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Honest Ray's Cinema Roundtable: Smokey And The Bandit
Honest Ray's Cinema Roundtable: Smokey And The Bandit
Honest Ray: Welcome to the show. This week we will be discussing the 1970's docu-thriller "Smokey And The Bandit" with noted folk musician & film historian Lawrence G. Browning. Good morning Lawrence, it's a great pleasure to have you on our show.
Lawrence Browning: Thank you, I'm honored to be here Ray. By the way, is it true that the Honest Ray’s Film & Pharmaceutical College will produce the Joel Schumacher's of tomorrow? (laughs)
Honest Ray: Enough small talk Lawrence, we have a lot to cover with this weeks film. As an esteemed former fan of classic film, and a long time viewer of my show, what can you tell us about the 1970's film Smokey And The Bandit?
Lawrence Browning: Well, this was George Lucas's first foray into cinéma vérité, and for it's day it was a groundbreaking film that was able to tackle serious social issues, win multiple Academy Awards, while still drawing well at the box office. Of course, it's success lead to the 'Smokey' Trilogy, with several of the stars returning for the sequels, and fans getting into the act by dressing up as Cletus, Bandit, and the Sherriff at various Smokey And The Bandit conventions over the last 30 years.
Honest Ray: What about the controversial display of the confederate flag throughout the original Smokey And The Bandit - what was Lucas trying to say there?
Lawrence Browning: Don't forget, this was a different time and place. This was an American south where whites & blacks lived in perfect harmony, where the worst issues of the day were getting the correct moonshine mix so the still would not blow up. A place where civilian cars could jump across broken bridges, but police cars could not. A place where men wore cowboy hats and the women ...read more.
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Woodchucks Assure Fans That "No Really, This is the Year!"
Posted By: Subby
The Tater Farm - The grotesquely huge statue of Antonio Ohl purchasing black market horse steroids - the one that sits astride the entrance to the Tater Farm - is one of the few reminders of the proud, ancient history of the Virginia Woodchuck baseball franchise. The memorial's giant, balloon-sized head, the male-pattern baldness, the hideous backne...all reminders of a bygone era when Virginia churned out winning seasons and hall of fame trade-rapes like the world was going to end unless every single team got the divine spark beaten out of them by Los Chucks.
No one ever thought it would go like this.
"Two thousand effing twelve," stutters the old man in the wheelchair. "Seventeen years. BAAAHHHH!"
Soon the old man is asleep, snoring fitfully, mini-cheesecake crumbs scattered on his oversized Brian Prins jersey, Fresca dribbling down his chin. Surely he is dreaming of bygone days - days when the owner's box at the Tater Farm was a freaking disco inferno. No, literally - it burned down one time during an impromptu disco dance off with luminaries Monique and Margaret Cho.
But those were the days. Since then, lots of bad contracts. Lots of bad trades. A brief and disastrous switch from mini-cheesecakes to mini-donuts. And then...MURDER.
Ok, not really. Sure there was the time when the old man tricked longtime assistant Paco Rodriguez into giving him a hug, only to shiv him instead. Still, Rodriguez did not technically die and still has use of the right side of his body. They laughed it off later over a beer and an unscheduled pay increase. For the record.
Seventeen long seasons. No playoffs. Attendance? Dwindling. A-List celebrities? Nobody but Emeril.
No, not that Emeril.
Time to do something.
The old man was put out pasture in 2026. Heavily medicated he spent most of his days shuffling around in his bathrobe and novelty glasses. The Board (wh...read more.
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Los Alamos Grabs Second SS Title
Posted By: RonCo
Los Alamos – The 2029 FOBL Solecismic Series ended with a fly ball caught by Nuke centerfielder Alex Machuca. Fitting. Machcua was Nuke GM RonCo’s first draft selection in 2016 when he was a fresh-faced wiz-kid off the streets and still cutting his teeth on the FOBL millstone. Others suggested the Kentucky’s Christopher Abarca was the pick of the draft, but RonCo stood by his guy even when he suffered development problems in the lower minors. “Alex will be fine,” RonCo said one infamous evening after seeing the centerfielder stub his toe in a AA game. Machuca was never finer than he was as he cradled the final fly ball of FOBL’s 2020s, then rushed off to join the celebration.
THE SPOILS GO TO THE VICTORS
Fans poured from the stands, swamping him and the rest of the club.
“It was a great feeling,” Machuca said. “We’ve worked hard to get here, and I remember when it wasn’t quite as easy for this club.”
“We owed the fans one after dropping out so abruptly last seasons,” ace Kyle Faller said. The Indianapolis Ice Weasels brought the Nuke Nation to its knees in 2028 by stealing the LDS series out from under their noses.
Wally Sutcliffe was named SS MVP, posting a .384 average with a pair of homers. He provided offensive punch to a team that was reeling after hearing that reigning FOBL MVP Lee McKittrick had been lost for the rest of the series with a pinched nerve. The 30 yo Sutcliffe signed a 3-year, $21M deal with the Nukes this season after eight season...read more.
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Barcone Gets Number 3000!
Posted By: Subby
Friday, August 31st, 2029
Barcone Gets Number 3000!
The day belonged to Lonnie Barcone of the Virginia Woodchucks as he became the latest player to reach the 3000-hit plateau. He did it in Virginia's 9-1 win over Norwich.
"It's a moment I'll never forget," said Barcone after the game, "3000 hits is a lot. It puts you in a very select group. I never expected to be around long enough to reach a milestone like this."
He finished the day with 2 hits in 5 at-bats.
Lifetime Barcone has connected for 292 home runs, hit .303 and driven in 1385 runs.
 ...read more.
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Bantam gets guns loaded for post-season run
BANTAM, CT -- After missing out on the playoffs last season in a one-game playoff, the Bantam Originals have reloaded in recent days heading to the trade deadline later today.
"Simply put, we felt we need to move some moves to shore up our situation. We're really happy with the results," said team spokesman Frenchie Johnson.
The wheeling and dealing began when the team acquired RF Simon Farr from Portland and a few days later, swapped draft picks for hurler SP Lenard Contreras.
Despite seeming done, D.C. Daly and his team decided that there were still a few things they needed to make a run. "We felt like at the end of the day, we wanted to be sure we left no stone uncovered en route to what we hope will be a playoff run and a long stay in the postseason. These deals aren't about just winning the division, it's about something far more than that."
The team added some depth when they acquired OF Ariel Martinez from Barstow earlier in the week, but nothing could prepare anyone for the deal they made at the deadline. The Originals sent two prospects, along with disgruntled hurler David Johnson and starter Harold Shealy to Las Vegas for top of the rotation hurler Claye Powers, catcher Henry Cowell and C/3B Leandro Carbonell in a deal that the team hopes will put them over the top.
While the addition of extra salary and dealing future picks has been viewed by some as risk, Daly defe...read more.
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