Visit my second account, 123home-BSG, to read my original novel-in-progress, which is set in the universe of the new Battlestar Galactica series.

Ch. 16 "The Siege, Part 3: Our Brothers in Arms" is now available, as of Mar. 7, 2008.

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• 10Oct 08

  An October update

  Well, it's been exactly a month since my last blog post. Not long after that post, we saw the site redesign and its attendant problems. I can live with most of the changes but the bugs need to go. I'd also like to get back the longer Tracked Blogs list. I haven't been looking at too many blog posts lately because it's too time-consuming to open up the full Tracked Blogs list and wait for all the photos to download.
  
  I've been busy at work for the last two months. I worked every single day for about three weeks at one point. I worked most of the day on one Sunday and stayed until 5:30 am the following morning. I got a little rest that Monday and the next day but on the following Wednesday I worked until 3 in the morning. After a brief respite, we're getting busy again. At least I'm earning some extra money, which is not a minor thing with the severe problems in the U.S. and world financial industry these days.
  
  Economic crisis
  
  The long work hours, the historic economic crisis in the U.S. banking industry (probably the worst since the Great Depression in the 1930s), the ongoing U.S. presidential campaign, the baseball playoffs and the start of the NFL season have all kept my mind occupied and limited my time on the site. I share many people's frustrations with the bugs and some of the questionable redesign items but I didn't participate in the TV.com blackout. Somehow I didn't feel motivated to do that while seeing headlines about $700 billion economic stabilization acts, $80 billion emergency loans to AIG, the astonishing bankruptcy of Wall Street stalwart Lehman Brothers, the effective disappearance of Merrill Lynch as it got bought out by Bank of America, the change in status of the last two large independent investment banks to commercial banks (Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs), the complete meltdown of the stock market as the Dow Jones has now lost 39 percent of its value in precisely one year, and the likelihood of an oncoming economic recession.
  
  I would like to point out that the congressional hearings concerning the banking industry crisis and the subprime mortgage issues are not being run fairly. A recent hearing focused on the former CEO of Lehman Brothers in an apparent attempt to place all the blame on him and people like him. What the Democratic committee chairman failed to do was include witnesses from key organizations like Fannie Mae, which has had very close ties to the Clinton Administration. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are deeply involved in the collapse of the U.S. mortgage market and some high-level members of the Clinton Administration were right in the middle of the mess. Those people need to be called up to Capitol Hill as well as top executives from Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs (another financial firm with close ties to the Clinton Administration), AIG and Wachovia (which is being bought out by Wells Fargo).
  
  I have to admit that with the serious nature of the crisis roiling the banking industry (and the U.S. automotive industry too), that it looks to be very difficult for Senator McCain to defeat Senator Obama in the U.S. presidential election. Whoever wins will have quite a lot on their plate. Interestingly enough, it is the Bush Administration that is undertaking the historic step of making significant government investments in most if not all of the major banks in the U.S. in an attempt to calm investors, business and the banks themselves. The recent $700 billion economic stabilization plan was very poorly marketed, by everyone, from the Bush Administration to the Democratic leadership in Congress. The media keeps labeling it as a "Wall Street bailout," which is why it failed to pass in the House of Representatives on the first pass. It truly is an economic stabilization bill (and now law). A major problem right now is the tightening of the credit markets. The banks are so afraid of doling out any money, even to other banks, that the fuel that makes the U.S. economy run, capital, is being locked up and hoarded.
  
  Think this doesn't affect you? Even if it doesn't affect you immediately, what about the next time you want to buy a car? Or get a home mortgage? Or open a new credit card account? Or simply hang onto the credit limit you have on your current credit card(s)? Banks are tightening up their criteria for making car loans, mortgages and credit card accounts. Some banks are lowering credit limits on outstanding credit cards. Small businesses and even larger businesses are having difficult times trying to get temporary loans to make payroll and pay their own bills from suppliers. These credit problems mean cutbacks in many of these businesses, which means a significant uptick in unemployment. Then fewer employed people means fewer people spending money, which leads to more cutbacks among private businesses and more unemployment.
  
  The problem is big, bigger than any problem a Treasury Secretary of Federal Reserve Chairman has had to face in decades. Some are saying that this is the end of U.S. capitalism as we know it. I think that's a bit oversold but it is a remarkable change of direction. Two years ago, almost no one would have advocated direct government investment and partial control of nearly the entire U.S. banking sector and yet, that is what seems likely by the end of the year. The U.S. government is also a direct participant in the national mortgage market because of its control over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I think most of these changes are short-term but short-term could mean a few years.
  
  Though I try to stay away from politics on this blog, I have to point out one concern of mine, and that's with Obama's tax proposals. I saw an extended TV commercial where he spoke directly, no paid announcer or actor in his place. He described his "middle-class tax cut" plan. No Washington tax plan or federal program has ever been as benign or limited as its proponents say it will be. When Obama says no one under a certain tax bracket will have their taxes increased, I am skeptical. Some of the biggest federal programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the welfare programs, were intended to be temporary or limited programs, not the behemoths that they blossomed into in later decades. I fear that a massive tax increase on businesses will prevent the U.S. economy from recovering quickly from the current problems. Yes, there is going to be a huge short-term deficit from the economic stabilization plan and other federal measures but that's a necessary evil. But there's no point in overhauling the basic U.S. system to take advantage of this recent problem and move the U.S. economy to a socialist system.
  
  Some will say that the U.S. capitalist system is what got us in the mess in the first place... and they would be right. What they won't say is that the U.S. capitalist system (along with the democratic form of government) is what created enough wealth that the banking crisis hasn't resulted in civil wars, widespread famine and anarchy. If you look at previous eras of history, banking crises have often led to such events. The spread of free markets, free enterprise and free trade throughout much of the world has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the last 40 years. That can't be a bad thing. Compare the economies and societies of India, China, Russia, South Korea and Ireland to what they were 30 or 40 or 50 years ago. I dare anyone to say that hundreds of millions of people were better off when 80 or 90 percent of the people in many of those areas were barely avoiding starvation. Poverty hasn't been eradicated but it has been pushed back significantly. Ireland is now one of the wealthiest countries on Earth on a per capita basis and has been so for about a decade now. South Korea is one of the world's largest economies even though it was perhaps the world's poorest area in 1953 at the end of the Korean War. China, India and Russia abandoned their socialist and protectionist policies and the result was astounding economic growth that lifted many areas of those countries out of poverty.
  
  So I think people need a little perspective on the current problems. It's bad, yes, but it's hardly a reason to call for complete nationalization of the banking industry, enormous tax hikes, and socialist economics. In the long run, the vast majority of people are better off under democratic capitalist systems, despite the problems we're facing right now.
  
  ***
  
  So that's my op-ed section of this blog entry. Onto other matters.
  
  Fitness training, marathons and triathlons
  
  I've ramped up my fitness training in recent weeks. Our outdoor pool is still open, which is great. But it's closing after this weekend, which is not so great. It was nice while it lasted. I had been expecting them to close the pool after Labor Day weekend so at least I got in an extra six weeks of swimming.
  
  I started to do swim sprints for some workouts. Instead of longer, slow laps, I do fast swim sprints and then recover in between each lap. This is a form of interval training. Brief bursts of speed and intensity really crank up your aerobic fitness and help you out later on when you are racing at a more moderate pace. The sprints help even if you aren't a short-distance racer. The same applies with running. Coaches and fitness experts recommend that runners do some speedwork, perhaps once a week, even if you are training for a marathon.
  
