http://www.waaytv.com/news/content/burgerbytes/default.aspx Burger Bytes en-us Copyright 2012 Huntsville All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:01 -0500 Sun, 27 May 2012 05:10:04 -0500 Burger Bytes / http://www.waaytv.com/news/content/burgerbytes/default.aspx 50 50 15 http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Mayor-Battle-vs-Mayor-Morris/0nBHF1kDQUCp5itrsELehA.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/0nBHF1kDQUCp5itrsELehA.cspx HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- There may be a dark horse candidate for the up-coming mayoral election in August. But there is no secret if you're a Huntsville Stars baseball fan.

If you’ve been to a Stars game, when stepping to the plate, first baseman Hunter Morris is introduced as “Hunter ‘The Mayor’ Morris”.

The Grissom High School product is the hometown hero, playing in front of fans that he played in front of his entire life.

He was quickly saddled with the nickname, “The Mayor”.

“After we came back from our ten game road trip, I was talking to lots of reporters before our home opener,” Morris said. “Out of nowhere someone just said it. It came to somebody and I’m stuck with it for at least the next 3-4 months.”

“I was joking with him the other day, 'if I get pulled over in Huntsville can you get my ticket fixed since you're the mayor of Huntsville?',” Stars outfielder Josh Prince said. “He just started laughing. 'He said it depends how fast you're going over the speed limit.'

Morris has no political experience. He never ran for a student government position at Grissom High School. But his teammates think he can be mayor, and not just mayor of Joe Davis Stadium

“I'd vote for him,” Prince said without hesitation. “He’s a solid dude, great guy, he's got great parents, comes from a great family. He’s just a loving caring guy. Not only to his wife and kid, but he's a great teammate.”

Mayor Tommy Battle is well-aware of Morris' sky-rocketing popularity.

“I told him I heard he was running for mayor and there is an election this august,” Mayor Battle said. “He said he was hoping to be very busy playing baseball. I think we squashed that rumor pretty quick.”
]]> burgerbytes Wed, 23 May 2012 22:07:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Mayor Battle vs. Mayor Morris http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Artist-James-Green/wK9Y0aB_zUmjoBwARf2g6g.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/wK9Y0aB_zUmjoBwARf2g6g.cspx FORT PAYNE, Ala. -- Fort Payne freelance artist, James Green, is creating quite a name for himself in the southeast.

His work is exhibited at various art shows and galleries. One exhibit will garner national attention, and it’s because of his love of aviation.

“They pull the thing in and you can feel the G's jerking you and bending your knees from all the weight of all the battle rattle on,” Green recalls from past war experience.

Green is a Desert Storm veteran and 1977 graduate of Lee High School in Huntsville. Now, his focus is on art.

“I love that P-51 Mustang, I love that painting,’ Green said while pointing to his work. “It is derived from a government photo. I made a few changes where you could actually see the pilots face.”

Green draws and paints different subjects, but with 20 years experience in airborne infantry, aviation is his favorite.

“You must realize that an aviation artist is a person who concern is painting the land and atmosphere,” Green said. “You're essentially a landscape artist and you're putting a flying piece of hardware in it.”

Green's painting of the Grumman F11F Tiger navy fighter plane is getting special attention.

“[The fighter] was one of the navy's very first aircraft capable of flying supersonic in level flight,” Green said.

The painting was selected to be on display in the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla. - a very big deal for any artist.

“In [the museum’s] upper galleries and you will see originals by some of the best known naval aviation artists in the entire world,” Green said. “It's just mind-boggling.”

The exhibit will open in May and will stay open until April 2013.

]]> burgerbytes Mon, 21 May 2012 22:00:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Artist James Green http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Chris-Simmons-On-His-Own/CygsDb1BS0CB-ie17U5QLw.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/CygsDb1BS0CB-ie17U5QLw.cspx HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Chris Simmons is feelin' the blues.

The Douglas native recently released his second studio album called "Hallelujah Man". He played every instrument on the record and recorded it in his own studio.

