Advice For Fallon

Chris Pratt (voice of "Emmett" in the Lego Movie) gives a Tonight Show Logo made of Lego bricks to the new host, Jimmy Fallon 

The new version of the "Tonight Show" which is back in New York with it's 6th different host, Jimmy Fallon, has finished it's first week. 

So far I think Fallon is in danger of making the same mistake that Conan O'Brien did. He's trying to take what he did on his Late Night show and just slap the "Tonight Show" label on it. 

That's not being the host of the "Tonight Show." That's using the prized late night time slot to perform your own material. 

This is evident from the very start of the show. The announcer starts off with "From Studio 6B in Rockerfeller Center in the heart of New York City it's the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon." 

That's all wrong. The specific location (the studio and building) doesn't matter. The important things are that it's back in New York City and that it's the "Tonight Show." Those facts should be it's fanfare. 

"The Tonight Show" is a television institution that needs to be respected. That's the only way any new host is going to be there for any length of time.   

There's a formula and format that makes the "Tonight Show" the success that it is.

Opening billboard, monologue, comedy bit or sketch, 2 segments with guest #1 concluding with a clip of whatever guest #1 is promoting, segment with guest #2 (more than one if time allows), music or stand up comedian, wrap up.    

That's it. I know it's usually a positive thing to say "that's the way it's always been done but this format has worked for more than 50 years. It is the "Tonight Show." Now there is room for adding comedy premises, routines or styles associated with an individual host but only within that formula.  

Jimmy Fallon can take his Thank You notes and all the other bits he established during his 5 years as host of "Late Night" and fit them into the format. Even his music parodies, games, and stunts with guests could have their place. 

In his letter to NBC in 2009, in which he resigned as host,   Conan O'Brien referred to the Tonight Show as the greatest franchise in broadcasting history. Well part and parcel with that franchise is the format. 

The show has moved back to New York City and in doing so stirs up the echoes of it's past; which only serve to reverberate how deeply anchored it is in TV history. 

But also along with the change of venue comes opportunities for putting a fresh face with a subtext of nostalgic respect on the franchise. 

I'm not a real David Letterman fan anymore but I do give him the nod when it comes to his respect and acknowledgement of the history of the Ed Sullivan theater where he tapes his show. 

Right now, Fallon and his producers have simply taken the name "The Tonight Show" and pasted it over the "Late Night" sign on the studio doors while continuing to do the same show they did at 12:30. They've only moved up an hour. 

So if Fallon doesn't respectfully adapt to the formula that has made the Tonight Show TV's greatest franchise I really don't think he'll last very long. Because all he will have taken over is a time slot.  

Because it's new and exciting Fallon's ratings during this past debut week have been some of the "Tonight Show"s highest in recent years (tying Conan O'brien and Leno's 2009 debut ratings). Once the novelty of the new host and change of location wears off that's when the ratings will provide Fallon's real effect on his target audience. 

Now the preferences of that targeted 18-35 demographic are change as time goes along. Fallon is gaining popularity among that group; one that has been owned by ABC's Jimmy Kimmel. But the 35+ audience both men and women were owned by Leno. That audience is now up for grabs.  

Over the last couple of years I've watched Fallon on the "Late Night" show from time to time; only being able to take him in "small doses." A lot of times his shows make me feel like I'm watching a gathering of old "college buddies" who are laughing about a lot of inside jokes that I'm not in on. It's almost too casual. 

That being said, what do my personal "Tonight Show" habits look like for the future? I may occasionally tune in to see what he's offering but I will not have my DVR set up to tape the show every night. I wonder how many other views will do the same or will stop watching all together. 

Strap in NBC, I think you're in for a bumpy ride. 

TWIL

Last Friday was the last time I mentioned Lego on this log. But that doesn't mean that nothing Lego related has happened. Today I'm going to catch up. So here are the stories that comprised for me "This Week In Lego." 

The first issue of the week happened when I saw actress Allison Brie on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show on Monday night. Brie does the voice of the character "Unikitty" in the Lego Movie. 

During her interview Brie mentioned something I'd never heard before. She claimed that it was stressed to her by the "experts" consulting on the movie that the plural of Lego is "Lego". 

I immediately became alarmed. If this is true I have been very wrong and didn't know it. For an answer to this issue, I went to the one source that would help me discover if I had to change my ways. 

There are a lot of places to go to find out about Lego on the internet. There are websites, blogs, You Tube channels and more. 

