Food Network’s Edgy Little Brother

Food Network has been around for 17 years, and within that time we’ve seen the network devolve to a channel about food to a channel about personalities. Real cooking shows are more utilitarian and classroom-like that what Food Network has been producing for the past 10 years. In an effort to make cooking for the “home chef” seem interesting, shows are given a quirky host with a story that supports their entree theme. When it becomes too challenging to manufacture personalities, the network has made strides to obtain new talent via their competition shows such as “The Next Food Network Star” and “Food Network Challenge”. The E.W. Scripps Company, which owns Food Network, DIY, Fine Living, HGTV, and several other lifestyle cable channels, has decided to create a new network with a focus on cooking, aptly named The Cooking Channel.

So what does a network do before it jumps the shark? It creates a younger, hipper offspring. ESPN birthed ESPN2, the network with the promise of showcasing new and alternative sports. MTV made way for MTV2, the channel that actually plays music videos. Lifetime needed to reach more women with Lifetime Real Women. Nickelodeon gave birthday to a litter with Nick Jr., Teen Nick, and Nick at Nite. All of these cable channels spin-off networks with the promise to get back to basics and do what the originals failed to do: stay true to their mission.

For most networks, this change in mission is less about the success of the programming as it is about the funding from advertisers. In the world of cable television, success breeds success. Spin-offs are easier to create and bank on. Food Network’s success as a network has led to a full consumer products line and a slew of business opportunities for their talent. For all the success Food Network has found with the likes of Paula Deen, Rachel Ray, Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay, the programming is centered around supporting the character of the host more than food.

According to a USA Today article, Michael Smith, network manager claims the Cooking Channel is ”a little grittier, a little more about food and information and a little less about pure entertainment.” Where have I heard this one before? Excuse me for being cynical, but several promising networks have become nothing more than a venue to rerun programming on. The Cooking Channel is already airing a healthy portion of Food Network reruns. The “grit” seems to come from a few of their original shows, all of which have younger hosts that cook up ethnic cuisine (Chinese, French, Indian).

Maybe I’m too cynical about The Cooking Channel. After all, good programming evolves over time. Food Network is trying to create an alternative brand for a difference audience (gen X, Y, millennials). Will this new format fizzle out in five years to become it’s own brand, or will it simply become the rerun channel? Time will tell.

To check out The Cooking Channel, check your local listings. The network went live last week in the US (basic cable). If you’ve been watching The Cooking Channel, tell me about your favorite show and what you’d like to see on the network. I’m thinking sushi.

Photo: The Cooking Channel

What’s Up With Mary-Kate?

Fans of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen know that the former child stars have been missing from the spotlight for a while. While both actresses decided to do less media while attending college, they are slowly beging to re-appear in films. Writer/comedian Elaine Carroll has taken advantage of this lull to bring the internet Very Mary-Kate, a mocumentary web series that lampoons the former child star.

The satirical version of Mary-Kate follows the actress as she attempts to live on her own in the big city (with a body guard) in her 26 bedroom apartment. How will she ever survive? Check out the first two episodes below. read more

Preview Songs from “Glee” Season Finale

If you’re a ‘gleek’ then you have got to listen to the songs from the latest Glee album, Glee: The Music – Journey to Regionals. This new EP will be released on June 8 and include all the songs from the season finale of Glee. To listen to the songs, check out the Flash player below and click play. Can’t see the player? Then be sure to download or upgrade your Flash Player.

For more music from Glee, visit gleethemusic.com. There you’ll find links to all the sources that sell the albums and singles. Listen to the EP of “Journey to Regionals” below. My favorites are Bohemian Rhapsody and Over the Rainbow. What are yours? read more

The Cost of Internet Addiction

Slow news days eventually lead local television to sensationalist stories, such as internet addiction. Since the late 1990s, investigative reports have shown that people spend too much time online. These are the same outlets that have accused television of robbing people of exercise and a social life. Perhaps the irony is lost when the reporter unknowingly reads from a teleprompter that children are addicted to the internet, while the station republishes the same story on the their website.

