chucknet

A holiday wish to all of you

Sun, 25 Dec 2005 04:22:24 GMT

Before that God-awful "Jack" format took over the former CBS-FM here in NY, every Christmas, we were treated to a classic poem by Larry Marks and Dick Charles, read by legendary DJ Harry Harrison over an instrumental version of Auld Lang Syne, titled "May You Always"...it's been a holiday staple around here for the 40+ years Harry was in the biz, and since we no longer have the joy of hearing it over the airwaves, I'll present it to you here:

MAY YOU ALWAYS

As holiday bells ring out the old year, and sweethearts kiss,
And cold hands touch and warm each other against the year ahead
May I wish you not the biggest and best of life,
But the small pleasures that make living worthwhile.
Sometime during the new year, to keep your heart in practice,
May you do someone a secret good deed and not get caught at it
May you find a little island of time to read that book and write that letter
And to visit that lonely friend on the other side of town

May your next do-it-yourself project not look like you did it yourself
May the poor relatives you helped support remember you when they win the lottery
May your best card tricks win admiring gasps and your worst puns, admiring groans
May all those who told you so, refrain from saying "I told you so."
During some important speech, when you pause to let your words sink in, and then light a cigarette to punctuate that pause, may you not light the filter end.*
May all the predictions you've made for your first born's future come true
May just half of those optimistic predictions that your high school annual
made for you come true
In a time of sink or swim, may you find that you can walk to shore before
you call the lifeguard
May you keep at least one ideal you can pass along to your kids.

For a change, some rainy day, when you are a few minutes late
May your train or bus be waiting for you
May you accidentally overhear someone saying something nice about you
If you run into an old school chum
May you both remember each other's names for introductions
If you order your steak medium rare, may it be so
And if you're on a diet
May someone tell you "You've lost a little weight," without knowing
you're on a diet.

May that long and lonely night be brightened by the telephone call that
you've been waiting for
When you reach into the coin slot, may you find the coin that you lost
on your last wrong number
When you trip and fall, may there be no one watching to laugh at you
or feel sorry for you
And sometime soon may you be waved to by a celebrity
Wagged at by a puppy
Run to by a happy child
And counted on by someone you love
More than this, no one can wish you.

*This line was cut at some point when our whole anti-smoking atmosphere set in, but I'm including it here for the sake of historical significance. :-)

Just returned from PA last night...and I wanna go back!

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 01:50:34 GMT

Been awhile since my last update, I know. :-) Anyway, left for PA on Thu (despite having a ticket for Lancaster instead of Harrisburg, my intended destination, it was prob), and arrived around 7:30. After meeting up w/starwheel (our host), djrjr, and zed_simon, we had dinner @ Fire Mountain, then went back to Aaron's place, where we enjoyed an entire WPIX primetime GS block from 11/10/78, complete w/ads (notably an Arthur Treacher's spot featuring a "sea captain"-type wearing a ludicrously fake beard). Before that, however, Rick presented Aaron w/his birthday present of a vintage stereo (complete w/turntable and a selection of LPs!) and a Colecovision(!).

The following day, we started w/the morning's ep of P+ on GSN ($25K in Alphabetics, but not won) and after enjoying lunch at Arby's, we headed over to the brand-new Giant supermarket that just opened...and let me tell ya, it really lives up to its name...we were all blown away!). After that, we went shopping at Barnes & Noble and the local mall (where I scored a Family Guy tee for just $6 at Suncoast Video!), then returned to watch Super Password ($45K up for grabs) and CS (featuring a nerdy contestant named Joe, who gaped at his opponents whenever the correct answer to each questions was revealed and kissed them goodbye!). Afterwards, we got to meet Aaron's GF, Tonya (who was a real sweetheart!), and her friend Eric, followed by dinner at Bob Evans, and more videos back at his place afterwards...Rick also showed us a DVD of bloopers from the station where he works, featuring possibly the worst local news anchor in TV history ("What's a yak?").

