We’re Not as Connected

To put all of this into perspective, I remember watching when Steve Allen and Ernie Kovacs shared hosting in this  time slot. 

I absolutely loved Jack Paar. He brought wit and sophistication, the sort you hoped was shared by the intellectually elite rubbing shoulders with the socially perfected at legendary cocktail parties.

Then came Johnny Carson.  While he was in New York his show had a sliver of the class he inherited from Jack Paar.  On top of that he layered his everyman identity endearing him across this wide country.

He carried his bonhomie to Burbank when he escaped west.  Skitch Henderson’s big band jazz with Doc Severinsen carried over to Doc leading the band.

For Thirty years we were connected.  The Iranian Hostage crisis took us to ABC for a while but we always returned to say good night to Johnny.  His last show was a monumental event. 

Leno is a nice guy.  He can be funny.  But the connection was lost when he took over the show.  For me it has felt like we’ve had a guest host for seventeen years.

It wasn’t all him.  The media changed, the watching habits changed and, oh yeah, cable TV and the Internet happened.  If we felt we needed a touch of New York humor, we could watch David Letterman.  We still can.

When Mr. Carson left we all knew he was going to be gone from the air.  He was burned out and ready to retire.  Like Steve Allen and Jack Paar, Leno is moving to another time slot. 

I gave it some thought.  Carson leaving was like a beloved national leader riding his horse into the sunset.  You knew the next time you saw him would be at his wake.

Leno leaving is like the last curtain on a Broadway show.  The curtain will rise on the next show, starting at the same time and in the same place.
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LiveJournal Tags: Leno

 

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Early Edition Graze

LiveJournal Tags: Net Neutrality

Brian Tong has compared the MacBook Air to the Thinkpad X300 in this Prizefight video.  To me, most of the product specific reviews at CNet compare to being shown shoes by a bored shoe salesman, but Brian puts his all into these episodes.

Amber MacArthur, on her AmberMac blog is putting out a community announcement on Net Neutrality.  If you are reading this from Canada, it would seem you would be foolish not to watch this.

The link to the Huffington Post article on the same subject can be found on the sgtret tweet.  But even funnier is the Tracey Ullman promo where she lampoons the  founder of the Huffington Post.

Funny Cartoon

We're back in the States just in time for another winter storm. Here in New England we call this watershed. The more snow that accumulates during the winter, the higher the water tables will be underground for the summer rush on water usage. Also, the surface water in our lakes and ponds, of which there are many, will rise, probably overflow. In most cases this is a good thing. In others, not so much, but we hope for the best.

This cartoon demonstrates what happens to communities who don't think their water policy through.
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