Shedd's Spot

Friday Frolics, Volume XX: The Simpsons for TGI McScratchy's..I Mean TGI Fridays

2010-12-03T00:10:00.000-05:00

Almost a year ago I asked if the Simpsons would hawk any product. Maybe they will....

The Minefield of Modern Dating

2010-08-31T16:25:00.008-04:00

A couple of years back, Shedd's Spot's west coast bureau chief, M.K., sent me this link to a snipet on The Atlantic's website entitled "The Date from Hell". After reading the piece and LOLing (geez, I hate that term but sometimes it is actually the truth and appropriate), I considered posting a link to it as part of my Friday Frolics series. But, then I thought I'd wait and use it as an introduction to a post on dating in 2008. (Yes, I've sat on this link that long.) Well, I never could bring myself to write a post on my dating life and my friends probably wouldn't appreciate it if I shared their woes here. So instead, I put the idea in the back corner of my brain and waited until I had more outside material/links to share in a post on dating.

If you haven't yet clicked on "The Date from Hell" link, here's a brief summary (but do read it!). The piece was actually taken from Craigslist. It details a date, from the guy's perspective, between a guy and gal who met in a bar. The piece goes into painstaking details about the girl's love of herself and how important she thinks every detail of her life is. The date eventually leads to nothing except for a comic relief on the internet.

To be fair to the gentler sex, many of my female friends have similar complaints about the guys they meet and eventually go on dates with. Usually, the guys are self absorbed and want to show how important and busy they are. That complaint seems even more prevalent here in the D.C. area, where everyone wants to feel important. Maybe that's why I find the concept of the Washington Post Magazines's "Date Lab" so rediculous, yet comical. The Date Lab takes applicants from the D.C. Metro area, matches them up, and sends them out an expense paid blind date. In return, the applicants agree to be interviewed by a Post writer the next day in order for the Date Lab entry to be written. The participants also agree to have their name, age and photos published in the paper. To me, Date Lab is sort of a technological step back from the days of Chuck Woolery hosting Love Connection. I've read several of the Date Lab features and my usual reaction is "are you for real?". Check out a few Date Lab entries and see what you think.

Finally, a female friend of mine who moved from Madison Wisconsin to New York City a while back has told me about a few of the awful dates she has had since the move. I won't repeat any of her stories here, but she has mentioned a few of them are candidates to show up on My Very Worst Date. If you think your dating life is awful, just read a few of these stories.

Happy dating and as Chuck Woolery used to say, "we're back in two and two."

Bob, Jack and Albert

2010-08-08T21:00:00.002-04:00

Last week, The Washington Post ran this story on Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's plan to privatize Virginia's state run liquor stores. McDonnell envisions a one time profit from the sale of $300 million to $500 million. The profit would be used for road improvements in the Commonwealth. At first glance, and disregarding how one might feel about a state government being in the business of distributing and selling liquor, this may sound like a good idea. But upon further review, this may be one of the most assanine fiscal ideas in state history.

The Post article states Virginia's liquour stores showed a profit of $248million in fiscal 2009. That number was almost $14 million higher than the 2008 profit. (As we all know, alcohol sales are immune to dips in the economy. One might even be able to argue that alcohol sales go up when the economy is in a downturn.) With profits running at that rate, McDonnell's planned sale of the stores would do nothing more than provide one to two years of profits in a one time payment to the State. Additionally, the large ongoing profit stream would be gone and only be partially replaced by taxes on the liquor sales, which could probably be estimated at $25 million per year based on taxes collected on liquor sales in Maryland (see the Post article).

As to the $300 million to $500 million being used to improve roads, that funding is just a drop in the bucket compared to the billions of dollars needed to improve roads and transportation in Virginia. For example, a $300 million inflow would be enough money to complete three and a third road projects such as the 2.5 mile widening project on I-66 between the Route 234 bypass and the Route 29 exit in Gainesville, which cost $90 million. Even with a healthy dose of matching federal funds, the profit from the sale of liquour stores wouldn't go far in paying for road construction projects. Here's hoping the Virginia state legislature has the good sense to kill this idea. If it does, I may toast them with a sip of Jack Daniel's.

Speaking of Jack Daniel's, a bottle of which was used as an example of what Virignia, Maryland and D.C. make per liquor sale in the Post story, a friend of mine emailed some friends and me the story I'm about to tell.

Much has been made lately of the fitness test the Washington Redskins required DT Albert Haynesworth to pass prior to taking part in training camp. The requirements of the test are that Haynesworth had to run a pair of 12 back-and-forth 25-yard sprints in 70 seconds each, with a 3 1/2 minute break in between. After the requirements and Haynesworth's repeated failures hit the headlines, it seems everyone and their grandmother set out to see if they could past the test. One of those who tried is my friend and former softball teammate, Billy. Let me preface Billy's story by saying he is a former college baseball player, in his upper 40's and in far better shape than most anyone I know who is that age. Here is Billy's take, in his own words, on the test from the night he attempted it:

Okay, so this whole Haynesworth thing is pissing me off. I decided at 11pm after 2 Jack n' Cokes and a huge plate full of Beef Ribs and Mac n' Cheese that I'd go to the football field at Madison High School with my stop watch and see how hard this can be. As Cody, my dog, as my witness, I was able to accomplish this feat, but just barely. I know that I don't weigh 360 pounds, but I thought the belly full of ribs, Mac n' Cheese and 2 tall Jack n' Cokes and a dog running by my side jumping up and biting my arm every 15 yards because he thought I was playing some kind of dog game would offset the issue of a very large man. I ran the first twelve 25 yards in just under 70 seconds. The last 25 yards was not easy. Then, after the 3 1/2 minute rest, I ran the 2nd set in 67 seconds, but seriously I thought I was going to die. During the last 25 yards, my legs felt like they weighed a ton. It's now almost midnight, and I doubt that I'll fall asleep before 1am!!

Maybe that was Haynesworth's problem all along. He didn't have the proper fuel in him. I'm sure a couple of shots of Jack Daniel's, puchased at his local state owned liquor store would have loosened him right up.

Friday Frolics, Volume XXX, Dolemite

2010-07-09T00:10:00.001-04:00

Thirty-five years ago this month, the movie Dolemite, starring Rudy Ray Moore as the title character, was released. The early and mid 70's were the heyday of blaxploitation films and this film is a fine example of the genre. Here's an original movie trailer, which, by the way, shouldn't be viewed at work.

Bill Kirchen Update

2010-07-03T07:00:00.001-04:00

Last year, I posted this piece which included some information on the recording of Bill Kirchen's latest CD. Earlier this year, that CD, Word to the Wise, was released and Kirchen has been playing shows and giving interviews in support of the it. A few weeks back, a friend of mine from the Sunset Grille sent me links to two these interviews. The first was Bill's appearance on NPR's All Things Considered. You can hear that interview here. The second appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and can be read here. I find the picture of Bill that accompanies the Chronicle piece a little scary, but not as scary as the picture below which was taken in January at the Sunset Grille.

Back in January, Kirchen played a Sunday evening show at the Sunset Grille in Annandale, Va. Kirchen had held court at the Grille most Thursday nights for years, until he left the D.C. area for Austin in 2004. (Kirchen has since moved back to the D.C. area.) But in the few months leading up to Kirchen's January appearance, the Grille had fallen on hard times. Out of loyalty to the Grille and its patrons, Kirchen agreed to play the show with proceeds going to keep the Grille afloat. During the show, Kirchen decided to relive some the old days at the Grille and stuck is guitar in the ceiling over the stage while playing it. Shortly thereafter, part of the ceiling came falling down, severely cutting Kirchen's head. Kirchen refused to leave the Grille to get stitched up and instead kept playing. The picture shown above was taken by a friend of mine as Kirchen soldiered on. Thankfully both Bill and the Sunset Grille survived the night. Let's hope they're both around for years to come.

Friday Frolics, Volume 44: Testemax

2010-03-11T07:58:00.000-05:00

My friend "Vern" recently sent me this link to a commercial for a "product" called Testemax. "Vern" thinks he should become the distributor for his neighborhood where it seems the MILFs wear the pants in most all the households. Be warned, the language in this video is not suitable for a work environment.

Midweek Time Killers: D.C. Sports Business

2010-03-03T07:36:00.000-05:00

This post revolves around two recent Washington City Paper pieces from Dave McKenna's "Cheap Seats" column. The first piece centers on the Redskins partnersip with liquor conglomerate Diageo. Although Diageo is funding responsible drinking programs (aka using the programs as advertising), it also put out a reward for any NFL player who would strike a Captain Morgan pose after scoring a touchdown. You can read about it here.

Capitals owner Ted Leonsis has quickly gained the reputation as the best, and most fan friendly, professional sports franchise owner in the area. With the Capitals owning the best record in the NHL, the Verizon Center is sold out for most all Caps home games. According to this "Cheap Seats" piece, Leonsis is now reaping additional financial rewards of the Caps success by putting some Caps tickets into a program where fans pay just to have the option to buy tickets at a future date. It seems the program works well for a franchise whose tickets are in high demand, but somehow I can't see the program working for the beleagured Washington Wizards.

Friday Frolics, Volume 43: Return Trip From the Caravan Club

2010-02-12T07:07:00.003-05:00

Recently, BBC America has been airing episodes the UK comedy The Inbetweeners. The show is centered around four high school friends and their endless (and mostly fruitless) pursuit of girls. This clip is the final scene in an epsisode where the boys visit a caravan club (aka a campground) in pursuit of hook ups. (Be warned the subject matter and language makes this outside the office viewing.)

Friday Frolics, Volume 42: Drunk All Around This Town

2010-02-05T00:10:00.000-05:00

As a warm up to Scott Miller's appearance tonight at Iota, here he is performing "Drunk All Around This Town".

(Yes, I know I posted another performance of the song about a year ago.)

Super Bowl Week Football Stuff

2010-02-03T19:07:00.002-05:00

A couple of football related items to warm you up for this weekend's game.

First, "J.D." sent me this excerpt from a Jan. 25th Michael Silver Yahoo Sports column. The excerpt doesn't have anything to do with football per se, but it is a nice commentary on the music of New Orleans and the awful cross promotion the networks include in their sports broadcasts.

OK, so the Saints were about to play the biggest home game in the history of their franchise, in a city that has as awesome a musical heritage as any in America – if not the most awesome. How many artists with New Orleans ties would have been thrilled to sing the national anthem, and would have made it completely memorable? The Neville Brothers? Harry Connick Jr.? The Funky Meters? Marcia Ball? Cowboy Mouth? Deacon John? Fats Domino? Allen Toussaint? Irma Thomas? Rockin Dopsie? I could go on, and on, and on, and on. … Yet instead of any of those accomplished musicians – some of whom, realistically, were probably at the Superdome, or within a few miles of the stadium – the powers that be trotted out reigning “American Idol” winner Kris Allen, the most insipid singer on earth. Gee, I wonder why that was. Could it be that Fox, which broadcast the game, also is the home to “Idol” and convinced the NFL to do it in the name of promotional harmony? Why yes, I believe that is the only possible explanation, and the good people of New Orleans should have been disgusted. Yet I have a feeling they got over it once Hartley’s field goal went through the uprights – and many of them hit the streets and celebrated into the night at establishments featuring acts far more entertaining than Allen’s canned tripe.

The entire Silver column can be read here.

Second, if you listen to minutes two thru six of this WTEM interview with former Redskins offensive lineman, and current SI.com reporter, Ross Tucker, you'll understand why the Steve Spurrier era was doomed from the start. You gotta love Spurrier's attitude toward training camp.

Finally, a few years back, NPR ran Andy Griffith's famous "What it Was,Was Football" stand up routine in honor of the routine's 5oth anniversary. You can listen to it here.

Drinking With Dale Watson

2010-01-31T07:00:00.005-05:00

Dale Watson brought his 2010 winter tour to Iota in Arlington this past Monday (1/25). The club was reaching capacity when Watson came on stage around 9:15 and started the show with "Truckstop in La Grange" from his 1996 CD Blessed or Damned. Before wrapping up the opening song, he briefly morphed it into Z.Z. Top's "La Grange".

After thanking the crowd for coming out, Watson made the first of his many pitches for Lone Star Beer. (When I saw Watson perform at the Continental Club in Austin is September, Watson made several Lone Star pitches. At the time, I thought it was something he only did at his regular gigs in Texas.) Iota doesn't serve Lone Star, but the club does have another Texas favorite, Shiner, on tap. A member of the audience was quick to point this out. Of course, Watson argued Shiner just wasn't the same and went on with his Lone Star pitch with his right hand curved as to say "someone put a beer in my hand".

(Dale Watson on stage at the 2008 Richmond Folk Festival)

Seeing Watson wouldn't settle for the Shiner alternative, it wasn't long before members of the audience presented Watson an option he could live with, a steady stream of whiskey shots. After throwing back the first shot, Watson settled into a pattern of performing a song or two, making a pitch for Lone Star and/or telling a story, throwing back a shot, and then taking a request. Many of Watson's shows revolve around audience requests, which seems to work well for him because most audience members know his material and the classic country artists whose material he likes to cover. But, occasionally some dumbass in the audience will begin to yell for something totally absurd. This time around someone in the back of the club began yelling for Watson to sing something by Mojo Nixon. Watson played it off well, saying Nixon was friend of his.

