Saturday, June 15, 2013

Time To Skate On

From a very young age, roller skating has been a passion of mine.  I remember lacing up my white, leather skates on the slate steps of my parent's house and rolling down our driveway to the bumpy, gravel street.  My whole body vibrated from the wheels rolling over the uneven pavement.  I remember wishing that the town would decide to one day pave our street with smooth black tar. Nonetheless I skated on, body shaking.  The best days though were when my mother took me to the roller rink.  She skated along side me in her 1940s wooden-wheeled quads.  She was so good at it and I practiced everyday to try and measure up.  

Fast forward to October of 2007, when I made my way over to United Skates and tried out for the Long Island Roller Rebels.  I had no idea at the time, but life as I knew it was about to change!  As it does for so many members from the start, derby consumed me!  It was all I ever wanted to do.  I slept, ate and drank derby pretty much on a daily basis.  For me it served a great purpose.  I was single at the time so it helped fill up my spare time that might otherwise have been spent alone.  It also satisfied my insatiable need to exercise rigorously and the distraction of it all helped me through rough times.  Best of all though, I met some of the most amazing people who will always be a part of my life.  

In 2008, I created The Rebel Yell.  Initially I started blogging to help promote the league and to help spread news about roller derby in general.  The blog ended up serving another purpose.  It became a place where I got to share my own stories as well, and boy did I love to talk!  I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to record and share my experiences with others.

After, five years of writing The Rebel Yell, I've decided that it's time to say goodbye.  My current schedule doesn't leave me with much time to spare and as a result my involvement with the league at this point is minimal if at all.  That's not to say that it won't some day become more so, but for now, it is.  Without experiencing roller derby or being involved with the league, it's harder to bring you news or to write posts with much substance.  

I am so thankful to everyone who has read even one of my posts!  I hope that I was able to at the very least, keep you all informed about the Roller Rebels.

As a goodbye, I thought I would share my 25 Random Facts with you.  I hope you enjoy reading them!


My 25

1- My birth name is Kris, but those closest to me call me Krissy.  I like being called Etta best of all!

2- I am 13 years older than my husband.




3- I got my first and (currently) only tattoo at age 41 while wearing my roller skates.



4- My husband and I were filmed to be on the television show NY Ink, but sadly our episode never aired.

5- I have two sisters and one brother, all older than I am.

6- I was once on a commercial for David Letterman.




7- I have been buying and collecting (and now selling) vintage clothing and housewares since about 1982.



8- Running is one of my favorite pastimes and I'm not quite myself when I don't do it.

9- My grandparents on my mother's and father's side all come from the same small town in Sicily.


10- I studied tap, jazz and ballet for nine years. 


That's me third from the right


11- I have unusually small feet and have to buy a lot of shoes in children's sizes.



12- I have been hand-crafting note cards since 2000 and sell them in boutiques both in and out of state.



13-  In addition to dreaming of becoming a magician and joining the circus, I've always wanted to be a pin-up model.  I am thankful to have had the opportunity to model for a few shoots.




14- I don't feel fully dressed until I put red lipstick on.




15- I love to travel and have been to many places including:  Italy, Jamaica, Aruba, Dominican Republic, St. Martin, Bahamas & Hawaii - just to name a few.


A photo I took in Maui

16- I have been keeping journals since the age of 12 and have a suitcase full.



17- I'm pretty certain that seeing the movie Grease as a child had a strong influence on my fashion and beauty choices.




18- I have been a pescatarian for 15 years, but I crave hamburgers all the time.



19- My first job was a page at a library where I restocked books after they were read.

20- In 2005 I ran a half marathon in the pouring rain and raised over $500 which I donated to NAMI.



21- I am a pizza snob and can usually tell if a slice will taste good just by looking at it.



22- I became an aunt at 7 years old.  My (first) niece and I are more like sisters.


Danielle & I then and now

23- My derby number is 1955.  I chose it because it represents my favorite era (the 1950s) and the year my parents got married.




24- I am extremely close with both my and my husband's family and feel lucky every day because of it!

25- Joining the Long Island Roller Rebels was one of the best choices I have ever made in my lifetime!


xo
Etta Jams
Forever a Long Island Roller Rebel


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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Triple Threat

Join us this Friday for beer pong, karaoke and dancing!  All proceeds help support the league.



