Tuesday oddems: walt crowley, j.p. patches, third ballsack hernia, ron reagan, phil the junkie, the styblehead, silver threads among the gold, and pass the ammunition!

~ News of HistoryLink's Walt Crowley still recouping in the hospital from his larynectomy last week from friend Pam: "Walt had a cup of coffee from the Tully’s downstairs, declining the one that came with his hospital lunch. He also now proudly sports a Patches Pal button, one of a bunch of gifts from JP Patches himself, who made a surprise visit yesterday. Marie & Walt continue to ask that you wait to visit until he gets home and more recovered, but for JP Patches an exception plainly had to be made."

~ We've got to give Ron Reagan (KIRO m-f, 12-1p) a shout-out for talking about the viaduct last week; and deeming to do a local issue on his show. He doesn't like local topics and we think that's too bad. We were glad to see that he voted in the 2006 election- having noted he did not vote in 2005.

~ Do we have to come down there? Bryan Styble, the quirky, racist KIRO fill-in motormouth is urging listeners to call or write the new Bonneville management to re-hire him for the overnight shift. His nutty and outrageous remarks last week that African Americans were better off as slaves in America than they were in tribal Africa would have gotten anyone else reprimanded or fired. 56.5% of our readers thought he should have been fired; 18.6% said he should apologize and be forced to bugaloo down Broadway in a plaid dashiki on M.L.King Day; and the rest said he should run free. We can't imagine this strange little man as a permanent hire at the Seattle station.

~ "third ballsack hernia" is the only Google search term we're going to share today that brought up BlatherWatch to an earnest researcher. We just had to share...   

~ That's What We're Here For, Dep't: How was KTTH's Dan Sytman (KTTH m-f, 5-9a) able to quote arch competitor KVI's John Carlson of The Commentators (KVI m-f, 9a-12p) verbatim on the air? He laundered it through BlatherWatch, that's how. When handling the shocking story of freaky dancing in Gig Harbor, Sytman quoted us quoting Carlson's sexy, sexy definition of the stylish dance. Did he mention our name? no. Did he sound like a little prig with his underpants on his head? yes.

~ Today as we sat in the Vein Closure Procedure Chat room, we were thinking of how we constantly bitch about such annoying and execrable KIRO talk hosts as the Styblehead and Frank Shiers (m-f, 9p-1a). But we were delighted to catch Phil The News Junkie (Sundays, 4-7p). Phil is Phil Vandervort, producer the Dori Monson Show for the last 7 years., described by a colleague of his as a radio producing "lifer," not interested in being on the air. That must have been apocryphal because Vandervort's a natural. We found him to be easy listening; not too political, but with a programming sense that shows an intellectual curiosity and the ability to spark listeners' interests, too. He's thoughtful, educated, and informed- and refreshingly- we didn't hate his guts! Why does KIRO hire such an oily and infuriating polemicist as Shiers and didactic know-it-all as Styble, when they've had the eminently likable and talented Vandervort on the payroll all along?

~ Letters, we get letters... this from Jeffy about the Fox News attempt at political satire, The 1/2 Hour News Hour. "There are worse things in life than bad comedy, but almost nothing worse than comedy that is not funny. FOX will probably order a few more just to say they tried, but this show is not going to be around for long. Nothing distinguishes it from any thing else on FOX. Which is a shame, because liberals do things that are really funny. Just watch the Daily Show or Colbert and you will see what good jokes about these follies are like. Isn't it strange, just like good news, good comedy works best when you are "Fair and Balanced?"

~did anyone notice? Sheriff Hairspray, the Republican congressman from the 8th district who ran hard against the Bush administration to get re-elected in November, voted against the resolution in the House to stop the Bush war escalation. No wonder they're lining up already of[ver in Bellevue to run against Dave Reichert in '08.

Comments

[sparky]

I was out of town this weekend...did The Sty mention anything about his racist diatribe from last weekend??

[mercifurious]

Bupkis. Not even an mention. The tapes were rolling too

I tried calling several times to make Styblehead face the sweet soul music, but KIROs screening was on high alert. I'm pretty sure digits have been scarlet lettered.

Actually, some woefully ignorant woman from Arlington called to discuss "Blacks and Welfare", and I thought for sure the 'head would start w/ the brain-droppings again. But nothing.

Pink-slip time.

[sparky]

Hmm if he didnt say anything untoward about "Blacks and welfare"..either someone at KIRO told him to knock it off...or he has been reading Blatherwatch again...heh

[coiler]

This is from the latest Zogby Poll:
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1247

Zogby Poll: Most Say Bloggers, Citizen Reporters to Play Vital Role in Journalism's Future

[Dana]

Has anyone else noticed that KIRO has finally forced Dori Monson to take instant messages? Boy, I'll bet he just hates that. Remember how he always avoided the chat room like the plague?

