Category: Television Shows

By:

The Dude on the Right
I know I always promise that new stuff is coming soon, so I won’t promise
anymore, just say I’m working on it.  In the meantime I wanted to get
something new posted, so for tonight I hope you’ll just be okay with this blog
entry.  I’m trying to get it done before the finale of "Dancing
With the Stars" and the
Olympics Closing
Ceremonies, which, thankfully, are the end to much of my diversion lately.

From my last blog, you know that I developed a thing for Cassie Johnson of the
USA Women’s Curling Team.  Sadly they got eliminated from any medal
contention, and I didn’t even get a chance to catch another match due to some
traveling.  For my stalking, I’ll just have to remember to set the one,
TiVo’d match on "Do Not Ever Delete Until I Tell you So you TiVo Machine." 
Sadly, I won’t be able to offer her a job, because I didn’t win the

Powerball jackpot, although there is still a chance right now on the
Mega Million’s side. 
Maybe I’ll still be able to offer Cassie a job.  All I know is that I’m
happy the Olympics are done, because, well, the United States folks, other than
a few, didn’t come off too well.  I could go into it, but why?  It’s
over, done, and even with the winners we will mostly remember a few stories,
like the snowboarder dudette who lost the gold medal, the
skier dude who should now
forever remain nameless, and the speed skater dudes who had such potential to be
world class, but, well, lost that when they opened their mouths, and they even
won gold medals.  Oh well, it’s over, and so almost is another show…

That show, "Dancing With the Stars," where

Lisa Rinna got screwed.  Nothing against you,

Jerry Rice, but she was so much better.  I probably won’t watch the
entire show, especially since it’s two hours long and up against the Olympic
closing ceremony.  Right now I just want to see if Drew or Stacy win. 
My vote is for Drew, even though Stacy is smokin’ hot, because Stacy had a lot
of previous dance experience, and Drew was only in 98 Degrees.

As far as new
stuff coming to the website, tomorrow should bring a new
podcast of
"Stu and The Dude’s Weekend Wrap-Up," and I’m putting the finishing touches on
our next episode of "Stu
& The Dude Reviewin’ the Movies for You!", that being a review of "Curious
George."  If all goes well, that should be posted tomorrow night as well,
at worst, hopefully, on Tuesday.  I’ve also got a ton of movie previews I’m
typing up, still need to write a review of "Date Movie" even though Stu and I
discussed it at length during

one of our podcasts.  I’m also looking to get back to some concert
reviewin’ in mid-March, so hopefully that will work out as well.

Well,
"Dancing With the Stars" is coming on soon, so I’ll wrap this up. 
Thankfully my TV viewing gets almost back to normal next week, but dammit, "American
Idol" people, I’m finding it really hard to keep with people for three
nights.  I’ve got too many other shows to watch.  Damn.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
As I was on the phone with my accountant, Dewey, of the firm Dewey, Cheatem, &
Howe, I started telling Dewey how I was getting sucked into the Olympic coverage
of Curling.  Yea, that’s right, the Olympic sport where they slide this big
boulder rock things down the ice, kinda like shuffleboard without the stick, and
use brooms to help direct/speed-up/slow-down the rock, hoping to either bounce
the opposing teams rocks out of the way, or get your rock in either a blocking
position or in a position to score.  Stu Gotz was in the office at the time
and immediately started to bust my balls, professing how he was totally into the
Women’s Speed Skating, with the women in those skin-tight outfits, while there I
was, watching dudes slide a stone.  Dewey, of course, heard this, and
started busting my balls as well, but then, after hanging up the phone on Dewey
in mid-insult, I reminded Stu that he loved the movie "Curious George." 
With that, he backed down a tad.

Anyway, as for my fascination with curling,
it really began with the Winter Olympic coverage four years ago.  Me, I’m
the kind of guy who can just sit in front of the TV on a Sunday afternoon and
watch a full round of golf, so why not be fascinated with curling? This year,
though, I was reading the paper yesterday and saw they had coverage of the men’s
curling on CNBC.  I changed the channel and quickly became totally
fascinated by the audio of the event that will hopefully make it into a podcast
next week.  Yup, I was sucked in.  But then came the woman’s event
today, with the Team USA dudettes playing the dudettes of Denmark.  As the
audio still intrigued me, suddenly I was in love, as I am a sucker for a dudette
with blondish hair, blue eyes, and a killer smile, staring down a big ol’ rock and yelling/telling her teammates where it really needs to end up .  My next person to
stalk, I mean, to admire from afar, is team skip,

Cassie Johnson.  I’ll just say I was mesmerized, and totally 
disappointed when that last rock hit some debris thing on the ice that
misdirected it ever so slightly so that the Denmark dudettes won the round.

