All that paranoia and howling for nothing

I swung by the Parents Television Council website today and found the PTC's latest review of Worst Cable Show of the Week being the Comedy Central series Jon Benjamin Has a Van. I've never heard of that show; it's amazing how much about TV I can learn from those professional prudes!

The author begins with this complaint about how Hollywood abuses children

Movies, television, and other sectors of the entertainment industry keep up a non-stop barrage of graphic, ultra-violent, sexual, and profane programming…and send it out over the publicly-owned airwaves and via cable and satellite systems, where even the youngest children can be exposed to it. And in the case of cable and satellite, the industry even FORCES subscribers to pay for such content, even if they never watch it. Apparently, those in the entertainment industry believe that, despite the proliferation of technology today, parents are capable of being, and ought to spend, at their children’s side every second, monitoring every single thing they see. This in spite of the industry’s own deliberate program of pushing clearly adult programming at kids, and their own measures taken to ensure that they are not bound by even commonsense restrictions.

This big ol' word salad precedes PTC's admission that the show is aired at 10:30PM Eastern time (an hour earlier in the central/mountain zones, and even earlier in the west coast on satellite). And the PTC didn't even acknowledge that the show is rated TV-14-L - unsuitable for children under 14 due to language, in plain English.

Does PTC not realize that under the current cable TV bundling system EVERYONE pays for SOMETHING they don't watch/like at all? PTC laid out its own example of its like-minded viewers who pay for offensive programs on Comedy Central if they subscribe to cable. I'll lay out some other examples:

• Liberals subsidizing Fox News Channel or the religious networks (those networks often have a right-wing bent too).
• Conservatives subsidizing MSNBC
• Childless adults subsidizing the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network
• Jewish, Muslim, any non-Christian subscriber subsidizing EWTN, Trinity Broadcasting Network, any religious cable channel

And since when has Comedy Central been aimed towards children and families? If so then why does the network rate most of its shows TV-14 or TV-MA (mature audiences) anyway? I acknowledge for sure there are TV shows and movies and video games out there that kids shouldn't be exposed to. But to insinuate that the entertainment industry wants to market rated-R films straight at kids is just ridiculous and overblown. As for parents "monitoring every single thing" that kids see then what are the V-chip and cable channel blocks for then?

If PTC really wants to combat bad stuff being marketed towards children why don't they join First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign for healthier eating? Why is PTC all up in arms about violence and sex in TV shows that kids shouldn't even be watching in the first place yet remain silent about McDonald's and Burger King and fast food restaurants marketing junk food to kids and contributing to the obesity epidemic? In fact, in 2005, the PTC criticized the Carl's Jr. fast food chain over PARIS HILTON - yep the slutty blonde spoiled trust fund girl - appearing in a sexual manner in ads. But when has the PTC ever criticized Carl's Jr for its kids meals? PTC does the same ol' thing for the other fast food companies for advertising on offensive programming (y'know, 10PM crime dramas and all that stuff that 7-year-olds shouldn't be watching because they should be in bed) but never attacks those companies for doing DIRECT harm to kids through fatty meals! McDonald's, Burger King, and other junk food companies and agribusiness, all of which have benefitted from massive corporate welfare, has caused more harm to American children than any stupid TV show or violent video game or corny pop song ever has.

By the way I wonder how many people who take PTC's advice regularly feed their kids processed/junk food? I'm not being stereotypical of people who agree with the PTC views, but I'm just asking.

Causes: Relief for the Haiti earthquake, Keep Conan O'Brien on the Tonight Show

Haiti earthquake

On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Death tolls are estimated between 45,000-50,000 by the American Red Cross; the Haitian government estimates it even higher, at around 200,000. Because Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, even government buildings and local United Nations headquarters have suffered significant damage, and the head of the Haiti UN headquarters has died in the rubble. Hospitals are so overwhelmed that they can't tend to everyone who's been hurt. Already, the US government has issued temporary asylum for illegal Haitian immigrants currently living in the US. And many countries worldwide have sent aid.

MTV Networks has organized a telethon, Hope for Haiti. Commercial-free, it'll be shown on Friday, Jan. 22 at 8PM on: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, the CW, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT. It'll be hosted by Haitian-American musician Wyclef Jean (from New York City), actor George Clooney (from Los Angeles), and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper (from Port-au-Prince). Well, fans of the (now-cancelled) show Dollhouse: at least you'll have another week until your beloved show ends.

One way to donate to the Haiti relief effort is to text the word "HAITI" to 90999; as a donation to Haiti $10.00 will be charged to your cell phone bill. If you don't use texting or don't know how, then check out the American Red Cross website for information about donating the old-fashioned way (y'know, writing checks). My condolences go to all who've lost loved ones to this earthquake.

