Off Topic!, For all our "general" off topic tendencies Options

[stefanl]

I visited the NJ State Police Museum with my forensics class on the suggestion of a state trooper who promised me he was not just towing the company line and trying to boost their visitor numbers. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the history of the State Police and the pride they exhibit in a really tough job. I also felt that I didn't get the chance to see absolutely everything I had wanted to see because I had to be the "adult" while chaperoning 25 teenagers, so I had to go back.

They have on exhibit evidence and testimonial documents from the Lindbergh kidnapping case. You can see the ladder, the baby's sleeper, one of the ransom notes complete with the three interlocking circles and red ink, some of the gold note money from the ransom, the electric chair used in the execution of Hauptmann. It's all very eerie seeing these things that you've read or heard about. They're the real deal, not copies or facsimiles. With special permission, you can see and read the thousands of other documents not on display, they have nearly a million pages.

New Jersey is a tiny state with lots of quirky places to visit and funny people who love to talk when you ask the right kinds of questions. The NJSP Museum is not flashy, vacationy, toss the kids into the back seat kind of summertime fun, but sometimes I like to just sit with the history and absorb some somber.

The links in the description above will take you to the Museum's webpage and their Lindbergh case page.

**************************
Quick addition: Operation Desert Storm commander, General "Stormin'" Norman Schwarzkopf's dad, Col. Herbert Norman himself., founded the NJ State Police. Mari just sent me a PM suggesting I put something into the listing about him. The link to his name takes you to the Wikipedia page about him.

Personal connection, Norman (the Stormin' variety) is a large man. He looked it when you saw him in television interviews. He is gigantic in person. Practically continental in size. And the nicest person you could ever hope to meet.

This post has been edited by stefanl: Jul 10 2007, 06:41 AM

[peachybc]

Looks like ousted NBC bigwig Kevin Reilly has found a new home at FOX.

Excerpt:

Kevin Reilly Officially Joins FOX
NBC vet will be the net's new entertainment president with Liguori becoming entertainment chairman
July 9, 2007


"NBC Entertainment President Kevin ReillyRecently dismissed NBC bigwig Kevin Reilly's move to FOX is now official.

Reilly, who helped develop and nurture shows ranging from "The Shield" to "The Office" to "Friday Night Lights" in his tenures at FX and NBC, will become FOX's new entertainment president.


As part of the network's restructuring, Peter Liguori will shift from entertainment president to entertainment chairman.

"The television industry has changed more in the last five years than in the past 20," says News Corp President and COO Peter Chernin. "We need to be structured in a way that puts us in the best position take advantage of the myriad new opportunities digital technology has afforded the broadcast television business. When Peter Liguori approached me with the idea of re-teaming with Kevin Reilly, I thought it was a bold move to redefine the structure of the network behind a pair of dynamic executives who have a proven track record of advancing the medium."

From 2000 through 2003, Liguori served as FX's president and CEO, while Reilly worked under him as president of entertainment. During that time they helped the cable network, a corporate sibling to FOX, focus its creative energies and brand around new programs like "The Shield" and "Nip/Tuck."

Under the new FOX structure, Reilly will report to Liguori, whose new duties will shift away from programming and toward "developing new models for FOX broadcast content to best leverage the brands across all emerging platforms," according to the network's press release.

"I'm thrilled to be working with my good friend Kevin again. We have complementary strengths, but more importantly, we have fun working together and we enjoy sharing that spirit with the rest of the team," says Liguori. "FOX is television's premier brand and I am excited to take on a role that requires more long-term strategic vision at a time when FOX has the opportunity to become an even bigger force in this quickly evolving media landscape."

Although he developed hits including "Heroes," "My Name Is Earl" and "Deal or No Deal" during his time at NBC, Reilly wasn't able to pull that network out of fourth place among adults 18-49, a key demographic ruled by FOX in recent years. Reilly was relieved of his duties over the Memorial Day weekend, but he didn't wait long to find a new gig..."

Full article at:

http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-reillyfo...ap-tv-headlines

PeachyBC

[abfirefighterchi...]

I love all animals but dogs, cats, and yes lizards rank high in my book!

Among the four dogs we have 2 of them are little Jack Russells. Both of them LOVE to go and sniff(by that I mean bury their heads) in the retention basin!! Every night they come back with a dye job, solid black!!! Thankfully the all natural, organic body wash we use does the trick. They come out of the tub so soft, and shinny!!

The bad thing is that it is a real pain in the back, and such a mess in the tub all the time. Plus if they are feeling like being little buggers, they can move to the back of the tub!

Do any of you know of some little tub, or something like it that I could place in the tub to wash them? Keeping them right there and saving me from cleaning the tub everyday?

