Raw, but c*nsored blabbing and blogging of a young journalista
and local news producer in Southern New England.
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Friday, October 28, 2005

Bracelets

[updated]
A halfway decent story I like to take credit for: I was at Ann & Hope when I saw bracelets that looked EXACTLY like Livestrong bracelets. But they had nothing to do with Lance Armstrong; they were imitators. "Livestrong" surely is a copyrighted item.

Can we say PACKAGE?

So I've been on a silicone bracelet kick for a while. Just curious about them. I've got on my kitchen table the following to choose from as I put my outfits together in the morning:

+ royal blue with stars and red and white stripes, for SaluteHeroes.org -- somebody at work got it as a giveaway and gave it to me 'cause he's not into the fad
+ a more chroma-like blue with stars and red and white stripes, reading "Support Our Heroes" from some television station
+ "No Excuse for Abuse" in purple, given away free by a domestic violence group
+ "High Maintenance" in a funky multi-color that I bought at a store on Federal Hill
+ A red "Hope," which I was given for contributing to the National MS Society
+ A red-and-blue Red Sox bracelet, that came in a pack of three -- the other two I gave to co-workers who were kinda into bracelets... or maybe I just saw them with bracelets on
+ A light blue "Out in Love", a free giveaway from outinlove.com at Providence Pride this year
+ A Pride bracelet, rainbow-colored, bought at either Providence or Boston Pride this summer (Diversitybands.com) (I wore this to the Labor Day family reunion and a distant cousin -- a little younger than me -- asked me about it and I couldn't bring myself to say, "It's Gay Pride. I'm GAY, dear." I think I just said I got it at a Pride festival. And I think she said "Oh!" in a sort of knowing way.)

little_lost_robot has this dish about the bracelets.

Now, somewhere on the net I saw that Archie McPhee has brought out their own bracelets.

Bleak Wristbands
Seven Deadly Sins Wristbands


Hilarious. Read them!

Now, I know, there's a lot to be said about the statement of support for a charity, that turned into a statement of fashion... I don't know if I'm going to say any of it here though.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/28/2005 12:03:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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At last, a test that kicks *ss

English Genius You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 100% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go! Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it! For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 54% on Beginner You scored higher than 42% on Intermediate You scored higher than 75% on Advanced You scored higher than 93% on Expert

Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/26/2005 12:04:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Wishing for the end of "Three Wishes"

Dick Farrell, editor of The Times-Reporter of Dover-New Philadelphia, Ohio, writes an entertaining editorial:

Come on, folks, this isn't "reality television," not when videotape crews call for retakes of spontaneous reactions.
The drift I get is that some of you are feeling a little used, especially in the wake of the TV giveaway.
You're right. You were used. We here at The T-R were used. Merchants, contractors, community leaders -- all of us -- were used.
You were used when you were told you had to go to the tent on Saturday if you wanted to go to the Amy Grant concert on Tuesday. As it turned out, you didn't have to go to the tent. But it was important on Saturday that there were a lot of people on hand in downtown New Philadelphia. And the promise of concert tickets was a good way to get you there.
We were used because we gave the show all the publicity it asked for (including the concert details) and then some. But we politely rejected their advice on what the headlines should say.
"You worry about your TV show and I'll worry about the newspaper," I told one young field producer.

But Farrell doesn't end with Grant. Read down further and get a load of this!:

Newspapers haven’t employed proofreaders for years. Error-catching is the task of all of us in the newsroom and, I’ll admit, we’re not perfect at it.
...
And sometimes in the rush to get a story in the paper, words get missed or headlines get screwed up.

I wish I could say that to all the people who call. 'Cause it's true, for Pete's sake.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/25/2005 07:24:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Ready to enter the country

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 7 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/23/2005 11:23:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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caps lock

So by looking at my referring web pages (courtesy truefresco.org) I saw I was listed on Yahoo! web search. At the bottom of the first page was a link to blogsnow.com, which tracks who's linking to things. (Not Technorati.)

Right now, BlogsNow shows 6 people linked to International Caps Lock Day: October 22 in the last 59 minutes.

However, there are two different days apparently.

And then, there is Strongbad. HILARIOUS. I can see I'm not going to get enough of Homestar Runner.

Jeez, I could get addicted to BlogsNow. I click through to who's linking to International Caps Lock Day - October 22 and My Big, Black Cock is not only bashing Hedwig (which may be justified but that's a long discussion for another time) he's linking to that thing.

Why is it all of a sudden 3 am? 4 am?

