REWIND: mikemcguff.com at the Kiyomizudera in Kyoto

Hope you had as much fun as I did looking back at my Japan trip from last year all this week on the blog.  It was a great vacation.  If you have any interest at all, save up and wait for the economy to pick up and get over there.  Trust me you will like it.





Kyoto is much smaller than Tokyo coming in around 1.5 million residents. It is in central Japan and has a lot of older tourist sites. This video was taped at the Kiyomizu-dera or Kiyomizudera which is a very famous Buddhist temple.

And yes, that is the mysterious wife I mention on this blog. I coaxed her to come out of hiding and onto YouTube. She did a great job! There was no way I was pronouncing that.

See my Japan section.
My photos from Japan.

REWIND: Mike McGuff rides a bullet...train

We're looking back  at the Thanksgiving 2007 mikemcguff.com coverage of my trip last year. It was strange being in a foreign country on Thanksgiving Day. As you can imagine, we did not run into many Americans over there. Most of the obvious tourists were from Europe. Don't worry, I didn't eat sushi for Thanksgiving dinner. The few Americans  there were with us at the hotel buffet which served turkey, stuffing and everything else you come to expect.




I recorded this video on the famous Bullet Train from Tokyo to Kyoto. The train goes so fast that the camera picked up things we couldn't see with the naked eye. You will see video of the Japan countryside.

See my Japan section.
My photos from Japan.

REWIND: Sony Rolly demo at Tokyo Sony store

Day 3 of the mikemcguff.com rewind to when I was in Tokyo, Japan last year at this time. Here is the trip to the Sony store were I first saw the Rolly. It's a dancing mp3 player! You won't believe this!

When I went to the Sony Store in Tokyo, Japan, I didn't know what to expect. Here is the Sony Rolly demo video I shot. The Rolly is an mp3 player that dances to music. It appears to only be available in Japan at this point. I'm not sure if it would take off in America or not. Would you buy one?

Share your Tokyo and Japan stories in the comments section. I would love to hear them.

See my Japan section.
My photos from Japan.

REWIND: Tokyo subways mean the party is over

This video is hard for me to watch on the mikemcguff.com rewind of my 2007 Thanksgiving Japan trip. We were up way too early for my tastes! But it did give us a chance to see that the clubs really close around 6am in Tokyo!






I am not an early riser, so I thought I was dreaming as we were up at 6am to do the tourist thing in Japan and there were young people all about on the subway. These weren't the people going to work. That was evident by the dude who ralphed all over the floor behind us.

Some Tokyo clubs and bars stay open until 5 or 7am! These people know how to party. In one bar we went to about 3am, there was a guy passed out at a table. I wanted to join him after sake, Yebisu Beer and whatever else we all sampled that night. What can I say? In the US I don't drink that much, I just blog. You probably already knew that though.

Share your Japan memories or stories in the comments!

See my Japan blog section.
Check out my Japan pictures which are continually being added to.

REWIND: Buying embarrassing gifts in Tokyo

All this week, rewind with me to 2007 as mikemcguff.com hit the streets of Tokyo, Japan.  Here are my video and photo reports from the East. Today it is the embarrassing Japanese gifts I found out the dollar store.

We went shopping in the Harajuku district and you won't believe some of the items we bought. Especially the last one. Talk about blushing. Hey, when in Rome...right?

I had to edit down the part about my Guns N' Roses Japan purchases. I was napping before I shot this so I started rambling about the Hollywood Rose and LA Guns association. You probably didn't want to hear that anyway.

Click on a photo to enlarge it:

Share your Tokyo and Japan stories in the comments section. I would love to hear them.

See my  Japan section.

Michael A. Salter’s robot sculptures at the Rice Gallery

Groovehouse who has been all over Houston lately snapping photos posts about Michael A. Salter's Too Much exhibit at the Rice Gallery. If you like giant robots, this is for you:

Artist and sculptor, Michael A. Salter has created one of his awesome and amazing styrofoam robot sculptures at the Rice Gallery on the campus of Rice University. I have loved this guy ever since I first saw one of his pieces in Wired Magazine.

SEE THE PHOTOS

TV´s 10 Hottest News Anchors

Maxim is looking to get a lot of Web traffic before Thanksgiving so it is offering TV´s 10 Hottest News Anchors in slide show form.

SEE THE LIST

You'll see names like Fox News' Megyn Kelly who John Mayer recently announced his love for. Erin Burnett of CNBC makes the list. Betty Nguyen of CNN is there. True story about her...she was at my 20th birthday party in Waco (she worked at KWTX). It was a TV station party where three of us had April b-days. Trust me, she wasn't there for me.

Of course one of my favorites, Fox News' Julie Banderas. My wife wondered why I was always watching Fox News on the weekends. I finally just had to come out and tell her why. She didn't believe the excuse that it was for Banderas' co-anchor Gregg Jarrett.

Chinese Democracy reaction, Phil Anselmo, Beatles and more

- GUNS N' ROSES: 'Chinese Democracy' First-Week Sales In 300-500K Range
- DUFF MCKAGAN On 'Chinese Democracy', VELVET REVOLVER's Singer Search
- MATT SORUM Says He Was 'Pleasantly Surprised' By 'Chinese Democracy' Single
- AXL ROSE Biographer: 'Democracy' Is 'An Over-Reaching, Self-Pitying Piece Of Inspired Lunacy'
- GUNS N' ROSES' Original A&R Man Kicked Out Of 'Chinese Democracy'
- “Chinese Democracy” Hits Best Buys in New York With a Yawn
- GUNS N' ROSES: 'Chinese Democracy' Mania Hits Germany, Japan; Video Available
- GUNS N' ROSES' 'Democracy' Banned In China: Video Report Available

- SLASH's Forthcoming Solo Album To Feature OZZY OSBOURNE, FERGIE

- METALLICA: New Video Interview With LARS ULRICH Available

- PHILIP ANSELMO Says He Misses PANTERA, Denies That He's Back On Drugs

- Rock List: More of the Greatest Singers of All Time

- Beatles to iTunes “Stalled,” Says McCartney

REWIND: The ubiquitous Tokyo drink machines

The mikemcguff.com rewind of my 2007 Thanksgiving Japan trip is in full swing ! Here is my look at the Tokyo drink machines on every corner. Some actually contain beer! Most are fruit juices and soda.

You really can't walk down the streets of Tokyo, Japan and not find a drink machine. They are everywhere. If you don't like one set of drinks, walk another block. Most drinks cost 120 Yen.

The machines sell a bunch of green tea, coke products and juices. I really enjoyed the apple juice that had both red and green apple juice supposedly. It did not taste as synthetic as US drinks at least.

Now as Margaret pointed out the in the comments, there are beer vending machines too. This video was shot in the Roppongi district by the way where you can get a lot of beer if you so desire.

Here is a picture of one of those machines (click on images to enlarge):



Since we're talking drinks, check out what I found on the side of a Dr. Pepper can! Murdock must be drooling. They don't make them like that in Texas! Not even in Dublin, TX.

And to round out the vending machine talk, I had to snap a picture of these ice cream treats. Maybe odd looking but very good.

I promised these little reports would not be typical and I think I have succeeded with this one.

See my Japan section.
My photos from Japan. 

Sexy photos on a cell phone - the argument against it

Russell Holliman has a blog post that points out the reason why you should never allow your spouse, partner, girlfriend, boyfriend...whatever, take sexy photos of you on a cell phone.

READ IT

Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP

My pal IT Matt showed me the Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP page. I have never head of this. Microsoft defines it:

PowerToys add fun and functionality to the Windows experience. What are they? PowerToys are additional programs that developers work on after a product has been released.

And there is some interesting stuff there. For example, add ons like these:

Alt-Tab Replacement
With this PowerToy, in addition to seeing the icon of the application window you are switching to, you will also see a preview of the page. This helps particularly when multiple sessions of an application are open.

Tweak UI
This PowerToy gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings, and more.

Image Resizer
This PowerToy enables you to resize one or many image files with a right-click.

REWIND: Mike McGuff in Japan

This time last year , I was in Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan. I had so much camera and video equipment the Japanese were laughing at me. Oh well. We saw some incredible stuff and I wanted to share it all with new readers since then.

All this week, travel with me again through Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan.

This video was shot in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo. It's the place that looks like Times Square in Manhattan. Except Shinjuku is Times Square on steroids. It also hasn't lost the adult themed activities that Times Square used to be known for. The things they were offering us tourists might make you blush. Don't worry we weren't tempted and headed to the Hyatt Regency Tokyo where the movie Lost in Translation was shot. There is a cool club at the top called the New York Bar on the 52nd floor.

Take a look at these pictures I took of the bright lights, big city.

Share your Tokyo and Japan stories in the comments section. I would love to hear them.

See my Japan section.

Chinese Democracy is real, Down, Janes's Addiction, No Doubt, Britney and more

Here is a photo of James and me looking tough after listening to Chinese Democracy. James is wearing his Year of the Rat outfit from Aunt Sonia in honor of the album's release.

I went to Best Buy to buy the new Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy CD and found a stand dedicated to it in the middle of the store.  You could tell people had been there before me buying the CD but it wasn't near a sell out. It's a great CD, but I might be a little biased since I have a category devoted to GNR and have been chronicling Chinese Democracy since 2005.

The songs that made it on the album are not the same as the leaks going around the Internet.  Those were clearly demos since the album songs are more polished.  You can tell more guitars have been added to songs and more Axl Rose vocal layers too.  If you look at the liner notes, some of the songs have gone back to the 90s when Paul Tobias was a guitarist. In fact in some cases five guitarists are all playing on one song.  I thought it was odd that Axl included photos of Buckethead in the album.  Buckethead even has a thanks section in the back of the booklet.  Why is this odd?  Buckethead left the band like three or four years ago!

I really like the new songs that I have never heard like Shackler's Revenge and Scraped. I was surprised that the song known on the Internet as The Blues is actually called Street of Dreams.

If you ever liked Guns N' Roses in the past, the album is well worth your time. Epic in nature, Axl Rose takes us through a whole range of music. Is it the original band? No. But it is still good. We'll just wait a few years till the original lineup reunites because there is just too much money and fame involved for a rock star to turn down.

Dr Pepper extends Chinese Democracy free coupon offer due to consumer demand
Everyone in America has until 6 PM EST on Monday, November 24 to get a free 20 oz. Dr Pepper
- GUNS N' ROSES Guitarist BUMBLEFOOT Talks 'Chinese Democracy'; Audio Available
- GUNS N' ROSES' 'Chinese Democracy' Breaks MySpace Record
- 'Chinese Democracy': Second Coming Or The Anti-Climactic Equivalent Of 'The Godfather III'?
- GUNS N' ROSES Not Bringing 'Democracy' To China
- HINDER Says GUNS N' ROSES' 'Chinese Democracy' Sounds 'Too Artsy' And 'Overproduced'
- GUNS N' ROSES: 'Chinese Democracy' First-Day Sales In Australia 'Lukewarm'
- What Lars Ulrich and Axl used to do together according to the Metallica drummer
- Talk Show Flashback: Axl. Axl? Axl!

