(no subject)

Last night, I turned to monshu and said, "After we take of this, I want to discuss with you some issues raised by last night's episode of Manhunt."

And I was serious.

Watching it was essentially the price of (a) being with him and (b) having the privilege of seeing my hometown team clobbered in another anticlimactic ball game. Tuesdays were all about QE4tSG until Bravo decided to play switcheroo and got the old man hooked. Having seen two episodes now, I have to admit that it's not at all bad for a reality show (which I fully realise is like saying "As infectious diseases go, you could really do a lot worse.") The challenges actually seem to make some sense, as evidenced by their ability to raise some issues about the relationship of art and commerce (even if they do so in less than a straightforward and honest fashion).

( Better stick this behind a cut )

I ended up thinking about commercial artists like bitterlawngnome and urso and contemplating how they balance the demands of an employer not only with their own artistic impulses, but with the necessities of self-promotion. The client needs to present her firm or product in a certain way to attract business, whereas the artist--particularly, I would guess, if he is a freelancer--needs to build a portfolio that will help him to obtain fulfilling and/or renumerative work. Ideally, these two goals coincide, but probably not without a lot of negotiation. What qualities does one need to achieve that harmony?

Unanticipated change of heart

I'm stunned to see that, after article after article defending Bush's foreign policy decisions, Economist has come out with an endorsement of Kerry. I guess they've been more convinced by Senator Kerry's shift in rhetoric in recent weeks than most neo-conservatives.

Anyone keeping a tally of media endorsements? Are there other surprises out there?