Thursday, 4/18

Well, this could make things interesting.

Remember last year when we went to Germany and it rained for six straight days? I don't think we're gonna have that problem again this year. In fact, the advance forecast for our jaunt to Leipzig shows almost summer-like weather, with the possibility of temps in the 70s and (perhaps) even 80 a day or two.

In April. In Germany.

Now, I'm, not really getting my hopes up. I know that a weather forecast a week out is not to be trusted. After all, a week before we left last year the forecast called for one day of rain and then the return of sun, and we all know how THAT turned out. But still, after suffering through the winter that we suffered through here, you can't help but get just a little tingle of excitement running through you, even if your brain is telling you to stop it.

We were planning on temps in the 60s, which are normal for that area this time of the year. That would be fine, especially with the flowers bursting forth and the grass turning green throughout the region. But the thought of weather 10 or 15 degrees warmer than that has us both happy—because it could be warm!!--and a bit perplexed, because the clothes we were planning on packing may not be the exact clothes we need. Add to that the fact that evenings may only be in the upper 40s or lower 50s, and there you go.

Sure, it's a first world problem. But it's our first world problem.

Central Europe, especially in and around Germany, has been a place quite affected by climate change. A large chunk of the Bavarian Alps no longer get snow—in fact, ski resorts have been closing by the dozen—and spring around the country has been arriving earlier and earlier each year. Not only that, during summer, heat records are set on an almost annual basis (except, apparently, when we're there). So maybe we shouldn't be too surprised that temperatures may be way above normal for a chunk of our visit there.

We'll just have to see. We may just have to bring a few extra pieces of clothing. And if it does happen, we will have to enjoy every single second of it.

Especially after what we've been living through here the past seven months.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 4/17

Six days left to go, and everything seems to be set, including the hotels at which we'll be staying in both Berlin and Leipzig.

Whenever we're in Germany we usually stay at a Motel One. It's a European chain that's kind of like a budget hotel but not really. The hotels don't have things like phones in the rooms, and the rooms themselves aren't suite sized, but the locations are great, the staff amazing, the bars and breakfast rooms funky, and the look of the hotels are stellar, if only because just about everywhere you look you see this color blue--

It's a trademark of the chain. The staff wears that color; the ever-present mints they have lying around in massive jars are that color; and if you go more than 3 meters without seeing that particular shade of blue, you know you've left the hotel (or, at the very least, this plane of reality). They take pride in the way their hotels look—in fact, their slogan is “Like The Price, Love the Design”--and that blue is the centerpiece of it.

It would be like McDonald's without the red, or the Detroit Lions without losing. I mean the Detroit Lions without silver and blue. That's how central it is to the chain.

The other reason we like Motel One so much? Loraine's fish.

It's actually not Loraine's personal fish, so much as a fish she likes to see. You see, each Motel One room has a loop of a fish aquarium on their TV system that you can play in the background. It's actually quite relaxing, and we've gotten into the habit of just leaving it on when we're doing other stuff. Loraine's favorite fish is the blue & yellow one in the lower right hand corner (the one that kinda looks like Dory from “Finding Nemo”) We've gotten pretty good at knowing when in the loop her fish will show up, so we'll make sure we say “hey” to it when we first get in.

Now, not all Motel One's play the same fish loop, sad to say. For instance, in Munich last year we didn't get to see Loraine's fish. But we're spending five nights at the Motel One in Leipzig, where we first saw Loraine's fish (and where I took the above picture), so with any luck we'll see it there again. And since we haven't been to the Motel One Tiergarten in Berlin yet, we'll just have to see if we can say “hey” to her fish there, as well.

Yes, apparently we're easily amused.

So if you ever find yourself in a city with a Motel One I highly recommend trying it out. Like I said, the rooms aren't huge, but they have fish. And a blue that will soon sear itself into your brain.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 4/16

Well, the third time was once again the charm, so I don't have jury duty again today.

Woo hoo!!

Just in case I did, though, I was all set to give you something, which would've been the preview blog for our upcoming excursion, which I posted on our trip site a few days ago. And since we're leaving one week from today, why not just follow the original plan, right?

So here you go. Check it out by CLICKING HERE.

Tomorrow, the hotel chain we usually stay at while in Germany, and how both a fish on the TV and the color blue play into our fascination with it. 

(jim@wmqt.com

Monday, 4/15

Wow. Was I actually funny once?

With a week (and a day) to go before we leave for Germany, I've been spending a lot of time putting together the things that need to air while I'm gone. And because the program director in me refuses to allow my afternoon personality to be off the air for a week and two days, we usually air “best of”s that I've recorded and saved throughout the years. The past few trips they've been phone calls with listeners; after all, that's mostly what we do around here. But this year, I've dig really deep to see what I could find.

And I found some comedy bits.

The bits are what are know in the biz as “blackout bits”; just little 20 or 30 second items to run going into or out of a commercial break. And what with humor being a VERY subjective thing, I'm sure that there are many people out there who would take exception with my referring to them as “comedy” bits. But I've found nine or ten “comedy” bits that I put together somewhere between 10 and 15 years ago, back when I was doing “comedy” bits, and you know what?

I, at least, don't think they're half bad!

I was in my phase of doing “comedy” bits while I was also in my phase of listening to a lot of old-time radio. A lot of the radio I was listening to at the time were the master comedians, people like Jack Benny and Fred Allen and Jim Jordan in his character of Fibber McGee. The one thing all of these master comedians had was impeccable timing. They knew how to tell a joke, and they REALLY knew how to sell a joke. And while I've always thought my sense of comedic timing was a little better than the average person, it was nowhere near that of Benny or Allen or Jordan. So while I was listening to all of these classic comedians, I was also trying to see if I could preach what they were practicing.

