Friday, 3/31

It looks like we're about get hammered again today, and not in the good way.

Just a few days ago I had written about how this has been a monstrous March for snow here in the UP, and it looks as if April is picking up right where March left off. As I write this, our friends at Weatherology are calling for anywhere from 12 to 18 inches of snow in two rounds, those rounds wrapped around a bout of freezing rain. I don't know what we did to piss Mother Nature off, because I thought she and I were pals.

I guess we need to sit down and talk things out.

To document what may (or may not) be coming up, here's a picture I took yesterday afternoon during the literal calm before the storm--

Monday, I will post the “after” to this “before”, if only because I myself am curious, and if (also) only to prove it to those of you from outside the UP that I'm really NOT exaggerating just how bizarrely bizarre this past month has been.

Because I haven't.

Wish us luck. Maybe it'll fizzle out. Maybe it'll be the storm of the century (this month's edition). I guess we'll find out between now and Saturday afternoon.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 3/30

You know...maybe one of these days I'll actually get it right.

I don't watch myself on TV a lot. I think I look like a dork, and I see all the little things I should have done or did do wrong, even though absolutely no one would ever have noticed them in the first place. I am, indeed, my own worst critic.

But every so often I do come across something I've done, and while on occasion I am actually happy with what I did, the picture of me doing so makes me shudder in horror. You know, like the post talking about the “Life in the 906” I did this past Monday evening.

Don't believe me?

Yup; that is indeed me looking like a chimpanzee throwing a temper tantrum when it doesn't get its eighth banana for the day. All I'm doing is laughing, just like Sarah, but for some reason she looks normal and I look the aforementioned chimpanzee,

Which is probably why she works in TV and I'm stuck in radio.

It's actually just the luck of the freeze. If the screen-grab had been a second later or a second earlier, I may indeed have looked like a normal person (or, at least, as normal as I can look). But this particular shot? It caught me right at the moment when I decided to attempt a world record and look dorkier than anyone else in the history of dorkdom.

And you know what? I may have just succeeded.

I am, of course, mostly jesting. I mean, I do think I look like a dork, although probably not the dorkiest of dorks in the history of dorkdom. I know I'm just being hyper-critical about the way I look (like, you know, a dork). But aside from that, I also think the picture captures something that I hope comes through each and every week I do those little bits on the news--

That we actually have a lot of fun doing them. It's not the kind of segment you usually see on a local newscast, and I'm really thankful that they asked me to do them. As I've said in here many times, my life has taken many strange twists and turns over the past decade, and I never know where those twists & turns may lead. In this case, they led to something rather unique and, as I said, a whole lot of fun.

Even if I DO look like the dorkiest dork in the history of dorkdom while doing them.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 3/29

You know, I would not have thought people would start that early in the morning.

In a sign that we live in a rapidly changing world I have started to notice something a little more than I would have thought. I usually run in the morning before work, which means that I'm on the streets around 8 am. And more than often than not these days I'll be running down a residential street and notice an odor, an odor that would not have been legal to smell in Michigan before 2019.

Almost every day I'm out running around 8 am, I'll catch a whiff of someone smoking pot.

Now, I'm not against people using marijuana. Even though I don't partake myself, I did vote to legalize it five years ago. I'm cool with whatever you wanna do. I just find it...interesting that there's that much early morning usage of it. When pot became legal, I kind of assumed people would use it like they use alcohol, during certain times of the day and for certain occasions. But, as with many things in life, I was wrong.

Of course, the way the world is today, I really can't blame anyone for taking a hit before they head off to whatever reality's about to throw at them.

8-)

I've noticed another thing along those lines, as well. I can be walking down the street any time of the day, have a car go past me, and then a few seconds later catch a whiff of the same odor I come across while running. This worries me a little more; if you wanna get stoned when you're at home or wherever, cool. But doing so while you're operating a big metal box on wheels? That one gets a little...problematic. Even if the driver isn't partaking, there's probably enough second hand smoke in the car for a bit of a contact buzz, and as someone who walks everywhere and has enough problems with drivers not paying attention to pedestrians as it is, well...

Let's just say that I'd prefer you not use while driving, just as I'd prefer you'd not drink while driving. And I'm pretty sure city and state police would agree with me, as well.

Back in 2018 when we the people legalized marijuana in Michigan I had no idea how the whole venture would turn out. From my point of view, with the exception of people using it in cars, it's probably one of the more successful social changes we've seen in recent decades, especially when you consider it moved a whole underground economy above ground for the benefit of everyone.

And like with all successful (social) experiments, it provides a few unexpected answers, as well, evidence of which is ample if you're out pounding the pavement at 8 am.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 3/28

Sad to say, I don't think we're gonna make it.

I think I may have complained (once or twice, he says snarkily) about how we've had a bad month and a half, at least as far as the weather goes. We've had more snow in the past five weeks than we did the rest of the winter, and it's been colder in March than in parts of January and February.

