...when you write a harmless story and you get an email from CBS and they want to interview you.
Of course when I dialed the number all I got was his voice mail, but the day is young.
You just never know what is going to happen next in the silly world of news and reviews. I received an email from Oliver Wakeman today, asking me to change a link that I had used in my interview with him. Oliver, for those of you that live under rocks, is Rick Wakeman's son. And if you don't recognize that name (keyboard player on Yes), you must be living under a very large rock.
Wow, I must be famous!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Week In Review(s)
It has been an interesting week to say the least. I did two interviews on Friday, one was with Oliver Wakeman, thats Rick Wakeman's son. Rick is, or was. the maestro of the keyboards for the band Yes. I have watching both Rick and Oliver for forever.
I interviewed Rick last year, so it was with great pleasure that I interviewed the next generation of Wakeman musical geniuses. I really like Oliver, he has no pretensions, what you see is what you get.
Somehow I got caught into reviewing an alarm clock. Well it is not your regular deal, this thing does everything but make the coffee, oh and it has the best speaker system I have ever heard. It is outrageously expensive at $350, but it sounds so good you will want one.
I also got a couple of galleys this week. They are hitting the bookstores in September. They are both great books, and they both deserve to be on the NYT best seller list. Actualy I am willing to bet that one of them will make that coveted slot. Homeland Insecurity is the most damning work I have ever read about the US government. Author Terry Turchie takes no prisoners, from Nixon to the Bush administration, they all get a good beating.
I really have not read enough of the other galley to make any judgments. But it certainly looks like a great read.
There were two or three other books that passed over my eyes. Two were great, one was not quite up to par. First time authors come in all shapes and forms. Some though skip the vital step of having an editor carve and hack. Now I am the first to admit that I hate my stuff being dissected by anyone. But the past two years of being a reviewer have changed my mind.
Without a good editor, you are screwed.
Have a great day!
I interviewed Rick last year, so it was with great pleasure that I interviewed the next generation of Wakeman musical geniuses. I really like Oliver, he has no pretensions, what you see is what you get.
Somehow I got caught into reviewing an alarm clock. Well it is not your regular deal, this thing does everything but make the coffee, oh and it has the best speaker system I have ever heard. It is outrageously expensive at $350, but it sounds so good you will want one.
I also got a couple of galleys this week. They are hitting the bookstores in September. They are both great books, and they both deserve to be on the NYT best seller list. Actualy I am willing to bet that one of them will make that coveted slot. Homeland Insecurity is the most damning work I have ever read about the US government. Author Terry Turchie takes no prisoners, from Nixon to the Bush administration, they all get a good beating.
I really have not read enough of the other galley to make any judgments. But it certainly looks like a great read.
There were two or three other books that passed over my eyes. Two were great, one was not quite up to par. First time authors come in all shapes and forms. Some though skip the vital step of having an editor carve and hack. Now I am the first to admit that I hate my stuff being dissected by anyone. But the past two years of being a reviewer have changed my mind.
Without a good editor, you are screwed.
Have a great day!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Adventures In The Asanine
One of the huge mistakes we have made in 'moving forward' is the almost inevitable consequence of 'moving backward'.
Jan and I had been discussing opening a joint savings account with the assholes that I bank with. Oh, and I'll name them CIBC. Anyway, I went to their website, and it was pretty easy opening an account, just for grins I even put some money in it. I opened the account at the same branch that I have been banking with for 6 years.
My next plan was to add Jan to the account. The bank beat me to the punchline. A couple of days after opening it, they called me. Not to thank me for opening the account, but telling me I had to get to the branch PDQ to sign a signature card. Huh? I already have an account, they already have a damn signature card.
The (not from around here) guy on the other end of the line was relieved when I explained that I was planning on visiting the branch the following day, and that I wanted to add my wife to the account. "what do we need?" I asked, "She needs two pieces of ID and it will be no problem".
So, we enter the bank at 10am, right on time, Mr. Not-From-Around-Here invites us to sit down.
Out of left field he askes me for two pieces of ID. Well this is my damn account, I opened it, and I had already spoken to Osama Bin Teller on the phone. I hand him two pieces of ID plus my bank card, and cannot resist a minor dig about how much easier banking is now the internet is here.