  I'm easing into running since I haven't done much of it in about a year. However, I'm finding that my aerobic fitness level from swimming translates well into running. After a few shorter runs, I ran a moderately paced six miles the other day. That's the first time since high school that I've run more than 4 miles in one session. My heart felt pretty good although my calves and ankles were a little sore. I'll have to get used to the added stress on my legs by bumping up the mileage and speed gradually.
  
  Once the pool closes, I'm going to mix in weightlifting/strength training sessions again. I don't think it's good to run a lot without also doing some strength training. Strength or resistance training makes your muscles stronger and more capable of resisting the stress of running and other activities. It also strengthens your bones, tendons and ligaments, helping to ward off injury, as long as you do everything right. This means scheduling weightlifting sessions carefully. No lifting on the day after a long run. No long run on the day after a leg strength workout, and so on. It can get a little complicated but I'm already used to scheduling weightlifting sessions around my swimming workouts so it's not too difficult.
  
  My goal is to get in shape to run some medium-distance races by the spring and into next summer. Then I'll start up the formal training for next year's Marine Corps Marathon. This year's race takes place in just two weeks. Registration is closed and it would be impossible for me to train properly in that time.
  
  As for other endurance events, on Saturday, the famous Ironman Triathlon competition will be held on the Big Island of Hawaii. The race includes a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a full 26.22-mile marathon run, all on the same day. Now THAT'S a workout!
  
  On Sunday, the 2008 Chicago Marathon will take place. The Chicago Marathon is one of the world major marathons, along with the Boston, New York, London and Berlin Marathons. It will be televised live on the Universal Sports channel (a unit of NBC Universal).
  
  ***
  
  I have a few more Washington-tourist blog posts planned, along with plenty of high-quality pictures and links to online videos of some of the events. The 10 x zoom on my new digital camera is great. I hope you agree once you see some of the pictures. I met some famous people at one of the events, which I'll explain in more detail soon. I also heard an amazing inspirational story from one of the people. I'll also write about that in more detail in a later blog entry.
  
  Television matters
  
  I guess I should include some TV-related content here, so I'll point out that filming on the Battlestar Galactica TV movie has probably wrapped up by now. The new BSG webisodes should be arriving on the official Sci Fi Channel site sometime this fall or early winter, so be on the lookout for that. (Sorry, but I think they will only be accessible to U.S. residents. Copyright issues and all that other stuff....) I haven't watched much TV at all in a few months other than NFL football games and the baseball playoffs. Fortunately the long miserable season of the Washington Nationals is over so I don't have to read about any more Nats' losses this year. (I' ve fallen out of the lead in the TV.com NFL Picks Contest but I'm still just one point behind the co-leaders.)
  
  The Screen Actors Guild is gearing up to win strike authorization from its members, who have been working without a formal contract for a few months now. Whether this means the actors' strike is on its way is anyone's guess. It'll take a while for the actors to vote on the authorization. Then there will probably be some renewed bargaining with the studios. Even if talks break down, it will take some more time before the SAG union membership votes to strike. I don't think this is the right time to be hinting at a strike, with the prospect of a recession and a banking crisis. The writers and directors already made significant headway in getting more of the revenues from online distribution of TV and movie content so I'm not sure why SAG is so adamant about taking a hard line here. They might consider that viewers won't be as supportive as they were during the writers' strike. The U.S. economy wasn't on the verge of a recession last year and the studios hadn't given any ground on the issue of Internet-based revenue.
  
  That's all for this edition of my blog. This might be my longest post yet. At least future blog posts will have pictures, so you have that to look forward to. Enjoy the weekend.

  • Posted Oct 10, 2008 2:35 am PT
  • Category: General

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• 10Sep 08

  Reflections on the world from the great outdoors

  Since I'm going to be working very late for the rest of the week (10 pm, 11 pm or even midnight), I thought I'd write up another blog post using my smart phone. I've been collecting a few ideas for a new blog post. I don't have access to my home computer right now but I remember most of the topics.
  
  As you may have heard, the European Center for Nuclear Research started up its Large Hadron Collider today deep underneath the ground outside Geneva, Switzerland. The $6 billion facility is one of the most ambitious scientific projects in human history. Physicists will speed particles close to the speed of light using massive superconducting magnets. Two beams will travel in opposing directions in the circular facility. Then the two beams will be maneuvered so that the particles collide in an attempt to recreate the conditions that occurred a split second after the Big Bang.
  
  Sound scary? Well, some organized groups think so. They claim that the project may create micro black holes that could threaten Geneva or even the entire planet. I saw a documentary on the Science Channel about the collider this year. One Harvard physicist admitted that micro black holes were possible but she said that they were unlikely to survive for more than a tiny fraction of a second.
  
  The science is pretty far out there. I often hear people attack religion for their fanciful creation myths and explanations of existence but I don't see how the theories of the modern-day physicists are so common sensical. They actually believe there may be 13 dimensions of existence and that everything is made up of strings of matter. They also claim that dark matter exists and that it makes up over 90 percent of the mass of the universe even though no one has ever seen it or measured it. The collider could prove the existence of a theorized particle called the Higgs Boson.
  
  Even more strange is that some of the physicists think the collider could open a door of some sort to another dimension. It wouldn't be anything like you see in sci-fi movies but it would be strange. Assuming the physicists are right about all this.
  
  The first particle collisions won't take place until October. So if half the planet disappears then, you'll know why. I don't know what would happen but one scientist in the documentary was discussng the wonder of science. He said science is what happens when (they) don't know what they are doing. OK, that really inspires a lot of confidence. Or not.
  
  ***
  
  I mentioned the outdoors because I'm outside right now at a plaza located right in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue. The sun is just going down. I'm looking along the street as the evening rush hour traffic crawls by. I can see the U.S. Capitol Building along with the historic Old Post Office building. I still haven't gotten around to setting up ImageShack on my phone so I can't post pictures right now.
  
  Have you ever wondered when a man and a woman are a couple? If they work closely together and you see them reclining in their chairs so that they are practically horizontal, are they a couple? If they leave work early together on a regular basis and don't return, are they a couple? If they prefer to talk to each other instead of other people, are they a couple? Just wondering.
  
  ***
  
  Filming began on the next Battlestar Galactica television movie this week. The story will take place during the timeline of previous seasons, possibly in Season 1 and maybe other seasons. One focus may be the character of Chief Galen Tyrol. Cavil, Sam Anders, Sharon Valerii and Number Six are also expected to appear. Filming should go on for 4 weeks. If they ever need another extra, I'm there! The movie won't air until after Season 4 ends next spring. Mark your calendars.
  
  ***
  
  The sun has now passed behind the trees surrounding the White House. It's still light out but it's slowly getting darker. I see one of the new open-roof double decker tour buses on the street. If you ever ride one, obey the signs and guidelines. Don't stand up! Two guys rode one bus between the parking lot and the stadium for a Nationals baseball game this year. They stood up before the bus went under an overpass. Both suffered fatal head injuries. So don't stand up on those things!
  
  ***
  
  I can see the Moon now just above the Ariel Rios Federal Building. Hmm, now what else did I want to discuss? The NFL season got underway last weekend. So did our TV.com NFL Picks contest. I tied for the most points in Week 1. I came out ahead after the tiebreaker so I'm currently in the overall lead. It's a long season though. It should be a fun contest.
  