Just part of our new weather normal, sad to say.

Another part of that new normal may be one of those strange streaks that I notice and obsess about every so often. Nope; this one is not my streak of wearing shorts while running at least once a month (March is safely in the books), but it's this--

For only (as far as I can tell) the fourth time this century, we won't have at least one day in March where the temperature hits at least 60. And that's a bummer.

Surprisingly, we haven't had a “cold” month in March; in fact, temperatures for the month are actually a degree above average (showing just how much warmer January and February were this year). Despite our massive snowfall temperatures have been hanging around where they normally do. But there haven't been any of those “out sized” days we've gotten used as the century wears on. Normally, we have one (or more) nice days that served as a tease for Spring. Those have included days where we've hit 80 in during the first week of the month or 79 on St. Patrick's Day.

But this March? Nope. In fact, the high temperature for March of 2023 has been (so far) 47 degrees back on the Ides of March. That's a far cry from the beach weather we've had in the past. Heck, that's barely warm enough to swap a winter jacket for a sweatshirt. And with the forecast calling for temps in the 30s the rest of the week, it doesn't look like that's gonna change any time soon.

I do have hope we'll get there soon, though. After all, Lake Superior—the single biggest factor in determining our Spring weather—did not freeze over this winter, which means that the water will warm up quicker than usual and (hopefully) not throw a force field of cold over us like it so often does. That also bodes well for a warm summer.

But a warm March, even if for just a day? I guess we'll have to wait until 2024 for that. And that is a bit of a bummer in and of itself. After all, we've kind of gotten used to at least one nice day in March this century.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 3/27

I don’t know if this is a good thing or not (probably not), but I may be the only person on the planet with two complete episodes of “The New Adventures of Beans Baxter” on video tape.

Earth-shattering, isn’t it?

A little background first. When Fox (the TV network) started up in April 1987, they only programmed one night of the week, Sunday, with shows like “21 Jump Street” and “Married With Children” (And the only reason I know this (aside from being a nerd) is because I was working at a Fox affiliate in Flint at the time). Later that summer, they expanded to a second night of programming, Saturdays, with four shows lost to the annuls of time—a TV version of the movie “Down & Out in Beverly Hills”, “Karen’s Song”, “Werewolf”, and “Beans Baxter”. None of the shows lasted more than a few months, none of them are remembered fondly by cult audiences (or, more likely, remembered by ANYONE) and none of them certainly deserved to be saved on video, much less two episodes of them in complete form.

Yet, for some strange reason, I did it.

“Beans Baxter” was created by a guy named Savage Steve Holland, best known for being the warped mind behind the John Cusack movie “Better Off Dead”. The show had the same tone as that flick, dealing with a teenager who discovers his kidnapped father was a secret agent, and who goes through tortured comic situations to see if he can help rescue him. As far as I can tell, only one member of the cast ever went on to anything else, and that would be Kirtwood Smith, who played a bad gut on “Beans” and ended up playing the dad on “That 70s Show”. It was cancelled after 20 or so episodes, and I’m sure no one on the planet gave it a second thought.

Now, back to the future. This weekend I was digging though a box filled with old crap when I came across a couple of video tapes from 30 or so years ago (back when people, you know, used video tapes). I had no idea what was on them, so you can imagine my surprise when one of them contained those two complete episodes of “Beans Baxter’, still in surprisingly good condition. I actually remember taping one of them, a mash-up of the movie “Exorcist” with riffs on the “hysteria” whipped by the Parents Music Resource Council over hidden messages in rock music. In fact, Dee Snider, the lead singer of Twisted Sister, played the “exorcist” in the episode, trying to un-brainwash kids who’d been turned to the dark side after listening to the hidden messages in the music of a Pat Boone-type singer. I don’t remember taping the other episode, but considering that I sometimes can’t remember what I had for breakfast the previous morning, I’m not surprised.

Like I said, the episodes were both complete—they contained all the original network commercials and promos from 1987, and watching them was, well, a trip. When I listen to old radio shows from the 30s and 40s, I often enjoy the commercials and promotional announcements better than the show itself. More than the drama or the comedy, the commercials and promos give you a better sense of what life was like back then. And even though they’re only 35 years old, watching the commercials and the promos included in those two episodes of “Beans Baxter” reminded me what it was like back in the fall of 1987. There were commercials for hair products and wine coolers that would probably make the average viewer of today laugh all over their smartphones and energy drinks. Although it may not seem like it in your mind, it sure is amazing how much things have changed over the past third of a century, especially when you’re confronted by hard physical evidence of it on a video tape, a technology itself rendered somewhat obsolete by how much things have changed over the past quarter century.

