Wednesday, 10/31

Happy Halloween! And here's your scary thought for the day—you still have another seven days to sit through what seems to be non-stop commercial breaks filled with nothing but political ads.

Sorry. Didn't mean to send THAT much terror through you.

Doesn't matter if you're watching TV or listening to your favorite radio station (and you DO have a favorite radio station, right?). You'll either see or hear upwards of 20 political ads during an average one hour period. In fact, while it's not quite as bad on the station where I work, I have seen an hour of TV on a local station where they had nothing BUT political ads. It's almost enough to make you long for the days of non-stop drug commercials listing their side effects, you know?

Well, okay. Maybe not THAT bad, but I think you know what I mean.

It's probably not much a surprise, either, that in our highly polarized political climate most of the ads you see or hear aren't positive ads. For the most part, they don't tell you what the candidate wants to accomplish or what the candidate stands for. Nope; we're so lucky in the fact that most of the commercials we see and hear are negative ads, either telling you that one candidate is a horrid human being, or trying to twist facts so much that you start to believe if you vote one way or another you'll end up with brain cancer.

And that helps the democratic process how?

I don't know that their system is any better, but I think I wrote a few weeks ago about how German elections are relatively peaceful affairs. There are no non-stop orgies of negative ads, no dark money political action committees, campaigns are limited to a span of just a few weeks, and they hold elections on Sundays so that everyone can vote. In the end, they have a higher percentage of their citizens voting, and, if I had to guess, a lot less stress caused during their election season.

But, for better or worse, that's not how we do things here. And that's why for the next seven days any kind of media you consume will constantly remind you of that. So if you're looking for a scary Halloween fact, there you go. But at least one week from today, it'll all be over. Or at least it'll be over until, say January, when the 2020 Presidential campaign gets underway.

Boo!

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/29

So, did you enjoy National Chocolate Day yesterday? You're not suffering from a chocolate hangover or anything, right?

Or is that just me?

Actually, I didn't eat any more than my usual share of chocolate yesterday, although I did spend a moment thinking about what may be my chocolate bar of all time. And it's from, of all places, Poland.

Seriously.

A couple of years ago Loraine and I (and Tony the Tour Guide) went into Poland for a few hours during a trip to Germany. One of the places we stopped was a grocery store, because we had to check out the Polish chocolate selection. We just had to. While there, Loraine bought and tried a white chocolate coffee bar that she fell in love with, and I like I mentioned, I off-handedly picked what I, in hindsight, consider the best bar I've ever tried--

This is an E. Wedel (and take a deep breath here) Czekolada Gorzka Wisniowa, which sounds kinda scary but which is actually a dark chocolate bar that holds both a creamy white filling AND little chunks of cherries within its dark chocolate goodness. It's like heaven on Earth, assuming, of course, heaven is made of chocolate.

It was amazing.

It took a little work, but I did end up finding out some information  about the company and the bar. As it turns out, E. Wedel was one of Poland’s first chocolate companies, and is still one of their most beloved. It started in the 1850s, and was quite popular up until the Germans invaded in 1939. The company refused to collaborate with the Nazis--even using their factory to hide people--so it was destroyed before the war’s end. The company rebuilt it in the late 40s, only to then see it nationalized by the Communist government. When the Wall fell in 1989, the family regained control of the factory, and over the past 25 years it’s been in the hands of Kraft and Cadbury, among other international chocolate companies.

Who knew?

I wish I had the foresight to buy more of Czekolada Gorzka Wisniowa bars while we were there; unfortunately, because Poland doesn’t use the Euro, we only had a limited amount of Zlotys with us that day, so we had to pick & choose carefully. If I knew then what I know now, I certainly would’ve brought more Zlotys with me; if I ever go back, I’ll certainly know to do that. And we're keeping our fingers crossed that when we go to Leipzig next year, they may sell them there. After all, the city's only a 100 or so kilometers from Poland, so you never know.

A boy can dream after all, right?

Wish me luck. And if you ever find yourself in Central Europe, you now know what to buy. And pick up a couple extra for me. I’ll be happy to pay you back!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/26

Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year. You ready for the big holiday Sunday?

