Where were you?

I left Champaign, Illinois later than anticipated today, so I didn't get home until a quarter after midnight. (Let the historical record show that I've backdated this post.) I was listening to The Best Show podcasts, so for all practical intents, I was out of the loop.

Around 11:00 p.m. I exited the interstate to get a pizza from Cassano's in Springfield. The local chain is a favorite of mine when I lived in the Dayton area, so I'll often stop to pick one up when I pass through. (As far as it goes, I hadn't had supper yet. Lunch was around 4:00 p.m. Central time.)

I placed my order, went to use the restroom, and checked my e-mail on my iPhone. For whatever reason, one of my brothers had e-mailed to tell me to turn on the TV because Osama bin Laden was dead. He didn't e-mail anyone else, and I'm not sure why he sent me one. If I'm home, the TV is usually on, and if it isn't, chances are that the computer is. Maybe he knew I had been out of town. I'm not sure.

Clearly this was big news, but I don't know that the pizza shop employees had a clue. They had music on--I think it was a radio station playing Kanye West's "All of the Lights"--and it didn't seem like breaking news was coming across on it. I didn't say anything. Why? It seemed like a weird thing to bring up, especially if they already knew. And give me a pass because I was fairly tired.

I did a quick scan of my Twitter feed, which had exploded with the breaking story. Once back in the car I unplugged the iPod and switched to AM radio. I heard President Obama's speech and listened to the subsequent coverage wondering what this all might mean on Monday and the upcoming days, weeks, and months. My thoughts turned to those people I met at the film festival I was at and the traveling they will be doing in the aftermath of this announcement. You have to imagine that flying tomorrow may present some challenges.

Upon arriving home I did something I've rarely done in the last seven years: I turned on TV news. I've had it on since arriving and may stay up a lot later than I intended. I didn't get a lot of sleep the last several days, but this is the sort of occasion when sacrificing some z's can be justified. (Plus, I'm operating on Central time, when I was routinely up until 3:00 a.m.)

This may not be the most exciting story, but in this case I'm putting it down for posterity's sake. Who knows how much of it I'll remember in the years to come. Documenting it here means I don't necessarily need to.

Nobody knows nothing

(Yeah, I know the title is grammatically incorrect.)

I finished another dishcloth tonight, but I'll save it for Wednesday. I have something else to get out of my system.

For the last four years I've avoided watching television news as much as possible. The superficiality of it infuriates me. I know the channels have all that time to fill and need to put something on, but at best their information is equivalent to the empty calories in one's diet.

But, if you haven't heard, this is a Presidential election year, and I am drawn to the news despite my misgivings about it. I'm beyond sick of the primaries, but I was curious to find out what today's returns were like. And so I tuned in to a cable news channel to get the skinny.

The catch is that there's limited news to report. Most of the time is filled with pundit and anchor speculation and the spin of politicians and their surrogates. It's spectacular stuff--and not in a good way. Listening to the frequently irresponsible prattling is enough to make me start bleeding from my eyes and ears. (OK, not really, but if you've watched it for any length of time, you know how crazy it can make you.) It isn't journalism, just glorified bull sessions with so-called experts trying to push their agendas and entertain.

And yet I've had a hard time looking away from it, in part because it appears that this stretch of the election season may finally be coming to a close. I'm repulsed by how the information is being transmitted, yet I've spent a few hours tonight consuming it anyway. (It's not like my worst-in-the majors Reds gave me much of a viewing alternative.) I don't know how people watch the news without feeling insulted or going mad. I'll ride it out the rest of tonight, but TV news and I are going to need another nice long separation again.