text: From 1948 to 1951, Mr. LeMond was the announcer on Lucille Ball's radio sitcom My Favorite Husband. In 1951, he announced the pilot episode of the television show that would become I Love Lucy.
  Mr. LeMond retired from show business in 1971, and in 1972 he moved to Bonsall, where he became involved in real estate.
  He will certainly be missed. I love when he says "Leave it to Beaver" then reads the cast names. He was 94.
  Welcome to day 74 of the strike. I can't believe I said welcome. Welcome to hell would be more like it. The Directors Guild of America just sealed their deal with producers already! The current deal was set to expire at the end of June. But after just five days of formal negotiations the Directors Guild of America has reached agreement with the producers on a new three-year contract. The deal turns the spotlight again on the striking film and TV writers who must now examine the directors' deal and decide if they will accept a similar contract. Let's hope! Screen Actors Guild's current contract expires at the end of June, so that is another deal let's hope that gets resolved.
  ION Media Networks, Inc. in collaboration with African-American TV syndicator Star Media and Omnicom's OMG Entertainment & Sports unit, announced today a strategic partnership for the creation and exhibition of African-American programming on the ION Television Network. The initiative already has backing from major charter sponsors McDonald’s, State Farm and P&G, with others expected to follow.
  Initially, the partnership will use the syndication marketplace and TV libraries of Warner Bros. and other major television studios to program urban and diverse content. The longer term goal is to reinvest net proceeds from this enterprise into an original programming fund that can help create new African-American and diverse content to be aired on ION Television. The initiative launched on Monday, January 14 in the 6-7 p.m. ET timeslot on ION Television, with the return of The Wayans Bros. to broadcast television. Warner Bros. Domestic Television is the programming partner for this series.
  This might be some good news. Since initially they will use reruns, maybe they will expand the hours a bit, say the daytime, and we could get more shows in. Hopefully shows like Diff'rent Strokes, Hangin' with Mr Cooper, Webster could air and maybe Amen can return once again. To discuss this news, head on over to the ION January thread.
  Day 73: WGA's Strike; Details on TV Land's Big '80s Weekend; TV Land Picks-Up 2nd Season of Myths and Legends
  It is day 73 of the strike and many development deals have been terminated because of the strike. Many producing deals have been canceled such as Taye Diggs' for ABC Studios. Sigh...let's hope this strike gets resolved soon, because it really doesn't look like we will have any shows developed for the fall now. Development season is usually now through April, and at this rate, nothing new (scripted wise) will premiere this fall.
  Meanwhile, The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached a comprehensive independent agreement with Spyglass Entertainment. The company finances, produces, and distributes theatrical motion pictures, including some of the most successful films of recent years, including The Sixth Sense, Shanghai Noon, Bruce Almighty, Seabiscuit, Memoirs of a Geisha, and the upcoming 27 Dresses starring Katherine Heigl. The deal reached with Spyglass Entertainment is similar to the deals the WGA recently announced with United Artists, Worldwide Pants, and MRC and addresses the issues important to writers, including New Media.
  As promised, we now have the full details on TV Land Big '80s Weekend slated for President's Day weekend (Feb. 16-18). However, TV Land has cut the hours big time. It was originally slated for 12pm-11pm on Feb. 16 & 17 and on the 18th we would get it from 11am-11pm. We could have seen classic '80s TV shows too in addition to the '80s movies, TV series such as A-Team or Knight Rider, but now all we will get is '80s movies. The hours are now 5pm-11pm on the 16th, 5pm-3am on the 17th and the best two movies will air from 5-9pm on President's Day itself. Among the classic '80s movies airing are National Lampoon's Class Reunion, Sixteen Candles, Flashdance, and The Breakfast Club.
  Classic TV fans don't fret, because TV Land will also give us some sitcom marathons that weekend now! On the 16th and 17th we will get a two-hour block of Andy Griffith, followed by two episodes of Sanford & Son leading into the movies starting at 5pm. On President's Day itself, we will get a two-hour morning block of Leave it to Beaver from 8-10am, followed by I Love Lucy from 10am-1pm and The Beverly Hillbillies from 1-4pm. Two episodes of Three's Company will lead into the movies.
  Sticking to TV Land news...TV Land has ordered a second season of the series TV Land Myths & Legends, which aims to unravel Hollywood-related mysteries, scandals, rumors and urban legends. The first of the seven new half-hour episodes will premiere on Wednesday, August 27, 2008. Among the pressing issues to be covered are whether Arnold Schwarzenegger was originally cast as TV's Incredible Hulk and if Jennifer Lopez's derriere is really insured for $1 billion. Other investigations include whether Mars Inc., maker of M&M's, turned down product placement in E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, allowing Reese's Pieces to step in and benefit immensely.
  
  [ A tendency to be overconfident and possibly overextend oneself in career or business. Danger of a financial loss or one’s professional reputation. On occasion the native may act impulsively and aggressively, creating conflicts with employees, police or other authority figures. Injuries / accidents possible, serous conflicts with foreigners , persons of different race or color, learned and educated people. Someone close to native (brother in law especially) may undergo a surgery or meet with an accident]
  
  Some of your customers today may still be asking the question, “Why should I move to the cloud?” One answer is – because everybody else is. I know you’re probably thinking back to when your Mom used to say, “If your friends told you to jump off a bridge, would you?”
  Everyone is moving to the cloud and the reason at the top of their list, and probably your customers’ number one interest in the cloud: to save money.
  The second reason is that with the right supplier, they’ll have a better service than can be provided on their own. And the last reason is with the money they save, they’ll be able to drive real innovation, and begin the digital transformation of their business.
  Several years ago, I was in a meeting with six CIOs of one of the largest enterprises in the world. I asked each a question as they introduced themselves: “What are you working on?” The first person was Bill and he said, “I’m working on a strategy to move to cloud.” Next I asked Mary, “What do you do?” Mary also said she was working on a strategy to move the cloud. We got through each person and every one of them had the same answer. I asked, “So what does that mean?” They collectively said, “We’re really not sure, but we’re working on it.” I wasn’t actually there that day to talk to them about cloud computing, but I said, “You know WHY you want to move to the cloud, but give me 10 to 15 minutes to help you think about what it might really mean to move to the cloud.”