The Andrew Extravaganza

This post will remain at the top of the front page until the end of May. Check in here for Smack-Off news, betting odds, and a review of the contest. Check out complete audio from past Smack-Offs at my History of the Smack-Off page.

The Announcement

The date of the 2009 Smack-Off has been set. The 15th edition of the annual event will take place on Friday, May 8th, 2009. Mark your calendars.


The Official Smack-Off Promo

Alvin Delloro has cut an official promo for the event, you can check out Alvin's work here.


OFFICIAL RESULTS

1. Brad in Corona
2. Mike in Indy
3. Vic in NoCal
4. Greg in Vegas
5. Iafrate
6. Trapper in Dana Point
7. Josh in Grand Rapids
8. Rachel in Houston
9. Terrence in Sierra Madre
10. Jay Mohr


MY RANKINGS

The Xr4Ti's top ten is fucked: Trapper and Josh? Really? The rest of the spots you can make an argument for, but Trapper and Josh?

Call me crazy, but I like to hear a few sports takes mixed into a winning call, but the crew must feel differently. Brad's call was great, but not quite a winner in my opinion. Apologies to Brad and Mike, my odds severely underrated your game.

This was a very solid event from top to Nezrin, arguably the best ever. The following list is how I ranked the field upon the initial listen. This was a really tough field to slot and my opinion will likely change upon a second listen. The calls and my analysis of them will be up some time next week.

1. Vic in NoCal
2. Greg in Vegas
3. Jay Mohr
4. Brad in Corona
5. Iafrate
6. Chad in Portland
7. Mike in Indy
8. Terrence in Sierra Madre
9. Steve Carbone
10. Rachel in Houston
11. Bodie in Pearland
12. Trapper in Dana Point
13. Silk in Huntington Beach
14. Joe in the O.C.
15. Josh in Grand Rapids
16. Nezrin

Clearly the future of the Smack-Off is bright.



The State of the Smack-Off

I have never been less excited about a Smack-Off.

At least that is how I felt a couple weeks ago. I have since come around, but as someone who spent countless hours building a website dedicated to the Smack-Off, my waning enthusiasm was puzzling to say the least.

I needed to get to the bottom of this, so I grabbed my pipe and quickly withdrew to the study. Pacing relentlessly, I pondered the state of the Jungle and every possible angle to the Smack-Off. After many hours lost in thought I finally came to a conclusion:

The Smack-Off is at an important crossroads and this year’s event is critical to the future viability of the contest.

In 1995 the Smack-Off emerged from the primordial ooze of bad calls and provided a habitat for the Legends to feast upon the weaklings. They thrived. They were the cream of the crop and dominated what began as a local southern California show.

From 1997 to 1999 the show slowly grew a national following. The evolutionary process marginalized formerly above average callers and cast them in with the weaklings; their air time was soon taken by talented callers from the new affiliates. Some of the talented new callers emerged as Legends in their own right.

In 2000 the first cataclysmic event occurred, the contraction of the show from four to three hours. Over the next few years many Legends became extinct.

In 2003 and 2004 a few new contenders rose up to contend with the Legends and proved themselves formidable smackers over the ensuing years.

From 2005 to the present day the smack elites have remained unchallenged despite several waves of new regular callers.

What's my point?

New caller talent has been introduced throughout the long and storied history of the Smack-Off. The new talent has always been enough to offset the disappearance of aging Legends. The problem is that we are currently in a drought period.

Check out the top five of every Smack-Off since 2005. Rachel in Houston is the only new wave caller to crack that list, and she never had a realistic shot at the crown.

The new wave callers are pussies. They are bringing weak takes on the big day and they sing too much. In short, the new wave callers need to step their game up.

Sure Jim takes less calls, and sure he has a soft spot for the Legends. But go back and listen to the calls from the new guys. For every good call that the crew snubs by a couple of spots in the rankings there are three other new guys who crapped their pants.

It's time for Vic in NoCal to finally live up to his vast potential. If Vic is not up to the task, then anyone will do. We just need someone to distinguish themselves from the rest of the weaklings and lead the new breed to Smack-Off success.

