Big Don's Big Blog

- First, it has been decreed that we shall have a show celebrating Festivus, which you may remember from Seinfeld.  The Festivus show will be on Tuesday, December 18.  Mark your calendars!  You are invited to call on that day, or if you can't wait you can email your contribution to the "airing of grievances".  You can complain about anything you like during the "airing of grievances".  We will be doing the same on the air.  We're also trying to get the man who wrote the book about Festivus on the air for that day, so stay tuned for that.  If you want to email your grievances, you can send them to me:  dguisinger at whbc dot com  or to Brady:  brady at whbc dot com.

- Don't forget to learn the words to Boomer Sooner for our Friday Sing-along.  We'll find some kind of prize for the best rendition.  The lyrics are in my previous blog post, with a link to a page with the music.  So practice, and call on Friday. 

- I hosted Tradio last Sunday since Tom Jarrett was on vacation.  It was a thrill to talk with everyone who called in on Sunday.  And BTW, if you don't think Tradio works, just ask Chris Schieman.  He had some hoes (garden tools) for sale.  He sold those on Monday to a Tradio listener.

The only time I ever cheer for Oklahoma is when they play Texas, but I'm going to be the biggest Oklahoma fan this week.  It's not that I don't like Missouri, because I do.  The game they played against Kansas was amazing.  I just want to see Ohio State and West Virginia fight for the national championship.

"Why?", you may be asking yourself.  Well, think about it:  we could have a bonafide border war, regional bragging rights would be up for grabs, we could allow people to call in with their West Virginia jokes (which I've always found tasteless, but whatever), and FOX would be beyond upset that they'd have to show Ohio State and West Virginia play each other.

So, I want everyone to learn the words to Boomer Sooner, and maybe we'll have a singing contest on Friday.

Lyrics to Boomer Sooner:

Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner
Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner
Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner
Boomer Sooner, OK U!
Oklahoma, Oklahoma
Oklahoma, Oklahoma
Oklahoma, Oklahoma
Oklahoma, OK U!
I'm a Sooner born and Sooner bred
and when I die, I'll be Sooner dead
Rah Oklahoma, Rah Oklahoma
Rah Oklahoma, OK U! '

from http://www.soonersports.com/trads/boomer-sooner-fight-song.html

- God bless the brave souls who camped out at the Strip overnight waiting for Best Buy to open.  (At least I'm guessing they were waiting for Best Buy to open.  I can't imagine people were waiting for Marshall's or Giant Eagle to open their doors.)  I don't know about you, but I just can't picture a time when that would make any sense.  I understand that Best Buy has cool stuff for sale on Black Friday. But to actually bring your family to camp out in front of a store???  Really??  And they weren't just standing by the building, oh no.  These people brought chairs, blankets, butane / propane / kerosene heaters, and tents!  It just seems silly to me that people would load up all of this crap, drive a few miles from their nice warm beds, and camp out in front of a shopping plaza with a bunch of total strangers, just so they'll be the first to buy whatever item it is that drove them to such lengths.

- I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.  Mine was great!  Thank you for asking.

- Brady got his letter to the editor published in The Independent today.  It's pretty good, if I do say so myself.  Pick up a copy of The Independent, read the letter, and share your thoughts with us.

- One final thing:  enough with the cheesy jewelry store commercials.  The one where the couple is picking out their Christmas tree, and the guy puts a special present for his wife/girlfriend/mistress under the tree while it's still in the tree lot...it makes me want to lose my lunch. 

And it is beautiful in the temperature department (which is located just down the hall from the precipitation department, second door on the right...knock before you go in, please). 

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Brady and I were discussing the finer points of life yesterday after the show.  We covered the gamut from fine beers and beautiful women, to succinct phone callers.  He suggested that when people call into the show, they should know what the point they want to make is, and that they should express those thoughts quickly.  I had to agree, the main claim of someone's argument (or the point you want to make) should be expressed right away, but I mentioned that there should be time for people to support their claims and to build their argument.  We were in agreement with that.

Brady's main problem is when people want to tell stories, but they can't get the story out in a quick manner.  Especially when the news guy is waiting to do his thing.  Therefore, he wanted me to list some rules for callers to The Brady Russell Show. 

Consider these the commandments of calling a talk show (not just ours)

1: Thou shalt calleth on a quality phone line, and thou shalt not mumble. (Remember, you're talking to people who have a hard time hearing things.  Radio people go deaf very early in life.)

2: Thou shalt never useth thy speakerphone when on the air.  (This could be covered under commandment number 1, but it's so important that it needs to be its own commandment.)

3: Thou shalt maketh thy point in a succinct and clear manner.  Write your argument down if you have to (but don't read to us.  NEVER read your call.)

4: If thou art placethed on hold, thou shalt remaineth on hold until thou art placed on the air.

5: If thou callest the show, you are not guaranteed an opportunity to speaketh.

6: Thou may argue with the host and other caller, but though shalt not useth profanity.

7: Thou shalt call the show once per week, or thou runnest the risk of becoming a pain in the butticus.  (Remember, there are MANY different people listening to the show....it's not just you.)

8: Thou shalt not beggeth for prizes from the call screener, producer, or host.  Though must winneth prizes fairly.

9: Thou shalt not be boring.

10: Though shalt remain on topic.

Just because they are numbered, not one commandment is more important than another. 

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Remember to have a happy turkey day.  Eat alot,  sleep a bit, watch some football, and get ready to sit in traffic for a month.