Weekend Ear Candy: The Carpenters

I always tell this story of my history with music. I was raised on AM radio back in the 1970’s. In fact, it wasn’t until high school that I found out there was such a thing as FM radio that played rock music. By I did know about Punk Rock and New Wave through TV like what use to be on MTV, but my every day radio listening was pure sugar.

So my early tastes were of the “easy listening” variety offered up by WFIN in Findlay. Some of my favorite songs today were fused into my head then and include songs from America, Barry Manilow, and today’s Weekend Ear Candy band The Carpenters.

The Carpenters were a brother/sister duo that enjoyed huge success in the early 1970’s. Their music has influenced many artists that came after them including Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Shania Twain, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Leann Rimes, and Madonna.

Quite frankly lead singer Karen Carpenter’s voice could melt the coldest heart and I shiver every time I hear it in the albums I own.

I really tried to narrow today’s candy to the my favorite but I couldn’t really choose. I like the rocking middle section of “We’ve Only Just Begun” but I think “Close to You” is one of most beautiful songs ever made. A somewhat unknown fact is “Close to You” got me through my first unrequited crush in high school. Of course my family got sick of me constantly playing the record for the several weeks I was depressed.

Carpenters -We’ve Only Just Begun

Carpenters – Close to you

What is the deal with attacking Rush Limbaugh?

In the past couple of weeks or so I have noticed an up tick in attacks on comedian Rush Limbaugh, especially coming from the White House and Democratic associated groups. I just don’t get it.

Rush is the voice of the Republicans? When has he not been? Did Democrats wake up one day, click on their radio, and say “What the fuc*???? Who is this person?”

But then again I don’t care. Democrats need a different plan.

Maybe it’s pay back for the attacks on the group Move On during their ad controversy in 2007. Or maybe the storm caused by the misuse of comments by General Wesley Clark about John McCain. It could even be a counter to the Swift boating of John Kerry in 2004.

It gets a lot of press because the villagers are looking for ways to give more press coverage to the GOP plus they have thousands of hours to fill on their cable channels and talk radio shows and not enough white young women go missing to keep fill that time. Besides Shark Week is in July.

Rush lies. The guy cherry picks his call ins. He is a bigot. He called Obama and Hillary pretty much every name in the book without losing his job. Probably 90% of his listeners are sheep and will never be reasoned with and they agree with all he says. Rush loves the attention and press coverage because he loves to play the victim. There is nothing new about Rush.

Using the power of the White House and the Democrats to attack the windbag is really like shooting fish in a barrel. And it has the same effect like sending another “strongly worded letter” from the Congress that we often saw during the final years of W’s term instead of Congress growing a pair and exerting some legislative power than comes from being in the majority.

The fact remains that the public voted and the GOP has nothing to offer. Rush has nothing to offer but cries of victim hood.

We have some serious issues to take care of and right now Rush and the GOP are irrelevant. They are a waste of time.

Here is an agenda I would like to see:

1. Ignore Rush Limbaugh – turn off the radio or enforce the Fairness Doctrine and a return to owner responsibility to the local community to provide a wide range of voices. Both items are still in the FCC rules.

2. Smack the GOP upside the head – have the Dem leadership explain “we gave them a chance and now we WILL do it our way…” Every time a Dem gets on a Sunday or Cable talk show and asked why they haven’t been “bi-partisan” they have to say “we gave them a chance and they refused to go along. If they want to participate our door is open but we won’t ask them any more because we don’t have to…” They need to say this EVERY FRICKING TIME when a microphone is shoved in their face. That’s how you frame a discussion.

3. If one of those Sunday or cable shows keep giving all the air time to the GOP refuse to accept an invite to one program as an example. Then hold a press conference outside the studio of that program and point out how one sided the talk shows are considering the reality outside the DC beltway.

4. Replace Senator Harry Reid with someone who will act like a majority leader in the Senate of the party with the majority. Maybe Reid just has a lot of lube left over from 2008?

I know it is hard to adapt to a new power structure but we need the Dems to learn fast and get on the stick or they will lose the chance the 2008 elections gave them.

OMG! Like how did I miss Square Pegs on DVD… like totally

There isn’t much that I am obsessed with in life except for getting some classic TV shows and films from my younger days on DVD. One that I thought I would never see is finally out. Square Pegs was a TV show about high school life that was broadcast on CBS for one season in 1982. The show hit a chord with me and I have nothing but fond memories of it. Until recently memories was all I’ve had. Of course I hate it that I found out seven months AFTER it was released.

It was created by Anne Beatts, who had worked on Saturday Night Live in its early days and the plots centered on Patty Greene (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Lauren Hutchinson (Amy Linker), two awkward teenage girls desperate to fit in at Weemawee High School. Their lives interacted with their friends Marshall Blechtman (John Femia) and Johnny “Slash” Ulasewicz (Merritt Butrick) and with the cool kids Jennifer DiNuccio (Tracy Nelson), the quintessential buxom Valley Girl, her boyfriend Vinnie Pasetta (Jon Caliri), a handsome greaser hood, and LaDonna Fredericks (Claudette Wells) and preppy Muffy B. Tepperman (Jami Gertz).

