A Victim of the Stimulus Bill: Bipartisanship

President Obama reached across the aisle for his stimulus bill, but House Republicans failed to give him a single vote. Today (Friday), on the To the Point radio program, is bipartisanship a lost cause? What's in the bill anyway? Will the GOP come around if the Senate makes changes?

To the Point is a daily newstalk program hosted by news veteran reporter Warren Onlney. Join the conversation or listen in through your favorite public radion station or link to the show through www.kcrw.com or Bosco Radio News and Information in our sidebar. The show starts at 12 PM PST/3 PM EST

This show has been archived and can be heard at www.kcrw.com

The Ad You Won't See On Sunday's Game

By Doug Vehle
For The Daily Bosco

A single Superbowl commercial will cost millions to air for 30 seconds, but advertisers feel it is worth it. This is the single biggest commercial event of the year, with such legendary spots as the Apple 'Big Brother' introduction for the MacIntosh being seen so many times over and over, even though Apple only paid to air it once. Getting on the air with the Superbowl can get you noticed, but what about NOT getting on the air?

It's a well known fact in TV advertising that, the moment the networks refuse to run your air as a paid advertisement, it will suddenly be seen again and again in news reports. The banned commercial for Madonna's 'Truth or Dare' documentary became an entertainment news staple, without costing a single airtime dollar. Slick way to be front and center for free, if you can pull it off.

So tell me: What if you could get this unlimited coverage for your commercial, without paying a dime? Would you deliberately make a commercial they'd refuse to air?

That I suspect is the motive behind PETA's too-hot-for-television commercial that's been rejected by NBC. PETA purportedly intended that this Playboy channel level sex-with-vegetables commercial, featuring models wearing rather than fur, with substitutes for the farm animals, to be presented to the same American football audience who watched Janet Jackson have a 'Wardrobe malfunction,' and got up in arms over it.

Had the network accepted, we would know nothing about this commercial at this time. Instead, a week before the game, the PETA campaign is in the news. And maybe there's already been as many viewers of the commercials as there would have been during the game, at no cost to PETA.

The most controversial commercial of the past Superbowls would probably be the 'Go Daddy Girl' spot, with the woman testifying in a hearing, then having a wardrobe malfunction of her own. Unlike Jackson, pro wrestler Candice Michelle didn't actually do anything you're not supposed to see on television. However, the urban legend grew up that the commercial was supposed to air a second time, but didn't when the network lost its' nerve. The rumor was probably started by the Go Daddy marketing department, and the real controversy was over the question if the story was actually true or not. Probably it was just a great ploy, the commercial itself would have been long forgotten without it. Go Daddy has previously said they wouldn't run a commercial this year, as they can't think of anything interesting enough. Though they said the same thing last year and wound up with an entry.

Well, people are certainly forgetting all those women who've gone naked rather than wear fur. There's no question that PETA needed something new. But was the something new supposed to be the commercial itself? Or the controversy?

You'll get plenty of opportunity to judge for yourself. You won't see it on the Superbowl, but it's already available at PetaTV.com, and all over the place. Still pictures, too. At no cost to PETA. And as with the spot, you can judge their motives for yourself. It'll be around long after this year's Superbowl is over.

Public Investment, Pork, and Partisanship

One congressman's "public investment" is another one's "pork," and Barack Obama's stimulus package is caught in between. Today (Tuesday) on the To the Point radio program, is $825 billion too much -- or not enough -- to get the economy going? What about tax cuts? Is the new President fighting that old partisanship he promised to transcend?

To The Point is a daily talk and information program hosted by Journalism veteran Warren Olney. Tune into your favorite public radio station to listen and join the discussion or go to www.kcrw.com at 12 noon PST/3 PM EST for the live broadcast. You can also link through Bosco Radio:News and Information at 12 noon PST. The link is in our sidebar.

Danny Elfman Scores Big

Prolific Film Scorer and Oingo Boingo frontman Danny Elfman made a special live appearance on Monday's Morning Becomes Eclectic radio program. The show has been archived.

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

For some reason, it never surprised me when, back in the 80's, one of my favorite frontmen from one of my favorite bands made the jump from rock star to movie scorer.

That's because one of Danny Elfman's first movie scoring projects, Tim Burton's Pee Wee's Big Adventure, just fit in with the type of music that he and his fellow Oingo Boingo bandmates were doing at the time...the three f's..fast, frenetic, fun...

But I really got wowed when I heard the soundtrack to the first Batman film by Tim Burton. This was a masterpiece and really set Elfman apart from other movie composers. I still believe it is one of the best film scores ever. It is my all time favorite.

Some 30 film scores..(his latest is Milk) and around 20 televison theme songs later including The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives...it's hard to believe Elfman had that whole alter ego with Oingo Boingo. It's hard to imagine films without his music.

It's also hard to believe that he was once criticized by the arrogant film scorers establisment for lacking in formal training. All I know, is that you can listen to an Elfman score without the visuals of film and be moved. Nobody is criticizing anymore.

Although it's sad when you think that there will probably never be another Oingo Boingo Halloween concert again...Elfman has stated that he will not perform rock music anymore because he fears permanent hearing loss...he does have a full docket of film scores to look forward to. This includes the upcoming Alice In Wonderland adaptation from Tim Burton set to release next year.

