Friday, 11/13 (!)

Happy opening day weekend! Or, if you're agnostic in that regard, happy Friday..

Either one works for me.

Sunday marks the start of what we jokingly refer to as the official UP national holiday, opening day of Michigan's firearm deer season. Whether you celebrate it or not it IS a big deal around here, as evidenced by the Instant Requests I was getting as far back as Tuesday from people who were already heading out to their deer camp.

So even though I look it as a strange Yooper tradition, for many people it's a tradition that's a big deal.

In that vein, I wrote what could loosely be called a “poem” about the tradition back in 1999, over (gulp) quarter of a century ago (as a side note-- quarter of a century ago??? Isn't it time I started looking for a real job??) I've been posting this “poem” every Opening Day Eve since then, and I don't feel as if I can buck tradition and not post it.

And I DO apologize for the very bad pun in that last sentence.

Since it's a tradition, here is that “poem”. If you actually are going out hunting, good luck, and stay safe. If you're agnostic regarding the holiday, that's okay, too. It's just one of those things that makes the UP such a unique place to live.

Have a great weekend, either in or out of the woods!

(jim@wmqt.com)

*****

“’Twas the Night Before Deer Camp”,

by Jimmy Koski, grade 3.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE DEER SEASON

AND ALL THROUGH THE CAMP

HUNTERS WERE UNLOADED BEER CRATES

AND LIGHTING UP LAMPS

THE RIFLES THEY HUNG

IN THE PICKUP WITH CARE

IN HOPES THAT A 10-POINTER

SOON WOULD BE THERE

I IN MY ORANGE

MY BUDDY IN GREEN

SAT DOWN TO A CRIBBAGE GAME

THE BIGGEST EVER SEEN

WE PLAYED THROUGH THE NIGHT

AND EMPTIED THOSE CRATES

BUT MORNING SOON CAME

WE DIDN’T WANT TO BE LATE

WE SET OUT AT SUNRISE

AT DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT

PUT DOWN A BIG BAIT PILE

IN HOPES THAT BAMBI WOULD BITE

WE SAT AND WE WAITED

AND WAITED SOME MORE

I KEPT MY EYES OPEN

MY BUDDY STARTED TO SNORE

WHEN TO MY SURPRISE

STANDING RIGHT BY A TREE

WAS A BIG 12-POINT BUCK

MY PANTS I DID...WELL, NEVER MIND ABOUT THAT

I BROUGHT UP MY RIFLE

I LINED UP THE DEER

THEN MY BUDDY WOKE UP AND YELLED

“HEY--WHERE’S THE BEER?”

THE BUCK RAN AWAY

I LOWERED MY GUN

MY BUDDY JUST LAUGHED

SAID “LET’S HAVE SOME FUN”

WE WENT BACK TO DEER CAMP

AND HAD US A BALL

SO LET ME SAY THIS--

GOOD LUCK DEER HUNTING TO ALL...

(copyright 1999)

Thursday, 11/12

I think I’m ready to go.

Over the past year or so I've written in here about how I’d been stunned by the fact that it’s been (now) over a decade since I last updated the “107 Things To Love About Marquette County” list. At that time, I mentioned that it needed to get updated because of the fact that a lot of people, businesses, and activities mentioned in it are no longer around. I also asked if YOU guys had any suggestions for items and/or pictures to be included.

Well, I did two things during my holiday yesterday. I shot an episode of “High School Bowl”, and I started to gather everything I'll need for version number four of the list.

Yup. It's finally happening.

As I look at what’s going into it now, it’s actually gonna be longer than 107 things, but this is one of those lists that I really don’t feel comfortable in trying to winnow down. I mean the 107 is an arbitrary (although chosen for an obvious reason) number and I really don’t want to leave off something that’s deserving just to get down to that 107. So if it ends up being 112 or 116 things to love about Marquette County. . .well, so be it. Just consider the extra 5 or 9 items bonus items that come free of charge, much like the extra set of Ginsu steak knives you get if you call in the next 10 minutes.

And you don’t even have to pay the extra shipping & handling!

I'll be starting it on Monday, as tomorrow we're heading into Opening Day Weekend here in Michigan and, well, I have a tradition that pre-dates even the “107 Things” list. But once we get going, it should take us through Thanksgiving, by which time we'll probably be as sick of the list as you will be the leftover turkey you'll accumulate right after that.

Well, maybe not quite that much, but I'm guessing it might be in the neighborhood.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 11/10

Maybe one of these years I'll no longer have to write things like my TV piece last night.

Every couple of years we have something happen here in Marquette. Every couple of years we have someone do something they shouldn't, and pay a heavy price for it. It happened again last Thursday. And despite everything we do to try & stop it, it keeps happening.

And I wish I had the magical ability to make it stop. But I don't.

Instead, I talk about it and try to make people aware of the situation. After it occurred Thursday, I talked about it on the air. And since I have a platform that most people don't have—a weekly TV essay—I talked about it last night, as well. Do I think my incessant discussion of the topic will help?

I have no idea. But maybe if enough people talk about it, someone, sometime in the future, might remember what we've been talking about, and think about it before they do the thing that happens in Marquette every couple of years.

Here's what I'm talking about--

                                                                ****

Because tomorrow's a corporate holiday and I won't be here, there won't be a new one of these. There will be Thursday, though, with the new of a long-awaited project I may finally—finally--be ready to tackle.

We'll discuss it Thursday!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 11/9

That really can't be the answer, can it?

I was having a discussion with students last week (the same day I wrote about my cornbread addiction, in fact) while waiting for the cameras to roll on “High School Bowl”. I don't know how we got on the subject, but one of them asked me what my favorite food is, and even I was shocked when I, without thinking, blurted out “chocolate”.

Hmm. That can't be right, can it? Or is it? After all, Loraine and I took a little road trip Saturday to Escanaba to buy chocolate at Aldi. So, uhm...maybe it IS right.

Drat. For the second blog in a row, so much for me saying “I try to eat only healthy foods”. I really AM a walking oxymoron, aren't I?

Now, I like chocolate. As you're well aware, I REALLY like chocolate. But is chocolate my favorite food? Should chocolate even be anyone's favorite food? What made me blurt out that answer before even considering any other food?

Sometimes, the mind boggles.

