DramatistDreamer

Wow.

OMG. Remember the character Hey You, one of the kids from the Earl Mitchell Center, around 1989? Jean Wolfman who played Hey You apparently, was beaten up in 2017...with his own Hula Hoop. Nope, it's exactly as I just said.

Oh, I see where the Capriati stat comes from- it is the last time a first-time GS champ followed up immediately with a second GS title. Venus did the same in 2000 with Wimbledon/U.S. Open.

Oh, the past 8 years, okay, I see.

I'm glad I don't follow Rothenberg. At this point, I even find myself avoiding 90% of anything he writes. I know he wants shorter men's matches to meet/beat his deadline but he's run out of talking points already. As for the women's final, I found it to be pretty entertaining. Up until they started playing, I thought it'd be a tossup but I think somewhere in the midst of the 1st set, it just seemed like Naomi was driving the action. Great fight-back in the second by Petra, though but even after she won the 2nd set, I just had the feeling that if put in a winning position again in the 3rd, Osaka would not falter and that's what happened. I'm glad the match went to three sets. Petra didn't give the match away by any means, she made Naomi earn it and it has to be more satisfying to win the #1, rather than get it by process of elimination or by computer "math" and everyone questioning how the player got #1 without having won a major title. It's been fascinating to see Osaka's entry to and rise through the pro-rankings and increased confidence levels. It will be equally fascinating to see now how she handles the #1 position. He must've corrected himself, but they kept mentioning Capriati when I watched the playback. Capriati was 17 years ago.

Ad-supporting streaming makes a lot of sense because not every subscription-based service will work, in fact, many are likely to fail because there is only so much disposable income that consumers have to spend on streaming services and most "cord-cutters" are, by nature, on the frugal side. Services like Crackle seem to be finding a decent mix of vintage movies from their Sony catalog, classic TV shows, as well as original series (the only original series I actually watch is StartUp, which I find to be pretty interesting, tbh). It's a smart way for a company to make use of their back catalog. If a OTA, antenna-supported network like BounceTV can find a way to stream some of their programs, I think that there is no excuse for some of these other companies to sit on the fence. Niche audiences abound! If Procter & Gamble were smart, they would try to partner up again with AOL, or OATH, or whatever they're calling themselves these days...and use their streaming platform for ad-supported streaming of some of their back catalog of shows. PGP could even run some of their commercials for their own products during ad-breaks. The problem with the soap industry and every aspect connected with that industry is that they have shown a failure of imagination as well as a failure to innovate. One look at today's soaps tells you everything you need to know about the state of that industry. If only they could get out of their own way!

This article was talking about the original L&O series, not any of the spinoffs, which are still available on streaming platforms. I think it mentioned maybe one OTA network showing it but I think the article was talking about the lack of streaming options, in particular. I remember L&O used to be available on networks like USA, is this still the case? I haven't watched much network TV in forever but there used to be a NY based network that showed it every weekend but I'm not sure whether it still does.

Another interesting aspect that the article mentions is that Dick Wolf, could also be somewhat of an obstacle (for lack of a better word) because he is fiercely independent and he owns a significant stake in the L&O universe, so they'd have to work out a deal with him. Compare that to Irna Phillips, who has been gone for over 40 years now. It does make me curious about whether a T.V., like a book or movie, ever enters the public domain, and if so, under what circumstances? For instance, does Procter & Gamble own the rights to its shows in perpetuity? Such a fascinating and thought-provoking article. Thanks for posting, @Faulkner. And those are series that had shorter runs, so they should be more manageable in terms of presenting them on a streaming platform. With ABC and NBC, I'm surprised that they're not already an option on their respective streaming services. It wouldn't be that hard to stick them on there.

According to this article, L&O's lack of serialized story arcs may make it less desirable than shows that do. That is what makes L&O's situation distinctly different from soaps, which are all about a continuing story that aims to make audiences want to tune (click) into the next episode. "What’s more, while sitcoms such as Friends and The Office have lightly serialized story arcs (think Ross and Rachel, or Pam and Jim), Wolf deliberately created his drama to be as self-contained as possible, focusing every episode on cases and offering little to no exposition regarding the lives of its regular characters. As such, streaming-industry insiders say the original L&O might not be as valuable as a show where audiences feel compelled to click ahead to the next episode." The sheer breadth of episode numbers, OTOH, is something resembling a similarity between soaps and the L&O series.

EDT: Also, if the delays spread to the Atlanta airport, the chaos it will spur will dwarf what's going on at LaGuardia, Newark and Philly airports.

