With the current flap over his essay in the New York Review of Books, here's a piece that perfectly sums up the Jian Ghomeshi situation.
Though the link to the rest of the column is broken, the comments make the point, which still stands today two years after the trial, well enough.
By the way, it doesn't matter that he wasn't convicted back in 2016. Ghomeshi had a long-standing reputation for doing what he did, and Ghomeshi hired a hot-shot lawyer who got him off.
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
BRUCE RONEY, VE3BER IS DEAD
Just found out that Bruce Roney, whom I knew of through his narration of audiobooks for CNIB, died about a year ago at the age of 79.
I remember his reading of World War II history books and magazine articles in particular.
Here is his obituary which, as it says in the link, originally appeared in the Toronto star.
Farewell, Bruce. Your authoritative type of voice is getting rarer and rarer.
I remember his reading of World War II history books and magazine articles in particular.
Here is his obituary which, as it says in the link, originally appeared in the Toronto star.
Farewell, Bruce. Your authoritative type of voice is getting rarer and rarer.
BEFORE MR. DRESSUP HAD HIS OWN SHOW
he was on another CBC show called "Butternut Square" which ran from 1964-1967.
Here's a promo for that show, voiced by future Hollywood producer Alan Hamel. Love the local ID and time-check in this.
Here's a promo for that show, voiced by future Hollywood producer Alan Hamel. Love the local ID and time-check in this.
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
OLD CTV AND CBC PROMOS
Here are a couple cool videos I came across recently.
First, fifteen minutes worth of CTV promos which the title says are from 1978 but which from reading the comments I suspect are actually from 1973, so even better.
Also, here are some CBC promos from a commercial break in 1978.
First, fifteen minutes worth of CTV promos which the title says are from 1978 but which from reading the comments I suspect are actually from 1973, so even better.
Also, here are some CBC promos from a commercial break in 1978.
THE FRIENDLY GIANT ON AMERICAN TV
Before beginning his long-running CBC children's show, Robert Homme was entertaining children in the same comforting, soothing style on Wisconsin Public Television, starting in 1953. Here are two episodes of the American version of "The Friendly Giant", first with Homme reading Marjorie Flack's "Wait for William" and the second with the big guy reading "The Sad-eyed Clown."
It's interesting to note the differences between the CBC version and this one. First of all, I like the upbeat version of "Early One Morning" used in the opening better than the almost dirge of the recorder theme used on CBC, here heard appropriately only at the end.
Also, it would appear Homme does the voices of Rusty and Gerome. I like the fact he hired Rod Coneybeare to do the voices when he took the show north.
It's interesting to note the differences between the CBC version and this one. First of all, I like the upbeat version of "Early One Morning" used in the opening better than the almost dirge of the recorder theme used on CBC, here heard appropriately only at the end.
Also, it would appear Homme does the voices of Rusty and Gerome. I like the fact he hired Rod Coneybeare to do the voices when he took the show north.
Friday, September 14, 2018
YOU MIGHT REMEMBER ME: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF PHIL HARTMAN
By Mike Thomas. New York: Macmillan, 2014.
They say we should never meet our heroes and we should never read about them, either.
This book is a thorough, in-depth, well-researched biography of comedian and fellow canuk Phil Hartman, taking us through Hartman's childhood, to his early career, to his time with The Groundlings and "Saturday Night Live", and trying to present a faithful, factual reconstruction of the day of Hartman's death. The book even devotes a fair amount of time to the man's legacy and those left behind.
However, this book does make one sit up and take notice of something. I was a great admirer of Phil Hartman growing up, and was really distraught that day after I'd learned of his death. Looking back, though, the book is right: Phil Hartman lacked depth. While Hartman's still funny, when you look at other comic actors and comedians, you realize they bring so much more to their roles than Hartman did, making them a lot funnier than him.
I think, due to his childhood, Hartman didn't know how to be plain old Phil. He always had to be PHIL HARTMAN and couldn't relate to people. That's why, as I think about the roles I've seen him in, I realize they were all Phil Hartman doing his thing and not creations come to life onscreen.
Purchase this book here.https://www.amazon.com/You-Might-Remember-Me-Hartman/dp/1250070309
They say we should never meet our heroes and we should never read about them, either.
This book is a thorough, in-depth, well-researched biography of comedian and fellow canuk Phil Hartman, taking us through Hartman's childhood, to his early career, to his time with The Groundlings and "Saturday Night Live", and trying to present a faithful, factual reconstruction of the day of Hartman's death. The book even devotes a fair amount of time to the man's legacy and those left behind.
However, this book does make one sit up and take notice of something. I was a great admirer of Phil Hartman growing up, and was really distraught that day after I'd learned of his death. Looking back, though, the book is right: Phil Hartman lacked depth. While Hartman's still funny, when you look at other comic actors and comedians, you realize they bring so much more to their roles than Hartman did, making them a lot funnier than him.
I think, due to his childhood, Hartman didn't know how to be plain old Phil. He always had to be PHIL HARTMAN and couldn't relate to people. That's why, as I think about the roles I've seen him in, I realize they were all Phil Hartman doing his thing and not creations come to life onscreen.
Purchase this book here.https://www.amazon.com/You-Might-Remember-Me-Hartman/dp/1250070309
SPRINGFIELD CONFIDENTIAL: JOKES, SECRETS AND OUTRIGHT LIES FROM A LIFETIME WRITING FOR THE SIMPSONS
By Mike Reiss and Mathew Clikstein. New York: Harper Collins, 2018.
Informative but desperate at the same time.
Simpsons writer and one-time show-runner Mike Reiss tells us the history, inner workings and his personal history with the show, as well as providing us with his autobiography and talking about the side projects he's been involved with, such as writing children's books.
Though the book is funny, interesting, informative, and helpful for the aspiring comedy writer, Reiss's (and probably someone else's higher up?) attempt to justify "The Simpsons'" continued production approaches being painful to read, or listen to in my case since i listened to the audiobook, which Reiss does an excellent job at narrating.
The fact is, "The Simpsons" is long past due for cancellation. I quit watching the show ten years ago in the period after the Hollywood writers strike because it was just the same old jokes. From what I hear, it's only gotten worse. Some people say the later seasons would still make a fairly decent sitcom, but that's faint praise indeed for a show that changed the face of television and influenced society to an unbelievable degree.
Even as far back as season 9 one could see it coming. Principal Skinner is no longer the perfect authority-loving mama's boy but some hood from the mean streets of Capital City. Barney is no longer a drunk but a guy who drinks coffee. Lisa is no longer the one who'll escape Springfield but more and more a typical tween, concerned about whether she's fat and watching "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody."
The fact the show has to create controversy such as Homer and Marge getting a divorce, Harry Shearer deciding to leave and then not leaving and of course the latest flap over the character of Apu (the only decent male character on the show) demonstrates how terrible and unpopular it's become.
Also, Reiss's attempt to refute "The Simpsons" use of predictive programming, such as telling us 9/11 was going to happen and predicting Donald Trump would be president is pathetic. Those who control things are a small tribe of people and they planned those aforementioned events years in advance. I don't for a second think they'd hesitate to taunt us with hidden hints of what was coming in a program as popular as "The Simpsons."
All in all, Matt, Mike and crew, please cancel this show before you embarrass yourselves even further, if that's indeed possible.
Purchase this book here.https://www.amazon.com/Springfield-Confidential-Outright-Lifetime-Simpsons/dp/0062748033
Informative but desperate at the same time.
Simpsons writer and one-time show-runner Mike Reiss tells us the history, inner workings and his personal history with the show, as well as providing us with his autobiography and talking about the side projects he's been involved with, such as writing children's books.
