Monday, January 14, 2008

The Super Bowl will be the Bezos Bowl...

Regardless of which two of the four NFL playoff contenders makes it to the Super Bowl on February 3rd, no team has come as far as the Amazon Bezos, who are guaranteed a spot at the highest rated TV show of the year. This time, instead of Pepsi tying in with Apple iTunes like they did four years ago, Pepsi will help Amazon take on iTunes, the biggest digital music store in creation. Despite the continuing decline in record sales, down 9.5% according to Nielsen SoundScan, the online digital business is - fine, thank you...

Here's how the Pepsi/Amazon promotion works: consumers who buy Pepsi drinks will receive points that can be redeemed for music downloads at a special section on the Amazon site. Amazon and Pepsi will give away up to a billion songs and prizes like DVDs and electronics and instead of Green Day providing the music as they did four years ago, it will be Justin Timberlake. The only declining member of the four giant music manufacturers in this promotion is Universal, because of a pricing disagreement but they'll continue to use Amazon to move product...

Amazon is expected to pay the record companies about 40 cents per track given away although their usual payment ranges from 65 to 70 cents. And why are the record companies playing Super ball with Amazon which started its rival music service in September? There is growing tension between the music industries and Apple because CEO Steven P. Jobs has become too powerful in setting prices and terms and what better way to get even than by going to Jeff Bezos, one of the best marketers in the world...

Apple is hardly a total loser in this switch to Amazon since any mention of music downloading will move more iPods which dominate the digital player market. Most experts agree that the competition of total dominance in the digital music business will be a long one. As NPD analyst Russ Crupnick puts it, "the much bigger target is all of the people who don't do digital downloading yet. How do I convince them that digital music is a good thing to begin with? I think Amazon is in a good position to do that, but it's a long struggle." ...

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1882] Doctor my eyes: The Myopia Hunt Club in Winchester (MA) becomes the first country club. The founders were actually near-sighted or myopic. The club eventually moves to Hamilton (MA)...
2. 1952] Debuted on this date: "The Today Show" on NBC-TV with Dave Garroway and Jack Lescoulie. The 40th anniversary of the show was commemorated in 1994 on channel 4 New York. It contained a clip of the first show: http://youtube.com/watch?v=WaIdkheRQpo ...1972] "Sanford and Son" starring Redd Foxx on NBC-TV. The show runs until September 2, 1977 before going into syndication and here's a video clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=VIc5Ll_aWIQ&feature=related ...
3. 1954] Wedding Bells: Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe marry at San Francisco City Hall. Marilyn will charge 'mental cruelty' in October and the couple will divorce...2004] J.P. Morgan Chase strikes a deal to buy Bank One for $58 billion...
4. 1963] Color blind: George C. Wallace vows "segregation forever" as he's sworn in as Governor of Alabama. Eventually Wallace drops his racial discrimination stance...
5. 1970] I am I said: The first "Human Be-in" is held, where else? San Francisco. Golden Gate Park is the scene. Far-out, man...
6. 1993] Musical networks: David Letterman announces that he's leaving NBC for CBS-TV...
7. 1998] Circular filed: Whitewater prosecutors begin questioning Hillary Rodham Clinton about the gathering of FBI files on past Republican political appointees...
8. 1998] Medical supply money: NBC agrees to pay Warner Brothers a record $13 million per episode to retain the top-rated TV show, "ER"...
9. 2001] Super Sunday here we come: The Giants gain their third trip to a Super Bowl by beating Minnesota for the NFC crown but they lose the SB to Baltimore. With their upset win over Dallas yesterday, they have a shot of going again if they get by Green Bay - no lock there...
10. 2004] And Teddy too: George W. Bush unveils a plan to send astronauts and Ted Kennedy to the moon, Mars and beyond to a galaxy billions and billions of light years away...

Music Memories:

• 1960] Salute me, PFC: Elvis Presley is promoted to Sergeant in the U.S. Army...
• 1966] The Name Game: David Jones changes his last name to 'Bowie' to avoid confusion with Monkee Davy Jones...
• 1970] Someday means never: Diana Ross and the Supremes perform their last concert together at the recently imploded Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas...
• 1989] Released on this date: "Back in The U.S.S.R." LP - Paul McCartney. Paul gets a chance to do the tune in the U.S.S.R., seen here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=GhRu9yzlTRI ...

Commentary:

"Happy Trails" to Long-time member of the WATD family on Massachusetts' south shore, George Denham who passed away Saturday after a long battle with cancer at 65. George and Ed Bowen were co-hosts of the Saturday night show, "Yesterday's Memories" for over 20 years. Arrangements for George are through the Kraw-Kornack Funeral Home in Norwood. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the vocal group 'Hall of Fame' in care of Ed Bowen, WATD, 130 Enterprise Drive, Marshfield, MA 02050. Thanks to Paul Power for informing us of this sad news...The Brooklyn Dodger pitcher who brought a world championship to Brooklyn and stopped the Yankees domination of the fall classic in 1955, Johnny Podres, passed away yesterday at the age of 75 in upstate New York. Podres had been battling a lengthy illness but no cause of death has been announced. 'Happy Trails': Johnny Podres...On an uplifting note, the timeline has been updated for the Patriots to: 17 down and 2 to go and with the exception of San Diego, this Super Bowl promises to have giant numbers which ever of the other 3 remaining teams gets to Glendale, Arizona (the Patriots, who would still be undefeated and either Green Bay, because of Brett Favre's popularity or the Giants in the #1 market and their huge fan base). Can't wait...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":

Jason Bateman (39), LL Cool J (40), Marjoe Gortner (64), Faye Dunaway (67), Julian Bond (68), Jack Jones (70), Allen Toussaint (70), Clarence Carter (72), Caterina Valente (77) and Andy Rooney (89) seen in this hilarious clip being interviewed by Ali G. Andy doesn't have a clue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpDyJObCKOY ...

Timeline Countdown: 6 days until the NFL Conference Championships, 17 down and 2 to go for the Patriots, 20 days until the Super Bowl and 31 days until pitchers and catchers report voluntarily...

Friday-Sunday, January 11-13, 2008...

Three more wins to perfection***

Being program director at WRKO had its perks, one of which was sitting in the press box at Boston Patriots games. I can thank News Director Roger Allan for pulling the strings on that one. I saw my first Patriots game over 40 years ago when the team had no home and would play games in a corner lot if it was available. The Red Sox had kicked the Patriots off the Fenway Field turf and home field traveled mostly between Boston College's Alumni Field and Harvard Stadium. Schaeffer Stadium in Foxborough became home to the Patriots in 1971. The team finally had its own stadium. I still have the kit given to all media attendees on press day, August 15th when the stadium opened - even walked on the artificial turf. I saw the first pre-season game when the 'New England' Patriots beat Fran Tarkenton's Giants and the season opener, a win over Oakland...

The 2008 New England Patriots march toward perfection is just three wins away but light years away from the Pats of old who would test your patience and sanity with each game they played in the 60s and 70s. One win over Jacksonville tomorrow night at home and then a Divisional playoff game, also in Foxborough. Should they win that game they'll appear in their 4th Super Bowl this decade. A win in Arizona on February 3rd and not only will perfection be theirs but so would the NFL 'team of the decade' title...

The New England Patriots have joined the Yankees, Auerbach-era Celtics, Shaq and Kobe Lakers and Notre Dame football as teams either loved or hated. They've also become one of the highest rated TV shows of the fall. The Patriots games against the Giants, Colts, Steelers and Cowboys are the four highest rated shows of the season, finishing ahead of "Dancing With The Stars" and "CSI"...

Beating physically tough and talented Jacksonville tomorrow night will require a perfect game for the Patriots but it's something they're getting used to in their march to perfection. GO PATS!!! ***With their win over Jacksonville, January 12, the Patriots are now 17-0 and 2 wins away from perfection...

