Live TV shooting

Click here to go to most recent posts.

Cutthroat Chicken

Click here to go to most recent posts.

Molson Canadian Beer commericals

Some of my favourites:





Embedding not allowed on this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y09YOkVmGg0
















Click here to go to most recent posts.

Traffic is backed up along Lake Shore Boulevard...

In Canadians' perennial quest to shed their inferiority complex vis a vis their American cousins, they may have finally succeeded. Unfortunately, what they now showcase as equal to if not superior to those of our neighbours', is decadence, immorality, deceit, and bigotry. Modelled after the hit American reality TV show Jersey Shore, I give you Toronto's own...

Lake Shore






Click here to go to most recent posts.

Man allegedly sets blaze because of late dinner

Mon May 24, 9:04 pm ET

SISSONVILLE, W.Va. – Kanawha County authorities said a marital spat over a late dinner has landed a man in jail on an arson charge. Lt. Sean Crosier of the Sheriff's Department said 60-year-old Guy Edward Jones came home Sunday and got angry because his wife, Beverly Jones, didn't have dinner on the table.

Crosier said the couple fought and Beverly Jones ran to a neighbor's house. Crosier said she turned and saw flames coming out of the basement and her husband exiting through the basement door.

Guy Jones was in the South Central Regional Jail on Monday afternoon in lieu of $50,000 bond. It could not be determined whether he had a lawyer.

Story

In related news, the producers of the popular Fox television series The Simpsons, have put out a press release indicating that a search for a suitable replacement for the character Jasper Beardly is already underway and they expect there to be no impact to the current production schedule.

Jasper Beardly:

Click here to go to most recent posts.

That's how we fix it

I did a double take when I saw this commercial for the first time. I literally laughed out loud and then chuckled for the next two days every time I thought about it. Listen to them laughing at the end. It's as if the characters themselves can't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. It's one of my all-time favourites.





Click here to go to most recent posts.

It's bottom of the ninth with two out...

What's up with baseball announcers these days? Why do they keep informing the viewers over and over...and over again about the current status of the game? For instance: "There's a man on first with two outs at the bottom of the third in a zero-zero tie". Uh, thanks, but I know all that--it's right there on the screen...constantly.

I guess because of technology, the requirements of the job have changed--they just forgot to CC: the announcers on the memo. They should stick to analysis of the game and throw in a little personal stuff here and there. Maybe they don't have enough interesting or insightful things to say and have to back fill with um, filler. Whatever the reason, I want my money back.


Click here to go to most recent posts.

What's that smell?

No doubt you've noticed how technology is being used with increased frequency to produce visually interesting and perplexing TV commercials. One of my current favourites is an Old Spice commercial that really caught my attention the first time I saw it. Not only does it use tricks, but the premise is also very amusing. See for yourself...




Click here to go to most recent posts.

The Mover

A year or so ago, I noticed a very nice girl's voice singing a jingle in a TV commercial. I forget which ad it was. Anyway, several months later, I heard the same, unmistakable voice in another commercial. Since then, the disembodied voice keeps popping up with more and more frequency. The jingles are always pleasant and uplifting.

Several weeks, ago, after hearing the same disembodied voice singing a background song in a TV show, it started to drive me crazy. Who is this woman, and why haven't I heard or read anything about her obvious popularity. About two days after that, lo and behold, the voice came from my daughter's room! I raced over and begged her--"Who belongs to that voice?!"

She tells me the name I was so curious about. I need to explain right now that my daughter watches very little TV. When I related to her what I just have to you, she had no idea of the phenomenon that was taking place. I went to my PC and found out all about this young recording star. As I suspected, she burst onto the recording scene with great success.

The reason I was inspired to write this tonight is that the artist blew me away. I mean even more so than before. I was watching TV and she sang her jingles in two consecutive commercials. The first was for Coffee Mate, and the second was for McDonald's.

By now, you may be wondering what has this post's title "The Mover" got to do with a singer. Allow me to let you in on what was to me the best kept secret in the recording industry. Her name is Emilie Mover. She is a Canadian musician with a stunningly beautiful, captivating voice and whose simple ballads are deliciously sweet.

If you've never heard of her or her music, here are a few tidbits to whet your appetite.














Click here to go to most recent posts.

What is the world coming to?

I happened to catch the following promo for a show on a specialty channel called Slice. I guess it's the channel formerly known as The Life Network (slice of life?) Anyway, the show is called Shear Genius and is about hair stylists competing for who knows what--perhaps a shot at fame an fortune like most of the other "reality" shows.

I'm no prude--I've been around the block more times than most people, but something in the commercial took me by surprise--so much so, that I wasn't sure I heard it right. I jumped up and went to YouTube to see if I could find it.

