A Week That Has Really Gone To The Dogs

I can tell you that sometimes you don't get to know that you bear the same scars as your spouse until well into your marriage. Mine was Max. Hers was Cassie. I felt that I did something that led to my great dane's death and really never let myself get attached to an animal again. Cassie lived a long life but her passing away in Kerry's arms at the vet about 7 years ago closed that door for her as well. Neither of us needs a pet, right? I mean, we are newlyweds and have a son that makes cat noises about 4 times a day.

It may be for that latter reason that we talked about getting a dog. We made plans to both take the day off work yesterday (Nov. 11th) to take David on a surprise trip to the store to "meet a very special person in his life." Well, that was what we would tell him on the way there. Before that day would come, this would become a week that went to the dogs.

I think that I showed you a picture of the wall at my old home (now endearingly called the rental) with bricks falling over on our side. Part of that was due to the tree roots pushing the intersecting walls apart. The other cause would be the two big dogs the neighbor has that wedge themselves between the tree and the wall and push. I got a call almost a week ago that the neighbor's dog pushed another brick over and was jumping about half-way over the wall. Meaning, I had to confront the neighbor and fix the wall before their dog jumped over and killed the renter's pooch. I told them I'd be over on Sunday.

Sunday arrives and I go on my normal errands with the wife. I really do enjoy grocery shopping with her. It's some one-on-one time that we don't get often and a chance to show our thrifty sides. We are just returning home from the stores (with the plan that I will head over and work on the wall as she takes David and our niece and nephew to Shark Reef) when she gets a call from her sister. Our niece got bit around the eye by their dog. This killed the Shark Reef plans as well as our nephew spending the night (which really depressed David.) Kerry ran to the car to head to their house before going to the hospital. I unpacked the groceries and headed over to the rental. (As this seemed like a sign.)

A pleasant approach wound up bringing the neighbor and renter together in a joint effort to fix the wall. A large old sheet of wood left at the house worked perfectly to prevent further dog pushing. We also mixed up some mortar that I left there at the rental and re-stacked the brick wall. I left listening to the Raiders getting killed on the radio (this is rather expected though.)

Got home. Consoled David and brought him a little lunch. Our niece needed 7 stitches and was rather chipper about the whole ordeal. The sleepover worked out and they went to Shark Reef the following day after Chuck E. Cheese. I used the time to slip over to a pawn shop and purchase our first video camera. (We are calling it our gift to ourselves for Christmas.)

So we woke up this morning, did some shopping and got ready for our purchase. David was floored when we stood in front of a sign that said "Puppy Sale." We chose a beautiful female puggle we named Bella. Took her shopping for some necessities, went home and then went to my mother-in-law's house for a little birthday gathering for David. It was during these trips we discovered that Bella does have kennel cough and I'll be taking her to the vet tomorrow. So, the dog week continues but I have to say that I haven't yacked once cleaning up doo-doo this time around. Here's just a few photos:

My Only Election Post On The Day Of...

I wanted to get this in during the 11th hour. As you can tell, I didn't spend time waxing political during this major election campaign. I do want to take this time to thank all those voting -- no matter what part of the ideological divide you may sit. Yes, it is expected that just under half of the nation will be either celebrating or looking for a recount. But, we have a wonderful country and a system of constituent participation unmatched. I'll just be happy when we can return to dreaded tampon and feminine freshness ads and be done with the phrase "I approve this message."

Through The Glass

I feel pretty bad for going AWOL for so long, so I'm giving you something special. You see, there is a new film coming out (had its premiere last week) named Though The Glass. You might not hear a lot about it but the film has some interesting things going for it. Check out this synopsis:

Jeffrey lives the ultimate bachelor's life going through numerous non-committed relationships, but struggles to excel at work and gain his father's love and acceptance. Jeffrey's life gets even more intriguing when life deals him a card that stops him in his tracks. On a typical day, he returns from work to find a note "take care of your responsibility" left on top of a baby who is abandoned on his doorstep. In nothing short of what is scary, confusing and comedic, he turns to his Nigerian neighbor, Ada who he has a secret crush on, to help him. What happens to the baby? Will Jeffrey break through the glass of his phobia for commitment and keep the baby? Will Jeffrey confess his secret crush on Ada?

