tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-234349582007-03-05T01:01:08.273-08:00Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comBlogger341tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-62485509554487581362007-03-05T00:51:00.000-08:002007-03-05T00:57:13.827-08:00

A friend of mine sent me this link tonight to a story on an Australian website. It claims Britney Spears flipped her lid in her so-called "rehab" and tried to kill herself. Whether it's real or not, I don't know. Judge for yourself. Although, britneypeople.com think it's true. On another note, I thought this story was interesting. How AP put a moratorium on Paris Hilton stories until today.

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-32888727669576917922007-02-27T17:11:00.000-08:002007-02-27T17:14:34.831-08:00

What the hell were you thinking shaving your head? Have you completely lost your marbles? And what's this bullshit about going into "Rehab?' You don't need that, you just need a good dosage of Prozac and some counseling. Don't mix either with alcohol! I think it's too late.

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-17065798924824096242006-11-21T13:26:00.000-08:002006-11-22T13:26:13.177-08:00

Wow. Today's newspapers, TV news shows and websites are littered with celebrity news today. Tom and Katie, Clay and Kelly, then there's Michael Richards. I could care less about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' funeral...I mean wedding. Why should I care? I don't know them. They're not friends of mine. I'm glad I don't get MSNBC...I guess it was the big story to them: (Courtesy TVNewser.com/MSNBC

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-30047152912087167282006-11-14T08:17:00.000-08:002006-11-22T13:25:51.404-08:00

I have often complained about Sony Corporation (but never on this blog mind you) and their attempts to dictate things in the consumer world. Their efforts are failing and they're losing a lot of money now. Here's a great blog entry about it. http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=sony_bullshit They do the same in the broadcast world. For example, Sony makes their own line of

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-1156826164592733412006-08-28T21:36:00.000-07:002006-11-21T13:45:16.994-08:00

I was reading today that NBC has apologized for Conan O'Brien's pretaped sketch at the top of last night's Emmy Awards. Off the top of the show they had a scene that parodies "Lost" where Conan is in a plane that is apparently crashing. They don't show an actual plane crash but it implies it when moments later, Conan emerges from the ocean on a beach as depicted in the TV series. However,

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-12031259831192754762005-08-27T00:22:00.000-07:002006-11-21T13:42:30.041-08:00

I know it's almost a week late, but I thought the Series Finale of Six Feet Under was the best finale of any TV series ever! Today I watched the final 5 minute montage set to the song "Breathe Me" by Sia for the eighth time. To Alan Ball, Alan Poul, Robert Greenblatt & David Janollari and the writers of Six Feet Under, Kate Robin, Scott Buck, Nancy Oliver, Craig Wright, Rick Cleveland, Jill

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-1163439178117088652006-11-13T09:26:00.000-08:002006-11-13T10:40:30.813-08:00

I'm glad to see that the advertising companies have decided to start Christmas advertising right BEFORE HALLOWEEN this year. But that is still too early! I realize that it's the retail industry's biggest money-making time of year. But every year it seems like the commercials, posters and Christmas decorations go up earlier. I have to admit, though, they waited until the end of October instead

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-73558922258240368572005-03-03T21:25:00.000-08:002006-11-13T10:26:32.598-08:00

Since when has it been considered good behaviour for a child or teenager to boss their parents around? Four times this week I've been in a public place and witnessed children (I'll categorize them all as "children") cussing out their parents and telling them what to do. The most notable was a big scene in Costco this weekend where a teenage girl was pulling her mom away from things in the store

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-16335363600980262012005-08-08T12:03:00.000-07:002006-11-13T10:25:57.930-08:00

I was devastated, this morning, to hear about the death of Peter Jennings. As a Canadian who works in TV that wants to work in the US someday, Peter Jennings was a role model. Work your way to the US network and remain Canadian at heart. It saddens me in another way though. ABC News has a forum to post your thoughts on Peter Jennings. Several conservatives in the US have used it as a soap box.

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-51503272337480399172005-09-01T10:01:00.000-07:002006-11-13T10:23:22.794-08:00

A co-worker pointed out something to me today. On Yahoo News, some photographs taken in New Orleans. One is a white woman neck high in flood waters carrying a food that the caption describes she found in a local store. The other photo is a black man, also in neck high water carrying a food with a caption saying he "looted" from a local store. This is disgusting. What's the matter with these

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-28812701586572466592005-11-09T12:20:00.000-08:002006-11-13T10:22:19.940-08:00

I read a news report today that The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation did a study and found that there is a lot of sex on TV. They said that 70% of TV shows they surveyed had sexual content, averaging 5 scenes per hour. What they consider sexual content is up for debate. I think just discussions about sex were considered sexual content. I don't know what shows they were watching but I can't

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-21705865247276161742005-02-24T10:44:00.000-08:002006-11-13T10:20:02.616-08:00

As I sit here and watch The Apprentice , I can't help but observe how self-centred the people of my generation really are. I realize you can't judge an entire generation of people based on observations from a reality TV show. I mean, really, the people chosen for reality are usually full of themselves to begin with. But, if you take into account the number of e-mails that you should get a reply

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-26439897558484905152005-02-27T12:30:00.000-08:002006-11-13T10:18:06.413-08:00

Okay...is it me, or is this whole idea of the mighty United States of America "containing communism" (Thank you President Truman) getting really old fashioned? The US had held an economic blockade over Cuba for 45 years in the hopes of bringing down the regime of Fidel Castro. He's still in power, broken hip and all. Some US states want the embargo lifted but Washington has only tightened

