Raw, but c*nsored blabbing and blogging of a young journalista
and local news producer in Southern New England.
email topstorylive % at # gmail + dot = com

Friday, April 30, 2004

Boy. We're getting old. [Updated]

Originally this was going to be an entry saying, NO, I changed my MIND, you should NOT blog, and WIL WHEATON dot NET is why.
(Read the "disclaimer" and then go to the bottom of that page and look at the links. STOP, Wil.)

Then I said, Naw. I'm mean at heart but that would REALLY be mean. Maybe it would also be motivated by jealousy at such a robust web site.

And then I read around and found out Wil Wheaton is THIRTY YEARS OLD. (Or, um, older. I don't know when what I read was updated.) (And MARRIED too. To a WOMAN. Both of which are beside the point. But still.)

This seems odd to me. This, after all, is the same day I noticed Johnny Galecki ("David" on "Roseanne") is 29.

And then I remembered that I'm 25 and don't feel a day of it. Certainly not when it comes to maturity.

Then of course Wil Wheaton's new book, "Dancing Barefoot," doesn't look very stodgy, grown-up and mature from the cover.

Hmph. Once again we're all just overgrown children until we're, what, 35? Boy. What a pain.

... And then of course even though we may be "grown-up" none of us knows how to spell, punctuate, or construct a proper sentence anymore. ... But that's another story, nothing to do with Wil or Johnny. ... My apologies, gentlemen. ...
...I know. You didn't take any offense. ...

... Enough ellipses, anyone? ...

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/30/2004 03:18:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Why Trackback?

Oh my God, trackback seems like such a pain in the a**, or at least the way HaloScan's FAQ/forum tells you how to do it. Basically rather than what I said before, this is more like "Hey! I'm linking to your cool entry! So link to my site too!"

Jeez.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/25/2004 05:19:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Why You Should Now Get A Blog - and stealing more notes from Transplanted Texan

For a start, it might actually help you have an opinion or two about something. It's kind of starting to do that with me.

Here are the other reasons, featured at the Transplanted Texan.
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Still more good stuff from The Transplanted Texan... this time on MEDIA BIAS.
Read this entry on media bias first, and then read my comment on it.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/25/2004 04:48:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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A teeny bit of clicking becomes a huge lot of clicking [Updated]

Amazing what you find on the Web through just a teeny bit of clicking.

Somewhere, reading someone else's blog, I read about a function called "Trackback," a solid explanation of which has yet to surface before me. HaloScan.com provides it.

So I linked to HaloScan's website, and then found "reax" about Trackback. So it's like... When Joe links to Mary's blog entry, Mary then includes a Trackback at her entry... the equivalent of "Look! We're mentioned in Joe's blog!"

Country Store, a "Cracker Barrel Philosopher," has discovered just how easy to squirt some people are, because evidently there are now boxer shorts for them.

Found out about THAT through an entry at Interested-Participant.

And Country Store's ridiculously long list of "Good Stuff" links included MOOREWATCH.com is apparently "Watching Michael Moore's Every Move" and challenging his statements. Choh.

Then there's the transplanted Texan, a Lone Star Stater in T.O. As he puts it, "Can you say, 'culture shock?'" Oh, and get this.... his name is AUSTIN, even. Well, shucks, ma'am!

He's got a good idea I'm going to steal, which is putting a link to email with the subject being Re: (the title of the blog entry) on the name of the poster.

The other good idea I'd like to steal from him and others, but don't know how to at this point, (I may have to see if either HaloScan.com or blogger.com can help) is making it so if there is a comment, show "Comment (1)", or if there is more than one, show "Comment (X)", or if there are no comments, show "Any comments?" or something like that.

I also love Austin's design of the borders of his entries and blog titles.

[Update]

Forgot to add one last click. Always Low Prices--Always features the good and the bad about Wal-Mart.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/25/2004 04:45:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Cartoon Warehouse

Storing notes about cartoons here. Links still to come.

A small figurine of Boris needs to wing its way to Rhode Island. No telling why or how. Maybe a Rocky for myself. I want a figurine of Vicky looking especially evil as usual on my desk, to swap out at random with the Silly Slammers heads I have of Dilbert, Dogbert, Ratbert, The Boss and Alice. Only Alice does not speak, and I have no idea if I ever got Wally. A Blossom keychain/figurine of some sort hangs from my car's rear view mirror, fading with the sun no doubt.

