The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is Philippine television personality Willie Revillame. He gets the award for the following-

Controversial TV host Willie Revillame is said to be deeply upset over the negative reaction he has received regarding the comments he made pertaining to the airing of President Cory Aquino’s funeral cortege on his TV show, “Wowowee” on Aug. 3.

“He feels isolated,” said friend and Wowowee director Johnny “Mr. M” Manahan who has taken the cudgels for his beleaguered colleague.

Manahan revealed that Revillame had relieved himself of his duties from the show “for the time being.”

*****

The signature campaign was fueled by videos uploaded on the World Wide Web showing Revillame visibly irked while a live streaming video of President Cory Aquino’s cortege was being flashed via a small window in a portion of Wowowee.

For those who don't know, Wowowee is an immensely popular television show in the Philippines. My wife is a Filipina and we get 4 Filipino television channels through our satellite provider. Willie is one of three Philippine television personalities I can name and recognize on hearing their voice.

“Pangit! Hindi ho maganda sa atin. Nagsasalita [ako], ipinapakita yung kabaong ni Tita Cory, hindi ba? Papano kami makapagsasaya?” Revillame was heard saying.

Which translates to- “It is ugly for us that while I am talking they are showing the cortege of Aunt Cory, isnt’ it? How can we may everyone happy?”

“I don’t think dapat ipakita ‘yan. Nagsasaya kami dito, papakita n’yo sa amin yun [libing]…? Hindi tama, okay?”

Which translates- “I don’t think they should show it. We are having fun, and they burial cortege is being shown. It’s not right. ”

These are really dumb things to be saying and Willie deserves to be in the trouble he is now. My wife says he has a big head and should be fired for what he said. His conduct was disgraceful. She also points out if not for Corazon Aquino, Willie may not have a job now. ABS CBN was sequestered by the Marcoses during the time of martial law.

My own opinion- Willie was way out of line, and I have no problem naming him today's Knucklehead of the Day.

Don't cry

Naked News in South Korea won't be airing anytime soon.

After all of the circus hoopla and controversy surrounding the launch of the Korean version of the Naked News franchise, its existence now hangs by a pithy thread as production came to a screeching halt since Thursday -- just one month after its inception. The problem? Money.

Nine of the anchors have yet to be compensated for their work during the month the service has been up while customer service has ceased its operation leaving 260,000 paid subscribers for the month of July, hanging, according to local reports.

The problem began when management of the Naked News Korea branch requested its anchors contracted to present news only in semi-nude form (i.e. in lingerie and bikini tops) to strip down completely for its pay-for-play adults-only version.

This prompted five of its anchors to hand in their resignations while the rest of its personalities stayed on.

Naked news that didn't go topless. Only in South Korea?

I'm only guessing but these anchor women were probably offered large salaries. When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

They may have lost money, but maybe these women still have their dignity. That is worth something.

Hat tip- GI at ROK Drop. Brian and Marmot's Hole are also blogging on this news.

Non stop

Would you watch television for three days straight to set a record? From AP-

STOCKHOLM – Suresh Joachim has broken his own Guinness world record for nonstop broadcast-television watching, clocking 72 hours in the Swedish capital.

"I feel fine, I drank between 25 and 30 cups of coffee," Joachim said Sunday.

So I'm guessing he had a bedpan or portable toilet handy so he didn't miss anything.

His previous record was 69 hours, 48 minutes, set in 2005.No wonder he wanted a new record. Mr. Joachim lost his mind in 2005.

Joachim, a Sri Lanka native who lives in Toronto, watched three seasons of the drama series "24" featuring Kiefer Sutherland, said Swedish TV4 spokeswoman Janina Witkowski.

At least it wasn't the movie Apollo 13 over and over again mixed with commercials for Progressive Insurance, the movie Lakeview Terrace, and promos for TNT's show Raising the bar. All of which I viewed endlessly when in the hospital for open heart surgery. Look at me now.

Book em Danno

Might be Steve McGarret's first order after reading the Honolulu Advertiser obituary on Hawaii Five-0 supporting actor Harry Endo.

"Hawaii 5-0" actor Harry Endo, who portrayed a cerebral medical examiner who belied a real-life, dry wit, has died of a stroke in New York at the age of 87.

It takes great skill for a newspaper and one of its writers to blow the first paragraph of a story but Dan Nakaso and the Advertiser do just that. Harry Endo's character, Che Fong, was not a medical examiner. He was a forensics expert, crime scene analyst. The Medical Examiner most often seen in the twelve-year run of Hawaii Five-0, was Doc Bergman played by actor Al Eban.

