Unforgettable: The Kari Lake Story

It’s not nice to kick someone when they’re down, but friends, lets all pull on our boots and make an exception for failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate and Trump acolyte Kari Lake.

Those of you in the Albany area may remember that Lake spent some time here as a news anchor in the late 1990s. I certainly remember it, because it was my job to create the advertising that introduced her to WNYT’s viewers.

Lake came to town to replace Chris Kapostasy (Jansing) in the anchor chair next to Ed Dague. Chris Kapostasy was very popular and people loved her. After some NBC news exec swooped in and took her away to the bigs, we somehow ended up with Kari Lake.

Chris Kapostasy left some big pumps to fill — and it didn’t go well.

Lake never hit her stride and was often visibly uncomfortable in the anchor chair. Viewers didn’t warm up to her, and it was reflected in the research done by our consultants. Behind the scenes it was even worse. Lake didn’t fit in and swiftly managed to alienate her coworkers. Her husband, the videographer who tagged along behind her to work at the station, was said to be deeply unhappy with Albany and her career move.

Before long, Lake negotiated her way out of her contract and headed back to Arizona. Nobody in the building missed her, least of all WNYT’s powerful union, NABET, which represented on air and technical staff. Why? Because Lake had refused to join.

Now, about my personal experience. In a business full of big egos and powerful personalities, she was the most difficult news talent I ever dealt with. She was never happy with our work, and was particularly critical of the way we shot her and the lighting we used. She once told us that we made her, “look like a monster.”

Little did we know that behind that pretty face she really was a monster, as proven by the hateful nonsense spewing from her mouth during campaign season.

Arizona voters weren’t fooled by Kari Lake. They recognized her for what she is: an empty vessel who filled herself to the brim with a toxic brew of MAGA bullshit and unbridled ambition. Unfortunately, because of her excellent communication skills, you have someone who isn’t just a blowhard, but genuinely dangerous.

So farewell once more, Kari Lake. And this time I hope we never hear your name again.

You Oughta Be In Pictures

Oh, sure it’s exciting when Hollywood comes to town, isn’t it? Nothing gets the heart pumping like making a movie: a bunch of trucks and crew and lights and cameras — and oh, sometimes a famous actor might even be spotted on the street. Holy shit, this ain’t Smallbany anymore, it’s Hollywood on the Hudson!

There’s no denying that film and TV production can sometimes be an economic driver — especially if you buy the numbers floated by our local film commissions. These groups have gotten adept at greasing the skids when showbiz comes to town, helping expedite the sort of clearances and permits that are necessary to take over your block. Closing down streets, restricting parking, disrupting business, doing crazy stuff like dumping tons of period style dirt everywhere — you can’t just roll up and do all that without loads of cooperation.

So, here’s a question for you: Name one other business where a municipality will bend over backwards so completely to accommodate a commercial endeavor. You can’t because it doesn’t exist — but come to town making a movie? Heaven and earth will shift to accommodate your every need.

A sandwich shop I frequent on State Street recently complained on social media that they weren’t informed that a film shoot would block the entrance to their store and make it hard for customers to get their lunch. What the hell is their problem? How could it be that a small business is more interested in making a few bucks on a random Tuesday in August than basking in the thrill and excitement that a film crew brings to the sidewalk?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Sometimes it feels like the people who tout attracting film and TV production to town are a bit starstruck by it all. It’s understandable, because the glamour of movie making tends to rub off on those who get close. Unfortunately, the stink of it rubs off on everyone else, like the people who just want to bring in their groceries, get their kids to daycare, park their cars, or yes, get a sandwich for lunch.

Fly the Flag

We have an American flag to display in front of the house on holidays mostly, plus on a few other days, like 9/11. The Irish flag comes out for St. Paddy’s Day, on March 17 or if I’m baking a soda bread or something.

This year, Juneteenth is on the list, and if you’re all about the good things that have been done under our flag, it’s a pretty moving holiday to celebrate. You talk about our country standing up for freedom? The greatest example of that was banishing slavery from our country — even if doing so meant ripping the place apart in the most bitter and violent way imaginable.

Make no mistake about it: June 19th is a milestone in the American fight for freedom.

But we’re not perfect, and you don’t need me to tell you that emancipation didn’t fix America. In truth, it’s never been more apparent, but the more we all get behind something the better off we’ll be.

Anarchy in the UK

Cheers to Queen Elizabeth on the 70th anniversary of her reign. She’s outlasted all of her detractors, including those fine young lads the Sex Pistols.

As Britain fetes it’s monarch, I’m knee deep in the Hulu miniseries Pistol. I’ve read nary a decent review of the Danny Boyle film, but I’d urge you to ignore the critical blah blah blah if you have any interest in the Pistols. It’s tons of fun and does a good job of showing the dynamic that creates — and ultimately kills — bands. There are plenty of great performances, but it’s really hard to look away when Anson Boon’s Johnny Rotten is on the screen, abrasive, brilliant and mad, sometimes simultaneously.

