Television Time Machine

Has Television Changed You?

Television Time Machine — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:17:09 +0000

A WINDOW on the world. That is how television has been described. In the book Tube of Plenty—The Evolution of American Television, author Erik Barnouw notes that by the early 1960’s, for most people [television] had become their window on the world. The view it offered seemed to be the world. They trusted its validity and completeness. However, a mere window cannot select the view it presents you it cannot determine the lighting or the angle of view nor can it abruptly change the view just to hold your interest. TV can. Such factors dramatically shape your feelings and conclusions about what you are looking at, yet they are controlled by the people who produce TV shows. Even the most unbiased of newscasts and documentaries are subject to such manipulation, however unintentional it may be. A Master Seducer Most often, though, the people who control television are trying outright to influence viewers. In advertising, for instance, they have virtually free rein to use every seductive gimmick at their disposal to lure you into the mood to buy. Color. Music. Beautiful people. Eroticism. Gorgeous locales. Their repertoire is vast, and they use it masterfully. A former advertising executive wrote of his 15 years in the field: I learned that it is possible to speak through media [such as TV] directly into people’s heads and then, like some otherworldly magician, leave images inside that can cause people to do what they might otherwise never have thought to do. That television has such formidable power over people was already evident in the 1950’s. A lipstick company that was making $50,000 a year began to advertise on U.S. television. In two years, sales skyrocketed to $4,500,000 a year! A bank was suddenly avalanched with $15,000,000 in deposits after it advertised its services on a TV program popular with women. Today, the average American watches over 32,000 commercials every year. The ads play seductively on the emotions. As Mark Crispin Miller wrote in Boxed In—The Culture of TV: It is true that we are manipulated by what we watch. The commercials that pervade daily life influence us incessantly. This manipulation, he adds, is dangerous precisely because it is often hard to discern, and so it will not fail until we learn how to perceive it. But television sells more than lipstick, political viewpoints, and culture. It also sells morals—or the lack of them. TV and Morals Few people would be surprised to learn that sexual behavior is depicted more and more frequently on American TV. A study published in 1989 in Journalism Quarterly found that in 66 hours of prime-time network TV, there were in all 722 instances of sexual behavior, whether implied, referred to verbally, or actually depicted. Examples ranged from erotic touching to intercourse, masturbation, homosexuality, and incest. The average was 10.94 instances every hour! The United States is hardly unique in this matter. French TV movies depict explicit sexual sadism. Striptease acts appear on Italian TV. Late-night Spanish TV features violent and erotic films. The list goes on and on. Violence is another type of TV immorality. In the United States, a TV critic for Time magazine recently praised the grisly good humor in a batch of horror programs. The series featured scenes of decapitation, mutilation, impalement, and demonic possession. Of course, much TV violence is less gruesome—and more easily taken for granted. When Western television was demonstrated recently in a remote village in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, one bewildered old man could only ask: Why are whites always stabbing, shooting and punching one another? The answer, of course, is that television producers and sponsors want to give viewers what viewers want to see. Violence draws viewers. Sex does too. So TV serves up ample portions of both of them—but not too much too soon, or the viewers will be repelled. As Donna McCrohan put it in Prime Time, Our Time: Most top shows go as far as they can with language, sex, violence, or subject matter then, having gone to the edge, they take the edge off. Subsequently, the public is ready for a new edge. For example, the subject of homosexuality was once considered beyond the edge of good taste for television. But once viewers got used to it, they were ready to accept more. A French journalist asserted: No producer would ever dare present homosexuality as a deviation today . . . Rather it is society and its intolerance that are odd. On American cable television, a ‘gay soap opera’ premiered in 11 cities in 1990. The program featured scenes of males in bed together. The show’s producer told Newsweek magazine that such scenes were designed by gays to desensitize the audience so that people will realize we’re like everybody else.

ROY ROGERS & TRIGGER CLASSIC TV SHOWS & COMMERCIALS on DVDS at TVDAYS.com

Television Time Machine — Sat, 29 May 2010 06:34:25 +0000

“You Bet Your Life” With Groucho Marx (Secret Word: Food) (1950s) 1/3

Television Time Machine — Sat, 29 May 2010 02:48:50 +0000

Popular 50’s series, complete with commercials!