DOWN: Houston Photos Posted Online
Quality photos of DOWN's November 20, 2008 concert at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas (where the group was supporting METALLICA) have been posted at the band's official message board, DownBoard.com.

JANE'S ADDICTION: Silverlake Footage Available
The original lineup of JANE'S ADDICTION played another tiny venue in Los Angeles this past week.

- SCOTT WEILAND On VELVET REVOLVER Split, STP's Future
- VELVET REVOLVER's SLASH Confirms RCA Split
- SCOTT WEILAND: 'Jay Leno' Performance Available
- SCOTT WEILAND: 'Killing Me Sweetly' Performance Available

- LARS ULRICH On Life After METALLICA, NAPSTER And On-The-Road

- Producer TOM WERMAN Sets Record Straight Regarding MÖTLEY CRÜE's 'Girls, Girls, Girls'

- Former VAN HALEN Bassist MICHAEL ANTHONY Interviewed

- No Doubt is back with tour

- The Man Behind Britney Spears Opens Up

- Lookout Wiggles! Here Come the Houston “Heroes!”

Is your cat plotting to kill you?

Leave it to Laurence Simon to find this one . Yeah, a quiz to help you determine if your cat is trying to kill you. This is the cat I thought of while taking the quiz. My results are below:





What are you waiting for. Take the quiz too!

KDFW Fox-4's Clarice Tinsley hits 30 years in Dallas

Robert Philpot of the Fort Worth Star Telegram has a nice profile on television anchor Clarice Tinsley of Dallas' Fox 4 KDFW. Guess what? Tinsley has been at the station 30 years. I would have never guessed that.

You might also never guess that her co-anchor Baron James likes pink socks either. Or maybe you would, I don't really know him.

(Image courtesy of UNT)

Flying Fish Sailors LIVE!

"Flying Fish Sailors @ Via Colori Street Painting Festival" on Saturday, November 22 at 10:00am.

Event: Flying Fish Sailors @ Via Colori Street Painting Festival
What: Concert
Host: Via Colori
Start Time: Saturday, November 22 at 10:00am
End Time: Saturday, November 22 at 6:00pm
Where: Sam Houston Park

http://www.flyingfishsailors.com/

Houston Metallica review, Chinese Democracy streaming (full album), Depeche Mode, U2 and more

Houston Metallica review
How was the Houston Metallica show at the Toyota Center? The Houston Chronicle has the review.
- Houston Metallica photos (Houston Chronicle)
- METALLICA's KIRK HAMMETT Celebrates 46th Birthday
- METALLICA's LARS ULRICH: 'Metal... It Never Goes Away'

GUNS N' ROSES: Entire 'Chinese Democracy' Album Available For Streaming
GUNS N' ROSES' new album, "Chinese Democracy", is now being streamed in its entirety on the band's official MySpace page.
- Chuck Klosterman On Chinese Democracy: 'Like Reviewing A Unicorn'...
- DR PEPPER To Deliver On Its 'Chinese Democracy' Promise; Free Drinks For Everyone
- GUNS N' ROSES: 'Chinese Democracy' Streamed Nearly Two Million Times Today

- In the Studio: Depeche Mode Go “Spiritual”
Before Depeche Mode began recording their new album, the group’s guitarist and chief songwriter, Martin Gore, went out and bought a bunch of vintage gear.

- SCOTT WEILAND Hints At Retiring From The Road

- Coldplay To Retire In 2 Years Time?

- U2 Producer Talks About Their New Album

- Nirvana’s Novoselic Relives Failed 1992 VMA Bass Toss

- Sirius XM Stock Down To Just 16 Cents A Share

I will follow you on Twitter

Imagine my surprise when I got an email that 'I will follow you' was following me on Twitter. Here is the account's bio:

Follow us, we follow you. Unfollow us, we unfollow you. Want another follower? Click the link above. To contact, DM @GetFollowed

Good luck I guess? Is this an experiment?  Is it a new kind of art?

Maybe a more practical account to follow is Twitter_Tips.  You guess it, tips about Twitter.  

Abby's book drive, how you can help

You might remember when I attended the funeral of my best friend's child in Dallas.  She died from meningitis.

Now Will and his wife Mary have started a blog in honor of Abby.  The blog gives out information on meningitis and is also the site for a new project.  It is a book drive for the children's hospital at Medical City Dallas Hospital. Here is more in their words:

Abby loved her books. We read to her just about everyday of her life. We still read to her, as we go to the cemetery daily and read stories. While she was in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), we wanted to read books to her, but there were none available. My sister-in-law, Bernice, had to go down to the gift shop and buy some books. This is a children’s hospital and it is unbelievable that there is no children’s library! So I made a few phone calls to Medical City, and they have agreed to let us host a book drive, Dec 1st-15th to collect new children’s books to supply the PICU. Any money raised in memory of Abby will go toward the Child Life Department at Medical City Children's Hospital.