What...you don't know about the holiday Sunday? Really, you don't? You don't remember that Sunday is National Chocolate Day?

I'm shocked. Just shocked.

8-)

I had no idea that there actually WAS a National Chocolate Day, but thanks to the keen observational powers of my Dad, who noticed it on a calendar a couple of years ago, I'm now a full-fledged and yearly celebrant. So thanks, Dad!!

How does one actually celebrate National Chocolate Day? Well, I'm sure eating some is a big part of it, and I'll make sure I celebrate in that way. But what else do you do? Sing chocolate carols? Send out chocolate cards? Build a chocolate man out in the front yard? If that's the case, I'm ill prepared for the holiday.

Let's just hope that my overall love for the food is enough to carry the day.

It's funny; I've always loved chocolate, but I can't pinpoint an exact reason why. All I know is that even when I was a kid, I was a bit...particular about the kinds of chocolate I would eat. When I was really young, I had a fondness for Milk Shake chocolate bars. I don't know if any of you actually remember Milk Shake bars or if they were even available to people outside of Michigan, but they were kind of like a slightly less sweet version of a Milky Way bar. Or at least that's how I remember them; I haven't eaten one, or even laid eyes upon one, for almost 30 years now.

As I grew up, my tastes in chocolate (and chocolate bars) evolved, but it wasn't until I went to Europe for the first time that my tastes became what they are today. I don't wanna sound like a chocolate “snob” or anything, but for the most part there really isn't a comparison between what you can get here and what you can get there. Heck, some “chocolate” bars in the US don't even have chocolate in them (which is why you'll notice the phrase “chocolate-flavored” or “chocolate-flavored candy” on much of your Halloween or Christmas chocolate), but in Europe, especially Belgium, chocolate is a fine art. And once I experienced what you could taste over there, I was spoiled for life.

However, I do have to give credit to the burgeoning American artisinal chocolate market. Some chocolatiers like Endangered Species are doing amazing things with chocolate, especially dark chocolate. Even locally, my friend Davin builds his bars from the ground up with some great flavors like he current pumpkin spice-pepitas blend. And as the health benefits of darker chocolate are becoming better known, I have a feeling that that trend will continue.

I, for one, can not wait!

So I hope you have a great National Chocolate Day Sunday Grab your favorite kind of bar and bite off a big hunk; after all, if you eat chocolate on National Chocolate Day, the calories don't count, right? I think I read that somewhere on the Internet, and as we all know, everything on the Internet is true, right? Or celebrate it the way I'll celebrate it, by trying a chocolate you've never tried before (go out on a limb and pick up a blackberry-sage or a dark chocolate lemon-ginger bar, both of which you can get at the Marquette Food Co-op). Either way, just make sure you celebrate.

After all, it's not National Chocolate Day every day, is it?

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/24

Wow. It's really been a year since Hurricane Toivo struck?

It's hard to believe, but it was 365 days ago today that Marquette was hit by a huge storm dubbed “Hurricane Toivo” by locals. Because we're not on an ocean it wasn't technically a hurricane, but exhibited hurricane-like drops in pressure and wave action, so that's close enough. It flooded & buried roads, altered lakeshores, ripped down trees, deprived thousands of people of power, and tore apart a large chunk of a Marquette city park.

Admittedly, it was nowhere near as strong as, say Hurricane Hugo, but for us it was enough.

Four days after it happened, Loraine and I took a walk down by the heaviest hit parts of the city, and even then the damage was apparent--

Thankfully, a year later, most of the damage is gone. The streets that had been flooded & buried were dried out and uncovered, and the most of us have adapted to the “new” shoreline that sits near Shiras Park. Of course, the damage done to the Shiras Park parking lot is still visible, as the city tries to decide what to do with that part of the park. Rebuild it like it was, and watch it get damaged when another severe weather system hits? Put some kind of barrier system up to protect the parking lot from the waves? Try to alter the flow of the lake somehow?

That's one of those things that you don't just decide to change on a whim.

