Show Biz: Friday 11/28/08

*** Everyone have a nice Thanksgiving? As I mentioned on the show we had a busy, but very enjoyable day.

It started at my in-laws for turkey dinner #1. A crisis was averted when after our youngest daughter, Sarah's bip was misplaced, I ran over to a nearby drugstore to purchase a new one.

I know, I know, not only shouldn't she have one by this point - she's almost 2 1/2 years old -- but this would have been a perfect opportunity to have her quit cold turkey. And, of course, quitting cold turkey...on Thanksgiving...it really was set up nicely for us.

But we couldn't do it. She mainly uses it when she's sleepy, and ready for bed. Judging by the mood of the room after a full plate of turkey, gravy, potatoes, etc., we all could've used a bip by the end of the afternoon.

From there it was on to my brother's house. He and his wife were hosting their first Thanksgiving, and it was a really nice time. Counting us, my parents, and his wife's side of the family, there were about 20 of us there.

Now, it just worked out that we arrived just as they were serving dinner, and not wanting to be rude, we, of course, had a plate of food. Again, it was all very good.

One of the highlights of the night was after dinner when several of us gathered around the TV to take a stab at playing the Wii. Bowling and Golf were the initial sports of choice.

Then, we discovered boxing. It's simple enough, in theory: Hold the two controllers provided, and make boxing motions during the fight. You actually can jab, uppercut, roundhouse, all the moves you associate with boxing.

Turns out, my daughters are a little better at it then I thought. Not sure if I'm happy about that, or frightened.

Our oldest daughter, Megan, who had never played the game before, proceeded to knockout my brother, a veteran of the game, in two separate matches.

Then I took her on, and got knocked out as well.

Of course, Sarah wanted to play also. The first go around, Megan dropped her like a sack of potatoes, as Sarah really had no idea what she was doing.

But...in the second fight, Sarah -- who was basically just moving her arms around without any rhyme or reason, but it was working -- took out Megan with a 3rd round knockout.

And, credit to Megan, who took it in stride, and was laughing about it, as she felt the same way we did after losing to her.

It was a fun way to cap off a great day. A day that featured a (ahem) 1-2 punch of turkey dinners that still has me feeling (burp) stuffed.

Here's me showing Sarah the ropes...



Megan tries to land a "right", moments before her Wii fighter gets knocked out by the Diapered Destroyer, Sarah...

Holiday Gift Guide Trivia Has Begun

Today marks the beginning of our annual Holiday Gift Guide Trivia Contest. Hopefully you have your gift guide, which may have arrived earlier this week at your door.

They are also available at various businesses in the area -- keep listening for the list of Holiday Shopping Spree participating sponsors to find out more.

Inside the gift guide are answers to questions that we will be asking the next several days.

When we ask the question on the air, the first person to call in with the correct answer, and the page number you found it on in the gift guide, you'll win a prize from one of our Shopping Spree sponsors.

Good luck.

Happy Thanksgiving

Jay and I, and our families, extend to you a heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Thanks to you for listening to the show, and now, visiting the blog. Spread the word.

We hope you have a great day, and that the Eagles get their act together and win tonight. Well, that last part is mainly my hope.

I'm still trying to recover from Tuesday night's series finale of The Shield, so a day full of food and beverage should help to do the trick. I know for a fact that there very well could be blog readers here who have yet to see the finale, so all I'll say is, I am really going to miss that show.

Today, we'll be visiting my in-laws in the afternoon, eating a full plate there, and then trekking to my brother's house, and likely having at least a half-full plate there. He and his wife -- newlyweds, married in May -- are hosting their first Thanksgiving. My parents will be there, too, and even though it will make for a late night -- for me at least -- it's going to be a lot of fun.

I doubt I'll have time during the busy day to sneak in a viewing of my favorite Thanksgiving related movie, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Maybe before the weekend is out.

As funny as it is, it's also very touching, and, yes, I get choked up everytime John Candy comes over to Steve Martin's house at the end.

Plus, it's always a treat to see the scenes that were filmed at the "Braidwood Inn" -- actually, the Sun Motel -- along I-55. Coal City is also technically in the film, albeit briefly, in a scene where Martin and Candy drive by the Coal City exit.

If I can't watch Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, then I could always watch my beloved Eagles play Arizona tonight.