“For many years, I was just focusing on pop rock, modern rock, you know what I thought would be the most successful,” Simmons said. “But as I get older, and a little wiser, you start thinking, I’m going to do what I do the best and is the most fun for me.”

Simmons' solo career is just getting started - as a side project. His fulltime gig is the guitarist for Leon Russell’s band.

“Playing with Leon, he's had a long line of good bluesy guitar players,” Simmons said. “He's played with Eric Clapton, George Harrison and a long list.”

Simmons considered himself a “struggling artist” when he was making stops in Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. But five years ago, he met into Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Russell and completely changed his career.

“That's the weird thing. As soon as I moved back to Alabama, less than five or six months later, I got the gig with Leon Russell,” Simmons said. “Been to Austin trying to make the music business, been out to Los Angeles trying to make the music business. I came back home to Alabama and that's when i got my best gig.

Russell also makes an appearance on Simmons new record, the title track on "Hallelujah Man".

“Anytime you get the opportunity to co-write a song with the most prolific writer of ours and the last generation, it's pretty cool.”

Simmons will continue his tour out west before coming back to the Kaffeeklatsch Bar in Huntsville on June 1.
]]> burgerbytes Mon, 14 May 2012 21:49:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Chris Simmons On His Own http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Low-Income-Scholarship-Winner/42rkmGfiwEWSr9TmF3vKbg.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/42rkmGfiwEWSr9TmF3vKbg.cspx HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Columbia High School senior Maurice McCaulley is out to break stereotypes and prove people wrong.

So far, so good.

“Georgetown was a dream school for me,” McCaulley said. “I didn't think I would get in and especially didn't think I would be able to pay for it.”

McCaulley will now have $60,000 worth of scholarships to get him started at Georgetown University. But he is not your typical success story. He's lived in Huntsville Public Housing for eight years.

“That is the American dream, that everyone has that potential to be better,” McCaulley. “That's what I am trying to do; not only for me, but my community. I want just show that good thing just come from, basically, the ghetto.”

Most of his funds came through three Georgetown scholarships. But two scholarships, in which he had to write essays, totaled $10,000 from the Public Housing Authorities Directors Association.

“Ii have a huge passion for human rights and international politics, so my essays were based on how I want to go into law on an international scale to help oppressed religions, ethnicities, cultures and try to bridge the world together,” McCaulley said.

He was accepted into 11 colleges, with scholarship money totaling over $400,000.

“We are going to miss him here at Columbia High School because he has helped, not only himself to excel, but he has encouraged and inspired others,” McCaulley’s teacher Linda Peregone added.
]]> burgerbytes Wed, 09 May 2012 22:05:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Low-Income Scholarship Winner http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Local-Students-Create-Apps/51h_xElvXUuZLV5RM9Vl0A.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/51h_xElvXUuZLV5RM9Vl0A.cspx HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Thanks to a trip to the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans, La., three University of Alabama students have come up with a way an affordable and safe way to enjoy the nightlife.

The innovative trio of Nick Neveu (Madison, Ala.), Benjamin Gordon (Madison, Ala.) and Matt Staples (Florence, Ala.) are college guys who are interested in the Tuscaloosa bar scene, not only that but an affordable bar scene.

“We're college students so we want to know where the best deals were if they had any,” Neveu said. “We just decided why don't we make an app for that?”

The app is called "Red Cup", and is available for several different cities. The group, now a company called Subvert, did not stop there.

“After that one, people were getting drunk and we knew we wanted to look out for them,” Neveu said.

Logically the next app is called "Get Me Home!", a quick access to local taxi service. The app originated when the guys went in New Orleans and needed an easy way to navigate the Big Easy.

“Honestly, it's just one step,” Gordon said. “Just open it up and press a button you're able to get home.

“When you're drunk and using the app, you don't want to go through ten screens. It’s not worth the effort.”

The trio is not looking to make any money right now because all of their apps are available to you for free. But later, they are looking to cash in.

“We want the most people to have our app as possible,” Gordon added. “Especially since ‘Get Me Home!’ is a service related app. Good for people, you don't want to charge for that.”