Though the book is funny, interesting, informative, and helpful for the aspiring comedy writer, Reiss's (and probably someone else's higher up?) attempt to justify "The Simpsons'" continued production approaches being painful to read, or listen to in my case since i listened to the audiobook, which Reiss does an excellent job at narrating.
The fact is, "The Simpsons" is long past due for cancellation. I quit watching the show ten years ago in the period after the Hollywood writers strike because it was just the same old jokes. From what I hear, it's only gotten worse. Some people say the later seasons would still make a fairly decent sitcom, but that's faint praise indeed for a show that changed the face of television and influenced society to an unbelievable degree.
Even as far back as season 9 one could see it coming. Principal Skinner is no longer the perfect authority-loving mama's boy but some hood from the mean streets of Capital City. Barney is no longer a drunk but a guy who drinks coffee. Lisa is no longer the one who'll escape Springfield but more and more a typical tween, concerned about whether she's fat and watching "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody."
The fact the show has to create controversy such as Homer and Marge getting a divorce, Harry Shearer deciding to leave and then not leaving and of course the latest flap over the character of Apu (the only decent male character on the show) demonstrates how terrible and unpopular it's become.
Also, Reiss's attempt to refute "The Simpsons" use of predictive programming, such as telling us 9/11 was going to happen and predicting Donald Trump would be president is pathetic. Those who control things are a small tribe of people and they planned those aforementioned events years in advance. I don't for a second think they'd hesitate to taunt us with hidden hints of what was coming in a program as popular as "The Simpsons."
All in all, Matt, Mike and crew, please cancel this show before you embarrass yourselves even further, if that's indeed possible.
Purchase this book here.https://www.amazon.com/Springfield-Confidential-Outright-Lifetime-Simpsons/dp/0062748033
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
SITCOM: A HISTORY IN 24 EPISODES FROM I LOVE LUCY TO COMMUNITY
By Saul Austerlitz. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press, 2014.
The most pleasurably addictive book I've read in a while.
Austerlitz uses 24 specific sitcom episodes to trace the history of the TV situation comedy from the one show in the book's title to the other show in the books title, using the specific episode as a jumping off point to talk about the sitcom of which the episode is a part, as well as similar shows both of that particular program's era and across different television eras.
. This book is interesting, informative, thought-provoking, rant-provoking, and fun to read.
I highly recommend picking up a copy and will provide the usual link at the end of this post, but first, I would like to do something a little different. On this blog, I usually either do straight book reviews or I do sort of commentary posts on certain books. In this post, I would like to combine the two and express some of the thoughts and reproduce some of the rants this book has provoked in me.
The Honeymooners, (Better Living Through TV): Since I couldn't find "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" or "Beaver Gets 'spelled" on YouTube, I will use this episode of the Jackie Gleason sitcom to talk about fifties sitcoms in general and especially family sitcoms.
From watching "Better Living Through TV", it is clear why so much television is formulaic. In an era when shows weren't re-run (at least not as much) and there was no way of home recording anything or distributing recordings of your show to the public, the public needed to see variations on the same theme week after week. If you told your buddy at work about "The Honeymooners" or "Leave It to Beaver" and they'd never seen the show, they would expect to tune in and see the basic thing you'd told them about. Television couldn't be as experimental, playing with form and having wildly different plots week after week.
Though I don't think I've ever seen the first episode of "Leave It to Beaver" and, as I said above, couldn't find it on YouTube, I have seen many episodes of that show thanks to it airing at noon on CKWS and CHEX-TV when I was growing up, and on CKVR-TV Barrie so I could watch it when I was visiting my grandmother in Toronto. Therefore, I get what the book says about it being a parody.
When I hear people in Christian culture prattle on about returning to the time when "Leave It to Beaver" ruled the airwaves and Father knew best, I wonder if these people have ever actually watched these shows. "Beaver (that sounds horribly pretentious, I know, but I'm rapidly becoming fed up with writing the title out in full) is, as I just said, clearly a parody of itself. Try frying bacon in crinoline if you doubt that. Also, as if a man would wear his tie at the dinner table.
One reason the world of "Beaver" is so innocent and sanitized is because it's from Theodore Cleaver's perspective. When you're a child, your house is always warm and the television and other electrical appliances always work and water always comes out of the tap. You don't realize the struggles your parents go through. You don't see your mother napping on the couch during the day because she's tired.
Second, "Beaver" and similar shows were, as the book says, what people wished society to be, not the way it actually was, although, granted, society was probably more like "Beaver" than it is now.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, (Chuckles the Clown Bites the Dust): Since "The Dick Van Dike Show" is in a somewhat similar vein as other sitcoms of the era and since I couldn't find "St. Gilligan and the Dragon" on YouTube, we are now up to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Though Moore herself was not a second wave feminist, the show helped set up the future's of many unhappy second or third (2.5?) wave feminists today. Contrary to Mary Richards' speech in the last episode (which I haven't actually seen), a family is not whatever you want it to be, your work colleagues or your friends or neighbours or whatever. For one thing, statistically speaking, a child needs a mother and a father in the home, in addition to, ideally, lots of extended family close by.
Second, unlike a family, workplaces, especially today, are more transitory. People leave to start their own businesses or to go back to school or start a family or whatever, and you might never hear from them again.
The results are that we now have a whole bunch of bitter old feminist women who have only their cats to come home to because they've bought into Mary Richards' great lie.
All In the Family, (The First and Last Supper): I saw most episodes of "All In the Family", including this one, when it ran on Canadian specialty channel Prime in the early 2000s. Incidentally, I believe Prime is now called Travel + Escape.
Anyway, even when I first started watching "All In the Family" I looked at it as a relic. In fact, as the book says, the show became irrelevant even while it was still on the air. Definitely by the time it ended in 1979, the troops had left Vietnam, Nixon had resigned, and whatever "racist" attitudes Americans had had toward blacks, Hispanics, Polish, and other peoples had somewhat dissipated, and the fact they ostensibly kept "All In the Family" going with "Archie Bunkers' Place" is even more pathetic.
I would like to take this opportunity to further state that liberals (in the American sense of the word, not meaning the Liberal Party of Canada, although this statement applies to a lot of them, too, especially our current Prime Minister) are the Archie Bunkers of the twenty-first century: everything around them has changed but they haven't.
For example, take the issue of abortion. Though liberals frequently try to paint it this way, it is no longer (like on Degrassi High) the teenage girl who gets knocked up at summer camp by a boy who said he'd love her forever but from whom she only received two letters and then nothing after October. Most women who get abortions are married and in their thirties.
Similarly, homosexuality is no longer two guys who live together and like arranging flowers. It's nearly naked people parading down the street on a summer weekend throwing condoms.
In the same way, transgenderism is no longer Beverly Lasalle, a guy who dresses in women's clothing and gets murdered, as Edith says, "because he's different." It's grown men who think (or at least claim to) they're really six year old girls and want to play in the sandbox with your kids.
M*A*S*H., (Yankee Doodle Doctor): I saw most episodes of this show when it ran on Prime in the late nineties/early 2000s, too, as well as on CBS afiliate WWNY Watertown, New York when at home and on CKVR Barrie at my grandmother's.
The show definitely took a downturn when Hawkeye stopped drinking and womanizing. In real life, that wouldn't have happened. When you spend most of your time facing the horrors of war and being concerned about whether you yourself will become a patient of the 4077, you don't really have time for introspection. Eventually, Hawkeye would have probably cracked up and not even Sidney Freeman would have been able to do much of anything. Captain Pierce was just too idealistic and sensitive to have survived the Korean War for very long.