We're not talking an editorial written thousands of miles away about an obscure show but the local newspaper reporting on the television show that portrayed Hawaii to people around the world for 12 seasons and was popular in syndication for many years afterwards. For chrissakes Five-0 repeats are still broadcast weekdays by a Honolulu television station. Someone at the Advertiser should have caught Nakaso's goof.

I'd give Dan Nakaso and the Honolulu Advertiser the Knucklehead, but someone might say it was in bad taste. The mistake in the Endo editorial is just another sign of how newspaper journalism is slipping. Five-0 is a legend in the Hawaiian Islands, and Che Fong was a popular character on the show, the Advertiser couldn't even do an article correctly about them.

Back to Endo and Five-0. The catch phrase 'Book em Danno' is one of the things most remembered about the television show. I'd wager fifty dollars, that if you tallied how many times those words were said and count how many times the words 'What do you have for me Che' were also spoken by Steve McGarret, that the Che line would come out on top. Since Five-0 is only available on DVD and only up to season five at present, I'll have to wait a few years before being able to do that vital research.

RIP Harry Endo.

Endo had made a commercial for Territorial Savings Bank and HonFed Bank when he was selected to play the character of Che Fong as one of the original cast members of "Hawaii 5-0," which ran from 1968 to 1980 — making it one of the longest-running police dramas in television history.

"He was such a nice guy," remembered Doug Mossman, 75, of Mililani, who played several bit parts on the show before evolving into the character of "5-0" detective Frank Kamana midway through its television run.

"One of the things about Harry is that he was very studious looking," Mossman said yesterday. "He looked like a business guy. He worked for Territorial Savings and had that look — glasses, very studious. But he was humorous and funny, a quiet kind of humor."

Endo's daughter, Leslie Baker, told The Associated Press that her father was born in Colorado but spent much of his life in Hawai'i. He served in the Army in Europe as a radio operator, the AP reported, and was married for more than 60 years.

"Hawaii 5-0" featured its star, Jack Lord, playing the role of Steve McGarrett, the head of a fictional, elite unit that reported directly to the governor. The show cemented the image of Hawai'i as a gorgeous and exotic, multiethnic destination to millions of television viewers who still remember Lord's catchphrase to his fictional second-in-command, Danny Williams: "Book 'em, Danno."

On the show, Endo portrayed "the all-encompassing forensic genius, who was supposed to know everything about everything," Mossman said. "The rest of us actors were very happy we didn't have to have his dialogue with all of those $12 words. I'd look at the script and say, 'I'm glad I'm not saying that.'

"There were times he'd be a little nervous about the line coming up and anybody else would be shaky, too. Because Jack (Lord) was a perfectionist who wanted you to get everything right, that was a double whammy pressure to get the line right — not just for the line's sake but for Jack's sake."

Endo's death on Friday at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital follows the passing of Lord, Kam (Chin Ho Kelly) Fong, Richard (the governor) Denning, Herman (Duke) Wedemeyer and Gilbert (Zulu) Kauhi, among other actors on the show.

Endo is survived by his wife, Myrtle; daughter Leslie Baker of Brooklyn; and Scott Endo of San Diego,

What are you doing here?

Do people really visit The Florida Masochist on a holiday? This post wasn't written today, but on Wednesday and scheduled for posting. I may have a few queue a few more posts for the day. What's a day without a Knucklehead award?

The Sci-Fi Channel is having a James Bond festival today. Is Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and The World is not Enough sci-fi movies? I don't classify them as that. This is an improvement over three years ago, when Sci-Fi did a zombie movie festival thanksgiving. Someone may say that was in bad taste.

I just want to wish all our readers a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving. I have no special plans for today. The wife, mother-in-law, and I will have dinner around 4 pm and afterwards may go see a movie. Have a safe and enjoyable day everyone.

Just no cents

*- My wife is a Filipina and for some time we've gotten Philippine television via Directv. For the last month or so, the Philippine version of Deal or No Deal shows at noon time. Which coincidentally is the same time for Leonita to be home for lunch.

So Leonita watches the show now every weekday while she is having lunch. It's hard not to watch the show. I do 'appreciate' Philippine women and a television show with 27 of them, some with names of Apple and Precious and Olive, well you know why I watch.

