Sleepless in Midland

What women want -- Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Dave Letterman?

All these guys had widely publicized extra marital affairs, and the one thing they have in common is their power and popularity. They sure don't seem to have any trouble with the ladies, except perhaps having one too many. (Maybe more, but don't ask, don't tell.)

Dave Letterman's recent disclosure of a fling with a staff member was all we heard about for two or three days. A lot of attention was focused on the crime and the alleged blackmailer, however WSJ blog tackles the issue of whether there could be a sexual harassment case somewhere in the mix. See Stupid Human Tricks: On David Letterman and the Law which points out that simply having sex in an environment where there is a significant power disparity isn't enough to make a case. In a relationship such as this one a passive female might have been too afraid to say "no," but she also might have welcomed the excitement and possible opportunity such an affair might bring. It has happened before, ask Monica Lewinsky.

We regular guys watch it all from the bleachers as those guys get women to drop their worldwide pants. Marital infidelity aside, it all seems so normal. Just as the average fellow will feel a little something when a gorgeous women gives him a friendly glance, he's also no doubt noticed a change in the body language of his significant other if a famous guy gives her a welcoming sign.

No one is to blame, except perhaps our long ago ancestors who selected their mates on the same basis and sent that gene spiraling through the generations only to get noticed when celebrities' personal lives hit the headlines. Sometimes mother nature just grabs a body part and leads it's owner into dangerous territory.

Beavis and Butthead do a movie commercial

Remember Beavis and Butthead? Their animated antics entertained TV audiences across the land as their lack of intelligence compensated for hormonal imbalance. There was a time when they were the scourge of every parent, and they took the blame for destroying western civilization and corrupting the youth of America. Then all of a sudden they were gone from the airways leaving behind reality shows to fill the void.

Anyway, B&B are back, albeit briefly, to advertise Mike Judge's new movie "Extract." Watch Film Forum with Beavis and Butthead as the pair do a movie review with a world view and word play that had parents pulling out their hair not so long ago.

How did Mike Judge draw those two out of retirement to make this commercial? He really must have some influence.

Via Collider.com.

The Walter Cronkite and Don Hewitt legacy: a more skeptical audience

Two famous media figures, Walter Cronkite and Don Hewitt passed away recently, and their fans have been providing us with much to ponder. Just last night two TV programs talked about them.

Don Hewitt created "60 Minutes," so if there is a natural place for a Don Hewitt tribute, that's it. I stopped watching "60 Minutes" years ago after reading an article written by someone who had been the subject of one of their hit pieces. It was astonishing to read his accusation about how they used wording that made him appear guilty while excluding exculpatory information he said he provided. Was he telling the truth? I don't know, but he certainly raised a reasonable doubt.

Watching a "60 Minute" piece was a bit like watching the prosecution present its side of a criminal prosecution, then the jury in this court of public opinion got sent out to deliberate guilt or innocence without the defense having had an opportunity to present the other side. The late Dallas D.A. Henry Wade didn't have it so good.

In last night's Don Hewitt tribute there were some interesting and telling stories. Supposedly in an effort to beat a TV news rival to the air on a story about some visiting Russian during the cold war, Mr. Hewitt stole the rival's broadcast truck and hid it in a field. They told it as an amusing anecdote, but damn, they admitted that he was willing to commit a felony for the sake of a story. If felony theft was a tool of his trade, then what could be wrong with a few little white lies so long as they enhanced the story?

For more on this go to the 60 Minutes Wikipedia page and scroll down to "Controversies."

On to Walter Cronkite.

Mr. Cronkite confessed after he retired that he was a Democrat, and now we learn just how seriously involved with Democrat politics he was, even as he enjoyed the status of the most trusted person in journalism. That's not to say that Democrats can't be trusted, but someone who is deeply dedicated to a particular party's politics is inevitably going to let it creep into the reporting in some way.

Last night Q & A with Frank Mankiewicz aired on C-Span with Brian Lamb delivering the Qs. And it was an interesting program. Mr. Mankiewicz had been Bobby Kennedy's press secretary, and in 1972 he was George McGovern's presidential campaign director.

Cronkite has gotten a lot of fawning coverage lately, but after death sometimes people in the know feel freer to talk about them. Those of us who watched Walter Cronkite deliver the news didn't realize at the time how much influence anchor reporters had in shaping opinions about political matters. They convinced us that they were just delivering the facts, but there was much more than that.

Cronkite and CBS pretended to be without bias, but Cronkite was making news as well as reporting it. The famous episode in which Cronkite made public his anti-war sentiments reinforced a popular notion and probably influenced a lot of people. The justification seems to be that if his opinion was the right one, then it was OK.

Walter Cronkite was a serious Democrat. Mr. Mankiewicz tells us in the interview that Bobby Kennedy had sought political advice from Cronkite. And one shouldn't have to ponder long about how being a confidential adviser to the news makers is going to influence an anchorman's reporting.