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1949] Debuted on this date: "Arthur Godfrey and His Friends" on CBS-TV. It will run 10 seasons on the network (1/12)...1958] "Seahunt" starring Lloyd Bridges which airs 4 seasons on CBS-TV before going into syndication (1/11)...1965] "Hullabaloo" on NBC-TV. Runs for one season (1/12)...1966] "Batman" on ABC-TV. The original series runs 2 seasons (1/12)...1971] The Archie Bunker era begins as "All in the Family" debuts on CBS-TV. In this episode 'Meathead' wins some money: http://youtube.com/watch?v=mrmciEMB2Ro&feature=related . The show morphs into 'Archie's Place' in 1979 and spawns "The Jeffersons" (1/12)...1981] "Dynasty", inspired by "Dallas" starts an 8-year run on ABC-TV (1/12)...
2. 1958] Deuces are wild: The NCAA adopts the two-point conversion option after touchdowns. The AFL started using this when it began in 1960, the NFL followed in 1994 (1/12)...
3. 1962] 'Happy Trails': Brilliant TV comic and production innovator Ernie Kovacs dies in a car crash on a rain-slicked road in California at 43 (1/13)...1976] Mystery writer Agatha Christie dies from natural causes at 85 (1/12)...1978] Former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey is the victim of terminal cancer at 66 (1/13)...2003] Following emergency abdominal surgery, Maurice Gibb dies from cardiac arrest at 53 (1/12)...
4. 1969] Super Sunday: Joe Namath's guarantee holds up when the Jets shock the NFL with their upset win over the Baltimore Colts to win Super Bowl III in the Orange Bowl (1/12)...1970] Hank Stram's Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl IV with a 23-7 victory over Minnesota (1/11)...1981] The Oakland Raiduhs become the first Wild Card team to win the Super Bowl with a win over Philadelphia (1/11). Since the Wild Card system started in 1970, 8 WC teams have reached the Super Bowl with 4 winning as recently as the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006...
5. 1976] 'We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto': Dorothy Hamill wins her third consecutive national figure skating title (1/11). Here she goes for the '76 world shot program title: http://youtube.com/watch?v=8r42MTdTTCc&feature=related . Dorothy has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. If anyone can beat this, it's this true champion...
6. 1979] Pushed or jumped?: Singer Donny Hathaway dies after a fall from the 15th floor of a Manhattan hotel. Donny was only 34 (1/13)...
7. 1982] Nothing funny about it: An Air Florida 737 crashes into Washington D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge after taking off in a snowstorm. The plane lands in the Potomac killing 78 (1/13). Howard Stern is fired when asking on-air when the next flight was scheduled to arrive at the 14th St. Bridge...
8. 1982] Going to Hall: Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson are elected into Baseball's Hall of Fame (1/13)...2000] Carlton Fisk who caught for the Red Sox for 11 seasons and the White Sox for 13, is elected into the Hall of Fame, along with Tony Perez of the Reds (1/11)...
9. 1989] Guilty as charged: Subway vigilante Bernhard H. Goetz is sentenced to one year in prison for gun possession (1/13) but is freed the following September...2005] Britain's Prince Harry apologizes after a newspaper publishes a photo of the young royal wearing a Nazi uniform to a costume party. Somewhere a beautiful princess is spinning (1/12)...
10. 1998] On tap: Linda Tripp provides Kenneth Starr's office with taped conversations between herself and Monica Lewinsky about you-know-who (1/12). Here's part of that evidence: http://youtube.com/watch?v=w86yFIHFGbY ...

Music Memories:

• 1957] Recorded on this date: "All Shook Up" - Elvis Presley (recorded in a Hollywood studio) (1/12)...1965] "Do You Wanna Dance" - Beach Boys (1/11). From a TV appearance the same year: http://youtube.com/watch?v=zC_X6Q0yCWw ...
• 1959] Seed money: Berry Gordy Jr. borrows $800 from his sister to start Motown Records (1/12)...
• 1959] Number One on this date: "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" - the Platters (1/13). Straight from the record: http://youtube.com/watch?v=hpwlE9YHiFI ...1963] "Go Away Little Girl" - Steve Lawrence (1/12)...1964] "Ring of Fire" (a compilation LP) - Johnny Cash (1/11)...1974] "The Joker" - Steve Miller Band (1/12)...1977] "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" - Leo Sayer (1/11) and 1985] "Born In The U.S.A." LP - Bruce Springsteen (1/12). This replaced the "Purple Rain" LP (Prince) that was #1 for 24 weeks...
• 1995] Going to Hall: The Allman Brothers, Al Green, Janis Joplin, Martha & Vandellas, Neil Young, Frank Zappa and Led Zeppelin go in (1/12) on a "Stairway To Heaven": http://youtube.com/watch?v=lKg4g9zMeHI ...

Commentary:

You knew him as "Brother Dominic" from the Super Bowl award winning Xerox commercial but his real name was Jack Eagle. Jack, father of sports play-by-play man Ian Eagle, passed away yesterday at the age of 81. No cause of death was given...We also lost a figure who made the history books in 1953 - New Zealand's Edmund Hillary. Hillary, along with his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay were the first people to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Hillary died from a heart attack yesterday at 88. 'Happy Trails' to both...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":

(1/11) Amanda Peet (36), Mary J. Blige (37), Vicki Peterson (Bangles) (50), Golfer Ben Crenshaw (56), Naomi Judd (62), Clarence Clemons (66), Rod Taylor (78), Grant Tinker (83) and Don Cherry (84)...

(1/12) Heather Mills (40), Jeff Bezos (44), Christiane Amanpour (50), Howard Stern (54), Rush Limbaugh (57), Kirstie Alley (57), Joe Frazier (64), The Amazing Kreskin (73), Glenn Yarborough (78), Ray Price (82) and Luise Rainer (98)...

(1/13) Orlando Bloom (31), Patrick Dempsey (41), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (47), Richard Moll (64), Billy Gray (70), Rip Taylor (74) and Francis Sternhagen (78)...

Timeline Countdown for Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008: 7 days until Conference championships in NFL, 17 down and 2 to go for the Patriots, 21 days until Super Bowl and 32 days until pitchers and catchers report voluntarily...(updated January 13, 2008)...

Thursday, January 10, 2008

The two hottest Radio giveaways in 2008...

Four or five years ago you were considering whether or not to give away Mp3s or iPods, today it's Blu-ray and HDTV. You would go around the room for pros and cons. Are you promoting the use of iPods or Mp3s and do you risk losing listeners by giving them away? Sure and sure, but there's a 'but'. They're using them anyway so why not have lots of listeners come to you to get the hottest product on the market? At least you'll get more listeners for the promotion and maybe get some new ones who occasionally listen to you. Better than not at all, right? And if one of them wins an iPod or Mp3, think of the word-of-mouth about your station spread by that winner...

Whether it's concert tickets, LPs (remember those days), iPods, Blu-ray or HDTV giveaways, they're all forms of entertainment used while not listening to a radio. The only difference is the quality of the entertainment, today at a peak never attained before. Blu-ray DVD has the best quality picture I've ever seen. It is quickly becoming the standard. Warner Brothers has joined Disney, 20th Century Fox, MGM and Lionsgate using Blu-ray exclusively, leaving Universal Paramount and DreamWorks as the sole HD DVD supporters. HDTV, now the landslide winner in it's competition with plasma for flat screen supremacy is the perfect companion for Blu-ray DVDs and is recommended...

