Thursday, 10/31

Well, I made it, just under the wire. I managed to watch “It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” before Halloween actually occurred.

I'm so proud of myself.

As you may recall I was mentioning last week that I seem to have become a Halloween Scrooge, in that I don't dress up, I don't give out candy, I don't decorate, and I don't go to parties. In fact, the only Halloween tradition I do seem to have is a yearly viewing of “Pumpkin” assuming, of course, I can find the DVD. Well, I found it, I popped it in, and I watched it, continuing my one Halloween tradition. Unless, of course, you count my saying the lines along with the cartoon characters as a tradition while Loraine laughs and/or rolls her eyes in the next room. Then I have two traditions.

I say the lines along with the characters because I've seen the cartoon what...50 times in my life? And after you watch it that many times you tend to know what's coming up next. In fact, it's so bad that I bought a soundtrack CD for the show last year. All it has it the background music as it's presented in the show. Listening to it the first time I was actually saying the lines as the music cues came through the speakers.

And if you think Loraine rolls her eyes when I do that while watching the cartoon, you should have seen her when I was doing it while listening to the CD!

But now that's done, and that means that my one Halloween tradition for the year is complete. Although, if I'm being totally honest, I'm hoping to revive another one later today. When they were young, my sister used to bring her daughters over to show me their costumes. Because they're now in their 20s it's been awhile since that occurred. But now, my brother has two sons, aged 3 and 1. And guess who's coming to the station later today to show Uncle Jimmy their matching Hobbit costumes?

So there you go. Maybe I'm not quite as much of a Halloween Scrooge as I thought. On that note, have yourself a great Halloween. If you dress up, I hope you win an award. If you give out candy, I hope you get hundreds (or just a few, if you enjoy eating all the left over chocolate you have). All in all, I just want to say--

Happy Pumpkin Day!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/30

They’re still doing that sale, huh?

I noticed over the weekend that a local furniture store is continuing their long tradition of doing a “Homemaker Sale”, the central premise of which is that female homemakers need to spend money on new furniture before their husbands take all of that money and spend it on deer hunting. I don’t know exactly when or how this sale started, but it has always struck me as, well, weird, and that’s just not because I’m a guy who doesn’t deer hunt.

It just doesn’t seem right.

I mean, setting aside the fact that the premise of the sale is that the “man” is the hunter and the “woman” is the homemaker (in my little world, at least, those roles are often reversed), there just seems to be something strange about the central relationship dynamic that this sale is hoping to exploit. Are there actually couples out there in which one member, when they have extra money for things like hunting and/or new furniture, will try to spend the money either without the knowledge of their spouse or before their spouse gets to spend it on whatever they want? I know that I never buy anything big (especially furniture or a hunting camp) without first discussing it in depth with Loraine, and I would never certainly try to buy something before Loraine tried to buy something else, just to get it first.

That’s not what a real relationship is like, is it? Or am I just living in some sort of bizarre otherworld where people in a relationship actually respect each other? When I see something based on a premise like this sale, I kinda hafta wonder. I know I’m not a “normal” kind of guy, but I would be saddened to think that there are guys, that there are couples out there like that.

Now I know the concept behind the sale is merely fun; that the furniture store is just trying to move a few extra sofa-sleepers, and the fact that they keep doing it must mean that it’s been successful for them. So maybe I’m over-reacting. It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened, after all. But every time I see a TV spot or print ad for this particular sale, those are the thoughts that run through my head.

Well, that, and the thought that I need to stop watching TV and reading newspapers for a while, especially when one ad seems to have this effect on me.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/29

Yes, I was serious yesterday when I wrote about enjoying a dark chocolate bar with blackberries & sage. Don't believe me?

One, it's chocolate, so I wouldn't kid about that, and two, it's sage & blackberry, so I wouldn't kid about that either. But that got me to thinking, which we all know is a dangerous thing—what are some of the other interesting chocolate flavor combinations I've had recently?

Well, how about a dark chocolate, lime, & mint bar?

Despite loving all three of those ingredients, the bar really didn't do it for me. I mean, I know they were trying to recreate a mojito in a chocolate bar, but no. Just no.

This one was a little more successful--

It's a Lindt bar with blueberry and lavender filling encased in dark chocolate. Once again, it's a case of three flavors I love separately. Unlike the mojito bar, they actually all work together.

While I'm not a fan of white chocolate (which, if we're being honest here, isn't really "chocolate", as it's missing the chocolate liquor part of chocolate), I could eat one of these in three bites--

The mix of lemon & buttermilk is really out of this world, and you really don't notice that you're eating white “chocolate” instead of, you know, real chocolate.

Like Crunch bars but want to kick them up a notch? Try this--

Or this--

Crunch bars usually use puffed rice to supply the “crunch”, but using either quinoa or sesame seeds just adds a little extra kick to it.

Finally, ever think of mixing dark chocolate and dark beer? Nope; I hadn't either, until I tried one of these--

Kostritzer is Loraine's favorite German beer, and when we saw the chocolates we weren't quite sure the two would go together. But you know what? They really do, and I'm not really even that big of a fan of beer.

Okay (and here's sentence I never thought I'd write) that's enough about chocolate for now (and I didn't even mention perhaps my favorite chocolate of all time, the dark chocolate/pink grapefruit combo I've written about before). I hafta go look out the window and see if Mother Nature “graced” us with any snow last night. That's NOT a task to which I'm looking forward!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/28

And happy National Chocolate Day, the most wonderful time of the year!!