I’m not quite sure what I’m gonna do with that video tape. After all, while I have no desire to watch those episodes of “Beans Baxter” again, they DO represent a time capsule of sorts. It wouldn’t be right just to get rid of them; after all, there have been times when I wished more old radio shows had been saved, so that people in future generations—like me—would have a chance to listen to them. Maybe, if I ever get around to it, I’ll digitized those two episodes, and save them on a flash drive somewhere. Then in another 35 years, when I’m digging through another box filled with old crap, I can find them once again, watch them once again, and be amazed once again at how they seem to serve as a time capsule holding the secrets of pop culture (and life) from decades long ago.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 3/24

I have a meeting in a few minutes, so I have to be quick today. My apologies on that.

Before I sneak out, though, I did want to bring one thing up. I’m not quite sure how this came up, but Loraine and I were having a discussion last night about a certain classic movie phrase, and how it would translate into French. Why this came up I don't know; it just does. And perhaps it's not surprising, considering we both use it on a regular basis

So we have that going for us.

Anyway, if you’re curious (and you know you are, despite yourself), here’s how that phrase translates into French--

“Personne ne met Baby dans un coin!”

Given the fact that the line is from ”Dirty Dancing”, I think you have a pretty good guess as to what the original phrase was.

I know. . .we need help. What else can I say? Other than, of course, have yourself a great weekend. I’m off to my meeting.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 3/23

What do you think is better—two three day weekends in a row or a single four day weekend?

This is actually a legitimate question. I have a day that I have to use up, and I'm trying to decide exactly how to use it. And the reason I'm debating it is this—my new employers are giving us Friday, April 7^th (heading into Easter weekend) off. So I have one three day weekend there. Should I use that comp day to take the following Monday off and give myself a four day weekend, or use it the following Friday (the 14^th) and get two three day weekends in a row?

See? Interesting choice, isn't it?

There are pros & cons for both, mainly dealing with the amount of work I'd have to get done ahead of time to take the weekends off. Do I work a LOT one week for the four day weekend, or do I just work a little extra for two straight weeks and enjoy the pair of three day weekends? Plus, those dates would getting into the territory where it might actually be mild outside. Do I take a four day weekend and gamble that the weather will be nice, or do I spread the risk over two weekends and hope that at least one of them isn't frigid and/or snowy.

Yes, I know a normal person wouldn't take that into consideration, but when have I ever been accused of being normal?

There is, of course, a third possibility, that I don't take the extra day off and hold onto to for later. But I accumulated a lot of extra time during our big (and stretched-out) computer switch-over earlier this year, and I'd kind of like to clear some off the books while I have the chance. And since Loraine & I don't have any big travel plans this year, I also have my usual batch of vacation days to use, as well, and those are earmarked for each and every nice summer day that comes along.

And trust me—they'd BETTER come along.

8-)

Like I said, it's just something I'm pondering over the next few days. So unless something strange comes along, you'll be left with only four of these the week of April 10^th. I just don't know which on day the missing blog will fall.

That's yet to be determined.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 3/22

As always, I have no one to blame but myself.

You know how I always get songs stuck in my head, where they then set up camp and refuse to leave?  Well, I've done it again, and it's all because I've started working on my next History Center project.  How could that even be, you ask?  Well, I answer, the walking tour will be about some of the bigger fires over the years in downtown Marquette and I had to be, you know, cute and give it a name that I thought would stick out.

Unfortunately, that name also makes a certain song stick in my head every single time I start to work on it.  So the next time I do a walking tour about fires, PLEASE remind me not to call it “Burn Baby Burn—The Infernos of Downtown Marquette”.

Although I'm sure the Trammps might argue with you.

Now, as disco songs from the 70s go, “Disco Inferno” is not the worst.  I'm mean, it's nowhere near the best, but it's also not the worst.  But to get it stuck in my head each and every time I think about the program means two things—one, that it'll be stuck in my head a LOT between now and July, and B--

Sometimes I'm just too cute for my own good.

In the end, though, it really doesn't matter, as long as the “cute” title I came up with sticks in other people's heads and actually makes them curious enough to come and check out the tour.  That's the important thing.  Whether or not it drives me insane between now and them is purely secondary.

So if sometime before July you see me walking down the street bopping around to some song that only I can hear, rest assured that there' a pretty good chance YOU know what the song will be, as well.

Even if you can't hear it.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 3/21

Yes, the pictures are all from the last week.

On TV last night I spent my two minutes welcoming in Spring or, as it's known here in the UP, pothole season. I ended up using five different pictures of pothole clusters, all of which had something in common, even if a few people in the studio didn't believe it--

I took them ALL in the last seven days.

It's been a bad pothole season here in Marquette; between the warm-ish winter and the ridiculous amount of snow we've received in the last month the freeze,thaw cycle has had a LOT of energy with which to work, which means that we've had a bumper crop of pothole this year.

