Normally, this wouldn't bother me. Perhaps it is because it is Friday. Perhaps it is because I had to watch the Ken Lewis interview. Perhaps it is the chemical burns I have after shaking hands with Robert Rubin the other day. Whatever the case, this threatens to send me screaming into the darkness today:
What possible utility is there in a seven-way split screen? Was some Video Engineers Full Employment Act passed while I wasn't looking?
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:26PM
Didn't you see the Daily Show piece on the Deca-pundit-agog or whatever they called it when they had 10 talking heads on screen at once?
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:26PM
Was it last week they had 10 or was it 12? They need to set it up like the old Hollywood Squares set.
Posted by Equity Private , Feb 06, 2009 12:27PM
It's like men's razor blades. Didn't the Onion do a piece on Gillette skipping the 5 blade generation and going directly to 7 blades to address the "blade gap"?
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:28PM
I prefer Brady Bunch format.
Posted by Lowly Assistant , Feb 06, 2009 12:28PM
Not a fan of the 7/split, but any period of time leaving Dennis Kneale as small as possible is a-okay with me.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:30PM
they had a 10 WAY split the other day
10!!!
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:32PM
@2 - way to steal that joke from bill simmons
Posted by Killjoy , Feb 06, 2009 12:32PM
@EP - Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33930
Posted by Equity Private , Feb 06, 2009 12:33PM
#8:
That's it! Thanks.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:33PM
Yep, they were definitely sporting the Decabox last week. It's like a fucking bingo card.
Instead of calling letters and numbers you just get to mark the square of whichever underachieving douche-nozzle is yammering aimlessly about topics they don't understand.
Thank god for Bloomberg.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:34PM
They need Ann B. Davis on as a guest some day. The one raised eyebrow look when glancing up at Dennis Kneale would be priceless
Posted by CapitolCapital , Feb 06, 2009 12:34PM
I didn't know they remade the brady bunch.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:40PM
CNBC referred to it themselves as the "Octobox" when they had 8 on...
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:41PM
@6 - Its the dacabox !
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:42PM
-40.1% in a month is the new "killing it"
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=al01Y68dX7zU&refer=home
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:43PM
Perhaps they can put Chaz Gasbags in all 7 squares and he can argue with himself.
Bafungili! Ohhhhh!
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:44PM
taking the "twit-split" to its (absurd) conclusion. . . "i'm squeezing your head . . .i'm pinching your face"
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:45PM
It would look better if they all turned around to see the back of the head view.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:50PM
especially when 4 of them are sitting at the same damn desk
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:50PM
@7, shit you might be right, i did read that article a few weeks back.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:51PM
EP - Nice feint maneuver, but the real story here is your "shaking hands with Robert Rubin the other day" comment. Pray tell, was Vik in the room with or without the dunce hat?
Posted by Investorcluzo , Feb 06, 2009 12:52PM
why wasn't chaz included? I'm sure dk would have got him worked up...I want to see maria, dk and chuck discussing the "survivability" of kenny boy. I didn't see the interview (had a mtg), but from the live blog - looks like mb was doing her job as fluffer extraordinaire...
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:54PM
too Sybil - couldn't look
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:55PM
Dylan Ratigan is here among us. I can sense it. He is lurking in the shadows....
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:56PM
@14, its dEcabox you tool!
Posted by BSD , Feb 06, 2009 12:56PM
EP - if instead of hanging with Rubin you spent some time with everyone's favorite midget hedge fund manager/art collector you would be able to appreciate the glory of having 20 streams of useless information shone down upon you.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:57PM
@10
agreed CNBC is baby crying scream-feast. bring erin back to bloomberg and let's never talk of cnbc again.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 12:58PM
C Gaspamocha will be having his lunch today in the Equinox locker room. Clothing is optional. Everyone is invited as long as he gets to scoop you first.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 1:00PM
The number of boxes is a useful metric of economic distress. More boxes = more trouble. Much like the Chris King Headset Composite Index. see
http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2008/11/no-hope-no-pants-ckhci-and-sscxwc.html
I actually doing some modeling around this and hope to be launching a fund shortly.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 1:09PM
Joe Kernan was making fun of the Oct-a-box this morning. He was screaming at the screen, saying he wanted Twelve Boxes, not 10, even though they only had 4 people captured on camera. (I guess it was confirmed they do not have the ability to do twelve boxes.)
The booth, started to put Joe in more than one box, when they were all filled up-- Joe said, ok now everybody start talking/yelling over each other.
They cracked a joke about people "not being up yet" ie they were blatantly making fun of their on air co-workers.
Posted by TheBlackstoneGroupie , Feb 06, 2009 1:09PM
I truly enjoy when Gasbag takes cell phone calls when he is in the Octabox.
And if CNBC does not renew Maria BARFiromo's contract in March, that would improve CNBC so much.
Besides being married to the son of a notorious 1990s "green mailer," what makes her so special??? Kinda scary her birthday in on September 11, and is the same age as my sister.
Actually, just fire Maria and hire Erin Callan to replace her. Erin could then be what she has always dreamed since graduating from Harvard, a "media celebrity!"
