What in the world?

9:13pm, Wednesday, Sept. 28

The Panda Express near my house is PACKED.

Work party? College students? MSG convention?

...not sure what to make of this...

Five More Random Things

1. The list of things that suck about living in Colorado is short, but at the top of the list is "When the Broncos beat the Chiefs" ...that and drivers hogging the left lane.

2. There is a pitcher for the Colorado Rockies named Mike Esposito. His uncle is Joe "Bean" Esposito. If that name sounds familiar, then you're pathetic like me because you know that Bean sang the lead vocals on "You're The Best" from "The Karate Kid" soundtrack. Because I used this song in an independent film I shot last year, I have it memorized (plus I've seen the movie over 80 times). I didn't get a chance to this year, but the next time I make it to a game, I'm finding Mr. Mike, and I'm going to sing him that song. If you'd like to join me, it could be a really, really fun group experience. I just want to know what his life experience has been in relation to that song and I think I'll know about halfway through the first verse. Look for an update on this in 2006...

3. If you're looking for me, you probably won't find me because I'm not looking for you and it's probably because I don't know I'm supposed to be. So don't get upset when we can't find each other even though one of us is looking and the other isn't and doesn't know to stay put because that's the best way to find someone you're looking for.
See how easy miscommunication is?

4. My front yard looks like a freaking golf course...donations to cover my water bill can be brought over anytime and while you're hear, stop...listen...and you'll here....

5. The faint, consistent chirping of a smoke detector whose battery has been running out ALL SUMMER LONG! The vacant house next to mine with the auditory beacon finally sold. I already have a pack of nine-volt batteries to give my new neighbors as a housewarming gift.

Balco Barry

I was fortunate enough to attend last night's game between the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. My seats were up the third base line, row 4. Perfect seat to observe one of the greatest baseball players ever, Barry Bonds.
Barry Bonds has character issues (we all do, we're not subject to the same media scrutiny as he is) but it was somewhat depressing to see a once great player give the 'effort' he did last night.
Bonds didn't take batting practice...he wasn't visible in fact until he came onto the on deck circle in the top of the first inning. He routinely walked out to left field to take his position and only jogged back when he knew he was scheduled to hit next.
He was on deck when Pedro Feliz hit a single to right...Omar Vizquel was rounding third trying to score...usually in this situation, the on deck hitter will indicate to the runner whether or not he needs to slide at home...Barry had his back to Omar (he was safe as the throw was up the line)
In the fifth inning, Barry ran a double into a single. He laced one down the right field line and lightly jogged to first...Mama Cass would have made it to second no problem.
He could barely throw...his warm up tosses were weak and strained.
He's injured. His knees don't work anymore. He's in pain.
Then DON'T PLAY!
This only bothers me because many baseball fans, including myself, know he is only out there to hit home runs to try and break Hank Aaron's record. He doesn't deserve it. He could be the biggest hero in sports but his reclusiveness, selfishness and lack of respect for the game prevents it. It's a shame really.
BTW, notice I didn't mention the dreaded 's' word once, I don't care about that at all...'s' doesn't help you see the ball better, improve your hand-eye coordination or sharpen your swing.

An Hour In the Life of A Radio Station Contest Winner

Driving home from rehearsal last week, I impulsively dialed a local radio station to win a chance at a $10,000 ULTIMATE ENTERTAINMENT ROOM (big screen TV, sofa, recliner, end table, flooring and a pool table)
Somehow I got through and 'won' the chance to win all this stuff. My qualifying prize was four free tickets to the Colorado Springs Log Cabin and Home Remodeling Show at The Phil Long Expo Center (which is a former home improvement store)
I arrived at the designated time 11:30, here now is a running diary of the next hour of my life...it is all true (and not that hard to believe)

11:30...We arrive at the 2005 Colorado Springs Log Cabin and Home Remodeling Show at The Phil Long Expo Center! I find the radio station table positioned in front and ask the Promotions Intern, Mike, where to go. I am told that they will be starting at 11:45 at this small auditorium-style seating area with a stage made up like a living room. This leaves me 15 minutes to see all I can of the 2005 Colorado Springs Log Cabin and Home Remodeling Show at The Phil Long Expo Center. My kids liked the hot tubs, I enjoyed the free candy.