Don't believe me? Here's Third Street--

Here's right down the hill from that group, at the corner of Third & Washington--

And here might be one of the worst—right near the corner of Pine & Michigan--

I'm having a hard time deciding if that street looks like a post-apocalyptic world ten years after the apocalypse or a post-apocalyptic world 100 years after the apocalypse.

That's how bad the street is.

And, just so you know, I'm in no way blaming anyone for the bumper crop of potholes this year; it's something we have to deal with every year, and as I mentioned earlier this year was just very fertile for their development. Hopefully, there aren't so many of them that, once the weather finally clears, they can't all be filled, but these days you never know.

So keep your fingers crossed for us. And if you find yourself in need of a swimming pool or fishing hole in the next few weeks, just yell.

I know where several hundred of them are located.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 3/20

Well, if you're curious, it wasn't THAT bad--

Now, I realize we got lucky in here in Marquette, and that areas to the west of us got hammered, but right by the lake it did kind of fizzle out. And seeing as how it's now officially Spring...

We'll take it.

Okay. No more talk about snowstorms for the next nine months (or, knowing our luck, the next nine days). Now that it IS Spring, and this is gonna be happening more, I need to vent upon something that seems to have gotten increasingly bad the past few years.

And it only goes to prove some people are ---holes.

I went running Saturday morning and within a half mile—the span of four or so minutes—I had the same thing happen to me twice, but with radically different results. The first occurred at Shiras Park. As I was running though, an unleashed dog jumped on me, and almost knocked me down. The dog's owner showed up a few seconds later, and when I tried to (politely) remind him about the city's leash law, he just gave me the finger.

Yes, I know you think your dog is more important than the humans who pay taxes to maintain the bike path upon which it was running unleashed. Whatever.

A few minutes later, I was at McCarty's Cove when another unleashed dog came bounding toward me. In this instance, though, I wasn't almost knocked down, and the woman to whom the dog belonged came over, leash in hand, and apologized to me. Her dog had jumped out of the car before she had the chance to leash him, and she hoped that the dog didn't startle me. I assured her all was okay, and continued along up the bike path.

I know I write about this topic way too much, and I'm not gonna say anything more about it except this—you know how I always say that 95% of Marquette dog owners are great people, and it's the remaining five percent, who don't believe the city's pet laws don't apply to them, that spoil it for everyone else?

Saturday morning goes to prove it.

8-(

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 3/17

To quote a great American philosopher, the waiting is the hardest part.

As I write this, the mythical St. Patrick's Day storm about which I spoke yesterday is just beginning to materialize. The rain that was supposed to kick it off has been here, and I'm sure the system will have moved enough very shortly to commence the heavy snowfall (with a forecast of 12-16 inches here in Marquette by the lake). It was, however, supposed to start last night but, like much of our weather this winter, refused to cooperate.

So I guess we have that going for us, right?

8-)

It's in situations like this (or any big event that has the potential to impact our lives in a bad way) that time just seems to idle. We're left to (metaphorically) twiddle our thumbs waiting for whatever's happening to actually happen, putting a damper on whatever it was that we wanted to do. And that's true today—it's St. Patrick's Day. Should we celebrate? Should we be safe?

Does the corned beef care if we're about to get a foot (or more) or snow?

We'll see what happens. Like I said, I have no idea. But we'll find out soon. And since it's St. Patrick's Day, a day when green rules, and also since we're getting kind of sick of all this snow and ready to green to rule our lives, I'll leave you with this picture. Hopefully, with the green (and purple, for St. Urho's Day yesterday), it'll be a good luck charm.

Hopefully.

Details on how bad (or not) it was Monday. Have a safe weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 3/16

Wow. This time, it might actually happen.

First of all, happy St. Urho's Day. Even if you're not Finnish, I hope you look good in purple, because that's the color you're supposed to wear today to honor the dude that's what...the patron saint of saunas? Actually, he's fictional and, admittedly, just an excuse to go out and party, but still—celebrate like you're in Helsinki, or something.

Especially because a UP myth may actually come true tomorrow. There's this legend that we get these major snowstorms on St. Patrick's Day, and it's an event that occurs so rarely that it actually IS a bit of a UP urban legend. We hardly ever—ever--get a big snowstorm on or even near St. Patrick's Day, which is, of course, tomorrow.

So guess what's supposed to happen tomorrow?

That's right...depending upon where you are and who you trust we could see anywhere from 12 to 24 inches of snow from tonight through Saturday, with the additional joy of freezing rain both before and after the event. After having so little snow in February that we had to cancel sled dog races we're now staring down the barrel of having to celebrate St. Patrick's Day from home.

Or, perhaps, stuck in a snowbank if you insist on going out.

As I keep saying this winter, it'll be interesting to see if this storm actually pans out, or if it ends up as many of our (pre-March) systems and just kind of fizzles out. Based on the little I know about weather and the opinions of experts I trust, though, this could actually be a big one. This could actually be a St. Patrick's Day storm that might actually live up to the myth and the legend that some people still insist on carrying around.

