Campound Talk

Only observation I have at this time is that it must be fairly close by.  They were talking about Gordon not making it by noon because he was insisting on tearing out a wall in his apartment to get a deceased rodent, but they made it sound like he wouldn't miss it by much, and he obviously didn't think it would unduly interfere with his broadcasting and radio-brotherly duties.

Water nearby -- George bringing a boat.

Probably that same place they've had it a couple of times in the past -- isn't it out in the Mid-Cities somewhere?  I forget.

Conundrum:  Fargo, or Junior Coast to Coast?

Campound Postscript

I have visions of hosts and minions from ESPN and The Fan tuning in to the Campound broadcasts, whereupon they immediately plotz.  What must it be like to know that you have to compete with stuff like that?  And can't?

Craig "Junior" Miller combines seamless broadcasting choreography with a totally unhinged perspective on nearly everything. Including, notably this time around, harmless tiny dangling spiders.  As Danny Balis has observed, Junior is the craziest mother on The Ticket.

Dan shines come Campound time. Might be fun to do some ad hoc White Elephants of him on other shows, doing more fill-in for absentees. 

Mike loosens up even before he's likkered up.

And Corby -- sorry, critics, the guy does make me laugh disproportionately to his percentage of time on the air.

Good stuff all around.  Congratulations on another successful extended bit.

A Nice Quiet Ticket Friday Night at Home with Mrs. Plainsman

It was a very interesting Ticket day, I thought. 

Mrs. P is recovering from some surgery (she’s fine, thanks for asking) and we’re watching some March Mildness (although this Kansas-Michigan game is concluding in an interesting way).  I’m in the old rocker and thought I’d give you  a number of items to chew on.

 

A SOURCE!

A commenter to the last post chided me for not having “sources” that would have instantly alerted me to Alexis’s departure.  I was going to respond that when one has no sources at all, my ignorance might be excused.

And later that day, I heard from someone.

I never know how to evaluate the stuff that (quite rarely and unexpectedly) comes my way.  I kinda consider the content, figure out it makes sense in the context of other stuff we know or think we know.  I decided this communicant probably had good information.  He (?) was someone who has been listening to The Ticket for a long time, and also exhibited some inside knowledge.  And in this case, his stuff was not incendiary, no apparent axes to grind. 

Paring it down s/he said:  The Campout was a Muser-only thing for several years before the whole station went.   The Musers decided to invite the whole station and make it a Ticket event.  It was never popular with some of the hosts, but they soldiered through.   After last year’s campout, only three of the nine on-air hosts were interested in doing it this year.  Thus, no more Campout, at least not this year and maybe never.

S/he also reported that the end of the Compound had nothing to do with Greggo’s departure.  S/he did not identify any specific reason the Compound was shelved, but did suggest that the talent sometimes feels that some items get stale and resist improvement.

Thanks to the Source – tried to think of a funny name for this correspondent, but nothing comes to mind.

I will say, however, that in general this tends to support my fairly unremarkable thought that there is some extremely interesting stuff that goes on behind the scenes.  Not all the hosts are on board with all of the stuff all the time.  This isn’t a shocking conclusion, but it’s the kind of stuff that the P1 would love to know about.  But, just as people beyond your employer don’t know the politics at your workplace, I don’t reckon we’ll ever get the story behind, for example, the demise of The Great Game.  There were some ill feelings after the last one, as I recall, centering on Mike Bacsik’s team-switching.  (Am I remembering correctly that that was the last one?)  You know, it’s probably just as well we don’t know.

 

 Trademarking Fun Ticket Phrases and Names

Confessors!  How unseemly!  You should receive your gratification entirely from the adoption of your descriptors by Confessors and others.  (I ran into a guy the other day who told me that he was the author of the “Yuck Monkey” designation on The Ticket.  I actually believed him.)

 How Mike is Sounding

Faithful Confessor ausgang left a comment to the last post reporting that he thought he detected sadness in Mike’s voice, that he seemed a little depressed.  Seemed to start 3-4- months ago.  (ausgang stated that he had no knowledge of any issues in Mike’s life.)

Well.   ausgang, I was startled by your comment because I noticed something in his voice at about the same time.  I thought about writing about it, but decided I may have been hearing things, and, truth to tell, I only hear it once in awhile.  (And not at all today, see below.)

But I had a different thought.  I didn’t feel that what I heard reflected any attitudinal issues.

What I thought was that for the first time, I thought I heard age creeping into those incredible pipes.    As I say, I don’t hear it often, but just once in awhile, I’ll hear a little crack, or a little breathiness, that I don’t recall hearing before.  The man is what, 62?  I mean, jeez, he comes by it honestly, and he’s not a young 62.   And he’s a regular vocal performer with his bands, singing out of his range (my opinion).  Not easy, and maybe what I’m hearing is just a little vocal weariness from a recent performance. 