Granted you can't afford to do too many HDTV or Blu-ray player giveaways unless you give away the shop to an appliance store in a trade-out but you can offer the DVDs as qualifying prizes and a 40 inch top of the line HDTV as a grand prize with a runner-up prize of a Blu-ray player. Hey, even I would enter that contest...
10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1776] Uncommonly Common: Brit Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet, "Common Sense" which is jussst a bit 'out there' as explained in this video clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=rtpzVu13F28&feature=related ...
2. 1863] Opening the Tube: Britain's Prime Minister Gladstone opens the first section of the London Underground Railway. Take a ride with us on the Bakerloo line at Waterloo Station, guv: http://youtube.com/watch?v=goE1TEQj0xc&feature=related ...
3. 1870] Black gold, Texas tea: John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil...
4. 1949] Premiered on this date: "The Goldbergs" on radio since 1929, moves to TV on CBS-TV, then NBC and Dumont, running until 1956...1964] The U.S. version of "That Was The Week That Was" premieres with David Frost and Nancy Ames as part of the 'Newsmakers' cast...1971] "Masterpiece Theatre" premieres on PBS, hosted by Alistair Cooke. The first drama: "The First Churchill's"...
5. 1969] Curtains: The final 'Saturday Evening Post' hits the newsstands after 147 years of publication...2003] Thomas D. Mottola is out at Sony after 14 years at the helm. One voluptuous singer with a five-octave range throws a party...2005] CBS issues a damning independent review of mistakes related to a "60 Minutes Wednesday" report of President Bush's National Guard Service. Three news executives and a producer are fired for their "myopic zeal" in rushing it to air. One myopic network news anchor starts backing up the truck to his office...
6. 1982] 'The Catch': Joe Montana hits Dwight Clark in the end zone for 'The Catch' giving the San Francisco 49ers a 28-27 comeback win over Dallas and putting them in the Super Bowl against Cincinnati the following week and here's a video clip of it: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_TEDnG4FCHk ...
7. 1990] Wedding Bells: Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc. complete a $14 billion merger making Time Warner the world's largest entertainment company...2000] Same date, different year, Time Warner agrees to buy AOL in the largest ever corporate merger priced at $162 billion. The FTC approves the deal on December 14, 2000. Hey, how'd that work out???
8. 2000] Who's your daddy?: Melissa Etheridge ends her silence, naming David Crosby as the father of her child raised by she and partner Julie Cypher...
9. 2001] Geronimohhhhh: American Airlines agrees to acquire most of TWA's assets (and debts) for about $500 million, ending TWA's financially troubled plight...
10. 2004] 'Happy Trails': Actor-writer Spalding Gray, 62, vanishes from his Manhattan apartment. Two months later his body is found floating in the East River, an apparent suicide...2007] Italian producer Carlo Ponti dies of natural causes at 94...

Music Memories:

• 1949] It's final, it's vinyl: Vinyl records are introduced by Columbia and RCA Records and in case you're thinking about pressing your own vinyl, watch this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=xUGRRUecBik ...
• 1956] Elvis is in the studio: Elvis Presley does his first Nashville recording session for RCA. "Heartbreak Hotel", the first song published by Tree Publishing is one of the songs recorded. It was released on January 27th backed by "I Was The One" and will top the Pop and R&B charts and reach top 5 on the Country chart: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_1Qo1eaWF8c ...

Commentary:

'Happy Trails' to baseball trainer turned part owner of the Boston Red Sox, Edward "Buddy" LeRoux who passed away Monday in a New Hampshire hospital at the age of 77. Buddy was trainer of the Sox from '66 to '74 and later owned a piece of the team. He also owned Suffolk Downs race track from '86 to '89. No cause of death is given...and 'Happy Trails' to the white haired man who accompanied every celebrity (over 500) immortalized in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also known as the 'unofficial' mayor of Hollywood, Johnny Grant died from natural causes on Wednesday at 84...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":

Pat Benatar (55) "Love Is A Battlefield": http://youtube.com/watch?v=zpddJDdJmkM&feature=related , George Foreman (59), Donald Fagen (60), Rod Stewart (63), Frank Sinatra Jr. (64), Scott McKenzie (69) who will celebrate by going to San Francisco and wearing flowers in his hair: http://youtube.com/watch?v=TlQCuq-eezg&feature=related , Willie McCovey (70), Ronnie Hawkins (73) and legendary Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler (91)...

Timeline Countdown: 2 days until the NFL Divisional playoffs, 10 days until the Conference championships, 16 down and 3 to go for the Patriots, 24 days until the Super Bowl (Glendale, Arizona) and 35 days until pitchers and catchers voluntarily report to spring training...

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

The Lite brightens in New York...

After a decade of dominance in New York ratings and then dropping out of the top spot in the summer, Lite went from flickering to bright in the latest fall Arbitron. WLTW is back on top with an overall 5.5 share of the market with Spanish formatted WSKQ almost a full share behind with a 4.6. Why the turn-around? That's easy. Before your Thanksgiving turkey was digested, a steady menu of Christmas music was launched on Lite, a proven formula every year for WLTW. Program Director Jim Ryan also told David Hinckley that in order to get an edge in Arbitron's new Personal People Meter (PPM) methodology, he intensified his music testing, "with so many stations overlapping on songs, there's always a danger of burnout. We wanted to avoid that." Uninterrupted music sets have an advantage when PPM is employed...

The two stations that were a factor in the decline of WLTW in the summer (WWFS Fresh and WCBS-FM which went back to oldies) were flat in the fall. Overall numbers had WCBS-FM with a 3.7 and Fresh with a 2.7. Now the trick for Lite is to stay on top without Christmas music but knowing why they slipped is invaluable knowledge. It was from burnout, a term I remember from the music testing we did back at WNBC in the mid-70s...

Don Imus wasn't on long enough to be a factor during this ratings period but the number he'll have to beat is 3.3 which is what Kuby & Curtis had in tying for 8th place in morning drive...

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1894] Pass the Kleenex: William Kennedy Laurie Dickson copyrights the first motion picture. The movie, filmed in February, 1893 at the Edison Studios in West Orange (NJ) features 47 images of a man sneezing. Strangely enough, no Oscar nominations were handed out...
2. 1903] SOLD to the highest bidder: New York businessman Frank Farrell and Bill Devery buy the Baltimore Orioles franchise of the American League for $18,000 and move the team to upper Manhattan where the team finishes 4th as the Highlanders. In 1913 the team is renamed the Yankees...
3. 1922] Birth of a station: KQV Pittsburgh is licensed and launched and I am proud to be one of the former program directors of the legendary station 51 years later...
4. 1929] The eyes have it: The Seeing Eye is incorporated in Nashville (TN). The company's purpose is to train dogs to guide the sightless...
5. 1937] Premiered on this date: LOOK Magazine. Within a month, LOOK becomes a bi-weekly until 1971. There have been attempts to resurrect the famous magazine but to no avail...1956] Abigail Van Buren's 'Dear Abby' first appears in newspapers...1959] "Rawhide" starring Clint Eastwood joins about 30 westerns during the '59-'60 TV season and here is Frankie Laine's great song that opened each show: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5SFnvLC83ew ...
6. 1958] 'O' my: Future NBA Hall of Famer, Oscar Robertson drops 56 as Cincinnati beats Seton Hall 118-54...
7. 1972] Bogus book: Billionaire and Bahama resident recluse Howard Hughes, says a purported biography of him by Clifford Irving is fake and also discloses that Clifford Irving is not even his real name...
8. 1972] One big floating grill: The Queen Elizabeth ocean liner is destroyed by fire in Hong Kong Harbor as seen in this one-minute biopic of the great QE1: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rxfjilzdb_g&feature=related ...
9. 1989] Going to Hall: Carl Yastrzemski and Johnny Bench are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Once again voters have denied Jim Rice entrance. I hope he gets in next year...
10. 2003] 'Happy Trails': Boston Globe sportswriter Will McDonough dies of a heart attack at 67...

Music Memories:

• 1979] The gift that keeps on giving: The benefit concert, 'A Gift Of Song' is held at the U.N. starring Olivia Newton-John, John Denver, Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge, the Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, Donna Summer, ABBA and Earth, Wind & Fire and here's a clip of all of them in action: http://youtube.com/watch?v=aXYmcnqbPgg&feature=related ...

Commentary:

From Paul Power: "George Denham from the 'Ed & George Show' on WATD-FM in Marshfield (MA) has been off the air since September and is quite ill in a local hospice. His on-air partner Ed has issued a plea for anyone who knows George to send cards or letters to the station so he can deliver them to Ed. The address is: WATD-FM, c/o George Denham, 130 Enterprise Drive, Marshfield, MA 02050." Thanks for the note Paul...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":

Dave Matthews (41), Joely Richardson (43), Crystal Gayle (57) and as some listeners at CBS-FM used to call it - "Donuts Make My Brown Eyes Blue" (http://youtube.com/watch?v=F5JNtxeJLQ4 , David Johansen a.k.a. Buster Poindexter (58) hey, when you're hot, you're hot, hot, hot: http://youtube.com/watch?v=sCPntCBMxic&feature=related , Jimmy Page (64), Susannah York (67), Joan Baez (67), Jimmy Boyd (69), Dick Enberg (73), Bart Starr (74) and Judith Krantz (80)...