I guess we'll find out starting tonight. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 3/15

For something I knew I wasn't gonna use, I sure spent a lot of time on it.

Yesterday, I was writing about how I notice the style of two comedians—Chris Rock & George Carlin—in a lot of what I do. I freely admit it; I mean, if you're gonna steal form someone, why not steal from the best, right? It became apparent in another way this weekend, too, as I was writing the “Life in the 906” I did Monday night.

I almost crossed the line with a joke.

Actually, I don't know if it would have crossed the line. I have a feeling both comedians—especially Carlin—might have done the joke, and not cared what people thought. And as it turned out, the way I wrote the bit I didn't use the joke.

But I considered it, and spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out the rhythm of it, just like George Carlin would have done.

The conceit behind it was this—because I was going to talk about St Urho's Day and St Patrick's Day and ethnic ancestry, I was thinking of proposing taking the three biggest chunks of who you are, ancestry-wise, and combining them into one big activity. For instance, if you were Finnish and English and Italian, you could wear purple and eat pizza while driving on the wrong side of the road.

Something like that.

In the piece, I was going to combine three of my biggest ancestral chunks into an example. And since those three are Irish, Swedish, and German, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the first thing that pops into your head when you think of each country. The first two were easy; however, Germany caused a few problems. I could think of a few German stereotypes—no sense of humor, eating pretzels—bur none of them really fit the rhythm of the gag.

None of them flowed together with the perfect pacing I was looking for.

Until, of course, after rolling it around in my brain for over a day, I did think of something. It's something that rolled off the tongue, that fit in the sentence like a cold foot in a warm slipper.. Had I used it, what would that line have been?

“In my case, that would involve wearing green and singing Abba songs while invading Poland”.

See? Something identified with each country, wrapped up in a pithy, free-flowing sentence. What could go wrong, right?

8-)

Like I said, in the end, I didn't use it. I didn't need to use it. And, truth be told, in the end I probably wouldn't have used it, even if I needed to. But like George Carlin, I spent a lot of time trying to find the right word, the right rhythm, to make sure the line was all that it could be.

Because, as I keep saying, if you're gonna steal from someone, it might as well be from the best. Even if it's something you know you'll never use.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 3/14

You know what? I've noticed that myself.

I've had several people over the years make a comment regarding the way I present history (and other) programs onstage. They say that (in essence) I present more as a stand-up comedian than a staid historian. I, of course, can't argue with that; after all, a staid historian can, on occasion, bore the people to whom they're speaking.

I don't think I could do that even if I tried.

The reason I bring this up is that the latest person to mention it made a comment on how, when I speak, I have a tendency to stroll around, much like Chris Rock does when he's on stage. I don't know if the comparison is true; Rock more prowls the stage that he does roam over it, but I get it.

And I'm also a bit astonished that someone would compare me with Chris Rock because, as we all know, there is NO comparison between the two of us.  He's a great talent.  I'm, uhm, me.

I get the comparison, although I might say that while I've (apparently) subconsciously borrowed Chris Rock's stage style I've outright stolen George Carlin's delivery style. This is another thing I didn't mean to do, but over the years I've noticed that I've liberally lifted from one of (if not the) greatest comedians ever—everything from his disdain for pretension to his love of wordplay. In fact, that's something I've noticed every time I sit down to write one of my “Life in the 906's”--some words work, and some don't.

And the order in which you write them—the rhythm of the words—make a HUGE difference as to what's humorous and what's not. Sometimes, changing just one word can take a sentence from okay to knee-slappingly hilarious. I can't tell you why; I certainly can't diagram it. But change one word and it morphs into something that it wasn't before

Comedy, I guess, is a funny (and, apparently, punny) thing.

So if you're gonna steal, I guess you could steal from worse people than Chris Rock and George Carlin. And, as I discovered this weekend, there's another way in which I (almost) stole from George Carlin. The story about that tomorrow.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 3/13

It was only three years ago, yet in some ways it also seems like it was forever ago.

Three years ago today the world fell apart, or at least our little part of the world, as Covid caused the state of Michigan to shut down for what at the time seemed like a reasonable amount to try and snuff out the virus—two weeks. Of course, looking back from our current vantage point that time span now seems a bit naive, considering the virus is still killing people on a daily basis, but it was during those initial two weeks that we had no idea what was going on.

We had no idea if this was just something that would pass or something that might kill all of us.

