CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT OUR PODCAST!
This week's topics:
*Some of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of 2013
*and what are some of the most-liked stations on Facebook!
Our past podcasts are linked on our Blogspot page.
Monday, December 30, 2013
12.30.13 PODCAST!
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT OUR PODCAST!
This week's topics:
*Some of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of 2013
*and what are some of the most-liked stations on Facebook!
Our past podcasts are linked on our Blogspot page.
THE 2013 BEE-OTCH OF THE YEAR (AND THE HERO OF THE YEAR) IS...
DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK!
HERE IT IS! THE BEE-OTCH OF THE YEAR!
--
MICHIGAN
GOVERNOR RICK SNYDER!
Congrats Ricky! You killed unions, took money
from the middle class and flat-out made Michigan
a laughing stock! You're no different from your
buddy Dubya. Enjoy this honor, ya asshole!AND THE HERO OF THE YEAR 2013 IS....
PETE
MISIAK!
Pete was a well-known and
well-loved news man who worked in northern
Michigan and Detroit. He was a man of great
sense of humor and cared a lot for his
viewers and listeners. He died this past
year at the age of 57.
Bee-otch of the Day returns next Monday!
---
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com!
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Monday, December 23, 2013
12.23.13 PODCAST!
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT OUR PODCAST!
This week's topics:
*This year's Bee-otch of the Year nods,
*Casey Kasem's visitation battle
*and remembering Larry Lujack!
THE NOMINATIONS FOR 2013 BEE-OTCH OF THE YEAR ARE...
DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK!
WELCOME
TO THE 2013 BEE-OTCH OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS!
---
Since 1999, Chuck69.com has been awarding those whose stupidity has shined for the past year. The Bee-otch of the Year is the worst of the worst, as chosen by readers of this very website.
So, how is the Bee-otch of the Year chosen? Simple: it all starts with the Bee-otch of the Day. We repost the articles on Blogspot.com, and based on pageviews, we determine the Bee-otch of the Week. Then, the Bee-otch of the Week is nominated for Bee-otch of the Month and the Bee-otch of the Month is nominated for Bee-otch of the Year. It's that easy.
Now, for the first time ever, the most-read article all year on this site WON'T be nominated for Bee-otch of the Year, and that's the ex-boyfriend of NBC News anchor Veronica De La Cruz who abandoned her and her infant son. Despite being read hundreds of times, he won't be Bee-otch of the Year because he wasn't Bee-otch of the Week (the honor went to Chick-fil-A).
We did a few hundred articles this year, and this is the cream of the crap. Without any further adieu, here's the nominees for Bee-otch of the Year:
JANUARY, JULY AND SEPTEMBER: MICHIGAN GOVERNOR RICK SNYDER
Snyder just might be one of the most-controversial governors in the country. Last year, he signed into legislation that would make Michigan a Right-to-Work state, meaning that if you get hired into a union shop, you don't have to join that union. In other words, this law kills the unions and allows companies to pay their workers a measly wage and force them to do things they shouldn't do. Very sad considering that Michigan had been a union state since the days of the Great Depression, and it was unions that helped America out of that era. Now, Snyder is bowing to big, greedy corporations like Amway and the DeVos family, plus using the "Pure Michigan" tourism campaign created during the Granholm administration to promote his agenda.
Snyder was Bee-otched in July for the fact that brochures for the state's Pure Michigan campaign were done in Iowa, claiming that it was cheaper. Makes sense for Snyder, who outsourced jobs to Taiwan when he was president of Gateway Computers, a company he ran into the ground. Two months later, he got the nod because he got a headstart on his 2014 re-election campaign, and so far, the only competition he has is Mark Shauer.
Under Snyder's leadership, Michigan's job development is still painfully low and the fact that Snyder is buddies with the right's not helping. Many speculate, however, that the 2014 governor's race in Michigan will be a toss-up.
