Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
magic in that old silk hat
When inflated, the Santa Claus balloon looks like the Rankin/Bass version of St. Nick from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." But the deflated Santa looks like he fell face first from his high flying sleigh and went splat on the lawn.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
don't he look natural?
Alan put a song from the Brian Setzer Orchestra on his sampler CD too. The BSO makes its annual appearance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" tonight. I wonder if they'll be playing at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting again tomorrow night. There's no mention of it on the Setzer website but it does say that they'll be on "Fox & Friends" in the morning and that they taped an episode of the "Rachael Ray Show" to air in mid-December. By giving my email address, I was able to get a free download of a live version of "Jingle Bells." I'll have to settle for the free download because I don't think I'll be getting any free tickets to their Nashville concert.
I picked up two more Christmas CDs for my collection yesterday. One is a novelty disc called "A TV Christmas Dinner" and the other is "The Andy Williams Christmas Album," which had been on my wish list for a while. I haven't listened to the novelty disc yet but I popped the Andy CD into the player while we were still in the parking lot at McKay's. My son and I noticed that the first six songs were all secular and the next six were all religious. I guess that when the album was first released on vinyl, the secular songs were on side A and the religious songs were on side B.
Before becoming a famous radio deejay, my friend Bean worked in a record store in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC. It was around this time of year when a gentleman came into the store and asked Bean for help locating the Andy Williams Christmas albums. Bean immediately says "Andy Williams? Isn't he dead?" That's when Andy Williams said, "No. I'm not." It turns out that the musicians needed to hear some of the original arrangements for Andy's performance at the Kennedy Center.
Labels: Brian Setzer, celebrities, Christmas, music, photos, TV, Washington DC
Monday, November 27, 2006
world's biggest blank
The Los Angeles Times had a good article about the "Match Game" special too. Unfortunately for you, it was on GSN last night. Fortunately for you, it will be repeated Tuesday night at 9. It was so good that I didn't delete it from my TiVo yet so that my wife can watch it while I'm napping tomorrow. Like me, she'll be impressed to learn that when Richard Dawson demanded his own show, the producers took the Super Match portion of the game and turned it into "Family Feud."
Terry Morrow says that "Match Game" is one of his all-time favorite shows. I completely agree. I love the music, the celebrities, the clever questions and everything else about it. While watching some footage of old episodes on the special last night, I realized I even like the themesong from the 1960s version. I had never seen the original "Match Game" but I sometimes hear the theme on the Music of Your Life station in our building.
During the program there were two commercials for the "The Best of Match Game" DVD collection. I didn't buy it yet, but I did add it to my Amazon wish list before the hour-long show ended. A writer for TV Squad couldn't see the point in watching a DVD of a game show. That may be true for most sporting events and most game shows but "Match Game" wasn't about the game. It was about the party.
Labels: TV
Sunday, November 26, 2006
hooray for Hollywood
I promised to tell you how I have participated in some Oscar hype myself. The now split public relations team of Weissman/Angellotti once asked me to book a then little known writer/director/actor as a guest on the Mark & Brian show. Their pitch convinced us to have Billy Bob Thornton come on to promote "Sling Blade." It would be great if our listeners bought tickets to go see the movie but they were really trying to reach any Academy voters in our audience. We made Billy Bob promise to return if he won the Oscar. He showed up the morning after still wearing his tux and carrying the trophy.
During my unscheduled hiatus from radio in 2001, publicist Roger Neal would occasionally hire me for odd jobs. He had me escort celebrities down the press line at the Saturn Awards. I delivered stuff to fashion stylists like Phillip Bloch. I babysat camera crews from CNN and Entertainment Tonight. The most interesting task was working the Stuart Weitzman hospitality suite during Oscar week. Stylists would come by to get free shoes for their clients to wear to the Academy Awards and/or any Oscar party where there would be a camera and an opportunity to tell a reporter whose shoes they were wearing. A few actresses showed up to claim their shoes in person.
