May 27 was Memorial Day, the unofficial kickoff to Summer in the United States,and,as the name implies,a day we also set aside to honor those who died so we could live in freedom, and my Memorial Day tradition is to get up VERRRRRY early and head over to Rockefeller Center to see NBC's TODAY program, live and in person. After they (In this case, Craig Melvin, Shenielle Jones, and Dylan Dreyer, filling in for Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker) tell their vast viewership (in the USA, Canada, and a few other countries) the latest national and international headlines and whether to head to the beach or just stay indoors and watch the entire final season of GAME OF THRONES, they head outside NBC Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza and take care of the REALLY important stuff, such as interviews with visiting soldiers, sailors, pilots, and Marines, taste-testing the latest BBQ ideas, and taking selfies with members of the audience.
I don't know about other members of said audience, but ever since I started taking my Walkman to street fairs where Z100 broadcasted live, I've always been interested in hearing how live events sound when you not only hear them live and in living color (or stereo, as the case may be), but on your device when the rest of the world hears it. When Sylvester "Pat" Weaver created TODAY some 67 (WOW!) years ago and Dave Garroway, its first anchor, introduced audiences to this new kind of television that would report the news as it happened, I doubt they could have forseen people all over the world watching TV, let alone taking photos, on their phones, but ever since I witnessed the changing face of Canadian TV as a result of Ted Rogers buying the CHUM Limited radio and TV empire and AT&T Canada and merging them under his name, I have wondered what would happen if Google had attempted such an undertaking. While Google Fiber is available in more than a few markets, what got me interested was YouTube TV, which provides original (long form,as opposed to, say, that guy who said, "LEAVE! BRITNEY! ALONE!") programming, as well as local programming from NBC,ABC,CBS,FOX,PBS, and national shows from CNN, ESPN, FOX News, Business and Sports, and BBC World News, Newsy, and Cheddar (For more info, visit tv.youtube.com ) , and since the radio stations love it when you listen to their programming at their events, even if they DO blast it from their "giant boom boxes"), I decided to open the YTTV app and watch TODAY while I was watching TODAY. I got a great show on a beautiful summery weather day, I saw a great interview with Blythe Danner and John Lithgow concerning their new movie, "The Tomorrow Man," and the BBQ almost made me forget I'm on Jenny Craig, but the internet connection around the Rockefeller Plaza area (I'm not naming names, but you people know who you are. Try to shape up.) seemed to develop a case of what athletes call the "yips", and, as a result, I kept getting spinning wheels when I should have been getting a clear picture of the TODAY broadcast. When one of the production assistants swung by the audience section to take selfies, I shrunk the video, spinning wheel and all, to the size of a postage stamp, and gave her my phone. After the final segment of the first two hours, it was Shenielle and Craig's turn to visit the audience and take selfies. I told Shenielle that I was having a good time, but, to be practically honest, the spinning wheel was driving me nuts. True trooper she was, Shenielle took a picture of her green dress, and I'm sure that it was absolutely honored. (I know who she REALLY wanted, but you can't kill a gal for trying!) Next up was Craig, and since he has a solo show on MSNBC, a network which has positioned itself as an alternative to FOX's "FAKE NEWS" and has made a name for itself by asking the tough questions, he couldn't resist the urge to point at the little box on my phone screen with the NBC Peacock hiding behind what News 4 New York Michael Gargiulo calls "the Wheel of Death" and ask me in a slightly raised voice, "Why are you watching THIS...", as he pointed to Studio 1A, the rapidly dismantled equipment on TODAY Plaza outside (a/k/a Kathie Lee Gifford Corner in honor of the former co-anchor of the fourth hour) "...when you came all the way to see THIS?!?" It was as if he were a Jewish mother screaming, "We spend a million dollars on talent, sets, guests, and promotion, and THIS is all the thanks I get?!?" I counted ten to myself and then explained, "I wanted to get the total sensory experience." He then replied, "Um.oooookay," probably he thought I was the crazy mind Billy Joel said you shouldn't argue with. I initially figured he'd have no problem with (A) my watching TV on my phone because that would mean another Nielsen ratings point, and it wouldn't hurt in their ongoing battle with George Snuffleupagus, or whatever the heck his name is, or (B) little postage-stamped-sized video pictures because that's what's usually superimposed over his shoulder when he's reporting a story, but how I was to know that his internet-TV-at-TODAY-Plaza tolerance level was the same as that of Metropolitan Opera performers when you try to turn on your device and listen to the Met Opera radio broadcast WHILE YOU ARE RIGHT INSIDE THE OPERA HOUSE! (BTW, you can check out Met Opera radio broadcasts on your local Public Radio station affiliated with the Toll Brothers Metropolitan Opera Radio Network, Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirrius XM, or the iHeart Radio app.Not only do you hear some great performances, but you also get some interesting interviews and, if you're lucky, the world-famous Metropolitan Opera Quiz. Please go to metopera.org for more information, but PLEASE silence your cell phone while the performers are on stage!) All I wanted to do was show Craig, Shenielle, and the rest of the TODAY crew how much I love their work, like fans in the Jurassic days before modern cell phone technology who schlepped battery operated TV's to their favorite game and showed the camera op the TV, but I had no idea that there were people who were so sensitive to cell phones no matter the occasion. (Oh, BTW, I asked him to take a selfie too, but for some reason, only Yours Truly and Shenielle's dress have been captured for posterity on my phone.) I may have argued that it was in keeping with the tradition of honoring the brave men and women who perished in the defense of our freedoms of speech, religion,protest, and peaceful assembly, but, I was reminded of a T-shirt I saw at the Newseum in DC (a topic for another time) that said, "Freedom Of Speech is NOT a license for stupidity!", and,although it seemed like a good idea in retrospect,I had to come to grips with the fact that I HAD committed a sin of stupidity almost equivalent to going to Burger King and saying, "Let's have a barbecue!" I mean, where's the grass, and I don't mean anything addictive? Where's the music? Where are your friends?" BUT,I digress.
Anyway, to my point, Craig Melvin or any member of the TODAY crew reading this, I would like to apologize for watching the show on my phone when I should have paid strict attention to EVERYTHING around me on Rockefeller Plaza. I AM still going to watch TODAY on my phone, but I'll either hit pause or swipe the picture off the screen when something REEEEALLY important happens. (Watching Knicks and Rangers games at Madison Square Garden when there are TVs at your seat ANNNND free Wi-Fi? That, Best Beloved, is a different story!)
NEXT: The Newseum and the rest of my trip to Washington.
Bye,Buckaroos!
Steve