Of course, with the planet's climate rapidly changing and weather that was once weird now becoming the norm (I mean, have you lived through our fall up here? 12 and a half inches of rain since September 1^st ??!!??) something should probably be done in the near future. What once were every storms that would pop up every thirty or forty years are now once every three or four year storms. While our weather has really sucked the last month, it hasn't been anywhere near as destructive as it was a year ago today.

And that, despite all the complaining we've done, its actually something about which we should be thankful.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/23

Yes, I once took a picture of a winter scene and was happy with it. I hope you don't think any less of me.

I received several joking notes from people yesterday following my posting of a picture I took on my phone a couple of winters ago. Specifically, this picture--

Given my proclaimed lack of love for winter, you guys were surprised that I would even include a winter picture among the samples I put up, but think of it this way. I live in Marquette, where there can be snow on the ground six months out of the year. I'd be surprised if I DIDN'T have pictures with snow in them.

I don't post a lot of pictures of snow for a couple of reasons. One, I don't like looking at snow, and at least personally, I don't think shots of snow look as nice as shots of sun & green& heat. And two, I don't take as many pictures during winter as I do during summer. I don't have a camera with me everywhere I go, and I don't head out for afternoon jaunts to shoot whatever I see like I do during the summer.

After all, I like having frostbite-free fingers and toes.

I do, however, take some pictures during winter. Mostly, they're for the station, usually after a big snow event, and mostly to show just how much of the white crap has fallen. And I do have to admit, that just as with the picture I took with my phone, SOME snow can look nice, especially when framed by something in downtown Marquette, like this--

Or this--

Don't worry. I haven't suddenly, in the time it's taken to write this blog, become a lover of winter. I'm not waiting for the snow to fall so I can go out and take more pictures. I'm not. In fact, I can't wait until the leaves come out and the heat starts to shoot upward in May. But it is nice to know that I may get one or two nice pictures taken in the six or seven months until then.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/22

Wow. I didn't know my phone had it in it.

In one way I'm very old-school. Unlike most people, when I take pictures, I prefer to use a camera instead of my phone. I know; consider me a technological Luddite, if you must. But just because you have the latest technology doesn't mean that it's the “best” technology for something. It just means it's the latest technology. And while phones can do a lot these days, they haven't yet, at least in my opinion, surpassed actual cameras as the best way of taking pictures. You can't get good depth of field or focus, and on many phone cameras, light can be an issue. That's why I inwardly cringe when I see people using their phones to document important moments in their lives.

And that's why I use a camera, a real camera, to do the same thing.

Don't be mistaken. I do use a phone camera. I don't use it often, and usually only when I need to document something at that moment or when I don't have another camera to do the job. I'd much prefer to use a real camera with a real lens and real controls. But if need be, I will whip out my phone and take a picture. Over the years, I've accumulated quite the collection on my phone, so I figured I should back them up, which I did over the weekend. And when looking through those backed-up pictures, I noticed two things. I noticed that the technical quality on a lot of them left something (or a lot) to be desired, especially indoors shots.

And I also noticed that my phone DID really take some nice pictures, especially outdoors.

Want a few examples?

Now, I will (probably) never ditch my real cameras to exclusively use a phone, no matter how much better the lenses or the processing chips get. Like I said before, you can capture stuff with a real camera that you just can't with a phone. Yet I probably won't be as hesitant to use my phone to get a shot when I don't have a camera, especially if the shots are well-lit and/or they're of a fleeting moment in time that can't ever be captured again...like some of the shots I noticed while looking through my phone pictures. After all, it's better to have a phone picture of something than no picture at all, right?

So there you go. Maybe I'm not as much of a technological Luddite as you thought!

(jim@wmqt.com)

(ps—Here's the link to the "15 Minutes” I did with Marquette city planner Dave Stensaas Friday. It's a dorktacular chat about zoning changes and outdated codes, with one interesting discovery on my part. Because of the fact that Marquette is running out of land on which to built, expect future growth to be up, instead of out, something that's become readily apparent here in downtown Marquette!)

Friday, 10/19

I don't have much time to write this morning, because I have to go to work and be a nerd, as opposed to the dork I usually am.

And on that I blame my parents.