Sadly, the Team USA curling dudettes might be eliminated pretty soon, they
aren’t doing too well it seems, and that makes me sad.  I believe my last
chance to catch them might be this coming Monday, but there’s always a chance
they can go on a curling tear and I’ll be there every step of the way.  
As far as Stu, go ahead and stalk, I mean, admire from afar, those dudette speed
skaters.  Me, I’ve always had a thing for the girl next door look, and
Cassie has that.  And her sister is cute, too, but she’s engaged. 
Cassie has a degree in graphic design and I’d love to offer her a job to help us
with Stu & The Dude
Reviewin’ the Movies for You!  It’s just too bad I couldn’t offer her
any money, and I’d probably be slapped with a sexual harrasment lawsuit.  Oh well, I guess I’ll just stalk, I mean, admire her from afar,
and hope the team does go on a curling tear.  Good luck ladies!  And
Cassie, if by some miracle I win the $365 million
Powerball this weekend,
there might be a job offer coming your way.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
I’m getting really confused with the coverage of the
XX Winter
Olympics. First, I talked a little bit about this in our last podcast, but
there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on exactly where the Olympics are being
held. First, if you go to
www.olympic.org, they call it the "Torino 2006" games. Fine, they’re a world
body, and probably go with the language of the host nation, that being Italian
because, well, the Olympics are being held in Italy. The thing is that Torino is
an Italian pronunciation, and even on the web site, in their English
translation, they call them the "Turin Winter Games." That at my local paper,
and every other television station say they are in Turin.  But
NBC, who is broadcasting the
Winter Olympics, are sticking with "Torino," prompting one posting on a bulletin
board I occasionally read wondering why, if NBC is content on calling Turin,
well, Turino, for this kind of news, why aren’t they calling Rome, well, Roma,
or Florence, umm, Fiorenza. I know that the famous shroud is in Turin, and
wonder if NBC, if there is ever new news about the Shroud of Turin, well, if
they will know call it the Shroud of Turino? I’m so confused.

And that’s not
only thing confusing me about the Winter Olympics. The other has to do with the
wacky news coverage, especially on the NBC stations. I haven’t been able to pay
attention to the ABC or CBS coverage, at least when it comes to my local news,
to see if how/when/who they are spoiling the suspense of who/when/how won a
medal, but on both my local NBC newscast and the national NBC newscast here in
Chicago, this day being Sunday, they both had coverage of the Winter Olympics.
The easy story was

Michelle Kwan’s dropping out, but then, wanting to at least give some real
news about what was going on, told their viewers that if they didn’t want to
"see" anything about the results as of the time of the newscast, to turn away
from the screen (don’t forget, the actual events happened over 12 hours ago, so
the nightly broadcast is a tape of what already happened), and that the audio
wouldn’t give away anything, but I couldn’t help but watch and figure out that
Apolo Anton Ohno must have screwed up because he wasn’t on the medal board NBC
flashed on the screen. Then, of course, I just went to the

NBC website and found out for myself.

With their coverage, I think this is where NBC is really dropping the ball.
Instead of trying to "hide" the results with bad "we have spoilers, turn away if
you don’t want to know," they should just go all out and say things like "On
tonight’s coverage, you get to see how Apolo Anton Ohno didn’t get a medal, how
the U.S. skiers, including the controversial Bode Miller, didn’t get a medal,
but thank God for

Shaun White and Danny Kass, a couple of snowboarders who knew how to get the
job done, getting the Gold and Silver respectively. We’ve got a slim chance at
getting a medal in the Luge, but you might just want to see if the "Babe Ruth of
Luge,"

Georg Hackl of Germany, can pull it off. After all, they’re going down that
course at speeds over 70 miles per hour at times." In all honesty, those are the
only reasons I’m watching the NBC coverage of the Winter Olympics tonight, but
my problem is that the conclusion to last week’s "Grey’s
Anatomy" conflicts with the Olympic coverage. I knew I should have ordered
that Comcast DVR. Guess I’ll be stuck with year’s old technology and
VCR "Grey’s
Anatomy" and TIVO
the Olympics, or maybe just the opposite. Damn, I hate T.V.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
I’m still a little perplexed as to when to write a blog, and when to do a
podcast, mostly, because, in the grand scheme of things, the podcast is just so
much simpler.  All I have to do is flip a switch, start a couple of
programs, talk about what I’m thinking, and "Bam!!!", I’m done, other than
getting things posted.  But sometimes I just seem to be in the mood to
type, and this seems to be one of those times, especially adding links to things
that I am writing about.  Anyway, let’s go.