The next day, we enjoyed more videos (highlights included a Joker's Wild where Jack blew a raspberry at some kid in the audience who questioned his mom's decision to go on in the bonus round), then met Tonya and Eric at a local coffee house down the highway (on the ride there, Aaron and Rick's constant impressions of Letterman announcer Alan Kalter finally got to Dave, who slammed on the brakes and scared the shit outta me in the process, LOL)...after that, we headed to the Warwick for dinner and enjoyed some nachos, a veggie burger, and some cookie pie to top it off (the only awkward moment came when Tonya informed me she was a Phillies fan, and I replied by saying "That's fine...as long as you're not a Red Sox fan!"...guess what Eric's favorite team is?? LOL...we laughed it off, though)...we amused ourselves while waiting by quoting lines from Seinfeld (which Tonya's also a big fan of), and Tonya told me that I have "GS host teeth", LOL. Once back, we enjoyed the last ep of The $20,000 Pyramid and a coupla 70s NYSIs before hitting the sack (Aaron said that Tonya TMed him later and said "the guys are great", so I'd say the evening went well!).

Left the following afternoon, after breakfast at the Old Country Buffet and a visit to the local Goodwill store to try and find some used LPs (among Aaron's purchases was the soundtrack to Arthur, featuring the classic "Best That You Can Do" by Christopher Cross, plus some obscure stuff by artists like Nicolette Larson, Ambrosia, Stephen Bishop, et al.), and Rick stumped us there w/a music question (did you know that Gerry Rafferty of "Baker Street" fame was originally a member of Stealers Wheel, the one-hit wonder group that gave us "Stuck In the Middle w/You"?).

Also of note is that yesterday (10/16) marked the end of the last "regular" edition of TV Guide...they've now converted to a bigger, magazine-type layout and ditched the local listings in favor of national grids, like those seen in the "hotel" editions they used to have)...the opinion of all atendees? In the immortal words of Jay "The Critic" Sherman, "It stinks!"...to remember this once-great magazine, I gave Aaron my entire supply of extra TVGs from 96-back, in addition to the GS tapes I gave him and the rest of the attendees.

As for the gathering itself, I think Rick summed it up best at the Warwick when he gave a heartfelt toast talking about how the GS element was secondary to being w/us, whom he considers great friends (and vice-versa!), which all of us agreed on. There was even talk about doing it again in a few mos, which I hope comes to pass...I had a great time and would love to return soon. Hell, if I could find work in "the biz" down there, I might even consider moving to the area...some distance from LI, but not TOO far, so it could work! Time will tell, though...

A tribute to one of the last great newsmen...

Tue, 09 Aug 2005 22:28:37 GMT

Peter Jennings died Sun at 67, after a long and hard-fought battle w/cancer...def a shocker, since he's always been (IMO) one of those people you think will be around forever (a la Walter Cronkite, who's 89, and still working!). For over 20 years, his solid reporting and determination to get the news no matter what helped guide ABC's World News Tonight to the #1 spot for network newscasts, and keep it there. Oh, and did I mention that my dad had a hand in the construction of his NY studios? :-) But I digress...what Jennings accomplished, both personally and professionally, is nothing short of phenomenal, especially for a HS dropout(!).

Farewell, Peter...with Rather and Brokaw having departed, and your passing, this is truly the end of an era as we know it. :'-(

Attending the Ken Jennings pilot

Wed, 27 Jul 2005 12:24:07 GMT

After enduring a 40-block walk from Penn in the sweltering NYC heat, I made it to the Manhattan Ensemble Theater on Mercer, where I was greeted warmly by CC Tracey who also complimented me on my "Who is Ken Jennings?" shirt. :-) We sat in the lobby for awhile, enjoying the snacks and bottled water generously left out for us, and were then escorted in (being an off-Broadway venue, the audience was fairly small, as was the stage). Found myself seated next to Brian "Sonic Whammy" Sapinski and his friend (whose name escapes me @ the moment, sorry!), so we spent the next half-hr talking game shows until they were ready to start.

