Well, I don't personally hate him. Don't even know the guy. (Certainly
no fan of his, though.)

But that's the title of the latest piece by one of my favorite
columnists in the /Berkeley Daily Planet/, Matt Cantor, local owner of a
home-inspection business who writes a weekly column on home repair and
maintenance.

Here's a sample:

I do genuinely hate these specific shows: "Hometime," "This Old House"
and "The New Yankee Workshop." I hate them for one simple reason: they
make most people feel like idiots. Even if a show only demonstrates how
to build a basic chest of drawers, it does a lousy job of preparing the
average Joe or Joan for the task. In the end, the show provides nothing
more than boutique shopping and showing off. I suppose that would be a
lot of fun if you only want to learn that you—as a homeowner or stock
broker or bank clerk—know nothing about houses or furniture or nails and
that you’ll never stand a chance of doing more than hanging a picture on
the wall.

On shows like these, the jobs are made to look so darned easy. All the
materials are waiting for assembly and nothing is spoiled, the wrong
type or missing. The air gun never misfires and the compressor never
needs to be drained (yes, you have to drain compressors daily because
they fill up with water and will rust out if you don’t do so). That’s
another thing I hate: in actuality, there are many small details that
fill a contractor’s day (or your day when you play contractor) but
they’re neatly edited out, just as they are in a cooking show. Just pop
the raw one in the oven and Voila, the new freshly baked one comes right
out of the other oven.

(See article at
http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue.../article/33531)


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
s.com...
Well, I don't personally hate him. Don't even know the guy. (Certainly no
fan of his, though.)

But that's the title of the latest piece by one of my favorite
columnists in the /Berkeley Daily Planet/, Matt Cantor, local owner of a
home-inspection business who writes a weekly column on home repair and
maintenance.

Here's a sample:

I do genuinely hate these specific shows: "Hometime," "This Old House"
and "The New Yankee Workshop." I hate them for one simple reason: they
make most people feel like idiots. Even if a show only demonstrates how
to build a basic chest of drawers, it does a lousy job of preparing the
average Joe or Joan for the task. In the end, the show provides nothing
more than boutique shopping and showing off. I suppose that would be a
lot of fun if you only want to learn that you—as a homeowner or stock
broker or bank clerk—know nothing about houses or furniture or nails and
that you’ll never stand a chance of doing more than hanging a picture on
the wall.

On shows like these, the jobs are made to look so darned easy. All the
materials are waiting for assembly and nothing is spoiled, the wrong
type or missing. The air gun never misfires and the compressor never
needs to be drained (yes, you have to drain compressors daily because
they fill up with water and will rust out if you don’t do so). That’s
another thing I hate: in actuality, there are many small details that
fill a contractor’s day (or your day when you play contractor) but
they’re neatly edited out, just as they are in a cooking show. Just pop
the raw one in the oven and Voila, the new freshly baked one comes right
out of the other oven.

(See article at
http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue.../article/33531)


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

The only thing I don't like about those shows is that they make it seem like
it can be done in a day and everybody can be there working at the same
time....The looks I get from people when they get the news the drywall is
gonna take 2 or 3 weeks for their new house and nothing else is gonna be
happening inside while we are there.."You mean we can't install the cabinets
and trim the windows till your done "...I answer , NO you're gonna get your
crap outta here so we can walk around on stilts and not kill ourselves and
roll our staging around.....LOL.....

TOH and TNYW are good shows , very informative and I don't include them in
the other idiot shows...

on 8/23/2009 8:30 PM (ET) David Nebenzahl wrote the following:
Well, I don't personally hate him. Don't even know the guy. (Certainly
no fan of his, though.)

But that's the title of the latest piece by one of my favorite
columnists in the /Berkeley Daily Planet/, Matt Cantor, local owner of a
home-inspection business who writes a weekly column on home repair and
maintenance.

Here's a sample:

I do genuinely hate these specific shows: "Hometime," "This Old House"
and "The New Yankee Workshop." I hate them for one simple reason: they
make most people feel like idiots. Even if a show only demonstrates how
to build a basic chest of drawers, it does a lousy job of preparing the
average Joe or Joan for the task. In the end, the show provides nothing
more than boutique shopping and showing off. I suppose that would be a
lot of fun if you only want to learn that you—as a homeowner or stock
broker or bank clerk—know nothing about houses or furniture or nails
and
that you’ll never stand a chance of doing more than hanging a
picture on
the wall.

On shows like these, the jobs are made to look so darned easy. All the
materials are waiting for assembly and nothing is spoiled, the wrong
type or missing. The air gun never misfires and the compressor never
needs to be drained (yes, you have to drain compressors daily because
they fill up with water and will rust out if you don’t do so). That’s
another thing I hate: in actuality, there are many small details that
fill a contractor’s day (or your day when you play contractor) but
they’re neatly edited out, just as they are in a cooking show. Just pop
the raw one in the oven and Voila, the new freshly baked one comes
right
out of the other oven.