At the bottom of this post there's a video which includes a rehearsal and a interview of two of the suitcase girls. The video isn't the greatest. s

Deal or No Deal, whether in the USA or The Philippines is about greed. Yesterday's show had to have the biggest idiot I've seen on television in some time. After turning down many generous offers, he has two possibilities left, 400 pesos or 75. The current exchange rate is 49 pesos to the dollar. The banker offers this guy 399 pesos or 1 less than what at most he can win. One peso or two cents don't buy anything these days. He says- No deal! Do I need explain what was found in the suitcase he had left?

*- Dear wife was all excited yesterday and today for the return of her mother and sister. They are coming back from the Philippines. Leonita went to Fort Lauderdale airport, 45 miles from my house, to pick them up this morning. Guess what? They are arriving tomorrow.

Suitcases. My life is full of them.

Labels: Asia, Personal Stuff, Philippines, Television

We're gluttons for punishment

From the Miami Herald-

No matter how much the Dolphins keep losing, viewers keep watching.

Despite the worst season in franchise history, Dolphins ratings in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market actually are ahead of last season, by more than 25,000 homes per telecast. The 12 games have averaged a 17.8 rating, ahead of last year's 16.1, when Miami finished 6-10, and comparable to recent years when the team's record was much better.

WFOR-4, which has carried nine of the games, has seen Dolphins ratings jump from a 15.7 to a 17.6, meaning 17.6 percent of Miami-Fort Lauderdale homes with TV sets, on average, are tuned to the game. (One local ratings point equals 15,386 homes.)

There must be a lot more Florida Masochists besides me.

The article makes no mention of Miami's last two home games for 2007. I heard on the radio the other day that the games are in danger of not selling out. It is nearly a decade since a Dolphin regular season home game didn't sell out.

Linked to- Bright & Early, Bullwinkle, Rosemary, The World According to Carl,

Recruitment headaches

From Reuters-

LONDON - The success of the James Bond movies has given the British Secret Intelligence Service a recruitment headache -- too many cranks want to join MI6.

"I think it gives people a false impression of what working for the organization is actually like," the head of MI6 recruitment -- named only as "Mark" -- told BBC Radio One's Newsbeat program on Monday.

"So it does tend to turn up quite a lot of thrill seekers and fantasists and we're really not interested in them."

As well as dismissing the notion that spying was a never-ending life of fast cars, fast women and shaken not stirred Martini cocktails, "Mark" was keen to demolish another myth surrounding MI6.

"We don't have a license to kill -- we don't carry Berettas -- that's simply not true."

The popularity of James Bond movies goes back to the mid-60's. So if MI6 is getting crank applicants, you may think it has been happening for sometime. I don't recall which of the three Frederick Forsyth books it was that featured the character Sir Nigel Irvine, but I seem to recall the character once saying there are 'old spies and bold spies but no old bold spies.' People who take movies or even mainline television dramas(Take for instance ER. Don't get me started on how unrealistic the portrayal of medicine is done on the show) as resembling real-life, are out of touch with reality.

Maybe MI6 should require applicants to read the works of John Le Carre first. Some have called George Smiley 'the anti-Bond'. That may make future MI6 applicants think twice.

Linked to- DragonLady, High Desert Wanderer, Populist, Right Wing Nation,

Manny Pacquiao- Still the champ

This was the first boxing match I watched in over ten years.

LAS VEGAS (AFP) - Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao continued his mastery over Marc Antonio Barrera Saturday with unanimous 12-round decision in their super featherweight fight.

It was a rematch of their 2003 bout which was also won by Pacquiao who dominated Barrera with superior hand speed and harder punches.

All three judges gave the decision to Pacquiao by a wide margin with Glenn Trowbridge scoring it 118-109.

The 28-year-old Pacquiao (45-3-2, 35 KOs) was the more aggressive of the two trading blows with the underdog Barrera in the centre of the ring and often beating the 33-year-old Mexican veteran to the punch at the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino.

Barrera, who plans to retire after the bout, tried to engineer a tactical fight but looked slower and more awkward. But unlike 2003 when his corner threw in the towel, this time Barrera hung on to remain standing at the end of the final round.

Barrera did nothing to impress the judges. He fought a tactical fight, but appeared scared or wary of Pacquiao who battered him four years earlier.

How did I come about watching a fight for the first time in many years? It was all due to my Philippine born wife. Leonita was talking to her family last night and they told her about the fight. So we ordered Pay-per-view.

Talking about Pay-per-view and DirectTV. We get high definition as part of our satellite package. If we wanted to see the bout in HD, Directv wanted 10 daoolars more than the $49.95 regular price. In addition, Directv wanted $5 for letting us view the bout on all the televisions in our house. That was unless we ordered it off the internet.

