Friday, 1/31

It's the end of January. Have you finished eating all of your Christmas gifts yet?

I don't know if you're like me, but a big chunk of the gifts I'm given over the holidays, maybe even half, consists of food. Chocolate makes up a large majority of it, but you could count cookies, nuts, fruit, all sorts of various strange items people see and give to us, and, well, more chocolate as part of the sum total. I don't mind; after all, people know how much Loraine and I like certain kinds of food, and that makes us easy people for whom to buy, I guess.

And this, by the way isn't even counting the box of world foods I wrote about yesterday. (And,, if you're curious, I still have NO intention of eating the haggis flavored potato crisps). But what that means that after the holidaze both Loraine and I have a lot of food to eat. The chocolate's not a problem, especially the huge collection sent to us each and every year by daily blog readers Floyd of Reese (thanks, other Dad!), but the other stuff—especially the perishable items like fruit or semi-perishable stuff like cookies—do need to get eaten before they go bad. And that usually means they they need to be gone by, say, now.

We're almost done with those items. Are you?

I mean, you may not have to worry about it. You may not have a lot of food given to you over the holidays, and you may not feel the pressure to get it all consumed by a certain date. Maybe that's just us. And maybe that's just karma biting us on the butt for spreading out 30,000 calories of cookies to friends and family before the holidays, and maybe karma doesn't feel the need to pay back you and yours.

Maybe.

One system that we have found that works is this—we sample each and every thing we're given. More often than not, we end up consuming the whole gift. But on occasion, especially if it's one of several of a certain kind we've been given, or if it's of a taste with which we may not be totally enthralled, we'll “donate” the rest of it to Loraine's office mates. Unlike me, she works with a big staff of people, a staff of people who don't mind sampling food brought in by coworkers. In that way, it's a win-win—they enjoy it, and we manage to get all the food consumed before it goes bad.

See? We've thought this through.

We appreciate all the food we're given each year, and enjoy sampling every single thing that's given to us. It's just that, on occasion, we realize we should eat something actually GOOD for you.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com), who hopes that YOU'VE managed to eat your way through all of your yummy Christmas gifts!

Thursday, 1/30

I will try most of what I was given. There is, however, one I can say with 100% certainty that I won't.

A couple of days ago I was gifted a box of snack foods from around the world, snack foods that not only trace the history of food on the planet, but that also expose you to the different tastes that different cultures represent--

There are some familiar foods in the package, including chocolates from both France & Germany, as well as other items you might normally never get the chance to try, including dandelion pop, pine-flavored hard candies, and hazelnut-carrot Turkish Delight. I'm looking forward to sampling those, as well as, say, the purple yam snack cakes or the Indian-spiced corn nuggets and green peas. But, if I'm being totally honest, there's one I have no desire to sample at all--

The haggis and cracked black pepper potato crisps--

I had no idea that anyone would even consider making haggis and cracked black pepper potato crisps, but a company in England does. I'm guessing you know what haggis is, but in case you don't, it's a Scottish dish made from a sheep's heart & lungs, oatmeal, spices, & suet, all cooked in an animal stomach until it's nice and, uhm, ready to eat. I don't know if there are many (if any) people who would eat haggis.

I'm guessing there are even fewer who would want to eat haggis flavored potato chips.

I have no idea what I'll do with the chips; maybe just hang onto them and, every so often, look at them and wonder to myself “what were they thinking”? But if you have enough guts to give them a try, let me know, and I might slide them your way.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the box. But the haggis and cracked black pepper potato crisps?

Uhm...not so much.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/29

The second Loraine played the song, I knew I had heard it before.

I know I talked about music yesterday, so forgive me doing it again today. But there's a song out there that's the basis of that strange occurrence I mentioned. Loraine and her brother Joe share an affinity for long-forgotten music, and for Christmas each year Joe will send Loraine CDs and sound files of various obscure works he's discovered throughout the past year. One of those he sent her this Christmas was Was (Not Was)'s “What's Up Dog”. You'll know the album as the one that gave the world “Walk The Dinosaur”. I know it as the one that gave the world the forgotten classic “Spy in the House of Love”.

And then there was the song I didn't even know I had heard before.

The album is weird, as was Was (Not Was)'s entire career. The music is quirky, the lyrics sometimes downright bizarre, and if you listen to the entire thing at once you'll quite possibly shake your head in wonder at the whole project. But stuck in the middle of songs like “Somewhere There's a Street Named For My Dad” and 'Wedding Vows in Vegas” (guest lead vocal by Frank Sinatra Jr) lies a song that's insanely good...

“Anything Can Happen”.

It's a perfect 80s pop song, with a lush arrangement and a melody that sticks in your head. I'm not quite sure what it's doing on that album, but there it is. And when Loraine wanted to play me “a cool song I'd never heard”, I couldn't wait to hear it. But as soon as it started I realized that, waaaaay back at the start of my life here at this particular station, I had played it a few times.

I checked, and it was the follow-up single to “Walk the Dinosaur”. It only spent a few weeks on the chart, peaking at number 75, but for those few weeks I obviously gave it a couple of spins, and then promptly forgot about it for the next 35 years. But something about the tune obviously lodged itself deep in the hidden recesses of my brain, because as soon as the first few notes drifted from Loraine's computer speakers, I knew what it was.

Now you get to, too--

I don't recommend the whole album, unless you're a fan of quirk and/or have downed three or four gummies. But if you'd like to listen to a piece of pure pop perfection, there's one song on that disc definitely worth checking out.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 1/28

While I enthusiastically agree with the sentiment, I'm not quite sure I agree with the end result.

As I mentioned, I was able to do a little pondering over the weekend. And one of the things I pondered was an old article I finally got around to reading—after 7 years, believe it or not--from the late great Slate magazine. In the article, the writer talked about the run of classic albums Stevie Wonder produced during the 1970s, five albums (three of which won Grammy awards for Album of the Year) that rank among the best ever recorded.

Like I said, I enthusiastically agree with that statement. The albums are among the best ever recorded. But what I didn't agree with was the idea that the last of the five albums, “Songs in the Key Of Life”, an album that produced classics like “Sir Duke” and “I Wish”, was, and I quote Jack Hamilton, the dude who wrote the article, “perhaps the most ambitious work ever made by a pop star at the height of his or her powers ”.

Now, you guys know how much I like Stevie Wonder. Lord knows I've written about him in here enough. And while I'll certainly agree that Stevie Wonder is a genius and “Songs” is an amazing album, is it REALLY “perhaps the most ambitious work ever made by a pop star at the height of his or her powers ”? I might personally posit that it's not even Wonder's best album (hello, “Innervisions”). And when I re-read that statement, I had these albums pop into my head--

-Marvin Gaye's “What's Going On”

-Brian Wilson's “Pet Sounds” for the Beach Boys

-Pete Townshend's “Tommy” for The Who

-Prince's “Purple Rain”

-Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the USA”

Who's to say that you couldn't make the very same claim about any of those five albums, plus the others that didn't pop into my head in the 30 seconds to which I devoted any thought to the subject? “Songs in the Key of Life” is a great album, well deserving of the Grammy for Album of the Year and the two number one songs that sprang forth from it. But is it appreciably that much better than any of those I listed? Is it any more groundbreaking, revolutionary, or hit filled than any of those five?

I don't know.

I always feel uncomfortable when someone makes an “absolute” statement—something is the best ever, or “everyone” thinks a certain way about a certain thing. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that there are no “absolutes” in life. Yes, I think Stevie Wonder is an amazing artist, and he's one of my favorite singers ever. But as much as I admire him and love his work, I'm still uncomfortable that “Songs in the Key of Life” is, and I once again quote, “perhaps the most ambitious work ever made by a pop star at the height of his or her powers ”. Maybe it's a personality quirk/fault on my part. Maybe I'm just weird that way.

It certainly wouldn't be the first time, you know.

But like I said, “Songs” is an amazing album. Don't believe me? Then listen--

Amazing, right? Incredible, isn't it? But “it is perhaps the most ambitious work ever made by a pop star at the height of his or her powers ”? For me, at least, the jury's still out on that one.

(jim@wmqt.com), who, perhaps, shouldn't ponder so many things on a quiet weekend.

8-)

Monday, 1/27

Maybe that explains it.

First of all, hope you had a good weekend. I enjoyed mine, as I had (for the first time in a LOOOOONG time) nothing pressing to do, other than touch up tonight's “906” script (which I had written and intended to use last week, but was forced by the Lions' loss to quickly write another one). So I got to ponder matters which, as we all know, can be a dangerous thing.

And I came to the conclusion that it might have been a good thing, if only for me, that the Noquemanon wasn't held this year.

I know; that's kinda bad, isn't it? But after the insanely successful History Center show Thursday and “High School Bowl” and radio Friday, both my voice and my psyche were kinda shot. If I had to spend six hours announcing names last Saturday; well, let's just say that one of the possible outcomes may have been me ending up as a puddle on the floor, crying out silently because I had lost my voice along with my sanity.

Maybe.

Now, had the race been run as scheduled I certainly would have done my part to make it a great experience for everyone coming across the finish line. But sadly, especially for the race organizers and the local businesses that count on the race and its participants for some winter profit, I didn't have to. I wish it hadn't been that way, and even though it worked out a little for me I gladly would have traded it for a full race.

Not having to announce, like I said, gave me time to think, especially after I came across an interesting statistic from the National Weather Service, a statistic that explains exactly WHY the Noque was cancelled. The areas to the east & west of Marquette—Alger County and the Copper Country—are running at between 120 & 150% of their usual snowfall. Here in Marquette?

We're only at about 40%.

Thanks to wind directions and speeds, we're not getting the lake effect snow that the rest of the UP has been getting. That's why the Noquemanon course didn't have enough the white stuff for safe skiing. And that's why I spent the weekend pondering instead of announcing.

