If You Don't Watch TV You're Nuts

Yet another article about TV and its affects.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080904/sc_livescience/outtherepeoplewholivewithouttv


It basically says people who don't watch TV have less greedy kids and enjoy their neighborhoods more.

They're also extremists like crazy-hypocritical religious right-wingers and tree-hugging left wingers. I would add to that list most gang members and other criminals tend to hang out on corners rather than watch TV. Very few TV addicts are waiting in Central Park ready to mug you.

So now what to do?
I watch TV and become more informed and greedy or do I stop watching and become myopic and selfish.

Hiding behind the chant USA!USA!USA won't make the truth go away.
http://digg.com/television/Jon_Stewart_Annihilates_Sarah_Palin_s_Media_Surrogates

Kids, Cops, and U.K. Stereotypes

90120: We're Not in Kansas Anymore
So was it me or did that kid from Degrassi have some odd conversations with her adopted brother. I mean in a bikini, on his bed, and about naughty sex. They do make a cute couple.
The show was slightly interesting but typical of a soap. The acting was one of the worst I've seen in years. Okay now I can just wait for the series finale to see how it ends.

The Shield: Coefficient of Drag
Intense acting plus tons of blood equals series finale.
It was good but the names of the bad guys are incomprehensible.

• Zadofian
• Luis Aramboles
• Beth Insardi
• Ellis Rezian
• Cruz Pezuela

Autumn Chiklis is the actual daughter of the star of the show and plays his daughter on the show, freaky.


Bones: Yanks in the U.K.
Bones goes to speak at Oxford University and wouldn't you know someone dies. The first half of this two hour episode was nice and sweet with love blooming and life amongst death. Then the second half started and every lovely moment from the first half was destroyed.

The shows jokes consisted mostly of the rude Americans running around making fun of the British. It was funny plus I learned a truck is called lorry??? Who knew...well maybe some British people knew.

Daily Show: September 3, 2008
I'm not watching the political conventions since it's just hot air blowing used to elected. What was great were all the hypocritical moments shown on today's episode.
Nice to see so many quotes directly contraindicating themselves just because of the new VP candidate.

Prison Break

Scylla
Breaking & Entering

Two episodes back to back for this less than stellar season premiere. After a month worth of spoiler commercials that showed Sarah is not dead.

All the other guys who survived last season are back. These episodes were leading to the big heist they will complete this season. There were so many obvious set-ups that made a simple job complicated that after I fell asleep and woke up I did not lose my place in the show.



What is Gossip Girl? No seriously. Why the hell am I flooded with ads for this show about twentysomething high schoolers? The news just called this show ground breaking. Unlike 90210 that actually had a diverse audience I only see pre-teens talking about this show. Just because your audience is rabid doesn't mean the show is great. Look at Sci-Fi.

Seasonal Premiere

September 1 starts all the new shows and the season premieres will roll on until the end of October.

Now that I have little free time and by October I'll have none. My shows will be watched any time I have 45 minutes to waste so TiVo will be my best friend.

Ain't that lil' guy great.

Monday Sept. 1
Prison Break yes it has jumped the shark after the first season but let's see how ridiculous it gets.

Tuesday Sept. 2
90210 I never watched the original except for the pilot and last episode. The middle stuff was unwatchable. I will do that again.

The Shield hell yes. Nothing like bad guys and bad cops in a series finale, they can all die.

General Hospital: Night Shift mind-numbing soapy goodness.

Wednesday Sept. 3
Bones is back and in London take that Scotland Yard.

Thursday Sept. 4
Kitchen Nightmares I like seeing people getting yelled plus I think I've ate in a few of these places.

Redskins at Giants the first game of the season.

Friday Sept. 5
Samurai Girl some teen thing that is supposed to be like the Karate Kid, who knows I'll give it a shot.

Monk has it's 100 episode and Psych is new. So is Stargate Atlantis.

Stand Up To Cancer a multi-channel event, let's see who cries.

Saturday Sept. 6
Cops starts its 21 season back in the town it showcased in season 1.

Sunday Sept. 7
True Blood another teen thing except about vampires.

Jets at Miami and Brett Faveerrre, I'll get that right once he starts winning.

I listed them here mostly because I tend to forget during the semester and need a place to quickly see what I have recorded back at home.

America won the Olympics, yeah.

Out of 17 days of Olympics that is 408 hours I saw maybe 8 hours missing the other 400.

I've yet to see the closing ceremonies so can't comment on that.

I didn't watch any basketball because Kobe Bryant was there and he's despicable.

My highlights were...

This guy is an incredible athlete and I know many Jamacians and completely get his sense of humor.

Micheal Phelps is another athletic monster I actually watched some of his races and seriously he's ridiculously good.

Ara Abrahamian he rightfully got mad when denied his rightful medal. Nice to see someone with passion.

Also so many first time winners.

Next on to Vancouver in 2010 then London in 2012.

Not Again

Yet another one of my favorite actors is dead. This has not been a good month for TV fans. The man was only 56! It was freakin' pancreatic cancer.

Julius Carry starred in over 100 roles he was known as a character actor. While I have a disdain for the term character actor his roles were definitely unique.

Back in 1994 two shows were on FOX and both had low ratings, Party of Five and The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.. Only one could survive but the teenage girls wrote more letters then the nerds so The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. starring Julius Carry was canceled.


He placed a rich bounty hunting lord after a futuristic end of the world type device, like a western X-Files.

He also starred as Sho'Nuff in on of my all-time favorite B-movies, The Last Dragon.

Carry wasn't limited to cheesy Sci-Fi and here is a sample of all the shows I enjoyed that he also appeared...

