wwedmption

dave and i were chatting online today when he passed along this video gem:



it got me thinking...what are most of these guys up to these days? we should propose a show about old wwf wrestlers from the 80's and 90's living in a house together working on making comebacks to vh1. they have done very similar shows, and i could very easily see them putting this show on the air. with the writers' strike continuing with no end in sight, the demand for addictive reality shows is high.

preliminary pitch:

a group of 6-8 former wwf/wwe stars sign up to live in a mansion in an effort to revive their wrestling/entertainment/other careers. along with general training, they are put through a series of varying (and sometimes comical) tasks and competitions that show the home viewers new sides of the former wrestlers. it helps humanize them to their fans and viewers.

all of this progresses as the former wrestlers work to reach their own specific goals. some of the younger wrestlers would obviously want to return to the ring. some may want to pursue acting or some other profession. some may want to simply be of relevance again and enjoy the media exposure. others (and this may be a bit of a stretch, wishful thinking...i dunno) may want to use their publicity to bring a cause/charity/issue to light.

potential wrestlers i would want in the show:

• the ultimate warrior
• the honkey tonk man
• the iron sheik
• the junkyard dog
• jimmy superfly snucka (sp?)
• koko b. ware
• rowdy roddy piper
• bam bam bigelow
• big john stud
• ricky the dragon steamboat
• rick flair
• jimmy hart
  

potential hosts

• jim mcmahon
• the fabulous moolah (i have a sneaking suspicion she is my next door neighbor)
• that old wwf ref with the moustache
• some current wwe superstar
• the rock (he would be the #1 option i think)

tasks/competitions

• dance contest
• working with kindergarten kids
• baking competition
• karaoke
• debate
  
• other dumb stuff that is funny since really big wrestlers are doing it

ideally there would be a good blend of drama, fighting, hilarity, bonding, heart-warming moments and silliness. many people who grew up in the 80's and 90's would want to revisit their favorite wrestlers from back then. others would simply tune in to watch people with crazy personalities clash and argue and compete. as i mentioned before, i could see this as a show on vh1, and i have no doubt that it would be very successful. phil and dan have already raised their eyebrow in skepticism, but that's all phil knows. hate hate hate. i know i would watch every episode. dave and i will need to tighten up the premise and details and then submit it.

you want bean sprouts with that?

a little while ago nam and i were discussing random business ideas and we started talking about the restaurant business. we both have zero experience in this, but it was more just fun to think about. i am a vegetarian as is nam's wife, jess. while it has been getting better over the last few years, many restaurants do not offer much in the way of substantial meat-free meals, with chinese and indian restaurants providing the most options. otherwise i am often left with the choice of garden salad (since all other salads now require chicken), a plate of nahcos/onion rings/some random deep fried appetizer that makes me feel slightly ill or a microwaved veggie burger. not really ideal.

i have to assume that there are many other vegetarians that face similar dining conundrums every day. so the idea was a vegetarian (or at least vegetarian-friendly) restaurant that served american food. i started thinking of names:

• tofu junction
• don't eat that, it's meat! sike!
• veggie city
• orange you glad you didn't eat an animal?
• tempeh town
• the sizzlin' soy
• plants don't cry

there were a bunch more, but that's all i can remember for now.

i also started thinking about the menu. this requires a lot more thought, but for this post i am going to start with appetizers. many of these things i have made, think i might be able to make or assume someone i know can make it.

• seasonal vegetable crudite
• mushroom turnovers
• sesame green beens
• grilled and marinated tofu skewers
• spinach-artichoke dip
• veggie buffalo wings
• roasted onion rings
• the royal sampler

next time i will work on the soups and salads. if you have any other ideas for appetizers or restaurant names, please leave a comment.




hey man, my name is river and i'll be your server tonight...

scene it?

there is a new scene it? game coming out for the xbox 360 this week. i am very interested in this game, especially since it comes with 4 new wireless buzzer controllers. anyways, this got me thinking about movies in general as well as making movies. over the years different combinations of me, nick, dave, louis and others have had different movie ideas. we have made a few with varying success (l.a.u.r.a., the one where louis played the hyper-erotic mad scientist who moved around on little scooters, and the one where i travel back in time to borrow money from myself) but there are many more movie ideas that were never made.

movie plot 1

nick plays a guy (named either autumn or august) who hooks up with a lot of random girls. dave and i play his chaste roommates who for varying reasons do not agree or approve of nick's lifestyle choices.
we convince him that being a virgin before marriage was the best way t live your life. nick sees the light but wonders what he can do now. i tell them about a legend i had heard where if you bathe in the mythical lake virgin you can reclaim your virginity. we all agree that this is something nick should do and we head off to the woods in search of the lake.

along the way nick is tempted by various distractions, like sexy hikers and horny park rangers. with our encouragement he stays strong and continues on with his journey. when we are feeling lost and on the verge of giving up, we cross paths with a mysterious figure. a crazy old man with long white hair and a full white beard, played by simon, approaches us. he asks us what we are searching for. when we explain our intentions, he announces that he is in fact the fabled "great virgin", a 100 year old virgin living in the woods to serve as the gate keeper for virgin lake. he puts nick through a series of grueling and demanding tests and obstacles. once nick completes them, we are granted entry to virgin lake. nick calmly enters virgin lake in an emotionally-charged transformation. the end.

that was a movie idea that had us all laughing. hopefully we will make it one day.