I know, I know.

Winter is upon us and we all feel very lazy.  That coupled with the stress of the holiday season makes for a town full of lazy, stressed-out people.  How exactly, to deal with this early winter funk?  Well y’all, I recommend something funky.  For a good cause of course.  Your $4 cover (and ALL the money raised from the show) will go to support the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center.

Friday, December 4 Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro will be host to that funky thing to pull you out of your winter funk.  Join us at 10:30 pm for Portland, OR’s Quick & Easy Boys deftly mix country, blues, classic rock with generous helpings of down and dirty funk with a sound that falls somewhere between Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show and Funkadelic.

Observe:

And attend:

Yesterday night (23rd November) Ashley arrived at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City for an appearance on “The Late Show With David Letterman”

Gracias a RPatzz Life por tan lindas tomas de Rob durante el programa de David Letterman y Today Show

Impecable, irresistible….disfruten las fotos y esperemos el video del programa ….Gracias Su Majestad..

Ho sempre pensato a Norah Jones come a qualcosa di delicato, quasi impalpabile.
Infinita delicatezza, classe sopraffina, insomma tanta femminilità ma velata da poca sensualità.

Così l’altra sera mentre stavo guardando il Late Show ho sentito David Letterman introdurre “colei che trasforma ogni show in uno show perfetto”…Ed eccola: nuovo look, nuovo sound, stessa classe ma più fascino.

Perché ha saputo fare una cosa che personalmente adoro, lavorare sulla purezza del suono e trasformarla con equilibrio.

Ha preso il suo Wurlitzer, ci ha attaccato un paio di pedalini, lo ha infilato in un VOX e ha creato questo suono minimal (il minimal direi che è da sempre il suo marchio di fabbrica) rendendo tutto più elettrico e in qualche modo spolverato di un nonsochè di “tronicità” (quel rullante elettronico suonato dalla corista apre una piccola finestra di nostalgia che però oggi è percepito come contemporaneità).

Due parole sul suo ormai classico solo di piano suonato ad ottave (sulla scia di quello di Sunrise con il piano acustico: capolavoro di classe e consapevolezza)

semplicemente quelle 10 note che ti fanno capire che lei sa tutto quello che c’è da sapere sullo strumento ma ti da solo quello che serve.

Tanto di cappello Norah.

CBS, Conan’s rival station, is on a high note: For the first time since 2005, Letterman is topping Conan in adults viewers ages 18-49 & 25-54.

So what’s your opinion on Conan’s new time slot. Continue reading to check out what other people are saying…

(Photo by AP/ Chris Carlson)

• The “Late Show” and “The Late Late Show” with Craig Ferguson both post audience growth compared to premiere week last year.
• The Late Late Show beat out Jimmy Fallon in household views by 50%.
• Ending the Oct. 30 week, Letterman pulled 40 million viewers, Conan O’Brien 2.4 million viewers, and Jimmy Kimmel 1.7 million viewers

Conan has an avid fan base and sites dedicated to his sense of humor. So what is the problem with his new show?

Apparently Conan fans are watching more online. One of the biggest draws on NBC.com is Conan’s ‘In the Year 3000′ sketch.’ Instead of tuning in, his fan base is picking over his video clips.

Leave your feedback and read what others think:

• Posted by: wsapnin on June 2, 2009– I never liked Leno. He did 2 bits I would watch 1) Headlines 2) Jay Walking. Other than that, I never found him funny or a good interviewer. It’s just that the people who don’t ‘get’ Letterman had nothing else to watch in that timeslot.

• Posted by: Caroline on June 2, 2009– I think the major question on most people’s minds isn’t whether Conan will be funny — you either already think he is or he isn’t — but whether he’ll be able to draw Leno’s audience. My parents, who are late-generation boomers, love Leno and can’t stand Conan. I could take or leave Leno but really, really love Conan. It could just be a generational thing.

• Posted by: Richie B on June 2, 2009– Thank God some people finally told the truth about Conan. I’ve been trying to give that guy a chance every now and then for the last ‘umpteen’ years and I have yet to find anything he does even mildly amusing. I just always just assumed you had to be from New York to appreciate his humor.

NBC was the king of late night and set the standard for generations. For years NBC always won the late night ratings war. Carson and then Leno would crush competitors like David Letterman, Joan Rivers, and Arsenio Hall… then came the year 2009.  In 2009, Leno’s contract has the host of “Tonight Show” ran out and NBC decided to name “Late Night” host Conan O’Brien as the new host and SNL alum Jimmy Fallon as the new host of “Late Night” as Jay moved to primetime. CBS salivated over this change and for good reason; they became number one at late night.