Producer Michael Davies welcomed us and told us when to clap, when not to, etc, comparing the show to the earlier Win Ben Stein's Money, and occasionally making us laugh (key line: "We don't cheat around here...I'm not Dan Enright!"). The show then started, opening w/an Oriental-attired Ken greeting the audience in Japanese(!) w/an interpreter to translate...she also hung around during the actual game, removing the category cards from the board after they were chosen.

What did the show look/feel like? I'll tell you:

Visuals: Imagine a a college classroom UN replica...the set was adorned w/various international flags and posters of popular world travel destinations, plus a map of the world at stage left that served as the category board. Podiums were all wood; host's was next to the gameboard at stage left, Ken's upstage from center, and the contestants at stage right (seated behind a 2-tiered job w/individual name displays that will evoke memories of MG 98...LOL). A monitor was in place on the center stage wall, though about all it did was display the show logo (which, as several pointed out, bore a close resemblance to that of Carmen Sandiego's!), at least until the bonus round.

Gameplay: Same as the rehearsal I played in (see previous entry), but w/1 minor change: During the bonus round, the multi-answer final question setup is gone, and it's now just a standard general knowledge question like the other 12 that make up said round. Also, in the event of a tie in the bonus round, both Ken and the winning contestant get their respective sums of money for their charity/team.

Host: Joe Wagner did a decent job...made a coupla mistakes and needs to improve his comedic timing (host-wise) a little, but def has potential.

So overall, I think "Ken Jennings vs. the Rest of the World" has the potential to make it...hopefully the Comedy Central suits who took up the first few rows will agree and give the show a decent run. We'll see what happens!

Oh, the games people play...

Wed, 20 Jul 2005 03:27:21 GMT

Went back into NYC today to participate in a rehearsal for the upcoming Comedy Central game show, Ken Jennings vs. the Rest of the World (which, as you may recall, I auditioned for last wk)...had a coupla surprises upon my arrival: First off, my good friend Matt Scott (former Weakest Link contestant and weatherman for WTNH/8 in Hartford-New Haven) was among the players on my team, and the rehearsal audience consisted of Comedy Central VIPs who'll be deciding whether or not to buy the show, among them Millionaire creator/producer Michael Davies!

The host is a stand-up comic named Joe Wagner, who's never done TV before...did a decent job, though he could use a little work...hopefully he'll improve when they get to air.

The game's pretty easy: The 5 players compete against Ken, calling categories represented by continents (hence the "world" title) and answering questions in those categories...2 players are eliminated after round 1, and another 2 after round 2, leaving the sole survivor to compete against Ken in answering the same set of 10 questions (a la Ben Stein's "Best of 10" endgame)...if the contestant emerges victorious, the entire team recieves $100 for every point they scored in the maingame, and if it goes to Ken, the charity of his choice gets the money.

Unfortunately, I was eliminated (from the game, not the contestant pool) after the first round, w/only 1 point...my buddy Matt did only slightly better, going into round 2 w/2 points, but failing to increase it at all during that next round). However, still a fun day, especially w/the presence of Ken, and Matt suggested afterwards that since they'll need lots of contestants, every one of us prolly has a good shot. We'll see what happens...

Hit the music!

Fri, 15 Jul 2005 02:07:07 GMT

With a weekend getaway to my aunt's place in Newport, RI coming up, it brings to mind the lyrics of a certain Family Guy song, from the episode appropriately titled "Road to Rhode Island" (words in parentheses are spoken, not sung)...

We're off on the road to Rhode Island
We're having the time of our lives.

Stewie: Take it dog...

Brian: We're quite a pair of partners,
Just Like Thelma and Louise.
'cept you're not six feet tall
Stewie: Yes and your breasts don't reach your knees.
Brian: Give it time.

We're off on the road to Rhode Island,
We're certainly going in style.

