Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Viewers Gone Wild


You may have heard a portion of California has actually fallen into the ocean. It didn't take an earthquake- just some rain and another yet to be determined reason.
So the reporter and I go work on our story at a place where there is food and bathrooms. Muy importante! :)
It's a beautiful day so we have the windows rolled down and I have the side doors open where I'm sitting as I ingest video and wait for the script.
Then... an elderly man approaches... He's very angry:
Old Man: You only come here to make San Pedro look bad don't you!! You've never been here to show something good have you!!!!
Me: Hi! Oh, no, I've been here for other stories. I remember covering the bridge beautification and climbed up there with the workers--
Old Man: (suddenly interested and friendly) You climbed up the bridge?
Me: Yeah! While they were painting! You know what, if you have any story ideas for us please email or call us because we want to do all kinds of stories! I mean, you have to admit, what we're doing here today is a story.
Old Man: (as I change the way I do the fonts because blogger has changed and this is much faster than the way I was just doing it) Well, yeah..
Score! Totally disabled the bomb! BUT-- coming up right behind him-- is a nuclear weapon. These are viewer bombs that are not possible to diffuse. They will explode no matter what you do. You can't diffuse them with kindness. You can't diffuse them with logic. You can't have an amicable discussion. You must simply take cover. This bomb was in the form of a 70-75 year old woman. Seriously. She walks up behind the man and starts in on the same type of diatribe as our diffused bomber. He actually tried to defend us and diffuse her. Her reaction:
Crazy Old Nuclear Woman: THAT'S BULLS#!%! (turning to me) WHY ARE YOU HERE MAKING US LOOK BAD. BULLS#!%!!! IT'S BULLS#!%! GET OUT OF HERE----
Me: Oh no, we don't want anything to do with this. You need to leave and if you don't I will call the police.

I shut the doors and locked them. This, of course did not stop her from shouting obscenities about us. She got up in the window and shouted at the reporter as she tried to concentrate and write. She then began mocking us by pretending she had a mic and and for 15 minutes or so pretended to do a live shot. It was amazing how long we ignored her and amazing how long the bomb just kept exploding:
Crazy Old Nuclear Woman: CBS is BULLS#!%! Hi! I'm CBS and I'm BULLS#!%! I'm live reporting BULLS#!%!

It was like a feedback loop. Or a feedback frootloop if you will!

She was one determined old lady. I didn't call the cops. She was only a nuclear mouth bomb. We didn't even notice when she left because we were engrossed in our work. Seeing as how we completely ignored her she may have gone over to one of the other station's trucks and done liveshots for them. ;)
Chris Weaver on Facebook responded with a video of a nuclear viewer with a stick:


What can I say. You never know what adventure awaits you each day in the news biz! Here is the story we quickly did which upset the old nuclear woman:
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/video/6481445-villaraigosa-tries-to-reassure-san-pedro-residents-after-landslide-wipes-out-paseo-del-mar/

What do you think? Is it news or is it....  haha, my vote goes to news. :)

Sunday, January 09, 2011




Hello to all my millions of readers! I'm back after a bit of a hiatus. I have been working on a dvd project for some time with Art Therapist Pamela Hayes. Pamela travels the country giving seminars teaching other therapists and anybody who is interested about how to use art to heal grief and loss. The video above is the trailer to the educational documentary and is available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Therapy-Healing-Grief-Loss/dp/B004IGIIEC/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1294603918&sr=8-12

This is how it's described on Amazon: This inspiring, documentary style, educational DVD shows creative art techniques used to aid in the process of healing grief. The therapeutic art techniques are demonstrated and explained through real client case studies. This DVD can enhance the work of Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Teachers, Creative Therapists and benefit anyone who has experienced their own loss. If you or anybody you know can benefit, please click on the link or pass it along!