television Archives - Page 2 of 44

Continuation of Thankful

fixing the computer, sort of

This is a continuation of thankful, which I started last week. I’m not including the Thursday night choir rehearsals, Sunday morning church services, or events presented in some standalone posts, all of which would qualify.

DATE: Tuesday, the 11th. I was to meet Jim at an Albany restaurant, Ale and Oyster, a guy from far out of town visiting his adult daughter, who now lives in the Capital District. He opened the restaurant door and saw a black guy. He said, “Is your name Roger?” And it was! Just not the correct Roger.

We, including his daughter, ate. He and I swapped stories, some about the Beatles; he remembers the ABC-TV cartoon series better than I. His hometown didn’t have an ABC affiliate until 1970, whereas Binghamton got one in 1962, still later than the bigger cities. Hmm—I know most of the lyrics to Mister Ed, a show his daughter does not recall and I haven’t seen in decades. I was challenged to list the Presidents backwards; yes, I can do it.

Charter schools

Then onto the library. Ryane McAuliffe Straus discussed and read from her book, Divided by Choice: How Charter Schools Diminish Democracy. She based her work on a few dozen interviews involving parents and others in the Albany area. She pushed back on many of the racially tinged tropes about the Albany City School District; as well as being an academic, she’s also a mother of children who are or were students in the ACSD. Read the description on the NYU Press website.

Since she was formerly a professor of political science at Saint Rose College before it closed recently, it was not a surprise, but still that Smallbany thing, when one of the attendees knew people I knew; our church choir director had also worked at CSR.

DATE: Wednesday, the 12th: I went to see my allergist for my annual evaluation at Corporate (frickin’) Woods. While I like the new person – my previous provider warned me last year warned me two years running that she was going to retire – I don’t miss going to C(f)W.

Computer games

Then I went to Best Buy. My keyboard has been driving me crazy for several days. The J, Q, and Delete keys failed to operate. When I got to the Geek Squad counter, a man was berating the customer service rep because he had tried to make an appointment online but was unable to. I noted that I couldn’t either, but said it wasn’t the rep’s fault.

The irate customer said that he had driven two hours. He was told that he could make an appointment for three hours out, which he did.

The rep, addressing me, noticed that there was a cancellation for a slot in ten minutes and that they could try to help me. Though I said that I had owned my laptop for three or four years, he determined that it was built in 2018 – I had bought it secondhand – so they couldn’t help me. If they had sent it off, it would have cost me $85; it wouldn’t have been fixed, and I would have been out the 85 bucks.

Instead, he recommended that I buy a keyboard, which I discovered cost a whopping $12. Incidentally, the sales clerk was a friend of my daughter’s.

Since I had previously found a block to plug into my USB ports, I could utilize not only the keyboard but also my backup stick and a mouse, which I still love to use.

When I want to use voice recognition (Windows + h), all I have to do is unplug the whatchamcallit. It’s a clunky but workable solution.

Old friends

DATE: Thursday, the 13th. I had a 100-minute conversation with my oldest college friend. He may be coming up one of these days.

DATE: Friday, the 14th. I talked for 110 minutes to another old friend, a former comic book store customer with whom I’ve worked occasionally over the years. He subsequently texted me that my penny post led him to a “unique historical moment,” which pleased me greatly.

My wife and I went out to dinner at Suwan Thai on Western Avenue in honor of our lunaversary. We try to go out somewhere once a month. It keeps things fresh. But I should not order the spicy versions, I have determined.

I like going to that location. For years, I patronized the Ginger Man for decades until it closed in 2017. I used to live a block away.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday Stealing Tunes In

Dick Van Dyke

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week we’re stealing from Christina at Call Me Patsy. Back in 2008, she said this was the TV meme “that everyone has been doing.” Well, we don’t like to be left out.

Sunday Stealing Tunes In

1. Name a TV show you’ve seen every episode of.

For sure, The Dick Van Dyke Show; I watched the five seasons on DVD with my daughter. Probably I Love Lucy; ditto. The Twilight Zone, which I have on DVD. MASH.

2. On which device do you do most of your viewing (television, tablet, computer, phone)?

I have never been on the phone. A CBS Mornings anchor said they were watching MOVIES on the phone, and I shuddered. I have no tablet. The only time I’ve used the computer is when my wife wanted to watch TV. So television by a vast margin.