“Hopefully businesses will see what we're doing,” Neveu said. “Apps are the way of the future, web sites are something old, commercials, that kind of thing.”

Subvert recently unveiled their new app, called "Tip Accurately", which is an easy way to calculate how much you should leave for a particular service.
]]> burgerbytes Mon, 07 May 2012 22:00:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Local Students Create Apps http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Stars-Help-Disabled-Child/y6RTXc4yjkKF0YYcpgN7TA.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/y6RTXc4yjkKF0YYcpgN7TA.cspx HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Michael Sutterfield of Stevenson, Ala., is a fighter.

The 15-year-old is deaf, suffers from Complex Partial Seizure's and has a Hydracephulus Shunt. Michael was born premature with meningitis, cysts on the front lobe of his brain and a bacterial infection which caused damage to the ventricles and other areas of his brain.

But it’s baseball brings out the best in him.

“Michael is a huge baseball fan,” his mother Debbie Guess said. “He's played since he was four years old.”

Baseball is the one thing that he can do that makes him feel like he's not any different than all of the other kids.

When the Huntsville stars heard Michael’s story, they did not hesitate to help. Stars’ general manager Buck Rogers invited the young man to Joe Davis Stadium.

Saturday night, Michael got to meet the players and was given an official Stars jersey and batting practice cap.

“It's a good feeling to lift his spirits and get him out here,” Huntsville Stars first baseman Hunter Morris said. “We want to make him feel part of our team, our group. I hope he enjoys being out here as much as we enjoy having him.”

After given the Stars gear, Michael immediately asked Morris to autograph his new souvenirs. It was also such a thrill for Micheal to throw out the first pitch and deliver the line-up card to home plate.

“He's a pretty spectacular kid,” Guess said. “The doctors didn't expect him to live pass the first night.”

Michael spent his first three months in the hospital as a baby. Now it’s all smiles and fists bumps with professional baseball players.

]]> burgerbytes Sat, 05 May 2012 21:03:53 -0500 Stars Help Disabled Child http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Thornburgs-Superstitions/aFptR9E_fkGv7cjgXfmngw.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/aFptR9E_fkGv7cjgXfmngw.cspx HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Tyler Thornburg is one of the top prospects in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

He's also at the top of the list when it comes to rituals, routines and quirks.

“I was never a superstitious person growing up, never OCD,” the ace of the Huntsville Stars pitching staff said. “Baseball definitely makes you.”

Thornburg has a checklist for his superstitious activity, but it's not one you will see on paper.

“No, it's all in my mind,” Thornburg said. “Every once in a while you'll forget to do something. Then you get upset at yourself. I hope I have a good inning.”

So what does he do you ask?

“Goodness, I mean picking up the ball with a certain grip,” he said. “If the ball's on the ground, I’ll always go left foot, step with my right, then on the mound with my left.”

When the inning is over, “go get a drink of water when I come in, only one drink of water,” the Sandy Springs, Ga. native noted. “Then go sit down.”

Most of his superstitions he does overtly so his teammates don’t notice. For example, when walking out of the dugout, he steps left, right, left, right, then skips the top step.

“If you go to the bathroom in a certain toilet, you're going to that bathroom again,” Thornburg said. “If you're talking to a certain girl, you're going to be talking to her until you have a bad outing.”

This behavior has ushered in good mojo so far for Thornburg. There is no stopping it now.

“The bad part is that when you accidently do something, you strike out the next three hitters in that inning, and then you start doing that too. You just keep adding on to everything,” Thornburg said.

]]> burgerbytes Wed, 02 May 2012 21:59:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Thornburg's Superstitions http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Former-Teammate-Remembers-Neighbors/Do5UAlewu0KJnd2KfwmmGw.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/Do5UAlewu0KJnd2KfwmmGw.cspx HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- The entire college community, not just at University of Alabama, lost a football legend.

Billy Neighbors died Monday at the age of 72.

Neighbors will not soon be forgotten. He was the star lineman on Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant's first national championship team at Alabama.

