BC vs. Calvary

Today at 2:30 in the Wiley Wilcox gym on Savannah State's campus. If you're in town, plan on attending.

Transplanted Northerner Has His Say

This letter to the editor was in today's paper.

Colloquial pronunciations annoying

Hey, Savannah! If you are going to study DeRenne, how about studying how to pronounce it correctly? It is a French word. It is not pronounced "Du-ran" or "Da-ran" it is pronounced Day-Ren-Nay (three syllables). While you're at it Whitemarsh is not pronounced WHIT-Marsh but WHITE-marsh, there is a silent e in the word making the "I" long, not short.

Yes, I know that is how you say it around here, but it makes y'all sound ignorant, not quaint or cute.

James Martin
Savannah

This guy is an idiot. DeRenne is a family name and Whitemarsh is one word. Maybe to an outsider, pronouncing these words the way we do might make us seem ignorant, but his pronunciations make him sound like an uptight, transplanted yankee with nothing better to do than complain.

Voting Begins

...and will continue until midnight on New Year's Eve.

Man of the Year: Stephen W. Bruce

Why? I'll give you two reasons (in chronological order).

1.

2.

Honestly, who's had a better year than this guy?

Man of the Year: Michael A. Reardon II

Now, I know what all of you are thinking. Michael Reardon? Are you fucking kidding me? But here me out.

After moving to Jacksonville in January, Mike has become the best under-5'8" corrugated box salesman in northeast Florida. His not-at-all-awkward small talk has not only enhanced his career, but has also translated into success in the bedroom. Throughout 2007, Mike has juggled numerous girlfriends, many at the same time. From doctors to Gator fans, Mike has conquered them all with his cuddly smile and suggestive pick-up lines.

Mike also deserves consideration for getting tickets to the Tech-ND game for Hank and I.

Mike was born in San Antonio, TX on June 23, 1982. He moved to Savannah at the age of 2 and has been a "Burnside Man" ever since. At St. James Catholic School, Mike excelled in hustling and being clumsy. After graduating from St. James in 1997, Mike enrolled in Benedictine Military School, ushering in the third generation of Reardons at BC. While at Benedictine, Mike participated in the Chorus, Key Club and Student Government as LTC Owens' Homeroom Representative. During the spring of his senior year, Mike took a nasty spill in C-Wing, shattering his jaw and getting blood everywhere.

It was during his time in the hospital, following his accident and related surgery, that Mike discovered his love of attention. Look at me, I tripped over this football on the floor. Look at me, I'm so drunk. Look at me, I have a small cyst on the back of my skull that caused me to blackout while walking in C-Wing and shatter my jaw and get blood everywhere. It is this love of attention that has made Mike the man he is today.

Mike matriculated at Georgia Southern University in the fall of 2001, rooming with BMBS blogger Joe. Being the charitable person that he is, Mike brought in a Georgia Tech dropout the following year and nursed him back to health. During his college career, Mike became the punchline of many jokes and memorable memories. He starred as a two-sport standout for the Your Mother intramural sports dynasty. He got sooooooo drunk just about every weekend. And he tried to start numerous fights, including one particular incident when he chased after a girl that had just flashed her tits for a dollar for everyone at the "Marvin Pyramid House" to see. Mike's legacy at GSU, however, will be the night he passed out at Campus Club, only to be lit on fire minutes later by Lee McCurry.

Lastly, Mike's poetic tongue has inspired many a Facebook quote over the years. I will leave you with a few of Mike's more tasty morsels to chew on.

She's so hot, she could melt down the Varsity.

I want to get into her garden.

It's not your fault, Colonel. Pink Floyd didn't do that shit to your face.

Michael Aloysius Reardon II
2007 BMBS Man of the Year

BMBS Man of the Past Two Years: Rick Schwarz

I realize this nomination lacks any real imagination unlike the previous two, but I felt it would be a disservice to many of our contributors/readers who have clamored for Rick's re-nomination to not put him up again. Another reason is because Joe and I made a deal that if I put Rick up he would put up an equally interesting candidate that we all love here at BMBS, whose identity you will soon discover.

