Entered Into The Records: 2008

2008 delivered a gauntlet of emotion. From a championship dream to sneaux in the most unlikely of places. You name it we at the Big Raggedy was somewhere bringing it to you. There were some highs and lows during the year. But the one constant was the dedication to our craft. As one book ends another begins. 2008 delivered some unforgettable moments and we expect nothing less from 2009.

Happy New Year everyone.

Not Again

Alright, the lovely assignment editor informs me that they are at it again. Who is "they"? The folks at the Governor's Office. So I ask, "What time is it happening?" "Four, " she responds. Not again is running through my mind. Another late afternoon presser on an issue that affects everyone in the harsh economic times. Time to head to the Huey's Phallus Palace. Nothing new go to the fourth floor, stake a spot for the sticks, and plug into the audio. But the strange feeling creeps in the back of my head. Last two pressers called by the Gov., they didn't start on time, they took way too long, and the 5pm news wanted something. Just maybe things will be different. We can get a jump start to '09.

The clock on the phone says he is late. No surprise here. Trolling through the halls here I should have known better. The predecessor to the current Gov., was late in starting things as well. In fact the last governor that started things on time was a little over five years ago. And the only reason why he started on time was because he arrived to things 15 minutes early.

Time for the lens troopers to get rolling. Time wasn't on our side, got to find a way to make things visual & simple. Plus the beast was very hungry due to a lack of news thanks to some off days. No pressure.

I wonder if we should get the Gov.'s Office a watch that works. Or just have them call the press conferences earlier in the day. I'll have staff draft legislation and bring it to the next committee meeting.

The Gift of Laughter

It was that time. A time for reflection. I time for memories that will stand the test of time. It was time......for the annual blooper reel. After all of the collecting. The shooting. The constant watching of live shots. The casting. The writing. The re-casting. The rejection from the Nubian Princess for not including her. The scribing of ideas on a napkin in a Sushi restaurant. The re-writing. The asking of when we can watch it. The begging of the Nubian Princess to be the production. The late night shooting. The endless smack from XRAY TED saying it should be the Easter Tape. The in fights with the computers. Sneaking the Nubian Princess in the show without her knowing.

This was it. There was no going back now. All or nothing. Yeah your right enough of the puns.

It was time Meeks and I debut the reel to the entire world. Actually just the crazies in the Big Raggedy newsroom. It all came down to how they react.

I'm guessing they enjoyed it. A year's worth of work was worth it. All I can say is thank you guys. I'm so glad we have a sense of humor and can take pride in our hits while laughing at our misses on the tube.
Thank you Meeks for the writing and helping evolve this into a cult following. Thank you everyone for being a part of the show.
Not to worry I'll get a copy to everyone. And remember the camera is always rolling, did you know?

Christmas Time

Whew!!!! After a long stretch of madness and chaos in the streets Christmas Day was a welcomed relief. I really enjoy this time of year. The celebrate the holidays with family and friends. For me it's dishing out presents and seeing the smile on their face. As always got to take care of the Newsroom Angels. Some had to get their presents early since they were off. As for the rest the time to spread some joy.

After the presents were unwrapped, time to hit the music. A little Run DMC, some Nat King Cole, and whatever else Meeks could find on the Ipod. These are always some good times.

So from our family to yours......

....Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Joyous Kwanzaa everyone.

What's Up Ya'll.

Sorry about the lack of posting. There was way too much destruction and chaos to deal with while shooting at the asylum. You name the spot news and odds are I was capturing pictures for the evening news. But Christmas is right around the corner and maybe, just maybe Peace on Earth and Goodwill Towards Man will be front and center. I hope so. spot news on Christmas can really be a buzz kill.

In between the madness, my friend Meeks and I were able to get to work on the annual Christmas Reel. Sorry can't show it on the Forum but trust me a lot of work has gone into this one and the natives are getting restless. They want to see it bad. I might have to hand out some awards for this one.

But for now Merry Christmas everyone.

SHOE!!!!!!!!!!!

Not since the infamous turkey shoot has the political world been turned or side stepped on it's ear.
The people wearing the dark suits and shades are working overtime with this one. It appears that someone with a strong disposition with the outgoing President Bush decided to take it upon himself to fling his foreign footwear towards his head. Yes that is a shoe flying at the President. Having work a number of Presidential visits at Raggedy not in a million years didn't I think a journalist would become a security risk to the Leader of the Free World.

The one thing I have to ask is what was he thinking???? Who in their right mind would take off their shoes and hurl them at the 43rd President of the United States of America. Was he upset that they were the pair of Rockports he asked for were on back order? Or maybe he caught an overnight broadcast of Harrison Ford's Air Force One. It may take some convincing from Jack Bauer and CTU to find the true intentions of shoe hurler. Let's hope it's before the start of 24's seventh season.