I had no idea that there actually WAS a National Chocolate Day or that it was being celebrated today,

but thanks to the keen observational powers of my Dad, who noticed it on a calendar a few years ago, I'm now all set to go. 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. 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. 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 either never tried before or one that's an all-time favorite (in my case, a dark chocolate with blackberry & sage bar I picked up 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)

Friday, 10/25

You know how I've been mentioning/marveling at/whining about how strange, surreal, and busy things have been recently? Well, here's a little proof that I'm not totally incorrect about it--

I wrote a newspaper article a couple of weeks ago and totally forgot about it until I saw it in the Mining Journal Wednesday.

I mean, who does that? Who writes a newspaper article, submits it, and then totally forgets about it? I'm sure most newspaper writers don't do that. I'm sure other people who pen these articles for the History Center don't do that. I'm sure that freelance writers don't submit work to publications and then forget they did it. Nope; they don't, but I do.

I guess I'm just special that way.

The article was prompted by a story I told on my “And Put Up A Parking Lot” tour this past summer, the story of a local guy who suffered some horrendous injuries in World War II and then was kind of adopted by the rest of the community. When I told the story people had no idea that this had gone on, which made me think it would be a good subject for an article that thousands of people would read. So I wrote it up, submitted it, and then promptly forgot about it.

I'm glad I wrote the article, though. The story of Calvin “Jimmy” Bleau is one that more people need to know, a tale of both heroism and of a community coming together to honor him, and it also allowed me to give Loraine co-writing credit the story. She's done a lot of research on him, and (almost) everything I know about the story came from her, so from the very start I knew she'd share the byline.

And at least I remembered to do that.

At the moment I have a couple of other articles in various stages of research and/or completion. I'm now wondering if I'll submit those and then entirely forget about them. After all, I've now established a precedent for doing it, and nothing I do these days surprises me any more.

Sigh...

If you'd like to check out the article, just CLICK HERE. Otherwise, have a great weekend, and get ready to celebrate one of the best holidays on Monday. What, you don't know which one? Come back then and I'll talk all about it!

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 10/24

Well, it's now official. We're going over twice in 2020.

I think I've mentioned in here before about how Loraine & I were pondering heading to Europe twice next year. The first would be to see another spring soccer game in Germany, and with the exception of getting the tickets to the game itself (something you can't do until six weeks or so before the match) everything's all booked and ready to go. Then we were also considering going back to France for the first time in four years, during our usual late summer window. And we've now bought the tickets for that.

Just not the way we thought.

At one time, we had been thinking about using frequent flier miles to get over to Paris. After all, we both have a lot of them built up from all these trips we've been taking, and we figured that this would be an economical way of going to Europe twice in a year. However, while you can fly anywhere in the US for a mere pittance (as far as miles go), and you can go to other places in Europe without needing hundreds of thousands of miles, you can't do that to go to Paris.

Just let me say this—if you ever wanna use frequent flier miles to go to Paris (at least on American) make sure you have 200,000 or so.

Here's the funny thing about it—we both have around 150,000 miles (give or take a few for me, because I've already used some). American's website said I could buy enough extra miles to allow me to use them for a flight to Paris, but to purchase the 40,000 I need would cost around $2,000. Or I could just pay $1,300 for a regular ticket and not use any miles at all.

You can probably guess which option I chose.

I did have to laugh, though. I mean, really? It costs more to buy a few frequent flier miles than it does to just buy an actual airline ticket? It's almost like, you know, they don't want you to use the miles you've accumulated. And even when you do, you get weird things like this. I could use some of my miles to get a ticket from Marquette from Chicago. Or I could use fewer miles to fly from Marquette to Chicago and then on to Washington DC, to Savannah, or to Melbourne Beach, Florida (just to name three examples). Yup...it actually costs less (in terms of miles) to fly FARTHER away from Chicago than just to Chicago itself.

Tell me how that makes ANY sort of sense at all.

But that's neither here nor there. Airlines are stupid. I think we've established that over the years. And if you ever want to fly into Paris, even if you're not staying there, be prepared to shell out a premium no matter what you're using to pay. It's not logical, but that's the way it is. All that matters is that we are now set for two trips to Europe next year. And we've discovered that we each have enough miles saved for two or three flights to various locations around the US, should we so desire. After all, we have the miles. We might as well use them, right?

Now, if I could just get my boss to give me an extra week or two of vacation. And find someone to get all my work done for me. And someone to pay for all the extras like hotels and food.  And...and...

Okay. So there are still a few kinks left to be worked out. I'll keep you updated on that.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/23

I keep forgetting that not all of you have read every one of these over the past eighteen or nineteen years. My bad.

This came up because of a nice note I received yesterday from semi-daily blog reader Cassandra from Ann Arbor, a former Marquette resident who stumbled upon these little things just a couple of months ago. Cassandra's like a a lot of people who read this—they either comes across this and start reading it, they've read it in the past, stopped for a bit, and then started again, or they read for a week or a month, skip a week or a month, and then start up again. There are some of you who read this every day, and then there are some who flit in and out.

And that's fine. That's cool. I just need to remember that.

Cassandra, after reading yesterday's babble, wondered just what the heck a “Jim Koski ™ History Center tour” is. Because she hasn't been reading these for a long time, she was a bit understandably confused as to what I meant. And that's my fault. Oftentimes, when I'm using a running joke like the phrase “Jim Koski ™ History Center tour” I'll explain what it is for people who might not know. I didn't yesterday, that's why Cassandra sent the note, and that's why I have to remember to do it.

So for the benefit of Cassandra, and anyone else who might wonder just what the heck I was talking about yesterday, here's what a “Jim Koski ™ History Center tour” means. It's a slightly sarcastic phrase we came up with a few years ago to describe the types of things I do for the History Center. Most people think of a history program as dry & boring, but when I do one, it usually seems to be anything but, especially if it involves killers, hookers, bootleggers, or any combination thereof, which most (if not all) of mine usually seem to do. So if you were confused as to what I meant, Cassandra, that's what I meant.

