PBS may have the most terrifying Halloween night show on TV:
A new “Nova” episode at 8 p.m. that night is “Monster of the Milky Way.â€
According to a news release: “Astronomers are closing in on the proof they’ve sought for years that one of the most destructive objects in the universe — a supermassive black hole — is lurking right in the center of our own galaxy. Could it flare up and devour our entire galactic neighborhood? NOVA mounts a mind-bending investigation into one of the most bizarre corners of cosmological science: the truth about black holes. From supernova to event horizon, the dark secrets of supermassive black holes are revealed through stunning computer-generated imagery, including an extraordinary simulation of what it might look like to fall into the belly of such a beast. “
Now that is scary.
Robert Ludlum is a master of suspense thrillers involving international intrigue. It seems every other thriller has the word “master of” mentioned somewhere near the author’s name, but in this case it’s deserving. Ludlum is that good. His latest is “The Bancroft Strategy,” and it involves - surprise! - involves a special agent tracking down an arms dealer.
Couple of other coffee table books to mention. One is “Home Ground,” edited by Barry Lopez. The books features more than 850 definitions for landscape terms like kiss tank, cowbelly, bedrock and point bar. Lopez called on 45 writers to help provide the words and definitions. It’s the only book I know of that includes “alligator hole” (from Florida) and “eyebrow scarps” (Texas). Unusal book.
The other is also unusual, at least among baseball books. “The American Game” by Ira Rosen concentrates on minor league baseball, which as any true fan know is - especially these days - the best place to have that true “going to the ballpark” experience. The photos are beautiful and the sentiment correct. In fact, allow me a moment to make a plug for attending a Tampa Yankees game next year. It’s not only less expensive than a major league park, but the atmosphere is much closer to what I grew up believing was what you were supposed to experience when you went to the ballpark.
Did Roger Clemens forget to shave or did the Abominable Snowman decide to crash spring training? You write the caption!
I was at a local grocery store the other night, close to closing time. As I headed out, I saw a grandfather struggling with the groceries and trying to keep his grandchild in his line of vision.
The little girl was scampering around, and headed the opposite direction from that of her grandpa. I stopped and mumbled for her to turn around and head in the general direction but the child was distracted and in her own little safe world.
She hurried along, oblivious to where her relative was and stopped short when she came across a pair of sturdy legs. She looked up, startled, into the face of a man who was filling water from the water vending machines.
Her face changed from careless to stunned and then fearful within the split second.
She looked up, spread her arms out, and said, “Please don’t take me.”
The man who was filling the water was stunned too, he was not in a good situation. He looked around and was almost relieved to see me watching them.
The girl by then had run back to her grandfather, and I am guessing she will not wander too far from him.
It made me incredibly sad, to see that we live in such times where a 5-year-old has to be made aware of the dangers of abduction.
It was a good thing that the man was in a crowded grocery store with someone witnessing the whole situation, or it could have placed him in an awkward position.
Try explaining to someone why a child is requesting you not to take them away.
I walked out, in some ways relieved that the child was aware enough, in other ways apprehensive of the vulnerability of a child.
The missing and dead children on the news don’t help either.
The preview DVDs are piling up and I’m excited. I watched the first new episode of “Desperate Housewives” which returns Sunday (sept. 24).
Very cool. The show, which slipped creatively last season, is back on track. Kyle MacLachlan is very creepy as Orson, a neatnik who may have killed his first wife and is now after Bree. There’s a wild bedroom scene where Bree expericences something for the first time and thinks she’s having a stroke.
Meanwhile Lynette’s having real trouble with hubby Tom’s ex-lover who just keeps meddling in their lives. Gabby has it out with the surrogate mother carrying her child. And Susan finds romance at the hospital (where Mike is in a coma) with a handsome man (Dougray Scott) whose wife is in a coma, too.
Tonight, I’m looking at the second season debut of “Doctor Who” which returns to the Sci-Fi Channel on Sept. 29. This time David Tennant plays the alien Time Lord. Also in my to-do box is the season debut of “Veronica Mars’’ which returns next week on The CW. I’ve already seen the first “Gilmore Girls” (also next Tuesday). It’s OK.
This is a great job because I get these DVDs without the commercials.
This just in from The Maury Povich Show:
According to a news release from Povich’s production office: on Thursday, Sept. 21, “MAURY†welcomes people who have survived brutal attacks.