The former “Late Night” host Conan O’Brien took over the “Tonight Show” in May with a retro set and but the same old show that he had at 12:30.  All that changed was the time slot, title, and Conan jumped around the stage less at the beginning of the show. NBC knew this was a gamble but it had worked before. When he was on at 12:30 viewers did not switch over to the “Late Late Show” or to the end of Jimmy Kimmel. Conan developed a cult following among college kids and young adults. This audience went with him to 11:30 but the adults who loved Leno left for Letterman because Conan is to juvenile for 40-50+ crowd because he is too wild and manic.  Conan’s humor proved too much for folks looking for something to fall asleep too.

When my parents and many other people their age discovered that Leno was moving to ten they rejoiced because that meant they could get there late nights laughs before they went to bed, didn’t happen. Leno debuted in September with a new time slot, new set, and bad comics. Like many folks I was hoping for “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” at ten when “The Jay Leno Show” came on. I didn’t get it.

The show started off the same with great a monologue with a couple of lame sketches like on the “Tonight Show” which we all tolerated.  Jay then brought out some of the worst comedians that I ever heard to do sketches or taped segments. Thank God for Tivo, because I always have to fast forward through this part because I never laugh and find myself board or even uncomfortable by the sketches. Up next comes the interview and where is the desk? Jay looks so uncomfortable without the desk and doesn’t seem to know what to do with his legs. He keeps moving his legs back and forth, which is very distracting. Then comes the 10 @10 segment which should be just a second interview but he does it by satellite feed. The problem is, the interview is by delayed two seconds every time guest answers a question because the poor satellite feed. As a producer this always makes me cringe because timing is everything in our world. What also bugs me is this segment is so scripted and the guests (who are usually newsmakers or newscasters) are trying to make jokes but they have the worst delivery. I personally think only Jay likes this because he can speak to people like First Lady Michelle Obama or Secretary of Health Kathleen Sebelius. Us at home are just bored.  

Lastly there are America’s favorite segments such as “Jaywalking” and “Headlines” the only problem with this is it is too late into the show. Folks at home have switched off or just lost interest in the show at this time.  I say replace the comic in the second part of the show with his just like it used to be

There is a reason why Jay is in third place and late night on NBC is in second place. Jay is trying to be different and funny when before he didn’t have to be because he was and “The Tonight Show” abandoned their demographic, which is a huge mistake. The idea of late night on primetime is good idea and theory but ratings loser in reality.  When Jay’s contract is up in May, NBC may have to think twice whether to renew it. Also, 18-35 maybe a target because they’re “young and hip” but NBC needs to make shows that appeal to all so they get more viewers. If NBC fixed these mistakes they would be number one again.

Watching Conan O’Brien’s ratings plummet, I’ve been bothered that something was off.  Something in this story isn’t completely being told.

Jay Leno moves to 10 pm, Conan O’Brien moves into the coveted Tonight Show seat, and the net effect is that David Letterman moves into first place in the infamous late night ratings battle.

There are a number of other stories that could be told for the drop.  Jay Leno’s show is bad, especially compared to well-written (or even less outstanding) original programming.  A domino effect takes down NBC into a death spiral seems to be the common story.

What I want to focus on is the Hulu effect, namely the oncoming ability for people to access shows online, anytime.  Everyone knows media is moving online.

I am admittedly a Conan O’Brien fan.  However, by his own admission, late night television is a volume play.  And The Tonight Show has seemed to get off to a somewhat slow start in providing memorable moments.  Conan is a comic risk-taker, and it suits him (and David Letterman for that matter) less well than in his later time slot.

Although I haven’t yet collated supporting numbers (and I will share if I do), I believe it’s easy to show that Dave will continue to show strength in the older demographic.  Only time can tell if Conan can pull off the balance between alienating the base and bringing in new viewers. In another interpretation, it’s really shaky to believe that Conan is a mass audience comic like Jay Leno is – it’s pretty obvious that the show has a high young male bend (and Jimmy Fallon seems to be bending that way even further, but that’s another story).

The bigger story is the shift to online, or really more accurately, on-demand video sources.  Again, it’s easy anecdotally to tell the story that younger people have more options: the unlimited expanse of the Internet first and foremost, and interactive entertainment which is a $30++ billion behemoth in itself.

