Thursday, 7/2

Which one would top YOUR list?

I took one of a half-days to go play out in the sun and the heat, and while I was walking along the beach, I started to think about smells that can only exist, at least the U.P., during the summer. I have no idea why or no idea how; when you walk along the beach and let your mind drift, strange things pop into it.

Or at least strange things pop into my brain. But that may be a discussion for another day.

Anyway, what smells DID pop into my brain? These ones—Jim’s list of the Top Five Smells Of Summer:

5. The smell of freshly cut grass. I don’t have to mow a lawn myself any more, but I always enjoy walking down a street when someone is in the middle of trimming the grass in their front yard. It instantly makes your mind think of summer, if only because it only smells that way DURING summer.

4. The smell of charcoal heating up a grill. This actually can be more than just a smell of summer; you can usually appreciate it first in late March or early April, on one of the first days above freezing, when NMU students seem celebrate the return of the sun by breaking out their grills. It’s one of the benefits of walking home from work on a day like that. . . trust me on that.

3. The smell of sunscreen and sweat. Oh, be quiet; it’s not as gross as you think. In fact, it’s the smell that prompted this whole blog, the smell that you get when you walk down a beach on a warm summer day. It just kind of lingers in the air, so if you’re a bit squeamish to call it the smell of sunscreen and sweat, call the smell of the beach. It’s the same thing.

2. The smell of sunshine. Okay, I know that “sunshine” has as much of a smell as the color purple, but you know that smell you get when you open your windows on a sunny day, and the sun somehow magically reacts with the air in your house to produce a smell that wasn’t there before? THAT’S the smell I’m talking about—the smell of sunshine I’m talking about.

Finally, here’s Jim’s number one smell of summer, a smell that, I will admit, is highly subjective—

1. The smell of all the rose bushes along the South Beach Bike Path in Marquette (the beach down which I was wandering). They don’t smell like summer for any reason other than the fact that they're only around for a short time, but when they are around they're heavenly. Don't believe me? Head down there and sniff for yourself.

There you go...an answer to a question you've never thought existed--what summer smells like for the short time it’s here in Marquette.

                                                *****

Because of corporate holidays I'm off for four (!) days. I'll be back Tuesday with something new. Have a great (and safe) 4^th of July weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 7/1

Don't worry. The chocolate is safe.

Like most of the country, Marquette is stuck under a heat dome this week. Yesterday, temperatures hit the lower 90s (we were warmer and more humid than Miami, in fact), and the same is expected today. Fir me, this is heaven on Earth, while I realize that for others it's pure hell. And I do feel for them; I really do

Hopefully, you'll make it through this week unscathed.

Aside from most people living in the UP (me excepted, of course) there's one other thing that does not tolerate heat in any way, shape, or form, and that is chocolate. Now, if you recall, Loraine and I went to Germany two months ago, and one the things we did was to visit three countries in four hours and buy as much chocolate as we could. We brought it home, where we've been enjoying it piece my piece since.

Most of the chocolate we brought home is still uneaten. And if it sat in our un-air conditioned apartment, all those precious bars and tablets would end up as puddles of chocolate mush by the end of the week.. So I did what I'm assuming anyone would do. I bagged them up, brought them down the street, and stuck them in my air conditioned office.

There the chocolate will sit for the next few days, until the Heat Dome dissipates or until we get hungry enough to want to break one open. And I have the feeling that might be a close race between the two.

Seriously, though--was there anything else we could do? I mean, I love hot weather as much as the next person (actually, probably a lot more than the next person), but I do realize there are a couple pf bad things that may come along with it. And one of those is that chocolate, like most Yoopers, wilt under the heat. Now, I don't know if most Yoopers turn into a puddle of mush when it's over 90 for two days in a row (although I'm thinking a lot of Yooper just may), but I AM certain that chocolate does. And since we went to all kinds of effort not only to buy the chocolate but to lovingly get it all home in one piece, well...

A cool room for a few days is the least we can do for the bars of Galler, Cote D'or, and and all the other pieces we know and love.

So while Loraine and I may be baking in our un-air conditioned apartment, rest assured that we have taken care of some of the most important things in our lives...

Our chocolate from Europe.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 6/30

I guess my secret's out. I like a good barf joke as well as the next person.

Oh, the horror.

8-)

This all came about thanks to my TV piece last night, a piece that marked the end of the first half of 2026 by making predictions as to what might happen during the second half of this year. Since the first half of the year was one of the most surreal we've lived through, I felt license to let my freak flag fly in coming up with a few absurd ideas as to what ELSE we might experience between now and the end of December.

