PBS station WEDU, Channel 3, has been nominated for 11 Suncoast Regional Emmy Awards including 10 nominations for “A Gulf Coast Journal with Jack Perkins” and one for the WEDU series “Smart Health.”
“I’m extremely proud of the WEDU employees who work tirelessly to produce educational and entertaining community stories to life through our local programming, ” says WEDU president Richard Lobo. “In these unsettling times, it’s more important than ever that WEDU continue to focus on issues and people that matter most to us in our everyday lives – those in our own communities.”
Now in its seventh season, “A Gulf Coast Journal with Jack Perkins” highlights the people and places that make Sarasota and west central Florida a richly varied community.
“Smart Health” is an ongoing WEDU special program initiative dedicated to sharing advances in medical science and introducing the inspiring and courageous people behind them. It is hosted by Angie Moreschi and produced by Ellen McVay.
The winners of the 2009 regional Emmy Awards will be announced Dec. 5 at the Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences annual ceremony taking place at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando.
Taking a middle-of-the-road, just-the-facts-ma’am approach obviously isn’t working for CNN.
The granddaddy of cable news networks slipped to fourth place in primetime at 7, 8 and 10 p.m. among cable news networks in the key sales demographic (ages 25 to 54) for October, according to Nielsen Media Research data.
Last year, during the presidential election, CNN was riding high. But this year, CNN has slipped more than rivals Fox News and MSNBC have. CNN is down 78 percent compared with October 2008.
It should be noted that all the cable news networks are down from October 2008 when the election was hot and heavy and the economy was beginning to take a tumble. MSNBC is down 63 percent in the primetime demo (25-to-54) while Fox News Channel is off 36 percent in 25-to-54 and HLN and CNBC are each down 29 percent.
Fox has positioned itself as the network of choice for conservatives, and MSNBC has become the favorite of liberals.
Fox News remains dominant across all day-parts. In primetime (Mon-Sun, 8-11 p.m.), Fox News averaged 2.1 million viewers with 560,000 in the key demo. MSNBC was second with 699,000 viewers, 234,000 in the demo, followed by CNN and HLN.
Fox News apparently has benefited from the flap with the White House over President Obama’s strategy to ignore the network. The administration’s battle with Fox News got heavy coverage on Fox last week. The network is up 9 percent in total viewers and up 14 percent in the demo since the feud started three weeks ago.
Fox News also has all 10 of the top 10 shows in cable news in both the demo and total viewers, led by “The O’Reilly Factor” (3.3 million viewers, 875,000 in the demo), Glenn Beck (2.7 million viewers, 712,000 in the demo), Hannity (2.3 million, 659,000 in the demo) and “On the Record” with Greta Van Susteren (1.9 million, 533,000 in the demo).
MSNBC notched second place finishes in most of the key week-night prime-time hours. At 7 p.m., “Hardball” with Chris Matthews was second in the time slot averaging 649,000 viewers with 182,000 in the demo. HLN’s “Issues” with Jane Velez-Mitchell out-rated CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight” in the demo (168,000 to 163,000) while Dobbs prevailed among total viewers (631,000 to 462,000).
“Fox Report” with Shepard Smith was the most-watched program at 7 p.m., with 1.9 million viewers and 463,000 in the demo.
At 8 p.m., MSNBC’s “Countdown” with Keith Olbermann bested HLN’s Nancy Grace, among total viewers (1 million to 830,000) and the demo (294,000 to 269,000), while CNN’s Campbell Brown was stuck in fourth among total viewers (648,000) and the demo (161,000).
“The O’Reilly Factor” was the top-rated cable news program in the 8 p.m. hour for the 107th consecutive month.
At 9 p.m., MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” bested CNN’s “Larry King Live” in total viewers (880,000 to 842,000) and the demo (246,000 to 224,000). That was enough for a third-place finish for LKL against HLN’s newest entry, “The Joy Behar Show,” which averaged 535,000 total viewers and 183,000 in the demo. Fox News’ Hannity had the top-rated program for the hour.
At 10 p.m., “Anderson Cooper 360” dropped to fourth in the demo (210,000) against reruns of Nancy Grace (222,000) and “Countdown” (218,000).
