Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.
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Name: Rick Snyder
Age: 56
Occupation: governor of Michigan
Last Seen: Lansing, MI
Bee-otched For: being a bully posing as a nerd
---
Things have become tougher for the LGBT community in Michigan.
Last week, a judge struck down the state's 10-year-old gay marriage ban making Michigan the 18th state legalizing it. Four counties opened up their offices to perform gay marriages, making some 300 nuptials official. However, just hours after the champagne bottles popped, an appeals court in Cincinnati overturned the ban and once again, gay marriage in Michigan is banned.
Even worse, the stuffed turd himself, Gov. Rick Snyder even proclaimed that the same-sex marriages that were performed on Saturday are now null and void. Because of this, LGBT couples in Michigan will not get the same benefits straight couples get.
Yessiree, that's Michigan becoming a red state 4 ya. Snyder has done it again. Even though he doesn't say much about social issues like abortion and gay rights, he's a right-winged prick who only works for the DeVos family and not for the people of Michigan. Our state's unemployment is still much higher than the rest of the nation's and even worse, our roads are in horrid shape because of the potholes caused by this year's horrific storms. There should be more workers out there fixing the roads, but gee whiz! That money's now in the hands of the DeVos family. Bastard.
You know, it's time to tell Rick Snyder that four years is enough. Damn straight I'm heading to the polls in November to kick his ass out. It's time to create real jobs for Michiganders and it's time to legalize gay marriage.
Now, it's time for Snyder to bend over.
---
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!
Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.
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A SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!
Name: Studio 28
Age: was 49
Occupation: the world's first megaplex movie theatre
Last Seen: Wyoming, MI
Awarded For: being a pioneer in the world of movies
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When the movies were invented, theatres only had one screen.
Then, some 50 years ago, a man decided, why not have two theatres in the same house? The multiplex was born. Then came three screens, then four, five... you get the drift.
When Grand Rapids' Studio 28 went to a whopping 20 screens in 1988, people thought that its owner, Jack Loeks was nuts. After all, he was a pioneer in the world of movies with a career that spanned over 50 years and ended with his passing ten years ago at the age of 85. He brought the multiplex to Grand Rapids in the 1960's, and it all started in part with Studio 28.
Studio 28 opened on Christmas 1965 as a simple, 1,000-seat auditorium. Then, a second screen was added and eventually, it became a six-plex in the 1970's. In 1982, Studio 28 became a 12-plex and eight more screens were added in 1988, making it the nation's first true megaplex.
As the years wore on, Studio 28 had been remodeled and grandfathered more times than most people could count. But it was important since it was the flagship of the Loeks Theatres empire. Studio 28 was modernized with digital picture and sound and with the exception of its main and original 1,000-seat auditorium, stadium seating.
However, Studio 28 became a victim of its own success. Loeks Theatres started up the Celebration! Cinema chain in the late 90's and built more megaplexes including the 18-screen+IMAX Celebration! Cinema North and 16-screen South at M6. They also acquired Cinemark's two theatres at Rivertown Crossings (20 screens) and Woodland Mall (14 screens, which was turned into a sub-runner) several years ago. Now, the only movie theatre in Grand Rapids not owned by the Loekses is the AMC Star Theatre on Plainfield, which ironically was started by Jack's son, Barrie.
Back in the olden days, if a movie theatre was older than the new kid in town, it eventually closed. A six-screener built in 1977 could never survive against the modern 20-screen megaplex by a long shot. Studio 28 had it all: digital picture and sound, stadium seating, comfy seats and just about everything you could imagine in a modern movie house. But Studio 28's problem was simple: location, location, location.
The theatre was on a stretch of 28th Street that over the years got infested with crime and other businesses closing up shop. Even its neighbor, the Rogers Plaza shopping mall, is a ghost of what it once was back in the 1960's. Loeks kept building and buying up theatres in more-desirable areas while Studio 28 ended up becoming its red-headed stepchild. On November 23, 2008, Studio 28 closed for good.
For the past five years, Studio 28 became an eyesore. All offers made on the theatre were never finalized and it kept dormant all this time. True, AMC or another chain could have bought it, but it was no use. People broke into the property and vandalized it and years of damage from the elements forced Wyoming officials to condemn the aging cinema a few months ago. Yesterday, after nearly 50 years of being a symbol of movie magic to the citizens of Grand Rapids and her surrounding areas, Studio 28 was demolished. People have been taking bricks from the fallen structure as mementos of good times gone by.
