Here is a shortened version on YouTube. Watch for the longer version on the TV Showz Net Travel Channel.

“The July Fourth golf cart parade is a tradition at Bald Head Island, NC. We attempted to include a view
of every decorated golf cart and keeping the viewing time to a minimum we still exceeded 6 minutes.
The number of decorated carts was amazing and many of the participants went all out to impress
the crowd. A fun time was had by all in this family oriented celebration of American Independence.
May this tradition be passed on to generations to come.”

From Youtube:

“This TV Showz Net video started out as a preview for a new Garden Channel series about a major backyard makeover. The first phase of the project that was designed by a professional landscape designer, is a circular patio area in the rear of the yard. What started out as just a new internet TV show preview ended up being a tribute to
the master stone mason who is also a father, grandfather, Army veteran and hard worker. We were aware of the quality of his work and knew that we were fortunate to’
secure his services, but after talking to him for a few minutes we were in for quite a surprise. Mr. Laurens Johnson, the stone mason, worked on the Jimmy Carter Center in Georgia for eight years and had many conversations with former president Carter.
Mr. Johnson worked all day today, Father’s Day, and it was his idea, not ours. This video is dedicated to Mr. Laurens Johnson, a hard working father and role model for many Americans.

 

Stay tuned for the backyard makeover series on TV Showz Net.”

http://TVshowznet.com

“Tool woman”

“In the family album is a picture of Kristin Wells, age 3, on a ladder and wearing a tool belt. Her path to a job on HGTV was being crafted even then, following in her dad’s footsteps.

“He was a do-it-yourselfer. Anything that went wrong around the house he would fix. I’m cursed with same thing – even if I have the money to pay somebody, I’ll try to do it myself. And sometimes it’s a curse.”

Anyone who tackles intimidating household projects knows what she means, but in Wells’ case, the curse has a magic side. The Charlotte resident is an up-and-coming celebrity in television’s home-improvement world.

Her latest project is for HGTV, a series called “Smart Fix” that is expected to debut in January.

With a budget of $3,000, Wells transforms a room in a house through design, decorating and construction. All 13 episodes of the first season were shot in Charlotte, where homeowners offered rooms in need of magic.

Mindful of some wretched makeovers she’s seen, Wells is careful to make sure her work appeals to the homeowners. One woman wept with joy when she got to see what Wells had done with her basement. “She told me, ‘I always wondered why people cry on these shows. I’m overwhelmed,’” Wells recalls.”

“Her TV career started while she was working for a Charlotte design company. She got a call – she was standing, appropriately enough, in the parking lot of Home Depot when it came in – asking if she’d like to audition for a home-improvement show for the now-defunct Turner South network. She got the part in “Homemakers,” which featured an all-woman cast and transformed a dilapidated 1905 home in NoDa.”

Read more:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/471/story/301710.html

HGTV Smart Fix preview

“There surged around me an evil-smelling stink, men and boys reached out to touch me. They were in rags and the remnants of uniforms. Death already had marked many of them, but they were smiling with their eyes. I looked out over the mass of men to the green fields beyond, where well-fed Germans were ploughing….

[I] asked to see one of the barracks. It happened to be occupied by Czechoslovaks. When I entered, men crowded around, tried to lift me to their shoulders. They were too weak. Many of them could not get out of bed. I was told that this building had once stabled 80 horses. There were 1200 men in it, five to a bunk. The stink was beyond all description.

They called the doctor. We inspected his records. There were only names in the little black book — nothing more — nothing about who had been where, what he had done or hoped. Behind the names of those who had died, there was a cross. I counted them. They totaled 242 — 242 out of 1200, in one month.

As we walked out into the courtyard, a man fell dead. Two others, they must have been over 60, were crawling toward the latrine. I saw it, but will not describe it.

In another part of the camp they showed me the children, hundreds of them. Some were only 6 years old. One rolled up his sleeves, showed me his number. It was tattooed on his arm. B-6030, it was. The others showed me their numbers. They will carry them till they die. An elderly man standing beside me said: “The children — enemies of the state!” I could see their ribs through their thin shirts….

We went to the hospital. It was full. The doctor told me that 200 had died the day before. I asked the cause of death. He shrugged and said: “tuberculosis, starvation, fatigue and there are many who have no desire to live. It is very difficult.” He pulled back the blanket from a man’s feet to show me how swollen they were. The man was dead. Most of the patients could not move.

I asked to see the kitchen. It was clean. The German in charge….showed me the daily ration. One piece of brown bread about as thick as your thumb, on top of it a piece of margarine as big as three sticks of chewing gum. That, and a little stew, was what they received every 24 hours. He had a chart on the wall. Very complicated it was. There were little red tabs scattered through it. He said that was to indicate each 10 men who died. He had to account for the rations and he added: “We’re very efficient here.”

We proceeded to the small courtyard. The wall adjoined what had been a stable or garage. We entered. It was floored with concrete. There were two rows of bodies stacked up like cordwood. They were thin and very white. Some of the bodies were terribly bruised; though there seemed to be little flesh to bruise. Some had been shot through the head, but they bled but little.

I arrived at the conclusion that all that was mortal of more than 500 men and boys lay there in two neat piles. There was a German trailer, which must have contained another 50, but it wasn’t possible to count them. The clothing was piled in a heap against the wall. It appeared that most of the men and boys had died of starvation; they had not been executed.

But the manner of death seemed unimportant. Murder had been done at Buchenwald. God alone knows how many men and boys have died there during the last 12 years. Thursday, I was told that there were more than 20,000 in the camp. There had been as many as 60,000. Where are they now?

I pray you to believe what I have said about Buchenwald. I reported what I saw and heard, but only part of it. For most of it, I have no words.

If I have offended you by this rather mild account of Buchenwald, I’m not in the least sorry….”

Listen to the Edward R Murrow report from Buchenwald

“e² is a critically acclaimed, multipart PBS series about the innovators and pioneers who envision a better quality of life on earth: socially, culturally, economically and ecologically.
The series explores attainable solutions to pressing environmental and social challenges, and its stories are culled from a variety of fields including design, energy, transport, water, food and urban development. Episodes have profiled Nobel Peace Prize-winner Muhammad Yunus’s efforts to bring renewable energy to Bangladesh’s rural poor through microfinance; architect William McDonough and his “cradle-to-cradle” design philosophy; and former Bogotá Mayor Enrique Peñalosa’s sweeping redesign of that city’s transportation network, emphasizing alternatives to automobile culture.
The 2008 season of e² is presented in two parts, “e² design” and “e² transport”, and will visit Cairo, Nova Scotia, Melbourne, San Francisco, London, Paris, Amsterdam and Seoul. Featured interviews include luminaries like acclaimed author Michael Pollan, His Highness the Aga Khan, and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano.”
“Chapter 1: Harvesting the Wind Wind is the fastest growing energy source in the world, yet it has struggled for acceptance in the United States. In southwest Minnesota, however, wind energy is a burgeoning source of local power and income for farmers. Some have joined forces in wind cooperatives to invest in larger farms and reap bigger profits. In the absence of a strong renewable energy policy at the federal level, the state government plays a key role in wind policy, begging the question: Will the rest of the U.S. follow Minnesota’s lead?”

“Chapter 2: Energy for a Developing World A cleaner energy future depends, in large part, on responsible energy consumption in the developing world. Founded by Nobel Peace Prize-winner Muhammad Yunus, the Grameen Shakti organization in Bangladesh distributes small solar systems and portable bio-gas systems to rural Bangladeshis, empowering women and the poor in the process.

Chapter 3: Paving the Way In America alone, nearly 70 percent of oil consumed is by the cars we drive. Can efficient automobile design mitigate the environmental damage caused by our beloved cars? General Motors unveils The Volt, a super-hybrid vehicle, and the fuel cell-powered Sequel, while technology firm Fiberforge shows off the latest in ultra-light materials for car manufacturing.

Chapter 4: Growing Energy In response to the oil crisis of the 1970s, Brazil created a domestic ethanol industry that is now thriving on all levels, from production, to distribution at gas stations, to nationwide adoption of flex-fuel cars. The episode examines what we can learn from Brazil’s extraordinary success with ethanol, and whether other countries could follow suit.

Chapter 5: State of Resolve Could California’s progressive energy policies spearhead a nationwide shift toward cleaner energy? The remarkable laws that California has passed under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to regulate greenhouse gas emissions perpetuate the state’s reputation for environmental leadership across the country, and potentially the globe.

 Chapter 6: Coal & Nuclear: Problem or Solution? Renewables, biofuels, solar, wind and other energy sources may be alternatives to fossil fuel, but it is impossible to ignore the ubiquity of coal and the power capabilities of nuclear, despite their many drawbacks. These controversial resources may be major players in a sustainable energy future, however, thanks to new developments in carbon capture and sequestration and improved nuclear technologies.”

Watch Design e2 on channel 32 the Energy Channel.

There is a very interesting show on PBS produced by Kilowatt Ours.
Here are some comments from their website.

“Filmmaker Jeff Barrie offers hope as he turns the camera on himself and asks, “How can I make a difference?” In his journey Barrie explores the source of our electricity and the problems caused by energy production including mountain top removal, childhood asthma and global warming. Along the way he encounters individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities who are leading the way, using energy conservation, efficiency and renewable, green power all while saving money and the environment.”

“Jeff and his wife Heather share a plan to eliminate their use of coal and nuclear power at home by employing energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.”

“Kilowatt Ours invites viewers to help build a net zero nation, by conserving energy to the greatest extent possible at home, then using clean renewable energy to provide the electricity used.”

“Using technologies available in retail stores today, most homeowners can do this affordably. If done right, a Net-Zero home will save you hundreds of dollars annually.”

To watch the Kilowatt Ours show and learn more about saving energy and money, visit the Energy Channel.

Energy Channel

“A contractor was chosen for the renovation of a 12 X 16 screened in porch into a sunroom. This is a preview of the show. The completed show will reveal all of the details involved in this project and things to be aware of, whether you are a do it yourselfer or a contractor. The work is well underway and the probable 2 part show will be available in several weeks. These projects appear simple on the surface but there are many potential gotchas that the average homeowner must be aware of. If you are contemplating tackling this kind of project, do your homework first and by all means, watch this show.”

Find out more about the show here

Season 17: Gabon

Season 16: Fans vs Favorites

Season 15: China

Season 14: Fiji

Season 13: Cook Island

Season 12: Panama

Season 11: Guatemala

To watch Survivor, click on Channel 48 on this blog.

“More Households Cut the Cord on Cable

By CHRISTOPHER LAWTON
Amid tighter budgets, more people are trying to save money by cutting their cable cords. In response, cable companies are beginning to experiment with new Internet services.

In what’s shaping up as the home-entertainment equivalent of severing a landline phone service, more people are joining the ranks of “cord cutters” by forgoing cable subscriptions that can run $60 or more a month.

Instead, they’re turning to free over-the-air high-definition television channels and video-game consoles, such as Playstation 3 and XBox 360. They’re also watching Internet-connected TV sets, paying a basic high-speed Internet fee of about $45, as well as set-top boxes from companies like Netflix Inc. Some are also using media browsers that they can download free and run on PCs, providing access to TV shows, movies and other content directly from the Web.

The number of cable cutters remains too small to threaten the pay-television industry. Still, large cable companies such as Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc. are noticing that people are spending more time online.

“The reality is, we’re starting to see the beginnings of cord cutting where people, particularly young people, are saying all I need is broadband,” said Glenn Brit, president and chief executive of Time Warner Cable, during a company earnings call in February.”

“Some 900,000 U.S. homes didn’t pay for TV and relied solely on Web TV last year, according to estimates from consulting firm Parks Associates, which projects that the number will grow this year. And 8% of adults now view television shows online at least once a week, up from 6% who did so in 2008, according to a survey by the Leichtman Research Group. The same survey found that 8% of adults who watch video online now watch TV less often.

Overall, while the number of households paying for cable rose 2% last year, pay-TV growth has slowed considerably. In the last three months of 2008, pay-TV penetration grew by only 0.7%, or 220,000 homes, its lowest rate on record, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.”

“When Mr. Roanhouse moves into his own apartment in August, he says, he plans to drop cable service entirely. “The old cliché that we have 500 channels and nothing to watch is pretty much still true,” he says.”

Read the article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124347195274260829.html

TV Showz Net is a new TV network for the internet. New shows will be developed for Internet TV in addition to classic and other traditional TV show offerings.

“1949 – 1964:  Television 

On May 8, 1949, Jack did a test program for television at CBS Radio Studio A.  Guests included Isaac Stern, Lum and Abner (Jack was a friend of Chet Lauck, who played the role of Lum Edwards), the Andrews Sisters, Rochester, and others.  Unfortunately, it seems that any recording of this program has been lost to the ages.  However, it was clear that Jack would be able to transfer his comedic talents to the small screen.

While still maintaining the radio program, Jack traveled to New York to do his first television shows on October 28, 1950.  His first line was:  “I’d give a million dollars to know what I look like!”  The first show (and likely subsequent ones) was shown live to the East Coast, and broadcast at a later date for Western viewers due to the lack of coast-to-coast television transmission facilities.  The 1950 show ran 45 minutes, as Jack thought that half an hour was too short and an hour was too long.  Subsequent shows were half-hours, and aired on January 28, April 5, and May 20, 1951.  Early guests included Dinah Shore, Ken Murray, Frank Sinatra, Claudette Colbert, and Ben Hogan.

On November 4, 1951, Jack broadcast his first show from the new CBS Television City in Los Angeles.  The budget for radio had been reduced, and the shows began to reflect it.  Guest stars went from people such as Ronald and Benita Colman, Tyrone Power, and Gene Kelly appearing each week or every other week, to stars appearing once every month or two, and often friends of Jack who would appear for reduced or no salary.  On June 1, 1952, Phil Harris broadcast his last regular show with Jack.  Sources vary on why he left, but Phil himself said that he had just “had enough”, didn’t want to go into television, and preferred to concentrate on helping Alice raise the family.  He was the first member of the well-recognized Benny cast to leave, after being on the program for 16 years.

However in some ways, Mary can be considered the first to have “left” the program.  In 1948, Jack had started transcribing his radio show.  At the end of that season, Mary had talked with Jack about leaving the program due to the overwhelming stage fright she had developed over the years.  However, she was persuaded to continue with the program by recording her lines at home, with either her brother (Hilliard Marks, also the show’s producer) or George Balzer giving her the cue lines.  Another woman stood in for her during the actual performance (these stand-ins included daughter Joan Benny, the script secretary Jeanette Eyemann, or occasionally an unknown actress), and Mary’s lines edited in at a later time.  Ironically, on a couple of occasions the stand-in would fluff a line and get a good audience reaction, requiring Mary to fluff the same line intentionally in her home recording.  Mary was not eager to follow the program to television, although filming of the show persuaded her to appear on selected appearances through the mid-50s.

While doubling between radio and television, the writers started creating running gags for the radio show.  One of the most long-lived was born on September 30, 1951 when Jack “wrote” the song When You Say I Beg Your Pardon, Then I’ll Come Back to You.  His trying to get the song published or performed by a notable celebrity ran until the end of the television series, with it being performed by people ranging from Frank Sinatra to Lawrence Welk to Peter, Paul, and Mary.  Other running and reused gags include Mel Blanc delivering “cimeron rolls” and a few versions of the Beverly Hills Beavers (a fictitious Boy Scout-type group that Jack led) performing their version of Jack’s show.  To handle the extra writing, Hal Goldman and Al Gordon were added to the writing staff.

Also, many scripts were reused between radio and television.  Jack dreamed he was married to Mary with Joan as their daughter on both radio and television.  He also had visits from the IRS confirming that he spent only $17 on entertainment in a year, with the agents confirming such with the Colmans on radio and Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Stewart on television.  Jack was awakened by a DJ at 4AM and hit the jackpot in Las Vegas on both media.  

The television shows fit two basic styles:  the “in one” (theatre term referring to an act done at the front of the stage before a closed curtain) and the situation comedy.  “In one” shows would start with Jack’s monologue (something he had discarded in radio years prior), the introduction of a guest and banter with Jack (and possibly a musical performance or two if they had that capability), and a skit in the second half.  Situation comedy shows would have Jack, often at home, dealing with various storylines and surrounded by Rochester, Don Wilson, Mary, Dennis Day, Frank Nelson (“yessss?”), Mr. Kitzel, and various other characters.  These shows more closely mirrored the format  that had become so familiar on radio.  On some occasions, the first half would be “in one” and the “skit” would be a situation comedy.

Around 1952, Jack began to rediscover his love of the violin.  He took his practicing seriously this time, working for hours in the bathroom adjoining his bedroom.  He began giving benefit concerts with a combination of monologue and serious concert work, starting with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  Jack had long made comedy of his mediocre violin playing, but he was now playing Mendelssohn and Rimsky-Korsakov as opposed to “The Glow Worm” and “Love in Bloom”.  Isaac Stern became his informal manager, connecting symphony orchestras with him.  When Jack once wondered aloud at why a symphony orchestra would want to hire him over Isaac Stern, Stern replied, “We real important violinists can only get $5.50 a ticket–but somebody as rotten as you–for you, they can charge a hundred dollars a ticket!”  Jack also had a running joke that at most concerts, the expensive seats are down front.  In his, the cheap seats were down front, and got more expensive the further away you sat.  “For $200, you don’t have to come at all!”

By 1953, it was clear that the golden age of radio was over.  Jack began doing his television programs every three weeks for the 1953-54 season, and every two weeks for 1954-55.  The radio program featured several reruns during the 1954-55 season.  On May 22, 1955, Jack’s last regular radio program was aired.  There was no major fanfare in the show–it was simply another Jack Benny program, with Mel Blanc clowning as Twombley, the sound effects man (undoubtedly a reference to sound man Gene Twombley, husband of Bea Benadaret who was also a semi-regular on the Benny program).  Jack’s radio programs would continue to be rebroadcast as “The Best of Benny” from October 28, 1956 to June 1, 1958.

On March 9, 1954 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Joan Benny married Seth Baker after a whirlwind courtship.  They settled in an apartment in New York, and on July 16, 1955, presented Jack and Mary with their first grandchild, a boy named Michael.  As fate would have it, the marriage dissolved shortly after Michael’s arrival.  Joan moved back home to North Roxbury, and gave the Bennys the opportunity to dote on their grandson at every opportunity.  In March of 1956, Joan married Buddy Rudolph.  Buddy formally adopted Michael, and Joan gave birth to a girl, Maria, in 1957.  Again, fate would see the marriage end in 1959.

On October 2, 1956, Jack reached one of the pinnacles of his symphony career, playing a benefit to save a financially-troubled Carnegie Hall.  $50,000 was raised, and Jack’s performance received a positive review (from a comedic standpoint) by New York Times music critic Harold C. Schonberg.  He is often misquoted (and actually improved upon) as having said, “Last night at Carnegie Hall, Jack Benny played Mendelssohn.  Mendelssohn lost.”

Jack’s television program continued airing every two weeks, featuring a variety of plots and skits including:  a spoof of “You Bet Your Life” with Groucho Marx, Jack instructing a very young Johnny Carson on comedy, Jack standing in for Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers, and spoofing “The Honeymooners” with Audrey Meadows.  In 1957, Jack won an Emmy for “Best continuing performance [male] in a series by a comedian, singer, host, dancer, MS, announcer, narrator, panelist, or any person who essentially plays himself”.  In 1958, the show took the Emmy for Best Comedy Series.

On March 18, 1959, Jack’s first special–The Jack Benny Hour–was aired.  It featured guest stars Mitzi Gaynor, Bob Hope, Senor Wences, and the Marquis Chimps in their first of several performances with Jack.  Jack did three specials in 1959, and another in 1960.

At the start of the 1959 season, CBS moved Jack’s television program from its Sunday at 7:30PM timeslot (originally geared to follow Jack’s radio program at 7PM), to Sunday at 10PM.  The second show of the season featured a guest appearance by former President Harry Truman, who was also a friend of Jack’s.  In October of 1960, Jack began doing a weekly television program and moved to Sunday at 9:30PM.  During the 1961-62 season, Jack’s program was opposite the second half of  Bonanza, an hour-long western shows with growing popularity.  Jack decided to watch it one week, and ended up missing his own program.  Jack noted, “If I myself get so absorbed in Bonanza that I forget my own program, what chance have I got with the millions of other viewers?”

In September, 1962, Jack’s program moved to Tuesday at 9:30.  It was the first time in 28 years that his program had not graced the Sunday night lineup.  The guest stars were still top-notch, including Sammy Davis, Jr., Phil Silvers, Raymond Burr, Rod Serling, Connie Francis, Frankie Avalon, and others.  Carol Burnett teamed with Jack for an unforgettable Tarzan skit.  The show held 12th place in the ratings, then slipped to 14th in 1963.  

In 1963, Joan married Bob Blumofe at the Roxbury home.  Joan and Bob had a son, Bobby, on June 23, 1964, and a daughter, Joanna, on June 29, 1965.

At the end of the 1963-64 season, CBS elected not to renew Jack’s contract.  He signed a one-year contract with NBC, which slated the show for Fridays at 9:30PM.  However, the show was opposite the new Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a spin-off of The Andy Griffith Show.  Gomer Pyle was a surprise hit, and Jack’s program was unable to make the top 15 in the ratings.  A violinist in his late 20s appeared on the show of February 12, 1965;  a young man named Stuart Canin, who had been partially responsible for the start of the Benny-Allen feud almost 30 years earlier.  On April 16, 1965, the Smothers Brothers guested on Jack’s last regular television program;  Jack was 71 years old.  The fall of 1965 brought the first season without a Jack Benny Program in 33 years.”

Read more about Jack Benny:

http://www.jackbenny.org/

Watch the Jack Benny Show on Channel 2 on this blog.

Jack Benny Show