  A small motorcade just went by. Probably a Cabinet official. It's too small to be someone really important.
  
  ***
  
  I finally started running this year. I'm going to ease into the training for the marathon next year. I had to put the weight training on hold this week. I'm experiencing soreness in my right wrist. It could be a weight lifting injury, too much computer use at work or a combination of the two.
  
  I don't remember the other topics I had written down at home so I'll wrap this up. I have a few other philosophical topics that I'll save for next time. Enjoy the rest of the week.
  
  ---------------

  • Posted Sep 10, 2008 4:11 pm PT
  • Category: General

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• 2Sep 08

  Deadline for NFL Picks contest is tomorrow (Wednesday)!

  The NFL season (National Football League or American football) is about to start. The first game will be played this Thursday. That means that if you are participating in the TV.com NFL Picks Contest, you need to post all of your Week 1 picks by Wednesday afternoon.
  
  If you have been debating whether to join the contest, you should make up your mind by this evening to be safe. To join, indicate your interest, either as a comment on this blog post or on the 2008 TV.com NFL Picks Contest thread on the Sports forum. (I would provide a hyperlink but I'm typing this on my BlackJack II smart phone. It's not easy to add hyperlinks using my phone. EDIT: I added the hyperlink manually. It doesn't seem to be working properly though. I'll fix it later.)
  
  You could probably join later on but you would be significantly handicapped in trying to win. Each correct pick earns 1 point. If you miss a week, you could fall behind by 12 or 13 points or more. It's unlikely that you would be able to catch up in subsequent weeks.
  
  If you decide to join the contest, I'll send you a PM with the sign-up info at Yahoo Sports. We're using Yahoo Sports this year because the scoring and the leader board are automated. We still have about 25 slots available. (If more than 50 people sign up, I could always start up another Yahoo league and combine the scores on the thread at the Sports forum.)
  
  ***
  
  All atwitter over... Twitter
  
  As I stated, I'm posting this with my smart phone. I've posted a couple other blog entries using my phone before. I can type up lengthy posts without any problems. The only limitation is that it's more difficult to add hyperlinks and photos but I'll set that up one of these days.
  
  Given that we can add regular blog posts with smart phones, I'm not sure why "microblog" sites like Twitter are such a big deal. The novelty is that you can add blog posts with your cell phone or smart phone while you're on the go. Each post is limited to something like 150 words so Twitter posts tend not to be that deep or substantial. I've looked at a few of the Twitter blogs and I can't understand the appeal. Maybe you have to be a techie in the Silicon Valley area to get it.
  
  Meanwhile, I'll stick with my blog here, which I can edit using either my computer or my smart phone. By the way, TV.com is based in San Francisco. So does that mean TV.com is a Silicon Valley-insider website too?
  
  --------------------

  • Posted Sep 2, 2008 12:58 pm PT
  • Category: Sports

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• 26Aug 08

  The Olympics go out in style; NFL Picks Contest

  Coverage of the Summer Olympics ended on Sunday night in the U.S. (They actually ended about 12 hours earlier because of the time difference with Beijing.) The Closing Ceremony was another show-stopper, with amazing formations of enormous groups of performers and the massive Memory Tower. Acrobatic performers simulated the Olympic flame by waving in patterns on the Tower after the actual Olympic flame had been extinguished.
  
  
  (Click on photos to view larger versions)
  
  The 17 days of the Beijing Olympics provided many memorable moments but for me, most of the top highlights occurred in the first week of competition. Among those were the incredible U.S. victory in the men's 4 x 100m freesty1e swim relay with Jason Lezak outpacing the world record holder in the 100m freesty1e, Michael Phelps winning the 100m butterfly event by .01 second after trailing as late as the final meter (!), Nastia Liukin winning the women's individual all-around competition in gymnastics and Shawn Johnson winning a well-deserved gold medal on the balance beam.
  
  You can vote for your favorite moment of the first week on the poll thread on the Summer Olympics forum.
  
  I also have to mention Natalie du Toit, the distance swimmer from South Africa who finished in 16th place in the women's open water 10km swimming marathon event. She qualified for the Olympics and finished the event despite having only one full leg. Seven years ago, when she was 17, a car struck the scooter she was riding. The damage to her leg muscles was so severe that doctors could not get the tissue to regrow. They had to amputate her left leg below the knee. Instead of giving up on life and feeling sorry for herself, she started up with swimming practices just six months later.
  
  When the 10k event was added to the Summer Olympics in 2005, she realized that this could be her shot at participating in an Olympic Games. She almost made the South African team for the 2000 Sydney Games. At the time, she was expected to be a serious contender for the upcoming 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics until her accident changed everything. But then again, she didn't let it change everything completely. She did become an Olympian after all. And not just an Olympian, but one of the most impressive of the thousands of athletes at the Games. While Michael Phelps is deservedly the star of these Olympics, Natalie du Toit deserves a special mention for her accomplishments. She will also be participating in the Paralympics, which will also be held in Beijing, starting next month.
  
  
  
  
  ***
  
  I managed to write up recap-reviews for 10 days of the Olympics, primarily during the first week of competition. The second week had big events like Usain Bolt's record-setting victories in the men's 100m and 200m dash and the U.S. men's volleyball victory (which provided some comfort to coach Hugh McCutcheon whose father-in-law was killed during the first day of competition in Beijing by a deranged individual -- his mother-in-law was also seriously wounded in the attack). But the big story of these Olympics was Michael Phelps and his record-setting eight gold medals.
  
  I also wrote up a lengthy recap-review for the final day of competition and the Closing Ceremony. I edited it down and added a more neutral version as the recap for that episode guide. I have been informed that the recap for Day 16 and Closing Ceremony will be featured on the TV.com home page later today (Wed., August 27). Check it out or click on this link to read the recap directly.
  
  
  
  
  ***
  
  Unfortunately I was unable to attend the Summer Olympics in person, so my recaps were based on NBC's television coverage, mostly the primetime broadcasts. However, I was able to see a temporary exhibit at the Smithsonian Castle a few weeks ago that featured Olympic medals from past champions like Bonnie Blair and Edwin Moses. I took a few pictures, which I have posted throughout this blog entry. These are the actual Olympic medals along with some of the Olympic torches used in 2008 and in previous torch relays.
  
  The following picture shows a helmet and gloves worn in the famous U.S. men's hockey team victory over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics, U.S. figure skater and Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi's skates, and Franco Harris' helmet from one of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl victories of the 1970s. (Yeah, I know that has nothing to do with the Olympics but it was in the same display case.) By the way, Kristi Yamaguchi is also the 2008 winner of Dancing with the Stars.
  
  
  
  ***
  
  The TV.com NFL Picks Contest
  
  The NFL season is almost upon us. The regular season starts next week, on Thursday, Sept. 4. It's not too late to join the TV.com NFL Picks Contest but you need to register as soon as possible. The deadline for posting your picks for Week 1 games is Wed., Sept. 3.
  
  You don't need to be an NFL expert to participate. Any TV.com member is eligible and welcome. Simply indicate your wish to join the contest on the Sports forum thread (click on link). Then I'll send you a PM with the information needed to register on the Yahoo Sports site.
  
  No prize money will be awarded. It's just a way to have some fun and a chance for someone to gain bragging rights. We have more players than we did last year. We're up to 20 entrants right now. The limit on Yahoo Sports is 50 so there are still plenty of slots available.
  
  ***
  
  I haven't been able to comment on any blogs lately with the Olympics going on and an extremely busy work schedule lately. I've also been keeping up with my exercise routine. I swim for about 3 to 5 hours a week and then I add a complete weightlifting session once a week. Now that my muscles are getting used to the weightlifting, I'm not experiencing the delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) that I did a few weeks ago.
  
  There are four key elements to basic fitness: aerobic fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance and flexibility. Swimming takes care of the aerobic fitness and the muscular endurance (the ability to perform physical activity for extended periods of time). The weightlifting takes care of muscular strength as well as muscular endurance (through the high-rep warm-up sets I do). I do a lot of careful stretching throughout the week, including during breaks at work.
  
  Everyone should try to improve their physical fitness through better dietary practices, exercise and stretching. If Natalie du Toit can do it, so can you.
  
  ***
  
  This month has also been hectic for other reasons. Hopefully I'll be able to get in touch with some people that I'd like to remain in contact with.
  
  I'm also working on a couple TV-related items. I'll post more about that once those projects get going. I've also been doing some mental planning for the continuation of my online novel. I've been writing down notes from time to time and building up story sketches for future chapters. I wanted to take a break from Battlestar Galactica for at least a couple months, and then the Olympics came along. This fall will be the first chance I've had to work on the novel since last winter. I'll do some work on the Olympics guide at a leisurely pace but other than that, I don't have much to do with any of my editorships until January.
  
  I hope everyone had a good summer. I'll be sad to see it end. As you know, the unofficial end of summer in the U.S. is the Labor Day weekend, which closes with the first Monday of September. The pool at my building will be closing after that weekend as well. I'll stay busy with exercising though. I'll try a mix of rowing, heavy bag punching, jogging on the treadmill and riding the stationary bike or elliptical machine.
  
  I don't like jogging that much but I'm thinking about training for the Marine Corps Marathon next year. I'd like to run at least one marathon in my life. I have about 14 months to get ready for it, which is plenty of time. I already have pretty good stamina from all the swimming I've been doing. Now I have to get my legs used to the pounding that jogging can inflict. From what I've read, the best routine is to run 3 or 4 times a week, ideally with a full day's rest in between runs. One run on the weekend should be the "long run." Eventually the long run should reach 20 miles or more, in order to get your body used to the demands of a marathon. Then as the marathon approaches, you're supposed to scale back a bit to give your body a rest in the month before the big day.
  
  I haven't made a decision about the marathon yet but I'm definitely thinking about it. That's all for now.
  
  ------------------------

  • Posted Aug 26, 2008 11:39 pm PT
  • Category: Sports

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• 12Aug 08

  The Olympic Games, protests and reviews; more Hawaii Five-O?

  The 2008 Summer Olympics
  
  The Opening Ceremony
  
  Like some of you, I've been watching a lot of the Olympic broadcasts, primarily on NBC. (I've only taken a couple peeks at the secondary coverage on CNBC, the USA Network and MSNBC. I haven't looked at Oxygen at all.) The Opening Ceremony last Friday was spectacular, by most accounts the grandest display in Olympic history and one of the biggest live shows ever. The Chinese government reportedly spent $300 million on the show. The cast of performers included thousands of performers. Among them were 2,008 drummers, all drumming in unison on large wood drum blocks. Another group of performers recreated the shape of the "Bird's Nest" with people standing on top of one another in a large oval pattern.
  
  The lighting of the torch was also another breathtaking moment as Li Ning (multiple gold medalist in men's gymnastics at the 1984 L.A. Games) was hoisted about 200 feet into the air with the final Olympic torch. He proceeded to "run" in a stylized motion as he circled the inside of the roof of the stadium, supported by cables. As he passed each section, video of the journey of the Olympic flame played on the ribbon background of the inside of the open roof. The Olympic cauldron had been installed, to the surprise of many attendees, just half an hour before Li Ning lit it. The flame raced up in a spiral around the lower section of the cauldron before lighting up the main section. Simply amazing. Bob Costas and the other commentators said that they had seen nothing like it at any Olympics and that no one else was likely to surpass this technical and artistic display in future Olympics.
  
  Visit the Greatest Hits page of the Video section on the official NBCOlympics.com website to watch the Opening Ceremony and the cauldron lighting. (Videos may be limited to U.S. residents, but give it a try anyway. You'll also need to install the free Microsoft Silverlight browser plug-in. The link is available on the NBCOlympics.com site. It's worth it to see all of the videos.)
  
  Protests against the Chinese government
  
  Many people have legitimate gripes about the Chinese government and I was glad to see that the U.S. Olympic team made a stern but polite statement of protest in their choice of flagbearer in the Parade of Nations. They chose Lopez Lomong, a naturalized U.S. citizen and a former refugee from Sudan. He made the U.S. Olympic team as a member of the 1,500m squad in track and field. There was no doubt why he was chosen. It was a way of telling the Chinese government to wake up without resorting to thuggish tactics, violence or disrespect of those around them who were there to live out their dreams of participating in the Olympics. Now that's the correct way to stage a protest, not to engage in near muggings of Americans carrying the Olympic torch on U.S. soil.
  
  Joey Cheek, a member of the U.S. speedskating team at the 2006 Winter Olympics, had his travel visa revoked by the Chinese government just days before the Opening Ceremony. He is also an activist who tries to promote awareness of the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. The Chinese government is the primary support of the Sudanese government. Government-backed militia units have killed numerous civilians in the unrest in the region and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. The murders, displacement and resultant famine have led to the deaths of perhaps 200,000 or more civilians. Cheek said that he was not going to protest the Chinese government directly.
  
  Since both of these stories were related to the Olympic Games, I included notes about both items on the 2008 Summer Olympics guide. While I think that China has the right to stage the Games and that we should celebrate the athletes and downplay political differences during the Olympics, I also believe that the Chinese government shouldn't get a free pass. Just as long as protests are done in the proper manner, taking into account the years of hard work that thousands of athletes have devoted into making it to these Olympic Games. To disrupt the Games would be to disrespect those athletes, most of whom are amateurs, not the famous and at times spoiled professionals like some of the NBA stars.
  
  On a side note, I remember that when CBS took over CNET Networks (the parent company of TV.com) earlier this year, the president of CBS said that an important element of the deal was CNET's reach in international markets, including China (which he named specifically). Though I'm the editor of the Olympics guide, I also recognize that it is not my personal property and that it is ultimately the property of TV.com and CNET (and CBS). Thus, I've tried to walk a fine line between including political controversies where relevant to the Games and staying away from turning the Olympics guide into a forum to bash the Chinese government. Even without those considerations, I don't think it would be appropriate to turn that sports guide into a political outlet and soapbox.
  
  The guide on TV.com
  
  Thus, beginning with Day 1, the focus is on the sports and the athletes as it should be. Since I don't have much time each evening to submit to the guide, I may just resort to posting lengthy reviews for each episode/Day and add notes and lengthy narrative recaps later on, after the Games have finished. I'm not going to spend these two weeks working on submissions for the guide instead of actually watching the Games themselves.
  
