Mr. Show Quote Of The Week

Back By Popular Demand!!

"Geh me a beehr. Shnlaaave!"

Twenty Five Percent Of One Year's Work

* Interview a bunch of kids in a park about what they think of American Idol * Cops at city council to protest take home vehicles being taken away * Bike criterium at Rocky Mountain Raceway * Trampoline safety * Air traffic controllers demonstrate over union contract * Someone spray painting dogs * BYU softball in NCAA tourney vs. SUU * Bad weather and rough water at Utah Lake * Some guy’s truck catches on fire in his back yard * Strut your mutt * Utah PTA conference * Armed Forces Day celebration at Murray park * Motorcycle safety rally

* American Idol Finals in L.A. * 4A/5A Soccer championships * Bikers in Emigration Canyon for weather * Last weekend of skiing at Snowbird * Snowstorm at Snowbird * Brigham Young home is open for visitors * Eagles at zoo – showed up late * Rainy weather

* Arrest of guy who beat man to death with his fists – interview –location video *Baseball game (Bees vs. Tacoma) *House (actually a mattress) fire * Super Dell gets charged * House fire in West Valley City * Park City maybe has gangs * Woman drowns in Utah Lake * Inmates graduate from high school * Anti-immigration motorcycle ride * Westminster graduation at E Center

* UV index at 11 – use sunscreen – shoots at pool and grocery store * June 6th, 2006 = Six Six Six * Heat help for elderly – group fixes and turns on air conditioners * Propane leak at Ogden gas station * Soldier reax to Al-Zarqawi death * Taylorsville police chief fired

* Utah Lake plane crash and body recovery * Missing 10-year-old girl * Missing 10-year-old girl found – rollerbladed all the way across town (about a dozen miles) and found playing in park * Boy who fell in geyser water at Yellowstone survived and is doing mostly well – although a bit dopey from the pain meds * Grade school spells out seatbelt message on field * Wind blows down power lines and starts garbage fire * Ogden gondola public meeting

* SWAT dogs training (rapelling, attacking, chasing, etc.) * Skydive wedding * Motorsports Park noise meeting * Car chase - crash - search - arrest live shots

* Go Kart races * Primal Quest race website * Burned shack interview * SWAT team at apt – arrest Utah’s Most Wanted * Riverton city manager arrested for standing on counter at tanning salon to peek over partition into another room to look at 16 year old girl changing clothes – claims it was a mistake – mayor believes and defends him * Soccer team (Real Salt Lake) announces stadium is done deal * Organ recipient meets mother of donor * Bus bomb threat and evacutations * NBA draft * Live at Eleven – live at zoo at new tiger exhibit * PKG at zoo on new tiger exhibit

* Kennecott visitors center opens * July 4th traffic enforcement * Fireworks fires* Fatal car accident in Magna * Teen press conference * Roller hockey * Utah State Am. (golf tourney) – show up late – miss everything – mocked by other TV stations * House burns like candle on east side * Drunk airline pilot appears in court * Jaymz (from ‘So You Think You Can Dance) returns home at airport * Soccer stadium not gonna happen * Mexican consulate yelled at and insulted by cashier at national chain store * Pineview Reservoir drowning (“honey, watch this!” – disappears underwater and never surfaces) * Semi catches fire and starts a field on fire closing the freeway * Hot weather

* Mountain boarding at Sugarhouse park * Guy blows off a couple fingers with homemade ‘fireworks’ (pipe bomb)* Missing girl – wait outside police station for person of interest * Destiny Norton (missing girl from day before) search at Liberty Park * Auto/pedestrian accident next to park – [relatives of victim please contact me at onehunoz@hotmail.com] * Olsen trial verdict * Car stolen with 4 year old boy in it * ICAC bust

* Destiny Day 7 * Parade preps for July 24th – holiday in Utah * Destiny found dead in neighbor’s basement * Press conference with Destiny family representatives * Spanish Fork plane crash * Mayor/family of Destiny press conference * Gregerson charges reax * Acid spill – the day after * Chimney vs. man on roof – chimney wins * Motorcycle vs. car * Search and rescue for missing Utah county hikers * Fatal car accident in Lehi – sod truck hits car

* Provo storm damage * Prove storm cleanup * Flash flood victim press conference * Ogden fatal fire * Ogden fatal fire folo * Body found in freezer in Bountiful * BBQ fire * Tour of Utah * Airport taxi pass * Freezer body update * Family of woman in freezer speaks * Conjoined twins update * Arrest of son of woman in freezer

* Van with 21 immigrants rolls on the freeway * Some parents are upset because of school overcrowding * Baseball game (Bees vs. Fresno) * Gas prices at record high * SWAT team standoff at apartment * Man receives suspicious package from UPS – thinks it might be a bomb – puts it in his car and drives it to the fire department – bomb squad determines it is a birthday present from his daughter * A couple of 60 year olds compete internationally in triathlons * BYU - Meet the Team

* Man drinks too much – argues with girlfriend – decides best thing to do is stab himself in the chest * Truck turns in front of motorcycle * Charity motorcycle ride for childhood brain tumors * National Guard convention at Salt Palace * Man argues with friends – friends leave – friends come back try to kick door down – man shoots friends * Silhouette interviews with former escorts (prostitutes) * Car accident – baby thrown from vehicle * Apartment catches on fire * Local politician states on a radio show that Brown v Board of Education “was a bad idea to begin with” * Overnight fire in Farmington * Local marine killed in Iraq * East bench wildfires * Wildfire update * People buying tickets and concessions at movie theater * Arrest of guy robbing pharmacies for oxycontin

Lightning Over The City

Most nights after work I take my dog outside so she can poop and sniff around. Normally, I will play games on my phone, or watch the dog, or lay in the grass and look up at the sky, usually very benign activities. Tonight to the north of where I live, the sky was pregnant with storm clouds. The ambient light of the city gave the bottoms of the clouds an orange glow which was interrupted every few seconds with the flashbulb pops of lightning.

The flashes and the storm were far enough away that no thunder was audible. The clouds would sporadically illuminate from their insides. I sat cross-legged on the ground watching the storm blow above downtown. Details of the clouds' edges would outline in brilliance.

A soft, cool breeze blew. The storm stretched from one end of the valley to the other. At times there would be 5 or 6 strikes in just a couple of seconds. I counted once for a full 60 seconds and saw 27 bolts.


I sat and watched this light show for more than a half an hour. Finally, the clouds made their way to my part of town and blocked out the stars above me. Big, fat raindrops fell out of the sky and I took refuge inside.

Then it got late and I went to bed to sounds of late summer rainstorm ouside.

Hey, All You Maine Readers!

(You know who you are!)

Can you shed any light on this for me?

Is dead beast the marauding ‘hybrid mutant’?
Carcass may be that of legendary beast that terrorized Maine county

Well, Which Is It?

Seen outside an elementary school this week:

I know that young brains are pliable but let's not confuse them any more than we have to. Apparently both versions of that word are correct.

From dicitonary.com:

"bus n.

- pl. bus·es or bus·ses -

A long motor vehicle for carrying passengers, usually along a fixed route."

Ironically, the day after taking this picture I was interviewing an administrator with the school district. He didn't find it nearly as amusing as I did.

If you are reading this and you are the principal of Mountain Shadows Elementary, expect a phone call from the district sometime soon.

Congratulations Go To...

#1


Erik Spoelstra

This one's a little late:

I spent a year in college as a member of a measly, little excuse for a basketball team at the University of Portland. An old buddy of mine from that team just got an NBA Championship ring as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat. Erik has worked his way up from being a video coordinator and scout to a shooting specialist and bench assistant.

Even though he's not the first person from our college team to win a championship (I was the first as an assistant for the Clark College Penguins, which won the NWAAC championship in 1995), I still send Erik kudos.

What a thrill! Some people spend 30 year careers in the NBA and never get a championship. Congrats.

#2

Brooklynn Pulver

My wife has a friend who recently joined the cast of the travelling Broadway show 'Hairspray' in the lead role of Tracy Turnblad. She went to open auditions several months ago and was put 'on hold' for one of the touring shows. Everyone just sort of figured that was a friendly way of saying "Don't call us, we'll call you."

Well, they did call back and put her in a show. After rehearsing for a few weeks they started a long stand in Atlantic City before they hit the road for other places.


Brooklynn is the short, busty one in these photos (not the large man in drag). She's been getting rave reviews so far.


From The Atlantic City Courier Post:
"Lighting the way for this national-tour company is Brooklyn Pulver, who plays Tracy Turnblad, the zaftig, working class lass whose can-do spirit triumphs over whatever obstacles are in her way, be they her weight (a target of the thin, cool kids on the TV show), her wrong-side-of-the-tracks upbringing or the unabashed bigotry that defined life in pre-Civil Rights days.

Pulver is as much fun to hear as she is to watch; her voice easily conveys the emotions within. And she has a real feel for the kind of light comedy that defines the Hairspray book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan."

From the AC Weekly:
“You have to love the fact that Tracy loves life,” says actress Brooklynn Pulver of her character. “What I like about her is she always sees the good side, and nothing is going to stop her.”

hairspray is the 26-year-old’s first role with a touring company, and she makes the most of it. With a voice as big as her hair, Pulver brings a fizzy joy to the part, and moves across the stage like jelly on a plate."


#3

Marni Hughes

My friend and (now former) co-worker just got a job as 10 PM anchor at the Fox affiliate in Minneapolis. She wanted to move back to the midwest to be closer to family and get an anchor job in a good-sized market. So she got both out of this deal.

Marni is talented, friendly, smart, and beautiful. She will do great in Minnesota and anywhere else she goes.

Congrats to Marni.

Made Me Chuckle

Hope you don't have performance anxiety.

Fires And Death Are Bad

I've been on scene of probably hundreds of fires. Several times I've been inside homes that have burned down. There is a very distinctive smell to charred homes. It is a lot like a campfire, but much more intense. There are other smells in there, hints of more industrial things, probably insulation and wiring and carpet and furniture.

It always seems dry and, despite all the dirt and soot, sterile. There are no bugs. The plants are dead. It is lifeless.

The other day, we got sent to Ogden to do a story on a house fire where someone had died. We were surprised to see family members of the deceased woman at the house moving her belongings out just a few hours after the fire.

They were understandably upset but brought us into the home to get video of the damage. One of the first things I noticed was the smell. A very rotten odor permeated the inside of the house. Kind of like when cooked hamburger is left in its own grease on the skillet for a couple days (I knew a guy in college…didn’t visit him much, though). It wasn’t overwhelming, but it was obvious.

There were also a lot of flies buzzing in and out of the open windows and doors. Again not overwhelming, there was no buzzing mass of insects, but they were around.

Already, those were two obvious signs of trouble.

As long as I was moving around, the smells and flies weren’t too bad. The 19-year-old nephew showed us the damage upstairs in the bedrooms and downstairs in the kitchen. He decided he would do an interview with us. I set up my camera in the living room next to some boxes on the floor. My reporter, John stood in a small clearing on the floor on the other side of the boxes. I did notice the odor was a little stronger here but I figured it was because I had stopped moving around in the stale air.

After asking the nephew about what had happened (he wasn’t home) and what kind of person his aunt was (giving – she let him live with her for free) he points out where his aunt’s body was found.

“Yeah right about here on the floor where you guys are standing.”

WHAT!?

I glance down at the floor and notice that the carpet is burned and black everywhere except where we are standing. There is a white, charcoal-like layer on the floor underneath our feet. It looks to be about body-sized.

John and I both fidget a bit and step away.

I, of course, am thinking, ”WHAT THE HELL!!?? YOU LET US STAND ON THE CHARRED REMAINS OF YOUR AUNT – WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!!??”

Instead all I do is emit a non-committal grunt of acknowledgement.

“Yeah we kinda covered it up with those boxes.”

John finished the interview and we stepped away. But after that, every fly that landed on my arm, or in my hair, or that buzzed around my eyes and nose carried a whole different meaning. I envisioned these little guys looking for the dead flesh that we all smelled, wanting to lay eggs, or eat, or whatever flies do to dead people.

I hurried on out of the house and away from the charred remains I had been standing in. I sure didn’t want to take it home to my wife and dog on my shoes. When the family finally left, I made sure to wipe off my shoes in the grass, dirt and street real good before leaving.

My Dog's The Fastest!

There was a press release in the file at work one day about a dog lure course being set up for the weekend. My interest was less news related as it was my-dog-related. Our dog Ginger has the unbounded energy levels of a young dog. She is also athletic and quick.

Lure courses are where a foxtail or some other thing that dogs like are pulled through an agility course. This particular one is called Course A'lure and they travel around to different Jack Russel trials in the region and set up their course. Any dog can run through it which is good because Ginger isn't a Jack Russel (although she might be part jack - we just don't know.

The lure is pulled through tunnels, around sharp turns, over jumps, and then through a sensor that stops a timer. It is six hundred feet long. From what I understand 12 or 13 seconds is a good time for a fast dog.

They had been running dogs all day by the time we showed up. Mostly jack russels. The best time so far for the weekend was just over 12 seconds. We watched for a while then tried our dog.

We sent Ginger through a couple times so she could get used to the course. She was real interested. Nose down, ears up she trotted after the lure. Once she got used to how this whole thing workde, she kicked it up a notch. BAM!!

Ginger's problem was she was more focused on catching the lure than she was on getting a good time. So she did things like jump over the fence and try to cut it off at a turn. Or she fell down and rolled under the fence, then tried to cut it off at another turn. Or she would follow it all the way to the end but not run into the finishing area and stop the clock.

The operator eventually helped us out by keeping the lure just out of reach of Ginger. She tried her damndest to get ahold of that thing and flawlessly followed the foxtail through the course. As she ran past the sensor, the clock stopped at 11.86, best time of the weekend!

Everyone who watched her run encouraged us to get her into some sort of competition running. I didn't matter what we did, but to do something. We've tried flyball, but Ginger seems to focus more on antagonizing the other dogs who are pracicing than on flyball.

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know, my dog is the fastest.




Oh, and Erica showed some stage mom tendencies as Ginger kept screwing up on the lure course - I better keep an eye on that when we have kids.