The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

The View Out My Window

Posted on | January 9, 2010 | 19 Comments

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.
No, I’m not going the Sully route, and I’m too lazy to upload a photo, but the view out my window tonight is beautiful. It’s a clear night, about 70 degrees outside, and the lights of Los Angeles stretch off in the distance as far as the eye can see.

Tuesday night, I crashed on Donald Douglas‘s sofa in Orange County. Wednesday night, I crashed in Mike Flynn‘s hotel room in Redondo Beach. Last night, I crashed on the sofa of JSF‘s apartment in Burbank. Tonight, I’m in the guest bedroom of a home high up in the hills near Griffith Park. They tell me LL Cool J lives just down the street. And the view is spectacular. 

The gracious lady who owns this house fixed a delicious dinner of roast chicken and potatoes, with apple cake and coffee for dessert. (This being Hollywood, it was fair-trade organic coffee.) When I think back to Tuesday, and how depressed I was before leaving . . .

Why do I worry? Why don’t I have faith? Do you remember how this trip started? It was Dec. 6, and Alabama had just beaten Fl0rida for the SEC title:

Could I possibly rattle the tip-jar
hard enough to get to Pasadena?
I doubt it. As much as I’d like to go cover Alabama vs. Texas in the BCS game, I simply don’t think our readers would hit the tip jar to fund such a trip . . .

So much for my doubts, and despite being denied media credentials by the collegiate football oligarchs — fascists! — this has been a remarkably successful and productive trip. Not only did the Crimson Tide win the national world cosmic football championship, but readers proved once again that they are capable of supporting journalism, even when it’s merely a gonzo whim.

That was the fundamental challenge of Fear and Loathing in Pasadena. Sure, you had hit the tip jar for my shoe-leather trips to report IG-Gate, to cover the Sparkman case in Kentucky, the Hoffman campaign in NY-23 and the final stop of the Tea Party Express. But that was political news. Flying to California to cover the college football championship?

Crazy idea. Dan Collins, you magnificent bastard. If blog readers would support something as crazy as this, anything is possible. This was a demonstration of the latent grassroots power of the blogosphere.

Tomorrow — er, today, Saturday — I’ll be covering a Tea Party event in Altadena (if you’re in the L.A. area and you’re not a beady-eyed jerkoff, you need to be there) with several of the people Baldilocks named. Then I fly back home to Mrs. Other McCain and the six children. And then . . .

Well, there’s a Senate race in Massachusetts that’s making news. Maybe Mrs. Other McCain wouldn’t mind my heading up there Tuesday or Wednesday and staying through Election Day Jan. 19, or as long as the tip-jar keeps clinking. If you want me to go cover that story, let’s get started now, IYKWIMAITYD.

Bookmark and Share
Category: Blogging, Fear and Loathing in Pasadena, Hollywood, Journalism, Massachusetts, Tea Party, Uncategorized

Comments

  • http://www.valley-of-the-shadow.blogspot.com JSF

    RS,

    Glad you liked your stay in LA (with a ROOOOOLLLLLL TIIIIIIIDDDDDEEEEEE!!!!!). See you tomorrow for bagels and Lox. I’ll also be in Altadena too.

    But say a Prayer for Monday; if I sell the idea, then we on the Right Blogosphere will be 10X powerful then before. This was a test run — let’s hope March is the real thing.

    ROLL TIDE!

  • http://www.valley-of-the-shadow.blogspot.com JSF

    RS,

    Glad you liked your stay in LA (with a ROOOOOLLLLLL TIIIIIIIDDDDDEEEEEE!!!!!). See you tomorrow for bagels and Lox. I’ll also be in Altadena too.

    But say a Prayer for Monday; if I sell the idea, then we on the Right Blogosphere will be 10X powerful then before. This was a test run — let’s hope March is the real thing.

    ROLL TIDE!

  • http://www.skepticrats.com Deuce Geary

    You should try to track down LL Cool J before you go. I hear he’s a conservative. And he’s hilarious.

