Russert Death as Breaking News

Like anyone else who follows politics closely, I was shocked and saddened to hear about the death of Tim Russert. Rather than try to repeat all the accolades you can find on television right now, I want to mention HOW I learned of this sad news. Since Russert was a newsman, he would probably appreciate just how fast the news got out and how much detail was made available to the public.

Russert died around 3pm. I had the day off and was listening to the radio - staying away from the TV and computer for the day. However, I am signed up for "Breaking News" from CNN and MSNBC with Twitter. Whenever news breaks, I get a text. Of course I love that. Anyway .. less than 20 minutes after Russert died I got a text informing me of the news. Less than 20 minutes!!!

I turned on the TV and starting watching the coverage, expecting the details to begin slowly trickle in. Not the case. Immediately we learned the details about when the heart attack struck, what he was doing, how CPR was tried, an ambulance came and when he was pronounced dead. A lot of details, very quickly. Most amazing, when I checked MSNBC at 7:30 ( I turned the TV off after seeing Keith Olberman boo-hooing - I'm not much into watching that) I was amazed to see Russert's doctor on the air talking, in great and graphic detail, about the autopsy he has already completed! Astounding. They were not leaving anything out. By 8:30 pm, I was already burned out by the coverage.

I mention this because it all seems so fast to me. For me to get a text even before (literally) the body got cold still amazes me. The fact that ALL the details of is death were made public immediately also was surprising. The fact that an autopsy was done with a couple hours of his death and the findings explained to the public before the news really sunk in was, frankly, a bit surreal. And the fact that within 4 or 5 hours of his passing away I was already over saturated by the news also demonstrates the times we live in.

I'm not criticizing the coverage at all. In fact, I am writing about this becomes I am impressed. For news junkie, to learn about what happened so quickly and in so much detail is really what we want. In his career Tim Russert was respected for his ability to get to the facts as directly and accurately as possible. The coverage of his death, as suffocating as it was, was in many ways an appropriate tribute to this true newsman.

Poor Grammer

Sorry to hear this. They did a lot of re-tooling of the show but I guess the geniuses at FOX didn't think "Back To You" should come back.

Kelsey Grammer said Tuesday that Fox is dropping his sitcom "Back to You," calling the decision a surprise and a shame. "They have let it go," Grammer told The Associated Press. "We were told all this time we were in good shape and we were coming back."

Tuesday Roundup

I have been so busy that I haven't been keeping up with the blog or even my e mails. But all is well here in NYC. I got my tickets for Christmas in Miami and plan a nice Thanksgiving right here in the city. Until then I will be going 1,000 mile an hour. I guess that's the New York way.

It was strange seeing Joe Torre as a Dodger yesterday. I'm not sure whether to be happy for him or to hate him since he is on another team. I'll reserved judgement until the season starts. I am happy that Joe Giraldi is the Yankees new skipper. I think he will bring a young, fresh attitude to a team that desperately needs it.

I am really starting to think that Rudy Giuliani is worse than Bush and Cheney put together. If America elects this hateful, chronic liar than we might as well just roll up the flag and call it a day. He is as authoritarian as Cheney, as mean spirited as Bush and as dishonest as both of them put together. It amazes me that so many Republican voters seemed to be so fearful of terrorism that they are attracted to such a character. I know that liberals are often accused of being weak or wimpy, but look at the people so-called conservatives are attracted to. Seems to me that they are the ones looking for a Daddy figure to protect them at any cost.

The Dolphins made progress last week by not losing. To be fair, they did not play. It's unfortunate that New England beat Indy on Sunday. I almost never read the NY Post (it's a Rupert Murdoch rag) but they were giving them away the other day. I was checking out the sports page and they had an asterisk by New England in the football standings. The asterisk, they explained, was because they were "caught cheating". Bravo NY Post! If they go undefeated or win the Super Bowl it will certainly be tainted ala Barry Bonds.

Everybody seems to be picking on the new "Caveman" TV show. They say it is terrible and must be pulled. I disagree. I've watched every episode and think it is pretty good in fact. Go figure. I also like Kelsey Grammer's new show "Back To You". Two show which I have liked for a while are having stellar seasons - "The Office" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" are both funnier than ever! I wonder how the writers strike will effect all of this.

Stephen Corbet has dropped his Presidential bid. I think the man may be a comedy genius and I like his show a lot but thank goodness for this. The Presidential race is serious business and the last thing we need is some joker effecting the results. Can somebody say Ralph Nader???

Enjoy the rest of the week folks!

Hi Bob, Oh Mary, Bye Joe

Well, the Yankees are really in a hole now after losing last night. I was in the theater watching "Mary Poppins" during our meltdown and learned with everyone else during intermission that we had lost. (It was funny - as soon as the light came up, everyone turned on their PDA or called friends to get game updates) The Yanks have to win 3 in a row or it's another quick exit from the post season. I haven't looked at the highlights yet (don't watch them too much after a loss) so can't comment on the specifics of the game - but it was 1-0 Yanks when I left for Broadway and 2-1 Indians when the play hit intermission. For now I'll just blame Joe Torre and say it's time for Joe to Go.