All of this makes me pretty reluctant to order any further bouts in the future. I used to follow boxing, but as the sport concentrated more and more on first cable(Anyone besides me remember watching Muhammad Ali fight in prime-time on Network television in the 70's?) and eventually Pay-per-view my interest in boxing waned and then disappeared entirely. Other than Pacquaio I couldn't name one WBA, WBC or IBF title holder at the moment. While Pay-per-view may be more lucrative, I think it could in the end kill interest in the sport. That's just my humble opinion.

Linked to- Cao, Populist, Right Wing Nation, Yankee Sailor,

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is WPEC(West Palm Beach Florida) Channel 12. They get the award for the following.



OMG, right? Steve Owen who posted a link to this video, works in the television news. Here is what Steve said in his comment section.

my take on this is that someone in editing thought it would be funny and showed a co-worker. and somehow it got on the air. maybe they grabbed the joke tape, and encoded it.. or just encoded it by accident. it was definitely not a random event.

How very nice of Channel 12. Pat Murphy and everyone at that station wouldn't be laughing if they faced being paralyzed for the rest of their life, like Kevin Everett might.

Another thing is, this wasn't a one shot mistake. My wife claims to have seen it during Channel 12's daytime sports. She does not stay up to watch the evening news, so Channel 12 broadcast this 'mistake' more than once.

For disgusting humor during a television news broadcast, WPEC Channel 12 is today's Knucklehead of the Day.

Linked to- Big Dog, Bright & Early, DragonLady, High Desert Wanderer, Leaning Straight Up, Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson, Pirate's Cove, Right Voices, Rosemary, Samantha Burns, Webloggin, Yankee Sailor,

From the Silly News Desk

Some news from Australia. Almost as funny as this stunt is, comes the claim by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer that this proves security is working. Maybe I should give Downer a Knucklehead award.

Linked to- High Desert Wanderer, Perri Nelson, Pirate's Cove, Rosemary,

SYDNEY, Australia - Members of an Australian TV comedy show, one dressed as Osama bin Laden, drove through two security checkpoints Thursday before being stopped near the Sydney hotel where President Bush is staying.

The stunt embarrassed Sydney police who have imposed the tightest security measures in city history for a summit of leaders from Pacific Rim countries, including Bush.

Police arrested 11 cast and crew from the TV program, "The Chaser's War on Everything," and impounded three vehicles, the Australian Broadcasting Corp., which airs the show, said on its Web site.

Cast members put together a sham motorcade, hiring two motorcycles and three large cars on which they put Canadian flags. Police waved the motorcade through two checkpoints before pulling it over near the Intercontinental Hotel where Bush is staying.

Cast member Chas Licciardello got out of the car dressed in a white tunic and cap and wearing a long fake Osama bin Laden-style beard.

"No particular reason we chose Canada," cast member Chris Taylor was quoted as saying on The Sydney Morning Herald's Web site. "We just thought they'd be a country who the cops wouldn't scrutinize too closely, and who feasibly would only have three cars in their motorcade — as opposed to the 20 or so gas guzzlers that Bush has brought with him."

Bush is a frequent target of "the Chaser," as are Australian politicians. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the stunt proved security was working.

"Whatever you think of the humor of 'the Chaser,' the honest truth is they were clearly not going to harm anybody in a physical way," Downer said. "They presumably were, as is the nature of their show, aiming to humiliate a lot of well-known people."

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is Lauren Caitlin Upton. TFM isn't able to show videos, but click here to see Ms. Upton's interview. A big thanks to Bullwinkle.

Paul at Wizbang does break down the highlights for us.

Remember the questions was, why couldn't one-fifth of Americans locate our country on a world map. Let's break down her answer:

I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps

and

and, uh, I believe that our education like such as in South Africa

and

and, uh, the Iraq

and

everywhere like, such as and I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S.

Are you confused too? Is your head hurting yet? The people of the United States need Universal map benefits. For giving new meaning to term, 'Dizzy blonde', Lauren Caitlin Upton is today's Knucklehead of the Day.

Linked to- Adam, Amboy Times, Bright & Early, Cao, Conservative Thoughts, Leaning Straight Up, Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson, Pirate's Cove, Planck's Constant, Pursuing Holiness, Right Wing Nation, Rosemary, Samantha Burns, Third World County, Webloggin,

That's Entertainment

The Japanese government has decided to stop subsidizing a television network that featured news done by a anchorwoman doing a striptease.