Danny Elfman was the special guest of host Jason Bentley on Monday's Morning Becomes Eclectic radio program. This show has been archived and can be listened to at www.kcrw.com

Asa On Morning Becomes Eclectic

Nigerian born/Paris-based singer/songwriter Asa (pronounced Asha) will be in studio live Friday to chat and perform songs from her latest album on the Morning Becomes Eclectic Radio program.

Morning Becomes Eclectic, a daily exploration of new music, hosted by Jason Bentley can be heard everyday over KCRW.com and in the Los Angeles listening area on KCRW-FM 89.9. Also link to the show starting every weekday at 9 AM PST/12 Noon over Bosco Radio: Music Channel. The link is in the sidebar.

This show has been archived and is now available to listen on www.kcrw.com

Time To Play B Sides

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

Yesterday this radio station in the area had a novel idea. They played entire sides of old vinyl albums...the original vinyl on the air...all day.

They were all proud because in the promos they said you could hear every pop and crack. And every pop and crack you did...and scratches too. The Elton John Madman Across The Water Side 1 was particularly scratchy. One of the songs on a Don Henley album skipped.

I always thought that the idea was NOT to hear the pops and scratches and NOT to skip. But what do I know?

This of course took me back to my first turntable I bought as a teenager. I was really proud of it...I took all my hard earned money and bought this cheap Soundesign turntable... It was ok, as long as you didn't want to hear the first two songs on a side of a LP.

Which was real cool because when they released the CD version of Neil Young's Harvest and Fleetwood Mac's self titled album it was like getting bonus tracks. I had never heard Young's Living For The Country until the 80's. Pretty good song it turns out.

This tradition of having bad audio equipment has followed me around most of my life. One time my Sam and Dave cassette got stuck in my 65 Mustang's tape deck. When I sold the car the want ad read...Car in good condition...must love Sam and Dave..

Well, that's all for today. Gotta go now and figure out why my I-Pod isn't working.

The Party's Over: Let's Get Back To Work

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

You will have to excuse me for not posting something yesterday on Inauguration Day. But I stared at the speech I posted on Martin Luther King's Day...the "I Have A Dream" speech and I could not have thought of a more appropriate item to have posted on this historic inauguration day. You can't improve upon perfection.

Because I don't think in all of Reverend Kings wildest "I Have A Dreams" did he imagine that an African American would be voted to the office of President of the United States in just over 40 years after he gave that speech. It was a historic and special day indeed.

So now we crossed that important line. We voted a man in as President...not based on his skin color...but on his qualifications and his ability to lead. He is the best man at this time and place in history.

But as President Obama (has a nice ring to it after you drop the elect) indicated yesterday in probably one of the most eloquent speeches in Inauguration History.. We have a lot of work to do. It's not going to happen over night. There are too many major issues to rectify. But rectify them we will as we all pull and work together to make this happen.

Now we have a leader that should inspire us to do just that.

"I Have A Dream...."

Editor's Note: Perhaps I could have joined the countless numbers of individuals who have written eloquent things about Martin Luther King and what he means to us on and what he stood for....but sometimes it's better to let the man speak for himself. From his visionary speech at the Lincoln Memorial on a warm day in August 28, 1968....The words of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.



And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Who Killed Independent Radio?

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

The last independent radio station in the Los Angeles area is off the terrestial airwaves. It happened this week.

Indie 103.1 announced they are moving solely to the internet effective immediately. Right now a continuous loop of music plays in it's spot.

This was inevitable. Many of us, who have been around for awhile, knew it was only a matter of time.

And these are the murderers of independent radio (not particularly in this order):

Low Radio Signal. This station was not easy to listen to...even in it's supposedly strong listening area like Orange County. I personally, could only take so much of the signal fading in and out. Then I tried listening to it in LA...same problem. It's annoying to try to listen to a faded signal.

Young demographic who doesn't yet have enough disposable income to spend money on advertiser's products. Why would I, as an advertiser, want to invest money on advertising spaces for people who don't have the money to buy my product?

MP3 Players. With my mp3 player, I have my own personal radio station and I get to listen to what I want to listen to. Talk about independent radio.

The Internet There's already a bunch of great independent radio stations on the internet like killradio. Link through my I-phone and woo-lah I can listen anywhere. And websites like pandora.com help tailor-make your own radio station...to your tastes.

Indie 103.1 is now solely on the internet. They say that they did this for the freedom it avails them. I say the real reason is that they can't afford...or nobody can, for that matter...afford to run an independent radio station over the air anymore.

It's like anything else in Southern California...we have so much stuff coming at us from different directions, it was hard to pay attention to a little radio station that sounded like it operated out of a closet.

Dating Game, Bachelor, & Poker After Dark

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

So I fell asleep the other night while watching a new episode of Law and Order SVU on NBC. That may or may not be a commentary on the show…but I was really tired. Anyway, I wake up in the middle of the night...NBC still going. I had slept through the local news, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, and whatever the heck is on after Conan. Oh, it’s around 2:30 in the morning and I can’t believe what I’m seeing and hearing on my TV.