Timeline Countdown: 3 Days until the NFL Divisional Playoffs, 11 days until the Conference championships, 16 down and 3 to go for the Patriots, 25 days until the Super Bowl and 36 days until pitchers and catchers report voluntarily...

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Flat screen fever spreads...

I'm sure you know at least one person that's bought a flat screen TV within the last 10 days or so. Two of my friends have and there are others like myself waiting for prices to come down a bit before buying one. Make no mistake about it though, I will buy one. There's no consensus on which TV is best although people seem to be choosing a Japanese brand or one that at least sounds Japanese. A new announcement yesterday linking a TV manufacturer and Internet giant is guaranteed to whet your appetite if you too are fueled by flatness...

Matsushita Electric Industrial will start selling Internet-connected TVs in the U.S. that can access Google's YouTube. This marks the first partnership between Japanese electronics and the world's leading search engine. And there's more matrimonial news. Sharp and Sony have joined forces, enabling flat-panel TV consumers to download news and other information directly onto their TVs. That announcement was also made this week. It's plain to see that TV and the Internet is about to become one big happy entertainment family for the benefit of both industries...

If you're torn between LCD or plasma, here's a clue for you: LCD leads plasma in sales. According to Toshiba, LCD TVs account for a whopping 84% of the flat panel market. "Plasma growth is stagnant," says Scott Ramirez, VP of Toshiba's TV market unit. Ramirez adds, "LCD outsells plasma at higher prices." Manufacturers are considering selling new plasma TVs in Japan or Europe if there is more of a demand for it than in the U.S...

TV manufacturers are already selling modules to existing TV sets to enable viewers to link up with the Internet. Both Sony and Sharp did so early this week to allow the viewing of Internet based content including prime time shows and other Internet features like traffic.com. Look for more nuptial news to surface as the Internet and TV look for marital bliss hand-in-hand...

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1675] Something smells fishy: The first corporation in the U.S. is the New York Fishing Company. Rudy Giuliani discovers corruption and closes it down...
2. 1952] Premiered on this date: Marie Wilson comes to TV as "My Friend Irma." The show has a brief two-year run after a more successful radio career. Here's a clip of one of the radio shows and the movie starring Martin and Lewis: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qFpsPKOnmcE&feature=related ...
3. 1958] Chess King: 14-year old Brooklynite Bobby Fisher wins his first U.S. Chess championship...
4. 1964] War is declared: President Lyndon Baines Johnson declares a 'War on poverty'...
5. 1976] 'Happy Trails': Chinese premier Chou En-Lai dies of bladder cancer at 77...1996] Former French president Francois Mitterand is a victim of prostate cancer at 79...
6. 1982] Ring my bell: American Telephone & Telegraph settles the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against it by agreeing to divest itself of the 22 Bell System companies. They were broken into 'baby' Bell's..
7. 1994] Guilty as charged: Tonya Harding wins the Lady's U.S. Figure Skating Championship in Detroit but is stripped of the title for involvement in the Nancy Kerrigan knee bashing...1998] Ramzi Yousef is sentenced to life without parole for his role in masterminding the first WTC bombing in New York. Yousef is now making license plates in a Colorado maximum security prison...
8. 2002] No Child Left Behind: George W. Bush signs into law the controversial NCLB Act...
9. 2006] No more Delays: Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, facing corruption charges, steps down as House majority leader...
10. 2007] It's just New Jersey: An unknown stench covers Manhattan and Jersey City (NJ) resulting in the evacuation of several high-rise buildings and the temporary shutdown of PATH train service through the Hudson River...

Music Memories:

• 1935] All Elvis, all the time: Elvis is born in Tupelo (MS) making 'The King' 73...1957] Elvis celebrates his 22nd birthday by taking an Army pre-induction physical...1973] Priscilla says 'Happy Birthday Elvis' and Elvis replies 'Thank you Darlin. By the way, I'm filin' for divorce'...1993] An Elvis commemorative stamp is issued by the U.S. Postal Service. It's a likeness of the 50s, slim, King...
• 1966] Number One on this date: "Rubber Soul" LP - Beatles...1966] "We Can Work It Out" - Beatles, straight off the record: http://youtube.com/watch?v=xR3bqXR_x5A&feature=related ...
• 1966] Curtains: After a two-year run, "Shindig!" bows out with The Who, seen from an earlier appearance: http://youtube.com/watch?v=H2i_es7DDes , The Kinks (from an earlier appearance): http://youtube.com/watch?v=F4DV-5d6a5g and Dick and Dee Dee from the last show: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5ZZZEUqBzEA ...

Commentary:

The Baseball Hall of Fame announces the names of those elected today and while Goose Gossage is getting big play in the New York media, Jim Rice should be elected, even Gossage agrees. He was one of the most dominant sluggers of his era and Gossage hated facing him. If I had a vote, I'd vote for both. The NFL Player of the Year is also announced today and Tom Brady is expected to win that award, deservedly so. He would have been the unanimous MVP of the year if it weren't for one hometown vote for Bret Favre. Hey, Favre had a very good year but he didn't have a great year like Brady did. Favoritism should have no part in any voting process...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":

Mike Reno (Loverboy) (53), David Bowie (61), Terry Sylvester (Hollies) (61), Yvette Mimieux (66), Stephen Hawking (66), (Little) Anthony Gourdine (68), Bob Eubanks (71), Shirley Bassey (71), Charles Osgood (75), Sander Vanocur (80), Soupy Sales (82) and Larry Storch (85)...

Timeline Countdown: 4 days until the NFL Divisional Playoffs, 12 days until the Conference championships, 16 down and 3 to go for the Patriots, 26 days until the Super Bowl and 37 days until pitchers and catchers voluntarily report...

Monday, January 7, 2008

Let your fingers do the walking in your Wikia Search...

Wikipedia launches their new search engine today. Wikia Search is the newest effort by Wikipedia, founded by Jimmy Wales in 2004 which adds another excellent source for data searches. I'm already jumping on the bandwagon although I was disappointed when I did a search for 'famous liars' and 'Roger Clemens' didn't come up. In keeping with their open door policy, Wikipedia will incorporate human input with methods based on computer programs. Wikia Search will encourage users to rate the effectiveness of search results and will also favor results judged to be most helpful...

Wikipedia has no illusions that their new search engine will become number one over night. Wales figures it may take at least two years for the engine to reach the standard set by Google and Yahoo! "Wikipedia started with nothing and steadily built an audience over six years to become the number 8 Web site on the Internet. An audience will stay if they have a sense of ownership, which is what we're providing with the seach project." Wales cautions against expecting too much from Wikia Search too soon: "Don't expect Google-quality searches on Day 1, that's just not going to happen." ...

The search engine race is like 'Secretariat' in the 1973 Belmont Stakes with Google at 57.7% of U.S. searches in November, according to Nielsen/Net Ratings. The closest rival is Yahoo with 17.9%. I use several sources of information for my Timeline, Music and Video Memories in writing the daily MPR but my two main sources are 1) Google and 2) Wikipedia, although I find the later a bit European slanted at times and when they throw up a dubious source of information red flag, I go elsewhere. I'm looking forward to using the new Wikia Search engine because it will get me directly to Wikipedia and that in itself will help shorten the length of my searches. It will also provide you with an additional source for your searches whether you're trying to remember what song was number one on January 7th in any year you choose or provide the answer to the latest trivia quiz in your office or at home. Simply Google - Wikia Search...

