New Releases For The Last Week Of The Year 2010

Wow.  Didn't realize it had been a month since I did this.  My bad.

The only things worth mentioning this week are in the DVD/Blu-Ray Category, so here we go:

- Twelve: This is the latest venture from Joel Shulmacher (the same guy that directed "St. Elmo's Fire" and KILLED the Batman franchise in the '90s).  Rich kids, poor kids, and drugs.  There you go.

- United States Of Tara: Season 2: Don't watch this show, but I've heard good things.

- And Soon The Darkness: Two girls go to South America and one of them disappears.  I am assuming darkness ensues later on.

- A Charlie Brown Valentine: No need for an explanation here.  Just buy it.

Have a great New Year's everyone, and don't forget to join myself and Cody for The Clubhouse With Rob & Cody every Tuesday night at 8 Eastern/5 Pacific!  Start at http://www.theclubhousewithrobandcody.com/ and click on the logo to get to our Ustream page!

Rob

New Releases For The Week Of November 21st, 2010

It's that time again, kids, so HERE.  WE.  GO!

New In DVD/Blu-Ray Stores This Week

• Murder She Wrote: The Complete 12th Season - You read that right.  12TH SEASON.  And it was the final season.
• Sting: Live In Berlin - He is doing this kinda cool thing where he is doing his songs with an orchestra.  Original?  No.  But still cool.
• Deadwood: The Complete Series (Blu-Ray) - If you haven't watched any of this show, DO IT NOW.  I'm sure it looks GREAT on Blu-Ray.  Don't have the kids in the room, though.
• Batman Beyond: The Complete Series - Surprisingly, I never watched this series that much.  But, it's a Batman property, so I'm putting it here.
• Countdown To Zero - A documentary on the quest to rid the world of nuclear weapons.  Nice sentiment, but as long as there are the Irans, Iraqs, and North Koreas of the world, it won't happen.
• Joaquin Phoenix: I'm Still Here - This is the documentary (Directed By Casey Affleck) of Phoenix's "Look at me, I want to be a rapper, and I have a crazy beard" thing.
• WWE Bragging Rights - Rent this.  Don't buy it.  Unless you are THAT MUCH of a completist.

New Releases In Your Local Music Store

• My Chemical Romance, "Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys" - Concept albums are these guys' bit, so expect nothing less here.
• Ne-Yo, "Libra Scale" - Yeah, so there's THAT.  This guy is in that "don't care either way" category for me.  Could take him or leave him.
• Jessica Simpson, "Happy Christmas" - Read today that her fiance kept the engagement ring in a shoe at her house for over a month.  Question is, whose shoe?  And do you want to wear a ring that WAS IN A SHOE FOR OVER A MONTH?
• Robyn, "Body Talk" - She has been promoting this album for over three months, and the critics seem to be liking it.  Welcome back, Robyn.  Still prefer the '90s stuff.

That's all I've got this week, kids!  Enjoy the holiday weekend, and we hope to see you next week!

BB

New Releases For The Week Of November 14th, 2010

It's time again, kids to check what else hits your stores that we didn't get to on The Clubhouse With Rob & Cody live each and every Tuesday night at 8 Eastern/5 Pacific on Ustream!  So here.  We.  GO!

New In Your DVD/Blu-Ray Store This Week

• The Kids Are All Right
• A lesbian couple raises their kids, and then the kids want to meet their biological father.  Julianne Moore and Annette Bening are the couple.
• Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore
• Enjoy THAT.
• The Complete Metropolis
• What many consider to be the original science-fiction movie has had some new footage uncovered recently, and the soundtrack has also been remastered.  If you are into older films, I am told by multiple sources that the transfer looks GREAT, and is worth the cash.
• Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol
• LOVED this cartoon growing up (I refuse to acknowledge the Leslie Nielsen debacle), and do remember watching this version growing up.  I still contend that this tale has been told WAY too many times, though.
• Modern Times: Criterion Collection
• The Charlie Chaplin classic gets the treatment from what Kevin Smith once called "The hallmark of movie collections".  He also had some choice words for DVD over Laserdisc that he later tounge-in-cheek took back.
• Heroes: The Complete Series
• Really.  Honestly.  The complete series is Season One.  Debate me.  I triple dog dare you.
• The John Cena Experience
• Sharla, this is for you.
• The Last Airbender
• I am shocked that this absolute financial failure took this long to get to DVD.  I do kinda feel bad for Shyamalan because he couldn't name it the animated series it was based on because Cameron stole "Avatar".

New In Your Local Music Store This Week

• "30 Rock" Soundtrack
• I am told there is some audio gold here.  I'll give it a spin, as I love the show.  Congrats to Tina Fey and the crew on some GREAT success!
• "Tangled" Soundtrack
• The movie comes out next week as Disney tries to get this holiday release thing back under control.  Looks like it could be fun, but I'm not sure I need the music from it.
• "Glee
• The Christmas Album": I think this pretty much explains itself.

That's it for this week, my friends!  Hope to have you on with us Sunday afternoon at 6:30 Eastern/ 3:30 Pacific for our Survivor Series pre-show, and then Tuesday night at 8 Eastern/5 Pacific for another LIVE edition of The Clubhouse With Rob & Cody  Join us, won't you?

BB

New Releases For The Week Of November 7th, 2010

We didn't have time for ANY of these this week on The Clubhouse With Rob & Cody this week, so we have a lot to cover!

In Theaters This Week

• Morning Glory: Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, & Rachel McAdams star in the story of a morning television show.  Hilarity may ensue.
• Skyline: Aliens invade.  What is interesting here is that this thing literally went from blank page to big screen in just about a year.  Might rent it later.
• Unstoppable: Denzel Washington (if I have to tell you who he is... I won't) and Chris Pine (the new Captain Kirk) try to stop a runaway train.  And no, I don't think the Soul Asylum song applies here.

On DVD & Blu-Ray This Week

• Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: Michael Cera falls in love with a girl, and in order to be with her, he must fight her 7 Evil Exes, Mortal Kombat-style.  Bummed I missed this in theaters, but I will DEFINITELY rent, if not buy.
• Grown Ups: Adam Sandler, Rob Scheider, Chris Rock, David Spade, Selma Hayek and Kevin James.  Do you NEED a plot here?  And I think we ALL know who was supposed to be in the Kevin James role here.  No disrespect, sir.
• Superman/Shazam: The Return Of Black Adam: Meh.  More interested in the other DC release this week. 
• Charlie St. Cloud: Zac Efron is a kid whose brother dies, and his ghost starts to slip away when he falls in love.  Teenage girls buying this by the dozen ensues.
• Knucklehead: Paul "The Big Show" Wight, Melora Hardin, Paul Feuerstein, and more.  Hilarity WILL ensue, and I will watch it.
• Ramona & Beezus:  Kids movie brought to light.  I am not the one to ask about this.
• Sherlock: Season One: This is a new series from the BBC, updating the detective into modern times.  I am slightly interested.
• Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 (Chicago): They do this in one city a year, and CLAPTON FOUNDED IT.  Sold.
• Californication: Season Three: Red Hot Chili Peppers sued them for the name.  And I'm pretty sure they settled out of court.  That's all I've got here.
• Lie To Me: Season Two: My wife was on board with this in Season One, but not after.  And I LIKE Tim Roth.
• Depeche Mode: Tour Of The Universe, Barcelona: Chad told me that Dave Gahan was having SERIOUS health issues when this was filmed.  Not quite sure why they went ahead and released it anyway.
• Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?: The Complete Series: This comes in a replica of the Mystery Machine.  That alone makes it cool.  Would prefer "The Scooby-Doo Movies".
• Arsenic & Old Lace: My mom LOVES this movie.  That is why it's on the list.
• Hell's Kitchen: Season Four: And Gordon Ramsay STILL gets work.
• Golden Girls: 25th Anniversary Complete Collection: Comes in a replica of a handbag.  And this was 25 YEARS AGO.  Wow.
• Tremors (Blu-Ray): Wasn't Reba McEntire in this?  Kevin Bacon was, I know that.  Great B-movie.
• Ocean's 11 50th Anniversary (Blu-Ray): Yes, this is the ORIGINAL with The Rat Pack.  MUCH better ending.  Check it out.
• Hunt To Kill: Latest from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.  He kills people.  They probably don't kill him.
• Secret Origin: The Story Of DC Comics: THIS is the DC release I'm interested in.  Documenntary (DVD only) of it's history.  Want to double-feature this with "Waking Sleeping Beauty".

On Music Store Shelves This Week

• Reba McEntire, "All The Woman I Am": She's REBA.  That is all you need to know.  She's the Queen.
• Cee-Lo Green, "The Lady Killer": With the success of "F**k You," and a lot of critical buzz for the latest album from one half of Gnarles Barkley, I'm intrigued.
• Kid Rock, "Born Free":  Yeah, no.
• Lee DeWyze, "Lee DeWyze": Last season's "American Idol" winner releases his album.  I'll reserve judgement until I hear a couple of tracks.  BTW, this show is DONE.
• Nelly, "5.0": Given the not-so-success of his last two albums, the guy who is a proud member of the St. Lunatics (they're from St. Louis and they are Lunatics, get it?) pledges that this is the best thing he's done creatively in years.  Hope so.
• Bon Jovi: Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection": Until another few albums.
• Pink, "Greatest Hits... So Far!" Until another album.
• Rascal Flatts, "Nothing Like This": As long as it's better than their "CSI" episode, I'll give it a pass.
• Rihanna, "Loud": If "Only Girl (In The World)" doesn't get your energy up, check your pulse.  You may not have one.
• Alter Bridge, "AB III": Creed taking another break?  Or does Edge need a new theme song?
• Kid Cudi, "Man On The Moon 2: The Legend Of Mr. Roger": Supposed to be a concept album. ... 'Kay.
• Twista, "The Perfect Storm": Is this his first album since "Overnight Celebrity"?  Damn kids, get off my lawn!
• Lil' Boosie, Webbie, Lil' Trill & Trill Fam, "All Or Nothing": Did these guys decide to do a bunch of EP's and put them together?
• Now 36: For those of you that don't like to download singles individually.
• Dave Matthews Band, "Live In New York City":If his cover of "All Along The Watchtower" is here, I'll check it out.
• Elvis Costello, "National Ransom": This guy is a LEGEND.  And he's married to Diana Krall.  I am willing to check out anything this guy does once.  Plus, he was the first to change a performance mid-stream on "SNL".

Have a great week, kids!

