When your a 30 year TV news veteran, you think your writing don't stink. Boy, was I wrong. The lessons learned during this summer session will stay with me for a long time. Hopefully, not only will my writing improve, but so will all my communication skills. So as I reflect, I look ahead, and look forward to future endeavors.
THE VOICE
This has been the hardest piece of the puzzle for me to figure out. What exactly is an on line persona ? How do you achieve consistency with who you are throughout all the social media platforms ? And, for me, given my experience, expectations have already been formed by those who know me. I think that is why I chose to write about sports so much. There was a comfort level in meeting people's expectations about me. I also think that part of that comfort level came from my knowledge and passion for the subject as well.
I think that once I started to gain a little confidence and switched subjects concentrating on my capstone, I realized that my knowledge and passion extended outside the sports world. The subject of Jewish humor has opened me up to explore other sides of my personality. It began with my blog about growing up Jewish in Queens and the impact comedians had on me. As the semester progressed, and I admit it took awhile, I began to get more and more comfortable questioning the genesis of Jewish humor. I think my midterm proposal and my power point presentation best represented the transformation my voice is beginning to take.
Is the search for my on line persona complete ? Hardly. But, the groundwork has been laid and it is now up to me to continue the process beyond graduate school.
ON LINE PRESENCE
If I looked at it honestly, I'm still not sure what my on line presence will be or should be. I do know that I plan to continue striving to figure it out. The idea of blogging as part of my capstone project is one I will continue to explore. My initial thought is to use the blog form as a way to transition my documentary from subject to subject. I also want it to serve as a journal of my research and experiences. My plan would be to post my blogs on my Face Book, Twitter and Linked-In profiles to start a discussion on what I am writing about. The feedback and experience gained in this course should give me the confidence and motivation to get this going.
LESSONS LEARNED
The most important lesson I learned was to think outside of the box. I think that thought process started taking shape after the devil's advocate module. Questioning one's belief and then writing a coherent argument on that thesis has really allowed me to think from a different point of view.
It has made my writing more abstract and more creative.
But, it all still comes back to what my old News Editor used to say to me when I was writing news. Always look for ways to improve your writing. Simplify what you write and always re-write. Those words were re-enforced during the course of this summer and I thank Professor Kalm for taking the time to work with me.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Social Media
Social media is the new kid on the block. Its potential unlimited, its usage still unknown. I have been amazed to see its power unleashed when it comes to re-connecting with someone from the past. I have been to reunions with former work colleagues and look forward to my high school Face book reunion in September. It is great at bringing people together but how is as a P.R. and marketing tool?
I have been invited to join a lot of groups on Face book. I have been reluctant to join them all for fear of privacy and security issues. Recently, I was invited to join the group for the TV show "Lost". I was amazed at the number of fans in the group, over 5 million and the conversation stream is endless. As this assignment to critique a social media campaign from our niche came up, I decided to look at another popular TV show, one that fell into my niche, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" with Larry David.
On Face book, there are over 500-thousand friends on the site. On Twitter, tens of thousands more on the show site and on sites for each of the individual actors and actresses on the program.
The HBO website allows you to watch any one of the 70 episodes from the first 7 seasons. There are forums where fans of the show can have discussion with other fans about particular episodes, discuss your favorite guest star, decide who you want to see on an upcoming show, or just get the latest news releases about the show and its stars. You can even join the Face book page from there.
I think you really need to be a die hard fan of a show to get the most out of these social media channels. With the way characters and episode plots are dissected I don't think a casual fan would understand or appreciate it. The big plus for me is a place to be able to view episodes of the show on demand. I give the web site very high marks for its offering.
If there is to be a weak link in the social media chain, I think its with Twitter. Yes, millions of people want to know what 140 character pearls of wisdom comes from the mouths of celebrities, but, it just doesn't seem to employ a big enough payoff for time and energy spent on it. I have been using Twitter as part of our class assignments but I do not follow anyone on a regular basis and do not use it as a running commentary on the events of my day. Maybe its a generational thing, but I enjoy Face book much more than Twitter.
Again Face book, as it pertains to Curb Your Enthusiasm allows for individual reflection and critique of each episode. It allows you to post small video samples that can be viewed in a short amount of time. Like the web site, it allows for discussion amongst fans and allows for divergent points of view.
Overall, I would say that the use of social media for popular TV shows or movies serves its purpose as a PR and marketing tool. It is a way to get in front of the most pairs of eyes in the shortest amount of time. It brings about name recognition and if your on Face book and 15 or 20 of your friends are fans of a certain show, it may force you to ask about it and give it a try for yourself.
I have been invited to join a lot of groups on Face book. I have been reluctant to join them all for fear of privacy and security issues. Recently, I was invited to join the group for the TV show "Lost". I was amazed at the number of fans in the group, over 5 million and the conversation stream is endless. As this assignment to critique a social media campaign from our niche came up, I decided to look at another popular TV show, one that fell into my niche, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" with Larry David.
On Face book, there are over 500-thousand friends on the site. On Twitter, tens of thousands more on the show site and on sites for each of the individual actors and actresses on the program.
The HBO website allows you to watch any one of the 70 episodes from the first 7 seasons. There are forums where fans of the show can have discussion with other fans about particular episodes, discuss your favorite guest star, decide who you want to see on an upcoming show, or just get the latest news releases about the show and its stars. You can even join the Face book page from there.
I think you really need to be a die hard fan of a show to get the most out of these social media channels. With the way characters and episode plots are dissected I don't think a casual fan would understand or appreciate it. The big plus for me is a place to be able to view episodes of the show on demand. I give the web site very high marks for its offering.
If there is to be a weak link in the social media chain, I think its with Twitter. Yes, millions of people want to know what 140 character pearls of wisdom comes from the mouths of celebrities, but, it just doesn't seem to employ a big enough payoff for time and energy spent on it. I have been using Twitter as part of our class assignments but I do not follow anyone on a regular basis and do not use it as a running commentary on the events of my day. Maybe its a generational thing, but I enjoy Face book much more than Twitter.
Again Face book, as it pertains to Curb Your Enthusiasm allows for individual reflection and critique of each episode. It allows you to post small video samples that can be viewed in a short amount of time. Like the web site, it allows for discussion amongst fans and allows for divergent points of view.
Overall, I would say that the use of social media for popular TV shows or movies serves its purpose as a PR and marketing tool. It is a way to get in front of the most pairs of eyes in the shortest amount of time. It brings about name recognition and if your on Face book and 15 or 20 of your friends are fans of a certain show, it may force you to ask about it and give it a try for yourself.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Icm506 movie pitch2
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
Icm506 movie pitch2
View more webinars from JMS Communications,LLC.
Power Point Pitch
We have all seen documentaries on Jewish comedians but none of them ask the question, What Makes Being Jewish so funny? Is it the stereotype of being cheap ? The pain of living with one's mother-in-law ? Or is it a defense mechanism for the more serious problem of antisemitism? These are some of the issues explored in the new documentary due out next May, "Oy Vey, Why Being Jewish is so funny."
The film is the brainchild of Jeffrey Schneider, a five-time Emmy award winner who has been involved in television production for more than 30 years. His passion for the subject matter is a direct by-product of his Jewish upbringing and exposure to comedy from all media. He has dedicated this project to his comic heroes men who always managed to tickle your funny bone..
The career of Milton Berle, Uncle Miltie to millions, spanned 8 decades. He started in film, played in vaudeville and then became a superstar on radio and television. In 1948, the Texaco Star Theater became the first huge television hit and Berle forever became known as Mister Television......
Groucho Marx made 13 feature films with his Marx Brothers. But, Groucho became a TV icon as the host of the radio and TV game show, "You Bet Your Life". His wide lens glasses, thick eyebrows and dark mustache as well as his trademark cigar and quick quips made for many laugh out loud moments....
If story-telling gave you a case of the giggles, then there was no one funnier than Buddy Hackett, who used to talk out of the side of his mouth and tell his story funnier than anyone I had ever seen.....
Mel Brooks was just insane. He was a writer for Your Show of Shows ,the creator of Get Smart, The 2000 Year Old Man brought the old Jewish man character to life. But, his genius was as a director using his Jewish roots for classic comedy's like The Producers, Blazing Saddles and History of the World Part one.....
If Brooks was insane, Woody Allen was cerebral. He wrote with Brooks on Your Show of Shows and later went on to do bits for Candid Camera. But, Allen's portrayal of Jewish life was as the nebbishy misfit who was always a bit too neurotic to fit in. His early films like, Take the Money and Run, Bananas and Play It Again Sam were filled with sight gags that resonated in every Jewish home...
These men paved the way for other comedians like Robert Klein who helped push the envelope of being Jewish into the rebellious times of the late 60's and early 70's. He would become the pioneer of cable TV as the first standup comedian featured on HBO.......
And weird Al Yankovic, whose Jewish parodies took music to a place that Allan Sherman only touched upon in the early 60's. Yankovic's music in a lot of ways blazed the trail for satire along with Saturday Night Live that has evolved into The Daily Show of today...
And all of these entertainers made it easier for Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David to incorporate their brand of Jewish humor into America's living rooms. Jerry and Larry's neuroses just like Woody's, Kramer's slap stick approach just like Groucho and even Mel Brooks spent a season as part of Larry David's crazy world....
To try to answer the funny and serious questions posed by the documentary, we will sitdown with Jews of all age groups in a series of vignettes. The common thread will be a running blog provided by the creator.
One of the vignettes will focus on the elderly. We will visit a group of seniors to see what they thought was funny. Have them tell a joke or remember a visit to the Catskill Mountains. But, to many of them, reflect upon why Jews are so gifted at making people laugh. Was it their lot in life? Successful but persecuted ?
And we will switch from old to young and see if the Jewish youth aspires to follow in the footsteps of their roots. Is what is funny to them the same or different from the older generation. Do they have the same connection to Jewish humor ?
Next we'll meet a man who has turned the connection of God and humor into a new career. The stand-up Rabbi. A rabbi whose congregants meet in a comedy club and find humor in the scholarly observations of the man on the bimah.
And a man who walked the opposite path, starting out in vaudeville and ending up the corporate ladder. How much was his sense of humor a part of his rise in the board room ? From stand-up to CEO......
We'll ask the young comics of today how they incorporate their ethnicity into their acts and why they think that works, as we go backstage to one of the most famous comedy clubs in New York and meet the next generation of humorists......
Plus, since the documentary won't open until May 2011, there leaves time for a few planned and unplanned surprises. Hey, you shouldn't know from what may happen.
So there you have it, the planning is done and the shoots are in the works. Editing will soon follow and after some touching up and after effects, the unveiling of "Oy Vey, What Makes Being Jewish so Funny", will be ready about the time they play Pomp and Circumstance.
The film is the brainchild of Jeffrey Schneider, a five-time Emmy award winner who has been involved in television production for more than 30 years. His passion for the subject matter is a direct by-product of his Jewish upbringing and exposure to comedy from all media. He has dedicated this project to his comic heroes men who always managed to tickle your funny bone..
The career of Milton Berle, Uncle Miltie to millions, spanned 8 decades. He started in film, played in vaudeville and then became a superstar on radio and television. In 1948, the Texaco Star Theater became the first huge television hit and Berle forever became known as Mister Television......
Groucho Marx made 13 feature films with his Marx Brothers. But, Groucho became a TV icon as the host of the radio and TV game show, "You Bet Your Life". His wide lens glasses, thick eyebrows and dark mustache as well as his trademark cigar and quick quips made for many laugh out loud moments....
If story-telling gave you a case of the giggles, then there was no one funnier than Buddy Hackett, who used to talk out of the side of his mouth and tell his story funnier than anyone I had ever seen.....
Mel Brooks was just insane. He was a writer for Your Show of Shows ,the creator of Get Smart, The 2000 Year Old Man brought the old Jewish man character to life. But, his genius was as a director using his Jewish roots for classic comedy's like The Producers, Blazing Saddles and History of the World Part one.....
