98.6 WBOG - The Bog

When I was much younger (I'm talking 10 or 11 years old), I remember having my childhood friend Geoff sleep over pretty frequently. We decided one night to make our own radio show. We set up my old Panasonic boombox that had built in microphones and proceeded to record ourselves talking about anything and everything onto cassette tape. I can remember each of us flipping thru the JC Penny catalog looking for what we wanted to get for Christmas. There was even a whole part of the "show" where we did nothing but quote Cannonball Run. Even then I was obsessed with that movie. We'd also flip between us talking and the radio to see if there was a song on that we wanted to record. It was funny hearing us since our voices hadn't changed yet so we sounded so young.

As I got older and was almost old enough to drive, I made my own mix tapes so I'd have cool music to listen to once I got my licence. I mentioned my old "radio broadcast" to my friend Erik and we decided to make our own show. We got real hi-tech. We went to Radio Shack and bought a microphone and plugged it into my stereo shelf system. (You know the ones that looked like individual components, but were actually a record player, radio and dual cassete deck all in one.) We set up a playlist and recorded a real radio show. One of us would set up the music while the other introduced the songs. We called the station "98.6 FM WBOG", and our tag line was "Coming to you straight from the bog". (We picked an even numbered station because they don't really exist in the US.) We played mostly 80's rock like Whitesnake, Skid Row, Cinderella, Ratt, Scorpions, Ozzy and Metallica. At the end of each 45 minute side, we'd do our own paridy of whatever commercial was playing a lot on the radio at that time. We did one for Pizza Hut & US Army. I remember we got a little punchy on a some of them, to the point that we'd be craking up mid-recording.

I wish I could find a copy of that tape and transfer it to CD, MP3 file or something to preserve it. As I await the birth of my second child, I guess I can't help but look back on the memories of my life prior to marriage, kids, mortgage, and being an all around adult.

SLOW DOWN!!

This always cracks me up! Taxi was a great show.

Clemens' Decision

So this is how he decided to come back:

Van Halen Reunion

After watching the Van Halen "reunion" press conference, my wife and I got into a discussion about VH. She was never a real fan of them, especially Roth (she can't stand his screaming). Anyway, she said "Well, you were always more into the hair bands than I was." Umm............Hair band? I don't think VH is a hair band. There is no way I could put them into a category with Winger, Poison, Warrant, Ratt or Whitesnake.

Philip Francis Rizzuto: 1917-2007 (#10)

Phil (nicknamed Scooter) was one of the great Yankee shortstop's from 1941 to 1956, and won 8 world series titles with them. He was a broadcaster for 40 years and "Holy Cow!" was he a great color man. If you never saw or heard him speak, you have to watch his Hall of Fame induction speech to get a true feeling for his personality and what a great guy he was. Click here to read the story, watch his speech and see plenty of clips of Phil doing what he loved.................talking baseball. I grew up watching Phil and Bill White calling the games on WPIX in NY. I met him when I was a kid and worked baseball card shows. His signature is among the collection of signed baseballs I have. He was very friendly and always smiling.

For those of you that don't follow baseball, Phil Rizzuto is the play-by-play announcer in the MeatLoaf song, "Paridise by the Dashboard Light".

The Police: Giants Stadium 8/5/07

Almost a year to the day since I posted this, I finally got my wish to see The Police in concert last night at Giants Stadium. I have to say that I was very impressed with how the sounded. Sting's voice was right on, Andy Summers guitar sounded great, and Stewart Copeland never missed a beat. I was happy to see that it was just the three of them on stage and not a bunch of back up singers and instruments. This really impressed me since they sounded very full on every song.

I tailgated in the parking lot with a bunch of family & friends (Jenn unfortunately did not go. She's been having a difficult time walking in her last tri-mester of pregnancy). They opened the show with Message in a Bottle, followed by Synchronicity II (which is one of my favorites) and Walking on the Moon. There was very little talking going on between songs which I was happy about.

They also played (in no particular order):
So Lonely
Roxanne
Don't Stand So Close to Me
Voices Inside My Head
When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
Invisible Sun
Walking in your Footsteps
Wrapped Around Your Finger
King of Pain
Can't Stand Losing You
Every Breath You Take
(I know I've missed two or three here)

The only song I wish they did was Murder By Numbers. It was surprising to look around and see how many people didn't know some of the songs though (Voices Inside My Head, When the World is Running Down & So Lonely for example). I guess they just went to hear King of Pain and Every Breath you Take.