Hence, the “comedy” bits.

Most (but not all) of them revolved around the fictional “Yooper TV Network”, and some of the, well, Yooper-centric shows the network might air. The shows might be Yooper reality shows, or Yooper dramas, but it was a way to make fun of what was going on in pop culture at the time while still making it relatable to people who live up here.

At least, that's what I tried.

As with everything in life, I kind of got away from doing the “comedy” bits as the years went by. I don't know if they were too much work or if I just had a limited amount of ideas and used them up, but from what I can tell the last one was put together in 2007. So it was interesting to dig them out and listen to them again, a reflection of where my mind was over a decade ago. For some, I remembered them like they were yesterday. For others, I'd totally forgotten about them. And one of them, in particular, actually made me laugh when I listened to it again.

Wanna hear it?  Just click HERE.

As I've written in here many times before, humor is a very subjective thing. All I know is that it made me laugh when I listened to it. Your results may vary.

So for the week-plus that I'm gone you may be hearing things like that on the air. And even if you don't make you laugh, think of it this way—it'll at least be a window into my brain, at least they way it was a decade ago.

(jim@wmqt.com)

(ps—tomorrow is my last potential day for jury duty, so if there's nothing here...well, you know the drill!)

Friday, 4/12

I'm not quite sure what's worse—all the build up over an April winter storm, or the aftermath when everybody wonders just what all the excitement was all about.

I know that in some parts of the Upper Midwest Armageddon did indeed occur; however, here in Marquette, this is what we woke up to--

The biggest problem we faced was the freezing rain that fell over the inch or three of snow we received. It was kind of anti-climatic after all the build-up. Heck, a few local schools even cut classes short yesterday, and in the end the snow (or what there was of it) didn't even start falling until after 430.

But it's been a horrid spring. I don't think you can blame anyone for being a little shell-shocked, can you?

Now that this is all out of the way and we have several days of (cold) rain in the forecast, maybe we can finally stop obsessing over winter weather and start obsessing over what we'll (hopefully) see in the next few weeks . Things like this--

And this--

And this--

And that's all I'm gonna say about that. Have yourself a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 4/11

And a grand time was had by, I hope, all.

Last night's trivia contest at the Marquette Regional History Center was a blast. I actually learned a few things, thanks to questions that other people came up with (for instance, did you know that Colonel Sanders actually came to Marquette for the opening of the franchise here?), and everyone seemed to really enjoy the bar questions that I contributed. Maybe that's not a surprise, though.

After all, they were drinking last night!

One of the stories I told combined both alcohol and crime, and is an example of just how much people think they can get away with. In 1947, Kelly’s Slide, located between Marquette and Negaunee, was one of the county’s hot spots. People from all over the area would go there to listen to orchestras and to dance the night away. The guy who owned it was a Chicago native named Mike Kelly. While some locals really liked Mike, there were always rumors that he was a Windy City gangster. I don’t know if THAT was true, but I do know what happened one night in 1947 IS.

That night, Mike Kelly reported that he’d been robbed of several thousand dollars. The police came out, investigated, and after talking to everyone involved, said the case was clear & shut. The money was missing, Kelly had been beat up, and they told him to file the paperwork with the insurance company.

Then, one day a few weeks later , working on an anonymous tip, the police went back to Kelly’s Slide to talk to Mike Kelly about the robbery. . .specifically, where HE had buried the $2,000. You see, Mike Kelly had apparently cooked up a scheme with another individual to fake a robbery, get the insurance money from it, and then split the loot from both the robbery and the insurance company. Only, it seems the accomplice hadn’t received his share, and told police where the original loot was buried. So Kelly, realizing the jig was up, showed them where he’d buried the money under the bar. He was arrested, and convicted of attempted swindling, among other charges. He spent some time in jail, returning to run his bar when he was released.

There are a TON of stories like that out there, which probably explains why people love their bar stories so much. Remind me to someday tell you stories about a guy who was murdered at one Marquette dance club, how Snuffy's got the nickname “The Broken Jaw”, and just what vile nickname was given to burgers you would get at The Elite, among others.

You know, for someone who was neither of the age nor the inclination to be at any of those places, I sure do seem to know more than my fair share. But think of it this way—you have to give the audience what they want, right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 4/10

Okay. I can either whine about the upcoming blizzard or talk about history. I'll let you choose.

(8 microseconds later...)

Wow. That was quick. And it wasn't even close, was it?

So with that in mind, whacha doing tonight? Well, if your answer was “not much” or “trying to remember where I put my snow boots”, you're more than welcome to join me at the Marquette Regional History Center for their “Trivia, Take Two” contest, where I get to do the only two things for which it seems I'm uniquely qualified—ask people questions about history, and then make fun of them when they get them wrong.

If it's anything like last year's contest, it should be a blast.

We actually had a packed house last year, and I'm hoping it'll be the same tonight. The fine staff at the History Center has put together 50 questions, I added five more about bars, and now everyone who takes part will get the chance to see if they can answer them for fun (& prizes). People who participate are more than welcome to bring their own adult beverages (a factor that made the contest quite amusing last year), and I've been promised there will be snacks, as well, so if you're interested, it's a great way to learn a little and raise money for a great organization.

Oh—and to be made fun of if you don't know the answers, too. But in a kind & gentle way. That I promise.

*****

Okay. Maybe I WILL whine about the weather just a little bit. I know it's April, but a Winter Storm Watch starting overnight tonight that will most likely turn into a Winter Storm Warning before you know it? Mother Nature...are you sure. Are you REALLY sure?

And that's all I'm gonna say about that. At least for now.

(jim@wmqt.com)