That'll reduce me to tears, as well.

Almost Turkey Time

A little holiday humor on Thanksgiving Eve...

A man in Phoenix calls his son in New York the day before Thanksgiving and says,"I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough.

"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams. We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her."

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this,"

She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "they're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way."

A classic. Jay and I will be along Thanksgiving morning to provide you with more yuks, and maybe some yams, too.

$500 Holiday Shopping Spree

Hot off the presses, here are some of the details for this year's $500 Holiday Shopping Spree...

• Listen to 95.7 FM, WJDK for a list of businesses where you can sign up for the grand prize.
• Filling out forms at those businesses also qualifies you for various prizes from those sponsors that will be given away daily starting 12/08.
• Prizes can also be won by participating in our Holiday Gift Guide Trivia Contest. Gift Guides are available this week. Answer the questions we ask live on WJDK by giving us the answer and page number you found it on inside your Gift Guide. Entry forms for the $500 Shopping Spree are in those guides as well. Trivia starts 11/28.
• The grand prize drawing will be 12/18 at 6:50am on both 95.7, and 103.1 FM.
• You'll have 15 minutes to call in and claim your prize. We'll draw a new name every 15 minutes until we get a winner.

Complete rules are at the station. Keep listening -- always a good rule of thumb -- for more details, and good luck!

Show Biz: Tuesday 11/25/08

*** Remember Larry Mendte? "Scary Larry." Mendte, who was a investigative reporter at WBBM Channel 2 in Chicago from 1991-1995, has been sentenced to six months house arrest in Philadelphia for hacking his co-anchor's email account.

House arrest? Great. How many email accounts will he be able to hack into while being forced to stay in a house for the next six months?

Considering he's also been linked to hacking a second co-worker's account, any thing's possible.

I'd hate for him to hack into my email and see all of the fan mail I've sent to Dave Savini, Chuck Goudie, and Pam Zeckman over the years. It could be embarrassing for him.

Well, this case pretty much trumps everything else on the "embarrassing" front. Although the clip below comes close.




*** Thanksgiving is only a few days away. Remember, Jay and I will be on the air Thursday morning from 5:30 - 9:00am to provide the backdrop for your turkey prep.

Hopefully the rough economy won't prevent you from having a big meal with all the fixins'.

If worse comes to worse, you could always cook your shoe. Are those Hush Puppies?

Show Biz: Monday 11/24/08

*** Ahhh, there's nothing like Thanksgiving week: Food, football, and good samaritans coming to the aid of innocent victims by whacking carjackers with frozen turkeys.

Those wacky North Carolinans.

According to the AP, "Police said 30-year-old Fred Louis Ervin of Raleigh stole money from a Garner BP gas station before running across the street to a Harris Teeter in Fuquay-Varina. There, he began beating Irene Moorman Bailey while trying to take her car. Other shoppers came to the woman's rescue, including one who hit Ervin with a frozen turkey."

Tis the season.

Could frozen turkey beatings become one of your new Thanksgiving traditions? Don't forget to vote on whatever tradition is currently your favorite on our poll question to the right.


*** We're days away from getting you official information regarding our WJDK $500 Holiday Shopping Spree.

Things will be pretty much the same as in year's past, except this time around, it will be in-store registrations that get you qualified, not mailed postcards.

As always, keep it tuned for all of the latest. Promos start Wednesday.


*** After reading this week's Neilsen numbers, it struck me that I hardly watch any of the shows that consistently crack the top 10.

I don't watch Dancing With The Stars, or CSI, or NCIS, or PB&J, or ASAP, or pretty much any other show using just initials - or SUJI's as I call them.

Here's what I try to watch each week: Dexter, True Blood, 24, Family Guy, Heroes, The Shield, Friday Night Lights, The Office, 30 Rock, The Office, Survivor, and The Amazing Race.
When they're in season, I also like Scrubs, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Rescue Me, Mad Men, and Real Time with Bill Maher.

Of course, with two young kids in the house, it's difficult keeping up with these shows. Although I think I'm all caught up on Dora, Barney, Jack's Music Show, Hannah Montana, The Wizards Of Waverly Place, and Cory in the House.

I need to get out more.

Baby On The Way For Jay

In about a month or so, newsman Jay Capron, and his wife Devon, will be having their first child. Friday during our lunch hour, we surprised Jay with some food and gifts.

