Happy Halloween!

On behalf of Barabbas McRipper and all his ghoulish friends, have a happy and not-so-scary holiday.

(Picture actually of the late Brandon Lee in the 1994 movie The Crow. Lee was killed in North Carolina while filming the movie.)

News from the last month

It has been one month since my last post, largely because nothing much has happened. However, there have been some developments:

• As a result of my attendance at a high school class reunion earlier this month, I have gotten interest which could lead to possible sales of my book. I brought it to the reunion site, the Cerritos Sheraton hotel, to show my fellow classmates from 1990 what I have been up to. The reaction was mostly positive.
• At some point in time, I expect to start work for Los Angeles Habilitation House, helping to negotiate contracts with the United States Department of Defense. This is part of a subcontract won by LAHH as part of the AbilityOne program, which sets aside some contract work for people with disabilities. I can't wait to share my book with some new co-workers!
  

Most common first names in Idealia

I haven't written anything in a while, but I wanted to reconnect with the site and I think publishing these simple lists is a good place to start.

TOP 10 FIRST NAMES FOR GIRLS/WOMEN

• Laura
• Rebecca
• Heather
• Jennifer
• Brandy
• Kimberly
• Elizabeth
• Mary
• Bonnie
• Amy
  

TOP 10 FIRST NAMES FOR BOYS/MEN

• Robert (Bob/Bobby)
• William (Bill/Billy)
• Michael
• Brett
• Ryan
• Brian
• Brandon
  
• Adam
• John
• Paul
  

Hello there again!

If you haven't noticed, it has been more than three weeks since my last posting. I have spent most of that time cleaning up some old business.

Five years ago, I imagined what would happen if the top NASCAR drivers up to that point had competed in an all-time series. I ran race results in my head based on some statistics I picked up and ran the results. Unfortunately, I wasn't happy with some of what I created and threw everything away! Four years later, I learned of a website called the506 which breaks down which areas of the country receives NFL football games each week. I then learned of a forum that further analyzes what is on the main site, and which has since extended to a wide variety of topics. One of those was simulations of past sports event scenarios - e.g. what would have happened if the NFL had not gone in strike in 1982 or Major League Baseball had done the same in 1981 or '94. I remade the NASCAR sims, set in the same era, for the506 and added "all-star leagues" for other sports.

When administrator J.P. Kirby banned further use of the sims, a forum member named Anthony used some software to create a "spinoff" called alltimesports. I finished up NASCAR there, then added similar results, which I had planned to do in 2006, for the NFL, the NBA, college basketball, and the NHL. As for MLB, I have yet to add my all-star league for that, but I have helped an undermanned crew finish up the '81 and '94 simulations. The latter is still ongoing, but might be completed by September 1.

The point of all of this is to explain why this site has been inactive, despite my promise to be active here over the summer. I will try to pick it up before I expect to return to ABC Adult School next month.

I will, however, let slip the most exciting event in my world this summer: Pinky Ann McPipkin, the country/Southern rock singer and "biker girl," won the most recent Heritage Cup in her auto racing debut! In some ways, this is more incredible that Buddy Wayne Barefoot's win three years ago for many reasons. Two of them come to mind:

• She is the first woman ever to win the 300-lap short track car event, akin to Danica Patrick winning at, say, Bristol Motor Speedway in a NASCAR race.
• Just about everyone else had at least some experience in the Legends-style cars used in the race and some even competed in NASCAR races like Bunky Barefoot, Bubba Ray Lumpkin, and Luke Barneycastle.

I'll have an "interview" with Pinky (pictured at top right) about her extraordinary night, and I promise it will be within the next few days.

Buddy's required reading

Here are some recent web articles that I have found online and which I am sure Buddy Wayne Barefoot would also have felt passionate about:

• Daniel Hemric won the Legends Million, the auto race I have referenced several times here on this site because of my character's decision not to compete in it. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular David Ragan finished fourth. Here's the story.
  
• ESPN ombudsman Don Ohlmeyer, one of the top executives in the history of televised sports, cuts the network he is following a new one on its coverage of the announcement that LeBron James was to sign with the Miami Heat.
• An obituary of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Vernon B. Davis honors not only his heroism, but his dignity in fighting in a U.S. Army that was still segregated. Comment #2 at the end of the article expresses the perversion of media priorities that Barefoot has railed about for a long time.
  

Odds and ends: Buddy's not racing, Brittany's pregnant, fundraiser

Some recent events in my world:

• Buddy Wayne Barefoot disappointed some of his fans by choosing not to participate in next week's Legends Millions at Lowe's Motor Speedway. However, he will be on hand for some ceremonies and to present the trophy. "If my life after NASCAR racing was not fulfilling, and that's true for many people, I would have been tempted to return," he explained. "However, I have always said that my racing career is not the reason for my existence. So I am happy to stay retired." The final day will be shown live on Speed on Saturday night, July 17.
• Brittany Spears, Barefoot's wife, revealed that she is pregnant and that the child, a girl, is due in mid-September.
• The Barefoot Fund, the charity that supports efforts to save family histories, held its first fundraiser at the new NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 23. The highest bid among the 22 items available in an auction was for a cruise to Greece, Italy and Malta with Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Mark Martin; that went for $11,000. Blondie and Bubba Brister performed.
  

Heaven TV: a closer look

Of course, this blog references My Ideal World, a television show on a network that I had Buddy Wayne Barefoot create in the book. The network was made out of seed money from a blockbuster feature film pooled together with money from Bud Paxson, a real life media magnate from Florida. I called it Rebel after the original film.

As it turns out, I have decided to expand the concept and change a few other things about it. For one thing, I would give it a new name: Heaven TV. The idea is to present what life is like in the world beyond for those who live in the here and now, and to be the official network for the world to come as described in the Bible book of Revelation.

Heaven TV would present the same kinds of shows that air on ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, except with a strong Christian message. It also presents programs that reflect the overall theme of heavenly life, "What life was before and will be again." In other words, nostalgic and timeless subjects prevail tying together the past, present, and future.

Here are some of the other primetime programs:

• BunkMaster: Operation X - This is also mentioned in the book. Bunky Barefoot plays a character best described as part James Bond, part Mick Jagger. He travels the world to solve mysteries.
  
• The Barney Show - Barney is one of the most common names ever for comedic characters, but this one is different. Barney Laughinghouse and his family star in an improvisational sitcom that combines "reality television" elements with strong messages.
• The New Black - Singing star Melanie MacMelville plays fashion-magazine writer Melanie Black, who tries to balance family life and her magazine work.
• King and Queen - Married rodeo stars Billy Bob Bryant and Krista Bamburg star as a pioneer couple in modern-day Arizona. This is the first Western series on primetime television since The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. went away in 1995.
• Escape to Reality - Sixteen characters who are reminders of reality TV shows live together and try to use their talent in the context of the outside world. But as in the worlds they have left, one at a time are eliminated until there is a winner.
• Bellinger Island - A cast comprised mainly of African-Americans play out drama, romance, and suspense in a world left for them by their former slaveholders after the Civil War.

Add a nightly newscast with Magdalena Babblejack, regular morning and late night shows, some daily game shows, a soap opera, a primetime newsmagazine, children's shows, and Sunday church services, and there is Heaven TV. It's a mix of religious and mainstream television that would be unique, and suitable for all family members.