Ax Men
I’m not a big fan of the Hostory channel, as they have gone south in any number of ways- but I do love AxMen.
Not for the reason the producers of the program want me to. They figured they’d film this and get the kind of following Orange County Choppers has, because of the interaction between the men, the language, the roughness of the men.
Mweh.
Real men ARE rough. They cuss at work. THey lose their cool, sometimes, blow off steam.
No, that’s all old hat to me. I’m neither impressed nor surprised, I worked among men like that for ages- still do.
What I enjoy abnout it is the work. Unlike OCC, this show is about real men, who do real work, to try to get the bills paid. They’re not primadonnas, they don’t have huge budgets, they have to work to get paid. A bad day is really bad. And anyone could get killed, in a heartbeat.
Real men doing real work. I respect them, and though the series will probably die, I’ve enjoyed the episodes I’ve seen.
14 comments Og | Uncategorized
Yeah, but the drama is overhyped – like that would be a surprise. They’re always just on the edge of going out of business if they don’t meet their goals of x amount of trees that day. Plus, I’m not too impressed with the outfit that uses a bunch of junk – reminds me too much of Hugh and his crappy auction trucks on Ice Road Truckers. If you want daily reliability, you have a maintenance program and replace worn out machinery.
They do bust their asses, though.
Yep. I’m amused by people that don’t understand that 80% of the country goes to a job like that, every day.
FWIW, Baby Sister — whose full-time job is working in the timber industry as an advocate and promoter — says the show is causing all manner of tooth-griding in the industry because the loggers portrayed don’t follow industry standard practices in a lot of ways. That “jammer logging” practice, for example — OSHA would shut that site down.
As I say, FWIW.
M
LOL! Mark, if I had a dollar bill for every time I saw Osha turn a blind eye to a dangerous practice, I’d be able to buy you that house you call Drummonds out of pocket change. Osha is a gummint agency, and as such, is used exactly as the BATF is used. TO twist arms when such is politiclly expedient.
I cut too much firewood to want to be reminded constantly about how dangerous cutting trees can be. Haven’t watched the show; skip the commercials when I can.
Also not a fan of the whole “This is real guys working” genre – just more (not-so)reality TV.
I’m right with youi, Aaron, and that’s the point of this post. This is not that type of show, because it IS real. And again, I doubt if I could watch it forever, but watching a couple shows, makes me respect those guys for the work they do. I think I could work with any of those guys.
Lumberjack Song
I’m a lumberjack, and I’m okay.
I sleep all night. I work all day.
Mounties : He’s a lumberjack, and he’s okay.
He sleeps all night and he works all day.
I cut down trees. I eat my lunch.
I go to the lavatory.
On Wednesdays I go shoppin’
And have buttered scones for tea.
Mounties: He cuts down trees. He eats his lunch.
He goes to the lavatory.
On Wednesdays he goes shopping
And has buttered scones for tea.
Chorus : I’m (He’s) a lumberjack, and I’m (he’s) okay.
I (He) sleep(s) all night and I (he) work(s) all day.
I cut down trees. I skip and jump.
I like to press wild flowers.
I put on women’s clothing
And hang around in bars.
Mounties : He cuts down trees. He skips and jumps.
He likes to press wild flowers.
He puts on women’s clothing
And hangs around in bars?!
Chorus : I’m (He’s) a lumberjack, and I’m (he’s) okay.
I (He) sleep(s) all night and I (he) work(s) all day.
I cut down trees. I wear high heels,
Suspendies, and a bra.
I wish I’d been a girlie,
Just like my dear Mama (or Papa in later versions)
Mounties : He cuts down trees. He wears high heels,
Suspendies, and a bra?!
Chorus : I’m (He’s) a lumberjack, and I’m (he’s) okay.
I (He) sleep(s) all night and I (he) work(s) all day.
Yes, I’m (He’s) a lumberjack, and I’m (he’s) ok-a-y.
I (He) sleep(s) all night and I (he) work(s) all day.
I’ll call your Lumberjack song, and raise you a lumberjack song in German!!!
Ich bin ein Holzfäller und fühl mich stark,
Ich schlaf des Nachts und hack am Tag.
Er ist ein Holzfäller und fühlt sich stark,
Er schläft des Nachts und hackt am Tag.
Ich fälle Bäume, ich ess mein Brot,
Ich geh auf das WC,
Am Mittwoch geh ich shopping,
Kau Kekse zum Kaffee.
Er fällt die Bäume, er isst sein Brot,
Er geht auf das WC,
Am Mittwoch geht er shopping,
Kaut Kekse zum Kaffee.
Ich bien (Er ist) ein Holzfäller und fühlt sich stark,
Ich (Er) schläft des Nachts und hackt am Tag.
Ich fälle Bäume und hüpf und spring,
Steck Blumen in die Vas’
Ich schlüpf in Frauenkleider
Und lümmel mich in Bars.
Er fällt die Bäume, er hüpft und springt,
Steckt Blumen in die Vas’
Er schlüpft in Frauenkleider
Und lümmelt sich in Bars…?
Ich bien (Er ist) ein Holzfäller und fühlt sich stark,
Ich (Er) schläft des Nachts und hackt am Tag.
Ich fälle Bäume, trag Stöckelschuh
Und Strumpf- und Büstenhalter.
Wär gern ein kleines Mädchen
So wie mein Onkel Walter.
Er fällt die Bäume, trägt Stöckelschuh
Und Strumpf- und Büstenhalter…?
…Wär gern ein kleines Mädchen
So wie mein Onkel Walter!
I believe you have exceeded your umlaut limit for 2008 with that one. Whew !
The show on the loggers is a bit too dramatic for my taste. It is very dangerous work. No doubt. I hate how the loggers are one bad day away from losing the double wide every show. If the pay is that bad why risk your life ? I can see why the crab fisherman risk their lives for the huge payday in ” The Most Dangerous Catch “. Logging is really tough , hard, work. Even with fringe benefits like all the spotted owls you can eat, logging seems like a crappy job.
Logging is a tough, dirty, crappy job. And because it gets done, we get to sleep indoors.
Logging has a 100% Workers’ Comp rate. That is, for every dollar you pay a logger, you kick in another buck for the W.C. insurance.
Which is why most loggers are independant contractors.
AxMen will go away only to make room for another show about scary jobs. Last season, it was those guys who drive 75-ton semis on ice, and the season that started it all was those guys who deep-sea fish.
All achieve the same point, though.
As I said, FWIW. I’m actually less sympathetic to the “official industry” line than Baby Sis.
Nevertheless, I do think the attitude about safety portrayed on the show is somewhat cavalier. It almost looks slovenly — as though the need to rush around is born not of an absolute need for speed to meet quotas and deadlines, but a lack of competence to do the job right and get it done on time.
BUT… I don’t know enough about the job and the industry to take that any farther than “almost”.
M
Trust me, mark. This is not acting. I don’t know logging, but I do know work, and this is it, writ large.