ShowMeBlog

Portlandia

  I am watching Portlandia right now.  This is the first time I have seen it.  I like it.  Great idea. 
I had no idea what it was so when the first bit was happening I was thinking oh my God they can not have a show like this.  But now I see how it works.

 

“Portlandia is a television series that debuted on the Independent Film Channel (IFC) on January 21, 2011.^[3] The show, produced by Andrew Singer and Jonathan Krisel, is set and filmed both in and near Portland, Oregon and featuresSaturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen along with Carrie Brownstein, formerly of Sleater-Kinney^[1] and current lead guitarist/singer for Wild Flag.^[4]

The name Portlandia refers to the sculpture of the same name above the entrance of the Portland Building on Fifth Avenue in downtown Portland.^[5] The statue also appears in the opening montage title sequence…”

Freedom of information

  Well now we can read about Steve Jobs.  Not from one of the books about him but from his FBI file. 
  I believe in the freedom of information act.  I think we need something like that but I do not think that the news media should have the right to get all the information and release it.
  It is the same with 911 calls.  We need to have the ability for someone to listen to them to make sure that things are being done correct.  But every time a person makes a 911 call for the police or an ambulance the news media should not be allowed to broadcast it or even print it.

  What right do we have to hear a 911 call from someone when a star has a fight at their home or takes drugs and needs an ambulance?  
 
  I lived in FL for a few years and they have a law in that state that makes it possible for the news media to get just about everything.  There would be stuff that they should not have the right to access but the DA or the police would say well the law allows them to get the information.
  A couple of times I was shocked that they got the information and printed it and broadcast the information.  I can not remember which stories it was now but one of them was autopsy photos of a dead  child.

  Must of the information in the FBI file of Steve Jobs came because he was being considered for an appointment to a government commission or something like that.

  I have had back ground investigations done on me.  I am not sure if the first was when I attempted to join the Peace Corp or if the first was when I went to work for the Post Office.
  Then I had background investigations done when I was on the list to get a job as a Federal Protection Officer.
  There might have been other times that I can not remember.
  The last time was when I worked for a contract guard agency that had the contract to supply security for FAA control towers here in Texas.  The guard company was having a hell of a time getting anyone approve.  The FAA was turning down just about every one they checked.  The company got all the post filled and then after a few months the air traffic control union (yes, there is a very powerful air traffic control union) convinced the FAA that they did not need security for the control towers and that was the end of the job for me and the contract for the guard company.
  
  In the United States just about everyone has background checks done on them.  So just about all of us have FBI files.  Hell my father had a Q Clearance back when I was in grade school. 

The Last Hurrah

  When I was in high school I had to read “The Last Hurrah.”  I did not read it of course.  I was not a good student in high school.  I went to summer school all four years.
  Brother Peter called on me in calls to ask what the last words of Frank Skeffington were and I did not know because I did not read the book.

  The book came out in 1956.  I would have known if I had watched the 1958 movie.  My last year of high school was 1959.

  I just watched the movie again.  I have seen it a number of times.  It is a great little movie.  Young people now days do not like to watch black and white movies and they also do not like old movies.  Well at least that is the way it is with three of my four kids.

 
 

“…With Democracy (1880), All the King's Men (1946), and Advise and Consent (1959), The Last Hurrah is among the more successful novels about American politics.^[5] Along with The Late George Apley (1937), it is also one of two successful works of fiction about Boston. ^[9]

Perhaps most notably, the phrase '"The Last Hurrah" has since become a common phrase in the English lexicon^[10] to mean a swan song or, in politics, the last campaign of a politician.^[11]

Interestingly, the success of the novel and subsequent film adaptations have greatly improved the public image of James Michael Curley, on whose story the novel is thought to be based. Skeffington is depicted as rambunctious yet heroic, whereas Curley had been largely forgotten. Now the late mayor and governor is looked upon with nostalgia.^[11]

[edit]Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

 

U.S. poster of the 1958 film The Last Hurrah

See also: The Last Hurrah (1958 film)

John Ford, himself an Irish-American, directed this very notable book-to-movie adaptation. Much of its success was due to the very reputable and well-performing cast, which includes Spencer Tracy, Pat O'Brien,Jimmy Gleason, Frank McHugh, Wallace Ford and Willis Bouchey. Columbia Pictures bought the rights to make this movie from O'Connor for $150,000.^[4]…”

Ann Coulter on ‘Morning Joe’

  I was up and watching “Morning Joe” and they had Ann Coulter on the show.  I almost turned the show off.  I hate her.  She is a bitch. 

 

 

“Nov. 29, 2011: During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," columnist and commentator Ann Coulter was briefly censored after using the word "douchebag" during a discussion about Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.).”

  I did not at the time know she had called John McCain any names. I was thinking they had audio problems.

  I do not understand why any station even puts her on the air.  She is just a hateful person and she never has anything good to say about anyone.  She just says things that she knows will get attention.  She is an attention whore. 

Happy Thanksgiving WKRP

The Big Bang Theory

  I am enjoying “The Big Bang Theory” on TV. 

