Tag: abc

Disney gets goofy over selling junk to kids

It seems like the whole nation is now at war against junk food. Not us, of course. Sedentary people are sedentary readers.

First, New York mayor and pint-sized terror, Michael Bloomberg, proposed a ban on all sugary drinks served in 16-ounce or larger cups in the city’s restaurants. Now, Walt Disney Co plans to cut back on the number of junk food advertisements aired during children’s programming, including their Disney channels, ABC, ABC Family and ESPN Pop Warner. (Ask your cable provider.)

Disney must have realized that children built like John Candy are less likely to live long enough to buy Oliver & Company when it’s finally re-released from “the vault” in 10 years.

Take it from Snee: A stand against reverse sexism

Every year, network television producers have a challenge laid before them: to break new ground on sitcoms with the same tired Tim Allens and former Roseanne kids.

One way is to go with the familiar, but add a twist. For instance: Yes Dear was your average white family sitcom, only with another wrong-kind-of-white family living in Will and Carlton’s pool house out back. It’s not glamorous, but it pays the bills and not every channel can be HB-goddamn-O.

But, then, every so often, a producer finds a goal—nay, a mission to champion and the talent to pull it off.  A show like Will & Grace, which dared to ask, “What if we made a show about gay people and only one acts like a cartoon?” Or Cheers, which looked at alcoholism and thought, “What’s the big deal, anyway?”  A show that tackles the concerns of the average American with a no-holds-barred approach the way Major Dad did with newly-remarried divorcées and the Marines.

Fortunately for ABC, Tim Allen has heard your pleas and plans to do what Designing Women did for women, only this time for men. Continue reading Take it from Snee: A stand against reverse sexism

Eat My Sports: The running diary that should never have been

Welcome to my latest attempt to hack Bill Simmons’ career.

We’re coming to you live from the Eat My Mansion for the second half of tonight’s Game 6 of the NBA Finals, we would’ve included the first half had government officials not limited us due to costs incurred to clean up after BP.

Tonight we are joined by McBournie (via text), my two cats Despereaux and Bella, and a beverage that I have not yet named involving equal parts of tequila, orange juice and Sprite. Magic Johnson’s halftime gloat fest is over, we now re-join the game.

10:31 pm
As we get ready for the second half, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy go toe for toe with useless knowledge and jargon with hopes of campaigning for some NBA GM to give them a head coaching position. In total douche factor, I give Jackson the edge.

10:33 pm
McBournie: Anthony Kiedis looks like he’d be more comfortable at a pig roast.
Me: I think Doc Rivers could score the lead in a Ninja Turtles live-action movie.

Honestly, think about it. If you had to cast that movie perfectly, here are your leads:
Leonardo: Doc Rivers
Donatello: Turtle
Raphael: Kobe Bryant
Michaelangelo: Mr. Magoo
Splinter- Susan Sarandon Continue reading Eat My Sports: The running diary that should never have been

NEWSFLASH: Michael Steele half-right

Michael Steele has had a rough year as chairman of the Republican National Committee, a job that is normally faceless in the media … unless your party is intentionally touting you in the public eye to look “totally not racist.” (Seriously, try to name his predecessor without resorting to Google or Wikipedia.)

As a direct result of this situation, he’s been a punching bag for mostly his own party, making him effectively the Donovan McNabb of Republican politics. Every other week, he’s been almost fired or admonished like he left a wax build-up on Judge Smail’s golf shoes.

So, when a viewer of ABC’s Good Morning America asked the $50 million question, Steele responded that, yes, he does have “a smaller margin for error because he is African American.”

Unfortunately, he didn’t finish that thought to make it completely correct: wouldn’t it be nice if all politicians were held to the standard that the black ones are? That every spending incongruity over $2000 were investigated with as much zeal? That every ill-planned trip to Hawaii be reconsidered? That any time a politician steps in it, their future in politics is questioned?

