John's Blog

It looks like it's time to play "one of these things is not like the other" once again. Although I've often dismissed Fred Thompson as a twit, I was more than a little surprised to see that he's got a Twitter page allowing you to follow every mundane detail of his moribund campaign for the Presidency.

Independently, I've never understood the appeal of either. Twitter, gives users the ability to micro-blog in real time about what they are doing and thinking. More often than not, this usually is too much information, although on occasion I've found a few compelling pages I find myself following.

Thompson, who I've always regarded as a mediocre character actor exudes a "hey kids, get off my lawn" persona. As a politician, the description that his opponent used in describing his "good ol' boy" image from campaign ads where he drove a pick-up truck ("a lobbyist and actor who talks about lower taxes, talks about change, while he drives a rented stage prop.") seems pretty accurate as well.

I've got no problem with Barack + twitter, since that seems like a more obvious match, as well as promoting a candidate with more substance. But putting Thompson together with a technology best suited for another generation seems as unnatural and wrong as seeing him together with the trophy wife, but maybe that's just me.

The silver lining here is that his campaign resulted in him leaving the role of D.A. Arthur Branch in the long-running series Law & Order. Due to the lamer than usual scripts and the awkward chemistry that Milena Govich added, I felt that the show last season had really "jumped the shark". But this year, with the return of Rene Balcer as head writer, and the addition of Jeremy Sisto and Linus Roache to the cast, the show seems re-energized and back on track. The elevation of the Sam Waterston character to an activist D.A. gives the show something familiar and new at the same time. Maybe this one will join the "20 Year Club" after all, but when you realize that The Real World has been on TV 19 seasons, that may not be the accomplishment that I think it is.

Saving this shows premier until the strike ravaged 2nd season, where it stands out amongst the plethora of repeats and reality show drivel seems like genius as well. Then again, I remember that this "IS" NBC we are talking about; the network that green-lighted the awful "Bionic Woman" remake and the one that will probably cancel the fantastic "Journeyman" series. So it's probably dumb-luck more so than genius.

The next time you watch L&O, you might want to enhance your enjoyment by getting closer to the characters. There's probably no better way to empathize than by slapping on one of these crime scene bandages (VIA Nerd Approved). One of many unique and non-traditional bandages and gifts available at Perpetual Kid, where the promise is to "entertain your inner child". Maybe I should order some of the really old school tattoos for the elderly and send one to Thompson?

Tags: politics, TV, pointless rambling, internet culture, silly products