The play was really great. "Mary Poppins" on stage is much better than the movie. The sets were amazing and the music spectacular. It was a full house and everyone - young and old - really loved it. If you ever come to NYC and want to see a play I recommend it - especially if you have kids.

The Bob Newhart event was the best of all. He is really a naturally funny guy and had the 75 people in the audience cracking up during the whole interview. When the Q&A session started I found myself at the mike again. Just as happened during past events I had the whole crowd cracking up when I walked up to the microphone.(God I love that!) I stepped up, and with the best comedic timing I could muster said "HI BOB". Bob, Ron and the audience all drank on cue and laughed hysterically, setting up my question about the"Hi Bob"drinking game. Newhart said he had heard about it some twenty years ago, thought it started at Southern Methodist University and no, had never played himself. I was going yell "a round of tequila for Bob" but figured it's always better quit while I am ahead in the comedy department and gave way to the next (yawn, boring) questioner. Another notable fact was that we sat next to Opie from Opie and Anthony Show. He's a nice guy who despite being a God in radioland, refused all the pandering to him before the show. The organizers wanted to move some people out of the front row for Opie and his (extremely attractive) companion to sit but he had no problem squeezing into the regular seats with us members of the unwashed masses. It was a fun afternoon and I gained a lot more appreciation for Bob Newhart. In fact I want to get his 1963 albums - which I learned were #1 and 2 on the chart simultaneously. Apparently, he was a rebel comic back in the day and I am eager to see what was cutting age around the year of my birth.

South Park + Scooby Doo x C-SPAN = Lil' Bush

Lil Bush is on again tonight {Wednesday} at 10:30pm on Comedy Central. I wrote about it last week but in case you missed it here's another reminder. I think I have a pretty good amount of disdain for Bush and the Republicans but the creators of this show even go further. It is shockingly funny. This short story from CNN (not the best story but what do you expect considering that Miami flunkie Rick Sanchez is doing it) addresses the controversy surrounding this show.

MUST SEE TV: Lil' Bush

Lil' Bush - Wednesdays - Comedy Central - 10:30 pm I highly recommend the program Li' Bush. It is a hard hitting (I mean it - they pull NO punches) look at contemporary politics. In a nutshell we see George W. Bush as a child - "Lil' Bush". His dad, George Bush Sr. is President but in the present time. His brother Lil' Jeb is seen tooling around and last week there was even the debut of Lil' Neil Bush. Lil George has some friends (pictured) Lil' Rummy, Lil' Cheney and Lil' Condi who follow him around and help him create mayhem with his child like mind. In the series so far they have featured cameo appearances by Lil' Hillary, Lil' Barack, Lil' John McCain and Lil' Tony Blair. The more you know about politics the funnier this show will be. If you are like me and remember the first Bush administration, it will be especially funny because they do a lot of humor based on that. Watch this show or record it for later. You'll be stunned at just how sharp (and smart) the humor is and I'm pretty sure you will say that you've never seen a show like this before.

Happy Friday

If you haven't seen this video from the UK television show "Britains Got Talent" then check it out. This contestant had never performed professionally before and he really surprises the panelists and audience with his unique style of singing.

Get well Dave

Went to the taping of The Late Show with David Letterman today and it was a lot of fun. We waited in a line for about an hour to get our tickets, had an hour off and then came back to go to the show. Dennis Leary and The Conchords were the guests. It was so cool see this show right in the sixth row and I was not disappointed. Dave was not sounding right and told us that he was playing with his son and was hit in the nose suffering a deviated septum. Today was the only taping of the day because he was having surgery this evening! Get well Dave.

Watch out Dave, Here I come!

We managed to snag some tickets to tonight's Davide Letterman show. I'm thrilled. I've been watching Dave since he had a daytime show in the late 70's. I was an instant fan. This is something I have been trying to do since I moved up here, but last night the studio called and we FINALLY moved from the waiting list to the audience. In the very unlikely event he comes to the audience and the camera swings my way, I will post it here tonight to warn you.

Bollywood Kiss Too Hot To Handle

The Bollywood actress who was the center of controversy in the UK Big Brother program finds herself in more hot water. It is interesting to see how conservatives in other countries get themselves in an uproar just like here, albeit for somewhat different reason. story of outrage not everyone upset

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty is in the news again -- this time though for some wrong reasons -- as her kissing act with Hollywood star Richard Gere at a function on AIDS awareness has led to widespread protests from several quarters.In Varanasi, Shiv Sena and Bande Mataram Sangharsh Samiti activists as well as Muslims staged protests in various parts of the city and burnt effigies of Gere and Shetty to protest against their "indecent behaviour" which, the protesters claimed, was "an attack on our cultural ethos".

More Caveman

A couple weeks ago I told you about the Geico Cavemen possibly getting a regular TV show. I found this write up today which talks more about it and has even more video of their hilarious ads.