If Brooks was insane, Woody Allen was cerebral. He wrote with Brooks on Your Show of Shows and later went on to do bits for Candid Camera. But, Allen's portrayal of Jewish life was as the nebbishy misfit who was always a bit too neurotic to fit in. His early films like, Take the Money and Run, Bananas and Play It Again Sam were filled with sight gags that resonated in every Jewish home...
These men paved the way for other comedians like Robert Klein who helped push the envelope of being Jewish into the rebellious times of the late 60's and early 70's. He would become the pioneer of cable TV as the first standup comedian featured on HBO.......
And weird Al Yankovic, whose Jewish parodies took music to a place that Allan Sherman only touched upon in the early 60's. Yankovic's music in a lot of ways blazed the trail for satire along with Saturday Night Live that has evolved into The Daily Show of today...
And all of these entertainers made it easier for Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David to incorporate their brand of Jewish humor into America's living rooms. Jerry and Larry's neuroses just like Woody's, Kramer's slap stick approach just like Groucho and even Mel Brooks spent a season as part of Larry David's crazy world....
To try to answer the funny and serious questions posed by the documentary, we will sitdown with Jews of all age groups in a series of vignettes. The common thread will be a running blog provided by the creator.
One of the vignettes will focus on the elderly. We will visit a group of seniors to see what they thought was funny. Have them tell a joke or remember a visit to the Catskill Mountains. But, to many of them, reflect upon why Jews are so gifted at making people laugh. Was it their lot in life? Successful but persecuted ?
And we will switch from old to young and see if the Jewish youth aspires to follow in the footsteps of their roots. Is what is funny to them the same or different from the older generation. Do they have the same connection to Jewish humor ?
Next we'll meet a man who has turned the connection of God and humor into a new career. The stand-up Rabbi. A rabbi whose congregants meet in a comedy club and find humor in the scholarly observations of the man on the bimah.
And a man who walked the opposite path, starting out in vaudeville and ending up the corporate ladder. How much was his sense of humor a part of his rise in the board room ? From stand-up to CEO......
We'll ask the young comics of today how they incorporate their ethnicity into their acts and why they think that works, as we go backstage to one of the most famous comedy clubs in New York and meet the next generation of humorists......
Plus, since the documentary won't open until May 2011, there leaves time for a few planned and unplanned surprises. Hey, you shouldn't know from what may happen.
So there you have it, the planning is done and the shoots are in the works. Editing will soon follow and after some touching up and after effects, the unveiling of "Oy Vey, What Makes Being Jewish so Funny", will be ready about the time they play Pomp and Circumstance.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Elevator Pitch #2
Take a little old school media, mix it up with some new school technology and watch it take off into the blogosphere.
Everybody has their own take on the sports world. But, few have the perspective of more than 40 years of following sports like the bible and another 30 years of insight into the world of sports television.
I propose to you this hybrid view of sports that few can offer. Its an uncensored no holds bar opinion on the athletes who play the game, the media that covers the game and the fans who root for the game.
As sports has changed from a game to a business, someone needs to keep things in perspective. This blog will not only provide the checks and balances needed but offer solutions to problems that arise.
PROMOTIONAL RELEASE
Not a blog for the sports purists. "The Voice From The Couch" looks inside the games people play and will make you laugh, cry or want to throw something at your computer screen.
Tired of sports TV becoming one endless promo after another ? Wonder when the high cost of player salaries will hit the ceiling ? Fed up with leagues, corporations and networks controlling your teams?
Its time you had a voice. And "The Voice From The Couch" will be that voice. Each blog will look at what's wrong or what's right with sports. Is there something you've observed or want to get off your chest and you don't have an outlet to vent ? Let "The Voice From The Couch" vent for you.
Its time for the fans to take control back of the games we love. Let "The Voice From The Couch" be your voice from the couch.
Everybody has their own take on the sports world. But, few have the perspective of more than 40 years of following sports like the bible and another 30 years of insight into the world of sports television.
I propose to you this hybrid view of sports that few can offer. Its an uncensored no holds bar opinion on the athletes who play the game, the media that covers the game and the fans who root for the game.
As sports has changed from a game to a business, someone needs to keep things in perspective. This blog will not only provide the checks and balances needed but offer solutions to problems that arise.
PROMOTIONAL RELEASE
Not a blog for the sports purists. "The Voice From The Couch" looks inside the games people play and will make you laugh, cry or want to throw something at your computer screen.
Tired of sports TV becoming one endless promo after another ? Wonder when the high cost of player salaries will hit the ceiling ? Fed up with leagues, corporations and networks controlling your teams?
Its time you had a voice. And "The Voice From The Couch" will be that voice. Each blog will look at what's wrong or what's right with sports. Is there something you've observed or want to get off your chest and you don't have an outlet to vent ? Let "The Voice From The Couch" vent for you.
Its time for the fans to take control back of the games we love. Let "The Voice From The Couch" be your voice from the couch.
Elevator Pitch #1
"What Makes Something Funny? "
Humor is such an important part of our lives. It can relieve stress and make coping with adversity a little easier. But, why do we laugh at certain things? What makes something funny to one person and not funny to another ?
It is important to explore the genesis of humor and I'm proposing we do it from a unique and ethnic angle. Jewish humor has been the cornerstone for most of the media we have been exposed to for the last century. Names like Milton Berle, Groucho Marx, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld and Adam Sandler have been among the most influential writers, directors and performers in Hollywood and on the TV screen.
My idea is to explore this brand of humor at all age levels. Will a group of Jewish senior citizens share the same ethnic funny bone as a young group of Yeshiva students ? Why is humor, specifically Jewish humor, important as a therapeutic source of coping ? And how has ethnicity shaped some of the great comic minds of our time ?
I hope to find the answers in heart warming reflections from those who have laughed and cried over the years in a must see documentary.
PROMOTIONAL RELEASE
JMS Communications announces it has begun production on a new documentary entitled, "Oy Vey: What Makes Being Jewish so Funny?"
The video will be produced in conjunction with a web site (TBA) that will allow viewers to interactively view samples of all interviews and vignettes.
The documentary will focus on various ways Jewish humor assimilates itself into our everyday life. One aspect of the film will focus on the Catskill Mountains, long considered the birthplace of Jewish humor, where young and established Jewish comedians perfected their craft in front of a mostly Jewish audience.
We will follow a noted Jewish motivational speaker who will share her insights into how humor has become a therapeutic tool in coping and relieving stress and anxiety.
The film reflects upon the life of a former vaudeville comedian who would later become a successful CEO of a large corporation.
And looks back on the career of a noted Jewish comedian and how they used their ethnicity to further their career.
This film is scheduled for release on or about May 2011.
Humor is such an important part of our lives. It can relieve stress and make coping with adversity a little easier. But, why do we laugh at certain things? What makes something funny to one person and not funny to another ?
It is important to explore the genesis of humor and I'm proposing we do it from a unique and ethnic angle. Jewish humor has been the cornerstone for most of the media we have been exposed to for the last century. Names like Milton Berle, Groucho Marx, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld and Adam Sandler have been among the most influential writers, directors and performers in Hollywood and on the TV screen.
My idea is to explore this brand of humor at all age levels. Will a group of Jewish senior citizens share the same ethnic funny bone as a young group of Yeshiva students ? Why is humor, specifically Jewish humor, important as a therapeutic source of coping ? And how has ethnicity shaped some of the great comic minds of our time ?
I hope to find the answers in heart warming reflections from those who have laughed and cried over the years in a must see documentary.
PROMOTIONAL RELEASE
JMS Communications announces it has begun production on a new documentary entitled, "Oy Vey: What Makes Being Jewish so Funny?"
The video will be produced in conjunction with a web site (TBA) that will allow viewers to interactively view samples of all interviews and vignettes.
The documentary will focus on various ways Jewish humor assimilates itself into our everyday life. One aspect of the film will focus on the Catskill Mountains, long considered the birthplace of Jewish humor, where young and established Jewish comedians perfected their craft in front of a mostly Jewish audience.
We will follow a noted Jewish motivational speaker who will share her insights into how humor has become a therapeutic tool in coping and relieving stress and anxiety.
The film reflects upon the life of a former vaudeville comedian who would later become a successful CEO of a large corporation.
And looks back on the career of a noted Jewish comedian and how they used their ethnicity to further their career.
This film is scheduled for release on or about May 2011.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Tale of Two Bosses
If Charles Dickens was alive today and writing George Steinbrenner's obit, he might describe him as, "He was the best of owners, he was the worst of owners." Before Bruce Springsteen became "The Boss", George Steinbrenner was "The Boss".
It was almost by accident that Steinbrenner got the opportunity to purchase the Yankees in 1973. Two years before, he was part of a group that was on the verge of buying the Cleveland Indians, Steinbrenner's home town team. That deal fell apart when Indians owner Vernon Stouffer, allegedly feeling the effects of a drinking lunch decided minutes before the scheduled press conference that the $8.6 million dollar sale price was too low.
As hard as it is to believe now, when Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees from CBS in 1972 for $10 million dollars, New York was a National League city. The Miracle Mets had won the World Series in 1969 and made another miraculous run to the Series in 1973.
Steinbrenner learned early on that the best way to take back the city was to take control of the tabloid newspapers. He used the front and back pages of the Daily News and the New York Post to put attention on himself and the Yankees. Think about how owners today utilize the media to gain attention. Mark Cuban, Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder, the Maloof Brothers are all part of the Steinbrenner legacy.
Not only did he bring attention to the team but he wasn't afraid to put his money where his mouth was. Besides turning the Yankees from a $10 million dollar investment into a $1.6 billion dollar dynasty, Steinbrenner should be given a plaque from the MLB Players Assosciation. His signings of free agent pitcher Jim "Catfish" Hunter and outfielder Reggie Jackson signified the beginnings of baseball's million dollar salaries. When both players helped lead the Yankees to World Series victories in 1977 and 1978, George's spending sprees would continue. But, names like Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, Steve Sax and Ed Whitson proved that all the money in the world could not just buy a championship.
And Steinbrenner was making enemies as well as friends. He had broken promises made to former Yankees President Mike Burke and General Manager Gabe Paul, both of whom were forced to leave the organization. His fingerprints were all over every aspect of the team. Before every home game,he used to inspect the bathrooms at Yankee Stadium to make sure they were up to his standards. He would fire any worker who did not live up to his expectations. He would drive Public Relation Directors crazy. I used to work with Marty Appel, George's first Yankees P.R. Director. Appel would tell stories about phone calls in the middle of the night and all sorts of crazy requests and demands coming down from The Boss. I used to laugh at his stories, but, he was quick to say, "It wasn't funny at the time. I was in constant fear of losing my job or losing my health." Appel was the first of the group. More were to follow. One got fired for screwing up lunch and another was let go for being on vacation over Christmas when a big free agent was signed. Add to that 13 General Managers and 22 Managerial changes over a 37 year span.
This was the face of George that the baseball world saw from 1973-2005. The impulsive, intimidating and controlling boss. The one who when he was suspended from baseball in 1990 was the constant target of jeers and taunts from the Yankee faithful in the Bronx. The one who while he was in baseball exile was forced to allow Gene Michaels and Buck Showalter to try to restore the Pinstripe Tradition.
Without the Boss strong arming them, Michaels and Showalter drafted the likes of Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and a shortstop named Derek Jeter. These five players would become the core of the team we know today. A team that was won 5 World Championships since 1996. A team that once Steinbrenner returned to baseball took full advantage of the new technology and wiser free agent signings to become a dynasty.
For it was in his later years that a more benevolent side of Steinbrenner began to appear. We are all seeing the stories about how Steinbrenner paid for fired employees kids to go to college. He was there for Darryl Strawberry when he was diagnosed with cancer. This is the other side of Steinbrenner that attempts to balance out his contemptuous side.
