Super Tuesday Part II

Here’s the first entry into Channel Live. For continuing updates, check out the Channel Live page. Click on the logo.

Howdy everyone! So I will be updating this throughout the evening as results come in, starting now with…Vermont! Barack Obama and John McCain won those primaries, no surprise to anyone who’s been following this election.

NBC (or more accurately MSNBC) was the first to call it for both candidates immediately after polls closed at 7pm.

MSNBC’s political director Chuck Todd was all over the numbers, as usual. According to Todd’s calculations, which are usually accurate, Obama would need 64% of the vote to win the delegate count 10-5 instead of 9-6. That would give him some wiggle room should he lose either Texas or more likely Ohio.

Also, MSNBC has pulled out their technological gizmos. Apparently Todd and the rest of MSNBC’s political team was feeling jealous of John King’s interactive TV over at CNN.

Slightly Less Super Tuesday

This Tuesday March 4, Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont residents head to the polls to vote in the Democratic and Republican primaries. Hillary Clinton’s campaign hinges on strong performances in both Texas and Ohio, while Barack Obama is looking to secure the nomination. So while Super Tuesday was really a month ago, this election may very well do more to reveal the Democratic candidate for the general election.

Remotely Interested will have live updating on the coverage Tuesday night. It will be posted on the Channel Live page.

A Sunday Premiere

As I write this, I can hear the sounds of spring! I speak of course of Spring Training games, like the Yankees/Phillies game airing right now on YES. Yankees Encore will reair the game later tonight, so drop by.

But more exciting is the premiere of Dirt, Courtney Cox’s FX drama about a tabloid magazine. Expect some surprises. I can’t say I’ve been a fan of the show since the beginning, but I have caught a few episodes and they have all been enjoyable.

If you’d prefer a real newspaper setting, then turn to HBO at 9pm EST for a new episode of The Wire. For those who haven’t seen any episodes, The Wire has three concurrent plots: one focuses on the streets of Baltimore, where crime and drugs are a way of life, another other focuses on the Baltimore police and how they operate, and the most exciting story line follows the staff f the Baltimore Sun, the actual newspaper of Baltimore.

I don’t hold HBO to the same standard as network and cable TV, mostly because channels like HBO have so many more resources. But regardless, The Wire is one of the best shows on HBO, and one of the best on TV. For a preview of tonight’s episode, check out the video bar on the left.

The Word!

Stephen Colbert’s The Word segment returned fully yesterday for the first time since the strike began back in November. Check it out in the video bar on the left.

Now to be fair, there was a pseudo-Word after Colbert returned sans writers, but it contained exactly zero words. So I consider this one to be the first! Hoorah! 

The Gates on HBO

Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s art is world famous, but perhaps their most ambitious undertaking was in Central Park exactly 3 years ago when they unfurled thousands of “gates” up and down the park.  

HBO started filming this project when it began decades ago. The project spanned 4 NYC mayors and ultimately consumed 75% of the amount of steel used to build the Eiffel Tower.

The special is as much a piece of art as the exhibit, with little to no narration. New Yorkers voice their opinions, and the artists convey their pleasure, disappointment, concern, and every other emotion that can possibly be shown. The filmmakers seem to be all about authentic sounds comprising the soundtrack. 

I certainly remember when these were being put up, as do most people who could read the news in 2005. It was nice to see the story behind the exhibit. 

If you missed it, it will be replayed several times in the next few weeks. The next showtime is today (Wednesday) on HBO2 at 7:15pm and then again on Thursday on HBO at 3:30pm. 

MSNBC’s Presidential Debate

Hooboy…Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in the middle of the 20th, yes TWENTIETH, debate on MSNBC. Right out of the gate Clinton was lashing out not just at Obama but at poor Brian Williams and Tim Russert for what she has been describing as unfair bias towards Sen. Obama.  

This debate is being held at Cleveland State University in Ohio, where Clinton is praying to the lord that she can hold off Obama’s nationwide surge in the polls. So far, the coverage has been fair and well moderated. Russert is, as usual, asking the more pointed questions. He just asked Obama about his promise to use public spending should he in fact win the nomination, and now targeting Hillary’s $5 million donation and why she has not released her tax returns to see where the money has come from exactly. Yeesh. 

Later tonight, I’m going to be flipping over to HBO and check out their new special “The Gates,” about those orange gates that were set up around Central Park in 2005. Sounds interesting. Check out the NY Times for a good review. 

Also, Stewart and Colbert are back tonight with all new episodes. Should be good. Peace. 

Remotely Interested!

Hooray TV! That is the best way to describe this blog. I am a virulent television watcher, I just love the medium. And this was never more apparent to me than during the writers’ strike that ended a few weeks ago. So I figured I may as well share my love with the world. And by world I mean the small fraction of people in the world that may stumble across this blog.  

I will tell you now what to expect from me. First, I am a comedy fan. Good comedy that is. I say this with shows like The Office, 30 Rock, Jon Stewart and Colbert in mind. You will NOT find song and praise for Jackass here. I am also known to fall for episodic dramas, ie: Heroes and House. Reality shows have yet to fully convince me, but you may find me to be in a Top Chef mood at times.  

I also have fallen for news. Yes, news. I am a journalism major whose duty is to watch the cable news shows and analyze the coverage that comes with it. So for example, the debate tonight may very well be posting number 1. Okay, well I hope to be in touch again soon! Happy viewing everyone!