  DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK! 
Name: Rick Snyder
Age: 54 Occupation: failed CEO Last Seen: Lansing, MI Bee-otched For: keeping the lights on--- Super Bowl XLVII hath come and gone. The Ravens won, Beyonce sang (for real), a man reunited with a Clydesdale, Paul Harvey posthumously talked the praises of the farmer, Stevie Wonder hawked beer and a nerd kissed Leonardo DiCaprio's ex. Oh, and the power went out. For a little over 1/2 an hour Super Sunday, power went out at the Superdome in New Orleans, causing a delay in the 3rd Quarter. Players from both the 49ers and Ravens stretched out on the field while viewers were left either bored or going to the web to create videos of the power outage with footage of the Undertaker entering the WWE ring (and sadly, YouTube was given the smackdown from WWE's legal department and took the videos down). Surge or not, Sunday's game was the 3rd-most watched TV event in history. So, what caused the power outage? Some blamed Beyonce, but she used her own generator for her Halftime show. Some blamed the fact that the Superdome is real old; it was built in 1976. The 49ers play at Candlestick Park - built in 1960 - and during some Monday night games, the lights also went out. Maybe, just maybe the reason for the power outage at the Superdome was caused by the fact that their electricians just don't care. You see, Louisiana is a right-to-work state and the Superdome's electricians are non-union. Problem solved. It wouldn't surprise me if the people who maintain the stadium's power work long hours for low pay and in the end, they flat-out don't care if the lights go out during a game. Take it from me. At my real job, I also work long hours for low pay. Same goes with my co-workers. Everybody hates their job and lack pride doing it. If they screw up, it sucks to be the boss since he can't find somebody else to do the same job for low pay. You see, that's why we need unions. If the Superdome had electricians and crew that took pride in their work, the game would have ended 30 minutes sooner. Instead, we end up with football players stretching in the middle of the field and CBS wondering what to do during that time. If you're Rick Snyder, expect a lot of problems when Michigan goes right-to-work this Spring. No unions will mean less pay, more hours and more at-work injuries. Not to mention, wealthier CEOs. That's the Michigan Rick Snyder wants. I hope 2014 comes sooner or else.... ...It's lights out for Michigan. ----
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, February 6, 2013
2.6.13 Bee-otch of the Day: Rick Snyder
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
2.5.13 Hero of the Day: The Kurtz Family
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A VERY SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!
Names: Luther and Mary Kurtz
Age: ??
Occupation: businesspeople
Last Seen: Charlevoix, MI
Awarded For: keeping the lights on---
Charlevoix, MI was once a hotbed for entertainment.
As many a northern Michigan rock fan can tell you, there was once a big place for concerts during the Summer up north, and it was Castle Farms in Charlevoix. From the early 70's until the 90's, it was a haven for all music fans, although many residents cringed when many rock acts came to town and the sound went for miles and miles.
Many notable acts that played The Castle were Donny Osmond, The Beach Boys, Duran Duran, Metallica, Ted Nugent, Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne and Def Leppard.
In 1994, concerts ended at The Castle when owner Art Reibel leased the land to a local 4-H group, who turned it into a camp. However, in 1996, the group fell behind on their payments and Reibel turned it back into a concert venue. However, that only last one year. After Reibel passed away, the family turned the venue into boat storage - rumor had it that it made more money than it did when it was a concert venue - and in 2001, it was sold to Linda Mueller, who turned it into a venue for arts, festivals and weddings.
Thankfully, this otherwise sleepy resort town of 2,500, and once the home of JonBenet Ramsey has a movie theater. But, even that was thisclose to closing.
For decades, downtown Charlevoix had the Cinema III. Despite its name, it only had one screen. But in 1996, the owner purchased what used to be an auto dealership across the street from Oleson's Food Store Plaza and converted it into a new, three-screen theater that was now true to its name.
But thanks to Michigan's economic downfall and the quick diminish of population amongst resort towns like Charlevoix, the Cinema III fell on hard times in the 2000's. In 2011, the Charlevoix State Bank took over the theater after owner Bill Supernaw defaulted on his mortgage. But, the bank miraculously kept it running in spite of them not wanting to be in the theater business. They felt that shutting it down would be more of a burden on the city than anything else.
But in the beginning of 2013, a new - and exciting - chapter of the Cinema III began when a young couple, Luther and Mary Kurtz bought the theater from the bank. Mr. Kurtz owns a successful skydiving business and grew up in the area, so he obviously enjoys risk-taking. The Kurtzes immediately made upgrades to the theater, including installing new seats, adding on to the concession stand and most-importantly of all, installing new digital projectors.