In the past week, we have witnessed nothing but an outpouring of love for the man. An entire generation of Yankee fans never really knew the real Boss. It was interesting to hear at Saturday's Old Timers Game the difference of expression from the Yankees of the 70's and 80's and the Yankees of today.
But, one thing should not be lost. Whether a Yankee fan or a Yankee hater. George Steinbrenner was the kind of owner you wanted to own your team. He loved his team but he loved to win even more. He would do whatever was possible at whatever the cost to win. Think about the men or organizations that own your favorite team. Can any of them make that same claim ?
It was almost by accident that Steinbrenner got the opportunity to purchase the Yankees in 1973. Two years before, he was part of a group that was on the verge of buying the Cleveland Indians, Steinbrenner's home town team. That deal fell apart when Indians owner Vernon Stouffer, allegedly feeling the effects of a drinking lunch decided minutes before the scheduled press conference that the $8.6 million dollar sale price was too low.
As hard as it is to believe now, when Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees from CBS in 1972 for $10 million dollars, New York was a National League city. The Miracle Mets had won the World Series in 1969 and made another miraculous run to the Series in 1973.
Steinbrenner learned early on that the best way to take back the city was to take control of the tabloid newspapers. He used the front and back pages of the Daily News and the New York Post to put attention on himself and the Yankees. Think about how owners today utilize the media to gain attention. Mark Cuban, Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder, the Maloof Brothers are all part of the Steinbrenner legacy.
Not only did he bring attention to the team but he wasn't afraid to put his money where his mouth was. Besides turning the Yankees from a $10 million dollar investment into a $1.6 billion dollar dynasty, Steinbrenner should be given a plaque from the MLB Players Assosciation. His signings of free agent pitcher Jim "Catfish" Hunter and outfielder Reggie Jackson signified the beginnings of baseball's million dollar salaries. When both players helped lead the Yankees to World Series victories in 1977 and 1978, George's spending sprees would continue. But, names like Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, Steve Sax and Ed Whitson proved that all the money in the world could not just buy a championship.
And Steinbrenner was making enemies as well as friends. He had broken promises made to former Yankees President Mike Burke and General Manager Gabe Paul, both of whom were forced to leave the organization. His fingerprints were all over every aspect of the team. Before every home game,he used to inspect the bathrooms at Yankee Stadium to make sure they were up to his standards. He would fire any worker who did not live up to his expectations. He would drive Public Relation Directors crazy. I used to work with Marty Appel, George's first Yankees P.R. Director. Appel would tell stories about phone calls in the middle of the night and all sorts of crazy requests and demands coming down from The Boss. I used to laugh at his stories, but, he was quick to say, "It wasn't funny at the time. I was in constant fear of losing my job or losing my health." Appel was the first of the group. More were to follow. One got fired for screwing up lunch and another was let go for being on vacation over Christmas when a big free agent was signed. Add to that 13 General Managers and 22 Managerial changes over a 37 year span.
This was the face of George that the baseball world saw from 1973-2005. The impulsive, intimidating and controlling boss. The one who when he was suspended from baseball in 1990 was the constant target of jeers and taunts from the Yankee faithful in the Bronx. The one who while he was in baseball exile was forced to allow Gene Michaels and Buck Showalter to try to restore the Pinstripe Tradition.
Without the Boss strong arming them, Michaels and Showalter drafted the likes of Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and a shortstop named Derek Jeter. These five players would become the core of the team we know today. A team that was won 5 World Championships since 1996. A team that once Steinbrenner returned to baseball took full advantage of the new technology and wiser free agent signings to become a dynasty.
For it was in his later years that a more benevolent side of Steinbrenner began to appear. We are all seeing the stories about how Steinbrenner paid for fired employees kids to go to college. He was there for Darryl Strawberry when he was diagnosed with cancer. This is the other side of Steinbrenner that attempts to balance out his contemptuous side.
In the past week, we have witnessed nothing but an outpouring of love for the man. An entire generation of Yankee fans never really knew the real Boss. It was interesting to hear at Saturday's Old Timers Game the difference of expression from the Yankees of the 70's and 80's and the Yankees of today.
But, one thing should not be lost. Whether a Yankee fan or a Yankee hater. George Steinbrenner was the kind of owner you wanted to own your team. He loved his team but he loved to win even more. He would do whatever was possible at whatever the cost to win. Think about the men or organizations that own your favorite team. Can any of them make that same claim ?
Monday, July 12, 2010
Welcome Back Carlos
Thursday night when the New York Mets open up the second half of their season in San Francisco a familiar face will be patrolling center field. Carlos Beltran, arguably one of the games best players
will make his season debut following knee surgery.
Beltran's return while good news for the team will result in a lot of re-shuffling for the Mets outfield. The current center fielder, Angel Pagan, was probably the teams best player in the first half of the season. He has the highest batting average on the team, hitting .315.
So the problem seems to be how to find time for both Beltran and Pagan and figure out who to sit between the other two outfielders. Left fielder Jason Bay and right fielder Jeff Francoeur have struggled throughout the first half. Last year Bay was an All-Star belting 36 home runs for the Red Sox. Bay homered every 15 times at bat and earned an 18 million dollar a season free agent contract with the Mets. So far this season, Bay has 6 home runs, hitting two in one game, twice. He has homered every 52 times at bat. He has been a major disappointment and has heard more than his share of boos from the Mets faithful.
Jeff Francoeur, is batting a paltry .253 and after starting the season red hot, he has just 3 home runs since June 1st. What Francoeur does have is a cannon for a right arm and has thrown out 8 runners on the bases. He is also a very popular player in the clubhouse.
So which outfielder will lose the playing time ? At first, it appears to be Francoeur. It seems that he and Pagan will platoon in right to start things off. Beltran will need rest coming off of surgery, so he won't play every day getting one or two days off each week. Bay will need to start hitting if he wants to play. It would be tough to sit down a player making 18 million dollars but Bay was benched for his own bobblehead doll day on Sunday.
Carlos Beltran will be a welcome addition to the team but there are three other players who will need to produce to get their playing time.
will make his season debut following knee surgery.
Beltran's return while good news for the team will result in a lot of re-shuffling for the Mets outfield. The current center fielder, Angel Pagan, was probably the teams best player in the first half of the season. He has the highest batting average on the team, hitting .315.
So the problem seems to be how to find time for both Beltran and Pagan and figure out who to sit between the other two outfielders. Left fielder Jason Bay and right fielder Jeff Francoeur have struggled throughout the first half. Last year Bay was an All-Star belting 36 home runs for the Red Sox. Bay homered every 15 times at bat and earned an 18 million dollar a season free agent contract with the Mets. So far this season, Bay has 6 home runs, hitting two in one game, twice. He has homered every 52 times at bat. He has been a major disappointment and has heard more than his share of boos from the Mets faithful.
Jeff Francoeur, is batting a paltry .253 and after starting the season red hot, he has just 3 home runs since June 1st. What Francoeur does have is a cannon for a right arm and has thrown out 8 runners on the bases. He is also a very popular player in the clubhouse.
So which outfielder will lose the playing time ? At first, it appears to be Francoeur. It seems that he and Pagan will platoon in right to start things off. Beltran will need rest coming off of surgery, so he won't play every day getting one or two days off each week. Bay will need to start hitting if he wants to play. It would be tough to sit down a player making 18 million dollars but Bay was benched for his own bobblehead doll day on Sunday.
Carlos Beltran will be a welcome addition to the team but there are three other players who will need to produce to get their playing time.
Midterm Proposal
I guess the original premise for what I wanted to write about centered around my Capstone documentary on Jewish humor. While my original plan was to keep things light and humorous, my research has taken me to a different level and has given me pause for thought. In our Devils Advocate lesson we were taught to question things from another point of view and I think that is what I am proposing to do for my final writing assignment.
I want to propose a paper on the appropriateness of humor, specifically ethnic humor. Is it OK for a Jewish person to tell a Jewish joke? Is it the same thing as an African-American using the "N" word? We all know how inappropriate it is for a non-Jew or a white person to go in this direction.
I saw that in April, National Security adviser James Jones decided to open his remarks at the 25th Anniversary Gala of the Washington Institute for Near Mid-East Policy with a joke.
I want to propose a paper on the appropriateness of humor, specifically ethnic humor. Is it OK for a Jewish person to tell a Jewish joke? Is it the same thing as an African-American using the "N" word? We all know how inappropriate it is for a non-Jew or a white person to go in this direction.
I saw that in April, National Security adviser James Jones decided to open his remarks at the 25th Anniversary Gala of the Washington Institute for Near Mid-East Policy with a joke.
A Taliban militant gets lost and is wandering around the desert looking for water. He finally arrives at a store run by a Jew and asks for water.
The Jewish vendor tells him he doesn't have any water but can gladly sell him a tie. The Taliban begins to curse and yell at the Jewish store owner. The Jew, unmoved, offers the rude militant an idea: Beyond the hill, there is a restaurant; they can sell you water.
The Taliban keeps cursing and finally leaves toward the hill. An hour later he's back at the tie store. He walks in and tells the merchant: "Your brother tells me I need a tie to get into the restaurant."
So is this joke offensive or inappropriate ? There are different strokes for different folks but it did get me to thinking how humor is used and when it used are subjects that may be worth looking into.
While comedians such as Don Rickles , Chris Rock and George Lopez have all integrated their routines with ethnic humor, what would Dane Cook sound like doing Chris Rock's act ? We only have to look at Michael Richard's on You Tube to understand how that would go over. What would it sound like for Denis Leary to do Woody Allen's act or Sarah Silverman doing George Lopez?
I see it amongst my friends. We will sit around at a wedding or at an event and try to figure out who is Jewish and who is not. That same conversation taking place amongst a group of non-Jews might have a completely different connotation. That leads to another question worth exploring, is ethnic humor a defense mechanism against antisemitism. It's almost as if you are saying, "you can't hurt me with words because I have already said it."
I know I have been writing a lot about sports in my blogs, it's part of my niche but not the sole voice I am attempting to put out there. It's my passion and it's what I know so I am comfortable writing about it. Now it is time to take that passion into a new direction and do something that may force me to stretch a bit.
The one constant I have tried to maintain throughout this process has been to tell a story. Whether its a sarcastic look at the U.S. approach to soccer, a memorable experience at an outdoor concert or a look into my fascination with Jewish humor, I have always tried to weave into story form. Even my rants on the Knicks and Isiah Thomas have been attempts at story telling.
I think this unexpected turn in my research will provide me an opportunity for some very poignant and possibly humorous story-telling. I will plan on interviewing rabbis, writers and others about the proper usages of humor. By getting their unique take on the discussion, I hope to be able to construct an essay on the "Appropriateness of Humor".
The Wrong Man For The Wrong Job
Lebronamania has come and gone and like the vuvuzela horns of the World Cup it has left a sour note on our senses.
New Yorkers have had to come to grips with the fact that Lebron would prefer eating crabs at Joe's Stone Crabs than steak at Peter Luger's.....
He would rather hit the surf than hail a cab.......
And he was more willing to party on South Beach than the neon lights on Broadway.
As a 24 year-old NBA superstar he earned that right. In last weeks post, I talked about how important a talent like Lebron James could be for the future of the New York Knicks franchise. Well, it didn't happen. There's no sour gripes here, really. In that aforementioned blog, I also chronicled the demise of this one proud franchise and the uphill climb it faced toward righting itself.
It was just three weeks ago, after once again being denied a lottery pick in the NBA draft because of a bad trade, the Knicks had rid themselves of the last piece of destruction known as the Isiah Thomas era. The franchise and its fans looked to the free agent signing period with hope that change was coming.
The signing of free agent Amar'e Stoudemire signaled the Knicks were ready to get back into the game and the next piece of that puzzle would be to get Lebron James. New York had two meetings with Lebron and his people and as the clock slowly ticked toward Decision Day, the Knicks decided one more face-t0-face would be necessary.