BB

Change In The House Of Jerry

So, Wade Phillips is out as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.  At the end of Week 9.  And Jason Garrett is promoted.

Now I am not the Cowboy fan I used to be.  Truth be told, I became a fan when they drafted Emmit Smith.  They never took the place of my beloved Dolphins or my beloved Bucs, but I still rooted for them.

When I moved to Dallas, I realized the concept of "the culture of winning".  It happens here, it happens in New York, it happens in Chicago, it happens in Detroit (different sports, all, BTW).  This is not the same concept as "fair-weather fans" to me, as this is more "we were used to winning at one point, and now we're not".  Even the Dallas Stars, who one ONE STANLEY CUP 12 SEASONS ago suffer from this, as the game I watched this past Friday night saw a TON of lower level empty seats.

Anyway, to make you, the non Metroplex reader truly understand, I will quote a promo cut by a local radio personality (Dan McDowell) for the Rangers a number of years ago before the opening day of Major League Baseball: "We'll talk Rangers, and if they win, we're World Series bound.  If they lose, we'll talk about rebuilding for next year."  As funny as that sounds, that's the way it is here.  VERY hot & cold.

Now that this is in it's proper framework, here is why this is a TERRIBLE idea.

This team is 1-7 at this point in the season.  Looking at the rest of their schedule (@NYG, DET, NO, @ IND, PHI, WAS, @ ARI, @ PHI), there are no more than three winable games by my estimation, which puts the team at 4-12 at best.  At this point, you are playing to finish.

I have asserted all season that Jerry Jones has NEVER fired a coach mid-season before, and didn't think he would this time.  Well, as 4:00 Central time approaches and this actually comes to pass, here is the question: Is this REALLY the right move?

People have said for years that Garrett is the heir apparent to this team, but the offense has not been exactly stellar this year.  With losing Romo to injury (and remember what I have said: never trust a quarterback named Gus, Elvis, or Kitna), Kitna being Kitna, and the team in just plain disaray, why fire a guy and replace him with another guy from the same group?  Does this really change the team dynamic, or is it six of one and half a dozen of the other?

Given that we are realistically looking at a lockout next year, you don't want to put another head coach from the outside under contract so you can pay him to sit at the house.  So why not just let Philips (whom you are going to pay anyway) to finish out the year and get this thing done.  You won't need him after January 2nd anyway, so pay him to do SOMETHING.

I honestly don't believe that the players have given up on Wade; I believe the players have given up on THEMSELVES and THE SITUATION THAT THEY ARE IN.  I don't believe that Jason Garrett (former QB of this team himself... kinda) can turn the ship around, and he has to realize that he is being set up to fail here.  Any further meltdown of this team is going to hurt his stock to any other team in the league that may want to consider him in the off-season.  The argument can be made that his stock is already hurt, but the other side of that coin is that you'd still have a bit of the unknown of him as a head coach.

To me, the only sense that can be made here is if there IS a season next year, you give Garrett a full season with the team to see what he can do.  However, I honestly feel that even IF there is a season next year, Garrett won't be here either way.

Comments?  Join myself and Cody tomorrow night, and EVERY Tuesday night at 8 Eastern/5 Pacific for The Clubhouse With Rob & Cody on Ustream!  Start at our website and click on the microphone to get to the show page.  Hope you can either join us live or listen to any of our past shows in the archive!

BB

Extra Releases For The Week Of November 1st, 2010

Starting this week, and hopefully each week, I will be taking New Releases for movies, DVD/Blu-Ray, and music that we don't get to on The Clubhouse With Rob & Cody, which you can get to from The Show's Official Website and putting them here, so we can still highlight great stuff that you should check out!

DVD/Blu-Ray

• Phil Collins: Going Back Live
• This is a concert he did in his native country of England to coincide with his new cover album of 60's R&B classics.  I'd rent it, but he is also one of my leaders.  So take that for what you are paying for it.
• The Rolling Stones: Let's Spend The Night Together
• Another concert film.  You gotta admit: these cats are still getting it done live.
• Centurion
• Mark Cuban's company does their version of Robin Hood/300/Spartacus.  But it does have Dominic West in it, so it's got that going for it.  Which is nice.
• Mad About You: Season 5
• Only really watched a handful of episodes of this show.  Thought the finale was kinda weak.
• The Big 4: Live From Sofia Bulgaria
• Metallica.  Slayer.  Anthrax.  Megadeth.  Do I really need to say any more here?
• Highlander: Director's Cut and Highlander 2 (Blu-Ray)
• There can be only one.  Or two.  Or three. Or four and a TV show.
• The Sound Of Music (Blu-Ray)
• One of my wife's favorite movies.  Always found it kinda strange under the surface.
• V: Season 1
• This is the new version ABC is doing.  And that's what I have to say about that.
• The Facts Of Life: Season 5
• I actually watched this show when I was a kid and didn't realize it went this long.
• Beverly Hills, 9021: Season 10
• The final season of the original.  Again, I stopped watching when they graduated high school.  Cody was a fan all the way through.  He still is.
• Christmas Treats
• This features Christmas episodes of Happy Days, Mork & Mindy, The Odd Couple, Cheers, and The Beverly Hillbillies.  And at some point, I think Kevin Bacon shows up somewhere.
• UFC: The Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights
• I really put this in here for Misty, if I'm being perfectly honest.  And I really think that is what America expects from me.
• The Wiz (Blu-Ray)
• Made half of it's budget theatrically.  Actually made more than the other half in the home video market.
• UFC 118
• In case you missed it before.  This was the Couture vs. Toney fight as the co-main event, and you also had Penn vs. Edgar.  So there you go.
•  WWE Hell In A Cell
• I was there.  That's the only reason I will own it.
• Winnebago Man
• I actually want to see this documentary about this dude that is a YouTube sensation where he's just cussing like a sailor.  I've heard good f****n things.
• TNA Hard Core Justice
• They couldn't use "ECW" for this thing.  That's all you need to know.  And I'd almost take WWE's Tuesday night version of ECW over this.  Almost.
• Katt Williams: 9 Lives
• This guy's bits about getting shot and driving a Chrysler 300 alone gets him credibility with me.

Music Releases

• Joe - Home Is The Essence Of Christmas
• One of the most underrated R&B artists of our time.  Go back and check out some of his stuff when you get a chance.
• Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas II You
• The roman numeral is because this is her second Christmas album, following up 2004's "Merry Christmas".  Really enjoyed the first one, and this will be her last holiday season before becoming a mother.

That's all we've got for this week.  Remember to listen to The Clubhouse With Rob & Cody every Tuesday night at 8 Eastern/5 Pacific.  And if you miss us live, go to the page anyway to listen to all of our archived shows!  Hope to have you with us then!

BB

Bamm-Bamm's Movie Review, "Conviction"

Saw a screening of this film last night, which was followed by a Q&A with the real Betty Anne Waters and Juliette Lewis.  Director Tony Goldwyn (yes, the bad guy from "Ghost") was supposed to be there, but he could not get a flight to Dallas in time.  Quick moral, kids: when you get screening passes to a yet-to-be-released film, and it says "this is purposely overbooked on purpose," BELIEVE THEM.  We were there about 2 1/2 hours early, and still would up on the first row of the theater, due to representatives from the USA Film Festival and Inoocence Project: Dallas sponsoring.  Was fully prepared for that, but some people in the line with us were not.  Not complaining, just teaching here.

Anyway, in 1983, Kenny Waters (Sam Rockwell), who was a "problem child" in a house of 9 children growing up and spent a lot of time getting into trouble, is sentance to life in prison for the murder of a local woman.  His sister, Betty Anne (Hillary Swank), avows his innocence and embarks on a journey to become an attorney to represent him and prove what she believes to be the truth.  It is a process that takes us (and her) through almost two decades of her life that entails loss, gain, frustration, hope, pain, tears, and even asks the audience how far they would go to fight in someone (or something) they believe in.

I went into this screening with a bit of apprehension, as I have determined that Swank is tending to pick projects that can be awards bait.  (Do something completely off of the beaten path, Hill.  Just get me a pallet cleanser here.)  What I was pleased to find was that there were at least three other people that I felt outperformed her here.  First off, Rockwell is purely RIVETING in his role as a man who could be falsely accused of a crime putting all of his faith in his sister, whom he has protected their entire lives.  If anybody scores an Oscar nod here, it's him.  Also, Minnie Driver (playing Abra Rice,  the woman who would become Waters' best friend and biggest supporter, and who can still get it DONE) once again makes you forget that she is European, delivering a Massachusetts accent worthy of a Ben Affleck film, and brings a performance that has to get recognized by her peers and the press.  Recognition also has to go to the kids playing the younger versions of Kenny and Betty Anne (Bailee Madison and Tobias Campbell), who will rip your heart out of your chest if you let them.

Goldwyn's direction (the first feature he has directed since the Greg Kinnear/Ashley Judd vehicle "Someone Like You" in 2001... he's done quite a bit of television directing since) here really gives the viewer the feeling of being there with the characters for the desired effect when necessary, but also knows when to pull back and let the story tell itself.  Pamela Gray (most known for writing "Music Of The Heart" and "A Walk On The Moon") tells the story and (by Waters' own admission) kept it very faithful, with little "artistic license".  When Waters told the audience that this movie was literally 9 years in the making, it was apparent in the final project.

So, on the standard scale of 1 to 10, I will give "Conviction" a 9, which means, "Almost there, holmes, but I can't be bought off that easy.  But go see it when you can."

Until next time, when I may even review a movie I see on U-Verse or Blu-Ray, or even another theatrical release...

BB

Bamm-Bamm's Movie Review, "Red"

Whoa.  How long has it been since I typed a title like THAT?

So... last night, I attended a screening of the latest big screen adaptation of a graphic novel called "Red," originally written by the great Warren Ellis.  Here's the lowdown:

Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is retired from the C.I.A.  He lives a quiet existence that involves... well, not much.  He has found himself quite smitten with an operator at the Federal Building in Kansas City that he talks to on the phone, Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker).  The very night that he decides to get up the nerve to fly up and see her, these pesky little goverment agents show up to kill him for reasons Frank can only imagine.  From here, he speeds up his process to see Sarah, as he realizes that she may be in danger as well.  What follows is a tale of former friends, evil agencies, and a conspiracy that leads WAY up the ladder.  Also in this film are the likes of Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren (that's right, Helen Mirren... Oscar winner for "The Queen" Helen Mirren), Karl Urban (Dr. McCoy from "Star Trek," who was also at the screening I attended... pretty cool guy), Richard Dreyfuss, and Brian Cox (one of the most underrated actors of our time). 

As one would expect, there are a lot of bullets that fly around in this film, which comes in at just under two hours.  What one does not expect is a story that has a nice heart to it.  Willis, as he just about always is, comes off as the coolest cat in the room.  As Frank, his portrayal shows both vulnerability to want a normal life and a toughness to protect that and those which he feels to be most important to him.  Freeman is always great, Malkovich is always insane, which is VITAL to his role here, Mirren is always the portrait of grace and shows off some great comedic timing.  Urban's character, not his performance, was a little off-kilter for this guy, as there were a couple of points where he should have been a bit more stern in his reactions to certain situations (REALLY trying hard not to give too much away here), but that really is my only flaw to what is a film that really knows how to balance violence, comedy, romance, and drama to keep both the men and the women in the audience entertained.

Director Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler's Wife, Flightplan) shows that he can give a comic book feel to a film without it being to comic-ish.  There is a bit of action that you know isn't really possible, but it's done in such a way that doesn't come off cheesy at all.  With a cast of talent like this to work with, he also did a very good job to spread the spotlight around so it didn't seem like he was letting one star chew too much scenery.  As much as Willis is the top billed star here, it very much felt to me like an ensemble picee, with everyone contributing equally to make the story work.

So, I guess on a scale of 1 to 10, I will give "Red" a solid 8, which means "Go see it in first run, and it's even OK to see for a date movie."

I'm actually trying to give this bit another go (even with movies I may watch on Blu-Ray or on TV), so feel free to give YOUR feedback, and make sure to hear all of the latest news and information on sports, movies, music, television, and sports entertainment on The Clubhouse With Rob & Cody, LIVE each and every Tuesday night at 8 Eastern/5 Pacific.  Get to it from The Official Show Website and until next time...

BB

Secret Origins, Part 5: The Modern Era

Yes, we are finally bringing this to a close.  The pressure you people put on me.  Geez...

Shortly after starting my career with Incredible Universe (and actually getting paid to DJ, as well as learning my karaoke hosting skills), I found out that my mom was taking a job in Dallas.  After doing a bunch of math, I realized that I could not sustain life on my own in South Florida, so I decided to move to Dallas myself.  I finished out the lease on the apartment that we were living in (moving on New Year's Eve sucks, by the way), spent a month living with the family of one of my church kids (shout out to the Parades, whom I believe are in Tennessee now), and then drove from Fort Lauderdale to Dallas with my buddy Jim Wolter (anybody know what's up with THIS guy?).  We took about three days, with stops in Fort Meyers (visited the South Florida United Methodist Church camp), Tampa (to see my grandparents), and Louisiana (coudn't drive any further), arriving in Dallas four days after the Super Bowl.

Incredible Universe was gracious enough to transfer me, so I started work within a few days.  I was also fortunate enough to meet the GREAT Buck Cueni-Smith, who let me work with him with the Walnut Hill United Methodist Church youth program, and also helped me out by lending me sound equipment to get my mobile DJ service up and running.   During my time with Incredible Universe, I met the Futrell family, whom would play a HUGE role in my life, and continues to be very close to my heart to this day.  Rick & his wife, Trinity, were even gracious enough to let me live with them for about six months before I could get my own place after my mom bought a house and wanted me out on my own.

I was able to get out on my own, after leaving Incredible Universe in the spring of 1996, but still kept on doing DJ work under Bamm-Bamm Productions (so the name remained).  The work was there, but not steady, so I got a day job working for PageMart, where I would make a lot more friends whom I still have today (and Rick worked there, too).  I ended up working at their corporate office, which was great, but the money wasn't exactly what I needed, as I had to buy a new car.

So, I picked up a second job at a local Blockbuster Video store, and wound up being a part-time manager there, which paid my car payments.  There, I met Adam Kennedy, another friend to this day.  While there, I got a call one day from Rick's sister, Lisa, telling me about a place they go to on Tuesday nights to do karaoke, which is something I had not been involved with on a regular basis in about 2 years.

This place was called... Sports City Cafe.

So, one night I went there, and the atmosphere was electric.  I wound up being a regular fairly quickly and having a blast.  One night, I was actually running a bit late working at the video store, and Lisa said she would just sign me up for a song, so I could have my place in line.  Up to this point, I had just put "Rob E." on the slips.

That night, she actually put, "Bamm-Bamm".

And the name returns again.  Greg, the host, would only refer to me that way from that point on.

A few weeks later, I asked a PageMart friend of mine, John "Doc" Howser, to meet me at Sports City Cafe.  Doc and I had lunch just about every day (along with our friend - AND NEWLYWED - Jeff Smith), and he asked me who did the show.  I told him, and his reaction was, "NO WAY!  He's the lead singer in my band!"  Aaaaaand... Kevin Bacon.

Doc met me there that night, and when Greg saw him, his eyes bugged out of his head.  Once that connection was established, it was just a couple of months later when Greg asked me if I wanted to do the show there.  Shortly after, I quit the video store and started doing two nights a week for Bravo Productions as "Bamm-Bamm" at Sports City Cafe.  And the REST, my friends, is well-documented history.

I hope you enjoyed ths little ditty that gives you a little deeper look into the history of my alter ego.  There are many stories that are embedded within this story, but I can't tell you EVERYTHING.

Until next time...

BB

Secret Origins, Part 4: The Second Defining Moment (On Multiple Levels)

OK, so here we go again...

Fast forward to the summer of 1994.  The sweetest mullet in HISTORY is in full swing, and I have just been laid off from my job at a local movie theater.  I was also working a job as the Summer Youth Worker for a (sorta) local church, and this was the silver lining for me.  Great group of young people (after spending a couple of years working with the youth of the church I grew up in, and also a great group of young people).  Losing my job the day after I returned from church camp with some of the younger youth was a rough deal, but those young'uns made it a lot less rough on me.

One day, I came across an ad in the want ads of the local paper for a place called "Incredible Universe."  I was very intrigued by the position of DJ/Karaoke.  At this point in my life, I had spent stints here and there doing DJ work for parties, mix tapes, and some such.  But, here was an opportunity to work with music EVERY DAY.  So, I went to an abandoned Publix (the building wasn't even constructed yet) and applied.  After about three different interviews and a personality test, I was offered the job as a temp in the DJ/Karaoke "scene" (it would become permanent pretty quickly).

During my week-long orientation class, there was a time when volunteers were needed for a skit on selling.  Naturally, given my department, I was volunteered.  Unfortunately, there was one more guy than there were guy parts, and I drew the short end of the stick, so I had to be an elderly woman.  A one-piece dress and three balloons later, and there we were.  Now, I was wearing one of my Bamm-Bamm shirts, so naturally, a guy had to yell, "BAM! BAM!" when referring to the location of the balloons.  This is also where I began what has become a 16 year karaoke career as well.

Thus, my "hero name" at Incredible Universe was born.

Is this where our story ends?  Nope.  There is one more chapter and another time zone to go, my friends, so until we conclude with Chapter 5, "The Modern Era..."

Secret Origins, Chapter 3: The First Defining Moment

Whoa, two chapters in one week, much less one month.  Yeah, I know.

We now fast forward another year.  I have completed my first and only year at the University Of South Florida (the summer camp relationship ended about six weeks after my time in Leesburg ended, and I met a young lady whom would take me through the rest of that first year of college), and was living in an apartment with two friends of mine off campus.  I was also working as a busboy and dishwasher at the Chili's right by the University (in retrospect, I shouldn't have let them pick the job I would have when asked "what position do you want?").  As that year (from the fall of 1991 to the spring of 1992), I had realized that my time at the South Florida camp had really a huge impact on me, and I wanted to be a part of it again.  I had not applied to be a member of the staff, so I could not be paid at that point.  So, in order for an "everybody wins" situation, I would drive down there on my days off, spend a couple of days, and then drive back on days I had to work.  Considering it was 3 hours each way, I am amazed that I did this that often to this day.  For the most part, the staff was the same great group of people that were there the summer before, with a couple of people that I knew from Leesburg that wound up down there as well.

That summer, the before mentioned Casey & Kellee developed a fondness for a song by Young & Restless called "B Girls".

Look at me, getting all high tech on you and stuff.  THAT, my friends, is the first time I ever embedded a video.

Anyway, they formed such an affinity for said song that they decided to give everyone on the staff nicknames that started with the letter "B".  Now, I am willing to admit that "Bamm-Bamm" came to me as a hand-me-down, as my good friend and fellow Facebook-er Larry Gray decided he liked "Bubba" instead.  (And for that, sir, I will be forever grateful.)  So, "Bamm-Bamm" fell to me, and it stuck.  From that point forward, I would start to collect anything I could find with the Flintstones character represented on it.

One would think that this is where the story ends, no?  If you think that my friend, then you are sadly mistaken.  Check back next time for "Chapter 4: The Second Defining Moment (On Multiple Levels)."

Oh yeah, and there were a couple of "summer girls" there too.  Oh hell, why not, since I am now an embedding fool...

Until then...

BB

Secret Origins - Part II: Post Graduation

So, continuing on....

A year has passed since the end of Part 1 (not literally, although some of you are claiming as such), and I have completed my Senior year in high school.  Literally THE DAY AFTER I GRADUATED, I was on a train headed for Leesburg, Florida to be on staff at the Warren Willis Youth Camp to work with what is known as Children's Camp (the same age group I worked with the year before of Rising 5th and Rising 6th Graders, but they closed the camp I worked at the summer before and combined it onto the same grounds as the Junior High and Senior High camps).  The week before campers were to arrive, we spent time getting the camp in order.  For those of you that are familiar with the camp in Leesburg, this was the last year that the camp did not have air conditioning in any of the cabins, and the showers and bathrooms were in their own building.  That's right, kids: the cabins were just beds, windows, and a door, and you had to walk to a separate place to shower or go to the bathroom.

The day before campers were to arrive for the first week of camp (campers came in on Monday and left on Saturday mornings... different campers every week), as I was helping put some of the final touches on our brand new sand volleyball court, I was summoned to our camp director, Margaret Johnson's, office.  She informed me that I was "elected" to spend two weeks in our Rustic camp in the South Florida Camp branch, located in Alva, near Fort Meyers.  (Leesburg is between Tampa and Gainesville.)  Now, I found out by "elected," they meant, "the only one that we can get to go that won't quit on the spot".  So, being the nice guy that I am, I repacked all of my stuff and headed to Alva.  As I was on my way, I found out that Rustic Camp consisted of a smaller group of campers, and not only did we have cabins with no A/C (which I was prepared for), but showering consisted of either swimming or a trailer bed with hoses connected to plastic "stalls," and all of our meals were to be cooked ourselves, over an open fire with hot plates we had to hand make out of coiled cardboard, wax, and a match.  Seriously, I'm not kidding here.  And to cap it all off?  I'd be there OVER MY BIRTHDAY.  MY 18TH BIRTHDAY.

So, I am doing what I can to make the best of a bad situation, and things get a bit brighter.  I find out that not only will I be accompanied by Chauma, who I knew from the summer before, but I would also be just a stone's throw from another of my friends from the summer before, Larry.  (Both of these cats are on my Facebook friend list now).  Larry, and a few of the other girls, would be handling our Horsemanship camp, with all of the comforts of home.  The rumor was that they always knew we were coming by the flies that worked as our heralds before us.  (It was grimy, but not THAT bad.)

So, as Week 1 wrapped up, there was a plan for all of us to spend some time in Fort Meyers taking in the newly released "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" and "Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves," spending some time in a hotel (YES!) and just bonding.  During this time, I gained some closeness with a young lady that I was on staff with (if ya don't know, I ain't tellin' ya), which sprouted my second Summer Love of just as many summers.  There were also two other young ladies on staff, Kellee and Casey (the former is on my friends list), who were TOTAL BFF's.  They supplied us with much comedy, and I really learned a lot from them in the next part of this story.

During Week 2, I found out that they would need me to stay down there for an additional week, which kinda set me off, but being the guy that I am, I stayed.  I also found out that the young lady that I had become close with would be coming up to Leesburg with me, so I bit the bullet (while many mosquitoes bit me) for an additional week.  Also, though, my bond with friends both old and new became deeper, and in retrospect, I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.  (PS - This will come into play in the next chapter.)

The next week, I headed back to Leesburg with lady friend and another staff member in tow.  We stopped off in Orlando to drop the other staff member at her house, and then headed to the camp (in Larry's car, as he would drive a van up there for the camp's use).  I spent the next five weeks there, having the time of my LIFE.  I met so many great people (a good number of which are on my friends list to this day), and lived what is known as the "fairy tale".  What I mean by that is that you spend so much time literally away from the rest of the world (we would go into town every once in a while, but we spent most of our time at the camp itself... Leesburg is nowhere NEAR as lived-in as it is now).

Five days after I returned home, I departed for my one year spent at the University of South Florida, and the following summer, made a decision that would change my life forever.

There are many side stories that I can tell that coincide with these summers, but I have to have stuff to write at a later time.

Until next time, when we have Chapter 3, "The First Defining Moment"...

BB

Secret Origins, Part I - I Have To Tell You This Story To Tell You That Story

So, over the years, many people have asked me the question, "How did you get the name Bamm-Bamm?"  (You see, that is where the name of this site comes from: "Your Uncle B".)Some of you know part of the story, some of you know other parts of the story, and a few of you know the WHOLE story.  So, I thought this might be a good little blog series to tell that story.  Plus, it makes me keep up with this thing a little better.

Before we get into the meat of the story, I thought I'd give you the background that will get us there.  It is the year of our Lord 1990.  I am a junior in high school (yes, I'm that old... go pound sand), and very deeply involved with my church (Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Margate, FL... REPRESENT!).  One Sunday morning, someone in my church approached me to spend a couple of weeks working as a counselor at the United Methodist Church Camp in Brandon, Florida, which is just south of Tampa.  It was going to be a volunteer gig, but would give me some valuable leadership experience. (As a side note, I probably should have documented all of those hours, and I would have had enough to get one of those service lanyard things at graduation.)  I have always been a summer camp fan, and thought this might be kinda fun.  So, I filled out the application, sent it to the Florida Conference (the entire state is one conference, unlike other states), and within a few weeks, I was scheduled to be there the first two weeks of July, over my birthday.  As the kids come in on Monday and leave on Saturday morning, my mom and I drove up to see my grandparents in Tampa a couple of days before.  My mom dropped me off late Sunday afternoon, and I checked in to my cabin.  There wasn't anybody around, so I decided to engage in my default time killer: basketball.  This would either prove to be a very smart move or a very dumb move, depending on how you look at it.

About 10 minutes in, I overcalculated a rebound, and wedged my ankle between the concrete of the court and a dropoff to the ground, twisting my ankle incredibly.  Since it was so late on a Sunday, no clinics were open, so I was relegated to the administration building with my ankle elevated.  It was here, in this very unflattering position, that I was to meet the staff, who was trickling in from a trip of some form.  I was tended to for the most part by Chauma, who would become a very good friend.  She alternated the hot water and cold water bottles on my ankle to keep any swelling and discoloration under control.  I also remember meeting other friends to this day like Grace, Larry, Mindy, Bryant, Jason, and Jodi (whom I REALLY need to track down).  I still don't know how I fell asleep that night, given that I had to lay still.

The next day, we got me to a doctor and found out that luckily, the ankle was just sprained and not broken.  I still had to spend that first week in a splint and on crutches, but given the alternative, I was OK with that.  I was also introduced that week to a young lady by the name of Heidi, whom would become, in the words of an obscure Michael Jackson song, my "Summer Love".  She had red hair, blue eyes, and the faintest hit of freckles.  Need I say more here, people?  I was seventeen years old, and a college girl was digging me.  THAT was how I was rolling.  At least in my mind.

Those two weeks would plant seeds in my heart and in my head that would lead me to the next summer, where it would all change forever.  But THAT, my friends, is the next chapter.

OOH!  I just had a great idea!  Coming to my Facebook page before Chapter 2: an accompanying photo gallery to go with each chapter.  AND YES, that means I have pictures from those days.

As a post script: The Heidi thing went on for a little while, but then after about a month of camp closing, she MARRIED somebody else.  Let that sink in for a second.

Until the next chapter, which I promise won't take TOO long...

BB

New Podcast Site!

The very first edition of The Clubhouse With Rob & Cody is now available for your perusal at

http://www.archive.org/details/TheClubhouse071310mp3

Not The Corner, But Still A Blog

Wow, is this really the first blog of 2010?  Yeesh.

If you are expecting my normal wit and witticism here, you may want to rethink that plan.  This entry is going to take a bit of a more serious tone.  Sorry about that in advance, but sometimes, you just gotta blog stuff.

As some of you know, it's been a rough 12 months for my grandparents.  They have both been in a health decline, and a couple of weeks ago, my grandmother had a stroke shortly after her 80th birthday.  She's doing much better now, and for the most part, I've been pretty even keeled about the whole thing.  They celebrate their 60TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY in August, and there will be a family gathering.  If all goes along with the plan, it will be the first time that all of the grandchildren are in the same room since Christmas of 1995.  I look forward to seeing all of my cousins (two of which I have not seen since said Christmas, one of whom I caught coming through the airport, pre 9/11 of course, and the fourth one came down for a visit a couple of summers ago), and my aunts and uncles, and of course, my Grandma and Grandpa, whom I have not seen since Jenn and I got married almost 7 years ago.  Hold on a sec, I have to let that last part set in....

OK, I'm good.  It's amazing how time flies when you get to spend it with someone whom you not only love, but truly gets you.  Love you, honey!  (OK, you get a little bit of wit and witticism.  We ARE talking about me, here.)

Anyway, I get an e-mail from my mom today updating me on what is going on.  She is in Tampa with them for a few days, helping out.  My uncle Putt (his real name is Robert, but I have another Uncle Robert, and Putt is short for his last name... stay with me here) has been the only family that is still local to them, and has been doing an amazing job keeping things together, and my mom and Aunt Linda are also trying to get down there to help when they can, so I don't worry a heck of a lot about Grandma & Grandpa.

So, Mom sends me an e-mail today saying that they have officially been moved into a retirement home after my grandmother successfully went through rehab after her stroke.  And THAT, is what has turned me into an emotional wreck.  I'm not exactly sure why, because they are both together, and they are being well taken care of (again, I have the BEST family in the world), but it just seemed to be the last piece of bubble gum that fell out of the crack that was in the dam. 

For some reason, I guess I just see this as some sort of strange finality to it all.  20 years ago next month, I went up there with Mom to help clean out a fabricated home that they were moving into.  That one was tough on me because they were moving out of the house that I knew as theirs for my ENTIRE life (it even had their last initial on the chimney outside).  Christmases, vacations, Easters.. at least once a month growing up, I remembered getting in the car with Mom and making the five-hour drive from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa to see them.  It meant the world to me to see them and all of my cousins (everybody else was local to them at that point), and to not come down that declined street that was a stones' throw from Mom's high school just seemed... alien.

As time went on, I came to get used to the retirement village that the lived in.  The few times that I got to visit them there, I enjoyed sitting on the back porch and just enjoying the view of the private lake that backed up to their property.  A couple of times, we took a trip out on said lake in the pontoon boat that they owned, and others, we would just watch the animals at the ranch up the street that was allegedly owned by the family that ran Papa's, the greatest Greek restaurant on the PLANET in Tarpon Springs (now gone, sadly).  But, they were always there.  Grandma, always ready to make a great meal, and giving Grandpa grief.  Grandpa always taking her grief with a smile.  I always think of the time when Grandma gave him grief about walking the dog in just his socks, and no shoes.  His solution?  He bought shoes with grey bottoms on them so she wouldn't see how dirty the socks were; therefore, she'd never think he was just wearing socks.  I think about the "kitchen band" that they led of people in their community.  I've even got a newspaper clipping in my office from a piece the local paper did on them.

I know that they are still with us on this mortal coil, but now, the house I got used to being theirs isn't theirs anymore.  I haven't ever lost a family member less than three generations out (my great grandfather passed when I was a senior in high school, and although that hurt, this is worse for me), so I guess that plays a part in this too.  And. like I said earlier, I've been pretty even-keeled about this up until now, but for some reason, this part of the process has hit me like a ton of bricks.  I guess it's just the totality of it finally breaking free.

I'm glad that Grandma and Grandpa are getting the care they deserve, and I'm also glad that there is a certain weight that can be lightened a bit off of their children.  My family is truly blessed, and I look forward to seeing everyone in August and celebrating a love that has lasted over six full decades that has produced a group of people that I have the highest level of pride to call "my kin".  I guess I just got to my fill of emotions and this helped me purge some of it.

It's like Mom said to me when she was here a couple of weeks ago for a visit: "I just need a good cry, and it won't come." I get it now, Ma. I totally get it.

Thanks for listening to me, dear reader.  Until next time...

BB