Brian: I'm with an intellectual, who craps inside his pants.
Stewie: How dare you. At least I don't leave urine stains on all the household plants.
(Brian: Oh, pee jokes)

We've travelled a bit and we've found,
Like a masochist in Newport we're Rhode Island bound.

(Brian: Crazy travel conditions, huh?
Stewie: First class or no class
Brian: Woa, careful with that joke, it's an antique)

We're off on the road to Rhode Island
We're not going to stop until we're there (Brian: Maybe for a beer).

Brian: Whatever dangers we may face, we'll never fear or cry
Stewie: That's right, until we're syndicated Fox will never let us die
(Please!)

We're off on the road to Rhode Island,
The home of that old campus swing.

Brian: We may pick up some college girls, and picnic on the grass.
Stewie: We'd tell you more, but we'd have the censors on our ass. (Yikes!)

We're off on the road to Rhode Island
We certainly do get around.

Like a bunch of renegade pilgrims
Who are thrown out of Plymouth colony.
We're Rhode Island bound.
Or like a group of College Freshmen
who were rejected by Harvard and forced to go to Brown.

We're Rhode Island bound!

Gonna be a good trip, including a visit to Foxwoods on Sat...maybe I'll get lucky on one of those TPiR slots like I did in Sep. 03! ;-)

Another day, another audition...

Wed, 13 Jul 2005 23:37:16 GMT

Went into NYC yesterday to audition for the upcoming Comedy Central GS, Ken Jennings vs. the World...first off, since it was all the way on the east side (near Grand Ave!), I had a LONG walk to the Embassy Row offices from Penn and arrived 10 min late...fortunately, they were understanding and apparently eager to meet me, and it didn't hurt that one of their staffers, Lauren (who greeted me and gave me the test), was quite the cutie. :-D

But I digress...once there, I had to take a written test (part M/C, part short answer, part fill-in-the-blank) and then wait in the conference room w/my fellow contestant hopefuls for the results...how'd I do?

I PASSED!!!! (Actually, everyone but a coupla people did, but still! LOL)

Afterwards, I got to talking w/one of the fellow auditionees while the other people were getting videotaped in Q&A session w/the contestant coordinator, Tracey...eventually, it was my turn, and she asked me about myself, my hobbies, why I'd make a good contestant, how I heard about the show, etc...and she seemed impressed by the fact that I had a collection of over 8,000 GS eps on tape AND had a teen romance novel published...afterwards, I was told they'd be in touch w/regards to run-thrus and rehearsals, then they make the final decisions. We'll see what happens!

I bombed...and that's my final answer. :-(

Wed, 08 Jun 2005 03:36:42 GMT

Had another Millionaire audition today, prolly the 20th one I've went to since the daytime version premiered 3 yrs ago. Unfortunately, I bombed the written test yet again, so I'll have to wait and try again in a few wks...hopefully it'll go better then.

On the plus side, because of a sale at Tower Records (not too far from the ABC studios where the auditions were held), I was able to get 3 Doors Down: Away From the Sun and Toto: Super Hits for a total of just under $20...not too shabby!

Finally, I'm back!

Mon, 06 Jun 2005 01:49:53 GMT

Couldn't get online all day because of cable probs...thankfully, almost 12 hrs later, it's back. Was going through withdrawal for awhile there, I'd say it returned just in time! LOL

The day the music died...

Sat, 04 Jun 2005 00:08:08 GMT

I never thought the day would come, but it happened: Legendary NYC oldies station, WCBS-FM/101.1, has become "Jack-FM"...this latest format craze that's been sweeping the nation is best described as "a CD changer on your dial", playing a eclectic mix of hits spanning the past 40 yrs or so.

But why kill off the most legendary oldies station the country for it? Infinity couldn't sacrifice a far less popular station, like Mix 102.7? It's pretty much the same station as KTU (in fact, many alumni of the latter are now on-air at Mix), so it's not like NYC radio would suffer as a result. Do you know how horrifying it was to push my preset button for the former CBS-FM earlier and hear "Get the Party Started" by Pink? I guess I'll be hunting for a preset replacement now...