billking ([info]billking) wrote,
@ 2009-02-11 09:44:00
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Current mood: thankful
Current music:Badfinger

A Quickie Update
The past month has been a tough, hectic one. As I noted in a comment posted to the previous entry, I've been pretty much out of the loop since Jan. 13, when my 86-year-old Dad suffered heart failure apparently induced by problems with his blood pressure medicine. I spent all the rest of that week and King Day in my hometown with my brothers, much of our time in the intensive care unit with him. Things got worse before they got better, but after they put a pacemaker in and got him off the ventilator, he bounced back. “Your Dad’s remarkable,” the cardiologist said. After three weeks in the hospital, he was moved to an extended care facility last week for physical therapy to get him back on his feet, literally.

Anyway, after Dad got out of the ICU but was still in the hospital I was commuting back and forth on a daily basis, and since then I’ve been scrambling to get back on track with the next issue of Beatlefan. So pardon my absence here. There’ve been quite a few pop culture developments I wanted to comment on but they’ll have to wait just a bit longer.

I wanted to take a moment, though, to say thanks for all the kind wishes and prayers directed my Dad’s way by so many of you. It makes a big difference, believe me!

As usual, feel free to leave thoughts and comments on anything going on that you'd like to discuss, and I’ll weigh in as time permits. You don’t have to be registered with Live Journal to comment.


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(Anonymous)
2009-02-11 02:57 pm UTC (link)
Glad to hear he's doing better. Give him my best!

--Brad Hundt

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[info]billking
2009-02-11 03:43 pm UTC (link)
Thanks, Brad.

Looking forward to getting back on track.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
do newspapers have a future?
[info]billking
2009-02-11 03:45 pm UTC (link)
Here's an interesting read for those of us concerned about whether newspapers are going the way of the dodo bird.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1877191,00.html


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(Anonymous)
2009-02-11 04:55 pm UTC (link)
Hi Bill,
Just to let you know Carl and I are thinking about you. You've had a lot to deal with of late!
Take care,
Randi

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[info]billking
2009-02-11 05:24 pm UTC (link)
Thanks, Randi.
One good thing is my two brothers and I have been able to share the load.



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Re: do newspapers have a future?
[info]asuss49
2009-02-11 05:08 pm UTC (link)
First of all, good to hear that your dad is improving. We'll keep the prayers coming.

As for the Isaacson article, he makes good points, as usual. I remember AOL's golden days, when they didn't yet carry any web content but had plenty of in-house features for which I willingly paid despite the slow phone dial-up delivery and frequent dumps. Today, I read the New York Times every morning online for free. When the Times tried their TimesSelect pay tier for some of their coumnists, I just lived without Maureen Dowd for a few months until the Times reinstated the free access because not enough people had signed up for TimesSelect. But I'd be willing to pay a nominal charge to have full access to the entire paper, as Isaacson proposes.

If some papers do go to a pay system of some kind, they may want to emphasize web-only content. One of the most popular occasional features of the online Times is Dick Cavett's blog and certainly The Caucus was a daily stop for online readers during the campaign. Publications that would begin charging for access would need to heavily promote their online-only content. You know something about that, since BeatlefanPlus has been a pay tier with new content that's not in the magazine, along with the archival material, for several years now. So it can be done.

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Re: do newspapers have a future?
[info]billking
2009-02-11 05:27 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, that's why we did Beatlefan Plus the way we did. It never made any sense to me to put the publication's entire contents online for free and hope that ad revenues would make up the difference. Online advertising took off for a while but has been flat for the past couple of years and most publications have never made a cent of profit with their online operations. So if print goes away, where does that leave them in terms of revenue? It's a scary time in the media world.

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Re: do newspapers have a future?
(Anonymous)
2009-02-11 08:32 pm UTC (link)
You're not kidding. The newspaper I work at has been slammed by rising newsprint costs, steep declines in auto advertising and the bankruptcy of a regional department store chain. Online has done reasonably well, but not well enough to make up for print losses.

