[TV orNotTV] Re: NotTV: Reading (was: Netflix Too Good To Be True)
On Jul 23, 4:39 pm, Tom Wolper twol...@gmail.com wrote: It's interesting that articles like this don't implicate publishers in the fall of independent, then chain bookstores. The chains got big discounts from publishers which allowed them to undercut independent bookstores to the point of driving the independents out of business. Now with online discounts, especially from used book aggregators, the full price new book market is disappearing. Book publishers have a horrible business model where they oversell new books and take back the unsold ones and wholesale them out as remainders to discount merchants. You made so many good points in your post but the one in the second sentence above just isn't true. Publishers do not give greater discounts to the big box stores than to independents. They aren't allowed to. That doesn't mean the big chains don't have ways to eke out some extra bucks from the publishers. BN and Borders squawked that the publishers were saving money by shipping books to central warehouses of the chains rather than to each individual store. It is true that this saved the publishers money, but it also was the preference of the chains. They were able to extract a self-distribution discount for this, I believe about equal to the actual cost-saving of the publishers. Traditionally, the chains have held the dominant relationship with the publishers, extracting fees for end-caps, getting into seasonal catalogs, front-of-store placement, etc. (all of which have been given to some independents, too). But the chains haven't been all bad. In the past, they had the pockets to carry a broader range of books than independents, because of their deep pockets and greater shelf space. Although the bottom- line of the buyers had to be financial, most of the buyers at, say, BN, knew their subject matter and cared about the content. I was lucky enough to see a meeting between a sales person at a major publisher and a buyer at BN (both were pros), and when the sales guy promised that a certain fiction title was worthy despite no obvious commercial hook, the buyer, against his better judgment, made a buy that was trivial to the bookseller but a big deal to the author and the publisher. That was yeas ago; I doubt that kind of purchase would be made today. As you suggest, the stupidest policy in the book business is the return situation. Where else can a retailer buy product and return 100% of it for full-price (minus shipping costs)? -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
Re: [TV orNotTV] Re: NotTV: Reading (was: Netflix Too Good To Be True)
On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 10:46 AM, Dave Feldman imponderab...@gmail.com wrote: You made so many good points in your post but the one in the second sentence above just isn't true. Publishers do not give greater discounts to the big box stores than to independents. They aren't allowed to. That doesn't mean the big chains don't have ways to eke out some extra bucks from the publishers. BN and Borders squawked that the publishers were saving money by shipping books to central warehouses of the chains rather than to each individual store. It is true that this saved the publishers money, but it also was the preference of the chains. They were able to extract a self-distribution discount for this, I believe about equal to the actual cost-saving of the publishers. Traditionally, the chains have held the dominant relationship with the publishers, extracting fees for end-caps, getting into seasonal catalogs, front-of-store placement, etc. (all of which have been given to some independents, too). But the chains haven't been all bad. In the past, they had the pockets to carry a broader range of books than independents, because of their deep pockets and greater shelf space. Although the bottom- line of the buyers had to be financial, most of the buyers at, say, BN, knew their subject matter and cared about the content. I was lucky enough to see a meeting between a sales person at a major publisher and a buyer at BN (both were pros), and when the sales guy promised that a certain fiction title was worthy despite no obvious commercial hook, the buyer, against his better judgment, made a buy that was trivial to the bookseller but a big deal to the author and the publisher. That was yeas ago; I doubt that kind of purchase would be made today. As you suggest, the stupidest policy in the book business is the return situation. Where else can a retailer buy product and return 100% of it for full-price (minus shipping costs)? I'll concede your point about price since I never had an opportunity to go in depth about how the book business is run. When I have read articles about the closing of independent bookstores, the owners have always stressed that the problem was the difference in the way they were treated by the publishers. They said it was an uneven playing field in favor of the chains and it left them no option other than to close their stores. -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
Re: [TV orNotTV] msnbc sez buh-bye, Cenk Uygur
Bob in Jersey bob.in.jer...@juno.com wrote: Probably to be replaced by Rev Al Sharpton. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/cenk-uygur-exits-msnbc-213624 Gah. My once-avid viewing of MSNBC (back when they were a news channel) is down to The Rachel Maddow Show as s series recording and too many late-night viewings of First Call and Way too Early. On a related note, the MSNBC coverage of the final Shuttle landing was perfunctory and cut off immediately so they could show ads and start Morning Joe on-time with the usual empty chatter about nothing. CNN's coverage was in-depth and informed but too often the reporters felt they had to talk over the voices of the astronauts and mission control. Fox News did a good job of getting out of the way (except for the eye-blistering ALERT graphics and Steve Doocy's intense stupidity) but then they've been the best place to turn for Shuttle launch and landing coverage since I lost HD Net to TWC's spat with Mark Cuban. -- Ed Dravecky III http://www.fencon.org/ -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