  The forum is an important aspect of this and every other guide for currently airing shows. I invite all viewers of the Olympics to post their thoughts on the Olympics forum. We have separate threads for each sport. If you don't see a particular sport represented on the forum, by all means start up the thread.
  
  Be sure to post episode ratings on the guide too. And write some reviews while you're at it. Right now, the review section is basically a battle between me and the fellow who is utterly disappointed that the Olympics don't consist of cage-fighting matches and non-stop basketball. I've posted a few episode reviews, for Day 1, Day 2 and Day 4. (You can read all of them below or head over to the Olympics guide to read them.) I'm focusing on the primetime NBC Olympic broadcasts. In 2006, I was trying to cover everything each day but I don't think that was the proper approach. (Hey, it was one of my very first show guides.) I think narrative recaps and lengthy reviews will be more useful to readers than extensive medal results. NBCOlympics.com has the complete results anyway. The TV.com guide will be a more compact way to get some general impressions of the highlights of each day's action.
  
  Michael Phelps and the quest for Olympic history
  
  (spoilers in this section but only for events that have already aired on NBC)
  
  Michael Phelps continues his quest to break the record for most gold medals won at a single Olympic Games. He has a realistic shot at eight total gold medals. He has now won five gold medals, in his first five events. He and his teammates (in the relays) have set new world records in each of those events.
  
  The most thrilling by far was the men's 4 x 100m freesty1e relay. Read through my recap-review for a description of the incredible come-from-behind win by the U.S. team. Interestingly, Jason Lezak was the star, not Michael Phelps. It was truly one of the greatest races in the history of Olympic swimming with Lezak overtaking Alain Bernard of France (the world-record holder in the 100m freesty1e) on the final lap and winning by a margin of eight-hundredths of a second.
  
  
  
  If you haven't seen it, watch it here on the official NBCOlympics.com site. (Click on the link.) Or try this direct link instead if the other one doesn't work. (Click on link.) (I think both links may be restricted to U.S. residents.) Truly an electric atmosphere and one of the most amazing comebacks in a relay ever!
  
  Personal workouts
  
  I've continued to do a lot of swimming myself this summer, about three to five hours a week. On Sunday, the day of the amazing men's 4 x 100m freesty1e relay (which actually took place on Monday morning Beijing Time but was broadcast live on Sunday night in the U.S.), I swam for almost two hours. Then I did a full weightlifting routine for about an hour after that (upper body, lower body, abs/lower back/obliques). I don't normally do 3-hour workouts but maybe I was a little inspired by the Olympics. I have done 2-hour workouts several times this summer though.
  
  The pool will only be open through Labor Day weekend (the first Monday of September). After that, I'll have to take up rowing and punching with the heavy bag for aerobic exercise, along with weightlifting. I might sign up at a local gym that has a pool but I have to see how much that will cost each month. I could also run on the treadmill but I really hate jogging and treadmills. Besides the boredom of running in place on the treadmill, jogging inflicts a fair amount of punishment on one's knees and ankles over time. Swimming is low-impact. I also find it much more peaceful to be in the water while exercising.
  
  A Hawaii Five-O sequel now after all these years?
  
  According to the Hollywood Reporter, Ed Bernero (executive producer of Criminal Minds) is writing the pilot for a sequel to Hawaii Five-O. The new series will revolve around the new head of the fictional state police unit, Chris McGarrett. Sound familiar? Well, he's supposed to be Steve McGarrett's son. I didn't know that McGarrett had a son but then again, I haven't seen most of the later seasons yet.
  
  You can read through the article for more details. The series is just in the development stage now. No word yet on when (or if) it will be added to the CBS primetime schedule. One good sign: the show will be filmed in Hawaii. No CGI or California palm trees here, thank heaven.
  
  Until they actually produce some episodes, I don't know what to think about this news. I still have all of those DVDs to watch for the original series. Strange times but if this new series turns out to be good, it'll be great news for detective show fans everywhere.
  -----------------------------

  • Posted Aug 12, 2008 11:59 pm PT
  • Category: TV

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• 6Aug 08

  Even more Battlestar Galactica episodes? NFL Picks contest too

  Just a few quick notes today. I don't have time for my next tourist blog right now. Maybe this weekend.
  
  More Battlestar Galactica episodes?
  
  Executive producer David Eick told Sci Fi Wire and a panel at Comic-con that the Sci Fi Channel has agreed to let the production team (Ronald Moore and David Eick) of Battlestar Galactica expand many of the episodes from the final set. Initial reports were that Season 4 would include 20 hour-long episodes, 10 to air in the spring of 2008 and 10 to air in early 2009. Then we found out that Ronald Moore's script for the series finale was so complex and powerful that it needed to take up more than just the planned two episodes. Thus, the Sci Fi Channel agreed to expand the series finale to three episodes.
  
  Now David Eick has reported that other long episodes from what is known as Season 4.5 may be expanded too. In the past, a couple episodes have been expanded to 90 minutes (broadcast time, including commercials). Eick is saying that there will be a lot more than just an extra half hour. The producers have been "able to convince the network to let us air ... long episodes -- [to] take single episodes and make them double episodes, ... [and to take] double episodes and make them quadruple episodes."
  
  Yep, that's what he said. "Quadruple episodes." He didn't specify how many extra episodes this would actually mean. To put this in context, most initial scripts for the show run very long. There is far more material than the producers could possibly cover in an hour-long episode. Thus, the production and writing team have to cut down the pages and the scenes until they can fit everything into the 44 to 47 minutes of actual screen time (not counting commercials).
  
  Most fans know that BSG has a cinematic quality and that many of the subjects covered in the episodes could easily take up much more than 47 minutes. The DVD sets of previous seasons have included extended versions of some episodes.
  
  Furthermore, with the increasing viewer numbers for Season 4, the Sci Fi Channel may be regretting their decision not to give Moore and Eick a two-year guarantee before Season 4 started. Moore and Eick had asked for that guarantee but the Sci Fi Channel refused. Not wanting to risk ending the series on a cliffhanger if a fifth season wasn't ordered by the channel, Moore and Eick decided to wrap it up after Season 4 instead. These expanded episodes may be a way for the Sci Fi Channel to squeeze a little more out of the franchise and partially backtrack on their earlier decision, but hey, I'm not complaining. Season 4 has been another great one so far. I only wish the mid-season hiatus weren't so long.
  
  As for those viewer numbers, the increase wasn't enormous but it was noticeable. It's also highly unusual for an established show with season-long story arcs, interconnected episodes and a deep mythology to pick up viewers in later seasons. I'd like to think that our work on TV.com played at least a small role in that viewer increase.
  
  I first took over the BSG editorship in the summer of 2006. In early August 2006, there were 2,848 people tracking the BSG guide.
  
  --By May 28, 2007, 9,950 people were tracking the BSG guide.
  --On Jan. 14, 2008, 13,253 people were tracking the Battlestar Galactica guide, a marked increase even though no regular episodes aired in 2007 after March.
  --As of today, Aug. 7, 2008, there are 16,093 people tracking the Battlestar Galactica guide, an increase of 565% over two years. The show also hit the no. 1 spot on the TV.com Top Ten List on several occasions this spring as new episodes of Season 4 were airing. I like to think that my work on the guide and the forum, and my promotion of the show in my blog and in my forum signature, has helped to increase the visibility of the show, both on the site and on the Internet in general.
  