Check out the trailer:




It sounds like 3 Men And A Baby but deals with 1 man and his commitment issues. You can find more information about the film at http://www.throughtheglassmovie.com. I know that you must be wondering why I'm excited about a film that seems rather relationship-based. I can only tell you that my brother Michael Hennessy is in the cast. (If you really must know, go to the Cast link at the site and you'll see his picture... you'll notice him in a few spots in the trailer.) I'll be keeping my eye on when it plays here in Vegas.

Going Video? Maybe

I feel bad about going AWOL. I think one of the problems with social networking is that you wind up spreading yourself a little thin at times. You focus on one area but neglect something else. A few months ago, someone listening live to Talking 80s Music was asking me why I didn't have a cam set up (as a lot of audio podcasts have gone on to video.) I told them that I didn't know and would consider it. Picked up a highly rated webcam online and tried to set it up... and it didn't work with Vista x64. Then I went to the New Media Expo and forgot all about the experiment.

That was until I was sitting down in the audience of TWiT Live. Leo was testing out a live video program that lets you record your show live with video and audio at Stickam.com. I talked to one of their people and they gave me a webcam with a few software items. Remembering my past experience with this, it got shelved until last week. After the show, we tried out Stickam and... it worked. It seems the webcam has better drivers than some of the others I had looked at. Looks good. I don't know how the audio will work out but we will see. Essentially, by going to http://www.stickam.com/talking80smusic you can see the live video/audio feed (we'll see if that audio comes through) while recording the show Saturday at noon PST. It also has a second chat room that I will need to keep track of and yes, I'll be looking over my shoulder constantly.

Other than that, more reviews, cleaning and other nonsense getting in the way of my traditional posts. I hope to remedy that as soon as I start figuring out specific days for specific projects. My best wishes go out to all of you.

Vampire Rights Amendment

Been running around with a bunch of projects that don't seem to want resolution. We shall see how that comes about. Moments from now, we will be replacing the water heater (oh, joy!) But, I feel like I went AWOL and wanted to remedy that and share something with ya. How well do you remember School House Rock and the "I'm Just A Bill" episode?






Well, it seems that the promoters for True Blood have paid homage in a little video. Enjoy.





Kerry and Teri had been enjoying Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries series for quite some time and from the covers of the books... they looked like really cheesy romance novels. According to them, they definitely made some changes to the source material when adapting it for HBO but I have to say that I'm enjoying it enough to consider reading at least the first one.

Monetize It

I've told you before that the launches of the newsletter, Web site(s) and podcast were labours of love. But after over a decade of working on it, it's time to help it pay back a little. I've been thinking it over for the last few years on finding ways to make what I enjoy so much fiscally solvent.

With the podcast, I started taking in ads a few months ago. At least they are for products that I like and use but we will see if it pays off at the end of the quarter. I'd rather be promoting albums or concert tours.

With the newsletter, you just can't charge people to read news in the information age. Not even worth considering as I've seen others try and disappear. Ad placement could be possible but I'd need to grow the subscriptions a bit more and... I'm just not a 'pat myself on the back' kind of guy.

With the Web site(s), I have a little leeway. But, I don't want to sell sexual enhancement products. (I actually got an email from a company asking me to try and review a certain type of ring. If you see something like that on here in the future, I'll be ready for the white coat with restricted arms.) But, the aim is to promote music and possibly the site(s), podcast or newsletter. This has led me to CafePress.com. I've thought about them before... mainly for some funny t-shirt ideas that I had. Now, I'm considering the use of their site to create custom gear to help promote what we have, grow the brands and pay a bill or two.