And now you're in on the running joke. The next time I employ one, I'll be sure to explain what I mean!

Speaking of a “Jim Koski ™ History Center tour”, I know have the list of everything else I'm doing next year aside from the “North-South”. Let's just say it's gonna be a busy 2020. And let's just say that there are a few things to which I'm looking forward. Hope everyone who attends these things will, too!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/22

I don't think I've ever been in South Marquette before noon.

I was, though, Sunday, and I was there with a purpose. As I had mentioned last week one of my Jim Koski ™ programs for the History Center next year is dual (or duel) show featuring both North & South Marquette. Since I'm adapting a walking tour for an indoor show, I'm gonna need pictures to put places & things in context. And because I don't want those pictures to be snowy and/or gloomy, I decided to take advantage of a sunny Sunday morning and shoot them.

Wanna see?

This one is looking down Division Street from near Newberry Street. I put it up on Facebook and got a ton of likes with it. I also had someone mention that it looks like New England, and you know what? I can't disagree.

Speaking of hills, here's the Genessee Street hill. I took it to show just how steep that sucker is, but I'm thinking that no picture can ever truly capture that aspect of it.

Otherwise, there are pictures of the Orianna Creek--

Of various street signs

Of a lonely looking softball field--

And of one of my favorite bits of semi-hidden South Marquette history--

I'm hoping that in the middle of January seeing pictures this sunny will brighten up the stage at Kaufman Auditorium. But you know what?” Even if they don't, it was still worth it actually going to South Marquette before noon just to take them.

Maybe I should spend a few more mornings there in the future.

*****

Before I go today I have to wish my favorite mother-in-law in the whole wide world a happy birthday. It's daily blog reader Betsy in Reese's birthday today, and it's a big one that ends in a certain digit. So happy birthday, “Mom”. Hope you have a spectacular day!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/21

Told you I was going to do it. So here's the photographic proof--

Yup; I touched the pumpkins on my way to the Farmer's Market Saturday, despite the signs telling me not to (for the whole explanation, just scroll back to Friday's entry). And now that I have that out of my system for another year, I've come to a strange realization--

Touching the pumpkin is actually how I now celebrate Halloween.

Halloween used to be a really big holiday in my little world. I would prepare for it by spending a week or two on the road begging for blood (or, as I always used to call it, “Pimping for Dracula”) and then spend the night itself carrying on a decades-long tradition of going over to my parents, getting dressed up, and trying to scare the crap out of neighborhood kids. But since we don’t do the blood drive anymore and since my parents moved and since it seems like kids really don’t go trick-or-treating door-to-door anymore anyway. . .well, Halloween’s just not that big of a deal any longer.

Because I live on the upper floors of a house-turned-apartment, we don’t get kids ringing the bell for candy, nor do we have any place to put any kind of decorations. Since my nieces have grown I don’t get them visiting and showing me their costumes. Speaking of dressing up, I suppose I could always put on a costume and head out to some sort of Halloween party, but not when the holiday on a Thursday, like this year. In fact, the closest I’ll probably come to celebrating Halloween at all is to slip in the disc of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and watch it.

That is, of course, assuming I can find the time. And the DVD.

I’m not trying to be a Halloween Scrooge, or anything. I know a lot of people are really into celebrating the season; after all, it’s the holiday on which people spend the most money, following Christmas. And I have to admit I enjoy walking home on a crisp fall night seeing carved pumpkins glowing in the dark, and then walking to work the next morning seeing those same pumpkins smashed to bits and thrown into the street. And I certainly appreciate all the work local groups put into various haunted houses, bog walks, Spectacles, and other Halloween activities.

But to me, it’s no longer that big of a deal. It’s sad, but true. Maybe I HAVE become a Halloween Scrooge. Even if that’s the case, though, I hope that YOU get to do everything you want in the next ten days--costumes, parties, pumpkin carving, and, of course, “sampling” as much Halloween candy as you can.

After all, that’s the part of the holiday that even a Halloween Scrooge can enjoy!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/18

I get to touch the pumpkins this weekend!

Don't worry; that's not a euphemism for anything I wouldn't mention in here. I literally get to touch the pumpkins this weekend, probably breaking the law while I do so, and maybe even getting caught in the act on surveillance video.

See? I really AM a typical resident of downtown Marquette.

Let me explain, lest you think I live some kind of weird secret life that requires me to carry around money for bail at all times. Every year on the corner of Third and Washington Street the DDA puts up a little Halloween display that includes a bunch of pumpkins. And because some people who frequent downtown Marquette, especially after the sun goes down but before last call, like to wreck havoc on things, the Halloween display includes a sign that says “Don't Touch the Pumpkins”. You'd think it'd be self-explanatory, but as I've written in here before, sometimes between the hours of 11pm and 3am you need to explain a LOT to the people hanging around downtown Marquette.

Anyway, a couple of years ago, I saw the sign and for a moment turned into a rebel (or, as Loraine put it, a 9-year old). I reached my hand over, and touched a pumpkin. I didn't do anything bad to it; I didn't grab it inappropriately, I didn't toss it against a building, I didn't stick it lying helplessly in the street. Nope; I just touched it. And thus began a yearly tradition wherein, on our way to the Farmer's Market or Babycakes or The Portside, I will reach over and touch a pumpkin. Yes, I know it's a stupid and/or childish thing to do. But when has that stopped me, right?

Right?