FEBRUARY: TRAVERSE CITY BUTT ROCKER WKLT
WKLT is the biggest rock station in northern Michigan, not because of their playlist or jocks, but rather the fact that they are combined, the most-powerful rock station, probably in the whole state of Michigan. Earlier this year, the North Dakotan-owned station launched a new afternoon show called "The Afternoon Trainwreck". However, it was modeled after rival Real Rock 105/95-5's afternoon show, "The Afternoon Hangover". Ironically, the hosts of the KLT show, "Mr. Windy" and "Motley Man" have long been let go from the station, probably due to KLT's parent, Northern Broadcast's constant cost-cutting. But what really grounded my gears was when I discovered on their morning show, "Omelette and Friends"' page was that under their podcast section, they had a show called "The Intern Show". Sound familiar? Yep, Omelette is ripping off Stern once again; and it's not the first time he did so. He has his own "Wack Pack" called "The Misfits"; he even made headlines in 2012 when he hired Madonna's homeless brother, Tony to be one of the crew. They went to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl - where Madonna was performing the Halftime show - where the performed dumb stunts for money. But, that's not the end of the story....
MARCH: WKLT INTERN DAVID THE FLUFFER
Not long after I rewarded KLT with the Bee-otch of the Month, their beloved intern "David the Fluffer" wrote me a little love letter that looked like it was written by a second grader. He claimed that they're not ripping off Stern and he even wanted me to drive all the way up to KLT from here in Grand Rapids so they could all ream me one. Yeah, really. Oddly enough, when I rewarded the Fluffer (and mind you, a fluffer is somebody whose job is to maintain a porn star's erection on the set), several northern Michigan radio folks - including one owner - wrote me and applauded my exposure of the little weasel. I totally agree. It's pathetic that KLT is to rock radio up north as McDonald's is to burgers, and it's not a good thing.
APRIL: FIFTH THIRD BANK
I made it official that April: I dropped Fifth Third as my bank after they lovingly decided to charge me $11 per month just because I still write a few checks per month. Ya gotta love this bank, folks. Thankfully, I joined a credit union where instead of losing money in checking, I MAKE money instead. Plus, they don't charge me anything just because I have a low balance. Sorry, Fifth Third, but you lost a 25-year customer.
MAY: ROTTEN TELEVANGELIST BENNY HINN
The outspoken faith healer told his followers that month that he was $2.5 million in the hole and wanted them to "dig in deep" to help him. I've seen many pieces on Hinn in the past and he has private planes, mansions and sleeps in five-star hotels. AND HE WANTS PEOPLE TO SPEND MORE ON HIM? Sorry, but I have a camel to shove through a needle....
JUNE: MEGA BILLIONAIRES THE KOCH BROTHERS AND RUPERT MURDOCH
The organization called The Other 98% launched a grassroots campaign to raise $660 million to buy the Tribune Company, which is for sale. Sadly, the two top bidders for the media giant are NewsCorp head Rupert Murdoch and industrialists Charles and David Koch, who are huge backers of the Tea Party movement. If the company went to either party, we could see the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times go further to the right. Sadly, The Other 98% failed to reach their goal, and only raised $210,000. That MIGHT buy a small-town paper, but ya gotta start somewhere....
AUGUST: THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
The Republicans had their grubby little hands on everything this year. Thanks to Congress, the minimum wage has only risen once in the past five years and there's now a movement from the fast food community to raise their wages. Thanks to 30-plus years of Republican bullshittery, the middle class has shrunk to its lowest since the days before the Great Depression, and that's a very scary indicator. While there are more billionaires and millionaires, the poor has risen the most during this time.
OCTOBER: GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN RADIO STATION WFUR
In October, the long-time Grand Rapids Christian station decided to launch another station in town at 92.9. It's a translator station that retransmits their AM station at 1570. For years, both WFUR-FM and AM have been west Michigan's lowest-rated radio stations despite its 50,000-watt power on the FM. A common joke in the radio business is that the Grand Rapids Press publishes a daily list of their listeners: the obituary page. To add more insult to injury, the station does have fundraisers, even though the owners drive Cadillacs and their employees are reportedly forced to park their clunkers in the back. Somewhere, Jesus is crying...