The Knick brass huddled together to think who best to act as its emissary to right the ship of the fallen franchise. Should it be General Manager Donnie Walsh ? Coach Mike DiAntoni ? Super fan Spike Lee ? You can just picture Knicks owner James Dolan, hand in chin rubbing his beard, thinking, thinking. Then, all of a sudden a light bulb pops up over his head. Lets send Isiah !!
You could almost hear the jaws dropping onto the table. Abbott has picked Costello, McCain has picked Palin and Dolan has picked Thomas. So Isiah gets on the planes and flies to Akron to meet with one of Lebron's representatives. You can only imagine how that conversation might have gone down.
Isiah says,"Draft picks, we don't need draft picks, Lebron can tell us to trade for any player in the league, injured or not....."
"Lebron can bring in any relative he wants to work in our corporate offices and if he gets in any trouble, Dolan will pay all his legal fees..."
"And if the Knick fans run him out of the Garden, he can always come back a few years later as a team recruiter."
What a sales pitch ? You think Lebron's people stopped laughing long enough to even listen to it? Isiah Thomas is the antithesis of King Midas, everything Isiah touches, turns to ----, you figure it out !!
So Knick fans don't feel bad that Lebron is not coming to New York. I'm sure it was tough turning down the offer after Isiah Thomas himself presented it. Maybe Lebron knows the same thing the fans have known for years but are unable to do anything about. The fact that Isiah is still allowed to exert any kind of authority with the franchise he has embarrassed and destroyed is as much about the owner enabling him as it is on him.
Every time I think the Wilpons are about to become the worst ownership group in New York, Jim Dolan comes along to show us why, when it comes to incompetence there is no one in the city his equal.
New Yorkers have had to come to grips with the fact that Lebron would prefer eating crabs at Joe's Stone Crabs than steak at Peter Luger's.....
He would rather hit the surf than hail a cab.......
And he was more willing to party on South Beach than the neon lights on Broadway.
As a 24 year-old NBA superstar he earned that right. In last weeks post, I talked about how important a talent like Lebron James could be for the future of the New York Knicks franchise. Well, it didn't happen. There's no sour gripes here, really. In that aforementioned blog, I also chronicled the demise of this one proud franchise and the uphill climb it faced toward righting itself.
It was just three weeks ago, after once again being denied a lottery pick in the NBA draft because of a bad trade, the Knicks had rid themselves of the last piece of destruction known as the Isiah Thomas era. The franchise and its fans looked to the free agent signing period with hope that change was coming.
The signing of free agent Amar'e Stoudemire signaled the Knicks were ready to get back into the game and the next piece of that puzzle would be to get Lebron James. New York had two meetings with Lebron and his people and as the clock slowly ticked toward Decision Day, the Knicks decided one more face-t0-face would be necessary.
The Knick brass huddled together to think who best to act as its emissary to right the ship of the fallen franchise. Should it be General Manager Donnie Walsh ? Coach Mike DiAntoni ? Super fan Spike Lee ? You can just picture Knicks owner James Dolan, hand in chin rubbing his beard, thinking, thinking. Then, all of a sudden a light bulb pops up over his head. Lets send Isiah !!
You could almost hear the jaws dropping onto the table. Abbott has picked Costello, McCain has picked Palin and Dolan has picked Thomas. So Isiah gets on the planes and flies to Akron to meet with one of Lebron's representatives. You can only imagine how that conversation might have gone down.
Isiah says,"Draft picks, we don't need draft picks, Lebron can tell us to trade for any player in the league, injured or not....."
"Lebron can bring in any relative he wants to work in our corporate offices and if he gets in any trouble, Dolan will pay all his legal fees..."
"And if the Knick fans run him out of the Garden, he can always come back a few years later as a team recruiter."
What a sales pitch ? You think Lebron's people stopped laughing long enough to even listen to it? Isiah Thomas is the antithesis of King Midas, everything Isiah touches, turns to ----, you figure it out !!
So Knick fans don't feel bad that Lebron is not coming to New York. I'm sure it was tough turning down the offer after Isiah Thomas himself presented it. Maybe Lebron knows the same thing the fans have known for years but are unable to do anything about. The fact that Isiah is still allowed to exert any kind of authority with the franchise he has embarrassed and destroyed is as much about the owner enabling him as it is on him.
Every time I think the Wilpons are about to become the worst ownership group in New York, Jim Dolan comes along to show us why, when it comes to incompetence there is no one in the city his equal.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
All Mashed-Up
As I was reading this weeks lecture about research, I was curious about Professor Kalm's use of the word mash-up. My only exposure to that expression before this lecture was earlier this year on an episode of "Glee" they did mash-ups of different song genres. They did a mix song of "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett with the Police's "Don't Stand So Close To Me". I did a Google search which produced the musical definition I was familiar with, a web application that combines data from two sources and produces new information, and a marketing strategy. No where was the term used to describe Adrienne's attributes like the Professor did.
So I find myself trying hard not to be the old fuddy duddy, not understanding this new tecno-babble, but, I am a bit lost. Are we saying, that a person, with varying interests, captain of the equestrian team and a drug researcher is considered a mash-up of who they are as a person ? I just don't understand how her love for animals makes her a contradiction ? Is it because she doesn't take it to extremes like a PETA member that makes it a contradiction ?
If I am a sports fanatic, what is the mash-up for me ? If this is a key element in my finding my voice, maybe my confusion is part of the reason I haven't found it yet. If I am the only one confused here, I apologize for not getting it. Curious to hear other interpretations.
So I find myself trying hard not to be the old fuddy duddy, not understanding this new tecno-babble, but, I am a bit lost. Are we saying, that a person, with varying interests, captain of the equestrian team and a drug researcher is considered a mash-up of who they are as a person ? I just don't understand how her love for animals makes her a contradiction ? Is it because she doesn't take it to extremes like a PETA member that makes it a contradiction ?
If I am a sports fanatic, what is the mash-up for me ? If this is a key element in my finding my voice, maybe my confusion is part of the reason I haven't found it yet. If I am the only one confused here, I apologize for not getting it. Curious to hear other interpretations.
The Outdoor Concert
I had to search way back in my memory banks for the last time I was there. It was the summer of 1968. I was a camper at a sleep away camp in the Berkshire Mountains. I remember how I used to love to go to camp. The bus trip up the New York State Thruway and how quickly the concrete and metal buildings turned into beautiful green mountains and a serenity not always felt in the hustle and bustle of the city. Besides the days filled with playing sports and the nights filled with planning raids to the girls side, the camp would once a week take us on a field trip. On this particular night, I was going to see my very first rock concert at a place called Tanglewood. It is hard to say how into music I was back then. The Beatles were still huge and I remember being a big fan of WABC-AM which back then played Top 40 tunes like the Beach Boys, Supremes and Stones. It was the station that gave us Cousin Brucie, Dan Ingram and Ron Lundy. We all boarded the bus for the 30 minute drive into Lenox Massachusetts. Of the little things I do remember from the night, was how loud the music was and how great the light show was. I later learned that it was the Joshua Light Show,made famous at the Fillmore East and Fillmore West, one of the very first rock concert clubs in New York and San Francisco. The first performer was Richie Havens, followed by the Guess Who, Arlo Guthrie, BB King, and Jefferson Airplane.
The memory of that pre-Woodstock rock fest was fresh on my mind as I re-entered the grounds of Tanglewood this past July 4th to hear James Taylor and Carole King. I say hear, because I knew we would be sitting out on the lawn. I had seen the show a few weeks earlier at Mohegan Sun so I knew this experience would be a different one. We were there with a group of college friends, a Big Chill weekend with people we have known for more than 30 years. There were 8 divorces between the group and coincidentally each person only had one kid. My wife and I are the lynch-pins of this group since ours is the only marriage to last.
There must be a member of my wife's family I never met who was a chef in the military, because my wife always cooks enough for a small army. There were only eight of us, but as we unloaded our coolers filled with food the look on our friends faces turned from amazement to amusement. Four appetizers made their way to our blanket not including the cheese and crackers provided by someone else. Five bottles of wine, which wasn't enough, met up with a bottle of Patron and we proceeded to re-enact a scene out of the movie "Tom Jones". The main courses were equally extravagant as seared tuna, skirt steak and sliced turkey made the rounds from person to person. Finally, as if a boxing match was about to break out, bells filled the lawn signaling 15 minutes until the concert would begin.
Sure enough, 15 minutes later, the sounds of "Home to Carolina" could be heard followed by "So Far Away". Since you could not see the stage or the TV screens from where we were sitting, it was fun to just people watch and have conversation. The cute 6 year-old in the white dress sitting with her family singing and dancing to every song was a hit. But, to me, it was the reflections back to another time and the memories jarred from another song. "It's Too Late" reminded me of a summer job I had in 1970 as a counselor at a day camp in Queens. "Shower the People" jogged a memory of a personal training called "Lifespring" I did with many of the people I was at the concert with. And of course, "You've Got A Friend", hearing the entire crowd singing every word and individuals swaying together as one.
It was such a wonderful experience that the 15 mile return trip that turned into a 25 mile one hour journey thanks to local cops closing off roads and making two way streets one way, couldn't slow down the festivities. It was a night to remember and think about the memories shared with good friends.
The memory of that pre-Woodstock rock fest was fresh on my mind as I re-entered the grounds of Tanglewood this past July 4th to hear James Taylor and Carole King. I say hear, because I knew we would be sitting out on the lawn. I had seen the show a few weeks earlier at Mohegan Sun so I knew this experience would be a different one. We were there with a group of college friends, a Big Chill weekend with people we have known for more than 30 years. There were 8 divorces between the group and coincidentally each person only had one kid. My wife and I are the lynch-pins of this group since ours is the only marriage to last.
There must be a member of my wife's family I never met who was a chef in the military, because my wife always cooks enough for a small army. There were only eight of us, but as we unloaded our coolers filled with food the look on our friends faces turned from amazement to amusement. Four appetizers made their way to our blanket not including the cheese and crackers provided by someone else. Five bottles of wine, which wasn't enough, met up with a bottle of Patron and we proceeded to re-enact a scene out of the movie "Tom Jones". The main courses were equally extravagant as seared tuna, skirt steak and sliced turkey made the rounds from person to person. Finally, as if a boxing match was about to break out, bells filled the lawn signaling 15 minutes until the concert would begin.
Sure enough, 15 minutes later, the sounds of "Home to Carolina" could be heard followed by "So Far Away". Since you could not see the stage or the TV screens from where we were sitting, it was fun to just people watch and have conversation. The cute 6 year-old in the white dress sitting with her family singing and dancing to every song was a hit. But, to me, it was the reflections back to another time and the memories jarred from another song. "It's Too Late" reminded me of a summer job I had in 1970 as a counselor at a day camp in Queens. "Shower the People" jogged a memory of a personal training called "Lifespring" I did with many of the people I was at the concert with. And of course, "You've Got A Friend", hearing the entire crowd singing every word and individuals swaying together as one.
It was such a wonderful experience that the 15 mile return trip that turned into a 25 mile one hour journey thanks to local cops closing off roads and making two way streets one way, couldn't slow down the festivities. It was a night to remember and think about the memories shared with good friends.
Research-The City Game
It has always been known as "The City Game". From the concrete playgrounds of the outer boroughs to the sound of sneakers squeaking on a gym floor, the game of basketball has been the New York City game. When I was younger, my friends and I would be out on the courts dribbling, running, jumping and shooting for hours at a time. We would only stop for the occasional ice cream from the Mister Softee truck or an egg roll from the Chow Chow Cup truck. We played until it got too dark to play or there was no air left in the ball. In the months between October and April, after I would leave the gym, I would rush home to my radio or television to listen or watch that nights New York Knicks NBA game. Remember, this was before SportsCenter. Cable TV in the early 70's consisted of Manhattan Cable which was only available in certain parts of the city. My apartment in Queens was not one of them. So for home games, it was the radio with the voice of Marv Albert painting the picture, and on the road, it was WOR-TV with Bob Wolf calling the games. The next day it was the rush to the corner candy store to buy the Post or the Daily News to read about the game and see who scored the most points. Back then, Willis, Clyde, Dollar Bill, Cazzie and Debusschere were known to every New Yorker not just the die hard fans. The Knicks were the darlings of the Big Apple and no sport in town was more important than basketball. It is where Madison Square Garden became the World's Most Famous Arena and the start of basketball crowds chanting Dee-Fense when the opponent held the ball.