3. Name an actor/actress who would make you less likely to watch a show.

Can’t think of one.

I watched a LOT of TV.

4. When you were a kid, what show did you love?

There was a wide range of programs: Wonderful World of Disney, Andy Griffith Show, JEOPARDY, Password, The Defenders, Perry Mason, Ed Sullivan, Top Cat, The Smothers Brothers, The Wild Wild West, the aforementioned Twilight Zone, and the Dick Van Dyke Show.

5. What show do you recommend everyone watch?

I don’t. But I’ve long been fond of CBS Sunday Morning, a magazine of the air, since it premiered in 1979. Since I learned to use the VHS recorder, I generally record it to watch later.

6. What shows do your friends like, but you don’t?

I don’t really talk to my friends about their TV viewing habits. That said, it would probably be something in the horror genre.

7. When you watch TV, do you also busy yourself with something else (jigsaw puzzle, folding laundry, etc.)?

Not usually.

8. Do you eat a meal or snack while watching TV?

Maybe popcorn.

I love the word “genre”

9. What’s your preferred genre (comedy, drama, reality, etc.)?

Probably drama.

10. Do you prefer mini series (shows that tell their stories in a pre-determined number of episodes) or shows that come back season after season?

There are SO many shows that I have seen zero or one episode of that are on streaming services: Severance, Man On The Inside, The Morning Show, The Pitt, The Studio, English Teacher, Shrinking, Dying for Sex, Your Friends and Neighbors, and Hacks. I might like most of them, but I have no idea whether they’re ongoing or limited series.

Ten years ago, I read that there are more television episodes, excluding news, sports, and reruns, every day than hours in the day.

Slippery network affiliation

WBJA

Slippery Network Affiliation is essentially a repost from twenty years ago. I wrote about Gilmore Girls, then a favorite show of my wife and myself. The television coverage is no longer the same in northern New York. I’m fascinated that this was the first long post on this blog.

I had set the VCR to tape at home. But I neglected to tell my wife that she needed to put in a FRESH (just like the WB!) tape, and the incumbent tape ran out of space about 20 minutes into the show! (I would have changed it, except I was out of town.)

Since I was still in Lake Placid on Tuesday, I went to my room after the SBDC awards banquet at about 10 p.m., turned on the TV, flipped through the channels, and came across a Gilmore Girls episode. Initially, I assumed it was a rerun broadcast on ABC Family cable, but it soon became evident that it was THAT NIGHT’S episode, which I watched.

But why was it on at 10 p.m.? Was there some (amazingly rare) Presidential news conference or major catastrophe that backed up the programming?

Nah.

There is no WB affiliate in the Plattsburgh, NY/Burlington, VT television market, so WFFF in Burlington (actually Colchester), FOX 44, broadcasts the 8-10 pm WB shows from 10 pm to midnight!

Big city TV

Those of you in large markets may not appreciate this fully. When I was a kid, there were seven stations in New York City: 2 (CBS), 4 (NBC), 7 (ABC), 13 (PBS), and 5, 9, and 11 (all independents). Eventually, 5 became a Fox affiliate, 11 became the WB’s outlet, and 9 went with UPN (and moved to New Jersey).

(Incidentally, this numbering is why most fictional TV stations in those days were 3, 6, 8, or 12, the remaining numbers on the VHF dial, or some upper number on the UHF dial, Channels 14-83. WJM, Channel 12, Minneapolis, is most notable on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. And if you don’t know what the heck I mean by VHF and UHF, look here.)

Small town TV

But in a smaller market, such as Binghamton, NY, where I grew up (and at a time when there were only the three “major” networks), there were only two stations, WNBF, Channel 12 (CBS), and WINR, Channel 40 (NBC).

Then, one Saturday morning in the fall of 1962, I turned on the TV just before 7 a.m. to Channel 34. Where there was nothing, suddenly we had a third station! It was WBJA, an ABC affiliate. My TV viewing choices had just increased by 50%!