But Neighbors’ legacy lives on through his family. He was known as the patriarch of the first family of Alabama football; the first of three generations to wear crimson and white.

“I'm the fifth person to play at Alabama,” Wesley Neighbors, Billy’s grandson told Kyle Burger before the 2009 BCS National Title game in Pasadena, Calif. “My great-uncle, my grand dad, my dad and my uncle and my grandfather won the championship in 1961, my uncle in 1992 and hopefully, I'll be the third here.”

Benny Nelson was Billy’s teammate for three years. Together they helped that national title 1961.
Nelson believes, with Billy’s size, he'd be able to still play today.

“He was a terrific competitor,” Nelson said. “He wasn't just a big guy, but he was a big fast guy. He could really run. He was probably the fastest lineman we had, other than the tight ends.”

Neighbors was the anchor of the 1961 ‘Bama defense that allowed just 25 points and posted six shutouts in 11 games that season. Some say, the best college defense ever assembled.

“Billy was the captain of the '61 team,” Nelson said. “There was no doubt the best player and most crucial player on that team.”

Nelson was the running back for the 1961 Alabama team. Neighbors blocked for him on the offensive line. In exchange, Nelson helped introduce Neighbors to the love of his life.

“She was from Huntsville and we grew up together,” Nelson said. “Just like chemistry. Another fellow who lived here, Mike Hopper, we said we ought to get Susan Kinsler and Billy hooked up. They started dating and really took to each other.”

Susan and Billy were married for almost fifty years.

Nelson added that this is a very sad time for the family and the Alabama program.

]]> burgerbytes Tue, 01 May 2012 14:05:25 -0500 http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-McRoy-Leads-Westminster-Golf/7_mLjMsxR0C5KdxqDEjpCQ.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/7_mLjMsxR0C5KdxqDEjpCQ.cspx ATHENS, Ala. -- High school golf teams get ready section meets Tuesday. One school is led into the tournament with experience on its side. But, in the form professional experience.

“I'm just a normal guy, from Huntsville, Alabama, trying to teach kids a game they can play for the rest of their life,” Spike McRoy said.

McRoy is in his 2nd year as the golf coach at Westminster Christian Academy. But he’s more than normal, how many local golf coaches can say they won a PGA Tour event?

“When I first came in I heard he was on the PGA tour,” freshman Greyson Lauderdale said. “I didn’t know what to expect. He doesn’t seem like a pro golfer. He's so laid back and joking around. Always help you out and do what ever he can.”

McRoy turned pro in 1991 after graduating from Alabama. His one and only PGA Tour win came in 2002 at the B.C. Open. But now his focus is on helping kids.

“Mmy strength, is as I quickly learn, teaching those are single stroke handicap,” McRoy said. “We don't have any of those on the golf team. I am learning as we are going. I have to step back and start from the basics.”

One of the reasons he got off the Pro Tour was for 32 weeks a year he was away from his family. But his players say they wouldn’t mind seeing coach back on the links

“I think it will be kind of cool to say hey that’s my coach right there,” junior Shane Nelson added.

“I'm 44 [years old] so in six years when the Champions Tour comes calling, that one PGA Tour win is going to give me something. I don't know what it is, but its going to be better than not having a win.”

]]> burgerbytes Tue, 01 May 2012 02:12:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: McRoy Leads Westminster Golf http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Plainview-Baseball-Re-builds/-JhjgCiEsk-tT_DxR66XFA.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/-JhjgCiEsk-tT_DxR66XFA.cspx RAINSVILLE, Ala. -- The tornadoes of April 27, 2011 affected every part of our lives, even athletics.

Plainview High School was no exception.  The Bears baseball field was torn apart.

Exactly one year later, on a re-built field, the team plays in a pivotal second round playoff series with Madison Academy.

“Iit's one of the biggest games I’ve played in probably in my life,” Plainview senior catcher Jon Hicks said.

The game will be played on Plainview’s home field.  Last year, the once untarnished green lawn was covered in rubble from the dugouts, press box and the school that were whisked away from the tornado.