The definitive answer I found to the plurality question was this. When referring to the company name or branding their products, "Lego" is the proper pluralization. Example 1: The Lego company is headquartered in the country of Denmark. 
Example 2: This house I built is made from 250 Lego bricks. 

But when referring to the bricks or other elements that are included in Lego sets they can be referred to as "Legos."
The reasoning behind this is the same as referring to a pair of Apple computers as "two Macs" or a voice over  announcer on a car commercial proclaiming "the 2014 Hondas are here." 

So that resolves that temporary minor Lego dilemma, at least for me. If you want to read more about it, here's an article I found during my research. It helped me a lot. 
Lego or Legos: Does It Matter?

As I wrote about yesterday, I have started cleaning out our storage rooms. While sorting through some of my stuff I found these models of a pair of Pixar characters. 

   
I credit these Lego versions of Mater and Lightening McQueen with starting my current Lego obsession. I bought them 2 or 3 years ago because they were "Disney" not licensed Lego products. 

But I had so much fun putting them together that it reminded me how much fun I had playing with plastic building bricks when I was a kid. The idea of getting a Lego set and playing with them again was something I thought I might like to try. 

Then during that Christmas shopping season I bought this Lego "Bricks & More" set from Sam's Club.   

Still a bit embarrassed that as a grown man I had bought a kid's toy set for myself I put it away in my closet for a while. 

Then in the fall of 2012 while working at Sitel call center in Glasgow I was allowed to bring things into work to occupy  the time in between calls. With my supervisor's approval I brought Lego bricks. 

I got the Lego set 6166 out of storage and took it to work. As they say, the rest is history. 

The last thing I want to mention in my "This Week In Lego" report is something that may seem irrational but I have thought it out.  

On January 30th I reported the disaster that had befallen my just completed expert VW build. Since then I have kept the model in a safe place before trying to fix it. 

Finally, this week I decided that it was time to get back to the VW Lego project. So I made a drastic decision. 

I took apart the Volkswagen camper for the purposes of putting it together a second time. It is all in pieces except for the roof/tent assembly. I kept that together because I had an amazingly difficult time putting together the first time. 

There are a couple of reasons for my decision to take it apart. The main reason being that I couldn't find a way to follow the instructions to repair the damage I had done to it. I was still upset that I had mishandled the completed model. 

Putting it together from step one would only be the only way I would feel vindicated for my mistake. It should be a little easier and a lot more fun the 2nd time around.  

So there you have my "This Week In Lego" report. Don't worry, I probably won't be doing one every week. But given the comment my cousin, Lee, made about this past Monday's post I felt that Lego was a reliable "go to" subject when nothing else came to mind. Thanks Lee. 

House Projects For 2014

It happened a little early this year. Last Sunday night Paula and I filed our 2013 income tax returns. We now have a little bit of extra in our pockets. This brings us back to what we want to do with the rooms in our house.

Currently we have 3 rooms in our house that are being used for storage. Two of them are not intended to be use for that purpose. We want one of them to be our bedroom and the other to be Paula's office/reading/craft room. 

With some of our tax refund we can paint and redecorate at least one if not both of the rooms.

Last year we set up the room just off our kitchen to be used as a permanent storage room. Some of the things in the other two rooms will go to that room but most of it will not. 

So it's time to start cleaning out and sorting through the stuff in those rooms and get it out the door. Here's a shot of both of the rooms as they are today. 

One of the rooms used to be my son, Michael's bedroom. Most of the stuff that's in there is being stored for him. He moved out over 5 years ago. His lease on the space has expired. His stuff needs to go either to him or elsewhere. 

I got started on the clean up project yesterday and will be working on it on a daily basis until it's finished. The only thing that will hold me back is that I'm not the one who makes the final decision of the fate of most of the stuff, Paula is. 

I'm working under the "general order" not to throw anything away without her input. With her long work hours that makes progress on the clean up a little slower. 

But nevertheless, I'm determined that by the end of this year we will be in our new bedroom and the room where we sleep now will be our granddaughter's play/bedroom. (At this point I don't know if James or Brandi will ever let her spend the night but at least she'll have a place to take a nap or play with her toys when she visits)

It's yet another ambitious goal but it's for both of us. We've wanted to do this for the last 2 years. I'm not getting any younger and I want my house to be the way we can get the maximum enjoyment possible out of it. 