NOVEMBER: ANY RETAILER THAT WAS OPEN ON THANKSGIVING DAY
Many Americans didn't get to have the holidays off this year and it was because retailers like Walmart all decided that Black Friday wasn't early enough to please their sales. So, they opened their doors that day, forcing people to work and have early Thanksgiving dinners so their bottom lines weren't interrupted. What's next? Christmas?
DECEMBER: RUSH LIMBAUGH
Well, the right-winged pill-popper wrote a book... For kids! Rush Revere talks about the Pilgrims' trip to America from a fascist's point of view. See, kids? That's what Oxy does to you. It screws up your brain so bad that it makes you even dumber.
So, who will be the 2013 Bee-otch of the Year? The award will be handed out on Monday, December 29th!
---
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com!
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Thursday, December 19, 2013
THE FINAL BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY OF 2013
DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK!
Ladies and gents, this is the
final Bee-otch of the Day of 2013. Today's
subject is a douchebag I've wanted to give the
honor to for the past decade or so, but
haven't had the liberty to do so.
---
Well, I have saved one of the worst for last.
And ladies and gents, this is a Bee-otch of the Day over 10 years in the making.
You know, it's never nice to bite the hand that feeds you. If you're a dog and you bite your owner, chances are that you're going to end up back at the pound. But if that hand belongs to your boss, well, he can fire you and you're out on the streets.
For over a decade, I had probably one of the worst bosses in Grand Rapids. He was somebody I would never wish on somebody. However, it's been almost a year since I last saw him, and life's been better all because of it.
When I was growing up in northern Michigan, I wanted to be a DJ. But, I learned from other jocks that the pay sucks and the owners up north were anal about keeping jocks for an extended period of time. So, I got into computers, and wanted to be a graphic artist.
I went to two different trade schools and graduated in 2001. However, the economy took a shit and nobody wanted a novice like me. I ended up going back to my old job washing dishes but my hours were cut because they hired a much older man for the job who needed the money more than me. Since I was living with my mom and stepfather at the time, they wanted me to find a job that supplied more hours so I didn't turn into a slacker who stayed up all night and slept all day. So, I ended up working at a gas station a few miles away for less pay, but more hours.
Life was good there for a while, but my Arab bosses sold out to a downstate family that knew nothing about running a gas station. They cut my hours and gave them to a junkie who lived across the street from the store. To make the plot thicken more, my asshole stepdad and my mom made me sign a crapload of apartment leases because they didn't give a damn about me living with them. I was about to become another loser who was forced to have two jobs in a small town where people about you talked behind your back.
Thankfully, just a week after I turned 21, one of the companies that I applied for told me that there was an opening. It was in Grand Rapids. The job interview wasn't even that long; while filling out my app, I got to the references section and the soon-to-be-boss told me, "I need you now. You're going on probation and your first day is Monday". I had to get my aunt to let me into her place NOW. I succeeded on short notice.
Sadly, I had to work with a Bosnian man with a very short temper who yelled and screamed at me daily. I felt that I had no choice but to take his abuse since it took me a year to get this job. I got an apartment and was hoping that the future would be brighter. I kept telling myself that the economy was going to improve and that there would be more openings soon.
After a year and a half, I got my first raise: 50 cents. I was looking forward to working at this company, but thanks to the bad economy - especially here in Grand Rapids - that wasn't meant to be. I was told by others that they haven't had a raise in years and that the boss was the type who liked one person over the other and so on.
You see, this company was founded in the late 80's when two men who worked for a well-known Christian business learned that they were shutting down their division of the company. So they, alongside one of the guy's sons started this company. The father and son were nice, decent people while the other guy, my boss was the peon. He was more of a silent partner until the early 90's when he decided that he wanted more control. He would walk around the plant asking people why they weren't running their machines faster. The people aimed for quality, not quantity. So, since he was the VP, they adhered to his decision. However, the old man would come out and ask why they were running faster, and he would remind them that he was the boss and not him.
