Althouse: Who stole Bucky's head?

September 8, 2010

Who stole Bucky's head?

It's worth $4,000 and it's important.

51 comments:

MadisonMan said...: It's interesting that the name of the mascot-wearer is not stated in the article.; 9/8/10, 9:10 AM
kjbe said...: There was a report in the State Journal, yesterday, that it was returned *unscathed*.

How does one even walk off with one and what would one do with a Bucky head, if you had it?; 9/8/10, 9:14 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: The student said he hosted a small party with friends Sunday night and the head was missing when he awoke the following morning.

I'm shocked, shocked that such a thing could occur after a party.; 9/8/10, 9:14 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: and what would one do with a Bucky head, if you had it?

Oh you silly girl. Use your imagination!

:-); 9/8/10, 9:15 AM
Irene said...: MadMan, I think the tradition is to keep the student-mascot's identity secret until after the Bucky stint ends.; 9/8/10, 9:19 AM
garage mahal said...: Oh you silly girl. Use your imagination!

I wonder if there is a tape?; 9/8/10, 9:22 AM
Fred4Pres said...: What could you do with Bucky's head?

Here is a suggestion.; 9/8/10, 9:23 AM
Scott M said...: How does one even walk off with one and what would one do with a Bucky head, if you had it?

Well, judging from my fraternity days, the more improbable the "liberation" the more enticing it was. As for what you would do with it? The more weird the object, the better it looks at a party.

Rational thought need not apply.; 9/8/10, 9:26 AM
Lincolntf said...: Some genius paid $4,000 for a "mascot head" at a public University? Nice priorities.; 9/8/10, 9:29 AM
Original Mike said...: and what would one do with a Bucky head, if you had it?

The question is: what would you do first?; 9/8/10, 9:33 AM
Opus One Media said...: This is no joke. When I taught at the Univ of Kentucky we had a stuffed "wildcat" that was in great demand by raiding students from other schools. I took it to my apartment for "safekeeping" during Tennessee week and my new cat tore a glass eye out of it.

More hot water than you can imagine.; 9/8/10, 9:36 AM
kjbe said...: I know, I get it, you guys. It's the story of the heist passed down for the ages. I've heard enough similar frat stories from my dad. I'm just too much of a scaredy cat to try a prank like that. It is actually very funny.; 9/8/10, 9:37 AM
Original Mike said...: Some genius paid $4,000 for a "mascot head" at a public University? Nice priorities.

I don't remeber the exact number, but there are several Buckys, in order to meet demand. And I assume they come out of the Athletic Department budget (i.e. not state funds).

Watched an interesting program awhile back on Being Bucky. The auditions were most amusing.; 9/8/10, 9:37 AM
Beta Rube said...: I smell a not-so golden gopher.; 9/8/10, 9:38 AM
Original Mike said...: Apparently, one of the things you do not do, if you're Bucky, is take your head off in public.

My aunt tells the story of being in the hockey team locker room with my neice, who was quite young at the time. Bucky was walking around without his head. My neice was startled "Momma, look! Bucky's a girl!"; 9/8/10, 9:43 AM
Trooper York said...: I have been wondering how they are going to handle Bucky in the new Captain America movie.

I mean a teenage side kick is well...so gay.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Batman.; 9/8/10, 9:47 AM
Scott M said...: Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Batman.

Who is the idiot on the production team that okay'd rubber nipples, anyway?; 9/8/10, 9:49 AM
lemondog said...: Bucky's head has a hangover.; 9/8/10, 9:54 AM
Trooper York said...: The most confused Bucky in the world of Captain America was of course Rick Jones. He started his career as the kid that Bruce Banner was trying to protect and led to him being exposed to gamma rays and becoming the Hulk. After he stopped hanging with the Hulk he briefly took on the role of Bucky until he couldn't take it anymore.

He then became black and started making hit records and banging Linda Blair.

