Friday, October 23, 2015

Friday fifties

Morning fog has been the rule this week, along with some light rain. It's normal weather for this time of year and on through November. When we have high atmospheric pressure, the low clouds and fog get trapped in a temperature inversion. They may or may not dissipate. When we have low atmospheric pressure, we get clouds and rain off the Atlantic. Film at eleven.

Callie pauses on our way back home from a foggy morning walk, 50mm f/6.3, 1/100s, ISO 400.

I wonder if younger people know that expression, "film at eleven." When I was a teenager, the late news on television in the US came on at eleven o'clock pm, so when stations did a teaser for late breaking news, they'd often say something like, "...such and such happened earlier today, film at eleven." Notice the word "film." Videotape was not yet widespread back then, and digital video didn't even exist. And since those days, a lot of local news programming moved up to ten o'clock. That and 24-hour news stations essentially killed off the eleven o'clock news programs around the US. So "film at eleven" has become a completely obsolete expression. We'll have more on that story after the break.

8 comments:

  1. You had TV during the day?

    We had 2 TV channels when I were a kid - one was the ABC (National Broadcaster, no ads) which did schools programs from 10-12 and 2-4, then normal type programs, but our commercial station didn't start until 3.55pm. Both closed just after midnight.

    At the weekend I think it was a midday start for both: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQZyVeSvAsA is a saturday sign on.

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  2. I often ask my students where we left off in the last lesson, but saying, "When last we met our caped crusader..." , and then I look at their faces and they are staring at me like I'm nuts. Just like mannnnnnnnnnny things a teacher says.... goes right over their heads and never sinks in LOL.

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  3. I do remember "film at eleven". I also recall the broadcasting ending at midnight, 2 a.m. on weekends, with a rendition of The Star Spangled Banner with a clip of the American flag.

    Not that I'm old or anything...

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  4. I also remember the National Anthem and the American Flag before the networks signed off for the night in the days before 24/7 all newssportsweatherfinancialnews. :)

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  5. I love thinking about these expressions we take for granted. I never gave "films at eleven" a thought.

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  6. tim, probably some laxative company. ;)

    simon, yes. And we had horseless carriages!

    judy, don't forget the boy wonder!

    jacqueline, yup. Sign-off. Does that even happen any more? lol

    angiemanzi, don't forget entertainment/celebrity "news." :)

    mitch, I think I probably sound like what I used to think my grandparents sounded like.

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  7. We had "Do not adjust your set, there is a technical fault", and "And now for something completely different".

    And one that we still get is that at the end of the main BBC countrywide news bulletin, there is a handover to regional news centres, which they always announce as "the news where you are", except that some of the areas concerned are pretty large and may include news from miles away. In particular, it gets up Scottish nationalist noses to be treated, in effect, as just another region like the West Midlands or the North East of England:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edrBBphznfw

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