television Archives - Page 21 of 43

The Coates book, Black-ish, & other things

Have you seen the common core math? [Note: I have. He’s not far wrong.]

It was days before our Albany presbyter (think bishop – but not really) was to lead the adult education class about race and white privilege and the book Between The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

That Thursday morning, I watched Black-ish, the ABC sitcom. (I’m a notorious TV time shifter.). And it was good, very good. Sojourners, a journal that “sits at the intersection of faith, politics, and culture,” noted that In Less Than Two Minutes, This Clip From ‘black-ish’ Explains Why Racism in America Isn’t Over. And the New York Times declared With Police Brutality Episode, ‘black-ish’ Shows How Sitcoms Can Still Matter.

Of course, the episode referenced the Coates book, even having the author on briefly. One of those shows that if you get a chance to see, you should. Oh, and read the book, which I should review, shouldn’t i?

A restless night

The night before, I had been watching Modern Family another ABC sitcom. The plot was about a thunderstorm knocking out the power. Suddenly, the loudest thunderclap I think I’d ever heard went off, and I quite literally jumped out of my chair, startled. I turned off the TV.

This blast woke up my household. While The Wife was able to return to sleep, the Daughter could not.

You know I don’t think I can write an excuse for school saying, “Daughter is a little fuzzy today because of thunder.” Heck, I was a little fuzzy myself.

3+3 does not equal 94

Somehow, I got sucked into a Facebook conversation about facts.

A: [who I know]: If I were your math teacher and you told me 3 + 3 = 94 and argued that you were right, I’d have to ask you if you had actually read your lesson in the book…

B: Well that depends on who is doing the math. Now you have to show the 15 steps you took to come up with that 6.

A: you mean I have to show that I’m holding up 3 fingers on each hand and counting them?

B: Have you seen the common core math? [Note: I have. He’s not far wrong.]

Eventually, I threw in my six cents.

“3+3=12 in base 4, 11 in base 5, and 10 in base 6. Just sayin’.”

A: In case anyone is wondering, Roger is a lot smarter than your average person – Not a good one to argue with. He was on Jeopardy.

Damn, I get a lot of mileage being on a game show nearly 20 years ago.

February rambling #2: The Man Who Mistook Jesus For An A.T.M.

A Beach Boy asks, “Why am I the villain?”

Sharp Little Pencil: The Man Who Mistook Jesus For An A.T.M..

What Happens Now That We Know Gravitational Waves Are Real? Compare with Introduction to the flat earth, how it works, and why we believe it.

The Latter Days of a Better Nation. For instance, Florida Legal: Man Shoots Young Girl Neighbor In Her House From Homemade Gun Range.

Looking Back BY Jeffrey Toobin, re: Antonin Scalia.

John Oliver: on voting and on abortion. Plus an interview.

The Apple/FBI question is harder than it looks.

How Writers Ruin Their Amazon Links (Yes, You Probably Do It Too), which is keeping unnecessary stuff in the URL; I mentioned this here.

What I Mean When I Say ‘I Have Anxiety’.

‪What makes a good life‬.

The Dark Underside of the Show-Dog World .

What Is Face Blindness?

Dustbury would stand up straight if he could. I SO relate.

Arthur’s dad would be 100.

The Uncanny Adventures of (I Hate) Dr. Wertham.

Now I Know: The Trees of Hate and The Science Behind the Slogan (Morton’s salt) and The History of Being on Hold and A Stinky Suit.

Muppet commercials from 1965.

Four Rare JEOPARDY! Scenarios. Plus Canadians Left With Questions After Being Barred From ‘Jeopardy!’

The obligatory Donald Trump section

I think he’ll be the Republican nominee.

How America Made Donald Trump Unstoppable.

Inside the Republican Party’s Desperate Mission to Stop Donald Trump.

For Donald Trump, internet bullying is a highly effective campaign tactic.

America’s Agitator: Donald Trump Is the World’s Most Dangerous Man.

Why We Secretly Love Donald Trump (and Why We Should Fight It).

What it would take to build Trump’s border wall.

An Open Letter to My Friends Who Support Donald Trump.

Why I am Endorsing* Trump. Note the asterisk.

Nearly 20 percent of Trump’s supporters disapprove of Lincoln freeing the slaves.

Canadian island welcomes Americans who wish to move if Trump wins. Actually, they welcome people from all political stripes.

New liquid Trump and I know, right?

The other folks running

What that Cruz-Rubio ‘He doesn’t speak Spanish’ thing was about.

Neurologist explains why it’s hard to look at Ted Cruz’s creepy ‘unsettling’ face.

Why do so many people from Europe want Bernie Sanders to be the President of the United States?

Music

Bohemian Rhapsody – the Maniacal 4 Trombone Quartet.