My February 15

Like millions of others my resolution at the start of the year was to lose weight and get in better shape. I set a specific goal of losing 10 pounds a month. By all reasonable expectations that is a lofty goal. 

In January I reached my goal. A ten pound loss at the start of a diet is not unusual. Still I was pleased with my early success. However I knew I still had a long way to go.

Entering the 2nd month of the year I realized that there were events on the calendar that might be stumbling blocks in the road to my goal: Superbowl Sunday and Valentine's Day. 

I had to be very determined and focused in order to avert a couple of diet derailments and continue losing at the pace that I consider successful. 

I made it through both of the days that are traditionally filled with snack foods and candy with flying colors. I stayed home avoiding any dangerous Superbowl parties and managed to get through Valentine's Day without eating any candy.  

I "officially" record my weight on my tracking spreadsheet each Tuesday.  Yesterday, the numbers on my scale indicated that I have lost 15 pounds so far this year. So with 2 more weigh-ins left in the month I'm down 5 pounds since Groundhog's Day. My goal of 10 pounds lost for the month of February is still within reach. 

The activities I am now required to do at my new part time job will help my cause as well.  

There is a reason I have chosen Tuesday as the day to record my weight each week. That is the day of the week my birthday falls on this year. If I am able to lose weight at the pace I want to, I will reach my goal weight on my birthday. 

But for now I want to take a moment and acknowledge how proud I am of what I've lost so far this year. It could be considered egotistical to pat myself on the back. But with all the difficulties I've had controlling my weight over the years any steps in the right direction needs to be heralded as an achievement. 

Winter Wrecks Bushkill Park

Everyone has heard the saying: Into each life a little rain must fall. In the winter that rain could possibly be snow. But in the town where my sisters live, Easton, Pennsylvania, they've gotten more than a little snow this winter. They've had 62 inches fall, so far, this season. 

Just last week a major winter storm dumped 22 inches over 2 days. That's a lot of snow and it has caused the people in Eastern Pennsylvania a lot of problems. 

Monday afternoon I came home and found this picture on my Facebook page. 

What you're looking at is a building that has collapsed because of the weight of snow on it's roof. The structure was standing on the property that used to be Bushkill Park. At one time It housed the amusement park's carousel. 

This was the park I used to go to when I was a little kid. I'm talking from the time I was a toddler until I was a teenager. 

The park has been closed for decades and the carousel was sold long before it closed. But a lot of reminders from the days when the park was in it's prime are still around. If you look to the left side of the picture you'll see the facade of what used to be the oldest operating fun house in any amusement park in the US. 

Winter's destruction of the old carousel building is just the latest a series of damage the effects of weather and floods have had on a badly deteriorating property. I haven't seen it myself in decades but from what I read on the internet the old park is in ruins.

But still I have many many memories of riding the carousel trying to grab the brass ring. The building where they happened is now nothing but a pile of lumber forced to the ground by a crippling blanket of snow. I hate to see it in that condition. I'm sure it will soon be cleared away and there will be no sign that a wonderful carousel once thrived there.  

I have added a You Tube link below that will show video of the Bushkill Park carousel when it was still running back in 1988. The video also shows other parts of the park as well. The carousel footage starts at the 1:49 mark. 

Bushkill Park Carousel Starts @ 1:49 mark

I know there are a lot of my readers who are not from the Easton area and this post doesn't really mean much to you. 

But the foundation of my love for amusement parks is partly built on my memories of experiences at Bushkill Park. And my current fascination with thrill rides, one of "factors" in my life these days, is just a continuation of my enjoyment of the rides in Bushkill Park, including the carousel. 

Just like I wanted to do when my grill got blown off my car port away a few weeks ago, Winter has had a destructive effect on something I care about. When will this long season end?  

Well, the "official" start of Spring is only 30 days away.

I Knew There'd Be One Soon

A month and a half ago when I committed to writing a post for each day of 2014 I knew there'd be days when I had nothing to write about. Today is one of those days. So I'm just going to string some random items together and call them today's post. 

Yesterday was a unique day for me at church. In the morning service, I gave the Children's sermon. I used my puppet, Cecil the turtle, to explain that Jesus doesn't physically come into our hearts (Cecil held a funnel in his mouth and down his "throat" so Jesus would have an easy time getting into his) but into our lives changing our thinking and our behavior. 

In the evening service, I sang the hymn, "Sweet Hour of Prayer" while playing it on my ukulele; a first for me. 

