Rumsfeld: Captain Queeg, but without his marbles

[ThoughtCriminal]

Spotted this on Google News and I had to post this one just for the headline alone:

http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/1276

<snip>
4/13/2006
Rumsfeld: Captain Queeg, but without his marbles
Filed under: General Commentary Weldon's Page Iraq Bush Administration— Weldon Berger @ 1:40 pm
Permanent Link
Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld is coming under increasing, if belated fire, from retired senior military officers. At least five retired Army generals — one of whom resigned in advance of the Iraq invasion to protest the Pentagon’s plans — and two retired Marine generals have either called outright for Rumsfeld’s resignation or have described an atmosphere of intense frustration among general officers in the two branches. The last time we saw the military make this much fuss about one of their civilian bosses was in John Frankenheimer’s classic 1964 film, “Seven Days in May.”
</snip>

[driver8]

1. "Ol' Yellow Stain"!!

Hell, that nickname could apply to almost anyone in the Bush regime.

[Hand]

5. Yep...

...right down the middle of their backs. :grr:

[weldon berger]

2. I put a lot of thought into that headline ...

Glad you liked it. I guess the Google News algorithm has a sense of humor too; my stuff usually doesn't bubble up to the top layer of sources.

Cheers,
weldon

[ThoughtCriminal]

3. Clever headlines and Google

Nice one.

Ironically, I was reading an article at CNET that newspapers have getting problems noticed at Google News because "Clever" headlines do not attract the search algorithm as much as dull ones:

"This boring headline is written for Google"
http://news.com.com/This+boring+headline+is+written+for+Google/2100-1025_3-6059258.html

"...news organizations large and small have begun experimenting with tweaking their Web sites for better search engine results. But software bots are not your ordinary readers: They are blazingly fast yet numbingly literal-minded. There are no algorithms for wit, irony, humor or stylish writing. The software is a logical, sequential, left-brain reader, while humans are often right brain."

Well... maybe not :shrug:

[weldon berger]

4. Yeah, I saw the C|Net thing.

My site is too small to show up on the front page with any regularity, and on the other occasions the headlines have been basic vanilla. The main constraint for me on headlines is the character limit. With the content, style can be a serious issue: too much repetition of keywords and the algorithm will reject the post altogether, which bites if you're repeating something for emphasis or using rhetorical devices such as beginning each paragraph with the same line. There's apparently a fine line between diluting the keywords to the extent that they don't register strongly, and concentrating them so much that the algorithm sees an attempt to game it. The style considerations have actually been helpful for me because I stretch a bit more than might otherwise be the case. The headline problem would probably bother me a lot more if I were AP or the Post.

More than you wanted to know, I'm sure, but it's fascinating to me :)

[ThoughtCriminal]

8. I hope that it brought your site plenty of attention

Despite the late hour (at least it was here when I ran across it).

And PS: welcome to DU!

[weldon berger]

9. Thanks ... I'm a dedicated lurker.

Apparently the headline popped up several times. It wasn't the biggest day I've had -- those usually arrive via Kos or Atrios or some other heavyweight -- but it was a good one, and it's always a treat to bring in the news cruisers.

[cliss]

6. Hi, WB.

Did you write this story? That was good. Your web site is very good, also.

By the way, you might want to read an incredibly interesting story on Daily Kos about a White House leaker. Apparently, there is somebody, an insider in the White House who's giving insider info on people like Rumsfailed.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/12/24219/8100

He says the old man wears "iced underwear" (because of some health problem), and has to stand up at his desk to work. Remember that old story about the Abu Ghraib torture story? Rumsfailed said that was not torture because he stood at his desk all day long".

Weird, weird stuff.

[weldon berger]

7. Hi, cliss. Thanks for the kind words.

Yes, I wrote it. The KOS diary is intriguing and some of it rings true, but some of it sounds like it came from one of those urban legend spam emails.

[Democrats_win]

10. LOL! BTW, David Schwimmer in Broadway´s new production of Caine Mutiny

http://broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=8921

--snip

Best remembered for his starring role on the television series “Friends,” for which he earned an Emmy nomination, David Schwimmer is getting ready to make his Broadway debut in a revival of Herman Wouk’s The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. He will be playing military lawyer Lt. Barney Greenwald. I had the opportunity to sit down with Schwimmer during rehearsals.

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. It first premiered on Broadway in 1954 and featured Henry Fonda, John Hodiak, and Lloyd Nolan. A film version, starring Humphrey Bogart, was also released in 1954. “The play itself focuses on a section of the novel, toward the end, which is the actual Court-Marital trial of a lieutenant, who is accused of an active mutiny on board a DMS (destroyer minesweeper). This is World War II. A trial takes place a couple of months later in early 1945 and I am the defense attorney. I am a pilot for the Navy and in civilian life, a kind of ‘hotshot’ lawyer in Washington. I am asked by the Navy to represent the accused. This is supposed to be a kind of open and shut case; at least that’s what the prosecution believes. It’s really a court room thriller,” says Schwimmer.

[Judi Lynn]

11. Really, really good one! Thanks, ThoughtCriminal.

To weldon berger, you've really got a way with words! Very completely accurate, as well. Welcome to D.U. :woohoo:

[weldon berger]

12. Thanks, Judi.

And thanks for the welcome. I've been around for a while — I wrote several features for the site a few years ago — but I don't post much, and it's nice to get a welcome when I do.