First off, and I guess I missed the bulk of the
story when I was back in Ohio around Christmas, but I didn’t realize Howard
Stern created such a

hubbabaloo with his latest billboard campaign until a few days ago.  It
seems that Howard and
the folks at Sirius Satellite
Radio launched a billboard campaign with the tagline "Let freedom ring. 
And let it be rung by a stripper." When I first heard the tagline I found it
kind of funny, and thought to myself "Self, wasn’t that in a Martina McBride
song?  I remember that line from somewhere?"  And then it occurred to
me, it was from the song "My Country ‘Tis of Thee."  That doesn’t seem to
be where the controversy came from, though.  It seems Dr. Martin Luther
King incorporated the phrase into his "I
Have a Dream" speech, even referencing the song.  At least two
billboards were put up along Chicago expressways, meant, pretty much, to try and
catch the glimpse of those driving into downtown Chicago, probably on their way
to work, stuck in traffic, and maybe create a smile in the heart of every dude
and a little bit of disgust in the heart of every dudette.  Except,
according to a Reverend in Chicago, the phrase "Let freedom ring" was made
"popular" by Dr. King, and it is disrespectful to the African-American community
to trivialize it, and since the billboard locations were in African-American
communities, that made it even worse.

The
protest wasn’t started by the Reverend you might thing it would have been
started by, namely Reverend Jesse Jackson, but by a Catholic Priest, Rev.
Pfleger, who lost all respect by our own Stu Gotz when

he threatened to leave the Church if he was transferred from his parish. 
In any case, it seems the Reverend Pfleger got his wish, and both Viacom and
Clear Channel

bowed to his pressure and removed the ads after protest threats.  I
hope Sirius got their money back.  But that isn’t even my real problem with
this.  My problem is that both the Reverend and, yes, Reverend Jesse
Jackson did chime it later, made this thing about race and the location of the
original billboard, when the billboard’s location is meant for one thing, and
one thing only – to catch the glimpse of those driving into Chicago on the Dan
Ryan Expressway.  They use the fact that the billboard structure is located
in an African American community as their sounding board, that somehow this ad
is meant to trivialize Dr. Martin Luther King, and that’s bad.  Had this ad
been on a local billboard, at ground level in an African American community, I
might, sort of, agree with their argument, but I have to wonder, if the first
billboard got put up off of the Ronald Reagan Tollway here in Illinois, if they
would have even noticed, or cared.

On a
lighter note, my mother wonders about "Dancing
With the Stars," and how did Jerry Rice and his partner get the score they
got the other night.  Mom says, and I quote "what’s
with Jerry Rice getting 3  7’s when actually all he did was move around while
she did all the shaking and I mean SHAKING!!!!!!!!!"  I had to agree with
my Mom, although I did admit to her that I was watching
his
partner a hell of a lot more than the

greatest wide receiver ever in the NFL.  I really hope there isn’t a
fix.

Well, I’ve got
to wrap up this blog and plan my weekend.  It’s looking like I’ll catch the
movies "Match Point," where I’m bound to fall back in love with Scarlett
Johansson, and either "Grandma’s Boy" or "The Ringer" for me being of the easily
amused and looking for something to be easily amused by.  And, oh yea, I
have one more dilemma to work out this week, namely do I buy another Sirius
receiver for my home or just listen to Howard in my car come Monday, January
9th, when freedom rings, and I, personally hope it will be rung by a stripper. 
From the replay of the test show on Howard 100 today, there looks to be many a
technical difficulty come Monday, enough which might actually make Howard’s head
explode.  I’m sure this would be much more entertaining on video, but even
on the radio, I’m thinking Howard can still make that pretty funny.  But
Johnny B.
is back in Chicago, and I started here listening to him when I first arrived
here back in 1985, even awakened one morning hearing our own Stu Gotz talking
with Johnny about things and a bunny rabbit, and I have been listening to him
since Howard has been off the air, and have found the Brandmeier-meister just as
amusing in a different way.  I’m so torn.  I guess the weekend, and my
compulsive disorder, will tell how this all works out.  I think I need a
couple of TIVO’s for my radio personalities now, but when would I listen to them
when I’m still watching my replays of "Dancing With the Stars?"  I’m so
screwed.

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right

I always said I would just push "Record," start talking, and let that be our
podcast.  Not this time, the third time had to be the charm.  The
first try had one computer glitch that I couldn’t fix on the fly, the second try
had my recording computer freeze thanks to a bad anti-virus program kick-in, so
I finally got everything to go on the third try.  The sad part is most of
it admits that I am a fan of "Dancing With the Stars" and ABC has now given me
huge problems on my Thursday night television viewing since I don’t have enough
TIVO’s to record everything I want to watch.

As always, I welcome your comments.