I mentioned last year that 2006 was Rick's last full year at Georgia, but actually 2007 was, so in some way he is more deserving of the award now more than ever. A seasoned veteran of Athens nightlife, Schwarz's downtown connections range from bar owners/tenders to the entire Georgia backfield. Whenever the football team shows up at Bourbon Street or General Beauregard's, they are always happy to see Rick and communicate with him through an unspoken code of Ric Flair gestures and free jager shots.

But it is worth nothing that Schwarz's influence will soon expand past the confines of the Classic City: as of this month he is also a talented Grady College of journalism graduate who will soon be making major contributions in the world of sports broadcast media. Wouldn't be surprised to see him on WTOC on even Sportscenter one day. But regardless of the fame and fortune that comes Rick's way, you can be assured he'll never forget his Bourbon Street roots.

Man of the Year: Kevin Hagan

My nomination for 2007 BMBS Man of the year goes to Kevin Hagan.
Some of his credentials include:
Graduate of BC and UGA
Attends Sacred Heart Church
Member of Ancient Order of Hibernians (maybe not officially)
One of the more well known and outgoing Irish Catholics in Savannah.
Indie Rock enthusiast
Beginning in 2006 and continuing into 2007, Mr. Hagan hit the streets.....literally. Like Forrest Gump, one day, he just started running. To his credit, Kevin lost quite a few pounds through his excursions, and recently completed a half-marathon in Atlanta. He should parlay his new figure into a new lady friend, but I digress.
The day of this half-marathon coincided with the UGA-Florida game, where I personally witnessed Kevin doing the worm in a bar in Buckhead to celebrate. You will find no shame in those eyes.

One drawback to Kevin's nomination is his stance as a staunch democrat. I once had to tackle him onstage at a Wilco show, as lead singer Jeff Tweedy had gotten the crowd quite riled up with his liberal rantings. In a drunken stupor, Kevin rushed up there to defend his honor. This lean to the left seems to be a Hagan tradition, which we should not fault him for in this contest.

What say ye?

Box of Chocolates

If anyone is looking to get me anything, don't get me one of those boxes of randomly assorted, unmarked chocolate candies. They are outdated, impractical, and downright disgusting.

Sure, there's simple ones in there containing combinations of normal ingredients such as peanuts, caramel, nougat, etc. However, mad scientist concoctions of vomitous quality are also thrown in.

Someone sent a box of chocolates to our office and, going against my better judgment, I sampled one. Hoping for some chocolatey/peanut-buttery treat, I instead bit into a dark chocolate covered blob of Vicks Vaporub filled with black olives and sardines. No shit.

I spit the revolting "candy" into the garbage. Never again. I'll take a Reese's Cup any day.

BMBS Man of the Year: Tim Blackston

Before I begin lobbying for Mr. Tim Blackston as BMBS Man of the Year, I'd like to credit the ever elusive and mysterious "calvary fan" for inspiring me with this idea. I was struggling with my nomination. I was going to go with Justin Timberlake, but I figured that even as a half-serious nomination it wouldn't even go over for laughs. But, seriously, Justin Timberlake is awesome. No joking about that. But, with calvary fan's joking suggestion, I actually think I've found a gem here.

I first met Mr. Blackston during my middle school days at ol' Calvary Baptist. He was a very straight-laced type of fellow and kind of intimidating, but because he was so young for a teacher, I could tell he was cool. It wasn't until a few minutes ago when I saw his current age - 35 - that I realized he was just 23 when he taught me and was my homeroom teacher (no match for Mr. Bill Curley, though). But who wants storytime? Lists are so 2007.