11:39...my children spot two giant inflatable trampoline type things shaped like castles...of course, it isn't free...I try somewhat successfully to distract them with the curtains covering the drab walls of this former home improvement store, um, I mean The Phil Long Expo Center!

11:45...We sit down, in the back, to await the beginning of the contest. Here's how it works. Apparently all the contest qualifiers will receive a CD and only one of them plays. Whoever gets the CD that plays wins. This should be fun.

11:53...Willie from 'Willie and Jo Jo in the afternoon' stumbles his way onto the living room stage and proceeds to find his way to a lazy boy recliner and lays there while Mike the intern and Krissy the Marketing Director scramble to get things organized.
Two quick sidenotes...
1. Not to be mean, but Krissy could have been plucked right out of a sorority at KU, right around mid-October on a unseasonably warm day when the freshmen fifteen has firmly established itself and the summer clothes don't quite fit anymore. Chi Omega!!!
2. Radio contests that take place somewhere other than the radio airwaves are always, always, always disorganized and frantic. As a 13-year radio industry veteran and someone who has planned and participated in many more contests than anyone should be allowed, this is something I can't quite explain. It's just the way it is...for example...

12:01...Willie informs us that if you're a contest winner, you need to make your way up to the table at the front to sign the release form. So, 35 people emerge from their seats and promptly form about seven different lines, which then become three and then becomes this mass of people just crowding ever closer to this sacred table where Krissy is controlling the forms despite the pleas of Mike the intern to help by suggesting more than one person can sign a form at a time (there were three pens on the table by the way) After signing my form, I took my place off stage left with the rest of the 'winners.'

12:07...Willie wakes up in order to announce that Krissy has made her way 'back stage' to mix up the CDs. Then she comes out with a stack of CDs and proceeds to pass them out to us 'winners' until she reaches the end. As she goes through, she tells us to stay in line and we'll play our CDs one at a time. I receive a CD, promptly open it, turn it over and inspect the audio side and notice there's nothing on it...I have a blank CD. I didn't win. Well, that was fun. I bet I can use it to burn a CD of downloaded music.

12:09...One by one the winners make their way to Willie, who is apparently taken on the role of Santa Claus as each person is systematically asked "Well, what's your name?" and "What show did you win on?"

It was here that I noticed two other things...
1. Of the 35 or so winners, AT LEAST 27 were women. I thought about why this might be so for about 2 seconds until I remembered that all the DJs at this station have a Y chromosome. They must like the way these ladies sounded on the phone...which leads me to...
2. These contest winners could work at any radio station. Radio employees are known as the dirtiest, trashiest dressers and of course, there's the old broadcasting saying 'he has a face for radio' There were a whole host of radio faces amongst the winners. I'm not sure what to make of this, but it was unobjectionably true.

12:15...The unintentional comedy moment of the day! One by one, the winners made their way to Santa and stuck their CD in the slit and waited for it to spit it out. As it happened, some of the winners didn't follow Krissy's instructions and just took their CD and sat down (I was among this group) Well, the existing line was dwindling down and it got down to three ladies (of course) and when the first of the three ladies went on to tell Santa what she wanted and the CD player expectorated her CD, the two remaining ladies went CRAZY! It was like Miss America when George Hamilton announces "The second runner up is...Miss Colorado" and Miss Texas and California start hugging and jumping up and down...ugh.
Anyway, this went on for about 5 seconds until Old St. Nick pointed out that there were about 6 or 7 of us naughty children in the audience. When the pageant contestants found out about this, they were MAD. One of them shook their finger at us as we made our way up to the line behind them and said "that's the meanest thing" I'm not sure where she grew up, maybe Disneyworld...

12:19...The rest of us winners are excited, except for me and the guy next to me, because we know there's nothing on our CDs, so I proceed to ask the other winners to look at the back of their CDs, and immediately spotted the grand prize winner as her (of course) CD had a distinguishable halo of zeros and ones written around the interior circle. Me and the guy next to me started telling her congratulations and let her go ahead of us, because neither one of us wanted to deal with Kris Kringle. Reluctantly, she made her way up there and sure enough, Michelle was the winner. Mike the intern took a picture and Santa gave away some presents. Krissy laminated the release form and the rest of us were thanked by North Pole's favorite resident for listening to My ninety-nine, nine.

12:23...We make our way to the exit of the 2005 Colorado Springs Log Cabin and Home Remodeling Show at The Phil Long Expo Center. The kids each have a balloon and I have a headache. I'm ordering satellite radio asap...

