GMT -05:00) By Mark R Filippi in Naked Soma Video |
| ||
The last few years, I've made an effort to make it to the TV in time to see the 4th of July Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. It's the ideal reality show to me. It's over in 10-15 minutes and you feel every possible human emotion imaginable - it's as American as a foreclosure auction. This year featured an overtime 'Dog Off' where EXO Kobayashi was bested by ECO Joey Chestnut, whose chipmunk style prevailed in the 5 dog sprint eat. Those are the facts. But the reason I bring it up now is that we're at a point in our cultural ethos that this spectacle humanizes us to the world.
It's like that tomato fight they have in Spain every year (1) - It's silly and innocent and it reminds us that we can't always care what people think about us. Being able to not take yourself seriously is an abiity we've lost.
I'm glad Chestnut won. I'm glad America looked silly. We'll get over it.
Chimpmunk style rules, MRF 07.06
For a complete recap of the event, read Ted Berg's brilliant article (2)
George, ya got more 5 weeks!
|
|
|
Sunday, 29 June 08 - 02:50 PM (GMT -05:00) By Mark R Filippi in Naked Soma Video |
| ||
June 22, 2008 we crossed the comedy rubicon. Life continues along now without a sape that was so unavoidable, so inevitable, so unforgetable, that it'll take most of us the rest of our lives to put his out of our collective consciousness. I think I know where he's hiding though...LOL
George Carlin was a unique EXO. Sure he had the utopian mindset down and was great at what he called 'emotional detachment'. He rooted for the Harlem Globetrotters. Why? "There's no losing, no stats, no strikes, no trades, no postseason, and no annoying media. Just winning, all the time, every night." That was his style. He found a way to live among us and yet not be stuck in some of the paradoxes, dilmemmas and self-defeat that claim huge chunks of our lives. Yet George had his flaws. His addictions and long battles in recovery cost him his health, maybe his longevity too. But the time he shared with us is just beginning to be appreciated. Like most artists, George will be more famous 100 years from now, if you can believe he can be more famous. To him, we're like dinner theater. He just showed up and commented on what he saw. He will never be misquoted.
Travel Light George...thanks for the answers...the quest is ongoing.
Counterculture My Ass, MRF 06.29
Omar Faces The Fan
|
|
|
Sunday, 22 June 08 - 12:51 PM (GMT -05:00) By Mark R Filippi in Naked Soma Video |
| ||
Even if you have less than no interest in the aftermath of Willie Randolph's managerial demise, the theater of Omar Minaya's media mea culpa's were a great lesson in ONTO-spin doctoring. In this clip, Omar is put on skates by the reigning kings of sports talk -Mike & The Mad Dog on WFAN. This interview took place minutes after Omar' equally unconvincing press conference in Anaheim, where the NY media had him backpedalling for over 40 minutes. As in that case, Omar just recited his talking points over and over, possibly in an attempt to convince himself he'd done the right thing. It's fun to watch ONTO Chris Russo (Mad Dog) play devil's (and fan's) advocate as EXO Mike Francesa tries to PHYLO for his friend Omar. It's this kind of multi-layer chess game that is making sports media resemble political reporting more and more. If that's not enough drama, it seems that the duo doing the interviewing aren't on the same page these days.
Mike & The Mad Dog Radio Show Could Be History
This is where Omar made an uncalculated risk. His belief in his own value to the Mets was largely built in 2005 and 2006, when the team was tunnelling out of the previous regime of 90+ loss seasons. The Mets had not made the playoffs since 2000. So posting 83 and 97 wins in those years, fielding a young, exuberant ballclub, with some veteran leaders had the fan base behind him. From the ashes of the heartbreak of a Game 7 defeat in the NLCS, Omar lost alot of his street cred in 2007 when the team was decimated by injuries and then fell apart in the, now legendary, September collapse (1). He followed that by placing Willie in a two day limbo bubble, and then held the first of many "Willie's our manager" press conferences. Even his nearly impossible once-in-a-lifetime trade for Cy Young winner Johan Santana didn't restore his standing with the fan base and the beat writers covering the team. Firing Randolph was the last act of a LOCO ONTO. His fortunes are hitched to getting the 2008 team not only to the playoffs, but to the World Series. Anything less, and the sizzle he's been selling will lose it's flavor and he'll be the one ducking the machete.
All that aside, we root for the laundry, so Let's Go Mets, MRF 06.22
Everyone's Advocate
|
|
|
Friday, 13 June 08 - 10:42 AM (GMT -05:00) By Mark R Filippi in Naked Soma Video |
| ||
I know it was "Friday the 13th" and all, but when I got the news that PHYLO extraordinaire, Tim Russert, had died suddenly of one of those pesky Top 10 killers -- actually Numero Uno - Heart Disease. (1) - But as we've seen and heard in the last few days with his passing, this man had anything but a heart problem. He lived his life with all his heart. And as the country faces this intense and relentless emotional crucible this NOV, it's his heart's code that we can attempt to carry with us. I for one, feel it now.
