Houston.BloggersPub

Texas Watchdog has an investigation on some Houston Independent School District (HISD) employees who have been issued credit cards and have bad credit or bankruptcies:

The Houston Independent School District has given out credit cards to more than a dozen employees with bankruptcies on their credit records, including some who ran up debts to local school districts, according to a review of records by Texas Watchdog.

At least two HISD employees who currently hold district-issued “procurement cards” or “p-cards” — a form of credit card — previously had their HISD wages garnished to pay off creditors, Texas Watchdog found.

Those with tarnished credit backgrounds included a school psychologist, a high school registrar, a grant writer and several teachers. One card-holding teacher filed for bankruptcy twice, once in 1996 and again in 2007, and in the latter filing claimed to own $2,500 in furs and jewelry.

A Texas Watchdog review turned up 18 HISD p-card holders who disclosed in bankruptcy court documents that they were employed by the school district. Texas Watchdog researched the bankruptcy status of only a fraction of the the HISD p-card holders, so there could be many others among the list of 1,200 card holders.

Read the full story Thursday at www.texaswatchdog.org

> Mike McGuff Blog

KHOU 11 is in the Web spotlight today for an Engadget post. Seems Katherine Whaley who replaced Darby Douglas on the morning traffic beat uses a Nintendo Wii remote to transition the traffic slides (maps/graphics).

Naturally the folks at Engadget are excited about this. {You can insert your Wii bowling joke here.}

SEE THE PHOTOGRAPHIC PROOF

UPDATE
Readers wanted to know if this was some kind of hoax and how did KHOU achieve this. I asked BELO KHOU-TV Director of Digital Media Christine Di Stadio about the Wii traffic remote, here is what she told me:

KHOU-TV and KHOU.com recently partnered with Beat the Traffic. Here is some information from their website……

Beat the Traffic® is the fastest-growing provider of vehicle traffic reporting solutions for broadcast media. The award-winning solution features 3-D, high-definition animated maps, compelling on-air, on-line and mobile components, lower-third tickers and a one-of-a-kind traffic forecasting system.

Acclaimed for its visually-striking graphics, simple setup and user-friendly interface, Beat the Traffic® received the Television Broadcast magazine’s Top Innovation Award at the annual NAB trade show. The station-specific, artist-enhanced viewer presentation incorporates industry-leading traffic data providing the highest accuracy and broadest coverage… for breaking news and traffic.

*****
One of the newest integrations is the seamless integration of the Wii Mote traffic tool which means the 11 News Traffic Reporter, Katherine Whaley, does not need to be at the computer while delivering the traffic report. She can make last minute adjustments that occur as traffic conditions change. This serves Houston viewers well with real time traffic reports especially when conditions change while Katherine is on the set.

Beat the Traffic and Wii Mote is an elegant traffic solution for broadcasters and provides television stations with the most best-of-breed traffic reporting technology out there.

Thanks Christine!

(Thanks to Matt and Brooks)

> Mike McGuff Blog

I heard a rumor that KPRC Local 2 reporter Elizabeth Scarborough was leaving TV news and it is true. What a shocker. She says she is leaving to start an Internet venture.

Good luck Elizabeth!

(Image courtesy of Flickr user littlelostrobot)

> Mike McGuff Blog

Vanessa Macias Ballou is turning the heat up on San Antonio TV screens with a new travel show called Vamos!

Jeanne Jakle of the San Antonio Express News tells us that the new local show features travel to Mexico and other locales and features Ballou (married to KEYE Austin sports director Bob Ballou) in lots of bikinis. 
The Express News offer video here. Sounds like a hit already and I can’t even watch it in Houston. It only airs on FOX 29 KABB in San Antonio! Well you can watch it online.

That’s great that a local station would pick up a show like this. You don’t see that too often. This show sounds like it has potential to be syndicated too.

If this is such a big hit in SA and already getting good press, maybe Vamos! should air on the new ABC Live Well HD network!

- Catch saucy video of Vanessa surfing, then watch ‘Vamos!’
- Blast in a bikini: Vanessa spices up new travel show
- Bikinis and beaches! Vanessa of World Car fame gets new show

http://www.vamostravelshow.com

(Image courtesy of musicseensa.com)

> Mike McGuff Blog

I just wrapped up reading Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith by Stephen Davis and if you are an Aerosmith fan, you have to read it (You might remember me boasting that Stephen Davis wrote the best Guns N’ Roses bio of all time). Even if you are only slightly an Aero fan, but enjoy rock, you need to read Walk This Way. The book originally came out in the late 1990s but that doesn’t matter. The bulk of the book takes place way before that obviously.