Yes please:
The original, Rocky and Bullwinkle
The Fairly Oddparents
The Powerpuff Girls

On if it's there:
Spongebob Squarepants
Hey Arnold!
Rugrats
All Grown Up
Recess
Teamo Supremo (straight knockoff of The Powerpuff Girls plus voices of Martin Mull and Fred Willard)
Johnny Bravo
Courage the Cowardly Dog

Wish it was still on so I could try to see it every so often:
Dilbert
Duckman

Also of course:
Family Guy
The granddaddy of them all, The Simpsons

No thanks:
Jimmy Neutron

So what?:
Gary the Rat and most animated things on Spike TV from what little I've heard

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/25/2004 03:15:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Netflix Overflow

[Updated]
My Netflix Queue is past its limit of 500 movies. Believe it!
So here are the movies I have yet to add, as of 2/13/05:

Latter Days
Fletch (and the other Fletch movie(s))
The Italian Job
Knockaround Guys
Notes from Underground
Décalage horaire (aka "Jet Lag")
Working
Bob Roberts
Cradle Will Rock
The Temp
Seeing Other People
Elephant
Owning Mahowny
Life as a House
Pacific Heights
Pump Up The Volume
Traffic
Wet Hot American Summer
Control Room
The Kid Stays in the Picture
Divine Trash
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Home Movie
American Movie
Cecil B. Demented
Saved!
De-Lovely
Party Monster: The Shockumentary (as opposed to "Party Monster" which is already on the list)

Tried and failed:
Lisztomania

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/25/2004 03:06:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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DEVELOPING STORY: Do you, Bess, take Tim to be your lawfully wedded takeover?

I almost logged off without remembering the biggest thing of all to blog about this weekend. Say goodbye to Bess Eaton and hello to Tim Hortons.

Tim Hortons themselves puts it most plainly in their press release: Bess Eaton shops in New England will get a straight takeover treatment, so that not one, but two New England institutions will be changing names, facades, and presumably, menus of services this summer -- the other being Fleet Bank, taken over by Bank of America.

(Also note: This is actually not Tim's first foray into the US. There are more than a hundred stores already in the States with the hockey player's name on them.)

Saturday's Projo had a decent article on the affair too, hinting at though not quite putting plainly the disappearance of Bess Eaton. The Associated Press wrote a wrapup Saturday and then Sunday, featured a bit of history on the beleagured chain. Elizabeth Zuckerman cites court documents in saying that former chief executive and family outsider George Cioe charged Louis Gencarelli with using Bess Eaton as a "personal piggy bank." Nice. I forgot about that in most of my recent VOs which used the same bloody exteriors over and over again with the latest burp in events.

The best article I think that I saw so far was Ellyn Santiago's in The Westerly Sun. She was obviously in the courtroom, and got lots of printed sound bites from the players on scene.

Comments expected to be forthcoming from Bess fans sad to see the donut chain go, while others can say hello to TimBits and IceCaps. That, I'm sure, was worth an MOS pkg somewhere in this weekend's coverage.

The Dunkin Donuts folks, outbidded by the Canucks, ended up gracefully bowing out and saying, "Welcome to the competition."

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/25/2004 02:37:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Another late Sunday

Woke up at like 11:30 today after a 7:30-ish to 1 am-ish day Saturday. Fell asleep on the couch watching Sid and Marty Krofft's "Lidsville" in the TV Land Kitschen and woke up at like 3am in the middle of Carol Burnett and went to bed proper. Now it's quarter past two and I'm going to end up probably not doing that last load of laundry, probably not going to the store for real provisions, and either writing a bunch of blogs in one go or watching THE BIG TEASE.
The shower is running downstairs and I hear a young woman screaming as though to say DON'T SPRAY ME WITH THAT WATER YOU BIG JAMOKE! as opposed to DON'T DROWN ME YOU MURDERER/BATTERER!

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/25/2004 02:08:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Joan Rivers at the Wilbur Next Weekend

Dean Johnson reports in The Boston Tab that next weekend, the first weekend of sweeps, Joan Rivers is bringing her act to Boston, with "Broke and Alone in Boston," April 29-May 1. "You've got to have a name for the show because it's in a theater. If I'm in Vegas, it's just called my act. There's no difference." Hmm. How much are tickets? Sounds like a riot. $42.50 minimum? Hmm. We'll see. She'll be gone before I know it.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/25/2004 02:01:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Names We Know

Wow, Bessie Tsionis knows her PR. She seems to have joined the ranks of Leaving-LA-To-Return-To-New-England.

Broadcasting and Cable Today, B&C's daily email pushing stuff you can read in the print and online versions of the trade mag, reports that the Emerson grad is getting Comcasted. She's heading to CN8, Norwell, MA, as Producer, Original Programming and Special Productions. Congrats.