  TV.com attracts millions of unique visitors every month so it's possible to have quite an effect on the visibility of lesser-known shows. Though BSG gets a lot of press, the audience still isn't very large when compared with popular prime-time network hits like CSI and American Idol. That's why I try to promote the show so much, because there are still a lot of people out there who haven't seen it, often because it is considered to be "just another sci-fi show." BSG has won a Peabody Award and it has received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (for two years in a row). The American Film Institute has named it one of the ten best shows on television. And of course, Time Magazine named it the best show on all of television (for 2005).
  
  To get back to the main point of this post, Season 4.5 (the 2nd half of Season 4) may end up including far more than just the 10 episodes that were originally announced. We already know that the schedule now includes 11 full episodes. After reading David Eick's statements, we'll probably have a lot more than just 11 episodes. Great news for BSG fans. It should also be great news for fans of quality television drama in general.
  
  ---------------
  
  The 2008 Summer Olympic Games
  
  As most of you know, the 2008 Summer Olympic Games are set to begin this Friday in Beijing, China. Many of you also know about the controversies associated with the games. The human rights abuses by the Chinese government have been well publicized. The government still detains many people merely because of their opposition to particular policies or for criticizing the government. Then there's the occupation of and repression in Tibet. The air quality in Beijing is noticeably poor with heavy smog covering the area on many days.
  
  And yet, I'm still going to watch the Games because many athletes from around the world have devoted years of their lives practicing their skills in sports that don't always dominate the headlines the way (American) football, basketball and baseball do. (And soccer, outside of the U.S.) Jimmy Carter was wrong to boycott the 1980 Olympics because he destroyed the careers of dozens of American amateur athletes whose career highlight would have been to compete in the Olympics. That is why it's important to support the athletes in the 2008 Olympic Games, particularly those who aren't already famous professional athletes like the members of the U.S. men's basketball team.
  
  There's a time and a place for protesting the policies of the Chinese government. I don't think Olympic events are one of them. I also think the protests targeting the Olympic torchbearers earlier this year were idiotic and thuggish. Because the Chinese government is autocratic, it's OK to gang up on a female American Olympic athlete in San Francisco? Or other torchbearers in Paris? Huh? How courageous is that? Coordinated attempts by multiple people to surround those torchbearers, intimidate the torchbearers and grab the torch qualifies as assault in my view. The torchbearers were former Olympic athletes (from the U.S. and France), community leaders and accomplished individuals, NOT Chinese government leaders, Chinese police or army soldiers. Those particular protesters were almost as bad as the leaders of the Chinese government.
  
  Although I watch a wide range of competitions at Summer Olympics, I like the swimming and weightlifting events the most, partly because those are probably my two favorite personal fitness activities. Because weightlifters don't move around the arena that much and because it is a solo competition, the camera can focus on and zoom up on each lifter. We can see the tremendous exertion and stress during each lift in a way that we can't with most other sports. Usually the athletes are moving too fast or the cameras have to pan back to cover team events.
  
  Water polo is fun too, especially because of the underwater cameras. We get to see how much punching, kicking and grabbing goes on underneath the water's surface. I recently read about the eggbeater kick, which is the method that water polo players use to tread water. The player takes a seated position in the water and then kicks his lower legs in circles, one clockwise, the other counter-clockwise. It's not easy at first and I still haven't mastered it myself, but it allows the player to stay afloat without using their hands to tread water. The player's arms are free to pass, catch and block the ball.
  
  I'll check out some of the beach volleyball, tennis and other sports. I don't watch as much of the track and field events because it's just people running around a track. Yeah, they're faster than anyone else but I don't find it that interesting to watch. I'll try to catch some of the most well-known track events though.
  
  I have also become the editor for the 2008 Summer Olympics guide. I was also the editor for the 2006 Winter Olympics guide, which makes me sort of the Olympics person on TV.com. I'm going to do things a little differently this time around. Since 2006, the staff posted new rules for athlete guides. We're not supposed to add athletes as guest stars for sporting events unless they have some kind of speaking roles (as a commentator). Thus, I won't be able to approve most submissions of athletes for the 2008 Summer Olympics guide. Of course I won't add any myself either.
  
  I can't hope to duplicate the event updates and results listings from the official NBCOlympics.com site so I'm not going to try. I think the guide will be more useful for the forum, where people can discuss sports, events, athletes and teams. We'll have a separate thread for each sport. Feel free to visit the forum and comment as the Games start up tomorrow (Friday).
  
  I'd also invite everyone to vote on each day's guide. I know that as soon as I announce my editorship of the guide, my small coterie of troll-stalkers will immediately race to add a 1.0 vote to every episode, and to the guide as a whole. This happens with every new editorship I announce. To help make the guide troll-proof, I'd like to have as many honest votes as possible. If you think the Olympics deserve a 5.0, then vote 5.0. If you think they deserve a 9.0 rating, then be sure to add your 9.0 vote. I hope to see many of you on the Olympics forum throughout the course of the Olympic competition.
  
  ---------------
  
  The 2008 TV.com NFL Picks Contest (unofficial)
  
  One last item, and another sports-related one too. For the last two years, we've had an unofficial TV.com NFL Picks Contest on the Sports forum. I've served as the primary administrator of the contest for the last two years. The contestants post their picks for each week's NFL (American football) games. Then I tally up the scores and post the updated standings. Even though the group is fairly small, it's been fun. The only problem is that calculating the scores each week can be time-consuming.
  
  Fortunately, someone told us about an automated system over at Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football. To save time, we are moving our (unofficial) TV.com NFL Picks Contest to Yahoo! Sports. We'll still discuss each week's standings on the thread on the TV.com Sports forum but all the calculations will be done automatically by the Yahoo! servers, not me. Whew.
  
  Most of the regulars who played last year are back this time around. We only have one new player so far. I'd like to invite all interested parties to join the contest. We aren't too hardcore or overly competitive. There is no formal prize, just bragging rights for a year to the winner. (Last year's winner was elpaquilloloco, although I came in a very close 2nd place.)
  
  Any TV.com member in good standing is welcome to join the contest. You don't even have to be fanatical about football but it helps if you at least know who Tom Brady is. (Or Brett Favre, for that matter. ) To join, I believe you need to have an account on Yahoo!, which is free. Then post your wish to enter the contest on the TV.com NFL Picks Contest thread at this link.
  
  I'll send you the link to the Yahoo! Sports page, the Group ID# and the password in a private message (PM). Once you have signed into the private group at Yahoo! Sports, you need to set up your personal picks set account name. This is different from your regular Yahoo! ID name. To make it easy on everyone, please choose your TV.com user name or something that closely resembles it. Enter this name as the Picks Set name.
  
  You can read the other rules in the 1st post on the TV.com forum thread from the link above. The NFL season gets underway in just a few weeks. The more games you pick, the better your chances of winning it all.
  
  The Yahoo group has a limit of 50 contestants but right now we only have about 10 people, which is close to the number of people we had last year. I doubt we'll reach that 50-person limit. But just in case, sign on as soon as you can. Hope to see you there.
  
  ------------------------

  • Posted Aug 6, 2008 11:06 pm PT
  • Category: TV

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• 30Jul 08

  Jim Henson's Fantastic World

  The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., is currently hosting the traveling exhibit "Jim Henson's Fantastic World," a look at the zany creativity and immense popularity of Jim Henson and his puppet creations, including the advanced puppetry in the movie Dark Crystal and of course the two landmark television shows Sesame Street and The Muppet Show.
  