We will mark each book donated in memory of Abigail Kearney. We also setup a wish list for Abigail Kearney on Amazon.com that will allow people to select a book from the registry to ship directly to us. Any monetary donations should be made directly to Medical City Children's Hospital in memory of Abigail Kearney. Alternatively, Will or I will collect checks made out to Medical City and ensure that the money is delivered. All donations are tax-deductible. Links to the wish list and the Medical City Foundation are available to the left. We will post the official flier as soon as it is finalized. READ MORE

Here is the link to Abby's Wish List on Amazon.com if you can help.

The man behind Eyewitness News

Our friend Heather Kovar has a great interview with the man who created the Eyewitness News format on the New York Press Club Blog. He has a new book out called Eyewitness Newsman:

Following months of rehearsals, overtime and job description changes, the Eyewitness News format hit the airwaves at WABC on November 17, 1968. The man behind the concept of putting reporters out in the field as eyewitnesses and actually appearing on television, of bringing racial diversity to newscasts, and using graphics and teases and camera movement to liven up TV News, brought WABC from 3rd in the ratings books to number ONE.

In “EYEWITNESS Newsman,” Al Primo takes readers through getting his first job in TV in the mail room to becoming a Network News Executive and beyond.  His Eyewitness style of having reporters seen in every news story, eventually changed every newscast in America. Prior to Primo, the anchor read every story. Excitement followed his success, but you can imagine the grumbling getting it done. Here is a line from “EYEWITNESS Newsman.” “Camera operators were told that they’d never need something to sit on again because they’d be constantly moving.” SEE THE INTERVIEW

The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time

RollingStone really does try to reach for the stars doesn't it? Usually the media has a top 10, maybe a top 30 list, but Jann Werner and crew go for 100!

In this case, it is the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time! SEE THE LIST

(Thanks Brian!)

GNR countdown, Nikki Sixx, Scott Weiland, Crystal Method and more

The countdown to Chinese Democracy
Yes it is a real countdown clock till the release date. Do you think people will actually be lined up at Best Buy to buy Chinese Democracy?  Will I camp out there with my Guns N' Roses tent?
- NIKKI SIXX Says 'Chinese Democracy' Is 'Not A GUNS N' ROSES Record'
- NIKKI SIXX Biography To Be Reissued With New Interviews, Bonus Sampler

- SCOTT WEILAND Interviewed On WRIF 101.1 FM's 'Mike In The Morning'; Audio Available

- How did this end up in here?

- POWERMAN 5000: New Song Posted Online

- Crystal Method preps new album - features collaborations with Metric and Justin Warfield

- Mike McGuff's Queensryche interview lands on Blabbermouth

- VIDEO: Miley Cyrus = Tom Cruise

- Free music while you eat!

Houston loves Canadians

I saw this article on HAIF. The Canadian paper Times&Transcript visits Houston after Hurricane Ike to see how the city has recovered.

The reporter Steve MacNaull realizes that there are things to do in the Bayou City:

Houston loves Canadians.

Being the headquarters for numerous oil and gas companies, Houston has a lot to do with Canada's oil and gas capital, Calgary, and our commerce capital, Toronto. READ MORE

Mike McGuff's Queensryche interview lands on Blabbermouth

It is no secret that I think Blabbermouth is one of the best rock news sites on the Internet. So I was excited when it picked up my interview with Queensryche lead singer Geoff Tate!

WATCH IT

And here I thought we put it on YouTube way too late after Rock the Bayou for anyone to care! Michael A. Carl rocked it once again.

Brightcove leaves the building

I used to upload video to Brightcove. The company discontinued that months ago. Now they are sending out this message:

We are writing because in 2006 or 2007 you may have uploaded video to the Brightcove.TV video website through a Brightcove consumer account. We are planning to discontinue that site on December 17, 2008. When we turn off the site, the videos you have uploaded will no longer be viewable on Brightcove.TV or in video players embedded from the site. (This change will not affect videos in Brightcove platform accounts.)

You may have also uploaded video directly to one of our platform customers who use Brightcove's Consumer Media functionality to collect and publish video uploaded from visitors to their site. The Consumer Media functionality will continue to operate as it has in the past, except that content uploaded to a publisher will no longer be viewable on Brightcove.TV or players embedded from the site.

If you would like the videos in your Brightcove consumer account to continue to be available online, we recommend that you re-upload the videos to another consumer video sharing service.

KPRC launches new digital channel

All the TV stations have these new, extra digital channels and are trying to figure out what to do with them.  KPRC Channel 2 in Houston has a new way to fill the space reports David Barron:

This, a new digital TV offering that features MGM movies, children’s programs and classic dramas and sitcoms, will debut Dec. 1 in Houston as one of KPRC’s (Channel 2) digital stations.
This will replace the NBC WeatherPlus signal that currently airs on KPRC’s digital signal 2.2 and at channel 320 on Comcast cable. It is a joint venture of MGM and Weigel Broadcasting Co., which owns stations in Chicago and Milwaukee. READ THE REST

Barron reports that some of the programs on the channel will include The Misfits, They Call Me Mister Tibbs, Diggstown, The Terminator, The Three Amigos and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, plus episodes of the Patty Duke Show, Mister Ed and The Outer Limits.

The Houston Madonna reviews are in

So I talked to Madonna fans who went to the Houston show at Minute Maid Park Sunday night.  The Material Girl showed up two hours late, made no mention of it and had no real opening act except for a DJ who played like 20 minutes.

People said the bars and food courts at the park must have made a killing as people waited.