If someone in high school or college asked me about majoring in journalism today, I doubt I'd recommend it. It almost seems like getting a theater degree -- get it only if you think you wouldn't be happy doing something else.

--Brad Hundt

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Re: do newspapers have a future?
[info]billking
2009-02-11 08:43 pm UTC (link)
Yes, I made sure my son was steered away from journalism. And last summer I kept telling a young intern we had at the paper that she needed to go back to grad school and get a degree in a field with a future.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: do newspapers have a future?
(Anonymous)
2009-02-12 02:13 pm UTC (link)
My son entered Hofstra University in September, his major? Journalism. I figure he has time to be convinced to seek another major. And Bill, I wish your Dad a full and speedy recovery. GW

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Re: do newspapers have a future?
[info]billking
2009-02-12 04:10 pm UTC (link)
Thanks, Garry.
If he must get a journalism degree, let's hope he stays away from newspapers or magazines for work.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]billking
2009-02-12 04:13 pm UTC (link)
If you haven't seen Joaquin Phoenix's really bizarrre appearance on the Letterman show Wednesday night, click the link below.

The guy came on like some sort of spaced-out tramp, giving barely audible monosyllabic answers. Letterman tried to loosen him up to no avail and pretty quickly turned on him and openly was mocking him. At one point Letterman said "I think we owe an apology to Farrah Fawcett," who previously was known as the worst guest ever on the show. When Phoenix, who say's he's giving up acting to concentrate on hio-hop music, did at last string a couple of sentences together to express an interest in performing on the show, Lettterman smiled and said, "I think that's unlikely."

Check it out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG-M1CWskeQ&cxntlid=thbz_hm


(Reply to this) (Thread)
Letterman at his best
(Anonymous)
2009-02-12 04:30 pm UTC (link)
Caught the tail end of Letterman's show. He thrives dealing such folks. I really don't care what product Phoenix was promoting, it was fun television. Notice Letterman's reference to what had happened when his next guest started being guarded in some of her comments -- after all she was there as part of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue promotion as the cover model!

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Letterman at his best
[info]billking
2009-02-12 04:33 pm UTC (link)
Phoenix now joins Cher, Madonna and Farrah on the Letterman all-time worst guest list.


(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Letterman at his best
(Anonymous)
2009-02-12 08:00 pm UTC (link)
If you ever get a chance, check out Dick Cavett's 1973 interview with Marlon Brando on his "Hollywood Greats" set. Brando spends most of it giving two-word answers and acting generally disinterested. The moment I really felt for Dick Cavett was when he asked Brando a question about "Last Tango in Paris," and Brando paused, looked to the ceiling and then said, "I haven't seen it, so I have nothing to say..."

I'm sure Cavett was thinking, "How the hell am I gonna fill the time 'til the next commercial break?"

--Brad Hundt

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Letterman at his best
[info]billking
2009-02-12 08:23 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, that's tough when you're on TV. I've had a couple of interviews that went like that and I had the option of cutting it short, thanking them and hanging up (which I did on a couple of occasions) instead of continuing to waste my time. I was a bit puzzled that Letterman's producer let the Phoenix interview take up two full segments when it was obvious at the end of the first segment that it wasn't going anywhere. But maybe they decided they might as well see just how strange it would get (and give Dave a chance to get off some good ones at Joaquin's expense).

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Re: Letterman at his best
(Anonymous)
2009-02-12 09:57 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, I once did a phoner with a well-known musician who was clearly not up for an interview and fell asleep on the other end after I asked the first question, and another who started snarling and told me it was "none of my business" after I congratulated him on becoming a father a month or two before the interview. Geez, what a jerk.

A year or two before he died, I did a phone interview with Lionel Hampton, and though it was cool to talk to someone that legendary, it was painful to get through it because he'd had some strokes and seemed to be suffering from some form of dementia. I think it lasted 7 minutes, at most.

