Saturday Morning (barely)

I'm finally furnishing the new place with what I like to call "craigslist decor". I got a kitchen table and a dresser last week, this week it's end tables, next week, love seat. My place still has no soul, but maybe in a month or so, it won't feel that I am in someone else's crib.

My expedition with Comcast cable is really starting to piss me off. First, they didn't tell me that I needed a different HD box to get the HD channels, so I go exchange it at the office and have to wait 15 minutes. I come home after work and dial the number to activate it and was immediately put on hold for 37 (!!) minutes. Even after talking to the tech, she says that she has sent signal after signal, but it doesn't work. Great! So, I have to wait till 10am one morning for the tech to get there, but in his big truck of tech, he has NO HD box on the truck!! What? "Well, they didn't tell us the problem, just that there was a problem". So, for the second time, I have to take the box back to the store. I decide on Friday to take my lunch hour at go to the cable place. The line stretches out the door. Shit. So, now I ahve a box that doesn't work and no time to fix it. They have one strike left. If I don't get satisfaction on the next try, they are OUT! I'll get a dish or something.
The new job is full of challenges and I am completely maxed for time. That's exactly what I wanted and needed. The programming and engineering guys work their asses off to make sure the stations sound great. My PDs remind me of me many years ago, full of ideas and big plans. I'd much rather reel them in than have to push them. I am training my sales staff with as much stuff as they can handle. Let's return to the things that are fundamentally sound and rudimentary solid. Yes, I am actually training my sales staff, something that is rare in our business. When I started, I was given the phone book and told to "start dialing"...thanks! In six months, I expect to have a staff of GREAT sellers, not just good ones. If doesn't happen, it won't be for lack of effort.
Yesterday, for the first time in twenty years, I had a conversation with one of my favorite people from the past. "Congratulations", she said, "we made it". Wow, we did, huh? With all of the bad juju, the distractions, the drugs, the crises, the deaths of loved ones, the chaos that once marked our lives, we somehow have appeared on the other side. The roller coaster ride didn't kill me, it made me stronger. God tested me (he still does) and I didn't falter. Not when he took my parents away, my older brother (who I adored), my friends, my loves, my money, my house, my health, nothing. I didn't waiver in my faith and I feel I have been rewarded with health, wealth, happy, healthy kids and relationships that get better every day. Yeah, I made it. We made it. We waded into the swamp until we started to wade OUT. I am still walking, still wading.

I saw Eagles tickets for sale and their face value was $187.50. That's without the service charges and other fees. I couldn't be more unimpressed. I hope Don Henley and Glenn Frey choke on their own money. It's hard for me to believe that these are the same guys that I used to adore. Lately, if the Eagles were playing for free in my neighbor's back yard, I'd go next door and tell them to turn it down because I'm watching reruns of "Happy Days". Kinda sums up my feelings, huh?

In the words of Oat Willie(the most thoughtful guy in the world)....onward through the fog....

Joe Biden?

I know my daughter loves this guy but I'm not sure about this. This smacks of everything that Obama is against...the Washington insider...the plagarist...the guy who said the Obama was "not ready to lead." Man, I hope he hasn't shot himself in the foot here. I think I would've liked Chuck Hagel, Kathleen Siberius or even "gasp" Hillary, but maybe he knows more than I (you think?).
It didn't give me a kick in the pants like I would hoped it would. Smart guy for sure and probably will chew up Mitt in the debate, but me thinks that it wasn't the 'Knockout punch" I was looking for. We will see.

How Did I Miss It?

I bought this last year, along with the new John Fogerty release "Revival". At the time, I gave Bruce barely a passing grade while praising the new Fogerty. Not to take anything away from the Fogerty release, but I got this out last weekend and stuck in the car for the drive just so I could familiarize myself with the new record. Jeez, what a record. I'll put it right up there with anything he's done in the last 20 years. The old dynamic key changes and hooks are all in place. The lyrics once again make me sad, happy and angry all at the same time. "Livin In The Future", "Gypsy Biker", "I'll Work For Your Love","Magic" and the anti war "Last to Die" kick my ass but the show stopper, the one that really stands out for me is "Girls In Their Summer Clothes". It immediately and repeatedly sends me back to being 19 again.