Among them is Sherlitra Nash, 34, of Tampa. Approximately five years ago, Sherlitra was stabbed seven times in the chest, back and face with a razor sharp butcher knife. She said the man who tried to kill her was her estranged husband, Alan Bernard Griffin.
According to her story, she and and Alan were high school sweethearts who lost touch after school. “We lost contact with each other for about 10 years, then he found me and we were married,†says Sherlitra. For awhile, Sherlitra says she had a happy marriage, a beautiful family and a terrific job. “He (Alan) was loving and kind, but all of that changed.â€
The couple’s marriage turned sour when Sherlitra confronted Alan about her suspicion that he was cheating on her. “That’s when the verbal and the physical abuse started,†Sherlitra says. “He would slap me, call me fat, ugly (and) tell me nobody would want me.â€
The two were separated for a short time, but Alan fell on hard times and needed somewhere to stay, she said.
“I tried to help him out,†says Sherlitra. The one day, without warning, Alan put a knife to Sherlitra’s throat. Her voice cracks when she describes what happened next. Sherlitra says, “He (Alan) beat me … then he raped me.â€
Alan was arrested and charged with rape. He was released on his own recognizance and was awaiting trial when Sherlitra was attacked with a butcher knife.
“One of the wounds was a-half-an-inch away from my heart,” she said. “I was worried about my kids. I wasn’t really thinking about me. I just didn’t want my kids to see me that way.â€
“My life has changed dramatically,†Sherlitra says. “I’m afraid all the time. Every time I go somewhere, I feel like people are looking at my scars on my face. I feel ugly. I feel like nobody will ever want me.â€
Griffin is currentlyserving a 30-year prison sentence. He received 15 years on the rape charge and 15 years for attempted murder.
With the “MAURY†show’s help, Sherlita is presented with a dayat a spa. Cassandra Salon and Day Spa in Tampa have donated a spa day for Sherlitra. Westgate Resorts also is sponsoring a 4-day, 3-night all-expense-paid vacation in Orlando for Sherlitra and her daughters.
Nothing literary today, gentle reader. I’m actually trying to give you a leg up on the shopping season. A slew of new coffee table books are on the market, and they make that perfect gift for someone you know but maybe you don’t know all that well, if you know what I mean. I’m sure you do.
First up is “Secrets of a Style Diva” by Susie Coelho, who hosted two shows on the Home and Garden Television cable channel designed to allow everyone to release their inner diva, should they wish to do so. I do not. But perhaps you know someone who does.
In “Work: The World In Photographs,” National Geographic photographers show people from around the world making a living, from dancers in Cambodia to transport truck drivers in Saudi Arabia. It’s cooler than it sounds.
In “Treasures of the Spanish Main,” author and photographer John Christopher Fine offers up photos and information about the wealth of treasure found around underwater. Seeing these piles of jewels and gold will make you wish you had gone into another line of work, like deep sea salvage.
Finally, Eric Hammel has tapped the U.S. Marine Corps photo archives to find 500 rare photos from World War II and place them in a new book, “Iwo Jima.” The one on the back of the book is poignant all by itself: a crowd of Marines on a transport boat, heading across the water, Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima - and almost certain death - looming in the distance.
The video for the song Boy Soprano by California band Xiu Xiu, recently popped up on YouTube and brings back all sorts of memories. The whole video is done in the style of an old platformer. Anyone who has spent any amount of time with a Sega Genesis will relate.
And if you like the song, you’re in luck. Xiu Xiu will be playing the Orpheum in Ybor City on Oct. 4.
I learned today that the October 17th visit by the Fox News Channel’s top anchor. Shepard Smith, and “The Fox & Friends” crew will not be open to the public.
Some cities on the network’s 10th anniversay tour will have studio audiences.
But the stop at the Don Cesar Beach Resort will not have an audience. You’ll have to watch it on TV!
On Sept. 30, Nickelodeon will celebrate its third annual Worldwide Day of Play by going off the air for three hours (12 noon – 3 p.m.), in order to encourage kids to go outside and be active.
Worldwide Day of Play is part of the “Let’s Just Play†campaign, Nickelodeon’s pro-social commitment, with partner the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, to encourage kids to participate in active, healthy, and playful lifestyles.