While Michigan (and the rest of the world) was shut down my life really didn't change that much. Because of what I do I was still going to work every day and still living a semi-normal life. And one of the things I could do that some people couldn't was to document what was going on in the world (or at least Marquette). I've kept pictures from those first few weeks in a special folder, and every so often I'll take a look at them and notice how those days were just strange and almost like shots out of an apocalyptic movie, with empty streets--

Empty highways--

And people just hoping for the best--

Businesses were closed--

Buildings were decorated with messages of hope--

And even wooden turtles did their best to stay safe--

Little did we know at the time that those two weeks would extend into two months (or more) of a lockdown, followed by masking, followed by another shutdown, followed by more masking, followed by a gradual acceptance that Covid is now a part of our lives.

But looking back on those first few weeks—which started three years ago today—can remind you just what a surreal time it was. And how, on some level, it also seems like it was another lifetime in which is happened.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 3/10

Because, as we've established, I've had a busy...year, and because I have to go deal with a computer situation at work, I'm gonna leave you with something from a few years ago, although it IS topical, seeing as how it's time warp weekend.

Something new Monday. Hope springing forward doesn't take too much out of you!

(jim@wmqt.com)

*****

(as originally posted 3/11/19)

Once again, some of us are obviously separated by denominational differences.

I guess I didn't realize it, but there's a sizable contingent of people out there who are opposed to switching our clocks twice a year. There are people out there who don't like the jet lag associated with it, there are parents out there who don't like how it affects their kids, and there are people out there who are just philosophically opposed to it because we're no longer a nation of farmers.

So, of course, I have to be one of the people who actually LIKES the time change, especially when we go to Daylight Savings Time. But you wouldn't expect any less from me, right?

The reason I like Daylight Savings Time is probably the reason osome don't. Because of my schedule and my lifestyle, I like it darker in the morning and lighter late at night. During the summer, if it's light until 10 pm...great. It means I can play outside when I get off of work. But if we didn't change to DST, it'd be getting dark an hour earlier, which means that, if I had to work late, I couldn't enjoy an extra hour of evening. And if we didn't have Daylight Savings Time, the sun would start coming up, at least here in the U.P., before 5 in the morning, which means that around half of my sleep cycle would be disrupted.

And that, on a purely personal level, would suck.

But if wouldn't be as bad as it would be for our friends 60 miles from here. If we didn't have Daylight Savings Time, during the summer the sun would start coming up in Dickinson County, which is in the Central Time Zone, between 3:45 and four AM.

That's right. Without Daylight Savings Time, during June the sun would rise in Dickinson County at 4am. In what world is THAT right?

Now like I said, the reasons I like Daylight Savings Time are purely personal. And if we ever go get rid of the time change, my vote goes—quite vociferously—for staying on Daylight Savings Time. And I realize that because we're quite far north and because we're right on the edge of a time zone, that not having Daylight Savings Time would lead to us having to deal with amazing sunrise and sunset extremes. But still...

Who wouldn't rather have the sun set later at night instead of at (gulp) five (or even four) in the morning?

To quote a coffee mug I have somewhere...it's hard not being a morning person.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 3/9

Well, that was...interesting. And apparently successful, too. Wanna see?

“The Greasier the Spoon” did indeed have its planetary premiere last night, and as I wrote yesterday I had no idea at all as to how it would go over. But, it seems to have gone over quite well, based on the smiles from the people watching it and all the nice comments and stories that were shared with me afterward. I've been working on this on & off for the past three years, and it really is gratifying to see that all that work has paid off, and made an impact on people.

That makes it all worthwhile.

As I mentioned last week I now have a nice chunk of time in which I don't have to do anything out of the ordinary. I mean, I still have my daily radio thing and one of my weekly TV things, but I don't have a big Kaufman show or a big documentary deadline staring my in the face.

I'm still not quite sure how to handle that feeling. I mean, do I dive right into my “Burn Baby Burn—the Infernos of Downtown Marquette” walking tour? Do I maybe start work on another season of those “Pieces of the Past” video shorts? Or do I do something I've rarely done (and, in all honesty, may be incapable of actually doing)--taking a little time off and just relaxing?

That would be a unique way of dealing with this opportunity, wouldn't it?

Thankfully, that's not a decision I have to make right away...if even at all. For now, I can just bask in the glow of the premiere last night, happy that it worked the way I wanted it to, and even happier that it brought out a smile or two, something that's in rare supply for a lot of people these days.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 3/8

Today's the day the rest of the world gets to see it.

On and off for over two years now I've been compiling interviews and footage for “The Greasier the Spoon”, figuring that one day I'd put it in a form where I'd be able to share it with everyone. Well, that day has arrived, and now I'm actually interested to see if it's lived up to the hype.

I sure hope it has.

I've shown it to a couple of people already, just to get their opinion on whether or not I've accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. From them it sounds like I have, and I sure hope they're right. I wanted to capture not just a dry history but the feelings that people who've owned restaurants and people that have enjoyed them have for their favorite establishments. I think I have, but as we all know I'm the worst judge of what people may like and what they may not.

We, however, will find out tonight.

