There Is a Writer's Strike? Go Figure!
Monday, December 24, 2007

Where have I been?

According to the New York Times, December 24, 2007:

...striking screenwriters keep late-night talk shows in reruns...

And this lovely gem:

... the Writers Guild of America strike, now entering its seventh week, shuttered every late-night show...

Damn, I never noticed that there was a strike! (Yes, I'm exaggerating.)

You telling me there are re-runs on now? Wow.

You telling me that all those TV talk shows were scripted? Blow me away with a feather.

The thing is - I don't own a television. I gave up watching television years ago.

I get my entertainment from the following online sources:
• Netflix - DVDs & on-demand,
• Joost,
• CBS,
• Fox,
• ABC,
• NBC,
• ABCFamily,
• AOL,
• and iTunes.
• Plus many more websites to be discovered.
• Last, but not least, YouTube.

The beauty of on-demand is that I can watch an entire season after it has ended. I can watch these programs whenever I want.

I mean, who sits around and watches television these days?

I support the writer's strike! Guys and gals, stay out as long as you like.

I don't think anyone is paying attention.

Labels: iTunes, Netflix, television, Writer's Guild, YouTube

posted by GoldenAh
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Televison's Fall Season Schedule Lineup
Sunday, September 16, 2007

This isn't going to be a good year for television: that was my first thought when I saw the fall season schedule lineup.

CBS has a show called Men in Trees. Does that sound like a winner to you?

One new dramatic show, K'Ville, has a black male lead, with the sexy Cole Hauser as co-star.

I think Heroes and Lost killed eliminated most, if not all, of their token blacks. And don't hold your breath expecting to see a normal black woman anytime soon: the strident, asexual, best friend is back in style.

I didn't see Law and Order or Law and Order: Criminal Intent in the lineup. So there goes my favorite crime shows. Yeah, I know they're on cable.

Television shows get canceled so quickly these days, that when I'm ready to get around to watching - the program is off the air. Damn.

If Seinfeld was broadcast today, it'd be gone already. Seinfeld took nearly three years to hit its stride or groove. It became a hit once it was moved from Wednesday to Thursday completing NBC's heavy duty lineup. I doubt any show gets that kind of nurturing love anymore.

There is one show I'm willing to pay for and that's Kyle XY. I think the young man is hot. The storyline, his personality and character development is a vast improvement over Smallville's superman.

Maybe there will be a show worth downloading or web watching this fall. I doubt it. Hey, that may not be a bad thing, I may have a more active social life then.

Labels: internet, iTunes, networks, television, YouTube

posted by GoldenAh
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Joost: Internet TV
Thursday, August 16, 2007

I'm an entertainment fiend. If it's free I'm going all over the internet to look for it.

I found a source of entertainment that I am liking a lot.

I don't have cable per se to watch, but I do use cable to surf the web. You know what kinds of speed I have? As close to T1 as can be. I never get disconnected to redial, etc. All of my computers are connected via a wireless network. (I have three PCs and two printers. I already have my eye on an iMac.) I can download huge files quickly.

Okay, let me stop bragging.

Joost is like having digital cable on your computer.

My folks have digital cable, so I'm able to peak and play with the features on their box. My parents only know how to: turn on the TV, raise the volume, and change the channel. So when I'm checking out all the features, they say: "Wait, how did you do that?" I try to show them, and they will lose interest after I point out the number of steps they need to take for those features. I can't say I blame them.

Joost has commercials, which is why it is free. At least for now. But the sweetness of it is in the ability to set up your own programming menu.

What do I mean? You can remove or add channels to your main menu selection. That means if you only like four channels - you will only see them, until you are ready to ask for more. It takes a while to get the hang of the menus, but once you get the hang of it - it's awesome.

Man, I am spoiled already.

Expect old shows, movies and not quite fresh content, but then again that's why I canceled my cable subscription. Even YouTube is vastly more entertaining than cable and network television.

I understand that there will be more applications like this from different sources coming along. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it!

Labels: cable, commercials, free programming, internet, Joost, television, YouTube

posted by GoldenAh
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YouTube Nation: The Natural Actor's Audition
Wednesday, July 11, 2007

YouTube is fascinating, be it clips of television shows, people involved in dangerous stupid stunts, folks airing their opinions, re-edited music videos to political ads, etc.

The other interesting thing about it is that I can tell when people are auditioning. I don't mean to put them down, I am certain that their feelings and what they are stating is authentic.

It's just that people who've attended acting school have a method of expressing themselves in a way in which normal people do not.

Some signs of an actor: long pause(s), structured "rants", the ebb and flow of dialogue that seems rather rehearsed, the deliberate 2-3 second stare into space (down and off to the left / right), and monologues that may sound familiar. You've heard it before, because the "actor" is reciting lines from plays / movies.

No crime in that. Authenticity is hard. Yet, the doctored stuff is easy to spot.

Those scenes with phony, hectoring, quarrelsome people pretending to be angry over nothing. How can I tell it's fake? The slight gestures they make to each other: the head nod, the long pause, and extended eye contact. You have the next line... Those little signals actors give one another.

Harmless fun, but some of these amateurs should say they are auditioning.

How to tell the real from the fake? When people look directly into the camera, close your eyes and listen. Don't they sound like they are on the phone talking to you?

A natural flow and chatty tone is real. Very few actors can really emulate that.

Labels: actors, auditioning, internet, YouTube

posted by GoldenAh
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