We gave Jay the full treatment, having him wear a mini-bib while sampling actual baby food, offering him a "placenta pie", and for good measure, I gave Jay some practice by having him change my diaper.

The baby is due on December 26th.

Here are some pictures from Friday's festivity...

Jay shows initial excitement before realizing the gifts are for the baby, not him.


Awkward smiles abound as Jay pulls out a negotiation tool on Mike in an effort to get more air time during the show.


Well, Jay is eating for two now. Or is it three?

Show Biz: Friday 11/21/08

*** Randy, we hardly knew ye. Fists were pumped in the air at my house after Randy was voted out of last night's Survivor episode.

Always nice to see a good old fashioned con job, as Bob gave Randy a fake immunity idol that Randy thought was real. Expecting to be voted out, Randy played the fake idol, which Jeff Probst threw into the fire after revealing it was not real, several other contestants -- most notably, Sugar -- busted out laughing, and obnoxious Randy was sent packing.

Granted, Randy amped up the negative attitude in order to insure people would try to vote him out, thus -- in his mind at least -- making the Bob-give-me-the-idol ploy a good one, but Randy was a jerk in this game well before last night's strategy played out.

Now we get to look forward to Randy's appearance in the finale as a judge who gets to ask the finalists questions prior to the final vote to see who wins.

Get your popcorn ready.


*** We gave you the story earlier about the pallbearer that was tasered by the cops while in the middle of a funeral for his dad.

Anytime we get a story involving someone getting tasered, the clips I always lean on are...

Andrew Meyer, University of Florida - "Don't Tase Me, Bro"




and, my personal favorite, the TV reporter in Texas

Show Biz: Thursday 11/20/08

*** Hugh Jackman is People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2008. Not that I'm an expert at being able to decipher what makes a man worthy of that title, but I suppose People magazine has done a decent job of selecting the "winners" each year.

Well, most years. There's still no possible explanation for having this guy get the prize in 1992.


*** It won't be long before you start hearing Christmas Greetings from area sponsors on WJDK. Some will even begin before Thanksgiving. Too soon?

How about Christmas music? When would you like to start hearing Christmas music on the morning show?
And, while we're at it, do you prefer my method each year of bringing you an assortment of holiday tunes each day, as opposed to the same twenty or thirty standards that seem to get played the rest of the day, or would you prefer I stay with the classics everyone knows and loves, but that we all hear way too much this time of year.

Let me know by clicking here.

Dentists

Had a teeth cleaning last night. I never look forward to dentist visits. Few do. They're harmless enough, as long as you take good care of your teeth. I do a decent job, but need to floss more.

You, too, right? And, you say the same thing to the dentist that I do, too I bet. "Yeah, I'll work on it better this time."

Uh huh. And then you floss for about three days, and that's that.

In my teens, I had to deal with the joy of braces. Although, it did give me a chance to meet my orthodontist, who about 10 times per visit would ask me to, "Bite, hmmm?" I actually hid a cassette recorder under my jacket during one visit, just to capture that phrase forever. It's part of our vernacular to this day. "Hey, dad, did you try that celery and dip yet? Bite, hmmm?"

My current dentist always has an eclectic mix of music playing over the speakers at his office, which helps keep my mind off of whatever work is being done, as I try to anticipate what genre is coming next. Reggae? Jazz? Thrash Metal? You never know.

Also a treat, the waiting room video that plays on a loop talking about how to take better care of teeth. There's a section featuring tooth-brushing monkeys, which always kills.

When you're having your teeth cleaned, do you find it hard to focus your eyes anywhere specific? It feels awkward to make eye contact with the hygienist, so I usually pick a spot in the ceiling and look there.

It's not that I'm rude, and don't want to interact with her, but, it's not exactly easy to answer any of their questions when your mouth is wide open, she's scraping away at your teeth and gums, and there's a suction hose hanging out of your mouth -- or, Mr. Thirsty, as my favorite fictional dentist, Tim Whatley calls it on Seinfeld.

My blood pressure was a bit high before the cleaning -- the first time they've taken mine during a visit -- but, I chalk some of that up to the fact that I was at the dentist. You can't help but get at least a little bit antsy about your visit, even if it is just a cleaning, and then when they tell you you're getting your BP checked, there's another dose of angst, hoping that the numbers are good.

