smays.com

Sikeston insurance salesman belts out opera on AGT

It's always fun to showcase talent from "down home." Neal E. Boyd is from Sikeston which is just up the road (from Kennett, MO) in Sikeston, where he's an insurance salesman.

He's also a competitor on American's Got Talent, the show I've (never watched) but always thought of as the poor man's American Idol. Neal sings opera.

And from our Small World File, Neal attended choir camp at Arkansas State University under the direction of my old friend Viretta and he sang at the Christmas Eve service of the Presbyterian Church in Kennett a couple of years back. A gig made famous by frequent appearances by Sheryl Crow. [Thanks, Nancy]

"Pluck your magic twanger, Froggie."

That phrase came to me in a dream last night. People of a certain age might remember it from a Saturday morning TV show (1955-1960) called Andie's Gang, starring Andy Devine.

It's a little difficult to explain the phrase, and Froggie. Someone off camera would say the words, "Pluck your magic twanger, Froggie," and a rubber fog, about 10 inches high, would appear in a cloud of smoke.

I had a Froggie. There was a little noise maker in the heel of one shoe and when you squeezed Froggie, he made a cool croaking sound.

I only mention because the phrase would make for a good T-Shirt. And maybe we can become the number one hit from a Google search (since there are only 6 hits at present).

Dwight's Fitness Orb

What is it with the Apple logo on TV?

"Sex and the City's" Miranda, Cynthia Nixon, sat down with Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday night to promote her blockbuster chick flick. Jimmy brought out his laptop partway through the interview for an online multiple choice quiz, which decides which of the four main SATC characters the taker is most like."

I started noticing this after I turned in to a Mac fanboy. What's the big deal about masking the Apple logo? I guess they'd mask any recognizable brand logo. The difference is how distinctive the MacBook is. But maybe that's true only of Mac fans. To everyone else, it's just a laptop.

So here's today's assignment: Name another product that is equally recognizable (without seeing the brand logo). Begin.

One more good thing about being 60

Stick around for the finish.

New media can't get here soon enough

Proto-blogger Dave Winer thinks the real problem revealed by Scott McClellan's new tell-all book is that the press was complicit in beating the Iraq war drum:

"But corporate-owned media isn't interested in helping us make decisions as a country, they're only interested in ad revenue. That's why it's so important that we're creating new media that isn't so conflicted, and why the question of whether bloggers run ads or not is far from a trivial issue."

When it comes to national media, there really are not that many outlets that need to be manipulated. Four TV networks; maybe that many cable news channels; a handful of newspapers with national reach. If you can juke them, you've got a lot of the country juked.

The sooner their influence is diminished, the better. There will no longer be even the illusion of "national media" and people will have to work (a little) at being informed. Sure, the willfully clueless will still head for blogs and news sites that confirm their view. But the rest of us will stop trusting (if we haven't already) news organizations that are child's play for political spin-miesters.

Mike Spooner: Creator of Worlds

Remember that kid that sat behind you grade school that was always drawing? Ever wonder what happened to him? Well, if he (or she) was as talented as Michael Spooner, he did okay.

Michael (we knew him as Mike back then) and I were classmates 45 years ago in Kennett, MO. Michael and I ran in different crowds but Kennett was a small place and everybody knew everybody.

In a previous post I mentioned that Michael stumbled across smays.com a few days ago and pinged me. He included some old snapshots and his resume, to let me know what he's been up to.

He got into animation as a  Layout Artist with Ralph Bakshi’s feature production of Tolkien’s, Lord of the Rings. He spent some years at Disney where he worked on --just to name a few-- Goof Troop, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Emperor's New Groove, Treasure Planet and Lilo and Stitch. He also assisted on early development design of Dreamworks' Shrek. And he Co-Art Directed Warner Brothers first full-length animated feature, Quest for Camelot. If you have kids or an appreciation for animation, check out his bio. He was also kind enough to share a dozen or so examples of his work.

