good tv: fareed zakaria's GPS

Fareed Zakaria doesn't seem well-suited for the role of television show host. He's stiff as a board, and he lacks the Jon Stewart wit so effective in livening up otherwise dry issues. Yet Zakaria has managed to create the best news show on TV in Global Public Square (or GPS). How?

First, Zakaria chooses great guests, carefully chosen for their unique takes on otherwise tired issues (e.g., Bjorn Lomborg); these aren't the standard news circuit hacks. Second, Zakaria avoids the standard pitfalls of tv hosts when questioning his guests. Nobody gets a free pass, but the questions are not designed to embarass or "nail" the guest, but rather force them to respond to the best counterarguments to their position. For example, he presses Condi Rice on why the US doesn't treat Iran the same way it treats North Korea. And when a guest, such as Ms. Rice provides a vague response, such as her explanation of the political situation in Iraq as a well-functioning Iraqi democratic government, Zakaria points out that the Sunnis are still largely excluded from the regime.

The show airs at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, and as long as you can stomach the Lou Dobbs advertisements during breaks, I would highly suggest it.

No, Zakaria isn't a TV host at heart, but if you're looking for "good tv," GPS is a great place to start. Enjoy Stewart's light-hearted take after a hard day's work, and turn to Zakaria for your critical analysis of the world's most pressing issues. Read more!

great leap forward for biblical art

He Qi's paintings conflate the biblical scenes of Michalengelo with the stylings of Picasso and the experience of a child of the Cultural Revolution. Check out his web page here and "read more" if you want to see his take on Moses' flight into Egypt and Jonah and the Whale. (Who doesn't?) If anyone wants to make me happy they can pay Qi to make me a stained glass window...
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She & Him: Music to make you wiggle...

Zooey Deschanel does her best June Carter/Linda Ronstadt/Dusty Springfield on Volume One, a new album which sees Zooey handling the majority of the songwriting and vocals and Indie stalwart M. Ward producing.

Volume One sees Zooey dance effortlesly from countrified Beatles cover to 60's pop-soul on the strength of her distinct voice, which carries a depth and character sorely lacking in 21st century music. It's no wonder then that Zooey sounds so at home with M. Ward's retro production.

You may recognize Zooey from Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, or a host of other films and TV shows. She is one of a few actresses (see Johanson, Scarlett, Lewis, Juliette) daring the skeptics of Pitchfork, Stereogum, et. all. You can read Pitchfork and Stereogum's takes, but I'd also suggest listening to sampling of She & Him here.

Occasionally, the album borders on kitsch, but that's nitpicking. Amy Winehouse rode her soulful sound to the top of the charts. I don't know where Zooey's voice will take her, but her first offering is certainly refreshing and deserves a place on your playlist. Read more!

Good TV: Simon Reeve's travel documentaries

Recently, I got on a Central Asia kick, and snooped around the internet looking for books, video ... anything I could find on the barbarians. First, I came across Colin Thubron's new book, Shadow of the Silk Road, which looks like a good read, but would have fallen to the bottom of a very large pile.

Soon after, I came across a four-part BBC series entitled Meet the Stans (2003), wherein host Simon Reeve (wiki) journeyed "from the far north-west of Kazakhstan, by the Russian border, east to the Chinese border, south through Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the edge of Afghanistan, and west to Uzbekistan and the legendary Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara." Reeve attempted to go to Turkmenistan, but the local crazy-in-charge would have none of it. Regardless, the series does an excellent job bringing the 'stans to light, making a compelling argument for the significance and fragility of Central Asia. The series is also entertaining, thanks to the dry wit of Reeve and interesting locals.

I've now followed Reeve on several other adventures, including Equator, which sees Reeve follow the Equator around the world, including stops in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Colombia.

I'd be remiss not to mention Places that Don't Exist -- "Reeve's 2005 award-winning five-part series on breakaway states and unrecognised nations, broadcast on BBC2 and broadcasters internationally. Among the countries Reeve visited for this series were Somaliland, Transniestria (where Reeve was detained for 'spying' by the KGB), Nagorno-Karabakh, Ajaria, South Ossetia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Somalia, Moldova, Taiwan, and the former Soviet republic of Georgia."

Finding Reeve's material may be tricky, but some can be found online, and is certainly worth the effort. Reeve also wrote a book in 1998 entitled The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden and the future of terrorism, warning "of a new age of apocalyptic terrorism," so he's no Mr. Bean. Peruse his homepage for more information on his many projects.
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