Comments on: Casual Friday: Roller Derby Referee

By: sniper

sniper — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:52:46 +0000

nixon was one of my favorite refs at the ECE in philly this year. wicked awesome OPR and back pack ref.

communism doesn’t work. unless i say so.
sniper x • head nso • acdg

By: Game Show Hopeful « MY COOL JOB

Game Show Hopeful « MY COOL JOB — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:33:01 +0000

[...] Thursday I received a call from my good friend Rich Zaleski (aka Nixon Kutz, Roller Derby Referee) letting me know he had an extra ticket to attend a taping of the ABC game show “Who Wants To [...]

By: the Director

the Director — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:29:29 +0000

Very cool! I don’t have the advantage of being a “third-generation quad skater” so I’m learning to skate and to ref at the same time. It’s one of the best gigs ever.
Morristown, eh? I have a large friend who plays halftime shows there…

By: curlywurlygurly

curlywurlygurly — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:31:16 +0000

JENNIFER STEWART played the statue of liberty.

you know you love me now.

By: jimsmuse

jimsmuse — Tue, 13 May 2008 02:52:28 +0000

@ CWG: The answer about the eyepatch is “neither”. Rich Z (aka Nixon Kutz) did, in fact, suffer an injury many years ago which led to his wearing an eyepatch today, but it was completely unrelated to roller derby.

I am so used to Rich’s eyepatch after all these years that it didn’t occur to me until you asked the question that a one-eyed referee would be a very funny thing! I have just called Rich and asked him about it and he told me that:

a) He gets a lot of questions about whether it is an affectation or a fashion accessory;

b) He’s cool with the game announcer mentioning that he likes to “keep an eye out” for violations during roller derby matches; and

c) Yes, chicks dig it.

as for your P.S. I have a few things in the works and am just waiting for some additional emails…including one from a rock musician in Indonesia and one from the owner of a hot air balloon ride company. Will that do for now? As for the rest I’ll make a few inquiries for you!

my P.S. Years ago in NYC I got to hang out for an afternoon with the gal who was the “Statue of Liberty” in Joe vs. the Volcano and now it is killing me that I can’t remember her name!

By: curlywurlygurly

curlywurlygurly — Tue, 13 May 2008 02:14:57 +0000

one more thing…is the eyepatch for aesthetics or is it for an injury sustained on the rink?

ps. WE WANT MORE COOL JOBS, so get on it!!

here are some *unsolicited* suggestions:

1. caricature artist
2. bat boy for a MLB team
3. the lady that dresses up as the statue of liberty and stands on the street in new york
4. a roadie for a band

thanks, pal.

By: Khyri

Khyri — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:33:19 +0000

All I remember about the James Caan movie ‘Rollerball’ was that I went to see it with my cousin who was six months older than me, and she was far more into blood and gore than I was. I didn’t enjoy one second of it.

And that was in the UK, too! I see it was rated AA which is defined as “Suitable for those aged 14 and over”. Looking on IMDb, it was released on Sept 3, 1975 which was four days before my 14th birthday. I guess I just scraped in there…

By: jimsmuse

jimsmuse — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:35:13 +0000

@pannonica — You are so right! Duh, me! I must have taken too many hits to the head at the last roller derby match…

By: pannonica

pannonica — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:22:22 +0000

Psst. James Caan. Paul Newman was in Slapshot.

By: jimsmuse

jimsmuse — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:13:01 +0000

@twergi – Welcome! Be warned that if you are part of the team that was so completely entertaining on Rock of Love 2 you may end up here on My Cool Job yourself! I loved all of the pix that you linked here!

@Khyri – Of course not, dear! I found myself feeling sorry for Bret more often than not this past season. Where do they find such insane people?

@planetross — I know exactly what you mean. When I get around to writing about another of the cool jobs that I’ve had in the past, I will make you green with envy that it briefly involved Curly Neal actually balanced a spinning basketball on my finger!

@sengdroma – Welcome to you! Amazingly, roller derby is a ‘real sport’, although it is usually less violent than the movie Rollerball! And I do hope you saw the original version with Paul Newman — it was much better than the recent remake.