TWIT: Does anyone care anymore?

How the mighty hath fallen...so to speak.

I don't watch TWIT much these days and when I do I'm frequently disappointed.  Which in itself is a surprise since I didn't think things could get any worse.  Looking at the holiday offerings this year for example was much like last year.  Just a bunch of "Best of's" which were compilations of anything but.  Where were the Holiday themed episodes?  The special round tables with the likes of John Hodgman and Jonanthan Coulton?  Where's the New Year's Special!

Oh yeah, Leo don't do that anymore...

Truth be told, the promise of the TWIT was always far more grand than the product delivered.  Big dreams, the resurgence of a 90's tech icon.  A network built on a small but vocal demographic of those for whom their mantra, their religion, their dearest wish was all things tech.

It wasn't a hard sell for devotees of the defunct TechTV ( formerly ZDTV) basic cable channel.  Leo Laporte was an affable "every-man" who just happened to have a silky smooth presentation and at least an idea of what he was talking about.  

You never saw him confuse a Hard Drive with a Video card.  He was someone you felt you could trust.  A family man, someone like you and me.  A trusted friend you drag along with you to CompUSA.

Yes, I'm dating myself but only in so much as the era where Laporte was relevant.


Now?

NotsoMuch...

A check of the current TWIT schedule reveals just how bad things really are.  Entire days of the calendar are blank with most having maybe 2 shows recording and of those only a few stalwart remnants of the near-glory of the network's past.

Nostalgia wasn't enough and even Laporte's attempt to rekindle the vibe of his TechTV days has fallen flat with the announced cancellation of "The New Screen Savers."  Gone as well are the Iyaz Akhtar created, Know How which in later years found itself increasingly squeezed to the margins and finally choked out of existence with the exit of replacement host Fr. Robert Ballacer.  

The good Father's charisma was the only thing keeping many shows afloat in the past few years as he played stand-in for Laporte and other popular (mostly departed) hosts.  His exit in June of 2018 might as well have been the death knell for the network with Laporte the only recognizable face left.  

Those that might have taken up the reigns and brought the network to the lofty heights envisioned by its founder like Sara Lane, Tom Merritt, Brian Brushwood and Shannon Morse now long since gone.  

Their content and audience driven programming replaced by bland, also-ran drivel only an advertiser could love.  

It's not unlike so many popular YouTube channels that now focus their content almost exclusively at the pleasure of their paid sponsorship.  Don't expect a sour word about a Geforce Card from a YouTuber with NVIDIA sponsorship for example. 

So it is with TWIT.  That which destroyed TECHTV has ultimately destroyed TWIT.  It is now an also-ran competing with YouTube channels produced in somebody's garage for the same advertiser dollars.  Laporte has admitted as much saying his reason for cancelling the New Screen Savers was he was trying to... 


"do a network television show on a podcaster’s budget."

And the now all too familiar excuse for any show's demise on TWIT....

“The New Screen Savers” just hasn’t developed a big enough audience to pay for itself.". (source)

Yes folks, that's an admission of what TWIT is today.  A lowly podcast channel with the overhead of a network broadcaster and every show under the gun to perform.  Or so we would be led to believe.

Yet by Laporte's own admission the network was pulling in 13 to 14 million a year (source) which far exceeds 99% of even the largest YouTube channel's revenue.  Apparently that's not enough as the studio moved to a smaller location in 2016 and has since axed or put on hiatus at least half a dozen shows.  

Still it seems there's never enough money for TWIT and every show has to carry it's own weight.  Yet inexplicably shows like Floss Weekly and Ham Nation continue unabated even though they cater to a subset of a niche at best.  

Meanwhile shows more in line with TWIT's general demographic like Coding 101, Know How, This Week In Law and Game On get the axe.

That pool of money is a lot more contentious than it used to be too.  In at least that much we can cut Laporte some slack for TWIT's failure.

TWIT is now competing for advertisers with those same YouTube channels (some led by former TWIT hosts) with far less lofty ideals but a far more consistent viewership. 