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/22/2005 04:11:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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BREAKING NEWS: SMURF VILLAGE BOMBED

[ UPDATED ]

TopStoryLive Breaking News Coverage

SMURF VILLAGE BOMBED

Multiple bombs dropped
At least one death reported
Mushroom houses in flames, ruins
Children left to die
Everysmurf in chaos

TAKE ENG SOT: BREAKING CUTIN OPEN	(TAKE ENG SOT)
(MR. VOICE)	(ANNOUNCER)
	From XXXXXXX News, this is Breaking News.
TAKE ANCHOR IN NEWSROOM	(ANCHOR)
*cg breaknl Bombing at Smurf Village; 1 Death Reported	I'm XXXXXXX live in the XXXXXXXX Newsroom.
	Right now we're working breaking news out of the Smurf Village.
	We've just received word that several bombs have been dropped on the area; there is no word where the bombs came from, or who is responsible for the bombing.
	The bombs have exploded in the center of the village.
	Several houses are heavily damaged and on fire; it appears that many Smurfs are hurt.
	We're also getting some pictures just back from the village now.
TAKE VO	(TAKE VO)
*cg breaknf Bombing at Smurf Village; 1 Death Reported	As you can see these show the process of the bombing, even before the bombs dropped. It was a normal day -- and then, as some eyewitnessmurfs are telling us, the bombs dropped out of the sky all of a sudden.
	Again, many Smurfs are hurt after the explosions, and we've gotten reports that at least one Smurf has been killed.
TAKE NEWSROOM	(ANCHOR ONCAM)
*cg breaknl Bombing at Smurf Village; 1 Death Reported	We're looking into if any help is on the way to the Village, as you may know it is very difficult to find in the forest, being very well hidden.
	Once again, to recap: There's been a bombing at the Smurf Village.
	Several bombs have hit the area.
	At least one Smurf is killed.
	Several Smurfs are hurt, and buildings have major damage.
	Count on XXXXXXX News to stay on the story.
	We'll bring you updates throughout the day with the latest details, and more tonight on XXXXXXXX News at 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11.
	I'm XXXXXXXX. We're going to return you now to your regular programming.
TAKE ENG SOT: BREAKING CUTIN CLOSE	(TAKE ENG SOT)
	(ANNOUNCER)
	Stay tuned to XXXXXXXX News for further developments on this breaking story....

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Can you IMAGINE it?

The topic is all over the blogosphere: how there's a new ad, a commercial, out there that shows the Smurf Village getting bombed.

The ad is for UNICEF.

Not drink-too-much-sarsparilla-and-stumble-home bombed, but bombed with missiles.

Toonopedia on The Smurfs Mushroom Village on The Smurfs
The Smurfs are a Belgian property, and owned by the estate of creator Peyo. I first saw them (and taped them copiously) when I was a kid around, oh, say, 1983, when they were on NBC on Saturday mornings. They've had a movie (The Smurfs and the Magic Flute which seems, in 20/20 hindsight, to have been was dubbed for English-speakers), an album (The Smurfs All Star Show), and countless stuffed toys in their images:
Papa Smurf (red, with beard)
Brainy Smurf (glasses)
Hefty Smurf (barbell and arrow-through-heart tattoo on muscle)
Handy Smurf (pencil behind ear)
Greedy Smurf (baker's hat and bib)
Vanity Smurf (flower behind ear and mirror)
Jokey Smurf (an exploding present)
Clumsy Smurf (eyelids at half-mast)
and of course Smurfette (long blonde hair and high heels).
Then, with a second wave of characters to infuse new blood around the late 80's, Smurf kids who actually got to wear different clothes, like Sassette (with red hair in pigtails and purple overalls), and the one with the yellow T-shirt that was too big for him.

The ad doesn't feature all of those characters familiar to American fans, but a viewer gets the point.

The ad opens with the usual "La, LA, la-la-la-la, LA, la-la-la-la!" singing of the little blue chorus offscreen, as we move through the forest to see the Smurf Village looking nice and normal.

Cut to scores of cartoon missiles, complete with blasting cap nipples on the one end and guiding fins on the other.

They hit, and explode.

Smurfs start running around screaming. Houses are on fire, blown up, Smurfs are walking wounded, prone on the ground, under debris.

Cut to a medium shot showing Baby Smurf in the foreground.

Fade out... and fade up a title card in German reading a message: Don't let war destroy the world of children.

When looking for the video clips that are out there of the ad, the only video that I could find was very choppy, and not full motion (practically a slideshow with full audio track). Most of the clips are actually a full package from a German news organization that feature child soldiers (in countries that conscript their children at a very young age), who've been hurt in battle, even lost their limbs.

MSNBC's story
MSNBC mildly related story: "Hair-raising PSA shunned by broadcasters"

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/22/2005 03:57:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Kaos visit

Kaos apparently got a kick out of SOMETHING I said. So he wrote me to ask how I found his blog. (I saw it on NewsBlues.) I told him:

Through your blog and others I'm starting to see that almost an *alarming* number of television people -- reporters -- have blogs. At least, it surprises me... and surprises me how many of them are easy to connect to their real-life selves. I have very minute back-channel style clues on TopStoryLive as to where I work, and I'd have to say all the pieces are there to be put together -- and it would greatly help the "detective" if you actually KNEW me, so it's like, my coworkers could know but haven't brought it up with me.

