Today's cuppa: Newhall Coffee Patriot Blend (of course)
This video doesn't have much to do with patriotism, but it is pretty darn funny. Click here to enjoy.
Now go watch some fireworks!
July 04, 2009
July 02, 2009
Hot Cuppa Radio! Mays, Jackson, 'Clean House' (and a Little Fourth of July)
Tonight's cuppa: peppermint tea.
Did my regular Thursday appearance on Shaun Daily's TV Talk show on blogtalkradio.com, and despite some thunder and lightning on Shaun's end in Las Vegas, got through without a hitch (Shaun did briefly get cut off from on the guest before me, but they reconnected in short order).
Click here for the broadcast -- I come in at about the half-hour mark.
We talked about the latest Michael Jackson news and speculations, the sad death of "Pitchmen" star Billy Mays and what might happen to that show, and in the middle, hashed over the apocalyptic "Clean House: Messiest Home in the Country 3," which also repeats on Friday.
Click here for the interview I did about the episode with the show's designer, Mark Brunetz (just in case you don't see the post, which is right before this one).
That's all for now. Have a safe and fun Fourth of July, celebrating our Independence Day! (oooh, may have to watch that movie at some point ...)
Hang on, while I'm thinking about it, if you want to celebrate the Fourth in the spirit in which it was intended, this list may be the beginnings of a good movie/miniseries marathon:
"1776," in which you learn how little things change in the New York State Legislature over a couple of centuries or so (and that William Daniels can sing, more or less). BTW, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is airing this on Saturday night. Check local listings.
"John Adams," in which Paul Giamatti does one of our Founding Fathers proud.
"The Crossing," in which Michigan homeboy Jeff Daniels more than pulls off a portrait of Virginian George Washington.
"April Morning," in which Tommy Lee Jones plays an ordinary Massachusetts man whose life is changed forever by a shot heard round the world. What's that? Here's "Schoolhouse Rock" to explain.
"Liberty! The American Revolution," in which History Channel rocks the revolution in a documentary miniseries.
And, whatever happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence on that fateful July 4, 1776? Click here to find out.
Let freedom ring ... happy Fireworks!
July 01, 2009
Looking into the Abyss on 'Clean House: Messiest Home in the Country 3'
Today's cuppa: Yorkshire Gold tea
If you've been a fan of Style Network's "Clean House" since its premiere in the fall of 2003, and especially if you've watched the previous two "Messiest Home in the Country" specials, the "Dirty Little Awards Show" and the just-completed "Search for the Messiest Home in the Country," you may think you've seen the worst of what host Niecy Nash calls "mayhem and foolishness."
I beg to differ.
Tonight, July 1, at 9 p.m. ET/PT (with repeats at that same hour on Thursday and Friday), Style premieres the two-hour special "Messiest in the Country 3," which visits the Cincinnati, Ohio, residence of Sharon Baglien, 57, a recently retired police detective, and her 20-year-old daughter, Brigitte, who made the desperate call to "Clean House" to get the junk out and transform their home.
Somehow the women got up every day and navigated around piles of stuff and expired food everywhere -- the result of 30 years of shopping and hoarding -- while also dealing with a non-working kitchen sink, a dripping bathroom shower with a bucket in it (in, by the way, the only bathroom) and a broken stove, dishwasher, and washer and dryer.
Oh, and the washer had overflowed at some point, soaking the giant mounds of stuff in the basement, which were still in place, along with long-expired food. At least the mice were happy.
The only thing greater than the sheer tonnage of junk stuffed into every corner of the house, from groaning attic to packed garage to long-neglected storage unit to the basement -- where, as designer Mark Brunetz pointed out, eyes wide, "You can't even see the walls" -- is the depth and breadth of Sharon's denial.
"I don't believe," says Brunetz, "at any point, Sharon and especially her daughter Brigitte ever lived in a house that was orderly. It's like speaking to someone in English, but they're hearing it in Greek, and that's what makes it so difficult.
'In many ways, while we were there, we were trying to invent a new language in which to communicate with her."
Sharon Bagliens' response to questions about the state of her home usually involved a smile and the use of the word "overwhelmed" (along with a few words that will be bleeped at airtime).
"She definitely has a way of dealing with perhaps not understanding what's going on," Brunetz says. "Her veneer was just, 'I'll smile and look like everything's great.'
