Smokers like Goof...

January 1, 2011...the day that Pinkie Master's died.

Of note from the article:

They also worried that smokers like Matt Crider, who works downtown but lives on Wilmington Island, will head outside the city limits and outside the limits of the new ordinance.

"I don't want to smell the smoke in a restaurant. I agree with that," he said Monday as he curled against the wind on a cigarette break near Reynolds Square. "But at a bar, there's an age limit. If you aren't 21, you don't get in. And to make someone of legal age go outside to smoke a cigarette, that is wrong."

The Home Stretch

A very merry Christmas from all of us here at BMBS.  The remaining 6 days of 2010 remain pivotal for Messrs. Murray and Schwarz.  Will Rick be the comeback kid?   

Santa Shrugged

Good call, Pat. Pinkie's on the 24th??

What Could Have Been

150 years ago this week, our neighbors across the river officially seceded from the United States to become The Republic of South Carolina. Apparently fireworks, video poker, the Heritage, and all-nude strip clubs were not providing the requisite amount of excitement.

In all seriousness, slavery was the cruelest and most horrific of practices. Don't let anyone (Webber) tell you otherwise. The concept of secession, however, is neither cruel nor crazy, and sometimes I think it deserves another shot.

Tran Legacy

Jeff'd

This is really stupid, but for some reason, I find it hilarious.

I am backing the Nomination of Shane Murray

I can not elaborate much more than Hank, but as I was sitting here the other day about to put my nominee up, I felt mine was not as good as a class act like Shane Murray.

An Ayn Rand Christmas

What's so wonderful about bailing out society's least productive and trustworthy members?  

While driving the other day, I heard a radio ad for Best Buy, promising to help customers save up to 30% on certain gifts before 12pm Saturday. Following that was another ad for a website that helps shoppers find the lowest prices on popular items this year. I have an even better idea that will save people even more money. I have posted it below for all to see.

Don't even buy anything for anybody in the first place.

This year, if you're going to get something, get it for yourself. My suggestion would be the Ayn Rand box set, available at Amazon for $13.95. We were all subjected to The Christmas Carol/Wonderful Life stories and adaptations growing up, but the truth is that Uncle Scrooge and Mr. Potter probably created thousands of jobs for people, because they actually cared about how their money was spent and made sure it was invested wisely. I'm sure Bob Cratchit and George Bailey were nice guys, but how many factories did they build?  How many people did they ever actually hire?

Voting begins. I left Kayne off because I'm guessing Ryan was just joking. Tried reading his post but it took too long to figure out what it all meant. Anyways, good luck gentlemen!

Ryan's Nominee: Kanye West

Since I don't really talk to anybody's dad or ever see anybody from Only in America, I will continue my tradition of worthless Man of the Year nominations. Made even more worthless by the fact that I missed the deadline, and I'm only awake at 6:15 on Saturday morning because my cat stabbed me with his talons to let me know how badly he wanted his breakfast salmon.

Here we are at the end of 2010. I feel like 2010 was really what the past decade has been cooking up and building towards. The total downslide of all pop culture just happened to coincide with our exits from the carefree and fun times of high school and college right into the abyss of 40-hour work weeks (apologies, Chris and Tim). It all coincided with the expansion and evolution of the internet, and what exactly it offers to the entertainment industry and its consumers. Try to imagine what a classroom looks like today, or even lunch period. Every kid on a smartphone, tweeting about how boring English class was, posting a sweet pic of that fat nerd kid sleeping at the table, while listening to some soulless, overproduced trash in his cheap earbuds, and updating his Facebook status to let all of his personality-free friends know how crazy it's gonna get up in this bitch tonight.

Art always reflects its generation, and I appreciate that for its lack of complexity, because at least it's very clear how depraved America is these days when Kanye West sits atop most music publications' best-of-the-year lists. Most of you reading probably have no idea how much acclaim and sincere praise his album received, from the old guard of Rolling Stone and Spin, to the "blogosphere" sites like Pitchfork and AV Club (these are real things). With the music sites it's even more disturbing, given that most of the time they're fondling bands that are "challenging" and sound like the aural equivalent of anal fissures. However, as a music dweeb, these sites actually help me find the occasional decent band, because MTV sure as hell doesn't offer a damn thing musical these days. So how do supposedly sophisticated music journalists come to give Mr. West the rare 10.0 score? And, in extension, why do I see statuses reflecting this adulation in my Facebook news feed?

The answer stands on the stage, but also behind the curtain. In the shadows, the music industry suits have watched their empire crumble to a pile of dust over the past ten years. The number one source of revenue, record sales, has shrunk to a small fraction of what it used to be because of piracy. Nearly all money is made now from licensing to TV shows and commercials, and by getting artists to sign a 360 deal, which gives the label a portion of the artist's main source of income: touring and merchandise. As a record label executive, how do you make big bucks when MTV does not show music videos anymore, people steal all their music, and the internet has fractured any sense of centrality to your product?

You do what sports media and the movie industry has done: you create stories out of celebrities, and celebrities out of stories. You make your artists into some over-the-top lightning rod of shenanigans, who resemble more performance art than actual human being. There are so many opportunities to run with! And no matter what story you turn your employee into, you know for a fact the public will buy it, because they buy everything. For the sake of not frying the BMBS circuits, I'll cut it down to one particular trend.

The redemption story. Mind you, the 2010 version of redemption, as presented in the media, resembles nothing close to the humble, inward path of atoning for one's mistakes. Nah, "redemption" (you have to hear it in your head as said kinda slow and with a sing-song cadence - try it: "Hey...yo...this my re-DEMP-shyun...word") nowadays is a polite way of a celebrity's management telling us, "Eeeh, sorry, guys. We still have lots of money to make on our client. Despite the fact that he [rode around with loaded automatic weapons] [punched his celebrity girlfriend's face in] [electrocuted and drowned dogs] [interrupted a pretty white girl's acceptance speech at an awards show], he's really sorry and looking to redeem himself! Let's watch as the drama unfolds!"