Monday, May 20, 2013

May 11th Bout Recap


On May 11th The Long Island Roller Rebels (93) hosted The Rhode Island Riveters (91). Last year Long Island traveled up to Providence and proved to be the biggest upset of the weekend, by winning, 148-120. This season Long Island’s All Stars have had two losses and were looking for a win. The first jam did not fair well for the All Stars as ATTACKACARDIC was sent to the box for a cut track major, giving the Riveters a power play early on in the bout.  For the next 3 consecutive jams the Riveters would be held scoreless. In jam 4 Rhode Island’s Hit and Run Paulene was able to take advantage of ATTACKACARDIC’s penalty and score 23 points for her team, taking the lead back to Rhode Island 34 to 17. Long Island’s jammers, Crashtastic Cate, Veloce Villain, Attacacardic and C-Roll chipped away at the score throughout the rest of the period. In the last jam of the first period, ATTACKACARDIC took the line gaining lead jammer as her blockers Veloce Villain, Angry Penguin, Berry Boom Boom and Amaretto Sourpuss were able to hold back Rhode Island keeping them scoreless as she would put up 25 points pushing Long Island further in the lead, ending the period 88 to 55 in favor of Long Island.



 Attackacardic jumping the apex scoring 4 points before calling the jam

In the second half of the bout, Long Island kept the momentum rolling as MVP Blocker Breakneck Brie would hold tight walls with teammates Amaretto Sourpuss, Berry Boom Boom and team Captain Angry Penguin. By the sixth jam of the half, Veloce Villain would take advantage of Buzz AllDread’s back block major and break a personal record with a 32 point jam!!! This pushed Long Island even further into the lead 129 to 67! Long Island kept a very strong lead until jam 16 when Buzz AllDread would score 15pts on a power jam. It looked like Rhode Island would start to rally, but the score was still in favor of Long Island 148 to 100. In the next two jams, LI jammers, Crashtastic Cate and Veloce Villain felt the heat and would push on with a combined 33 point total, distancing themselves in the lead 184 to 108. The last jam of the night C-Roll and Buzz AllDread took the jammer line. Buzz would gain lead jammer status and gain 9 points before getting a track cut major, leaving C Roll to put up 22 points for Long Island as her teammates cheered her on giving Long Island their first win of 2013!!

Final Long Island 214 Rhode Island 121



Jammer MVPs Long Island Attackacardic  Rhode Island Buzz AllDread
Blocker MVPs  Long Island Breakneck Brie  Rhode Island Jetta Von Diesel
Stats
Long Island’s Leading Scorers                   Rhode Island’s Leading Scorers
Veloce Villain 92 points (16 jams)                Hit and Run Paulene 49 points (13 jams)
Attackacardic 64 points (18 jams)                Buzz AllDread 28 points (13 jams)
C Roll 38 points (11 jams)                            Milla Lowlife 28 points (15 jams)
Crastastic Cate 20 points (9 jams)                                         Elsie YaLater 13 points (7 jams)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Sunday Funday

A home bout on a Sunday afternoon?  Yep, that's how we're doing it this weekend!  Dominion Derby Girls will be headed our way to battle it out against the All Stars and the entrance fee is just a $5 donation at the door!  

Location - Skate Safe America 

Doors open at 12, whistle blows at 12:30.

See you there!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Bout Highlights


Hello everyone!  In case you missed the May 11th home bout, here are some highlights from the night!

Announcers Cap Lox and Hardcory issued the Play by Play

FIRST HALF
Riverters were the first to put points on the board
Cindy Lou Screw #206 led the half with 4 penalties but also incurred a left knee semi injury that was addressed in the locker at halftime so she could play the second half
LIRR had 2 players with 2 penalties and the rest with less
SCORE AT THE HALF
LIRR ALLSTARS -88     Rhode Island Riverters- 55
SECOND HALF
Riveters Dark N Stormy #100proof  and Sun Scream #SPF9 opened aggressively and sent Allstar jammer Crash # 13 sliding across the whole OPR lane and into the bench area
Riveters Dark N Stormy #100proof lead her team with 5 penalties
LIRR had 2 players with 5 penalties as well #214 Sourpuss and # 3143 Thin Slice
C-roll had an Amazing power jam to end the night

FINAL SCORE
LIRR ALLSTARS -210     Rhode Island Riverters- 121

Monday, May 6, 2013

In Case You Missed It!

Well hello there!  It's been a while.  Were you all at the last bout?  If not, here's a recap for you:



On April 13th our Rock-A-Betty Bruisers hosted Ithaca’s Blue Stockings. Revelyn Sin was the first jammer to take the line for the Bruisers gaining lead jammer status however with Ithaca’s Felonious Fox right behind her, she strategically called off the jam just after scoring 2 points. By the fourth jam, things looked grim for our Bruisers as Ithaca took the lead, 19 to 3. In jam five Bruiser team captain, Dropkick Dolly, played some sweet offense by helping jammer Ermahgerd! to obtain 30 pts in one jam! Ermahgerd! forced a lead change back to the Bruisers with a score of 39 to 26. In jam 8 Bad A$$ Nat took the jammer line for the Bruisers and gained 3 points while Ithaca’s Bee Bee Gun gained 4 points leaving the score tied at 42. Ithaca would then pull ahead with two big jams from Felonious Fox & Valerie Valkyrie leaving the score in Ithaca’s favor 74 to 47. The Bruisers struggled for the remainder of the half leaving the score 120 to 60 in favor of Ithaca.



Starting the second half things were starting to look up for the Bruisers. Jammers Ermahgerd!, Revelyn Sin & PhDD racked up back to back points for Long Island catching up with a score of 76 to 132. Unfortunately, in jam 30 the Bruisers failed to field a jammer giving Ithaca an opportunity to score 15 unanswered points. During jams 11,12 and 13 the Bruisers began to rally keeping Ithaca scoreless. Jammer Bad A$$ Nat had a rally of her own putting up two big jams, but still the Bruiser’s fell short. Final Rock-A-Betty Bruisers 115 Ithaca’s Blue Stockings 190


             MVP Blocker Dropkick Dolly                    MVP Jammer Ermahgerd!                            
Stats
Bruisers Leading Scorers                                   Blue Stocking Leading Scorers
Ermahgerd!             49 points (10 jams)                Felonious Fox              55 points (10 jams)
Bad A$$ Nat             30 points (6 jams)              Sugar Blitz                  50 points (11 jams)
Revelyn Sin            25 points (15 jams)                Valerie Valkyrie            35 points (8 jams)


2013 Rock-A-Betty Bruisers
Left to right
Top Row: Captain Dropkick Dolly, Mgr Berry Boom Boom, PhDD, Ermahgerd!, Nolo Contender, Punk Sure, TNTeeny, Dolce Beata, Femme&M, Wushu Sugar, Mgr. Point N Shoot
Bottom Row: Mgr. Chest Blockwell, Nautical Vile, Bad A$$ Nat, Dandy Rough, Revelyn Sin, Account DeeRacula
Not pictured: Captain ArcHer Back, Gertie Bomb, Lil E. Von Schtupp & Neophyte Knight

Friday, April 5, 2013

TV Schedule Change

Hello!

It's been a while.  Hope you're all doing well!


As you may have read in a this post, the first of six episodes from September 1st's The Empire Skate Showdown-Return of The Jammer 2012 have been approved and are ready to air on T.V. !  

Due to a technical issue that ABC was having adding the closed captioning, the first episode of The Empire Skate Showdown has been moved to 4/7 with the 2nd episode to follow on 4/14. These episodes will air on ABC's Live Well Network at noon.


The Live Well Network is available on the following channels in the Tri-State Area: 

Over the air: 7.2, 7.3

Blue Ridge Cable TV (PA): 160,609

Cablevision: CT-117, 729; NJ- 108, 729; NY- 108, 729

Charter: CT-787

Comcast: CT- 238, 247, 265, 1030; NJ- 157, 159, 245, 246, 268, 790; NY- 246, 247

Hotwire Communications: NY- 406, 407

RCN: NY- 321, 618

Service Electric Cable TV: NJ- 91, 591

Time Warner: NJ/NY- 163, 687

Verizon FiOS: CT/NJ/NY- 467, 468

RCN: 321 - SD

RCN: 618 - HD