en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/574840 Comments by MikeMcK http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/gdalfonzo/2011/12/28/top-5-country-albums-of-2011/#IDComment251288208 One of the interesting things to emerge from the death of country music is what Marty Stuart calls the "new old country" acts like Leroy Troy and Tennessee Mafia Jug Band and similar bands that harken back to the days of Roy Acuff and Bashful Brother Oswald. If you ever get the chance to see Tennessee Mafia Jug Band, whether you like old time or string band music or not, I hope you'll do what ever it takes to be there. You won't be disappointed. And is it just my imagination, or has Southern Gospel music exploded since the death of country music? Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:37:24 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/gdalfonzo/2011/12/28/top-5-country-albums-of-2011/#IDComment251288208 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/gdalfonzo/2011/12/28/top-5-country-albums-of-2011/#IDComment251285727 Although his records are hard to find, the late Don Walser is also a shamefully overlooked singer who carried on the country tradition. Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:33:30 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/gdalfonzo/2011/12/28/top-5-country-albums-of-2011/#IDComment251285727 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2011/12/27/pork-tv-how-millions-in-stimulus-funds-created-an-online-video-with-5k-hits/#IDComment249519237 Don't black people already have five or six TV networks with nothing but black shows? Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:09:49 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2011/12/27/pork-tv-how-millions-in-stimulus-funds-created-an-online-video-with-5k-hits/#IDComment249519237 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/gdalfonzo/2011/12/28/top-5-country-albums-of-2011/#IDComment249517723 I wouldn't give you a nickel for any of them except for George Strait, and even he jumped the shark about twenty years ago. When you turn on your local "country" station and you can't tell the difference between it and the Top 40 station next to it on the dial, that's a good sign it's not real country. Even John Schneider was better than most of the new acts. About the only place to hear real country music anymore is the Marty Stuart Show, and even he's started having people like Keith Urban and other non-country artists on. Even the Grand Ol' Opry seldom has country music anymore. It's sad. In case you're wondering: 1. The Louvin Brothers 2. Vern Gosdin 3. George Jones 4. Gene Watson 5. Kitty Wells 6. George Strait (early-mid 80's era George Strait) 7. Leroy Troy 8. Porter Wagoner 9. Buck Owens (early-mid sixties Buck Owens) 10. Ray Price 11. Joe Diffie (early Joe Diffie before he started singing all of those novelty songs) Honorable mention: The Derailers Cornell Hurd Band Guy Clark Daily and Vincent Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:06:49 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/gdalfonzo/2011/12/28/top-5-country-albums-of-2011/#IDComment249517723 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jwebb/2011/12/05/product-placement-gone-wild/#IDComment234226814 Yes, it's against the law. I forget the name of the law, but it's similar to the Children's Television Act, in that characters can't sell a product associated with the show in character. The idea being that a child's favorite cowboy telling him, "...so if you want to be a real cowboy like me and Dusty, be sure to eat your Oateos!" held an unfair influence on the child. This carried over to adult programming and is why Ed McMahon had to stop selling Alpo dog food on the Tonight Show, among other things. Wed, 7 Dec 2011 16:15:25 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jwebb/2011/12/05/product-placement-gone-wild/#IDComment234226814 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jwebb/2011/12/05/product-placement-gone-wild/#IDComment233697308 I listen to a lot of old radio shows and this is nothing new. They wouldn't even disguise the fact that it was a commercial. They'd just work it into the show. Announcers would routinely find an excuse to break into the show to explain how Johnson's Wax or Chase and Sanborne Coffee or Jello would solve some dilema faced by the characters. On the Phil Harris and Alice Faye Show, the plot frequently revolved around their real life sponsor, Rexall, and Phil's attempts to please them. He did and at the end of every show, Gale Gordon or Grif Barnett, playing your friendly neighborhood Rexall druggist, would set him straight about Rexall. The commercials were often made a part of the plot or were worked into the show so seamlessly that you actually look forward to them. It's unfortunate, too. Since that time, laws have been passed that prohibit this sort of sponsorship. I believe bringing that back would be a good thing for TV. Tue, 6 Dec 2011 14:52:30 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jwebb/2011/12/05/product-placement-gone-wild/#IDComment233697308 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2011/11/15/tuesday-open-thread-sherman-edition/#IDComment222331024 I wonder how many people here know or remember that Auburn and LSU played a literal "barn burner" in 1996. During the game, the old Auburn Sports Arena (aka "The Barn") caught on fire and flames could be seen rising above the top of the stadium. There's probably video on the internet somewhere. Just a few years before that, LSU fans made so much noise as LSU scored a comeback touchdown with a minute and a half left that it set off seismograph earthquake alarms in the school's engineering department. It's a great rivalry. Oh, right. We were talking about Sherman. Almost forgot. He was a wicked, wicked man who purposely targeted civilians. He should be remembered as the scumbag that he was. Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:37:29 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2011/11/15/tuesday-open-thread-sherman-edition/#IDComment222331024 http://biggovernment.com/jpollak/2011/11/14/occupyharvard-appears-strangely-unoccupied/#IDComment221894521 "Yeah, you guys protest. I'm going to Mr. Bartley's." - MikeMcK Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:35:10 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/jpollak/2011/11/14/occupyharvard-appears-strangely-unoccupied/#IDComment221894521 http://biggovernment.com/bmattox/2011/10/23/todays-students-dont-know-much-about-history/#IDComment211306345 I don't think I chose my words very wisely. "Vehemently" was a little stronger than I mean. It implies anger, which isn't what I meant at all. His books on history and raising boys are very good. Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:43:21 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/bmattox/2011/10/23/todays-students-dont-know-much-about-history/#IDComment211306345 http://biggovernment.com/bmattox/2011/10/23/todays-students-dont-know-much-about-history/#IDComment211293315 I taught history and American Government at both the high school and college levels for years. In my college classes, right after I gave my "Why Do We Study History" speech, I would give the students a quiz just for fun to show them that so much of what we believe we know about history is actually influenced more by pop culture than actual history. I would get answers ranging from "Abraham Lincoln was the greatest of all of the Founding Fathers because he freed the slaves" to "Robert E. Lee fought the British in the Civil War" to "the president is Congress' boss". Although I disagree vehemently with his religious views, I would strongly urge any parent to purchase W. Cleon Skouson's books, including "The 5,000 Year Leap". I believe there's even a children's edition of "5,000 Year Leap". We homeschool our children and, while I understand that not everyone is able to do that, you must understand that we can no longer trust government schools to educate our children. You MUST suppliment your child's education. Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:51:22 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/bmattox/2011/10/23/todays-students-dont-know-much-about-history/#IDComment211293315 http://biggovernment.com/sswimp/2011/09/22/tea-party-activists-21st-century-civil-rights-leaders/#IDComment196855703 In the words of Walter Williams, "All they've done is trade one plantation for another". Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:04:49 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/sswimp/2011/09/22/tea-party-activists-21st-century-civil-rights-leaders/#IDComment196855703 http://biggovernment.com/bytor/2011/09/20/senator-sherrod-browns-wife-resigns-from-newspaper-after-blog-exposes-conflict-of-interest/#IDComment195775499 Good for her for resigning, althought it would have appeared to be far more sincere if she hadn't resigned only after she got caught, but what does it say about the journalistic integrity of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that they allowed her to remain on their staff? Not anything good, that's for sure. Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:47:24 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/bytor/2011/09/20/senator-sherrod-browns-wife-resigns-from-newspaper-after-blog-exposes-conflict-of-interest/#IDComment195775499 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/twood/2011/09/17/childrens-programming-not-so-innocent-anymore/#IDComment194787657 Last time I said this here, I got blasted for it, but we gave up our TV about five or six years ago and this is precisely the reason why. Disney Channel shows all portray adults as idiots, disrespectful and poorly behaved children as heroes, ABC "Family" glorifies immorality in every show and has more homosexual characters than any other network, And even commercials are R rated now. Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:56:02 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/twood/2011/09/17/childrens-programming-not-so-innocent-anymore/#IDComment194787657 http://biggovernment.com/bhealy/2011/09/14/in-jail-and-gettng-unemployment-yep/#IDComment193318918 "'The one week waiting period was a 55 million dollar highway robbery of workers without any recommendation from the advisory council,' said Senator Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) during legislative debate on the waiting period." So, if they're "workers", why are they receiving unemployment? Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:50:22 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/bhealy/2011/09/14/in-jail-and-gettng-unemployment-yep/#IDComment193318918 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hollywoodland/2011/07/23/communist-dupes-in-hollywood/#IDComment177008363 The Waltons is hugely popular in our house. We own every episode available on DVD and watch them so often that we almost know the lines by heart. One night, I googled something I heard on the Waltons to see if it was true and, you know how it is: one minute you're looking up a vital piece of information, one thing leads to another and two and a half hours later, you're still there watching videos of dancing kittens on Youtube. Well, in my case, the dancing kitten turned out to be an interview with Mary Beth McDounough (sorry for the poor spelling, Mary Beth), who played the the beautiful, but theatrically challenged Erin Walton. She stated in the interview that beloved TV icon, Will Geer, never stopped trying to influence the children on the show toward Communism and radical views. I've decided not to tell my kids what a Communist and sexual pervert Geer was, because they all love Grandpa Walton and I hate to wreck it for them. Sun, 24 Jul 2011 23:23:05 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hollywoodland/2011/07/23/communist-dupes-in-hollywood/#IDComment177008363 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2011/07/22/boehner-walks-out-of-budget-talks-with-obama/#IDComment176423006 You'd be amazed how many people don't know that the legislative and executive branches are equal. Most people believe that Obama is the boss and Congress are just employees. Certainly, that's what Obama believes. Maybe it's time somebody in Congress had the fortitude to stand up and just tell him to go "F***" himself. Sat, 23 Jul 2011 00:50:14 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2011/07/22/boehner-walks-out-of-budget-talks-with-obama/#IDComment176423006 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jerikson/2011/07/14/more-leftist-propaganda-spoon-fed-to-your-kids-through-glee/#IDComment173404831 Glee is yet another reason we don't have a TV in our house. Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:49:12 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jerikson/2011/07/14/more-leftist-propaganda-spoon-fed-to-your-kids-through-glee/#IDComment173404831 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hollywoodland/2011/07/08/you-play-a-mean-banjo-open-thread/#IDComment171145992 Boy, that James Carville sure could play a mean banjo. Fri, 8 Jul 2011 15:47:54 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hollywoodland/2011/07/08/you-play-a-mean-banjo-open-thread/#IDComment171145992 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hollywoodland/2011/06/25/todays-open-thread-9-everybody-loves-raymond/#IDComment166473797 So I guess this makes it official: the list is a joke. Everybody Loves Raymond is downright painful to watch. It's not funny. You have two whiny men who act like children, an abusive father, and a wife who treats her husband like garbage. There's not one sympthetic character on the show. Sat, 25 Jun 2011 12:16:51 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hollywoodland/2011/06/25/todays-open-thread-9-everybody-loves-raymond/#IDComment166473797 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hollywoodland/2011/06/23/todays-open-thread-11-third-rock-from-the-sun/#IDComment165847209 Third Rock was a great show, but ahead of WKRP and Barney Miller??? Seriously? Is this list in descending order or is it just random? Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:36:13 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hollywoodland/2011/06/23/todays-open-thread-11-third-rock-from-the-sun/#IDComment165847209