So Vick performs well in his return to football. Chris Brown has gone on to do just fine after his latest album release. Lil Wayne and T.I. have probably gotten more famous since their jail time. They appear in magazines, posing with their eyes closed and their hands clasped near their face as if they are praying. The public are so quick to forgive and forget, not because they believe in the power of the human spirit or anything, but because they don't want to be bothered. They just want the next hit, the next story (Pat Holland snap, snap, snap), more things to tweet about, more things to give thumbs up to on Facebook, or showcase our educational system's successful teaching of grammar through YouTube comments.

And Kanye West's whole debacle perhaps demonstrates the worst of all of those. At least those fine gentlemen had the decency to actually commit a real crime. See, Kanye and his handlers, they went even lower. They saw the bar wasn't just low for the masses; it was buried under a trailer home along with the meth stash and scattered body parts. Why bother having to go to court or jail? Just manufacture a problem, and rather than have it be criminal, why not just reflect the shallowness, the vanity, and the emptiness of the buying public? That's it! JUST BE ANNOYING.

It's brilliant. "George Bush doesn't care about black people." Okay, there you go - talked about for at least a year. Oh, by the way he's a rapper, and in the intelligent, black-rimmed glasses and beard group, rap, or "hip hop" (come on, let's be highbrow here), is the untouchable. You can never criticize hip-hop, and it's because those greaseball, tight cut-off jeans wearing, bicycle-riding crackers don't want you to think their liberalism is tainted by potential racism. It's rap, and it sucks. Always will. The only way it can be of any value is when it's being parodied, and even that's obnoxious. But, if they treat hip-hop as equal to creating notes from instruments and using your vocal cords to sing rather than talk, well then it shows how, like, duuuude, all art is equal, brah.

Kanye uses all available tools of media to his gain. He apparently has quite the nutty and cuuuhrazy Twitter account! He makes press conferences that are so wacky that late night hosts have jokes about them in their monologues. South Park thoroughly nails him on all his obviousness, and I guess only some people get it. And, then, of course, the much publicized "I'ma let you finish" interruption of Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV VMAs. How this became such a phenomenon, we will never really know. How nearly every single dingleberry who ate it up could not clearly see it was all planned out by Kanye and his management as just another ploy for the spotlight goes beyond comprehension. Let's also not forget the victimization of poor Taylor Swift, who represents the same spectrum, but just the other end of it. See, with one hand the industry serves the controversy of Kanye, but with the other hand offers the safe, inoffensive, and violently bland Taylor Swift as a palate cleanser. One is the heel, the other the face - it's all wrestling.

So for the 2010 VMAs the angle (or storyline, learn your wrestling jargon, noob) was, "What will happen with, like, Taylor and Kanye? Will they, like, come out together and do a skit? Or will Taylor, like, oh my god, this would be so funny, would she, like, interrupt Kanye if he wins an award? OMG - must tune in. REtweet!" None of those things happened. Instead Taylor "Well, I had a banana for breakfast, and then I drove to work. And, I'm pretty sure I hit every red light on the way. So, yeah, went to work, did some work, went to lunch. Had another meeting, ugh, don't you just hate meetings? And, then went home. Traffic was pretty bad, but the weather was nice. What's the weather supposed to be like this weekend?" Swift sang about the incident in the most hilariously serious way. And you knew it was serious, because they were flashing the lyrics on the screen.

Kanye ends the show by coming out to perform a song off the aforementioned acclaimed new album. I remember the chorus saying something like, "This is a song for all the assholes, for all the douchebags," etc. The intended effect being that it makes you tilt your head, put your hand under your chin, and nod several times and say, "Hmm. I see that he's reaching out. Normally his lyrics are the typical braggadocious, arrogant content of the hip-hop genre, but I am impressed with his humbled and contrite new approach. Perhaps I shall have discussions with my other hiveminded brethren who treat music with intellectual discourse, and we will then come to a collective position on the significance and cultural impact that is the new Kanye West music album. If we have time, I will propose we assign it a crackling new label, such as 'hip-pop.' Or 'hip-hip. Together we shall proclaim this jawdropper of a record, with its rhyming of words and patterns of electronic backbeats, the record of the year. We will state this so assuredly that we'll even start to believe it to be our actual opinion, rather than a way to increase page hits and ad dollars!"

And so the 21st century releases the Kraken, its tentacles mashing together the ships of popular culture, celebrity obsession, and supposedly intelligent music journalism and opinion. The hype machine pumps itself into an undying frenzy, and Kanye West fuels it, laughing with his interesting wardrobe and deliberate eccentricity. He embodies Man of the Year, Man of 2010, because nothing else represents the disgrace of this moment in time more than the success of Kanye West.

Boring Sidenote

Curious to hear some opinions on the new START treaty. This means you, Pat.

I personally think that it can only hurt America. Reducing warheads and delivery systems sounds like a wonderful thing down on Happy Street in the Land of Swirly-Whirly Gum Drops, but what does it accomplish in the real world? I believe it jeopardizes our abilities in terms of missile defense. It won't save a single life. It won't eradicate chemical, biological, or nuclear attacks as a threat against the global community. It won't even lessen the costly toll of a war that involves either the US or Russia.

I understand the logic for the initial START treaty as a means to an end of the Cold War and arms race, but it's a different world now. The Russians have been trying to curb our efforts towards a missile defense shield in Europe for decades. To ratify this treaty is to give them a small victory towards that end. Feel-good, symbolic victories may be great for the "Aesop's crowd", but serve only to make me more cynical towards politicians here in reality.

One More Time!

GSU vs. Delaware, tomorrow at 12. Winner goes to the National Championship. Loser goes home.

Facebook Status Update of the Year

This man coached the '92 BSS B-Team football squad when Hank and I were in 4th grade.

3 MORE MONTHS!!!

Kevin Barry's tonight. Vote for Rick!

Hank's Nominee: Shane W. Good-Murray

Shane is the product of when a Savannah teen goes through BC without drinking, and then unleashes the tiger in the Boro. Shane does not have many "accomplishments" to speak of, but he is living the dream as far as avoiding responsibility goes. I doubt Shane will receive any votes, but this is the best I could come up with besides nominating myself.

As Shane's' name suggest, he is the better of the three Murray brothers (believe or not.) The other two siblings are known as Bad-Murray and Medium-Murray. If you know the Murrays, no explanation is necessary.