I wish "For Your Consideration" spent less of its time on the set of "Home For Purim," the film within the film, and more time on the all the stuff that happens after a movie wraps. As the announcement of the Oscar nominations neared, the characters were briefly interviewed by radio deejays and TV hosts. The satire seemed sharpest when skewering shows like "Access Hollywood" and "Good Day L.A." Both Jane Lynch and Fred Willard were letter perfect in their roles as the hosts of "Hollywood Now."
The filmmakers were willing to parody the moviemaking process but they went too easy on the actual awards. They missed an opportunity to spoof some of the lesser award shows like the Golden Globes and the Critics' Choice Awards. They could have ridiculed all the free stuff given to nominees and presenters. But if they did that, they may have found themselves empty-handed when award season comes around in the Spring.
Labels: awards, celebrities, movies, radio, TV
Saturday, November 25, 2006
John David Booty call
I had the Tennessee vs. Kentucky game on in the background earlier today. When UT wins it's good for business. Plus, I have enough friends who are fans that I always hope for a Vols victory. When the game ended, I flipped around the dial and caught the last few minutes of the greatest halftime show I have ever seen. It was at the Bayou Classic and the band was Southern University's "Human Jukebox." The horn section was blasting "Ain't No Other Man" while the dance team gyrated. At first I thought I had tuned in to a movie, not real life. A little research shows the band can rock to Gnarls Barkley too. I need to remember to watch the Bayou Classic halftime show from the beginning next year. In the meanwhile, I can watch SU on YouTube.
Labels: college football, music, TV
Friday, November 24, 2006
everyone loves a parade?
One of my favorite entertainment blogs disappointed me. TV Squad's reviewer doesn't like parades and therefore didn't watch it. At least the comments from readers are worthwhile. The writer for Gawker was upset that Katie Couric was missing from the broadcast.
The pithy reviews trashing overblown spectacles are the most fun to read. A blog called Hikaruland showed the right amount of pith with paragraphs like:
Cokehead announcer says "this dramatic view of New York is from the top of Rockefeller Center." What the television audience sees: low level clouds and a faint outline of a building. Absolutely stirring, I tell you.Putting the parade on C-SPAN is suggested by Thought You'd Never Ask. It's not a bad idea. I watched the last Inaugural Parade on C-SPAN. Daggle watched streaming video of the parade on his computer in England. I clicked on the link and watched it for a while too. Except for the water on the camera lens it's probably a lot like what C-SPAN's coverage would have been.
Gothamist linked to articles about the parade in the New York newspapers. Through their links, I found a great picture of Snoopy on the New York Times site.
Average Life Spam points out that the telecast omits most of the stuff that kids enjoy about the parade. The CBS crew got panned by Nihilist In Golf Pants.
A TV anchor named Heather Kovar photographs her dogs in front of landmarks and parade balloons. Somebody posted a photo on The Stranger's site and suggested that and uninflated Scooby-Doo looks like something Heather's dogs might have left behind.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
it's a noble gas, gas, gas
Why does CBS bother? My guess is that they do it for JC Penney. Obviously NBC's coverage is all about the Macy's. There are still more advertising dollars to be had and CBS is able to give JC Penney a place to promote its after-Thanksgiving sale and its tie-in with Josh Groban. I also saw ads for other department stores that may be shut out of the three hour Macy's commercial on NBC. I used to think that CBS wanted to give some additional exposure to balloon characters from their sister network Nickelodeon.
On the whole I liked watching the unofficial CBS broadcast because they covered the parade more like a sporting event while NBC stuck to the Macy's approved script. Last year I wrote about the big difference in the way CBS and NBC respectively acknowledged and ignored the accident with the M&Ms balloon. This year Hannah Storm and Dave Price joked about how long it would take to cook Big Bird and how hard it would be to peel Healthy Mr. Potato Head. I was surprised to see the M&Ms balloon return to the parade this year especially right behind the float from rival chocolate company Hershey's.
While I like their freedom to ad-lib, my gripe with Hannah and Dave is that they don't know enough about the parade. They often referred to balloons as floats, just like last year. When the "80th Anniversary Hot Air Balloon" balloon went past, Hannah and Dave seemed genuinely surprised that there were live people riding in the gondola, much less be able to recognize them. NBC's coverage started with a closeup of parade executive producer Robin Hall in the gondola. To me, it looked like a helium filled replica of a hot-air balloon despite what Hannah and Dave said.
