MLB Network Here On Jan. 1st

Got the notice via the cable box last week that the MLB NETWORK will debut on New Year's Day, channel 419, at 3 p.m. PST. Glancing through the schedule that they've lined up for the first month, it's safe to say that I won't have the channel on continuously, at least for that time frame.


It's great to note that they have already stated that they don't WANT TO BE 'BASEBALL CLASSIC' but given that there's still a long time before spring training opens, the 'classic content' that is lined up involves some teams and World Series that I'd just as soon not revisit any time soon. Those teams would include the Red Sox, Phillies and Cardinals. About the only time I saw the Mets mentioned was on a replay of game seven from the 2006 NLCS, so one can figure out why that would be. Shows on the 69 and 86 Mets can't get aired soon enough.



However, the channel is airing the Ken Burns series that originally ran on PBS, which I haven't seen in a long, long time; the timing is just right to get reacquainted with that program. In addition, the big draw for me concerning the modern game will be the Hot Stove Live show as the place to get my daily fix on issues related to player transactions.


They've also announced plans to televise 26 games during the regular season (I think I read in one of their myriad pieces regard the channel debut that these would be on Thursday night; I wonder if the blackout issues that prevent a good number of Saturday day games from being televised on the ExtraInnings package will come into play in this relationship).



We'll sign off with an article from MLB.com, THE TOP 10 REASONS TO WATCH MLB NETWORK. (Your mileage may vary, of course.)

Wallace And Gromit New Short Update

Just noticed the interview with W+G creator Nick Park in today's Guardian, updating the story announced a little bit over a year ago about how Park preferred making short films as opposed to making feature Hollywood pictures. No word yet as to when this new short will show up on these shores, but I will certainly be on the lookout for it.


The pic is a still from the new short entitled A Matter of Loaf and Death , which finds the duo the proprietors of a bakery. A couple of more small details can be found HERE ; the notion that the short has been hailed as "life affirming" (noted in the article) is something that gives me a bit of cheer in these dark days.

Big Ten Network On Comcast This Fall

Just what the college football mad fans in this area (who don't or can't use either of the satellite services) have been needing: a chance to see a lot more quality games via the arrival of the Big Ten Network to the Comcast channel line-up on August 28th.



No official announcement on the Comcast website, just notice it over the weekend via the message function of the cable box, and the associate who answered my call this afternoon had no idea what tier the channel would be put on when it does arrive. Still, this pleased my buddy (a big Ohio State fan) no end when he heard the news; I'm sure a lot of other transplanted mid-westerners will be happy as well.



BIG TEN NETWORK SITE

The Clash Live: Revolution Rock On OPB

Looks like the first air date on PBS/OPB for selections from the upcoming DVD collection of rare live Clash performances will be on March the 8th, at 10:30 p.m., with the DVD release set for the middle of April. The tracklisting includes such great cuts as Complete Control, (White Man In) Hammersmith Palais, and Safe European Home from various stages of the bands career. Sadly though, one of my favourite Clash tunes, Bankrobber is not on the set; while the lyrics may not be the best that Joe Strummer ever came up with, the deep reggae groove in the music is undeniable. Even the dub version doesn't go on nearly long enough.




CLASH NEWS



PBS NOTES

Sympathy To My Parents

.....for still faithfully attending games of the train wreck known as Oregon State men's basketball. Can't imagine exactly what Ralph Miller would think of incidents such as what happened with the University Of Washington over the past weekend, other than he wouldn't have put up with such tomfoolery at all, but this must certainly be the absolute bottom of the barrel for a once-proud basketball program.


The upcoming Civil War does bother me a bit now, I'll be there at Gill in early March to cheer the Ducks on, cause when a team is truly as desperate as Oregon State is now, who better to take it out on than their rivals? I'm sure that the Beavs will remember how they played competitively with the Ducks earlier this month at the Pit, at least until the Ducks hammered them down the stretch. The Beavers must certainly know this is probably their best chance to secure a Pac-10 victory for this season, so the Ducks need to match their intensity.


At any rate, it was nice to see Jim Rome hit on the ill-timed adventures of the Beavers on his television show today, somewhere in the middle of this segment. Have to admit that hearing Rome say "Back in the shallow end Beavers!" made me chuckle loudly. Nicely done Jim.

MST3K: Pants UP!

Daddy-O remains one of my most watched MST3K episodes, a 50's b-movie crime flick that might've remained in obscurity if not for the Best Brains folks back in the early 90's. It's still not been re-released on any of the great Rhino DVD's for who-knows-what reason exactly (more than likely issues with whomever owns the rights to this movie though).



The first host segment of the show also remains one of my favourite things from the series, with Joel and the bots be-bopping about the pants of the hero and the way that he wears them in the movie. TV's Frank and Dr. Forrester are also seen doing what they do in this segment. Dig it baby, it's solid gold! (thank you Samtaco!)