Digital projection is now key to any theater's survival. At the end of the year, Hollywood's major studios will no longer ship traditional 35mm prints of movies to theaters, citing cost, plus the fact that most movies are no longer shot on film, but rather digitally. As a result, many small town theaters that don't have digital projection are waiting longer for prints to be sent to them because now so few prints are being made of current movies.
Sadly, many smaller independent theaters cannot afford digital projectors, since one costs at least $70,000 to buy and install. Some theaters are asking for donations and others are trying to go non-profit so they could raise funds to keep them running.
In northern Michigan, most movie theaters are small and independent. Some owners are skeptical on if they will still be in business after the new year. Some are exploring getting the equipment and others think that Hollywood will still realize that 40% of all theaters are still using 35mm and will try to ride the storm out. If it means waiting longer for prints of hit movies, so let it be. Heck, I'll betcha that there's still some small cinemas that use two projectors to show movies instead of using the platter system!
We've got a little bit less than 11 months to see if Hollywood sticks to their promises and if smaller cinemas will stay open. But in the meantime, the Kurtzes need to be commended for taking a huge risk to keep the movies alive in this great Michigan town. Yes, there's a bigger cinema up in Petoskey that has five more screens plus stadium seating, but the locals deserve their own piece of Hollywood.
And the Kurtzes thought ahead of schedule.
----
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Age: ??
Occupation: businesspeople
Last Seen: Charlevoix, MI
Awarded For: keeping the lights on---
Charlevoix, MI was once a hotbed for entertainment.
As many a northern Michigan rock fan can tell you, there was once a big place for concerts during the Summer up north, and it was Castle Farms in Charlevoix. From the early 70's until the 90's, it was a haven for all music fans, although many residents cringed when many rock acts came to town and the sound went for miles and miles.
Many notable acts that played The Castle were Donny Osmond, The Beach Boys, Duran Duran, Metallica, Ted Nugent, Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne and Def Leppard.
In 1994, concerts ended at The Castle when owner Art Reibel leased the land to a local 4-H group, who turned it into a camp. However, in 1996, the group fell behind on their payments and Reibel turned it back into a concert venue. However, that only last one year. After Reibel passed away, the family turned the venue into boat storage - rumor had it that it made more money than it did when it was a concert venue - and in 2001, it was sold to Linda Mueller, who turned it into a venue for arts, festivals and weddings.
Thankfully, this otherwise sleepy resort town of 2,500, and once the home of JonBenet Ramsey has a movie theater. But, even that was thisclose to closing.
For decades, downtown Charlevoix had the Cinema III. Despite its name, it only had one screen. But in 1996, the owner purchased what used to be an auto dealership across the street from Oleson's Food Store Plaza and converted it into a new, three-screen theater that was now true to its name.
But thanks to Michigan's economic downfall and the quick diminish of population amongst resort towns like Charlevoix, the Cinema III fell on hard times in the 2000's. In 2011, the Charlevoix State Bank took over the theater after owner Bill Supernaw defaulted on his mortgage. But, the bank miraculously kept it running in spite of them not wanting to be in the theater business. They felt that shutting it down would be more of a burden on the city than anything else.
But in the beginning of 2013, a new - and exciting - chapter of the Cinema III began when a young couple, Luther and Mary Kurtz bought the theater from the bank. Mr. Kurtz owns a successful skydiving business and grew up in the area, so he obviously enjoys risk-taking. The Kurtzes immediately made upgrades to the theater, including installing new seats, adding on to the concession stand and most-importantly of all, installing new digital projectors.
Digital projection is now key to any theater's survival. At the end of the year, Hollywood's major studios will no longer ship traditional 35mm prints of movies to theaters, citing cost, plus the fact that most movies are no longer shot on film, but rather digitally. As a result, many small town theaters that don't have digital projection are waiting longer for prints to be sent to them because now so few prints are being made of current movies.
Sadly, many smaller independent theaters cannot afford digital projectors, since one costs at least $70,000 to buy and install. Some theaters are asking for donations and others are trying to go non-profit so they could raise funds to keep them running.
In northern Michigan, most movie theaters are small and independent. Some owners are skeptical on if they will still be in business after the new year. Some are exploring getting the equipment and others think that Hollywood will still realize that 40% of all theaters are still using 35mm and will try to ride the storm out. If it means waiting longer for prints of hit movies, so let it be. Heck, I'll betcha that there's still some small cinemas that use two projectors to show movies instead of using the platter system!
We've got a little bit less than 11 months to see if Hollywood sticks to their promises and if smaller cinemas will stay open. But in the meantime, the Kurtzes need to be commended for taking a huge risk to keep the movies alive in this great Michigan town. Yes, there's a bigger cinema up in Petoskey that has five more screens plus stadium seating, but the locals deserve their own piece of Hollywood.
