Favorite newspaper: New York Times - I love the Times and I usually scour it every day looking for articles of special interest. Thing I hate about the Times is that it actually consumes a big chunk of my day. They have the best writers although I dislike their editorials now and then. For instance it was shortsighted of them to support the idiot Supreme Court decision that ruled in favor of eminent domain for private property developers who bully smaller property owners, thus discouraging small property ownership and upkeep in the first place. And I seem to recall the Times supported the London Police when they shot an innocent man in the subway (August, 2005) because he ran fast with a coat and backpack. That support is even more questionable in light of the later revelation that the man was not running, and not wearing a coat. He got seven bullets to the head, a clear victory for the terrorists by helping us fear our own police. But no newspaper is perfect. The Times is packed with intelligent writers. I especially love their focus on arts and great New York obituaries and biographical articles, and lots of articles about business and cultural trends and topics of substance. And I also love the fact that I can get the Times in just about any city in America any day of the week.
Favorite major TV journalist: Ted Koppel - As I write this I have suddenly gone without TV for about a year because I have been far from home and preoccupied with a project. And I heard a rumor that Ted was stepping down from Nightline in 2005. For many years I regarded Ted as an example of penetrating and duty conscious journalism. He has in fact been the third leg of American democracy. The other two legs would be the broken tripod of American journalism which often fails to work hard at finding the most useful and relevant truth. I may not always agree with Ted but I've rarely watched a Nightline program where I did not salute his ability to get to the nitty gritty of some major issue of substance.
Favorite web site: Wikipedia.org - After surfing the Net since 1996, I have been to tens of thousands of web sites. Yahoo.com has always been my favorite for finding things. But Wikipedia is the best of all finds for actual content. I especially like the ability to research cult figures in the arts, aesthetic things, just about anything. It's a very intelligent place to go.
Favorite book: "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read?" - This wonderful book was written by Peirre Bayard, a literature professor at Paris University. It was reviewed by The New York Times (February 24, 2007). What I like about the book is how it liberates us from the horrid notion that we must individually catalog all the ideas of intellectuals in order to keep up with the pressing demands of social debate. Instead, it gently suggests that we need to lighten up and enjoy the works of great writers on a more leisure basis, even if it means we merely scan over them or just browse the indexes or only read parts of many books. In that vein, I hope to track down this book and make it a part of my burgeoning library soon. I might even read it.
Favorite situation comedy: Cheers - I've seen every episode at least three or four times. And yet they never bore me. Each of the characters in Cheers is reduced to a caricature. You can watch Cheers and really feel like you're there. Otherwise I really don't watch sitcoms much except for Sienfeld, having seen just about every episode many times as well.
Favorite presidents: Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter - Obama came at a time when America had long lost the idealism of the 1960s. He replaced a deeply unpopular president - George W. Bush - who trampled the Constitution through torture, unnecessary warand fiscal policies that trainwrecked the economy. I was born during the Truman administration. I remember every president since Eisenhower. Prior to Obama, there was never any President as great as James Earl Carter during my lifetime. Don't get me wrong. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was great for reaching beyond his own wealthy origins to stick up for black people and the poor. It's rare that anyone so privileged would even think of the disenfranchised. Kennedy devoted his whole being to achieve civil rights for Americans. But he also gave his signature to the ghastly usage of napalm in Viet Nam. I do not regard Jimmy Carter as a clever or powerful president. But he may have had more heart and virtue than even Kennedy. His whole life has been about social change. He had no glamor. His brother was an enigmatic sideshow who brought us Billy Beer. But there was no gimmick in Jimmy. Although I am not exclusively one religion or another and I'm hardly religious, Carter is commendable for living up to his Christian virtues. And especially commendable for his active principles of nonviolence, global peace and civil rights and immediate opposition to the war in Iraq.
Favorite toilet paper: Big Roll: Pardon me for broaching this hush hush topic. It may seem unimportant, but I can tell if you're gullible and naive to Madison Avenue hype by your choice in toilet paper. Most toilet paper is sold to us with claims of softness. Butt it's just a trick to sell you air that is packed into each roll by various means of texturing the roll. Big Roll, on the other hand, is a comparative value. The roll is nice and heavy because it contains more paper than air. And my ass has no complaints. When you wad up a handful of Big Roll toilet paper, it actually feels better than one of those soft puffy air-filled brands because it's nice and strong. That means it won't break and leave your fingers doing the job all by themselves.