Now I just need to come up with a few good slogans for the tees. Stuff like "Over a decade celebrating a decade..." on one side and "80sMusicCentral.com" on the back. Or "Musical neutered? Get longer lasting pleasure with..." on the front and "Talking 80s Music" on the back. Time to brainstorm and come up with a pic or two. Any good ideas?

Not As Part 'A Me

I specifically remember as a child, my mother breaking open packets of Sweet-N-Low in her iced tea. Of course, I was using sugar because it just tasted better. Then there was the day that I saw her switch to NutraSweet. A lot of advances have come in the realm of artificial sweeteners over the last 20 years. We now have Alitame and Sucralose on top of Saccharine, Acesulfame-K and Aspartame. Going on low-carb diets at different times in my life, the latter and Sucralose have been very helpful in cutting our sugar.

But last week, after a long time of looking at too many weird reports on Aspartame (from side-effects, FDA approval and chemical decomposition), I am seeing how long that I can avoid the stuff. Yes, that means reading more labels. The Diet Coke that I have every morning as my form of caffeine is now the Splenda version (or regular Coke at a drive-thru.) I see that most of my intake was coming from beverages. Do I believe all the stuff that I read online? Not really. I wanted to make a change and try something different and see the effect for myself. I do have to say that I'm not eating as much... which is kinda odd.

Racism & Sexism: 2008 Election

As nutty as that t-shirt is, it was the best visual to allow me to address an issue that's been in my head for the last week. You see, the day after the Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin was announced, I saw something that I never really thought I'd see expressed openly. A black co-worker pulled me aside and said: "They just shot themselves in the foot." I said, "What?" He replied, "Foreign countries would see us as weak with a female VP, let alone a possible female President. Heck, most nations right now won't even show up to meetings with Condoleezza Rice because she's a woman." After having him clarify the Rice statement, I asked him, "You really feel that way." He responded, "There is no way that I want an emotional woman at the button."

As you might expect, this floored me. Not just the line of logic but that he had no reservations in saying it. So I said, "That's funny that you mention it now. What would you have done if Hillary was named as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee." He then said, "Well, our family talked about this and we said we couldn't vote for Obama if Clinton was on the ticket."

My jaw dropped open and I'm still left in awe of the exchange but more so that I thought sexism was a dying stereotype. In 12 years we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment and the 200th anniversary of the movement advocating women's suffrage. Nationwide, it wasn't until 1965's Voting Rights Act that blacks would see the end of most forms of disenfranchisement.

I had another co-worker ask me if I was voting for Obama. When I told him I was a Libertarian and leaning more towards Bob Barr, the response was "You just won't vote for him because he's black." It's a bit sad really when it is believed that the only reason people have to not vote someone into the highest offices in our government is because of color or genitalia. Do I believe that can happen. Well, from conversation #1, we know that someone will use the latter as an excuse not to vote one way.

With that in context, what shook me was how easy it was to be sexist despite having over half our population being women and their voting rights being affirmed nearly a century ago. I just didn't think that it was this prominent. Yes, you still hear cries of racism here and there. Never would I have thought that a presidential election would become a battleground or a momentary resurgence of gender and racial politics.

The Bureau - ...and another thing

Formed in late 1980 by when the original line-up of Northern Soul act Dexy's Midnight Runners split-up, The Bureau would release their self-titled debut album in Canada and Australia in 1981. The band went their separate ways despite scoring a #6 hit in Australia with "Only For Sheep." The album was finally released in the U.K. in 2005 with several reunion gigs following. This led to a little recording by a reunited version of the band (sans drummer Stoker Growcott) that has led to the upcoming release of ...and another thing. (Due out in October 6th in the U.K. but is available for order at www.bureau.org.uk.)

The album leads with "Run Rabbit Run" brass-heavy soul/jazz fusion that sounds like they are really enjoying themselves. The opening reminds me too much of Cyndi Lauper's "She Bop" but it works as a hook for the gravely delivery of a dark narrative about a man and his pet. You can't dismiss the fun funk vibe that comes from "Save Me." There is a lot of James Brown to with track written by vocalist Archie Brown (no relation.) "Chance In A Million" is an emotional and pure piece. An interesting lyrical perspective that is hard to put your finger on with "A Fine Mess Rag" but an energetic rollercoaster ride. "Just A Word" is a great break from the Joe Cocker-esque vocal delivery early on the album although it harkens more toward Rod Stewart. It is a very beautiful use of horns and keyboards. You really start enjoying the instrumental layering and mix by the time "Falling" arrives. The album tracklisting (intentional or not) had "Divided In Two" and "Mad" switched. The former is a striking ballad and the latter is a frenzy of horns, organ, rhythm guitar in polka/country/blues. A strong jazz piano drives the meandering "Flying Lessons." "Nothing's Going To Stand In Our Way" may be the gem of the bunch with a strut that yields to lilting jazz and back in this duet between Pete and Archie. Also notable is the addition of bonus track of the haunting "Keaton's Walk" which was recorded before the group split up in 1982.

On ...and another thing, The Bureau have an amalgam of many different but alluring styles that they make their own. This is an enduring collection. The vocals on the early tracks take some getting used to but are acknowledged as character in the songs as much as Mick Talbot's keyboard delivery but both fuse together upon later impressions. This album is a joy to listen to and heralds the return of Northern Soul with a little more experience behind it.

3.5 out of 5

Classically Martin: Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine

I have to say that the creative name didn't lead me to this band. Often just called Carter USM, the duo of "Jim Bob" Morrison and "Fruitbat" Carter released their first single in 1988 and were kind of an oddity as they merged samples, funk, guitar, keyboards and rap in what is sometimes hard to pin down (Beastie Boys/Bulletboys meets Pet Shop Boys) as anything but alternative rock. I'd urge you to check each of these songs out especially the last couple as you can see their growth as a band. They still kept the need to sabotage their work but that made them a bit more likeable. Even more funny to mention is that they didn't include real drums on any of their songs until 1994... which may have sped up their implosion. Since they have a lot of area to cover, I figured that I'd throw a few different songs up here in order of release.



"Sheriff Fatman" - 1989 (re-issued in 1991)






"Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere" - 1990






"The Only Living Boy In New Cross" - 1992






"The Impossible Dream" - 1992

Swing Out Sister - Beautiful Mess

For a group that surfaced in 1987, Swing Out Sister have never taken much time off. You would discover -- going through their discography -- that they've been pumping out albums every two to three years...until now. Four years after Where Our Love Grows, Swing Out Sister have created their 9th studio album, Beautiful Mess, due out in U.K. stores on Sept. 8th.

The disc grabs your attention early with the teasing and tantalizing groove of the first single "Something Every Day." Right there is ample evidence that Corinne Drewery and Andy Connell aren't falling back on their previous successes. "Time Tracks You Down" is lyrically astute and songbird Drewery gets to stretch her wings on some notes here. Expected as a possible single, "Butterfly," is beautiful and percussion-heavy but repeat listenings wear out the wings. A slight bit more experimentation surfaces in the textures used on "My State Of Mind" but seems to overpower the track. Close your eyes and you can't help but think Motown when hearing the electric "I'd Be Happy" which is a true gem here. "Butterfly Lullaby" (an instrumental interpretation of "Butterfly") is aptly titled and not recommended on long drives but maybe slow dancing. Lush build-up going into "Secret Love (You're Invisible)" as it utilizes the lull created by the former track and makes an abrupt but welcomed jump. Would just love to hear that remixed for the dance floor. "All I Say, All I Do" falls flat a little while "Out There" recaptures the torch with a stark keyboard opening, lightening as the layers build. The title track re-energizes the set as the disc closes. I can't recommend the Little Wizard bonus remixes of "Butterfly" and "Something Every Day" as they just don't add anything positive to the originals.

