Thursday, May 22, 2014

Funnymen Steal


The P1 is duly outraged by that almost unbelievably crappy "Fake Jerry" imitation that the imitator -- I can't even remember his name and the sooner I forget the whole episode the better -- stole from Gordon.  The impression is awful, every gag not directly plagiarized from Gordon is lame.  Even calling him "Fake Jerry" is a steal.

But I must observe that:

Artists, including some very great artists, steal.  Picasso famously is said to have remarked that "good artists copy, great artists steal."  Picasso should know.  But no one would claim that Picasso was not a great artist.

Comedians, in particular, steal.  Some, like the late Milton Berle, make a schtick out of their thievery.

Although this site may not be good evidence of it, I've written a fair amount of comedy in my time for performance and in writing, and I've certainly swiped a gag or three.

And Gordon Keith has  .  .  .  borrowed.

I thought I'd written a whole piece on this because I was so stunned when I saw it, but in Googling myself I see I only mentioned it in a comment last July 9 during the never-ending Gordon Keith Week on MTC.

I don't remember if it was Gordon's old TV show or in a sketch he produced for someone else's show, but he appeared in a bit where the premise was that he was going to appear on a TV show, I believe alongside some female co-host.  The bit was that he strutted into the TV station/studio, overly familiar with the staff, breezy, talkative, confident, acting like being on the upcoming show was going to be the most natural thing in the world, like he was an old hand at the TV game.  Then, when the cameras roll, he completely freezes, staring in stark terror.

While no dialogue got lifted, this is an obvious appropriation, in concept, of the legendary "Chef of the Future" episode of Jackie Gleason's "The Honeymooners."

The punch line -- the stare -- is a direct steal.

Ralph Kramden bought a bunch of multi-use kitchen gadgets that he and Ed Norton (Art Carney) were going to hawk on a live commercial.  All goes well until cameras are about to roll, the director is counting down, and then -- the petrified stare.  If you try to find it on You Tube, you have to find one that begins during the rehearsal, where Ralph is still confident, to get the comedic effect.  I know a lot of these old shows don't travel well through the ages, but the first time I saw this episode when I was in plains graduate school I was on the floor -- literally -- in convulsive laughter.



So let's face it, creativity is hard, good stuff is rare.  It's why the great ones are so treasured.  Gordon is one, in my judgment.   (Come to think of it, Jackie Gleason was known as "The Great One."  Interestingly, Gleason is frequently celebrated on The Ticket as the embodiment of Sheriff Buford T. Justice in "Smokey and the Bandit.")  And jeez, when you crank out the volume that he does, you're going to, uh, remember some things.

And at least Gordon has the good sense to reprise something that's 60 years old that much of his audience will never have seen.  And he ripped off one of the funniest things I've ever seen on the old Admiral.

*     *     *

ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com
@Plainsman1310

84 comments:

  1. prepare for a bit of lack of employment news surrounding a relatively big name in the local dfw sports tv landscape

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  2. It is a bit rich that Goroo is up on arms over this. All that 'have good' 'good good' 'get good' and the rest was, like so much of his now 'staple and patented' stuff, totally ripped from the old Strong Bad weekly web animated bits back in the late 90s early 00s and from the old Mr. Show-among others.

    So Anon, I'm guessing Rhads or Duece. Or a Dale retirement.

    Yo KT. You're a good dude. I think it's cool you come on here and say what you believe. Whether your beliefs are in reality correct or not, that's a diff story. It is Gavin. He does know of this site. My inside source is impeccable.

    Yo Gavin. Nice attempt at deflection, but it is you. I dig the radio wars stuff, so keep it coming.

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  3. You know the funniest thing about this and Gordo being up in arms, is that Jeff Cavanaugh at the Fan has been doing Fake Jerry for quite some time now, but he hasn't slammed him...smh...
    I get annoyed when I hear Cavanaugh do it, and he does a much better job than the spare with the NFL network.

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  4. Well...TC feels similarly towards Cat, Joe Letsche, and now his former P-Cola boss.

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  5. Even the Picasso quote is stolen. In 450 b.c., Bacchylides wrote, "One author pilfers the best of another and calls it tradition."

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  6. You know the second funniest thing about this and Gordo being up in arms, is that Matt Mosley at ESPN Radio has been doing Fake Jerry for quite some time now, but he hasn't slammed him...smh...

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  7. So when does Howard Stern chime in about stolen bits when it comes to the Ticket in general?

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  8. Back to TC for a moment - listening to the new IJB podcast and he referred to the Ticket sales staff as "our staff". Either he knows he is coming back or this is a slip showing that he never really detached himself mentally from the Little Ticket.

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  9. Of course all creative acts are based on the creator's experience. On the one hand, an artist can incorporate experiences and influences to come up with something new and contextually different. On the other, he or she can take another's work and reproduce it verbatim. There's a colossal difference between the two.

    Take Robin Williams, for example. Most people think his stand-up schtick in the '80s was the most original stuff they'd ever heard. He was hated among the stand-up circuit, though, because people would see him in the back of the room during a show at a small club one night and then hear their own jokes coming from the stage at Williams' next show. He would steal their jokes word-for-word and pass them off as his own. It got to the point where comics would look for him before they went on and if they saw him, they'd keep their best material to themselves because they didn't want it stolen.

    The difference between that and the cited Gordo/Gleason example is context. Sure, it's the same idea, but it's more of a case of being influenced by Gleason - if he's ever even seen the sketch - than plagiarization. The idea of someone going deer-in-the-headlights isn't revolutionary or unique. The Fake Jerry bit that caused the uproar was straight plagiarization. There was no contextual difference, no improvement, no modification apart from the lack of ridiculous non sequiturs and the elimination of anything that makes Gordo's version funny and entertaining.

    Sure, everybody that creates anything is influenced by what they know. Artists create something new and different from it. Hacks steal.

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  10. Cannot agree, friend birq. The "fact setting" of the bit isn't identical, but this wasn't a matter of mere influence. The Confessor knows I am a big Gordon admirer, but that was a conscious appropriation of a comic setup and punch line.

    It's not a big deal, doesn't diminish my admiration for Gordon, and I didn't even think enough of it to do anything other than mention it in passing in an earlier comment. I just thought it was of interest given The Ticket's indignation over that other guy's Fake Jerry.

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  11. Speaking of indignation:

    This Cuban uproar is preposterous. Something jogged my memory when I heard it, and I looked it up. Who said:

    "There is nothing more painful to me … than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery, then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved."

    Why, it was the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson. (Remarks at a meeting of Operation PUSH in Chicago (27 November 1993). Quoted in "Crime: New Frontier - Jesse Jackson Calls It Top Civil-Rights Issue" by Mary A. Johnson, 29 November 1993, Chicago Sun-Times (ellipsis in original). Partially quoted in US News & World Report (10 March 1996).) [Citation from Wikipedia.]

    Comments on race relations in the U.S. will be unfairly deleted by me unless they relate with exquisite directness to Mark Cuban, and maybe even then.

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  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. Is it possible that folks are upset with Harrison because his fake Jerry was so horribly bad? Imitation is a form of flattery but Harrison's impression was an epic fail.

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  14. He was on with the Musers this morning. His defense was that he and friends from Dallas (where he once lived) would do characters with each other over the phone. So he was just picking up the Fake Jerry shtick from his friends, who unbeknownst to him were stealing from Gordon.

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  15. Granted a lot of comedians steal from each other, particularly stand ups, some are influenced by others and by habit, it becomes their own nature. I think that's somewhat Gordo, although he does spend a ton of time on YouTube. I'm sure he copies a lot of what he sees deliberately.

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  16. Pretty funny listening to Bob and to some extent Dan go off on The FAIL's lack of originality.

    Like 119pm said, KT you're a good dude but take off the blinders and drop the pompoms, bud. It is what it is and no amount of 'I think we used to be like that but now it's changing' is gonna change it. And calling your former employer the chicken doesn't make any sense, by the way. Ticket/chicken. Huh? Ticket/sickofit. Ok. That one, while it doesn't relate to reality, at least makes sense if you're gonna take a lighthearted jab. Chicken. Not so much, bud.

    Gordo is a master rip artist. This schmuck cheesing him is totz ridic. Pot calling kettle black, big time. Like Pman, just because Gordo has lifted tons of stuff doesn't make me think he's any less funny. Just like I didn't stop listening to Zep after I found out Pagey's best riffs were totz rip jobs. Boom.

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  17. @Anon 3:28

    Can you expand a little on what Bob was discussing and/or referring to concerning the FAIL

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  18. Anon 328 Come on man. The chicken has been something that guys have used as a bit for years at The Ticket. I can get Big Strong Jer to back me up here, because the first time I heard anyone subtly say The Chicken was him. Then on weekends, we'd subtly use it sometimes to end tickers and stuff. It wasn't a big deal, just a goofy play on words.