Now, with a 20-acre vacant lot, some wonder what will happen to the former Studio 28 property. Many feel that either Walmart or Meijer will build a new store. But, the future for the site is now in the hands of whoever wants to buy it.
Personally, I felt that Loeks should have made Studio 28 a sub-runner, not Woodland. There's a lot of low-income people on that side of town and luring them all to Woodland - which has had its problems with crime - is a bad idea. However, the Loekses had their reasons. Studio 28 was old and inefficient. It had six projection booths while all their newer theatres all have one (then again, that issue is now moot since movies are no longer projected on 35mm film but rather on computerized digital projectors). There's also the issue of Studio 28 being grandfathered for so many years. Personally, I got lost in that theatre the few times I was there. It was almost confusing as hell.
I did see a few films there myself: Mel Gibson's Signs (before he totally lost it), An Inconvenient Truth (where the projector bulb was as dim as hell) and my last film there, Step Brothers with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.
In all, it's sad to see Studio 28 go. It was a better theatre even in my old hometown of Traverse City where all of the theatres are stuck in 1980's hell. To see something nice and modern get bulldozed into a heap of concrete and steel is nothing short of pathetic, but that's life.
So long, Studio 28. Say hi to The Movies at Woodland, Showcase Grand Rapids and just about every theatre Loeks and Bob Goodrich ever owned up there, will ya? ---
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!
Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.
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Name: unknown
Age: ??
Occupation: repairman
Last Seen: Phoenix, AZ
Bee-otched For: being ignorant to my mother's precious cargo
---
The dog that I have pictured above is that of my mother's precious Italian greyhound, Allegro.
Sadly, last week, she was thisclose to death. The reason: somebody's ignorance.
My mom adopted Allegro five years ago. She was used for breeding, but was retired and was given to my mother. Allegro is timid and is somewhat hard to get used to people. But like most greyhounds, she can run quite fast. Our family adopted a full-sized greyhound 25 years ago and we had her until she died seven years later.
In recent years, mom has had some tough times. Her home was broken into, she went through bankruptcy during the 2008 economic breakdown, her home was broken into, she separated from her husband twice and finally got divorced from him last year and some of her pet birds died, including a parakeet that was put down two weeks ago after suffered a stroke.
But last week, tragedy almost struck her... again.
While my mother was at work, she received a text message from the management at the apartment complex she lives in. It read that her "puppy" had escaped and it took a "team effort" to rescue it. So, in need of more info, she texted them again. They told her that the moron who was doing work on her kitchen left the door open and Allegro escaped. The asshole didn't even notice. Allegro started running across the busy highway with cars trying to dodge her. Thankfully, mom's neighbors saw what was going on and attempted to rescue her. Bear in mind that Italian greyhounds can run 40 MPH and like I said, Allegro is quite timid. However, the neighbors were smart enough to lure her back with treats.
But guess who made things worse for Allegro's capture? The asshole who let her out. Dumbass was standing there in front of the door and the neighbors kept telling him that she was afraid of him and he needed to go away. Allegro made her way back inside to safety, although she was quite shaken from the ordeal.
This is why I'm afraid to have a pet in a place like mine. A lot of times, my apartment's maintenance crew won't even clean up after themselves and shit is laying all over the place. They keep the doors open all the time and since I live near a busy road, I don't trust having a pet here, let alone a pet fish. Here, I can only own a cat and they're notorious for disappearing because of morons you can't trust to take care of them.
Anyway, mom is thankful that her beloved Allegro is safe and sound. But she told me that if she ever sees the dumbass who let her out in the first place, she'll kick his ass.
And since I'll be out there next week, I'll be proud to join her. I just hope that I don't end up in Sheriff Arpiao's chain gangs. ---
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!
Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.
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Name: Bill Schuette
Age: 61
Occupation: Attorney General
Last Seen: Saginaw, MI
Bee-otched For: working against the people
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Yet another reason why I won't vote Republican this November.
Michigan's attorney general, Republican Bill Schuette is proving that Dutch Reformists should not be running the system. He's anti-ACA, anti-cannibis legalization and now, anti-gay marriage.
Last week was supposed to be a good week for the LGBT community. Renowned gay basher Fred Phelps died a slow, painful death and here in Michigan, Judge Bernard Friedman - a Reagan-appointed judge, mind you - overturned the state's 10-year-old ban on gay marriage. In 2004, voters passed an initiative banning gay marriage in the state. But Friedman stepped in and overturned the ruling, briefly making Michigan the 18th state to legalize it.
