The Great Blue II Twitter Calendar Give-Away

As many of you know, I’m pretty big on the Twitter. In fact, I’m so hip on the relatively new social medium it almost killed this blog!

Twitter has been a great way for me to report on what I’m doing, in real-time, in addition to maintaining a dialogue with fans, followers, and fellow Butler Bulldogs.

I’d like to think I’m the best canine in 140-characters or less. The twitter-sphere is my new domain! Plus, keep in mind that my Twitter efforts won me a gold medal!

So if I’m going to continue to tweet-it-up I’d like to have more followers with which to share my experience. That said, I’d like to thank the 1,116 Twitter followers that I have as of 9 a.m., Monday, March 08, 2010. You are great fans and I certainly appreciate your support!

BUT, I want more! So I’m taking a page out of the “How to do PR” manual written by my friends at Vision Racing (@VisionRacing) and I’m starting my own Twitter contest in order to acquire more followers. Winners drawn from the eligible ballots will receive a free 2010 Butler Blue II Calendar (nine solid months still worth using!).



I’m going to select a winner for every 50 new followers that I receive. So I’ll do a drawing at 1,150, another at 1,200, again at 1,250; so forth and so on.

Whether you’re a current follower or a new follower, you ALL can be a winner. To be entered in the contest, you must be following me at @ButlerBlue2 (so I can DM you) AND mention @ButlerBlue2.

Do this and a ballot will be entered in your name to win a 2010 calendar featuring yours truly!



Want to increase your chances by earning a second ballot? Simply add a link in your tweet directed to either my blog (http://www.butlerblue2.blogspot.com/) , one of my YouTube videos (www.youtube.com/butlerblue2) , one of my Flickr photos (www.flickr.com/photos/butlerblue2), something on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/butlerblue2) or mention Butler University (@ButlerU).

And tell the “tweeple” about me if you think that I’m worth the follow.

Best of luck to all and remember, ALL entries are eligible for each and every drawing. So you should have quite a few chances at winning.

Again, thank you for your support and Go Dawgs!

Blue II

Extreme Makeover: Blue II Edition

Just a quick post today to show off a little video that my good buddies at CMC Media Group put together of myself and P.I.C., Hink, at the ABC Extreme Makeover Home Edition video shoot held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday.

Many thanks to the kind fellas at CMC Media Group for doing this! You guys are good in my book!

Anyway, the video is below. I think it will give you a bit of a glimpse of the atmosphere on Wednesday night in Hinkle, and set the scene a little bit better than my poor story telling and weak photography. Enjoy...



A quick mention of congratulations to Butler men's head basketball coach, Brad Stevens, who was deservedly awarded a contract extension this week. He's scheduled to be at Butler now until 2014-15. In his first two years as head coach of the Bulldogs, he boasts an impressive 56-10 record. To put that into perspective, only North Carolina's Bill Guthridge (58-14 from 1997-99), had more victories in his first two years. (The credit to David Woods of The Indianapolis Star for that stat.)

This weekend is the opening weekend of the IndyCar Series 2009 season with a race in St. Petersburg, Fla. Why does that concern me? Well, my dad is there for one, but also because fellow Bulldog and 2003 Butler grad Ed Carpenter will once again be in the field behind the wheel of the No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing machine. Check him out on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (ET) on VERSUS!

As for me this weekend, I'll be heading back up to Wabash, Ind. with my mom to visit the grandparents. I'm seeing a four-wheeler or tractor ride in my future!

I hope you enjoy the spring weekend as well!

Blue II

Birthday Boy, Blue II

Happy birthday to me! That’s right, today, March 27, is the big day and this year happens to mark the fifth year of me roaming this earth. Unfortunately, that also means that I’ve hit the age of 35 (5X7), by this date next year I’ll be 42, and I’ve officially reached middle age as the English Bulldog’s lifespan is just 8-10 years.

