TERRORISTS AND BUTT DOUBLES

I’ve been working in the broadcast business for 25 years now so I pay attention to the news. Let me tell you this… What qualifies as news around here is a world apart from the news in Afghanistan. During my time there it was clear that the pressing issues of the day were generally life and death matters. Consequently, the news is serious. Always. In an earlier blog I wrote about the headlines from the only English-language newspaper I saw while I was there. On the front page alone there were three or four stories about terrorism: suicide bombings, increasing rebel attacks, etc. Other stories involved the opium crop funding insurgents, land mine dangers, bin Laden. Heavy stuff.

It’s not that we don’t have problems around here. Certainly we do. But we clearly have the luxury of not focusing on them all the time.

The top stories here in the U-S today included: Katie Couric taking over as the anchor of CBS News, Rosie on The View, photos published of Tom and Katie’s baby (finally!), and actor Luke Wilson hiring a butt double for a nude scene in a movie. He said choosing a stunt butt was very difficult. Whoa. Stop the presses.

Hey…inquiring minds want to know these things! And we are blessed enough to be able to indulge in trivial distraction.

Speaking of trivial distraction…

According to a new book by a Sudanese woman who says she was Osama bin Laden’s slave ten years ago, the terrorist is obsessed with Whitney Houston. He claimed her music was evil, but hopes someday to come to America and secretly meet with her. He says she has a nice smile. (If its in the tabloids it must be true.)

And here I thought it was a slow news day in America.