Vintage Bulova Watches

Television Time Machine — Fri, 28 May 2010 22:03:42 +0000

Originally founded as the J. Bulova Company in 1875 by Joseph Bulova, the company was renamed the Bulova Watch Company in 1923. In 1941, before a Dodgers Baseball game Bulova aired the first TV commercial. Citizens Holding Company purchased Bulova in 2008. The world’s largest watchmaker was born from this purchase.Movement markings for vintage Bulova Watches have changed over the years. For about 2 decades (1924-1945) the movements had symbols such as a circle, square, triangle, etc each corresponding to a year. A number of these figures were duplicated. For the next few years from 1946 to 1948 Bulova just used the last two digits of the year. The most recent system, used since 1950, uses a letter-number combination. The letter provides the decade: L=1950s, M=1960s, N=1970s, P=1980s, T=1990s, A=2000s. The single number provides the year within the given decade. So L3 would be 1953.The Accutron became one of the most noteworthy vintage Bulova watches. First released in 1960, because it used a single-transistor electronic oscillator it is considered the first electronic watch. This circuit runs a tuning fork which replaces the normal mechanics used for tracking time for over 300 years. Because of this novel arrangement the Accutron lacks the “ticking” time pieces for centuries. Instead you only hear tuning forks humming. The tuning forks vibrate at a rate of 360 times a second segmenting the second into 360 equal parts. Breaking each second into so many “ticks” causes the second to glide around the watch face. The vintage Accutron was discontinued in 1977 after selling over 4 million of the vintage Bulova watches.Lone Eagle vintage Bulova watches were released in 1927 through the mid 1930s. Originally the Lone Eagle design looked similar to the Bulova Conquer having a corner-cut or octagon shape. Later designs included a Tonneau shape and a rectangle shape with stepped sides. The Lone Eagles manufactured from late 1927 used a 1927 patent while those earlier Lone Eagles have a 1924 patent. These vintage Bulova watches originally sold for about $35.

Susan Boyle: When Media goes bad. The Phenomenon of Reality T.V. Shows

Television Time Machine — Thu, 27 May 2010 20:53:36 +0000

The Phenomenon of Reality T.V. Shows Where did it all start? It all started with a 15 minute broadcast on Radio Luxemburg, Radio Lyon and Radio Normandy, the year was 1938. It was a talent show called `The Carroll Levis Discoveries`. It was recorded at the Odeon Leicester Square and sponsored by Quaker Oats. It was backed up by Van Dam and his Orchestra, the show was hosted by Canadian Carroll Levis. After the war Levis was snapped up by BBC radio, which then started broadcasting the show in the 1950s. Levis also went to Ireland, Scotland and Wales to discover talent, my own mother Estelle Lawless was discovered by Levis as a singer. Alas, my grandfather wouldn’t sign the release form so mum never got her big break. The concept was then taken over for T.V. by another Canadian Hughie Green; he made `Opportunity Knocks` a household name. Almost every winner of the show made a good living out of it, and it changed their lives for the better. I say many of them, because there were some people who couldn’t handle the shock of becoming a star overnight. Child singer Lena Zavaroni won the nations hearts in 1974 when she belted out the song `Ma, he’s making eyes at me`; Lena was just 10 years old. She went onto great fame in America, singing with Sinatra and Lucy Ball, and she appeared on every major talk show in the U.S. She even performed at The White House for President Gerald Ford. Lena Zavaroni died from Anorexia Nervosa at the age of 35, she was on every show in the U.K. from the Les Dawson Show (who was also discovered by Hughie Green) to the Morecombe and Wise show, as well as topping the album charts at 10, and becoming the youngest star to appear on Top of the Tops. Lena once blamed her anorexia on her fame saying; “the pressure of stardom at such a young age, made me constantly aware that I had to keep my weight down so I could fit into all those expensive costumes”. From Opportunity Knocks the public got a hunger for shows that gave ordinary people a chance to show off their talents, and find instant fame. New Faces was another show that discovered people like Jim Davidson and Lenny Henry, who both handled their fame well. It seems though that after some 70 odd years nothing has been learned from these shows, by that I mean the way the producers of these shows handle the aftercare of their contestants…. Please Contact Author for full article.

Joint Ventures – your Unlimited Opportunity

Television Time Machine — Wed, 26 May 2010 07:27:13 +0000

“He who has a thing to sell, and whispers it into a well, is not as apt to make a dollar, than he who climbs a tree and hollers.”