My parents did something really stupid when I was young, and that was to encourage my inquisitiveness and my interest in strange and/or important things. I know; they could've just ignored me or not answered my questions, but no—they had to go and make me aware that there were a lot of interesting things in the world, and they had to go and make sure I had the ability to find out about those interesting things.

So that's why I have to leave early today, because those interests have led me to 1). put together a series of public service announcements about the three ballot proposals in Michigan, and 2). do an interview with the Marquette City Planner about the city's new Land Draft development code, which I'm sure would cause most people's eyes to glaze over but is a subject that I, being the nerd I am, actually find fascinating.

Thanks, mom & dad. It's all your fault!!

8-)

The interview will be on the air this weekend; I'll also post a link to it here later today or Monday so that if you find you can't sleep one night, you can listen and be snoring within five minutes. The PSAs, which we're doing in conjunction with the League of Women Voters, will be airing on the station through Election Day.

With that, I'm off. Have yourself a great weekend, and remember—if you have a young person in your life and they're curious about things, give 'em a little encouragement.

Just think how they'll turn out!

(jim@wmqt.com), nerd.

Thursday, 10/18

I wondered if kids these days would even know about the book. And now I have my answer.

We shot the fourth episode of the new season of “High School Bowl” yesterday morning, and for one of the questions I brought in a prop. I was only going to use the prop if none of the eight students knew the answer to the question. I didn't know for sure, but I had a sneaking suspicion that I would, in the end, have to end up using the prop.

And I did.

The question in question was the last of three in a bonus round about author Robert McCloskey. He's most famous for the kids story “Make Way for Ducklings”, a book the first two questions in the round focused on. The third question, though, asked about another story he wrote about a young man named Homer and a doughnut machine gone awry. I asked the question, none of the students had any idea what I was talking about, so I whipped out my prop.

This--

Yes, I have a copy of an 80-year old children's book about a young boy and, in one of the stories it contains, a doughnut machine gone awry. When I was a little kid “Homer Price” was one of my favorites, and a few years ago when I saw a newly-reissued copy of the book at the dearly departed Bookworld in downtown Marquette I snapped it up. Most of the stories in the book haven't aged well (heck, they were already over 30 years old when I first read them back last century) but the bit about the doughnut machine gone awry still brought a smile to my face, just as it had when I first read it all those years ago.

It's just too bad kids these days won't get that same smile.

I mean, I don't expect them to read books that were written in the 1930s and enjoy them. Like I said, they were outdated when I read them, and that was over 40 years ago. So you can imagine what a kid of today would think of a story about a doughnut machine gone awry. But even if you take away the outdated technology and the anachronistic settings, there's still something vaguely...fun about the situation. If you open your mind and read it as a historical document, rather than something that can happen these days, you might get a chuckle or two out of it. But because it doesn't contain wizards or otherworldly creatures, some kids might not even give it a second thought. And I understand that. After all, it was one of the (very) rare books I read as a kid that didn't have at least one space craft in it.

But still. Classic literature, even classic kids literature, is classic for a reason. Despite outdated technology and anachronistic settings, the underlying story still has something to it. It's true of Shakespeare, it's true of the Bronte sisters, and it's true, at least in my opinion, of “Homer Price”.

It's just too bad that most people, especially the audience for whom the books were intended, don't feel the same way.

(jim@wmqt.com), literary dinosaur.

Tuesday, 10/16

I don't know if it was the caption or the pictures, but I sure got a lot of “likes” for one certain Facebook post over the weekend.

Sunday Loraine and I strolled down to our neighborhood park to kick a few soccer balls around. As always, I brought my camera, and shot a few pictures of the changing leaves, which seem to be at their peak in Marquette right now. I threw a few of them on Facebook, along with this pithy comment--

“Sure, the temperatures may be below average for the 26th time in 27 days, and sure, it may be gloomy and about to rain for the 27th time in 27 days, but at least Marquette has colors OTHER than gray for a little while... ”

And before I knew it, I had 150 likes and 30-some shares of the post. I don't know why, but I did. I guess it's just one of those things.

So as not to deprive you guys of anything, I hereby present the pictures I posted—plus a few bonus shots—to check out for yourself. Then you can decide whether or not they were worthy of way too many likes & shares.

