Recent Videos

Here are some videos that I have either done recently or been in. The first is a clip from Tuscaloosa's WVUA 4pm newscast where fan of the show Robert Stevensen interviewed us about the show ending and us hosting the AL Awards.


Jake & Steve on First at 4



This next video is from when Steve and I hosted the AL Awards on campus just yesterday. We were asked to host the 3rd Annual ALs Awards, which honor those involved in theatre, dance, and film on campus. This is the intro we did for the show.





On a side note, the real honor of the evening was Steve and I getting the Student's Choice Award. The students in attendance were asked to vote for their favorite theatre performance, dance, actor, actress, film, etc. The cool thing about it... Steve and I were NOT on the ballot. We were write-in votes.

Anyway, Steve and I earlier today finished our very last show in the history of the Jake and Steve Show, which happened to be show #400. I'll probably post about it more later, but I'm going to miss it. I really didn't think I was until I saw how many people really cared about the show. The fans meant a lot to me.

Anyway, hope you enjoy/enjoyed the videos!

Uh... Are You Kidding Me?

Remember when I posted my argument that a baseball was harder to hit than a softball? You don't? Well, apparently it's become an issue again with a brave soul not afraid to let their opinion be known. They go by the name "Anonymous". I'm going to guess that A (can I call you A?) is still in high school and only disagrees with me because A is a female. Here's the comment she posted in response to my post as well as Jason Bybee's comments:

"Guys, I'm sorry. I agree that Fox didn't cover all aspects but I also have trouble following your arguements.

Jason, they were comparing hitting in softball and baseball. They weren't comparing if a softball was easier to hit than a baseball.
In addition, were the bat's "sweet spot" is, is not based on were the bat stops changing in diameter. Roughly, the "sweet spot" on a baseball bat and on a softball bat are the same proportional distance from the knob to the tip of the bat.

And Jake, wake up. MLB no longer uses solid wood bats. A softball bat is generally made of the same alloys has baseball bats.
The plate of glass that Jenny broke was measuring force. The larger ball will have greater force when thrown at the same speed as a smaller ball but Fox was comparing the amount of force from the normal pitching distance and speed of each sport. Therefore, Jenny did not have an unfair advantage when measuring the force of a softball pitch. As a side note, a 70 mph fastball in softball is not that uncommon in competitive softball. I will admit however that a 95 mph fastball in baseball is more common than a 70 mph fastball in softball but not by much.

Yes, I'm a girl. But I grew up playing softball and baseball and have had the same amount of training in both. I can hit any pitch in baseball a lot easier than I can hit a softball pitch, especially a change up or riser. I am not comparing distance of the ball after the hit. I am comparing the number of times I come in contact with the ball.

Bottom line, the answer can not be determined by Fox's study and both of you need to rethink your arguements."

And so begins my rebuttal.

WARNING: IF YOU CANNOT STOMACH A THRASHING OF ONE'S OPINION THROUGH APPLICATION OF LOGIC, PROOF, AND EVIDENCE, DO NOT CONTINUE PAST THIS POINT!

To begin... You said:

And Jake, wake up. MLB no longer uses solid wood bats. A softball bat is generally made of the same alloys has baseball bats.

Major League Baseball uses SOLID WOOD BATS. I say again: SOLID WOOD.

MLB Rule 1.10a states:

The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2 3/4 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length.

NOTE: No laminated or experimental bats shall be used in a professional game (either championship season or exhibition games) until the manufacturer has secured approval from the Rules Committee of his design and methods of manufacture.

Also, according to dictionary.com:

Alloy - al-loy - noun: A substance composed of two or more metals, or of a metal or metals with a nonmetal, intimately mixed, as by fusion or electrodeposition

So, I guess when you read those two together, you could really get confused and believe that MLB uses composite alloy bats. My mistake. I am woken now, Anonymous. Thank you for again reminding me of what I already knew. If you are going to make a sensible argument (which I very much did in my previous post regardless of your "rethink your arguments" statement) you need to know that what you're saying isn't made-up fairy tale rules that change the very game of professional baseball as we know it.

Point #2. You said:

The larger ball will have greater force when thrown at the same speed as a smaller ball but Fox was comparing the amount of force from the normal pitching distance and speed of each sport.

I can understand that. I can understand it because here's one of my points from my previous post:

Of course Finch's pitch broke the glass. It's a larger object at closer range travelling at a high speed. That's a recipe for destruction.

How does what you said give me any information different or new than what I already know?

And by the way:

Jason, they were comparing hitting in softball and baseball. They weren't comparing if a softball was easier to hit than a baseball.

How on earth are these two statements different from one another? How can you do the first without the second? The whole argument becomes irrelevant without it. Maybe you should go back and watch the video again. The voice over guy clearly said that Finch's purpose of coming on the show was to prove that a softball was harder to hit than a baseball.

I'm not saying it isn't hard to hit a softball. Nowhere in my previous post do I say that in and of itself it is an easy task to perform. What I am saying, is that if you are going to come on my blog and try to make me look stupid by disproving my points, you'd better come hard and with something that makes sense.

My New Favorite Website

Songerize.com is easily the coolest website I have been to in a long, long time. If you love music like I do, this website could become your new best friend like it has me. You can type in any song name and artist and it will play it for you free of charge. That's it. There a song you want to listen to a full song on your computer for free? Simple... songerize it.

A few of my current favorites:

• Stuck Between Stations by The Hold Steady
• McFearless by Kings of Leon
• The Way We Get By by Spoon
• Wild Mountain Nation by Blitzen Trapper

The End of an Era

I don't know how to feel right now. I knew it would happen eventually, but that doesn't change how I feel. If you haven't heard the news, Brett Favre, long-time Green Bay Packers quarterback and NFL player for 17 season, has decided to retire. I didn't ever think it would be as big of a deal to me as it is. I'm actually a little depressed. I talked to my sister and she said she felt the same when Michael Jordan retired (the first time, of course). So, maybe it's not so bad that I'm upset about it.

Some of you reading this may be asking, why are you making such a big deal out of this? He's just a football player. Well, let me tell you what Brett Favre is to me. Brett Favre is the embodiment of the NFL. Everything good about the game of football, he is. He is toughness, he is perseverance, he is heart, he is work ethic, he is a leader. He is the "everyman". Everyone can see a bit of themselves in him. He is a LEGEND. No one can tell me otherwise.

Since I was a Packers fan, all I have known is Brett Favre. He has been a big part of my life. Football has been a big part of my relationship with my father, and we have been big Favre fans for a long time. One of the greatest moments of my life was watching Brett Favre in person play against the Carolina Panthers with my father. The first play from scrimmage by the Packers, Favre throws a deep pass to Antonio Freeman for a touchdown.

I'm not much of a reader, but I got Favre's autobiography for Christmas a few years back and have since read it two or three times. It is certainly a great read. His story is great. He came from a small town and overcame great adversity to become one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game.

To me, this is what makes him forever a legend in my mind:

• Most AP NFL MVP Awards
• Most consecutive starts by a quarterback
• Most wins by a starting quarterback
• Most career passing touchdowns
• Most career passing yards
• Most career pass completions
• Most career pass attempts
• Most career games with at least three touchdowns
• 2007 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year
• 2003 Men's Health Magazine Toughest Person in America
• 9-time Pro Bowl selection
• 7-time All-Pro selection
• Member of the NFL 1990s All Decade Team
• Super Bowl XXXI Champion
  

I'm going to miss you, Brett. You're the best the game has to offer...

This is for you:

Flight of the Conchords

Every now and then, I get an obsession. Not to long ago, it was Rock Band (which I'm still very much into), but that has changed. I'm currently hooked on a two-man folk band from New Zealand called Flight of the Conchords.

They had a show on HBO this past summer by the same name, and it has just signed on for a second season. Let me tell you... if you love stupid yet witty humor and comedy, this right up your alley. If you haven't seen this show, do yourself a favor and go buy their first season now. Trust me, you will thank me later.

It follows two Kiwis, Jemaine Clement (left) and Bret McKenzie (right) as they try to make it in New York City and the American music industry. They intend to literally conquer America one fan at a time. Jemaine is the self-proclaimed "ladies man" and Bret is naive and easy-going. Their one fan, Mel, is crazed and obsessed and their manager, Murray, is less than brilliant.

Sample lyrics from their songs:

Most Beautiful Girl: You're so beautiful / You could be a part time model
I'm Not Cryin': I'm not cryin' / It's just raining / on my face

Here's two of my favorite songs:

Ladies of the World


Business Time


I'm telling you... get season one and you will never regret it...

We Need Another National Epidemic/Craze...

...That isn't American Idol, am I right? We talked about this on the show today. Remember that four-year span that we all worried about West Nile, Mad Cow Disease, Anthrax, and SARS? MAN, those were the good ole days. We need something new like that. Sure, we have Avian Bird Flu, but that hasn't really hit home. You don't even hear about computer viruses any more. World of Warcraft went and ruined that.

We need something. It's too boring now. I miss the days when opening your mail was like a lottery gone completely wrong where everyday you find yourself asking, "Am I going to catch something when I open this letter about $10 million from Ed McMahon?". Everyday was a new, exciting, edge-of-your-seat mystery that kept you guessing.

I mean, we have terrorism, sure, but isn't that kind of old news now? Really, Osama, get a new schtick. It used to be that there was something new every six months just a short time ago. That's the spontaneity I long for again. We need a Ted Kaczynski that we can rally around as a nation. That's what I miss, not knowing if Grandma's care package was going to melt half my face.

And, what about cults? Where have those been? Remember when plain white Keds really were the last pair of shoes you'd ever wear? Those guys are all laughing us from their spaceship behind Hale-Bopp. And who can blame them? I mean, those guys did for Kool-Aid what Jordan did for Nike.

And can we please get back mass, chain, warning emails? I wish I could go to the movie theater now and worry about sitting in a seat with an AIDS infected syringe in it. Or what about waking up in a mysterious hotel in a bathtub full of ice with my innards missing? Who is going to warn the new generation about these ever-so-evident dangers in the world?

All I'm saying is that we need something to bring back the thrill of everyday living... What do you think?



By the way, if you didn't catch the tone of sarcasm in this post... this last sentence shouldn't inform you of that at all...

Worst Superpower?

Steve and I on the way back from our morning show this morning got in a conversation that went something like this:

Me: If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
Steve: (thinks) I'd want the ability to notarize anything.
Me: Nota... superpowers aren't supposed to be practical... that's why they're superpowers. You might as well have said you want to have really good handwriting....

So here's my question... what would be the worst superpower you could have? Think about it....