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right

I watched the CMA Awards last night, but in the end, figured I might have been
more entertained by what was originally set to record on my TIVO, namely "The
Biggest Loser," and "My Name is Earl" (thankfully I set up my VCR for some extra
taping).  I thought Garth was great, although from a couple of the country
bulletin boards I check into every now and then, the Garth haters are out in
full force, and even though Bon Jovi is getting wailed on for being there (oh,
how they forget the soundtrack to "Young Guns II") I finally figured out who
Jennifer Nettles is.  But for this podcast, it’s about Big and Rich who
probably got the most publicity thanks to Chevy and Target, and the fact that
for this year, and least for me, the CMA Awards were all about giving someone an
award and cutting the winners off before they could actually thank everyone and
enjoy the moment.  And until there is an apology, it will be a long time,
or at least a year, until I forgive them for how they cut short Alabama’s
acceptance speach.

As always, I welcome your comments.

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
I was going to do this Blog about hurricane Rita and how I figured God must have
messed up with Katrina, but instead, my blog has quickly shifted to my being
totally pissed at the cable TV company called Comcast.  Why?  Simply
because at the time of this writing, it’s 7:42PM, CDT, at least according to my
computer, and their sports channel, who took the rights from the Fox Sports
channel, is still out on my cable system.  Normally I wouldn’t care, except
tonight is the rubber match for this three game series between the Chicago White
Sox and the Cleveland Indians.  That’s right, the channel simply says "No
signal."  These people don’t even have a back-up to say something like "We
are experiencing technical difficulties."  Nope, just a blank, fucking,
screen, and I hate to get blue with this blog, but I find this unbelievable from
one of the largest cable companies in the United States, at least without the
ability to put something real on my screen.  This wouldn’t even be an
issue, except this is a game that can DECIDE THE WINNER OF THE DIVISION. 
I’ve seen dozens of other sport’s broadcasts where they have technical
difficulties, but at worst, they have, on screen, something saying they are
having problems with the broadcast, and at least better, have the broadcasters
on telephones, at least giving the play-by-play, even without the video. 
Yea, I know, I could find a radio and get the game, but I pay way too much money
for my cable TV, so I am way pissed off.  I just did a quick check of the
Major League Baseball site, I see my Indians scored a run, and I can’t watch it
because, well, now I’m stuck watching Martha Stewart in her Apprentice version. 
Fine, I hate to admit that I sort of wanted to see that show, but right now,
baseball takes a lot more precedence over what Martha will say when she cans
someone.  Yes, I did call the cable company, and they said they are having
problems, but the dude on the phone, who seemed nice enough, said he had no idea
when the problem would be fixed.  The problem isn’t when it will be fixed,
it’s just that why should I have to call?  Why can’t you put something on
my TV screen that says there are problems going on, rather than just "No
signal."

Oh, by the way, for this episode, Martha said "Jeffrey, you just don’t fit
in."  Then told him "Goodbye," and wrote him a note.  But now it’s
time for "Lost," and hopefully the game will be back on, otherwise, I’ll just
have to keep watching my internet screen to seen the Gameday Live update.

If I can get to another blog tomorrow, I’ll explain how God must have messed
up, but for now I’m just pissed.

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
Only a few days into the fall television season, and I am quickly realizing that
I am

screwed because now baseball is getting in the way. Pretty much having lived
in the Chicago area longer than I lived in the Cleveland area, I aligned myself
with the Cubs. But at the
beginning of this baseball season, the
Chicago White Sox were
going crazy, and it was just baseball that was fun to watch. My
Cleveland Indians weren’t
doing all that great, and lord knows the Cubs were all over the map that you
couldn’t get around them, and I’m not saying my allegiance shifted from the Cubs
to the White Sox, but I would find it cool to get a playoff team that seemed
destined to go all the way, so I started rooting for the Sox. But then a couple
of funny things happened. First, the White Sox started not playing so well.
Second, the Indians started playing phenomenal baseball, and on
sports talk-radio all
over Chicago, everyone was worried about the Indians. And now look, the Tribe
took the first game of this huge series against the Sox, and if you look at
their remaining schedules, the Indians look poised to make one of the greatest
comebacks in baseball history while the White Sox fans will no longer be able to
make fun of the Cubs and their ’69 demise, because, well, their demise may rank
right back up there in the baseball disaster record books.

But that’s not why I’m screwed. Nope, tonight the ballgame is on, but in
conflict with many another show. I’ve got "The
Biggest Loser," the season finale of "Big
Brother 6," the premiere of "My
Name is Earl" and "The
Office," not to mention the conflict with the damn "Dancing
With the Stars" dance-off, and the conclusion of "Rock
Star: INXS." Sure, I’ve got a TIVO, and an old VCR, but I don’t think that
is going to cut it. I was trying to get around it, but dammit, I might have to
look into getting another TIVO, or the digital recorder from my cable company,
or just throw all of my TV’s out the window and read a book instead. The latter
will never happen, but for now, all I know is that for my television viewing
this Tuesday evening, I’m screwed.

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!