Monday, November 26, 2007

no one reads the newspaper any more

Today Leah Garchik's popular column in the San Francisco Chronicle had a paragraph quoting me:
"Carole Morrell says that zombies are the new vampires, dodgeball is the new Fight Club, and she read in the Wall Street Journal, sopranos are the new tenors (as in Three Tenors).

Evidently no one I know, save moi, reads the Chron, as no one noticed this. The only person who was impressed was five year-old Lola, who carefully struggled to read my name out loud.

Aeons ago I wrote a letter to the editor of the Boston Globe, and when that ran, I got mail and phone calls from people who'd read it (this rather modest accomplishment was hyped up by my friends and its fame grew undeservedly, until one went so far as to introduce me to someone, saying, "She had an op-ed in the New York Times!"). My experience would substantiate the general understanding that newspapers are dying in this internet world.

32 comments:

hughman said...

ooo... i "know" a celebrity!! you are one step up from david spade who i see and say hi to every day!

hughman said...

ps. where's the link to her mention?

hughman said...

here it is :

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/11/26/DD0BTE0UF.DTL

Missy said...

You're a celebrity! I shall quote you with even more emphasis in the future.

Hughman sees David Spade? I'm also truly impressed. Dog Park, or local coffee place/Starbucks? Do tell.

hughman said...

he's a regular at my breakfast place. he's short but friendly. i see him about 4 days a week.

2amsomewhere said...

Not only are you famous, you're a "thought leader" (as they like to say in the world of IT) now.

--
2amsomewhere

Freewheel said...

You are very quotable.

Silliyak said...

I'd rather be quoted by you.

Unknown said...

Congrats on the "real world" quote! LOL.

Of course newspapers are dying. Why bust out the crayons to write a screed hoping it'll get published as a LTE when you can post to Internet forums under fake names?

If I were an online persona, I'd be a 6'1" 185# swim instructor who loves children and animals, travels, snuggles, never forgets birthdays, has a trust fund but invests it prudently, and volunteers at the local animal shelter/homeless shelter/thrift store/Habitat For Humanity.

Wait, that was a personal ad I saw.

Anonymous said...

Carole, you gotta get Ms. Blazenhoff to tell you about getting quoted in Leah Garrick's column about 10 years ago. Those naughty, naughty BigRig kids pulled a prank on her. She found out about it last year, and was tres upset....

the Drunken Housewife said...

Piph, I knew about that prank at the time (entering a modified toaster into a children's art contest). My ex-husband was disgusted by it at the time, thinking of the poor children. Back then, I thought it was funny, but now as a grown-up, I'd be really pissed if adult hipsters entered kids' art contests. It's not fair, and I see now how incredibly seriously children take their art and what wonderful stuff they make. A PhD holder who has been to Burning Man many times has a huge advantage over a child.

the Drunken Housewife said...

"NOw as a grown-up." What a telling slip that was. I was 30 at the time of that art event, but I didn't feel like a real grownup until age 34, when I had a baby (and a mortgage!).

Missy said...

Thanks for that, Hughman, David Spade has always seemed like someone who would be a "real" person and nice in reality, but you just never know.

Anonymous said...

The Garchik prank was separate from the Marin County Fair prank.

To be fair...It was my idea, not Brody's to do the children's art for the Fair. He won a small amount of money and gave it to his young nephews. The theme that year was "Aliens" and we didn't just enter in the kid's section. In fact, I believe we just entered one piece of 'art' in the kid's category.

Naturally, we didn't have children and didn't know that it might 'hurt' them in some way. If it were me today, I would have just stuck to the adult category but I have the hindsight now that I didn't then. Thanks SJ!

Congrats on getting into Leah's column, she's wonderful. She was recently informed of the prank, ten years after print date. She was a good sport though took it to heart a bit I'm afraid.

As for how she might be tuned into your blog, my future ex-husband is her colleague at the Chronicle and he reads your blog. Coincidence perhaps or perhaps not.

--r.b.

the Drunken Housewife said...

Oh, sweetie, I don't mean to give you a guilt trip. You and I are, I think, on the same page about it. Back then, I thought it was hilarious. I was always a huge fan of Big Rig Industries (sad that I didn't know you back then, but I admired you guys from afar). Now, years and years later, I'm a parent and I see it differently, as do you, but that doesn't mean we didn't find it hilarious at the time.

the Drunken Housewife said...