The internet, much like any other popular media, remains a target and a scapegoat for people to blame their behavior on. Does internet addiction really exist? The recent report from Reuters gives a mixed answer. The article cites a study conducted by the University of Maryland in which they had 200 students cut their media ties for 24 hours. The results claimed that the students suffered similar withdrawal symptoms to that of a real addiction. The American Psychiatric Association does not acknowledge internet or media addiction as a disorder.

The media jumped on this story after Reuters previously published a story on internet addiction in South Korea. This article claimed that 10% of adults and 26% of teenagers in the country had an addiction to the internet or online gaming. The South Korean government has taken action, spending the equivalent to $9 million on education programs and are even developing a voluntary system that will assign gamers identification codes that can be monitored by parents or tracked for time spent online.

If you think South Korea is tackling this problem the wrong way, then consider what is happening in the US. An internet rehab facility, reStart, opened last year outside of Seattle. The center is designed to help people who excessively surf the internet, text, or play games. The cost for a 45-day stay is roughly $30,000.

Addiction to social media and computers may very well be real, but until more conclusive evidence is presented, I think it is best to look at computers (or anything with a screen) as a tool that should compliment a lifestyle, not lead it. Until the media has some new studies to report, or a new technology to blame, we will continue to endure the sloppy reporting.

I’d love to hear your opinions on internet and/or social media addiction. Is it true? Are you addicted? Leave your comments below. I’ll leave you with a humorous comercial for Sony Vaio.

Bonus! A clip from South Park!

Photo: Lee Jordon

The Nominees Are…Inappropriate

Tonight is the premiere of the Nickelodeon 2010 Kids’ Choice Awards. The cable TV awards show directed at kids age 13 and below. For the show’s 23 year run, there has been an attempt to sanitize popular culture to keep the kid-friendly theme. Nickelodeon has built a brand that has not only become synonymous with children’s entertainment, but has also dominated nearly every medium for age groups under 18 years old. Unlike Disney, Nickelodeon originally embraced a spirit of rebellion. It was the first network for kids and reveled in the “kids only” exclusivity. On Nickelodeon, parents were slimed or had a pie thrown in their face for unjustly enforcing chores and homework. Nickelodeon understood kids and gave their audience a sense of mutual understanding on the condition of childhood.

Of course the rebellious spirit of the up-start network began to wain in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when parent groups began criticizing children’s television for sending the wrong message. Nickelodeon relented and toned down the anti-parents sentiment, expanding their brand into new demographics, including toddlers (Nick Jr.), tweens (TeenNick), and families (Nick@Nite). A kernel of rebellion still lies in within at least one show that airs annually on the network: the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.

The problem with doing any award show for kids is that the nominees have to be age appropriate. For the most part, Nickelodeon is always suspect of using the show to nominate and award their own products. Although several of the categories have Nickelodeon programming as nominees, many are devout of any Nickelodeon, Viacom, or Paramount media. For the most part, the Kids’ Choice Awards seem objective enough to not become a giant network-promoting commercial. Unfortunately the efforts to stay objective bite Nickelodeon in the ass when it comes to the music categories.

Despite all the cable network efforts to milk their programming into hit selling records, most children’s music aims to satisfy preschoolers or teens, with not much in between. The 2010 music nominees include:

Favorite Music Group

• Black Eyed Peas
• Coldplay
• Jonas Brothers
• Linkin Park

Favorite Male Singer

• Jay-Z
• Sean Kingston
• Mario
• Ne-Yo

Favorite Female Singer

• Beyonce
• Miley Cyrus
• Lady Gaga
• Taylor Swift

I’m not sure if this is due to padding the nominees or lack of appropriate artists, but the lists almost all seem to have only 1 or 2 artists that could even be considered acceptable as a winner. Many of the nominated artists have lyrics that either play with sexual innuendo or mention the aspects of drinking and partying. Here are a few examples:

• Mario, song: Apple Bottom Jeans
  “The way you move in them Apple Bottoms…Every thug in the club wan’ holla…”
• Black Eyed Peas, song: Ring-a-ling
  “hello hello hello hello hello…then the girls want ding a ling a ling ling….ding a ling a ling ling, ding a ling a ling ling”
• Jay-Z, song: Venus vs. Mars
  “Shawty get it in…Daddy go hard…Shawty get it in…Venus Versus Mars”
• Lady Gaga, song: Love Game
  “Let’s have some fun…This beat is sick…I wanna take a ride on your disco stick”
• Linkin Park, song: Bleed It Out
  “Hand grenade pins in every line…throw ‘em up and let something shine…Going out of my fucking mind”

While the true meaning of the lyrics will be lost on young children, many parents still snicker at the innuendos. Before I’m called a prude or uptight, I will say that many children listen to music with adult themes and are ignorant of the meaning of the lyrics. Today “clean” versions of a song are often played on the radio, eliminating offensive words. Nickelodeon is pushing the boundaries of their demographic by nominating artists and films that skew a bit too old.