Under the older man's management, the company was well-oiled. People got raises and turnover was low. However, he retired around the same time I came in, and the new boss took over.
Well, I waited and waited for my next raise. It never happened. Instead, the boss created a program where if the whole shop produced X-amount of units on time, we all got a $25 Meijer card. Yep, we got groceries, but no real raise. One of my co-workers even brought it up during a company meeting and asked when we were going to get raises, and the boss hommina'd, "come to my office and we'll talk." The next day, the boss came to him and screamed that he was paying everybody 50 cents extra per hour when they earn the card. Yet, the guy down the street paid his employees more.
Even worse, in 2006, our company went to a health savings account for our healthcare. He expected us to contribute to our new high-deductible plan with our paltry wages. I was young, but wasn't invincible. That year, while I was at O'Hare Airport in Chicago changing gates en route to my mom's in Arizona, I collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. Since I bumped my head, I had a CT scan. The whole shindig was over $3,000. If it weren't for my grandmother, I would be further in the poor house.
Sadly, things only got worse at work. Years of no raises started to pinch me more financially. My boss would go on vacation and come back screaming at people asking why they didn't produce enough, even though they're the most-productive people in the plant. Hell, he went after me many times, asking why I didn't do things HIS way. I was afraid to tell the truth to him. The truth was, he wasn't paying me enough to do this shit. I was the in the top five in the plant seniority-wise and I was one of the lowest-paid workers. I saw too many good people get canned or leave because of his micromanaging. He would splurge over a million bucks on a new machine, but when it came to his workers, they were all replaceable to him, no matter how hard they worked.
In 2010, I got into a car accident and I was at fault. I was forced to buy a new car shortly after the Cash For Clunkers program ended, leaving me with few choices for a decent vehicle. The car I got had a multitude of issues and I took it to a less-than-reputable dealership to fix them all. They charged me an arm and a leg for everything. Because of this, I was not only paying a car loan, but the enormous debt this car put me through. I hoped for lots of overtime and Meijer cards to keep me afloat.
But then, the shoe fell. We were earning Meijer cards left and right for our hard work, but that came to an end. Our boss decided that instead of rewarding us, he would reward himself. So, since business was at its slowest in years, he decided to ask us all how we could be more productive. We all knew the answer: give us all raises and leave us the fuck alone. Because work was so slow, I was being forced to pay my bills with credit cards, and that made things worse. Because I was not making it on 40 hours, I was forced to dump my cable and start donating plasma at BioLife. Even that came to a stop because my stress level grew immensely and my pulse was too high every time I visited.
In early 2012, our boss's bullying worked... For him. In that Spring, he went on not one, not two, but FOUR vacations. One of them was to Hawaii where he came back to California on an aircraft carrier. He couldn't give us a raise and he couldn't give us better healthcare. I did went on two job interviews, but they were busts because of my lack of work experience.
I worked on second shift all my life, but that was going to change. All the people in my department on first shift either got fired or quit. So, they decided to lump us all on one shift in hopes that they could run our machine faster. I even remembered my first day on first shift. All my years staying up all night made it hard to adjust. I was drinking so much caffeine that I started getting panic attacks for no real reason. When I was on second, I only saw my boss maybe two hours a day tops. Now, it was eight and he felt that he had a right to bitch at me only because I, like everybody in the whole plant, wasn't doing a good job in his eyes.
My department sucked. I was training new people it seemed almost every week to do my job. Even worse, one of the new people told me that she was getting paid 50 cents more per hour than I was. Did I tell you that when I moved from second to first shift, I lost my shift premium? I was now getting paid LESS than when I first started. No wonder why my panic attacks only got worse and worse.
I wanted to tell my boss to give me back my shift premium. Guess what happened instead? An old lady who worked in my department who was in the same boat I was went to the boss and complained. A few days later, she was shown the door. I really wanted to write to my boss on how much of a prick he was and do it anonymously. But, thankfully, a miracle happened.