I called Michael up this morning and asked him to share some of his adventures and we wound up talking for an hour. I've cut the interview into three segments about about 20 minutes each.

Download Interview-part1.mp3

Download Interview-part2.mp3

Download Interview-part3.mp3

Today, Michael owns Spoonerville Animation Design, an independent visual development studio, providing both traditional and CGI design concepts and lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with his writer-wife Beverly, and son Philip. Michael is a visiting artist and lecturer, presenting in universities, art schools and animation studios throughout the United States.

Download Interview-part1.mp3

Download Interview-part2.mp3

Download Interview-part3.mp3

Today, Michael owns Spoonerville Animation Design, an independent visual development studio, providing both traditional and CGI design concepts and lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with his writer-wife Beverly, and son Philip. Michael is a visiting artist and lecturer, presenting in universities, art schools and animation studios throughout the United States.

Download Interview-part2.mp3

Download Interview-part3.mp3

Today, Michael owns Spoonerville Animation Design, an independent visual development studio, providing both traditional and CGI design concepts and lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with his writer-wife Beverly, and son Philip. Michael is a visiting artist and lecturer, presenting in universities, art schools and animation studios throughout the United States.

Download Interview-part3.mp3

Today, Michael owns Spoonerville Animation Design, an independent visual development studio, providing both traditional and CGI design concepts and lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with his writer-wife Beverly, and son Philip. Michael is a visiting artist and lecturer, presenting in universities, art schools and animation studios throughout the United States.

Goodnight, Chet. Goodnight, David.

Lost Remote's s Cory Bergman thinks J-schools should downplay anchor careers:

"Journalism schools, as a public service, should strongly discourage students from pursuing an anchoring career. The emphasis should be on the “do-it-all” multimedia journalist who can produce, report, write, shoot and edit both on TV and the web. Flexibility is key."

And if you need another reason to be discouraged from pursuing a career as an anchor...

When I get famous, I'm gonna be a dick, too.

From Huffington Post: "It should come as no surprise that Bill O'Reilly has always been a screamer, but it's always nice to have video proof. Below, watch a vintage meltdown from his "Inside Edition" days that has just resurfaced (via Gawker), in which he freaks out over bad writing on the teleprompter and unleashed an obscenity-laced tirade towards the writer. [My original link was to YouTube. They pulled that. You can watch Big Bill go ape shit here.]

Dwight Schrute's org chart

Fans of NBC's The Office will want to take a good, close look at the org chart of Dunder Mifflin's Scranton Branch [nice, big PDF]. Prepared with meticulous care by Dwight K. Schrute. [Thanks, John]

A few lines from last night's 30 Rock

"My cologne is distilled from the bilge water of Rupert Murdoch's yacht."

"When I find something I want, I don't let go. Like a Killer Whale going nuts on his trainer at Sea World."

"A stripper offered to give me a squeezer last night. A white stripper!"

"Save it for your iVillage blog."

"If reality TV has taught us anything, it's you can't keep people with no values down."

Daily Show "documentary" about Fox News

The Daily Show's John Oliver put together a stunning smackdown of Fox News on last night's show [Part 1, Part 2]. Fox News is a problem for me. I have some friends who genuinely believe Fox is really "fair and balanced."

I can understand their blind allegiance to Bush... in the same way I understood the mass suicide at Jonestown or members of the Heaven's Gate cult cutting off their testicles and offing themselves in order to leave their bodily "containers" and enter an alien spacecraft hidden behind Comet Hale-Bopp.

But really buying the shit Fox News broadcasts requires a scary kind of intellectual hysterical blindness. So, I find myself talking to them in carefully measured phrases, designed to keep us on safe ground. Because if we stray into current events and they source Fox to support some idiot neocon idea, I can keep my tongue, but they're liable to see the pity in my eyes. And I need every friend I can find... even the misinformed.

