www.tulok.net : Earlier Entries
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Entry 60 June 1, 2003 12:00 am |
Got a little surprise Saturday morning when I turned on my satellite receiver and noticed that Dish Network was not airing KTUL's programming, but instead was getting a repeating message from the Dish Network CEO saying that Channel 8's owners, Allbritton Communications, has demanded that Echostar stop broadcasting their local channels across the country. The CEO, naturally, said Allbritton was not negotiating in good faith. Later in the afternoon KTUL's web page mentioned the incident, although they naturally insist Echostar is to blame. (Here's a link to Dish Network's side of the story, and here's KTUL's version.)
After reading both sides' versions, and not as yet hearing an impartial third-party version (and not likely to until businesses reopen Monday), I've made my decision on who to believe. Here's a copy of the response I sent to KTUL about their article:
Having heard both sides of the issue, and given the fact that Dish Network is NOT offering the NY/LA stations as a replacement makes part of your story a blatant lie, I tend to believe Echostar's side of the story. Allbritton's demand that the channels be dropped on a SATURDAY MORNING is further proof for me that my five-year relationship with Dish was not misspent.Main reason I'm reprinting it here is because, as it is so anti-KTUL, I fully expect it NOT to appear on their website, further proof of where blame should be placed. Even if they do print it, I'm really not expecting a reply from anyone associated with management.
If I want to watch ABC soaps, I can see them on SoapNet.
Reality programming, there's ABC Family.
NBA & NHL, never interested me.
ABC's "masterful" prime-time schedule? Puh-leese!
And Local News? Got three other channels for that.
You can make whatever claims you want, I'm sticking with Dish. Your blatant attempt to switch me to Cox or DirecTV will not work. You're only hurting yourself by refusing to work in the public interest.
They really are only hurting themselves. The only ABC entertainment programming I watched on a regular basis has been cancelled, and nothing new on their fall lineup has piqued my interest. I did watch their news, but I also watch 2 & 6, flipping between the three, so no big loss there.
In fact, for as long as those of us who were already subscribed to Tulsa local stations have to do without channel 8, all our other local channels are being comped. That's right, for as long as Allbritton management remain greedy little [expletive deleted]s, my Dish Network bill will be $5.99 less each month.
I expect Allbritton will cave in pretty soon: they also own the ABC affiliate in Washington DC, and that channel is gone too. Government officials don't like things being taken away from them. Something'll be done rather quickly.
Garfield is coming to the big screen. In a format similar to the recent "Rocky & Bullwinkle" movie, Garfield (and, I'm assuming Odie as well) will be CGI characters in a live-action world.
This week they annouced that Bill Murray would be the voice of the cat. Thinking about it, and being a big fan of the cartoon series, I can't think of a better choice. He could match the tones and inflections we're all used to hearing in Garfield. (In case you're wondering why they don't just use the same guy who did the voice in the cartoons, Lorenzo Music is sadly no longer with us.)
The part about the movie that's worrying me is this article, claiming that Garfield "is going to look like Garfield would if he was a real, live animal."
But then he won't look like... well, Garfield. He may have Garfield's sarcasm, Garfield's appetite, and Garfield's nap habits, heck, he may even be orange with stripes, but he won't be Garfield. 1:23am
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Entry 61 June 2, 2003 12:00 am |
Been two days, and sure enough, KTUL doesn't have the guts to post my retort to their statement of lies. This article from the Washington Post is the closest thing I've found so far to anything trying to relate both sides of the saga. The quotes they took from the WJLA website, which is also no longer on Dish Network, show me that the identically-worded KTUL article was nothing but a prepared statement from the Allbritton management, and had no input whatsoever by anybody directly on the Channel 8 payroll.
The Post article cleared up the issue for me a little bit. Federal law, particularly a piece of legislation pushed through by the satellite companies, permits those companies to "provide network affiliates from other markets to homes located in areas where signals of local affiliates can't be picked up."
