The Weekly Poll
Results
The 'Sublime Prime Time Programming' Edition
Which TV network has the best prime time programming line up?
1.) ABC
2.) CBS
3.) NBC
4.) Fox
5.) FX
6.) PBS
7.) Other
A nice turnout this week, Poll-fans! Read on!
Mark the Boilermaker was exclusive with...
3.) Chuck on NBC is the only prime time show I watch.
(I haven't seen it, Mark, but I've heard it's good. I think I'll take the time to check it out...)
DanD, contrary as ever was, sent...
Without any and all doubt, I vote (the only place left where my "vote" counts for Jack Crap) for door number ... 7! (no guile) PRAVDA
(That's part of the Cartoon Network, isn't it?)
Claudia voted...
#7…tie between USA/TNT
Joe S. wrote...
I know, I skip the important questions and respond to the TV questions. Most of our TV time is spent on cable channels. We never miss Keith and seldom miss Rachel on MSNBC. We like Burn Notice, Psych, White Collar, In Plain Sight, Leverage, The Closer, Top Chef, movies on AMC, and Project Runway. We watched Monk when it was on and I watched True Blood before we got rid of HBO and CineMax. On network TV we watch Two And A Half Men, Big Bang Theory, 30 Rock, and I usually watch Letterman. So I guess my answer is 7.) other.
(Hey, Joe, not to worry... Any question that you respond to must be important to you, eh? I'm satisfied with that.. Thanks!)
Richard McD. states...
I like PBS, soccer channel and I didn't think Fox counted?
(Sure they do, Richard... This is about their prime time programming, not their Faux News Channel...)
arfy went with...
PBS, except when they're running their wretched, interminable pledge programming. Why their Program Directors think a bunch of geriatric New Age crap is going to be better at bringing in the bucks than their regular programming is beyond me!
(I like Nova and Nature when the subjects appeal to me. I don't watch during pledge periods so I haven't a clue about your complaint...)
Adam in NoHo sent this list...
I (did) watch ABC 1 hr a week, and will be watching LOST. The hubby likes Modern Family.
I watch CBS 30 min a week, maybe I won't watch them at all, now.
I watch NBC for 90 min on Thursdays.
I watch Fox 3 hrs a week. (See, Richard?)
We started watching FX for 'Archer'. (I do miss The Shield)
I don't remember the last time I watched PBS- sad, but true, and this was before Discovery took over the educational tv-scape.
AMC for Mad Men and Breaking Bad, Sci-Fi for their Friday night offerings, and Starz for the muscles and gorefest Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
I guess Fox- Between the cartoons on Sun night and 24 (out of habit as much as anything), they have the most programming that I regularly watch. (Thanks, Adam... Very comprehensive...)
SallyP lamented...
Okay, only a few months ago I would have said that number 6 - PBS - TV network had the best prime time programming line up, hands down. But upon the announcement that they are canceling Bill Moyers, and NOW with David Brancaccio, I have taken a severe look at the station, and am afraid they are starting to lean a bit too far RIGHT for my taste! I will still watch PBS, but I also find myself listening to my radio more and more of late. And that's all she has to say,
(What? That's all? I'd be willing to bet that this is the shortest reply you've ever sent, Sally, haha...)
~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm not a regular viewer of any particular program during the Prime Time period. I spend most evenings with my avocational pursuits. I do, however, check the listings and if I see something that interests me (usually old movies, nature programs and historical stuff) I might then watch it... Or, I might not... I am a baseball fan, so I'll frequently have the Tigers on during the season... And that's all I have to say!... Except for 'Thanks' to all responders and, as always, Yer the Best!... Oh, and Happy Groundhog Day!
BadToTheBoneBob
~~~~~~~~~~~
New Question
The 'Glow in the Dark' Edition
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is endorsing nuclear energy like never before, trying to win over Republicans and moderate Democrats on climate and energy legislation. Obama singled out nuclear power in his State of the Union address, and his spending plan for the next budget year is expected to include billions of more dollars in federal guarantees for new nuclear reactors... Obama's new climate card: nuclear power - Climate Change- msnbc.com
Do you support the increased use of nuclear power in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Send your response to
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Poor Elijah (Peter Berger): More Unsung Heroes (irascibleprofessor.com)
If I were to try to tell you that the quality of American health care has nothing to do with the competency of American physicians, you'd correctly tell me I had a screw loose. You clearly can't have decent medical care without well-trained, competent doctors. In the same way, without well-educated, competent teachers, you can't have decent schools.
Paul Krugman: Good and Boring (nytimes.com)
We can learn from Canada's regulatory habit of limiting the risk and leverage banks can accept, which helped protect that country from recessionary fallout.