You know the old Chinese curse that says “may you live in interesting times”? Well, I can speak with authority that, at least here around Marquette we DO live in (sadly) interesting times...at least as far as the weather goes.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/24

I'm thinking it went pretty well--

That's part of the sold out crowd moments before Jack & I hit the stage for “Legends & Lore II—Even More Legendary” last night. The two of us had a great time sharing the stories we've been working on the past few months; based on their laughs, the crowd may have had an even better time. And since they actually paid money to join us, I'm guessing that's a good thing, right?

8-)

I'd like to write more, but as I mentioned yesterday I'm off in a few minutes to shoot yet another edition of “High School Bowl” (only two more shoot dates after today, though!). But since I don't have a History Center show to prepare for this weekend (I'm sure the 18 other projects I'm currently working on will appreciate that) I'll hopefully have a few minutes to jot down some thoughts for you to peruse Monday.

Hopefully.

Have yourself a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/23

Well, tonight's the night.

The SOLD OUT “Legends & Lore II—Even More Legendary” show that Jack & I are putting on for the Marquette Regional History Center starts at 7, and I'm hopeful that the show we ended up with justifies a sold out house. I mean, I think it does, and Jack thinks it does, as well, but when you get over 800 people shelling out their hard-earned money you just wanna make sure.

So keep your fingers crossed.

I'll have a report on how it went tomorrow, although not much of a report, as I do the show tonight, run home, get a little sleep, and then head over to NMU to shoot a “High School Bowl” early tomorrow morning before then heading into work and doing radio for the rest of the day.

You do know my life is weird, right?

8-)

So to get everyone in the mood, here's the newspaper article I wrote to promote tonight's extravaganza. It kinda sorta tells part of the same story I shared in the video I posted here last week, but you know what?

If you have a good idea, you might as well run it into the ground.

Wish us luck!

(jim@wmqt.com)

*****

The Secrets of Main Street

By Jim Koski

Marquette Regional History Center

One of the shortest streets in the city of Marquette is downtown’s Main Street, running a mere two blocks from the Commons to the Fish Dock.

It’s also a street that holds three different secrets.

The first secret is readily apparent to anyone who’s been in Marquette–despite its lofty name, Main Street is in no way Marquette’s main street. That honor first went to Superior Street (now called Baraga Avenue), and eventually shifted, as businesses moved there, up to Washington Street.

And it never became Marquette’s main street because of Main Street’s second secret–until the 1910s the street itself didn’t exist.

Downtown Marquette was shaped by two things–fires & railroads. And the railroad lines that ran through the area were fed by the main set of tracks that ran into the city from the west end of Marquette County (what is now today’s Iron Ore Heritage Trail). That main line first ran down to what was called the Iron Mountain Dock (the pilings of which now hold the fish dock). Because there was quite an elevation drop in the final quarter mile of the line, a gradual decline had to be built into the tracks, which necessitated constructing what was basically a tunnel under Front Street so the trains safely could make it through down to the dock.

If you look at pictures of Front Street from the 1860s to the early 1900s, you’ll see a wall where East Main Street now sits, to protect pedestrians from falling onto the tracks below. Even after train traffic shifted to docks being built to the south of the original Iron Mountain dock, the “tunnel” remained. However, with the construction of a new passenger train station along the rail line, it was decided to fill in that particular rail approach to Lower Harbor and turn it into a new, two block street.

It was given the name Main Street.

Shortly after Main Street itself came into existence, its third secret was also constructed–what some people called “the building in the middle of the street”.

The then Marquette Light & Power Department had a store in the Bacon Block on South Front Street where they sold appliances and other gadgets powered by electricity, the thought being that if people had those devices in their homes the department could make money off the electricity being used. Changing needs & changing times led to the closure of that store in the 1910s, but the need for a downtown office led to construction of another structure, built a few dozen feet away in a location that was quite out of the ordinary–

Right in the middle of Main Street, between the Vierling Building and what’s now commonly called the Upfront Building.

The long, narrow building unintentionally recalled the train cars that used to run under the now-paved street. Aside from several offices, the building also had public restrooms for passers-by who needed to use the facilities. In 1931 the newly formed Marquette Chamber of Commerce, needing space, moved into the structure, which then became known as “the Chamber Building”.

For the next two and a half decades the Marquette Chamber of Commerce conducted business from the building in the middle of Main Street. By the late 1950s it needed bigger facilities, and constructed the structure that still sits on top of Lakeside Park. No longer needed, the “building in the middle of the street” was torn down, allowing cars to park for the first time on the eastern portion of Main Street. It is still, however, fondly recalled by city residents who frequented the downtown area in the 1940s & 1950s.

Today, it’s home almost exclusively to parking lots and parking spaces, but since the founding of Marquette the two block section of downtown we now call Main Street has had its fair share of what we might now consider secrets.