Then there was the 1972 presidential election, and that's the part of the story where Mr. Mankiewicz dropped the bomb. Mr. Mankiewicz was McGovern's presidential campaign director, and he suggested that McGovern name Walter Cronkite as his running mate. The suggestion didn't get much traction because McGovern didn't think Cronkite would accept. But years later McGovern mentioned it to Cronkite, and here was the exchange as told by Mankiewicz in a Washington Post article:

"On the contrary, George," the senator told me Cronkite replied, "I'd have accepted in a minute; anything to help end that dreadful war." At a later board meeting, Cronkite told a larger group that he would gladly have accepted the invitation to run with McGovern.

Man oh man. Who, aside from the insiders, knew Walter Cronkite was so dedicated to Democratic party politics that he would have run for Vice President? But, I suppose if a person agrees with his political view then that makes everything OK. I just wish he hadn't hidden behind a facade of independence.

Finally, to the people employed in the news business who lament the passing of that era, I hope that instead of adopting Hewitt's "tell me a story" attitude they lean more toward "tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

Nomination for most emphatic yet equivocal weather forecast of the day

There will definitely be a slight chance of rain this afternoon.

-- Heard on tv this morning.

Tall City TV should broadcast the City Council meetings

Midland residents who are Suddenlink and Grande cable customers are able to watch "Tall City TV" which is the local government access channel. For the most part, the subject matter shown so far is public relations oriented -- a video about the city, a video about how the city government operates, etc. Not long ago, a video of Mayor Wes Perry's 2009 "State of the City" speech was aired. If you missed it, click to watch it on the city's website.

There's another very good use for that channel, and it's a shame the city isn't taking advantage of it. The other day at the City Council meeting a local kook* mouthed off with a suggestion that the City Council meetings and hearings be recorded on video and broadcast on that government access channel.

The mayor explained that they had thought about it in the past and got a bid from a company that would provide that service for a fee of $80,000 per year. Yikes! Nice pay for part time work. Here we are trying to keep the tax rate from going up, so we sure don't need new expenses.

But there are some alternatives. This project could be done on the cheap. The city owns some video cameras, and surely one of them is available for a few hours a month to record the meetings. It would take someone to press "record," then when the recording is complete, transfer it to the broadcasting system. And that would take a little skill, but it's been done before, so how hard could it be? There are probably city employees who could do it. They've all got regular jobs to do, but to tag them for another eight or so hours a month to record and transfer video doesn't seem like too much of a strain on the system. But let's assume they are all too busy. Recruit volunteers.

Check out this statement from an April '08 city press release:

In 2007, over 120 volunteers contributed a total of 25,469.5 hours. This translates into $497,164.64 for value of time.

So the city is willing to let people work for free. And there are many retired people in the city who have or will do volunteer work. Something as important as assisting with the televising of the City Council meetings would probably draw several qualified volunteers.

It can be done if the Council wants to do it. The only draw back for the Council would be the fear of those dreaded Youtube moments. But those are easily avoided by simply paying attention, voting responsibly and not picking the nose.

Let's put the City Council meetings on Tall City TV.

*(That kook was me. Or if my 8th grade English teacher is reading, that kook was I.)

Jon Stewart replaces Wally Cronkite as most trusted newsman

Walter Cronkite was the winner of a long ago poll asking who was the most trusted newsman. So now that he's deceased Time.com conducted an internet poll to get opinions on who is currently the most trusted newsman. And they tell us that Jon Steward is the new Walter Cronkite. Go to Time Poll and mouse over the various states to see how close the voting was. Maybe that poll should tell us that there really isn't any replacement as the network news has driven so many people to seek the news elsewhere.

I may have gone along with that ancient poll had I been asked to participate way back then, but I'm not sure who else was running in that race. Huntley and Brinkley were no slouches.

But attitudes and beliefs change as we get older. And even though I may have trusted Wally back then, it was only later that the realization hit that he, or his writers, had their fingers to the wind and were merely giving their customers the mainstream consensus. At least one observer suggests that Mr. Cronkite was overrated and that his tone was the only thing that distinguished him from the others.

Mr. Cronkite made his famous turn on the Vietnam war after the Tet offensive which Mr. Cronkite deemed to have been a U.S. loss. Interestingly, the current consensus says it was a victory. At that point in history the campus anti-war movement was growing like gang busters, and the counterculture movement was on the verge of going mainstream. Cronkite wasn't ahead of the pack, he was merely joining the side of the issue that appeared to have the momentum. Mr. Cronkite was our leader, you see, but to stay ahead of the crowd he had to keep glancing back to see which way the crowd was going.

In a sense, he was like the starlets who showed up on the Carson show decked out in hippie garb in total contrast to the girl-next-door look or the sex siren look of their previous appearances.

So now we have Jon Stewart wearing Cronkite's old badge. Stewart was very much anti-Bush as were his fans, and he gave them plenty of red meat to chew on which is exactly what they wanted. Like any good entertainer, he's got his finger to the wind, and once Obamania runs its course and the polls tilt solidly away from Obama we'll get to witness the moment when Obama loses Jon Stewart. Pay attention. Maybe someday they'll look back at it as a moment in broadcasting history.