Saturday morning, several courthouses opened early and issued several hundred marriage licenses. But the party ended almost as soon as it began. An appeals court in Cincinnati overturned Judge Friedman's ruling, at least temporarily. Now, another court is looking at that appeal to see if it will stay or go.
But one thing's for certain, Schuette will do anything to make Pastor Phelps happy.
He's one of the people who helped to appeal Friedman's decision and during a country club get-together of fellow Republicans in Saginaw, he proclaimed that it's up to the courts to decide if Michigan will keep the ban intact.
You know, the more I think about it, the more I hate the Dutch Reformist morons whose main goal is to make Michigan a red state to benefit them and their fellow Devos family instead of the middle class and other have-nots. I think it's time to allow the LGBT community to marry each other. Hell, it'll be a boon for the state since hell, we need the money! I'm tired of the potholes destroying our roads. If it means to legalize things that are *OH NO! EEEK!* bad, so let it be.
Time to teach the Hollanders a lesson. ---
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!
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Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.
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Name: the media
Age: ageless
Occupation: entertainers and informers of the public
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: ignoring the bigger picture
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For the past week, anybody tuning in to the news keeps hearing the same broken record of the disappearing Malaysian Airliner and the crisis in the Ukraine over and over.
But as much as I feel bad for the people of Malaysia and the Ukraine, the media tripped up one giant news story from last week: the fact that electric cars cannot be sold in New Jersey.
Well, sort of.
Last week, Gov. Chris Christie signed into legislation that banned direct cars sales to consumers and that all cars in the state would have to be sold through dealers. The law effects Tesla, the popular maker of electric automobiles. Because of the law, Tesla is now being forced to shut down their two showrooms in the state. Tesla's chairman, Elon Musk is claiming that the Republican had auto dealers by his side while the governor himself was "bound by law" to sign the ban, blaming the state legislature.
This coming from a man who caused a fuel-burning traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge over the mayor of Fort Lee, NJ's decision not to endorse him for governor.
True, Tesla cars aren't cheap - their Model S starts at $63,000 - but with gas at $3.60 or so here in Grand Rapids, there's gotta be a few wealthy folks out there will to tell the oil companies to suck it. If I had the money, I'd buy one. Those cars look sweet! 0-60 MPH in six seconds? I'm in!
So, why did the media put the lardassed governor's Tesla ban on the back burner? God only knows. Personally, every time I hear "Ukraine", I tune out. Then again, I was the same way towards Bosnia when I was a kid, and guess what? Many Bosnians ended up here. Grand Rapids' Bosnian population's now ~10,000 from what I've heard.
Hopefully there's a lot of hot Ukrainian chicks who'll end up here. And maybe, just maybe, they'll have the money to buy a Tesla.
---
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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!
Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.
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A SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!
Name: Mike Ilitch
Age: 84
Occupation: founder, Little Caesars Pizza, owner, Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers
Last Seen: Florida
Awarded For: being an inspiration for so many
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For over 50 years, Mike Ilitch has been nothing short of an American success story.
In 1959, he and wife Marian started a small pizzeria in a strip mall in Garden City, MI. Mike wanted to simply call his new venture "Pizza Treat", but since his wife loved his good looks brought on by his Macedonian ancestry, she chose the name "Little Casears". The two compromised and combined the names "Little Caesars Pizza Treat". Eventually, the "Pizza Treat" portion of the name was dropped after the little pizza shop they started great to other locations and started franchising.
Over the years, Little Casears grew, especially with their popular "Pizza! Pizza!" promotion of two pizzas for the price of one. Ilitch became very, very wealthy and made sure that a portion of his cash went into good use. Ilitch invested lots of his own money to help rebuild and restructure Detroit, the city he was born in and still loves today. In 1982, he purchased one of the city's storied sports teams, the Detroit Red Wings. When he bought the team from the Norris family, they were playing in the fairly-new Joe Louis Arena, but with a losing record and empty seats, Ilitch decided to give out free cars to the first 100 people through the gate. Over the years, Ilitch instead invested in good players like Steve Yzerman, Brenden Shanahan and Sergei Federov. Instead of attracting people to the arena with cars, Ilitch brought in talent which equated to the Red Wings winning their first Stanley Cup in 41 years in 1996. Since Ilitch purchased the Red Wings, the team has won four Stanleys.
