Not getting enough technology talk in our previous podcasts? How about some pro wrestling thrown in? Fantasy football references? A discussion on various shades and flavors of clown? Lots and lots of self-satisfied laughter? Well, this podcast is for you. Tom and Mike will not disappoint in the dork department.
As an added bonus, only one of the two participants in said podcast was aware this conversation was being recorded! Enjoy!
I’ve never seen these two in the same place. Have you?
ESPN’s controversial “What if Michael Vick Were White?” picture:
ER / The Good Wife’s Julianna Margulies:
At a minimum, I think we can agree that the pseudo-Vick is the hypothetical offspring of Ms. Margulies and this man:
Pat Boone was one of the most commercially-successful musical artists of the late 1950’s. He spawned numerous Top Ten hits, including an impressive total of six songs that reached #1 on the U. S. charts.
As his core audience began to age, and tastes began to change rapidly in the mid-1960’s, Boone wisely transitioned into a lucrative (albeit smaller in scope) career as a Gospel and country artist. His emphasis on Christian music earned him a fanbase that was less “pop” and more “mom and pop.” It also earned him a place in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
That served him well as he aged, maintaining him as a viable niche artist who could consistently sell albums to audiences who also enjoyed country and western music. As a result, Boone would promote his material on shows directed at those folks who were kindred spirits as it pertained to Gospel music, and who were also old enough to remember his heyday.
One such appearance took a turn for the awkward.
Magnum, p.i. circa 1984: T. C. sends a text message.
I decided upon crossing the 20,000 visitor threshold to make the Facebook fan page for this site “live.” There’s not all that much there yet besides some links to recent posts. However, it does provide the opportunity to “like” The Axis of Ego on Facebook should you so desire.
And I’ll throw in a shameless Twitter plug as well.
As always, thanks for your support.
Seen at the Richmond International House of Airplanes Airport:
Upon arriving at the security checkpoint, I announced loudly that “A priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into an airport . . . ” at which point I was quickly tackled to the ground by TSA personnel*.
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The television landscape of the 1950’s looked nothing like what we know as the medium today. Putting aside the technological advances of the past half-century[1], the biggest difference between that time and the present is audience fragmentation.
Greater choices within and without television have continually lowered the bar for what constitutes a “successful” audience share. For example, American Idol has been the top-rated show on television for several years, but only commands about a ten rating. A show couldn’t have cracked the top twenty-five as recently as the 90’s with a 10.0.
Although the total television audience was smaller because the population of the country was lower and fewer people owned televisions, the most popular shows scored ratings that dwarfed the numbers of modern programs.
The pie was smaller, but the slices were massive. The mainstays of the formative years of television were few but powerful. One of these was a former radio star named Arthur Godfrey.
I experienced something instructive while covering a high school baseball tournament a few months back. Our local minor league baseball team graciously afforded its stadium for use in the event.
The stadium closes its upper deck for purposes of the tournament because high school crowds are nearly always small enough to fit into the lower seating area. Indeed, none of the games of this tournament even came close to testing the capacity of the lower section.
Come on, Irene
The street next to my mom’s house is pictured below. I doubt she’ll have power back for a week or so. I got mine back this morning.
Truthfully, I think I could go a while without it with little difficulty, but for a tight publication schedule this week and next. Otherwise, with the weather this mild, there’s nothing too problematic about not having electricity.
In fact, I’ve found that I eat a lot less and go to bed at a reasonable hour when I don’t have current. It’s strange how electric lights trick our bodies into following unnatural sleep patterns so easily. Without them, I essentially start to get tired when it starts to get dark. Beautiful in its simplicity.
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