I'm actually excited to share it with people, especially those who've said that they're looking forward to seeing the project. I was lucky enough to interview some amazing people in Marquette restaurant history, and (somehow) I've managed to dig up some pictures and other visuals that I don't think anyone's been able to see for decades. And, of course, to make it a true Jim Koski ™ history experience I've included several gags and bizarre references, as well.

I hope that makes the whole package enjoyable for anyone who watches it. And we'll find out shortly after 6:30 tonight if that is indeed the case.

Keep your fingers crossed.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 3/7

Since I have a couple of last-minute things I need to take care of prior to tomorrow's planetary premiere of “The Greasier the Spoon”, how about if I give you an exclusive sneak peak of something that appears in tomorrow's Mining Journal? You'll get to read it a day before anyone else, and I'll get to take care of one or two things that need to be taken care of to make sure the word is spread about tomorrow.

Oh, tomorrow. That should be quite interesting. More on that, well, tomorrow!

(jim@wmqt.com)

*****

The Exotic Food

By Jim Koski

Marquette Regional History Center

These days, when you can get them at restaurants or food trucks, get them to go, or get them delivered, it’s hard to imagine a world in which pizza is not one of the UP’s favorite foods.

Yet when Marquette’s first pizza places opened, they were considered the most exotic of establishments at which to eat.

In the 1950s, the only way most people had ever even heard of pizza was as something you bought in a box–a Chef Boyardee box, to be specific. The company, which had produced K-rations for the US army during World War II, used the same concept to introduce Americans to the dish, including all the needed ingredients in a single box.

So when plans were announced for Marquette’s first pizza-only establishment, public reaction ranged from exclamations of joy to “Pizza? What’s pizza?”

The latter reaction, though, soon changed.

Bimbo’s Pizza was a joint venture between two investors from Ann Arbor and a Marquette couple, Clark & Katherine Lambros. The latter two had been working at The Coffee Cup, a downtown restaurant owned by Katherine’s mother, when they decided to strike out on their own. The couple bought the other two investors out, and Bimbo’s became one of the favorite places for Marquette teenagers to hang out.

Shortly thereafter, Marquette’s second pizza place opened up. Bill & Carol Leydon started a place that was mostly take-out called The Pizzarena in a building on Hewitt Avenue just off the corner of Fourth. Just as with Bimbo's, the exotic dish they served–pizza–took the city by storm. Unlike Bimbo’s, though, most of their product was either picked up or delivered.

That led the Leydons to decide to move and open a bigger location, where more people could sit down and eat. In October of 1966 the new Pizzarena was opened at the corner of Presque Isle and Fair, right across from NMU’s Kaye Hall and a rather hungry population of college students.

Pizzarena menu, early 1970s.  Courtesy Marquette Regional History Center

By the 1970s the pizza business had grown by leaps & bounds, and both original establishments found themselves changing. Bimbo’s added a liquor license and a regular menu, changing its name to Vango’s in the process. It is still going strong more than 60 years after it opened.

The Pizzarena, meanwhile, stayed open at its Presque Isle location for over 20 years before finally closing. By then, Marquette had over a dozen places where residents could enjoy a pie or slice, either from franchise restaurants (Marquette’s first Domino’s take out location opened on Third Street in the mid 1970s) or locally owned establishments (ranging from Italian restaurants to a place like Nebbo’s, which was located above the legendary Andy’s Bar in downtown Marquette).

These days, pizza is a food staple, available everywhere. But back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it’s hard to overstate just how exotic the cuisine was, especially in the growing restaurant scene developing at the time in Marquette.

-

The history of restaurants in Marquette–not just pizza places–will be the subject of a documentary debuting tonight at the Marquette Regional History Center. “The Greasier the Spoon” talks to restaurant owners and food fans to look back at some of the famous–and infamous–dining places from the past 174 years. The screening gets underway at 630; the show will also be available for purchase as a download (with bonus features) beginning Wednesday night.

To find out more about “The Greasier the Spoon”, contact the History Center at (906) 226-3571 or visit www.marquettehistory.org.

Monday, 3/6

 If you squint hard enough, you can almost believe it's Spring.

Hope you had a great weekend.  The weather actually didn't suck up here, as it has the past ten or so days, so Loraine suggested that we take our cameras out Saturday just to see what we could see.  When she went running that morning she had noticed weird chunks of ice floating on our still-unfrozen lake, so she wanted to take pictures of them.

Which I did.

Loraine calls it "saucer ice", because it looks like a saucer you might have when you're a kid and you want to go sledding.  And while the lake itself isn't frozen, you still do get to see the icy power that winter has over it.

Now, here's something I would never do, despite the fact that I spend my summers playing on it, and that's tempting the icy power of Lake Superior by going for a stroll on the breakwater--

Once again, just let me say--kids, don't try that at home!

Elsewhere, we saw a few landmarks...