For the record, I like lots of other foods. In fact, there are very few foods (bananas, peppers, onions, and Brussels sprouts, I'm looking at you) that I don't like. So why would I reflexively say “chocolate” instead of anything from chicken to broccoli to blueberries? Why would say I “chocolate” instead of something that's, you know, actually good for you?

Is that a hole into which I really don't want to climb?

I know dark chocolate, especially in moderate amounts, is good for you. But to have it be my favorite food? The more I think about it, though, the more I wonder if my psyche was on to something. I spent a few seconds thinking about the food I eat, and I was...well, not shocked, but a bit surprised that the only thing I eat on a daily basis is, indeed chocolate. I don't eat copious amounts of it every day, but I do indeed have some of that particular food each and every day.

So maybe my psyche wasn't quite as far off as I thought.

Aside from being surprised, I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing with that information. I think I may need a little while to process it, and decide whether or not I should be embarrassed, proud, or worried by the statement I made in front of those students. You know the old saying about how kids say the darnedest things?

Maybe they should switch out “kids” for “adults”, especially when asked about your favorite foods.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 11/6

For me, at least I know the reason why.

My “Weird Fact of the Day” yesterday mentioned how Americans eat more during Autumn than any other season. I'm not surprised; after all, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season fall in there, and we're also probably eating stuff we shouldn't in order to ward off any approaching Seasonal Affliction Disorder from which we may suffer.

And then there are also the foods that may only see during the fall.

If you've been reading these over the years you may have picked up on the fact that, for the most part, I try to eat well. I try to avoid fast foods, overly processed foods, and foods that aren't really “foods”, foods that are just made up of chemicals and additives and shaped to look like “food”. Even the “bad' things I eat, like chocolate, are the “good” versions of the food.

So I try my best.

It may not, however, come as a surprise that I have a food that's a guilty pleasure. It's a food that I don't believe I've ever seen in a 'good” versions, and while I don't eat it a lot I do savor the times when I break down and ingest it. And that guilty pleasure is?

Cornbread.

Yup; I know I don't seem like a cornbread-loving kind of person, but I am. I know it's not good for me; it's basically a grain with all the good stuff removed combined with sugar and a bunch of fatty oils, but there's just something about it that I can't resist. So when I noticed that two Marquette grocery stores started selling freshly-made cornbread, I couldn't resist, even though it means eating 1,500 calories of gunk that could instead be used for healthy whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

But it's cornbread...and there's something about cornbread that I just can't resist.

I did something else I probably shouldn't have, and that's read the ingredients list they stuck on the back of the container. I noticed that instead of sugar the store uses high fructose corn syrup, which is something I try to avoid at all costs. So for a few months, I had to live without cornbread.

It was hard.

Then a few weeks ago we were at another grocery store, and I noticed they had a slab of cornbread for sale. They make theirs with sugar, which obviously meant that I had to buy it and try it out, just to see if it was any different than the cornbread I'd previously been eating. A larger than usual (gulp) one pound container of calories later I was totally satisfied, not only by the cornbread but by the fact that it had sugar in it. Sure, I had just eaten around 2,000 calories, but at least those calories didn't include high fructose corn syrup.

Yes, I know I need help. What's your point?

Thankfully, I don't eat cornbread all that often. If I ate it every time I felt like it, I have the feeling I'd be adding another 20 or 30 pounds to my 160-pound frame. Besides, can you imagine what all that processed grain and fully saturated fat would do to a body not used to it? I shudder to think. However, I am human, and I do have the occasional temptation. So if you ever run into me in a grocery store and you happen to see one of those one-pound bricks of cornbread in my cart, realize it's not part of my everyday diet.

It's just a guilty pleasure.

Speaking of which, I'm doing something this weekend that might, by some, be considered taking a guilty pleasure to extremes. Details Monday.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 11/5

I may have found the second greatest opening paragraph in news writing history.

Nothing catches my eye like a good opening line or a great opening paragraph, especially in a news story. Fiction, essay, and feature writers get to do it all the time, but in the world of news writing, which tends to be dry and factual, you don't get to see it often. It's only when a bizarre set of circumstances come together that you get to string together words like this, something I saw 13 years ago, and something I still consider to be the greatest opening line in a news story ever--

“A jazz musician was injured Friday after jumping from a burning motor home driven by a one-time roller skating stripper’.

I mean, it has everything you need—it's factual, it tells a story, and it's so absurd that it can't have happened. Yet, it did. In the 13 years since I've seen it I've thought of it often, especially when trying to come up with opening lines for these things. I never thought I'd come across another quite as bizarre, until I was perusing election results yesterday and somehow clicked into another story that led with this--

“Three Indiana judges have been suspended after a failed attempt to visit a strip club led to a drunken brawl outside an Indianapolis White Castle that ended with two of the judges being shot.”

I mean, I know Indiana can be a strange place, but THAT strange? Why did the judges—in this case, two male and one female—want to go to a strip club? Was there a reason they couldn't get in? Why did they end up drunk at a White Castle? And why did two of them get shot there?

I mean, that one line is filled with sooooo many questions that you HAVE to read the story, right?

Right?

I can just imagine the reaction of the reporter assigned to the story, thinking it was just another hum-drum piece that said reporter could probably do in their sleep. Luckily for them, it wasn’t. And luckily for us, that person had the wisdom, the foresight, and the, well, uncommon mind to put all the details of the story together in such a way that makes the rest of us riveted with just 33 words.

I hope—nay , I aspire—to write something that good some day. I know I'll probably never get the chance, but a boy can dream, can't he?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 11/4

Because I a) stayed up too late last night watching election results and 2) have to go shoot a TV show in a few minutes, I'm going to leave you with something you haven't seen in a decade or so.

So that almost makes it new, right?

8-)

Something REALLY new tomorrow!

(jim@wmqt.com)

******

(as originally posted 11/4/15)

They're on their way there. See? It isn't that hard.

I know I've probably railed about the misuse of the different forms of “there” in the past, so forgive me if I'm babbling babbles that I've already babbled. But there was a meme going around on Facebook this morning in which someone posted that people join an organization because, and this is taken verbatim from the post, “there to stupid to do anything else”.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have the very latest definition of the word “irony” right there.

I'm starting to wonder if this whole “there/their/they're” problem is the latest version of the “chicken & the egg” quandary. Are people just grammatically stupid overall, and we notice it more these days because they post everything they write on the internet? Or has technology—the internet and spell-check—made people stupider, so much so that they don't actually know which “their” to use here and there?

Some days, I just don't know.