'None of that tedious dealing with people', the humor missed Osama Bin Teller by several hundred miles.
"So you want to open an account" he asks, "no, I already have, all I want to do is add my wife to it".
It went downhill from that point. Osama Bin Teller could not grasp the idea that when Jan was born her name was Jan x, and that is the name on her birth certificate (one of the pieces of ID that Osama had told me was OK to use). Next Jan became Jan Y, she got married, and then divorced, her current passport is in the name of Jan Y (Oh, Osama told me passports were OK).
Then Jan and I got married, so now she is Jan Z.
I had smelled a rat early on so I told Jan to bring out marriage certificate as well. We have the original, but we also have a copy, so I told her to just bring the copy.
Yes, you guessed it, Osama and his boss (some other banking terrorist) refused to put Jan on the account. Needless to say I gave Osama Bin Teller a good earful, but I suspect he didn't understand it all because English was obviously not his primary language.
The way I look at it is, if I want to give someone the run of my house, I go to the local Wally World and get a key cut, and I give them the key. It is that simple.
Banks though are a whole different universe. It's OK though, I have a plan 'B', I am going to open an account with a different bank, and CIBC can weep. I'll take my $5 and put it somewhere where they like me.
Jan and I had been discussing opening a joint savings account with the assholes that I bank with. Oh, and I'll name them CIBC. Anyway, I went to their website, and it was pretty easy opening an account, just for grins I even put some money in it. I opened the account at the same branch that I have been banking with for 6 years.
My next plan was to add Jan to the account. The bank beat me to the punchline. A couple of days after opening it, they called me. Not to thank me for opening the account, but telling me I had to get to the branch PDQ to sign a signature card. Huh? I already have an account, they already have a damn signature card.
The (not from around here) guy on the other end of the line was relieved when I explained that I was planning on visiting the branch the following day, and that I wanted to add my wife to the account. "what do we need?" I asked, "She needs two pieces of ID and it will be no problem".
So, we enter the bank at 10am, right on time, Mr. Not-From-Around-Here invites us to sit down.
Out of left field he askes me for two pieces of ID. Well this is my damn account, I opened it, and I had already spoken to Osama Bin Teller on the phone. I hand him two pieces of ID plus my bank card, and cannot resist a minor dig about how much easier banking is now the internet is here.
'None of that tedious dealing with people', the humor missed Osama Bin Teller by several hundred miles.
"So you want to open an account" he asks, "no, I already have, all I want to do is add my wife to it".
It went downhill from that point. Osama Bin Teller could not grasp the idea that when Jan was born her name was Jan x, and that is the name on her birth certificate (one of the pieces of ID that Osama had told me was OK to use). Next Jan became Jan Y, she got married, and then divorced, her current passport is in the name of Jan Y (Oh, Osama told me passports were OK).
Then Jan and I got married, so now she is Jan Z.
I had smelled a rat early on so I told Jan to bring out marriage certificate as well. We have the original, but we also have a copy, so I told her to just bring the copy.
Yes, you guessed it, Osama and his boss (some other banking terrorist) refused to put Jan on the account. Needless to say I gave Osama Bin Teller a good earful, but I suspect he didn't understand it all because English was obviously not his primary language.
The way I look at it is, if I want to give someone the run of my house, I go to the local Wally World and get a key cut, and I give them the key. It is that simple.
Banks though are a whole different universe. It's OK though, I have a plan 'B', I am going to open an account with a different bank, and CIBC can weep. I'll take my $5 and put it somewhere where they like me.
Friday, June 13, 2008
The Week In Review(s)
Well it has been a pretty interesting week. Lots of strange things happened. Maybe the strangest thing was the arrival of the Sonoro Cubo. What is it? I hear you ask. Well believe it or not I was asked to review an alarm clock radio. But it's not your regular WalMart $20 deal. This is a designer deal out of Germany that is being sold exclusively through Saks 5th Avenue at the low low price of $350!
I haven't written the review yet, but this is a pretty awesome object d'art. It not only is a Clock Radio but also a CD player, or you can dock other devices to it. The quality of the audio is amazing. It is reminiscent of the Bose Wave Radio. In fact right now I am using it as my primary speaker system, it is way better than the speakers I was using!
