Look Who's Going On The View

Not much into writing on the blog today but after hitting some of my family's sites, I see that my cousins Linda Wood and Karen Donino are going to be on The View. Since Deb tapes that show along with Regis And Kelly, no doubt we will get to see it. Congratulations Linda and Karen!

Lloyd Thaxton?

When I was very little, there was a syndicated show called the Lloyd Thaxton show. It was similar to American Bandstand with teens dancing and the whole nine. I don't know how I remember, because it was over 40 years ago, but it apears that Lloyd is alive and well. His site is quite interesting.

OUCH! Saun Alexander To Sit Out Awhile

The Seattle Seahawks will have to face the "Monsters Of The Midway" on the road next week without Saun Alexander. Coach Mike Holmgren announced yesterday that Alexander, who was last year's league leading rusher and MVP will be out indefinitely due to a bone chip in his left foot. That means the 'Hawks will play the suddenly resurgent Chicago Bears without two of their most valuable components, Saun Alexander and the "12th Man"

Seahawks Scream Past New York Giants

No that's not me, it's hard enough to get me to dress up for Halloween. The 12th Man real or not (wink) went crazy today as the Seahawks trounced the New York Giant 42-30. Matt Hasselbeck threw for 225 yards and 5 touchdowns. Things got a little tighter in the 4th quarter when the Giants finally realized that they where playing a football game. By the way, Matt Hasselbeck's brother, Tim is back-up quarterback for the Giants. The Giant's first string quarterback, Eli Manning is the brother of Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. Both the Manning brothers and the Hasselbeck brothers have Dads that played in the NFL.
Manning's Statistics where pretty impressive, 275 yard for 3 touchdowns. Both Matt Hasselbeck and Eli Manning where intercepted 3 times.

Happy New Year!

La Shana Tovah! 

The 12th Mike?

Seahawk owner Paul Allen is known for his technology skills, but would he pipe in crowd noise the way TV comedies have laugh tracks? Why would he have to? The Seattle Times reports that an unnamed NFL team has accused The 'Hawks of using canned crowd noise. Speculation that the team was the New York Giants seems to be validated in this column by New York Daily News beat writer Ralph Vacchiano who wrote the following in his column
The Seahawks, of course, wouldn’t be the first or only sports team to try a trick as pathetic and weak as pumping in artificial crowd noise or even amplifying their own crowd with microphones and speakers (as anyone who has ever been to a Devils or Nets game at the Meadowlands arena can attest). A quick survey of the Giants’ locker room turned up similar complaints about Buffalo, Green Bay and Minnesota. And sitting in the high press box in St. Louis, it’s pretty clear that crowd noise isn’t all real.
What makes the Seattle situation more comical (at least to me) is the way the team celebrates their fans and the noise they create - and the way the fans revel in their own “greatness.” They’ve taken the “12th man” thing to a whole new and ridiculous level. During the season last year, a big flag with the No. 12 on it flew on top of the Space Needle in Seattle. Despite terrific and very marketable players like Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander on the team, the No. 12 Seahawks jersey was one of the team’s hottest sellers. Some of them actually sell with the word “FAN” or “12TH MAN” where a player’s name would normally be.
Hell, they even retired the No. 12 in honor of their fans back in 1984!
Honestly, I expect the biggest cheer coming out of Qwest Field on Sunday afternoon will be something like, “Yea, us!”
And if that cheer sounds a little robotic … well, now you know why.
The Seahawks play the Giants this Sunday.

A Review: Studio 60

It has been years since I have gotten into a drama series, but I think Studio 60 which premiered Monday may be have the right stuff. Written and produced by Aaron Sorkin who also wrote the West Wing, the series is based on an inside look at a Saturday Night Live type comedy show. Mathew Perry plays a returning producer, a quirky guy who irks the network brass. It is a pretty meaty role that Perry plays well. Watching Perry play Chandler on Friends, I was never sold on his acting talent. Amanda Peete is also great playing Jordan, the network's new president.

Seahawks Win Again

Once again, a team effort put the Seattle Seahawks on top as they beat the Arizona Cardinals 21-10. Saun Alexander rushed for a relatively modest 89 yards and Matt Hasselbeck threw 2 interceptions, but the defense penetrated the Cardinals line like a bad screen door as it sacked Kurt Warner five times.
Seahawks wide receiver Daryl Jackson gave his best performance since week 2 of last season with 5 receptions for 127 yards and one touchdown. Seahawk running backs Mack Strong and Mo Morris gave strong performances. 

The Wrap: Pullman '76 Part III

As member of Neil Hall, our designated dining hall (everything in college in a "hall") was the Rotunda, which was nicknamed "The Roto", on campus food was notoriously bad, but the Roto was the worst. It was managed by a Ms Lillian Meier, a 60ish woman known as "squeak" since she barked orders in a shrill voice. In the hall there was alway a juice or punch dispenser. One day late in the second semester, everyone seemed to be making multiple trips to the punch dispenser. When I sampled it, I could understand why, some smart alec had added vodka or some other alcoholic drink. Of course possible serious consequences from this action was never considered and as knowledge serves, never occurred.
I did not bring a car in that first year. My ride back to Walla Walla was with Jimmy Angel. Jim was the editor of our high school paper and eventually editor of the Daily Evergreen, the WSU daily paper. Jim would pick me up in an old 50sish car and we would drive to and fro talking music. He had an old tape deck in his car , to which matchbooks had to be stuffed in with the cassette to make it fit in right. Later in our freshman year, Jim's family had an uninvited dinner guest, a car going down the Middle Waitsburg Road had gone out of control and through his family's house. Fortunately none was injured. Jim is doing very well with his journalism career at the Cheyenne Wyoming newspaper.

Part II: Pullman Experience

Jeff L was a man of means. He brought in an 8 Track quad stereo player that I was welcome to use to my heart's content. A refrigerator, A TV and decorated the room. Of course, being from a wealthy family meant his tastes where sophisticated, right? Wrong--the art he put on the wall was not Monet--it was not Renoir. It was a set of posters like the one that said "Think Metric", it featured a lovely grown woman in a bikini next to a young girl in a bikini and had their measurements in the metic system. The young girl was 36-24-36 and the grown woman was something like 119-79-119, you get the idea. There was another rather crude one he put up.
Jeff was a nice guy, but we did not become friends, he had a much bigger agenda. I became friends right away with Tom, a few doors down. He was a sophomore from Shelton (another town with a State Pennetentiary) and was into Bob Dylan heavy just like I was. I was 19 at the time and Tom had a car. He showed me the bars in Moscow, Idaho, another college town 8 miles away. Idaho at the time had a drinking age of 19 so I could go to the bars there, like many 19 and 20 year old going to either WSU or U Of I could.
One of the popular places in Moscow was The Spruce. It was a seedy place where I ordered my first pitcher of beer ($1.75) at the time. Every once in a while there would be a fight there and you would hear glasses breaking. Fortunately, I was not involved in any fights at that establishment. The other option was Rathskellars. It was out from town a little ways and featured live music and dancing. When Idaho raised it's drinking age to 21, Moscow must have taken a real hit because there really was no reason for WSU students to travel over to drink there. End part II

30 Years Ago: Pullman Experience Begins

Once I had decided that I was going to WSU, My next step was to pick a so-called residence hall, (we call them dorms), I picked Neil Hall one of 4 co-ed dorms. Co Ed Dorms, I believe where a new concept, the idea being that men and women live in a dorm together, it fosters better communications rather that if they see each other only in the classroom or the dining hall.
In mid September, my parents dropped me off at Neil Hall. It was an ugly hideous building with of all things, ramp to get to each floor. Women where on the first and third floor, men on the second and fourth. I of course wanted a top floor, so when they showed me the floor plan, I picked 430, an easy number to remember. Since a great many people from my High School went to WSU, I wanted to meet new people, Neil Hall was great in that respect since most of the students there where from the west side of the state.
I went up for Freshman orientation in the middle of September, 1976. Now, first semester starts in the last week of August so the semester will end at Christmas time. That started the year after I left. But where getting far off the topic at hand.
It was about Wednesday that I met my roommate. Jeff was an interesting guy. I walked in from the dining hall or something and there he was already with stuff put away in the room. Jeff walked up, extended his hand and introduced himself. Tall, mop of hair on his head, printed shirt (considered totally cool in the seventies) and a look like he had better things to do and places to go. He was from Interlake High in Bellevue and did all the cool Bellevue things. He had a measuring tape and was fitting the room to make more livable. He made several calculations. He had to put one of those KJR stickers on the dorm room window, those stickers where commonly seen on the back of cars, mostly in Seattle. Some radio chick named Sunshine Shelly would drive around Seattle and tell cars with the sticker to pull over. If the driver was listening to that station, they would hear and pull over where Sunshine would award them handsomly with cash. You wonder if he thought that Sunshine Shelly would drive all the way to Pullman, cruise down Stadium Way and award him. Not likely, his dad worked for Kaye-Smith, the company owned in part by the late TV personality Danny Kaye. Kaye-Smith owned KJR, KISW and at that time a baseball team yet to play it's first game-- the Seattle Mariners. I told him that my cousin Burl worked for KJR, he told me that he knew Burl, but his Dad was the brass and that his Dad made the big decisions.
End--part 1

New Seahawk Get His Wings

Deion Branch, a 6 year player out of Louisville has signed a six-year 39 Million dollar contract with the Seahawks. 13 Million of that is guaranteed. The Ex Patriot said that won't be the saviour of the franchise, but hopes to be a valuable piece of the puzzle.
Coach Holmgren has said that Branch most likely will sit out this Sunday when the Hawks play Arizona in Qwest Field

Deion Branch Is A Seahawk

The Seahawks have acquired Super Bowl XXXIX MVP Deion Branch from the New England Patriots. In Exchange, The Patriots get a first round draft choice. Welcome to Seattle Deion Branch!