Sadly, there are those who chose to ignore or mock this tragedy. For example, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has remarked: "We've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax." And, he said that President Obama was giving aid to Haiti to gain credibility from the "light-skinned and dark-skinned black community" in the US. Regarding Limbaugh's "income tax" remark, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and even MSNBC Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough (a former Republican congressional representative) condemned Limbaugh.

Evangelical Christian and host of The 700 Club Pat Robertson also had this to say about Haiti:

The Haitians "were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever," Robertson said on his broadcast Wednesday. "And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.' True story. And so, the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' "

Not really surprising since back in 2001, Robertson agreed with Jerry Falwell that liberals, homosexuals, and atheists were to blame for the September 11 attacks and said that God used Hurricane Katrina to punish America.

A study by the progressive media research organization Media Matters for America found that MSNBC's primetime commentary shows (Hardball with Chris Matthews, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Rachel Maddow Show) devoted far much more coverage than Fox News's competing shows (The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity, Glenn Beck). While the Haiti earthquake got brief mentions on the Fox shows (think about the "headlines" segment on Good Morning America) the MSNBC shows dedicated much deeper coverage (even interviews with politicians and others associated with Haiti). MSNBC's morning show Morning Joe had several segments about the earthquake (and I again stress that Scarborough has conservative leanings), so it surely reflects on what Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck feel are priorities for their audiences and how those hosts react to tragedy.

Host of The Tonight Show

This week, NBC announced that it would remove The Jay Leno Show from its primetime lineup because affiliates complained that it decreased their 11PM newscasts' ratings. NBC experimented with its primetime schedule in the fall by giving Jay Leno a daily 10PM show on weeknights while replacing him with Conan O'Brien on The Tonight Show. Former Saturday Night Live cast member Jimmy Fallon succeeded O'Brien on NBC's other late night show, Late Night. To keep Leno on the network, there are now two choices:
- Leno's show moves to 11:35PM (current Tonight Show timeslot) but is reduced to a half-hour length. The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon follow.
- O'Brien leaves and gives The Tonight Show back to Leno.

O'Brien has stated that he refuses to host Tonight should the first option take effect:

I believe that delaying The Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

I agree fully with Conan...in Internet meme-speak: I'M WITH COCO!!!!!! Leno's had his turn on Tonight, and it'd be a shame to see the brilliant O'Brien (who's written for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons) leave after only just over half a year on The Tonight Show. Although I still watch The Jay Leno Show every once in a while (mainly for the guests), I'm personally against Leno returning to The Tonight Show. There've been many Twitter posts and Facebook groups rallying behind O'Brien. Also, according to Wikipedia's article "The Tonight Show host and timeslot conflict":

Dozens of celebrities expressed support for O'Brien, including Roger Ebert, Rosie O'Donnell, Jim Gaffigan, Paul F. Tompkins, Doug Benson, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, Alyssa Milano, Chris Parnell, Jimmy Kimmel, Marlee Matlin, Ben Stiller, Ice-T, Matthew Perry, Howard Stern, and Ricky Gervais. Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt has expressly backed O'Brien, saying, "Comedians who don't like Jay Leno now, and I'm one of them, we're not like, 'Jay Leno sucks;' it's that we're so hurt and disappointed that one of the best comedians of our generation... willfully has shut the switch off."

While support for O'Brien has been overwhelming, Leno became the target for heated criticism and increasing negative publicity in his role in the timeslot conflict. Fellow late night hosts David Letterman of The Late Show and Jimmy Kimmel of Jimmy Kimmel Live! were quick to publicly blast NBC and Leno in their monologues. Kimmel went so far as to perform an entire episode of his program dressed in character as Leno, mocking his voice, jokes, mannerisms, band, and popular segments (such as "Headlines"). Shortly after, he was invited onto The Jay Leno Show to participate in its "Ten at Ten" segment, during which he sharply criticized Leno several times. Jimmy Fallon, who hosts the program immediately following The Tonight Show, refused to take sides, calling O'Brien and Leno "two of my heroes and two of my friends."

And now rumor has it that NBC is paying O'Brien $30 million to leave, but NBC denies it. ABC News called it "a PR disaster for all".

If we really want to support O'Brien, we should contact NBC in addition to howling on social networking sites.

