Interview with David Simon of The Wire

Long interview over at Vice Magazine with David Simon, creator of The Wire:

Yes. Newspapers have less and less ambition and are demanding less and less of themselves as arbiters of what is actually important, of what our problems are and how we’re addressing them. The Wire was trying to say, at the end, “Look, if anything in the first four seasons struck a nerve with you, don’t think for a moment that anyone’s going to address themselves to it—least of all the watchdogs of society—because their teeth have been taken out.” They’ve done it to themselves. We had to say that last because ultimately we were saying: “This is the America you built and if you think the first alarm is ever going to go off in any sense, guess again.”

Well worth it.

Hat tip to Signal vs. Noise.

Gov. Sarah Palin, Queen of All Media

From the latest interview with Katie Couric:

Couric: And when it comes to establishing your worldview, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?

Palin: I've read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.

Couric: What, specifically?

Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.

Couric: Can you name a few?

Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn't a foreign country, where it's kind of suggested, "Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?" Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.

The above is almost unbelievable. For anyone to make such a claim and then try to act as the victim of some sort of lower 48 intellectual snobbery is a shameful display. (On a related note, I'm getting really annoyed with Palin bringing everything back to Alaska. 400 people live there.)

I actually thought on the whole this was her best interview. Perhaps it was the less formal settings in which the conversations took place, but she seemed more relaxed, genuine, and credible (with the exception of the aforementioned "I read everything" comment). At least she sticks to her (fundamentalist, hyperconservative) guns on social issues.

I can see her appeal to certain voters.

Get back to us, Sarah. Perhaps before Nov. 4th?

From her interview with Katie Couric:

Couric: You've said, quote, "John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does business." Other than supporting stricter regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more example of his leading the charge for more oversight?

Palin: I think that the example that you just cited, with his warnings two years ago about Fannie and Freddie - that, that's paramount. That's more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives did for us.

Couric: But he's been in Congress for 26 years. He's been chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee. And he has almost always sided with less regulation, not more.

Palin: He's also known as the maverick though, taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to get people to understand what he's been talking about - the need to reform government.

Couric: But can you give me any other concrete examples? Because I know you've said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no action. Can you give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly taking a stand on this?

Palin: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done, that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America needs today.

Couric: I'm just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.

Palin: I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you.

Ed: Ugh - the transcript was bad enough, but this video is painful:

Palin's Pronunciation

of "nuclear" is just like Bush's! How quaint.

Gibson's interview with Palin on ABC. There's rather a lot more to complain about in this clip, but I'll leave it up to you to enjoy.


Bonus: Turns out the speechwriters wanted to make sure she pronounced it correctly during her speech at the RNC.

Adrants Interviews Mad Men Creator Matthew Weiner

Read it here.

Lindelof on LOST

An interview with Damon Lindelof, co-creator of LOST. Fans of the show should definitely check it out.

Hat tip to Wally for the link.