Show Prep #32

Greetings and Salutations, people. It’s the show that’s ranked in the top 3 of the Ed Times “Shows That Suck” list. This is Vertically Striped Radio. I am your host, Craig “Hedgehog” Dodge…winner of the coveted 2009 Eddie for Best Message Board Kid. This is Episode 32 of Vertically Striped Radio…which is somewhat of a milestone number for me, because 32 is one of my favorite numbers. Why would that be? Would it help you to guess if I told you I like number thirty-two written like this…”XXXII” Yup, if you haven’t put it together…Super Bowl 32 was my favorite sporting event of all time. I’ll probably never have another game as a fan in which I’m THAT excited about the result. I don’t think I went to sleep that night until two or three in the morning. I was clearly over the moon. Alas, It’s been quite a while since I’ve had a sports high like that, but It’s worth remembering as we celebrate Episode #32 of the program.

Anyhow, Quite a week for me, Ed not only awarded me with a prestigious Eddie award, he also gave me the nickname “Hedgehog.” I don’t know what that could possibly mean, but I dig it. It cracks me up. Vertically Striped Radio is brought to you by VerticallyStripedSocks.com where currently you can read about and watch video clips of the odd lights that appeared in the Skies of Norway back in December. I don’t know if you have seen anything about these before, but they are pretty bizarre. I’m dying for Mike Dell to provide a conspiracy segment about them. The official story is that the strange lights are the result of a failed Russian missile test launch, but that story is beyond unbelievable when you see the photos and video of what went down. It’s interesting, and for the record…I have zero idea what it was either, I just find it to be pretty darn interesting.

Today on Vertically Striped Radio:
We have a magnificent seven list of the top seven stories in sports, the news, and in the Shek Republic for 2009. We have a Great Moment in the History of Blog Talk Radio. The American Kennel Club has nominated the top 10 dogs in Pop Culture…strange list it is, too. Playoff hope is alive, but barely for the Broncos. Plus I have a spectacular rant to play against neck-ties. The Vertically Striped Music Recommendation is an album that I just discovered and have quickly become obsessed with, plus of course, the news. If you would like to join in the festivities today, you may of course do so, the number to call is…

Give out the phone number - (646) 716-6831 OR 6-HOP-1-MOVE-1

…and if you should call in today, the question is…”What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten with a fork and knife?” Went to a burger joint with my wife yesterday, and it’s a place that makes burgers fancier than they probably have a right to be. My burger had corn and bean salsa on it, and it was impossible to eat the thing like a burger…I finally had to break down and eat it Costanza Candy-Bar style…on a plate with a knife and fork. I felt fully ridiculous, but hey, whatcha gonna do? So anyway, if you feel like calling in with a story of the strangest thing you have ever eaten with a fork…please do so!

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


Let’s get to the news…

(Play News Music – Clip 03)

NEW YORK – A Web designer says she was struck by the decor at a New York City restaurant — when it fell on her head. Raina Kumra says in a negligence lawsuit filed last week that a 150-pound stuffed moose head with 3-foot-wide antlers plummeted off a wall at the Scandinavian-themed White Slab Palace on Oct. 4 and hit her. She says she suffered a concussion and other injuries.

The owner of the Manhattan restaurant hasn't returned a telephone message left by The Associated Press. Nor has Kumra, who's representing herself in the case.
Kumra filed her lawsuit in state Supreme Court in Manhattan. She's seeking unspecified damages.

Here’s what I find amazingly unbelievable about this story. Of all the places where you are likely to be injured by a 150 lb moose head falling on your head…how low down on the list is New York City? If you gave me a thousand guesses, I’m not sure we’d get to New York…the city that fancies itself the most important place on Earth sure seems like an unlikely place for a Moose head to hit you.


ROME (Reuters) – An Italian toy store opened at 4 a.m. on Christmas morning to help a frantic mother whose gifts for her children had been stolen from a basement.

After putting her two toddlers to bed on Christmas Eve, the mother went down to the basement storage room of the apartment block in northern Italy where she had hidden them, only to find that they had been stolen, according to Italian media reports.

Police found out about the theft while the mother was frantically making the rounds of all-night petrol stations looking for substitute gifts so her two daughters would have something under the tree when they woke up on Christmas morning.