And the Kurtzes thought ahead of schedule.
----
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, February 4, 2013
2.4.13 Bee-otch of the Day: WKLT
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Name: WKLT
Age: 34
Occupation: crappy rock station
Last Seen: Traverse City, MI
Bee-otched For: ripping off the competition... and Stern---
For you long-time readers of Chuck69.com, as you know, I've always had a hateful relationship with WKLT.
The reason's quite simple: they act like they don't give two shits about people my age music-wise, even in the 1990's. They pretend that there were no rock fans born after 1970, but yet, their ratings are, well, good. Always have been. Yeah, there's Real Rock 105/95-5, but even they play way too much 1978-era butt rock for my liking. Thankfully, I have Sirius, and that's all that matters.
Last week at around four in the afternoon, I decided to take a look at Real Rock's playlist for shits and grins, and the only way to do that is to listen to the station through their website. While doing so, I was listening to their afternoon man, Smitty talk to somebody else about how WKLT is now ripping them off by having a two-man afternoon show. Previously, Smitty had a partner, Nate (and don't ask me how he was let go/fired/whatever). KLT has now paired their afternoon man, "Motley Man" with one of morning man Omelette's sidekicks, "Mr. Windy" to create "The Afternoon Trainwreck", which is a take on Real Rock's afternoon show, "The Afternoon Hangover" (and I prefer the name 'Hangover' over "Trainwreck', BTW).
But that's not all. I went to KLT's website and checked out Omelette's page, and guess what? There's a link to a podcast called... (drumroll please) THE INTERN SHOW! Hmmm... Where did I hear that name before? Oh yes, IT'S ALSO THE NAME OF A SHOW ON ONE OF HOWARD STERN'S CHANNELS AT SIRIUS!
I also love the fact that Omelette also does a great job ripping Stern off by having his own Wack Pack called "The Misfits". It was one year ago that they made headlines when they bombarded the Super Bowl in Indianapolis during Madonna's halftime show, and one of the Wack Pack-er, Misfits was her own brother, Tony, who was living under a bridge in Traverse City.
Folks, it's stations like KLT that make me happy that I have Sirius. It's worth the $15/mo. to not have to listen to shit stations like KLT when I'm up north. I always wonder why KLT has good ratings, but then again, the north is loaded with white trash and old people, perfect for the format KLT has.
I'd love to see a station like WGRD here in Grand Rapids come up north to northern Michigan. Yeah, there's Real Rock, but they're doing it all wrong. They play way too much butt rock from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Styx and Boston and their midday jock, Cartman, is an annoying asshole who belongs on a top 40 station. Plus, the fact that a lot of their content isn't local doesn't help, either.
But for now, that's the business of radio. I feel sorry for anybody who likes Omelette and "Friends". He's proved to everybody that he's just another Howard Stern clone and God only knows when or if he'll expand his show to another market. If so, KLT will probably put another turd in morning drive and their ratings will still be OK.
KLT: it's to radio as what McDonald's is to food. Everybody else in town makes a better burger, but people will eat Mickey D's no matter what.
----
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Age: 34
Occupation: crappy rock station
Last Seen: Traverse City, MI
Bee-otched For: ripping off the competition... and Stern---
For you long-time readers of Chuck69.com, as you know, I've always had a hateful relationship with WKLT.
The reason's quite simple: they act like they don't give two shits about people my age music-wise, even in the 1990's. They pretend that there were no rock fans born after 1970, but yet, their ratings are, well, good. Always have been. Yeah, there's Real Rock 105/95-5, but even they play way too much 1978-era butt rock for my liking. Thankfully, I have Sirius, and that's all that matters.
Last week at around four in the afternoon, I decided to take a look at Real Rock's playlist for shits and grins, and the only way to do that is to listen to the station through their website. While doing so, I was listening to their afternoon man, Smitty talk to somebody else about how WKLT is now ripping them off by having a two-man afternoon show. Previously, Smitty had a partner, Nate (and don't ask me how he was let go/fired/whatever). KLT has now paired their afternoon man, "Motley Man" with one of morning man Omelette's sidekicks, "Mr. Windy" to create "The Afternoon Trainwreck", which is a take on Real Rock's afternoon show, "The Afternoon Hangover" (and I prefer the name 'Hangover' over "Trainwreck', BTW).
But that's not all. I went to KLT's website and checked out Omelette's page, and guess what? There's a link to a podcast called... (drumroll please) THE INTERN SHOW! Hmmm... Where did I hear that name before? Oh yes, IT'S ALSO THE NAME OF A SHOW ON ONE OF HOWARD STERN'S CHANNELS AT SIRIUS!