Larry "Bud" Melman Dies

Sad to hear that "Bud" Melman, one of the original sidekicks to David Letterman, has died. His deadpan delivery and very un-telegenic appearance made for some awkward and funny TV. These days having unprofessional (or those pretending to be) people on television is commonplace, with reality television and "low key" personalities populating the TV screen. But "Bud" was the original. From the mandatory "quotes" around his name, to his thick glasses and halted speech, Melman was an unlikely trendsetter. Here is a clip I found for the very first late night show for David Letterman. In it "Bud" introduces the soon to be famous host in an Alfred Hitchcock kind of theme.

Beating a dying Fox

I want to direct you to this website which has an impressive collection of screen grabs from FOXNews. Here are just two examples showing why real Americans are so concerned about the success this propaganda source has had in disguising itself as a legitimate news channel.

Cover blown, FOX News loses Democratic Debate

I have been following this story with some interest and delight. This could really be the beginning of the end of the right wing propaganda machine. For too long they have been granted legitimacy. No more. Believe me, they will fight to the bloody end to maintain their echo chamber. This will get ugly - and that will be a good thing for America.

Here's the story. The Nevada Democratic party asked FOX News to host a Presidential forum. Their long time bias, leadership by Republican operative and recent treatment of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other non conservatives had activists calling for Democratic candidates to withdraw. One by one they did until they were none. Frankly, am pleasantly surprised at how it turned out. After the pressure from the grassroots, growing encouragement from Democratic candidates, and then an outlandish comment just the other day by Roger Ailes, the Nevada Democratic party finally dropped FOX from their plans. Hurray! Roger Ailes immediately launched into an attack on Democrats and told them not to abandon his Propaganda network - or do so at their own peril. ...Bullshit! Or as John Edwards put it more articulately:

Fox News has already proven they have no intention of providing "fair and balanced" coverage of any Democrat in this election. In recent weeks they have run blatant lies about Senator Obama's background. And Fox was only too happy to give Ann Coulter a platform to spew more hate a few days after her bigoted attack on Senator Edwards and the gay community.Now it's time for Democrats to stand together and send a clear message to Roger Ailes, Fox News and all the rest of them: bias isn't balance, but turning tables is fair.

You all know how I have been railing against FOX news for years for their obvious tilt and propagandist techniques. They are not presenting another side of the truth - they are creating a false reality - one that proves right wingers always right and non conservatives, always wrong. I'm thrilled at the outcome. I say isolate FOX so that they can focus on being GOP TV and have none of the false legitimacy they now claim as an actual news organization.

This is a nice little video compilation that helps illustrate the way FOX News operates and why I think it was a great move for Democrats to separate themselves from this Faux News Network. Enjoy!

"Are You Being Served" actor dies

Actor John Inman' name best known for his role as camp shop assistant Mr Humphries in the long-running BBC comedy "Are You Being Served?" died aged 71 on Thursday.

Geico cavemen may get own TV series

ABC said Friday it had ordered a pilot for a comedy, tentatively titled “Cavemen,” that features the characters used in a series of ads by the insurance company. In the ads, cavemen appear insulted by a Geico pitchman’s claim that the company’s Web site is so easy to use that “even a caveman can do it.”

The potential series features the cavemen as they “struggle with prejudice on a daily basis as they strive to live the lives of normal thirty-somethings in 2007 Atlanta.”
more on possible series
video of caveman commercials

'The Office' Wins!

The cast of the televison show 'The Office' accept their award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at the 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

I watched enough of the SAG Awards last night to see my favorite program "The Office" win the award for Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series. To me, this is one of the funniest shows ever (Yes, I know it came out in England first but No, I don't think the UK version is better). After years of criticizing NBC's "Must See TV" (I hated Cosby, disliked Friends, so-so on Cheers, lukewarm on Seinfeld) there is finally a show that I really enjoy. Hell, I have even downloaded an episode I missed on my iPod. If, for some reason you haven't seen this show then by all means check it out. It really is a different type of comedy. You will laugh, but not at the usual predictable one-liners or other easy and overused gags. Instead, the show straddles the fine line that exists between tragedy and comedy. Working in an office can be a soul sucking experience. "The Office" takes this tragic reality and shapes it into a poignant yet funny storyline.
"The Office" home page

Bollywood actress wins UK "Big Brother"

Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, at the centre of a raging race row, has been crowned the winner of British reality television show Celebrity Big Brother.

The 31-year-old Indian actress burst into tears on hearing she had won the public vote.

The experience on the Channel 4 show had been "incredible and overwhelming", she said after winning the show last night.

story

Big Brother Bully Booted

Jade Goody (L) and Shilpa Shetty are seen in a composite handout photo. Britain's media on Saturday welcomed the eviction of a reality TV show contestant accused of racism and bullying, but criticized the television channel over a show that has whipped up an international storm. (Channel 4/Handout/Reuters)

UPDATE! The chairman of Channel 4 (UK)ordered an inquiry last night into whether underhand tactics had been used by the producers of Celebrity Big Brother to stoke up the race row between Jade Goody and the Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty.