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attack of the killer hiccups
10.16.07 | Permalink | 2 Comments
My dad told me about Earle’s chronic hiccups last week. This is just crazy:Just listening to him tell his story, your heart goes out to Earle Robinson.
“When I wake (hiccup) up in the morning (hiccup) they’re okay, they’re gone (hiccup),” he says, albeit slowly. “But (hiccup) then they come back a couple hours later (hiccup) and it’s been that way (hiccup) every (hiccup)… everyday.”
The medical explanation is his diaphragm’s contracting every few seconds or so–a case of hiccups so persistent it’s town to get a sentence out. It’s been that way since Wednesday.
His co-workers are baffled, and he says his doctors are stumped, and there are few jobs worse to have if you have hiccups than Earle’s.
He does an hour-long radio show called “Sportstalk 870″ on WKAR from 2-3 p.m. weekdays and an hour with Tim Staudt on Staudt on Sports Sundays on WILX.
Staudt explained it to viewers Sunday, and Robinson suffered through the broadcast but his radio chairs been empty for a week.
“I’m starting to feel bad,” producer Rob Bennett says, admitted they’d given him some grief. “I just want him to get back.”
“I’ve tried eating a spoonful of mustard,” he says. He also tried eating a spoonful of peanut butter, drinking water really fast, and drinking water upside down. All failed. Holding his breathe also failed. Valium is helping him sleep and, for now, he’s just praying those hiccups fade away–soon.
God, what a nightmare.
Dad, I’m assigning you the task of busting into Earle’s office tomorrow to try to scare those hiccups out of him.
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links, msu
beaner’s no more
I had heard about this a while ago, but it looks like Beaner’s is officially going to change its name:
A small but growing coffeehouse chain is changing its name amid concern that the moniker meant to celebrate the seed of its main product also is a disparaging term for Hispanics.
Beaner’s Coffee, based in East Lansing, Mich., on Friday informed franchisees and employees at its 77 stores in Michigan and eight other states that it would become Biggby Coffee, effective Jan. 31.
“That just doesn’t really fall within our mission to have a name that is derogatory,” Bob Fish, 44, Beaner’s chief executive, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “We felt it was important to do the right thing and change the name.”
Fish, who co-founded the company in 1995, said there hasn’t been any broad resistance or protests against the name, just people asking if the company knew about the connotation. And inquiries have grown as the company has — particularly in the southeast U.S., where it has five locations.
I’ve never been a coffee drinker, but I do like to pop into one of the Beaner’s in downtown Lansing every now and then for a smoothie or a hot chocolate or something. Like any good Spartan, I always preferred to patronize a business owned by two fellow Michigan State alums as opposed to that other famous coffee house chain.
Not sure if I’m crazy about the new name, but at least they won’t have to change their logo:
Biggby, he said, allows the company to rename without rebranding — Beaner’s logo is a big black ‘B’ with an orange background.
Hopefully this name change won’t affect business too much. The company has been going gangbusters lately:
Maher said Beaner’s is one of many regional players in the highly competitive coffee scene operating in the shadow of Starbucks, which has 9,000 U.S. stores and 14,000 globally. It opens a store every three hours on average, he said.
In fact, there is a steep drop between Starbucks and Caribou Coffee Co., which has about 480 stores in the U.S. He said one regional player worth watching is Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc., with 150 shops nationally but most in California.
“It’s just been a tough business for somebody to acquire a real good franchise and consistently make money, other than Starbucks and Peet’s,” Maher said. “In terms of executing and developing a real strong following … it’s very difficult.”
Despite its small stature, Fish said Beaner’s has bucked the trend: It reported systemwide sales of $22 million last year, and projects more than $30 million this year. The company’s growth rate has doubled every two years and it plans to have 300 shops within five years, he said.
Farewell, Beaner’s. Hello Biggby.
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links
new ipod lineup
These new iPods look cool and all, but I think the best news from yesterday’s keynote is the fact that iPhones are now $200 cheaper. Plus you can get a refurbed 8 gig one for only $350. Drool.
Man, I’d be pissed if I dropped $600 on one of those bad boys right when they first came out.
See? Sometimes it pays to be a lazy/cheap bastard.
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links
Michael Vick Dog Chew Toy: Paybacks a Bitch
Hey, he has it coming (from Gizmodo):
Here’s a chew toy commemorating alleged dogfighting impresario and pit bull torturer Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback accused of various animal atrocities. Vick is in heap of trouble after he was caught allegedly running a kennel full of fighting pit bulls. When the fighting dogs didn’t quite measure up, Vick and his cohorts are accused of drowning, strangling, hanging, shooting and electrocuting the losing pups.
The proceeds from sales of this $10.99 effigy will be donated to animal rights charities.
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links, movies
nerd alert
1. EW has an interview up with J.J. Abrams, Zach Quinto, and Leonard Nimoy about the new Star Trek movie. Here are a few exchanges that jumped out at me:
Leonard, when you first heard they were making a new Star Trek film — that they were ”rebooting” the franchise with a new cast — how did you feel? Skeptical? Angry? Relieved?
LEONARD NIMOY: None of those. I’ve been away from Star Trek for a number of years. The first thing I heard was that J.J. Abrams was doing this. I have a lot of respect for him, so I thought, ”This is something to consider.” Then the script came along — that was the second major step. And then J.J. sent me some footage of Zach. I looked at him, and I’ll tell you exactly what I said to J.J.: ”He looks exactly right.” What’s more, he has an interior life, which is vital to the character. With all of those elements in place, I’m very comfortable with this new Star Trek.With this casting, Leonard, you’re officially ceding this role to a new actor. How do you feel about this?
NIMOY: Strange. It is strange…but very comforting. I feel like the character is being put in very, very good hands.Hey, if Nimoy is happy with this, I’m happy.
J.J., since this is a ”reboot” of Star Trek focusing on young Spock and young Kirk, why did you feel that it was important for Leonard to be in the movie?
ABRAMS: The story needed his participation for a number of reasons. One, the plot. In many ways, the story revolves around the character of Spock. Two, I think it’s critical if we’re going to look at reintroducing these characters — I didn’t want to disrespect what had come before, for those who care about that. But we’re making this movie for people who don’t care about Star Trek too. This isn’t about pleasing the fans, this is about making a great film. And to do that, you have to both please the fans and please the people who’ve never seen Star Trek. So having Leonard in the film shows that this film exists in a continuum of Trek history, as opposed to an absolute, page 1 reinvention.I’ll admit, I was really skeptical of Hollywood trying to “reinvent” classic franchises like Batman and James Bond, but both of those films turned out to be among the best in their respective histories. Here’s hoping Abrams doesn’t f#ck this up.
2. Those whipper snappers on Facebook must be smokin’ somethin’.
Now I’ll admit, I’m a fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek, but these poll results are way too lopsided:
Kids these days!
3. EW has another interview up about a (slightly less) famous sci-fi franchise, the X-Files. Chris Carter, creator of the series, answers a few questions about the upcoming movie:
This rumor — the announcement that the X-Files movie is imminent seems to come up every six months or every year.
We’re really working to make it happen now.This time it’s for real, you’d say?
Yes. I should say we’re working to make it happen. It’s for real that we’re working, but there are no guarantees that it will get made. I mean, it still has to go through a lot of different things, including a budgeting process.Yawn. Not much to go on here.
I still think this franchise has a number of sins to atone for from its last few seasons on the air, but I won’t write it off just yet.
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links
detroit: #1 sports town in america!
08.01.07 | Permalink | 3 Comments
File this one under “duh” (from AP):
[Sporting News] magazine named the Motor City No. 1 in its 2007 annual ranking, which was published in editions that hit newsstands Wednesday.
“Although it didn’t bring home a title like some cities, Detroit benefits from having a full complement of very good teams and terrific fans to cheer them on,” executive editor Bob Hille said in a written statement.
A winning season is the most important criterion in creating the ranking, according to the magazine. Other criteria include sports atmosphere, playoff berths, bowl appearances, tournament bids, championships, quality of competition and overall fan fervor.
Chicago, which received the designation in 2006, ranked fourth this year.
The top 10, in order, are: Detroit, New York, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Denver, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Did you catch that, Lions?
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links
delorean making a comeback?
And here I thought the news of Leonard Nimoy signing on for the new Star Trek movie was the best nerd news of the week. Please, please, please let this be for real (from the LA Times)
Botkin had to grow up and buy his dream car himself. He drives a restored DeLorean modeled after the one that served as a time machine in the 1980s blockbuster “Back to the Future.”
He also manages a repair and refurbishing shop in Garden Grove that’s affiliated with DeLorean Motor Co. (Texas), a suburban Houston company that rebuilds DeLoreans and is laying plans to bring the car back into limited production.
The last DeLorean rolled off the assembly line in Northern Ireland in 1982. But like Duran Duran, the Rubik’s Cube and other Reagan-era icons, the car retains a following.
Despite his attention-grabbing persona and product, DeLorean couldn’t sell enough of the $25,000 cars to stay afloat. By 1982, his company was in receivership. He hit rock bottom that year when he was busted on charges of cocaine trafficking. He was acquitted, but the ordeal in effect ended his business career. He died in March 2005.
DeLorean’s car would live on, thanks primarily to “Back to the Future,” the top-grossing film of 1985. Ditching their original idea of using an old refrigerator as a time machine, the scriptwriters opted for a modified DeLorean because of its futuristic look, particularly the doors, according to co-writer Bob Gale.
The movie made Michael J. Fox a star — and launched the DeLorean pop cult.
“John DeLorean wrote us a fan letter after the movie came out: ‘Thank you for keeping my dream alive,’ ” Gale recalls. “Probably half of the people who own DeLoreans today own them because they saw ‘Back to the Future.’ “
How much would Back to the Future have sucked if they had made the time machine out of a f#cking refrigerator? Or, for that matter, if Steven Spielberg hadn’t replaced Eric Stoltz with Michael J. Fox?
Their manufacturing plans are modest — maybe 20 or so cars a year. But it would be quite a comeback for a car that was given up for dead more than a quarter of a century ago.
And based on the reaction Botkin gets when he takes his “BTTF” DeLorean out for a spin, there’s a market out there.
“I can’t park it without attracting a pile of people,” he says. “We like to cruise up and down PCH just to get people’s reactions.
“It’s a smile maker.“
Dude… this needs to be my next car.
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