So anyway, I noticed the display is up again for the year, meaning that this weekend I'll get to touch a pumpkin. And, of course, the stupidity factor is ratcheted up a bit, because the pumpkin display sits right underneath one of the security cameras the city of Marquette installed to catch the nighttime denizens of Marquette as they do stupid and/or childish things. So if for some reason you don't hear me on the air Monday, or if you're checking the police log in the Mining Journal and notice something about “pumpkin assault” on the 200 West block of Washington Street, you'll know why.

It's all because of my compulsion to touch the pumpkins.

On that note, have yourself a great weekend, and what the heck—go out and touch a pumpkin yourself, if that's what you wanna do. No judgment here!

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 10/17

The change of one word makes all the difference.

“High School Bowl” seems to be chugging along for the season (my 6^th, and the 42^nd overall for the show). In fact, we taped the third show of the year yesterday, and it was during it that someone said something that I had to correct. It's a correction I['ve had to make a lot over the past six years, in fact.

In all honesty, I may be the only one who thinks it's a big deal, but it's still something I think needs to be pointed out. Dozens of times over the past six seasons I've been referred to (by various people) as the “star” of “High School Bowl”, and I don't think that's right. I'm the host of the show. The kids who are up on the chairs with the buzzers in their hands? Those are the stars of the show.

I'm just the host, making sure that they get their time in the spotlight.

If there's one thing that I've noticed during the years, it's that these kids are bright. And some of them are more than bright; some of them are scary smart, something you'll notice if you watch any of the episodes. I mean, I can come off as someone who seems to know everything, but we're all aware that that's just a really good facade. Some of these kids, on the other hand, really DO seem to know everything. I've asked questions ranging from hard math to Greek mythology to ancient history to pop culture, and they have it down cold.

THAT'S why they're the stars of the show.

I may have mentioned this before, but my favorite part of hosting (and the favorite part of a lot of people who watch, based on the comment I get) is been the part of the show where I get to spend a couple of minutes talking to the kids and asking them a question about themselves. Before they show up they fill out a sheet with a couple of standard questions, and from their answers I figure out what to ask them. Occasionally, their answers are on the serious side, but I've been able to get enough from the questionnaires to be able to have some fun with them.

In fact, one of those standard comments I previously mentioned goes something along the lines of “you guys look like you have a lot of fun doing the show”, which means that we're doing gets picked up by the audience. That's a good thing...not only for the host of the show, but for its :stars”, as well.

If you're curious, the 42^nd season premiere is just a few weeks away...Saturday, November 2nd, to be precise. Hope you have the chance to check it out!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/16

Okay. So maybe they're not QUITE as good as I remember.

When I was a kid I loved Godzilla movies (explains a lot, doesn't it?). I would sometimes stay up late to see them, I bought a monster movie book once just because it had pictures of the creature, and I would always look forward to hearing the “rawr” and watching the cardboard buildings get the heck stomped out of them.

Don't look at me like that. You already knew I was a weird kid.

Anyway, Turner Classic Movies is featuring Godzilla movies Friday nights this month. They're showing each and every movie Toho made featuring the creature from 1955 to 1976, the films I watched as a kid, so I figured I'd DVR them and see if they live up to how I remember them as a kid.

Spoiler alert—with the exception of one, they don't.

That one would be the original Japanese version of the tale, “Gojira”. That's the film they cut Raymond Burr into for the first US release of “Godzilla, King of the Monsters”. I've seen the movie many times; I even have a Blu-ray with both versions of the film. And the original is a harrowing, atmospherically black & white allegory of the dangers of nuclear war, perhaps not surprising considering Japan was just a decade past having had two atomic bombs dropped on them. Even the Americanized version of the film still holds on to some of the power of the original.

So that one still holds up.

The rest, though? Not so much. As the years advanced and Godzilla was made more and more human-like, the series devolved into a formula piece, where you knew that Godzilla would make X appearances stomping a building and would be joined by one or two other monsters, ending in a fight that made pro wrestling seem unscripted by comparison.

That was especially true in a movie they showed last weekend, “Invasion of the Astro Monster”. I remember loving the Americanized version of it, “Godzilla vs Monster Zero”, almost as much as the original. But upon viewing it the past few nights my fond memories turned into thoughts that I must've been drunk when I watched it, even though I don't drink and even though I was probably eight the first time I saw it. The plot made no sense, the characters made no sense, and even Godzilla was in an alien-induced coma for most of the film. Loraine walked into the living room while I was watching it, caught a few seconds, and said (quoting here) “This isn't a very good movie, is it”.

And I found it very hard to disagree.

So while I'll always have fond memories of watching Godzilla movies as a kid, the adult version of me now realizes that there wasn't really that much to recommend those fond memories. But I'll always still love “Gojira”, and no matter what, seeing a guy in a rubber suit stomp over a cardboard version of a skyscraper—no matter how badly produced or how formulaic--will still always bring a nostalgic smile to my face.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/15

Well, it looks like 2020 is already coming into focus for History Jim. And it's gonna be another busy year.

While most of it isn't firmly set yet, it looks like I'll have a Kaufman show, two walking tours, an indoor show, hosting their annual trivia contest, and five or six newspaper articles for the Marquette Regional History Center. If nothing else, they're really getting their money out of me.

Or, that is, they would if I didn't do this all on a volunteer basis.

I'm not gonna mention the walking tours or the indoor show until next week, when their dates will be firmly set. And since I just (as in yesterday) finished writing a newspaper article for later in the month and have no idea yet as to what the next one will feature (although I do have quite the long list of topics about which to write), I'll concentrate on the one thing that does have a firm date, if not quite a firm title yet.

