October 5, 2009

            This week (10/5-10/9), it’s another theme week with the daily Mystery Tracks.  Feedback on Scottish and Canadian Mystery Track weeks was good, so this week, I’m bringing back Cover Songs.  Check ‘em out weekdays around 11:15.

            So I see they chose Rio over Chicago as host city for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.  Gee, now instead of not watching coverage from an American city, I won’t be watching coverage from a Brazilian one.  If it’s not football or hockey, I’m not watching. 

            Colleen emailed me with a response to the joke I put at the end of my last posting.  She wrote:

Men are like grapes.  It takes a woman to stomp  on them until they turn into something worth having dinner with.

            Not much else on my mind today to round out this blog, so instead, here’s a thing:

September 28, 2009

            I’ll be turning 40 years old here pretty soon.

            I keep telling myself that it’s just a number, and we put way too much emphasis on anniversaries divisible by five.  It is, however, a little disconcerting to realize that in all likelihood, more of my life may be behind me than in front.  It’s all downhill from here. 

Time to channel my inner geezer.  Time to trade in my jeans for some sans-a-belt slacks that smell vaguely like mothballs and pull them up to my armpits.  Let me just slip some black socks on under my sandals and I’ll meet you for the early-bird special, just as soon as I finish yelling at these kids to get off of my lawn.

            Still, I can’t complain.  I feel good, have my own teeth, and even most of my hair.  Sure, a little more of it is grey now, but not that much, and it’s still mine, dammit.  I like my job, can pay my bills, and have people in my life who genuinely care for me.  I guess everything else is just gravy.

            Sometimes I hear people say “40 is the new 30.”  Trouble is, the only people saying that are other 40 year olds.  It sounds like their either desperately trying to hold onto what little youth they have left, or else they are showing signs of senility.  40 is the same 40 it’s always been.

            I read not long ago that once a man turns 30, his sex drive annually diminishes by 1%.  Is that true, or is it just that age-appropriate women get 1% less attractive every passing year? 

            My girlfriend hates that joke, so I make sure I tell it whenever I can.

September 14, 2009

Last weekend, we welcomed a new member into our family.

After Damien died, we all missed him terribly, but no one as much as Oliver, a kitten we adopted from PAWS earlier this year.

All his life, Oliver has been part of a multi-cat household, both with his PAWS foster family, and with us.  With Damien’s passing he was the lone cat in the house, and had no longer had furry friends that would play with him.  Oh, he tried to get Max to play by swatting at his tail, but Max was generally disinterested. 

So we went back to PAWS and found Gilbert.  At PAWS, his name was Asimov; all his litter-mates were named for SCI-FI writers, but he didn’t seem to respond to that.  I wanted to call him Stan, because it goes with Ollie, but he didn’t go for that, either.  We tried a bunch of different names, but it seems the one he answers to best (for a cat, anyway) is Gilbert.

He’s still a little timid and shy.  He spends a lot of his time hiding/sleeping either under the bed or behind the washer and dryer.  He also discovered he could get into the crawlspace under the bathtub.  Before we re-secured the access panel, he got in there twice, and we had a heck of a time finding him.  Because of the angle, you can’t see all the way to the back of the space, so I had to reach down with my camera and snap a picture to make sure he was there, and that he was OK.  He was, and seemed perfectly content.  We tried to lure him out with treats and tuna, but he stayed there until he was good and ready to reappear.

He and Oliver love to play chase tag.  The unfortunate thing for us is that their game usually gets underway around 3 in the morning.  Nothing but meowing and the sounds of eight little paws running up and down the steps for about an hour.  It’s really not that loud, but in the stillness of the pre-dawn hours, it sounds like they have access to their own PA system.  But at least they get along.

I wish Gilbert would stop sampling the food in Max’s dog dish.  It gives him nasty gas, plus he’s not too good about covering his leavings in the litter box.  I’ve sprayed a lot of ‘Oust’ lately.  Max is not a fan.

September 6, 2009

Just a reminder…After the long weekend, when the Mystery Track returns Tuesday at 11:15, it will kick off a week of Scottish Mystery Tracks.  Also, during the All Request Fresh Harvest Classic Rock Café on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, all winners of the free lunch score a pair of tickets to see the Pink Floyd tribute band “The Machine” Thursday night at the State Theatre.

Enjoy your weekend, and have a safe holiday.

August 31, 2009

            Where did the summer go?  We’re a week away from Labor Day, and the First PSU game of the season starts Saturday at noon.  Remember, we have the pre-game show beginning at 9, and complete play-by-play coverage starting at noon.  Remember also, 93-7 the Bus is the ONLY FM station in State College with Complete (Pre, Game, and Post) coverage of PSU’s 2009 Season.

            As I was working on my Mystery Track’s for the week, I realized that all of them have at least some connection to the Eagles.  It was unplanned, but it’s a nice coincidence, don’t you think?