Taxi (Latka The Playboy): TNN ran "Taxi" for a brief period one summer in the nineties. I also remember it being on WUHF-TV, the Fox afiliate in Rochester, New York for a brief time around the turn of the millennium, as well as being on Prime in about the mid-2000s, though I really didn't watch "Taxi" then. I watched the episode in question on YouTube.
This is a good episode which showcases the talent and versatility of Andy Kaufman and how great the interaction of Alex and Latka was. Robin Kline, the actress who plays the girl Latka fancies in this episode, was also quite talented.
Cheers (Strange Bedfellows 2): Now we are up to shows whose original run I can remember, if only vaguely for "Cheers" and the next program up for discussion. I also remember "Cheers" reruns being on many stations during and for the first few years after its original run. I watched this episode on YouTube, however.
When I watched "Strange Bedfellows 2", I realized I'd forgotten how bloody great "Cheers" was. There are a diverse group of characters and all types, from what I here anyway, you'd expect to find in Boston. There are also loads of funny lines and sight gags, which, being blind, I only learned about from reading the book.
Most importantly, however, everyone on the show gets lots of funny material. "Cheers" wasn't like a lot of sitcoms where many of the actors exist mainly as straight men to set up the funny character, usually the star.
What's also crucial is that Cheers the establishment isn't relied on for jokes, the show relying on the characters and situations for them instead. In other hands, "Cheers" could have been like Duffy's Tavern, a run down dive bar which would have been a punchline in itself, and even though "Duffy's Tavern" was a funny show, I'm glad the creators of "Cheers" decided not to go that route.
The Cosby Show (Pilot): I remember this show vaguely being on the air originally and I remember reruns on many stations, as well. I remember this episode from when Vision TV started rerunning "The Cosby Show" in the fall season of 1998.
I would like to take the opportunity the inclusion of this show affords to talk about something I've noticed but I can't seem to find anyone else on the internet has noticed. There are a lot of so-called family-friendly television shows whose messages are actually more destructive than shows where characters are swearing their heads off, chopping each other's heads off or jumping in and out of bed with each other.
For example, just look at the main premise of "The Cosby Show" that Cosby pitched to NBC in 1984: "There's a war on between parents and kids." (If I didn't get that quote exactly right, it's in the book.) Parents and children are at war? Really! I thought being a family was supposed to be about loving one another and being subject one to another as the Bible says in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Apparently, however, Mr. Bill (TNB) Cosby seems to think it's about figuratively wrestling with your kids over time, money and resources.
Cosby as Cliff Huxtable is apparently as manipulative a father as he was as an alleged rapist. I would not, if I caught my kid drinking, force her to play a drinking game with me. In fact, I would probably approach alcohol in a totally different way, allowing my teenager to consume small amounts on my property under my supervision. That way, they would be less likely to drink behind my back or to go to parties or bars with their friends where they could have something slipped in their drinks, probably by someone who works for Bill Cosby or someone like him.
To return to the episode in question for a further example of what I'm talking about, what's wrong with being "regular people." Congratulations, Bill (the Manipulative Alleged Rapist) Cosby, you've just told a whole bunch of young people in your audience who aren't cut out for university and grad school that they will have an utterly horrible life with nothing to show at the end of the month. (On the other hand, if they don't go to university there's less of a chance young female fans of the Cosby show will be allegedly raped by you so there's actually a distinct advantage there to being "regular people.")
A similar "family-friendly" show with a dangerous message is the original series of "Full House." DJ, Stephanie and Michelle are the most selfish, ingrateful, neediest children in the world. In real life, kids, people are not going to put their lives on hold to move in with you for eight years. If they have a number one hit in Japan, they aren't likely to cut the tour short because they miss you three brats so goshdarn much. And, kids, their spouses really aren't going to be inclined to move in with you and live in your attic, to say nothing of raising their children up there as if your relatives live in a V.C. Andrews novel or something.
I would also like to take "The Cosby Show" as an opportunity to give my opinion about black people in sitcoms.
The best black sitcom was "Amos & Andy." Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll's creations lived in a truly post-racial world. Blackness versus whiteness never came up, and the characters were (except for Kingfish of course) decent, hardworking people who lived in nice neighbourhoods and didn't expect the white man, aka the welfare system, to take care of them for the rest of their lives.
However, every other black sitcom has, to some degree or another, been the black man against the white man, meaning, in this case, simply the white man and not the welfare system. "Good Times", "The Jeffersons" and "Sanford and Son" are notable examples of this. From what I've heard, "What's Happenin" is just some black teenagers getting into trouble all the time and begging the sister of one of them "Don't tell Mama." "Different Strokes" is the white man taking care of the black people (again) and "The Fresh Prince" is basically the tention between Will's traditional world of "West Philadelphia" and his aunt and uncle's family in Bel-Air. In real life, Will's friends would have referred to the Banks' as Uncle Tom's or houseniggers.
Even "Family Matters" delved into racial issues a bit, and "The Cosby Show" did the same thing. It is worth noting that, on a Christmas episode of "The Cosby Show", Cliff Huxtable got into a discussion with a child about whether or not Santa Clause is white. On the other hand, the Christmas episode of "Amos & Andy" featured Amos explaining to his daughter the meaning of the Lord's Prayer.
Hence, take note, TV producers. All you have to do to get truly equal representation of minorities (especially blacks) on television is to catch up to a program that was doing it on the radio probably as early as 1925.
Roseanne (Terms of Estrangement, Part 1): "Roseanne" was also in it's original run and re-run a lot on many different stations so I saw the majority of episodes, including this one, when I was a kid.
I definitely agree with the book that the show went off the rails in the last two seasons.
I also agree with the book that it was the best of the sitcoms of its kind at the time. "Married ... With Children" had lots of funny lines and hilarious situations, but, as Austerlitz says, it had no nuance. Al was the most down-trodden, pathetic blue collar worker in the world. Peg was the laziest housewife in the world. Bud was the most borderline juvenile delinquent and later most sexually frustrated teenager in the world. Kelly was the biggest teen slut in the world.
As well, if the writers meant some of the jokes about Peg's poor home economist skills and Al's lack of earning power to be true, then literally how did the family survive?
I do disagree, however, with the book where "Home Improvement" is concerned. The Taylors are not blue collar. Tim hosted a TV show and in the first episode told Jill "I make enough money for both of us." Jill was a magazine editor who later became a college professor. Not exactly the same socioeconomic strata as throwing steel.
As with the star of the previous show, Roseanne would also meet her downfall, albeit after a one season revival of her eponymous program. Unlike her country's president, her undoing would come about because of a single tweet.
The Simpsons (22 Short Films About Springfield): I remember this episode from the night it aired.
The neighbour's children first introduced me to "The Simpsons." We were close friends and they would come over Thursdays (the day of the week on which the show aired until 1993) to watch it because their Dad wouldn't let them watch "Bart Simpson" as they referred to the show. I would watch it with them, but since I didn't hang around a lot of other kids as a child, I bought into what the adults were saying that it was a horrible, immoral show and would be a bad influence on me.
My sister continued to enjoy the show, however, and one day, while visiting my grandmother, I decided to watch a rerun of it with her on CBC. From then on, I was hooked. It's like my uncle said: "People don't get the point of The Simpsons. It's a lampoon."
Although the real point of Homer and the other residents of Springfield is Jewish Hollywood getting the white man to laugh at the downfall of his society and his supposed idiocy, on a lower level "The Simpsons" is (or was for the first eight or twelve years at least) as groundbreaking, creative and all-round wonderful as everybody says.
I will say more about "The Simpsons" when I review Mike Reiss's "Springfield Confidential."
