When it’s being presented as a “memoir” or a “documentary play” (or even that delightfully fuzzy genre the ‘biopic’), I think that expectation is real and not unreasonable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmfVs3WaE9Y

I mean, I'm not sure how realistic or reasonable that expectation is Craig. This case seems symptomatic of the age we…

Unfortunately another common tactic when people are presented with stories that don't fit their preconceived China narrative. It's easier to write…

Which you do beautifully, cherub. :)

Yeah, I saw one of his in the mid-'90s (probably Gray's Anatomy).

For the record, I was somewhat playing Devil's Advocate.

Have you ever heard of Spalding Gray – he was a "performance artist" who developed quite a reputation for his first-person autobiographical monologues. But part of their charm is that Gray…

Bet he'd have a strong chance of winning the democratic nomination next time it comes around though.

Fair enough. I'm not going to argue that Daisey got it right – he's admitted he didn't – or even that TAL is blameless.

The fiction parts of TAL are usually really clearly labelled as fiction. It's not a case where stories are a mix of fact and fiction, each one is either fact…

No really, Martin Sheen is NOT the president.

But it's actually quite a bit harder to succeed.

Possibly. Alternatively, one could say that if it's billed as part fiction, then don't be surprised if it's part fiction.

Anyhow,…

When it's being presented as a "memoir" or a "documentary play" (or even that delightfully fuzzy genre the 'biopic'), I think that expectation is real and not unreasonable.

Here's now This American Life is described…

Because it was presented as such by its author, both on and off stage.

And I'm pretty fucking sick of seeing TAL host/producer Ira Glass being patted on the back for his "integrity" in promptly retracting a story on his show whose fabrications were pretty brutally – and comprehensively -…

Although in the comments, it's striking that several people have been able to convince themselves…

WSJ drama critic and arts blogger Terry Teachout has a proposed first commandment for performance artists that's worth quoting in full:

If you…

The lack of affordable housing affects workers' health, safety, and family stability. Because good housing is so scarce, it is not uncommon to find several families or groups of men living in one ramshackle house, each…

Which actually highlights some of the issues in consumer protest in this area.

You or I making fewer calls on our phones obviously doesn't help. Maybe, over time, not buying certain brands might help (problem: other phones aren't very…

Yes, and it was justly reported after it happened, two years ago and 1200km away at a…

reckon

I honestly think it’s a real issue, especially when stuff in China is huge headline news and stuff in the US southern states is largely confined to trade publications. The armed factory guards that Daisey lied about seeing in Shenzen have actually been a reality in America.

I don't disagree…

I think I’ve mentioned it twice in posts. And I think I’ve also been very clear that US tech firms (and Apple in particular) and their suppliers should be…

I honestly think it's a real issue, especially when stuff in China is huge headline news and stuff in the…

Don’t be ridiculous. Daisey lied in his monologue, in the This American Life doco and to a string of journalists who directly asked him about it. He actively tried to cover up those lies.

Sure, Daisey insulted the journalists, I got that. The reason I asked is your repeated "don't…

Don't be ridiculous. Daisey lied in his monologue, in the This American Life doco and to a string…

Yes. But was an insult to real journalists who had spent years investigating and reporting these stories in their real complexity. And it also served the conceits of its American audience.

so no WMDs? If a cursory search of the Chinese internet didn't further suspicions that Daisey's was but the…

Simple,when I'm in America I eat no ipads and use no meat.

Meanwhile, in the US ...

In 2000, Smithfield created an internal company security force with “special police agency” status under North Carolina law that enables company…

But it runs, doesn't it? 'There be monsters over the sea' has worked since the dawn of time. Now it just makes the NYT.

The Rebecca Hamilton mentioned in the Salmon piece, btw, is I'm pretty sure the NZ-born Rebecca Hamilton who penned this moving piece on the New Yorker blog: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/03/last-words-rebecca-hamilton.html