And that would be “General Jim's Battle of North & South (Marquette)”

Or, at least, that's the working title Jack came up with for our annual Kaufman extravaganza. I'll be combining the ultra-successful south Marquette walking tour I did a few months ago, combined with stories from north Marquette I gathered for a walking tour eight or nine years ago, and (hopefully) have Kaufman rollicking with laughter and oohing over amazing pictures on Thursday, January 23^rd, 2020.

That's the plan.

I'm hoping we can repeat what we did this year with “What's Up Dock” and sell the place out. I mean, if 250 people showed up to just walk around south Marquette, think of the people who might show up to sit in semi-comfy seats and listen to stories. Plus, by including north Marquette (bitter “enemy” of south Marquette) we double our potential pool of not only audience but of rollicking stories. That's a good plan, right?

Jack's on board because I have all the stories; all he has to do is dig up and show the pictures. And the History Center's on board because they're still getting people asking 1) if we'll be doing the south Marquette tour again and b) if we'll ever do one for north Marquette. I actually DID do a north Marquette tour, as I said, eight or nine years ago, but it was scheduled on a night where it turned out to be 92 degrees And as it turns out, I'm (apparently) one of the very few people who enjoys spending two hours walking around Marquette when 92 degrees out.

So think of all the people who's never heard some of the stories we'll be telling.

The January date means I have three months to change a walking tour into an indoor show, which means that (among other things) I need to get my butt over to south Marquette sometime soon and take a few pictures of things before the snow flies (or, in our case, flies again). After all, it's not like I can just point out something to the group as we're walking past. I'll actually have to have pictures taken to provide a little context.

If you know what I mean.

So that's what History Jim's doing first in 2020. As for details on the walking tours and everything else...well, once I know for sure when they are for sure, you'll be (among) the first to know!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/14

What is it with some smokers that makes them think the world is their ashtray?

Now, if you’re one of the small percentage of people who still smoke BUT take care of getting rid of your butts & debris properly, I apologize in advance. This rant isn’t directed toward you. That would be the rant about how you really need to quit, one I’m sure you’ve heard many times from many people, right?

8-)

No, this rant is dedicated to smokers who, like I said, think the entire planet is their ashtray. It was prompted by the annual cleanup of Marquette city beaches by a group of volunteers. According to one of the people involved, they picked up over 10,000 cigarette butts carelessly tossed onto the beach.

10,000+.

There are actually two problems here. The first is that Marquette city beaches are, by law, smoke-free. Don’t believe me? Go to any entrance to the beach, and you’ll see a sign that says “no smoking”. Honest; it really is there, right next to a sign that says “No Dogs Allowed On Beach”. Just think of the money the city of Marquette could make if they actually enforced both of those laws.

That, however, is a rant for another time.

This rant, like I said, is dedicated to smokers who think the world is their ashtray. Just why do people think it’s okay to toss a cigarette butt anywhere they feel? I mean, you don’t toss Twinkie wrappers or newspapers or beer cans or old dvd players just anywhere; why is it okay to do that with cigarette butts? Just because they’re small? Just because you don’t think anyone cares?

Aside from being a litter nuisance, there’s also the small matter of the toxic chemicals in the butts. There are over 40 cancer-causing chemicals in cigarettes, yet some people think it’s okay to carelessly discard them in a place, like the beach, where small kids can find them or where the chemicals might leach into the sand. I know one cigarette butt won’t by itself cause any damage, but when you get 10,000 or more in one spot?

Then you hafta wonder.

As you know, I spend an awful lot of time on the beach during the summer, and so this whole topic has always annoyed me. When you walk down the pristine sands, marveling at the beautiful blue of the lake, and then notice someone’s personal ashtray sticking out of said pristine sands or floating in said beautiful blue, it kinda gets to you.

10,000, huh? And just on three Marquette beaches? You’d hope people have more respect for the planet than that.

You’d hope.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/11

Today's my “normal” day. I just have to go host a TV show. I won't be getting one of these--

The luncheon yesterday was quite nice. As I mentioned, a dozen or so people and groups were given the awards, and for some bizarre reason they gave me mine first. I know I've said it's been a surreal few months, but standing up there in front of 100 people having these nice (and funny) things said about me was just so...weird that it felt like an out-of-body experience, like they were talking about someone else and I was just standing there waiting for a bus.

You know...it was, to use my favorite overused word, surreal. But I would like to thank the Beautification and Restoration Committee for the plaque, and for everyone who said something afterwards. Even if it doesn't seem like it now, I do appreciate it. I'm sure I will even more once it sinks in and things return to “normal”.

The way things are going, though, that could be about, oh, 100 years away. But that's okay. At least I can never say I'm bored, or that I'm stuck in a rut, right?

RIGHT?

So with that, I'm off to play TV Jim for a bit. Then after a day of playing Radio Jim, History Jim has to answer a few emails and messages about the Mining Journal article I mentioned yesterday. And that's pretty much my “normal” day.

Hope your day (and you entire weekend, for that matter) is YOUR kind of “normal”!

(jim@wmqt.com), glad Loraine could sneak out of work yesterday to check out the whole affair!

Thursday, 10/10

TV and a newspaper article yesterday, an award and a speech today. Tomorrow, sadly, might just be a boring old day.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

As I've written in here a few times the past few weeks, my life has taken a surreal turn recently. Weird things keep happening, things that might be the highlight for someone for their entire year yet are things that I seem to be dealing with on a daily or weekly basis. After all, when I go to bed tonight I'll be thinking that “all” I have to do on Friday is host a TV show and do five hours of radio.

I live a weird life.

