tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post4967088875201069674..comments2024-03-29T11:33:11.105-04:00Comments on the daily howler: In search of “dumb” as a standard of judgment!<b>bob somerby</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02963464534685954436noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-80840011735945664562013-02-28T13:01:37.959-05:002013-02-28T13:01:37.959-05:00Actually it was more a review of the reviews, and ...Actually it was more a review of the reviews, and how those reviews are averse to using the word 'dumb'.<br /><br />Although an old joke is coming to me "If they are so dumb, then why are they rich?"<br /><br />Of course, the whole point of the "idiot box" is that, like the speech in Billy Madison, we are all dumber for having watched it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-54954048902210031512013-02-26T22:45:57.884-05:002013-02-26T22:45:57.884-05:00I didn't see the Oscars, can't remember a ...I didn't see the Oscars, can't remember a time I've ever bothered to watch them. I do enjoy sitting down to an occasional episode of Family Guy however. One of very few shows I do watch. Sometimes laugh-out-loud funny and sometimes fitting in the way it mocks ignorance. <br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpP7b2lUxVEMaxFrostnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-9212333832753161732013-02-26T22:02:31.336-05:002013-02-26T22:02:31.336-05:00We were waiting for the "We Saw Your Dick&quo...We were waiting for the "We Saw Your Dick" number, but it didn't materialize.DipsoFactonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-6571182284462352522013-02-26T21:35:19.813-05:002013-02-26T21:35:19.813-05:00But boob jokes require no creativity or skill at a...But boob jokes require no creativity or skill at all.<br /><br />"If there was anything subversive about MacFarlane's whole performance, it was his perseverance, his insistence at sticking it to the female gender in those jokes, and most of them were like white bread with Miracle Whip on top, boring and bland to me." <br /><br />From one of my favorite bloggers. Yes, McFarlane was dumb. And dumb in an utterly conventional way.Emmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-46737965504338365242013-02-26T21:24:44.876-05:002013-02-26T21:24:44.876-05:00That's quite a commentary for someone who clai...That's quite a commentary for someone who claims to have fled the Oscars shortly after the Boobs number.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-7078922030959783222013-02-26T20:18:14.121-05:002013-02-26T20:18:14.121-05:00I stopped watching this awful show years ago and I...I stopped watching this awful show years ago and I've never regretted it. Even if the jokes are intelligent, non racist, and non sexist, the scripts everyone else reads are so awful, so trite and self-congratulatory, that it just seems like all of Hollywood masturbating each other. I can't stand these people or their movies. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-27165461223680517742013-02-26T19:13:24.616-05:002013-02-26T19:13:24.616-05:00The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences ...The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is a mutual admiration society.<br /><br />One of the most important factors in selecting an Oscar winner is how much money the producers spread around Hollywood that year.<br /><br />Sounds a lot like C-Span.<br /><br />Boring!gravymeisterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16075831177588700301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-41196873338209769672013-02-26T17:11:17.516-05:002013-02-26T17:11:17.516-05:00I'm so used to hating "Family Guy" t...I'm so used to hating "Family Guy" that I actually thought McFarlane raised his standards a bit for the Oscar gig. As a result I probably didn't cringe as much as I normally would have. Here are three points at which I cringed the most: <br /><br />Seth made a crack about how winning an Oscar guarantees a fabulous career. He could have made that a sexist joke by pointing to all the Oscar winning beauties who have since all but disappeared (per a recent Salon article). He could have made race-tinged fat jokes about that hugely obese black girl of "Precious" and hardly anything else since. But no, he directed the joke at the white French guy from "The Artist" who had to be there to present Best Actress. (I'm sure he's enjoying a brilliant career in France.)<br /><br />Of course the "Jews Run Hollywood" jokes from the toy bear were cringeworthy. I'm surprised he didn't drag Chuck Hagel into it. (Was the movie any funnier than the routine? If not, I'm glad I skipped it after all.)<br /><br />The closing number dedicated to the losers -- with names. Not clever, just mean, and pointless. Much funnier was Steve Martin the year the phrase "and the winner is" was forbidden in favor of "and the award goes to" presumably because all nominees are indeed "winners." No doubt in protest of this Orwellian restriction, Steve Martin gamely announced upon opening his envelope, "And the losers aren't --- "<br /><br />I'm loving all this criticism heaped upon Seth because I've always hated him. But does it mean he disappointed millions of fans convinced of his unfailing genius, or that millions have hated him all along and finally had their chance at him?Jeeves Stumphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17716700263908484003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-60106768578978531722013-02-26T17:04:00.065-05:002013-02-26T17:04:00.065-05:00Bob, why don't you put together a you tube sam...Bob, why don't you put together a you tube sampler of the way you would have hosted. But, please no Bob Hope impressions.DipsoFactonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-43690327578549157672013-02-26T15:48:57.750-05:002013-02-26T15:48:57.750-05:00And about the easiest, annual "review" t...And about the easiest, annual "review" to write is just how awwwwfull! the Academy Awards show is.<br /><br />Seems like so long ago that I came to this blog for serious discussion of politics.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-69460592992315281452013-02-26T14:44:40.995-05:002013-02-26T14:44:40.995-05:00Well, given his "review" of "Django...Well, given his "review" of "Django," doubtful.<br /><br />It's more like in that case. Somerby watched a few minutes then thought he knew everything about it. "A little learning . . ." you know.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-92102022176916635532013-02-26T14:27:52.005-05:002013-02-26T14:27:52.005-05:001) Shows featuring entertainers giving awards for ...1) Shows featuring entertainers giving awards for entertainment are mainly watched for the glamorous fashions as opposed to meaningful social commentary. If you're older than 12, you're probably aware of this. Also, don't watch the NBA All-Star game to learn the mechanics of tough defense. <br /><br />2) "We’d extend the complaint about race" <br />R-Bomb alert! By the way, MacFarlane created The Cleveland Show. That too relies on race for humor--it works because race is still a sensitive issue in America. Oh yeah, and Cleveland is generally the sensible good guy in the show. <br /><br />3)Howard Stern burps into the microphone. MacFarlane does Broadway-style song and dance routines. One requires notably more skill and creativity than the other. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-26273113181757202502013-02-26T13:39:55.136-05:002013-02-26T13:39:55.136-05:00Maybe he DVRed it and watched it later?Maybe he DVRed it and watched it later?hardindrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05275899305949454964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-14941738717810931812013-02-26T13:35:24.771-05:002013-02-26T13:35:24.771-05:00Good Gawd, Somerby. Didn't you write this yest...Good Gawd, Somerby. Didn't you write this yesterday:<br /><br />"We fled the Oscars not too long after Seth MacFarlane performed 'We Saw Your Boobs,'"<br /><br />Which right at the top of the show. And now you are going to review the whole show based on what others are writing about it. Others that you happen to agree with.<br /><br />Reminds me of your review of "Django Unchained," which you also walked out on, then pretended to know everything about it, based on reviews that happened to agree with you.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com