"Well the street lights shine Down on Blessing Avenue
Lovers they walk by Holdin' hands two by two A breeze crosses the porch
Bicycle spokes spin 'round Jacket's on, I'm out the door
Tonight I'm gonna burn this town down
And the girls in their summer clothes In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes Pass me by

Kid's rubber ball smacks Off the gutter 'neath the lamp light
Big bank clock chimes Off go the sleepy front porch lights
Downtown the store's alive As the evening's underway
Things been a little tightBut I know they're gonna turn my way
And the girls in their summer clothes In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes Pass me by

Frankie's Diner's Over on the edge of town Neon sign spinnin' round
Like a cross over the lost and found Fluorescent lights Flicker above
Bob's Grill Shaniqua brings a coffee and asks "fill?"
And says "penny for your thoughts now my poor Bill"

She went away She cut me like a knife Had a beautiful thing
Maybe you just saved my life In just a glance Down here on Magic Street
Love's a fool's dance I ain't got much sense but I still got my feet
And the girls in their summer clothes In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes Pass me by
And the girls in their summer clothes In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes Pass me by
La la la la, la la la la la la la
La la la la, la la la la la la la
La la la la, la la la la la la la
La la la la, la la la la la la la"

That guy knows MY life better than I do, he always has, I expect he always will. The best recording in the last two years and I missed it first time around. That goes to show you that music has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. This one hit me over the head with a hammer, a year after it should have. Thanks Bruce.
..."and I'm just out here searchin for my own piece of the cross..."

A Night of "Magic"

Tonight's the big night, the one I have waited for months to get here..is now here. Nothing transports me away into time and space than Bruce and his band. I guess you have to "be there" to get it as many of my co-workers/friends don't understand it. Tonight in St. Louis, tomorrow in KC and then the long overnight drive back to Bloomington in the wee hours of Monday morning. Bruce is more of a concert, it's an evangelical experience. Very few people have gotten to my psyche than he has. From the first time I heard "Fourth of July/Sandy" and then heard the majestic, exuberant, muti orgasmic "Born to Run" on KSHE 33 years ago, it was over. Over, I say! Then I discovered "Thunder Road","Tenth Avenue Freeze Out","Rosalita" and the rest. He makes me cry, he makes me think, he makes me happy, he makes me sad. There is nothing like a soaring big man solo to prop up any funk, anytime. The big man can't stand throughout the whole show anymore and the sweet Hammond B3 of Danny Federici is forever silenced, but there is a certain optimism in his music even during the "The Rising". When it's all sorted out, there were be two American songwriters who have defined our generation...Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. "Take me home, take me home...Thunder Road!".

One Down, A Hundred To Go

You go, girl

The RIAA has lost its lawsuit against Tanya Andersen, a disabled single mother, and have been ordered to pay her court costs of $107,951. But the good news keeps on coming: Ms Andersen is now countersuing for damages arising from her having to defend the suit.
"Well, Phase I of the RIAA's misguided pursuit of an innocent, disabled Oregon woman, Atlantic v. Andersen, has finally drawn to a close, as the RIAA was forced to pay Ms. Andersen $107,951, representing the amount of her attorneys fee judgment plus interest. But as some have pointed out, reimbursement for legal fees doesn't compensate Ms. Andersen for the other damages she's sustained. And that's where Phase II comes in, Andersen v. Atlantic. There the shoe is on the other foot, and Tanya is one doing the hunting, as she pursues the record companies and their running dogs for malicious prosecution. Should be interesting."

Do This, Don't Do That..Can't You Read The Sign?

