by Melissa Affleck

NR92 went to Kingsway Garden Mall to find out what the hottest gifts are this season for kids and adults.

Christmas shopping is always tough, but it helps to know what the hottest items are for the season. In past years we have seen children’s toy crazes like: cabbage patch dolls, furby’s, Pokémon, and Nano’s. This year according to Assistant Manager of Zellers Kingsway Doreen Gratton there are some new toys that are flying off the shelves. One of these toys is an electronic Hamster, which is very popular amongst children this Christmas.

That’s great for the kids on your list, but if you’re looking to buy for an older crowd electronics are always on their wish lists. Mario Barbosa from the source Kingsway says that this year Ipods among other items are very popular.

Christmas shopping doesn’t need to be stressful, just stay calm, collected, and only go shopping when you’re in a good mood.

Our Chili/Soup Cookoff winners!

Our wonderful judges for the Gong Show.

Look at that crowd!

The Crazy Chicken!

A little puppet show!

Our Winners!

Bad Taste

It’s been in the news around Australia and in several media outlets. I was going to give this topic a pass, but felt that I just couldn’t, since it disgusts me to no end.

Over in Australia, there was a show called Hey, Hey It’s Saturday! Think of it as a three hour comedy-variety show with several segments. It was taken off the air a few years back and recently had a two part live reunion broadcast on Australian Television. One of the segments is a talent(less) contest, that really seems to rip off the Gong Show from what I’ve seen in the published clip. This is where the problem begins.

A group planned to do a Michael Jackson skit.

That’s not a big deal, but was is that they came out in blackface. This is where I start to lose it.

But the man who dressed as Jackson in the segment, which was an encore of the skit first performed on Red Faces 20 years ago, said the group had checked with the show’s producers on whether it should go ahead.

Dr Anand Deva said the act was meant to be a tribute to Michael Jackson and if Hey Hey staff had expressed concern, it would have been axed.

“All six of us discussed this at length whether or not we should put this on because we realised it may be controversial,” he said. “We did go to the trouble of checking with the production staff and they seemed to OK it.”

It blows my mind that no one in the production office that this act would be in bad taste. With all the Australian government has done in the past year to make right with its genocidal acts of the past, I find it deplorable that people still think that demeaning a people as a whole would ever be considered comedy. But then again it wasn’t until 1967 that Aborigines were counted in the census as human beings and not animals – so it’s easy to see why Australia has such a far way to go.

Who would ever think this was ok?

Harry Connick, Jr. was a guest on the show and spoke up instantly saying that something like that wouldn’t fly in the States. Later in the broadcast, Harry Connick, Jr. received an on-air apology, and rightly so.

Since this story came out, there have been two camps. One that recognizes this as a racists act and one that thinks people are too sensitive and not familiar with Aussie humor. The latter camp is also quick to point out that the members of the group are multiracial, so how could it ever be construed as racist?

It’s this attitude that I find disgusting.

It shows a complete lack of thought about humanity. Simply because someone doesn’t intend to do something offensive, doesn’t absolve them of the fact that the act was committed. Furthermore, ignoring aspects of the dialog on race relations highlights one’s own bigotry and lack of compassion.

Blogger and fellow YouTuber, AngryAussie, posted a video (LANGUAGE WARNING – NSFW) the other day that I think perfectly describes the problem in Australia: [Many Australians] just don’t think about black people. I think that these words are completely true, given the controversy last year regarding the apology made to the Stolen Generation. People came out in scores saying that the government shouldn’t apologize for its genocidal policy.

What are they thinking?

Oh, that’s right… they aren’t.

Anytime someone does something that humiliates a people… it’s racism, not comedy. As long as there are people in the world that fail to see this, we, as a whole, can never move forward and live in peace. We need to realize that our actions affect one another and that an act of hate, no matter how small or unintentional, is still an act of hate.

The CNN Analysis: Spot-on!

You should never sing poorly in public, you just don’t know what will happen to you. via

This needs no introduction!  It’s Gene Gene, the Dancing Machine!!!

Looks like a load of fun, no?

The very famous Gong Show made an unexpected appearance at our nudist resort this August. This was the funniest event we have had here as far as I can remember. We had our very own Jody as the MC for the event , with special appearances by Dave, Dave The Dancing Machine and, of course, The Unknown Comedian – complete with paper bag on his head and nothing else. He even handed out free tickets to the next craps game, from a roll of toilet paper:) Roger, Stacy, and Barry told some not so good jokes; but Larry was gonged for being much too verbose! Lana and her nostril flute won a chicken award. How many chickens can you collect to win the big, or not so big, award? Lana and Jody are tied.