I have to watch both channels if I want to see who is on the floats. The marching bands generally stop and play for CBS in Times Square but the floats cruise past and save their lip-synch performances for NBC in Herald Square. The bad weather created some unintentional comedy during the musical numbers at the end of the parade route. Raindrops on the NBC camera lenses made it look as if the skimpy costumes of the Rockettes were pixelized, just like during the unnecessary censorship bit on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." By flipping between the networks, it was apparent that CBS airs the parade out of sequence. They must record whatever happens during commercial breaks and play it back later.
The wind and rain almost kept the big balloons from flying this year. They stayed pretty close to the ground but at least we got to see them. If it were up to me, there would be more balloons. In fact, I would enjoy an all-balloon parade. CBS showed a factoid that said that if put end to end, the balloons from the past 80 years would stretch the length of Manhattan island.
The Macy's balloons are rich in detail. Their faces are usually sculpted rather than painted on. Sometimes less-detailed balloons turn up in other places like the Dogwood Arts Festival Parade in Knoxville. I just learned that there are balloon parades in Springfield, Massachusetts and Stamford, Connecticut.
If I were buying or renting a parade balloon, I would want one that's horizontal, not vertical. On days like today, the vertical ones look ridiculous at low altitude. I still prefer the balloons that look like they should be flying. In the '70s, the Underdog balloon flew while the Superman balloon stood with his hands on his hips. The man of helium filled steel was eventually redesigned in the '80s.
So which was the best balloon in this year's parade? I liked Super Grover and Scooby-Doo. How about you?
Labels: celebrities, holidays, parades, Thanksgiving, TV
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
waiting for the parade to start
I braved the crowd at Sam's Club to buy some fresh salad and broccoli for my lunch today. The brand of broccoli I prefer comes in a bag with a "BreatheWay" panel near the top. When we would open the bag at the top, it only took a few salads before the level of florets dropped below the BreatheWay panel, rendering it useless. By opening the bag at the bottom, we found that the broccoli stays fresh longer thanks to the special membrane.
Tomorrow will be the second Thanksgiving since my wife and I began doing endorsement spots for LA Weight Loss. Because of my work schedule, we're staying home this year. We're not having any guests either so there's no need to make any stuffing with our turkey breast. At this point, I would rather eat the right way to maintain my weight than splurge on a plate full of Mrs. Cubbison's. One thing I'll miss is the rice stuffed pumpkin that our friends Anja & Charlie used to serve every Thanksgiving. On yeah, instead of pie, we'll have baked apples with some Splenda on top.
Labels: food, holidays, Thanksgiving, travel, weight loss
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
gone tubing
Labels: Internet, The Office, TV
Monday, November 20, 2006
old buddy old pal
I thought the snowflakes might make a nice backdrop for a photo of a new marshmallow candy that my wife bought for my Christmas stocking. Marshmallow Pals are made by Frankford Candy. They are decorated with icing, which gives them a lot more detail than Marshmallow Peeps. The shapes reminded me of the delicious marzipan candy that my sister's husband wants every Christmas.
There's no sign of the Christmas pals on the Frankford website but I did see some Marshmallow Pal bunnies and birds toward the bottom of their Easter page. A website called Groovy Candies sells a Halloween version of the Pals. I need to look up how much I'll have to swim to burn off the calories in each Marshmallow Pal. I recently learned that I would have to walk almost a mile per Pal.
Labels: Christmas, food, marshmallows, photos, weather
Sunday, November 19, 2006
har har har dee har har
The TV columnist for the Associated Press wrote about a possible backlash against TV networks that choose to cater only to the 18 to 49 year old demo. As the baby boomers turn 50, they feel overlooked by the channels they used to watch. David Bauder points out that there are enough boomers still alive to warrant a re-examination by the networks and their advertisers. I think smart comedy without an insulting laugh track is a step in the right direction.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
speaking of sports
Labels: GMU, high school football, Knoxville, MLB, NFL, photos, sports
Friday, November 17, 2006
dill or no dill
Betsy wrote an article in today's paper about "American Scary." You may recall that I've gotten to know the film's director, John E. Hudgens. He's the guy who made it look as if the Batmobile drove past us on local TV last week and as if we were working with a cardboard cutout or driving off in a computer generated car in weeks past.