(See article at
http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue.../article/33531)



It's just entertainment, and not a learning program. I suppose many of
the viewers don't have any thoughts of building anything they see on the
show, or even have the tools to build it. I put it in the same category
of shows like "How It's Made" and "American Chopper", where the viewer
is not looking for a way to make a Hockey helmet or a custom motorcycle.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

"willshak" wrote

It's just entertainment, and not a learning program. I suppose many of the
viewers don't have any thoughts of building anything they see on the show,
or even have the tools to build it. I put it in the same category of shows
like "How It's Made" and "American Chopper", where the viewer is not
looking for a way to make a Hockey helmet or a custom motorcycle.

American Chopper is less and less about motorcycles. It more and more about
the Tuetel family soap opera. And watch daddy get rich while he drives his
sons away. There has been a couple recent episodes where less than ten
minutes of the show had anything to do with building a bike.

"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
...

"willshak" wrote

It's just entertainment, and not a learning program. I suppose many of
the viewers don't have any thoughts of building anything they see on the
show, or even have the tools to build it. I put it in the same category
of shows like "How It's Made" and "American Chopper", where the viewer is
not looking for a way to make a Hockey helmet or a custom motorcycle.

American Chopper is less and less about motorcycles. It more and more
about the Tuetel family soap opera. And watch daddy get rich while he
drives his sons away. There has been a couple recent episodes where less
than ten minutes of the show had anything to do with building a bike.


Is the show even on any more? I have not seen any new episodes since
Spring.
IMHO it has always been about the drama and I don't really think daddy drove
his sons away, more like pushed them out of the nest. It was mostly Sr.'s
fault for putting up with the nonsense for all those years.
I would have fired both of the sons long before now. Mikey is pretty much a
distraction, no more no less. Paul Jr., no work ethic.

On Aug 24, 2:58*pm, "Leon" wrote:
"Lee Michaels" wrote in message

...



"willshak" wrote

It's just entertainment, and not a learning program. I suppose many of
the viewers don't have any thoughts of building anything they see on the
show, or even have the tools to build it. I put it in the same category
of shows like "How It's Made" and "American Chopper", where the viewer is
not looking for a way to make a Hockey helmet or a custom motorcycle.

American Chopper is less and less about motorcycles. It more and more
about the Tuetel family soap opera. *And watch daddy get rich while he
drives his sons away. *There has been a couple recent episodes where less
than ten minutes of the show had anything to do with building a bike.

Is the show even on any more? *I have not seen any new episodes since
Spring.
IMHO it has always been about the drama and I don't really think daddy drove
his sons away, more like pushed them out of the nest. *It was mostly Sr..'s
fault for putting up with the nonsense for all those years.
I would have fired both of the sons long before now. *Mikey is pretty much a
distraction, no more no less. *Paul Jr., *no work ethic.

Leon.... it's not real any more. It is the writing crews of Day Of Our
Lives...or As The Stomach Turns.

On Aug 24, 9:03*am, "Lee Michaels"
wrote:
"willshak" wrote

It's just entertainment, and not a learning program. I suppose many of the
viewers don't have any thoughts of building anything they see on the show,
or even have the tools to build it. I put it in the same category of shows
like "How It's Made" and "American Chopper", where the viewer is not
looking for a way to make a Hockey helmet or a custom motorcycle.

American Chopper is less and less about motorcycles. It more and more about
the Tuetel family soap opera. *And watch daddy get rich while he drives his
sons away. *There has been a couple recent episodes where less than ten
minutes of the show had anything to do with building a bike.

That show has sucked for years now. It was cool in the beginning. Now
it is nothing but grand entrances, false dead-lines and stage-craft...
and family drama, because we are the voyeurs of human drama and family
feuds. We love to slow down at the scene of an accident. Sick.

Robatoy wrote:
it is nothing but grand entrances, false dead-lines and stage-craft...
and family drama, because we are the voyeurs of human drama and family
feuds. We love to slow down at the scene of an accident. Sick.

Even if the accident is staged.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On Aug 30, 3:59*pm, -MIKE- wrote:
Robatoy wrote:
it is nothing but grand entrances, false dead-lines and stage-craft...
and family drama, because we are the voyeurs of human drama and family
feuds. We love to slow down at the scene of an accident. Sick.

Even if the accident is staged.


Yup. All stagecraft. Like many of the feuds between celebrities.

"TD" wrote in message
David Nebenzahl wrote in
Norm Abrams

Doesn't matter much, we all know who is being referred to. And, to be
honest, Norm Abrams rolls off the tongue much more easily that Norm Abram.
Hell, considering how often people mispronounce his last name, he should
change it to make it easier on everyone else.

Upscale wrote:
"TD" wrote in message
David Nebenzahl wrote in
Norm Abrams

Doesn't matter much, we all know who is being referred to. And, to be
honest, Norm Abrams rolls off the tongue much more easily that Norm
Abram. Hell, considering how often people mispronounce his last name,
he should change it to make it easier on everyone else.

The guy is well enough known that they named a tank after him. That's
pretty cool!

3.....2.....

Jon