REVIEWS
Madonna gives Houston fans a tasty tour treat
Live: Madonna, Houston

MEDIA
Madonna photos from Houston show
Madonna video from Houston show

Listen to Chinese Democracy tracks and more, fight songs plus Eminem

GUNS N' ROSES: New Song 'Better' Available For Streaming
Another song off GUNS N' ROSES' long-awaited new album, "Chinese Democracy", "Better", received its world premier this morning (Monday, November 17) on a number of U.S. stations, including Q104.3 FM, which is currently streaming the track at this location.
- Review: Chinese Democracy
- GUNS N' ROSES: Hear Three More Songs From 'Chinese Democracy'
- A Look Back at 1991 as New Guns N’ Roses Single “Better” Premieres
- What the world was like when the last GNR album was released
- Steven Adler and Izzy Stradlin Weigh in on “Chinese Democracy”

Best Fight Songs
Don't watch these videos if you are itching to fight your cubicle mate or that punk on your floor who always takes the last coffee cup.

Slim Shady is back soon
Eminem confirms his forthcoming new album, ‘Relapse’, will be released in early 2009

Cheap food through OpenTable.com

Katharine Shilcutt Gleave of Houstonist reports that OpenTable.com (a website that allows you to make restaurant reservations online) is holding its annual Appetie Stimulus Plan:

Houston-area restaurants will be offering special three-course menus at a greatly reduced price. From November 17th through the 21st, the restaurants will be offering either lunch or dinner menus or -- in some cases -- both. The price for the lunch menus is $24, while the dinner menus are an equally reasonable $35 (excluding tax and gratuity). READ MORE

Some of the participating restaurants include Cafe Annie, La Strada, Tommy Bahama's Tropical Cafe - The Woodlands, The Palm - Houston and Zulu.

Tough times for Houston restaurants call for some out of the box thinking.

Must be TV sweeps month when the anchor pole dances

I thought the Katy Perry inspired story about girls kissing on dance floors from our friends at Fox 61 WTIC in Hartford was going to be the most over the top TV sweeps story I ran across this November.

I was wrong.

Enter Fox 5 Atlanta WAGA where they sent an anchor to take pole dancing lessons. WATCH IT

This post probably just sent a bunch of television producers to Google to see if they have pole dancing classes in their city.

VIDEO: My Houston

Officer McCoy at the Houston Police Department Recruiting Blog put up some great videos by Zen Film from the My Houston campaign:

- Video 1
- Video 2
- Video 3
- Video 4

The videos feature ZZ Top, Chandra Wilson of Grey's Anatomy and others.

Chinese Democracy review, Smashing pumpkins non-smash, Oasis, Lemonheads and more

GUNS N' ROSES' 'Chinese Democracy' Album Reviewed By Rolling Stone
RollingStone.com has posted a review of GUNS N' ROSES' long-awaited new album, "Chinese Democracy", penned by David Fricke.
- Guns N' Roses' 'Chinese Democracy' Single Tops iTunes Charts
- Ex-GUNS N' ROSES Guitarist IZZY STRADLIN Is A Fan Of 'Chinese Democracy'
- Chinese Democracy Leaker To Plead Guilty

Smashing Pumpkins Play Less Than Stellar Gig
The Smashing Pumpkins have been the subject of a lot of fan backlash regarding a two-night anniversary show the band played in New York City to celebrate 20 years as a band.
- Smashing Pumpkins Taunt Audience With “James Iha” Outburst

- James Hetfield: “Everybody Wants to See a Train Wreck”
- Lars Ulrich Breaks Down Metallica’s “One” Video
- Metallica Drummer Plunks Down $14 Million For Basquiat Painting

- WATCH: THE RACONTEURS SPOOF ANTIQUES ROADSHOW

- The Who’s Roger Daltrey: “Keith Moon at His Worst Was Amazing”

- Readers Recruit Singers for Led Zeppelin 2.0

- Oasis Outta Time video

- Lemonheads 'Varshons' Due In March

- SCOTT WEILAND Says 'Too Many Big Egos' Caused VELVET REVOLVER Split

- Nevermind baby does the Nirvana album cover all grown up

- Ozzy makes fun of himself in TV commercial

Fox and NBC team up to cover local news

You read that headline correctly. Fox and NBC (the two networks who first brought you Hulu) are teaming up on news coverage in markets where they both own a station. That means they will have one crew shoot breaking news and other straight forward news of the day for both station newscasts:

The companies will make their joint content available to other media outlets in each market, including rival stations, print publications, radio and digital media.

“By pooling resources to provide video coverage of general market events, we can ensure our stations are covering the news of the day,” said NBC Local Media President John Wallace, “and at the same time, focus our efforts on the type of specialized reporting that defines our brands and differentiates our stations within their communities.” READ MORE

This is sort of happening in large markets already where sole proprietors (usually called stringers or freelance photographers) go shoot breaking news and sell the clips to each station in town. Heck, there is even a cable TV show about it.   In this case, Fox and NBC are just keeping it in house.

If times are as tough as they appear, I guess it makes sense to pool resources on news that everyone is going to have anyway and let's be honest...looks pretty much the same on each station no matter who shoots it.

The two media companies plan to eventually expand the program beyond markets where they both own stations. File this one under category 'Times are changing.'

