Day: May 27, 2002

Unreliable sources

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

In a fine story debunking some of the previously reported profits of porn companies, AlterNet’s Emanuelle Richard (link via InstaPundit) makes the mistake of relying on none other than Luke Ford as a supposedly reliable source. Richard concludes:

With the increased coverage, and the addition of porn beats at a handful of mainstream publications, the myths about the adult business are bound to give way to a more accurate picture. But, says Luke Ford, it might take a while.

“The media don’t catch the baloney, the lies, the true horror of this industry that you capture when you go on sets and you mix with the people, and you just see the cavalier way they deal with life,” Ford said. “Every one of these people lie. Everyone. They lie by habit. When their lips move, they’re saying lies — they can’t help it. … If the greatest reporter in the world decides to make porn his beat, it would still take him a year or two to get up to speed.”

Yeah, it’s a colorful quote, and I might have concluded my story the same way. But Luke Ford — who makes Matt Drudge look like Bob Woodward — is hardly the guy to talk about great reporting. Sure, he knows firsthand of the deviousness of many people in the porn industry, but he did his part to make reliable information about the porn industry hard to come by in reporting rumors, gossip and off-the-record conversations on his pseudo-news site.

He burned as many times as he was burned, and is not exactly the kind of disinterested observer you should turn to for a balanced view of what’s really going on in the industry. I guess Richard’s years of covering porn — on and off — did not teach her that much.

Unwitting victims of the war

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

Today we remember the men and women who gave their lives in American wars. Though the men and women who were killed by terrorists on Sept. 11 never signed up to fight a war, they were the first victims in this new war nonetheless.

A stirring series of documents reported by the New York Times as “Fighting to live as the towers died” tells the stories of the almost 2,000 people trapped on the top 19 floors of the north tower and the top 33 of the south tower.

I’ve only read part of the story, but it is an amazing document of the many ways those poor souls dealt with their last moments on earth, as told through e-mails, telephone calls, etc.

Talk about gutsy wins

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

It seems as though everyone thought the Nets would not be able to bounce back from game three, but I couldn’t see that happenning. Jason Kidd was perfectly calm after the game and it was clear that he had the right attitude about how to go about winning the next game.

Also, the Nets really have outplayed the Celtics in this series, and they did it again today. Just as the Lakers were lucky to win game four against the Kings on Horry’s buzzer-beating shot, so the Celtics didn’t really deserve to win games three or four.

I think that, right now, you’d have to say the momentum is with the Kings and the Nets. Both have regained home-court advantage and have clearly outplayed their opponents. And I think the Kings will bounce back from game four just as the Nets bounced back from game three.

Whatever happens, it should be exciting. The Celtics need to play the kind of defense they played in the second half today for the entire 48 minutes on Wednesday night.

Six scoreless innings? You’re outta here!

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

Don Baylor’s decision to remove Jason Bere from the game last night is a perfect example of his managerial idiocy. Bere, who has struggled all year, was finally pitching well: six innings, no runs, four hits, three strikeouts, three walks. That’s not the kind of performance you reward by removing the pitcher from the game — unless you’re Don Baylor, that is.

Fassero and Mahomes, no surprise, couldn’t get the job done. And, despite a great start this year, Borowski fell down on the job. But the point is that all of this wasn’t necessary. Bere may not have pitched a complete game shutout, but why not give him the chance? Why not give him a boost of confidence after a rough start by letting him go long when he’s pitching well?

That’s how you blow a five-run lead, a chance for a sweep against a division rival, and end a six-game win streak. Aargh.