• by John Gaffney , August 22, 2002

OPRs (Other People's Riffs)

That’s Right Folks. A Pop Culture Icon: In the upcoming Comedy Central BattleBots Season 5.0, with the introduction of “pop culture icon” Gary Coleman, the arena will be changed forever. Beginning last week, Coleman worked for Nightmare, the sport's most destructive "bot." In-between battles, Coleman worked aong side the pit crew, and drooled shamelessly over BattleBots' host, Carmen Electra. "I am a HUGE fan of BattleBots," said Coleman. "The stench of twisted metal, the roar of a battle-hungry mob, 200 pound robots getting flung twenty feet in the air only to be impaled on giant spikes! Now THAT'S the kind of entertainment that puts a smile on my face! As if Carmen Electra wasn't enough!"

Might Want To Double Check That Direct Mail List: A new study shows that approximately 17 million US households receive at least occasional direct mail and telemarketing for the deceased. Four million households get "a lot" of direct mail and telemarketing for deceased persons. Direct marketing for the deceased goes on for years. In another survey, 53% of people reporting this problem say that the person had been dead for a year or more, and 6% said the person had been dead for more than 10 years.

No, Hanging Chad Is Not On The Ballot: Without enough money to hold a mock election, Miami-Dade County elections officials bought newspaper ads to teach residents about the new touchscreen voting machines before next month's primary. A quarter-page ad appeared this week in The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, its Spanish-language counterpart, instructing voters how to operate the machines. A short video of voting instructions was given to local TV stations for use close to the Sept. 10 primary.

Is That Chewing Tobacco In Your Pocket? Santa Clarita (CA) Signal columnist Patti Shea had a chance to cover a Los Angeles Dodger baseball game for the first time, including the post-game locker room interview scene. Her take: "I don't need half-naked or naked men showing me their other talents while I'm trying to talk to them."

Reader Riff Of The Week: Ted Faraone disagreed with my assessment of the chances of satellite radio. “The disadvantage for Satellite radio providers is that one really only needs it in the car and only if one travels long distances on a regular basis -- such as my weekly trip between New York and Westerly, RI. That means that unlike TV, which is almost a universal addiction, Satellite Radio has a much smaller committed consumer base. Satellite radio is in its infancy. It will take a while for it to find its programming legs. Look how long it took cable TV to develop hits and viable formats. Eventually, like pay-TV, satellite radio will develop some hit shows and highly successful formats.”