On the screen are some guys around a poker table smoking cigars and playing poker and talking...kinda like my neighbor's Friday night poker game. Some guy’s talking about his former girlfriend and how he ran into her…blah, blah, blah…how she looked different now that she was older….blah blah blah…the conversation was more compelling than the actual poker game.

So this is what NBC has been reduced to? The Peacock network is now mostly talk shows, badly acted cop shows from Dick Wolf, The Office, 30 Rock, and Poker…Cool.

Earlier, before I fell asleep, I was flipping the channel and caught a portion of this season’s The Bachelor. So, let me get this straight…here is a single dad who is not only looking for a wife but a mother for his kid? That’s sweet until he gets into the hot tub with 15 ladies in bikinis. Kid when older: So Dad, how did you meet mom? Well, I thought she looked the best in a wet swimsuit. Kid: How about parenting skills? Well, that whole parenting thing is kind of overrated.

After seeing that, I kind of miss the original Dating Game. Well I actually miss Jim Lange, the host, but that’s another story. The Dating Game was more innocent….even with all the sexual inneuendos. Bachelor # 1, If I were an artichoke heart, what would you do to me? "I would rip the heart out and eat it for lunch… which is probably what you're going to do after a couple dates."

Sometimes, since the person asking the questions couldn’t see the three prospective dates they would usually go with the person who “sounded” the coolest. It was funny when the person that she or he picked look like a total dweeb. The expression on their face when they came out from behind the wall was priceless.

I didn’t really care about The Dating Game so much until Karen Valentine the cute teacher on Room 222 was on the show. Then I wanted to be on the show and win the date. Bachelor # 1….If I was your teacher how would you treat me? "Get detention so I can stay after school with you…what do you want me to say Karen? Anything to get a date". None of my teachers looked like that. With the possible exception of Miss Newby in the third grade. She would always wear mini-skirts to school too...just like Karen Valentine. But she was off limits. The rumour was that she was going with the other third grade guy teacher who was single and cool. So us boys didn't have a chance. Plus there was that whole underage thing which is apparently frowned upon.

So if the date was successful you would see the couple on the Newlywed Game in a few months. If it wasn’t so good you would see them on Cheaters.

I always thought they sent the couples on the Dating Game to lame places for a date. Except I think they sent Karen Valentine and her date to Hawaii. I was so jealous. I kept on thinking all the stuff the dweeb she picked and her were doing in Hawaii together. I was a very jealous eleven year old.

So, after thinking about the three aforementioned shows, I think if you merged the three shows together you would really have something. What better way to get to know your prospective mate than by the way they play poker....in a hot tub...behind a wall...

Bailouts Without Disclosure Is Criminal

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

I am still seething over a news report last month that the banks that benefited from the recent Multi-billion Taxpayer Bailout are not disclosing how the money is being spent. There is apparently a loophole that allows them to get away with this horrendous breach of public trust.

Excuse me? What alternative Universe do these criminals live on where they can take our hard earned money....billions of it...and not tell us how they are spending it? How does a bailout happen without a law saying you must disclose where the money is going?

Have they ever heard of an annual report? We, the taxpayers, are the stockholders now...they're playing with our money. They need to disclose. They need to spend some of the billions on ethics classes and workshops.

Equally disturbing to me is another report that 1.6 billion is going toward Executive salaries.

In most businesses if you're the manager and your company loses money and market share...you would be out on the street looking for another job. These guys and gals get rewarded handsomely with six and seven figure salaries and perks up the wazoo like corporate jets, lavish parties etc on our dime.

You know, I remember when I applied for my mortgage loan. I was put through the most strict of background checks. The bank wanted to know every detail about me and if I was worthy to get their money.

Why didn't we do the same thing with the banking industry before we gave them our money. At least tell us how you're spending our money.

Of Gulley Washers, Red Eye & Other Slurpees

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

It was an unseasonably hot day in Southern California yesterday and I found myself in the neighborhood Seven Eleven to escape the heat. Because as everybody knows Seven Elevens have the best air conditioning systems. There was a group of about five kids by the Slurpee machines making 44 ounce suicide slurpees...you know where you combine all five flavors together. Sometimes it can taste pretty nasty. Crystal Lite Cherry doesn't usually combine with Powerade very well.

I flashed back to a simpler time in SoCal and my Slurpee runs. You see at one time in the late 60's and early 70's Slurpees were the rage. This is when Bob Stanford and the Stanford Agency advertising company created the most creative marketing campaign for Seven-Eleven and the Slurpee. Legend has it that Bob was sitting around in a brainstorming session and noticed that as he was sucking the Slurpee through his straw it made a slurping noise...he added two e's and well the rest is history.

Slurpees used to have great names like the Gulley Washer, Fulla Bulla, Red Eye, Kiss Me You Fool, and Fire Water. Can't tell you what they tasted like but I remember those names. And of course you could always get a Coca-Cola Slurpee. And they would have these great banners on the outside of the Seven Eleven announcing the new Slurpee flavors as they arrived. My favorite radio station KEZY 1190 would have cool radio spots for the new frozen concoctions. Slurpees would also come in these cool psychedelic cups too capitilizing on the LSD craze of the time. Later on when I was twelve they came in cups with my favorite DC and Marvel comic book characters on the outside.

