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

Saturday, July 31, 2004

Poor Don Mischer

After a week of silence, which followed the blasted Internet Explorer* going belly-up on me and losing an update of the entry on Jillian Barberie, TopStoryLive resumes.

Poor Don Mischer. And naughty CNN for broadcasting his plight. Hee hee hee! Ever read The Boys On The Bus? Then you know how important the balloons are at a political convention. They're the squirts on the orgasm that is the coronation of a candidate. Evidently Mischer wanted an effing HAIL of balloons instead of dashes. Good luck getting the Emmys next year Don.

I'll be watching for clips on the Net of the famous profanity. And then again there was legend of the CNN clip of the director's track where the director, or was it the TD/director, who vomited all over his switcher. (Remember, Janet?)

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/31/2004 11:26:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Flame On: In favor of throwing out some of the meat

The message boards on Reality TV World are featuring a huge flame on all sorts of shows, "15 TV Shows That Should Be Cancelled Immediately!" This isn't really news because this forum was started back in March but it's fodder to fan flamage.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/24/2004 01:46:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Rocking Robin

Okay, there is this bird that has been chirping for at least two hours, non-stop, outside my open patio door, and it's pissing me the hell off. It sounds HOARSE for god's sake. At times it sounds like a friggin' little puppy stuck in a door or something. The bird is in some bush. It makes me want to put on my slippers, go down and shake the hell out of the bush. Maybe it's in heat and is desperate to find a mate. I am extremely sympathetic to your cause, bird, but I don't go bitching and moaning around about it nonstop!

I occasionally talk about things OTHER than my not getting a bit of tail. Or a quick cuddle on the couch.

Weather: I like how it's a grayish coolish day today.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/24/2004 01:40:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Jill got the shaft?

TheCableBox.net's forum reports here that Jillian Barberie has been fired from Good Day Live. I'm busy looking up info about the purported cancellation of "Living it Up! with Ali and Jack" so I can't look into this too much but what the heck is up with that? The forum's talkers say they found Jillian to be too much of a chatterbox and annoying, and bashing her co-hosts (like Dorothy Lucey) too much. Hmph. Isn't that the entire POINT of her being there and the show in general, to have this dialogue? One of the best "Good Day Live" episodes I ever saw was when Steve Edwards raised the question of why they were covering a story in the first place, and the producers threw out the rundown for a few minutes and an EP went on set with a microphone and they dished about why the story was important to their viewers et al. It was very deconstructionist but, for me, a TV geek and producer myself, it seemed to make good television, and I wish I had a copy of that show intact.

Confirmation of Jillian Barberie's firing TBA.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/24/2004 01:39:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Who watches my show? (and who's NOT watching "Ali and Jack")

Or any other television show for that matter.

The way to tell, apparently, is by looking at what is advertised on the show. This theory is echoed in a New York Times article on where the Kerry and Bush campaigns are sticking TV ads. (Sorry if you don't have an NYT online registration. I'll try to highlight the best of Rutenberg's bits.)

Rutenberg's lead:
Bush buys time on shows for men, "JAG," "Law & Order," "Cops," "NYPD Blue."
Kerry buys time on shows for younger men, women and minorities, "The Parkers," "Judge Judy," "Living it Up! with Ali and Jack," and "Late Show with David Letterman."

But what is the strategy of either campaign's ad buyers? I don't think Rutenberg goes into this too much. Should one buy a few ads on expensive shows that will get specific wanted demos, or a lot of ads on cheaper shows that will get a broader range of demos?

I dare say that certain of the shows mentioned above have a) lower ratings and therefore b) lower audiences and therefore c) lower ad costs. I have no evidence of this but I would be willing to bet that it would cost someone more to buy an ad on "Law & Order" than it would "Ali and Jack."

I base this partially on the rumor (don't know what else to call it, it's just common knowledge amongst myself) that "Ali and Jack" is/are being canceled because of low ratings. Just like Wayne Brady and Sharon Osbourne (and Oprah chum Iyanla [Vanzant] before them). (TheCableBox.net's forum features dish on "Ali and Jack"'s cancellation.)

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/24/2004 01:12:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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It's hilarious to find...

...just where they are now. I'm talking about people you knew in college or high school whom you haven't seen in years.

For instance, I had a crush on this kid, who wasn't interested (let's just say he was justified and move on), and now he's running for office.

