Tonight, Current is kicking off a brand-new season of SuperNews! at 11/10c. This season will include the return of fan favorites including technology obsessed office workers Craig and Darren, the beleaguered Obama administration, the self-obsessed hipsters and continued scathing satires of today’s political, pop-culture, and infamous figures.
But that’s not all. The Thursday Night Block Party kicks off at 10/9c with a brand-new infoMania. This week, Sarah Haskins takes a look at home security in Target Women, so tune in to see her and the rest of the infoMania crew’s take on the week in news and entertainment. Missed an episode? Check out previous infoMania episodes on Current.com.
Then att 10:30/9:30c, tune in for a new episode of The Rotten Tomatoes Show. This week Brett and Ellen take on “Precious,” “The Men Who Stare At Goats” and “A Christmas Carol.” Watch previous episodes or leave a webcam with your review at The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current.com.
Finally, at 11/10c, the new season of SuperNews! premieres. Check out a sneak peek, or get a SuperNews primer on the SuperNews page.
Q: In” Waiting for revolution” it appeared that the implicit comparison for the economic, social and political conditions was a middle class western style democracy. How would the piece have differed if you compared it to it’s Caribbean or Central American neighbors? — asked by gerryh
That’s a great question. Obviously if we compare it to Honduras’ present situation we at least see stability in Cuba. No one can argue that Cuba is unstable given 50 years of the same leader and system. Next, I was in Venezuela for the first “Reforma,” or reform vote in December 2007 where Chavez proposed a slew of referendums; some extending indefinite term limits, useful land reform, public grants to cooperatives like taxi unions, seamstresses, and service workers. His “Si” movement was defeated in large part by a majority of voters who abstained, and by a mobilization of students and the upper and middle classes who on the streets demanded Chavez not turn the country into Cuba. I’ll be the first to say that Chavez made massive reforms in Venezuela’s corrupt “criollo” hierarchy and when oil revenues were high injected it right back to the people (as well as to Cuba). However, there exists a real climate of censorship and propaganda heavily favoring the Chavez government with little room for opposition. I think given Cuba’s 50 year communist stance it’s difficult to compare it, exactly what makes it so contentious and fascinating.
In “Cuba: Waiting for a Revolution” Adrian Baschuk travels to Cuba to examine the potential of a counter-revolution against a leadership that has been in power for 50 years. He’s agreed to be interviewed in the same fashion as Mariana, which means we need questions from you!
Here are a few things to help get the “question asking” juices flowing:
Yay! October 14th is finally here, and tonight we’ll unleash season 3 of our documentary series Vanguard, followed by the first of our six part music special, Embedded.
Here is everything you need to know about our Current TV premiere night:
Tell Your Friends!
Tonight is as good as any to gather a group together and turn the dial to Current.
Get Directions
Make sure you know where to find Current TV on your cable/satellite service. Here’s a list of channel numbers where you can find us: DIRECTV 358 | COMCAST 107 | DISH NETWORK 196 | TIME WARNER (check local listings).
Have A Backup Plan
What? You can’t make it? Well, alright. There are plenty of ways to watch. Here are a few: Set your DVR! No DVR? Join the Vanguard and the Embedded groups on Current.com and the full episodes will be available shortly. You can even login using Facebook!
Be Prepared
Pop some popcorn, but also have some tissues on standby. Seriously, tonight will be a rollercoaster ride. I expected tears (and was correct in doing so) while watching Mariana Van Zeller’s “The OxyContin Express” during our Current SF screening party, but I was also surprised by the humor, too. Conversely, I anticipated laughs during Embedded with Mos Def, but was taken aback by the layers behind the mask. With both of these shows, you never know where you’re going to go — emotionally and philosophically.
After Vanguard and Embedded Air
Share!
Did you like the episodes? If so, you’re definitely on the inside track, so why not show off a little? We have plenty of options to help spread the word, here are a couple: Share Vanguard (requires login) and Embedded (requires login) on Current.com. You can also find our shows on iTunes, and tell a friend from there.
Interview Mariana Van Zeller
Did “The OxyContin Express” leave you with a few biting questions? Or, do you have a general interest in the nuts and bolts of our Vanguard journalism team? Well, you’re in luck! We’re planning an interview with Mariana right here on the Current.com blog, and we want YOU to provide the questions! Get all the details here.
Embed Embedded
We need your help getting the word out about our new Current Music Special, Embedded. Each week, we will release a clip from the upcoming show. If you choose to help out, you will get first look at this exclusive clip, and a chance to score some limited edition Embedded swag! All you have to do is embed the unique embed code for the exclusive clip (found here — requires login via Current or Facebook) on your blog, MySpace, Tumblr, or other site that allows embeddable video content. (NOTE: Posting to your Facebook stream will not work, as your unique embed code will not be used in the Facebook news stream). You can get the full scoop here. Help us please? Thanks in advance!
More importantly, thanks for tuning in tonight, and let us know what you think (Leave a comment, or shoot us a tweet with the hashtags #Embedded and #Vanguard!
Our Current Music team has been working overtime to bring you our brand new six part music special, Embedded. Everything is set to go for our Wednesday night premiere (October 14, 11/10c), but we need your help getting the word out.
Help us Internets, you’re our only hope.
But seriously, if you have a website, blog, Tumblr, MySpace, or [insert other social network profile] account that takes video embeds, now is your time.
Log in on Current.com (Don’t have an account? No worries, we support Facebook Connect!) and visit Embed Embedded. We’ll post a new Embedded clip for you to embed each week. The artists featured on Embedded include Mos Def, Silversun Pickups, Ben Harper, Common, Thievery Corporation, and The Decemberists to name a few. To name a few more, you’ll also catch glimpses of K’Naan, Arcade Fire, Lykke Li, Bloc Party, Amanda Palmer, Delta Spirit, Passion Pit, and Bon Iver to boot. So, expect to see embed Embedded clips from some of those folks.
