Welcome! Put up your feet and feel the cool breeze coming in from the shore.Friend of the family-friendly film
Here’s a fascinating profile of Phillip Anschutz, the man behind Walden Media and films like the “Narnia” series and “Bridge to Terabithia.”
Author Detail
John Carney
Web Page: http://lakeneuron.com
Registered Since: 2005-03-01 21:38:00
Description: Welcome! Put up your feet and feel the cool breeze coming in from the shore.
Posts by John:
Annual Conference
Layspeakers, as the term applies in the United Methodist Church, are not ordained clergy but are volunteers who have been approved by the church for preaching and other ministry within the church. They may fill in for a pastor on vacation, for example. They are sometimes pressed into service for even longer periods, although in that case an ordained minister must be available for sacraments like communion or baptism which layspeakers aren’t authorized to officiate.
For a number of years now, the Tennessee Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, the governing body for Middle Tennessee, has had one evening during its annual meeting when layspeakers were honored. This year, for the first time, a layspeaker will be asked to preach during that evening’s service, on June 10 at Murfreesboro First United Methodist.
The conference asked for applications earlier this year from layspeakers interested in delivering that sermon. There were 23 sermons submitted, from which a short list of four was compiled. The four finalists delivered their sermons Saturday for the selection committee.
I would tell you who got picked, but modesty forbids.
Game show geekery
I think I may have covered the topic before in this space, but I wanted to go back and explain my remark earlier that I won’t enjoy the game play of “Million Dollar Password.”
First, for any of you too young to remember any of the iterations of “Password,” I need to explain the game. It was played by two teams, each consisting of a contestant and a celebrity partner. The object of the game was for one partner to get the other to say a secret “password” by giving one-word clues. The teams would take turns working on the same password — first, the person giving the clues for what I’ll call team “A” would give his or her partner a clue, and the partner would give a response. If that response was wrong, team “B” would take a shot at it, and back and forth until one team or the other got it right. Obviously, each team is listening to the other team’s clues and can benefit from them when it’s their turn
The scoring was simple: guessing a password on the first clue was worth 10 points, on the second clue was worth 9 points, on the third clue 8 points, and so on. The first team to get to 25 points won the game and got to play a “speed round” for cash, guessing as many passwords as possible within 60 seconds.
The original rules of “Password” were simple and elegant. They were also strict. Only one-word passwords were used, and only one-word clues were allowed. There were no names or proper nouns or movie titles or anything like that; just words, from a dictionary. (Sometimes, a particular dictionary would be mentioned by name as part of a sponsorship agreement.) Each password stood on its own.
Later, at the bottom of the post, you can see a clip of this format.
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Python is here
Well, my “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” complete megaset arrived today, and I’m thrilled. I’ve already watched the “Spanish Inquisition” episode — No one expects the Spanish Inquisition! — and I’d forgotten that it was the same episode which also includes the semaphore version of “Wuthering Heights,” which always makes me laugh out loud.
The Password is ….
I don’t think I will like the game play of CBS’s new “Million Dollar Password,” a re-working of my all-time favorite game show. But Regis Philbin is an ideal host, and I am delighted to see that Betty White apparently makes an appearance. It wouldn’t be “Password” without Betty, who met “Password” host Allen Ludden when she was a celebrity panelist on the show and ended up marrying him. Ludden is still, for my money, the classiest game show host ever (possibly tied with Hugh Downs, who at one time hosted “Concentration.”)
Opening credits
Here is what my TV will look like in another week or two:
You are Number Six
As I posted the other day, I bought a Monty Python’s Flying Circus complete boxed set during a big sale at Amazon.com. I think I made a good purchase — but soon after seeing the Monty Python set, I saw another boxed set for the same price, and I had a little twinge. Should I have bought that one instead?
Well, my youngest brother and his family gave me an Amazon gift certificate for my birthday, and I decided I would apply it towards that second box set purchase. When I got home this afternoon, I discovered the big sale had ended and the box set had returned to its normal price — but I found it on one of Amazon’s “Marketplace” partner merchants for a price that was pretty much as good as the sale, and that allowed me to apply my gift certificate.
Yes, it’s “The Prisoner,” one of the most imaginative and thought-provoking TV shows of its era, and one I haven’t seen in years.
For those of you too young to remember this show (and I was much too young to appreciate it on its original run), it’s sort of a cross between James Bond and “Lost.” Patrick McGoohan’s character is a British spy who suddenly resigns his position, much to the consternation of his superiors. He is gassed and whisked away to a surreal facility called “The Village.” Everyone in The Village is referred to by a number. The top man on-site is “Number Two,” who reports to a mysterious and unseen “Number One.” (”Number Two” is not a very secure job, apparently, and the person in that role changes constantly throughout the 17-episode series.)
