Saturday, August 22, 2009

Show Prep #14

Greetings and Salutations, people. More interesting that licking wallpaper glue…it’s Vertically Striped Radio with your hosts Craig Dodge, that’s me, and my co-host MJ Amory! Vertically Striped Radio: Inconveniently scheduled around my needs! Let’s do this thing, shall we, Mr. Amory? (Should we play MJ’s theme song?)

If you feel bold and courageous and would like to join in the conversation, please feel free!

Give out the phone number - (646) 716-6831 OR 6-HOP-1-MOVE-1
Email address: radio@verticallystripedsocks.com

Today on the big show: Guests scheduled to appear…providing that they actually call in…include: The Ed, who said he has written our show down on his board to remember to call in, We also are scheduled to be joined at 4:00 by our Raiders correspondent, Andy Petersen. (If we are able to spend a few minutes planning the Mickey Mouse interview bit at this point I will say: We are also scheduled to be joined by Mickey Mouse) We will really and truly finish up for good the AFC portion of the ridiculously long-running Over/Under predictions segment that I believe we started up sometime during the Mesozoic Period or perhaps the Bronze Age, I forget. In accordance with Sports Talk Radio law, We will talk up a bit of the Brett Favre situation. We may also take a few minutes to try and help my co-host find an NHL team of his very own, if you’d like to make a case for a team MJ should follow, please feel free to call in.

All of this good stuff and more is on tap, but first…The News…


(Play News Music – Clip 03)
Notes for MJ:
(The Ed is supposed to call in, and he will probably chew up a lot of time, He is hard to get off the phone, but he is hilarious, so I don’t try too hard. We may end up cutting a lot of stuff if he remembers to call in, but it’s so totally worth it, as the Ed cracks me up.)
(Andy Petersen has told me he’s going to call in at 4:00, I work with Andy, and he should be fun to have on the show. He’s an overly optimistic Raiders fan who should be fun to razz a bit, but he’s also a good guy, and he’ll probably add to the conversation, so he’ll be good to have on. Assuming he calls in, I’ll probably toss him a few Raiders questions, and then we can just have him sit in on the conversation.) (Music Clip 09)
Chances are good we don’t get through everything on this sheet, but that’s okay, I like being over prepared. If I skip something or skip around, no worries, plus I’m not married to this sheet. If you have something that’ll make for a good conversation or we go in an unplanned but entertaining direction…roll with it! I appreciate what you bring to the show, my man!


1. LONDON (Reuters) – Visitors to London always have to be on the look out for pickpockets, but now there's another, more positive phenomenon on the loose -- putpockets.
Aware that people are suffering in the economic crisis, 20 former pickpockets have turned over a new leaf and are now trawling London's tourist sites slipping money back into unsuspecting pockets.
Anything from 5 pounds ($8) to 20 pound notes is being surreptitiously deposited in unguarded pockets or open handbags in Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and other busy spots.
The initiative, which runs until the end of August in London before being rolled out countrywide, is being funded by a broadbrand provider, which says it wants to brighten up people's lives in unusual ways.
"It feels good to give something back for a change -- and Britons certainly need it in the current economic climate," said Chris Fitch, a former pickpocket who now heads TalkTalk's putpocketing initiative.
"Every time I put money back in someone's pocket, I feel less guilty about the fact I spent many years taking it out."
London's police have been briefed about the plan, which will see at least 100,000 pounds given away.

Our second news story may be the gayest story I have ever seen, it is flamboyantly awesome!
2. WILTON MANORS, Fla. – A man with a tattoo of Britney Spears' name on his arm or neck allegedly stole a Chihuahua with pink earrings from a South Florida gay bar. Brian Dortort, 48, said Thursday he has spent weeks searching for his 4-month-old pooch, named Hudson Hayward Hemingway. The dog, about the size of a softball, was in a specialty pet bag.
Dortort said he let a man hold the Chihuahua for a moment during a friend's birthday party, then both of them disappeared.
Police said a suspect has been identified, but it's up to the Broward State Attorney's Office to decide whether to an issue an arrest warrant.

3. COLUMBIA, S.C. – A South Carolina woman has won a $2 million jury verdict against a dental clinic that mistakenly pulled 13 teeth. The State reported that 28-year-old Elizabeth Smith wanted three teeth pulled when she went to the Sexton Dental Clinic in Florence in 2006. Her lawsuit said a dentist at the clinic pulled all 16 of her upper teeth.
One of Smith's lawyers, Robert Ransom, said the woman plans to have restorative surgery as soon as possible. That's estimated to cost about $80,000.
Clinic attorney Saunders Bridges said he is considering an appeal.

