Why CBS Can't Shoot Fireworks Or Symphonies

I just watched the CBS special from Boston of the Boston Pops 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. The music was fun but the microphone positioning was atrocious. You'd think CBS could figure out how to mike a friggin' symphony, but hey, who am I to judge?

Finally the fireworks happened and they were spectacular. Over the harbor reflected on the water. Great. Once again CBS failed to capture the event with any kind of skill. You'd think CBS could shoot a huge fireworks show well. But who am I to say?

OK, so here is my take on this. Today the only events that are shot live are sports and the directors and camera people who do that are concerned with showing the action and keeping the camera on the ball. Well in an entertainment show, there is no ball and something like fireworks need to be seen in their entirety not close up. A nice wide shot of the harbor, which they did show occasionally gave the best impression of how massive and delightful the event must have been, but the director who I will lay big money on, shoots football or baseball normally and so he or she kept calling for "zoom in" or give me a tight shot!

The result was a lot of zooming in and out and shots of the crowd in the dark watching. Who cares? We are watching the fireworks not the crowd.

It reminded me of the way modern TV directors try to shoot live dance numbers. The get closeups of faces and feet. Ever see a great musical movie with memorable dancing like "American in Paris", or "Royal Wedding" ? The director shot the numbers wide enough so you could see the dancers whole bodies. Because dance is a full body experience, not a close-up medium. Well same for fireworks!

End of rant. Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July!

Independence Day! My favorite holiday of the summer....well pretty much the only holiday of the summer.

The Statue of Liberty's crown is open for the first time since 9/11 so get those climbing shoes out and start climbing the steps. You will need a ticket and unfortunately they are sold out for another month. Wouldn't you know!

Hardee's B-Hole Vs. A-Hole

OK so part of this is because I am always reminded that people think my name is the same as the hamburg restaurant, and it's not. However, this is a really strange campaign and I have to say I like it.

Palin Quits!

Watching MSNBC, Sarah Palin just stepped down as Governor of Alaska. What the heck is the deal? She said something about the scandals and costing the state money, etc., but I have to believe there is a big shoe about to drop.

My bet would be the probes into her have exposed a big legal problem, that or she is sick and isn't telling. Weird!

UPDATE: Just watched her speech. The most rambling Sarah Palin speech yet. It often made no sense and sometimes it seemed she was trying to talk around whatever the issue really is. I suspect she is about or was about to be indicted on some corruption charge and is resigning to avoid it. Barring that or some announcement of a life threatening disease I cannot imagine what she is thinking.

Michael Jackson's Last Video - Tour Rehearsal Tape

I was amazed by this video of the rehearsal of Michael Jackson's last tour. Posted on CNN it shows his amazing attention to detail and talent. Too bad we will never get to see him perform it live!

Gay Sailor Murdered - DADT Must Go!

Want another reason to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell? How about this one. A gay sailor was murdered in California on the base. He had told his family he was being harassed, but he could not go to authorities or risk discharge.

This policy is not only hurting our military it is resulting in DEATH! If the president is not willing to use the bully pulpit and prod Congress along the path to repeal, then what option is there. March in the streets of Washington DC for one!

I'll be there October 11 and I hope a few hundred thousand of my close personal friends will be also. We have to hold the Democrats to account or they will discard their promises and leave us holding the bag.

Obama Addresses LGBT Crowd at White House

OK, it's a small step, but it's a first and if we keep the pressure on it won't be the last.

MN Supreme Court Rules In Franken's Favor - Coleman Conceds

Minnesota has a new Senator, Al Franken (D-MN), former SNL star and talk show host has won a victory in the Minnesota Supreme Court.

His opponent, Republican Norm Coleman formally conceded in a press conference ending speculation as to whether he would appeal to the US Supreme Court.

Finally after months of legal battles Minnesota has representation in the Senate. Additionally, the Democrats have a filibusterer-proof majority as well. Time to see a few bills that have been held up by the GOP move forward now!

Sally Kerns Opens Mouth and Inserts Foot Again!

Sally Kerns, the woman who set back the public image of Oklahoma over 100 years is at it again. She just can't keep here bigoted mouth shut. Now she blames the recessoin and just about every other problem on gays and pornography.

Hold your jaw as you watch or you might lose a tooth when it hits the floor!

Paris Fashion Week, Ugly Is The New Style!

I have long believed that the "great" designers of men's and women's fashion are on crack, but now I have proof. The latest "trends" from Paris Fashion Week are beyond ugly. The men walking down the runway looked like someone hated them and made them wear the crap that adorned their near perfect but scrawny bodies

Hugo Boss was about the only designer that had anything close to attractive, and the abomination by John Galliano looked like someone ran over Carmen Miranda and then put the carnage on the guys heads.

Of course you will never hear this from a fashion critic. If they told the truth they would never be invited back and therefore, no career.

Take a look and please comment back on what you see.

And let's not forget the ladies! The latest for them is what I could call "blade runner meets Ringling Brothers". These designers really must hate women in a BIG way.

China Exports Most Faulty US Goods

This is news? I have been blogging about all the poisoned and defective products from China for years and just now the press and the Consumer Products Safety Commission discovers that China has been exporting poisoned and defective crap to us for years?

Read this and weep.

Gale Storm - TV's "My Little Margie" Dies

Gale Storm, the spunky little Texas girl, (Josephine Owaissa Cottle) who's delightful comic ability gave me hundreds of laughs as a kid has died at age 87.

Her TV career in the 1950's was highlighted with her tow hit shows, "My Little Margie" and "The Gail Storm Show". Storm battled alcoholism that some say cut her career short, a struggle she wrote about in her autobiography, "I Ain't Down Yet".

She will be missed.

Police Raid Ft. Worth Gay Bar - Flashback 40 Years!

Yesterday I spoke at a rally that both commemorated Stonewall and highlighted the lack of progress as far as assuring LGBT rights in this country. Nothing could have been more illustrative of that lack of progress than the raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Ft. Worth, Texas the previous night.

Police and TABC officials raided the bar, arresting 7 patrons and sending one to the hospital with a brain injury. Say what?

Yup, here we are 40 years after the Stonewall Rebellion and we still have police harassing LGBT people. The arrests were for public intoxication, a common charge when police just don't like someone's looks. They were in a bar for crying out loud, and they found people drinking? Shocking!

This raid is obviously some kind of homophobic statement by Ft. Worth Police, who are trying to make a statement. One of the bubbas must have read something about Stonewall and decided to go take revenge for that precieved slight to police authority 40 years ago. (This is conjecture, but we'll see how true it is.)

In the meantime, Chad Gibson is in intnsive care, bleeding in his brain thanks to the Ft. Worth Police.

A protest was held on the steps of the courthouse last night and Ft. Worth's only openly gay councilman spoke and assured the crowd that ther would be in investigation. At least we have one voice in city politics there. Dallas has none at the moment, a situation that needs to be changed ASAP.

Perhaps another Stonewall Rebellion is due, this time in Cowtown.