The Sudden Surge.

We will continue with more programming for the OTN next time.

Something happened on Friday that was far more topical, and amusing, and if it is to be addressed, now's the time.
I had about twice as many hits on the blog this past Friday as I usually have on any other given day.
In the past, this has usually meant that another major blogger , such as Mark Evanier or Ken Levine, has referenced my blog, causing his readers to check out my blog.
I always hope that this is the case.
No such luck in this instance.
So I went to my Stat Counter, which provides me with all sorts of information, to determine why this happened on Friday.
There it was.
The answer.
Staring me in the face.
With all the tsooris going on in Syria, NBC (and MSNBC, I don't know who pays the bills) sent their main foreign correspondent, the handsome, dashing Richard Engel, to Syria.
He always likes to be where the action is, and has put himself in danger many times.
One of the ways he puts himself in danger, when he is reporting from some war zone or other, is to use one of those crummy hand-mikes that the network has undoubtedly purchased from Woolworths.
And you can barely understand him because these mikes give him a speech impediment.
A sibilant "S"
It makes him sound like the late Pinky Lee.
If you have never heard of, or heard, Pinky Lee, go to You Tube and type in his name.
Evidence abounds.
So when he's in a place like Syria, Richard Engel is in danger of sounding ridiculous.
It is not flattering to sound like Pinky Lee.
I've also heard Richard Engel being interviewed stateside, in a studio, and can personally attest to the fact that under those conditions, he does NOT have a speech impediment.
He does NOT sound like Pinky Lee.
I haven't heard him sound like Pinky Lee since he made daily reports from Libya.
But last Thursday, there he was, reporting from Syria, once again sounding like Pinky Lee.
NBC had not upgraded their equipment since Libya.
A while back, I had written a two-part article called "How To Watch MSNBC", and addressed the Richard Engel speech impediment issue, already knowing that he didn't have one.
I even referenced Pinky Lee.
But only once.
As a result, my Stat Counter on Friday informed me that the reason I doubled my hits the previous day is that a preponderance of readers were doing a Google search for "Richard Engel speech impediment"
Well, they certainly knew where to look.
Who says I'm not educational and informative?

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My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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