Rants, raves and vaguely intellectual musings on life, the universe and everything. • Journalism, sports and movies with things that go "Boom!" • Reading, writing and as little 'rithmetic as humanly possible. • Surveys galore about me-me-me. • Plus the Civil War. And monkeys.
The Rim Editor
Ace
Sussex County, New Jersey, United States
Career journalist. Lifelong Raiders fan. Husband and father of two. And, sometimes, just a tiny little munkee in a great big world.
But why that particular title? Well, it's what I did for most of my (regular) career. To wit:
... my job on the desk that night was as a "rim" editor, which meant I edited stories, made any trims in length necessary, and wrote headlines and cutlines ...
NEW YORK (AP) — NBC set a low-water mark of historic proportions for TV viewership last week.
The network averaged 4.4 million prime-time viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
While it's not the smallest ever recorded by ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox, it's the smallest to come in a week outside of the summer doldrums of June, July, August or early September.
I sent this letter to the USA Network today as a way of joining the campaign to save "Life," my favorite TV show, by moving it from NBC, which canceled it, to the NBC-owned cable network, known for its quirky dramas such as my second-favorite, "Burn Notice."
As a huge fan of "Burn Notice," I wanted to join the thousands (millions?) of fans encouraging USA Network to pick up "Life," late of NBC. This show would be a perfect addition to your lineup of "quirky" detective-type shows, including "Burn Notice," "Monk" and "In Plain Sight."
As a partner in NBC Universal, you are undoubtedly familiar with the show, and can see how lead character Charlie Crews and his relationship with partner Dani Reese would fit right into that lineup. There is drama, yes, but more than a touch of humor, finding a type of middle ground between a comedy-centric show such as "Monk" and a more serious show such as "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."
There is a reason "BN" and "Life" are my two favorite shows.
In addition, you may know "Life" Season 1 was shortened by the regrettable writers' strike, and only aired roughly a dozen episodes. So you could see how "Life" also would fit into your shorter summer-season format so many of your shows utilize.
"Life" was never strongly promoted by NBC, in my opinion, but a show such as "BN" is heavily promoted by your network, and "Life" could use that same asset to provide ratings that, while not strong enough to keep it in a network lineup, would be excellent for a cable show.
I urge you to add this show, which comes with a loyal, built-in fan base, to your lineup. Damian Lewis' outstanding acting has been widely praised by critics, and would give you another underrated centerpiece actor a la Tony Shalhoub or Mary McCormick.
Just a camp arm, no doubt, a 27-year-old former AF2 quarterback who wound up at Occidental in 2007, his fourth or fifth college.
So, a few years back, the Raiders had around a camp arm named Bret Engemann, out of BYU? He was around in '03-05 in camp and on the PS, plus a couple of assignments to NFL Europe.
I'd like to think I've made my case in the past. But after an awesome Season 2 finale, I'm hoping even more for a Season 3. I know I should have more important things to worry about, but still...
Watching "Kath & Kim" with Marisa tonight, I noticed one of the cast members is named "Day," which is the last name of the titular characters.
Which reminds me of two of the stranger character/cast coincidences in horror movies.
One of the more infamous co-stars (for her nude scene) in the "Friday the 13th" series is an actress named Debi Sue Voorhees — the same last name as the killer.
She was a victim in "Part V: A New Beginning," and has admitted one of the things that caught the filmmakers' eyes was her last name.
(Speaking of coincidences, IMDB trivia points out she went on to become a copy editor...)
But that's not the only last name match game in horror history.
One of the victims in the original "Halloween" was played by Nancy Loomis (born Nancy Kyes).
That actress, who played Annie Brackett, daughter of the sheriff, shared a name with the ostensible hero of the film, the mad Dr. Sam Loomis, Michael Myers' psychiatrist.
(She is now a sculptress — not an editor — according to the IMDB.)
Know any "Nightmare on Elm Street" coincidences for the horror hat trick?
