The Mike Williams Morning Show

Wireless Mike

2009-07-08T07:27:00.002-05:00

I still may post here once in awhile, but most of my future posts will be at my original blog, Wireless Mike.

So, go there from now on for any updates on me, my family, or whatever else is bouncing around in my head.

Thanks again for listening.

Fading Lights

2009-07-04T07:48:00.003-05:00

I've put together a montage of morning show moments from over the years. It's a bit long, but hopefully you'll enjoy it.

It's set to the tune, "Fading Lights" by Genesis.

Click here to hear it.

The Stars Of The (Last) Show

2009-07-04T06:11:00.003-05:00

The night before my last show, I realized that it had been awhile since I had aired any audio of my daughters, Megan (turning 9 later this month) and, especially Sarah (turning 3 this month).

Over the years, some of the best -- and most frequent -- feedback I got about the show was regarding my on-air stories about my daughters, and the trials and tribulations of being a parent.

Certainly a very relatable topic for most of my listeners.

So, on Monday night, with tape recorder in hand, I sat down with Megan and Sarah and had a very informal conversation with them about their summer, their interests, and just them in general.

The girls were more than eager to talk. Megan gave thoughtful responses about things she is enjoying during her summer vacation, what she'd like to be when she grows up, and also displayed some newly found piano skills by playing a couple of the songs she's been working on at piano lessons.

Sarah gave us a rundown of her invisible friends (Yageg, Yo-yo, Babe, and Hegeg -- all names she has made up), talked about her visit last week to the library, and waxed poetic about her recent trips to the potty to make poo poo.

At the end of the talk, I asked Megan if she had any last thoughts. After thanking her fans -- and she has a bunch of them -- I mentioned to her all the feedback I've received about her and Sarah over the years, I told her I loved her, she said 'love you, too', and then she said into the microphone, "I love you all, bye."

When I got to work the next morning, my original intention was to edit the interview down to about 5 minutes or so, and make that one segment during the show.

I recorded a lot more than I had thought I did, and after doing some editing, I ended up having four or five pretty good segments, that totaled way more than 5 minutes.

As I sifted through the tape, I kept coming back to Megan's last line.

Right before the last show started, I decided to make "family" the unofficial theme of the day. I opened with an old bit of Megan reciting the "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," and used the segments of the interview with the girls throughout the show. We tied in Jay's son Jack's 6-month birthday as well to fit the theme.

As the last few moments approached, I cued up Megan's final thoughts from the night before. My last show closed with Megan, on tape, saying, "I love you all, bye," followed by me saying the same thing.

Needless to say, 'ol Dad here was unable to hold back the waterworks once the mic was turned off.

I hope you enjoyed all of my family stories over the years. I'll keep you updated about me, my family, and whatever else is on my mind at my other blog, which I will try to get back to updating on a more consistent basis after the holiday weekend.

A New Day

2009-07-01T05:31:00.002-05:00

It's a "new day" for the morning show on WJDK. Yes, I'm still employed, but I have assumed some different responsibilities with the company.

I'll have more information for you soon.

Can I Win The Stuffed Balloon?

2009-06-23T12:16:00.003-05:00

Thanks, Homer.

Yep, Tuesday was my birthday. Both Jay and my mom seem to think I turned 40 this year. They're kidding. I think.

I'm not quite to 40 yet, although after chasing around two young girls all day and night, I feel a lot older than 40!

The girls I'm chasing are my daughters, Megan (turning nine next month) and Sarah (turning three), not two random young girls. Although, if I was chasing around two random young -- but, legal -- girls, I'd probably feel a lot younger than 40.

But I'm digressing, and regressing. Not to mention, digging myself quite a big hole, so let me take off my South Carolina governor's hat for a minute, and finish the post.

I had a great birthday, spread out over a couple of different days, celebrating with my folks this past weekend, and with my family on Tuesday.

Nice gifts, great food and beverage, plus plenty of laughs and good times.

You may have noticed that the amount of blogging, and perhaps the quality, has been cut back a bit over the last few weeks. There's a very good reason for that, which you'll find out about soon.

Show Biz: Monday 06/22/09

2009-06-23T04:56:00.004-05:00

*** During the birthday segment -- as we recognized Kevin Schramm's birthday from Sunday -- we discovered a very entertaining sound clip from Kev.

Kind of a groan that sounds filled with anguish. Hard to explain.

Keep listening, as it will most likely make a return appearance soon.

And often.

*** Gary Beers from INXS had a birthday today, so we featured one of my favorite pop hits of the 80's during the birthday segment, "What You Need".

*** Lou Gramm is most recognized as the lead singer for Foreigner, but it was one of his solo songs that was featured today on the 80's Escape.

"Midnight Blue" -- which has an incredibly toe-tapping hook to open the song -- was a hit for Lou back in 1987.

The only decent video I could find was this clip from The Today Show, with Jay Leno!

Show Biz: Thursday 06/18/09

2009-06-18T07:15:00.004-05:00

*** Paul McCartney is turning 67 today. Did I need to put "Sir" in front of his name?

Oh well.

We delved a little deep into Macca's collection of hits for the birthday segment, and gave you "Listen To What The Man Said" from his days with Wings.

*** The Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom was "Out Of My Head" from the group Fastball, who enjoyed success with several hits at the end of the decade, but then seemed to disappear.

They're still together, but, obviously haven't been able to recapture any of their original success.

Their debut album, which featured their three most popular songs, went platinum. The followup album? 85,000 copies sold.

Yikes.

Thhe Moosst Commmonly Misssspelled Worrds

2009-06-16T05:44:00.003-05:00

Spelling isn't a priority in this age of texting and Twittering, but a new survey of the most commonly misspelled words in the English language reveals a list of terms that have probably never seen the light of day on a text or a tweet.

OnePoll.com recently surveyed five thousand people and found the top ten most misspelled words. They are:

1. Definitely
2. Sacrilegious
3. Indict
4. Maneuver
5. Bureaucracy
6. Broccoli
7. Phlegm
8. Prejudice
9. Consensus
10. Unnecessary

Now we need a list of the most commonly -- and purposely? -- mispronounced words. The one at the top of my list that makes me want to put my fist through a wall, or at least into a pillow, everytime I hear it...Supposably

Show Biz: Friday 06/12/09

2009-06-12T07:30:00.001-05:00

*** Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick is having a birthday today, and with it being Flashback Friday, the tune "Surrender" was the perfect choice.

Just as it was for Conan O'Brien's cross-country run from New York to L.A. to get ready for the Tonight Show gig.

Show Biz: Tuesday 06/09/09

2009-06-10T06:06:00.004-05:00

*** As you know by now, I'm back from my weekend with the boys in Ohio. Nobody got arrested, and everybody made it back safe and sound.

While most of the guys were eager to hit the night spots at Put-In-Bay each of our two evenings, the treat for me was having Friday night, and all day Saturday with no major responsibilities, other than helping to make sure the fridge or cooler of choice was properly stocked.

There were several guys on the trip -- out of the 18 total -- that are married with kids, and a lot of our enjoyment was just having the time, and freedom, to sit on the deck of our cabin and waste away a Saturday, reading a magazine, staring at ladies at the pool, playing bags, staring at ladies at the pool, and staring at ladies at the pool.

It was a fun weekend, but I'll admit, it was nice to get back home.

*** Jay's choice today for the Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom was "Freshmen" by the Verve Pipe.

Back On Monday

2009-06-05T05:58:00.005-05:00

Hey gang. Sorry, I'm a day or two behind on posting. It's been a bit crazy the last few days, so, my apologies.

Just a couple of things for ya...

*** Don't forget to tune in this weekend to the sister station, 103.1 FM, WCSJ for coverage of the Coal City Lady Coalers at state. This is the first time the softball team has made it this far.

Coverage begins today at about 4:15pm, with the first pitch at 4:30 against Stanford Olympia. We'll have more on today's game, and a preview of Saturday's game during Spotlight On Sports tomorrow at 9:00am.

I've had these two vacation days -- today and tomorrow -- set in stone for months now, so I won't be on the call. Jay will get the chance to bring home a champion.

With the way Kirsten Verdun is pitching, I wouldn't bet against them.

If betting on high school sports was legal, of course.

*** Yesterday's Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom was the 1995 mega-hit from Oasis, "Wonderwall".

*** As for me this weekend, I'm headed off to a bachelor party for one of my best friends, Brian, who is getting married in July.

Here's the video of him proposing to his longtime girlfriend at the end of an ABC7 10pm newscast last spring.

I've known Brian since junior high, and the two of us have shared many a laugh over the years, poking fun at just about everything in the pop culture world, and spending a lot of our chats and conversations rehashing all the silly things we've done over the years.

When I play back my feeble attempts at play-by-play at Blackhawk games from my earlier years, Brian was usually right there next to me.

His is the voice yelling "Shoot it!" in one of the clips.

The bachelor party is in Ohio, and we leave this morning and get back Sunday. There will probably be between 15-20 guys in attendance. Hopefully, we all make it back.

Don't worry, I've left all of my auto-erotic asphyxiation equipment at home.

Not sure if Norm will think to play a little INXS for the 80's Escape in honor of the passing of David Carradine, who appears to have died the same way Michael Hutchence did.

At the very least, our first beverage of the trip should be a "Grasshopper".

Show Biz: Tuesday 06/02/09

2009-06-02T08:50:00.002-05:00

*** Charlie Watts, drummer of the Rolling Stones has a birthday today.

Watts is one of the only drummers I've seen that while playing a simple 4/4 beat, would not hit the hi-hat when hitting the snare drum.

Not sure the significance of that, just thought I'd share.

We featured a Stones' classic from the 70's at the end of the birthday segment, "Miss You."

*** The Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom debuted today -- it will air again Thursday morning at 7:50am -- and the first song chosen was "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum.

*** For the 80's Escape, we played something from The Bangles.

Their bass player -- Michael Steele -- turns 55 today, and our song of choice was their 1988 hit, "Hazy Shade Of Winter."

Nineties Nugget

2009-06-02T05:50:00.004-05:00

We debut a new musical feature today, the Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom.

The segment -- in the tradition of the 80's Escape -- will feature a popular song from the nineties that you don't normally hear on WJDK.

Jay is choosing the songs, although that doesn't necessarily mean they are all favorites of his. So, if you hear "Achy, Breaky Heart", don't assume it's straight from Jay's personal mix tape. Not saying it didn't come from there...just sayin'.

Don't worry, you (most likely) won't be hearing Billy Ray, or Vanilla Ice, or the Spice Girls. There will (most likely) be no "Macarena", or "The Thong Song", or "Rico Suave".

The goal is to simply play a song that was popular when it came out, could pass as a regular song on the 'JDK playlist, and is entertaining to listen to - for you, and us.

We're going to do the segment two days a week: Tuesday at 7:20am, and Thursday at 7:50am.

If you have a suggestion for a song you'd like to hear, send it here.

Show Biz: Monday 06/01/09

2009-06-01T08:55:00.003-05:00

*** Alanis Morissette turns 35 today. For some reason, we don't play any of her songs on WJDK - until today.

At the end of the birthday segment, we brought out her 1996 hit, "Head Over Feet."

*** It's always a treat when we have an excuse to play some Air Supply on the show -- if only because it reminds Jay and I of the hilarious infomercial that we always mimic while their songs are playing -- and for the 80's Escape today, we played "The One That You Love" on Graham Russell's (the blond one) birthday.

This video always makes me thirsty for some lemonade...

Show Biz: Thursday 05/29/09

2009-05-29T05:55:00.007-05:00

*** The great John Fogerty celebrated a birthday on Thursday.

You gotta love the guy. He has a place in rock history with a string of classics with CCR, some big hits in the 80's, and he's still touring and making albums to this day.

He had a very catchy instrumental song a couple of years ago that nearly made it as the opening theme to the show.

During the birthday segment, we featured one of the simplest, yet memorable videos from the eighties: The seemingly never-ending extension cord that ends up in John's guitar during "The Old Man Down The Road."

John Fogerty - The Old Man Down The Road
Uploaded by jpdc11. - See the latest featured music videos.

*** It was hard to resist bringing out some Fogerty again during the 80's Escape, so I gave into temptation by playing "Centerfield"

John Fogerty - Centerfield
Uploaded by jpdc11. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

*** Carlos Zambrano had one of his annual meltdowns at Wrigley Field this week, arguing a safe call at home plate -- which was the correct call -- and got tossed by the home plate umpire.

The umpire in question, Joliet's own Mark Carlson, who was a guest on Spotlight On Sports many moons ago after he had become a major league ump.

An incredibly nice guy, by the way.

Over the years, I had lost track of whether Mark was still calling games at the Major League level. I guess, that means he's been doing just fine. Umpires, in theory at least, don't really want to be recognized, or considered part of the game in any memorable way.

So, thanks, Mark for reminding me that you still are out there. And, feel free to eject as many Cubs as you feel fit.