It all started during the winter of 2007. After meeting Shane at the annual "Beer Fest" in Statesboro, I found out he actually graduated on time from GSU and was looking for a place to live. Joe and I contracted Shane to be our roommate on Tattnall St. Shane was weary of trusting us at first, but saw the glitz and glammer of downtown Savannah living and signed the lease. Our apartment became the home to Shane and his 5 or so drinking buddies, Weazle being the most frequent and prominent. I think Shane had keys made for them, since they were all propped up on couches at 5:45 every Thursday and Friday, downing a 12 pack and munching on Red Barron pizza, and Shane nowhere to be found.

Shane started his illustrious career at Stingray's on Tybee. Which is great money and free booze during the summer. With Fall approaching, I was worried we would not make our monthly rent, so I signed him up for a data processing job at the office where I worked. After many months of downtown debauchery, Shane, Joe, and I moved into my new house in Fall 2008. Shane and Joe promptly became my tenants; with no lease agreement… the rest is history.

Enough of the sappy story line. Below I listed "Shane-the-Drain"events which should be considered when voting for BMBS MOTY. The list is not to show how "cool" or "bad ass" Shane is, he is certainly not either. But rather, to reveal his inherent disregard for the future or well being of himself and others. For this care free attitude, he deserves slight recognition.

1. Informing everyone of his data processing job's new starting salary.
2. Bragging at his new office of how many tips and free booze he scored the prior night at Sting Rays.
3. Talking for days about how hot Miley Cyrus was while serving her free booze at Sting Rays, when she was 16 years old.
4. Walking away with several handles of top shelf liquor after a company event, all because the lady said he could have a drink.
5. Having a one-eyed dog named "Sparks."
6. Passing out every time a dentist or doctor pulled out a needle.
7. Passing out repeatedly at Donnie's beach house, uninvited.
8. Following a drunk girl home downtown, only to have her pass out on his feet just as a SPD patrol car pulls up.
9. Passing out at Benny's bathroom floor (which the CDC has declared unsafe) in a pull of vomit and urine after smoking a cigar.
10. Getting kicked out of Benny's after event #9.
11. Gaining access to Benny's shortly after event #10 and a quick nap.
12. Faithfully paying rent to Hank each month somewhere between the 20th and 30th of each month, when it is actually due the 1st.
13. A faithfull adherent to "The Seventeeners" club at Kevin Barry's.
14. Not realizing his converted attic room had an air vent, after living through the hottest summer on record.
15. Blowing 3/4 of his disposable income on alcohol, dog tracks, and football trips.

LJP 2010

Join Mr. & Mrs. Snuffy for the 2010 Letter Jacket Party on Dec. 26th at 7:00 PM. BYOB. We will provide light hors d'ouvres. It's a Sunday, so be sure to buy your beer in advance. All are welcome. Letter jackets are encouraged, but not required.

It is that time of year...

Snuffy's Nominee: George F. "Rick" Schwarz IV

In an earlier discussion on the future of the BMBS MOTY competition, I wrote that it is difficult to judge a candidate based soley on one calendar year. Rick Schwarz is the exception to that rule.

It did not take long for Rick to get rolling in 2010. In February, a hired hitman attempted to take him out during a night out in Buckhead. Rick was struck by a car travelling at an estimated 35 mph and lived to tell about it!

March is a special month for Rick, and for BMBS. After recovering from the attempt on his life, Rick landed a new job. Always eager to make a good first impression, Rick had to call in on his first day because he chose to attend the Celtic Cross ceremony in Savannah, and stay for the Reception and the Post-Reception Party. On Tuesday of that week, Rick showed up ready to work. However he had to infom his boss that afternoon that he had a death in his family and would be flying to Charlotte that night and not returning until Thursday. This was obviously a ruse to allow Rick the opportunity to get home for St. Patrick's Day, which was on Wednesday. When Rick did not show up on Thursday, it was evident that it would be beneficial for both Rick and the company to go their separate ways.

That one-month stretch from mid-February to mid-March is more than enough to prove that Rick is a worthy candidate for MOTY. Will the third time be the charm for Rick? You decide.

Hall of Fame of the Year: Coach Jeff Monken

Webster's Defines the words "Man" and "Year" as "an adult male person" and "a period of 365 or 366 days, in the Gregorian calendar, divided into 12 calendar months, now reckoned as beginning Jan. 1 and ending Dec. 31," respectively.(Webster, et al.)

Put those two words together and what do you get??? Jeff Motherf@$%kin' Monken, head coach of the Georgia Southern Eagles.

In less than 10 full months on the job, Coach Monken has taken the once proud Eagles back into the national semifinals by beating (then) #10 Elon, #1 App State, #10 SC State, #4 William and Mary, and #3 Wofford. On 9/11/10, the Eagles came within a touchdown of upsetting the bowl-eligible Navy Midshipmen. With wins over hated rivals App State, Furman, and Wofford, coach Monken has cemented GSU's place as the class of the Southern Conference once again.

In addition to respecting the proud traditions of Eagle Football (yellow school buses, G.A.T.A., Beautiful Eagle Creek, and so on), Coach Monken has started a new one, by having his players sing the Alma Mater to the student section after games. The result: I now know that we have an Alma Mater. And it's awesome.

Why are we already attached to the ball coach??? For his inspirational pregame and halftime speeches:



And my personal favorite:



Coach Monken, a 13 year disciple of Paul Johnson, unites the GSU and GT contingent of BMBS, and he is not, I repeat, IS NOT Mark Richt.

For all of these reasons, I humbly submit my nomination for BMBS Man of the Year 2010 for Coach Jeff Monken.

Credit Where It's Due

Score one for the President.  More Clintonesque decisions like these during the next 23 months and he'll win re-election.  The economy is going to start coming back now too because of this.  After 2 years of stimulus failure, the reality finally sinks in - private citizens are what make the economy grow, not Washington.

Just watch out for inflation - I'm convinced it's the biggest threat we'll face the next 2-5 years  The price of a tall boy at Pinkie's is currently $2.50.  We will use this to track the inflation rate in the coming months and years.  Sorry but you just can't trust CPI (it is, after all, calculated by the government).  "PBRI" will be a far more accurate measure.