I know, I know—this has nothing to do with “staying in.” In fact, just the opposite. But I have difficulty with rules. Also, I just thought this was cool and wanted to share.
Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater’s performing arts center, ranked seventh among venues with 5,000 seats or less *in the world” in terms of gross ticket sales between Aug. 15 and Sept. 15 of this year. It also ranked first in that category for venues in the southeastern United States. The study was conducted by Venues Today, an entertainment industry magazine.
So, good for them but so what, right? Well, not so fast. Places like Ruth Eckerd, Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg and The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center face a challenging environment. Outside of perhaps Michigan, no state has been harder hit by the recession than Florida, and these art venues compete for a dwindling amount of disposal income among Tampa Bay’s residents.
So yeah, I think it’s cool that this area—which doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being big on the arts—continues to support places like Ruth Eckerd Hall, even better than the support they are getting in places like Boston, Orlando and San Diego.
When Anthony Daniels looks out over an audience of light saber-waving “Star Wars” fans that have come to hear a concert based on music from the epic movie series, it warms his heart.
“I see people ages 12 to 94, some of them coming to a musical concert for the first time, and the reactions are amazing,” says the man who had played android C-3PO in all six “Star Wars” films as well as the animated Cartoon Network “Clone Wars” series.
“If we get one young person at each concert to appreciate orchestral music, well, then it’s worth it,” says Daniels, who is touring the country in “Star Wars: In Concert.”
Featuring an 86-piece orchestra, a chorus of 80 singers and selections from the six film scores the Academy Award-winning composer John Williams wrote for the “Star Wars” movies, this sci-fi musical event also includes scenes from the films, a laser light show and Daniels narrating the saga.
The event also includes an exhibit of “Star Wars” props, production artwork, behind-the-scenes videos and and costumes, including C-3PO’s. The exhibit features many classic fan favorite artifacts, as well as several new and never-before-seen items, including blasters and helmets from Coruscant, Tatooine and other iconic Star Wars locations.
There is a complete Darth Vader outfit and the horn-like headdress Natalie Portman wore as Princess Amidala, as well as Chewbacca, Yoda and Boba Fett costumes.
“Star Wars: In Concert” plays at the St. Pete Times Forum at 4 p.m. Sunday. And yes, a lot of “Star Wars” fans come in costume.
“I tell the story from beginning to end in a linear fashion so it explains everything. And for me, it’s a chance to step out from behind C-3PO and be myself,” Daniels said in a recent telephone interview.
Daniels, a classically trained actor who was never a sci-fi buff, owns his career to an endearing, shiny, fussy robot.
“People love C-3PO because they identify with his plight,” says Daniels. “He was programmed to be in the diplomatic service and he keeps getting in these action adventures that are over his head.”
As C-3PO, he has the first line in the first “Star Wars” (1977) and the last line in the last film,“Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith” (2005).
“The concert adds a new appreciation for the films and the music,” Daniels adds. He says composer Williams “is creating the classical music for our lifetimes,” comparing him to a modern-day Richard Wagner.
George Lucas, creator of the “Star Wars” saga, has said the concert combines “key themes from the music and key images from the films that fit with each theme.”
I made my way out to the newly named Morean Arts Center to check out the Visual Unity show last week.
Here is a quick explainer of the show pulled from the Arts Centers site.
Continuing the theme of highlighting work from our local artists, Curator Rocky Bridges brings together 18 artists from the central Florida region to create 36 new pieces of art to share with our community. Each artist will work with at least one other artists from the group to forge new territory in their bodies of work. A true celebration of artistic unity, this exhibition will showcase the work of regional talent, and will also stretch the participating artists as they work with artists who may create in methods and themes completely opposite of their own.
Participating artists:
Tony Eitharong
Rebecca Sexton Larson
Richard Currier
Catherine Bergmann
Tony Savoie
Susan Livingston
Rocky Bridges
Susan Gott
Bruce Gilbert
Leslie Neumann
Clayton Swartz
Margaret Steward
Duncan McClellan
Anna Tomczak
Arnolkis Turro
Lynn Whipple
Here are some of shots of a few of my favorite pieces in the show.
Catherine Bergmann and Rebecca Sexton Larson
Might I Go Free—-Soon?
