I realize it’s been ten years, but I still think about it…
September 30, 2009, 10:59 PM
One of the more memorable things I did in high school was The East Coast Price is Right. We followed the rules as they existed in Season 27 (the current season at the time), and I had that set that emulated the classic green, purple, red, and orange colors on the turntable. It’s now been a decade since I did that show, but it’s still something I think about.
Right before I left for Philadelphia, I did a bunch of ironing. Usually, when I iron, I turn on the television and pop a tape of something in, in order to spice up an otherwise boring task. This time, I popped in a tape of old episodes of The Price is Right, from Season 27. That’s when I start thinking about my own version of the game that I did a decade ago. In the intervening ten years, I’ve thought about the games I did, and what I might have played if I could do it all over again. Recall that for that game, I did (in this order) It’s in the Bag, Dice Game, Push Over, Grand Game, Switch?, and One Away.
I think if I were to do it all over today, I would have swapped out two games. I think I did too many cash games, playing both “It’s in the Bag” and “Grand Game”. Additionally, as I messed up “Dice Game” a little bit, I would have done a different car game for the first half of the show. For that, I’ve often thought that Lucky Seven would have been a game that would have fit my production better. All you do for that is have them guess numbers, reveal the correct number, and then take the amount of dollars that comprises the difference (e.g. if they guessed a seven as the second digit and the correct number was five, the host takes two bucks back). Then they just need one dollar to buy the car. That’s the game that stands out most in the would-have-done category. Now as far as the cash games went, I basically had to do “It’s in the Bag” first, because setting it up on stage with the audience in place would have revealed the prices. That game was set up before the show started. But “Grand Game” was too similar to “It’s in the Bag”, and so I probably should have dropped that one, and considering how close I cut it on time, a quickie game like Danger Price or Most Expensive would have fit the bill quite well.
Continue reading…Categories: High school, Schumin Web meta, Television
“Priceless, Johann!”
April 24, 2009, 7:34 PM
I think that says it best, because my favorite left-wing radio talker, Randi Rhodes, is finally returning to the air on May 11, after which will, by then, have been be a three-month absence from the radio. The last few months have been full of chatter about unfulfilled contract negotiations with Rhodes’ old syndicator, Nova M Radio and wondering when Rhodes would return, and I’ve been filling my commutes with The Mike Malloy Show due to lack of Randi Rhodes.
And let me tell you, I’m glad that Randi Rhodes will be back. I missed the various features of the show. I missed the “pop” sound effect for first time callers, and her various other sound effects. I missed the various comedic bits at the top of the second and third hours. Hell, I even missed “Bounce Your Boobies” on Fridays.
I will, however, miss listening to Mike Malloy, though. Malloy was good to me during the last few months. Randi Rhodes was replaced on Nova M with Nancy Skinner, whom I found almost unlistenable. She just didn’t have “it”, whatever “it” is. But Malloy provided a great show to listen to, though his style is just a tad too coarse for my tastes.
Categories: Clothing, Power Rangers, Radio
“Triceratops!”
April 17, 2009, 9:20 PM
So this Friday, I wore my new Power Rangers t-shirt to work. And here I am, at my desk, as seen with my office Mac’s camera:
Categories: Clothing, Power Rangers
It’s the world of Monsieur Stenchy, where even a skunk can come out smelling like… a rose!
March 31, 2009, 11:45 PM
I think that phrase, from an episode of Power Rangers Zeo, could be used to describe my apartment. Seriously. Mom’s coming over tomorrow, and so I made sure this place was in tip top shape. I dusted, I scrubbed, I shined, I mopped, I swept, I vacuumed, you name it. Anything to make the place look less “lived in”. After all, you really don’t want to show your mother how you really live. I carefully control the way my mother views her little boy’s apartment. Any time my mother comes to visit, the place is all shined up and looking awesome. And that’s important, after all.