Best Looking Blog Around

Great job, Pat! This new layout design just took BMBS to a new level of excellence.

MOTY 2010 Nominee

George Schwarz III

1. He is Rick's Dad.
2. He is an avid reader of BMBS.
3. He is the St. Patrick's Day parade adjutant. (I have a soft spot in my heart for adjutants)

Here is my best impression of Mr. Schwarz this morning:

Another Tweak

Traditionally around this time, we hold our Man of the Year contest.  I've been thinking about changing the name of this award though, to the annual "BMBS Hall of Fame" inductee.

The title makes more sense:  there are plenty of upstanding members of society who might deserve recognition, even if they haven't done all that much in the past year.

Or we can keep calling it Man of the Year.  I don't really give a rat's ass as long as people actually make nominations.  Snuffy and I are the only two people left that actually contribute to this blog, and I should have kicked everyone else off a long time ago, but I am giving you one last chance.  Last year we had the most publicized MOTY contest ever.  Let's try and keep things at least half as interesting this year.

Nominations are due by Friday, December 17th.  


Past Recipients:


2006 - Tom Powers
2007 - Michael Reardon
2008 - Jack Holland
2009 - Coach Curley
2010 - ????

10 Years Ago: Gannam Day

Due to the unseasonably cold weather, today's George K. Gannam '38 Merorial Review & Awards Ceremony will be held in the gym. This ceremony has only been held in the gym one other time during LTC Owens' tenure. Guess which year...That's right, our senior year. I don't remember exactly why it was held indoors that year, but I know the fact that JMO3 did not trust Houser to lead the review had something to do with it.


















Perhaps more significant than 10 years ago, was 12 years ago, when CDT/SSG Lane was presented with the Gannam Award. It is worth noting that BMBS members won both awards given out on Gannam Day.

Carey, Carey, Who Can I Turn To? (355-2468)

December has always been a month near and dear to my heart. Why? Because the best item on Hilliard's entire menu is on special.  Cut out the cole slaw and get extra fries instead. Throw in some cocktail sauce and Christmas comes early.

The one, the only: Seafood Platter, for $12.99

A few tweaks

I had to change things up because our old format was outdated according to Blogger, which was preventing me from changing the blog's width so YouTube videos could be posted unless I adopted one of the newer templates like this one.

Also looking for a good new subtitle. The Jimmy Ray quote will remain unless ya'll can think of something better.

Top 10: Beatles Songs

30 years ago this week, John Lennon was shot and killed in New York City. In his memory we list the best 10 songs the Beatles ever released; coincidentally, all have one thing in common: they are all John songs. Nothing against Paul, who is great, it just turned out that way somehow.

10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

Barstool and Pat, Your Thoughts?

As our two resident barristers, I'd like your opinions on this.

Jim Leyritz: How does he get off of the manslaughter charge? He drives drunk on a suspended NY license (which would render his FL license suspended), gets into an accident and kills a mother of two. Furthermore, his bail was later revoked for drinking alcohol, a violation of his bail conditions.

His Conviction: misdemeanor DUI.
His Penalty: $500 fine and 1 year probation. If he violates probation, its six months in jail.

Where is justice? How is this possible?

Here's my guess, too many New Yorkers in Florida. They couldn't let their two time World Series champ rot in prison where he belongs.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Etc.

It's been quiet around here lately. Too bad Tech lost. I did see Lamar on TV, though. I heard that the main topic of discussion amongst the tailgaters was not about the game, but about the search for a football coach at a small, Catholic boys school in Savannah. Apparently, we've already hired four different coaches. I'm not sure how we're going to pay all of them, but I guess four is better than one. Also, we need to do this again.

4 MORE MONTHS!

THE 400. BE ONE.

Mad Men

I'm going through an intense Mad Men phase right now.  I'm just about done with Season 2 on NetFlix and can't get enough.  I get that the show, which takes place in the early 1960s, is probably supposed to be some liberal social commentary on just how backwards and wrong society was before the blessings of hippies, drugs, abortion on demand, draft dodgers, feminists, and single-parent households arrived and saved us all.

But just like with American Psycho, I tune the liberal message completely out and focus on the hilarity of the plot and its characters.  Maybe the joke's on me but I don't really care.  I walk into work every day now acting and talking like Don Draper.  I'll even put a little dab of Brylcreem in my hair sometimes, and I shave every morning with a double-edged safety razor and shaving soap too.  All I need now is a pack of Lucky Strikes and I'm set.  No wait, nevermind, smoking is gay.

Here's another clip (embedding is disabled) of Don Draper's college orientation:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09qFkke-z18

Instant Messenging

From the most trusted name in news, Savannah Morning News:
Obama Acknowledges His Message Didn't Get Through.

More conceited BS here, gang. In His mind, the story of the election centers on His ability to deliver His message...with no deference to the fact that the American people clearly delivered THEIRS on Tuesday.

"Hmm. No, this wasn't as much about the people delivering a message so much as it was about me failing to deliver mine. Where my Chomsky's at?!?"

What a jerk, right guys?

Good Call

Speaking of Coach Chumley... Sounds like he went "all Monken"(that's GSU head coach Jeff Monken, known for his Erk Russell-esque speeches) on Friday.

P.S. The Eagles upset FCS #1 App State at Paulson Stadium today. Go Eagles!

Homecoming 2010

The Cadets will take on the Pride of the Westside Groves Rebels tonight. Come early and wear your letter jacket!

Results

Patrick and I watched MSNBC for a while last night, and it was quite entertaining.

Election Preview

- The GOP will win over 60 seats in the House, their biggest victory since 1938.  For years political scientists and strategists have looked to 1994 as the model of modern conservative resurgence.  No longer.  Starting tomorrow, they will instead look back to 2010.

- John Boehner will be about as interesting a House Speaker as a Jane Dolan government class.  He will not, however, be viewed as extreme, like our current one.  

- Harry Reid will lose to Sharron Angle in Nevada.

- We could very well see a 50-50 Senate.

- All of this will seal Obama's re-election chances, if he is smart.  I'm not sure he is, though.  Intellectual?  Certainly.  Smart?  Not so sure.

- Barnes vs. Deal?  Who cares.  I don't even know who belongs to what party and I have no clue what their respective platforms are.  It's state politics.  Voting for PTO mom is probably more relevant.  I would still vote Republican though.

- Republicans winning will mean more gridlock at the federal level, which is great news.  Most in the media love to chastise gridlock as evidence that Washington is "broken" and that "nothing gets done."  But anyone who's read the country's founding documents or Federalist No. 51 knows that that's the whole point.

The whole federal structure intricately designed by Jefferson and Madison was intended to prevent stuff from happening and to prevent policy-making from being held hostage by voters' short-term passions.  George Will put it best on ABC's This Week yesterday: "Gridlock is not an American problem, it is an American achievement.  The founders did not want an efficient government, they wanted a safe government.  Gridlock is not a sign that the system is broken.  It's a sign the system is working."

2010

Republicans are poised for massive victories on Tuesday. Some of this was inevitable since the Democrats won in '06 and '08, and presidents always lose congressional seats in off-year elections, but there's a lot more going on here than just that: discontent with government is at all-time highs, unemployment remains unacceptably high and shows no signs of coming down, and the federal debt is expanding at break-neck speed towards European levels, and shows no signs of shrinking or at least slowing down.

No single person has done more to help the conservative cause in the last 20 years than Barack Obama.  Thanks to him, two-thirds of independents now side with Republicans on just about every major issue.  Thank to him, Keynsianism was tried for the first time since the Carter administration and thoroughly discredited in front of an entire generation of voters who, $800 billion later in "stimulus" spending, still can't find jobs after graduation.  It is unfortunate that history repeat itself, but if it forces people, particularly young people, to learn economics, then it's worth it. And finally, thanks to Obama, Nancy Pelosi will be forced into retirement and the GOP will see its biggest gains since 1994, if not greater.  That year, they picked up 52 seats in the House.  This year, they could take even more.  They will not take the Senate because not enough seats are at play.  They will, however, take the Senate Majority Leader's seat.

As for endorsements, BMBS endorses Rand Paul and Marco Rubio in the Kentucky and Florida senate races (and basically anyone else with an "R" next to their name).  Both Paul and Rubio will do a lot to help restore the GOP's brand to where it was before Bush:  deficit reduction, smaller government, more individual and personal freedom, no nation-building, greater respect for the Constitution.  Both will also be potential White House contenders in the coming decades.

Finally, BMBS endorses Donald Chumley for Benedictine head football coach.  Unfortunately such decisions are not left to polls, but a grassroots campaign still might be worth starting.

The 12 Months of Hilliard's: October

Sorry for the delay on this one...

Beefy, hearty Hamburger steak dinner will be offered for only $5.99 in October! Over half-pound of fresh ground beef, seasoned perfectly for grilling to order. Served with grilled onions and your choice of sides... great taste, GREATER PRICE!

Savannah's favorite fried shrimp dinner is only $8.99 in October. Hilliard's famous "hand-breaded" shrimp is our # 1 selling dinner for one reason... fresh taste, and now, at a GREAT PRICE - $ 8.99!

Olvey Field

Small town high school football at its finest.

Britain

The only government getting it right.

What are you talking about?

Patrick moved to Alpharetta. We love it here.

5 More Months!

I know it's a few days late, but you get the idea. I heard TC is moving back home. Welcome back!

Crazier things have happened before.

After beating up on Vanderbilt and one of the worst Tennessee teams of all time, delusional Dawg fans think they will make it to the SEC Championship game.

Another unlikely scenario is BC making the State Playoffs. The Cadets currently stand at 1-4 in region play. Their 3 remaining games are against Bradwell (2-4), Beach (3-2) and Groves (2-3). The Cadets control their own destiny and will make the playoffs if they win out.

So, which scenario is more likely to happen?

UGA wins the SEC East Division
OR
BC earns a State Playoff berth

10 Years Ago: Hank Day

Today marks the 10-year anniversary of Hank's last day at BC.

It was a Friday and the 4-1 Cadets were coming off a bye week after their upset win over Camden County, and preparing to take on the hapless Jenkins Warriors. Rumors about Hank's dismissal started swirling that morning and by lunchtime, plans were already being formed to celebrate the occasion.

Concensus says that the legend of Hank began in the fall of 1997 in the JV locker room. A group of visionary seniors, noticing that Hank's awkward appearance was a prefect match for his name, began quacking his name, like a duck. "HANK" spread like wildfire, and before you knew it, Hank was the most popular kid in school. As we progressed through BC, his legend only grew bigger. It was so infectious, it spread to the Jenkins Boys Club, where basketball teams were formed as the "Hanks" and the "Riners."

By the time 7th period had rolled around on that fateful day, the student-body had worked its way into a frenzy. Students ignored their teachers' lesson plan in order to make signs out of cardboard boxes. When the intercom instructed all students to report to the well, Hankmania erupted. Signs reading, "Hank, I'm pregnant!" and "Hank 3:16" were everwhere. Miss Burke stepped to the microphone and explained what was about to happen. We were informed that Hank would not have enough credits to graduate from BC, so he would be transferring to another school in an attempt to accumulate the required credits. She admonsihed the student-body for making light of the situation. Hank was then brought out to the footsteps of the well and stepped in front of the microphone. It was pure pandamonium. Choked by emotion, Hank squeaked out a barely-audible "Hut 2. Hut 2." and the greatest Fight Song in the history of BC ensued.

Hank quietly left the building and was never seen or heard from again. His whereabouts to this day are still unknown.

Below is a reenactment, loosely-based on the day's proceedings.

RIP Garrett Kalinowsky

The Class of 2001 has lost its first member.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/savannah/obituary.aspx?n=wade-garrett-matthew-kalinowsky&pid=145828454

Camden vs. the other Aquinas

Camden County is playing St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida) tomorrow night at 7:00, on espn the ocho, or one of those. Aquinas has produced many upstanding citizens such as Michael Irvin and Billy Crudup.

Let's Gay It Up

How bout this new layout?  What do ya'll think?

The Camden Game: The Final Chapter

The away stands at Chris Gilman Stadium.

And so the muddy dogfight that defined the first half continued well into the second.  Both squads violently sloshed against each other throughout the third quarter with nothing doing on either side.  BC, desperate to get on the board, finally started going to the air in the final quarter of play, and debuted a freshman receiver by the name of Kenny O'Neal.  I distinctly remember after Owens' first long completion to Kenny, which came about midway through the 4th, Reardon yelled out "Who the hell is this kid?  Is he Irish?"  A few plays later, Owens scampered into the endzone and the Cadets finally had their 6. 

But there was just one major problem:  kicker John Porzio had been thrown out of school earlier in the week for getting in a fight.  Sophomore Brandon Mell, grandson of the legendary Vic, was the backup and had never kicked in a varsity game.  Few were surprised when be missed the PAT, and most of us thought that was probably it at that point.  Here we were trailing 7-6 with 5 minutes left.  Camden would now find a way to come back and ram it down our throats.  Even if they didn't, they were still up, so we'd still lose.

Instead, the exact opposite happened.  After regaining possession,  Camden did pick up a first down or two, but then they collapsed.  It sure sounded like the fat lady when, with just 2 minutes left and BC having burned all its timeouts, Camden drove comfortably into Cadet territory.  But then a string of penalties against the Wildcats were called, stopping the clock and preventing an additional first down.  A Camden receiver also conveniently stepped out of bounds for no reason.     

BC then took possession with no more than a minute left at midfield.  Lamar hooked up with O'Neal again on a sideline route, and then went to Zeigler, who had already put up the most yards for the Cadets that night, to put BC in what only Brandon Mell and his mother thought was field goal range at that point, 38 yards away with 9 seconds left.

Another series of penalties then ensued.  The first against BC for delay of game, the second against Camden for being offsides.  By this point all of us are kneeling against the fence near the endzone with our eyes closed and heads down, rambling off as many Hail Mary's as possible, looking up every other second, vigilantly awaiting the final snap.

The ball was finally snapped, and the suspense ended right then and there because the millisecond after it left Brandon's foot, everyone on the away side of the stadium knew it was good.  The scene that erupted after it sailed through those uprights is seared into my memory.  The 9 of us leapt into the air, hugging each other and screaming the fight song at least 10 times in a row with the rest of the alumni.  I cried or at least came really close to it.  We then stormed field, taking full advantage of something they wouldn't let us do back home.  For a brief few minutes, it felt as if the atmosphere on the away stands of the Wildcat Den was more electric than Memorial Stadium could ever be.      

Mell was hauled off the field and is hailed as a hero to this day.  Ziegler and Owens will reminisce with you about the experience as often as possible.  And Kenny O'Neal is probably in jail somewhere.  But congratulations to the 9-2 2000 Benedictine Cadets, Region 3AAAAA Champs, and the last region opponent to topple the Camden Wildcats, 9-7, exactly 10 years ago this weekend.

The Camden Game: Part 3 of 4

We meandered further down the Georgia coastline as the rain continued to violently pelt against the windshield, virtually blindfolding us from any distance markers.  After an hour of darkness and deluge, we are able to make out a brightly-lit outpost ahead:  the Hwy 82 Steak and Shake.

We pull in about a half-hour or so before kickoff, and are happy to find the Pyramid there as well. We take our time eating, because everyone thinks the stadium is just down the street, when in fact it's an additional 30+ minutes down 95.  You have to remember this is before GPS existed, and when you combine this with Savannahians' mostly benighted sense of geography and distance ("oh no big deal, Camden County is just 'down there', right by Glynn and Jacksonville and Georgetown and Richmond Hill, it's all the same") you can understand why none of us made it to the game until midway through the 2nd quarter.

We go another 30 miles further south, and when we finally make the exit off 95, the torrential downpour suddenly decides to slacken off into a slight drizzle. The lightening and thunder quickly cease as well. It is clear God is set on this contest going forward . We pull into Camden's university-sized campus with Cadet Fleming and his date, young Jennifer, tailgating. We quickly make our way towards the stadium, but can't see the scoreboard because it's facing the direction opposite the parking lot. With each step, the curiosity intensifies. How bad were we down? 21-0? 28-7 maybe? Could we at least keep it respectable?

As we entered the stadium, my eyes painstakingly darted right toward the well-lit, turquoise-colored display, which had finally come into full view. With 6 minutes left in the half, the Cadets were only down 7-0!!

The picture immediately came into focus:  Owens was hurt but still playing both ways. Taking snaps every other down, Dotson was filling in when needed.  Lamar was struggling to get much of anything going and Camden's offense was driving a little better but could never seem to capitalize or make any big plays.  The crowd was pretty thin:  in addition to Fleming, Whitledge, Madison, and myself, Cadets Bruce and Toraya are present, as are former (i.e., couldn't cut it in military so had to drop out after sophomore year) cadets Reardon, Hissam, and Sauers, but no one else from the class of 2001.  

As the halftime buzzer tried to penetrate the humid but cooling September air, BC fans immediately rose to their feet in astonishment. Could this really be happening? Were we really only down to one of the state's biggest schools and strongest programs by a touchdown after 24 exhausting minutes?  Could we just hold on for 24 more?

An unknown freshman wideout, white senior running back, and untested sophomore backup kicker must have thought we could...

To Be Continued...

Gov. Chris Christie's Stance

Whatever your convictions are regarding abortion, Gov. Chris Christie has a pair of brass gahones larger than anyone else in the country. Whether his veto was based upon moral conviction or strictly fiscal, he has done what many are too scared to do. On top of his slashing of ridiculous teacher pensions and freezing property tax rates, the Governor really is bringing "Hope and Change" to many. Plus, his wife must be a great cook.

The Camden Game: Part 2 of 4

Few fans were looking forward to the 2-hour journey to the Florida state line after watching BC fall so hard against Wayne County in 2000. Most thought the Cadet's pre-season hopes for a region title and home playoff berth had been dashed after the Yellow Jackets walked away with a 27-3 drubbing at Memorial Stadium.