On NBC's contact page, select "Tonight Show Conan" from the pulldown menu. Write a message expressing your support for Conan O'Brien staying on the Tonight Show as long as his contract states (right now O'Brien has about 2.5 years left on it). Other forms of communication that are more likely to be taken seriously:

Postal mail
Jeffrey Zucker
c/o NBC Entertainment
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

Telephone:
212-664-2333 (New York City)
818-840-4444 (Burbank)

Interesting NY Times articles

Entertainment: "An Unsteady Future for Broadcast" by Tim Arango and Bill Carter. Analyses the downfall in NBC's ratings and contrasts them with the rising ratings and profit for cable channels like ESPN, TNT, and USA.

Business: "Best Soup Ever? Suits Over Ads Demand Proof" by Stephanie Clifford. Goes over disputes between rival companies that have led to false-advertising lawsuits. Among the cases: DirecTV vs. Charter Communications, Verizon vs. AT&T, UPS vs. FedEx.

Health: "Medical Marijuana: No Longer Just for Adults" by Katherine Ellison. The ganja shall treat the hyperactive child.

Kudos to the FCC for ruling "Saving Private Ryan" not indecent

On Veteran's Day 2004, several ABC affiliates in the US pre-empted the network's national showing of the 1998 Oscar-winning film Saving Private Ryan because of its numerous use of profanity (such as the F-word) and graphic violence...all intended to depict the realities of World War II. Nine months earlier, Justin Timberlake exposed one of Janet Jackson's breasts at the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. For that incident, the broadcasting network CBS was fined $550,000 in September 2004. (This fine is currently under legal review in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals following an order by the US Supreme Court)

Right now I'm watching the Frontline documentary "Obama's War". It was shown on Oct. 13, 2009, on primetime on PBS. In my area, KQED at 8PM. I don't know whichever parental guidelines rating (like TV-PG, etc.) that it got since it wasn't shown on screen, but there was a viewer discretion screen that said "tonight's program contains graphic imagery". The clips of military members engaged in war in Afghanistan left the F-words uncensored. In an era where groups like the Parents Television Council have intimidated networks into censorship, I applaud PBS for choosing to leave the profanity to show the realities of the environment where the men and women fighting for our freedom inhabit every day while we enjoy our luxurious lives in the free world. It's as verbally rough as it's geographically, since in the middle east days can get even hotter than in Las Vegas.

I googled to see if anyone's reacted to this also. Read Daniel Hennis's comment on this article:

I was watching PBS last night, the program about the current situation with Afghanistan and Pakistan. I was greatly disturbed that the f-word was left in, clear as a bell, THREE times in less than thirty seconds. I reported it to the FCC (because I doubt PBS's elitist leftist program managers would care to do anything about it otherwise). Normally, I allow my children to watch SOME of PBS's programming, but it's falling on my popularity list. I can tolerate some of the socialist indoctrination, but I will not tolerate profanity of that magnitude.

Daniel Hennis, Kuna, ID

Well Daniel, your complaint will be likely flushed down the john...the FCC will most likely not fine PBS as it did to ABC back in 2004 for Saving Private Ryan.

Two other comments on this article accused the title of having a bias against Obama. Other comments praised the documentary for being better than most mainstream reporting.

Symphonic band on strike?

Today was a pretty good end of the week, with an easy calculus quiz on integration by parts, followed by the usual 15-minute break, where I got to wish my friend Rachel a happy 17th birthday. All went well until the next period, which was Symphonic Band. The ensemble rehearsed two pieces out of four to be played this 11 December for the school band concert and had been playing them since the week of Labor Day. Most of the days since then, the band has been practicing around an average level, with certain mistakes or anamolies making the conductor stop the band and advise on corrections, which turn out to be usually simple. "That's all you gotta do," he'd say.

But today, 19 September, the ensemble sunk to a new low. Guess what kind of errors happened today? Trombone players were nearly a measure behind, trumpets played too slow, drums were off-beat, and soon the whole ensemble "falls asleep" and literally slows down to ritardando when they are not supposed to. All when I, a mallet player, am keeping my eyes between the conductor and my score and waiting for my turn on the music, having done a competent job all along. Those parts of today's rehearsal sounded so disorganized and chaotic that Soulja Boy's annoying, ubitiquous "Crank That" song even sounds more musical than a high school symphonic band!

So the conductor stops the band and furiously wants to know what has happened with them. He felt that the players were on "last day of school" mode rather than September & "excited for school/concert" mode. Wow. We're really supposed to be superior to the average dumb high school students. Given how much bull$#!7 I had to suffer today thanks to the other morons who were supposed to be concentrating together as an ensemble - two people even lost some of their musical sheets - I feel compelled to turn up Weezer's new song "Troublemaker".