There was a shot of the ore dock (Which, if I had to guess, was the reason for most of the likes & shares)--

A few more taken from the Range Bank parking deck--

A bonus shot taken while walking down to Lower Harbor Park--

A few other bonus shots taken while on a bike ride--

And one final one, also taken from the Range Bank parking deck, showing something not a lot of people get to see—the Marquette Branch prison--

Like I said, I'm not quite sure why the post and/or the pictures received as much attention as they did, but they did. And now you've been able to see them (and even more) for yourself!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/15

I never really thought about it, but you know what? I don't have a lot of “stuff”.

One of my favorite George Carlin routines ever is about “stuff”--getting stuff, finding a place to put your stuff, and doing stuff with your stuff. But over the weekend, I came to realize that for as much as I like that routine I really don't live it very well, if only because I don't have a lot of “stuff”.

Oops. My bad.

I spent part of my run Saturday morning doing something I often do, and that's letting my mind wander. And where it wandered was, to say the least, an interesting place. I actually spent part of my run Saturday trying to figure out what I have that might be worth something to other people if I should unexpectedly vanish off the face of the Earth. And it struck me, not for the first time, that I don't have a lot of “stuff”. Or at least I don't have a lot of stuff that people might consider as “stuff”. I don't have expensive toys, or expensive jewelry, or expensive pieces of property to leave someone. I'm not surprised; after all, I've never really cared about “stuff”, but it made me think.

And as we all know, that can be a dangerous thing.

Thinking about it, I realize that I don't accumulate “stuff” as much as I accumulate something much more ephemeral. I accumulate memories, and I accumulate experiences. I write. I take pictures. I give tours & programs. I do TV shows. And I travel. Apparently, I don't keep score in the traditional way, with a bigger car, a bigger house, and a bigger collection of “stuff”. Instead, I just look back on what I've done so far, and what I still want to do.

When I was young(er), I always wanted to have a lifestyle that was a bit out of the ordinary. Little did I know that I'd actually be able to, without even realizing it, do exactly that.

Weird how that works out, huh?

So I suppose I should apologize in advance to anyone who might materially benefit from my untimely death. You're not gonna get much. But what I hope I could pass along is this—you don't need a lot of “stuff” to live a happy, creative, and productive life. You don't need to accumulate everything to possibly can to leave your mark or to leave a legacy. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I can be a living example of that.

And a living example, I should point out, that hopefully has a lot more years of living left!

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/12

I wonder what the young girl on the bookmark would think?

Those of you who also follow along on the trip blogs I write () every time Loraine and I go to Europe know the story of my niece Mallory and her bookmark. But for those of you who don't, here it is—the first time I went over there Mallory was six at the time, and disappointed that she couldn't go with us. So I brought a bookmark she had given me a year earlier, a bookmark with the portrait of a 4-year old her on it, and took a picture of it in Germany, to show that she did “go” to Europe with us. I then brought it back the next time, and have done it ever since.

In fact, here's this year's version--

I bring this up because Sunday's a big day for Mallory. You see, Mallory's longer the 4-year old on the bookmark. Nope; Sunday, Mallory turns 21. I'm not quite sure how that happened; after all, it seems like she just turned 13 last week. But Sunday she becomes an “adult” adult, even if her mother doesn't want her to. It's been a big year for Mallory; she graduated from college, passed a bunch of certification tests for her chosen career field, and now gets to have a drink if she wants when we go out for her birthday Sunday.

I think the young girl on the bookmark would be amazed at what the older version of her has become.

Yet there's one thing that's remained constant about Mallory from the bookmark years to today. She was, and is, one of the sweetest people I have ever met. Right around the time the bookmark picture was taken, she and her mom drove me out to the airport to I could head down to Florida and see a space shuttle launch. Because 4-year old are, you know, 4-year olds, her mom bought her a package of two cookies to eat (and, presumably, to keep her occupied). Well, my dear niece Mallory insisted on saving one of them so she could share it with me, just one example of the thoughtfulness with which she lives her life. Over the years, we've been able to “work” together at the station, sample chocolate together, bake Christmas cookies together, and collaborate on a photographic project that's gone on for years.