Because nuance means a serious show can have a light moment in just a look, a glance, a moment. A funny moment can be a clue to a puzzle, in just a tilt of the head.
Right now, for my money, there is no cast on TV better at that than the cast of my current favorite show, "Life" on NBC.
Just picked up for a full second season a year after debuting in the writers-strike-marred 2007, "Life" also just got moved to a better time slot, between Wednesday's "Knight Rider" remake and the "L&O" mothership.
And after a bit of a shaky beginning on Mondays and then Fridays (yeah, all in one year), "Life" is starting to find the footing that made its 11 episodes in Season One so memorable.
The key, to any show with a "quirky" main character, is the little things. Unlike the broad comedy of "Monk" or the oppressive drama of "SVU," "Life" has a nice (if sometimes erratic) mix, thanks to lede actor Damian Lewis.
And, more importantly, his parter, cheerleader-turned-actress Sarah Shahi, who is so much more than a pretty face: She is the master of the "did he just say that?" look, and that offsets the odd remarks and Zen detecting skills Lewis' Charlie Crews brings to his dual missions as homicide cop and seeker of the truth behind the frame-up that sent him to jail.
Nuance goes a long way. Tune in Wednesdays at 9 Eastern if you don't believe me.
By the way, I realize she's a pinup queen, so I'm in the minority, and maybe it was just late at night, but for my money, Tila's not really as smokin' hot as I expected? Great bod, no doubt, but not that great a face?
And no, I'm not posting any pictures. Go Google them yourselves, perverts!
American TV star Christopher Allport has died in an avalanche while snowboarding in California. The 60-year-old actor is the third person to die after a trio of freak avalanches caused by snowstorms ripped through the West Coast of America. The veteran actor, who was a huge fan of skiing, was found near the Mountain High Ski resort in Wrightwood, California. Allport had appeared in many of TV's most popular series, including ER, Felicity and Matlock. In a bizarre twist, the actor had once warned about the dangers of skiing in a newspaper article, saying, "Any excursion into the mountains requires awareness. Have fun, but be careful."
I'll always think of Allport as the sheriff in the better"Jack Frost" (and its sequel), in which, possibly ironically, he battled a killer snowman.
It's probably better known as the actress Shannon Elizabeth's debut film...
Or the one in which she gets raped by a killer snowman. I'm not sure which.
I'm talking about two things I discovered, or rather, found out recently.
First off, "Supernatural" kicks ass. I point this out despite the fact that, before about two months ago, I'd never seen it, barely heard of it, and if you told me it was on "the CW" network, I'd have thought, "Hey, didn't that Country & Western network become Spike TV?
But I managed to land both the firstand secondseasons on DVD, and I just ate 'em up. Even if the TWOP recaps are only so-so and not awesome.
Either way, if you like, um, supernatural stuff (read: horror) and some humor, or you like watching a couple of hunky teen-beat types (I'd heard of Jared Padalecki because I'd seen him in the remakes of "House of Wax" and "Flight of the Phoenix", but I'd never heard of Jensen Ackles - who for my money is the better actor - because, despite the fact that he'd been in just about every TV show ever aimed at teen girls, I've never watched any of them)...
You'll dig this show.
Monsters. Gore. Jokes. Fun!
The second discovery is thanks to Marisa, who when I said something about taking my sweaters to the dry cleaners the other day, said, "You know, you can wash some sweaters?"
Turns out I can! And to think, I've always dry-cleaned every one. At like $5 a pop. Turns out I only have to take in about half. D'oh!
Oh, a third random discovery: Dogs who are coneheads really have no concept of the fact that they're suddenly much, much wider. This leads to both comedy and awkwardness, as you suddenly fear for everything in their immediate vicinity. Because it's in danger of getting knocked over.
I'm on a semi-mandatory three-day weekend for the MLK holiday. It's nice and relaxing, but I have a few things to do. And, oddly enough, my public-school teacher fiancee had to work.
No, this time they've pulled out all the so-bad-it's-good stops, from trash-talking contestants to over-muscled freaks.