[TV orNotTV] Re: msnbc sez buh-bye, Cenk Uygur
On Jul 24, 5:04 pm, Ed Dravecky drave...@gmail.com wrote: Bob in Jersey bob.in.jer...@juno.com wrote: Probably to be replaced by Rev Al Sharpton. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/cenk-uygur-exits-msnbc-213624 Gah. My once-avid viewing of MSNBC (back when they were a news channel) is down to The Rachel Maddow Show as s series recording and too many late-night viewings of First Call and Way too Early. On a related note, the MSNBC coverage of the final Shuttle landing was perfunctory and cut off immediately so they could show ads and start Morning Joe on-time with the usual empty chatter about nothing. CNN's coverage was in-depth and informed but too often the reporters felt they had to talk over the voices of the astronauts and mission control. Fox News did a good job of getting out of the way (except for the eye-blistering ALERT graphics and Steve Doocy's intense stupidity) but then they've been the best place to turn for Shuttle launch and landing coverage since I lost HD Net to TWC's spat with Mark Cuban. -- Ed Dravecky IIIhttp://www.fencon.org/ I found CSPAN's coverage to be the best. No anchor chatter whatsoever, and an uninterrupted broadcast. -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
Re: [TV orNotTV] Re: msnbc sez buh-bye, Cenk Uygur
I understand there is a lot of logistics that went into deciding when the shuttle should land, but would it have been so bad to land Atlantis during the day when more Americans could have watched it, either in person or live on TV? I set my alarm and watched it as it happened, but at 3am PST I was basically watching it half-awake and out of one bloodshot eye. That said, I watched it live on NASA's free iPad app, with no commentary by any network blowhard. None of the networks have science editors anymore, let alone experts on space, so what would have been the point of hearing any of them speak? For the best coverage/reaction to the shuttles, check out the previous weekend's edition of John Oliver and Andy Saltzman's The Bugle podcast. John Oliver, not even a US citizen, really spoke about how awesome it is to witness the shuttle live and in person. Something I discovered last week while trolling around the nasa.gov website is that the bulk of their videos and related multimedia is available for download (including POV camera angles you don't normally see on TV). And a friend of a friend on Google+ tipped me off to their terms of service, which basically grants permission for fans to edit the videos and post them. That said, I challenged myself to create a short video vignette of the final shuttle mission, compiling the footage in iMovie and scoring it in GarageBand. You can view the result on my YouTube channel if you like: http://www.youtube.com/user/MrMarousek I think the words spoken by the Atlantis commander upon touchdown were very moving, and it is tough for me to write or talk about the end of US manned space exploration without getting very emotional, so I'll leave it at that. On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 3:03 PM, donz5 do...@aol.com wrote: On Jul 24, 5:04 pm, Ed Dravecky drave...@gmail.com wrote: Bob in Jersey bob.in.jer...@juno.com wrote: Probably to be replaced by Rev Al Sharpton. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/cenk-uygur-exits-msnbc-213624 Gah. My once-avid viewing of MSNBC (back when they were a news channel) is down to The Rachel Maddow Show as s series recording and too many late-night viewings of First Call and Way too Early. On a related note, the MSNBC coverage of the final Shuttle landing was perfunctory and cut off immediately so they could show ads and start Morning Joe on-time with the usual empty chatter about nothing. CNN's coverage was in-depth and informed but too often the reporters felt they had to talk over the voices of the astronauts and mission control. Fox News did a good job of getting out of the way (except for the eye-blistering ALERT graphics and Steve Doocy's intense stupidity) but then they've been the best place to turn for Shuttle launch and landing coverage since I lost HD Net to TWC's spat with Mark Cuban. -- Ed Dravecky IIIhttp://www.fencon.org/ I found CSPAN's coverage to be the best. No anchor chatter whatsoever, and an uninterrupted broadcast. -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
Re: [TV orNotTV] Re: msnbc sez buh-bye, Cenk Uygur
On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 7:42 PM, Kevin M. drunkbastar...@gmail.com wrote: I understand there is a lot of logistics that went into deciding when the shuttle should land, but would it have been so bad to land Atlantis during the day when more Americans could have watched it, either in person or live on TV? I set my alarm and watched it as it happened, but at 3am PST I was basically watching it half-awake and out of one bloodshot eye. That said, I watched it live on NASA's free iPad app, with no commentary by any network blowhard. None of the networks have science editors anymore, let alone experts on space, so what would have been the point of hearing any of them speak? For the record, CBS News still has Bill Harwood, who consults on space news for them (and runs their obsessively-detailed CBS News Space Place webpage). He's also a contributor to spaceflightnow.com, where Miles O'Brien landed after getting bounced from CNN. Considering O'Brien was going to become the first journalist to travel to the ISS (NASA and CNN supposedly had come to an agreement just before Columbia was destroyed in 2002), when I wanted commentary on shuttle flights (which wasn't often), that's where I went. -- -- Ben Scripps benscri...@gmail.com -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
