My ACM recap

First of all I LOVE Reba. She is such a great host! I miss Vince Gill hosting. I think he hosts the CMA's. The opening song was cool with Brooks and Dunn sprinkled in with Sugarland, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. I thought it was weird they were singing their hits that were from last year. Interesting tatoo on Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland. Didn't care for Kellie Pickler's dress. The gold matches her skin color making you wonder is there a dress on or not?? Jennifer Nettles dress when they accepted the Group of the Year award - wow - can really bend over at the waist on that one. When Jamey Johnson won song of the year the other nominees and people in the crowd looked shocked like who is this guy that one?? Brad Paisely gave a cute acceptance speech from home - can't blame him. I loved Matthew McConaughey's story and Carrie Underwood's acceptance speach for Entertainer of the Year. I must admit I didn't think she had a chance to win.

March Madness

So far very exciting. I can't believe Syracuse and UConn went 6 OT's and how about Pitt - they beat the #1 team twice and then stub their toe on West Virginia. I hope some of these teams don't peak too soon. I hope CSU makes it to the Sweet 16 again!

Enough with the dead chimp, please!

Every few news cycles (which is to say every few hours) there is a super hot story that I regard as a complete non-story. What I mean is there is no reason a serious news organization should cover it because there is no benefit to be had by sharing with the public in great detail every bit of information. 

Stay with me. The peanut processing plant/salmonella story is news. You could die if you eat the wrong brand of peanut butter and crackers. The recently passed legislation is news because it will either ruin or save the country. Depends if you are watching NBC or FOX.

One story that is headlining everywhere is the crazed chimp story. Why? What are the chances that 99 ^44/100 of us are ever going to bump into a domesticated chimp. You pretty much have to seek out an encounter with a lower primate living as a slacker man-child.

 So the minute-by-minute BREAKING NEWS and UPDATES are not really in the interest of public safety or edification. They are driven by entertainment . Sorry, news people, I'm not entertained by the 911 call.  I don't really care to hear what Travis' "mom" has to say in recounting the details. 

My breaking point came when I visited my favorite local station's website (WKYC.com) and saw splashed at the top of the page -  ALERT: Woman mauled by chimp being treated at Cleveland Clinic.

If you work at a modern broadcast news establishment I'd imagine you must be pretty demoralized by now. You probably went to school to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." Now you've been reduced to Bonzo Goes Berserk. 

And too think February sweeps were delayed this year.

OK Disney - Why "Shamrock Day"?

With four little boys in the house, we inevitably will tune into Playhouse Disney. Most of the programming is enjoyable, and there are no commercials for toys, sugary cereal or whatever is being pimped to the kiddies on other channels.

I can sit through the multicultural PC stuff. Comes with the territory.

However, I saw something on the Playhouse Disney website that really "got my Irish up"! They are promoting party ideas for "Shamrock Day". See the picture of Mickey Mouse in a leprechaun hat.

I "get" that we all are encouraged to drop the Saint from St. Valentine's Day. It's about hearts and flowers. Have some candy hearts with corny or risque saying and pay no attention to that bishop and martyr.

But it does not work so well for St. Patrick's Day. I suppose you can call it St. Paddy's Day to make it a little more festive. But then you still have that problematic reminder that this is a day to honor a specific individual. And he was - please cover the children's ears - Catholic. It gets worse. He was a member of the clergy.

Hope your brogans are buckled tight. I've heard that some people actually observe this day by starting it in church.

So what is a multicultural politically correct network to do? It seems to only workaround is to rename it after a member of the clover family.

I would love to see the look on the faces of folks who came up with this solution when they find out the only reason anyone cares about the shamrock. Dig it, this dude Patrick used it to explain the Trinity to heathens. I expect next year we will find out all about Pot 'o Gold Day from Disney.

UPDATE: they are still at it in 2010 - Try to find the name Patrick or any mention of Ireland.

A little Chlorine in the Gene Pool!

125 fisherman rescued, one dead on Lake Erie. They apparently had built a bridge of pallets to reach the outer ice flow. Guess what? The pallets drifted away!

The kind of stimulus we can do without

I saw this first at The Corner at National Review. Reason.tv has a little fun with the snake oil we are being sold.

the steelers

Notice that I omitted capital letters? When you despise a team as much as I do, it makes a certain amount of sense. Don't want to show too much respect.

OK, the steelers are world champions. They played a great game. Sure. Blah, blah, blah, & blah. If you listen to the local media, you would swear that the entire team is made up N/E Ohioans. Not so. It's gotten to the point that the local media is fawning over the steelers.

Here comes the point of this post. The Cleveland/pittsburg rivalry is dead, and has been for quite some time. The local media wants to make sure that Mangini understands what the rivalry means. Does he understand it? Does he know the history? Will he ensure that the players understand the rivalry and its history? Excuse me! Where have you been?

In order for there to be a rivalry, there has to be, at the very least, a SNOWBALL'S CHANCE IN HELL that the two rivals will compete on a level field. Right. There should be some doubt as to who will win. We haven't seen that in what, 14 years? Truth be told, we haven't seen a competetive rivalry since the 1960s.

If you care to log onto www.nfl.com, you can look at the cold, hard stats. For the first three decades of the the Browns/steelers matchups, the Browns dominated. The steelers sucked-out-loud when it came to the win-loss column. They did, however, play the Browns competetively. The rivalry was born. Then, when the Browns began their decline (insert: "bradshaw"), they still played the steelers like it meant something.

Until Cleveland can field a team that stands a chance of beating the steelers, the rivalry is dead. Currently, the Browns are a joke in pittsburg. Need proof? Travel to pittsburg and take a look at the sidewalk vendors. The most popular t-shirt reads, "IT'S SO EASY TO BEAT THE BROWNS".

