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Sunday, February 1, 2009
2/1: Super Bowl Bruce Springsteen and post-Bowl “Office” episode
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bruce Springsteen didn’t really surprise anybody with his four-song set but it was pure Broooce. He started with his early 1975 classic “10th Avenue Freeze Out,” followed by “Born to Run.” The entire band including Clarence Clemons, Max Weinberg and Stevie Van Zandt was there, plus a big choir (a lovely cliche of any important rock band.)
He went into “promo” mode by singing the title track of his current album “Working on a Dream,” which sucked some momentum from the proceedings. But he didn’t play the entire song. Instead, he cut over to a rambunctious take on his sports-themed mid-80s hit “Glory Days.” He switched out the baseball player in the song with a football player (though Springsteen admits he is not a football fan but merely using the halftime show to help sell albums.). It will be interesting how this impacts his sales, which have generally dropped off in recent years.
“I’m going to Disneyland!” he yelped at the end. I’m sure Disneyland didn’t pay for that promo but the marketing folks there must be thrilled.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
I saw the post-Bowl “Office” a few days ago. For an hour-long episodes, it’s not half bad. It started with one of the funniest “Office” sequences ever, a pseudo-office fire created by Dwight. Dwight, as the safety officer, feels his fellow denizens haven’t been listening to him. And naturally, they panic. Michael throws machinery out the window. Jim and Andy use a copy machine as a battering ram. Oscar tries to escape through the ceiling. Angela throws her cat at him — and misses. It’s truly ridiculous. Sure, Stanley has a heart attack but he’s okay. The producers aren’t going to kill anybody after the Super Bowl! And it’s always good for Stanley to get some airtime!
Of course, Dwight is hardly punished because nobody is ever fired in “Office” land no matter what they do. This leads to an amusing CPR exercise that will make you thinking of ‘Stayin’ Alive” in a truly different light.
An effort to “calm” Stanley with meditation Michael Scott style proves that Michael is a cause of stress, not a reason to calm down. So Michael comes up with a roast of himself. I can’t say the putdowns against Michael were all that funny but poor Michael is actually hurt by it all and disappears for a few hours. Fortunately, all ends well when he comes back with really bad “roast” jokes for each person in the office, causing Stanley to laugh and laugh and laugh.
A side plot in which Andy gets an advancer of a film starring Cloris Leachman lusting after Jack Black is amusing but a pure gimmick. It at least ties in with a plot related to Jim and Pam that is truly touching.
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2/2: Steve Harvey interview for his book, “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta resident since 2007, Steve Harvey is insanely popular. I heard recent book signings in other cities has drawn upward to 2,000 people. Fortunately, he is doing three different book signings in the area over the next three weeks. Get there early, people, or you won’t get your five seconds with Harvey:
BOOK SIGNINGS
Monday at 6 p.m. at Wal-Mart, 1785 Cobb Parkway S. Marietta. 770-955-0626
Tuesday, 7 p.m at Barnes & Noble, 2900 Peachtree Road N.E. Atlanta, 404-261-7747 (Get there at 5 p.m. for passes to guarantee a spot in line, with a cutoff at 500 people.)
Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. at Stonecrest Mall Borders, 8000 Stonecrest Mall Parkway, Lithonia. 678-526-2550
I’ve interviewed the man several times over the years but I’m honestly not sure if he even knows who I am. But he knows how to promote himself. And his relationships book “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man” is really good. It’s a straight-talk express for women to understand the simplicity that is man and how to find a good one.
He told me how much he and his family enjoys living in Atlanta after moving here 18 months ago. And he’s psyched to be over at 107.5 soon (plus a future simulcast at 97.5) instead of the weak signal at 102.5, where he has done amazingly well.
Here’s the story that will run in Monday’s print edition:
Atlanta resident Steve Harvey’s a standup comic who can sell out Philips Arena. His syndicated TV show is still in regular rerun rotation. And he’s now one of the hottest radio personalities in the country.
Even on the very weak signal at Grown Folks 102.5 the past two years, Harvey has been able to be competitive with Tom Joyner at rival Kiss 104.1. And now Radio One Atlanta is about to give Harvey a power boost by moving him to 107.5, which switched this week from smooth jazz to R&B.
Harvey said he’s also going to be simulcast at some point on 97.5, which is currently gospel. (The gospel signal may move to 102.5.) “We’re looking very, very forward to this big signal,” he said.
And now he can add “author” to his resume thanks to his book “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man,” a relationship advice book for women written in plain Harvey speak and minus all the annoying Dr. Phil-like therapist jargon. It’s much like the “Strawberry Letter 23” segment on his radio show in which he and co-host Shirley give listeners no-nonsense advice about parenting, work, family and relationships. And though Harvey is usually funny, the book is more serious.
“This is not a clinical study of men,” he said. “It’s real-life experience from my friends, from all walks of life.”
The book, which came out Tuesday , is already a best-seller. On Friday, it was ranked No. 5 on Amazon.com.
Detroit author Sylvia M. Hubbard has been writing a blog called “How To Love a Black Woman” since 2005. She reads 50 relationship books a year and appreciates Harvey’s “bare-bones truth” approach in his new book.
“I like that he has a close personal bond with the reader,” Hubbard said Friday. “And he doesn’t just lecture us. He made it funny. Sometimes you feel bad after reading relationship books. That’s not the case here.”
Here’s a sampling of the book’s tenets with comments from Harvey, who spoke to us last week:
To snag good men, women need to set expectations up front: “Why don’t they do it? They’re worried they’ll scare them away. We play on that as men. We use that to our advantage so we can get what we want.”
Three things that define a man: who they are (a title such as CEO or artist), what they do and how much they make: “I’m a standup comic. That’s what I do. Who I am is how far up the ladder I am in the standup world. Do I sell out concerts or am I just a club act? How big I am also helps define how much I make. This is what defines me, drives me.”
Three things men want from women: support, loyalty and “the cookie”: “We’ll take a lot of things from a woman. But we have to have these three things. You take away any one of them, you lose a man’s affection. If we discover you’re not loyal, you’re kicking it with how many dudes? It’s over. If you don’t believe in what I’m doing or can’t see yourself attaching yourself to my plans, that’s not good either. And we need the cookie. Everybody likes some form of cookie. That’s what sex is. I want to see how long a relationship will last without the cookie.”
Three ways men show love to women: profess, provide and protect: “We have to define love in some kind of way. The problem with women is they have this great spectrum of what love is, and they want it reciprocated the same way they give it out. But we men can only nurture to a certain degree. It’s not in our DNA … We want to profess our love. We tell everyone. This is my baby’s mama. This is my gal. This is my lady! We also want to provide for you. Maybe you can’t buy her a car but he can help you rent a car. Or he can get the one you have fixed. We’ll do what we can to take care of you. It’s also about protecting you. Nobody can say anything about you sideways without us reacting. Defend and protect. That’s our love in a nutshell.”
Questions to ask a man to decide if they are worth keeping: “You have the right to know his short-term goals and whether they match his long-term goals. If you don’t want that type of life, you need to kill this right now. You need to know his views on family and kids, his relationship with his mom. You also have to know what he thinks of you and how he feels about you. What’s the difference? I can tell you what I think of her in 60 seconds. But how I feel about her? That’s the answer you have to really think about. If you can’t answer it, you haven’t put enough thought into the relationship.”
