The Reviews Are In

The reviews are in and they are good. Everyone had a good time watching this year's Blooper Reel. I had great time putting this together. No one was disappointed and everyone was quite shocked with what we had. I love it when they say, "You don't have anything with me". Then ya hit one out the park. To all my reporters and anchors thank you for having a sense of humor.

To all my fellow photographers keep rolling, bring me the outtakes, the screw ups, and the unexpected. I will put them to good use for the 2008 reel.

It's Better to Give

This is the season of peace on earth and goodwill towards all. We were fortunate to find of couple of examples on Christmas.

First, Ms. Caroline & I made our way to St. Vincent de Paul where they are doing their annual thing of serving of dinner to the less fortunate. Also in the works was the toy giveaway for the kids but what makes this story special are the ones giving their time and energy to put smiles on people's faces.





Even after a good story like that my day wasn't over. Our night side photographer was sent out of the area so I had to stay in a while longer and shoot with KN. She gets an email about a young lady who battled kidney disease and needed a transplant. You won't believe the hook with this story.

The Senator's Wish List

Dear Santa,

The Senator here. I been somewhat good this year. I mean you would go crazy too if Pookie and Ray Ray kept going nuts during the year. That being said I've got a simple wish list for Christmas. First, I've shot some pretty good stories with a good group of reporters. So please can you send some 1st Place AP Awards this way. After that we can talk Murrow's, Emmys, so on and so on.
Next on the list. Beyonce and Shakira. Yeah you know what I'm talking about you've seen the video of them together. I bet you had to make sure the Mrs. wasn't around. After the awards and the ladies, we're going to have to celebrate and I'll need money for that. So for my third wish how about the winning Powerball numbers. I would like the 300 million dollar payday but I can live off the 25 million up for grabs. Finally Santa.....I'm with America's Team so let me have the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. Again you know what I'm talking about. Why do think they have the hole in the roof so you can get in and get out. That's what I'm wishing for Santa. Oh, and peace on earth and good will towards man. Thanks.

Sen. R. Hollins
Government Street District

B.R. Fog

All is quiet at the Big Raggedy this time of the year. You know things are light when Pookie & Ray Ray are behaving, they must be on Santa's naughty List. Anyway the lovely 10pm producer flashes the Bat Signal. I ask, "What's going on?" "I was out to dinner and when I came back this thick fog popped up. Would you go shoot some fog video for the weather wall?" Fog??? This early, nah can't be. With nothing happening it's a good excuse to leave the office so I head out and what do I find.I found this. She was right fog has swollowed the Big Raggedy. The Capital is somewhere in this picture. This would normally be a nice beauty shot except for tonight.
I head to a spot you can get some easy traffic pics and same thing. Fog, fog, fog. I have to check the GPS to see if I'm still in the B.R. I hope the commuters be careful in these conditions. The last thing I want is a call out. I wonder what 3rd Street looks like?
Surprise, surprise. Christmas decor barely giving off any light in this thick mess. Is this the sequel to Stephen King's "The Mist"?
All right people, ya'll enjoy the party you're going to. Be safe, designate a driver, and diversify your stocks and bonds. As for me, time to clock out and finish Christmas shopping.

Clough-esce

That's a term that can only describe one person...former WAFB reporter Matt Clough. He's now in the Mile High City working at KUSA but he's with the 9 News alumni first. The start of every day for him was to hit the ground running. Come in make some call to the surrounding areas to see if anything was going on we need to know about. Not to mention he would always have the nice business suits on. You would think that he was an investment banker rather that a reporter.

Ol Matt gave a call to the Senator during the winter break and it was good to hear from him. We talked about the good times at the Big Raggedy. Mostly the the recent comings and goings in the Red Stick mainly all of us he left behind.

Matt was one of those who didn't want to leave any detail out that would have made the story better. No matter if was someone upset over a sewer bill or hurricane coverage Matt put all that he had into a story. He is someone who welcomes advise but he wasn't afraid to offer some as well. One trademark of his was the unique stand up. He would come up with an idea for a stand up and no matter how crazy as it sounds we were able to pull it off somehow. One cool story we worked on was a Theft Ring involving of all things golf clubs. Yes I said golf clubs. Here's the story.