I specifically recall my father referring to Sade as 'sleepy music' yet, entirely enjoying Anita Baker. Jazz in it's many variations has a wide range of reactions upon a listener. Technically, Swing Out Sister's Beautiful Mess hits all the right notes for this reviewer but I believe it repeats a few of them too often. Far from a mess, the album still shines more than not and fans will receive it with open arms.

3 out of 5

Grimaldi's

Every once in awhile I like to post a little about some restaurants here in town. Today, I wanted to tell you about my favorite place for pizza in Las Vegas. You see, for the longest time, I believed it was Aurelio's (located on Buffalo and Cheyenne.) Great stuff but a co-worker told me about Grimaldi's (9595 S. Eastern). I dismissed it entirely. A few months later he had told me how he came to believe it was the best pizza in town. He went to all the local places to try their food, took notes and rated them according to specific criteria. I never saw the notebook but decided that if he really did his research, I had to give it a try.

A few months ago, I took Kerry and David there as we had to go next door to fill out some insurance information. The detour was a good thing. The pizza was terrific and Kerry likes the caesar salad there (which isn't normal unless it's wrapped up with some chicken.) Anyhow, I had some free time with her today and she's been craving pizza. So we went. David may be upset. He was off horseback riding with my Mom. But, we saved two slices for him. If we are sharing our leftovers with him, we might as well share the word about Grimaldi's with you.

TWiT Face Review Musings

It's been busy and I wanted to at least post something before the week is up. Previously, I mentioned appearing on TWiT with Leo and Amber. It was pretty cool how, something set up like it is in the photo above, looked like it was done in a studio. They were surrounded by these chairs, some lighting and a producer's booth to the far side. Anyhow, someone attending took this photo during the show (I'm in the red shirt with black sleeves kinda in the middle) and shared it with some of the attendees so... why not share it with you.

One thing that I did get from the whole convention was the need to improve my level of contact my 'community.' One step in that direction was setting up the Facebook account. I always figured that having one on MySpace was enough but, logically, there are probably people that feel the same way at Facebook. I was pretty astonished to see how many of you were already there.

Lastly, I have a little bit of work ahead of me here as the new Swing Out Sister album, Beautiful Mess, and the Bureau's ...And Another Thing arrived yesterday. Reviews are an odd part of running 80s Music Central. It's how I started in music journalism at my high school newspaper. I remember cranking out opinion pieces on Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine, the B-52's Cosmic Thing, Bell Biv Devoe's Poison, the Thompson Twins' Big Trash and many others. Who would have thought that I'd still be doing that nearly 20 years later. I guess, the highlight of my reviews was when I was contacted in 2002 by some band reps that were trying to push for the release of another single from Def Leppard's X album and wished to use my review as fuel to make it happen. Maybe I better get started on these new ones.

Blackmore's Night - Secret Voyage

Fans of Deep Purple and Rainbow may have had questions as to the disappearance of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. In 1997, he went into the night... Blackmore's Night and hasn't returned. But what exactly is a return, anyhow, as it seems he's having fun there releasing 6 albums together up to now. Led by singer/songwriter Candice Night, the band have released their seventh disc, Secret Voyage.

Rock, blues and country are an odd lot as they owe a lot to what has come before and even more to cross-pollination. New age music owes a lot to jazz and most music goes back to the days of the traveling minstrel. That is where Blackmore's Night come along and blur some lines between the Renaissance, Greek, rock and pop. The disc begins with a setting provided by the instrumental piece "God Save The Keg." Swept away into expecting much of the same, it is followed by the spellbinding "Locked Within The Crystal Ball." The tantalizing track is a harmonics dynamo built with waves of guitar virtuosity, mesmerizing vocals and a war drum rhythm section keeping the beat. Easy to get dizzy trying to count the instruments used on this outstanding song. It's hard to follow a lead like that but the subdued "Guided Cage" is mystery and beauty wrapped in strings... violin and flamenco. There are moments where you can hear flashes of Kate Bush, Celine Dion and even Sarah Brightman on these tracks. "Rainbow Eyes" is one of those moments and the pairing of this voice and guitar is spectacular. Other strong tracks here include "The Circle," "Sister Gypsy" and "Far And Away." The group does reach another crest with their cover of "Can't Help Falling In Love" (which even out-paces Lick The Tins 1987 version from the Some Kind Of Wonderful soundtrack.) The album closes with the lush "Empty Words" which eerily reconstitutes the refrain used in the album-opener "God Save The Keg."

