DC ExtraTime: A MTV'er, Sir Richard, and The Final Frontier

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

It's not often that I get to spill some info in regards to my life outside of this blogging world and the passions I have which are covered on this site, but for this story there's a personal context to it. In this case, my dad (and formerly, my brother in law) work at the Ames Research Center on the campus of the historic Moffatt Field in Mountain View, CA. It is part of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, better known to all of us as NASA, the American space program, which marked an important milestone this past summer.
   It was fifty years ago that the world stopped whatever they were doing in the summer of 1969 to witness to moment that brought a nation much-needed good news to end the turbulent decade of the '60s. Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins ventured on Apollo 11 and the Eagle spaceship up to the moon... and Aldrin stepping foot on the surface and Armstrong's quote "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" remain etched in the collective memory of everyone who lived through that iconic moment of the 20th century.

Digital Trends

A few weeks ago, someone who competed in one of the most famous Challenge elimination battles ever, two-time Challenger and Real World Cancun alum C.J. Koegel (who today turns 35 as this post publishes on Tuesday, November 12), got the chance to add two more well-known persons to those he has crossed paths with, a year after getting to show off dance moves to both those watching daytime and late night talk. This time, he helped to continue a recurring theme of The Challenge in embracing those who come to us from across the pond by meeting one of the world's richest men while getting to model new outfits in the newest generation of the space race... as well as the company that designs the gear that those on the big show get to wear each week.

DC ExtraTime: A Late Night Cop Striptease(!)

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

A world which has long been a big commodity in the television industry has been the world of late night: it's when local stations air their last newscast of the day right as viewers in cities and towns across this country are calling it a night. It's when two MTV series focusing on love of the online and perfect match variety got their start airing opposite that in a precious spot of following a decade-long drama involving generations of baby mamas. There's reruns of sitcoms, syndicated fare and other things to delight those who are in bed, those who are not ready to go to sleep, and those who are just plain insomniacs. And it wasn't that long ago that stations didn't even bother airing these shows, infomercials or overnight news, and just signed off with the national anthem and static.
   The concept of late night television began in the 1950's when NBC began the first incarnation of The Tonight Show, the world's longest-running talk show and the one series that's been on longer than any other entertainment program in U.S. history, joining longtime Peacock stalwarts Today and Meet The Press in having been on since the golden age of TV. It's when Johnny Carson stepped down from his 30-year reign as king of late night that 11:30PM would ultimately become a key time slot of every network's strategy when Jay Leno and David Letterman went from being on after each other after Carson's retirement to when the ladder bolted to CBS as that network's first serious late night player. Soon enough, the likes of Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, James Corden and Seth Myers would join this world, as did someone who got their start in cable land.