It was one year ago this week that our boss had us come to one of our machines, and he made the announcement that he was retiring. The other guy who founded the company took over his remaining shares. He did have one more sick trick up his sleeve: he didn't give us a Christmas bonus. Asshole.
My boss officially retired New Years Eve, 2012. However, the damage was done. I was still having panic attacks and it got to the point where I had to see a doctor. She told me to cut out caffeine, and it worked. I have only had one can of Monster since.
Since my new boss took over, things have gotten dramatically better. We're making a profit again, we don't have a dumbass breathing down our neck every day, turnover has lowered and guess what: I GOT A RAISE! I'm still a slight hair over poverty wage, but it's better than what a lot of people make. Oh, and to add insult to injury, I heard that my ex-boss was down in Florida several months ago and impaled his foot on a nail while hauling a boat in the ocean. Womp. Womp.
John Lennon once sang that Instant Karma's gonna get you. Sadly, these days, karma isn't that instant much of the time. When somebody hurts you - especially on a financial standpoint - deep down inside, you want that person to be in your shoes and you want them to know what it's like to be broke all the time and making ends meet. My ex-boss had his life handed to him. He started working in my industry when he was fresh out of high school and from what I've heard, he wasn't that great of a worker. He married, had kids but his wife left him. His own kids didn't even live with him after the divorce. Being a "Christian", he banned alcohol from our company parties, but insiders all told me that he had one of the biggest liquor cabinets in all of Kent County and the booze would flow big-time on Saturday nights. I even drove by his property and I couldn't see his house from the road. He got to live in the lap of luxury while I was stuck in the ghetto.
My point is, if you're a Christian businessperson, please read Matthew 19:23. If you treat your employees like shit by giving them slave wages, God will cut you down. I hope my ex-boss's impaled foot taught him a lesson. I might never see a single dime from his pocket ever again, but you know what, seeing God's wrath on him is worth every penny.
And the sad thing is, even Scrooge had a heart at the end.
---
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com!
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
12.18.13 Hero of the Day: Playboy Magazine
DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK!
A SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!
Name: Playboy Magazine
Age: 60
Occupation: men's leisure magazine
Last Seen: Chicago, IL
Awarded For: hitting the big 6-0
Age: 60
Occupation: men's leisure magazine
Last Seen: Chicago, IL
Awarded For: hitting the big 6-0
---
It's official: Playboy Magazine is 60 years old.
And it doesn't look a day over 30.
It was 60 years ago this month that the first Playboy hit the newsstands. Hugh Hefner was a young, enterprising publisher who wanted to publish a magazine about a taboo subject: sex. And he started it off with a bang: Marilyn Monroe.
Borrowing $1,000 from his mother, Hefner had his doubts that a magazine with Ms. Monroe's naked body would sell copies. But, it did. In the early years, Playboy was pure class, teaching men how to dress, what to buy and it also entertained and informed them with thought-provoking articles and humor. And yes, their naked centerfolds.
Playboy became a hit, and Hugh bought his first mansion in Chicago in the 1950's. He even launched a syndicated TV show, Playboy's Penthouse that featured numerous celebrities and notable people. He even started up the Playboy Clubs where women in bunny outfits served up drinks and noshables to those living the Playboy life. Its motto: "If you can't swing, don't ring!"
Of course, competition popped out not long after Playboy was launched. Penthouse was introduced in 1965 with a similar stance to Playboy, except that it featured one thing Playboy refused to have: a woman's vaginal region. Hugh Hefner wanted his models to be the "girl next door": somebody who was fun, flirty and sexy, but not slutty. With Penthouse showing more vag in the late 60's, Playboy decided enough was enough and in 1969, they hit two birds with one stone: the first woman in the magazine to officially show part of her public region was black actress Paula Kelly as part of a centerfold featuring the stars of the hit Broadway musical Hair.
