Category Archives: Uncategorized

…but this should be the last time for a while. We're coming to you today from the fabulous city of Las Vegas, Nevada where everything is fast except the Internet connections in this hotel. Last night, I could have gone downstairs and lost everything I owned in the time it took to update iTunes. But my schedule should get a whole lot better Thursday and therefore I'll have more time to neglect paying work and pursue my first love which, of course, is putting stuff up here.

No interesting Vegas anecdotes so far but an observation: This place is really getting into social networking. Everywhere I go, I'm bombarded with ads not to go in somewhere and gamble the rent money but to "friend" businesses on Facebook, give them my e-mail address, follow someone or something on Twitter, etc. Last night in one of those cheesy souvenir shops, I saw a t-shirt for sale that said "What happens in Vegas stays on Facebook." I'm not even sure there's a joke there; just that some guy sensed combining the Vegas slogan with a Facebook reference might compel the purchasing of shirts. I'm not sure he's wrong.

I also couldn't help noticing how incredibly complicated slot machines are getting. I wonder if their makers are presuming that your average consumer is getting more and more tech-savvy…

Gotta run to a business-type meeting but I'll be back if anything interesting happens. And I should be back in full force around Thursday…

Finally had time to watch the Tony Awards. What a good show…and my sense is it's just gotten better and better since CBS dropped that silly two-hour time limit and let it go three-plus. The ratings were up a bit…amazing since there were few Big Stars nominated. And as I scan the web, I see generally rave reviews, especially if you discount the homophobic ones.

Neil Patrick Harris may well be the best award-show host in the business…not that there's a whole lot of competition for the title. He's funny. He can sing and dance and he seems to have the knack of getting first-rate Special Music Material. He also doesn't act like it's The Neil Patrick Harris Show. The Oscars tend to be all about the host for about the first fifteen minutes…then he or she largely disappears and the show is low on cohesion. Mr. Harris was nicely present throughout the proceedings without dragging your attention away from what the evening was all about.

What it's about, or course, is selling tickets to Broadway shows. The awards are nice and it doesn't hurt any show's ads to be able to say "Tony-Winning." But you don't tune in for that because you haven't seen all or probably any of the shows and don't know who half the nominees are. The Tony telecast is basically about what's currently playing and why you want to go see it. I thought the numbers from Sister Act, Anything Goes, The Book of Mormon and especially Catch Me If You Can did the job there. The number from Spider-Man looked pretty uninteresting…and I guess that's a problem they have promoting it. The special effects and flying can't just be done in any old theater.

My favorite parts? The opening number, singing about how Broadway's not just for gays anymore — like something's changed — was terrific. It got me to wondering to what extent a show like this helps the part of America that's uncomfortable with homosexuality get a little more comfy. Granted, a lot of those who need to stop agonizing over the fact that there are gay people on this planet are not going to be tuning in the Tonys…but some are and tolerance can be viral, spreading (albeit slowly) from one bigoted soul to another. A friend once told me that his father had been prejudiced against gay people until he figured out that Paul Lynde was gay. Yeah, you had to be pretty slow not to figure that out the first time you saw him but some folks are maddeningly slow. The father had to stop hating homosexuals because he couldn't bring himself to hate Paul Lynde.

I also liked the number from Catch Me If You Can, the latest disconnected Mark Rylance acceptance speech, the performance from Company and the fact that some of the presenters actually said things that haven't been said by dozens of other presenters at other awards shows. A nice show. If only they all could be that good.

If you're waiting for my usual commentary on the Tony Awards, know this: I didn't see them. I'm still working on a script that records tomorrow — in less than ten hours, in fact. But the telecast sits comfortably on my TiVo and I'll let you know when I get around to watching it. Did anyone notice any jokes about the Spider-Man musical or someone who had to be bleeped or gay people on the show?

And here's a link to Part Three (the final part) of the three-part podcast in which my friends Paul Dini and Misty Lee interviewed me a few weeks ago. If you missed Part One or Part Two, you can go listen to 'em but it doesn't make a whole lot of difference what order you hear them in. You will perhaps figure out that we taped 'em all one evening over darn good pizza and then lied like rugs and pretended it was over three weeks. (Forgive me, Misty, for exposing the trick.) We all had such a good time, I think we're going to do it again soon…and I thank them and Rashy for inviting me over.