10 Artists Who Hated Their Biggest Hit.

K-Chuck Radio: The Sugarhill Pulse.

Song stylist Nancy Wilson.

The Ballad of Mike Love. A Beach Boy asks, “Why am I the villain?”

GOOGLE ALERT (me)

Arthur’s Internet Wading for February 21.

Kennedy Center Honors 2015

I remember buying my copy of Tapestry somewhere in Binghamton, NY, along with Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones.

As I’ve noted over the years, I LOVE the Kennedy Center Honors. The event generally takes place in DC the first weekend in December and is broadcast on CBS-TV at the end of the month. The celebration of the honorees’ Lifetime Artistic Achievements took place on Sunday, December 6, and will be aired on CBS on Tuesday, December 29 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT. This year’s honorees are Carole King, George Lucas, Rita Moreno, Seiji Ozawa, and Cicely Tyson.

Rita Moreno – if she were in nothing but the movie West Side Story – a pivotal film in my life – I’d be a big fan, but she accomplished so much more and, as she indicated in this interview, had to fight the Latina actress stereotypes.

She’s won the EGOT:
OSCAR: Best Supporting Actress (1961) West Side Story (Anita del Carmen)
GRAMMY: Best Album for Children (1973) Electric Company
TONY: Best Featured Actress in a Play (1975) The Ritz
EMMY: Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program (1977) The Muppet Show; Outstanding Guest Actress – Drama Series (1978) The Rockford Files

Even though I was in college by then, I was a huge fan of The Electric Company, and she was a big reason.

WATCH:
West Side Story-America
Electric Company – STOP!
Muppet Show – Fever
Rockford Files
***
George Lucas – the writer/producer/director made a bunch of movies I enjoyed tremendously. The first was American Graffiti; a couple of the movie’s actors ended up in 1950s-based sitcoms, Ron Howard (Richie on Happy Days), and Cindy Williams (Cindy on Laverne &…) The film also featured some carpenter-actor named Harrison Ford, who later starred in Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy, and the Indiana Jones trilogy, all of which I enjoyed (except Indy 2, which I’ve never seen).

All that hate for Star Wars 1: I didn’t enjoy it, but it was just a movie. All that nerdy nuance about the films, some brought on by Lucas himself – Han shot first! – is beyond my interest. Oh and he likes Star Wars 7.

I see Lucas’ wife, Mellody Hobson, on CBS News frequently.

WATCH:
American Graffiti (1973) – Original Trailer
Star Wars (1977) Original Trailer
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Theatrical Trailer
READ:
The Other Side of The Other Side of Midnight
***
Cicely Tyson – I wrote about her at length only a couple of years ago.

WATCH:
The Bold Move That Left Cicely Tyson’s First TV Director Speechless And Sparked A National Movement
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
Cicely Tyson on Roots, Grief and Strength
The Marva Collins Story (1981)
***
Seiji Ozawa – Though he had been the conductor for the San Francisco Symphony early in his career, I know him best from him leading the Boston Symphony. I’d see him on TV fairly often, and as he got older I recognized him as much for his style, and his coif as anything.

WATCH:
What’s My Line? – Seiji Ozawa (1963, TV Show)
Tchaikovsky Overture 1812
Beethoven Symphony No 5
Seiji Ozawa’s 80th Birthday
***
Carole King – Her life was so amazing that they turned it into a hit Broadway musical, Beautiful, which will be going on a national tour shortly. She is a songwriter, early on primarily with her then-husband, the late Gerry Goffin; they are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I found this list of 17 Popular Songs You Never Knew Were Written By Carole King, with links, but mostly, I DID know.

If you went to college in the US in the early 1970s, either you had a copy of her massively successful album Tapestry, or your roommate did; it may have been mandated by Congress. I remember buying my copy somewhere in Binghamton, NY, along with Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones. Tapestry was number one on the Billboard 200 for 15 consecutive weeks, and on the charts for over five years in a row.

Her Jazzman was covered by Lisa Simpson in an early episode of the TV cartoon The Simpsons. Where You Lead was the theme song of the TV show Gilmore Girls, sung by one Louise Goffin, daughter of Carole and Gerry.

LISTEN to Carole King:
Jazzman
It’s Too Late
So Far Away
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, with the Mitchell-Taylor Boy-and-Girl Choir

The Everly Brothers -Crying In the Rain (1962)

R is for Roger Ramjet

Gary Owens,, a drive-time deejay in LA who would get national recognition soon enough as the on-screen announcer for Laugh-In, voiced Roger Ramjet.

When I was 12 years old, there was this cartoon called Roger Ramjet. Naturally, for the next several years, some kid or another referred to ME as Roger Ramjet, “a patriotic and highly moral — if not very bright — hero, who is typically out to save the world, with help from his Proton Energy Pills (“PEP”), which give him ‘the strength of twenty atom bombs for a period of twenty seconds’.” This did not bother me.