[stefanl]

I love all animals but dogs, cats, and yes lizards rank high in my book!

Do any of you know of some little tub, or something like it that I could place in the tub to wash them? Keeping them right there and saving me from cleaning the tub everyday?

You might try doing what the professionals do when grooming and use a leash. With a greyhound, the "small tub" I use is the back yard. That dog sprouts extra limbs everytime I try to get him into the bathroom to give him a bath. And every one of those extra legs is braced firmly against the door jamb. If I don't want him in the bathroom he's all over the place in there.

If you have something at the front of the tub to which the leash can be tied that would keep them from moving all around the place. With my basset hound I would just close the shower curtain after his bath and he would shake off most of the water before I lifted the little guy out. Then he would dive around the apartment rubbing himself against the furniture to dry off because he could do a much better job against the couch and rolling around on the rug then I could ever hope to do with a towel!

[DonnaLucy]

Looks like ousted NBC bigwig Kevin Reilly has found a new home at FOX.

....Reilly, who helped develop and nurture shows ranging from "The Shield" to "The Office" to "Friday Night Lights" in his tenures at FX and NBC, will become FOX's new entertainment president.[/b]
As part of the network's restructuring, Peter Liguori will shift from entertainment president to entertainment chairman.

...."Although he developed hits including "Heroes," "My Name Is Earl" and "Deal or No Deal" during his time at NBC, Reilly wasn't able to pull that network out of fourth place among adults 18-49, a key demographic ruled by FOX in recent years. Reilly was relieved of his duties over the Memorial Day weekend, but he didn't wait long to find a new gig..."

PeachyBC

Thanks Peachy. Lately FOX has a reputation of producing mostly garbage. Kevin Reilly will be expected to develop a few more quality shows to offset that belief. It won't matter too much how they do ratings wise initially.

I like Kevin Reilly. He tried his best to help NBC.
I'm glad to hear that he will be gainfully employed.

[abfirefighterchi...]

You might try doing what the professionals do when grooming and use a leash. With a greyhound, the "small tub" I use is the back yard. That dog sprouts extra limbs everytime I try to get him into the bathroom to give him a bath. And every one of those extra legs is braced firmly against the door jamb. If I don't want him in the bathroom he's all over the place in there.

If you have something at the front of the tub to which the leash can be tied that would keep them from moving all around the place. With my basset hound I would just close the shower curtain after his bath and he would shake off most of the water before I lifted the little guy out. Then he would dive around the apartment rubbing himself against the furniture to dry off because he could do a much better job against the couch and rolling around on the rug then I could ever hope to do with a towel!

Lance, SamBo, Snickers, and Skittles all do that to some extent. Skittles is the littlest boy and he shakes himself, jumps, and skitters around all at the same time trying to get dry! However if you don't allow him to accompany you into the bathroom when your in the shower he gets quite upset!

[Flatpack]

What goes on over there!? kevin Reilly gets removed from NBC and snapped up by Fox. is he scorned in one place and elevated in another. What does that mean for the person taking his job in NBC, or for the person whose job he took in Fox? Fox is doing better than NBC yet employs the person scapegoated for NBC decline? i cant see the thread here,or the reality. What is the logic following? it must be something but its beyond me!

[peachybc]

What goes on over there!? kevin Reilly gets removed from NBC and snapped up by Fox. is he scorned in one place and elevated in another. What does that mean for the person taking his job in NBC, or for the person whose job he took in Fox? Fox is doing better than NBC yet employs the person scapegoated for NBC decline? i cant see the thread here,or the reality. What is the logic following? it must be something but its beyond me!

Hi Flatpack,

IMO, this is just a prime example of how small the talent pool is for this kind of work. It's not uncommon for a person to be fired on one network and hired immediately by another; the limited talent gets recycled. Reilly was with FOX once before. Obviously, FOX was more than happy to take him back.

From what I read, Reilly's problems at NBC had as much to do with personality, power conflicts with Zucker as it did with sagging NBC ratings. Reilly's track record shows he's capable of creating shows that audiences like. My guess is, if Reilly's given his head at FOX, he will make NBC look to their whole card.

PeachyBC

[CI fan]

Hello everyone! Just wanted to pop in and say Hi ! Have been busy, but not to busy to watch all the LOCI reruns on NBC , USA , and Bravo! Last night was LOCI heaven on USA! God, I love marathons! We will pay for it tonight, though. LOCI isn't on at all !!! Oh well, DVD players were invented for nights like this! Can't wait for the new episodes!

Hope all of you are well and enjoying the summer. Personally, I hate the heat and humidity, but I know I'm in the minority on this. Give me a good nip in the air, sunny skies, colorful leaves, state fairs showing the bountiful harvest and I am a happy camper! I don't have too long to wait.