Clay Shirky on Colbert Report

Tracy Morgan funnier than I thought

I almost never watch Saturday Night Live. Just got out of the habit. Didn't find it amusing anymore. I've watched Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan on 30 Rock and fell in love with Tina. As for Tracy, not so much. Thought he was one of the weak elements of the show. But I think I've sold the man short. (And he's not afraid of Tina Fey)

This past Saturday, Tracy Morgan responded to Tina Fey’s promotion of Hillary Clinton three weeks ago with his own defense of Barack Obama.

MORGAN: Why is it that every time a black man in this country gets too good at something, there’s always someone come around and remind us that he’s black? First Tiger, then Donavan McNabb then me. Now Barack. I got a theory about that. It’s a little complicated but basically, it goes like this: we are a racist country. The end. It’s not the people in this room, but if we’re not a racist country, how did Hillary Clinton convince everybody in Texas and Ohio that Barack didn’t know how to answer the phone at 3 in the morning? Let me tell you something, Barack knows how to answer that phone. He’s not going to answer it like, (soft, frightened voice) “Hello, I’m scared. What’s going on?” He is gonna answer it like I would get a phone call at 3 in the morning: “Yeah, who’s this? This better be good or I’m going to come down there and put somebody in a wheelchair.”

Some things never change, Seth. People saying he’s not a fighter. Let me tell you something. He’s a gangsta, he’s from Chicago. Barack is not winning because he’s a black man. If that was the case, I would be winning. And I’m way blacker than him. I used to smoke Newports and drink Olde English. I grew up on government cheese, I prefer it. Now there’s all this stuff and all this talk about the pastor. Barack has to stay away from the pastor, ‘cause he’s too black. But just because he knows the dude doesn’t think…doesn’t mean that he’s gonna think like him. Look, I have a friend who goes to strip clubs, that doesn’t mean that I am gonna go to the strip club.

SETH MEYERS: But you do go to strip clubs.

MORGAN: Yeah, but I go for the girls, not because my friend is going. I have integrity. Barack is qualified. Personally, I want to know what qualifies Hillary Clinton to be the next president. Is it because she was married to the president? If that were the case then Robin Givens would be the heavyweight champion of the world. If Hillary’s last name wasn’t Clinton, she’d be some crazy white lady with too much money and not enough lovin’. That’s where I come in. I know women like that, you do not want them on the phone at 3 in the morning. In conclusion, three weeks ago, my girl Tina Fey went on the show, she declared that “bitch is the new black”. You know I love you, Tina. You know you’re my girl. But I have something to say. Bitch may be the new black, but black is the new president, bitch."

Nasty exchange between anchor and reporter

God, but I love stuff like this. Runs less than 2 min and the good part is final 40 seconds or so. According to the YouTube stats, the anchor has been seen for the dick he is more than 137,000 times. [Thanks to Mr. Sprague]

One more reason to like Obama

In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, Barack Obama says his favorite character on The Wire (which ends tonight), is Omar Little. Case closed. Life is a little less interesting without The Wire. [I saved this as an .mov file but it's a short audio clip]

Download barack-obama.mov

Omar's Obit

BALTIMORE—Omar Little, the veteran stick-up artist who inspired fear and fascination in drug-plagued neighborhoods across the city, was shot and killed in a west-side convenience store yesterday.Police said the assailant remained at large.

Famed for his brazen robberies of area drug dealers, Mr. Little had retired from what he called “the game” a year ago, moving to the Caribbean with a new romantic partner. But he apparently returned to Baltimore this winter to seek revenge following the brutal murder of a beloved business associate.

Fan's of Omar and The Wire will want to read the full obit. [Thanks, John]

"Sheeeeit"

Fans of The Wire will immediately recognize the signature expression of Senator Clay Davis. How sad that "he" started twittering (tweeting?) so near the end of this great HBO program. [via Andy]

What happens when nobody needs a TV

That's the question posed in this post by Corey Bergman at Lost Remote:

Last week, a Broadcasting & Cable editorial warned that TV newscasts could follow the way of the newspaper.  This week, B&C’s Jennifer Yarter asks, “What happens when the web starts to replace the television?” Yarter said the catalyst of her column was a dinner with a group of tech-savvy 20-somethings who said they don’t watch TV or even subscribe to cable or satellite. They just watch whatever they want online. Yarter writes, “Most of these young adults are falling into a new territory of media consumption that could potentially eliminate the need for local television stations.”