Everyone should have one of these!
In the book world it was a slow week, I actually ran out of books! This is something that happens about once a year. But I did get to read James Heaphey's new book. Jim is a great guy, and a superb storyteller. This book How To Survive In An Organization is a business book, not a genre I usually dabble in. But Jim puts his own unique spin on it. I can honestly say that I enjoyed reading it.
My vacation from books ended yesterday with the arrival of four of them in the mail. I also have two galleys heading my way. These books are slated for a fall release, and I am really looking forward to getting a sneak peek. I can not tell you anything about them, I am sworn to secrecy. But one of them is almost certainly bound for the best seller list. Oh the joys of having friends in the publishing world!
The music world was a blur this week. But what was notable was a new DVD by Rick Wakeman. I am a big fan of Rick's, Grumpy Old Picture Show is essentially a one man gig, but very cleverly done. I also got an early look at his son Oliver's new DVD which is being released in July. Oliver is following in his fathers footsteps, prog rock! I hope to be interviewing Oliver next week.
I am so far behind with music reviews that I have enlisted Jans help. She has done a stellar job. But she doesn't have the staying power of a seasoned pro hahahaha As you can see with this story.
I haven't written the review yet, but this is a pretty awesome object d'art. It not only is a Clock Radio but also a CD player, or you can dock other devices to it. The quality of the audio is amazing. It is reminiscent of the Bose Wave Radio. In fact right now I am using it as my primary speaker system, it is way better than the speakers I was using!
Everyone should have one of these!In the book world it was a slow week, I actually ran out of books! This is something that happens about once a year. But I did get to read James Heaphey's new book. Jim is a great guy, and a superb storyteller. This book How To Survive In An Organization is a business book, not a genre I usually dabble in. But Jim puts his own unique spin on it. I can honestly say that I enjoyed reading it.
My vacation from books ended yesterday with the arrival of four of them in the mail. I also have two galleys heading my way. These books are slated for a fall release, and I am really looking forward to getting a sneak peek. I can not tell you anything about them, I am sworn to secrecy. But one of them is almost certainly bound for the best seller list. Oh the joys of having friends in the publishing world!
The music world was a blur this week. But what was notable was a new DVD by Rick Wakeman. I am a big fan of Rick's, Grumpy Old Picture Show is essentially a one man gig, but very cleverly done. I also got an early look at his son Oliver's new DVD which is being released in July. Oliver is following in his fathers footsteps, prog rock! I hope to be interviewing Oliver next week.
I am so far behind with music reviews that I have enlisted Jans help. She has done a stellar job. But she doesn't have the staying power of a seasoned pro hahahaha As you can see with this story.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Life In The Trenches
It has been hell on Earth at the Barrett ranch for the past couple of weeks.
One of the problems with being a reviewer is having to deal with the Canadian version of Homeland Security, and even worse the damn idiots that run the customs and excise department. Here is the deal, I am asked if I would do a review of an alarm clock radio. It sounded good to me, plus my lovely wife Jan has trashed the existing one. Of course there was a hitch, it isn't your regular $20 Wal Mart one, it is a $350 designer one from Germany. The bozos that supposedly are protecting our borders (tho I can not for the life of me figure out from who) decided that they needed to tax me. So if I want this 'free' clock radio I have to pay them $90!
Needless to say, no one is happy. I was so pissed off about it, I just ignored it. The latest development is that the PR company is picking up the tab and I should see it Monday.
The other classic screw up that occurred was a TV preview. TV is pretty easy, you get a DVD and you post the review two days before it airs. It could not be easier. OK here is the deal, I get a preview DVD from HBO, and I am absolutely convinced that it airs on June/2, so I bust my butt to get the review running. HBO tells me "wow that was quick". It was days later that I discover the show didn't air till June/9. Oh well, thats life in the trenches.
The other low spot of the week involves an interview with a leading Cancer researcher. I asked the simple question "Can you tell us a little about yourself (short bio)', his response was to send me a 35 page CV! (CV is resume for the ludites that might be reading this) About the only piece of information that is not in this guys CV is the name of his pet Goldfish.