I swear, the weather man is the only profession where you can totally get your sh*t wrong and still have a job. Actually, you can work on Wall/Bay Street!

ZING!

Anyways, there is talk of heading to Old Baldy. Most likely Sunday.

Message/Email/Call/Text/Swiss Horn us for in-izzo-fo.

(just like in the Ricola commercials…we’ll hear it)

Sidenote: visit from other HC Michigonians in T.O. = yih yih! Let the Gong Show commence.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada (this is just above Montana for those of you whose geography lessons terminated after the 50 states and their respective capitals).

My brothers and I, accompanied by our significant others, and my very-good-best-buddy descended upon the city for a weekend of cowboy-inspired shenanigans.

As I mentioned in my last post, the catalyst for our gathering was the Calgary Stampede.

The Missus and I arrived by plane Friday night around 9pm. Historically, travel by dogsled has been a cheaper, albeit lengthier option of travel but the effects of global warming have all but shattered the passenger dogsled industry in the more southernly stretches of Canada.

We were met at the airport by the older brother  (note that older does not necessarily imply more responsible) who we’ll call “Doctor.” He quickly whisked us over to a small party being hosted by the younger brother and his “lady-friend” (his words, not mine) who we’ll call “Pinky” and “the Brain” (I’ll let you figure out which is which).

My very-good-best-buddy, we’ll call him “Raymond,” had already arrived and managed to pull together some team jersey’s for us.

Being a few hours behind I quickly donned my jersey and dove head first into the action with a can of Pilsner in one hand and a gong in the other. After all, this was “Gong Show ‘09.”

The night progressed as they usually do. We drank slightly faster than is truly responsible. And we told embarrassing stories about each other and poked fun as our way of saying we were glad to see each other (when you grow up with 3 brothers there aren’t a lot of “I” statements being made).

By midnight Doctor and Pinky’s shirts were sufficiently shrunken from the dryer so we could now hit up a bar and our first taste of the Stampede night life.

The tell-tale signs that you’ve found a Stampede caliber bar are the bails of hay out front (in case your horse gets the munchies).

We walked in to a live band in cowboy hats playing country music. Perfect. We saddled up to the bar, ordered a few pitchers, and got down to business. We drank, we danced, we made comments about the people who were uglier/skankier than us. It was a good time.

But like all good times, this one came to an end right around last call. Doctor put Mrs. Doctor in a cab and Raymond left to find his truck where he was going to grab his over-night bag and make his way to the condo where he’d be staying.

Note: We found out the next day that Raymond decided that a cab ride would be too expensive so he slept in his truck. At least it’s a king cab.

Pinky and the Brain led us back to their condo where the Missus and I passed out on the blow-up mattress. Doctor decided that the couch would work for him.

Time to get some rest before the real show begins.

~Kbshea

New term alert…“weisure”. Well, it may not be new to you…I JUST realized that “yard sale” was the new “gong show”. In any case, it references the blurring of the line between work and leisure. Clever…even if it does sound like a slacker band name.

I came across an article on CNN about the phenomenon. It reads:

Many who haven’t already abandoned the 9-to-5 workday for the 24-7 life of weisure probably will do so soon, according to New York University sociologist Dalton Conley, who coined the word. It’s the next step in the evolving work-life culture.

Am really not sure what to make of this. Intuitively, I believe *strongly* that work and leisure should be very well separated. However, I am “guilty” of checking my BlackBerry during play time with my daughter, and dabbling on Facebook when I should be doing accounting (though my abhorrence of accounting is well documented).

The article points out that this reflects that work has become more fun. Work being fun = good. Ignoring my daughter for the sake of an email check = bad.

The article points to the flipside in that fun has become “work”…think social technology.

Weisure has been fueled by social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, where “friends” may actually be business partners or work colleagues.

True true.

I’ve been tripping over “weisure” for a while now in my own life. I have a value of being present in whatever it is that I’m doing…especially what I feel very important in my life: coaching clients; playing with my daughter; practicing yoga; and, enjoying time with my husband. By allowing my thoughts (and even actions) to deviate from what I’m focused on, I feel like I’m letting myself down…as trampling on one’s values often does.

In the end (of this posting anyways), I guess I DO know what to make of this….for my own life. I’m redrawing the dividing line in the sand between my work and my leisure. I love them both too much to not be focused 100%.

