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A few years ago I was digging up a broken French drain from my yard and I had a bunch of PVC pipes and nothing to do with them. I thought it was time to make some art. Much like Michelangelo would carve marble, I fit together PVC pipes.

My original muse was the recession. Then I thought and it only made sense to take pipes commonly used for drainage and make it TV related. My muse was channeled, and like a slap in the face by an executive news producer, I decided to recreate television color bars. It is both painted and lit to match what TV professionals use to set the correct colors for TV productions (although broadcast engineers will say the piece does not accurately recreate color bars - but it’s art).

I’m thinking of calling it TV Color Delight or TV Color Deluxe.

When I finished my work, my two year old said it was “beautiful.” I “premiered” the piece on my front lawn Halloween night. And no joke, trick or treaters actually walked up to it, observed it and said they liked it. The best was when someone drove up and took a photo (maybe it was the HOA looking to fine me - no bill received yet though).

So where do you display something so magnificent?

Naturally you would think it is a perfect fit for a TV station. I could loan it to the KTRK 13 pool area or maybe KPRC 2’s weather garden. However, I really want it in the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH). If anyone has any connections, please let me know.

I have already been plotting my next piece with a totally different medium. However, I think there might be more PVC pipe magic on the way. This time though, there is no more pipes to dig up. I’ll actually have to go to Home Depot and buy some.

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Fox 26 KRIV is my new favorite Houston TV station. Why? They promote the heck out of my blog for free…even in prime time during FOX programming!

 Essentially I’ve become the Roger Ebert of Fox 26. I post something about the television station on my blog, then the station takes a quote from that post and uses it in a promo. Just like how a movie studio uses a film critic’s quotes on movie posters.

 You never knew that this little free blogger.com account blog really was the arbiter of taste and culture for Houston did you? Me neither. But I like it. In fact I am planning on sending the KRIV creative services director a cookie bouquet.

 The latest mikemcguff.com Fox 26 promo is one touting new Fox 26 anchor Don Teague:

The promo was taken from this post. I decided not to name the candidates because if I was applying for a job, I wouldn’t want it all over a blog when I didn’t get it. Although if I had named names, maybe KRIV would have put up a billboard on 59 and 610 with a quote from me on it!

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Lately I’ve been blogging about TV folks having babies and now you have to sit through my announcement!

That’s right, David McGuff was born Tuesday at 9:36am. He was 7 pounds, 7 ounces. He and his mother are doing great.

Funny note…I was born on a Tuesday at 9:38am.

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If I would have posted this last Friday, you would have thought it was an April Fool’s Day joke! But it is actually very real.

Saturday I spotted Korn co-founder and former guitarist Brian ‘Head’ Welch in Houston. More precisely at a place I would not expect to see him, Baybrook Mall in Friendswood, TX

Turns out Head is playing Calvary Chapel Houston church in Friendswood tonight. The show starts tonight at 7pm. It’s called the Over My Head Concert Tour with openers Decyfer Down, The Letter Black and The Wedding. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door.
For more information Call Calvary Chapel Houston at 281-648-5800 or click here.

Head left Korn in 2005 after becoming a Christian. He is now a Christian musician and still playing hard music. He even wrote a book about it. I heard Korn bassist Fieldy also became a Christian (he is still in Korn) and asked Head about this. He confirmed it was true and said that several of the band members’ wives have also been saved.

http://brianheadwelch.net/

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Because I still work at KIAH CW39, you haven’t heard much from me about NewsFix lately. That changes today as I offer you the first look at the behind the scenes of the NewsFix operation.

Don’t forget, tonight at 5pm and 9pm, you will see more of what NewsFix is about on CW39.

BTW, the video is hosted by GregO, the voice of NewsFix. Many Houston and Dallas (as well as other places) will remember him on the radio. He was a big player at Rock 101 KLOL and 97.1 The Eagle KEGL.

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I thought this might be an exclusive last night…then the Chronicle got in the way hours before my newscast. What can you do?

A former NFL player was arrested this week in Houston on a felony assault charge, but this is not his only brush with the law. His troubles extend to two Houston area counties.

Claude Terrell, 28, was a star player at La Marque High School before rising to the NFL and the St. Louis Rams as an offensive lineman. In 2007, he was released from the team after an assault charge concerning his then wife. This week, he was arrested for assaulting a family member. It’s an ordeal cops say lasted seven to eight hours. READ: Former St Louis Rams and La Marque player Claude Terrell arrested for assault in Houston

Send Mike McGuff a news tip for his blog or KIAH 39 news

(Thanks Jennifer)

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Mark Garay returned to the anchor desk (a very modern looking one in this case) at KIAH 39 news this past weekend. This was his first anchor gig in nearly three years after leaving KTRK 13.

I was lucky enough to be a reporter on his Saturday show. After working with him for years as a producer, and having him as a guest blogger on mikemcguff.com, it was cool to be standing in the studio with him delivering a report.

“It feels great being back in the saddle, if only for a brief time,” Garay told me. “This was a good time to take a break from the other endeavours in my life and return to reporting and anchoring. Once news gets in your blood, it’s hard to resist an invitation to come back.”

The feedback on his appearances have been very good. Some big names in Houston sent him congrats notices on Facebook.

In the above photo, it’s a KTRK reunion with 39 photographer David DeFranchi, Mark and myself.

Mark Garay was filling in for Katishia Cosley, also a KTRK alum, who normally anchors weekends on KIAH 39 news.

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Another place I spent a lot of time in my youth in southwest Houston is now gone. Wednesday I was driving down West Bellfort and noticed that the old AMC Meyer Park 16 was being demolished.

This can be a Mike McGuff teen hangout follow up to the Meyer Park Chili’s closing which I told you about in 2009.  The Meyer Park AMC movie theater closed years ago. It’s reputation had been tarnished since the early days. There was some rough stuff going on over there in the latter years.

I talked to someone in the area about it and they told me the buzz in the area neighborhood is that a Kohl’s is going in.

Here are some photos I snapped as I passed by:

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Tis the season to give right? But how do you know your money is going to a good cause? Or the charity you are donating to is actually putting that money to good use? There is no real charity watchdog. There is no state agency that makes sure charities are on the straight and narrow path. So it is up to you to know where your money is going, before you give.
HOUSTON CHARITIES CHECK: Which Houston charities are worth giving money to?

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Last holiday weekend I went into full Christmas mode. I’ve been passing by a house in Pearland for years that is decorated to the max and wondered why no one has ever put it on Houston TV! Last Friday I changed that and put it on KIAH 39. For web geeks out there, this is a DIY and opensource software project. CLICK TO: See the Christmas music and light show

The next day I went out to Brookshire, TX to find out how to pick the perfect Christmas Tree. What I found is that there is a type of tree that is actually less bothersome for allergy sufferers. It’s why I never have had a real tree in my home. CLICK HERE FOR NOTHING TO SNEEZE AT: Allergy free Christmas trees exist

> Mike McGuff Blog
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> Surprise your kids with a photo of Santa in your living room