Monday, January 16, 2012
Disappointed by Ricky Gervais
I started watching the Globes Pre-show on E. I found it really superficial, and focused too much on the gowns, and celebrity. One anchor commented on the fact Brad Pitt opened the car door for Angelina; I just rolled my eyes and said: "Well what do you expect? They are practically husband and wife" . And honestly it made me long for E-Talk's live coverage and Ben Mulroney. When Mulroney interviews someone- he manages to do both successfully. At times Ryan Seacrest was by the celebrity glitz and glamour of it.
One thing that stood out for me about last night's Golden Globes: Ricky Gervais. He was funny; I found myself laughing out loud at his jokes. But he wasn't as funny as he was last year. Yes, I get that maybe he went a little too far at times, but he seemed pretty much muzzled this year. The unpredictability of his jokes was gone.
It was disappointing- I don't know exactly why. It may have had something to do with the fact we'd seen it before the previous year, or this constant fear of offending someone with what could be considered in some circles as the truth. And that's what Gervais was good at; blunt jokes that after you finished laughing had some tiny kernel of truth in them. That's what I missed in his performance last night. And there didn't seem to be enough of him- of course I did turn it away to watch Downton Abbey for an hour at 9.
As for the awards themselves; It was nice to see Christopher Plummer win Best supporting Actor for Beginners. I thought it was a little unfair of Meryl Streep won for the Iron Lady; a movie that has only just been released, and has generated more than a little controversy over whether it should've been made in the first place. I've never heard of the show Kelsey Grammer won for, and am not really a fan. The movie "The Artist" won, and that was a bit of fresh air; as always it was nice to see the underdog win.
Elton John did look pissed. I would be too if I lost to Madonna- W.E. wasn't in wide release, and from what I hear of it; it was a pretty bad movie.
As far as awards shows go; it was okay. It had its surprises; its moments; it actually ended early which I'm sure a lot of people appreciated. I'm sure the Oscars will improve on it.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
The Twesume... really??
When I was in journalism school my instructors suggested that we be a bit more careful about what we put up on social networking sites because our future employers would likely find it. Just as social networking sites such as LinkedIn, facebook and even twitter are used to check out future employees, they are being increasingly used by job searchers.
Enter the Twesume; that's right you can now tweet your resume. Mashable.com has a detailed article on it. Basically get a twitter account, and tweet your professional achievements, and what your career goal is; it can even include whether or not you want to relocate. According to the article, it's recruiting using social networking or social recruiting is considered the next trend in job searching in 2012.
Now, I'm a fairly active user of social networking sites- I use mainly facebook, twitter, and LinkedIn. But I think this is going a little too far. Tweeting a resume?? Granted it does force job searchers to focus in a little more on their field, say directly what they want without wasting any words. But how do you sum yourself up in 140 characters? I don't think it's possible.
Take me for example; I mainly tweet about politics- but I have other interests, and I don't like being so serious all the time. I tend to be a little less guarded on Facebook, using it mostly for socializing. On LinkedIn, I'm professional focusing in on my career related experience in Journalism. And again I feel I've done enough that I can't exactly sum up those experiences in merely 140 characters.
What is facebook but a snapshot in time? What is Twitter but a lingering thought to be shared with the world? People are more than facebook, more than twitter. Arguably you can present yourself any way you want to online, and you can never get the full picture of someone.
Don't get me wrong, technology, and social networking are both great. Just keep in mind job searchers are more than their online profiles, and definitely more than 140 characters.
Enter the Twesume; that's right you can now tweet your resume. Mashable.com has a detailed article on it. Basically get a twitter account, and tweet your professional achievements, and what your career goal is; it can even include whether or not you want to relocate. According to the article, it's recruiting using social networking or social recruiting is considered the next trend in job searching in 2012.
Now, I'm a fairly active user of social networking sites- I use mainly facebook, twitter, and LinkedIn. But I think this is going a little too far. Tweeting a resume?? Granted it does force job searchers to focus in a little more on their field, say directly what they want without wasting any words. But how do you sum yourself up in 140 characters? I don't think it's possible.
Take me for example; I mainly tweet about politics- but I have other interests, and I don't like being so serious all the time. I tend to be a little less guarded on Facebook, using it mostly for socializing. On LinkedIn, I'm professional focusing in on my career related experience in Journalism. And again I feel I've done enough that I can't exactly sum up those experiences in merely 140 characters.
What is facebook but a snapshot in time? What is Twitter but a lingering thought to be shared with the world? People are more than facebook, more than twitter. Arguably you can present yourself any way you want to online, and you can never get the full picture of someone.
Don't get me wrong, technology, and social networking are both great. Just keep in mind job searchers are more than their online profiles, and definitely more than 140 characters.