I was supposed to be quoted on the back of a book. You know the deal, a one liner, almost every book has them. I got the book, and I am not mentioned! I was pissed. But I have the last laugh. The type setters have screwed up, and the book has to be reprinted.
There were some good bits to the week, but I am too lazy to write about them.
Oh, well except that Jan and I met 5 years ago. Happy anniversary honey.
One of the problems with being a reviewer is having to deal with the Canadian version of Homeland Security, and even worse the damn idiots that run the customs and excise department. Here is the deal, I am asked if I would do a review of an alarm clock radio. It sounded good to me, plus my lovely wife Jan has trashed the existing one. Of course there was a hitch, it isn't your regular $20 Wal Mart one, it is a $350 designer one from Germany. The bozos that supposedly are protecting our borders (tho I can not for the life of me figure out from who) decided that they needed to tax me. So if I want this 'free' clock radio I have to pay them $90!
Needless to say, no one is happy. I was so pissed off about it, I just ignored it. The latest development is that the PR company is picking up the tab and I should see it Monday.
The other classic screw up that occurred was a TV preview. TV is pretty easy, you get a DVD and you post the review two days before it airs. It could not be easier. OK here is the deal, I get a preview DVD from HBO, and I am absolutely convinced that it airs on June/2, so I bust my butt to get the review running. HBO tells me "wow that was quick". It was days later that I discover the show didn't air till June/9. Oh well, thats life in the trenches.
The other low spot of the week involves an interview with a leading Cancer researcher. I asked the simple question "Can you tell us a little about yourself (short bio)', his response was to send me a 35 page CV! (CV is resume for the ludites that might be reading this) About the only piece of information that is not in this guys CV is the name of his pet Goldfish.
I was supposed to be quoted on the back of a book. You know the deal, a one liner, almost every book has them. I got the book, and I am not mentioned! I was pissed. But I have the last laugh. The type setters have screwed up, and the book has to be reprinted.
There were some good bits to the week, but I am too lazy to write about them.
Oh, well except that Jan and I met 5 years ago. Happy anniversary honey.
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Interview That Never Happened
I do a lot of interviews, it is an aspect that I really enjoy. In the last week I talked with Larry Cohen, he was the guy that created the cult TV series 'The Invaders' and the movie franchise 'It's Alive', great stuff! I also talked with Dan Cattulo, he is a film maker specializing in music video. He was the producer/director of the new Steve Miller Band DVD. Yesterday I chatted with Elvis, hell I get around!
People seem to like my interviews, and I think I do a pretty good job with them. But you can't please everyone.
I also managed to get rebuffed a couple of times last week. I have been writing articles about the Payday Loan industry, and specifically what the law makers are doing. The esteemed South Carolina senator Joel Lourie is avoiding me like I have rabies. I am guessing that I am off his Christmas card list.
But the ultimate interview rejection came from Canada's most prominent and media friendly scientist. I have been covering a series for a US based cable station, this weekly show features sound bites from this Canadian scientist. So I decided to go for an interview. The interview was declined because 'it would be more appropriate if the interviewer was in the US'. hahaha What a giggle, Blogger News is US based, I just happen to live in Canada!
People seem to like my interviews, and I think I do a pretty good job with them. But you can't please everyone.
I also managed to get rebuffed a couple of times last week. I have been writing articles about the Payday Loan industry, and specifically what the law makers are doing. The esteemed South Carolina senator Joel Lourie is avoiding me like I have rabies. I am guessing that I am off his Christmas card list.
But the ultimate interview rejection came from Canada's most prominent and media friendly scientist. I have been covering a series for a US based cable station, this weekly show features sound bites from this Canadian scientist. So I decided to go for an interview. The interview was declined because 'it would be more appropriate if the interviewer was in the US'. hahaha What a giggle, Blogger News is US based, I just happen to live in Canada!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Reviewing In Hell
I swear I am drowning in damn review material right now. There just are not enough hours in the day!
Anyway, I am currently covering the Sundance Channels Big Idea For A Small Planet series. It is a pretty entertaining show that looks at companies and organizations that are eco friendly. The nice folks at sundance sent me a gift pack to get rid of. So if you have time check out my article about it. And leave a comment on the article, the swag could be yours!