Because it was sunny and above freezing and in Marquette, we saw someone running through the snow in shorts...

We also saw another favored location for some of the homeless we discussed last week--

And I just had fun playing with my camera, something I've not had the chance to do a lot of recently--

Good thing we got our and enjoyed the sun, too, as the next few days promise either rain or snow or rain and snow.  Or, as we refer to it around here, March.

Yay, he says sarcastically.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 3/3

Could it actually be done? Really?

Last night I wrote out a bunch of credits, brought a couple of files together, and rendered (a video term) what should be the final master of “The Greasier the Spoon”. I'll check it out over the weekend, just to make sure I didn't miss anything, and then bring it over to the History Center Monday, a whole two days before its public debut.

Now what will I do with every single second of my spare time?

8-)

It is actually a bit strange; I've been working on this almost non-stop for a month and a half, and then suddenly realized last night that I had nothing more to do. I don't know how it snuck up on me; you'd think I would have been paying attention to something like that. But, maybe, “MacArthur Park” was occupying too much space in my brain and I just didn't realize it.

Wouldn't be the first time THAT happened.

I've been writing in here about just how many things I've had to tackle since the beginning of the year; now that this is done, I really don't have much to do for a couple of months. Oh, sure, I have my weekly TV gig on 19 News and whatever I have to do for radio, but with “High School Bowl” finished for the season and my next History Center adventure not until the beginning of July (a walking tour entitled “Burn Baby Burn: the Infernos of Downtown Marquette”). I might actually have time to, I dunno, breathe

I'm not quite sure how to handle that. So, if you would, send kind thoughts my way. I'm thinking I might need them.

On that note, have yourself a great weekend. Me? I'm thinking I might have to discover what to do with those few new spare hours in my life!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 3/2

If you had to pay residuals for the music stuck in your head, Jimmy Webb would own me right now.

As you may know, I have a problem (and right now, you indulge your snarky side and say, either out loud or quietly to yourself, “just ONE problem”?). That problem is this—I get a song stuck in my head, and it just won't leave. I can listen to other songs to try and cleanse my musical palate, but it doesn't work. That original song stays stuck there. I can even listen to it forty or fifty times in an attempt to get sick of it, but that doesn't seem to work, either.

I'm just stuck with a song on auto-repeat running through my brain until, for some mysterious reason, it stops.

I guess I'm just special that way.

The song that's been running through my head for about a week now? Well, it's written by the aforementioned Mr Webb and it's one of those over the top disco tunes that most people would be embarrassed to admit they like but that I, for some reason, tolerate. That over-the-top disco tune, written by Jimmy Webb, that's been lodged in my brain for over a week now?

Donna Summer's version of “MacArthur Park”.

That's right; a song that's widely regarded as one of the strangest (if not worst) ever written has taken over with little remains of my intellect. I don't know how and I don't know why; all I know is that it won't leave. I've actually awoken in the middle of the night with those stupid synth drums going “boom” in my brain, and I wish I knew a way to stop it.

Unfortunately, I don't, and I just have to wait this out.

Seeing as how misery loves company, wanna stick it in your head, too? That's okay; you can thank me later.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com), hoping one day to be “MacArthur Park” free)

Wednesday, 3/1

I see what you're doing there, sugar. And I'm not gonna let you get away with it.

I had to make cookies last night, and I got to open a brand-new package of sugar. As I was doing so I noticed two things, one being that, much like flour, paper containers really are not the best way to store things like sugar.

The other? Well, it was something printed on said paper container--

Yup. They're trying to make sugar sound healthy by saying it's fat-free. I mean...technically it's true, much in the same way cyanide could market itself as being “gluten-free”, but that doesn't make it any better for you.

Really, sugar, it doesn't.

Now, I have nothing at all against sugar. I use it each and every time I bake, and even, on occasion, when I cook. It's not evil (like, say, cyanide), and as long as you're aware of its calorie content you should be fine. But to simply ignore that fact and call yourself “fat-free” is a little...cynical, at best, and downright misleading at worst. I mean, I'm hoping there won't be any people out there who look at the label and think “hey—no fat. I can eat as much as I want”.

But I've also been on the Internet recently. I'm well aware of just how stupid people can be when they want.

In the end, I know it doesn't matter. Sugar can label itself as “fat free” because, well, it is. They're not lying. Sugar is just as fat free as cardboard, gasoline, plywood, and cyanide. So if you're baking something and run out of sugar, don't worry.

You can always substitute one of those other ingredients I just mentioned. After all, just like sugar, they're also “fat-free”.

(jim@wmqt.com), who would hope that everyone reading this knows that last line is just a joke and in no way a suggestion that you substitute plywood for sugar. Yet, I have been on the Internet recently, and know just how stupid people can be when they want, so...

DON'T USE ANY OF THOSE INGREDIENTS AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR SUGAR!)