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About Jon
Thank You For Not ...

1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with

FSW2 'Game Reset' Guy or Gal, I Notice You
2004-09-08 09:04
by Jon Weisman

Greetings, Fox Sports West 2 "Game Reset" Guy or Gal:

I come today to talk to you of your art. Of how you stretch the bounds of convention.

Your task - such an odious word - is to produce a package of highlights to air in the late innings of Dodger telecasts on Fox Sports West 2. A recap of innings gone by.

Within this simple project, you have found complexity - and through complexity, pure essence.

You used to sculpt your "Game Reset" by the book. Hmmph - remember that. Snippets of home runs and strikeouts. Narration to explain when they happened, why they were significant. How funny is to look back at those days. How lightheartedly we scoff at such an approach.

You became bored. And why wouldn't you? Sixteen recaps and what do you get? Another game older and deeper in debt.

So you embarked upon a quest. A quest for something greater. For something profound.

You began to test the parameters of the form. You eschewed narration. You showed the home run and the strikeout, the diving catch, but without explanation. You put your work on the television wall, naked - challenging the audience to put the pieces together for themselves. Think, people! you shouted. Use your minds! Breathe!

You found acceptance - a blessing and a curse.

So you dared go further.

Tuesday night, you reached a new plateau. You sat back in your chair, nervous with excitement, as the control-room button of no return was pushed.

Picasso found his Blue Period. Pollock found his paint splatters.

You found ... The Collage of (In)Significant Images.

Your latest "Game Reset" offered a close-up of Adrian Beltre. A shot of a father and his daughter eating dessert in the stands. A few more frames of human existence, completely outside the diamond lines.

And then, just when your audience might fear (hallelujah, you've inspired fear!) you had gone too far, you showed Cesar Izturis running between second and third. An actual play - an insouciant reminder of the conventional.

And yet, even then, you play with our minds. Again, you offer no understanding of what the running Izturis means. You leave it for us to decide. We participate in your work.

You have more than escaped the box. You have transcended it. You eliminated context. You turned your editing machine away from result, focusing solely on feeling. Tell us what happened in tonight's game? Ha ha - here's what happened. Sweat. Speed. Ice cream.

Fox Sports West 2 "Game Reset" Guy or Gal, I notice you. You are an artist. Some might think you have gone too far, that you have strayed beyond your mission. But don't stop now. You can't stop now.

I wouldn't dream of telling you what to do next - but my appetite is whetter than steak at Maestro's. I have my suspicions of what's on your mind, your next voyage of video, your next feat of frame. But I don't want to spoil the surprise. The joy of amazement.

(Arrgh, I can't help myself. I can't hold back my speculation! Might you ... lose the color? Might you ... lose the video altogether? Perhaps a highlights package made up entirely of ... smells???)

Go, Fox Sports West 2 "Game Reset" Guy or Gal. Go, Fox Sports West 2 "Game Reset" Guy or Gal. Go, Fox Sports West 2 "Game Reset" Guy or Gal, go!

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