            Next week, I have another special week of Mystery Tracks, and this time it will be on purpose.  Remember how I did a week of covers, then a week of Canadian Mystery Tracks?  Next week, thanks to a suggestion from listener Denise, all of the Mystery Tracks will be from artists with Scottish roots.

            Just one more FYI—no Mystery Track this Friday or Labor Day Monday.  Instead, listen to The Bus for our Annual A-Z.

August 24, 2009

            A couple of interesting things hit my inbox this week, and I thought they were worth passing along.

            First, there’s this unintentional bit of hilarity.

            I also got these random thoughts and musings that I liked.  I don’t know who first wrote them, or else I’d give credit where it’s due.  Still, thought they were worth sharing.

Random thoughts from people our age...

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.  (I’ll have to take their word for it—I’ve NEVER had that happen-pat)

-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.

-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

- Was learning cursive really necessary?

- Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scan-tron test is absolutely petrifying.

- My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us."  

- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

- Bad decisions make good stories

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day. (For me, that moment comes at 10AM, when I start my show-pat)

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

-I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I find out that I’m sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

Finally, a WTF moment for today.  I really pity the poor photographer who had to snap this one.

August 17. 2009

            As if I needed another reason to root against the Eagles.  Battery throwing, Santa Clause booing Eagles fans have always been reason enough.  But with the addition of Michael Vick to their line-up, I hope they finish so badly that even the Detroit Lions are laughing at them.  If I had any Eagles merchandise, and believe me, I don’t, they would be on the curb right now, awaiting the arrival of the garbage man.

            Vick’s done his time and learned his lesson?  Maybe I’ll buy that argument if he’s beaten, choked, slammed off the ground, shocked, or held underwater whenever he looses.

            I’m still getting some good feedback from Canadian Mystery Track Week, especially the Saga and Chilliwack songs.  I told one caller this week that I downloaded those songs into my i-pod, so they’re available for you to request during the Fresh Harvest Classic Rock Café should you so desire. 

            Canadian Mystery Track Week also prompted Denise to suggest I do a week of Scottish Mystery Tracks.  She even gave me a list of artists and titles, though I told her that I would not be playing The Proclaimers.  I’ve got a few facts to check and some music to track down, but we’ll be getting Scottish Mystery Track week pretty soon, and I thank you for the suggestion, Denise. 

            And then there was this email from Phyllis:

Just wanted to thank you for jogging my memory. I heard the Arc Angels the other morning on your mid morning show Livin' In A Dream. I couldn't believe it I hadn't heard that song in quite sometime and I have the entire album on CD. Thanks again now this awesome album is part of my iPod and iTunes collection. I'd totally forgotten that I had this until I heard it on your station. Thanks again.

Thank you, Phyllis.  I couldn’t have asked for a better reaction, and I appreciate you sending us your feedback.  Especially feedback that makes me look good, so I can post it here, where my bosses might see it. 

August 7, 2009

            Wow, what an exciting week to be alive!  It was Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, and Canadian Mystery Track Week here on The Bus.

In case you missed any:

• Monday:  Northern Pikes—She Ain’t Pretty from 1990’s Snow in June

• Tuesday:  Saga—On the Loose from 1981’s World’s Apart

• Wednesday:  Triumph—Takes Time from 1977’s Rock and Roll Machine

• Thursday:  Chilliwack—My Girl (Gone Gone Gone) from 1981’s Wanna Be a Star

• Friday:  April Wine—Tonight from 1979’s Harder Faster

After Tuesday’s Mystery Track, I got an email from a listener who was ready to kill a co-worker.  This woman knew the Saga song immediately.  She said she actually wore out her cassette copy way back when.  But as the song was about to end and I was about to open the phones, a co-worker came up to this woman and began to yak incessantly about nothing.  So she missed the chance to show off her musical knowledge and win.

2 weeks ago, I did a week of Cover Songs for Mystery Tracks.  When that week ended, I announced that Canadian Mystery Track Week would be on the way soon.  So Dave and Eclectic John at the e-quest capital of the world shot me a list of Cover Songs by Canadian Artists.  If we ever run low on prizes, I think I’ll dig out that list, because it will make for a near impossible week. 

If you have a suggestion for a future Mystery Track or another theme, I’d love to hear from you, so go ahead and shoot me an email.

July 31, 2009

            A few weeks ago, I did an entire week’s worth of Mystery Tracks where every song was a cover tune.  Next week (8/3-8/7), we’ll kick off the month of August with an entire week of Canadian Mystery Tracks.

            Here’s a little hint:  None of the tracks will be from Rush, The Guess Who, or Bryan Adams.  That would be too easy. 

Why make it difficult?  Well, because during Cover Songs Week, one of my winners complained because he found them too easy, and bragged that hewas able to name them in the first measure or two.  So let that be a lesson:  Be careful what you wish for.

Anyway, enjoy the Canadian Mystery Tracks next week.  They happen M-F around 11:15 AM.