Here's the meltdown in case you missed it...

Show Biz: Wednesday 05/27/09

2009-05-28T05:23:00.003-05:00

*** The very underrated Neil Finn, singer from Crowded House and Split Enz, had a birthday on Wednesday.

One of the more infectious hits from Crowded House, "Something So Strong", was featured at the end of the birthday segment.

*** Did you catch Mr. T singing at Wrigley Field the other night? Quite a treat.

Jay and I had some fun with the audio during the show Wednesday, and you get to enjoy the audio AND video below.

*** For the 80's Escape, we went back to 1980 for Paul Simon's top ten hit, "Late In The Evening."

Jon and Kate Plus Hate?

2009-05-26T12:09:00.005-05:00

This is Kate Gosselin, of the increasingly unwatchable TLC show Jon & Kate Plus 8.

If I never see this woman on my television again, I will be a happy man.

Alas, the odds on that happening are not good. Our oldest daughter, Megan LOVES the show. Luckily, all of the adult drama has passed right over her head, so on each episode that she watches, she focuses on the kids and what they do.

Kate should take note.

The picture above depicts her "working", and doing her "job" while ignoring her kids at home. She spends about 20 days a month traveling across the country for various speakign engagements (cha-ching) and book signing (cha-ching), leaving husband Jon to take care of the kids back at their mansion (thanks to the $75,000 per episode they receive from TLC. Cha-ching!).

Then, when she does show up at the house in the premiere, she takes the kids with her to help pickj out party favors for the sextuplets 5th birthday party. She's all too eager to point out that Jon is not around for that weekend, so she has to do everything by herself -- something she whined about multiple times last night -- and then spent the rest of the episode putting on phony displays of laughter and happiness, while the people around her -- including the kids -- had grim looks on their faces.

She's narcissistic, overbearing, a shrew, selfish, and demeaning. And those are her good qualities.

I won't go into all of the details on the show, or the fractured relationship between Jon and Kate -- who seem ready for a divorce, after watching last night's season premiere -- because there are countless articles and websites that recount the details, or at least the allegations much better than I could in this post.

Just suffice it to say that, as usual, the ones that will suffer are the kids. They might not know everything that's going on, but they know enough to realize that something is wrong. Dad's not around -- probably kicked out of the house -- and Kate is bound and determined to keep those cameras around, and keep her "career" of touring the country alive, instead of staying at home where she belongs and fixing her family.

Oh, but it's all Jon's fault according to her. When allegations of her indiscretions were brought up, Kate wanted to change the subject because it made her mad. It doesn't matter. After watching this show way more than I wanted to these last few months, it's obvious her heart belongs to Benjamin Franklin.

You know, I actually don't mind if Kate is on my television in the future.

The more Megan watches, the more she'll realize how good she has it.

And, really. Chop off the hair.

It looks ridiculous.

Hawks Win!

2009-05-23T08:22:00.004-05:00

After blowing a 3-0 lead, the Blackhawks put away Detroit in overtime last night, 4-3 at United Center.

Let's hope Martin Havlat will be okay after the crushing hit leveled upon him early in the game.

For the first five seconds or so after this hit, I thought he was dead.

This is one of the reasons I play golf.

Show Biz: Friday 05/22/09

2009-05-23T07:46:00.002-05:00

*** A fun birthday segment today, complete with references to Mr. Bean, the classic "Shirley (surely) you can't be serious" line that never gets old, plus the chance to drop the Smiths on you.

Lead singer Morrissey turns 50 today, and on a Flashback Friday, it seemed even more appropriate to play "How Soon Is Now"

*** Bernie Taupin is also celebrating a birthday today. There are dozens of songs that we could have played for the 80's Escape from the lyricist for Elton John.

In the end, I simply went with a song that had a good beat, and works well as we approach the busy weding season.

Here's "Kiss The Bride"

Show Biz: Thursday 05/21/09

2009-05-23T07:29:00.002-05:00

*** Stan Lynch, the drummer from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had a birthday Thursday.

We had a double feature with Tom and the boys, with "Love Is A Long Road" up first during the birthday segment.

*** For the 80's Escape we featured "Runnin' Down A Dream". The actual video for the song which features Stan Lynch on drums is here.

The only video clips that I could embed into the blog feature Lynch's replacement on the skins, Steve Ferrone.

Show Biz: Wednesday 05/20/09

2009-05-20T12:36:00.002-05:00

*** The immortal Cher turns 63 today. During the birthday segment -- which was filled with a lovely callback to Rusty the horse from Seinfeld -- we played her number one hit from 1973, "Half Breed".

That song is the opening part of this Cher medley from the same year.

*** Joe Cocker is 63 today. The 80's Escape this morning featured his 1989 hit, "When The Night Comes", which can be heard below.

For one of my favorite Joe Cocker related moments -- the classic clip of John Belushi imitating Cocker, with Cocker singing along on stage -- click here.

Show Biz: Tuesday 05/19/09

2009-05-20T10:26:00.002-05:00

*** Pete Townshend had a birthday on Tuesday. For the 80's Escape, we featured one of Pete's hits as a solo artist -- he didn't have many -- "Let My Love Open The Door."

Here's a live version, complete with Phil Collins on drums.

Show Biz: Monday 05/18/09

2009-05-18T12:31:00.002-05:00

*** Rick Wakeman, keyboard player with Yes, turns 60 today.

During the birthday segment, we played "Love Will Find A Way". Yes, "Roundabout" would have been a much more exciting choice, but I didn't have 8:29 available.

*** Martika turns 40 today, and the 80's Escape was the perfect venue to play her biggest -- and only -- hit, "Toy Soldiers".

Baseball Bets

2009-05-16T06:43:00.002-05:00

Not sure if anyone remembers, or cares, but now that we're a little over a month into the season, I thought I'd update you on the progress of the season-long baseball bet going on between the Three Stooges (your truly, Jay, and Kevin).

It's a pretty tight race. We weighted the win total category, since the Cubs are picked by just about everyone to rack up more wins than the Phillies and White Sox. We just may not have weighted it enough.

Going off a Vegas gambling site, we had the Cubs slotted for 92 wins, the Phils for 88, and the Sox for 80. Well, Kev's just about caught me in that category (just one game behind heading into this weekend), and he's just seven behind the Sox (making up almost 50% of the deficit within the first six weeks of the year is not a good sign for Jay).

On the flip side, with the injury to Aramis Ramirez, and the slow start for Giovanny Soto, Kev is lagging behind in third place in the RBI category.

Our "goofy" stat is the Sunday winning percentage, and so far, Schramm's Cubs are a perfect 4-0.

That category was my idea.

Excuse me while I bang a baseball bat over my head.

The good thing is, the overall stats are very close for our bet, and it should make for a competitive season.

I'll update you again in a few weeks. Be sure to clear your schedule.

Show Biz: Wednesday 05/13/09

2009-05-13T11:15:00.003-05:00

*** Stevie Wonder turns 59 today. He is one of the best -- and one of my favorite -- singers/artists of the past forty-plus years. There's no debate.

While it was tempting to reach deep into the Stevie archive during the birthday segment and bring out "I Wish", or "Living In The City", or the always satisfying "Superstition", I chose to go with one of his softer classics, the glorious "Overjoyed" from 1985.

*** One of the stories we discussed today was one that virtually all of us can relate to, the workplace refridgerator. More specifically, the food that gets left in that fridge, and the problems that arise.

We do a pretty good job here at the station of keeping our fridge pretty clean, and limiting the amount of food that sits in there for more than a few days.

Most of what's in our fridge consists of drinks and condiments, with the occasional lunch -- usually mine that I eat every day.

It's a far cry, thankfully, from the work fridge at the AT&T building in San Jose. There was so much moldy and spoiled food in there that the smell that came from that fridge when it was getting cleaned sent dozens of workers to the hospital.

A hazmat team had to be called out.

Now, there have been times here at the station that a hazmat team certainly could have been called out after some excursions in the bathroom, but never for anything in the fridge.

*** Adam Clayton of U2 is having a birthday today, so for the 80's Escape we played one of U2's hits, "New Year's Day".

Show Biz: Tuesday 05/12/09

2009-05-13T07:44:00.003-05:00

*** Steve Winwood turned 61 on Tuesday. Always liked his stuff, whether it was with Traffic, Blind Faith, the Yardbirds, or his solo work.

I mentioned that he recently toured with Eric Clapton -- the two played together in the group Blind Faith -- and the 80's Escape song from Tuesday was Winwood's "Split Decision" from 1986.

The version below is with Clapton on guitar during their tour together from last year.

The studio version of the song features Joe Walsh on guitar, who also co-wrote the song.

Hat Trick For Patrick

2009-05-12T07:59:00.005-05:00

Here come the Hawks!

There's still time to get on the bandwagon, folks.

Could things get much better for the Chicago Blackhawks this season? A young team, getting better day by day, their longtime play-by-play announcer, Pat Foley, back in the booth where he belongs (although, in a sad twist, wouldn't be behind the mic in the Cup Finals, if they get that far), all games on television for the first time ever, over 22,000 fans in the seats, and in the standing room sections, pushing overall season attendance to over one million, and a berth in the conference finals!

It's been an amazing transformation, and a long time coming. Back in the 60's and 70's, when Bobby Hull, Stan Makita, and Tony Esposito were stars for the team, the Blackhawks were the hottest ticket in town.

There was a brief resurgence in the mid 80's, when Denis Savard helped the 'Hawks to a couple of Conference Finals appearances.

For a time in the early 90's, the Blackhawks also enjoyed a handful of years where they were legitimate contenders for the Stanley Cup, reaching the finals once, but getting swept by Pittsburgh (I was in attendance for the final game. A sad night, for sure, but, man, I got the chance to watch a team skate around with the Stanley Cup. Even though it was the opponent, it was an awesome moment for a hockey fan like me).

When players were allowed to leave via free agency without getting paid what they deserved from "Dollar" Bill Wirtz, the team started to struggle, fans found other ways to entertain themselves, and the Blackhawks became an afterthought.

Then, Wirtz passed away, and everything turned around. Son, Rocky Wirtz took over operations, hiring John McDonough from the Cubs as President of the team. He brought back Pat Foley, all games were televised, and -- most importantly -- the team on the ice continued to improve, becoming contenders at just the right time.

Will the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup this year? Who knows? They may get swept in the next round. But, there's no denying that the future looks as bright for this team as it has in a very long time.

There's still room on the bandwagon.

Show Biz: Monday 05/11/09

2009-05-11T19:35:00.000-05:00

*** One of the most underrated singers of the classic rock era, Eric Burdon, is celebrating a birthday today.

Even though we don't play as many 60's and early 70's songs as we used to on WJDK, there was no way I was passing up a chance to bring you some Eric Burdon vocals, so during the birthday segment we brought out a little "Spill The Wine".

*** During the 80's Escape, I played one of those obscure songs that, for some reason, has stayed in my head for over 20 years.

Back in 1987, the immortal Jon Astley had a song called "Jane's Getting Serious" that reached #77 on the Billboard Chart. Not exactly a scorching success, but, it did chart.

My friend Brian and I would constantly sing the chorus line at school, in the proper mocking tone, which is something we did -- and still do -- with virtually all worthy pop culture references.

"...Jane's getting serious...Jaaaaannne"

It's just one of those silly, random things that sticks with me, and after today, maybe it is sticking with you as well.

For what it's worth, Jon Astley has had a pretty impressive career as a music producer, helping produce, or at least master albums for The Who, Eric Clapton, Deborah Harry, Abba, George Harrison, Tori Amos, The Rolling Stones, Tears For Fears, Led Zeppelin, Level 42, Toto, Norah Jones, KT Tunstall, Van Morrison, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Bono.

Not too shabby. Sounds like Jon's been gettin' serious. Jooonnnnnnnn.

Amazing Race...To The Bathroom

2009-05-08T10:45:00.003-05:00

On the show this morning, Jay and I recounted the events of Sunday's Amazing Race episode, when Jen and Keisha finished in last place due in large part to Jen's inability to control her bladder.

As they were racing to the finish line, Jen -- who had gulped down several bottles of water to help get her through a difficult eating challenge -- couldn't hold it anymore, and had to stop at a restroom to relive herself.

That allowed the cheerleaders to sneak ahead of them, and finish in third place, sending Jen and Keisha home.

I referenced a marathon runner who displayed much more determination, bravado, and fearlessness when he faced a similar situation while racing recently. And, this was much more than just a simple need to relieve the bladder.

Yes, this racer was faced with a more colon-related matter. A fecal matter, if you will.

However, there was no way this racer was going to let that get in his way. Either that, or he just couldn't get to the port-a-potty on time.

Click here to see what I'm talking about.

So Long, Scrubs

2009-05-07T11:59:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite sitcoms of all time, Scrubs, signed off last night -- most likely for good.

