tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post4979924705482706361..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Breaking News: A police pursuitBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-39291256899222691052019-07-11T12:04:11.540-07:002019-07-11T12:04:11.540-07:00Not only is it on Netflix, but you can choose what...Not only is it on Netflix, but you can choose what kind of wood you want: oak, birch, maple, etc.. <br /><br />What they don't have is the one where there's a tween boy sitting in front of it, tossing bits of paper, matches, sticks, dog food, whatever, into the fire to see what happens. That's what I did with any fireplace I was near on Christmas.cLohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00116811084893493310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67815763600449654682019-07-10T10:11:48.101-07:002019-07-10T10:11:48.101-07:00We here in Philadelphia have the "Yule Log&qu...We here in Philadelphia have the "Yule Log" running all day on Christmas! Its cute with a kitten and dog running around the presents, but sometimes they also have a pig! Plus, doesn't Netflix now have the Yule Log too? I totally get where you are coming from...mind numbing TV is the best, when sometimes you just need your brain to be numb! Hope you are having a great day!Leenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13233259042783352240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26697347394178282512019-07-09T12:34:18.192-07:002019-07-09T12:34:18.192-07:00Coincidentally, I watched a chase on YouTube a few...Coincidentally, I watched a chase on YouTube a few nights ago. What floored me about it was the suspect signaled every turn and lane change. I suppose he didn't want to be nailed for failing to use his signals despite fleeing from the police, running stop signs and red lights, and speeding.Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55920776979244535572019-07-09T11:15:19.104-07:002019-07-09T11:15:19.104-07:00Back in the day, The Weather Channel was the go-to...Back in the day, The Weather Channel was the go-to of my parents when they wanted Numb-a-vision. These days, it's HGTV/Animal Planet/MeTV.<br /><br />Then, you have my in-laws on the other end of the spectrum who are anything BUT numb because they watch Fox News nonstop daily.Dan Ballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06865180000909831517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40854390968415388792019-07-09T08:34:43.711-07:002019-07-09T08:34:43.711-07:00Netflix does carry it. Or at least they used to. ...Netflix does carry it. Or at least they used to. There were a couple of versions, even. Yes, I've pulled it up. Its like background music but visual. I think its like watching the weather radar while being snugly warm and dry at home.McAlvienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19535404956940592019-07-09T07:58:18.506-07:002019-07-09T07:58:18.506-07:00The fireplace IS on Netflix!The fireplace IS on Netflix!Vrejhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12889289981361424391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88851742690729882292019-07-08T23:31:20.786-07:002019-07-08T23:31:20.786-07:00I always thought someone should do a "Where a...I always thought someone should do a "Where are they now?" show that tracks down these car chase warriors to show the aftermath of their adventures. You'd think most are in jail but I wonder.mdv59https://www.blogger.com/profile/16110963117009209383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47618619979220232892019-07-08T23:04:49.483-07:002019-07-08T23:04:49.483-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11954397329086627132019-07-08T21:59:24.851-07:002019-07-08T21:59:24.851-07:00But let’s get real – stations carry these police p...<i>But let’s get real – stations carry these police pursuits because people watch them. Call it the “Lullaby of Broadcasting.”</i><br /><br />I call it a Southern California Bedtime Story.Rory L. Aronskyhttp://scrapsofliteracy.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7305349620907980382019-07-08T19:49:44.554-07:002019-07-08T19:49:44.554-07:00I'm in Maryland. When it snows heavily here, ...I'm in Maryland. When it snows heavily here, I watch a webcam aimed at a nearby entrance onto Interstate 70. It's just so peaceful. One or two cars per minute, and you can hear them shusshing through the gathering snow. Sometimes the gaps between cars are so big that the tracks from the previous car fill in before the next one passes by.<br /><br />BTW the original Yule Log was on Channel 11 in NYC. They have it on the web now.thirteennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64256909960530522972019-07-08T18:33:58.495-07:002019-07-08T18:33:58.495-07:00Way back in the late 60s/early 70s, the late Harla...Way back in the late 60s/early 70s, the late Harlan Ellison had a tv column in the LA Free Press titled The Glass Teat. The columns were collected in two books; The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat.<br /><br />In one, he pointed out the power of the video screen in two ways. First, if you have someone on stage speaking or whatever, and put up a tv next to them showing them live, people will watch the screen instead of the live speaker. And we're not talking 50 rows back watching the Jumbotron so you can actually see their facial expressions. We're talking equal image size and quality of screen and live.<br /><br />Second, he recounted an anecdote from a high school teacher who'd learned a trick to quiet down their class at its start. They had a couple of tvs in the room that had been connected to a pilot project video feed of some sort, but that had shut down so they no longer had a connection to any content. Still, if the teacher turned on the tvs such that they showed nothing but static (remember, 60s), gradually the class would quiet down as all the kids started watching the static.Tom Gallowaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37847509612944001842019-07-08T18:16:08.642-07:002019-07-08T18:16:08.642-07:00Toronto"s City-TV had a late night 1am-5-am s...Toronto"s City-TV had a late night 1am-5-am slot of a dashboard camera on a hired car as it drove around downtown entertainment districts. Mesmerizing, sleep-inducing and a better way to check road conditions. <br />Never once was there an accident, shooting or a crime caught on camera. Welcome to Canada. ;)TorontoTheGoodnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24962586673492187142019-07-08T16:48:40.701-07:002019-07-08T16:48:40.701-07:00Pro tip: If you see a nighttime chase on Channel 1...Pro tip: If you see a nighttime chase on Channel 11, flip over to Channel 2 or Channel 9, where you'll see the same video, only with their much more compelling chopper reporter Stu Mundel. (And I mean literally the *exact* same video. All three stations share the same helicopter.)Andy Rosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25121628383539561362019-07-08T13:38:36.354-07:002019-07-08T13:38:36.354-07:00Hello Ken,
