Ode to Vegas

I've been going to Las Vegas now for over 8 years now. My DH (darling hubby) first dragged me there when we were dating, and I've been bedazzled by it ever since. It's one of those places I just KNEW I would like.

I've decided there are two kinds of people in this world-people who get Vegas...and people who don't. It's kinda like New York or L.A...either you are in or out. There just isn't any wiggle room.

And it's not just the gambling in Vegas. I have a friend that doesn't touch a table or sashay by a slot....(and I envy her for that) She just loves the GLAM. The sheer pulsating energy of the place. You can get a cocktail whenever you want, eat at some of the most WONDERFUL restaurants and hang at the pool, heck IN the pool all day long. It's funny to see so many people midday in the middle of the week just soakin' it up. It's Disney for grown-ups.

We've been going for several years now under the banner of "Luckypalooza".( I even just bought the domain name ;))

What started as a celebration of a milestone birthday for my DH, has continued as a celebration of the friendships that have endured all these many years as we have moved around different parts of the country. Anyone can get to Vegas pretty easy and fairly reasonably for the most part. And the end of summer seems like a good time to get together and toast each others accomplishments.

If you're a Vegas person...I say Vegas Baby! If you aren't...I probably don't know you ;)

Check out my Amazon Fresh Review

What Labor Day Weekend Means to Me

Labor Day Weekend to me has been like a new beginning.

Back in the old days Labor Day weekend meant it was just before "back to school". The days had a frantic frenzy mixed with dread feeling. I rushed around trying to get all the things done on my “what I want to do this summer “ list. The new school year was looming ahead with a whiff of promise of a new me heading down a new path.

Now this time of year is still a bit of a "new chapter". It's a chance to revisit New Year’s resolutions and make them right one last time in the fourth quarter. The weather is turning, and I really try to get serious once again. We’ll see if it works this time.

Recovering DJ’s Top 5 Songs about Working

1. “Working’ for Livin’” Huey Lewis & The News
2. “Welcome to the Working Week”- Elvis Costello
3. “Working for the Weekend” Loverboy
4. “Working Girl” The Members
5. “The Working Hour” Tears for Fears

It’s Monday and I’ve got Mad Men on my mind

No, not men that are mad, but “Mad Men”, a show on AMC that started its 3rd season last week. The program is ultra cool, suave and a critic’s darling. Plus it won a bunch of awards last year, a sure sign that it’s probably a good show and it's not on a “Big 3” network. (Are they even the “big” 3 anymore?)

I personally didn’t hop on the hip bus until after the first season, when I bought the DVD. And then I actually missed the entire 2nd season live. Thanks goodness for on-demand. The point is, these days you can start watching a show even after a few seasons, the catching up part is virtually painless.

For those of you not familiar with the show, ( and it seems most people are not, as it’s not exactly the highest rated in TV land), “Mad Men” takes place at a fictional advertising agency in New York City in the early ‘60’s. The stories circle around Don Draper, played by the mad hot Jon Hamm, and his office staff, family and “friends”. I think the “Mad” stands for Madison Avenue initially, and just the shear madness of the era later on. Just a theory.

New York City is a grand dame in the show and it’s a very interesting commentary on the times. Women are getting stronger in the workplace, for the most part as secretaries, but the truth is good administrative assistants run a company underneath it all.

Elisabeth Moss, the former Zoey Bartlet on one of my fave shows “The West Wing” turns in a fabulous performance as a girl who wants to get out of the pool and into the boardroom with the boys. As an aspiring copywriter, nothing, and I mean Not A Thing, stops her from reaching her goals.

You’d think I’d identify with her; I myself worked in a male dominated business for some many years, putting up with some of the crap. And I’m trying to reinvent myself as a copywriter. But I really identify with the character of Betty, wife to the lead character Dan Draper. Her lonely suburban housewife feels more realistic than any of the characters, who become over-the-top caricatures every once on awhile.


The show is not for everyone, it's a bit dark but very stylistic…and if you aren’t a fan of vices you won’t like that EVERYONE freakin' smokes and drinks ALL the time…something I personally find a hoot, but I know some don’t.

But hey, it’s only a TV show. And if you like it enough, you can “Mad Men” yourself…loads of fun for those slow moments, when you could use a little madness. ☺

"Julie and Julia"-foodie film that feeds the soul

On my list of "pending possible posts", a mocking and menacing list that taunts me daily, I’ve been meaning to comment on the new movie “Julie and Julia”, spurred by an article I read in the “New Yorker” last month about Nora Ephron.

I didn’t actually think I would go see the movie myself, I just don't go to the movies lately, but I wanted to encourage others to do so, for two reasons…I read and loved one of the books the movie is based on, and I really admire Nora Ephron, a strong female writer and director who creates the kind of movies I would make, if I was a film maker.

As luck would have it, I had the great delight of checking out the flick yesterday and I’m pleasantly surprised how well it turned out. It felt like a cozy bowl of soup with some flaky biscuits on the side. It was a movie of a sweet and wondrous love between a husband and wife and the marvels of plugging away at your dreams little by little. A nice dinner with a good bottle of wine afterward kept the glow a goin'

I knew the story of Julie Powell,I read her book "Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously"when I first moved to the Pacific Northwest. My sister, who is an excellent cook and is ironically named Julie, loaned it to me. I enjoyed the amazing food preparation descriptions and escapades, and the loving details about the wonderful mecca that is called New York City. But I hated it for the same reason; I was so homesick for New York at the time that sometimes it made me sad. I was so annoyed that this girl who was an admin in a crappy office situation became a famous blogger, plus got a book deal out of the whole thing. Yes, of course I was jealous…I admit it.

I have vague memories of watching Julia Child on television, her quirky voice and the interesting way she cooked, hunched and looming over her counters. But other than that and the Saturday Night Live sketch in which Dan Akroyd portrays a blood spewing Child after she cuts herself, any other knowledge I had of the famous gourmand was pretty limited.

But after this movie I suddenly have a deep interest in her. She seemed to be a robust, passionate woman who was so upbeat and alive, enjoying whatever challenge came her way. I am eager to read "My Life in France" a memoir that half the movie is based on. I am also now convinced I could make a Beef Bourguignon, and whip up several other recipes as well. I think Julia Child was the Food Network all on her own, before such a thing existed.

Meryl Streep embodies the character so seamlessly it’s hard to tell where she ends and Julia Child begins. I would imagine for such a well-know actress this is no easy feat. Stanley Tucci plays a wonderful doting husband and chemistry between the two is truly magical. I’ve read some other reviews that state the Amy Adams sections aren’t as strong, but I think that’s like saying watermelon doesn't taste like cantaloupe. Amy Adams portrays the blogger Julie and it's unfair to say that an unknown person such as Julie Powell can compete with the star power of a Julia Child. Plus, I think reading “Julie and Julia” beforehand allows a better sense of those sections in the movie. I’m generally an advocate of the “read the book before you watch the film” movement. (If there is indeed such a movement, and if not I should start one. )

At any rate, two thumbs up from me, "Julia and Julia" is a movie I thoroughly enjoyed, something I haven’t done in quite awhile. If Meryl doesn’t get an Oscar nod, than I’m not watching them.

Ha, ha that’s not true of course.

Post Problems

Lately, I’ve been thinking I really need to post more. There seems to be a bit of a demand, at least 5 people are regular readers, and I hate to let any audience down, not matter how small. Old habits.

Sometimes, yes life distracts me. I can’t sit my booty down long enough to jot something down. I’m also shockingly a bit particular, something I’m realizing later in life. I normally don’t like to post anything just to post.

That’s how I was in radio. I hated to do a break just because the clock said it was time to crack the mic. It sucked if it talk break time and the talk over song had a 1 second intro. Can’t say much with that time, although I would certainly try...if not switch my break completely, much to the chagrin of the boss. I was never a time and temp jock. I really wanted to say something funny or relevant or give a little fact. I couldn’t just talk to talk.

Or so I thought.

But I digress and as I do, I realize….here I am with a little post. Funny how that works out
The posting “problem” (is it really a problem in the grand scheme of things?) but the issue isn’t quite frankly, a lack of something to write about. The real rub is this-I have too much to write about.

So many thoughts and fragments run through my tiny little brain on a daily basis that it’s hard to know where to start. So sometimes I start everywhere and then end nowhere.
Yes, that in a nutshell is the story of my life my friends. So many beginnings, so many things started and nothing is finished.

Writing isn’t easy, just like opening up a microphone isn’t as easy as everyone thinks. The biggest problem I’ve always had is how to wrap it up. And how to wrap it up smoothly, in a compelling fashion with a pretty little flourishing bow.