Anyway, I am currently covering the Sundance Channels Big Idea For A Small Planet series. It is a pretty entertaining show that looks at companies and organizations that are eco friendly. The nice folks at sundance sent me a gift pack to get rid of. So if you have time check out my article about it. And leave a comment on the article, the swag could be yours!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Where Have I Been?
Cos I obviously have not been writing on here.....
The simple answer is that I have been pretty busy in the review world. And recently it has been in the world of TV. The strange thing is that all of the work has been for US cable stations, and although the stations air in Canada, they tend to have a Canada schedule which tends to be weeks or months behind the US.
I played with HBO on their great series John Adams. And I know that HBO must be pretty pleased with the series, because I could not believe the hits my reviews got. So when you extrapolate out, they had a lot of viewers for their 7 part series.
Right now I am playing with Discovery with their hot series 'Deadliest Catch', this is a fabulous series that follows the fortunes of crab fishing in the Bering Sea. I am having a few issues with the 'go betweens' but I am sure they will work themselves out.
Next week sees the premier of a great show on Animal Planet 'Raw Nature', I can't tell you to much about it, I have been asked to hold the review till next Tuesday. But I can tell you, this is a show worth checking out. If I was asked to sum it up in one sentence, I would say "This is Mike Rowe meets Godzilla". If you are looking for something to watch next Tuesday evening try Animal Planet at 9pm.
I have a couple more series hopefully blasting off soon as well. I'll keep you posted.
On the gizmo front I got to review a Portable Media Player for IOGEAR. It blew my mind, a little box the size of a cigarette pack that could store 50 hours of DVD quality video. Load the little gizmo up with your favorite DVD's, then plug it into a regular TV and you can watch them! Or if you prefer music you can slap 30,000 MP3's on it! Just amazing. In fact I get to interview one of the big wigs at IOGEAR on Friday.
So, I am still around, I have just been busy with stuff.
The simple answer is that I have been pretty busy in the review world. And recently it has been in the world of TV. The strange thing is that all of the work has been for US cable stations, and although the stations air in Canada, they tend to have a Canada schedule which tends to be weeks or months behind the US.
I played with HBO on their great series John Adams. And I know that HBO must be pretty pleased with the series, because I could not believe the hits my reviews got. So when you extrapolate out, they had a lot of viewers for their 7 part series.
Right now I am playing with Discovery with their hot series 'Deadliest Catch', this is a fabulous series that follows the fortunes of crab fishing in the Bering Sea. I am having a few issues with the 'go betweens' but I am sure they will work themselves out.
Next week sees the premier of a great show on Animal Planet 'Raw Nature', I can't tell you to much about it, I have been asked to hold the review till next Tuesday. But I can tell you, this is a show worth checking out. If I was asked to sum it up in one sentence, I would say "This is Mike Rowe meets Godzilla". If you are looking for something to watch next Tuesday evening try Animal Planet at 9pm.
I have a couple more series hopefully blasting off soon as well. I'll keep you posted.
On the gizmo front I got to review a Portable Media Player for IOGEAR. It blew my mind, a little box the size of a cigarette pack that could store 50 hours of DVD quality video. Load the little gizmo up with your favorite DVD's, then plug it into a regular TV and you can watch them! Or if you prefer music you can slap 30,000 MP3's on it! Just amazing. In fact I get to interview one of the big wigs at IOGEAR on Friday.
So, I am still around, I have just been busy with stuff.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
How To Create An Olympic Logo
I can not claim ownership of these pix. I got them from a PR company I work with, but they certainly hit the spot!
Thursday, April 03, 2008
What Friends I Have!
One of the perks of being a reviewer is that every so often you make new friends. Sometimes something just clicks, and a new friend is born. Even stranger, several of the authors, and musicians that I have reviewed, are now writers for the very place I write for!
One of the best guys that I have come across is author James (Jim) Heaphey. Jim authored a wonderful book Legerdemain, which I really enjoyed. One thing led to another, and now we are friends. When he told me that he and his wife were heading off for three months in Cyprus (to promote the book) I was envious, and I asked him if Jan and I could come along as paid bloggers.