“We've came a long way from a year ago when we had absolutely nothing,” Plainview senior Dusty Trotman said.  “It was a lot of hard work.  A lot of people come out and volunteer to rebuild the field.  They're the reason we get to play.”

This Friday night, Madison Academy will occupy the brand new visitor’s dugout.  Ironically, it was the Mustangs athletic program that helped get Plainview back on its feet after the storm.

“They've been real generous to our school,” Trotman said of Madison Academy.  “They gave us numerous donations and helped our athletic clubs out with giving us food.  I think last year they fed the football team.  They made several donations to our school to help us out.”

For the town of Rainsville, this game, played on this field, is just what they need to have comfort in the re-building process.  But a win, would be even sweeter.

“You see people Friday night come out and cheer and they enjoy it,” Trotman said.  “It gives them something to look forward throughout the week.  I think they are excited for what the future has for us.”
]]> burgerbytes Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:39:00 -0500 Plainview Baseball Re-builds http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-An-Actual-Video-Store/Au4P2gu3GU6UPfRZWW86Gg.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/Au4P2gu3GU6UPfRZWW86Gg.cspx HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Video rental stores have gone the way of the dinosaurs. But one local company is trying to make a come back.

“I just love movies, watching them and talking about them all the time,” Jason Hickson said.

That personal connection is why Huntsville Video Southside manager Hickson thinks a local video store can survive despite the national chains crumbling down.

“We put the customers first. If anyone needs any help, they can come talk to us instead of starring at a screen,” Hickson said.

“We are very knowledgeable about movies, new ones, old ones. Most of our clientele as you saw, we know most of them by name. It's a friendly little business.”

Employees of Huntsville Video Southside used to work at Hollywood Video that went out of business on South Parkway. It’s now a Verizon Wireless. Actually, a customer of Hollywood Video is the one who opened up Huntsville Video.

“The owner is a gentleman by the name of David Brown,” Hickson said. “He was actually a loyal customer at Hollywood Video.”

“When he found out that we were closing he thought it was such a travesty that we wouldn't have a video store to rent to that he decided to put his faith in us and open up this place.”

This place has been in business for about a year and Hickson thinks they will last much longer.

“People do still like to come rent videos at a video place because it gives them a lot more variety than Redbox has,” He added. “You go up to Redbox and they don't have a lot of variety. You have to wait in line, they don't put a lot of movies in their boxes.”
]]> burgerbytes Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:59:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: An Actual Video Store http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Country-Lane-Country-Boy/w9AWmkGB40-6xTgn0t--FA.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/w9AWmkGB40-6xTgn0t--FA.cspx ATHENS, Ala. -- Creative marketing helps business most of the time. One small town store is getting big boost from a big boy.

John Glenn is the general manager of the one-stop-shop Country Lane Discount.

“A one-of-a-kind place in Alabama,” Glenn said. “We're probably, I’ll even say, in the U.S.., I’ll go that far. Where else can you buy beanie weenies and roofing in one stop?”

That's not the only thing that stands out at country lane, but rather stands up 19 feet tall.

“We call him the C.L. Country Boy.”

Country Boy first arrived on the storre's front yard in 2003 when he was purchased from a mobile home place in Florence.

“He's a trademark for our truck drivers delivering,” Glenn said. “Always tell them come seven miles off I-65 and look for the country boy. There's where we're at.”

Country Boy is so popular with motorist that employees see people stop their car, get out and snap a picture with country boy.

“A few months after he first went up, we saw a family park alongside the road,” Glenn said. “We were wondering if they were broke down and if we should go help. Then they got out, stood behind the statue. Dad got out and took a picture. We thought isn't that amazing.”

The next time you get a picture with country boy, something might be a little different.

“We've actually thought about getting him a friend to put out,” Glenn added. “We haven't decided what that is. They can drop by the store and tell us what that is.”