It sounds like something I would say, lol. IRL conversations I've had over the past week or so, I have mentioned that perhaps a strike/sick-out was the only way to force the issue. Seeing people in Depression-Era food lines apparently, wasn't enough to generate action so perhaps tangling up a business-class travelers connection to Silicon Valley or Davos might be the answer to ending this ridiculous shutdown.

The indictment is 24 pages. Stone will be appearing in court at around 11 a.m. today. https://www.justice.gov/file/1124706/download

Remember when, last year, it seemed as if every Friday was punctuated by some revelation about a scandal or indictment? It seems as if we may be back to those days.

That recurring theme of minor characters going on to greater success on stage and onscreen, Blanca Camacho who basically had a dayplayer role as a Montegan named Erlinda went on to do a lot of work such as Lin-Manuel Miranda's first play on Broadway In The Heights. So, of course, her IMDB page lists her role on Guiding Light but not ATWT.

OMG. I shouldn't be laughing but I can't help it.

Tiafoe is competing with the best. If he wants to get to the uppermost echelon, yes it's likely that he will have to modify his forehand. I was listening to a podcast and former pro Tim Mayotte (who runs a tennis facility) was being interviewed and his comment about Tiafoe was that although he believes that forehand will be a liability for Frances, if he wants to be Top 5, he said two things: He hopes to be proven wrong about the FH and He would advise against changing the FH right now. He suggested that Frances be allowed to continue to build confidence in his game and continue to climb in the rankings and then when Frances has hit a plateau in his game, then focus on changing those aspects of his game that would be holding him back from progressing further. Rafa employed a similar strategy with the takeback on his FH which used to be quite loopy. Listening to what he had to say, it made sense not to make drastic changes right now. But Mayotte thought that of all the young American guys, he liked Frances' game (sans FH) and Mackie McDonald's games the best. He said that Mackie's lack of height concerned him, especially since McDonald didn't seem to have the speed to make up the difference for the lack of height. Mayotte also liked Jared Donaldson's game but thought that it lacked variety. He said he thought that Tiafoe had the biggest potential of all of the current crop of young Americans.

Despite his poor performance at Hopman Cup, Tiafoe mentioned that having the benefit of watching Roger Federer and Serena "work", how they go about their play, their attitude toward competing, etc. really informed him on how champions approach situations. I think that, if these younger guys are smart, they will learn as much as they can and even figure out a way to beat these guys while they're still competing. Roger did it with Sampras, Agassi, etc. as did Nadal with Federer and Djokovic with both Nadal and Federer. Players who achieve 'the hard way' by beating the greats are more likely to have a more resilient game and perhaps have the "stuff" to build some type of sports legacy if they have to compete and learn to beat the best, rather than win because there is no one left. I like Tiafoe's attitude (yes, despite the unorthodox FH). He considers it a challenge and he seems eager to tackle it. The women's final does look like it has the makings of a competitive match, which is a good thing. I consider myself one of the early observers of Osaka's game because I remember when she was coached by her father. Still, I'm gonna have to catch that match with her and Kvitova on the replay because I am not getting up at 3: 30 in the morning!

Carlos Ramos is too much and unfortunately, the ITF has given him license to go even further with his OTT "enforcement". It still remains a fact that rules "enforcement" is still wildly uneven in the way it is applied and no amount of Ramos making a big show is going to change that. People on twitter have been saying that Collins looks like the lady who always demands to speak to the manager.

Nothing surprises me these days when you have people on social media who attack a candidate for putting her hair back in a ponytail and bopping to music in her chair. All I can do these days is wonder how long pundits and posters will stay on a particular "scandal" especially when we have such profound problems in the U.S. and world. For instance, do people know that another nuclear testing site that was previously unknown was uncovered in North Korea? Not to mention another mass shooting and then, there is the issue of the states having the burden of filling in for the derelict federal government. Here is Wilbur Ross telling unpaid federal workers that if they take a lifeline, they may pay handsomely for it. I bet Ross has never had to pay a fee in all his adult life. FWIW though, it was the Republicans who put this information out there, not Democrats. The Republicans found this out through a request by the FOIA and news outlets found out from there.

A temporary "tempest in a teacup"? Or a sign of future troubles?

Tiafoe must feel somewhat vindicated after looking at those Nadal-Tsitsipas scores.

Why can't he let her speak for herself and stop putting words in her mouth?

No words to describe how revolting this violation is.