Now, I make a lot of grammatical & spelling errors when I write, as those of you who read this are no doubt aware. I rely too much on spell-check, and each and every one of these could probably use an extra round of proofreading, the time for which is, unfortunately, limited. So I'm not claiming to live in a glass house. I'm not claiming to be a perfect writer myself. But if I were to post something accusing someone else of being stupid?

I'd make sure I wasn't an idiot myself. But then, that's just me.

I'll shut up about this now, if for no other reason than I have to go hang out with people who, I'm guessing, actually DO know which “there” to use, four teams of some of the brightest young people on the planet, who will be taking part in another action packed edition of “High School Bowl”. It starts shooting in about an hour, in fact, assuming they make it there.

Just not their. Or they're.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 11/3

I hope I wasn't being too idealistic.

Welcome to mid-term election day, a day when (from all appearances) big changes are on tap. Any time there's a consequential election it seems like the county holds it collective breath, and this one is no different. So I took the opportunity to use my TV piece last night to share a dream I have, a dream that—and I hope I'm not being too naive here—that we can all live together when it's over.

Of course, I'm the same person who asks for my own spaceship every Christmas, so I do have some experience in pipe dreams.

I posted the video to social video last night, along with a slightly changed line from John Lennon's “Imagine”. The first few people who responded thought I was indeed crazy for saying what I said, but as the evening wore on it appeared that there are a LOT of people out there who are tired of the political divide among us, and who yearn for a little civility in our civil discourse. Of course, we have about as much of a chance of that as I do of getting my own spaceship, but a boy can dream, right?

No matter how things turn out tonight—whether your side wins or loses—I hope that, beginning tomorrow, as can all live together. After all, if there's anything the past decade has shown us, is that we're really good at living apart.

And I really hope that that changes soon.

The TV piece in question?

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 11/2

Yes, I'm insane. What's your point?

Over the past weeks I've had several people ask when I sleep, seeing as how I have a full-time radio job and two different weekly TV gigs that require a lot of preparation and/or writing. So I guess it's s fair question, although, in all honesty I love what I'm doing and it really doesn't seem like work.

But that's not the point. If the people who asked me when I have time to sleep also knew that, aside from my radio & TV jobs, I've received my History Center assignments for next year, then they'd think that I've REALLY gone over the edge.

But I'm not quite insane. Not yet.

Here's what it looks like I'm doing next year (and keep in mind that this is on top of a full-time radio job and two different TV gigs that require a lot of preparation and/or writing)--

January—Kaufman show with my pal Jack, which we're calling “Legends & Lore 4” because, I guess, “Lore” & “four” rhyme. Although this WILL be the fourth in the series, so I guess, in a way, the name DOES make sense.

April—I'm not quite sure why, but I've been asked to make a presentation in front of the Marquette Economic Club. You know...the club that brings in important people with important topics.

And, for some strange reason, apparently me. I have no idea why.

Also in April—The debut of season six of “Pieces of the Past”, the short videos I do for the History Center. At this point, it's looking like there will be 15 of them. Although there could be 16. Or 14. But odds are, it'll be 15.

At least for now,.

June—A reprise of my old “Third Street: Day & Night” walking tour, which was actually the first tour we did at the History Center after Covid restrictions were lifted. It might be nice to do it with an actual crowd this time around.

August—A brand new walking tour I'm putting together called “Jim True Life crime Tales”. While I haven't started work on it yet, I'm guessing it's deal with crime.

And true life.

Add into that the probability of, oh, four or five newspaper articles, and...

Well, now that I think about it, maybe I AM insane. If nothing else, we'll find out by the end of 2027, won't we? But the cool thing is I really enjoy doing all of this, and it's not like I'm dreading tackling any of the projects. In fact, I'm really looking forward to most (if not all) of them. The only problem—and I'm not sure yet if this will be a problem—is trying to find the time to (properly) put together everything on a timely (and tight) schedule. We'll just have to see.

And besides, if I need them, I always have the seven or eight hours I should be in bed each night, right? If people are wondering where I get the time now, maybe they should look at my schedule for next year.

Then the questions might really begin.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/30

Happy Halloween Eve. Here's your scary thought for the day—you still have five more days to sit through what seems to be non-stop commercial breaks filled with nothing but political ads.

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

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

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

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

And that helps the democratic process how?

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

But, for better or worse, that's not how we do things here. And that's why for the next five days any kind of media you consume will constantly remind you of that. So if you're looking for a scary Halloween fact, there you go. But at least six days from today, it'll all be over. Or at least it'll be over until, say January, when the 2028 Presidential campaign gets underway.

Boo!

8-)

Have a great & safe Halloween weekend. If you're downtown trick or treating tomorrow, stop by TV-19. I'll be joining Kevin and, I'm guessing, cracking a LOT of jokes about pasties.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 10/29

It's been a few weird days. It really has.

I complain in here waaaaay too much about how some weeks are just jam-packed with things to do, while others are much lighter. I really shouldn't complain; that's just the nature of having (ahem) four different jobs. For instance—this week, aside from my usual insane daily schedule I'm also in the middle of several “High School Bowl” shoots, doing some extra stuff for TV-19, and, as I had mentioned a few days ago, interviewing a congressional candidate.

Or that's what I thought.

A few minutes before I was set to interview Callie Barr, running for the US House in Michigan's First Congressional District, her UP campaign manager popped into the station and said “Would it be okay if the Senator joined in the conversation”?

And that's how I ended up interviewing both Ms Barr and ex-four term US Senator Debbie Stabenow at the same time.

I wasn't expecting it, but I guess I'm lucky that I know enough to roll with it. I was actually able to incorporate Ms. Stabenow's own experience in the interview, and after the interview was over even asked her for her perspective on Michigan's US Senate race. After all, it seems like she would know something about that, right?

So maybe, just maybe, in hindsight it's not surprising I forgot the topic of the blog I was going to write about old masks. Maybe, just maybe, it's surprising that there aren't MORE things I haven't forgotten about.

Unless, of course, I have forgotten about them already. Because, you know, that's how I roll these days.

8-)

If you have 11 minutes and the inclination, here's the interview with Callie Barr & Debbie Stabenow--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/28

It all started because I needed to dig something out of my backpack.

Let's review, shall we? I had an idea for a blog this past Friday, and promptly forgot about it. I spent the weekend trying to remember what it was, to no avail. Then the idea finally reappeared to me Monday night, after which I had no time to write about it, because I had to interview a candidate for the US House of Representatives.