How do you... get talking about that sort of thing? Running for office? Like, do you display qualities as a leader, heavy connections in the community, heavy interest in changing the quality of life of your neighbors for the better? And how do you do it when you're younger than 30? And furthermore, NOT originally from your constituency?

It was scream-ifying to be handed a flyer at Boston Pride last month with Carl's face on it. Bringing the matter up again like this is not going to do anybody any good, but it will make for interesting reading.

And incidentally, Tufts University in Medford (or is it Malden?) has a beautiful campus.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/24/2004 12:48:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Mouse Features New 24 Hour News Net (Extended Coverage... i.e. a long entry)

The Associated Press, via Yahoo, reports: ABC to Offer 24-Hour News Until Election.

It sounds like it is about time the Mouse House got their own endless news format. Of course, where it will actually go or make a splash for anybody besides a select few (cheaper than focus groups perhaps?) is still up in the air.

Digital cable, digital TV owners, and broadband users are the biggest groups of this select few.

What will the channel show? Naturally, to begin with some of ABC Network's news programming will be repurposed. Instead of seeing "World News Tonight" at 6:30 or your typical affiliate's time period, how about 9 PM? "Nightline" will also be replayed. MSNBC was experimenting with replaying "Today" in afternoons for a while, so ABC News Now (probably to be acronymed ANN vs WNN, World News Now) could easily feature "Good Morning America"... in the afternoon. ANN could steal re-runs of "The View" away from whatever women's network was showing it at like 7pm, what was it, Lifetime? I don't think it was Oxygen. Or "The View" could go on at 11pm.

Talk of featuring local programming on the national network is featured in Bauder's article. "ABC's affiliates are being encouraged to place some of their local news, weather and sports on the service," reports Bauder. I wouldn't be surprised if ANN had problems getting affiliates to cough up much that was that original. The "cheapest" (in time, work AND money) way to get stuff out of the affiliates is just steal or repurpose something that they're doing already; string together packages fed to ABC's affiliate feed service, in a sort of "Evening Magazine" show, or simply grab entire newscasts. They could replay WABC's 6pm newscast at 7:00 or 8:00, and KABC's 6pm newscast a half hour later. Or, if program planners are COMPLETELY bored, put ABC O&O newscasts on in the overnight hours when all they can compete with (ABC-wise) is World News Now.

The thing that surprises the hell out of me is that ABC is not going to sell any advertising for this network. Sure, that'll save money by not paying for sales people, but are they nuts? Granted, some people will actually be paying for this temporary 24-hour ANN that will be discontinued (presumably) after Election 2004, but beyond that the entire operation will be giving away the content for free without revenue coming in. I understand ABC has upped its 24 hour staffing, but .... this decision still just doesn't make sense to me. Furthermore, it means any commercial breaks (because come ON people, commercial television people MUST take breathers to regroup every few minutes) will consist of either promos for every network under the Disney sun (ABC, ABC Family, Disney, Toon Disney, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNNews, ESPNPlus, etc. etc. etc.) or PSAs.... yecch.

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ABC is already supplying one segment of 24-hour limited updated news, unless what I'm about to tell you has been discontinued. The next time you go to Wal-Mart (which is rare for me because I am a Target boi) watch the TVs playing incessant Wal-Mart commercials and specials closely. Every so often the Wal-Mart Network features news updates done by some poor sap of an anchor at ABC. Presumably the Wal-Mart Network has the option to take ABC network's breaking news programming. They'd be stupid not to. If, say, I am at home watching coverage, I can go to Wal-Mart without losing much of the coverage, for example (listening to it on the radio while I drive there).

On the other hand since this video service inside Wal-Mart is obviously a vehicle for advertising, and it is unlikely Wal-Mart is going to buy into the "living room" ideology much and make this video service actually interesting to sit down and watch, it is possible that any huge breaking news could be simply added as a footnote in the news updates.

...Now that's an interesting idea. Would, say, Borders or Circuit City get people in the doors if they simply started featuring free movies in a cordoned-off section? I'm sure some stores like Circuit City or Best Buy have featured rooms showing off all their most high-end equipment in a home-theatre style use. But have they made it available on a greater scale? Maybe put in four or five couches, Scotchguard them, put some of them on risers so people can see, open up a tiny food-and-drinks bar, and charge folks $1 a head for a movie (whether first-run or new release DVD) in luxury? But would anybody bite? Would it be a significant competition with video stores, theatres, movie studios, etc.? Another option for programming -- true appointment television for the un-cabled. Don't want to spend the money for HBO every month? Come watch the Sopranos or Arli$$ on our big screen for $1 and you'll save on your next purchase at Circuit City.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/24/2004 12:22:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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On Location, Mirabar

I declined.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/18/2004 01:19:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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On Location, Mirabar

Okay, I don't know if this has ever happened, but a rotund man named Tony just asked if he could... um...