And trust me—my freak flag flies with a lot of gusto these days.

One of the thing I wanted to work in somehow was the UP State Fair, if only because I was trying to spread the absurdity around all of Upper Michigan for this particular epic. I tossed a couple of ideas out to my writing staff, and they (okay, me) quickly gravitated to one that involved a new ride at the Fair, which my writing staff (okay, me) quickly dubbed “The Barfinator”.It was an okay gag, and when you write one of these bits a week sometimes “okay” is okay. But then when I was in the shower Saturday morning a kicker to the gag came to me that elevated the gag beyond “okay” status and shot it into the realm of the absurd.

And that was the line I put AFTER dubbing the roller coaster "The Barfinator".

I also needed to put a graphic together for the gag, and I had one—a generic roller coaster with a sign that said “The Barfinator” on it. Once again, that was okay, but I felt that it needed a little more. Then, for some reason, the idea to move the “Barfinator” sign up & down, like it was designed to make you queasy, popped into my head, and at least to me it worked a lot better than the original graphic.

And all that was just for one 10 second gag in a two minute bit.

So now you know—I like a good vomit joke as much as anyone else. I hope you won't think any less of me, although if you do, I suppose we could always blame my writing staff (okay, me).

I just need to get better control over them, I guess.

The end result?

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 6/29

I wonder if I need to narrow my “brand” down a little more?

That thought came to me after I finished giving a tour for the UP History Conference this weekend, and I was thinking about everything I have coming up in the next month or so—stuff on the radio, stuff on TV , stuff for the History Center, and even an article for the Mining Journal. That's a lot of stuff in a lot of different areas. And it got me to thinking about my “brand”.

A couple of weeks ago Loraine and I were having lunch with my friend Deanna, who was telling us about a speaker she had listened to. This speaker, world-renowned for his marketing savvy, said that everyone should have a “brand” that can be described in two to five words. That's it; just a short statement that tells who and what you are. As an example, Loraine has a perfect “brand”--”That World War Two Woman”--five words that describe perfectly who she is and what she does.

Me? Not so much. Unless, of course, you consider “World Class Dork” to be a good branding statement.

We've discussed in here many times about how there are several different “Jims”. There's Radio Jim, TV Jim, History Jim, and, if you wanna go out on a ledge, “Finish Line Jim”. And many people who know me as one kind of Jim don't even realize there are the other different “Jims”, as has been evidenced by people who've watched my History Center videos and have asked I work for the History Center or if I do something different for a living.

That, I think, is my problem as far as trying to figure out what my “brand” might be. I'm just involved in too many things. My brand could be “That Guy in the Radio” or “That High School Bowl Host” or “The Weirdo on TV 19” or “That Dorky History Dude”, all of which are accurate and all of which fit within the five word limit. But it can't be all of them. There's not one over-arching theme in which to fit my “brand”, unless we go back to an old (but sadly seemingly true) statement--

Maybe my “brand” should be this--”Jim Koski—Media Wh*re”.

(By the way, I don't remember who gave me that nickname a decade or two ago. All I know is that it seems to be more true than ever these days.)

Don't worry; there's no way I'm going to officially adopt THAT phrase as my brand, apt as it might be. Maybe I just need how to figure out how to put that concept into a two to five word phrase that sounds a lot better than “Jim Koski—Media Wh*re”. The only problem is that with one exception, I can't at the moment think of a phrase that encompasses everything I do. I wish I could, but at least at the moment, I can't. Maybe you guys have a better idea; if so, please let me know.

And thanks,

(jim@wmqt.com), “Guy Who Talks Too Much”.

(p.s.--see? Not a very good “brand”, is it? 8-))

Friday, 6/26

I wonder if the video inspired the article. I'm actually curious about it.

Last night I was checking out a few news sources online when I noticed a picture. A very familiar picture. In fact, it was a picture I took, a picture now adorning the head of a Bridge Michigan article about weird laws in Michigan.

Specifically, it looked like this--

That's a screenshot from from the article, and the picture of the sidewalk was one I took over a decade ago and used a couple of years ago in a “Pieces of the Past” video about Marquette's legacy of “Don't Spit on the Sidewalk” stampings. As I scrolled down the article, I noticed another picture from the video, and wasn't quite sure if it was cool they used it or not. But once I found out that they paid the History Center for the use of the shots, it was cool.

It was quite cool.