I also love the fact that Omelette also does a great job ripping Stern off by having his own Wack Pack called "The Misfits". It was one year ago that they made headlines when they bombarded the Super Bowl in Indianapolis during Madonna's halftime show, and one of the Wack Pack-er, Misfits was her own brother, Tony, who was living under a bridge in Traverse City.
Folks, it's stations like KLT that make me happy that I have Sirius. It's worth the $15/mo. to not have to listen to shit stations like KLT when I'm up north. I always wonder why KLT has good ratings, but then again, the north is loaded with white trash and old people, perfect for the format KLT has.
I'd love to see a station like WGRD here in Grand Rapids come up north to northern Michigan. Yeah, there's Real Rock, but they're doing it all wrong. They play way too much butt rock from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Styx and Boston and their midday jock, Cartman, is an annoying asshole who belongs on a top 40 station. Plus, the fact that a lot of their content isn't local doesn't help, either.
But for now, that's the business of radio. I feel sorry for anybody who likes Omelette and "Friends". He's proved to everybody that he's just another Howard Stern clone and God only knows when or if he'll expand his show to another market. If so, KLT will probably put another turd in morning drive and their ratings will still be OK.
KLT: it's to radio as what McDonald's is to food. Everybody else in town makes a better burger, but people will eat Mickey D's no matter what.
----
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, January 31, 2013
1.31.13 Bee-otch of the Day: Todd Schnitt
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Name: Todd Schnitt
Age: 47
Occupation: talk radio schmuck
Last Seen: Tampa, FL
Bee-otched For: proving himself wrong---
Fans of Bubba the Love Sponge are sighing a breath of relief today.
The popular Tampa radio personality and pal of Howard Stern's was found not guilty by a jury yesterday. He was being sued by rival Tampa jock Todd Schnitt - who hosts a syndicated right-wing talk show and is also the morning man at WFLZ as "MJ" - for defamation. Schnitt claimed that Bubba made remarks about him and his wife that were out of context and hurtful. The case itself went through a weird loop of its own when Schnitt's own lawyer was recently arrested for drunk driving. He claimed that it was Bubba's camp that sent him the beverages. Gee, can't resist temptation?
In the closing argument, Schnitt's lawyer claimed that Bubba made his statements "over sheer hatred" while Bubba's attorney claimed that his show is all about entertainment and not real fact. The jury decided that there was no malice involved on Bubba's part, even though Schnitt's wife is not a public figure.
This isn't the first time Schnitt dragged a rival jock to court; in 1988, while working at Virginia Beach's Z104, he sued Roy Jaynes of WGH for calling him a "homosexual jew boy" on his show. He filed a $3 million lawsuit against Jaynes, even though he claimed that he never said that on his show. Jaynes, now a radio station owner in Georgia, told Tampa CBS station WTSP that Schnitt came from a rich family, and every time somebody says something about him, Daddy's there to pull him out of his jams. The jury did rule in favor of Schnitt, although he only won $310,000.
Ya know, I hate rich assholes who go after people smaller than they are and piss and moan that they've defamed them. Todd Schnitt thinks he's hot shit because he has two identities - one top 40 and another right-winged hate talk - but the truth is, he wasted Bubba's time and everyone else's time. I am happy to say, though, that his syndicated talk show is bombing. He once had three stations here in Michigan, and now he's down to one. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Point is, no matter what name he is, Todd Schnitt was made Bubba's bitch. He needs to realize that people will smack him down for the rest of his life, and Daddy won't always help him. He needs to just focus on his failing shows and everybody wins in the end.
Bubba should have just sit on Todd, and everything would have been over by now.
----
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Age: 47
Occupation: talk radio schmuck
Last Seen: Tampa, FL
Bee-otched For: proving himself wrong---
Fans of Bubba the Love Sponge are sighing a breath of relief today.
The popular Tampa radio personality and pal of Howard Stern's was found not guilty by a jury yesterday. He was being sued by rival Tampa jock Todd Schnitt - who hosts a syndicated right-wing talk show and is also the morning man at WFLZ as "MJ" - for defamation. Schnitt claimed that Bubba made remarks about him and his wife that were out of context and hurtful. The case itself went through a weird loop of its own when Schnitt's own lawyer was recently arrested for drunk driving. He claimed that it was Bubba's camp that sent him the beverages. Gee, can't resist temptation?
In the closing argument, Schnitt's lawyer claimed that Bubba made his statements "over sheer hatred" while Bubba's attorney claimed that his show is all about entertainment and not real fact. The jury decided that there was no malice involved on Bubba's part, even though Schnitt's wife is not a public figure.