As it turns out, my hearing seems to be fine, but I take little pleasure in learning this. I find the spot in the ad disgusting and in my opinion, not appropriate for general consumption. Civility is dead, it would seem. I would have liked to have attended the funeral--I was a big fan of it for a very long time. Listen to the commercial and tell me what you think about the bit at about 24 seconds in.




Click here to go to most recent posts.

Home alone kitty

Being a cat lover, I had to share this...

Click here to go to most recent posts.

Deep, philosophical question

Why do I have to pay for unlimited TV watching if I only watch a few hours per month? Why isn't all TV programming "pay per view"? It's like driving your car 100 miles per month but paying for as much gas as if you drove it 24/7. WTF? Why aren't there the multitude of packages and options that we see for phone (land or mobile) service? I mean besides the fact it would be more fair and provide less profit for our overlords. It's like having to buy a public transit monthly pass when you only need to travel once per week. WTF? It's like wanting a coffee and doughnut but every restaurant forces you to pay $20 for all-you can-eat. WTF? Feel free to post your own analogy in the "Comments" section. And don't forget to tack on "WTF?" on the end.

Rogers--the saga ends

In the interest of not boring you to death, I'll write the Readers Digest version of this personal story. I wrote the previous sentence before having written the story. Let me apologize ahead of time for the length of this sordid tale.

Last year, bugs in the log-in process for my cable TV provider's website prevented me from getting in to view my account. I used to log in monthly to make sure I knew the right amount to pay since I had signed up for paperless billing. At the time, I felt I did the right thing for the environment, myself and Rogers Cable.

Anyway, I called them up to report the problem and they assured me they would fix it and that I should try it again in 30 minutes...which I did...and which they didn't. Various permutations of this scenario repeated itself from every few days to every few weeks between myself and a different customer service rep for the next three months or so.

On my next call I angrily told the agent that I was tired of repeating my story without results and demanded to speak to a manager. Rather than apologizing to me, the agent instead raised his voice to me saying that if I wanted him to help me, I need to tell him what the issue was. I told him again that I wanted to speak to his manager. He gave me an ultimatum:"Do you want my help or not?" I was equally adamant in my demand: "I want to speak to your manager". The next thing I know, the phone went dead. The S-O-B actually had the gall to hang up on me.

I sat there incredulous for a few minutes collecting my thoughts. I vowed then that I would terminate my service with this company--a company I had given my business to for some 25 years. Unfortunately, since then, I have been unable to find a suitable replacement. However...

Recently, I was talking to someone I know who works at Rogers who told me that it is well known within the company that their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. He gave me the name and e-mail address of someone newly appointed to deal with dissatisfied customers. I immediately sent out an e-mail and basically relayed my disgust about how I was treated and that I intend to terminate my TV service because of it.

That was last Thursday. Late this afternoon (Tuesday), there was still no response. I phoned Rogers to follow through on my promise. Of course, I was asked why I decided to cancel. I said "Frankly, your customer service sucks". At his urging, I repeated one last time the sordid story. He genuinely seemed appalled.

He proceeded to profusely alternate between apologizing and making offerings of discounts and free hardware. I refused his "trinkets" and told him that if others in his company that I had dealt with were as cordial and understanding of the value of a good and loyal customer, neither his company nor I would find ourselves in the current situation.

The kicker, and the word is very appropriate since it really is Rogers last kick at me, is that their policy is that the service is not terminated for 30 days from the date of cancellation. As mind-boggling as it seems to me that they can get away with such a ludicrous thing, I didn't even bother to argue the point.

Sooo, I will be sans TV service one month from now. I'm sure I will miss it--after all, I've been an addict since I was a small child. But, like going cold turkey on any addiction, the pain will ease over time, and I expect a full recovery. And I wish nothing but the...worst for the longtime supplier of my "fix".

Goodbye and good riddance to bad rubbish.

I'm ok

Apparently, the following TV commercial aired during the 2009 Super Bowl last January, but I saw it for the first time just now. It struck me as very true to life, with a little artistic exaggeration for effect. I hope it makes you grin like I did. Ladies, this is a peek into the male psyche. Enjoy.

Everyone's favourite tax lawyer

Famed tax lawyer, Roni Deutch is asked what other career she might have pursued had she not become a lawyer.

It's now official

The world has exhausted all possible aspects of creativity. There are no more good songs, movies, novels or TV shows being produced. The last nail in the coffin of novelty as we know it came in the form of a TV program.

While engaging in an evermore act of futility, namely surfing the breadth of the cable TV offerings, I came across a familiar face. It was the mug of Steve Davis. For those of you who are not familiar with Steve, or his visage, he was one of the best snooker players ever to poke balls with a stick.