This year’s Worldwide Day of Play will culminate with the finale of the Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Celebration, once the network returns to its on-air programming.
The Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge follows four real life kids over a six month period in the quest to make their lives, schools and communities healthier. With the end of the 2006 Go Healthy Challenge approaching, almost 140,000 kids have pledged to “Go Healthy.â€
Be still my heart, it is “Ventriloquist Week” on David Letterman’s CBS “Late Show.”
That means a different ventriloquist every night this week (Sept. 18-22).
Tonight (Sept. 18), ventriloquist legend Willie Tyler and his dummy, “Lester,” will perform. On Tuesday, Sept. 19, Jay Johnson, who starred in the classic sitcom “Soap” and who is currently starring on Broadway in the one-man show “The Two and Only,” and his dummy, “Darwin,” will be featured. Ventriloquist Ronn Lucas and “Scorch” visit on Wednesday, Sept. 20, while Jeff Dunham and “Walter” appear on Thursday, Sept. 21. Rounding out the week will be ventriloquist Todd Oliver who performs with “Irving” on Friday, Sept. 22.
In other news from CBS:
Two-time Emmy Award nominee Sara Gilbert joins the cast of the new Monday night comedy, “The Class” in a recurring role as Fern, a character from Richie’s (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) past. She makes her first appearance in the series’ fourth episode, to be broadcast Monday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m.
“ROAD TO PRICE,” a six-part reality series chronicling five teenage boys’ drive across the country to realize their dream of seeing “The Price is Right” and meeting Bob Barker, will stream on CBS’s broadband channel innertube starting September 20. A new episode will post each weekday through September 27. The episode of “The Price Is Right” featuring the boys will be broadcast Wednesday, Sept. 27 on the CBS Television Network.
I admit there is a FREE local resource that I have been meaning to try out, but haven’t gotten around to.
Inexcusable, I know.
But now that the kids are more capable on their bikes and able to handle more than just a few blocks without a break, it’s time for the Pinellas Trail.
It’s a 34-miles greenway, but I think we will start small with checking out just 5 miles or so.
I am particularly excited to see that there are several bike rental shops along the way. To have to load all of our bikes and helmets for the trip would be a deal breaker.
Instead, we’ll throw our Rollerblades in the trunk (alot easier) for when we need a break from the bikes.
A picnic lunch and some extra water and you have the perfect fall afternoon.
The Birthday Bash, for those who have never been, is a really good time. Tons of music on three stages, beer everywhere, junk food everywhere and plenty of laughs to go around. Yeah, the bulk of the bands were of the decidedly roots rock/jam band variety, but there were some pleasant surprises here and there. The country-leaning bands were really very good and were noticeably having a lot of fun. Nearly every band played longer than they were supposed to, so it became impossible to tell who was playing by the end of the night unless you were already a fan or it was the last band on any given stage. The Cuban Club is probably the best venue we have in Tampa, which explains why WMNF loves it so much. But let’s get away from the event and on to my rant:
In the late 80’s/early 90’s pop culture didn’t reject pretentiousness as the story seems to go. Instead, the “in thing” became to intensely pretend to be un-pretentious - so much so that nearly everything in pop culture became annoying, except rap music which merely became a gigantic repetitive bore of epic proportions. But the “indie” alternative to that was just as boring, being bogged down with enough phony angst/boredom to drown a herd of elephants. The hipster hairdo for most of the 90’s was a carefully sculpted bedhead - desperately working hard in a sad attempt to look as though they didn’t care. Pleasure died an ugly death and everything interesting about pop culture went out - not with a vivacious revolution but with a yawn and a whimper. No wonder so many people got into ecstacy and techno. It was as close to “fun” as the mainstream would allow.
The 00’s haven’t been much better. We’ve been drowning in mockery. Ironic smirks and mean jokes have been “in” and to even pretend to be having a good time has been the source of many uncomfortable stares. Indie rock lost it’s goofiness and mainstream music hasn’t the faintest clue about what a “hook” is. Mainstream films have been so horrible that icons of the past, such as Michael Caine, are going on public tirades deriding the entire film industry - and for good reason.
But something has been happening this year, this strange 2006. People really want to let go and have some good old-fashioned F-U-N again. Pretending to be angry and bored just doesn’t cut it anymore. Repetitive wanking on about ho’s and bling is inspiring the yawns that it should. Wearing black, silly skulls and going on about disco and cocaine is finally looking as stupid to the average person as it has looked to me all along. It is stupid. And stupidity isn’t as “awesome” as Fox News would have you believe.