Back To Work

Good to back in session. That break was just what the doctor ordered. Nine days of not worrying about deadlines and live shots was a nice change of pace but as always...all good things come to an end. Back to the Big Raggedy.

On my way in I get a call from the lovely Ms. Anna, quite a surprise I might add, anyway she informs me that we are going get some unique gifts for LSU fans. I'm thinking this is a nice way to start the work week. Nice little pacer, no blood, no gore, no unusual mayhem that happens during the night shift.

Here's where it gets interesting, we don't go to the campus store or the specialty spot in the mall. We find a local hardware store the selling the goods. Nice twist. Get the management to talk to us, find a couple of people shopping, mic up some of the merchandise and fill some time on the news. Not a bad way to get back in the flow of things.

Recess

After reuniting kids with their fathers in prison, helping the Tiger Band raise some money, chasing Pookie & Ray Ray, doing a ton of live shots, and shooting Kill Bill v. 3 its time for a break. With that said the Forum shall recess for the winter break. All unheard legislation shall be refiled and scheduled a hearing. Any new legislation will be handled by Rep. XRay Ted and or Sen. Polisher, if the STW isn't keeping his hands full.

Therefore is there a motion.

"Sen. I move that we adjourn for the winter break". Any objection. Hearing none, motion carries. Be safe, God Bless you, and God Bless the Big Raggedy.

The Equalizer

With the holidays on us comes the need to shop for the family gifts. But it also brings about the criminal element preying on the innocent to satisfy their greedy intentions. That's where the Equalizer comes in. It may sound like some 80's TV show but this is some serious stuff.

The Equalizer is a self defense class, put on by Baton Rouge Police, to teach women how to handle themselves in life threatening situations. So the folks at the Big Raggedy had this great idea, let's let Keitha take part in the class. It will make a great sweeps story. Wait a minute don't they know I have to work with Keitha on a daily basis. Now when she get mad with me she's really gonna take it out on me. Anyway time to make this happen. In order to complete the course Kn has to go through 16 hours of training and man is she a quick study. Learning how to strike, escape choke holds, and letting the bad guys have it.

Now the class is over it was time to feed the beast and it was hungry, being sweeps and all. Every show had to have something with the Equalizer. So the feeding menu went like this. Live Shot with PKG for the morning show, quick VO and sound for the noon, PKG's for 5 & 6, and Live Shots plus PKG's for the 9 & 10pm shows. That's right six shows featuring ladies taking out ruthless aggression on would be attackers.

It was long day but it was worth it so here's the recap of the KN in The Equalizer.

Just a Preview

With all of the madness associated with this business you need a good laugh. Something to take you mind off everything for a short time. That's where the old Christmas Blooper Reel comes into play. This is something not for air & only to debut in front of your comrades at the party.

So imagine what a surprise it was when management had an idea of showing some of the mess ups of the Big Raggedy for a sweeps story. "Are you sure", I asked. "Yeah, this will be the most watched segment of the book". So I opened up the treasured collection of flubs & flops. The unexpected and unexplainable. So here's a small look at funny side of the Big Raggedy.

And the Band Plays On

I've heard the stories about the Band Hall the Golden Band from Tigerland is subject to. The place is falling apart not to mention there's not enough room for the students & their instruments. So what do they do? They ask to have a new hall built and all seems to be going well. However a new facility would roughly cost around $15 million. The state legislature has promised five million dollars but the band has to match the funds. Say what???? A bunch of college kids have to come up with $5 million. Where are they gonna get that kind of cash??? Streetbeat tells me they may have raised close to $1 million but they are way short. The band has said that if you donate a million dollars to their cause they will let you conduct the band at Tiger Stadium during a game. That's asking a lot considering that not many people carry that kind of money in their back pocket.

