Censorship of Flag-Draped Caskets Over

Obama has made another swift and decisive move to return America to the free country it used to be.
Media images of flag-draped caskets carrying dead soldiers from Iraq and Afganistan have been banned for five years. Today, in keeping with the Obama policy of truthfulness, the censorship ended.
Photos of caskets of fallen soldiers document the starkest reality of war: people die. You can't whitewash it, though the Bush administration tried.
The elder Bush banned these images to keep the war an abstraction to as much of the public as possible. Casket images in the Vietnam era started much of the anti-war sentiment that grew out of the government's control. Some families of fallen soldiers defend the ban, citing their right to privacy. If the caskets were open, perhaps they would have a case. Families of victims should get empathy and support, not the right to make policy.
Censorship is wrong, wrong, wrong.

The Amazing Race 14: Munich, Germany

I don't know why I am rooting so hard for Linda and Steve to stay in the race tonight. They are the weakest team in the race, perhaps the weakest team in several seasons.
At the first pit stop, Steve tearfully regrets treating Linda badly during the first leg. Contemplating their next stop, Munich, Linda says "Germany has beer, so I hope there is a beer challenge."
Again, I wonder why the producers selected this team with no discernible strength. Somewhere in mid-episode, I start hoping Steve and Linda will hang on for a few more rounds.
Leg Two begins with eight of ten teams getting on the first flight, a Swiss Air flight to Munich. Most teams are smart enough to borrow the cab driver's cellphone to make their flight reservations.
Mark and Michael, the stuntmen, say they can relax because they came in third. Dangerous words. But relaxing in the taxi, they neglect to make advance flight reservations and it costs them.
The two little stuntmen wind up with flight attendants, Christie and Jodi, on the second flight and at the bottom of the pack. As they wait in the airport, Mark and Michael acknowledge their error. I predict they will tighten up their game.

Munich, Germany

In Munich, teams drive to Ruhpoldong and ride a cable car to top of a mountain for their clue. Here teams face a Roadblock. One team member must paraglide off the mountain, hanging onto an instructor for a 6,000-foot ride down. If wind conditions are not safe to fly down, the racer can choose to hike 60-minutes hike the mountain.
Mel, the 68-year-old gay father, injured a groin muscle on last week's cheese wheel challenge. Despite the injury, Mel is excited to opt in for the paragliding.
"I'm old, but I have to do some of the fun challenges," he says.
"Who is ready to fly like an easel?" misreads Brad. But no one is flying like an easel now--the wind is blowing and the instructors make the racers wait.
One-by-one, teams elect to walk down the 6,000 foot mountain. Because of his injury, Mel is forced to wait rather than walk down.
Mel tries to get at least one team to wait with him by implying that walking down is chickening out. But no one falls for his bluff and soon, he is the only one left waiting for the wind to change. Mel says it's not right to pray for divine intervention, but starts praying for divine intervention anyway. The wind changes and Mel and Mike are in 5th instead of being eliminated. And Mel is the only racer who gets to paraglide.
It amuses me when Amazing Racers invoke God for help to win a million dollars. But sometimes it appears to work.
I knew Linda would be the last one down the mountain, but I didn't predict she would miss the directional sign. I wonder again why the producers selected this team. Her tears win me over.

Detour: Balancing Dolly or Austrian Folly

Teams drive 25 miles to Schoeau Am Konigssee.
On this Detour, team either ride a Segue on a two-mile obstacle course or go into party tent and throw pies made of traditional Austrian schlag, which is a whipped cream. Teams don't know their target will be their partner's face. They must keep throwing pies at each other until they hit cherry filling. Here's where you find out who has a sense of humor.
Kris: "This pie is actually delicious." Amanda eats off his shoulder.
Luke is having none of the pies. He gets angry and it takes him and his Mom a long time to find the cherry pie.
Tammy and Victor, sibling lawyers, slide into the Pit Stop and score an easy first place. The
pit stop is in Salzberg, Austria, at Schloss Hellbrunn or Castle Hellbrunn if you're translating the German.
Despite the easy win, I predict trouble ahead for Tammy and Victor. Victor says "it's hard not to think of myself as the leader of the team." He already made several references to being in charge and concedes that he can't allow Tammy to make decisions.
Tammy isn't dumb; she's a lawyer. It's shocking to hear a 21st century man say he is the leader with no room for compromise or input from his teammate, even if his racing partner is his baby sister.
Predictably, Steve and Linda are eliminated.