The teachers went wild for the tongue

Remember your favorite band in middle school? How awesome would it be if you could have met them while you were at the top of your obsession with them? Unfortunately, that didn’t happen at Wilson Middle School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instead, in what we can assume is straight out of Rick Snee’s wet dream, KISS showed up.

Yes, the whole band was there. Gene Simmons! Paul Stanley! Tommy Thayer? Eric Singer? The stunt was part of a segment for ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, where we assume KISS rocked someone’s house down so that the annoyingly cheerful people on the show could build a new one. The appearance was a total shock and $100,000 worth of new musical instruments were donated to the school.

Paul Stanley made a presentation to the audience. He began his speech with, “HELLO, WILSON MIDDLE SCHOOL! Are you ready to rock ‘n roll all night, and party everyday? *Ahem* When you’re not working hard on homework, that is.”

Both the band and the students left on buses.

You Missed It: The downward spiral edition

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you, the reader, that I want an HDTV. I am not telling you that I’ve been looking at 1080p resolution televisions because Christmas is coming and I am dropping subtle hints. No, I just thought you might find it interesting that I am looking for something with a 40-inch or 42-inch screen. That’s all. If you were busy getting fired from your coaching job, odds are you missed it.

It’s Valhalla!
A large spiral was spotted in the sky over Norway this week. The Internet was flooded with pictures in what is either one of the most elaborate hoaxes in history, or a Russian missle gone haywire, if you listen to reports. The spiral is similar to one seen in the night sky over China earlier this year. For those of you who see this as a sign of the end of the world, The Guys would like to ask you one question: if you’re going to go out, wouldn’t you want to go out wearing SG merch?

Stayed tuned for the interview with Troy Polamalu
Former Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos will take over a vacancy left by Diane Sawyer on ABC’s Good Morning America. The move seems questionable to critics of ABC’s journalistic integrity as of late. Either way, Stepanopoulos because the second most bevoweled GMA host since Charles Gibsooooooooooooooooooon.

There’s an app for that
Half of The Guys have iPhones, thus have AT&T as their carrier. (It used to be three our of four, but the balance has been struck.) And when they are able to get 3G service on their iPhones, they seem content. However, a lot of Death Star customers are not. AT&T wants to hear from its customers when its service sucks, so it released an iPhone app so that people can let the company know. Our prediction: Most. Popular. App. Ever.

The audacity of Pope

Is it just us, or does the Pope cover some dated issues?

What did he talk about in the Middle East today? The Holocaust and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Other times? Birth control, abortion and masturbation. Oh, and don’t get us started on the old man’s stories about Jesus. (How many times can you hear about the same three miracles, anyway?)

Weren’t these topics already settled in 1970s and 1980s ABC After-School Specials, and more grippingly than an old German guy speaking Latin?

We want some new insights, Your Holiness. What do you think about Twitter? Or universal health care? How bad did you think Wolverine was? Get some new material, old man.

The McBournie Minute: Enough with repackaging Beatles crap

I’ll get to my main point in a bit, but first, don’t expect me to be going anywhere anytime soon. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control just named my hometown, Burlington, Vermont, the healthiest city in the country. Sure, I haven’t truly lived there for the better part of a decade, but hey, I’m healthier than you. Now on to other matters.

Paul McCartney, I have a bone to pick with you, and it’s not even about the fact that you’re looking saggier than usual these days. You too, Yoko Ono. Sure, you got the raw end of the deal and all the blame for splitting up The Beatles, but what you’ve done since then is what I’m here about. Ringo Starr, you’re OK with me. For the most part, you’ve kept to yourself and gone on to do other things like “The No-no Song” and you even recently announced you’re not going to sign autographs anymore.

But for the love of Sgt. Pepper, enough with the Beatles merchandise. Every year, some new form of repackaged Beatles work or book or home movie or biography or television special is released. Don’t act like you’re not behind it. Continue reading The McBournie Minute: Enough with repackaging Beatles crap