105 thoughts on “STORM WATCH!”

1. *chuckle* There are certain things that only another southern Californian can laugh at. Hee-hee-hee …
   STORM WATCH!
   Wil, I lurv ya, babe.

2. Just as long as Giles doesn’t show up at your front door warning of an impending Apocalypse you should survive.

3. Channel 4 finally stopped calling it “Storm Watch” after the other channels picked it to death. It was a running gag on the vastly superior KTLA morning news. But its still overblown no matter what station 🙂
   Nemesis was a good film. I think its sad that a
   J-LO film had better numbers. How far trek has fallen. Me, I dont think this is the last film.
   But I do think were going to see a very long expanse (10-20 years) before the next.

4. Folks, here in Southern California wet weather really freaks news people out – you should hear the increase in highway accident reports when a drop of rain hits the pavement. In the San Diego area we have “STORM WATCH”, and then when they are forecasting to get more than .25 of an inch of rain, we move up to “STORM WATCH 2002!”
   On the lower left coast we have to drive to the snow, and rain is treated as if royalty is coming for a visit, news-wise. If the Queen of England were to visit LA during a rainstorm, the rainstorm would get more TV and newspaper coverage.

5. Reading by the fire is the best thing EVER!
   Just caught a glimpse of you last night on the VH1 “I love the 80’s: 1986”. I had forgotten about the leech scene in “Stand by Me”.

6. i just moved 20 minutes away from my old house to the san dimas area……. oh yeah… foothill mudslides, baby!! I LOVE STORM WATCH! but this morning seems to be all sunny and lovely.

7. Here is is, December 20th and we’re finally getting the first real* snow of the year in Minnesota. Last Saturday, the temperature was nearly 50 degrees. Mind you, I’m not complaining.
   I’m surprised we didn’t get “Heat Stroke Alert!” or some other such nonsense.

8. It’s like when a half inch of snow falls in Georgia. The whole state is paralyzed. Meanwhile, Buffalo gets 3 feet and barely blinks.
   We here in Oregon do the same about rain. Give SoCal a break. 🙂
   Did anyone else ever see those MadTV bits from years ago… “Wind Storm ’98!”? Are those parodying the same newscaster/station?

9. ha! Storm Watch.. i remember those. I live on oregon’s southern coast, and we have SUN WATCHES. witness all the pale people crying, “i’m meeeeeeelting!” in mid July when the sun finally comes out. They have to warn us, or we burn to crisps.
   We got 10 inches of rain in 48 hours last weekend, on top of high tides and 50+mph winds. goood stuff, man.
   Wil! What are you using on your hair? I’m plugging Fudge haircolor, cos nothing else compares. (mine is cherry bomb. I’m 32)

10. Yeah, a whole season of El Nino to look forward to. I moved to Hollywood in January 1998, last time the floods hit LA. The rains this week made me realize there’s a crack in the foundation under one of the bedroom walls in our apartment. The carpet is getting wet when it rains, and it’s not from the pets…
    Joy.

11. Hah! That was great Wil.
    MrP

12. Oh, good. It’s not just me. The whole STORM WATCH thing is just a riot. But,Wil, how can you not enjoy ABC 7’s LIVE Doppler Radar with Johnny Mountain and Dallas Raines. The live play by play announcing as the storm tracks its way across the basin.
    Great stuff.

13. LOL… well up here in Santa Babylon we were watching “The First Duty” when the screen went blank, there was a beeep, then the picture came back on with the scrolling “FLASH FLOOD WARNING” advisory at the bottom. No sound. The kids were all, “Wait! WAIT! WHAT DID WESLEY SAY TO THE CAPTAIN???” LOL. Not, “OMG Daddy we’re gonna DROWN” but “I’M MISSING STAR TREK!!”
    And the creek stayed in anyway.
    So… umm… what *did* you say to the Captain?

14. Ha! Thanks for the laughs, Wil. My Ma lives on the Central Coast and whines about the rain, when they get it, and I just have to laugh at her. I’ve been visiting when it’s been ‘raining’ and I can honestly say, I don’t even wear a coat.
    In Ketchikan, we get 160-200 inches of rain each and every year. “Liquid Sunshine”. It is not unheard of to get 6-8 inches in one day, and add 70 mile an hour gusts with 40 mph sustained winds and you have a typical winter day. Good thing you visited in the summer.