The other thing is my audience. In radio, for the most part, the station format dictated who we were talking to-the “target demo” that was the catalyst for one to one communication. Radio is theater of the mind, and in order for anyone to buy into it; every single person has to think the jock is talking directly to him or her.

No small feat. The same goes for writing, but sometimes knowing who my audience is holds me back. The gripes and groans and opinions I want to ramble on about don’t seem appropriate nor interesting to the people I know are out there. You have to play to the audience. It's not what you want to hear, or write about...it's what your listeners/readers want. It takes awhile to learn that, and even then…it's still a hard rule to follow.

Not the prettiest bow, but it’ll have to do for today.


Radio Demystification 101

A Radio Clock: Essentially the schedule of music, talk breaks and commercials

Song Intro Time: The instrumental length at the beginning of a song that a Top 40/AC jock can talk up.

Hitting the Post: Talking up an intro perfectly..ending the exact time the vocals start without chatting over the vocals.

Rock stations are generally different, as jocks in those formats generally talk more before and after a song, not over the song. My only experience with that was college radio, which led to some hilarious 10 minute breaks about MINUTIA…(yes kinda like this blog.) ☺

Hughes, Hughes, Anyone...John Hughes?

I was tired of being “Home Alone”, so I decided to take a “Vacation”. I stopped at the “Breakfast Club” first which was so “Pretty in Pink” with “Sixteen Candles” at the counter. I ran into to “Ferris Beuller” who was acting all “Mr. Mom” when he told me “Curly Sue”…“She’s Having a Baby”, which seemed like a bit of “Weird Science” but I extended my congratulations as “ Uncle Buck” walked by and told me I’d have to take “Train, Planes and Automobiles” to get to my destination, which really made me feel “Some Kind of Wonderful.”

John Hughes, Director, Writer, Producer and by all accounts all around good guy left us yesterday. His movies were the background to my generation and his passing has made me ponder my mortally a little bit, and the fact that I’m getting older a lot. It's been a heck of a summer for our icon's.

John Hughes made the movies that made me feel good at the end, no matter how implausible.

John Candy, Molly Ringwald, Michael Keaton, and The Red Wing Shirt wearing guy from “Ferris Beuller”…All favorite actors portraying great characters that have never left my subconscious.

Speaking of the jersey guy...I just read that John Hughes was born in a Detroit suburb...duh…I could never figure out why a Chicago boy would be sportin' a Wing’s shirt.

My university lumped together Radio, TV and Film as “Telecommunications” so I have a bit of a film major. I studied a huge variety of “films” and “cinema” (those words sound fancier than “movie” don’t they?) I viewed the very first films in America like “Birth of a Nation” and Russian and French flicks, and through it all I learned to develop an appreciation of “film as art.”

I wrote a term paper on the “Auteur Theory” ( A paper created on a typewriter, and no copy exists which bums me out)

The “Auteur Theory” in a nutshell is this: It means “author” in French and is generally associated with the French new wave. Essentially it means that films created by a director all contain his/her ideas and visions, like a personal stamp. I had stated, that directors like John Ford, Billy Wilder, Hitchcock, etc etc were true auteur's despite the fact that they weren’t French. There’s a certain essence to certain directors' movies that resonate throughout all of them. It’s a “Stephen Spielberg” movie, it's a “Michael Mann” etc etc. You get the picture.

I won’t go into it much more than that, but to say that in retrospect, John Hughes is a true auteur as well.

I’m sure many scoff at that notion. He’s never been recognized by the Academy, yet he put his mark on a slew of movies that have never been erased from the collective hearts of those of us, for better or for worse, grew up in that much maligned 80’s era.

Sure, some of his movies and characters are far-fetched and improbable, and sometimes very “cheese on cheese” (The end of Sixteen Candles…,the sister and principle character in “Ferris Bueller” etc etc.) But I personally LOVE cheese and John Hughes’ movies are slices of hope, happiness and entertainment all wrapped up in a sassy bow for enjoyment over and over again.

The music, the dancing, the sappy moments. They take you away for a minute, if only a minute. Because at the end of the day, isn’t escapism why we watch a movie anyways?


THIS IS A BIT LONG BUT A GREAT OVERVIEW:

This Radio Life Part 3-Jump in my pool

One summer, I was a midday personality at a radio station in Detroit. The area was in the midst of a scorching heat wave. (As if a heat wave could be something less than scorching??)

I wanted to do a segment that would “take off the heat” so to speak, help people forget for a minute. Being the dork I am, I asked the production guy for a sound effect of water splashing sounds. I played it intermittently throughout my show and asked people to call in and tell me why I should let them “jump in my pool".