As the Knicks were winning their second World Championship in four years in 1973, a new league was trying to take advantage of "The City's Game". The American Basketball Association (ABA), was born in 1967 and in 1968 formed a franchise called the New York Nets. The Nets played out on Long Island in places like Commack and Hempstead. But, in the beginning the city game didn't catch on in the suburbs. On Christmas Day 1968, only 257 people showed up to watch the Nets play the Houston Rockets. But, in 1973, a kid from Roosevelt, Long Island, returned home and turned the Nets into Showtime on the Island. Julius Erving, Dr. J, electrified crowds and began selling out the Nets new home at the Nassau Coliseum. Led by the Doctor, the Nets won the last two ABA Championships in 1973-1974 and 1974-1975. The Metropolitan Area had two great basketball champions and no hoops fan in the country would believe these to be the last two New York Championships won in the last 35 years.
Once the Nets along with three other A.B.A. teams merged into the N.B.A., once Roy Boe decided it would be cheaper to sell Julius Erving and once the team eventually moved to New Jersey, the Nets became irrelevant to the New York sports fan. Even though, since the 1976 merger, both the Knicks and Nets have played in two NBA Championship series each without either winning, the town as always been a Knicks town.
After losing the NBA Championship to the San Antonio Spurs in 1999, change began to envelop the World's Most Famous Arena. Cablevision, which owned Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks named James Dolan to be Chairman of MSG. The 2000-2001 is the last season the Knicks have had a winning record or won a playoff game. And in 2003, Dolan anointed , Isiah Thomas to be President of Basketball Operations. Under Isiah, the Knicks became one of the worst teams in basketball. He traded for guard Stephon Marbury in a deal that cost the team a lottery pick in 2004 and 2010. Marbury never became the super star Isiah thought he would be and finished his career in new York by testifying against Thomas in a sexual harrassment suit brought on by a female Garden executive. Thomas would also trade for the Bulls Eddie Curry, a trade that may go down as the worst trade in NBA history. Curry has played just 69 games the past three seasons due to injury. The Knicks gave the Bulls three players and two draft picks, both of which turned out to be lottery picks in two successive seasons. Curry himself was involved in his own sexual harrassment suit when he was accused of soliciting gay sex from a limo driver. (source-N.Y. Post 1/12/09) This is what the Knicks organization has been trying to cleanse itself from for the past two seasons. The draft pick lost in this years draft is the last of the stentch left over from the Isiah years. But, the damage it has caused this one proud franchise has left it vulnerable to attack from across the Hudson.
Ironically, Stephon Marbury is the connection. Before being traded to the Knicks from Pheonix, Marbury was the Nets lone all-star in the 2000-2001 season. After that season, the Nets traded him to the Suns for point guard Jason Kidd. Kidd's arrival immediately turned the Nets fortunes around. The team won its Divsion for the first time ever , and then went to its first NBA Championship Finals where they were swept by the Lakers. They followed that up with their second straight trip to the Finals a year later, this time losing in 6 games to the Spurs. But, despite their success, the team has never found a home in New Jersey. In 2004, a real estate developer named Bruce Ratner purchased the team with the sole purpose being to move the team to his new real estate project in Brooklyn. He wanted to make the Nets part of "The City Game". Lack of funding and local resident disputes kept delaying the project but this past March, a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the project was handed down and the ground breaking has begun. After a two year stay in Newark, the Nets will move to Brooklyn in the 2013 season. Ratner, earlier this season was forced to sell majority interest in the team to a Russian billionaire who may yet set the stage for the biggest basketball battle New York has ever seen.
Mikhail Prokhorov is a self made Russian entrepreneur. He is Forbes magazines 39th richest man in the world. Prokhorov likes the limelight and is positioning himself to be New York's next George Steinbrenner. He has already fired his first salvo at the Knicks, erecting a huge billboard facing Madison Square Garden with a picture of himself and minority owner Jay-Z as the blueprint for greatness. I hope by now you understand why all the banter over this years crop of NBA free agents has taken added significance in New York. The Nets are two years removed from moving into a brand new building at the Brooklyn Naval Yards. Brooklyn is New York's most populus borough and of the 2.6 million people living there, 4% are Russian. (source-2008 U.S. Census)
The Knicks have a two year window to re-assert their dominance and re-gain a hungry city's basketball appetite. With Amare Stoudamire already committed, the Knicks have enough money to spend on one more free agent super star. Once Eddie Curry's (yes him again) contract expires at the end of next season, they will be able to sign one more premiere player. So these next two signatures could prove to be the most important signings in team history. The Nets can sign one of this years top players but benefitted from having two first round draft picks in this years draft. Add those players to an all-star point guard in Devin Harris and a solid young center like Brook Lopez and its not so clear cut which local team is the most attractive to fans.
Prokhorov is a fresh new face looking to make a splash with money to burn. Dolan has the money to spend but the reputation as the worst owner in New York. The window of opportunity has never been greater for the Nets to push the Knicks off their pedestal. Which team will emerge as the face of "The City's Game" ? Only time will tell. But, it sure looks like basketball will once again be relevant in New York.
As the Knicks were winning their second World Championship in four years in 1973, a new league was trying to take advantage of "The City's Game". The American Basketball Association (ABA), was born in 1967 and in 1968 formed a franchise called the New York Nets. The Nets played out on Long Island in places like Commack and Hempstead. But, in the beginning the city game didn't catch on in the suburbs. On Christmas Day 1968, only 257 people showed up to watch the Nets play the Houston Rockets. But, in 1973, a kid from Roosevelt, Long Island, returned home and turned the Nets into Showtime on the Island. Julius Erving, Dr. J, electrified crowds and began selling out the Nets new home at the Nassau Coliseum. Led by the Doctor, the Nets won the last two ABA Championships in 1973-1974 and 1974-1975. The Metropolitan Area had two great basketball champions and no hoops fan in the country would believe these to be the last two New York Championships won in the last 35 years.
Once the Nets along with three other A.B.A. teams merged into the N.B.A., once Roy Boe decided it would be cheaper to sell Julius Erving and once the team eventually moved to New Jersey, the Nets became irrelevant to the New York sports fan. Even though, since the 1976 merger, both the Knicks and Nets have played in two NBA Championship series each without either winning, the town as always been a Knicks town.
After losing the NBA Championship to the San Antonio Spurs in 1999, change began to envelop the World's Most Famous Arena. Cablevision, which owned Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks named James Dolan to be Chairman of MSG. The 2000-2001 is the last season the Knicks have had a winning record or won a playoff game. And in 2003, Dolan anointed , Isiah Thomas to be President of Basketball Operations. Under Isiah, the Knicks became one of the worst teams in basketball. He traded for guard Stephon Marbury in a deal that cost the team a lottery pick in 2004 and 2010. Marbury never became the super star Isiah thought he would be and finished his career in new York by testifying against Thomas in a sexual harrassment suit brought on by a female Garden executive. Thomas would also trade for the Bulls Eddie Curry, a trade that may go down as the worst trade in NBA history. Curry has played just 69 games the past three seasons due to injury. The Knicks gave the Bulls three players and two draft picks, both of which turned out to be lottery picks in two successive seasons. Curry himself was involved in his own sexual harrassment suit when he was accused of soliciting gay sex from a limo driver. (source-N.Y. Post 1/12/09) This is what the Knicks organization has been trying to cleanse itself from for the past two seasons. The draft pick lost in this years draft is the last of the stentch left over from the Isiah years. But, the damage it has caused this one proud franchise has left it vulnerable to attack from across the Hudson.
Ironically, Stephon Marbury is the connection. Before being traded to the Knicks from Pheonix, Marbury was the Nets lone all-star in the 2000-2001 season. After that season, the Nets traded him to the Suns for point guard Jason Kidd. Kidd's arrival immediately turned the Nets fortunes around. The team won its Divsion for the first time ever , and then went to its first NBA Championship Finals where they were swept by the Lakers. They followed that up with their second straight trip to the Finals a year later, this time losing in 6 games to the Spurs. But, despite their success, the team has never found a home in New Jersey. In 2004, a real estate developer named Bruce Ratner purchased the team with the sole purpose being to move the team to his new real estate project in Brooklyn. He wanted to make the Nets part of "The City Game". Lack of funding and local resident disputes kept delaying the project but this past March, a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the project was handed down and the ground breaking has begun. After a two year stay in Newark, the Nets will move to Brooklyn in the 2013 season. Ratner, earlier this season was forced to sell majority interest in the team to a Russian billionaire who may yet set the stage for the biggest basketball battle New York has ever seen.
Mikhail Prokhorov is a self made Russian entrepreneur. He is Forbes magazines 39th richest man in the world. Prokhorov likes the limelight and is positioning himself to be New York's next George Steinbrenner. He has already fired his first salvo at the Knicks, erecting a huge billboard facing Madison Square Garden with a picture of himself and minority owner Jay-Z as the blueprint for greatness. I hope by now you understand why all the banter over this years crop of NBA free agents has taken added significance in New York. The Nets are two years removed from moving into a brand new building at the Brooklyn Naval Yards. Brooklyn is New York's most populus borough and of the 2.6 million people living there, 4% are Russian. (source-2008 U.S. Census)
The Knicks have a two year window to re-assert their dominance and re-gain a hungry city's basketball appetite. With Amare Stoudamire already committed, the Knicks have enough money to spend on one more free agent super star. Once Eddie Curry's (yes him again) contract expires at the end of next season, they will be able to sign one more premiere player. So these next two signatures could prove to be the most important signings in team history. The Nets can sign one of this years top players but benefitted from having two first round draft picks in this years draft. Add those players to an all-star point guard in Devin Harris and a solid young center like Brook Lopez and its not so clear cut which local team is the most attractive to fans.
Prokhorov is a fresh new face looking to make a splash with money to burn. Dolan has the money to spend but the reputation as the worst owner in New York. The window of opportunity has never been greater for the Nets to push the Knicks off their pedestal. Which team will emerge as the face of "The City's Game" ? Only time will tell. But, it sure looks like basketball will once again be relevant in New York.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Dumb Question/Creative Thought
"There are no such things as dumb questions." We have heard that saying used by professors, interviewers and employees for most of our lives. I used to tell production assistants during their orientation that what's worse than a dumb question is not asking and then getting it wrong. I remember a producer once asked during a show meeting , "why does a switch hitter bat right-handed against a left-handed pitcher ?" On the surface, a pretty dumb question because the answer is obvious. After some laughter and good nature d ribbing, we moved on. A few minutes later, an intrepid researcher came back with statistics showing the list of left handed hitters who had great success against left-handed pitchers. It was at this point, that one of our analysts described how a switch hitting teammate once batted lefty against a southpaw and got three hits that day. I remember the producer screaming at him for not bringing this up earlier while he was getting abused for his dumb question. The bottom line is that it led to a very interesting segment of the show that was done because someone asked a dumb question.
It is human nature to be curious. What is not obvious to one person may be crystal clear to others. That doesn't make the question dump to the person asking the question.
It is human nature to be curious. What is not obvious to one person may be crystal clear to others. That doesn't make the question dump to the person asking the question.
Us vs USA
It came down to one incredible play by a Ghana soccer player whose name will never be remembered by most American sports fans. The U.S.A.'s 2-1 overtime loss at the World's Cup ended our country's brief flirtation with the rest of the world. We can now go back to our 20 million dollars a year baseball players on steroids and wait until the REAL football season opens in September. We will watch with bated breath as millionaire N.B.A. owners woo the games biggest names with dollar signs in their eyes to come play for their team in their city.