[sparky]

Re: Zogby Poll

Sometimes it is the only way to get the news. While the media is obsessing over Anna Nicole and Brittney's carpet and drapes finally matching, the news you are not hearing includes this tidbit from Alternet.org:

Matt Taibbi: "On the same day that Britney was shaving her head, a guy I know who works in the office of Senator Bernie Sanders sent me an email. He was trying very hard to get news organizations interested in some research his office had done about George Bush's proposed 2008 budget, which was unveiled two weeks ago and received relatively little press...

Sanders's office came up with some interesting numbers here. If the Estate Tax were to be repealed completely, the estimated savings to just one family -- the Walton family, the heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune -- would be about $32.7 billion dollars over the next ten years.

The proposed reductions to Medicaid over the same time frame? $28 billion."

[Thom]

Walt...hope all is going as well as can be...you have many friends out here thinking of you!

BTW...Phil V is AWESOME!! (and a nice guy, too!)

[joanie]

I've heard Phil and agree he is easier to take than 710DORI but still don't much like his politics.

[lukobe]

Oh no, not the estate tax again.

[Dana]

All Phil does is suckup to Dori and kiss his ever-broadening ass.

[Tommy008]

"We'er the best, Mr. Monsoni. We've turned around dozens of small stations like yours." Old Man Monsoni leaned back in his wooden swivel chair, and surveyed the pair of "slickers" from the big city. Ever since the old man's patent for a new type of manure spreader was bought by the big farm machinery company, for big bucks, Old Man Monsoni had been on a roll. He'd bought the failing town corner grocery, and turned the apartment on the floor above it into the brand new town radio station. It had been on the air for six months. "We like most of your programming, don't get us wrong, one of the "slickers" continued. The problem is having your son, Dorino, on the air for three hours in the afternooon. "What the hell's wrong with little Dori," the old man bellowed. "He's funny, bright, and he sure tells those commie-libs where they can stick it!" "Sir, it's his voice and delivery," the man responded. "Nowadays even small radio stations need to have professional air talent to survive. Frankly sir, he has poor diction and lazy speech patterns." The other slicker, an overweight, somewhat smartass fellow with coke-bottle bottom glasses, suddenly just blurted out," He sounds like he just got off the pickle boat!"

[Duffman]

Great post!...but s/be for KVI's Kirby Wilbur!

[Andrew]

I think the fact that Phil doesn't want to host is cause to not trust him as a host. He wants to be the guy that expands upon the stength of the talker, not the guy doing the talking. Radio hosts should be leaders who lead us to new ideas and original thoughts, not followers and weathervanes.

[Duffman]

Radio hosts - as leaders! Ha...not in this life time!

[Andrew]

Radio hosts might lead us to a more idiotic place than from which we had come, but we don't want radio hosts who would say "I realy can't take a stand on this issue becuase I have an ambiguous and adaptive moral character and would be unable to defend any position I might take."

[joanie]

Hey, Tommie, maybe 710DORI will read your story on the air . . . send it to him.

[Dana]

Dori is living proof that "ugly is as ugly does". Have you seen him in any of the TV commercials he does? EEEEEEEEEEEEK!

He used to be a nice-looking man. I don't know what happened unless the ugliness of his inner self has finally manifested itself on his outer self.

He should change his attitude and get a face lift, for God's sake!

[Duffman]

And who are you to classify someone as ugly? Do you think that's fair...grow up!

[Tommy008]

Just In- Fatass Limbaugh Derides Clinton for 40 Million Dollar Earnings Since w's Inauguration Day-(T-8 News Service) In a jealous, nasty fit that obviously betrayed him to be seriously bothered by the news, Rush Limbaugh attempted to deride Bill Clinton for earning tens of millions of dollars in speaking fees over the past six years. The attempt was such a transparent explosion of anger and jealousy that it was embarrassing. Limbaugh of course, as an arrogant Republican prick, believes that only he and a few other select elitist repub a-holes should be allowed to make multi-millions of dollars each year. Limbaugh repeatedly claimed he "didn't care" and "wasn't bothered" by Willie's wampum, but the words rang pathetically bogus and hollow, as Fartman continued his meanspirited, sputtering diatribe. Quickly passed over, by the gasbag, in his reading of the Clinton article was the fact that Clinton only personally pockets 20 percent of his speaking fees with the rest of them donated to charity or his museum.

[joanie]

C'mon Tommie . . . would you expect a Republican spin machine to ever tell the whole truth?

It sure wasn't the Dems pocketing the big bucks over the last six years, now was it?

[coiler]

Dori looks like Fred Flintstone, but twice as unfunny.

[Dana]

Fred was kind of cute and he exuded kindliness. Dori is just plain ugly and mean, and it shows.