Dubbed the Worst Show or not, Crank and JJ have chosen the wrong noun to describe what happens in the morning. "Worst" is debatable, but we object to "Show". Show implies something memorable. There's been nothing memorable on the Crank and JJ's show since we last posted a little over a month ago.
"So what warrants this post?" you might ask. Simple. Two of our critics listened to two days of rants against male European fashion invading this country.On Thursday, they prefaced the topic with typical sexist remarks of a "real man" works hard and the woman cleans the house. A "real man" has no need to start wearing women's clothing.
Our two critics brushed the segment off as an exception to their normally innocuous programming (based on what little all five of us actually listen to now-a-days) and reassured themselves Crank's wife and JJ's "significant other" would be thrusting scrub brushes in their hands when they got home as punishment for making such pre-adolescent remarks about women.
But we should've known how insecure little boys really are. Today, they carried the topic further so they could get some gay bashing time in. If you're a little boy getting slapped around by your woman for every little thing you say or do is wrong, it is perfectly understandable why you would turn around and lash out at others you erroneously believe you can slap around.
Hard cold facts. Most people on Delmarva couldn't find Europe on a globe much less know what the latest European fashion is. In fact, most people on Delmarva don't care where Europe is on a globe much less what the latest fashion trends are. European fashion trends invading America might warrant a one-liner comment and then move on. It's a non-issue ranked right up there with Hollywood glamor and what that Chinese gal did while sewing the jeans you're wearing right now.
We're convinced Crank and JJ are not sexist, racist, or homophobic. We are convinced they are little boys trying to be men. Real men haven't a clue what the latest fashion trend is, much less what the latest European fashion trend is. Perhaps if their women weren't slapping them around so much at home, they'd be a little more secure in who they are and what they are doing. And then maybe Delmarva would be treated to the highest rated "Worst Show" ever recorded.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Another nightly dumbass
Tonight's nightly dumbass is not one, but two people. Bet you think we're going to name Crank and JJ again, huh? Nah, that'd be too easy. Tonight's nightly dumbass, or should we say, dumbasses, are two of our own critics.
Morbid curiosity got the better of them and they decided to tune Crank and JJ in. They were happy to report that the segment, "Acoustics at eight", has gotten even closer to playing at eight. At eight-twenty, listeners were treated to a crappy studio song played acoustically crappily.
But our two dumbasses listened to more than a crappy song. JJ's daily dumbass was an eighteen-year-old out of Scotland who stabbed his girlfriend to death because she didn't make garlic toast to go with the spaghetti dinner.
Normal, intelligent listeners were probably listening to another station or their CD, but if they happened to be tuned in, no doubt they would fail to see the humor in the tragic story. The young man probably had serious mental issues, like being bipolar or something, to stab his girlfriend thirty times over garlic toast. He's certainly not a dumbass by any stretch of the imagination.
Listening on to Crank and JJ's banter, the listener becomes keen to why they would think this murder was worthy of making fun of. JJ made it quite clear that if your woman doesn't do what she's supposed to do, two black eyes is ok to get her in her place, but murder is not.
Domestic violence and spousal abuse is no laughing matter. Sure, we know how their defense of their brand of humor would go. "We made fun of a serious situation to get people talking about these serious issues."
That's the defense being used by a hair salon in Canada for their ad depicting a well dressed man holding diamonds and standing behind a fashionably dressed woman poised on a sofa and flashing a black eye. The caption reads, "Look good in all you do." (story)
The owners of the hair salon defend the ad as their attempt to get people talking about a serious subject. Funny. Most hair salons design ads to get people to come in and get their hair done. Instead of people finding the ad thought provoking, they find it insulting and demeaning to women and a wink to the boys who slap their women around.
By the same token, most listeners probably expect Crank and JJ to entertain them on their daily dumbass report with quirky stories of people doing really dumb things that make us laugh. Killing a young woman is not funny for any reason. Encouraging spousal abuse and the notion that men should keep their women in line with physical violence, if necessary, is not funny, by any stretch of the imagination. It also is not an effective method to get people talking about a serious subject. It is an effective method to convince some listener(s) out there that it's ok to slap their woman around because she's been getting out of hand lately.
Sadly, WZBH chose to air clips of the segment throughout the day to promote the new show. WZBH must enjoy its reputation of being probably the third most bigoted station on Delmarva. At least two conservative talk show stations has them beat. WZBH is trying really hard to steal that title from those two stations.
So how does all this make our two critics the nightly dumbasses? We've listened enough to know that WZBH may have changed the voices, but the daily doses of bigotry is what WZBH wants to promote. Today, our two critics held out high hopes that yesterday's programming was a fluke and, instead, learned it only gets worse. Any dumbass could've figured that out within the first week of The Worse Show Ever with Crank & JJ airing. Our two critics still aren't convinced that it will only get worse. The other three of us are.
Morbid curiosity got the better of them and they decided to tune Crank and JJ in. They were happy to report that the segment, "Acoustics at eight", has gotten even closer to playing at eight. At eight-twenty, listeners were treated to a crappy studio song played acoustically crappily.