I’m Craig, and that’s the news…(Play News Music – Clip 03)

(Check the phone lines to see if you have any calls)

And now, the thrilling conclusion to the AFC Over/Under predictions!
AFC Over/Unders:
Broncos – 7 – M – Under C – Under *
Chiefs – 6 – M – Under C - Push
Chargers – 9.5 M – Under C - Over
Raiders – 5.5 – M – Over C - Over

Steelers – 10.5 – M – Over C – Over *
Ravens – 8.5 – M – Over C - Over
Bengals – 6.5 – M – Under C - Over
Browns – 6.5 – M – Under * C - Under

Jets – 7 - M – Under C - Under
Patriots – 11.5 – M - Over C - Over
Dolphins – 7 – M – Over C - Under
Bills – 7.5 – M – Under C - Over

Jaguars – 8 – M – Under * C – Under *
Colts – 10 – M Push C - Over
Titans – 9 – M Push C - Under
Texans – 8.5 – M – Over * C - Over





My Topics:

-Brett Favre – This is what I had as a potential topic for last week: “Officially retired, NOT coming back to Minnesota. Now that we’ve had a few weeks to digest that, good for Favre AND good for the Vikings” So much for that…let’s discuss the debacle that is the Minnesota version of Brett Favre

-Picking a hockey team for MJ – Wants a local squad in NYC, so the contenders are: Isles, Rangers, and Devils.

-Interview with “Mickey Mouse” – I assume I will be interviewing you, MJ as you do the Mickey Mouse impression? If so, we probably should talk about this segment on the show before we do it, as there is some back story I’m not sure you’ve been listening to Dameshek long enough to be able to get into everything fully. I’ll fill you in. Let’s do this segment, as it could be hilarious, but only after we have a chance to talk about it first!

-The Treasures which I discovered at Invesco Field…my very productive shopping trip to the Invesco Field at Mile High Gift Shop. Very Good Times!

-My burgeoning animation career with Flipnote Studio.

-I saw the movie “Taken” with Liam Neeson

-The National Anthem battle – O Canada vs. Star Spangled Banner

-Chad Ochocinco, is he available as a K for the fantasy draft??

-Rundown of the myriad of football contests we are a part of over at Dameshek.com
1. Fantasy Football league
2. The Ed’s Super Deluxe Football Game
3. The Ed’s Super Deluxe Football Game
4. Joe vs. The World – Gambling Title Competition
5. UMass Dameshek’s Pick’em League

I guess it’s time to announce the Vertically Striped Survivor League! On ESPN.com, I’ve started an Eliminator Group for the NFL. Pick a team each week to win, and as long as they do so, you stay in. You can only pick a team one time, and there will be some manner of swell prize for the winner!


MJ’s Topics:
-U.S. Unmanned War Drones
-The New Cowboys stadium
-Why CSI sucks
-Anything else you wanna do, just toss it in.

The Vertically Striped Music Recommendation:
“Easy” by Cowboy Mouth

Okay, so I’ve spent the past few months with my Music Recommendation pulling out cool Indie music stuff to try and prove that I’m somewhat of a hipster. I’m going to break from that a bit and recommend a completely different style of album. I really dig these guys, and this is probably my favorite album of theirs. It’s nowhere near as sophisticated or indie sheik as most of the other music I’ve put out there, but I’m not really all that cool or sophisticated either, and this is just a fun album. It’s got great songs like my favorite breakup song of all time, “How do you tell someone” and the title track is just fun to sing to yourself as you’re driving down the road. “Always leaving” is solid, and “Everybody loves Jill” just gets stuck in your head. There is nothing all that cool, inventive or amazing about this music, and I can already hear Cousin Brandon killing this pick, but I dig this light fluffy music, and fully recommend it. I know it’s not great, but not everything I like has to be great, sometimes fun fits the bill nicely. We’ll go out with my favorite song from the record, the title track, “Easy.”


Shalom and Good evening to you all! (Music Clip #14 – Easy by Cowboy Mouth)

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Show Prep #13

Greetings and Salutations, people. Just when you thought it was safe to go back on to BlogTalkRadio.com! This is Vertically Striped Radio! Fighting our way through the summer doldrums and looking toward that light on the horizon that is football season! Vertically Striped Radio is here for you. Many other programs on the Dameshek Amalgamated Messageboard Network are taking it easy this summer, but we are a show of the people, and we are here for you again this week, despite the fact that MJ and I are just now getting back from vacations, Vertically Striped Radio is here for you!