While I was already a big Ramones and Clash fan, I didn’t really get hip to the Pistols until their 1978 break up. It was really over just as it was getting started. To my young ears, Never Mind the Bollocks made other punk albums sound tame and over-produced. The chaos that poured out of the speakers left no mistake that these guys were deadly serious. It also sounded like the wheels would fly off at any second, which of course they did.

I know it’s frustrating to watch TV in a world with dozens of streaming services, but if you’re interested in punk try to see this one. Maybe there was no future for the Sex Pistols, but we can go back for a little taste of the past.

The Saddest Song Ever

Been spinning Chet Baker Sings on the turntable recently. Quite a record.

If I were a single man, this is probably what I would play for someone who I was trying to seduce. You can’t help but be moved by his voice and the arrangement. It’s quiet and vulnerable and intensely personal. And on side two is what may be the saddest song ever.

It’s a Hoagy Charmichael song and the lyrics were based on a poem by Jane Brown Thompson, who is said to have died the night before the song was first played on the radio in 1939. Many artists have covered the song, but the 1954 Chet Baker version is devastating. He sings that he gets along without you very well, but you know what? I don’t believe it for a second.

There are lots of sad stories behind the music we love, and Chet Baker had more than his share of trouble. His career was a rollercoaster of fame, addiction, incarceration, and terrible setbacks that nearly derailed his brilliant art. Hollywood once eyed him as a matinee idol, but the demons wouldn’t have it.

Listent Chet Baker Sings on your Spotify or whatever. Pick up the vinyl if you’re the analog sort. It will take you elsewhere for a time, to a place that just doesn’t exist any more.

Mother’s Day Gift Guide

What do women want for Mother’s Day?

I’m here to tell you that they want a nice ass.

OK, I got that out of my system. When I say they want a nice ass, what I mean is that they want to to adopt a sweet little donkey in Ireland.

For a small donation you can go online right now to The Donkey Sanctuary in County Cork and pick an animal you’d like to adopt for a year. It takes about two minutes and 25 Euros (about $26 USD), and in a couple of weeks, Mom will get a lovely packet in the mail from Ireland containing an adoption certificate, a picture, and other goodies. They do a nice job.

Donkeys are wonderful creatures, but unfortunately many people get in over their head with them. Veterinary care and feed are expensive, and neglected donkeys have been a problem in Ireland, the way it is here sometimes for dogs, horses and other domesticated animals. The Sanctuary has cared for more than 5,600 donkeys since their inception, and currently they look after more than 1,800, some of which are housed at private residences, but most of then on their farms in County Cork.

So here’s what you do: get online and pick out a donkey to adopt for the Mom in your life. Fill out the paperwork, pay up, and download a picture of the donkey that you can slip inside her Mother’s Day card. I guarantee, you’ll be the only one to give your Mom a donkey, so get your ass moving and get it done!

We Hardly Knew Ye

What gets covered most in the Times Union? Yeah, you’ve got your Covid, crime, politics, race — but lately it feels like the most frequent subject is reporters leaving local TV stations.

We’re up to 15 on the local TV body count this year, and it’s only April. Honestly, you’ve probably never heard of most of these journalists, but just search “leaving” on the TU website and you can read all about them.

Local TV news wasn’t always a revolving door, maybe because TV reporters had a different job. They’d show up in the morning, be assigned a story, and have all day to work on it before the 6pm newscast. Maybe they’d cut another version for 11 and call it a day. You basically had one task to complete, and the pace was different; you had to wait for the slow, clunky equipment, not the other way around.

Today? There are a slew of newscasts, so a reporter will need to do multiple versions on a single story. And live shots. Then you have to create print versions of your story for the web. Then there’s social media. There’s a much bigger beast to be fed, and while the technology is great, it’s also a lot faster than you are.

Today’s TV reporter is doing much more work for the same money. And since 401k matching and plush health insurance plans are a thing of the past, it’s actually like earning less.

But even if TV news is not the coveted career it once was, for many young people it’s a great resume item on the road to doing something else. Corporate or government communication and PR come to mind. Oh sure, there are exceptions. Some of these kids were obviously born for it and have the star power to go places. But mostly, those fleeing the business are forgettable.

That leaves us with these endless departing reporter stories in the Times Union. It’s funny, but even today people on local TV are our celebrities in little old Smallbany, even if they’re just minor celebrities. What the hell, it’s not like when newspapers reporters leave. Nobody wants to read about that.

Under the Needle

Two years ago none of us imagined that you’d need proof of vaccination to go places and do things, but that’s pandemic world.

Oh, how we long for the old days.

And speaking of the old days, I recently received a box containing some original documents belonging to my mother. Her birth certificate, passport, high school diploma — and a vaccination record.

This was 1930, when my mom was less than eight-months-old. While there were vaccines for diphtheria and tuberculosis there was no protection against measles, which killed many children. It was also before the polio vaccine, and polio was probably the most feared disease of all.

This was a time when losing a child was not uncommon, but during my mother’s lifetime she saw the worst of these afflictions eradicated.

I suppose there have always been vaccine refusenicks among us, but it’s hard to imagine people saying no to shots that could prevent a disease that could kill or cripple them.

Thank god we know better today.