Dec 10, 2009 10:54 AM Posted by Greg_Moody I've been off this week, sort an enforced vacation.
It was either because they were really sick of looking at me in the newsroom, or, because of the fact that I have something like 47 days of vacation left for 2009.
I dunno.
They said leave and I said okay.
So, I've been home trying to keep the pipes from freezing and conversing with the TV.
Well, it's either that, or, I talk to the dogs and cats, who, by late Thursday, I'm afraid might start answering.
And what I've noticed is that a number of TV commercials this holiday season are framed with a very nasty attitude of family dysfunction. People overspending and telling others in the room to just get over it. Children madly ripping open gifts and rather than a look of joy and gratitude, coming up to the camera with a face that quite nearly screams, "What else you got for me, fat man?"
Now, scenes like this are nothing new. They've been part and parcel of the movies for years, usually in a comic, crazy, dysfunctional tone. Everbody laughs and then the hero discovers the true meaning of Christmas by the final scene. "Four Christmases," the recent Reese Witherspoon - Vince Vaughan holiday piffle played this dysfunction to the hilt.
But -- I've never seen it combined with a sales pitch.
"I thought we said we couldn't spend that much ... Well, Santa told me to go to Blitherips Big Box Savings House, so why don't you shut up and just enjoy it?"
This isn't amusing, this is just plain uncomfortable. If I had been sitting in that room, I think I would have said, "Well, look at the time! I've got to run off and feed the goldfish," or something of that nature and would have padded out into the subzero cold in my pj's and slippers just to get away from them.
It's not a question of these commercials undercutting the true meaning out of the holidays. American commercialism has been working on that one for years. Every news story is about whether American consumers are spending enough this season to save a store/the economy/a company/the nation. It's not about WHY we celebrate, it's about HOW we celebrate.
This is a question of taking the happiness out of the holidays, reducing the family equation to a punchline or a sales pitch.
"Come on! Overspending is good for you. You'll take care of those bills -- eventually. The happiness of your family comes from the latest shiny geegaw under the tree."
To which I can only say one thing:
Humbug.
Dec 1, 2009 2:22 PM Posted by Greg_Moody I was talking with Holly Arnold at The Fort Restaurant and she mentioned a ceremony they hold there on occasion.
It involves writing a message to a lost loved one on a piece of paper and putting it inside a pinecone. You toss the pinecone in the fire, and, as it burns, the smoke carries your message up to heaven.
I was really taken by that thought. I suppose the message could be anything, from "Where did you leave your will?" to "Hey, Dad -- if I raise the bathroom floor by 3/8" -- how can I make the toilet seal?"
But the best message, I thought, would be the one that I think of every day.
"I miss you."
Nov 30, 2009 2:54 PM Posted by Greg_Moody As you have heard by now, or saw and heard -- LIVE -- on Thursday night, Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels performed a sideline passion play that featured a word or two that mother never embroidered on a sampler.
It was been a lead story most of the weekend, mainly because there wasn't much other news going around.
People were offended, outraged, upset and angry about it. Some were, anyway.
Most people took it in stride, however, considered it all in the heat of the moment, or, were even amused by it.
Amused by naughty words! So continues the collapse of Western Civilization.
Some places, like the broadcast station that aired the words (along with the game), wondered aloud if the FCC would come a calling to the NFL Network (the producing company) with a hefty fine as they didn't bleep it before it hit air. Well, the FCC doesn't really do much of anything about cable TV other than wag a finger and make threats about what it will do to cable if it ever gets Congress off its enormous keister -- however -- the broadcast station involved could be in a barrel of hurt for letting it go by, even though it wasn't their broadcast. That is what the FCC covers and enforces. Broadcast TV and radio.
(I suppose since the NFL Network sold the rights to air their broadcast, they could be in trouble as well -- but -- hey, nobody, not even the gov'mint, wants to make the NFL angry.)
See, we at CBS4 really had no control over the Super Bowl a few years back when Janet Jackson decided that her clothing was simply too confining and she needed to set herself free. Even with that in mind, the FCC looked long and hard at fining the BROADCAST network and every affiliated BROADCAST station that aired that classic television moment. (Think The Who will be anywhere near as fun? HA!)
And yet, it is obvious that the Turkey Day Tirade was a mistake.
Not McDaniels' mistake. After four straight losses, I'd be amazed if he WASN'T using a lot of that language. (In fact, it worked so well, Josh, I'd suggest your saying it every week for the next five weeks at least. Maybe even nine.)
Nope, it wasn't Josh's fault. It was a boneheaded play by the NFL Network.