Let me put it this way: In 2007, I went to Wisconsin. I went to Vermont.
And nowhere did I see cheese like last night!
Best moments of the pilot, complete with spoilers: • The first contestant blew out her knee on the first event! • The one guy was like 5'5" and 150, he took on a Gladiator in "Joust" who was about 6'6" and 280". And won! • The last contestant went head-first into a metal bar - oh, yes, there will be blood! • And of course, the contestant with about a 40-second lead in a 3-minute event who couldn't get up the reverse-treadmill (not that I blame her) and wound up just sort of hanging there by her fingertips as the slower, exhausted opponent limped past her.
This stuff is sooooooooooooooo... great, there aren't enough "o"s to put in that "so."
And of course, they've brought back Assault!
By the way, did you know first-season champion Brian Hutson once went to training camp with the Raiders and actually got into a couple of games for the Patriots?
I should be cleaning the house. Marisa thinks I'm cleaning the house. (Well, at least until she reads this.)
Instead, after walking the dog (not a euphemism), I've decided you're going to get two blog posts in one day!
And not only have I managed to successfully avoid cleaning, I think I've also managed to shake my TV show jinx.
Well, I thought so until the writers' strike. See, no sooner had my latest addiction, "Life," gotten picked up for a full 22-episode run, last night's half-season climax signed off with (I paraphrase) "New episodes of 'Life' coming in 2008!"
Sigh. And just when I'd breathed a sigh of relief.
"Life," as its small-but-rabid fan base on Television Without Pity's forums could tell you, is a cop show that's anything but a cop show.
It reminds me of the old ad campaign for "Sports Night" (I paraphrase again) - "Sports Night. It's about sports. The way 'Baywatch' is about water safety."
Yes, there's a murder-of-the-week, but the heart of the show is its characters. Charlie Crews (the fantastic Damian Lewis of "Band of Brothers" fame) is a detective who was wrongly convicted of murder and, once freed on appeal, sues to get his place back on the force.
Yeah, it's because he's a good cop. But it's also because he wants to find out who set him up and murdered his friends.
It's addictive. And because Charlie picked up Zen in prison, pretty damn hysterical, too.
Not to mention the fact that it has a pretty kickin' soundtrack, including Aimee Mann and Beth Orton.
Catch it when you can, or, if you've already caught it, be like me, and wait with bated breath for it to return.
It's been a good year for quirky heroes for me. My summer addiction, "Burn Notice," not only lasted its whole 13-episode run, it got renewed for year two in summer '08.
And even if my jinx comes back, if I want to satisfy my character-driven cop series jones, there's always my old standby, "Law & Order: SVU," or as I often call it, "Law & Order: SUV." (To paraphrase a buddy, "Crimes involving big trucks.")
On the other hand, I've finally given up on "Cold Case."
For one thing, I can only watch so much TV these days.
But more, I've found the show has really lost its edge for me this season. The good music and smooth editing (shifting characters between their current incarnation and the past) are still there. But the emotion element - and this was a show whose endings once made me teary-eyed on a regular basis - has really faded away. I guess the writing's just gone south. It's hard to say. But there's been too much formula, too much more-of-the-same, and the Cold Case squad just isn't doing it for me anymore.
It's a shame. I really enjoyed the show for a long time.
But at least now I have "Life" to replace it. Whenever it comes back.
"3. Life on the Rim — While he’s been making me gag with his new girlfriend posts, Ace sometimes throws out some Civil War trivia, among other little tidbits. I’m not much into the Civil War history, but Ace never bores me with his posts about it."
So instead of posting about the girlfriend/fiancee, I figure I'll pay tribute by posting something more intellectual, along with my own five nominees.
The only problem is, of course, of the dozen or so blogs I read regularly, two of them that often make me think belong to Stewie and The Lesley, who nominated him.