I too have found myself watching polic...Hello Ken,<br /><br />I too have found myself watching police chases late at night, found it is easy viewing when unable to sleep.<br /><br />We haven't had a fireplace for years, but did put a video of a fireplace on the TV last year, just to get that "Christmassy" feeling. The age we live in now, I guess.<br /><br />I also have a Friday Question for you:<br /><br />I love the podcast 'Hollywood and Levine' and the insight and humour it brings. Your stellar work with David Isaacs on 'Cheers' in particular is what led me to the podcast and this blog.<br /><br />From 'Cheers' and 'Hollywood and Levine', you have inspired a friend and myself to do a podcast on 'Cheers', episode by episode, https://www.facebook.com/WNKYNCheersPodcast/ <br /><br />We have recently discussed the episode 'The Boys In The Bar', and I wanted to ask, what struggles did you face when writing sitcom episodes that addressed important social themes and how did you and David keep the balance between seriousness and humour in those episodes?James Marshallnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27308356275786120682019-07-08T11:55:27.929-07:002019-07-08T11:55:27.929-07:00Mesmerized by an event set on cruise control, with...Mesmerized by an event set on cruise control, with no discernible end point, and commentators groping for interesting things to say ... this certainlly explains your affection for the All-Star Game!Y. Knottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47357193767351535742019-07-08T11:06:48.577-07:002019-07-08T11:06:48.577-07:00My favorite car chase https://www.youtube.com/watc...My favorite car chase https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM3dET-Onag<br /><br />I have watched it a hundred times.<br /><br />Philnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26724383846213359422019-07-08T10:48:57.326-07:002019-07-08T10:48:57.326-07:00"The AFTERMASH effect", I like that. Pr..."The AFTERMASH effect", I like that. Pretty much sums it up, how we are all lulled into bland, repetitive media content once we've been overstimulated. Sort of like everyday life, the 24-hour news cycle and the resulting political complacency.<br /><br />However let's try to not to let it happen. It's a temporary escape, but our collective life depends on it not taking us over. However uncomfy it may be, we gotta snap out of it.Frank Beansnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26366187157702180852019-07-08T10:46:52.088-07:002019-07-08T10:46:52.088-07:00There's always the live Loch Ness webcam for p...There's always the live Loch Ness webcam for perpetually unrewarding viewing. No monster, but two sheep seem so relentlessly intent on being seen that I'm convinced they're auditioning to become internet influencers, or at least get their own channel playing video games. E. Yarbernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2987268585078109642019-07-08T10:30:26.099-07:002019-07-08T10:30:26.099-07:00So? SO? How could you just go to bed without kno...So? SO? How could you just go to bed without knowing why they were chasing him (her)? I assume not just for driving with headlights off. <br /><br />It sounds like there's enough footage for an all-car-chase channel. With your host Al Cowlings.<br /><br />I once read about a cable system that had made space for a channel that wasn't ready to air yet, so they marked the place by showing a tank of tropical fish. When the Shoe-Shopping Channel or whatever came on, subscribers demanded the fish back, and it's there to this day. And I would watch it, in preference to a fireplace. Or TLC.Buttermilk Skyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07430011403223875192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29058449393166031222019-07-08T10:05:54.031-07:002019-07-08T10:05:54.031-07:00You said:
“In New York City one local station tr...You said:<br /><br /><br />“In New York City one local station traditionally just shows a fireplace with a roaring fire on Christmas Day. And it gets ratings. I used to think that was crazy. Now I wish Netflix would carry it.”<br /><br />Netflix has no fewer than five fireplace videos you can watch right now in the middle of summer, Amazon has at least three times that, all available in July. Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14360532476045160060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2901371611362821712019-07-08T09:43:03.336-07:002019-07-08T09:43:03.336-07:00Guy in Russia who walks up to 1000 random women an...Guy in Russia who walks up to 1000 random women and asks to touch their breasts (don't ask why, just go with it). It's in public, and he does it through their clothes, so the whole thing is PG-13 at best, but after 30 second you're strangely invested in his quest, and I guarantee you'll stick around to the end:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNa7tNFB7c4&feature=player_embedded&has_verified=1ODJenningsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-53145032729524080582019-07-08T09:39:21.543-07:002019-07-08T09:39:21.543-07:00You should try "Slow TV" on Netflix. It...You should try "Slow TV" on Netflix. It has things like a bonfire, a t5rain trip and other long scenic shows that last for hours. They also have a few channels of this on Pluto TV (just purchased by Viacom) which are nice to have up while doing something else like cleaning or reading. <br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_televisionCoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037855799774656106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91163660120118847492019-07-08T09:26:29.722-07:002019-07-08T09:26:29.722-07:00You mean the police chase wasn't like those sh...You mean the police chase wasn't like those shows which show video of various police chases with the sound of sirens in the background, which you never hear while watching the real thing live?James Van Hisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06658381884799398658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22386295686138050072019-07-08T09:24:11.528-07:002019-07-08T09:24:11.528-07:00Maybe everyone was watching and hoping that when t...Maybe everyone was watching and hoping that when the chase finally ended O.J. Simpson would pop out of the car.YEKIMIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01921751875397071034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6111532039535755482019-07-08T08:57:59.582-07:002019-07-08T08:57:59.582-07:00One of the streaming services--I think it was Netf...One of the streaming services--I think it was Netflix--did show the fireplace on an hour-long loop last year. I know because my wife had it on while she was doing some of her Christmas-related chores.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.com