Cardboard, plastic, tinfoil, natural materials, collage, graphite, Sharpie and gesso
Margaret Steward and Lucia Taxdal
Lunaris 2009
Oil monotype
Kim Michelle and Arnolkis Turro
Deeper for Sunlight Penetration
Acrylic
Anna Tomczak and Lynn Whipple
Kevin Put Catsup On Fathers Good Suede Vest
Mixed Media
Close Ups
Lyn Whipple
Snow Day
Mixed Media
If you plan to make a stop at the show just know that there is now an 8 dollar charge to visit the Artist Center.
TLC may have put “Kate Plus 8” on hiatus, but the cable network is still milking the controversy over their break-up with a new special “Kate: Her Story.”
Newly single mom Kate Gosselin of “Jon & Kate Plus 8” will give, what TLC says, is “her most intimate interview to date” to Natalie Morales of NBC’s “Today.”
The hourlong program is set to debut at 9 p.m. Monday on TLC. The special is produced by NBC’s Peacock Productions so look for a “Today” show plug.
This follows another TLC special that aired on Monday (Oct. 26) “Kate Answers Your Questions” during which the 34-year-old future divorcée sat in an armchair and quipped her way through a Q&A session with fans.
But wait, there’s more: Jon and Kate Gosselin may be divorcing, but TLC has more specials planned for the November sweeps:
Nov. 9: “Jon & Kate Plus 8: Top Moments,” 9 to 10 p.m., looks back over better times.
Nov. 16: “Jon & Kate Plus 8: Gymnastics and Baseball,” at 9 p.m. and “Jon & Kate Plus 8: Never Before Seen,” at 9:30 p.m. Both feature clips from the past.
Nov. 23: “Jon & Kate Plus 8: It’s a Crazy Life, But It’s Our Life,” from 9 to 10 p.m., may be more looking back than viewers can stand.
The Feelies weren’t exactly prolific. The band, a big influence on later alternative music stars such as R.E.M., released only four albums in its 15 years together.
The biggest gap came between the first two, 1980’s “Crazy Rhythms,” and 1986’s “The Good Earth.”
The two albums have been remastered and were reissued in September on the Bar/None label. The reissues coincide with a flurry of Feelies-related activity, including a show at September’s Flaming Lips-curated All Tomorrow Parties in New York City.
Now there’s talk of a short tour, new songs and maybe even a new album.
Don’t hold your breath. This band moves at its own pace and always has.
One reason was “We didn’t live in New York,” guitarist-vocalist Glenn Mercer says by telephone from his home in New Jersey.
“The problem for most bands that weren’t from New York is that had to relocate from pretty far away,” Mercer says. “We had the advantage of living close enough to come and go as we please.
“It allowed us to work at a different pace,” Mercer continues. “If you have a lot of bills and high rent, you have to play more often. There’s not as much time to work on a song and a sound.”
The Feelies’ sound, Mercer says, “is defined more by what we leave out.” The band mates, Mercer says, share a distaste for “filling up al the space with reverb and big crashing drums.”
Those qualities are consistent across their catalog, but “Crazy Rhythms” stands out for its jittery, caffeinated pace.
Mercer attributes that to the city they didn’t live in but in which then spent much of their time.
“In general that period of time was New York City oriented,” Mercer says. “That’s where we did the majority of our playing. I sort of look at that record as more city oriented.”
“The Good Earth,” in contrast, feels more relaxed and spacious, if still capable of intensity.
“Just prior to that [recording “The Good Earth”] we’d done our first cross-country tour and we had the influence of a lot of small towns and college towns,” Mercer says.
A lineup change might have had some impact as well. The “Crazy Rhythms” rhythm section of bassist Keith Clayton and drummer Anton Fier left, replaced by drummer Stanley Demeski, percussionist Dave Weckerman and bassist Brenda Sauter. Mercer and fellow singer-guitarist Bill Million have been the sole constants in the lineup.
The album was produced by Feelies fan Peter Buck of R.E.M.
The band signed to A&M for two more albums, 1988’s “Only Life” and 1991’s “Time For a Witness” before Million abruptly left the band to move to Florida and start a family.
Various members of the Feelies played together in different band over they years, but the five didn’t play together again until last year when Sonic Youth invited them to open a couple of shows.
