Monday, November 10, 2008

No Agenda - It Seems Not!

The "No Agenda" podcast labels itself as being..."A show about American politics with no agenda, by Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak.

I have been a subscriber to the podcasts of Adam Curry since the very early days of his Daily Source Code program. Since then I have lost a lot of interest in his shows as he moved from the very personal tech experience to being a corporate media player - clearly a role in which he is very successful.

I came to the joys of John C. Dvorak initially through Leo Laporte but came to enjoy the many manifestations of John (Cranky Geeks, TWIT) for their own sake.

I had heard of their No Agenda podcast and some 6 weeks or so ago thought I would add it to my subscription group.

Initially this was marginally interesting with lots of self indulgent talk of restaurants, wines etc. Self indulgence and self absorption are frequent travellers where Mr Curry is concerned.

But on show No 56 they lost me. During the recent US election, their tone became increasingly cynical with lots of populist assertions about the Obama campaign but little actual fact. Lots of insinuations about the Obama campaign being in the pocket of the media companies.

But now their cynicism has gone to the next level with often contradictory diatribes about the post election progress. They seemingly want the Obama team to include all new people (ie change) but ones who still have experience and can get the job done. Criticism is all ok but why not offer an alternative to action and/or decisions being taken. Don't just say what you don't like - say what you think should be done.

But am I expecting too much from (a) a successful, clearly bright but self absorbed DJ who is so fond of his beloved US that he lives in Europe, and (b) a good tech journo who clearly also knows something about food and wine?

Guys you have clearly strayed from the "no agenda" line.

MTC - The Hypocrite

I probably see 10-12 plays per year either at the Malthouse or the MTC. The problem is I actually remember very few - even when I enjoy the performance.

So I Saturday night I saw a modernized version of Moliere's play Tartuffe - this time renamed The Hypocrite. I had forgotten how long a Moliere play can be. This one ran just under three hours with a 20 minute interval.

So a bit long but entertainingly performed by a cast headed by Kim Gyngell as Tartuffe, Garry MacDonald as the feckless Orgon and the delicious Marina Prior as his wife. The text was still the rhyming style of Moliere but with updated language. The truth is I didn't notice the rhyming until the second half having struggled with the often overwhelming urge to sleep for most of the first half- a product of too many late nights.

A rating of 3.5. Saw Iris and Richard there again.