Now isn't this is the same place that got a new football complex built but nothing can be done for the band or the music department.

No right is right. The state's flagship university can get everything else funded but can't get a band hall paid for. Do you see what's put in the State's operating budget and you you can't get a band hall paid for???? I think it's time to put some strong priorities in order and start funding Education in this state properly.

While I'm in session, throw my Jags and the Human Jukebox some dollars. They could use an upgrade on their facilities also. But for now here's the Golden Band doing what they do best.

1 Down, 4 to Go

I see why Garfield the cat hates Mondays. It's a good thing he doesn't work in television news.

First..... The alleged second suspect in the July 4th shooting at the Levee decides to turn himself after lunch. Lunch what's that???? Anyway, evidence is linking him to the crime. As he walked out he, like most who are caught by law enforcement, proclaims his innocence. We'll let the Legal System run it's course but for now he makes it on the early newscasts. I get back and my lovely assignment editor tells me to hurry and get your stuff in the system then head to Jetson Correctional in the Live Truck. This can't be good.
Turns out I was right. Two of the current residents there decide that that don't want to hang out in the youth facility anymore. So after watching too much TV they decide to scale a fence, covered in barb wire, and run off to the woods. This now cause a manhunt involving more of the boys in blue.
With the madness going on I get some pictures while Ms. KN is gathering as much info as she cans. Call comes in, "Hey can we get a VO and sound for the 5pm". Just one problem, nobody can go on camera with this. Another call comes, "We want to go live for the shows". I knew that was coming. So no problem get the video back do a couple of live shots and put Monday in cruise control, right? No.
After the live shot, we get the someone to talk to us for the 10pm story. When we get back, "We need to send you somewhere". I'm thinking when is this going to end. Turns out while I was on the north side, someone wanted to use the drive thru at a check cashing place. Just one problem, there was no drive thru. This person drives into the building destroying the front door and a couple windows. With my luck the car was out by the time I got to the scene and the driver is begging me not to put them on television. I think you other things to worry about like the increasing insurance premium coming you way.
At least I don't have to clean this up. Time to go back to the station. Edit the 10pm story and call it a day. Not by a long shot. Some more breaking news is happening during the newscast. Oh well just another Monday, one down and four to go.

Where's the Turd?

Because of a need of adequate representation, Ol' Turdpolisher has been moved to the day shift. Rep. Polisher has expressed the desire to provide quality legislation and Turd'L Wax to folks of the Big Raggedy during the hours of daylight. They're gaining a one now if we can just keep him from killing any more Live Trucks.


Don't worry Pookie, Ray Ray, and the rest of the gang. The Senator is still around and I got the "Man Beast" watching my back.

Returning Hearts

A little over a month ago KN & I were granted an all expense paid trip to Angola. Well not all expense paid but we still had to go.

There was a national christian group called Awana that was reuniting children with their fathers who were serving life sentences. I know what you might be thinking, how can someone who commits an horrific act be allowed to see their flesh and blood. Their goal was to break a cycle of crime and violence by showing that this was not a place to be. To show their kids the wrong choice can lead you to this place or worse. Here's the story.



They say you never know what you have until it's gone. I think these guys realize that. Now let's hope the kids learn from their father's mistakes.

There's A Disturbance In The Force

The build up to the LSU Alabama game is gaining big time momentum. The Tigers with a chance to play in the National Championship may hinge on this. Bama is looking to go into 1st place in the division and return to national prominence at the expense of their hated rivals.

But as an added bonus it's Nick Saban's first game against his former school. The Purple & Gold faithful feel betrayed with his new alliance. The Crimson folks want their school to be feared on the gridiron just like the days "The Bear" roamed the sidelines.

To me this is story of a chosen hero sworn to protect the innocent but his lust for power clouded his judgement thus making him the very thing he fought against. Wait a minute this story has already been told.

Special thanks to George Lucas and the men and women who made the Star Wars franchise a success. Here's the view of Nick Saban in South LA.

The Saga Continues...

If you've been reading Turdpolisher's blog you know about the ongoing stories of the live trucks employed by the Big Raggedy. Just recently all trucks were given a clean bill of health or so we thought. The "Whale" was brought back in for generator issues while the "SAT Bitch" is still operating properly since it is in Tuscaloosa for the LSU game. What about the "Beast" you ask. A funny thing happen on the way to the basketball game. It seems that Turdpolisher is stranded on the LSU campus with get this more truck issues. The same truck that was out for number weeks with engine and dish troubles has died on us again. No I'm serious the truck has died again. This thing has more broken parts than Frankenstein's monster.Needless to say Turdpolisher is not a happy camper. After pulling off another improbable live shot the truck decides that its not going anywhere. We'll let him cool off some more before we continue. Cool. He's calm down. Nothing we can do but have the tow truck come over and get it out of here. And to make matters worse the flood gates of Hell have seemed to start overflowing and no way to use a perfectly good microwave dish. There's much to name at this time but stay tuned.....as the saga continues.

The 13th Gate

With a rare night off from dealing with Pookie, Ray Ray, Shortie Tim, Lil Bit, and the rest of the usually photogenic fellas that make the news. It was time to turn my attention to a local attraction that resides in the Government Street District. The 13th Gate. Nothing like a giant bat like creature to welcome you to a local house of horrors.This place opened some time ago and has become one of the premier Haunted Attractions in the country. A lot of work goes into making this place worth visiting. From the staff in costume to the special effects brought in to scare the daylights out of unsuspected visitors. So a brave group of us, Cheryl, Joe L., Caroline, and yours truly, decided to confront the ghosts and goblins before All Hollows Eve. Tyana was with us but realized that the Black people are the first to get killed off in the movie so she passed. Smart woman but that just leaves me to deal with this. Don't make the special election plans just yet.After a nice half hour walk with Ax Murders, Zombies, Pirates, Egyptian Ghosts, and a Crematory Oven we made it through alive. Probably I good thing I wore dark pants. After all that we made it out and had a good scary time. I'll have to let Cheryl tell of her brave experience. And what do you know, the black guy can make it through the end. That is until the sequel. Can you say "13th Gate: Flashlight Friday".

Don't Hurt The Reporter

I am a firm believer of everyone is responsible for their own actions. If you act up today be warned you will be on the blog tonight. For example, what happened today outside of the Federal Court building was one of those rare events.Ronald "Gun" Ficklin is the former sheriff of St. Helena Parish. Yes, he is nicknamed "Gun". He got caught in a federal investigation involving use the of a chop shop, stealing auto parts, and altering VIN's on some cars. After a number of charges were brought against him he plead guilty earlier this year and today he was due back in court for sentencing. While in court everything seemed to be docile and quiet. Outside was a whole other story.First I was shocked he stopped and talked to us in particular Paul Gates. Paul was the one who broke the story a few years ago and thus the firestorm ensued. People from St. Helena were always saying, "Why are you picking on us?" or "You only tell what you want to tell". I think to myself, first I don't really care about the Charlie Brown sickness that has all of a sudden come over some of the former sheriff's supporters. Let me remind you, your guy got caught in with his hand in the cookie jar. Your guy thought he was above the law and was brought down to Earth. We were here to report the story and report the story we did.

Back to the chaos outside. It seems that Mr. Ficklin wanted to tell us about the other things going on in St. Helena that he claims we know about and did nothing about. All due respect this was not about who else may or may not be following the letter of the law, this is about you. His supporters didn't see it that way. Especially the fiery red head that took the microphone from Paul. I guess deep down she wanted to be a reporter but never made the cut.

If looks could kill Paul would pushing up daises right now. I'm just glad he got the microphone back. Here's the story from the newscast.