There's a chance it will come back next year with a few of the cast members gone, including star Zach Braff, but, even though I'd welcome the chance to get a few more laughs from future episodes, considering how strong last night's finale was, I think the best plan would be for it to go away for good.

There are a large amount of great montages and clips at Youtube, and I'll just leave it up to you to dig up some of your favorites, or some clips you haven't seen in awhile from the show's past.

On today's show I played the song "Book Of Love" (the Peter Gabriel version) that played over the final scene as J.D. pondered his future outside of the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital.

While the song is strong enough on its own, seeing it in the context of what was happening on the show adds the proper amount of depth.

Here's the final scene...

Love The Drake

2009-05-05T16:08:00.008-05:00

As you can see by the wide smile on my daughter Megan's face, she was absolutely thrilled to meet Drake Bell, the star of Nickelodeon's now defunct hit show Drake and Josh.

Drake and his band were at the Rialto Square Theatre for a concert Saturday night.

Thanks to some connections here at the station, I was able to round up an interview with Drake the day before the show. When the interview was over, I started to ask Drake if he would do me a favor. He must have already known what I was about to ask, because he interrupted me mid-sentence and said, "do you want me to record a message for your daughters?"

He must get that a lot.

As of Friday, one day before the show, I had kept the fact that Megan and I were going to the concert a secret from her. I was holding out hope that I could get Drake to help out with my favor in the hopes of really giving Megan a thrill.

I had Drake record a message to Megan basically inviting her and myself to the Saturday show. I told Drake that we had seen him perform at the Illinois State Fair in 2007, which he included in his message, and that he was hoping to see her at the show.

After recording Drake's message, I called home and had my wife let the machine pick up. Then, I played back the audio as if Drake was personally calling our house.

After picking Megan up from school, my wife and I told her there was a special message waiting for her on the phone. We rolled some video, and captured her surprised reaction to the Drake Bell "phone call".

I'd post the video, but computer speakers all across the region would probably be destroyed by the piercing scream of joy that she let out about three seconds after the message was finished.

After she asked a few obvious questions, we let her in on how he actually got around to "calling" her, and she was fine with the reveal, and still in the same amount of shock and awe.

As we prepared for the Saturday show, Megan wanted to make a poster for Drake saying that she was the "Megan" that he left the message for. A simple "Hi Drake, I'm Megan" was designed late Saturday afternoon, complete with hearts above the i's, and a big I "heart" U at the bottom.

Then, I called the box office to ask if posters could be brought to the show. A simple "No" was the response, and that was that. Of course, once we got to the show, we noticed several fans with posters, that were allowed inside. No matter. What happened later made up for it.

We had also read something about no cameras being allowed, so, foolishly, we left our digital camera at home. Then we got to the Rialto, and noticed everybody walking in with a camera, no questions asked. Then I saw a sign on the door saying that Drake would be signing autographs after the show, and that no one would be turned away.

Fortunately, we were there early enough, and we live close enough that I was able to call my wife and convince her to bring the camera to the Rialto for us to use during the night. I couldn't let this opportunity pass.

And, if we were to get to say a quick "Hi" to Drake in the autograph line, the need for the poster was gone now.

The show was good, a real solid set of fun, upbeat songs, and the appropriate amount of squeals from the primarily young female audience.

Afterward, Megan and I met up with a classmate and her dad, and we waited in the autograph line. Since we stayed for all of the songs, unlike others that preferred a better spot in line, we were at the back of the pack of autograph seekers. It was worth it, though.

As we got closer, Megan grew more and more excited. I had purchased a Drake Bell poster for her before the show, and that was what we handed over for Drake to sign. As we got to him, I told him that I was the one who interviewed him the day before, and he smiled and shook my hand. I then introduced him to Megan, the subject of his message. He smiled, shook her hand, and asked if she got his message.

Megan looked at him with a wide-eyed grin and shook her head yes. Speechless, but at least not totally unresponsive.

He kindly allowed us to take his picture with Megan, and it capped off a great two days of fun for my daughter. And me.

Yep, I'm a fan. As I mentioned in the interview, I always thought he was funny, from watching him portray the Tony Soprano-esque "Tony Pajamas" on the old Amanda Show, all the way through his time on Drake and Josh.

Plus, his music is very adult-friendly as well. His main influence is the Beatles, so it doesn't take long to follow along with his music, and find some common ground. He's talented, and watching him work the fans in his autograph line, he seems to get it, which I respect.

He went out of his way, even if just for a few seconds, and gave my daughter a couple of memories that she'll always have, and a few days she'll never forget.

Me too.

Show Biz: Tuesday 05/05/09

2009-05-05T15:58:00.004-05:00

*** On this Cinco De Mayo, we went with a Mexican flavor with both of our musical tie-ins today, and with our drink choice from Brewed Awakenings in Morris.

The artist of choice, Santana. The drink of choice, the South Of The Boarder Mocha, featuring Mexican chocolate.

"Evil Ways" was the chosen song at 6:50a.

*** One of my favorite Santana songs from the 80's was featured on the 80's Escape.

"Winning" was the choice, and the video below shows Carlos Santana in a snazzy red scarf.

Always love the videos of a full band lip-syncing and pretending to be playing their instruments.

I'd love to hear the real audio of the shoot. You know the drummer has to actually be playing his kit, because it would be too easy to notice if he wasn't even hitting the skins.

The guitars might not even be plugged in, or turned on, who knows. The actual audio from these video shoots must be a hoot.

Love the singer, too. He looks like a cross between Andy Gibb and Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) from Die Hard.

Show Biz: Monday 05/04/09

2009-05-04T07:42:00.002-05:00

*** Lance Bass of N'Sync turns 30 today. During the birthday segment, we played one of N'Sync's many hits, "Bye Bye Bye".

*** Congratulations to Jeff Klank of Channahon, and Kathy Lowery of Mazon, winners of our Spring Buyer's Guide grand prize.

They each receive a complete spring detail package from Dolphin Car Wash. Each prize is worth $170.

*** Today we began qualifying moms for a Mother's Day prize from Shantel's Day Spa and Salon.

At the end of the week, we'll give away an Ultimate Spa Experience from Shantel's.

Be listening for the montage of mom lyrics to play. When you hear it, be one of the first three callers at 815-941-9570 to qualify a mom in your life for the prize.

*** We also started giving away some prizes from Brewed Awakenings in Morris.

Be listening all week for the chance to win a coupon good for five free Espresso drinks from Brewed Awakenings.

By the way, I highly recommend the drink I had this morning, The Boss. It's a signature mocha, with espresso, steamed milk, mocha, and butterscotch flavor.

*** For the 80's Escape this morning, we went back to 1987 for the Genesis hit, "Land Of Confusion".

Drake Bell

2009-05-01T06:38:00.004-05:00

We're hoping to have an interview with Drake Bell, star of the Drake and Josh show on Nickelodeon, that will air on the Saturday morning show between 6:00 and 9:00.

UPDATE: I did the interview Friday afternoon, and it will air Saturday, May 2nd, at 8:15am.

Bell is appearing in concert at the Rialto Square Theatre Saturday night, May 2nd.

I highly recommend it.

In the summer of 2007, I took my oldest daughter, Megan, to go see Bell, along with Corbin Bleu, at the Illinois State Fair. You can read about that here.

Bell's music is heavily influenced by the likes of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Brian Setzer. His songs, written and performed by Bell and his band, are catchy, upbeat, and very accessible. If you can concentrate on the songs over top of the screaming girls, you'll notice some really good music in there.

We'll be at Saturday night's show, too. Moms and dads, if your kids have seen the commercials for the concert tomorrow, or heard me talking about it, and are bugging you to go, there are still tickets available at the Rialto Box Office.

Take them. You'll enjoy it, too.

Swine Flu Fever

2009-04-29T11:04:00.002-05:00

I guess it's time to start paying attention to this whole swine flu problem.

It's reached the U.S. -- resulting in at least one death so far -- including a possible case in Rogers Park here in Illinois.

That's plenty close enough that it's probably a good idea to start taking some precautions. Just like I have in the above picture.

Hey, I have no idea where that mic has been.

Show Biz: Tuesday 04/28/09

2009-04-28T08:38:00.002-05:00

*** One of the members of the group Take That is having a birthday today, so we brought out a hit for the group from the nineties during the birthday segment today.

Everyone remember "Back For Good"?

*** I was in a Steely Dan mood for the 80's Escape, so today we featured the 1981 smash, "Hey 19".

Show Biz: Monday 04/27/09

2009-04-27T17:29:00.000-05:00

*** Sheena Easton turns 50 today. I was never much of a fan of hers in the eighties. Her short hair wasn't doing it for me, and "Morning Train" had to be one of the most annoying songs of 1981.

Then I saw her in a Bally's Fitness commercial later in the decade, and, well, let's just say I began to see her in a whole new light. "Sugar Walls" didn't hurt either.

In honor of her birthday, we featured "Strut" on the 80's Escape. Look for a pre-Grammy winning Bruce Hornsby in the video.

Yes We Can

2009-04-25T09:10:00.004-05:00

The Chia Obama is finally here.

God Bless America!

It's Susan Boyle's World...

2009-04-25T07:38:00.003-05:00

Meet Susan Boyle.

The videos of her singing on Britain's Got Talent -- along with other videos of other songs that she has sung -- are now the most watched viral videos. Ever.

Not bad, considering she only emerged on the scene within the last two weeks.

What caused all of the fuss? Here's the video, in case you're one of the five people that haven't seen her performance yet.

Don't get too used to her look, however. Even though she's only been famous for two weeks, she's already had a makeover.

Why? Her look -- along with a great voice -- is the big story here.

Great singers are a dime a dozen. But to succeed in the music business while looking like Julia Child, now that's a thing.

Idol Thoughts

2009-04-23T08:11:00.005-05:00

Well, I almost had it. Thisclose to nailing a Top 5 prediction from a couple of months ago.

In February, I said on this blog that I'd be surprised if a woman made it to the American Idol Top 5 this season. Here's the excerpt:

"After one night of "semi-finals", I feel fairly safe in making the following prediction about this season of American Idol: There is no conceivable way that a woman wins this year.

None.

In fact, I'd be surprised if a woman makes the final five."

On last night's double-elimination episode, Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai were sent packing, leaving Allison Iraheta as the lone female in the final five.

My original prediction came after the first night of performances from the top 36. Here are some other gems from that February post:

"After last night, I'm pretty confident that Danny Gokey (above) will be in the top 3, and could easily win the whole thing..."

"...I think Anoop gets pretty far as well..."

"...Also, watch out for this guy. Adam Lambert is his name, and he has a voice that will not only shatter your windows, but it will proceed to levitate the broken shards of glass and whip them at your face.

He's a real threat."

Not bad, huh?

Of course, I also thought Scott Macintyre -- the blind guy, or, TBG as I referred to him in the February post -- was going to win the whole thing, so there's that, too.

I still think it's between Gokey and Lambert, but the two guys that might have the brightest future after this show are Kris Allen and Matt Giraud.

I don't think anyone would have predicted that. Especially about Allen.

Brewed Awakenings

2009-04-22T07:16:00.003-05:00

The highlight of the week so far has been the different drinks we've received each morning from Todd and the rest of the folks over at Brewed Awakenings, the new coffee shop in Morris.

On Monday, they sent over a couple of Caramel Machiatos, which have espresso, steamed milk, and caramel. Mighty tasty

Tuesday, two different lattes were brought to us: The Black Squirrel -- espresso, steamed milk, and toasted hazelnut flavor -- and The Climate -- espresso, steamed milk, and rich, thick caramel. Both were superb.

Today, we got to try their fresh brewed coffee, which has a nice, robust flavor. Strong, but not overpowering. Solid.

We also got to try one of their blended espressos, the Warrior Granita. It's espresso, white chocolate, and raspberry. I'm not a big raspberry fan, but this was very good. The raspberry doesn't dominate the drink like I thought it would.

With the cold drinks, I like the fact that you can let it sit for awhile, and it stays the same. I sipped at it for a couple of hours, and it tasted the same at the end as it did at the beginning. With a hot drink, you feel like you have to zip through it before it gets lukewarm.

Although, maybe the trick would be to let it sit so long that it gets cold, just like an iced drink.

Maybe I'm thinking about this too much.

Anyway, we hope you've enjoyed the discussions Jay and I have had about these drinks about half as much as we've enjoyed the drinks themselves. And, while you're out and about today, stop by Brewed Awakenings on Route 47 in Morris, next to the Subway -- where the old Dunkin Donuts location used to be.

Just don't have too many at once.

Show Biz: Monday 04/20/09

2009-04-20T16:37:00.007-05:00

*** Luther Vandross was born on this date, so during the birthday segment, we brought out one of Luther's hits from the 80's, "Stop To Love".

Just click the link for the video. It's a BMG tune, and they don't allowing embedding video clips on blogs and such. Yep, even I don't have that kind of pull.

Shocking.

