Sarah Palin uses The Google

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin may not be able to name the newspapers that she reads, but she apparently knows how to use The Google.

Filmmaker's advice to UM students: Switch your major to marine biology

"The U's" Billy Corben
Billy Corben is pissed!

Corben, a University of Miami graduate and the producer and director of the highly acclaimed documentary, The U, was invited to screen the film on campus Tuesday as part of UM's Communications Week.

But according to Corben, "They invited us and then went out of their way not to promote the event." Corben says only about 20 people showed up for the screening.

Corben posted this note on his Facebook page today:

Tired of being disrespected by the buffoons @univmiami. We come out there, least you can do is promote it. I feel like the Canes in the 80s.

It's not the first time that Corben has been dissed by his Alma mater.

The university refused to cooperate in any way with Corben in the making of The U. The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson wrote last November:

But Corben said UM refused to participate and would not allow the filmmakers to interview coach Randy Shannon, former athletic director Paul Dee or former president Tad Foote, though old sound bites from Foote appear in the film. According to Corben, former coach Dennis Erickson and several former Hurricanes players said they disregarded UM's request that they not grant interviews.

``It upset me to no end,'' Corben said of UM's resistance. ``I felt disrespected and unappreciated by my alma mater. Early on, [UM athletic department spokesman] Mark Pray told me, `You should rethink even doing this project.' It was a display of rudeness, disrespect and ignorance. UM has a persecution complex about that era.'' As a result, Corben said he resigned from UM's Citizens Board, which supports the university's philanthropic efforts and promotes UM's programs.

But Corben is having the last word.

He updated his Facebook page with this broadside:

The usual foolishness. They invite us to screen THE U then deliberately do ZERO promotion for the event: purposefully don't mention us in their press releases, twitter, etc.

This is a University that only cares about the next check you give them. They do not care about their students, alumni, or athletes. It's a big mistake to give them a dime -- especially tuition for a sub par education and useless degree that renders you unemployable in any field but marine biology.

And in what might be the ultimate "eff U," Corben and his crew at Rokontur are beginning pre-production on what they're jokingly referring to as The U 2: 1992-2002.

Corben plans to pick up the story of UM's football program where the first film ended: From 1992 to 2002 starting with the Pell Grant scandals.

This afternoon I asked Corben for more background. He emailed me:

I don't mince words on Facebook, Twitter or anyplace else for that matter; I calls it like I sees it. We really do feel like the 'Canes football players of the '80s: totally disrespected by the University of Miami.

Dia Kontaxis, the director of the motion picture department at the School of Communication was kind enough to invite us to screen the extended cut of the movie as part of their Communication Week events and we graciously accepted. I really love the Cosford Cinema on campus, ever since I took a film history class in there many years ago; it's a great venue and I always enjoy screening our movies there. Then, they deliberately don't promote the event anywhere.

They leave us off their press release, don't Twitter about it, nobody on campus knew anything about it.

Hilariously, they had the temerity to kick-off Communication Week with a seminar on public relations with one of UM's media relations people. That's absurd on its face. UM has the most inept apparatus for public, media and alumni relations of any university in the country. It's Clown Town over there. Amateur hour.

About the sequel: We just had our associate producer, Evan Rosenfeld, start pre-production on our sequel to "The U." He's doing preliminary research and reaching out to people to see who's interested in doing interviews.

We're going to cover 1992-2002. Maybe we'll drift a bit further to cover high-profile stories like the 7th Floor Crew and the arrest of Sports Information Director Rick Korch for having child pornography on his work computer. I've got a half a mind not to do it at all and give UM anymore free publicity. But really it's for the fans and the players who deserve to be recognized after decades of being dissed by our own alma mater. Maybe we should hold out and only do the movie after they replace Mark Pray with John Routh. John would definitely spend less time futzing on his computer playing solitaire and surfing eBay. Plus he knows and loves UM's sports programs as much as anyone on the planet.

