Here’s the latest from E-R Labs — coverage of Saturday’s Chico Palio at the Municipal Center.

You know, throwing away (recycling) year-old newspapers isn’t as hard as I thought it would be, especially when they’re papers I haven’t worked for.

That whittles down some of the chaff in my stacks of newspapers. Now, I need to sort through the wheat, or something that would carry on this harvesting metaphor a little long.

Some of this site’s more avid readers may notice that I’m starting to include posts I made on other sites (MySpace and TVGuide). After noticing that some of the posts from this blog were missing, I decided to put everything together to make a more complete archive.

This could be a better record of my writing over the years.

Here is the latest from the E-R Labs:

Originally posted on my TV Guide blog at 1:45 AM on 09/22/06

As I watch each episode of the American version of “The Office”, part of me always compares it to the British original, particularly when it comes to taking risks. In particular, the UK version’s boss, David Brent, was awful when it came to handling awkward and sensitive issues. One memorable example included David retelling a joke where the punchline included a black man’s body part.

Is the American “Office” going for cheap laughs and forgoing some of the cringe-worthy humor? I was worried that the American version is foregoing the cringes that defined the original and going for easier, and more sitcom-style laughs.

Well, Thursday’s episode (Gay Witch Hunt) put some of those fears to rest. The way Michael Scott handled the sexual orientation of his employee Oscar was completely contradictory, offensive and insulting if Michael wasn’t such a goof.

The worst, yet funny, moment came after Michael is rightly crushed when Oscar calls him ignorant and small. Oscar permits Michael to give him a hug (for Michael to show that he’s “OK” with employees being gay). Michael goes forward with a horribly uncomfortable kiss that was stunning to watch.

Much like the UK version, I wonder if Michael learned anything from the experience.

There were plenty of awkward moments (especially regarding the issue of homosexuality), but there was some good laughs mixed in there.

Originally posted on my MySpace blog at
1:57 AM on Friday, September 22, 2006.

Current mood: burger-licious

I know the chances of my winning any karaoke contest are slim to none, but there is one contest that is intriging. The Sacramento CBS affiliate (KOVR-TV 13) is holding a karaoke contest next Thursday where the national top prize is a walk-on role on the sitcom “How I Met Your Mother.”

The winner will go on to Los Angeles to face the winners from contests at 8 other CBS stations across the nation.

It would be fun to try it, but the odds wouldn’t be in my favor. They will be picking out 20 people from the crowd _at random_ to sing in front of the audience. Combine that with the fact the contest is on a Thursday and that the other prizes include Carl’s Jr. burger packs add up to me not going.

Currently watching :
Late Night with Conan O’Brien 10th Anniversary Special
Release date: By 10 August, 2004

Originally posted on my MySpace blog at 2:28 a.m. on Thursday, September 21, 2006

Current mood: blase

I took the title of this post from the song “Rubber Biscuit.” I don’t quite know who wrote it, but the Blues Brothers sang it once upon a time. It wsa exciting to see karaoke compadre Allen owning a disc of songs from various Blue Brothers performances.

I tried out Rubber Biscuit at the Bear on Monday. It was _rough_ because they weren’t any lyrics for most of the song. Instead there was often the phrase [Ad lib singing] which left it to me to try to remember what Jake and Elwood were singing back in the day.

I managed to get through song and I still had a blast. Many of my colleagues said they hadn’t seen a karaoke song calling for ad libbing before.

I sang more Blues Brothers songs at The Maltese on Wednesday. It was fun, but I really want to sing “Riot on Cell Block No. 9” next week.

Originally posted on my TV Guide blog at 7:31 PM on 09/18/06

I’m sure some old-timers will rise up to challenge that claim, but it’s hard to ignore the onslaught of truely enjoyable television coming down the pike this year from all the broadcast networks (except i and MyNetwork).

The sheer numbers of excellent shows on every day of the week will make it difficult for me to keep up, even using a TiVo, cable on demand and the Internet. It’s so bad, I’m thinking about hooking up my VCR to get everything.

The fall television season is just getting started and already my schedule and TiVo are full. It’s not just my TiVo, I’ve got several hours of TV downloaded from the iTunes Store that is dying to be watched (including season finales from Lost, Desperate Housewives and Greys Anatomy).

Not only is the programming excellent, but this is an excellent time to sample new shows. Before this season even started, I’ve had “sneak peek” access to new shows via DVD (several FOX pilots), Cable On Demand (Monk, Psych), the iTunes Store (Heroes) and TiVo (The Class). I don’t think the average viewer has had so much access to television before.

I don’t forsee this glut lasting — someone has to pay for all this after all. Some formats will have to fall by the wayside as advertisers grow increasingly fickle.

This fickleness has led to the ratings people discounting TiVo viewers if they don’t watch the show “live.” It’s understandable because of the limited commercial skipping, but it’s still sad that viewers are being “discounted.”

Just for laughs, here’s my planned TV schedule for fall 2006:

Monday – There’s a lot of variety on Monday with sitcoms The Class (CBS), How I Met Your Mother (CBS) playing early in the evening with the more dramatic Heroes (NBC) and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC) wrapping my night.

Tuesday – Veronica Mars (CW) is my lock for the night although I’m tempted by Knights of Prosperity (ABC). I’ll give Gilmore Girls (CW) a shot, but I may tackle Friday Night Lights (NBC). At 10 p.m., maybe I’ll try Smith.

Wednesday – There’s some good stuff that I’m not watching (like Lost). 30 Rock (NBC) is probably the show I’ll go out of my way to watch, but Jericho (CBS) sounds interesting.

Thursday – Again, a lot of good stuff I probably won’t get to, but The Office and My Name is Earl (NBC) are my locks for the night.

Friday – On the face of it, Friday looks pretty bleak … on the broadcast networks. That’s why, aside from Betty the Ugly (ABC), I’ll be watching Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who (Sci Fi).

Saturday – OK, Saturday is bleak. Still, I’ll tune in to Saturday Night Live (NBC).

Sunday – Wow, I’ll be all over the dial on this night. FOX has me for The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad. I’ll be watching CW for Everybody Hates Chris. For late night, I’ll catch Iron Chef America on Food Network and the Adult Swim slate on Cartoon Network.