Snow Tour de SE Portland

Heidi Swift’s head cam cruising through SE Portland during our first snowfall of the season. I’ve got to say, the tunes will put you in the Christmas cycling spirit if freezing temperatures and icy roads aren’t enough.

Hat-tip to Wend Mag.

Diminishing role of the Hollywood scribe

What has happened to all of those sitcom writers of the 1990’s? Is there still a mass audience waiting to devour situational comedy? Obviously media models have changed, but in what respect—the emergence of mockumentaries and web-based episodes have allowed viewers to tailor their viewing experience, essentially creating individual niche markets for every viewer.

At one point in the 1990s, NBC had 16 half-hour sitcoms on the air. This fall, it has four. And two of those four—The Office and 30 Rock—though critically beloved (both are up for Best Comedy Emmys on Sunday, Sept. 21), are struggling to be embraced by mainstream audiences.

The article is here, via The New York Observer.

Randomness in entertainment

Lotteries and gambling have been around for centuries, but randomness does now seem to be seeping out into more areas of life. Perhaps it’s an indicator of our wealth. We have large music collections, can afford to buy almost any food the planet produces and travel all over the world. The entertainment options on offer to us are almost unlimited. Trying to make an informed choice between all possible alternatives would take too long: they’re all good, so why not pick one at random?

Click here for the article in its entirety.