The only thing that the Forum can confirm is that they were a size 1o. Thank goodness. If they were Shaq's size 22 we would have had an international catastrophe on our hands.

After watching the video I'll have to consult with the Schmuck Alert Justice League if any other action should be taken.

Man, What A Week.

Sorry about the lack of posting I was just getting some rest in. It was one roller coaster of a week at the Big Raggedy. As someone famous once said...



On Wednesday, the Nubian Princess and I had to go to the Free State of Livingston for a follow up to a story she did earlier. She introduced us to little Mia of Denham Springs. Besides the upcoming gifts from Santa, the big draw for Mia's attention were some inflatable Disney characters that lined the front yard. During the night someone decided to help themselves to the lovable characters. And to make things worse they also cut some of the cords to the yard lights. Fortunately some good people saw the first report and were able to help out in more ways than one. I'll let the NP fill ya'll in on a little funny side story that happened while we were there.

Thursday rolls around and it was quite interesting. It's starts at 7:30 in the morning. The neighbors next door wake me with some screams of excitement. As I open the blinds the only thing on my mind was if the rain had stopped and it did. Too bad there was some white blanket on the ground. Snow. Snow in south Louisiana. Too everyone else the thoughts of snow angels and snowball fights were in their heads. To those who work in TV, it was going to be a long day. With XRAY TED in his pj's drinking hot coco it was up to the rest of the lens jockeys to go and find good television. My quest took me back to the Free State to find a rare sighting of the Livingston Polar Bears. Truly an amazing sight to behold.

Friday and Saturday arrive and the sports department sends up the Bat Signal. It's the High School Football State Championships and the season finale of Sportsline. Two of the local teams made it the title games that means extended coverage. So Erin and I headed to the Big Easy to get the Cinderella team practicing for the game. It's sad that they ran into a storm the next day. After practice and some live shots it was time to get the second team in action. Too bad it was the late game and it never starts on time. However they pulled off another championship run ending a long exhausting season.

What a week. Lots of emotion from a gauntlet of people. Time to rest while I can Monday is right around the corner.

This Bothers Me

The Holidays will bring out the good in people. It's sad that the worse inside our society will also make an unwelcome appearance.

Early Tuesday morning some criminal scum decided to help themselves to the innocent. A couple of parents making an honest living has their lives turned upside down by a few jacks who want to things the easy way instead of the right way. They force their way in a home by gunpoint force dad on the ground, drag mom out of bed, then wave their guns in the faces of the four kids inside. They take what they can eventually finding mom's purse. She's pleads with them not to take the money she got from a loan. She tells them, "That's money for my kids Christmas". One responds, "My kids need Christmas too."

This really bothers me. The fact that they basically stole from kids. What's going to happen when those children wake up on Christmas and not have anything under the tree. How are the parents going to explain why Santa didn't bring them anything this year. To those kids Christmas will be just another day on the calender thanks to some selfish jack holes. That family deserves justice the Christmas Season and it can't come soon enough.

I would call them Grinches but even the Grinch had a heart.

Back In Action

There is nothing like a week's vacation. No call outs. No deadlines. No XRAY TED. Just some time to relax and recharge. But all good things must come to an end. Last time I took a winter break I was able to ease back into things. Wasn't lucky this time around.

Since the economy will be one of the top stories for some time to come any talks of a possible layoffs in or around the viewing area will cause a stir in the newsroom. Turns out one of the major companies is going to have to downsize but they didn't say where. They have some local operations in the area but the possibility of the workers talking to us is pretty slim. So after getting some video of the business, while avoiding a couple near Schmuck Alerts, KN and I go find the local expert who can break down what this would mean. We get what we need and fill some time for the late show. Not a bad way to start the work week after some downtime. At least I didn't have to deal with the Pookster and his following.

Oh well it's good to back at the aslyum. And there's an added bonus, XRAY TED is off this week. Looks like I got an extra week of vacation, did you know???

Trouble With Da' Box

It was bad enough that my Alma Mada got beat in the biggest game of the year, on national television. But it seems that the cloud of stupidity is raining on the Blue and Gold. Well the halftime attraction anyway.

Hours before the Human Jukebox headed to the Big Easy, some members of the famed band decided to partake in some form of hazing, if that what you to ball it, by beating the crap out of some younger members to earn their keep. Hazing is nothing new, been around for years, but when it leaves two people in the hospital that's taking it a little to far.

I wish I could say this was the only incident that drew such attention. Remember the infamous Halftime Brawl with Prairie View some time ago.

What's worse is the judgement, or the lack thereof, is going to cast a shadow on the kids who are doing the right thing. And on a program that will cause parents to have second thoughts on sending their kids to the school.

Right now, six people have been arrested with a seventh being sought. Hopefully everyone learns from such a dumb incident.