And here’s the cool thing — each embed code on the Embed Embedded page is unique to you. The person with the most views on their embedded Embedded video will become the top embed user for the week, and will be showered with praise in the Current Music blog. So start embedding your unique embed code, help us spread the word, and get the opportunity to score some exclusive Embedded swag.
It’s been a while since we’ve made a significant update to our TV Schedule on Current.com. Our previous version of the schedule focused on what is airing right now. We collected feedback and are proud to present the latest version of the Current TV Schedule.
The list view let’s you see what is on Current, one day at a time. When you land on the new schedule, the grid will automagically jump to what is on Current TV right now. In addition, you can scroll back to see what you missed, or jump ahead through the next six days to find out what is coming up.
There are still a few more things we plan to roll out in our next release (scheduled for Wednesday). Here’s the list:
Grid view: This will let you look at an entire week’s worth of Current TV scheduling in one go. For those of you who like to plan out your week, this will be the way to go.
List view time zones: We squashed a bug from the previous release that left out time zones on the list view. Those will make their triumphant return.
Homepage schedule: Our new schedule page is nice, but sometimes you’ll want to know what’s coming up on Current TV from the comfort of the Current.com homepage. With this new feature, that problem is solved.
Hello my lovely Current community, feliz Friday! In case you didn’t check it our last featured community member, we had the super awesome Sam_the_Wizer, so once you’re done check out this week’s, go have a little look see. This week we have (drum roll please) …WakeUpPeople! You’ve probably bumped into this AMAZING community member on Current before, but if you haven’t, whoo boy, you’re in for a treat! There are a ton of great items from on his profile, I was really interested in the “New data: Mega-quake could strike near Seattle” (as Seattle is near and dear to me). Ok, before any Seattlites freak out and go read that item, make sure you check out his interview below, WAY more important.
Q:How did you find out about Current? What made you a fan?
A: I found out about current while researching Al Gore. I read his book “The Assault on Reason,” and it really reinforced what I was already thinking about mainstream media and the need for internet forum discussion. That’s one of the reasons that I chose my username. People need to unplug from the hypnotic television sets and wake up to the realities of our world.
Q: Where do you look for stories to add to Current?
A: I look everywhere for articles to post. I have certain sites that I favor, but what I love about Current is that in the middle of debates with other users, I think of something else to research. A lot of times I post articles that answer my own questions, because I figure I’m not the only one with the question. Google is an amazing tool for fact finding missions, although sourcewatch.org is equally important in finding the truth.
Q: You post a variety of stories (which is awesome!), but is there something in particular that you’re really passionate about?
A: Right now, I’m extremely passionate about health care reform. The ovewhelming misinformation/disinformation campaign is driving me crazy and keeping me very busy as of late. This also compounds my mistrust for the mainstream media that intentionally misrepresents the issues. One of my favorite quotes is from Abraham Lincoln: “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.” I am also very passionate about climate change, but political will is unfortunately not up to the tremendous challenge and responsibility at this time. I often wish that CO2 was neon orange. I think people would be less likely to ignore it if they could see it… it’s just human nature.
Q: If you could have one Superhero power, what would it be and why?
A: If I could have a superhero power I think I would choose the power to afflict others with the burden of empathy and compassion. It might sound lame, but I wish I could do that on a daily basis, so there it is.
I know, I know, you can thank me (ok fine, thank WakeUpPeople later, now go read about that crazy potential earthquake and everything else!
Over on the Current News blog, Andrew took a look at setback for MILF rebels in the Philippines. Also, Obama’s UN address raises a question about whether or not it added up to anything substantial. Lastly, Manuel Zelaya returns to Honduras after being ousted, only to remain behind the gates of the Brazilian embassy. Tegucigalpa is rioting, check out his posts for raw video.
Shana has the scoop over on the Current Music blog, along with some other awesome f’ing Amanda Palmer, Neutral Milk Hotel, and High School Musical news (wha?? — ed. note: just read the post) from Peter Grumbine.
John’s been playing hooky entrenched in all things related to the New York Film Festival, so here’s what he has for this week’s round-up on the Current Movies blog:
Over on the Current Comedy blog Josh makes an interesting comparison between Muammar al-Gaddaffi and accidental comedy — because nothing is funnier than a dictator who unintentionally takes to stand-up. Also up for perusal is the latest Current Virals rundown, and rather serious flooding in the southeast US conjures up rather flippant memories of TV’s Step-by-Step.
The Internets are weird, but partly because they expose elements of our world and culture that are odd and otherwise go unseen. For example, take any fetish that exists in well kept secrecy in the real world and expose it to the anonymity of the web, suddenly people with shared interests start connecting with one another in a way they never could before.
The method in which I arrived at my personal outlook may not be scientific, but hearing that more comfortable environments helped increase milk production doesn’t really surprise me. It also doesn’t surprise me that grass-fed cattle produce a higher quality beef product. After all, if I were facing the inevitable (in this case, a trip to the slaughterhouse), I would feel much more relaxed spending my days grazing grasslands. But in fairness, to take that scenario one step further and suppose that I discovered my fate I would more than likely try everything in my power to end up like Maxine the fugitive cow. Not only did she escape from a slaughterhouse, but she also managed to earn her way into a slaughter-free living on a farm. Pretty nice outcome.
Q: How did you find out about Current? What made you a fan?
later, now go read about that crazy potential earthquake and everything else!