But our two dumbasses listened to more than a crappy song. JJ's daily dumbass was an eighteen-year-old out of Scotland who stabbed his girlfriend to death because she didn't make garlic toast to go with the spaghetti dinner.
Normal, intelligent listeners were probably listening to another station or their CD, but if they happened to be tuned in, no doubt they would fail to see the humor in the tragic story. The young man probably had serious mental issues, like being bipolar or something, to stab his girlfriend thirty times over garlic toast. He's certainly not a dumbass by any stretch of the imagination.
Listening on to Crank and JJ's banter, the listener becomes keen to why they would think this murder was worthy of making fun of. JJ made it quite clear that if your woman doesn't do what she's supposed to do, two black eyes is ok to get her in her place, but murder is not.
Domestic violence and spousal abuse is no laughing matter. Sure, we know how their defense of their brand of humor would go. "We made fun of a serious situation to get people talking about these serious issues."
That's the defense being used by a hair salon in Canada for their ad depicting a well dressed man holding diamonds and standing behind a fashionably dressed woman poised on a sofa and flashing a black eye. The caption reads, "Look good in all you do." (story)
The owners of the hair salon defend the ad as their attempt to get people talking about a serious subject. Funny. Most hair salons design ads to get people to come in and get their hair done. Instead of people finding the ad thought provoking, they find it insulting and demeaning to women and a wink to the boys who slap their women around.
By the same token, most listeners probably expect Crank and JJ to entertain them on their daily dumbass report with quirky stories of people doing really dumb things that make us laugh. Killing a young woman is not funny for any reason. Encouraging spousal abuse and the notion that men should keep their women in line with physical violence, if necessary, is not funny, by any stretch of the imagination. It also is not an effective method to get people talking about a serious subject. It is an effective method to convince some listener(s) out there that it's ok to slap their woman around because she's been getting out of hand lately.
Sadly, WZBH chose to air clips of the segment throughout the day to promote the new show. WZBH must enjoy its reputation of being probably the third most bigoted station on Delmarva. At least two conservative talk show stations has them beat. WZBH is trying really hard to steal that title from those two stations.
So how does all this make our two critics the nightly dumbasses? We've listened enough to know that WZBH may have changed the voices, but the daily doses of bigotry is what WZBH wants to promote. Today, our two critics held out high hopes that yesterday's programming was a fluke and, instead, learned it only gets worse. Any dumbass could've figured that out within the first week of The Worse Show Ever with Crank & JJ airing. Our two critics still aren't convinced that it will only get worse. The other three of us are.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tonight's nightly dumbass
Since JJ can't give us the nightly dumbass that so entertained us weeknights, we thought we'd fill in. Tonight's nightly dumbass is not one, but two people - Crank and JJ.
Let's back it up a bit. We rarely listen to the morning show. After our initial excitement and hopes for an entertaining show, we ended up with a toned down version of the old morning show. The personalities are a little bit more likable than in the old format, but bigots are still bigots and bigotry as humor is a bygone fad of almost forty years ago. It just plain ain't funny no more.
We listened once, last week. We were amused at the segment, "Acoustics at eight" that came on at five til nine. The critic writing to you likes the acoustic segment, having somewheres in the neighborhood of seven CDs of acoustic versions of songs by popular bands.
We listened again, today, and the "Acoustics at eight" segment came on somewheres around eight-thirty. Amusement has now transformed into befuddlement. Are there any clocks at the station?
Last week's daily dumbass was a man in Oklahoma who fired his gun at fire fighting helicopters dipping into his pond to fight the wildfires in Texas. All five of us are in agreement that the man should've been the daily hero and JJ and Crank the dumbasses. All five of us agree that anyone - and especially government employees - who doesn't want an ass full of buckshot had better ask us before stepping foot on our land much less helping themselves to the resources we own on the land.
How hard would it have been for the fire fighting commander or local sheriff to pick up the phone and tell the landowner they needed his water to fight neighboring wild fires? Oklahoma is also in a severe drought. What if the man relied on that pond to irrigate his fields or water his livestock, wouldn't you expect him to shoot first, ask questions later? If that pond goes dry, he could lose his livlihood. Who's going to pay his bills then?
Again, we can't stress it enough. Do your homework and think outside of the box before making yourself the dumbass.
Today's dumbass was not one, but three people holding up the express checkoout at the Walmart while Crank and JJ were trying to get through the line as quickly as possible.
First person up - an old lady who paid by <gasp> a check. There goes that subtle bigotry. What did her age have to do with how she chose to pay? Oh yeah, old people are feeble and slow.
All five of us at the Critics Page have shopped at Walmart and have paid by check. There's nothing to fill out. You hand a blank check to the cashier, the cashier feeds it through the machine, which takes less than ten seconds, and then you sign the electronic pad facing you. Either Crank and JJ are telling us that Delawareans are more backwards than we give them credit for or they completely fabricated the little old lady paying by check.
Second person up - a Mexican who chose to pay with coins for one portion of his order, and a twenty for the other portion. Again, there goes that subtle bigotry. What did his ethnicity have to do with how he paid for his order? In fact, we're willing to bet that while he was probably Hispanic, most likely Latino, he probably wasn't Mexican. We fully expect that analysis to go whoosh right over Crank and JJ's heads. Bigots have a hard time understanding that people with brown skin speaking Spanish does not automatically equate to Mexican.