That brings us to now. What was the blog topic that's been taking up waaaaay too much space in my brain the past few days? Well, it came to me when I had to dig through my backpack to find something Friday, and I discovered I had three masks buried deep within the folds of my bag.

So the topic was (or is) just how many masks do we have lying around and don't even know about?

I know; I myself am trying to decide if the topic is worthy of all the brainpower I've devoted to it the past five days. But that's neither here nor there. It's the topic that (almost) drove me insane, and it is a valid one. Since 2020 just how many masks HAVE we accumulated and then lost, whether it's in a purse or car glove compartment or in jacket pockets or, as in my case, a backpack? I'd venture to guess that the number's probably a bit higher than one would think.

Especially since, in the Before Times, we never would have thought about accumulating masks like we do gum wrappers or pocket fuzz.

And it's not just finding our own masks everywhere we look. If you spend as much time walking as I do you'll still notice, even almost six years after Covid changed our lives, all kinds of discarded and/or lost masks floating around on the streets or in the drains. If I wanted to be snarky, I could make the claim that old masks have become the new cigarette butts, as least as far as street trash goes, and I probably wouldn't be wrong.

Like I said, they're everywhere you look.

So if you get bored, take a look through your jackets and purses and backpacks and glove compartments. Figure out how many old and long-forgotten masks you have in there. That way, maybe some of the brain power I've devoted to the subject the past five days would not have been in vain.

Because, you know, I are an idiot for not remembering it in the first place.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/27

I remembered what it was.

As you recall, I spent a good chunk of the weekend trying to remember a blog topic I came up with while running around on Friday. I thought it was something relatable, a topic upon which everyone might have an opinion. And now that I've remembered what it was I still think so.

However...I have to go interview a candidate for the US House of Representatives in (looking at a clock) a half an hour. I won't be able to write about it today, so you don't mind waiting until tomorrow to find out what it was, do you?

I appreciate it. But if you want a little tease, look around your house, in your purse, in your backpack, and in your glove compartment. You might be surprised (or shaking your head in disbelief) in what you might see in any or all of those places.

Like I said, more tomorrow. Now, I'm off to chat with a candidate for Congress. In lieu of anything else meaningful, here's last night's TV piece--

A ghost story for Halloween week.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/26

Okay. This is really irritating.

Friday afternoon when I rushing around trying to get a thousand things done at work I had an idea for a blog pop into my head. As I remember it it was a really good idea; something that I could expand upon and something to which a lot of people could relate. That was about 1 pm Friday.

By 130 pm Friday, I had totally forgotten what I was going to write about.

That, of course, meant I spent the entire weekend wracking my brain, trying to remember what that really good idea was. Alas, though, it was to no avail. If I was a normal person I could've put it aside and used my weekend for its intended purpose—relaxing and not worrying about work.

But, of course, when I have I ever been normal?

I remember the idea had something to do with either the number of something most people have or how often a person does something. That's why I thought it would be relatable; whatever the idea was was something most of us have to deal with. I tried thinking of every obscure little fact that had been added to my brain, but couldn't come up with it. I even went back to work and re-traced my steps and actions when I came up with the idea.

Sadly, that didn't work. And just as an aside, how come I can remember obscure little facts that pop into my head and NOT the topic about which I was going write? Sometimes, I amaze even myself. But as always, it's hardly ever in a good way.

I have no idea if I'll ever remember what the blog was supposed to be about. I do, though, have the feeling that I ever recall the topic it'll be at 4 in the morning, jolting me out of a sound sleep. After all, that's how things work, at least in my little pea brain.

So instead of what I had originally intended to write you find yourself lucky enough to cruise through this babble. I'm sorry; if I had an actual brain instead of the blob of matter that resides in my skull, that would have been different. But keep this day in the back of your (functioning) brain, and in a few weeks or months or years if I actually DO remember the topic about which I wanted to write, you can mentally head back to this entry and say to yourself (or say out loud)--

“Took you long enough to remember it”

Sigh...

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/23

I'm having trouble remembering what day of the week it is.

Now, I'm sure those of you well-versed in being a smart aleck are at this moment shouting out something like “Jim, you're getting old. Pretty soon, you'll be forgetting where you put your teeth”, and the sad thing is you may be right. Add to that the fact that I've always had a problem remembering what day it is, and you wouldn't think it's be that big of a deal.

But it is.

Three times so far this week I've had to figure out what day it is, and that's a bit of a surprise. After all, my life is rather regimented; I have to do certain things on certain days, and you think that would be ingrained in my brain. But it doesn't appear to be. Thankfully, I haven't missed being where I'm supposed to be, but the way things are going, you never know.

It can, however, be a bit problematic. It's a pain when you have to ask someone or look up what day of the week it is, and have to do that three or four times a week. You'd think that after all these years I'd know what day of the week it is, even if (like this week) I shot “High School Bowl” on Wednesday and thought it was Friday. Is it the fault of (gulp) being on the on-ramp of starting to forget where I put my teeth? Or is it just a by-product of having so many things going on?

I keep saying my life is weird. I just didn't think it would get THIS weird.

Never fear. I have the feeling that now the problem's been identified and talked through, that it'll slowly disappear. That's usually what happened what something strange occurs in my life. I write about it here, you guys act as my online shrink, and things work out.

So I appreciate it. I'd give you the $150 an hour a real shrink gets, but I have this feeling I'd forget to pay you. After all, that's how I roll these days.

8-)

Have a great weekend. And don't forget that it IS the weekend.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 10/22

I wonder how much longer the red flash drive is going to hold out?

Doing what I do I use a lot of different computers, at home, at my various jobs, and even when I'm slitting in my auxiliary office working on a nice summer's day. Oftentimes I have to get a file from one computer to another, and while I've used e-mail, Google drives, and the cloud to move files from one machine to the other, I also use a flash drive. My trusty red flash drive. A flash drive that I've now used for (gulp) 15 years--

I have no idea how I started using this 8 GB Dane-Elec drive back in 2011, but I'm guessing that, at the time, it was one of the bigger ones that you could find. I keep it in the front pocket of my backpack (which I HAVE had to replace since 2011) and, at least once a day, I'll use it for file transfers or just to back up these blogs. I know that there are easier ways to do it, and I know that there are newer (and bigger) drives that I could use, but for a decade and a half my trusty red flash drive has done the job.

So why stop now?

Knowing how fast tech gear fails I'm kind of surprised that it's still going, and that's probably the main reason why I keep using it. I mean, will it ever fail? Will it keep going as a backup and transfer drive for the foreseeable future? Inquiring minds want to know.

As, as we all know, my mind is VERY weird when it comes to things like that.

I thinking--and this is just a guess--that the flash drive will outlive the rest of my working life (or, at least, my remaining time in radio), and that's the best reason I see to keep using it. If it does, and I come to that mythical day when I pack up my belongings and say "sayonara" to my office, I know the one memento that might be one of the most important, if only because have worked almost as long as I--

My trusty red flash drive.

We'll have to see.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/21

I have to run out in a few minutes for a special Wednesday shoot of “High School Bowl”, but I wanted to share the pictures that didn't make the cut.

What am I talking about? Yesterday, I shared my TV piece from Monday; you remember, the one about leaves. Well, leading up to it I had been shooting a LOT of pictures of leaves, and as I was putting everything together over the weekend I realized that I had waaaaay too many pictures of trees and leaves to use, so I had to cut many of them out.

And because I needed specific pictures for specific phrases, may of the best ones got left out.

You know, like one of a wet & gloomy Marquette...

Or one of a Marquette sky that's anything BUT wet & gloomy...

Or one of the Iron Ore Heritage Trail...

Or one of the most iconic places in Marquette...

So many pictures of leaves, o few opportunities to use them on TV, you know? And speaking of TV, that's where I'm heading now. After all, four teams from across the UP await!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/20

There are HOW many leaves falling from Upper Michigan trees this month?  Believe it or not, I know the answer.

Now, this seems like it might be one of those questions that you can't answer, like “how many stars are there in the galaxy” or “how many years can the Lions go without getting to the Super Bowl?” But for TV this week I needed an answer. I mean, it didn't have to be an exact number, just an answer in the general neighborhood. And thanks to my alma mater, I was actually able to get that general number.

Michigan State's still actually good for something these days, believe it or not.

I needed the number because I was talking about a storied UP October tradition that everyone (sarcasm alert) loves, the raking of leaves from one's yard. I was curious as to how many leaves someone might have to rake, but as soon as I saw the statistics from the Michigan State School of Forestry as to how many trees there are in the UP and how many leaves they each contain, I knew I had my hook for the piece.

It's funny. I never actually thought about things like “how many trees are there in the UP” until I started doing these TV bits. But in the four years I've been writing them I HAVE discovered how many trees there are in the UP. I've also found out many deer there are up here; heck, I even know how many Dollar Generals there are in the UP. They're not things that a normal person would have to discover, but then...

When have I ever been normal?

So just how many leaves WILL be falling from UP trees this month? The shocking number is right here--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/19

It's nice to know there's a still a newspaper out that, you know, delivers the news.

First of all, just let me say that I would not want to be in the newspaper business these day. The internet has pretty much destroyed the business model upon which newspapers were founded, and those that are still around are hanging on by the skin of their teeth, struggling to get by with reduced staffs, minimal advertising, and entire sections that largely consist of rewritten press releases.

It's REALLY not a good time to be in the newspaper biz.

Having said that, there is one newspaper in the UP that seems to have bucked the trend, and that's the Munising Beacon. It's a weekly paper, which I'm sure helps, and it's in a smaller community with a minimum of competition for ad dollars, which I'm also sure helps. But if you get the chance to grab one, check it out.

You'll be transported back to a time when newspapers were actually good.

The new owner/editor of the paper, Jennifer Champagne, did a profile piece on me in the Marquette Monthly a couple of years ago, before buying the Munising paper, and has since been sending me copies. And I have to say...I'm impressed. It looks like a newspaper used to, with real stories written by real people, real ads, and a real sense of community that newspapers used to provide in the days before news aggregators tore the guts out of the business.

Plus, she uses talented people--including at least one Munising High School Bowl team member--and that really shows.

Like I mentioned before, it's a horrid time to be in the newspaper business; in fact, it wouldn't surprise me if most of the newspapers currently around aren't around in 20 years. But it's nice to know that in small pockets around the country (and especially here in the UP) they're still going strong.

And if you'd like a perfect example of that, just grab yourself a copy of the Munising Beacon or check 'em out online. You'll see what I'm talking about.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/16

I'd be a catch if I were single.

First of all, let me state this—I am not single. I have not been single for many years. I don't wish to be single again. I am not implying anything with this blog other than the facts about to be stated. So don't read anything into it other than the fact that if I were somehow to be single, I have two things going for me.

'Nuff said.

Now, a “weird fact” of mine earlier this week had to do with the two things people are looking for when on a dating website. We've all heard stories about how said sites are not always filled with, well, the best of catches. But there seem to be two things that are deal-breakers, at least for 88 percent of women and 75 % of men.

The biggest deal-breaker is personal hygiene. Apparently, if you post a picture of yourself in bad clothing, or looking like you haven't washed your hair in three weeks, that turns most people off.

Who knew, he says sarcastically.

The other? Bad grammar. Poor spelling and not knowing which there, their, or they're to use is a turn-off for both men and women, although more women than men. So if you find yourself on a dating website any time in the near future, you know what to avoid.

That's okay. You can thank me later.

Like I said at the beginning of this, I'm not single, nor do I have the desire to be single. But I'd like to think that I'm pretty good with my own personal hygiene. And I know how to construct a sentence like, say, “They're on their way there”. So if the world were to flip on its axis—or flip on its axis more than it already has in 2026—and I found myself needing the services of a dating website, I would hope that I would pass muster.

After all, it seems like it's hard being single these days. Who knew there was so much pressure to get everything absolutely right?? Any kind of head start a person can get, I guess, is a start well worth exploiting.

8-)

I'm off to shoot “High School Bowl”. Have a great weekend...I know that as a non-single individual, I get to spend mine with my favorite person!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 10/15

The timing of it could not have been more perfect.

On TV Monday and in here yesterday I talked about Canada and, specifically, how I wouldn't be here without the country, as that's where my great-grandfather, the guy after whom I was named, was born. I don't know if this was coincidence or serendipity, but Tuesday night, in the middle of all this, I received an e-mail from Ancestry, saying that I should check out my new and improved DNA profile, showing more regions than ever before.

