Radio games, Zodiac, and really big feet of clay

Since I can't drive without constantly changing the radio station, it's no surprise that I ran across 95.7 FM yesterday (3/1) broadcasting a countdown to a format change. They had a robotic voice doing a "T-minus 14 hours, 28 minutes" kind of thing, and having done some format flips before I knew right away what they were up to. So "Max FM" and the voice of Mr. Peterman is gone from Bay Area radio, and once we have all dried our tears we'll try to gather the pieces of our shattered lives. Today, you can hear "95.7 The Wolf" on that spot on the dial, which as you might guess, is a country format. They are kicking it off by playing 10,000 songs in a row without a commercial. After that they will play 10,000 commercials in a row without a song, or at least it will seem like it. It will be interesting to see if this version of a country station can survive here - undoubtedly the largest media market in the country where country stations are rare to extinct. I can't say I am a huge fan of what passes for country music these days, and prefer the old timey style, but at the same time I am sure I will tune in "The Wolf" (despite the mandatory stupid nickname - those nicknames seemed cool back in the 80s when the trend started but wouldn't it be brazen if some station just used their call letters for a change?) because everything else on commercial radio is far, far worse. I like a lot of the music on KFOG, but good God, I've heard all those songs eleventy-million times. At least the country station will play a few songs I haven't heard. Until they play them so often I am driven into some kind of psychosis.

Which brings us neatly to the Zodiac. Today is the opening of the new movie. I heard former Napa County Sheriff Ken Narlow on KNEW-AM yesterday, from LA where he is attending the premiere. It must be interesting to have an actor portray you in a movie - Narlow is played by Donal Logue - and I think the former sheriff has some kind of cameo in the film, too. The Napa Valley Register did a good piece on Ken and the Napa connections to the Zodiac case. Being a major scaredy-cat, I don't go for the spooky movies, but this one looks good. It's made by the director who made "Fight Club," which is a personal fave, and I haven't yet seen a movie with Jake Gyllenhaal (I had to look that up twice to spell it once) that wasn't worth the time. (Retraction: "Brokeback Mountain" was an exception to that statement.)

Lastly, I just hope all the haters are satisfied now that the sad news about Barry Bonds has come out. He is always the target of so much abuse, and now it turns out he has some kind of horrible disease. This was revealed in a new afterword added to the paperback release of the much talked about book Game of Shadows. Apparently Barry, who came into the Bigs wearing a size 10.5 shoe, is now wearing a size 13. His hat size has grown, too, even though he has less hair. Chest size has grown from 42 to 52, and unconfirmed reports tell us he showed up at spring training more than nine feet tall. This is clear (not cream) evidence that the poor guy has some kind of rare ailment - elephantiasis? Pedia-ginormity? Remember that Wallace and Gromit movie with the great big rabbit? Sounds like the same problem to me. Some of the haters want to blame the human growth hormone he is rumored to have taken, but that's just mean, casting aspersions on a guy who is suffering.

Play ball!