This last week, I think I've seen more of Anthony Weiner's genitalia than I have of my own. There is, alas, a powerful argument out there that he oughta go away because we all can't stop talking about this. It's like his big sin is giving us an issue that's dominating the press and news-like programming and he has to fall on his sword (no penile reference intended) so we can get on to other matters. I don't think that's a good argument but it's powerful.

A much better one is this: He represents New York's 9th congressional district. They hired him. They oughta be the ones to decide if they want him out of the job. Right now, polls say that by a wide margin, they'd like him to stay on…but of course, that's a poll, not a real vote and it's conducted with no alternative. Supposing the choice was "You can have Weiner or you can have this other guy who is identical on the issues but doesn't have this scandal eroding his effectiveness and causing you to question his judgment." Offered that, a lot of Weiner backers would probably throw him overboard. Or what if the likely replacement was like Michele Bachmann but without that strong tether to reality? They might keep him even if he started robbing convenience stores.

Keith Olbermann had an interesting idea: Weiner ought to resign, then run for his seat in the special election that would be called. The trouble with that of course is that it wouldn't be an election about anything of substance. It would be Weiner running on a platform of "I'm sorry…I'll never photograph my crotch again" competing with a slate of candidates whose platform would be "Well, I've never photographed my crotch."

I suspect this "seeking therapy on how to become a better husband" routine won't change anything and that he'll quit, disappear for a while and then come back as some sort of broadcaster. I tweeted that Current TV oughta grab him for the slot after Olbermann's, not that I expect that to happen but I'll bet he'd be good at it. My sense is that Weiner was a lot more effective at arguing on newstalk shows than he ever was at getting things done in Congress. Maybe TV is a better venue for him. It certainly is for most people who like to expose themselves, one way or the other. Eventually, down the line, he might well get back into public service, possibly running for Mayor of New York. The worst interpretation of his transgressions doesn't fare too poorly when weighed against some who've held that position.

I think the moralizing bothers me more than anything he's said to have done, especially when it comes from folks who had no problem with David Vitter or John Ensign. It also bothers me that so many folks seem to feel we have a right to see all the photos and read all the correspondence in a private consensual exchange between adults. Years ago, Larry Flynt was offering to write some pretty large checks to anyone who could come up with dirt on Senators and Congressfolks, especially Republicans. It didn't matter how you got it. You could have hidden a camera in their bathrooms or broken into their homes and stolen their diaries. If it embarrassed some public official, Larry had money for you. Andrew Breitbart is just Larry Flynt without the budget.

The main reason I'm thinking Anthony Weiner should go away is because he was foolish. After all the politicans who've been caught doing this kind of stuff, he did this kind of stuff. He must have realized what his political foes would do if they ever got their mitts on it. He did it anyway. I still think his constituents oughta decide if he remains in office but if I were one of them and I felt his seat would be filled by someone good, I'd kick him outta there…but it would not be for moral transgressions. It would be for being stupid.

My friend Marc Wielage sent me this and I had to pull myself away from my deadline to share it with you. It's an app for the iPhone called IntoNow and it's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. I kinda/sorta understand how it works from the technical side. I'm curious as to how its inventors are going to make money off it since it's free. They're apparently going to build a new social network and like Facebook, mine their members for marketing profiles and targeted advertising. I don't care. It's still worth having.

Just be careful. Don't use it when you're watching any movie or TV show you don't want the whole world to know you're watching.

You would not believe how much work I have to get done the next few days. This board will not be barren but things will not be appearing here at my usual pace. I will also probably be worse at returning e-mails than I usually am. Do not feel neglected. I will be thinking about every last one of you.

Neil Patrick Harris is hosting the Tony Awards again on Sunday and he says they're having trouble figuring out which number from The Book of Mormon might be suitable for television viewing. There's apparently going to be a number on the broadcast from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark even though it hasn't opened yet and therefore isn't up for anything.

I send great luck and winning vibes in the direction of my friends, Bill and Cheri Steinkellner. They're up for Best Book of a Musical for Sister Act. I haven't been back to see the show yet but if it's even half as good as other things they've written, they probably deserve the award.