So, here's some other blogs that make me think: 1. Jintrinsique unplugged: The regular Jin just mostly makes me hungry. But unplugged, she raises some interesting points about life. 2. A French Girl in Niagara: As does Jewels, who beads in her "real" blog, then describes her life and interesting hobbies on her version of unplugged. 3. Fnordication: Fnordboy doesn't post often, but when he does, I usually have to Google something. I like learning new stuff. 4. Boobs, Injuries and Dr Pepper: OK, so this one usually makes me laugh more than think, but there are lot of life lessons mixed in with the humor. 5. Metro Reading: Now, I'm blatantly cheating, because Stewie writes this blog, too. But there aren't too many things that make me think like a good book, and we've got similar taste in books, which leads to some great discussions.
I'm not nominating the fiancee, because, well, it seems like even worse cheating than nominating back the guy who nominated you. If she didn't make me think, frankly, I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life with her.
And, of course, the Rules: 1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think. 2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme. 3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.
Now, on with the part where I earn my "thinking" award.
They recently announced the DVD release of a TV series called "Voyagers!"
"Voyagers!" was one of my favorite TV shows as a kid, even though it only lasted one season. Heck, I remember in elementary school, playing "Voyagers!" on the playground with my best friend, Justin.
He was Phineas Bogg, the time-traveling hero, and I was Jeffrey, the little kid who inadvertently accompanies him on his misadventures. The psychology of this relationship with J.T. - who I haven't seen in years and miss in some way almost every day - is a discussion for another post.
Bogg was played by the former model Jon-Erik Hexum, while Jeffrey was played by Meeno Peluce, who starred in "Don't Go Near the Park," a dreadful movie I reviewed for HorrorTalk.
The plot, if I recall correctly, went something like this:
Bogg was a Voyager, tasked with traveling through history to set things right that had gone wrong somehow. He had two tools: A device like a pocketwatch that enabled him to travel through time, and a history book.
He also had two problems. First, the device was malfunctioning, and second, he lost his book saving Jeffrey. Fortunately, Jeffrey was a history buff - and thus, they became a team. "Phineas Bogg," I would later discover, is a takeoff on Phileas Fogg, the hero of "Around the World in 80 Days."
Jon-Erik Hexum went on to another TV show after "Voyagers!" got canceled, and at some point, on the set of the show, he was clowning around with a blank-pistol. He put it to his head, and pulled the trigger.
The wad (which seals the powder in the blank case) ejects from the barrel at force, which Hexum obviously didn't know. At point-blank range, it fractured his skull and drove the pieces of bone into his brain, a wound that quickly proved mortal. He was rendered brain-dead, in a coma, and his family finally pulled the plug.
And that's a strange, tough lesson to learn as a child, when one of your heroes dies. Doing something stupid.
But it's a lesson I've never forgotten. Rest in peace.
On a side note, I just want to point out that Rosie O'Donnell is about the only liberal I know who is so damn obnoxious, she can make me feel sorry for a Republican.
Nafzger was one of the first people miked on-air for a sporting event, and I remember watching the race, which was called very traditionally as Unbridled ran a come-from-behind win.
But after the race, the network showed a replay of Nafzger, who apparently had forgotten he was on-air, describing events for his elderly owner, who was visually impaired.
Describing isn't the right word. He was calling the race, and unlike today, when everybody's got a zoom lens on them and a wireless sound hook-up nearby, he wasn't thinking of fame, or reputation.
And so he made one of those unforgettable moments.
"He's taking the lead. He's gonna win. He's gonna win. He's gonna win. He's a winner! He's a winner! He's a winner, Mrs. Genter! You've won the Kentucky Derby, Mrs. Genter! I love you."
And he kissed this little old lady and the tears began.
She died just a couple of years later. And Unbridled died in 2001. But Nafzger's still training, and he's back in it this year, with Street Sense off Post No. 7.
I don't follow horse racing much - in fact, I pretty much follow it three times a year, the Triple Crown races.
But I was 15 years old that year, and it was something I never forgot.
I couldn't find a replay of Nafzger's "call," but I did find the race itself. Enjoy!