For more information about Country Lane Discount, call (256) 216-5666.
]]> burgerbytes Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:50:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Country Lane Country Boy http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Pole-Dancing-Class/W2dLt-p-HU6y85U9qLZk8w.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/W2dLt-p-HU6y85U9qLZk8w.cspx HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- There's a new fitness studio in town that caters specifically to women.

Black Diamond Studio offers alternatives for those who want anything but the usual.

“Can my eight year old pole dance?” pole dance instructor Mia King said. “Don't really want to go down that road, just keep it to adults.”

Eighteen and older, that is the rule for the studio’s pole dancing classes.

King and Ashley Nelson brought the new fitness craze to the Tennessee Valley after vacationing in Atlanta.

“When we got back from vacation, we tried to find something like that here. We couldn't find anything,” King said. “We took it on like ‘Field of Dreams’, if you build it they will come. It might be easier to create a pole dancing studio where women can feel the same way we did.”

“We are in the south and everyone is kind of conservative,” Nelson added. “But the perception of it has been awesome.”

The ladies began "releasing their inner diva" on Huntsville six months ago. They say that an hour long class can burn up to 500 calories.

“We build upper body strength, lower body strength. We build it all,” Nelson said. “Once you jump on it, you won't want to get off.”

For more information, visit http://blackdiamondstudioshsv.com
]]> burgerbytes Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:05:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Pole Dancing Class http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Killen-Selected-For-DoDTeam/oQY3YqXYREOf8uZI9r7rog.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/oQY3YqXYREOf8uZI9r7rog.cspx FLORENCE, Ala. -- Raleigh Killen is the son of a Redstone helicopter pilot and a star on the football field for Rogers High School.

“He plays middle linebacker and he's in a military family so he has a lot of discipline,” football head coach Dan Beavers said.

That is what earned Killen the honor of being selected to the Military.com All Department of Defense or All-DoD team.

“It's a great honor,” Killen, a junior, said. “It's 24 kids across the whole world, several in Germany and several across the U.S. that they selected these people from.”

Mlitary.com sought nominations late last year from military family members.

“(The honor) is picked by NFL players,” Beavers, who is in his 11th year with Rogers, said. “You had to submit video, so there just not going through people's stats. They're actually looking how kids play and perform. It's a big honor for him.”

In Killen's case, the DoD award could easily be the department of “defense”. This season, he led the team with 180 tackles and eight sacks.

“Raleigh actually has a chance to break the state record in tackles next year if he can have another good year,” Beavers added. “He's been a starter since he was in the ninth grade.”

Killen’s father, Lt. Col. Brad Killen, played a big part in Rogers football history. He was on the first team, in 1986, to win a playoff game. From that, his son understands the power of a team.

“I'd like to thank our coaches and just the team,” Killen said. “It's a team award that reflects back on us and the season we had this year.”

This year Rogers finished 11-3 and was knocked out in the Class 3A state semifinals by Madison Academy.

]]> burgerbytes Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:59:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Killen Selected For DoDTeam http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Plumb-Crazy-Jingle/ZpRcuNZvJkaaDuYOdCfBtA.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/ZpRcuNZvJkaaDuYOdCfBtA.cspx HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- There are several ways to market a company or business.

Plumb Crazy Contracting Services has found out that comedy is the way to go.

It’s a sixty second jingle of comedy gold.

“My role for the commercial I think is the best,” Steve Mills said. “I got to write it and put it all together. I took time out of my day and think of things that were just funny. “

The jingle refers to events that are considered “crazy”. For example, eating pineapple on a pizza, giving a rabbit Viagra, or letting your wife drive the boat.

“Usually when I look at a script, I can tell if its going to be something that's going to work,” producer Landon Grace added.

The commercial has been on the radio for five months, and it is drawing rave reviews. Take it from the voice of the jingle, Mike White.

“I get a lot of phone calls and the funny thing is it’s more of, man that's the funniest thing I ever heard,” White, also Plumb Crazy owner, said. “We don't actually have a problem right now but when we do, we'll call you and that's what we're looking for.”

The commercial is so off the wall, you'd think some of those stories can't be real. But, some are real life experiences.