Then Kaos opened the floodgates, saying, "Tell me a little about yourself."

I just turned 27 this weekend. (That, too, was going on during flooding throughout Rhode Island and the death of a colleague -- and now the huge dam ready to break. Not that I really celebrated my birthday this weekend at all with anything other than taking Friday off and opening presents on Sunday.)

I'm a redhead, so I get all the guys who've never done a redhead coming after me. I'm 5'6", but I'm 180 pounds. That is no exaggeration, it's what the freakin' scale at the gym says. I need to go more often but the momentum is difficult to achieve. It doesn't help that it's across town.

I don't know, are you looking for the sales pitch to the potential date, or the more general all-around bio? 8^D (tilt your head sideways -- that is me with glasses, pointy nose and big grin)

I've been producing for a station in Providence, RI for about three years, after having been an associate producer/writer/fill-in producer, and before that an associate producer/writer/producer trainee in Hartford, CT, and before THAT I was at the station I'm at now working only weekends as an assignment editor, and before that I was in college in Boston.

I'm from Oregon. Boston had everything I'd want: television, radio, film, and theatre, essentially in that order. I was a theatre geek in high school and for some reason went all-television when I entered college.

I'm a news producer, but in college did as much as I could on camera. Well, almost. Dabbled in radio, film, and fictional TV. These days I am supposedly fulfilling my performance interest by volunteering for a radio reading service for the blind; we read the daily paper and other periodicals and so on and so forth live on the air. However, what with another one of the producers having wangled her way into an on-air/producing hybrid position, I'm starting to get the jealousy bug and want to at least try my hand and do some resume/audition/practice tape(s) just so people can say (and I'd probably want a number of them to say it before I gave up and stayed production side) "No, you don't belong on camera at all," or something equally discouraging.

The other thing is, some days I want to be more commentary-like and less objective. Or I'd love to get into producing/hosting a local sort of magazine show...

With the birthday this week and all, it makes me wonder, should I have a long-term plan, should I immediately take action and switch gears, or what?

Then again, I have no interest in being recognized at the supermarket.

That sounds like it gives you more than enough to get an idea of who's reading your blog. If it makes you feel any better it's probably due to reading The Kaos Blog and Palabra Jot - Palabra Jot that I have now bitten the bullet and joined NLGJA. So perhaps I will actually become good at networking.

For some reason this reminded me of wondering if I'm too shallow.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/22/2005 01:41:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Psycho

Okay, maybe I clicked too many options. I dunno.


you are the cute but psycho happy bunny. You're
adorable, but a little out there. It's all right,
you might not have it all, but there are worse


which happy bunny are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/21/2005 01:10:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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food note

note: fat free french "style" salad dressing from wendy's is too sugary. avoid.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/20/2005 01:50:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Depression and suicide, and reportage thereof

The Herald News - News - 10/11/2005 - Help for depression:

If an airplane carrying 86 people crashed every day and killed all those aboard, it would make national, even international, news. Fingers would be pointed. A public outcry for answers would ensue.

Yet, this is how many people die in the United States every day from suicide, according to the state Department of Public Health. About 11 of those suicides are among young people age 15 to 24, making it the third leading cause of death in that age group, behind accidents and homicide.

Here is a story about suicide -- albeit preventing it, but suicide nonetheless -- and it's in the newspaper.

Since I noticed this story, Charles Rocket, né(e) Charles Claverie, has been well-reported in the news as having died -- or rather, as having killed himself, by slitting his own throat. He was a film and TV actor, RISD graduate, Providence television reporter and anchor (with the on-air name Charles Kennedy) and later went to Saturday Night Live, where he anchored "Weekend Update."

Now, he's not the first person to commit suicide and get in the newspaper for it. He's just a handy example.

The point I'm working very slowly toward is: in the television and radio news business, we do not report the suicides of "nobodies." .....unless they kill somebody else in the process. Maybe they report the occasional self-offing in the newspaper. I don't know.

Once I got a woman who called to find out if there was any news about a guy who jumped out one of the windows at Foxwoods to his death. I believe I told her that we didn't cover suicides. So, it's probably something the public doesn't really think about that much.

