Rose Parade Update

Tomorrow morning will bring us what is one of the most unique and popular parade events in the world, the Tournament of Roses Parade from Pasadena, California.

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As always, Firegeezer wants you to be able to take advantage of the best situation to enjoy the spectacle if you’re watching it on television.  How often have you been so frustrated and angry and the horrible tv coverage that NBC gives the parade?  They spend all of their time running endless streams of commercials and talking about upcoming programs on their network.  You only see a few of the floats and you never get to hear any of the bands because the self-centered oafs are constantly talking about themselves.

Well, here’s a public secret that I’m going to pass along to you.  Home & Garden television network (HGTV) also broadcasts the entire parade.  But they do it without any commercials – none – and no useless chatter.  They talk about the floats and the bands, etc., where they come from and that sort of thing.  But you get to see the whole parade.  This is the fourth year they’ve done that, I think.  I stumbled across it two years ago and believe me, it’s a dream compared to the disgusting production that NBC gives the event.

So now you know….. spread the word.  The parade starts at 8 am Pacific, 11 Eastern.  Oh, yeah…..this year’s Grand Marshal will be Chef Emeril Lagasse.  What a hoot.

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Bam !

Ok, let’s get the equipment checked out.  I’m going to start the coffee.

Do you remember this logo?

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I don’t know what it was that put it into my head, but the other day I got to wondering about the old Mystery Science Theater 3000 show that swept through the cable tv underground in the late 80’s.

Affectionately known by its fans as “Misty 3K,” the show developed true cult status.  The cornball humor was just hilarious and it would literally keep you laughing out loud throughout the entire program.  In fact, the commercial breaks were welcomed so that you could get a break and rest your laugh muscles.

The producers of the show would dig up the most horrible and nutty Grade B movies, usually the science fiction type,  and show them with a running commentary by the three creatures in the front row, a man and two little “robots” that he had made.  It was the commentary that grabbed you….so hilarious that you would lose track of the movie plot completely and get absorbed with the almost-out-of-control antics of the kibitzers.

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The basic premise of the show was convoluted and not really important, but it involved a man, Joel, being held captive on a space ship and forced to watch horrible movies so that a mad scientist could find the formula for movies so bad that he could use them to overwhelm people and take over the world.  Or something like that.

The show would start with one of the best opening/closing doors sequence ever filmed as Joel and his two robot friends, Servo and Crow (and later a third, Gypsy), would enter the theater and sit in the front row to watch some great flicks like Manos, The Hands of Fate; Horrors of Spider Island; and Attack of the Giant Leeches.  Once the movie started, it was off to the races and you were crippled with laughter for the next hour.

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The series began in 1988 as a local show on station KTMA in Minneapolis.  After running 13 episodes they caught the attention of the people who were starting up a new cable channel now known as Comedy Central, and the show moved over to there where it ran for seven seasons.  Comedy Central was carried by a limited number of cable systems at first and that added to the cult aura of the program.

After a management change at CC knocked MST3K off the air, they moved over to the Sci-Fi Channel for another four years.  Altogether they made 198 episodes and won a Peabody Award in 1993 along with two Emmy nominations in 1994 and 1995.  The last original program was shown on August 8, 1999.

They might be finished with original productions, but the shows are being re-issued on DVD’s with a batch of four episodes on most of them.  Amazon.com has 28 offerings listed.  If you’re a true MST3K aficianado, then you can read a good, comprehensive history of the program on Wikipedia HERE.  There is also a clip on YouTube showing the program’s campy intro with a portion of the “doors” sequence right at the end HERE.  We have also added a brief film clip in the video box at the top of the right sidebar.

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But first, we’d better get this equipment checked out.  I’ll see you at the coffee table.

I’m the first to admit it….when it comes to all communications that rely on “1’s” and “0’s”, I’m a true Digital Dunce.  The only thing that has saved me in this tidal wave of digital revolution is the fact that I learned to type when I was about 12 or 13 yrs. old.  So I’m able to make entries if I have good instructions on how to do it.

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Back in the mid-’80’s when computers were being introduced into the firehouse level of the FRD, they sent me to one of those introductory classes on how computers work.  Part of the class was a walk-through on using a spread sheet.  That was fun, but when I was finished I still couldn’t set one up.  I remember the instructor, who was from the local university, showing us his e-mail account.  I had never heard of e-mail before.  The internet as we know it now wasn’t yet introduced to the masses.  But I specifically recall that when he opened the mailbox, most of the items in it were…..you guessed it…..spam.

But when it was all said and done, I just couldn’t get the hang of it.  The county installed a computer in every station and hooked them up to the base computer so that we could practice and learn.  (the internet wasn’t around yet.)  The things were set up with that old MS-DOS that had the flashing green letters on a black background.  I remember there were some basic games to play with, too.  Something about guiding the falling building blocks into place to make a wall?

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It was a waste of my time to try and do something productive with the computer.  I just let the others who knew how to do it make out their forms and outlines.  Finally I figured out what my problem was.  Whenever I was making an entry, my mind was trying to figure out what was going on inside the computer to make it work.  Constantly, I was mentally charting out the electronic happenings.  It was driving me nuts.  So I gave up trying.

When the internet came along with Netscape Navigator, I jumped back in, determined to make this thing work.  It called for a different mindset….just punch the keys and don’t worry about what’s going on.  Keep the faith and press on!  And that has gotten me through the Rites of Passage into the digital age.

Fast-forward (another new digital term) to this week and consider these survey results that were just published:

1. 38 percent of U.S. consumers are watching TV shows online.
2.  36 percent use their cell phones as entertainment devices .
3. 45 percent are creating online content like Web sites, music, videos and blogs for others.

Just eight months ago, 24 percent of consumers used their cell phones as entertainment devices, meaning that usage has soared 50 percent.   When you refine the numbers to age groups, the 13- to 24-yr-olds come in at double those numbers.

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All I can say is:  Wow!

Let’s get the equipment checked out.  I need to get the coffee going.