This Day in TV History

    Kevin Keaveney watched consecutive episodes of NYPD Blue for a total of 46 hours, 30 minutes and 50 seconds, thereby setting two records world records. It will be the first time records for Consecutive Episodic Television Programmes Watches and Consecutive Hours of Television/Video Watched have been recognised. Mr Keaveney was competing against 19 other people in a couch potato contest. The event was held in a specially-created studio in New York’s Times Square. Keaveney said: “As an actor, I can tell you that the performances in NYPD Blue are extraordinary. I had never watched it before, but I’m a big fan now.”
    From Ananova.com, courtesy of Fark.com
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Today in Food (2001/09/05)

    Matt Georger, who in the past month purposely gained 36 pounds, was named winner of radio station WEDG’s (103.3 The Edge) “Biggest Bills Fan” contest. Five locals (four men and one woman) were pitted against each other to see who could gain the most weight. Thirty pounds in 30 days was the goal, which Georger exceeded by six.
    On July 26, Georger, who is 20, weighed 145 pounds. On Aug. 26, he tipped the scale at 181 pounds. The contest horrified and fascinated listeners as well as WEDG’s morning co-hosts, Shredd and Ragan, who noted that as the days ticked by, contestants seemed less and less enthused about being able to eat anything — and everything — they wanted. “(One guy) complained the entire month that he just felt nauseated,” says Shredd. “They were all really tired, too.”
    Both had put their money on another contestant, John Luke, who showed up already tipping the scales at 205. But by Aug. 26, Luke had only gained roughly 20 pounds. Joel Burger, a 32-year-old courier, was right on Georger’s heels: He gained 35 pounds, shooting up from 170 to 205 pounds. “It’s haunting me still,” he says, of his loss by one pound. &#8220I did a lot of eating. At one point, my gag reflex kicked in, and I just knew I had to keep eating.”
    “I do a lot of sitting around, surrounded by fatty products like the Frito Lay and Hostess stuff,” Georger said, referring to his job at the Getty gas station and mini-mart in Lewiston.
    “I did a lot of pizza and wings,” said the winner, “lots of fettuccine right before bed. And whole milk,” Georger added. “I drank about a half-gallon a day.” For his efforts, Georger wins season tickets, $500 in Buffalo Bills merchandise, a trip for two to San Diego to see Doug Flutie and the Chargers take on Buffalo and, perhaps most importantly, a one-year membership at the Buffalo Athletic Club.
    From the Buffalo News, courtesy of Fark.com
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The Unkindest Cut

    I confess I was previously unaware of this, but this site has opened my eyes. I’m glad to see other web denizens taking food as seriously as I do. The change in the way Subway slices their bread makes little sense as well as making their subs difficult to eat. So join me in signing this online petition.

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SFG to the Rescue!

    Introducing…
    The new Adventures of Short Fat Guy!


Issue 1 Volume 1

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Tony Orlando Live!

    I’m coming home to Homecoming.
    I’ve been told my cousin John does not care for the song selection on this page. So here’s one that’s sure to rankle him. Yesterday, at the Dearborn Homecoming in Dearborn MI, one of the performers was none other than Tony Orlando. How could I resist taping him? Here he is singing his signature song, accompanied by some loud drunks near the front of the stage.
Tony Orlando – Tie a Yellow Ribbon ’Round the Old Oak Tree   (3.2 MBs)
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Murder in Small Town X

    I usually stay far away from so-called reality TV, but I checked out Fox’s Murder in Small Town X anyway. I have to say I was completely won over. Sure, the killer seems to be awfully accomodating (responding to questions by e-mail and deliverng clues like clockwork [and if the murder was shot on 16mm film, why does it look just like the zero Lux stuff I can shoot with my Sony camcorder?]). And, sure, it has the CBS-patented hokey gimmick of voting people off. But at least it has the distraction of an intriguing mystery. I also like the fact that one of the two people voted off each week gets to come back, as ticked off as a wet cat, to stir things up later on.
    Regardless, it’s still fun to guess who, out of the fifteen suspects, the killer might be. [My guess is the Reverend. Not because he has any kind of motive, but just because it seems the kind of religion-bashing that Fox might think is scandalously cutting edge.] At least focussing on a mystery beats watching a bunch of whiney twenty-somethings. My only fear is that as the number of suspects and investigators decreases, the show will indeed devolve into studying the contestants’ “personalities”. So far, though, I think I might be hooked.
    P.S.: I still can’t get over, though, how terrified the contestants looked when they had to go outside and possibly meet the killer. I mean, come on, the locations are sets and the suspects are actors. How do these people stir themselves up into thinking this is anything more than some dinner-party game? Or do they think looking frightened will look good on their résumé tape?
    Update: The show’s winner, Angel Juarbe, a New York fire fighter, is believed to have perished in the rescue attempts following the World Trade Center attack, September 11 2001.
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HBO vs NBC

    I guess I was watching so much TV I never got the chance to update this [old TV category] page!
    It’s amazing that a few entries ago I was planning on discussing the Emmy nominations, but I’ve taken so long that now the subsequent year’s nominations have come out! But, keeping everything nice and tidy, the two years’ nominations are pretty much the same anyway.
    I was very upset to see Entertainment Weekly taking a swipe at The West Wing, saying its nominations were a “knee jerk” reaction and claiming its second season was spotty and they preferred The Sopranos. Fortunately, for the home viewer, there’s no reason to choose one over the other, but I’ve always felt The West Wing is a superior show. For starters, it doesn’t need gratuitous visits to a strip club to keep viewers watching. In short, The West Wing can play by network television’s rigid rules and still succeed as a gripping, well-written show. If there’s a show with a spotty season it would have to be The Sopranos which is definitely treading water. They only make thirteen episodes a season, so how could they waste a whole show on a desk lamp or on two guys lost in the woods? With all praise to the great work of James Gandolfini and Edie Falco, give me President Bartlet et al any day.
    (And if Entertainment Weekly keeps that up, it can join me in the bathroom as it visits my nether regions!)
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Ed Has Spoken

    I know, I know, it’s been almost a month since I updated this page. I really don’t have much to add, actually. There’s a new name generator page I put up for the heck of it, but that’s about it. I’m hoping to do some graphical changes over the weekend, since, once again, I’m getting of the looks of this place.
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My Second Poll

    Finally got around to doing some major work. I finally updated my online Diary, and even posted a new Summertime recipe to the Food page (which prompted me to redo the survey too). But probably the biggest news involves my fledgling U2 section [since deleted]. I cleared enough space to host my recording of their entire performance at the Palace of Auburn Hills, MI. No need for trades, no eBay auctions, no fee, no cost…head on over to my U2 section and download the MP3s free of charge.
    Share and enjoy, as the late great Douglas Adams would say.
    P.S.: My second archived poll:

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SFG Summertime Recipe

    One of my favorite new salads:
    Greek Bowtie Salad
    Boil 1 cup of bowtie pasta
    Drain. Add 1 cup of chopped celery. Add one cup of sliced black olives.
    Mix 1 cup of Italian dressing & 1 cup of mayonnaise. Add 1 tablespoon oregano and 1½ teaspoons of black pepper.
    Toss in with bowtie pasta.
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