Farrah Fawcett

There was a time when you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting someone who knew Farrah Fawcett when she attended the University of Texas. It seemed that everyone who saw her there remembered her. Beautiful women have that effect, you know. There's a touching hometown tribute in the Corpus Christi Caller with some remarks from some of lifelong childhood friends.

Farrah Fawcett is probably best remembered to the rest of us for her role in "Charlie's Angels." The show had some entertainment value, but to jaded TV watchers it was merely a showcase for some gorgeous babes doing impossible things without bras. Although she had been in a few TV shows and commercials prior to that, once she became an Angel she skyrocketed to fame. She became so famous that she thought she could make the leap to movie stardom after just one season.

Didn't work out quite that way, though. However, she did have a few good TV roles. And the one most people will remember is the 1984 made-for-TV movie The Burning Bed, the movie about a battered women who took revenge. It's hard to say whether Ms. Fawcett was more popular with men or women before, but this movie made her a heroine to many feminists, and reaction to the movie probably convinced a lot of guys that women harbor some kind of secret kill-all-men fantasy. They don't, of course. [Don't be so sure. - ed.]

Those women skipped Small Sacrifices, the 1989 made-for-TV movie which is the one that made me a fan. Not because of the subject matter -- mom kills her children -- but because it took me by complete surprise. I would never have imagined an actress with her reputation accepting a role like that. It took courage. Not many people saw it, though.

Anyway, now she's gone, and 62 seems like too young an age to go. Anal cancer doesn't sound too pleasant, either. My hope is that she got good palliative care in her final days.

Finally, a memo to someone who desperately enjoys the spotlight, Kim Jung il. Poor guy just can't catch a headline. He staged an anti-American rally with 100,000 North Koreans and ended up on the back pages. Tough luck pal. Bad timing. You can't steal headlines from Farrah Fawcett.

Obamercial TV ratings

Last night President Obama and ABC teamed up for the prime time ObamaCare show, but the ratings weren't that hot. According to Race for Midweek Overnight Dominance in MediaWeek the ABC show came in third. Here's what they say the ratings were at that time slot:

#1 - CBS, rerun of "CSI: NY" at 5.1/ 9
#2 - NBC, "The Philanthropist" at 4.8/ 9
#3 - ABC, "Primetime – Questions for the President: Prescription for America" at 3.7/ 7

Last night ABC first had on "Wipeout" which scored 4.6/ 9, followed by "I survived a Japanese Game Show" which scored 2.4/ 4, and then the O'mercial with ratings of 3.7/ 7. Obama could have followed "Wipeout" for a bigger lead in, but then viewers might have been tempted to associate the name "Wipeout" with ObamaCare. Oh the decisions a President has to make!

Giving Bear Grylls credit when it's due

Bear Grylls came under fire when it was revealed that his "Man vs. Wild" TV show conquests weren't conducted on a level playing field.  He fudged, and that gave him the edge in his contests with the wild. See previously on these pages, The Wild Won and Bear Grylls up to his old tricks.

So now we learn that a nine year old fan of the show got separated from his folks on a horseback ride in Utah and used some tactics he learned from the show. Specifically, he marked his trail by tying bits torn off his yellow slicker to trees. Searchers were able to find him and get him home safely. It was a real happy ending, so here's a hat tip to Bear Grylls. His show may have actually saved a child. The kid was pretty resourceful and may have been found eventually anyway, but at the very least the tactic learned from the show probably reduced the search time. Link.

California abandoned subdivision put to good use by Jesse James

Jesse James is a tattooed Southern California biker dude who had a motorcycle building show on TV a while ago. And he's back with a show called Jesse James is a Dead Man, a reality show in which he attempts dare devil activities.

One recent show was a contest in which he took a souped up car and tried to outrun six Orange County Police cars and a helicopter. It was titled Jesse James vs. the Cops, and unfortunately, the full episode is no longer on line, just this teaser video.

The events were car chase contests lasting 20 minutes or until he got caught, whichever was first to occur. And they looked every bit as realistic as the live action high speed car chases given to us as TV news from time to time. The cops used the spike strips -- strips of hollow spikes that break off in the tire. And they used the PIT maneuver which is a gentle bump to the rear fender nudging the chased car into a spin. A second police car then rushes in to block an attempted escape. When it was all said and done, Jesse won once and the cops won once.  (Typo corrected.)

However, the most impressive part of the whole show for this desert dweller was the abandoned community in which they held these matches. It was a fully built out subdivision, but it was vacant. The grass was dead, trees were dead, windows were broken, and there was no life there except for the folks involved in the show. It was a modern day ghost town.  It's a shame that the full episode is no longer on line, because it was a sobering sight -- scarier than Mr. James' dare devil antics.

Letterman - desire to ridicule political opposition overrides sense of decency

Greg Gutfeld nailed it with this:

Here's my take on Letterman's obsession with Sarah Palin:

-ideology clouds what you find funny. If you're a lefty, then a Palin joke is priceless. If you're a righty, it's lame. That's just the way it is. ...