Why I believe Tim Blackston is BMBS Man of the Year:
-He graduated from BC.
-He disregarded faculty policy by hooking up with another (and older) Calvary teacher and ended up marrying her.
-He graduated from The Citadel, where he also played baseball.
-He shops at the Wilmington Island Publix.
-He interviewed for BC's head coach vacancy last year (seriously).
And most importantly:
-Instead of bringing grief to our football program, he disemboweled Calvary's, valiantly leading their team to a combined 2-17 record for the past two seasons. He was recently relieved of his coaching duties.

Thank you for believing.

Forum: 2nd Annual Man of the Year Contest

I want feedback from everyone:

- First, should we even do this at all? I don't think it's worth doing unless there are at least 4 or 5 nominees. Last year was perfect, but I get the feeling this year it will simply be just 1 or 2 people nominating while everyone else sits back and tries to act "cool" or "busy."

- Second, if we do it, should we allow previous nominees to be renominated or should it be like the Grammies or Academy Awards where each year is a different year w/ different people? There are pluses and minuses on both sides here.

- Third, voting. Joe, you mentioned you wanted American Idol-style voting. Not being an avid follower of that show, I don't know what that means. But I guess what it boils down to whether we allow unlimited voting per computer or a one-man, one-vote system. I have a feeling that if we allow unlimited voting then Ron Paul will somehow end up being Man of the Year, and we don't want that to happen. Again, let me know what ya'll think.

TC the Viking

You've probably seen this Snickers commercial before, but watch it again and pay attention to the Viking's facial tics when the pilgrim tells him they are out of Snickers. This is the exact same look that a drunk TC Madison makes when it takes him a minute to register someone's comment that he finds stupid or shocking. Actually, he sometimes does this when he's sober, too. It's like having a little piece of TC in my living room every 20 minutes.

BMBS Man of the Year, 2007

It's that time again, the time when we must select the BMBS Man of the Year for 2007.

This will follow the same format as last year. Pat, we're going to need another poll. I think American Idol style voting should be done this year. If nothing else, it will keep our hit-counter spinning.

Nominations must be in by Friday. Voting will begin Monday, December 17 and will end 11:59PM, December 31.

I know we've all got a good idea who should win, but let's get those nominations in anyway. Pictures and a short essay are required.

I Hate Huckabee

Over the last month or so, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has surged in the polls. He's now first place in Iowa and second nationally. This is all great news except for one small problem: Mike Huckabee is by far the worst candidate in the GOP field.

He's essentially the John Edwards of the Republican party - he uses populist sentiment to justify government intervention in the economy and in our personal lives. He thinks we need a nationwide ban on smoking, and that new guidelines should be enacted to ensure Americans exercise and remain healthy. He has no respect for the concept of federalism and the responsibilities of individual decision-making, instead favoring a top-down command and control structure.

He raised taxes countless times in Arkansas (more than Bill Clinton, by some measures). He's an opponent of free trade and has said as president he will take the necessary steps to "preserve the middle class" by "creating good-paying jobs here." As I've said a million times on here, presidents don't create jobs, businesses do. But who cares, right? As we've seen, economic fallacy is typical and key when campaigning for president or any public office. But usually, such fallacies are preached by those on the left, not the right. This is what surprises me.

So this all begs the question, how in the hell is this guy leading in Republican polls? If this man's stand on the issues is no different than John Edwards, how is this possible? Huckabee's candidacy truly demonstrates the fractures that have emerged in the GOP over the last 7 years or so. "Values" voters have taken over much of the party while free-market libertarians have largely been left behind and alienated.

To be fair, I agree with these values voters on most things (abortion, for example). I'm not just some yuppie Patrick Bateman Wall Street Republican that says to hell with values and fetishes property rights and markets merely because they are a way to make everyone rich. Quite the contrary: I support private property rights because they are the foundation of civilization and are a necessary means of keeping Leviathan in check. I support markets because they allow decisions to be made at the local level by those on the ground who actually know what's going on, instead of some out-of-touch and idealistic Washington politician trying to re-make society.