Including, believe it or not, this one--

Ancestry has never broken things down so fine before (for instance, I now know the five regions of England from whence some of my forebearers came), but to see the “Canadian” part of my history come to life, right as I was talking about it on TV and writing about it in here, was indeed serendipitous. And even more surprising? That of the 18 (!) different regions & nationalities that make up by ethnic background, “Canadian” is now the second biggest.

Consider my mind blown.

Of course, the coolest thing about that is the fact that the “Canadian” part of me is actually from Quebec, the French-speaking part of the country. What's the one language (other than English) that I can almost speak? French. Which country's chocolate do I really, really like? France. To which country in Europe do I seem most drawn? France. You know, my attraction to that country almost seems like it's woven into my DNA, or something.

And, according to the new update, it apparently IS. Who knew?

This information is, of course, probably of no interest to anyone but me. But I do find it freaky that on the week I told everyone that I was indeed Canadian, that Ancestry backed me up to a degree greater than I ever thought possible.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/14

If I actually knew what would be popular and what wouldn't be, I'd be a millionaire. And, he says, looking at his bank statement...

I'm not.

Social media's a funny thing. You can put something up on it, just some random item or picture, and it explodes. People like it, people comment on it, and people share it. Then you can stick something on there that you're SURE will explode, and then sit back and watch as it just sits there, twiddling its thumbs and waiting for people people to notice it.

Much, he says sadly, like my TV piece this past week.

I don't know why I thought it would get some traction, but I was sure it would. It's a solid piece, timed perfectly for a certain day. And given the feelings of people these days, I thought it would resonate with a little “Oh, I get it” or a soupcon of “I couldn't agree more”.

Instead? A few likes and a “oh, that's cute”. The reaction was nothing like I personally would have expected, once again proving that I know nothing about what clicks and what doesn't.  And that, I'm guessing, is why I'm not a millionaire.

Well, that and the fact that I've worked in broadcasting my entire life.

So from now on, I'm not going to guess what kind of a reaction something will have. If it gets a reaction, great. If it doesn't, that's great, as well. After all, I obviously know nothing about how people will react to things these days. Although, I guess, there are worse things to be bad at, right?

8-)

The piece I thought would get a big reaction and didn't?

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/13

 I did indeed take advantage of the weekend.

As you may recall, I wrote on Friday about several different people asking if I’d be “taking advantage” of the nice weather weekend we were promised.  Well, I’m happy to report I did, especially because Mother Nature kept her part of the bargain and gave us two days of 80-degree sunshine (at least after the clouds moved out Saturday morning).  I was outside as much as I could, doing not only my regular activities (like getting my butt kicked by Loraine playing soccer Sunday) but also by taking my camera out and shooting a lot of B-Roll (background video) for projects I’ll be putting together this upcoming winter.

And while I was doing that, of course, I shot some pictures for you, as well.

Like I said–it was a glorious weekend–

With colors all around–

You were able to see decorations you normally don’t get to see when it’s 80 degrees and sunny outside–

People flooded beaches–

They were on the water–

They left inspiring messages for those who may have been walking past their house–

And they were just enjoying each other’s company–

That is actually one of my favorite pictures I took all weekend.  I was trying to get both the couple and the person sitting out on the rocks in the same shot, but the way I focused it–and the way the lady’s looking at the guy sitting next to her–just made it something so much better than I was trying to get.

On occasion, you sometimes get lucky.

Of course, now it’s back to reality.  It was cool and rainy yesterday for my (holiday) day off, it’s cold & rainy this morning, and while the sun should be rejoining us later this week temperatures will only be (gulp) 25 to 30 degrees cooler than they were both Saturday and Sunday.

And that’s why I–and, it appears, most of Marquette–took advantage of the weekend.  When you think of it, there’s really nothing else you could do, right?

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/9

“You're gonna take advantage of this weekend, right?”

That is a statement that, I don't think, people not from Marquette or the UP really get. But I spoke with two people yesterday, both of whom, like me, were born up here, and both of them uttered the statement (or a version of it).

And you'd better believe I AM taking advantage of this upcoming weekend, assuming that it turns out as promised.

You see, it's supposed to be sunny and 80 both Saturday and Sunday, and just based on reality it'll probably be the last time it's sunny & 80 until, oh, 2029. That may not mean much to some people, but to those of us who've lived here forever, I think it's a sign that we have to take advantage of it while it's here. We have to get outside, soak up the sun, and enjoy the warmth, because we know it won't be back for a long, long time.

And that, I think, is what some people don't get.

Maybe it's in the water up here, or maybe it's in our DNA, but it just seems to me that if we know we're looking at the last nice few days (or even hours) before winter finally settles in, we HAVE to enjoy. It's like we don't even have a choice; we just have to. I've always wondered if it was just me who felt that way, but after my conversations yesterday it's nice to know that I'm not alone.

You have to use it or lose it, I guess. And if you lose it? Well, it stays lost for a long, long time.

Hope you take advantage of our last nice days until 2029 this weekend. And by the way, we have another corporate holiday Monday, so I'll be off. A new one of these is yours Tuesday, maybe even with tales of how I spent MY last nice weekend of the year!

(jim@wmqt.com), excited about the (potential) warmth.

Thursday, 10/8

This is a choice I never thought I'd ever have to make, but since it's 2026 and nothing makes sense any more it was a choice that did indeed present itself--

Do I eat my apple after I dropped it in the toilet?

Yup; just when you thought this year could not get any stranger, it did. I was eating lunch yesterday, when I went into the bathroom to wash my apple off and watched in horror as my newly washed apple slipped out of my wet hand and perfectly pirouetted into a toilet bowl that (ahem) someone had thoughtfully left the lid open.

Anyone have THAT on their 2026 bingo card?

I mean, geez...I've done some stupid and/or klutzy things in my life, but I've never tossed an apple (wittingly or unwittingly) into a toilet bowl before. I had never even considered dropping an apple into a toilet bowl within the realm of possibility. But yet, I did it.

Guess I can cross that off my bucket list.

Like I mentioned at the beginning, I did give a few seconds thought to just grabbing the apple out of the toilet, washing it again, and then eating it. After all, it's water in the toilet bowl, right? Dogs drink it without a second thought. Plus, the toilet does get cleaned quite often. But still...

My desire to eat the apple was really outweighed by the fact that I dropped it in a toilet.

