A microphone is a loaded gun

W-NBC New York last night, a mistake happens and the anchor let her frustration be known. A microphone is like a gun, always assume it is on. ALWAYS. I once called The Tragically Hip "dirty old whores" while their music played on CKIQ, because I was on hold for a call and thought the phone would never be on air. I was wrong.



EDITOR'S NOTE: Look at the stories on the bottom of the viewer, all of them are f'bombs dropped live on air. Also, The Tragically Hip are dirty old whores.

Scary things in Statcounter

I track my hits, and I stay at a pretty consistent level. i also track the search terms that bring people here, and, at the risk of sounding paranoid, I think they are out to get me, and not in that fun Guns and Roses kind of way.

These are some of the terms showed my blog:

double o tranny -- I called Transcontinental Media 'Tranny Cons" after they shut down The Daily News, makes sense.

olson twinnin -- from a Roots song I talked about here, "The good rapeprs ain't eatin'/ they Olson Twinnin'" I also got a hit for "she told me that the radios been playin the same song all day long"

evangeline lilly in the flesh -- I made a cheeky comment about the "sexy misadventures" the talented Ms. Lilly in my Lost post.

kent driscoll guide service -- They are searching for my name doppleganger, world reknowned crappie fisherman Kent Driscoll of Cordova Tennessee. Me, I'm just a crappy fisherman. Someday I'll interview Kent Driscoll, and the universe will implode.

michael stipe they airbrushed my face -- I mentioned that classic photo in a post about the AWG blog, which featured my giant head.

Now here is where it gets weird:

kent north dies

Someone actually searched the terms "kent north dies"... on April 27th, from Talahassee, Florida. Like John From Cincinatti likes to say, "I got my eye on you."

EDITOR'S NOTE: John from Cincinatti was cancelled. I loved that show.

The Europeans are coming

International journalists are a fact of life here in Nunavut. At my work, we have one of the few satellite feeds in Nunavut, and we get a fair share of the TV guys who show up. We get some good ones (my buddy Per from Norway is a good example).

There is nothing worse than a journalist who has the story they want to write already written in their head before they even visit where they want to go.

That is why I fear for this summer. Check this from CBC today, on the subject of the many scientists visiting here for International Polar Year research:

Scientists won't be the only new faces northerners will notice this summer: Thomas said she's also noticed a big increase in the number of journalists interested in covering International Polar Year activities.

Journalists taking interest in the North, that is great. Problem is, many have the story already written in their minds before they board a flight.

This is from a BBC story (we aren't talking about fly-by-night operations here, we are talking big players). The author is discussing global warming in Nunavut. This what he had to say about the rink in Kugluktuk:

We later discussed sport and the popularity of ice hockey in Canada. Jack told us that until a few years ago, youngsters used to play on the ice rink in Kugluktuk, "but now it no longer freezes over so the kids can't play anymore".

There is a germ of truth in there, but it is set up to defend a false arguement. The entire article is about global warming, and the implication is that global warming is behind the problems with the rink in Kugluktuk.

The whole story is here

Or, what they call the whole story. I have reported on the rink in Kugluktuk. They can't make ice IN THE WINTER. Let me try that again, THEY CAN'T MAKE ICE IN THE WINTER!!!!

The problem isn't global warming, to make ice in the winter, they just have to leave the doors open. The problem is that they installed pipes to provide cooling for the ice surface when the rink was built, but never purchased the ice-making equipment to hook up to the pipes that run under the ice surface.

The pipes leach heat from the heated dressing rooms to the ice surface. That isn't a global warming problem, that is yet another infrastructure problem in a territory plagued by them.

I sent that story and a version of this warning to my friend Per, when he contacted us from Norway before landing here. He saw the problem right away, and promised me he wasn't looking to do anything like that.

Global warming is real.

A bunch of well-meaning left-leaning know-nothings, with their heady dreams of Arctic Adventure, and a set agenda before they get off the plane does nothing to help global warming, or the people of Nunavut.

Call me jaded, but I don't go out of my way to help international journalists anymore. The novelty has worn off, and their work is suspect.

I'll be looking for more factual errors over the course of the summer. Mis-spell a name, I'll cut you some slack. Invent implied facts, I'll jump up and down and scream bloody murder. I may even do a story about it if there are enough of them.

The Europeans are coming, man the battle stations with stacks of facts.

BSG Fridays

Admiral Adama is the final Cylon.

Now you can go out and do something instead of watching BSG tonight.

Imitation is

... the most sincere form of flattery. Barack Obama has been tossing out compliments left and right.

First, the allegations that the Senator from Illinois had lifted parts of speeches by friends and used them as his own.

As someone who has been paid to write, that one isn't a big problem for me, I've even had my own stuff used by friends when it absolutely fits.... perfect example, the lead line "It happens." to describe a sewer truck spill. The person who used it sent me a note to tell me they had used it, and I thought that was great.



So, no big problem with Obama using some nice turns of phrase from colleagues, coleagues who said on TV they didn't mind.

Now here is where I get into Barack Obama's crime against children everywhere. He stole a famous line froma beloved children's character, so obvious that his lovely young daughters could have told him he was stealing.

"Yes we can."

You can hear that chant at every Obama rally.
"Yes we can
Yes we can!
YES WE CAN!"

Guess who said it first?


That's right, Bob the Builder.

"Can we build it?
YES WE CAN!"