Back In The Saddle Again

After almost four solid months of not exercising, I got the green light to work on this gut I have developed from not being able to metabolize my food like I used to. Starting Monday, I will join the gym that I have picked out in B/N. It has two facilities, one close to the apartment and one close to work. Before I can play basketball, I need to get into "basketball shape". I am literally starting over, I have no wind and I am fat. I plan on a regimen that will get me back in shape for basketball by October 15th. I have miles and miles to go. Of course, the blog is a great way for me to keep track of how much and when. I will weigh myself on Monday and repotrt back. Ugh, it won't be pretty. Wish me luck....

Hell Hath NO Fury Like A Woman Scorned

Reasons number 1,200-1,210 Not to do it.

A Lesson Well Learned

I went into a client's business on Friday and immediately had my ass handed to me on a platter. I made a critical error when it comes to meeting with a large client for the first time. I didn't do my homework. I had a huge proposal lined up with an opportunity for that client to own our airwaves for most of the winter months. All we wanted was something in trade. Granted, it was large, but the proposal I submiuted was large on our end too. She was busy and only had time for a minute. Uh oh, first bad sign. I laid out my promotion and was immediately handed my tush on a platter. "What in the hell made you think you could waltz in here and tell me how my business is when I have never met you before? You look and smell like some California hustler in here to take my money and I don't appreciate it. Where are you from? St. Louis! Let me tell you something city slicker, you'll never get anywhere in this town with an attitude like that. St. Louis, huh? I'll just bet that you're going to vote for that Muslim son of a bitch who's the anti-Christ too, huh? If he gets elected, my business and half the businesses in this town will shut down because he wants to tax us even more. He's worse than the boy governor of this state and that's saying something..." Anyway, this went on for a while and I explained I used to be a rider and was maybe looking to get back on a bike again; that I had never even been to Califonia, I grew up on a farm in one of the most conservative parts of the country and I was somewhat offened by that remark. All I was guilty of was coming in there with a proposal that was too ambitious for her or her business. That's a huge mistake in my business. I didn't know my client well enough and just thought the proposal was too good to pass up. ERRRR, wrong answer. Things calmed down and I left with the opportunity to earn her trust and respect and through all that, I got a nice Tshirt. Situation went downhill fast when I got there, but just at the right time, I pulled the plane from a nose dive and landed at the nearest airport. A negative was turned into a somewhat positive situation.

All I could do was laugh about it when I got back to the office. We'll hit it all again on Monday.

Another One Hit Wonder

From 1977, these guys were the answer to the Stones, no, wait..Aerosmith, no..er um. Anyway, I always liked this song and have been known to play it on the air a couple of times. apparently, they are still playing. I wonder if they are doing Colosseum Rock?

Whoops, just found this from 2007...what the hell happened to the lead singer, did he get swallowed?

This Week

It started on Sunday, when I lectored at church, reading about the apostle Peter and his tribulations while walking on the water. It seems that Jesus, while performing the magical feat of walking on the water, told the doubted Peter that he, too, could do it if he had the faith. Peter set out across the water, but when his faith slipped, he fell into the water. At this time, Jesus talked about Peter.."oh ye of little faith". I got it. Jesus took Peter outside his comfort zone, and tested his faith, which is where I am right now. I am outside my comfort zone, sent here by a higher force. Then the news about Bernie Mac surfaced. Dead at 50. That ain't right. Then, when I heard about Isaac Hayes, I was truly stunned. One of the cassettes that my brother brought home from Vietnam was "Hot Buttered Soul". It had a certain smell to the cassette (maybe it was the plastic or whatever, but I know that smell anywhere) and it was one of my first exposures to the guy who brought us the "Theme From Shaft". He was one of the baddest muffuggahs on the planet. Man, Isaac was supercool. One of the first guys to shave his head, he pulled it off with style and grace.

Hey, Michael Phelps, go, man, go. Win them all, bro.

A Nice Present

Earlier in the week, I got an email from my friend Tom at "Now Hear This" in Kirkwood (my favorite music store for the last twenty two years). My long awaitied and highly anticipated order came in.