You'll notice that I said was. You can guess that this day saw Steve without his trusty tool of the trade. What was Steve doing on TV, today, you ask? He was playing poker. And why do you suppose he was playing poker? Because having won world championships in snooker multiple times, he was looking for new challenges? I doubt it.

I did not rest on the particular channel very long, but I was there just long enough to learn that at least one of his opponents was also previously a successful snooker player. This leads me to believe that this was the theme of the program: washed-up-pool-players-who need-money-and-will-do-anything-to-make-rent.

Don't get me wrong. I am a big fan of both billiards and poker, but having watched every conceivable angle of poker on TV, little of it exciting, you have to draw the line somewhere. What's next? Danny Bonaduce and Shirley Jones square off in a wild game of strip poker? Was that the sound of your lunch hitting your keyboard?

Are you sitting down? The above scenario is not beyond what someone would think to put on TV. You see, Ms. Shirley Jones, aka the wholesome Mrs. Partridge of The Partridge Family fame, is about to "bare all" in an upcoming issue of Playboy. Did I mention that the old bird is 75 years old?



New York Post story.

On "popular" culture

I wouldn't recognize Beyonce if she fell on me.

I couldn't pick out a single Goo Goo Doll out of a police lineup.

If my life depended on it, I couldn't name even one rap song.

The only desperate housewife I've ever known was my ex-.

Except for Susan Boyle, the name/image of no other Idol contestant resides in my brain.

Reality TV has never occupied my reality.

I consider the above quite an accomplishment.

Here come da judge...

I hate to admit it, but I am a big fan of the Fox Network court TV shows. Judge Mathis, in particular, is one very cool dude. If he hadn't decided to go into law, he could have made a pretty good living as a comic. But this post is not about him.

If any of you watch/have watched any of these shows, I think you'll identify with this. I am sooo tired of muting or switching channels just before it's time for another set of commercials. They have this annoying habit of playing excerpts from the segment that will follow the upcoming commercials. It would be bad enough if they just played 5-10 seconds of it, as it is usually the most interesting/unexpected/outrageous part, but they play as much as 30 seconds or more. Talk about spoiling the story.

If you forget/neglect to mute/switch channels, you may as well get up and clean the bathroom for the next five minutes because the only thing you'll be missing is commercials followed by a few minutes of crap that was too boring to put in the "preview".

If I were a (potential) sponsor, there's no way I'd advertise during those programs. Instead of giving the viewer incentive to stay glued to the TV, I believe it has the opposite effect. If one watches the preview, (s)he is likely to think "I'll run and (insert household chore here) and if I'm not back by the time the commercials are over, I probably won't miss much."

Tomorrow, I'll post about the banal subject of world hunger. Or not.

Here's a freebie for all you faithful readers

I have documented my displeasure with Rogers Cable customer service very well in this blog. I have been anticipating giving them their walking papers, but it's difficult to wean myself off TV viewing. I'm hoping that it won't be long that I can get for free or a minimal charge, my TV fix from the web. Paying $61 a month for what is mostly crap on the idiot box these days is um, idiotic.

I already have available a multitude of sporting events that my second tier cable subscription doesn't include by going here. The site also has a lineup of network, specialty and comedy programming, some of which are 24-7, here. And not only is it free, but no sign-up, log-in or e-mail registering is required! Don't say I never give you anything.

On the horizon, is a piece of hardware that you pay for once for about $100, and you never have to pay a red cent for all the programming you can stand. Ever. Now, that's the kind of deal television executives should have been providing all along instead of charging a king's ransom for a half decent lineup and then nickel and diming us to death for converter boxes, digital cable, high definition, etc. Read all about it, here.

Rogers, your days are numbered...

Love and the City

A couple of evenings ago, I had just turned on the TV and was hunting, when I stopped on a news story about volunteers teaching adolescents to cook. The story returned to Susan Hay, well-known Global TV weather girl and charity worker. The camera was close in on her face and in that moment it struck me what a truly rare young lady this is.

With bigtime looks and small town personality, she could take the world by the tail if she wanted. But what does she do, instead?

From 2001-2003, she hosted a news segment titled "Heart of the City" about community involvement. In 2003, Hay went to Africa with World Vision to help children orphaned by AIDS. She went to Africa two more times to transform lives. As if that isn't enough, Susan is a spokesperson for four charitable and research foundations, runs marathons to raise money for leukemia research, and is currently hosting "Making a Difference" seen bi-weekly on Global.

Ok, back to that instant in time I mentioned earlier. Just then, they flashed Susan Hay's e-mail address on the screen, and I jumed up and wrote her a short note commending her for all the good work she does. Despite being at the TV studio at the end of a very long and arduos day, this lovely woman took the time right there and then to respond to my e-mail within fifteen minutes of my having sent it.

The world could use a few more Susan Hays.