My friend Matt drank so much that he actually missed half the show because he passed out. I have a picture of him sleeping in his seat, but I'll spare him and not post it. I took more with my camera phone, but they came out crappy, so I'll spare you the blurry light streaks I got.

If they come to a town near you, do what you can to see them. It was definately worth the $100, except for Matt, but that's a whole other story....

"When I say 'Hello Mr. Thompson'........."

With The Simpson Movie being release this Friday, I felt the need to post one of my favorite clips:

10 things I can say to my son

So now that we've officially decided that our son's name will be Luke, I have come up with a list of quotes that I can say to him.

1. LUKE! We’re gonna have company! – Han Solo
2. That’s great kid, don’t get cocky! – Han Solo
3. No, I am your father! – Darth Vader
4. Aren’t you a little short for a Storm Trooper? – Princess Leia
5. Do, or do not………….there is no try. – Yoda
6. What an incredible smell you’ve discovered! – Han Solo
7. It’s pointless to resist my son. – Darth Vader
8. Impressive………….MOST impressive. – Darth Vader
9. Don’t make me destroy you. – Darth Vader
10. You’d better watch yourself. I’ve got the death sentence in 12 systems. – Guy in Cantina

I know they're all from Star Wars, but I couldn't think of any from Dukes of Hazzard. I'm sure there's others.............what else can you come up with?

Movies referencing Movies

Have you ever noticed how many movies make reference to other movies? A comment to a post that I left over at David Amulet made me think of this. Here are some examples of what I’m talking about:

1. Cannonball Run referencing Smokey & the Bandit - “We could get a black Trans Am! Nah……….that’s been done.” (Not to mention the black T/A that's in the race)
2. Twister referencing Star Wars (A New Hope) – “That’s no moon. It’s a space station.”
3. Strange Brew referencing Star Wars (Return of the Jedi) – “I am your father Luke. Give in to the Dark Side of the force you nob. He saw Jedi 17 times, eh.”
4. Last Action Hero referencing Terminator 2 - Arnold Schwarzenegger walks past a movie cutout in Blockbuster with Stallone as the Terminator, instead of himself.
5. Die Hard referencing First Blood – I can’t remember the exact quote, but someone refers to John Mclaine as Rambo.
6. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls referencing Scarface – “Say hello to my stinky friend!”
7. Billy Madison references The Godfather II – “I know it was you Fredo. You broke my heart.”
8. Saturday Night Fever references Dog Day Afternoon - After a woman kisses Tony, she says that she just kissed Al Pacino. Later while looking in the mirror, Tony starts chanting, "Attica! Attica!"
   
   Can you think of any others?

Family Ties

When I was young, my whole family (mom & dad's side) lived within a 15 mile radius of my apartment in urban NY. When my mom, step-dad and I moved to the "sticks" back in 1979, everyone thought it was so far away. I know an hour ride is no big deal, but we were the ones that almost always went to see them, they rarely came to visit us. My dad lived an hour or so away at first, then he moved and it became a two hour ride. I went from seeing him every weekend, to every other. I understood and was never upset with him. I just looked forward to going to the mall to have Orange Julius with him, playing video games and talking about cars.

Anyway, now it's 2007 and I look at how my family is spread out all over the US. One of the reasons I am talking about this is because just this past weekend, we saw my aunt and uncle (both are like another set of parents to me and my older sister) who are moving to Illinois to be near my cousin, his wife and their two beautiful daughters (who moved there after college about 8 years ago). Just this past winter, my grandmother moved out of the only town that she knew for 90 years down to South Carolina with my dad. He & my step mother had moved there back in 2001 to retire along with my little sister and niece. My two brothers moved to California (one in 2000, and the other in 2003). My other cousin moved to SC over three years ago and now his mother lives there too (both are on the opposite side of the state from my dad). My wife's uncle lives in Oregon with his two kids. My in-laws even talk about moving to Florida someday (WAY too hot for me!) but again, that's what may be best for them and their wants and needs.