These guys aren't done making you laugh, Plumb Crazy is about to record a second commercial.

“Yeah, it's been tough, ‘cause it's hard to get crazier,” Grace said. “That's what we're striving to do.”

]]> burgerbytes Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:59:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Plumb Crazy Jingle http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Reader-Goes-Ringside-for-Wrestlemania/UVL_dJvcFEmb8w1n-eG3Tw.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/UVL_dJvcFEmb8w1n-eG3Tw.cspx MENTONE, Ala. -- Pro wrestling held its big event, WWE Wrestlemania 28 recently.

One teenage girl from Mentone was lucky enough to score a pair of ringside seats because of her love of reading.

“I like Christian suspense novels,” Nicole Jones said. “My favorite author is Terry Blackstock.”

The 13-year-old Jones is an avid reader, aspiring singer/songwriter, and you may not see this coming...

“...and I love Wrestlemania so I had to take the challenge!”

Her favorite wrestler is John Cena. So when she saw a poster of Cena and "The Rock" at the Rainsville Public library it caught her eye. It turns out the poster was promoting a reading challenge.

“I had to read five books in one week, then write a paper to my favorite superstar about my favorite book and try to convince him to read it,” Jones said.

She claimed the prize as the south regional winner, which got her two free tickets.

Those seats were then upgraded to ringside when she won the grand prize for answering the most trivia questions about the book, “After Tupac and D Foster”, her age group's required reading.

Winning the trophy, not a belt, as Wrestlemania 28’s Reading Challenge Junior World Champion got her exclusive backstage access.

“It was pretty awesome,” she said. “A couple of them on TV, their characters are kind of bad guy thing. It was really cool when I met them cause they were really cool and nice and telling us about their life.”
]]> burgerbytes Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:07:00 -0500 http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Chicken-Wing-Eating-Contest/7mpyaWpXFEexvwCAqRPkqQ.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/7mpyaWpXFEexvwCAqRPkqQ.cspx MOULTON, Ala. -- The Alabama Chicken and Egg Festival is right around the corner.

One of the more popular events of the weekend is the WAAY 31 chicken wing eating contest.

“Just try to grab them, eat pull it off put it down,” contest emcee Walter “Bird” Young said. “Eat pull it off put it down, keep going.”

Young and Greg Dutton know what it takes to quickly leave a chicken wing bare boned. They don't compete, but they will have emceed the event all eight years.

In fact, Dutton’s son won the contest five times.

“He took after his mother,” Dutton said jokingly.

“The key is to make sure you take your time and get all the meat off the bone,” Young said. “A lot of times people try to eat real fast and don't get enough meat off and we don't count those.”

John's BBQ in Moulton has the honor of supplying the chicken wings.

“Preparing these wings for the competition, I prepare four-to-five hundred in order to have enough wings for 15 competitors,” restaurant owner Stacey Cross said.

In three minutes, it takes about 25 to 30 wings to with this competition. But, there is a strategy that will help you win eating the double bone or drummy.

“If you get the double bone wing, you take the big end of it, pushing it down,” Dutton described. “It sets the meat free. Pull it off and you have a good clean wing that won't get thrown out.”

“The drummy is probably easier than the double wing,” Young said. “All you got to do is put it in your mouth, and pull it clean!”

Now you know how it's done, so anyone can win.

“We've had folks, Kyle, from Hamilton, Haleyville, Tennessee, Mississippi,” Dutton said. “You get motorcycle riders that come in. You may have a 300 pound guy there that loses to 16 year old 80 pound girl.”

The Alabama Chicken and Egg festival is April 13-15.
]]> burgerbytes Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:05:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Chicken Wing Eating Contest http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Boaz-Puppets/i2g8U0y02EaU3Qjy4OaAaA.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/i2g8U0y02EaU3Qjy4OaAaA.cspx BOAZ, Ala. -- The Boaz High School drama class has lots of new toys to play with. But it’s the message behind the toys they want to have the greatest impact.

“There are a lot of different messages you can give a puppet,” senior drama student Kahilil Oliver said. “You can give a serious one, mostly a funny one, as long as it gets across to viewers.”