What I think is happening is the types of viewers Conan would attract will generally not watch him in volume live.  Too much to do, and I’d rather catch the episode on Hulu if I feel like it, or cherry pick favorite clips.  That, combined with the ADD, choice-filled nature of media these days, and aggregate viewer ratings no longer tell the full story.

And unless unified media analytics come to fruition that tell this story, it’s quite possible that Conan’s reach may stay underrated.

Whether the spread attention of the younger audience is really that much more valuable, that’s for television executives to find out and prepare for.  But I find this developing story surprisingly intertwining and may have more to say about it in the future.

Luisa Mell, que apresentava um programa sobre animais na RedeTV! e está afastada há tempos do ar, deverá voltar em breve. Ela está negociando com a Bandeirantes.

I had the pleasure of seeing Mastodon play last night in NYC with Converge, it was fucking INCREDIBLE. Both these bands most recent albums are so crushing (Crack The Skye and Axe To Fall).

So i wake up this morning to a text saying check out the Late Show from last night, and i do.

It must have been cold on set as Troy from Mastodon is wearing a HoopersElectric Thermal! I wish I could say it was me who gave it to him, but I have a good friend to thank for that.

Im really stoked to see that they like my shit, i think they are an awesome band.

http://shirtsanddestroy.com/thomashooper

I haven’t really watched this since it’s 5am and I can’t turn on the volume The mention starts at 6:21

Source: ROBsessed

Craig Ferguson speaks on his past problems as an alcoholic and why he would not ridicule Britney Spears and her shaved head crisis.  Craig echoes to the letter my sentiments on alcoholism.  He makes it clear that he is a member of Alcoholics Anonymous without directly violating our traditions.  Kudos to Craig, a fine fellow.  Loved him since 1999’s The Big Tease.

February 20, 2007

Depois de muitas aparições como repórter da RedeTV!, a ex-BBB Ana Carolina conseguiu fincar seu espaço na emissora. A loira fechou, na semana passada, um contrato com um salário por volta de R$ 10 mil e irá apresentar um programa na grade de 2010 da RedeTV!. A nova atração tem como mote os animais, assim como fazia Luisa Mel no extinto programa Late Show. O projeto de Ana, que ainda está sendo conversado com a RedeTV! para decidir horário, dia e nome, vai ter um ar mais moderno e interativo com o público. Ana Carolina, que nunca escondeu sua paixão pelos bichos, está feliz com o novo trabalho: “Sou louca por cachorros. Este trabalho vai de encontro com esta paixão”, contou a ex-sister a O Fuxico. Agora, é aguardar para ver se o programa vai agradar os fãs da loira!

Such are the benefits of putting on wildly successful shows such as the recent A Day To Remember/Parkway Drive concert: They afford the financial means to bring in smaller-drawing acts for the benefit of the music community. Case in point: The Omaha, Nebraska-based rock group Cursive is coming to The Outland Ballroom for a show November 25 with Capgun Coup and more, one of two new concerts announced by Forever Endeavor Productions this morning. The other show is Outbreak, Soul Control and Only the Brave at Club Neon (1611 N. Campbell Ave.) on November 14. 

Outbreak is about to release its self-titled album November 10 and has a song on the upcoming Saw VI soundtrack, so the band should come to Springfield riding quite the high. It’s the Cursive show that carries the advance-purchase ticket option (psssst, click here to get in on that), and if you were at the band’s last Springfield show you know why. Of course, since then Cursive has release its own new album, Mama I’m Swollen, and even popped its network-TV cherry to boot with a performance on The Late Show With David Letterman last March. Let the anticipation begin.

OFuxico

Depois de muitas aparições como repórter da RedeTV!, a ex-BBB Ana Carolina conseguiu fincar seu espaço na emissora. A loira fechou, na semana passada, um contrato com um salário por volta de R$ 10 mil e irá apresentar um programa na grade de 2010 da RedeTV!.

A nova atração tem como mote os animais, assim como fazia Luisa Mel no extinto programa Late Show.

O projeto de Ana, que ainda está sendo conversado com a RedeTV! para decidir horário, dia e nome, vai ter um ar mais moderno e interativo com o público.

Ana Carolina, que nunca escondeu sua paixão pelos bichos, está feliz com o novo trabalho: “Sou louca por cachorros. Este trabalho vai de encontro com esta paixão”, contou a ex-sister.