15. Storm watch? Dang! I miss all the fun!
    Well…3 inches of rain…here in Kentucky that doesn’t really denote a “storm”. I mean it started raining here Wednesday night and didn’t stop until about 2 or 3 AM this morning…and it got quite heavy at times…I’d say much more than three inches. Heh! The roads here looked like streams! I went out yesterday in my Ford Windstar, and it was a blast hitting all the puddles on the roads and drowning all the other cars going by >=} You should get a minivan and try that sometime Wil! It’s really fun! hehehe

16. Hey Wil, I **much** prefer Channel 7’s Live Doppler 7000. As for Paul Moyer, yeah…that guy is a complete boob and his newcast is little more than a talking tabloid.

17. The Silicon Valley has been hit unusually hard by the recent storms. Trees have been rended, knocked over, and even completely uprooted. Their limbs and even entire trees have been scattered about. Earlier this week there was hail the size of small peas. Last night thunder was shaking my house and lightning was making me wonder how good my surge strip really is. A few days or so ago, there was so much lightning that just being outside was uncomfortable for both my girlfriend and myself. We have been having some unusual weather indeed.

18. Am I the only one who reads this thread and is reminded of “The Four Yorkshiremen” sketch? You guys don’t know how good you have it. Here in blahblahblah it rains every single day. Why just yesterday it rained 12 feet and the river swept the entire city away and every man, woman, and child drown, including me. But you don’t hear us complaining like those pansies down south. And if you tell someone from California that, they won’t believe you.

19. I’m about an hour south of you, Wil, and all I’ve got is sunny skies. The last storm blew my poor plants off my balcony.

20. Stupid lokal nuwz.
    My wife and I stay up just for giggles, to watch as the News Kens and News Barbies pretend to be journalists, and breathlessly announce the Lottery Numbers like its the freakin Sinking of the Hindenburg.
    Arrtghrghgh. Need those Tolerance Pills.

21. Sorry, Wil, but as a former Angeleno my favorite part of **STORM WATCH** is the number of reporters each station needs to have in the field to report on what everyone knows is happening. We call it… TEAM COVERAGE!!!!!
    Moyers: “Now we move to Biff Stubblefield in Malibu for his take on the action”
    Biff: “We have waves like you wouldn’t believe! Swells as high as SIX FEET!!! Over to Klee Anderson at the Airport for what’s happening there.”
    Klee: “Are we on? Are we on? I couldn’t hear Biff over… good evening everyone. As you can see the rain is falling here also.” (hand to ear) “Wait, I’m told we have breaking news coming from the Valley so we switch to Harvey Firestein somewhere north of Tarzana. Harvey?”
    Harvey: “Thank you Klee. I’m ACTUALLY STANDING IN RESEDA where the rain is falling as hard as in other communities. We have this reaction from people in the community…:
    Passerby one: “It’s like the sky opened up and a hose of water turned on!”
    Passerby two: “Dude, like, I don’t even OWN an umbrella.”
    Stock footage of a K-Mart: v.o. Harvey: “People from all over the Greater Reseda area have been flocking to their local Kmart. Not only to enjoy the Christmas Blue Light Specials, but to get out of the rain.”
    Store Manager: “We have sold more umbrellas today than usual, that’s for sure…”
    Harvey (live): “That’s it from Reseda. Now reporting from the Eastern part of Los Angeles… wait a minute… we don’t send reporters to East L.A…. back to Paul in the Studio.”
    Moyers: “Thank you Harvey, and everyone out in the field. Let’s turn to our local commedian turned weatherman for an update on the rain.”
    Weatherman: “It’s wet…”
    Moyers (interrupting): “Excuse me Fritz, but we have a breaking story. We go to Vicky Rivers in Hollywood.”
    Vicky: “As we all know The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers opened this past weekend to amazing box office. How will the rain effect the holiday movie-going plans of the people who want to see it? In a word, bring an umbrella…”
    When it rains in L.A. (or San Francisco for that matter), beware of TEAM COVERAGE. It will get you when you least expect it…..
    BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!

22. Wil, I’m watching TNG on TNN right now…It just happens to be the episode “Final Mission”. I’m sure you remember that episode. I thought it was sort of ironic that your latest blog is talking about rain and in this episode, you were filming in what appeared to be a rather uncomfortable area of the desert. Compared to working under those conditions, a storm watch seems to be much more preferable 🙂
    One thing I am curious about in that episode. How much sand did you end up getting in your shoes while filming in the desert? I hate getting sand in my shoes! LOL

23. Hey Wil, check out the storm pics from the Northern edge of that storm with more pics on the way because there’s more storm to come. I tried to use HTML in here but it cleaned the tag, the link to my home page will get you there but its harder work that way. Give it a day or two and I’ll have freshies up again!
    But yeah, its exciting stuff with the wind about to tear roofs off, trees getting knocked down, thongs being flung on stage (no wait, that’s a different post) and our poor, poor beach volleyball court is in ruins now, think six inches of storm debris over the entire court!
    Batten down the hatches, its gonna be a long night!