Re: [TV orNotTV] Re: msnbc sez buh-bye, Cenk Uygur
On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 4:42 PM, Kevin M. drunkbastar...@gmail.com wrote: I understand there is a lot of logistics that went into deciding when the shuttle should land, but would it have been so bad to land Atlantis during the day when more Americans could have watched it, either in person or live on TV? I set my alarm and watched it as it happened, but at 3am PST I was basically watching it half-awake and out of one bloodshot eye. That said, I watched it live on NASA's free iPad app, with no commentary by any network blowhard. None of the networks have science editors anymore, let alone experts on space, so what would have been the point of hearing any of them speak? For the best coverage/reaction to the shuttles, check out the previous weekend's edition of John Oliver and Andy Saltzman's The Bugle podcast. John Oliver, not even a US citizen, really spoke about how awesome it is to witness the shuttle live and in person. I watched it on CNN, which as noted here was not too bad, but not up to its old Miles days. I think these are events that really benefit from informed and reasoned commentary, and frankly a old fashioned broadcasting sense of what makes for good TV. What made Oliver so great (both on TDS and The Bugle) was not so much any coverage he provided, but the genuine and palpable sense of Shit! This is Cool!. Anyone who can't communicate some sense of that has no business working a space story on TV. Oliver was also really funny the week he talked about his TDS piece on the Palin Bus fiasco. Both of these (Shuttle and Palin) reminded me of how much work they put into those remote pieces on TDS - and also make me think that they have been doing fewer of those over the years. Indeed, it seems like they make less use of their correspondents in general than they used to. -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
Re: [TV orNotTV] Welcome to Kabletown
On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 7:10 PM, PGage pga...@gmail.com wrote: (SNIP) I am already missing my DirecTV TiVo. The Comcast DVR has most of the same flaws as the non TiVo DirecTV DVR sigh. The Comcast Sales guy kept telling me that I did not really need a DVR, what with their On Demand service. I got 2 DVRs anyway (we had three with DirecTV) and so far I am really glad I did. T I should note that I have discovered that the comcast DVR remote does allow toggling between two tuners (lower left button, under PIP, labeled swap). As with most of the controls, there is a longer pause in making the switch than I am used to with the TiVo, but it is really nice to find that we still have that function. Odd though, as I specifically asked both the original salesman on the phone, and the guy who installed it, and each of them said that function was not available. -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
[TV orNotTV] NotTV: Fade to Black
This is the best piece on the sad news of the death of Amy Winehouse I have seen this weekend: http://www.thewrap.com/media/column-post/amy-winehouse-black-became-her-29392?page=0,0 ...as a fan, I just wanted to see an Amy Winehouse who was as self-aware and sharp and creative as the one I’d heard on two utterly brilliant albums. I wanted to believe that she could be half as great in life as she was on record. I kind of sensed that I wanted her to believe it, too. (SNIP) the devastation in her songs should never have become increasingly self-fulfilling schtick. We’ve lost a great artist, not a caricature. I don't think fame or money had much to do with her struggles - I have worked with lots of troubled young people like Amy Winehouse. But none with as much talent and artistry. Famous or not, artistic or not,it is always sad. -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
Re: [TV orNotTV] Re: msnbc sez buh-bye, Cenk Uygur
TDS seems to have shifted to a lot fewer 'full-time' correspondents (Cenac, Oliver, Bee and Jones), and more folks who show up every so often. The folks in the latter category (Larry Wilmore, John Hodgman, Al Madrigal, Kristen Schaal, Lewis Black, Josh Gad) usually have TDS as a side-gig. From: PGage pga...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [TV orNotTV] Re: msnbc sez buh-bye, Cenk Uygur Oliver was also really funny the week he talked about his TDS piece on the Palin Bus fiasco. Both of these (Shuttle and Palin) reminded me of how much work they put into those remote pieces on TDS - and also make me think that they have been doing fewer of those over the years. Indeed, it seems like they make less use of their correspondents in general than they used to. -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
Re: [TV orNotTV] NotTV: Fade to Black
On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 9:09 PM, PGage pga...@gmail.com wrote: This is the best piece on the sad news of the death of Amy Winehouse I have seen this weekend: http://www.thewrap.com/media/column-post/amy-winehouse-black-became-her-29392?page=0,0 ...as a fan, I just wanted to see an Amy Winehouse who was as self-aware and sharp and creative as the one I’d heard on two utterly brilliant albums. I wanted to believe that she could be half as great in life as she was on record. I kind of sensed that I wanted her to believe it, too. (SNIP) the devastation in her songs should never have become increasingly self-fulfilling schtick. We’ve lost a great artist, not a caricature. I don't think fame or money had much to do with her struggles - I have worked with lots of troubled young people like Amy Winehouse. But none with as much talent and artistry. Famous or not, artistic or not,it is always sad. I liked Russell Brand's take: http://www.russellbrand.tv/2011/07/for-amy/ As time goes by I've become less impressed with Brand's talents as a comedian, but he can write very intelligently about celebrity. -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