As I've written in here a few times the past few weeks, I really shouldn't be complaining about this. If you're gonna have a problem, it's not a bad problem to have—people using you as a resource, or giving you an award, are things that don't rank very high on a list of world problems these days. And I feel fortunate that I live the life I do. It just seems...weird that it's happening all at once. Someone who's opinion I respect just called it a payoff for a decade or more of hard work, and that may be the case.

But I didn't do it for the payoff. I just do what I do because I like it.

Anyway, the latest things that have blown my mind? How about a Mining Journal article dealing with street names in Marquette, and from where they came. Since I did a program about that very subject for the Marquette Regional History Center six or seven (or however long ago it was) years ago, I was the first person Trinity called when she wanted to write it. I just gave her a few pithy quotes; how they filled up all those newspaper column inches is beyond me.

Apparently I babble about history a lot.

Speaking about babbling about history, that also led to that little award I'm being given today. Thankfully, it's not just me; the Marquette Beautification and Restoration Committee is giving nine or ten people & organizations their annual awards (and a free lunch). As I mentioned after I found out I was being honored by them, I have no idea how my name came up, other than the fact that I babble about old buildings, parking lots, and the old buildings that used to sit on them.

I'm thinking that's why I'm being given the honor. Either that, or the stories I tell about hookers & drunkards made a much bigger impact upon people than I thought.

Like I said, I know I shouldn't complain about all this, and I really AM grateful for the recognition. It just doesn't seem...right. It seems otherworldly, like I'm watching the story of someone who vaguely resembles me and vaguely does the same stuff I do. But as Loraine keeps reminding me, it really is happening, no matter how surreal it seems.

So I'm off to get an award in a couple of hours. I don't know that I deserve it, but I'll accept it and take it as the honor it's meant. Even if it does mean my life's been getting quite surreal recently.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/9

I'm bummed I couldn't give blood yesterday.

Conditions for it were perfect, too. The blood mobile was across the street from the station in the Range Bank parking lot, I had a few extra minute set aside for it, and I was all set to go...at least all set to go until the fact that I'm suffering from my yearly bout of fall hay fever made me realize that I wasn't eligible to donate.

Bummer.

Those of you who've read these forever know that we used to do a lot with the UP Regional Blood Donor Center, especially around this time of the year when they used to hold their annual Halloween blood drive. I'd broadcast from drives all around the central U.P., giving blood live while I was on the air. I'd try to convince as many people as possible to join me, giving me a job title/nickname among the staff that was almost as good as “Jim Koski, Media Wh*re”--

“Pimping for Dracula”.

Unfortunately, we aren't able to do as much together as we used to, and I haven't had many chances to sneak free and make a donation. It takes half an hour or so to donate, plus whatever time it takes to get there and get back. That's why yesterday would've been a perfect chance to get back into the groove. Sadly, the gunk in my throat had other ideas.

I've always tried to donate as much as possible because I'm genetically different than most people. I have a rare blood type, O negative. Only six percent of humans have it, and the thing about O negative is that it's a universal blood type. You can give it to anyone with any blood type, and it works. You can't give someone with, say, O positive blood A Positive blood, but you can give them O Negative. That's why, in an emergency situation, if you don't know someone's blood type, you can always give them O Neg with no concerns at all. But since only six percent of humans have O Negative, there isn't a lot of it around. That's why, at least in the past, I always tried to share what I had.

And that's why I was bummed yesterday.

I know I should be making the time to donate blood more; as I always said during the drives, one pint of blood can help save up to three lives. (It's also a great way to lose a pound in 20 minutes, if that's a concern). And the rarer the blood, the more there's a need for it. But between a jam-packed schedule and not being anywhere near the blood center and the freakish fact that anytime I give blood early in the morning (when I actually have time) I tend to get woozy...

Well, it just kind of fell by the wayside. It shouldn't have, but it did. And that's all on me.

Hopefully, the Blood Center will be doing another drive nearby soon, and hopefully, when they do do it, whatever's bothering my sinuses will have gone into hibernation for another year. If not, I'll just have to find some time—make some time—and allow them to drain a pint of my O Negative blood.

It's a habit I should really get back into.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/8

For several generations of Americans, the word “spam” causes them to instinctively look to their e-mail inbox. For another couple generations of Americans, the word “spam” causes them to think fondly of a can of mystery meat surrounded by a gelatinous goo.

But for a small subset of my generation, the word “spam” makes us thing of two words--

Monty. And Python.

I bring that up because it’s the 50^th anniversary of the debut of “Monty Python's Flying Circus" in England, and to celebrate, BBC America is running a bunch of episodes of the show, plus a documentary or two about the long-running impact the group has had on comedic history. They are also issuing a remastered Blu-ray set of the entire series, which makes me think I now know something that may be topping my birthday/Christmas list this year.

We'll see about that.

I first saw “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” like many kids in the 70s, when WNMU-TV ran the show late on Saturday night. I think I was, like, 12 or 13 when I saw my first episode, and what an episode it was, ending with one of their classic skits, “The Upper Middle Class Twit Of The Year” contest, a sight-gag and physical comedy-filled routine that actually had me laughing so hard there were tears coming out of my eyes.

After that, I was hooked.

Even though I didn’t get half the jokes in the show (my knowledge of British society and history woefully lacking back then) I watched the show every week. Since then, I’ve seen the movies, bought the books, and played the computer games. I still find myself walking around and, as the occasion requires, uttering phrases like “nudge nudge wink wink” or “I’m not dead yet”.

Oh, and I now know who people like Neville Chamberlain are. And what a chartered accountant is. And why sheep, given the opportunity, can actually fly.