After being on stage for an hour so, Watson had knocked out a few requests, including his own "Wine, Wine, Wine" and Ray Price's "Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women". At that point, Watson had also knocked back a few shots and a few beers. The between song Lone Star pitches were replaced with drinking stories about bad experiences with different types of liquor. For better or worse, these stories just inspired the audience to supply shots of the liquor the stories centered around. Soon, Watson found himself trying to knock back a shot of Southern Comfort. During the song that followed, Watson showed a little facial contortion. After the song was over, he admitted to throwing up "a little" in his mouth. Lucky for him, the Peppermint Schnapps shot that followed went down a little more smoothly.

During Watson's second hour on stage, and for obvious reasons, the pace of the show slowed somewhat. Watson did perform his version of "Fox On the Run", a song brought into the country & bluegrass world by groundbreaking D.C. bluegrass band The Country Gentlemen. (A mention of the Gents would have been nice, but maybe Watson learned the song from the Tom T. Hall version?!?!) Fiddler Don Raby was featured on "Orange Blossom Special", with the kicker being the band playing a portion slow motion, as opposed to kicking the song into hyperdrive as many bluegrass bands do. And, Watson played two of his odes to Ginny's Little Longhorn in Austin, "Honkiest Tonkiest Beer Joint" and "No Fussin', No Cussin'".

Around the two mark, Watson broke into one of his anti-Nashville establishment songs, "Country My Ass". The song has a slightly awkward meter to it to begin with, but with the number of shots Watson had put down at that point, the song became somewhat of a trainwreck. But, Watson did quickly comeback with a nice version of Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings", which Watson said would be his last slow song of the evening.

After two and half hours on stage, at least eight shots and with Watson working the Del McCoury squint, he had outlasted me. I headed for the exit as the clock neared midnight, but Watson was showing no signs of leaving the stage. I'll readily admit the show was well worth the $15 cover and I'm sure the folks who stuck around until Watson wrapped up the show more than agreed with me.

(A short postscript. "J.D." attended Watson's show in Richmond the following night and reported that Watson showed no ill effects from Monday night's show. "J.D." also reported Watson continued with the Lone Star pitches. So much so, "J.D." thought Watson was on retainer for the brewery.)

D.C. Comings and Goings

2010-01-29T07:36:00.004-05:00

We'll talk about the "goings" first. Today is D.C. radio legend Donnie Simpson's last day at WPGC. Although Simpson's contract runs into 2011, he is leaving due to a dispute with station management over his morning show's content and falling ratings. Earlier this week, The Washington Post ran this piece on Simpson's exit. It's seems this is just a sign of the times of what is going on in the radio industry.

On the "comings" side, this Dave McKenna "Cheap Seats" column from the latest edition of The Washington City Paper tells about former Washington Bullet Jeff Ruland's struggles in his first year as men's basketball coach at UDC. Unfortunately, the electronic version of the column leaves out the brief history of the program, going back to its early 80s glory days, that is included in the paper version of The City Paper. (The web version also uses a picture of Ruland that is different from the mugshot looking photo that is used in the paper version.)

Friday Frolics, Volume 41: Protecting America

2010-01-29T00:10:00.000-05:00

On this day in 1861, Kansas was admitted to the Union. To celebrate Kansas' 148th birthday, let's take a look at a t-shirt I heard about while vacationing in the Midwest last year. Those of you who don't understand the joke should read this.

Mr. Hendrickson Goes to Washington

2010-01-27T20:22:00.006-05:00

In the latest episode of HBO's Big Love, Mormon polygamist Bill Hendrickson (played by Bill Paxton) travels to the Nation's Capital to make some political inroads. After arriving in D.C., he is joined by wife number two, Nikki, and her daughter. As Nikki and her daughter walk thru Union Station upon arriving in D.C., Nikki gives her teenage daughter the following guidance:

This is a dangerous city. It may not look like it is, but it is. These people may seem like they're normal, but they're not. There are some neighborhoods you can't imagine. Just stick by my side at all times. Don't flash any money. Don't talk to strangers. And, don't let anyone proposition you.

As a native of the National Capital Area, I'd like to address Nikki's concerns.

This is a dangerous city. It may not look like it is, but it is.
It's not as dangerous as is it used to be. I mean the District isn't averaging 1.25 murders a day anymore like it did in 1991. And, you can't readily find a hooker on 14th St. nowadays. At least that's what I hear. Hell, the most dangerous part of the city is probably Capitol Hill. Over that way, you never when you're going to get hit by the BS flying from the 535 a-holes who call the Capitol their workplace.

These people may seem like they're normal, but they're not.
I think I agree. Folks around here are overly concerned about themsleves, their job, and they generally don't give a crap about too much outside their own little universe. Yes, that's a sweeping generalization, but this is my blog and it's about me, me, me.

There are some neighborhoods you can't imagine.
Every city has its bad 'hoods, but how in the hell did this area get cursed with Clarendon?

Just stick by my side at all times. Don't flash any money. Don't talk to strangers. And, don't let anyone proposition you.
Nowadays, who has any money to flash? Unless of course, you take some of those strangers up on their propositions!

Toward the end of the episode, Nikki gets busted for having a gun in her purse. Anyone who has been following the Gilbert Arenas saga would know having a firearm in the District is a giant no-no. But somehow in TV land, Bill is able to talk the police out of pressing charges against Nikki. Maybe Gilbert and Javaris Crittenten think they're living in TV land. Oh wait, they are NBA players.

What Do Drummers and Banjo Players Have In Common?

2010-01-27T06:38:00.003-05:00

The answer...nothing really. I just have a snipet about each one I want to share here.

First, a friend of mine who is a drummer in Austin sent me this post from Craigslist in Nashville...

Looking for someone special who would kill my drummer for $100.00. Do not fear any negative consequences for this act. Any self respecting law enforcement agency would gladly turn the other cheek once they hear this guy "play." I am tired of hearing his '70s-style fills put in the wrong spot and ending one half beat early or late depending on how much he's had to smoke. I am tired of him standing up behind his drums between songs and ripping his shirt off and flexing his muscles at wedding receptions where we were hired to play Air Supply, Carpenters , and Ann Murray songs because "chicks dig the pecs, dude." I am tired of him showing up 20 minutes late for rehearsals then pouting until someone helps him load in his drums, then taking 30 minutes to set them up and needing a smoke break every 15 minutes, and then wanting to leave early because "this chick is so fine, I can't say no, and she knows record people dude, so it's for the band." I am totally done with him calling me up at midnight to play me some damned jazz fusion album from 1981, crying and saying how we shouldn't have sold out to "the man" and asking if I know anyone who can get him some weed knowing full well I smoked twice in '69 and never touched it after that. I am sick of him farting on stage where the drum mics pick it up and thinking this shit is funny. I am tired of kicking off slow ballads at well under 80 bpm only to have them morph into the methamphetimine version of flight of the bumble bee, because that's the tempo he "feels" it at. I am tired of having to carry jumper cables to the gig because "I must have left the dome light on again, dude," instead of admitting his '84 astro van is a worn out piece of crap. I am tired of him asking when he's gonna get a drum solo. I am tired of paying his tab at restaurants because "that chick must have stole my wallet man, but it was worth it 'cause she was a phreak." I will not move my amp again so he can put another new cymbal on the stage, because "when we learn some fusion I'll need this sound." Please, somebody kill this motherf*cker. I can't do it because he's my brother and mom would be so pissed off even though she thinks the band would probably sound better too. Besides, if you are good at killing drummers, you could probably make a lot of money in this town.

A while back, "J.D." sent me this piece of news regarding an assault in Colorado....

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) - A banjo player accused of assaulting another man with his instrument will get to keep pickin' while awaiting his trial. Thirty-three-year-old Joseph Stancato of Denver faces second-degree assault charges after allegedly hitting another man upside the head with his banjo on New Year's Eve. Authorities say Stancato got into an argument with two men at a bus stop. District Judge James Boyd on Monday approved Stancato's request to be allowed on the road to tour with a band while awaiting his next court date Feb. 6. The banjo is considered "a deadly weapon" under Colorado law, so Stancato could face prison time, the Aspen Daily News reported.

There are plenty of jokes that could be made about that one!

Friday Frolics, Volume 40: The Velvet Jones School of Technology

2010-01-22T00:10:00.001-05:00

This Eddie Murphy-Saturday Night Live skit from the early 80s seems appropriate in this day of the infomercial. It's too bad Billy Mays isn't still around to do a sequel.

A Flashback to the Dead Reckoners, Part 1

2010-01-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Most Sunday mornings, I tune into CBS Sunday Morning right when it comes on the air to see what features are being run that week. One Sunday a couple of months back, the feature story on the program was on "country" superstar Keith Urban. I'm in no way a fan of Urban, or his music. But, I do find these sort of profiles interesting in most cases because I usually learn a little something more about music, even if I dislike the performer being profiled.

The Urban story was your typical rags to riches story, with the slight twist of Urban making his way to Nashville from Australia. Of course, the story included drug and alcohol abuse and the happily ever after (for now) ending with Urban marrying Nicole Kidman. Watching the Urban profile reminded that I once saw Keith Urban perform. He and his band at the time, the Ranch, opened for a very talented group of singers-songwriters-musicians known as the Dead Reckoners.

If I remember properly, the show was in late 1995 or early 1996. It was one of the last concerts I saw at the Birchmere's second location, just prior to its move to its current location in 1996. The Ranch's opening set was nothing special. I don't think anyone in the small crowd of 100 people or so left thinking Urban would be the superstar he is today. I definitely was ready for some music I liked by the time the Dead Reckoners came on stage.

After this Keith Urban bashing and by this time, you're probably wondering just who were the Dead Reckoners and why was I so interested in seeing them. The Dead Reckoners were Mike Henderson, Keiran Kane, Tammy Rogers, Harry Stinson and Kevin Welch. In the couple of years prior to this concert, this group of individuals came together to found their own record label, Dead Reckoning, in an attempt to get their music out to the public without the assistance (or hinderance) of one of Nashville's major labels. Henderson, Welch and Kane (as part of the O'Kanes) had all had major label deals in the years prior to Dead Reckoning, with varying amounts of success. But at this point in their careers, all five Dead Reckoners were more concerned about doing things their own way and performing the music they wanted to perform than pursuing stardom through the Nashville meat grinder system.

Each of the five Dead Reckoners brought a unique skill set to the label and the band. Henderson was a crack Nashville session guitarist and solid songwriter. (At the time, Henderson and Stuert Smith were the only two Nashville session guitarists who had tones that were instantly identifiable among the dozens of guitar players playing country sessions.) Keiran Kane had teamed up with fellow songwriter Jamie O'Hara as the O'Kanes. The O'Kanes had a few hits in the late 80s, before going their separate ways. Rogers got her start playing fiddle in a bluegrass band that included another future "country" superstar, Kenny Chesney. After that, she toured as part of both Patty Loveless' and Trisha Yearwood's bands. Harry Stinson played drums on the road with Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett prior to becoming one of Nashville's most in demand session drummers and harmony singers. Kevin Welch had his songs recorded by artists such as Conway Twitty, Waylon Jennings and Reba McIntire before recording two CDs for Warner Brothers in the early 90s.

By the time of this show at the Birchmere, all the Dead Reckoning artists/owners, other than Stinson had released at least one CD, if not more, on the label and the group was touring as a band in support of their collabrative CD A Night of Reckoning.

(to be continued)

Friday Frolics, Volume 39: The Simpsons for KFC

2010-01-15T00:10:00.001-05:00

Is it a conflict of interest that Homer & family are spokespeople for two different chicken chains? At this rate, they'll be doing ads for Flavors in the near future.

A Nighthawk Says Goodnight

2010-01-12T20:35:00.006-05:00

Seeing I've been held hostage by SiriusXM radio for the greater part of 2010, I missed the recent announcement that longtime Nighthawk drummer Pete Ragusa is retiring from the band. Last week, a friend sent me this link to John Kelly's Washington Post blog which has an interview with Ragusa. Ragusa had been with the Nighthawks for over 35 years. That's a hell of lot time to be anchoring the rhythm section in any band, let alone one that was considered by many to be the world's best bar band for many years.

Although I've seen the 'Hawks numerous times, I'm a little too young to have seen them play in the rip roaring days of the 70s and early 80s when their "classic" lineup of Ragusa, Mark Wenner, Jimmy Thackery and Jan Zukowski was playing up to 300 nights a year. And, to be honest, I never comprehended how much of a national band they were until 1994, the first year I attended Jazz Fest in New Orleans. I didn't see the Nighthawks play in New Orleans in 1994. They weren't even in town. But, not long after setting foot in Jimmy's for a Delbert McCllinton show, I noticed several Hatch Show Print posters for past shows at Jimmy's that featured the Nighthawks. Some of the aged posters listed the 'Hawks as the headliners, while others had them opening for acts like Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. To this day, it always makes me feel good to see something old school D.C. when I'm traveling in other parts of the country.

Since I missed out on those wild 'Hawks shows back in the day, I'll share a story my friend "Mr. B." shared with me via email last year as we were discussing potential D.C. music posts here on Shedd's Spot.

I do remember the first time I saw the Nighthawks, though. It was the fall of '79 down at William & Mary in a large gym-like building. Admission was like a dollar or 2 and included unlimited beer courtesy of the student activity fund or something. Wenner had hurt his back and seemed to be paralyzed from about the chest down. A couple of roadies carried him on stage and propped him up against a stool or something. I didn't know anything about the blues and had likely never heard of the Nighthawks, but free beer? Hell yes. What I remember is that they jammed and jammed and jammed. I remember them totally rocking, playing for hours and just not stopping. Thackery playing behind his head, duck-walking, teeth, the whole thing. Finally at like 2:30 AM or something the authorities turned on the lights and the band took the hint and quit at the end of that song. We wandered off and threw a shopping cart off the roof of Billy's dorm or something. Anyway, great show and I saw them many times over the next several years.