TOKYO (AFP) - An X-rated Japanese television company vowed Tuesday to keep running a show for the hearing impaired after the government dropped subsidies under a storm of criticism.

In a version of the Canadian show "Naked News," a Japanese anchorwoman strips off clothing piece by piece while reading tabloid news in sign language.

Japan's communications ministry said last week it would halt funding for the cable show, which was part of its budget to support programming for the hearing impaired.

"We will juice up the program, maybe airing it live with some improvisations by the anchorwoman and a higher level of sign language," said Shinichiro Fukuyama, a spokesman for the show's producer, Paradise Television Inc.

"Our company's principle is to entertain our audience, regardless of whether they are disabled or not," he said. "We will continue our programming."

The government has already approved a total of 400,000 yen (3,400 dollars) for the show, called "Hadaka no Shuwa Nyusu (Naked Signing News)," but will give no further support, a communications ministry official said.

"We will give the limited aid available to higher public interests and benefits," she said.

Daisuke Ochi, director of the Tokyo Federation of Deaf, applauded the broadcaster for continuing the show despite losing government support.

They're doing a public service, isn't that great?

The network admits they are there to entertain people with 'Naked News'. I love that candor coming from someone in television news. Tell me how much of every day's televised news in the US is meant to inform viewers compared to what is meant to entertain? The ratio is lopsided in favor of entertain, we all know that.

Now if Directv offered this channel, Rio Natsume did the news and I could somehow watch without my getting killed by the wife, I'd be a regular viewer. We know none of that's going to happen!

Linked to- Big Dog, Blue Star, Planck's Constant, Yankee Sailor,

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is the CBS Television Network. They get the award for the following.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 17 — The ads promoting “Kid Nation,” a new reality show coming to CBS next month, extol the incredible experience of a group of 40 children, ages 8 to 15, who built a sort of idealistic society in a New Mexico ghost town, free of adults. For 40 days the children cooked their own meals, cleaned their own outhouses, formed a government and ran their own businesses, all without adult intervention or participation.

To at least one parent of a participant, who wrote a letter of complaint to New Mexico state officials after the show had completed production, the experience bordered on abuse and neglect. Several children required medical attention after drinking bleach that had been left in an unmarked soda bottle, according to both the parent and CBS. One 11-year-old girl burned her face with splattered grease while cooking.

Accidents happen with unsupervised children all the time. That isn't why CBS gets today's award.

The children were made to haul wagons loaded with supplies for more than a mile through the New Mexico countryside, and they worked long hours — “from the crack of dawn when the rooster started crowing” until at least 9:30 p.m., according to Taylor, a 10-year-old from Sylvester, Ga., who was made available by CBS to respond to questions about conditions on the set.

Now this is a violation of labor laws. Children are allowed to work only certain hours of the day, and with limits on the amounts. What the heck got into CBS' mind? Child labor for television ratings. Makes a wonderful headline doesn't it?

A New Mexico official whose department oversees licensing of congregant child-care settings said in an interview that the project almost assuredly violated state laws requiring facilities that house children be reviewed and licensed.

The official, Romaine Serna, public information officer for the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, said Friday that CBS had never contacted the agency. If the department had known of the parent’s allegations when the incidents occurred, she said, “We would have responded and would have assured the children’s safety.”

CBS officials say they broke no laws. “We feel very comfortable that this was appropriate from a legal point of view,” Ghen Maynard, the executive vice president for alternative programming at CBS, said in an interview Friday.

They had children working during the school year with little adult supervision. Tell me what's right about that.

Ed at Captain's Quarters points out.

The question of how CBS accomplished the feat of taking 40 young children into the New Mexico desert for nearly six weeks during the middle of the school year, allowing them almost no contact with their parents, in order to produce a television show has attracted attention. The network has heavily promoted “Kid Nation,” which executives are hoping will be one of its breakout hits this fall.

New Mexico's child protection services are not amused. They have indicated that had they known CBS had set up a residential facility for the children, they would have taken steps to ensure that CBS followed the law. In fact, the network never bothered to contact the Children, Youth and Families Department. The state sent a labor inspector to the set, but the producers didn't allow an inspection to occur, according to New Mexico.

This takes child exploitation back to 1930s Hollywood. Regardless of whether CBS thinks this was some grand sociological experiment, the bottom line is that they had these kids working in harsh and apparently somewhat unsafe conditions for fifteen or more hours a day. They provided little adult supervision -- in fact, that was the point of the production -- and no educational support, even though this took place during a school year.