Today on the big show: I have a couple of news stories, we will break down the AFC Over/Unders, and after that…We’re taking a page from our man Dave Dameshek…that’s right! It’s our Potpourri special! With hardly any time to prep for the show as MJ and I have been vacationing in Europe and the Rocky Mountains respectively, we’re going to test the theory that less is more. We have a plethora of topics that are all over the map, and to help guide us on this voyage of randomness, my friend, MJ Amory, how goes it, Sir?


If you’d like to join in the conversation, please feel free!
Give out the phone number - (646) 716-6831 OR 6-HOP-1-MOVE-1
Email address: radio@verticallystripedsocks.com



(Play News Music – Clip 03)
1. LONDON (Reuters) – Sunderland midfielder Grant Leadbitter, explaining to a court why he was caught speeding, said he thought the police patrol car following him was in fact a car full of Newcastle United fans chasing him for a fight.
"My heart was beating fast, I was scared and I wanted to get home as quickly as possible," The Guardian newspaper quoted the Premier League player as telling the court when describing why he had accelerated to 112 mph.
He was on his way back from a night out, which had ended with an altercation with a group of fans from his club's bitter rivals Newcastle and he thought they were pursuing him.
He was fined 515 pounds ($850) and banned from driving for 14 days.



2. WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND (Reuters) – An extremely drunk, naked man lost his way at a New Zealand hotel and ended up sleeping in the wrong room, forcing its female occupant to hide in the bathroom, local media reported.
The 29 year-old Australian man had gone back the hotel in the resort town of Queenstown with a woman, but got up in the night and wandered into a bedroom where a couple were sleeping.
"He was a bit surprised that there were two people in his room and he was butt naked," Sergeant Steve Watt of Queenstown police told the Southland Times.
As the intruder slept, the startled woman took refuge in the bathroom as her husband summoned hotel staff.
The man, who could not remember whom he had been with nor what room he had been in, and had no clothes or wallet.
Police gave him a ride home clad in a hotel bathrobe, but let him off after the guests and hotel decided not to press charges.

I’m Craig, and that’s the news…(Play News Music – Clip 03)


(Check the phone lines to see if you have any calls)

AFC Over/Unders:
Broncos – 7 – M – Under C - Under
Chiefs – 6 – M – Under C - Push
Chargers – 9.5 M – Under C - Over
Raiders – 5.5 – M – Over C - Over

Steelers – 10.5 – M – Over C - Over
Ravens – 8.5 – M – Over C - Over
Bengals – 6.5 – M – Under C - Over
Browns – 6.5 – M – Under C - Under

Jets – 7
Patriots – 11.5
Dolphins – 7
Bills – 7.5

Jaguars – 8
Colts – 10
Titans – 9
Texans – 8.5


My Topics:

-Broncos preseason game #1
1. Kyle Orton – 3 Interceptions
2. Peyton Hillis – Looked pretty strong, good to see him running again and looking solid
3. Chris Simms – Looked better than Orton, possible QB controversy already in Denver
4. Knowshon Moreno – Looked pretty solid until leaving in the 2nd quarter with a leg injury, tracking that to see how serious it is.
5. Josh McDaniels – Looks a little bit like a lost kid on the sidelines, not encouraging and I do not feel better about the McDaniels/Orton era
6. Final Score – Oh yeah, the Broncos lost 17-16 in a meaningless exhibition, which we have now officially talked too long about.

-Jehovah’s Witnesses – Came out to the cabin. 4.2 miles on a dirt road to get there, crazy!

-Whitewater rafting and alpine slides, Bear tracks outside the cabin, hanging around the cabin NOT doing anything for a large portion of the trip. Satellite Internet is slow, but at least I was connected. Cabin – somewhat of a misnomer, that place was fantastic!

-Saw the movie “Taken” with Liam Neeson

-Rundown of the myriad of football contests we are a part of over at Dameshek.com
1. Fantasy Football league
2. The Ed’s Super Deluxe Football Game
3. The Ed’s Super Deluxe Football Game
4. Joe vs. The World – Gambling Title Competition
5. UMass Dameshek’s Pick’em League

I guess it’s time to announce the Vertically Striped Survivor League! On ESPN.com, I’ve started an Eliminator Group for the NFL. Pick a team each week to win, and as long as they do so, you stay in. You can only pick a team one time, and there will be some manner of swell prize for the winner!

-Brett Favre – Officially retired, NOT coming back to Minnesota. Now that we’ve had a few weeks to digest that, good for Favre AND good for the Vikings


MJ’s Topics:
-U.S. Unmanned War Drones
-The New Cowboys stadium
MJ’s trip to London/Rome
-some books I have read on my trip
-why CSI sucks
-my horrible flight



Shalom and Good evening to you all!