So this is where Huckabee and many of these values people go wrong: they are unhesitatingly willing to implement big-government, federal solutions to advance their agenda. They are fine with big government so long as it's their big government. This is a serious problem and will only serve to drive true conservatives like me further away from the party should Huckabee win the nomination.

I Can Feel Your Anger

This quote I saw in the AJC really raised my eyebrows. I'd really like to read y'all's responses to this (that includes you, Only in America guys).

"Hawaii should not be playing in the Sugar Bowl. They should be playing in a bowl where they belong.

"The BCS Championship Game. . . .

"The truth is, the SEC doesn't play anybody of note. The conference has perpetuated this myth of invincibility by refusing to play anybody of note in the non-conference schedule, then living off the legend of being a tough conference. But the truth says otherwise when the SEC ventures outside the South, because they get beaten badly. Kind of like the Confederacy."

— Adam Rank, aol.com's The Fanhouse

Suck It Up

Alright Bulldog nation, we have had 24 hours to bitch and moan about something that we didn't even deserve in the first place (there should be an official BCS rule that if you loose to South Carolina then you are automatically out of the title game). We are playing in the Sugar Bowl, and it is against one of the most exciting teams that I have ever seen play. I keep hearing this talk about boycotting the Sugar Bowl. You deserve to have your Dawghood(I thought Pat would like that one) taken from you if you do that. If I didn't have to be at work on Jan. 2nd, I would be "blacked out" in New Orleans crankin' my soulja boy up and down Bourbon Street. We had three freshmen on the o-line this year. Enjoy the hell out of getting to a BCS bowl.

Dear God...

To be continued...8pm tomorrow.

Why I Despise the Daily Show

Watch this clip first. All of it:



Now I realize this is just a comedy show. But this is just one in a thousand of segments Stewart has done that attack conservative stances on positions without providing his audience or viewers any remote semblance of the opposing rationale behind those stances.

It's one thing to mock the president. It's a natural and even a healthy part of living in a Democracy where we are blessed with the right to free speech. We all laughed when Clinton was mocked for his sex life, and similarly I laugh at Bush's inability to speak the English language.

But it's quite another issue to mock conservative policies without providing a single ounce of objectivity providing viewers with the rationale behind them. By taking tiny soundbytes out of context Michael Moore-style and ignoring the reality of the actual debate that is going on in Washington, Stewart successfully convinces his audience that Republicans are anti-poor and anti-children.

Again, Bush (who, much to my own chagrin, has actually spent the last 7 years expanding the welfare state more than any president since LBJ) vetoed the Democratic version of the SCHIP expansion because it would have unnecessarily expanded medical care to middle-class kids, most of whom already have private health insurance. This would prompt many parents to switch them to free government-run care, crowding out market incentives and essentially leaving the door wide open for the implementation of socialized medicine across the board. Bush was actually the original one pushing for expansion of the bill, but only to children living below the poverty line (hence his "poor kids first" quote). From watching this clip, you wouldn't have the slightest idea that this was the case, because the segment lacks any notion of objectivity and is instead bent on making Bush look ignorant, oblivious, and insensitive.

I guess the reason for this is that objectivity simply isn't funny. It wouldn't get ratings or laughs from brainless college kids. Statistics show a rising number of politically active voters get their news solely from this show. If that's the case, then we have serious problems.

Smug Alert: 11-30-07

Today in Orange County, California, residents will begin drinking recycled sewer water. That's right, The Orange County Water District has turned on their new system which purifies sewage into drinking water.

Not surprisingly, there was little uproar in the community; no one in Orange County thinks their shit stinks anyway.

I Have Officially Lost All Respect for CNN as a Network

Don't get me wrong, I've long been frustrated with CNN ever since it moved its headquarters from Atlanta to New York and started drifting to the left to counter Fox. Anyone forced to watch "debate" shows like Lou Dobbs Tonight or Crossfire for more than, say, 30 seconds, will know what I'm talking about. But last night was the last straw; I simply can't watch this network anymore.