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1896] Debuted on this date: The first "Fannie Farmer Cookbook" is published...1927] The first transatlantic phone service begins between London ("London Calling") and New York. 31 calls are made on the first day...1927] The Harlem Globetrotters play their first game in Hinckley (IL). Gee, I wonder who won??? 1929] The "Buck Rogers" comic strip runs in newspapers starting out as "Buck Rogers 2429 AD" but will change to "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century." ...1941] The NBC Blue Radio Network presents "The Squeaky Door" which will later be known as "Inner Sanctum"...1950] Ernest Tubb makes his 'Grand Ole Opry' debut...1967] "The Newlywed Game" debuts with host Bob Eubanks on ABC-TV...
2. 1926] Wedding Bells: George Burns and Gracie Allen say "I Do." George starts singing songs no one has ever heard and closes the ceremony by saying "Good Night Gracie." Here, George Burns tells us about meeting Gracie in Cleveland: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_nAesuInmU0&feature=related ...
3. 1953] Dropping a bomb: President Harry S. Truman announces the development of the H-bomb...
4. 1959] Recognizing the bearded one: The U.S. recognizes the new Fidel Castro government in Cuba...
5. 1980] "GERONIMOhhhhhhh": Jimmy Carter signs legislation authorizing $1.5 billion to bail out Chrysler...
6. 1992] A landslide election: Tom Seaver of the Mets is elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame with the highest (98.8%) percentage of votes in history. Seaver won 311 games. Rob and I were at his 300th win at Yankee Stadium in 1985 against the Yankees (Seaver was a member of the White Sox then). Here's a video tribute to #41: http://youtube.com/watch?v=3Yd3DBtIU9U ...
7. 1996] Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow: One of the biggest blizzards in U.S. history blankets the east with more than 100 deaths reported...
8. 1998] Impeachy: Monica Lewinsky signs an affidavit denying a sexual affair with Bill Clinton. On the same date in 1999 Clinton goes on trial before the Senate facing impeachment...
9. 2005] 'D-I-V-O-R-C-E": Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston separate after 4 years of marriage. 'Bradgelina' becomes part of the Hollywood vocabulary...
10. 2007] Patriotism Rules: The Patriots win the AFC Wild Card Playoffs with a victory (37-16) over the J-E-T-S. One year earlier, same date, the Pats beat Jacksonville (28-3), their opponent Saturday night in Foxborough...

Music Memories:

• 1963] Bonds vs. Checker: Gary U.S. Bonds files a $100,000 lawsuit against Chubby Checker, claiming that Checker stole "Quarter to Three" and turned it into "Dancin' Party". The suit will be settled out of court. You be the judge: "Quarter to Three": http://youtube.com/watch?v=WMIS0Nw49FA ... "Dancin' Party": http://youtube.com/watch?v=WnWdizSvHKw ... Hmmm...
• 1969] Number One on this date: "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" - Marvin Gaye: http://youtube.com/watch?v=hajBdDM2qdg ...

Commentary:

There was good reason for the late Will McDonough of the Boston Globe to call Roger Clemens, 'The Texas Con-Man'. Of course, McDonough was upset at the time that 'The Rocket' was leaving Boston for more money, something he's done several times in the past. There's nothing wrong with that but what is wrong is lying about it. Each time he left a team he claimed it wasn't about the money, so there is some reason to doubt his truthfulness, something I questioned last night while watching the '60 Minutes' interview with Mike Wallace. He came off as angry and defensive, as a man who feels he was wrongly accused of using HGH and steroids, two illegal substances, despite the Mitchell Report testimony by trainer Brian McNamee that he injected Clemens with both. There were several inconsistencies in Clemens interview including the denial that his body changed. Look at Roger's rookie card and compare it to any baseball picture of Clemens in the 21st century and you tell me if his body changed or not. He also said "you'll never see me pitch again." You know that if some dopey team out there comes up with enough money for another year, Clemens will be happy for another big payout. And finally, his ill-advised defensive posture is sure to be tested, as early as next week by Congress and don't think McNamee's attorneys won't file a counter suit against the tarnished 'Rocket.' ...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":

Nicolas Cage (44), Katie Couric (51), David Caruso (52), Kenny Loggins (60), Jann Wenner (62), Bob Kwest (65), Paul Revere (70) and William Peter Blatty ("Rosemary's Baby")(80)...

Timeline Countdown: 5 days until the NFL Divisional Playoffs, 13 days until the Conference Championships, 16 down and 3 to go for the Patriots, 27 days until the Super Bowl and 38 days until 'pitchers & catchers'...

Friday-Sunday, January 4-6, 2008...

The clock starts ticking on Clemens Sunday...

Roger Clemens tries to clear his name again, this time on the big stage - "60 Minutes". Trainer Brian McNamee told the Mitchell Report about injecting Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone in 2000 and 2001. Clemens latest claim is that it was "lidocaine" and "B-12". "It's for my joints" says Clemens. "Brian has a master's degree in sports medicine and knows the difference between lidocaine and B-12 and what he injected Roger with and Clemens knows the difference too" says McNamee's attorney Earl Ward. Ward has also warned Clemens not to characterize the former strength and conditioning coach as a liar on "60 Minutes." "We're prepared to file a defamation lawsuit if he does" Ward adds...

It's reported that Clemens in his "60 Minutes" interview with Mike Wallace calls the accusation "ridiculous" and says that he "never" used any banned substance. Wallace looks him in the eye and asks Clemens if he swears he never used any banned substance. "Swear" says Clemens...

What Mike Wallace should have also asked Clemens is if he feels he robbed a bank for the fortune he made for his 6-6 comeback year with the Yankees in 2007. Clemens made enough money to send all the adopted children of Brad and Angelina to Harvard for four years and feed all the starving people of Angola for a lifetime...

So come Sunday night, Clemens takes the big stage to tell his version of the truth. Will he defame McNamee? Will he redeem his tarnished image? Will he be believed? Will he suffer a fate worse than the heartbreak of psoriasis? At the end of the "60 Minutes" interview will Roger Clemens prove his case or will he wind up Capsaicin Blue???

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1759] Wedding Bells: George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis and instead of cutting into a wedding cake, it's a cherry pie baked by the new bride (1/6)...1945] Future President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Pierce tie the knot in Rye (NY) (1/6)...
2. 1885] 'Scalpel': Dr. William Grant performs the first successful appendectomy on Mary Gartside, only to discover that her gall bladder was supposed to be removed (1/4)...
3. 1896] A radiant discovery: Austrian Wilhelm Roentgen discovers the type of radiation that becomes known as the X-Ray (1/5). The public scoffs saying they can see right through this ruse. Now boys and girls, today's course is 'Radar 101': http://youtube.com/watch?v=BsLpwGam_gI ...
4. 1935] Debuted on this date: Bob Hope debuts on network radio in "The Intimate Revue" (1/4)...1936] Porky Pig debuts in the WB cartoon "Gold Diggers of '49" (1/6). One year later Mel Blanc starts voicing Porky, Bugs, Daffy, Sylvester and Tweety... 1948] Warner Brothers-Pathe shows the first color newsreel which contains the Tournament of Roses Parade and highlights of the Rose Bowl game (1/5)...1975] "Wheel of Fortune" debuts on NBC-TV (1/6)...1984] "Night Court" starring Harry Anderson, Markie Post and John Larroquette debuts on NBC-TV. It marked debuts for Post and Larroquette (1/4)...
5. 1940] 'One, one, one": The first test of FM radio is heard by the FCC. It will be one year before radios with FM capability will give the public new static free signals (1/5). I hope that demonstration was better than this one for the new Nokia N800: http://youtube.com/watch?v=SdJaksTX_gI ...
6. 1957] Curtains: After 69 years, Collier's Magazine folds (1/4)...1957] Jackie Robinson retires rather than play for the crosstown Giants, a team he was traded to by the Brooklyn Dodgers (1/5)...
7. 1967] 'Happy Trails': Poet T.S. Eliot dies in London of emphysema at 76 (1/4)...1993] Ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev succumbs to AIDS at 54 (1/6)...1993] Jazz great Dizzy Gillespie is a victim of pancreatic cancer at 75 (1/6)...1994] Former House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill dies from colon cancer at 81 (1/5)...1998] Sonny Bono, pop-star turned politician is killed when he crashes into a tree while skiing in South Lake Tahoe (CA) at 62 (1/5)...2001] Bandleader Les Brown dies from lung cancer at 88 (1/4)...
8. 1994] "Why? Why?": Jeff Gillooly goon Shane Stant makes a pinata out of glamour skater Nancy Kerrigan's leg. Olympic skating rival Tonya Harding sets the whole thing up and is banned from competition. Gillooly and the recently departed Stant do time for the crime (1/6). Here's the whole story according to ABC News: http://youtube.com/watch?v=6T09XWRkq5M&feature=related ...
9. 2004] I'm Confessin': After 14 years of denials, Pete Rose publicly admits that he bet on baseball while manager of the Cincinnati Reds (1/5). The sports world is not shocked by this admission...
10. 2007] I am woman hear me roar: Nancy Pelosi is the first female elected to the post of Speaker of the House (1/4). Somewhere Tip O'Neill drinks heavily...