Show Prep #12

Greetings and Salutations, people. This is Vertically Striped Radio, The #200th ranked sports show on BlogTalk and the show that is too controversial for Alabama! This is Vertically Striped Radio brought to you by VerticallyStripedSocks.com. I am pleased to report that this program has been banned in Alabama. A fantastic Alabaman known as Steve, or as he is known on the Dameshek.com message board, GravityDenied has taken it upon himself as a representative of the great state of Alabama to hear my plea from last week and ban my radio show within the state borders. So if you are in Alabama and listening to Vertically Striped Radio, know that you are doing so illicitly. My show has been banned there, and I couldn’t be happier about it. That’s right, this is the show that is too hot for Bama! Vertically Striped Radio!


Today on this very controversial program: It’s our fantasy football spectacular! I’ll share the most random poll of all time, Do you need a name for your fantasy football team? You’ve come to the right place as I unveil the greatest fantasy football team names of all time, Where in the world is my pal MJ?, I’ll break down my fantasy football strategy in shocking detail and dare the Shek Republic league to beat me, I’ve got another Great Moment in the History of BlogTalk Radio, all that, plus I would love to have your phone calls as well. The number to reach me is:

Give out the phone number - (646) 716-6831 OR 6-HOP-1-MOVE-1
Email address: radio@verticallystripedsocks.com

Okay, before we get to the news, I’d like to break out the Han Solo Edition blaster for a very special reason. I work in downtown Denver in an office that is NEVER visited by any clients or customers. We are an extremely laid-back office, and the dress code is not what one would call strict. I’m okay with my job, but I do it because I need to feed my family, not because I’m terribly in love with doing it. Let’s just say that if I won the lottery, I’d quit immediately without even giving it a second thought. However, the laid back dress code is a big plus in my world, and I’ve truly enjoyed it. Well, we have been able to wear sneakers for as long as I have worked there…that is up until this week, as this week a new HR person has darkened the door of the HR department and sent out a decree via email to the entire office stating that tennis shoes were no longer allowed. It’s not a big deal, but why go out of your way to irritate people you just started working with. So to the new lady in HR who installed this new policy, I say…JERK (Play Blaster Clip - 04)


Alright, now that that’s off my chest, let’s get to the news…
(Play News Music – Clip 03)


BEIJING (Reuters Life!) – A Chinese bride is hoping to enter the record books after getting married in a wedding dress with a train more than 2 km (1.2 miles) long trailing behind her. It took guests more than three hours to roll out the gown, complete with 9,999 silk red roses attached to it, in the northeastern province of Jilin, a state news agency said.
"Both the length of the dress and the number silk roses pinned on the wedding dress can make history," the report quoted the groom as saying.
Zhao, who has applied to Guinness World Records, said he was inspired after seeing a story on the previous record holder in Romania, where the dress measured just over 1.5 km.
"I do not want a cliche wedding parade or banquet," he said.
Bride Lin Rong "laughed and cried at the romantic gesture," Xinhua said.
The dress cost around 40,000 yuan ($5,856), which prompted initial opposition to the plan from his family.
"It is a waste of money in my opinion," said Zhao's mother. "Though I understand that he wants to show his love on the big day."

2. TOKYO (Reuters) – A customer banned from a Tokyo ear-cleaning salon was arrested in Tokyo Monday on suspicion of stabbing a young woman working at the salon and killing her grandmother, Japanese media reported.
Japan has many salons where workers, often women, clean customers' ears with ear picks, sometimes as the customers lie on the workers' laps.
The 41-year-old male customer had been banned from the salon, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.
He told the police that he was having trouble with the 21-year-old salon worker and had prepared knives to kill her, it said.
A spokesman for Tokyo metropolitan police department confirmed the arrest but declined to give details of the attack.
The worker was alive but unconscious after the attack at her home, the newspaper reported. The grandmother was stabbed when she answered the front door.

3. TORONTO (Reuters) – A YouTube video showing a 7-year-old boy at the wheel of a sport utility vehicle -- with his family cheering him on -- has prompted an investigation by Quebec police and family services, police said on Tuesday.
The video, apparently shot by the boy's father from the SUV's passenger seat as the boy drives and his mom and siblings watch from the back seat, was brought to the attention of Quebec Provincial Police on Monday, Sergeant Chantal Mackels said.
"We now know who the person is," Mackels said, noting charges are still being worked out.
Finding the family wasn't much of a challenge, given the father's enthusiastic narration of the video, including their location in Quebec and the boy's first name.
The woman in the back seat also calls out the father's name, apparently urging him not to distract the child. During the video, the father calls out to "Samuel" to smile for the camera. The boy, chewing gum, obliges.
The father also panned the camera into the back seat of the vehicle to show the mother, with an unrestrained young girl on her lap, and an older boy.
Police are considering both criminal charges and traffic violations and have also contacted the province's department of child protection to investigate the family, Mackels said.
And while she's seen cases of children driving under the legal age of 16 years before, Mackels said she's never come across a case where the evidence is supplied online, by the perpetrator's proud father.
"Like this, on YouTube? No. This is a new one for me," Mackels said.
Speaking as a father of a four year old, my first reaction was, “Great, so much for my foolproof “Designated Driver” plan.