When I was eight going to Seven Eleven was a treat. I only got to go when my cool friends the Matthews were going downtown. I lived closer to a Tick Tock market that carried Icee. Icees were ok but they weren't as cool as Slurpees. Icees came in cups with a polar bear with a sweater and they only came in coke and cherry. No creative names. Sort of like Slurpees today. I can get a Coke slurpee, a Powerade slurpee, a Crystal Lite Slurpee or a Cherry Coke Slurpee but not a Gulley Washer or a Fulla Bulla. As a side note, the Icee was originally made by the same company as the Slurpee...just marketed differently.

If Seven Eleven wants to do something interesting they should bring back the classic slurpees in the old psychedelic cups. I would definitely be interested in that. In the meantime if it is as hot as it was yesterday... I'm making a Slurpee run today.

Obama, Clinton and US Foreign Policy

A Hillary Clinton campaign spot said Barack Obama would not be ready for that 3 AM phone call. If she's confirmed as his Secretary of State, they'll both have to be on the line.

Tuesday, on the To The Point radio program, are they in lockstep on foreign policy? How important are Bill Clinton's international financial entanglements?

To The Point, hosted by journalist veteran Warren Olney, can be heard daily in many cities across America on your favorite Public Radio station. Or listen and participate live by linking to www.kcrw.com at 12 Noon PST/3:00 EST. You can also link live to the show as well as Hillary Clinton's confirmation hearing today through Bosco Radio: News and Information. The link is in our sidebar.

This show is now archived and can be accessed at www.kcrw.com

Great Heavyweight Fights Of The 70's

Frost/Nixon
Universal Pictures
Directed by Ron Howard
Written by Peter Morgan
Four Scoops of Bosco

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

The 1970's were the golden age of boxing. Ali-Frazier, Ali-Bobbick, Ali-Frazier again, Ali-Foreman....Frost-Nixon.

And that's exactly how Frost/Nixon... Peter Morgan's play about the famous television interview series between British talk show host David Frost and former President Richard Nixon, and the movie directed and produced by Ron Howard comes across. A boxing match between two heavyweights.

Think about it...Frost and Nixon each had their corner men. There's the whole Rocky-like preparation sequence. Both had something to prove....Nixon is trying to exonerate himself....Frost is trying to prove that he is more than just a talk show host. The whole interview is in rounds...four to be exact. Nixon delivers the first blow in the first round and knocks Frost to the canvas...can Frost recover?

It's not easy for dialogue to carry a movie or a play. There's only a handful that do it well on film. My Dinner With Andre, Before Sunrise, and it's sequel Before Sunset quickly come to mind. But the dialogue in Frost/Nixon is some of the most compelling in recent years. This fact seems to elude Director Ron Howard who produced this film for about 25 million. And that may be the only flaw of the film version...it's probably over-produced.

The film reunites its original two stars from the London and Broadway productions of the play, Frank Langella as former President of the United States Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen as David Frost. Reportedly, Howard considered bigger names but couldn't get Langella's performance as Nixon out of his head. Langella is Nixon...It's scary.

Excellent performances by Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, and Sam Rockwell as the guys behind the scenes of the interview.

Even if you were not around in the 70's and have no historical background on this, this movie is compelling enough to watch.

The Bosco Rating system is based on a score of one to five...five being best

Another Elvis Siting: The King Is Still Alive

Spectacle: Elvis Costello With:
Sundance Channel
Various Times
Five Scoops of Bosco

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

Many of us are aware of the fact that Elvis Costello is one of the great singer/songwriters of our era. But what you may not know is the guy that has the name of one of the top stars of all time but looks like another (Buddy Holly) has an encyclopedic knowledge of music history and a deep appreciation of many musical genres.

This knowledge and his talent are all on display in his televison show Spectacle: Elvis Costello With: which is on at various times during the week on the Sundance Channel.

The show's format is simple...Costello has a guest and he has them for a full hour. He starts the show playing or singing with his band de jour...usually a cover of one of the guests songs. He does an interview with the guest...he plays a duet with the guest...the guest plays some music on his own...and wraps with more talk. Not necessarily always in that order. But this is entertaining and compelling television and audio.

The thing that I like is that Costello is still raw and rough around the edges as an interviewer. Think of David Letterman in the beginning as an interviewer. But he always asks questions that you and I would want to know if we were asking the questions.

Like when James Taylor joined him...he asked Taylor who his favorite current singer songwriters were. Taylor mentioned Jackson Browne but then said he thought his son was pretty good too. Why he didn't mention Costello...not sure.

Other past guests have included The Police, Tony Bennett, Nora Jones, Elton John, and Rufus Wainwright.

Television: Big Love Without All The Actors

United States of Tara
Showtime Sundays (Starting 1.18.08)
Created by Steven Spielberg/Diablo Cody
Starring Toni Collette, John Corbett
4 Scoops of Bosco

Reviewed By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

I have a theory about the new dark comedy that premieres on Jan. 18 on Showtime, The United States of Tara. The producers wanted to do something similar to HBO's Big Love but didn't want to spend the budget.

That's because Toni Collette (Towelhead, Muriel's Wedding) plays somebody with Multiple Personality Disorder so the husband played by John Corbett gets four wives for the price of one.