A Moment Of Silence

Remembering 9/11/01 

'Hawks Opener Is A Snoozer

The Seattle Seahawks found out they have a target on their back as they barely squeaked out a victory over the normally tame Lions,9-6. Seahawk Kicker Josh Brown ended the game with a 42 yard field goal on the last play.
The NFC's leading offense failed to score a single touchdown, but the defense stepped it up and kept the Lions out of endzone as well. The scariest moment was in the 3rd quarter when tackle Walter Jones apeared to be hurt. The all pro tackle was able to return later in the game. Some consider Jones the greatest interior lineman of all time.

Darcy Burner And Governor In Redmond This Week

Darcy Burner, Democratic Congressional candidate from the 8th District will apear with Governor Gregoire at the Marriott in the Redmond Town Center, Thursday September 14th from 6:00 to 7:30.
Darcy continues to inch her way past Dave Reichert in fund raising inspite of being challenger in a district that has yet to elect a Democrat to that position.

Donald Trump Hires Lee

You would think that in the world of Donald Trump, second place would be "first in a line of losers". Yet for the second season in a row, Trump has shown interest in the runner-up on The Apprentice. In the fourth season finale, Trump tried to get winner Randall to hire intrepid Rebecca without much success. Now Trump has picked Lee Bienstock to join his organization as Associate Vice President Of Corporate Development. Bienstock, who's devotion to Judaism helped inspire the blog Orthodox Apprentice, lost in the finale to Sean Yazbeck.

Hollywood To Do Movie On Seattle's WTO Fiasco

Sometime in the mid nineties when Seattle was surfing atop the Microsoft wave, the TV show Frasier decided to shoot on location up here. The show had Seattle based Frasier Crane and his brother Niles get mugged somewhere in downtown Seattle. Some of our city fathers cried foul, they did not want to see what they thought was the Emerald City's prestige image soiled by the depiction of crime on her streets.
If that image really ever existed, it was shattered a few years later when thousands of protestors took to Seattle's Streets during the conference of the World Trade Organization in 1999. I worked in Downtown Seattle at the time and for that entire week it felt like I was in a war zone. I remember watching on Television in absolute disgust as punk kids where shown breaking windows and burning waste paper bins. I remember the Sheriff Dave Reichert (in front of a running camera of course) jumping out of his limo in true Leslie Nielson style to arrest a protester. I remember how tough it was to get a bus home on one particularly scary night.
Things have come full circle as the Seattle Times reports that a movie is in the works that reenacts that fateful week. Charlize Theron, an Oscar winner in 2003 will have a starting role as an innocent bystander who becomes the protagonist of the movie. Susan Sarandon is slated to play a journalist who is sympathetic to the protestors.
Theron's boyfriend Stuart Townsend is writing and directing the movie which is scheduled to start shooting in Vancouver next month.

Trump Axes Carolyn

Carolyn Kepcher, who's sober no nonsense demeanor played well against the flambouyant Donald Trump, has been fired. It was Kepcher, who called the women's team to task for winning projects by using their sexuality. The seriousness of Carolyn and her counterpart George Ross, I believe gave the Apprentice a credibility that Trump alone could not have. It made the show popular with people who probably generally disliked so-called reality programming.
Trump spokesman Jim Dowd confirmed the firing to Newsday magazine saying "Mr Trump wishes her the best."

Our Stingray Encounter

This picture is sadly ironic. Our group was surrounded by stingrays in this shallow area off the coast of Grand Cayman. Would we be this brave had we known that Steve Irwin would die from a stingray attack just 3 days later? That's a hard call.

More Cayman

 

Grand Cayman Island

One thing I learned is the excitement of seeing dry land after several hours or days out at sea! 

Landing At Ocho Rios

Deb and I began our trip last Saturday as we joined my Dad his wife Jean and Raychel and her daughters on a flight to Orlando. We boarded the ship the next day and after a brief orientation and an emergency drill, we set sail for the Caribbean. Shown above is our Second stop last Wednesday in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. 

A Prediction That Came True

The following something I found in the Seattle Times Archives. This letter to the editor was published in the sports page on January 11th, 2004, 2 years before the 'Hawks actually played in the Super Bowl. I'm sure many people read this and laughed their heads off. It's fun to look at now.

A team on the verge
The Seahawks, especially Matt Hasselbeck, are one of the most exciting sports stories of the year. They have been perfect at home and not only broke the glass door to the playoffs, but had every bit the talent to go to the big one.
Sure, Mike Holmgren's first few years have been disappointing, but now that he is concentrating on coaching, along with promising rookies, the addition of Ray Rhodes and the development of the young receivers, a team that barely showed up on the radar screen for the past 15-odd years is now a whisker hair away from winning all of its fans back.
A little tinkering with the defense, and I think our long-awaited Super Bowl is in the offing.
— Mike Barer, Maple Valley

Mariner Sets Sail With Barer Clan Aboard!

"How Ya Doin!" That's how every every show started out on board our week long cruise. Here is the Mariner Of The Seas in it's Port Canaveral home where we started our journey! This picture was snagged off Google Images. I'll try to get some pictures up tomorrow(really later today). Tropical storm Ernesto decided to tour the Caribbean at the same time but our paths fortunately barely crossed if at all.