Sports in the U.S.A. has become too much about the almighty dollar and less about the game. We have disconnected from the rest of the world when it comes to soccer. Why ? Not enough scoring, not enough scoring opportunities ? Or is it just a snobbish attitude America has for the sport. It's not real football is it? Besides its spelled with a u, futbol. Even my spell check thinks that's wrong. Did you see the headline in Sunday's paper ? In this country, the game is considered stupid, but, around the globe this is the biggest sporting event there is.
You have to give ESPN credit. They are trying to educate a soccer illiterate nation to the nuisances of the game. Imagine showing Lady Ga Ga on tour to a Muslim extremist. The mind is closed to the performance no matter how artful it is. So too is soccer in the U.S.
There is no question that had the USA team won and advanced deeper into the tournament that the interest level would have ramped up and the country would have been totally behind the team. With this nation being pulled apart by a split government and an incompetant Brittish oil company, I think we could have used something to unite us. For all those who say the interest in the World Cup will make soccer more popular in the U.S., I say, been there, done that. While many school kids play soccer it has not translated into popularity for the sport. If the greates soccer player to ever play the game, Pele, couldn't bring the sport to America, then it never shall.
And once again America will isolate itself from the rest of the world.
Sports in the U.S.A. has become too much about the almighty dollar and less about the game. We have disconnected from the rest of the world when it comes to soccer. Why ? Not enough scoring, not enough scoring opportunities ? Or is it just a snobbish attitude America has for the sport. It's not real football is it? Besides its spelled with a u, futbol. Even my spell check thinks that's wrong. Did you see the headline in Sunday's paper ? In this country, the game is considered stupid, but, around the globe this is the biggest sporting event there is.
You have to give ESPN credit. They are trying to educate a soccer illiterate nation to the nuisances of the game. Imagine showing Lady Ga Ga on tour to a Muslim extremist. The mind is closed to the performance no matter how artful it is. So too is soccer in the U.S.
There is no question that had the USA team won and advanced deeper into the tournament that the interest level would have ramped up and the country would have been totally behind the team. With this nation being pulled apart by a split government and an incompetant Brittish oil company, I think we could have used something to unite us. For all those who say the interest in the World Cup will make soccer more popular in the U.S., I say, been there, done that. While many school kids play soccer it has not translated into popularity for the sport. If the greates soccer player to ever play the game, Pele, couldn't bring the sport to America, then it never shall.
And once again America will isolate itself from the rest of the world.
How to Work Out
Exercise, to some it entails actually having to get off the couch and exerting themselves. To others, it is a welcome diversion from the stresses of a day. And to a slightly larger group its a taboo word that will never become part of their vocabulary unless its to exercise their right not to exercise.
Thanks to the influx of infomercials we can watch on late night TV, there appears to be many ways one can pump it up and get those tired old muscles into tip top shape. Whether your exercise routine is to follow a video from inside your home,heading out to the gym,playing sports, or just going for a walk there are still some guidelines you should follow.
The first is to always stretch ! This loosens your muscles and allows your body to absorb any impact that comes its way. Work your way from the bottom up or from the top down. Make sure each side of the muscle is stretched out. Now you are ready to tackle that pair of dumb bells, a six foot five basketball player, or the dog walker with a German Sheppard and a Pit Bull blocking your path.
Your goal is to strengthen your muscles and increase your heart rate at the same time. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Try not to over exert yourself. If you are lifting weights, don't go so heavy that it affects your form. Try to avoid unnatural body movements. A twist can turn into a twinge that can turn into a doctors appointment. Know your bodies limitations if you are playing sports. I constantly have to remind myself that the mind of a 30 year-old coupled with the body of a 50 year-old is a good way to injure yourself.
Once you have been able to complete your exercise choice safely, then you can try to challenge your body. Increase the impact of your routines in increments. Cut down on the reps (the amount of times you perform the exercise) as the weight increases. This allows your muscles to grow slowly with maximum effect. If your a walker or a jogger, increase your distance every time you go out. After reaching a certain point you can then exert your body more and try for more distance at a quicker time.
The last thing you need to do is to repeat the first thing you did. Stretching helps cold muscles get warm and warm muscles stretch more allowing your body to expand and the muscles to fit more snugly.
For most people, its just a question of taking that first step. Once you get your hand out of the chips bowl and start exercising you'll see how much more energetic you feel both physically and mentally.
Thanks to the influx of infomercials we can watch on late night TV, there appears to be many ways one can pump it up and get those tired old muscles into tip top shape. Whether your exercise routine is to follow a video from inside your home,heading out to the gym,playing sports, or just going for a walk there are still some guidelines you should follow.
The first is to always stretch ! This loosens your muscles and allows your body to absorb any impact that comes its way. Work your way from the bottom up or from the top down. Make sure each side of the muscle is stretched out. Now you are ready to tackle that pair of dumb bells, a six foot five basketball player, or the dog walker with a German Sheppard and a Pit Bull blocking your path.
Your goal is to strengthen your muscles and increase your heart rate at the same time. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Try not to over exert yourself. If you are lifting weights, don't go so heavy that it affects your form. Try to avoid unnatural body movements. A twist can turn into a twinge that can turn into a doctors appointment. Know your bodies limitations if you are playing sports. I constantly have to remind myself that the mind of a 30 year-old coupled with the body of a 50 year-old is a good way to injure yourself.
Once you have been able to complete your exercise choice safely, then you can try to challenge your body. Increase the impact of your routines in increments. Cut down on the reps (the amount of times you perform the exercise) as the weight increases. This allows your muscles to grow slowly with maximum effect. If your a walker or a jogger, increase your distance every time you go out. After reaching a certain point you can then exert your body more and try for more distance at a quicker time.
The last thing you need to do is to repeat the first thing you did. Stretching helps cold muscles get warm and warm muscles stretch more allowing your body to expand and the muscles to fit more snugly.
For most people, its just a question of taking that first step. Once you get your hand out of the chips bowl and start exercising you'll see how much more energetic you feel both physically and mentally.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Module 4- Thesis Update
I'm very excited because I have found a character who I think will become a central figure in my thesis documentary. He is an old vaudeville comedian who used to perform with among others the singer Rosemary Clooney. For historical reference for some of you Rosemary Clooney was the aunt of an actor named George Clooney who I'm sure many of you are familiar with. Vaudeville, dates back to the 1860's, it was a combination of theater, singers, dancers, acrobats and comedians. It remained the focal point of American entertainment until talking movies phased it out in the 1930's.
The performer I found is the father of a friend of mine and he promises that he has tons of old photographs and programs that I can use as historical footage for my project. Right now I am doing my research so I can formulate the right questions to ask. Once that step is completed, I should be able to schedule my shoots. Time to turn this project from an idea into a reality.
The performer I found is the father of a friend of mine and he promises that he has tons of old photographs and programs that I can use as historical footage for my project. Right now I am doing my research so I can formulate the right questions to ask. Once that step is completed, I should be able to schedule my shoots. Time to turn this project from an idea into a reality.
Module 4- Devils Advocate
It is very frustrating to stare at a blank page and know you have to say something about anything. You try to concentrate on what you want to say, "OK focus, I can do this", then nothing comes out. My attention starts to wander, what's my dog Duncan up to ? Whose on Letterman tonight ? Any new apps for the iPad ? After each distraction, I bring it back to that blank page, "god it's getting late, why can't I think of anything to write?" How the hell am I ever going to find my voice if I don't have anything to say ? What in the world possessed me to take an online writing class in the summer? I'll get you for this Phil Simon.
I guess I could write about something that's going on in the world. Let's see, the Republicans are pissed off at the President because he went out and played golf with Biden while oil was still spilling into the Gulf. How do I feel about that ? I guess to some it would give off the wrong appearance, here's the President blasting out of a sand trap while the American economy and environment is being drained and polluted. But, I really don't think for a minute that some Secret Service agent would not put a call through if something major came up because Obama was lining up a birdie putt. And he is sharing a golf cart with Joe Biden for three hours. No, I don't think I want to write about that.
I can feel my heart pumping a bit faster as I realize that this writers block is creating some anxiety within me. I need to relax, take a few deep breathes maybe bang out a set of sit-ups. There I feel much calmer now. What else is going on ? There's this whole Lady Gaga baseball thing. Is she trying to out-Madonna Madonna. She's been to two baseball games in two weeks at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium. Both times she stripped down to her underwear and at Citi Field she flipped the crowd the bird and in the Bronx she was drinking in the clubhouse after the game. She must have a new album coming out. Either that or she has a real need to be the center of attention. She's one step away from shaving her head and taking a baseball bat to a car. Can't picture a celebrity going that crazy. Oh, wait a minute. Besides, who even knows what she looks like considering she walks around with a veil over the face all the time? What's up with that ? No, I don't think I want to write about that crazy lady.
Politics? Entertainment ? How bout sports? Yanks beat the Mets two in a row. I can't be too unhappy with a 7-2 road trip. Should be an interesting week coming up. The Mets aren't as bad as they were the first couple of months of the season but who knows if they are as good as they've played lately. If they play well this week, I hope they decide to go out and get a starting pitcher. They could use a reliever as well. Elmer Dessens in the eighth inning makes me nervous. I probably shouldn't write about the Mets either, how many people really care besides me ?
I have to find something to write about, I can't just leave an empty page, I'll fail !! Hold on, this page is not as empty as I thought. There are actually well constructed thoughts and sentences written. I just double checked it and you know what it makes sense. I can relax, watch Kimmel, maybe Professor Kalm is right. Just keep writing your thoughts and you never know when it will turn into a story.
I guess I could write about something that's going on in the world. Let's see, the Republicans are pissed off at the President because he went out and played golf with Biden while oil was still spilling into the Gulf. How do I feel about that ? I guess to some it would give off the wrong appearance, here's the President blasting out of a sand trap while the American economy and environment is being drained and polluted. But, I really don't think for a minute that some Secret Service agent would not put a call through if something major came up because Obama was lining up a birdie putt. And he is sharing a golf cart with Joe Biden for three hours. No, I don't think I want to write about that.
I can feel my heart pumping a bit faster as I realize that this writers block is creating some anxiety within me. I need to relax, take a few deep breathes maybe bang out a set of sit-ups. There I feel much calmer now. What else is going on ? There's this whole Lady Gaga baseball thing. Is she trying to out-Madonna Madonna. She's been to two baseball games in two weeks at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium. Both times she stripped down to her underwear and at Citi Field she flipped the crowd the bird and in the Bronx she was drinking in the clubhouse after the game. She must have a new album coming out. Either that or she has a real need to be the center of attention. She's one step away from shaving her head and taking a baseball bat to a car. Can't picture a celebrity going that crazy. Oh, wait a minute. Besides, who even knows what she looks like considering she walks around with a veil over the face all the time? What's up with that ? No, I don't think I want to write about that crazy lady.
Politics? Entertainment ? How bout sports? Yanks beat the Mets two in a row. I can't be too unhappy with a 7-2 road trip. Should be an interesting week coming up. The Mets aren't as bad as they were the first couple of months of the season but who knows if they are as good as they've played lately. If they play well this week, I hope they decide to go out and get a starting pitcher. They could use a reliever as well. Elmer Dessens in the eighth inning makes me nervous. I probably shouldn't write about the Mets either, how many people really care besides me ?
I have to find something to write about, I can't just leave an empty page, I'll fail !! Hold on, this page is not as empty as I thought. There are actually well constructed thoughts and sentences written. I just double checked it and you know what it makes sense. I can relax, watch Kimmel, maybe Professor Kalm is right. Just keep writing your thoughts and you never know when it will turn into a story.