Ilitch also purchased the Detroit Tigers in 1992 from longtime pizza rival Tom Monaghan of Domino's Pizza. Although most of the seasons that Ilitch has owned the team has been rocky, in recent years the team has had a resurgence thanks to skipper Jim Leyland - who retired last year - and hot players like Justin Verlander, Miggy Cabrera and Torii Hunter. The team won two AL pennants in 2006 and 2012.
Alongside rebuilding the Tigers and Red Wings, Ilitch also brought Little Caesars back into prosperity in recent years thanks to their popular "Hot-N-Ready" promotion where already-made pizzas sell for $5 (depending on location; here in Grand Rapids, it's $5.55). Although some critics feel that the promotion cheapens Little Casears to a fast food joint, it has rebuilt the chain's sales.
Ilitch has also been a champion of revitalizing Detroit. He owns several properties downtown, including the Fox Theatre, MotorCity Casino and several other restaurants and businesses.
The reason why I'm making Ilitch the Hero of the Day is because sadly, I don't think he'll be around much longer. I remember when the Tigers won the AL in 2012, people were holding up the frail Ilitch. It's also noted that his last appearance was at Torii Hunter's signing two years ago. He missed out on a lot in the past few years. A few weeks ago, Ilitch's company sent out a PR letter supposedly written by Ilitch stating that he had an operation earlier this year and that he's feeling much better.
Now, there's conflicting reports that Ilitch has colon cancer and has had it for about a year now. Even more, his son, Chris has been running the family empire and even the sports teams. To some people, the younger Ilitch has been nothing like his father and even Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers' president has even "quit" at least once.
True, some in the Detroit internet sports world can say whatever they want - one site, DetroitSportsRag.com tells its readers to help with their legal costs through donation - but judging by Mr. Ilitch's frailness, I scared to say that he'll be joining William Clay Ford soon. It's amazing that in the past decade, two of Detroit's team owners - the other being William Davidson - have passed on. In the case of Davidson and the Pistons, his widow sold it to Tom Gores a few years ago. So far, Gores really hasn't done much to the team. Now, time will tell what the Fords have in store with the Lions, although some speculate not much.
Since the last time we saw Mike Ilitch, the Tigers have been doing good in Spring Training, but the Red Wings are a different story. They're fifth place in the Atlantic Division and many are speculating that the team will not make it to the playoffs this year for the first time in 25 years. But since the Wings are now building a new arena to replace the aging Joe Louis Arena, chances are that once again, the Ilitches are rebuilding interest in Detroit.
It's just that there needs to be more Mike Ilitches out there.
---
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
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Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.
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Name: Fred Phelps
Age: 84
Occupation: head pastor, Westboro Baptist Church
Last Seen: Topeka, KS
Bee-otched For: doing something that he should have done years ago
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If I needed another reason to hate organized religion, it's because of lowlifes like Fred Phelps.
Phelps is the head of Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, KS which is well-known for their protests at military funerals and banners reading "God Hates Fags" and "God Hates America". His children lead the protests and are often criticized for bad parenting and teaching them hate.
Well, I have some good news: he's dying.
According to his estranged son, Nathan, Phelps is now in a hospice care and is now "on the edge of death". Nathan left both his family and the church on his 18th birthday when he got into his car and drove off. He is now an atheist who lives in Canada and supports gay rights. He's also the author of a book entitled Leaving Westboro: Escaping America's Most Hated Church & Family. In the book, Phelps explains the horrific torture and abuse his father put on him which led to him leaving home.
Nate also claims that his father was ex-communicated from the church last year. Three of his siblings have all verified his claims.
Ya know, Nate's brave for abandoning the monster of a father he had. I think it's pathetic that there's not enough preachers out there that preach love and tolerance and yet, there's Phelps, Pat Robertson and others who claim that homosexuality is destroying the world. The truth is, it's always been around and, well, we're still around.
I know it's not nice to spit on the dying, but Mr. Phelps is an exception. The quicker he dies, the better. It's a sad thing that there's still a huge chunk of his family that will ultimately get the torch from him when he passes, but there's others who were brave enough to leave this loser and to use God's word for what it's intended.
Maybe God will present Phelps with 40 virgins... all 10 inches-plus and VERY hard. ---
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
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Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.
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Name: organized religion
Age: thousands
Occupation: people who think they're God
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: still acting stupid
---
In a few short weeks, I'll be packing my bags and heading out west to Phoenix.
