As always, this publication will supply live commentary on the National Broadcasting Company's live television broadcast of the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
0900 - The 83rd parade begins now.
Al Roker is at Central Park West with Macy's Robin Hall. Wow, a 70-year veteran of Macy's service! Looks like Robin Hall gets the first cut followed by the woman who's been in company service since 1939. Addendum: Her name is Rose Syracuse.
Interesting, Carly Simon and Alan Cumming. We'll also get the usual group of----wow, a lot of people this time, more than I remember being announced.
0907 - Courtesy of two instantaneous crashes of Mozilla Firefox, there's a bit lost. One has to wonder why it is that "American Woman" is being used in this cheerleader revue; the song doesn't particularly like Americans. I wasn't aware that anyone could improve on the Andrews Sisters' rendition of the "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company B", but obviously someone thought they could. I respectfully dissent.
Hmm, this Jeep commercial used a Samsung remote. What the devil is NBC beatboxing?
0910 - Oh, here we are, the cast of NBC's Mercy. From what I understand, Taylor Schilling's character is a veteran of our current war in Iraq and it's had an effect on her, except when she's trying to wreck someone else's marriage.
0912 - The cast of Hair should be arrested and this song banned; it was a blight on the otherwise interesting soundtrack to Carl Sagan's Cosmos. I think I left it off of my MP3 copy of the second disc. At least we have a mute button.
What's creepy is that Meredith what's-her-face (it's been spelled a couple of ways on the screen so far, I think) and Matt Lauer saw fit to remind us of what these clowns were about. Has it really been that long ago that people have forgotten what these deliberately unwashed types were? Perhaps it has. That this gets a Tony is a bad sign.
0918 - Yawn, Law and Order cast. Something looks like it ate Al Roker and replaced him. If they hadn't had a title on him, I wouldn't have known.
0919 - Yay, John Stamos! (You can tell when I grew up, even if I didn't ever watch Full House.) These girls look like they're designed to be early teenagers, and that's kind of creepy. Stamos doesn't do bad, but it hasn't held my interest.
0926 - Ronald McDonald's crew is nice and friendly---interesting to see that balloon captain making sure Roker doesn't get in the way. Er, a boy who trades boxing gloves for ballet slippers? That's about creepy. Billy Elliott is one that I think I'll gladly miss.
0930 - The over-the-air picture is going haywire and now the antenna's lost it totally. Well, that was a fun thirty minutes.
0932 - Switching to the satellite now; unfortunately I won't be seeing this in HD, but some things can't be helped.
0933 - This flyover view is nicely done. I managed to forget why it was that the parade had been re-routed. Skipping Herald Square seems vaguely sacrilegious. Oh, Jillian Michaels. A buddy of mine thinks she's really attractive---very well. I don't get the spandex pants reference; too bad for me that I don't watch NBC except for this. Well, Jennifer Aniston for St. Jude's. I haven't given money to these folks in years, probably since their elementary school math thing.
Oh, here's another stupid husband, brilliant wife commercial. I'll keep that in mind when I buy some other brand of socks etc.
0940 - Parks and Rec, yawn. NBC's efforts to recreate The Office don't attract my attention. A Jimmy Dean float, however, is a good idea.
0942 - Shrek hasn't been---oh, wait, Donkey. This guy's funny and his costume is at least decent. On the other hand, I thought the first one was amusing, but I somehow managed to missed the next two, and haven't felt deprived.
0944 - Hey, it's Juan Valdez on the side of a building! I haven't seen him in commercials for a while; the last one I really remember is the one where an airliner turns back.
0946 - A.A. Ohno lecturing me about how America "needs" the Olympic Games right now? I think not. Obviously the IOC didn't think Chicago needed the Games. Oh, the Rockettes!
0950 - Who doesn't love the Rockettes? Good-looking women with more-or-less Broadway precision in their dance; as Warner Wolf says, "Baby, you've gotta love it!" The Chase Sapphire commercial is annoying, but that woman looks familiar. Nice dress, but you might have thought about burning a joint resource on yourself.
0952 - Megan Fox still exists? I hadn't heard.
0955 - Here's a hint, Mrs. Viera: Those immigrants wanted to be a part of the dominant civilization, as they should. Not so today.
Meanwhile, the Macy's band as the NYPD leads the parade to 34th Street.