There is beauty in simplicity sometimes. The phones went nuts. A little something I was just going to fool around with for a while became a full-blown segment pretty quickly. The sales department was of course trying to sell it immediately, so shortly after I received a request from K-mart to host a grand opening, live in front of their store….broadcasting from my pool.

Radio is theater of the mind, so the live event didn’t go over as big as the powers that be would have liked. But it certainly makes a great story. In fact, it’s a favorite my hubby likes to tell.

It’s occasionally irksome when friends and family tell stories about my past…how I used to be in radio...blah blah blah. I’ve noticed when I meet new people now and I say I’m doing pro bono marketing work or freelance copywriting, they wear an expression of “ Oh whatever”. But if I say, “I used to work in radio” they quickly perk up. Sometimes it’s the only thing anyone remembers about me.

I’ve realized I could live my whole life like this….livin’ off what I used to do, because the truth is anything I do now or in the future will never be as cool…

Or will it?

It could be as cool as jumpin' in the pool ☺

Beauty in simplicity could strike again.

Summer summer summer time...

Baby, it's hot outside. I feel like I'm in Miami, and I LOVE it.

So here I am in the Pacific NW, a place where “they” told us it never gets over 80 in the summer, and guess what…day two of 95+ weather, with maybe two more to go. Good thing we didn’t listen to ‘them” and rented an apt with A.C…apparently a very large portion of people here do not have AC…If it keeps up I’ve thought about throwing a “come sit in my AC” gathering for a nominal fee.

I just crack up at the concern of the air conditioned broadcasters. There's like a few weeks tops of this, and the rest is gonna be crap.

Ironically, "they" also told us it doesn't snow here. I'm beginning to feel that perhaps we're a jinx.

But the heat, , got me thinking of “Things I used to do in the summer as a kid:”

Slip & Slide

For hours and hours and hours …tore up the grass, which you ended up getting all over and you cut your foot or some body part on the stakes, but man it was fun.

I checked the a new one out on Amazon and now there is a “stopper” on the end to keep you from completely sliding off…no fun…and reading the reviews they just don’t make ‘em like they used to. Ahh, that's always the way.

Wake up early in the morning to fill the pool.

This was something my sister and I took turns doing. The thing was, even thought it was warm outside the water that came out of the garden hose was coooooold. So we'd fill the pool before breakfast, hang inside a bit, and then…poolside! (And by "pool" I mean ghetto fabu plastic ones of course" ;) )


Going to swim club

We never actually belong, but just mooched on others. All I know is I had to buy the Funyuns and that seemed liked a great deal.



One wonders how smug I would really be w/o AC though. One might never know....

The Curious Case of the Cassidy Charisma

A few weeks ago I was watching a Harry Potter movie marathon on ABC Family, reeducating myself in anticipation of checking out the latest flick in the franchise. I haven’t seen it yet, but I have been pondering about a promo for another show I kept seeing.

And it’s something I haven’t admitted to anyone until now. I’ll just come out and say it. They say the first step towards recovering is admitting.

I secretly want to watch "Ruby & The Rockits" that premieres tonight.

It’s a show that seems to essentially be about two brothers who were in a band in the 80’s and now they’re off the radar. A long lost daughter appears and the musical mayhem begins. One brother played by David Cassidy, who is really, really aging very well. The other brother is Patrick Cassidy, so the story is mirroring reality a bit. I’m not a reality show person, but I like the twist the show is employing.

But one of the biggest reasons I want to watch the show: Shaun Cassidy is the executive producer. YES Shaun…AKA JOE HARDY. The first boy who made my tummy feel funny when I saw him.

I distinctly remember discussing this phenomenon with my classmates in the bathroom Monday morning after the Sunday night premier of “The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries” We broke into the “Joe” groupies or “Frank” groupies…who was played by Parker Stevenson.

Ironically, I had wanted to watch the show because I was a HUGE fan of the Nancy Drew mystery books. But after seeing Joe, it was adios Nance. The show at first alternated every week between a Hardy Boys episode and a Nancy Drew episode. We were not thrilled on the nights that Joe & Frank did not grace our screens.

But Joe DID grace my walls. Oh yes he did. That was the beginning of the “Tiger Beat” era of decorating for me. I would save my allowance to get the latest magazine and plaster every bit of wall space with pictures of Shaun. I have to ponder on who he was later joined by, maybe Scott Baio and maybe Jimmy McNichol. YIKES!