24. lucky..STORM WATCHES here consist of the sirens going off and houses being blown away by tornados.You know it’s going to be bad when you hear the weather man shout “holy shit” and the tv blinks off.

25. Haaa haaaa… this is the first time I’ve ever posted to your blog, but that cracked me up! Storm Watch!!!! I love so-cali news. What’s even funnier is that it hasn’t even rained for two consecutive days yet. STORM WATCH!!! Ohmigod, it’s snowing in Big Bear, what will people do? God forbid they have to break out a snowplow.

26. When a big storm happens here in the Chicago area, the local media usually just report on the aftermath. They don’t even show the beeping lightning strike map anymore. But when a hurricane makes landfall 1000 miles away, they send their top weather guys to do live reports in the wind and rain.

27. Hi Wil. Saw you on Tech TV the other day and was really impressed. I hope you host again real soon. I’ll actually be an audience guest on Screensavers 1-24. 🙂 That’s what brought me here btw, and I again am really impressed. I am in the process of redoing my site and have added your link to my links sect.
    I don’t watch much TV, so I don’t know if we have STORM WATCH up here in Sac, but it’s fucking terrible up here right now. I have to drive 30 miles in this shit to pick up my 3 year old daughter from daycare in a few. Yuck! cya

28. Wow.
    I’m so glad i’m not the only one who gets sad at the end of a book. Especially a series of books.
    I wont leave the house for a week at the end of LOTRs as i miss the characters too much.
    I have thought about getting a life but it feels like i’m trying to lead three already…

29. I suppose your media react the same way to weather as our media react to earthquakes.
    I remember a few years ago when I was in grad school in Edinboro, PA (just SW of Erie…) and we had a minor rumble. It made my walls undulate, which was kind of weird, but I’d thought the neighbors on the other side of the wall had knocked over a bookcase.
    The media, however, was in a total and complete tizzy.
    (Channel 12) “Stick with us in our continuing LIVE EARTHQUAKE COVERAGE!!!”
    (Channel 23) “Experts are estimating the quake registered at 2.4 on the Richter Scale!”
    (Guy in overalls and a John Deere cap) “Well, I seen that there crack on the sidewalk afterwards, but it could have been there before… I can’t remember…”

30. Wil,
    Don’t you love when the news updates a storm every 15 seconds. “And its still storming.” They
    report as if no one has a window at home. Sometimes they will even interrupt a TV show, after you just hear a huge bolt around the corner, to tell you that you are going through a storm. Stay dry and warm. Oh Wil, watch out for that storm.
    FG

31. Damn that Storm watch… I mean all that rain! *Laughs* I agree with you about when you finish a book, you always feel sad. I do that too. It’s so depressing! Do they really make it that dramatic?
    -Lianne

32. When you said, “…I learned how far I have to go before I can call myself a writer.” I knew exactly how you felt. Every time I read something by Ray Bradbury I have that same feeling–and it takes me forever to start writing again.

33. Wooohoo! Nothing like the news media to get the blood pumping! Gotta love the media! 🙂

34. I feel for you.
    Just finished the four volume set of Otherworld by Tad Williams. I know so much about the characters after more than 3600 pages that I feel I know them personally!
    On a plus note, I started a new book – This Alien Shore – and have become involved with new characters!

35. yeah very weird weather. i just wish it would blizzard! or rain then freeze, that’s always good when you have to stay inside.

36. Ahhh… It’s finally started snowing in the western LP of Michigan — one of the few reasons to come home in winter! We had a snow advisory today; happy local weather dude says we’ll get 3-7 inches. My fanny, we got about 1/2″. As Calvin said, “Nobody ever closes school on account of prettiness!”
    And the whole book thing is so true. I’ve been home a week and I’ve read about half a dozen novels already. It’s addictive, and sad when you can’t see your friends the characters anymore. One of the best for that I’ve ever read is GOLDEN WITCHBREED… I was actually pissed off when I finished it, because they were gone…

37. Hey Wil, in case you missed it on Fark:
    http://www.rightwingnews.com/special/annoyinglib.php?
    😉

38. Hey, send that storm out here to Arizona! We need rain so bad. There was a SMALL storm today, but that lasted less than an hour. I love the rain, I wish it rained more.