And the reason is that most knew that Camden, whom the Cadets had cleverly managed to never schedule in the regular season for 50+ years, was even stronger than Wayne was. Why bother wasting all Friday evening and the early hours of Saturday driving up and down I-95 just to watch BC get drilled?

The Savannah Morning News predicted the Wildcats would be the easy victor, and I'm sure the Florida Times-Union did was well. At the lunch table that week, I had few takers on my offer to drive whomever was interested to Kingsland. And that's understandable. I'm sure Ryan had to go to a Blink 31182 Chili Pepper's concert, I bet Chris had to work at a grocery store, etc. By Friday, TC, Whitledge, and myself all agreed we would ride down together to watch what looked like it would be an ass-beating, but would turn out to be a spectacle I will be telling my grandchildren about.  

The three of us saddled up in my '97 red Jeep Grand Cherokee and got ready to make our way down the entire length of the Georgia coast on a stormy September Friday night. We prepared to depart civilization and venture into the heart of darkness that is South Georgia, where no Catholic kid from the city is safe. Okay, that's probably romanticized and way over-the-top, but whatever, I am trying to make this sound real dramatic so just go with it.

The rain picked up and the thunder boomed louder as we made our way past Richmond Hill and then Darien, blaring TC's Slipknot CD's, descending through what felt like Dante's nine circles of hell, until all that lay between us and the enemy kingdom was the Brunswick Steak and Shake...

To Be Continued...

New Water Park in Savannah Has Folks Talking

What do I expect? A lot of minorities in their t-shirts.

10 Years Ago: The Camden Game

In the past decade, we've watched BC squads of varying strengths rise to thrilling victories.  There was the last-minute touchdown pass against 5th-ranked South Effingham in 2005.  The 29 unanswered scored against Glynn in 2000 after being down by over three touchdowns with little more than a quarter left to play.  Or the tough defensive stand that prevented Richmond Hill's risky 2-point conversion attempt in the waning seconds of play in 2006.  The come-from-behind wins over Wayne County in 2001 and 2002 also come to mind.

But without question, the greatest and most exciting BC victory of the 2000s came out of nowhere on the evening of September 29, 2000.  That rainy night, the Cadets, having been demoralized the week prior by a 27-3 pummeling by Wayne, pulled into Kingsland, Georgia to face what is now the strongest team in the state and probably the entire Southeast.

Stick with me as we recap this magical week in BC football history.

Nice Win

Photo: Randy Thompson for Savannah Morning News

Congratulations to the Cadets for their first win of the season. I'll leave the in-depth analysis for someone else. I just believe in giving credit where credit is due.

Lowlife Deadbeat vis-a-vis Why I Hate eBay: A Short Rant

"Dear [my seller id],

Good morning I am writing because in the day yesterday was ready to remove the laptop, but to check their average rating in the store with the paperwork executive has instructed me not enough to allow me to make you transccion, thousand apologize and we will not be able to make the transaction


- [deadbeat loser]"

Got this message today from the winning bidder of a laptop I was selling for my Dad. This guy technically has 7 days to pay me, but I know he won't. And what can I do about it? Nothing.

I can report him as a non-paying bidder and he'll get a strike. I can't leave negative feedback for him and there is no way to block bids from bidders who have below a certain rating. Absolutely no protection from trash like this.

This guy is human garbage, unworthy to breathe the sweet air of freedom in this country. I do not accept his "thousand apologize" and I hope he drops dead today. That is, of course, unless he decides to pay.

HALFWAY THERE!

It may just be me and Shane tonight at KB's. Anyone else is welcome to attend.

Friday Prediction

At some point in the next couple of hours, Will will post something about how there's only 6 months left til St. Patrick's Day.

Rock Bottom

Sunday discussion topic: Has BC football reached its nadir?

What's become increasingly frustrating for the Cadet faithful is declaring "well, at least we know it won't ever get any worse than this" year in and out.

- I can remember driving to Augusta exactly six years ago this weekend to watch BC squeak past Richmond Academy, arguably the worst team in the state at the time, 6-0, in front of no more than 50 fans. BC would go 2-8 that year.  I thought we'd reached rock bottom then.

- Then came Liberty County 2006. BC traveled to Olvey field late in the season and was shut out 57-0. Liberty was a lot better than usual that year, but they weren't amazing.  We ended up at 3-7 but remained patient as it was Herndon's first year and everyone agreed he'd need another season or two before we'd returned to glory.   

- Now comes 2010. Granted, Windsor is good. It's still early in the season and I can't quite figure out how they knocked off Wayne but lost to Pierce.  But my point is that irregardless (I didn't think "irregardless" was a word, but black people at my job say it a lot so it must be), 10 years ago, BC losing to Windsor Forest would simply have been unthinkable to anyone in the city.  I am happy for the public school programs and am glad they have improved.  I would always much rather watch BC play against them than Appling Academy, but Jesus, I thought we'd at least be competitive in Savannah.  

So what do you think:  have we reached the low point now?  Will things get worse before they get better?  Are the fundamentals in place, but just not the talent/depth?  Or is the problem bigger than that?  I've also heard some administrative changes in the athletic department may be in the making.  Not sure if anyone can comment on those either.

Are You Kidding me?

My Thoughts for Today:

James Madison 21 VT 16.....only the second time a 1-AA has beaten a ranked 1A (App state over UM 2007)

Kansas 28 GT 25.... Good passing Nesbitt....What makes it worst was the announcer was saying "Nesbitt is running over Kansas like a F-150 truck".... Go to hell Fox Sports

Oklahoma 47 FSU 17.... Christian Ponder released his inner Chris Rix
Miami 24 OSU 36.....Randy Shannon or Jim Tressel? Stupid Question

Wake Forest 54 Duke 48.....Thanks for that potent o Wake....oh you played Duke? Well learn how to play D

Clemson 58 Presbyterian 21.....Dominating performance Tigers. Let me give you a damn ribbon for the most annoying chant ever

I love college football, but with this display of futile football, I declare the ACC the Big East's little sister. Oh Yeah, Boise State beat a 7-5 VT team, so go play Texas in the Fiesta Bowl and have a blast Kellen "Justin Bieber" Moore.

Go Georgia Southern!