I know; had I closed the lid on the toilet bowl after using it I wouldn't have faced that dilemma. Had I not tried to handle the apple with wet hands I wouldn't have faced that dilemma. Heck, had Sir Isaac Newton not “discovered” gravity I wouldn't have faced that dilemma. But, because none of those things occurred I didn't get to eat my apple. I did, however, get to experience something I never thought I'd experience, so I guess in a very bizarre way something good DID come out of it.

You'd better believe, however, that the next time I go into the bathroom to wash off an apple the lid on the toilet bowl WILL be closed. After all, it's not a choice I'd like to ponder again.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 10/7

Well...that escalated rather quickly.

I wrote in here yesterday about the possibility of maybe, perhaps, some day doing another series of those “Pieces of the Past” videos I do for the Marquette Regional History Center. Well, that was 24 hours ago. In the time since then...

I now have someone to shoot drone footage for me for several of the bits I may get around to some day producing, and some of the better “Pieces” from the past few years will soon begin airing on WNMU-TV.

And no, I have no idea how either of those happened. Like many things in my life, they just did.

8-)

Technically, I do know how both of them happened; it's just freaky that they both came to fruition within a few hours of me writing and posting a blog about scribbling a few notes on a piece of paper. But that's my life these days—weird things happen, and I seem to have no control over them.

What are you gonna do, right?

The drone footage should make the new series of “Pieces”--whenever I get around to putting them together—look spectacular. And the possibility of having a few of the classic ones pop up on WNMU-TV has been floating around for a couple of years now. Because they don't air commercials, they need interstitials—material to fill between shows. Since I've been working with them for a decade and a half now, they figured some of my older videos might be a natural fit. And since I made sure the History Center gets mentions and promos in exchange, it seems like a win-win for everyone.

And how often do you get something like THAT these days?

So if you happen to be watching WNMU-TV any time soon, don't be surprised if I pop up on it even more than I usually do. And whenever it is that I get around to putting more videos together, don't be surprised if they look amazing thanks to some drone footage that will be shot specifically for them.

Because, these days, that's apparently how things roll around here.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 10/6

I'm almost loathe to say it, but I've started thinking about them again.

As many of you know, every so often I do something really stupid--I make a batch of videos for the Marquette Regional History Center. It started during Covid, and I've now put together five "seasons"--almost 100 in all--of "Pieces of the Past". They do take some time in researching writing, and producing, and whenever I get done with a season I tell myself that I might want to give myself a break.

Until, like this past weekend when, for no reason at all, I pulled out a piece of paper and started writing things down--

Literally, I had no idea why I did it. I was just taking a break from putting together my TV bit and, a few moments later, found myself with the chicken scratchings you see above. I mean, I don't know if anything will come out of it and, if something does, when, but there I have it--a rough rundown of what could possibly be series 6 of "Pieces".

Some days, I amaze even myself. And not in a good way.

There are a lot of video projects I'd like to get done for the History Center in the next couple of years, especially the "Clean-Up on Aisle Five" grocery store documentary I've been working on for a few years now. So why 15 or 16 ideas for short form videos would suddenly pop into my head, I have no idea.

My brain just works in weird ways.

I'm pretty sure you won't be seeing any of these soon, although one or two might actually start off as Kaufman bits for the next "Legends & Lore" with Jack. But just remember that if you DO ever see any of these videos, the whole thing started this past weekend when my brain took over the rest of my body, and made it write these ideas down.

Stupid brain...

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/5

There's a clump of hair sticking out of the back of my head, and nothing I do seems to make it go away.

One of the big differences between working in TV and working in radio is that two or three times a week I need to pay attention to how I look. In radio, you can just roll out of bed, throw on some clothes, and go to work. No one, aside from your co-workers, can see what you look like, and they're often dressed the same way you are. But you know what? On TV, people can see you. You just can't show up looking like a slob.

Who knew?

That's actually not a big problem for me. I actually do (usually) care about my appearance. I very rarely roll out of bed, throw whatever's lying on the floor back on, and then cruise down to work. I usually make sure I look good; heck, back in the days before I started doing TV I would even dress up in a jacket and tie every Monday just because, well, it was Monday. But now that I've been doing TV stuff for over a decade I have to make sure I'm entirely presentable before stepping in front of the cameras.

And that's where my hair, and the clump of it sticking out of the back of my head, comes in.

First of all, I'm mad at my hair anyway. Being under the bright lights in the studio means that you, on occasion, can see where over the years I've started to lose a little of it. Normally, in person, you can't tell, but under those lights, you can. I'm sure it's one of those things no one else will notice, but I do.

Is it any wonder I don't like watching myself on TV?

However, it's the back of my head that causes the biggest problems. Ever since I was a kid I've had a...growth of hair on the back right side of my head. It's kind of like someone put a bunch of hair fertilizer there, causing me to have twice as much hair on that patch of my head than I do anywhere else. The woman who's been cutting my hair tries to do what she can, but I'm apparently a freak of nature in that regard. And as we all know, there's not much you can do with a freak of nature.

Trust me. I'm walking proof.

It must be worse than usual, because while taping “High School Bowl” this past Friday my mom, who was in the audience, called me over and asked if I knew I had a clump of hair sticking out of the back of my head.. I, of course, did, but she's absolutely right about the clump. In fact, if you watch me on TV (something I don't really recommend, of course) and you see me shot at a certain angle it looks like I have a hair “tumor” sticking out of the back of my head. I mean, I've used a bunch of different products & methods to try to get it to lie flat, but with only middling success. And I'll be curious to see how it looks when I do “Life in the 906” tonight, as at the moment (and probably why my mom noticed it Friday), my hair tumor doesn't look like a tumor. Instead. it looks more like a stumpy carrot sticking out of my head.

So I have that going for me

I'm tempted just to hack the whole thing off with scissors. However, I know that would make things even worse by doing that. I mean, a stumpy carrot sticking out of my head? Maybe. A big hole where the stumpy carrot used to be? Nope. However, I have faith, if not in my own hands, that someone on set will have an idea what to do. However, if you see me on TV any day soon and notice there's something weird sticking out of my head, know that it's not the fault of your TV set.

It's the fault of my stupid head.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/2

Wow. I can't believe this is the twelfth go around of 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 48th year for the show, and (gulp) number 12 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 twelve 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 February 13th, over half a year ago, and here we are, getting ready to start it all over again. The show we tape today airs November 7th, and once we start it's (almost) a non-stop thrill ride for the next month and a half, when we take a break for Thanksgiving.