As much as I'm against Arizona and their weird-ass politics (and crime), I'm doing it for my mother, who has lived there now for 10 years. One thing she wanted me to do with her - and it's something I haven't done in years - is go to her church.
But it's kinda looking like it won't happen.
A few days ago, Mom wrote to me that because her pastor has been overstepping his power as a human being, she's quitting her church, a Lutheran church in the Phoenix area. I guess it all started when he refused to marry a young couple only because the groom is not baptized. To add insult to injury, he kicked a woman out of his church all because she posted a thing on Facebook that said something like "share if you're horny" or some shit like that. A man who tells somebody how to act in his own religious views to me is beyond stupid.
Personally, if Mom doesn't take me to church when I'm out there, I will not shed a tear. I haven't attended a Sunday service in years and quite frankly, I'm happy about it.
Last Monday, I handed the Bee-otch of the Day honors to new northern Michigan Christian station WLJW - 95.9 Fuel FM because Traverse City needs another religious station like a hole in my head. One of the things that pissed me off was when I visited their Facebook page and there was a mention of them passing out cards with the station's logo and a QR code that directs to their website at a well-known church in the Traverse City area. My Dad and I were regulars at that church when I was a teen. We were introduced to it by a new couple that was on my Father's bus route who were members. Even the father and husband - who was blind - played piano in the church band.
In the beginning, the church was nice and accepting. But as the time went by, things got more serious. My Dad was in the singles ministry and they were preaching to him not to re-marry. He even dated a woman who ended up cheating on him. Our friend, the piano player had problems with his ministry, too; they wanted him to not take his seeing-eye dog up with him to his piano in the band's section. Even I had my problems with my youth ministry; they constantly preached against having sex and told us to stay away from porn, R-rated movies and even MTV (and this was long before Miley Cyrus and Jersey Shore.
The final nail was hit when the church's pastor started begging the parishioners to donate $1.7 million for a church upgrade. Two well known businesses in the area - Nick's Restaurant in Kalkaska and Hometown Hardware in Elk Rapids - were sold to Rite-Aid and Gil-Roy's respectively. Their owners were members of the church and donated something like $700,000 altogether to help with the upgrade. However, Dad got pissed. One Sunday, he sat me down and told me that he's no longer happy there because every Sunday was all about "GIVE ME MONEY! GIVE ME MONEY!" instead of spreading God's word. So, we stopped going. Even the family that introduced us to this church - who were members - wanted out.
The good news is that the pastor who started the beg-a-thon has since retired. But, the damage is done. I even cringe knowing that my old public, non-religious high school uses the church as their graduation facilities. True, I might be comfortable going to a much-smaller church, but all truth be told, this church I just talked about started in a man's living room. Then, it moved to an elementary school gymnasium and finally, their current location.
It's because of this northern Michigan version of a megachurch that fueled my hatred towards organized religion. I think it's sad when people who don't pay taxes take advantage of the poor and people squeaking by to get richer and richer. It's happened to Pat Robertson, the Crouches (see above), the Bakkers, the Swaggerts and others. Sorry, but I'm sick of people commercializing God to make easy bucks.
Personally, my Sunday is spent on the couch, watching sports or other shows on my Google Chromecast. I don't like the idea of dressing up and driving my car to a church where some guy will beg people for more and more money when he's already got enough. Also, where in the Bible does it say that we MUST go to church? Yeah, it says to tithe, but there's other ways to do so.
Maybe I oughta go to the round church so Satan can't corner me. ---
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
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Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.
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A SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!
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Name: unknown
Age: unknown
Occupation: unknown
Last Seen: somewhere in Michigan
Awarded For: making public radio more interesting---
Yesterday was just like any other day at work: long, boring and depressing.
But then, I had received an email on my smartphone from a reader who wanted to nominate a Bee-otch of the Day, this being Michigan Radio. You know, the group of NPR stations from the University of Michigan that have stations in Ann Arbor (91.7), Flint (91.1) and here in Grand Rapids (104.1).
The reason for our friend wanting Michigan Radio to be Bee-otched was simple: they got owned by a hacker.
On Monday, somebody hacked Michigan Radio's RDS system, you know, the digital readout on your radio if you own a GM vehicle? Many radio stations use RDS to give out the name of the program, call letters, format and even the song that's on the air. However, somebody decided to use Michigan Radio's RDS system for some simple comedy gold.
