Just saw this story (and a number of variations):

FCC fines ABC over 'NYPD Blue'; network to appeal

LOS ANGELES, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission on Friday said it plans to fine the Walt Disney Co's ABC network $1.4 million for airing an episode of "NYPD Blue" in 2003 that showed a woman's nude buttocks.

The company said it opposes the fine and plans to appeal.

In a notice filed on Friday, the agency said 52 television ABC stations in the Central and Mountain time zones had aired the scene at 9 p.m. in violation of federal restrictions against broadcasting "obscene material" between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The agency said it received "numerous complaints" about the scene, in which a young boy walks in on a nude woman about to take a shower.

See http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USN2530635020080126 for the story in full.

A couple of things came to mind:

* This is a complaint for a show which aired close to five years ago? A show which aired before the whole Janet Jackson incident with the Superbowl?  Nice job, FCC. Way to strike while the iron is hot...

* NYPD Blue had been known for its racy rear shots for years at this point.  The reason this one was singled out, apparently, was because of the "young boy" who walked in.  I didn't watch the episode, but there were no sexual connotations involving the young boy.  The subplot involved the trials and tribulations of a single parent dating while trying to raise a kid. We're also not talking about an extended camera shot here -- it was over in a flash.

* If you're watching NYPD Blue (which, during 2003, used the mandatory TV ratings system -- which meant it could easily be blocked by televisions with the V-Chip installed (which was installed in all TVs for years at that point), you pretty much knew what you were getting into.  If not, the disclaimer at the beginning advising viewer discretion should have helped steer potentially offended people away.  But let's say that someone accidentally stumbled upon that episode of NYPD Blue by chance without the faintest idea what would appear. A buttock! Oh no! Is it really that offensive? Personally, I have two of them.  I simply don't see what the big deal is.

* No. I do see precisely what the big deal is.  Groups like Donald Wildmon's American Family Association instructs its members to blindly send copies of form letters to the FCC en masse to purify the airwaves of certain things they find objectionable.  And the FCC caves to that pressure. And why not? It's giving some of the people what they want while gaining revenue.  Who could argue with that?

Well, ABC is arguing with that. They are appealing the fine and will likely settle for a smaller amount. Not that I have any pity for ABC/Disney which is doing fine economically compared to much of the nation. But still -- this shouldn't be something the FCC should bring up five years after the fact to drum up Republican coffieurs.

Oh -- and one more thing:

* What's more offensive -- someone's bare butt before she steps into the shower, or the droves of people shot in the head by Jack Bauer or any of the other characters on "24?" Where the FUCK has the AFA and the FCC been to combat the violence that apparently has been acceptable while they've been allegedly attempting to "protect the children" from anatomy that all of them have?

Thanks, FCC. Thanks for keeping those airwaves safe.

So it's been a bit since I've blogged.  I'm getting lazy, I suppose.  But in truth, I'm trying to avoid making so many entries that are nothing more than glimpses into my dull routine.  This may be, in fact, an online diary, but that doesn't mean I need to bore you with entries about my daily life.

That being said, this past weekend was an unusual one for me, in that I had not one, but two dates.  And not with the same person, either.

Last Monday night, I placed an ad on Craigslist.  It was a long, somewhat rambling kind of thing, that was "inspired" by the fact that I'd made the mistake of watching a romantic comedy while I was already somewhat depressed.  Naturally, this made me feel worse, and so I posted. 

I don't know what I expected.  Maybe a small handful of responses.  All told, I got over a dozen, which did surprise me.  I replied to all of them, though I could tell from the initial emails that there was no way we'd really hit it off.  But there were three or four that stood out.  Well, I've now met in person with two of them.  One of them, I might meet this weekend.  No plans, yet, to meet anyone else. 

How'd the dates go?  Okay, I guess.  I really like both of them, but so far, I'm not feeling anything beyond friendship for them.  But y'know what?  That's perfectly fine.  I honestly never expected to find any sort of romance from the post.  But if I get a couple good friends?  That's successful.


Well, something else did come out of one of the dates: a new drink!

One of the girls told me a story of a report she'd done in grade school.  The report was on the country of Brazil.  And she got completely fascinated by the Brazilian weasel (known as the Coati).  Her report consisted largely of facts about this animal (which got her a bad grade and a "talking to" from her teacher for not taking the assignment seriously or something like that).

I said, "The Brazilian Weasel... that's a cocktail name if ever I heard one."

So I did a little research.  First, I learned that the national drink of Brazil is Cachaça.  This is a type of rum, but made from sugar cane, rather than molasses.  Next, I looked up the word "weasel" on Webtender.  I only found one drink that included that in the name.  It was made from tequila, rum 151, lemon juice, and sugar.  Well, I wanted it to be different, so I decided that the Brazilian Weasel should be Cachaça, Coke, and lemon juice.

Please don't drink this.  It's vile.

But y'know, the other beverage I think of when I think of Brazil is... yeah... coffee.  So, please do try this one:

        The Brazilian Weasel

• 1 oz. Cachaça
• 1 oz. Café de Nuit
• 1 oz. Half-and-Half

Yummers.

Oh, just my thoughts on the Cachaça...  It's not that great.  I bought the 2-year old, "aged" version.  Still pretty harsh stuff.  On the other hand, the bottle of 12-year old Zaya rum I bought last week?  Wow.  Awesome.

