Help us Celebrate World Toilet Day

Our Tribute to World Toilet Day. We flushed smilin' Bob down our local gas station toilet as our way of joining the celebration. So here is to Jon Crapper, the potty, the can, the commode, De Latrine. Later, historians may revere this as the porceline throne of modern man.

Reality TV

Reality Bites: The Cynical Underpinning of Reality TV by: Aldene Fredenburg
From "Survivor" to "The Amazing Race," from "The Apprentice" to "Runway," the ugly truth is that, far from being a competition in which the best contestant wins, Reality TV shows are rife with infighting, political cliques, backbiting, betrayal, and exclusion. Alliances are formed, individuals are targeted for expulsion, and participants often lie about each other in order to put themselves in a better light than their competitors. In a recent episode of "The Apprentice," one team discovered that the competing team had arranged to purchase every available megaphone from a store chain for an upcoming promotion. The team that made the discovery beat their competitors to the store carrying the equipment, misrepresented themselves to the store clerk, and made off with the other team's megaphones. Donald Trump's response? "Good for them!" All of which says what about American culture? Have we entered an era of social Darwinism in which "the survival of the fittest" rules? Is Reality TV redefining the values of the American people, or are they only reflecting a shift that had already taken place? Consider this: Over a million additional Americans fell below the poverty level in the year 2004. Over forty million Americans are without health insurance coverage. Huge spikes in oil and natural gas prices, even before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, threatened the financial survival of the working poor as they faced a harsh winter and impossibly high heating fuel bills. And all the while, Congress and the Bush administration promoted tax cuts for the wealthy, okayed windfall profits and subsidies for the oil companies, and discussed cutting fuel assistance programs. Survival of the fittest. Now think about Katrina, and the woefully inadequate governmental response, and the circling of land speculators around the ruined neighborhoods of New Orleans only days after the hurricane. Substitute food and water for those purloined megaphones, and adequate health care, and decent affordable housing, and ask yourselves: Is the view of life expressed many times a week on these Reality TV shows what we truly want for this country? Do we want our government and private citizens to react to a disaster like Katrina by fighting for necessities, cutting the weak out of the loop when it comes to essential services, and turning our backs on the most vulnerable among us in favor of the strong, the healthy, the well-connected, and the rich? Because those are the values we're worshipping constantly in our support of the ubiquitous Reality TV programming. We need to take a good look at Reality TV and the morally bankrupt values it is promoting, and ask ourselves this: What do we as citizens want our relationship to be with each other? What do we want our government, which acts as our surrogate, to do to help the poorest and the weakest among us? Are we really committed to the "survival of the fittest" view as expressed by Reality TV, corporate interests, and current government officials, or do we want to create a community which provides a safety net for the vulnerable and help for each other in the event of unexpected misfortune? Fans may enjoy all the high drama of their favorite reality TV shows, and may laugh at any comparison to our larger social structure. But the grim fact is, Reality TV eerily reflects the cynicism and self-interest that permeates American society today, and the implications of that, should another widespread disaster strike, are not pretty.
About The Author
Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern New Hampshire and frequently contributes to Tips and Topics. She has published numerous articles in local and regional publications on a wide range of topics, including business, education, the arts, and local events. Her feature articles include an interview with independent documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and a feature on prisoners at the New Hampshire State Prison in Concord. She may be reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com.

Final Survivor for the Season

Don't forget, Sunday night is the final Survivor for this season. Now that Jonathon is gone, it's more boring. Yes, he is a dick, but it is more interesting with the antagonist-hole. Maybe the drama will intensify with this being the last of the challenges before the big vote. Come on Yule!

Reality Shows

Reality Bites: The Cynical Underpinning of Reality TV by: Aldene Fredenburg
From "Survivor" to "The Amazing Race," from "The Apprentice" to "Runway," the ugly truth is that, far from being a competition in which the best contestant wins, Reality TV shows are rife with infighting, political cliques, backbiting, betrayal, and exclusion. Alliances are formed, individuals are targeted for expulsion, and participants often lie about each other in order to put themselves in a better light than their competitors. In a recent episode of "The Apprentice," one team discovered that the competing team had arranged to purchase every available megaphone from a store chain for an upcoming promotion. The team that made the discovery beat their competitors to the store carrying the equipment, misrepresented themselves to the store clerk, and made off with the other team's megaphones. Donald Trump's response? "Good for them!" All of which says what about American culture? Have we entered an era of social Darwinism in which "the survival of the fittest" rules? Is Reality TV redefining the values of the American people, or are they only reflecting a shift that had already taken place? Consider this: Over a million additional Americans fell below the poverty level in the year 2004. Over forty million Americans are without health insurance coverage. Huge spikes in oil and natural gas prices, even before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, threatened the financial survival of the working poor as they faced a harsh winter and impossibly high heating fuel bills. And all the while, Congress and the Bush administration promoted tax cuts for the wealthy, okayed windfall profits and subsidies for the oil companies, and discussed cutting fuel assistance programs. Survival of the fittest. Now think about Katrina, and the woefully inadequate governmental response, and the circling of land speculators around the ruined neighborhoods of New Orleans only days after the hurricane. Substitute food and water for those purloined megaphones, and adequate health care, and decent affordable housing, and ask yourselves: Is the view of life expressed many times a week on these Reality TV shows what we truly want for this country? Do we want our government and private citizens to react to a disaster like Katrina by fighting for necessities, cutting the weak out of the loop when it comes to essential services, and turning our backs on the most vulnerable among us in favor of the strong, the healthy, the well-connected, and the rich? Because those are the values we're worshipping constantly in our support of the ubiquitous Reality TV programming. We need to take a good look at Reality TV and the morally bankrupt values it is promoting, and ask ourselves this: What do we as citizens want our relationship to be with each other? What do we want our government, which acts as our surrogate, to do to help the poorest and the weakest among us? Are we really committed to the "survival of the fittest" view as expressed by Reality TV, corporate interests, and current government officials, or do we want to create a community which provides a safety net for the vulnerable and help for each other in the event of unexpected misfortune? Fans may enjoy all the high drama of their favorite reality TV shows, and may laugh at any comparison to our larger social structure. But the grim fact is, Reality TV eerily reflects the cynicism and self-interest that permeates American society today, and the implications of that, should another widespread disaster strike, are not pretty.
About The Author
Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern New Hampshire and frequently contributes to Tips and Topics. She has published numerous articles in local and regional publications on a wide range of topics, including business, education, the arts, and local events. Her feature articles include an interview with independent documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and a feature on prisoners at the New Hampshire State Prison in Concord. She may be reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com.

People Watch Reality TV Shows

Reality Television – America Now Watches Reality TV and Admits It by: Janice A. Karp
When the first Reality TV Shows aired, like Survivor, American Idol, and Big Brother, viewers didn’t know what to make of it and were very critical of the participants. We thought, who would want to be stranded on an island without food and water and be eaten alive by mosquitoes? And after enduring that torture there was the chance of being ostracized during a ritual called tribal council. America saw millions of people waiting on very long lines in rainy, snowy, and cold conditions for a chance to audition for a singing competition called American Idol. Their challenge would be a man named Simon Cowell who would eat them alive like the mosquitoes on Survivor if they didn’t live up to his expectations. America’s Next Top Model was soon to follow which highlights beautiful young woman who have dreams to be models. They go through grueling days beginning at the crack of dawn filled with challenges. A panel of judges that includes Tyra Banks who developed the program, critiques their photos, speech and runway walks. Sometimes the comments are so harsh, the contestants begin to have self-doubt and lose their winning spirit. As time went on we started to embrace Reality television. We now understand that we are watching human beings who have dreams and goals, and want to challenge themselves to be stronger individuals. Criticizing actually validates what they are doing, because it’s easier to criticize others than to admit something is missing in your own life. Unfulfilled dreams and challenges are worse than TRYING and not winning. So as we own up to our insecurities we watch couples in The Amazing Race conquer the world and test their physical and mental limits. We fall in love with the young men and woman who sing so brilliantly on American Idol. We watch Survivor and root for the honest, hard working competitor who uses the power of their mind and strength in their soul to win a million dollars. The reality show If You Think You Can Dance shows us amazing talent beyond the years of young dancers. We can feel their passion while watching them glide, jump, tap, flip, and pirouette across the floor. And it’s difficult to not be moved by a young girl who lives in a bad neighborhood, and endures a rough life that is gorgeous and wins a modeling contract with the best agency in the world. Today we aren’t embarrassed to say we watch Reality TV. We should only be ashamed when we stay on the couch in the safety of our own home and don’t take chances to show the world what we have to offer.
About The Author
Janice A. Karp is 43 years old and lives in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. Janice grew up in New York and earned her degree at LIU - Southampton College. Shortly after, she moved to Maryland for 11 years to pursue her interest in coaching gymnastics. She moved back to Long Beach, New York for a few years, but now resides in Florida where she is pursuing some Home Business opportunities. Some of her interests are writing and running. http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/KARP7448 http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/SANT8116 http://www.EarnEasily.net "All Glory Comes From Daring To Begin"