A quick peek at the ads you'll see on the average YouTube tech channel are also found on TWIT.  With most TWIT shows struggling to break into a 4 figure audience per episode no matter where you watch them (most are low 3 figure BTW) it's not TWIT dictating the terms anymore.  Advertisers can find far greener pastures elsewhere.

Let's also not forget that YouTube creators don't have the overhead of TWIT (maybe) and can survive on much thinner margins (definitely) while providing the same mediocre content. 

That said, none of the supposed financial strife at TWIT seems to have stopped Laporte and wife/[sic]CEO  from extravagances like month-long European vacations or purchases of luxury items like his Tesla Model X (source)

There was a time when Laporte chafed at the idea of TWIT as a podcast network.  Now, he clings to it for every bit of relevancy it can afford him.

And that aint much friends.

TWIT is now like a favorite TV series that over the years has replaced the entire cast and writing staff.  Nothing remains but the set pieces and it's just not enough.

TWIT isn't dead but it's been a slow roll down the slope to the graveyard and we're far closer than we've been before. 

The Holiday Intermission

So it's the day after Christmas and maybe it's some kind of self-torture but I always stay up till midnight on Christmas day to hear the last Christmas song played on the Radio.  This year it was Josh Groban's O Holy Night.

Not my favorite version but it closed out the Christmas part of the Holiday Season.  It was followed up with the usual parade of commercials and a station identification that drove the point home that as far as that radio station was concerned the Holidays were OVER!

It starts on Christmas Eve with me.  I feel like there's a huge hourglass somewhere with the last few grains of sand flowing through that tiny choke point and taking the joy of the season with it.

I'm aware that perception is everything and my analogy is my own.  Perhaps it's just that I love the Christmas season but there's something comforting in knowing that at this time of year the feeling is always present. It may get shuffled to the background but it colors my mood regardless.  It brings a hope and an optimism that may be difficult to conjure up at any other time.

So the Christmas music is over and we sit in that intermission between Christmas and New Years.  It's a fairly useless week.  Good luck getting anyone to do anything if they're even around.  It's dead time to fill.  For some a reprieve from the pressures of family responsibilities around the holiday.  For others a time of reflection especially as the old year closes.

It's a time that forces you to deal with yourself.  Maybe you've got a busy social calendar, maybe you have to work, maybe you're on your own.  It doesn't matter.  There are always those down times where you're forced to look around you and see what is and more importantly what isn't there.

The holiday decorations that a week earlier brought joy to your heart now look a bit tacky and faded.  The pressures of the ordinary reassert themselves without hindrance from that Christmas carol ringing in your head.

Christmastime is a powerful force and its passing can make us forget that we somehow managed to survive the other 11 months of the year without the encouragement of Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.

If Christmas is that important, the feeling, the meaning of it so dear then we should recover from the "Christmas High" fairly quickly.  Reason being because Christmas is really just a magnification of our own better selves.  That heart is always present.  It's just easier to show when the trees go up and the reindeer antlers go on the dog.

At least that's how I look at it.  I don't claim to know your mind or your motivations.  I only offer up the possibility that if the holiday season means that much to you that you carry that spirit with you no matter what time of year.

Connect with that and don't be surprised if your perception is altered.

Happy New Year!

The Holiday Heart

 

So it's the holiday season again.  You know the one with Santa Claus, Baby Jesus, Menorahs and a month of sales of the "Black" or "Cyber"  variety.

Such humble origins as a celebration of  the Winter Solstice to ward off the doldrums of the most dreary of seasons gave way to the very pinnacle of rampant consumerism and oh yeah, religion got thrown in there along the way.

History tells us that the Catholic Church specifically set the date for the first Christmas celebrations to coincide with the otherwise pagan celebration occurring on December 25th.  

Of course the Catholic Church denies it...😇

...and Bill Clinton did not have.....never mind...

It's a good sales technique: Make the pitch while people are drunk on the spirit, or "spirits," mix in some familiar pagan ritual and symbolism they can relate to and suddenly the pews are filled with the faithful.

Nothing wrong with that...

It's a classic sales tactic.  That's what Christmas has been from the very beginning.  At least so far as the Christmas we know.  Save the assertions of blasphemy.  Theologists, historians and astronomers alike have pretty much agreed that the divine birth likely occurred around late September.