Sports Talk
Sports Talk.... to many it conjures up the sound of WFAN or WEEI radio stations. Since 1987, sports talk stations have given us 24/7 coverage of our favorite teams. The good and bad on the field and the ugly off the field. It's where excuses become reasons and frustrated non-athletes become experts. A place where fans can play General Manager and Joe from New Jersey can get his own talk show. Yes, a whole generation has grown up on this non-stop critiquing of the athletes who play the games we love to watch. But, this is not about that kind of sports talk, this is about the kind of sports talk that has become ingrained in our culture.
The language of sports has been around for as long as the games have been played. Even Osama Bin Laden who actually does live in a cave, knows what a home run, a touchdown or a goal is. As I read Chapter 17 of "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser, I thought about how that language has been used both properly and improperly. It is a language riddled with cliches. The lazy announcers and writers fall into the cliche trap.
The team one game away from elimination has "its back to the walls", the team coming from behind to win has "snatched victory from the jaws of defeat" and the baseball player having trouble getting a hit is "mired" in a slump. There have been a couple of cliches that have made its way into the language of sports that I just don't get. In baseball, its the "walk-off". We have the walk-off hit, the walk-off home run and the one I laughed the hardest at last season, the walk-off balk. So what makes walk-off so special that it gets its own word ? Baseball fans know that for the home team to win a game in the bottom of the ninth inning or in extra innings it has to be a walk-off something. And what is a true freshman ? In college football and basketball a player has five years of eligibility on their scholarship. If they get injured and miss a year they can "red shirt" the season. For a long time you were either a red-shirted freshman (second year of eligibility) or you were a freshman. About three or four years ago, that freshman became a "true freshman". As opposed to what ? A false freshman ? It's just a cliche created for no reason, yet, if you listen to all network announcers, it has become a regular part of their broadcast language.
Lazy announcers and lazy writers can fill the media with one cliche after another. The key to success is to paint the description using words and expressions that everyone can understand. As Zinsser writes, "the value to look for when you write about sport: people and places, time and transition". If you want to understand what that really means, go on You Tube and listen to Vin Scully announce one inning of any Dodgers game.
The language of sports has been around for as long as the games have been played. Even Osama Bin Laden who actually does live in a cave, knows what a home run, a touchdown or a goal is. As I read Chapter 17 of "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser, I thought about how that language has been used both properly and improperly. It is a language riddled with cliches. The lazy announcers and writers fall into the cliche trap.
The team one game away from elimination has "its back to the walls", the team coming from behind to win has "snatched victory from the jaws of defeat" and the baseball player having trouble getting a hit is "mired" in a slump. There have been a couple of cliches that have made its way into the language of sports that I just don't get. In baseball, its the "walk-off". We have the walk-off hit, the walk-off home run and the one I laughed the hardest at last season, the walk-off balk. So what makes walk-off so special that it gets its own word ? Baseball fans know that for the home team to win a game in the bottom of the ninth inning or in extra innings it has to be a walk-off something. And what is a true freshman ? In college football and basketball a player has five years of eligibility on their scholarship. If they get injured and miss a year they can "red shirt" the season. For a long time you were either a red-shirted freshman (second year of eligibility) or you were a freshman. About three or four years ago, that freshman became a "true freshman". As opposed to what ? A false freshman ? It's just a cliche created for no reason, yet, if you listen to all network announcers, it has become a regular part of their broadcast language.
Lazy announcers and lazy writers can fill the media with one cliche after another. The key to success is to paint the description using words and expressions that everyone can understand. As Zinsser writes, "the value to look for when you write about sport: people and places, time and transition". If you want to understand what that really means, go on You Tube and listen to Vin Scully announce one inning of any Dodgers game.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Modul 3 Post 2- A Tabloid Society
Have you ever thought about what a tabloid society we have become ? How we idolize our sports heroes, movie and TV stars and politicians, yet, are so quick to revel in their misery during a scandal. There are many reasons we have evolved to this point. The 24/7 news cycle of CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News as well as the Internet and blogs will now take the most insignificant story and turn it into the most discussed issue of our times. Professor Kalm mentions the Brangelina phenomenon. At least they are two talented actors, but what about Balloon Boy, Jon and Kate, and Paris Hilton ? We know more about the lives of the untalented than anyone has the right to know. A couple sneaks into the White House, a serious security breach, so how does our society deal with them? By heaping tons of free publicity to them and getting them their own reality show.
Do we really care how many women Tiger Woods slept with ? Bill Clinton, yes. He was the President carrying on in the Oval Office. But, Tigers only judge and jury should be his wife, and she split, so why won't the story go away ?
Yes, there is a point where TMI is on overdrive. Reality TV has also contributed to this. You can't fool all of us, we know reality TV isn't really reality its just a scripted show. Yet, we are making stars out of some of the most obnoxious people to think they were famous. Please, who really has time for Omarosa, Snooki or any of the C-list celebrities on Dancing With the Stars ? Just think Simon Cowell walked away from hundreds of millions of dollars on American Idol for just sitting there and winking at the girls and telling the guys they sound like karaoke singers. And don't even get me started on Donald Trump.
So as my blood pressure returns to normal and my veins pop back into my skin think about this the next time you see a tabloid headline or sit down to watch your favorite reality show. Why do you really care about this ? Wouldn't I be better off writing another blog for my ICM 506 class ?
Do we really care how many women Tiger Woods slept with ? Bill Clinton, yes. He was the President carrying on in the Oval Office. But, Tigers only judge and jury should be his wife, and she split, so why won't the story go away ?
Yes, there is a point where TMI is on overdrive. Reality TV has also contributed to this. You can't fool all of us, we know reality TV isn't really reality its just a scripted show. Yet, we are making stars out of some of the most obnoxious people to think they were famous. Please, who really has time for Omarosa, Snooki or any of the C-list celebrities on Dancing With the Stars ? Just think Simon Cowell walked away from hundreds of millions of dollars on American Idol for just sitting there and winking at the girls and telling the guys they sound like karaoke singers. And don't even get me started on Donald Trump.
So as my blood pressure returns to normal and my veins pop back into my skin think about this the next time you see a tabloid headline or sit down to watch your favorite reality show. Why do you really care about this ? Wouldn't I be better off writing another blog for my ICM 506 class ?
Finding My Voice-Module 3
Once again I sit here fingers on keys, arm-wrestling with myself, trying to decide what I want my online voice to be. After absorbing the words of William Zinsser and Professor Kalm, I have decided that the best way to find my voice is to just write. Let my writing be my voice as opposed to finding a voice to write about.
As a 30 year career broadcast journalist, I find that my writing is best styled for television. It is a style that is both conversational and succinct. If less is more, than the who, what, where and how must be plain and obvious. What struck me during our readings was that the differences between writing for broadcasts and writing non-fiction or fiction are as wide as the differences between European futbul and American football. The literary writer is able to enhance their words with description. In this sense, it is very similar to the differences between a baseball play-by-play announcer doing radio as opposed to TV. The writer needs to paint a picture of the story, and do it in such a way as to enable the reader to imagine what the words are describing and keep their interest.
In my opinion, the other key to the lesson, was to not be afraid to write about what you as the writer know must about. I thought this line by Professor Kalm was especially telling, "Writers and artists are always revealing themselves. It is part of the job description. They too, admit far more than they know, when they start putting down words in a certain order."
I think good writing is exposing a certain part of the writers vulnerability, its a risk well worth taking.
As a 30 year career broadcast journalist, I find that my writing is best styled for television. It is a style that is both conversational and succinct. If less is more, than the who, what, where and how must be plain and obvious. What struck me during our readings was that the differences between writing for broadcasts and writing non-fiction or fiction are as wide as the differences between European futbul and American football. The literary writer is able to enhance their words with description. In this sense, it is very similar to the differences between a baseball play-by-play announcer doing radio as opposed to TV. The writer needs to paint a picture of the story, and do it in such a way as to enable the reader to imagine what the words are describing and keep their interest.
In my opinion, the other key to the lesson, was to not be afraid to write about what you as the writer know must about. I thought this line by Professor Kalm was especially telling, "Writers and artists are always revealing themselves. It is part of the job description. They too, admit far more than they know, when they start putting down words in a certain order."
I think good writing is exposing a certain part of the writers vulnerability, its a risk well worth taking.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Module 2-Writing Techniques
To me, its the old chicken and egg theory.
Does a writer need to be passionate about their personal experiences ? Or, does ones personal experiences bring out the writer's passion ?
I've been thinking about this as I read Professor's Kalm's blog for this week as well as our assigned readings in"On Writing Well". In writing about a personal experience, it seems, the more effective techniques were the ones that captured both the emotions and senses involved. In Alfred Kazin's, "A Walker In The City", the author describes the sense of smells he remembers as he enters his home while his mother bakes or when his father comes home covered in fumes. These words paint an image to the reader of what was memorable to the author. They are trying to convey their emotions at the time. If it is done correctly, then the reader can interpret by its importance to the author, how passionate the writer is about their subject matter.
So I believe that a writer's message to their reader, if done right, shows how passionate they feel about the subject matter they are writing about.
Does a writer need to be passionate about their personal experiences ? Or, does ones personal experiences bring out the writer's passion ?
I've been thinking about this as I read Professor's Kalm's blog for this week as well as our assigned readings in"On Writing Well". In writing about a personal experience, it seems, the more effective techniques were the ones that captured both the emotions and senses involved. In Alfred Kazin's, "A Walker In The City", the author describes the sense of smells he remembers as he enters his home while his mother bakes or when his father comes home covered in fumes. These words paint an image to the reader of what was memorable to the author. They are trying to convey their emotions at the time. If it is done correctly, then the reader can interpret by its importance to the author, how passionate the writer is about their subject matter.
So I believe that a writer's message to their reader, if done right, shows how passionate they feel about the subject matter they are writing about.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
My Topic Proposal
As I think about the things that I am most passionate about, I just assume that sports would top the list. But, as I sit here pen to paper (or finger to keyboard), I realize that humor has been the most important common denominator in my life. Even during the saddest and toughest of times, it has been humor that has helped keep me going. Whether its the telling of a joke, making light of a situation or just not taking life too seriously, I have discovered that laughter is the cure to what ails you.
As I think back to my youth, I remember constantly being surrounded by humor. The uncle who always had a joke to tell. I thought he always started a sentence with, "Did you hear about the....", or maybe it was my grade school friends who all thought they were aspiring comedians as we taunted each other with endless rank outs and family insults. Everything was fair game to hurl at one another, a fathers vocation, a mothers fashion style, out of proportion body parts or the family cars. Sometimes it was very mean spirited, but there were other times, that with some voice inflection, props and some acting chops, you could turn the insults into some humorous entertainment. It was here that I discovered how to be funny and how people reacted to me being funny. It also didn't hurt when the girls would say, "Oh that Jeff, he makes me laugh".
I think that the other factor in my love for humor was television. TV became more of a cultural fixture in society during the 1960's and it was the variety shows and sit-coms that made us laugh. I remember Phil Silvers as Sgt. Bilko, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Honeymooners, and of course everybody loved Lucy. As I got a bit older, there was one night my parents used to let me stay up late, Thursdays, so I could watch The Dean Martin Show. Some of you may have seen the infomercial for the program that runs late at night, but, believe me when I tell you, this was a weekly happening of some of the funniest moments ever seen on the screen. It was while watching this show and the Ed Sullivan Show, that I became exposed to some of the funniest comedians in the business.
One comedian who immediately became one of my favorites was Don Rickles. Maybe it was because he was a Jewish boy from Queens, maybe it was because his insult humor reminded me of the rank outs my friends and I used to throw at each other, but, a Don Rickles guest spot on a show was must see TV in my house. It was what live TV was meant to be, unpredictable. You never knew what would happen when Rickles was on. He would cause chaos whenever he was on Carson's couch. He was quick witted, honest and out of his mind. He recorded an album called, "Hello Dummy", which I immediately memorized.