The Larry Sanders Show (The Mr. Sharon Stone Show): I remember hearing "The Larry Sanders Show" mentioned as a kid, but I only saw my first episode on YouTube this morning as I got to the chapter discussing it in the book. Our cable company didn't provide the Canadian channel on which it was broadcast.
It's a good show. Would I watch the episode under discussion again? No, but I'm glad I watched.
Larry Sanders is a well-drawn character. I don't know if the word depth is appropriate when talking about Larry Sanders, but the fictional talk show host possesses just the right amounts of self-absorption and insecurity that make him so watchable.
Of course, the idea of a TV show about a fictional talk show host featuring bits of the show either being taped or broadcast on the actual show is inventive, and the other characters are well thought out, too. Jewish Hollywood telling us how self-centred, amoral and scheming the place where so many people get their values actually is.
Friends (The One With the Embryos): I think I can actually remember the day "Friends" premiered. I watched it a bit in its first couple seasons, and was forced to watch reruns at the W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind where I went from grades 9-12. I remember the show being extended by ten minutes in order to compete with the newly-launched "Survivor" on CBS. I also remember NBC's countdown to the finale in 2004, which I tuned into. Wasn't actually a big fan of the show, though.
I watched "The One With the Embryos" this morning on Daily Motion. My biggest take away from the episode is boy, those six people liked to flash their money and possessions around. "I'll bet you ten dollars, 100 dollars, 150 dollars, 300 dollars, our luxury apartment." I hate people like that.
Also, I remember once on "Degrassi High" the class was having a debate about abortion and in response to a pro-life comment, a pro-abortion girl responded, "So women are just baby factories?" I guess when it comes to a woman not killing her unborn baby women are baby factories, but when it comes to surrogacy, being a baby factory is a wonderful thing.
As well, what realistic apartment building would have a West Village apartment across the hall from a suite that looks like a dorm room? Units in apartment buildings generally tend to be uniform.
Also, I'm pretty sure you can't just trade apartments. You'd probably have to clear it with the landlord or something, and even back then, it probably involved a lot of paperwork.
Freaks and Geeks (Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers): I remember the promos for this show, which featured a laugh track, by the way. I never tuned into it at the time.
I saw "Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers" this morning on Vimeo and will join the chorus of everyone asking, "Why the heck did they cancel this?" Freaks and Geeks has just the right mix of comedy and drama. It also has great pop culture references appropriate to the era in which it is set, as well as sneaking in a pop culture reference for the time in which the show aired, namely "The Magic School Bus." It also has a wonderful soundtrack, which at the end of the episode in question serves as a joke in itself. (The Who vs. Seals and Crofts.)
On another level, though, the obsession this show (and the other show from its creators, "Undeclared) has with cliques is kind of disturbing. Why not be an individual? Why can't Bill like sports as well as sketch comedy and "Dallas?"
The Office (Casino Night): I watched the premier of this show back in 2005. Being a British comedy fan, I eagerly anticipated the American version of this show.
I watched it with my college roommate at first, then at home after I moved back their. My roommate, his friends and I were all pulling for this show because we thought for sure it was going to be one of those American sitcoms that's cerebral, well-done and gets cancelled after a few episodes because the audience doesn't get it. I'm glad the show proved me wrong and went on to run for a successful nine seasons.
I remember watching "Casino Night" the night it aired. I watched "The Office", seeing most episodes of the first two or three seasons. Subsequently, however, I missed several episodes and thus, due to the serialized plot, never bothered to tune in again.
Community (Modern Warfare): I heard about this show when it aired but never tuned in.
I watched this episode last night on Daily Motion. It was good, but fairly unsettling at the same time.
This is one entry where I agree exactly with the book. With "Community" we are seeing the sitcom, which at one time showed at least some version of the reality of the average person, "turning the mirror on itself" and being all about pop culture references, held together with bedroom and bathroom humour of course.
We saw this on the other shows of the decade as well. Michael Scott of "The Office" thinks HBO shows are mostly based in reality, thinks he can do improv because he's watched "Whose Line Is it Anyway" and, for him, the highlight of the novel experience of being on a boat is to re-enact the "I'm king of the world" scene from "Titanic."
Now with "Community", we see this pop culture autism come to a head.
As Daniel Estulon points out in his 2013 book, "Transevolution", this autism is what the new world order strives for. Though it has advanced through the medium of television, including the sitcom format, this global autism won't be completed with legacy media. Instead, virtual reality and artificial intelligence will be the keys.
Television and smart technology have already done a lot to destroy people's social skills, but virtual reality will complete that destruction. A group of people will physically gather for lunch at a restaurant, let's say in small-town Ontario, although thanks to Agenda 2030 there won't be any small towns left. Three people will be sitting at the table, but person A will be eating their spaghetti at a villa in Tuscany (apologies to the people of Tuscany if spaghetti is not native to that region of Italy), person B will be eating their club sandwich in a thirties diner in Los Angeles out of a Raymond Chandler novel and person C will be eating their fish at a wharf-side restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, staring at boats. Additionally, you'll have whatever musical accompaniment you desire with your vr experience. If you're a punk fan, it won't matter punk rock wasn't around in depression-era Los Angeles. It'll be your reality, baby, in actuality the reality of the new world order.
Purchase "Sitcom" here.https://www.amazon.ca/Sitcom-History-Episodes-Love-Community/dp/161374384X
The most pleasurably addictive book I've read in a while.
Austerlitz uses 24 specific sitcom episodes to trace the history of the TV situation comedy from the one show in the book's title to the other show in the books title, using the specific episode as a jumping off point to talk about the sitcom of which the episode is a part, as well as similar shows both of that particular program's era and across different television eras.
. This book is interesting, informative, thought-provoking, rant-provoking, and fun to read.
I highly recommend picking up a copy and will provide the usual link at the end of this post, but first, I would like to do something a little different. On this blog, I usually either do straight book reviews or I do sort of commentary posts on certain books. In this post, I would like to combine the two and express some of the thoughts and reproduce some of the rants this book has provoked in me.
The Honeymooners, (Better Living Through TV): Since I couldn't find "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" or "Beaver Gets 'spelled" on YouTube, I will use this episode of the Jackie Gleason sitcom to talk about fifties sitcoms in general and especially family sitcoms.
From watching "Better Living Through TV", it is clear why so much television is formulaic. In an era when shows weren't re-run (at least not as much) and there was no way of home recording anything or distributing recordings of your show to the public, the public needed to see variations on the same theme week after week. If you told your buddy at work about "The Honeymooners" or "Leave It to Beaver" and they'd never seen the show, they would expect to tune in and see the basic thing you'd told them about. Television couldn't be as experimental, playing with form and having wildly different plots week after week.
Though I don't think I've ever seen the first episode of "Leave It to Beaver" and, as I said above, couldn't find it on YouTube, I have seen many episodes of that show thanks to it airing at noon on CKWS and CHEX-TV when I was growing up, and on CKVR-TV Barrie so I could watch it when I was visiting my grandmother in Toronto. Therefore, I get what the book says about it being a parody.
When I hear people in Christian culture prattle on about returning to the time when "Leave It to Beaver" ruled the airwaves and Father knew best, I wonder if these people have ever actually watched these shows. "Beaver (that sounds horribly pretentious, I know, but I'm rapidly becoming fed up with writing the title out in full) is, as I just said, clearly a parody of itself. Try frying bacon in crinoline if you doubt that. Also, as if a man would wear his tie at the dinner table.