So I suppose all those holiday decorations showing up in October aren't too early after all.   In fact they're a bit late!

Why bring all this up now?

Because it's about faith.  It's about believing in something greater than what's staring back at you in the mirror.  That's the lesson regardless of your choice in divine text.  

Without faith there is no peace.  Faith in God, faith in our better angels, faith in each other to do what is right and good.

Couch it n religion if you must but only so far as it serves the greater purpose.  That being making this life, this world better for us having been here.  What we do and who we are right now is the core of all spiritual belief.  Whether we believe in divine reward at the end of this life or that this life is reward in itself we are encouraged to bring light into the world.  

Each day is an opportunity to create something beautiful and this time of year makes it all the more possible.

That's what I feel.  It's something that stays with me.  It lets me appreciate the Holiday Heart as I call it.

It's a feeling of unity, hope and yes "faith."   I make no claim as to what or if there is any divine inspiration for it.  Faith has more to do with who we are than who we may or may not pray to.  Whether we find it though rampant consumerism or religious conviction there's still a need that's satisfied.  A desire to bring and receive joy.

Be open to it. 

Tap into it.

Share it.  

It's an energy of positivity.  An elevation to a higher state above the petty concerns of all those things that ultimately have no value.

Value lies in the good we can put into the world.  It lies in being that which we hope to find.  

As you take in the sights and sounds of the season take a moment to feel the Holiday Heart.  See the light beyond the dazzling light displays.  Feel the music beyond the sacred hymns.  

Allow the energy to flow and the love to grow within you. 

That's the Holiday Heart.

Merry Christmas!
Happy Hanukah!

...and joy to whatever may move you this special time of year!  (regardless of who came up with the date  🎄🎄🎄 )

My Favorite versions of classic Christmas Songs.

 

I'll let the music speak for itself....

 

Kyrie To Moving in Stereo....God I'm so white.....

  

So I started out here..../\ /\

And Ended up here \/ \/

OMG!  What does it all mean!

P.S. Not looking for an answer here....Jeez! Lighten up!

Now that We've seen the 13th Doctor ( Jodie Whittaker)...

 

I'll say this up front...I'm no fan of Social Justice agendas.

Not because I don't believe in universal equality and fairness but rather because the so-called social justice "cause" is frequently more important than the people it's supposed to be serving.

Now I'm fairly certain I'm not a sexist.  Considering my upbringing that would be pretty much impossible but there is still some discomfort when I see blatant attacks on my gender.

I suppose that much like the LGBT community (forgive me if I missed a letter, I don't keep up with such things) it's necessary to be outrageous if you want somebody to pay attention.

So it is with the 13th Doctor.  In the 8 episodes I've watched of the new series I can say this...

It's not complete crap but it's definitely got an agenda.  Not in a subtle Star Trek kind of way but in a more overt in your face kind of way.

Most obviously and for no apparent reason other than they could,  the doctor is a woman now.  OK, we've known that for a year but the real question is:  Can the performance transcend the agenda.   Can we learn something without being hit over the head with it.

Apparently Chris Chibnall and the BBC don't think so.  While Chibnall is the show runner he's also taken on writing duties for many of the new episodes.

As such his "essence" is all over the show.

If a TV show has a script then I'm going to be paying close attention to the writing.  Plot, story flow and character development are all things I'm watching for.  Formulas become blatantly apparent and with Doctor Who it's obvious that the story must fit the agenda instead of the other way around which includes the choice of companions.

Speaking of which...

The Doctor's new companions are of course ethnically and culturally diverse thus satisfying the agenda.  A fact were repeatedly made aware of and supported by weak male characters who present as flawed and largely uninteresting.  The first in the guise of an elderly "Graham" still grieving over the loss of his wife in the first episode and Ryan a directionless young man with a condition that hinders his coordination.  Much time was spent in the first episode highlighting the fact that he couldn't ride a bicycle because of it regardless of the cheering section comprised of his Grandmother and Graham.  

Lest we forget the third companion, Yaz, a young and impatient female traffic enforcement officer for whom the world isn't moving fast enough.  Other than the Doctor, her character is the only one that seems to show any ambition or depth.  Depth for a social justice warrior that is...