Reality TV Reality

My Search For Reality in TV Revealed Satellite TV and Television's Future, Now. by: Danny Planet
I never dreamed of TV becoming amazing again – I was the guy with 12 o’clock blinking green on his VCR. Yes, I said VCR. So getting the hang of today’s TV was not a piece of cake.
Recently, during an emergency replace-ectomy of my dying Zenith behemoth, I realized I was in deep trouble. Never mind DVD. Who knew of progressive scan and digital convergence. Aspect ratios and digital comb filters. Anti-glare coatings and so many lines of resolution? I knew of the tv satellite dish, but...
This was a long way from the TV I was nurtured on?
I remember seeing Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show gyrating inside a black & white-glass-globe-picture-tube about as small as the window on a front-load washer.
…Man did the warm glow of that box-at-the-end-of-a-wire get me excited.
Oh, I watched plenty alright! And you know what? I can’t remember ever complaining about getting up from the couch to change the channel… or to adjust the antenna.
Then, Wagon Train on a 19 inch “color set” was about as good as it got.
I lost track of television’s high technology after a while I suppose. I saw TVs getting bigger and I did get hip to cable and the remote control – but distracted by life and a million other things – today’s satellite TV and the whole awesome new experience almost passed me by.
It wasn’t until my first trip to a home-electronics super-store - to replace the dinosaur 25inch Zenith color console, in a polished-wood-cabinet that matched our living-room furniture long ago - that I realized I wasn’t in Kansas anymore… but rather, lost.
Lost in a new-world-unknown.
A world where I discovered satellite tv on flat screens square and wide, Where thin plasmas hung on the wall and flat-panel LCDs framed in silver sat upon slender, tilting pedestals.
I saw TVs that connect to your computer and one, giant-screen, rear-projector that eats digital camera memory sticks to show your photos of grandma on vacation in larger than life and surround sound.
Oh, TVs are still getting bigger, alright. But now they are amazing again and I’m excited. But with that “excitement and amazement”, comes downright confusion. How do they do that? What of “all that” is right for me?
Now, I like the idea of a tv satellite dish on my roof, but it’s a new-tech jungle out there my friend. Prepare if you too are from Kansas.
I'll help you get a clue about what's out there before you buy “what could become” the most incredible entertainment experience you and your living room - or Elvis, could ever dream-up. And for a lot less than you think, too.
Keep your eye on the Planet. I’ll fill you in soon about why I can’t leave my home anymore.
###
About The Author
Danny Planet is author of Danny’s Planet, "the hippest free zine out there", hundreds of articles, web pages, radio spots and celebrity ghost scrawling. Visit him at http://satellite--tv.blogspot.com/. Cut & paste this URL into your browser to read his most current articles and get your seat on Danny's Planet Ark.
dannysplanet@att.net

Start Your Own Reality Show

Getting Your Reality TV Show Idea in Front of the People Who Make Them by: Matt Canham
More, more, more for less, less, less is what the networks are saying about reality television because the popularity has staying power that is here forever.
There will always be a new reality show coming out, with new ideas coming from every aspect of life and there are even television stations dedicated to reality TV 24 hours a day.
But how long can this golden run go on? The short answer is indefinitely, as there is something of a stand off in place. The viewers ask that question, and the producers also ask that question, and both sides continue to watch and create the programs.
Who will crack first? When will they crack? With the huge success of many shows, it is not going to be anytime soon. But what about this huge success?
In terms of the individual success of one show, it will have little to do with the overall popularity of the genre. The run away success of The Simpsons didn't stop others producing animation, just as the wild success of one Reality show won't stop others from being made.
The big attraction to Reality TV is the audience involvement. They are watching real people and invest in them emotionally. Anyone who invests their time emotionally, isn't going to just walk away, so they stay and keep watching to see the eventual outcome. And we already know there are no limits to the behaviour and emotions of human beings.
For this reason, I feel the next wave will be even wilder that the what we are seeing now. It's going to get kind of weird folks, which in turn makes for great television. Sorry to all my buddies in Hollywood that act or are so called real writers.
In my opinion reality TV show writers are just that; "writers" but they are also creators as well which is an interesting duality that is really unique to them. Everyone has got an idea but who is able to lay it out so a producer can envision their show idea, who knows the ins and out and which hoops to jump through. Who knows what will be a colossal waste of time and at the same time knows exactly the proper path to take? The path that can lift your idea from just an idea to a simple proper one page treatment across the right desk of the right person, in the right fashion, without smacking of desperation and looking as if it has been put together by someone lacking experience...
The big consideration these days is the potential market for advertising. If you can clearly identify the target age groups for your show and the companies who might want to advertise to that market, you will have a very powerful pitch. The Contender was a great example - Everlast and Toyota Tundra broadcast to an audience of millions. Reality shows are about Entertainment, but they are also new vehicles for advertising!
Instead of just being involved in the breaks between the show, Reality TV allows advertisers to become part of the show. And any adman worth his place on Madison Avenue will know that being in the mind of the consumer for the whole show, not just 30 seconds of it, is a very worthy exposure for his client.
For this reason, the role of potential advertisers in the show should be of paramount importance to writers. Reality TV is not just about entertainment - it is also about selling products to the shows target audience. Never forget that.
If your idea is good, you might want to move ahead with it NOW. There are 150 top production companies that do reality shows and are waiting for the next big idea.
There is only question left you need to ask yourself. Is it going to be yours?
Copyright 2006 Matt Canham
About The Author
Matt Canham Writer, Producer http://reality-tv-show-pitch.marinerblue.com/ "Reality TV is a different kind of animal": Donald Trump