The Maltese Cow

Screwed By Blogger

2007-04-18T18:03:00.000-05:00

Monday night everything was fine. I could post on my blogs and life was good. Tuesday after work, I discovered that the not so fine folks at Blogger had migrated all my blogs to what they call ‘new blogger’, supposedly a better form of blogger that offers new features. Well, I tried to log into blogger using my blogger username and password - nothing. Tried logging into new blogger with my google account name and password - again nothing. I was redirected to the blogger help site. What kind of help did I get? Canned how to articles that did nothing but lead me around in circles. Then I clicked on every option available to try to contact an actual employee of blogger, but it took me over an hour to find a form to complete to submit to them. And it wasn’t a ‘report a problem’ form. I went to the google help group and found that many, many others were suffering from the same problem I had. Did google employees help us? One employee posted the same canned answer that we found at blogger help. And he said ‘if this doesn’t work then contact us directly at (insert website). This kind of thing may be best solved on an individual basis.” Well, when you click on that website link, it takes you back to the page where I clicked everything I could to try to find a ‘help me’ form to fill out. After all this, I posted my own comment on the google help group website detailing every step I had taken. I wrote everything down and did it three or four times so I know what I tried and what I didn’t. To date no google tech support person has responded to anyone on that forum that has the same problem I did. Finally, some other blogger supplied the answer and it involved tinkering with the address of a link that blogger supplies us when we ask to retrieve our passwords. Basically, that link that we got when we asked to retrieve our passwords was reading our usernames as Case Sensitive, but when Blogger tried to find our accounts, it was not reading our usernames as Case Sensitive so it wouldn’t recognize us. That is a programming problem that blogger and google tech support are just too lazy to fix. So, instead, they let their customers flounder in frustration.

Bottom line: Blogger/Google Tech support is not serving the customers. They would rather spend their time making money in corporate mergers and stock options, lying to investors by saying that Google is a good company that provides valuable goods and services to the public when in actuality they ignore the customers and do not service their products to the satisfaction of the end users. Or, they are goofing off in a lax workplace in which productivity is not emphasized, but playing with toys is. Word to investors - if the tech support won’t help the people the company serves, then the company doesn’t care about you either. Sell your stock and invest your money in money market accounts or IRAs or Certificates of Deposit. You’d be better off.

New Reality Show for Mr. T

2006-10-12T16:57:00.000-05:00

"I Pity the Fool!"

Pop culture icon Mr. T is back in action to put the “T” in TV Land when the network debuts the new six-part reality series entitled "I Pity The Fool" in October 2006.

This new TV Land Original Production is a Dr. Phil-meets-Tony-Robbins type reality show in which Mr. T stars in the unlikely role of social scientist, dispensing his own advice — in classic T style.

Born Lawrence Tureaud on May 21, 1952 in the tough, south side of Chicago, Illinois, he was one of twelve children raised by his single mother in a three bedroom apartment. He realized early on that he had both the mental and physical strength to persevere through the tough times, and to this day he says he “lived in the ghetto but the ghetto doesn't live in me.”

Lawrence received scholarships to attend various universities after his high school graduation but decided that serving his country was his calling. After a stint as a military policeman in the Army, he was able to realize his lifelong dream of being a professional athlete. He tried out for the Green Bay Packers but saw his dreams dashed when he suffered a debilitating knee injury, ending any hopes for a professional football career.

It was after serving in the Army that he made a metamorphosis and transformed his entire persona – inside and out. He changed his name officially from his given name to Mr. T and also changed his look. While reading an issue of National Geographic, he spotted an unusual hairstyle called the African Mandinka and adopted it as his signature cut. Mr. T used his Army military experience and his commanding presence to begin a career as a bodyguard, protecting some of the biggest names in boxing, from Muhammad Ali to Leon Spinks.

In his spare time, he worked as a doorman at Dingbats in Chicago, where it was reported that he obtained his signature gold chains from the “disorderly” people he encountered. At the time it was estimated that the gold chains were worth more than $300,000.