You can divide Aerosmith into two versions - Aerosmith 1.0 and 2.0. The first half of the career exists in the 70s to 85. Version 2.0 starts with the Permanent Vacation album when the band started using outside writers. I am a bigger fan of Aerosmith 1.0. Try to find better 70s rocks songs than Mama Kin, Toys in the Attic, Walk this Way and Back in the Saddle are amazing rock songs. Strangely enough only available to buy on Amazon.com and not iTunes. I created this Amazon widget so you can hear five classic Aerosmith classics:

You’ve probably heard of the bands dependency problems.  Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were called the Toxic Twins for a reason.  The book goes way into depth about the bands depravity.  Maybe more than you even care to know.

Since I missed most of the 70s, and not for the reasons that phrase normally goes with, I learned a lot about the band.  For example, Aerosmith was the underdog from the beginning.  The band’s first album came out at the same time as Bruce Springsteen’s.  Both bands were on Columbia and all of the promotional money went to Bruce.  The press hated the band, but the fans loved them.  After reading the book, I think Steven Tyler has a man crush or one sided bromance with Joe Perry. Joe Perry was one of those guys who is so into a relationship that he could not focus on the outside world. Maybe that has changed now. Overall Aerosmith was a band that would not give up no matter how bad they had it.

If you are a fan, I suggest reading this book first, then going in for the supplemental information with Hit Hard by Aerosmith’s Joey Kramer.

More book reviews here.

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- REVIEW: Hit Hard by Aerosmith’s Joey Kramer
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- Slash
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- Nikki Sixx’s Heroin Diaries
- David Lee Roth’s book, “Crazy from the Heat”

> Mike McGuff Blog

CampusGrotto compiled the list of the most expensive colleges for the 2009-2010 time frame. SEE THE LIST

(Thanks Brian!)

> Mike McGuff Blog

Leave it to Bob Martin aka “The Accountant to the Stars” to uncover that even more Houston anchors have appeared in movies.

But first, I was surprised that Monday’s post that actually had video of KTRK 13 main anchor Dave Ward in a Patty Duke film did not do that much traffic. All of the posts I wrote about Ward’s Hollywood career prior did well, but the one that actually had Ward dressed as a sheriff shooting a man did underwhelming traffic in this blogger’s estimation! Come on people, this was the golden ticket if you will.

Anyway, Martin lets us know that Fox 26 morning anchors Jose Grinan and Sibila Vargas have both appeared on the silver screen according to IMDB and independent confirmation. Don’t forget, Martin is a Fox 26 contributor you know.

Grinan played a racecar driver who was killed in his first race in the movie The Daredevil (1972) with George Montgomery.

Vargas has appeared in a bunch of TV shows (mostly as a TV reporter) such as ER, Charmed and The Practice. This makes sense because prior to Fox 26 KRIV Vargas was the entertainment reporter for CNN. According to IMDB, Vargas is married to Alexander J. Pappas who has worked as a Second Unit Director or Assistant Director on a variety of Hollywood projects.

I guess its time to hit IMDB and start looking up all of the Houston anchors…who knows what we’ll find!

RELATED
- VIDEO: KTRK 13 anchor Dave Ward’s movie performance
- KTRK’s Dave Ward really has been in movies
- VIDEO: KTRK’s Dave Ward vs the aliens?

(Image courtesy of Flickr user Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center)

> Mike McGuff Blog

I enjoyed Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.) written by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner and was pleasantly suprised to hear the sequel SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance was out.

Sounds like the global cooling part of the book has angered the global warming activists.

The authors discuss that and other aspects of the book in this NPR interview from the Diane Rehm Show that aired this week. LISTEN

> Mike McGuff Blog

I told you in September how WFAA 8 in DFW was getting This TV on 8.2. Well guess what happened? READ MORE (Thanks Murdock)

Next there is big news for ABC’s Live Well HD network which can be viewed on KTRK 13.2 in Houston. At this point the network is only available around the country on ABC owned and operated stations but Mediaweek reports that could change soon. READ MORE

RELATED
- The Wash Allen Show goes national on Live Well HD
- This TV comes to WFAA 8.2
- KPRC launches new digital channel

> Mike McGuff Blog

Only in Japan would Microsoft team up with Burger King to promote Windows 7.

How does the promotion work? Maybe a Windows logo on drink cups? No, in this over the top culture the only logical thing to do is put seven pieces of meat on a hamburger and serve it up.

- VIDEO: The Windows 7 Whopper – Unboxed
- WTF: Burger King is offering a Windows 7 Whopper in Japan

I am no marketing genius, but maybe MAC should sponsor a roll of Tums for after the meal.

Make no mistake, I love Japan.  You can read all about my adventures in Tokyo and Kyoto by clicking here.

[Thanks Danny!]
(Image courtesy Flickr user mrneutron)

> Mike McGuff Blog