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-56213195634128360342005-09-22T11:50:00.000-07:002006-11-13T10:10:01.846-08:00

When are people going to learn? After Hurricane Katrina and the strains that put on the oil and gasoline supply. Now Hurricane Rita is now heading towards Texas and everyone in a gas guzzling pickup truck and SUV is getting the hell out of Dodge. (No pun intended) I swear 60% of the vehicles stuck on that highway are SUVs! I hate them, and the people that drive them. Generally, the people that

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-58257739295398715552005-04-24T14:21:00.000-07:002006-11-13T10:01:12.956-08:00

I was noticing today that I haven't made an entry in my blog here for almost 2 months. Usually I bitch about something. This time I think I'll say nothing interesting except praise for the beautiful sunshine here today. As I walked down the street today, the only music I wanted to hear was something lively and spanish. Buena Vista Social Club did the trick. If I didn't have to work today, I'd

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-90985019743925700862005-08-22T09:19:00.000-07:002006-11-13T09:54:15.596-08:00

I've asked this question several times. My generation is very egocentric and self-centered. I have written about this before in my blog (see February 24, 2005 entry). Will this ever change? I don't think we know how good we really have it. Admittedly, I tend to forget that I could be worse off and get caught up in the petty problems of my own life. This all popped in my brain again today

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-63126355660164709802005-08-30T16:09:00.000-07:002006-11-13T09:50:24.461-08:00

I've spent a good part of my afternoon with CNN on watching the coverage of the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina. This is unbelievable. There's a clip from Mobile, Alabama TV station WKRG-TV shot in Biloxi, Missisippi that CNN has been running a lot. In it, a dazed and crying man named Harvey Jackson tells a reporter how he has lost his wife. He was hanging on to her when she said "

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-53503797939735172062005-09-28T10:51:00.000-07:002006-11-13T09:43:27.959-08:00

I'm gearing up for a little (12 hour) drive from Vancouver to Edmonton to see my family and friends there. There's a bad habit I've had for years when I go on a trip of any kind. For some reason, I procrastinate for weeks sometimes months from carrying out various mundane tasks. Then, when I have a trip planned, I use the last few days leading up to my departure to carry them all out. Like

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-62241073706345874692005-12-13T13:59:00.000-08:002006-11-13T09:32:29.181-08:00

Over the last ten years, I've dreaded Christmas. Not the family, big meals and good cheer; but the shopping, commercialization and Christmas advertising. Especially the advertising. Year after year, the corporations slowly creep the start of their holiday advertising earlier than the previous year. I saw Christmas decorations up and the first TV commercials in mid-October. That's way too

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-1156998517391997852006-08-30T21:28:00.000-07:002006-11-13T09:28:03.985-08:00

...and that's what I'm going to get starting Monday. I'm off to London Monday evening (arriving Tuesday morning at 11:00am GMT). This will be my second trip to Europe this year. My first trip was to Turin for the Olympics in February. There I was hired to work on the relief crew for the host broadcaster and ended up blogging most of the time. More people read that damn blog than I ever

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-1152852203719174202006-07-13T21:43:00.000-07:002006-11-13T09:28:03.797-08:00

Yesterday was a crazy day in our newsroom. But even crazier in others! At around 7:00am Pacific time we started to get word (through The Globe and Mail website) that Bell Globemedia (or BGM - our parent company) was buying CHUM Limited, one of our competitors. At the time, I thought it was just speculation. After all these are two very big players in Canadian broadcasting and with most of the

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-1152437775808746012006-07-09T02:36:00.000-07:002006-11-13T09:28:03.715-08:00

After successfully finding a 1/2 track, stereo open reel machine (A PR99 to be exact) and successfully finding a part for it on eBay to get it running (Fader Start PCB....thanks CoryLinda in Regina), I've been frantically dubbing a bunch of old open reel tapes to CD to archive. The tapes are over 10 years old and are recordings of the radio shows my friends and I produced for my old pirate radio

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-1150860068060920432006-06-20T20:17:00.000-07:002006-11-13T09:28:03.636-08:00

I'm mourning the loss of the Edmonton Oilers in last night's Stanley Cup Final. It frustrates me (and I'm probably not alone here) that the Stanley Cup was awarded to a city that really doesn't appreciate hockey the way Edmonton (hell all of Canada) does. That being said, despite the loss, I'm sure the attitude in Edmonton is that of 'Thanks Oilers' for restoring some faith in the NHL.

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-1149796762908783232006-06-08T12:52:00.000-07:002006-11-13T09:28:03.544-08:00

I wonder if Canadian Networks are going to stop buying US programs because their getting LAME. (Who are we kidding?) The US will moving back into the dark ages with the passing of the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act. This basically gives the FCC powers to fine TV and radio stations for airing content it deems offensive. But what defines that is up in the air. To make matters worse, they have

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434958.post-1147035791153991012006-05-07T14:03:00.000-07:002006-11-13T09:28:03.438-08:00

As the film version of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" gets closer to being released the Catholic church is getting louder and louder about it's opposition to the film. Where were they when the book was released? Why weren't they as loud then? For the last month or so, every day, I have seen some sort of story about the Vatican calling for a ban on the film or encouraging Christians not to

Mike Laverdierehttp://www.mikelav.com