He's right. That's just the way it is. Letterman can get away with poking fun at Sarah Palin and her daughter because his audience eats it up, his ratings spike, sponsors pay more and CBS makes money.

There are probably a lot of conservative satirists who would love to play by Letterman's rules, but if conservatives have a sense of decency they enter that arena with one hand tied behind their backs. And besides, there's no market for it. For example, we would never hear a comedian say something like this:

When asked what he thought about Letterman attacking Palin's daughter, Kelly Frank said, "Oh, so now it's fun, is it? I could give Letterman a list: Top ten to twenty reasons why people should stay away from famous people's kids!"

Wouldn't happen. Never. No one could ever stoop to that level.

"Breaking Bad," such a guilty pleasure!

Season two of AMC's Breaking Bad ended the other day with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman both losing people they held dear.

For those who aren't familiar with the story, Walter White was a hen pecked high school teacher who missed out on the good life long ago when his former business associates made millions without him. He was too proud to ask them for help when he was diagnosed with lung cancer, so he used his expertise in chemistry to cook a batch of meth of a quality not seen before in Albuquerque. With Jesse as distributor they eventually earned nearly half a million dollars each.

There's more to it than that, of course. And there is a cast of characters in the show that provide some excellent entertainment, not least of which is Hank, a mid level DEA agent hot on the trail of a drug kingpin not realizing that it's his own brother-in-law.

Bryan Cranston has gotten lots of critical acclaim for his role as Walt. But those critics need to take a second look at Aaron Paul. Mr. Paul really knocked the ball out of the park with his portrayal of Jesse, the drop out stoner who stumbled into the job of a big time drug dealer, the job of a lifetime for some, perhaps.  But the Peter Principle applied, and it was way too big for Jesse.

So the second season ended with Jesse facing the horror of having his lover choke to death on her own vomit while he was in a drug induced stupor in bed next to her. And Walt is left alone as his wife takes off with the kids in disgust over the lies he told to keep his secret life secret. She doesn't even want to know the truth at this point. He could never say "no" to her, but she didn't have that inhibition. He was doing it all for the family, and he lost the family as a result -- an ironic punishment but a satisfying drama.

What next for this band of bad boys? We'll have to wait for the 3rd season.

Updated 6/8/09: Johah Goldberg liked it, too. "I recently finished the second season of Breaking Bad, and I have to say I think it's probably the best series on television since the demise of The Wire."

The Laffer Curve is getting renewed attention

Last year Arthur Laffer, Stephen Moore, and Peter Tanou authored a book titled The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy - If We Let it Happen.

The other day a talk the authors gave about it was bradcast on C-SPAN. It's quite a delight to watch, and they do a good job of explaining in simple terms the problems we are facing, and they make no bones about how President Obama's policies will make it worse, whether it's the goal of energy independence, government run industries, or the "tax the wealthy" mentality.

They are right, of course. Mr. Laffer's ideas about taxes in the early '80s helped usher in a long era of prosperity, and only the most hard core political opponents even attempt to deny that lower taxes have been proven to lead to prosperity. On the other hand, high taxes hurt the economy. And the "wealthy" will figure out a way to avoid taxes. The issue isn't political, it's economic.

In the talk Mr. Laffer provides an image that anyone can grasp. If you tax people in place "A" higher than place "B," then people in "A" will move to "B."  That's why Mr. Laffer moved from California to Tennessee.  An example Mr. Laffer gives of how the wealthy avoid taxes is Warren Buffet who until recently was supposed to be worth $66 billion. His wealth is unrealized capital gains in Berkshire Hathaway stock, and he won't pay any taxes on it unless he sells it. So if Mr. Buffet says he pays less taxes than his secretary then he's probably telling the truth. And Mr. Buffet could donate his stock to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to avoid ever paying any taxes on it.

The talk is available online here. If you watch it pay attention at around the 23 minute mark where you can hear the most remarkable compliment/complaint I've heard about Barack Obama. Here's a partial transcript, Laffer is talking:

"This man Barack Obama is one of the most impressive human beings I've seen in my life in politics I'm awe struck. He's an awesome man, he represents so much that is wonderful about our country. A black African father, a white American mother, if that's not the melting pot I don't know what is. ... He went to Columbia University, did extraordinarily well then. He then went to Harvard Law School, became editor of the Harvard Law Review -- you don't get that by affirmative action, you got to really be good. ... This man is really cool. ... But he's wrong on every single issue."

Mr. Obama is known to be somewhat thin skinned, so maybe that's the way to criticize him. Butter up his ego and make it very personal, then slam him with the truth about his policies.

"Stranded" on PBS

Who could resist the temptation after this Dorothy Rabinowitz review (near bottom):

It isn't often that people get to explain, on national television, why they ate their companions. Still, that, exactly, is what the survivors of the 1972 Andes plane crash get to do on "Stranded" -- an Independent Lens film (airing Tuesday, [May 19] 10 p.m. [E] to midnight on PBS, check local listings).