And let’s not forget the great Shaun Cassidy music. Yes, I had the albums. “Da Do Ron Ron”, “Hey Deanie”, “That’s Rock & Roll”

Pure magic to a little girl’s heart. Even after all these years.

Monday Moonin’

Even though at the time, I was as big as a raindrop, I do remember it, I swear I do. Perched upon my Dad’s shoulders in our old backyard, my eyes following his finger that was pointing at the moon.

"A man just landed there", said my science and science fiction loving pop in a tone of serene reverence.

I nodded, my small, undeveloped soul sensing the seriousness of such an auspicious moment.

I would spend many years after that, staring at the sky, seeking a glimpse of the guy walking on the moon. I would also think the moon looked like a smiling man, and would wonder if I got it wrong.

In honor of the 4oth anniversary of the first and only moonwalk...

The Recovering DJ’s top 7 Moon Songs
(to be listened to eating Crescent Rolls & Moon Pies, tee hee)

1-Man on the Moon-REM

References Andy Kaufman... which reminds me of a company I worked at for a minute during my Manhattan days that was co-owned my Andy’s brother. Which really has nothing to do with anything other than the fact that I just thought I'd bring it up.

2-Walking on the Moon-The Police


3-Whole of the Moon-The Waterboys

It's taken me over 20 years to tolerate this song.

4-Fly Me to the Moon-Frank Sinatra

This is the version I’m most familiar with as it was played for me over and over again on a pub jukebox until I agreed to speak to a certain someone after a disagreement.
There’s also a groovy version from “Down with Love” by Astrud Gilberto.

5-C’ Moon (Cry Like a Baby)-Simple Minds

One of those bands I forget how much I love

6-New Moon On Monday-Duran Duran

7-Moondance-Van Morrison

Good, warm summer time music

Now go have some Crescent Rolls!

Blame it on the Sun

...Not to be confused with "Blame it on the Rain" Milli Vanilli....

There's a myriad of reasons and excuses and explanations as to why I haven't posted lately. I'm working on a few writings but they just aren't finished. Truth be told- it's been too beautiful the last few days, and frankly I've been wandering around and soaking up the Vita D. that is seldom found in these parts. I could also blame it on my mama...who always told me to go outside when it was nice out...:)

Why is 6 afraid of 7?

I'm not a math person. I still count on my fingers if I need to perform simple computations and no calculator is available. But despite that, I have a thing for numbers, especially when it has to do with time.

So I was particularly fascinated with something that happened this A..M at 12:34:56 7/8/9. As you can see, the numbers aligned- in order from 1-9 for that split second in time. For the first time in 100 years or so.

And I just think that's darn cool. For no particular reason. I mean today's date even amuses me-7/8/9. Yes, I know purist argue that it's really really 7/8/09. So you can write 07/08/09 then. Ya happy now?

Reminds me of a joke:

Q: Why is 6 afraid of 7?


A: because 7 8 9.

You have to say it aloud if you don't get it the first time. An oldie but a goodie in my small book.

Another thing about time...do you have a certain time of the day where you always seem to look at the clock, without even trying to do it at the same time? Many times, whenever I glance at a digital timepiece the time reads 4:22. Really, it's true!

Back in my radio days, and heck even years after...I'd look at the clock and think..."it's 10:20 it's time to go into spots" or it's 12:55 time for the top of the hour.

Old habits, like time are a funny thing.

And that's all I have time for today.

If you have the time, some old time like posts for some newcomers.

Time Talking

Little Ditty 'Bout Time

Still Remembering

All the Michal Jackson hoopla has got me reminiscing this week. I've been remembering the time, a time that was simpler and the livin' was easy. It was a time of music bought with hard earned allowance and baby sitting money. Music first discovered on the radio. Music on vinyl.

I mentioned before, my fascination with radio was evident even back in the day. That included diligently listening to former Detroiter Casey Kasem every Sunday night on Keener 13 in Detroit. I remember commiserating with my friend over our utter dismay that “Miss You" by the Rolling Stones beat out "Saturday Night" by the Bay City Rollers for number one. I was pretty young then, I didn't have any older siblings to tell me about the Stones and the Beatles and now I laugh at my lack of musical knowledge...back in the day. Yes, I remember the time, it's funny what you do remember from so far back.