Beberapa hari yang lalu iseng-iseng ingin buka blog. Langsung kaget bukan main melihat jumlah komen yang masuk, banyak banget! Dan itu semua masuknya di postingan tentang nominasi Panasonic Awards tahun ini. Wah, ternyata banyak juga yang antusias dengan ajang penghargaan ini. Maka dengan sangat menyesal dan agak terlambat (sangat terlambat sih sebenarnya), dengan semangat menggebu, langsung bikin versi review dari acara malam penghargaan itu. Entah kenapa belakangan ini males banget kalau mau update blog. Kebawa suasana ujian yang bikin otak puyeng plus belakangan ini keranjingan sama facebook. Hampir tiap hari nongkrongin facebook sampai lupa buat nge-post hal-hal baru di blog. Sewaktu malam Panasonic Awards, sempet live review lewat Facebook tercinta, dengan mengisi komentar lewat status. Dan ternyata respons-nya sangat antusias. Dan dengan sukses akhirnya berdebat sampai kehabisan kata-kata dengan seorang teman di FB, gara-garanya kemenangan sapu-bersih si Cinta Fitri season 3 itu yang sejujurnya tidak aku harapin, dan secara personal bikin aku kecewa. But, yah, namanya juga selera orang beda-beda, mau bagaimana lagi dong.

Oke, untuk sekedar mengingatkan, kali-kali ada yang lupa dengan malam penganugerahan bulan maret lalu, ini beberapa review dari sisi acara dan pemenangnya.

Opening Number: Apakah Kamu Tertawa?
Sebelumnya setelah tahu bahwa presenter utamanya adalah Olga dan Raffi Ahmad, aku sih berpikir, oh mungkin kebawa hype-nya Dahsyat nih, yang notabene mereka berdua lagi gencar-gencarnya di tv. Cuman, ada sedikit rasa takut, bagaimana ya jadinya acaranya nanti kalau dibawa oleh dua presenter ini? Bukan bermaksud bagaimana, aku suka mereka berdua, tapi kalau untuk membawa acara sebesar itu, belumlah cukup modal lucu doang. Olga sih sebenarnya boleh dikatakan bukan contoh presenter yang baik, dihitung dari sisi tata cara membawa acara, dia sih cocoknya dibilang penghibur yang luar biasa. Raffi, lumayan, tapi masih perlu cukup jam terbang untuk membawakan acara sebesar itu yang parahnya di hadiri wakil presiden pula. Nah lo! Kalau dibandingkan presenter tahun sebelumnya, Eko Patrio, Indra Bekti, dan Olga, nah itu baru pas. Indra yang fleksibel, bisa formal dan informal, Eko yang bisa lucu dan serius, serta pelengkap Olga yang seperti bensin, disembur api langsung byur, nyala kocaknya. Klop.

Melihat opening malam itu, seperti melihat sebuah penampilan yang dibuat terburu-buru, tanpa persiapan yang benar-benar matang, dan tanpa konsep yang jelas. Maunya musikal dengan bumbu lucu, maunya parodi dengan unsur lawakan kelas orang barat, atau mau mengumbar kelucuan lewat gossip si presenter itu sendiri. Tidak jelas. Dan jatuhnya memang seperti lawakan spontan yang hanya diakuisisi oleh si Olga, dan seperti biasa Raffi kalah kalau sudah soal lawakan.
Raffi menyanyi di awal, sayangnya suaranya kedengeran fals plus sikapnya yang kurang pede jadi bikin terganggu. Terus berusaha memancing tawa dengan monolog yang sayangnya tidak bisa bikin ketawa. Begitu pun ketika menyinggung artis-artis menjadi sebuah narasi, ala lawakan kelas acara Oscar, sangat tidak mampuh bikin tertawa, nyengir pun tidak. Entah skripnya yang garing, atau memang selera penonton Indonesia kurang bisa tertawa dengan lawakan yang dibilang kelas lawakan cerdas. Yah. Seperti lawakan orang barat itu yang tidak pernah bermain fisik tapi bermain dialog. Tapi menurutku tidak juga. Beberapa bulan sebelumnya aku nonton acara Oscar, dan malah sangat tertawa, sampai terpingkal-pingkal bahkan oleh lawakan Hugh Jackman, tanpa menyudutkan salah satu pihak pun. Jadi, jangan bilang orang Indonesia susah tertawa dengan lawakan yang cerdas.
Opening acara malam itu jelas-jelas mengingatkan aku pada opening malam Oscar. Presenternya nyanyi, seperti yang dilakukan Hugh Jackman, kemudian muncul seorang wanita sebagai pengisi opening juga, yaitu Chelsea Olivia, kalo di Oscar Anne Hathaway. Aku kira Chelsea akan nyanyi juga. Tapi malah berdialog ga jelas dan ga tahu apa fungsi sebenarnya. Satu-satunya penyelamat acara adalah Olga, meski terlihat terlalu tidak sopan dengan mengumbar gossip Raffi dan Yuni Shara di hadapan publik, tapi yah, begitulah, kelihatannya banyak undangan yang tertawa tuh. Rasa-rasanya, pihak penyelenggara harus sedikit jeli untuk memilih presenter plus konsep acara untuk tahun depan. Sebelum banyak penonton kabur karena acaranya yang garing. liat videonya di sini.