The show spoke to me because I was in the social place that Patty and Lauren are in. I wanted to be popular and although I didn’t try to be one at all costs like they did, I sympathized with their plight. Cliques in school were not a good thing because for some it causes too much stress at such a young age but this show had a funny take on the topic.

The DVD finally came out when Sarah Jessica Parker’s movie version of “Sex in the City” was released. Except for Parker, Tracy Nelson, and Jami Gertz none of the rest of the cast have done much more than this series. In the Wikipedia entry it even says that the actor who played Vinnie has disappeared off the face of the earth and his current whereabouts are unknown.

Merritt Butrick, who played Johnny, died in 1989 from AIDS. He was also known for playing Capt. Kirk’s son, Dr. David Marcus, in the Star Trek II and III films.

The other note on the DVD issue that is an issue with a lot of the old shows is they stripped out a lot of the pop music due to licence issues. It seems that sometimes the cost of using the music costs more than putting out the DVD so the show owners replace the music with something generic.

All the episodes can also be viewed on the HULU website. “Muffy’s Bat Mitzvah” is one of my favorites, mainly because DEVO makes a guest appearance as the band at the party.

David Letterman has been on game shows before

The other night on his show David Letterman made the comment about Regis Philbin saving television again by hosting the new Million Dollar Password on CBS that debuted Sunday night. What may not be well known by anyone less than 40 years old, Letterman use to guest star on game shows during the late 70’s and early 80’s before he got the Late Show on NBC in 1982. The one I remember him best being on was Password Plus, hosted by the late great Allen Ludden.

Here is a clip from a bonus round on an episode Letterman guested on:

The other game show I thought he did great on was called “Liars Club”, but I can’t find any clips on YouTube.

Letterman also tried to host a game show in 1977 called The Riddlers which wasn’t picked up by the networks:

CBC Windsor to be removed from Findlay Time-Warner lineup in January

While surfing the Internets tonight I came across a brief notice posted on the local news section of WFIN’s website:

Subscribers to Time Warner cable systems in northwest Ohio will be missing some familiar channels beginning in mid-January.

New regulations affecting the carriage of out-of-market over-the-air TV stations will result in the loss of Channel 10 from Columbus and CBC Channel 9 from Windsor, Ontario in Findlay. Time-Warner will add WLMB, a low-power religious channel from Toledo.

Fostoria customers will lose Channel 3, WKYC from Cleveland, and WPTA from Fort Wayne, Indiana will disappear from the Ottawa system. Three low-power Lima stations may be added in Ottawa and other Time-Warner systems.

Other changes affect cable channels being dropped and others being added, according to a letter from Time Warner’s Pat McCauley.

Time-Warner changes will mean the loss of some familiar TV stations

I confirmed it on the Time-Warner website with the change to happen on or about January 14th.

This is very sad in a sentimental way.

In 1972, cable TV came to Findlay. Our family signed up and of the 14 or so channels available included Channel 9 out of Windsor and at the time WTVN Channel 6 from Columbus (which is now WSYX). Some years later WBNS Channel 10 replaced Channel 6.

I grew up on the CBC as it showed some interesting programs over the years. It was through the CBC that I learned about and became a fan of Curling as well as Hockey Night in Canada and the CFL. I also enjoyed The National with Peter Mansbridge and The Fifth Estate magazine show. Then there was the The Edison Twins and Degrassi Junior High.

I remember when Time-Warner first aquired the cable system in Findlay they tried to drop the CBC and protests ensued forcing them to continue to carry it. Now under the cover of “new regulations affecting the carriage of out-of-market over-the-air TV stations”, I doubt the change can be stopped. I am also upset because there are 50 billion shopping channels and religious channels on the system yet they plan to drop two good stations for a low power religious channel out of Toledo?

Columbus and Windsor are about 100 miles from Findlay, in these days of broadband digital broadcasting distance doesn’t mean anything. I can, and do, watch The National over the Internet for free. Too bad Time-Warner wants to give up getting subscriber money for quality programing. Do they still carry WKBD out of Detroit or WEWS from Cleveland?

My cable system in Columbus has over 500 channels. Is Time-Warner really unable to find a place for Channel 9 and 10 on the Findlay system?

Just sad.

*Update* It seems that Time-Warner and Viacom are having a spat so come Jan 1 all of Time-Warner could lose all the Viacom owned cable channels like Comedy Central. For more info see this link: http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/happy-new-year-time-warner-cable-to-yank-mtv-nickeodeon-comedy-central-off-the-air/

*Update 2* Time-Warner and Viacom reached an agreement early Thursday 1/1 so no one should lose any channels.