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/18/2004 01:18:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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On Location, Mirabar

Note for future ref: It is impossible to make a first meeting at Mirabar.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/18/2004 12:27:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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On Location, Mirabar

Sudden idea: You never know what's going to happen in Rhode Island.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/18/2004 12:13:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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What's up with too much information?

EDIT 9/24/08: Deleted reference to an apparently deleted entry whose Reblogger comment page was getting spam comments. -Ed.

You might want to read a recent comment first before going on. If you don't want to know what I'm wearing as I type this, then don't click this link.

In the last month or so I've had some very entertaining situations where a couple of people have given me what might be termed Too Much Information.

• One of my co-workers who's a couple years older than me came in to work and told me, "Okay, I have to take a really big shit," and left the room. Once he returned he sighed and said, "Ahhhhh, I feel ten pounds lighter," and started reaching over me to get at the fax machine. "Okay then!...." I said.


• I had the opportunity to hang out with an old friend from college. We found ourselves at bathrooms, and I ended up being finished first. Once she returned, she apologized with a smile on her face. "I had to poop!"


• Then there was my friend who is all of 25 and tells me she's an old lady now. "How are you an old lady?" I asked. She tells me she has painful hemorrhoids from washing too much. This is according to her doctor.

So I don't know what to make of all this. Is it now in vogue to live our lives as open books? Is it because of reality TV? Is it wanting to be open? Or are these just coincidences I've noticed?

I dunno. I once worked at a TV station where one of the weather guys regularly lived outside the market on occasion, ended up storing clothes in a closet, and changing in a corner of the newsroom. One day I had the privilege to glance at his Calvin Klein striped boxer briefs for about a second as he perused his stock, before I was beseeched by my conscience to let him have his privacy, even though I swear to God he was doing it to get a rise out of me.

(He may have worked for a short time in a theatre realm, where in some circles professional men and women are accustomed to seeing each other in stages of undress. Or so I'm told since I haven't really done theatre since high school.)

At that same station I worked with a producer who once, for some reason, I can't remember why, had to stand up and take his pants down halfway to re-adjust like, a shirt-tail. I didn't really see. At least one woman was present, and another openly gay man besides me. They both had vocal reactions. The producer in question scoffed at them, saying he had boxers on. This time I specifically refused to look because I didn't know how I was going to react. This producer is now a manager at a station in the Southwest and recently told me to send him a resume. Unfortunately he is straight and as good as married. Unless there's something he hasn't told me. Which could be entirely possible. But anyway.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/17/2004 02:15:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Meet my boy, ESPN

"Espen Blondeel, born Jan. 26, 2000, is believed to be the first baby named after [the ESPN television network]."

Yeah, people come up with weird names for their children. The Ruffles Baby Horton campaign comes to mind, where Ruffles potato chips offered a college fund ($50k, which might pay for two years today at certain schools) to parents who had a baby by a certain date and agreed to name it Horton. Seriously, that's not that bad. I thought at first (before researching it, thank you Google) that the baby had to be named RUFFLE or RUFFLES. Horton at least is named after a faithful Dr. Seuss character.

"Charles, I'd like you to meet Horton."

"Pleased to meet you Hort."

Not too terrible. Though I don't know if I'd want to answer to Horton myself. I have enough troubles being Bill. Then again, think of what we could be faced with:

"I'm Campbell Brown talking on the Plaza with my colleague, Hormel Jones, from MSNBC. Good morning Hormel."

"Good morning Campbell. I was just talking to Lipton Dimmock, and he told me he and Smucker Casserino just raised a million dollars with their concert in Tompkins Square."

"That's marvelous. And who was that concert a benefit for?"

"Safeway Muller of Breaker, New Jersey. She lost her sight in Iraq and the money is going for a seeing eye dog."

"Well, good luck to her. Why don't you tell me what you and Minute Maid Geyer are cooking up in our next half hour."

"Well, Campbell, Minute Maid and I decided to go visit some of our old friends from Big Brother Brand Name Name House. Nike Martin is now a country singer. You won't believe what Volvo Rezendes is doing out in L.A. Then of course there's N.B.C. Universal Smith."