This isn't the first time Schnitt dragged a rival jock to court; in 1988, while working at Virginia Beach's Z104, he sued Roy Jaynes of WGH for calling him a "homosexual jew boy" on his show. He filed a $3 million lawsuit against Jaynes, even though he claimed that he never said that on his show. Jaynes, now a radio station owner in Georgia, told Tampa CBS station WTSP that Schnitt came from a rich family, and every time somebody says something about him, Daddy's there to pull him out of his jams. The jury did rule in favor of Schnitt, although he only won $310,000.
Ya know, I hate rich assholes who go after people smaller than they are and piss and moan that they've defamed them. Todd Schnitt thinks he's hot shit because he has two identities - one top 40 and another right-winged hate talk - but the truth is, he wasted Bubba's time and everyone else's time. I am happy to say, though, that his syndicated talk show is bombing. He once had three stations here in Michigan, and now he's down to one. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Point is, no matter what name he is, Todd Schnitt was made Bubba's bitch. He needs to realize that people will smack him down for the rest of his life, and Daddy won't always help him. He needs to just focus on his failing shows and everybody wins in the end.
Bubba should have just sit on Todd, and everything would have been over by now.
----
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, January 30, 2013
1.30.13 Bee-otch of the Day: northern Michigan rock stations
DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK!
Name: various
Age: various
Occupation: rock stations
Last Seen: northern Michigan
Bee-otched For: still sucking
---
As some of you know, Chuck69.com was created to protest the suckiness of northern Michigan's radio stations.
When I started this site in 1999, I was stuck with three rock stations: 97.5/98.9 WKLT, which played classic rock and a weak selection of new rock; 98.1/105.1 The Bear, which is classic rock; and 95.5 The Zone, which was modern rock, albeit of the Lillith Fair type.
Since that grateful day when this site was founded as an el cheapo WebTV page, KLT has transitioned to about 99% classics, The Bear is still classic rock but has seen better days ratings-wise, and The Zone finally started kicking ass in late 2000, but management problems caused the station to transition to a satellite-fed format in the late 2000's and then a flip to a more mainstream format as Real Rock 105/95-5.
Oh, and two more rock stations signed on: 99.3 The Wolf, which is another mainstream rock format that covers Traverse City's west side and just this past month in a very shocking move, long-time Grayling country stalwart WGRY 100.3 "Y100" flipped to a rock format as WQON "Q100.3". Longtime station owner Bill Gannon suffered a stroke in 2011 and decided to sell his stations to a Detroit couple, Sherri and Jerry Coyne. Sherri worked at CBS Radio in Detroit while Jerry played in several Detroit bands. The flip to rock does leave the hick-heavy Grayling area without a strong country signal, but with WKLT in the rock ratings lead and Q100.3 having an option to expand to 100,000 watts, question is, will it be a player in the market?
My answer: I haven't listened to the station yet (I moved to Grand Rapids in 2002 and they don't have a webstream yet), but judging by what I've read, not really.
Some of the artists Q100.3 plays include .38 Special, Van Halen, ZZ Top, Phil Collins, Duran Duran and Coldplay. Yes, it's a trainwreck so far.
It's official: northern Michigan has five. five, FIVE rock stations, AND THEY ALL SUCK DICK!
What I'm really mad it is the fact that Real Rock 105/95-5 has started to sell out on their listeners. In recent weeks, they've added a BUTTLOAD of crappy 1970's butt rock from Styx, Boston and Lynyrd Skynyrd to their playlist. Even worse, they've cut back on the new rock (I only saw two currents in a two-hour period: "Heaven Nor Hell" by Volbeat and Soundgarden's "Been Away Too Long") and they even shitcanned their Sunday night metal show, The Asylum.
So, why in the FUCKING HELL does every FUCKING rock station up north think that they have a license to suck? I think there's a good reason why: KLT's the top-rated rocker, and they air every shitty 70's band known to man. I know, I know; northern Michigan's loaded with the two types of people that like butt rock: old people and white trash. I shake my head knowing that these stations are also competing against Sirius/XM, Pandora, Slacker and every other service known to man, but they still don't get it.
And speaking of Sirius/XM, DAMN IS OZZY'S BONEYARD A GREAT STATION! I find it laughable that a station that calls themselves "Real Rock" now plays the snot out of a band whose lead singer's only decent talent was dragging two Char Broils into his house, yet I've yet to hear them on Ozzy's Boneyard. Just a lot of Ozzy (of course), Led Zeppelin, Rush, Pantera and Iron Maiden mixed in with kickass old school metal. When Sirius has a better classic rock station even than what they have on terrestrial radio up north, it's a total embarrassment.
