I miss Conan O'Brien. This WGA strike needs to end.
Speaking of the WGA strike, Steve Carell informed NBC he is unable to report to work because he is suffering from “enlarged balls."
Here's to a speedy recovery from that .. er, infliction!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
For the Love of TV
China Dolls
NEW YORK (CNN) -- U.S. safety officials have recalled about 4.2 million Chinese-made Aqua Dots bead toys that contain a chemical that has caused some children to vomit and become comatose after swallowing them.
Scientists have found the popular toy's coating contains a chemical that, once metabolized, converts into the toxic "date rape" drug GHB, or gamma-hydroxy butyrate, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Scott Wolfson told CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/08/toy.recall/index.html
Coming soon from China:
Crackhead Annie- Her head is made of 40 percent cocaine!
Angel Dust Barbie- That's more than just glitter.
Needle Me Elmo- Ever wonder why he has the shakes? Heroin.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Music: Jay-Z - American Gangster
The album, which was released alongside the movie of the same name, is not supposed to be a soundtrack. Basically, Jay-Z saw an early release of the movie and was inspired by it, saying, "It connected with me on an emotional level. It was so similar to the neighborhoods that I came up in, and things that happened there." So instead, American Gangster serves as a concept album of his early life as a drug dealer.
As a concept, I think it's a great idea. The album has a retro feel to it and when Jay-Z explains it, you can sort of see his vision of how the tracks act as scenes to a movie. I appreciate the artsy-ness of his attempt, but I don't think it worked fully. I mean, only after hearing Jay-Z explain that the album is supposed to tell an overlying story did I kind of see a silhouette of his idea. The concept gets an A for effort, but a C for execution.
The beats and lyrics are all decent. I don't feel like there's a single song that I can't bear to listen to, which is pretty good for any album. The problem is that I also don't feel like there's a single song that I can't stop listening to. There is no single that grabbed my ears at first listen.
His singles, "Blue Magic" and "Roc Boys (And the Winner is).." are both solid (the latter more so than the former), but again, I feel like listeners who aren't Jay-Z fans just won't feel it.
Overall, the album is not bad. The idea of a concept album is intriguing and shows that Jay-Z isn't just trying to make money. The beats are retro but still bump (who knew trumpets would make a good beat?). The lyrics are still Jay-Z powerful. But the problem is that these three points don't converge on any single song, making the album lack a strong single. For Jay-Z fans, that won't matter so much, but casual listeners won't be so impressed.
Recommended Tracks: Roc Boys (And the Winner is).., No Hook, Blue Magic
Grade: B
Extras:
Roc Boys (And the Winner is).. Music Video
Blue Music Video
Jay-Z on David Letterman
Monday, November 5, 2007
[Feature] TV: It Does the Body Good.
Remember the good old days of being baby-sat by the TV? You know, turning the tube on as soon as coming home from school, doing your homework in front of it, falling asleep to it, the usual… No? Oh, was that just me? Well it turns out that spending your entire childhood in front of the TV is bad for you. What, you say? Yeah. Big shocker, I know. Apparently it makes kids lazy and dumb and uninspired to go out and be active. Given that 15% of American children are considered to be obese, and with that number growing by the year, it is not surprising that everyone, from the government to advertisers to major networks, are trying to do something about it.
In response to the grumblings about the general unhealthy state of American kids, news came early this summer that major food companies, such as McDonald’s, PepsiCo, and Campbell Soup, had agreed to stop advertising to children under 12 for food that didn’t meet the set nutritional standards. This was HUGE (heh, I guess much like the kids we’re dealing with here). After all, industry estimates show that advertisers spend up to $900 million on television tailored to children 12 and under.
By not advertising to kids, that number would significantly decrease, quite possibly leading to a hefty loss in profits. However, should these actions by these major corporations necessarily garner a pat on the back? Not really, the decision to do this most likely stemmed from overdue pressures from child advocacy groups and imminent lawsuits. But still, actually putting people first instead of profit? That’s pretty interesting to think about.
The crackdown on nationwide childhood obesity extends well into the television that kids watch. Most of the major networks that cater to children have put into action various programs, whether on-air, online, or beyond, to help in the campaign for active living. Combined with the efforts of advertisers to cut back on promoting unhealthy lifestyles, it almost seems like media is heading towards a new wave of philanthropy.
A couple of years ago, the Cartoon Network implemented their Get Animated program, which encourages kids to (gasp!) turn off their TV and get outside. Part of this program included Rescuing Recess, which kicks off National Recess Week. Did anyone even know that the last week of September is National Recess Week, let alone remember what recess was like? I vaguely have memories of rushing to finish lunch, and then getting outside to play for 5 minutes before the bell rang for the next class. My memory probably sums up most kids’ experience with recess; only 4% of state schools have any sort of policy that ensures daily recess in elementary schools. And with increasing budget cuts and academic pressure, many U.S. schools are being forced to cut down or eliminate altogether recess from their daily schedules.
