2010: The Year of Health and Healing (At least, I think that this title will do......I guess)

I've got a lot on my mind. A LOT. It's been far too long since I've sorted my thoughts out in writing. A lot has happened in the past year. I'm a married man now. I lost my full time radio gig. I moved up the ladder at my part time retail job; which could, potentially lead to plenty of other job opportunities.

I've also dealt with plenty of family drama. More than I could ever imagine. More than I would ever ask for. (But really, who would ask for that type of bullshit? Okay, you got me!!!) It's more than I would EVER wish on another person.

Welcome to marriage.

Time to man up.

I'm not # 1 anymore.

This is so weird, admitting such things.

I've dealt with emotions that have been so overwhelming, I've found myself sobbing like a baby and screaming like a banshee.

This is normal? This is a MAN who is in control?


Not likely.

But I've realized something. If I didn't care, I probably wouldn't react in such a way. If I didn't care, I wouldn't be thinking about it, let alone writing about it.

I'm almost 32. I have a wife whom I love with every inch of my being. I have a 5 year old (step) son who I would kill for.

And I want more.

Despite ALL of the family bullshit (and there has been plenty - from both sides).

Though I am not old - I am not that young. It's time to be serious about a number of things that have to do with me growing old....at least growing old comfortably.

It's time to pay attention to my health. I'm no fat ass, but I could stand to lose about 40 or 50 pounds.

I have sleep apnea. That means I need a machine to help me sleep so I don't risk serious health risks (including dying in my sleep).

My temper, my patience, my memory - my overall health are ALL affected by my sleep (or lack thereof).

It's time to work on my health - and healing.

Too much thought has been wasted on the family drama. Too much energy has been wasted from the anger that has resulted. Too much pain has plagued me (or rather, I've ALLOWED too much pain to plague me) from letting it all add up. Too much time has been wasted on the tough breaks.... and it's crossed over into the good stuff.


That's NOT acceptable.



Blah, blah, blah.....



Time to man up.

If I'm going to be a good husband, a good father and overall good man, I need to swallow my huge pride and not be so angry. The misdirected anger does not help me feel good about myself. It doesn't help me communicate with my wife, and it doesn't help me with the youngster.

I've made it known to the appropriate people that I will bite if provoked - and that I will fight for my family.

That doesn't mean I have to hold on to the resentment.

I don't need hatred in my heart. I don't need sadness in my eyes. I don't need depression in my head.

I vow to raise this little boy in a happy household (with discipline of course!)

I want any child of mine to be protected, loved and to have a great childhood. I will learn from my mistakes and realize that the world doesn't have to be an overwhelming reality. It just is what it is.

Can I loosen up? Sure.

Can I move on? Sure.

Can I forgive?




Sure.


Will it help me?

I believe it will.

Round 3

I must be a sadist.


I'm giving radio one more shot.

I must be nuts going back to work in an industry that pays me out of bottle return money; where too often the scum rise to the top and the good people eat shit every day. An industry that chewed me up and spit me out.......twice. An industry where the bottom line is EVERYTHING.



I must not like myself very much.

No, really..... I do still love the idea of being a radio personlity. It's been a my dream since I was a little boy. I like being "the voice" being heard on the other end of the speaker. I like being able to ham it up with a microphone in my face (with no one watching...) I enjoy people hanging on to my every word......

I miss being on the air. I just don't miss the bullshit.

That's why I'm going back to working on the radio...... part time.


I return to the (Lansing) air waves on Saturday February 6th. I will be on every Saturday from 10am to 2pm on 99.1 WFMK (the station that gave me my start nearly 8 years ago).

Now you know.

Boo yah!

Halloween 2: Zombie Overkill

Let me start by saying that I've been a fan of the Halloween series for many years now. The original 1978 Halloween by John Carpenter is a classic (which is a bold statement by today's 'standards', ie. people with such small attention spans-if there isn't enough action-it's boring). The series got progressively silly from that point on (Michael's mask is different in EVERY movie), but so what? It's a slasher series. It's supposed to be fun to watch, and not taken seriously.

A couple of years back, Rob Zombie was tapped to write and direct the 9th film in the Halloween series. He decided to do a "reboot" and start the story from scratch. Zombie releases his Halloween in August of 2007. I gave that film a B- when I reviewed it. "There's plenty of blood, and there are plenty of boobies (not to mention a good amount of fucking, refereces to fucking and plenty of utterences of the word "fuck"). It's a slasher flick. It's Rob Zombie. You do the math. Just don't expect an AWESOME film."

Here we are 2 years later, with another Zombie Halloween film. More boobs! More gore! More Michael! MORE BACK STORY!!!!

Rob Zombie took a simple thing like the boogey man and turned it into a long, twisted story that requires too much thought to be considered fun.

The original Halloween: Little boy kills his older sister. He's locked up for 15 years at a mental hospital. He escapes and goes after 3 High School chicks. He wears a white mask that hides his face and features. He kills a lot of people. Why? NO EXPLANATION. SPOOKY!!!

