Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
October 2000
Sunday
October 29, 2000
10:59 AM EST
"The first step to better times is to imagine them."
-Note inside a fortune cookie I had at Susan and Doug Korstanje's Halloween party.
First of all, for those of you in parts of the country that recognize Daylight Savings Time, don't forget to turn back your clocks today.
The past few days have featured some interesting moments. Friday at work was the most hectic
day in months, as it was one of those when it rains it pours like days. Al Gore arrived in
Charleston late Thursday night and had a rally in Charleston Friday morning at the capitol,
and there was much to do in preparation for that. Also, a brand new West Virginia presidential
poll came out that we got to unveil on our morning newscast (which rarely happens), and along
with several other secondary stories it was a busy morning. But while chaotic and hectic, it
was exciting and the reason why I enjoy being a producer. We weren't sure if we could get a
live shot with Scott Saxton before the end of the newscast, as the Secret Service needed to
secure the area for the rally and do a security check at 6 AM. This was inconvienant to us,
but when you're dealing with the Secret Service you don't quibble. Fortunately they got
everything checked in time for us to go live at 6:53 AM, capping a solid two hours of news.
Last night was one of the most fun evenings I've had since I moved to Huntington. Doug and
Susan Korstanje from WOWK held a Halloween costume party at their house, which is just five
blocks away from my apartment. I had been under the impression that some people from WSAZ
would be going (Doug and Susan sent invitations to us WSAZ folks), but as it turned out I was
the only person from WSAZ who showed up. But that was ok, as it just gave me more of a chance
to meet people from WOWK (along with a few from WCHS who came also). I had my pirate outfit on,
which actually came into play later in the night. But there were some really cool costumes,
and even better was that Doug and Susan had actual trophies for the winners (Best Costume,
Best Couple Costume, Funniest Costume, Scariest Costume). Let's see, there were Charlie's
Angels, Britney Spears (with her security guard), ghosts, beatles, Little Red Riding Hood,
a werewolf, Monica Lewinsky (complete with a cigar), a Channel 13 microphone, Tool Time girl
(with the helper guy from Home Improvement), and vampires. A few of the people there, like
Doug and Susan, I had met before, but most of them I met for the first time last night. WOWK
has some very nice people who work there, and Doug and Susan put on a very fun party.
From there, I went over to Sharkey's to meet up with Tara and Crystal. They were also having
a costume contest there, and the place was packed and had a certain buzz in the air. Tara
came as Trinity from The Matrix, Crystal came
as a fairy queen, and their friend Velvet who came with them was a belly dancer. Tara ended
up winning the prize for best costume (she went all-out, even getting her hair gelled just
right to fit the character). It was a crazy, fun night.
Thursday
October 26, 2000
7:18 PM EDT
"I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you..."
-Guns 'N Roses "November Rain"
This has been an interesting day. I swear, my life imitates Seinfeld, or as my brother Matt
articulately put it, it's straight out of Seinfeld but with a harsher edge to it. That's my
life, uncensored and unfiltered and free-flowing.
I had an old friend tell me today that he didn't want to talk with me anymore. Why? Because
I declined to buy a Gateway computer through his mom's company. But it was more than that; in
the past year, I felt more and more like he was trying to market to me or sell me something
more than him being a friend. If he'd call, then invariably he'd bring up business of some
sort or another. Whether he was trying to sell me on quixtar.com (a bulk-purchasing setup
over the Internet) or Gateway computers or whatever, it got to the point where it was difficult
to determine where the friendship ended and the solicitation began. Finally I called him out
on it, and he didn't like it very much, so he told me he didn't want to talk with me anymore.
It was a long way from the friend I remembered from Harlaxton, but then it seems to me that
he had ceased being my friend well before this time. I'd been warned not to mix business and
friendship, and now I see why.
And by the way, my Dell did cost less than any price he quoted me for a Gateway.
And if you want to call me a liar about that, then you can stick it.
Onto things that actually matter: the Yankees are just one game away from winning the World
Series. I'm a definate minority in the newsroom as a Yankees fan, with the success that they've
had having bred a great deal of contempt among many. But there's no stopping their greatness.
One more win and they'll have four World Series wins in the past five years, including the
last three in a row. Go Yankees!