- Fox, NBC Try ‘AP’ Approach to Local TV
- UPDATE: Fox and NBC Want To Take Joint News Service National

Sports 610 now on 100.3 KILT HD3

First we have a new dance station on Houston HD 2 radio, now David Barron says you can hear Sports 610 on 100.3 KILT HD 3:

If you’ve got an HD Radio, that means you can pick up the station’s signal in stereo and, in a big development for Rockets fans, pick up the night signal with the same strength as KILT FM’s regular night signal. READ MORE

Rebroadcasting AM on HD radio is not new to Houston. 740 KTRH is broadcast with a cleaner feed on 101.1 KLOL HD 2. I think Clear Channel should have put Rock 101 back on its HD 2 Channel for KLOL, but what do I know? Don't look for KTRH to be there for a long time since Clear Channel must sell that station per the Department of Justice. Although that sale has supposedly been extended.

VIDEO: The saddest sounding cat in the world

Top 50 Basketball Commercials of All-Time

Nike and other companies have had some big time basketball commercials over the years. NaismithLives.com writer Todd Kapostasy compiles a list of basketball commercials with video.

SEE THE LIST

(Thanks Brian!)

Top most ridiculous TV anchor moments

You know I can't resist posting this one. But many of these are current and I would assume there are a lot more ridiculous instances out there.

SEE THEM

(Thanks Ed B.!)

Flip Video offers HD camera

If you have read this blog for a while, you know I am a big Flip Video evangelist.  Why?  I simply used one.  My zeal has passed on to lots of others at this point.  That says a lot about the product.

Heck, even while I was taking video of James' birth, a hospital staffer asked me about this tiny video camera.

Now Pure Digital, the maker of The Flip, is unleashing an HD camcorder on us. It just came out this Wednesday.  The following is from an email the company's rep sent me:

The remarkably slim Flip Mino HD will make shooting and sharing HD video simple and affordable for the first time. Weighing just over 3 oz., the $229 Mino HD is a great alternative to
a pricey, bulky HD camcorder.

The Mino HD features 720p resolution, 4GB built in memory, 60 minutes of recording and all-new built-in FlipShare software for even easier saving, organizing and sharing of video from your computer. And one more industry first: Mino HD is the first and only custom "designable" HD camcorder.

Here are the details for the spec folks:

Flip MinoHD Features and Availability:
* Weight: 3.3 oz.
* Resolution: HD 720p
* 4 GB of internal memory to record up to 60 minutes of HD video
* 1.5 inch anti-glare LCD display
* Internal, lithium ion battery recharges when USB arm is connected to computer
* One-touch recording with 2x digital zoom
* Touch-sensitive buttons for recording, playback, fast forward, rewind, pause and delete
* FlipShare software:
o On-board application installs directly when connected to any PC or Mac
o Drag-and-drop interface for easy browsing, playback, organizing and video archiving
o Integrated online video publishing to YouTube, MySpace, and AOL Video
o Free, unlimited private emailing of videos and video greeting cards
o Custom movie editing, with the option to use your own music and add titles/credits
o Capture still photos from any standard or high definition video
o Order DVDs online and have them shipped anywhere in the world
o TV connection for instant viewing (cable included)
o Tripod Mount
* Available in black at Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, WalMart.com, TheFlip.com and leading retailers
* "Designable" at TheFlip.com
* Suggested retail price: $229.99

More here.

Now I hope HD stands for high definition.  I don't actually see that spelled out anywhere online or in the emails to me.  Naturally we would all assume, but I want to actually see it in writing.

XM and Sirius programming merges

If you have satellite radio, then you probably got a surprise today, especially as an XM subscriber. As I blogged earlier this week, the Sirius XM merger finally hit your radio.

All of my presets are now Sirius channels. I like what I hear so far and am really excited about getting BBC Radio 1. We listened to that station anywhere we could pick while traveling across Scotland last year. SEE MORE

One thing XM subscribers do not appear to be receiving yet are the Howard Stern channels.

Here are links to the new channel guides (print these for your car):
- XM's new channel lineup
- Sirius' new channel lineup

See more info on programming changes.

Earlier this week I was hoping that XM 77 Audio Visions would stick around.  It did not, but now we have XM 72 The Spa which seems just as good as Ambien.

VIDEO: Laurence Simon talks blogging part 2

Last week I dusted off a great interview with Houston blogger Laurence Simon full of advice for bloggers and those who are just interested in the medium. Here is part 2 below. This was a segment I did for Technology Bytes on KPFT back in April 2006, but the info still hold true today.

In part 2, Simon talks about how to get readers to a blog and keep them, making money with a blog and more.





If you can't use YouTube at work, click here to listen to the audio .

Like I said before, still great advice even years later.

The G1 Google Phone and the Android review

I got a chance to play with a G1 (aka the Google Phone) by HTC the day before the long awaited handset came out. Jeff Ehling was doing a story on the barcode reading function.

It was pretty cool. The T-Mobile phone is not as elegant as the iPhone, but at least it has a real QWERTY keyboard that I can actually type on.

Of course the real value of the G1 are all those programs you'll be able to download that will allegedly give us some cool apps. Some Apple enthusiasts might argue the iPhone is already doing this, but the G1 will allegedly be more open source and not as closed as Jobs phone.

Jay Lee went farther than I did. He didn't just play with a Google Phone. He went out and bought one. READ HIS REVIEW HERE

Broadcasters are building their own mobile TV service

According to phonescoop, broadcasters are quietly testing a service that would send digital television to mobile phones.  That means TV is going up against the phone companies who also offer video services:

The association representing the broadcasters has successfully tested transmitting digital TV to mobile phones and laptops with modems in Chicago and Denver. Digital TV broadcasts are a year from commercial deployments, and the broadcasters are still mulling any business plan for providing such a service. Broadcasters could add DTV to their service offerings for a one-time cost of $100,000 to add the proper transmitter to their exiting equipment. READ FULL STORY

So the question is, just who are these broadcasters? The networks? Locals? Both?