Agora, é aguardar para ver se o programa vai agradar os fãs da loira!

The front page of the Daily News in New York on Friday Oct 2nd was an early morning surprise for me, when I discovered that my old pal David Letterman was yet again the target of some plot I couldn’t help thinking of the culture of attack we live in as I covered in my post Phelps, Pot and Precognition a few months ago. I call Dave my old pal because from 1981 to 1989 I was self employed and watched his show every night while I worked, obviously I don’t know him personally and regrettably stopped watching his show when I started working for the “man” and could no longer stay up late. Yet although I could have recorded it and watched it the next day…I didn’t,  I tried a few times now that I think back to those days but watching it at five o”clock didn’t work…something for me was lost.

I know I missed many good shows since then and always thought he was screwed by the execs at NBC when they picked Jay Leno to take the helm of the Tonight Show over Dave. But what has been revealed and continues to come out in the media has really been a study in media frenzy and what I will call the “Days of the Long Knives” for David and his family and I’m starting to think maybe it’s got nothing to do with monetary gain but rather a personal vendetta against Late Show with David Letterman as a TV entity as well as it’s namesake.

The alleged blackmailer Robert J.”Joe” Halderman is the  producer of the acclaimed CBS 48 Hours Mystery, an in depth reporting program that has seen Halderman nominated for Emmy Awards for his pieces about Sarajevo and Russia’s brutality against their own people, he has also worked in war zones such as Somalia and Bosnia. Halderman was considered ” hard driving” but also refered to as a “swashbuckler” described as brave and capable of doing any story he was given. But in his off hours he was called a “party animal” who was a barrel of laughs, a spendthrift who enjoyed the night life.

 But MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann remembers a different man that he worked with at CNN in the 1980’s, on his blog Olbermann wrote that whenever somebody gets arrested for some stupid or horrible crime people always say “That’s not the guy I knew?” Well not this time, as Olbermann reveals “This is exactly the guy we knew at CNN.” He also stated that Halderman thought he was better than everyone else and that there was no weeping when he left CBS.

 The young woman at the center of this scandal is Stephanie Birkitt, a Wake Forest University graduate who actually interned at CBS in 1996, where she would have likely met or at least become known to both Letterman and Halderman before graduating in 1997. It was shortly after this that she started working on 48 Hours where I suspect Joe Halderman was first attracted to the pretty young girl who now was legal age, but after a short time Birkitt moved over to Late Show to get away from the serious news business and worked as a producer on the Late Show. Later when the job of personal assistant to Letterman opened up Birkitt applied for and got the job to be in Dave’s inner circle where she was quite happy calling Dave the “best boss I ever had” in a 2002 interview. Then in an 2003 interview at her old school she described the working environment as fun and Dave as kind, personable and generous and was “great fun to play catch with,” (you play catch and get paid for it!).

 But also Late Show is known as a serious work environment where 15 hour days are the norm and the female staffers were happy with the workplace environment according to former employees. This I think is the beginning of the love triangle that will develop into this last act of revenge that pushes Halderman to try and settle the score with Dave for getting the girl he wanted an affair with while he was still married!

 The fact is that people who work together long hours usually wind up playing together too, and in this sort of environment (bars/party’s) it’s easy for people to hook up and have affairs. I mean years ago I knew a group of people who worked together at the Sears Auto Center when I was a delivery driver for an auto parts store. One day I noticed that this little short mechanic was kissing a beautiful tall European looking blonde who worked in the office up front! They were totally mismatched and looked odd together so I asked him about it and he told me…”we had our Christmas party at the bar down the block a few weeks ago, at the end of the night we were the last two people left at the bar…and it just happened.” I don’t know what became of that hookup but all kinds of weird matches are made every day. You also have to remember that Dave who has always been very self deprecating, calling himself a geeky guy and has been very reserved almost shy in a way. I’m guessing he  was probably not much of a lady’s man in his younger days. I think that if you look at the types of people Dave has had in his life they could easily be described as plain jane’s who are interested in writing and are professionals, you don’t find people who look like Duffy on his staff. The fact that no sexual harassment charges have ever been brought against Dave and that one former staffer said Dave’s definitely not a “groper” kind of leads me to believe that this was a case of total infatuation. Birkitt, a young attractive girl, who by all accounts liked Dave’s offbeat sense of humor, and for Dave it was the equivalent of the cheerleader he never had.

