Madonna on 'Oprah'

Madonna says she'll be going back to Africa, that her work there is just beginning. Much applause from the audience.
Oprah wonders about the status of the adoption.

She's read the newspapers, of course, but, "We all know you can't believe what you read."
Then why bother reading at all? Really, aren't we laying the blame-the-media reaction on a bit thick here?

"What do you want to say to all the people who made this into a media story like we've never seen?" Oprah asks.
What?

It's not even the biggest media story on Oprah this year! Tom Cruise jumping on her couch is a firmly entrenched pop-culture moment. The storm over the adoption is a mere blip, just another media brush fire in Madonna's combustible career.

Who's making a big deal of it now?
Mostly she doesn't want to say anything, Madonna says, though she repeats the bit about discouraging other people from adopting, this time adding, "Shame on you."
"I have to say, Madonna, that's a brave thing you did," Oprah says, adding later, "This audience, I know, applauds you for it.

" It sounded as much like an order as a statement, so the audience responds accordingly.
And that's it. Only a half-hour; the other half-hour is devoted to the Dixie Chicks.

So it's all solved, right? Madonna is absolutely in the right here, did nothing wrong, laws were followed, the father understands completely what happened, we're all proud of her bravery. That must be what happened.

I mean, it was on Oprah!
Of course, there could be more to it. It's possible that she did skirt rules or laws, that the father truly doesn't understand what happened.

But we haven't heard from anyone who supports the other side of the story.
And unless the Dixie Chicks offer it, it ain't coming.
Again, you cannot disparage Madonna for trying to save a child's life.

And it would be naive to think that the media doesn't blow this kind of thing out of all proportion.
But don't interviews like this only add to the uproar, instead of doing anything to quell it? Surely even someone who doesn't read newspapers and doesn't watch TV knows that.

Back from commercial.
And an aside: more ridiculously negative political ads, none of which say what the candidate they're supporting stands for, only what horrible evils the other guy will visit upon us. Is this the worst election ever for political ads?

Disgusting, disturbing and downright vile.
But back to Oprah.
Madonna is explaining more about how she went about adopting David.

She did meet his father, she says -- reports have said that he didn't understand the full implications of adoption when he agreed to it.
It's all very convincing, and you cannot disparage her for trying to help a child so obviously in danger of dying. That's never been the question.

The question is whether her being rich and famous helped her get around the country's laws.
She also discredits the reports about the father not understanding the circumstances of adoption.
"No, I do not believe that is true," she says.

"I sat in that room. I looked into that man's eyes. I believe the press is manipulating this information out of him.

I believe at this point in time he has been terrorized by the media."
"Yes," Oprah agrees. So we're all agreed then: the media is to blame.

Who could have guessed?
Who knows what the truth is? Maybe Madonna isn't using her wealth and position to her advantage.

But by some coincidence hers is the only side being represented on Oprah, so we can't really know the full story.
Oprah begins with an introduction of the story -- Madonna's controversial adoption of a little boy named David -- saying this is the first time she's talked about it publicly, the first ..

.
Wait! This is by satellite?

From London? She's not in the studio? HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET OVERREACTION FROM THE AUDIENCE?

Oh. By showing baby photos, that's how. Ooohs and ahhhs all over.

Cute little fellow, though.
I'm frankly disappointed that Madonna isn't using more of her faux British accent. This is clearly the serious Madonna, not the curse-like-a-sailor Madonna who shows up on Letterman or whenever.

"It's gotten crazy here," Oprah informs Madonna of the stories about the adoption. "It's headline news."
It is?

Either way, it's a good thing Oprah told her, because, "I don't read newspapers or watch television," Madonna tells us.
Of course not. Why would she?

Nothing much going on in the world, other than these headline-news adoption stories...

.
More demon media talk -- Madonna's disappointed, gossip and negative stories sell stories, the usual complaints. But "more than anything it discourages other people from doing the same thing.

"
Uh, really? It's fine to blame the media, which of course does enjoy an outsized interest in all things Madonna (and every other celebrity), but come on. Does anyone really believe that Madonna's circumstances are like anyone else's?

She's telling the story of how she found David, and says an 8-year-old girl who is HIV-positive was holding him. She won't name the girl because "I'm afraid the press will go there and terrorize her."
"Yep," Oprah agrees.

Two wildly different kinds of stories today: you can check out my newspaper column on my great love of -- and, so this particular argument goes, the great importance of -- It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown .
For the other side of the coin, you can read my column previewing Madonna's appearance on Oprah today . It's not that I don't like Madonna or, more accurately, appreciate her.

It's just that I'm sick of her. Know that going in.
And come back at 3 p.

m. Pacific for live-blogging of Madonna's appearance on Oprah. Now THAT should be fun.

...

Can't see enough of it.
Seen plenty already, thanks.
Man, that was great!

I can only hope that all of you enjoyed the same experience I did while watching the that was just released: having it load, crash, load, crash, sputter and finally give out. Awesome! With all the site traffic it was like 1998 all over again, using a dial-up when someone called and broke the connection.

Good times! Man, those were the days.
Anyway, third time was the charm, meaning I had to go through two computers to get to one that would show the video uninterrupted.