And then it all starts up again.

So with that in mind, I'm off to make a fool out of myself, as usual. But before I do that, I also need to wish my favorite little sister a happy birthday, which it is tomorrow. So if you're at Lofaro's Fresh Market in the next few days, let her know. And while you're at it, have yourself a great weekend, as well.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 10/1

It's been ten years. I know I REALLY need to update it soon.

Because it's been such a long time, some of you (heck, probably many of you) may not remember that I once had a list I kept updating on here called "Jim's 107 Things to Love About Marquette County". It listed 107-plus things that were amazing about this place, and every so often I'd get a note about how someone enjoyed the list or about a potential addition to it..

But then a couple of things happened.

The first was Covid, which meant that for two years I was working alone at the station and didn't have the time to do anything about it. The second was the sale of the station, which meant that as we developed a new corporate website the "107 List" didn't make the trip over.

And that's my bad.

However, I've been thinking of updating it recently, and have been spurred on by two things. One was a note from someone who wondered if he could still find the list on the new website, because he enjoyed looking at it every so often just remind himself about what a magical place Marquette County really is.. The second thing came to my attention when, after receiving that note, I printed out the 2017 version and noticed a typo in the part talking about Range Bank, where I had obviously meant to type "that's where my dear wife works".

Unfortunately, the typo stated that Range Bank is where "my dead wife works", and for some reason the idiot that typed it never noticed that.

Oops.

In going through the list, I've also noticed that maybe 20 percent of it consists of people who are no longer around or businesses that have closed. After all, a lot changes in a decade, especially in the decade that we've just lived through.

So here's the plan. I'm going to redo the list, updated to show the new things that around and to make sure that Loraine's my "dear wife" and not the other way around. I'll be posting it over (I think) an eight-day span, and then stick the whole, completed list, as well as all the pictures that accompany it, like this one--

on our new website, so that anyone who wants can read it whenever they want. It's gonna take a little work on my part, so I'm shooting for a target date of later this month and/or early next month. And I'm telling you that target date so, in case I slack or get behind in things, you can hold my feet to the fire and demand that I get it done.

After all, on occasion accountability still counts for something, right?

Wish me luck. It's long overdue.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 9/30

Think what you could do with money you'd spend on that car.

Several times the past few weeks I've noticed people driving new Corvettes around Marquette, in bright shiny colors and with nary a scratch on them. You see a bunch of them every year when the snow finally melts and the temperatures warm up, and then, like snowbirds, they disappear for the other seven or eight months of the year.

As you know, I'm not big into cars. Heck, technically I don't even own one. So for people to spend $90,000 (what Google says the price is for a new one) on a car they can only drive four or five months out of the year, I have to wonder--

Isn't there something better you could be doing with the money?

I'm not saying I begrudge the drivers of the Corvettes their cars. I'm sure that they've worked hard for them, and in buying one they're fulfilling a life long dream. And that's their right; after all, it's their money, and they can do whatever they want with it.

But to take $90,000 and buy something you can only use for a third of a year? Aren't there charitable organizations, or people in need, or other worthy uses where the money would help those in need? I mean, if I had an extra $90,000 that's what I'd would do with it. Once again, it's your money. You can spend it however you want. But in these days when social programs are being cut and charities are pushed to the limit in trying to help out those in need...

Does a Corvette really matter?

Like I said, I don't even own a car, so I'm probably not the best person to address this subject.  And if you think I'm wrong or misguided; well, then you're in good company, just like as on many of the things I've written about in here. All I know is that each and every time I saw a Corvette this past summer one thought kept popping into my head. Namely--

"I wonder how many people could be fed by the purchase price of that car".

But that's just me.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 9/29

I should probably learn how to play the game again.

My TV piece last night dealt with what it perhaps the UP's national card game, cribbage. It all started a couple of weeks ago when Deanna, Loraine, and I were out at lunch and Deanna asked if I knew how to play cribbage, because she's been looking for someone to play with. I had to explain that I knew how to once, back a thousand years ago when I was a kid, but I've forgotten just about everything about it since then.

I know; I'm a bad Yooper.

Anyway, the whole experience made me think two things. The first is that I really SHOULD learn how to play it again, if only because it might be one of the few ways that I would fit in as a “real” Yooper and not a “city boy” (as I've been called before by "real" Yoopers).

The second? That I could get a really good TV piece out of the whole thing. And you know what?

I don't think it turned out half bad--

Now, if you don't mind, I have to skip out of here early, as as I have a (gulp) 9 am appointment in Negaunee. As long as I remember how to drive that far, I think I'll get there in time.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 9/28

I guess I might as well own it, right?

Over the years, I have had a lot of people (especially young women, for some reason) compare my looks to that of an actor. Well, I was giving a tour to a group of law professionals over the weekend, and while we were stopped for a second one of them leaned over to me and said those words that have been said many times before--

“Do you know you look like a younger Billy Bob Thornton?”

Here's where it gets weird. I know that when they're comparing me to an Oscar-winning actor and writer they're complimenting me. I realize that young women, especially, find Billy Bob Thornton a very fascinating and attractive individual. However, when they say I look like Billy Bob Thornton, I always assume that they mean Billy Bob Thornton in his most famous, Oscar-winning role.

You know...THIS Billy Bob Thornton--

When they compare me to Billy Bob Thornton, I'm pretty sure they don't mean the way he looked in “Sling Blade”. But for whatever reason—and this probably says more about me than anything—I always assume they mean the very bizarre character he played in that movie, as opposed to the Billy Bob Thornton who married Angelina Jolie or the Billy Bob Thornton who has broken hearts on the big & small screens for 30 years now.

But like I said—that's just me.

Personally, I don't see the resemblance. But I guess that's normal, much in the same way I record someone for a commercial and they say “that doesn't sound like me”. We're just too close to the subject to me impartial. I suppose if I tried to disconnect to everything I know about myself and stared at a picture of Billy Bob Thornton long enough, I might see what everyone else is seeing. Maybe I'd see the dashing but quirky leading man or the tough but intelligent guy trying to hang on to his scruples.

Or maybe I'd just keep seeing the dude from “Sling Blade”. It's one or the other.

In the end, there's nothing I can do about it. We're all born looking like we look, and if we happen to slightly resemble an Oscar winning writer and actor enough that people keep mentioning it?

Well, I suppose there are worse people to be compared to.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)