"Oh, she's one of my favorites."

"Yeah. Now she is breaking into becoming a clothing designer."

"Who would have thought it, of all those talented people?"

You get the point.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/17/2004 01:46:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Okay, Fine, Trackback On

Okay, fine. Harvey of Bad Example makes a good case for trackbacks. I am a dumb*ss. To understand why, read my entry slamming trackbacks, and then see Bad Example's entry here.

I should add that this entry also features a bunch of great ideas for bloggers to be well-viewed (as opposed to being well-read which makes one think of why can't I just go to the library instead of why can't people read my content?).

...Okay, now that I have re-read my original entry slamming trackbacks it just sounds like I'm a lazy dumb*ss. Jeez.

Maybe I'll find some trackback engine for the site. I gotta clean the virtual to do slate first though.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/17/2004 01:12:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Whose Land Is It Anyway?

Courtesy of the Transplanted Texan, JibJab.com features the most hilarious political cartoon I've seen in recent times. Apologies, I assume, go to Woody Guthrie. You may or may not be offended by one swearword that late night broadcast television seems okay with using. Other than that it's a hell of a long download (at least on dialup) but it's worth it.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/17/2004 12:05:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Bloglines issues

I forgot to kvetch about Bloglines. I will still enjoy using Bloglines to read blogs, but it appears (unless I am simply a simpleton, which is entirely possible) they are discontinuing their offer to do blogrolling, in favor of offering a blog service of their own -- which would include a blogroll of the blogs on my Bloglines list. And, yet, it doesn't look too much like I will be able to choose what blog links are public (on the Bloglines blog page) and which are private (and *not* on the Bloglines blog page). Hmph. Such is the way of the freebies.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/17/2004 10:59:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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This week

Ugh. Lots of rain and such this week. I loved it. I like lukewarm/cool and wet in summer. The rest of the populace, not so much.

So I'm finding myself blogging only on weekends. Whatever. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to join the 20,000 people who are probably doing the Tall Ships today. We'll see.

I have a big list of links to comment on left over from last week when I had to go to sleep. I had to hold them in a draft entry, "Blah blah blah, holding pattern". Though it seems it might be difficult to do much blogging today on such a warm sunny day. I should figure out a way to get my computer to surf the Web out on my mini-patio. But that would require putting on real clothes as opposed to pajama-type stuff and that would require a shower.... blah.

I managed to catch a dash of 7 Today In New England (still minus the catchy fresh-as-a-cup-of-coffee-in-the-morning TINE theme music... boo! hiss!) and saw there was a big fire in Taunton last night. 7 and 10 both had vids. 7 either had a Southeastern Massachusetts Mobile Stringer or the video has made CNN. I almost called the newsroom to make sure we had it but decided not to because I knew the weekend dayside desk had had enough chance to see it by this point, and I was sure somebody would bring it up on the morning conference call. And I've had enough of being told I have no life. 8^)

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/17/2004 10:47:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Cardinal Biggles, poke the prisoner with the stuffed cushions

TCS: Tech Central Station - The Comfy-Chair Revolution

When I first saw "The Comfy-Chair Revolution" as a phrase out of context, Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition sketch sprang to mind. Then I clicked and Glenn Reynolds was actually talking about how stores are starting to encourage people to stay there and spend some of their life there as opposed to thinking that the function of people in stores should be reserved to shopping. Most interesting.

So, now the question is, if Old Navy opened a coffeehouse or pizza counter and living room, would I spend more time there and money there that isn't related to clothing and traditional Old Navy merch? (shrug) I dunno. We'll just have to see.

(The one foray I have had into working for a retail clothing store, Structure, now known as Express Men, actually had a rug and group of chairs and coffee table outside the fitting rooms. It's on Boylston Street in Boston. I don't know if they still have it. We'd have employee meetings there. I thought its primary purpose was to be a place for women to wait while [young] men tried on clothes, but maybe hanging out was encouraged. The thing is you don't think the proprietors of a clothing store would want people hanging around who were not buying something.)

Then again, as soon as somebody spilled a mocha on something before it was sold, or got pizza juice on it, there would go that idea, wouldn't it?