"The thing about Sharon, she told her own story. We really didn't have to do much. We just opened the doors and turned the cameras on and asked her some basically relevant questions, and her story was just told by virtue of how she communicated -- or lack of communication -- and then really what he house looked like.
"Oftentimes, you really want to dig deep into a story, but we tried, and we could only get to far. But I think, a picture speaks a thousand words. In this case, it did."
Nash -- who, with Brunetz, has been with the show since the beginning -- is usually firm and unflappable in the face of the most mind-boggling heaps of junk, but was reduced to tears in the basement.
"That was very real," Brunetz says. "I'll tell you what was interesting about doing that. Niecy never really gets (very far) into the house, especially the basement.
"So when she walked into it, it was her first walk into that basement."
The junk there was even deep enough to entirely hide "go-to guy" Matt Iseman, and he's not exactly small.
In the end, "yard-sale diva" Trish Suhr had to use a 7,000-square-foot empty department store to house the Bagliens' stuff for the yard sale.
(By the way, while yard-sale proceeds usually go to financing the redecorating, in the case of the "Messiest Home," the money goes to the residents' charity, and the show picks up the tab for a total-house makeover.)
But between the beginning of the sale and the final reveal, both women, at different times, stormed off the location.
"We closed the show without (Sharon)," says Brunetz. "It speaks to this idea that, in many ways, 'Clean House' stays fresh because, although the main themes of the show are the same -- that being the clutter and the people -- how the story gets told and the outcome and all that, constantly changes.
"The show will follow up with her, but that will be 'To Be Continued.' For now, this is how this played out."
Nash often says that clutter is an outward manifestation of something going on inside, and that's a consistent theme of the show. Every junk-laden house contains stories of a life or a relationship gone awry.
Brunetz is even working on a book about the psychology of clutter and our consumer culture, which should come out about this time next year.
"Clutter," he says, "keeps people from being present to their lives. It's a principle of the show -- when you have all this stuff, and you create a life around this stuff, it keeps you anchored in the past. It doesn't allow you to be present in the very moment you're living in."
For example, Sharon Baglien refused to let Brigitte discard any of her childhood possessions and spoke of her daughter in nostalgic terms -- even though she was standing a few feet away.
"She was so torn up," says Brunetz, "around missing her daughter that she didn't realize her daughter was standing right there."
In the end, "Clean House" tries to organize lives, not just houses. Asked if the show might, in some small way, be doing work on behalf of the Almighty, Brunetz laughs.
"You know," he says, "I'm going to actually take that compliment in, because normally I would slough it off. I'd like to think that one of the things I do, and we're doing it as a show, is walking in the truth of what it is to be human.
"So I consider that high praise, and thank you very much."
After all, no matter how silly or benign or frivolous TV reality shows may start out to be, they still have, at their core, human beings with real, human feelings.
"The cool thing about reality is," Brunetz says, "sooner or later, you're going to run into real people, and we definitely ran into some real people at 'Messiest Home 3.'"
June 30, 2009
eGuiders Video Pick -- If You Love Golf...or Humanity...or Crying...
Tonight's cuppa: Peppermint tea
Click here for my latest eGuiders.com video pick, an ESPN tribute to a young golfer who overcomes severe physical challenges to walk courses all over the world -- racking up 900 miles.
Pretty impressive for a man born with cerebral palsy and deformed legs, doomed to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Or not.
Get a hankie.
June 29, 2009
Afternoon Cuppa: How to 'Dance Your A-- Off'!
On a much happier note, courtesy of the good folks at NewsOK.com, here's a link to my syndicated feature story on the new Oxygen reality-competition series "Dance Your A-- Off," with Broadway and "Dancing With the Stars" star Marissa Jaret Winokur.
Because, sometimes, when the world rests too heavily on your shoulders, you just gotta toss it off and dance ...
'Pitchmen' Ends Season, But What's the Future Without Billy Mays?
Today's cuppa: office coffee
The sudden demise of infomercial king and "Pitchmen" star Billy Mays at 50 on Sunday, of apparent heart disease, has ramifications for his hit reality series.
Produced by Thom Beers' Original Productions for Discovery Channel, it has starred Mays and his friend and business partner, British infomercial star and producer Anthony Sullivan, helping inventors bring their products to market.
Today, Discovery released this announcement...
Discovery Channel is devoting its airwaves to the
legendary pitchman Billy Mays this Wednesday, July 1.