And for what purpose? CBS just wanted another cutting-edge reality series. They wanted "Survivor -- The Elementary School Edition".

And why New Mexico? Well, that's where the story hits at the heart of CBS and Viacom, its parent corporation. New Mexico doesn't have all of those restrictive laws regarding child labor in the entertainment industry. CBS scouted for a location where those restrictions would not interfere with their pursuit of a unique concept that would draw viewers and advertisers. Never mind that those laws in California, New York, and other entertainment centers protect children from exploitative conditions and physical harm.

The Coogan laws were enacted to prevent exploitation of children. Most states have these laws, some states are tougher than others. CBS picked where they would do this show and what for? Ratings of course. The children got a $5000 stipend. Big Deal!

Note- The parents of these children aren't innocents in this affair. That doesn't excuse what CBS did.

For abusing and exploiting children for television ratings, The CBS Television Network is today's Knucklehead of the Day.

Linked to- Adam, Amboy Times, Big Dog, Blue Star, Cao, Church and State, Dumb Ox, Jo, Morewhat, Perri Nelson, Pirate's Cove, Point Five, Pursuing Holiness, Right Wing Nation, Stop the ACLU, Third World County, Webloggin, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, Yankee Sailor,

Florida the rules are different here Chapter CLXI

South Florida's version of a wardrobe malfunction.

Two female Florida weather forecasters, at different Miami television stations, but both wearing identical dresses! Alex at SOTP writes-

"Well, we make the same bad weather predictions, so may as well wear the same clothes while doing it".

Steve Owen also writes-

If you want to do morning weather, you better get the uniform. So much for having your own style. Ouch.

Funny thing is, my wife used to have a dress just like that in the photo. But some 10-15 years ago! Darn, she could have been a television weather woman too.(I may add Dear wife is prettier than the two women pictured. She got a kick out of the photo when I showed it to her.) There must be some kind of contractual agreement requiring them to all wear the same clothes. Isn't this a great state or what!

Linked to- Bullwinkle, Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson, The World According to Carl,

Another fool who can't count

This time its Lawrence Downes, a member of the New York Times editorial board. In a Friday column, Mr. Downes wrote-

In 1968, one of those awful years for which the term “hell in a handbasket” was invented, a war-weary, riot-torn nation gave its heart to a cerebral man of action with a passion for law and its elusive partner, order.

He was fictional, but that was about his only shortcoming. His name was Steve McGarrett, and he ran an elite state police unit called Hawaii Five-0. He kept a gun under his arm and his principles in his spine, under a crisp, broad-shouldered suit jacket. He also kept a mighty head of glossy black hair, on which only a forelock was permitted to sway in the warm island breezes. Control meant a lot to him.

“Hawaii Five-0,” with Jack Lord as McGarrett, aired on TV for 13 years, fading away just before the Reagan era. Its fans, who have had to survive on reruns and bootleg videotapes, are now bingeing on DVDs. The first season was released in March; the second came out on Tuesday.

TFM is a big fan of Hawaii Five 0 and I bought the Season 2 DVD when it came out this week. I just hope it doesn't take 5 years for CBS DVD to put out all 12 seasons or they stop the putting the seasons out all together.

Read that carefully, 12 SEASONS. Why then did Lawrnence Downes write 13 at in his column. Was it just a typo?

No its a sign of bad addition that's seen both in the MSM(Particularly sports broadcasting) and other parts of America today. Its a screwball type of math, that's just 100% wrong. I'll explain how Downes got to 13 years.

He counted them this way. 1968- One 1969- Two 1970- Three 1971- Four etc etc till you get to 1980 which counts as 13.

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! If one goes to the Internet movie database, or this Hawaii Five 0 fan page you'll discover the show ran for twelve seasons. Also, the show's first airing during prime-time television was in September 1968, the last was April 1980. That isn't even twelve years, but 11 years and 7 months. I'll be fair and count by the total of seasons Hawaii Five 0 ran, that's 12. The bottom line is Lawrence Downes even with degrees from Fordham University and The University of Missouri, can't do simple math. Just like this touranment's organizer who counted anniversaries staring with the very first tournament. I mean if we all counted that way, I'd be 47 and born in 1961. NOT!

When you have such stupidity working in the media, or the boardrooms of America, you can easily understand why our education system so fails children today. There are educated people out there who can't count.

Linked to- Adam, Cao, Church and State, Right Wing Nation, Stuck on Stupid, Third World County,

She owns Toledo

Se Ri Pak won her fifth Jamie Farr Classic.