Look at WGRD here in Grand Rapids. Kickass morning show and a kickass playlist. Look at their ratings: they're the top rocker in town! They're always on top with new music, and their personalities are great (Jackie's a little hottie :)-). KLT has decent personalities but a shitty playlist. Real Rock HAD a decent playlist but Cartman's a fat prick. The Bear, well, Bob and Tom should retire soon. As for 99.3 The Wolf, well, let's say that the last I heard the station, it wasn't real bad, but since it's nothing more than a jukebox that hasn't streamed online in over a year, it's hard to comment. Same goes with Q100.3.
Look, northern Michigan station owners/managers/etc., NOT EVERY ROCK FAN IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN LIKES LYNYRD SKYNYRD. Look at Sirius/Pandora/Slacker and so on: lots of variety in the rock arena. I know, there's not many 20- and 30-somethings up north, but many of them are tuning you out because digital media does a better job of variety and even introducing them to new music and artists. I checked Real Rock's ratings; a 3.8 isn't real impressive, but The Bear's 2.3 is pitiful.
Point is, northern Michigan can support a radio station that's heavy on new rock and even tosses in a classic or two. I don't mind Aerosmith, Van Halen, Ozzy, Judas Priest or even Pink Floyd. But throwing in a shitload of white trash crap and it's Sirius for me.
Congrats, northern Michigan rock radio. You sure know how to alienate people whose homes weren't manufactured.
----
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Age: various
Occupation: rock stations
Last Seen: northern Michigan
Bee-otched For: still sucking
---
As some of you know, Chuck69.com was created to protest the suckiness of northern Michigan's radio stations.
When I started this site in 1999, I was stuck with three rock stations: 97.5/98.9 WKLT, which played classic rock and a weak selection of new rock; 98.1/105.1 The Bear, which is classic rock; and 95.5 The Zone, which was modern rock, albeit of the Lillith Fair type.
Since that grateful day when this site was founded as an el cheapo WebTV page, KLT has transitioned to about 99% classics, The Bear is still classic rock but has seen better days ratings-wise, and The Zone finally started kicking ass in late 2000, but management problems caused the station to transition to a satellite-fed format in the late 2000's and then a flip to a more mainstream format as Real Rock 105/95-5.
Oh, and two more rock stations signed on: 99.3 The Wolf, which is another mainstream rock format that covers Traverse City's west side and just this past month in a very shocking move, long-time Grayling country stalwart WGRY 100.3 "Y100" flipped to a rock format as WQON "Q100.3". Longtime station owner Bill Gannon suffered a stroke in 2011 and decided to sell his stations to a Detroit couple, Sherri and Jerry Coyne. Sherri worked at CBS Radio in Detroit while Jerry played in several Detroit bands. The flip to rock does leave the hick-heavy Grayling area without a strong country signal, but with WKLT in the rock ratings lead and Q100.3 having an option to expand to 100,000 watts, question is, will it be a player in the market?
My answer: I haven't listened to the station yet (I moved to Grand Rapids in 2002 and they don't have a webstream yet), but judging by what I've read, not really.
Some of the artists Q100.3 plays include .38 Special, Van Halen, ZZ Top, Phil Collins, Duran Duran and Coldplay. Yes, it's a trainwreck so far.
It's official: northern Michigan has five. five, FIVE rock stations, AND THEY ALL SUCK DICK!
What I'm really mad it is the fact that Real Rock 105/95-5 has started to sell out on their listeners. In recent weeks, they've added a BUTTLOAD of crappy 1970's butt rock from Styx, Boston and Lynyrd Skynyrd to their playlist. Even worse, they've cut back on the new rock (I only saw two currents in a two-hour period: "Heaven Nor Hell" by Volbeat and Soundgarden's "Been Away Too Long") and they even shitcanned their Sunday night metal show, The Asylum.
So, why in the FUCKING HELL does every FUCKING rock station up north think that they have a license to suck? I think there's a good reason why: KLT's the top-rated rocker, and they air every shitty 70's band known to man. I know, I know; northern Michigan's loaded with the two types of people that like butt rock: old people and white trash. I shake my head knowing that these stations are also competing against Sirius/XM, Pandora, Slacker and every other service known to man, but they still don't get it.
And speaking of Sirius/XM, DAMN IS OZZY'S BONEYARD A GREAT STATION! I find it laughable that a station that calls themselves "Real Rock" now plays the snot out of a band whose lead singer's only decent talent was dragging two Char Broils into his house, yet I've yet to hear them on Ozzy's Boneyard. Just a lot of Ozzy (of course), Led Zeppelin, Rush, Pantera and Iron Maiden mixed in with kickass old school metal. When Sirius has a better classic rock station even than what they have on terrestrial radio up north, it's a total embarrassment.