A previously-scheduled
PITCHMEN marathon of episodes 1-11 airs from 11AM ET/PT through 10PM
ET/PT culminating in the never-before-seen season finale at 10PM
ET/PT.
To celebrate a man who
was larger than life, the network will run tribute promos honoring Billy Mays
and never-before-aired moments throughout the day. A slate will also be added
to the end of the season finale in his remembrance.
In addition, a special tribute show
is being planned.
No decision has
been made regarding season two of PITCHMEN. The network is focused on
supporting Mays' family and friends during this time of incredible
loss.
PITCHMEN, the 12-part series featuring Billy Mays and his
business partner Anthony Sullivan, began airing on Discovery Channel on April
15, 2009.
Additional details will be provided as memorial plans are
determined.
And here's the statement Original Productions released on Sunday...
June 28, 2009
Statement from Original Productions
Regarding Billy Mays:
"Billy Mays was one of a
kind, a wonderful talent who burned bright and brought joy and delight into the
homes of millions. His irreplaceable spirit and blue color demeanor will never
be matched," said Thom Beers CEO and Executive Producer of Original Productions.
“The entire family at Original Productions is saddened at the loss of our close
colleague and friend, Billy Mays,” said Philip D. Segal, President of Original
Productions. “His positive energy was a joy every day on the set of ‘Pitchmen’.”
Both Beers and Segal are Executive Producers of Discovery Channel’s “Pitchmen”,
along with Billy Mays and his long-time business partner Anthony “Sully”
Sullivan.
Theoretically, Sullivan could continue "Pitchmen" on his own, or the show could add a new partner. One possibility is Mays' son, Billy Mays III, known on Twitter as @youngbillymays (through which he released the news of his dad's death). He works behind the scenes in the infomercials and has been featured on the show.
Click here for my Sunday post on Mays, which is updated through the preliminary autopsy results this morning.
Of course, Mays' death is one of several in the last few days.
The private funeral of former "Charlie's Angels" and "Burning Bed" star Farrah Fawcett, who succumbed to cancer at 62 on Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif., is planned for tomorrow afternoon at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.
The legal, medical, financial and custodial issues surrounding the death, also last Thursday, of music superstar Michael Jackson at the age of 50 in Los Angeles, continue to swirl. No formal announcement of a memorial service or a funeral has yet to be made. Check any cable news channel for hourly updates.
Funnyman Fred Travelena also died on Sunday, losing his battle with cancer at the age of 66.
June 28, 2009
Morning Cuppa: Voice of 'Pitchmen' Star Billy Mays Silenced
Today's cuppa: cup of sadness
Of all the celebrity deaths in recent days, I feel this one, announced this morning, the most, since I both recently met and interviewed infomercial and "Pitchmen" star Billy Mays, who was 50.
More to come on this post in a few minutes, but for now, here is the statement from Discovery Channel, which premiered "Pitchmen" earlier this year.
It is with incredible sadness that we have to
report that Billy Mays died in his sleep last night. Everyone that knows him was
aware of his larger-than-life personality, generosity and warmth. Billy was a
pioneer in his field and helped many people fulfill their dreams. He will be
greatly missed as a loyal and compassionate friend. Our deepest sympathies go
out to his family at this time of incredible loss. More information will be
distributed as it becomes available.
Stay tuned...
UPDATE: While waiting for further details, here's a bit more with Mays...
First up, click here for a video of his and "Pitchmen" and business partner Anthony Sullivan's appearance last Monday on the "Tonight" show with Conan O'Brien.
Also, I'd like to share a bit of what I talked about with Mays. First up, here's a syndicated Q&A we did, which came out the week of June 14, in conjunction with "Pitchmen"...
Q: Your
“Pitchmen” cohort and business partner, Anthony Sullivan, recently said of you,
“He’s a very different person in real life, very quiet and mild-mannered. The
minute you put the camera on him, he just dials up to 11.”
Q: How did you learn to become a pitchman?
A: I developed that way back when I
trained on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J.
A: I pitch strong; I pitch hard; I cut through all the clutter. There’s not a lot of fluff when you get me. I project the voice. I really go after that demonstrable product, those products that have mass appeal. I answer your questions. Salesmen do that in a different way. I started out as a salesman. I think the pitch is that presence you command; how you ask for the money; how you build up the offer. That constitutes a pitchman.
Mays was also a firm believer in capitalism and the American Dream, as evidenced in "Pitchmen" by how he and Sullivan work with inventors who have invested their lives, and often their life savings, in bringing the products of their imagination into reality and realizing a profit from their hard work...