The depth of cultural experience has been a void in most of us for a good twenty years and the hunger is getting too strong to bear any longer. Beauty and pleasure are making a comeback. I predict that in 2007, bleak cynicism will loosen it’s clown-in-black grip and we can start building that golden age that the kids in the mid-60’s (or early 50’s, or 1920’s, 19-teens, and, really, the 1890’s) dreamed about and destroyed before it could take off. The time is finally right.
Aesthetics are more than meets the eye. Don’t be satisfied with mere art - demand quality. Taste isn’t negotiable - so learn what good taste really means. Be humble and patient in your own self-discovery. Insecurity can kill the flowers before they bloom.
Ten years ago (or so), I declared Rock N’ Roll dead - before the horrible Lenny Kravitz song of the same name. Little did I know that I’d be fronting the band that brings it back to life.
Last night, the Seashorse Orchestra were the secret gem of the WMNF Birthday Bash. Those who saw us will be talking about it for some time - at least until the next time they see us! It was likely the best rock n’ roll performance most of them had ever seen - at least for the young ones since they never had the opportunity to witness the likes of, say, a Rolling Stones when they were a young happening band.
As the NFL season gets into full swing, so does my yearly Madden addiction. I really only play the game while the real game is in season. Why is that? I blame dramatic NFL Films music.
Anyway, the Madden Challenge is headed back to Tampa on Sunday, Oct. 29 at Raymond James Stadium. The tournament, which draws some of the best Madden players in the country, has stopped in the area the past few years. Besides a stop in Atlanta, it’s the only stop in the Southeast this year, so expect some big-time ballers.
You can register here or take your chances with walk-up registration the day of the event. Space is limited and the event will set you back $15.
It’s okay though, if you have the skills you can take home $1,000 and a trip to Hawaii for winning the regional tourney. There you’ll have the chance to compete for the $100,00 grand prize. Certainly not a waste of an afternoon.
Last year, the BBC America presentaton of “Viva Blackpool” a musical mystery/sexy soap really blew me away.
It was one of the best miniseries in recent years. A sequel is coming in October:
David Morrissey (State of Play, Basic Instinct 2) is back in “Viva Blackpool: Ripley’s Return,” a magical musical movie sequel to the Golden Globe-nominated and Peabody Award-winning original series Viva Blackpool. In this innovative show, even characters in mourning pop out of heavy drama mode to sing along, karaoke-style, with hits from Johnny Cash, Queen, Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones. Ripley’s Return premieres Saturday, October 28, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
As the story opens, gambling man Ripley Holden, returning from Las Vegas as Reverend Ripley, attends the Blackpool funeral of his close friend, Patrick, who won a World Cup trophy in a crooked card game. Ripley’s already lined up a buyer for the legendary trophy, which was stolen from Westminster Hall in the ‘60s and has been in criminal hands ever since. But when aggressive sports agent Steve Pollard (Keith Allen, De-Lovely) moves in with a higher bid, a ferocious bidding war erupts.
This is all good news for Ripley, who has opened a successful Vegas-style wedding chapel in Blackpool with his daughter Shyanne (Georgia Taylor). Together they perform themed wedding ceremonies from Blue Hawaii to country-western and Harry Potter, dreaming of turning their single chapel into a nationwide chain. The money from the sale of the trophy would make their dream a reality. All Ripley has to do is get the trophy from Patrick’s elderly mother, Mrs. Berry (Annette Crosbie, One Foot in the Grave), and sell it to the highest bidder. But he’s horrified when he sees that she has placed Patrick’s ashes in the trophy, the centerpiece of a shrine to her beloved son.
Meanwhile, Ripley’s fallen hopelessly in love with walking temptation, Kitty De-Luxe (Megan Dodds, MI-5), who was jilted at his chapel. The glamorous blonde wants Ripley to invest the trophy money in her ice show, Paradise Lost on Ice. But the more Ripley gets to know Kitty, the less the pieces add up. A quick search through her bag reveals the key to a storage locker. Although it will break his heart, Ripley has to know what she’s hiding. Is Kitty the perfect woman for Ripley, a con artist — or both?
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