One reason the world of "Beaver" is so innocent and sanitized is because it's from Theodore Cleaver's perspective. When you're a child, your house is always warm and the television and other electrical appliances always work and water always comes out of the tap. You don't realize the struggles your parents go through. You don't see your mother napping on the couch during the day because she's tired.
Second, "Beaver" and similar shows were, as the book says, what people wished society to be, not the way it actually was, although, granted, society was probably more like "Beaver" than it is now.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, (Chuckles the Clown Bites the Dust): Since "The Dick Van Dike Show" is in a somewhat similar vein as other sitcoms of the era and since I couldn't find "St. Gilligan and the Dragon" on YouTube, we are now up to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Though Moore herself was not a second wave feminist, the show helped set up the future's of many unhappy second or third (2.5?) wave feminists today. Contrary to Mary Richards' speech in the last episode (which I haven't actually seen), a family is not whatever you want it to be, your work colleagues or your friends or neighbours or whatever. For one thing, statistically speaking, a child needs a mother and a father in the home, in addition to, ideally, lots of extended family close by.
Second, unlike a family, workplaces, especially today, are more transitory. People leave to start their own businesses or to go back to school or start a family or whatever, and you might never hear from them again.
The results are that we now have a whole bunch of bitter old feminist women who have only their cats to come home to because they've bought into Mary Richards' great lie.
All In the Family, (The First and Last Supper): I saw most episodes of "All In the Family", including this one, when it ran on Canadian specialty channel Prime in the early 2000s. Incidentally, I believe Prime is now called Travel + Escape.
Anyway, even when I first started watching "All In the Family" I looked at it as a relic. In fact, as the book says, the show became irrelevant even while it was still on the air. Definitely by the time it ended in 1979, the troops had left Vietnam, Nixon had resigned, and whatever "racist" attitudes Americans had had toward blacks, Hispanics, Polish, and other peoples had somewhat dissipated, and the fact they ostensibly kept "All In the Family" going with "Archie Bunkers' Place" is even more pathetic.
I would like to take this opportunity to further state that liberals (in the American sense of the word, not meaning the Liberal Party of Canada, although this statement applies to a lot of them, too, especially our current Prime Minister) are the Archie Bunkers of the twenty-first century: everything around them has changed but they haven't.
For example, take the issue of abortion. Though liberals frequently try to paint it this way, it is no longer (like on Degrassi High) the teenage girl who gets knocked up at summer camp by a boy who said he'd love her forever but from whom she only received two letters and then nothing after October. Most women who get abortions are married and in their thirties.
Similarly, homosexuality is no longer two guys who live together and like arranging flowers. It's nearly naked people parading down the street on a summer weekend throwing condoms.
In the same way, transgenderism is no longer Beverly Lasalle, a guy who dresses in women's clothing and gets murdered, as Edith says, "because he's different." It's grown men who think (or at least claim to) they're really six year old girls and want to play in the sandbox with your kids.
M*A*S*H., (Yankee Doodle Doctor): I saw most episodes of this show when it ran on Prime in the late nineties/early 2000s, too, as well as on CBS afiliate WWNY Watertown, New York when at home and on CKVR Barrie at my grandmother's.
The show definitely took a downturn when Hawkeye stopped drinking and womanizing. In real life, that wouldn't have happened. When you spend most of your time facing the horrors of war and being concerned about whether you yourself will become a patient of the 4077, you don't really have time for introspection. Eventually, Hawkeye would have probably cracked up and not even Sidney Freeman would have been able to do much of anything. Captain Pierce was just too idealistic and sensitive to have survived the Korean War for very long.
Taxi (Latka The Playboy): TNN ran "Taxi" for a brief period one summer in the nineties. I also remember it being on WUHF-TV, the Fox afiliate in Rochester, New York for a brief time around the turn of the millennium, as well as being on Prime in about the mid-2000s, though I really didn't watch "Taxi" then. I watched the episode in question on YouTube.
This is a good episode which showcases the talent and versatility of Andy Kaufman and how great the interaction of Alex and Latka was. Robin Kline, the actress who plays the girl Latka fancies in this episode, was also quite talented.
Cheers (Strange Bedfellows 2): Now we are up to shows whose original run I can remember, if only vaguely for "Cheers" and the next program up for discussion. I also remember "Cheers" reruns being on many stations during and for the first few years after its original run. I watched this episode on YouTube, however.
When I watched "Strange Bedfellows 2", I realized I'd forgotten how bloody great "Cheers" was. There are a diverse group of characters and all types, from what I here anyway, you'd expect to find in Boston. There are also loads of funny lines and sight gags, which, being blind, I only learned about from reading the book.
Most importantly, however, everyone on the show gets lots of funny material. "Cheers" wasn't like a lot of sitcoms where many of the actors exist mainly as straight men to set up the funny character, usually the star.
What's also crucial is that Cheers the establishment isn't relied on for jokes, the show relying on the characters and situations for them instead. In other hands, "Cheers" could have been like Duffy's Tavern, a run down dive bar which would have been a punchline in itself, and even though "Duffy's Tavern" was a funny show, I'm glad the creators of "Cheers" decided not to go that route.
The Cosby Show (Pilot): I remember this show vaguely being on the air originally and I remember reruns on many stations, as well. I remember this episode from when Vision TV started rerunning "The Cosby Show" in the fall season of 1998.
I would like to take the opportunity the inclusion of this show affords to talk about something I've noticed but I can't seem to find anyone else on the internet has noticed. There are a lot of so-called family-friendly television shows whose messages are actually more destructive than shows where characters are swearing their heads off, chopping each other's heads off or jumping in and out of bed with each other.
For example, just look at the main premise of "The Cosby Show" that Cosby pitched to NBC in 1984: "There's a war on between parents and kids." (If I didn't get that quote exactly right, it's in the book.) Parents and children are at war? Really! I thought being a family was supposed to be about loving one another and being subject one to another as the Bible says in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Apparently, however, Mr. Bill (TNB) Cosby seems to think it's about figuratively wrestling with your kids over time, money and resources.
Cosby as Cliff Huxtable is apparently as manipulative a father as he was as an alleged rapist. I would not, if I caught my kid drinking, force her to play a drinking game with me. In fact, I would probably approach alcohol in a totally different way, allowing my teenager to consume small amounts on my property under my supervision. That way, they would be less likely to drink behind my back or to go to parties or bars with their friends where they could have something slipped in their drinks, probably by someone who works for Bill Cosby or someone like him.
To return to the episode in question for a further example of what I'm talking about, what's wrong with being "regular people." Congratulations, Bill (the Manipulative Alleged Rapist) Cosby, you've just told a whole bunch of young people in your audience who aren't cut out for university and grad school that they will have an utterly horrible life with nothing to show at the end of the month. (On the other hand, if they don't go to university there's less of a chance young female fans of the Cosby show will be allegedly raped by you so there's actually a distinct advantage there to being "regular people.")
A similar "family-friendly" show with a dangerous message is the original series of "Full House." DJ, Stephanie and Michelle are the most selfish, ingrateful, neediest children in the world. In real life, kids, people are not going to put their lives on hold to move in with you for eight years. If they have a number one hit in Japan, they aren't likely to cut the tour short because they miss you three brats so goshdarn much. And, kids, their spouses really aren't going to be inclined to move in with you and live in your attic, to say nothing of raising their children up there as if your relatives live in a V.C. Andrews novel or something.
I would also like to take "The Cosby Show" as an opportunity to give my opinion about black people in sitcoms.
The best black sitcom was "Amos & Andy." Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll's creations lived in a truly post-racial world. Blackness versus whiteness never came up, and the characters were (except for Kingfish of course) decent, hardworking people who lived in nice neighbourhoods and didn't expect the white man, aka the welfare system, to take care of them for the rest of their lives.
