Tuesday, 2/11

Are you ready to take the quiz?

As I explained yesterday, I was on the shuttle bus to our Business After Hours, which was held out at the Ojibwa Casino's event center in Harvey. Along the way, I asked everyone in the bus nine (what I thought were rather easy) questions and ended up giving out a TON of prizes. And while I don't have any prizes left to give you (sorry about that!) here's the quiz. Imagine you're riding out from downtown Marquette to the intersection of US-41 & M-28 as I'm asking each of them, and see how well you do.

Answers tomorrow!

(jim@wmqt.com)

The quiz:

1--When they built the US-41 bypass in 1963, they built it over the course of which body of water?

2—(As we drove past things like Genessee Street and Huron Mountain Bread Company) The area through which we're passing right now is commonly known as which Marquette neighborhood?

3--True or false—George Shiras never actually lived full time in Marquette.

4--As we pass the Carp River, that big thing on the side of the road is a re-creation of what kind of structure?

5--That little building out in front of the prison used to be what?

6--How old is Lake Superior? When was it formed? 12 million years ago? 120,000 years ago? 12,000 years ago?

7--True or false—By population, Chocolay Township is the second biggest place in Marquette County.

8--Charles T Harvey (who founded and named the village of Harvey) was instrumental in designing and building the first version of which iconic UP structure?

9--True or False—the little hamlet of Green Garden, right down the road from the intersection of 41 & 28, was the birthplace of a professional wrestling champion.

Monday, 2/10

Today's going to be one of those days.

I think I'll be (understatement alert here) a little busy today. Not only do I have my little radio gig, but the station is also hosting a “Business After Hours” tonight out at the Ojibwa Casino. We're doing it along with the Casino and Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport, and one of the ways people can make the trip out there is by shuttle bus, and I will also be on the bus, doing a little trivia contest as we're heading out there.

Oh, and somewhere in there I have to tape my TV bit, as I'll be in Harvey when I usually do it live. See? I wasn't kidding when I said it'll be one of THOSE days, was I?

The quiz itself was fun to put together. It'll be nine questions based on places past which we'll be driving because, as it turns out, you pass a lot of history asyou head from Marquette to Harvey. I had originally asked for a prize to give out to someone. I now have five prizes, which means that five someones will get to win even before they get to the main event.

And, I'm hoping, they'll also have a good time doing it.

I'll post the quiz here tomorrow, to give you a chance to see how you would have fared. But since today's going to be one of THOSE days, I supposed I should get my butt in gear and get the day started.

Right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com) 

Friday, 2/7

I have to head, for the final time this season, over to NMU in a bit to shoot the finals of “High School Bowl” (in front of an audience of sponsors, politicians, and parents, from the sounds of it). It's both exciting and bittersweet; exciting because I myself am quite curious to see who wins the whole thing, and bittersweet because this year's group of students has been a hoot to hang out with and this will be the final time for it.

But, since it's also a big day in the Koski family, I also have to leave you the following. I'd be remiss if I didn't. You see, today marks a big day in the history of our little planet. Today, one of the two people without whom I would not be possible is having a birthday. That's right; my dad managed to survive another year on Earth without falling off his bike or having a pickleball whack him in the eye, and for that we're very very VERY thankful!

I mean, I don't want to give you the impression my dad can be a klutz, but you know how I occasionally do stupid things like walk into doors, walk into weights lying on the floor, or drop cans of tomato sauce onto my big toe? Well, I suppose I have to get those tendencies from somewhere, and since I don't believe my mom ever did anything like that...

You can fill in the blanks from there.

So happy birthday, Dad. Have fun playing pickleball or going for a bike ride, enjoy wherever it is you guys go out to eat, and tell Mom to let you eat as much ice cream as you want with your cake. Oh, and, as always, have yourself an injury-free day!

Okay, I'll stop now...

8-)

Love,

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 2/6

It's never the picture you think it'll be.

I've been dabbling on the new Bluesky social media network, where I've found two things—no ads, and a lot less misinformation and blatant political lies (probably because it's open-sourced and not controlled by some ego-maniacal billionaire). I have no idea no long either of those will last, but for now, it's nice.

As is number of people who are photographers or dabble in the art...like me.

I've received nice, supportive comments on many of the pictures I've posted, but there was one in particular that seemed to take off (and was, in fact, reposted by some REAL photographers). It was a picture I took a decade or so ago out at a piece of property on the Chocolay River my parents owned at the time.

This picture--

With it I wrote a line or two about how I'm a city mouse by nature, but when you have the chance to take a shot like this you take it. I don't know if it was the subject of the shot or if what I wrote resonated with other urban-based photography enthusiasts, but it did.