Aside from a brilliant performance by Collette who plays four distinct personalities....a pot-smoking teenager, a traditional homemaker, a biker dude, and herself, a hard-working mother and wife...the fact is the show makes light of a serious mental disorder and it's really, when you boil it down, Family Ties, on acid.

Think about it...you have the long-suffering husband, a nerdy teenage son, a daughter going through puberty and one of the personalities is a traditional homemaker. No new ground is really being broken here. Unless you want to talk about the young son's crush on a boy in his class. In case you haven't noticed, homosexuality on television is becoming second nature.

John Corbett just plays himself, again. Nothing new from the character that he developed on Northern Exposure or later, Sex And The City. Cool, detached...thoughtful.

Can't believe Steven Spielberg actually created this. The show is written by Juno's Diablo Cody.

The pilot is now available on the www.showtime.com for perusal or if you have Showtime it is available On Demand.

The Bosco rating is based on a best of five...five being best

Catching Ry: Cooder Anthology Impressive

Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed
Five Scoops of Bosco
By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

How do you capture the career of a musician/songwriter/ producer/collaborator that spans five decades and at least ten musical genres...the guy that Rolling Stone magazine called the fifth greatest guitarist of all time? It's not easy when you are Ry Cooder.

His anthology album released last week entitled The UFO Has Landed is a great start for someone trying to get acquainted with a living legend who has influenced the likes of Leo Kotke, John Fogerty, and Jerry Douglas and has played as a session musician with everybody from the Rolling Stones, Little Feat, Randy Newman, Captain Beefheart and Taj Mahal. Remember he was also the organizer of the highly successful Buena Vista Social Club reunion.

This anthology is compiled by his son Joaquim, who is his musical companion. The album is the first time that record labels are ignored so you get a true cross section of his music. Oddly enough, the song that inspired the title of this album... "The UFO Has Landed In The Ghetto" and his jazz phase is missing on this album which indicates there may be more to come.

The younger Cooder resists taking the easy road by not arranging the songs in chronological order. Rather, he successfully mixes music together that is related. Like when he puts the automobile-inspired songs together "Bout Every Women I Know" and "Drive Like I Never Was Hurt" or his Dust--bowl era influenced music like "How Can I Keep Moving (Unless I Migrate)". And he even pulls some gems out that are previously unreleased like his version of "Let's Get Together" with Buckwheat Zydeco.

Clocking in at 34 songs (which coincidentally is the number of albums Cooder has now released), two discs and over two hours long, this comprehensive box set is a real joy especially if you are a fan of the slide guitar and Americana music.

Listen to clips of the music from this album by going to www.borders.com For something really interesting go to pandora.com and type in "Ry Cooder" and see the related music that is played.

Satellite Radio Needs To Change It's MO

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

Last week I heard a familiar voice in an odd place.

Howard Stern was on a terrestial radio station promoting XM/Sirius Satellite radio in a commercial. Initially, I found that a little curious and odd. Isn't he supposed to be burying regular radio about now? Weren't we all supposed to have satellite radio receivers at this point?

This little oddity is not so curious when you consider the fact that the congolmerate of XM/Sirius Satellite is about a billion dollars in debt according to some sources. They may be going to Capitol Hill real soon for a bailout request.

As I stated in a piece last year when XM and Sirius merged, I absolutely love the product. I was on a flight from the East Coast last July and I didn't seem to mind that they didn't have an inflight movie...I had XM Satellite radio. I was listening to live baseball...all games going at the time I was flying....in the air.

But the model needs to change. Just charging a flat fee is not doing the trick apparently. Why can't the satellite radio market follow the same model as say, satellite or cable television. Fees are charged...and advertising is allowed or in the case of Public Radio private funding from individuals. Sure we don't like advertising, but it's probably going to be inevitable if satelite radio is going to be solvent and survive.

One thing I like about the way satellite radio does marketing is how they put their devices in new cars and when you buy a new car you have the opportunity to try the product. That was smart. Now, if you have a subscription to the service you also have the ability to get the programming over the internet...that's another smart move.

Remember satellite is just another way...a superior way in my opinion.. of transmitting audio information. Radio programming is also transmitted via the Internet too and thus through our i-phones and other like devices. The business models in these formats are working...why does Satellite Radio operate under a different model?

Re: Stern. He will be back to regular radio real soon, i'm guessing. His contract with Sirius/XM is up next year. He's lost audience. His stock is down. It's like Jay Leno said. Nobody is reciting excerpts from the morning's Howard Stern show around the water cooler at work anymore. Baba Booey is on hiatus.

Trouble In The Fourth Estate

By Allen Bacon
Editor
The Daily Bosco

Along with a lot of industries and businesses this year, the newspaper industry is taking a serious hit. Papers like the mighty Chicago Tribune are operating way south of the black. And revenues are down, readership is down...interest is down.

This was inevitable. We live in a different world than the Father of the Free Press in the United States, Ben Franklin. Ben Franklin didn't have to compete with the blogosphere, CNN, Fox News, the internet, and all news radio. We live in a world of instant gratification and if we can't get our news as it happens, well we get a little irritated....we don't have time to wait for the printed version the next day.