The Moth at MOMA: Stories of Docs

The Moth escaped its usual cramped quarters at The Players and performed at the Museum of Modern Art tonight.
Part of MOMA's Doc Fortnight, The Moth's storytellers spoke about their documentary filmmaking experience.
Tony Hendra, former National Lampoon contributor and The Moth board member, told his story about playing manager Ian Faith in This is Spinal Tap, a movie without a script. Hendra had never acted in a movie nor had he improvised before.
Hendra said an unnamed old friend of his was making a film about a rock band in documentary style. I assumed he was talking about Rob Reiner. Gene realized Hendra was probably talking about Christopher Guest, a friend from National Lampoon's first stage show, Lemmings. Hendra also gave John Belushi his first major break in Lemmings.
With his friend Belushi dead, his marriage in ruins and his recent self-funded book a financial disaster, Hendra attempted a half-hearted suicide the night before filming began. Spinal Tap gave him a new sense of purpose.
Hendra, the highlight of the evening, told the lone funny tale, his story sandwiched between four heavy stories of noble filmmaking. Unfortunately, the remaining stories all felt too similar and that weakened the overall quality of the show.
Everyone Else
The Moth shows usually have a broad themes, like love or manhood. Broader-themed evenings result in a variety of story types. Tonight's show needed a greater range between funny and poignant. We got four heavy tales and even Hendra could not relieve the weight.
Of the four women filmmakers, Ellie Lee was the best. She had the heart of the audience when she described how 1,000 drawings--the essence of her animated film--flew out of a car trunk and scattered on a rain-drenched highway.
Gini Reticker talked of the making of her short film Asylum and her relationship with the film's subject, a young Ghanian woman who eventually came to live with Reticker and her family. Hijinks ensue.
Jehane Noujaim created a documentary about the Arab news nework, Al Jazeera with little support except from various credit card companies. Her story meandered before the point came into focus.
Andy Borowitz, back as host, played the room beautifully. His banter with violinist Mazz Swift proves he could host a late night talk show. Why is Jimmy Fallon getting one and not him, Gene asks.

The Amazing Race 14 Switzerland

Season 14 of The Amazing Race assembles eleven easy-to-pigeonhole duos.
This season's mandatory blondes are flight attendants who assume their advantage is in their blondeness. The other unattached female team is bottle redheads, former NFL cheerleaders. They prove they are ready for the physical challenges with a few cartwheels in the intro. Couple Preston and Jennifer reveal themselves to be this season's fighting couple with the first words out of their mouths.
The show's producers always include a surprise team or two. This season's unlikely pairs include mother and son, Margie and Luke. Luke is profoundly deaf and cannot read lips, so he is completely dependent on his mother's sign language. The other unlikely team is a pair of tiny stuntman. Mark and Michael work as stunt doubles for kid actors and look rock solid. They are my out-of-the gate favorites.
Sibling teams tend to be strong teams. This season's sibs are sister athletes, Lakisha and Jennifer, and Harvard-bred lawyers, brother Victor and sister Tammy.