Election time is almost here, and the airwaves are being inundated with political advertising.
That's good for me, because it means that WSAZ is making money, though it is disheartening to
hear the absolute lies some candidates are using both on the air and on the campaign trail.
I really don't see how that socialist Ralph Nader is getting as much support as he is. Is the
American public really that excited to give away even more of their personal freedom. But as
much as I hold disdain for Nader, he is good in that he pulls votes away from Al Gore, which
could be pivotal in swing states. Imagine that, Gore losing because of him not being liberal
enough with his environmental policies (remember, in modern political-speak liberal doesn't
mean "open-minded", it means "more biggovernment control"). Privately, Gore has some extreme
environmental policies, though they've been squelched for the campaign so as that he can attract
the so-called "moderate" vote.
Earlier this month at work, Joe Thornton and I were discussing the Middle East, as he had been over
there in the military in the early-mid 90's. The subject of the Ron Brown plane crash came up,
and I expressed my curiosity as to the timing and location of it. And Joe told me that right
after it happened, word all over the base was that it was a set-up. By our own government.
If this sort of things interests you, or scares you to death (and if it doesn't... that in
and of itself is disturbing), then check this out:
http://patriot.org/bill.htm. I've received e-mail forwards with similar information, and
it's really chilling. Later.
Wednesday
October 25, 2000
9:55 AM EDT
Read earlier posts about time slipping away -- I felt the need to postpone sleep for a few
moments so that I could make at least some update before a few more days slide on by.
A great song you should check out is "Idol" by Amanda Ghost. I could see this song being a
big hit if given the right opportunity.
I went to Stephanie Dusek and David Aldrich's wedding over the weekend. It was a great time,
and it was unusual in that Stephanie's dad couldn't be there (he became ill and had to be
hospitalized in London), so they had him via cell phone. International long distance cell
phone at a wedding, it was like something out of a phone commercial. Interestingly, David
still hasn't met Stephanie's dad in person. Wild... The reception was very classy -- it was
held at the Guyan Country Club in Huntington. Nothing like some Crown and 7 on the house...
My last post contained an error -- the Miss. State/LSU game this past weekend was actually held
on Saturday night, not Thursday night, and it was on ESPN2, not ESPN. Matt told me that he
was going to New Orleans for Friday night, then to Baton Rouge for the game on Saturday night.
Not a bad weekend if you ask me.
October is nearly over, which means my one year anniversary mark at WSAZ is looming near. My
goodness, how quickly time has passed. The challenges and battles continue on a daily basis
to get the best news product possible on-air, but I still enjoy my work, 3 1/2 years after I
started in the TV business.
Also, the break over Christmas and the trip to Colorado will be here in just two months. I've
never been to Colorado, and I look forward to getting to travel there.
Sleep beckons, hopefully I'll have more for you all soon.
Thursday
October 19, 2000
7:44 AM EDT
Hours, days, weeks, they just fly by. The flow of time is getting a bit crazy for me these
days.
This morning was quite interesting at work. Conditions around our area have been incredibly
foggy this morning, and right before 5 AM there was a major wreck involving two semi trucks
out on I-64 to go with many other accidents all over. When I left there was scanner traffic
coming in of a car hitting a child -- it's a crazy morning.
My Yankees are in the World Series for the fourth time in five years. That's some sweet
action. Hopefully they can dispose of the Mets and earn their place among the all-time
baseball dynasties.
This weekend David Aldrich and Stephanie Dusek are getting married. It's still so weird for
me to know people who are getting married. Granted, both Stephanie and David are a little
older than I am (especially David, who turned 30 right after I turned 23, though he looks
much younger than he really is). But I'm happy for them both.
Mississippi State plays LSU on ESPN tonight, and you know I'll be watching that one. If the
Bulldogs can win.. it'll be great. LSU has been a hot-and-cold team, but it'd take the passing
game of LSU to beat Mississippi State, cause I don't think LSU or anyone short of Nebraska can
run on MSU.
I brought my pictures from this past weekend and MSU and Purdue to work today, and they were
well-received. I think the one of me and Ken Selvaggi will end up in a broadcasting hall of
fame someday. Later.