10 Years Ago: Commissioning

The 2010-11 school year marks the 10-year anniversary of the BC Class of 2001. In honor of our greatness, I will chronicle our senior year, as it relates to the same events that still occur today. Commisioning is this weekend. Do you remember Commissioning 2000?

The "Big 4" (Fleming, Houser, Lane, Zeigler) was given a budget of $1,000 to plan the Commissioning Ceremony and Military Ball.

Chris got "f'd in the ass" by the florist, even though he used the same florist that JMO3 suggested.

Chris also informed Carl during rehearsal that he did not have his hat on while outside, to which Chief replied, "F you, Lane!"

I followed in the Holland tradition of marrying the girl I took to Commissioning my senior year. That means Pat is destined to marry Kelly Sheehy.

Nardis stole my thunder by showing up late and being the last senior to walk through the sabre arch.

Ty flipped his truck and didn't show up at all.



Here I am with JMO3 and CDT/LTC Houser, awaiting the arrival of the guest speaker, COL Armbrister (pronounced "Arm-bruise-ter" by JMO3).


Enjoying the Military Ball with CDT/LTC Lane.



With my future wife at the Post-Commissioning Party at Pat's house.

I know I am leaving out a lot, so please post your memories in the comments section.

"Imama, Didn't Mean to Make You Cry"

"If we move from the location, the story will be that the radicals have taken over the discourse...the headlines throughout the Muslim world will be that Islam is under attack...if we don't do this right, anger will explode in the Muslim world."



'>-Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, on Larry King Live last night.



We always hear that if we do this or that, we will ignite the Muslim world and spur terror attacks. These apologists take a very dangerous tone with these warnings...one that suggests that we bear responsibility for the end result.

The folks in Tennessee that plan on burning Korans on Saturday are crazy through and through, but to get the White House involved out of fear of reprisal is gutless.

Start blaming the people with the crazy ideology. Why should we tailor our behavior to make those who hate us, hate us a little bit less? They will find a reason to recruit and kill Americans for anything we do short of national conversion.

By no means am I justifying any violence or mass burnings of the Koran, but, as a society, we need to quit acting like a bunch of eunuchs.

Oh the "Irony"

I thought this was funny.

Barry, Barry, Quite Contrary

Has anbody caught the Campaigner-in-Chief's recent "policy speeches" in places such as recession-ravaged Cleveland? Of course you have, Pat.

Everyone else, watch this happen...

Typically, when a party is in control of both Congress and the White House, the electorate tends to vote for a division of powers during the incumbent president's first midterm elections. When the economy is facing recession (as was the case with Reagan and Clinton), this plays directly into the incumbent's political posturing goals.

By sweeping Republicans into office in November, we will actually give him a scapegoat that will allow him to win re-election in 2012. Thus far, he has only competed with himself, so it is no wonder that his approval ratings are so low (as were Clinton's and Reagan's).

If you read a recap of Obama's two speeches this week, they were less policy speeches and more a call to arms against the....minority (?). He claims that Republicans, "the party of no", have treated him "like a dog." They oppose key pieces of legislation that he has attempted to push through for the betterment of the middle class, he claims. These "poor old me" statements are made in spite of the fact that it is his party who has had total command of the legislative and executive branches for the past two years, and all of his major initiatives have been run through Congress at the expense of republican debate (with a little "r").

Barry's political advisors basically have him jumping the gun; he is not even waiting for the elections to occur before he begins to paint the Republicans as the big, bad wolves out to get his innocent little piggies (stimulus bills, healthcare, etc.).

It will not matter in terms of the results 8 weeks from right now, but we are getting a nice preview of the next two years. Instead of working towards solving America's multitude of real world problems, we can expect two years of campaigning against the House...and ultimately 6 more years of Obummer.

Rest assured that Republicans do the same thing when given the opportunity. Everybody sucks. We're just seeing history repeat itself, and Americans will be fooled into thinking that at each turn there will be actual change.

Baseball Sucks

Why do we watch baseball? Is there any point? The past two games proves there is no rhyme or reason. The team with one of the best records in the NL faces the team with the worst records in both leagues, and yet they lose both games so far. And that's with our two best pitchers.

And yet, they could go play the Phillies next week and win two or even sweep them. So, why even bother following a season of baseball? Because it's all just a matter of chance apparently. Flip a coin. It's more like the Braves, who happened to win more games than they lost, faced the Pirates, who happened to lose more games than any other team. If the Pirates can beat the Braves at this point, when they were on top in September, is there any real tension?

When I watched the UGA game last week, I knew they would win. Because of level of player talent, coaching talent, funds, previous win-loss records, etc. I knew that LA Lafayette would lose, because they were the lesser team in all areas. Sure, you can have upsets, like Jacksonville St. beating Ole Miss, or Appalachian State beating Michigan a few years ago, but that's why they're called "upsets." It's rare. When the Pirates beat the Braves, it's just "Pirates beat the Braves. That's baseball."

Or say, unranked UGA beating #7 GA Tech last year. It made sense as you watched the game. You saw what worked for UGA and what was not working for Tech, and you understood and appreciated by the end how UGA deserved the victory. You watch the Braves lose to the Pirates, and you just go, "Oh, well he struck out there. That sucked." Or "he hit into a double play. That makes me angry." Or "Hudson gave up a 3 run homerun after this number of hitless innings." Okay. Great. Means nothing. Because the very next day the complete opposite will happen. Then the day after that back to the crap. Hot streaks, slumps - what's the difference?

In summary, the Braves are pissing me off and I'm still excited about football starting.

The Twelve Months of Hilliard's: September

What a great start to any meal...5 piece, fried Mozzarella Cheese Sticks for only $2.99! (Reg. $4.29)

 Never before offered! Our NEW Scallop Au Gratin served in its natural shell! The cheesy dish is served with our famous fried shrimp for only $ 10.99. Comes with cole slaw, french fries and hush puppies... no substitutions, please.

The $4 Meal... whata Deal! Four fresh hand-breaded chicken fingers served with fries, green beans and toast... all for only $4.00! No substitutions, please.

And to top it off, our "Fried Banana Pudding" dessert... one bite, and you're hooked! 4 pc. only $2.99 and the 6 pc. is only $3.99!