It was in 1982 that Mr. T's long and illustrious career began. Academy Award winning director/actor Sylvester Stallone spotted Mr. T while he was participating in “The World's Toughest Bouncer” contest which aired on NBC's The Games People Play. Stallone cast him in Rocky III as Clubber Lang, a role that originally had a few lines, but after working with T, the role was greatly expanded. It was from that role that he was chosen to star as Sgt. Bosco “B.A.” Baracus in the highly successful TV series, The ATeam, which ran on NBC from 1983-87. I Pity The Fool is not Mr. T's first foray into giving advice.

He made a motivational video in 1984 entitled Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool in which he gave helpful advice to children — teaching them about their roots and how to control their anger. Later he jumped into the entertainment arena, literally, when he partnered with Hulk Hogan for Wrestlemania I and II. Since then, he has served as a referee for several matches over the past 10 years.

In 1995, he was diagnosed with T-cell Lymphoma but today, over ten years later, is healthy, strong and cancer-free. After last year's Hurricane Katrina disaster, Mr. T. was so deeply touched by the plight of the displaced Mississippi and New Orleans natives that he took his signature chains off for good – a sign of solidarity with these humble and proud victims. In addition, he donated a considerable amount of clothing and money to charities that benefited the Katrina victims.
From our content partners WXIA in Atlanta

George Peppard

2006-03-05T15:59:00.000-05:00

From Beyond the Grave.....

I'd like to see the tribute show.

2006-01-28T08:56:00.000-05:00

Mr. T is working for the National Weather Service now. This is cute.

Mr. T

2005-11-29T17:14:00.000-05:00

Here's a news story about Mr. T. Check it out.

CNN Showbiz Tonight

2005-08-17T18:49:00.000-05:00

Mr. T and Stephen J. Cannell were on this show tonight. Cannell talked about the movie and says it's in a development phase and a first draft of the script has been written. He also talks about his latest book, Cold Hit. Mr. T was eloquent as always and is still doing charitable acts and such.

What Has Dwight Schultz Been Doing

2005-07-24T14:43:00.000-05:00

He's been doing voice work for video games.

The A-Team: Alias Style

2005-04-18T16:42:00.000-05:00

Something I thought of while watching my A-Team dvds - Who would the Alias characters (not the actors, but the characters) play if they were cast in the A-Team movie?

Sydney Bristow = Amy Allen (no brainer there and she'd make a heck of a reporter)
Jack Bristow = Hannibal Smith (Once Jack gets some Prozac to make him mellow, that is)
Marcus Dixon = BA (Dixon is the strong, consistent one. The go-to guy. Mr. Dependable)
Arvin Sloane = Col. Decker (Sloane has had 30 years experience at chasing Rambaldi's ghost. Chasing the A-Team should be no different)
Marshall = Murdock (The way Marshall rambles, he'd be very convincing as a crazy person)
Weiss = Face Man (He's more fun loving and personable than Vaughn. He'd do a better job at connecting with the marks)
Nadia = the daughter of the client
Vaughn = Right hand evil henchman of the villain of the episode or the MP that drives Decker's car.

Has anyone ever noticed that pretty much every evil villain of an A-Team episode was a man? Sign of the times if you ask me - 1980's couldn't have evil women in charge unless you were watching Dynasty.

The Battle of Bel Air

2005-04-17T20:51:00.000-05:00

I watched this episode tonight because it is the first Tawnia episode. It was a bittersweet experience for me. On one hand, I love the show and everything about it. But on the other hand, I found myself analyzing the clothes, cars, techniques, equipment or lack thereof, and just about everything else through eyes that have seen much more sophistocated stuff in the last 20 years. At one point I actually thought about what the show would have been if they had cell phones. I guess this is what it's going to be like if they ever do the feature film. It will be sad when that day comes. But still, I am loyal to the original and will probably never criticize it.

Check out this article about the DVDS

2005-04-17T16:33:00.000-05:00

Maybe You Could Own the A-Team

There's a contest involved if you'd like a chance to win Season 2 DVDs.

2005-04-13T19:15:00.000-05:00

I got the Season 2 dvds in the mail today. I can't wait to watch them, but it may be Friday until I can have a chance to do that. Alias is on tonight and tomorrow is a work day. Curtain Call is one of my favorite episodes and it's on this set. Oddly enough, there is an episode of Knight Rider on these dvds. Someone is trying to increase sales of that show's dvds.