And so today, as MJ is finally put to rest there's news that radio legend Casey Kasem has quit. A class act in a business FULL of classless jerks certainly was inspiration to this recovering DJ.

It's like all the childhood characters are starting to slip away. And all that's left is the remembering.

A Recovering DJ's MJ two cents

I'll always remember where I was, and who I was with when I first heard the news about Michael Jackson. Kinda like Elvis, John Lennon and Joe Strummer. A part of my musical life, gone in a flash.

For all intents and purposes, the person-Michael Jackson, has been out of my life for many years. Since leaving radio, I don't need to keep up on his antics. And I like to keep the musician/artist separate from the real life drama. What you do on your own time doesn't really bother me, doesn't affect the way I dig the music, your art. Other than the first night, I've purposely kept away from watching too much of the cable news or reading too much online.

"Off the Wall" from 1979 and "Thriller" in 1982 were truly the albums of my teens. Almost every song on those records were hits, and if not they were still damn good. Many hours were spent with my friends choreographing intricate dance moves to ""Billy Jean", "Rock With You" and a group fave, "PYT" and more. Well, we thought they were cool anyways.

We would pause to listen and sing along to Jackson Family Christmas songs played over and over at the Nursery/Craft store we all worked at during the holidays after school. "She's Out of My Life" was the premiere post break-up song, or at least "the crush doesn't like me" song...the line "damn indecision and cursed pride" seemed to fit the situations.

The scandal that surrounded him was not as important as the music that endured, melodies that reside in my soul as the soundtrack to many many good times.

And then I went from a listener to a player. I remember spinning "Black & White" for the first time in Lima, OH. Featuring Slash from Guns & Roses on guitar it was a tad "controversial" at the time. My Program Director was standing behind me in the studio and said" I don't think this song is going to make it" I said-"It's Michael man, it's gonna be a hit!"

20-30 years later you'll still find these songs on my ipod-an invention never dreamed of when I was spinning vinyl on my Panasonic turntable. "Wanna Be Startin' Something" , "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and other MJ gems are in the middle of my work-out play list, for their distinct motivational force on me. I ALWAYS get my booty moving a little faster when I hear them.

Rest in peace MJ, you certainly brought alot of happiness to this lil' DJ...you deserve a lil for yourself now.

Plane Thoughts Part Deux

Song of the Day:
"Paper Planes"-MIA

Random thoughts from a recent flight.

I have several irritations about flying, which I've discussed before, but there’s one in particular that sticks out: I don’t understand how someone can board a flight and not bring ANYTHING to read or a game to play. Don't the get bored??

I personally cart along way too many activities and I rarely get to all of it…Nintendo DS, music, games and videos for my phone and computer, plus a selection of books, magazine, newspaper. I'm not good at doing nothing and like to be entertained at all times.

On a flight the other day, I observed a gentleman reading the “Sky Mall” catalog for two hours. Although I myself have been drawn in by the allure of it's shiny, never-before-seen gadgets, what-nots and doodads; I can’t imagine I could get through a whole 4 hour plus flight ogling doggy doors and wireless speakers that look like space ships.

The whole “incident“ reminded me of a scene from “Seinfeld”...the episode where Elaine is traveling with David Puddy and she is so irked with him because he does not have anything to do. This annoyance turns into their second break-up on the flight, and she starts to talk to the guy next to her, who she keeps calling “vegetable lasagna”. I think of this particular episode as well every time I see vegetable lasagna…usually in my grocer’s freezer.


Yes, big digression…

At any rate, what with my limited attention span I obviously can’t sit still without amusement, and find those that can survive without anything to do fascinating.


What I also don’t get is turbulence, and why we have to have it and why I seem to be the only one on a plane FREAKED out by it.

I have to distract myself. I try to pretend I'm on a subway. This trip I found a 5-song set by Yo Yo Ma suprisingly did a good job. And the book (I finished "Beauty by Zadie Smith,) and the video game (I currently hooked on "Peggle Nights") didn’t hurt either.

Distractions, diversions, what would I do without them?

Enought of the 8 already

My 2 cents on the poor 8

When I was a kid, one of my FAVE shows was “Eight is Enough”, a slightly syrupy ABC "dramedy" that started in 1977. Every night when an episode was over, I really wanted to have 6 more kids added to my family, preferably right away and the exact same cast. Despite the fact that I lacked any design and architecture knowledge, I’d lie awake at night, building additions onto our house for the extra brood in my head over and over again.