Ah well, such is life. I’m just going to enjoy it one day at a time, which is really like seven days for me. Oh, it’s so depressing. I must think happy thoughts, which isn’t hard to do on a day like this when I got to go to campus and all my friends (read: students, faculty and staff) threw parties for me!

Yep, it’s been a busy birthday for me. Paying no attention to my birthday wish to sleep-in, my dad got me up early so he could work out at the HRC (rec center) before work. It’s beats staying at home, but seriously, let a lazy dog sleep!

Once we got in to work, we had just enough time to get settled in before heading over to an early registration event for incoming freshman and their parents. My role at that event is to greet people and pose for pictures. Since my dad got me up so early, there weren’t too many pictures that I had my eyes open for, nor was I standing in too many of them. Sorry about that.

After that I inhaled the breakfast that I neglected to eat to start the day and got a visit from my friend and colleague Linda Cooley who brought me four new toys and some delicious gourmet doggy treats in honor of my big day! Thanks Linda! Here’s a video of me receiving the gifts that Linda brought me…

I didn’t get too much time to play with my new toys as I had to head over to Atherton Student Union for my very own birthday party! The kind students with the Butler University Student Foundation (BUSF) hold a party in my honor each year and it’s fantastic. The entire campus community is invited and many of them stop by for a free cookie or cupcake, soda, the opportunity to get a picture with me and a chance to sign my birthday card. It’s so cool!

My friend Dave Furst, Sports Director at WRTV-6, the ABC affiliate in town, made sure a news camera was on hand to record the event as well so look for it on RTV-6 news this evening! Thanks Dave!

Lots of students came, I took countless pictures, salivated over cupcakes that I couldn’t have, and just had more fun than should be allowed for a bulldog. Thank you BUSF and Butler for the great party! Needless to say, I’m one tired pooch…

That’s what you get when you’re a celebrity, I suppose. To finish out the day, I think I’ll nap some more and my dad says that we’ve got to make a stop over at the Vision Racing shop too. Fine by me, I love field trips! I also particularly like to visit my buddies at Vision Racing.

Hey, be sure to check out my YouTube channel, “BlueTube” for more great videos. I have lots of four-legged visitors this month (Bella the Beagle, Pepper, Xena and Xander) and a lot of our escapades are captured on film and featured on www.YouTube.com/ButlerBlue2, so check it out.
Thanks to everyone for the well wishes, presents, prizes, treats, pats on the head, and love on my special day! I’m not just the luckiest mascot in the world, but the luckiest dog as well. Thank you!

…and many more!

Blue II

March is My Month!

Why is March my month? Well, it's my birth month and if that's not good enough for you, then because Butler University says so!

According to today's Butler University "NewsFlash," our e-newsletter for alumni and friends, the Butler University Student Foundation (BUSF) will be helping me celebrate my fifth birthday on March 27th .

To view the newsletter, follow this link: http://editor.ne16.com/he/vo.aspx?FileID=917d9802-76dd-451e-9931-4c2709cc03d7&MemberID=286244402&MailID=8626727

In addition to a student, faculty and staff campus birthday party on my big day, they are also allowing everyone to celebrate my "born-on date." BUSF is supplying a special Blue II coloring card with wich you can send me your special birthday wishes. So have at it and let me know what you think!

In other news, the Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team closed out February as the regular season Horizon League Champions as they defeated Cleveland State at Hinkle Fieldhouse on IndyCar Series Day.

That means Butler gets to host the Horizon League post-season tournament and I get to go to more home basketball games! So I'm excited about that! Not bad for being picked fifth in the League to start the season! Go Dawgs!

Since yesterday was IndyCar Series Day at Butler, I got to hang out with IndyCar drivers Ed Carpenter (2003 Butler grad) and Sarah Fisher (pictured/former Butler student).

Ed and Sarah signed autographs, presented special Butler branded IndyCar race helmets to Butler athletic director Barry Collier and Hink, as well as raced tricycles. Yes, they are so desperate to race something this off-season, they went head to head on trikes. Here's some footage of that...