I do miss all these people and wish that my daughter and soon-to-be son Luke (yes, I just made that decision) knew their cousins a little better, but people can't live their lives to make everyone else around them happy. They need to do what's they feel is best for themselves. My kids will know my sister, two nephew's and brother-in-law (who I am very close with and live an hour away) very well. My daughter still knows who my dad is, and walks around my house holding my niece's picture saying her name. People being farther away will just make the time that we get to spend with them that much more precious. Plus it gives me a reason to see places in this country that I probably never would have gone to otherwise.

This post was stemmed from a totally separate issue that my close friend is going through in his relationship, but my mind works in strange ways. Basically all of this is about doing what makes you happy. Don't live your life pleasing everyone else but yourself or you'll just end up resenting the people that you're supposed to love.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.............

"May the force be with him......."

So as I stated in my last post, my wife and I were to find out what the sex of our second child would be. I'm sure as you figured out by now, it's a boy! We're both very excited to have a girl and a boy. Among other debates, now comes the task of naming the kid. On our trip to South Carolina a couple of months ago, my wife brought the "50,001 baby names" book along for the ride and we narrowed it down to about 25 girl names and 12 or so boys'. Well, since then we took the boys names and narrowed them down to two: Jason (or Jayson, we haven't decided yet), or Luke.

My wife and almost everyone we talk to prefers Luke..............but there is a problem with that name. As most of you know, I am obsessed with movie quotes and can't resist reciting them. So the obvious problem is me saying this all the time:

"Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father"

"He told me enough..............he told me you killed him"

"No.................I am your father!"

Jenn is deathly afraid that I will torture the kid with it an others from the movies forever. So as of now, Jason is the name in the lead, but I know Luke is the favorite. At least we have another few months to decide

"I believe you have my stapler"

I want to start by apologizing to everyone in blog-land for ignoring them over the past couple of months. I have had a crazy couple of weeks. I went on four interviews over four days about two weeks ago, with positions ranging from an MS Excel guru, to a forecasting manager, but two positions stood out as a possible good fit for me, both in the auto industry.

Long story short, one of the two offered me a job last week, the same day I had my final interview with the other. I waited as long as I could to hear from the second on a possible offer, but they moved slowly, so I accepted the first offer. I was happy I had a job and it seemed interesting although I was a little disappointed that I had to accept a job a few thousand less than what I was making. I called the second company and explained to them the situation and told them flat out that I accepted a job and thanked them for their time. I could finally breath a sigh of relief knowing that I would no longer have to apply for unemployment anymore. Then, Friday came and I was out helping my in-laws deliver flowers to a couple of weddings. I got home at 5:19pm to a message that sounded like this:

"Hi Mike, it's Sandy from "blabity bla" company. It's ten to four on Friday. I'm sorry I missed you at home, but I can't find your cell number. Please call me when you get this, preferably before the end of the day. Thanks."

So I tried to call her back, but got no answer. This whole weekend I kept saying to my wife, "If they call me Monday and offer me that job, it had better be for at least 10% more than the one I accepted or it's not worth it to piss of the other company."

*Cut to Monday at 9:15am.*
*Ring...........Ring..............."Hello?"
"MINDCRIME!"
(Sorry, inside joke to Queensryche fans)

Anyway, I answer the phone and they offer me the job...............................for exactly 10% over my other offer, plus an extra 2% bonus potential. *sigh* I hated to do it, but I called and rescinded my acceptance of the first offer and confirmed the second one. So after almost two months of unemployment, it will come to and end this Thursday. (thank God). Tomorrow is my anniversary and we're also finding out the sex of our second child (due in September), so I'll be a little busy. Anyway, thanks to everyone for the well wishes and I will do my best to check in with everyone as soon as possible.

PS............Yes, I know the Yankees have been sucking lately. Thanks for reminding me.

HOLY COW!!

OK, I know that Bill White and Phil Rizzuto haven't broadcast a game together on WPIX here in the NY Metro area for a long time, but I had to quote Rizzuto in this post's title.

Alex Rodriguez hit a 3 run home run today, his 10th of the young season and his second walk off home run (the other was a grand slam). I'm happy to see that he's finally having fun again and the fans are giving him the respect he deserves. I feel that he's one of the best all around ball players ever to play in the majors. How do you argue with his career numbers? He has a career .306 average, 474 home runs, has almost 2,100 hits, has won three Gold Gloves (two at shortstop and one at third base), and he' not even 33 years old yet. All I can say is that the fans here in NY better not forget this if he hits a slump later this season.