This ain't "Survivor."

A few years after this event happened a best selling book about the experience left people hungry for more (information). The rugby players on that plane were physically fit to begin with, but it was an ordeal for everyone involved when they found themselves stranded on a snow covered mountain. Once they came to terms with the realization that no one would ever find them they decided that someone would have to hike through the miles of snow to find another living human being.

And there was the lack of food, but you'll learn all about that if you watch the program.

"Weaponizers" on Discovery channel

This show on Discovery channel certainly looks interesting. "Weaponizers" -- see a promo on Youtube:

Each team has one week to turn ordinary vehicles into remote control machines of destruction to face off in battle until only one team is left standing.

Premiers on May 11 at 8:00 Central. See schedule.

Via Neatorama.

Stalk a mile in their shoes -- Sci-Fi from the creatures point of view

Apparently it was an ad campaign for the Sci Fi channel. See more at I Believe in Adv.

Via Neatorama.

Would you buy into a religion with Bart Simpson making the sale?

Nancy Cartwright has been the voice of Bart Simpson on "The Simpsons" for the duration of that wonderful TV show. And from time to time we get wind of a movement by the voice actors to get more money for their work on the show. They always get it though, because the producers couldn't find any replacements.

So what does a wealthy voice actor do with all that money? In Nancy Cartwright's case, she gave away a whole boatload to the church of Scientology. According to the Daily Dish, it was $10,000,000. And it was tax deductible! Heaven only know what they will do with that money, try to recruit more donors, maybe.

So recently she was robo-calling about a Scientology event called the "Flag World Tour Event" on January 31 in Hollywood. (Missed it. Darn.) You can listen to the call at Village Voice or on go directly to Youtube.

"Hey, what's happening man, this is Bart Simpson. Hu hu ha ha ha! Just kidding, don't hang up. This is Nancy Cartwright... ."

Fortunately, The Simpsons' producers are trying to distance themselves and the show from this by denying any involvement. But personally, I'd like to get Ned Flanders' take on it. "Hi diddly do, Scientology ain't good for you."

Super Bowl XLIII snacking tip

A friend offers this helpful Super Bowl snacking tip:

If you find yourself munching on Salmonella peanuts, spit, don't swallow.

OK, thanks.  Good advice.

"Make 'Em Laugh"

Dorothy Rabinowitz' second TV review in Friday's WSJ was for Make 'Em Laugh which is supposed to air on PBS this week. (Check your local PBS schedule. In the Permian Basin it's supposed to air prime time Wednesday 1/14/09.) It looks like it has a lot of potential with clips from some of the all time great comedians. (Hopefully, this isn't a pledge week special.)

And Dorothy Rabinowitz delivers this gem of a paragraph:

True, the series requires some patience -- as does, occasionally, some of the commentary. One expert delivering his wisdom on satire reports that when the country is at peace, satirists aim their fire inward; but when the country is at war, their satire is directed outward, toward the enemy. The culture and entertainment history of the past five decades may, of course, have eluded this observer.

I'll probably watch it anyway, but what a put down. Isn't she great? She's a resurrected Dorothy Parker minus the rhyming. Read the whole thing in here.

"24"

Jack Bauer is sort of like a cartoon character in that he has dodged so many bullets, ducked so many blows, had so many brushes with the law, dealt with so many bureaucratic bunglers and been double crossed so many times that it stretches the imagination to think he would not only still be alive but out on the street. Never mind. I believe the reviewers call this a "thrill ride."

The first episode of the latest season of "24" began last night with a grilling by a pompous Senator, and Jack Bauer looked like he was holding his on until an FBI agent comes in to take him off on another mission. At least they didn't have anyone actually say, "Only one man can do that job." The first episode lasted two hours, so he's only got 22 hours left to save the country one more time. Do it again, Jack. We are enjoying the ride.

Dorothy Rabinowitz is one of my favorite Wall street Journal columnists, and recently she has been writing occasional television reviews. Friday's WSJ weekend section contained her review of the latest season of "24." She liked it, and so did I, at least the first episode. See A Resurrected '24' to see what else she says about "24."

Ya gotta love Krista Lander

"Don't go-neewhere. Sportznext!"

Krista Lander is a sports announcer at CBS7, and she has a very entertaining feature on her segment.  It's an outstanding sports challenge whereby she agrees to compete with viewers in their sport of choice. On the show this morning it was, of all things, bull fighting!

Actually it was the type of bull fighting that rodeo clowns do after the rider gets bucked off. Normally the objective would be to draw the bull away from the rider and eventually steer the bull into the corral. But in this challenge she had to go against all instincts and run toward the bull and tag it with her hand. At times it seems that the bull was more afraid of her than she of it, but we can't dismiss the courage it took to attempt this feat of woman against beast.

She won the challenge! Watch the video here.

Scorecard after round 36: Challengers 29 and Krista 7. Not a great run, but by golly she won this one! Way to go, gal. Keep up the good work.