Don't worry, my fellow Symphonic Bandmembers. I've been through your kind of trouble before when I joined the ensemble last year to make up for a lack of performing arts class for my college entrance requirement (both the University of California and California State University systems require "at least one year" of Performing/visual arts type of class) I made a lot of effort to learn how to grip mallet sticks properly and follow the conducting. A year has passed, and I've become a welcome member of the family. But now we need to sink so low as to THIS crappy level - which as I mentioned earlier sounds even WORSE than the most annoying pop punk/emo/pop rap/bubblegum MTV corporate radio pop/MMMBop/Britney/NSYNC/Backstreet Boys/Simple Plan/Good Charlotte/Soulja Boy/Fall Out Boy/Limp Bizkit songs out there?!?!?!?! Maybe now it's OK for Michael Savage to trash-talk about Muslims and the mentally disabled. I think I'll just quit life and start smoking all the marijuana and drinking all the beer/alcoholic drinks I want and fail all my classes and eventually end up homeless/single/still a virgin after high school and spend the rest of my life in who knows where. College sounds worthless. Finding a job sounds meaningless. Everyone is an idiot. My local school district is a run by a mob of brainless drunken bastards for failing to fix a dying softball field at one school yet fixing other stuff everywhere else. MY school does things even worse by denying the right of one of my best friends to attend Calculus BC after having passed the Calculus AB exam

Back to the main topic. For this weekend, we all need to rethink this stupid situation and redeem ourselves and prove that we are all TRUE students and authentically-trained musicians and wanting to be among the best students out there. A CHANGE IS GONNA COME. If not, I might probably start ditching band class and later put the blame on whoever is causing me the most problems there, Barack Obama might lose the election simply because we weren't willing to accept change for the better, the world will decompose into a violent anarchy...OK sorry enough with the insane doomsday predictions right there. But seriously. You and I ALL NEED TO F\/|
PS: I thank all members of the Wind Ensemble, the highest level of band at school, for their hard work and making class "fun" for my other friend Jamie, who advised me on the state of that ensemble today after 6th period ended today. I guess that means that the WE was actually being cooperative unlike the Symphonic knuckleheads.

A sad sign of Corporate America gone wrong

Regarding the "Rock the Bells" hip-hop concert tour with a sold-out San Francisco show this saturday the 18th:
"Sunday - August 19th - Sacramento, CA - Sleep Train Amphitheatre - Cancelled
Refunds available at original point of purchase.

The Rock the Bells Festival date scheduled for Sunday, August 19 at the Sleep Train Pavilion near Sacramento, CA has unfortunately been cancelled due to slow ticket sales. Fans will be able to receive full refunds at their original point of purchase. The tour will be in the Northern California area on Saturday, August 18 for a sojavascript:void(0)
Publish Postld out show at McCovey’s Cove in San Francisco.

Festival founder Chang Weisberg from promoter Guerilla Union adds, 'I am disappointed that we weren't able to sell enough tickets to bring the full Rock The Bells experience to Sacramento this year. Unfortunately our San Francisco show was too popular. We know that over 4,000 people are coming from the Sacramento area based on our online ticket sales info. We kinda hurt ourselves with our own ambition to play Sacramento this year. We hope to bring Rock The Bells back to this area very soon.'"

:(

Well, I feel sorry for all the fans of good hip-hop residing in the Central Valley who have to drive another 90 minutes just to get to cold San Francisco. The Bay Area is big enough that there's actually "nonconformist" hip-hop fans like me who can look beyond the corporate monsters of Wild 94.9, BET, and MTV to listen to underrated hip-hop MC's who don't get much media exposure. Well, you have exceptions like Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco, but we can't totally rely on big corporate media to give us the new stuff from talented MC's like Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, Redman, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, etc. We have to suffer all the terrible derivative mindless pop-rap from G-Unot, Ugly Ricky, DTP, etc on the corporate media. The cancellation of the Rock the Bells show in Sacramento due to poor sales shows just how corporate America with its media consolidation can affect "smaller" markets like Sacramento and silence the voices of new and upcoming artists.