Plus it’s kind of nice to have the house smelling all clean, too, since otherwise, it can kind of start to smell like whatever, and what “whatever” is depends on many factors, and it’s not always a pleasant thing depending on what’s going on. This time, the cleaning wasn’t to the extent of the total clean I did in December, where I really went to town on the place including shampooing carpets, but that’s a once-a-year kind of cleaning, and we’re not there yet. Nonetheless, I want to make sure Mom is comfortable here while she’s in town for the Virginia Writing Project, where teachers meet in Washington to meet with legislative offices and such, to promote writing in schools. And for the Virginia Writing Project, I find it amusing that Mom will be spending NO time in Virginia whatsoever, since all the activity will be held in the District of Columbia, and she’s staying with me in Maryland.
So I’m excited. And then Mom and I are probably going to hit up IKEA on Saturday after all the writing stuff is over with. Whatever happens, though, my mother will see a neat apartment. After all, I have made sure that it’s like being in the world of Monsieur Stenchy, where even a skunk can come out smelling like a rose.
Categories: Family, House, Power Rangers
Would you buy a DVD collection of Today’s Special? I would!
January 9, 2009, 12:42 AM
Tell me, does this bring back memories for you?
Categories: Today's Special
“It’s morphin time”?
November 11, 2008, 9:24 AM
Okay, try to explain where this dream came from. I dreamed last night that I became a Power Ranger. Yes, a Power Ranger. It was kind of a cross between in-universe and real life, making it pretty weird.
Presumably, we were a new team of Power Rangers. I found this box that looked like a briefcase, that contained these various items. I instinctively knew how to put some of the pieces together, to make a four-segment stick about a foot long. I then shouted, “It’s morphin’ time!” and held it out in front of me, vertically, with both hands. This electronic stick took a few seconds to light up in four different colors, bottom to top, becoming very warm in the process – almost too hot to touch near the top. And then at the end of it all, I became the Yellow Ranger.
The Yellow Ranger costume I ended up morphing into looked very similar to the suits from Power Rangers in Space. It was primarily yellow, and it had the five-color bar across the chest. But unlike the show, since I was a guy, the costume had no skirt (the Yellow Ranger for “In Space” was a female). I was a male Yellow Ranger, following in the footsteps of Tideus the Alien Ranger, I suppose. But there I was – I was the Yellow Ranger, and was as surprised as anyone to be the Yellow Ranger.
So I figured two things. First of all, I must be playing the Yellow Ranger on Power Rangers now. Secondly, those items in the case were morphers. I also briefly pondered why my ranger costume was of the “In Space” style, and how saying, “It’s morphin time!” to morph was so 1990s.
Categories: Dreams, Power Rangers
“On your mark… get set… GO!”
October 6, 2008, 2:47 PM
So I found an episode of the syndicated version of Double Dare on YouTube. It’s here, here, and here. I especially love the third part, which contains the obstacle course. Those were always fun to watch. I actually wanted to be a contestant on Double Dare one day, but you know how it is. During much of Double Dare’s run, I was far too young to actually be a contestant, and then by the time I was about contestant age, my interests had shifted.
Of course, that was the show to watch in its time. And it was always odd that early on, both teams wore red uniforms, but the one side was most definitely blue. I remember thinking, about time! when the team to host Marc Summers’ right (our left) finally started wearing blue uniforms. But yeah, this was my show. I could even recite the rules perfectly:
I’m going to ask you a question, and if you don’t know the answer or think the other team hasn’t got a clue, you can dare them to answer it for double the bucks. But be careful, because they can always double dare you back for four times the amount, and then you have to either answer that question or take the physical challenge.
Yes, I was a Double Dare geek in my day. What can I say? And then my mother also made things quite amusing as well. First of all, take a look at the third clip for a moment:
Categories: Television
“…when Saturday Rocks, on CBS!”
September 24, 2008, 9:40 PM
Okay, boys and girls… the pants are ironed, and so my neat and crisp professional image will survive for another five workdays (sans Fridays) before I absolutely must iron again. And as always, when I iron, the TV is on. This time, I popped in a tape with “Saturday Morning Fare” on the label. This tape contains mostly Saturday morning cartoons from the 1988-1989 season on CBS. I was in second grade. Just to give you an idea of what we had going on:
This is an example of the commercials that they used to promote the Saturday morning programming block that season. They called it “Saturday Rocks”, and the personalities were three girls, whom I’d guess are around 13 years old or so, who sang the jingle, “Saturday Rocks, on CBS!”
Categories: Television
What kind of idiot builds his new secret base of operations on the site of his old secret base of operations, which had been destroyed by his enemies?
September 16, 2008, 12:39 AM
Categories: Power Rangers
“Chad Sinclair, come on down! You’re the next contestant on The Price is Right!”
March 14, 2008, 11:27 PM
How cool to see someone you know on The Price is Right. Chad Sinclair is the son of two of Mom’s coworkers at Stuarts Draft Middle School, and recently was on the February 19 episode of The Price is Right with Drew Carey. Chad won a home gym, and a year’s supply of Hot Pockets from his time in Contestants’ Row, where he made the classic bid of $1. Then he played “Switch?“, a fairly quick and simple pricing game that involves deciding whether to switch the prices of two prizes or to leave them in place. He was playing for a popcorn cart and a stainless steel oven. You may recall that this was pricing game #5 in The East Coast Price is Right that I hosted in high school back in 1999. Easy game to play. Unfortunately, Chad didn’t win, as he switched, and he should have left them alone. Ah, well. Then he did well on the wheel, but got bumped from the showcase by a trucker named Leroy who was closer to the dollar than Chad.
Chad also made sure to get all of his hellos in while on the show. He mentioned Bridgewater College, and he said hello to his parents in Stuarts Draft. Little Stuarts Draft (where I am writing you from today), getting mentioned on The Price is Right. Awwww…
So all in all, that was pretty darn cool, if you ask me. Plus we’re still watching Drew Carey get settled into his role as host. I think that Drew Carey will ultimately do well on The Price is Right, but he’s still got to find his stride. Give him a couple of seasons, and Drew Carey on Price is Right will seem the most natural thing in the world.
Categories: Friends, Television
“…because I slept with half of them!”
February 24, 2008, 11:53 PM
First of all, I am feeling a bit better after two days out of commission, and if things stay like this, I’m probably going to be in a suitable condition to go to work on Monday. Good.
And I spent much of the weekend watching old clips from The Price is Right on YouTube. There were quite a few good ones, but perhaps the weirdest one was this one of a woman playing Shell Game. Bob Barker asked her why the audience would know any more about where the ball was than she did, and she told him that she slept with half of them! Girl gets around!
Those kind of clips are the ones that amuse me the most – when people say something strange and seeing everyone’s reaction to it. Far more amusing than Yolanda and her wayward tube top, the Price blooper that everyone thinks about when they think of game show bloopers.
Still, they say that laughter is the best medicine, and I certainly got my fair share of it this weekend, so that’s a good thing.
Categories: Television
If I ever went to Springfield…
August 4, 2007, 10:08 PM
Well, if I ever went to Springfield – as in where the Simpson family is from – here’s what I’d look like:
So there you go. They didn’t have the right hair option, though, so I have a little less in my Simpsons caricature than I have for real. But for our purposes it works. And hey, wait a few years and we might get there one day. Of course, I really like the one someone did of me a few years ago. But still, I find the Simpsons-generator program kind of interesting.
Categories: Television
“GOODEVENING HBO…”
June 28, 2007, 10:29 PM
A number of you have seen an away message that I’ve used somewhat frequently on AIM as of late, and have questioned me about it. I might as well explain. The away message was:
GOODEVENING HBO
FROM CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT
$12.95/MONTH ?
NO WAY !
[SHOWTIME/MOVIE CHANNEL BEWARE!]