They should take my blood pressure at home each night when both kids finally go to bed. It would probably resemble a first round NCAA Tournament score, something in the 80 over 50 range.

As each cleaning begins, it's impossible for me to not think about the classic Bill Cosby routine about dentists.

Show Biz: Wednesday 11/19/08

*** Rolling Stone recently unveiled their list of the Top 100 singers of all-time. Aretha Franklin -- who appeared on last night's Dancing With The Stars -- was voted No. 1.

The rest of the list can be seen here.

These lists are always fun to discuss, since everyone will have a different opinion. But, I do have one bone to pick with this list: Bob Dylan is ranked No. 7? Of all time? We're talking best singers? Really? The nasally voiced guy that sounds like a goat being milked with P12 sandpaper?

WJDK favorite, James Blunt, voted for himself. Really?


*** During the birthday segment today, Jay mentioned that it was Ryan Howard's birthday today -- the first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Jay paused, then said, "The World Champion Philadelphia Phillies." Thank you, Jay. It still has a very nice ring to it.



If you're wondering how I reacted when they won it, well, it was pretty much like every Phillies fan in this next video.



See what you have to look forward to Cubs fans?

The Shield

After last night, there's only one more episode left of The Shield. I've been watching the series since the beginning, and I'll be extremely sad to see it go.

It has been one of the most intense, exciting, and wild rides I've ever seen on television, or anywhere, really.

The series debuted in 2002, and after seeing that Michael Chiklis was cast in the lead role, my initial anticipation for the show took a hit. "Really? The Commish?" I wasn't giving him a chance.

Then, I saw a photo of Chiklis: shaved head, and in good shape, a new man. Then I read some reviews, all of them good, and gave it a try.

Chiklis, and the show, have blown me away. Repeatedly.

I'm not going to get into all of the plot details over the the years, because frankly, there's too much to tell, and, not knowing how much -- if any -- of the show you've seen, I don't want to spoil anything.

If you haven't seen it before, and you like gritty, no-nonsense, in-your-face cop shows, then this is for you.

Go rent the DVD's and catch up.

All I'll say is, The Shield is the only show that I consistently would give up my 9:00pm bedtime to watch, and many times after the show ended at 10:00pm -- especially this season -- it's taken me a good thirty minutes to get to sleep afterwards.

Watching the show has my heart racing, sweat dripping down my back, and sometimes gasping for air.

It's that good.

So, after next Tuesday's 90-minute series finale, which I'm told is amazing, I might just stay up all night, and come in to work without getting any sleep.

And, that might not be by choice.

More Mickey's Birthday

It wouldn't have made much sense write about it being Mickey Mouse's 80th birthday without including a picture from our recent trip to Disney World.


From left to right, Megan, The Mick, and Sarah -- clutching Coco, her favorite "friend", as mentioned the other day on the show.

Not bad, Mickey. 80 years old, and still sweatin' it out in the kitchen each day.

This was at the always popular Chef Mickey's breakfast at the Contemporary Resort. An excellent buffet breakfast.

Show Biz: Tuesday 11/18/08

*** Nice to know our signal is strong enough to reach Germany. Got a call today during the birthday segment from Jerry Peterson, who is currently stationed there. Jerry was calling in a birthday wish for Betty Friant.

It wasn't technically a phone call, in the traditional sense. Jerry was using Yahoo Voice, and it sounded great. No delay, and a very good quality of sound.

It was so good, I could smell sauerkraut.

Jerry was in great spirits -- thanks to spirits? Turns out it's Jerry's birthday, too -- and he informed us he'll be back home in a year.

Hurry home, Jerry. First stein is on us.


*** Speaking of birthdays, considering how much my wife is into everything Disney, I wouldn't be surprised to come home today to a house full of pomp and circumstance to commemorate Mickey Mouse's birthday today. He turns 80.

I'll pay homage by posting the song that concludes Mickey Mouse Playhouse on the Disney Channel, and one of our youngest daughter, Sarah's, favorite songs to sing and dance to, "Hot Dog Hot Dog Hot Diggity Dog".

Show Biz: Monday 11/17/2008

*** Our poll question this week -- on the right hand side of the blog -- has to do with James Bond. With Quantum Of Solace sitting at the top spot on the box office charts this week, we're asking which actor is your favorite in the Bond role.