I didn’t realize until later that Channel 12 (and perhaps Channel 40) was broadcasting some ABC programming before Channel 34 came on the scene. Lawrence Welk, an ABC program, was showing on Channel 12 on Saturday nights at 6 or 6:30 pm. I recall that other ABC shows such as Bachelor Father, The Flintstones, Hawaiian Eye, Leave It to Beaver, Ozzie & Harriet, The Real McCoys, and Top Cat would show up on the schedule, often on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, outside of prime time (which was usually 7:30-11 pm in those days.) I remember these shows quite clearly; most were off the schedule by the fall of 1962. I must have seen them SOMEWHERE. Cable didn’t exist, and I didn’t go to New York City that often.

Subsequently, I learned that some stations would swap in a popular show on their secondary affiliation, dump the primary affiliate’s show, or relegate it to an off-peak time slot.

Shows broadcast by one network appearing on the affiliate of another network were common in most small markets from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s, when there was a fourth network, Dumont.

You big-market folks don’t understand the confusion!¦

Sunday Stealing: 10 Questions with Nigel

less world suck

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. “Back in 2010, blogger Nigel Vanstone from Away from a Bit asked his readers this series of questions. He said he was tagged by another, unnamed blogger. But I’m not tracing it back any further. Nigel Vanstone is a cool name, and that’s enough for me.”

10 Questions with Nigel

1. What’s your life’s motto?

Young Simba: Hakuna Matata?
Pumbaa: Yeah. It’s our motto.
Young Simba: What’s a motto?
Timon: Nothing. What’s a motto with you? [laughs]

Well, THAT’S not it! Create less world suck, I suppose, per the terms of the Vlogbrothers.

2. Where were you living 13 years ago?

Same place we are living now. The daughter was in elementary school, which made the commute from our house to her school really easy.

Green-eyed?

3. Is anyone jealous of you?

I have no idea. I’m working on the theory that there are people who perceive me as easygoing, casual, and engaging, among other things. However, the truth is that I’m only those things in spaces where I feel comfortable, such as at church or the library. In other places, I tend to be shy and cautious, so if people only see me in the gregarious space, I think they may perceive me differently than I perceive myself.

4. Where were you when you heard about the 9/11 terror attacks?

I wrote about this at length in 2008 and subsequently.

5. Do you consider yourself kind?

Most of the time.

6. Can you change your car’s oil?

I’ve done this in the distant past. Could I do it now? Doubtful.

7. What’s the last thing you heard about your first love?

I received an unexpected email from her in February 2025. She stumbled across my blog – probably this post – while trying to prove some Binghamton, NY-related television trivia. We’re both in long-term relationships.

8. Have you ever been burned by love?

Oh, heavens, yes.

9. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?

Indian food from the restaurant a block away, five days ago. He gives a 5% discount for cash.

10. Do you hug your friends?

It depends on the friend. When I was at my previous church, Trinity United Methodist, there was an older woman named Helen Knapp who referred to me as the Trinity hugger. Then she added, “Which is better than being the Trinity mugger!” She said that a lot, and, oddly, it never got old. I hug some folks at my current church, but especially a 95-year-old woman, who has become more of a hugger later in life.

The 2024 Year’s End Quiz continued

tax the rich!

Last year, which is to say yesterday, I started to do the 2024 Year’s End Quiz that Kelly always does. But my answers became Too Damn Long, so I split it up.

Whose behavior merited celebration?

Oh, there’s a bunch of people trying to fight the good fight; I suppose there are a lot of local heroes. And there’s a person who has taken a great deal of interest in my genealogical process, which I greatly appreciate.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

There are SO many.

A wide swath of the American public seems to think that taxing rich people is a bad thing, even though they’re not rich themselves. I remember the discussion over the so-called death tax a few years ago, and people balked at it even though they’re extremely unlikely to be in that situation. The Ultra Millionaire Tax Act of 2024 (H.R. 7749) is far less likely to impact them. They won’t be making $50 million, which might be taxable. Income inequality has been rampant since Ronald Reagan’s time, and it has only worsened.

And then, there are the politicians.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) “authored a resolution that would ban trans women from women’s bathrooms at the U.S. Capitol” after saying how much of an ally she is to LGBTQ people.

Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), possibly the most incompetent Senator, said it’s ‘Not Our Job’ to vet djt’s Cabinet picks (psst: yes, it is)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) blames Democrats for weaponizing the weather.

Most of the Cabinet picks (Hegseth, RFK Jr, Gabbard, and especially Kash Patel)

Orange

Elon Musk and his tech bro buddies (rump jr, Vance)

Where did most of your money go?