Take care. Talk to you soon.

Sincerely,
Sue

[Ruby-Red]

I'm waiting for the summer to begin here in the UK! We've had cooler temperatures and what feels like a year's worth of rain in a month. June was the wettest month in 150 years according to the news. Hopefully it'll warm up here soon.

Hallmark Channel are currently showing repeat eps of S3 here, S5 should start airing next month. 'Stray' was the ep airing tonight, love that episode

[Flatpack]

Thanks Peachy,your thoughts do seem to give an explanation,that there is a "limited talent pool that gets recycled",a sort of jobs for the boys network! This also explains why they are going round and round in circles making no difference at all to what goes on,because they are just recycling and making things safe. No sense of real adventure.

Hey ruby red,the UK really responds favourably to LOCI doesnt it. i like the different music and the fact it seems aligned to programmes like Morse,Frost,Wire in the Blood.So they seem to treat it as a serious drama with structure and character development etc as well as entertainment. I collected some great reviews of critics for season 4 when i was over there.

[Rose Bush]

Hi from Upstate New York where we've been dry as a bone since April but the farmers' rain dance must be working cause we're having a thunder storm tonight. CI Fan Sue, I'm with you on hating the heat and humidity. Fall is my favorite season for the cooler weather, changing leaves, my birthday and the beginning of Season 7!

Hi Flatpack and Ruby Red! Sorry to hear about the rain in the UK. In this age when the world seems so small because of the Internet, you forget how different the weather is for all of us. I had a group of businessmen from London at the Inn where I work last night and I was struck by how formally attired they were compared to the shlubs here. They were all wearing black suits, white shirts and patterned ties. In America, they'd probably be pall bearers in a funeral to dress like that. Wow, is that off topic.

I have a little pet peave, nothing against the British or Australians, but it seems like they're taking jobs away from American actors more and more over here. There's Without a Trace with 2 Australians and 1 English woman all pretending to be American, House pretending to be American, Simon Cowell dissing young Americans, the new Bionic Woman is British and now the Beckhams! Posh Spice has her own reality series on NBC-probably taking the place of LOCI. Do you know of any Americans playing British on your television shows? There, I finally got that off my chest.

Well, here's hoping for 2 months of 75 degree days with an inch of rain each week (while we're sleeping) for all of us. Sounds like Camelot, doesn't it?

[Flatpack]

When you put it like that JYImag it does sound like a takeover! Nationality is a real burden i think, Ive never felt comfortable with it...all this 19th century obsession with borders and belonging. i like that nomadic idea of slipping over the borders!!!

Anyway,having said that,yesterday we were down on the atlantic seaboard,facing America(!),waves crashing,listening to music wailing out over them. Did you hear it? It was a music festival in Miltown Malbray,going from pub to foreshore listening to groups of musicians. Zoom in to this old man who stood at the door,took his cap off and put it in his tweed jacket pocket before entering the pub,something reverential like entering a church. Its like stepping back in time,that mannerly behaviour. It gets me every time I see that kind of thing,like when Goren is mannerly. Does that get you too?

Anyway one musician starts playing. the pub is very noisy,no one listening. then another musician joins in,then another,the session builds up.It creeps upon you unaware,this sound,the hush,til everyone is listening. Its like having a pressure on your ears under water.Then the sound trails off and everyone wonders what it is that passed that way. magical.

[Ruby-Red]

I think i should go hide or something j/k

I have noticed that there are a lot of British actors in top rated shows in the US. I didn't know that Marianne Baptiste (?) from 'Without a Trace' was actually British until i saw an interview with her. A good friend of mine refused to believe Hugh Laurie was British til she heard him on Letterman.

Criminal Intent does have a good following here. In fact, all three L&O's do. Hallmark Channel which has the first dibs to CI on satellite tv do a good job of promoting it and airing eps, Channel 5, which have the terrestrial rights, not so much. Season Five will hopefully air sometime next month if Hallmark follow their regular schedule, C5 next January/Feb-ish (and the opening music differs on both channels which is extremely odd when you're used to the 'regular' music)

I love 'Wire in the Blood' which is based on the Val McDiarmid novels and a new season just started to air here this week. The lead actor, Robson Green, is from my part of the world, in fact he grew up less than five miles from where i live now and when he films, he films in the North East of England, where i live. Tony Hill, his character is similar to Goren in some ways, less intense than Goren but quirky and very watchable. The show itself is very graphic and you do need a strong stomach sometimes (especially the first season of episodes) but he is worth watching. 'Morse' was truly wonderful, a real British institution and it was so terribly sad when they ended and John Thaw's premature passing was a tragedy in itself I used to watch 'Frost' a lot too but not for a while.