  It would probably be fair to say that anyone who has ever watched television, no matter how briefly, is familiar with the Muppets, the expressive puppets that Jim Henson created. Jim Henson's Muppets were innovative in a couple key ways. First, Henson realized that the medium of television provided its own "frame" so an artificial frame or stage did not need to be constructed. Instead the edge of the television picture provided the cover necessary for the puppeteer to hide from view. This allowed Henson and his associates much greater freedom to move around from side to side and even toward and away from the viewer. He also began to create his Muppets out of soft foam and fabric, not the wood and hard plastic that had traditionally been used for puppets. The pliable materials allowed Henson to impart emotion and character to his creations, to an extent never before seen with puppets.
  
  
  
  (Click on picture to see a larger version)
  
  The exhibit, which can be seen at the International Gallery in the Ripley Center of the Smithsonian, will be making its way to other cities across the U.S. in upcoming months and years, including Atlanta, Chicago, Orlando, Seattle and other locales. Click here to view the complete tour schedule.
  
  The show includes some of the most famous Muppets such as Bert and Ernie, Mahna Mahna and the Snowths, Rowlf the Dog, and of course Kermit the Frog. Since photography was not permitted, I have to rely on some news article photos here.
  
  
  
  
  
  Here's a shot of Jim Henson performing as Kermit the Frog.
  
  
  
  Jim Henson - The Early Years
  
  Jim Henson was born in 1936 and raised in Mississippi but he spent his adolescence in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., as his father worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In high school, he created puppets for a local Saturday morning children's show. As a student at the University of Maryland, College Park, he developed a brief puppet show for WRC-TV titled Sam and Friends. Though some of the puppets were of the traditional stiff, immobile type, Henson had already created a primitive version of what would later become Kermit the Frog.
  
  Despite the success of the show, Henson had to earn his living in advertising for almost two decades. He continued to develop his Muppets for commercials and numerous talk show appearances. His commercials for the local Wilkins Coffee company in Washington, D.C., were wildly popular because of the use of the Muppets and the humor. Up to that point, television commercials rarely used humor to sell their products. More often than not, the copy writer would try a hard sell on the viewer, explaining the reasons why the prospective consumer would be better off purchasing the product. If you listen to old commercials in documentaries about early TV and radio, you'll notice this tendency. Henson eventually filmed over 300 coffee ads based on the success of the Wilkins Coffee commercials. He also helped to usher in the modern approach to television advertising, which frequently involves humor.
  
  Henson's Muppets made appearances on famous talk shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and The Jimmy Dean Show, which included regular appearances by Rowlf, the piano-playing dog.
  
  Many fans may not know that in this period, the late 1960s, Jim Henson also worked on experimental films, including the nine-minute short film Time Piece. This surrealistic series of scenes -- starring Henson himself as a dying man who seems to be seeing his life flash before his eyes -- picked up an Oscar nomination in the category of Best Short Film in 1966. Here's a screenshot from the film showing Henson's character as he seems to be going back in time to the Middle Ages when they apparently didn't use dining utensils.
  
  
  
  He also produced a very bleak and bizarre TV play with Jerry Juhl called The Cube, which actually aired on NBC.
  
  For more information on Time Piece and The Cube, visit this page at daddytypes.com, where you can actually see both videos in their entirety (unless the videos have already been removed). The only word in Time Piece is "Help!", which is spoken by Henson three times in a high-pitched voice. You can clearly hear the similarity between that word and the speaking voice of Kermit the Frog.
  
  The Smithsonian exhibit includes clips of the videos along with numerous sketches from Henson's notebooks. The official exhibition website includes a small selection of the doodles, drawings and pictures on display. (Click on the link to view.)
  
  Sesame Street
  
  In 1969, Jim Henson was asked to participate in the development of a new children's show called Sesame Street, for which he created a cast of Muppet characters, many of whom are among the most widely known fictional characters in television history. The cast included Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, the Cookie Monster, and Kermit the Frog who morphed into the familiar form of today. Henson personally performed Ernie, game-show host Guy Smiley and Kermit who is often seen as an alter-ego of Henson's by his own admission.
  
  As you know, Sesame Street went onto become an American institution in children's programming, a show that continues to this very day. Henson's Muppet characters were one of the primary reasons for the show's success.
  
  The Muppet Show - The most popular show on Earth
  
  Jim Henson was not satisfied by merely being a part of a successful children's show. He felt that the Muppets could appeal to a broader audience including adults. A brief run on Saturday Night Live was unsuccessful so he sought other venues. A lack of interest in the U.S. led Henson to begin production on a new series in the United Kingdom called The Muppet Show in 1976. The vaudeville-type variety show featured real-life human celebrity guest stars who interacted with the ever-growing cast of Muppet characters. Kermit the Frog took on the role of master of ceremonies while now c1assic creations like Fozzie Bear, Dr. Teeth, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Waldorf and Statler joined in on the barely controlled mayhem.
  
  Frank Oz was one of the most important members of Jim Henson's production company. Henson and Oz performed the Mahna Mahna song in the first episode of The Muppet Show, with Henson taking on the role of the "lead singer" Mahna Mahna and Oz playing the back-up singers called the Snowths. They used a flighty European pop song that had originally appeared in a Swedish softcore porn movie (Sweden: Heaven and Hell) but rewrote it to showcase the comedic talents of Henson and Oz. Nowadays, the song is largely associated with the Muppets and The Muppet Show performance. Even after all these years, I'd say that even most adults still find the skit hilarious. Don't believe me? Click on the picture below and watch it yourself. Try not to laugh.
  
  
  
  Thanks to Mahna Mahna, Kermit, the other characters and the comedy writing, the show built up an enormous audience through worldwide syndication. In 1978, Time Magazine estimated that The Muppet Show had a weekly audience of 235 million people in 106 countries. The article writer believed that the show was the most widely seen television program on the entire planet. Not bad for a bunch of furry puppets.
  
  Henson performed Dr. Teeth, Rowlf the Dog, Kermit the Frog, Mahna Mahna and other characters. He also performed the Swedish Chef in tandem with Frank Oz (who performed notable characters like Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear, and even Yoda the Jedi Master in the Star Wars movies). Henson provided the voice for the Swedish Chef while Oz provided the Chef's hands, without any cloth covering. This made it easier for Oz to pick up, use (and abuse) kitchen utensils and food items during the Chef's unsuccessful attempts to demonstrate how to cook spaghetti and meatballs, shrimp and a variety of other foods (many of which struck back at the Chef).
  
  Here is a video clip of the Swedish Chef and his misguided manner of preparing a chocolate mousse, er, moose.
  
  
  
  Though there are theories about the inspiration behind the Swedish Chef, Jerry Juhl, the head writer for the show, said that Henson never mentioned an actual person as the model for the character.
  
  Though the current Smithsonian exhibit does not include the Swedish Chef, there was a different Jim Henson exhibit at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History two years ago that did feature the character. Fortunately I had a chance to see that exhibit and I took several pictures. Here's a close-up shot of the Swedish Chef that I took in 2006. (Click on the photo to see a larger version.)
  
  
  
  The following is another picture I took in 2006. This display case included Kermit the Frog, Dr. Teeth, Rowlf the Dog and a Muppet version of Jim Henson himself.
  