My wife, our son and I still watch "Survivor" even though it takes some fancy TiVo maneuvering to record "The Office," "My Name is Earl" and "Smallville" at the same time. This season was a bit of a drag until last week's mutiny twist. I want Yul to win. He's one of my favorite Survivor players in a while. Betsy Pickle wrote a perfect analysis of the latest episode on her blog. If you're still watching the show, you should read what she wrote about the jury too. One of the players voted off this week is a make-up artist on "The View." Remember that time I wrote one of my favorite jokes ever about her?
Thursday, November 16, 2006
supermarket finds
Labels: chocolate, food, weight loss
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
one night only
The small crowd meant we were able to sit in my favorite stadium seats, three rows up and dead center. Betsy Pickle sat two rows behind us in seats that had been reserved for her by the public relations company. There were some same sex couples scattered throughout the auditorium. About 20 minutes after the movie started, a group of women arrived and found seats in the row in front of us. They talked throughout the film, especially when the characters started singing to each other. My wife, the music major, told me that those parts of a musical are call recitative in the classical world.
I liked the movie a lot. My wife really loved it. She wants the soundtrack album and the DVD when it comes out. I enjoyed the cameo appearances by Bobby Slayton, Jaleel White and John Krasinski. My only complaint was that Jennifer Hudson looked the same age at the end of the movie as she did at the beginning. The other characters aged a little more convincingly. Other than that, the former "American Idol" contestant did a great job acting and singing. Eddie Murphy's performance will definitely generate some Oscar buzz.
Labels: celebrities, movies
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
vrroom with a view
Monday, November 13, 2006
while supplies last
I've never been a Krispy Kreme addict but I used to eat them now and again before losing weight. I can't overlook the fact that my family and I attended the grand opening party at the Burbank location a few years ago.
The Hot Light Ornaments cost $1 if you also buy a dozen doughnuts. To maintain my current weight I could maybe eat half of a glazed chocolate cake doughnut every few days. The time when I would buy a dozen for the family is gone. Nor could I bring myself to pay $3 to get the plastic light-up ornament without the doughnuts. Maybe I would have if the design were printed on both sides instead of just one. Plus I kept thinking that the ornament was exactly the type of thing that used to be sent to me for free in press kits when I worked at radio stations in D.C. and L.A.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
don't cry
When I went back to Weigel's to buy a replacement gallon (and a small container of egg nog), I asked the clerk if they had received any complaints about defective milk containers. He didn't know of any but immediately pushed some buttons to void the transaction in the cash register. My replacement milk would be free of charge. The whole experience felt like it came right out of "In Search of Excellence." The clerk working the Sunday evening shift was entrusted to make a customer service decision on the spot. Potential employees are told that Weigel's operating standards are very high. They proved it to me tonight.
Labels: convenience stores, food, photos
Saturday, November 11, 2006
out of the coma
Thursday's Ear To The Ground column in the Metro Pulse had a small blurb about a celebrity spotting. They wrote that James Denton's entourage was seen going to Calhoun's before the game:
As they passed a barbecue booth, a plump LSU fan turned and gawked. The counterman waited for her, as she seemed for a moment unable to speak. But then she said, "Swear to God that looks just like Mike Delfino!" In fact, it wasn't the mysterious secret-agent plumber on "Desperate Housewives," but actor James Denton, who plays him on TV. Whispers of recognition rippled across the crowd as his party entered the restaurant. The actor seemed content to ignore it, but one older fellow in the group seemed to be enjoying his association with the celebrity. As they entered, he turned around and said, "“Yes, that's him!"Older fellow in the group? Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it feels like the local alternative weekly is a little jealous of the mainstream daily. They would have known that Denton was coming and that he would be hanging out with Terry Morrow.
A video interview on the New Sentinel site reveals that James was a morning deejay on the Metro Pulse's favorite radio station, WUTK. He also says that he often meets guys who act like they hate "Desperate Housewives" or guys who act like they don't recognize him while their girlfriends swoon.