"The Wire" on DVD

I miss those characters already. Omar, Bunk, McNulty, Michael and the rest, all very entertaining characters. They all had stories to tell, and they told them well.

The show began on HBO a few years ago, and the fifth and final season ended in '08 with a very good finale. The entire thing is available on DVD which is how I saw most of it, finishing the final season over the holiday. When I turned the DVD in at the rental shop I looked around for something else to rent, but after a few minutes I gave up. There just wasn't anything that could measure up to "The Wire."

The show was filmed in Baltimore and purported to depict the illegal drug business as it was conducted on the back streets by career dealers many of whom were either children or got their start in the business as children. So the first season ended as a king pin drug dealer got hauled off to jail facing an iron clad criminal charge, and we see that absolutely nothing changed on the street as the next generation of dealers simply filled any vacancies to continue that very profitable business venture.

Each season focused primarily on one society segment that was either directly involved in the illegal drug business or affected by it it some way. One series involved the docks where the drugs first hit town. Another series dealt with the school system, the teachers and a group of kids on the fringe of the trade. There were stoop boys, the kids who would get back on the stoop when their mommas called. And there were the corner boys, kids slinging dope on the corner, all locked into a lifestyle with little hope for a decent life. As the season ended we cheered for some of those kids and cried for others.

The final season had several scenes set at the local newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, and as was typical of the show, the newspaper crew spanned the entire range of personalities. There were bosses and there were workers.  There were good people, and there was a cheater all mixed together in the same news room. Unfortunately, the goal was to win a publishing prize, and the bosses didn't want to look too deeply into the cheater's stories.

"The Wire" certainly won't entice anyone to move to Baltimore, and the local chamber of commerce must have hated the show. The political maneuvers, the city departments crippled by lack of money, the high crime, the fatalistic view of the people who are expected to solve the problems all leave viewers hoping that sort of thing doesn't go on in their own hometowns. But according to at least one writer -- see Urban Decay, an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal -- the show painted an accurate portrait of Baltimore.

Putting all of that aside, the show had some memorable characters. One especially interesting guy was Omar Little. Scarred and fearless, he made his money robbing the drug dealers. Look for him on Youtube, and you'll no doubt find some interesting scenes. One ruthless drug dealer put a huge bounty on Omar's head, so he was hunted by both the cops and by the drug dealers. One of the commentaries on the DVD told about how the real corner boys in Baltimore idolized Omar, or at least they did until the scene in which Omar tongue kissed another man.

So if you haven't seen "The Wire" and enjoy good writing, interesting characters and compelling drama, then check it out. And it was a real ending, too. "The Sopranos" writers could have learned a thing or two.

"The Shield" ends -- Tonight's the night!

The grand finale. The final episode of the final season. There have been many a cliff hanger leading up to this, and tonight's episode of The Shield should bring the sordid tale of Vic Mackey and his team of corrupt cops to an exiting close.

The show's writers have really earned their pay. The dialog has been tremendous, and the story has been gripping. Sometimes the viewer has had to suspend his/her skepticism and sometimes the viewer has had to hold his/her nose to the atrocities. But it's been a pretty good tale.

So how will it end? It's anybody's guess. There's always the possibility that it will end "Sopranos" style with a simple scene fade to the credits. But surely the writers have more respect for the fans. The episode preceding the finale showed Vic Mackey in about the worst light as we've seen him in. One five word review simply said "42 seconds of silence: Emmy, " referring to the confession Mackey made to earn Federal immunity and that long, long pause between the time the recorder began to roll and the time Mackey finally began his confession to premeditated murder.

(Side question: Would immunity granted by the feds make him immune from state charges, too? I wouldn't have thought so, but surely the writers' have legal advisers who wouldn't want to mislead viewers. But l don't know, that's why I'm asking.)

Anyway, Mackey really looked villainous in that last episode, so it's possible they are setting us up to see him meet his maker. It's hard to imagine him getting away with all he's done or even going to prison, but that's up to the writers. If I were writing it I'd have him die a hero's death saving the life of someone he had hurt, but we'll know soon.

Post show follow up: Well, okay. It could have been better, but that will do. At least it wasn't an open ended ending like "The Sopranos."  We were expected to think Vic Mackey would be punished in his own Hell on earth having to wear a suit and tie while confined to a bureaucratic desk job for the next three years drawing 60 plus thousand dollars a year. That's worse than prison? Death?

All through his tenure as a cop he was superb at gaming the system, and there's no reason to think he wouldn't be equally adept at office politics. So we last see him working late then slipping his semiauto in his belt and walking away, presumable to ply his trade on the mean streets of L..A., or maybe just to go home and watch "The Office."

Goodbye Vic Mackey and the Farmington Strike Team. We loved you, and we hated you. You definitely weren't role models, but we enjoyed the show.

It's a Bro! It's a Manzier!

Fans of "Seinfeld" will remember the episode in which Kramer and Frank Costanza invented a men's bra. But the project froze because they couldn't agree on whether to call it a "bro" or a "manzier."