Said Mays, "I think Sully would agree with this -- there's no European Dream. If you think about it, there is the American Dream, and the American dream is alive and well, and it is represented on our show on Discovery, how we tell the story of the inventor, how much they've got on the line, how much is at stake.
"They've got everything at risk. From every great recession, from every Great Depression, comes great innovation. If you think back, there are a couple of companies that stood out in the tough times when they were born -- Google, Microsoft, Apple. In their garages, they formed Apple.
"The product is king."
UPDATE: TMZ is reporting an incident during a flight Mays was on the night before he died. Don't know yet if there's a connection but can't totally dismiss the possibility until more information is in.
UPDATE ON THE UPDATE: Now, Twitter news service @BreakingNews is reporting -- "FAA spokeswoman tells BNO News that TMZ.com incorrectly quoted her, says she never said Bill Mays was not wearing seat belt during landing." Yeah, it's going to be a little while until all this is sorted out.
UPDATE ON THE UPDATED UPDATE: Click here for an AP story that pretty much sums up all we know so far, from Mays' home newspaper in Tampa Bay, Fla.
(all the updates above were added on Sunday, June 28)
FINAL UPDATE, MONDAY MORNING, JUNE 29: Also from the Tampa Bay newspaper, click here for the preliminary autopsy reports, which indicate heart trouble rather than any head trauma as the likely cause of death.
June 26, 2009
Hot Cuppa Radio! Fawcett, Jackson -- We Cover Breaking News (Plus Linkage)
Today's cuppa: office coffee
By happenstance, when I went on Shaun Daily's TV Talk show on blogtalkradio.com yesterday for my regular Thursday appearance, it was just a few hours after the death of Farrah Fawcett and scant minutes before the confirmation of the death of Michael Jackson.
I come in at roughly the half-hour mark. Prior to me, Shaun pays tribute to Farrah; we talk about her then move on to the breaking Jackson news, which I was following on TV before and while talking to Shaun. I was a Jackson fan as a kid, so it was a strange confluence of events for me.
Click here for the podcast version of the broadcast.
A lot of people are having a lot to say about Jackson especially, since his demise was so sudden, his fame and infamy so widespread and with the existence of ongoing questions about his physical and mental state and cause of death.
On the way to work today, I listened to Dennis Prager's radio show, and he had a searching, thoughtful conversation (a Prager specialty) with counselor and TLC TV personality ("Shalom in the Home") Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.
Access to Prager's podcasts (for a price) can be found here, but the main topic of conversation was Boteach's friendship with Jackson, his ultimately unsuccessful attempts to help the pop star put his life back on track and a piece Boteach wrote for the Jerusalem Post. Click here for that.
Click here for a more sharp-edged take on Jackson's life and death from wicked smart and wickedly witty columnist Mark Steyn.
Lastly, just when disturbing videos and Internet reports of the violent struggle for freedom in Iran -- including the horrifying shooting of a lovely young woman -- and the deaths of celebrities you've known since childhood, may throw a dark pall over the world, glory still shines through the clouds.
Click here for blogger The Anchoress' embedded link to a beautiful video from "America's Got Talent" of a performance by three wonderful children who sang their comatose mother back to consciousness.
I link to the blog instead of the video directly because I like what The Anchoress has to say on the topics of toxic fame and God-given talent (and she did introduce me to Mystic Monk coffee, for which I will always be grateful).
For more with "AGT" judge Piers Morgan, including a link to a story where he talks about these very children, click here for an earlier post.
UPDATE: Lisa Marie Presley has posted an open letter about her relationship with Jackson. Very interesting, revealing and provocative.
June 25, 2009
Sit! Stay! What I Learned from 'Dog Whisperer'
Tonight's cuppa: decaf cappuccino
I know I don't talk about it as often as "Dancing With the Stars" or "Deadliest Catch," but I am equally devoted to National Geographic Channel's "Dog Whisperer," in which Cesar Millan helps hapless owners reclaim the position of leadership in their own homes from out-of-control pooches.
Along the way, I have garnered some valuable life lessons from watching Cesar figure out the psychology of the dogs AND the people. Since I don't have a dog, I plan to use a few of these concepts on the two-legged members of my pack.
Of course, dogs and people are not the same, but we're both social mammals, and we do have some things in common -- which may explain why we get along so well.
On to the lessons...