  • http://www.skepticrats.com Deuce Geary

    You should try to track down LL Cool J before you go. I hear he’s a conservative. And he’s hilarious.

  • http://www.skepticrats.com Deuce Geary

    You should try to track down LL Cool J before you go. I hear he’s a conservative. And he’s hilarious.

  • http://www.jumpinginpools.blogspot.com Mr.K

    Heading to Massachusetts next? How about this – Send me the bucks, and I’ll become an exclusive reporter for a week, I live 50 miles away from Massachusetts, plus its 10 degress in New York…..you don’t wanna try it…southern boy.

  • http://www.jumpinginpools.blogspot.com Mr.K

    Heading to Massachusetts next? How about this – Send me the bucks, and I’ll become an exclusive reporter for a week, I live 50 miles away from Massachusetts, plus its 10 degress in New York…..you don’t wanna try it…southern boy.

  • http://maaadddog.wordpress.com/ John Doe

    Think BIG you magnificent “basterd” through whom we all love to live vicariously. How about the Super Bowl? The 2010 Miss Universe Pageant? The SPACE SHUTTLE!!?? And please get Smitty to help you upload photos. We love photos!

  • http://maaadddog.wordpress.com/ John Doe

    Think BIG you magnificent “basterd” through whom we all love to live vicariously. How about the Super Bowl? The 2010 Miss Universe Pageant? The SPACE SHUTTLE!!?? And please get Smitty to help you upload photos. We love photos!

  • http://datechguy.wordpress.com datechguy

    My offer still stands

  • http://datechguy.wordpress.com datechguy

    My offer still stands

  • http://datechguy.wordpress.com datechguy

    My offer still stands

  • Pingback: ‘We Were Very Lucky’ : The Other McCain

  • Moonbat Slayer

    So I checked out this site from a link at LGF. I’ve long disagreed with Johnson after his change of focus on his blog….but I was surprised when I came here. His accusation of you being a “white supremacist blogger” is baseless, out of line, and in my opinion, libelous. To be a “white supremacist blogger” as Johnson states, it seems to me that you would actually need to blog about white supremacism, which I haven’t been able to find a shred of on this site. Conclusion: Johnson is a petty, angry, libelous, hyperbolic asshole. If he is unable to back up his claims, I’d have an attorney look into any possible damages against you. LGF is out of line with it’s smears of you, Mr. McCain.

  • Moonbat Slayer

    So I checked out this site from a link at LGF. I’ve long disagreed with Johnson after his change of focus on his blog….but I was surprised when I came here. His accusation of you being a “white supremacist blogger” is baseless, out of line, and in my opinion, libelous. To be a “white supremacist blogger” as Johnson states, it seems to me that you would actually need to blog about white supremacism, which I haven’t been able to find a shred of on this site. Conclusion: Johnson is a petty, angry, libelous, hyperbolic asshole. If he is unable to back up his claims, I’d have an attorney look into any possible damages against you. LGF is out of line with it’s smears of you, Mr. McCain.

  • Moonbat Slayer

    So I checked out this site from a link at LGF. I’ve long disagreed with Johnson after his change of focus on his blog….but I was surprised when I came here. His accusation of you being a “white supremacist blogger” is baseless, out of line, and in my opinion, libelous. To be a “white supremacist blogger” as Johnson states, it seems to me that you would actually need to blog about white supremacism, which I haven’t been able to find a shred of on this site. Conclusion: Johnson is a petty, angry, libelous, hyperbolic asshole. If he is unable to back up his claims, I’d have an attorney look into any possible damages against you. LGF is out of line with it’s smears of you, Mr. McCain.

  • Pingback: The Profession of Journalism

  • Pingback: Some Stranger in San Francisco Now Has Tucker Carlson’s Personal Cell-Phone Number : The Other McCain

  • Pingback: For Massachusetts, Journalism Reinforcement Arrives : The Other McCain

Performance Optimization WordPress Plugins by W3 EDGE