Besides, I need Erin to help me with my taxes...how does one file when you receive six K-1 tax schedules in March, but have until October 15 to do it???
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 1:22PM
The point of the split screen and for the moderator to be totally inept is that it enables some of the participants to get out certain things while everyone is yelling. You have to listen very carefully to hear "the truths" that are uttered as they are often missed by everyone talking over one another. This will allow CNBC to say, later on, that they reported this or that. No one says every little tidbit of importance has to be uttered alone by the person taking credit. The best tidbits are uttered during these conversational gang bangs.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 1:26PM
Wasn't Maria one of the original founders of the network? She is not going anywhere. There are way to many people who will "only talk with Maria".
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 1:31PM
@32 unfortunately in my career on the street i have never seen intelligent or successful people work that way....CNBC=EPIC FAIL --just like the old saying for academics, if you can't make it in the real world --> report on it....
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 1:31PM
What is a gourd flute? Should I be long gourd flute?
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 1:40PM
anyone who will only talk to maria does so b/c they know it will be softball city
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 1:51PM
@27 Actually CNBC looks like its trying to decide if it goes the FOX Business way, with its fluzy reporters on the floor being seen going commando, or go highbrow with intelligent anchors a la bloomberg...
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 1:52PM
@27 Erin left Bloomberg because the pay is weak.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 1:55PM
@33- Its "two" not "to" and the period goes inside the apostrafe after "Maria". Unless your from Bermingham.
SPODE
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 2:00PM
Oct-o-box
1. Chaz Gasbagool, live from the mens room of the midtown Palm
2. Dylan Ratigan's half empty bottle of L.A. Looks Gel
3. Erin Burnett's upper thigh
4. Sham-wow dude
5. Ken Lewis in a Slanket
6. Tim Geithner's H&R rep
7. The infamous Charlotte madame
8. Bess, flying over the Hudosn.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 2:19PM
TheBlackstonrGroupie......like your stuff. Concernedcitzen I have missed lately. It looks like you've all got this cable crap all figured out....keep at it and MAYBE someone will listen and DO something.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 2:38PM
@8 who's the dude pictured on the Onion article? they couldn't find a headshot of Kilts?
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 2:53PM
39, pls tell me you're joking and being ironic, slathering your critique with misspellings and all.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 3:01PM
@39 SPODE we all know about Eulalie.
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 4:18PM
EP: Forget Garbagarino- CNBC is Fox II. They cant even keep their own fantasies straight. Sad day whaen we have to turn to sales/marketers desks for the truth. Charlie is deadwood.
Posted by Anal_yst , Feb 06, 2009 4:32PM
@41
Are you insane?
Posted by mw , Feb 06, 2009 4:38PM
fuck Kneale he and Gaspo next to show up at the Pink Slip party
Posted by mw , Feb 06, 2009 4:39PM
fuck Kneale he and Gaspo next to show up at the Pink Slip party
Posted by TheBlackstoneGroupie , Feb 06, 2009 4:52PM
I have my admirers, Anal_probe :p
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 5:28PM
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING PEOPLE?
THERE ARE TWO WAYS HOW I USE THOSE BOXES:
1. as a dart board
2. target shooting (using plastic gun with rubber).
yes, I'm employed just in case someone would ask how's unemployment treating me
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 5:29PM
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING PEOPLE?
THERE ARE TWO WAYS HOW I USE THOSE BOXES:
1. as a dart board
2. target shooting (using plastic gun with rubber).
yes, I'm employed just in case someone would ask how's unemployment treating me
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 5:38PM
#s 50 and 51
sorry, i didn't mean to send it twice
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 5:59PM
ALERT ! Note your calendar.
Erin Burnett needs Octo-box,too, on Streetsigns this coming Monday,the 9th, from 2-3pm. The boxes would be arranged in the order of box #:
1- Erin reporting live from Dubai
2- Erin reporting live from India
3- Erin reporting live from Russia
4- Erin reporting live from Libya
5- Erin reporting live from Estonia
6. Erin reporting live from London
7- Erin reporting live from Turkey
8- Erin reporting live from Yemen
Posted by guest , Feb 06, 2009 6:25PM
Erin Burnett is to be crowned as "the Most Well-travelled Business Anchor" for 2008.
No wonder some NBCU employees were issued pink slips.
Posted by stimpy tec , Feb 06, 2009 11:58PM
It reminds me of Mortal Kombat character selection.
Posted by guest , Feb 07, 2009 10:50AM
The best part is when they show the people from the top row standing next to each other a few minutes later.
Posted by guest , Feb 07, 2009 12:13PM
I hear the trading floor at Morgan STanley switches over to Fox Business now at noon and they turn up the volume at 2 when hot-lips Claman comes on. CNBC who?
Posted by guest , Feb 07, 2009 12:22PM
# 57
make sense to me....Erin "Bitchy" Burnett didn't like the fact that CIC has 10% stake in Morgan Stanley. Burnett who? There's a dumb one at 2-3 pm.
Posted by guest , Feb 07, 2009 12:43PM
interesting...
the company I work with switches channel,too.
Posted by guest , Feb 07, 2009 12:43PM
interesting...
the company I work with switches channel,too.