Music Memories:

• 1936] Number One on this date: "Stop! Look! Listen! - Joe Venuti (on a 78) is the first chart topper based on record sales in Billboard (1/4), founded in 1894 as a trade paper for the bill posting industry...1958] "At The Hop" - Danny & the Juniors (1/6). Straight off the record: http://youtube.com/watch?v=fqpBnRTbpN0&feature=related ...1967] "I'm A Believer" - Monkees (stays on top for 7 weeks)(1/4): http://youtube.com/watch?v=2VUqgZ-kl-Q ...1968] "Magical Mystery Tour" LP - Beatles (1/6)...1980] "Please Don't Go" - KC & Sunshine Band (1/5)...1997] "You Don't Have To Be A Star" - Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. (1/6)...
• 1954] Recorded on this date: 19-year old Elvis Presley records a 2-song demo ("Casual Love Affair" and "I'll Never Stand In Your Way" for mom Gladys at Sun Studios (1/4). Sam Phillips kvells, sets up an audition for Elvis and signs him...1962] "Point of No Return" - Gene McDaniels (1/4)...
• 1957] Curtains: Elvis makes his 7th and final appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" singing "Hound Dog", "Love Me Tender", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Don't Be Cruel" and "Too Much" (1/6)...

Commentary:

Here are some more 'words' or 'phrases' to add to the 'should be banned' list: From Ed Pyle, "Used mostly by politicians, it seems, and I'm afraid we'll hear it ad nauseam until November - "At the end of the day". Why do they give short shrift to early in the morning, lunch time, or even, say, 3:45 in the afternoon? And come to think of it, while we're at it, we could ban 'ad nauseam' as well." From Paul Power: "Besides 'clearly' and 'unclear', I also hate when newscasters 'tease' with an upcoming story 3 hours before and say, "we'll tell you why later" (but only if you listen to us and nobody else). Channel 7 (Boston) is famous for saying "you'll hear this on just one station" but I've seen the same stories on the others previously. Kind of reminds me of when (John) Garabedian used to call songs "WMEX Exclusives" even though we (WRKO) were already playing them." I love that last sentence Paul. Thanks to Paul and Ed for adding to the vocabulary which deserves burial...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":

(1/4) Michael Stipe (48), Patty Loveless (51), Dyan Cannon (71), Don Shula (78) and Barbara Rush (81)...

(1/5) Pamela Sue Martin (55), Chris Stein (58), Ted (Isaac of 'Love Boat') Lange (60), Diane Keaton (62), Charlie Rose (66), Robert Duvall (78), Walter Mondale (80) and legendary St. John's basketball coach Lou Carnesecca (83)...

(1/6) Howie Long (48), Nancy Lopez Knight (51), Bonnie Franklin (64), Lou Holtz (71), Nino Tempo (73), Earl Scruggs (84) and Pollster Lou Harris (87 with a margin of error of + or - 5%)...

Timeline Countdown for Sunday, January 6, 2008: Two more Wild Card Playoff games today, 6 days until the Divisional Playoffs, 14 days until the NFL Conference Championships, 16 down and 3 to go for the Patriots and 28 days until the Super Bowl...

Thursday, January 3, 2008

The flickering Lite is dim but not out...

Clear Channel, inspired by the sight of dollar signs, may not even realize it but WLTW-FM, long the dominant ratings king in New York until recently is positioned to regain its dominance through the process of evolution. Stand still - you lose. Make on-going changes - you win. Valerie Smaldone lost yesterday after a 24-year run at Lite. Valerie who was probably the easiest personality on the ears in New York will pursue her show business interests which include acting and writing. You can also bet that the voice overs will continue, something she excels at. Clear Channel can justify its on-air staff changes because of the bite in Lite's ratings made by WWFS-FM, the old WNEW which 'Blinked' its way to become 'Fresh' and WCBS-FM, the old Oldies station masquerading as being back ("We're Back") although not being entirely truthful with that claim...

Since late 2006, Bill Buchner, J.J. Kennedy, Steven Roy, Al Bernstein and now Valerie Smaldone, all mainstays for years have been jettisoned but life goes on and so will Lite. The nature of radio is such that when you're hired at a station you're already thinking about your next station. Get them before they get you. It's the nature of the beast...

Already Arbitron's Personal People Meter (PPM) ratings for Thanksgiving to mid-December show Lite's annual Christmas music format drew about 6 million listeners a week, 8.2% of the audience. While Buchner, Kennedy, Roy, Bernstein and Smaldone are all good personalities, this is a music station after all and although I feel for them, life goes on, for Lite and for them...

The Lite may be flickering but it's not out...

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1847] The Name Game: Yerba Buena (CA) is wisely renamed San Francisco otherwise Tony Bennett would be singing "I left my heart in Yerba Buena"...
2. 1929] Inherit the network: 27-year old William S. Paley becomes CBS President, inheriting it from his father...
3. 1938] Debuted on this date: The March of Dimes is established to fight Polio...1952] "Dragnet", a radio show since 1949 moves to TV. Here's a 9-minute clip from a 1952 episode: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jfkugbASxCY ...
4. 1967] 'Happy Trails': Jack Ruby, 55, the man that shot JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, dies in a Dallas hospital of a pulmonary embolism. Whatever he knew died with him...
5. 1973] The worst sale ever???: CBS sells the Yankees to a group headed by George Steinbrenner for $10 million. CBS bought it for $13.2 million. In retrospect, this could be a worse deal than the Red Sox selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees...
6. 1990] Curtains: Ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrenders to U.S. forces in Miami, done in by loud Rock & Roll...1997] Bryant Gumbel signs off for the last time as host of NBC's "Today Show". This was his 10th anniversary visit back: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tk341r8zvog ...
7. 1993] Comeback Kid: Backup Buffalo Bills QB Frank Reich overcomes a 32-point deficit to beat Houston 41-38 in OT in a Wild Card playoff game. It's the biggest comeback in NFL history. Reich did the same thing in College at Maryland as a backup to Boomer Esiason...
8. 2000] No more Peanuts: The last new daily 'Peanuts' comic strip by Charles Schulz runs in 2,600 newspapers...
9. 2005] Strange bedfellows: The President taps his father, former President George H.W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton to help raise tsunami relief funds. Strangely enough the two exes become friends but maybe not so much now...
10. 2007] Laid to rest: Former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford is buried in his home town of Grand Rapids, Michigan...

Music Memories:

• 1957] Recorded on this date: "I'm Walkin" - Fats Domino. In this video Fats and Rick Nelson team together to sing 'their' hit: http://youtube.com/watch?v=O4I2w-mMtnQ ...
• 1960] A really big shew: Bobby Darin and Connie Francis appear on "The Ed Sullivan Show". Don't know if this video clip is that performance but it is Darin and Francis doing a duet: http://youtube.com/watch?v=eWClgiOtPNg ...1964] The Beatles make their first appearance on U.S. television in a film clip shown on "The Jack Paar Show", not the Ed Sullivan Show, according to Jack Paar: http://youtube.com/watch?v=gJ8RfymgO8Q . The first known footage of the Beatles on a news show was seen on December 7, 1963 on the Walter Cronkite CBS Evening News, before Paar...