Monday, January 2, 2012
My Top 5 Wishes for television in 2012
Everyone is providing their top lists of what they want to see happen in the world of television for 2012. Here's mine
1. The Death of Reality Television: I just want the concept to die. I'd argue there's no such thing as true "reality" some of it always ends up on the cutting room floor. "Dancing With The Stars" it seems reaches increasingly for the dregs of Hollywood food chain the longer it goes on. American Idol is getting so that I can predict who they'll take based on the stories at the auditions- "the Single Mom" "the sick one," etc. And there are the serial reality contestants- Clay Aitken won on Idol, and is now on Celebrity Apprentice. "Boston Rob" has done Survivor at least twice, and the Amazing Race once. He's now is hosting some kind of car-related shows.
2. A Return to Scripted Dramas: A return to relying on well-crafted scripted dramas. One of my favourites this season has been Once Upon A Time. It's like someone took the world of fairytales put it in a blender and turned it on. The Evil Queen from Snow White, is friends with the evil witch from Sleeping Beauty... who'd have thought? I've loved the twists and turns of it; those who watched last night's episode know what I'm talking about... see Rumplestiltskin (aka Robert Carlyle). Pan-Am the show about the airline of the same name should be given another chance; what I saw of that it was smartly written, and stylishly presented. It's got some of the same names attached to it on the production side as West Wing did and that show was classic.
3. A Torchwood return? I got watching a Space marathon one day over Christmas where they ran the last two seasons (Children of Earth, and Miracle Day) all day and I longed for that show's return... especially after "Miracle Day"'s ending. However only if it's more like Children of Earth; Miracle Day's story was good, but didn't have nearly the tension in the story as Children of Earth did.
4. This one is more of a hope; That CBC keeps the Murdoch Mysteries the same as it is right now. I've just really started getting into that show watching it on DVD, and the writing has gotten better every season- the dialouge has had more of a crispness to it every season. And I really like that it keeps me guessing. I'll be watching it, and have it reasoned out who the murderer is.. then baam there's a twist that completely changes it.
5. A Return to Soap Operas: I've read elsewhere online that the ratings for ABC's pair of lifestyle shows aren't the greatest. My wish is that they return to the land of soap operas. I've watched parts of "the Chew" and found it disjointed. I hope network executives realize people don't really want to watch that. If they do, then they'd flip it to the Food Network. People want that daily dose of escapism that only Soap Operas deliver. If they do come back, hopefully someone will realize that these are driven by storyline. Without a decent storyline, everything else falls by the wayside.
1. The Death of Reality Television: I just want the concept to die. I'd argue there's no such thing as true "reality" some of it always ends up on the cutting room floor. "Dancing With The Stars" it seems reaches increasingly for the dregs of Hollywood food chain the longer it goes on. American Idol is getting so that I can predict who they'll take based on the stories at the auditions- "the Single Mom" "the sick one," etc. And there are the serial reality contestants- Clay Aitken won on Idol, and is now on Celebrity Apprentice. "Boston Rob" has done Survivor at least twice, and the Amazing Race once. He's now is hosting some kind of car-related shows.
2. A Return to Scripted Dramas: A return to relying on well-crafted scripted dramas. One of my favourites this season has been Once Upon A Time. It's like someone took the world of fairytales put it in a blender and turned it on. The Evil Queen from Snow White, is friends with the evil witch from Sleeping Beauty... who'd have thought? I've loved the twists and turns of it; those who watched last night's episode know what I'm talking about... see Rumplestiltskin (aka Robert Carlyle). Pan-Am the show about the airline of the same name should be given another chance; what I saw of that it was smartly written, and stylishly presented. It's got some of the same names attached to it on the production side as West Wing did and that show was classic.
3. A Torchwood return? I got watching a Space marathon one day over Christmas where they ran the last two seasons (Children of Earth, and Miracle Day) all day and I longed for that show's return... especially after "Miracle Day"'s ending. However only if it's more like Children of Earth; Miracle Day's story was good, but didn't have nearly the tension in the story as Children of Earth did.
4. This one is more of a hope; That CBC keeps the Murdoch Mysteries the same as it is right now. I've just really started getting into that show watching it on DVD, and the writing has gotten better every season- the dialouge has had more of a crispness to it every season. And I really like that it keeps me guessing. I'll be watching it, and have it reasoned out who the murderer is.. then baam there's a twist that completely changes it.
5. A Return to Soap Operas: I've read elsewhere online that the ratings for ABC's pair of lifestyle shows aren't the greatest. My wish is that they return to the land of soap operas. I've watched parts of "the Chew" and found it disjointed. I hope network executives realize people don't really want to watch that. If they do, then they'd flip it to the Food Network. People want that daily dose of escapism that only Soap Operas deliver. If they do come back, hopefully someone will realize that these are driven by storyline. Without a decent storyline, everything else falls by the wayside.
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