The FCKC War with ACI - Part Six: Getting Official Word from Mr. Barry Feil!

Monday Afternoon - 6/10/13:

I did a little bit of digging based on Mr. Fingaz having said that he had spoken with the Director of Celebrate Fairfax because I wanted to know if he had told the truth. Well, there are 3 Directors and they are all women so I assumed this male Director was imaginary. But, being the professional that I am… journalistic integrity, truth-seeker, etc. I called the main line and pressed whatever button connected me to Media and Communications. I got the voicemail of VP and Managing Director Meagan Butkus. I left Ms. Butkus a message regarding this incident and let her know I was fact checking for an article I was writing.

Tuesday Morning - 6/11/13:

I received a call back from none other than the CEO & President of Celebrate Fairfax, Mr. Barry Feil. This is the person with whom Fingaz spoke so it was actually appropriate he was the person to return my call. I essentially got the Final Word on this situation “straight from the horse’s mouth” as they say.

Feil basically told me the same thing, that they go by FCC guidelines and "If it's on the radio, it's Okay." I began to break down for him exactly what FCC guidelines are but the second he used the term "community standards" I knew he wasn't stupid and did already have some familiarity.

He also told me that he has a nine year old daughter who, at only seven years old, knew all the words to the song "Gives You Hell" by All American Rejects. He said he didn't like it but there was nothing he could really do about it... and he's right. I feel for Barry Feil and do not envy his position. He's basically caught between a rock and a hard place. He is in charge of putting on an event every year that has to be relevant knowing in essence it contributes to situations like kids learning songs packed with "light profanity" at young ages.

Like it or not folks, this is the day and age we live in. There are supreme court cases going on as we speak that can and will change what is allowed to be said on radio and TV. Thanks to Safe Harbor Laws and people like Howard Stern, there really isn't much you can't do on the air short of showing hardcore pornography or graphically depicting obscene sex acts on the radio. I don't envy parents with small children because no matter what those parents do it is frankly impossible to shield kids from this... and it's not like you can wash your kids' mouths out with soap anymore like our parents did when we cursed when we were kids (think A Christmas Story) without fear of Child Protective Services showing up at your door.

But, here is the gist... If "light profanity" is allowed to be sung in songs at Celebrate Fairfax  in the Fairfax County Karaoke Championship, then the Official Rules need to be updated to reflect that with the clarification that "If it's on the radio then it's Okay." As it stands, the Official Rules were not observed and the people who followed them, like me and the other "sore losers", did get shafted because we could have sang more relevant songs.

The good news is that Mr. Barry Feil understands that and has agreed to update the Official Rules next year for 2014 to reflect it. 

Well HOLY CRAP! Somebody in charge of something to do with this contest actually admitted some kind of fault and did not call me a sore loser for daring to broach this topic... AND is even going to take action that will make the contest a little more fair for the contestants going forward. While this was not exactly the resolution I had in mind, I am still happy with it.

I later found out during the conversation that he only returned my call because he thought I was a reporter. He thought he got duped for a second...

No Mr. Feil, while I did take several courses related to journalism at George Mason University and worked for the Times Community Newspapers for nearly 2 years, I am not now nor have I ever been a reporter. But, I also never claimed to be. All I said was “I’m writing an article and am attempting to do some fact checking." As you can see, that was true. For all you know it could’ve been an article for karaoke enthusiasts, which is also actually kind of true.

I did want to be a newspaper reporter several years ago. But, the specific courses for the concentration in Journalism conflicted with my full-time work schedule at the time and paying my rent in full on time was of higher priority to me than selecting this particular concentration. I decided to go with Public Relations instead because the courses were nearly identical and the potential income of PR executives is A LOT more than that of a reporter unless you are Brian Williams or Katie Couric.

However, I am a published author and current blog writer, which in its essence is tantamount to being a reporter. Blogs seem to be the beginning of all things newsworthy these days and reputable media sources circulate our posts through the PR newswires. If I put enough SEO’s in this post and somebody decides the content of any or all of it is “newsworthy” it is very likely this story could become the basis for other articles then published by what you would consider more reputable media outlets.

In the meantime, please note that our obscure little blog which has only existed for about 2 months, is read in, at last count, fifteen countries on four continents and gets anywhere from 100-200 clicks on an average day. However, my readership has quintupled since I began this FCKC War with ACI series of posts and continues to grow. The only people who know that are me and the watchdogs at Adsense who decided I have satisfied their readership requirements sufficiently enough to allow me to have paid advertising on my blog. 

Why am I telling you all this Mr. Feil? Because you gave me your word that you would update the rules for the FCKC next year to reflect what we discussed and I intend to hold you to that. I encourage my readers to do so as well. I would also suggest that you read The FCKC War with ACI Part 5: The Judges, The Judging, and the Outdated, Arbitrarily Non-Officially Changed Rules to see the other rules that should probably be updated while you are at.