The house, specifically a new back porch; the daughter’s education.

What did you get really excited about?

The mystery project

Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?

Sharply sadder, though better now than in the summer.

Thinner or fatter?

Definitely fatter. There is a distinct correlation between my emotional state and my food consumption.

Richer or poorer?

Poorer.

Science!

What do you wish you’d done more of?

I’d be in good shape if I could only get that cloning thing going.

What do you wish you’d done less of?

Brooding.

How did you spend Christmas?

With my wife, daughter, and MIL.

Did you fall in love in 2024?

Absolutely.

How many one-night stands?

Lessee: (two cubed) minus (the square root of 64).

What was your favorite TV program?

CBS Sunday Morning, CBS Saturday Morning, Abbott Elementary, Elsbeth.

I’ve discovered that I like watching NFL football in the last year or two that I hadn’t felt for decades. It’s always recorded. Every week, I learn something new. In a game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the hated Dallas Cowboys, the score was tied near the end of the game. Cincinnati punted the ball, but Dallas blocked the kick. All the Cowboys needed to do was to let the ball go. They would have possession, and they were already in field goal territory. Instead, one of the Cowboys touched the ball but could not control it. The Bengals regained possession and soon scored a touchdown to win the game. I loved it.

There’s a thin line…

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Hate is such a terrible word. If I did, and I’m not saying I do, it’d be Elon, who helped buy an election by spending over a quarter of a billion dollars on djt and his cronies. Then he dances around, threatening to slash Social Security. As a friend likes to say, “Chuck YOU, Farley!” (Sidebar: one minor reason I don’t prefer the term African-American is that recently, someone referred to Elon Musk as an African-American, and it hurt my head.)

What was the best book you read?

Prequel and The Undertow are in the same vein.

What was your greatest musical discovery?

Cage the Elephant, who Anthony Mason interviewed on CBS Mornings.

What did you want and get?

To get to sing, listen to music, go to plays.

What did you want and not get?

Democracy

What were your favorite films of this year?

Conclave, The Wild Robot, Sing Sing, Ghostlight, Thelma, Inside Out 2, Poor Things, and Anatomy of a Fall. But my favorite was American Fiction.

What did you do on your birthday?

It was a Thursday, so I went to choir and took out the trash. Beyond that, I have no idea.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2024?

Comfortable.

Facts not in evidence

What kept you sane?

I think I went a little insane this year.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Bill McKibben

What political issue stirred you the most?

Global warming, abortion rights, book banning, racism, sexism, homophobia. Oh, and the possibility that good chunks of Project 2025, which I only mentioned a half dozen times, will be enacted, threatening democracy.

Who did you miss?

In the throes of my despair, it was my friend Norm, who died in 2016.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2024:

This is part of what Kelly wrote last year. I think it works.

The United States of America desperately needs to re-embrace rational and collective thinking, and ditch its mythologies about rugged individualism and the eternal wisdom of “the Founders”.

If you take selfies, post your six favorite ones:

I don’t take many selfies. The one above, taken at the Museum of Broadway in Manhattan (and I don’t mean Kansas) in January 2024, is the only one I can find.

The musical portion of the post

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

I was leaning into the third segment of the Monster / Suicide / America medley on the Monster album. The first part is relevant but slightly clunky, but there’s something very basic about the end of Suicide. The third part is anthemic. Lyrics and the track.

‘Cause there’s a monster on the looseIt’s got our heads into the nooseAnd it just sits there watchin’

America, where are you nowDon’t you care about your sons and daughtersDon’t you know we need you nowWe can’t fight alone against the monster

Also

The other song that came to mind was American Idiot by Green Day. This is the 20th anniversary of that album. I’m fairly sure that ADD gave it to me at some point. It’s a great collection, and the title song seems very appropriate. Lyrics. “Starting off the album with a bang, ‘American Idiot’ is a scathing takedown of American culture in the years following 9/11.” The track.

Don’t wanna be an American idiot
One nation controlled by the media
Information age of hysteria
It’s calling out to idiot America

Welcome to a new kind of tension
All across the alienation
Where everything isn’t meant to be okay
Television dreams of tomorrow
We’re not the ones who’re meant to follow
For that’s enough to argue