 This of course doesn’t excuse his cheating on his long time girlfriend Regina Lasko, but 23 years is a long time to date someone and I can’t help feeling like they were together for convenience and sex rather than love. The fact is that Regina was a former staffer at Late Night and should have known Dave for the lady’s man he is now being portrayed to be by the media, therefore I find it confusing that Lasko is surprised or mad at this revelation which she should have expected.

  This is where the really tough moral questions come in to play, as we have seen men have a built in instinct to mate with many females that was hard wired into our brains to expand the population. Men have been trying to overcome that instinct for the past 30 years at least on paper. But culturally speaking, many of us do a pretty good job of it most of the time. I personally have never cheated on a girlfriend I was with, but that didn’t stop me from looking at other girls and desiring them as well. Don’t roll your eyes girls, I’m being honest here so you can understand- it’s not personal.

  I was madly in love with my ex fiance at one time yet still found myself checking out other girls in stores or malls while we walked together. It’s something that men do on an almost subliminal level, the difference being there are those who act on those desires and those that don’t. I mean indeed I once knew a woman (not my lover) who actually bought her husband a subscription to Penthouse so he had the stimulation at home to enjoy. Yet judging by her smile at my shock, it worked for them and for her too as she alluded to the benefits of a stimulated man!

 But the most shocking thing to me was when a young former co-worker; a latino male of about 18 (who was not good looking by any means) who had girls sending him text messages and cheesecake pictures requesting “stress relief,” informed me that it was common to have many girlfriends but there was only one “wifey.” The girl who was wifey was your favorite, the one you cared about the most and the girl your friends were not allowed to look at with desire or talk smack about at all. This was the girl you took to family parties or holiday occasions, this was astounding to me and was an accepted form of behavior by college age people. It was also possible for girls to have the same arrangement with other guys! This was a don’t ask don’t tell arrangement, and all this information was backed up by other young people related to me that I questioned about this social practice. The attitude was if infidelity is going to happen anyway why get mad… just have open relationships and no one gets hurt.

 The relationship between Letterman and Birkitt seems to have ended around the time when Dave and Regina found out they were going to be parents, and Birkitt went back to Halderman sometime after the breakup and eventually moved in with him. She paid him a whopping $1500 a month to help the now divorced 51-year-old who was paying out $6800 in child support and was also deep in debt but still trying to keep his golfing /partying life style intact. So we now can see the intention of Birkitt all along was to get with an older man and try to advance her career, she went with Dave after leaving the staff of 48 hours to have fun and got some face time on TV, because as fans of the Late Show know well…Dave likes to use his staff in bits and sketches, members of the band, stage manager Biff Henderson, even going so far as to bring out a petrified female staffer who was getting married to do several bits so she could get paid for being on TV (on top of her regular salary) as a wedding present! Dave sent Birkitt to cover the 2002 and 2006 Olypics and had her do silly bits on the show from time to time so by all accounts Miss Birkitt had a swell time and was paid a very good salary too, even after the breakup Birkitt was still employed by Letterman and is now on paid leave from the show.

 But it was during the time that Birkitt was living with Halderman,about 2005 to late Sept 2009 that Halderman allegedly read Stephanie Birkitt’s diary and love letters to Dave that she had saved. This then was the package that was presented to Letterman in early September with the request for 2 million dollars. There is also a rumor that Halderman had David Letterman’s office bugged or video taped in some way but only the FBI knows for sure and they …are not talking.

 So right now we still don’t know the real truth about all this, did Halderman snap when he found out that his ex-wife was taking the kids out-of-state to live?  Maybe it was the fact that Birkitt was not happy with Halderman for refusing to have children with her and was getting tired of waiting and threatening to leave? How could he think that a man like Letterman (who was driving Birkitt home to Halderman’s house after work at night, even though they were split up) would just lay down and die and submit to extortion?

 The media’s frenzy that is going on is amazing, panels are discussing the ethics of the workplace with psychiatrists and psychologists and all sorts of experts talking about how we have to re-examine our work policy regarding office romance, militant feminists are calling for Dave to be drawn and quartered and his show to be cancelled and former Gotti attorney Gerald Shargel is waiting with bated breath to cross-examine Letterman if the case goes to trial, which I’m betting  won’t even go that far.  The case will be settled out of court and what Dave’s legal team will do… is make this go away as fast as possible.

