Stop Whining You Ninny - Watch This

I spent a couple hours writing an article as long as a mini-novel for my other blog, Buffalo Bill's Blog, grumbling about the project to put Mickey in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show with me and explaining the difficulty I had making the decision to accept taking photos with Mickey today. This morning I got the following video link in my email box and it made me embarrassed I whined so much. His name is Nick Vujicic and he's pretty cool. Just click on the link below to watch the video:

Are You Going To Finish Strong? Awesome video! If you watch only one video today make sure it is this one! Nick Vujicic has no limbs but he leads an incredible life!

Bush Dodges Iraqi Shoes

Surreal moments seem to arrive more regularly than they used to. Watching the events of 9/11 unfold certainly felt surreal at the time and still does in many ways. But so, for me, was watching the neoconservative movement convince Americans that Saddam Hussein and 9/11 were directly linked and that invading Iraq immediately was essential to ensuring the safety of the American public. Then, after these claims were proven false, it was surreal that the Republican machine still managed to convince Americans that electing G.W. Bush for a second term was the only way to ensure the "safety" of our great nation. Watching Barack Obama get elected President - perhaps largely a backlash of the G.W. effect - also felt surreal - especially, it seems, to blacks and other minority races.

Whatever the final verdict is on G.W. as President, most would agree he's been colorful. He's not out of the White House yet, though, and the surreal moments keep coming. His latest surreal moment: dodging shoes thrown by an Iraqi journalist. Eight years of dodging bullets by the press seems to have paid off - he looked as agile as Vince Vaughn in Dodgeball. The event was so silly and absurd, yet at the same time disturbing, that I felt compelled to include it in The Casual Reporter.

WNFR 2008 Final Revised: Jesus Still Wins

In an earlier post announcing the final results of the 2008 WNFR Wild West Show Pool I didn't notice that my Excel file at the time hadn't added the average score for each athlete into each person's total. I've re-posted the results to include the average in the total, although it didn't change much where it counts. The top three winners remain the same: Jesus, Byron, and Lucas. Check it out here.

WNFR 2008 Final: Jesus Wins!

Image borrowed from Desert Tickets

The results are in for the 2008 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Wild West Show Pool. With the averages figured in, Jesus is the winner followed by Byron and Lucas. See all the results here.

WNFR Round 9: Let's Just Get This Thing Over With

Howard's winning. Jesus, Byron, Kave and Hogue are likely to win one or more of the averages so in the end it could be one of them who win. I was in 5th place only in my imagination (I forgot one score and incorrectly assigned another) and even that's out of the winning. Let's please just get this thing over with. See the results HERE.

WNFR Round 8: Trent Jumps 5 Places

logo courtesy of boyd gaming

View WWS Pool Grid Here

After round 8 of the 2008 Wrangler's National Finals Rodeo, Howard keeps the lead with 305 points, followed by Byron (302.5 pts), Jesus (280.5 pts) and Kave (254.5 pts.). But the big surprise is Trent, who jumped from 9th place to 5th place with 225.5 points. For all results, click here.

Half-Points Awarded in 6th Round

After talking it over with Howard, I changed the grid to allow for the 3-way split in Round 6 Team Roping in the Wild West Show WNFR Pool. According to the normal rules half-points are not given - all thousands are rounded down. In this case however the winnings were less than $1,000 so the rule would have meant 0 points. It didn't seem fair to reward 0 points so half-points were awarded as a compromise. Howard is still in the lead. See the changes here.

WNFR Round 6: Howard Takes the Lead

Photo courtesy of Boyd Gaming Corporation

All WWS Pool Results

The Round 6 results of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR) are in and the grid for the Wild West Show WNFR 2008 Pool has been updated. Howard leads the competition with 243 points, Jesus follows in 2nd with 223 points, and Byron is in 3rd with 217 points. The Casual Reporter (Trent) is in 9th place with 157 points. See the rest of the scores here.

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Don't Get Put in the Doghouse!

This video is a must-see surivival tool for all normal men.

WNFR Round 5: Jesus Leads Pool by 4 Points

Following Round 5 of the WNFR (Wranglers National Finals Rodeo) Jesus took the lead from Kave in the Wild West Show grid pool. Byron and Howard pushed Kave into fourth place. Jesus has 200 points, Howard 194, Byron 185, and Kave 176. The Casual Reporter only has 131. Click on the cowboy to the right for more information on WNFR and WWS Grid results.

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WNFR Pool: Kave Leads by 7 Points

Round 4 results are posted for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and the grid is updated on the Wild West Show WNFR Pool. Assuming I have correctly allocated the athletes, which is by no means 100% certain, Kave leads with 160 points followed by Byron and Jesus tied with 153 points. Click on the cowboy in the right-hand column to see all WWS Pool scores.

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Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Pool Begins

The 50th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR) has begun in Las Vegas Nevada. The WNFR is the ultimate competition for cowboys and cowgirls. Fifteen of the cast of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (La Legende de Buffalo Bill) Disney Village, Disneyland Paris France, have started a friendly pool to follow the 10-day rodeo. Each participant in the pool draws at random a number from 1 - 15 which refers to the PRCA athletes' world standings on the day after the 1st round (we were late in making the draw). Over the course of the rodeo, one point is awarded for each $1,000 earned by each athlete, all winnings rounded down to the nearest $1,000. The player with the most points at the end of the WNFR wins the pool.

The Casual Reporter has created a web page to track the winnings as the rodeo advances. Allocations of the athletes are based on my assumptions according to my understanding and are not official. I will adjust them if needed after consulting with Byron and Brice. Just click on the cowboy anywhere in The Casual Reporter to access the site.

Trent Makes Shameless Plug for Sponsors

Need help with gift-giving? To assist in the process of long-distance gift-giving during the holiday season, The Casual Reporter provides readers with banners and links to some of the best gift-giving opportunities on the Internet.

I admit, though I'm proud of this fine service, I have an ulterior motive: The Casual Reporter has an affiliate relationship with these internet companies. That means if you click on one of the banners and then purchase an item or service from the online business, The Casual Reporter, in theory, gets a tiny percentage of the sale. The same is true for the Google Ads sprinkled throughout the blog.

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I've had banners and links on this blog since the beginning and so far I've been credited a grand total of $5.13. I genuinely thank all of you who clicked through and made this happen, but it's clear that as a fortune-building enterprise The Casual Reporter is hopeless so far.

As a time-waster though, it's fantastic. I figure I'm spending somewhere between 100 - 200 hours per dollar. If only time really were money.

So if you haven't yet done so feel free to subscribe to The Casual Reporter to read all my exciting posts, or simply log on anytime you like and click through to any of the sites or advertised links you see on this blog. Bookmark The Casual Reporter for sure - better yet make it your home page! If you have a particular service or product that you feel would work well on The Casual Reporter, I'd be eager to hear from you.

Poll Indicates Obama Will Be Good for U.S.A.

According to a recent Casual Reporter poll asking readers if President- elect Barack Obama will be good for the United States, 83% of those who participated voted "yes" and 16% voted "no". That only six people voted, one of them being me, diminishes in no way the relevance of the poll and it's result. The Casual Reporter readers are among the wisest people on the planet and when they speak, all should listen. With the Casual Reporter poll as proof, we can all relax in the comfort of knowing for sure that Barack Obama will be 83% good for the United States and 16% bad. Who knows about the last 1%.

The Pinkie Chronicles: Face Plant into the Arena

Ah Pinkie, why does it always happen to you?

It started so innocently during the Medicine Ball Pass when Pinkie climbed over the rail to enter the arena. He turned around so he was facing the arena, his heels balanced on the wooden lip 3 feet off the surface of the arena and at the base of the rail, ready to step down into the arena. Only after he started tipping his weight forward to hop into the arena did he sense his spur was caught in the only hole in the entire side of the arena (in which a sprinkler head is hidden).

Pinkie's head went south but Pinkie's foot stayed north. Like a tree, or maybe a tall shrub, Pinkie teetered over, gravity accelerating his descent. His face hit sand first, the foot still lodged for a split second well above his head, before he quickly kicked himself free and jumped to his feet. Pinkie looked around nonchalantly in the hope nobody had seen his face plant. I said over my microphone, with an amused but incredulous tone, "Pinkie, did you fall out of the Ranch?"

"Oh, man!" he said, crimson-faced with a big Pinkie grin. "Why did you have to say anything?! Nobody noticed until you said something!"

Horse Wreck Stops Wild West Show

Last night a horse wreck stopped the Stagecoach scene in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (La Legende de Buffalo Bill) Disney Village, Disneyland Paris Resort France. While making the final sharp left turn into the center of the arena, the left wheeler (horse closest to the Stagecoach) stumbled and fell. The right wheeler, who was also pulling left into the turn, tripped over his fallen partner, his momentum carrying him over the tongue of the hitch and on top of his partner. The Indians, many of them authentic Native Americans, and the Horse Team immediately worked to untangle the mess.

About 10 - 15 tense minutes passed, the night-time lighting scheme low and music vamping, before enough straps were cut to free the horses, who, amazingly, were completely unharmed and were lead off stage to a wide round of applause. The guests seat-belted inside the stagecoach when the wreck happened were safely escorted back to their seats during the ordeal and the stagecoach, once freed, was pushed off stage by the cast members.

I entered and improvised for a moment, inviting another round of applause for the expertise with which the ordeal was handled. I reassured the audience that the finest veterinarians in France would look over the horses but, as far as I could see, they were unharmed. I then positioned myself for the start of the Champagne scene and said, "Now then, let's finish this show up." The technical team, on that cue, set the lights and started the music.

The show continued as usual up to the Final Revue when the Horse Team paraded the wagon horses involved in the wreck around the arena, further reassuring the audience that all was well, at least as far as horses and humans were concerned.

The stagecoach, on the other hand, was out of commission for the second show. An emergency team formed in the corridor backstage and we worked out a way to improvise using one of the Chuckwagons, renamed the "Deadwood Express" by Didier and described by me as an authentic western freight wagon used to transport gold during the gold rush. The exemplary professionalism and expertise with which the second show's "Deadwood Express" scene was performed did not surprise me given the team we had on hand but I think it surprised and impressed those who initially sought less creative solutions to the problem.

Without rehearsal or even a cohesive meeting, we worked out the details among ourselves - technicians, managers, and performers working as a team. Performers and technicians adjusted individually and improvisationally during the scene and we nailed it. Even the "guests", necessarily planted in this instance for insurance reasons, performed perfectly. Their "professional" status put them at the mercy of their "Indian warrior" colleagues and they were waffled with bedrolls and nearly dragged from the wagon.

The experience proved once again that the talent and competence of the Wild West Show Performers and Technicians should not be underestimated. Kudos to management for having faith in the team and letting us find a creative solution that utilized our talent and optimized the guest experience.

WWS Hats Summoned Using Shaman Magic

Each guest at Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show receives a free cowboy hat, roughly 10 million so far, each one created by a member of the Wild West Show staff using a shamanic technique practiced by aboriginal tribes for centuries but virtually unknown in modern society until now. The video below contains never-before-seen footage of this extremely rare and delicate art form, called "summoning," which involves channeling the natural forces of the universe. With hundreds of hats to summon nightly, the process is virtually never-ending. This video was shot following a recent informal dinner engagement with friends.

Trent Hauls a Washing Machine

Pickup trucks are relatively rare in France and when I first arrived every time I saw one I pined for the truck I'd sold before moving here. I'd say to my wife something like, "Wow, look at that pickup. We should get one. They're so practical, like if you need to haul a washing machine or something." My wife would smile sympathetically and we'd go on our way.

When we were shopping for a vehicle and came across a van for sale I'd always make a similar comment. "That'd be good," I'd say. "It'd be great if we ever needed to haul a washing machine or something." This went on for years, me seeing a van or pickup or truck and absentmindedly making the comment, "That'd be great if we needed to haul a washing machine or something."

Finally, after one such comment, my wife said "What is it with you and washing machines? How often do you need to haul a washing machine? Is that what you do in Wyoming for fun, haul washing machines?" We laughed, but she had a point.

A few days later I was talking to Kevin about the PT Cruiser he'd just bought. He was proud he'd gotten it for 3,000 Euros less than the sticker and it was comfortable, had a nice stereo, etc. Then he opened up the hatch back to show me the inside and said, "This is what I really like. The back opens up and you can push the seats forward. It's big enough you could haul a washing machine in it."

What is it with the washing machine? Check this out:

The Porsche Cayenne is the sportiest, best-performing SUV, a high-performance machine that will fit a family of five, haul a small washing machine, tow a large boat and get you through the woods when there's no road.

A Porsche? Who the hell owns a Porsche and needs to haul a washing machine? Through the woods, when there's no road? Who would haul one in a Porsche even if they could? How did we men get into our heads that we all need to be able to haul washing machines? Perhaps it's a symbol of virility: being able to haul a washing machine is like being able to satisfy a woman. Size does matter.

In any case, I was very pleased a few years ago when we bought an Opel Zafira, a family minivan-type car that can seat seven but can also quickly convert into a large cargo space. Yesterday when I pulled up to the Indesit Factory Outlet store to buy a new washing machine I knew my moment had arrived. We selected our unit and waited for the guy to dolly it out to the car, then I opened up the back door. The Indesit man and I lifted the corner of the machine up to the bumper. As we tipped the machine upwards, he said of the opening to my car, "I'm not sure it's going to be tall enough." I smiled, confident, as we easily slid the washing machine into the car. I said, "Now THAT's a good car." He chuckled and smiled knowingly as if to say, "Indeed, my good friend, indeed. That IS a good car."

Kave Wins Golf Tournament

(image borrowed from the Bestpar Blog)

Last Sunday it snowed for the first time this season in Marne la Vallee, France the home of Disneyland Paris Resort, but this didn't stop the golfers participating in the annual Beaujolais tournament. According to Kave, a Native American from the Crow tribe in southern Montana who plays Sitting Bull in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (La Legende de Buffalo Bill) Disney Village, Disneyland Paris Resort, the golfers started playing in cold rain. Although the tournament organizers shortened the tournament to just 9 holes in light of the poor weather, the golfers didn't escape the snow as small snowflakes started spiraling to the ground during the final hole. By the time golfers were in the clubhouse enjoying the fine feast that also marks the tournament, the snowflakes had grown considerably in size and number.

But the real news is that Kave won the tournament! Kave, a Crow Indian, is proud to have learned golfing purely by playing it and watching others play. He's never taken a lesson and doesn't use the driving range. Yet during the Beaujolais tournament he competed against two golf-pros and a number of other golf veterans and won! Kave jokes that he's not a professional, he's a Crow-fessional. He won a piece of baggage that, he says, will be perfect for his upcoming short trip to Oregon in the United States to visit the grandfather he's never met.

Wild West Show Offers Meal/Seat Upgrades!

In efforts to control costs over the years, general managers of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (La Legende de Buffalo Bill), a dinner spectacle that plays nightly in Disney Village, Disneyland Paris France, have fiddled considerably with the menu. The result at times has been that the meal is often noted by guests as the least favorable element of the Wild West Show experience.

Until now.

The newest management team has divided the seating into a two-tiered system of VIP and regular seating. The Disneyland Paris website now contains this information:

NEW !

Relive the action and adventures of the "Old West" in 1st category seating:

- Privileged seating with the best view
- A non-alcoholic welcome cocktail
- A special Barbecue Texan Skillet*

In addition to the menu:
Nachos & sauces and sweet treats with your tea or coffee*

*for adults only.

RATES:

1st category seating:
Adult rate - public rate: £50**
Children's rate - public rate: £40**

2nd category seating:
Adult rate - public rate: £42**
Children's rate - public rate: £32**

BOOK NOW!

At least one cast member has stated that the added 12 Euros is a good value, so if the quality of menu has been a concern of yours, you now have the option of enjoying the food almost as much as the amazing, thrilling, sometimes hilarious, often soul-stirring performances of the incredibly talented Wild West Show cast. See you soon!