“The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers. It premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007.^[3]

Set in Pasadena, California, the show is centered on five characters: two room-mate geniuses who work at the California Institute of Technology, experimental physicist Leonard Hofstadter and theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper; their neighbor across the hall Penny, a blonde waitress and aspiring actress. The three live at 2311 Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena. Leonard and Sheldon have equally geeky and socially awkward co-workers and friends Howard Wolowitz, an aerospace engineer and a non-PhD from JPL, and Rajesh Koothrappali, an astrophysicist also working at Caltech. The geekiness and intellect of the four guys is contrasted for comic effect with Penny's social skills and common sense.^[4][5] Three other supporting characters have also been promoted to main cast status for a few episodes: Leslie Winkle, a Caltech colleague and, at different times, a lover of both Leonard and Howard; Bernadette Rostenkowski, a doctoral candidate (later doctor) in microbiology, part-time waitress alongside Penny, and Howard's love interest and fianceé; and Amy Farrah Fowler, a neurobiologist whose personality is very similar to Sheldon, and who later becomes close friends with Penny…”

South Park and Penn State v2

“South Park wasted no time in getting around to the sexual abuse scandal which has shaken the foundation of Penn State to its core. But the questions synonymous with Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s button-pushing series — “Too soon?” and “Did they go too far this time?” — will no doubt be asked again after last night’s episode.

The episode, titled “The Poor Kid,” featured (a still alive) Kenny and his siblings being taken out of their parents custody when they got in trouble with the law. (All together now: Simpsons did it!) But South Park dared to cross the line once again and attempted to make the decidedly unfunny Penn State scandal funny by skewering the very people who attempt to make light of the horrific news. In this case, it was the kids’ social worker, a wildly inappropriate jokester named Mr. Adams…”

The Poor Kid
Get More: SOUTH
PARKKenny McCormick,Mrs. McCormick,more...

  The above is from EW.COM

South Park and Penn State

  I was watching “South Park” last night and they were doing non-stop Penn State “jokes.” 

  I like “South Park” but I did not think any of it was funny.  I know they do stuff like that all the time.  I suspect they are going to have some upset people.

  I think you can see the video at Comedy Central web site.

  Sports Mashup also has some sample videos.

'Glee' sends wrong message on teen sex - CNN.com

  I am not a “Glee” fan.  In the past I have heard people on different TV shows talking about what a great show “Glee” is and how they love the show.
  I checked it out but I did not care for it.

'Glee' sends wrong message on teen sex - CNN.com

  I guess it is rating time for TV shows and this week the show had two couple one gay and one straight having sex.  The show said they did it as a “teachable moment.”  
  I do not think that teens need to be told that other teens are having sex.  This just sends a message that it is OK to have sex.
  The real problem is that if a teen is watching a show like this and they like a star of the show and if they think that they want to be like the made up person in the show and then that person is having sex what do you think is going to happen.
 

  The corporations that make TV shows, movies and music should have standards.  We do not want the government to impose censorship.  But there should be basic human standards that if you are in business that you do not do certain things.  
  I have talked about it in the past…  There should be certain standards that have nothing to do with religion or the ten commandments.  It should be a standard that “ladies and gentlemen” do not say such and such and do not do such and such.  We need to teach young people to be ladies and gentlemen.
  Corporations should have the same goals because they should not be run by greedy SOBs that will do anything to make a dollar. 

  Ladies and gentlemen should never use words like “nigger” or “fag.”  I would say that gentlemen should never have their pants down around their knees and there panties showing.  But I could see that in that case you get into style and dress and then where do you draw the line.  Some people would say that long hair was not correct. 
  But I do think that there are some things that you can say are standard and agreed on by all.  One should be that the young should give respect their father and mother.  One should be that young will respect older people. 
  We should demand that children and teens respect their teachers and all teachers and act at all times like ladies and gentlemen.

  If “Glee” gets good ratings because of the show they did then what are they going to do next season to get a good rating? 

First nationwide Emergency Alert System test

“Washington (CNN) -- Problems were reported across the country during the first-ever nationwide test Wednesday of the Emergency Alert System, designed to allow the president to address the American people during a national emergency.

Some television and radio stations did not air the planned 30-second test at all. Some that aired it stayed with the signal longer than others.

There were anecdotal reports of TV stations failing to air the message in Washington, Atlanta, New York, California and elsewhere. The message did not air on a cable channel being monitored in a Capitol Hill office and in the Capitol's radio and TV gallery…”

 

  I had forgot that there was going to be a nation wide test.  I was watching TV at the time.  But I was watching a recorded show from my DVR unit.  I think the system worked the way it should.
  I was watching the recorded show and it kicked me out of the video over to a cable channel that had the test.  So after the test I had to go back to DVR and start the video again but it had saved the location so I just started watching were I had left off.
  So I would say from my point of view it was a success.  I have Charter Cable service.

  Not sure how long I will have Charter Cable service!  The other day I got an email from Charter Internet Security that my IP address had committed a “copyright infringement.”  I am not going into detail about it here.     My grandson and I share this apartment and Internet service.  
  Well yesterday I got another email from them.  It seems that whatever my grandson downloaded, not that I am saying he did download something, it took him three days to download (if he did download it).  So I may get another notice about the incident. 
 
  I told my grandson about the emails and I told him not to be downloading stuff if there was any question about it.  I also told him that if Charter cancels my Internet service that I will get DSL service and that it will be for me alone and that he will have get his own Internet service.  He needs Internet service, well we all need Internet service, because he is taking college classes online.
  Right now I have 18Mbps down and 2 Mbps up Internet service.  If I have to get DSL service I think the most I could get would be 12Mbps down and 800Kbps up.  That would be from AT&T.
  I hope I do not lose my Internet service from Charter.  My grandson loves fast Internet service.  Well we all do.  What I should do is just use Charter for my own use and make him pay for DSL service for his access.