Look at WGRD here in Grand Rapids. Kickass morning show and a kickass playlist. Look at their ratings: they're the top rocker in town! They're always on top with new music, and their personalities are great (Jackie's a little hottie :)-). KLT has decent personalities but a shitty playlist. Real Rock HAD a decent playlist but Cartman's a fat prick. The Bear, well, Bob and Tom should retire soon. As for 99.3 The Wolf, well, let's say that the last I heard the station, it wasn't real bad, but since it's nothing more than a jukebox that hasn't streamed online in over a year, it's hard to comment. Same goes with Q100.3.
Look, northern Michigan station owners/managers/etc., NOT EVERY ROCK FAN IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN LIKES LYNYRD SKYNYRD. Look at Sirius/Pandora/Slacker and so on: lots of variety in the rock arena. I know, there's not many 20- and 30-somethings up north, but many of them are tuning you out because digital media does a better job of variety and even introducing them to new music and artists. I checked Real Rock's ratings; a 3.8 isn't real impressive, but The Bear's 2.3 is pitiful.
Point is, northern Michigan can support a radio station that's heavy on new rock and even tosses in a classic or two. I don't mind Aerosmith, Van Halen, Ozzy, Judas Priest or even Pink Floyd. But throwing in a shitload of white trash crap and it's Sirius for me.
Congrats, northern Michigan rock radio. You sure know how to alienate people whose homes weren't manufactured.
----
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, January 29, 2013
1.29.13 Bee-otch of the Day: Sarah Palin
DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK!
Name: Sarah Palin
Age: 48
Occupation: none
Last Seen: Alaska
Bee-otched For: being a has-been, even to the conservatives
---
As the old saying goes, "parting ways is such sweet sorrow".
Unless if you're Sarah Palin.
The ex-Alaskan governor and vice presidential nominee has left Fox News Channel, where she had been a paid contributor since 2010. Reportedly, she was paid $1 million per year. A Fox News exec commented that the split was amicable, and that she wanted to continue with her commenting. However, she had other interests in mind.
Well, boo-fucking-hoo.
Personally, Palin leaving Fox won't make me shed a single tear. She screwed up as a governor and as a mother. I'd imagine that Fox's ratings aren't great, either, especially since We the People elected a Democrat as president two times in a row. Not to mention that even Fox News president Roger Ailes reportedly called Palin "stupid" in private conversation.
Oh, and Fox recently hired Dennis Kucinich to be a contributor. Nice try.
Point is, Sarah Palin is not important. She's a dumbass from Alaska who cares more about killing a moose than running America. All she's good for is comic fodder and that's it.
Don't let the door hit'cha on the ass...
----
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Age: 48
Occupation: none
Last Seen: Alaska
Bee-otched For: being a has-been, even to the conservatives
---
As the old saying goes, "parting ways is such sweet sorrow".
Unless if you're Sarah Palin.
The ex-Alaskan governor and vice presidential nominee has left Fox News Channel, where she had been a paid contributor since 2010. Reportedly, she was paid $1 million per year. A Fox News exec commented that the split was amicable, and that she wanted to continue with her commenting. However, she had other interests in mind.
Well, boo-fucking-hoo.
Personally, Palin leaving Fox won't make me shed a single tear. She screwed up as a governor and as a mother. I'd imagine that Fox's ratings aren't great, either, especially since We the People elected a Democrat as president two times in a row. Not to mention that even Fox News president Roger Ailes reportedly called Palin "stupid" in private conversation.
Oh, and Fox recently hired Dennis Kucinich to be a contributor. Nice try.
Point is, Sarah Palin is not important. She's a dumbass from Alaska who cares more about killing a moose than running America. All she's good for is comic fodder and that's it.
Don't let the door hit'cha on the ass...
----
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, January 28, 2013
1.28.13 Bee-otch of the Day: 106 KHQ and Artimis
DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK!
Name: Arthur "Artimis" Smith
Age: 2x
Occupation: none
Last Seen: somewhere in northern Michigan
Bee-otched For: being a dick
Name: WKHQ
Age: 33
Occupation: Top 40 radio station
Last Seen: Petoskey, MI
Bee-otched For: being hypocritical
---
In the world of radio, the elephants walk by while the owners and managers worry about the peanuts.
Last week, the management of popular Top 40 radio station 106 KHQ formally announced that nighttime jock "Artimis" had been fired. Operations manager Bill Michaels - also the afternoon jock on sister station Lite 96.3 - made a statement on the station's Facebook page that he had been let go over a post he made on his Facebook wall. He claimed that Artimis had crossed the line of station standards, but felt that he was a super talented guy and wished him the best of luck.
So, what was Artimis' offending post? A picture he made with the caption stating that he made a dinosaur in the snow in KHQ's parking lot. Thing was, it looked, well, phallic.
Many of KHQ's fans took to Facebook and either congratulated the station for firing him, or lambasted them for letting him go. One of my Facebook followers from up north hated him, and felt that he was too douchebaggy for the station's image.