“Eight is Enough”, “The Brady Bunch”…all shows back in the day with loads of kids, and parents seemingly normal enough to deal with the stress and financial strain without having to sell anyone’s soul. Of course it turns out a lot of the actors on the show in real life were real hot messes. But isn’t that the case with reality…it's messy? Love, happiness and “normal” families only happen on a scripted show.

So you see where I’m getting with this??

I’ve never watched the show that Jon & Kate and the eight kids show. I’ve heard a few people here and there talk about it, but it never peaked my interest. I’m sure it’s sweet and all that, but ‘eh. I’m not a reality show kind of person anyways.

But these days, you can’t go to a grocery store checkout or peruse an entertainment website without seeing the latest scandal. It's too bad. Those poor kids. Shame on TLC, and shame on the parents…they are both monsters in my humble opinion. Get a real haircut lady. Of course, my hatred of her might stem from the fact that after 8 kids she looks better than me, heh heh.

At any rate, shame on the American public too. We’re the ones who can’t look away from an accident, a train wreck, no matter how horrible. We should say enough already, but we know that’s not gonna happen.

The neighbors are always the last to know

There was a story in the Sunday paper about a couple in Florida who have been accused of spying for Cuba, for many, many years. I was cracking up at the neighbors...who were SHOCKED at the charges.

They just didn't think it was possible the sweet li'l couple next door could be secret agents.

Seriously, don't you think they wanted it that way? If you DID think he could be a spy than he wouldn't have been a very good one, right?

If the neighbors were telling the media "Oh, I totally thought he was a spy. He was so shady and shifty..." then I'm guessing he'd have to turn in his secret decoder ring PDQ.

Instead they are shocked, " taken aback by news of the arrest."

People just crack me up sometimes.

I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out…

...So goes the old saying. I don’t know it really is a saying, but I k now I lie to say it. And then I goggled it, and apparently other people like to say it as well. So there you have it.

I mentioned last week that I recently moved, and I think the ONE noticeable thing I have always carried with me is my love of the Detroit Red Wings.

I have a vague memory of going to Olympia Stadium (where the Red Wings played a long time ago) and as a child I was THRILLED to pieces when the guys smacked up against the boards. The whooshing of the skates, the chill of the stadium, the blood on the ice. All good times. I don't really know if I really was there, or if I dreamed it, but I’ve told the stories so many times when people ask me “How long have you liked hockey” that I believe it. Such is the legend of hockey in Hockeytown, AKA the home of the Detroit Red Wings.

In Michigan, the proximity to Canada I guess explains one reason why hockey is a big deal to a huge age group and both men and women in the area. People are rabid about the games. Naps are taken in order to watch the West Coast games. Yelling very loud at the TV is very common as well. During playoffs, plans are changed and trips are canceled. It's a big deal.

I worked with a great lady at a Detroit radio station who was going through a divorce and her ex-husband gave her a choice between 4 seats behind the Red Wing bench or the house. She said, “You can always get another house!” I sat in those wonderful seats a few times, and let me tell you…there is nothing like it, nothing like it at all.

That is if you’re a hockey person. If you’re not, well I don’t know what to tell you. There are more "non-hockey" people I think than hockey fans, so maybe that’s why we all stick together. And the Red Wings have become a little bit like Red Sox nation or the Dallas Cowboys back in the day. But Red Wings fan are much much nicer than those two teams.

At that same station in Detroit, The morning show “douche” (who is my “he who shall not be named”, because A) I think he’s litigious as hell, and B) he’s a publicity whore and I’m not about to give him any.

At any rate, the dude TOTALLY dissed Gordie Howe, a legendary player who is truly bigger than GOD in some circles of Michigan. I remember trying to explain to the marketing director that the morning show was going down a very very bad path with the Gordie Howe bashing, and she didn’t believe me. She was from Cleveland, so knew absolutely NOTHING about hockey. Which always used to crack me up, you’d think in a way they would be a hockey town. Kinda like I can’t believe Seattle is not a hockey town, so close to Canada…crappy weather conducive to hockey watching, etc. etc.

At any rate, within’ about 20 minutes of the Gordie Howe snub from the morning show, people began to FLOCK to the station raising hockey sticks and screaming very very bad words about the morning show and generally causing a huge ruckus. The phone lines were off the hook and the program director dragged the morning douche onto my show (I did midday’s at the time) to make an apology right then and there.

The point of the story is –Don’t mess with the Red Wings, or the fans. Unless you know what you're doing, it's just won’t be worth it.