However, every other black sitcom has, to some degree or another, been the black man against the white man, meaning, in this case, simply the white man and not the welfare system. "Good Times", "The Jeffersons" and "Sanford and Son" are notable examples of this. From what I've heard, "What's Happenin" is just some black teenagers getting into trouble all the time and begging the sister of one of them "Don't tell Mama." "Different Strokes" is the white man taking care of the black people (again) and "The Fresh Prince" is basically the tention between Will's traditional world of "West Philadelphia" and his aunt and uncle's family in Bel-Air. In real life, Will's friends would have referred to the Banks' as Uncle Tom's or houseniggers.
Even "Family Matters" delved into racial issues a bit, and "The Cosby Show" did the same thing. It is worth noting that, on a Christmas episode of "The Cosby Show", Cliff Huxtable got into a discussion with a child about whether or not Santa Clause is white. On the other hand, the Christmas episode of "Amos & Andy" featured Amos explaining to his daughter the meaning of the Lord's Prayer.
Hence, take note, TV producers. All you have to do to get truly equal representation of minorities (especially blacks) on television is to catch up to a program that was doing it on the radio probably as early as 1925.
Roseanne (Terms of Estrangement, Part 1): "Roseanne" was also in it's original run and re-run a lot on many different stations so I saw the majority of episodes, including this one, when I was a kid.
I definitely agree with the book that the show went off the rails in the last two seasons.
I also agree with the book that it was the best of the sitcoms of its kind at the time. "Married ... With Children" had lots of funny lines and hilarious situations, but, as Austerlitz says, it had no nuance. Al was the most down-trodden, pathetic blue collar worker in the world. Peg was the laziest housewife in the world. Bud was the most borderline juvenile delinquent and later most sexually frustrated teenager in the world. Kelly was the biggest teen slut in the world.
As well, if the writers meant some of the jokes about Peg's poor home economist skills and Al's lack of earning power to be true, then literally how did the family survive?
I do disagree, however, with the book where "Home Improvement" is concerned. The Taylors are not blue collar. Tim hosted a TV show and in the first episode told Jill "I make enough money for both of us." Jill was a magazine editor who later became a college professor. Not exactly the same socioeconomic strata as throwing steel.
As with the star of the previous show, Roseanne would also meet her downfall, albeit after a one season revival of her eponymous program. Unlike her country's president, her undoing would come about because of a single tweet.
The Simpsons (22 Short Films About Springfield): I remember this episode from the night it aired.
The neighbour's children first introduced me to "The Simpsons." We were close friends and they would come over Thursdays (the day of the week on which the show aired until 1993) to watch it because their Dad wouldn't let them watch "Bart Simpson" as they referred to the show. I would watch it with them, but since I didn't hang around a lot of other kids as a child, I bought into what the adults were saying that it was a horrible, immoral show and would be a bad influence on me.
My sister continued to enjoy the show, however, and one day, while visiting my grandmother, I decided to watch a rerun of it with her on CBC. From then on, I was hooked. It's like my uncle said: "People don't get the point of The Simpsons. It's a lampoon."
Although the real point of Homer and the other residents of Springfield is Jewish Hollywood getting the white man to laugh at the downfall of his society and his supposed idiocy, on a lower level "The Simpsons" is (or was for the first eight or twelve years at least) as groundbreaking, creative and all-round wonderful as everybody says.
I will say more about "The Simpsons" when I review Mike Reiss's "Springfield Confidential."
The Larry Sanders Show (The Mr. Sharon Stone Show): I remember hearing "The Larry Sanders Show" mentioned as a kid, but I only saw my first episode on YouTube this morning as I got to the chapter discussing it in the book. Our cable company didn't provide the Canadian channel on which it was broadcast.
It's a good show. Would I watch the episode under discussion again? No, but I'm glad I watched.
Larry Sanders is a well-drawn character. I don't know if the word depth is appropriate when talking about Larry Sanders, but the fictional talk show host possesses just the right amounts of self-absorption and insecurity that make him so watchable.
Of course, the idea of a TV show about a fictional talk show host featuring bits of the show either being taped or broadcast on the actual show is inventive, and the other characters are well thought out, too. Jewish Hollywood telling us how self-centred, amoral and scheming the place where so many people get their values actually is.
Friends (The One With the Embryos): I think I can actually remember the day "Friends" premiered. I watched it a bit in its first couple seasons, and was forced to watch reruns at the W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind where I went from grades 9-12. I remember the show being extended by ten minutes in order to compete with the newly-launched "Survivor" on CBS. I also remember NBC's countdown to the finale in 2004, which I tuned into. Wasn't actually a big fan of the show, though.
I watched "The One With the Embryos" this morning on Daily Motion. My biggest take away from the episode is boy, those six people liked to flash their money and possessions around. "I'll bet you ten dollars, 100 dollars, 150 dollars, 300 dollars, our luxury apartment." I hate people like that.
Also, I remember once on "Degrassi High" the class was having a debate about abortion and in response to a pro-life comment, a pro-abortion girl responded, "So women are just baby factories?" I guess when it comes to a woman not killing her unborn baby women are baby factories, but when it comes to surrogacy, being a baby factory is a wonderful thing.
As well, what realistic apartment building would have a West Village apartment across the hall from a suite that looks like a dorm room? Units in apartment buildings generally tend to be uniform.
Also, I'm pretty sure you can't just trade apartments. You'd probably have to clear it with the landlord or something, and even back then, it probably involved a lot of paperwork.
Freaks and Geeks (Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers): I remember the promos for this show, which featured a laugh track, by the way. I never tuned into it at the time.
I saw "Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers" this morning on Vimeo and will join the chorus of everyone asking, "Why the heck did they cancel this?" Freaks and Geeks has just the right mix of comedy and drama. It also has great pop culture references appropriate to the era in which it is set, as well as sneaking in a pop culture reference for the time in which the show aired, namely "The Magic School Bus." It also has a wonderful soundtrack, which at the end of the episode in question serves as a joke in itself. (The Who vs. Seals and Crofts.)
On another level, though, the obsession this show (and the other show from its creators, "Undeclared) has with cliques is kind of disturbing. Why not be an individual? Why can't Bill like sports as well as sketch comedy and "Dallas?"
The Office (Casino Night): I watched the premier of this show back in 2005. Being a British comedy fan, I eagerly anticipated the American version of this show.
I watched it with my college roommate at first, then at home after I moved back their. My roommate, his friends and I were all pulling for this show because we thought for sure it was going to be one of those American sitcoms that's cerebral, well-done and gets cancelled after a few episodes because the audience doesn't get it. I'm glad the show proved me wrong and went on to run for a successful nine seasons.
I remember watching "Casino Night" the night it aired. I watched "The Office", seeing most episodes of the first two or three seasons. Subsequently, however, I missed several episodes and thus, due to the serialized plot, never bothered to tune in again.
Community (Modern Warfare): I heard about this show when it aired but never tuned in.
I watched this episode last night on Daily Motion. It was good, but fairly unsettling at the same time.
This is one entry where I agree exactly with the book. With "Community" we are seeing the sitcom, which at one time showed at least some version of the reality of the average person, "turning the mirror on itself" and being all about pop culture references, held together with bedroom and bathroom humour of course.
We saw this on the other shows of the decade as well. Michael Scott of "The Office" thinks HBO shows are mostly based in reality, thinks he can do improv because he's watched "Whose Line Is it Anyway" and, for him, the highlight of the novel experience of being on a boat is to re-enact the "I'm king of the world" scene from "Titanic."
Now with "Community", we see this pop culture autism come to a head.