So in the news today, I read a couple things of interest.  Well, okay, the first one is of morbid interest, and that's Paris Hilton has now begun her jail sentence.  She's been really whining a lot about this.  C'mon, bitch, it's 23 days!  In solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, for that matter!  Shit, if I ever did go to prison, I'd want solitary.  Three weeks sitting around doing nothing?  Hell, that's a vacation, to me.

But for Paris?  Poor bimbo had to call her shrink and complain that she couldn't eat or sleep and that her cell was "freezing cold."

Oy.  Y'know, I had more to say about this loser, but why bother?


Moving on...

"Fleeting Expletives" are now okay on prime time TV.  Yeah, the courts have said the FCC needs to lighten the hell up.

About fucking time.

Anyone who thinks their children don't already hear cuss words in school is living in a fantasy.  And anyone who wants the TV to be their babysitter needs a smack upside the head, anyway.

I'm not saying that kids shouldn't be made aware that certain language is inappropriate in certain circumstances.  But it's not too bright to "shelter" them from language that exists in the real world, in some vain hope that they'll never use such words.

STOP BIG MEDIA

 

It's rare for media reform issues to make the

front page...but they did today.

 

This morning, the New York Times revealed that

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is rushing through a

plan to rewrite media ownership rules, letting the

biggest media companies control even more local

outlets. And he's doing it without giving the public

a chance to respond. The rules could take effect

as early as December.

 

It's outrageous that Martin would try to pull a fast one

on Americans. Fortunately, some members of Congress

are fighting back. Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota said,

"If the chairman intends to do something by the end of the

year, then there will be a firestorm of protest and I'm going

to be carrying the wood."

It's time to help Senator Dorgan light the fire.

 

The FCC tried to do this in 2003, and nearly 3 million people

rose up to say no. Our protest forced Congress and the courts

to reject the FCC's decision.

 

But despite overwhelming public opposition,

Chairman Martin is trying to sneak through this

massive giveaway before the Bush administration

leaves office. We can put a stop to Martin's secret

plan by reminding your elected officials that they must

hold the FCC accountable.

 

Don't let Martin get away with rewriting the rules:

Demand that Congress hold the FCC accountable

 

We don't have much time — we need Congress to act

now before it's too late.

Don't make Sen. Dorgan carry the wood all alone.

 

Onward,

Alexandra Russell   

Program Director

Free Press

 

 

People often complain that there's no "good news" out there which gets reported.  I'm happy to tell you that this is not the case.

For last week -- the FCC decided to smile and relax a bit.

http://www.starbulletin.com/2007/07/26/business/engle.html

K-WHAT? Unbuilt Maui TV station lands questionable call letters

THE call letters KUNT have landed at a yet-unbuilt low-power digital television station in Wailuku, Maui.

Alarmingly similar to a word the dictionary says is obscene, the call letters were among a 15-page list of new call letters issued by the Federal Communications Commission and released this week.

The same station owner also received KWTF for a station in Arizona.

From Skokie, Ill., comes a sincere apology "to anyone that was offended," said Kevin Bae, vice president of KM Communications Inc., who requested and received KUNT and KWTF. It is "extremely embarrassing for me and my company and we will file to change those call letters immediately."

He thanked your columnist for bringing the matter to his attention and pledged to, "make sure I don't fall asleep on the job when selecting call signs again."

One might understand how Bae's eyes could glaze over during selection, as KM has some 80 sets of call letters and alpha-numeric callsigns for TV and radio stations in several states.
No KM station is yet on the air in Hawaii but its mainland TV stations carry programming from America One Network, My Network TV and the CW.

The call letter snafu was a source of great mirth for Bae's attorney.

"I can't tell you how long he laughed at me when he learned of my gaffe," Bae said.

Broadcasters for generations have joked among themselves about call letters resembling off-color words or acronyms knowing the FCC would never approve their assignment -- but that was before computerization.

KCUF-FM near Aspen, Colo. got its F-word-in-reverse call letters in August of 2005 and has been on the air since December, "Keeping Colorado Uniquely Free," its Web site says. Uh, yeah.

Station officials could not be reached, but the automated pop-music slinger has been written about twice in the Aspen Daily News. The paper said radio regulators "blessed the call letters."

However, assignment of call letters actually is an automated process, according to Mary Diamond of the FCC's Office of Media Relations. Broadcasters use the FCC Web site to request and receive call letters with no oversight from Beavis, his partner, or any FCC regulator.

Dude, seriously. Even after years of concerns over broadcast indecency and the debate about fines for fleeting profanities that hit the air.

The Code of Federal Regulations allows applicants to request call letters of their choice as long as the combination is available. Further, "objections to the assignment of requested call signs will not be entertained at the FCC," it states.

Hey everyone i know i havent wrote a blog on here in like ages. lol

However today im not here to talk about me. I'm here to post this blog about something that i saw on CNN news!

 

The FCC(the people that run and censor stuff on TV content) is considering or has already decided to give our goverment control of TV!! Thats right! What "We the people" can see on TV!! Do you know how much that would suck! I meen considering all the entertainment stuff we enjoy watching everyday like animes, movies,ect.

 

You might as well kiss that all goodbye! Because this would be the first stage of John Carpenter's Escape from New York/LA scenerio!! Sure..they claim they wont be steping on any 1st amendment rights..but considering our goverment deciding what we what we watch, there opinions!? Leave it to the people to trust themsleves and allow them to decide what they wish to watch or dont watch!

 

Get out there people! Spread the word!! Vote!! Dont let this happen!!!