It's worth it, though. Luther's rocking out while riding in a car. I think he's in a car. He's standing up while his vehicle is moving, which is all I really need to be entertained.

*** Happy 4/20 to those counterculturists out there. You know who you are.

Unless you've forgotten.

Probably no coincidence that Family Guy featured the song they did in last night's episode, which, by the way, was hilarious.

*** Anyone see Breaking Bad last night? It's emerging as one of my favorite shows.

Dark. Very dark.

As for the episode last night, all I'll say is, you'll never look at a turtle the same way again.

Show Biz: Friday 04/17/09

2009-04-17T18:58:00.004-05:00

*** The birthday segment today featured a song that has to rank in the top five all-time television themes. Composer Jan Hammer is celebrating his 61st birthday today, and his theme song for Miami Vice is one of my favorites.

It's rare that a theme song to a show hits the charts. It's even rarer for that song -- an instrumental, too -- to go to number one, but it did back in 1985.

In fact, it's the last instrumental song to reach number one.

Cool show -- for back then, at least -- and a very cool theme.

I can remember waking up on weekend mornings, grabbing my walkman and tuning to whatever Top 40 countdown show was on, just so I could hear that song. Bought the 45, too.

Last month, I wrote about how it's not all that cool to play the keyboards -- I know, I play them -- and that no matter what you try, it just doesn't ever appear to be all that cool. Not compared to playing guitar, at least.

Hammer tried to merge the two, by playing a guitar style keyboard.

Nope. That didn't work either.

*** The Spring Buyer's Guide trivia contest has started. If you have a guide, hang on to it. All next week I'll be asking you questions, and the answers are in the guide.

When you call, make sure you have the answer, and the page number you found it on.

Show Biz: Thursday 04/16/09

2009-04-16T07:14:00.003-05:00

*** The birthday segment today featured Dave Pirner, singer with Soul Asylum. That gave us a chance to bring you their biggest hit, "Runaway Train".

*** Peter Garrett is having a birthday today as well. Garrett is the front man for the Australian rock group Midnight Oil.

Their biggest hit was the feature song on today's 80's Escape: "Beds Are Burning."

Garrett is one of the most interesting vocalists that I can recall. It's hard to understand his lyrics when he sings. So much so, that the accompanying video below has captions, so you can tell what he's saying.

He's fun to watch, too. The shaved head, the awkward dancing. Was he an original member of Blue Man group?

Wouldn't surprise me.

200th Post

2009-04-15T07:46:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the 200th post on the blog!

200 posts - no lawsuits.

Win!

Show Biz: Monday 04/13/09

2009-04-13T09:27:00.002-05:00

*** Some musical videos for you from Monday's show.

Al Green had a birthday today, so we brought you a little Al Green from 1972 with "I'm Still In Love With You"

*** I really need to find a new website to provide me the celebrity birthday information I use each day.

Today I was reading through the names on the air, and mentioned Jonathan Brandis turned 33 today.

His name sounded familiar, so I mentioned to jay that he was probably a child star on some sitcom in the 80's, and while he did make the occasional guest appearance on Full House, and Who's The Boss, the most logical reason his name sounded familiar to me was that I probably read the story of his death when he committed suicide.

Six years ago.

Egg, meet face.

*** The 80's Escape today allowed us to bring out some Bowie. David, not Sam.

The tune was "China Girl"

Show Biz: Friday 04/10/09

2009-04-10T08:25:00.002-05:00

*** Happy Good Friday, everyone. As you may have noticed, the poll question for the next few days centers around my high school garage band, Tempus Fugit.

Several weeks ago, I spoke about how I had been trying to track down our drummer, Pete, because he has all of our cassette tapes.

It had been years since I had heard from him, and I'd been trying -- fruitlessly -- to get in touch with him for a very long time.

Thanks to Facebook, and some mutual friends, I did find him, and after several funny email exchanges, he let me know that he has found the tapes!

He's agreed to send them to me, and I'll transfer them to CD. The question now is, do I play any of them on the air?

Do you have any interest in hearing them? Do I really want to let these tapes see the light of day? I guess that's more than one question.

*** "Babyface" has a birthday today, so during the birthday segment we played a song he helped produce, and perform on with Eric Clapton, "Change The World".

*** The 80's Escape song today had no rhyme or reason to it. Well, it probably had some rhymes, being a song and all.

We featured the self-love anthem from Cyndi Lauper, "She-Bop".

Here's an acoustic version...

Slater Trashes The Trash

2009-04-10T05:48:00.003-05:00

Here's Jay's dog, Slater, giving baby Jack a ride that I don't think Jack is too thrilled about.

Slater was the topic of some recent discussion as Jay relayed the story of how Slater ripped through a trash bag in the Capron kitchen, sending whatever garbage he didn't eat all over the kitchen floor a couple of nights ago.

Jay discovered the mess before work Thursday morning.

A combination of the bag not being tied too tight, and Jay neglecting to take the bag out of their place were contributing factors.

Fortunately, Slater didn't suffer any health issues after ingesting plenty of trash items - even those that may have been on doilies ("adjacent to refuse is refuse").

We also learned this morning that all of Jack's diapers get discared in a different place, so Slater never even came close to stumbling upon one of Jack's, um, diamonds in the rough.

Although, considering the dietary habits of some dogs -- at least some of the ones I've had -- maybe Slater is upset about missing out on that potential delicacy.

That's right, I went there.

Good morning, everybody.

The Masters

2009-04-09T08:50:00.002-05:00

It's Masters week. As a golf fan, and a sports fan, Masters week is about as good as it gets. Big names, great drama, and one of the finest looking sporting events you'll ever see in HD.

Every year I always check to see where Easter falls on the calendar. My hope is that Easter Sunday is not the same Sunday as the final round of The Masters, because that means I'd probably have to miss at least some of the telecast. We usually have Easter dinner at my in-laws, and they don't turn the television on in the kitchen during that meal. How dare they?

When I looked at the 2009 calendar, I noticed that the Masters would end on Easter Sunday. Blurgh!

However, our plans for Easter Sunday involve eating out in the early afternoon, so I'll be able to get home in time for all of the Sunday fun. As a sports fan -- and an avid watcher of golf tournaments -- there's nothing better than the Masters. Just as much of a tradition is the way it's presented on CBS.

The tournament is so good, and so compelling, that it allows me to look past some of the silly rules that the networks have to follow, like using the term "patrons" instead of "fans".

You won't hear the term "rough" used much, either. It's known as the "1st cut", or "2nd cut".

And, of course, they still won't allow Gary McCord within a handlebar moustache's distance of Magnolia Lane ever since he critiqued the greens at Augusta several years ago, calling them "bikini waxed".

Also, you won't see any of the analysts roaming the course. David Feherty will be in his usual spot at the 15th green, not walking the course as he does at every other CBS event.

Then of course, there is the theme music for The Masters, written by Dave "Please Come To Boston" Loggins, brother of one Kenny Loggins, who penned another classic song associated with golf, "I'm Alright", from Caddyshack.

Here are some clips from previous Masters tournaments, and at the end of the post, a clip of the music that you'll hear throughout the weekend. It's called "Augusta".

Of that song, and of this tournament, I'm a big patron.

Nicklaus wins in 1986

Tiger's chip on 16 in 2005

Davis Love's similar chip in 2002

Larry Mize recalls his winning chip shot in 1987

I tried to find some video of Greg Norman's 1996 meltdown that turned a six shot lead into a six shot defeat, but couldn't.

And, actually I'm glad about that. Outside of seeing a Philadelphia team lose a big game -- which I have way too much history of -- I don't recall ever being as sad or depressed watching a sporting event as I was on that memorable day.

Here's the music that I'd like to bring with me on my iPod every time I tee it up at Nettle Creek this summer.

Show Biz: Wednesday 04/08/09

2009-04-08T12:17:00.004-05:00

*** Julian Lennon turns 46 today. He had a few hits in the middle of the 80's, and, I have to admit, I was a fan.

I was only nine years old when John Lennon was shot, but I was old enough to be a fan of his, and of the Beatles. And, as odd as it sounds, when Julian cranked out a few hits a couple of years later, it was almost as if John was still recording.

Granted, the quality of the songs wasn't on par with what John could have come up with, but Julian -- to me at least -- sounded just like John.

One of the songs that was a hit for Julian came in 1985, and it was our birthday tie-in song today, "Stick Around".

*** There was quite a buzz last night -- and today -- about Adam Lambert's version of "Mad World" on last night's American Idol.

We've got several clips for you below.

On the 80's Escape today we played the Tears For Fears version (the original). Lambert went more with the Gary Jules' version from 2003, which was used in the Donnie Darko film.

All three versions, plus one more, are below.

Adam Lambert from American Idol

Tears For Fears

Gary Jules

Here's the Jules' audio with a different video -- kids acting out parts of the song, as shot from above. Pretty cool

Show Biz: Tuesday 04/07/09

2009-04-07T07:41:00.008-05:00

*** John Oates of Hall and Oates fame turns 60 today. He, and his mustache, were featured twice on our musical segments this morning.

For the birthday tie-in, we chose the 1981 classic, "I Can't Go For That"

*** We featured a great lost tune from the 80's during the 80's Escape.

Remember "Method Of Modern Love"? Once you hear it you will. Spell along with the song...

M-e-t-h-o-d-O-f-L-o-v-e...it's the Method Of Modern Love"

*** Now, about that mustache.

The John Oates' mustache is such an epic 'stache, it is the subject of an animated series.

Since the summer of '08, J-Stache has been in production from the folks at Adult Swim. The 'stache -- voiced by Dave Attell -- is a crime fighting mustache. Uh huh.

Sounds brilliant, but will probably be a dud, if it even makes it to air.

It just goes to show, you can't stop John Oates' mustache, you can only hope to contain it.

Where does Oates' mustache rank with other musician's mustaches?

Oates

The fictional Derek Smalls from Spinal Tap

Freddie Mercury

Lionel Richie

Jim Croce

Or, David Crosby -- who wins for best photo

Show Biz: Monday 04/06/09

2009-04-06T15:51:00.003-05:00

*** Woohoo! A member of the group Air Supply is having a birthday today. The drummer, I think.

Did Air Supply even have a drummer?

Who cares?! I'm just glad we had an excuse to get out the lemonade pitcher and enjoy some Air Supply today during the birthday segment.

Trust me, if I find out that a distant cousin who had a neighbor that once met one of Air Supply's roadies at the airport, I'm using it as an excuse to play some Air Supply.

Did they even have roadies?

The tune of choice today: "Here I Am". I'm diggin' the red pants in the video, but it took me awhile to even notice them after being scarred by the sight of Russell Hitchcock's hair in the opening interview clip.

*** For the 80's Escape, I referenced a concert appearance over the weekend featuring a reunion of sorts for Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

The two hadn't been on the stage together in about seven years.

So, we delved into Macca's 80's arsenal, and snagged "No More Lonely Nights"

*** Imagine tooling around from bar to bar in your very own bar stool. Bar-s-tooling around, I guess.

That was the mode of transportation for a dude in Ohio, who built a motorized barstool -- which apparently can travel up to 38 m.p.h. -- however, his joyride came to an end recently with a DUI charge.

Naturally.

This was just one of the fine stories that made today's Police Blotter.

We'll be replaying it at 5:30am on Thursday in case you missed it.

Baseball Bet For 2009

2009-04-06T05:29:00.004-05:00

Boy, am I a fortune teller or what?

In yesterday's blog -- which was written several hours before the first pitch of the season -- I mentioned how even though the Phillies (my team) won the World Series last year, and my angst and stress for this season would be subdued because of that title.

However, being a diehard Phillies fan, I knew that even on opening night, at the first sign of problems, I'd be having all of the same negative feelings as always, despite the title from just a few months ago.

Here's what I said...

"...if Brett Myers gives up a 2-run home run in the first inning tonight, I'll be cursing under my breath, rolling my eyes, and filled with frustration...just not as much as in previous years."

Sure enough, Myers gave up a 1st inning two-run home run -- not to mention two more home runs in the 2nd inning (including one to a guy making his major league debut), and my blood pressure was rising just like it always does during baseball season.

Granted, I had a little more riding on last night's game than I normally would.

Schramm, Capron and myself have concocted a series of baseball categories between our three favorite teams (Kevin - Cubs, Jay - White Sox, me - Phillies), that will result in a rather complex baseball bet for the year.

One of the categories - winning percentage on Sunday nights. I'm 0-1.

Here are the categories...

1) Total Wins

Simple enough, but we've weighted it so it balances out. Going off of a Vegas over/under win total, Jay's White Sox get a +12 advantage over Kev's Cubs. I get a +4 edge. With the Cubs favored to win more games than the other two teams, this seemed fair.

2) Sunday Winning Percentage

We were looking for a goofy category that would be fairly equal without having to weight the stats in favor of one team or another, and this was actually my idea. Considering I'm already 0-1, maybe not the best choice, but it is still early.