So now that the clip is available, here's what we know (or think we know):
Dead President Palmer's brother is now President. (He was also once principal of Buffy's high school in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so really, are terrorists going to be any tougher to handle than a town full of demons?)
A new threat has hit America.

Seems to happen every season.
And only One Man Can Save Us. But wait, Edgar's dead!

Oh. Not that guy. Jack Bauer, of course, who we see being escorted off a transport plane after the unplanned trip he began at the end of last season on a literal slow boat to China.

He looked like Rip van Winkle -- shaggy beard, long hair, crazed look in his eyes (wait, that last one is normal for him). But soon enough he was all cleaned up and going about the business of screaming, "DROP THE GUN!" and whatnot, while we were told 10,000 times -- unofficial tally -- that Jack Bauer must sacrifice himself to save the world.

I'm guessing no.
Despite his boss telling him (evidently) that they're asking him to sacrifice himself, and Jack himself saying he gets to choose how to die for a good cause, my bet is that the writers somehow figure a way out of it for him, what with there being no show without him and all. Plus, he's signed on for a few more seasons AND a movie version is in the works.

As much as we all love Chloe -- and she shows up in the preview, as well, looking as socially constipated as ever -- no one's tuning in just to see her.
Anyway, there were explosions aplenty, the pace was fast, all the usual things we've come to expect in an episode of 24, all crammed into 2 minutes (including a little thanks-for-watching-speech from Sutherland at the beginning). Big fun, in other words, a whetting of the appetite strong enough that as soon as I hit the "send" button here I'm going to watch it again.

If my computer will let me.
Don't you feel safer just looking at this? For those of you who have been staring blankly at your television sets lo these many months, feeling as if something were missing, you were right.

It's Jack Bauer. And he and 24 won't be back till January. (But remember!

As Fox might say. No repeats! So it's worth it!

Yeah, maybe.)
But if you're desperate for a 24 fix, you can get one today at noon by clicking and watching a 2 1/2 minute trailer for next season.
OK, so I know what I'm doing instead of lunch.

I'll also be writing about the trailer once I've seen it (where, oh where, was the sneak preview for critics?). So check back shortly after noon and we'll talk.

I'll let you know what I think; please return the favor.
Looks ready to shoot someone.
But then he always does.

Happy Birthday iPod!
The Coolest Gadget Ever (so far) turned five Sunday, to a chorus of back-handed and out-and-out . (Not part of the celebration, sadly, was any kind of fire sale at .

)
(By the by, this is a TV blog, but I justify this post by the following: I have watched TV on an iPod. Justification complete.)
I feel like I should have some sort of exotic complaint to offer, just to fit in.

Yet I don't. My first iPod -- I now own four or five, long story, but when they started giving them away for opening bank accounts, it was hard not to get on board in a big way -- is nearly two years old, which makes me a little nervous because, if the lore is true, it should start to smoke and perhaps spontaneously combust any minute now. So far, so good -- except that, oddly, at the moment I can't turn it off.

Probably some kind of message in that. And I know that many people have legitimate complaints about battery life, etc., but -- knock wood -- I just haven't had those problems.

Yet.
Way of all digital flesh, I suppose. But I can't think of any gadget I've enjoyed more.

The current tally on my main iPod (and how extravagant does that sound) is 6,488 songs, or 16.8 days worth of unrepeated music, should I choose to go that route. While we're divulging meaningless statistics, my top 5 most-listened to songs break down thusly: No.

13 Baby by the Pixies and Jimmy's Fantasy by Redd Kross tied for No. 1, followed by Anne Richmond Boston's cover of When You Dance I Can Really Love, Something Becomes Nothing by Matthew Sweet and Someday I Will Treat You Good by Sparklehorse.
I mention this not because this blog should more closely resemble Tiger Beat but because of this: the iPod has evidently changed the way I listen to music.

If I had to guess, before looking at the numbers, only one of those songs (No. 13 Baby -- it's on Doolittle, which you of course own already, but if you don't, uh, now) would have made the list. I use shuffle play a lot, so possibly some of it's luck of the draw, but really, I was somewhat surprised by the number of times I've listened to the other four songs.

So maybe those taste-changing claims are true. Uncle. Proof that I need to expand my horizons, or maybe get out more.

Or maybe my iPod knows more about me than I know about myself.
I'll acknowledge that a major part of iPod's pop-culture triumph has been more of the public-relations than the technical variety. I am aware that Apple does not play well with others, so that you can't get a song at iTunes and play it on any device other than an iPod.

And I suspect that there are other devices out there that do the same thing an iPod does, only better, and probably cheaper. (I'm a TV critic, not a technology expert. But even a little poking around turns up plenty of convincing evidence.

)
And yet I don't want other devices. I'm happy with my iPod. If it crashes and burns, I'll probably get another one.

I say this fully aware that in five years of further technological development I may look back and feel ridiculous -- wow, I can't believe how much I dig 8-track tapes! That kind of thing.
But for now, for this five-year window of history, I'm satisfied.

I tote every CD I own around with me whenever I want, which allows for awkward did I really sing that out loud moments in the grocery store but is otherwise pretty amazing. Perhaps later I'll feel like a sucker, like I was hoodwinked by Apple and peer pressure and whatever else, but for now, I'm happy.
Which is where we came in: wishing the iPod a happy birthday.

And, as long as it remains even remotely affordable, many more.