The Wendy's Guy

After-thoughts:

The documentary was really funny and inspiring actually. Junior really, honestly loves his job. He looks forward to it everyday. He makes a game out it. His job is as good as he makes it, and people could really learn a lot from Junior. Beneath all the jokes and one-liners, there is a sincerity that shines through.

8:44 p.m.

"I just want to say thank you very much for making my day, when I'm here," Junior said. "I am lucky and I'm honored to be here with you guys, out there, doing my shit."

Now, there's a Q&A session, in brief:



Q: How do you do what you do?
A: You have to know where you want to set your hands. Being fast is one thing, but you have to know where you're going.

Q: What are the affects of this project?
A: I'm here to do a job, and when I come out, I do it. If you bring a video camera, knock yourself out. All I do is take your goddamn money. I am who I am. I am Junior, the Wendy's Guy, and I love what I'm doing, and I'll always be the same guy.

Q: How many companies have tried to recruit you away from Wendy's.
A: I have a lot of people that want a piece of me! I am a public figure, I love what I do. I love what I do right now. You take that away from me, goodbye, baby. I am very loyal to my company.

Q: Where were you born?
A: I was born in Trinidad and Tobago and I grew up in New York.

8:36 p.m.

The documentary is over, and Junior just ran up to the front to address his fans. He received a standing ovation after the documentary finished; Junior announced that he's shooting for $1200.00 on January 17, 2006, when students return for classes in the Spring semester.



"Junior the Wendy's Guy. DOT COM BABY!"

8:19 p.m.

The Facebook group for Junior fans can be found here, created by Greg Robinson, who Stephen recognized in his introduction to the film.

Right now the trailer is being shown, and then they will show the documentary.

8:09 p.m.
After showing clips of several student interviews, Stephen and the documentary's editor, Andrew, thanked the crowd and several people involved in the film, including Junior as well as many Wendy's employees.



18,000: Number of hits at theWendysGuy.com.
25: Number of countries from which those hits came.
350: Number of people seeing the film tonight.

The facebook group for Junior has been mentioned several times. We're trying to find it now.

7:58 p.m.

The documentary starts soon. We will continue posting when it's over, when there will be a question and answer session with Junior.

The crowd:



7:45 p.m.

Junior arrived outside to greet everyone in the line. Everyone cheered with admiration, proudly sporting his "Everybody Hearts Junior" shirt.



The documentary is produced by Stephen Stephanian, a Radio-Television-Film student.

7:41 p.m.

Claire Simister, a pre-pharmacy sophomore, poses with her Frosty.





7:39 p.m.
For about a week now, we've been seeing signs around the UT campus have proclaimed the upcoming screening of "The Wendy's Guy," a student-produced documentary about a fast food cashier's attempt to beat the record for most money made during the noon lunch hour at Wendy's.



Julie and I are there now, and the documentary starts in about 20 minutes.

When we arrived, the line was about 85 people strong.

What makes Austin Bloggers Weird?

Austin is a big city, and while it may not be one of the larger cities in the U.S., the blogosphere around here is almost ominous.

Robbie Cooper has been blogging at Urban Grounds since 2003, with topics ranging from international news and politics to disc golf and getting hit by a deer while riding his motorcycle in west Austin.

Cooper is a conservative blogger in Austin, and sees himself as one of the few.

"The Austin Blogosphere is unabashedly and inarguably Liberal, and most of the best Austin blogs revolve around state and local politics. Meanwhile positive or substantial blogging on behalf of local and state Republicans is scarce," he said.

One of those major political blogs on the left is the Burnt Orange Report, which has a team of bloggers behind it. The BOR seems to blog exclusively on Texas politics, but receives almost 2,000 hits a day, and has had over 1 million since its inception.

Why has Austin become such a hub for blogs, especially political ones? Cooper believes that it's all about location.

"This was where President Bush started his political life, this is where our Democrats run to Mexico to avoid votes, we’re never more than a stone’s throw away from any major Texas or even national story," Cooper said.

Cooper also believes that because Austin is a wireless city, blogging has become easier and more real-time.

"Everywhere you go in this city is a wireless access point. Live blogging is possible everywhere you look," Cooper said. "Austin bloggers, for the most part, conduct themselves as if they might actually run into each other at the local coffee shop or diner. And that’s probably because there’s a good chance that they will."

One place that Austin Bloggers can vitually "meet" is at AustinBloggers.org, an aggregator of posts by registered Austin bloggers that have to do with the hyperlocal news arena. Different Austin bloggers can read about what other bloggers are saying in their area and link to each other, engage in debate about local events, or even find something to do that night in the city.



Austin bloggers can also meet up at Metroblogging: Austin, which is part of the larger Metroblogging site, which specializes in local blogs where citizens of large cities can meet to get a sense of community.

In addition to Austin's location and wireless capability, Cooper believes that the emergence of Austin as a major blogging locale reflects the mainstream publication the city reads.

"I think that the Austin blogosphere has magnified the inadequacy of our local newspaper, the Austin American Statesman. With the breadth and depth of coverage provided by Austin Blogs, it’s glaring how much the Statesman misses or just plain underreports," he said.

The Austin-American Statesman seems to be responding, however, with the launch of their own blogs as a branch of their online news edition. The Statesman has allowed community voices to be a part of their mainstream publication in an effort to reach out to the blogosphere, and is one of the first mainstream publications to do so. In addition, the blogs are powered by Pluck, an Austin Internet solutions company that specializes in RSS, or "real simple syndication."

Perhaps one of the major forces fueling Austin bloggers is pride for the city itself, reflecting its inherent weirdness.

"The common theme I’ve found in all Austin blogs is an overwhelming sense of pride and love for the city itself," Cooper said.