Suicide is very much looked down upon, and I guess not just in this country -- perhaps someone made the joke once about how the rest of us still left here on earth are all secretly jealous of the guy who got off easy. I guess the thinking is, don't put a guy on television, don't give him notoriety, or fame, or legitimacy, only because he killed himself in a mildly interesting way; a) it would be glamorizing suicide which is a nasty thing, and b) it would probably be pretty nasty to talk about it when his family's all torn up about it, and c) it might give people ideas of going out with a bang.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/19/2005 01:16:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Discards from the search for VOs

A Woonsocket woman creates a new variation on the Tupperware party:

When the invitation came three years ago, Mary Beth Berrien was horrified.
Would she like to attend a sex-toy party?
"I was mortified," she admits.
But a friend was hosting and, frankly, it had been a long year stuck inside with the kids. A little arm-twisting later, there she was, a mother of three, buying "sensual aids."
Today, Berrien, 33, is among the top salespeople at Athena's Home Novelties, the East Coast's largest sex-toy company, headquartered in Woonsocket.
"If buying these toys was good," she says, "selling them is even better."
By now you may have heard something of this Tupperware-style "girls night in" -- the ladies from the office crowd into someone's living room, guzzling pinot grigio, while a saleswoman gives a PG-rated demonstration of X-rated items from $6 "love lickers" to $130 vibrators.
Guests snicker their way through the show and, a few blush-inducing purchases later, everyone heads home.
Erotic books, edible oils. You name it, Athena's is selling it in a family room near you -- $6 million dollars of it last year alone.

(Sorry, ProJo requires registration to read further)

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Three stories from the EastBayRI.com group of newspapers:

Jason Turcotte reports a craze is hitting the East Bay... on the computer. It's not Friendster... ...but rather a competitor, MySpace.

Denise Kinney of the Warren Times-Gazette reports Warren is now home to a hot new records group: Wishing Tree.

And, Joan D. Warren tells about a way to meet people if you've just moved to Barrington.

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My Chyron guy was appropriately disappointed when I had the story about how you'll need a motorcycle license starting soon if you rent a moped on Block Island.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/19/2005 01:01:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Two test results from OkCupid

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Deanna Troi You scored 12 Physically Able, 19 Mentally Able, and 18 Morally Good! (30 is max)

You're Troi! Physically: Low Mentally: Medium Morally: Medium Troi's the empath of Enterprise and, for reasons that are her own, she refuses to wear her uniform. She's not the most 'technically minded' (her words) but she aint no dummy either. (yes, that was intentional) Troi is a good woman, and many find her irresistible. Well, you ended up with Troi. That's not too bad! Troi is morally responsible and fairly intelligent, just like you. Like Troi, you're a lover, not a fighter, and that should make you quite popular. What's even better is, since you're not telepathic at all, you can't get mind attacked by any nasty aliens! Also like Troi, everyone loves you, arn't you luck? The character most unlike you is: Guinan

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 40% on Physicality You scored higher than 10% on Mentality You scored higher than 30% on Morality

Link: The Ultimate TNG: Character Test written by lousms on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/19/2005 12:18:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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The cat's pajamas, or the dog's tuxedo?

TheWMURChannel.com - EDUCATION - More Teens Wearing Pajamas To School: "There's a new fad of students -- mostly girls -- wearing pajama bottoms to school, and so far administrators are not making a fuss about it."

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"The dog's tuxedo" was suggested as an alternative to "The cat's pajamas" by Stephan in tonight's Sex and the City on UPN 28.

Charlotte's subplot: When she exchanges a hot kiss with a man she thinks is gay, she's confused -- is he batting for the other team or is he just what would later in life (since these are reruns) be called a "metrosexual", or WAY in touch with his feminine side?

I liked looking at him assuming he was gay and seeing him get intimate with a woman. Strange.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/19/2005 12:16:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Have you met Ted?

No, dope, not (Uni)Ted.

Boston Herald talks to Neil Patrick Harris and others about the new CBS sitcom, How I Met Your Mother.

Haven't seen it, but it sounds good.

Still, it gave me one insight merely through one of its promotions.

Blogs have already jumped the shark.

Jump The Shark.com describes the term as:

It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on... it's all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it jumping the shark.

Barney (Neil Patrick Harris -- Doogie Howser, MD to many of you) seems to always tell Ted to "suit up," i.e. to wear a suit when they go out trawling for women. The one time he does, it's a miracle.

You suited up! I can't believe it! says Barney. This is SO going on my blog!

Yep. It's already way too passé if it's that trendy that some Hollywood writer wrote it into a script, AND the Hollywood (or New York?) promotions person picked that line to use in a promo.

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On another note: Out of Practice on CBS I have actually seen and it's not too shabby either.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/19/2005 12:04:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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What the hell?

I don't see myself as a Pool Boy at all, metaphoric or otherwise:

The Pool Boy Random Gentle Sex Dreamer (RGSDm)     Friendly and eager. You are The Pool Boy.     A teen at heart, you anxiously move about your daily tasks, hoping, praying for a good, instant lay. You're carefree, enthusiastic, and rarely discouraged. Love is cool, but it's not for you right now. You know what is? Crotches.     You're a fun person in both big and small groups, and your friends trust and love you. Inside you, meanwhile, your lust is only growing. Imagine your beating heart sprouting pubic hair. Exactly. Try shaving that. Your exact opposite: The False Messiah Deliberate Brutal Love Master     If you're not scoring enough--which you aren't--you should adopt new strategies. Lower your standards. Be aggressive. Pool Boys are often submissive and hope (desperately) sex will find them. Realize that passiveness will not hook the horny guys you desire. A bolder approach and sheer repetition will.     When browsing OkCupid, consider both The Bachelor and The Playboy. ALWAYS AVOID: The False Messiah, The Mixed Messenger Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating. My profile name:

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/14/2005 09:54:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Parental Unit(y)

So, mum & dad, what make you of the entries best suited for my girlfriend-type chums... drooling over men?