4 More Years

Yes, yes, it was that time of the year. It was time for Louisiana to exercise their right to vote. There were some interesting races all over the state. From city council seats to Insurance Commissioner. From Sec. of State to parish president races. Even the top spot of Governor was up for grabs. I know what your are thinking, "Who care about those things. What about your race Sen. Hollins?"Thanks to my wonderful constituents, I am proud to represent to hard working people of the Government Street District for another 4 years. I shall continue the great working relationships with Rep. Turdpolisher, with Sen. Crumbs, and the newly elected Rep. Daquano.
My pledge, to make the world a better place for all those feeding the beast on a daily basis. I promise longer lunch breaks and more vacation days. No more unwarranted live shots in front of the Roman Coliseum. Holidays pay shall be tripled and sweeps stories will have more nat sound and cooler promos. PIO's and PR reps would return phone calls in minutes not hours. I promise a bowl of Gumbo and a slab of ribs for everyone who works out in the field. I see a place where photographers, reporters and producers put nothing on but the best when it comes to news quality.
Thank you my people for giving me 4 more quality years. God Bless you and God Bless the Big Raggedy!!!!!!!!

An Eagle In The Sky

Life is filled with the unexpected and the unexpected came to the doorsteps of the Clinton High Eagles football team. One of their players Jasper Rodgers collapsed after practice earlier this week and later died in the hospital.

Jasper was the most noticable guy on the team. Being 6'6, 300 pounds will get you noticed. But those who know him would describe him as someone who loved life and loved his team. He didn't play much but he would always show up for practice and enjoy the company of friends and his family. No one knows why God took him to heaven they just know he will be missed on Earth.


These kids had to grow up fast and they did. Knowing they had string of games they took time to pay tribute to their fallen comrade. Their actions said that our friend may be gone but he is not forgotten. So they suited up and for at least a few hours they were able to be kids. They were able to let their minds go free. They were able to do what they loved to do and that's play a game. It didn't matter if they won or lost. They just wanted to play because Jasper would have wanted them to play.


And play they did. With heavy hearts they played with pride. With dignity. And with honor. In the end the Eagles won the game. The score didn't matter. The only thing that matter was a group of kids coming together in spite of the circumstances. I'm sure Jasper was watching and he probably had big smile on his face.

Recess

The Forum shall stand in recess. Any objection. No objection motion passes.

Must Be Good Chicken

A couple of things I learned in this business, if you finish your main assignment early something will happen. And 9 times out of 10, nothing good will happen around Plank and one of the Indian Streets.

This leads me to tonight. Call comes out over the scanner that someone has been shot. Plank and Ontario is the location and my 10pm story is in the can. Time to check this one out and see if it is worth anything.

Turns out that Shortie Tim, one of Pookie and Ray Ray's friends, tries to rob someone at gunpoint. Things don't go as plan and he ends up shooting the guy in the arm. He's expected to recover. I go ahead and roll off a pictures for the morning crew. Just a little something new for them.
As the CSI is marking the crime scene I noticed something on the ground. With the aid of my trusty lens and watching countless CSI marathons, I see a take out container on the ground. It appears to be from a local institution know for it's famous "Knuckle Sucking" cuisine. I'm talking about the Chicken Shack just right up the road.
A motive, a strange one, but a motive nonetheless. Now there are other things to wild over. Maybe some Ruth Chris. Or how about Dreamland, that's the stuff. How often do you get those ribs man I wish they were still in town. My only conclusion is that Shortie Tim was hungry, smelled the chicken, and just went nuts. Case solved. Now time to go watch CSI on the DVR.

JV

For 15 years WAFB was the home of one of the best people in this business as well as one of the best people on this planet. James Verrett, by his own admissions, came in as a lump of coal but is leaving as a polished diamond in the world of television. Management at the time took a chance on a young kid and was able to help groom a great professional on and off camera.

I first encountered JV while I was in school, not knowing what aspect of the industry I wanted to pursue. Would you believe one of the first things he taught me was how to hold the microphone to get the best sound from your interview.