Voting ends early Monday morning.

He didn't make the cut for the poll, but my favorite is Tom Hanks. Watch the video below and tell me he's not the best James Bond!




*** Happy birthday today to Gordon Lightfoot. Jay and I did a wonderful rendition of "If You Could Read My Mind" during the birthday segment today.

I'm not sure if you enjoyed it as much as we did, but be thankful, Jay and I were thisclose to breaking out our version of "MMMM Bop", with one of the Hanson Brothers having a birthday today as well.

Let's move on.


*** So, is Sunday night the best night of television for you? It's tough for me to squeeze everything in. I'm trying to keep track of Dexter, True Blood, Family Guy, The Simpsons, The Amazing Race, and Mad Men -- although the 2nd season for that show ended a few weeks ago.

Last night's episode of Dexter featured the scene in which Jimmy Smits nearly killed the stuntman with a real knife. We mentioned it on the morning show when it happened a few weeks ago.

And...cut.

Morris' Football Season Over

Kankakee scored the last 30 points Saturday afternoon in their 36-21 win over Morris in the class 5A quarterfinals.

The Redskins had leads of 14-0, and 21-6, but the Kays rallied, and ran away with the win. They rushed for over 300 yards. Morris didn't get over 100 yards on the ground.

Still, it seemed that when Adam Tondini scored late in the 2nd quarter to answer Kankakee's earlier score, and put Morris back up by two touchdowns, that the Redskins would be able to hold off the Kays and get a win.

But, Kankakee marched down the field, got a score on a 28-yard run, and pulled to within seven points.

Then, the turning point in the game: Morris got the kickoff inside their 20. With under 1:30 remaining in the half, and with Kankakee having only two timeouts remaining, Morris could have run the ball three straight times, and at worst, punted to the Kays with only about :20 remaining.

However, on 2nd and 12, Morris tried a pass that was incomplete, allowing the Kays to save their last timeout. So, when Morris punted on 4th down, there was still :59 left on the clock.

That allowed the Kays to have enough time to move the ball down the field, and score the touchdown that ended up giving them the lead for good with just :14 left in the half.

Two more touchdowns in the 2nd half, and the ballgame was over for Morris.

Still, a great comeback for the Redskins after beginning the year 2-4. Finishing strong with 5 straight wins heading into Saturday was a nice accomplishment for a team that had many doubters midway through the season.

As for the cold, I managed to stay fairly warm -- I did the broadcast from the bleachers -- except for my feet.

I wore a thermal undershirt, turtleneck, long sleeve pullover, hooded sweatshirt, and heavy coat. I went with the thermal underwear, jeans, two pairs of socks, and set my feet on top of some cardboard to reduce cold coming from the aluminum bleachers. The toes were still a bit frosty.

Without much to cheer about in the 2nd half, my guess is the Morris fans -- who were facing the stiff breeze all day -- were a little frosty as well.

On to basketball.

Show Biz: Friday 11/14/08

*** Suddenly, sitting in the stands in Kankakee on a frigid Saturday doesn't sound so bad. At least it's better than being anywhere near Augusta, Illinois this weekend.

90,000 gallons of liquid pig manure is on the loose in a creek near a pig farm there.

Although, if Morris keeps winning, I'll end up enjoying a similar smell in a couple of weeks, inhaling the lovely stench that eminates from the Champaign area.


*** UPDATE: Thanks to some helping hands, our home computer is back up and running smoothly.

Again, keep an eye out for something called Antivirus XP 2009, and do what you can to keep it off your computer.

You'll probably first notice a popup claiming that your computer is infected with spyware, and that you should download Antivirus XP 2009 to help get rid of it. Don't do it. That's the virus.


*** We might turn this into next week's poll question, but on the show this morning, Jay mentioned how he won't be attending the majority of the baby shower being held Saturday for he and his wife, Devon.

I mentioned that when we had our baby shower for our first born, Megan, I was there during the whole thing, and sat with my wife as we opened gifts.

Is Jay committing a "daddy don't"? (I should mention here that he has Devon's blessing for missing the event)

Or was I going against the trend by being there for the shower.

Email us here if you have an opinion.