Commentary:

Gordie Brown adds to yesterday's list of words and phrases that should be banned: "The word 'different' always bothers me. We traveled through 15 'different' states-or-I taught English in 4 'different' school systems. Of course, otherwise they'd be all the same. Get rid of the word 'different' in this context. 'Going forward'. Does anyone ever go backward? 'Time marches on.' 'We'll be right back.' As in a talk show or news program. Nobody goes anywhere to come back from!!! Why not use something like, we'll continue after this...or ('name of program') will continue after this. When I was Production Supervisor at channel 68 in Boston back in the mid-80s, I would not allow any announcer to say 'we'll be right back'. Of course nobody was watching that new UHF station then, but I felt better. Guess that's 'it' for now. What's 'it?' Guess that's 'all' for now." I'll attribute the next two phrases which should be banned to Don Imus who wrote in a recent e-mail that he 'loves' radio guys who end a column by saying 'stand by' or 'stay tuned'. I agree although he was referring to my last e-mail to him at the time...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":

Eli Manning (27), Mel Gibson (52), Victoria Principal (58), Stephen Stills (63) seen here in action: http://youtube.com/watch?v=tIrZjql7rS8 , Bobby Hull (69), Dabney Coleman (76), Robert Loggia (78) and legendary Beatles producer George Martin (82)...

Timeline Countdown: 2 days until the NFL Wild Card Playoffs, 9 days until the Divisional Playoffs, 16 down and 3 to go for the Patriots, 17 days until the Conference Championships and 31 days until the Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona...

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Away with words in 2008...

This word to the wise should be sufficient. Michigan's Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie chose a bunch of hackneyed and overused words or phrases which deserve to be banned. I can't agree with all of their choices, but I do agree with most. Although I think they had the media in mind when they compiled their list it can also be applied to your e-mails. Here's the list:

Words: 'E-anything', 'i-anything', 'organic', 'pop' (as in 'that color pops'), 'meaningless', 'random', 'sweet', 'decimate' (instead of annihilate or destroy), 'wordsmith' (anyone engaged in 'wordsmithing'), 'surge' and 'Webinar' (a Web seminar)...

Phrases: Topping the list is 'perfect storm' followed in no particular order by - 'post-9/11', 'x is the new y', '70 is the new 50', 'chocolate is the new sex', 'fallacy is the new truth', 'give back', 'back in the day', 'it is what it is' (for Bill Belichick obviously) and 'throw under the bus' (for anyone writing or delivering a sports report)...

I'm sure you can think of more and you're welcome to do so by dropping me an e-mail: mphillips1675@yahoo.com . Oh and one request, don't mention 'a word to the wise should be sufficient' or 'hackneyed'. Thank you...

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1870] Wanna buy a bridge???: Construction begins on the Brooklyn Bridge. 13 years later, in May of 1883 the bridge opens to the public and it's still the prettiest bridge in the world today: http://youtube.com/watch?v=KLtUEfKrxiA&feature=related ...
2. 1872] Busted: Brigham Young, 71-year old leader of the Mormon Church is arrested on a charge of bigamy for having 25 wives (24 was the limit at the time)...1968] Newark (NJ) police confiscate an entire shipment of John Lennon & Yoko Ono's "Two Virgins" LP which showed full frontal nudity of the couple on the album. The albums are wrapped in plain brown paper and placed at retail. Anyone have the original album???
3. 1935] Guilty as charged: Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial on charges of kidnapping and murdering the Lindbergh baby. Hauptmann is found guilty and executed in New Jersey...1979] The trial of ex-Sex Pistol Sid Vicious for the October, 1978 murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen opens in Manhattan. Vicious will die from a heroin overdose and not live to hear the verdict...
4. 1938] Debuted on this date: Simon and Schuster is founded...1948] Channel 13 (WNDT) begins broadcasting in the New York metro area. Call letters will change to WNET and the station will eventually become part of the PBS...1962] The nighttime version of "Password" with Allen Ludden premieres on CBS-TV: http://youtube.com/watch?v=WeFu-tcSfAo ...
5. 1960] Vote for me: Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination...
6. 1965] Broadway Joe: Alabama QB Joe Namath signs a 3-year, $427,000 contract with the New York Jets, standing under the goalpost of the Orange Bowl where his team lost to Texas one day earlier...
7. 1980] 'Happy Trails': Larry Williams of "Short Fat Fannie" and "Bony Maronie" fame is found dead in his Los Angeles home. The gunshot wound to his head is never confirmed to be the result of suicide. Remembering Larry Williams and 'Bony Maronie': http://youtube.com/watch?v=bpADm0wkyck ...
8. 1983] Curtains: The musical "Annie" closes on Broadway after 2,377 performances. It has since had several re-openings...1983] The final edition of Garry Trudeau's "Doonesbury" becomes "Doomsbury" but it will return in 1984...
9. 1984] We're Number One: The Bernie Kosar led Miami Hurricanes beat Nebraska 31-30 for the national title as coach Tom Osborne's attempt at a 2-point conversion fails...1987] Penn State intercepts Miami's Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde 5 times on their way to a Fiesta Bowl win (14-10) to give coach Joe Paterno his 2nd national title in 5 seasons...
10. 2006] Trapped: A methane gas explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia kills one miner and traps 12 others underground for more than 40 hours. Randal McCloy Jr. is the only survivor...

Commentary:

Today I will start another Timeline Countdown for the Patriots after their nail-biting win over the Giants Saturday Night. This time we count down the number of wins needed for a truly perfect season, 19, which includes two playoff wins and a Super Bowl victory. The new number is 16 down and 3 to go. We'll find out who the Pats will play the weekend of January 12 after the opening round of games this coming weekend. It's back to work for the Patriots...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":

Kate Bosworth (25), Taye Diggs (37), Christy Turlington (39), Cuba Gooding Jr. (40), Tia Carrere (41), Lynn Phillips Brough (44), Jim Bakker (69) and Julius LaRosa (78) seen here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=g05fFgjObfU ...

Timeline Countdown: 3 days until the NFL Wild Card Playoffs, 10 days until the Divisional Playoffs, 16 down and 3 to go for the Patriots, 18 days until the Conference Championship and 32 days until the Super Bowl...

(Weekend Edition) January 2 - 4, 2009

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1847] The name game: Yerba Buena (CA) is wisely renamed San Francisco (1/3) otherwise Tony Bennett would be singing "I left my heart in Yerba Buena"...
2. 1872] Busted: Brigham Young, 71-year old leader of the Mormon Church is arrested on a charge of bigamy for having 25 wives (1/2). Your commish had the over on 24...1968] Newark (NJ) police confiscate an entire shipment of John Lennon & Yoko Ono's "Two Virgins" LP which showed full frontal nudity of the couple on the album. The albums are wrapped in plain brown paper and placed at retail (1/2). Anyone have the original album???
3. 1885] Scalpel!: Dr. William Grant performs the first successful appendectomy on Mary Gartside (1/4), only to discover that her gall bladder was supposed to be removed...
4. 1929] Inherit the network: 27-year old William S. Paley becomes CBS President, inheriting the tiffany network from his father (1/3)...
5. 1935] Guilty as charged: Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial on charges of kidnapping and murdering the Lindbergh baby (1/2). Hauptmann is found guilty and executed in New Jersey...1979] The trial of ex-Sex Pistol Sid Vicious for the October, 1978 murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen opens in Manhattan (1/2). Vicious will die from a heroin overdose and not live to hear the verdict...
6. 1965] Broadway bound: Alabama QB Joe Namath signs a 3-year contract worth $427,000 with the New York Jets while standing under the goalpost of the Orange Bowl where his team lost to Texas one day earlier (1/2)...
7. 1967] "Happy Trails": Jack Ruby, 55, the man that shot JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, dies in a Dallas hospital of a pulmonary embolism (1/3). His secrets about the assassination died with him...1980] Larry Williams of "Short Fat Fannie" and "Bony Maronie" fame is found dead in his Los Angeles home (1/2). A gunshot wound to the head is never confirmed as a suicide...
8. 1973] The worst sale of a sports franchise: This award goes to CBS which sells the Yankees to a Cleveland group headed by George Steinbrenner for $10 million (1/3). CBS bought the team for $13.2 million...
9. 1993] The comeback kid: Backup Buffalo Bills QB Frank Reich overcomes a 32-point deficit to beat Houston 41-38 in OT in a Wild Card playoff game (1/3). It's the biggest comeback in NFL history. Reich did the same thing in college at Maryland as a backup to Boomer Esiason...
10. 2007] I am woman hear me roar: Nancy Pelosi is the first female elected to the post of Speaker of the House (1/4). Somewhere, Tip O'Neill gets sticking rotten drunk...For more on January 2 - 4: C L I C K:

http://melphillipsnowandthen.com

Friday-Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2007-Jan. 1, 2008...

