Morning Joe

I admit it.  I’m an addict.  The minute I get up in the morning I click on Morning Joe on MSNBC and smile to see the familiar morning gang huddled round the table.  Joe and Mika, Willie and Barnicle are just some of the early risers, though Willie is off to co-helm the 9am hour on the Today Show.

Morning Joe is sophisticated and smart TV, from its scrappy discussions and up-to-the minute debates to its cool bumpers and promos with great music and très hip “brewed by Starbucks” graphics.  It is head and shoulders above the other morning shows even though it doesn’t always get the ratings it deserves.

Yup, Joe is out there in right field and Mika sometimes needs to do a better job of reeling him in or cutting him off at the pass when he starts to rant, but the guests are top notch and the news is as fresh as the coffee.

Whether tackling the recent Brown/Warren debate and the missteps by both candidates, analyzing the latest Euro soccer stats or making chit chat author Mark Halperin about Emmy pressure, these knights of the round table are cool, candid and comprehensive in their approach to latest inside- and outside-the-beltway buzz.

And who thought I’d ever wake up to Joplin, Santana and Coldplay – especially in the breaks of a morning news show?  I salute the dudes who came up with the music, graphics and look & feel of Morning Joe.  It’s my kind of show.

I love the show as much as I love my morning coffee.  Cause if its way too early in my place, it’s definitely Morning Joe.

Daughter Goes Hollywood

What’s with all these Hollywood bosses?  Just because you make money young gives you
the right to send interns out for lattes and bottled water?  And god forbid the foam isn’t just right on
the latte!

How do I know this? 
My Ivy league daughter went straight from college to LA to become a TV
writer.  As part of her passage into
nutso-land she was screamed at by several producers when the salad dressing
wasn’t just so or there weren’t enough ground beans on the top of their latte
supremos.

We have interns here at zcomm and I can count on one hand
the times I’ve ever asked an intern to grab me a coffee.  And I’ve NEVER asked anyone to pick up my dry
cleaning or clean out the fridge.  I’d be
too embarrassed.

Don’t know if this is an east coast/west coast deal or just
a bunch of arrogant airheads with big bank accounts but low self esteem.

I would love the chance to call one or two of her former
bosses and let them have it, but as a PR “pro” I recognize that’s not the best
tactic to help my daughter climb the TV ladder.

Is it that drama is just part of the Hollywood scene or that
paying your dues in La La Land means sucking up to a bunch of egomaniacal wing
nuts?

I have a friend who says that money changes you.  It probably does.  But in Hollywood land, I’m guessing that the
power players are probably all 5’6” and under…unless they stand on their
wallets.  And when they stand on their
wallets, they feel tall enough to chew out anyone lower on the food chain.

OK…I’ve vented enough. 
Off to get my own coffee.