*** We played "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins today. I mentioned all of the different rumors as to what the song is about. Here's a good rundown of most of those rumors.

For the record, Phil said in a "Classic Albums" special on VH1 Classic that the song isn't really about anything. He just wrote the lyrics while spontaneously singing it.

I don't buy that, but that's his story.


*** You have until Monday at 9:00am to get your captions in for the picture of Jay Capron and his wife in their Halloween costumes. The pic is in the upper right hand corner of our main page.

Best caption wins tickets to the Ringling Brothers' circus.

The WJDK Turkey Catch

Just a reminder that the ever popular WJDK Turkey Catch is back by popular demand. Thanks to the fine folks at Sage's Old Fashioned Butcher Shop in Morris, we'll have turkeys to give away for Thanksgiving beginning Monday.

Remember how it works? When you hear the game start, be the correct caller to play. You'll "drop a net" over an assortment of animals. If the net "lands" over the turkey, you win.

There will be plenty of chances to win during the week. Good luck.

Caption Contest for circus tickets

Step right up boys and girls. Here is your chance to win a family four-pack of passes redeemable for tickets to the Ringling Brothers' Barnum and Bailey Circus this month at Allstate Arena and United Center.

All you need to do is come up with a caption for this Halloween photo of our busy bee newsman Jay Capron, and his wife, Devon, dressed up as a 7-month pregnant butterfly.

Best caption, as voted on by Jay and myself, wins.

Send your captions here. The contest ends at 9:00am Monday, November 17th. Please include a mailing address in your email so we can get you the tickets as soon as possible.

Winner will be announced on the morning show on Tuesday, and with an email response as well.

Good luck, and be creative. If this thing goes well, we'll make it a regular feature.

Show Biz: Wednesday 11/12/08

*** Programming note for Saturday: I'll be on the call of the Morris Redskins matchup at Kankakee in a class 5A state quarterfinal football game.

Have fun during our 1:00pm broadcast by seeing if you can hear how many times I sniff, cough, or sneeze since I'm doing the game from the bleachers. Apparently the press box at Kankakee doesn't have room for us.

Plenty of room for the P.A. announcer, timekeeper, stats person, and coaches from both teams.

I miss the old days when the press box was for, you know, members of the press.


*** Make sure you check back here Thursday, as we'll be offering you an online opportunity to win some tickets to Ringling Brothers' Circus with a caption contest.

We'll put a photo up here -- most likely, Jay in his Halloween costume -- and ask for the best caption for the photo. Winner gets four passes redeemable for circus tickets. Good luck!

Random Recommendation: Mama Mary's Pizza Crust

I've talked many times on the show about how much we enjoy making pizzas at home. I always look forward to seeing "pizza crust", "cheese", and "sauce" on the grocery list for the week.

Making a homemade pizza is fun, especially when you don't have to bother with making the crust. It's much cheaper than ordering out, too.

We -- like most people -- love pizza, so what we do, rather than blow $20 for a delivered pizza, or go no frills with a frozen Tombstone, is make our own with the help of the Mama Mary's Pizza Crusts.

I've seen these available in most grocery stores, and we prefer them to Boboli.

We either get the 12 inch regular crust, or the thin crust. Two crusts come in each package. It runs somewhere around $4. Sauce is about $2 if you're buying enough for two pizzas.

We don't always fill up our pizza with a lot of toppings, so it's usually just cheese, onions, and maybe some pepperoni. For the cheese, we buy the chunks of cheese (8 oz. block per pizza) and shred it ourselves. Seems to taste better than using the already shredded cheese.

Quick pepperoni note: Don't buy the 100 slice package for $3-$4, because half of those slices will go to waste. Instead, go to the deli, and ask for about 20-30 slices of pepperoni. You should be able to get those for your two pizzas for less than one dollar.

After the crust is sauced, and the toppings are put on the pizza, we top it with some Italian seasoning, and in the oven it goes for about 15 minutes.

These pizzas cook well on the grill, too. I'd recommend a slightly lower temperature though, so the crust doesn't burn that bad.

And there ya go...homemade pizza without the pain and time needed to make your own crust, and your wallet will thank you, too.

For the record, I'll gladly accept some free crusts from Mama Mary herself if she's reading this.