Absolutely, and consider this: the only thing that most local TV stations produce is local news. Local TV news in its current form, when translated online, looks very similar to everyone else’s news. If it’s not truly original or unique, it’s a commodity (especially in aggregated environments). And as more people get their local news online instead of making an appointment to watch it on TV, revenue loss will accelerate. A solution here is to start producing original content that bridges platforms — that’s unique enough to not only to attract an audience but create fans. Fans are people who accept no substitutes. Can local TV news, by itself, create this kind of online loyalty? I don’t believe so. It will require new, innovative, locally-produced niche programming that spans TV, mobile and the web. In other words, a whole new approach. Similar to the newspapers, it will be a matter of survival.

I keep asking myself why nobody in a position to do so, is tackling this. The answer I keep coming up with, time after time is that reinventing your TV station (or your radio station) for the new world we're in is --in the short term-- risky and expensive. And the decision makers are close enough to retirement (or have their fuck-you money put aside) that they have decided (even if they haven't admitted it aloud) to manage their stations to "a profitable demise." Milk the cash cow until Bossie goes dry.

TV will never be the same

Gave the Apple TV (Take 2) a good test drive last night by watching Ratatouille. I don't think I rented the high def version but this was still as sharp and clear as anything I've watched since getting this TV.

Just to be sure, I rented The Brave One in high def and could see by the progress bar that it was going to take a while to download. But within a minute or two, a message came on that said we could start watching the movie. Once enough of the file has downloaded to buffer, you're good to go.

I've also been sampling more video podcasts. The Apple TV makes this so easy it didn't dawn on me right away, but I don't have to subscribe to these podcasts. I can, but it's not necessary. I can just hit play. On the latest episode or previous ones.

When I try to describe Apple TV, people say, "How is that different than Tivo?" Tivo is great for recording network or cable shows, but there's a world of stuff online that will never make it to network or cable. And Apple TV has made it drop-dead easy to watch these programs on the big screen. Think plugging your TV into the Internet.

Apple TV. Take Two.

I think they got it right this time. My Apple TV brings the net to my living room. I can rent movies, buy TV shows and music, watch podcasts and YouTube videos and view photos from Flickr (mine or anyone else's).

I can Tivo all my favorite shows and watch them when I want but the new Apple TV feels like a very different viewing experience. Give me a week or two to get familiar with it. I'm looking forward to watching more video podcasts. This might be the future of TV. Smarter folk than I seem to agree.

Need help with Deadwood clip

I'm looking for someone with Deadwood DVD's. Not sure which season it was in (I saw it in 2005), but the scene where Swearengen passes the kidney stone. If you have it (own or rent), please get in touch. I've got a busted link in a post from 2005 that I need to fix.

Obama campaign promises

Esteban Colberto interviews Lou Dobbs

Writers strike? What writers strike?

Amazing nail juggle with hammer

If this is faked, please let me know how it was done. [Bouncing the nail on the hammer is real. Whacking it in the the wall is sfx. See comment below by Scot Nery, the guy in the video] At the end of the short clip [VIDEO], it appears the guy (a street performer from Seattle?) Scot swings and hits the nail --in mid-air-- driving in to something across the room. Did it take 30 takes to get this... or did he --wait for it, wait for it-- nail it the first time? I spotted this on an HGTV promo and he did a couple of other tricks. It would appear they hired him. Smart.  [Scot's YouTube page]

What do real thugs think of The Wire?