3) Total Team Saves

It doesn't matter who gets the save, all count the same for each team. The Phillies had more saves than the Cubs and the Sox last year, so I like this category.

4) Combined Home Runs Between 2 Players

We simply tried to grab two guys that had similar combined home run totals from 2008. Here's who we selected...

Cubs - Soto and Soriano (52 in 2008)
Sox - Thome and A. Ramirez (55 in 2008)
Phils - Utley and Werth (57 in 2008)

Again, I have no problems with this one.

5) Combined RBI Between 2 Players

Same premise. Our guys for this year...

Cubs - Soto and A. Ramirez (197 in 2008)
Sox - Quentin and Dye (196 in 2008)
Phils - Howard and Rollins (205 in 2008)

I like it.

At the end of the year, each category will be tabulated with first place getting three points, second getting two, and third getting one.

We'll hit a dinner spot sometime after the season with the loser picking up the tab, and the second place finisher leaving the tip.

I'll keep you updated throughout the season on how things are going.

Unless I'm losing.

Opening Day

2009-04-05T12:08:00.003-05:00

There's nothing like opening day of the major league baseball season. Everyone has a shot.

Even the Cubs.

Normally at this time, as a Phillies fan, I'd be heading to the start of the year with equal bits of optimism and negativity. Eager for a season where my team would have a good chance to make the playoffs -- at least, since their recent resurgence of good baseball, for the last decade or so -- but doubtful that they'd get to, or win a world series because Philly teams just don't do that very often.

Of course, that all changed last October.

So, with the 2008 World Series title in the hands of my beloved Phightin Phils, I can head into this 2009 season without as much stress and trepidation as in past years.

Bad losses, individual slumps, prolonged losing streaks will be met with a little bit more of an acceptance, since, after all, we won the world series last year.

Now, don't get me wrong, if Brett Myers gives up a 2-run home run in the first inning tonight, I'll be cursing under my breath, rolling my eyes, and filled with frustration...just not as much as in previous years.

Following a favorite team during the long baseball season is unlike anything else in sports. Of course there are going to be good times and bad times, high points and low points. Thanks to that World Series win, I'm hoping to handle all the valleys a little bit better than previously.

Check back with me in October to see how all of that went.

Enjoy the games.

(If you'd like to read some of my stories surrounding the title chase for my Phillies from 2008 on my other blog, you can check out my feelings after their World Series victory here.

I blogged about the Phillies during the month of October with those entries available here.)

Show Biz: Friday 04/03/09

2009-04-03T19:34:00.002-05:00

*** A member of Grand Funk Railroad had a birthday today. I forget who it is, am too lazy at the moment to look it up, and, let's face it, you really don't care who it is, right?

With it being a Flashback Friday, it gave us even more reason to drop a little "We're An American Band" on you during the birthday segment.

*** Apropos of nothing, our 80's Escape tune today was the Annie Lennox and Al Green duet, "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" from the 1989 movie, Scrooged.

Show Biz: Thursday 04/02/09

2009-04-02T11:43:00.003-05:00

*** One of the dudes from Maroon 5 is having a birthday today, so we offered up "Sunday Morning" for you at the end of the birthday segment.

*** Jay referenced the catchy little ditty, "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" after I mentioned today was Peanut Butter and Jelly day -- which I inadvertently celebrated by having already packed a PB & J sandwich for lunch -- and here are some of the many videos I found.

*** Keren Woodward of Bananarama turns 48 today. For the 80's Escape, I chose "I Heard A Rumour".

*** I owe you a "Show Biz" entry from yesterday, and as you can imagine, we were jam packed with Mellencamp stuff, including our musical segments.

The birthday tie-in was actually a Mellencamp song, to help sell the idea of him coming to town for a concert. We went with "Lonely Ol' Night"

*** The 80's Escape was "R.O.C.K. In The USA"

April Fool's Over The Years At WJDK

2009-04-01T09:04:00.004-05:00

We hope you had fun with our John Mellencamp fake concert gag this morning. I'm surprised each year when, especially our faithful listeners, fall for some of our pranks, considering how many of them we've done.

Which leads to the current web poll question: Which of our previous gags is your favorite? The poll is on the right hand side of the blog.

Through the years I've had quite a bit of fun pulling pranks on the audience, and coworkers as well. Admittedly, after all of these years, the amount of new ideas, and the creative spark needed to come up with new ways to trick everyone, have gone a bit dry. Thus, it's turned into somewhat of a dry bit.

I even tried to use my laziness to my advantage one year by making the fact that I didn't do an April Fool's gag the gag itself. Always thinkin'.

But, Capron injected some new life into the segment with his Favre to the Bears idea last year, and he was the instigator of the Mellencamp thing, too.

Here are a few of my other favorite on-air pranks from years passed, in no particular order:

Dean's Quitting

This was the first gag we pulled, and probably my favorite. Dean Tambling and I hatched the idea a few days before April 1st, took it to our owners Diane and Jeanine, and they loved it. The key was coming up with a scenario that was believable enough so that listeners would buy into it.

We came up with the notion that Dean had received an opportunity to work in Bloomington, which made sense because he had contacts down there and actually worked in that area previously. April Fool's Day was on a Saturday morning, which also was important -- Saturday mornings were the only mornings I was on the air back then (1995).

We talked about Dean leaving and that it was Dean's last day throughout the morning. Many people called in and wished Dean the best.

We let everyone in on it at the end of the show. We even got a nice feature about the gag in the Joliet newspaper.

Mayor Feeney Resigns

This also ranks high simply because of who it involved. Mayor Bob Feeney was a good sport with this prank, and even joked on the air after everything was revealed to be a hoax by saying that he had probably made a few people happy by telling them he was leaving office.

What sold this one was the fact that Dean and I had arranged for there to be a "press conference" where the mayor would make his announcement. We set up our remote broadcast equipment within my studio. The mayor came in to the studio at 8:00am to deliver his "I resign" speech. Listeners had no way to tell that everything was being done right in the 'JDK studio.

The Morris paper, and several other media folks went down to City Hall to cover the press conference. Of course, there was nothing going on there.

After the "announcement", we revealed it to be a hoax fairly quickly. The mayor followed the plan perfectly, and it was at this point that listeners most likely assumed that something would be coming each year on April 1st.

Wind Beneath My Wings

This one was torture for me, hopefully it was for the listeners as well. Another Saturday morning show where the only song I played for three hours was Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler. I kept referencing other songs and artists, but only played Wind.

I took roughly 30 calls from listeners telling me that I was playing the same song over and over, then I would point them to their nearest calendar, prompting them to either laugh, hang up, or ask me "yeah, it's Saturday, so what?"

941-QUIP

One year I promoted a joke telling contest. Callers were to call 941-QUIP and leave a joke on the machine, with the funniest joke winning tickets to a comedy club. The joke was on them, however, as there is no "Q" on a phone, thus, they couldn't dial.

Survey Says?

This one was a prank on a couple of my colleagues. With the help of a member of our sales staff sales staff (the always funny Brad Bentlin), I had him call a couple of our on-air guys (Doug Thompson and Don Neushwander) under the guise of being a survey taker.

Thompson caught on pretty quick, but Neush didn't catch on until after answering such classic questions as "When using the bathroom, do you often read a magazine", and "How much toilet paper do you use during a visit". Again, classic.

There were other gags (announcing that Dan Darlington was coming back to coach at Morris, pretending to do a broadcast at a coffeehouse in town, while the whole time I was sitting in the studio), and we hope we've given you a laugh or two with these each year.

Hopefully you had a good April Fool's Day and didn't get caught in anything too embarrassing.

If you did, hopefully someone caught it on tape.

Mellencamp Tour De Farce

2009-04-01T08:00:00.005-05:00

Hey gang, sorry to inform you that the John Mellencamp "Small Town" concert tour is a gag.

It is, of course, April Fool's Day.

We appreciate the calls for "tickets" to the faux show in Morris June 20th, and we really appreciate the good natured reaction from everyone that called.

Lots of laughs, and "good one" comments from the listeners today, and that was exactly what we were hoping for.

As was the case last year with our Brett Favre gag -- which you can read about in the previous post -- we snagged some audio from a previous interview (this time, from Farm Aid 2008) to snare a couple of quotes about small towns, etc.

The "Small Town Tour" is actually a pretty good idea -- does Mellencamp read this thing?

Happy April Fool's Day

2009-04-01T07:07:00.005-05:00

Remember our April Fool's gag from 2008?

Jay and I came on the air at the start of the show to tell everyone that Brett Favre was coming out of retirement to play for the Chicago Bears.

What helped sell it was the audio we used of Favre -- pulled from his retirement press conference -- to make it seem like he was coming to Chicago.

"There's no better place to play"

We had to make it seem as though the story had just broke, overnight even, since, obviously, the sports websites and networks wouldn't have any of this info, so we filtered the audio of Favre's comments to make it sound like it was from a phone call. This helped sell the idea that Favre was contacted on the phone, rather than at an official press conference.

We also grabbed some comments from real fans that were talking about Favre -- but not in this context -- to try to make it seem like they had been interviewed very early that morning, "reacting" to Favre coming to the Bears.

We found a clip of one woman saying she wasn't much of a fan of Favre, but liked Brian Urlacher better. Classic.

In case you missed it back then, I've got some audio for you.

Here's where we first make the Favre announcement.

This clip is later in the morning, with more audio cuts.

Show Biz: Tuesday 03/31/09

2009-03-31T12:17:00.003-05:00

*** Anytime you can get two Huey Lewis and the News songs on the show, especially ones that we don't play all the time, it's a good day.

The reason for the double-dip today...Sean Hopper's birthday. He's the keyboard player for the band.

First up, during the birthday segment, we featured "I Want A New Drug".

*** For the 80's Escape, the choice was "Walking On A Thin Line"

*** One more clip for you: Earlier in today's show we told you the story of the dumb criminal that attempted to break into a bank with a backhoe.

I joked that maybe he wasn't trying to steal any money, but he was just doing it because he always wanted to become a banker. A not-too-subtle reference -- among our many -- to a Seinfeld episode.

Whenever a bank, or a banker is mentioned now, the first thought for Jay and I is the classic Newman scene where he's trying to get Kramer to go along with a made up story about Kramer's desire to be a banker to help get Newman out of a speeding ticket.

Show Biz: Monday 03/30/09

2009-03-30T08:18:00.003-05:00

*** A lot of birthday song options today: Celine Dion, Tracy Chapman, Norah Jones, and even M.C. Hammer are all celebrating birthdays today.

But, for me, the clear choice was Eric Clapton. "Slowhand" turns 64 today. Unfortunately I left several of my Clapton CD's at the compound, so my choices were limited.

The song I chose is one of his underrated hits of the late 70's, "Promises".

Now, I looked long and hard for a proper music video of the song, but what I've found is ten times better, and 100 times creepier.

I present this fine video of a flabby middle-aged dude jumping rope to the song.

This is the type of video that is found at a man's house after he's been arrested for soliciting a minor.

Enjoy.

*** One of the best albums of 1989 was Journeyman by Clapton. The lead track is "Pretending", and it was the choice today for the 80's Escape.

This video -- which includes no jump roping -- is from a concert from Argentina.

*** Thanks to the folks at Rent-A-Center for having us do a broadcast at their grand opening Saturday.

We gave away a bunch of prizes at the store on Route 6 in Morris, and each of the station employees there did a nice job containing ourselves to just one plate of food.

I Love College Basketball!

2009-03-30T05:08:00.003-05:00

Turns out I've won our office pool. How 'bout that?!

Just a week or so ago, I crumpled up my bracket printout on the air because my surprise final four team -- Wake Forest -- got bounced in the first round, as did Florida St., the team I had upsetting Pitt in the sweet 16.

Well, fortunately, my other final four teams survived and made it to next weekend. Thankfully, nobody else picked Villanova to get this far, and I'm the only one that has UConn making the title game, although that is moot at this point.

Villanova beating Pitt eliminated several from contention -- including Jay -- and when Louisville lost yesterday to Michigan State (I had Louisville getting bounced in the 3rd round by, ahem, Wake Forest), that made me the winner.

The best part, since I had North Carolina beating Villanova to get to -- and win -- the championship game, with the pool already sewn up, I can just go ahead and root for 'Nova (my team, since they're from Philly).

I love college basketball!

Show Biz: Friday 03/27/09

2009-03-27T21:32:00.002-05:00

*** Mariah Carey is turning 39 today. Our birthday segment song was her 1995 hit, "Fantasy".

I can't seem to find an embeddable clip of the actual video, but the audio of the song is below.

*** One of the members of INXS -- Andrew Farriss -- turns 50 today.

I'm not sure INXS gets/got the credit they deserved for creating such accessible, fun music back in the era of cheesy synth pop and hair bands.