I'll admit that I enjoy Denton's performance on "Desperate Housewives." But he was really good on a show called "Threat Matrix." I'm serious. It was a real show and I watched it. Mostly for Kelly Rutherford, but I watched it.
Labels: celebrities, college football, Knoxville, radio, TV
Friday, November 10, 2006
where fashion sits
Rachael is turning up everywhere. Her three shows on Food Network were not enough. She's also got a daily show on regular TV too. Ray interviews some celebrities and then cooks with them on the set. One of her previous shows had her traveling to the homes of celebrities to get the "Inside Dish with Rachael Ray."
Ross Crystal has accused Food Network of stealing his idea for visiting celebrities in their kitchens. I met Ross a couple of times when I worked in Los Angeles. Before that, I remember watching him on TV in Washington, DC. His lawsuit says that Food Network rejected his idea for a show called "Showbiz Chefs" but then used the same concept for "Inside Dish." Ross is asking for at least $150,000 in damages. Maybe Kevin & Bean can get in on that action too. They used to do a bit in the early '90s called "Celebrity Refrigerators," in which they took a portable audio recorder to the kitchens of the rich and famous.
I started by telling you that I was reminded of Tim because of something I saw at the supermarket. It was pictures of Rachael Ray plastered on the front of several brands of Nabisco crackers:
Labels: celebrities, food, photos, radio, TV
Thursday, November 09, 2006
checking e-mail
Einstein Simplified fan Tom sent me an invitation to join his Fantasy Moguls league. It's like fantasy football except with movie stars. It sounds like fun but there are a few other things I've wanted to get done first like adding Technorati tags to all my old blog entries and writing a vanity posting on Wikipedia. And reorganizing my dresser drawers.
A blog reader named Seth sent me one of those email forwards that only Michael Scott would enjoy. I had seen it before so instead of looking at it again, I clicked around Seth's website and found a photo of somebody standing in front of a giant Mr. T statue at Bonnaroo. I need to find out what they did with it after the festival so I can get my picture made with it too.
Labels: celebrities, Internet, music
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
go shorty, sip Bacardi
When our daughter was born, my wife and I had every intention of calling her Kathleen. But when we first laid eyes on her, she didn't look like a Kathleen. She looked like a Megan or a Meagan or maybe a Meghan. We still have the piece of WAVA notepaper on which I wrote out several different spellings of the name before we settled on Meaghan. I don't really know why. It might have been because it looked more Irish. It might have been because I didn't want her name to contain the word "mega." I remembered working with a girl named Megan who was called "mega" behind her back.
I recently read "Freakonomics," an entertaining book that uses economics to explain many aspects of modern life. The last chapter looks at baby names and the impact those names have (or don't have) when the kids grow up. The authors find a pattern of names that catch on with high income, highly educated parents and then work their way down the socioeconomic ladder until they drop out of favor.
It's safe to assume that the people who make the little license plates keep track of the trends. Instead of printing Susan and Lisa plates, they moved on to Jennifer and Sarah and then to Amber and Heather. More recently it was Emily and Hannah at the top of the list.
What about the Jaydens of the world? There seem to be more and more unique baby names. While at the supermarket, I spotted a CD rack selling "Songs About Me." Each CD is customized to include lyrics with a specific child's name. Many of the CDs I saw had names that are not on the list of the most popular. The CD is a nice treat for kids with names like Cheyenne or Callan who might never see their name on a gift shop license plate. Or it would be if the songs were good.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
random updates on recent postings
Local deejay Gretchen did turn up on the Ralphie May special. If you TiVo-ed it, you can see a close up of her sitting in the audience at about 23 minutes into the show. The Tennessee Theatre looks great on TV. More specials should be filmed there.
After I mentioned John D. Becker and the Oregon Catholic Press, I remembered that the new anchorman at WBIR was also named John Becker and that he had moved here from Oregon. Was he any relation? I sent him an email through the station's website to find out. He replied promptly to say that he wasn't related to John D. but hoped to somehow claim a relation to Boris.