  
  
  Movies and other works
  
  The Muppet Show continued to be extremely popular when the first Muppet movie was released in 1979. The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper were both successful critically and financially. Henson decided to focus on movies so he ended The Muppet Show while it was still drawing large audiences.
  
  Henson suggested that George Lucas use Frank Oz to play the part of Yoda in the 1980 Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back. Both the movie and the character soon became c1assics of U.S. and world pop culture.
  
  In 1982, Henson and Oz co-directed the brooding fantasy film The Dark Crystal, which featured a completely different type of puppet than viewers were used to seeing from Jim Henson. The film was successful with both critics and moviegoers.
  
  The last years
  
  In 1986, Henson faced his darkest days when his movie The Labyrinth failed at the box office. His son Brian recalls that Jim Henson became depressed and nearly despondent at the movie's poor showing. Henson also separated from his wife Jane that year.
  
  He continued to work on other movie, television and theme park projects but on May 16, 1990, he died at New York Hospital from a severe streptococcal infection at the age of 53. Reportedly he could have survived if he had sought medical treatment just a few hours earlier.
  
  His death was reported around the world and left many Muppet fans in shock. Memorial services were held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City and at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, England.
  
  His children later carried out Jim's intention to turn over the Muppets to the Walt Disney Company. Jim wanted to do this because he wished to return to the creative side of the company and leave the business and accounting work to someone else.
  
  One of the most important people of the 20th century
  
  In 1998, Time Magazine named Jim Henson one of the 100 most important people of the entire 20th century for his work in promoting "the qualities of fancifulness, warmth and consideration that have been so threatened by our coarse, cynical age."
  
  For more information on the current Smithsonian exhibit, visit the official website.
  
  ***
  
  I hope you enjoyed this brief multimedia look at one of the funniest and most popular entertainers of our age. And he did it all without showing his face most of the time. He was truly a unique character himself.
  
  I urge all fans to visit the exhibit if and when it arrives at a city and museum near you. I posted the link for the tour schedule in the beginning section of this blog post but here it is again anyway.
  
  Enjoy the rest of the week and remember the manic but good-natured comedy of Jim Henson and his Muppets.
  
  ***
  
  NOTE: Though I used many reference sources for this blog post, I wrote all of the text myself.
  
  --------------------

  • Posted Jul 30, 2008 9:51 pm PT
  • Category: TV

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• 20Jul 08

  Battlestar Galactica nominated for 6 Emmy Awards! Fitness and exercise

  2008 Emmy Award nominations announced on Thursday, July 17, 2008
  
  The nominees for the 2008 Emmy Awards were announced on Thursday, July 17, 2008. The HBO miniseries John Adams garnered the most nominations, 23 in all. Two series on basic cable picked up a large number of nominations as well. Mad Men on AMC earned 16 nominations while the FX series Damages picked up 7.
  
  The Sci Fi Channel made some noise too with its miniseries Tin Man (a non-musical reworking of The Wizard of Oz), which received 9 nominations. Most of those came in technical categories but it did receive a nomination in the category of Outstanding Miniseries.
  
  Of course I can't overlook the take from Battlestar Galactica either. The Sci Fi Channel show picked up 6 nominations of its own including one in the category of Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series (for the 2nd consecutive year). Michael Angeli was recognized for his script of the episode "Six of One". "Razor" Flashback #4 earned a nomination in the category of Outstanding Special Class - Short-format Live-action Entertainment Programs. (Yeah, that's a mouthful.) Flashback #4 included the thrilling shot of the young William Adama falling through the sky while facing off against an old-sty1e gun-wielding Cylon Centurion. The other BSG nominations came in the categories of cinematography, editing, sound mixing, and special visual effects.
  
  BSG received 3 Emmy nominations last year, in the categories of Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series, Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series and Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series, winning the award for special visual effects.
  
  I thought some of the other episodes this season were a little better than "Six of One" including "Faith", "Guess What's Coming to Dinner?", "The Hub", and "Revelations" but "Six of One" was also an outstanding episode. Hopefully BSG will finally win an Emmy in the category of writing this year. Emmys in the other categories would be nice too.
  
  The Emmy Award winners will be announced at the televised show on Sunday, September 21 at 8 pm ET on ABC. I don't usually watch the show but I might peek in this time to see if BSG wins in any of those categories.
  
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  Swimming, fitness and exercise
  
  I got in about 2 1/2 hours of swimming this weekend. I've been pushing it a little but I find that it helps me to burn off energy and relieve stress. I was too tired to do any weightlifting. Maybe sometime during the week. If you decide to pick up swimming as one of your forms of exercise, be sure to get a pair of quality swimming goggles. The small racing kind are ideal like the ones that Speedo makes. The large masks that scuba divers use really aren't appropriate since the bulky shape will slow you down. That's about all the equipment you need for swimming. I would also avoid wearing baggy shorts since those will constrict your movements.
  
  If you want to improve your technique, the BBC website has a good set of basic instructional pages for all the official Olympic strokes. For some reason, the pages are no longer accessible from the main BBC Sport page. They used to have a BBC Sports Academy section but it's no longer promoted. Fortunately you can still access the older pages if you have the full URLs. Click on the following links to view the pages for each of the swim strokes and bookmark them for future reference. There are pages for beginners, intermediate swimmers and advanced swimmers.
  
  Breaststroke (the easiest stroke to learn and to use, and a good one for amateurs who swim for aerobic exercise and not for competition)
  
  Front crawl (the fastest stroke but one that demands a lot of effort and energy)
  
  Butterfly (probably the most difficult stroke to learn; I'm not sure I do it 100% correctly myself but I've been improving the last 2 years)
  
  Backstroke (I don't do this one too much because it's difficult to keep to a straight line when swimming outdoors)
  
  Swimming is a low-impact sport if you do it correctly. It's much easier on your knees than jogging is. You do have to be careful about overworking your shoulders but I've found that proper warm-ups help a lot. Occasional weightlifting sessions also help your shoulders. Swimming is a great aerobic fitness activity. It even builds up your muscles too if you swim on a regular basis. The only area it doesn't cover is your midsection (the abdominal muscles). Thus, you should probably do some additional work for your abs (upper and lower), your oblique muscles (the muscles on the sides of your midsection that allow you to twist and rotate your torso) and your lower back muscles. Hanging leg raises are great for the lower abs. Crunches (performed properly) work the upper abs. Side bends and cable twists work the obliques, while stiff-leg deadlifts with light weights exercise the lower back (but make sure you NEVER curl your lower back forward -- always keep it relatively straight).
  
  Official U.S. government fitness guidelines recommend that every able-bodied adult exercise on a regular basis. This includes aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, swimming, rowing, etc.), flexibility (moderate stretching) and strength training. Strength training is important to combat the slow deterioration of muscle tone and bone density as we age. Not only do muscles become stronger but your bones also become stronger through resistance training/weightlifting. Much of the "symptoms" we traditionally associate with aging are actually symptoms of inactivity and poor diet. Studies have shown that many elderly people are wheelchair-bound because of muscle and bone weakness and lack of coordination, not because of disease or other condition. When nursing home residents begin a program of strength training with light weights, they can often do away with their wheelchairs. The improved strength and coordination also helps to prevent falls. When accidents do occur, they are much less likely to lead to broken bones because of the improved bone strength.
  
  For younger adults, improved fitness can le