Stay tuned for Part Seven - The Conclusion of the FCKC War with ACI....

And just in case you missed them:

• The FCKC War with ACI - Part One
• FCKC War Footnote - Miss Slik's Advice On Burning Bridges and BONUS THEME SONG!
• The FCKC War with ACI - Part Two: The Incident at The Fair Friday Night

• The FCKC War with ACI - Part Three: The Aftermath and Love to Glenn
• The FCKC War with ACI - Part 4: More Aftermath and F You to Some People
• The FCKC War with ACI Part 5: The Judges, The Judging, and the Outdated, Arbitrarily Non-Officially Changed Rules

WTF is Miss Slik's Guide to Gracefully Faking It Through Life ALL About Exactly?!?!

Now that the initial shock has worn off, I know you're DYING to find out.. Well then, let’s get down to some housekeeping for a sec. I’m all about bringing order to chaos… especially when that chaos is my own. So what am I going to do with this blog? The answer really is whatever the fuck I want. Before we go any further, be forewarned that I curse A LOT. Don’t lie, you know you do too. But if you have a problem with it then this probably isn’t the site for you. Just sayin. Moving on…

So this is a guide to life right? I’m a 29 year old single woman. If you are a single person in your late 20’s-early 30’s then you know exactly what that is like. All my friends are either married, married with kids, engaged, engaged with kids, or in serious relationships that are heading in that direction… OH WAIT! can't forget my bitter divorcee friends. But me, I'm all alone. It is Me, Myself, and I, Party of ONE. I’m the one at the singles table prowling the streets of the DC suburbs in search of my prince. I live in Fair Lakes which is a ridiculously expensive area so I’m ballin on a hardcore budget. How do I look so fabulous? By being one super thrifty MoFo! I will give you all my tips and tricks. I will also tell you how my ass both got to be and also how it has stayed a size 4 for the past 2 years because it wasn’t for a long time. Soooo most of my topics will center around things like dating, fashion and trends on a budget, fitness and diet tips, reviews of movies I’ve seen (not necessarily new ones since I’m not that cool), reviews on places I go to, reviews on products I try, stories of my random adventures, and various DIY projects because I get inspired to make things a lot.

Next, we’ll talk about dating. It sucks. I’ve been doing it since I was 15 and am convinced the only good things that can come from it are free food and drinks. It’s hard out there for a pimp and the reality is it is just getting harder the older I get. I’m on a dating website at the moment because the traditional way wasn’t really working out for me so I had to resort to finding dates on the internet. But whether it’s in a bar or online, I’m just not finding what I’m looking for. Somehow though, I remain eternally optimistic that I am not doomed to die alone. There has got to be somebody great out there. I’m just so tired of looking because this shit is freaking exhausting. It would be awesome if Mr. Right were to fall through my ceiling right now. God are you listening? Do you hear me? If you do then please send me a sign in 5-4-3-2-1-NOW…. And........ Nothing… If only it really were that simple. People I know you’re feelin me on this. Can I get a witness?

If I can be honest for a minute I will tell you my main motivation for starting this blog aside from having a little place all my own to dominate and air my every thought out, I WANT LOTS OF FREE SHIT!!! Yeah, I ain’t too proud to sell out so if you want to send me things to try out or send me to places or do things for me in exchange for some shameless promotions from me then please go right ahead and do that. When I say things and stuff the list includes, but is not limited too, beauty products, clothing, shoes, accessories, haircuts, manicures, pedicures, cool things for my apartment, tickets to events, recipes, food stuff, etc. If I like whatever it is then I will rep it like it’s my job because I truly believe in my heart that if something is good then EVERYBODY should know about it and use it. 

***For my readers-If you like my blog then please go to the very bottom of a post and look for the hyperlinks that say “SUBSCRIBE” and click on them. If you really like my blog then you should also hit those little hyperlinks that let you share it on various social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. This is pretty crucial according to the research I did when I started this blog because it is the only way I will get free stuff to talk about and more importantly, how TIME Magazine will pluck my little blog from obscurity and rank it amongst the others and then declare it officially as the BEST BLOG EVER!

Finally, I encourage you to comment on the stuff I write so please feel free to find the little "Comments" sections at the bottom of each entry and have at it. I want to know what you think, how you feel, hear stories of your own experiences, and even call me out if you believe I'm full of shit or disagree with me IN A NICE WAY. I ask that you please be respectful to me and my readers when commenting because nobody likes a douchebag. Thank you in advance. Also, if you feel like hollering at me directly I've created a special email just for ya'll. It is AskMissSlik@gmail.com.

OK, now that our proverbial house is clean we can proceed from the general to the specific… Stay tuned because there is LOTS more to come! I’ve got some way cool things to talk about!