And the award goes to…… si Fitri sapu bersih!

Meskipun acaranya disiarkan oleh MNC group, tetapi yang memboyong awards adalah Trans Corp. Wah cukup seneng juga, secara acara-acara trans corp keren-keren sekali. Bukan Empat Mata, Termehek-Mehek, KPK, Gong Show, Si Bolang Bocah Petualang, Ekstravaganza adalah beberapa peraih award yang berasal dari trans corp. Olga menjadi satu-satunya kategori individu yang menggondol dua piala untuk dua nominasi yang didapatkannya. Di kategori pelawak, yang sayangnya tidak disiarkan, dia mengalahkan senior-seniornya seperti Tukul, Aming, Eko Patrio, dan Komeng.
Puncaknya adalah kemenangan Cinta Fitri season 3 yang bikin aku shock. Bolehlah secara personal aku memang kurang suka dengan sinetron ini. Pertama, kemenangan Teuku Wisnu mengalahkan Dude Herlino sebenarnya sudah sempat diprediksi karena melihat booming-nya CF 3. Untuk yang satu ini aku sih sah-sah saja. Tapi, sewaktu Shireen Sungkar namanya diumumkan sebagai aktris favorit, aku shock, apa aku ga salah denger. Si Shireen sendiri pun tidak percaya kalau dia yang menang. Sampai akhirnya aku yakin pasti CF 3-lah yang akan menang. Dan terbukti. Okelah, tidak perlu jadi benci dengan salah satu pihak, namanya juga yang terfavorit, jadi selera kita belum tentu sama dengan selera ribuan orang lainnya.

Di postingan sebelumnya banyak yang mengeluh dengan mekanisme penilaian Panasonic Awards yang terlalu komersil, tanpa memperhatikan kualitas. Tapi tenang sajalah, la wong namanya aja favorit, belum tentu yang favorit itu yang terbaik, dan belum tentu juga yang terfavorit itu juga tidak baik. Sejauh ini, pasangan aktor-aktris paling pas dibilang terbaik + terfavorit adalah Anjasmara dan Agnes Monica. Mereka bermain dalam sinetron bagus, dengan karakter berbobot, hingga kita mengenal tokoh lugu si Cecep yang monumental dan sosok Dini, si gadis cantik yang menikah muda. Dua karakter yang nyatanya masih melekat dalam hati sebagian masyarakat Indonesia.

Moments of the Night!

Best Award Presenters: Eko Patrio, Oky Lukman, Ruben Onsu, tiga-tiganya punya materi presenting yang bagus, materi lawakan yang nendang, dan pokoknya bagus deh. Seharusnya mereka yang menjadi presenter utama, in my humble opinion. liat videonya.

Best Music Performance: Kamga, Afgan, Joeniar Arif dan Vidi Aldiado! Rocks! Keren banget kolaborasinya, terutama sewaktu nyanyi Kucing Garong, asli, suara mereka keren sekali.

Funniest Moment: Sewaktu Olga menang, kehabisan kata-kata di podium, sampai-sampai terpaksa Luna Maya yang ngomong. Dengan lugunya berkata, “ Lo kok jadi kamu sih yang ngomong Lun?” hahahaha…. Lucu! Liat di sini videonya.

Funniest Award Presenters: De Rahma & Jeng Kelin! Wah ini duo ikon prime time yang gokil abis. Terutama si lebai De Rahma, keren deh. Snap snap snap!

Scaring Moment: Sewaktu opening number, si Olga akting marah, eh malah ngerusakin kamera orang. Aku sih pikir, waduh apa ga kasian tuh kamera, trus kirain mungkin kamera boongan, ternyata itu beneran! Wah!

Shocking Moment: Shireen Sungkar sebagai yang terfavorit! Kalo yang ini tidak perlu penjelasan lagi.