(Thanks Will-E)

AUDIO: Woozyhelmet wants to 'Get Down'

My old pals in Austin/Houston based Woozyhelmet have a new album out today called Get Down. If you like indie noise pop, you are going to love this album. In fact, I highly recommend it. Jay, Toto and Brandi know how to mix in raw energy with lots of nice catchy hooks. Think of a combination of The Pixies and Sonic Youth.

The band was nice enough to let me give mikemcguff.com readers two free mp3 downloads from Get Down:
- Nixon (Jessica)
- We Support the Italian Stewardesses

Click here to buy the album, plus the chance to download a lot of Woozyhelmet's mp3s.

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, you can check out the band's live show!

Houston
Saturday, November 15th, 2008
7pm - 10pm
Artstorm at the Caroline Collective - 4828 Caroline Street
Woozyhelmet, The Jonx, Wild Moccasins
Philip Durbin's art exhibit, A Coarse Portal, will be on display during the show
free - all ages

VIDEO: Joe Scarborough drops F-bomb on MSNBC

Looks like talent at MSNBC will resort to anything to get the ratings of CNN or Fox News. Morning anchor Joe Scarborough drops the F-bomb without even blinking. Watch the reaction from his guests.

WATCH THE VIDEO

And speaking of a Scarborough, Ken Hoffman writes about KPRC Channel 2 reporter Elizabeth Scarborough (no relation to Joe I'm sure). Elizabeth's father is Chuck Scarborough who is a very famous anchor at WNBC in New York.

(Thanks Ed B.)

XM and Sirius programming to merge this week

If you are an XM or Sirius satellite radio subscriber, this week marks the event you've been waiting for/scared about...the programming will be merging so XM subscribers get Sirius and vice versa.

However it seems some channels you are used to will:
- Go away
- Disappear for a few months and then return
- Change channel positions

Eddie Trunk revealed all of this on his XM show Monday night. He says his XM 41 The Boneyard is going off the air Wednesday and will not return until January. It will then move to XM 53 and Sirius Channel 19.

Now the question is which channels stay and which ones die? I hope Audio Visions on XM 77 stays. That is better than Ambien for me.

VIDEO: This TV ad REALLY encourages safe sex

Of course my kid will never act like this (we hope), but French TV has a unique way to encourage safe sex through condom use. They show a television with an out of control kid followed by the message 'use a condom.'

WATCH IT

Would this kind of advertising work in the US?

(Thanks K. Ram.)

Electronic music back on Houston radio

Electronic/dance music is back on Houston radio. The only catch is you have to be a true radio geek like me to listen. That's because the format is only available on HD radio.

Seems like Hot 95.7 KKHH HD-2 decided not to put smooth jazz on its secondary digital channel and went with dance. This move makes sense because dance compliments the CHR sound of Hot 95.7.

Believe it or not, Houston had a dance station in the past. From the late 80s to early 90s, the station now known as Mix 96.5 KHMX was Energy 96.5 KNRJ. It played nothing but dance music with lots of rare stuff mixed in according to Wikipedia.

Fast forward to 2008, now you can listen to Daft Punk and other electronic artists anytime you want...if you have HD Radio.

You are probably thinking why I would be interested in this. Yes I really like rock and metal music as you can tell from this blog . But after being the program director of college station KWBU, I got more into the electronic stuff.

When Houston (and the country) thought aliens were invading

I'm sure you've heard about Orson Wells' infamous 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast that freaked out the entire radio receiving nation.

J.R. Gonzales of the Bayou City History blog found out Houstonians were scared too from the broadcast that aired on 740 KTRH in the Rice Hotel.

Gonzales found out Houston Mayor R.H. Fonville was a little offended by the incident.

Wanna be on Wife Swap?

I got this email from the Wife Swap casting company so I assume they don't care if I post it on this blog:

My name is Amanda Gershkowitz and I am a Casting Associate Producer for ABC families hit reality show 'Wife Swap.' We are currently casting for our fifth season and we are looking for CHRISTMAS DECORATING FAMILIES! We cast everywhere from Maine to California, and this would bring a fun and unique dynamic to the show. Perhaps you or someone you know goes to great lengths to decorate their home every year and even won local neighborhood competitions for their holiday decorating! We want to hear from them!!!!
If you know of anyone, please contact amanda.gershkowitz@rdfnewyork.com

The funny thing is I doubt they know I work for ABC.

Cuts coming to Fox stations

First I reported that the Dallas Morning News said Belo was making cuts at its television station, now Matt Lavine tells us cuts are coming to Fox stations. Yikes.

I should start a company that helps television employees make the transition into the real world.

VIDEO: TV weather bloopers

You know there is a front coming that just causes some big screw ups for TV meteorologists and weather folks.

It's no different for AccuWeather mets whose gaffes get posted on YouTube.

WATCH THE FLUBS

(Thanks Ed!)

Chinese Democracy TV ad and more, AC/DC on top, blur, Zombie and more

GUNS N’ ROSES: Pre-Order 'Chinese Democracy' And Get Free Single
Beginning this Sunday, November 9, you can pre-order GUNS N' ROSES new album, "Chinese Democracy", at Best Buy or iTunes and receive the "Chinese Democracy" single immediately.
- Has BRIAN MAY's Contribution To 'Chinese Democracy' Been Removed?