You know the 4-year old Mallory. Here's the “today” version of her--

Sure, I'm her uncle, and sure, I'm supposed to be proud of her. But even if I wasn't related to her, and just knew her, I would still be aware of what an amazing young woman she has become. I'm serious about that. So happy birthday, Mallory. Congratulations on becoming an “adult” adult. And I can't wait to see what you accomplish in the next few years!!!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 10/11

Just how soon is too soon to break out the hats & mittens?

I'm not asking for myself; after all, as long as it's above freezing it's shorts weather for me. But as I mentioned yesterday, it's been wet & cold here for, like, forever. And yesterday afternoon I started seeing people walking down the street dressed up in winter gear—in heavy jackets, in hats, and in a couple of cases, mittens.

On October 10^th.

I won't get into whining about the weather again. I did that enough yesterday, and I'm sure that you don't need to hear it from me again until, say, the next time the snow flies. But it's still early October. Last year around this time, we had an 80-degree weekend, and wearing hats & mittens were among the furthest things from our minds. But because we were denied an Autumn this year (seriously—it was 83 degrees in September 17^th, and it's rarely been above the mid 50s since) it's something we have to consider.

I don't in any way blame the people I saw wearing mittens & hats yesterday. For October (heck for most times of the year, save January & February) it was bone-numbingly cold. And when you add in the hypothermic rain, a rain that draws heat from your body, it was even worse. For many people, wearing hats & mittens was the only was they COULD go outside. But for me, at least, that didn't mitigate the shock of seeing people wear them.

On October 10^th.

Because I'm a masochist, I checked the National Weather Service's forecast for Marquette for the next week. Because I'm not a sadist I won't reprint it here. Let's just suffice it to say that I won't be surprised if I see more and more people don the apparel of winter in October of 2018. So if you haven't rummaged through your closet to find your hats & mittens, or if you haven't made it to your favorite stores to pick up new ones, you might want to think about doing it soon. No one will blame you.

Even if it is just October 11^th.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/7

Okay. That didn't last very long.

Yesterday I wrote a blog about not having anything to write about. I sent it off to be posted and then jumped into the shower, whereupon three different new ideas lodged themselves into my brain, ready to be written.

Doncha just love when that happens?

First of all, thanks for the notes several of you sent after reading yesterday's entry. All of you suggested topics I could write about, and all of you had some pretty good ideas. So if I ever think I'm running out of things to say, I may take your suggestions. I appreciate you making them.

Second of all, I knew I just should've stared at my keyboard a few more minutes. After all, that's about how much longer it took for those ideas to come to me after writing that I had nothing to write about. Sure, the shower I jumped into could've had something to do with it—there is scientific evidence, after all, that your mind wanders when you do things like shower or run—but it's just one of those things. Either your brain works or it doesn't work, and while I tend much more toward the latter, I'm glad that, at least in this case, it was the former.

As it turns out, it was something my (much) better half had said (off-handedly) that got my mind to thinking. She mentioned that there were two marathons held on the same day, one in Chicago and one in Munich. Chicago, of course, is my second favorite place in the U.S., while Munich is one of my favorite in Germany. So I started to think--if I could run one of the marathons (with the caveat that I'm not in shape for a marathon (a 10K maybe, a half-marathon, if my life depended upon it, but not a full marathon)) in which city would I run—Chicago or Munich?

Hard choice, right? But that's what got my brain to spewing out all those ideas.

I don't know in which city I'd run; after all, Chicago has all that great architecture, and Grant and Millennium Parks. But Munich has great streets, and lots of history, and it has the Englischer Garten, which is one of the best parks I've ever been in. Plus Munich has German chocolate. On the other hand, Chicago's an hour away (assuming air traffic control is working at O'Hare), while Munich's a day away. Both places are fairly flat, both have huge crowds cheering on the runners, and both have great public transportation systems to get the runners where they need to go.

See why it'd be hard to choose?

But that's the great thing. I don't need to choose, if only because I'll probably never be able to run a marathon, no matter how much I run or how hard I train. It's nothing more than a mental exercise, a choice in wishful thinking. And it gave me an idea for a blog, which then gave me two more ideas, which (since then) have led to even more. So it's nice that I don't have to choose.