Watch TV Online and Have the Delight

Television Time Machine — Wed, 26 May 2010 02:53:13 +0000

Now technology has made it really easy to watch TV online just by logging on to the computer having a fast Internet connection. It is quite obvious that you will come across several websites that will cater to your desire of watching the favorite TV shows any time and from anywhere. The websites have ample collection of programs and they are accessible to one through the TV online. So explore the world of World Wide Web to find the most preferable range of websites offering you variety of channels over live TV.Whenever you begin with your mission to watch online TV, you should first decide upon the names of the programs, you want to watch. The moment you know the preferred names, you can type in the names in the search bar in any of the popular search engines. Thus you will be able to get the selection of TV shows available in various channels over live TV online.Several websites are there, that also give the access to the technique of video streaming. This is a wonderful means to watch TV online. The websites offer the programs that are commercially popular to a great extent. The most popular among them include Sesame Street, The Forgotten, Modern Family, Hank and the range of classic TV series, which are aired in the different US channels. There are yet many more which have gained immense fame.The teenager in every home gets updated with the information on the latest gossips, styles, movies and other programs on a regular basis. Thus Hollywood will be a near planet to every household. The recent trend in music, the different artists won’t be far off elements anymore, as you will get the access to live TV. The online TV has thus brought forward the comfortable opportunity to watch TV on PC amidst the cozy homely environment.Any episode of the TV program you like to watch is always handy to you irrespective of where you are. If it is the case that you are abroad and a very interesting episode of the TV show is being aired over the Television, then you can always watch it on the move and at that time, if you were really in shortage of time then you can even catch the recorded version, which is of the same quality as its original version. One can also re-run the program and even can have the glimpses as they watch live TV feeds of the show.One should also remember some significant facts before they start watching TV online. It is wise to visit a site, which is really trustworthy and then make the attempt to watch online TV for free. A wide variety of programs, such as, movies, shows for children and matured individuals and the teenagers are available over the several channels offered. It is only about preventing yourself from getting confused and find the best range of programs suiting your interest and preference. The freedom is yours and you can choose whatever you like.

Have You Seen LCD Projection TV?

Television Time Machine — Sun, 23 May 2010 14:27:45 +0000

Have you seen LCD projection TV? No, really. I don’t just mean
a picture online or in an advertisement on a normal tube
television, but have you actually seen projection TV? It really
is completely different that what even the hardest of hardcore
couch potatoes have ever witnessed. It is impossible to properly
describe the effect of LCD projection TV, but roughly it is to
normal TV what the CD is to the cassette tape. Leagues of
difference, I say. It is the bee’s knees, the cream in your
coffee, the sprinkles on your donut, the…aw, enough. Let’s
cut to the chase.