In 1971, this was probably one of the albums that I played the most. What a warm, great sounding record. At this time, Dave was at the top of his game and the addition of Cass Elliot was truly inspirational. Apparently, Cass' sister Leah Kunkel was living above her garage and all sorts of folks would drop by. Stills, Crosby, Nash, Joni Mitchell, etc. It seems that musically, Cass and Dave drew together and Cass said she would produce his new record. Her brother Russ Kunkel got keyboard great Paul Harris and his bass player and away they went. Dave was just coming off "Alone Together" and was on a hot streak. Cass not only produced the record but jump in as well. You can say what you want about Cass, but the people around her worshipped her and she had some of the greatest pipes ever. It's too bad this didn't sell well. It only got as high as number 49 on the top 200. While doing some research, I found it very interesting that Dave NEVER had a top 25 release. I lost this LP somewhere many years ago in one of my countless moves and this has never been released on CD. Until now. What a treat! "Walk To The Point" is on here, so is "To Be Free" and "Here We Go Again", along with some old friends I have reaquainted myself with this morning. There are a couple of fillers "Next To You" but the rest is two great friends, both at the top of their game and a fun, warm re-creation of the end of my freshman year. Good to see and hear an old friend again.

11:00pm Friday Night

Here I sit at my computer, margarita in hand, I contemplate the last week. Excellent progress has been made but we are nowhere near where we need to be. That is all.

John Edwards, what a cad. Man, you are an embarrassment. Leave.

I must say how incredibly impressed I was with the opening ceremonies at the Olympics. In the past, I have had little interest, really The choreography of 15,000 and the precise arrangements with great, progressive visual effects along with...fireworks made this one cut above the rest. The Olympic theme song has been with us since childhood and it' s a very familar sound. I can't help thinking that something is going to go wrong. I hope not, but color me paranoid.

I need to drop a few pictures from my hard drive so, here ya go, some pretty funny signs (hey, I'm out of space)...

And your own caption and play along at home, kids

Another Great Old Gas Station

let me know when you've had enough...

How Weird Is It?

I am sitting in my office, getting some work done, listening to the Ipod. "Baby...Please" by Dave Mason is playing in the background and I wonder how the hell I got here. Really, thinking back to when that song was prominent in my life, I was driving from East Moline to Milan to work at Miller Container when I was 17. I did the third shift and went to high school. In my town, there wasn't much talk of college, that was for rich kids. Schmoes like me went straight from high school to Miller Container or Farmall or John Deere or JI Case. We never went into "management". We certainly didn't get into managing something we love so much. So, here I sit, about 35 years after Dave was in my eight track and I have a corner office. With big windows, no less. Through it all, I just about gave it up a number of times, but why did I still keep on keeping on? Because I knew, deep down in my heart that someone, somewhere would give me a shot to teach and manage. I have been doing this for 32 years, picking up good and bad habits along the way. It's now time to use all this crap in my head to make the owner happy. I intend to do just that.

On that subject, I found out one of my competitors (who I shall not name) was someone who mistreated me a few years ago. It will be a pleasure to see him move on. Karma's a funny thing.

Of all the cities in central Illinois to live, this is one of the best. Very progressive, forward looking. These two towns are like suburbs without a big city. They remind me sooo much of Moline/Rock Island and I don't know why. It might be the architecture or the way the streets are laid out. For some reason, these places are VERY familiar.

It's ALL good.

Here's the new crib:

I am among the State Farm minions. There are a lot of them here.

Not Posting Much

I haven't had any internet access other than work, and I wrote this at lunch.
I am proud, as a former domer's father, that we just signed to be an affiliate for Notre Dame football.
I will post more later, maybe after work.

Your Look...Your Look on Drugs

Started off attractive enough....

Another Album Cover Recreated by LEGO

For Mothers Everywhere

thanks kk

Thirty Years Under Headphones

I have made friends with the cicadas blaring in my ears.