39. too damn funny….
    hahaha…laughed my ass off wil…thanks
    and now..
    back to STORM WATCH!

40. STORM WATCH & DOPPLER RADAR
    Don’cha just love the desperate geekiness of the news media? I always feel pity for the poor weatherman who gets to stand out in a storm to report it as though we wouldn’t believe it was rainy or windy unless we saw him/her getting soaked.
    We managed to pull off some snow in Chicago in the last days of November. Not that such is unheard of but it’s terribly rare. Thanks to El Nino we got an even bigger rarity… thunder and lightning storms in December! What snow we did get in November is long gone and it’s doubtful that there’ll be a white Christmas.
    DOUBTFUL such things were once a myth for the upper midwest but the past few years Chicago has gone with very little and no Christmas snow at all. Neighboring states that had typically been snow-lite now get hammered.
    Big snow in the Chicago area if it comes won’t show up until February and that’s an IF mind you. I prefer the rain myself our most recent storms were reminiscent of spring…my how are little planet has changed.

41. I just had to share this one Wil…
    http://www.ebaumsworld.com/spankmonkey.html
    To inspire you, I’ve clocked in a 372m.p.h. smack. Now go unleash your fury …think Berman.

42. That’s too funny, Wil-Paul Moyer is a hoot! I know they had to break Colleen Williams and Chuckles Henry because they were too good together (wink-wink), but I wouldn’t miss Uncle Paul for the world! Storm Watch Rules!

43. Wil,
    3 inches?!?! They had way over 7 inches in a couple of hours the other afternoon, down below Cape Canaveral. Come by this summer when we expect a repeat of the firestorms of ’98!
    Can we get some balance here? Oh, we are . . .
    Pax,
    Chuck

44. OMG!! That Monkey thing is just too damned funny! LMAO!!!

45. Sticky Bear wonders what is going on. His bounce basket is full of surprise.

46. Storm Watch? Must be serious in California if they call for a storm watch. Three inches of rain is a big deal if you haven’t had any in a while. Turns dirt to mud in a hurry. Oh, and Wil, keep up the good work.
    🙂

47. You said:
    “….Whenever I finish a book, I feel a sense of achievement, and I begin to look forward to the next one in my ever-growing stack. However, I also feel a certain sadness as I bid characters or an author farewell….”
    Just spent the last two months reading all four (in sequence) Harry Potter novels. (If you haven’t, buy the hardcover packaged set — as the paperbacks, particularly the fourth, get broken spines and pages fall out easily.) With help from the two films, I feel I know the characters personally, and it’s hard to be patient waiting for the fifth installment.
    And just like is said, her novels get people reading again.
    [ramble] Gosh, I hope JK Rowling doesn’t destroy (as she suggested once she might) all her notes on HP once she’s finished the series. Imagine if Tolkien had done so? What you don’t publish is often as important as the stuff you do…
    …
    … Out there in earthquake-land, perhaps you should periodically feed someone inland your material for safe-keeping, should THE BIG ONE level LA like Capt Janeway said will happen in that ChronoWorx episode? [/ramble]
    Me? [gloat] Got an even bigger stack than you.[/gloat] Been collecting deep-discount-bin hardcovers and overstock paperbacks for years and never got around to them. Must be five or six dozen in small piles or stuffed on shelves all over the house. (Or maybe the latter is due to blogs, message boards, and email. 🙂 )
    Your writings are better than what I remember back when I posted semi-alot on your message boards. Take care and have fun and…
    … make sure you’re well compensated.
    Peace!

48. Dude I sleep the same way too– Ear plugs and bandana over my eyes–
    *I’m a senstive sleeper to light and children screaming!!!* gypsy fakes a fainting spell*
    Man I don’t miss those California Storm Watches!! batten down the Hatches!!
    and Stay Safe!!!

49. Wil…
    “STORM WATCH”
    sounds like a better movie that
    last star trek “Nemesis” thing..
    (just kidding)
    gee I hope that great new grass (lawn, not the “pot” stuff) ((not that you planted any “pot” ))
    someone planted doesn’t wash away…
    later

50. I always thought Paul Moyer was rather low-key, especially compared to Jerry Dunphy and the Jiggle News team over at KABC-TV. Of course, I haven’t been in L. A. since I visited a friend in Arcadia (where I also once lived) back in summer ’86, right about the time the story broke about Tracy Lords having made porn films before she reached the age of legal consent. The “Award-Winning Channel 7 Eyewitness News Team!” in their matching blue sportcoats couldn’t get enough of it.
    I did like Dr. George Fischbeck, though. Is he still on the air?

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