Secret Voyage is truly a journey into musical forms we don't hear expressed often enough. Some styles do get incorporated into other media forms in light doses but Blackmore's Night has a talent for bringing these themes and sounds from ages past into a context of now. Stellar production and performances here. Secret Voyage is the best kept secret out there... just don't tell them that we spilled the beans.


4 out of 5

New Media Expo 2008 Wrap-Up

Do you remember, many many posts back, my rant about the shabby treatment given to my tech guru Leo Laporte by G4 or even his return? His shows Call For Help and The Screen Savers were my introduction into most of the technological leaps I took in the PC world. I can cite specifics all day but, notably, the icon you see on the site came from a suggestion co-host Amber gave me as a way to inexpensively add graphics to 80sMusicCentral.com. That same $25 that I paid for that picture by Jose Ramos has been used on there, here, Talking80sMusic.com, the podcast and as profile photos.

Anyhow, I go to New Media Expo on Thursday (yesterday) and I first caught an inspiring keynote address by Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV. Very likely that I will go check his shows out later. Then I wandered around and talked to Zune, Blubrry, Podtrac, RawVoice and a few other vendors. That's when I turned down an aisle and saw TWiT Live. You see, the show (This Week in Tech) is Laporte's shows that he does as a video podcast. This one was using a technology called Stickam -- a video version of the technology that I use at Talkshoe allowing a chat room as you record your live show. So I sat there for awhile and found out that they were taking guests... Needless to say, I appeared on the show with Leo and Amber and talked about Talking 80s Music, their influence on me and spoke in defense of 80s music. Very very cool.

Anyhow, I had a great time and took home some goodies and a lot of knowledge on what I should have been focused on and where I'm heading next. I don't think video is coming too soon but we will see. I mean, it was Leo and Amber doing a test podcast called Net @ Nite on Talkshoe that led me there in the first place. I'm holding off on attending tomorrow to focus on the show but think that I found a spark for the gasoline Gary V. threw down in the keynote speech.

A Summer Camp For Pod People

A very quick post, as I gotta get some business cards printed up before work. I took a few days off to attend the New Media Expo (think of it as a podcasters convention.) Some great conference sessions are planned and I have to wiggle room in so I can still attend while doing the newsletter Friday and show on Saturday (the expo runs Thurs. to Sat.) They even have a hands-on audio editing conference that I'm going to that uses the same software (Audacity) that I use for the show. But, hands-on means: bring your laptop. I don't have one, nor really like them. But thankfully, Kerry came up with a good idea of having me borrow one from someone for the day. I have to seriously thank them as well as Kerry's twin sister Kelly (yes, in Japan their names would sound alike) for watching David during Thursday and Friday. Anyhow... off to get business cards made... my printer is ticking me off. More about my issues with them in the future.

Objects In The Rearview Mirror (May Appear Stranger Than They Are)

During the last week, it seems that my visual perspective had changed. I started seeing everyday items, turned them slightly or saw them at a different angle. Suddenly, I viewed more and more items in this slanted and skewed way. So I tried to take a few photos to share them with you. This box of wet wipes sure looks a whole lot like the smallest port-a-potty that I've ever seen.


This one freaked me out a little. I expected that. if I had taken something hallucinogenic, the thing would have started talking. Looks a whole lot like a plastic duck's head with a wide smiling bill. I was told by the wife that in reality it is an extension of her blow dryer, turned upside down.

I wish I had taken more photos for you because there were some oddities. But I'm happy to share what little that I could document with you. Now back to your regular scheduled programming.

The Extended Weekend

No, the bed doesn't mean that I have been sleeping away the last week. It has been rather active. I'll explain the bed as we go.