Of course, this is 106 KHQ we're talking about. Over twenty years ago, while I was a young kid up north I would listen to their Sunday syndicated shows with Casey Kasem and Shadoe Stevens, they would edit out certain songs from the shows if they were inappropriate for the station. Two examples were Kyper's "Tic-Tac-Toe" and Digital Underground's "The Humpty Dance". KHQ has always worked hard to maintain and preserve a PG-rated image, even in an age where pop music is almost anything but.
While I felt that Artimis is a douche, was firing him the best answer? After all, he's not the first radio jock who's made an inappropriate social media posting and he's not going to be the last, I'm afraid. My point is, KHQ did something hypocritical here. Artimis is standing in unemployment line while the station still plays the snot out of Justin Bieber (showed his ass on Twitter last week), Rihanna (also exposed her ass on Twitter) and Chris Brown (beat the crap out of Rihanna). When a $25,000 per year jock draws a penis in the snow at his station's parking lot, he's canned, but when a millionaire artist shows the world their unmentionables, no biggie.
I've heard that this wasn't Artimis' first offense, either, but bear in mind that KHQ's owner, Trish MacDonald-Garber is somewhat on the right side of the aisle from what I've heard. It might have been reason #1 for his dismissal. IMO, if I owned a radio station and one of my jocks did something like that, I would have talked to him about appropriateness and would even warn him that even if you remove that post, it's still out there. Just because something's lost doesn't mean that it's lost forever. Hell, there's probably old Bee-otch of the Day articles that I wrote over a decade ago that are still out there!
But Artimis is still young, and he'll be back on his feet. KHQ will formally find a replacement and their ratings will stay high for them. Problem solved. Artimis learned his lesson, and he'll be careful next time.
Two Bee-otches with one stone...
----
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Age: 2x
Occupation: none
Last Seen: somewhere in northern Michigan
Bee-otched For: being a dick
Name: WKHQ
Age: 33
Occupation: Top 40 radio station
Last Seen: Petoskey, MI
Bee-otched For: being hypocritical
---
In the world of radio, the elephants walk by while the owners and managers worry about the peanuts.
Last week, the management of popular Top 40 radio station 106 KHQ formally announced that nighttime jock "Artimis" had been fired. Operations manager Bill Michaels - also the afternoon jock on sister station Lite 96.3 - made a statement on the station's Facebook page that he had been let go over a post he made on his Facebook wall. He claimed that Artimis had crossed the line of station standards, but felt that he was a super talented guy and wished him the best of luck.
So, what was Artimis' offending post? A picture he made with the caption stating that he made a dinosaur in the snow in KHQ's parking lot. Thing was, it looked, well, phallic.
Many of KHQ's fans took to Facebook and either congratulated the station for firing him, or lambasted them for letting him go. One of my Facebook followers from up north hated him, and felt that he was too douchebaggy for the station's image.
Of course, this is 106 KHQ we're talking about. Over twenty years ago, while I was a young kid up north I would listen to their Sunday syndicated shows with Casey Kasem and Shadoe Stevens, they would edit out certain songs from the shows if they were inappropriate for the station. Two examples were Kyper's "Tic-Tac-Toe" and Digital Underground's "The Humpty Dance". KHQ has always worked hard to maintain and preserve a PG-rated image, even in an age where pop music is almost anything but.
While I felt that Artimis is a douche, was firing him the best answer? After all, he's not the first radio jock who's made an inappropriate social media posting and he's not going to be the last, I'm afraid. My point is, KHQ did something hypocritical here. Artimis is standing in unemployment line while the station still plays the snot out of Justin Bieber (showed his ass on Twitter last week), Rihanna (also exposed her ass on Twitter) and Chris Brown (beat the crap out of Rihanna). When a $25,000 per year jock draws a penis in the snow at his station's parking lot, he's canned, but when a millionaire artist shows the world their unmentionables, no biggie.
I've heard that this wasn't Artimis' first offense, either, but bear in mind that KHQ's owner, Trish MacDonald-Garber is somewhat on the right side of the aisle from what I've heard. It might have been reason #1 for his dismissal. IMO, if I owned a radio station and one of my jocks did something like that, I would have talked to him about appropriateness and would even warn him that even if you remove that post, it's still out there. Just because something's lost doesn't mean that it's lost forever. Hell, there's probably old Bee-otch of the Day articles that I wrote over a decade ago that are still out there!
But Artimis is still young, and he'll be back on his feet. KHQ will formally find a replacement and their ratings will stay high for them. Problem solved. Artimis learned his lesson, and he'll be careful next time.
Two Bee-otches with one stone...
----
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!
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