When Cable News is Actually Thought-Provoking
It's not what you think.
Hi all. Last week was a busy one, so just a light newsletter today…
I’ve mentioned a few times that I don’t watch cable news anymore. It’s become a corrupt and corrosive media model that intentionally caters to people’s worst instincts, and accounts for far too much societal division. But because I write a lot about such division, often in the context of politics, I try to stay apprised of the narratives those outlets feed to their millions of viewers. That’s were Mediaite comes in.
Mediaite is a website founded by Dan Abrams in 2009 that provides a daily rundown of notable comments, exchanges, and events from the political media, usually with accompanying video. It’s a useful tool for people like me who want to understand where certain political themes and story-angles are coming from without immersing ourselves in the subterfuge. I check out the site most days for the latest headlines.
Over the past few weeks, due to a number of high-profile criminal investigations and indictments filling up the national political news cycle, famous lawyer Alan Dershowitz has been a regular guest on some cable-news programs and video-casts. Because he’s been saying some offbeat things (his commentary has grown increasingly strange over the past few years), Mediaite has picked up a number of those appearances. And each time the website posts a screen-cap from one, with Dershowitz sitting in what appears to be an attic or loft in his personal residence, I’ve found myself absolutely mesmerized by the imagery:
Do you see it? Because for whatever reason, I cannot unsee it. I’m talking about all of those framed pictures, diplomas, and magazine covers behind him. Sure, there’s a lot of them, but that’s not what intrigues me. What intrigues me is the angle at which they are hanging. It not only defies natural wall-mounting form… but also gravity. It also begs a number of questions:
How are the frames attached to the wall? Are nail-heads pinning the frame rather than hooking it? Or was this a Gorilla Glue situation? Either way, this had to be an extraordinarily difficult and time consuming project. And if glue was used, the frames’ eventual removal is going to require some serious patchwork.
Why? Why would someone do this? I totally understand an accomplished individual wanting to show off mementos and records of achievement, but are the vertical walls on lower floors in Dershowitz’s home already so filled up that he had to take things diagonal?
Are their businesses that specialize in mounting frames on slanted walls and ceilings? Because I can’t imagine Dershowitz did this himself.
How does one even admire those items without straining their neck or lying on their back?
This is honestly the most thought-provoking cable-news content I’ve found in a long, long time.
Do you hang your frames non-vertically? Since the practice clearly intrigues me, tell me about it in an email or in the comment section below.
Random Thought
Obligatory Dog Shot
Resting dog face.
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Featured Vinyl
So, I’ve finally gotten to the point in this longstanding newsletter feature that I’m thinking about ending it… or at least making it a monthly thing. I still have a few vinyl albums in my collection that I haven’t covered here over the years, but I’m honestly kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel at his point. Thus, I’m thinking of a new feature to occupy the bottom of this weekly publication going forward. I hope you’ve enjoyed the record stuff, and I’ll let you know soon what I come up with.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading today’s Daly Grind.
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Take care. And I’ll talk to you soon!
John, did you consider that Dershowitz can levitate himself and that he is actually perpendicular to the wall. It would explain a lot.
There are people who put such items (honors) in a private space not wanting to brag on their achievements. That could be the case with Dershowitz. Other put their Emmy’s or other honors where all can see. Ha!