Rob Zombie's Halloween: Ugly kid gets picked on at school. Has an asshole for a stepdad, a slutty sister and a mother who strips. He snaps! And kills a lot of people.... Spooky? Naw. Ugly kid escapes mental institution as an adult and goes after his younger sister. Wears a mask and kills a lot of people.....

Rob Zombie's Halloween 2: Escaped lunatic lives as a bum...... kills a lot of people... is still crazy..... has mommy issues..... kills a lot of people.... goes after younger sister...... who somehow feels a connection..... ???

Basically, Rob Zombie decided to add LAYERS and LAYERS to a story that shouldn't have been fucked with at all.

Not spectacular. I give it a C


P.S. I spent the past week trying to come up with the appropriate words for this review. I did what Rob Zombie did..... I OVERTHOUGHT!!!!

I still have time to do this!!!

I've been neglecting my blog as of late. Honestly, I've been busy planning a wedding, getting married, working, raising a 4 and a half year old, and getting fired. (As I mentioned before, I will touch more on those subjects soon) In the midst of all this, I have had a chance to see some great films.

Rather than blog about each one individually (since some of these film have been out for a bit), I figured I'd give a quick review of each.

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS
Honestly, this is a great film! Sometimes, animated films like these lean more toward the children, and every once in awhile sophisticated humor is thrown in for the adults (which throws the kids off). With Monster vs. Aliens, the film really does work for both children and adults. It doesn't try too hard to be a clever adult movie, and it doesn't dumb down too much for the kids; it's just funny. Well played by all of the voice actors. Bob (voiced by Seth Rogen) is hilarious. Great family film.



STAR TREK
The previews for this film didn't really appeal to me. (I went to see it because a buddy wanted to.) I expected a bunch of explosions and dopey dialogue, in other words; I was expecting it to be a worthless action film. (Besides, I was never much into Star Trek) Wrong. Not only was the story compelling, but the action was anything BUT worthless. From start to finish, Star Trek will keep your attention. It's a nice fresh twist on an older series. I was pleasantly surprised. When you hear the good reviews (and you will), believe them.




EARTH
There's not much to say about this one. It was a nice family outing. It was fun watching several groups of animals on the big screen, with narration provided by Darth Vader. I mean James Earl Jones!!! Sorry. "Cute" and "charming" would some up this film best. Enjoy.



ANGELS AND DEMONS
Mind you, this is based on the opinion of someone who has NOT read the book. I saw The DaVinci Code three years ago, and found that to be very entertaining. Tom Hanks returns on the follow up, Angels and Demons. I found this one to be a bit better than its predecessor. It seemed to have more action and fewer slow spots. This film, though long, and though it slows a bit by the end, does entertain.

Don't Stop Believin'

On Tuesday, I caught the new show Glee on Fox. It's the story of a High School Glee club, made up of all walks of life. It took a few minutes for me to get into the show at first; the writers sort of threw a monkey wrench in there. The beginning was sort of lambasted with odd humor. Don't get me wrong, that's okay. But I was afraid the show was going to get stale REALLY quickly. Thankfully it recovered before long. (Or maybe, I just needed the few minutes to get acclimated.) The characters turned out to be hilarious, and the circumstances surrounding the Glee Club were a hoot. Glee, in fact, turned out to be very entertaining. Despite the fact that I had to sit through some music by Journey (I'm so glad that I wasn't eating), the music was refreshing. It's too bad that we have to wait until fall to see the series.

Coming soon.....more blogs!!!

Dear readers,
It's been far too long!!! I'll get some blogs up here very soon! I've got plenty of topics to blog about!

Life:

-Marriage

-Fatherhood

-Unemployment



Movies:

-Star Trek

-Earth

-Monsters vs. Aliens

-Angel and Demons


and of course, the new TV show Glee

Lots to say! (Better late than never) Check back soon!!!

DAMN IT!!!

They made it a PG 13 film!!! Wusses!!!

I certainly hope that with this rating (which will obviously attract a younger audience) that the film doesn't sacrifice a good story for neat-o explosions.

(Possible) Names for Span's show

(For those of you who are unfamiliar with who I am talking about, Span is the 7 to Midnight jock at Q 106. Yes, Span is his real name. Anyway, his predecessor called his show "The Asylum". Because I was bored, I tossed around a few ideas that Span could call the show, now that it's his.)




*Spoonin' with Span

*Getting forked by Span. (nah)

*Span, Span, he's the man....if he can't do it.... MAC D can.... (maybe)

*Span-ish

*Span's Highly Intellectual Theatre (spoken with British accent)




That's it for now. My money is the first one, or the last one. Come to think of it, the last one probably works best; especially if it's abbreviated with the first letter of each word.

Glad I don't work for them!

Clear Channel cut 590 radio jobs today! DAMN

Bring back the private owners!!!!