After sharing that story, I guess the only way to wrap up this post is to say the Nighthawks, including Ragusa, have just released Last Train to Bluesville, an all accoustic CD recorded at, of all places, the SiriusXM studios in D.C.

A Tribute to the King

2010-01-08T00:15:00.000-05:00

On this day last year, I posted this entry as a tribute to Elvis Presley (and Esau Smith) on what would have been his 74th birthday. This year's tribute to the King revolves around this Vanity Fair article recently emailed to me by my friend, and Shedd's Spot's west coast bureau chief, "M.K.". After all, the King deserves a classy tribute on what would have been his 75th birthday.

The Vanity Fair piece actually details the period of time in mid-1956 when photographer Alfred Wertheimer shadowed Elvis and took hundreds of photographs of Elvis in the recording studio during the "Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel" sessions, at the Steve Allen Show in New York, at a concert in Richmond, Virginia, and during a long train ride back to Memphis. One very strange fact brought to light in the piece is that Wertheimer had no idea who Elvis was prior to taking the photography assignment from RCA Records. A short slide show of 13 of Wertheimer's photographs of Elvis accompanies the article and can be seen here. The photos are also part of a travelling exhibit, Elvis at 21, which opens today at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

Wertheimer published a book of these photographs, Elvis at 21 New York to Memphis, in 2006. The book also includes a narrative by Wertheimer that details the days he spent with Presley in July 1956. The book is a must own for anyone who is more than a passing Elvis fan, although the list price of $65 may put it beyond the range of some fans.

To wrap up this tribute to Elvis, here is the King performing one of the songs he recorded during the days Wertheimer shadowed him in 1956.

Friday Frolics, Volume 38: More From Church's Fried Chicken

2010-01-08T00:10:00.001-05:00

Maybe the Simpsons will hawk anything?!?!

Friday Frolics, Volume 37: Dolemite Workin' the Club Scene

2010-01-01T07:00:00.002-05:00

Let's celebrate the New Year wirh Rudy Ray Moore, aka Dolemite, working the crowd at a club. This one shouldn't be viewed at work.

End of Year Time Killers

2009-12-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

Over the past few weeks, several articles have been published dealing with some of Shedd's Spot favorite subjects: Robert Byrd, Dan Snyder, the Washington Nationals. Seeing that the Shedd's Spot postings have been few and far between lately, I thought I'd share the articles with you.

A couple of days before Christmas, The Washington Post ran this story on the ol' Exalted Cyclops and how important he was to healthcare reform passing in the Senate. Three days after the article was published, The Post ran this brief feedback piece from the literary editor of The Weekly Standard that reminds readers of Robert Byrd's involvement in the Klan.

In early December, the Washington City Paper's Dave McKenna used his Cheap Seats column to sum up all of Dan Snyder's 2009 missteps. Read the column and get a laugh or two here.

On December 30th, soon to be ex-Washington Post Nationals beat reporter Chico Harlan wrote this Nats Journal piece on the 10 biggest Nationals developments of 2009. To me, the post affirms my claim the biggest mistake the Lerner family made since acquiring the team was keeping Jim Bowden as general manager. The team bottomed out in spring of 2009 with the Smiley Gonzalez scandal and, since then, the team has made massive positive changes in its front office. Unfortunately, those changes don't translate immediately to wins on the diamond. But, some of us have faith the team is finally headed in the right direction.

Friday Frolics, Volume 36: LaWanda Page & Santa Claus

2009-12-25T00:10:00.000-05:00

LaWanda Page, aka Aunt Esther, nearly comes to blows with Ol' Saint Nick over some Churches fried chicken.

Friday Frolics, Volume 35: A New Line of Dr. Seuss Books

2009-12-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

Quickies

2009-12-08T06:51:00.004-05:00

First up, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts has reached a settlement with Fairfax County in a lawsuit in which the County claimed grease from a Krispy Kreme location in Lorton was clogging local sewer lines. To me this sounds like something that would happen in The Simpsons with a Krusty Burger location. And, just think what those doughnuts are doing to customers' inner plumbing if they're clogging up the sewer lines that much. Read The Washington Post story here.

And secondly, songwriter Aaron Schroeder died last week. Schroeder was known primarily for his songwriting, but he was also was a producer and artist manager. Schroeder had a string of hits recorded by Elvis Presley in the late 1950s and early 1960s that included "A Big Hunk o' Love", "Good Luck Charm", and "It's Now or Never". But, the list of other artists who recorded his songs is quite impressive. You can read about some of them and see a photo of Schroeder in a great Hugh Heffner style outfit here.

Friday Frolics, Volume 34: Marge Simpson's Christmas Message to the U.K.

2009-12-04T00:10:00.000-05:00

Midweek Time Killers: Women Country Singers

2009-12-02T20:42:00.003-05:00

Country Standard Time recently posted interviews with Patty Loveless and Rosie Flores. Seeing those pieces on the CST website made me think I should post several items relating to women in country music. Both Loveless and Flores have new CDs out. You can read the Loveless interview here and the Flores interview here. Rosie Flores performed as part of a benefit concert I attended at the Continental Club in Austin back in Sept. One of these days I'll post a blog entry of some type posted about that show.

Last year, Loretta Lynn gave this interview to Country Stars Central. The site has both the text and a podcast of the interview. If you can, listen to the podcast. I love the fact Lynn is still inviting the interviewer down to her house when Lynn's people tell her the interview time is over.

Earlier this year, My Kind of Country featured this interview with Connie Smith. Quite a few female country singers, Dolly Parton included, have said in interviews that Connie Smith is their favorite singer.

And finally, a few weeks back, I flipped my SiriusXM radio onto Johnny Knoxville's show. That week's theme was "Country Crooners With Big Cranks". Somehow Bea Arthur's version "If I Can't Sell It, I'll Keep Sittin' On It" made the show. Go figure. You can hear that "masterpiece" here.

A Full Moon Over Wisconsin

2009-12-02T20:08:00.003-05:00

Shedd's Spot reporter "J.D." submitted this a while back. Unfortunately, it's a little less than an hour until tip off of the Duke-Wisconsin basketball game and I'm just now posting this. I forwarded "J.D.'s" email to a couple of folks I know who are originally from Madison, Wisconsin. Their reaction was "why is this guy from Richmond, Va. trolling the Madison, Wisconsin version of Craigslist?". Good question. Anyway, if you're watching the Duke-UW game tonight, look for the guy who placed the following ad.

Wanted: UW vs. Duke tix so I can stick my a** in Coach K's face - $1 (Madison, WI)

Seeking two tickets to the Dec. 2 UW mens' basektball game vs. Duke. Would prefer tickets somewhere in the lower level and near the team benches. I figure if I can get a seat close enough, I can at some point sneak down to the Duke bench, drop trou, and stick my hairy crack in Coach K's face. I've been wanting to do this for quite some time, so anyone who can help facilitate the dream on a budget would be most generous. I figure if there's one guy in the world who deserves to have a hairy, sweaty ass stuck in his face, it's Coach K. After all, he's been turning out team after team of cocky, whitebread under-achievers for the last two decades, and it's time someone showed him how the rest of the country feels about his brand of basketball.

When I say "budget," I should clarify that I can't afford your over-inflated mark-up if you're looking to make a buck on your seats. Sorry. But I have to figure in the cost of an indecent exposure/public disturbance citation into the cost, plus whatever I will have to buy my wife as an apology for my antics.

Quickies

2009-11-30T23:50:00.005-05:00

Ok, I just can't resist. It's too easy.....

Q: What's the difference between a car and a golf ball?
A: Tiger can drive a ball 400 yards.

Q: What does Tiger Woods have in common with a baby seal?
A: They both get clubbed by Swedes.

Q: What did Tiger Woods' wife do with the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving dinner?
A: She made him a club sandwich.

And finally...

Mrs. Woods: I hit him six times with a 7 iron.
FL Highway Patrolman: Six times?
Mrs. Woods: OK, give me a four.

Friday Frolics, Volume 33: El Vez

2009-11-27T00:10:00.000-05:00

In honor of El Vez's upcoming appearance at the 930 Club......

Thanksgiving Time Killers: The West Va. Music Hall of Fame

2009-11-26T15:36:00.004-05:00

(Shedd's spot has been on hiatus again because of work. I hope I can get things cranked back up and keep it going.)

During past visits to West Virginia, I've made posts that jump all over the place. So, I think I'll keep this on one subject, the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.

A couple of weeks back, the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame inducted its third class of honorees. Among the class were country pioneers the Bailes Brothers and country singer Hawkshaw Hawkins. Over the years, there were four Bailes brothers who performed at different times, in different combinations as the Bailes Brothers. Of the four, only Homer Bailes, age 87, is alive today. At the time this Charleston Gazette piece was written, Homer Bailes was en route from his home in Louisiana back to West Virginia for the Hall of Fame ceremony. So, most of the article's quotes on the Bailes Brothers came from Bailes' daughter. Here is my favorite quote from the daughter:

They were all ornery. They were whoremongers and alcoholics, but they loved each other, and they loved the music.

It won't probably surprise you Homer Bailes became a preacher later on in his life. Those sort of things happen a lot in country music.

I posted this Shedd's Spot piece back in March that features a video of Hawkshaw Hawkins performing "Car Hoppin' Mama" and you can read more about Hawkins in this recent Charleston Gazette article.

You can read more about the Bailes Brothers, Hawkins and the rest of 2009 class here.

One final note about the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. You shouldn't believe all the inductees were/are country performers. The Hall has also inducted Polka King Frank Yankovic and Chuck Berry's long time pianist Johnnie Johnson.

Quickies

2009-10-19T00:10:00.000-04:00

This post will be all over the place. No theme, nothing tying it together, no nothing, period. So, strap yourself in.

First off, one night last week I was flipping around when I stopped on a program about the JFK assassination. It surprised the hell out of me to find out the famous Zapruder film of the assassination was shown publicly for the first time on a show hosted by Geraldo Rivera in 1975.

HBO's East Bound and Down is about to air for the first time in the U.K. Here's a brief BBC interview with the show's star and co-creator Danny McBride.

Commander Cody, minus the Lost Planet Airmen of course, has a new CD on the way. It's titled Dopers, Drunks, and Everyday Losers. Considering the Commander customizes "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette)" to his own tastes with references to things like Thai sticks, the title of the new CD doesn't surprise me.

Unfortunately, Garth Brooks is coming out retirement. Here's a quote from his announcement:

We need to take back the music," Brooks said. "We don't realize how powerful we are. (Former CEO of Capitol Records Nashville) Jimmy Bowen told me that once, and he was absolutely right.

No ego in that quote, huh? This Country Standard Time blog post tells a little more about the annoucement, including Brooks adamant statement about his music not being available on iTunes anytime soon.

The Chefs, the Skins and Amarillo Slim (the use of "Chefs" was intentional)

2009-10-18T20:36:00.006-04:00

Amarillo Slim, who is considered the world's greatest proposition gambler, once said "You can shear a sheep 100 times, but you can only skin it once". For those of you who aren't knowledgable about the world of gambling and cons, that basically means you can play a sucker for some of his money often, but you can only bankrupt him once.

Here in the D.C. area, Dan Snyder has his hunting knife out and is starting to skin Redskin fans. After ten years of finding every possible way to reach into Redskins fans' pockets and pull out a dollar, Snyder is down to what may be his final con, putting the worst Redskins team in decades on the field and asking fans to continue to pay for admission to FedEx Field.

I won't list out all the scams Snyder has pulled over the years, Dave McKenna of the Washington City Paper is making a career of doing that. And, most everyone in the area read the series of articles a few weeks back in the Washington Post about ticket brokers getting first shot at tickets from the Redskins ticket office and the team filing suit against premium seat ticket holders who broke their multi-season contracts. But, none of Snyder's stunts compare to the fact Snyder continues to fancy himself a football operations expert after 10 years of Redskins mediocrity or worse and that he wants Redskins fans to believe it.

Finally, Redskins fans are seeing the light and realizing they are getting skinned. There are more and more empty seats at Fed Up...I mean...FedEx Field and fan reaction in the media outlets is one of disgust. Of course, we won't know for sure if the skinning is complete until those empty seats at FedEx Field are being driven by unsold tickets and not just no shows. Snyder's skinning of the Redskins fan base will be complete when the fans have turned the tide and put some pain in Snyder's pocket the way he has done the fans' pockets the last ten years.

Today's Redskins loss to the Chiefs continues the Redskins trend of helping teams in the midst of losing streaks break them. A couple of weeks back, I was in Missouri the day after the Chiefs got blasted by the Philadelphia Eagles 34-14. I gave the two sports radio stations in Kansas City a long listen that day while I was driving from Columbia to K.C. It was amazing how similar the calls into the station were to the calls received by the sports radio stations here in the D.C. area. There were the recurring themes in the calls of how the team had no direction, no talent and no hope. A common comment that day was "even Lions won yesterday" (the Lions had defeated the Redskins). For a while, I debated calling one of the stations to make a point I thought all those Chiefs fans were missing, at least they had a real football executive running the team since the Chiefs'owners had hired Scott Pioli away from the New England Patriots during the offseason. That alone puts the Chiefs one giant step ahead of the Redskins. Hell, today's game puts them two steps ahead of the Redskins.
________________________________

I'm thinking it's about time the Redskins were the subject of a commerical like this one that once used the Chiefs...I mean the Chefs...as the punchline.

Friday Frolics, Volume 32: Good Hair

2009-10-16T00:10:00.000-04:00

I'm hoping Chris Rock's new movie, Good Hair, is as good as some of the mocumentariy shorts he did on his old HBO show. If it is, the movie will be pretty damn funny. Here's a link to the movie's trailer on the movie's own website.

Meanwhile, here's a clip about hair from the aforementioned HBO show....

Midweek Time Killers: Ralph Stanley Then and Now

2009-10-14T20:11:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow, October 15th, Ralph Stanley's autobiography, Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times will be released. Ralph Stanley wrote the book with Eddie Dean, who I often, and with much respect, refer to as the King of White Trash Writers. Today, the New York Times ran this review of the book.

Back before Stanley broke out to a widespread, non-bluegrass audience thanks to his version of "Oh Death" being featured in the Coen brothers film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Stanley was still just a founding father of bluegrass. That was Stanley's status in 1995 when Rebel Records released Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys 1971-1973, a four CD box set which chronicled some of Stanley's most productive years as a recording artist after his brother Carter's death in 1966. In December 1995, The Washington City Paper ran this review and brief Stanley bio which was also written by Eddie Dean. If you're not planning on reading the new Stanley autobiography, and most of you probably aren't, you should at least take a few minutes to read Dean's City Paper piece for an interesting look at an American legend.

Quickies

2009-10-12T07:27:00.003-04:00

There's only one quicky this week...

Some of you may have heard about this. An elderly woman was attacked by a "gang" of raccoons in Lakeland, Florida. I feel bad for the woman, but the local TV coverage there is way over dramaticized. Be sure to watch the news report videos that are also on this link. It really seems like reporter Dustin Chase is trying to turn this report into an Emmy winning report. And, Sherriff Turner speaks about the incident like the family of raccoons were members of a street gang.

Friday Frolics, Volume 31: The Fonz in a PSA

2009-10-09T00:10:00.000-04:00

This clip was sent to me by "J.D." in Richmond. (I really should turn the Friday Frolics series of posts over to him.) This starts out a little slow, but stay with it. I have no idea who wrote this PSA, but I do really wonder what in the hell the were smoking.

Midweek Time Killers: Austin, Texas

2009-10-06T23:50:00.000-04:00

This post if full of reading & video material on places in and around Austin that I didn't get to visit during my recent trip to Austin. In some cases, I visited these places during previous trips to Austin. With others, I've only heard or read about them.

First up, this piece tells the story of the weekly Chicken Shit Bingo sessions at Ginny's Little Longhorn. I've been to Ginny's several times in the past because some of my musician friends used to play there quite often, but I never made to a Sunday bingo session.

Back in August, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named Austin City Limits a historic rock and roll site. You can read it about here.

Finally, Broken Spoke owner James White talks about his Austin dance hall.

Quickies

2009-10-05T00:10:00.000-04:00

First off, and on a serious note, singer/songwriter/fiddle player Amy Farris was found dead in L.A. last week. Farris had recently been touring with Dave Alvin as part of his all woman band, The Guilty Women. An obituary from The L.A.Times can be found here.

Second, yesterday (Oct. 4) marked the 42nd anniversary of the debut of Leave it to Beaver on CBS. Have you ever wondered how in the hell in little Theodore Cleaver got the nickname "Beaver"? Me too. And, now since I mentioned the Beaver, I'm going to have the Kinky Friedman song "There's Something Wrong With the Beaver" stuck in my head all day.

Finally, the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards were given out last week. Although Dailey & Vincent won the big awards of Entertainer of the Year andVocal Group of the Year, the big winners were Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper. Cleveland won Fiddle Player of the Year, while bandmembers Marshall Wilborn and Jesse Brock won the awards for Bass Player of the Year and Mandolin Player of the Year, respectively. The group also won Instrumental Group of the Year and Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year for their recording of Bill Monroe's "Jerusalem Ridge". A full list of winners can be found here and a video clip of the band's recent appearance on the Katey Daly show follows.

Friday Frolics, Volume 30: Robin Harris Flashback

2009-10-02T23:50:00.000-04:00

Classic stand up from the late Robin Harris.

Friday Frolics, Volume 29: SCOTS

2009-09-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

In honor of Southern Culture on the Skids' appearance today at the Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ Festival, here's a SCOTS video from way back when.

Midweek Time Killers from the Midwest

2009-09-24T10:20:00.003-04:00

Greetings from Kansas City. Seeing that I'm in the Midwest, I thought I'd post a few pieces on things out this way.

First off, today's USA Today has this article on federal flight subsidies that keep airline service to rural destinations afloat. Most of airports served through the program are in the midwest, although...go figure...four of the airports are in West Virginia. (Big Daddy Byrd at it again.)

Second, Kansas City was home to one of the great franchises in baseball history, the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs. This MLB.com piece details the Monarchs 1942 championship. While reading the piece, take note of the different locations that hosted games in the championship series and the Homestead Grays attempted use of ringers.

Finally, this excerpt, from the book that accompanied the Ken Burns PBS series on the history of Jazz, explains a little about how the 1920s and 1930s were a wide open time in Kansas City.

Quickies...Well Not Really

2009-09-21T10:26:00.007-04:00

Today's Quickies post comes to you from Austin, Texas, where yesterday, I started my 2nd Annual Beer, BBQ & Tunes vacation. With the vacation comes my 2nd Annual You Could Win a Prize at My Expense Contest where my friends take guesses at how much weight I'll gain or lose on my trip. All the proceeds go to benefit the Good Sports of Arlington scholarship Fund.

I'm beginning to think someone is trying to send me some sort of message during this trip. Yesterday morning, I was picked up by for my ride to the airport by a cab driver of Middle Eastern descent who blasting Christian rock in his cab. Then, when I opened the back cover AmericanWay, the American Airlines in flight magazine, to see a map of American's Dallas terminal, I found this article first. It's a story on the New Zion Missionary Baptist Church Barbecue in Huntsville, Texas, and the Barbecue's founder, Annie Mae Ward. Finally, as a long day was winding down last night at the Mean Eyed Cat in Austin, I noticed the stone in the picture above in the floor of the bar. There's nothing like drinking a PBR in bar named after a Johnny Cash song that was built on the site of a church.

In between a large lunch at the County Line BBQ and that last PBR at the Mean Eyed Cat, was a lot live music and Shiner at the Continental Club. The show featured several bands. (The poster in the picture shows the line up.) Closing act Rick Broussard and Two Hoots and a Holler put on a great set mixing some classic country shuffles with original rockers and country shuffles of their own.

It's time to wrap up this post and head south to Lockhart for some more 'Q. Photos from Day 1 can be found here.

Friday Frolics, Volume 28: Getting It In The Can

2009-09-18T00:10:00.000-04:00

This week's frolic comes courtesy of "J.D." in Richmond.

Quickies

2009-09-14T06:48:00.004-04:00

When I first saw this sign Saturday morning I thought to myself "that sign could be taken three ways". Unfortunately, 7-11 intended it in the least interesting of the three, a free coffee sample.

A few weeks back, "J.D." sent me this link to RunPee's website. RunPee is an application for iPhones that tells the user the best time to use the restroom during movies. Here's "J.D."'s commentary on the application.

There's a site called runpee.com that can be downloaded on the iPhone that tells you the best point in a movie to run out for a bathroom break if that XXL soda is aching to be set free. Something like "46 minutes in when George Clooney gets out of the car, you have 90 seconds before he starts nailing the chick". And when you return, it will tell you what you missed. Pretty neat idea, but I was particularly amused today when I found out the app was created by Carson Palmer.

And finally, most D.C. area sports fans were all over the Washington Post pieces a couple of weeks back about the Washington Redskins suing club level ticket holders who had defaulted on their contracts and the mystery surrounding how tickets were leaving the Skins tickets office and going straight to ticket brokers instead of being sold directly to fans. Dave McKenna has some follow up here in a recent Washington City Paper blog entry.

Friday Frolics, Volume 27: Everybody's Doin' It

2009-09-11T06:22:00.003-04:00

This week's frolic comes courtesy of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen featuring, among others, Billy C. Farlow on vocals, Bill Kirchen on lead guitar, Andy Stein on sax and the Commander himself on piano.

Midweek Time Killers: Three Politicians Who Wouldn't Go Away

2009-09-09T00:10:00.000-04:00

What do a former Klan member, a man who wears toupees worthy of induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and a man with a master's degree in chemistry have in common? They all have political constituencies that unconditionally love them.

With the passing of Ted Kennedy, West Virginia governer Joe Manchin is considering how he'll choose the successor to the ol' Exalted Cyclops himself, Senator Robert Byrd. I'd think the first step would be to choose someone who hadn't been in the Ku Klux Klan. According to this article, Byrd made only two of 56 roll call votes in the months of July and August.

Meanwhile, former congressman Jim Traficant was recently released from prison. This Washington Post article tells all about his welcome home rally. If talking about passing gas is a qualification for being a member of Congress, maybe I should run. Then again, I don't need a toupee...yet.

Finally, how could I let this post wrap up without including some reading on Da Mayor for Life, Marion Barry. By now, everyone has heard about Barry's recent problems with one of his lady friends. But, this Washington City Paper piece from mid-July details some of Barry's other exploits with city funds. Oh yeah, Barry really does have a master's degree in chemistry. Insert your own joke here. (I recently watched the HBO documentary The Nine Lives of Marion Barry. I hope to have a post on the film sometime in the near future.)

Quickies

2009-09-07T21:41:00.005-04:00

This week's Quickies post is all about flying objects.

First, Japan's first lady elect claims she was abducted by aliens. She also claims she knew Tom Cruise in a prior life. No joke, read it here.

Second, my friend "Barton Street" sent me the link to this site that tracks the real distance of home runs.

Finally, if you would really like to join the mile high club, you can do it in suburban Atlanta for $379 through the help of Mile High Atlanta. If the plane is rockin', don't bother knockin'

Friday Frolics, Volume 26: The Fabulous Black Beatles

2009-09-04T00:10:00.001-04:00

I don't really know what to say about this.

Quickies

2009-08-31T00:10:00.001-04:00

Starting this post on a rather serious note, I highly suggest you watch the episode of Frontline that airs tonight (8/31) on WETA (D.C. channel 26) tonight at nine. Poisoned Waters examines the problem of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound. I watched most of this program one night last week and found it interesting how far the clean up of the Potomac River has come in last 30 years. Yet, the modernizing of sewage treatment plants along the Potomac was just a first step in cleaning up the River and thus the Chesapeake. There is still a long way to go. If you can't watch or DVR the program tonight, you can watch it online here.

On a lighter note, I'm hoping, now that Jim Bowden is nothing but a bad memory to Nationals fans, that items like this one in the most recent Sports Illustrated stop popping up in the sports media. SI polled 380 Major League players asking them "Which player get the the least out of the most talent?". The top five includes two former Nationals and two current Nationals.

Finally, "J.D." sent me this link to a TV news story about a supposed 15 year old stripper and her very angry grandmother.

Friday Frolics, Volume 25: Three Champs and a Baby

2009-08-28T20:35:00.004-04:00

One of In Living Color's more memorable sketches. For some reason, I don't think making fun of Muhammed Ali's condition would be as accepted today as it was when this shot back in the early 90s.

Quickies

2009-08-24T22:05:00.004-04:00

Truly, this will be a quick post.

First, a Facebook "friend" of mine from college recently posted a link to this story on his Facebook page. I think I've been friended by far too many "The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore" types.

Second, according to USA Today, the NFL wants enact these rules to cut down on binge drinking and its related side effects at games. Right.......

Finally, this clip posted on YouTube has some great photos from this past Saturday's unveiling of Chuck Brown Way in D.C.

Friday Frolics, Volume 24: Southern Fried Rabbit

2009-08-21T00:10:00.000-04:00

Those of you who are at least in your mid-30s probably remember the days when the Looney Tunes cartoons were a fixture on Saturday morning TV. And, there were plenty of other times you could watch Bugs, Daffy and the rest of the crew. Back in the 70s, no one seemed to worry if a cartoon was too violent or was politically incorrect (geez, that term didn't even exist back then). In the years since, things have changed mightily. First, the Looney Tunes were stripped of their playful brand of violence. Then, the more politically incorrect cartoons vanished from the airwaves. And finally, the Looney Tunes disappeared altogether from any major TV outlets. (The reasons behind that are fodder for an entirely different post.)

While being semi-comatose after a long day of work last week, it dawned on me I hadn't seen the Bugs Bunny cartoon "Southern Fried Rabbit" in years. It was one of the Bugs cartoons that disappeared sometime between the time I turned 13 and the time I graduated from college. Of course, the cartoon was both violent and politically incorrect. It starts with Bugs facing a carrot famine up north and deciding to schlep to Alabama where a record carrot harvest is taking place. I'll let you pick up the story from there when you watch the uncut cartoon which is included below.

But first, I have a related story. My cousin Tim and I lived together through most the 90s. One weekend during that time, the Cartoon Network aired a weekend long Looney Tunes Marathon. Tim taped every minute of the marathon in an attempt to get "Southern Fried Rabbit" on tape. Tim ended up finding that it aired at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, but he was very disappointed to find that roughly half the cartoon was not aired. All the scenes of Yosemite Sam getting blasted on were gone and another minute long scene from the middle of it were gone. Once you watch the cartoon, you'll know exactly what minute I'm talking about. Then, you can make your own decision...is this cartoon a piece of art lost to political correctness or is it a product of an era that's best forgotten? I think the regular readers know what I think.

Midweek Time Killers: Elvis, Billy Lee and the Beach

2009-08-18T21:00:00.000-04:00

First off, how could I let the 32nd anniversary of Elvis Presley's death go unmentioned this week? Of course, whoever wrote this wants you to believe The King of Rock and Roll is still very much alive. And, I thought the story about Elvis' long lost twin brother still being alive that I mention in this travel blog post was a little out there.

Second, rockabilly pioneer and overall wild man, Billy Lee Riley, died a couple of weeks back (August 2nd). I'm hoping to do a post on him in the near future, but in the meantime this lengthy interview with him covers most all of his career.

Third, it seems every year some local media outlet runs a story on the supposed debauchery that takes place in Dewey Beach and the locals' effort to stop it. The latest installment comes in this Washington City Paper article.

Finally, if you are really bored at work, you can check out the happnenings on the Ocean City, Maryland boardwalk on this Boardwalk Beach Cam.

Quickies

2009-08-17T00:10:00.001-04:00

I'm starting to think I should post weekly links to Dave McKenna's weekly "Cheap Seats" column in the Washington City Paper. McKenna seems to have it in for Dan Snyder and his money grubbing tactics more than I do. McKenna's latest column focuses on Snyder's use of adding "parking fees" to ticket prices for non-Redskin events at FedEx field.

The Washington Nationals announced recently the team had made a record breaking offer to Stephen Strasburg, the number one overall pick in this year's amateur baseball draft. That would mean the offer is more than the $10.5 million the Cubs gave to Mark Prior in 2001. I bolded amateur above to indicate Strasburg has never thrown a pitch above the college level. Still, his agent, Scott Boras, thinks Strasburg is worthy of the type of money paid to established veterans, although Boras may be the only one who believes that. I think many true Nationals fans, and I'm one of them, are to the point where it wouldn't bother us if the Nationals tell Boras and Strasburg to f**k off. Nationals color commentator Rob Dibble had this to say directly to Strasburg via Dibble's MASN blog and I think it summarizes the siutation fairly well. (Dibble reiterated these views during the broadcast of Saturday's Nationals-Reds game, using Drew Storen's negotiations with the Nationals as an example of what a young player should do once drafted.) The deadline for signing Strasburg, and all other 2009 draft picks, is today. My hope is that, if Strasburg doesn't sign, none of Boras' other clients are signed (he is the agent for 5 of the top 13 picks including the top 3) and that Boras loses credibility with amatuer players going forward.

Vaya Con Dios Les Paul

2009-08-16T21:00:00.000-04:00

Music legend Les Paul died last week (August 13) at the age of 94. The innovations Paul brought to the world of music as a guitarist, a guitar builder and recording engineer may have no equal. In the last week, much has been written about Paul by writers who are far more informed about his career than me and I encourage you to seek out some of those peices out and read them. In the meantime, please read this article about Paul posted on PBS' website in 2006 to coincide with the debut of the American Masters program, "Les Paul: Chasing Sound". And, if at all possible, rent or buy the DVD of the program. You'll be astonished by the man's many accomplishments.

Tour de France Follow Up

2009-08-16T06:52:00.005-04:00

A few weeks back, I made this post about happenings at the Tour de France that included telling about the financial problems the Tour's premiere team, Team Astana, was having. Team Astana member Alberto Contador went on to win the Tour with teammate Lance Armstrong finishing third. Right after that post was made, Armstrong announced he was starting his own team for the 2010 Tour de France and the team's primary sponsor would be Radio Shack. Immediately, speculation started regarding who would join Armstronng's team and what would happen to Team Astana.

Once Armstrong made his announcement and the Tour was over, Contador and Armstrong started taking shots at each other in the media. The Contador-Armstrong war of words would make the spoiled brat drivers of NASCAR proud. Contador said “My relationship with Lance Armstrong is zero. He’s a great rider and he did a great Tour. Another thing is on a personal level, where I have never admired him and never will.” Armstrong fired back on Twitter (what does that tell you?) with "“Hey pistolero, there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’. what did I say in March? Lots to learn. Restated. Seeing these comments from AC . If I were him I’d drop this drivel and start thanking his team. w/o them, he doesn’t win. A champion is also measured on how much he respect his teammates and opponents.”

It's still up in the air as to what team Contador will ride for next year, but one thing is for certain, he won't be Armstrong's teammate. Contador is still under contract to Team Astana thru 2010, but wants out. According to this L.A. Times blog, Team Astana, which is sponsored by the Kazakhstan based Astana Group, has no intentions of letting Contador walk. So, while Armstrong starts his own U.S. based team, the Spainard, Contador, may be forced to worship the hawk for another year. But, no matter where Contador ends up, the 2010 Tour de France looks to be a soap opera that could be aired in the place of the The Guiding Light or Days of Our Lives for three weeks.

Friday Frolics, Volume 23: Stevie's Dark Secret

2009-08-14T00:10:00.001-04:00

Regular Shedd's Spot readers know I found the first season of HBO's East Bound & Down to be freakin' hilarious. I've mentioned the show here several times. A while back I watched the extra material included in the DVD set. One of the DVD extras is the scene that follows that didn't make the final cut of the episode it was shot for. After you watch it, you'll understand why. It's even more wrong than anything included the show. Needless to say, you probably won't want the dialog from this clip being heard in the office. And finally, have any of you readers ever "FDR'd" anyone?
(To see the full, wide screen version of this clip, click on the clip after it starts playing to go directly to YouTube.)

Midweek Time Killers...The Castles

2009-08-12T22:21:00.004-04:00

Back in February, I wrote a post on the Thrillbillys celebrating the 5th anniversary of their regular gig at the Sunset Grille. Head Thrillbilly Johnny Castle formed the band to play in the Thursday night spot vacated by Bill Kirchen when Kirchen moved to Austin in 2004. After seeing the Thrillbillys last week, I began to think it was time for everyone to learn a little more about Johnny...and his wife Jana. First, is this Eden Amp artist interview with Johnny that discusses his playing style and a lot of the folks he has played with over the years. Second, is this recent Washingtonian interview with Johnny's wife, Jana, that discusses her 38 year career as a waitress. Jana has spent half of that time waiting tables at the Red, Hot & Blue in Laurel, MD. I guess it's true that there is hard working woman behind every musician.

Quickies

2009-08-10T07:27:00.004-04:00

Today's Quickies post continues coverage of two subjects Shedd's Spot just can't resist, Stormy Daniels potential Senate run and Dan Snyder screw ups.

I heard on the radio a while back that adult film star, and potential Senate candidate, Stormy Daniels had been arrested on a domestic violence charge for hitting her husband, among other things. (Maybe she's leaving "regular" porn and moving on to S&M porn and she was practicing for a different type of role?) But, besides Stormy's look in the mugshot to right, the strange thing about this story is that Daniel's political advisor in Louisiana, Brian Welsh, had his car blown up. You can read about both events in this New York Post article.

The latest round of bad publicity for Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder actually has nothing to do with the Redskins. Instead, it involves Six Flags, the bankrupt amusement park chain Snyder controls. Shedd's Spot regular reader, "Barton Street", sent me this link to a recent item from the Washington City Paper that discusses Six Flags second quarter results.

Shedd's Spot Has Been on Hiatus

2009-08-08T05:54:00.005-04:00

What do you get when you combine a lot work and some time visiting family out of state? An unfortunate, unnanounced hiatus for Shedd's Spot.

I'm sure there is a multitude of things I could write about, but let's keep it simple to begin with and talk about three men who have birthdays today, August 8th, Frank Howard, Mel Tillis, and Webb Pierce.

Frank Howard was one of the few bright spots in the history of the expansion Washington Senators. Howard came to the Senators from the L.A. Dodgers in a trade prior to the 1965 season. In L.A., Howard had been a part time player. Once arriving in D.C., he became a full time player who put up monster home run numbers in a non-steroid age, including a tear in May 1968 when he hit 10 homers in 20 at bats. Recently, there has been talk of Howard joining the Washington Nationals in some capacity and the Nationals will give away Frank Howard bobbleheads at their August 22nd game againt the Brewers. It's sort of funny they are not doing it tonight because tonight's game features an Adam Dunn bobblehead giveaway. This prior Shedd's Spot post features a link to an Nationals.com interview with Howard.

When most people hear the name Mel Tillis they think of a light hearted, stuttering singer who had a string of country hits in the 1970s and also did some TV and had a few roles in some Burt Reynolds movies. But prior to any of that, Tillis had a hall of fame songwriting career. The first hit he had as a songwriter was Webb Pierce's 1957 version of "I'm Tired", although not all the words were Tillis'. Prior to Pierce recording the song, Tillis had pitched the song to Ray Price at the Florida State Fair. Price took the song back to Nashville, but didn't record it. Instead, Pierce got wind of the song at the Grand Ole Opry one night as Price was singing it backstage. Pierce decided he wanted to record the song, but Price would only give him the first verse. So, Pierce took the first verse to songwriter Wayne Walker who wrote two additional verses that Pierce tacked on to Tillis' first verse. Tillis did not know about the Pierce recording of the song or the changes until he heard Pierce's record on the radio one night while still living in Florida.

"I'm Tired" was the first of many classic country hits Tillis wrote or co-wrote. Pierce recorded several more Tillis songs, inlcuding I Ain't Never", "Tupelo County Jail" and"Honky Tonk Song". (If you can believe it, the Queen of the Blues, Koko Taylor, coverered "Honky Tonk Song" on her 1975 LP I've Got What it Takes.) Ray Price had hits with "Burning Memories" and "Heart Over Mind". Probably the two most famous versions of Tillis compositions are Bobby Bare's "Detroit City" and Kenny Rogers and the First Edition's version of "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town". When Rogers released his version of "Ruby" in the late 60s, many thought Tillis had written the song about a soldier who had been wounded in Vietnam. Instead, Tillis had written it about a man in his hometown who had been wounded in World War II. (I'm surprised someone hasn't covered the song in the past few years, slightly changing the words for the song to be about someone wounded in Iraq.)

In 1984, Tillis released his autobigoraphy, Stutterin' Boy. The book is by no means high brow reading, but includes dozens of great stories about the golden days of Nashville in the 1950s and 1960s. Any fan of real country music history would find it an entertaining read.

Nowadays, Webb Pierce is widely remembered for his flashy style as much as his music. For years, buses ferried hundreds of tourist a day past Pierce's Nashville home to see his guitar shaped swimming pool. But, for a time from the late 1950s through the early 1960s, Pierce was one of the hottest country stars going. Maybe I'll write more about Pierce in the future, but for now you can watch him perform the afforementioned "I'm Tired" in appearance recorded prior to Pierce overdosing on rhinestones.

Friday Frolics, Volume XX: I've Lost Track

2009-08-07T23:50:00.000-04:00

A few weeks back, "The Arlington Rap" was all the rage. Now, we have Fairfax's follow up.

Midweek Time Killers: Two Very Different Subjects

2009-07-23T07:57:00.003-04:00

According to this NPR interview with actress Beth Broderick, times are hard for Hollywood's working class actors. It seems the combination of bad ecomomic times, the explosion of reality television shows, and last year's writers' strike have caused the actress' annual income to decrease from a range of $300,000 to $500,000 per year down to $70,000 per year. During the interview Broderick says "Nobody wants to sit where I'm sitting and say, 'Hey, this is the reality. I did two movies, six guest-star spots and I starred in a one-woman show, and I'm not making any money. I'm on TV every day in every country in the world, and I don't make any money.' "

Meanwhile here on the East Coast, former Washington National Matt LeCroy has started a new career as minor league manager in the Nationals farm system. This recent Washington Times piece talks about LeCroy's new career and, of course, tells about the Nationals game in 2006 when the Astros stole seven bases in six innings while LeCroy was playing catcher. Then Nationals manager Frank Robinson pulled LeCroy from the game and then was brought to tears while talking about it in his post-game press conference. To me, that was Robinson's second finest moment during his tenure here in Washington. The first was the incident discussed in this previous Shedd's Spot post.

What Do Borat and Lance Armstrong Have In Common?

2009-07-22T20:50:00.006-04:00

This time every year while the baseball season is grinding toward the July 31 trade deadline and a lot of sports fans start getting impatient for NFL training camps to open, an international sporting event is going on in France (and Spain and Italy). That event, of course, is the Tour de France. I'd venture to say most casual sports fans know Lance Armstrong has come out of retirement and is in search of his eigth Tour de France title. But, beyond that, I think very few Americans know very much about the Tour or anything or anyone having to do with it.

Believe me, I'm no expert and there are a lot of things about team bike racing I have no clue about. But, a couple of things have caught my attention while dropping in on the Tour replay shows each night on Versus. The first is that this sports is pretty damn dangerous. There have been a few multi-rider pile ups in this year's Tour that have led to some riders leaving the Tour with injuries. Maybe the most notable was Armstrong's teammate, Levi Leipheimer, leaving with a broken wrist he suffered during a crash in stage 13. But, the most horrifying crash this year was a single rider crash in yesterday's 16th stage. Jens Voight apparently hit a bump while descending down a mountain at a speed somewhere between 40 and 50 MPH. Obviously, Voight was hospitalized after the crash.

Another item I found interesting is that the team that is considered the best, Team Astana, has been teetering on bankruptcy all through 2009. At one point earlier this year, the team's riders hadn't been paid in two months and cycling's governing body threatened to strip the team of its comptetive license unless the riders' pay was brought up to date. (And you thought the mothers of Elijah Dukes' children had a rough time of it collecting child support!) What makes this surprising is that Lance Armstrong is a member of Team Astana. Armstrong agreed to not take a salary when he joined the team, but that is not the case for the team's other riders, which include the aforementioned Leipheimer and current Tour leader Alberto Contador.

About this time, you're probably starting to wonder how a cycling "super" team can be in trouble financially. The answer is Team Astana's primary sponsor is the Astana Group, a collection of state owned businesses located in Kazakhstan. Yes Kazakhstan, native land of Sacha Baron Cohen's fictional character Borat. Although Borat may have made millions for Cohen, the real citizens of Kazakhstan and the country's businesses are stuck in a financial funk. And the funk is filtering down to Team Astana. The financial feasibility of the team is in question past the conclusion of this year's Tour de France, despite the fact Contador is all but a lock to win the Tour.

Earlier today Armstrong announced he has arranged sponsorship for the 2010 cycling season which will allow him to ride in next year's Tour, but no details were given. Maybe if we're lucky he'll ride for Team Borat...or maybe Team Bruno.

Friday Frolics, Volume 21: Screamin' Jay Hawkins

2009-07-17T10:49:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow, July 18th, would have been Screamin' Jay Hawkins 80th birthday. (He passed away in 2000). I really was hoping to include a performance of his classic "Constipation Blues" here, but the one available on Youtube was kind of boring. So instead, you get this performance of "I Put A Spell on You" from Hawkins' 1994 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show.

Midweek Time Killers: Baseball Old and New

2009-07-15T21:56:00.005-04:00

The latest issue of Sports Illsutrated has this profile of legendary Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver. The piece readily references the two classic (and obscenity laiden) Earl Weaver clips that are posted for posterity on YouTube and that have been featured here on Shedd's Spot, the Manager's Corner radio program and Weaver's 1980 argument with an umpire at Memorial Stadium. But more importantly, the piece describes how Weaver was a forerunner in using statistical analysis to judge player performance and match ups.

The same Sports Illustrated issue also features a couple of other profiles most old time Orioles fans may want to skip, a story on the 1969 Miracle Mets and a "where are they now" piece on former Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Kent Tekulve.

Meanwhile, today's Harrisonburg Daily News Record includes this article on the first ever meeting between the Cal Ripken, Sr. League and Valley League All Stars. Both leagues are summer leagues for college baseball players. The Ripken League operates teams in and around Baltimore and Washington, D.C. while the Valley League operates teams in the northern half of the Shenandoah Valley. The game ended shortly before I began writing this post with the Ripken League winning 2-1.

And, if you haven't had enough baseball and Earl Weaver, you should be able to hear the Rhodes Tavern Troubadours musical tribute to Earl Weaver here.

Quickies

2009-07-13T09:16:00.002-04:00

Both of the items in this week's belated Quickies post are relatated to HBO. HBO recently launched the website Comedy Fetish where fans can watch clips from their favorite HBO comedy series. I watched a few clips from my favorite HBO comedy series, Entourage and East Bound & Down, only to be disappointed that the clips included are the more tame ones and, guess what, have all the foul language blanked out. If you dig deeper, you'll see the site is nothing more than a marketing ploy to sell DVDs thru Barne & Noble and downloads thru iTunes.

If you'll remember back a couple of years, HBO's Real Sports ran a story on the financial wizardry of form baseball player Lenny Dykstra. Then, earlier this year, Real Sports ran a follow up story on how Dykstra's financial empire was crumbling around him. Last week, Dykstra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Here's The Philadelphia Inquirer story. But, this recent CNBC interview with Dykstra is far more entertaining.

Friday Frolics, Volume 20: Furry Fetish

2009-07-10T11:39:00.002-04:00

In honor of the new season of Entourage beginning this coming Sunday, here's a classic Johnny Drama scene.

Midweek Time Killers...Serena and The Fat Man

2009-07-08T15:00:00.000-04:00

I'm beginning to think I should just turn over the Midweek Time Killers series of posts to "J.D" in Richmond. He seems to be turning me on to more and more of the reading material included here. Monday, "J.D." sent me an email with info on this column by Jason Whitlock which takes several shots at Serena Williams, despite her recent Wimbledon win. I'm not going to comment any further on the column. But, I am going to include a few links to other blogs and columns where the writers throw their two cents in on Whitlock's column. There is this blog from The Pitch-Kansas City that also has a great picture of Whitlock with some "entertainers". The Retort has this and there is piece is entitled "Fat Man Calls Serena Williams Overweight…F*cking Hypocrite!". I do think the title of the aforementioned "Fat Man..." piece holds some merit because Whitlock is shaped a lot like another man who is somewhat associated with Kansas City, Jimmy Rushing (pictured below), long time lead singer with the Count Basie Orchestra. And, oh yeah, Rushing's nickname was Mr. Five by Five. Hmmm...maybe Whitlock could adopt the name?

And finally, if you haven't had enough of Jason Whitlock, there is this 2006 interview with The Big Lead, which was conducted not too long after Whitlock's departure from ESPN's Page 2.

The Politically Incorrect Nationals Report

2009-07-07T17:00:00.001-04:00

Yesterday's Washington Times sports page included Mark Zuckerman's weekly Nationals Report. The lead item in the report was Shawn Hill, the talented but often injured starting pitcher the Nationals released during spring training, and his recent Tommy John surgery. As Zuckerman commented, many fans were upset about Hill's release and I readily admit I was one of them. But obviously, Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo made the right call on Hill.

After the item on Hill, Zuckerman went on to write about minor league pitcher J.D. Martin, who is putting together a fine season at AAA Syracuse, before moving onto some poor attempts at humor. One of those attempts happened to involve Adam Dunn's 300th career HR, which he hit Saturday. I had the pleasure of seeing the homer sail over my head in right field Saturday and be caught a fan further back in the upper deck. That fan happened to be William Sanders, a U.S. Army colonel, who just happens to be African-American. Sanders returned the ball to Dunn after the game and Dunn gave Sanders an autographed jersey and autographed balls in return. Of course, Zuckerman reports, in his attempt at humor, that Colonel Sanders "exchanged it for a bucket of chicken". I guess Zuckerman didn't actually see Sanders in person or see a picture of the colonel, but who knows. And, I have to think the sports editor at the Times wasn't paying much attention either. I guess that's what happens when a last place baseball team is being covered by a major city's second rate newspaper.

(As a footnote, I'll point out I love politically incorrect humor and do not want to sound hypocritical. Obviously, I've made several attempts at politically incorrect humor here on Shedd's Spot. But in my opninion, there is really no place for it in what is supposed to be a legitimate newspaper's reporting on sports or the news.)

Friday Frolics and Quickies All in One...Bikinis

2009-07-05T20:18:00.006-04:00

The holiday weekend slowed things to a craw here at Shedd's Spot. Two baseball games and a lot of beer don't lend a lot of time for blogging.

According to Wikipedia, today (July 5th) marks the 63rd anniversary of the modern bikini. Of course, the modern two piece bathing suit known as the bikini was named after the Bikini Atoll, which was the site of U.S. nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958. An interesting aside here is that I once worked for a CPA firm that did the accounting for the the trust fund which managed the funds alotted to the Bikini natives by the U.S. government many years after the nuclear tests.

And staying on the subject of the bikini, I found it a little disturbing that so many women had the need to post videos on YouTube of their facial reactions during their first bikni waxing. Check it out for yourself.

Although she's not in a bikini, I don't think there are too many men in my age group who don't vividly remember this photo of Cheryl Tiegs from the 1978 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

Ending this post with the past due frolic, here is a related Bud Light commercial from a few years back.

Midweek Time Killers...Stupid and Serious Sports Stuff

2009-07-01T13:10:00.001-04:00

Many D.C. area residents have probably heard about the awkward in game interview Senator John Kerry gave MASN's Debbi Taylor during one of the Red Sox-Nationals games at Nationals Park last week. I was at the game, so I didn't have the...uh....pleasure of seeing it, but the bulk of it can be read in this D.C. Sports Bog entry. If you dig a little deeper, it's easy to find more examples of Senator Kerry's stiffness and general lack of knowledge when it comes to sports. This Boston Herald column discusses a few of them.

A few weeks after being let go from Dan Snyder owned WTEM radio, Brian Mitchell speaks out about it to USA Today here. (I think it's time Mitchell and ol' CP, Clinton Portis, have it out in a celebrity boxing match. I know a certain fledgling charity in Arlington that would love to sponsor the match and collect the proceeds.) According to this Washington Post piece from a couple of weeks back, the managment of WJFK is planning a jump into full time sports radio. Maybe Mitchell can catch on there.

For a little lighter fare, that is not stupid, check out this WRC-TV website page which features Sonny Jurgensen's 1994 interview with Sammy Baugh.

And finally, "J.D." forwarded me this Jason Whitlock column about the recent HBO Real Sports piece on Jim Brown and Bill Russell. Seeing that Tiger Woods is in town for the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club, it seems appropriate to post a link to the column because part of the column discusses Jim Brown's feelings toward Tiger Woods. That happens, of course, after Whitlock talks about his fascination with strip clubs. Who else would write "Jesus walked with prostitutes. Jason walks with strippers."?

Quickies

2009-06-29T00:10:00.001-04:00

The infomercial world lost its king over the weekend. Pitchman Billy Mays was found dead by his wife Sunday morning. The AP story via Yahoo is here. I recently told several friends I was considering being Mays for Halloween this year and I was already working up some imitation Mays pitches for products such as the human ass and beer. So, maybe I jinxed him.

Tomorrow (June 30) sees the release of the first season of HBO's East Bound and Down on DVD. For those of you who haven't seen the show, its storyline revolves around a former baseball phenom, Kenny Powers, who hits rock bottom and ends up back in his North Carolina hometown as a subsitute P.E. teacher. Powers is played by Danny McBride and series executive Will Farrell makes cameos as Ashley Schaeffer, the owner of the town's BMW dealership. I'm not a huge Will Farrell fan, but he is pretty funny as Schaeffer while wearing a Ric Flair-like wig. The show is probably one of the more poilitically incorrect TV shows made in recent years. The HBO short documentary on the making of the series can be seen here.

Finally, Freddie King's "Going Down" is used as the theme song for East Bound and Down. Here is King performing the song live.

Friday Frolics, Volume 19: More Jones Big A**......

2009-06-25T00:10:00.000-04:00

Back in April, "J.D." told me about the Jones Good A** BBQ and Foot Massage spot on Youtube and I quickly used it as a Friday Frolics post. Now, I think it's time to revisit the Jones line of products.

David Brinkley and D.C. Weather

2009-06-24T06:10:00.004-04:00

The weather forecast for this weekend looks like the typical D.C. summer forecast...hazy, hot and humid. We've finally turned the corner from a rainy spring that would make a tropical rainforest native feel at home to the summer weather most D.C. residents expect.

One year at Jazz Fest, a New Orleans cabbie asked my friends and I where we were from. When we told him we were from D.C., he quipped "I bet you boys ain't used to heat and humidity like this". I tried to tell him it could get just as hot and humid here, albeit it only for a couple of months. After all, our Nation's Capital was built on a swamp. But, the cabbie would have no part of what I was saying.

I've often heard folks who live in the D.C. area say there really isn't a spring season here. Somehow, the weather seems to always go from chilly and wet to hot and humid, with not many "pretty spring days" in between. I know this sounds like a sweeping generalization, but I do remember seeing something years ago on TV that seems to support this belief.

Not too long after I got out of college, I was nursing a Sunday morning hangover and watching This Week With David Brinkley. I vividly remember David Brinkley's end of broadcast commentary that morning. Someone (I don't remember who) had just published a study on the best and worst U.S. cities for weather as it affected lifestyle. Somehow it didn't suprise me when Mr. Brinkley passed on the the nugget that Washington, D.C. was the worst weather city in the country. The study had a rather narrow criteria, the annual number of days when the sky was sunny and the temperature was in the 70's. According to the study, D.C. averaged 10 such days per year. Every spring, I somehow remember that snipet from This Week and I try to count how many sunny and 70s days we've had. I never seem to get past five.

Midweek Time Killers...D.C. Music

2009-06-24T06:10:00.002-04:00

A few years back, a few writers at The Washington City Paper compiled this piece which surveyed 40 D.C. music scene insiders as to what pieces of local music were their favorites. My favorite quote from the piece is:

“I’m sure you’ll get a lot of votes for ‘Da Butt,’ and I do think ‘Da Butt’ is a f*cking great song. There’s no way around that,” says Mark Noone, lead singer for the Slickee Boys, who ultimately chooses the Slickees’ own 1983 single, “When I Go to the Beach.” “Not just because I wrote it,” he says. “I just think it turned into kind of a D.C. anthem.”

For those of you who haven't seen the Slickee Boys video for "When I Go to the Beach", you now have no excuses.....

Quickies

2009-06-22T06:10:00.000-04:00

First off, Variety reports in this story that Columbia Pictures is scrapping the movie version of Michael Lewis' book Moneyball. The movie was to have starred Brad Pitt as Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane. The A's have a history of fielding competitive teams on a small budgets thanks to Beane's use of statistical analysis which allows the A's find productive young players who do not yet command outrageous contracts.

According to this Yahoo Sports piece, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Pinella doesn't "know a steroid from a reefer". FYI Lou, a reefer is a refrigerated rail car used for shipping food and perishables.

And speaking of Lou Pinella, here is a TV station flashback to 1992 when Pinella was the manager of the Cicinniati Reds and he got into a tussle with then Reds relief pitcher, and now Washington Nationals color analyst, Rob Dibble.

Finally, I've done my share of Dan Snyder bashing here on Shedd's Spot and I believe he has deserved every bit of it and more. In an entry back in March, I mentioned how I had received mailings from the Redskins for a couple of years telling me I had risen to the top of the 200,000+ person season ticket waiting list. Everyone in D.C. with half a brain knows the length of that list is a bigger lie than anything that's ever come out of Marion Barry's mouth. Well, this April snipet in The Washington City Paper further proves it.

Friday Frolics, Volume 18: The Arlington Rap

2009-06-19T07:00:00.001-04:00

The link to this video was emailed to me this time last week by my friend and Shedd's Spot regular reader, Sam. Since then, it's been emailed to me at least half a dozen more times and five of my Facebook friends have posted on Facebook. I was told by another friend the video even got some play on the local NBC affiliate's evening news telecast. So, needless to say, it's caused quite a stir among those who live in Arlington now and those who grew up there.

Personally, I think the video is hilarious because it makes fun of one of Arlington's biggest problems, the self absorbed twenty and thirty something residents and all the "upscale" businesses they support. Within the first couple of days of watching this, I witnessed four people pushing elevator buttons that were already lit and saw more brown flip fops than I could count. Some of my friends who live in L.A., lower Arlington, were quick to point out that it appears as if the video was shot completely in north Arlington along the Wilson Blvd. corridor and that lower Arlington, and its residents, shouldn't be lumped in with generalizations about other half of the county. That may be true for now, but a change is coming.

Midweek Time Killers...The One and Only Blelvis

2009-06-18T15:30:00.000-04:00

This week, the belated Mid-Week Time Killers post consists of just two items and they both are about Blelvis. The first is Eddie Dean's 1998 Washington City Paper profile of Blelvis. The second is Monica Hesse's article on Blelvis that appeared in The Washington Post in 2007, on the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death.

If you went out in dowtown D.C. in the late 80s or 90s, you may have run across Blelvis on a street corner or performing in a bar like D.C. Space. At the time Eddie Dean piece was written, Blelvis was down on his luck. The Post piece, written nine years later, doesn't focus as much on the Blevis' hard times.

Years ago, my cousin and I had a bunch guys we grew up with over one Sunday to watch football. One of the guys, let's call him "R.B.", was quite the Elvis fan, could sing a little himself and was also African-American. That Sunday, "R.B." told me with great pride how he and his boys had run into Blelvis downtown the night before and how Bleivis given "R.B." the great pleasure of singing a few songs with him. After singing a few Elvis numbers, "R.B." suggested they do a song by "R.B."'s all-time favorite singer, Sam Cooke. But, Blelvis would have no part of it and he left "R.B." to sing the Sam Cooke number on his own. Obviously Blelvis is a man of convictions.

Quickies

2009-06-15T16:45:00.000-04:00

This week's Quickies post will be real quick...

First up this week, talk of porn star Stormy Daniels making a run for the Senate in 2010 has not subsided. According to this London Times piece from last month and this Politico blog entry from last week, Daniels has taken part in a "listening tour" around Louisiana as a first step toward a possible run. Luckily for Daniels, she just turned thirty so the minimum age requirement for the Senate won't be an issue.

And following up on this morning's entry on Thom Loverro's criticism of Rob Dibble, in which I discussed what might have been John Lownstein's greatest moment as a broadcaster, I give you this link to a blog entry by someone named the Urban Shocker that discusses what may have been Brother Lo's finest moment as player. In this time of controversy about how steroids have inflated baseball statistics, the following Lowenstein quote seems to put things in perspective:

Nuclear war would render all baseball statistics meaningless.

Thom Loverro Hates Rob Dibble

2009-06-15T06:10:00.002-04:00

Columnist Thom Loverrro has this column in today's Washington Times which is very critical of MASN's Washington Nationals telecast color commentator, Rob Dibble. Loverro's primary criticsm of Dibble is that Dibble is uninformed, especially when it comes to the Nationals pitching staff. This differs from other writers who have criticized Dibble for being too much of a homer, particularly when it comes to his use of "us" and "we" and encouraging words like "let's get two and get out of this" and "atta boy". Of course, as Loverro points out his column, Dibble's fan-like mentality has won over many Nationals fans.

For me personally, the jury is still out on Dibble as a commentator. I will readily admit I wasn't very enthused when I read during the offseason that he had been hired by MASN. And, during the first few weeks of the season I thought his criticism of rookie starting pitchers Sharon Martis and Jordan Zimmermann was a little too harsh. But, I will say Dibble's enthusiasm during the broadcasts is an improvement of the dull delivery of Don Sutton who seemed to talk about his playing days during game broadcasts as much, or more, than Dibble.

Speaking for myself, and I'm sure many longtime D.C. area residents will agree, the best local baseball television announcing team I've ever heard is Mel Proctor and John Lowenstein. They kept fans entertained and interested as they blended just the right mix of baseball knowledge and levity on Home Team Sports Orioles broadcasts from the mid-80s until the mid 90s . No one who saw it will ever forget the spring training game broadcast when Lowenstein yelled out the back window of the broadcast booth for the hot dog vendor on the ground outside the stadium to send two hot dogs up to the broadcast booth. Cameras stayed on the vendor as he bewilderdly looked around to see who was trying to get his attention. If I remember correctly, Lowenstein got his hot dogs a couple of innings later.

But, back to present and the Nationals. My friend and fellow blogger, Tadcranky, has a theory about the Nationals inability to sign upper level free agents. Tadcranky's theory is that as long as the Nationals appear as if they are going be awful the following year, no upper level free agent is going to sign with them. A premiere player is going to get the same the amount of money to play for a contender, or at least a team that will flirt with .500. So, why would the free agent sign with a team that may lose 100 games? I think the same theory holds true for broadcasters. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of studio analyst and color commentator jobs associated with Major League Baseball. So, why would a top tier TV analyst sign on to follow a losing team with a new and questionable fan base for the length of 162 game season?

Friday Frolics, Volume 17: Bruno

2009-06-12T08:54:00.003-04:00

The man gave us who gave us Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen, is back with a movie by one of his other characters, Bruno. The movie opens July 10th. You can see several of Bruno's "finest" moments at this COED Magazine link. (Thanks to "J.D." in Richmond for providing the link.)

More Midweek Time Killers..."Don't Tase Me, Sonny" and Fishing in the Gulf

2009-06-10T06:15:00.001-04:00

Remember when a University of Florida student was tased at a speech given by John Kerry a couple of years back and famously yelled "Don't tase me, bro"? Well, I'm thinking the recent tasing of a Texas grandmother is even more of a classic. I know that sounds awful, but after you watch the following news story from an Austin TV station, that includes police dash cam footage, I think you'll agree.

And of course, you have to love the fisherman who caught a live air to air missile in the Gulf of Mexico. Read about that here.

Midweek Time Killers...More Freakin' Baseball

2009-06-10T06:10:00.002-04:00

As expected, the Washington Nationals selected San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the first overall pick in last night's first round of the baseball draft. As soon as the pick was made, all the so called "experts" began to chime in on when and if Strasburg will sign, how much money will the contract be worth and when Strasburg will make his Major League debut. I could post links to dozen of articles and columns on those questions, but I'm already sick of hearing the speculation. My breaking point came this morning when I heard Steve Phillips predict on ESPN radio the Nationals will not come to terms with Strasburg and that Strasburg will sit out a year and then re-enter the draft next year. With all that said, I did find this Monday pre-draft piece from the Nationals' website on Ben McDonald, which included his thoughts on Strasburg, very interesting. Many of you will remember back 20 years ago when Big Ben was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round of the draft. Many thought he would be the cornerstone of the Orioles starting rotation for years to come. Unfortunately for both McDonald and the Orioles, things didn't work out that way.

Meanwhile up I-95 a piece, Raul Ibanez had this to say in The Philadelphia Inquirer about accusations by bloggers that he is using performance enhancing drugs:

You can have my urine, my hair, my blood, my stool - anything you can test," Ibanez said. "I'll give you back every dime I've ever made" if the test is positive.
"I'll put that up against the jobs of anyone who writes this stuff," he said. "Make them accountable. There should be more credibility than some 42-year-old blogger typing in his mother's basement. It demeans everything you've done with one stroke of the pen.

I haven't accused Ibanez of using PEDs, I don't live in my mom's basement and I'm not 42 (yet), so I guess I'm in the clear when it comes to Ibanez's wrath. Of course, he is batting something like .500 against the Nationals this year and has something like 85 HRs against them in 2009. Hmmm....maybe that's the reason for his improved stats at age 37...he's playing the Nationals 18 times a year????? You can read the entire Philadelphia Inquirer article here.

Quickies

2009-06-08T00:10:00.003-04:00

First off, baseball fans in Japan are doing their best to keep manager Bobby Valentine from losing his job. The New York Times details the saga here. Maybe if Baltimore Orioles fans would have done something similar for Davey Johnson, the Orioles would not have sunk to the level they have.

I'm to the point where I can't have a Quickies post that doesn't mention my beloved Washington Nationals. This weeks Sports Illustrated includes this story on Bryce Harper, the 16 year old high school phenom, who is considering dropping out of high school and getting a GED so he can be eligble for next year's baseball draft. Seeing the Nationals are once again on their way to the worst record in baseball, they could very well be in a position where they have to make a decision on whether Harper should be selected with the first overall pick in the draft. Of course, The Washington Times' Thom Loverro is convinced the Nationals' problems can be blamed on The Curse of Teddy Roosevelt. Maybe he is onto something. After all, Teddy was out to a commanding lead during the presidents race on the Saturday of Memorial Day only to lose when the Oriole bird jumped from the stands and leveled him with a tackle that would make Ray Lewis proud. Thus, another loss for Teddy.

Regular readers will remember a post a while back that included info sent in by "J.D." on the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in Vassalboro, Maine. "J.D." forwarded me this piece last week detailing the destruction of the Grand View due to arson. "J.D." blamed the arson on a right wing conspiracy, while a few readers who left comments on the newspaper website blamed it on feminists. I guess we'll know it was a conspiracy if any Cowgirls Expresso locations are burned to the ground.

I Hope Stephen Strasburg Doesn't Like Calamari

2009-06-05T09:14:00.009-04:00

I was perusing The Washington Times sports section this morning when I came accross this article on the presumed number one pick in Tuesday's baseball draft, Stephen Strasburg. As I stated in a post a few days back, some folks think Strasburg, with his 100+ MPH fastball, will be the Nationals' saviour. The Times article tells how San Diego State baseball coach Tony Gywnn has limited Strasburg's innings in an attempt to not damage Strasburg's arm prior to him beginning his professional career.

One thing the online version of the article does not include is the sidebar from the print edition which details the struggles (to put it nicely) of the pitchers who have been drafted with one of the top five picks in recent drafts. Everyone know the struggles Mark Prior and Kerry Wood have had with arm injuries. But lesser known are the travails of Matt Anderson, the overall number one pick in the 1997 draft. Anderson injured his arm, but not on the pitching mound. I'll use this direct quote from Wikipedia to describe Anderson's situation:

Anderson holds the dubious distinction of being the only player to injure himself in an octopus throwing contest. During a Detroit Red Wings game at the Joe Louis Arena, Anderson participated in an octopus throwing contest in an effort to win Red Wings playoff tickets and tore a muscle in the armpit of his throwing arm as a result. After returning from the injury, he was unable to hit 90 mph on his fastball in his remaining days in Detroit, after regularly topping 100 mph on the radar gun, including a high mark of 103 mph twice.

After reading about Anderson, I decided the Nationals should put a clause in Strasburg's contract prohibiting him from being within 500 feet of any nautical creatures, dead or alive, especially squid or octopus. So, I hope Strasburg doesn't calamri.

Friday Frolics, Volume 16: Redd Foxx Delivering Beer

2009-06-05T00:10:00.001-04:00

For some reason, the memory of this commercial popped into my head the other day. I vividly remember it from when I was a kid. I do think the person who posted this video on Youtube said it best when he/she said:

I'm just wondering why Redd is driving at such a high rate of speed, in the snow with a six-pack of malt liquor to deliver to a guy sitting in a chair?!? But then, maybe I'm putting way too much thought into this scenario??!! It IS a completely unique experience!!

Midweek Time Killers

2009-06-03T00:10:00.000-04:00

There is no theme to this week's Time Killer post. Instead, there is a choice of items that are some of the recurring themes here on Shedd's Spot, music, sports and life in and around the Nation's Capital.

First off, Dave Alvin recently released "Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women". You may recall from a prior post, that Alvin felt he couldn't record and tour with his former band, the Guilty Men, after the death of Alvin friend and bandmate Chris Gaffney. Alvin talks about that and the new CD in this Country Standard Time article. Alvin and Guilty Women play the Birchmere on July 25th.

It's been a little over four years since the voice of Baltimore sports, Chuck Thompson, passed away. In this NPR audio essay from 2005, Frank Deford remembers Thompson.

Finally, in yet another Washington City Paper flashback, Catherine Alter details how hard a time men in D.C. had meeting women in her 1996 article "Bitch Hunt". I wonder if 13 years have changed matters any?

Quickies

2009-06-01T06:10:00.000-04:00

On this day in 1925 (June 1st), Lou Gehrig played the first game in his 2130 game consecutive game streak. Of course, that record streak was broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. in 1995.

While listening to "Cowboy" Jack Clement's Saturday show on XM radio, I learned Louis Armstrong once released a country LP. The record, released in 1970, was produced by Clement. A review of Louis "Country and Western" Armstrong is here and an article about the record by Charles Wolfe from the Oxford American is here.

