Best Pro Wrestling Podcasts

Podcasts make my hour-long commute somewhat less soul crushing. And while I haven't regularly watched wrestling in years, I really enjoy the burgeoning sub-genre of wrestling interview podcasts, many hosted by former or current wrestlers.

All provide a behind the scenes, insider perspective, and you learn a lot about how hard wrestlers work to make the shows realistic and entertaining. I've sampled many shows and would recommend:

Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard
The former Brother Love was one of Vince McMahon's right hand men behind the scenes, and he shares stories about what was really going on behind some of the most famous moments of the 80's and 90's wrestling scene. Very insightful and even entertaining show.

The Steve Austin Show
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin is a surprisingly natural interviewer and host, and he seems to be friends with every former and current wrestler. Dig into the archives for his talks with Ric Flair, Scott Hall, Paul Heyman, and more. 

Talk is Jericho
Chris Jericho, man of 1,004 holds, interviews former wrestlers and pop-culture personalities on his twice-weekly show.

The Art of Wrestling with Colt Cabana
Hosted by longtime indie wrestler Colt Cabana, this was the first breakout wrestling podcast, and he's interviewed everyone from his close friend CM Punk to veterans like the Iron Sheik and Hillbilly Jim. Some of his guests are more obscure (and I'll admit to skipping those), but he was a good conversationalist.

BTW, if you need a podcast app, it's hard to beat Overcast. The voice boost, smart speed, and 30-second skip features really improve the listening experience.

Turning Black Friday into Track Friday

 

What if some of the money spent on Black Friday went towards charity instead? What if people instead came together on local tracks in support of the causes they cared about? A good friend had that idea, and 2 years and $37,000+ raised later, "Track Friday" is taking off.

I designed their webpage and will participate again this fall. If you also like the idea, please consider liking their Facebook page or even joining the movement.

Hustling

In the 5 years since my last post, the Internet has only gotten bigger. So you could be forgiven for missing these new sites and businesses launched by friends of mine, but they are worthy of your time/clicks:

Personalized photo book from StarringUs.com

Personalized children's books are a dime a dozen. But personalized children's book with your child's picture in the story? Innovative, inspired, and, based on my son's reaction, a gift that your child will actually appreciate.

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Rereading some of my old blog entries makes me realize how much I miss writing. I benefited from great teachers, and now the Winning Writing Academy is running a Cranford summer writing camp to inspire that same love in elementary school students.

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A small piece of wire can make different beads come together into something beautiful. Just like how a bead party can bring your friends together in a fun night of jewelry making, conversation, and cocktails. Let the Queen Bead show you how.

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Attention must be paid--check them all out.

One year later

1.  New job.

2.  New baby, due in 3 weeks.

3.  Still unstoppable.

Every word matters

This just in: per Pathmark, marshmallows are "fun to eat."

This changes everything.

My American Idol

Back in our Hoboken days, we were often serenaded by our building's parking garage attendant, who came from Egypt and spoke pieces of English when not belting a Top 40 tune. He was a charming guy, to the point where I often suspected he was hitting on my wife.

One evening he announced that he was trying out for American Idol, but we moved out long before we ever heard the outcome.

We, along with the rest of America, found out last night how well he'd fared. "Youka," we hardly knew 'ya. Here's hoping your singing stardom dream is merely deferred and that you find that woman to love from head to nipple.

P.S. Apparently Alaa Youakeem would sing for all of the garage's patrons, as this YouTube clip reveals:

Thought bubble

A colleague snapped this at a recent book party we held at a museum. Another possible headline: Before and After.

Stop

Break it down.

Spinning wheel, got to go round

The demo wheel

I recently tried out for Wheel of Fortune.

The invite came from a friend who had applied online to be a contestant. 6-8 months later, an email invited him to try out for "Best Friends Week." Thinking strategically, he called me, rather than his true best friend, hoping that my vast (but ultimately shallow) knowledge pool would provide a tactical advantage.

We arrived at the hotel conference room, where about 70 other "best friends" had been summoned. Wearing our best game faces, we tried to convey the enthusiasm that all TV producers covet as we scouted out our competition. The odds weren't in our favor: hot college girls to our right, a Price is Right veteran¹ to our left who oozed ordinary-guy charisma.

First, the producers had us complete a questionnaire, and then each pair was asked to simply state their names for everyone to hear. After that, we started to play a simulated game. The producer spun the wheel (pictured above) on our behalf and quietly took notes as we were each called upon. People who didn't answer fast enough, didn't make sense, or didn't have that Sajak-esque aura somehow always landed on BANKRUPT after a few spins. Winners of each puzzle won autographed Vanna White glossies, bobbleheads, and/or handsome Wheel of Fortune beach towels.

Finally our turn arrived. The category was "Phrase," and one player had already gone, leaving us with:

(image via atom.smasher.org/wof)

We instantly has the same thought: it must start with "I'VE".

So my friend spoke for us with conviction, requesting "A 'V' please!"

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Well, in our case, it got shot down with a feisty buzzer, compelling us to sit back down. I hammed up my disappointment, thinking I may yet impress the producers with my stage presence.

Upon taking my seat, I had the simultaneous thoughts that:

1. the first word could just as easily been "I'LL"
2. there are a lot more common letters to choose than"V"

We were not called on again. Many others got a second go-round, and we clapped hard for each player, but our unquestionable spirit was not rewarded. Nor was the person who asked to spin again when solving our original puzzle, which at that point read:

Finally, there was a worksheet with shockingly difficult fill-in-the-blank puzzles (i.e. the answer to one, a "Before and After" one, was MARILYN MONROE DOCTRINE). They were collected after five minutes (along with our questionnaires), and they were "scored" in a backroom.

In reality, the puzzle is used as a cover for people to rationalize why they weren't picked. The producers only look at the questionnaire answers, which asked us, among other questions, for our favorite celebrity, whether we had been on a game show before, and "something that you're proud of."

Of the 30-40 duos, only 10 were asked to stay² to play another round. Months later, the show aired, and the BFFs to my left won big money (as they say in game show speak).

But I am not deterred, as I hear they are bringing back American Gladiators, and I like my chances.


¹ Not only a contestant, but a star: he won a car. After the show, the local dealer called him to get his preferred color. When he said that he was just going to resell it anyway, they gave him the car's retail value in cash.

² The Price is Right veteran and hot college girls were indeed chosen.

Things Remembered: The TI-82

Before Blackberries, iPods, or smatphones, my generation's in-school electronic entertainment came from the TI-82 graphing calculator. Its killer app was the Programs menu, where you could setup mini-applications to handle, for example, converting Fahrenheit to Celsius or solving the quadratic equation.

Mainly, though, we used it for games. One classmate proved particularly adept at programming, creating "Guess the Number" and "FASTKEY," where you had six seconds to press a key over and over (the record holder maxed out at 82, which remains impressive). Pre-wifi, you could link your TI-82 to another via a cable, allowing for easy swapping of programs. People came back from band competitions with new games, such as Blackjack and Archery. I created a few programs of my own, mostly involving profanities.

Remarkably my calculator and the programs remained intact for more than ten years. It wasn't until this past weekend when a memory failure wiped out my archive. As it was the same weekend that I moved from the city into the suburbs, it was hard not to feel that a larger break from the past was occurring. Having long since lost the linking cable, I have no way of getting those programs back or to download new ones off the Internet.

So I bid adieu to the TI-82 and its bulky, low-tech technology. Because of you, I never really learned pre-calc or understood trigonometry. And for this, I thank you.

Master of business

I now have an MBA.

So now, more than ever, don't fuck with me.

Down for the count

In the years since my love of pro wrestling waned, a disturbing number of pro wrestlers have taken life's ultimate piledriver. The latest is Bad News Brown, who I best remember for his devastating finishing move called "The Ghetto Blaster."

Earlier this year, Jersey's own Bam Bam Bigelow succumbed to natural causes; natural in the sense that cocaine comes from nature. A veritable Who's Who of 80's Wrestling preceded him, from Mr. Perfect to Hercules to Junk Yard Dog to the Big Boss Man to my namesake Andre the Giant (posse still alive and well).

Many more articulate have explained why wrestlers often die before their time. I would only add this: that Bad News Brown, even in death, still scares the crap out of me. Observe:

Pizza, Pipes and Pandemonium

Anyone remember this Groton landmark? All I found online was this memory:

In Groton, CT there used to be Pizza, Pipes and Pandemonium. It survived until the mid-80's or so. I remember going there as a kid. The pizza wasn't that good but the enormous pipe-organ sure was cool. They had it set up so that you could walk around it and see all of the mechanisms moving while it was being played.

Apparently the pizzeria/organ music combo was a nationwide phenomenon. And why not? Moreso, why not now?

Update: There's now a Facebook page where people share their memories, including this (somewhat haunting) photo:

The NFL knows its fans

And that's why Cirque de Soleil opened up the Super Bowl, and why Prince was the halftime entertainment.

That's fan-tastic.

Shiny objects

I find a lot of things interesting. And thus I get easily distracted. Here is what's on my mind--or entertaining it ever so slightly:

• 50 Greatest Commercials of the 80's: all gathered, complete with YouTube files, in one place. Hours of fun, :30 seconds at a time. (update: 50 more)
• FlickrDown lets you download entire photo sets, or a photographer's entire oeuvre, on Flickr. Particularly useful for downloading hot high school reunion pics.
• Ben Folds continues to r-o-c-k in the USA, most recently at a NYC gig that I was able to enjoy. My buddy Bob J. long ago summed up why Ben's music resonates better than I ever could.
• Cover songs - better, faster, more!
• Finally, my nephew knows what he likes:
  
  
  
  I predict great things for him.

The definition of transfix

It's no great proclamation that people will post anything on YouTube. But when you find a video of a professional colleague flawlessly shooting jumpshots on a ramshackle court, well then attention must be paid.

I tell anyone who'll listen

• That your money should be in an online savings account like EmigrantDirect.com. Banks give you 1.22% interest on average, while these online banks give you over 5% and more liquidity than a baby's diaper. I don't know why more people don't do this. Maybe because it all sounds like a spam subject line: MAKE MORE MONEY ONLINE - $$$/MONTH!!!
  
  Footnote: I was parking my money in an ING Direct account, but their rates haven't kept up with the competition. Shop around if you're still using them. If you're a USAA member, their rates beat the competition Abu Gharib-style.
  
  
• That the East Lyme High School Class of 1996 reunion is Friday, November 24th. It will be good times.
  
  
• Reading Leaving Microsoft to Change the World will make you want to stop whatever you're doing and start doing something that matters. Failing that, you'll want to support the good work of Room to Read.
  
  
• Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste makes my mouth an exciting place to be.
  

Watermelon is not art

It is delicious.

Banquet managers of the world, please treat it as such.

The last two weddings we've attended have used watermelons as a fruit platter centerpiece and, criminally, not included wedges for eating.

When marrying in Jersey...

...vendors are going to milk you dry, dairy cow-style. Still, I highly recommend these companies not only for their below-average prices but for their above-average talent and pleasing demeanors:

Milan Photography - if you like the photojournalism approach, he's your man. Milan (his lack of last name adds to his aura) and his assistant took over 2,000 pictures, and he personally designs each album. No cookie cutter templates, and you get to use more than 100 pictures in the final book. He's the best-kept secret of the Jersey wedding business.

Villanovisions Video - Having seen plenty of slow-paced, dimly-lit wedding videos over time, I was anti-video. That is until I saw what Villano did at four of our friends' weddings. He gets the right shots and makes the right edits so that the final video entertains as it breezes by.

Inkspun - for calligraphy on envelopes or place cards, I dare you to find a better deal.

These vendors need no recommendation--all are firmly established as Jersey wedding money-making machines--but if you're going to splurge on something, then consider:

• The Estate at Florentine Gardens - their website does not do the place justice.
  
• White Light - the wedding band that will rock the house from all kinds of angles

But the details are where the magic happens. We probably got more compliments on having beverage plate clips during our cocktail hour than for anything else.

So yes, you're going get milked, but by working with these people, you won't mind all that lactation.

To love, honor, and cherish

I'm getting married on Monday. And bring your umbrella and poncho, because the forecast calls for love.