I was tagged ... again!

Lana over at Living It, Loving It tagged me in the latest internet sensation ... my ten favorite movie characters ...

Wow ... this isn't easy. I'm not sure these are my favorite characters of all-time, but they have delivered the best lines ever.

Here we go ... in no particular order.

1. Will Ferrell -- Ron Burgundy

Considering I worked in newsrooms for the last 15 years, this movie made me laugh on many, many, many different levels. Not that I knew any Burgundys. I never said that. Did I? :)



2. Graham Chapman -- King Arthur

I couldn't compile this list without a Monty Python sketch. And it was hard to choose between Chapman as Arthur ... and Chapman as Brian in "Life of Brian." But for me, he absolutely is the glue that holds "The Holy Grail" together ... even as a straight man.



3. Bill Murray -- Carl Spackler

C'mon ... no list is complete without this guy!!!



4. John Belushi -- John "Bluto" Blutarsky

How fun is it to say "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pealr Harbor?" Too bad I couldn't find the entire clip.



5. Peter Graves -- Captain Oveur

Again, how can you go wrong with this quote?



6. Leslie Nielsen -- Lt. Frank Drebin

I'm old enough to have loved "Police Squad" when it originally aired on television. Yup, all 5 episodes. Loved 'em. Suffice to say, when the series inexplicably moved to the big screen, I was thrilled.



7. Chevy Chase -- Clark Griswold

This scene kills me every time in a funny, funny film.



8. Bob Uecker -- Harry Doyle

Ruined "Just a bit outside" for Tom Hamilton forever. Have to go 3:30 into this clip to see some of Bob's brilliance ... "Yes, sir they love this club here in Cleveland."




9. Kevin Kline -- Otto

I was drawn to "A Fish Called Wanda" by the Monty Python connection, but Kline stole the show ... and earned an Oscar for his efforts.




10. Sylvester Stallone -- Rocky Balboa

As you can see, I prefer comedies. But let's end with a drama. This one speaks for itself. How can you watch this and not get fired up?

I'm Out ... of the Tribe.

I preface this post by saying ... I'm a baseball fan.

Always have been ... always will be ... it's far and away my favorite sport.

And the Cleveland Indians are my favorite team.

But, I'm staging an intervention for myself, because I can't take this anymore.

You see, my favorite team is staggering out of the gates yet again, starting this season at 0-5.

While the hitting is strong, the pitching looks horrible, and the fundamentals are ... well, fundamentally missing.

So it pains me to write the following words.

The Cleveland Indians are dead to me. At least until changes are made.

This off-season began with me fighting a ticket salesman with the team, a saga that I outlined here and here.

Then, the team's GM, whose name I shall no longer speak, swung some deals. However, in doing so he ignored the squad's weak starting pitching ... and a number of bargains on the free agent market.

Then, to top it off, that very weakness caused the Indians' horrible start to the season.

And this isn't the first time the Tribe has stumbled out of the gates. It seems to be a trademark of the skipper, whose name I shall also no longer speak.

I've decided I can't do this anymore. I can't wear the gear. I can't live and die with every pitch.

So, until the the aforementioned nameless GM and Manager are dismissed, I'm done.

Sure, I'll still watch. I'll even go to the ballpark (maybe when they cut ticket prices in half once the team is out of contention and they're desperate for fans).

But, I can't bring myself to root, root, root for the home team anymore. Not like I used to.

Now, some of you may call me a fair-weather fan ... someone who will jump back on the bandwagon when the team succeeds again.

That's not going to happen. I've lost faith in the stewards of this team. And I don't believe a playoff berth is in the Indians 2009 plans.

Now, we both know I'll never be able to say goodbye completely, after all, I'm a baseball fan and they're the team I rooted for since I was a little kid with a big plastic bat in my hands.

But somehow, the joy is gone.

I'll root like I did in the 70's and 80's ... more casually, and no longer expecting greatness.

So, Mr. Dolan, do us long-time supporters a favor, and sacrifice your geniuses to the baseball gods.

Maybe then, I can once again hope to reach the top of the mountain.

The Joke's On Us!

Let me begin by saying I can't stand April Fool's Day.

To me, it's amateur hour, where people who think they're funny decide to show the world just how un-funny they are.

I would never claim to be funny (witty maybe), so I usually pass on the prank-playing tradition of the day.

But, a former colleague of mine always participates ... and today, something real interesting happened.

Every year, this former colleague writes an outrageous story on his blog ... something so "out of left field" it can't possibly be true. It usually does not end in "April Fool's" ... or any acknowledgement that the story is a joke.

Now, this blog post isn't to criticize him, it's to point out something that's happened that could easily spin these "jokes" out of control.