Of TV Addiction

We lost our Dish Network yesterday...leaving us with only local channels.

This is not a big deal.

As a Broadcast Journalism major and a fan of comedy, I will miss the hours of programming I am acustomed to.

This is not a big deal.

There are new episodes of American Chopper that I will miss.

This IS a big deal...

This is going to be a long, disjointed post, so hang in there.
As I lay in bed this morning, staring at the clock as the minutes passed, recalling the exact moments the commerical airplanes crashed in New York and D.C. I was struck with a dichotomy of emotions.
On one hand, I feel very, very sad. That was a horrific day. My daughter turned 5 months old that very day, and I was sick at the thought of what the world would become for her and her children and in some ways I still am. 9 months later, I was in NYC when they held the last chapel service at the clean-up site, which then became a reconstruction site. I interviewed victims' family members, survivors from both towers, firemen, policemen and scores of relief workers. The pain those people will carry with them the rest of their life is overwhelming. I would be with these people and we could be talking about anything, sports, weather, work, and they would just start crying. Whether because they missed their family and friends or because there was now a gaping hole in the most famous skyline in the world, both are justified and both are tragic. My empathy was at an all time high for those 6 days...it brought a whole new meaning to this date. I cringe whenever I hear this date, Idivert my eyes whenever I see pictures of the old skyline, and I ache on this, the fourth anniversary of the most horrible thing I've ever experienced, watching those towers collapse.
On the other hand, I remember the grand patriotism born out of this act of cowardess. The renewed sense of brotherhood and compassion and volunteering evidenced in the stories of courage, bravery, sacrifice and valor. Men and women who were heroes before this date became primee examples of what a human being is capable of when they forget themselves and live for others. I am so proud of how Americans responded to this tragedy. Partisan politics was nowhere to be found (for a time) and elected leaders like Rudy Guiliani and George Pataki showcased true leadership, offering solidarity and resolve in a chaotic time.

Part of me wants to go back to a more naive time, when I wasn't aware of militant terrorist groups, when I didn't think the rest of the world hated us in the U.S., when I didn't fear for the future of my children.
If I could, I would, but since I can't, I'll try to learn from it, and press on.

And to all the folks I met in June of 2002, I still pray and cry for you...God bless.

Which Is More Annoying?

An empty house next door with a fire alarm that needs a new battery
or
the neighbor kid hammering endlessly on his electric guitar

long line at McDonalds drive-thru
or
long line at a stoplight

old ice cream
or
old people

late fees
or
late friends

blog posts from advertisers
or
blog posts from solicitors

printers that won't print
or
toasters that won't toast

sqaure pizza
or
half-full potato chip bags

employee pricing on new cars
or
Countrywide home loan commercials

please chime in with your input and add some if you please

Driving with a buzz

Is there anything more alarming while driving a car to find a bee or other stinging insect confined to your small space? If you're lucky enough to be at a stoplight or residential neighborhood, you can pull over and wait until the hornet flies away, but what if you're in the center lane of a major street going 50 or so? Instinctually you want to flinch away, to get up and run, but (hopefully) you're buckled in and you start paying more attention to the bee than the road...well, I survived such an encounter without being stung...what does it say about me that this is the most exciting event of my Labor Day weekend?

Speaking of which, summer is over. This will undoubtely go down as the most eventful summer of my entire life. Adios summer of 2005, glad to see you go.

Which Is Better?

My daughter asked me a funny question yesterday..."Daddy, which is better pee or throw up?"


How do you even answer a question like that? After I stopped laughing I told her both were good because they're both bad things leaving the body. But pressed to give a definitive answer, I settled on pee, because it's easier to clean up without worrying about a gag reflex.

My own version of Which Is Better...chime in with your answers

Which is Better?
peas or carrots
Professional Baseball or Professional Basketball
The Mainstream Media or Reality TV
being unemployed or being underemployed
brown shoes or green shirts
Windows or Mac
Windows or Enron
Windows or Al Qaeda
hanging drywall or taping and mudding drywall
Ryan Seacrest or Paris Hilton
The reemergence of Kirstie Alley or the reemergence of Pauly Shore
plucking or waxing
giving or receiveing
candles or inscence
guitar or drums
paper or plastic
paying taxes or getting your drivers licence renewed
reading blogs at work or actually working