As it turns out, it was quite the interesting article about old, outdated, and absurd laws in the state of Michigan; they even interviewed Marquette City Manager Karen Kovacs about the sidewalk spitting law. But because my pictures were featured so prominently in it, I wondered...

Did they find the pictures after coming up with the article, or did the video prompt the article? I mean, it doesn't matter one way or the other. I'm just curious because, as we all know, my life is weird, and having a video of mine prompt a statewide news article would be, well, another example of the weirdness.

Either way, I'm just glad the video was useful, both for Bridge Michigan and for the History Center. After all, that's why I make them, especially one that's about one of the signature pieces of Marquette's history.

Have yourself a great weekend. If you wanna spend part of it reading the article, just CLICK OR TAP HERE. And if you wanna check out the video for yourself, here 'tis!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 6/25

Really? They think Marquette is THAT cold?

For the past couple of weeks it really hasn't been very summer-like. As an example, it was only 60-ish and rainy yesterday, the fourth first day of summer. But given the type of year we've had so far, it wasn't snowing. So we have that going for us.

8-)

Anyway, as I was working yesterday I noticed tourists wandering up & down Front Street, a common site any day during summer. Only, I noticed that more than one of the tourists wandering up & down the street—maybe a dozen. actually--were wearing winter jackets, hats, and, in some cases, gloves. And that made me think two things, one is that I'm glad they were able to stay warm.

The second? Just how cold do they think Marquette IS if they felt the need to bring winter gear with them on a summer vacation? I mean sure, yesterday actually proved their point, but just how cold do they think Marquette is during the summer? So cold that you have to bring winter clothing with you in June?

I mean...what the what??

Two weeks today ago it was 86 degrees. We've actually (believe it or not) had five days over 80 so far this year. It's not like it doesn't get really warm here during the summer. It obviously does. But what kind of a reputation must a place have if people feel the need to bring winter gear to visit at the end of June? Do they actually think it's rainy and 60 every day of the summer here? Yesterday was (I hope) a fluke. It might have been the one of the few days in the past five summers where winter gear could've been useful. But these people obviously brought it as a matter of course, like they expected to use it. I mean, it';s not a tropical paradise here, but it isn't Siberia, either.

Well, excepting yesterday, of course.

Now, these visitors to our fair city will go home with a story to tell—about how they had to wear winter clothing on the fourth day of summer. It's a great story, and I hope they tell it to full effect. However, those stories will only perpetuate the myth that you'll need winter clothing when you visit Marquette in the summer. So don't be surprised if, in the near future, you see all kinds of people walking around with a winter coat on a summer's day.

It's all the fault of days like yesterday.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 6/24

The street basil tasted really, really good.

As I've mentioned once or twice, I had a busy weekend last weekend. Loraine's brother Joe was up, and in an attempt to not eat out at every single meal I made pasta for dinner one of the nights he was here. It's a dish I make quite often, with ground turkey in the sauce and lots of sage stirred in to make it yummy.

It also uses basil, and usually when I make it I just use the dried stuff. Of course, we all know fresh basil is a whole lot more flavorful, and as we were walking through downtown Marquette a few hours before dinner I suddenly realized that I DID have some fresh basil lying around--

Street basil.

Lest you think I'm insane, I'm not. If you've walked at all through downtown Marquette recently, you may have noticed these flower boxes--

Instead of having decorative flowers in them, for the past couple of seasons the Marquette Downtown Development Authority has stocked them with herb and vegetable plants. Once they've ripened, anyone is welcome to grab a leaf of basil or a tomato and use it however they see fit.

In other words, street basil. I tore a couple of leaves off, brought them home, washed them, cut them up, threw them in the pasta, and, as usual, marveled at how much better fresh basil tastes than the dried stuff. Not only that but it also makes your fingers smell like fresh basil for a few hours, and what's not to like about that?

I have to commend the DDA for thinking outside the (flower) box in this instance. They actually started it because of the food security issues that many people are facing these days. Fresh vegetables can be expensive, and if someone in need wants a carrot or a tomato, they should be able to have them. And that's why anyone is welcome to help themselves from whatever's in the downtown garden boxes.

To me, it's a very Marquette way of creatively dealing with a situation, in the hopes that it lessens the burden on others.

The boxes are on the 100, 200, and 300 blocks of Washington Street, so when you're downtown, check 'em out. While the vegetables still have a way to grow, the herbs are ready, and if you don't need any, just stick your nose in them and catch a whiff of nature--and humanity--at its best.

And if you just happen to find yourself needing a leaf or two of fresh basil? Feel free to grab them. After all, that's why they're there.

(jim@wmqt.com)