Nocturnal Review

Okay, here’s the part of my day where I sit down and write something. Not sure why exactly, it just feels like the right thing to do. Were I born a hundred years earlier I’d likely spend the waning hours of each day slathering my every other whim in ink - tattooing stacks of loose leaf paper no one would ever see. Instead, I get to kick back in my suburban hovel’s upper reaches and jot my thoughts electronically to unseen masses - or at least those interested in the musings of a compulsive writer with a camera on his shoulder. It‘s a slim demographic, but it‘s all I got. Now here‘s the news...

This Just In: We’re on FIRE!!! Man, nothing spoils a newscast like burning curtains. I’d rather watch traffic girls rap. But the staff of WABC had no such choice when a blown light bulb apparently shot 15-foot flames up the live studio’s walls moments before show-time. (I’ve seen newscasts crash and burn, but this is ridiculous.) Wisely, the staff dispensed with any notions of news and got the schmuck out of the building unharmed. After the fire they returned to find their new hi-def set rendered to incredibly detailed cinders. Dig through the rubble, here.

Dateline: Venezuela: Calling Bush the devil I can live with I guess, but shutting down a TV station? Damn You Hugo Chavez! After accusing his country’s most popular station of helping to plot an unsuccessful coup against him, Venezuela’s surly president pulled the freakin‘ switch, summarily ending RCTV‘s 53 year end run. Replacing it with a new state-sanctioned broadcast factory sparked both joy and turmoil. Redefining the term ‘loyal viewer‘, some protestors even got drilled by water cannons for their efforts. Can’t someone just hide the Emperor’s Remote?

Closer to home, I had the indistinct pleasure of reporting for duty at El Ocho on this fine Memorial Day. ‘No sweat’ I thought , pulling into the parking lot. With a three minute piece to edit, I’ll at the least spend the day in a darkened edit bay. A half hour later, I squinted in the sun’s glint as a guy in a kilt blew his bagpipe by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial along I-85. I didn’t get back to the bay ’til midday, whereupon I slivered images from a staggered series legalese shoots until I emerged with a fresh epic suitable for viewing, a little something we shooter-editor types call ‘The Buckumentary’.

Finally tonight, I’d like to extend a Viewfinder BLUES welcome to Bobby Hess, Kansas City photog, admitted Chiefs fan and past cohort of one Joey Flash. In his latest blog-post, Bobby reviews his formative years spent behind the lens of a newly launched morning show. “The hours sucked. I worked from 4am to 9am Monday through Friday. 25 hours a week, zero bennys and the pay was crap but it was a job in television. I though it was the greatest job I had ever had.” Hmm - reminds me own time spent slow-dancing with an ancient floor cam on the chintzy set of Carolina Today. Wonder what Slim Short’s up to these days?

THIS JUST IN: Slim Short is alive and well and drinking coffee at a McDonald's East of Raleigh. Phew! Reminds me of the time we both knocked back some Old Grand Dad at a certain GM's pool party. Where's the WayBack Machine when you really want it?