I’m Craig, and that’s the news…(Play News Music – Clip 03)
(Check the phone lines to see if you have any calls)

Fantasy Football Strategic Breakdown: (Clip 12 – Fear the Llama) - Go to VSS Post
(Play Clip)
Great moments in BlogTalk History: This latest Great moment is very recent, but it was so good, I just had to relive it again. The first time I heard it I was at work, and I started laughing so hard that tears were streaming from my eyes. People were looking at me like I was insane, but how do you quickly describe the comic genius that is The Ed? It is impossible to do so justice to how funny Mr. Miller truly is. The Ed is the comedy gift that just keeps on giving. This week on the LCS Hockey Show, Ed called in and pretended to be the UFO expert who was going to be calling in a little bit later to discuss the space monkeys. The following is a portion of the call as Ed tried to fool Jerry and Mike into thinking that he was Joseph Blagabloo, UFO Expert. I’m not sure they were fooled, but they were certainly amused. (Play Clip 13)


Andy Peterson update: The Oakland Raiders correspondant (Play music - Clip 09) – Andy has promised he will call in this season to give Raiders updates to the program. Andy is an insane Raiders fan who works in my office, and every time I see him, he regales me with stories of hope for a winning Raiders season this year. I keep trying to crush his dreams by reminding him that Al Davis is still in charge of the program over there, and not to get his hopes too high. He keeps talking about how great the Raiders look in camp, and bragging about how the Raiders already have Darius Hayward-Bey signed and in camp. I keep reminding him how badly the Raiders reached for Hayward-Bey and how they are going to be quarterbacked by JaMarcus Russel, coached by Tom Cable, and REALLY coached by Al Davis behind the scenes ruining things. He sent me an email entitled “Here is why I think the Raiders could have a good season” and he had written a little paragraph of all the good things going on in Oakland’s camp. I replied to his email with a single sentence that read, “Here is why I think the Raider’s could have a bad season.” I then attached a photo of Al Davis, a.k.a. Skeletor. He laughed and said, “Point well taken.” I’m really excited to have Andy call this year, and hope to get him on soon, as his undying Raiders optimism is as inspiring as it is pitiable. He is a fun guy and he’s going to be great for this show.




Great Fantasy Football team names:
MJ’s names:
Jake Plummer’s Handball Team
Kyle Orton is my Savior (F bomb)
Kyle over Jay I am delusional

My names:
Star-Bellied Sneeches – Dr. Seuss
Big Naked Chicken
One Dozen Starving Crazed Weasels – Weird Al reference from “Albuquerque”
Hustle and Flonase
Ghetto Butter
Government Cheese
Goldfish of Death
Keepin it Veal – Logo with a baby cow
Peanut Butter Monkey
Blue Canary in the Outlet by the Lightswitch – TMBG Reference
Laser Wolves – Fiddler on the Roof Reference
Uncle Rico’s Time Machine – Napoleon Dynamite
Harris Smith’s Exit Wounds – Plaxico Burress reference
Ron Mexico’s Penicillin
Simpsons References:
Ogdenville Monorail
The Flaming Moes
Skittlebrau

(Get stuff from the message board.)
Mario Speedwagon - Jaeger Bombers

Fourthand26 -
-Triskaidekaphobiacs and
-74 Double Go, the play used to convert the 4th and 26 for the Eagles in the playoffs vs. the Packers.

Jerry Fairish –
Independent George – Football
Summer of George – Baseball
Winter of George - Hockey

Joe –

Baseball - Tejada's B-12 (was in a league with some friends who were O's fans)
Baseball - Low Hanging Fruit (tied for 1st in the NL side of the message board league, and a name that was inspired by saggy testicles)
Basketball - Josh Howard's Stash (this was a 2nd place finisher in the messageboard league here and a team that lilClay feared)
Football - ThrowingItInThePail (I went with this one last year, it was inspired by some of DD's old Kobe talk on The Sports Contraption)

Right now I have "Boing Alert" for the message board football league. I signed up after I had been watching an episode of Free Radio entitled "Buttons" and that's where the name came from. I'm thinking about changing the team name to "Twice She Said" to honor Cousin Brandon.





Major Minority - Personally, I like names with just a hint of innuendo...For example, carpet cleaners sounds just dirty enough. I've had a fantasy basketball team named "Cuntinued Success." I've had a fantasy baseball team named, "Ur Wife's Fish Taco." Anything with meat and innuendo is good... Salami Slappers, Turkey Tugger, Pastrami Pullers... who knows what it means, but it sounds funny.

Anyway, I find the best strategy for fantasy football, but only if you know everyone in the league personally, is to come with a different name each week to insult your opponent. For example, last year, a buddy of mine was going out with an ugly girl who worked at McDonalds, and then slept with her even uglier friend. In Yahoo, they allow you to write something under your name as well. So, when I face him, my team name was, "LenStoppedEatingMcDs" and underneath I wrote, "but he still loves Grimace." Another fellow's team name was Well Played. I had my team name as, "Better Played" when against him. Another friend of mine had herpes, so my team name was, "'S'uper TDs" or, as he would see it, STDs.


(Check the phone lines to see if you have any calls)

More “if I have time” discussion items:


The most random poll ever, first posted on my Yahoo! Fantasy Football website last season.

What is the difference between a duck?
o The Bill
o Florida
o Corn
o Barack Obama
o The Chicago Cubs
o The Flintstones
o Boo Berry Cereal
o The Financial Sector Bailout
o Jesus
o The Color Pink


Emergency material –
Argument Clinic by Monty Python (3:44 Clip 16)

- CraigDodge.com – What a travesty

-The Onion – Going Chinese: Allegedly had been purchased by the Yu Wan Mei Company, a fictitious - Amalgamated Salvage Fisheries and Polymer Injection Group. For awhile, the Website sported communist-ish logos and stories about things such as the absolute greatness of Yao Ming, the internet adding it’s 12th website, a child in America being unduly praised for learning the “simplistic American alphabet”, and a story about a grandfather being disrespected in his own home. It’s actually pretty hilarious stuff.

-What makes a good fantasy football team name? – Follow up with names from my file that I’ve been storing.

-Brett Favre – This was my quote in show prep from 2 weeks ago… “So he’s definitely coming back, right? Is this a good thing or a bad thing for the Vikings? (I say bad.)”


(Check the phone lines to see if you have any calls)

The Vertically Striped Music Recommendation: Our selection this week has it’s own theme song, so I have to start with that… (Play Clip 17)
Flood by They Might Be Giants (1990)

This is the one of the coolest albums that I actually liked from my early teen years that is actually still good. Young teens, while precocious and full of vim, vigor, and teenage hormones, are relatively light on discerning brain cells. I’m embarrassed of a large portion of the music that I used to like from the early nineties, (grunge music excluded), however I still love “Flood” by They Might Be Giants. I learned of them because of a bit on the cartoon “Animaniacs” in which they basically animated some stuff to go along with the song “Particle Man.” Pretty good stuff. However, this whole album is quirky and good. It’s not really the kind of music you’re going to put on to relax or to impress anyone with or anything, but it’s a lot of fun, and I hadn’t thought of it in awhile until Cousin Brandon brought out his 2 Part Songs he wants played at his funeral blog post over at 710ESPN.com. One of the 15 songs he chose (That’s going to be one long funeral, dude) one of them was “Dead” off of this Flood album. That is a cool one and we’ll go out with it today, but there are so many other great songs on this album. I recommend checking it out if you like your music just a bit weird. My favorites from this album include “Birdhouse in your Soul”, “Istanbul”, “Particle Man”, “Minimum Wage”, “We Want a Rock”, and “Whistling in the Dark” Plus this album starts out with a theme song for the album…Come on, that’s funny AND cool, you gotta like an album that has it’s own theme song.


(Cue Outro Music – Clip 15 - Dead)
-Programming Note: No show next Saturday, as I’ll be on Vacation up in the mountains all week, we’ll be back in two weeks!

Shalom and Good evening to you all!
(Play Outro Music – Clip 15 - Dead)




For next week:

(Check the phone lines to see if you have any calls)
AFC Over/Unders:
Broncos – 7
Chiefs – 6
Chargers – 9.5
Raiders – 5.5

Steelers – 10.5
Ravens – 8.5
Bengals – 6.5
Browns – 6.5

Jets – 7
Patriots – 11.5
Dolphins – 7
Bills – 7.5

Jaguars – 8
Colts – 10
Titans – 9
Texans – 8.5

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Show Prep #11

Greetings and Salutations, people. Get ready for an hour of radio goodness! This is Vertically Striped Radio brought to you by VerticallyStripedSocks.com. The hardest working show on blogtalk. Vertically Striped Radio…Broadcast Excellence since all the way back in mid-May!