Monday
October 16, 2000
8:20 PM EDT
This morning was interesting, as we had chief meteorologist Tony Cavalier filling in for Scott
Sabol on weather. It was great to finally work with Tony on a newscast, and it was nice to get
a fresh perspective on the weather.
My news director, Ken Selvaggi, was giving me grief about the Titans struggling (despite the
fact that they haven't lost since a close game at Buffalo in week one). Actually I'm more of a
Colts fan than a Titans fan, but trying to get that point across to people here in Huntington
has been next to impossible. And moreover, with this being Browns/Steelers/Bengals country,
being a Titans fan can be kind of a dangerous thing (they're all in the AFC Central). But since
the Browns/Bengals/Steelers are all having poor seasons, it's not as if they're in a dogfight
at the top of the division with the Titans.
A great song that you've probably never heard, but should check out, is a song by Dido called
"Don't Think Of Me". You may have heard her song "Hear With Me", which is great, or a sample
of her song "Thank You" used by Eminem in the song "Stan", but "Don't Think Of Me" might be
my favorite (or favourite as she would say) of the Dido songs I've heard.
The final presidential debate is this week, and I expect Al Gore to come out with full
aggression, which his staff has advised him up to this point to avoid. I have a feeling that
he might further alienate himself from the American public in so doing, but he may not have any
choice at this point. Nonetheless, it will be an early stretch run. Prediction: George W.
Bush will win the election, but Gore will take Florida thanks to Mediscare and heavy campaigning
in the Sunshine State. We shall see.
I should mention from this past weekend that Dave Benton of WSAZ had the best costume at Melanie
Shafer's halloween party. He came as The Joker (from Batman) and did an unbelievably good job
getting the face paint on right. He told me that it was a pain to get the paint to wash off
later, but it was great. I've got to pick up the pictures from Kroger tonight to see how they
turned out from the party (also with pics from Mississippi and more). Later.
Sunday
October 15, 2000
1:50 AM EDT
The wind blows a bit cooler, the leaves begin their autumn descent, and the crispness in the
air delivers a feeling of the season, along with the strike of the static electricity. Another
October has come.
The last few days have been interesting and without question busy. Of course, saying that I'm
busy is a relative term: compared with my friend Phil Murphy, working insane hours for Arthur
Anderson in Chicago, or my friend Nimesh Patel, putting in long days and nights in the banking
world for Robert Stephens out in San Francisco, or my friend Brook Gardiner, ensuring the
rigorous schedule of law school at highly competitive NYU, it's not necessarily much of a
comparison. But for me at least, things have been hectic.
Where to start? Perhaps from where we last left off. Work on Wednesday went well, as it did
for all of this week. Sleep was short-lived, as I had to wake up and make it in for a 4 PM
newsroom meeting Wednesday. Ken Selvaggi, my talented news director, praised me and the
efforts of our Sunrise/Today staff, which was appreciated. Thursday came and went, with sleep
catchup being the order of the day.
On Friday Jeff Smulyan, the owner of Emmis Communications,
came in for a 3 PM meeting. Now in my life, time management is a critical thing. Poor
planning can be distaterous in the long-term. So I did what I thought was the smart thing --
set my alarm for 1 PM, going to sleep at 9 AM (that's 4 hours total). The reason: so I could
get some sleep that night, as I had an all-day conference scheduled in Charleston, followed by
a Halloween costume party at Melanie Shafer's house.
I woke up dismayed, realized that my alarm hadn't gone off. I rolled over and checked the
clock, and I was aghast. 4:45. Cursing, I climbed out of bed and lamented my misfortune.
Jeff Smulyan is a man I highly respect, and who I was extremely excited about getting to meet.
So bummed out about missing the meeting, I went in to work to at least pick up my bonus check.
That night I bought some much-needed clothes at Wal-Mart. High fashion it's not, but when
you're paying for a $2,000 computer, cost effectiveness is key. I bought some black pants to
go with my pirate outfit. Last year I bought a pirate outfit in Evansville, but the pants
that came with it then were way way too big. So I bought some black slacks and a pair of
khaki slacks (for work). They're both surprisingly sharp, and it's nice to have some pants
that really fit well.