'Happy Trails' 2007...

(Remembering those we lost in Radio, TV & Records)

January: Del Reeves (74), Yvonne DeCarlo (84), Ron Carey (71), Art Buchwald (82), Denny Doherty (66), Thornton James "Pookie" Hudson (72)... February: Barbara McNair (72), Frankie Laine (93), Anna Nicole Smith (39)...
March: Brad Delp (Boston) (55), Richard Jeni (49), Calvert De Forest a.k.a. Larry 'Bud' Melman (85), Luther Ingram (69)...
April: Barry Nelson (86), Don Ho (76), Kitty Carlisle Hart (96), Bobby 'Boris Pickett (69), Tommy Newsom (78), Tom Poston (85)...
May: Bill Todd a.k.a. Johnny Williams (WRKO) (62), Gus Saunders (Boston Kitchen) (85), Hank Medress (Tokens) (68), Charles Nelson Reilly (76)...
June: Don "Mr. Wizard" Herbert (89), Joel Siegel (63)...
July: Beverly Sills (78), Boots Randolph (80), Bill Pinkney (Drifters) (81), Tammy Faye Messner (65), Tom Snyder (71)...
August: Lee Hazlewood (78), Merv Griffin (82), Max Roach (83), Phil Rizzuto (89), Hilly Kristal (CBGB) (75)...
September: Luciano Pavarotti (70), Jane Wyman (90), Brett Somers (83), Bob Altshuler (CBS Records) (84), Alice Ghostley (83), Marcel Marceau (84), Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny)(80)...
October: George Grizzard (89), Deborah Kerr (86), Joey Bishop (89), Teresa Brewer (76), Paul (Chef Tell) Erhardt (63), Porter Wagoner (80), Robert Goulet (73)...
November: Don Dumont (79), Laraine Day (90), Hi Lit (73), Dick "Mr. Whipple" Wilson (91), Bill Hartack (74), Evel Knievel (69)...
December: Ike Turner (76), Fred B. Cole (92), Dan Fogelberg (56)...

Happy Trails and thanks for all the memories you left us with: http://youtube.com/watch?v=PGvCMruyjVg ...

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 0404] Curtains: The last gladiator competition is held in Rome and taped for later use as a NBC-TV special (1/1)...1956] After 5 years on TV, the final "Ding Dong School" airs on NBC-TV hosted by Miss Francis Horwich (12/28)...1966] The final episode of "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" is filmed (1/1)...1984] "Edge of Night" fades to black after 28 years (12/28)...1989] Jane Pauley leaves the "Today Show" (12/29)...1995] The last "Far Side" cartoon runs. Started in 1980 by Gary Larson, 'Far Side' books and calendars continue to be best sellers (1/1)...
2. 1851] Why oh why?: The first YMCA is organized in Boston (12/29) which eventually leads to the Village People: http://youtube.com/watch?v=X9DC26UUZhQ ...
3. 1863] Mine eyes have seen the glory: Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that slaves in rebel states are free (1/1)...
4. 1892] Debuted on this date: The Ellis Island Immigrant Station opens in New York Harbor (1/1)...1902] The first 'Tournament of Roses', later renamed the 'Rose Bowl' collegiate football game is played in Pasadena (CA) (1/1)...1935] Charles Darrow patents the game of Monopoly (12/31)...1953] The first color TV sets go on sale for $1,175 (12/30). How many would you like??? 1954] The 24-second clock is used for the first time in the NBA in the Celtics-Rochester game (12/30)...
5. 1898] I'll take Manhattan: Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island are consolidated into New York City (1/1)...
6. 1943] Old Blue Eyes takes Manhattan: Times Square greets Frank Sinatra at the Paramount Theater. His career explodes after this appearance (12/31). Here's the 'Chief Cheech' in a movie from 1943: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qsdzGzLzA2Q ...
7. 1953] 'Happy Trails': Legendary Country singer Hank Williams is found dead in his car, a victim of a drug and alcohol overdose at 29 (1/1)...1972] Future Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente is killed on a mercy mission when the cargo plane he had chartered goes down in the Caribbean. Clemente, 38, was en route to helping victims of a Nicaraguan earthquake (12/31)...1980] Folksinger/songwriter Tim Hardin O.D.'s on heroin at 40 (12/29)...1983] Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys drowns while swimming near his boat at Marina del Rey (CA) (12/28). Ironically, Dennis was the only real surfer in the group. Wilson was 39...1985] Teen Idol Rick Nelson dies in a plane crash on his way to a New Year's Eve concert in Dallas (12/31). Rick was one of the nicest people I had the pleasure of knowing...1997] Michael Kennedy, 39-year old son of the late Robert Kennedy is killed in a skiing accident on Aspen Mountain (12/31)...1999] Sarah Knauss, the world's oldest person (119) dies of natural causes (12/31). Sarah was born in 1880...
8. 1958] Frozen in sports history: The Baltimore Colts beat the Giants 23-17 at 8:15 into overtime on a frozen Yankee Stadium field to win the NFL Championship in a thriller (12/28)...
9. 1959] Castro takes control: Fidel Castro overthrows the government of Fulgencio Batista and seizes power in Cuba (1/1)...
10. 1967] Equal but separate: The FCC starts requiring AM/FM combo stations to be at least 50 percent separate in programming (1/1). Lots of great stations will be born, including WRKO (in March)...

Music Memories:

• 1945] Music City is on the map: Sheb Wooley records the first commercial record cut in Nashville. It was on the Bullet label (so it could get bullets in Billboard?) (12/29)...
• 1956] Recorded on this date: "Heartbreak Hotel" - Elvis Presley (1/1)...1964] "Fun, Fun, Fun" - Beach Boys (1/1)...
• 1965] Released on this date: "My World Is Empty Without You" - Supremes (12/29)...1968] "Touch Me" - Doors (12/28)..
• 1966] Number One on this date: "I'm A Believer" - Monkees (12/31)...1967] "Hello Goodbye" - Beatles (12/30)... 1968] The Beatles 'White Album' (12/28)...1974] "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" - Elton John (12/29). Herrrrrreeee's Elton: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q7AgIEfBq_Q ...

Commentary:

If you think, like me, the year went by too fast, you're ready for the next one. It will be here sooner than you think - Monday night at midnight. However you intend to celebrate, do it safely. Happy New Year!!!! See you next year...

'Happy Birthday...happy birthday":

(12/28) Sienna Miller (26), John Legend (29), Seth Meyers (34), Ray Bourque (47), Denzel Washington (53), Alex (Boxtops) Chilton (57), Edgar Winter (61), Dame Maggie Smith (73), Johnny Otis (86) and Lou Jacobi (94)...

(12/29) Mikhi Phifer (33), Jude Law (35), Paula Poundstone (48), Evonne Elliman (56), Ted Danson (60), Marianne Faithful (61), Jon Voight (69),Tyl Mary Tyler Moore (70), Tom Jarriel (73) and Inga ('Benson') Swenson (75)...

(12/30) Allyson Mireya Phillips (2), LeBron James (23), Tiger Woods (32), Sean Hannity (46), Tracey Ullman (48), Matt Lauer (50), Sheryl Lee Ralph (52), Meredith Vieira (54), Patti Smith (61), Davy Jones (62), Michael Nesmith (65), Paul Stookey (70), Sandy Koufax (72) and Bo Diddley (79)...

(12/31) Joey McIntyre (35), Val Kilmer (48), Bebe Neuwirth (49), Donna Summer (59), Burton Cummings (60), Diane Von Furstenburg (61), Ben Kingsley (64), Sarah Miles (66), Anthony Hopkins (70) and Odetta (77)...

(1/1) Verne Troyer (39), Don (Father Guido Sarducci) Novello (65), Country Joe McDonald (66), Frank Langella (68) and J.D. Sallinger (89)...

Timeline Countdown for January 1, 2008: Happy New Year, 4 days until the NFL Wild Card Playoffs and 11 days for the NFL Divisional Playoffs (the Patriots will be in one of those games)...