I don't know. How many books are ruined at Borders by people spilling their food? Is it that people take unsold, new books into the cafe, buy a coffee, and then read without buying the books? Do they ruin the books with food? Do they take them into the bathrooms (like that Seinfeld episode)? Maybe I should investigate with marketing folks.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/11/2004 11:36:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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The Greatest Experiment: The United States Of America, Juggernaut

RealClear Politics - Commentary of July 9, 2004 by T.C. Wrechard: "The truly terrifying thing about the American sword is that it is genuinely two-edged. The front edge consists of military power unparalleled in human history. Yet it is the weaker side; the back edge consists of a system with an an uncanny ability to absorb almost any sort of human, scientific and engineering potential and convert it into unimaginable wealth. The front edge is used but to ward; but it is the back edge that truly destroys rival societies. Osama Bin Laden struck New York first of all and the Pentagon only as a secondary target. The McDonald's hamburger is hated by the French elite more ardently than any Nazi SS division. Both fear the back edge more than the front."

Wow. Cool. True. Jesus. What hath we wrought? Will the greatest experiment fail?

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/11/2004 10:20:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Highway to the Danger Zone, and L'Egotisme

Five [crappy] movies that everyone loves.

Hmm, maybe I will have to add Top Gun and Braveheart to my Netflix queue. The others, I could give a blip about. I don't know, do I HAVE to watch The Karate Kid?

As for this link's author: I dunno, Maddox. I don't really go for guys who say "I rule!" I assume that everybody I talk to knows that "I MAY BE WRONG" (--Everything I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum).

Maddox says on his main page, The Best Page In The Universe, "This page is about me and why everything I like is great. If you disagree with anything you find on this page, you are wrong."

Is that the thesis of every personal web page and blogger in the universe?

Yes, I know topstorylive.blogspot.com is about me and the things I like but you can disagree with it, and with me. That's what the comments sections are for and why I offer an email address at the bottom of the page. Bring on the interactivity!

Incidentally, putting these entries and links online is FUN for me. I just hope people read what I'm writing and get a kick out of it. (Again, please comment! please comment! please comment! on Everything!)

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/11/2004 09:30:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Definitely not for children: Where the hell IS that thing?

Britney Spears allegedly shows more of her chest than she may have intended to do, and of course the Sun of London is there snapping photos.

It took me a while to figure out what I was supposed to be looking at, and when I finally realized, I said, what is WRONG with the shape of that breast? And WHY is the naughty bit UP THERE? I don't know if it's the shot or the way she's standing, but aren't those things supposed to be in the middle, not a third of the way down? Of course this shows how much experience I've had with women's exposed breasts in my adult life.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/11/2004 08:25:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Game night or dinner night? We'll decide...

So ever since I didn't get a response from somebody trying to start up a Young Professionals Dinner Group in Providence, I started thinking about trying to start one on my own. However, what about a games night instead? I don't have a lot of them myself.... mostly the Simpsons version of Clue, but that can change. 8^) Read Board games, quizzes become social events - billingsgazette.com

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/11/2004 08:18:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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The Only Concert You Should Walk Out On

Ever heard of the magazine Andante? Me neither. I'm sure you have if you're a classical music geek. (Kevin, that means you.)

Well, now that we've asked that, did you ever think there would be AP wire copy on the playing of notes on an organ?

Now there is. "639-year-long performance of John Cage's As Slow As Possible adds two notes."

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/11/2004 07:46:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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I think this is getting too silly

From the You've Got To Be Kidding Department: Lead Trio Set for Broadway-Bound Monty Python Show.

Yes, now there is a musical set for Broadway that includes the word SPAM in the title.

Unless this is a very well done hoax.

No, seriously, it just comes down to YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/09/2004 05:13:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Must read Goldstein more often

That is, Richard Goldstein, of New York's Village Voice. Here's why:

Bitch Bites Man! Why did Lynndie England become the poster child for prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib? Goldstein's thesis: Because it's a turn-on to see a woman wielding the weapon over the naked man, and it's a turn-off to see the man wielding the weapon over the naked man. (Plus, Implied: We're [or at least all men are] all inherently homophobic.)

Das Rongold More details on the week-long opera that was Ronald Reagan's funeral.

Mauling Michael Moore Reviewing the press coverage of Fahrenheit 9/11, and how Rupert Murdoch is covering his ass in case Kerry wins. DYNAMITE!

Generation Nix How people my age and younger pooh-pooh daily papers.

I'm now on the list for alerts whenever "Press Clips" is posted.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/09/2004 01:02:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Free Plug: Aiming The Free Gun At Michael Moore... plus: Bill on Life: Grandstanding

Mediabistro.com now features an excerpt from Michael Moore Is a Big Fat Stupid White Man by two of Moore's "wacko attackos."

What is the definition of grandstanding, anyway?

Merriam-Webster.com: "to play or act so as to impress onlookers."

Oh, that's TOTALLY me. I am such an f'n grandstander.

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Some days, I like to think of Life as The Game Of Life, something to be won, lost or drawn to. It's as though every move we make, especially socially, is as 'twere moving a piece on a chessboard.

John is spurned by his girlfriend, an account executive for a magazine. He calls her boss and reveals she posed nude in Playboy. She loses her job. She falls into a pit of despair and depression. She's evicted from her apartment. She becomes homeless because she has no living relatives.

I don't know the game of chess, but all the moves I just outlined could be compared to moving pieces around. Granted, that little scenario is more like taking a big bunch of checkers in one big huge hop (click, click, click, click, click), but you get the idea.

Sometimes I think of talking to people about their strategy. "Oh, that's very good. Very good move," I might think of saying, when somebody makes a move in my presence. Or, "Interesting choice. What's your strategy?" The thing is, nobody ever talks about their strategy in games. Nobody teaches strategy in Life.

Indeed, the only strategy we seem to be given in life is Trial and Error. No other guidance is offered us. I'm not religious, but think of the story of eating from the tree of Knowledge. You were told not to eat the apple. You ate from it. You have to suffer the consequences. Your life changes because of it. And now most of us wear clothes in humble modesty.

...Getting back to grandstanding... I sometimes find it's way too fun to just do something for the hell of it. Make a f*cked-up move just because! Do something nobody expects! Bring on the non sequiturs! Anger! Delight! Surprise! Frighten! Kill! Slash! Cut down! Blow up! Ta da!

Trouble is, I can't do it that often because sometimes there may be consequences. There's always the firm grip waiting to grab me by the scruff of my collar and smack my hand. So I can't do it that often.

Other times, for a moment, but just for a moment, I might, just might, get away with it.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/09/2004 10:54:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Putting the screws to Channel 3

Maybe this explains why I saw one of my favorite weekend morning anchor/weekday reporters, Sarah Barr, on satellite the other day, stuck reporting for the morning show on a weekday:

"AFTRA spurs NLRB case" at Yahoo! News/Variety
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After a complaint by AFTRA, the National Labor Relations Board has agreed to charge WFSB-TV in Hartford, Conn., with violations of federal labor law.
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The American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, which reps anchors and reporters at the station, has accused the station of interrogating employees, threatening the loss of future earnings, withholding raises and pay, illegally imposing new contract terms and conditions, informing employees they were not covered by the union contracts and discouraging employees from joining the union.
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-- Variety's Dave McNary

The case goes to court in Hartford September 26, 2004. I guess this means I can never work for a Meredith station again. (That means you, KPTV and KPDX.

I hope to God the Hartford Courant and Hartford Advocate have a field day with it. (The Courant and I think the Advocate are both owned by Tribune, which also owns Fox 61/WTIC-TV and Connecticut's WB 20/WTXX-TV. God only knows if Fox 61 or Connecticut's WB are non-union or not.

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... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/09/2004 09:40:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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"Give me a break! I don't have my Cheney IFB on today." [Updated]

Here's a delicious tasty treat for Shrub-haters. Taken from Opinion: John Nichols: Pampered Bush meets a real reporter (captimes.com).

Anybody at the Capital Times who wants me to remove the following direct wholesale excerpt need only email me at topstorylive@yahoo.com and it shall be done. I just think that John Nichols' piece is so incredible that more people need to read it in short order.

On the eve of his recent sojourn in Europe, President Bush had an unpleasant run-in with a species of creature he had not previously encountered often: a journalist.

He did not react well to the experience.
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...Bush's aides scheduled a sit-down interview with Carole Coleman, Washington correspondent for RTE, the Irish public television network.

Coleman is a mainstream European journalist who has conducted interviews with top officials from a number of countries - her January interview with Secretary of State Colin Powell was apparently solid enough to merit posting on the State Department's Web site.

Unfortunately, it appears that Coleman failed to receive the memo informing reporters that they are supposed to treat this president with kid gloves. Instead, she confronted him as any serious journalist would a world leader.

She asked tough questions about the mounting death toll in Iraq, the failure of U.S. planning, and European opposition to the invasion and occupation. And when the president offered the sort of empty and listless "answers" that satisfy the White House press corps - at one point, he mumbled, "My job is to do my job" - she tried to get him focused by asking precise follow-up questions.

The president complained five times during the course of the interview about the pointed nature of Coleman's questions and follow-ups - "Please, please, please, for a minute, OK?" the hapless Bush pleaded at one point, as he demanded his questioner go easy on him.

After the interview was done, a Bush aide told the Irish Independent newspaper that the White House was concerned that Coleman had "overstepped the bounds of politeness."
....
The trouble is that accountability is not a concept that resonates with our president. The chief executive who gleefully declares that he does not read newspapers cannot begin to grasp the notion that journalists might have an important role to play in a democracy. And, if anything, the hands-off approach of the White House press corps has reinforced Bush's conceits.

-- John Nichols, madison.com

[Update]
Read more on RTE's interview with Bush at this link.
Or, actually view the video at this link (Real One Player required).

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/07/2004 06:00:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Another stellar Fourth of July show.

It's been another one of those Fourth of July shows that just makes me sick. Last year I was in tears before the end of the show. This year I was still writing the show -- a good amount -- AFTER I GOT INTO THE BOOTH.

At this point I am ready to beg, plead, exchange, steal, cajole, do anything just so I don't have to work the Fourth of July, or days in close proximity to it.

I've been asked out to start drinking heavily but we don't know where they serve alcohol at 8:25 in the morning on the federal holiday after the Fourth of July.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/05/2004 08:29:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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You Phreak: Slamming All The Doors

Bought my first issue of 2600 the other day. In hindsight I'm surprised I've never bought it or read it before. Maybe I should have done back when I was in high school and closer to UNIX and VAX/VMS computers. Couple of articles in the Spring 2004 issue made me think of a problem I'm having with AOL. I'll probably write to them and ask if anyone knows what's going on.

The problem is this. I'm running OS X 10.1 and AOL version 10.2.1 on a G4. (I know, I should upgrade.) I don't use AIM at this point, I just use the AOL client's onboard Buddy List. Some of my friends are what AOL terms "Internet users" of AIM and so it is necessary for me to be able to receive IMs from Internet users. (I looked around today and couldn't figure out to disallow Internet users without allowing in people I've blocked. Unless I just wasn't reading the Preferences screens properly.)

What with one thing and another I get a lot of bots IMming me with ads for sites from porn to pharmacies to mortgage companies, with the Knock-Knock window reading "XXXXX has sent you an Instant Message from outside of the AOL Service, which is not bound by AOL's TOS agreement", and it includes a checkbox to say if you always want to see the names of Internet Users on Knock-Knocks. (Why wouldn't you ever want to see the name? "Actually I don't want to know who's IMming me until I see their horrible message beseeching me to visit their site featuring BLONDES BANGING EACH OTHER.")

Every so often I'll get one of these Knock-Knocks from some yokel I've never heard of ("sxyhottie99999" or whomever) and all of a sudden, the Instant Message portion of the system will somehow shut down. All the icons for Buddies on my Buddy List will turn into slammed doors at the same time, and I'll hear the "slammed door" sound a jillion times, once for each buddy that was there. And I won't be able to send anyone an IM or get one from anyone until I reboot AOL.

My theory is a program the "spIMmers" are using (Trillian perhaps?) is either shutting down my IM system inadvertently, or on purpose. I tried Googling to find info and didn't find anything about this particular problem, but through reading other things I was told that AOL has been trying to shut down the use of Trillian on its Instant Message system. Could this have anything to do with it? If so, AOL is shooting themselves in the foot. (Trillian is one of many programs used to assimillate Instant Message systems into one. You can be logged on to things like AIM, Yahoo Instant Messenger, and IRC all at the same time without running three different programs.)

Now today the plot thickened. At some point all the doors slammed WITHOUT MY RECEIVING AN IM. It sounds like a) somebody is having fun shutting down people's IM capabilities (whether it's a personal attack on me is anybody's guess) and b) the system appears to be evolving.

I'm loath to try to complain to AOL because I don't want to have to get on the phone waiting for half an hour and then trying different things with a tech support person for half an hour... among other reasons.

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And by the way, since I'm not going to get a nap before I go in to work tonight I guess am going to be the Banana Republic whore today. I'll be wearing a new polo shirt freshly bought at their summer sale. I revel in being a clearance and sale fiend of the men's specialty clothing stores. This nice royal blue shirt with black pinstripes for example was $12.99, marked down from $39.50. And between the labor in Peru (or China if Banana Republic et al. are part of the group slipping things under the radar of US importation inspectors), the yarn, buttons, shipping, and other overhead, it probably cost about $5 to make overall. One of these days I'll be able to snag a man with a shirt like this. 8^)

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/04/2004 09:06:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Punc-punc-punc-Punc-tu-a-tion*

Whoo-hoo! for Lynne Truss. Eats, Shoots and Leaves is a best-seller on this side of the pond as well. But will the country actually take her rules to heart? Or will they be put off by her British pop culture references?

It's overdue for my Amazon Wish List. Read a review at Forbes.com.

* from The Electric Company

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/04/2004 07:32:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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It's a TV programmer! It's a power tool brand name!*

Joining the ranks of my blogroll/Bloglines list is Bill Binford's Bill's Musings. I think he saw my link on my AOL profile, so that's another sign I should take this seriously.

And yet just yesterday I finally fullfilled my jones for free-for-postage-and-handling VistaPrint business cards and got cards to leave around town to push people to the site. Why? Why do I want more page views? I mean, it's not in the number of page views for me, though there's a SiteMeter at the bottom of the template. I guess it's a two-edged sword.....

DIANA: How many stations does this go out live to?
MAN: Sixty-seven.
...
DIANA (to HERB): Who are you talking to?
HERB: WCCG, Atlanta.
DIANA: Are they yelling in Atlanta, Herb?
...
MAN ON PHONE: They're yelling in Baton Rouge.
(DIANA listens)
DIANA: Sonuvabitch! We struck the mother lode!

-- "Network"

I know, I know, I'm no Howard Beale. And this is far less important. I just get a kick out of having a pulse on things. And I know I technically have a pulse on hundreds of viewers in Rhode Island every morning but I'm not the one speaking and I don't want to include unexpurgated opinion in that forum.

Bill Binford brings up a great quote from Bill Cosby which I saw on the wires and feeds this week, about how people of many walks of life and occupations, not just people on television, have to be well-spoken and articulate. In particular Cosby refers to doctors: "Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth."

And that same entry of Bill's has a great rip on Michael Moore: "Imagine Ken Starr carrying on like Jon Stewart." Nice. Personally, if I haven't made it clear I'm both a big fan of Michael Moore as well as the deconstruction of Michael Moore.

Bill also clued me in to the realization that AOL NOW OFFERS ITS MEMBERS BLOGS. What won't they do in order to prove their necessity?

I also have to figure out how I'm going to read more of Television Without Pity.

* see any episode of "Home Improvement"

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/04/2004 07:02:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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New Era of Newsertainment

Are you one of those people who still needs proof that television news has turned into a form of entertainment? Try this on for size.

''THAT Was the Week That Was," the memorable '60s-era satirical show skewering politicians, pop culture and current events, is making a comeback — on ABC.

New "Primetime" executive producer Shelley Ross is reviving "TW3" as the closing segment of the Thursday-night show when it relaunches as "Primetime Live" this fall with anchors Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson.

Sounds like it will be a collision of Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" and the Dateline-style flashy/hype-y newsmagazines. Since, except for all the songs of TW3, The Daily Show has been doing this for a few years with sendups of those newsmags, was it just a matter of time before someone figured they'd be able to get away with adding a funny, fact-based-fiction segment to their newscast?

News programs have already had fluffier segments (Jane Fonda's noon live shot that opens "The China Syndrome" springs to mind, with a completely staged demonstration of a singing telegram service with a twist) but this is going to be something different. The rest of the hour PrimeTime Live will have to say "We're completely objective." The last five minutes or so, they'll be able to say "Can you believe this bulls**t that happened?" So, will credibility get called into question?

And what's the deal with putting it on THURSDAY? The week ain't over yet!...

Read the full article at the New York Post.

...As for the singing: Once upon a time, maybe 1992 or so, I remember Al Franken co-anchoring Comedy Central's "InDecision '92" coverage, and at the end of some certain event, like the Republican convention, he took the stage and sang "That's Infotainment," based on "That's Entertainment." Once the song was over and they rolled the credits, they joined in progress whatever block of standup comedy was supposedly originally scheduled for that timeslot.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 7/03/2004 10:10:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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