Category: Blog

Fridays With Freddy: Women

Shari

Women. Every time I think I understand them, something inexplicable occurs. Last week for instance, I was taking my biped on his usual stroll through the finer parts of Cow Hollow, watching with my usual bemusement as he went about the business of meeting and greeting the hoi polloi, when out of nowhere a pack of females descended upon me with a level of urgency not typically associated with a random sidewalk encounter. In and of itself, this level of excitement is not unusual. I am adorable, after all, and people are often compelled to grope and ogle me on Read More

50 Shades of Doug

Shari

About that last video…(see below) Some of you know my old friend Doug Glover. Doug is a gifted and mostly fearless cinematographer who has excelled in his chosen field. But Doug also suffers from chronic disappointment, brought about by years of concessions and professional compromise. On Dirty Jobs, Doug was beset by a host of environmental challenges, including but not limited to very high places, very tight places, very wet places, and of course, a constant rain of feces from every species – much of which wound up on his lens. Somebody’s Gotta Do It is not quite as hellish, Read More

Hospitality

Shari

A quick word if I may, in defense of hospitality, customer service, and hope for the species. Last night, after a four-hour drive from Quitaque to Abilene, the crew and I were equal parts ravenous and exhausted. By the time we checked in to another Holiday Inn, the only place in town still open was The Taylor County Taphouse. According to Yelp, they serve dinner till midnight all week long. In reality, The Taylor County Taphouse closes at 10pm on Tuesdays, which made our arrival at approximately 10:15 completely useless and utterly heartbreaking. The remaining staff was very polite, but Read More

Fridays With Freddy: Let Them Eat Cake!

Shari

“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche!” Little help, si vous plait? On our morning stroll, the biped stopped to consider this sign, which he described as “ironic.” Is it? I found it merely sarcastic, or perhaps sardonic, with a touch of snark. But maybe I’m wrong? The sign is an advertisement for Kara’s cupcake shop. Kara makes delicious gourmet treats that I’m not allowed to have on account of chocolate being deadly. (Is that ironic, or just tragic?) Kara’s delicious cupcakes cost over $3 a piece, which may or may not be a problem, assuming you have a job, and some Read More

Big Gulp Justice

Shari

A couple of weeks ago, I was stuck in traffic on Lombard Street, desperate to get across the Golden Gate Bridge for a meeting I was doomed to miss. As I quietly cursed the faceless bureaucrat who approved road work during rush hour, the guy in front of me threw an empty Big Gulp out the passenger window. I watched the giant cup bounce around the street, roll into the curb, and come to rest on the grate of a storm drain. The guy was driving a Prius, and the irony was just too much to bear. I hopped out Read More

Entrepreneur: Facebook Obsession, Working Hard & Singing Opera

Shari

Mike Rowe has a lot of love for entrepreneurs. Best known as host of Dirty Jobs, Rowe works hard and advocates for others who have the courage to blaze their own path. In this short video, Rowe answers our rapid-fire questions. He talks about what inspires him (hard work, duh), honesty and about sometimes having to “eat the shit sandwich” at work. We also got him to talk about his obsession with Facebook. “I try to post something every day,” Rowe explains. “Now there are almost 2-1/2 million people who are sitting there, waiting for me to say something, which Read More

Farewell to Some Old Friends

Shari

Time to bid a sad but fond farewell to some old friends. Cash Wiley died on Easter Sunday. Fans of Dirty Jobs will remember Cash as a Salt-of-the Earth guy in Texas who showed me the ins and outs of sedating big animals, and the deceptively complicated business of safely relocating them. He loved all creatures great and small, and showed the crew and me more trust and hospitality than most people show their friends and family. Cash was a nice man, an excellent host, and a hell of a good shot. Dolly “Messie Bessie” Evans on the other hand, Read More

Fridays With Freddy: Considerate Waypoints

Shari

What the hell is going on in Pacific Heights? Every day this week, someone has left a random mattress lying around on the sidewalk. It’s like the week after New Years, except the discarded trees have been replaced with discarded mattresses. What does it all mean? At first, I thought the City had organized some sort of Mattress Collection Initiative. This is after all, a fairly sophisticated zip code, wracked with a famously guilty conscience. So it’s not beyond the realm of reason to suppose that City officials might have green-lit some grand recycling project specifically designed to alleviate the Read More

Entrepreneur: Don’t Pursue Your Passion. Chase Opportunity.

Shari

Success in business depends on opportunity, not a person’s passion. Whether you agree or disagree, that’s what Dirty Jobs star Mike Rowe believes. Before you fly off the handle, calling bullshit, let’s allow him to explain. What Rowe means is that when you put your passion first, ahead of opportunity, you often times create obstacles to achieving real success. “When you follow your passion, when you follow your dream, when you grow up being told that you’re a precious little snowflake and all you have to do is look inward and identify that thing in you that you want more Read More

SOMEBODY’S GOTTA DO IT HAS STRONG RATINGS DEBUT LAST NIGHT

Shari

SGDI is Up by Triple-Digits vs. Prior Four Thursdays and is the Only Cable News Program to Grow vs. Last Year at 9pm According to Nielsen Fast National Data, CNN Original Series Mike Rowe’s Somebody’s Gotta Do It season 2 premiere had a strong ratings performance last night at 9pm, delivering 316k among adult 25-54 viewers.  CNN nearly tied Fox news for the top spot in the demo 25-54 rating, registering only 1k behind (316k vs. 317k).  MSNBC trailed CNN by 93% with 164k. Compared to the prior four Thursdays, CNN was up the most across cable news, increasing by triple Read More

The Blaze: The Math is Scary

Shari

Mike’s Unsettling Prediction on What Will Happen If Work Remains the ‘Enemy’ What will happen when all of the baby boomers in the U.S. retire at age 65 and the “remarkable” advances in medicine keep many of them alive into their 90s or even into triple digits? It’s a recipe for disaster and the “math is scary,” says Mike Rowe, the star of the CNN original series “Somebody’s Gotta Do It.” “They are going to be retired for 40 years? There’s just no universe possible where you have enough money to live on if you’re an average Joe, 40 years Read More

CNN: Job Advice from the Guy who has tried them All

Shari

CNN)Mike Rowe is taking the bull by the horns (or, at the very least, trying not to get gored) in the season premiere of “Somebody’s Gotta Do It,” where he tries out niche jobs anywhere from bullfighting to water ballet. Each week, Rowe will answer your questions about his latest escapades and career advice. To submit a question for the gutsy host in future weeks, tweet at @CNNOrigSeries with the hashtag #GottaDoIt. The questions have been edited for brevity and clarity: Laurie Blair: As a high school counselor, what can I do to make career and technical education pathways more Read More