Gridiron Gurus - Championship Weekend

So it's actually happening.

The Packers and the Bears for the NFC Championship.  Wow.

As a child of the '70s, this match-up will forever be in my mind as a clash between bitter rivals that had no chance to make the playoffs, much less fight for a Super Bowl berth.  Yes, there was a gap between the Halas-Lombardi era and the Ditka to Holmgren era.  That's when I learned about what being  fan was all about: not wins and losses, but pride. 

It had to be. It sure wasn't about wins.

And if you're wondering why the other game got picked the way it did, just answer this in your heart:  Namath or Bradshaw?

Really?

Remember, we're going for huge pregame show ratings against the big boys.  So watch this over and over and over and over...  if not here on the blog, then at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyANdX6usa0.

VDU Week - Day 4: Crocodile Fun-See?

The first week was so much fun, BV going to have a bona fide Week 2 of:

And the fourth installment (I'm still calling it Day 4), features my profile of a female Australian ventriloquist, Lindi Jane. Lindi's back story is wonderful; sick in the hospital with heart problems, her grandfather gave her a puppet, the nurses made sock puppets, and Lindi got well. 

Lindi Jane went on to develop a long-running children's television and stage show called 'Snaps Kakadu Club' featuring Snap Crocodious, the cheeky crocodile from Kakadu. You can tell from this clip the joy she brings to children, and the joy she finds in bringing joy.

***

With each one of ventriloquist I find, there's a learning moment for me. And sometimes the learning comes in the form of questions that I ponder watching the videos.  For Lindi, I kept wondering:

• When you do ventriloquism for kids, are they more or less easily fooled by it?  Kids can be pretty tough.
• Is it that she's using animal puppets that make her so "kid friendly"?  My new puppet, George, seems to be a bit scary to kids. Of course, maybe I should figure out more kid-friendly things for George to say. Right now, I've perfected him saying, "Hey you kids, get of my lawn."

Seriously, I know - she's kid friendly because she's kid friendly, and wonderfully so.

***

The Green Bay Packers are in training camp and they are looking at an Australian Chris Bryan as their punter. This is happening at the very same time as this blog is running Ventriloquists Down Under Week.

Coincidence? I think not.

***

As we head though the dog days of summer, I've been meaning to poll my romp* of regular readers with this question - Which of the following summer activities go best with ventriloquism?

• Tenting
• Eating fresh, succulent fruit
• Horseshoes
• Baseball games

Just makes you wish you could text in your vote, doesn't it?  Feel free to leave your comments.

* A romp is a group of otters.

Free time flood

As the Packers dramatically struggled, caught up, tied, and in sudden-death overtime... died, emptiness filled our house. It usually does this time of year at some point. After Packer football (our whole-family passion/hobby) ends, it's all about the grim reality of long, cold, lonely winter.

My wife was pondering what she could spend the upcomng deluge of free time doing, saying, "You have your blog. What could I do?"

"You could take up ventriloquism," I suggested with the casual, sensible tone someone would suggest knitting or pottery.

"No. I don't think so. But thanks for the suggestion," she said, and smiled. It wasn't a vehement objection - just a brief polite rejection of a ligitimate option, yet one that is not for her. I, in turn, appreciate that she supports my efforts, even if usually just with passive acceptance. She even throws out an idea sometimes.

It is a bit of an unconventional pursuit. However, why it raises eyebrows when other people are totally accepted for "restoring '68 Camaros" is beyond me.

She is even supporting my frenetic preparation for the Winter Olympic coverage. At least she hasn't screamed, "Enough!"

Yet.

Pick-turesque

Towards the end of October, I took the lead in our family NFL Pick'em pool. And I am happy to post that I have now held it ever since. Even picking a few boners this week, I will still have a solid lead. My teenage son is baffled at my consistency, week in and week out.

With a 4 game lead over my wife, and 8 to 14 games ahead of the rest,  I'm feeling pretty cocky about it. It may have something to do with avoiding having to go to my back-up plan: to ask my dummy who he'd (or she'd) pick if I dropped out of the lead.

Now it looks like I and my regular readers (both of you) will have to wait until next year to find out what my dummy (or monkey) knows about football.

I am really curious how he feels about the whole Bart Favre thing. If my dummy's a Viking fan, I'm going to be - pardon my French - pissed.

***

Brent Favre? Bert Favre? You know, that guy who used to be a great guy when he played for the Green Bay Packers.  I know... Benedict Favre.

Not that I have any strong feelings about this or anything.

Hot spit on the frozen tundra

I am very confident that I will make some surprising strides in my ventriloquest* this week.

Why?

Because the Green Bay Packers beat the pants off of the Dallas Cowboys, 17-7.  The struggling, counted-out, disappointing, underachieving, much maligned, losing-streaking Green Bay Packers beat the pants off the mighty, cocky, strutting, much heralded, winning-streaking Dallas Cowboys, 17-7.

If this can happen, great things can happen with my ventriloquism, too.

The Packers victory prompted this question in my mind:

When describing when a  real underdog wins in football, the saying is, "That's why they play the game."  So, for a struggling ventriloquist finding some success, would the saying be, "That's why they play with dolls"?

Did this pop into anyone else's mind? Call in. Lines are open.
***
* Ventriloquest has a noble, Holy Grail-ish sound, doesn't it?

Prognostication

Sundays this time of year are all about the Packers, the NFL, and the Packers.  For the first time this year, I'm in the lead for the season in our "pick'em" pool.  My daughter is in second, 2 games behind, and wife, son, and son's friend are about 7 back. My plan is to keep picking all by myself until I lose the lead.  Then I'll get some advice.  I'm not sure whether I'll ask the ventriloquist dummy or the monkey puppet.  Neither seem to be into football. Makes me wonder whether either one of them will be a lasting friendship.  Friends usually share important interests. At least I know the monkey and I have the same politics. His imitations of Steven Colbert and Jon Stewart are beyond hilarious!

Traitors

Brett Favre playing in a Vikings uniform, throwing passes against my Green Bay Packers. So wrong.  How did it come to this?

Did Charlie McCarthy ever sit in WC Fields lap?
Did Topo Gigio ever run off to appear with Senor Wences?
Did Lamb Chop ever kiss Captain Kangaroo?
Did Jerry Lewis ever leave Dean Martin?

Well, ok. Jerry Lewis was not Dean Martin's ventriloquist dummy. And he did leave Dean. But for all practical purposes...

I rest my case.

Follow-up on the Football Announcers Idea

The networks that have NFL football have a long standing tradition assigning the best announcers to the best games, lesser ones to lesser games. 

In the 70s and 80s, an embarrassingly long period of bad football for the Green Bay Packers, I listened to a lot of bad announcers talk about a lot of bad football. With the rise of the Packers to contender status in the 90s till now, upper-tier talent was the norm.

But yesterday, the Packers played the Rams, a bottom-barrel team. And, the network followed suit with broadcasters who were really marginal.

All this gibbergabber just to say; a ventriloquist in the booth is not really a crazy idea as long as one of them knows football.

I'm sure he's a Packer fan! And - Happy Anniversary!

I'm still so wow'ed that even this little ventriloquist dummy has come into my possession. It coming from my wife was a surprising and wonderful display of support. Then again, we've been together for 24 years (today!). We do know how to keep each other laughing.

My kids, however, are a little less supportive about our new member of "the family."

Here's the scene: My living room, the Packer-Bear game.

There was my wife, our dear friend Chris, my son, two of his friends, my daughter, my big golden lab (Sailor), my old spaniel mut (Dolly), our quaker parrot (Brazil) , and a huge African Grey (Oscar). Me, too, of course. The birds, by the way, free fly at my house.

And, every time a great thing happens for the Packers, the whole gang erupts with joy.

Except my new little friend. It was deemed to be "creeping everyone out."  So he had to watch on the TV in the bedroom instead.

Yes. Today is our 24th Anniversary. According to the Chicago Public Library Information Center the 24th is your  muscial instrument anniversary. 

Although if you ask me, it's really your ventriloquist dummy anniversary. Or is that your 124th anniversary?

Hopes Up, Hopes Dashed

My wife, who works at the library, often orders books and movies from other libraries. It is a great way to get some wonderful entertainment, and because she sees what comes across the counter and though the interlibrary system, she often spots gems.

Last night as we discussed the events of the day, she said, "There's going to be a treat for you. It will just take a couple of days."

I replied, "Is it something wonderful? Supportive? Something that will delight me? Make me glow inside?"

"No," she answered. "It's not a ventriloquist dummy."

Oh.

Oh, well. There's lots of great movies to be watched, too. Maybe it's some cool Green Bay Packer thing.