    When I worked at The Ticket no matter what, everything else sucks. It's genius. I spent 15 years of my life thinking everything else sucks. I think The Ticket is good, I didn't just change immediately, but to deny that we are growing something at The Fan is just fine. It's not personal, nor should it be. I want to win though. I want to make big money.

    I'm not sure exactly what we've ripped off, or what the lack of creativity is. I don't know about any of of that or what Bob and Dan said. I'd like to find out, but it's whatever. Bob and Dan are still my friends either way.

    Hell yeah I got my pom poms out. These blinders aren't on. We're improving and growing. Don't be butt hurt about it, it's good for DFW and DFW Radio.

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  19. I think there are plenty of P1s who will back me up in saying that when I said The Chicken it was not a jab, nor intended to be a jab. It's been a part of the ticket vocabulary for quite a while now.

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  20. Anon 3:28

    The Chicken came from a Bob and Dan interview years ago with GrandPa Munster. (Al Lewis) when ask for the radio liner at the end of the interview he called the Ticket, The Chicken. It's been a running bit ever since.

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  21. Had the ticket on at work when BAD radio mentioned the Fan's lack of originality. I rarely listen to the fan so I have no idea what exact segments they referred to. A Friday morning segment that apes The E-brake and "Summer Bash at sneaky Pete's" rip off we're they only gripes I caught.

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  22. Same anon as above. I also feel the ticket is WAY to protective of some things. Mainly the Homer call, lunch pail type stuff, and (the now it seems rarely used) gay not gay. Those things have been around in some shape or another for awhile. My friends and I used to catch all on those lunch pail/coach on the field/natural talent in broadcasts all the time. It is not the sole intellectual property of the ticket...and I'm not kidding

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  23. I think the Ticket is offended when others actually call the ripped off segment Gay or not Gay, homer call of the week etc. That is truly a rip off

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  24. @119
    Im not Gavin. Thats the biggest thing that upsets me about guys like you. The arrogance to think an actual host (no offense KT) comes on here anonymously and actually gives a crap. Trust me, Dawson has no reason to do that. He's leading the fastest growing show in DFW and you should see how often those guys are out an about...if the fan is "stealing" anything from ktck...its that. Those guys are out on the streets every day of the week...like the ticket boys used to do...the following is there and growing.
    Im willing to meet you in person, introduce myself, and explain my place in the landscape...I just cant be transparent here.
    Let me know how ubwanna do this....im not gavin and I was not richie.

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  25. Yeah!

    Another Battle of Anonymous posters.

    With your failure to even give yourself a name, fictional or not, you are all less creative than NFLN's Elliot Harrison.

    @Shaggy (May 22,2014 4:49 PM)-
    You are spot on.

    Wow. From not wanting to say that he was fired, he says, “ let go”, he blamed the cohost relationship with the station owner as the main culprit of his downfall. He even flipflopped those words too. TC did still talk as if he was still on The Ticket and he isn't.

    TC, if the JOB is no longer there, you were “let go”; if YOU are not there, you were “fired”. This week that station ran a local show. Think about that.

    He totally glosses over his role as Program Manager and the content he wanted to provide which was not along with the market, yet only says that the other staff was uninamously behind him and liked him. In earlier podcasts, he was very worried about which Ticket drops he could add to the Pensacola database, yet there was not a full time engineer on staff, but the guy was hourly,so when hardware failed, the boss had to possibly cut another check.

    Thankfully, Jake did say that what the other worker's thought did not matter to his demise.



    While talking in his pauses of, “um/yea/ya know/I mean/I don't know”, TC did acknowledge that he force the change the lineup to fit what he wanted and it did not work. However, now TC blame the owner for allowing such a decision.

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  26. @1242@KT
    I guess the big question is: why? Why do you guys, who obviously work for The FAN (KT, publicly, Anon, who has all but admitted it), keep sniffing around a site devoted to The Ticket. Not to DFW radio or even sports talk radio, or even DFW sports. No. The Ticket. Yes, KT is a former Ticket employee. OK. But he's not any longer. Hasn't been for a while now. Why do both of you allow yourselves to be drawn offsides by people who are obviously trolling you? Is it because there's some or a lot of truth to what they're saying? I don't know. But I do believe that, unless you have something Ticket or radio scene related, your collective endeavor is futile. And frankly, curious. KT's constant defending of his job, his employer, and its "vision" by this point and time is baffling. Unless, that is, he can't let The Ticket go. The Anon who is obviously an employee of some stripe/has an affiliation with The FAN is plain silly. What? Are you the "I'll meet you at 2 in the morning if I know you'll be there" 1st Sunday Trade Days Car Dealer Guy? The whole let me tell you but not really who I am schtick (and now the I'll meet you and tell you because I can't blow my cover…VIP here and all) is ridiculous. Equally as silly is the constant pumping up of, and "leaking" of news of, Gbag Nation. This is a blog about….wait for it… THE TICKET.

    Again. I ask the question: Why?

    At least KT seems like a nice guy.

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  27. THL elaborated more on LedZep's lifting songs. Lots more Mike on this one. Perhaps this will get some follow-up. It certainly takes a while to grind your way through the court system.

    yep, more anon on anon action.
    may I sum up?
    Yer Gavin.
    Am not.
    Are too!
    I sure ain't and I can prove it!
    Just how are you going to manage to do that?

    What happened to that uptick somebody was telling me about? Y'know the last time I asked DA where the yootes of DFW are turning for their listening in middays. It still appears to me that the spots for second and third are somewhat fluid. The Rangers/Cowboys might help you get over the hump from third into second, but it doesn't seem to push you up to Numero Uno.

    I'd put it down to personal pride and professional CYA that when somebody steals from another in the arts that they find it hard to admit in public. I did recall the George Harrison episode, but was not aware that Lennon warned him against releasing it. The written word seems to have the hardest repercussions for lifting somebody 's work. If you are Chris Arnold it gets you a week off. If you work for the Gray Lady, it gets you fired. If you are a politician you pretend it didn't happen and move along to the next talking point. I don't mind if somebody is stealing bits from the little Ticket. If Harrison's Fake Jerry was actually a good rendering I might be concerned, but it isn't. The Cat did a far better job of mimicking the Arkansas snake oil salesman. Homer call recognition is/was one of the few original bits that were stolen. Dan Patrick toyed with it for a while, but I want to say it might have lasted about a year and the times I heard it was not terribly impressed with his offerings. The work of lowly interns should not go unnoticed. It is they who mine the vastness of the world to find these. That and those of us who happen to stumble upon it and send it in to BaDD. I still like it as a segment. It is not a created bit really but an observational one that anyone could use, but it requires mining the sports world for good examples. Bob and Dan had one of the most homerific announcers dumped in their lap. Those playoff series with SJ introduced them to a master. I do not recall his name, but he is ensconced in the Homer Call shrine. It was so blatant, so obvious on goal calls. Zubov, score. So very monotone and deflated. Then compared with the calls for the Sharks goals which were as over the top as any known homer call. The fun part of all of this is the P1s rallying around the little ticket. For a solid year we hounded Corso. Within a day the torrent of tweets was unleashed on an unsuspecting Harrison. Some flimsy explanation might salve his ego but we know better.

    Somehow this brings me back to the restaurant analogy. If the little Ticket's recipe is so tired, so dated and no longer of good quality then why are they being copied so often?

    You anons keep bringing the lulz.
    KT you keep on rolling that stone. I didn't particularly give a shit where you all had your fun then and still don't now, but its cool when you weigh in.

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  28. Jiggity McDiggityMay 24, 2014 at 8:54 AM

    Let me first say that I DO listen to The Fan. Sometimes Norm or BaD just suck and I dont like recap shows or Ferrell. So GBag or K&C find their way onto my radio. So I dont HATE The Fan. But they seem to be now running on a platform of "Were young and hungry, and not old (like those other guys)" Every show (not everyday, because I dont listen daily) I seem to hear also takes potshots at The Chicken when im tuned in. That makes sense. Insult the biggest meanest dog on the block. But honestly, I dont even think KTCK regards KRLD-FM as anything but a junior dance partner in this market. Rant over.

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  29. Jiggity McDiggityMay 24, 2014 at 9:01 AM

    In regards to young TC. Im confused. He burned some bridges leaving here, he had some glaring holes in his game (which he seemed to ignore), and he is surprised he got fired? (Not let go. FIRED!) Then he did the reddit thing and further cemented his status as a smarmy little jerk. I dont dislike Thomas Charles Fleming the human, but I seriously dislike TC the radio "personality". He had an inflated opinion of himself and he got what he deserved about it. He was a decent field hand for us here, nothing more. But some greatly overrate his real value and try to paint him as some kind of legend. Grubes he wasnt.

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  30. @BBQ because it's the internet and I can do what i want. I love you.

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  31. Accidentally didn't sign my name to the last one. Sorry BBQ. That was me. I'll sign here from now on.

    KT

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  32. @ Jiggity McDiggity's last comment on TC. We'll said and amen Brutha.

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  33. Btw, it's been a full month since A P1 Wasteland has posted anything. I think he's lost the passion because I've seen their author post other places, so he's still around.

    @ Plainsman...don't you go breaking our heart and leave this site barren. Keep up the good work for us P1's to have a place to go, vent, etc. And thank you for doing so.

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  34. I respect the way the Plainsman runs this site. But it's getting old reading KT or Gavin or Ben or others from the Fan constantly telling us how incredible their station is. This is supposed to be a place we P1's can gather and love or hate (w love!) our favorite station. The Fan propaganda has grown tiresome, and it causes every conversation to devolve. I would respectfully ask our host to consider editing the Fan trolls.

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  35. Hey now lastest anon, I don't care if the Fan guys want to hang out at the Pman's confessional. Cut KT some slack. Hell if Elliott Harrison or even K Scott or Dick Hicks was to wander in and tout their latest endeavor I'd vote for them to be heard.

    What if Dougie showed up and told us all about some nifty link?
    Besides we can derail a thread any old time.

    Not that I am inviting someone to do so.

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  36. @KT
    As I said, you seem like a good guy. I have no beef with you posting comments about your job. I just don't understand what you get out of it other than grief from trolls. Of course you are free to do as you wish. That doesn't mean it's productive.

    If I were in your position, instead of imitating Sisyphus, I'd start up my own FAN version of MTC. I'd then invite MTCers to check out the station and join in the conversation. Perhaps the Anon who works at/is closely affiliated with The FAN might take up this suggestion? I'm inclined to think you know this Anon. Perhaps not from these comments, as s/he is anonymous, but if you did a bit of nosing around, I bet you'd find out in no time. So maybe you could make it a joint venture?

    Merely an idea. As you said, you can do whatever you like, it's the internet. But I must say again (from my last comment) that there's something peculiar about a former employee of a company who now works for a competitor (and has for some time now), and yet who seems to be unable or unwilling to let go of his former job. It almost comes off as a directive from your current employer; a business that from all appearances is obsessed with its distant lead dog of a competitor (in lieu of trying to compete with its actual competitor).

    Anyways. Good luck to you, KT. I said my peace and I'll leave it at that.

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  37. I don't know who the anon is and there's definitely no directive.

    If you notice, anytime I've checked in to comment, it's been to clear up false information.

    KT

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  38. Nice little shout out to MTC on Cirque du Sirios today. Mike read a commenters entire post from a few weeks back explaining the name of the show (in response to another commenter mentioning the show should be call Cirque dus Sirois.)

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  39. Thanks, Anon. Very cool. That was my comment explaining why "Cirque des Sirois," while possibly correct French grammar, loses the cleverness of the pun. Damn, I caught the last hour of the Orphanage (with Siroises) and just the beginning half-hour or so of Cirque, so I missed it.

    Did they mention the name of the site? Sometimes reference is made to the site by hosts, but the name is not mentioned.

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  40. By the way, that comment may be found on this thread (http://myticketconfession.blogspot.com/2014/04/its-race-week-with-rich-ph-oh-wait-its.html#comments) at 9:24 am.

    Assuming that's the one they read.

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  41. Confessors, just a note to let you know that it means a lot to me when someone says something nice about the site in these comments, or threatens me with harm if I abandon it. I don't write as much as I used to but I'm pleased that folks still find it an agreeable gathering spot for the P1. And I do toy with the idea of fading away from time to time, but between you guys and Mrs. Plainsman, who doesn't ever read the site but who scolds me bitterly whenever I suggest that maybe I don't have a whole lot of interest to say about The Ticket that I haven't already said, I persevere. So I reckon I'll be at it awhile longer.

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  42. cactus said it -- I'm OK with Fan listeners posting here too. Fan employees also welcome. They observe the protocols of the site, don't get out of line, don't pick fights.

    The phrase under my photo says that I'm "Scanning the Sports Radio Horizon," and that includes 103.3 ESPN (especially now that Cumulus is programming it) and The Fan.

    Besides, we've had some fun with The Fan during the RaGE days, and I'm going to do a piece on Cowlishaw & Mosely one of these days when I get around to it. And I've long promised a more serious sustained listen to Ben & Skin and my reactions to that -- again, somewhere off in the unknowable future.

    Kevin Turner has been a cool friend of the site since his Ticket days and I agree with him that when he checks in its usually to give his take on something he's seen here that he thinks is wrong. I'm glad to get corrections and I have no reason to think that he's posting in bad faith.

    I have no idea who any of the FAN-Anons are who post here and I don't care if it's Joe Shlabotnik or Gavin Spittle. I would be amazed if there were some station directive to have employees comment here. No percentage in that at all.

    But BBQ beat me to it: I do wonder why some of the other stations haven't inspired a site like this one. For that matter, I have long been puzzled as to why there aren't more Ticket sites like this one. P1 Wasteland was quite promising, and I don't think we should give up on it. But, as noted, it seems to be on hiatus. What was that other one that hit the scene with some razzle-dazzle a couple years back? A handful of really solid articles, then it vanished. There's got to be some FAN or ESPN blowhard out there like me who can toss up an article every week or so and police comments.

    Hard to believe this joint is coming up on five years.

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  43. Mike did mention MTC by name, explaining it is a ticket blog, before reading your post.

    Both were very impressed with the details of the post that went into explaining the name.

    He started it off by asking Machine what the name of the show is, saying it has only been recently the station even gets the name right on the schedule. Sounded like machine may have said "de sirois" but he knew he was being set up.

    Probably was in the 1-2 o'clock hour.

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  44. Well, that's nice.

    Thanks, Siroisoisie.

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  45. listen to yesterdays cirque show here:

    http://cirquedusirois.squarespace.com/listen-to-cirque/

    the MTC talk is near the 1:40 mark right after grubes called in

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  46. I don't know if it's due to a conscious effort on their part or just a natural progression of things, but the bros. Sirois and Cirque has come a long ways. I've come to dig what they do. I can't pinpoint when it began but it was when Mike and Cash began to take charge of their own show and not let the crew take over that Cirque came into its own. I have to think Mike's producer duties have played a role in the rounding into form of Cirque. Not that Machine and the gang have nothing to say. Far from it. It's just the show is called Cirque du Sirois not Le Cirque. They're the Ringling Bros. of the operation and so they are the focal point. It's now as it should be.

    I won't pretend to know what goes on inside BBQ's mind but I think KT proved his point by replying the way he did. BBQ's no troll so that's not what he or she was doing. Still. I actually went back over the last 15 threads in search of KT's posts. Yep I'm that bored. There's a lot of correcting of misinformation. A lot of the misinformation and correcting is pretty subjective. Many of KT's posts aren't what you'd call fact correcting. They're more IMHO in nature. There's plenty of in defense of___ insert a charge vs. The FAN or a reason why he left The Ticket. Some are black and white setting the facts straight. That's true enough. For KT to say that he only pops on Jer to clear up misinformation is misinformation in itself. Then again it seems like misinformation and its correction are in KT's eyes something that a lot of folks would call opinion.

    I'm with almost everyone else on KT. Good dude. I think it's cool he pops on Jer. But I did the research like we did and felt the need to reveal my findings. You know, before DiGianni shamed me into going to bake and all.

    On the Gordo thing. A real funny man. We're lucky to have him. Not a fan of his weekly DMN column though. Overwrought with sentimentality and sometimes the personal anecdotes and childhood recollections are downright unbelievable. The Southern lit Eudora Welty meets Walker Percy influence seems too intense an influence at the present. It overwhelms what seems to be damn fine natural writing instincts. I did find his Mother's Day column extremely heartfelt and touching. Though that one was fraught with sentimentality on the front end. My hunch is that one day he'll be find his own voice, trust those natural instincts and become a very good writer.

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  47. Is anyone else listening to Ticket Sports Sunday right now? What is wrong with Newberry? It sounds like he's constantly holding in a bong hit. Montemayor sounds shaky too. They're both really halting and seem like they're searching for words. It's like Head Injury Ticket Sports Sunday.

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  48. More on the plagiarism thing. Gordo has to come up with at least one funny bit five days a week for how many years? I think he can be allowed to go in search of inspiration from time to time. Hudson & Harrigan/Stevens & Pruitt were great recyclers of other people's jokes because they needed so many of them.

    But if you've got one funny bit you should attempt to be original.

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  49. The doctor said I wouldn't have so many nose bleeds if I kept my finger outta there.

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  50. Who is Montemayor? A Tickerman?

    I heard Newberry and him last week and . . . pass for now. Need to hear more.

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  51. Ha! Just listened to CDS talking about my explanation of why "Cirque du Sirois" is correct. Pretty funny.

    What they didn't know, apparently -- since someone must have cut and pasted a portion of that comment in isolation in an email -- is that I was responding to someone who thought the proper locution, in French, was "Cirque des Sirois."

    No matter. A ton of fun. Guess the Siroisoisie don't read the site with regularity.

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  52. Caught part of THL Friday, when Corby was telling about the dude "Chubes" wanting to fight him. The guys from San Antonio were total douchebags, but man, what I wouldn't give to see ol Chubes knock the CRAP out of Corby....what I wouldn't give!

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  53. What's the verdict so far on JV Day? I'm really enjoying it. I thought Cirque was great. If I were a competitor, I'd definitely be looking at those boys. I honestly think they could give D&M a bit of a push. The Levine-Newbury Experience has been nothing short of impressive. The segments they did on the World Wars were informative, apolitical, and insightful. Great Ranger segment. And while soccer isn't my thing, that segment too held my interest. Very much looking forward to hear what an extended Shake has to offer.

    Thus far I'd say that if the Varsity team quit en masse tomorrow and the CTO ran with today's lineup, it'd still beat the pants off ESPN and The FAN. The CTO and us P1s are very lucky to have such a wellspring of talent in our midst.

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  54. Montemayor = Justin Montemayor, former one-legged BaD intern. He's still one-legged, but now he's a one-legged tickerman.

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  55. Speaking of stealing, did everyone know that Radiohead got sued for lifting this song for "Creep"? I only learned about it a few years ago. I was quite familiar with the chorus of The Air That I Breathe but I never remembered the verses.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HydvceA1PAI

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  56. oops, I meant a few months ago, not a few years ago...

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  57. Where are the glowing reviews and pics of the overflow crowd from the Fan event?

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  58. Love that song (coincidentally just tagged it on Shazam the other day to remind myself to download it) and love Radiohead. Hadn't heard about the supposed copyright infringement. I can hear some similarities but doesn't sound close enough to warrant a suit.

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  59. Agreed. Surprised radiohead would lose that suit after listening to both songs back to back.

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  60. If anybody should be sued it should be Lady Antebellum for stealing I need you now from Alan Parsons Eye in the Sky. Just hum in your mind its a quarter after one... and I am the eye in the sky...

    There are also youtube clips on this so if you want to find the comparison do the research on line like we did.

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  61. I personally like to sync The Wizard of Oz to The Dark Side of the Moon. So much that I bought the internet version where it's already done for me. The Dark Side of the Rainbow. ..

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  62. I was listening to that yap-master Corby today. In his community quick whips, he's talking about two people getting fired for an offensive sign posted at a bar. Am I the only one who wonders what happened to the "reprimand"? Why do people automatically get fired for some silly mistake? The boss shoulda said "Guys, you know we live in a hyper sensitive society, fueled by idiots like that Corby on the Ticket! You made a mistake and you're not going to do it again..right?...OK, then get your asses back to work!" If anyone should be fired, it should be Corby for those boring stories.

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  63. I think you are correct that we are in a fire-first culture and I think that may be one of the few drawbacks of the collapse in the labor union as an entity in the US. Although typically a major pain in the ass for the economy and sometimes very inefficient, the union did one thing well - protect the labor force against termination almost to a fault.

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  64. We live in a zero tolerance world. This is what you get with unbridled political correctness.

    What Corby didn't mention was that if he had been in the bar he would have laughed at the sign.

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  65. Unless you're in the Obama administration and the mistake you make is egregious, like people dying or something. Then you get a warning. Only people getting fired these days are for non-issue, perceived PC faux pas. Makes me ill.

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  66. If you've got a crack in a wall, or a door that won't shut...

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  67. I hadn't heard about the bar sign story until this morning on Muse. A quick search revealed that this was a sign at Scruffy Duffies that said something like, "I like my beer like I like my violence - domestic" (to catch everyone up).

    Anyway, the very first search result (Google search) was an article at - wait for it - Huffington Post. I generally stay away from there, but I couldn't resist clicking through to read what that site's users had to say about Texas THIS time.

    I wasn't disappointed, I'll say that much.

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  68. I didn't hear Cobby's or Gordo's take on it, but I'm familiar with the incident at Scruffy Duffies. The time for warnings, reprimands and making nice with the customer came and went. The woman who complained tried several times to get her compliant taken care of and was just brushed off or condescended to.

    This is an establishment with ties to the community, and goodwill is important to their bottom line. Management that evening decided to just make her go away, and she decided to go home and stir up the social media hornet's nest. Both are within their rights. Ownership saw the firestorm and the loss of goodwill (and potential hit to their bottom line) and took the "we're sorry and have taken appropriate steps to make sure it doesn't happen again" route to try to rebuild the lost goodwill in the community. That meant firing people. That sucks for them, but they decided to write what at least one person interpreted as a distasteful message on the sign by the bar (or allow it to be written) and then decided to not erase it when the customer, nearly in tears, complained and ask that it be removed. Poor decisions made, bad result, sucks to be you.

    The sign was written in chalk or grease paint, for fuck's sake - it's not like it takes much effort to erase it and replace it with something less blatantly stupid. A customer in your business complains about it, you take care of it. This isn't a " perceived PC faux pas", this is basic "I have 2 neurons that fire, so I can tell this is the correct thing to do as a decent human being" situation. To make this a liberal attack on 'Murica is to completely misunderstand what basic human decency is.

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  69. Bullshit. I will not go back to Scruffies because they caved to this person and actually fired someone. This was one person complaining, one. All political correctness is is catering to the minority. I'm damn sick of it. Take a fkn stand, someone, please! It has to stop.

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  70. Well, 1132, when bad press about your establish makes national news (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/05/28/sign-texas-dallas-domestic-violence/9662405/) I guess you have to do something. These things aren't always fair (cue Mike Bacsik giggle drop.)

    This thing could otherwise get way out of hand way fast - it still can, in fact.

    Good GOD, this CAPTCHA. I wonder how many posts go unsubmitted on account of people giving up...?

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  71. So, 1132, if two people would've complained, it would be okay? Not enough? Ten? It must depend on how many people are in the room. By your definition of political correctness, a simple majority is required before we can agree that the joke was in poor taste and change the sign. This one woman's opinion doesn't matter because she's (maybe) in the minority. Your argument makes no sense.

    You know who took a stand? Hitler.

    *drops mic* *walks off stage*

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  72. @ shaggy

    1,200 people. Pretty damn good for having to change venues at the last minute. There are some pics here.

    https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/1386412214980839/

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  73. So Sneaky Pete's can't accomodate 1200 people?

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  74. @Wes
    I thought JV Day was a joke...Shake Joint having a band on in the 5oclock hour that nobody's ever heard of? Yeah, i wanna know exactly what it's like for an independent band to record in the studio...please talk about for an hour during my drive home. terrible radio.

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  75. I don't see any pictures that show more than 100 people in a crowd though.

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  76. @ Shaggy
    I think you missed the point of why the party was moved. The buzz around the party was so big that the Ticket cried to the city of Lewisville to pressure the establishment into backing out, not only of the party, but of a weekly event throughout the Summer.
    The original location probably would have drawn 1,000-1,500.

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  77. @Shaggy
    Maybe you should call the Community Beer Company and ask how their attendance/sales were

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  78. I don't understand why people use the @ symbol outside of twitter. If you're addressing somebody you use their username. There's no need to use an @ symbol on top of that.

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  79. @ Shaggy
    Thanks for confirming yourself as a member of the bitter old man demo...the Ticket needs all of you...until you turn 54

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  80. @1132
    When you have idiot Chris Chris's making decisions when it comes to customer service, it's going to blow up in your face(looking at you Kung Fu Saloon)

    Joking about domestic violence isn't cool, at what point is a sign too much for you? If they were advertising "date rape shots $1", would that be ok?

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  81. @birq - would have anticipated a response like that from a lib. The point is, hundreds of people saw the sign, scores probably chuckled, 1 idiot complained and some poor guy loses his job over it? That's proper in America? The owner should have taken the sign down if he felt it would affect his business but the dude should not have been fired, esp in this economy.

    And ur Hitler reference makes no sense at all. The PC police state we're now in is more reminiscent of a communist state than a free one so I'm lost there. Think man, please.

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  82. Fair enough - I'm out too. Hoping for Rory to make it back to back W's this weekend.

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