Bob the Builder predates Obama's "Yes we cans" by years. He better offer Bob a job with FEMA if elected. He owes that round little optimist a debt of gratitude, and a damn fine line.

The "Daily Show"

I once had an English professor who would pick up the local newspaper, and find a mistake every day on the front page. It is how he started class at 9:30 in the morning, he would find and point out an error from the morning paper.

Different professor, same department, used to cry on St. Patrick's day. I got my tuition's worth, it was a great performance.

Here is a clip from today's edition of that same paper.

“The young Liberals truly have a strong voice within the party here . . . (they’re) voice does make a profound difference.”

They're voice does make a profound difference..... bracketed even.

Lost in Iqaluit

[Editor's Note: If you don't watch Lost you might as well not bother with this post, unless you want to read about ubergeekdom, celebrity stalking, leaps of logic and a show you don't know anything about.]

I have been watching Lost since Season 1, when I was living in House House (way back at the beginning of the blog). Only channel I could pick up on my old Radiotron 6000 was CTV, and I got hooked. I'm a sci-fi geek to begin with, and as soon as old Smokey appeared on the first night, I was in.



Somewhere along there I joined www.thefuselage.com, the fan discussion board sponsored by JJ Abrams, creator of Lost. When you hover the mouse over his name on the site, it changes to read "Brought to you by the Hanzo Foundation", one of the confusing multitude of self serving corporate enteties who play just off screen.

I only have 45 posts, meaning I am still categorized as "baggage". But, on the other hand, I have 45 posts.....

Two of the show's actors respond to questions on The Fuselage, Terry O'Quinn who plays John Locke,



and Jorge Garcia, who plays Hurley.



Jorge answers every single question he is asked, usually a one line "thanks dude", but every single damn post.

Now O'Quinn, he answers about one in 10, so if he picks your question, you know you did OK, you think,

"Hey, Terry O'Quinn knows I'm not an obsessed jerk-off watching his every move like the rest of these psychos. Now where did I put the remote, I've paused the PVR to try and decipher the hatch door map, while Locke is pinned under it."



O'Quinn has been kind enough to answer my questions twice. I'm a journalist, I tried to keep my questions direct and easy to answer, keeping in mind that since he has no obligation to answer, try to engage him on some level.

I was watching The West Wing episode by episode on The Book Channel, first thing I set my PVR to tape every day, because they were just starting at the beginning again. O'Quinn appears as a general and advisor to Leo (played by the late John Spencer). Here is what I asked him:

I've been catching The West Wing reruns in syndication, and they just got to the part where you appear, stalking John Spencer and just showing up in his office. Couple of quick questions:

1 - What was it like working with that cast and the late Mr Spencer in particular?

2 - Tons of tricky dialogue in that series, how was it as a job?

3 - You wear a uniform in that, do you obsess about the proper way to wear it, considering that every serviceman or woman that sees it would notice an error?

Thanks, and I hope Locke is still alive

Mr. O'Quinn replied:

John Spencer was a pro, a gentleman, and a blessing to those who were fortunate enough to know and work with him. I won't forget him.......'til I forget everything.

You had to be sharp and ready for work when you showed up on that set.

It's someone else's job to obsess about the uniform. I just try to obsess about the acting.


Thanks, Kent

T

I guess I can call him T now.



This leads us to my two MAJOR UNRESOLVED QUESTIONS I HAVE ABOUT LOST THAT WILL NEVER BE ANSWERED FOR ME EVER:

1 - Charlie died due to getting caught in the flooded underwater station. He was there to deactivate the communications block.



Michale killed him with a grenade, but I'm sure Patchy will be back for the highly anticipated Zombie season.



Thing is, the way they found the station was from a POWER CORD running from the jungle to the water, to the station. Here is a novel thought, why not cut the power cord, instead of swim to your doom, as foretold by Scottish Jesus.



2 - And here is where we get back to my questions to the actors. Back in Season One when Sawyer killed the polar bear, they wwre already running out of food, and were starting to hunt the boars. Sawyer killed the polar bear, they could have eaten it. Why not? Now, in retrospect, polar bears genetically engineered to live in a jungle environment may not have been the best choice for the survivors, but still, why not eat the bear.




I've asked the bear question up and down The Fuselage:

So, I asked their designated writer staff guy Gregg Nations. He is a script supervisor, and revently got promoted to something better... I'm not sure what. He is the "official voice of TPTB" on the forum. TPTB... The Powers That Be of course.

[No search function available on their site due to volume of posts following a show, I'll find it later] His answer was, they probably weren't hungry enough, which makes sense. Still, free bear.

These questions will never be answered... -- that and ever present question, is Vincent evil -- but here is what almost certainly will:

- Why are the Oceanic Six lying?
- Why can't Ben and Widmore kill each other?
- What, or who, is Jacob?

- What have the rest of The Others been doing at the temple?
- What is the temple?
- How do Aaron and Claire get seperated?
- What is the Orchid Station?
- Who is Ben Linus, and what exactly can he do?

- Does Jin really die, or is he just left on the Island?

- After Widmore had Ben's daughter killed, Ben vowed to kill his daughter, Desmond's girl Penny. What does Desmond do.

- What about the daughter of another powerful "businessman", Mr. Paik. Sun could catch a case as well.


And finally, how many sexy misadventures can Evangeline Lily get into: