Peace out, Troy.
Wednesday night was the final night of sweeps, and sadly, the last day for our News Director, Troy McGuire.



Tears were shed and at the end of the night. And, everyone was giving him hugs, handshakes, and their business cards. When he first came to the station, it was a rough start - mainly because we merged two competing news stations, and he had to fire a lot of folks. But, over the last few years he whipped our asses into shape, and it'll be hard to imagine the place without him. He really believed in me, and I will miss him terribly. Best of luck, boss.

And, of course the last night of sweeps involved Kelley and I having a stinger live shot, which turned out to be broken. I had to fasten it to the tripod with bungee cords and duct tape - which isn't as easy as it sounds, since it weighs a ton.




Best Buy. Worst bunch of dumbasses.
Okay, time for a rant. I go into Best Buy to get my Lord of the Rings DVD on Tuesday. There's a gigantic display for LOTR, and there's flyers all over the place titled, "Lord of the Rings One Day Sale!" Well, I was buying a bunch of DVD's and noticed that the flyer said, "10% off if you buy three Sci-fi, Horror, or Anime DVD's." I thought to myself, "Awesome. I have three DVD's here, I get the discount."
Not a fucking chance. I get up to the counter with the following items: LOTR3, Buffy Season 6, and Bubba Hotep - clearly, all titles that would probably qualify. Well, here's my exchange with the chick at the counter:

CASHIER: "Yeah...Um...I don't think you qualify for the discount because Lord of the Rings is fantasy, not sci-fi."
LL: "What?"
CASHIER: "Lord of the Rings doesn't count."
LL: "How can it not count? It's the Lord of the Rings sale."
CASHIER: "I don't know about that."
LL: (pointing over her shoulder) "Look at the flyer. Look at it."

She looks over the flyer for a moment and then talks to her supervisor. They both determine that LOTR possibly counts.

CASHIER: "Yeah..um..I can't give you the discount because I'm not sure if the other movies you have qualify."
LL: "What? Of course they do."
CASHIER: (sighs, as if I'm putting her out) "I'm gonna have to call someone about this. Thank you for your patience."

When she thanked me for my patience, it was if she pressed a button and a pre-programmed emotionless statement was played from a speaker in the back of her mouth. Very sincere. Anyway, she gets on the phone at the register and calls some manager upstairs.

CASHIER: (on the phone) "Um...uh..okay. Well, I don't think Buffy or..um....Bubba Hotep count. Bubba Hotep? No...I don't know..."
LL: (not caring that she's on the phone, and now somewhat angry) "It's about Elvis coming out of retirement to fight the forces of evil. If that doesn't qualify then you people are retarded."

She covers the phone, and turns away from me and starts speaking in a hushed tone for another minute and then hangs up.

CASHIER: "Yeah...um...Buffy doesn't count as sci-fi or horror, so you don't get the discount."
LL: "Hmmm. So you think that it should qualify as a drama series despite the vampires and various demons they battle?"
CASHIER: "It's a TV show, so it can't be called Sci-Fi."
LL: "Even though it's a genre TV show?"
CAHSIER: "It's a tv show, not sci-fi or horror."
LL: "Whatever. Fine."

She stops talking and making eye contact with me as I make my purchase. And, as the receipt was getting printed, the machine paused. The cashier closer her eyes for a moment, in a look of defeat. Did I get the discount? Nope. But, I was randomly selected as part of the customer feedback program. How rad is that?


Speaking of rad...
I bought a new backpack. It's got all kinds of crazy pockets, and an AMPLIFIER AND SPEAKERS built into it.




Photo Jihad.
Hasser has declared a photo jihad on me. His opening move was a shot of me sunburned, shirtless, and passed out two years ago in Vegas. I'm gonna start a little slower, and use this one:



I'll save my big guns, in case this thing gets nasty.