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/14/2005 07:19:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Panera

I really should come back with my laptop. Trying not to stare at college boi who's at least three kinds of yummy.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/14/2005 07:16:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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I heard it from...

Projo
WPRI
Google Search

I still can't believe it. He was just in the newsroom the other day.

We miss you, and we love you, Jack.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/14/2005 03:22:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Gay TV News Blogs Like Me; and The Return Of Long Hair?

I knew they were out there!:

Reporter: Blaine S Kaos http://thekaosblog.blogspot.com/
Morning Producer: Troy (Palabra Jot - Palabra Jot) http://www.livejournal.com/users/amnewsboy/
Print: Radio Free Alfie http://www.livejournal.com/users/opprimo/

Sounds like I need to lose 20 pounds and go to the NLGJA conference. Since it sounds like it JUST happened, I probably have about a year to get down to fighting weight.

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But then again... am I going to really carry out the plan I've been keeping secret?

When I started noticing my hair was getting long I remembered the idea I'd had a while back, after I was induced to cut my ponytail from high school. I want to grow it out -- enjoy the mane once again -- and donate it to Locks of Love.

But how long is it going to take to get to ten inches? I can just barely get a little knot together at the back right now.

Will the selfish interest in enjoying long hair and the selfless interest in giving my long, curly, thick, red hair to someone else win out over the selfish interest in having short hair that would attract more men instead of putting them off? (that is, giving them another reason to reject me besides my growing weight?)

Stay tuned....

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/14/2005 02:11:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Silver Lake Party: 99 Red Balloons Go By

In The 80s - 99 Luftballons, Side by Side Comparison

First item from the Silver Lake Party I went to a week ago, and yet even though I promised I'd have days of material I haven't written another word since.

Bless these gay bois who see fit to keep their lives, or at least their living rooms, simple, and well-appointed with large televisions and digital cable. This home had on Music Choice.

When "99 Luftballoons" came on -- in the original German -- one of the hosts, Joshie, the younger one who should go as Alex the Droog for Halloween (he's got that sort of beautiful round face to go with an extremely lean body -- all looking very European for somebody from North Kingstown, HA!), started singing along. In the original German. Word for word.

Of course, this being a very unconventional group of conventionalists, Josh wasn't the only one who knew it word for word.

So, now that I've started reminding myself -- even though I've wasted the whole week-end without writing about any of it -- that I must a) learn the words JUST for the trivia value. b) start writing out the rest of the night of the party.

Blast. I'm probably going to have to do this that OFFline because it's going to be so copious.

...You know, here's a question for Josh (and Fielding). They may know the words in German, but what do they mean? Clicking the link above has a great German transcript, a translation into English, and an English transcript. It appears Nena wrote completely different versions in each language.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/07/2005 01:06:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Open the window! Is anybody yelling?*

Washington Post.com:Clooney Breaks His Own Big Story, A Live 'Network'

*"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"

It's a quote now oft-played during The Matt Allen Nation on WPRO. But does anybody know what it's from, the context? The entire speech from Peter Finch? Perhaps not.

Or perhaps these days everybody who's come within smelling distance of a modern media class or even anything along the lines of Social Studies, Public Affairs, History and the like have "Network" as required reading. Hmm?

Why a live "Network"? Just raise the stakes for the production, showboat it?

Granted, I just saw (a week late) the live season premiere (the East Coast version) of "Will and Grace." (Blessedly there was even an on-air goof: Audio killed the live studio mics but didn't track the videotape of the show-closing vanity cards and tease announcer.) And that could have been easily done without the live element.

The other thing, that even Clooney noticed, is that "Network" seems to have "come true," from the media/corporate conglomerates ruling the world to the competitiveness of ratings... and yet, I haven't seen a parallel drawn between Howard Beale and the characters of "Series 7: The Contenders," the ultimate reality TV show "prescient" movie, where instead of being voted off, you get KILLED with real guns.

Or maybe someone will make "The Truman Show" come true.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/07/2005 12:30:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Deck blogging

Wish this $1.69 citronella candle I bought at Christmas Tree Shops was worth something at keeping mosquitoes away. I feel like I'm continually cheating the West Nile Virus or Eastern Equine Encephalitis. And it keeps feeling and looking like it's very very very lightly misting on the Powerbook G4's screen.

The fog's very nice.

There's some ....apparition.... walking towards me.

Now he's walking back the other way, into the darkness. He's wearing a white T-shirt. Will he return? Is he walking a route of fitness? He's in the parking lot of the voc-tech high school across the way.

