Feeling righteous

There's confidence and then there's CONFIDENCE. 

And few businesses have the swagger of Stone Brewing, whose most famous beer brand is "Arrogant Bastard Ale.

But the name of the beer is just the start. As any fan of Stone will tell you, the labels on their bottled beers are where the fun starts. For example, the back-of-the-bottle screed on Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale starts with an in-your-face blast: "We're brewers whose substantial mettle and idiomatic approach to brewing allows us to consistently create works of art ..." 

"'Yes, we damn well know our stuff here at Stone, and it would be irresponsible of us not to acknowledge how remarkable this heavenly creation of ours is. Thus the name we are compelled to give it -- Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale -- serves as a reminder of just how good we are, in both liquid and verbal form." 

Love it.  

Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale is a beast of a double IPA with  8.7% alcohol by volume. It's a big beer that leaves your taste buds swimming in thought. 

Back to the bottle. The three-paragraph story -- whose small type is hard to read after downing a 22 oz bottle -- ends with Stone's own twist on saying thanks: "You may now revel in your own self-righteousness as you see fit with this glorious example of ours. You are genuinely welcome, as it is our pleasure." 

Is it over the top? Yep. Borderline obnoxious? Yep. Memorable? Oh, yeah. 

And that's the key: Stand out from the crowd, surprise your customers and leave a pleasant memory. If you're confident in your product and brand, sometimes you just have to push the envelope and see where it takes you. Unfortunately, too many businesses forget that a quality product doesn't necessarily equal a quality brand. 

Interviewing Monsignor Braun on Californian Radio

I guest-hosted Californian Radio on Monday and had the pleasure to talk with Monsignor Michael Braun of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Bakersfield just a few hours after Pope Benedict's stunning decision to retire. 

Braun shared some sharp opinions about challenges facing the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict's legacy and what to expect in the papal selection process. 

In the last segment, I also touched on password hygiene in the wake of separate recent issues I've had this month with Chinese hackers and the theft of credit-card information. 

You can download or listen to the podcast here. 

Kern County Raceway looking good

A four-story tower that will feature luxury boxes overlooks grandstands that will seat more than 5,000 initially. I say initially because there's a lot of room for expansion.I ventured out to Kern County Raceway Park on Saturday to watch bits of a tire test and to check out the new speedway about 15 miles west of Bakersfield at Interstate 5 and Enos Lane. 

All I can say is "wow!" There's still a ton of work to be done before the official March opening but it was great to see and hear real race cars on track. You can see a lot more of the track in a related photo gallery. 

And here are two raw and low-fi videos of different late models testing Hoosier tires. Love the bark as drivers fight centrifigul force. 

Update on Monday, February 4, 2013 at 7:41 PM by Logan Molen

Mike Griffith, my compadre at The Bakersfield Californian, posted a nice video story on Saturday's tire testing, including interviews with drivers and some telling close-ups of tires hot off the cars. 

Quality livestreaming on the fly and on the cheap

My journalism degree is in both radio-TV and print but after graduation I quickly opted for the latter because I felt like I had a voice and personality better suited for newspapers. I still feel that way, but that didn't stop me from going out on a ledge and hosting a Bakersfield Californian experiment in live-streaming from Rabobank Arena on Sunday.

To mark the regular season home opener for the Bakersfield Condors, I hosted a series of live interviews with Condors management and fans, and Californian hockey beat writer Mike Griffith. We started streamling live via Ustream at 3:30 p.m. and wrapped up shortly before gametime at 5 p.m. 

The Californian has been doing a ton of live-streaming recently but this was our first webcast that involved a string of guests in a remote environment, expanded production techniques and a novice host. The three-camera set was part of a mobile "TV studio" that Louis Amestoy, The Californian's digital convergence editor, put together to enable us to produce TV-quality broadcasts from remote locations. And yes, the total package -- three HD videocameras, Mac laptop, lights, tripods, mikes, switching software, rolling cases and more -- cost less than $10,000. 

Click to read more ...

Talking Alan Tandy and Bill Lagattuta on 'Californian Radio'

On this episode of "Californian Radio," I talk with Californian reporter Antonie Boessenkool about her detailed profile of Bakersfield City Manager Alan Tandy. The profile was a great read and Antonie adds some great detail on why Tandy is such a fascinating subject. 

The show closes with a segment with former CBS News reporter turned artist Bill Lagattuta, who has a show opening at Metro Galleries this Friday.

You can also find an Mp3 version of this episode at bakersfield.com.