Anyway, I came back and took some sleeping pills and managed to sleep for about 4 1/2 hours. I
consider that no small victory, considering that I had slept for eight hours that day, in
theory destroying my ability to get some much-needed sleep. But I did, and it sure came in
handy.
A group of producers, reporters, anchors and Ken met up and rode out to Charleston to go to
a seminar being put on by the Poynter Institute. The
group leader I was told would be Al Tompkins, a man who I knew from growing up in Nashville
when he was an investigative reporter (and later news director) for WSMV. Coming in I didn't
know quite what to expect, and there was some risk involved in dedicating an entire Saturday
of my time, particularly time when I'd normally be sleeping. But it was an outstanding
conference and a very useful allotment of my time. Al Tompkins is brilliant at being able to
handle people and teach without causing offense, and the tips he gave on that alone made the
day worthwhile. But from writing techniques to outlook, I gained a great deal of knowledge
from the conference, and it was well worth my time and WSAZ's money for me to be there.
The costume party at Melanie's place was a great time. Though exhausted, I had fun, and it
was interesting to see many various costumes out. I know that Melanie worked really hard to
put some nice extra touches on everything, and it was very well done. I took lots of pictures,
which hopefully will turn out well. I need to go buy a scanner sometime soon so I can put
some of these on-line.
My Yankees are up 3 games to 1 on the Mariners. Just one more win and they'll be back in the
World Series for the 4th time in 5 years. How sweet is that?!? Later.
Tuesday
October 10, 2000
6:21 PM EDT
This weekend down at Mississippi State was a great time. Friday I caught the 5:35 AM flight
out of Huntington to Atlanta, and who was on the plane? Lee Corso from ESPN, who had been in
town broadcasting the previous night's Marshall/Western Michigan football game. I talked with
him briefly, though I was more tired than anything and wanting to sleep.
Mississippi State has a beautiful campus with a great college atmosphere. My brother Matt
showed me a quick tour of it, including dorms he'd lived in and buildings that he had taken
classes in. From there we checked out Starkville, which is not a very big town but one that
has that old-town feel to it in many ways. We went bowling at a brand new bowling alley that
had just opened up in town, which was the nicest bowling alley I'd ever been to. One of the
alumni from Matt's fraternity (Sigma Phi Epsilon) owns the place, and he did a good job
designing a good place.
Friday night we went to Rick's Cafe Americain (a reference from the movie
Casablanca) to see Sister Hazel in concert.
It was a great time, as the bar was absolutely packed and the crowd was into it. Matt and I
met up with his friend Leigh and her friend Maggie, and they gave us a ride over to somebody's
apartment keg party. We watched some of the Predators/Penguins hockey game on ESPN from
Japan (which was being shown live, even though by this point it was early morning Saturday).
It was cool.
Saturday was even better. We went to the Mississippi State/Auburn game, which was a madhouse
scene. Somehow Matt and I managed to squeeze into the student section, which was packed and
rowdy. MSU beat Auburn 17-10, and it was an intense, fun game to see. That night they had a
party at the Sig Ep house, with a band out of Memphis called Ingrim Hill. They're a cover
band, and a very good one at that. I met so many people, and it was hard to keep track of who
was who after awhile. Some girl was trying to hook me up with her friend Courtney, who was
cute, but not drinking and I guess a bit nervous about her friend trying to hook us up. The
friend came over to me several times and would tell me that this chick had a crush on me and
that I should go ask her to dance, but when I went over to talk with them Courtney (the girl
with the crush) got embarassed I guess and ran off. Silly girls. But it was a fun party
night for sure.
On Sunday I finally got Matt to show me a game on his computer called
The Sims. If you own a computer, BUY THIS GAME! Though I
must warn you, prepare to lose free time as a result. It is captivating, engrossing, and very
fun. I played for awhile, and then Matt's roommate, John Pouncey, played and got absolutely
hooked. I think he played for 5+ hours straight, and only stopped because it was 2 AM and he
had an 8 AM class the next morning.
The flight back yesterday went pretty well. The Dramamine both kept me from getting air sick
and helped me to sleep, which was good on both accounts riding a pair of rattling puddle
jumpers from Columbus, MS to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Huntington. Plus, work last night
went surprisingly well, especially considering that I figured that I'd be exhausted beyond
belief. Sleep on the plane helped on that, as did loading up on No-Doz.
