Karen Barefoot gets new coaching job

Karen Barefoot, referenced in this post last December, was recently named as the new head coach at Old Dominion University. It has one of the proudest traditions in women's college basketball, with past superstars like Nancy Lieberman, Anne Donovan, and Ticha Penichiero, and three national championships (AIAW, 1979 and '80 and NCAA, 1985). However, the Lady Monarchs has missed the last three NCAA tournaments after playing in 17 in a row. School officials hope that Barefoot's record of turning around programs and her many ties to the Hampton Roads region where the campus is located will help restart the program's success. Last season, Elon was 20-13 under Barefoot's coaching.

And Karen is not the only real-life bearer of B.W.'s last name that has ties to sports in the commonwealth of Virginia:

• Bartley "Pretty Boy" Barefoot is co-host of a sports talk radio show in Norfolk with John "Johnny D" DeCandido. The 757 Club is an afternoon drive-time show.
• Ken Barefoot was a star tight end at Virginia Tech and played briefly in the NFL. In fact, Bob Boyles and Paul Guido listed him at the only tight end when compiling their all-time Hokies roster in their book The USA Today Encyclopedia of College Football.
  

All three Barefoots are originally from the Hampton Roads area, which include Chesapeake, Norfolk, Hampton, and Virginia Beach. However, none are directly related to each other.

Barenaked ladies and a blast from the past

OK, so it's been more than a month since I've been here, but the finale of The Celebrity Apprentice tonight on NBC gives me an excuse to do things: put up a picture of my made-up doo wop band called the Barenaked Ladies, and share a quote from when the "other" group of the same name appeared on a past finale of this franchise, which was held in Los Angeles:

"Wouldn't it be great if these were real barenaked ladies performing?"

P.S. Welcome to theicedog from the506.com. Hope you enjoyed this post!

(In case you missed the earlier post, left to right are Vicky Lynn Hogan, Brandy Roderick, Tara Patrick, and Michelle Mitchell.)

Another new idea: All duets, all the time

The following is a fakeout press release.

The duet has been a musical concept that has produced hit after hit in the music world. When two great voices come together, usually in the form of a love ballad, the result can be magical. Consider these examples:
*"Endless Love" - Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
*"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
*"Islands in the Stream" - Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers
*"When the Bough Breaks" - Buddy Wayne Barefoot and Brittany Spears

So what's the next logical step? Of course, it's to have a whole album full of them!

That's what Brightful Birdsong (top) and ButtaFly (bottom) are working on for release in a few weeks on the Little Boy Records label.

The pairing makes perfect sense: Both are talented artists who are steeped in the R&B and pop music traditions that have produced the greatest duets. They have known each other since they attended high school together in the Atlanta area. Oh, and they have been romantically linked!

"This new album, Flying Together, marks a new era in the genre and one that I hope will be well received," according to Barefoot, who also happens to be Little Boy's founder and owner. "This sets the standards in production values and performance."

"It's a challenge I am glad to take on," added Matthew McBriar, head of production for the label. "Besides, working Brightful's soulful voice and Fly's poetry slam style will make for a sound never before heard on record on a major label."

The first single, appropriately called "We're In Heaven," is available for download now, with the album to come on April 26. Appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and other shows will follow to promote it. This will be followed by a tour starring June 9 in Anaheim, CA.

My new book is now out!

After I wrote and published The Buddy Wayne Chronicles in 2007, I strained for a long time for a followup work. A number of things happened along the way, including my enrollment in adult school and the dreaded writer's block, so it has been four long years.

Then I hit on something!

I have always loved reference books, so I thought that the best thing to do was to express my ideas in the form of a book of lists. I am also taking the opportunity to add new concepts. Some are based on my own imagination, others come from re-imaging people and events that actually exist. In any event, these are all personal wishes.

The new book is called My Ideal World, after Buddy Wayne Barefoot's TV show in the first book.

It is now available from Lulu.com, as my debut work was (and still is). The address is http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/my-ideal-world/10275828.

Buy it today and let me know if you like it!

New book coming soon

I have completed a sequel - of sorts - to The Buddy Wayne Chronicles. It is called My Ideal World, after this blog and Barefoot's TV show title.

In reference-book form, it shows many of the characters and ideas I introduced in my first book, and also on this blog, in an easy-to-read format. Over 50 ideas are presented in all.

The book will be available soon from Lulu.com. Once it is made available, go to this page to order.

Once again, thanks for your interest and future business.

Barefoot-McLamb Oscar ties - sort of

Some years ago, I stumbled upon a movie in which the last names of Barefoot and McLamb were in the same cast. And this is an actual film!

It was called Junebug and was released in 2005, ironically the same year my main character was "suspended" by NASCAR for portrayals in a fakeout movie I created called Rebel. (Oh, and Junebug is also Darrell Waltrip's nickname for Dale Earnhardt Jr., but that's another story entirely.)

The movie was about a Chicago art dealer who went to rural North Carolina to shop for rare artwork and found love instead. It stars David Kuhn as the dealer and Amy Adams as the love interest. Yes, the same Adams who has been nominated three times for an Academy Award, including this year for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in The Fighter. (Adams has yet to win.)

Dan McLamb and Amy Barefoot have small roles as, respectively, a "hollerin' man" and a woman in a shower. (Alongside Barefoot in that shower scene is Jill Wagner, currently field reporter on the ABC midseason novelty game show Wipeout.)

The full cast listing is here.

Good luck, Amy, and all the other nominees on February 27!

It's a girl!

What an exciting first post I have for 2011.

Brittany Lynnette Spears and Buddy Wayne Barefoot became parents on January 17! Their first child is a daughter named Blanton Elizabeth Spears Barefoot. She weighs 8 pounds and 9 ounces.

The time of birth was 4:42 a.m. and the place was Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. The hospital is the same facility at which Barefoot had life-saving heart surgery in 2004.

"Just as this hospital gave me life all those years ago, I am happy that it was there that a new life began," Barefoot said in a fakeout statement.

In the same statement, Spears added, "The dream I have always had - to be a wife and mother and to live with the man of my dreams - continues to be realized. I once again thank our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for this opportunity."

In an interesting note, both sides of the family continue the tradition of personal names starting with the letter B:

• Brittany has four siblings, Bunch, Bradshaw, Brashears, and Blanton Jr. Blanton Sr. has brothers named Burton, Bowling, and Belcher. And finally, Breckinridge, the "Grandpa Breck" who founded the Spears Family Band, had a brother called Bodkin. To add to all this, Bunch and his wife Sarah gave birth to Brielle McKaylee Spears in July of 2010.
• Buddy Wayne's brother is named Bobby Ray, his mother is Brenda, and his biological father is Alfred a/k/a Buddy Wayne Sr. Bobby Ray's daughter is named Belinda, and Buddy's cousins Brandy and Bunky have a father named Bradford.

(Photo credit: Deb Holmes, Chesapeake, VA, from her Facebook page. Deb helped me find information about the real Alfred "Buddy" Barefoot that inspired my character's name. The picture is that of one of her nieces and should be a good picture of what Blanton would be like if she existed.)