Still I feel a little nostalgic and a little sad about the erosion of the newspaper as I knew it. I'm also a bit of a hypocrite. This morning I look around the local Panera Bread where I usually write my columns on my laptop and I see people reading actual newspapers but I got my news this morning from the internet version and listening to the radio (via Bosco Radio: News over the internet...can you say shameless plug?) Then, what I do is usually swoop in like a vulture and grab up the remaining carcass of somebody elses newspaper...a newspaper I didn't buy. I don't even currently have a subscription to a newspaper. But I'm not the only one that does that.

Then I got to thinking. Nobody asked me to consult the newspaper industry. But I have a plan.

First of all the newspapers, need to realize that the newspaper as we know it is going to lose popularity. As I look around the restaurant this morning...the people reading the newspapers are my age (40's) and older. The younger generation, as a general rule, isn't getting their news like this anymore. So the readership of the traditional paper is going to erode as we get older. So focus needs to go to the newer ways of getting news..ie, internet, blogs, radio, television, etc.

That being said....I work in the printing industry and this phenomenon is sort of like what we have been experiencing with the business forms segment of the market. With people having the ability to create their own forms, electronically, and printed, there is an erosion of business forms sales. There is still a market...and I still print a lot of forms but the sales are dwindling. So you have to get creative with marketing within the segment while looking for more profitable segments.

So, when it comes to selling ads for the printed newspaper, the newspaper industry really needs to focus on the fact that the average newspaper is passed through more than one hand in it's daily life. That's the real number....the real circulation. If you can get that data...the ad revenue should increase.

The printed newspaper should offer articles that you can't get any place else. Currently most newspapers have this backwards. They advertise content on their webpages...driving readers away from the printed version. The web version should have exclusive content, but the printed version should have it's own content that you can't get on the web.

Then I got to thinking that newspapers as companies don't really need to lose money. There is a wealth of talent and machines in any given newspaper. They can set up divisions to write PR and create advertising and print general job printing. There is no reason for the talent and machines to go to waste when the newspaper isn't being printed.

You know what I miss most? The local newspaper. I don't know about your town, but even the "local" newspapers in my town have content from other towns. Leave that to the big metro papers. When I read my "local" newspaper I want news about my town...exclusively.

Printed Newspapers are still cool...a throwback. I hope they continue to be around for a while. And I never have a problem downloading them...that is unless I don't have enough quarters or the news rack is jammed.

Leon Panetta: Secret Agent

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

Are you as puzzled as I am over the appointment of Leon Panetta to head the CIA? Somebody with absolutely no experience in Intelligence. I mean no experience.

Let's see what his qualifications were: He served in the House for some 16 years and chaired the Budget Committee—valuable experience in the way government works, but hardly anything to do with the CIA. He served as budget director in the Clinton administration and then as Bill Clinton's White House chief of staff. Maybe he picked up some knowledge there. He served on the Iraq Study Group in 2006.

All right...that's a stellar resume. He's the man for the job to lead the most elite Intelligence Department in the World.

Or maybe they want you to believe he is not qualified. The only way I can justify this appointment is that maybe Leon Panetta was really, in reality...a secret CIA operative all along.

Leon Panetta...House Chairman of the Budget Committee by day...then he's off to secretly overthrow a dictatorship threatening the security of the United States.

Leon Panetta...White House Chief of Staff by day...but by night he secretly is fighting Goldfinger.

Gee, Mr. Panetta at least get a trench coat and look the part.

But again, maybe the appointment is perfect...it doesn't seem the current people at the CIA have that much experience in running the organization either.

Television: This Performance Gets a Nine

Superstars of Dance
NBC Television
Monday Nights 8 PM
Four Scoops of Bosco

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

It's hard to say why dancing is not a part of Olympic competition. It's just as strenuous and athletic as ice skating and has more appeal to watch than synchronized swimming.

What would a dance competition in the Olympics look like? Maybe pretty close to the new NBC reality show Superstars of Dance

In this show, hosted by dancer extraordinaire Michael Flatley, we get to see actual professional dancers competing against each other for their countries. Eight countries, eight judges, around 50 performers.

The performances are breathtaking with a "how did they do that?" quality but you wonder how the ratings are going to be on this show. After the novelty wears off, probably not too good.

There is really no star power here. Unlike it's predecessor, the hugely successful Dancing With The Stars there are no stars learning to dance with on the job training. These are people who make their living dancing. So every dance is great and you don't have that element of a major star making an ass out of themself.

But still, it's all about the performances. In the first two shows, taped in the same studio as Dancing With The Stars, we saw spectacular dances that had their origins from the countries that were performing.

Which is one of the faults of the show. How do you judge a tango from Argentina against tap dancing or break dancing from America? Different dances...different skill levels. On the tap dance, only the Irish judge seemed to understand the level of difficulty that was attained by the American dancer.

The other flaw I saw is that the eight judges always give their scores in the same order. And the Chinese judge sits next to the Soviet judge. In one interchange the Soviet judge gives the China team a high score and his explanation was that the Soviet Union and China are neighbors so I better give them a good score. Next time out when the Soviet Kosaks are performing the Chinese judge returns the favor and gives them an inflated score. I knew it all along. That's what happens in the gymnastics competition at the Olympics.

One entertaining factor is the fact that the competitors and coaches get to say something to the judges which gets pretty heated sometimes. That's fun.