2005-03-10T17:37:00.000-05:00

Finding the A-Team: Part 2 - The Questionnaire

Two postings from HowStuffWorks

2005-02-24T20:51:00.000-05:00

This one talks about the proposed A-Team movie and even offers casting suggestions. I'm telling everyone again tht I think Chris Kattan would make a great Murdock - just watch him in Undercover Brother.

And this story is about an experiment to see if they could Find the A-Team in real life America.

April 12, 2005

2005-01-23T16:41:00.000-05:00

April 12 is the day to remember. That is when season 2 is being released on DVD. I hear it will retail somewhere near $50.00 for the whole season and there will only be three dvds - they are using the double sided ones. And I hear that there is some kind of Knight Rider thing on one of them. Don't ask me why.

2004-12-26T20:17:00.000-05:00

I've just heard that Season 2 of the A-Team will be released on DVD some time in 2005!! Keep an eye out for it!

2004-11-07T20:30:00.000-05:00

Which A-Team member are you?

I am Murdock

They call him "Howling Mad" and with good reason. Once a top notch pilot, the pressures of war left Murdock mad. He is known for his smirk, variety of personas and overall mental instability. When he isn't spending time institutionalized, Murdock is using his flying skills for the A-Team, driving B.A. nuts and talking to his imaginary dog.

Which A-Team member are you???

2004-10-12T19:12:00.000-05:00

News on the new A-Team movie.

A Seethruzine Ticklist

2004-09-11T21:46:00.000-05:00

Are You in The A-Team?

A website

2004-09-11T21:44:00.000-05:00

Translated from some other language, check out The A-Team Fan Society.

Found an incredible website

2004-08-02T13:20:00.000-05:00

This website lists a bunch of links to A-Team related websites. I don't know how many of these websites are still active, but it's worth a look.

A Small And Deadly War

2004-07-10T12:58:00.000-05:00

Finally I got to watch another episode from season 1. This one, A Small and Deadly War, was about evil cops carrying out a murder for hire scheme. Murdock's escape from the VA Hospital involved Tuburculosis. And he mentioned his invisible dog, Billy. I always liked Billy. Amy once again partnered with Face on a scam. And BA smiled. That's rare.

No, I haven't forgotten my favorite tv show.......

2004-06-29T16:05:00.000-05:00

I just haven't had time to watch any more episodes of the Season 1 DVD. So, here's a link to another A-Team fan site.

Getting Connected.........

2004-06-21T16:23:00.000-05:00

I added a few links to various websites to the blog today. You'll find Stephen J. Cannell's website over there and Dirk Benedict's as well, along with a really good fan site.

Pros and Cons

2004-06-20T12:05:00.000-05:00

I just watched this episode from my season 1 dvds and it is another great one. Who could ever forget Murdock's "Trashbags! I want some trashbags!" chants and the engineering marvel that grew out of them - hair dryers inflating the trashbags in some kind of hot air balloon escape vehicle and sending Hannibal and Murdock over the wall to freedom. This episode also included a performance by Meeno Peluce, whom I remember best as Jeffrey on the show Voyagers. Also, once again we see Face and Amy working a scam together. While I can't make up my mind who my favorite member of the team is, Amy holds a special place in my heart because she just walked right into their lives and held her own in all these jobs they had taken. Forget Lois Lane, all she ever did was get into trouble and yelled for Superman to save her. Amy can save herself. She's the reporter that all little girls should look up to.
The one thing that sticks out in this episode - why do all the criminals have to videotape themselves?

An A-Team Cartoon.....

2004-06-16T16:18:00.000-05:00

A-Team: The Motion Picture (with some strange Star Wars references). I have to warn you though, some ewoks were killed in the making of this cartoon. I thought the ewoks were the cute furry little animal things? You can tell I don't watch much Star Wars. Oh, and Bo and Luke Duke from the Dukes of Hazzard make an appearance.

The Children Of Jamestown

2004-06-13T15:25:00.000-05:00

I just watched this episode and I have to say it is one of my favorites. This is the first one hour episode of the series - the episode that aired right after the two hour series premiere and the first episode with Dirk Benedict as Face. It's one of my favorites because Face, Hannibal and BA had a very touching moment with Amy when they were all captured and they were trying to help Amy get past the idea that they might be killed by the bad guys. When BA looked her in the eyes and told her he wasn't going to let anything happen to her, that was just the sweetest thing. I would write more, but it's about to storm here and the electricity will probably go out.