Those italics are mine, and that's where Allbritton's statement becomes a baldfaced lie. Their statement suggests that if I can't get their signal, I can get NY & LA channels as an alternative. The actual law, according to the Post, suggests to me that if I'm in an area where I can legally get an Albritton station via satellite, the NY/LA rule doesn't apply!
What I think is happening is that Allbritton's just jealous. See, they don't have any stations in New York or Los Angeles, so they can't apply that particular part of the law to themselves.
Tonight, Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen is going to have a live chat with Albritton viewers, on the channel where they used to carry Albritton programming, to explain in more detail what's going on and take calls from viewers. The simple fact that the ability to take calls invites the possibility of opposing viewpoints, while the Albritton stations are obviously cutting off all opposing views from their websites, further prove to me that my loyalty to Dish Network is well-placed.
I have to work during tonight's live chat, so I won't be able to call in and give my opinion, so I'm sending Dish Network a copy of these last two rants, to show them that these events will not cause them to lose this customer. I would consider sending a copy to Allbritton, but since they obviously don't care what I think, I don't see why I should waste the time.
Hmmm, maybe the FCC would be interested in my opinion. Whaddya think, Mr. Ergen? 2:46pm
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Entry 63 June 4, 2003 12:00 am |
Reminder to self: don't use aloe vera on a sunburn after it's already peeled. AAIIYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! 4:27pm
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Entry 62 June 4, 2003 12:00 am |
The crisis has passed! KTUL is currently back on Dish Network. Echostar's website is announcing an agreement has been reached between them and Albritton.
Not sure how it was resolved, but I'm sure Dish Network's going to both the FCC and U.S. District Court to say that the retransmission consent agreement that Albritton was demanding would violate federal law had something to do with it.
I was gonna spend this entry describing in detail the conflict, as it was explained by the Echostar CEO Monday night on the channel-temporarily-not-being-used-by-KTUL. Now that it's back on the air, though, I don't see the point. Suffice it to say that many of Albritton's demands were specifically violations of the Satellite Home Viewers' Act passed by Congress four years ago, the very act which permitted local stations to be broadcast by satellite.
Did get a nice response from Dish Network to the email I sent them. It was a form letter, naturally, but given that it began "Dear Martin," and I didn't sign my name simply (there were three lines to it), it meant somebody actually had to read my email, if for no other reason than to get my first name out of it.
As far as Allbritton goes, did they ever post my email, or for that matter anybody else's? Did I even get a acknowledgment of my pitiful existence from them. Take a wild guess. 4:00am
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Entry 64 June 7, 2003 12:00 am |
The 253rd Sign Of The Apocalypse: on Sunday a cable network will hold a press conference in Chicago to unveil what they claim to be the world's largest bobblehead doll.
An eleven-foot bobblehead.
Of game show host Chuck Woolery.
Can't wait to see this one in the Guiness Book of World Records. Could be worse, I guess. Could be a fifteen-foot bobblehead of Urkel. 12:32am
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Entry 65 June 21, 2003 12:00 am |
Been a bit under the weather lately, apologies for not being around awhile.
Did another mini road trip Thursday (if you can call 612 miles "mini"; still, not bad given I didn't get on the road until 1:30pm). Finished up the US-69 corridor, leaving only two areas of southeastern Oklahoma, which should be finished up in two more road trips. Then I can start worrying about the western part of the state.
An unofficial road trip happened Friday, while in Missouri updating my Powerball tickets. Got two Missouri state highways and a business route. Lovely part of the country up there. I'm now conflicted as to which state to work on when I get Oklahoma finished. I was going to move on to Kansas, because they have so many more highways, but Missouri's roads appear to be much more scenic. Maybe I'll do Missouri when everything's green and Kansas when it's not.
In the first installment of a recurring series, I hereby inflict The Roadklahoma Curse on three people:
- The person who came up with the idea for the SUV.
- The person who invented tinted windows.