Yes, on Saturday we recorded the show and celebrated my birthday. It went a lot better than I thought it would. I have to say that I hadn't been as nervous about an episode of the show since we launched it in December 2006. We got a call early on from a new listener and then it seems Kerry worked out a plan to have her mother, sister, brother-in-law, nephew and niece call in during the show. Very cool and humbling. Later we went to dinner with Lloyd and Teri at Maggiano's had a freakin' amazing dinner. (We need to go back there again.) We also tried to coax Teri into a little karaoke after a little wine... I still think she sang along a little.

On Sunday, we went to dinner with my side of the family at my mother's house. Steak, chicken, potatoes, pumpkin pie... gotta love that. My nieces, nephew and cousins sang a few songs and "Happy Birthday" on a make-shift stage and it was all really sweet.

Kerry and I went to Best Buy on Monday to pick up a 160GB iPod. She now has the 60GB and David has his Nano. One per person, per computer... it's kinda like a technological addiction but everyone is covered. We then went to dinner at Fiamma Trattoria at the MGM Grand Hotel. Again, an amazing dinner and I fell in love with the seafood risotto (lobster, scallops and shrimp.)

Tuesday, Kerry and I went to see The Dark Knight, hung out at the house and then went to Boulder City to stay at Milo's Inn. We stayed in the Beaujolais room which was incredible (in the photo above.) We took a nap, walked down to Toto's Mexican Restaurant and back. Picked up two bottles of wine at Milo's Cellar. We spent the rest of the night finishing off those bottles and soaking in the hot tub. We are thinking of going back each year to celebrate our honeymoon. (Well worth clicking on their link attached to the photo as well as the one with the photos in this paragraph.)

The following morning, we had breakfast, lounged in bed and then checked out of the room. We returned to town (after a brief stop at my grandmother and grandfather's house to look at their computer) and relaxed the rest of the day until Kerry went back to karate.

Anyhow... I'm off to the shower before heading to work and wanted to just say that I had an amazing week and hope that you get a chance to step back and pamper yourself for a change. And I can't thank my wife enough for all that went into this extended weekend.

Open Phones

Today is the last really busy day for the week. Busy because it is time to start writing the newsletter. I'm off to start that now. Then there is the show tomorrow followed by 4 days off. But, I wanted to put an invitation out to you.

As you know, I have a tendency to create weekly obligations that -- for me -- can feel confining over time. Now they are appropriately lumped right next to each other (Friday and Saturday.) When starting Talking 80s Music, I really didn't think it would fall on my birthday and if it did, it wouldn't happen this quickly. So tomorrow, it does and the episode will be a very open format. We may even try to set a record for how many calls we can take during the course of the show.

So, if you would like to use some of those free weekend cell phone minutes, you can call into our switchboard anytime after noon (PST) at (724) 444-7444. Enter Call ID 11757 and 1 (for guest) when prompted. By hitting *8, it will put your call in cue and you can hear what's going on until we get to you. Usually, we cover news until 12:30pm, so the best time to call would be anytime between then and 1pm. You could always just say hi, ask me a question or call me names. Ok, I gotta get back to work.

Scraping Pooh Off The Window

Yes, I think Teri is going to cry when she sees this. You see, the wife has swapped her Camry with my mother-in-law for her Tucson. It does give us two Tucsons in the household and gives us a choice for our trips (hilly inclines... 6-cylinder, flat area... 4-cylinder.) There are noticeable power drops when taking the 4-cylinder Tucson to L.A. despite the fuel savings. Anyhow, we had to clean up the car yesterday before presenting it to her mom. That included the removal of Winnie The Pooh.

Kerry and Teri are fans of the character (and have rhyming names that screw me up when I am tired.) Taking a razor to her car window was fun but I don't think the Pooh on her ankle will come off so easily. I wouldn't want that to happen either as you don't go into a marriage to give someone a makeover or smash their idols (pant-less or not.)