 

 

But yeah, ausgang, I noticed something, too.

Mike and Mark

I only heard bits and pieces of The Hardline today, but what I heard sounded pretty good.  Mike was fully engaged, sounded great, and there was some sports talk on both their parts that indicated either preparation, or just plain sportsy knowledge.  I think most of us would like to hear more of this Mike with Corby and Danny, not just when sports is on the table, but in segments across the board. 

I wish I had heard more of their talk about the genesis of The Ticket, specifically Mark’s hiring by Mike.

 

Intra-Show Sniping

(1)  Corby won the E-Brake this morning for his show stop-down with a bad pun (that is, a pretty good pun).   George took the opportunity to take on The Hardline, who had been sniping at The Musers for not selecting enough of THL gaffes for the Friday contest.   George made some rather cutting comments about The Hardline, and concluded by recalling Corby’s suggestion that THL should do an internal blooper competition of its own.  George rather pointedly invited THL to do exactly that.   (I think that THL has won the last three E-Brakes.)

Of course, there is frequently some jabbing between the shows and it’s usually pretty-obviously good-natured.   George’s remarks did not have that flavor.  Anyone else thing George was just the tiniest bit hot under the collar?

 

 

(2)  I believe this one took place when Jake was doing E-News.  He made reference to a former Ticket guy, I believe it was Psycho Dave, who had stated somewhere along the line that he quit The Ticket because of Bob Sturm, although it could have BaD generally.  Mark said that he had left The Ticket way back when because of some friction with the cadre of BaD interns.  And there was talk directed generally against BaD interns (this may have been a reference to times past, hard to tell).   I forget who said that Bob was also amazed when learning that his management style did not get good reviews from his minions, but Mike jumped in at the end to support this piling on Bob.

(Attention UnTicket – that would be a nice clip to hear again.)

*     *     *

As I said – an interesting Ticket day.

And now, I'm going to sit back and watch Perry Mason on Channel 24. 

Twitter: @Plainsman1310

Email:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

 

OPEN THREAD: Wanna Go Camping?

Punchline to an old joke.

I haven't studied up on where these guys might be, although I thought I might be able to make some hay with Junior's account of the anti-semitic billboard, but nothing's coming up.

The station's half-hearted about this campout, and I guess that's kind of how I feel.  Very strange, like maybe they had some sponsors set up but after things got underway they faced a host revolt, so the whole thing just kind of fizzled. 

Deeply regret missing Junior Coast-to-Coast, which is always good.  Makes you wish Craig would sign on for the occasional later-night show.

We'll see if tonight's party makes this tripworthwhile. 

Meanwhile, I'll puzzle over where these guys might be.

Everyone Wants to Talk About Mike, So Let's Talk About Mike

Preliminary thoughts.

(1) Mike has earned the trust of P1's for honesty and speaking truth to Cumulus.  So I would propose that our first thought -- not our only one, but our first one -- is to take him at his word.  The problem, of course, is that there have been two words:  The campfire prediction of a February 2012 departure, and the showgram denial of any truth to it.  A rather adamant denial, and one that rang true to my ears.  Added to that is that the first was uttered under circumstances of fatigue, alcohol, and hypnotically dancing flames, and the second in the cleansing light of professional reality.  So I am more than 50% inclined to hold with those who say -- as someone did on The Musers this morning -- that both Mike and Norm will have to have their necrotic fingers pried from the microphone before they go.

(2)  How much over 50%, I'm not entirely sure.  I heard the replay of his campfire remarks for the first time this morning on The Musers.  The "February" statement is not what got my attention; it was what he said about -- hell, he said it in his usual orotund, circular fashion, but it was to the effect that the February date was what everyone who had been a part of the general discussion was believing.  (I haven't gone looking for tape on this -- anyone who remembers his phrasing, please advise.)  Whatever it was, I had the impression that he was not talking about the people sitting around that campfire, but other people -- The CumuloTicket Overlords.   This suggests, contrary to my point (1), that this is more serious than Mike is now claiming.

(3) Can we reconcile points (1) and (2)?  Maybe.  At this point, please click on this sentence and read the first few paragraphs of this article.  It is (ironically) Richie Whitt's Sportatorium article, dated February 13, 2009, on Mike's new contract with Cumulus.  (Note Richie's tip of the hat to The UnTicket.)   His old contract would have been up on February 20, 2009.  I suggest that that was a three-year contract, and that it expires on February 20, 2012.  I would further suggest that Mike has already been talking with the CTO's about what is going to happen on February 21.  Consider also another clue that the Whitt article gives us -- since Mike was considering skipping to The Fan, either his old contract did not have a noncompetition clause in it, or it was a very short one -- six months max.  Suggesting further that if Mike's agent/attorney was on the ball, his present contract probably doesn't have one, either.  Meaning that Mike has some cards to play in negotiating a new deal if he wants to keep broadcasting, as I'm betting he does.

And negotiating may be exactly what he's doing.  It explains his seemingly contradictory references to departing and staying.   Just a little something to terrify the CTO's, and a little something to make them feel better -- but not a whole lot better. 



Used without permission of The (Incomparable) UnTicket

I've had "what should Mike's new contract look like" on my topic list for well over a year and I've got one term to suggest to him that I think I'll hold off on for a bit.  But I can see I'd better get to it soon.

(4)  On a related topic -- everyone around that fire had had a few as well.  Someone asked Mike if he was contemplating retirement, or going elsewhere.  Mike didn't answer (to my recollection, at least not coherenly), and no one pushed him.  Somewhere along the line a jolt of electricity penetrated the hydrocarbonic haze in that group, and they realized they were not only being warmed by a fire, they were playing with it.

(5) Here's another fun fact for you Confessors:  It looks like Corby's contract might well be co-terminal with Mike's.  Clicking on this sentence will take you to Robert Wilonsky's Unfair Park article of February 19, 2009, announcing Corby's new contract.  Suggesting that Corby's fortunes can indeed by tied to Mike's.

Now those of you of a conspiratorial bent may recall that Corby did not show up at the Saturday night bacchanalia.  I am prepared to be simultaneously laughed-at and roundly condemned for tossing out the suggestion that maybe Corby knew the topic of "jeez, what will we all do after The Ticket?" was going to come up, and maybe he crept off to snuggle with his bottle of Woodford Reserve to let Mike toss off his "February" tease without being called upon to give his reaction.

Do I really think it's that calculated?  Uh -- no, no, I actually don't think it happened that way.  Just having a spot of fun.

Also, note that both the Whitt and Wilonsky articles state that these are "long-term contracts" guaranteeing The Hardline's survival in its present form "for years to come."  Would they say that about a three-year deal?  Sure.  Especially if Mike and Corby were about to fly the coop, they would have been in a position to bargain for a shorter deal if they thought the showgram was going to maintain its popularity so they could do another deal sooner rather than later.  Pretty good bet, I'd say.  (Unlike pro athletes, they don't have to worry about injuries shortening their career -- although considering the Ticket-wide sporting contests and stuff like the Campout, query.)  

(6) Consider Danny's position.  Most likely without a contract.  Almost certainly tragically underpaid for what he brings to the signal.   A huge contributor and multi-talented, I wouldn't be shocked if he were highly recruited around town.  His status may well be an element of Mike's calculation as to his own future.

So there are a few thoughts.  I can assure Confessors I am utterly without inside or industry sources on this (on pretty much everything, actually).  As a result, this article is quite possibly preposterous in every particular. 

One works with the clues one has.  Hey, I was right about Lake Mingus, for awhile.  

Cue Vanderjagt drops again.

VOICE OF THE NATION: Campout Open Forum

Fresh on the heels of my exhaustive analysis of the clues that resulted in a triumphant correct guess for the campsite published at 7:56 yesterday morning, for which I am claiming priority (changed immaterially later in the day, but that's not important now) -- boy, talk about grasping for scoreboard -- I need a couple days off.

Mule Lip Bar, Mingus, Texas
(Thanks to Confessor James)

Loved the last two days of broadcasting.  Let's have your views.

--  Funniest moments.

--  Interpersonal dynamics.

--  Mike R's woozy retirement talk.

--  Obsessive campground guessing.

Lots of stuff there.  Gotta love The Ticket.  Thanks for checking in on my campground quest the last couple days.

I Was Wrong About Lake Mingus -- Next Guess

Corby gave a description of the private property they were on during the Pool Party.  His description does not match the landforms around Lake Mingus.  So Lake Mingus was wrong.

Here are the new clues:

Lake is 110 acres.

There are animal pens, oil wells, hay fields, savannah-type meadows.

If one attempted to swim across the lake from the campsite, one would encounter a "thicket" of trees.  There was some debate about how far this was.  Mike thought it was nowhere near a mile -- Corby thought it was further.

There are the new clues.

Pass the beans, please.

I'm still intrigued by two of the earlier clues:  the 7:32 sunrise, and a nearby town with a bar beginning with the word "Mule."

So I'm still scouting the Mingus metro

If you check the map, go north about two miles and a little to the east, and you will find Lake CB Long.

There is a privately-owned CB Long Ranch in Palo Pinto county.

There are also oil wells in Palo Pinto county.

Turning to Google Earth, we find open fields adjoining the lake -- savannah-like, to my eye.

If you zoom in on the lake and scout the area near the shore, just south and west of the easternmost bulge of the lake you will see a single boxy structure.  Cabin-like, to my eye.  I believe that the straight part of the shore at that point is the C.B. Long Dam.  There is a road crossing the northern lobe of the lake, but I don't thnk it's a dam.

Google Earth does not have a scale on it that I can find, but Google Maps does.  A square mile is 640 acres, so a 110-acre lake is about .17 square miles.  A square mile is 5280 feet squared, or about 4.7 million square feet.   .17 times 4.7 million = 806,000 square feet, or about 900 feet on a side. 

Regrettably, Lake CB Long is not square, so forget all of those calculations.  However, if on Google Maps you place the lake next to the scale (sized to show a linear mile) and try to imagine whether you could get 5 Lake CB Longs -- scrunched into an appropriate shape -- into a square mile, it's imagineable.  Especilly if the part of the lake north of the road crossing it (which looks rather murky -- the lobe, not the road) is excluded.

Returning to Google Earth:  If you imagine the campsite somewhere near the eastern edge of the lake (remembering the location of the possible cabin) and look directly across, you will see a peninsula that has on it some trees -- to my eye, a thicket.   (A thicket on the Ticket, if you will.)  It is nowhere near a mile -- maybe between a third- and a half-mile.

I cannot find much information about the C.B. Long Ranch, except in this memorial article about a ranch foreman who passed away in 2008:  http://www.texashuntfish.com/app/journals/19716/The-Passing-of-a-Great-American-Cowboy.  (Steve Holub, sounded like a wonderful guy -- foreman there for 50 years.)  If you read it, you will see that one of the chief products of the ranch is -- hay.

So there's my new guess:  The southeast quadrant of Lake CB Long.

Having been wrong the first time (but close, I still think), I won't scoreboard myself this time around.  Mike V would have nothing to do with a loser like me.

=========

One more thing:  This is of little probative value, and highly circumstantial, but:  After I emailed Junior this morning about my Lake Mingus guess, I heard no further discussion of P1's guessing.   If I was pretty close with Lake Mingus, one would not expect to hear that anyone had guessed correctly (or, in this case, close to correctly) even if the host didn't name the actual location, because after a bit a hundred souls or so might have checked in to Your Humble Site and seen the guess.  (And within an hour or so I'd thrown Lake CB Long out there as well, in the comments.)   Pretty flimsy, I know, but it crossed my mind.

Campout Quick Hit -- My Guess

You'd think a Plainsman would be able to figure out where these guys are.  We've heard several hints.  My guess -- somewhere in the vicinity of Mineral Wells, and my more precise guess is near Mingus in the Cross-Timbers area near Palo Pinto Creek Reservoir or Lake Mingus.  Hints:

     --  Danny suggested that they went west, making a vague reference to the landscape that sounds more like West Texas than East Texas.  Gordon made a reference to "Louisiana" this morning, but this was an obvious Gordon misdirection play (lie).

     --  Junior made a reference to a 7:32 sunrise.  Sunrise this morning in Mineral Wells is at 7:32.  Mingus is south of Mineral Wells and just slightly west.  When I go to http://www.weather.com/, I see that sunrise in Mingus is also stated to be 7:32.

     --  The temperature in Mingus this morning is in the mid-to-low forties.

     --  Mike R let slip that there was a bar in town starting with "Mule."  There is a "Mule Lip Bar" in Mingus.

     -- Mingus is a few miles from a major lake, the Palo Pinto Creek Reservoir.  Now, there are lots of lakes in this area of Texas -- however, if I'm recalling correctly, PPCR adjoins the 7R Ranch development, for which Gordon Keith used to do commercials and might have had, as Danny might say, "a good in" with them. 

         There is also a Lake Mingus just north of town, which might be a better guess, because this morning someone wasn't sure whether the lights in the east was the town or the sunrise.  This indicates that there is a town east of the camp.   The town in question might be Gordon, which is to the east of Lake Mingus, and somewhat larger than Mingus.    So I'm going to give Lake Mingus the edge.




Gratuitous Ticket Campout Woman Photo


Therefore, I conclude that the campout is somewhere near the shores of Lake Mingus, or possibly the Palo Pinto Creek Reservoir, in any event not far from Mingus.

Please do not hassle them.

WAIT -- They're talking about where they are.  Junior named several lakes that they're NOT near, and none of them was PPCR.  So I'm in the running.

I had some more quick hits but I'll let this one simmer a bit.