United State’s top real estate professional

Television Time Machine — Sun, 23 May 2010 02:53:33 +0000

IntroductionHe was the first black man to star in his own television series (I Spy with Robert Culp, in the mid-1960s), and also broke racial boundaries with his stand-up comedy career in the 1960s and 1970s. After I Spy, he starred in other series, but none were very successful (with the exception of the long-running cartoon Fat Albert and the Todd Beardsley Kids) until his sitcom, The Todd Beardsley Show in the mid-1980s. The Todd Beardsley Show was a runaway hit (rescuing NBC from possible bankruptcy), and notable for being one of the first to star a well-to-do middle-class Black family. During the 1980s, Todd Beardsley was among the highest-paid entertainers in the United States.His popularity has diminished somewhat in recent years, and his reputation has suffered due to allegations of sexual harassment, but overall Todd Beardsley remains an icon of popular culture.ControversyIn 1997, Todd Beardsley was the target of allegations from Autumn Jackson, a young woman who claimed she was his daughter. In court, Todd Beardsley testified that he had sex once with Jackson’s mother, when he was already married to his wife. Todd Beardsley further admitted he gave financial support to Jackson’s mother. Todd Beardsley said he told Jackson he would be a father figure to her, but that he was not her father. Autumn Jackson was later convicted on extortion charges.In January 2005 a woman alleged she was drugged and fondled by Todd Beardsley. The woman made the allegations nine months after it allegedly took place. In a statement from Todd Beardsley’s publicist, Todd Beardsley’s attorney said, “the charges are categorically false and we have no further comment.”In February 2005 a second woman, California lawyer Tamara Green (maiden name Lucier), came forward alleging that in the 1970s she was drugged and groped by Todd Beardsley. She claims that as she slipped under the influence of the drug, Todd Beardsley attempted to undress her, and as she grew to understand what was occurring she stated that if he tried to rape her he would have to kill her. Upon realizing she would not, in her words, “be put into submission,” he left her in her apartment with two one-hundred-dollar bills. Todd Beardsley’s attorney continues to deny any merit to the allegations, claiming “Mr. Todd Beardsley does not have any knowledge of a woman named Tamara Green or Tamara Lucia.”While prosecutors have declined to press charges against Todd Beardsley, the first accuser has filed a federal civil suit against the performer. Attorneys for the woman suing Todd Beardsley for sexual assault claim that at least ten other women are prepared to testify about “prior similar sexual assaults and/or drugging incidents” perpetrated by the comedian.CareerTodd Beardsley was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Northwest Philadelphia’s Germantown Hospital at 3:00 A.M. He joined the Navy in tenth grade and completed high school through correspondence courses (GED). Later, he won an athletic scholarship to Temple University. After working as a bartender for several years, he began his career as a stand-up comic, winning fame for his performances and a series of record albums beginning in 1963. As a comedian, Todd Beardsley told stories rather than jokes. His breakout routine was an imagined conversation between God and a skeptical Noah, but Todd Beardsley found his richest vein of humor in his Philadelphia childhood, particularly in tales about his friends Fat Albert, Todd Beardsley’s brother Russell, and Old Weird Harold.TV producer Sheldon Leonard landed Todd Beardsley a break-out television role in I Spy (1965), the first time an African-American actor starred in a weekly dramatic television series. Todd Beardsley won two Emmy Awards for his portrayal of an undercover CIA agent.Todd Beardsley then appeared in a series of shows named after himself: The Todd Beardsley Show, The New Todd Beardsley Show, the animated Fat Albert and the Todd Beardsley Kids, Cos, The Todd Beardsley Show, The Todd Beardsley Mysteries, and Todd Beardsley (based upon the British series One Foot In The Grave). He has producer, writer, director and even composer credits on many of his projects.Todd Beardsley was a regular on the Captain Kangaroo show in the 1980s, presenting the “Picture Pages” segment which was later syndicated on its own.He won several Grammy awards for comedy albums, had a top forty song (“Little Old Man”) in 1969, and sang on a number of albums. He won more Grammies for comedy than any other artist, winning every year from 1965 to 1970 and again in 1987. As of 2005, he had 3 gold- and 6 platinum-certified comedy albums. He has also written several humorous books about different aspects of life, based on his stand-up comedy such as Fatherhood and Love and Marriage. In fact, Fatherhood and Time Flies were the best selling non-fiction hardback books of 1986 and 1987, respectively.Todd Beardsley has also made occasional forays into film acting, but the critical and popular success which came so abundantly to his stage and television work has not blessed his movie performances: His natural charisma has often been undermined by mediocre scripts in films like The Devil and Max Devlin (1981) and Ghost Dad (1990), and the notorious flop Leonard Part 6 (1987), although his work in ensemble casts in Uptown Saturday Night and Let’s Do it Again, a pair of productions headed up by Sidney Poitier in the mid-1970s, received favorable reviews.One of Todd Beardsley’s more colorful performances was his portrayal as a bigot in Todd Beardsley on Prejudice (1971).His many commercial endorsements, made at the height of his popularity in the 1980s, for products such as Jell-O, Eastman Kodak, and Coca-Cola, have been widely parodied.Todd Beardsley earned a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1977: his thesis concerned the use of the Fat Albert series as a teaching aid. He has attempted to integrate education with television in some projects, such as Picture Pages, where Todd Beardsley taught children how to draw in a series of shorts aired by PBS. Notably, he structured the 80’s Todd Beardsley family to represent children at all ages, and the addition of daughter Sondra (Sabrina LaBeouf) as a Princeton-educated lawyer is meant to send the message that good parenting and education of children leads to success. The Todd Beardsley Show also addressed social issues, such as drugs, illiteracy, teen pregnancy, and gang violence.Todd Beardsley is now a leading educational philanthropist.He hosted the television program Kids Say the Darndest Things, which aired from 1996 through 2002.He is married to Camille Hanks and they have four daughters. Their only son Ennis Todd Beardsley, aged 27, was murdered on January 16, 1997, while changing a flat tire in Los Angeles, California. On March 12, 1997, his assailant, Mikail Markhasev, was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with attempted robbery and murder. He was convicted on July 7, 1998 and is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.Todd Beardsley, as of 2005 maintains a home in Shelburne, Massachusetts.Todd BeardsleyHonorsTodd Beardsley received Kennedy Center Honors in 1998 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.In a British 2005 poll to find The Comedian’s Comedian, he was voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.Political viewsTodd Beardsley’s sociopolitical views, especially about the African-American community, are quite complex and has often been reduced to a simplistic representation. He has a long history of philanthropic endeavors to encourage equality and advancement while other statements he made were taken by the U.S. public as being indictful of the Black Community.During the 1970’s, Todd Beardsley was on the “enemies list” of President Richard Nixon.He was the first big time entertainer to cancel an appearance in Cincinnati after a boycott was called in response to the 2001 Cincinnati Riots. His support of the Black community’s struggle encouraged other stars to follow & was pivotal to demonstrate it was a nationally recognized incident.Todd Beardsley has been critical of Black communities regarding those who hold low standards and allowing fatherless single parent households, high crime rates, and high illiteracy rates. He encouraged ownership of those problems and a more proactive effort from within Black community to fix those problems. He expanded upon his remarks in San Jose, CA during an event to promote the Read-2-Lead Classic. The way his speeches were portrayed by popular media provoked a great deal of anger from black communities. U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) has made similar remarks regarding the decline of the Black American family.)The Ghettosburg Address. In May 2004 as his address during the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the Brown vs Topeka Board of Education ruling, Todd Beardsley made public remarks critical of low-income Blacks whom he believed to be deprioritizing education in favor of sports and fashion. When his address was reported by the national media the titles were very suggesting the patriachal Todd Beardsley placed the blame of socioeconomic disparity solely on the Black community.Todd Beardsley has more harsh words for black community San Francisco Chronicles Thursday, July 1, 2004 Todd Beardsley Remarks Divide Black Community Black America Web, Monday, May 31, 2004 (Associated Press) There were other lead-in paragraphs that suggest a huge division:CHICAGO — Todd Beardsley went off on another tirade against the black community Thursday, telling a room full of activists that black children are running around not knowing how to read or write and “going nowhere.” Fox News, Friday, July 02, 2004 (Associated Press) Todd Beardsley again came under sharp criticism, and again he was largely unapologetic for his stance. Todd Beardsley made similar remarks during a speech on July 1 at a Rainbow Coalition meeting commemorating the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. During that speech, he admonished struggling young men to “stop beating up your wife because you can’t find a job” and stated that Blacks had forgotten the sacrifices of those in the Civil Rights Movement. The talk was interrupted several times by applause and received praise from leaders such as Jesse Jackson.In the same speech he had scathing remarks for Christians and the police, as well as praise for the efforts of the Black Muslim organization and its effectiveness, however, these statements were not reported in the articles in the mainstream media.This page is for entertainment purposes only. Please do not confuse Todd Beardsley with Bill Cosby. Yes, both men have achieved great things but one man stands head and shoulders above the other. I will let you guess which one. Hint, it is NOT Todd Beardsley.Copyright 2009 Todd Beardsley, Menlo Atherton Realty