You see he knew from the Super Freaky.; 9/8/10, 9:55 AM
Known Unknown said...: "Who is the idiot on the production team that okay'd rubber nipples, anyway?"

Joel Schumacher (director) is super gay.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, either.

(Schumacher, not Batman's nips); 9/8/10, 9:56 AM
lemondog said...: Will Bucky be looking for a new sidekick or....underling?; 9/8/10, 9:56 AM
Trooper York said...: Oh and he changed his name to Rick James.

I forgot to put that part in.

Every rock star should have a secret identity.; 9/8/10, 9:57 AM
Lincolntf said...: " And I assume they come out of the Athletic Department budget (i.e. not state funds)."

I hear that all the time from fans in regards to UMass, UConn, UNC, etc. It makes no sense when you consider that the million dollar salaries being paid to the coaches come directly from the general fund, as do the funds for the facilities, etc. The "athletic Dept. budget" at State schools is like the Social Security "lockbox", it exists mainly in the abstract.
On the subject of the mascot, though, don't they have a theater/arts dept. that could come up with an out-sized rodent head for less than 4 grand?; 9/8/10, 10:01 AM
Trooper York said...: I bet you didn't know that Garage Mahal's real name is Brett Michaels.; 9/8/10, 10:02 AM
Meade said...: Here's a clue (from Wikipedia):

American badgers will sometimes form a symbiotic relationship with coyotes...

And what is a coyote? That's right - a dog.

Now who was recently visiting Wisconsin?

Elementary.; 9/8/10, 10:04 AM
rhhardin said...: The Ipana beaver.; 9/8/10, 10:09 AM
Scott M said...: I bet you didn't know that Garage Mahal's real name is Brett Michaels.

"You have to admit. That answers a whoool lot of nagging questions." (Opus, circa 1989...roughly about the same time Bret Michaels was at the peak of his relevancy...which aint sayin' much); 9/8/10, 10:11 AM
Original Mike said...: It makes no sense when you consider that the million dollar salaries being paid to the coaches come directly from the general fund, as do the funds for the facilities, etc.

I don't think they do, at least at the UW, but I am not prepared to go to the mat over it.

The "athletic Dept. budget" at State schools is like the Social Security "lockbox", it exists mainly in the abstract.

Well, I understand money is fungible. The first thing I'd want to know is the relative size of public and private money in the Athletic Dept. budget. Unfortunately, I don't have time to do the research.; 9/8/10, 10:18 AM
The Dude said...: I thought this was about Buckminster Fuller's head, but since he is through using it, that it didn't matter. Kind of like HDHouse's head.

Honest to God, I cannot imagine anyone entrusting hdh with anything other than his own full Depends. Wildcats, cats, patents, off shoring his money, marinating in his own feculence - there is no limit to what that ass clown can accomplish, at least in his make believe world o' fantasy.

WV: leasto - reality is the leasto his concerns.; 9/8/10, 10:19 AM
KCFleming said...: Alas, poor Badger!
I knew him, Horatio.; 9/8/10, 10:21 AM
Triangle Man said...: @OriginalMike

I don't think they do, at least at the UW, but I am not prepared to go to the mat over it.

I didn't think so either, but I checked and they do. Coaches are paid from GPR funds, which are tax dollars.; 9/8/10, 10:22 AM
Original Mike said...: @Triangle Man

But I believe that for the coaches who make millions, the state share is a nominal amount and the lion's share comes from private sources. Now the fencing coach, yeah, all of it is state money.

At least that's the way I had it explained to me, and I've seen that same accounting first hand at the medical school. Most of the doctors salary's come from other than state funds, though they show up as a line item in the state budget.; 9/8/10, 10:31 AM
virgil xenophon said...: At first blush I mentally pictured the OSU Buckeye head on their mascot. And come to think of it, shouldn't "Bucky" be the nickname for that other OSU (Oregon State) mascot--the Beaver?; 9/8/10, 10:36 AM
MadisonMan said...: But I believe that for the coaches who make millions, the state share is a nominal amount and the lion's share comes from private sources. Now the fencing coach, yeah, all of it is state money.