Ah! Just missed his turn. Very strange. he looks like a bloody ghost. Why in God's name would you walk around like that at almost midnight? He's walking, not even an oval, but a sort of very narrow rectangle.

He seems to be very large, with the T-shirt pretty tight. Why wouldn't he go all the way up the hill to completely traverse this area of the parking lot? So he could be seen under the light in front of the building's front door?

It's very nice sitting out here on the deck. It's not that cold, and yet it's a nice cold. It's too hot in the apartment anyway. I'd have to turn on the fan or something. Pffft.

I'm running out of juice on the battery. Poor thing. How long does it let me run for? 4 hours? I probably used up a half hour or so before I went to the gym. Then I didn't get back to it until after ten, right? Hmm.

It doesn't seem like October. Why didn't it get colder in September? People can still get away with wearing shorts. I suppose that'll end this week. But the really long-sleeved shirts will stay in the closet for a while I expect.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/05/2005 11:59:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Worst screaming child story ever

Okay, this is impressive. I actually blogged about something twice. I knew I'd already written this story down. Make sure to check off on checklist.

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In Target the other night I was in the men's clothing department when I started hearing this little boy SCREAMING. He was in the Toddler clothes section, at least 50 feet away from me, and with a wall separating the departments between us. He was saying "put me DOWN!" and whatnot. I swear his voice was reaching the entire store.

He went on for at least ten minutes squalling at the top of his lungs. Nearly nonstop. I swear people around me were giving his direction funny looks, not just me.

I was ready to go over and say in my loud and clear reach-the-lady-in-row-Z voice, SO IS THIS YOUR CHILD OR ARE YOU KIDNAPPING HIM? and then to the child I would say, Listen, you be quiet and polite and well-behaved this instant, or someone you don't know will come along and make you very unhappy and sorry indeed. When you are out in public in stores you are to behave and not scream, and if you do not do as I say you will be taken home and kept in your room until you are forty years old.

But I lost my nerve.

I checked out at around the same time as the woman who had the screaming boy in the seat of her shopping cart, and a little girl sister at her side. She (the mother) apparently believes "if you don't pay him any mind he'll just eventually learn that screaming gets him nothing out of life" as, for some reason, so many parents I encounter do, (rather than, "bad behavior like screaming deserves retribution and punishment").

Later I realized that had I given the child some sort of threat it would do no good unless the mother followed through on whatever it was. Of course it would be better to give the child a logical, believable, understandable threat, but anyway.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/05/2005 11:30:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Glasses

I always make passes at men who wear glasses.

Well, as long as they have a cute face. There's this one guy at work.... yecch.

Somewhere between Ashland, Oregon; Seaside, Oregon; and Rhode Island I lost my better pair of clip-on sunglasses. These were the pair that I bought for maybe $10-$15 at a sunglass shop in P-Town last year. I've no idea if it was on the plane or something, or where I left them. At any rate, I'm back to using my good-old-fashioned cheap-o clip-ons that, if you believe it, I got back in college when my friend Kelly and I went to New Orleans, and got them at a flea market.

On the same NOLA trip I had already gone to Sunglass Hut and spent at least $20 on a pair of clip-on sunglasses that were actually TOO BIG to fit on my glasses. Finding a perfect pair later at a flea market for less than ten dollars was very ironic. (?)

So now I'm torn between looking for a Sunglass Hut in RI that might have the right size for these glasses, or perhaps going to Lenscrafters and getting entirely new glasses. I've had these things since about 1999 or so. I got them in college when I was starting to report for EIV News and I wanted something not so big as my previous glasses. These of course are polycarbonate (as opposed to glass, which is what I was used to) and have gotten plenty scratched by my hard-wearing.

I'm pretty sure my vision plan covers a new pair of glasses. I could probably use a new pair of glasses. Thing is, I like these cute little round frames. But do I want a pair of rectangular frames?

You know, now that I think about it, I'd like to get my hearing checked as well. I listen in the morning meetings now and it's like, I want to ask people to speak up and stop MUTTERING. "Play to the lady in row Z," I want to say. Is my hearing going after listening to the scanners all the time? Or was it all that clubbing in college (and every so often now) where the music is way too loud?

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/05/2005 11:00:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Car Repairs

Did I tell you I have had a slew of car repairs in the last few weeks? Well, I mean, the car hasn't been in the shop every other day; for me, the $600-something repair bill is enough to be "a slew."

{No auto-save sucks when PageSpinner quits unexpectedly. I swear I wrote another entire page after this point but there it went.}

While I look for the sizable bill and details, let me tell you how the problem precipitated.

On a Thursday morning, I was on my way to my radio reading for the blind volunteer gig. I was making that big swing from Route 37 to the side road with on-ramps and off-ramps to Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick and so on. I hesitated badly when shifting into the third gear -- which had been a kind of dodgy process lately; taking the clutch out in general had to be a definite move, instead of a hesitantly-done thing -- when the car just died. I was very lucky I still had gravity to give me momentum to get over to the side and onto the shoulder next to 95 proper.