And it's even nicer that I now have a bunch more stuff to write about.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/8

Okay, I've been sitting here staring at a computer screen for half an hour now. I think my laptop is starting to laugh at me.

There aren't many days like this, because I usually do have something to write about. But every once in a great while, usually on a Monday, I try to come up with something to write about, and horribly fail at it. Either there's nothing going on, or I haven't fully developed something I'm working on (hello, update of “107 Things to Love About Marquette County”), or I don't have any pictures to share , or I am just totally without inspiration, It doesn't happen very often, but it does happen.

And it's not the greatest of days when that occurs.

I actually started to write two different blogs today, but neither of them panned out. In the first, I was channeling the spirit of Andy Rooney in complaining about getting snow in early October, like we did Thursday, but that didn't go anywhere after the first paragraph. And then I started to muse about why people call chocolate bars “candy” bars. That's not a bad idea, and you may see something about that in the future.

However, it wasn't ready for today.

So I guess I'm stuck with the old trope—writing about not having anything to write about. I know it's a cheap thing to do, and I know that it's a trope that every writer falls back on at least once in their life, but it was either that or give you a “best of”, and while that would've been easier than staring at a laptop screen for half an hour (and having it laugh at me), I didn't want to take that route.

So instead I'm writing about not having anything to write about.

I hope you'll forgive me. I hope you'll realize that this is a one-time only event. And I hope that you'll believe me when I say that (with any luck) this will never happen again. And I'm pretty sure it shouldn't. After all, with all the crap that's going on in my life you'd think I'd have SOMETHING interesting to write about, right? Or maybe that's the problem. Maybe there is so much stuff going on that I'm having trouble concentrating on getting one simple thing (like a blog entry) together.

It wouldn't be the first time my brain bailed on me like that, after all.

Okay; I've been staring at this screen long enough. Time for me to get up, get my stuff together, and face the world. Hopefully, THAT goes a little better than writing this has. Wish me luck!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 10/4:

Yay. No one died!!

Okay, maybe that's not the BEST way to measure how the first TV show of the year went, but yesterday's taping of the first episode of “High School Bowl”'s 41 season went off with very few hitches. There were a few stumbles on the part of the dorky host, who might have been a little rusty after not doing it for six months, and there might have been a few stumbles thanks to a new way we've devised to introduce some of the people participating, but other than that it's done. And no one died.

You can see the results for yourself Saturday, November 3^rd.

Speaking of shows, although of the non-TV variety, I was given a flash drive by my friend Jack Deo yesterday, the first step in a show we'll be doing at Kaufman Auditorium next January as a benefit for the Marquette Regional History Center. It should be a fun show in a couple of different ways—because I always have a blast working with Jack, and because I (don't think) I'll have to do a lot of work for it. You see, because he has a lot of of pictures on the subject, Jack just wanted to super-charge the walking tour about Marquette's dock system that I've given the past few years. That's fine with me; after all, like I said I did most of the research on the subject a couple of years ago, so it shouldn't be too much work. But what sold me on doing it was Jack's suggested title for the show. In fact, I told the History Center that I would only do the show IF they used Jack's title.

So that's why our show is being called “What's Up, Dock”.

“Dock” will incorporate the stories I've told during the Lower Harbor walking tour, plus additional stuff on Upper Harbor and some of Marquette's other docks and the boats that used them. Plus, because sailors are involved, and sailors were often perpetrating mischief of all kinds, I have the feeling that stories involving bar fights, hookers, and moonshine might—just might—be told, too.

So, you know, it should be a blast.

The date hasn't totally set yet for the show; I just know it'll be one of the last two Thursdays in January. So if you didn't get to go on either of the walking tours I gave, or you did and want to hear more stories about hookers docks and the people who used them, make sure you check out “What's Up, Dock” in three and a half months.

I think you'll enjoy it!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/3

I think it might be a little different this year.