According to HU, poor Haley Scarnato is going home, long legs, short skirts, dubious voice and all. And I never even got through to vote for her. I hope it's not my fault. I tried. I actually called the hotline for the first time in my life, only to discover that you apparently have to call right after the show. Which ends long before I get home from work.
Look, I'm the first one to tell a politically incorrect joke, but there's a difference between anything resembling humor and the kind of crap you see from elementary-school bullies.
Rosie's people first said "I certainly hope that one day they will be able to grasp her humor." Nope. Because it's NOT FUNNY. For somebody who's pretty goddamn sensitive about people maybe mocking her own particular minority group, she doesn't really give a rat's ass about anybody else's, does she?
See, by my way of thinking, good stereotypes - we're smarter than y'all white folks - are at least acceptable, if not encouraged. Bad stereotypes, on the other hand - we no speak-a Engrish good - are fighting words.
So, Rosie, you can't tell me nobody teased the fat, obnoxious lesbian in your elementary school, right? Well, in my elementary school, they teased the smart, undersized Asian kid with words like, "hey, Chinaman!" (even though I'm not Chinese...) and "ching-chong" and that little ditty of Oriental music that comes with bowing and narrowed eyes. I'da thought you'd be a bit more sympathetic.
Or maybe you went to that special elementary school, where being different made you cool.
In that case, I forgive you. I guess you really DIDN'T know any better. You ignorant bigot.
But Barbara Walters, you I'm not going to forgive so easily. A major journalistic organization or two are condemning your co-host, and you, a pioneering journalist - and something of a minority as a woman, no less - sit silent. Silent.
"Celebrity Cooking Showdown" was kind of lame, but since it was a cross between "Dancing with the Stars" and "Iron Chef," I gave it a chance and I enjoyed it in its dopey, hokey way.
It was supposed to run all of five episodes, one week on NBC, Monday through Friday.
And they yanked it after Wednesday's show.
Yoinks.
I mean, there were three preliminary battles (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) then the final battle (Thursday) and the Big Reveal winner show (Friday). That was it.
And they pulled it after the third prelim. I got home Thursday, popped on my DVR and discovered an announcement that it could be seen on NBC.com and a rerun of "Will and Grace."
That's right. They booted it all the way to the Web site. For the final battle! They even killed the phone voting.
I guess when I get home tonight I can sit and watch a 3" wide square on my computer instead of high-def goodness on my 42" TV. Unless, as rumored, they're going to actually air the Big Reveal show on Saturday night. Sigh. It's no wonder I keep taping things at the wrong time.
Thank goodness I wait for the DVDs to watch "Battlestar Galactica." I've killed just about every other show I watch, it seems.
By the way, if you're watching, I voted for Miss USA. Not only is she cute without falling out of her dress (um, Cindy Margolis), it seems like she can really cook, and isn't that the point?
I might have to give "Iron Chef America," which I've avoided like the plague, a try - I liked Cat Cora on this show, and she's one of their ICs. Maybe I can kill that show, too.
The tragic British '90s playwright Sarah Kane's five plays (and one short teleplay) range in quality and tolerability, but all have moments of sheer brilliance. Kane's final play, "4.48 Psychosis," derided as a 75-minute suicide n...
A fine brigade-level history from the Gettysburg scholar Gottfried, the former president of Sussex County Community College in New Jersey (the county in which I reside). "Kearny's Own" looks at the First New Jersey, which fought t...
I had never even heard of, much less read, any "City Comedies" of the English Renaissance before my recent class on Early Modern literature. I was very pleasantly surprised by this collection of four prominent works in the genre. ...
Michael Lewis' book (now a hit movie) takes two paths: A look at the evolution of the left tackle position in the NFL, and a look at how a poor boy from the bad side of Memphis, Michael Oher, found his way into the home and hearts of the we...
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is an idiot.
(I paraphrase again) - "Sports Night. It's about sports. The way 'Baywatch' is about water safety."
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tonight. No, I don't watch the show. But I did watch the last 10 minutes when I realized a) it was the season finale; and b) that meant 