Thanks to a donation of 29 professional puppets from Mary Alice Ufford, who is a friend of the school's drama teacher Jeff Davis, the class looks to use these colorful personalities for a good purpose.

“We would like to use them and relate different ideas to the younger students within the school system,” Davis said. “We can address subject matters such as bullying, staying in school, doing your best.

“If you had a lecturer come talk to them, I think they would listen to the puppets more than a person.”

Davis plans on getting a number of classes involved using the puppets; whether it's designing costumes, scenery or props.

It's all used to tackle sensitive issues younger kids or even the puppet masters may face.

“A lot of times, when you’re on stage physically, you might get stage fright,” Davis said. “But I think a lot of times with the puppet, you have a different character that comes out of you and gives that puppet a characteristic that is reflective of something inside yourself.”

For more information on the Boaz drama class visit their Facebook page.
]]> burgerbytes Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:10:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Boaz Puppets http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Global-Special-Effects/jnWO4acbBEWF14GJbK0c5Q.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/jnWO4acbBEWF14GJbK0c5Q.cspx LEXINGTON, Ala. -- Temperatures might be rising outside the Global Special Effects warehouse, but inside it's a winter wonderland.

“Our claim to fame is our evaporative snow products,” president Francisco Guerra said. “We can make it look like it's snowing, but it evaporates in seconds.”

The small business has been tucked away in the small town of Lexington for ten years.

“For the last 20 years [the company] has been providing all the theme parks in the world with special effects to create their illusionary snow for the rides,” Guerra said.

They also do snow for major motion pictures, while providing it for 23 countries. The "faux snow" is made of 99% evaporated water and one percent surfactant.

“It's 100% non-toxic, non-allergenic, you can even eat it,” Guerra added.

Besides snow, the company has a line of products. One of which is “Flogos”, which creates clouds in the shapes of logos.

Their latest product is the “Amazing Snowman”. It’s a snowman that blows handfuls of evaporative snow through his mittened hands and up into the surrounding air.

You can actually help get it on the shelf at Wal-Mart, by going onto www.getontheshelf.com and voting for the Amazing Snowman.

The first round of online voting goes through April 3rd.
]]> burgerbytes Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:59:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Global Special Effects http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/burgerbytes/story/Burger-Bytes-Tecmo-Bowl-T-Shirts/Km0MM221VEebMh53dJDJTw.cspx?rss=3061 http://www.waaytv.com/s/Km0MM221VEebMh53dJDJTw.cspx HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Combining classic video games with trendy new fashion has created a fad sweeping through the Tennessee Valley.

Tecmo Bowl for the Nintendo was the most realistic sports game of its time.

“It’s probably the best sport game ever invented,” Status store owner Cole Cubelic said.

Nowadays video systems entice viewers with life-like graphics, but when Tecmo Bowl was released in 1989 it had blotchy 8-bit graphics.

“It was the first game, before the Player's Association, they didn't have the actual team logos, but they do have players names,” Cubelic added.

Twenty-three years later, fans of the game can wear the legacy on their shirt.

“A lot of people coming back, that either played the game, like I did and just think it’s really cool,” Cubelic said. “We take that and implement some of the new guys in there; then you have young people who see old school graphics and it’s sort of vintage.”

We've all seen Cam Newton become a larger than life star on the field; just imagine how Cam would dominate Tecmo Bowl if he was an 8-bit character.

“We do have different ones, college, Notre Dame, Ohio State, we want to get a few SEC schools before the fall,” Cubelic said. “We have Ray Lewis I run Baltimore, Warren Moon, Cam Newton, Bo Jackson of course, he's the best player in the game.”

Also available is Tom Brady, Emmett Smith, Tim Tebow (now a Denver collector’s item) and various football team helmet logos.

The shirts are on sale at the new men's clothing store, Status located at 617-C Meridian St. For more information call 256-585-2232.

]]> burgerbytes Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:56:00 -0500 Burger Bytes: Tecmo Bowl T-Shirts