Maybe like the Olympics this event should probably come out every four years. I don't think this show makes it to a second season. Then again, maybe the Olympic committee can do the right thing and admit dancing as an actual sport in the Olympics.

The Bosco Rating System is based on a best of five...five being best.

Leave The Invocations For The Churches

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

I've been thinking a lot lately about the upcoming inauguration...in particular the invocation or prayer.

There has been a lot of conversation about the selection of Rick Warren to lead the invocation on Jan. 20. And he may or may not be the best selection.

The point is that our country was based on the right to freedom of religion. Not all of us follow the same belief system as Rick Warren. He can't posssibly speak or give a prayer for all of us.

So either you have all the religious groups represented at the inauguration ceremony or you have none of the groups. It's as simple as that.

Have a moment of silence, so you can say a prayer...or not say a prayer in the way you see fit, have some poetry ready by Maya Angelo or one of our other great poets, have President Obama give a speech...and that's it. Or better yet, let everybody go back to their respective churches...and then say a prayer.

President Elect Obama is no different than all his predecessors in this respect. He's a smart politician. Warren is not chosen so much for his beliefs...he's the Billy Graham of our era. He's the most popular preacher of this generation and a lot of people buy into his "Purpose-driven" message. You want the majority of the people in America on your side?...Get the most popular preacher in your camp and the sheep will follow.

And a side note on Rick Warren. He needs to stop speaking out of both sides of his mouth. You can't say that you love the Gay community and then go to the safe confines of Christian radio and lump the Gay community in with pedophiles and wife abusers as he did. That's horribly wrong. But you know what...he's no different than most Americans and religious leaders. That's how they interpret scripture. So that's not surprising.

We need to get together and have common ground in this country. This is not the way to do it.

On The Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Directed by David Fincher
Screenplay by Eric Roth
Five Tablespoons of Bosco

Reviewed by Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

Out of all the movies I saw this Holiday season, nothing captured my imagination more than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

If you're looking for a film adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story from the 1930's you would be in the wrong place. Only the idea...A baby with a defect born in his 70's that ages backwards...is the same. Everything else is from the screenwriting genius of Eric Roth.

Roth adapted Forest Gump so this movie has a lot of "Gumpish" feel to it. The life lessons...the eyewitness accounts of history...the effecting of historical events...a narration from a main character....the fact it takes place primarily in the south...

For me, the ideas from this movie on aging and the way that we embrace the different stages of our lives and our relationships with others really hit home. I keep on thinking about how the "old" Benjamin approached everything from a perspective of looking at life with this curiosity...as if looking at things for the first time. I hope I can do that when I enter the later stages of my life.

I don't know if Eric Roth does this on purpose but he spawns a whole spin-off industry from his movies. Think about how successful Bubba Gump Shrimp became after Forrest Gump. Just watch...tee shirts and hats with Button's Buttons will be popping out (pardon the pun).

Excellent directing by David Fincher here and the acting of Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt will garner Academy Award consideration I'm sure. The special effects in the movie, are well...special. When you think about it, it would have been hard to make this movie at an earlier time..say even ten years ago... and have it look right.

At approaching three hours, the movie is a little long but then I got to thinking how else would the movieviewer feel the effects of a long and prosperous life? You actually feel like you've lived the life after you get out of the theater...the story couldn't really be told in less than two hours and have the same effect.

The Bosco Rating System is based on a scale of 1-5, five being best.

This Soul Album Gets A Seal of Approval

Seal: Soul
Warner Bros. Records
Four Tablespoons
of Bosco

Reviewed by
Allen Bacon
Editor,
The Daily Bosco

A few years ago, I purchased this wonderful CD, The Best of Soul which I promptly wore out because it sounded so great. It had all the best soul music sang by the original singers including Al Green, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield and Harold Melville. I had often thought about going out and getting another copy of that CD but I may not have to do that for awhile.

That's because I just got a copy of Seal's latest...simply titled Soul where he covers most of the material that I loved on the aforementioned compilation CD.

Many will probably say that this is an attempt to revive a waning career, but I look at it a lot differently. This album was inevitable.

Seal is probably the best male soul singer of this generation. You want to show how good you are? Then you go toe to toe, note for note, with the previously mentioned legends.

And Seal gets himself possibly the best producer of this generation also for this one...the same person that produces and has produced the likes of Celine Dion, Chicago and many more....David Foster.

Seal and Foster don't set out here to reinvent the wheel on this music. But the slight nuance of Seal's voice and the orchestral arrangements of Foster really add to the classics.

Now I'm a fan of more of the upbeat numbers and so I really liked Seal's takes on Al Green's Here I Am (Come and Take Me) and I'm Still In Love With You, Steve Cropper and Eddie Floyd's Knock on Wood, and Wilson Pickett's Midnight Hour.

But Seal is probably at his best and most soulful on the slow numbers. He also covers nine songs in that vein including Ben E. King's Stand By Me, Curtis Mayfield's People Get Ready and the Gamble and Huff tune If You Don't Know Me By Now.

As a sidenote: As somebody who has hung around the Graphic Arts business for several year's, I was impressed with the design of the album cover and liner notes. Blues and silver metallic and blacks accent nostalgic photos of Seal and an old microphone circa 60's...delicious art direction and design by Ellen Wakayama and Donny Phillips.

