Random Musings

[Kwyjibo]

The p-word (you're welcome, Lando) doesn't make me cringe - but I usually say either thunderpants or drawers. 

THUNDERPANTS!

[Dan]

Agreed with Kwyj.  Thunderpants makes me laugh.

I don't understand drawers though. What do drawers have to do with my underwear? Drawers are sliding shelfs.

[rva]

But does it make you laugh as much as "Thundercrackers?"

I'm not a fan of "panties" but I vastly prefer it over "knickers."  But neither one of them comes close to being the most annoying word in the world.  That honor is reserved for "boobies."

[Cockney Rebel]

I'm quite partial to boobies myself

[Dan]

I love myself some boobies.

[Hell Toupee]

[Poncho]

I <3 Bewbies

[The Hegemo]

I hate the phrase "sippy cup"

[vizzah]

Agreed with Kwyj.  Thunderpants makes me laugh.

I don't understand drawers though. What do drawers have to do with my underwear? Drawers are sliding shelfs.

Maybe it's a weird southern thing.  It's pronounced more like "draws."  No idea how the term came about.

And I, too, <3 boobies. Not the word, just the presence of them. J think it's funny that if we see a big-breasted woman, I'll point it out before he does.

[MissKitty]

Every time I check Randomville's TV Talk section I see the thread "New Shows 2010" and do a double take because I think it says "New Shoes 2010" and I get a little bit excited.

[Dan]

Disney vs Cablevision

Disney Pulls ABC From Cablevision After Deal Fails
By BRIAN STELTER AND BROOKS BARNES
Updated at 10:50 a.m. Sunday

Cablevision customers in New York woke up Sunday morning to find WABC missing from their cable television line-ups, a consequence of a failed contract negotiation with The Walt Disney Company.

Now many of the cable provider’s three million customers are wondering whether they will have access to the Academy Awards telecast on Sunday night.

The awards show is a pawn in the fight over fees between Cablevision and Disney. After negotiations seemingly collapsed last week, Disney
pulled the WABC signal at 12:01 a.m. Sunday and replaced it with a
message that directs would-be viewers to SaveABC7.com.

Some customers on Sunday said they called Cablevision’s competitors to switch TV providers. Some said they would watch the Academy Awards over-the-air using a digital antenna. And many took to the Web to express their outrage at both companies.

It is possible that the companies will still reach a deal before the Academy Awards show at 8 p.m., although it is impossible to determine how likely that outcome is. The outright removal of a popular channel like ABC is rare, but not unprecedented.

Cablevision and Disney have been at loggerheads over how much WABC, the powerhouse local station in New York City, is worth. Disney wants Cablevision to pay up to $1 per subscriber each month for the right to retransmit WABC’s signal; Cablevision has offered an undisclosed fraction of that.

Charles Schueler, Cablevision’s executive vice president of communications, said in a statement five minutes after midnight, “It is now painfully clear to millions of New York area households that Disney C.E.O. Bob Iger will hold his own ABC viewers hostage in order to extract $40 million in new fees from Cablevision.”

Mr. Schueler called on Mr. Iger to “immediately return ABC to Cablevision customers while we continue to work to reach a fair agreement.”

In a separate statement, Rebecca Campbell, WABC’s president and general manager, said Cablevision had “betrayed its subscribers.”

“Cablevision pocketed almost $8 billion last year, and now customers aren’t getting what they pay for … again,” Ms. Campbell said. “It’s time for Jim Dolan and the Dolan family dynasty to finally step up, be fair, and do what’s right for our viewers.”

Disney is under pressure to stand its ground: if it doesn’t win concessions from Cablevision, it will be virtually impossible to push for so-called retransmission payments when ABC contracts come due with providers like Time Warner Cable.

Each side believes it has an upper hand. Disney executives grew increasingly confident on Friday and Saturday as Cablevision competitors like Verizon moved aggressively to steal market share. Verizon, for instance, has rolled out an aggressive marketing campaign aimed at disillusioned Cablevision customers, according to a person briefed on the matter.

Cablevision has insisted that its offers to ABC have been fair, and it has prepared customers for the loss of WABC by directing them to ABC.com or Hulu.com to watch TV shows. The outright removal of a popular channel like ABC is rare, but not unprecedented.

Retransmission demands are growing increasingly common. The News Corporation sought a similar $1 amount for its Fox stations from Time Warner Cable last December. The companies settled on an unspecified amount on New Year’s Day thought to be near that amount –- effectively setting a market price for signal retransmission, Disney executives argue -– and averted an interruption for the stations.

In a separate case involving cable fees, Food Network and HGTV were removed from Cablevision systems for much of January, in an indication that Cablevision is willing to endure the loss of some channels.

I guess this is what happens when two large companies go at each other. Everyone loses? I'm not sure who sounds 'in the right' here. I've always hated Cablevision for A) their incompetence in owning the Knicks and B) their successful bid to block the Jets/NFL from building a stadium in Manhattan on a site that will otherwise likely remain empty for at least 50 years, if not more. So therefore I hope Cablevision loses this battle and is wrong... but again, I guess they are both being a$$holes.

I don't even get Cablevision, so this doesn't bother me, but it's a bit of a big deal here in NYC.

[Cockney Rebel]

This is bullshit and no more than a "biggest dick" competition

No regulation, no oversight, nothing matters but money. Personally I hope the battle rages for months, let the whole country know what they can expect in the future.

Can't help thinking the cable/programming industries are acting the same childish way as the music industry has for the last few years... constantly calling for the whaaaaaaambulance

[rva]

I don't know why, but I really like the word "prefecture."  I wish I lived in a prefecture. 

People would be like "Where's that dude from?"  "Richmond, Capital of Virginia Prefecture."

[MissKitty]

How did I not know that Flaming Lips bassist Michael Ivins lived nearby?!
--------------------------
Read Across America brings school, community together

By Amanda Joering Alley • ajoering@nky.com •
March 9, 2010

Grandview Elementary School in Bellevue celebrated the national Read Across America event a little different this year.

Instead of spending the day, Tuesday, March 2, celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday like in the past, Grandview took the phrase Read Across America a little more literally this year.

"We'd been doing the celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday for years, and we had really run the gambit on that," said reading specialist Regina Welscher. "One day it just struck me, and I thought, 'Let's read across America.'"

The school found a series of books, "The Sleeping Bear Alphabet" series, that includes a book for every state, giving A to Z details about each one.

"This is a great series of books with a wealth a information," Welscher said. "It doesn't matter if the students are in kindergarten or sixth grade, everybody can learn from these books."

The school brought in various community members and district officials to read the books to the students.

Bellevue resident Michael Ivins, the bassist for the band "The Flaming Lips," came in as one of the guest readers.

Ivins, whose niece attends Grandview, said his wife volunteers at the school and they are there a lot, so when the Read Across America event came up, he volunteered.
 
"It's just fun getting involved with this sort of stuff," said Ivins, who even wore his well-known skeleton costume that he used to wear on stage. "Since the band is from Oklahoma, I chose to read 'S is for Sooner' about that state."

Principal Candice Simpkins said the school had plenty of volunteers to read, thanks in part to help from the Friends of Bellevue, who brought in a lot of people.

"The event is such a success, and it's always a success when you can bring in the community and share what the students are doing at school," Simpkins said.

http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/C2/20100309/NEWS08/3090305/Read-Across-American-brings-school-community-together

[Dan]

Neither male nor female.

http://bit.ly/d4jyBq

Fascinating.