Dennis Dixon On Rome Is Burning

Same story as with what happened when COACH BELOTTI appeared last week; the internet once again is a boon to those not able to shift time (or work schedules) for appearances such as these. Good job Dennis, up and at those Sun Devils on Saturday!

Belotti On Jim Rome's TV Show

I would never consider myself a clone, I listen to Rome's radio show for a bit in the morning, mostly to hear some talk about a sports subject or for an interview with a particular person. Some of the clones who call are sometimes pretty funny, spouting off their views on any number of random subjects which are tenuously connected at best, though it seems a knowledge of popular culture and current news helps to figure out slightly where some of these people are coming from (figuratively).



I was driving around for work today when I heard that Oregon head coach Mike Belotti was going to be the guest on Rome's TV show, Jim Rome Is Burning, but I was nowhere near a television set tuned to ESPN between 1:30 and 2 p.m. PST, so here is the interview that was missed.

Cracking News: New Wallace & Gromit Short For Next Year

Not much of a cheese lover myself, but I do love Wallace and Gromit, and I just noticed the BBC STORY with the good news of a new short to be made for the Beeb.


Also good to see that whatever pressures on creator Nick Park and his animation company, Aardman Animation, may have felt with its former U.S. partner, Dreamworks Animation, THAT LED TO THE BREAK-UP OF THE PARTNERSHIP, are now gone, and Park is now making the film for "myself" and "those who love Wallace and Gromit". Well done lad.

Goodbye To The Tube

Maybe I'll date myself and announce that I do like to watch music videos periodically (or at least have the television on as background noise while I go about my business), but it was still a bit sad to see that The Tube (Channel 303 on Comcast) ceased operations today.



It's no use complaining too much about the ever-changing way in which people consume music and videos these days. Services such as YouTube, or perhaps the official site of any artist, or maybe the video channel on Winamp have emerged as the new vehicles to see something in particular. As these choices were more about what the viewer wants, rather than the airer, such a fate was probably predictable; I'll still miss the randomness of the playlist programmed by something other than me, which might even necessitate the changing of the channel briefly when something odious aired.


Of course, making money, or at least breaking even (I've seen a post elsewhere that reported that the Tube was losing money hand over fist), would've been nice as well, but as television is indeed a business, there comes a time when one has to pull the plug.



THE TUBE

'Hell From The Skies' ; White Light, Black Rain

Looking forward to the HBO premiere of the Steven Okazaki documentary White Light, Black Rain on Monday the 6th. The focus of the program is of the atomic bombs dropped on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki 60 plus years ago this week, with stories of both survivors, many of whom had never told their story before, and of Americans involved with the bombings.



A review of the documentary in the JAPAN TIMES piqued my thoughts when I read it. Plus, the show will give all of us another chance to reassess the effects of using nuclear weapons in any manner, this reminder especially timely given the nature of some world leaders and their ideologies.



HBO PAGE

Crispin Glover On Letterman: 20 Years Ago Saturday

Can't believe that it's been 20 years since the infamous Crispin Glover appearance on Late Night With David Letterman. Don't watch Dave as much as I used to back then, seeing as I had a job that started in the mid-afternoon, but my roomates and I would always end the day watching Letterman. This is the one clip that always sticks in my mind from those days, mostly because we were wondering what the hell kind of drugs, if any, was Glover on, and if he wasn't, then he was obviously the perfect choice for McFly in Back To The Future. (Have to mention his role in River's Edge in that sense as well). Slightly truncated version, the first bit of the interview, before it all unravels, is absent; sorrily I haven't gotten round to getting the best of my VHS tapes digitized yet.

MST3K Partial Video Repository

Various episodes and opening shorts ready to view. While some of the acknowledged "classics" may not be here (e.g. Manos, Teenagers From Outer Space, or Daddy-O from the former, the Junior Rodeo short, which I've always loved, from the latter), there's still enough stuff to whet your appetite for more. Which is the point of this site, hosted by YouTube, I'd presume. Works for me.


Thankfully, the Mr. B Natural short is here, in all its technicolored and gender confusion glory.




MST3K

California Gray Whale On The Beach

It's not that I'm a shill for the National Geographic television channel, but the KATU NEWS report that a dead California gray whale had washed upon the beach just south of Newport this weekend coincided with the airing of a 2007 documentary concerning gray whales and its predator, orcas, or killer whales.


The episode, about the 2004 Mother's Day attack in Monterey Bay by orcas on a gray whale cow and its one offspring, is the typical well-done affair we've come to expect from the NG, mixing eyewitness interviews with taped footage of both actual and recreated scenes, the presence of a number of boats witnessing the event naturally increased the coverage of something no one had ever seen before.


The KATU report tells of finding the tongue of the beached whale intact, which means orcas had no role apparently in the death of this whale, an issue that is addressed in the documentary as to why orcas go for the tongue.


I found myself, watching the show, much like the whale watchers on board that day did, at first intrigued and then riveted to the spot as the orcas battered both of the whales for hours.