I don’t much remember the program, but I believe that I mistakenly thought it was made by the same folks who made Rocky and Bullwinkle, the cartoon about a moose and squirrel that I watched fairly regularly. A 2015 article suggests Roger Ramjet was a subversive cartoon classic:

Bullwinkle aired from ‘59 to ‘64. Roger Ramjet came along a year later and Jay Ward’s influence is undeniable. The difference was Roger Ramjet crammed the equivalent number of bad jokes, references, and plot twists of a typical 8-part Bullwinkle serial into each five-minute episode, both mirroring the rapid-fire screwball dialogue of the ‘30s and the frenetic quick-cut comedy to come along a year or two later in shows like The Monkees and Laugh-In…

The show was created originally by animator Fred Crippen… and Ken Snyder, an ad exec who moved over into producing cartoons. They brought in a remarkable team of voice talent and comedy writers, including Gene Moss (the voice of Smokey the Bear) Jim Thurmam (who did a lot of kids shows including Sesame Street), Dick Beals (the original voice of Gumby), and the great Gary Owens [voicing Roger], a drive-time deejay in LA who would get national recognition soon enough as the on-screen announcer for Laugh-In…

In the end, though, the characters and storylines are secondary at best in Roger Ramjet. At heart it’s a matter of trying to keep up with all the lightning-quick jokes and wordplay, the non-sequitors and references.

The Roger Ramjet theme, based on Yankee Doodle, which I well remember
The theme lyrics, which include
Roger Ramjet he’s our man
Hero of our nation
For his adventure just be sure
And stay tuned to this station.

Roger Ramjet – Episode 01 – Dr Ivan Evilkisser;
You can find more episodes on the sidebar, or by Googling under the videos category.

ABC Wednesday – Round 17

TV: commercials, debates, Watergate

Butterfield was asked “Are you aware of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the White House?”

During the first two rounds of the baseball playoffs this season, the networks seemed to have run the same 17 commercials over and over and over again. One was this ad for Viagra, featuring a white woman in a football uniform top. I thought it was an interesting choice to run that ad into the ground, rather than to alternate it with one of the recent ads featuring a black woman (Date Night) or an Asian woman, actress Kelly Hu, both of whom were wearing dresses. There’s some sociological observation to be made here too, I suppose.

Two other overplayed ads were for these fantasy sports sites. I tend to root for teams, not individual players, so this interests me not all. Still, there is a question about insider trading, whether someone working at one company can pick up enough info about the popularity of a player to have an advantage playing at another major site.

During the third Republican debate in late October, when a debate moderator asked one of his rivals about whether the federal government should regulate fantasy football the same as gambling, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey interrupted: “Are we really talking about getting the government involved in fantasy football? Wait a second, we have $19 trillion in debt, we have people out of work, we have ISIS and al-Qaeda attacking us and we’re talking about fantasy football? Can we stop?”

OK, so it wasn’t the most important question on the American landscape. But it was topical, it played to what I think as Americans’ perception of “fairness,” and I thought Christie’s disparaging remarks, about a question not even addressed to him, was mostly to bash the moderators.

Speaking of the debates, the New Yorker has humorously suggested that Republican National Committee and the television networks have agreed that “future Presidential debates during the 2016 campaign will strictly forbid questions about things the candidates ‘said’ or ‘did’.” Even when questions are not as robust as they might be, the responses can be interesting.

That said, the idea of having opening and closing statements makes sense to me. Currently, there is a disparity in the amount of time the ten candidates on stage receive over the two or three hours, and this would somewhat mitigate that.

Speaking of Republicans, I saw Nixon aide Alexander Butterfield on CBS News. When he left the White House, he took 20 boxes files with him, including some documents classified as “Top Secret.” Recently, he turned them over to Bob Woodward who, along with Carl Bernstein, broke the Watergate story for the Washington Post.

During the Watergate hearings, Butterfield was asked “Are you aware of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the White House?”
Butterfield: “I was aware of listening devices, yes, sir.” The man asking the question was lawyer Fred Dalton Thompson, who believed, incorrectly, that any tapes would vindicate the President.

Thompson would go on to act in several movies and television shows, including several iterations of Law & Order. He was also a US Senator from Tennessee for about a decade and ran for President in 2007 and early 2008. He died this week at the age of 73.

Some controversy over the segment of 60 Minutes called Heroin in the Heartland, which a writer suggests was just a Cliff Notes version. Weirder for me: there was NO sound on that piece when I played it back on the DVR, or watched it live, but all the other segments were fine.

I see this LA Times headline: Bill Cosby can be deposed in Janice Dickinson’s defamation suit, judge rules. I swear I read the headline, “Bill Cosby can be deported.”