People talk like that on the sidelines. In battles. In boardrooms. In schoolyards. In newsrooms.
(Whoops, I'm sorry. I've been told we don't talk like that in newsrooms. And I'd like to thank the little Gerwershtaflinger that just told me that in such a pious and self righteous manner.)
Word is that the NFL Network shot the diatribe about twelve minutes before it aired. For one reason or another, no one bothered to really LISTEN to the video before the technical director hit the "Play" button. Now, that could have been the photog who didn't really hear the words in all the hubbub, or the editor who didn't hear the words in the race to cut "a great piece of emotional video," or, any of the other fingers that the video had to slide through to make it on the air.
Then again, maybe they ALL heard the words. And knew what they were putting out over CABLE, but not thinking about the few broadcast stations that had bought the game rights for their particular market -- like this one.
Like I said, the FCC doesn't really care WHAT you say on cable TV. It's the public airwaves they're out to protect.
And that word, the Queen Mother of Dirty Words, sullied those public airwaves. On Thanksgiving Day of all Days.
Thank heaven it wasn't Christmas.
Nov 2, 2009 10:52 AM Posted by Greg_Moody Okay.
'splain somethin' to me.
What is it about guys and hardware stores?
I went to one on Sunday looking for a .51 piece of scrap lumber.
I walked out of there $93 dollars lighter.
With all kinds of stuff I desperately needed for projects around the house, half of which I'll actually do.
Like I said, what is it about guys and hardware stores? Oct 28, 2009 11:10 AM Posted by Greg_Moody So, I'm driving to work, behind two snow plows. They're zipping right along, throwing up a heck of a spray.
Then, I noticed one kind of jog to the middle of the road, while the other plowed right ahed, full speed.
When I reached the spot, there was a guy on the side of the road, next to a bus stop, the newspaper box knocked over, frantically and futilly picking road mung out of his hair. He was soaked.
There was a moment when I wanted to chuckle, man, did you get it ... but, in the end, I could only feel bad for the guy.
There he was, just minding his own business, and, KAPHOOM!
Oh, the humanity!
Oct 22, 2009 11:44 AM Posted by Greg_Moody Two Beating the Recession Ideas to keep in mind.
First, remember that the Denver Center Theatre Company is offering two tix to A Raisin in the Sun for only $44! Smokin' deal! Just go online at denvercenter.org and click on Promo Code at the top of the page. When you see the little box, type in CBS4. That will get you the SPECIAL CBS4 deal because we love you and want you to be not only happy but to see great theater. It's just like why God invented beer.
Also -- head to denver2for1tix.com. Visit Denver is corralling all sorts of arts and cultural organizations and getting them to offer two-for-one ticket deals. The places, shows and venues change each week so there's something different to explore and enjoy. This is a brillliant idea which, they promised me, would be on-going. Not just a hit and miss kind of thing. In the first week there are deals from the Denver Center, Museo de las Americas, Curious Theatre, HiDive, Swallow Hill and many others. Sign up for their email alerts so you won't miss out on anything!
Severe coolness!
(Boy, that didn't sound anywhere near as 80's in my head as it did when I wrote it down.) Oct 19, 2009 4:49 PM Posted by Greg_Moody
When I first got into this journalism business, back in 1978, there was this wonderful cynicism that permeated the newsroom of The Milwaukee Sentinel.
We were all nice, optimistic people when the workday ended and we repaired, en masse, to Major Goolsby's to take the edge off the day. We were actually quite pleasant to be around. Lively, even.
But in that newsroom and on deadline, it was a completely different beast that looked back from the mirror.
It was a cynic.
It was a skeptic.
It was a non-believer.
The only belief any reporter had was that whoever he or she was interviewing for the story of the day was lying. Maybe not a lot, maybe not a mortal sin, but certainly enough to skew the story into the best possible light for themselves.
You were wary.
You questioned everything.
It was a trait that, over the years, I've lost, but then again, so has most of journalism.
And I miss it.
I especially missed it last Thursday, when a balloon went skittering across the Colorado sky, supposedly, with a six year old boy aboard.
There was a part of me that kept screaming, "This stinks -- we're being scammed!" But the rest of me wouldn't listen. A kid's life was at stake, wasn't it? Part of me questioned if a balloon that size could actually lift, as easily as it appeared, a 40-pound, six year old boy. I kept my questions to myself, though, as I wasn't an aeronautical expert. I thought, outloud, that the kid was hiding someplace in the house, scared out of his wits, in trouble with Dad, but who could think of something like that as the drama unfolded on the high def screens of Colorado?