And I have no idea why. Maybe one of these days I'll actually figure it out. I mean, I wouldn't hold my breathe waiting, but you never know, right?

8-)

*****

Finally, I need to note the passing of an old co-worker earlier this week. You probably didn't know Larry Blanford; for my first couple of decades here he was our engineer. He was the one who fixed things when we broke them (and in those days we broke a lot). Like all broadcast engineers, Larry was a different breed...but in the best way. In fact, I still (to this day) use a Larry quote whenever I'm working on something and need to put a part or piece down and wonder where I should place it.

That quote? “Put it on the floor. Nothing ever falls off the floor”.

Larry Blanford was, in his unique way, a very wise man. Our condolences and best wishes go out to his family.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 2/5

I don't know why I like the line so much...I just do.

Monday's “Life in the 906” went off quite well. It was inspired by a sweatshirt I have, a sweatshirt I actually wore while delivering the piece talking about the Yooper national motto, the phrase “Say Ya to da UP, Eh?”. This was one of those pieces that just slipped out of my brain, and as I was typing I actually made myself laugh out loud. I have no idea how, and I have no idea why, but it's this particular line about places where you might find something with that motto stamped on it--

“...the richly upholstered couch in Steve Mariucci's man cave”.

I just have a weird sense of humor, I guess.

Like I said, I have NO idea why that line made me laugh. I mean, it is somewhat absurd, and for whatever reason it seems to have (at least to me) an almost musical rhythm to it. But to make me laugh out loud as I was originally typing it, and to still make me smile as I'm writing this?

Maybe I just need a break from reality.

8-)

Anyway, if you wanna see how it fit into the whole piece, or see if it makes YOU laugh, or how my judicious use of the word “suck” made a news anchor laugh, check it out for yourself--

(jim@wmqt.com), staring at amazement at how dorky that screenshot makes me look!

Tuesday, 2/4

I had kinda sorta thought she died two years ago, so you can imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail from Tina Turner.

Don't believe me? Look at the top recipient from my inbox yesterday--

That's right. Two years after her passing, one of the greatest singer of the past 50 years sent me an e-mail to let me know she has a new song out. I guess I have friends in (really) high places, huh?

8-)

Actually the e-mail wasn't actually from Ms Turner herself. Instead, it came from her music label, announcing that they're released an unreleased song from her classic “Private Dancer” album. And it's not even the first time I've received an e-mail from a dead celebrity. About a decade or so ago I checked my inbox to find that none other than Elvis (thankyouverymuch) wanted to get in touch with me about a “new” song he was putting out at the time.

You know...when he was, if I'm not mistaken, still working at that Burger King in Kalamazoo.

I get e-mails like that all the time, mostly from live celebrities and mostly pushing their latest work. But when notes from people who've been dead for a year or two (or a decade or two) pop up, it always lends a bizarre note to my day. In fact, it even makes me (jokingly) wonder if I should start a pool as to which dead celebrity I'll hear from next.

At the moment, my money's on either Marvin Gaye or Jerry Garcia, for no particular reason. I'll let you know if it actually happens!

(jim@wmqt.com) 

Monday, 2/3

Remember last Friday, when I asked if you've finished all of our holiday food yet? Well, I tried to make inroads on my stash over the weekend, and in doing so made an amazing discovery--

There's a chocolate out there I really don't like.

One of the gifts I tried was milk-chocolate covered gummies in the shape of the UP. It's kind of a cool idea, and I was looking forward to trying them out.

However, the gummies come in a variety of flavors, one of which was watermelon. I don't know who thought a milk chocolate covered watermelon gummy in the shape of the UP was a good idea, but just let me say, as someone who's eaten his fair share of chocolate and who tries to keep an open mind about anything that has to do with it--

No. Just no.

I'm not quite sure why someone would've thought that a chocolate covered watermelon gummy would be a good idea; after all, you don't drizzle chocolate sauce on freshly sliced watermelon, do you? And since most gummies amp up the sour factor (one reason, in all honesty, why I don't really eat many), having a really sour candy covered by a really sweet chocolate (such as milk chocolate) really, really doesn't work.

It's like brushing your teeth, drinking milk, and then eating an orange, all in a 10-second span.

Admittedly, the cherry-flavored and orange flavored UP gummies were quite good covered with the chocolate. However, since they all look the same covered in chocolate, and since you never knew which one you'd be getting—watermelon, orange, or cherry—it was kind of like playing Russian Roulette with your taste buds.

Not an experience I'd recommend. Trust me on that.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)