Introducing David Carr, Carpetbagger and Blogger
Around the Gawker water cooler a month or two ago — about the time Judy Miller was getting out of jail and barely, grudgingly talking to her Times colleagues about what got her there — we were discussing how David Carr, who we'd previously believed to be a media writer for the Times, an impression we gathered from little things like his weekly column called "Media," now seemed to write about anything he wanted for the paper. Michael Flatley's return? OK. Chris Noth's feelings about his Law & Order return? Sure. Indie rock in Atlanta? Go for it. And so, around that cooler, a nickname was bestowed: Mr. Run Amok, the equally uncontainable yin to Miller's sadly unfortunate yang. We had a brief chuckle, and then we forgot about it.
Until today, that is, when our beloved Carr brought that tossed-off sobriquet once again to the fore of our minds by running amokedly into the blogosphere — and into movie criticism — with the Times's launch of The Carpetbagger, an awards-season blog penned by Mr. Run Amok himself. Carr explains it in his introductory post, "The Bagger Is in the House," from 4:02 this morning:
The Academy Awards are preceded by a campaign that everyone pretends is not a campaign: screenings, mentions, and minor awards are all major elements of an ineffable process that can lead to over-the-top speeches and riches beyond imagination, or at least enough legs for robust DVD sales. The Carpetbagger is designed to examine those glitzy folkways as they unfurl, and to have some laughs along the way.
It seems Carr will be going to likely contender movies and writing briefly about what he sees. Which is not a bad gig at all. (Indeed, if Carr's sick for a day or two, Times editors, you know where to find us.) And because we like him, and like his work, we really do look forward to reading what he has to say.
And so we're thrilled to welcome Carr to blogland. But we also have one concern: With this new assignment, will he be able to retain his vocabulary for genuine human misfortune?