I am optimistic that this could finally be the year the new wave makes its mark.


Predicted Top 10

This is how I think the rankings might shake out once the dust settles on Friday. At this point I think whether or not Doc Mike calls is a coin flip.

My predictions as of Wednesday night:

Rank	Clone	Comments
1	Joe in the O.C.	Four out of six years in the top three, Joe is consistent and ready to claim the crown.
2	Greg in Vegas	I expect good things, but how will he sabotage himself: a Dom Deluise blast, maybe Jack Kemp, Danny Gans, or Bea Arthur? A lot of landmines out there for Greg to avoid.
3	Vic in NoCal	He'll show up this year.
4	Doc Mike DiTolla
5	Iafrate	Reportedly will attempt to call, but not a lock so he probably won't have his 'A' game.
6	Terrence in Sierra Madre	He's tried everything over the years, what can he do that hasn't failed him before?
7	Steve Carbone
8	Jay Mohr	He'll spend too much time on Vic to score big points.
9	Dan in D.C.
10	Chad in Portland

The Odds

This year's event is top heavy, as it usually is, with old school guys. However, I like Vic's chances in this thing. He's been a disappointment up to this point, but he is too clever and too funny to fail again; he needs to finish in the top three or better.

There are enough solid contributers invited this year, somebody is bound to elevate their smack enough to crack that top five level. Will it be Brad in Corona, Vic, Chad, Mike in Wichita, or Corey in Ann Arbor? I don't know but I do have a good feeling about this group.

As of Wendesday night:

Odds	Clone	Comments
4-1	Iafrate	Stepped right out of the Cablinasian's shadow to take control of the Smack-Off.
5-1	Joe in the O.C.	I thought he won last year, always a force.
6-1	Greg in Vegas	I hope he wins. Consistently good and pushes the line of good taste.
7-1	Terrence in Sierra Madre	The People's Champ, but his window is probably almost closed.
8-1	Steve Carbone	Screamers do well in this thing.
8-1	Doc Mike DiTolla	Great call last year. If I knew for sure that he'd call then he'd be going off at 5-1.
15-1	Vic in NoCal	It's now or never. Clearly the best regular caller of the last few years, I hope he isn't on the Terrence trajectory. I liked what I heard from his traditional Wednesday call; sure it sucked, but that just means he will be saving the good material for Friday. Smart play.
18-1	Jay Mohr	I enjoy his work, but a pro gets graded tough.
20-1	Casey in Vegas	Had a great early calling career but has faded over the years.
20-1	Dan in D.C.	He's been out of the game for a long time, but check out his body of work, much better than a 42-1 odds caller.
20-1	Oren in Denver	He runs good smack, but can he put a good call together?
20-1	Chad in Portland	The only singing clone I can stand, solid caller.
25-1	Jeff in Richmond	Once a year is still too often for his tired shtick.
25-1	Trapper in Dana Point	Not really a Smack-Off style caller.
30-1	Rachel in Houston	Past her prime.
30-1	Mike in Wichita	I was amused by the Natasha Richardson take, he's solid enough. As hard as he has been made to work to get in, maybe Rome just doesn't like him very much?
35-1	Silk in Huntington Beach	He doesn't do well in these things.
40-1	Brad in Corona	This guy is solid, I like his chances to crack the top ten.
45-1	Corey in Ann Arbor	He made a good first Smack-Off call last year, he could make some noise.
50-1	Jeff on a car phone in Phoenix	Legendary flame-outs.
50-1	J.D. in Nashville	A one trick pony.
55-1	Irie Craig	An old schooler but not a Smack-Off caliber caller.
65-1	Josh in Grand Rapids	A late add. He's had to scrap for the invite, how much is left in the tank?
75-1	John in C-Town	He sucks. Lunch with the Monkey.
80-1	Jeffrey E. DiTolla	He's been in retirement since 2001, a call this year would be a major surprise.
85-1	Mike in Indy	He made one amusing call, but he's not going to win.
85-1	Gino in San Antonio	A great caller from long ago, but has not appeared in a Smack-Off since 2001.
85-1	Smooth Joe in Hollywood	I have no opinion on Joe, but it's safe to assume he won't win.
100-1	Otis in Austin	Otis is terrible. Once your ears are calibrated to decipher his drawling grumble you come to the realization that he is not the least bit funny and has nothing original to say. Please don't call ever again.
150-1	Bodie in Pearland	I hope he doesn't waste our time with a call. He was slightly amusing last year, but someone else could do more with the air time.
150-1	Jim in Fall River	A Legend, but he hasn't called since 2004.
250-1	J.T. the Brick	Not going to call.
250-1	Nezrin	Just say Jackson a lot, that's your best play.

Over/Under Bets:

17.0	Total number of calls taken
5.5	Calls taken in the first hour
6.5	Calls taken in the second hour
5.0	Calls taken in the third hour
2.5	Times the buzzer is wielded
4.0	Number of past winners that call

Odds for the winner coming out of each hour:

9-1	First Hour
4-3	Second Hour
5-1	Third Hour

Post a comment to '2009 Smack-Off'

Apples to Apples last night, the green apple card is "Saintly". Against my loud protests, a Helen Keller red apple card easily claims the victory.

How do you get Helen Keller to keep a secret? Break her fingers.

I have three main problems with Helen Keller:
1. The inordinate amount of time spent learning about her in elementary school.
2. She only had three senses, the hero worship is inexplicable.
3. Her radical socialist politics.

If Helen Keller fell down in the woods, would she make a sound?

Complaints one and two are closely related. More than anything else, the lessons on Helen Keller remain at the forefront of my elementary school memories. What a terrible shame. American history if rife with fully functioning, five-sensed figures on whom to focus our ill-founded hero worshiping tendencies.

I will grant that Helen Keller overcame great adversity. How frustrating and isolating it must be for a child to lack something so simple and basic as the ability to communicate. But isn't the real hero her teacher, Anne Sullivan? Of course.

Helen persevered more out of necessity than out of great character and virtue. Anne Sullivan was the saintly one. It must have required limitless patience and understanding to put up with a pouty, young Helen. If we truly feel the need to lift one of these characters into the pantheon of great American heroes, then please let it be Anne Sullivan, the four-sensed saint.

How do you punish Helen Keller? By rearranging the living-room furniture.

In a 1920 speech at the Rand School, Helen Keller spoke eloquently of the newly formed Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic: "In the East a new star is risen! With pain and anguish the old order has given birth to the new, and behold in the East a man-child is born! Onward, comrades, all together! Onward to the campfires of Russia! Onward to the coming dawn!"

Why couldn't Helen Keller play on her high school football team? Because she's a girl.

Helen Keller joined the Socialist party of Massachusetts in 1909 and later joined the Industrial Workers of the World. Perhaps if she had operated more as a moderate than a card-carrying radical socialist, maybe she could have effected more change.

What was Helen Keller's favorite color. Corduroy

Naive rhetoric extolling the virtues of the Soviet state aside, it is actually her post-college days as a social activist that deserve the most respect. Keller risked her celebrity to champion the cause of the working class and poor. Speaking (ha!) on equality of opportunity:

"I had once believed that we were all masters of our fate--that we could mould our lives into any form we pleased...I had overcome deafness and blindness sufficiently to be happy, and I supposed that anyone could come out victorious if he threw himself valiantly into life's struggle. But as I went more and more about the country I learned that I had spoken with assurance on a subject I knew little about. I forgot that I owed my success partly to the advantages of my birth and environment...Now, however, I learned that the power to rise in the world is not within the reach of everyone."

Remember the Helen Keller doll? You'd wind her up and watch her walk into walls.

A case could be made that Helen Keller was saintly in her social activism, but I'm not convinced that adjective is appropriate. Virtuous? More apt. Courageous, determined, intelligent, socially conscious, radical, mute. Any of those would be a better choice than saintly.

Post a comment to 'Blind, Deaf, & Dumb'

This post will remain at the top of the front page until May. Check in here for Smack-Off news, betting odds, and a review of the contest. Check out complete audio from past Smack-Offs at my History of the Smack-Off page.

The Announcement

The date of the 2008 Smack-Off was announced last week. The 14th edition of the annual event will take place on Friday, April 25th. Mark your calendars.


The Cablinasian Ruled Ineligible

The announcement was accompanied by a bombshell: Sean the Cablinasian, five-time winner of the event, will be ineligible to participate. The reason behind this ruling is that Sean is employed by a rival station to Rome's affiliate in the Houston market.

Listen to Jim explain the ruling on the 2/21/08 show.

Sean is the co-host (along with the extremely knowledgeable John Harris) of an afternoon show on 1560 The Game in Houston. It's a great show and you should take advantage of the streaming audio that is offered on their site. Unfortunately, the Jungle airs on Sports Radio 610, which is otherwise devoid of quality programming after Lance Zierlein and John Granato moved to the upstart independent 1560. I believe that Sean had every intention of calling this year, provided he was still invited, but it appears the bitches at 610 have made this impossible.

As a result of this development the 2008 crown is wide open for the taking; Seanie the smack juggernaut is out of action for the foreseeable future. Will this diminish the accomplishment of the new champion? Barring a legendary effort the answer is undoubtedly yes.

One positive is that the door is now open for Terrence in Sierra Madre or Greg in Vegas to lay claim to their first title. They had better take advantage of the opportunity before Sean breaks out his #45 jersey and returns hungrier than ever.

Finally, here is a post Sean made over at Stucknut:

For what it's worth, I am looking forward to the Smack-Off this year as much as any of you are, if not more so. It will actually be kind of fun to sit back and listen to the calls without sitting there and wondering what to say in my acceptance speech. (Sorry, I had to start this post with some sort of cocky "I am the man" comment. I'm not really that way -- most of the time.)

A few thoughts after reading all of the posts on this topic:

- The nickname "The Casually Aging" is pretty good, although anyone who has seen pictures of me from ten years ago and compares them to now knows that I am aging anything but casually. I"ve aged worse than Brian Doyle Murray between Caddyshack and Wayne's World. Personally, "The Babblinasian" is the runaway winner for best satirical Cablinasian nickname. For what it's worth, "Clone-inasian" from Iafrate was a reach and kind of lame.

- I get a kick out of how worked up everyone gets over the fact that I keep winning this thing despite the facts that (1) I call once a year, and (2) my calls are formulaic in nature (i.e. Duke take, Peter King take, "I am better than all of you" take, shake, WIN!, repeat). Don't you think that if there were a requirement for me to call once a month or once a week to defend my crown that I could do that? I mean it's not like it takes months to cook up a phone call to the Rome Show. It's not rocket science. My last three calls that have won the Smack-Off were concocted the morning of the event. But I have a lifetime exemption (or I did until last week) --- so I use it. As for the formulaic nature of my calls, I think that's been overblown a little bit by everyone. That said, if you've found something that works, wouldn't you repeat it? If a team ran the same play over and over again and it was working, why would they stop using it? The old saying goes that the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again expecting different results. I am the opposite of insanity; I've found something that works and I'll repeat it over and over again until someone stops me (or until I'm banned from the show for getting my own show on a competitor's station). If you don't like the content of my calls, that's one thing, but bashing me for using the same formula each year is silly because it obviously achieves the desired goal which is winning.

- I would tend to agree that it would be cool if Rome gave something like 1/5th of the vote for the Smack-Off to the listeners via a web poll (with himself, Travis, Jason, and Alvin being the other 4/5ths). It would be progressive and well received. That said, I'm pretty sure Terrence could fart into his phone for four minutes and get about 85% of the web vote. (For the record, I think Terrence is hilarious, but the love he has from web clones is off the charts.)

