(no subject)

PSA: Bladerunner t-shirt on shirt.woot.com today:
http://shirt.woot.com/Friends.aspx?k=10927

Travel requests: Know any places that are cheesy warm places to visit in the winter, this or close time zones, that aren't insanely expensive? Also, ability to eat at nearby restaurants and regular store access (as opposed to being stuck on a resort nearly as confining as a cruise)?

(no subject)

I guess I'm just wired different when it comes to watching the news. I came home after a "cover-to-cover" day in the office and tried to watch the news while I ate dinner out of a pot on the couch (I'm very sophisticated). No matter what news the station broadcast, or what station was broadcasting, they each spent more time interviewing people nearby with nothing to do with the event for their fascinating description of the event, or their impression of the story in question, than they did relating facts about the story itself. And why would I care? I mean some of the news could affect me and a lot of it does not, but...why do I care what the people on the street say about the sexual assault? What could matter about the child's description of the water from the water-main break? Who decided cyber monday experts resided on their laptops in the middle of a workday in some random coffee shop? What details do these nobodys add to the story? Are most tv watchers incapable of empathizing without a coach?

I want to be informed but the asinine formula needed to hold a USian's attention is wearing me out.