--Brad Hundt

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Letterman at his best
[info]billking
2009-02-12 11:11 pm UTC (link)
I tried to do one once with one of the remaining members of the Fifth Dimension, but when it became immediately apparent she wanted to pretend it was still 1970 and they were a top group, I quickly wound it up and said goodbye. Another time I did a phoner with Stephen Stills, who was only slightly more informative than Joaquin was for Letterman. After it was over, the publicist rang to see how it went. When I told him, he said that he'd been afraid of that and I'd been an experiment. Gee thanks, I said. Another time I did a phoner with Joe Massot, the director of the film "Wonderwall" (for which George Harrison did the music) and one of The Beatles' fellow attendees at the Maharishi's in India. He knew I was calling from a Beatles publication, but he didn't want to talk about The Beatles. I never bothered to transcribe it.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
About your Mother's passing last year
(Anonymous)
2009-02-14 01:36 am UTC (link)
When I heard about your Mother's passing last year, it got me thinking about a wonderful web site called findagrave.com . You can use this site to immortalize your family and friends that have died.
My Father,Uncle and girlfriend are on this site. It's a wonderful way to celebrate their life. Findagrave.com also celebrates famous people who have died (including Beatle related deaths like John,George,Linda,Maureen,Mal Evans,Neil Aspinall & Derek Taylor).

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: About your Mother's passing last year
[info]billking
2009-02-14 02:04 am UTC (link)
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely check it out.

If anyone else is interested, here's the link:

http://www.findagrave.com/




(Reply to this) (Parent)
Attention Beatles fans in Athens/North Georgia area ...
[info]billking
2009-02-16 11:58 pm UTC (link)
A press release of interest ...

ONE LUCKY TICKET HOLDER WILL WIN A FABULOUS PRIZE PACKAGE
AT THE FAB FOUR CONCERT AT THE CLASSIC CENTER THEATRE


ATHENS, GA – The Classic Center has announced a special “I Want to Hold Your Hand” promotion in conjunction with The Fab Four ultimate Beatles tribute, which takes the stage at The Classic Center Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m.

Every ticket holder at the performance will be automatically entered to win a special prize package that includes dinner for two at Casa Mia, a tour of downtown Athens with the Dawg Pedaler bike rickshaw, tickets to the Broadway performance of The Wizard of Oz at The Classic Center Theatre with passes to the cast meet-and-greet after the show and an overnight stay with breakfast for two at the Hilton Garden Inn.

The drawing for the “I Want to Hold Your Hand” prize package will be held the night of the performance, when an audience member’s ticket will be randomly drawn and posted in the theatre lobby after the performance.

The last of three shows in The Classic Center Theatre’s Take Me Back Series this season, The Fab Four concert elevates this group far above every other Beatles tribute with precise attention to detail and uncanny, record-perfect live performances of legendary Beatles hits including Can’t Buy Me Love, Yesterday, Imagine and Hey Jude. A truly unforgettable stage performance experience, The Fab Four concert will showcase three costume changes representing every era of the Beatles’ career.

“This remarkable show is one of the most anticipated this season by many of our patrons,” said Angi Harben, marketing manager at The Classic Center. “These gentlemen are held in very high esteem by many industry legends and we are excited to have them in our theatre.”

Entertaining Beatles fans in Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, The United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, Brazil and throughout The United States, The Fab Four carry the audience through decades of iconic music masterpieces.

“We’ve maintained a very unique and diverse lineup of shows in our theatre this season,” said Harben. “The unwavering support of our patrons, along with the support from our dedicated sponsors, allows us to make entertaining shows like this available in Athens.”

The Fab Four, the ultimate Beatles tribute, is made possible by the generous support of Leon Farmer and Company. The family-owned local beverage wholesaler is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and will be holding a tasting before The Fab Four show featuring its Yuengling Lager in the theatre lobby.

Tickets for The Fab Four concert on Feb. 21 are priced from $10 to $45. Special group rates for 15 or more are available. For tickets or information call 706.357.4444, visit www.ClassicCenter.com or stop by The Classic Center Box Office at 300 N. Thomas St. in downtown Athens.

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