 The strange thing is that Dave is getting very high ratings for all this embarrassment and discomfort, with Jay Leno moved to 10:00 o’clock time slot and Conan O’Brian in Jay’s still warm seat I expected a surge in Late Show ratings but not for this reason!  I know what Dave did was wrong and I feel it may cost him his marriage in the long run and that is a shame but if I was Regina I would stay with Dave, have a fling of my own to get even, and try to forget it ever happened.

 The 20 million dollar ranch that Dave owns out west and the house on the water in the tropics could make me forgetful easily, as well as the weekly allowance that she probably already gets could be doubled as well. Then what about poor Stephanie Birkitt?

 Well, if she had any real feelings for either man, it can only be speculated on, I’m sure she knew about Dave’s girlfriend when she hooked up with Dave. The love letters that were used by Halderman were never sent? If not why? These facts are ignored by feminists who don’t want to admit it but Birkitt was 22 when she started working for Dave, hardly a stupid kid but a college grad, with a taste for older men in positions of power in the industry. If she isn’t looking for a sugar daddy then why not hook up with someone in their late 30’s, instead of a 51 year old Halderman? Then also if she really loved Dave then why not insist that he split with Regina Lasko and marry her instead?  She will probably do the talk show circuit and write a tell all book in a few years, unless her silence is bought out by both men and then she will have a house in the tropics too.

  Halderman who has lost his job with CBS is the loser in all this, he doesn’t have a chance now of coming off all this clean, he has lost all his credibility, he might just as well skip town and try his luck as a beach comber in the tropics. If he does Birkitt and Letterman will need orders of protection! LOL…not funny though, that’s why I’m not Dave I guess.

 David Letterman was about 50 when he hired Birkitt who was 22, Birkitt was 34 when she left Halderman who is 51. I am 47 going on 27, why-because I work at every day. I think young act young I try to be younger than I am because I believe it preserves youth and keeps you from aging. In the unlikely event that some girl in her twenties was interested in me I would be ecstatic, not because I “bagged” a young girl at my age but because I’m alone, and loneliness is everything it’s cracked up to be. But I would not accept the advances of that twenty something girl while I had a forty something waiting for me at home, I just don’t roll that way. But I don’t know for sure because it’s never happened to me. You just don’t know what your capable of untill you do it, whether it’s good or bad. You never know just how you look through other peoples eyes either.

 So Dave you screwed up buddy…from one geeky guy to another-you screwed up. Best wishes for all involved. 

Peace

Glen

Ps: The information used in this article is in the public domain and was memorized from numerous radio shows, TV news briefs, and talk show conversation, online sources and speculation on my part. It is not intended to be taken as gospel truth but as a conglomerate of all the available information on the subject. I have no intention of hurting anyone and will apologize up front to anyone I offended in the creation of this piece. GH

Last week, David Letterman, host of CBS’ the “Late Show with David Letterman,” made headlines when he admitted to have had sex with women who have worked on his show. He announced this news on his late-night talk show along with the fact that he was a victim of extortion resulting from these acts; $2 million (USD) was the asking price to keep the news quiet.

A fan of Letterman, I experienced some mixed emotions upon hearing the news. Because of the way he presented this story, I found myself having a strange sense of tolerance and feeling quite nonchalant about the matter. Moreover, I was quite impressed with how he did apologize to the public voluntarily.

Overall, I do believe that he made the right decision. Now, instead of the media trying to dive into his life for the truth, the media is now focusing on whether he should have apologized on national television. This is a faux pas if there ever was one. In a sense, by using humor, Letterman added naïvety to his actions and made his story easier to digest than if he had maintained silence or denied the claims altogether. On a historical note, when President Clinton found himself in a similar situation, his actions—and the fact that he was President of the United States—led to much greater consequences than Letterman will ever face. Who knows what would have been if Clinton had taken the same route as that of Letterman.

Yes, what Letterman did was wrong, and yes, he probably deserves a little more public heat than he is receiving, but he handled his conduct with perfect political poise. The only question now is whether these surfacing truths will result in the last of his marriage.

I think I know less than you, Ada—both about this specific instance and about this quandary in general. So let me first say: I only know the basics of about what happened between Letterman and Birkitt. But based on what I know, I have to admit that my response is the same as yours, ie. hot; what?; and who cares?