It was a rough week for me, had a headache for the first three days of the week culminating with an earth shattering migrane that sent me bed for something like fifteen hours in a row. Doing much better now, but it was touch and go there for awhile. On the plus side, I’ve been able to post a ton of new articles on VerticallyStripedSocks.com this week, including some great video that I’ve discovered on YouTube and my three part series on the best video games of the 1980’s. Spent way more time on the research for that series than I probably needed to, but getting knee deep into 1980’s video game nostalgia is hardly difficult for someone like me. So go ahead and check that stuff out over on VerticallyStripedSocks.com.

If MJ is not on the phone: We may have a foreign correspondent live from England, as MJ has spent today travelling overseas. If he isn’t still in the air or perhaps completely jetlagged, he may be joining us today, we’ll have to see if he is able to make it in today..in the meantime...

If MJ is on the phone: Joining us from the British Isles, our foreign correspondent and great friend to the program…MJ Amory. He has spent the whole day travelling across the Atlantic, and is still good enough to call in to join in our splendid little program. MJ, how are you doing, my friend.

Today on Vertically Striped Radio: Why I’m hoping to get banned in Alabama, the dangers of asking Turks to not smoke, (If MJ is able to make it) We’ll have our predictions for AFC Over/Unders, What makes a good fantasy football team name? And maybe this week we’ll get to the discussion of ushers that I was planning last week, maybe not, we’ll see. All of that, plus if you are bold and courageous, we will take your calls. We may even have two callers from the UK, as MarioSpeedwagon mentioned he may call in to say hello to us as well. We shall see as the hour rolls along…

Give out the phone number - (646) 716-6831 –
Email address: radio@verticallystripedsocks.com


Alrighty then! Let’s go ahead and see what’s going down…IN THE NEWS…





(Play News Music – Clip 03)
1. ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A restaurant owner in southwest Turkey was shot dead after he tried to prevent his customers from smoking to comply with a new law on the use of tobacco indoors. A fight broke out after the owner ordered a group of customers to extinguish their cigarettes when they began smoking at his "meyhane," a traditional restaurant that serves alcohol, in the town of Saruhanli.
One of the customers shot the restaurant owner four times after he took away the group's cigarettes, his business partner was also shot and wounded.
Turkey's government on July 19 introduced a nationwide ban on indoor smoking, including bars and restaurants, despite the fact that half of Turks aged between the ages of 15 and 49 smoke; one of the highest rates in the world.
"I'm deeply saddened that the first smoking-ban murder occurred in our town," said the town mayor, "They either shouldn't have outlawed smoking or they should have outlawed alcohol along with smoking."

2. BERLIN (Reuters) – Fans attending one of the world's biggest heavy metal festivals in Germany were asked on Thursday to avoid "hugging, kissing on the cheek, and shaking hands" lest they spread the H1N1 influenza. On its website, the health ministry of Germany's northern Schleswig-Holstein region optimistically advised revelers to restrain from any such sociable behavior so as to minimize the infection risk at the Wacken Open Air festival, which runs until August 1.
It also recommended fans did not share bottles of beer.
"We know that kissing and what have you can't be ruled out," said ministry spokesman Oliver Breuer. "They're just tips."
Stalwart rockers Motorhead, Anthrax and Napalm Death are among the bands due to perform at the three-day festival, which organizers expect to attract about 75,000 fans.
More than 430 people worldwide have died from the flu and more than 94,000 people have been, or are, infected.


3. MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama's ban on a wine that features a nude nymph on the label became a business opportunity for a California vintner who is preparing a marketing campaign to capitalize on being "Banned in Bama."
The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board recently told stores and restaurants to quit serving Cycles Gladiator wine because of the label. Board attorney Bob Martin said the stylized, art-nouveau rendition of a nude female with a flying bicycle violated Alabama rules against displaying "a person posed in an immoral or sensuous manner."
Bill Leigon, president of Hahn Family Wines in Soledad, Calif., said Thursday that visits to the company's Web site have increased tenfold since news of the ban broke late last week, and callers from across the country have been asking where they can buy the wine.
Because of the interest, he's developing store displays that say "Banned in Bama" and "Taste What They Can't Have in Alabama."
Hahn said he will never miss the 500 cases sold annually in Alabama. "There is going to be a significant increase in our sales," he predicted.
Rosanna Guardagno, a social psychologist at the University of Alabama, said a ban often increases people's interest in a product.
"The ABC Board, without realizing it, is going to boost their sales," she said.
The wine's label is copied from an 1895 French advertising poster for Cycles Gladiator bicycles. It shows a side view of a full-bodied nymph flying alongside a winged bicycle.
Martin said the ABC Board rejected the label last year, which meant the product wasn't supposed to be sold in Alabama. A citizen recently sent a bottle to the board to show it was still being sold in the state, prompting the letter to restaurants and stores to stop sales, he said.
Hahn's president said he was unaware of the ABC Board's rejection until the letter was sent to retailers. He said the poster is a classic piece of art, with originals selling for as much as $50,000.
Guardagno, who studies social influences, said people allow more freedom of expression in art than in advertising.
"With art, you have to be really explicit with how a person's body is displayed before people are offended," she said.
I’m Craig, and that’s the news…(Play News Music – Clip 03)



