Monday, 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.

For whatever reason over the past five or ten years 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 still have is a yearly viewing of “Pumpkin” assuming, of course, I remember it's Halloween. And I can find the DVD. Well, I did find 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 while sitting next to me and watching it. 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 a couple of years ago. 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 I might actually start a new one, as well. I have a UP ghost story ready to tell during “Life in the 906” on 19 News tonight, and who knows—if it goes over well, maybe I'll make it a yearly habit. After all, everyone likes to be scared on a day like today, right?

So there you go. Maybe I'm not quite as much of a Halloween Scrooge as I thought. So 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 of kids showing up (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)

Friday, 10/28

Since I have to go back on TV (again) in a few minutes, just let me take this opportunity to unveil the picture that I'll be looking at at work until the next time I go somewhere. Of course, I asked everyone to vote on six possibilities earlier this week, and this is the one that came out on top.

So without further ado...the winner is--

The Spree River in Berlin early in the morning...with the added bonus of a sun flare in the shot.

Thanks for the votes. Have a great weekend. Try not to eat too much of the candy you're supposed to be giving away!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 10/27

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, a cable channel is featuring Godzilla movies 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 number of appearances throughout the film, stomp a building or two, and then would be joined by one or two other monsters, ending in a fight that made even 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 in bits & pieces over 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 (and I'm 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)

(ps—One more day to vote for which picture appears on my computer desktop. Scroll down to Tuesday's entries for the choices if you're interested!)

Wednesday, 10/26

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 maybe 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 called “Lights, Camera, Marquette” that features old movies (from the 1920s) of Marquette. Lots of video editing there.

March—The possibility of my long-gestating “The Greasier the Spoon” documentary having its debut. That means that I would actually have to, you know, finish shooting it and putting it together.

July—A “Burn, Baby, Burn: The Infernos of Downtown Marquette” walking tour.

September—A stand-up comedy/history show, tied in with Beer Week in Marquette, about bars and the stupid things people do while drunk (because, if you're not aware, people do stupid things while drunk. Really, they do)

Add into that another season (sometime) of my “Pieces of the Past” video series and, 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 2023, 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, 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)

(ps—don't forget to vote for the picture that adorns my computer desktop for the foreseeable future. Scroll down for details and the pictures!)

Tuesday, 10/25

I almost forgot about this.

Oops.

Every year when we come back from Europe I ask for your opinion on which of the pictures I took should become my work desktop shot for the upcoming year. And since we're in the process of getting new computers, this takes on added important (and, sadly, explains why I forgot all about it).

So here's the deal—I've chosen six shots I took while in Germany earlier this month. I've chosen these ones because (at least to me) they're pretty good, represent what we saw over there, and won't drive me insane looking at them the next 10 months to seven years, the timeline we've set for ourselves trying to go back again.

Look at each of the pictures, and decide which one you think I should have on my desktop. I'll be taking votes through Friday, and then announce the picture that you've decided I should be staring at for the foreseeable future. The choices?

The Spree River in Berlin--

The daily market in Leipzig--

Some of the yummy stuff you can buy at the daily market in Leipzig--

Clara Zetkin Park in Leipzig--

The Johannapark in Leipzig--

Or the Tiergarten in Berlin--

The choice is yours, and unlike some people these days, I will trust the results of the vote and honor it. So if you're reading this before Friday, let me know your choice.

Thanks!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 10/24

You know how Marquette County was built on the mining of natural resources? How even today we have working iron ore & nickel mines? Well, I have another natural resource Marquette County could export, if we so choose--

Goose poop.

Okay; I realize that there may not be much of a market for goose crap out there, but we sure seem to have a surplus of it everywhere. And this year, for some reason, it seems to be even worse. You can walk anywhere along Marquette's lake shore bike path, and spend most of your time dodging those little pieces of, uhm, stuff. And forget about trying to play soccer in Marquette's Lower Harbor Park or at NMU's practice field out by the Dome. For the last few weekends, when Loraine & I went out to do just that, we ended up having to wipe off the balls with sanitizer wipes after playing, and a few days later STILL have dried up goose crap stuck in our shoes.

It's glorious. It really is.

Marquette's had goose problems before. That's to be expected when you live on a huge lake (with lots of little ponds around) underneath a goose migration path. So we've had to deal with goose waste before. But as I previously mentioned, I don't think I've ever seen as much crap lying around as I have this fall. I don't know if there are just simply more geese using Marquette as a roadside rest area, or if the poop just hasn't been cleaned up as much as before, but it seems like it's everywhere.

It's a crappy situation to have.

If you don't believe me, just go down to Lower Harbor Park. It looks all nice & green and like a fun place to play. But as soon as you start walking on the grass, look down. Do it for two reasons—one, to be amazed at how almost every single inch of that nice green grass is actually nice & green because that's the color of the goose stuff covering it. And also do it so you don't spend the next ten minutes trying to get goose poop out of your shoes which, trust me, is an exercise in futility.

You know what? On second thought, DON'T go down to Lower Harbor Park. I like you guys too much to subject you to that crap. Maybe wait until, I dunno, spring. Maybe it'll be gone by then.

Like I said, I wish I knew why there's an marked increase in goose poop around Marquette this year. I wish it would go away; however, I have the feeling it's only going to get worse. That's why it would be nice if there was a market for it somewhere, maybe as fertilizer. Not only would it continue Marquette County's legacy as a provider of natural resources, but it would also allow those of us who like to play outside with a chance to do so, free of shoes that still carry a reminder of the bird's legacies days after the event.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 10/21

Because I have to go play TV dork for “High School Bowl” in a few minutes, and because I've had a few people ask exactly what it was that I said during my latest segment of “Life in the 906”, here it is.

Have a great weekend. Back with a question for you on Monday!

*****

(as originally aired on WZMQ 19 News 10/17/22)

I was speaking with a friend a couple of days ago, and she was telling me she’s planning on dressing as a Yooper for a Halloween party.  I asked her, “what kind of Yooper”, and that’s when she just stared at me.

Now, I’m pretty sure that she meant she’ll be dressing as the stereotypical Yooper who wears plaid, lives for deer season, and can take a snowmobile apart blindfolded.  

But I thought I had a legitimate question.  After all, 300,000 of us call the UP home, and we’re not all alike, are we?

I once had a conversation with a guy from Champion, where I was told that even though I was born in Marquette and still live here, that I’m not a Yooper.  Because I dress a certain way and vote a certain way, because I ride a bike instead of a four wheeler, and because I live in a place with sidewalks, in his eyes I’m not a Yooper.  I’m a “city boy”.

At the time it made me laugh, but since then that conversation has stuck in my head.  What exactly makes someone a “Yooper”?  I’m sure there are some who would only consider the deer-camp version of a Yooper a “Yooper”.  But you know what?  That’s leaving out the vast majority of us.  Not every Yooper is a “Yooper”. 

I know people in the UP who CAN take a snowmobile apart blindfolded.  But I also know people in the UP who are amazing artists.

I know people in the UP who are iron ore miners, but I also know people in the UP who can write the most complex computer code.

I know people in the UP who bag their buck on day one, but I also know people in the UP who are world-renowned experts on black holes.

The point is…there is not one monolithic definition of a Yooper.  All of these people I’ve mentioned, and everyone else who calls this amazing place home, no matter where they live or how they live, can stake their claim to the title.

Because in the end, no matter how you define it, the one thing that we have in common…

Is that we’re ALL Yoopers.

(jim@wmqt.com)