It’s actually a little homage to a video pirate from the 1980s. On April 27, 1986 at 12:32 AM, John R. MacDougall engaged in direct action against HBO, protesting subscription fees for HBO that were considered overly high at that time. He had the perfect opportunity to do it, too. Along with his job as a satellite television dealer, he also worked for a company that provided uplink services for satellites. Coincidentally, the transmitter, when in its storage position, pointed directly at the Galaxy I satellite, which at that time carried HBO. So MacDougall launched his protest against HBO’s subscription fees by overriding the signal from HBO’s satellite transmitter. So during a playing of The Falcon and the Snowman on HBO, all of a sudden, HBO viewers saw this:
Categories: Activism, Television
I went to Ikea. That was a touch overwhelming.
May 28, 2007, 4:54 PM
First of all, hello from College Perk coffeehouse! I went to Ikea in College Park today to go bed-shopping. Talk about an overwhelming experience. First of all, the place is bigger than a Wal-Mart Supercenter. And it’s two floors. Then I got over there, and the parking lot was full. I mean full, like park-in-the-back-of-the-lot full.
I went in, and went up the escalator to their showroom. I saw the map coming in, so I kind of knew where I was going, or at least I thought. I got in, and got a bit disoriented. Lots of partitions made it less than straightforward about getting to the back where the beds were. I did find it, though I had no idea what was going on. I ultimately found a salesperson, to whom I admitted I was overwhelmed, and he was quite helpful and helped sort me out. I ultimately did figure out what was going on, though.
Bed shopping is interesting, though. To properly shop for a bed, one must try it out. I’m sure I looked amusing testing mattresses. The way you test them out is to get on them in a sleeping-type position and feel it. It reminds me of a scene from Today’s Special‘s “Shoes” episode. Jodie walks past a row of shoes, and comments on each pair:
Too big! Too small! Not right… at all! Too loose! Oh, too tight! Ah… (puts shoes on) these feel just right!
Categories: College Park, IKEA, Today's Special
Sable is packed to the gills…
May 11, 2007, 9:53 PM
I don’t think I’ve filled a car so full since I left Potomac Hall at JMU for the last time back in 2003. Back then, I had the Previa stuffed to the gills with my junk from the dorm. Now, I have the Sable filled to the brim with my stuff, headed for Silver Spring. That car is literally packed full. The back seats are folded down, and I’ve put stuff in every possible spot. There’s even stuff sitting in the passenger seat. I just hope the car doesn’t think it’s a passenger and sound the seat belt alarm when I get going. That would look odd to have the seat belt buckled over there, to keep the alarm quiet.
It reminds me of a rhyme by Muffy from Today’s Special:
There was an old woman who lived in a hat,
With fourteen kids and one smelly cat.
The hat was bulging, filled right to the brim,
And inside, things were looking mighty grim.
And then when the woman came back with one more kid,
The hat shouted, “Fifteen!” and blew its lid!
That was then followed by the top flying off a nearby top hat. But yeah, I think if I put anything else in there, the car will shout, “Fifteen!” and blow its lid, too.
One thing that I will really appreciate with this run for stuff is the lamps. Those four torchiere lamps that I have are coming, and will be placed in strategic locations in the apartment. It’s helpful because there are few light fixtures in the apartment, and lots of switches attached to electrical outlets. Thus since I brought no lamps on the first run, I had to kind of find my way around in the dark upon leaving the apartment, feeling for walls and furniture, to avoid running into them, and the subsequent cursing. And I don’t particularly like to swear, though I’ve been known to let them fly fairly easily.
Speaking of swearing, I remember something I did for a professor at JMU that both the professor and I found amusing. He said that we could write whatever on the tests themselves, “Just don’t write any swear words.” So I decided to be a bit of a wiseguy. I wrote “SWEAR WORDS” in all caps near the top of the test paper. Not actual dirty words – literally the phrase “swear words”.
All in all, I’m excited about living in the DC area…
Categories: JMU, Language, Mercury Sable, Move to DC area, Silver Spring, Today's Special