I tried turning the car on again. I could turn the ignition key, and the engine would grind, but the motor wouldn't "catch," the engine wouldn't turn over. I called the volunteer gig and said it was highly unlikely that I would be in this morning.

It was like 10:00. What to do? I ended up calling AAA and a tow truck arrived in very short order. I ended up going, not to the Fall River VW dealership where I'd gone in the past because I'd been recommended there (by a Somerset resident) and not to Scott VW of East Providence, but to Fiore in West Warwick. It ended up being closest. For regular members, AAA pays to tow you either three or five miles, I forget which, and you pay $3 a mile after that.

Fiore said they'd check it out and give me a call once they had a diagnosis.

The next question: what to do to get around for the next couple days? I tried calling a friend who might be working at home, but he ended up being on his way to a meeting with a client. I'm very easy to bite the bullet and get a rental car aren't I? I didn't even ask Fiore if they'd be willing to pick up the cost of one. I just ASSUMED that since I was not a prior customer of theirs -- and hadn't bought the car there -- that they wouldn't be willing to do that. Then, of course, rather than call Hertz or somebody whom I might actually have a discount with -- thanks to AAA or a credit card, take your pick -- I went with the brand I'd used before, Enterprise, "they pick you up."

I mooched around in the showroom for at least 20 minutes waiting for the car to show up. This quite decent-looking guy drives in in a little blob of a car, and drives round the side. He looked very corporate, he must have been here to drop his car off or something. About this time, my scruffy clothes that I'd thrown on as soon as I'd rolled out of bed started to get to the salespeople and a little knot of them near the front door I was standing looking out of asked me "Is there something we can do for you?"

I reported I was waiting for Enterprise to pick me up, and right then Hot Rental Car Guy walked up. He'd been waiting in the back. Angular face, taller than me but not too tall, collegiate maturity from within, rectangular glasses frames, shirt and tie in good repair, and PINSTRIPE TROUSERS.

Yes, I'd be remembering him for a while. His name is Derek.

Derek the Hot Rental Car Guy drove me back to the office where I plonked down a credit card -- my "alternate" which doesn't earn miles or anything. I was handed the key to the Honda Echo, the little silver blob of a car.

The Honda Echo ended up being a decent drive. Nice and noisy compared to the 1997 VW Jetta of course, but the radio reception was incredible when compared to what I have normally. I could pick up stations like WCBS and WINS in New York great!

Once I got home, I started looking through the car for something, and discovered: there was no registration in the car. If I was pulled over, what would I show? (Don't know why this came to the forefront of my mind but I was indeed pulled over a while back.)

I figured, welllllllllllllllllll, maybe I should have that. I decided to go back anyway to put the car on a different credit card (the miles one).

Once arriving back at the office in West Warwick I approached the Well-Fed Rental Office Manager who's not nearly as cute as his underling, and asked him about the registration.

All you do is show the rental agreement. That serves as your registration, he said.

Right. Dummy!

So I put in the new credit card. As if that had mattered. I could have just switched cards when I returned the car and PAID.

It would be a lot more fun if Derek the Hot Rental Car Guy popped back up in my life unrelated to his prior context and much more salaciously (?), the way someone might on other blogs, but then I'd be making things up. Tch.

{Another PageSpinner sudden-quit.}

I can't find the bill, but trust me it was about $130 for the rental car for about 5 days, and --- now that I think about it it was less than $600 for the car parts and labor itself somehow.

The car got new spark plugs, and various other exciting nickel-and-dime items, and something pretty large in its own right. Something like a new alternator. It's slipped my mind; it's in the book down in the car.

But it also got quite a bit of work done on it for free. The 1997 Volkswagen Jetta has a recall on it: the "fuel filler neck" on the gas tank can get damaged if you get a flat tire on the right (passenger) rear tire. Trust me, I've done it; all the tires on the car have gone flat since I've owned it. What's more, when I tried to fill up the tank for the last, oh, at least a year, it would not fill up fully; I could fill it up until the gas gauge read about 3/4 of a tank, and the auto-shutoff would shut off. So the gas tank had to be replaced.

The recall technically only covered a "guard" that supposedly prevents the gas tank getting damaged in future if I have a flat on that tire. But I asked my Fiore representative if he could pick up the parts and labor of a new gas tank. He couldn't, but VW did. (Thank God!)

So, now my car is back, and I can fill up a full tank. It holds maybe just 10 gallons, by the way. And now I'm spending upwards of $20 per fill-up. Yecch!

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/05/2005 10:00:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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PageSpinner/HTML Example

I'm composing for a bit in PageSpinner on my lovely little deck for a while because I don't want to be inside right now. It's about 5:40 on Wednesday afternoon (10/5/05) and I'm seriously avoiding going to the gym which is over on the other side of Creation (in reality, on the other side of the Bay from me, in Seekonk).