Here's a poll on how folks in this country view our deficit and spending problems. One cannot help but note the response to the question of raising taxes on wealthier folks. This solution is favored by two-thirds of all Americans, half of all Republicans and 0% of all elected Republicans.

Kathy Griffin presents her Top 10 Naughty Emmy Speeches.

On the other hand, we can use all the Chuck McCann we can get. I have been remiss in not linking you to the online-only TV series which my pal Chuck is hosting in his wonderful in-home movie theater. There are tech problems galore but Chuck is great and his guests are great and the clips he shows are beyond great. He does it live every Thursday evening and I hope to get up there and be part of his studio audience soon. (Tonight, I'm going to a ceremony to help present an award to another pal, a brilliant cartoonist named Phil Mendez.)

Chuck did a show on May 26 but they lost their Internet connection so it didn't stream live. You can watch that episode, which runs 56 minutes, at this link.

And then Chuck did a show on June 2 which you can watch in two parts. Here's Part One and here's Part Two and together, they run about 72 minutes. On Chuck's website, it says the show will be about 30 minutes long each week.

I assume he's doing another one tonight and that you can watch him live at 8 PM Pacific Time…and I also assume it'll run a lot longer than 30 minutes. So if you read this in the next 3 hours and ten minutes or even after the show starts, be prepared to click over to this link and watch the fun live. I'll post a link to the archived edition in case you miss being there when it all happens. It's almost as much fun as being with Chuck himself.

If you TiVo and you want to record Keith Olbermann's new series, you should know that according to TiVo, it's called Keith Olbermann, not Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Also, a Season Pass is tricky. I don't know if it's going to be like this forever but on my feed, which comes to me via DirecTV on Channel 358, the first show airs at 5 PM, 8 PM, 11 PM, 1 AM the next day, then 4 AM, 7 AM, 9 AM, Noon and 3 PM. I assume that's like an introductory offer and that it will later scale back to 3-4 times a day. My TiVo is apparently very Liberal since I tell it to record Keith Olbermann and it wants to record every single airing. No one needs that much Keith Olbermann.

There are a lot of interviews around with Keith Olbermann as he promotes his debut on Current TV. Here's another one. Olbermann's new show debuts June 20 and I just took a Season Pass for it on my TiVo.

Here's my prediction. I think he'll have arguable success with it. The argument that he isn't successful will be that he'll be reaching fewer viewers and that there will be whole areas where his show is not available. The argument that he is successful will be that he will boost the profile of Current TV and increase its overall reach to the point where its investors will be very happy they snagged him…or at least will say they are. And I'll also predict some controversies where Olbermann will claim that pressure is being exerted on certain cable companies to drop or not add Current TV in order to suppress his program.

If you live in Portland, Oregon and you're interested in the late 'n' great Mel Blanc, you're in luck. The Mel Blanc Project is kicking off shortly with lectures, t-shirts and even a walking tour noting the first great cartoon voice actor. The walking tours will take folks to the location of Mel's childhood, including the school corridor where he says he first invented the Woody Woodpecker laugh with the help of the acoustics. The lecture series covers the area and time period of Blanc's Portland residency…but the schedule on that site only lists one cartoon being screened — the 1936 I Love to Singa. That's a great cartoon but I hope they don't think Mel's in it because he isn't.

As I've mentioned here, I often hang out or around Farmers Market, a local tourist mecca here in Los Angeles. It's a great place to just sit and get a meal…and as I've learned since I got an iPad, it's a fine place to websurf and/or play Sudoku. I spent today in a recording studio directing the voices for an upcoming Garfield special and on the way home, decided to stop off there for a Hot Turkey Sandwich.

One gets to recognize "regulars" at a place like that. One I often see (and avoid) is an older guy who always seems to be there, sitting at a table and talking to himself. I think I've seen this person there for at least twenty years. This evening I saw him there and noticed he was talking to no one nearby…but he's now wearing a Bluetooth® earpiece.

I don't know if it's real or if it was connected to a phone call. All I know is he's doing the exact same thing that has caused folks to steer clear of him for decades…but with the addition of a tiny device, he now looks utterly normal.