The Yanks are headed up to Boston for a weekend series beginning tomorrow. Hopefully this magic continues.

Mr. Mom - The Sequel

So we're back from S.C. and all I have to say is thank God for the DVD player! It was nice to see everyone.

Again, I'm sorry that I haven't been posting or getting to to may of your blogs, but I was laid off from my job just before we left for South Carolina. I've been home with my daughter during the day and have spent most of my free time talking to recuiters and applying for jobs. I guess I should have known that when a small company called me out of the blue six months ago to come and work for them (more money and closer to home) that it was too good to be true. I was told they were looking to change and grow by the VP in the interview, but when he "quit", things slowly went back to the way they were and over the next three months, most people he hired were also let go.

I will do my best to check in when I can. For now, I'm not sure how much I'll be posting since I have other things I have to take care of. (like upgrading the electric in the house; "220, 221.......whatever it takes")

ROAD TRIP!

Jenn, Allie and I are driving down to South Carolina to visit my Dad, Step Mother and grandmother. My little sister that lives down there just had her second baby a few weeks ago, so this trip works out perfectly. We bought a dual screen portable DVD player for the car so my daughter Allie can watch Elmo while I drive the 780 miles over two days (and my wife can play games). I'd normally do the drive in one day, but she'd never make it.

I'm sorry that I haven't been by to many of your blogs in the past week or so. Things have been crazy over here in the Maniacal houshold. I'll explain when I have more time. We'll see you when we get back.

Double whammy!

Today is my one year blog-iversary and also happens to be my 100th post. I decided to make a list of ten groups with ten items in each (obviously totaling 100). All except for the last group are in rank order. It was difficult to come up with many of these, but I think I finally got it right. So without further a-do.................here's my "Top Ten-Top Ten":

Bands:
1. Led Zeppelin
2. Pink Floyd
3. Queensryche
4. Alice in Chains
5. Ozzy Osbourne
6. The Beatles
7. Guns n’ Roses
8. Metallica
9. Van Halen
10. U2

Albums (Greatest Hits don’t count):
1. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin (I)
2. The Beatles – Abbey Road
3. Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
4. Metallica – Master of Puppets
5. Queensryche – Operation: Mindcrime
6. The Cars – The Cars
7. Guns n’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction
8. Steely Dan – Aja
9. Alice in Chains – Dirt
10. Van Halen – Van Halen (I)

Songs:
1. Led Zeppelin – Kashmir
2. The Who – The Real Me
3. Metallica – Master of Puppets
4. Black Sabbath – War Pigs
5. Queensryche – Eyes of a Stranger
6. Alice in Chains – Would?
7. Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears
8. Whitesnake – Still of the Night
9. Yes – Roundabout
10. Soundgarden – Outshined

Movies:
1. The Cannonball Run (DUH!)
2. Star Wars Saga (“Empire Strikes Back” being the best)
3. The Lord of the Rings Saga (I’m sorry, but I can’t separate these)
4. Smokey and the Bandit
5. Goodfellas
6. Pulp Fiction
7. The Godfather Trilogy (Godfather II being the favorite)
8. Ghostbusters
9. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
10. Grease

Movie Quotes (How can I pick just 10!!):
1. “I don't care what you smell!” – Han Solo (Star Wars)
2. “Ssssh. Listen. Do you smell something?” – Dr. Ray Spangler (Ghostbusters)
3. “You get nothing! You lose! Good day sir!” – Willy Wonka (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
4. “You’ve committed one of the classic blunders……never go up against a Sicilian, when DEATH is on the line!!” – Vizzini (The Princess Bride)
5. “Why’d he call me shorty? ‘Cause you’re small, small, S. M. All.” – Fenderbaum & Jamie Blake (The Cannonball Run)
6. “Funny how? Like I’m a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh?” – Tommy DeVito (Goodfellas)
7. “I gotta stab her three times? NO! You don’t gotta stab her three times, you gotta stab her once!!” – Vincent Vega & Maynard (Pulp Fiction)
8. “There were horses, and man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident.” – Brick Tamland (Anchorman)
9. “What? Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is!! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?............” – John Blutarski (Animal House)
10. “He’ll keep callin’ me……..he’ll keep callin’ me until I come over. Thi…….this is ridiculous. I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I'll go…………..SHIT!” – Cameron (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