Locarno, Switzerland

The eleven teams fly to either Zurich or Milan, then take a train to Locarno, Switzerland. A train trip after a flight is an unusual wrench--how do you calculate which route is fastest? I smell problems ahead when Jennifer (of the fighting duo) says, "I've never in my life been to a train station."
Trains figure signficantly in this leg of the race.
Blonde flight attendants switch to an express train with the help of a local woman. Other teams gape out the window as they watch the blondes get off the train. This turns out to be their last smart move of the leg.
Once in Locarno, teams head to the Church of San Antonio where a priest gives teams directions to their overnight campsite. Teams bunch up into three morning departure times, 15 minutes apart. The campsite is rough; mosquitoes are visible in the camera lens.
Sitting around the campfire, the two self-described hillbillies, Steve and Linda, are already fighting. "You're just slow and there ain't a damn thing we can do about it," Steve says. Linda cries. The hillbillies' selection to the show is a surprise. They are older; she is slow and overweight.
Typically, when a team has a major deficiency, like a physical handicap or age disadvantage, they also have a redeeming quality that gives them a fighting chance. Sometimes the advantage is just that they get along. Compatibility should not be underestimated in The Amazing Race.
Steve and Linda don't seem to have an upside. She moves like a turtle and sounds asthmatic.

Verzasca Dam

In the morning, with just a photo as guidance, teams race to Verzasca Dam, the site of the second highest bungee jump in the world.
The stuntmen are in their glory. The phrase "omigod" is said over and over by everyone, but the most fearful racer is Jodi, the blonde flight attendant. The camera catches many shots of her worried face; she does most of her flying in planes.
Despite their nervousness, the bungee jumpers all register gleeful expressions on the way down. Jodi's expression is more neutral, but no longer worried.
Teams must now take a taxi and then catch a train to Interlaken.
In the cab, Hillbilly Linda asks "can you go fast, but follow the speed limits?" This caution can lose them the race. Now I am doubly certain they will be the first team eliminated.
Here the racing order changes as the train that leaves earlier arrives much later and puts the flight attendants dead last.

Cheese, Glorious Cheese

In Kleine Rugen Weiss, teams must carry antique cheese racks uphill and transport 200 pounds of cheese downhill. Each cheese wheel weighs fifty pounds.
Runaway cheese wheels and crumbling racks are the name of this game. Swiss drummers pound irritating metal drums and laugh hysterically at the racers. The cheese challenge is just cruel.
Lawyer bro Victor tries to takes two wheels at once, but his transport breaks. Mel, one of the old guys, schooches on this butt with his cheese wheel, reminding me of a cat with an itchy ass.
Steve says "We didn't get here by being idiots." Steve surprises me and proves he is not an idiot. He and Linda were the next-to-last team to reach the cheese, but the most innovative in getting the cheese down the hill. I don't think anyone was successful in taking two wheels down at once, but Steve managed three at a time.
The hillbillies move from tenth to sixth.
In Stechelberg, teams must listen for a group of yodelers who will lead them to the pit stop. Finding the Yodelers is harder than it sounds. Their noise (and I mean noise) bounces off the mountains.
Two teams pass Steve and Linda as they have more trouble finding the yodelers than most teams. But they finish an admirable ninth. I still believe they will be the next team eliminated, but I'm glad my first impression was wrong.
This season's Bickersons are eliminated first, and I am glad. I find nothing entertaining in couples fighting. In their post-elimination statement, Jennifer says the race was destined to make or break their relationship. Based on the lovey-dovey post interview, the race may have improved their relationship for now. But if they lasted another leg or two, they would have been Splitsville for sure.
Margie and Luke, mother and deaf son, finish first. Phil poignantly signs to Luke. Luke says people think deaf people can't do anything, but he is racing to prove them wrong. His comment elicits a few sniffles from the crowd.