Sudhir Venkatesh knows a thing or two about street gangs and got some New York thugs together to watch the season opener of The Wire to get their take on the show and the characters. From his Freakonomics blog post:

"For the first episode, we gathered in the Harlem apartment of Shine, a 43-year-old half Dominican, half African-American man who managed a gang for fifteen years before heading to prison for a ten-year drug trafficking sentence. I invited older guys like Shine, most of whom had retired from the drug trade, because they would have greater experience with rogue cops, political toughs, and everyone else that makes The Wire so appealing. They affectionately named our gathering “Thugs and ‘Cuz.” (I was told that the “‘cuz” — short for “cousin” — was for me.)

There was plenty of popcorn, ribs, bad domestic beer, and fried pork rinds with hot sauce on hand. The pork rinds, apparently the favorite of the American thug, ran out so quickly that one of the low-ranking gang members in attendance was dispatched to acquire several more bags."

What did the bad boys think? Bunk is on the take; McNulty and the Bunk will split and Prop Joe should whack Marlo. [Thanks, John]

Spoiled 15-year-old beauty queen

This clip from "Wife Swap" (via HuffPo) provides a scary look into the world of beauty queens. Alicia is the 15-year-old daughter of a former pageant queen, and she's following in her mom's footsteps.

Alicia's mom gets swapped for a feminist mom who values knowledge and independence. Alicia ain't happy.

This is so weird you almost think it's bogus, but something tells me this family is --sadly-- the real thing. The most unsettling part is that Alicia and her parents must have watched the episode of Wife Swap with no idea of how pathetic they appear.

And McNulty is drinking again

"The fifth and final season of 'The Wire' (January 6) centers on the media's role in addressing - or failing to address - the fundamental political, economic and social realities depicted over the course of the series, while also resolving storylines of the numerous characters woven throughout the narrative arc of the show.

This season of 'The Wire' is based in large part on series creator David Simon's experiences in 13 years at The Baltimore Sun. Simon decries recent trends in the newspaper industry that have conspired to make high-end journalism vulnerable: out-of-town chain ownership, an economic climate in which the share price of media companies matters more to industry leaders than the product itself, and a newsroom culture in which prizes, personal ambition and the cult of the "impact" story has replaced consistent and detailed coverage of complex issues as the primary goal."

It pains me when really good shows like The Sopranos (early seasons), Deadwood, and The Wire come to an end. But not as much as seeing them drag on after everyone (but the network accountants) stopped giving a shit.

The Daily Show, Colbert Report return sans writers

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, will return to their television shows on January 7 but will have to improvise their monologues and interviews without the help of their writing staffs.

In a statement, the two hosts said they would prefer to return to work with their writers. “If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence,” they stated.

500 channels and nothing on

I'm watching more TV these days. No, that's not accurate. I'm channel surfing more. I'm starting to get a Repetitive Stress Injury in my thumb, so I pulled up the DirecTV site where I could surf faster and with less pain. Still nothing I want to watch.

Although I did find a couple catchy titles on the Playboy Channel and and the JUCY (juicy?) Channel. Somewhere there are men (or women) making scheduling decisions for these channels:

"Damn! Those guys at JUCY are going with Strap-On Sexcapades at eight o'clock!"
"Strap-On 3?"
"No, Strap-On 4!"
"Crap! Okay, let's go with School of Hard Knockers."

The Extra Special Series Finale

Ricky Gervais, creator of the original The Office (BBC), is wrapping up his current HBO series, Extras, tomorrow night. After just 12 really good episodes, he's going to leave us wanting more. More.

1968 with Tom Brokaw

I was a sophomore in college in 1968. I think that much of who I am and what I believe today had it's roots in that amazing year. I was reminded of that as I watched Tom Brokaw's excellent documentary on the History Channel.

Short of some serious technological breakthrough, you will never experience 1968 (if you did not). This documentary is about as close as you'll come.

Airline: "We all have our baggage"

"Each episode of this fascinating series (A&E) showcases the highs and lows that passengers and crew face behind the scenes of Southwest Airlines. Follow Southwest Airlines pilots, flight attendants, and airport employees as they hear heartwarming passenger stories and experience occasional outbursts, weather-related anxiety, and heightened security measures all while trying to meet everyone's urgent timetable."

There are few things I hate more than air travel. The flight doesn't bother me. It's the associated hassle. I'd rather get a root canal.

So when the networks started running stories about what a shit storm it's gonna bet next week... I get a warm, rosy glow. Because I will NOT be traveling. If I lived in St. Louis or Kansas City, I might drive out to the airport and watch for an hour or two. Knowing that I can get in my car and drive away... mmmmm.

Now, tell me something disgusting about yourself.

The Office writers mock studios from picket line

As the writers' strike enters day three, some writers and producers are taking to the video sharing site YouTube to express their frustrations. A YouTube channel created by the Writers Guild of America, West posted a video titled "The Office is Closed" yesterday, featuring the off-camera writers and on-camera stars of the NBC comedy "The Office.

I don't pretend to understand the subtleties and issues surrounding the writers strike, but I do know that I'd be happy to pay $2 an episode (or $5) to get The Office online. This is just one more whitecap in the sea change going on in media. The web has shifted (IMHO) the power to the creators, away from the suits.

Let Larry King keep driving, but take away the show

On Thursday's "Larry King Live," the King asked Jerry if "Seinfeld" was canceled back in the day, and Jerry seemed genuinely shocked that Larry didn't know. "You think I got canceled?" Jerry shot back. "I was the number one show on television, Larry ... 75 million viewers in the last episode."

As Larry played it off and went to commercial, Jerry threw in one last zinger: "Can we get a resume in here for me for Larry to go over?"

Okay, Jerry's probably a bit frazzled from the endless promotion of The Bee Movie. And taking a (verbal) poke at an old man is never cool, but come on!

You can't remember if Seinfeld got canceled?! Time for some shuffleboard, LK. Watch the video at TMZ.com and judge for yourself.

Stephen Colbert on Meet the Press

Stephen Colbert appeared on "Meet the Press," with Tim Russert Sunday to talk about his recent announcement that he is running for president (only in South Carolina so far). Stephen assured the incredulous Russert  that he was very serious about his candidacy, and that this was not "a dream you will wake up from."

Rediscovering high school football

Cover story on Broadcasting & Cable looks at how some local TV stations are "rediscovering" high school football:

"Vital to high school football's rise in popularity is the fact that technology has finally reached a point where the typical teen, raised on YouTube, can easily upload video and share highlights from that night's game. Station managers say the interactive nature of new media -- whether it's user-generated video, scores or trash-talking -- is a critical component of their school content.

Hearst-Argyle Television has taken the interactive concept a step further, training students in seven markets to be “sideline reporters” for its social-networking platform High School Playbook. A total of 60 students shoot high-def cameras, edit and post their work on the Web site."

The good news --and the bad news-- is this is no longer the turf of any medium. I know TV, cable and newspapers are jumping in. I hope there are radio stations doing them same. How hard would it be?

Let's say there are 10 HS football teams within the range of my station's signal. I recruit and train 10 reporters (and 10 back-up's) on how to shoot/edit game highlights. They upload same to the station YouTube channel (sponsored, of course) and we promote like mad. Incentive? Maybe some pocket money. Best video of the season wins a video iPod (others get iPod Shuffles and iTunes gift cards).

The War

I've been watching The War, the Ken Burns documentary on PBS. The guy knows how to tell a story. Last night's episode included the internment of Japanese-Americans, and I could picture Dick and W looking at map, trying to decide where to put the camps for Muslim-Americans.

I was also reminded of my parents telling me that for a good part of WWII, they weren't sure they'd win. My father was a radio operator in the Navy and saw action in the Pacific, but he never talked about it. At least not to me.

I only have a hand full of pix from that era.

Kay reviews debate with Ron Livingston (and some other guys)

Kay Henderson was back in the digital Green Room following ABC News' debate this morning in Des Moines. The "other guys" in the headline were: Actor Ron Livingston; the LA Times' Mark Barabak; ABC News Political Director David Chalian and ABC News senior political reporter and author of "The Note" Rick Klein.”

Livingston is an Iowa native who gained international stardom with his leading role in the movie “Office Space.”  He was also one of Carrie’s boyfriends in “Sex & the City” plus he did a fine job in “Band of Brothers.”

At no time during the 9 minute video was Kay and Ron in the same frame.

Come quick, ma. Kay's on TV. Again.

Radio Iowa News Director O. Kay Henderson (friend and co-worker) took part in the autopsy following Sunday morning's debate by GOP candidates in Des Moines. The debate was hosted by ABC News' This Week. Following the live broadcast, Kay and three other reporters (I think they were all reporters) appeared in The Green Room segment [video].

Update: Others featured in the video are Rick Klein, ABC News senior political reporter; David Chalian, ABC News political director; Holly Bailey, Newsweek; Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune.

Mom! Come quick! Kay's on TV!

Every four years, the national media spotlight burns hot and heavy on Iowa. Never more so than this year. And savvy network reporters frequently call on Radio Iowa News Director Kay Henderson for on-the-ground perspective and insight.

She was part of an 8 minute segment on MSNBC's Hardball Wednesday night. The rest of the show pretty much sucked. Lance Armstrong's non-answers to Chris Matthews questions made Lance sound like the politician he will someday be. But someone at Hardball had the good sense to bring Kay on, so we'll forgive them the rest.

Radio Iowa is a Learfield network and I've worked with her for the past 20 years.

DVD: Not Just the Best of Larry Sanders

The Larry Sanders Show was a satirical television sitcom that aired from 1992 to 1998 on HBO, starring stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders. The series was partly inspired by Shandling's stint as a guest host on The Tonight Show.

The Larry Sanders Show is easily one of the best five TV shows of all time (I'm sorry, this is not open for debate). And now I own a DVD with 23 of "the best episodes" of the series as well as eight hours of new stuff. I'm going to try to hoard this like the last baggie of ganja but suspect I'll burn through these in a week or so. This is just one more reason why it's better to be me than you.

YouTube on AppleTV

I downloaded the YouTube update to AppleTV last night and watched some videos on the big (bigger) screen. Stupid videos are still stupid. Shitty quality videos still look shitty. And the good ones look pretty darned good. Watching "Internet video" on the big screen in the living room takes a little getting used to.

I had the sense that I was getting a peek at the future. Thousands of videos, downloaded from the Internet to my little AppleTV box. No idea what the business model will look like but this is disruptive technology. If I was the guy responsible for "scheduling" programs on a "TV network," I'd be nervous.

You'll find a real review at engadget.

Tony will live. Completely alone.

It seems The Big Question of the last few days is: Will Tony Soprano be alive or dead at the end of the season/series finale this evening? So, for the record, here's my prediction:

He survives. But he will be completely, existentially alone. No friends. No family. No one. I have no idea how this happens plot-wise, but that's my guess.

This series --and I was a fan-- should have ended a season or two ago. I hope Mr. Chase and the writers can find a way to end it with the same class it began.

Update: I was wrong. Not about Tony being alive at the end, but about being alone. The family was all together, eating onion rings. So what's David Chase telling us? You can be a self-centered, lying, murdering son of a bitch and live out your life without retribution? Who knows. And it's his call. He gave us all those great stories for eight years... if he wants to leave it hanging at the end, he's earned the right.

The Soup: "festering petri dish of celeb culture"

Talk Soup was a television show on E! from 1991-2002, featuring selected clips of the previous day's daily talk shows, surrounded by humorous commentary delivered by the host. This is where I first saw Greg Kinnear, who hosted the show from '91-95.

Somewhere along the way, E! changed the name from Talk Soup to The Soup and the current host is Joel McHale, who looks like a cross between a young Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Seacrest.

And he's damned funny. Funny in the way David Spade wants to be. Funny in the way Dennis Miller was before he went right-wing nuts. Funny like Jon Stewart with a dash of Matt Frewer.

24-second news cycle

"A typical News Moment segment includes seven seconds of lead stories, four seconds of developing news, the "International Second," "Weather on the 00:00:13s with Bob Van Dorn," "The Fastest Four Seconds in Sports," a two-second top stories recap, and wraps with four seconds of mixed entertainment and lifestyle pieces. In larger markets such as New York and Los Angeles, this last portion may be preempted by local news."

This brilliant send-up at theOnion.com reminded me of a recent promotional gimmick by one of the local TV outlets. Appears to be new enough that I can't find a reference on their website but it goes something like:

"We give you a full seven minutes of news before the first commercial break!"

I've been struggling to understand why that is something they're so proud of they mention it in the open to the newscast (Video: 10 sec Quicktime). The other stations have their first spot break 5 minutes in? I honestly don't get it. I'll record a clip and post it.

I can't post this (and sleep at night) without a word about the one-minute news "capsules" that air on all of our radio networks. I remember when our newscasts were five minutes (heck, I remember when we did a 15 minute newscast at seven in the morning). Then four. And now one. The only reason they are not shorter is we couldn't bolt on a 30 second commercial. [Onion pointer from Bob]

www.creedthoughts.gov/www.creedthoughts

The Office is a comedy. And a love story. And probably the funniest thing on television since Seinfeld. And I'm not sure it isn't the equal of Seinfeld.

Here's a little shout out to bloggers from last night's season finale. Here's what I could make out (freeze frame) of Creed's "blog" post:

"Hey-o, everyone out there in SyberWorld. It's old Creed Bratton coming at your again, here from my perch as a Quality Assurance Manager at Dunder Mifflin paper. Just a few observations on the world around me.

What do you guys think is the best kind of car? To me, you can't (off screen) motorcyles. They're small and dangerous.

I go..."

Did one of the writers compose that post? Did they let the actor who plays Creed write it? Did that someone know some blogger/fan would go to the trouble to post Creed's post? Am I the only person on the planet to do so? Is there another Beck's in the frig?

PS: Holy shit! The actor who plays Creed (Creed Bratton) was a member of the 60s rock band The Grassroots. I'm the only one that didn't know that, right?

Future of TV? Live video from your cell phone to the world

Podcasting News: "At the 2007 National Association of Broadcasters show, ComVu Media demonstrated live video transmitting at 30 fps at 640 x 480 resolution from a mobile phone over a wireless data network.

ComVu used its PocketCaster software to broadcast full screen video from a Nokia N95 multimedia device, transmitting over HSDPA data connection. Anyone using a Nokia N95 device -- including field reporters -- can now capture and broadcast video directly to air and concurrently stream live video to Web-portals, blogs and 3G-enabled phones. ComVu CEO William Mutual called the end-to-end solution “the future of news gathering worldwide.”

If I was running a news operation, I think I might invest in one of these and see if it's as cool as it sounds.

The X Files

Chemistry. Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn had it. Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd had it. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson had it. Who has that kind of chemistry today?

Just watched the last half of the movie and was reminded how good Scully and Mulder were together. Where are Duchovny and Anderson now? Duchovny became something of a parody of himself but I don't recall seeing much about Anderson. Good for her.

Gillian Anderson was white hot. She was put-a-sparkler-on-your-tounge hot. She wasn't Victoria's Secret beautiful...but she was leave-a-note-and-run-away-from-home sexy.

Can I purchase DVD's of The X Files? Let's hope so.

Radio doing TV News

"At WDEL-AM in Wilmington, Delaware, our reporters produce stories using video cameras instead of cassette recorders," news director Christopher Carl says in a comment on Poynter.org. "The audio is used on the radio. Reporters then produce video packages for out website - WDEL.com. WDEL.com users can then choose to watch individual video stories or a daily 10-minute video newscast. On weekends, users can watch a recap of the week’s big stories. Wilmington, DE is a a market with NO local commercial television station. [via CyberJournalist.net]