In just a few minutes I'm heading over to Public TV 13 to shoot the first episode of "High School Bowl" for the 2018-2019 season. It should be a lot of fun; for the first show, we've set up rivals going up against each other (Negaunee takes on Ishpeming, for example), and we'll be trying a few new things to freshen up the show for its 41^st year.

So that should be fun.

What might be different, though, is this. This will be my fifth season hosting the show. When I started the gig back in 2014, there were a large number of freshmen also starting the show, and over the first four years of hosting I was able to get to know those young people. In a way, we kind of grew up together, they as humans and me as a dorky TV show host. Many of us developed a certain chemistry on the air, and Id like to think that familiarity made for some fun TV. But now as I enter my fifth year of the show, they've all grown up and have moved on to bigger and better things.

My original “crew” is now gone.

That's not to say that the kids appearing on the show this year are total strangers or aren't fun. They aren't, and they are. In fact, I'm looking forward to chatting with some of them on the air, because I know it'll make for interesting TV. But the original group of kids with whom I started five years ago—the young people who made up the bulk of the good teams last year from Ironwood, the Soo, Escanaba, and elsewhere—aren't on the show any more. For the most part, they're now amazingly smart college students, and their places have been taken by their brothers & sisters, or the friends who served as alternates last year.

It'll be different. I mean, it'll be the same, but it'll be different, if that makes any sense.

I have no doubt the kids taking their place will do a great job, just as I have no doubt that several of them will be just as strange—if not more—than the students they're replacing. I'm also sure that over the next few years they'll help me make some fun (if not downright absurd) moments on an otherwise staid TV show. So even though they're not the exact young people who started at the same time as I, I'm sure we'll have just as much fun as ever.

Even if, for the first time since I started hosting the show, a lot of the faces will be different.

****

And on that note, I need to head over and shoot that aforementioned first episode of the year. But before I have to do that I also have to wish my favorite sister in the world a happy birthday! That's right; Mel's another year older, although you'd never believe it if you spend any time with her. And she actually has a great birthday lined up this year. Her three amazing daughters, one of whom lives here, one in Florida, and one in Minnesota, are all gathering along with their mom in St. Paul for a little family reunion in honor of Melanie's birthday.

So if I don't get the chance to say it in person, Mel, happy birthday!!!!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/01

The song is 36 years old. Why can't I get it out of my head?

You know how I said Friday I wasn't gonna do anything this weekend? Well, I tried not to. Unfortunately, my brain wouldn't cooperate. I have a weak mind. I'll admit to that any day of the week. So when someone requested a song Friday afternoon I shouldn't have been surprised that for the rest of the weekend I had Toto's “Rosanna” running through my mind on constant repeat.

Some days it's not easy being me.

I suppose I should grateful it was “Rosanna” and not some, say, Barry Manilow song stuck in my head, but that's not the point. I liked the song when it first came out, and I've enjoyed listening to it over the years, but it's now looping over and over and over and over in my head, I'm not so sure. And the weird thing is that it's not the same part of the song, which is now it usually happens. Nope; with “Rosanna” it's sometimes the interplay of synths and horns in the middle of the song, sometimes it's the guitar solo during the extended playout, and on occasion, it's even a one measure organ riff in the middle of the first and second verse.

That's how much it's been stuck in my head. I woke up in the middle of the night last night with a 36-year old organ note stuck in my head. To quote my friend Deanna, “just shoot me now”!

Except, of course, I don't want you to do that. While it would probably get that particular song out of my head, it would also remove ALL songs from my head, and I'm pretty sure I'm not quite ready for that yet.

It's my fault it's stuck in my head, after all. I had to answer the phone Friday. I had to play the request and the song that came from the phone call. And then while I was running Saturday morniing I might have—just might have, mind you—played it on my iPod. That was all that it took; since then, it's taken up residence in my head and it won't leave.

Lucky me, right? And now, let's conduct an experiment. Want it stuck in YOUR head?

(video)

No, that's okay. You can thank me later!

(jim@wmqt.com)

(And as an aside, here's a cool trivia fact about the video. The two dancers are Patrick Swayze and Cynthia Rhodes, working together for the first time five years before they were a couple in “Dirty Dancing”. See? My obsession was good for something, right?)