Worst Award Presenting: sewaktu presenting award dengan bumbu sulap oleh Dedy dan romy Rafael, Tuhan, ini bukan acara The Master kale. Sumpah! Waktu liat mereka, benar-benar kredibilitas acara awards ini berubah menjadi acara parody miliknya RCTI, so monopolistic!

Worst moment of the Night: no wonder for every single shot of Raffi Ahmad! Oke, semua aksi opening dari Raffi benar-benar gagal. Dari nyanyi, baca berita, ngelucu, semuanya gatot, alias gagal total. Sorry to say, Raffi.

Ini dia pemenang lengkapnya

Kategori Individu:

* Teuku Wisnu (Aktor Favorit)

* Shireen Sungkar (Aktris Favorit)

* Tantowi Yahya (Presenter Kuis/Game Show Favorit)

* Cut Tari (Presenter Infotaintment)

* Olga Syahputra (Presenter Musikc/Variety Show, dan Pelawak)

* Ruben Onsu (Presenter Reality Show)

* Tukul (Presenter Talkshow)

* Darius Sinathriya (Presenter Olah Raga)

* Putra Nababan (Presenter Berita/Current Affairs)

Kategori Program Acara:

* Drama Seri: CINTA FITRI SEASONS 3

* Kuis & Game Show: GONG SHOW

* Infotaintment: SILET

* Music & Variety Show: MAMAMIA

* Reality Show: TERMEHEK-MEHEK

* News Magazine: KPK (KUMPULAN PERKARA KORUPSI)

* Komedi/Lawak: EXTRAVAGANZA

* Talkshow: KICK ANDY

* Talkshow Hiburan: BUKAN EMPAT MATA

* Olah Raga: LIGA DJARUM-ANTV

* Hiburan Anak-anak: PENTAS IDOLA CILIK

* Edutaintment Anak-anak: SI BOLANG BOCAH PETUALANG

* Berita: SEPUTAR INDONESIA

* Dokumenter: METRO FILES

Se você assistiu  “Confissões de uma Mente Perigosa”  sabe quem é ele (e, se não viu, vá correndo atrás, porque  é genial. Rodado em 2002, o filme tem direção de George Clooney e traz Sam Rockwell no papel principal).
Sem querer estragar o prazer de quem for assistir, a cena final, com depoimento do próprio Barris, é um dos finais mais niilistas e amargos que já vi.

Chuck Barris, apresentador e produtor de TV, foi o criador de alguns dos shows mais escrotos já levados ao ar na telinha (e que depois eram descaradamente copiados por Silvio Santos aqui no Bananão), como o Gong Show (programa de calouros) ou o The Newlywed Game, no qual casais recém casados tinham que responder perguntas iguais para testar o quanto se conheciam.
Foi nesse programa, aliás, que ocorreu um incidente que entrou para a história da TV.
O apresentador pergunta a um casal qual o lugar mais estranho onde eles já fizeram amor.
O marido escreve a resposta no cartão (“No carro”) e espera a esposa responder. Se ela disser a mesma coisa que ele escreveu, ambos ganham pontos.
A esposa pensa um pouco, reflete e finalmente responde: “no cu”

Vai aí a cena real:

Charles Hirsch “Chuck” Barris (nascido em 3 de Junho de 1929) escreveu uma biografia (a base do filme de  Clooney) contando que além das atividades na área de entretenimento, era um assassino profissional para a CIA, responsável por 33 mortes.
Bem, quem conhece o mundo da TV sabe que um produtor é capaz de qualquer coisa, mas, nesse caso em especial, a CIA desmentiu que Barris tenha trabalhado para eles. (Paul Nowack, porta voz da agência de Inteligência, classificou as informações de “ridículas e não verdadeiras”).
O fato de Barris escrever uma autobiografia falsa só faz dele um artista ainda mais admirável e revolucionário. Hoje em dia, com a popularização da Operação Mindfuck, baseada na contra-informação, na farsa, no vandalismo e na arte de guerrilha, Barris pode ganhar a respeitabilidade que nunca alcançou na TV, como terrorista cultural.
Tudo isso para mostrar esse clipe, com um dos quadros mais famosos do Gong Show.

Preste atenção na menina de azul, que parece realmente saber o que está fazendo.

Neste outro segmento, Peter Lawford, já em fim de carreira e separado da irmã de John Kennedy, assiste impassível (além de provavelmente bêbado) um inacreditável quadro sobre uma caixa que devora a candidata. Péssimo dia para tomar gin no café da manhã, deve ter pensado o decadente galã.

I kinda miss the seventies.

The Gong Show was oh so much better than America’s Got Talent.