As Daniel Estulon points out in his 2013 book, "Transevolution", this autism is what the new world order strives for. Though it has advanced through the medium of television, including the sitcom format, this global autism won't be completed with legacy media. Instead, virtual reality and artificial intelligence will be the keys.
Television and smart technology have already done a lot to destroy people's social skills, but virtual reality will complete that destruction. A group of people will physically gather for lunch at a restaurant, let's say in small-town Ontario, although thanks to Agenda 2030 there won't be any small towns left. Three people will be sitting at the table, but person A will be eating their spaghetti at a villa in Tuscany (apologies to the people of Tuscany if spaghetti is not native to that region of Italy), person B will be eating their club sandwich in a thirties diner in Los Angeles out of a Raymond Chandler novel and person C will be eating their fish at a wharf-side restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, staring at boats. Additionally, you'll have whatever musical accompaniment you desire with your vr experience. If you're a punk fan, it won't matter punk rock wasn't around in depression-era Los Angeles. It'll be your reality, baby, in actuality the reality of the new world order.
Purchase "Sitcom" here.https://www.amazon.ca/Sitcom-History-Episodes-Love-Community/dp/161374384X
Saturday, September 8, 2018
DX LOG 9/7
Live 88.5 Ottawa with alternative rock music and ID.
93.7 WBLK Buffalo with commercial for car dealership.
95.1 WRIO Rochester with Brother Weeze talking about new Steve Perry song.
95.3 Fresh Radio Hamilton with commercials.
96.5 WCMF Rochester with Phil Collins.
97.3 Light Rock Ithaca with anncr promoting music festival.
97.9 WPXY with Corey James morning show, playing fake news contest, Whitney talking about why she turned down an apartment.
98.9 CKLC-FM Kingston with "Reed and Ben in the Morning", giving away 500 dollars of burgers, trying Bakldweiser beer, playing acronym contest, wrapping up morning show, into "The Nineties at Nine" with bands including Garbage and Blind Melon.
99.5 WDCX Buffalo with Keylife.
100.5 WVOR Rochester "Elvis Duran Morning Show" with commercials.
102.5 WTSS Buffalo with anncr saying he was going to give away tickets at 10:00.
93.7 WBLK Buffalo with commercial for car dealership.
95.1 WRIO Rochester with Brother Weeze talking about new Steve Perry song.
95.3 Fresh Radio Hamilton with commercials.
96.5 WCMF Rochester with Phil Collins.
97.3 Light Rock Ithaca with anncr promoting music festival.
97.9 WPXY with Corey James morning show, playing fake news contest, Whitney talking about why she turned down an apartment.
98.9 CKLC-FM Kingston with "Reed and Ben in the Morning", giving away 500 dollars of burgers, trying Bakldweiser beer, playing acronym contest, wrapping up morning show, into "The Nineties at Nine" with bands including Garbage and Blind Melon.
99.5 WDCX Buffalo with Keylife.
100.5 WVOR Rochester "Elvis Duran Morning Show" with commercials.
102.5 WTSS Buffalo with anncr saying he was going to give away tickets at 10:00.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
REVELATION
The Seven Churches
The seven churches (or communities of believers in seven different cities) represent seven different types of believers that have existed since the first century.
The Rapture
The only church Christ actually says he will keep from the hour of tribulation is the church of Philadelphia. The Greek word means He'll keep them out of it within its midst.
Seals, Trumpets and Vials
The seals are a general overview of the main events of the tribulation. Taking place concurrently with these events are the judgments occurring when the trumpets are blown. These are events where God uses man to carry out His judgment indirectly, through things like possible nuclear warfare.
Incidentally, when you look at the trumpet judgments, it's pretty clear all our current worries about climate change and the other environmental issues are for naught, at least when we look at what is actually going to come upon the earth. While I believe Christians should be in the forefront of protecting the environment in ways such as conservation, waste management, etc., we as believers need to keep in mind we have a more certain word of prophecy and that this final book of Scripture is telling us in advance about the actual events of a time period which I believe is in the not-too-distant future.
The judgments of the vials, called the wrath of God, are God's direct judgment and, again, occur concurrently with the seals and the trumpets, the last trumpet signifying the return of Christ.
A Bit More On Seals and the Four Horsemen
- the anti-Christ comes to world power, in a peaceful manner at first, hence why the bow has no arrows;
- as people start to chafe under the anti-Christ's rule and resist him, he retaliates with nuclear weapons as described in trumpets;
-as we know, war causes famine and disease (the other two horsemen);
- during this time, the six other groups of Christians scattered throughout the world are killed for not taking the mark of the beast: according to Rev. 6 11, this persecution will continue a little longer from that point in the tribulation;
- the events of the sixth seal probably take place just before
- the return of Christ (the seventh seal)
The 144 Thousand and the Great Multitude
The 144 thousand are physical descendants of God's people, the Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Scandinavian, Celtic, and kindred people, who are also born-again and are among the Philadelphia Christians. The great multitude are the strangers among them that believe, and are thus part of that holy nation along with the 144 thousand.
The Mark of the Beast
The mark of the beast is a microchip all people will eventually decide to get so they can continue to buy and sell. Those who refuse to take it, as stated above, will be killed.
Babylon
Babylon represents the world, meaning the world system or world order. The religious element (the great whore) is included because everybody practices some type of religion. The commercial system is included because money makes the world go round.
The Antichrist
Sometime before the tribulation, the world will have been split up into ten world regions, each region of the world functioning the way nation states operate today. According to Albert Pike's letter, there will be a third world war between Christianity and Islam over Zionism, with all other religions taking sides. During this war, the Vatican will be destroyed, forcing it's relocation to Jerusalem. Atheists will be treated like the conscientious objectors in the first two world wars.
World War III will disillusion most people (except for the Philadelphia Christians and a certain number of Christians from the other six groups) with all the world's traditional religions, but because of the proverbial God-shaped hole, the world's population will look for something in which to believe. The anti-Christ will be that something.
There will be a power sharing agreement between the beast and the ten rulers, but I haven't quite figured out the chronology of events concerning that yet.
The Millennium
Check out this article on salvation during the millennium. It's really good, although water in the verse he refers to points to baptism (Acts 2 38.)
It's possible the earth, aside from the saints of course, will be populated by all those (including aborted, miscarried and stillborn) babies who died since the fall, as well as those who were children during the tribulation, as it doesn't seem to me they can be held responsible for taking the mark. It also seems like it will include the mentally retarded who lived throughout history.
At the end, when Satan is loosed, they will choose to join with him in rebellion against God who has ruled them benevolently for the last thousand years and with whom most of them have enjoyed time in Heaven prior to that.
However, I am not quite conclusively sure about the issue of who will populate the earth apart from the saints or whether there will be salvation in some form for those who die between the beginning of the thousand years and the time at the end when Satan is loosed.
The seven churches (or communities of believers in seven different cities) represent seven different types of believers that have existed since the first century.
The Rapture
The only church Christ actually says he will keep from the hour of tribulation is the church of Philadelphia. The Greek word means He'll keep them out of it within its midst.
Seals, Trumpets and Vials
The seals are a general overview of the main events of the tribulation. Taking place concurrently with these events are the judgments occurring when the trumpets are blown. These are events where God uses man to carry out His judgment indirectly, through things like possible nuclear warfare.
Incidentally, when you look at the trumpet judgments, it's pretty clear all our current worries about climate change and the other environmental issues are for naught, at least when we look at what is actually going to come upon the earth. While I believe Christians should be in the forefront of protecting the environment in ways such as conservation, waste management, etc., we as believers need to keep in mind we have a more certain word of prophecy and that this final book of Scripture is telling us in advance about the actual events of a time period which I believe is in the not-too-distant future.