While Seal fans are anxious for him getting back to an album of new material...because, afterall, he is a good songwriter in his own right, we'll take this one and hopefully there's a volume two in he and Foster somewhere.

The Bosco Rating System is based on a rating of one to five. Five Being Best.

Time For A NCAA Division 1 Football Playoff

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

Here we go again. USC beat Penn State 38-24 in the Rose Bowl on Thursday. And Utah dismantled Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl last night.

Let the debate begin. There are many people this morning that are making the case...and rightfully so... that the Trojans should be the Number one NCAA football team in the country and not one of the two teams playing for the BCS Championship next week.

This whole yearly national debate could be settled by a playoff. Almost all NCAA sports including lower division football have a playoff. A playoff at the Division 1 level is now a no brainer.

How would it work? Very simple. First of all you don't throw out the BCS ranking system...maybe you try to improve the process...but you don't get rid of the concept. Top eight teams at the end of the regular season are in the playoffs.

First week number eight plays number one, number seven plays two...and so on. Second week, reseed and have the semi-finals and third week is the championship.

What about the revenues for and from the current bowl games? Simple. You don't get rid of the bowl games. First of all, you already have a championship game set up on a neutral site so that doesn't change. Each year, cities would bid for the championship game...much like the Super Bowl. Revenues to the schools involved would increase.

Then you got four quarterfinals and two semi-finals. Six bowl games could serve as those games. Those six games would be bid on by the Bowl committees. All the other cities get to have their bowls like they usually do...sort of like the NIT tournament in basketball. Say the Rose Bowl wants to keep the traditional Pac Ten - Big Ten matchup...they don't have to bid on a game for the playoffs...then again...maybe they want to if a Pac-Ten team is involved.

What about the argument that it creates more games? This arrangement creates two additional games for only two teams in the country. Think about it. These teams are currently playing in a bowl game already so that's one game. Take away the League championships and that's another game. That argument has never flown with many people. And if you really want to be safe...drop one of the preseason games which are usually unnecessary.

Here's how the Playoff System could have worked this year. The operative word here is "could". No emails about who I projected to win the games.

In the first week, the quarter-finals: Oklahoma beats Penn State in the Orange Bowl, Florida beats Texas Tech in the Sugar Bowl, USC beats Alabama in the Rose Bowl, and Utah surprises Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

In the second week, the semi-finals: Florida beats Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl and USC edges by Utah in the Fiesta Bowl.

In the Championship Game held at Ford Field in Detroit....USC beats Florida and wins the national championship.

See how simple and cool that was?

Hopefully it will be a reality next season. President Obama and I will be working on it.

Happy New Year Grandma Liesch

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

Happy New Year! No bullets went through the roof of my home last night. So I'm happy about that.

I'm waiting in the dark anxiously awaiting the start of the Rose Parade....You know the parade where Southern California shows off how beautiful and gorgeous it is and everybody gets the idea to move over here.

Until 1984 New Years Day was a special time of year for me. This was the day I always spent with my Grandma Elva Rose Liesch Hughes at her home in Buena Park, CA (over by Knotts Berry Farm)...My brother Steve and I would go over on New Years Eve and she would let us stay up late and watch Johnny Carson and Guy Lombardo's show.

We would get up early and grab the LA Times and get the list of the floats in the Rose Parade and turn on Channel 5 KTLA and watch the Parade while Grandma made breakfast....then after the Parade it was out for a walk over to George's Diner around the block for a burger. On the way back we would stop at the corner market and pick up some stuff for lunch and dinner and a little toy for Steve and I.

Tommy, a wonderful Chinese gentleman who was part owner of the store and worked in the meat market would always give Steve and I a quarter each but on New Years he gave us two!... While Grandma started preparing the big dinner for the evening when all the relatives would come over, she gave Steve and I a turkey sandwich while the Cotton Bowl, announced by Lindsey Nelson on CBS was on which led to the Rose Bowl on NBC announced by Kurt Gowdy. Steve and I would play with our little toys, usually balsa wood gliders while the games ran into each other. Before you knew it it was time for the Orange Bowl on NBC and all the relatives were starting to come over. Next to Thanksgiving, it was Grandma Liesch at her finest....And she always made us eat the black eye peas on New Years for good luck....God, I miss Grandma.

They say you can't go home. But, last December I stopped over by my Grandma's old house on Indiana Street in Buena Park and went to George's diner for breakfast. It's run by a wonderful Mexican family now and features Huevos Rancheros for breakfast and wonderful Mexican coffee. The seats in the little diner are the same....It was like walking into a time warp...I got into a conversation with two of the locals and we reminisced about old Buena Park, Grandma Liesch, Fullerton, and Knott's Berry Farm. I then walked over to the old market which is run by another Mexican family and I loved it so much I will by my Carne Asada next time from them. I wanted Tommy to come out and give me a quarter but he was long gone... I bought a little inexpensive toy for old times sake.... My Grandma's old house didn't look the same but it looked better than ever. With the additions I didn't even recognize the old place....

I wonder if the lady of the house is having her grandkids and relatives over for black eyed peas and everything else today.