Taking a quick gander on the BBC News’s website, I read that NBC might sold to Comcast.
It seems oddly appropriate that NBC Universal, which was on its way towards become a cable behemoth when I left the US, would be bought out by one of the nation’s largest cable companies.
That said, the whole deal seems very AOL Time Warner.
Since we're on matters American, I just have to say: Go Chicago.
Nostalgia pipped celebrity as the reunion special for Hey Hey, It’s Saturday (think Sabado Gigante: Australia) beat out Celebrity Masterchef Australia’s debut by close to a million viewers, according to TV Tonight.
In other words: Nine beat out Ten (Masterchef, NCIS: Los Yawngeles), and Seven (World’s Strictest Parents Reunion Special, City Homicide), in that order.
It’s nice of the networks to let Norma Desmond have a little moment of glory.
Much to no one surprise, Kraft is going rename their new Vegemite brand from the daft iSnack 2.0, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The name was chosen by a Western Australian website designer (who should get out of the computer room a bit more, in my humble opinion) and has been roundly criticised nationwide ever since.
Appropriately the new name will be put to a popular vote, so that the Antipodeans will have only themselves to blame.
I have tried iSnack2.0/Vegemite with cream cheese, and it’s not horrible, but it does look very #2.0 on a crumpet, if you follow my meaning.
We are two days into what looks like 5 way match between all the Free-to-Air channels down here in Australia. (Even too-cool-for-school SBS and Aunty ABC are joining in.)*
* SBS and the ABC are government owned, so ratings aren’t supposed to mean much to them.
The winner so far: Seven, which has blanketed the airwaves, bus shelters, and frankly all of the country promoting Flash Forward, garnering it a remarkable 1.78 million viewers on Monday night in Sydney.
Personally, I found the promoting rather tiresome, and I wouldn’t be surprised that if the numbers start dropping next week. I left the US prior to the Flash Forward campaign kicking into high gear, but if it was half as promoted on ABC as Seven, then it must’ve been insufferable.
Seven also tried to seamlessly weave in NBC’s new Grey’s Anatomy knockoff, Mercy into Flash Forward with no indication that the latter had finished. Between the two, I prefer Mercy, but it’s also a case of being the best of mediocre lot. (Nine programmed the doomed-to-fail The Apprentice Australia against it and Ten had Little Britain USA.)
Still to come: Celebrity Masterchef Australia on Ten, which with its 7:30 pm timeslot, might bolster the fortunes of The 7PM Project.
For ratings, click onto TV Tonight.
At least if you’re a footballer who can’t hold his liquor…and have a camera crew following your every move…at one of the most prestigious events in your sport. (The woman being interviewed talking about Brendan is his estranged--and pregnant wife, Alex Fevola.)
The off-season is going to be very interesting.
If I was a paranoid type, then I would be quite unnerved by the fact that scientists are studying the dust that hit Sydney this week.
But I’m not.
Not in the slightest.
And there are worse things in life than having a third eye, or impotence, or turning into a cannibal.
Many many worse things.
I just can’t think of them at the moment.
ABC News Online posted an article about the return visit of Russian-Australians to Harbin, China some 40+ years after they were exiled by the Cultural Revolution.
It’s a fascinating read and reminded me of an excellent documentary, Crossing the Line, which aired on SBS (think PBS with less adverts) about the Americans who defected to North Korea around the same time. It is available on Amazon, and I would highly recommend it.
Apologies for the hokey title, but apparently the dust storm caused pollution levels in Sydney to skyrocket.
That said, I’m not too worried…so far.
Here’s some footage I shot this morning, see Redfern go…reddish orange.
Again, no filter on the camera.
Lest the tradition of Kiwi cracks here at this corner of the internet wind up fading off into the sunset, here comes an article on TVNZ’s website stating that lovely twee and unassuming Christchurch is now the capital of Krazy Kiwi Krime.
Given the spate of weird crime in Wisconsin, perhaps I might want to take a journey over there whenever I feel homesick for the Dairyland.
Deja vu from the States seems to be this week’s theme, doesn’t it?
Down here, it’s somewhat of a pleasure to not be inundated with fundamentalist Christian faction of society that would gladly relish the attempt to legislate our eyes, ears, and minds on a daily basis.
Well, the Australian Christian Lobby (think Moral Majority sans Farwell) now making an attempt to clean up Australian television, according to this article in Uncle Rupert’s Daily Telegraph. Naturally, they seem to be conveniently forgetting that the best television policing is actually getting off your lazy arse and watching television with your kids.
It should be mentioned that Australian free-to-air television is a bit more frank than US free-to-air (arguably even more than subscription). The general rule is after 9 PM anything goes from language to nudity: Hell’s Kitchen for example airs without bleeping Ramsey’s swearing, and homegrown hit Underbelly is well-known for bouncing bare breasts and bums.
Meanwhile, in the US you still can’t say “asshole” or “goddamn” on free-to-air after 10PM (if ever), and Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction is still being investigated 5 years later.
This time of the communications kind.
As a 30 year old, I remember when we had several phone carriers:
Then at some point in the 1990s it all went crazy in a big free-for-all that saw AT&T effectively disappear and reappear again (albeit now in a humble all lower-case logo) as one of several phone companies that offered everything from local calls to cable television and internet.
Here in Australia, it’s becoming a bit like deja vu with the partly government owned phone company, Telstra, now being strong-armed into splitting itself into two arms: a wholesale company that would operate the network, and another arm which would be the retail side of it.
The government and consumer advocates are heralding the move, but I’m a bit skeptical.
For starters, even though Australia has a fraction of the US population, distances are such that I believe a state or regional baby bell system might prove more useful than an immediate breakup.
I could very well be wrong, but as the government continues this action, it would be very wise to look eastward to see that ultimately nothing changed.
Although the jukebox has never been to Kansas City, it’s certain that someone there may love it.
The internet is global, you know.