As the 1970s moved on, Playboy was hot. Their best-selling issue was in November 1972, selling over seven million copies. However, the 1980's wasn't so nice to the famed magazine thanks to the Religious Right and their attack on anything adult-related. Many stores that sold Playboy ended up dropping it, including 7-Eleven. Despite being the classiest of the nude magazines out there, Playboy started dropping to new lows. Even worse, the untimely death of 1980 Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten was a huge blow to Hef and his life. Not to forget the AIDS crisis that scared people into not having sex. Hef suffered a stroke in 1986, and made some changes. One was making his daughter Christie the president of the company. Thankfully, the Religious Right started to fumble thanks to scandals involving the likes of the Bakkers and Jimmy Swaggert. Playboy was cool again.
The 1990's gave us some of Playboy's most-noted Playmates: Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy. However, their print edition's circulation started to slip because of the internet. Why rush out to the store to whap down $8 for an issue when you can get nude chicks for free, and they tend to show more skin then what Playboy allows? Today, Playboy's circulation is just over a million copies sold a month, about 1/7th of that back 40 years ago.
Not to mention, Playboy did sell out to the likes of Heidi Montag and Lindsay Lohan, who barely showed much of anything in their pictorials.
However, Playboy does deserve a hero's tribute. They changed the world of sex for the better, making it less prude and more fun. While it's spawned off a lot of broken broom pieces ala The Sorcerer's Apprentice, people should remember where it all began: when Marilyn Monroe had only one thing on:
The radio.
---
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com!
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
12.17.13 Bee-otch of the Day: Michigan Republicans
DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK!
Name: Michigan Republicans
Age: various
Occupation: politicians
Last Seen: Michigan
Bee-otched For: kissing Jebus freak ass
Age: various
Occupation: politicians
Last Seen: Michigan
Bee-otched For: kissing Jebus freak ass
---
Even though they're the moral majority, Republicans love to pretend that the vagina doesn't exist.
This past week, Michigan lawmakers - mostly Republican - passed a law that will now force women to purchase a separate healthcare plan for abortions. What makes this law so stupid is that under it, women who were raped will now have to have this plan to cover for their abortions.
In other words, if a woman walks down a dark street one night alone and she is strangled and raped, and she gets pregnant with the rapist's baby, she's beyond screwed.
But anything to please the right wingers who love to cry that God sent the rapist to the woman because he wanted another soul to roam the world, even though that kid will grow up screwed up himself. If the mother chooses to keep the baby alive, she could raise it on her own and live on a crap budget or she could put it up for adoption and even that's a crap shoot. Sometimes, the baby ends up in a loving, caring home or it ends up in a world of abuse and ends up on the streets.
State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D), a rape victim herself, told the senate that the law is nothing more that a citizen's group's dream come true and that it tells women to buy this policy because they're going to get raped. Even the state's Republican governor, Rick Snyder vetoed a similar bill earlier because he felt that a woman shouldn't pay for coverage only because of her rape.
Right-to-Life of Michigan collected 300,000 signatures to sponsor the bill. Because it unanimously passed the senate and house, it doesn't need Snyder's signature to become law.
Ya know, I'll betcha that most of those signatures are those of men and wealthy assholes who can't get their feet into lesser peoples' shoes. They don't give a damn about the woman; if the baby's hurt, it makes Jesus cry. But when that child has to live in poverty because of the mother being forced to work three jobs to put food on the table and risk being shot at school because of our lax gun laws, yep, it only makes me happy to be a Democrat.
Man, I can't wait til 2014....
---
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com!
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Monday, December 16, 2013
12.16.13 PODCAST!
CLICK
HERE TO CHECK OUT OUR PODCAST!
This week's topics:
*The new Nash-FM 93.1 in Detroit
*and are Drew and Mike coming to WCSX?
Our past podcasts are linked on our Blogspot page.
This week's topics:
*The new Nash-FM 93.1 in Detroit
*and are Drew and Mike coming to WCSX?
Our past podcasts are linked on our Blogspot page.