Show Biz: Tuesday 11/11/08

*** Happy Veterans Day. A quick reminder...there will be coverage of the Morris Veterans Day service on our sister station, 103.1 FM, WCSJ.


*** On the show today we gave you the top 10 most irritating phrases in the English language, according to Oxford University in England. Here's the complete list:

1. "At the end of the day"
2. "Fairly unique"
3. "I personally"
4. "At this moment in time"
5. "With all due respect"
6. "Absolutely"
7. "It's a nightmare"
8. "Shouldn't of"
9. "24/7"
10. "It's not rocket science"

How can a list like this not include the phrase that irritates me the most, "It is what it is."

Here are a few others that are bothering me lately...

* "Recession"
* "Economic downturn"
* "Deflation"

Getting real tired of those.


*** The nominees for the People's Choice Awards have been announced. You can vote for your favorites here. The show will air on CBS January 7th.

Beware of Antivirus XP

There's a pesky little virus/malware program floating around out there, and my home computer has it. It's something called Antivirus XP 2008 (or 2009).

If you start getting popups that you're not used to seeing, warning you that your computer is infected, and you need to download such and such program to get rid of the problem, that's either the virus trying to go onto your computer, or it's already on there.

It's not a particularly dangerous virus, so the experts say, but all I know is, my computer won't boot up now.

Just before we ran into the reboot problem, I was having a hard time running certain spyware removal programs, and when searching google for articles on how to fight back, several pages wouldn't load. It's like the virus knew I was hunting it down and didn't like it very much.

In fact, the moment that our computer "blue screened" us was when we were searching for what we thought was the corrupted file. In the middle of typing it in, it shut down. We got it to reboot that time. Tried to search it again, and down it went again. It never came back.

Most impressive.

Plenty of websites out there offer instructions on how to combat this thing once it's on your computer, like this site.

Keep your eyes open for this thing. Our computer is now in the hands of someone that we trust to fix it, and he says that none of our data will be lost, and we should be back up and running after he sprinkles a little magic dust on it. But still, it's obviously a major pain in the hard drive.

Show Biz: Monday 11/10/08

*** We officially announced the blog to the masses this morning, so if this is your first visit, welcome. Feel free to browse. Just don't break anything.

I've been working hard to get this thing up and running, so I hope you come back often and see what we're doing. As always, if you have any suggestions, feel free to email me here.

And, yes, the monkey is supposed to represent me, not you. If that's how you took it, then you'll do just fine here.


*** Rumor has it, we are resurrecting the ever popular WJDK Turkey Catch for Thanksgiving this year. As always, keep it tuned for all of the info.

Show Biz: Friday 11/07/08

*** Congratulations to Rick Astley. Last night at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Liverpool, England, the '80s pop star famous for his hits "Never Gonna Give You Up" and "Together Forever" was named Best Act Ever, which is an award voted on by fans.

Astley's surprising resurgent popularity is due in large part to the internet phenomenon known as Rick-Rolling. It's when you provide a link to a video on a website, only to have that link take you to a Rick Astley video, instead of whatever was originally promised.

Which reminds me, have you seen the video yet of Oprah Winfrey dunking a basketball at the United Center?

Ok, so now you get the idea.

On the show, we referenced another very popular video, a variation of the Rickroll.

Show Biz: Wednesday 11/05/08

*** In our continuing effort to provide you the most amount of prizes ever assembled by one radio station, we are offering the chance to win tickets to Ringling Brothers' Barnum and Bailey Circus.

The passes -- redeemable for actual tickets at the box office -- are good for shows at both Allstate Arena, and United Center throughout November.

Show Biz: Tuesday 11/04/08

*** Of course, today is Election Day -- finally -- so get out there and vote.

Make sure you're tuned in to our election coverage beginning tonight at 7:30. Most of the emphasis will be on the local races, but there will still be reports of the national stuff, too.

Let's hope there are no controversies this year. It didn't take long for there to already be stories of some problems at voting locations out east.


*** Late in the show we told you about Shirley Nagel, who refused to give out candy to anyone on Halloween that mentioned they were supporting Barack Obama.

Shirley, you can't be serious?

Show Biz: Monday 11/03/08

*** All week long we'll be giving away pairs of tickets to see comedian Drew Hastings at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet.

The show is Friday night at 7:00pm.

Find out more about Drew here, and check out some of his standup here.