You see, in the year since he wrote his last "joke post", newsrooms have turned to social media to help slow their decline.

Facebook pages, blogs, and Twitter feeds have all become part of the "official" news distribution system.

Which is where the dangers of jokes like today's lies.

You see, when the blog was my colleague's personal addition to the the day's news, the joke was fine.

But today, after he wrote the post, he directed people to it with a salacious "tease" on both his Twitter and Facebook pages.

I'm ok with that ... to a certain extent. After all, those feeds are his personal feeds.

But, this is where the line blurs.

You see, those social media sites are ALSO "official" ways to distribute the news. In fact, my friend uses both to solicit both story ideas, and to "tease" folks to that evening's newscasts.

Today, some of his Facebook "friends" have already posted responses that indicate they believe his joke is a REAL story that my former colleague is breaking.

This is really, really dangerous to me.

To top it off, his station's "official" Twitter feed also picked up his blog post, and blasted it out for all to see, with no indication that it's a joke.

This is where the joke goes over the edge.

Look, I like a good laugh as much as the next person. But, the evening news is not "morning zoo" radio with zany sound effects, and prank phone calls.

It's a place people turn for credibility, and today's "blog prank" damages that credibility a bit ... when it's being disseminated using "official" means.

To top it off, the same station gave me four lines on a story that I'm interested in, a pizza shop employee opening fire and killing a robber.

And, within the four lines, is at least one error.

I'd rather have folks concentrating on the news ... and not trying to make me laugh.

So, what do you think? Should I lighten up?

Or from a true journalism standpoint, does the convergence of newsrooms into social media make "jokes" not so funny anymore?

EDIT: My former colleague explained his blog post here. He says part of it is to not "always believe what you read/hear." Do you buy the explanation?

Got My Irish Up!

I begin this post with a confession.

I'm not Irish.

Not a drop.

In fact, I'm German-Italian.

But yes, I'm going to write about how much I love St. Patrick's Day anyways.

You see, it's sort of a "national holiday" for my friends and me.

And, as funny as this sounds, it's not entirely about the alcohol.

You see, about 14 years ago, I was lucky enough to fall in with a group of guys, who really take the day seriously.

I once asked the ringleader (a full-blooded Italian) why St. Patrick's Day was such a big deal to him.

This was his answer:

"Well, I consider St. Patrick's Day to be my Christmas. Why? My family ruins all the other holidays. My grandpa would come over to the house with my uncles and aunts for Christmas (or Thanksgiving) dinner, and the night would always end with people arguing. So, St. Patrick's Day became my day to get our of the house with my friends. My day to celebrate. My Christmas."

That was good enough for me.

Not to mention the fact that my small group of friends can make you laugh. And laugh a lot.

So, St. Patrick's Day ultimately became more about a group of guys getting together for the day, and just laughing at everything.

Along the way, the holidays has taken us close to home (Akron), but also to places like Chicago, Savannah, and New Orleans (twice).

We've also managed to incorporate Halloween into the day as well. It started off with matching bowling shirts and t-shirts on the road trips. Then, one year, the tradition involved vintage green tuxedos with puffy shirts underneath.

Now, we've all gone to green suits. Accented, of course, with beads, candy necklaces, and small, plastic beer mugs for the hourly shot of beer ... a horrible, horrible tradition that has somehow survived.

There's always an itinerary, and there's never any trouble.

And the stories are now stuff of legend.

From the year the newly unemployed guys in the group staggered into a "free" lunch with former co-workers, to the time the poor Lebanese-American club chose to rent out a back room of the Tangier on this day (the baklava was delish.)

On the road, there was one guy in the group who took advantage of a sign held by a homeless woman saying "Will take verbal abuse for spare change."

There was the high roller who laughed so hard with us at the craps table, he gave us $1,500 as a tip.

There was the ringleader, suddenly deciding it would be a good idea to ride a motorized scooter around the bar.

And, there was the time the jukebox cut out, and three of us led another bar in an a cappella version of "Tainted Love."

There was "Shootah", and "United Way", the "Michigan girls" and "Lucky."

And now, as we've gotten older, it's been more and more difficult to get the group together ... even on this holiday of holidays.

So, every year we pull it off becomes a little more special.

This year, because of an impending birth, our holiday will take us to Louisville, Kentucky.

The group will be smaller because of the travel involved, but it's also exciting to be taking our show on the road again.

So, think of me tomorrow wherever you are, no matter if you're Irish, or some other nationality. Even if you're not celebrating the holiday like we do.

And, I'll make sure to raise a toast to everyone who makes my life a little bit better.