12.16.13 Bee-otch of the Day: Meijer
DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK!
Name: Meijer
Age: 79
Occupation: major retailer
Last Seen: Walker, MI
Bee-otched For: firing a man who put out a fire
Age: 79
Occupation: major retailer
Last Seen: Walker, MI
Bee-otched For: firing a man who put out a fire
---
Once upon a time, the city of Gaylord, MI - pop. 3,600 - was a great place for retail that wasn't totally from a big box.
The town, known for being "The Alpine Village", lined with buildings resembling Swiss chalets, had several stores downtown, including several clothing stores and an IGA, plus a K-Mart that sadly shut down recently. Supermarket-wise, it had an A&P, Carter's and its most-popular store, Glen's, which was born in Gaylord in 1951 by its namesake, Glen Catt. It moved into its present location in the early 1970's, making it one of the biggest supermarkets in northern Michigan history.
Sadly, Glen's sold out to Spartan Stores - now SpartanNash - in 1999 and recently changed its name to Family Fare. (The remaining Glen's stores might become Family Fares in the near future.) Carter's went belly-up 10 years ago and A&P is now a Save-a-Lot. Like many small cities, Gaylord is now stuck with a Walmart Supercenter and Meijer.
And like most other big boxers, employees are stuck with archaic rules.
Last week, the chain received tons of flak from the online community and even on their Facebook page after they fired David Bowers, a greeter at their Gaylord location. One day, a customer's truck dashboard caught fire and Bowers quickly and swiftly took a fire extinguisher out to the vehicle and put the fire out. He knew that he might lose his job over his actions, but he would doanything to assist customers and prevent neighboring vehicles in the parking lot from catching fire, too.
But the final nail in the coffin was nailed shut. David Bowers was shown into his boss's office and was fired.
Ken Kuzon, whose truck was saved by Bowers, told Traverse City's WPBN-TV 7&4 that he was baffled that any company would fire anybody for being a good Samaritan. If it weren't for Bowers, his truck would be a total loss.
IMHO, if Bowers worked someplace else, he'd probably still have a job. I think Meijer would have wanted him to call 911 and have firetrucks sent out. But by the time the red wagons showed up, his truck would be gone and the fire would have spread to other vehicles. Bowers did his job by making a customer happy, even though his truck is now damaged.
But, that's how big box stores work. They pay their employees a shit wage and expect them to be happy and robust while the bosses rake in the profits. It's sad that Fred Meijer is dead and gone. I think if he were still around, Bowers would still be employed by the company. David deserves a reward for what he did, not a trip to the unemployment line.
But what do you expect from a big box company?
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Thursday, December 12, 2013
12.12.13 Hero of the Day: Bob Barker
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A
SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!
Name: Bob Barker
Age: 90
Occupation: retired game show host
Last Seen: Los Angeles, CA
Awarded For: reaching a huge milestone
Age: 90
Occupation: retired game show host
Last Seen: Los Angeles, CA
Awarded For: reaching a huge milestone
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On this date in 1923, a stork brought plenty of joy to Mr. and Mrs. Byron Barker.
Not only were the husband and wife happy about their new addition, the world would eventually be enjoyed, too.
OK, so storks don't deliver babies, but nonetheless, Robert William Barker would eventually grow up to enjoy a nice, long life of entertaining people all around the world. Yes, we remember Bob as the long-time host of The Price is Right, but he's done a myriad of other things too.
Like many celebs, Bob had his ups and downs early in life. When he was only six, his father - an electrician - died in a freak accident when he fell from a tower. His mother, Tilly, told Bob that he was the man of the house. A few years later, Bob's mom remarried, and he had a baby half-brother, Kent. His family moved a few times from Washington to South Dakota to Missouri, where he graduated high school and attended college at Drury University.
In the 1940's, Bob enlisted in World War II where he was a fighter pilot. After his tenure, he came back to Springfield where he began his broadcast career at KTTS radio. He also married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Jo after his service tenure.