Similarly, Nickelodeon executed the Let’s Go Healthy Challenge around the same time, with the same idea- an on-air and on-line bombardment of promotions to get kids moving again. To take it a step further, the network broadcasted three hours of dead air on a Saturday earlier this fall to get kids off the couch and outside. The move was probably risky on their part, since there are a ton of other kid-friendly channels those children could have watched instead. But more importantly, Nickelodeon, like Cartoon, was sending out a clear message: we care about your well being, so get outside, get active, and get healthy.
Only time will tell just how effective these initiatives were in curbing childhood obesity. But as influential as the media and television can be, they can only play a small part in real life. It’s quick and easy to blame the spike in child obesity and inactivity to TV, advertising, and technological advances. But the truth is, kids just really need parents, teachers, and mentors that can teach them about healthy eating and incorporating activities into their lives. However, that is an oversimplified solution to a more complicated problem, so it’s pretty commendable that the media can be used for the good, and to actually teach instead of merely entertaining. So maybe TV isn’t that bad for you at all. Watch on, kids, watch on.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
What are you doing this weekend?
Forecast
Fri: 57°F, sunny
Sat: 53°F, 30 percent chance of showers
Sun: 58°F, partly cloudy
See
Opening this weekend:
American Gangster (starring: Denzel Washington, Russel Crowe)
Bee Movie (starring: Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Mathew Broderick)
Shop:
The Warehouse Sale will be sampling the latest denim all weekend long at the Metropolitan Pavilion. RSVP to avoid the $5 admission fee.
Notes:
Daylight Saving Time on November 4th. Turn your clocks back (or wait for them to do it themselves) and enjoy the extra hour!
Events:
The New York City Marathon is this weekend. Check out the ING New York City Marathon Health and Fitness Expo at the Jacob Javits Center, free admission. Stay for the fireworks (presented by Poland Spring) at 7:30 that will take place above the finish line in Central Park. The main event will take place on Sunday. The professional women start at 9:37 AM the pro men and the rest of the open field starts at 10:08 AM.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Secret Santa 2.0
A site that my friends and I have successfully used to setup our secret santas is Elfster.
Elfster is like the Facebook of secret santa websites. The site automatically picks names (you can even rig it so certain people don't get each other), you can create wishlists, and ask anonymous questions to your secret-santa-person (or to anyone, for that matter).
As this will be our third year using the website, my friends and I can definitely vouch for its awesomeness.
WGA vs. AMPTP
There is a war going on. And it's not in Iraq. It's in Hollywood, and it's pretty important if you care at all about TV, film, and the creative process in general. The Writers Guild of America, which represents about 12,000 TV and film writers, are likely to go on strike pending a final decision to be made by today. Negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have fallen through, and it seems a full-out strike is inevitable. The looming strike is over royalties from DVD sales, which were last negotiated in 1988 before DVD/home video became the big commodity it has become now, as well as royalties from new media. Basically, writers want a bigger stake in royalties from all places their work is distributed, including internet downloads.
So why is this important, and how will it affect us?
Well, should the strike happen, the immediate effects would be felt on the late-night shows, including Letterman, Leno, Conan, and The Daily Show, which are not pre-written in advance due to their topical natures. No writers = No lengthy monologues (Conan is funny, but he also has writers to make him funnier), no political jokes, no top 10 list. Down the line, daytime soaps would be the next to go, since they stockpile about 30 days in advance, and then further down the line, the prime time comedies and dramas. The effects of that probably won't be seen until first/second quarter of 2008, but with production completely shut down, it will be a very uneven season for most of the shows we know and love. This would also mean a bombardment of reruns, reality shows (and not the semi-scripted kind, such as The Hills, which has writers) and game shows to fill prime time spots. Just what television needs. =P
Obviously there are two sides to the negotiations. But considering DVD sales have been steadily on the rise, and new media is increasingly making a presence in the world of tv and film, it seems that the AMPTP should be making more of an effort to give the writers a bit more than what they're getting. Is it fair for the producers to reap all the benefits of DVD or iTunes sales? After all, without writers (a lot of whom also act as producers on shows), there would be no words for actors to speak, no shows for directors to direct (for the lack of a better word), nothing for producers to work on. And with an actual strike, the writers aren't the only ones who will be affected when all of Hollywood shuts down: there are hundreds of behind the scenes crew members who will be out of jobs as long as the strike goes on. Here's to hoping a quick and just resolution, for everyone's sake.
(image courtesy of AccessHollywood.com)
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