They gave us a slew of fun, catchy, cool sounding songs, while lead singer Michael Hutchence taught the world a valuable lesson about the dangers of auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Here's one of their bigger hits of the 80's, and a song we featured on Friday's 80's Escape, "Need You Tonight"

A Supply Of Air

2009-03-27T08:35:00.002-05:00

After talking about it again yesterday, it seemed appropriate to post the Air Supply video for you to enjoy.

We've referenced this many times on the show, usually when an Air Supply song makes its way onto the show: Jay stumbled upon this infomercial months ago, featuring the dudes from Air Supply, selling a soft rock CD.

Besides the banter, and occasional unplugged interludes, the funniest part of this may just be that darned pitcher of lemonade.

Whenever an Air Supply song plays on 'JDK, Jay and I usually seek out one another, and mimic the pouring of a glass of lemonade.

Somewhere, Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell are smiling.

If you're really feeling adventurous (i.e., bored), the entire infomercial is available as well. Here is part one, part two, and part three.

You don't even have to thank me.

The clip at the top of this post, and many other of our faves, are available on the Mike and Jay Youtube channel that we've created.

Show Biz: Thursday 03/26/09

2009-03-26T12:11:00.002-05:00

*** On Diana Ross' birthday today, we played "I'm Coming Out" during the birthday segment.

The song was written in part by Nile Rodgers, legendary guitarist and producer. Since I couldn't find a good video of Diana singing the song, check out this clip of Rodgers explaining how the song came about.

*** Steven Tyler is 61 today. Back in 1989, Aerosmith released the album Pump, which featured the song that we played today on the 80's Escape, "Janie's Got A Gun".

Show Biz: Wednesday 03/25/09

2009-03-25T08:39:00.004-05:00

*** Elton John turns 62 today. During the birthday segment, it wasn't a question that we were going to play an Elton song -- although, it's also Aretha Franklin's birthday, but, Elton is more of a 'JDK staple -- it was simply a question of what we would play.

With a career as long and successful as Elton's, how do you pick just one song?

I wanted to go with something non-80's (so I could save an 80's tune for the 80's Escape), and his 70's work is too strong to ignore in favor of some of his 90's or '00's work.

Truth be told, I had "Rocket Man" cued up and ready to go, but our birthday segment ran about a minute too long, so I made an adjustment on the fly -- I am a professional disc jockey, after all -- and went with another 70's classic, and one that we don't play hardly ever, which made it an even better choice, "The Border Song".

Check out this 1970 live performance...

*** For the 80's Escape, I chose one of my favorite Elton songs, although it's associated with one of the worst days in music history, the assassination of John Lennon.

"Empty Garden" was written shortly after Lennon was gunned down. The two legends had been friends for a number of years, after Lennon had enlisted John for the tune "Whatever Gets You Through The Night".

The two performed the song at an Elton John concert at Madison Square Garden -- the Garden in "Empty Garden" -- in 1974. It turned out to be Lennon's last stage performance.

Here's the "Empty Garden" video, with a replica of The Dakota building -- where Lennon was shot -- set up next to Elton.

An Ernest Discussion

2009-03-25T06:42:00.004-05:00

The topic of Ernest came up this morning, in a roundabout way, as Jay revealed his fondness for the "Ernest" films when he was a kid.

I mentioned that I have never seen an "Ernest" film, but was familiar with the actor -- Jim Varney -- who was also one of the voices in the Toy Story movies.

For some reason, neither of us could remember how the Ernest character came about.

Only because it would have bugged me the rest of the day to not know the answer to this, we looked it up, and, of course, it all started with a series of commercials with Varney portraying the Ernest character.

Problem solved.

Show Biz: Tuesday 03/24/09

2009-03-24T12:47:00.002-05:00

*** It isn't every day of the week that we get to celebrate the birthday of a member of Supertramp. But, today isn't just any other day my friends.

Dougie Thomson -- not to be confused with former WJDK morning man, Doug Thompson -- the bass player for Supertramp turns 58 today.

A logical song choice for our birthday segment, "The Logical Song".

*** I was scrolling through my folder of 80' Escape tunes, aimlessly wandering, searching for something that inspired me.

Then, it hit me. Pet Shop Boys!

Show Biz: Monday 03/23/09

2009-03-23T11:40:00.002-05:00

*** Chaka Khan celebrated a birthday today, and the undeniably catchy "Feel For You" was the song of choice during the birthday segment.

Since I think we just featured Chaka on an 80's Escape not too long ago, I thought I'd bring you this much more entertaining video of a high school dance, with some of the kids from the school singing the song.

Much more entertaining. Check out the rapper's moves!

*** I was in a Romantics mood this morning, so for the 80's Escape, we played one of my favorite songs -- and videos -- of the 80's, "Talking In Your Sleep".

Doug Evans Resigns As Coach

2009-03-20T16:53:00.007-05:00

This was not a big surprise at all, but Seneca head boys basketball coach Doug Evans has resigned.

During an interview with Evans today -- that will air on Spotlight On Sports tomorrow morning at 9:00 am -- he said that this has been in his mind for the last couple of years, and that it was about a 90% certainty during this past season.

It makes sense, with Evans having coached at Seneca for 26 years, amassing 497 wins, a state championship in 2006, and -- what is the most logical tipping point -- his son, Seth, graduating from high school this year.

There's not much more for the coach to accomplish, and now he'll get the chance to follow Seth's college career at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, and spend time with his family.

We've been doing "Spotlight On Sports" for over 14 years now -- where has the time gone? -- and Evans was one of the few remaining coaches to have been the head coach with the same team for that entire run. He may have been the last one. It's been so long now, I can't even remember.

Longtime assistant, and former golf coach Jeff Stenzel also resigned.

We'll have more tomorrow, plus part of our spring baseball and softball preview.

Show Biz: Thursday 03/19/09

2009-03-19T09:17:00.004-05:00

*** Tough choice today as far as our musical tie-ins. I was pretty much sold on the songs, but wasn't sure which one would go in which place.

I usually save the more schlocky tunes for the birthday segment, so I can get a reaction from Jay. Couple that with the on-the-spot Stevie impression -- the character in Malcolm In The Middle that talked slow -- and it all added up to a playing of "Respect" by Bruce Willis, who has a birthday today.

How is it possible to pick which bad song by an actor is your favorite from the 80's. This one, or "Heartbeat" by Don Johnson? How about "Party All The Time" by Eddie Murphy?

While you stew over those choices, enjoy Bruce -- I mean, Bruno...

*** While we're (somewhat) on the topic of Malcolm In The Middle, I have to take this moment to recognize the brilliance of Bryan Cranston.

The actor, who played Hal -- the dad -- on that show, is continuing his excellent, Emmy Award winning work, as Walt White in season 2 of the terrific Breaking Bad on AMC.

Cranston, who, for Jay and I, will always have a place in our hearts after his many years of quality guest turns on Seinfeld as Tim Whatley, has been so good in this new role, that it's hard to remember him from his comedic roles of the past.

He was a popular character actor in many shows and movies during, and shortly after his run on Seinfeld. Whenever I'd see him pop up in whatever it was, I'd look at my wife with a smile and say, "Hey! It's Tim Whatley!"

My wife was never all that impressed.

Then, Malcolm came along, and Cranston dove so far into that role as wacky, hapless, but always meaning well, Hal, that, even though he looked pretty similar to the Whatley character, there was very little else that connected him to his Seinfeld days, which just allowed me to enjoy his work even more, without being distracted by the fact that "Tim Whatley" was the dad on the very funny Malcolm series.

Cranston was nominated for an Emmy three times for that role, but never won. The actress that played his wife Lois, Jane Kazcmarek, usually got all of the accolades -- and, rightly so -- for her performance, but Cranston was always fearless, and always delivered.

Now, fast forward to his role on Breaking Bad, and it's just a joy to watch him bring it every week as Walt White, the cancer stricken science teacher, who turns to cooking meth to make the money his family will need for their future.

The show is dark, tense, and excellent.

*** When the 80's Escape rolled around today, that left me with the second song that was up for grabs today, "Neutron Dance" by The Pointer Sisters.

Ruth Pointer turns 63 today.

This song was one of the many that we had to dance to in my junior high P.E. class, so, I always wince a bit when I hear this song.

Show Biz: Wednesday 03/18/09

2009-03-18T08:02:00.003-05:00

*** Adam Levine of Maroon 5 is turning 30 today.

For the birthday tie-in, we brought you the group's hit collaboration with Rhianna -- a future song on the 'JDK playlist perhaps -- "If I Never See Your Face Again".

*** Irene Cara is 50 today, and that gave us a chance to bring out one of the all-time classics of the 80's.

Cara's 1980 smash hit, "Fame", was the title track for the movie, and subsequent television show -- that I watched religiously -- although the television version was actually sung by Erica Gimpel (Coco).

No, I'm not reciting all this from memory.

Show Biz: Tuesday 03/17/09

2009-03-17T08:28:00.008-05:00

*** Happy St. Patrick's Day. Baby Jack Capron is sporting the green this morning.

However you choose to celebrate, be smart about it. Jack, as a matter of fact, will be drinking today -- but not driving.

Not sure exactly what it is he's drinking, but I have confidence that he will be responsible about it.

*** As you can imagine, music from Irish bands are the norm today, so for the birthday tie-in, we featured some U2.

Went off the playlist for you today -- always love doing that -- with one of their big hits from 1991's Achtung Baby, with the song "Mysterious Ways".

*** Sinead O'Connor -- about as Irish as they come -- was our featured artist for the 80's Escape.

You may not remember this song, which is kind of the point with his feature, it was a modest rock hit for O'Connor back in 1989.

We played it fairly regularly at my college station, for whatever that's worth.

The tune is called "Emperor's New Clothes".

*** Of course, it goes without saying, there's no one as Irish as Barack Obama.

Show Biz: Monday 03/16/09

2009-03-16T09:54:00.008-05:00

*** Nancy Wilson of Heart turns 55 today. Heart is pretty big -- and I'm not talking about Ann Wilson, but rather popularity -- so we featured them twice today.

For the birthday tie-in, the tune of choice was "Never".

*** At 80's Escape time, we went back to a hit for the band near the end of the decade, "What About Love".

Here's a live version...

*** We had a lot of fun Saturday at Menards as we did a broadcast during their March Madness Sale.

Thanks to the good turnout, we gave away our Rialto Square tickets -- to upcoming Temptations, and Manhattan Transfer shows -- within a few minutes.

Some pictures below, along with partially correct captions...

My first interview with Cassie from the delivery department went a little off the track when I broke into my rendition of "Too Much Heaven" by the Bee Gees.

"Hey young man, I'm looking for a little extra cash...need any help at the lemonade stand this summer?"

Here's me posing with one of our concert ticket winners. For some reason, I never trust that the person taking the picture is able to fit me in the shot, so I awkwardly lean in toward the other person.

After I fell asleep mid-interview, Sarah from the paint department contemplates waking me up by dousing me with a can of Dutch Boy B-18-5 Hydrangea Blue.

Show Biz: Friday 03/13/09

2009-03-13T18:05:00.004-05:00

*** I get a kick out of our head honchos in the music department choosing U2 as our artist of the month, when the only songs by the band that we play are "With Or Without You", and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".

You'd think an artist of the month would be a group that has more of its music playing on the station, even if it's only for that month.

Look, I'm a fan of U2, and would welcome the addition of more songs from their discography to our playlist. But, to make them the artist of the month when we don't play any of their songs -- except for their two biggest hits, that if they were human, would be old enough to drink legally in the U.S. -- is a tad humorous.

Following this logic, the next artist of the month will either be R.E.M., or Billy Idol.

So, I tried to do a little better job of representing the "artist of the month" by playing one of their brand new songs during the birthday segment. Bassist Adam Clayton turned 49 today, so we played "Magnificent", which U2 recently performed on the David Letterman show.

*** For the 80's Escape, we brought out some U2 again -- team player that I am -- by playing the song that is probably better known for its video, "Where The Streets Have No Name".

Show Biz: Thursday 03/12/09

2009-03-12T11:18:00.004-05:00

*** Sweet Baby James Taylor turns 61 today.

I've always been a big fan of his. He has such a warm sound to his voice. Whenever I hear a James Taylor song, I picture him sitting in some cabin in the winter, sipping on hot chocolate in front of the fireplace.

I prefer picturing him like this, rather then envision what he was like in his early days, strung out on heroin and methadrine, during his two separate bouts with drug problems.

That's going back to the late sixties, so, while not a condonable activity, it's at least a little more understandable given the culture back then.

One good thing that came out of all that, Taylor wrote "Fire and Rain", which is partly in reference to his time spent in psychiatric wards.

For the tie-in, we featured "Shower The People", a typical Taylor song, in that it makes me feel good.

*** In an American Idol shocker last night, Jeff Lockridge was sent packing.

That was fortunate for us though, because we needed Jeff in the newsroom today to fill-in for Jay Capron, who should be back tomorrow.