The judgments of the vials, called the wrath of God, are God's direct judgment and, again, occur concurrently with the seals and the trumpets, the last trumpet signifying the return of Christ.
A Bit More On Seals and the Four Horsemen
- the anti-Christ comes to world power, in a peaceful manner at first, hence why the bow has no arrows;
- as people start to chafe under the anti-Christ's rule and resist him, he retaliates with nuclear weapons as described in trumpets;
-as we know, war causes famine and disease (the other two horsemen);
- during this time, the six other groups of Christians scattered throughout the world are killed for not taking the mark of the beast: according to Rev. 6 11, this persecution will continue a little longer from that point in the tribulation;
- the events of the sixth seal probably take place just before
- the return of Christ (the seventh seal)
The 144 Thousand and the Great Multitude
The 144 thousand are physical descendants of God's people, the Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Scandinavian, Celtic, and kindred people, who are also born-again and are among the Philadelphia Christians. The great multitude are the strangers among them that believe, and are thus part of that holy nation along with the 144 thousand.
The Mark of the Beast
The mark of the beast is a microchip all people will eventually decide to get so they can continue to buy and sell. Those who refuse to take it, as stated above, will be killed.
Babylon
Babylon represents the world, meaning the world system or world order. The religious element (the great whore) is included because everybody practices some type of religion. The commercial system is included because money makes the world go round.
The Antichrist
Sometime before the tribulation, the world will have been split up into ten world regions, each region of the world functioning the way nation states operate today. According to Albert Pike's letter, there will be a third world war between Christianity and Islam over Zionism, with all other religions taking sides. During this war, the Vatican will be destroyed, forcing it's relocation to Jerusalem. Atheists will be treated like the conscientious objectors in the first two world wars.
World War III will disillusion most people (except for the Philadelphia Christians and a certain number of Christians from the other six groups) with all the world's traditional religions, but because of the proverbial God-shaped hole, the world's population will look for something in which to believe. The anti-Christ will be that something.
There will be a power sharing agreement between the beast and the ten rulers, but I haven't quite figured out the chronology of events concerning that yet.
The Millennium
Check out this article on salvation during the millennium. It's really good, although water in the verse he refers to points to baptism (Acts 2 38.)
It's possible the earth, aside from the saints of course, will be populated by all those (including aborted, miscarried and stillborn) babies who died since the fall, as well as those who were children during the tribulation, as it doesn't seem to me they can be held responsible for taking the mark. It also seems like it will include the mentally retarded who lived throughout history.
At the end, when Satan is loosed, they will choose to join with him in rebellion against God who has ruled them benevolently for the last thousand years and with whom most of them have enjoyed time in Heaven prior to that.
However, I am not quite conclusively sure about the issue of who will populate the earth apart from the saints or whether there will be salvation in some form for those who die between the beginning of the thousand years and the time at the end when Satan is loosed.
MEDIA-RELATED STUFF
Boy, "Insight for Living" was sure playing an old tape today.
On the Wolf this morning, Scott Haynes mispronounced Nevada, then a promo said "just like you and I" instead of the correct "just like you and me."
Not surprised Decades flipped to Star TV. In this age of dvds, NetFlicks and similar services and online, who wants to watch a TV channel that broadcasts old shows.
On the Wolf this morning, Scott Haynes mispronounced Nevada, then a promo said "just like you and I" instead of the correct "just like you and me."
Not surprised Decades flipped to Star TV. In this age of dvds, NetFlicks and similar services and online, who wants to watch a TV channel that broadcasts old shows.
AMOS & ANDY: ANATOMY OF A CONTROVERSY
This 1983 documentary provides a good, balanced history of the Amos & Andy TV show, delving into some of the history of Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll's partnership as well. It's a refreshing and informative watch in this time of social justice warriors who understand nothing about history, entertainment, humour, or their contexts.
After watching it, I do think the networks should have capitalized on the success of Amos & Andy and its all black cast to produce other all black shows of different genres. This would have provided America with a more balanced look at the black community and would have certainly been a helpful thing, but the removal of Amos & Andy from production and syndication by the NAACP and the fact the cast barely ever worked again is criminal.
Check out "Amos & Andy: anatomy of a controversy" here.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ka6u2WA_zU
Also, check out this article which goes into more of the history of the radio show, especially Amos & Andy's early days.
MINI DX LOG 9/5
89.5 CIUT Toronto with "Global Rhythms."
97.9 WPXY Rochester with top 40 music.
98.9 CKLC-FM Kingston with Arcade Fire.
100.5 WVOR Rochester with "Elvis Duran Morning Show" interviewing Alessia Cara, prank phone call and top 40 music with local IDs and commercials.
102.5 WTSS Buffalo with annoying Thunder song.
97.9 WPXY Rochester with top 40 music.
98.9 CKLC-FM Kingston with Arcade Fire.
100.5 WVOR Rochester with "Elvis Duran Morning Show" interviewing Alessia Cara, prank phone call and top 40 music with local IDs and commercials.
102.5 WTSS Buffalo with annoying Thunder song.
MINI DX LOG 9/4
89.5 CIUT Toronto with "Drill Squad."
94.3 WIYY Syracuse with anncr talking about upcoming music festival and into commercial for tire centre.
95.1 WRIO Rochester with Brother Weeze.
97.9 WPXY Rochester with top 40 music.
99.5 WDCX Buffalo with David Jeremiah, J. Vernon McGee, Charles Price, and Robbie Symons.
94.3 WIYY Syracuse with anncr talking about upcoming music festival and into commercial for tire centre.
95.1 WRIO Rochester with Brother Weeze.
97.9 WPXY Rochester with top 40 music.
99.5 WDCX Buffalo with David Jeremiah, J. Vernon McGee, Charles Price, and Robbie Symons.
Sunday, September 2, 2018
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Give a man a fire and you warm him for a day; set him on fire and he stays warm for the rest of his life.
Saturday, September 1, 2018
MEDIA-RELATED STUFF
Like the features Wyatt Cox now has at the beginning of "Radio Classics."
My FM Napanee had been missing for a few days but now it's back.
Picked up WDCX yesterday morning with "Haven Today" and again this morning with automated music in place of financial show followed by "The Raw Truth."
"The Bold and the Beautiful" is now the world's most popular soap opera, which really isn't all that surprising given most of the rest of them have been cancelled.
My FM Napanee had been missing for a few days but now it's back.
Picked up WDCX yesterday morning with "Haven Today" and again this morning with automated music in place of financial show followed by "The Raw Truth."
"The Bold and the Beautiful" is now the world's most popular soap opera, which really isn't all that surprising given most of the rest of them have been cancelled.
VISION TV THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY
On September 1, 1988, Vision TV, Canada's first multi-faith television channel, launched.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZerxrkOZQo
Just wanted to say a short and sweet thank you to those responsible. As an isolated blind child growing up in small-town Ontario in a pre-internet age, I would have never gotten exposed to the different cultures and beliefs systems I did thanks in part to Vision TV. From Bish Jiram's "Panorama" to "Jack Van Impe Presents" to British comedies to documentaries to re-runs of various American comedies and dramas, I have a lot of memories.
Just wanted to say a short and sweet thank you to those responsible. As an isolated blind child growing up in small-town Ontario in a pre-internet age, I would have never gotten exposed to the different cultures and beliefs systems I did thanks in part to Vision TV. From Bish Jiram's "Panorama" to "Jack Van Impe Presents" to British comedies to documentaries to re-runs of various American comedies and dramas, I have a lot of memories.
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