- For what it's worth, I actually think my two runner-up calls (2000, 2004) were better than at least two of my calls that won. And I probably didn't desrve all five of the titles I have, but I'm not giving any of them back. That big pile of nothing that I got for winning each of them? Well, it's MY pile of nothing, and I'm not giving it back.

- 2008 Smack-off Predictions: Vic actually makes a phone call this year, but Greg finally gets the elusive win.

- Thanks to everyone who has emailed me and listened to my show. If you've shared kind words with me about the show, I wholeheartedly agree with you that the show reeks of awesomeness. If you think my show is a steaming pile of turds, then I respect your first amendment rights (and your single digit Wonderlic score).

Now if you'll all excuse me, I'm getting my resume together so that I can at least be a guest Smack-Off color analyst this year for some network out there carrying the show.

Peace, Sean

The Official Smack-Off Promo

Once again, Alvin Delloro has cut an official promo for the event, you can check out Alvin's work here.


Mr. Wednesday Calls His Shot (Again)

Vic in NoCal decided to call his shot on the Wednesday prior to the event. Upping the ante from last year's Wednesday call (and subsequent no-show on Friday), Vic is planning on leading off and going wire to wire. I hope he fares better than Jeff on a carphone in Phoenix, who has made five attempts at the feat and has four buzzers and an unranked finish to show for it.

Jay Mohr immediately took to the airwaves to announce he would be going second and he compared Vic to A-Rod.

Bodie in Pearland, a noted piece of crap and talentless hack, also called his shot. Otis wants his shtick back.
*** I take back the piece of crap line, and I will soften the talentless hack line. Bodie is probably somewhere between Tobin and the other generic rookie invitees in the game department. Nothing special, but at least his Smack-Off call was unique.

On Thursday, Gino in San Antonio called to say he wouldn't be competing this year, but he did offer astute analysis on Vic's chances to win. By leading off Vic needs the remaining callers to make him the focus of the Smack-Off, by putting a massive target on his back he will attempt to take the Silk and Jeff in Richmond path to glory. It's a risky play.


The Official Top Ten

1. Iafrate
2. Doc Mike DiTolla
3. Joe in the O.C.
4. Steve Carbone
5. Terrence in Sierra Madre
6. Jay Mohr
7. Greg in Vegas
8. Silk in Huntington Beach
9. Jeff in Richmond
10.Casey in Vegas


My Top Ten

1. Joe in the O.C.
2. Iafrate
3. Doc Mike DiTolla
4. Greg in Vegas
5. Terrence in Sierra Madre
6. Jay Mohr
7. Steve Carbone
8. Casey in Vegas
9. Silk in Huntington Beach
10.Oren in Denver

I'll post more eventually, but clearly my top ten is very different than what the Xr4ti came up with. A solid year of calls from top to bottom.

From 2pm to 6pm central time you need to be listening to Sean the Cablinasian and John Harris doing a Smack-Off postgame show on 1560 The Game.


The Field (as of 4/21/08)

Past Winners	Old School Legends	The New School
J.T. The Brick	Greg in Vegas	Casey in Vegas
Jeffrey E. DiTolla	Irie Craig	Joe in the O.C.
Doc Mike DiTolla	Jeff on a Carhpone	Lear in Annapolis
Steve Carbone	Terrence in Sierra Madre	Chad in Portland
Silk in Huntington Beach	Trapper in Dana Point	Rachel in Houston
Jeff in Richmond	Gino in San Antonio	Vic in NoCal
Iafrate	Jay Mohr	Brendan in Wilmington
		J.D. in Nashville
		Bodie in Pearland
		Oren in Denver
		Corey in Ann Arbor
		Mike in Wichita
On the Bubble
Jim in Fall River	Jeff in Vancouver

The Odds

This year's event should be wide open with seven or eight guys having a good look at winning it all. Several newer callers have received invitations this year, most of them are terrible, but a few do bring a little something to the table. Rookie callers don't win the Smack-Off, it just doesn't happen; however, a few rookies could very easily break into the back half of the top ten and build on that next year. These odds are set in stone as far as I'm concerned, no more changes.

Odds	Clone	Comments
11-2	Greg in Vegas	Consistently comes up big (2007 being the exception--a nice idea, but painfully executed), but he's the tragic hero of the Smack-Off
6-1	Iafrate	He always finds a spot in the top five
8-1	Joe in the O.C.	I've always thought of him as The Cablinasian Jr. Last year his call was poorly read and highly overrated
8-1	Terrence in Sierra Madre	The People's Champ, the Clone nation would be ecstatic if he takes home the crown
9-1	Vic in NoCal	The Next Big Thing, but will Rome let him win after no-showing last year? Probably not, but a second place finish would not surprise me
9-1	Doc Mike DiTolla	Two-time winner, his last Smack-Off call was in 2003 but he's preparing for a comeback. If he calls he'll be right there in the mix
10-1	Steve Carbone	A classic screamer and former winner, with the Cablinasian on the sidelines he'll be missing his foil and will need a new target
12-1	Jay Mohr	As a professional comedian Jay gets graded much tougher
17-1	Lear in Annapolis	Great material in his debut, but he needs to read the script a little slower, Johnny 5 thinks dude reads fast. A good sleeper pick
19-1	Chad in Portland	He runs good smack, but his act is a bit tired. Rome seems to like his calls though
19-1	Oren in Denver	Flamed out in his '06 debut, but he made a strong call last year and a nice effort to RSVP last week
19-1	Casey in Vegas	Brilliant in '03 and '04, but he's been off his game the last few attempts
23-1	Jeff in Richmond	No way that he wins, it just won't happen again, please not again
23-1	Rachel in Houston	Good caller but she doesn't have that extra gear, it would take a Silkian effort to win
23-1	Jeff on carphone in Phoenix	A solid old school caller but he's a train wreck on the big day
26-1	Brendan in Wilmington	In the field after waiting five days on hold to place an excellent call.
26-1	Mike in Wichita	A good caller, but he hasn't really done much to distinguish himself. 8th place is his upside
30-1	Jeff in Vancouver	Made a pretty good call in 2007, but half the time Jeff is left off the list when Rome reads the field
30-1	Trapper in Dana Point	He's made one great Smack-Off call, he might have another in him, but probably not. He could creep into the top ten.
30-1	Silk in Huntington Beach	A solid and valued contributor, but I doubt he cracks the top ten, his calls just don't translate well to the Smack-Off
30-1	Gino in San Antonio	An old school caller that hasn't been in a Smack-Off since 2001, he probably won't call but he's a threat if he does
30-1	Corey in Ann Arbor	A generic rookie caller with very little hope of making noise
40-1	Jim in Fall River	Still on the bubble. He hasn't called since 2004 and it doesn't look like 2008 will see a return of the Donkey
45-1	Irie Craig	Irie would be a dominant caller to a local show, but in the Jungle he's just the stoner with good sports takes and no chance to take home the crown
70-1	J.D. in Nashville	Maybe the best debut call in Jungle history, but his second call was awful. He doesn't belong in the field
100-1	Jeffrey E. DiTolla	In the field based on his win in 1996, but he hasn't called since 2001
100-1	Bodie in Pearland	Bodie is a piece of crap. He might be the worst caller to receive a Smack-Off invite since Tobin in Chapel Hill. *** I take it back, Bodie is not a piece of crap afterall. Clever Smack-Off call and nice effort on the Sean and John show this afternoon.
250-1	J.T. the Brick	Not going to call

Over/Unders:

16.5	Total number of calls taken
6.0	Calls taken in the first hour
6.5	Calls taken in the second hour
4.0	Calls taken in the third hour
2.0	Times the buzzer is wielded
4.0	Number of past winners that call

Odds for the winner coming out of each hour:

8-1	First Hour
3-2	Second Hour
4-1	Third Hour

Post a comment to 'Smack-Off 2008'

Over the last two and a half weeks I have been building an online database and writing PHP/MySQL code to effect a second redesign of my Smack-Off History site. About 225 mp3 files are now linked to dynamically from the following pages:
1) The original text summary for each year of the Smack-Off
2) The yearly results page, featuring detailed call order information in a sortable table
3) The caller history page, featuring every caller's complete record of participation in the Smack-Off

Also new is the ability of visitors to rate each call on a 1 to 10 scale, allowing for the clones at large to weigh in and support the calls they believe to be the best.

A few minor additions are still to come, but the redesign is essentially complete.

Post a comment to 'History of the Smack-Off: Site Redesign'

The Alamo Drafthouse chain of movie theaters held a film making competition to promote the new Jack Black movie Be Kind Rewind. The task of the competition was to create a short (five minutes, plus credits) remake of a movie. After a couple days of discussion our group came to the obvious conclusion that Top Gun would be a perfect choice.

Our goal was to capture the iconic scenes while still telling the story, we didn't want to shoot a trailer or a highlight reel. We shot the movie in basically three days at locations around Austin, then maybe a week of post-production and soundtrack recording.

We remade Top Gun like Max Fischer and the Max Fischer Players remade Serpico in Rushmore. We recreated the dialogue, shots, cuts, and music without mugging for the camera. We played it straight.

To clarify: we played it straight in the sense that we avoided mugging for the camera and hamming it up, but we remained devoutly faithful to the heavy gay undertones of the original.

The only thing better than our acting in this film would be the musical talent of our two lead actors, Goose and Maverick. Those two, along with help from the brothers Fick, reworked the legendary cuts from the soundtrack:

Top Gun Anthem
Danger Zone
Playing With the Boys
Take My Breath Away
Take My Breath Away - Jeff's (Goose) full length cover

There were well over 100 entries to the contest. A lot of shit, a lot of really good stuff too. You can check out every entry at Filmmaking Frenzy.com, though I'm not sure how long the videos will be hosted at that site.

Some of my favorites:
Die Hard
Apocalypse Now
Say Anything
Taxi Driver (this one is brilliant)
Top Gun

Post a comment to 'Top Gun - A Remake'

I recently received an e-mail asking if I remembered or had seen the Sports Illustrated article on Jim Rome and The Jungle from way back. Not only do I remember that article, but I still have that issue of SI after eleven-plus years. Found in the September 16, 1996 issue, the article was about a few different shows and the culture of sports talk radio, but it focused primarily on the work of Jim Rome.

I was 15 years old when that issue came in the mail and I remember turning on the radio in search of The Jungle. Without the aid of the internet that search proved difficult and ultimately fruitless. But eventually I found the show in the summer of 1997, and forget about the two week trial period, I was hooked.

I scanned the article, click on the thumbnails to view an image large enough to read:


The other day a call by Doc Mike turned the show into a nostalgic trip down memory lane with a handful of old school guys, many from before I became a listener, calling in to reminisce. The Jungle used to be much more caller driven. For years now the show has suffered from a lack of characters, and that's what "The Legends" were, vital cast members that helped make the Jungle what it was. While it can never be like it was back then, it's great to hear the old schoolers like Gino in San Antonio, Doc Mike, Irie, and Trapper swinging in again on the occasional vine.


From left to right: The Mayor of Poway, Raider/Dodger Mike, Jeffrey DiTolla, Romey, Doc Mike DiTolla, and Irie Craig.

Post a comment to '1996 Sports Illustrated article on The Jungle'

Growing up in the Houston area, the first choice for donuts was always Shipley Do-Nuts. Unfortunately, despite having 190 stores across six southern states, Shipley's has not really taken hold in the Austin market. They have three locations in Georgetown, obviously out of reach for Austin residents. But then there is the one wonderfully located south Austin store on Brodie Lane. With that new location, no more must I rely on the overrated, overpriced Krispy Kreme, the subpar Dunkin, or the merely passable Rivercity donuts. Sunday morning gluttony is back baby!

Post a comment to 'Shipley Do-Nuts'

I haven't taken the opportunity to spew reactionary vitriol in a long time, so here goes:

For inexplicable reasons, I still have Yahoo! as the homepage on my browser. Among the unorganized mess of articles and links this one caught my eye. For those not willing to take the jump, let me summarize: Catholic priests in Mexico spent the day sprinkling holy water on animals and reciting "special animal blessings".

"Maybe with the blessing she will be better behaved, because she's very naughty," said 19-year-old Beatriz Zuniga, clutching a yowling, wriggling kitten dressed in a tight pink T-shirt and a paper bow and wrapped in a blanket.

In general, though with occasional exceptions, I don't like to shit all over religion. I'm not a militant atheist. On some level I can respect the faithful, and I certainly don't think less of a person just because they are a believer. I don't see Jesus or the South rising again anytime soon, but if you feel like taking a rooting interest more power to you.

Just don't try saving my soul along the way.

And leave the animals out of it too.

Want a sure fire way to trivialize your religion? Go sprinkle some holy water on a kitten dressed in a pink T-shirt.

Does the Catholic church really need to pander to the idiot masses of pet owners?

Did Jesus take three nails so that Dolly the Chihuahua can be absolved of her sins against the carpet? I bet J.C. is rolling in his grave right now.

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

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My current top five favorite bands, in no particular order and subject to change:

Wilco
Spoon
Silver Jews
The Good Life
Drive-By Truckers

For each of those bands you can pick any album and I can listen to it on an endless loop, I'll be content and I won't grow tired of it (though Wilco's A Ghost is Born comes close to being the exception). So upon finding out that one of my top five favorite bands will be adding to their catalog in the very near future, well, I was excited and approaching giddy.

The news is a little over a month old now, but I just found out yesterday: the new Drive-By Truckers album, Brighter Than Creation's Dark is scheduled to be released on January 22, 2008. That's only a one month wait for what promises to be one hell of an album. Seven Mike Cooley penned songs and nineteen total tracks, including three by bassist Shonna Tucker.

The Track Listing (writer/lead vocalist):

1. Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife (Patterson Hood)
2. Three Dimes Down (Mike Cooley)
3. The Righteous Path (Patterson Hood)
4. I'm Sorry Huston (Shonna Tucker)
5. Perfect Timing (Mike Cooley)
6. Daddy Needs a Drink (Patterson Hood)
7. Self Destructive Zones (Mike Cooley)
8. Bob (Mike Cooley)
9. Home Field Advantage (Shonna Tucker)
10. Opening Act (Patterson Hood)
11. Lisa's Birthday (Mike Cooley)
12. The Man I Shot (Patterson Hood)
13. Purgatory Line (Shonna Tucker)
14. The Home Front (Patterson Hood)
15. Check Out Time In Vegas (Mike Cooley)
16. You and Your Crystal Meth (Patterson Hood)
17. Goode's Field Road (Patterson Hood)
18. A Ghost To Most (Mike Cooley)
19. Monument Valley (Patterson Hood)

I'm finding it hard to contain my excitement at the moment, but I'm going to be disciplined and cut this thing short.

To complete the entry, a couple of Mike Cooley songs to wet your whistle:

When the Pin Hits the Shell [audio removed], a simple little country number from Decoration Day that I think really shows off his ability as a lyricist: sincere, folksy, and humorous all at once.

Marry Me [audio removed], a rocking Rolling Stones'ey tune, also from Decoration Day, and featuring the opening line, "Well, my daddy didn't pull out, but he never apologized." The man can turn a phrase.

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I love the term "giving him the business". I can't remember the last time I watched a football game with my grandfather that he couldn't find a suitable play to invoke the phrase. As I was checking out Lance Zierlein's blog the other day, I came upon two videos of referees using the phrase, and those are perhaps two of the finest moments in the history of referees and football.

The first clip is from a Jets/Bills game in 1986 where QB Jim Kelly did something to piss off Marty Lyons and subsequently he received the business.

In the NC State/Maryland game last weekend, ACC official Ron Cherry decided it was time to dust off that golden oldie of officiating.

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