Ted Rall: THE MEMORY HOLE HEATS UP
Ah, "1984." As the cartoonist Matt Bors says, it's "the dystopian novel that keeps on giving."
Geoff Boucher: Neil Gaiman's year of trials and triumphs (Los Angeles Times)
Neil Gaiman knows that the best stories must be both bitter and sweet - he is, after all, the author of "The Graveyard Book," the tender children's novel that opens with a nasty knife murder. Still, the 49-year-old Brit sounds dazed when he reflects on the past year of his life.
'I started to realise what fiction could be. And I thought, wow! You can take on the world' (guardian.co.uk)
Andrea Levy interviewed by Gary Younge.
"The American Scream (Shade the Changing Man, Vol. 1)" by Peter Milligan: A review by Martyn Pedler
The POW! and KABOOM! of childhood superheroes is only one of the defining moments of my comic fandom. The other is my discovery of DC Comics' "mature readers" books...
Christian Scott, firestarter of jazz's new school (guardian.co.uk)
Prince, Mos Def, children in a Croydon school - New Orleans' Christian Scott makes jazz work for everyone, says John Fordham.
George Varga: He's Doing it His Way: Harry Connick Jr. (creators.com)
At 42, Harry Connick, Jr., hasn't come close to doing it all. But he's done more than enough to create confusion among some of his fans, as befits a veteran film and TV actor, Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical star and multiple Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, pianist and bandleader with album sales of more than 25 million over the past two decades.
DAVE STEINFELD: One on One with Anna Egge (curvemag.com)
The out musician talks about her new album, growing up and married life.
Roger Ebert's Journal: Smash his camera, but not immediately
He is a viper, a parasite, a stalker, a vermin. He is also, I have decided, a national treasure. Ron Galella, the best known of all paparazzi, lost a lawsuit to Jackie Kennedy Onassis and five teeth to Marlon Brando, but he also captured many of the iconic photographs of his era.
Roger Ebert's Journal: Sundance and five Sundance-style movies
The first five Sundance entries I've seen are the kinds of film the festival exists to showcase. It is possible that many of them won't ever open in most of the places you readers live, but you've impressed me with your resourcefulness in finding them anyway (and no, I don't mean piracy). You guys demonstrate that if you want to find a movie badly enough, you often can.
Joanne Whalley: Here comes trouble (guardian.co.uk)
Joanne Whalley tells John Patterson why she has played truants, schemers and tearaways all her life.
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
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I think this story deserves its own link!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Here's a Complete List of Razzie Nominations - 2010
Sometime this afternoon, this link will work - Complete List Of Oscar Nominations - 2010
Re-Do For Haiti
'We Are the World'
Twenty-five years after star-studded anthem "We Are the World" raised millions of dollars to aid famine relief in Africa, celebrities of a different generation were set to gather Monday night to re-record the charity tune to benefit Haiti.
Among those scheduled to perform on the revamped track the night after the Grammy Awards were Akon, Jason Mraz, Bono, Wyclef Jean, Carlos Santana, Enrique Iglesias, Usher, Toni Braxton and Lady Gaga. The session will be held at the same recording studio where the original was cut - the historic A&M complex in Hollywood.
Quincy Jones, who produced the 1985 anthem, announced last week that he planned to redo the song to benefit recovery from the deadly Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti.
Written by Michael Jackson and Richie, the original "We Are the World" thundered up the charts when it was released on the radio and in record stores in March 1985.
The record raised more than $30 million for USA for Africa, a nonprofit organization founded by the singers to fund hunger relief in African nations.
'We Are the World'
Honors Jim Carrey and EwaMcGregor
France
France has honored actors Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor by naming them knights in the prestigious National Order of Arts and Letters.
The two are in Paris to promote their upcoming gay romance, "I Love You Phillip Morris."
At Monday's ceremony, French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand declared, "I love you Jim Carrey! I love you Ewan McGregor!"
The film is based on a true story. Carrey plays a con man who meets the love of his life (McGregor) in prison, then comes up with elaborate escapes and masquerades to free himself and his man.
France
Haiti Auction Raises $80,000 So Far
UK Pop
An online auction of pop memorabilia from some of Britain's biggest acts has raised around 50,000 pounds ($80,000) so far for survivors of the Haiti earthquake, organizers Oxfam said on Monday.
Among the top lots sold so far is a jacket worn by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin during the "Viva la Vida" tour, which fetched 9,600 pounds, and three pairs of VIP tickets to the Glastonbury festival which raised around 7,000 pounds each.
The Fender Stratocaster guitar played by Alex Turner in the Arctic Monkeys' "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" video made 4,600 pounds.
The eBay auction total is set to rise significantly, with a Damien Hirst print already bid up to 12,100 pounds and a Rolf Harris oil painting at 7,650 pounds.