While I still hold a very soft spot in my heart for “The Upper Middle Class Twit Of The Year” contest, I think my favorite skit from the show may be “The Spanish Inquisition”, in which, well, the Spanish Inquisition bursts unannounced into various situations throughout an entire episode, with the intent of torturing innocent characters. The only problem is that they’re not a very good Spanish Inquisition, torturing those characters with things like baking racks and comfy pillows.

Yes, I know it’s absurd, but it’s my kind of absurdity. It's one reason I seem to have such a finely tuned sense of the absurd, in fact. I'll be the first to admit—the group warped me, and apparently warped me for life. And it's not just me or my generation—on the episode of “High School Bowl” we taped this past Friday I had a discussion with a young man who wanted to live in the world of “Monty Python & the Holy Grail”. We even traded a few lines from the movie back & forth.

That's how big of an impact the group has had.

Anyway, it's not 87 pieces of e-mail, but instead a dingy diner filled with Vikings and a slightly befuddled customer that first comes to my mind whenever I hear the word “spam”. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go stand in a corner, yell “I don’t like Spam” in a very shrill falsetto, and then spend the rest of the morning singing “spam spam spam spam (etc)” to myself and to anyone who wanders near.

You’re more than welcome to join in!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/7

I made a great discovery while out on my long, meandering run Saturday—

I found out you can see over 100 discarded beer bottles and cans lying around the streets while spending an hour and a half running through Marquette.

Yes, I know I should’ve saved that for a “Weird Fact”, but I just thought I’d share it now. And I can’t say I’m surprised by the discovery; since I line in and frequent an area of Marquette that has its fair share of, shall we say, people of the partying age, I’ve heard quite a few gatherings where, I’m innocently guessing, beer was consumed. In fact, there’s one house, just down the street from mine, where Saturday I noticed almost two dozen cans just tossed out on the front yard or into the street. And seeing as how it’s also a house from where quite a racket emanated Friday night, I’m gonna guess the two are somehow connected.

Call it a hunch.

That brings to mind two things—the first, which I don’t wanna admit, is that I once again may have started upon the slippery slope toward cranky old man-dom. Pretty soon, I’ll be standing at a window, staring and muttering under my breath, “Those kids and their loud noise. Someone should do something about that”!

In other words, I’ll be like my dad.

(Sorry, Dad. I couldn’t resist!!)

The second is this—when I was in college (back in the 1800’s) the people with whom I lived, when they had a party, returned the empties, so they could buy more beer to have another party. They just didn’t toss the empties out in the street, to let anyone walk away with the fruits of their drinking. I mean, shouldn’t you get more out of a party than a hangover and an ongoing relationship with the police? Sure, it’s only a couple of dozen cans, but that’s still almost two and a half bucks. You can buy part of a pizza or three pages of a textbook with that.

Kids these days, I tell ya.

Anyway, like I said, if you ever need any extra cash, I know where you can (literally) pick it up, if you want. Use that knowledge however you wish

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/4

Wow. I can't believe this is the sixth year of doing it already.

I don't have much time to write this morning, as I'm shortly due at Public TV 13 to tape the first shows of the year for “High School Bowl”. It's the 42^nd year for the show, and the sixth with me as host, which is kind of unbelievable seeing as how it seems I just started doing it last month. But as we discover more and more, time doesn't seem to lie, so year six is now in the starting gate.

It's funny, because it seems like we just taped the championship game from last year last week. But nope; that was March 22nd, over half a year ago, and here we are, getting ready to start it all over again. The show we tape today airs November 2nd, although re-runs of last year's playoffs begin tomorrow night. And that, of course, means that I have to remember to do one thing—watch a few seconds of those shows to make sure that the ties I wear in the first few shows aren't ones I wore in the last few shows of last year. Sure, it might seem a little shallow and stupid, but as I've found, people actually pay attention to those things.

No, I'm not quite sure why, but they do. And that's why I keep track of what I wear on TV when, and that's why the list I keep throughout the season seems more and more invaluable, especially after doing this for six years.

So with that in mind, I'm off to make a fool out of myself, as usual. But at least I'll be wearing a tie viewers haven't seen recently. On that note, have yourself a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 10/3

As with my parents’ big anniversary two weeks ago (the one that ended in a “0”), today brings another epochal event in the extended Koski family--

My little sister is having a birthday. One that also ends in a “0”.

Now, you already know the rules of the Koski family, right? We don’t like aging or getting old; therefore, we’re never allowed to actually mention, in a public forum, how long we’ve been alive, how long we’ve been married, or how long we’ve been celebrating certain milestones. We can mention it as a family, but that’s as far as it goes.

(I know, but every family has its traditions, right? Some people go caroling every Christmas; we just simply deny we’re getting older.)

Anyway, many of you know Melanie even if you don’t know her. For many years her occupation was that of a water meter reader for the city of Marquette; where it seems she met every single person who lived here. She went back to college and got her degree in hospitality management, and now's she's managing the deli at Great Lakes Fresh Market, so if you're in there to pick up yummy food (which you really should be doing) the person giving you the food will probably be my sister.

In all families, every sibling is a little different. Yet in our family, if any of us have any similarities, I’m thinking it’s probably my sister and me. Oh, the differences are still there; she has a house & kids, I don’t and don’t. She can be much more “responsible” and “adult” than I ever want to be, and she thrives on having 18 different things going at once, whereas I’ll sometimes whine about it. But we’re also the siblings who make sure things are taken care of, the siblings who make fun of family oddities, and the siblings who have tried to carry on family traditions, which should be interesting now that she's thinking of moving to be closer to her daughters.