Re: [TV orNotTV] NotTV: Fade to Black
On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 7:51 PM, Tom Wolper twol...@gmail.com wrote: On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 9:09 PM, PGage pga...@gmail.com wrote: This is the best piece on the sad news of the death of Amy Winehouse I have seen this weekend: http://www.thewrap.com/media/column-post/amy-winehouse-black-became-her-29392?page=0,0 ...as a fan, I just wanted to see an Amy Winehouse who was as self-aware and sharp and creative as the one I’d heard on two utterly brilliant albums. I wanted to believe that she could be half as great in life as she was on record. I kind of sensed that I wanted her to believe it, too. (SNIP) the devastation in her songs should never have become increasingly self-fulfilling schtick. We’ve lost a great artist, not a caricature. I don't think fame or money had much to do with her struggles - I have worked with lots of troubled young people like Amy Winehouse. But none with as much talent and artistry. Famous or not, artistic or not,it is always sad. I liked Russell Brand's take: http://www.russellbrand.tv/2011/07/for-amy/ As time goes by I've become less impressed with Brand's talents as a comedian, but he can write very intelligently about celebrity. Thanks - that really was excellent (I might quibble a bit with the end; where he writes: All we can do is adapt the way we view this condition, not as a crime or a romantic affectation but as a disease that will kill I would just substitute the word disorder for disease; but that does not change any of his observations or conclusions). -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
[TV orNotTV] An invitation to lunch in NYC
As it turns out, my travels are taking me to New York City in a week or so. I had already reached out to Jon Delfin to get together for lunch on Monday (August 1) afternoon, and he made the suggestion of extending it to any other TVONTVers who may be in the general area. If you're interested, contact me off-list for details. Joe Hass -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
RE: [TV orNotTV] Welcome to Kabletown
When I was watching the weather the other day, I noticed that there's actually a community in Northern Virginia named Kabletown. One thing you will find out about Comcast customer service is that you're usually given incorrect information. I've now had enough experience not to believe any answer given by a Comcast customer service representative. You almost always have to discover the answer yourself. Melissa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtB4UDMEkpUfeature=related Curious about the email address? Listen to the most beautiful song ever sung. From: tvornottv@googlegroups.com [mailto:tvornottv@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of PGage Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2011 8:58 PM To: tvornottv@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: [TV orNotTV] Welcome to Kabletown On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 7:10 PM, PGage pga...@gmail.com wrote: (SNIP) I am already missing my DirecTV TiVo. The Comcast DVR has most of the same flaws as the non TiVo DirecTV DVR sigh. The Comcast Sales guy kept telling me that I did not really need a DVR, what with their On Demand service. I got 2 DVRs anyway (we had three with DirecTV) and so far I am really glad I did. T I should note that I have discovered that the comcast DVR remote does allow toggling between two tuners (lower left button, under PIP, labeled swap). As with most of the controls, there is a longer pause in making the switch than I am used to with the TiVo, but it is really nice to find that we still have that function. Odd though, as I specifically asked both the original salesman on the phone, and the guy who installed it, and each of them said that function was not available. -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
RE: [TV orNotTV] Re: msnbc sez buh-bye, Cenk Uygur
For future reference, nothing put out by the government is copyrighted. -Original Message- From: tvornottv@googlegroups.com [mailto:tvornottv@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Kevin M. Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2011 7:43 PM To: tvornottv@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: [TV orNotTV] Re: msnbc sez buh-bye, Cenk Uygur Something I discovered last week while trolling around the nasa.gov website is that the bulk of their videos and related multimedia is available for download (including POV camera angles you don't normally see on TV). And a friend of a friend on Google+ tipped me off to their terms of service, which basically grants permission for fans to edit the videos and post them. -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
Re: [TV orNotTV] Re: msnbc sez buh-bye, Cenk Uygur
On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 9:27 PM, Melissa P takingupspace...@gmail.com wrote: For future reference, nothing put out by the government is copyrighted. True, but the NASA logos, past and present, appear to be registered or at least cannot be used without permission. http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- TV or Not TV The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups TV or Not TV group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