McGoohan’s character, Number Six, can’t be sure who the ultimate power is — his own government? The enemy? Some third party? — and so, even as Number Two uses various schemes, ruses and strategies to try to get McGoohan to reveal the reason for his resignation, McGoohan looks to escape and/or to unravel the mysteries behind The Village.
The one thing about the series that did fascinate me as a young child was The Village’s means of capturing escapees — a big, bouncy white ball which chased the fugitive. (You may have seen it lampooned on an episode of “The Simpsons.”)
I haven’t seen this show in many years and can’t wait to see it again, complete and in proper order.
| Title | Content |
|---|---|
| Movie: | "The Prisoner" |
| Release Date: | 1 June 1968 (USA) / Other Countries |
| Genre: | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi |
| Tagline: | No Man Is Just A Number. |
| User Rating: | 1,398 votes, average 9.2 out of 10 |
| Runtime: | 52 min (17 episodes) |
| Awards: | 1 nomination |
| Cast: | ... |
| Others: |
 Additional Details
Sound Mix, Aspect Ratio ... |
| Photos: | N/A |
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My birthday party today
The actual birthday was Thursday, of course, but we had cake, ice cream and hamburgers tonight:
Funny stuff
“The Office” creator Ricky Gervais interviews John Hodgman on Gervais’ blog.
R.G. 2. When you wear this “suit” you often accessorize with facial eye glasses. Again the why?
J.H. LIKE MOST PEOPLE, my eyes are located in my face, so I find that the facial eye glasses are really the only way to go.
(For the uninitiated, Hodgman, an author and book editor, is now known as a performer as well. On The Daily Show, he is “Resident Expert John Hodgman”; he’s also the personnification of the PC on those Mac ads.)
Part of my birthday present
My birthday present from the West-Coast-but-soon-to-be-Tarheel branch of the family included these two handmade items. The washcloth was knitted by my sister-in-law, and the melt-and-pour soap was colored to match, under the personal supervision of my nephew — the same S-I-L and nephew I blogged about earlier today.
The melt-and-pour soap is a not-so-subtle hint for me to get to work on a new batch of homemade from-scratch soap, or “Uncle John Soap,” as they refer to it in their household. And I need to do that.
My explanatory nephew
“I’m explaining to Huck about trains.”
Well, of course. The cat doesn’t know much about trains.
Sounds like my nephew likes explaining things, my favorite part of journalism. It can also be a sign of chauvinism, apparently, but I’d like to think that the Little Guy and I aren’t that particular species of explainer.
I like my sister-in-law’s post title, too.
Got the call
I got home from the symphony concert and I had three messages on my answering machine. Two of them were much-appreciated birthday greetings from family members, featuring nieces and nephews who always bring a smile to my face.
The third message was from a representative of the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church.
A good while back, I submitted a sermon for consideration in the selection process for the first-ever layspeaker to preach during Annual Conference.
I’ve made the short list, apparently, and they want me to come to Franklin this Saturday and give my sermon for the selection committee.
Requiem
I am so glad I went to see Verdi’s Requiem after all. In a strange sort of way, I think I’m glad I was by myself — I could focus on the music. And what music! The symphony, the chorus and all four soloists were in top form, and the acoustics at Laura Turner Concert Hall wrap the music all around you in a way that’s powerful and moving. I was torn between trying to read the supertitles and watch the expressions on the faces of the soloists versus just closing my eyes and getting lost in the music. (I frequently close my eyes when listening to really good music.)
Getting there was strange. I first parked in the wrong place — the parking garage under the SunTrust building as opposed to the parking garage across the street from, the bank. By the time I figured out what was going on, ran back to my car, got out of the first garage, and finally found a parking space in the second garage, I was scared I was going to cut it close getting to the concert. I was in such a hurry that I didn’t pay close attention to on which level I had parked, which meant I had to do some looking around at the end of the evening. I was covered in sweat by the time I got to the concert.
What a fabulous evening. I got another surprise when I got home, but I don’t want it to get lost and so I’ll make it into a separate post.
Advertising message of the day
Even though I work in the newspaper business, I must warn you that you can’t believe everything you read in newspaper advertising. To wit:
I do, in fact, have the best sister on the planet.
Birthday update
Well, I’ve decided what to do. I’m going to the symphony. It should be a great concert — as one of the commenters on my previous post indicated — and it will be my first chance to see Giancarlo Guerrero, the symphony’s music-director-in-waiting, conduct. And I think I have pretty good seats. So I’m going to go.
It won’t be the first time I’ve been by myself; I attended the gala opening night on my own, because I was covering the festivities for the paper, and only had one ticket. In fact, on opening night Laura Turner Concert Hall was packed but, for some reason, I had an entire row in the side section of the floor to myself. I’m guessing the other seats were set aside for media people who covered the red carpet but didn’t stay for the concert.
My parents, meanwhile, called to offer to take me out for an early supper here in Shelbyville before I hit the road.