Again, my apologies if I was an ambitious a**hole in college. I'm slow to grow out of it, apparently.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/22/2004 11:00:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Why Jessica Can't Read

This is just here because apparently Jessica Simpson deserves every barb in the book and some not even there. Don't get me wrong. I don't root for pretty people myself. And if you tell me I'm a pretty person I will smack you because I know you're lying.

And yet I still want to get rid of my baby fat around my middle. Hmm. Remind me to pick up a pack of generic, NOT brand-name, cyanide pills, the next time I'm at CVS.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/22/2004 10:47:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Reality TV Eject Button

New York Daily News pop culture critic-at-large David Hinckley razzes the onerous Omarosa, tells Hatch to take a hike and gives the boot to William Hung several more times over to see if he gets the message.

Understand that you're talking to a guy who has seen William Hung's performance on Jay Leno more times than necessary. It was something to behold. That, and the mere existance of the program "The Swan" proves that people will watch anything no matter how awful it is or how uncomfortable it makes them feel or how insulting it is to their intelligence.

(What does that mean anyway? Insulting to my intelligence? Anybody?)

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/22/2004 10:37:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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This... or That! [Updated]

One of these days... ONE of these days... I will return to Coney Island and join the fray once again, just to hear the words...



Honestly, even for $15 a head, it is such a trip. Warning, the web site is probably not suitable (in certain senses) for the young. You may be exposed to the occasional nipple or two. (Usually two, right? The only person I ever saw who had a third one was faking it. And that was even on television. Or was it in a movie? I can't remember.)

I saw this with one of my best friends, Elliott, last August. We weren't there for the burlesque; we were more there for the freakshow. That wasn't playing so we ponied up the last few bucks from the depths of our wallets and stepped inside.

The Great Fredini and company, at the time, were videotaping the shows as pilots for national cable. Comedy Central, perhaps, at two in the morning, or A&E even. Bravo? E!? To my knowledge that endeavor hasn't gotten very far, but how often does This... or That! appear at Coney Island's Sideshows by the Seashore? Last summer the schedule of everything, not just This... or That! seemed to be sporadic. Trying to get it on cable is still an enticing idea to me.

Jane Rose of freewilliamsburg.com did a cool review of This... or That! and I agree with her that lovely assistant Julie Atlas Muz has the best facial expressions on the planet.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/22/2004 10:07:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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April is the Cruellest Month

Sunday 4/18, Monday 4/19, and Tuesday 4/20 are, to a degree, a demi-week of days that will live in infamy.
CBS Newspath featured video for all of these "days in history":

--98 years ago Sunday 4/18/04, San Francisco was rocked by the Great (Earth)Quake of 1906, killing 3,000 and making 225,000 homeless. Not a national story, no, but worthy of note.

--11 years ago Monday 4/19/04, Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh and followers died in a fire at Waco, TX. Then-US Attorney General Janet Reno will never forget.

--9 years ago Monday 4/19/04 was the Oklahoma City bombings. 168 people killed in the attack.

--And 5 years ago Tuesday 4/20/04 was the Columbine High School shootings. Teens Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold eventually took their own lives after killing 12 classmates and a teacher at the school in a Denver suburb. 20 other students hurt.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/22/2004 09:20:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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THE VANUNU THAT YOU DO SO WELL

The wires were going nuts overnight about nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, who apparently revealed Israeli nuclear secrets. It was feared he wasn't going to be released today because he reportedly wasn't cooperating with authorities.

But those authorities relented and he is now released after serving 18 years in prison. Is it worth a VO in the noon?

Alternatively... you could also say Kim Jong Il has left Beijing, China, after visiting for three days, and now Beijing is bereft of dictators.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/21/2004 09:02:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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How To Find The 10th Kingdom

Are you wishing on a star, to follow where you are?

T10K needed a link, so here it is. Most of these links appear when you Google THE 10TH KINGDOM. Click any to Read More About It (CBS).

-- The 10th Kingdom at IMDB.com
-- Not Quite So Happy Ever After, who misspells Dianne Wiest, which should surely incur the wrath of the Black Queen
-- BreakTV
-- A true fan put together a comprehensive quiz, How Well Do You Know The 10th Kingdom? Fanfic also to be found at this site
-- A review of the SOUNDTRACK at Filmtracks. You can also get a listen to some of the music, including a taste of "Wishing On A Star."

-- You can figure out on your own how to buy the thing at amazon.com, but we do recommend to get the longest possible version on DVD. There seem to be multiple versions out there of this lengthy miniseries. The longest uncut version is about 10 hours on 3 DVDs, which include the 22-minute behind the scenes documentary (i.e. infomercial) with John Larroquette that aired with the series when it was broadcast on NBC in the United States.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 4/03/2004 04:49:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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