As for removal of the creature on the coast, we surely have come a long way from the days of using dynamite.......right?


SITE WITH EXCELLENT PICTURES FROM 2004



NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC VIDEO

Robyn Hitchcock On Sundance TV Channel

One of the reasons I haven't got DirecTV yet(this is in theory, in reality I can't) is that, from what I've seen, they do not carry the Sundance Television Channel. Sure, they have the Independent Film Channel, but I've come to view more of the programming that Sundance airs overall, mostly in terms of documentaries. There are some other issues I have with the cable/DirecTV choice, but that will be the content for another post (coming up very soon I'm afraid, now that Bud Selig has been hell-bent on alienating baseball fans all over the country by giving the satellite system the exclusive rights for Extra Innings, major league baseball's pay per view system for fans of teams out of their market).


Anyway, a current documentary of ye olde English rocker Robyn Hitchcock is now airing on the channel. I was a huge fan of his stuff in the 80's & 90's, though I'm not so fond of Storefront Hitchcock, the Jonathan Demme film of Robyn performing. The reviews so far have been good, so it will be a treat to watch some television tonight. An edited review will follow shortly......





EDIT: Very enjoyable viewing, the documentary has a running time of 53 minutes. Basically it's a look at the recording of Robyn's album at his home in London with Peter Buck,Scott McCaughey and Bill Reiflin, (the Venus 3), and some footage of their U.S tour of late 2006. John Paul Jones and Nick Lowe make appearances in the film in England, with Jones doing some recording for the album, and former Soft Boy (and Egyptian) Morris Windsor on both sides of the pond. Lots of great songs throughout, and lovely versions of N.Y.Doll and Evolve.



STORY

So Obvious Even A Television Executive Hack Could See It On The Screen

............or maybe not. Now, word comes along that the cavemen in the ever popular Geico ads are involved with a pilot project with ABC, highlighting the problems of cavemen living in a modern society. Sounds like comedy gold to me, sign 'em up (actually, I do like those cavemen ads, but it still won't make me call up Geico for a quote. I'm holding out for the pie and chips for free.).



FULL STORY

Oh! To Be An Audience Member Of A Televised Comedy Show

Well, that's what I used to think as a kid watching things like Saturday Night Live, to see all of the great comics and wonderful musicians, or now, to see things live David Letterman or the Daily Show, with the chance I might get to see something like the Crispin Glover meltdown in person.


Ben Sisario, in today's New York Times, has suffered through some cold weather in the effort to get a seat at one of the tapings of the aforementioned shows, and then was kind enough to write a great article about the experience. Doesn't really make me wanna make me trek across the country from what he's written, but hey, if I ever find myself in New York looking to kill a fair amount of time.........this may be just the ticket.



LIVE FROM NEW YORK.....

Live Improv In Salem

An interview with some of the cast from Whose Line Is It Anyway?, who'll be appearing this Friday in Salem in a live performance.

Can't deny that I preferred the British version, one of the shows I would watch repeatedly on Comedy Central back in the day, but the U.S. version is still good entertainment, Drew Carey is actually a slightly better host than Clive Anderson, partly due to the fact that he gets involved with some of the skits.

Still disappointed that I missed a live version of Whose Line in Las Vegas back in January of 1999, when they were going to be Caesar's Palace a couple of days after I was scheduled to leave.


Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Jeff Davis and Chip Esten each have a talk with reporter Reina Pike from the Salem Monthly.



FULL STORY

The Aqua Teens Shut Down Boston

Holy toledo, even our local ABC affiliate out of Portland just ran a local bit about the electronic signs that caused havoc in Boston today, with the shutdown of bridges and highways. The good news is no one here took those signs seriously, but it is nice to see that there is vigilance by people somewhere on the lookout for "suspicious looking" things that are out of place. Jury's still out on whether or not this is a smart or dumb move on the part of Turner Networks, the bottom line is that this is good publicity for the upcoming movie.



First heard this on the radio a couple of hours ago (KPNW Sports Talk, which has a Fox News top of the hour news break; I was kinda stunned to actually hear "Aqua Teens" and "fair and balanced" mentioned in the same breath.


EDIT AT 6:30 PM PST: Charles Gibson on ABC News called it a "stupid stunt" on his lead off story on their evening newscast, while NBC played it off a few minutes in as more harmless than anything.



FIRST STORY



BOSTON.COM

Sacha Baron Cohen's Golden Globes Acceptance Speech

As if I know how many award shows there are for everything under the entertainment sun, it's quite easy to lose track. Which is why I did not even notice that the Golden Globe awards were on last night. I'd prefer to wait till the next day to see the clips and highlights, knowing that every blunder and gaffe will be discussed and reviewed in the days to come. So it is with Borat's creator, Sacha Baron Cohen last night, discussing his infamous scene with Ken Davitian. Stirring speech Sacha.