• Benson
• The Jeffersons
• The A-Team
• Fame
• Moonlighting
• It's a Living
• 227
• Doctor Doctor
• Family Matters
• A Different World
• Empty Nest
• Earth 2
• Grace Under Fire
• Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place he was the pizza place then disappeared after the 2nd season
• Caroline in the City
• Murphy Brown
• Boy Meets World
  
• Spin City

Sure I loved a lot of shows but this was the late 80s and early 90s the hiegt of watrchable television.

The Cho Show

Yes reality has hit a new low. This awfully copy of the Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List features the once funny Margaret Cho and her odd posse.

The Cho Show has a third premiere on VH-1 today, I saw it on the LOGO station on Monday and they have it online at LOGOonline.com all the time.

Why is the show bad...

1. Exact copy of existing show.
2. Lightly scripted situations and set-ups.
3. Use of family for shock value.
4. Straight up fake scenes.

Granted Denise Richards does the same but at least she doesn't claim to be funny.

Watch Flight of the Conchords if you want abnormal comedy.

Christina Applegate

In an interview Christina Applegate who is successfully battled breast cancer announced she had a double mastectomy three weeks ago.

I know a little science so although the cancer was limited to one breast because of her BRCA1 gene she would 100% get cancer again. Now while I'm against preemptive surgery I'm sure unlike most who have this done she actually gave this good thought.

The problem with this type of choice is that the bad gene is still in her and will eventually show up again and with little breast tissue to mutate it will head straight for the lungs.

Her show Samantha Who? is one of my new favorites and wish her the best. No should face such a grim diagnoses let alone someone this talented.

On September 5th at 8PM on ABC, NBC, and CBS will have simultaneous broadcast of the Stand Up To Cancer special. Hopefully they will have as much on the emerging technology as well as entertainment.

Local News: Breaking Nothing

Over the years the local news has appeared in my section of New York City many times. They only appear for two reasons either an officer was hurt or a baby was abandoned, kind of depressing.

We get all the news van from NY1, CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, CW11, and UNIvision.

While I generally ignore the stories I do like seeing the pre-air rituals each reporter has.


NBC: I felt bad for these guys because every nut in the area kept asking them questions, they sent out 3 people who were all overly dressed.

Dianna Russini looks more club ready plus if you ever heard hear speak you'd guess she is a heavy smoker.
The other NBC guys were well suited but it was at 5:00AM and the image came out too dark.

FOX: There reporter Nicole Johnston was not dressed as sleek but she spent every free second over the next few hours doing her hair and make-up. Again a night shot so my camera underperformed.


CBS: This reporter was the best she was quick and kind of flighty. Carolyn Costello actually made an on-air error with the victim's name and as soon as the camera was off she recognized it and laughed with the camera guy.

Before going back on she enters a trance.

Apparently it was too relaxing.

Best yawn ever!

I noticed on her notepad that not everything written were important notes.

Flip-flops and painted toes, how cute.

The rest of the reporters were either out of range or just stayed in the news van for most of the time.

I know Spanish

So I was for the final time transferring an episode of John From Cincinnati from my TiVo to my last VHS tape. Why? Force of habit that I will no longer do. I always recorded the last episodes of my favorite TV shows because back in the days if you missed the finale you would never see it again especially as it originally aired.

While doing the transfer the VCR displayed a most obscene message in Spanish...

To translate it the second line it says "John F for the sh*t and p of...."

Now I know the show was crappy but why the foul language. Even in recording this show is still mysterious.

Playing Tourist

Occasionally because of my 12 hour a day TV habit and then months of mind numbing engineering workload I forget I live in NYC.

So to keep it real I play tourist. Last time it was at Governors Island now Saturday it was at the American Museum of Natural History, then a quick pass through Central Park, and finally see what's new a the Columbus Circle.

Thanks all that is great in technology because even with my 3 year old camera I took 542 images. For those of you not old enough to remember if this were film it could take a backpack full of boxes and about $100 in 1982 money.

Here are a few select images for mostly my enjoyment.

The front of the AMNH.
They're having a horse exhibit and some painted horses surround the museum.

Love the gorilla in the Akeley Hall of African Mammals.

No wonder they died off they're to skinny.

Imagine when they sneezed.

One of my favorite animals is that on that is outlined, imagine the size of that beast.

Even these mammoths were small compared to that last beast.

This is part of the Horse Exhibit, shhh no cameras allowed.

Great rodeo posters.

Here finally an image of me, enjoy.

Lizards and Snakes: Alive! another exhibit except everything here is unstuffed and living.

I see why so many get bit these things are so still.

My second favorite image of this vibrant green snake.

The Canadian Lynx is hunting a little rabbit that is too dark to picture.

Moose fight.

Two bears and a fish soon on FOX.

Guggenheim Hall of Minerals they have some stunning pieces.

For you Olympic fans here is the original gold, silver, and copper.

On to the Rose Center for Earth and Space where I saw Cosmic Collision.
It was the best documentary I've seen in a while, narrated by Robert Redford.

Regular rhinos, they have such sad eyes.

Right before the last call at 5:45PM I took this picture of frogs in action, these are stuffed.

Across the street in Central Park they were given balloon rides.

For $25 you can go up on a tethered balloon and hope the line doesn't break.

Ok, I got no idea why this bride was dragging her dress through the park but the bottom of the dress was filthy.

At the Columbus Circle Time-Warner shopping Center we are remind that it ain't a mall.

Street scene a must when talking about NYC.

Inside the mall shopping center very nice, but none of the books I wanted were there.

I saw four exhibits in the AMNH but I had a ticket if you didn't have one it would be about $80. Plus a simple lunch in the museum cost about $25. Just a fair waring.