I'll have more Red Wings musings coming up soon.

She was so moved

File this under: " Things only I care about Alex for $200"

Strange but true, I recently completed my 20th move. It was one thing to be in radio and move “town to town up and down the dial” but it seems at times a few crazy roommates and an upwardly mobile hubby has caused me to box up my crap.

1. Parents 1 to Parents 2
(small house we lived for a few years early on and then into house I grew up in)

2. Parents to Eastern Michigan Univ. Dorm 1
(the first of the 10 years it would take me to get degree)

3. Dorm 1 to Dorm2
(first time I lived by myself, took summer classes, was a bit scary at first but then cool)

4. Dorm2 to off campus
(the beginning of ”a time that shall not be named”)

5. Off campus to a horrible southern state I don’t want to talk about either

6. South back to Parents-
Entered the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts-True story...I won $1000 in a RADIO STATION call in contest, and when the jock asked me what I was going to do with the money I told him "Go to radio school and take your job some day"

7. Parents to Cadillac, MI 1
(First Radio Job)

8. Cadillac 1 to Cadillac 2
(Mice in the first place)

9. Cadillac 2 to Lima, OH 1
(Second radio job)

10. Lima 1 to Lima 2
(Ferret and roommate who got strange in first place)

11. Lima 2 to Akron, OH
(3rd Radio job)

12. Akron to Buffalo, NY
(4th Radio job)

13. Buffalo to Parents
(Yes, the 'rents were SUPER thrilled with me at this point...went back to EMU to finally finish my degree and SWORE I was done with radio)

14. Parents to On my Own in Mich 1
(It was in this time period I met met my now husband, graduated from college...and used that new degree to....go back into radio. Still paying for the degree too, ironic)

15. On my Own in Mich 1 to On my Own in Mich 2
( Roommate issues again and went and got my own pad. 5th & 6th radio jobs-best time ever working in my hometown of Motown)

16. On my Own in Mich 2 to Hackensack, NJ
(Love conquers career..sorta. BF now hubby had transferred there, I was getting booted....it was all a timing thing)

17. Hackensack to Jersey City 1
We fell in live with JC…. it‘s the 6th borough you know. It’s right across the river from NYC… where I eventually worked most of the time in my East Coast days.

18. Jersey City 1 to Jersey City 2
Bigger place and now tied as the Best View Ever--if you kept the door of the front bathroom open, you could see the Statue of Liberty while…uh…you know… I also had my 8th radio job in Philly for a while, but that drive and other factors changed that. It turned out to be the last place I was on the air.

19. Jersey City to Seattle 1
Upward mobile hubby gets a job all the way across the country. Ain't love grand. ;)

20. Seattle 1 to Seattle 2-
Rents have gone down on this HUGE place with a Best View Ever Number 2. It truly is stunning.

Top 8 Songs about Movin’

1. Movin’ Out- Billy Joel (mentions Hackensack baby!)
   
2. Keep on Movin’-Soul II Soul
   
3. Move on Up-Curtis Mayfield (featured in a cute scene from "Bend it Like Beckham")
   
4. Moving in Stereo-The Cars
5. I Love to Move in Here-Moby
6. Move Away-Culture Club
7. Move Along- All-American Rejects
8. The Man Who Can’t be Moved-The Script (One of my new fave bands...very Maroon 5ish.)

Sittin' on a Dock on Tahoe...

Song of the Day: "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay"- Otis Redding

Spent the weekend at a friend's place right on Lake Tahoe and actually I was singing: "Sittin' on a Dock on Tahoe, ohhhh, I don't want to go."

It was my third visited to the area nestled between California and Nevada, and it just doesn't get old. I grew up with sandy beaches on the Great Lakes, and later fell in love with the Atlantic Ocean from South Beach to Point Pleasant. But with Tahoe you get the water, the mountains, the trees. And then there's the casino's at night, a great cure for a "nature overload"...something city folk experience from time to time.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...but after this weekend I have to say that's not always the case.

At times, pictures can't really convey those "momentary qualities of light" that Monet was so fond of painting. The sun chasing the water and the water tossing off sparkles. You can't look at a picture and really smell the clean air, hear the soft putt putt puttering of the small boats lumbering by, not in a hurry to go anywhere. Taste the succulent, perfectly spiced meat that was slow roasting on the BBQ, or feel the utter contentedness at that a simple yet full day can bring.

You can't see any of that in these pictures. Thank goodness for words.