Jeff, or J-Lo as I like to call him, has been with us in some way or another for a very long time.

Anyone remember the Saturday Student Hour? We used to do that segment back in the early days of WJDK. Every Saturday morning in the 8 o'clock hour, I'd interview a student from each of our area high schools about things going on at the school.

Jeff was one of our representatives from Seneca High School. After hearing his low, booming voice for the first time, it was pretty apparent that a radio gig was at least a possibility for him.

My proudest moment during those segments -- and I'm being sarcastic here -- was when I was talking to one student who was going to be in an upcoming school play.

I mentioned how courageous it was for kids to get on stage in front of their peers, family, etc. and perform either in a play, or a musical. But, if I had only said "courageous."

I was trying to say that it takes a lot of "nerve", or that it takes a lot of "guts". Well, my mind was thrown for a loop, and it came out that "it really takes a lot of nuts to get up on that stage."

Oopsies. Well, at least it was a factually correct statement. It just came out a little different than I had envisioned.

*** Al Jarreau is having a birthday today as well. For the 80's Escape we brought you "We're In This Love Together."

In this live clip, it looks as though Al is dealing with some initial shoulder pain.

You know, it takes a lot of guts, I mean, nerve, oh whatever, you get the idea.

Show Biz: Wednesday 03/11/09

2009-03-11T12:57:00.002-05:00

*** Lisa Loeb is celebrating a birthday today. She, and her band Nine Stories, had a hit about 15 years ago with the tune, "Stay", which we played for out tie-in today.

*** Early in the show, Jay and I had a fun discussion about being in a band in high school.

The topic came about after I recalled my Monday night viewing of a Styx concert from a couple of years ago on one of my new favorite cable channels, Palladia.

All the channel shows are music specials, concerts, videos and more. It's outstanding, and it's in high-def.

Now, I'm not a particularly big Styx fan -- I like a few of their songs, but I don't have any of their albums -- but I sat, transfixed for a good thirty minutes or so, watching them perform all of their hits, minus Dennis DeYoung.

One of the treats was watching the keyboard guy (too lazy to look up his name). He was playing on a keyboard that would rotate on stage -- he stood the whole time.

He was real adventurous, too. There were times when he was looking at the crowd, with his back facing the keyboard, still playing his solo. Other times, he'd stand behind the keyboard, and reach his arms back over to the keys, basically playing upside down.

Cool, dude.

Look, no matter how hard you try -- and this guy was using every trick in the book -- it's impossible to make keyboard playing look cool. I know. I play keyboards.

Don't try to look cool, buddy. Grab a chair, sit down, and play. You're never going to surpass the cool look of guitar players, or drummers. And, it's not like he was pulling a Steve Wonder or Elton John, and singing as well.

After Jay and I talked about our respective bands in high school -- a story that included Jay's reference to his dad being in a battle of the bands in high school against a band that included two original members of Styx -- it would have been great for me to drop down a clip of my band for you, but I don't have any of the tapes. Yet.

Many years ago, the drummer in our band came to my house to borrow the cassettes that had all of our songs on it. He never returned, and I lost touch with him for the better part of almost 20 years.

But, through the magic of Facebook -- a site that really is like walking into a time machine -- I've been able to track him down, and he's looking for those tapes as I type this, so audio of my high school garage band (Tempus Fugit) could be hitting the 95.7 FM airwaves soon.

Consider yourself warned.

*** The 80's Escape today featured another person having a birthday, Bobby McFerrin.

I really don't care for his one and only hit, although I played it anyway, but on the blog, I thought I'd change things up a bit, by featuring Darth Vader (or at least a slowed down version of McFerrin's tune) taking a crack at "Don't Worry, Be Happy."

Show Biz: Tuesday 03/10/09

2009-03-10T09:37:00.002-05:00

*** Former American Idol winner -- and one of the most successful singers to emerge from the competition -- Carrie Underwood turns 26 today.

Starting this week, we'll be hearing Carrie's version of the Motley Crue song "Home Sweet Home" on Idol elimination shows after that week's loser gets sent packing.

During the birthday segment this morning, we featured a hit for Carrie from a couple of years ago, "Some Hearts."

*** Yesterday was a treat. I had the pleasure of removing a dead skunk from my yard.

A few days ago we had noticed a skunk smell, but it wasn't constant. That happens about 50 times a year usually, right? I thought nothing more about it.

Then, a couple of days ago, I had to walk down the side of our house to get to the backyard when I smelled it again. I stopped, got my skunk detecting radar out and spotted some white and black hair in amongst some leftover leaves from the fall.

I wasn't sure at that time whether Pepe La Pew was still alive, so I tossed a couple of rocks in that direction, and there was no movement.

Great. Dead skunk. After a hopeful call to animal control, I was told that since it was in my yard, it was my responsibility to remove it.

Thanks.

So, after putting a yard bag in one of our backup trash cans, I shoveled up Pepe, dumped him into the bag, tied it tight, and tossed his body into the Hudson River. Well, not quite.

*** It's always nice when an artist that enjoyed success in the 80's has a birthday. It makes selecting 80's Escape tunes so much easier.

Today, Edie Brickell cooperated. The 43-year old had a big hit back in 1989 with her band, New Bohemians.

The tune, "What I Am".

Here's Edie performing the song on Letterman

Photo Caption Results

2009-03-09T07:44:00.006-05:00

Here are some of the captions we received for the above photo that features me looking at Kevin Schramm, while on a boat last fall.

"NOBODY needs to know about this!"

"Don't worry about the Cubs, Kev. There's always next year."

"I can't quit you!"

"We're gonna need a bigger boat."

"Hey Mike, with all the attention I've been getting today, do you think it's my legs or the hat?"

"What do you wanna do? I don't know, what do you wanna do?"

"So, is this a good enough spot to dump Jay's body?"

"100 years aren't that long for the Cubs, Kev. Let's recap them: 1909..."

Good job, guys.

Show Biz: Monday 03/09/09

2009-03-09T07:14:00.006-05:00

*** Robin Trower was the artist that was featured for the birthday segment today. Trower, who turns 64 today, was a part of Procol Harum, so our tie-in song for today was "Whiter Shade Of Pale."

I think Jay and I should re-create the opening sequence of this video. We already own the outfits.

*** During the birthday segments, we often mention an event for that day that was created, or at least sponsored by Tom and Ruth Roy of Lebanon, PA.

They are usually idiotic and non-sensical, which is why we mention them

Today, apparently, is Panic Day, where you are supposed to run around all day in a panic, telling others you can't handle it anymore.

Isn't that every day considering our dire economic times?

*** It's also Barbie's birthday today. She looks great for 50.

We've got more than a few Barbie dolls at the Williams' compound. My wife kept a lot of her collection, and passed those along to our daughters, who have picked up some Barbie stuff of their own as well.

Did you miss Jay's story from his childhood? Since he was into G.I. Joe, his older sister -- a big Barbie fan -- would set up weddings with Barbie and the military man.

Bored, Jay would turn to gunfire, sending Joe into a machine gun rage, gunning down all of those in attendance.

I swear that was the plot of a Schwarzenegger movie once.

If you missed the discussion, it might make tomorrow's opening segment, or at least a promo later this week.

*** Also celebrating a birthday today, Jeffrey Osborne, who turns 61. For the 80's Escape, rather than play one of my least favorite songs of the 80's, "The Woo Woo Song", we chose to get your toes tapping even more, with "Stay With Me Tonight".

Sign Of Spring

2009-03-08T06:50:00.004-05:00

Less than a month to go until opening day. To help get in the mood, let's enjoy a little "Batting Stance Guy"...

White Sox batting stances, past and present

Batting Stance Guy demonstrating his Carlos Quentin stance to Carlos Quentin

Here are some Cubs' batting stances

Show Biz: Friday 03/06/09

2009-03-06T08:28:00.005-06:00

*** We ran out of time today during the birthday segment to fit a tie-in song in before the top of the hour.

I had "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" all cued up -- it's Kiki Dee's birthday -- but by the time we wrapped things up, it was already 6:58a, and only two minutes for that song wasn't enough.

*** I'm getting pretty good at predicting this American Idol thing.

Here's what I said yesterday...

As far as tonight's wild card round...you can go to Vegas that Anoop and Megan are in.

Choice three should be Matt Giraud -- the dueling piano player guy -- but since there's already a big numbers advantage for the guys, my thinking is they'll pick a girl for the third spot.

Not bad. Seems the judges thought the same thing, so they let Matt and a second girl (Jasmine) get in.

As far as who's going to win the whole thing, I still think it's going to be a guy (Gokey, or the blind dude), or Adam Lambert.

*** The 80's Escape today featured Paul Simon. Not sure why. Sometimes there is no explanation available.

Maybe I was subconsciously thinking about Flight Of The Conchords from Sunday night, where the show -- which actually centered around Art Garfunkel, but who knows any music he's done in the 80's -- did feature a brief glimpse at the end of Brett doing a Paul Simon imitation.

The actual Art Garfunkel made a cameo as well.

Here's their attempt at "Scarborough Fair" during the episode. Any excuse to get a clip of band manager, Murray is alright by me.

So, whether that was why I went with Paul or not, the fact is, today we played "Graceland".

Home and Health Expo

2009-03-05T11:50:00.005-06:00

Here are a couple of pics from the recent Home and Health Expo at the Morris District 101 Rec Center...

In the above picture, Jay Capron (left) laughs uncontrollably as I (right) destroy another girl's dreams by letting her know her spin for a prize has come up short.

Actually, I have no idea what's going on in this picture. I think I just spotted a nearby table with a great supply of free pens.

This could have been the moment I realized -- with nearly three hours of the event still remaining -- that we were about to run out of prizes.

Either that, or one of us made a wisecrack about the color of our sweatshirts.

Plenty of material there.

Okay, try not to stare at this picture too long. We're talking a serious potential for irreversible retinal damage.

The collective effect of all of that lime green coming at you could be catastrophic.

This would have been a good one for the caption contest as well.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome the vocal stylings of the 'Kermit The Frog Lookalikes'"

"Does anyone know where the green screen room is? We're ready to film the scene with the six people with no upper body."

"Superman had no chance as he faced off against the group of six people wearing sweatshirts made out of kryptonite."

"WJDK, putting the 'radio' in radioactive."

In the picture from left to right, Joe Munsell (Sales), Harriet Osborne (Sales) Kevin Schramm (WCSJ host - of course he has a green Cubs hat to match), Jasmin Chacon (Sales), me, and Jack Daly (General Manager).

E-Z Party Kits Stuffed Balloon Prizes

2009-03-05T10:02:00.004-06:00

We're about a month into our new birthday prize giveaway, and there's a little bit of -- expected -- confusion.

The fine folks at E-Z Party Kits are offering a stuffed balloon to one person each week, out of all of those that get their birthday or anniversary announced on the segment which airs weekdays at 6:50 a.m., and Saturdays (and Sundays) at 7:50 a.m.

We gather the names as they're called in each day, then select a winner randomly on the Saturday show.

The problem is, that a lot of times, the person who's having their birthday called in to the station is either not aware of this, or just don't happen to be listening when we announce the winner.

Since we have no real smooth way of getting contact information for each call that comes in -- which, while practical, would make for some really boring radio if we had to interrupt each call with gather phone numbers off-air, etc. -- it really ends up being the responsibility of those that made the initial call to get word to the winner that they have a prize waiting for them at E-Z Party Kits.

That's just the way it'll have to work, for now at least.

I'll do my best to announce the winner each week more frequently, as hopefully that will also help alert the winners of their prize.

We send E-Z Party Kits the winner's name each weekend as well, so if you want to call them to see if you are the winner for whatever week we're dealing with, you can call them at 815-828-5557.

By the way, our most recent winners have been Macy Rogers, Nicholas Mathias, Nicole Bennett, and Connor Shaw.

Show Biz: Thursday 03/05/09

2009-03-05T09:49:00.005-06:00

*** Happy Birthday to Eddy Grant. The 80's one-hit wonder was born on this date in 1948.

I would have loved to have thrown you a curveball and offered a less obvious song, but stumbling upon Eddy Grant album cuts is not the easiest task in the world.

So, we grooved you a fastball right down the middle with "Electric Avenue" for our birthday tie-in.

*** Some quick 'Idol thoughts: As I predicted on Wednesday's show, the three American Idol contestants moving on from this week's performance round are Jorge, Scott, and 'Lil Rounds.

I hate to say it, but Scott is simply getting by on the fact that he's blind. C'mon, admit it, you agree with me.

Hey, the guy is nice as can be, has a great smile, attitude, the works. I hope he does well in this competition. But, it's clear that, while he's a good singer, he's not a great singer.

Once he made it past his very first audition a couple of months ago, I told my wife that, "there's your winner."

He might not win, but he certainly could -- and it won't be because of his voice.

As far as tonight's wild card round...you can go to Vegas that Anoop and Megan are in.