(Check the phone lines to see if you have any calls) Go to AFC Over/Unders if MJ is on the line, if not, move along to the next item.
AFC Over/Unders:
Broncos – 7
Chiefs – 6
Chargers – 9.5
Raiders – 5.5

Steelers – 10.5
Ravens – 8.5
Bengals – 6.5
Browns – 6.5

Jets – 7
Patriots – 11.5
Dolphins – 7
Bills – 7.5

Jaguars – 8
Colts – 10
Titans – 9
Texans – 8.5




Ushers: The unnoticed critical element in enjoying or not enjoying your trip to the ballpark

Broncos – “Do you want to make a statement?” – Story of me getting hit in the head at
the Broncos-Raiders game
Nuggets – Taking away my empty can of soda after I finished it off.
Rockies – The Seat Nazi
Avalanche – Make you wait for the play to stop, which is actually pretty cool.
Rapids – They are pretty much just happy you’re there. Sit wherever you want.


(Play Clip 7) - Great Moments in Blogtalk History: Ed on the Barnstable Broadcast on why he is going to get kicked from his son’s house. (Play Clip 10)



More discussion items:

-Dameshek Fan Conduct Code items
1. Is it ever okay to get a personalized jersey with your name on it? In a word: No.
2. Wearing two teams. I can support this rule, even though I broke it back in December. – We call that Cross-Dressing, I fully support this one.
3. Not allowed to cheer for both teams in your city…Yanks-Mets, Cubs-White Sox, etc. I’m not sure I agree with that one.
4. Talk about the Broncos-Chiefs/Cubs-Cardinals Darnauer agreement – trading Broncos for Cardinals.

- CraigDodge.com – What a travesty

(Play Clip 15 Fear the Llama) – That’s right! Fear the Llama! What’s weird is that when I downloaded that Llama sound effect last night, Zune identified the clip as Nine Inch Nails. I’m not even sure what that means, other than you would do well to Fear the Llama! What makes a good fantasy football team name? – Take a look at what we have going on the Dameshek.com message board as far as names.

-Brett Favre – This was my quote in last week’s show prep… “So he’s definitely coming back, right? Is this a good thing or a bad thing for the Vikings? (I say bad.)”

-The Onion – Going Chinese: Allegedly had been purchased by the Yu Wan Mei Company, a fictitious - Amalgamated Salvage Fisheries and Polymer Injection Group. For awhile, the Website sported communist-ish logos and stories about things such as the absolute greatness of Yao Ming, the internet adding it’s 12th website, a child in America being unduly praised for learning the “simplistic American alphabet”, and a story about a grandfather being disrespected in his own home. It’s actually pretty hilarious stuff.

-Tim Hawkins – The Chick-Fil-A Song (Clip 11) – Here is a great Beatles parody about a great southern style chicken sandwich. Enjoy.


(Check the phone lines to see if you have any calls)








Vertically Striped Music Recommendation…
The Arcade Fire – “Neon Bible” (2007) – Arcade Fire kind of defies description. They have a ton of instruments and a ton of production, which usually spells disaster for good music, but in the case of this band, the sum of the parts doesn’t create disaster but rather a very interesting, very different, very eclectic, but most of all very good album. I don’t know how to describe this album in words, you have to listen to it. It’s part anthem rock, part indie music, part folk, part pop…they’re impossible to describe but mostly they’re just good bordering on great. I love this band, their lyrics are poetic, and their music is interesting and varied and beautiful and striking and challenging. Do yourself a favor and go buy this album if you don’t already have it. It’s a collection of 11 very very good songs. It’s dark, almost foreboding, but it’s remarkably excellent, and that is rare in modern music. I’m going to go out with my favorite song of the 11, “Keep the Car Running”


(Cue Outro Music – Clip 12)
Shalom and Good evening to you all!
(Play Outro Music – Clip 12)