I agree with your friend that interoffice dating—especially between the boss and an underling—has all kinds of problematic repercussions, but bosses often play favorites even when sex isn’t involved. And what are you going to do when it is two consenting adults? Plus: Andrea Peyser is crazy. 

And yet….also, like you, I have a little bit of a question mark. I am waiting for some Feminist Friend to give me some really good reasons about why this is totally wrong. But so far, I keep kind of shrugging my shoulders. 

By the way, Neal has the best standards for a girlfriend I have ever read. Maybe he needs a blog called 90sMan. You are a lucky woman!–Kara 

I picked up the Toronto Star today and saw a headline that read “For Letterman, sex sells. Confession of affairs with staff has boosted his talk show ratings.”

For lack of a better word, “Duh!”

This year sex has been selling all over the place. It’s a recession, no advertising dollars so everybody and their publicists have been getting naked: Rihanna, Cassie, McSteamy to name a few. No one wants to see Letterman naked so, the next best thing: SEX SCANDAL. This is not just any old sex scandal because the man has his own show, he can talk about it every night if he wants. Send home a couple writers for a couple weeks and save some money.

I haven’t been following the whole extortion/scandal story but I saw clips of the jokes about the apology (so sincere). I couldn’t even bring myself to read the article, here’s the link. It highlights the ratings.

Let’s see how long this will be milked.

I wasn’t going to delve into this stupid situation David Letterman finds himself in. Every time he has one of these public crises his ratings jump, as if they are planned to “go public”. But it has become one of those sign posts that can’t be ignored along the road to cultural lunacy.

Synopsis: Letterman had a sexual relationship with a Woman A who worked for his company, World Wide Pants. At the same time he was in a long-term relationship with Woman B who eventually became his wife and the mother of his child. Woman A later became involved with a producer at the show “48 Hours”, and supplied him with “incriminating evidence” of the affair. Allegedly. And this producer then allegedly tried to hold Letterman up for two million dollars to keep the “evidence” secret.

Okay with all that so far? Now, Letterman goes to the authorities, they set up a sting operation, nab the producer, and Letterman testifies before a grand jury. Then he reveals all this information on his television show, which could be a sign of taking responsibility for his actions, or could be seen as damage control, depending on which side of the Letterman Fence you’re on. And scene….

Are you still with me? I know it sounds like an improbable soap opera plot, but there it is. The key point in all of this is not that Letterman has sex with employees (which is not illegal or even really unethical – just awkward), or even that some jerk tried to blackmail him over it, or even that Letterman came forward and dealt with the situation in the appropriate, legal manner. The key point is at no time has David Letterman been charged with harassment or coercion. Either of which would take this situation to a new and actually important level.

Now of course everyone who needs media attention, and is even somehow distantly, peripherally associated with this issue, is making their opinion heard. In primetime for free. It saddens but does not surprise that the National Organization for Women is one of these slummers. Some quotes:

“The latest Letterman controversy sheds new light on the widespread objectification of women in the workplace…Most women can attest to the fact that many workplaces are plagued with inappropriate behavior by men in power.” (That’s most women but only many workplaces.)

“Recent developments in the David Letterman extortion controversy have raised serious issues about the abuse of power leading to an inappropriate, if not hostile, workplace environment for women and employees” (I’m not aware that anyone has reported any evidence that there was a “hostile” element in the relationship between Woman A and Letterman. “inappropriate” sure, but the last time I checked that’s not a crime. It just makes people look stupid. Letterman definitely looks stupid in all this.)

If Woman A comes forward and accuses Letterman of harassment or coercion, then N.O.W. would then be fully justified in taking her side of things. But now Woman A has no side to take, unless it is that of a co-conspirator. Her testimony will be tainted by her association with the extortion scheme, so we may never get the truth in this case

But I don’t think N.O.W. is at all concerned with any of that. The organization needs to have issues to ride on, the same as any other organization that promotes social change and responsibility. The issue of Letterman being a victim of an extortion attempt, apparently aided and abetted by Woman A, seems irrelevant to N.O.W. – they smell media coverage, and as they try to stay relevant in the 21st century, that’s gold.

In a related development, can anyone tell me why Lewis Black is getting so much air time defending Letterman? Are they related? Or is Black another employee Letterman may/may not be exploiting?

KISS was on the American TV show “Late Show With David Letterman” to promote their new album (Click here to read my post about their album).

I haven’t seen the David Letterman show (or any other American TV show) in many years…but thanks to YouTube, I was able to find out about this and watch it!

Here it is: