"Lino Watch" is dead… all hail "LinoRulli.net"!

We've been saying for months on end that changes were coming to this site… and we've been making and breaking so many promises on this count that we're sounding like a broken record. The reason: we wanted to roll out all the good stuff we had planned at once so that we could make a big impact. But at the rate we've been going, Lino's contract will have expired by the time we actually got everything together for a coordinated launch.

So rather than let this site get any more stale than it already is, we're going to roll out our changes a little bit at a time. And what better day is there to get started than today's one-year anniversary of Lino's announcement that he's staying put after retiring the day before! It was the day that new life was breathed into The Catholic Guy Show… so let's breathe some new life into this site. Our first change: "Lino Watch" is dead.

When we launched 20 months ago we chose the "Lino Watch" moniker because we weren't creative enough to come up with anything better. But being the edgy and sarcastic new-kid-on-the-block, the term suited us just fine. Of course that was during a time when TCGS had a distinctly different persona than it does now; nowadays the show is more… well, sophisticated than it was in the past (as much as TCGS can be sophisticated). As much investment as we've made in the "Lino Watch" name, it reflects a show that really no longer exists.

Hence, as of today we're retiring the "Lino Watch" brand, and from this point on will just call ourselves by our web address: LinoRulli.net. It's perfect, really… no more dual names to go by, and it's got Lino's name written all over it, anyway. Our old slogan ("We like Lino Rulli… just not as much") is gone too, despite the fact that it was Lino himself who gave it to us. That was the unhappy and conflicted Lino, a markedly different person than he is today.

Consequently, our Twitter channel has changed names as well: twitter.com/LinoRulliDotNet. For those who follow us, no action is required… if you were a follower of LinoWatch, you are now a follower of LinoRulliDotNet.

While our new name brings us into the present, our site is still stuck way in the past. That's the next thing that changes. While we won't make the mistake of setting a hard date for a relaunch again (because we'll never be able to keep it), the redesign is about 75% complete. So we can say with some confidence that it'll happen soon.

Lino's 3.53 seconds of fame

We're a little late to the party, but boy did we bring you a treat. As you've no doubt heard by now, Lino got a microphone shoved in his face on CNN yesterday and he chose to use it. But why sit through the whole minute plus of boring video to get to the good stuff when we can bring you all 3.53 seconds of Lino the way it was meant to be seen? Click on the image above and enjoy Lino on national television!

Pilgrimage Watch 2010-11

Lino just posted more information about upcoming pilgrimages on his Facebook page. No details per se, but a good bit of long-term info to chew on:

Since the last pilgrimage was a big success and people want more...save your money... Here's what we're working on: Greece/Turkey in May 2011. Italy in Oct 2011. A NY Pilgrimage in late fall this year. And maybe a "Lino's Ark" cruise to the Bahamas in December/January. Any other suggestions?

You heard him… suggest things! Leave a comment for Lino on his Facebook page.

Sometimes the best-laid plans…

It's been a double overbid kind of day. Yet again we're going to have to delay the site re-launch that was supposed to happen today. Just too much going on with our day jobs to deal with the complexity of it all right now. We think now we're going to shoot for a launch right before the one-year anniversary of Lino's quitting the show/staying with the show drama… that would be August 16th. So for the eight of you who actually read this blog… hang in there!

Two interns in love? That's old news…

When the news of semi-romance between TCGS intern Krista and Busted Halo intern Buzz hit the show a few weeks ago, Lino did all but announce that they were engaged. Come Monday he'll have a real engagement to announce on the air… of the happy couple pictured above. Alicia Jensen (TCGS Ambassador) and dustin Faber (CatholicGuyShow.com founder and #1 Celtics fan) have announced their intent to administer the Sacrament of Marriage to each other. We at Lino Watch salute and congratulate the happy couple!

This actually works out great for us, too… we were supposed to relaunch LinoRulli.net on Monday and have been pondering whether to pull the switch or not. Now this gives us the perfect excuse to wait another week! So come back and check the new "us" out on Monday, August 2nd.

BREAKING NEWS — Lino's next pilgrimage to be in Greece and Turkey

Lino announced his next pilgrimage at the very end of today's final broadcast from Vatican Radio. Destination: Greece and Turkey. Dates are not set yet, but it looks like they're aiming for Spring of 2011. Should be fun!

Sign up for the mailing list at TheCatholicTraveler.com to stay in the loop about this newest TCGS extravaganza!

Lost minutes? How about a whole lost hour?

If you'll kindly flip your 2010 calendar back to February and March, you might remember that the last 15 minutes of several select TCGS installments got interrupted for Notre Dame basketball. We as a public service brought you the audio from those "lost minutes" once it was replayed during the overnight broadcast.

Okay, now flip back to July and today's "live" broadcast from Vatican Radio… or make that yesterday's, as Tuesday's first hour was played due to technical difficulties back in New York. The powers that be managed to solve the problem in time to play the last two hours of Wednesday's show in their normal time slot, so logic would assume that they'd broadcast that lost first hour during the overnight replay. And we were going to be good little Lino Watchers and write a summary of that hour for those of you who couldn't listen overnight.

No such luck. They replayed today's third hour, followed by the second hour, then the third hour again in its normal time slot. Which begs the question… what happened to that elusive first hour of Wednesday's broadcast? Did the technical folks in NYC get their signals crossed, or is that whole hour of TCGS… <gulp> just plain gone? Forever?!

If the latter is the case, that would explain why Lino got steamed on Twitter earlier today. We would be, too, if we spent a whole hour recording a show for nothing.