For those of you out of the loop, CNN hosted a "Youtube" debate last night for the Republican candidates. A month ago or so, they used the same format for the Democrats, and it worked well: undecided liberal/Democratic voters would submit questions via Youtube for the Democratic candidates to answer, with CNN selecting the "best" questions, thus helping Democrats decide who to support.

Last night, one would think an equal format would be followed: undecided conservative/Republican questions would be used to help distinguish the Republican candidates on their positions, which is really the whole point of the primaries. One small problem: many of the the questions chosen by CNN were from Democratic supporters, not Republican ones.

So instead of helpful questions meant to evaluate each candidate's conservative credentials (some examples: "who has the best plan to overhaul the tax code?," "who's the most pro-life candidate?," "how will you reform Social Security?" or "do you think free trade is good or bad for America?"), we got a slew of planted non-questions meant to take a general swipe at the GOP as a party and that served no journalistic purpose: "Do ya'll really believe every word of the Bible?", "What do you think of the Confederate Flag?", "I'm Gay. Why should I support Republicans?", "The Death Penalty: What Would Jesus Do?", "You want to spend tons of money on national defense but what are you gonna do for black neighborhoods?", "I'm a retired general, and I'm gay. Why can't gays serve in the military?", "Would you sign a federal law that would criminalize all abortions and force young women to go to prison?" These were just some of the "questions" posed last night, all by individuals who turn out to be supporting various Democratic candidates.

The most frustrating aspect of all of this is the Democrats weren't subject to near the same standard. All of their questions actually came from their supporters. The question remains whether CNN was just lazy in screening the clips or if they intentionally chose them.

More Like "Pat Sage-ak"

I saw this on Drudge. It's nothing big, but I always appreciate discovering that an already likable celebrity is also level-headed.

Celebrity Endorsements: Does Anyone Really Care?

by Pat Sajak

Posted 11/28/2007 ET

There have been so many debates and interviews and columns and profiles and polls, it’s hard to believe the election for president is still about 11 months away. Recently, celebrity endorsements have been making news, with Oprah Winfrey saying she would campaign for Barack Obama and Barbra Streisand making the not-so-stunning announcement that she was supporting Hillary Clinton.

There are reasons, of course, why candidates welcome such help. First, there’s the bonanza of free publicity. With so many names and faces vying for attention, what could be better than the burst of news such endorsements bring? There’s also the burst of money these high-profile celebs can bring in themselves and attract from others. Then there’s the extra attention and excitement these stars engender when they appear at a candidate’s political events. It’s far easier to attract a crowd in Des Moines if a big TV, movie or recording star is standing next to the politician.

Putting those obvious benefits aside, the question remains: do these endorsements really translate into votes? Does anyone decide which candidate to choose based on the recommendation of a TV talk show host or a singer/actress? If any group of citizens is uniquely unqualified to tell someone else how to vote, it’s those of us who live in the sheltered, privileged arena of celebrityhood. It’s one thing to buy an ab machine because Chuck Norris recommends it (he’s in good shape, isn’t he?) or a grill because George Foreman’s name is on it (he’s a great guy, so it must be a great grill!), but the idea of choosing the Leader of the Free World based on the advice of someone who lives in the cloistered world of stardom seems a bit loony to me.

This is America, and we celebrities have just as much right as anyone else to speak up about any issue. The problem is that more attention is paid to what we say because we’re well known. But why should that matter? O.J. Simpson is one of the world’s best-known celebrities, but I can’t imagine anyone following his lead in a voting booth.

I suppose anything that gets people engaged in the political process is a good thing, but the idea that a gold record, a top-ten TV show or an Oscar translates into some sort of political wisdom doesn’t make much sense to me. Trust me, one’s view of the world isn’t any clearer from the back seat of a limo.