Frankly, I couldn't conceive of a stunt brazen enough to suck the world in and create a new definition of "reality tv." Who could? I mean -- what parent would put his children in this sort of situation for potential profit?
I was as captivated by the pictures as you were and fully absorbed the manic energy rush of the newsroom, that insatiable drive to get it all on the air -- first.
And, yet --
The family pulled the media around by the nose and we let them do it. The Sheriff says he "used" the media in order to get what he needed out of the family. And we let HIM do it.
What this story needed, even as it unfolded so quickly over a few hours on a Thursday afternoon, was a blast of that old cynicism. Someone having the guts to say, "I don't believe this -- show me." To the family, to the sheriff. As it happened.
The instant news cycle doesn't often allow that sort of time to check, ponder and probe. In fact, none of that attitude cropped up until much later as the story finally began falling apart of its own volition.
Rather than question what we were seeing, we ate it up to rush it on the air, and spewed it out in the hopes of catching as many eyeballs as possible in the process. What we left behind, what we forgot, was the essential cynicism of journalism, the notion that "I just don't quite believe you."
We forgot that essential idea with a weather balloon. And we continually forget it with politicians and economists and pundits and spokesfolks, parents and cops and teachers and celebrities, reality tv and food safety and auto safety and sports teams and anything else that winds it way through the morass of the media and into a headline.
We take what we're told at face value. We certainly did on Thursday.
And it doesn't do anyone in society one damned bit of good. Oct 14, 2009 2:01 PM Posted by Greg_Moody Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" remains one of the great dramatic productions that spans its racial roots to touch on all American lives today. A new production is on stage in the Stage Theatre presented by the Denver Center Theatre Company. And CBS4 can help you get great seats for the show without going broke doing it. Just log onto the Denver Center website (denvercenter.org) or head to the link at Moody's Picks on this very website. Then, at the top of the page, you'll notice the words "Promo Code" -- click on that. In the little box that appears, type in "CBS4"
You'll suddenly see a whole range of productions of "A Raisin in the Sun" that you can see at great savings.
Get this -- Two Tickets for only $44 -- thanks to your Beating the Recession Buddies at CBS4.
And, I can tell you it's a marvelous production. Very powerful, telling and timely.
Take a look. Be surprised. Find the heart of drama in a neighborhood stage near you.
Great theater changes the way you look at life.
I'm living proof. Oct 5, 2009 11:43 AM Posted by Greg_Moody Just a note here --
Check out the Drew Barrymore directed movie "Whip It" starring Ellen Page. Really enjoyed the Roller Derby movie and what it had to say about growing up, finding your own way and a parent's pride in their children.
With that in mind, check out the Women's Roller Derby teams in the Denver area. We've got a couple of teams, a couple of leagues and the games are a blast! Check out The Rocky Mountain Roller Girls online. Also -- The Denver Roller Dolls.
Great fun. Sep 28, 2009 3:46 PM Posted by Greg_Moody
Humorist Robert Benchley once wrote an essay entitled, "Why does nobody collect me?"
And I'm beginning to wonder that myself.
Benchley was humorously irked by the success of his friend Ernest Hemingway, whose first editions were worth hundreds of dollars, while Benchley's brought less than cover price in discount bins. He couldn't figure it out, finally remarking, "I am older than Hemingway and have written more books than he has."
Well, I can't compare to their output, or to Benchley's friendship with Ernie H., but I know where he's coming from when he finds his books in the remainder bin.
I was wandering through my local bike store over the weekend, only to discover that multiple copies of four of my five books were piled up in a galvanized tin tub, all with marked down prices on them.
For a split second, I thought about buying them all myself, but knowing that I have two girls in college and can't afford a new set of tire tubes, I had to pass on the opportunity.
But, then again, buying them wasn't the point.
Finding them in a galvanized tub was the point.
Four of the five novels in the series were piled into the tub, the covers somewhat worn, but still attached. I wasn't quite sure what to think. I know that I had taken a chance in book four, breaking the unspoken rules of plotting to push the story (and, thus, the series) in a new direction. It pushed the series in a new direction all right, it pushed it right to a natural end of the series.
Oops.
Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Then, by the time I came up with an idea to continue the series, my publisher had been sold, the management changed and they weren't really interested in more bicycling adventures of Will and the rest.
Ah, well.
But all that is passed. About five years past.
The present stared me in the face. My books. My children, in a way, sitting orphaned in a tub, unloved, unwanted, unbought.
And me without the wherewithal to save them.
I turned my back on my own creations and walked out into the light of a Colorado Sunday afternoon.
... Aw, hell. I'm going back tonight.
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