As you can see in the picture above, the text on the RDS readout reads "HANLON FUCKING SUCKS, GOOD RIDDANCE". That image came from @filmswithfriend on Twitter. JonesyDesign on Instagram posted a similar image with the text "Hmmm, it sounds like #FreshAir, but that doesn't look right. I think someone at #MichiganRadio screwed up or maybe an angry intern? #NPR #oops" Even the Twitter page of NPR's popular Fresh Air program had this image on there with the text "To the hacker of the Michigan station, Terry says, "Size doesn't matter." Photo via @Arfski pic.twitter.com/36IrgCRgg9"
(For the record, Terry Gross is the female host of Fresh Air, a popular program on NPR. Some have thought of her as gay for years because of her short hair, but she is straight and married to a well-known jazz critic).
Of course, the anti-Hanlon rants were pointed at Matt Hanlon, the moronic ex-GM of what are now the Cumulus stations here in Grand Rapids (WLAV, Nash 94.5, 105.3 Hot FM, WBBL and WJRW). He was responsible for the downfall of his stations when he ran them in the 2000's. Thankfully, he is no longer in radio, especially after a drunk driving arrest in 2012.
Now, I think Michigan Radio is a decent organization, although I hardly ever listen to NPR at all. While it was their fault that somebody wanted to create comedy gold by fucking with their RDS, shit happens in the world of broadcasting. Naturally, they have apologized for the incident on their website and have assured their listeners that they have enabled new methods to prevent something like this from happening again.
Of course, fans of public broadcasting know that this isn't the first time it's happened. In 1987, a man dressed up like Max Headroom interrupted the signal of Chicago's WTTW-TV 11 for almost two minutes during an airing of Dr. Who. That case remains unsolved 27 years later.
But to the individual who hacked Michigan Radio's RDS, thanks for spreading the truth. :)
---
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
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Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.
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Name: World Wrestling Entertainment
Age: 62
Occupation: wrestling organization
Last Seen: Stamford, CT
Bee-otched For: nailing one more nail into the Attitude era
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Scooby Scooby Dooby D'oh!
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Wrestlemania, the yearly event that's called by many as the Super Bowl of wrestling. To help mark the event's birthday, a man who was there at the first Wrestlemania, Hulk Hogan, will host the event in New Orleans.
And oh yes, it's also getting immortalized in a movie starring Scooby-Doo.
Scooby-Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery is the latest in straight-to-video adventures starring the beloved Great Dane and his sidekicks Velma, Daphne, Fred and his best friend of all, Shaggy. This time, Scooby and Shaggy win tickets to the Wrestlemania event, but a monster is threatening to ruin the event. So, the duo enlist the help of WWE Superstars John Cena, Triple H, Mr. McMahon (in his first voice acting role, I think since Stone Cold Steve Austin royally kicked his ass on Celebrity Deathmatch), Kane, The Miz, Brodus Clay, Santino Marilla, Sin Cara, AJ Lee (the only Diva in the bunch) and yes, good 'ol John Cena.
Save your money, folks, because I know how the plot works. It's the same plot used on ALL Scooby-Doo cartoons: Scooby and the gang meet up with some strange dude, but then, they're haunted by ghosts. They finally capture the ghost, unmask it and it's the strange dude they met in the beginning of the episode. He utters "you meddling kids" and the gang all laugh. Show's over, the end.
I find the fact that the WWE and Warner - who own Scooby-Doo alongside virtually everything created and produced by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera - are working together on this project, especially since the two were at odds with each other once upon a time in the infamous Monday night battle between Warner's WCW Nitro and WWE's Raw. The two different leagues gave wrestling fans choice and better content. But with WCW becoming an afterthought while the WWE became legend with its Attitude era wrestlers like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Of course, WWE bought out WCW and some of the assets of ECW. Vince McMahon had the wrestling world to himself. True, there's TNA and ROH, but the WWE is still king. However, in recent years, the WWE has been abandoning their older fans partly due to the popularity of the PG-rated John Cena while the R-rated Stone Cold and others retired or moved on. A lot of it also was due to Linda McMahon's failed senate runs and some wrestlers dying from steroid abuse.
The fact that the WWE is doing a Scooby-Doo movie only proves that the league is now a fucking kids' show. Back in the Attitude era, they would never do a cartoon for kids. True, Scooby's been associated with the likes of the Harlem Globetrotters, The Three Stooges and Mama Cass, but having him associate himself with the WWE proves that we might ever see AJ in Playboy.
What's next, the WWE and Barney the Dinosaur? I love you, you love me, will you slam a chair on my knee?
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