Jon Stewart vs. Jim Cramer

Provided here for all who missed it ... and may be fans of The Daily Show.

Brilliant interview, not really about Cramer, but the state of the media ... especially the financial media.

Be warned ... this is the unedited version ... not the edited version from last night's show.

Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer: The Extended Daily Show Interview

Plus, I loved the special cold open the show created!

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Intro - Brawl Street: Get Read to Buy Low! And Sell Die

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

Job Fairs or Unfairs?

If you're following the news at all today, you've probably seen or heard about a job fair in Independence, which is quickly turning into a gigantic catastrophe.

There are apparently cars backed out onto the highway, 2-hour waits in the rain, and, my guess, a lot of disappointment.

Look, the economy is in trouble, no doubt about it, and a lot of people will take what they can get. And will be willing to wait in long lines for their chance.

But, my question is this ... who is actually organizing these events?

When I worked in television, one of my primary responsibilities was to plan out a newscast, so that (hopefully) things wouldn't crash and burn.

I would think the planners of these career fairs would try to do the same thing.

Ohio is a mess. We all know that. The organizers of these fairs should know that.

So, it absolutely blows my mind that organizers can pair with local media outlets to hype the event, then get completely overwhelmed.

First off, if organizers have a number in their heads about how many people should show up, they should probably quadruple it.

In other words, if you think you might draw 1,000 people, plan on 4,000 showing up.

Also, they should think a little more about where they're having the event, and if it can handle the crush.

You simply cannot have these things in hotel ballrooms anymore. There will be way too many people to keep organized.

You can't have these fairs in places with insufficient parking. Neighboring businesses will be overwhelmed and complain ... spreading ill will.

And, you absolutely cannot have these events without some form of police presence and crowd control. Especially traffic. Otherwise, you risk pileups on the highway leading to the event.

While I'm sure most of those people out of work appreciate the chance to get their hands on any job they can, you're also going to leave a lot of people frustrated.

Some ideas ... maybe you should make folks pre-register, and only accept those that do.

Maybe those job-seekers can be given set times during which they could report to the job fair.

And, maybe, you can have agreements in place for auxiliary parking lots, if needed. And maybe some shuttles as well, if things really get out of control.

Simply put, you need to have some big event planning experience. Don't treat these things as if nobody will show, treat them as if EVERYONE will.

So, to the organizers of these events ... get your plan together. And don't go running to the media to trump up your cause if you're unprepared.

Otherwise, everyone looks bad.

Musical Memories

Music is a big part of my life.

You see, like a good film, I think living requires a soundtrack. Certain songs will always take me to certain places.

For instance, I'll never forget buying Peter Gabriel's "So" album while I was in high school. It was dark out, and pouring down rain. I unwrapped the cassette (yes, I'm old) in my car, popped it in and started driving home.

As the rain beat down on my windshield, the first words from that album were these:

"Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me"

It may sound strange, but I'll always associate that song with that moment.

Much like I'll always associate Pearl Jam's "Alive" as my dorm wake-up call, after a long night on the town in college.

Or, how Hootie and the Blowfish's "Hold My Hand" and Blues Traveler's "Runaround" will always take me back to the Ohio State-Notre Dame game at the Horseshoe.

And, of course, no St. Patrick's Day memory is complete without my friend Dave playing "Fat Bottomed Girls" on the jukebox of every bar we visit. Or, how the same Dave convinced us to lead a Savannah bar in an a cappella version of "Tainted Love" when the power to that jukebox temporarily cut out during the song.

So, I have to admit, I was a little sad last night when I learned that Steven Page was leaving the Barenaked Ladies after 20 years.

I'll admit, I got into BNL a little late, but just before they went crazy big. A friend turned me on to the "Rock Spectacle" CD, and the band's live versions of "Brian Wilson" and "If I Had $1000000."

Then, "Stunt" was released, and the first single "One Week" ushered me in to full fandom.

Afterward, I went to every tour stop in NE Ohio, joined their fan club for a chance at better seats, bought their children's album (even though I don't have kids), and basically did everything but throw Mac & Cheese at the stage.

Next thing you know, 13 years had gone by.

The Ladies helped fill a period where some of my other favorite artists (Genesis, Bruce Springsteen, etc.) were somewhat dormant ... or no longer around in the forms I first fell in love with.

Now, ironically, Springsteen is back in full force with the E Street Band, and BNL is changing forever.

I know Steven Page had some legal troubles, as well as family issues, and as a fan, I hope this change helps him become healthy and happy.

He's going to keep making music, and so will BNL, with the 4 remaining members.

I'll keep supporting both ... but can't help but feel that another magical, musical time in my life is gone for good.

Anyone else have those certain songs ... that take you to specific places?