Banal Leakage – Ep #015
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Episode 015
– Replacements, Removals and Mergers –
iTunes link: Banal Leakage
- – allergy season is here; sneezing like crazy the past few days; I like the weather turning warmer, but I could do without the constant sneezing; let’s see if I can get through this podcast without having to sneeze too much.
- – and the warmer weather didn’t last; today’s rain and cold temps, which I like to call extended winter, mean it’s an all indoors day today.
- News – Story 1: David Letterman Announces Retirement from “Late Show”
- News – Story 2: Pharrell Williams Performs at Coachella 2014
- News – Story 3: Comcast and Time Warner Cable Merger
- RANT: The anti-vaccination talking heads need to shut the hell up
- SHAMELESS PLUG: Chicago Sun Times temporarily removes commenting for online articles
- Ending
- Email Feedback
– Stephen Colbert is his replacement; evidently Letterman and CBS head Les Moonves both pegged Colbert as their top choice; I had thought Craig Ferguson host at the “Late Late Show” would have been considered; Craig hints at leaving when Letterman leaves; Colbert will drop his current persona as a right wing talk show host and just be himself when he starts his hosting duties in 2015; I like him, although I admit to liking Jon Stewart a bit more; regardless, Colbert should do well to take the Late Show into the next many years of broadcast; David Letterman started his career as a talk radio host and moved to TV as a weatherman; He helmed the Late Show hosting gig on NBC for years before getting passed up by Jay Leno for the coveted Tonight Show spot after Johnny Carson retired; he made his home at CBS in 1993, where he’s had years of great ratings opposite his rival at NBC; At 67, he’s leaving on top and hope his last year will be just as memorable as the last 21 years.
– Link to article: Stephen Colbert to replace David Letterman on “Late Show”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toJywJhI5ag
– this year’s breakout set had the singer joined on stage by Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Busta Rhymes, Gwen Stefani and Puff Daddy, and of course his Arby’s hat; I’m not a big fan, but like his sound; and I liked his mixed set of both his songs and other’s like “Hot in Herre” and Jay-Z’s “I Just Wanna Love You”; and of course, the crowd went nuts for the uber producer’s his biggest and most recent hit “Happy”; Coachella is held in Indio, CA every April; it’s two weekends, so if you can score a ticket for next weekend, head out to the heat of the Palm Desert and catch acts like the reunited bands Outkast. The Toy Dolls and The Replacements; long time synth duo Pet Shop Boys, Arcade Fire, Broken Bells and Muse; I’ve never been, but would love to go one year.
– Link to article: Coachella Official Site
– Comcast is trying to purchase Time Warner in a combined deal worth $45 billion; Comcast is nation’s number one cable company and internet provider; Time Warner is number 2 in cable and number 3 in internet; merger will create a monopoly that hardly anyone can compete with; removing competition will allow Comcast to raise prices and reduce customer service, even if the company says that won’t happen after the merger; none of these mega mergers have been able to keep that promise; Senator Al Franken is the biggest opponent of this merger (and many others before it); Comcast gave illogical reasons why merger is good, like saying Netflix is a competitor – which is crazy since Netflix just paid Comcast to remove the restrictions they placed on their streaming service to those who use Comcast for internet access; also saying that 4G and LTE wireless from the cell phone providers as a competitor, which they can’t compete with speeds and price of the wired internet access Comcast provides; Comcast voted worst company in America; I have Comcast now; internet service is reliable, but cable TV service is poor with higher prices; we are cutting back our TV programming to keep our bill under $90 a month; looked at DirecTV, but holding off for now; hoping the government will block this merger, as they did with AT&T and T-Mobile; competition is important; we need fewer companies merging.
– Link to article: Al Franken Blasts Comcast Merger
– specifically, Jenny McCarthy; her campaign against vaccinations is utter bullshit; her voice has done a lot of harm; and those who listen to her and have followed her advice have reversed a lot of progress; measles and mumps have returned in many areas of the US; we hadn’t heard of cases since the 70’s; now we have kids that are un-vaccinated that are exposing themselves to healthy kids and adults; listen to doctors and those who know what they are talking about; not a former Playboy Playmate; any autism fears are not warranted; so many improvements to vaccinations since the 50’s have made them safe and mandatory.
– the hate and racist comments were taking away from the article content; good for them to make this call; this is not a permanent change, the editorial staff is taking a look into how to better implement and manage comments to articles; many other sites have done something similar; I loathe seeing how negative people’s comments can be, especially so on tech sites like The Verge and Engadget; not sure why people feel the need to always hate and be negative.
– Link to article: Chicago Sun Times remove commenting
Thumbs down on Allergy Season! Here in the Northwest we are inundated with tree pollens and everything is a pale gold from the dust, me included! And Jenny McCarthy should spend some time in a Third World country and see what kind of damage happens when people go unvaccinated – she’s an idiot. As for the Time/Comcast/Netflix Trianlge, well, let’s not get me started. Have a good week Marty, see you next blog!
As I’ve gotten older, my allergies have gotten worse. And agreed on Jenny and her needing to see the affects world wide, not just in her backyard.