SYLVANIA, Ohio - Morgan Pressel's hole-in-one sure got Se Ri Pak's attention. Trailing briefly by three strokes after Pressel aced the sixth hole, Pak regained the lead with a birdie at the 15th hole and held on to tie an LPGA record with her fifth win at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic on Sunday.

Pak, who previously won the Farr in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2003, matched Mickey Wright, who won the Sea Island Open in 1957-58, '60, '62-'63, and Annika Sorenstam, who has won both the Samsung World Championship and Mizuno Classic tournaments five times each.

The 29-year-old Pak, who has already qualified for induction to the Hall of Fame, has 24 career victories. She followed rounds of 63, 68 and 69 with a 67 to finish at 17-under 267 and collect the $195,000 winner's check. Pressel closed with a 69 and was three shots back at 270.

Pak and Pressel dueled all day until Pak finally broke a tie at the par-4 15th, almost holing an iron approach which ended up 2 feet from the cup. After Pressel's long putt from the back fringe came up a foot short, Pak rammed in the birdie to go ahead by a stroke with three holes left.

Pressel's approach at the 17th braked to a stop 2 feet away. But Pak rolled in a 6-footer for birdie before Pressel tapped in, maintaining her advantage.

At the 18th — the second of back-to-back par-5 closing holes at Highland Meadows Golf Club — Pak created a roar from the large gallery when she came within inches of holing her approach. Her tap-in birdie putt clinched the victory.

After her ace, Pressel was even par the rest of the way while Pak was 6 under.

The final round was like match play or a playoff. Se Ri in addition to her incredible record at the Farr, is 5-0 lifetime in playoffs. She beat Morgan, but it was much closer than the three-shot win that the leader board registered at the end.

Prediction- Se Ri Pak will win the Jamie Farr Classic again. Anyone want to wager $50 she doesn't?

ESPN televised the tournament's 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds. When Se Ri and Morgan began walking down the 18th fairway after their tee shots on Sunday, the broadcast was interrupted for some five minutes. When ESPN2 returned, they said there were technical difficulties.

There sure were 'technical difficulties' with ESPN's coverage. For instance-



An announcer misnaming Laura Diaz, Laura Davies instead. Look at the pictures to the left and right, do these two women look anything alike? Davies is on the right. Someone get an optometrist to Toledo Stat!

Charlie Rymer being amazed by Jin Young Pak being paired with Se Ri on Saturday. Pro golf tournaments are paired by scores after the cut was made. Pak and Pak were 1-2 and that meant they were paired.

Rymer has been broadcating golf for over ten years. He should know better.

ESPN showing Se Ri's impressive record at the Farr, but saying she had made the cut nine times in nine tries. That is incorrect, Se Ri played the Farr in 1997(before she joined the LPGA). She missed the cut.

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is the BBC. They get the award for the following.

LONDON (Reuters) - The BBC apologized to Queen Elizabeth on Thursday for wrongly implying that she had stormed out of a photo shoot with American celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.

The British broadcaster backtracked on its implication that the monarch had lost her temper when asked to remove her crown.

The story became headline news around the world after a promotional trailer for a BBC documentary "A year with the Queen," due to be shown later this year, was shown to journalists.

"In this trailer there is a sequence that implies that the Queen left a sitting prematurely. This was not the case and the actual sequence of events was misrepresented," it said in a statement.

"The BBC would like to apologize to both the Queen and Annie Leibovitz for any upset this may have caused."

Queen Elizabeth, who was being filmed for the behind-the-scenes documentary, was depicted as apparently having flounced out of a room at Buckingham Palace with an aide carrying her robes.

Scenes of the Queen and Leibovitz clashing over the request to remove the crown were followed by footage of the monarch walking down a corridor and telling her lady-in-waiting: "I'm not changing anything. I've had enough dressing like this thank you very much."

But the footage was actually filmed as the Queen made her way to the sitting.

Off with their heads! Darn it, we can't do that. But TFM will do the best thing. The BBC is today's Knucklehead of the Day.

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The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is the Spanish language television network Telemundo. They get the award for the following.

In the freewheeling world of Spanish-language television and radio, the line between what's offensive and what's not is often murky. The challenge is made more difficult by the language's unique permutations across Latin America and Spain.

But with Spanish-language media under increased scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission, a Miami talk show has sharpened that fuzzy line to zero tolerance. Telemundo TV personality Luisa Fernanda, the Mexican host of the popular show Cotorreando (``Chattering''), was fired after she made an unintended slur against gays.