Mexican Slayride

2004-06-10T16:05:00.000-05:00

This is the first episode ever of the A-Team. It was a two hour series premiere that was aired after the Superbowl one year. The A-Team's success after the Superbowl launch was what convinced the networks that the Superbowl actually had a lot of power over the tv shows that aired around it. That's why Alias was aired after the Superbowl the last couple of years. ABC wanted to draw new viewers and up the ratings.

This episode introduced all the characters and after watching it last night, I am now convinced that Mr. T's acting ability is highly underrated. He was very convincing in his delivery. And he did more than what people generally remember him for - the "You crazy fool" and "I pity the fool" lines. I don't know how much debate there's been over which Face was better - Tim Dunigan or Dirk Benedict. It's hard to draw comparisons since Benedict had the role for so long. But I do think Dunigan played the role a little too sincere and goody-goody. Or maybe that's how the character was originally written and Face was changed over time to fit Benedict's natural talents. And I've seen some comments that suggest that George Peppard had taken a step down in his career when he accepted the role of Hannibal, but you know what? I think, after watching his performance in Mexican Slayride, that he loved the character of Hannibal and he enjoyed his work. There was a twinkle in his eye that you don't normally see in tv. He made it look like fun. I've had the good fortune of experiencing Peppard's acting prowess from watching Breakfast at Tiffany's, Damnation Alley, and then The A-Team and let me tell you, he only got better with each role. I've probably seen him in other movies as well, but those two were the biggest ones I remember. And what can I say about Dwight Schultz? The man's a genius and I love everything he does. Even when he played a killer in some made for tv movie with Jasmine Guy as a juror assigned to a murder trial. I didn't like for Schultz to play someone evil, but he's an actor and that's what he does. Melinda Cullea, also another really great actress, was a good choice for Amy Allen. She was convincing as a reporter. I remember her from an episode of ST: The Next Generation and it made me sad that she didn't stay with the A-Team for any longer than she did, no matter the reason she left (I understand there has been some discussion on that).

I GOT 'EM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2004-06-09T17:17:00.000-05:00

I got the Season 1 Dvds!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to watch them! In fact I might do that tonight. I hope there are extras on these. The package doesn't say.

Waiting...........

2004-06-08T19:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I know that my A-Team Season 1 dvd box set has been shipped but I don't know when I'll get it. Amazon is strange like that. I ordered a book and got it the day it was to be released, but the dvds aren't here and they were released today. I hope I get them before Friday, Friday being no mail day thanks to President Reagan's Funeral.

A cool trivia quiz website

2004-06-08T16:35:00.000-05:00

Check out the A-Team Quizzes. I did rather well considering I haven't seen the episodes in years. I did better than average on all of them.

Gotta Love Quizilla!

2004-06-07T20:05:00.000-05:00

Although I have to wonder if this is me. I didn't think my answers matched Hannibal.

You're Hannibal. You're an excellent leader.
Mostly, you're a people-watcher. You enjoy
people and like to do crazy things just to
watch their reactions. When you're left alone
too long, you start to worry. You also smoke
too much.

Which member of the A-Team are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Beginning at the Beginning........

2004-06-07T16:24:00.000-05:00

The first website I'm spotlighting today is the official website of Stephen J. Cannell, the creator of The A-Team. I believe he wrote some of the episodes and also created several other big TV hits, like: Wiseguy, Hunter, 21 Jump Street, The Greatest American Hero, The Rockford Files and many others. Cannell suffered from dyslexia early in life and has used his success to bring awareness to the problems many others who have this condition face daily. And in 1995, Cannell's first novel, The Plan, was published which was quickly followed by several others.

Welcome!

2004-06-06T19:53:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my tribute to my most favorite tv show of all time, The A-Team! Hopefully I will be posting my own personal reflections of the show, my favorite parts, my least favorite parts, etc. But what I really want to do is showcase some of the fanbased websites out there that are truly works of art. To see how involved these websites are is to really understand how well loved this show is and how much of an impact the show had on millions of people worldwide. So, come back often and maybe you'll get a mysterious summons to Mr. Lee's Chinese Laundry.

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2004-06-06T19:38:00.000-05:00

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