That's how I understand it as well. Bret Bielema gets a salary from the state that's equivalent to any professor of PE's salary, and then private sources ladle on a gravy that is thick, steamy and satisfying.; 9/8/10, 10:47 AM
KCFleming said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/8/10, 10:49 AM
KCFleming said...: "Who stole Bucky's head?
It's worth $4,000 and it's important."

I can get Bucky an extra-wide porta-potty for less than half that.; 9/8/10, 10:50 AM
Triangle Man said...: @Original Mike

That could certainly be true. Bielema is making $400k from tax dollars. He may have other sources of income that are not in the redbook. Given the scope of what I assume the Athletics revenue is, however, I'm surprised he gets as much as he does from GPR.

A similar setup exists for academic physicians. They get a (small) percentage of pay from UW for research and teaching and a larger amount from their clinical practice.; 9/8/10, 10:51 AM
Triangle Man said...: @Original Mike

I have no idea how I missed your second paragraph, but we obviously agree there.; 9/8/10, 10:53 AM
Jim Hu said...: Coaches are paid from GPR funds, which are tax dollars.

I don't think that's right. Link? Google only got me to a 2001 budget analysis (pdf), which says:

"The GPR-funded general program operations appropriation for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics at UW-Madison was created by 1989 Act 31, when the Division was experiencing difficulty generating sufficient program revenue to fully fund the activities of the athletics department. The appropriation is primarily used to fund 10.5 GPR positions for assistant coaches for non-income sports. There are a total of 184.96 PR positions for UW-Madison athletics."

I believe the idea in 2001 was to reduce the GPR funding for athletics. Don't know what happened. Also, I don't know what is PR is.; 9/8/10, 10:53 AM
Calypso Facto said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/8/10, 11:07 AM
Calypso Facto said...: Re Virgil: ironrails would tell you that Oregon State's mascot should be nicknamed "Harry"

In fact he'd probably donate towards that renaming....; 9/8/10, 11:09 AM
MadisonMan said...: I'm surprised he gets as much as he does from GPR.

So am I. (I just looked him up in the Redbook too).

I will assume it's to ensure his state retirement is a hefty one. Are private renumerations included in state pension calculations? I'd be surprised if they were.; 9/8/10, 11:14 AM
traditionalguy said...: How is a head football coach's tenure track these days, Joe Paterno excepted?; 9/8/10, 11:19 AM
Trooper York said...: For a minute there I thought Lem couldn't take me busting his balls about poor Ted Williams head stuck to that can of tuna fish.

Because we all know Lem's Favorite Bucky!; 9/8/10, 11:52 AM
Triangle Man said...: @Jim Hu

Salary information is published in the "Redbook".

From the UWSA

"Redbook salary detail (Volumes 2, 3 and 4) can be accessed using any UW System computer at http://systemwide.uwsa.edu/budplan/. Print copies of the Redbooks are located in the main library at all UW System institutions and the central public libraries in Madison and Milwaukee. "; 9/8/10, 2:04 PM
David said...: Bring me the head of Bucky Badger!

And (metaphorically) Senator Feingold, while you are at it.; 9/8/10, 2:30 PM
jimspice said...: Jan Brewer located it in the AZ desert.; 9/8/10, 3:48 PM
Meade said...: The important thing is: the head was found.

On Wisconsin!; 9/8/10, 9:17 PM
Mr. Forward said...: "The important thing is: the head was found.

On Wisconsin!"
Hoosier Meade

Ah, that would be the Upper Peninsula.; 9/9/10, 5:02 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "The important thing is: the head was found. On Wisconsin!"

A good fit!; 9/9/10, 7:52 AM
Meade said...: Mr. Forward said...
"Ah, that would be the Upper Peninsula."

"The Upper Pennisula! WTF? Did we lose a war or something?"; 9/9/10, 8:00 AM