So he shopped for two people. One was poor and had coins to pay for the order. The other was rich and had a twenty to pay for the order. Whether one person pays for both orders separately or two people are ahead of you paying for their own orders, the time standing in line is the same. And since none of us at the Critics Page are rich like Crank and JJ, we do consider payment in coins as cash payment. Between paychecks, we're always paying in coins.
Third person up - Mom. Bashing women through Moms is a favorite pasttime of JJ's. He'll never bash men through Dads, but he loves to bash women through the incompetent Moms. What was her stupidity? Asking the cashier about two different types of cigarettes and which one had more cigarettes.
Yes, JJ, every smoker and many nonsmokers know there are twenty cigarettes to a pack, no matter which brand. Every smoker and many nonsmokers also know that a pack of camels isn't the same amount of cigarettes as a pack of Virginia Slims. Try really hard to think about that one. We have confidence that you can tell us why both packs have twenty cigarettes, but both packs don't have an equal amount of cigarettes.
Since we are convinced that the first shopper was made up, or at least the story was embellished like a good fish tale, we have our doubts about the other two shoppers, too. The story was a good yarn to bash the elderly, Latinos (specifically Mexicans), and women.
But that's not why we award the nightly dumbass award to Crank and JJ. They get the award because they chose to shop at Walmart and support both the Chinese economy and Chinese worker at the expense of our American economy and American worker.
Not a good enough reason? Don't fret, there's more.
We've noticed the younger generation, particularly those under thirty-five, are impertinent and impatient seekers of instant gratification. We can thank the Internet, drive thrus, and express checkout lines for the ingrained attitude of instant gratification among the snot-nosed, bratty younger crowd.
Not fun when the group you belong to is singled out for ridicule, is it? Sad truth is that those of us over thirty-five have more patience, understanding, and compassion for others who operate at a bit slower speed than the seekers of instant gratification.
Still not good enough reason to award Crank and JJ the nightly dumbass award? Yup. There's more.
You both were shopping at Walmart. If you want prompt service and speed, shop at a high end store where the clerks will annoint your feet as they take your money and usher you out the door. You shop with poor people, you get treated like poor people. Shop with rich people, you get treated like rich people. Very simple equation. You both were the dumbasses for being in a hurry because you didn't plan ahead of when and where to shop to get the service you think you deserve. The truth is you deserved the service poor people get and that's what you got. Dumbasses.
Let's back it up a bit. We rarely listen to the morning show. After our initial excitement and hopes for an entertaining show, we ended up with a toned down version of the old morning show. The personalities are a little bit more likable than in the old format, but bigots are still bigots and bigotry as humor is a bygone fad of almost forty years ago. It just plain ain't funny no more.
We listened once, last week. We were amused at the segment, "Acoustics at eight" that came on at five til nine. The critic writing to you likes the acoustic segment, having somewheres in the neighborhood of seven CDs of acoustic versions of songs by popular bands.
We listened again, today, and the "Acoustics at eight" segment came on somewheres around eight-thirty. Amusement has now transformed into befuddlement. Are there any clocks at the station?
Last week's daily dumbass was a man in Oklahoma who fired his gun at fire fighting helicopters dipping into his pond to fight the wildfires in Texas. All five of us are in agreement that the man should've been the daily hero and JJ and Crank the dumbasses. All five of us agree that anyone - and especially government employees - who doesn't want an ass full of buckshot had better ask us before stepping foot on our land much less helping themselves to the resources we own on the land.
How hard would it have been for the fire fighting commander or local sheriff to pick up the phone and tell the landowner they needed his water to fight neighboring wild fires? Oklahoma is also in a severe drought. What if the man relied on that pond to irrigate his fields or water his livestock, wouldn't you expect him to shoot first, ask questions later? If that pond goes dry, he could lose his livlihood. Who's going to pay his bills then?
Again, we can't stress it enough. Do your homework and think outside of the box before making yourself the dumbass.
Today's dumbass was not one, but three people holding up the express checkoout at the Walmart while Crank and JJ were trying to get through the line as quickly as possible.
First person up - an old lady who paid by <gasp> a check. There goes that subtle bigotry. What did her age have to do with how she chose to pay? Oh yeah, old people are feeble and slow.
All five of us at the Critics Page have shopped at Walmart and have paid by check. There's nothing to fill out. You hand a blank check to the cashier, the cashier feeds it through the machine, which takes less than ten seconds, and then you sign the electronic pad facing you. Either Crank and JJ are telling us that Delawareans are more backwards than we give them credit for or they completely fabricated the little old lady paying by check.
Second person up - a Mexican who chose to pay with coins for one portion of his order, and a twenty for the other portion. Again, there goes that subtle bigotry. What did his ethnicity have to do with how he paid for his order? In fact, we're willing to bet that while he was probably Hispanic, most likely Latino, he probably wasn't Mexican. We fully expect that analysis to go whoosh right over Crank and JJ's heads. Bigots have a hard time understanding that people with brown skin speaking Spanish does not automatically equate to Mexican.