The working title is "The U 2," but that's very temporary. The other night at a dinner for the University of Miami Law School's Entertainment & Sports Law Society, Paul Dee asked me if the movie was about Bono and The Edge. We've got time to come up with some different ideas; in fact we're even asking for help on Twitter and Facebook.

WLRN ready to name new Evenin' Jazz host

UPDATED: Erik Maza at Miami New Times has now updated his earlier post and reveals that WLRN's new "Evenin' Jazz" host is Tracy Fields.

Sources tell Random Pixels that WLRN is ready to name a new host for its long-running "Evenin' Jazz" program that has been hosted by Len Pace for over 30 years.

A few weeks ago Miami jazz lovers learned that Pace was planning to retire from his marathon gig at the end of February.

Miami New Times reported at the time that Pace would be replaced by an "automated feed."

Today New Times is reporting that station managers have backed off plans to replace Pace with a computer.

The station hasn't chosen a replacement for Pace yet, but "it has a pretty good idea," [programming director Peter] Jay says.

However, Random Pixels has learned that 'LRN honchos have indeed picked a replacement for Pace.

They plan to name his replacement during an extended edition of Joseph Cooper's "Topical Currents" program on Wednesday that will air from 2 to 3pm and that will pay tribute to Pace.

Jay hosted "Evenin' Jazz" last night and at one point told listeners that the station had picked a replacement for Pace but that the decision was not yet "official."

I've learned who the replacement is but I'm holding back on revealing the name at the request of the source. I can say that the name of the new host will be instantly recognizable to WLRN jazz fans.

A Farewell to Len Pace

Random Pixels has learned that the folks at WLRN are planning a special send-off for jazz DJ Len Pace on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 2pm.

Peter J. Maerz, Radio Programming and Operations Manager at WLRN tells me that the send-off will be a part of Joseph Cooper's "Topical Currents" program which airs weekdays at 1pm.

Cooper's show, will be extended an hour on Wednesday from 2 to 3pm, and will feature a look back at Pace's more than 30 years at WLRN. Pace will appear in-studio with Cooper and other guests.

Pace's last day at WLRN is Feb. 26.

WLRN is using substitute hosts to fill in for Pace on his "Evenin' Jazz" show as he uses up his accrued vacation time.

Killer snakes on the loose!

Some wildlife experts believe it's just a matter of time before Floridians will have to fight daily, pitched battles with invader species - like pythons and iguanas - over the last remaining scraps of food.

Okay; so I made up that up.

But many biologists agree that the proliferation of exotic, non-native species in Florida is a problem that's only getting worse.

The National Geographic Channel tried to put the problem in perspective this past week with its excellent documentary, "Python Wars," which airs again tomorrow.

My friend Jeff Klinkenberg, who writes about Florida for the St. Petersburg Times, wrote about Florida's iguana problem last summer.

My first encounter with an invader snake was over 20 years ago when I photographed wildlife trappers Todd Hardwick and Joe Wasilewski with a 20 ft. long reticulated python they caught under a house in Ft. Lauderdale.

Back then that capture was played on front pages around the world. It was big news. Twenty years later, captures like that are commonplace.


And if all of that isn't enough to scare you, Animal Planet will be airing another killer snake documentary with a scary title next month.

"Killer Aliens" will premiere Sunday, March 14 from 8 to 10 p.m.

The press release describes the program this way:

The Sunshine State is being overrun by lethal Burmese pythons, feral hogs, Nile monitor lizards, and Gambian rats the size of cats - all non-native species that have been imported by humans. These foreign invaders are wreaking havoc on the ecosystem and natural species are being thwarted. With no natural predators, their populations continue to spread rapidly throughout the state, spreading disease, destroying vegetation and crops, preying on native species and in the worst cases harming humans. It's a race against time to fight this ecosystem nightmare.

You've been warned. Now run for your lives!

Thursday night blues

Legendary bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson sings Nine Below Zero