The police contacted the owner of a toy store in a small town near Turin, who opened his store at 4 a.m.

How cool is this toy store owner? I love that story, and am happy that sort of thing can still happen in 2009.

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Arsonists set fire early on Wednesday to a giant straw statue of the Swedish Yule goat, a forerunner to Santa Claus in Sweden, defying security measures for a third year in a row.

Police in Gavle, north of Stockholm, said an unknown number of attackers had torched the goat in the early morning hours, leaving a blackened skeleton standing in the town square.

"It's a tradition to burn it down," Lofberg said. "It's happened an untold number of times since the 1960s ... it's been burned down more years than it's survived."

Burning the goat has been a popular, and illegal, tradition in Gavle since the 1960s when an advertising executive first came up with the idea to endow the city with a giant replica of the goat, a Christmas decoration common in many Swedish homes.
There were no witnesses, but a bottle of lighter fluid was found near the goat's frame, which stood about 12 meters tall at the apex of its horns, police told Reuters.

"We have some leads," said Stefan Lofberg, who is leading the investigation for the Gavle police.

Police have tried a range of tactics to stop would-be arsonists, including posting guards near the straw goat, coating it with flame retardant and training security cameras on it.
But vandals have usually found a way around the foils and their assaults have become more elaborate: in recent years the goat has been run over, dragged into a river and attacked by arsonists dressed as Santa Claus and the Ginger Bread Man.
Flame retardant coating thwarted attempts to burn the goat in 2006, but the group sponsoring it then stopped flame-proofing it because of the ugly, brownish tinge its straw took on.
Goats have special meaning in Swedish Christmas tradition. Before Santa Claus became ubiquitous at the turn of the 20th century, men would dress up as goats and hand out presents to well-behaved children. Bad children received lumps of coal.

Police had tried a range of tactics to stop would be arsonists…however I have a sure-fire way to stop people from igniting a goat in the center of town, it will work better than flame retardant, security cameras, or posting guards…Are you ready? “STOP ERECTING A GIANT STRAW GOAT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY!!”



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





MAIN TOPIC:
Magnificent Seven: 7 Big stories from 2009

News:
7. Congress fights trying to get a health care bill passed.
6. Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize for…nothing?
5. Balloon Boy
4. Swine Flu
3. Obama becomes president
2. Tiger Woods car crash and subsequently his life falls apart
1. Michael Jackson dies


Sports:
7. Caster Semenya – Has to get tested for gender due to complaints that she is a he.
6. Courtney Lee misses a layup at the end of Game 2 of the NBA Finals that would have won the game for Orlando
5. Tom Watson ALMOST won the British Open
4. Olympic Hero Michael Phelps photographed taking a hit from a bong
3. Alex Rodriguez gets caught taking PED’s, then leads Yanks to World Series win.
2. Brett Favre as a Viking
1. Super Bowl 43 – James Harrison’s interception and touchdown to end the first half, the Cardinals coming back to take the lead


Shek Republic:
7. Skylar the Sass – His Mel Kiper Jr. Impersonation delights and he ruins the announcement of Studio 66 for Dave
6. Proliferation of DAMN BlogTalkRadio Shows starts in 2009: Elevation Radio in January, Barnstable Broadcast in February, Vertically Striped Radio in May, and The resumption of the No Name Show in June and the SE Sports Beat in September.
5. The Ed Games – Gambling Competitions, Football, Baseball, Basketball, and even Hockey and MMA games. Ed’s genius for sponsoring competition impresses and delights Dameshek.com
4. The Fantasy Comedy Competition: The fun of the draft, followed by some controversy regarding the tournament with the Ed…finished with Jerry Fairish winning it all thanks to his final pick of his Wild Card…Saturday Night Live.
3. The Ted Times prompts competition for the Ed Times and causes some angst to arise with The Ed.
2. Dave Dameshek joins Twitter – leads to a short but glorious revival of Hypothetical Horatio
1. Tina Fey gains entrance to the Land of the Fox, causing a lot of controversy




Great Moments in the history of Blog Talk Radio: Clip 21 – Mike Dell in the Summer of 2008 discussing why there is no way the Red Wings can possibly get back to the Stanley Cup Finals again…which sadly they did, although thankfully they did not win the Cup.