So he shopped for two people. One was poor and had coins to pay for the order. The other was rich and had a twenty to pay for the order. Whether one person pays for both orders separately or two people are ahead of you paying for their own orders, the time standing in line is the same. And since none of us at the Critics Page are rich like Crank and JJ, we do consider payment in coins as cash payment. Between paychecks, we're always paying in coins.
Third person up - Mom. Bashing women through Moms is a favorite pasttime of JJ's. He'll never bash men through Dads, but he loves to bash women through the incompetent Moms. What was her stupidity? Asking the cashier about two different types of cigarettes and which one had more cigarettes.
Yes, JJ, every smoker and many nonsmokers know there are twenty cigarettes to a pack, no matter which brand. Every smoker and many nonsmokers also know that a pack of camels isn't the same amount of cigarettes as a pack of Virginia Slims. Try really hard to think about that one. We have confidence that you can tell us why both packs have twenty cigarettes, but both packs don't have an equal amount of cigarettes.
Since we are convinced that the first shopper was made up, or at least the story was embellished like a good fish tale, we have our doubts about the other two shoppers, too. The story was a good yarn to bash the elderly, Latinos (specifically Mexicans), and women.
But that's not why we award the nightly dumbass award to Crank and JJ. They get the award because they chose to shop at Walmart and support both the Chinese economy and Chinese worker at the expense of our American economy and American worker.
Not a good enough reason? Don't fret, there's more.
We've noticed the younger generation, particularly those under thirty-five, are impertinent and impatient seekers of instant gratification. We can thank the Internet, drive thrus, and express checkout lines for the ingrained attitude of instant gratification among the snot-nosed, bratty younger crowd.
Not fun when the group you belong to is singled out for ridicule, is it? Sad truth is that those of us over thirty-five have more patience, understanding, and compassion for others who operate at a bit slower speed than the seekers of instant gratification.
Still not good enough reason to award Crank and JJ the nightly dumbass award? Yup. There's more.
You both were shopping at Walmart. If you want prompt service and speed, shop at a high end store where the clerks will annoint your feet as they take your money and usher you out the door. You shop with poor people, you get treated like poor people. Shop with rich people, you get treated like rich people. Very simple equation. You both were the dumbasses for being in a hurry because you didn't plan ahead of when and where to shop to get the service you think you deserve. The truth is you deserved the service poor people get and that's what you got. Dumbasses.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Crank and JJ suck and a kudos to WZBH
We held out high hopes for Crank and JJ. Crank, we thought, was overshadowed by Matt and never stood a chance to shine. There's nothing to shine on Crank. JJ entertained us with his dumbass reports on his night show. We enjoyed them because they were an entertaining break from an hour or so of good music. On the morning show, they've become monotonous and predictable.
Entertainment, today, must be all about taking one extreme story of an individual and generalizing that individual's actions as being representative of everyone in a set group the hosts have decided to hate. Overly broad generalizations are the norm. We, at the critics page, really don't understand the entertainment value. We can say that WZBH has chosen two young, White, male bigots to entertain us.
Crank is the obnoxious bigot. What he says today will not be the same thing he says tomorrow, but the overriding message he gets across is that White, heterosexual, male power is the only right way to go.
JJ is the lovable bigot much like Archie Bunker and George Jefferson were the lovable bigots of the '70's. Of course, JJ is more like Archie Bunker than George Jefferson, but we have to tell you rednecks, who are good fifty years behind everyone else, that sort of humor has long since become passé. It just plain ain't funny anymore.
Yeah, we know. A barrage of hate mail is coming to us for daring to say the rednecks of Delmarva are a good fifty years behind everyone else. We hate to tell you this, but the three of us at the critics page were born and raised here. When we were kids, we thought we we're a good thirty years behind everyone else. As adults, we say, with confidence, we're a good fifty years behind everyone else. Our concept of the global economy, our pay, and our technological acumen definitely can be described as the way behind category. But one thing that doesn't fall behind is our understanding of social issues.
Crank and JJ are trying desperately, or maybe not, to be one of the good ol' boys, but fail miserably. Sure, we all hold our prejudices, but at least we're smart enough to hold them to ourselves and in the company of our like-minded friends. We're not stupid enough to air our prejudices in a public forum, whether it be here, on an insignificant blog, or boldly on a radio station covering all of Delmarva. Perhaps, if JJ and Crank were born and raised here, they'd understand that. Instead, they are the foreigners from the other side of the Bridge treating us like the country bumpkins everyone else outside of Delmarva treats us - and takes advantage of.
What we don't understand is Great Scott Broadcasting Company is a locally owned and operated station, if our research is accurate. So we'll bypass the two foreign yokels doing the morning show and ask the big wigs - when and why did you decide to look outside of Delmarva for your entertainment personalities and what do you hope to bring to Delmarva that is so different and unique than what is offered on any other radio station by bringing the foreigners in to do your morning show?
All that said, we do congratulate and appreciate the overall change in WZBH's programming. Even when Matt was part of the morning show, the commercials throughout the day didn't promote a bigoted point of view. Sarah in the afternoon is a refreshing change from like-minded, young White guys who ruled the airwaves.
Now, if WZBH could only get some born and raised local guys or gals to do the morning show, maybe, just maybe, the morning show would be more entertaining... and maybe connect with more of Delmarva.
Entertainment, today, must be all about taking one extreme story of an individual and generalizing that individual's actions as being representative of everyone in a set group the hosts have decided to hate. Overly broad generalizations are the norm. We, at the critics page, really don't understand the entertainment value. We can say that WZBH has chosen two young, White, male bigots to entertain us.
Crank is the obnoxious bigot. What he says today will not be the same thing he says tomorrow, but the overriding message he gets across is that White, heterosexual, male power is the only right way to go.
JJ is the lovable bigot much like Archie Bunker and George Jefferson were the lovable bigots of the '70's. Of course, JJ is more like Archie Bunker than George Jefferson, but we have to tell you rednecks, who are good fifty years behind everyone else, that sort of humor has long since become passé. It just plain ain't funny anymore.
Yeah, we know. A barrage of hate mail is coming to us for daring to say the rednecks of Delmarva are a good fifty years behind everyone else. We hate to tell you this, but the three of us at the critics page were born and raised here. When we were kids, we thought we we're a good thirty years behind everyone else. As adults, we say, with confidence, we're a good fifty years behind everyone else. Our concept of the global economy, our pay, and our technological acumen definitely can be described as the way behind category. But one thing that doesn't fall behind is our understanding of social issues.
Crank and JJ are trying desperately, or maybe not, to be one of the good ol' boys, but fail miserably. Sure, we all hold our prejudices, but at least we're smart enough to hold them to ourselves and in the company of our like-minded friends. We're not stupid enough to air our prejudices in a public forum, whether it be here, on an insignificant blog, or boldly on a radio station covering all of Delmarva. Perhaps, if JJ and Crank were born and raised here, they'd understand that. Instead, they are the foreigners from the other side of the Bridge treating us like the country bumpkins everyone else outside of Delmarva treats us - and takes advantage of.
What we don't understand is Great Scott Broadcasting Company is a locally owned and operated station, if our research is accurate. So we'll bypass the two foreign yokels doing the morning show and ask the big wigs - when and why did you decide to look outside of Delmarva for your entertainment personalities and what do you hope to bring to Delmarva that is so different and unique than what is offered on any other radio station by bringing the foreigners in to do your morning show?
All that said, we do congratulate and appreciate the overall change in WZBH's programming. Even when Matt was part of the morning show, the commercials throughout the day didn't promote a bigoted point of view. Sarah in the afternoon is a refreshing change from like-minded, young White guys who ruled the airwaves.
Now, if WZBH could only get some born and raised local guys or gals to do the morning show, maybe, just maybe, the morning show would be more entertaining... and maybe connect with more of Delmarva.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Preliminary review of the new morning show
We listened to about an hour of the new morning show on WZBH, billed as the worst show ever. It stars Crank and JJ. Fortunately, there weren't giggling interns, interns looking for a job, or girlfriends to clutter up the show. The show was simply Crank and JJ.
When we first tuned in, JJ had asked listeners to call or text in whether they would engage in a threesome with Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey just for the money. The segment was reminiscent of a segment Matt and Crank aired around five months ago that we reviewed as Dollars for Gays.
Crank stood firm on his "no way" moral grounds, which we found a bit odd. Five months ago, he at least entertained the idea of having sex for money if no one would know. But, hey, what can one expect from the holier-than-thou morality braggards other than at least a dash of hypocrisy?
That odd point aside, the segment was funny and held promise for the new show. We liked JJ from nights, despite his couple of off-hand remarks about gays, and we have always believed that Crank needed to step out of the dark shadow and shine on his own. The two, at-odds personalities worked and the whole segment was at least mildly amusing. Yes, we admit that all five of us are probably getting older and don't much care for the bathroom humor like we did when we were kids.
Their next segment, however, put doubts in our heads as to whether or not WZBH was striving for content quality change or just a new voice. The segment centered on a story out of Texas where an employee of Starbuck's Coffee sued the chain under the Americans with Disabilities Act because the chain refused to allow her to use a step stool so she could do her job. In typical old-style Matt and Crank fashion, Crank and JJ bashed little people with JJ going so far as to refer to them as "trolls." The only thing missing from this segment was the comment that throwing water on little people turns them into gremlins, but the flavor of the segment was the same as five months ago. ( Our review of that show: Gays, Japanese, women, and midgets are fair game.)
Both JJ and Crank tried to make a valid point that using a step stool could create a safety hazard for the other employees, but instead of pursuing their argument along the lines of what "reasonable accomodations" in the act means, they chose to lament the fact that since they are relatively normal White guys, they could never sue, say , the NFL because they lack the talent to be a quarterback. The overall tone of the segment came across as the poor normal White guys get punished while the midgets and other minorities get rewarded. By the time they were done their segment, we were left with the feeling that Crank and JJ believe the only jobs little people should hold are playing trolls and leprechauns in the movies or traveling with the local circus as a sideshow act.
We won't enter a debate on this one. Suffice it to say that the thousands of troops, including the White troops, who are returning home missing arms and legs, confined to a wheel chair, or suffering post traumatic stress syndrome would highly disagree with Crank and JJ's assessment that the Americans with Disabilities Act unfairly favors minorities at the expense of normal White guys. The act was enacted with good reason. Little people and all people with disabilities have families to support and bills to pay. Being limited in career choices to side show freaks isn't a career and hardly pays the bills.
We aren't going to make a big to do about the segment. Today was their first show. Crank still hasn't quite found his way out of the dark shadow that enveloped him for the last year or two, and JJ probably went to work this morning thinking he was coming home from a party. He'll get adjusted to the new day shift and the dark shadow that has had a hold on Crank will slowly lose its grip.
Maybe, just maybe, Crank and JJ will start doing their homework before tackling controversial issues and us listeneners will be treated to entertaining and enlightening segments from two personalities opposite of each other, but complimentary at the same time.
Oh, and the world doesn't revolve around you. We have to throw that in. We're not really that much older than Crank (ok, one of us is), but we feel like we come from a different generation (well, two of us do). It seems the kids today (those under 35) think that everything happening in the world is somehow about them. Trust us. It's not. The Americans with Disabilities Act, for example, was not designed to punish normal White guys like yourselves. Do your homework and you might discover that it is a good law enacted with good intentions that has changed the lives of millions of Americans with disabilities. But, like any manmade law, it is open to abuse by the unscrupulous who just want something for nothing. We're not saying the case you both talked about this morning is such an example as we don't know all of the details, but based on what little we do know, Starbuck's should fire their lawyers and get new ones.
When we first tuned in, JJ had asked listeners to call or text in whether they would engage in a threesome with Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey just for the money. The segment was reminiscent of a segment Matt and Crank aired around five months ago that we reviewed as Dollars for Gays.
Crank stood firm on his "no way" moral grounds, which we found a bit odd. Five months ago, he at least entertained the idea of having sex for money if no one would know. But, hey, what can one expect from the holier-than-thou morality braggards other than at least a dash of hypocrisy?
That odd point aside, the segment was funny and held promise for the new show. We liked JJ from nights, despite his couple of off-hand remarks about gays, and we have always believed that Crank needed to step out of the dark shadow and shine on his own. The two, at-odds personalities worked and the whole segment was at least mildly amusing. Yes, we admit that all five of us are probably getting older and don't much care for the bathroom humor like we did when we were kids.
Their next segment, however, put doubts in our heads as to whether or not WZBH was striving for content quality change or just a new voice. The segment centered on a story out of Texas where an employee of Starbuck's Coffee sued the chain under the Americans with Disabilities Act because the chain refused to allow her to use a step stool so she could do her job. In typical old-style Matt and Crank fashion, Crank and JJ bashed little people with JJ going so far as to refer to them as "trolls." The only thing missing from this segment was the comment that throwing water on little people turns them into gremlins, but the flavor of the segment was the same as five months ago. ( Our review of that show: Gays, Japanese, women, and midgets are fair game.)
Both JJ and Crank tried to make a valid point that using a step stool could create a safety hazard for the other employees, but instead of pursuing their argument along the lines of what "reasonable accomodations" in the act means, they chose to lament the fact that since they are relatively normal White guys, they could never sue, say , the NFL because they lack the talent to be a quarterback. The overall tone of the segment came across as the poor normal White guys get punished while the midgets and other minorities get rewarded. By the time they were done their segment, we were left with the feeling that Crank and JJ believe the only jobs little people should hold are playing trolls and leprechauns in the movies or traveling with the local circus as a sideshow act.
We won't enter a debate on this one. Suffice it to say that the thousands of troops, including the White troops, who are returning home missing arms and legs, confined to a wheel chair, or suffering post traumatic stress syndrome would highly disagree with Crank and JJ's assessment that the Americans with Disabilities Act unfairly favors minorities at the expense of normal White guys. The act was enacted with good reason. Little people and all people with disabilities have families to support and bills to pay. Being limited in career choices to side show freaks isn't a career and hardly pays the bills.
We aren't going to make a big to do about the segment. Today was their first show. Crank still hasn't quite found his way out of the dark shadow that enveloped him for the last year or two, and JJ probably went to work this morning thinking he was coming home from a party. He'll get adjusted to the new day shift and the dark shadow that has had a hold on Crank will slowly lose its grip.
Maybe, just maybe, Crank and JJ will start doing their homework before tackling controversial issues and us listeneners will be treated to entertaining and enlightening segments from two personalities opposite of each other, but complimentary at the same time.
Oh, and the world doesn't revolve around you. We have to throw that in. We're not really that much older than Crank (ok, one of us is), but we feel like we come from a different generation (well, two of us do). It seems the kids today (those under 35) think that everything happening in the world is somehow about them. Trust us. It's not. The Americans with Disabilities Act, for example, was not designed to punish normal White guys like yourselves. Do your homework and you might discover that it is a good law enacted with good intentions that has changed the lives of millions of Americans with disabilities. But, like any manmade law, it is open to abuse by the unscrupulous who just want something for nothing. We're not saying the case you both talked about this morning is such an example as we don't know all of the details, but based on what little we do know, Starbuck's should fire their lawyers and get new ones.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
A trip through our mailbag
Many of the users of the Critics Page blog and accompanying FaceBook page refrained from posting comments or questions on the blog or on the FaceBook page and, instead, chose to private message us. We respect their desire to keep their comments and questions anonymous, but we have decided to consolidate them into a FAQ-sort-of response. Perhaps by doing this, our inbox will be less inundated with repetitive questions and comments.
In bold are paraphrased questions or comments followed by our response.
Who is behind the Critics Page, really?
As we already stated, there are five of us - two women and three men. We're all friends and this whole endeavor has been a fun Saturday night game for us. It also has been a hassle trying to keep up with the programming while we went about our daily lives. It's been time consuming, but a wonderful learning experience.
You're really just one lonely middle-aged guy jealous of Matt's success.
Wrong on both accounts. When we decided to start the Critics Page, months prior we all discussed how kids get rich off making entertaining blogs and You Tube videos. We tossed around plenty of ideas of how we might be able to cash in, but none of us, except for one, knew the way around the Internet or had decent writing skills. When the one woman in our group, who listened to Matt and Crank fairly regularly, said, "Let's take Matt up on his challenge and get him fired", we decided the drunk talk was over and we would learn how the Internet really works. Even though the writing task fell almost entirely on one of us, the one writing to you now, we decided that a "one voice", preferably a professional voice, would be most effective. While the final reviews you read almost always sound as if one person is behind the Critics Page, all the reviews are based on all five of our thoughts. We don't always agree with each other and you'd be surprised how much is cut out of the reviews you read simply because we don't agree.
Why are you trying to censure free speech?
We're not. We are, however, exercising our free speech. Why are you trying to censure ours?
If you really didn't like Matt and Crank's show, just turn the station.
Yes, we could simply flip stations, but that would make us complacent sheep. WZBH is the only mainstream rock station serving Delmarva. A diverse audience loves rock music and tunes in. Any listener, regardless of their religion, sex, age, race, ethnic background, sexual orientation, or disability could reasonably expect to tune in and not be a daily target of ridicule simply because they aren't young, White, heterosexual, Christian male. That is the point we wanted to make.
Are you going to dog Matt at his new station?
No. We don't even listen to WGMD. It's a conservative Christian talk station and none of us ever listened to talk radio. Besides, unless we stream it over the Internet, we can't get it in on the radio. We believe Matt has found a venue for his bigotry that is acceptable. Only like-minded bigots will tune into a talk station to hear him. Normal people will be listening to good rock music airing from WZBH or good music airing from any other station.
Now that Matt has left WZBH, are you going to delete the Critics Page and its FaceBook page?
Absolutely not. We want this page, Matt and Crank's words, and our reviews to come back and haunt them twenty years from now should they decide to run for public office or something. We'll see how their sexist, racist, Islamaphobic, and homophobic words will come back to haunt them when some kid-still-wet-behind-the-ears brings it up on his morning show. Yes, we're Christian and truly believe you reap what you sow.
Crank is still there so were you really successful ?
We really didn't understand this question. Let's face it. The Matt and Crank show should've been titled The Matt Show with Sidekick Crank. We have reviewed shows chastising Crank for taking the back seat to Matt. We sensed Crank was the more intelligent one on the show and lamented over the fact that the bully kid overshadowed him. We're happy that WZBH kept Crank and we hope he shows us his true talent with the new morning show airing Monday morning.
You're just a bunch of liberal, Obama loving [put your own expletive here].
On the contrary, overall, we would "average" as independents. Two of us are diehard Republicans and still believe Reagan is one of the greatest presidents this country has ever had. The other two of us think all politicans are crooks and scammers and are registered as independents. One is registered as a Democrat. The three of us who are registered with one of the major parties do not vote along party lines.
You din't accomplish anything. Why did you waste your time?
We don't know if we accomplished anything you, the reader, can see. The changes happening at WZBH probably happened because they were going to happen with or without our presence. When we first learned of Matt's firing (Yes, we still believe he was fired), we tuned into WGMD to see where he was going. The guest speaker talked about "meglomaiacs", referring to talk show personalities who take a perverse joy in making the little guy listening feel bad about himself simply because he doesn't measure up to the standards set by the talk show personailty. The reason the talk show personalities do what they do is because they, themselves, have meaningless lives, but making the little guy feel bad gives them a sense of power over someone they know is powerless do do anything about it. We hope we demonstrated, through the power of the Internet, that the little guy does have power and doesn't need to feel bad about himself simply because some talk show personailty says he should. (As a side note, the station that aired this segment about meglomaiacs was not WGMD, but a station out of Virginia that happened to have the same station numbers, 92.7, as WGMD.)
What's next for the Critics Page?
Nothing. We have talked about making a website parody of the Tea Party or starting our Drunk Rednecks of the Round Table adventure, but we don't know what, if anything, we'll do next. Whatever we decide to do will not be connected to the Critics Page. Barring strong fan feedback, we won't even announce our new Internet adventure here. The Critics Page and the associated FaceBook page is now offically dead with maybe an occasional last gasp for air. We couldn't exactly close the page without at least reviewing the new morning show on WZBH airing Monday morning, now could we?
In bold are paraphrased questions or comments followed by our response.
Who is behind the Critics Page, really?
As we already stated, there are five of us - two women and three men. We're all friends and this whole endeavor has been a fun Saturday night game for us. It also has been a hassle trying to keep up with the programming while we went about our daily lives. It's been time consuming, but a wonderful learning experience.
You're really just one lonely middle-aged guy jealous of Matt's success.
Wrong on both accounts. When we decided to start the Critics Page, months prior we all discussed how kids get rich off making entertaining blogs and You Tube videos. We tossed around plenty of ideas of how we might be able to cash in, but none of us, except for one, knew the way around the Internet or had decent writing skills. When the one woman in our group, who listened to Matt and Crank fairly regularly, said, "Let's take Matt up on his challenge and get him fired", we decided the drunk talk was over and we would learn how the Internet really works. Even though the writing task fell almost entirely on one of us, the one writing to you now, we decided that a "one voice", preferably a professional voice, would be most effective. While the final reviews you read almost always sound as if one person is behind the Critics Page, all the reviews are based on all five of our thoughts. We don't always agree with each other and you'd be surprised how much is cut out of the reviews you read simply because we don't agree.
Why are you trying to censure free speech?
We're not. We are, however, exercising our free speech. Why are you trying to censure ours?
If you really didn't like Matt and Crank's show, just turn the station.
Yes, we could simply flip stations, but that would make us complacent sheep. WZBH is the only mainstream rock station serving Delmarva. A diverse audience loves rock music and tunes in. Any listener, regardless of their religion, sex, age, race, ethnic background, sexual orientation, or disability could reasonably expect to tune in and not be a daily target of ridicule simply because they aren't young, White, heterosexual, Christian male. That is the point we wanted to make.
Are you going to dog Matt at his new station?
No. We don't even listen to WGMD. It's a conservative Christian talk station and none of us ever listened to talk radio. Besides, unless we stream it over the Internet, we can't get it in on the radio. We believe Matt has found a venue for his bigotry that is acceptable. Only like-minded bigots will tune into a talk station to hear him. Normal people will be listening to good rock music airing from WZBH or good music airing from any other station.
Now that Matt has left WZBH, are you going to delete the Critics Page and its FaceBook page?
Absolutely not. We want this page, Matt and Crank's words, and our reviews to come back and haunt them twenty years from now should they decide to run for public office or something. We'll see how their sexist, racist, Islamaphobic, and homophobic words will come back to haunt them when some kid-still-wet-behind-the-ears brings it up on his morning show. Yes, we're Christian and truly believe you reap what you sow.
Crank is still there so were you really successful ?
We really didn't understand this question. Let's face it. The Matt and Crank show should've been titled The Matt Show with Sidekick Crank. We have reviewed shows chastising Crank for taking the back seat to Matt. We sensed Crank was the more intelligent one on the show and lamented over the fact that the bully kid overshadowed him. We're happy that WZBH kept Crank and we hope he shows us his true talent with the new morning show airing Monday morning.
You're just a bunch of liberal, Obama loving [put your own expletive here].
On the contrary, overall, we would "average" as independents. Two of us are diehard Republicans and still believe Reagan is one of the greatest presidents this country has ever had. The other two of us think all politicans are crooks and scammers and are registered as independents. One is registered as a Democrat. The three of us who are registered with one of the major parties do not vote along party lines.
You din't accomplish anything. Why did you waste your time?
We don't know if we accomplished anything you, the reader, can see. The changes happening at WZBH probably happened because they were going to happen with or without our presence. When we first learned of Matt's firing (Yes, we still believe he was fired), we tuned into WGMD to see where he was going. The guest speaker talked about "meglomaiacs", referring to talk show personalities who take a perverse joy in making the little guy listening feel bad about himself simply because he doesn't measure up to the standards set by the talk show personailty. The reason the talk show personalities do what they do is because they, themselves, have meaningless lives, but making the little guy feel bad gives them a sense of power over someone they know is powerless do do anything about it. We hope we demonstrated, through the power of the Internet, that the little guy does have power and doesn't need to feel bad about himself simply because some talk show personailty says he should. (As a side note, the station that aired this segment about meglomaiacs was not WGMD, but a station out of Virginia that happened to have the same station numbers, 92.7, as WGMD.)
What's next for the Critics Page?
Nothing. We have talked about making a website parody of the Tea Party or starting our Drunk Rednecks of the Round Table adventure, but we don't know what, if anything, we'll do next. Whatever we decide to do will not be connected to the Critics Page. Barring strong fan feedback, we won't even announce our new Internet adventure here. The Critics Page and the associated FaceBook page is now offically dead with maybe an occasional last gasp for air. We couldn't exactly close the page without at least reviewing the new morning show on WZBH airing Monday morning, now could we?
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