I think that my ability to relate to the humor of Don Rickles got me started on my quest to trace the roots of his humor. It is the ethnicity of the humor that led me to my capstone project of producing a documentary on Jewish humor. Rickles made a career out of insulting others while at the same time putting himself and his heritage down. As I began thinking about some of my other favorite comics, Robert Klein, Alan King, and Buddy Hackett , I realized that this self-deprecating humor was prevalent in all of their acts. I wondered if the Jewish culture of putting themselves down was a survival technique bred from a world of anti-semitism. So I venture into this project not sure where it will lead me. I do know the end result will be funny and I hope I can get someone to say, "Hey, did you hear about the......".
As I think back to my youth, I remember constantly being surrounded by humor. The uncle who always had a joke to tell. I thought he always started a sentence with, "Did you hear about the....", or maybe it was my grade school friends who all thought they were aspiring comedians as we taunted each other with endless rank outs and family insults. Everything was fair game to hurl at one another, a fathers vocation, a mothers fashion style, out of proportion body parts or the family cars. Sometimes it was very mean spirited, but there were other times, that with some voice inflection, props and some acting chops, you could turn the insults into some humorous entertainment. It was here that I discovered how to be funny and how people reacted to me being funny. It also didn't hurt when the girls would say, "Oh that Jeff, he makes me laugh".
I think that the other factor in my love for humor was television. TV became more of a cultural fixture in society during the 1960's and it was the variety shows and sit-coms that made us laugh. I remember Phil Silvers as Sgt. Bilko, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Honeymooners, and of course everybody loved Lucy. As I got a bit older, there was one night my parents used to let me stay up late, Thursdays, so I could watch The Dean Martin Show. Some of you may have seen the infomercial for the program that runs late at night, but, believe me when I tell you, this was a weekly happening of some of the funniest moments ever seen on the screen. It was while watching this show and the Ed Sullivan Show, that I became exposed to some of the funniest comedians in the business.
One comedian who immediately became one of my favorites was Don Rickles. Maybe it was because he was a Jewish boy from Queens, maybe it was because his insult humor reminded me of the rank outs my friends and I used to throw at each other, but, a Don Rickles guest spot on a show was must see TV in my house. It was what live TV was meant to be, unpredictable. You never knew what would happen when Rickles was on. He would cause chaos whenever he was on Carson's couch. He was quick witted, honest and out of his mind. He recorded an album called, "Hello Dummy", which I immediately memorized.
I think that my ability to relate to the humor of Don Rickles got me started on my quest to trace the roots of his humor. It is the ethnicity of the humor that led me to my capstone project of producing a documentary on Jewish humor. Rickles made a career out of insulting others while at the same time putting himself and his heritage down. As I began thinking about some of my other favorite comics, Robert Klein, Alan King, and Buddy Hackett , I realized that this self-deprecating humor was prevalent in all of their acts. I wondered if the Jewish culture of putting themselves down was a survival technique bred from a world of anti-semitism. So I venture into this project not sure where it will lead me. I do know the end result will be funny and I hope I can get someone to say, "Hey, did you hear about the......".
Rewritten Biosketch- Formal Version
For the past 30 years, Jeff Schneider has been responsible for some of the most memorable moments in sports history. This 5-time Emmy Award winning Coordinating Producer and Producer has covered 9 World Series and 4 Super Bowls for ESPN. Jeff's show responsibilities included overseeing Baseball
Tonight,SportsCenter,NFL Prime Monday and Outside The Lines. After leaving ESPN in 2004, Jeff became a show builder. He was the architect of daily news shows at NESN, Versus and MSG Networks, creating infra-structures, procedures and news gathering systems.
Before arriving at ESPN, Jeff honed his skills as a News Producer for WPIX-TV New York. There he covered major news events such as the Challenger explosion, the Bernie Goetz shootings and numerous election night coverage. Jeff also produced the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks show for five years.
A native New Yorker, Jeff graduated from Syracuse University and is now earning his Masters Degree in Interactive Communications at Quinnipiac University. He has a wife and son.
One Paragraph Bio-Module 2
Since 1978, Jeff Schneider has been one of the pioneers of TV sports production. The 5-time Emmy award winner has been responsible for multiple successes at ESPN, NESN, Versus and MSG Networks. A graduate of Syracuse University, Jeff is currently earning his Masters Degree in Interactive Communications at Quinnipiac University.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
My Thesis Blog #1
From time to time, I want to take advantage of our writing assignments to start the blog I want to use on my thesis project. For my thesis, I am producing a documentary which right now has the tentative title of Oy Vey: Why being Jewish is Funny ? My goal is to produce a linear version of the documentary and then turn it non-linear via either Flash or an HTML based web site.
My vision of this project is to produce a series of vignettes tied together by my blog on a web cam. I am planning on talking with an old vaudevillian performer, a couple of contemporary comedians, a motivational speaker who talks about laughter therapy, a Yeshiva high school class, senior citizens at an Assisted Living residence in New Haven, and a celebrity comic (TBA).
The logistics to piece together all these shoots is daunting, but, I think its the type of challenge I can handle. I think my biggest need is going to be for camera crew help because I envision each vignette to require two cameras. I also have a Flip Camera which I could use as a stationary third camera on most shoots.
In the Fall, I am taking a class in learning After Effects and hope that combining that skill with what I already learned in using Final Cut Pro, I will be able to create a graphic look and edit style to the project. I haven't even begun to think about music, that will be the last step.
I hope this will be a good forum to give you guys updates on what I am doing and please feel free to give me feedback and ideas.
My vision of this project is to produce a series of vignettes tied together by my blog on a web cam. I am planning on talking with an old vaudevillian performer, a couple of contemporary comedians, a motivational speaker who talks about laughter therapy, a Yeshiva high school class, senior citizens at an Assisted Living residence in New Haven, and a celebrity comic (TBA).
The logistics to piece together all these shoots is daunting, but, I think its the type of challenge I can handle. I think my biggest need is going to be for camera crew help because I envision each vignette to require two cameras. I also have a Flip Camera which I could use as a stationary third camera on most shoots.
In the Fall, I am taking a class in learning After Effects and hope that combining that skill with what I already learned in using Final Cut Pro, I will be able to create a graphic look and edit style to the project. I haven't even begun to think about music, that will be the last step.
I hope this will be a good forum to give you guys updates on what I am doing and please feel free to give me feedback and ideas.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Padding The Facts-ICM 506 Module 1
In an attempt to let you know a little more about me, I will share my experiences with my new iPad. Back in March, I had heard that Apple was announcing pre-orders for its brand new iPad.
I had been torn between getting an iPhone or a BlackBerry over the years. So many of my friends with iPhones, while loving the applications, cursed the amount of calls dropped by A.T & T. I was pretty satisfied with Verizon's phone coverage, but hated its internet browser and apps choices. I was also getting tired of receiving e-mails or jokes from colleagues that I was unable to open on my phone. So it seemed a no-brainer to me to purchase the iPad. It would allow me to keep my Verizon served BlackBerry while enabling me to utilize the applications offered on the iPad.
After some research, I decided if I was going to shell out the money for this new technology, I might as well go all the way. I ordered the 3G 64mg version and waited for its late April arrival. Now of course, you can not just order the machine without getting a few extras. I purchased the Apple Care program which is essential in case you run into any problems. But, i also purchased the separate keyboard and soft carry case offered. Let me tell you, if you are planning to purchase an iPad, these are a waste of money. The touch keyboard on the iPad screen is easy to use and very easy to read. The soft case is too flimsy and while the picture frame aspect of it functions well, it is not great for transporting around. I purchased a harder leather case on Amazon.com which is much more effective.
As for the iPad itself, I love it !! The Kindle application is tremendous and gives you many more book options than the iBook app. There are business apps that transforms the iPad into a Microsoft Office, giving you everything offered on a lap top. All of my social networking sites are available and there are separate apps that allow you to utilize Facebook chat, AIM and Yahoo Messenger. Two of my favorite apps are Pandora which takes one song and turns it into a radio station of music from that same genre.....and MLB 2010, which allows me to watch a computer version of a game that is 7 seconds behind real time and also provides you with live radio play-by-play and highlights of all scoring plays. Its great when you watch American Idol with the wife and still want to see how your team is doing.
The biggest negative is that you can only open one app at a time, so you can't listen to music while doing something else. I understand that is going to be addressed in September when Apple rolls out the 4G version of iPhone and can update all iPads.
As you can tell, I love my iPad, so as I run to the mailbox to see if my check from Steve Jobs is in the mail, I can say this will the future and will evolve into everyone having on much in the same way computers and cell phones have found their way into most homes.
I had been torn between getting an iPhone or a BlackBerry over the years. So many of my friends with iPhones, while loving the applications, cursed the amount of calls dropped by A.T & T. I was pretty satisfied with Verizon's phone coverage, but hated its internet browser and apps choices. I was also getting tired of receiving e-mails or jokes from colleagues that I was unable to open on my phone. So it seemed a no-brainer to me to purchase the iPad. It would allow me to keep my Verizon served BlackBerry while enabling me to utilize the applications offered on the iPad.
After some research, I decided if I was going to shell out the money for this new technology, I might as well go all the way. I ordered the 3G 64mg version and waited for its late April arrival. Now of course, you can not just order the machine without getting a few extras. I purchased the Apple Care program which is essential in case you run into any problems. But, i also purchased the separate keyboard and soft carry case offered. Let me tell you, if you are planning to purchase an iPad, these are a waste of money. The touch keyboard on the iPad screen is easy to use and very easy to read. The soft case is too flimsy and while the picture frame aspect of it functions well, it is not great for transporting around. I purchased a harder leather case on Amazon.com which is much more effective.
As for the iPad itself, I love it !! The Kindle application is tremendous and gives you many more book options than the iBook app. There are business apps that transforms the iPad into a Microsoft Office, giving you everything offered on a lap top. All of my social networking sites are available and there are separate apps that allow you to utilize Facebook chat, AIM and Yahoo Messenger. Two of my favorite apps are Pandora which takes one song and turns it into a radio station of music from that same genre.....and MLB 2010, which allows me to watch a computer version of a game that is 7 seconds behind real time and also provides you with live radio play-by-play and highlights of all scoring plays. Its great when you watch American Idol with the wife and still want to see how your team is doing.
The biggest negative is that you can only open one app at a time, so you can't listen to music while doing something else. I understand that is going to be addressed in September when Apple rolls out the 4G version of iPhone and can update all iPads.
As you can tell, I love my iPad, so as I run to the mailbox to see if my check from Steve Jobs is in the mail, I can say this will the future and will evolve into everyone having on much in the same way computers and cell phones have found their way into most homes.
Monday, May 24, 2010
ICM-506 Introduction
- My twitter feed is jms53 and I would like to say hello to each of you joining us on this writing journey.
Unfortunately, I have no published stories or articles to refer you back to so I will have to make some first impressions by writing about a recent experience.
This is probably longer than Professor Kalm intended it to be, so I will stop and just say I am looking forward to sharing and exploring writing techniques and suggestons with all of you.
I was fortunate enough to experience hearing Former President Clinton speak yesterday at the Yale commencement ceremonies. Aside from his seeming forced comments about how he met the love of his life at Yale. Hey, right !! He did make some valid points that I feel this is the appropriate forum to share.
He spoke about how when he was sworn into office on Jan. 20, 1993 there were 50 internet sites in exsistence. He punctuated the point by saying that while he was talking more than 50 new internet sites had been launched. He spoke about how people too often use the internet to just read opinions from people who share the same point of view. Liberals read liberal sites, conservatives conservative and so on.
In making these points, he felt that people were re-enforcing point of views and not allowing a new thought process to enter into the equation. This he warned leads to nay sayers who not allow things to get done. What he felt the next generation should concentrate on is to not get caught up in the minutia of logistics, but to figure out HOW to get it done.
Absorb a problem or an issue from all sides and figure out the best way to tackle it and do it.
Now I'm sure I have gone much longer than Professor Kalm intended, so I look forward to sharing and discussing writing styles, voices and techniques with each one of you over the course of this long hot summer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)