Choice three should be Matt Giraud -- the dueling piano player guy -- but since there's already a big numbers advantage for the guys, my thinking is they'll pick a girl for the third spot.

I frankly don't know any of the remaining girl's names, except for Tatiana, but they wouldn't be that cruel to send her along to the next round, would they?

*** The keyboard guy for Dire Straits, Alan Clark, turns 57 today. For the 80's Escape, we played "So Far Away", which has no distinct keyboards in it at all.

What can I say, I like that song.

"Walk of Life" would have been much more obvious, but that song gets played too often for it to be an 80's Escape song.

Dat be da rules, kids.

Show Biz: Wednesday 03/04/09

2009-03-04T11:10:00.003-06:00

*** Chris Rea was our feature on the birthday segment today. The singer turned 58 today.

Back in 1978, he had a hit with "Fool If You Think It's Over."

*** Emilio Estefan -- Gloria's husband, not to be confused with Emilio Estevez -- is also having a birthday today.

For the 80's Escape, listeners all across Grundy County were certainly singing "uh-oh-uh-oh" along with the Miami Sound Machine's 1985 hit, "Falling In Love".

*** The strangest story of the morning was about the woman in Florida that called 9-1-1 because the McDonald's she was at had run out of Chicken McNuggets.

The counter person tried to get the woman, LaTreasa Goodman, to take other food instead. Goodman wanted her money back, didn't get it, and called 9-1-1. Of course.

She actually called three separate times. The audio can be found here.

Goodman has been cited for misuse of 9-1-1.

Authorities have said to her that if she calls 9-1-1 about a McDonalds food complaint one more time, they're going to super-size the charges.

Show Biz: Tuesday 03/03/09

2009-03-03T20:09:00.003-06:00

*** Happy Square Root Day, everyone. What time's the party?

For the birthday tie-in, we brought you a little Jennifer Warnes, who celebrated her birthday -- and probably Square Root Day as well -- by playing her duet with Joe Cocker, "Up Where We Belong."

*** A few days ago we talked about some of the strangest courses available at colleges and universities throughout the country (The Joy of Garbage?).

Here's the list, highlighting the top 15.

*** For the 80's Escape, we brought you a 1989 jam hit from Little Feat, "Let It Roll".

Here's an extended live version for you.

Star Mangled Banner

2009-03-03T07:12:00.001-06:00

Today is National Anthem Day. The Star Spangled Banner became the U.S. National Anthem on March 3rd, 1931.

Seems like the right time to look back at some memorable renditions of the anthem from the past...good, bad, and ugly. In no particular order:

Roseanne

Head Banger at the hockey game

Cop Rock

Mo Cheeks' best assist ever

Marvin Gaye

Whitney Houston

Wayne Messmer at the 1991 NHL All-Star Game. I still miss the Chicago Stadium.

Cop Rock the Sequel

I could only find the audio of the classic Carl Lewis butcher job.

Someone named Sissel, who at least knew the melody

Show Biz: Monday 03/02/09

2009-03-02T07:40:00.005-06:00

*** Happy March! I know we're a day late on the new month wish, which is hardly keeping with the theme of coming in like a lion -- more like crawling in like a caterpillar.

Keeping with the "lion" thing, our poll question this week has to do with your favorite lions. You have until next Monday's show to vote.

*** Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, turns 32 today.

For the birthday tie-in we gave you one of the other songs off Coldplay's hit album Viva La Vida...The Death Of All His Friends, "Lost".

*** We let our hair down for the 80's Escape as Jon Bon Jovi turns 47.

Most of the reaction I get from the female audience regarding musical requests are related to three artists: Bryan Adams, Rick Springfield, and Bon Jovi.

Hopefully we satisfied any thirst for Jon Bon when we played "Livin' On A Prayer."

*** Some housekeeping from the last few days: The folks at Chicago Home Health Care were the winners of the Heroes West Sports Grill "Feed Your Office" promotion.

Congratulations, guys. If you're not sure what we're talking about, check out the info on the right hand side of the blog.

*** Saturday we awarded the stuffed balloon prize from E-Z Party Kits in Chanooka to 7-year old, Macy Rogers.

Macy, the folks at E-Z Party Kits have your name, and balloon, at the store waiting for you.

Hope you had a great birthday.

Show Biz: Friday 02/27/09

2009-02-27T09:27:00.003-06:00

*** R.I.P. Johnny "Red" Kerr and "Stormin'" Norm Van Lier. Both passed away within the last two days.

I had the chance to work with Van Lier at the Morris Napa store many years ago. He was making an appearance, and I was hosting a remote broadcast from the event.

I got to sit next to Van Lier for two hours, interview him during our on-air segments, and converse with him off the air.

It was a lot of fun, and it was great to see how enthusiastic he was to just be out and about, meeting fans, talking hoops and just having a good time.

He kept trying to persuade me to play more Led Zeppelin on WJDK. He loved his rock 'n' roll.

Eerie how both Van Lier and Kerr were in the news a bit the last few weeks. Kerr was honored at halftime of a Bulls game earlier this month -- something that should have been done a long time ago, and reeked of "let's do this before he passes away" -- but Van Lier was strangely absent.

Seems he was never invited, for whatever reason, and he was deeply hurt by the snub.

Less than three weeks later, Van Lier -- who had been suffering with some unreported bad health the last few months -- passes away, and Kerr, who had prostate cancer, went just a few hours later.

I'm not a Bulls fan, but I certainly recognize what these two men meant to the city and to a large fan base over the years. They'll be missed. A lot.

*** For the birthdays today we recognized Neal Schon, guitarist with Journey. Tying in with Flashback Friday, the tune of choice was "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'".

*** The 80's Escape today took us back to 1984 for Shalamar's "Dancing In The Sheets".

Gotta love the video as the singer is going for a strange Lionel Richie meets Michael Jackson meets Zorro look.

Show Biz: Thursday 02/26/09

2009-02-26T10:52:00.002-06:00

*** We told you this morning that none other than Jerry Seinfeld is returning to NBC. "The Sein" is helping create and produce a reality show in which celebrities lend their marital advice -- for comedic effect we're assuming -- to real-life couples.

It would have to be for comedic effect, since the last people that should be offering genuine marital advice are celebrities.

It doesn't seem as though Seinfeld will appear onscreen in this new project, but then again, it's still in the very early stages of development.

*** One of the musicians celebrating a birthday today is Corrine Bailey Rae, who turns 30.

We played her most popular song -- only popular song? -- quite a bit back in 2006, and we brought it back for you today.

*** Another artist adding a year to his age is Michael Bolton. Today's choice was "That's What Love Is All About".

What makes this clip extra special is the appearance of American Idol judge Randy Jackson on bass. Yo-yo-yo, dawg.

Show Biz: Wednesday 02/25/09

2009-02-25T12:37:00.002-06:00

*** During birthdays this morning, after wowing listeners yet again with my Battlestar Galactica impressions, we turned our attention to the fact that today is the birth date of George Harrison.

For the birthday segment, we played "What Is Life".

*** For the 80's Escape, we highlighted George's work with The Traveling Wilburys, by playing one of their hits from 1988 -- that features George on the opening lyric -- "Handle With Care"

Unfortunately, I can't find the actual video for you, but this is pretty good also.

It's Tom Petty's version from a recent "Soundstage" taping

Separated At Birth?

2009-02-25T07:45:00.008-06:00

After watching some of President Obama's speech last night -- and, for the specifics of this post, I'm talking about the moments before the speech as Cabinet members were being introduced -- it struck me that Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel bears a striking resemblence to Morris High School Principal, Kelly Hussey.

No?

Kelly is on the left, with Rahm on the right.

Show Biz: Tuesday 02/24/09

2009-02-24T10:06:00.002-06:00

*** Rupert Holmes is having a birthday today. He sang one of the most recognizeable songs of the 70's, "Escape".

Never heard of it? Of course you have. It's better known as the Pina Colada song. Holmes had to be convinced to include the name of the drink in the title, and it was a good choice, as that's how the song is widely known.

Here's a version complete with lyrics so you can sing along.

*** The 80's Escape today was plain and simple. I was done fooling around, and was determined to get serious.

The one and only option - "Blame It On The Rain" by Milli Vanilli.

Show Biz: Monday 02/23/09

2009-02-23T08:14:00.003-06:00

*** When it's Howard Jones' birthday, you don't mess around, or take it lightly. You attack it, and milk it for all it's worth.

Always liked Howard, and for our two musical segments this morning, I threw a few changeups to bring you a couple of minor hits for HoJo.

During the birthday segment, it was Howard's 1989 hit "Everlasting Love" that was played.

*** The 80's Escape took us to Howard's 1985 top 40 hit, "Life In One Day."

And The Oscars Went To...

2009-02-23T07:35:00.003-06:00

Here are the winners of 81st annual Academy Awards from last night:

Best Picture
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor
Sean Penn, Milk

Best Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Actress
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Animated Feature Film
WALL-E

Original Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black, Milk

Adapted Screenplay
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Departures (Japan)

Original Score
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

Original Song
"Jai Ho," A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; Slumdog Millionaire

Achievement in Art Direction
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Achievement in Cinematography
Slumdog Millionaire

Achievement in Costume Design
The Duchess

Best Documentary Feature
Man on Wire

Best Documentary Short Subject
Smile Pinki

Achievement in Film Editing
Slumdog Millionaire

Achievement in Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Achievement in Sound Editing
The Dark Knight

Achievement in Sound Mixing
Slumdog Millionaire

Achievement in Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Animated Short Film
La Maison en Petits Cubes

Best Live Action Short Film
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
Jerry Lewis

Show Biz: Friday 02/20/09

2009-02-20T07:44:00.004-06:00

*** Congratulations to the guys at Coal City Elementary School, the winners of today's Feed Your Office promotion.

Four from the school will be enjoying lunch at Heroes West in Joliet.

If you haven't entered yet, send us a fax on company letterhead to 941-9000. The next drawing is Friday, February 27th.

*** J. Geils turns 63 today. It seems we've had The J. Geils Band on quite a bit lately, so today we brought you a different song of their then the two that first come to mind.

*** For the 80's Escape, we brought out some U2, who in March will be appearing on David Letterman for an entire week.

They'll also be showing up for the first time ever on Good Morning America on March 6th.

Their new album hits stores on March 3rd.

From Rattle and Hum, here's "All I Want Is You"

Hawks Win! But...

2009-02-20T05:25:00.003-06:00

Chalk up another win for the Blackhawks, a 4-0 shutout at Florida last night.

Now, as good as it is to see the 'Hawks continue this very strong season -- with yet another road win, no less -- the problem with last night's shutout at Florida is that Panthers fans were deprived of the chance to hear any goal calls of their play-by-play announcer.

Check out this montage of the pop-culture infused calls of Randy Moller, and you'll hear what they're missing.

Show Biz: Thursday 02/19/09

2009-02-19T11:26:00.002-06:00

*** Seal turns 42 today. We featured his song, "Waiting For You" during the birthday segment.

I couldn't find the actual video for this song, so -- and this seems relevant with Wednesday's American Idol results show in our rear view mirror -- I did stumble upon this performance of the song from last year's Idol finale.

*** Falco scored a number one hit with "(Rock Me) Amadeus" on this date in 1986, which gave us a perfect reason to play that song for the 80's Escape.

Although one should never have to come up with a reason to play Falco.

Idol Thoughts

2009-02-18T15:39:00.003-06:00

After one night of "semi-finals", I feel fairly safe in making the following prediction about this season of American Idol: There is no conceivable way that a woman wins this year.

None.

In fact, I'd be surprised if a woman makes the final five.

I know, there are still two more weeks of this round -- where 12 sing on one night, and nine of those 12 are eliminated the next night -- but I think I've seen enough.

I've felt all along that the winner of Idol will be the blind guy. And since nobody reading this knows his name either, "TBG" is how we'll refer to him, and that will suffice for now.

After last night, I'm pretty confident that Danny Gokey (above) will be in the top 3, and could easily win the whole thing. Heck, I might vote for him just for the fact that last night he (thankfully) refused to mug for the camera by doing that annoying thing where contestants hold up the number of fingers that correspond with their phone number.

That's worth a few votes, Danny. Keep it up.

I think Anoop gets pretty far as well.

Also, watch out for this guy. Adam Lambert is his name, and he has a voice that will not only shatter your windows, but it will proceed to levitate the broken shards of glass and whip them at your face.

He's a real threat.

So, there you have it. Very unofficial predictions for this stinkin' show. I hate American Idol, but watch just about every week.

It's one of the few shows that we can all watch together as a family, which is saying something.

The show, like it or loathe it, has changed the music scene, and then some.

Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Jordin Sparks, Clay Aiken, David Cook are all enjoying big success.

Jennifer Hudson is an Oscar winner.

My daughter owns a David Archuleta CD.

And, I have a CD of tunes by William Hung.

Maybe the show isn't that bad after all.