The actress who will be playing Jamie Sommers in the new Bionic Woman show used to appear on a well known soap opera (Eastenders). Everyone here has been taken by surprise by this development in her career but good luck to her. Hope she does well.

[stefanl]

I've got a dozen men stomping around on my roof tearing off the shingles and pounding on stuff. They started less than an hour ago and have already denuded the shingles. My roof is naked! They put up tarps that let them toss the junk down like it was on a big blue slidingboard, protecting the bushes and whatnot, but they've since come down under the weight. I'm hoping the hydrangeas and irises survive the onslaught unscathed.

The dog needs a therapist. There are people who are swarming all around and not a single one has stopped to bask in his "Mike-ness". No one is rubbing his neck or scratching behind his ears. These are men wholely unappreciative of all things greyhound and he means to teach them a lesson. Maybe if he climbed the ladder......

[DonnaLucy]

Hello everyone! Just wanted to pop in and say Hi ! Have been busy, but not to busy to watch all the LOCI reruns on NBC , USA , and Bravo! Last night was LOCI heaven on USA! God, I love marathons! We will pay for it tonight, though. LOCI isn't on at all !!! Oh well, DVD players were invented for nights like this! Can't wait for the new episodes!

Hope all of you are well and enjoying the summer. Personally, I hate the heat and humidity, but I know I'm in the minority on this. Give me a good nip in the air, sunny skies, colorful leaves, state fairs showing the bountiful harvest and I am a happy camper! I don't have too long to wait.

Take care. Talk to you soon.

Sincerely,
Sue

Hi Sue! Glad to see you posting. Hope you can join us more when the new episodes air. God, it's such a long wait, isn't it?

Had a fun trip into Manhattan yesterday. My daughter wanted to go in, so of course I had to do some CI related things! We went on the NBC Experience Tour. It was great fun. I volunteered to do the weather with a real teleprompter & an actual weather board. It's much harder than it looks! I had everyone laughing, my daughter got a kick out of mom entertaining the crowd. In the store area, she insisted on buying me a Criminal Intent T shirt (it's really nice, very soft & well made).

We went down to Chelsea, just to walk around & see the area. Went into Chelsea Pier, but it's impossible to really see the studios. We did see the Law & Order Way street sign that is posted on the little side street that leads into the garage.I spotted a huge black Escalade idling by the studio, but couldn't see the driver.

Grabbed a bite at the Chelsea Street Diner, a great place for affordable, tasty food with generous portions. Remember reading about it on Jason's blog. I swear, it looks exactly like the diner they shot the breakfast scene in Stress Position. We sat in what looked like one of the the tables they sat in, by the windows.

So much of the area looks familiar, as if it was used for either the mothership or CI. There's a little kiddie park there, that looks almost identical to the park in Privilege. There's also a small vacant lot between two old brick buildings, smack in the middle of a side street, that looks so much like a NYC crime scene, it's not funny. Put a dumpster in the corner and you're set!

Spent the rest of the day in Central Park, so beautiful.

[Flatpack]

So are you wearing or framing the teashirt,Donna!?

Anywhere near Northumberland Rubyred?

I love greyhounds and deerhounds and wolfhounds, Stefanl. You can give him a scratch from me!!

[DonnaLucy]

So are you wearing or framing the teashirt,Donna!?

Wearing it, of course!

BTW, loved your rant about Kevin Reilly. It's all political & personality based - who likes who, who brown noses best with the big cheeses.

NBC had a real talent in Reilly. They knew it, but in the end it was all about personal whims. Serves them right if the network goes further down the tubes.

And NBC bailing out on CI - a big mistake on their part, although I'm happy that USA now has it.

[abfirefighterchi...]

I've got a dozen men stomping around on my roof tearing off the shingles and pounding on stuff. They started less than an hour ago and have already denuded the shingles. My roof is naked! They put up tarps that let them toss the junk down like it was on a big blue slidingboard, protecting the bushes and whatnot, but they've since come down under the weight. I'm hoping the hydrangeas and irises survive the onslaught unscathed.

The dog needs a therapist. There are people who are swarming all around and not a single one has stopped to bask in his "Mike-ness". No one is rubbing his neck or scratching behind his ears. These are men wholely unappreciative of all things greyhound and he means to teach them a lesson. Maybe if he climbed the ladder......

These guys need to take sensivity training on deals with dogs! My four would be having a conniption fit!! Wait, we're cute! Here I am pet me, pet me, PET ME!!!!!

[Ruby-Red]

Anywhere near Northumberland Rubyred

Yes, i'm in Northumberland...only just. But i lived for several years near Morpeth and surrounding areas, where my husband is from. Do you know it? Gorgeous county, i love it, would not want to live anywhere else.