BuzzMachine... by Jeff Jarvis

March 31, 2004

Friends
: Finally got to meet fellow blogger Rex Hammock last night. He's from Nashville; I'm from Jersey; we both just happened to be at Northwestern yesterday; blog kismet.
What's amazing about these first-time meetings with bloggers you know well: I felt as if we were old friends catching up... only we were catching up on each other's entire lives. Because we know each other here, there's an instant trust.
He's a damned nice guy and I'm looking forward to meeting again next time we pass by.

: Update/Reality Check: But then again... I'm sitting in the airport lounge now and the guy behind me is telling his life's story and I doubt the guy he's telling it to is a blogger.

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Feet to fire
: Arianna Huffington writes a cross between a wet kiss and a rallying cry for blogs at Kos:

A Kerry victory will be due not only to the blogosphere's funding efforts but to the bloggers holding Kerry's feet to the fire. It's bloggers who'll have to urge Kerry not to run away from his voting record, but to embrace his liberalism -- and define it as the foundation of the values that led to this country's great social breakthroughs. ...
The blogosphere is now the most vital news source in our country. I've toiled in the world of books and syndicated column writing, but more liberating is the blogosphere, where the random thought is honored, and where passion reigns. While paid journalists often just follow a candidate around or sit in the White House press room and rehash a schedule, blogs break through the din of our 500 channel universe and the narrow conventional wisdom. For that the blogosphere has my undying gratitude.

Oh, I agree about keeping his feet to the fire.
We need to keep his feet to the fire on the war on terrorism.

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Do as I do, not as I say
: This is why you should never listen to surveys.
This survey says Americans think there are way too many reality shows.
These ratings put American idol (twice), Apprentice, Survivor, Fear Factor, and Extreme Makeover atop the ratings.
Americans will, indeed, get sick of reality shows (we always OD on the trends that take over TV) but we'll still watch them longer than we'll say we watch them. [via PR Bop]

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Judge them by the company they keep: Congress hates Howard Stern but loves Michael Jackson
: Wonkette has an exclusive report from Michael Jackson's inexplicable visit to Congress.

The Gloved One's entourage is a chaotic storm of confusion and unease -- it lacks the dignity of other star entourages who sweep down corridors, exhibiting confidence and projecting power. Everyone in the Gloved One's group -- bodyguards, handlers, apologists -- all look haggered and confused, but the haggardness and confusion looks self imposed. The group looks like it could use an adult to whack it upside the head, to tell everyone to straighten up, settle down, and then the whole damn pack wouldn't look so silly.

: Rep. Shiela Jackson Lee on Today about her meeting with Jackson today: "We'll actually be discussing real issues." Wow, real issues.

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What, no naked lesbians?
: I'm tuning into the start of Air America and all I'm hearing so far is a medly of bad rock appropriate for rallies.

: A helpful commenter informs us that programming begins at noon with Al Franken (couldn't find that on the AirAmerica site).

: Meanwhile on Howard this morning, Tim Robbins appeared, now that they're political bedfellows. No big political rants. Howard, of course, said that soon there'll "be no place for my art."
To which Robbins added: "Or your fart."

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Spam's can
: AOL is giving away to one of its users a Porsche siezed from a spammer.

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