From the AP:
Tue Apr 28, 8:29 pm ET

SAN ANTONIO – Clear Channel Communications Inc., the largest owner of U.S. radio stations, said Tuesday it is cutting 590 jobs, including some on-air personalities, in its second round of mass layoffs this year amid pressure from the recession and evaporating advertising budgets.

Clear Channel's parent company, CC Media Holdings Inc., also said it will suspend its 401(k) match for all employees for the rest of the year, starting Friday. However, if the company hits 90 percent of its budget goals at the end of the year, the matches will be retroactively restored, a company spokeswoman said.

The latest cuts represent 2.7 percent of company's total work force of 22,100. They affect operational jobs like engineering, accounting and customer service, all in the radio division. The company also has an outdoor advertising division, which sells items like billboard space and wasn't affected by the job cuts.

The previous cuts of 1,850 jobs came in January and were also in the radio division, mostly in sales.

Clear Channel didn't break out the latest cuts by geography or job function, but said they do include some on-air personalities, whose identities weren't disclosed. Employees were notified of the cuts Tuesday.

It certainly DOES feel like a Monday

Damn. I think I should just sleep all day.

Got it!!!

So, there are certain members of Layne's family (my fiance) and certain members of my family who are unhappy with our relationship, and seem to be hell bent on making things as miserable as possible for us.

It's tough. We're both trying to take the high road, turn the other cheek, be the bigger person, etc. Swallowing one's pride is nauseating.

I've thought of the perfect analogy:

With our two families it's like vomiting and diarrhea; we're getting it on both ends.

Should have let Fredo handle it......

Oops....The Family's gonna be pissed.




Publisher: Please give us back our illegal weapons
by Mike Smith

Pens? Snore. T-shirts? Boring. Notepads? Been there, done that. Thinking up creative ideas for promotional tchotchkes can't be easy, but someone at uber-publisher Electronic Arts went a little too far last week.


The game in question: Godfather II, a Grand Theft Auto-style adventure based on the famous movie. The offending item: a set of brass knuckles, mailed to video games journalists together with other goodies including a cigar, a silk handkerchief, and a book of matches. But while it nicely complements the game's mafiosi theme, it also had the unfortunate side-effect of turning recipients of the mailing into criminals, as mere possession of brass knuckles is illegal in many states and can carry hefty penalties. After blog GamePolitics expressed its consternation, the publisher began a flurry of hush-hush phone calls to arrange the return of the weapons. EA declined to comment beyond expressing a desire to assist journalists in proper disposal of the items. The controversial promo also doesn't seem to be helping out the game's critical fortunes: it's turning in some decidedly mixed reviews.

Picture of the week

This best describes how I feel about people on most days.





Thanks, Kimmy!

I can dig it

From Facebook:



Domingo took the Which Beatle are you? quiz and the result is John Lennon
John is the leader. He has his chin up, looking down his nose, feet apart, and drives the band with his rhythm guitar and raunchy voice. John was a screamer vocally but could also rival Paul when singing soft ballads. John doesn't take his job as leader seriously, and is often malicious, especially towards George and Ringo. He never sits, he slouches. He will often pull funny faces and immediately wipe it off. The other Beatles always want to know what John thinks and are influenced by John's thoughts about them. John tends to use sarcastic,dry,cheeky humor. He is extremely lazy and overly laid-back. Yet he truly cares about the band members and will do anything for them.




Domingo completed the quiz "Which Jedi are you?" with the result Obi Wan Kenobi.
You are smart and patient. You've learned to think first and act later. The tragedies in your life have made you wiser.

I'm all about this!!

Let's bring 'em back to Lansing!! Demand it!!

Nice

More SNOW? Really? After such a nice weekend off, too. Can I call in sick?

Reading is FUNdamental

I don't read nearly as much as I should. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've dulled my attention span over the years with TV and video games. I read maybe 2 or 3 books per year. My fiance reads an average of 2 or 3 books per week. PER WEEK. Now, I'm not trying to compete with her, but that is definitely enough of reason to inspire me to crack a book more often.

I am currently reading:



And on deck:




With more Puzo and Godfather books to follow! Hey, maybe Mafia stories will be my thing.

I happen to find these quite funny...

More stupid s***

I'm looking foward to this new train wreck!!! Tonight after Idol!

Stupidity

*Seeing a young woman driving around in a mini van the other day....with a 2 year old girl on her lap.

*Trying to order a "Sesame Bagel" at Tim Horton's and somehow having that interpreted as "Bacon Sandwich" by the stoner working the drive thru.

*Waiting 5 minutes for the stoner to figure out how to process my debit card payment.


*Talking to a listener on the phone, rambling on about winning a prize (that we didn't give out).

*Trying to convince the listener that he had us confused for another station.

*Realizing that the listener was probably high.


*Putting this list up as a blog entry.

*Wondering why people are so stupid