The San Bernardino County Sun from San Bernardino, California • Page 31

Scientists restoring an Egyptian tombD2 Geraldo Rivera jumps into the TV talk-show battleD4 Don't listen to those mystery callers: Ann LandersD3 TT 0 The Sun TUESDAY September 8, 1987 ctrv Couples have a big need for small talk I 4 mJkf4fV jL if- Jiii One of KVCR's guests years back was Tom Brokaw, who now serves as anchor for 'NBC Nightly I "3 Redbook magazine Some American couples have trouble making small talk, and this can mean big trouble in their marriages. It has been estimated that spouses spend considerably less than an hour a week talking to each other. In a recent study, Gregory Brock, chairman of the Family Studies Department at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and Thomas Holman, associate professor of family sciences at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, found that the amount of time spouses spend talking to each other reveals more about the state of their marriage than any other factor. Without conversation, partners lose touch with each other and too often the relationship ends. Part of the problem is "manspeak," which Steve Naifeh and Gregory Smith, authors of "Why Can't Men Open Up," define as "part English, part code, part sign language." Women who can't translate manspeak, they said, often assume their husbands are uncaring or indifferent.

Husbands who underestimate the importance of conversation may lack basic listening skills while their wives lack the skills needed to draw them out. Naifeh and Smith believe that "inside every closed man is an intimate man waiting to be reached." One of the best ways to break the sound barrier is to think, and talk, small. Small talk can be about anything the office, the neighborhood, the boss, the baby, the plumbing, the company picnic, the morning paper or the evening news. "When you just sit down and talk, that says, 'I care about Holman said. "Whatever you say, the fact that you're willing to talk and listen to each other is a sign of For example, you might talk aboutthe condition of your lawn or the pipes inyour basement.Ttvat's"what Wakes marriage so neat, you can talk about the tiniest details of your life with each other." Tips on talking to your husband Even when you start small, getting your husband to talk isn't easy, here are some guidelines from the experts: Learn his language.

Listen to what your husband says when he talks to his friends. He will talk about what he knows, not what he feels. Brock and Holman found most small talk is short, lasting maybe a minute and a half at most. But it is a "high-frequency event" something that happens dozens of times a day. Couples can fit a lot of conversation into the most hectic day you can even squeeze in small talk during television commercials.

Take an interest in his interests. If you are interested in him, find out what intrigues him about his favorite sport. Ask questions, what he thinks of a new movie or book, or the latest political scandal. Don't assume your interests won't interest him. Hearing about your day will help him feel closer to the entire family.

Involve him in household decisions. Couples may fall into ruts when they divided household responsibilities into "his" and "hers" chores. Don't automatically assume your husband isn't interested in something you usually handle. Say something nice to him every day. When troubled couples consult Holman, he tells them they must find something to compliment each other about every day.

Nothing draws out a man like positive feedback. ALAN WARRENThe Sun Chuck Cacciola, chief engineer for KVCR-TV, stands in the station's studio at San Bernardino Valley College. A sampler of offerings KVCR-TV to celebrate 25 years of broadcasting clips from the early days of the TV industry. Among the programs aired have been Elvis Presley's first ap- pearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show." Airs Thursdays at 2:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 p.m.

Three programs alternate to fill the 7:30 p.m Monday timeslot, repeating at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday: "Impacto" Alfredo Gonzalez hosts a program in Spanish about happenings in the Hispanic community. "Ebony Issues" Host Wilma Cochrane focuses on the black community. "College Close Up" A magazine-style format showcases functions on the campuses of Valley College and Crafton Hills Community College. Dorothy Campbell hosts.

Volunteers make KVCR's local programs work. All the hosts donate their time for organizing and producing the shows. Here is a list of what's available and who makes it happen: "Dialogues" Hosts Chuck Palmer and Nancy Sidhu interview various local residents and prominent visitors. Guests have included former Sen. S.I.

Hayakawa, speaking on the issue of whether English should be the nation's official language. "Dialogues" airs Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. and Tuedays at 2:30 p.m. "On Call" Charles Roberts mediates this call-in program that allows viewers to voice their opinions on local topics. Guests debate the issues and field questions.

Airs Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. "I Remember Television" Ed Rothaar organizes this show featuring By BETTY SHIMABUKURO Sun Staff Writer SAN BERNARDINO There was panic in the control room. Local dignitaries aplenty filled the studio, the governor (Edmund G. Brown Sr.) had just delivered an address via videotape. "We were on the air a total of 15 minutes they were all through with the dedication and getting ready to put on the first show of the evening and the transmitter dumped," chief engineer Chuck Cacciola recalls.

"A little 15-cent capacitor went out. That was quite an evening. We didn't go back on the air until the next night." That was 25 years ago. An inauspicious beginning for On Friday KVCR, Channel 24, celebrates its silver anniversary 25 years of broadcasting from the basement of North Hall on the campus of San Bernardino Valley College. It was Southern California's first Public Broadcasting Service station, and the first in the nation owned by a community college.

No celebration is planned; there's no money in the budget for such frivolous things. Station executives and crew more likely will be thinking about tomorrow, and reflecting, with no small amount of pride, on what this tidy little station has accomplished on behalf of a school and a community. Besides serving up a full See KVCRD2 Box-office returns put summer on track for record season ever. Krier said an 1987 industry box-office record was all but assured. The goal is to surpass the record $4.1 billion movie year in 1984, which featured such summer megahits as "Ghostbusters," "Gremlins," "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." This year already has seen six movies surpass the $50 million mark at the box office, led by "Beverly Hills Cop II" with $150 million.

"The Untouchables" rang in $73 million, "Secret of My Success" $65 million, "Lethal Weapon" $64 million, "Witches of Eastwick" $60 million" and Dragnet" $52 million. said Exhibitor Relations president John Krier. The larger choice of films obviously drew people into theaters more often, Krier said. But the burgeoning video-cassette sales and rental market, once feared by the studios, may be responsible for the box-office increase. "Videocassettes have worked to the good of the industry," Krier said.

"They have created more interest in motion pictures and have been responsible for more financing of motion pictures." After a record $1 billion spring season, the studios hurried with a batch of new releases to coincide with the traditional warm-weather explosion of mov-iegoing. The same strategy is being ily Variety. "And 1987 is going to be a record box-office year." Lured by such hits as "The Untouchables," "Secret of My Success" and "Lethal Weapon," movie buffs have spent $2.7 billion for tickets thus far in 1987, compared with $2.3 billion spent during the period last year. Grosses are 16 percent ahead of last year. Last weekend, the box-office take was $89 million, compared to $83 million for the period in 1986.

But rather than a few blockbusters, the 1987 summer season has featured a large group offilms. "The summer pictures this year didn't perform as well as the top ones last year, but there were more films," used to keep up the momentum this fall. Autumn is traditionally the lull between the bonanzas of summer and Christmas, but the industry will try to keep the turnstiles spinning with releases that include "The Glass Menagerie," directed by Paul Newman and starring Joanne Woodward; and "The Dead," John Huston's adaptation of the James Joyce story. Exhibitor Relations, which tracks box-office figures and trends, has counted 104 films for release in September, October and November while 64 appeared in those months last year. It will be the popularity of these films that will determine whether 1987's box office will be the biggest By JEFF WILSON Associated Press HOLL YWOO With the final returns just about in from Hollywood's hottest summer movie season ever, studio executives are banking on an unusually long string of fall releases to make 1987 a record year at the box office.

The pace was on track to set a seasonal record as the official summer box-office season headed for a close Monday. "This summer should reach about $1.6 billion, just a smidgen over 1984's record $1.58 billion," said analyst Art Murphy of the industry trade paper Da a "ii ir iH a m.j it i. i a a.