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THE ACTUAL SOUND OF THE HUYGENS PROBE LANDING ON TITAN is available here. It sounds just like something you’d hear in a sci-fi movie.
Govindini Murty, in NewsMax, talks about the extreme profitability of Conservative-themed films:
From the ‘teens to the 1960’s, every major Hollywood movie studio was founded and run by Republicans. The result was Hollywood’s Golden Age, when talented artists created classics that are still among the highest-grossing movies of all time.
“Gone With The Wind” from 1939 – still the highest grossing film of all time ($1.26 billion domestically, adjusted for inflation) – was directed by Republican Victor Fleming, produced by Republican David O. Selznick, and starred Republican Clark Gable. It won eight Oscars.
“The Ten Commandments” from 1956, directed by Republican Cecil B. DeMille and starring Republican Charlton Heston, grossed $818 million – and was nominated for seven Oscars.
The 1937 “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” by Republican Walt Disney, grossed $681 million and was Oscar nominated.
And many other films made by conservative directors like Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, and John Ford were the artistic and financial successes that layed the foundation for the film industry of today.
It’s unquestionable that uplifting entertainment is more fun to see. For decades it was considered more courageous to make depressing films, precisely because they were less likely to find an audience. But now the depressing film is a been-there-done-that cliche. Today the courageous thing to do is to give people a reason to feel good about this country.
William Safire discusses the effect of blogging and other recent developments on mainstream media:
Hear the wailing: The bloggers are coming! The Bible-thumpers are cursing our secular inhumanism! The plumber judges are plugging our leaks! The Yahoo president ducks our questions and giggles at our gaffes! News is slyly slanted as bias rears its head!
1. On the challenge from bloggers: The “platform” – print, TV, Internet, telepathy, whatever – will change, but the public hunger for reliable information will grow. Blogs will compete with op-ed columns for “views you can use,” and the best will morph out of the pajama game to deliver serious analysis and fresh information, someday prospering with ads and subscriptions. The prospect of profit will bring bloggers in from the meanstream to the mainstream center of comment and local news coverage.
On national or global events, however, the news consumer needs trained reporters on the scene to transmit facts and trustworthy editors to judge significance. In crises, large media gathering-places are needed to respond to a need for national community.
Certainly mainstream media will continue. Those massive reporting operations are necessary, and they provide the raw input that bloggers thrive on. The blogosphere corrects it, and builds on it by providing additional reporting, additional analysis, and by directing readers to the most meaningful stories of the day.