And there's no mystery how Leah G. found those quotes: I emailed her. Oh, the pathetic admission! I did because I've emailed her a few times before (once we exchanged emails a few times when I explained how fur could be donated to wildlife rehab) and I know she collects "news", as in "orange is the new black." I didn't expect her to use all mine; I thought she'd just throw them in with other people's.

Currently she's collecting people's stories of brush-offs from celebrities, so if the readers have any, they should share! I have a story of David Byrne giving me a contemptuous look, but it's not really good enough.

Silliyak said...

Moonrabbit (who is feeling better) and I stayed at Caesar's Palace when, it turns out Billy Crystal and some Ginormous basketball player were filming a movie (My Giant?) We went to the gym on the top floor in the middle of the day, just to check it out and there they were. Senor C gave us a look like "Don't you dare even say anything" So we didn't. Fine with us.

hughman said...

chris noth once gave me a sneer at the car wash when i told him i liked his sunglasses. now i hate him.

Epiphany said...

I guess this means I should get in touch with Leah with the story of how Vanilla Ice wouldn't pose for a picture with my Vanilla Ice doll. Broke my heart, it did!

Vodalus said...

Oh man, you totally have to submit the Vanilla Ice story. That just perfectly encapsulates where he stands on the "toughness" scale.

the Drunken Housewife said...

Send those stories to lgarchik@sfchronicle.com! Those are great.

the Drunken Housewife said...

ps. Now I hate Chris Noth, too in solidarity!

A friend of mine was pumping gas at the same time as Robin Williams and couldn't help but stare. He pointedly turned his back on her.

the Drunken Housewife said...

But, in the interest of being fair to Robin Williams, he once had a sprightly, brief chat with my ex-husband and shook hands with him in a very friendly manner.

Anonymous said...

Here is what I blogged about the Iceman, reprinted here for the amusement and edification of DH's readers:

For several years now, my Sisters Steve and James and I have been obssessed with Steve's Vanilla Ice doll. These dolls, about the size of a barbie doll, were made way back in 1991 when Ice Ice Baby was all the rage, along with Vanilla's eyebrows and hairdo with designs and patterns shaved into them. The Iceman goes with us on all sorts of excursions. Last time I checked, he had been to Jamaica, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, Paris and Hawaii. He's been to Burning Man about seven times, and is frequently seen lounging by the Yuba River in Northern California. Last year at Burning Man, he hooked up with Posh Spice, and the two of them have been getting dirty and nasty in places around the globe. We have a picture of them kissing in front of the Eiffel Tower - tres romantique!

The Vanilla Ice of today is not fond of the Vanilla Ice of yesterday. When I first moved to Austin, I found out that Vanilla was going to be playing, and showed up to get my coveted photo of Ice with Ice. I went and chatted up the full-size Ice, told him what I needed and asked if I could take his picture. He absolutely refused, saying that part of his life was over, he was ashamed of it and didn't want to be reminded of it. I can understand that, but I thought it was quite mean of him not to indulge me in my little fantasy. He should be flattered that we care so much.

Anonymous said...

The only famous person to ever come out of the drama department of my small town university in Wichita Falls, Texas was Joanne Whorley (sp?).

Once, in my 20's, I saw her in a vintage clothing store. I was so excited.

"We were both theatre majors at the same University!" I exclaimed.

She curled up her lip and snarled, "Wichita Falls" with such disgust that I felt she was blaming me.

Then she turned and walked away.

Kim

Anonymous said...

I tripped over Tipper Gore while taking communion at the National Cathedral. The Secret Service was not amused.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, that threat to national security is from Carol Ann/Marketeer.

hughman said...

when i worked at studio 54 in nyc, robin williams and some woman came in around 3AM. he walked right up to me and asked if i knew where he could buy some nose candy. i didn't. not because i wasn't doing it at the time but because i didn't pay for it.

true story.

Anonymous said...

Um, hello?! I said noted your Chronicle appearance on the same day it happened! But then I am having yahoo mail delays on some lists, and you may not have seen it. Now, you can quote me on that.

the Drunken Housewife said...

Aww, G's Mom, you are so sweet. In actuality I got your email delayed.. I figured you'd seen it on the blog, not in the paper. I feel happier now, knowing someone else amongst my acquaintance actually reads the physical sheet.

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

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