Vulnerability may be attractive, but strength earns respect.
While we all love to cuddle helpless babies and puppies, and a damsel in distress often brings out the hero in a regular Joe, if you want your dog or your fellow humans to sit up and take you seriously, you better get your back up and your tough on. Nobody thinks twice about stepping on a doormat.
While a lack of "rules, boundaries and limitations," as Cesar would say, sounds like freedom, it plays out in chaos and paralysis.
Remember that scene in "Moscow on the Hudson" where the Russian played by Robin Williams first saw the coffee aisle in an American supermarket? The dizzying display of brands and blends caused sensory overload and collapse. Anyone who's ever confronted the coffee menu at Starbucks for the first time knows the feeling of being unable to choose because there are too many choices.
Limit options, set parameters, establish ground rules that everyone understands, and the result is relaxation, focus and the clearing of the clouds of confusion.
A lack of leadership creates a vacuum, and nature abhors a vacuum.
If the humans don't provide leadership, the dog tries to fill in. Depending on the dog's temperament, the result is either cowed humans or a freaked-out canine trying to take on a role for which he's not suited.
It's similar to a home where feckless or troubled adults have abrogated their responsibilities, leaving the children to parent the parents, or a workplace where a squeaky-wheel employee always gets his or her way with a weak-willed supervisor.
If you're the boss, be the boss. It's not a privilege -- it's a responsibility.
Aggression often springs from insecurity, not necessarily arrogance.
Secure dogs -- or people -- don't feel the need to puff themselves up and throw their weight around. They radiate calm and certainty, knowing exactly what they're about and why they're doing what they're doing.
But if that's lacking, it's all about having something to prove, and that means yapping, charging, bullying and all sorts of bad behavior.
So, sometimes, the bigger the fuss, the smaller the ... self-confidence.
A dog is a dog, but a Newfoundland is not a whippet.
Members of the same species are still individuals, with different personalities, physical characteristics, drives and desires, needs and wants. If you expect your Newfoundland to be able to run down a rabbit, or your whippet to execute a cold-water rescue, you're going to live a life of frustration and disappointment -- and probably kill the dog to boot.
Better to understand each individual on his or her own terms and go from there.
Lastly, never underestimate the value of good social skills. Cesar's main dog, Daddy, knows the rules of proper canine interaction and sets a good example for other dogs who may not have had the benefit of proper socialization. Knowing how to greet others, how to understand body language and signals, how to communicate your intentions and comprehend the intentions of others provides the grease that keeps the social machine running smoothly.
The socially awkward dogs learn by trial and error, observing skilled dogs like Daddy, and -- in just the same way you get to Carnegie Hall -- practice, practice, practice.
So, what have you learned from your favorite show?
June 21, 2009
A Little 'Merlin' and a Lot of 'Talent'
Today's cuppa: Stash Christmas Morning tea (not just for Christmas Morning anymore). OK, and lots and lots of Dunkin Donuts coffee. Trying to make the most of my brief trip back East.
I apologize for the very light posting this week, but I've been on a working vacation back to my home office and to the beautiful North Country of New York State to see the friends and family. It's a little hard being away from my own computer, but thanks to my Mom's MacMini, I'm back!
Of course, after this, I'll probably be gone again until midweek, so like me and my Dunky D coffee, make the most of this Hot Cuppa while you can.
I have a pair of syndicated feature stories out this week, and if I do say so myself, they're fun reads.
Click here for NewsOK.com's edited version of my story on NBC's British import series "Merlin," premiering tonight, featuring an interview with former "Buffy the Vampire" star Anthony Head -- pictured at right in a photo I took after our interview in April at an NBC junket (BTW, he was Anthony Stewart Head in "Buffy," but that's only for American TV).
At the same junket, I had a great chat with "America's Got Talent" judge Piers Morgan. Bits of that conversation have been blogged previously here and here, but click here to see our chat about "AGT," Susan Boyle of "Britain's Got Talent" and whether America will produce someone equally as exciting (thanks to the good folks at Newsday.com).
(Hint: Keep an eye on Kevin the chicken hunter. 'Nuff said. UPDATE: Here's his performance. Yowza!)
I'm in the home office tomorrow oh so briefly, and if I get a chance to toss up some more good stuff for ya, I will, but if not, see you later in the week!
Right now -- and I know you'll be shocked to hear this -- I'm off to a formal tea with some friends.
Yeah, it's not just a blog name, it's a way of life.