In order to see if I was a total stick in the mud, I glanced at the ratings of several nominees on Common Sense Media, a child advocacy group that rates media. Most of the artists were suggest for ages 15, 16, or 17 and up, based on the content. While the ratings are subjective, the site explains the reasoning with each rating. Common Sense Media does not campaign the media to change, but rather inform parents to become smart consumers. This does not stop groups from trying. Nickelodeon has become a bit spry and indignant in it’s old age. Last year, when singer Chris Brown’s brought up on felony charges of physically abusing his then girlfriend, Rihanna, parents started a petition to have him removed completely from the program. Nickelodeon stood by him and refused to de-list Brown as a nominee for favorite male singer or favorite song.

Although I doubt the network actually supports of the theses artists or their messages for kids, they do love advertising. The Kids’ Choice Awards is a huge ratings boost to a network where the core audience goes to bed by 8 PM. Being loyal to the obscene is par the course in television. In the end it’s up the parents and their willingness to battle the relentless pleas to tune into Justin Bieber. If you were (or are) a parent, would you let your children watch?

Photo Credit: Nickelodeon

When Lynch Met Lucas

In the late 1970s, George Lucas’ success with the first two Star Wars films prompted him to not only expand the third film’s budget, but also look for a new director for “Return of the Jedi”. Apparently David Lynch (director of Eraser Head, Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive) was tapped by Lucas to direct, but was turned down. Years later, David Lynch tells the story of his meeting with Lucas in an interview. Animator Sascha Ciezata created a short which features audio from the interview along with crudely animated stop-motion characters created from pictures he took with his iPhone! read more

Top 10 Movie Theater Candies

On my recent trip to the movie theater I waited at the concession stand with friends while they indulged in the over-priced “value combo” of a soda and popcorn. I could not help but look down at the counter and notice a glass case containing all things sugar, chocolate, and largely forbidden from my diet. Unlike everything else behind the counter, the candy is placed in well-lit glass chambers that draw the eye downward, making it compete against the popcorn machine in the background. The candy is showcased as if I am observing a carefully placed museum artifact or jewelry counter.

In an effort to satisfy my taste buds, I often turn to the salty and sweet combination that is popcorn and candy. Unlike candy found at the checkout lanes of a grocery store or seasonal confections, movie theaters have developed their own culture of candy that involves three key elements:

• Over-sized portion. The package must be big enough to serve two people.
• Maximum sweetness. Very sweet taste to counter-balance the salty popcorn.
• Bite-size pieces. Helps to change between popcorn and candy with each bite.

read more

She & Him Do ‘Volume 2′

She & Him is a folk duo is comprised of singer Zooey Deschanel and guitarist M. Ward. With a hit debut album in 2008 and a performance at SXSW this past weekend, She & Him have been making quite a name for themselves in the independent music scene.

The band has carved a niche with a unique sound that is channeled from another era. If it would be possible to  create “new” oldies, She & Him seem to have found the formula. Zooey Deschanel, famous for her roles in Elf, Yes Man, and (500) Days of Summer exploits her voice with a fresh take on the 1950’s crooner sound. Bringing back images of Connie Francis and Teresa Brewer, Deschanel’s melodic vocals sing of tales of happiness and woe. Backed by Ward’s upbeat folk guitar and occasional vocals, the duo layer instruments and lyrics to create a hip retro world that might have existed prior to the British invasion.

