The writer Chris O’Shea is funny. That comes in handy when your bailiwick is minutiae, as any Seinfeld acolyte can attest. O’Shea simply points out what’s happening, makes a small but perfect observation, and moves along. The new News Corp logo, ostensibly constructed as an homage to Rupert Murdoch’s handwriting? Reminds O’Shea of Pepe Jeans. And now it will remind you of Pepe Jeans, too–that’s the thing. (The unabashed O’Shea adds a gratuitous Jason Priestley reference also, just to make sure he’s in your head.) It’s the type of performance that can make you think, during life’s duller moments, I wish Chris O’Shea were here–even if you’ve never met him. Hey, maybe especially if you’ve never met him–his perfect pitch in patois clever might be near intolerable in person, who knows? But online (in the Mediabistro Fishbowl and elsewhere), the man is a droll zingleader and entertainer of the first order.
A Hannah Montana blanket, a single sock, and sax lessons are among his recommendations for better ways to spend your money than buying Newsweek. O’Shea seems prepared to address anything, which a media minutiae man must be. He can talk very seriously to emcee Skyzoo about mixtape history, while bringing Bed-Stuy to the suburbs with a tale of his own adolescent lovelorn lament. He’s pretty good on hoops too, bringing attention to the failure of the recent Sports Illustrated cover featuring five images of LeBron James on the court at once: not one LeBron is “flopping.” (If you’ve never seen the 6’8″, 260-pound James stagger like he’s been hit by a car after an invisible assault by a 170-pound point guard, you probably still think Daniel Day Lewis is a pretty good actor.) Keep an eye out out for Chris O’Shea: he can improve your day in half a sentence.