Fernanda used the Cuban word for grouper, cherna, which for Cubans has another meaning: a pejorative term for a gay man.

Other networks also have taken action against on-air personalities recently. But in Fernanda's case, she had no clue the word she was uttering is an insult in Cuban Spanish; several local gay community activists are defending her.

Fernanda was dissecting the latest sex videotape scandal last month with co-host Mauricio Zeilic when she asked him if he would back her if she was attacked, and he said yes.

Fernanda then joked that if they were attacked by the feared Central American gang the ''Mara Salvatrucha'' -- Salvatrucha is Central American slang that includes the word trucha, or ''trout'' -- they could send in a different gang: the ``Grouper of Hialeah.''

Telemundo executives fired Fernanda on June 22, the next day, saying her conduct was ''inconsistent'' with the company's culture and its respect for diversity.

Her dismissal marks the first time a national Spanish-language radio or TV personality has been fired for making an allegedly homophobic remark, according to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD.

'For me, it was just an association of words, comparing a fish to a fish,'' said Fernanda, 36. ``I had no idea it was an offensive word. I would be incapable of being homophobic.''

Fernanda's firing illustrates the evolving relationship between Spanish-language media and the U.S. gay and lesbian community. While applauding Telemundo's ''zero tolerance'' policy, gay advocates said they seem puzzled that the network would punish Fernanda.

Fernanda presented one of the key awards at GLAAD's annual South Florida event in May and has openly advocated for the right of gays and lesbians to marry.

''The only mistake she made was using the wrong word at the wrong time,'' said Ron Brenesky, vice president of the Unity Coalition, a local Latino gay civil-rights group.

On Sunday, coalition members will declare Fernanda ''queen'' for a day of the gay and lesbian community at the local drag establishment Club Azucar.

Ms. Fernanda is a supporter of gay marriage and supposedly has a gay sister. She gets fired for using a word that can be derogatory towards gays. What is wrong with this picture?

Alex at SOTP writes-

This is BS. "Cherna" (grouper) is indeed a derogatory term for gays, but as far as I know is only used in Cuba. The TV hostess is Mexican, they don't even use "cherna" for grouper, they call it "mero". In the context of her comment, she was making a joke about a fictional gang "The Hialeah Groupers" to oppose a known Hispanic gang "Mara Salvatrucha" ("trucha" means trout). To add insult to injury, the poor woman has been an advocate of gay marriage and a presenter at a GLAAD event (and her co-host which whom she was dialoguing with at the time of the alleged slur is openly gay).

If Telemundo is going to get that sensitive about homosexual slurs, watch out. Other forbidden words would be snapper, bird, duck, crazy, avocado, understanding and a dozen other ones. Slang words vary so much from country to country it's almost impossible for anybody not to use a word another Hispanic may find funny or offensive.

But what's galling is that if Telemundo and other Spanish media really wants to look for examples of insensitive and stereotypical treatment of gays (or women, or minorities), all they have to do is turn on the TV or radio. Gays in Spanish media are invariably portrayed as the fey, screeching stereotype; always used for comic relief. As we say in Cuba, "qué cara más dura" (what a hard face!).

This firing smells like a rotting fish to me. Nothing about it makes sense. Either Fernanda was fired for other reasons than the word she used or Telemundo needs its head examined for taking part in an outrageously bad episode of the language police. Either way Telemundo is today's Knucklehead of the Day. How does one say Knucklehead in Spanish?

Side note- Why hasn't Telemundo fired this anchor?
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The July 4th Knucklehead Marathon Part Sixteen

Our sixteenth winner is actress Kim Yun-jin. She gets the award for the following interview.

In the first "Lost" advertising poster, the white actors were placed in the front and the actors of other races in the back row, right?

"I was so shocked, I couldn't speak. I worked in Korea for about six years without being aware of the color of my skin, but I was stunned when it suddenly happened. After that, I object to whatever I feel is discrimination. If I accept it, there will be no change. When I speak out, the other side might think, 'I never thought about it that way,' and be more careful."

*****

Money and fame follow from Hollywood. Do you earn a lot now?

"I earn a lot. I get US$100,000 per episode, and we shoot 24 episodes a year. 'Lost' is televised to 210 countries around the world."

Poor baby she feels discriminated against being a supporting actress at the rate of two million plus dollars a year. My wife says where can she sign up for such discrimination! Actress Kim Yun-jin is today's sixteenth Knucklehead of the Day.

Hat tip- ROK Drop
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