VIDEO: The punch in the face

This video clip has been circulating around the Net and most responses are the same, "ouch!"

Think back to when Jerry Springer was interesting to watch (don't deny it - I know you tuned in), you know back in the 90s when all of his guests let their fists do the talking?

Flick off

So we went to the old Landmark River Oaks Saturday night and saw The Devil and Daniel Johnston. It was a great documentary. Most folks probably aren't too familiar with this troubled artist, but they should be in Houston...he now lives in Waller, TX.

It was funny, the movie was in the large theater and I think there were about a dozen people including us in there, but don't let that stop you from seeing the movie.

I first learned about him when Kurt Cobain would wear his "Hi, how are you?" shirts.

Another flick some people might want to see is United 93. Mega blogger Jeff Jarvis was at the scene on 9/11 and has his review of the movie.

The dakota

One of my last pics from new york is of the dakota.
For john lennon fans this is a sad place because it was his home and the place he was killed.
I heard that yoko ono still lives there.
The building is across the street from central park.

How to get a good deal on a new car

A friend of mine recently bought a new car somewhere in our fine state of Texas. The problem is, the salesman first offered the sticker price. She didn't like that.

After more talking, he offered her $500 off the sticker prices. This angered her. So what did she do? Accept that price anyway? Say no thank you and leave?

No.

Instead she stood up and said, "Usually I bring my husband with me when buying a new car. All he does is sit in the corner, but I guess you need a [insert male genital name] to get a good deal!"

Good for her and the whole speech worked! That night she was emailed a much better deal. So if you are afraid to go shopping for a new car, take this anecdote with you and remember being nice doesn't work.

Companies want to know what bloggers are writing

I recently volunteered to help a big corporation in town with a question echoing in boardrooms across America - how to track what bloggers are saying about the company.

Guess the blogosphere is becoming more important - it has finally awakened the sleepy giants.

I've noticed that when I blog about a company, you sometimes notice an odd, anonymous comment show up. Or increased activity from that company in my Google Analytics logs.

Expect to see more of that.

Someone reading this may say, "Moron, corporations have already been doing this for years!"

True, but those are the tech savvy ones, the majority in my estimation are fairly clueless at this point, but the tide is changing.

The real soup nazi

Here is the image of the real life soup nazi from seinfeld. He is expanding his empire across new york and other parts i am told.
Soup places are popular in ny, think they would work in hot texas?

Somebody scooped me!

How does The Insite do it? I go out of town for a week and when I return, I've been scooped on news from my own station! Congrats to Darren.

I've been Simonized

While I am probably far from getting on Laurence's must-read blog list, I did get a nice compliment from him today.

Wes Hohenstein leaving Tucson TV already?

If Wes Hohenstein has an agent, he probably would love this blog, or be slipping us info. But we have another "anonymous" post giving us some juicy details on the career of this former Houston weather guy:

As a former Houstonian now living in Tucson, I was thrilled to see Wes joining Chuck on KOLD! However, just 25 minutes ago, they told him goodbye. Apparently he was just "helping out" for a little while. When they asked where he was headed, he just smiled and said, "Texas." He gave no other details. It is a sad, sad night in Tucson!
# posted by Anonymous : 12:56 AM
Mike....looks like you need to start another "Where is Wes in Texas?" post. Looks like Tucson is old news.
# posted by Anonymous : 3:33 PM

I am impressed in a few weeks that Wes has mesmerized the Arizona viewers. And I thought television branding was more difficult!

Wow, I'll play along here, "Anonymous, where is Wes going?"

Back from NY

Back from New York and getting used to the 40 degree difference in temperature here in the Bayou City.

I was pleased with the mobile blogging from my cell phone. It's quick and I can post both pictures and text. Not bad and it's a great time saver.

Here is a link from our good friend in NY, Rafizzle, about my Morimoto's birthday experience from his perspective. His post is better than mine since he wasn't typing on his non-QWERTY cell phone!

I loved NY and will still be posting a bit about the trip in the coming days.

The last days of cbgb's

It was kind of somber @ cbgb's the birth place of punk. That's because the venerable club is closing its doors this october after more than 30 years.
In the 70s, the talking heads & the ramones would be on stage.
Staff told us the club might relocate.

Eating with spinal tap

We ate @ the world famous lombardi's in little italy and guess who was there? Michael mckean of spinal tap fame (the blonde one).
We love him more in best in show though.
Star sightings aside, the pizza was fantastic.

Lettermans deli

Here is hello deli next to lettermans late show. Must be a lunch only place. We saw the late late show host, craig ferguson next door @ lettermans back stage door a few minutes later.

The odd couple

Neil simon's the odd couple w/ nathan lane ' matthew broderick was very funny. The actors appeared to think so too! Those two have great chemistry.
A pleasant surprise was olivia d'abo from the abc show the wonder years is in the play. Mee-oow.

It is actually happening

I have actually seen it w/ my own eyes! Proof that Axl Rose will play with the new Guns N' Roses live in New York @ the Hammerstein Ballroom, May 15 & 17.

No i won't be going. :(

I am not blue

We are waiting for the odd couple to start. Earlier we hit the met and saw this great picasso, from the blue period and some warhols among others.

From central park

Blogging on a beautiful thursday in central park. We are off to the met to see some art, then to the odd couple on broadway later tonight.

An iron chef sang to me!

Hello from new york. Im mobile blogging on my phone. For my bday last night we dined @ morimotos. He is an iron chef on food network. It was amazing. He even sang happy bday to me. A staffer told us
this was rare. I will have pics @ a later date.

Why do people hate Houston?

Sketkar blogs about the many interesting facts that make Houston a great place to live. Don't show these facts to anyone outside of our area...they won't believe you. Trust me, I've heard it all as a native Houstonian (you didn't know those existed did you?).

Yes, I am one of those that feels Houston does not get a fair shake. Why? As I commented on Sketkar's blog, maybe it's because Houston doesn't have the history the east coast cities have.

Other complaints I've heard - our sprawling city and humidity. Ask the northerners how bad the humidity really is when they are snowed in their homes. Houston, it's worth it.

Interesting about my native Houstonian comment. If most people you meet on a daily basis aren't from here, what does that mean? Why are so many people moving here if it is so bad?

Thanks to Russell for pointing this out.

VIDEO: Titanic Two: The Surface trailer - Jack's Back!

This is a hilarious mashup I saw on Lost Remote. In 'Titanic Two: The Surface' Jack is found frozen at the site of the Titanic wreck and brought back to life.

If they thought they could make as much money with this one as they did the real movie - it would be in a theater near you.

This is not as funny as Brokeback to the Future or Must Love Jaws, but still worth a watch.

mikemcguff podcast: Blogging Exposed part 2

Listen to the podcast- part 2
(no iPod? Listen through your computer - just click the link)

Here is the mikemcguff.com podcast from Tech Now. In this episode, we get to pick the brain of one of Houston's most prolific bloggers, Laurence Simon aka Mr. Crap, once again in part 2.

Find out:
How to get readers - and then get them to come back
Is there money to be made on blogs?
What's next for TBIFOC?

Listen to the podcast - part 1
Find out what Simon considers a blog
Advice on coming up with posts
Being a consistent blogger
What can motivate you to post?

Links:
- The art of Houston blogging: how to start one and get it read
- Houston blogging tips for new and experienced bloggers
- The bloggers favorite bloggers

Sign up for the mikemcguff podcast on iTunes and myPodder.

The kinky mobile

Spotted this in downtown houston. Kinky is going all out now!

Watch these for a good time

Looking for some good movies?

I suggest Thank You For Smoking. It's a good satire.

If you like stupid 80's comedies - The Benchwarmers will make you laugh out loud.

Curious about Heavy Metal? Metal: A Headbangers Journey is a documentary by anthropologist Sam Dunn. Interviews and commentary with some of the greats.

Houston Blogging Exposed part 2 warning - Technology Bytes @ 8 pm

It sounds like Jay Lee has flexed his muscle, because Technology Bytes is moving back to the old time:

Technology Bytes is moving back to it'’s old time slot of 8-10 pm. We had been moved to the 7-9 pm slot for awhile but it was just not the same so I lobbied for our old slot and they finally gave it to us. The change takes effect Wednesday April 19th.

That's geeky music to my ears. That means that Tech Now will hit at 9 pm. That's a good time for me on the radio. I feel comfortable there.

This week, Tech Now returns with Part 2 of the Houston Blogging Exposed piece (listen to part 1). I promise Mr. Crap will be back with some great advice for new and veteran bloggers in the way only he could tell it.

New XM channel lineup guide

XM emailed me the latest on its programming changes. Here's a sample of some of the new stations:

On March 1, we added two new commercial-free music channels, Big Tracks - XM 49 devoted to Classic Rock from the late 70s onward, and XM Chill - XM 84 devoted to Chill music. Starting on Monday, April 17, XM will add 8 more commercial-free music channels. The new channels include:

U.S. Country - XM 17 - Country Superstars of the 80s and 90s Flight 26 - XM 26 - Modern Hits 90s & Now XM Hitlist - XM 30 - Today's Hit Music enLighten - XM 34 - Southern Gospel XM Liquid Metal - XM 42 - Heavy Metal XL Big Tracks - XM 49 - Later Classic Rock The Heat - XM 68 - Rhythmic Hits Escape - XM 78 - Easy Listening XM Chill - XM 84 - Chill Music Viva - XM 91 - Latin Pop Hits

VIDEO: Paris sings for Hef

Paris Hilton attended Hugh Hefner's 80th birthday celebration and sang him a little ditty made famous by Marilyn Monroe to JFK.

Paris has an album in the works, think she has the voice to be the next Jennifer Lopez?

VIDEO: News photographer attacked - caught on tape

KXAN out of Austin ran a story about one of its own photographers getting attacked - and it was caught on tape:

However, while being attacked, KXAN photojournalist Julie Karam continued to keep the camera rolling and recorded the entire incident.

[snip]

"In our business, if you know you're not going to get sound, and you know that you are doing the story anyway, you've got to at least get video of the accused," Karam said.
Never in her nine years as a photojournalist has she gotten this kind of response for doing her job.

"He grabs a hold of this (the viewfinder), grabs a hold of my camera and yanks it down over my shoulder," Karam said. "I'm thinking, 'This guy's going to hurt me.' That's how frightened I was. I didn't do anything to deserve it. Nobody deserves to be manipulated, prodded and touched in that way.

See the video here. (video link will be on the upper left side)

Guns N' Roses playing a show in United States

Axl Rose and the rest of whoever is in Guns N' Roses these days will be playing a lot of world wide festival dates this summer, but now they have a US date in New York says Rolling Stone:

When Axl Rose told Rolling Stone in January that he'd have new music for Guns N' Roses fans this year, he wasn't kidding. After a decade of working on Chinese Democracy, the follow-up to 1993's platinum-selling The Spaghetti Incident, and three years away from American stages, GN'R are ready to play New York next month. Tickets for May 15th and 17th at the Hammerstein Ballroom, go on sale April 21st.

This is along with news that the band was to play at the 307 Jazz & Blues Club in Lafayette, Louisiana on May 26. This date is reportedly a hoax.

Also, Velvet Revolver and former GNR drummer, Matt Sorum, posted in his blog that he ran into Axl in NY. They supposedly had a nice meeting.

No word on a release date for the Chinese Democracy album.

REVIEW: David Lee Roth's book, "Crazy from the Heat"

Now David Lee Roth hasn't had the easiest time with his new radio show. That aside, I read his 1997 autobiography, Crazy from the Heat. What a good rock n' roll book.

Believe it or not, this book was actually recommended to me by a friend who likes to dip his toe every once in a while into the rock world.

Roth is a very funny and intelligent writer. His stories of excess are great as expected, but he manages to pull out some very interesting off stage stories about his life outside of Van Halen and his solo career.

But one of the most interesting chapters was Roth's take on the Van Halen reunion. Did you know VH used to be called Mammoth, until DLR changed it to the brother's last name?

Unlike other rock books, Roth is not afraid to lift the curtain and let us in on the backstage of the show. That's what makes this book so special.

Other must reads:
Dance on Fire
The Dirt
TommyLand

Find out more about Crazy from the Heat

Rocketboom comes to Houston - interviews The Godfather of Houston Podcasting

Amanda Congdon of Rocketboom sent a reporter down to Houston to interview Russell Holliman of Podcast Ready.

If you read this blog regularly, you probably know him better as the Godfather of Houston Podcasting.

Congrats to Holliman on the vlog exposure. Wow...he'll have something to talk about at the next podcasters meetup!

My wife's needs

The other morning my wife frantically left voice mails and text messages for me. She was at work and needed me to deliver some items to her. Lunch? No. Important office documents she left at home? No.

What she needed was a trench coat and for me to burn the "Bad Boys" theme from the Fox show Cops to CD! What goes on at this so-called office she works in?

So like any good husband, I went on the iTunes music store...

Mark Cuban gets intimate on Q&A

One thing Dallas has over Houston in my opinion is Mark Cuban. Love him or hate him, but you have to call him at least interesting. I don't read blog maverick...maybe I should start.

Recently Cuban appeared on C-SPAN's Q&A with Brian Lamb. This is a great interview (listen to the podcast), because it is not the traditional ten minutes, we're out of here for a commercial break approach.

Cuban on starting audionet which would become Broadcast.com:

CUBAN: We put a $3 million valuation on it and we let our friends put in only $30,000 apiece because the thing that scares me more than anything is losing a friend's money. And each of those $30,000 investments turned into $22 million when we sold.

LAMB: How many made $22 million?

CUBAN: There were I think eight of our buddies that invested with us.

So if there are any would be Internet moguls out there, I would like to invest $20 and make it $20 million. Thanks.

Jeff Skilling's brother is the WGN-TV Weatherman?!!!!

You learn the darndest things by surfing The Insite. This time I found a gem in the comments section. Seems like a reader in one of Mr. Carey's posts claims Tom Skilling of world famous WGN-TV in Chicago is Jeff Skilling's brother! (a fact also echoed by Isiah and published reports)

How did this one escape me? What a great promotional opportunity for the TV station.

"Now here's Chicago-Land's 'Smartest Guy in the Room' Tom Skilling with the weather!"

"Not only can Tom Skilling forecast the weather, but he might also have the knowledge to make it a commodity!"

You got a beer opener?

So a colleague and I were returning from Austin and stopped off for some fuel at a gas station right before the 290 curve back to Houston.

We're getting the gasoline.

A truck full of middle-aged women stop, roll down their window and shout in our direction.

"Hey, do you guys have a beer opener in your van?"

My reaction, "No, this is a work van."

Her rebuttal, "What does that matter?"

Even if I had been in my personal truck and actually had a bottle opener, I would never contribute to an alcohol fueled drive down Highway 290. The bluebonnets are intoxicating enough for some drivers who aren't watching the road.

The Enron Tour

Sandra Lord is known to most around here as the Tunnel Lady. She has been giving tours in the downtown tunnels for years through her Discover Houston Tours.

Lord has branched out to other opportunities, the most notable now would be the Enron Tours:

BUS tour featuring the historic Kirby Mansion, the Front Porch Pub (a popular hangout of Enron employees featured in Rebecca Smith and John Emshwiller'’s book 24 Days), the Import Warehouse (formerly Linda Lay'’s Jus'’ Stuff), current and former homes, offices, churches, businesses, favorite restaurants, lawyers' offices, courthouses, and jails of Enron's Fab Four: Kopper, Fastow, Skilling, and Lay. Everyone gets a "share" of Enron stock and a photo opportunity in front of the most expensive Crooked E purchased during the Enron auctions. Some short walking opportunities.

If you're a couch potato and don't want to leave home, you can take a tour of the old Enron commercials instead.

Here are some pics of the wife and me way back when that infamous "Crooked E" was still on Smith street.

Worst McGuff baby names

Jeff Ehling so kindly gave my wife and me some of the worst names he could think of for a baby. (There are no plans at this time for a little McGuff)

In anticipation off the blessed event. First [seven] I could think of, in no particular order...

Mickey McGuff

Mortimer Fetish McGuff

Toman (Toe-Man) McGuff

Tocheese (Toe-Cheese) McGuff

Finger McGuff

Tuffy McGuff

Sagat Six McGuff

Maybe someone out there can actually come up with better/worse names.

Web 2.0?

What the heck is this Web 2.0 thing you hear about here and there? Mark Glaser of MediaShift has a jargon watch.

The Octopus Project

Congrats to The Octopus Project. Rolling Stone announces they're off to play the massive Coachella music festival.

Toto has come a long way from our movie making days at Westwood Mall and Lamar HS.

Wes Hohenstein on Tucson TV?

After the huge reaction to my "Where is Wes?" posts on this blog, I feel it is my duty to report the latest possible updates.

Is Wes Hohenstein now in Tucson as a weatherman? That's what one anonymous reader commented on an old post:

Wes is now at KOLD-TV (the CBS affiliate in Tucson, Arizona), along with Chuck George. Chuck works weekdays and Wes does weekends.

His picture/bio is not up on the KOLD site yet (www.kold.com) but he is definitely there!

I'm sure all of you Wes fans will watch kold.com religiously until his picture is posted. Please let us know when/if it appears.

Based on the fervor Wes' departure created, I'm wondering how many Houstonians will migrate to Arizona to watch their main man give them the forecast?

Godfather of Houston Podcasting in Business Week

Oh my, how far the Godfather of Houston Podcasting has gone since my article on podcasting. Now Russell Holliman is featured in Business Week and about to launch his baby (Podcast Ready, Inc.) into stores across the country.

Interesting how an mp3 file, some good old ambition and ingenuity can launch dreams...even here in Houston.

My Death Space - a tribute to MySpace users who have died

When I first saw this site, I wasn't sure if it was for real, a tribute or kind of sick. I'm still wondering. MyDeathSpace.com is a page that creates memorials for MySpace users who have passed away.

It's very sad to look at all of the young users who have died. But after all, people like to look at the obituaries in the paper, this is just the 21st century version for social networking sites.

Look, it's "America's First Evangelical Anchorman"

You don't see this one everyday. Spotted on the Pomo Blog. In the Detroit area, you can watch Frank Turner nightly at 5 & 7 pm on WXYZ, Channel 7. The rest of the time you can see him as "America's First Evangelical Anchorman."

As a gifted news anchor, evangelist, seminar speaker and Bible teacher, Frank is a unique and formidable weapon for the Lord's Kingdom.

Turner wasn't always "America's First Evangelical Anchorman." He went through some trials before the conversion:

Through the limitless depths of His grace and mercy, extended to me in the sacrifice of His dear Son, God has revealed Himself to me in an awesome and dramatic way. After 25 years of drug and alcohol addiction, depression and anxiety, divorce and bankruptcy, helplessness and hopelessness, and finally complete humiliation in my public firing from my 5 p.m. anchor job at Channel 7 in 1998, the Lord Jesus stepped into my life.

Will this spread across America's newsrooms? Probably not. Looks like there has been some controversy.

The ubiquitous Mr. Crap

This guy is everywhere.

First he was a topic on Technology Bytes and my podcast.
Next I see pictures of him on the Midtown party scene.
Then he's listed as a favorite blogger.

Are those cat cams taking control of our minds?

Look at the cheerleaders

Here is something fun for the weekend. On April 1st I posted that I was trying out for the Houston Texans' Cheerleader squad.

The real reason I was at the tryouts? Taking pictures for the rest of the world to put on abc13.com. These are some good pictures. I was also working on a future TV production.

My boss said I've never smiled so much before. Wonder why?

mikemcguff podcast: Blogging Exposed part I

Listen to this podcast

Here is the mikemcguff.com podcast from Tech Now. In this episode, we get to pick the brain of one of Houston's most prolific bloggers, Mr. Crap.

Find out what he considers a blog
Advice on coming up with posts
Being a consistent blogger
What can motivate you to post?
And more in the way only Mr. Crap can bring it to you...

Links:
- The art of Houston blogging: how to start one and get it read
- Houston blogging tips for new and experienced bloggers
- The bloggers favorite bloggers

Sign up for the mikemcguff podcast at iTunes and myPodder.

The Spur 527 @ 35

I didn't notice this until I had a police car behind me...but Spur 527 is a 35 mph zone. Not that I speed of course, this is simply a reminder for others. ;)

Trust me, I am usually getting passed by every luxury car out there on the way to 59 in the mornings. I'm not sure anyone knows or cares what the speed limit signs say.

VIDEO: The abc13.com webcast - 3 times a day

Have you seen the new abc13.com webcast. Wow, a video newscast, three times a day for all of the viewers who can't watch TV at work. Catch it at 9 am, noon and 3 pm.

And what my favorite part, it's flash, so there is no loading of another program to watch it. It's quick!

Mixed Message

The Houston Chronicle's editorial cartoonist, Nick Anderson, posted a very observant cartoon on the immigration debate.

Wednesday will be special

Xeni Jardin of BoingBoing points out Wednesday will be special because the time and date together will display 1:02:03 04/05/06.

Also of note: Wednesday will be my interview with Mr. Crap on blogging at 8 pm on Technology Bytes. It will be the talk of the Houston blogosphere, I promise.

VIDEO: Streaker on local news

Dallas' WFAA television recently looked like the 1974 Oscars as a streaker ran past a reporter during his live shot.

Reporter Bert Lozano didn't know just how hot his story on North Texas grass fires could get before a nude man ran past his camera. Remarkably Lozano doesn't lose it during this naked development to his story.

I think this clip would be more classic if Lozano had come up with a clever line for this. Something like, "Wow, these fires are heating things up so much around here, residents are taking drastic measures."

Not great, but I just typed it as it came to me.

I wanna be a Texans Cheerleader

I spent all day (since 7:30 this morning) at the Texans cheerleader tryouts.

Hopefully I will make the squad this year. The dance routines were tough, but I've been doing jazz dance for years so I was able to pull it off.

I'm not sure that I am as pretty as the other girls, but I'm sure they will be able to give me a makeover.

And if you believe any of this you are a sucker...

April Fool's Day.

VIDEO: Leprechaun in Alabama TV news report

Some things don't need any explanation or commentary. Simply...you need to just watch and wonder why the leprechaun story was ever put on TV.

New KHOU anchor

The fact that KHOU hired a new anchor has already been out there for a couple of weeks now. But this is the first concrete evidence and it is out of the New York Daily News:

Some 17 months after learning he was being replaced at WNYW/Ch. 5 by Ernie Anastos, Len Cannon has landed a full-time anchor job - in Houston.

Cannon most notably used to work for Dateline NBC.