Eight years later our paths crossed again. I was young and still without a clue on what I was doing and he was one of the ones that helped get my career going. There are a bunch of stories I could tell about James. One of my favorites was in 2004. We had to go to Montgomery, AL for the Southern/AL State football game. The conditions weren't ideal. It was hot as sin, there was no room on the field to move so you had to be careful not to trip over any players on the sideline, and The Jags were getting pounded by 21 points late in the third quarter. Then State's starting QB gets knocked out of the game. James comes up to and says, "Be ready. Southern is going to win this game". The heat must be getting to me, did James just tell me that Southern was going to come back and win this game after getting the tar kicked out of them at the start. I brush it off. I'm hot and tired. I just want this game to end and go to bed. All of sudden, the comeback was on. The Jags score 28 unanswered completing one of the greatest comeback in school history. I thinking to myself how did JV know this and please let me have all of the TD's on tape.

Before he leaves for the ATL he filed one last report.



JV you have and will always be a good friend of mine. I wish you nothing but success with your new job at FSN South. And be on the lookout for us when we hit Atlanta. Don't be stranger you have family at the Big Raggedy. Take care and God Bless my friend.

One B.R., Not Yet

By now you know Joe Traigle from one of Turdpolisher's post. Last night Traigle took his proposed resolution to the Metro Council hoping to bring unity to the Red Stick. He brought something, a lot of religious persona's saying that One B.R. is nothing more than smoke and mirrors but what they really say what it does is surprising.

Now to today. Let's have Tyana, and yours truly, do a follow up to the fate of One. Now how do you visually show One B.R.? I know lightning struck once, but will it strike again.

Don't Forget About Us

With Cabela's opening last week, and doing quite well from what I hear, the folks at Bass Pro are praying that no one forgets about them. The store is scheduled to open early next year but should have opened much sooner. After numerous petitions, countless court battles, and store owners claiming unfair competition. Bass Pro suits invited us to tour the store. With the producers needing something to fill the newscasts, Tyana and I are sent to the Free State to check out the progress. Right now the store is nothing but concrete and metal beams. It's up to over 100 workers to get things going. Evey nail, ever screw, ever piece of wood has to be up to in order to make sure the Bass Pro lawyer's fight won't go in vain. Our guide informs us that this place will have a number of special attractions.

Don't Be Scared

Imagine my surprise when I heard that Southern University football fans were hostile. Are you kidding me??? This comes from Jackson State head coach Rick Comegy who will be coming here for the first time this Saturday. This is like eating some ribs then saying the sauce was bad. No keep in mind Jackson State's ticket allotment has been sold and their fans are coming to the game.

SU fans hostile????? Now I'm being honest. The only thing the Jaguar Nation is concerned about is where are we going after the game. Do we hit the club or to we go back to the tailgate spot on campus. If I had a choice, it would be to get something to eat off the grill.

I know why he's worried. The Nation is ticked off. Last week the Jags lost a close one to AL A&M and is scared that the Southern is going to take it out on J-State. Think about it would you want to play someone coming off a close loss and still in the conference championship picture.

Also they can't bring their band to the game because they are accused of hazing one of their members. So no band and a ticked off Jaguar team. This could be viewed as intimidating.

But when it's all said and done you have to play the game. So coach don't worry about the fans and worry about the ones on the field. And let the the best team win.

The Live After 5 Flush

I don't know what it is with Live After 5, a big LSU home game, and the weather. Four weeks ago I was assigned to Live After Five, LSU was playing VA Tech the next day, and thunderstorms were all around us. This past Friday, I was assigned Live After 5, LSU was playing Florida the next day, and rain was all over us. No I'm not making this up if you don't believe me go ask Turdpolisher, he's doing the LSU shot.

The rain starts coming down and why won't they just postpone this. My equipment staying dry is the most important thing right now. Me doing the same is a distant second.
At least the music isn't bad. A few cover songs never hurt.

They should have gotten Rihanna to sing at this one.

I see they are making the most of a wet evening.
I wish Julie's comeback was under better circumstances. There's always elections right around the corner.

Once the rain passed everyone came out and had a good time. They had more sense then me. Watch next week everything will be dry because I'll be assigned to something else and LSU will be on the road. I still say they should have booked Rihanna.