Finally, "J.D." sent the link to this Sporscenter item detailing the travails of former NBA player Corie Blount. (Maybe I should give "J.D." his own regular column on Shedd's Spot.)

Prospects for Baseball and Baseball Prospects in the Mid-Atlantic

2009-05-31T06:10:00.001-04:00

"J.D" has been keeping me abreast on the latest news regarding minor league baseball returning to Richmond. You may recall the Atlanta Braves moved their AAA team from Richmond to suburban Atlanta, leaving Richmond without a team. Lately, there has been talk of building a new stadium in the Richmond area in hopes of bringing a AA team to the area. This article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch is the latest news as of Saturday. Some of the potential ownership groups have the names of baseball legends attached to them, Ripken and Ryan.

My hope is Richmond will get a AA team and that the Nationals will have the team as their AA affiliate. I have jokingly told my friends any new team in Richmond should be called the Richmond Grays in homage to both the Negro Leagues and Richmond's historical significance. And, I think the team mascot should be an African-American Conferderate Army officer. Yes, I know that mascot would be offensive to everyone, that's why I said was joking. Of course, a friend of mine pointed out to me Clayton Bigsby may have already set a precedent for the mascot. If you're wondering who Clayton Bigsby is, you can watch part 1 of the "Frontline" profile of him here and part 2 here.

Friday's Washington Times had profiles of the two young baseball players who are considered the saviors of the mid-Atlantic's two major league clubs. Of course, pitching prospect Steven Strasburg hasn't even been drafted by the Nationals yet. The piece features some interesting thoughts by Tony Gwynn, the Hall of Famer, who now coaches Strasburg at San Diego State. (Virginia gave Strasburg his first loss of the year in the NCAA baseball playoffs Friday night. The AP story on the game is here.) Meanwhile in Baltimore, catcher Matt Wieters was called up from AAA by the Orioles Friday and was immediately made the O's starting catcher. The Times piece details the excitement in Baltimore.

Friday Frolics, Volume 15: George Brett Is Sick and Tired of Listening To It

2009-05-29T00:10:00.002-04:00

It seems baseball legened George Brett had a few pops at a celebrity golf tournament a couple of weeks back. Then, someone asked him the wrong question about K.C. Royals manager Trey Hillman. By the way, kudos to the Youtube poster who set up a home video camera in front of his TV to capture this nugget for all to see.

Midweek Time Killers

2009-05-27T06:10:00.001-04:00

Many of you may have seen last year's HBO Real Sports story about Lenny Dykstra. The story told of Dykstra's financial genius and how he had turned his investment in a car wash into a financial empire. This lengthy ESPN.com piece by Mike Fish follows up on the Real Sports story, but casts Dykstra in a far different light.

A couple of weeks back, I saw the The Washington City Paper had a cover story entitled "Screw U" about sex, or a supposed lack thereof, on campus at Catholic University. I thought to myself "that oughta be interesting". Well, I was disappointed. The article detailed how the student code prohibited most every sex act. But, guess what? The University is an offshoot of the Catholic Church. Would that surprise you? The piece goes on to say the anti-sex rules aren't really enforced. So, in the end, you have to wonder what was the point of piece. I would have found an article on the rules at Bob Jones University much more interesting.

WTEM radio, owned by Dan Snyder, did not renew the contracts of ex-Redskin Brian Mitchell and the hair spray kid, Al Koken. Maybe Mitchell's contract was not renewed because of his heated on air discussion with Clinton Portis last fall. ("CP's pockets is straight" was a classic line although I still have no idea what to hell it means.) Back in Feb., "J.D.", "Vern", "Vern's" son, "D", and I went to the Mason-Madison basketball game at JMU. Prior to the game, Al Koken, who was doing play by play of the game, was in the men's room primping and making sure each hair was glued in place. I made an offer to "D" of $10 if we would go over and mess up Koken's hair. "D", who is 10, was up for it, but "Vern" wasn't. I would have laughed my a** off if "D" would have pulled the stunt. It wouldn't have been hard for "D" considering Koken and "D" are about the same height. Anway, a Washington City Paper blub about Mitchell and Koken's departures is here.

Quickies

2009-05-26T00:10:00.001-04:00

First up, it seems that now that my friend Steve Tuttle has been ragged on a bit on CMT's website because of his Newsweek piece criticizing modern country music, he has been paying attention to CMT.com. Steve sent me this blurb on Nashville's premiere bluegrass club, the Station Inn, opening a barbecue joint.

Last week, Shedd's Spot's Richmond correspondent, "J.D.", sent me this AP piece about a man being shot in a Waffle House after complaining about his food. While searching for more info on the shooting, I came accross a whole slew of info on late night happenings at Waffle Houses, including this security camera video of a late night brawl.

"J.D." also sent in this piece about an attempt, and the related documentary, to get the Kinks to reunite.

Finally, my friend "Vern" was headed home from church a couple of weeks back when he saw Kenny Powers, or at least a damn fine Powers impersonator, in the church parking lot. Good to see KP may be trying to change his ways. He was on his way into church when Vern's wife snapped this picture

Months Later, Another Musical Oddity

2009-05-25T13:49:00.003-04:00

Back in January, I posted an entry entitled "A Musical Oddity" about hearing the Yayhoos' version of ABBA's "Dancing Queen" on Hillbilly Jim's Moonshine Matinee show on XM radio. Since then, I've heard several more odd things on XM, but none as odd (and bad) as the Oak Ridge Boys' cover of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" I heard earlier today.

When I got home I immediately Googled "Oak Ridge Boys Boom Boom" hoping beyond hope this was something the Oak Ridge Boys recorded years ago and that whomever the DJ was today on Outlaw Country was playing the cut as a joke. Unfortunately, the Google search led me to a May 19th Washington Post review of the Oak Ridge Boys latest CD. It seems the Oak Ridge Boys are trying to revitalize their career with a CD of songs orginally from other genres, including songs originally recorded by Neil Young and the White Stripes.

Back in the 1990s, Johnny Cash's career had fallen to the level of fading country legend. Cash was then approached by American Recordings owner Rick Rubin about a recording contract. Rubin had the idea of having Cash come into the studio with just his guitar and letting Cash record whatever he wanted. Cash ended up recording a collection of songs that became his comeback CD, American Recordings. The CD consisted of songs written by songwriters such as Nick Lowe, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and Cash himself. Cash went on to record several more CDs for American before his death, all of which were critically acclaimed.

Since Cash had his success by stepping away from the country music industry cookie cutter, several older acts, including Loretta Lynn, have made similar moves hoping to jump start their careers. This latest Oak Ridge Boys CD seems to be their attempt at a jump start. Unfortunately, for the Oak Ridge Boys (and us), they do not have the one quality that made Cash's stint at American a success, the ability to make any song their own. During Cash's stint at American, he could make the listener forget there ever were orginal version of the songs he covered. I doubt the Oak Ridge Boys would ever be able to do that.

My advice to the Oak Ridge is to follow the lead of acts such as Carl Smith and the Statler Brothers. Those acts retired with dignity after realizing the country music world wasn't what it was when their careers were at their zeniths. I doubt that anyone would have wanted to hear Carl Smith or the Statler Brothers cover something like "Livin' la Vida Loca", which I'll venture to guess may be on the Oak Ridge Boys next CD.

Friday Frolics, Volume 14: Cleveland Tourism Videos

2009-05-22T10:36:00.002-04:00

OK, these might be old news to some of you, but I'm tired and I got hit in the head by a softball last night. So, the Shedd's Spot research department (me) is moving a little slow today.

Midweek Time Killers...Old School Baseball Style

2009-05-20T06:10:00.002-04:00

(No, that is not the blogger known as Shedd in the picture to the right.)

Every year about this time, the Baltimore Orioles visit the District for a series the Nationals promote as "The Battle of the Beltways". Honestly, it's more like the "Contests of the Cellar Dwellers", but the series usually draws well and the fans seem to have a good time. When the Nationals were still playing at RFK, some friends and I would always take in the Sunday game of the series after a couple of hours of tailgating. On one of those Sundays, my friend "Drycleaner Chris" and I were approached by the weekend sports anchor for local channel 9. She wanted to interview Chris and me for a story examining the Nationals-Orioles rivalry. Weekend anchor girl was your typical nice bodied TV blonde type, so, in our buzzedness, we readily agreed to step in front of camera. Chris BS'd his way through what seemed to be a five minute answer, then I babbled for a while, hoping my drunkedness wouldn't show up on video. (Believe me, I have a face and a voice made for blogging, so if I would have been sober, there's no way I would have let myself go on camera.) Soon, interview time was over and we headed into the game. When I got home that evening, I set my DVR to record channel 9's late night sports show and then readily forgot about the entire incident.

A few weeks later, I was visiting my parents in West Va. when my mom told me a friend of hers had seen me on TV. I'm sure I had a puzzled look on my face, because I had totally forgotten the interview. (15 beers or so on the day of an interview will do that to a guy.) My mom went on to tell me her friend said it looked like I was "at a ball game or something". Then it dawned on me what she was talking about. I was truly expecting the next words to come out of my mom's mouth to be her friend said "and he looked like he was three sheets to the wind". But, I got lucky. Once I got back home, I watched the story on my DVR. My minutes of babbling was edited down to about 20 seconds for the story. And, geez did I look like a** in my drunkedness.

In honor of this weekend's "Contests of the Cellar Dwellers", we'll take a look back at some old school baseball items from the Washington and Baltimore areas. (I refuse to lump the two cities into one geographic region because the two cities could not be more different.)

First, there's the best ever of the buzzed baseball fans, Baltimore's Wild Bill Hagy. This Washington Times piece was written by Dick Heller shortly after Hagy's death in August 2007. But, even more interesting is this 1979 Evening Magazine story on Hagy.

Lastly, is this NationalsPride.com review of Stephen J. Walker's 1999 book A Whole New Ballgame. The book details the Washington Senators 1969 season, their first under the leadership of Ted Williams. Although everyone remembers the Senators as perennial losers, they actually had a record of 86-76 in 1969. Personally, my lone memory of the Senators was going to a game at the age of four with my dad and grandfather in 1971, the Senators final year in D.C., and spilling orange soda all over myself and being hot and sticky the rest of the day. I guess it could have been worse, I could have a memory of a loss.

Quickies

2009-05-18T16:11:00.003-04:00

Last week, Delaware governor Jack Markell signed legislation legalizing sports betting in Delaware. Now, it's up to the Delaware Supreme Court to work through the myriad of legal issues to determine exactly how the sports betting system will work in the state. Meanwhile, both the NFL and NCAA are unhappy and, as mentioned in a previous post, the NCAA is threatening to prohibit all colleges located in Delaware from hosting any NCAA playoff/tournament games. The latest on the situation is covered in detail in this Philadelphia Inquirer piece.

For a while Saturday, I thought I'd post my official Preakness preview and prediction. But, after providing you readers with some poor picks based on sound handicapping for the Kentucky Derby, I thought better of it. And, it's a good thing I did. My advice was going to be "don't make the sucker bet by putting your money on Rachel Alexandra." From what I've read, the close finish between Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird has temporarily piqued America's interest in the Sport of Kings. Unfortunately, in Maryland, the lack purse money because of a lack of slot machines has damaged the overall racing scene. And, the ban on taking your own booze into the infield at Pimlico caused a substantial drop in attendance at this year's Preakness. This article from Saturday's Washington Post and this one from Sunday examine the two issues. In this column, Andrew Beyer proposes his solution to the Maryland's racing industry woes.

I wanted to find one good gambling song on Youtube to make this an all gambling Quickies post. But, I couldn't find a performance clip of any of the songs I was thinking of, Merle Haggard's "Kentucky Gambler", "Blackjack" by Albert Collins, or Mike Ness' version of "Gamblin' Man". Unfortunately, my search on "Gamblin' Man" found this awful, and I mean really awful, clip of a Hager Brothers appearance on Hee Haw.

Friday Frolics, Volume 13: Kinky Freidman Sings...

2009-05-15T00:10:00.002-04:00

Here's Kinky Freidman singing "They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore" from his banned from the airwaves 1975 appearance on Austin City Limits. Please beware that, although there aren't a lot of obscenities in this clip, this song is VERY politically incorrect.

Midweek Time Killers...D.C. Sports Style

2009-05-13T06:10:00.003-04:00

First off, The Washington Times' Dan Daly thinks tonight's Game 7 between the Capitals and Penguins is destined to be among the greatest sporting events ever held in the D.C. area. You can read his list here and then form your own opinion on it. Personally, I disagree with the event at the top of his list, George Mason's defeat or UConn in the 2006 NCAA Eastern Region Final, and it pains me to say that. The game was great, but its long term impact on the area was nowhere near the game I would have at the top of the list, the Redskins defeat of the Dallas Cowboys at RFK in the NFC Championship game after the 1982 season. Although, George Allen had started Redskins mania in the 70s, that January 1983 game cemented the Redskins as the sports institution in the National Capital Area. Only now, with Dan Snyder's mismanagement of the team, is the lustre wearing off the Redskins. (On a personal note, I would like to nominate as an honorable mention, the Wakefield High School boys basketball team's 61-56 defeat of Grant Hill's South Lakes team in the 1990 Northern Region (Va.) final.)

In this 1994 column, the dean of Washington sportswriters, the late Shirley Povich, remembers, 70 years later, the Washington Senators' 1924 World Series win.

Finally, you can relive the highlights of the Washington Bullets game seven win over the Seattle Supersonics in the 1978 NBA Champiosnhip and watch some post game interviews in the following clips. By the way, the Big E was THE MAN.