Too late. A Japanese company is making the men's bra. See MSNBC. Excerpt:

Wishroom Executive Director Akiko Okunomiya said she was surprised at the number of men who were looking for their inner woman.

“I think more and more men are becoming interested in bras. Since we launched the men's bra, we've been getting feedback from customers saying 'wow, we'd been waiting for this for such a long time',” she said.

But the bra, available in black, pink and white, is not an easy sell for all men.

You don't say.  What man wouldn't want a pink manzier for Christmas?

Via library news.

Hey Scofield brothers, call your office

Fans of the tv show "Prison Break" have had to suspend their skepticism so many times their heads spin. Never mind that the break-out, break-in schemes are so intricate and rely so heavily on observer inattention, coincidence and just plain dumb luck. Their successes defy logic, but what the heck, it's great entertainment.

Now here comes a story of a real prison break in Germany. He made it seem so easy, he had himself shipped out. Here's what the BBC says:

A manhunt is under way in western Germany for a convicted drug dealer who escaped by mailing himself out of jail.

The 42-year-old Turkish citizen - who was serving a seven-year sentence - had been making stationery with other prisoners destined for the shops.

At the end of his shift, the inmate climbed into a cardboard box and was taken out of prison by express courier. His whereabouts are still unknown.

If found, return to sender.

Via Impact Lab.

Correction: Actually, the "Prison Break" brothers, Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows, have different last names. Sorry about that.

"Accidental Friendship," a cop feel good movie

A cop with a heart of gold. It's Accidental Friendship, a Hallmark channel movie airing tonight, 11/15/08, at 8 central. "Inspired by a true story," it's about a Los Angeles Police Officer who befriends a homeless person.

Here's what the LAPD Blog says about it:

The movie tells the inspiring story of the life of Yvonne Caldwell (played by actress Chandra Wilson), who gradually found her comfortable life transformed as she went from joblessness to homelessness to a life of total destitution. Yvonne was befriended by LAPD Officer Tami Baumann (played by actress Kathleen Munroe), who was affected by the way Yvonne cared for her three pet dogs, Bebe, Mimi and Peewee. Yvonne could hardly care for her own well being, yet she made sure her dogs were well cared for. Yvonne and Officer Buamann found common ground in their mutual love of animals and their friendship blossomed from there. With Officer Baumann’s help, Yvonne was ultimately able to regain the comfort of her former life and the hope of a brighter future.

It looks like a pleasant antidote to the depressing "Training Day."

I watched "Sons of Anarchy" so you don't have to

A middle aged gun running Southern California biker gang? Yup, that's story. They so thoroughly dominate the small town of Charming that we must presume that they've blocked cable access. Otherwise they would have learned from the History Channel that border state outlaw gangs making the most money deal drugs, not guns.

What brought this show to my attention was the news that FX has signed it up for a 2nd season. For shows about middle aged bad boys the AMC show "Breaking Bad" actually deserved another season, but it just slipped away. That was the show about a hen pecked high school teacher with cancer who became a meth cook, drug king pin and murderer. Now that was a mid life crisis.

The "Sons of Anarchy" gang boss is played by Ron Perlman, and he's convincing enough. Katey Sagal does a pretty good job playing his old lady. She's got some great lines and gets to drive a beautiful product placement. The story line is supposed to be a modern day "Hamlet," according to one reviewer. So the goal has been set high, and maybe that accounts for this Shakespearian exchange between Katey Sagal's character and a 20 something bimbo who wants to make whoopee with Ron Perlman's character, to wit:

Katey Sagal: "You so much as flash a pretty grin at him? I will jam my fist so far up your bony a** your cup size will double."

Bimbo: "Is that how your rack got to be that size?"

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, watch you backs.

Dave Letterman was funny once

Dave Letterman has had a late night tv show in some form for as long as I can remember. And I was once a big fan. For the longest time I taped his nightly show and watched it the next evening, but with a single vcr tape dedicated to that archive the new shows began to get recorded over unwatched shows.

The tipping point for me was the little joke routine they did with the great presidential speeches. There would be short clips of speeches from Kennedy, Eisenhower, Johnson, et al. Then they would show a clip with President Bush fumbling his words. Yuk yuk. Once it might be funny -- we know GWB is not glib. The second time maybe it's worth a smile. But over and over and over, and it soon became a tedious validation of Johnny Carson's rule of "one too many. " Dave Letterman does not like George Bush.  We get it.

They've fawned over Hillary since she ran for the Senate, and I suspect they are fawning over Obama now. But they were bashing McCain long before McCain so famously stood up the Letterman show on 9/24/08. "John McCain is so old ... he's like the elderly relative who sends you a blank email."

So it was so refreshing to see Pulitzer Prize winner Dorothy Rabinowitz give Letterman a lashing. See The Other Letterman Show. Excerpt:

In the course of his complaints, Mr. Letterman lurched from fury to fervent wonder at John McCain's wartime heroism, to jibes that somebody had been putting something in the candidate's Metamucil -- a joke consistent with the Letterman show's now standard brand of comedy. It was impossible, needless to say, to mistake any of this for joking -- nothing in Mr. Letterman's tireless emissions on the subject spoke for anything but his rage.

and

When this election year is over we'll have chance to look back, too, on those kings of comedy who best reflected the current standards of wit, invention and don't forget -- class. We'll be thinking of you, Dave.