UK Pop
Serbian Version
"Hair"
Serbia, where the scars of war and passions of an anti-establishment movement are still fresh, will stage the musical "Hair" for the first time in 40 years, updating the story amid the Iraq war and anti-globalism.
First staged in New York in 1968, the rock musical built an international following, with Belgrade mounting its own production in communist Yugoslavia in 1969.
In the updated "Hair" opening on Wednesday ("Kosa" in Serbian), the main character is a philosophy professor engaged in anti-globalist action against the backdrop of an international summit rather than the Vietnam War in the 1960s.
The songs are in Serbian, which means the cast will be calling for "Daj nam Sunca" rather than "Let the Sun Shine In." But in a sign of the times in the age of AIDS, the nudity that represented the sexual revolution of the 1960s in the original production has been removed for the new staging.
"Hair"
Heading To Rehab
Rip Torn
Rip Torn was so intoxicated when he broke into a Connecticut bank carrying a loaded gun that he thought he was home, taking off his hat and boots and leaving them by the door, according to court records.
The 78-year-old actor was wearing the same battered boots Monday when he was arraigned on several charges after spending the weekend in a police holding cell near his hometown of Salisbury, in northwestern Connecticut.
Torn, who did not enter a plea, was released on $100,000 bond a few hours later and waded through a phalanx of media to a friend's waiting vehicle. He smiled and wished onlookers a nice day but did not answer questions about the arrest.
He is expected to enter an alcohol rehabilitation center in New York as early as Tuesday, according to his attorney.
Rip Torn
Swedish Rapper Convicted
David Moses Jassy
A Swedish hip-hop artist who ran down and killed a man at a Hollywood crosswalk has been convicted of second-degree murder.
A Los Angeles jury also found David Moses Jassy guilty Monday of assault and battery. Jassy, who also uses the name Dave Monopoly, was acquitted of two other counts, including assault with a deadly weapon. Jassy faces 15 years to life in prison when he's sentenced next month.
Prosecutors say the 35-year-old rapper killed Los Angeles pedestrian activist John Osnes in November 2008. Prosecutors say Osnes banged on the hood of Jassy's rented SUV when it stopped inside a crosswalk.
Authorities say Jassy punched Osnes in the face, kicked him in the head and ran him over as he drove away. Jassy testified that he never intended to hurt Osnes.
David Moses Jassy
Cinemas Stage 1-Day Strike
Catalonia
Most cinemas in Spain's northeast Catalonia region stayed shut Monday to protest a proposed law that would force them to show 50 percent of foreign films in the local Catalan language, rather than in Spanish, an industry group said.
The vast majority of movies in Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona, are shown dubbed into Spanish, while Catalan-dubbed films represent just 3 percent of the market, said Pilar Sierra, secretary general of the Catalan Cinema Company Guild, which called the protest.
The regional government says the legislation being debated in the regional parliament promotes the Catalan language.
Catalonia prides itself on having a distinct culture and language. Spanish and Catalan are the region's two official languages but the government's linguistic policies in recent years, such as obliging all school and university teaching to be conducted in Catalan, has been criticized by some who claim it discriminates against other Spaniards.
Catalonia
All Spots Sold
Super Bowl
CBS has sold all the advertising spots for the television broadcast of the National Football League's Super Bowl championship game this coming Sunday, the television network said on Monday.
CBS has come under fire in recent weeks from various groups for allowing a conservative Christian group to air an anti-abortion ad, and for barring a commercial from a dating site for gay men as inappropriate for prime time.
The Super Bowl is the biggest advertising event of the year. Commercial rates run far above what other TV events command, partly because the game draws around 95 million U.S. viewers.
More Americans enjoy the ads than the action on the field, a recent Nielsen study found. A study by ad agency Venables Bell & Partners showed that 66 percent of viewers remember their favorite advertiser from the 2009 Super Bowl, compared with 39 percent recall of which team won.
Super Bowl
Renews "Parks and Recreation"
NBC
NBC has renewed the comedy "Parks and Recreation" for a third season.
The early pickup was done strictly for production reasons, to lock in actors' schedules, a representative for NBC said, stressing that the sole pickup in no means reflects on the renewal chances of NBC's other Thursday comedies.
Indeed, "The Office," "30 Rock" and freshman "Community," which pull higher ratings than "Parks," all look set to return for another season.
Season to date, "Parks" has averaged 5.1 million viewers.
NBC
Alaska Celebrates
Marmot Day
Alaska now has its own version of Groundhog Day.
Then-Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Quitter) signed a bill last year to make every Feb. 2 Marmot Day in Alaska.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Linda Menard, a Wasilla (Alaska's Meth Capital) Republican.
Menard's bill didn't give marmots any weather forecasting duties, but she hopes the state will create educational activities around the animal.
Marmot Day
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