Now there’s talk, tentative, of course, of a more permanent reunion.
“That’s our hope,” Mercer says. “It’s one of the things we discussed prior to the reunion gigs, doing it on a permanent basis.”
Don’t try to rush them, though.
“We always go on our own pace by our own schedule,” Mercer says.
And don’t start camping out for Feelies reunion tour tickets just yet.
“Oh boy, that’s hard to say,” Mercer says when asked about the possibility of hitting the road. “We’ve had to turn down a lot of stuff. It’s hard to jump back in the van.”
By CURTIS ROSS
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CLEARWATER There are bands that jam, and musicians who solo. Then there are bands where the music is a conversation, where the musicians listen to each other, respond to and build on what’s said.
In that respect, The Allman Brothers Band is the Algonquin Roundtable of rock, an ongoing dialogue between guitars, drums and keyboards that is consistently smart, fiery and passionate.
A sold-out crowd of 2,179 witnessed the Allmans’ most recent conversation Wednesday night at Ruth Eckerd Hall.
Yeah, these guys like to play. The second set was dominated by lengthy takes on “Black Hearted Woman” and “Mountain Jam (with “Smokestack Lightning” tucked inside). It would have been torture in lesser hands. Instead, it was fascinating, music created on the fly by players fueled by imagination and curiosity rather than ego.
Guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks were the primary soloists. Haynes is a meat-and-potatoes blues-rocker but he’s also incredibly fluid and capable of moments of lyrical beauty.
Trucks, who draws influence from John Coltrane and world music as well as the blues, often veered, brilliantly, into uncharted territory. But he was earthy as well, as when he tore his fret board a new one on “Stormy Monday.”
Drummers Butch Trucks (Derek’s uncle) and Jaimoe, plus percussionist Marc Quinones, paced Haynes and Trucks, their blend of tones and polyrhythms building to crescendos as the soloists peaked.
That flowing blend of beats is a huge part of the Allmans’ sound, which rolls far more than it rocks.
Gregg Allman’s Hammond B-3 organ was mostly subdued, as pianist Bruce Katz did most of the heavy keyboard lifting. Allman was spelled on vocals by Warren Haynes, and for one number, bassist Oteil Burbridge.
The set list didn’t neglect the better-known numbers – “Midnight Rider,” “Dreams,” “Melissa,” with Allman on acoustic guitar, and the set-closing “Whipping Post.” But the show was less about songs than about what endlessly inventive musicians can do with them.
Good news for “Castle” fans: ABC has ordered nine more episodes of the Monday night mystery-romance-drama.
That brings it to a full season of 22 episodes.
“Castle” stars Nathan Fillion as crime novelist Richard Castle and Stana Katic as NYPD Detective Kate Beckett.
Together they solve offbeat crimes while engaging in playful banter.
It could be a meeting of the minds: Oprah Winfrey meets Sarah Palin.
In what Oprah’s people are calling “a world exclusive,” the queen of talk will interview former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to air Nov. 16.
Winfrey and Palin will meet for the first time on the episode, which will mark Palin’s first interview to discuss her upcoming book, “Going Rogue: An American Life.”
Oh, did we mention that November is a ratings sweeps month?
Because they are awful, that’s why. And because I’m a hopeless NFL fan who would probably sit through a St. Louis Rams-Cleveland Browns game, even though I have no connection to either team. I am not proud of this, you understand.
But, God help me, the main reason I’ll keep watching the Bucs is the whole awful thing. Because when it comes to the art of Bad Ball, they have few rivals this season.
That’s right—I said “art.” As amazing as great teams can be, I am equally amazed at the level of sheer awfulness required to really, really stink. It’s mesmerizing in its own way. Folks who don’t appreciate the terrible beauty of it all look for scapegoats. Gaines Adams is a wimp! Byron Leftwich can’t make an accurate throw! Josh Johnson can’t throw downfield! The defensive secondary gives up too many big plays! The Glazer family is cheap! Coach Raheem Morris looks confused!
And so on. These folks miss the point. It’s not any one of these factors. It’s ALL of these factors. It takes a group effort to play Bad Ball at this level, and the Bucs are (mis)firing on all cylinders. What can they accomplish next? I don’t know, but I’ll be watching.