I hear them everywhere, and apparently so do a lot of other people.....

CHICAGO (Reuters) - One of three U.S. adults already suffers from some degree of hearing loss and the use of personal stereos and an aging population may create a hearing impairment epidemic, researchers said on Monday.
A team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore estimated that 55 million Americans have hearing loss in one or both ears, with men, whites and the least-educated most affected.
One out of six, or 29 million adults, have some trouble discerning speech, more than previous estimates, they reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
"The prevalence of hearing loss in the United States is predicted to rise significantly because of an aging population and the growing use of personal listening devices. Indeed, there is concern that we may be facing an epidemic of hearing impairment," Dr. Yuri Agrawal of the Baltimore hospital wrote.
It is common for people to ignore or disavow hearing loss, the researchers said, leading to difficulty communicating that can result in productivity problems at work, depression, and less access to health care that ultimately raises the risk of sickness and death.
Hearing loss is common among people 70 and older, according to the report. But hearing loss also affected 8.5 percent of those in their 20s and 17 percent of people in their 30s. Exposure to workplace noise, firearms, and loud music were all risk factors.
Assessing health information collected from 5,700 Americans aged 20 to 69 years between 1999 and 2004 in the federal National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Agrawal and colleagues found men were twice as likely as women (21 percent versus 11 percent) to have speech-frequency hearing loss in one or both ears.
Whites were more than twice as prone to hearing loss than blacks, and those with less education were more at risk than those who completed high school or beyond.
Also dramatically increasing the chances of hearing loss were smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Screening for hearing loss should begin in young adulthood, particularly for vulnerable groups, Agrawal concluded.

Album Covers Recreated In LEGOs

Sucker; As In Hook Line And...

Yesterday, I stopped into my friend Tom's record store ("Now Hear This" and the last of a dying breed I must say) and found this:

Now, I have owned this on LP, cassette, CD, Remastered CD and:

So, as an early addition to the Monday Night Music Club, this is our weekly selection. One filler, the rest higher than most could ever get. Billy sounded like he wasn't even trying. Piano Man was three years before and Mr. Joel was rumoured to have been under a bit of pressure to write a hit album. I'll put the first eight songs on this album with anyone's work. So now I am the proud owner of.....
1. A remastered (again) CD of the original album


2. Live at Carnegie Hall June 3, 1977


3. DVD of promotional videos, a concert at The Old Grey Whistle Test from 3/78 and a 30 minute documentary on the making of "The Stranger" featuring new interviews with Billy and Phil Ramone

That's along with various librettos and a notebook that Billy was writing in while putting the album together. It's got hand written lyrics, doodles and other interesting stuff. "Anthony's Song" was written about a neighborhood in New York. "The Stranger" is a masterpiece. "Just The Way You Are" reminds me of the overnight show on WQUA Moline and KSTT Davenport, RIGHT Before I got to KC. "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" is his "Stairway to Heaven", "Vienna" is damn close to my favorite on the record. "Only The Good Die Young" nuff said. "She's Always A Woman" was one of the underlooked classics in his career. "Get It Right The First Time" is a sweet funky number that Liberty DeVito shows his chops. "Everybody Has A Dream" is there. Meh.





One side note, while attending Farm Aid in 1986, John Mellencamp's drummer Kenny Aranoff was backstage cussing the hell out of Liberty DeVito because Billy Joel went on before Mellencamp and DeVito had busted every one Aranoff's drum heads while using his kit. Now that's playing them hard!!!

July 1981

I was on my friend Ken's blog earlier today and he had a post about the Hyatt Regency Collapse in July of 1981. I remember July 1981 very well, for purely narcissistic reasons. At the time of the Hyatt Collapse, Harry Chapin had died the day before, and the love of my life was just about to end the wonderful thing we had.


