Holograms, fancy maps, Anderson Cooper
Posted by Dan
November 6th, 2008 at 11:22am
In General
So, how was your election night?
I was at work, but yours was probably good, right? Someone probably made cupcakes. There may have been some Yellowtail wine served in Solo cups. Microbrews? Trader Joe’s everything?
In any case, last night was nice for bunches of reasons — mostly because we have a president who doesn’t think he’s a cowboy for Jesus. But I also like the fact that we were all kind of in the same room — toggling between CNN, MSNBC and the networks, trying to see who would call which state first.
A few reflections:
I would say that CNN’s hologram correspondents would constitute a jumping of the shark by cable news. I am trying to imagine the brainstorming session that birthed this concept. Perhaps they had the technology lying around and decided this was the opportune time to launch it? Perhaps they asked themselves what a television broadcast from the future would look like — and implemented it, Back to the Future Part 2-style?
Watch here as Anderson Cooper interviews the hologram of one of the Black Eyed Peas.
By the way — there must be something better to cover on election night besides Will.I.am, right? Even if they have to take a few minutes off of election coverage and talk about the rest of the world. There certainly must be something going on in the world worthy of being covered more than the philosophical musings of a commonplace pop star.
Meanwhile, I also think that I’m over Anderson Cooper. I’m not certain I was ever really under him, so to speak. But watching CNN last night and throughout the election, I got to thinking he’s known how hot an item he is for quite a while. He’s gone from being the thinking-gay’s pin-up star to a commonplace teenage hearthrob. It’s a shame, really.
In other news, while they are easily mocked — I’m a fan of the fancy electronic maps, if for no other reason than I wish I could rearrange things on the television just by touching it. Nudging Meredith Grey’s scalpel, etc.
Any thoughts on the coverage? That is, thoughts that are completely independent of real issues or the election results? I’ve had it up to here [my hand is really high] with thoughtful analysis and heartfelt reactions.
Ha! The Yellowtail wine at the party I attended was from Trader Joe’s. And drunk out of Solo cups. How did you know? We also had white chocolate–covered Oreos with the Obama logo painstakingly drawn on them in icing.
We started making bad Star Wars jokes as soon as the hologramming started up on CNN. I mean, that was just gratuitous. And as much as I like MSNBC for analysis and people who agree with me, I found the design of their coverage really cluttered and overdone and obnoxious. Seriously, why were there Greek columns? WHYYYY?
I went back and watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s show yesterday and I have to say I was disappointed. In the midst of a really hectic, important, heart-pounding evening, it seemed very odd to take a minute out to do their standard man-on-the-street-is-an-idiot sketches. We gave up on it during the party and went back to Obi-Wan Cooper.
I’m with you on those holograms and Will.I.am. In fact, I’d rather see the reverse technology, where some kind of machine sucks Will.I.am OUT of television broadcasts. Fergie, too.
I, of course, threw a party. However, Whole Foods has some secret agreement with some group and therefore has kept all Trader Joes out of Texas … so no Trader Joes.
Anyways, while watching MSNBC, one of my party goers said, “That column can’t be real. It’s too perfect.”
Also, you see the Jon Stewart shout out too William and Mary? “Go Tribe!”
http://www.hulu.com/watch/42491/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-indecision-2008-americas-choice#s-p1-so-i0 at 34:10 And I agree with Sara about the daily show coverage - pretty boring. Luckily we were all a bit too drunk to care.
I am totally down with the fancy maps. I just watched a wrap-up of the technology used on newsy.com and it went through all of the different maps used… it was like I had died and Galileo met me at the gate.
I think the Tribe shoutout was a subtle acknowledgment that Obama’s Harvard mentor, Laurence Tribe, may be his first Supreme Court appointee. Also, he spoke at my MS graduation.
I love being a predictable urban-dwelling white female 18-29, as evidenced by the fact that I bought hummus and a blueberry pie from Trader Joe’s for our gathering. (We didn’t warm up the pie until the electoral count was solid.) Our party also watched that SNL bit where Fred Armisen plays with the giant board. “I can make Michigan bounce!”
I realized after leaving Whole Foods that I should have bought arugula to throw from the balcony like confetti. Elitist, liberal confetti.
[...] How was your election night? Dan mainly focused on Anderson Cooper, the fancy electronic maps on CNN and those crazy holograms that Wolf Blitzer was talking to. (TiFaux) [...]
[...] How was your election night? Dan mainly focused on Anderson Cooper, the fancy electronic maps on CNN and those crazy holograms that Wolf Blitzer was talking to. (TiFaux) [...]
[...] How was your election night? Dan mainly focused on Anderson Cooper, the fancy electronic maps on CNN and those crazy holograms that Wolf Blitzer was talking to. (TiFaux) [...]