The entire Balloon Boy incident — the live drama of which I missed because I was at work — is sort of like a canary* for the news networks.
A balloon filled with helium was really, for all intents and purposes, kept aloft with a lot of hot air.
These are not meteorological terms of which I speak. I do know that if Seinfeld were still on the air, we could expect better perspective on the incident. Alas, we are left with gleaning from the Bubble Boy episode which features an annoying boy living off of false sympathy whose bubble was finally punctured, sending him on a trip to the hospital.
Some things need puncturing.
Seinfeld, and his show about nothing, provides better perspective than your average network news anchor.
At least the FAA was involved. For some reason, that pleases me. On many levels.
* Canary in a coal mine (Incidentally, I am the “French fry canary”, which means that if you order fries and I’m sitting at the table, I will eat the first one just to be sure they’re safe to eat.)
