Category: Entertainment

My Friend, Coach Larry O. Finch 1951 – 2011

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Entertainment4 Comments

Everyone who knows me will tell you that I bleed University of Memphis Tiger Blue.  There’s a reason for that.

The year is 1972.  A skinny, undersized asthmatic kid, new to Wooddale Junior High, is about to be annihilated in a game called Bombardment, a rather sadistic game thought up by the 9th grade P.E. coach for his personal amusement.  Resembling the movie “Dodgeball” on steroids,  two teams (usually the delinquents on one side and their victims on the other), would line up against both sides of the bleachers waiting for the coach’s whistle.  Then the massacre would ensue.

Sure that I was about to breathe my last, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and a kind voice telling me to stand beside him.  I looked up to see the smiling face of Larry Finch, Senior shooting guard on the Memphis State University Tigers Basketball Team.  He had just taken an Internship at my school!

Of course, that was the year that they lost the NCAA Championship to Bill Walton and the UCLA Bruins.  I don’t think that anyone in the nation hollered at their television set louder that night than I did.

Over the semester, we became friends.  I became a Tiger fan for life, eventually receiving my degree there  in 1980 in Radio, TV, and Film.  While there, I had the privilege of calling radio play-by-play for the Women’s Basketball and Men’s Baseball teams.

Larry is also the reason that I went on to play and coach basketball, a 4th grade team and a church team, respectively.  My coaching record is 25 – 4.

But, I digress…

Anyway, I’m writing this story because my friend, the Memphis Legend, Coach Larry O. Finch, has passed away at the age of 60.

From the Commercial Appeal:

Finch, the University of Memphis’ winningest basketball coach with 220 victories, had been in poor health since suffering the first of multiple strokes in 2001. He was 60. He had also had a heart attack.

Finch is perhaps the most beloved figure in the history of Memphis’ basketball program, leading the 1973 team to the national championship game and coaching the Tigers from 1986 to 1997.

Larry was born in the Orange Mound section of Memphis and went on to play for Melrose High School.  He and his fellow high school teammate, 6’9″  “Big Cat” Ronnie  Robinson, decided to play for Coach Gene Bartow at Memphis State University.

This was during the height of racial unrest in Memphis.  Larry had been advised not to go to Memphis State, but he loved his hometown and his hometown university.  He and Ronnie turned out to be 2 of the finest bridge builders Memphis has ever seen.  He graduated as the all-time leading scorer in school history and is presently still in second place on that list.

Larry went on to play professionally with the Memphis TAMs, the Memphis Sounds, the Baltimore Hustlers, and the Baltimore Claws.

Per biographicon.com:

In the 1980s, Finch was an assistant coach for Dana Kirk at Memphis State. Kirk was forced to leave Memphis State after violating NCAA regulations, and Finch was made head coach in 1986 in order to restore order to the program. Finch was head coach from 1986 until 1997.

Finch’s tenure at Memphis State/University of Memphis was successful. He posted 10 out of 11 winning seasons, and seven 20+ win seasons. He recruited and developed such players as Elliot Perry, Penny Hardaway, and Lorenzen Wright. His 1991-92 team led by Hardaway and David Vaughn went to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.

As a player, Finch was known for his shooting prowess, and his skills remained intact throughout his coaching days; he would routinely win games of H-O-R-S-E against his players (including the great Keith Lee, among others) and against assistant coaches in long distance shooting contests after road game practices.

In the company of such renowned coaches as Gene Bartow and John Calipari, Larry Finch remains in second-place for all-time wins in University of Memphis history (behind only Calipari).

In 2002, Larry suffered a stroke, which left him paralyzed and affected his speech.  Later that year, at halftime of the Memphis Grizzlies’ annual Martin Luther King Day game, NBA Legend Bill Russell grabbed the handles of Larry Finch’s wheelchair and wheeled him across a spotlight-lit basketball court.

The entire arena cheered and cried at the same time.

And now, this Memphis Legend is gone.

You’re probably thinking to yourself, how can you consider yourself a friend of Larry Finch?  You only knew him for a short time.

In the early 80s, while Larry was an Assistant Coach under Dana Kirk, I was working at Memphis Cablevision.  I was passing through a front office packed with customers, there to pay their bill.  All of the sudden, I heard a familiar voice shouting my last name at the top of his lungs.  It was Coach Finch!

He grinned that big ol’ grin at me, and hugged me until I thought my ribs would bust.  Then he asked me how I was doing, eager to hear about my life, and we talked as if there was no one else in that lobby.

And now, almost 30 years later, I’m sitting here, trying to write this post with tears in my eyes.

That’s how I know.

Requiem for a Bad Dog: John McCormack 1955-2011

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Entertainment5 Comments

If, when we’re standing before God, the amount of good we do with our lives, and the amount of joy and happiness that we are able to bring to this world of pain is brought up, then, Thursday afternoon, the Pearly Gates shook with the infectious laughter of one giant of a man.

John “Bad Dog” McCormack lost his long battle with AML late Thursday Afternoon at Methodist University Hospital in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.  Bad Dog was an on-air personality for 22 years at WEGR Rock 103, a Classic Rock Station.

Bad Dog began as a part of the Wake-up Crew with Tim Spencer and Bev Hart.  Dog was basically a 14-year-old kid in a man’s body.  He was a natural-born prankster, and became known for his creation of “The Twilight Phone”, an anonymous prank call he would make to unsuspecting citizens. 

In one memorable call, he impersonated an Apartment Manager, calling a guy who dumped his fiance’s dead pet Piranhas into the apartment lake, claiming that they came back to life and the poor sap had to reimburse the apartment $2,8000 for draining and restocking the lake.  And then, there was Bad Dog”s possibly most famous call, where he talked to an older gentleman named Mr. Lannum, impersonating a collector attempting to collect on a  past-due cable bill.  Mr. Lannum went ballistic, cussing a blue streak that is still talked of in hushed tones to this day, 20 tears later:

When he finally clued the individuals in to whom they had been talking to, each one of them eventually forgave him, because, after all, it was Bad Dog.

Another routine that Bad Dog came up with, was remarkable.  In a city known for racial polarization, he came up with the idea of numbering their show’s Black listeners, thinking that actual black listeners would be few and far between.  Well, Bad Dog received a big surprise.

The routine became very popular among Memphis’  Black Community, as people called in to talk to Bad Dog.  He would make up a hilarious “oath” for the listener to say, and from then on, whenever this individual would call in to talk about the subject of the day, they would self-identify as Black Listener Number So-and-So.  Everyone loved Bad Dog.

However, the most incredible thing that this man accomplished during his time with us started when he, Spencer, and Hart decided to begin a yearly Radiothon in support of St. Jude Hospital’s Ronald McDonald House.

Over the last 20 years, Bad Dog and his co-workers have raised over $7 million dollars to help build and maintain the refuge for cancer-stricken kids and their families, so they could have some semblance of normal life while they undergo treatment at St. Jude. 

Bad Dog McCormack was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in late October 2009.  He was still working mornings, though his new partner was Ric Chetter.  Clear Channel Communications, in their infinite wisdom, had split up the popular Wake Up Crew in November of 2006, firing Newsperson Bev Hart, and, eventually moving Rock 103 Program Director Tim Spencer to Mid-days.

Bad Dog continued to work as he underwent treatment, as he felt that this was the best medicine for him and what God had called him to do.  His courage in the face of his own mortality was an inspiration to the entire Mid-South, as his barrel-house laugh continued to reverberate through the car speakers of the Mid-South every morning.  He also continued to work the annual Rock103 Radiothon, letting nothing stand in his way of helping the kids.

Bad Dog underwent a bone marrow transplant in November of 2010.  He seemed to be doing better, and, in December, an online poll of Memphians voted him The Most Noteworthy Memphian of the Year.

On February 10-11th, Bad Dog was at the mic, around the clock, for the 20th Annual Rock103 Radiothon.  When it was over, he announced that more Leukemia had been found.  He remained upbeat, and said that this was just par for the course.

Meanwhile, Clear Channel Communications, again in its infinite wisdom, fired Ric Chetter, and moved Bad Dog and Tim Spencer to afternoons, while bringing in a morning show named Free Beer and Hot Wings, 5 guys syndicated out of the Great White North, whose humor about hockey games is about as relevant to the Mid-South as hunting moose.

Bad Dog took this change in his usual good-natured stride, happy to be back with his old partner-in-crime, Tim.

Then, last Thursday, Bad Dog took a turn for the worse.  He was rushed to Methodist University Hospital in Downtown Memphis, where he passed away from an aneurysm, brought about by his Leukemia.

In an interview with the Commercial Appeal, Bad Dog made this comment about his battle against Leukemia and his love for the kids at St. Jude:

When I see what they are going through, I have no reason to complain. They are so young and have so much pain. I’ve lived a blessed life. If I died tomorrow, I’d go with a smile on my face.

He also, in his usual big-hearted, gentle way, left a statement to be released after his death:

I have gone to be with God and he is holding me tightly and I am surrounded by many of the Ronald McDonald’s House kids. Do not say you have lost a friend… One is only lost when you don’t know where they are… you know where I am. I thank each and every one of you for your support and prayers. I love all of you and that will never go away. When you are having a bad day… think of my laugh or a Twilight phone or the time we met. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, make every day great, be the spiritual leader of your family. May peace be with you. Your friend, Bad Dog.

John”Bad Dog” McCormack, 55,  leaves behind his two sons, Buck and Tucker, a huge family, and thousands of fans.

As one of those fans, please allow me to say thank you, Bad Dog, for brightening up a lot of dreary mornings. 

A sign currently on display outside  a local jewelry store says it all:

BAD DOG MADE MEMPHIS A BETTER PLACE.

Of Sheen and Schools

On By kingsjesterIn Entertainment, Politics3 Comments

The national train wreck known as Charlie Sheen came to a major split in the tracks yesterday as Warner Bros. Television told the press that the addict’s services on “Two and a Half Men” had been terminated, effective immediately, following “careful consideration.”

Warner Brothers has not yet decided on what they are going to do about the future of the top-rated comedy which stopped production for the season in order for Sheen to seek treatment for his admitted drug use.

Sheen’s addictions have cost him a hit television program and a job that paid a reported $1.8 million an episode, earning him over $43 million a year.

Liberal pundits and other enablers were quick to rush to his aid.

According to Paul Levinson, a Fordham University media professor:

At this point, all bets are off regarding where his career goes from here. Although nothing is certain where fame and celerity are concerned, Sheen’s ubiquity in the past few weeks suggest that he could indeed go on to become a bigger superstar than (the sitcom) could ever had made him.

Yeah, and he could die within the next year from his “problem”, if he continues on the path he’s chosen to take.

The problem is, self-centered people, like Charlie Sheen, the son of noted actor and raging Liberal activist Martin Sheen, want what they want and to heck with whomever they may hurt in the process.

Take the case of the Memphis City School Board, for example.

Today, in Memphis, Tennessee, voters are going to the polls to decide whether the formerly nationally recognized Memphis City Schools system should surrender its charter, forcing a merger with the academically superior and financially sound Shelby County Schools System.

After city and country citizens voted overwhelmingly against consolidation of services last November, the Memphis City Schools’ Board of Education voted last December to surrender its charter, in an attempt to shirk their responsibility for the financial and academic failure of their school system. By forcing the more successful Shelby County system, which includes public schools outside the city limits, to do their job for them, they bypass the wishes of Shelby County Voters.

Only voters within the Memphis City limits will go to the polls today. County voters are excluded.

According to those pushing the merger, this action must be taken, in order to stop Shelby County from seeking school special district status, thereby drawing a boundary around the county system and at the same time, taking a cut out of tax money that currently goes to the Memphis City Schools, to spend as they will.

Those against this unwanted action argue that the spur-of-the-movement, unplanned merger could stretch resources to the point that people will lose their jobs.

The Libs, both locally and nationally, have been very quick to label this a racial issue.  It’s not.  It’s green.

Per yahoo.com, the 2010-2011 budget for Memphis City Schools is about $890 million to cover 103,000 students, 85 percent of whom are black. For the 47,000-student Shelby County system, which is 38 percent black, it’s more than $363 million.

The other problem with the Libs’ racial argument is the fact that African-American ministers, including noted activist Rev. LaSimba (formerly Leo) Gray, have lined up with Shelby County officials, demanding to know where’s the proof that a combined system would be good for anyone.

Gray told a debate audience that athletics were his ticket out of the ‘hood. He wondered how poor children could be expected to play in a system where parents would be expected to pay for football uniforms as they do in the county schools.

Many got out of the community with athletic scholarships. Those are the activities we are talking about leaving on the table.

And what happens regarding the administration of this county-wide school system?  Will there be a 30 member school board?  Will the hacks that ran the city schools into the ground be swept back into power?

One thing’s for sure:  The Realtors in the counties surrounding Shelby County, Tennessee are all rubbing their hands together with glee.

The Sheen and School situations both have something in common:  Both have come about as a result of Liberals not accepting responsibility for their actions and their effect on those around them.

Just as Charlie Sheen’s addictions, caused by a lack of personal responsibility, have cost the cast and crew of Two One and a Half Men wages and, possibly their jobs, the poor stewardship of those in charge of the Memphis City Schools system, who are now trying to force this unplanned merger, will cause consequences felt by both the adults that are employed in the system and the children who are seeking an education.

After all, take it from Charlie Sheen:  Why hold yourself responsible when you can blame somebody else?

A Note From KJ: Here is Part 2 of a 4 part series I wrote about President Barack Hussein Obama, tracing his life from his birth to his nomination as Democratic Candidate for President.  I hope you enjoy it:

https://kingsjester.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/the-great-disconnect-part-2-columbia-community-organizing-and-hahvahd/

Charlie Sheen, The Argument Against the New Libertarianism?

On By kingsjesterIn Entertainment5 Comments

For a while now, Reagan Conservatives have had to listen to Liberals, so-called Fiscal Conservatives, and those who identify themselves as Libertarians chide us about our supposed close-minded ignorance concerning excessive drinking, pot smoking, and recreational use of other illegal substances and their harmful effect on not only the user, but on those around him.  

The latest in a number of recent Hollywood celebrity implosions just blew the harmless argument completely out of the water.

The walking/talking train wreck known as Charlie Sheen made national headlines yesterday as he launched another drug-addled attack against the hand that feeds him, his bosses at CBS Television and Warner Brothers.

The reason? His bosses decided that they had put up with enough of his garbage and cancelled production of the season of his hit comedy Two and a Half Men.

Sheen, who is physically somewhere in the Bahamas and mentally in a galaxy far, far away, called into the radio show Loose Cannons and had a temper tantrum concerning his treatment by his bosses. He called them “clowns” – for

…getting up in my grill, telling me how to live my personal life. 

I kept saying back off, back off – and they wouldn’t. I kept asking for that respect and I couldn’t get it.

These guys (producers Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn) are just a couple AA Nazis and really just blunt hypocrites.

According to Sheen, his relationship with CBS Corp. president and CEO Leslie Moonves is over. Sheen said Moonves visited him at home and asked him to seek treatment:

He rolled into my house and he made a man-to-man request, and I honored it. And I asked for a couple of things, and he’s not honoring that. We’re pretty much done … unless he’s got a really good excuse for a guy who lives in the middle of the truth.

The self-destructive Sheen said that the show set

…has been a toxic environment for eight years. I felt like an unwelcome relative, being given cold coffee at 9 o’ clock every night. I just got tired of it, of people not knowing the truth.

The child-like Sheen said if season nine happens, he would do it

…but not with the turds who are currently in place. It’s impossible. Can you imagine gong back into the sludge-pit with those knuckleheads at this point? It would go bad quickly.

When asked if he had any message for the television show’s crew, Sheen replied:

I say, be patient, yet focused. We are at war and there are ways to deal with these clowns and take all their money.

Defeat is not an option. They picked a fight with the wrong guy… they are in absolute breach. I expressed an opinion and I got the First Amendment behind me….

I put $5 bill in the studio’s pocket, I put half-a-bill in Chuck’s pocket, and this is the thanks I get?

According to the addict, he also claimed he was talking to HBO about doing a show. He said the show would be

…something beyond this drivel, this pukefest that everyone worships. I’m like, ‘Wow, that was another bad joke.’

HBO denies this, but remember, they hired Bill Maher.

In conclusion, Sheen told his supporters (both of them) to

…find the most comfortable furniture in the house, sit in it, open a beer and watch the show because it’s about to get really gnarly.

About to?  Have you looked in the mirror lately, Charlie?

 Sheen was raised as a spoiled Hollywood brat by his dad, Martin Sheen, a brilliant actor, but a raging left-wing activist, who spit on American soldiers during anti-war protests.

Martin Sheen recently made a ludicrous comparison to Sky News, saying:

He’s an extraordinary man. You know, if he had cancer, how would we treat him? The disease of addiction is a form of cancer and you have to have an equal measure of concern and love and lift them up and so that’s what we do for him.

You realize we’re not all on the same journey all the time. We have to love that much more. We have to be that much more present.

Yes, Martin, being addicted is like having a disease.  Except, I’ve never heard about a Cancer patient driving their car recklessly and killing innocent people because of their disease.

That personal responsibility thing is a pain, isn’t it?

Fleebaggin’

On By kingsjesterIn Entertainment, Politics11 Comments

You’re the President of the United States and the world is imploding around you.  The Middle East is on fire, Americans are trapped in Libya and are in mortal danger, over 20 % of your citizens are unemployed, and you are desperately trying to hide your involvement in encouraging anarchy by America’s Public Service Unions.  What do you do?

Well, heck.  You throw a Motown party at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Last night John Legend, Seal, Jamie Foxx, Nick Jonas,Sheryl Crow along with actual Motown performers and musical pioneers Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder performed for the Royal, err, I mean, First Couple, at their Palace, err, I mean, the People’s House in celebration of Black History Month.

Foxx, Seal, Legend and Jonas started the Par-tahy by taking turns as backup dancers, complete with some smooth dance moves to the Motown classics: “Get Ready,” “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “Can’t Get Next to You” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.”

Then, a very pale comparison of the great Supremes, the trio of Natasha Bedingfield, Jordin Sparks and Ledisi tried to sing “Stop! In the Name of Love.”

The very talented Legend channeled Marvin Gaye and sang “Heard It Through the Grapevine”.

Jamie Foxx, searching for relevance, proclaimed that nowadays the story was more likely to be “heard it through my Twitter.”

He quipped:

I’m going to tweet it right now.

Nero fiddled.

In honor of Scooter’s Motown par-tahy last night and the problem of State Democratic Senators fleeing their states, instead of participating in votes on trimming their states’ budgets, I’ve written a little  ditty, with apologies to legendary R & B artist Robert Parker:

FLEEBAGGIN’

State Senators had an idea that’s pretty neat,

You gotta vote when you’re in your seat.

They jumped  in their cars and hit the street,

Across the state line, they’re gonna meet.

They’re fleebaggin’.  They’re fleebaggin’.

They’re fleebaggin’.  They’re fleebaggin’.

The Union Bosses, they called them up,

Said don’t ‘cha know who fills your cup,

If you know what’s good for you,

Gettin’ out-of-state is what you will do.

They’re fleebaggin’.  They’re fleebaggin’.

They’re fleebaggin’.  They’re fleebaggin’.

Governor Walker and Daniels, too,

Are trying to figure out what to do.

To get them back, they’ve got to try,

Daniels pleaded, he might have cried.

They’re fleebaggin’.  They’re fleebaggin’.

They’re fleebaggin’.  They’re fleebaggin’.

American voters are gettin’ mad.

The dems’ future is gonna be bad.

2012 is almost here,

There’ll be a lot of cryin’ in their beer.

They’re Fleebaggin’.  They’re Fleebaggin’.

They’re Fleebaggin’.   They’re Fleebaggin’.

They’re Fleebaggin’.    They’re Fleebaggin’.

They’re Fleebaggin’.  They’re Fleebaggin’.

They’re Fleebaggin’.

To close, here’s the legendary Mr. Robert Parker, performing his hit at his induction in 2007 into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.  Enjoy.

American Influences: Jack LaLanne

On By kingsjesterIn Entertainment3 Comments

I know that I’m beginning to sound like an old man, but the subject of one of my earliest childhood memories passed away this morning.  Jack LaLanne, the pioneering fitness guru who extolled and exemplified the benefits of a daily exercise routine and healthy eating, passed away this morning at the age of 96.

A lot of you out there know him from his infomercials that he and his wife of 51 years, Elaine, did to promote his Power Juicer.  For us **ahem** older Americans, he was the guy we watched work out for 30 minutes every morning in glorious black and white with his two beautiful white German Shepherds, Happy and Walter.

When his show would come on, he would tell all us kids to go wake up Mom and tell her to get into the living room and come exercise with him.  You need to remember, there was no cable back then.  All you could watch were the local affiliates of ABC, NBC, CBS, and **shudder** PBS.

Jack was an innovator.  He performed 30 minutes of body-shaping exercises using only a towel, a chair, and a couple of small barbells.  And if you dared to try to keep up with him, you would be falling out afterwards.

Jack’s parents were poor French immigrants. Born in 1914, he grew up to become a sugar addict.

His life changed on the night when he attended a lecture by pioneering nutritionist Paul Bragg, an advocate of the benefits of brown rice, whole wheat and a vegetarian diet.

According to Jack:

He got me so enthused. After the lecture I went to his dressing room and spent an hour and a half with him. He said, ‘Jack, you’re a walking garbage can.”‘

Inspired by Bragg, Jack built a makeshift gym in his back yard:

I had all these firemen and police working out there and I kind of used them as guinea pigs.

In 1936 in his hometown of Oakland, CA, Jack did something considered revolutionary at that time. He opened a health studio that included weight-training for women and athletes. The common thought of the day said that weight training made an athlete slow and “muscle bound” and it made a woman look masculine.

You have to understand that it was absolutely forbidden in those days for athletes to use weights. It just wasn’t done. We had athletes who used to sneak into the studio to work out.

It was the same with women. Back then, women weren’t supposed to use weights. I guess I was a pioneer.

Jack also founded a chain of fitness studios that bore his name.

His feats of fitness became the stuff of legend. Turning 43 in 1957, he performed more than 1,000 push-ups in 23 minutes on the “You Asked For It” television show. When he turned 60, he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.  Just swimming that distance wasn’t challenging enough, so he did it while handcuffed, shackled and towing a boat. When he turned 70, he performed the same feat in Long Beach harbor!

87-year-old Bob Barker, another television icon, said:

He was amazing. He never lost enthusiasm for life and physical fitness. I saw him in about 2007 and he still looked remarkably good. He still looked like the same enthusiastic guy that he always was.

Barker credits LaLanne for encouraging him to exercise regularly. As he demonstrated in the Adam Sandler movie, Happy Gilmore, Barker holds a Black Belt in karate.

Jack LaLanne’s personal daily exercise routine usually consisted of two hours of weightlifting and an hour in the swimming pool.

It’s a lifestyle, it’s something you do the rest of your life. How long are you going to keep breathing? How long do you keep eating? You just do it.

Jack said in an interview in 1990:

I never think of my age, never. I could be 20 or 100. I never think about it, I’m just me. Look at Bob Hope, George Burns. They’re more productive than they’ve ever been in their whole lives right now.

He underwent heart valve surgery two years ago, but never stopped exercising, up until his death.

In addition to his wife, he leaves behind two sons, Dan and Jon, and a daughter, Yvonne.

Jack joked in 2006, that

I can’t afford to die. It would wreck my image.

No, sir. It did not. To me, and millions of other Americans, we will always remember your optimism, that great big smile that you always had on your face, and the unrelenting passion that you kept for your life’s mission.

Rest in peace, sir. As you always sang when your show ended: May the Good Lord bless and keep you, too.

 

 

Pushing Back the Envelope

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Entertainment9 Comments

Last Monday night on MTV, a new dramatic series premiered entitled Skins.  No, it isn’t about a touch football game.  But, they are trying to move society’s cultural goalposts.

Skins tells the story of a bunch of 15-year-old-or-so teenagers doing drugs, having sex, doing more drugs, sharing their teenage angst with each other, and basically doing every hedonistic thing that the scriptwriters could think of in order to boost this poor-excuse-for- a-television program’s ratings, such as showing the rear view of a 15-year-old boy, running naked down the street, freaking out over the effects of the Viagra that he’s taken.

Pitiful.

By the way, is it just me or does that picture remind you of a scene from the Spencer Tracy movie, Dante’s Inferno?  But I digress…

Per hollywoodreporter.com:

Executives at Viacom, MTV’s parent company have already reportedly told producers to tone down the show. Meanwhile, the Parents Television Council said this week that it’s urging the Department of Justice and U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees to open an investigation.

The group sent a statement to those organizations, saying:

In addition to the sexual content on the show involving cast members as young as 15, PTC counted 42 depictions and references to drugs and alcohol in the premiere episode.

It is clear that Viacom has knowingly produced material that may well be in violation of [several anti-child pornography laws],” added the PTC, which earlier called the show “the most dangerous program ever for children.

MTV responded:

Skins is a show that addresses real-world issues confronting teens in a frank way. We review all of our shows and work with all of our producers on an ongoing basis to ensure our shows comply with laws and community standards. We are confident that the episodes of ‘Skins’ will not only comply with all applicable legal requirements, but also with our responsibilities to our viewers.

Uh-huh.  Yeah, right.  And Snookie will win an Oscar someday.

The PTC also called for the boycotting of Taco Bell for advertising on the program.

Per Fox News, Taco Bell has since pulled their advertising from the program.

So has General Motors, after airing commercials for the Chevy Volt during the show’s premiere on Monday night.

According to one of the teen actors on the series, Sofia Black-D’elia, the content of the show is no big deal:

It’s pushing the boundaries for teen drama because I think Skins goes where other shows are afraid to.

The actress, who plays a teen lesbian on the program, made her remarks on the HDNet show Naughty But Nice With Rob earlier this week. 

This young lady also says: 

It’s what teens are doing. It’s the way teenagers believe, I think, especially you know in certain situations when you come from home lives where your parents don’t really support you or really listen to you. That’s what most of these kids are going through. And so, um, the drugs and the sex, they’re vices, and that’s what teenagers have.

Not the majority of them, sweetie-pie, even if the Progressives who run MTV desperately want them to be. 

Skins debuted Monday night with 3.3 million viewers. It is now MTV’s highest-rated new scripted series in the network’s key 12-34 demo – a 3.4 – which translates to roughly 2.7 million.

This fact is, it’s MTV’s only scripted series.  People slow down to look at a car wreck, too.

Like the new SyFy series, Being Human, this is not even a original series, but is an Americanized version of a program shown on the BBC.

Explains why Sharia Law is on the verge of taking over England, doesn’t it?

Time for another “It seems like it was just yesterday” moment:

The year was 1981.  I was just out of college, working in the Local Programming Department of my city’s Cablevision franchise.  One of the guys brought in a 3/4″ U-matic video tape of a new channel that was premiering called Music Television.  The tape had 3 videos on it:  Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight, a song by .38 Special, and a concept video by a group called Split Enz, One Step Ahead.

Later that year, MTV premiered with the aptly-titled song Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles. 

As with all great ideas, the Progressives eventually changed MTV into something that it was never meant to be.  They used MTV to attempt to change America’s cultural mores, first through music videos and genres, such as Heavy Metal and Rap, and later through racy reality series and live satellite-delivered programs from Spring Break in Florida.  The reality series became national water cooler topics,  like the one where they put a bunch of amoral losers in a house together, competing to be top dog.

As I mentioned before, it’s the train wreck effect, otherwise known as the “did-you-see-what happened-on-that-show-last-night-syndrome”.

With Skins, MTV and Viacom are once again attempting to move American Society’s Cultural Goalposts.  Only this time, it seems that they pushed the envelope too far, and Americans are pushing back.

A Phone Call From Bubba

On By kingsjesterIn Entertainment, Politics4 Comments

Hello…this is KJ.  Who’s this?  Well, Howdy, Mr. President.   How are ya?

Yeah.  I heard you were out on the stump for the Democrat Candidates, trying to minimize the damage before the November 2nd Massacre…Lotsa Luck…Heh. 

The other day, you were in Espanola, New Mexico, speaking to a crowd of 4,000.  You’ll go anywhere, won’t you?  But, I’ve got to ask you.  Just who were you campaigning for?

I planned to do about one stop for everybody that helped Hillary run for president because she’s one of only two members of the president’s cabinet who cannot participate in politics .

Y’know, as Secretary of State, Hil is not permitted to campaign. Then I got out here and started stirring around and realised that a lot of people were mad and even more confused and I didn’t want it on my conscience so I just loaded up and started strolling around.

Criminently.  The schedule you guys keep means you two see each other about as often as Lindsey Lohan sees sobriety.  Do I hear a smile in your voice, Bubba?

Well, I can understand your reluctance to campaign on behalf of Hil’s boss.  You two haven’t exactly been the best of friends since the knockdown-dragout fight y’all had in 2008.   Hey, was Gov. Bill “Judas” Richardson out there with you?  

Why, Mr. President.  I didn’t know that you knew such words! 

Did you hear about Scooter campaigning for Dinghy Harry out in Las Vegas last night?  Yeah.  It was supposed to be a rally for Harry Reid but the crowd kept chanting Obama’s name.  Pretty funny.  Scooter said to the crowd, who busted a gut, laughing:

Harry is not the flashiest guy, let’s face it.  Harry kind of speaks in a very soft voice. He doesn’t move very quickly. He doesn’t give stem-winding speeches. But Harry does the right thing.

Thant was a backhanded compliment if I’ve ever heard one.

At one point, Scooter had to stop his sycophants from chanting:

I appreciate everyone saying ‘Obama,’ but I want everyone to say ‘Harry, Harry, Harry. 

He then had to lead the crowd in the cheer and, after they finally joined in, he said:

That’s right.

Yep.  Harry and Angle are locked in a dead heat.  And that’s not the worst of Harry’s problems.  Nevada’s unemployment rate is sitting at 14.4 %!

And his penthouse at the Washington Ritz-Carlton has not gone over well with the Nevadan taxpayers, either.

Scooter’s speaking in Minnesota tonight, after being in Portland and Seattle this week.  The personal charisma of you and Scooter are all that’s keeping hope alive for your political party with 9 days to go before the Midterm Election.  Lord knows these Congresscritters can’t run on their record.

Y’know, there have been a lot of rumors about Hil.  No, not those kind of rumors.  Political rumors, like her replacing Crazy Uncle Joe as VP.  She wouldn’t do that, of course.  She’s been  loyal to Obama – it would have been politically foolish to appear otherwise – but her under-the-radar job means she can remain distant from most of what he does.  She’s not interested in the VP slot in 2012, is she, Bubba?

She’s already answered that.  I’ll tell you what, she likes being Secretary of State and she’s doing a great job.

By the way, where’s Hil going to be on the night of the elections?  Oh.  She’ll be out of town on November 2nd.  She’ll be on the other side of the globe, on a tour including stops in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. How convenient.  Y’know, Scooter’s leaving town right after her, going on a 12-day trip Asian trip.  I guess they’re both gettin’ the heck out of Dodge.

I realize that challenging Scooter for the nomination in 2012 might be a no-win situation. To seek to get rid of  the first black president would split your party in two and almost guarantee a Republican victory, even if Hillary won the nomination.  Heeeey…on  second thought…you guys need to go for it!

However, 2016 would be a completely different situation.  You guys aren’t fooling anybody.  Everyone knows that she still has her eyes on the White House.  I heard that her former chief strategist Mark Penn recently polled her popularity compared to Obama’s.

So, is Hill going to run for president in 2016?

She speaks for herself on these things.

Ummm.  Okay.   Hey, before you go, one more thing.  There is a new story out now that you lost the card the president is meant to keep close at hand, bearing the codes that he has to have in order to launch a nuclear attack.  

Gen. Hugh Shelton, who served under you as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says that you lost “the biscuit” in 2000.  In a previously released book, Ret. Air Force Lt. Col Robert Patterson, said that you lost it in 1998.  Patterson was one of the men who carried “the football”, the nuclear briefcase. 

No one seems to have all the facts, but that’s not unusual when national security matters are involved.   In fact, there’s an old story that Jimmy Carter left his biscuit in a suit that got sent to the dry cleaners. Even to this day, no one will confirm the story, but no one will deny it either.

Never mind, Bubba.  It’s been quite while a while now.  I’m sure you don’t remember where you left it.  By the way, while Hil is out of town on November 2nd, what are going to be up to?  Oh……never mind.

Bye, Bubba.

Those Weren’t Christians Who Attacked Us on 9/11

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Entertainment, Politics10 Comments

Those self-appointed arbiters of what is just and fair, Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg, pranced off the set of “The View” during an appearance by “The O’Reilly Factor” host Bill O’Reilly on Thursday morning.

They threw up their hands and left during a discussion of the New York City Ground Zero Mosque.

O’Reilly stated the fact that:

Seventy percent of Americans don’t want that mosque down there.

When the clueless Liberals asked why, O’Reilly clearly explained that the mosque was not supported by the majority of Americans because its location was inappropriate.

Appearing exceedingly dense, Whoopi (I’m going to name my next child that…NOT) Goldberg asked why it was inappropriate, bringing up the 70 Muslims (out of 3,000 people murdered) who died in the attacks, O’Reilly stated plainly:

Because Muslims killed us on 9/11. That’s why.

Goldberg  responded like a petulant 14 year old:

That is such bul####t.

O’Reilly asked:

Muslims didn’t kill us? Is that what you’re saying?

 Goldberg said:

Extremists did that!

What kind of Extremists, idjit?

As the discussion got more contentious, seeing that she was losing the argument, the officious Behar got up from her seat beside O’Reilly. 

The failed comedienne whined:

I don’t want to sit here right now, I don’t.  I am outraged by that statement.

Goldberg joined her Liberal sister and the two showily pranced off stage.

Barbra Walters defended O’Reilly:

I want to say something to all of you. You have just seen what should not happen.  We should be able to have discussions without washing our hands and screaming and walking off stage. I love my colleagues, but that should not have happened.

Walters then scolded O’Reilly:

Now let me just say in a calmer voice, it was extremists. You cannot take a whole religion and demean them.

Again, what kind of Extremists, Babs?

O’Reilly said:

If anybody felt that I was demeaning all Muslims, then I apologize.

Goldberg and Behar returned to the stage minutes later. 

Behar, feigning righteousness, explained:

We’re back because now you apologized.

You should not have apologized, Bill.  First, the couch breathed a sign of relief after they got up and left.  Second,  it was Muslims who murdered 3,000 people on September 11, 2001.

There, Libs, I said it!  Pffft!

These ladies (and I am being generous) need to ask Author Walid Shoebat about Imam Rauf and the Ground Zero Mosque. From his website:

Born in Bethlehem of Judea, Walid’s grandfather was the Muslim Mukhtar (chieftain) of Beit Sahour-Bethlehem (The Shepherd’s Fields) and a friend of Haj-Ameen Al-Husseni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and notorious friend of Adolf Hitler. Walid’s great-grandfather, Abdullah Ali Awad-Allah, was also a fighter and close associate of both Abdul Qader and Haj Amin Al-Husseini, who led the Palestinians against Israel. Walid lived through and witnessed Israel’s Six Day War while living in Jericho. As a young man, he became a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and participated in acts of terror and violence against Israel, and was later imprisoned in the Russian Compound, Jerusalem’s central prison for incitement and violence against Israel. After his release, he continued his life of violence and rioting in Bethlehem and the Temple Mount. After entering the U.S, he worked as a counselor for the Arab Student Organization at Loop College in Chicago and continued his anti-Israel activities. In 1993, Walid studied the Tanach (Jewish Bible) in a challenge to convert his wife to Islam. Six months later, after intense study, Walid realized that everything he had been taught about Jews was a lie. Convinced he was on the side of evil, he became an advocate for his former enemy. Driven by a deep passion to heal his own soul, and to bring the truth about the Jews and Israel to the world, Walid shed his former life and his work as a software engineer and set out to tirelessly bring the cause of Israel to tens of thousands of people throughout the world: churches and synagogues, civic groups, government leaders and media. Walid has written several online books including “Dear Muslim, Let Me Tell You Why I Believed” and “Israel, And The World’s Mock Trial”, where he exposes anti-Semitism and the hatred of Jews in both the Islamic Christian and secular worlds. Walid is an American citizen and lives in the USA with his wife and children, under this assumed name.

This is an excerpt from a blog that Walid posted on September 2, 2010:

At a forum in Dubai on Tuesday, Rauf appeared to call the 71 percent of New Yorkers who oppose his project religious “extremists.”

“The battlefront . . . is not between Muslims and non-Muslims,” he said. “It is between moderates [and] extremists and radicals of all faith traditions.”

We’d guess 71 percent of New Yorkers would include a representative cross-section of “all faith traditions.”

Are they “extremists” for opposing the mosque?

New Yorkers hardly ever agree on any thing — but they agree it’s inappropriate.

Are they “radicals?”

If Rauf thinks so, then New York ain’t the town for him.

Nor is there room for his mosque at Ground Zero.

Why are Liberals/Progressives/Democrats so willing to protect a barbaric ideology masquerading as a religion?  Is it out of ignorance, a desire to appear intellectual, or just plain fear?  Does their own selfish philosophy of relative ethics and morality delude them into putting blinders on regarding the centuries-long history of violent acts committed in the name of Allah?  When suicide bombers detonate their bombs, they don’t scream: “Yippie ki yay”!  They scream “Allahu Akbar”!  That’s exactly what Major Hassan yelled as he jumped up on that table at Ft. Hood and shot and killed all those soldiers, including a pregnant woman.

Whoopi and Joy (ironic names, considering that they are both harpies) need to get rid of their feigned self-righteous indignation when someone speaks the truth about the worst Islamic Terrorist attack ever on American soil. 

They were unfunny comediennes.  Now, they’re just clowns. 

Newsflash: Liberals Make Bad Decisions

On By kingsjesterIn Entertainment, Politics5 Comments

Yesterday, in the United States House of Representatives, the number of jokers usually there  increased by one.

Appearing in his role as a Comedy Central news commentator, Stephen Colbert was invited to the House hearing to share his “vast” knowledge, drawn from spending a single day on a New York farm as a guest of the United Farm Workers.

The union launched its “Take Our Jobs” campaign to back up its claim that few Americans would do the work of farm laborers, the vast majority of whom are in the U.S. illegally. Only seven people accepted the jobs, the union claims. 

Who did they ask?

Colbert actually was there at the invitation of subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.  And, after asking him to leave initially, Rep. John Conyers later gave him the go-ahead, apparently hoping that the so-called comedian’s performance would counter the testimony of a political science professor who said illegal immigrants were competing with black and Hispanic citizens for jobs.

Colbert performed his pretentious routine, demanding that lawmakers do something about the agriculture industry’s dependence on immigrant labor.

Lord, how I miss Red Skelton and Flip Wilson.

Colbert opined:

I’m not a fan of the government doing anything.  But I’ve got to ask, Why isn’t the government doing anything?

Colbert’s humor drew laughter from the audience and several Democrats on the subcommittee. But most of the Republicans were not entertained.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa said:

Maybe we should be spending less time watching Comedy Central and more time considering all the real jobs that are out there.

 At the close of the hearing, Colbert dropped his TV persona and turned serious, claiming that he was using his celebrity to bring attention to farm labor because “these seem to be the least of my brothers.”

Colbert said:

Right now migrant workers suffer and have no rights.

It might be because they are in our country illegally, Colbert.

By the way, this lame comedy routine cost us American Taxpayers $125,000, due to the cost of holding a committee hearing.

While we’re on the subject of Liberals, television, and the American people, let’s talk about cable news.

Everyone knows who the leader in cable news is, it’s Fox.  Their overwhelming dominance of the industry can be contributed to the leadership of Roger Ailes.

Just as Ailes has succeeded, others have failed.  Yesterday, it was announced that the heads of CNN and MSNBC have been shown the door.

Jonathan Klein, the president of the rapidly tanking CNN/U.S. cable channel, is being replaced by Ken Jautz, the head of the tabloid-oriented sister channel HLN, the company said Friday.

The change is effective immediately.  Klein was fired earlier this week by his boss, Jim Walton, the president of CNN Worldwide. According to Klein,  Walton “told me they wanted to restructure things this way, and thank you very much, and good luck.”

Klein was in charge of CNN for nearly six years.  During that time, he tried to convince the public that the Liberal-viewpoint that they were hearing from his news channel was actually a “Moderate” viewpoint and that CNN was actually the news channel that was “fair and balanced”. 

The American public did not believe it.

The timing of Klein’s firing shocked CNN employees because the channel, currently ranked third in the prime time ratings behind Fox News and MSNBC,  is about to undergo a reinvention that he organized. The commentators Eliot Spitzer  (Client 9) and Kathleen Parker (noted Faux Conservative pundit) are scheduled to replace a news program at 8 p.m. next month, and the talent show judge and journalist Piers Morgan will replace Larry King three months after that.

It’s brilliant programming decisions like those that caused Klein to be “future endeavored”.

Jeff Zucker, the chief executive of NBC Universal, e-mailed the company’s employees on Friday morning that he would step down from his position upon the completion of the takeover of NBC by Comcast.

The fate of  Zucker, the longest-serving senior manager at NBC, had been the subject of a lot of rumors since Comcast agreed in December to purchase 51 percent of NBCU from its long-time corporate owner, General Electric. The deal is expected to close at the end of the year, following regulatory approval.

Zucker’s, who is 45, fate was sealed after a meeting two weeks ago with Steve Burke, Comcast’s chief operating officer.

According to Zucker:

We had both gotten to the same place.  He made it clear that they wanted to move on at the close of the deal and I was completely comfortable with that.

Uh Huh.

In his e-mail to the staff he spoke about the “ups and downs” the company had experienced. Zucker said he did not detect “any particular reason” beyond the broad desire for new leadership for Comcast’s inclination to make a change.

I dunno, Jeff.  How about the whole Leno/Conan fiasco? Or the unwatchable news channel known as MSNBC? Or (shudder) the Rosie O’Donnell Variety show?

In their zeal to demonstrate their intellectual superiority and indoctrinate the American people with their enlightened ideology, Liberal politicians and the sycophants in the Main Stream Media have grossly underestimated the discernment, patriotism, and moral fiber of the public.  As we head into the Midterm Elections, they are all beginning to reap what they sowed.

Klein and Zucker should go to California and become farm laborers.  They might actually be good at that.