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This blog is the work of an educated civilian, not of an expert in the fields discussed.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Entertainment News



The country star Buck Owens recently died -- I do not know of the man, but do enjoy country music among other genres. My mom is a fan and the local country music station was always her favorite while I grew up. The one station with country in NYC eventually changed formats, which is a shame. It is also rather ridiculous given the breadth of listenship in the overall urban area: mom no longer lives in the City, though is not too far away ... so still is out of range of the small country station that sometimes can be heard further upstate. We do have plenty of top 40 and latin stations though ... quite diversified! Seriously, especially with the popularization of country overall -- some really basically soft rock or contemporary artists -- a country station makes sense.

Meanwhile, (hat tip, Atrios) the Dixie Chicks again say it well:
Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting

I’m through with doubt
There’s nothing left for me to figure out
I’ve paid a price
And I’ll keep paying ...

Not so sure that is meant to have political implications, but still applies there too, huh?

A rookie on David Letterman's race car team died in practice yesterday. Letterman, a great fan of the sport for years, put forth a heartfelt statement showing his sorrow at the death. Basically, he said that he did not know the man personally, but it is tragic that Paul Dana died at such a early age (30). It had a nice feel to it and overall though Letterman's show is not always that good anymore, I still find him at certain moments particularly honest. Leno seems to be more phony, more of an act. Works for him, though. Still, Dave? Enough with the racist cab driver jokes, ok? [As an aside, the death was given a bit more cache given its connection to Letterman ... like it or not, all deaths are in some sense not created equal. Also, I guess the chance of death, the risks involved, adds to the excitement of the sport itself, huh?]

I also see that Alexa Vega, best known as the older sister in the Spy Kid movies, is popping up a lot of places. She was recently on a HBO movie concerning walkouts to protest inequitable LA schools in the late 1960s. Another cable movie was replayed in which she played a teen psychologically abused by her classmates, seriously addressing teen issues that help make high school a living hell for some students. And, I see that another movie (light teen fare) she was in is showing on cable tonight as well. Good young actress -- she actually dyes her hair black to emphasize her Hispanic side, her blonde mane not quite ethnic enough.

Talking about television ... West Wing (five days to the election) was pretty good last night, with Janeane Garofalo looking rather nice -- her pining for Jon Bon Jovi (Atrios also had a cameo) was particularly cute. But, again, I am ready for this long election to be over! Also, Related ended its season last week -- hopefully not its run -- in a two hour finale. It is too bad one of the few shows I enjoy ended its season so soon, plus I did not quite like a couple of its plot choices. Still, baseball is coming up -- looks like Pedro is in good shape. The new Mets channel is not on Dish Network yet -- YES Network (Yankees) still is not -- but hey, radio is fine. Nostalgic feel and ...

Sheesh ... what are you waiting for? Of course, the hundred of thousands of local subscribers are rarely referenced in press accounts as compared to Time Warner, Cablevision and Direct TV. Clearly, we are second class citizens.