I don't think Johnny Carson would have done it like that, Dave.

Addendum: Just so you know I don't hate everything I see on tv, there are some good shows on. For late show viewing Craig Ferguson is a dynamo. He's a newly made American citizen, and hopefully he is still avoiding politics. He's funny in both words and gestures, plus he's got a cool accent. Check him out. And for my daily taping I grab the Bernie Mac reruns on the FX in the AM. It's quite entertaining. See previously.

Sarah Palin, into the SNL lions' den

Gotta admire that woman, Sarah Palin. By accepting Mr. McCain's invitation to run for VP she stepped onto the lopsided playing field where national media play their ruthless games of smear and gotcha for anyone who challenges "The One." But dog gone it, Ms. Palin is coming out all right in spite of their best efforts.

In recent weeks others have gushed about how Tina Fey did such a great impersonation of Ms. Palin. And she did seem to have the look and accent down. But it was a mocking humor -- Fey's Palin character came across as a retard. People have been packing the stadiums to see and hear the real Ms. Palin, and when SNL tries to make Ms. Palin look retarded they are insulting a lot of people.

So Ms. Palin appeared on Saturday Night Live last night. And a lot of her fans tuned in to watch. SNL was estimated to have scored its highest ratings for the late-night show in 14 years. That's gotta be a tough on Lorne Michaels and the SNL crew -- they desperately want Obama to win, but if he wins, an adoring SNL crew plus a humorless President Obama equals a shriveled paycheck.

Then we have Tina Fey and her recent remarks about how she doesn't want to do the Sarah Palin impersonations. See If Sarah Palin wins, Tina Fey is 'leaving Earth!'. Well, Ms. Fey, exercise your own free will. If you detest the impersonations so much, don't do them. You don't have to leave the earth, just say "No."

Updated: See Lorne Michaels: How 'SNL' Got Sarah Palin for an informative interview with SNL creater and producer Lorne Michaels, including the following:

What do you think Palin gained from her appearance?
I think Palin will continue to be underestimated for a while. I watched the way she connected with people, and she's powerful. Her politics aren't my politics. But you can see that she's a very powerful, very disciplined, incredibly gracious woman. This was her first time out and she's had a huge impact. People connect to her.

She's a ratings magnet, too — do you think she can land a development deal if this VP thing doesn't work out?
She could pretty much do better than development. I think she could have her own show, yeah.

Why was her impending appearance kept so under wraps?
From the experience on the first show of last season. Hillary's people had called to book the first show. This was in '07. We said okay, because they called first. Then she bailed. Obama had called just after, and I had to say, no, they called first. Everybody wanted to release it, and I said, no, too many things can happen in a campaign. Then Obama was set for the first show this past season, and it got leaked by the campaign to people.com, and we said, really? Because we don't do that. Then the hurricane happened, and we looked foolish. There were a lot of press calls, and it didn't happen. From that moment on I said I'm not doing anything until they're in the building.

Paul Newman in "Tales of Tomorrow"

Jeff penned a very nice eulogy for Paul Newman, and if you click on the list he linked you'll see how productive Mr. Newman was. I'm sure we'll be exposed to many of his movies in the weeks to come, but in the meantime let's look at a tv oldie.

Archive.org has the ambitious mission of digitizing things that are in the public domain, and it's a fun place to browse. And sure enough, there were some old tv shows with Paul Newman.

For example, there's Tales of Tomorrow - Ice from Space, a 1950s sci-fi tv show, in which Mr. Newman has a minor role as Sgt. Wilson. The show really isn't worth the time to watch except for a glimpse of a young Paul Newman. So I'll go ahead and spoil the plot for you.

It seems that an AR76 test missile was fired into the sky, but it didn't come back down right away like it was supposed to. When it finally returned to earth it contained a large block of ice. So for 20 something minutes the characters pondered what to do about that ice as it grew larger, became more radioactive, and developed an internal flashing light. The actors speculated that it would eventually freeze the entire planet earth, but a brave Major Dozier saved the day by having it loaded back onto the AR76 and flying with it on a suicide mission to blow it up in space.

Although we got to see a film of the rocket take off in the beginning, the entire show was filmed on a set that could have been someone's den and garage. There now, aren't you glad you didn't watch it yourself?

Updated 10/2/08 -- TCM has scheduled a tribute to Paul Newman on October 12 with the following movies:

Eastern time:
6:00 AM The Rack
8:00 AM Until They Sail
10:00 AM Torn Curtain
12:15 PM Exodus
3:45 PM Sweet Bird of Youth
6:00 PM Hud
8:00 PM Somebody Up There Likes Me
10:00 PM Cool Hand Luke
12:15 AM Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
2:15 AM Rachel, Rachel
4:00 AM The Outrage