The first professional interview I ever did was with Harry Chapin. He was playing at the Palmer Auditorium in Davenport in 1978 and the ticket sales were a bit slow, so I'm sure he was forced to do the dog and pony radio show. I was given a phone number to call and a time but when I called the number, no one answered. I went about my business and left the building for a bit. when I got back, there was a hand written message from the secretary that said "Harry Chapin called, please call him at the number you have". I kept that piece of paper for decades until the flood of 1992 in my basement destroyed it. I kept calling him Mr. Chapin during the interview and he kept correcting me. "My name is Harry, my dad was Mr. Chapin" He personally invited me to the show, I went and it was quite incredible, telling those stories. He died in a traffic accident on July 16, 1981. I was furious at the news and cried. It rained that day.


This video of the Hyatt Regency Collapse on Nightline features a couple of old friends Harold Knabe of the Fire Department and Scott Feldman, one of the best reporters ever to come through KC. I was at a local bar that Friday night (surprise) when it came on TV. It was July 17, 1981. I immediately rushed to the radio station to find Charles Gray and the staff of 61 Country knee deep in the story. "Blood's the word, we need people to give blood", then 30 minutes later being told by the Red Cross, "send them away, there are too many people wanting to give blood". It was one of the most chaotic nights I have ever spent in radio. I was there until two a.m. It rained all day the next day.



One of the heroes of the Hyatt Disaster was a doctor named Joe Wacherle. Doctor Joe was rich, handsome and single. Little did I know that he caught the eye of the woman I was dating at the time. Bree was one of the most scrumptious creatures ever. Intoxicatingly beautiful, she was the object of many looks and come ons. Funny, intelligent, tempestuous, unpredictable and she always went home with me. Until she met Doctor Joe. I couldn't blame her really, he pretty much had the whole package. Good looking guy, famous medical hero, a real man's man. This was the only woman who had ever hit me, popped me in the ear one time in a jealous rage. I certainly didn't deserve it but that was the nature of the relationship. It was one of the best years of my life. This was the woman I was with when we found out John Lennon was asassinated. I even took her to the Quad Cities to meet my family. They fell in love with her, too. She left on July 24th 1981 approximately a year after we experienced "love at first sight". I was emotionally devastated beyond recognition and it took me a while to get over it. It didn't work out with them and they were toast soon. Her and I had one more two day work out in October where we really couldn't get enough of each other (I remember the World Series was the Dodgers and Yankees for some reason) and then..she was gone and again I was never the same completely. I never saw her again. She moved back to San Francisco, married her high school sweetheart and had two beautiful children. By all accounts, she was living the life she had wanted until she was killed in an auto accident in 1995. I never loved anyone harder than her, but it was never easier to love someone so completely. She lived her life fully. She filled many chapters in this book and I think of her often. White Shoulders perfume never smelled so sweetly as it did on you. The picture on the left was December 1980 when I delivered a eulogy for John Lennon at the All Souls Unitarian Church and the picture on the right is Padre Island April, 1981

This was the song on the radio during all of this...the one I remember most anyway...



So, July 1981 was one of the worst times of my life for more than one reason. But unlike, Harry (dead at 38), all of those people on the skywalk or one of the loves of my life, I am here on this Earth to ramble on. Miss you, B.

A Great Menu from the Past

What no burgers?

Thanks Beth

The Pew News IQ Test

I found this on smays.com and it really struck me how dumb we are as a country. These are pretty easy questions about the news and current events. I got 12 out of 12. Think I'm lying?

Here's my score. That puts me in the 97th percentile and places me WAY ahead of others.

If half of the country can't answer the questions we should know by heart, then we WILL fall for anything wrapped in a 30 second ad or a soundbite on TV.

Shh, hey did you hear Obama is a muslim and his wife is a terrorist? And that fist bump thing they did? It's a gang sign, right?

Here's the test, try it yourself.

More Great Signs

I think I've been there..only once, though.

Walk the dog, but don't kill it

An oldie but goodie

er, uh..I don't think I want to go much further...