These are some of the things PageSpinner makes it very easy to do:
Black
Blue
Cyan
Green
Light Green
Red
Light Red
Yellow
Light Yellow
Brown
Light Brown
Deep Purple
Magenta
Dark Gray
Light Gray
White

Strong
Emphasis
Citation
Definition
Quotation
Abbreviation
Acronym THAT'S kinda cool; I'll use that a bit.
CODE
Sample output
Keyboard input
Variable in code

Bold
Italics
Big print
Small print
Typewriter
Blinking (only in Netscape, I suppose)
Underline
Strikethrough
_Subscript
^Superscript

Preformatted

Block Quote

Center

Address

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Scrolling Text Marquee

Perhaps if I am a good doobie I will register my copy and use it a lot more to justify the expense.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/05/2005 05:40:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Show to viewer: Ooo, set me up on a blind date with your friend!

Meg James of the LA times says in Newsday.com's FANDEMONIUM that super fans are the best marketers these days, along the lines of "Ooooo, you've GOT to see that show." Hasn't that always been the way?

Marketing "geniuses" are building on the "Everyone has some dirty laundry" Desperate Housewives dry cleaning bags from last year, with java sleeves, mirrors in nightclubs, dollar bills with Geena Davis's image (!!!).

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/05/2005 03:23:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Juror blogs

TheWMURChannel.com - News - Court To Hear Rape Appeal:

Stephen Goupil [convicted rapist] is asking the court to decide whether Belknap County Judge Larry Smukler made a mistake in not setting aside verdicts after learning the juror referred to Goupil as "local riff raff" on a personal weblog four days before jury selection.

Well, if the juror (jury foreman to be precise) had a prejudgement of the defendant -- before jury selection even began -- why didn't the juror say "I blogged about him and said he's a piece of riff-raff!!!" when questioned by the lawyers?

I suppose the juror wanted to put the s.o.b. away.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/05/2005 03:10:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Caprial and John's Kitchen

Rhode Island PBS has shelled out to buy and broadcast Caprial and John's Kitchen at 2:30 weekday afternoons. And it makes me homesick.

Especially today, when the sort of half-way point "travelogue" segment was about picnicking, and they showed things like the sculpture on Pioneer Courthouse Square of the man with the umbrella testing for rain. Awwwwwwwwwww!

Then they went to the official Rose Test Garden. It was nice. Maybe one of these days we'll check out Caprial's Bistro.

I love it -- to get the book "Caprial and John's Kitchen: Recipes for Cooking Together," you write to Oregon Public Broadcasting at an address in Vermont. Ha!

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/05/2005 03:06:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Forward or backward?

Okay, I thought all the 6:30 (ET) national network newscasts were on the wane. So why is Fox considering doing a national evening newscast?

And what will that mean for all the Fox affiliates who have positioned their 5p-8pm blocks around alternatives to local and national news?

Unfortunately, Shepard Smith is the anchorman so far connected to the potential show. He's probably one of the biggest names recognized as being part of the Fox News brand. He was on the Fox network newsmagazine "The Pulse" or whatever it was. But he's such a f*cking prick.

So is this a step forward or backward? Is the network newscast past its prime or is this ignoring the conventional wisdom?

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/05/2005 02:39:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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How drunk are you?

Mom wrote:

Did you really want an answer?  It took about 2 or 3 (4 or 5?) times of really getting drunk -- and over 10 or 15 years -- for me to realize I never want to be drunk again.  So...while I can't say that you shouldn't do it, hopefully you will decide you don't want to do it before you get into trouble while drunk. 

Personally, I tend not to get falling-down-drunk -- like my friend Dave did the other night.
The other night, it was three beers (a Corona Light, a Rolling Rock, and a Sam Adams Light), and I was tipsy enough to just "feel good."

I mean, whenever I'm out, I have to sober up enough before I drive home!!!!! Therefore I don't drink to excess.

I don't know if I've ever drunken so much that I was REALLLLLLLLY SICK the next day. (That's another thing. I had to work the next day, so I couldn't drink THAT much.)

Hmm. I suppose I don't want to get into real trouble while even a little drunk. (tail between legs) I'll watch myself a little more in future, Mom.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/03/2005 10:30:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
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Imbibe

Mom... Dad... Does it really make you feel better to know I'm getting drunk? I remember one night when I was the m the m

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Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/02/2005 01:29:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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Who knew?

You go to ONE party, and you have material for days!?!

Go figure.

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Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/02/2005 01:04:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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On loc: Mirabar

I love how every college gsa of twinkies from Dartmouth to Killingly must org a road trip to Mirabar every wknd.

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Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/02/2005 12:37:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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On Loc: Somewhere in Silver Lake

PARTY! courtesy of DJ Dave, Joshie and Jeffy. This is exactly (champagne POP!) what I net I ne

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Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 10/01/2005 12:23:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
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