This was the result!
Thanks Jim!
One of the best guys that I have come across is author James (Jim) Heaphey. Jim authored a wonderful book Legerdemain, which I really enjoyed. One thing led to another, and now we are friends. When he told me that he and his wife were heading off for three months in Cyprus (to promote the book) I was envious, and I asked him if Jan and I could come along as paid bloggers.
This was the result!
Thanks Jim!
Friday, March 28, 2008
An Adventure In Retro Computing
I am a big fan of 'Iron Chef', this is a great series, two chefs battle for 60 minutes to produce a 5 course meal using a 'secret ingredient'. I love the idea of a wild adventure.
The computer world is sometimes like 'Iron Chef', you have no idea what you are going to be asked to do. This weeks challenge sounded simple, move 5 meg of data from one laptop to another. Walk in the park was my first thought. How difficult can it be to transfer 5 meg?
Well, it was a little trickier than I had imagined. The laptop was ancient, it was running Win 95! I should have said "NO", but of course I said "sure I can do this". And then the problems started!
A quick look at this aging laptop revealed that it had limited capabilities. No USB, no Ethernet, oh, and no floppy drive. This makes it more exciting.
Right about now I am considering the idea of getting Jan to just re-type the damn documents and we can get this monkey off our backs.
It did have a modem though. This could be a breakthrough. Alas it was not, the Win 95 installation was a little 'banged up' and while the modem 'modemed', it refused to connect to the ISP that I use. The problem was in the TCP/IP stacks. I am a bit of a pack rat, but search as I did, I could not find a Win 95 CD.
My next plan was to upgrade the pc to Win 98, but the only CD's I had were 'For A New Computer Only' versions. And the last thing I wanted to do was reformat the drive.
Plan 'C' was to install Win 2k, this worked well for about 2 minutes, then I got the 'you don't have enough RAM message.
Hmmm, I thought, actually I was swearing up a storm by this time.
It was time to think outside the box.....
"Go back young man" was the thought that went through my mind.
So it was 'back to the future', way back when, I used to use something called Laplink. Laplink allowed you to copy files between computers using a funky cable connected to the printer port. Being a retro kind of a guy I just happened to have one of those funky cables, and 2 minutes of Googling found some shareware that would do the job.
It didn't exactly work like a charm, there was much wailing and complaining from both laptops, I guess the clocking on the parallel ports was not quite in sync, but it worked!
Sometimes you just have to go backwards to go forward!
The computer world is sometimes like 'Iron Chef', you have no idea what you are going to be asked to do. This weeks challenge sounded simple, move 5 meg of data from one laptop to another. Walk in the park was my first thought. How difficult can it be to transfer 5 meg?
Well, it was a little trickier than I had imagined. The laptop was ancient, it was running Win 95! I should have said "NO", but of course I said "sure I can do this". And then the problems started!
A quick look at this aging laptop revealed that it had limited capabilities. No USB, no Ethernet, oh, and no floppy drive. This makes it more exciting.
Right about now I am considering the idea of getting Jan to just re-type the damn documents and we can get this monkey off our backs.
It did have a modem though. This could be a breakthrough. Alas it was not, the Win 95 installation was a little 'banged up' and while the modem 'modemed', it refused to connect to the ISP that I use. The problem was in the TCP/IP stacks. I am a bit of a pack rat, but search as I did, I could not find a Win 95 CD.
My next plan was to upgrade the pc to Win 98, but the only CD's I had were 'For A New Computer Only' versions. And the last thing I wanted to do was reformat the drive.
Plan 'C' was to install Win 2k, this worked well for about 2 minutes, then I got the 'you don't have enough RAM message.
Hmmm, I thought, actually I was swearing up a storm by this time.
It was time to think outside the box.....
"Go back young man" was the thought that went through my mind.
So it was 'back to the future', way back when, I used to use something called Laplink. Laplink allowed you to copy files between computers using a funky cable connected to the printer port. Being a retro kind of a guy I just happened to have one of those funky cables, and 2 minutes of Googling found some shareware that would do the job.