Women (My wife is not included in this list. That wouldn’t be fair to the other women):
1. Alyssa Milano
2. Elisabeth Shue
3. Diane Lane
4. Jennifer Aniston
5. Charlize Theron
6. Christina Applegate
7. Christine Taylor
8. Marissa Tomei
9. Alicia Silverstone
10. Mena Suvari

Cars (Manual Transmissions whenever possible please!):
1. ANY original Shelby Cobra
2. 1967 Chevy Camaro RS/SS
3. 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo
4. 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am
5. 1994 Ferrari 512tr (Testarrosa)
6. 1996 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo
7. 1969 Dodge Charger R/T
8. 1966 Pontica GTO
9. 1968 Chevy Chevelle
10. 1955 Chevy BelAir

All Time Favorite TV Shows:
1. Seinfeld
2. Night Court
3. Friends
4. Happy Days
5. The Sopranos
6. The Dukes of Hazzard
7. Gilligan’s Island
8. Knight Rider
9. Batman
10. Brady Bunch

Places I Want to visit:
1. Australia
2. Italy
3. Ireland
4. England
5. Hawaii
6. Alaska
7. Greece
8. Germany
9. Egypt
10. France

Things about me:
1. I’m legally blind in my right eye. (Born that way)
2. Was at Yankee Stadium for Game 4 of 2001 World Series (NY vs. Ariz.)
3. My mother and I have the same birthday.
4. Been married three times (I’m very happy now, but learn from my mistakes. If you have any doubts, there’s probably a reason!)
5. Drove from NJ to California in 3 days 5 hours.
6. Got my first speeding ticket on my 17th birthday. (69 in a 45mph zone)
7. Had my first accident the day after my 17th birthday. (totalled the car 15 hours after the ticket)
8. Drove from Dallas, Texas to Northern NJ in 25 straight hours in a minivan with 5 other people.
9. Sang lead on five songs with a full band on stage at a club in Northern NJ.
10. Drove a stock car 165 mph on the Pocono Raceway for eight laps.

Would you expect these?

After reading this post by David Amulet, it got me thinking about my record collection. I have some albums that that you may be surprised about, and some I’m afraid to admit. Here’s a few of them:

Men without Hats – Rhythm of Youth
Jerry Reed – The Essential Jerry Reed (Yes, Snowman from "Smokey & the Bandit")
Prince & the Revolution – Around the World in a Day
Duran Duran – Seven & the Ragged Tiger
Alvin & the Chipmunks – Christmas with the Chipmunks Vol. 1
Olivia Newton John – Totally Hot
Chuck Mangione – Feels So Good
Hall & Oates – Big Bang Boom
Rick Springfield – Working Class Dog
Little River Band – Greatest Hits

Do you have albums in your collection that you’re semi-ashamed to admit, but won't get rid of?

Also, Thursday is my one year blog-iversary (or whatever it’s called), and will also be my 100th post. Hopefully I'll have my post ready for that day!

Unexpected Cover Tunes

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about cover songs and which version you all felt was better. I now have a slight twist on that topic. I have come across some songs that were covered by rock bands that you would not expect. Here's a few:

1. Van Halen covering Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good" (with slightly modified lyrics)
2. Faith No More covering Lionel Richie's "Easy"
3. Type O Negative covering Seals & Croft's "Summer Breeze" (this one really threw me when I first heard it)

Can you think of any other unexpected covers?

What's the big deal?!?!

Apparently, the town of Bloomfield, NJ is having issues letting "The Soprano's" shoot the final scene in their town because the show depicts Italian-American's in a negative way. WHATEVER ASSHOLES!! It's a TV show! I'm of Italian decent and I don't give a fuck! People need to be more relaxed about things and not take everything so damn personal!!!

On a separate note, has anyone else seen the preview for the show "Drive" on Fox? It seems to be loosely based on my favorite movie (and my blog's name sake), "The Cannonball Run". From what I understand, it's not just a cross country race to get $32 million, but for some people an answer to a question, like "My wife is missing. What happened to her?". Since it's obviously going to be about driving fast and have some drama thrown in, I may have to give it a shot.

Just two things........

My wife and I have some news. Go check out our post at Dad Said, Mom Said.

Also, I got tickets to see The Police at Giants Stadium! I can't wait to see them.