- On the Charts: “Black Ice” Goes Platinum as AC/DC Remain On Top

- Blur reunion very possible

- Talk Show Flashback: Rob Zombie Goes Hip-Hop, Remains Awesome

- Def Leppard Consider Indie Status As Label Contract Ends

- Writer Charles R. Cross Digs Deep in the Archives For “Cobain Unseen”

- Deftones bassist injured in car crash

VIDEO: CNN's holographic Star Wars trip takes Net by storm

I wake up today and everyone is talking about CNN's holographic live shot capability.  Just like how Princess Leia sent her distress signal in Star Wars. READ ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY

Here is Anderson Cooper interviewing Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas. WATCH
And being the Internet, there are already parody videos. Slate gets funny with Wolf Blitzer. WATCH

I actually blogged about this technology back in June.  Is it just me, or does Anderson Cooper look slightly embarrassed at the first part of this interview?  What blue blood talks to a hologram?

(Thanks Will.R.K and E.D.Bran)

KPRC's Roseanne Rogers takes Buzz Lady thing to 55 KTBU

Matt Lavine had an interesting piece of news on his blog. Roseanne Rogers who has been The Buzz Lady at KPRC Channel 2 since the mid-1990s is taking the show on the road over to Channel 55 KTBU The Tube.

How did she get to be known as The Buzz Lady?

If memory serves me, KPRC started doing an entertainment segment called The Buzz on many of its newscasts after Post Newsweek took over. I guess it was their effort to get the younger demo with its new tabloid look based on WSVN in Miami. Remember how 2's news used to be a lot more exciting? In fact you might have noticed how the other Houston TV stations started to look more exciting too.

Roseanne Rogers was the entertainment reporter on The Buzz segment (not to be confused with 94.5 The Buzz KTBZ which started around the same time). She started to catch on with the audience supposedly and the public started calling her "The Buzz Lady." Eventually some consultant was flown in and probably told management that the entertainmnet reporter trend was over because she was removed from the segment as far as I could tell. Or maybe the station looked at Rogers and saw green and I'm not talking about saving the environment.

Enter chapter 2 of The Buzz Lady.

In the last few years you might have noticed Rogers still on the air, but never in newscasts. The next version of The Buzz Lady was not in news, but the sales department from what I understand. Rogers started appearing in local programming that was more ad than editorial. For example there might be a 30 minute special with her as the host focusing on local businesses. I think the station did a decent job of selling but still keeping the show watchable for viewers. Heck, Rogers might have been involved in helping sell those shows, I suspect she was.

As Lavine says the show is moving to Channel 55 now. Good luck to Rogers. She always struck me as a talented TV presence with a lot of warmth. That's a rare commodity in the television biz.  She is also fortunate to have been able to build a brand for herself that can move on.  Most talent never get that chance.

Rogers joins a lot of other popular Houston broadcasters at 55. Jan Glenn and Kathy Turner have shared duties over there too.

(Image courtesy of buzzlady.com )

Belo broadcasting making cuts

The Dallas Morning News brings us more bad news concerning the broadcasting industry, this time involving Belo:

Faced with a weakening economy and a softening advertising market, Dallas-based broadcast company Belo Corp. said Wednesday it would freeze hiring, cut staff in some markets and reduce other costs. READ THE REST

Belo owns television stations in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin among others.

VIDEO: Giraffes from SNL

Saturday Night Live was awesome last weekend. This one clip that teaches you about giraffes was one of my favorites.

Look closely and the Houston skyline makes an appearance as the heavy metal loving giraffes destroy it.

VIDEO: Laurence Simon talks blogging part 1

This was one of my favorite pieces I produced for Technology Bytes on KPFT. It's my interview with Laurence Simon about blogging, how to start one and keep it up. Of course we also talk about his blog too.

Always entertaining, Simon was on during this interview and it will not disappoint. Enjoy!





If you can't use YouTube, click here for the audio .

The segment, called Tech Now, aired on the radio back in April of 2006, but the advice still holds true today.

Part 2 coming next week! Stay tuned.

Sam Malone out at Mix 96.5 KHMX

8/2009 update
Listen to Sam Malone again here!


1/2009 update
Sam Malone of KRBE, KHMX talks to Mike McGuff 
Read my interview with Sam Malone formerly of 104.1 KRBE and Mix 96.5. He talks about if he'll ever hit the Houston airwaves again, why he left 104.1 KRBE and if he and Maria Todd are on speaking terms. READ IT HERE






12/15/08 UPDATE
I talked with Sam Malone. He weighs in on the KHMX swap to CBS and his future in radio READ IT

--------------------
It always seems like the end of the year brings changes to Houston radio.

First up, longtime Houston morning radio guy Sam Malone is out at Mix 96.5 KHMX.  No surprise since the station is for sale. READ MORE

Remember Steve Robison who used to do mornings on 94.5 The Buzz KTBZ?  He is coming back to be the program director on 103.7 Jack FM KHJK.  He is also doing an air shift says Radio Online.  Does that mean Jack FM is getting a morning show? READ MORE

VIDEO: Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show

Japanese TV seems to be gaining popularity in the US, at least on ABC. So here is a spoof of the genre. It's called Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show.

WATCH IT

When I was in Japan last year I really saw shows that were almost this crazy. There is even one with former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman who speaks fluent Japanese!

SEE MY PHOTOS AND VIDEO REPORTS FROM JAPAN