Muzak is Dead

Muzak has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and I am already busy picking out music for the funeral.
Maybe we'll start with a soft instrumental version of The Beatles' "Come Together" or a smooth jazz version of "Jailhouse Rock".
Nothing represents mundane emptiness like Muzak. Muzak, a brand name like Q-tips and Kleenex, has become the generic name for the generic music it distributes, aka elevator music.
Elevator music might not be so bad if it remained in elevators. But it is pumped into office buildings, dentist offices, and into your ears in the form of telephone hold music.
Muzak takes music and sanitizes it to not offend, blends sounds and tracks to be there and not be there at the same time. For a detailed trip to Muzak-land read this 2006 New Yorker article on Muzak.
I don't wish misfortune on any company with employees. But as a concept, the death of Muzak is a triumph for art.

elevator music sample
music credit: Khuskan

Dragged Pedestrian is Dead

City Room

Pedestrian Is Struck, Then Dragged 17 Miles

By AL BAKER and KAREN ZRAICK 26 minutes ago

A pedestrian was hit by an S.U.V. in Queens, then struck by a van and dragged into Brooklyn. He is dead.

This tragic story appeared in yesterday's New York Times. The second sentence hit me as rather Hemmingway-esque. The pedestrian was dragged 17 miles. Is anyone surprised he is dead? If the poor soul survived, the Times would have a man-bites-dog story.

Ticketmaster Scalps Its Own Ticket

Everyone I know resents Ticketmaster and their convenience fees. Now my resentment has blossomed into hatred because Ticketmaster has added price fixing to their convenience fees.
Go on ticketmaster.com and try to buy a ticket for a popular concert. You will be told that there are no seats available but you will be guided to TicketsNow.
Tickets on TicketsNow cost three, four, five, ten times the face value of the ticket.
I thought ticket scalping was illegal, but it's only scalping if you are just a dude selling tickets outside Madison Square Garden before a Knicks or Rangers game. If you are a ticket reseller like TicketsNow, you can charge whatever you want for a ticket. Ticket resellers get their hands on a bulk of tickets as fast as they can for popular shows.
Since TicketsNow is a subsidiary of Ticketmaster, how fast do you think TicketsNow can get their hands on a stack of tickets. If you guessed instantaneously, you are correct. Tickets with bloated price tages are available on TicketsNow one minute after the show goes on sale.
New York local channel 7 ran a piece about ire over Bruce Springsteen tickets. When confronted, Ticketmaster said it was a small glitch that only affect a few customers. Liars!
It's not just Springsteen, G and I tried to get Leonard Cohen tickets when they went on sale, but TicketsNow beat us to the punch. Surprise.
Ticketmaster's next move is to merge with the concert promoter Live Nation. The combined company will be able to set ticket prices even higher.

Superbowl Ad Hypocrisy

NBC is guilty of blatant hypocrisy in banning PETA's Superbowl ad because the ad is "too sexually suggestive," they say.
In the midst of a bunch of the Superbowl's sexually charged ads, the PETA ad showing a bikini-clad woman fondling vegetables would have have blended right in
With PETA's over-the-top reputation, you might think a PETA ad would show bloody, abused animals to make their point. NBC's ban might have been justified in that case. But the PETA ad's message is Vegetarians Have Better Sex. Subversive concept, right? It's not only the concept NBC doesn't like, it's the organization.
Superbowl ads are all about sex, beer, cars, soft drinks and cute animals. I just watched a trailer for the movie Fast & Furious that flashed a frame of two women kissing. Watch closely at about 28 seconds in.
In the Doritios commericial, a woman's clothes are ripped off by the power of a man biting into a chip. Go Daddy ads are also blatantly sexual with three frat boys watching a woman shower over and over. Sexually suggestive is not a deal breaker for these advertisers.
The PETA ad should have been able to run, just as the catholic vote pro-life ad should have been able to run. NBC should not pick and choose among potential advertisers, especially in these lean times, which would be a little leaner if there were more vegetarians.
If NBC continues to discriminate, they should discriminate against the advertisers who use chimpanzees in their ads. The animal cruelty is not apparent--the chimps look so cute and happy. But chimps in show business are babies taken away from their mothers. They are abandoned or sold when they are too big and strong to perform any longer.