NEW YORK (Reuters) – The "Peanuts" comic strip character Snoopy was named the top dog in pop culture by the American Kennel Club on Tuesday as part of its 125th anniversary celebration, beating out a college sports mascot.
Nearly 76,000 online voters chose their favorites from a list of pop culture dogs drawn from television, film, literature, sports and art, the kennel club said.

Snoopy was the pensive dog whose best friend was a bird and who seemed to be smarter than his human master in the comic strip created by the late Charles Schulz, who died in 2000.

"Peanuts," which for close to five decades served as a mirror for the baby boom generation, appeared in 2,600 newspapers in 21 languages. Its daily readership was believed to be the most of any comic strip in history.
Second place went to Texas A&M University's mascot Reveille, followed by Scooby Doo, the television cartoon character.

The top 10:

1. Snoopy
2. Texas A&M's Reveille
3. Scooby Doo
4. Eddie from the TV show "Frasier"
5. Pound Puppy toys
6. Painting "Dogs Playing Poker"
7. Song "How Much is that Doggie in the Window"
8. Georgetown's Jack the Bulldog
9. The song "Who Let the Dogs Out"
10. Brian Griffin from the animated TV show Family Guy


Dan LeBatard hates ties – (Clip 20) If you spend any time around me at all, you’ll know that I hate tradition for tradition sake. I hate it when people do something just because it’s the way it’s always been done. Also, I hate dressing up…which is why I found so much to enjoy in this rant from Dan LeBatard on his show a while back…

Ashley Revell - (born 1972) is a London resident who briefly achieved fame for selling all his possessions (including all his clothes) and gambling US$135,300 on a single spin of a roulette wheel in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2004.
Revell won his bet (on Red; the result was 7 Red) and left with $270,600. The event was filmed by Sky One as a reality mini-series. Ashley used his winnings to set up his own online poker company called POKER UTD.
You can call me Champion! – I won the Dameshek.com ESPN Fantasy league despite having the 16th overall pick and only being the 8th seed in the playoffs. Apparently a trophy is on it’s way, also I am starting to receive prizes from the other members of the league.

Bad Beat Story – My other fantasy league – 3rd place game worth $50 bucks. Adrian Peterson takes the lead, and then fumbles it away for me. Jerk.

Should the Colts have thrown in the towel in the 15th game of the year against the Jets?

I’m calling the Super Bowl Matchup – San Diego versus New Orleans



Anti-Math at the Grocery Store – I’ve got a beef with grocery stores. I’m not sure why they need to make everything so annoyingly confusing. Perhaps not all grocers do this, but the store I frequent has taken to pricing everything in a manner that requires me to do complicated mental math if I want to know how much I’m paying per item. 17 yogurts for $6.75? Great, how much for just one yogurt? I’m not buying 17 of them. I don’t care how much it costs to buy 5 rolls of paper towels, I’m only buying 1. When I become King of all the World…I’m pretty sure that’s about to happen, by the way, I will decree that all stores across the land will be forced to list prices per 1 item. I don’t want to do math when I go to the grocery store.

Movie reviews: “The Road” and “The Princess and The Frog” (and “Almost Famous”)


The Vertically Striped Music Recommendation:
The Avett Brothers – “I and Love and You” -
17 – The Perfect Space or 18 – I and Love and You

Okay, so I just discovered this band this week, but I’m addicted to listening to it. I heard the title track on the radio driving into work, and then listened to Brandon Dameshek on the LCS show mention the band, I downloaded the whole album, and it’s magnificent. I’m going to go out today with (The Perfect Space), but my absolute favorite song from the album is “Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise” which I liked so much I posted it to my blog. If you like the song I’m going to play, go check out the other one on VerticallyStripedSocks.com, because it’s an AMAZING tune. This album is definitely slower, and several songs almost have a country feel to them (Or maybe saying bluegrass would be more appropriate), but despite the fact that I strongly dislike country, this is some of the best music I have heard all year. I flat out LOVE this album.

I’d like to thank (mention any callers here)

Shalom and Good Evening to you all! (Clip 17 – The Perfect Space)