As the 1950's grew near, Bob knew that he could be big in Hollywood, so he and Dorothy Jo moved to Los Angeles where Bob was hired to do a show at KNX called "The Bob Barker Show". The program had Bob and his crew go to stores and give out prices for certain items, like washers and dryers and other appliances.
One day, Ralph Edwards, creator and host of Truth or Consequences and This is Your Life happened to be listening to Bob's show, and loved his voice and style. He hosted both shows at the time, and wanted somebody to do Truth. So, he chose Bob. On New Years' Eve, 1956, America said hello for the very first time to a boyish-faced 33-year-old named Bob Barker.
Bob hosted Truth for 19 years, a Guinness record at the time. He also hosted a few other short-lived shows such as The Family Game for ABC in 1966 and a pilot for NBC called Simon Says in 1971.
However, in 1972, Mark Goodson - who was on a roll with re-vamps of his classics such as To Tell the Truth and What's My Line? - felt that it was time to re-tool The Price is Right. Like Barker, TPIR debuted in 1956. Its original host Bill Cullen was unable to do the new show because of his fight with polio as a child which created difficulty walking for him, so the job was offered to Barker. He accepted, and on September 4, 1972, The New Price is Right debuted on CBS with Barker at the helm.
The early days of the 1970's TPIR were a lot different than the modern verson of the show; most of the audience was made up of old housewives (its target audience), there were only two models (Janice Pennington and Antria Ford) and the show was a mere 30 minutes, therefore, no Showcase Showdown. However, TPIR proved to be a success, so it became an hour-long show in 1975.
Barker hosted Truth until 1974 when he left to focus more on TPIR. However, he and Ralph Edwards remained close - even celebrating Bob's anniversary as a game show host every year with a dinner - until his death in 2005 at age 92.
Even after its 1975 expansion, throughout the next few decades, TPIR experienced huge ratings. If they changed a thing, people complained, which was why the show kept using outdated sets and even jerky chyron over the years. True, Bob had his setbacks over the years on TPIR; the 1985 death of announcer Johnny Olsen, the battles between him and his "Barker's Beauties" that involved a few lawsuits and his rumored fallout with the late Rodd Roddy were just a few. However, the worst thing that happened to Bob during his run on TPIR might have been the death of Dorothy Jo in 1981 from lung cancer at the age of 57.
When Dorothy Jo died, Bob decided to honor her memory by becoming a vegetarian and an animal rights activist. He ordered TPIR's producers to stop giving fur coats and animal-based products as prizes. He even developed the phrase "help control the pet population; have your pets spayed or neutered!" which ended each show. He even stopped dying his hair since hair dye was being used on animals.
Bob was considering retiring from TPIR in the 1990's, but thanks to an appearance in the Adam Sandler film Happy Gilmore, he was cool again. Over the years, TPIR's fanbase grew from housewives and retirees to college students as well. Despite his popularity, Bob knew that his best years were behind him, and in 2007, he taped his last TPIR as host. Drew Carey took over, and has since done the show in his own style without copying Barker's.
But, Bob is anything but retired. He wrote a memoir, Priceless Memories in 2010 in which he returned to TPIR to showcase. He even appeared on an episode of WWE's Monday Night Raw to promote it as well.
Bob is the head of the DJ&T Foundation, named for the two important women in his life: wife Dorothy Jo and mother Tilly, both of whom loved animals. The organization helps people get low-cost or free spays and neuters for their pets. Bob has also been busy donating MILLIONS of his money to various animal-based causes.
It's without any doubt that in the long history of television, Bob Barker wasn't one of the best game show hosts in history, he was the best, period. His longevity, his sense of humor and slight cheesiness - i.e. his long-stemmed microphone - have all made him who he was. His love of animals and his late wife and mother have made him even stronger over the years. In a world where too many good people die young, Bob Barker is proof that he is a good man, and to make it to 90 is wonderful.
So here's to you, Bob. Let's see if that wheel can land on 100.
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Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
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