- The person who first said, "Hey, why not make the rear windows of SUVs tinted, so the people behind you will have absolutely no way of seeing anything in front of you."
"You got that many kids, buy a station wagon like a real American!!!"
Every time I heard that TNN was changing it's name to Spike TV, I honestly have to admit that not once did Spike Lee ever cross my mind (story). The one that always came to my mind was Spike the Souled Vampire from Buffy. One time I also thought about Spike the Dog, enemy of Droopy and larger foil for Jerry the Cat.
Not only do I hope that Viacom prevails and the name change goes forward, I hope they can successfully sue Lee for every penny they've lost by the delay, an amount already in the tens of millions.
I was never that interested in watching a Spike Lee "joint" prior to this incident, but I can assure you that I will now definitely never watch one!
That new segment of the Gilcrease Expressway they've been working on for two years finally opened this past Monday. I've been on this half-mile segment twice since then, and while it's not a bad segment at all, I still have to say:
Two years? For THAT?
That hurricane screen saver I mentioned earlier? A tropical storm has been brewing in the eastern Pacific for the past couple of days, and the screen saver still hasn't noticed it. So, my recommendation is not to bother.
And for the next ten years, it's gonna be the NASCAR Nextel Cup. While I don't have much of an opinion about Nextel because I don't know much about them, I can't help but wonder what's gonna happen if Robbie Gordon should win a race in the Cingular Wireless car, or when Ryan Newman wins in the Alltel car, both companies direct competitors to Nextel. As least with the Winston Cup there were no competing cigarette organizations. 5:55am
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Entry 66 June 24, 2003 12:00 am |
Couldn't let this one get away. In the latest "My name is Spike and I rule the Universe" saga, Viacom latest court filings include affidavits from an ally. Specifically, the estate of 40's musical satirist Spike Jones, who also claim Spike Lee cannot have exclusive rights to the name (story).
I've always enjoyed Spike Jones' work: he was pretty much my parents' equivalent of Weird Al Yankovic (here's a fan link with some of his stuff). And now, years after his death, he's still keeping me entertained.
And for the record, an earlier news story (can't find the link anymore) talked about the company that does own the trademark to the name Spike (not Mr. Lee), and Viacom worked out a deal with the company to use the name. I'm actually surprised that this company hasn't filed a countersuit against Lee yet, claiming attempted theft of trademark or somethin'. 5:48am
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Entry 67 June 29, 2003 12:00 am |
Two more roadtrips this weekend, although not the two I had previously mentioned (did two this weekend because I don't plan on doing any next weekend on account of the 4th of July holiday).
My original plan was to go south to the Ardmore & Lake Texoma areas on Thursday, and then head west on Friday, leaving that much less to do on my Panhandle Excursion in August. After awaking on Thursday and seeing that the entire southern half of the state would be engulfed in rain the entire day, I decided to flip-flop the trips.
Thursday's journey out west was very satisfying. The scenery was nice, the people were nice, and most of all, NO SUV'S!!! Plus, I was able to take pictures until almost 9pm without any artificial lighting. The 652 miles driven that day include the furthest west I have EVER been in the state of Oklahoma: the west side of Woodward.
As for Friday's 554 miles: the less said the better. All of the usual problems that I have on these roadtrips--specifically, other drivers--were multiplied tenfold. Based on the license plates, I was able to narrow down the source of my problem:
Texans. Lotsa Texans.
Back when I was still a teen the entire family drove to Seattle. Both directions of the trip it seemed like every other car was from Wisconsin. I concluded that the entire state had gone on vacation.
Maybe the entire state of Texas wasn't on vacation this time, but it sure seemed like those Texans who were vacationing weren't staying in their home state. Fortunately I should be able to cover the remainder of the Red River region in one trip, and I hope that people in the Texas panhandle are more like those in western Oklahoma.
Two days, 1206 miles. And I'm still doing the night shift. Didn't leave on either day until after noon. 4:17am
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