IndyCar Day also gave me an opportunity to pose next to Ed Carpenter's No. 20 Menards Dallara/Honda/Firestone machine, operated by Vision Racing.

It's a nice looking car, but I'm not sure where the family dog is supposed to ride.

In like a lion, out like a lamb,

Blue II

My First Trip to Tennessee

For maybe just the third or fourth time in my life, I got to leave the state of Indiana last weekend! I’ve been to Ohio a couple of times to visit family and friends, but that’s it, until this past weekend when my parents took me down to Tennessee!

Unfortunately, we didn’t get over to Knoxville, Tenn. so that I could call on Smokey, but we did make it all the way down to Nashville/Nolensville, Tenn. to stay with my good friend, Reese (Peanut Butter Cup) the miniature daschund and her parents Jason and Betsy Weatherly.

It was also the first time that I got to go along with my parents for a race weekend as my dad was going there with Vision Racing to work the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.
I didn’t end up getting to go to the track with him, but I probably could have. I had my credential (Its true. See picture below) and Ed Carpenter (2003 Butler grad) had his motor coach there with the A/C running. It could have worked!

Instead I stayed back at the Weatherly residence and tired myself out playing with Reese. Her and I are like a regular “Milo and Otis,” so to speak. I enjoy stealing her toys, she enjoys stealing my food and we both like to chase each other around the furniture as displayed in the video below. Ahh, good times.

It was a good weekend and fun for me to get away with my parents for once. I had such a good time and wore myself out so much that I slept the entire way home.

Yep, for the 5+ hour ride home, instead of sleeping on the back seat, I laid down on the floorboard in the back and sawed logs all the way home. I only got up once when we stopped for a quick potty break.

Other than that the past couple of weeks have been fairly uneventful. I’ve just passed the time by taking naps and tearing up my toys around the office. Below is a picture and evidence of the destruction. The victim in those pictures was an alligator of mine, which has actually been in my stash of office toys for probably two years. I finally decided it was time to cause havoc on the poor gator. I was particularly proud of myself that day.

On Wednesday morning I had to go visit the vet b/c my mom found a chipped tooth underneath all my defining flabs and wrinkles. My parents are kind of sensitive about my teeth because well, I don’t have that many, and because one time I broke a molar in half and had to have it removed before it caused infection. What can I say, I’m a British bulldog…I naturally have bad teeth.

Anyway, a tip of one of my fangs has been chipped and the tooth is starting to die (don’t worry, you can’t see it…my flab covers it). Dr. Kurt Phillips (a Butler grad) at Woodland Animal Hospital in Carmel, Ind. said that it looked fine and as long as it wasn’t causing me any pain, then my health was not in jeopardy. He said a doggy dentist would want to do a root canal and cap it, which he said at this stage was excessive.

I was happy to oblige with the no-treatment route and be on my merry way. (In the picture it might be hard to tell that my fang is chipped, but you can start to see the discoloration caused by the slow death of the tooth.)


Speaking of the vet, I think I may have failed to mention that I was there a while back for my annual check-up…shots/vaccinations, ears, eyes, etc. I weighed 62 lbs. and received a clean bill of health. I also got a new jangle to my jingle with my updated rabies vacc. tag (pictured).

This weekend my parents are headed off to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for another race and a bit of camping. I love to camp and you’d think that this would be one of the races that I’d get to go to as it’s probably the most conducive venue on the circuit to having dogs around. But, the owners of the place must not like dogs or something because pets aren’t allowed at Mid-Ohio.

So, that means I’ll be headed north again (read: Wabash, Ind.) to spend some time with both the Kaltenmark and Richards grandparents. I’m so lucky to have such a loving place to go. I’m looking forward to the attention, sleeping-in and special treats!

To get ready I spent a lot of quality time with my parents last night. I got a bath and was thoroughly furminated. Then we went outside on the back deck where we all got on the swing and enjoyed listening to the locusts and just hanging out.

Today I have another piano camp photo-op and that’s about it. So I’ll probably just nap, eat, bark at inanimate objects, shred some toys or boxes, sleep some more and just hang out. It’s hard being me. Luckily I’m up for the task.


I hope your summer is going as well as mine is. The weatherman says that it’s only supposed to warm up over the next few days so crank up that A/C, keep cool and apply sunscreen liberally.

Blue II

Checking in with the Parents

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am spending the weekend with my Grandma and Grandpa Kaltenmark in Wabash, Ind. You see, my parents get into this Indy 500 thing...in addition to working at Butler University, my dad also works on a part-time basis for Vision Racing, so he's really busy on race day and my mom, well, she's busy tailgating and watching the race, so that kind of leaves me out. That's okay, grandma and grandpa have come to my rescue once again.

I skipped town with the grandparents on Friday so I decided to check in yesterday and send my parents an email to let them know what I had been up to while in Wabash. My grandpa helped me get the message below all typed up and sent...


Dear Mom & Dad,

I just want you to know that things are fine here at Grandma’s house. These old folks don’t play with me as much as I would like, but they try to make me happy from time to time. I am not confined to the living room, but I spend most of my time there.

Grandpa took me to the hardware store this morning so I could meet Chris Kramer’s (Purdue University) grandpa. People there were really impressed with me. One lady walked in and said, “That’s the dog I see on TV all the time.” She called me a movie star. A teenaged girl who works there said I was so ugly that I was cute. I don’t know where she got the ugly part.

Grandma & Papa went to some senior open houses this afternoon. One of his football players asked Papa if he had baby-sat for me recently. Papa said that I was at his house at that very moment. I wonder if some of those football guys will come see me later. I liked going to their practices with grandpa back in the fall.

I have a new trick I like to pull on Grandpa. I acted like I need to go potty. When we get outside I head straight for his car. Grandma thinks I’m homesick and miss my Mommy.

By the way my barking gets an immediate response from people around here. It is easy to get their attention and get what ever I want.

Hope you’re enjoying your time at the track. I’ll be watching the race tomorrow in hopes I can see you.

I’ll be home Monday morning.

Love,

Blue

So as you can see, staying with the grandparents is definitely all it's cracked up to be...treats, attention, car rides and getting really spoiled. It's a nice break from the normal routine.

I hope you will join me in watching the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 today. It airs live on ABC at 1 p.m. (ET) and it should be a great show. Remember to cheer on our driver, Ed Carpenter, driver of the No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing car...it's bright yellow and easy to spot. He'll start 10th in his 5th Indy 500. Ed is a 2003 Butler grad and a good friend. Go Bulldog (Ed)!

Ladies and Gentlemen, START YOUR ENGINES!

Blue II

Remembering my First Day on the Job

So today is a special day...May 20, 2004 was the first day that I got to go to Butler Unviersity and my new home. Thus, four years ago today I spent my first day on the job as official mascot.

I remember it well...

My dad came out to Frank and Jeane King's house in Lizton, Ind., also the site of Kong King Kennel, to pick me up. But before we left, Frank glued my ears back and in place, which is as much about aesthetics as it is about keeping dire and dust mites from making my ears a permanent residence. I wimpered through much of that process, even though it didn't hurt at all.
After that, my dad loaded me into a crate in the car and I cried and carried on all the way from Lizton to Indianapolis. However, I'm ashamed to say that the first campus I stopped at wasn't Butler's, but the University of Indianapolis'! Can you believe that?! I thought for a little while that they were going to try and make a Greyhound out of me! In reality, we stopped at UIndy to see my new, adopted mother who was a graduate student in the physical therapy program there. She couldn't wait to see me!

After we stopped to see mom and her classmates, it was off to God's Country, also known as 46th and Sunset, or the beautiful campus of Butler University. Once at BU, I got to check out my new office and colleagues, but at that age (around 7 weeks), I mostly slept and tried to bite just about everything due to teething. Here's a picture of me on that day...