Here's what I've seen so far:

In the episode entitled "Rosa" A pivotal event in American Civil Rights History attempted to be shoehorned into Doctor Who Canon.   It came close to being relevant up until I realized that instead of a thoughtful historical treatment we bore witness to a parade of stereotypes and agendas.  The message was pretty much, "White people bad."  

Almost every character in the episode that didn't identify as a minority of some type was treated as an antagonist.  From the brutish dullard who slaps Ryan for "touching his wife" to the waitress that refuses to serve "their kind."

It's ironic that the treatment of racism in the episode is so heavily dependent on a plot device that is itself a racist stereotype.  The historical event was less important than the agenda being pushed.  In the entire episode the only white character that didn't seem to have it in for the Doctor was Rosa Park's Husband, Raymond who might as well have been part of the furniture.  Virtually no effort was made to explore anything outside of the desired agenda.  

In the "The Tsuranga Conundrum" we're presented with a dilemma onboard a medical transport ship populated by largely clueless characters whose only purpose is to again push the agenda.  From a female General with "pilots heart" trying to save face by relying on meds to mask the condition to her obedient male android servicing her every need to her less obedient engineer brother who finds himself dismissed at every opportunity.

The threat in this episode is a small ship eating alien that was far more comical than threatening.  Overshadowed by an overtly feminist agenda that included a pregnant male patient giving birth and Graham and Ryan serving as hapless midwives.  Assuming this was a human (and nothing contradicted that assertion) the biological absurdity alone should have been enough to dismiss the premise but of course no explanation was offered.  I suppose this is the ultimate expression of "Gender neutrality."

So we've looked at just about everything but the new doctor as portrayed by Jodie Whittaker.  Bottom line, the writing isn't doing the character justice.

I've got no problem with a female time lord.  None whatsoever.  In fact when the "Master" regenerated into "Missy" for Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor it was a brilliant turn.  We saw an evolution of the Doctor/Master relationship beyond simple adversary.  There was always a hint that there was a closer relationship between the 2 characters.  A relationship that went beyond the simple good versus evil dynamic.  Relationships are never that black and white.  With "Missy" that relationship could be fleshed out.  The gender change served a purpose.

With the 13th Doctor it's just gratuitous...

I'm not sure who coached Jodie Whittaker on her new role but it seems the instruction probably went something like, " Act like David Tennant with boobs and bad fashion sense."

That's pretty much it.  There's no depth here, nothing endearing, nothing interesting aside from gender and that gets old pretty quick.  The most interesting aspect of the character is its use as a vehicle for revisionist history of the franchise.  It's subtle but it's there.

When we're finally treated to the requisite "wardrobe change" scene found in every new Doctor at least as far back as Jon Pertwee, we find Whittaker's character in a clothing store changing room with varied articles of women's clothing flying through the air.  She utters the line, " It's been a long time since I've worn women's clothes."  

I'm sorry, I'm pretty familiar with Doctor Who Canon and never did I see William Hartnell in a dress.  Jon Pertwee wore ruffled sleeves but that was the extent of it.  So where is this OTHER female incarnation?  Apparently there will have to be one now to fit the agenda.

Jodie Whittaker's Doctor seems destined for a fate shared with Colin Baker's 6th Doctor.  That being poor writing and weak fan support.   Even a SJW agenda can't provide enough material to save this incarnation if things don't change fast.

I'm hopeful that things get better but for that to happen the agenda has to get out of the way.  It's stifling the writing and character development.  After 8 episodes I'm not feeling any better about the current run of the series.  

By comparison, by the time Id' gotten over Matt Smith spitting on the Tardis console somewhere around "Victory of the Daleks" I was pretty much onboard.  Considering he took over from my favorite ( current generation ) doctor ( 10th ) David Tennant, that means something.

As Sean Connery said in the "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" 

Paradox

Here's a word for you....

Paradox.

I find myself constantly running into them.

Do less to get more....

"Overqualified" for a job that's a perfect fit....

Being "Too Nice"

We're encouraged to do the right thing but often punished for doing just that.  I've found that all too often being reliable, nice and accommodating had gotten me many pats on the back but little progress forward.

It's just not the world we live in.  You can be everyone's friend and confidant but ultimately end up the world's doormat.

That's fine if you're Mother Theresa and have a Nobel Prize waiting for you but the rest of us are unlikely to rise to such lofty heights of perceived selflessness.  Oh and by the way, even Mother Theresa had a strong sense of self-preservation.  She freely accepted medical care but denied any such relief to those dying in hospice.

There's a paradox, a life devoted to ending suffering...most of the time.

OK so she was human after all but for the rest of us unlikely to be elevated to posthumous sainthood what's the point?

For me it just seems natural to want to help but where to draw the line.  I have a problem with saying no to all but the most extreme conditions of self-preservation.

My reward for such contorted altruism is something I frequently have to make excuses for.

I'm no saint.  I'm not perfect but I do always try to understand the other side and in this world that seems to be an anathema.

Killer Instincts and assertiveness, regardless of who gets hurt, are the keys to success.
The other option is just a perversion of the "nice guy" in the guise of the "Yes Man" that acts as doormat in hopes of sneaking up the ranks.

That's just passive aggression.  I'm not about that.

So I suppose my societal fit is a bit off.  I only get pissed off when faced with the reality of my station as disposable because of it.  I know I'm not some unworthy scrap with an overheated sense of fairness.  I am, however, overly concerned with everyone else being happy.  I'm not self-aggrandizing here BTW,  It's something that has not served me.

So be it, I can't and won't be something I'm not.  The payoff isn't worth it.

I do have limits even if they seem generous but don't be surprised if I "push back" when you eventually run headlong into my lowest levels of self-preservation. Everybody does it, eventually.


I'm still a nice guy but I'm working on being less and less of a doormat.

The trick is not to become less and less human.  The definition of which is less than attractive for all those "winners" out there.

Just the Way it is....

People have some deeply held convictions.

Convictions that they allow to influence all they see, know and feel.

I've said before that I live at a kind of crossroads.  People show up who need a shoulder for a little while then they make their way to whatever.

I think my last brush with so-called "romance" was the most stark example of that.

Oh lord!  We're not going there again!  No worries...

But it did show me just how deeply divided otherwise like-minded people can be.  The sin of ideology I call it. 

A sin that takes one small aspect of someone's makeup and inflates it into a lifestyle.  A insular cocoon of circular logic and prejudicial perspectives impenetrable by anything that threatens the ideology.

We are what we are no matter what...That's just the way it is...

No, that's the way you want it.

The saddest part of it all is that the world quickly goes from a wide vista of opportunity to tunnel vision.  Creative thought, compassion, insight is all framed within a narrow view.

I've looked at the other side.  Tried to understand what it was that was so different about me and them.  Spoiler alert, it aint much.

What I found wasn't a pack of rabid savages.  Just fear.  Fear of losing what never really existed.  At least not without acknowledging what the real cost of their utopian vision was.  A vision that wasn't their own by the way. 

We tend to divide ourselves into tribes based on...whatever...

Far more scholarly authorities than I have written a mountain of tomes on the subject.  You've no doubt already seen their work.  I won't bother to rehash it here.

We live in a society that recognizes that we tend to seek out only that which supports our own world view.  The dangerous part is that the media has seized on that premise and eschewed objectivity for a tantalizing revenue stream that preys not on facts but fears.

Conservatives do it.  Liberals are no better.  So long as the other guy is the boogeyman we are sufficiently distracted to cede our own power to propaganda and rhetoric.

The propaganda feeds the machine.  The machine pumps out endless rhetoric and red meat. 

There is no compromise so long as the machine is churning.

Your heroes?  Your pillars of democracy?  They're the face of the machine.  A construct to divide otherwise like-minded people.  To keep poking that sore spot until you wretch and scream in pain.

The drug?  The cure?  Throw a bone to salve the wounds they created.  Just enough relief to keep the faithful working toward their own destruction.

We are in this country literally in the grip of mass scale Stockholm Syndrome.  I don't care what color the map says your state is.  Neither side will ever do anything to upset the machine.

