Prompter Bob

Like millions of other curious dopes, I tuned in at 11am today to watch Tiger Wood's so-called press conference. If it hasn't done so already a dozen times over, TV journalism definitely jumped the shark today with all major networks and their anchors covering this pathetic man's attempt to re-boot his multi-million dollar career. Is this really news Brian, Diane and Katie? I lost count how many times Tiger said he was sorry. But why is he apologizing to us? The only person he should be saying he's sorry to is his wife--and in private. There's nothing worse than a cheating spouse, but to move on, Tiger needs his wife's forgiveness, not ours.

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I just watched Michael Jackson's This Is It on Blu-ray DVD and I was surprised just how good a film it is.

Director Kenny Ortega and his team of editors have expertly quilted together an amazing documentary out of bits and pieces of informally shot rehearsal video at an empty Staples Center in Los Angeles. Taking place just shortly before his death on June 25th, the film shows MJ preparing for what he prophetically said would be his last live concert apperance, a series of 50 sold out shows at London's O2 arena in July 2009. The ill-fated concert featured Jackson performing many of his hits, accompanied by elaborately produced 3-D films, projected on a mammoth LED video wall behind him.

This Is It is susprisingly intimate, providing a rare glimpse at Jackson's musical and performing genius at work. Forget 'Wacko Jacko'. Whatever demons that may have tortured Jackson in his private life are not looming here. Instead we see a happy and healthy looking 50 year old MJ, still at the top of his game, singing and dancing up a storm. It's fun to watch his creative process, meticulously rehearsing each familiar song, stoping at times to fine tune and tweak each element. Always a perfectionist, MJ is a kind taskmaster, politely demanding as much from his musicians and dancers, as he does from himself.

Although the film was quickly produced last summer, This Is It is very polished and seems to be a project motivated by love, not greed. To complete some of the numerous musical performances for the film, Ortega had to seamlessly patch together rehearsals from different days, as revealed by MJ's changing clothes. There's also a mixture of HD and SD video, but it fits together so well that you don't mind the lack of continuity. This Is It looks and sounds spectacular on Blu-ray. Crank up the Dolby Surround audio for an immersive experience.

The Michael Jackson we see in This Is It is at odds with the person portrayed in tabloid tales of his bizarre lifestyle, alleged drug abuse and mysterious death. Michael Jackson, the performer, seems to be humble, friendly, approachable, hard working and very down to earth. Time will tell how MJ will ultimately be remembered. This Is It will go a long way help to put a positive spin on his too short and troubled life.

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You'd think the Italian guy who owns the pizza joint in Closter, NJ where I got this box would object to this kind of racist stereotypical drawing of Italians. Go figure. All that's missing is an organ grinder, a monkey, and some Mafia gangsters.  Why not throw in the "Jersey Shore" kids too. Snooki would look good making pizza.

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Click here to download:

IMG_1041.MOV (2054 KB)

Back in the early 1980s (most likely around 1982), a collegue was handing out black Sharpie marking pens to promote his business. Since then, I have used this Sharpie (now affectionately called 'Old Blackie') in my home office, mostly to address packages. Amazingly, it still continues to work today. Considering how Sharpies tend to dry out over time, this is almost miraculous (like the Virgin Mary appearing on a grilled cheese sandwich.) Until proven otherwise, I'm claiming to own the world's oldest known working Sharpie. Guinness Book of World Records, I await your call.

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Inspired by the Total Eclipse Of The Heart flow chart, love all this created the Hey Jude Flow Chart to help you unravel one of The Beatles’ most complicated songs.

via Merlin Mann

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It was very sad to wake up this morning to news that Soupy Sales (83) had died after a long illness.  Soupy was one of my childhood TV heroes.  He was responsible for shaping my warped sense of humor and he inspired me to work in television. Growing up in the "golden age" of TV kids shows is something that I really cherish.  Back then kids were able to relate to real people like Soupy, Sandy Becker, Sonny Fox and Chuck McCann, not just watch politically correct cartoons, as kids do today.  My earliest memory of Soupy Sales was watching his daily show, Lunch with Soupy Sales, which came out of Detroit at noon and was seen on the ABC network. Like many pre-school kids around the country, I sat in front of the TV and ate my peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk, along with Soupy.  Of course, for dessert there was the mandatory Jello, which Soupy always jiggled in front of the camera.

Soupy's genius was that he broke down the 4th wall and the studio crew became part of the show, antagonizing and heckling him, along with his puppet pals, Black Tooth, White Fang, Hippy and Pookie. Soupy was also the first to do a kids show that really wasn't just for the kids. There were always jokes and inuendos intended for the huge number of adults who watched the show, some of which got Soupy in hot water.  Who can forget Soupy's visit from a stripper and the infamous "little green pices of paper" incident? 

A great big BOO to WNYW Fox 5 in New York.  Channel 5, which used to be WNEW, was home to The Soupy Sales Show in the 1960's. This morning, Good Day NY barely mentioned Soupy's death except to say that he had died and he used to tape his show in the same studio.

Fortunately, I had the chance to meet Soupy once when I was working on The Sally Jessy Raphael Show back in the late 80's or early 90's. Soupy was a guest along with Adam West (TV's Batman), Bob Denver (Gilligan) and Russell Johnson (The Professor) from Gilligan's Island.  Soupy was very nice and autographed one of his record albums for my wife.

Stealing a phrase from my current TV boss, Wendy Williams, Soupy will always be a "friend in my head."  It is heartening to see that "Soupy Sales" is trending on Twitter this morning. It's fun to read the Tweets from his many fans.

If you're a Soupy Sales fan too, you should read this wonderful article from today's Detroit Free Press by Tim Kiska, who does a great job tracing Soupy's career from his early days in Detroit and through the various incarnations of The Soupy Sales Show. 

A quick search of YouTube will bring you a treasure trove of clips from Soupy's shows.  I'm going to post two good ones here. First is a great interview with Soupy by Bill O'Reilly and the other is an extended clip from The Soupy Sales Show featuring Soupy Sez and his hit song, "Do the Mouse".

Here's a bonus video of Soupy and the stripper I found on YouTube.  The clip first shows what was seen on air and then shows an alternate version featuring the naked stripper behind the door.  You've got to admit this was pretty ballsy stunt to pull on a kids TV show in the 60's. No one could ever get away with something like this today.

I'd love to hear your comments and memories of Soupy.

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My favorite scene in the 1993 Michael Douglas film Falling Down, about a life-worn, frustrated, unemployed man who goes postal, is when he enters a fast food restaurant (armed with a machine gun) and orders a Double Wammy Burger with Cheese. When Douglas notices his burger looks nothing like the plump, juicy, 3 inch thick Whammy Burger pictured on the menu, he says, "Look at this sorry, miserable, squashed thing... Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this picture?" And then he goes postal.

The scene rings true because most of the food served in fast food restaurants looks nothing like the beautiful food we see in advertisements. Woman's Day has a great article on line which follows up on this notion called Fast Food Revealed: Real vs. Ads and shows side-by-side comparasions.

Most of us have seen the heavily promoted ads for KFC's new Kentucky Grilled Chicken.  It might be tasty, but doesn't look anything like the chicken in the ad.  Where are the grill marks?

Realistically, I know they're selling a product and the real food will never look as good as the one doctored by the food stylists and photographers for the ads, but I think they can do a little better, don't you?

You can see the rest of the photos and read the article at this link.

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