I didn't think either of those things were my best work. In fact I was not very pleased with either "presentation". But the best thing about doing things in church is that people are very accepting and genuine. I got several compliments and expressions of appreciations for both of my efforts. I am sincerely humbled by all who were so kind to me. 

When fellow church members tell me "good job" and I don't think it was I tell myself that they were looking at me through "God Goggles."  An unseen pair of glasses whose lenses are coated with the Lord's grace so that the "wearer" receives a blessing in spite of everything. Anyone who has ever done any kind of ministry can probably understand what I mean. That's all I have to say about that. 

Finally, in this relatively brief post, a picture. Last December we had our pictures taken for our new church directory. I don't think those directories have been released yet but they should be soon. 

Paula and I took a very nice picture that will be included with our information in the hard copy of the directory. Here's another picture we had taken that won't be but I like a little more...for obvious reasons. 

It's a nice picture of my wife and me but the left side and center of the shot is what makes it one of my favorite pictures of 2013. Of course it's symbolic to because that cutie in the middle of the picture really is the center of the the lives of all the adults around her. 

There you have today's "patchwork" post. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll have thought of an idea to write about. I'm sure I will. I'm committed to it. 

Making Music Mine

As an introduction to today's subject, here's a quick update on my January 19th post. 

"Ron Havens Rewind Soundtrack 2012" is now completed. It's in my I-Tunes collections and on my I-Pod. It clocks in at just under 6 1/2 hours. That may seem a bit long but it was a wonderful year to remember. 

I still have one other Rewind script ready to go into production and a 2013 script to write and record.  

But before I get on with those I've got another music project to work on.  I'm going to be transferring some of my "old school" musical treasures to a current format.  

I'm going to convert the vinyl recordings of some of my favorite albums into digital files using a special turntable that connects to my computer. 

Most of the records are those that I've collected because I had them when I was a kid. Here are a few that mean the most to me.   

There's the first record album I ever owned, The Alvin Show; the first Sesame Street original cast album from 1969; a Charles Randolph Grean (rhymes with "neon") album with music from the TV show Dark Shadows; a record from a "Show N Tell" program; and a live concert album featuring the Bill Gaither Trio. 

That album is probably the most treasured of all. Let me tell you why.    

The Bill Gaither Trio was at their peak of popularity in the early 70's when I was in my early teens. One of my best family memories I have from those years was the night my mom, dad, sister, Shari, and I went to Hershey Arena to to see them in concert. 

Shortly after that experience my youth group leader, Bev, loaned me the "Something Beautiful" album to listen to at home.  I really liked it a lot. I played it constantly. 

The group sang songs during this concert that I'd never heard them sing perform before or since. I memorized everything on the double album set. I can still recite the dialogue and sing those rarely heard songs to this day.  

Eventually, I had to give the album back to Bev but not before I recorded it onto cassette tape. Eventually that tape either broke or wore out. I never borrowed the album again or made another copy. 

As best as I can remember I believe my interest in pop music and joining the Columbia House record and tape club for the first time took my focus away from gospel music and I forgot about the Gaither album. 

Fast forward to a few years ago when I read Bill Gaither's autobiography. It rekindled my interest in his music as well. Of course that brought back to mind the concert album I loved as a teenager.

However, by that time the Gaithers were better known for their Southern Gospel reunion concerts than their earlier ministry as a trio.

All the Bill Gaither Trio music I could find on CD were compilations or "greatest hits" collections. I couldn't find any CD copies of their original albums. Soon I came to the conclusion that I would have to find the original album and convert it to CD or digital format. 

But I couldn't even find any evidence that the "Something Beautiful" album ever existed. It didn't even get a mention on after market album websites or Gathier discographies on the internet. But I kept searching. Flea Markets became my last avenue of hope. But even then I felt like I was searching for a needle in a vinyl haystack. 

Finally at the end of September 2012 I got lucky. At a local flea market I found the album pictured above. I never thought I'd ever find it. That's why it's so special. 

Others that will be included in the digital conversion project are music albums by Eddy Arnold, Loretta Lynn, and Jack Greene, and the debut album of Captain and Tennille. Then there are comedy albums by Soupy Sales and Bill Dana. Finally, there are some LPs with Disney music. 

As you can see I have a lot of home recording to do. But I'm glad that after years of sitting on the shelf these albums will soon be part of my digital music collection. I guess I'd better get busy.