0958 - Breakfast break; it's Jane Krakowski singing, so nothing will be missed.
1005 - Hah, a CBS event gets advertised. At least the Pilgrims are still recognized, even if there's some weird Food Network promo being read. The Macy's turkey is always a peasant site. These "Celebrity Chefs" aren't identified, but Kermit the Frog is.
It surprises me to think that both gasoline and batteries are more than a century old.
1008 - Mitchel Musso will not be appearing on my portable MP3 player any time soon. Nice earrings, boy. He needs a shower and a haircut, as well as some work with a pair of pliers.
1022 - Still on cooking hiatus. Will be back shortly; the turkey calls.
1037 - I missed the Sesame Street float, which I regret. Others, not so much. I'm surprised that Katharine McPhee is able to get a slot on the parade at this point in whatever remains of her career. One wonders who the redhead on this "Sing Off" is; she looks attractive in a slimmed-down Angie Everhart model.
1040 - This New Jersey Nets thing is annoying; do these people have no self-respect? (Setting aside obvious jokes based upon the fact that they're Nets fans.)
I think the fact that I'm reading a David Weber novel more intently than I'm watching the parade at this point is problematic.
1044 - Frank W. Ballou's band shouldn't be wasting time with Michael Jackson, but oh well. They're the first to be from the District of Columbia, which is somewhat surprising.
1047 - Speed Racer, yay! Chim-Chim is in the trunk, just like always. Let's see Trixie, please---she was a highlight of the recent movie.
1100 - Ah, a Macy's float. Too bad that Ziggy Marley's involved. The Jolly Polly looks well-constructed. Glad to see a classic design resurrected for the pirate balloon.
1102 - Pittsburg High School, from Pittsburg in California, looks like something that Cobra would have fielded, especially the drum major. That's not an insult; it's just the instant reaction I had.
1107 - The Oneida tribe, or at least Indians, belong in a celebration of Thanksgiving. Let them celebrate their creation story; they haven't much else left.
1109 - A West Virginia band performing "Country Roads", the old John Denver tune if memory serves. The dance team dances and the band plays; they do well.
Tuning a guitar with a pitchfork would be interesting, Mr. Roker. Oh well, it's Jimmy Fallon and his band. Am I supposed to be interested? Oh wait, "Holiday Road". Singing that is never bad. If Fallon et al had performed that one alone, I think that would have been enough. Up next, the World War One flying ace!
1115 - A faux steam locomotive of the American (4-4-0 for the audience) wheel arrangement, yay! A horse drill team is interesting; too bad NBC didn't think so.
118 - Hmm, Cylons? Oh, no. Something to do with space techno and high schoolers. Oh well. Is that Fred Schneider on vocals?
1123 - Oh, it's the Latino heroine. I wish the immigration authorities would send her packing. At least she was gone quickly. Ah, Tony Georgio of the NYPD Academy band. I wish they'd actually let us hear the bands. The Sherlock Holmes trailer looks interesting.
1127 - Yay, a circus wagon. That guy who was doing the trampoline work was good; let's see more of that.
1130 - Hooray, it's Carly Simon! That hat is stupid, but she's holding together reasonably well for sixty-plus. Still got a mouth the size of a Mason Jar, and those teeth. I've never heard a down-tempo version of "Let the River Run", but this is reasonably nice.
Wow, I haven't seen a Star Wars toy commercial in years.
1134 - The Marion Carole float looks nice, and we can always do well with Dixieland or similar styles. Everyone looks better in a straw hat and seersucker. Dear NBC: Please alter the fonts on your TV spots; it's annoying.
1142 - Ah, the Delta Airline float. I could do without Andrea Bocelli, especially with those sunglasses. Delta operated both Convair and Lockheed jetliners, so they're acceptable in my eyes.
1154 - Must have dozed off. At least the old Macy's designs are getting represented in balloons.
1156 - It's Santa Claus and the float's good-looking. Their belief in Santa Claus is, of course, touching, but do remember the reason for the Thanksgiving holiday and what we're supposed to be celebrating on 25th December.
The white berets constantly remind me of David Weber's Royal Manticoran Navy.
Well, that's that. Something was missing this year, but the audio seems to have been better. At least they said, "Merry Christmas" at the end of the credits.
Posted by Country Pundit at November 26, 2009 09:00 AM