It didn't exactly work like a charm, there was much wailing and complaining from both laptops, I guess the clocking on the parallel ports was not quite in sync, but it worked!
Sometimes you just have to go backwards to go forward!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Week In Review(s)
Well it has been a pretty busy week in the land of reviews and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. When I first got into this business the problem I had was one of restraint. A movie would arrive but it was not due to 'street' for 3 weeks, so you had to 'sit' on it for a while. Now I have the opposite problem, I have so many of the damn things it is a juggling act to get them out before the street date.
TV was the big problem over the past week, TV has its own unique challenge you need to get the review up between 48 and 72 hours before the program airs. Anyway, I am covering the HBO miniseries John Adams. This is a 7 part deal, and part 1 and part 2 aired last Sunday. Of course someone at HBO managed to screw up, and forgot to get the screeners out to the reviewers, and HBO ended up having to Fed-Ex everything last Thursday. This didn't leave a lot of time for the reviews. What did impress me though was the 'press kit', it was the size of a book! Part 3 airs tomorrow at 9pm.
HBO is also premiering a documentary Autism - The Musical.
On the 25th Stephen King's The Mist hits the stores. This is a two DVD collectors version. I am not really into the horror genre, so I had to get Jan to help get that one out in time.
There was a whole pile of other stuff, books, a couple of interviews, a couple of indie movies, and some music. Too much to detail. But if yyou want to read em they are here.
TV was the big problem over the past week, TV has its own unique challenge you need to get the review up between 48 and 72 hours before the program airs. Anyway, I am covering the HBO miniseries John Adams. This is a 7 part deal, and part 1 and part 2 aired last Sunday. Of course someone at HBO managed to screw up, and forgot to get the screeners out to the reviewers, and HBO ended up having to Fed-Ex everything last Thursday. This didn't leave a lot of time for the reviews. What did impress me though was the 'press kit', it was the size of a book! Part 3 airs tomorrow at 9pm.
HBO is also premiering a documentary Autism - The Musical.
On the 25th Stephen King's The Mist hits the stores. This is a two DVD collectors version. I am not really into the horror genre, so I had to get Jan to help get that one out in time.
There was a whole pile of other stuff, books, a couple of interviews, a couple of indie movies, and some music. Too much to detail. But if yyou want to read em they are here.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
500 Reasons To Not Become A Reviewer
I was caught in a no win situation last week. Jan has been whining for the longest time about the lack of shelves in our apartment. Unfortunately she mentioned this to my daughter Laura. Laura is a pack-rat, she has never thrown anything out in her whole life. "Oh dad" she says "remember the IKEA shelves that were in the playroom". .... It went downhill from there. I remembered the shelves very well, and if shelves could qualify for 'frequent flier miles' these would qualify for a couple of first class tickets around the world. To the best of my knowledge that have had a couple of trips to England, at least two to Canada, and a 10 year vacation in the US.
I love my daughter dearly, but I could wring her neck, she brought the damn shelving over the next day. I tried the 'But honey, I don't have any tools' approach, and this just resulted in a glare that would freeze molten lava.
I borrowed a thing from work, its a #11 (whatever the hell that might be), and assembled the darn things. I did have the last laugh, once I got it made I told Jan that I planned on putting all of the stuff I reviewed last year on it. The blood drained from her face. She was in shock.
So I did!
That is one years of Books, CD's, and DVD's! Well, almost, it doesn't have the 80 to a 100 items that we gave away.
Most regular folks read maybe 10 books a year, they buy 20 CD's and about 10 DVD's.
Where did I go wrong?
I love my daughter dearly, but I could wring her neck, she brought the damn shelving over the next day. I tried the 'But honey, I don't have any tools' approach, and this just resulted in a glare that would freeze molten lava.
I borrowed a thing from work, its a #11 (whatever the hell that might be), and assembled the darn things. I did have the last laugh, once I got it made I told Jan that I planned on putting all of the stuff I reviewed last year on it. The blood drained from her face. She was in shock.
So I did!
That is one years of Books, CD's, and DVD's! Well, almost, it doesn't have the 80 to a 100 items that we gave away.
Most regular folks read maybe 10 books a year, they buy 20 CD's and about 10 DVD's.