Split Persomas
|
|
|
Friday, 06 June 08 - 12:52 PM (GMT -05:00) By Mark R Filippi in Naked Soma Video |
| ||
The NBA dusted off the highlight reels this past week and got big PHYLO Magic Johnson and old EXO face Larry Bird to 'square' off in one of these split faced commercials. I find these facinating from a domains standpoint. You can see the way each of them uses theire voice, their eyes and their facial expressions, even though you can only look at half of them. Then as now, Bird is the steely-eyed, winner take all EXO and Magic is just playing a game baby.
Now take a look-see at ONTO killa, Koby Bryant and ECO fafizzle Kevin Garnett. Notice how Koby tries to PHYLO and bond with you, but it just ain't happening? And then take in Garnett giving us his bad ass ONTO vibe and see if you can keep from cracking a smile. It' nice to have all 4 Domains 'representing' like this though. Sorry Magic and Kevin, but Koby and Larry actually BELIEVED what they were saying. The soma doesn't lie.
Hoop it up, MRF 06.06
FOX Noise Reviews The Week
|
|
|
Friday, 30 May 08 - 12:19 PM (GMT -05:00) By Mark R Filippi in Naked Soma Video |
| ||
I decided to consult the oracles at FOX news to review the events of the week. So when you sit back and watch the stylings of Ann Coulter as she opines on Scott McClellen's new book and Barak Obama's latest preacher eruption. When I watch this I actually lose compassion for lightweight EXO Allan Colmes as he feeds red meat to this vampire Coulter while PHYLO "Boy Scout" Sean Hannity chortles on. Over 4000 dead American solders and we get this. I guess it's just another in TV land, but it's almost surreal to me...
More after this, MRF 05.30
ONTO Say What?
|
|
|
Friday, 23 May 08 - 11:51 PM (GMT -05:00) By Mark R Filippi in Naked Soma Video |
| ||
In case you didn't catch it, here's the clip of our pal Hillary on FRI doing her best mea culpa after she had made what may still become a 'fatal' error in the final days of the Democratic Primary season. Ignore what she says and instead mute the thing (something I rec'd for any Hillary watching, but anyway...) and watch the seething anger that leaks out as she feigns being contrite about what she said. Even if you support her (and there are 17 million+ of you, so it ain't like she's the Anti-Christ to everyone), the idea that she's hanging around just in case Obama meets up with foul play is not new to the insiders in her camp. Hell, Obama's supporter have been leery of him being taken out all Spring. So it's phoniness all the way around once again.
The media and talk radio can speculate on it. The bloggers can blab about it. The campaign supporters and 527 'swift boaters' can spam e-mails about it. But if old ONTO face just kind of hints at it through a not so well veiled reference to RFK as Teddy is leaving the hospital with brain tumor in his melon the fake outrage spike is off the meter. I would of had more respect for her if she cracked open a box of Yodels in that supermarket and told the press that Obama is a threat to everything this culture dreads and that she is hanging around because she's a threat to everything that he dreads. Nuf sed.
Check out in vile nine, MRF 05.25
Saying The 4 Domains In Vain
|
|
|
Wednesday, 14 May 08 - 01:13 PM (GMT -05:00) By Mark R Filippi in Naked Soma Video |
| ||
This week, pop culture was frothing at the mouth with a rash of unearthed footage of some of the more popular TV reporters and commentators losing it on the air. On MON night we were blessed with WNBC's Sue Simmon's moment of Zen, as this clip here replays for your amusement. The media had a ball dissecting Bill O'Reilly's tantrum from 20 years ago too. Why is it so fascinating to see these people do this? It makes them seem more like us. When we see some random sape on a reality show or one of those FOX cop shows have a meltdown, it's just another member of the trivial many having a bad day. But we see Dan Marino get frustrated or a politico like Chris Matthews get pissed off, it removes the mask of their public persona, and to me, gives them depth.
We're fascinated with emotions. So it really doesn't matter what emotion it is, we'll watch. What's a little troubling is that we seem to reward people for being not authentic or compassionate about them. This creates the Simon Cowell's and Donald Trump's of the datasphere. We love the train wrecks too like Amy Winehouse, Britney, Mike Tyson, etc...who are truly LOCO sapiens that are struggling with powerful addictions in the glare of the spotlight for years and years. It's only when we get an Anna Nicole Smith that we even pause for a moment to realize their human beings that are examples for us all.
With that...enjoy the next hockey fight, NASCAR crash or car chase everyone!
... More items are available in our News Archive