In their newest album, Volume Two, She & Him explore the possibilities love and heartache. The first single, ‘In the Sun,’ is a summery pop ballad that reminds everyone how hard it is to capture the desired. The music video is a humorous montage of high school dance choreography that harkens to the more innocent era of Britney Spears’ music video career. read more

Taking a Sip of World Water Day

As someone that always drinks the glass of a water at a restaurant, constantly refilling a recyclable water bottle, and is accustomed to drinking fountains in most buildings, I tend to take water for granted. After all, water is a utility, often cheaper than electricity or natural gas. Unfortunately, for many parts of the world, access to fresh water is a rarity. As this National Geographic article, The Burden of Thirst, so eloquently points out:

In wealthy parts of the world, people turn on a faucet and out pours abundant, clean water. Yet nearly 900 million people in the world have no access to clean water, and 2.5 billion people have no safe way to dispose of human waste—many defecate in open fields or near the same rivers they drink from.

As a response, the United Nations established March 22 as World Water Day. The idea of water having its own day of recognition might seem a bit ludicrous at first, until I started to consider how important fresh water is to life. Not only is water a vital substance to the human body, it’s very presence is responsible for the entire food chain (both plant and animal).

I asked myself how World Water Day could be any different than other ecological non-holiday observance. I don’t recall the last time I participated in any activities regarding Arbor Day, or the catch-all Earth Day. As I am accustomed to playing a devil’s advocate against popular causes, I find myself strangely drawn to a day to which even the most liberal, organic, tree-hugging planet saver has not heard of. If being “green” is the socially responsible thing to do, I had to find out what it meant to be “blue” as well.

I surrendered to the cause and decided to look into what World Water Day actually is. I discovered this year’s campaign website, worldwaterday2010.info, and read through several of the pages and a few of the documents. Some interesting facts that I learned included:

• People need 20-40 liters of water per day (50 liters if you include bathing and kitchen use)
• 1.1 billion people don’t have access to clean water, compared to the global population of 6.7 billion
• There is no binding water safety agreements among nations in the UN or otherwise

Mixed in the site are many photos of struggling people in shanty towns and disgusting waterways. I’m no stranger to late-night television pleas to help save children in Africa, but World Water Day puts it all into perspective. The site also has a full listing of the World Water Day events going on around the globe.

Reading this information gave me a sense of powerlessness. To ease my mind, I researched a few sites dedicated strictly to water conservation. A few of my favorites include Water Use It Wisely, WaterSense, and Water Conserve. Some tips I found for conserving water include:

1. Fix leaky pipes and faucets.
2. Save water from other uses (cleaning, boiling) and use it to water plants.
3. Take showers instead of baths. Take shorter showers (5 minutes).
4. Don’t let the water run while brushing you teeth.
5. Turn the garden hose tightly in the off position.
6. Use the garbage disposal less and the garbage more. It saves 50 to 150 gallons a month.
7. Don’t defrost frozen foods with running water. Either plan ahead by placing frozen items in the refrigerator overnight or defrost them in the microwave.
8. Water your lawn and garden in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation.
9. Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator. This beats the wasteful habit of running tap water to cool it for drinking.
10. Dispose of hazardous materials properly! One quart of oil can contaminate 250,000 gallons of water, effectively eliminating that much water from our water supply. Contact your city officials for locations to dispose of hazardous materials.

In the end, I am not sure if I fully understand the need for one specific day for water awareness, but I suppose the publicity  and awareness are small steps to resolving a big problem. Water conservation is rarely touted in the media (at least much less than hunger). Water is essential to life and should be considered a right to living.

For more information on World Water Day or to find out the various ways you can help in your community, visit the UN Water Day website or read National Geographic’s Water: Our Thirsty World, set to hit news stands on at the end of the month.

Photos: J.C. Rojas, Pink Sherbert Photography, and UN Water.

Discovery Channel makes ‘Life’

Fans of nature films from PBS to National Geographic have some prime time viewing this weekend with the upcoming natural history series, Life. This BBC and Discovery Channel co-production was over 4 years in the making. It comes from the same people that created the massively successful Planet Earth series in 2007. The 11-part series will explore the adaptability and diversity of life on earth. From the bizarre to the fascinating, cameras go inside the animal kingdom like never before.

“Life embodies Discovery’s 25-year mission to satisfy viewers’ curiosity about the world and its inhabitants. We want to give as many viewers as possible the opportunity to experience LIFE in its premiere telecast; we are confident they will be astounded,” said Clark Bunting, president and general manager, Discovery Channel and president, Science Channel. read more