LJ

Eight Babies

Just caught the full story of the wonderful mother who gave birth to eight wonderful babies. The story broke through the British media (not the BBC). It is as bad as anyone could possibly imagine.

They name her (I won't). She already had six kids. She's 31. Never been married, no "boyfriend". No job ("professional student"). Lives off of parents and our tax-paying dime. Worked or volunteered for a time at a fertility clinic (presumably long enough to zero in on a donor or two). I can't make this stuff up.

Have at it! I'll comment later when I've fully digested how we've gotten to this point.

Limber Joe

Drumming up support?

I'm asking anyone who may have been in a marching unit...oh...perhaps even a pipe band...what to make of the story embedded below. I think there is more to the suspension of this drum major (or is he a pipe major?) than a wink and a nod.

Come to think of it, why are the anchors supporting this guy for such a harmless gesture? Wasn't Sarah Palin regarded as a ditzy yokel because of a wink and a nod? Could these reports be biased? You betcha!

Update: Check out the comments for an authoritative analysis.

Advice form the Bush girls to the Obama girls

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

And they didn't even get a chalupa

A high school girls basketball game got a little lopsided in Texas as The Covenant School defeated Dallas Academy 100-0 in a recent contest. Now the winning team has issued an apology and requested the game be recorded as a forfeit.  

There is no mercy rule in girls basketball that shortens the game or permits the clock to continue running when scores become lopsided. There is, however, "a golden rule" that should have applied in this contest, said Edd Burleson, the director of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. Both schools are members of this association, which oversees private school athletics in Texas.

"On a personal note, I told the coach of the losing team how much I admire their girls for continuing to compete against all odds," Burleson said. "They showed much more character than the coach that allowed that score to get out of hand. It's up to the coach to control the outcome."

Firstly. You KNOW this is not the pro game. In the pro game it is not up to the coaches to control the outcome. It is up to the referee who has a little wager involving the game who controls the outcome.

Secondly, just what was the other option for the losing team?  They continued to compete against all odds. Yes. What else where they to do? Walk off and have some pizza? Start a fight and hope to get ejected?

I'm just hoping that these teams face off in an alumni game in 15 years or so. Time tends to level the playing field - or court as it were.

Inauguration 2009

I enjoyed watching all the events unfold for our new president. Just a few things I observed. I can't say that I would do this any better but I think Michelle looks awkward at times. Like when she greeted Mr & Mrs Bush. I don't know if she knew whether to hug or kiss on the cheek. One other observation I made is that she is very very tall. I guess I didn't realize this. Also I was disappointed she didn't grab Obama's butt during one if the "First Dances" at the balls.

My son, the future investigative reporter

John came home from school today with a Barack Obama coloring book. A beautiful commemorative edition ready for individual crayon customization. It was a mini-biography of the president-elect. A whirlwind tour of Hawaii, Indonesia, Kenya, Chicago and DC.

On the last page it asks "If you could ask the President to do something, what would it be?" I misread it and asked John "If you could ask Barack Obama one thing, what would it be?" (I told him I'd ask him what his favorite baseball team is.) John thought for a moment and said "Where did you get all your money?"

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

The Boys of the NYPD Choir Still Singing Galway Bay

It's Christmas time again.  I'm very sentimental and love the Perry Como/Bing Crosby catalog, but I also think this song is brilliant. (RIP Kristy McColl)

Tackle Me Elmo

Patrick was given an Elmo Live doll for his second birthday. The brothers "welcomed" him into our home in typical boy fashion.

Santa Drives a Truck

Every year I lament the musical injustice that Rob Ervin's "Santa Drives a Truck" is not in heavy rotation and making a mint in royalties for my old WBGU-FM radio buddy.

In hopes that there will be sweater-in-the-drugstore moment, I share Santa Drives a Truck with you on Amaze.fm.

And If you are an A&R person looking for talent, I think I can get in touch with him for you.

Update: Thanks, everybody! Song of the Week!

Snobs on Parade - NYT and Wendy's

Timothy Egan wrote a column in the New York Times decrying the very thought of Joe the Plumber getting a book deal. It is ripe with the worst kind of elitist claptrap. Tim Blair at the Daily Telegraph fisked it quite nicely.

When writers, painters or musicians whimper about the world being unfair because they, their friends or some other creative-types are not living the easy life or  - God forfend - are not suitably famous, I want to whisper "This is why capitalism is so wonderful." Really. Grow up. We are just not that in to you.

This latest exhibit reminds me of a TV ad running for Wendy's. It shows a security guard, an administrative assistant and one other representative of the working class (perhaps and auto mechanic) speaking in glowing terms about the latest samiches from the cartoon redhead. Not Ronald McDonald, the girl with pigtails. 

The "humor" in this ad is that these pedestrian slobs are using "foodie" language. You see, if you are a mere administrative assistant or night watchman you are unable to use the same language found in magazine or newspaper restaurant reviews. Perhaps you have seen some chefs on the idiot box, but you probably like Paula Dean most. Crinckle nose here.

The imagination runs wild. To make a TV ad that actually brightens my cathodes, a writer has to write it, an actor has to read it, a director has to tell 'em where to stand, a client has to review it, an editor then has to re-edit it to make the shot dwell on the logo for one more second.  Not to mention the focus group. Do you mean to tell me not ONE of the people in this herd didn't raise a hand and question if this might be in poor taste?

Update: Just saw the commercial again. It seems the occupations are welder and parking garage attendant. My premise is unchanged.

Turkeys Away - Still the Best 30 Years Later

It was 1978 when this episode of WKRP in Cincinnati first aired. I think I went into radio because of this show.

Cranberry Sauce Fan?