The November issue of “Playboy” arrived over the weekend (late, I might add). And it’s obvious that Marge Simpson has been airbrushed here and there in that centerfold.
The blue-haired co-star of “The Simpsons” adorns the cover and speaks out in a short interview as Playboy celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Fox animated series.
There is no total, full frontal nudity (thankfully). But the centerfold has Marge is a see-through nightie. She lists her measurements as 26-26-26. These figures don’t add up when you look at the photo (er, drawing?).
Marge tells Playboy that her goal in life is to one day be president of the Ladies Garden Club of East Springfield.
More from the interview:
Turn on: Having enough saucers for your cups.
Turn off: Slim men who work out regularly and take care of their bodies and whose well-oiled muscles gleam in the sun when they take their shirts off.
Three TV shows I never miss: I tape and watch all the nightly news shows so that none of the anchors feel left out.
Brunch or lunch: I would never do brunch—that would be like cheating on breakfast and lunch.
I have a weakness for: Leap years. I feel like I am getting a day for free.
What I value most in life: Our great country and the freedoms enshrined in its Constitution allowing you to print this smut.
By the way, I only get Playboy for articles on television—like this one.
The syndicated talk/cooking show “Rachael Ray” has been renewed through the 2011-12 season in 90 percent of the country and in 28 of the top 30 markets.
That will take her into a sixth season. In Tampa, the daytime program airs on WFLA, Channel 8.
In August, “Rachael Ray” won its second straight Daytime Emmy for outstanding talk show.
TAMPA - With his trim dark suit and a fedora pulled low over his eyes, Leonard Cohen looked less like a poet and singer-songwriter Monday night, more like a veteran song-and-dance man working the boards.
But what song-and-dance man ever entertained us with such terrible truths: “Everybody knows the war is over/Everybody knows the good guys lost.” “I’ve seen the future, brother, it is murder.”
Maybe it was for Cohen, whose literary and recording careers scream Art with a capital “A,” to acknowledge that the poet is an entertainer, too.
The 75-year-old Cohen fulfilled both roles admirably Monday night at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center’s Carol Morsani Hall before a sold-out crowd of 2,590.
(The show, originally scheduled for the St. Pete Times Forum, began while several long lines of patrons still were waiting to get their tickets at Will Call windows.)
The show closely followed the one captured on this year’s “Live in London” album, even down to the stage patter, with some changes.
But the similarities made sense given the subtle theatrics of the show, particularly the way the recitation of “A Thousand Kisses Deep” served as the pre-encore climax.
For a performer who has never troubled the Top 40, it was amazing to recall how many of his tunes are familiar to even the casual fan, either through his own versions, remakes by other artists, or their use in films and television.
“Hallelujah” is the most obvious of these, remade by Jeff Buckley, appearing on the “Shrek” soundtrack, even turning up in the repertoire of an “American Idol” hopeful. Cohen and his excellent band played the song as gospel-soul, stripping away the hymnal qualities of Buckley’s version.
“The Future” and “Everybody Knows” formed a dystopian tag-team early in the first set, leavened by Cohen’s mordant humor. He began “Bird on a Wire” on his knees, possibly to emphasize the song’s prayer-like quality, or possibly just to show that his 75-year-old joints still are limber.
The second set began with “Tower of Song,” one of Cohen’s funniest numbers. The line “I was born with the gift of a golden voice” never fails to get a laugh.
Cohen always has used his limited voice to his advantage, and it’s attained even more gravity over the years. His low notes Monday night ventured into didgeridoo territory.
A lengthy set of encores covered most of the remaining bases, including “Famous Blue Raincoat” and “First We Take Manhattan,” finally closing with “Whither Thou Goest.”
Cohen’s excellent band featured his sometimes songwriting partner Sharon Robinson, along with the Webb Sisters, on background vocals; Roscoe Beck on bass; Neil Larsen on keyboards; Bob Metzger on guitar; Javier Mas on a variety of stringed instruments including badurria and laud; Rafael Gayol on drums; and Dino Soldo on woodwinds.
AMC has a new version of “The Prisoner” based on the 1960s limited-run series about a spy held captive on a tropical island.
Every time he tried to escape, a big white balloon popped out of the ocean and chased him down.
The AMC version debuts in November.
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