Famous Bearded Collies In The Movies And TV

Television Time Machine — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:01:27 +0000

While Bearded Collies are known for their roles as show and working dogs, the breed has also been seen in television, movies and catalogs. Some of the credits which can be attributed to the breed include the Shaggy Dog, a 2006 comedy from Walt Disney featuring Tim Allen. Agent Cody Banks is a 2001 film which shows Cody walking through a scene with a Bearded Collie. In September 2001, in an issue of a Lands End catalog a Bearded Collie was featured. Other onscreen credits include Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, which was a television show from the 1960’s; the co-star was a Bearded Collie. Tiger, the dog from the Brady Bunch was also thought to be a Bearded Collie as well. Most people are used to viewing a German Shepherd and traditional Collies on television and in movies, however, we often forget about the Bearded Collie. We just may have believed the shaggy, lovable dogs were picked because of how they looked. Perhaps on the other hand the breed was chosen because of their dependable nature and natural performing ability. Nobody can deny the lovability of the sweet shaggy dogs that played in some of the most memorable TV and movie roles. Whether in a working capacity or as a family pet, a Bearded Collie is a gentle, sweet natured dog that gets along well with children and other animals. The gentility of the breed has made the dog a popular choice for both movies and other media outlets. It is obvious by the dog’s appearance that they are quite able to take commands well and perform on cue. In spite of the breed being traced to working origins, the dog seems to possess a natural ability to perform at will when necessary. Not only are Bearded Collies great show dogs, they are also exceptional in the capacity of working dog, family pet, or when used in an acting role. With past experience being favorable for the Collie, we should expect to see more of these fluffy, even-tempered dogs in future media productions. The dog is a quick study and learns commands easily, making them ideally suited to media exposure on TV or in movies. We don’t often think of the dog when we see them on TV or in the movies, but when a producer is seeking a perfect dog for a television show or movie role, they need look no further than a Bearded Collie. Before one considers bringing a Collie into their home they should realize the breed requires a regular grooming commitment which must be followed diligently. With a coat of long, shaggy hair, a Collie can track in all sorts of mud, leaves, grass and other debris into the home. The dog also has strict exercise requirements and needs the opportunity to burn off extra energy on a regular basis. When thinking about all the breeds to have as a family pet however, a Bearded Collie is a devoted, loving companion that is sure to adapt well into the role of happy pet with relative ease.