We’re also similar in that uniquely Koski way. The last time I had a birthday that ended with a “0”, I fought it kicking & screaming all the way. And now that my sister’s celebrating that very same birthday a few years later, she doesn’t want a big deal made out of it, either. I understand that perfectly, the fact that I’m writing about it in a public forum notwithstanding. But why do big brothers exist if not to give their little sisters a little grief, right?

Right?

Anyway, if you happen to see Mel around the next few days, wish her a happy birthday. Don’t mention which birthday it is; just wish her a happy birthday. I know I’ll be doing that myself.

Happy birthday, Mel!!!

Your big (&, sadly, older) brother,

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/2

Garbage collector, astronaut, and what I'm doing now. That's pretty much it.

Believe it or not I'm STILL getting people commenting on that “Word On the Street” profile of me from last week. In the interview I come out of the closet as a lifelong space nerd, something that's no surprise to those of you who read these yet an apparent shock to some people. And because of that I had someone ask me a few days ago if I ever wanted to become an astronaut. After I got done laughing and saying “duh” to myself 28 and a half times, I started to to think. And as we all know, that can be a dangerous thing.

Did you know I only wanted to be three things in my life? It's true, which means I'm either the luckiest person on the face of the Earth or I really need to work on getting a little ambition into my life. I'll let you decide which it is.

According to my parents, when I was a real little kid I wanted to be a garbage collector. I was apparently transfixed by both the trucks that they used and the noise those trucks made. My mom, especially, says I would wait and look out the window in the morning when the garbage truck was scheduled to come, and then be all happy when they stopped and collected the trash. For the first five or six years of my life that's all I ever wanted to be.

Then I discovered space.

I probably spent, oh, the next decade or so wondering if I could become an astronaut which, if I have to admit, is probably still a dream of mine. I know it probably won't happen, but if anyone has an extra quarter million bucks lying around and wants to buy me a ticket for one of Virgin Galactic's suborbital flights, I wouldn't complain.

Really, I wouldn't.

What made me realize that I probably would never become an astronaut? Well, to be totally honest, it's math. Even today, when mission specialists and non-pilot astronauts abound, you still need to be smart. You need to be good at certain things like physics or biology or (ugh) math. You need to have a skill set that makes it worthwhile to send you up into orbit. And I don't have that sort of skill set.

Unless, you know, they need someone to be really sarcastic on the International Space Station for a few weeks. Then I might be at the head of the line.

So that brings us to the final of three things I wanted to be when I was growing up. I loved the media. As I mentioned in the profile, when I was a kid I would take a radio at night and listen to clear channel AM stations throughout the country. I would be fascinated by TV shows, and how they're put together. And when I realized that my one true skill set in life—not math, not athletics, not being able to put a car together while blindfolded—was being able to get up in front of a microphone or a camera and perform, I was set.

And all these later, I haven't had to pick out a fourth career choice.

Everything I'm doing now—radio, TV, history—all comes from that one skill set. It comes from me talking and me performing. And considering that I was a really shy kid, it's kind of astounding, when you come to think of it. I would've put good money on a bet that the 9-year old me would not have grown up to do what the adult me does. And there's not one point at which I can pinpoint the change from shy kid to “Jim Koski, Media Wh*re”; it just kind of happened over a couple of years, and before I knew it I could talk without thinking and work a crowd (perhaps my one REAL skill) like a pro.

Who knew?

So there you go. Yes, I DID want to become an astronaut. I just wasn't smart enough, just like I probably wasn't mechanically inclined enough to become a master garbage collector, either. It's a good thing that performing requires neither brains or muscle. That way, I'll (hopefully) never have to make that fourth career choice!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/1

Okay. This really DOES have to stop soon.

You may recall a couple of days ago when I wrote about how...surreal my life seems to have been the past few months. About how I just had to find a few minutes to sit by myself and ponder everything. About how it just seems like all the stuff happening to me wasn't really happening, like it was the final episode of a long-running TV show where they just wanted to throw in every last idea they hadn't used in all the previous episodes.

And that was before the envelope arrived in the mail.

What was in the envelope, you ask? Well, I answer, it was a very nice letter informing me that during a luncheon next week I'm being given the Marquette Beautification and Restoration Committee's Barb Kelly Historic Preservation Award for, and I quote here, my “personal vision, contributions, and commitment for going the extra mile and adding a special dynamic that enhances our vibrant city”.

Yup. I apparently have a personal vision.

8-)

First of all, just let me say “thanks” to the committee for the honor. I appreciate it. It's always nice to be honored. But...are you sure you're giving the award to the right person? You sure you didn't get my name mixed up with someone, you know, important and actually deserving of it?

You sure?

All I do is walk around and babble about old buildings and railroads and hookers. I lead so many people around neighborhoods that traffic stops. I tell jokes about bars and the stupid things people did in them. Are you really sure that I should be getting that award? Really, really sure?

I don't wanna say that it's getting to this point, but it's almost getting to the point where I'm afraid to answer the phone or check the mailbox or head online, because who knows what I'll find when I do it. Someone will be saying something nice about me, or I'll be the subject of a profile, or I'll be given an award. Like I said, I appreciate it as much as the next person, but doesn't the next person deserve some of the exposure I've been given the past few months?

I'm really, really good at sharing. I'm more than willing to let someone else—anyone else—grab some of this spotlight. Honest. I am.

Oh well...it's just one of those times when things reach a critical mass and start to pile up on each other. I've had many instances of that in my life, and I'm sure there will be many more. Hopefully one day soon I'll be able to sit back for more than two minutes at a time and reflect upon and absorb all the incredible things that seem to be happening.

I'm just guessing it won't be any day soon.

(jim@wmqt.com) who, despite my whining, is very one every thankful and lucky person.