Because he retired his own blog, my friend Bean sent me an email so I could be the one to tell you about International Save Pluto Day. Mark your calendars for February 4, 2007.
I saw a commercial for a video game at the movie theatre while I waited for the early screening of "Borat" to start yesterday. The ad showed scenes from a fairly violent game called "Gears of War" while a soft, sad song played. It was "Mad World" by Gary Jules, which I wrote about when it was used on an episode of "C.S.I." Several people have found their way to my site after searching for information about that song.
There were long lines at my polling place today. I think it was partly due to voter turnout and partly due to the amount of time it takes to dial through all the choices on the eSlate machines. Now that it's Election Day, the political telemarketing calls will finally stop. There are things I do like and don't like about each of the U.S. Senate candidates which made my decision in that race difficult. What about the company they keep? Over the past weeks, I've picked up the phone to hear famous voices from both parties urging me to vote for their man. Would I rather vote for the candidate endorsed by Phil Bredesen or the one endorsed by Laura Bush? Hmm... still undecided. How about the one endorsed by Bill Clinton or the one endorsed by Rudy Giuliani? That could be enough to sway me.
Labels: Catholic, Knoxville, movies, music, news anchors, politics, The Office, TV
Monday, November 06, 2006
circumstances beyond my control
Three Christmas music things happened to me today. The new Christmas CD from Richard Cheese arrived in the mail. I read the fine print inside the CD cover and was delighted to find my name on the list of people he thanked. You should buy a copy and show Richard that he was right to include me. I've been looking forward to the disc for a while.
A caller told me today was the day that EZ88 switched to its annual all Christmas music format. I tuned in for a while and heard my friend Mike Blakemore introducing "O Little Town of Bethlehem."
An email from a friend suggested that I check out Billy Idol's website. Billy has recorded an album of Christmas songs but unfortunately didn't do them in Billy Idol style. Wouldn't it have been great to hear a version of "White Christmas" that sounded more like "White Wedding?" EZ88 probably wouldn't play it though.
Labels: Christmas, holidays, music, parades, Thanksgiving
Sunday, November 05, 2006
special teams
At the beginning of the season, I was doubtful that we would see very many Redskins games on local TV. So far we've seen more than I expected and there's a good chance we'll get next week's game against the Eagles too.
Today's game was the featured matchup on Fox which means that Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were the ones to
After the game, Terry Bradshaw stumbled his way through the highlights of all the early games. To me it sounds like they add a fake crowd noise track. I noticed the same thing last weekend while watching the local version of the George Michael Sports Machine. Why is this necessary? Do they think that the added sounds make the highlights more exciting?
Labels: NFL, TV, Washington DC
Saturday, November 04, 2006
put on your saris
In next week's episode of "The Office" Jan tells Michael that the Scranton branch will be shutting down. Of course, that can't happen without ending the series. Maybe they'll close the Stamford office instead and Jim will move back to Pam, uh I mean Scranton.
Labels: radio, The Office, TV
Friday, November 03, 2006
why did Bambi's mother cross the road?
Speaking of road kill, Catholic High steamrolled over Gibbs in the first round of the playoffs tonight.
Labels: convenience stores, photos, travel
Thursday, November 02, 2006
after life
You've probably never worried about what will happen to your email after you die. CNET News ran a story a few weeks back about taking your passwords to the grave. Some email providers will give your password to your survivors upon proof of your passing. If I were to die unexpectedly, I would want my wife to post something about it here on the blog, which means I have to make sure she can find the necessary passwords.
I once wrote that I wanted our friend Mary K. to sing my favorite arrangement of the "Litany of the Saints" at my funeral. Last night I heard my wife sing it beautifully at the All Saints Day Mass. If Mary K. isn't available, my wife could do the honors although I had already asked her to sing "Ave Maria." The "Litany of the Saints" turns up in my blog search results occasionally, including a couple of times this week. The litany music that I like so much is by John D. Becker.
After the death of proprietor Robert Martin, I was worried about the future of my favorite BBQ place. His family members kept the place open and continued serving great food. Every year at this time they would put up a sign announcing the date they will close for the winter. Well here's huge news. The sign went up today but it said that M&M Catering will now remain open all year long!