Examples?  Glad you asked...

Obama claimed to fix Student Loans.  Nothing really happened and millions are still indebted to a corrupt system that enslaves borrowers for debt that should never have existed in the first place.

Trump promised prosperity with protectionism the result of which has nearly bankrupted thousands of small businesses and farmers who suddenly find no markets for their goods.  Multinational corporations can care less.  But Mom and Pop?

The saddest thing is that all the time we were waving our banners and wearing our MAGA hats we were surrendering our own power in favor of a fantasy.

A fantasy that will deprive you of life, love and occupation should you identify with the wrong side.

Nothing will change so long as we continue to exist in a fog of ideology political or otherwise. 

This is the true challenge to the evolution of the human race. 

To resist the urges of the lizard brain.  We are where we are because of what we allowed to happen.

This is on me, you and those that came before you. 

But if you're committed to your ideology, have no fear.  Reason has no value and facts are malleable.  Enjoy the appearance of a civil society and the shiny chains you've made for yourself.

Some of us knew but nobody cared to do anything about it.

How Long...

No, nobody's secrets have been revealed.  Just a song that's been buzzing around my head that I happen to like.

I'm painfully familiar with the subject matter, however. 

More than once...

Thankfully not recently...Well, at least not that I have any right to bitch about.

Just a cool song. 

Leave it at that....

Tarot - Divine or just Divining your own truth

   

Yeah, I misspelled Dynamic....dammit....Oh well, Not much else to say.  The video is self-contained.

Enjoy!

Too much YouTube lately...

I really gotta lay off the YouTube tarot reader channels....lol

But seriously it's just far too easy to hear what you want to hear.  To read reality into fantasy.  I've gotten to the point where I am seeing more "product" than "message" in so many of these people.  Often there's no real message just a PayPal link....

But when we need to hear something, when we need an answer that isn't forthcoming: it's not out of the question to find it in a nontraditional way.

Even if it's just affirmation of something you already knew, sometimes it's helpful to hear someone else say it. Although it would be better to come from a friend, often that's not an option.

If it seems "spooky" it's only because we're hearing what's buried deep inside.  Airing of our own deepest fears, hopes and dreams.  It can be jarring to have to face that which we've shoved down into dark forgotten places.

Very seductive stuff this mysticism but ultimately seduction is just pretense to something that is ultimately fleeting and temporary.  Treat it accordingly.

I do believe there are things we don't understand and forces without name but I don't believe anyone has any special communion with them.

They just are...

Some people are just more in tune is all.  

All religion is superstition.  A tool to keep you interested in the underlying message while regaling you with tales of great floods, fire from the skies, virgin births and impossible magic.

Learn to separate the message from the performance.  

Tarot readers frequently use the word "resonate" when beginning their readings.  That's both a disclaimer and an admission that what you find there isn't a message from the stars.  Rather it's a message you've already received but hadn't heard.

You just weren't listening yet.  You had to find (pardon the pun) a suitable medium. 

What do we do when the reading doesn't "resonate?"  We move on to another until we find one that does.  So where is this message truly coming from?  

The answer is the reason why there are so many different religions in the world.  So many belief systems that resonate only with that which aligns with what you already know deep inside.

Believe in that which sustains you but never allow belief to rule you.  Belief is more guardrail than steering wheel.  The path is always your own.

If's fun to think that there's some chorus of angelic beings invisibly guiding you into romance and fortune but the reality we know says something far more mundane is at work.

Putting your life into the hands of practitioners of mixed mythology can only lead to dark ends.

We have to admit to and live with the consequences of our own actions.  No, the devil didn't make you do it rather your own devilish tendencies did.  Own your actions and you own your power. 

Spirituality in all it's forms is a great tool.  I don't deny that civilization could not exist without it.  A grand performance to deliver otherwise dry material.  A narrative to keep us from each other's throats and lesser angels for fear of repercussion from God Almighty.

I have no problem with that.  I have no problem with anything that leads someone to a more positive path.  I just don't let the message get lost in the packaging.  

I'd just hope that at this point in mankind's evolution we wouldn't be so dependent on the narrative.