Media consolidation has been a big issue among the Creative Voices of America since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 relaxed rules on media consolidation. Nowadays, we have only a few big media corporations giving us what we hear on radio, responsible for influencing music sales, so let's have a look at how the radio is owned, shall we??
Clear Channel Communications owns these radio stations locally, in the San Francisco Bay Area:
- KSJO-FM "92.3 La Preciosa" (Mexican oldies)
- KYLD-FM "Wild 94.9" (hip-hop)
- KUFX "98.5 KFOX" (classic rock)
- KIOI 101.3 (pop)
- KDON 102.5 (hip-hop)
- KKSF 103.7 (jazz)
- KCNL 104.9 (alternative rock)
- KMEL 106.1 (hip-hop, with a more "open-to-the-underground" playlist than 94.9)
- KNEW-AM 910 (conservative talk)
- KKGN-AM 960 (liberal talk)
Empire broadcasting owns these local stations:
- KRTY 95.3 (country)
- KLIV-AM 1590 (news)
CBS Corporation:
- KITS 105.3 "Live 105" (alternative rock, but their playlist is more open to indie acts than does the over-corporate KCNL)
- KCBS-AM 740 (news)
Cumulus broadcasting:
- KFFG 97.7 (San Jose)/KFOG 104.5 (San Francisco) - adult album alternative
- KSAN-FM "107.7 the Bone" (hard rock)
- KNBR-AM 680/KTCT-AM 1050 (both stations run under "KNBR" banner, sports format)
The Walt Disney Company:
- KSFO-AM "Hot Talk 560" (conservative talk)
- KGO-AM "News Talk 810" (news & talk)
- KMKY-AM 1310 "Radio Disney" (children's)
Bonneville:
- KOIT 96.5 (light pop)
- KDFC 102.1 (classical)
Now, these are perhaps the most well-known stations in the area! The rest of the stations are owned by smaller companies, NPR, or local colleges. (Don't even get me started on "pirate" radio!) Luckily, because San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose is a big, profitable market, while there is room for the "conformist" music fans who get their music & information off the radio, there's also room for the "nonconformist" listeners who get their music off Live 105 or indie outlets or their news off the "alternative press". I fit somewhere between these two categories: While I get not all of my music and news off the radio, I do not consider myself 100% "anti-mainstream". Thus, the only music stations I really listen to are 104.5, 105.3, 106.1, and 107.7, as most bands I feel have true talent do not get much media exposure. (Look at my Last.fm and you'll see. Luckily, the programmers at local college radio stations 90.1 (KZSU, Stanford), 90.5 (KSJS, San Jose State), and 103.3 (KSCU, Santa Clara U.), are brave enough to play "indie" rap and rock that seldom get played on my fave corporate stations.

This story is easy enough to be viable in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Unfortunately, in the smaller Sacramento market, even a higher percentage of well-known radio stations are corporatized! Now, here's the logic: smaller market + larger corporate media ownership = less room for "unknown" talent to be heard. According to Wikipedia's list of Sacramento-area stations, Entercom, Clear Channel, CBS, Entravision, etc. have stakes on numerous FM stations, leaving less room for "indie" radio like KDEE 97.7 or KXJZ or whatever. I've been to Sacramento before, in 2005 when I was still a "corporate-possessed music junkie", to attend a clasical music concert, and the radio stations there are oh so corporate now that I know the dangers of media consolidation! So the conclusion?

Big media caused Rock the Bells, a concert tour with mostly unknown hip-hop acts, to be cancelled in Sacramento.

This is just one of the consequences of big media. Tomorrow or soon, I shall explore the dangers of media consolidation on TV.-

today

Chemistry class: Watched a boring Nova DVD about the scientists who influenced/were influenced by Albert Einstein, and we had to take notes about what each scientist discovered and when. Gee whiz, how much filler did there hafta be? English: Went to the school library to research/start our final essays that'll take the place of a final exam. We had to parallel the major themes of the novels we read to current events/issues. Wow, how exciting. Spanish: took a 175-question multiple choice final exam. Thus, this leaves the final block scheudle days with only three real final exams: Algebra II (Wendesday) and Chemistry/PE (Thursday)!! Friday is practically a kick-back day as I've oberserved, as in English we'll be presenting PowerPoints & essays all class, and Spanish we'll be watching our final video projects. All day today, people at school, especially the girls, were hyping about the Justin Timberlake concert. I'm excited about that because I hope someone will break in the HP Pavilion to shoot JT. Wow, what an untalented Hollywood hack he is. When the Summer Olympics come to Beijing, China in 2008, I doubt anyone will even like JT's music anymore. In the meantime, during lunch today I heard from a girl that Killswitch Engage is just noise. Well, I'm sorry, but she judged from the raw stuff that KsE did back in 2000-2002. Now is 2006, their new album As Daylight Dies has cleaner production and has former Blood Has Been Shed vocalist Howard Jones on vocals. Howard Jones is a great singer, with a strong vocal range, as shown in the video for "My Curse" (it's on my main profile page, music section). KsE isn't all screaming, at least if you listen to their Howard Jones-era stuff. They have their softer, more melodic parts, unlike you preps who shop at Abercrombie and stereotype heavy metal based on the posers like Limp Bizkit or Deicide.

Justin Timberlake:
You need to die tonight.
~ ALP