The latest from Sam Reich, “I had always dreamed of doing a music video in the style of a news show, and Jeff’s parody about the alarmist nature of news was the perfect opportunity. Special thanks to iJustine for her cameo.”

Taking a break from earth-shaking issues like climate change, war and the never-ending difficulties in the Middle East, columnist Nazmiye Oral of de Volkskrant of The Netherlands writes that the troubles of Tiger Woods are a metaphor for life in the modern world – a period in history in which everyone seems to want to live life in public – as long as no blemishes appear on the perfect portrait...

Lots of Techmeme discussion around news that Uruguayan producer Fede Alvarez’s $300 short film uploaded to YouTube in November 2009 (above) got him a $30m contract to make a Hollywood film: “I uploaded (Panic Attack!) on a Thursday and on Monday my inbox was totally full of e-mails from Hollywood studios,” he told the BBC’s Latin American service BBC Mundo. “It was amazing, we...

1962′s animated musical version of “A Christmas Carol,” “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol,” is something of an underrated classic. It’s peppered with fine, Broadway-style musical numbers and follows the familiar tale quite closely and seriously. Here’s the old Scrooge/Magoo seeing his lonely younger self:

Mashable’s Christina Warren marks the release of the first official trailer for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland: Even before the first teaser trailer was leaked online, the Internet has been buzzing about Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland project. The film hits theaters on March 5, 2010, and the studio has carefully revealed information relating to the film — like posters — using social...

As Tiger Woods is pelted by wisecracks about dating women with 8X10 glossies and Gov. Mark Sanford’s wife decides to divorce him over his South American travels, the year’s body count is mounting for public figures brought down by failure to rein in their private parts. Such consequences of low behavior by men in high places (gender equality has not yet evolved enough to ensnare powerful women in...

Elvis singing the song from his classic 1968 “comeback” special in front of an audience:

In the past when discussing the Duggar family I’ve expressed my doubts about the wisdom of having double digit numbers of children and how well the parents can support them. However word that the newest child was born 3 months early is sad to me and I think all of us join together in hoping and praying all will be well. It sounds like a tough road for them

When the news emerged yesterday that Tiger Woods announced he was taking an indefinite break from golf while he tries to mend his nearly decimated fences with his wife in the face of an increasingly growing sex scandal (would the number of women who come forward or are said to have had affairs with him eventually match those filing last month for unemployment?) there were likely a few reactions. Relief among...

Hanukkah In Santa Monica by the great satirist Tom Lehrer: This song comes from this CD:

As we watch the perhaps terminal death of the newspaper industry unfold (who ever thought we’d see the day when Editor & Publisher would fold? Read this and this) one of the many journalistic questions remains: Are newspaper columnists about to go the way of pay phones? Already newspapers have trimmed op-ed pages and laid off editorial cartoonists. Yes, there are still some wonderful political and...

Call me Ishmael if, as Barack Obama’s gets his peace prize, the possibility of another unlikely award doesn’t arise with the first academic appreciation of “Going Rogue” as a work of art. In his New York Times blog, Professor Stanley Fish makes the case for Sarah Palin’s mastery of the autobiographical form in delivering “the truth the genre promises…the truth about...

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I finally had the chance to watch Roman Polanski’s Oscar-winning film, The Pianist. It isn’t the story of Polanski’s own survival, although it seems natural to conclude that Polanski was able to evoke the Holocaust so effectively because he lived through it himself. He lost his mother to Auschwitz and survived in hiding with a Polish family. Before Polanski’s...

There’s certainly a place in this world for more and more good Chanuka songs.  But this one by U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch actually has potential. Be sure to read the accompanying article by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg. (The holiday starts this Friday evening.) Eight Days of Hanukkah from Tablet Magazine on Vimeo.

George Stephanopoulos, the popular host of ABC’s Sunday Morning “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” show, and a former Clinton aide who seamlessly made the transition to big time television due to his dogged preparation on issues and broadcasting skills, is poised to become the new anchor of ABC New’s morning ratings powerhouse Good Morning America, The Politico reports. Is there...

How do you defeat your perceived “enemy”? Use bombs, grenades and drones? Substitute the bombs with books? Or, have a mix of both? Greg Mortenson, a humanitarian worker and author of two best-selling books, has demonstrated the power of books, and education, even in the highly violence-ridden worlds of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mortenson is finding admirers in unlikely places. In the words of Admiral...

UPDATE: The morning after and the site is live. But slow and buggy…. Mashable says so, “YouTube and Universal have just flipped the switch and VEVO is now live.” But all I’m getting is the blog with a promise of “Launching Tonight! In the meantime, enjoy reading our blog.” So which is it? Or what is it? NewTeeVee: Taking a page out of Hulu CEO Jason Kilar’s playbook, Vevo...

33-year-old professional golfer extraordinaire appears to have amassed a collection of trollops, hussies, harlots, sluts, and other assorted mistresses and bimbos in addition to his main squeeze, the 29-year-old blond, former Swedish model Elin Nordegren to whom he was publicly married in 2004. Too much money, narcissism, ego, sex-drive, and far too many willing and perhaps conniving young women interested...

Sarah Palin wowed ‘em at the Gridiron dinner, the place where journalistic and political big wigs meet for dinner for an evening where politicians say things that are intentionally hilarious. The Christian Science Monitor gives some details on Palin’s 11 1/2 minute talk. Usually the comments are off the record and not to be reported but — in a sign of both changing times and the huge media...

by Walter Brasch I don’t have a column this week. You see, I analyze and interpret the news, trying to find something that others haven’t touched. When there’s lots of news, I have a playground of riches. But during the past week, there were only two stories, and every reporter, columnist, commentator, pundit, bloviator, and blogger weighed in on it. There was nothing more I could add—from...

Want to end the Afghanistan War quickly? Just send this bomb over to Afghanistan.

Who is he? The answer (WARNING:this contains some very adult and unPC content which is why we’ll give you the link but not post it on TMV) RIGHT HERE. FOOTNOTE: The linked video is just one of MANY using the same movie clip. Details here.

Patrick Corrigan, The Toronto Star This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

And so it goes: cable giant Comcast is gobbling up NBC Universal in another sign of the economic — and new media — times: General Electric Co’s (GE.N) sale of a majority stake in its NBC Universal media arm to Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) marks a big step forward in what could be a time of significant restructuring at the largest U.S. conglomerate. The long-expected sale of the media business,...

I have refrained from writing about Tiger Woods, his accident and his rumored extra-marital exploits because it triggered painful memories of why I got out of the newspaper business. In short, I believed the media was stepping out of bounds by invading people’s privacy. This is one of the most fundamental challenges facing publishers, editors and reporters. At what point does one cross the line and let...