Where did I go wrong?
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Oh How Times Change!
The internet is a remarkable place, you just never know what is going to happen next. Yesterday in my email I received a letter from a guy who i have not seen nor spoken to in over 30 years, Gary Rixon. At age 9 my parents moved to a small village in not far from Oxford in England. West Hendred boasted a population of about 300, and consisted of a pup 'The Hare' (my parents ran it), a shop and post office, a Church with a Vicar, and a primary school.
About 15 years ago I visited England for a week, and I have to say I was not impressed by what I found. I even made a pilgrimage to West Hendred. The church no longer has a vicar, the village school had long since closed, the Shop and Post Office gone, It was as if the very heart of the village had been removed.
The village schools headmaster Mr. Prossir had long since retired and I went to visit him. It was delightful to spend some time talking about the long and distant past.
My other destination was 'The Hare', boy the place had changed. Odd to walk into your 'home' and not recognize it. I had aranged to meet a very old friend Jim Spey. Jim was one of my heros growing up, a proud Scotsman, resplendent in Kilt and Dirk, with a Rosewood pipe in his mouth. Ex BBC reporter, ex code breaker, and connoisseur of Single Malt Whiskey. Jim had aged, but was still sprightly and engaging. It was two hours that I will always have fond memories of. It was this visit that provoked me to write a short story 'Death of a Country' which I will have to dig out and re-post.
Anyway, Gary apparently had run across this blog and wrote to ask if I was the same Simon Barrett. Better still he included a photo. A photo of the entire village school attendees taken in about 1965. In this day and age of classes overflowing with 35+ kids, and schools boasting pupils by the thousands it is sometimes nice to look back at the way it was.........
Yes folks that was the whole school, and the two teachers! For those of you interested, pictured in the photo are:
Back row left to right: Tina Hazel / Christopher Bullard? / Lucille Harris / Peter Robey / Anne Kearvill or Louise Harris / Michael Hislop / Mr. Prosser / Simon Barrett.
Middle row left to right: Gary Rixon / Aden Atkins / Robert Atkins / Mrs. Phillips / Charles Brewer / Brother of Gail North? / Gail North.
Front row left to right: Belinda Rogan / ? / Miriam or Susan Rogan / Jane Rogan / Barry Dwight.
Anyone know where these people are?
About 15 years ago I visited England for a week, and I have to say I was not impressed by what I found. I even made a pilgrimage to West Hendred. The church no longer has a vicar, the village school had long since closed, the Shop and Post Office gone, It was as if the very heart of the village had been removed.
The village schools headmaster Mr. Prossir had long since retired and I went to visit him. It was delightful to spend some time talking about the long and distant past.
My other destination was 'The Hare', boy the place had changed. Odd to walk into your 'home' and not recognize it. I had aranged to meet a very old friend Jim Spey. Jim was one of my heros growing up, a proud Scotsman, resplendent in Kilt and Dirk, with a Rosewood pipe in his mouth. Ex BBC reporter, ex code breaker, and connoisseur of Single Malt Whiskey. Jim had aged, but was still sprightly and engaging. It was two hours that I will always have fond memories of. It was this visit that provoked me to write a short story 'Death of a Country' which I will have to dig out and re-post.
Anyway, Gary apparently had run across this blog and wrote to ask if I was the same Simon Barrett. Better still he included a photo. A photo of the entire village school attendees taken in about 1965. In this day and age of classes overflowing with 35+ kids, and schools boasting pupils by the thousands it is sometimes nice to look back at the way it was.........
Yes folks that was the whole school, and the two teachers! For those of you interested, pictured in the photo are:
Back row left to right: Tina Hazel / Christopher Bullard? / Lucille Harris / Peter Robey / Anne Kearvill or Louise Harris / Michael Hislop / Mr. Prosser / Simon Barrett.
Middle row left to right: Gary Rixon / Aden Atkins / Robert Atkins / Mrs. Phillips / Charles Brewer / Brother of Gail North? / Gail North.
Front row left to right: Belinda Rogan / ? / Miriam or Susan Rogan / Jane Rogan / Barry Dwight.
Anyone know where these people are?
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