After spending the afternoon on campus at Butler, I headed to my new home to check out my new digs. By this point, my seat in the car had gone from crate to dad's lap. This trend of "working the system" would continue.

At my new home, I immediately began potty training, testing the limits, eating, playing trying out my crate, and of course, more sleeping.

Here's a picture of my mom and I on that first night home and a shot of my enjoying my crate.

I was pretty much just one big wrinkle back then! Thankfully, I didn't grow into all of them!

Come bedtime, my dad vowed that I would not sleep in the bed. so he put me in a my crate, by the bed, and on the floor. That lasted all of maybe one hour thanks to my persistence and crying, barking and whatnot. Needless to say, I've been sleeping in the bed ever since.

Fast forward to today and I'm still coming to campus nearly every day, riding shot gun in the car and sleeping in the bed. Life is good.

Speaking of today, I got things started with my dad and Kyle down in Greenwood, Ind. at Westwood Elementary School. Kyle's nephews, Hunter and Kaylor and neice Autumn go there and they invited us to come by and read a book to the school and hand out my book marks.

Yesterday I got to take part in a video shoot for the Office of Admission which was being shot by YOUniversity.tv Here are a couple of my own videos from that shoot...

Once the official video is up on YOUniversity.tv, I'll be sure to pass along a link.

Well, I'm looking forward to this weekend, and not just because of the holiday, but also because I get to spend it with my Grandma and Grandpa Kaltenmark up in Wabash, Ind. I'm sure it will be a great time...grandma will spoil me with attention, grandpa will take me on errands around town and I'll get to sleep in! I can't wait!

I hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend. Be sure to tune into the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday to cheer on 2003 Butler graduate, Ed Carpenter, in the No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing machine.

Blue II

Friends in High Places

Retired General and former Secretary of State, Colin Powell once said, "Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard."

Sounds like a good plan to me, after all, as the old saying goes, "you are the comapny you keep."

So, I did just that, I spent my Monday with some pretty significant and successful people...the type "who take their work seriously, but not themselves."

Maybe you will recognize some of the people I spent my day with yesterday...

That's right, I got to spend the day with THE Colin Powell; Butler head men's basketball coach, Brad Stevens; 2003 Butler graduate and IndyCar Series driver for Vision Racing, Ed Carpenter; the entire Butler men's basketball team; and Indianapolis mayor, Greg Ballard. That's just how I roll!

It started out as a typical Monday...lots of sleeping in the cage that's in m dad's office, a lunch time appearance at the HRC, and more sleeping for the afternoon. Settling into the work week after a busy weekend has never been one of my strengths.

Then, come late afternoon things started to get interesting. My dad and I headed to the car and made our way to my favorite building, historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. Once there, we met up with Ed Carpenter and headed into the arena to watch the men's basketball practice.

You see, last May Ed gave A.J. Graves and the coaching staff a tour of the Vision Racing garages at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when A.J. waved the green flag to start practice for the Indianapolis 500 . This time the Bulldogs returned the favor by inviting Ed to come watch practice, tour the locker room and basketball offices, etc. I was fortunate to get to tag along.

Here's a picture of Ed and Coach Stevens discussing the intricacies of Butler's motion offense and which Horizon League member institution has the best cafeteria food. No, not really, but those would be things I would like to talk about with the coach.

After that it was over to Clowes Memorial Hall where General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.) was scheduled to enjoy dinner with some VIPs and speak to a capacity crowd as a part of the Diversity Lecture Series.

That's where I ran into General Powell and Mayor Ballard, as well as some other Butler and community big whigs like university president, Dr. Bobby Fong, and the Butler Board of Trustees.

I even got to take a picture with General Powell! Unfortunately, I do not have the picture to post right now, but I will do so in a future blog. It was sweet. All of these important folks got to meet General Powell and get a picture with him. I'm pretty important, so yes, I got a picture with him as well.

When I arrived, he smiled, kneeled down, clapped his hands once and said, "come here boy!" So I quickly ran over (when a General calls, you come) and he proceeded to pet me and love on me a little. He then stayed in a kneeled position and we took a picture together. It was cool.

Here I am, just an English Bulldog from Indiana who ended up mascot of Butler University posing for a picture with the one-time military leader of the free world. Eat your heart out "Spike," the Drake University bulldog!

Yeah, we've got a big game against No. 16 Drake on Saturday at Hinkle, so I am starting to prepared for that. It airs on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. (EST) and has been billed the best ESPN "Bracketbuster" matchup ever...of course it is, after all, both teams are represented by the English Bulldog! By the way, the Bulldogs of Butler are ranked a school-high No. 8 this week in both polls. That's pretty impressive! Go Dawgs!

Today, wasn't quite as exciting, but that's not to say I didn't get to have a little more fun. Each semester, my dad's favorite professor while in school, Dr. Steven Vibbert, invites me to come visit his public relations classes. He usually asks me to come mid to late semester when the students are starting to get restless. So today I stopped by class, did my tricks, and got a little love from the students. Below is a picture of that...

Note that class size. That's a student to teacher ratio of 16:1. Nice. Gotta love a Butler eduation! Although, it's not quite as good as my puppy class, but still, it's pretty good.

Okay, my bed time is quickly approaching so I've got to get going. Thanks for reading and before you leave, please vote for me again this week for the Bissell MVP contest! You can vote here: http://www.bissell.com/redirect.asp?page_id=47088&Pet=7217.jpg

Blue II

Hairy Inquiry

bulldawgamy writes, “Hey Blue! I think you are soooo cute. Anyways, I was wondering if you shed alot? I remember a year or two ago when some students were petting you in the dawg pound and you shed like crazy---hairs everywhere :) Did your new diet fix this problem?”

First of all Amy, if it’s been a “year or two ago” since you’ve seen me or petted me yourself, then that’s a year or two too long!

Second, sorry I am just now responding to your question. I had a couple of ball games to attend recently. I started writing my response while my dad was watching the Rolex 24 at Daytona (go Vision Racing!) and didn’t get finished until President Bush’s State of the Union address. Again, my apologies for the delay.

It’s true. I shed. A lot. I can’t really help it. It’s just a characteristic of the English Bulldog breed.

Consider those little hairs I leave behind a souvenir…something to remember me by.

If you think the shedding is bad, just be glad I didn’t slime you as well. Sometimes I’ve been known to get worked up or excited, which means I start breathing heavier, and salivating more. And when that happens sometimes things tend to get slimed.


Check out my dad’s pant legs sometimes. Between the hair and the slime, I wreak havoc on those wool suits! Think "Turner and Hooch."

Speaking of my dad, I’m not the only one in the family who sheds. My dad sheds too, but unfortunately for him, his hair doesn’t grow back like mine. Hair today, gone tomorrow.

Shedding is natural for dogs. The hair loss allows the new coat to come in. All dogs shed; some more then others. Actually, the English Bulldog's shedding is listed as "average."

My shedding is constant, but the degree of hair loss comes and goes. I don’t really know if it can be controlled, but I bathe weekly, eat food high in Omega-3 fatty acids, and if my parents remember, I will get brushed.

I don’t know how much those things help, but I don’t think they can hurt.

My dad always says he wishes that he invented the lint roller. I don’t know if that’s because he thinks that would have made him wealthier or if it’s because he thinks he could get them for free if he invented them. Maybe both.


Speaking of business opportunities, if scientists could figure out the hair growth hormone (the new HGH) in me, maybe we could bottle it and people like my dad wouldn’t have to sweat that receding hairline anymore. We could put the Hair Club for Men president right out of business. Still a “client,” buddy?

I digress, back to my fur coat. People often ask if I ever get my hair cut/groomed. The answer is no. English Bulldogs are short-haired by nature. There’s no need for a trim for me. So I’ve got that going for me. Which is nice.