Right before I left, I bought a book called
"The Dark Side of Camelot" by Seymour Hersh. Brad
Byrd, the main male anchor at WEHT in Evansville, had suggested to me that I read that book,
and I'm glad I took his advice (and I can't think of a time when he has given me bad advice).
I'm about halfway through it thanks to layovers during my trip, and wow it's intriguing. Since
all this happened more than a decade before I was born, many of the people I found myself
unfamiliar with, but nonetheless I've quickly learned all about them. If you've ever wanted
to find out more about the Kennedy's, this is a must-read, and I recommend it to anyone who
might want to know more about the dirty dealings and strong-arm politics that went on in our
country (and that I know still go on to this day). In particular, reading about West
Virginia's corrupt primary election was intriguing (especially since so little has changed
here in the past 40 years when it comes to the political process).
My Yankees pulled it out against Oakland (to the shagrin of almost everyone I've talked with
about it). Success breeds contempt, and there are some anti-Yankees people out there for
sure. Whatever happened to the days of John Robinson and Bryan "Vito" Neiderwerfer, my fellow
Yankees fans at UE, or one step before in high school with Randy Hite and Joe Martin pulling
for the Yankees through the lean years of the early 90's? Time moves on I guess. The 1996
World Series win over the Braves was particularly memorable, especially the game-clinching win
over the Braves on a Saturday night (which was a very memorable evening for more than just the
game). Now the Yankees take on the Seattle Mariners, and with New York having the home field
edge I hope they can pull it off. Wouldn't a Yankees/Mets subway series be interesting?
Though I like the Cardinals and will pull for them against the Mets...
Friday
October 6, 2000
12:50 AM EDT
I don't have too much time to write now -- I have to be at the Huntington airport in roughly
four hours. So much for getting alot of sleep tonight. Anyway, let me leave you with this
story about Chinese torture in Tibet. If you are sympathetic to Communist China, then this
might give you a new perspective on things. Check it out by clicking
here.
Mississippi State awaits...
Thursday
October 5, 2000
11:50 AM EDT
The weekend is now here, and this time tomorrow I should be down in Mississippi, which will be
great. Bring on the four days in a row off.
A story on the West Virginia AP wire this morning really ticked me off. A family is suing due
to a DUI car wreck which involved an 18 year old drunk driver. But get this, not only are
they suing the driver, they're suing the Go Mart where the beer was purchased. But the Go
Mart broke no rules; they sold the beer to a 21 year old, who acted as a liaison for the 18
year old. I hate greedy trial lawyers (who as a whole are major Democratic party financers,
by the way), with their scheming and deceiving and lying and unfounded lawsuits and sleazy
tactics. But this is utterly ridiculous. The person who's responsible for the drunk driving
and the fatality is the 18 year old -- and no one else. MADD and those who seek to take
freedom away from you and I, and particularly from young adults (the most discriminated-against
adult age group in our country) in the 18-20 range, help to foster a culture where alcohol is
seen as some gruesome, horrid evil, and as a result instead of learning to drink responsibly,
teenagers see alcohol as something "criminal" which then often gets parlayed into other
criminal behavior. Rest assured, there are many people working everyday with the goal of
taking more of your personal freedom away.
Yankees won last night 4-0, which was great. Hopefully they can win game three in the Bronx
and get the important edge on the A's. Meanwhile, Chicago is folding fast, so the Yankees
could potentially get home field on the wild card Mariners. Sorry to Glenn and Tali and Matt
Sheppard and any Indians fans reading this -- that could have been you all sneaking in the
backdoor. But such is life, and despite me being the only person in the newsroom at WSAZ
pulling for the Yankees, that'll just make it all the more sweet when they win it all. Later.
Wednesday
October 4, 2000
10:06 PM EDT
I have worked awaiting me at the top of the hour, so I'll have to keep this somewhat brief.
Things here are going well, as I'm getting pretty keyed up about getting to visit my brother,
Matt, down at Mississippi State this weekend. It should be a really fun time.
I've found some long-lost songs on Napster recently. By that I mean songs I remembered having
heard in years past but couldn't entirely remember or that I could only remember a line or a
snippet from. Now I've found songs like "Walk Away Renee" by Left Banke, "Drinking in LA" by
Bran Van 3000, and "Alcohol" by Howlin Maggie. Granted, these are some pretty obscure songs,
but I'm thrilled about having found them. I heard "Walk Away Renee" on a syndicated national
classic rock program called "Flashback" that they used to air on the old 104.5 The Fox (WGFX)
in Nashville years and years ago. So that's made my week.
Also, it's been fun to listen to songs on the top of the UK Top 40 chart. I enjoy British
pop music, and one song I've found that's particularly good is "Rise" by Gabrielle. I could
see it going big in the U.S. if given a chance.
The presidential debate last night was interesting. Gore did as expected, using class envy
and typical distortion and misrepesentation tactics. But unlike Clinton, Gore doesn't have a
natural charisma to draw in mindless voters, so despite him being more polished and articulate
that Bush, it didn't seem to do him much good. In my mind Gore beat Bush on the abortion
debate portion, but the irony of Gore talking about a woman's right to choose struck me as
being so hypocritical. I've gone into this before on here, but if you're going to defend a
women's right to choose what to do with her body that's fine, but by god show some
consistency about it (i.e. Gore saying it's okay for a woman to have an abortion because it's
her body, but it's not okay for her to smoke a joint or a cigarette because, hey, she's
"harming her body"). Anyway, Bush I thought did well enough to not have the debates hurt him,
and Gore came across and smug and arrogant and at times rude (with the sighing) which could
work against him. We'll see.
I think I might be voting for Libertarian Bob Meyers for the West Virginia governor election. Democrat Bob
Wise will do nothing to help the overtaxation and ridiculous government control in West
Virginia, and incumbent Republican Cecil Underwood seems, in my opinion, has many things
working against him. West Virginia's education and economic situation doesn't seem to be much
to brag about, with the rest of the nation with a booming economy while West Virginia
stagnates. His policies don't seem very small government, with him pushing for more
taxation (on smokeless tobacco and the like) and government control. Plus, with him being so
old I don't think he connects very well with the issues important to young people in this
state, which is in part why so many of them are leaving in droves (along with poor economic
opportunities, which again ties in with Underwood). I doubt that Meyers has much of a chance
to win, but I cannot support Cecil Underwood. This state, with its old boy politics and
outdated, antiquated thinking, needs some major changes. Though the kicker would be if
George W. Bush manages to take this state -- imagine that.
Go Yankees. Later.
Sunday
October 1, 2000
4:06 PM EDT
For those of you not in the know, the debate over Napster is one that has been raging on in
recent months. I am very much pro-Napster, and I think the Internet is entirely changing what
intellectual property is and should be. I recently read a very articulate piece by Paul Somerson
that seems to best illustrate the reasons why I support Napster, and you can read it by
clicking here.
Speaking of Napster, just a few moments ago it helped me to find a song I'd been wondering
about for years. I figured it was called "Saturday Night", but I didn't know for sure. It was
one of those situations where I'd heard it at several parties my freshman and sophomore years
of college but never could find out what it was called. So I did a search for Saturday Night
on Napster, and after sorting through the Saturday Night Live sound clips, I found a song with
that name from a band called Whigfield. I downloaded it, and I was thrilled to find out that
it was the song I was hoping it was. Oh hell yeah.
A four day work week awaits, which should be good, then the fun weekend trip to Mississippi
comes. I can't wait. It will be great to see my bro Matt again, who I haven't seen since he
came up here to visit in early July...
Sunday
October 1, 2000
2:18 AM EDT
"Consciousness is a terrible curse."
-Line from the movie Being John Malkovich
First of all, let me officially announce that WSAZ-TV is now under the ownership of Emmis
Communications out of Indianapolis as of 12 AM today. They should be excellent owners to work
for from all indications I've received.
The last few days have been somewhat interesting. Friday finally brought the weekend, which
meant I had a chance finally to spend extended time working on my new computer. So Friday
night I watched ECW on TNN and downloaded from Napster and checked out some of the various
programs that came with my computer. Even listed to 91 X (XTRA-FM) out of San Diego (actually
licensed in Tijuana Mexico, thus the call letters beginning with X) some. Kara became a big
fan of them living out there last summer and all, and she got me listening to them.
I had made plans to go out with some friends from work. Unfortunately, with the Olympics
going on, we didn't begin our 11 PM news until midnight. I ended up meeting up with everyone
over at WSAZ at about 12:45 AM or so. They had heard me talk about Cell Block G some, so
they decided they wanted to check it out for themselves. So they got to see the dance floor
that lights up and the two-story setup and all. Funniest moment of the night was when some
of them asked me "What does Everybody Get Your Roll On mean?" They asked that as the
song "Get Your Roll On" by the Big Tymers was playing, and all I could do was laugh. Cause
they were totally serious about it. They don't go out as much as I do. I wore my white
shirt with the black dragons on it, which got me compliments from some girl at the bar. That
and my red tiger striped shirt were pricy, but well-worth the money. Stupid me, I left them
and my blue Structure shirt up at Kara's place this past weekend and she very kindly mailed
them here for me. She even folded them all nice, skills I guess she learned back at Famous
Barr when she worked there. I've never been particularly able to fold shirts the way that
the "pros" do it. But Kara really helped me out -- next time I'll remember to check the
closet before I leave West Lafayette.
Before I went out last night, I rented the movie "Being John Malkovich" from Blockbuster. Now
I had heard good things about it, and IMDb.com gave it high marks, but I wanted to see it for
myself. And let me tell you -- it is hilarious! At least I thought it was; it really appealed
to my sense of humor. I think some of it might go over the heads of many people, especially
the subtle social commentary. Plus it was a non-conventional film, and it might strike some
people as confusing. But much like Magnolia, it's a movie that will appeal to your intelligence
and make you laugh as well. Worth renting for sure, and I might buy it.
Speaking of buying, through eBay I bought four DVD movies last night: 12 Monkeys, Pulp Fiction, Blues
Brothers and Wild Things. I bought them all through the same guy so I saved money on shipping,
and all were cheaper than they would have been through Amazon.com. The movie 12 Monkeys
carries with it some sad memories for me, but it's still a killer movie so I bought it
anyway. As Nelson from The Simpsons said, "I hope the
irony isn't lost on you."
Also cool has been playing the game Press Your Luck. A guy named Curt King wrote it and put
it on the web as freeware. Go to
pressyourluck.homepage.com and play this awesome game. For those of you not in the know,
Press Your Luck was a game show that ran in the early 80's (1983-1986) that was very fun and
high-drama. This game captures, in amazing detail, the game rounds from that show. It's a
must-download in my book.
On Saturday I caught up on some much-needed sleep, which was nice. I ran by the station (which
is convienantly 5 blocks away) to get Lee Collier's phone number. He's a friend of mine who
works in master control who had an extra ticket for the Marshall/Buffalo game. So he ended up
dropping off the ticket at the station, I picked it up and met him over there. Parking is a
bitch for games, but I found a spot for free that wasn't too far away, and my timing was
perfect as I got there right at kickoff. The first half was close, though Marshall blew it
wide open in the second half. I got to meet Lee's wife Carla and his friend Al, and we had
fun talking football. At halftime I was wanting a beer, so I went down to the Stoned Monkey.
However, unlike the night of the Southeast Missouri State game in late August, they were
wanting a $3 cover at the door. So I said screw that and went over to Mycrofts and bought a
beer there. And much like before the game, I got back just before the second half kickoff.
What timing.
Tonight Tara and Crystal had told me they wanted to go hit the bars, but they wimped out on me.
Oh well, the real partying will be done next weekend when I go down to visit Matt at Mississippi
State. And speaking of Mississippi State, how about their huge upset win over Florida on
Saturday? When they announced the score of that game at the Marshall/Buffalo game, there was
a huge crowd pop for it. The Miss State/Auburn game I'm going to next week should be tight.
And that will make three straight weekends of going to a Division I-A college game (Purdue/Minnesota last weekend, Marshall/Buffalo this weekend, and Mississippi State/Auburn next weekend). Call me Lee Corso.
One last thing -- the program MTV Music Generator is really cool. I've barely scratched the surface on it, but it seems quite awesome. Later.
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