Sorry, Dick!

Some names just don't get a break! From the SDSUfans.com website...
-jr1

http://www.sdsufans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1156182433

Censored Words list change
Today at 12:47pm

Now board members can talk freely about how good Brooke Dickmeyer was, whether or not we'll ever play Dickinson State in anything, whether or not Dick Van d**e was one of the greatest slapstick comics ever, talk about acquiring sporting goods at Dick's, muse about the writings of Philip K. Dick, groove to the surf guitar of Dick Dale, discuss the deep symbolism and metaphor in Moby Dick, or even opine about Dick Cheney's skeet-shooting scores without worry of running afoul of the board's Censored Words list.

. . .

OK, I guess Dick Van d**e is still out of bounds, according to the board software. Sorry about that, Dick.

Uncle Jackrabit

I kind of like the sound of that! That's what's gonna happen in 31 more weeks!

Say a prayer for my brother, Katy, and their little one to be!

WTF?!?!

Got this in the station's e-mail this morning... just one of those things that make you say "WTF?"

Names have been changed to protect the stupid! LOL

Subject: Site Contact: Tattoo me for $
Message: Hi My name is **buddy** my phone # is 605-xxx-xxxx I live
here ... and have to decided to sell my body to bussiness for
advertisemnt . I will get a tattoo of any logo or advertisement for $

Buddy, if you're not on medication, get on it now... if you are, UP THE DOSAGE!!!

The "Death Penalty"

Wow... two posts in one week... you're in for a treat! LOL

Your humble blogger has now "executed" two people. Now before you start getting worried that I might be some axe-toting maniac, let me explain.

I consider myself a pretty easy-going, laid-back kind of fellow. I can tolerate a lot, up to a point. After that, I get pretty goddamn mean; kind of like tripping my "asshole" trigger. I call it, "getting my Irish up."

In any case, I've decided to "eliminate" certain people in my life. Not kill them, mind you, but to eliminate all traces of their being from my life in the hopes of regaining some of my self-respect. These are usually people that have, in one form or another, humiliated me, hurt me, used me, or made it very clear they want nothing further to do with me. Not as many as I'd expect on the last one, though! LOL. I call it the "Death Penalty"

When I "execute" someone, I take out all traces of them ever being in my life. Notes, cards, gifts, e-mails, messages, messenger contacts, etc. In Orwellian terms, they become a "non-person", and I no longer care if they live or die.

Harsh? Yes.
Cold-hearted? No more than what they were to me.
Immature? Depends on your point of view
Necessary? Yes.

Bill O'Reilly said it best in one of his books (I'm paraphrasing, so don't hold me to accuracy), "If you want to stay positive, you need to avoid negative people." God-damn right, Bill! So I WILL stay away from these people and all those who have been a negative influence on my life.

God, it's nice to finally have a pair! LOL

Hell of a birthday gift...

I tell you... there's nothing like getting stood up on your birthday to make you feel REALLY good!

About as good as a kick in the nuts!!!

Wow... it's been a while since I've been on here! That's what happens when you are over-worked, and over-stressed! LOL

Some big changes right off the bat... First, I have moved!!! After five months of sometimes fruitless searching, I found a nice place to live in Madison. It's right up by Trojan Field and the Community Center; in fact I can look out over Trojan Field from my "office" (okay, a spare bedroom where I set up my computer.) The rent is decent, the place is in nice shape, and I don't have to worry about mowing the yard or shoveling... so I'm a happy camper!

I've also upgraded my Internet, getting high speed... it's pretty freaking sweet! beats the hell out of dial-up any day!

Work is still work, though a bit busier... I'm now the acting music director, which means I've seriously got my plate overflowing!!!! I told my GM that I'll do the MD on a temporary basis but he's got to find someone else to do the job. I'm just afraid I'll burn out before too long.

Other than that, not much new going on.... but with all these changes in the past month, do I WANT more going on? LOL

Thoughts on living in "flyover land"

Being that I'm from what many consdier a backwater "red state," I probably have a skewed view on what others consdier normal. But I'm pretty straightforward on this..

I'm getting a little preturbed with the idea that there are all these people that think South Dakotans are nothing but a bunch of illiterate, knuckle-draging, booger-eating morons. Just google "South Dakota," and you find half a dozen sites on the first page completely deriding our state because of certian political decisions. Which will not be discussed here.

Well, to those people who continue to knock my home sweet home... Kiss my 100-percent South Dakotan ASS!!!

Can you even FIND South Dakota on a map? Or are you so concerned about being pissed off about something, that you forgot that little nugget of information. Have you MET a South Dakotan? Granted there aren't that many of us, but you honestly think that you can judge all of us based on one law?

Not very "open-minded,"are you? And besides, one that my sweet-gray haired grandma (rest in peace) taught me is that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. But then, that's common sense, and apparently it's in short supply in some areas of the U.S.

So go ahead and knock us... it's a free country after all. It just makes you look stupid and we get a pretty good laugh at your expense.

Okay... that's my rant for tonight! Good night, kiddies!

Jackrabbits versus Gophers!!!

WOO-HOO!!!

South Dakota State University is going to play the University of Minnesota in football! Granted, it won't be til 2009, but that is FREAKING SWEET!!!!!

November 14, 2009, I'll be in Minneapolis, in my SDSU jacket, face painted yellow-and-blue, half snockered on Grain Belt Premium rooting on my Jackrabbits. Granted, they might get slaughtered, but it's better than playing Augustana!

The only way to make it better is to have the "Pride of the Dakotas" take on the "Pride of Minnesota" in a Battle of the Bands, upper-midwest style!

More stuff...

I haven't been on in a while (probably a week), so I figured I'd better leave you some tid bits as to what I've been up to.

Work has been work... mucho mucho hours. Overall, I think I've put in close to 70 hours this week. But that's okay. One thing... when I worked at Citibank, I couldn't wait to get out of there and I couldn't STAND to work 40 hours a week in that place. Now that I'm back at the radio station, sixty and seventy-hour workweeks aren't all that bad. Even if I AM salaried!

My big project is now working on our AM station, getting that all back in shape. Sadly, the station has been put by the wayside for a long time and it sounds like crap. So I'm updating it with new songs, new rotations, and soon, some new imaging. It's been a challenge, but I know I'm up to it.

Not much to report on the personal life... I think that's why I don't mind working long hours, less opportunity for me to have a personal life!

I got the opportunity to host karaoke this weekend. It's been a while since I've done that, but I had a good time.... and the extra money didn't hurt, either! But one of the most touching things I saw last night was when a soldier recently back from Iraq broke down while singing "American Soldier" Kup and I picked up the song for him and it was incredible! The entire bar started singing, some flashing their lighters and I heard the biggest round of applause I had ever heard in my time hosting karaoke. Not for my singing, mind you, but for this young sargent who had just spent 18-months in a volitile hell-hole. I'll have more on this in my next post.

And on that note, I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. Drive safe, and save me some extra ham!

Music List number 1

So if anyone has ever watched "High Fidelity," one of the running themes in the movie is about lists... lists of bad relationships, but most importantly song lists.

Now I'm not a music expert by any means. I play what I like and like what I play (unless its Carrie Underwood for the 18th frickin time in a row during my shift!!). But music is an important part of my life. It sets the mood, relaxes me, and can get me fired up for another day of waking up at 4:30 in the morning.

But my first list is songs to listen to when you want to relax... my top five....most of it is classical, but that's what gets me to relax.

5) "Blue Spanish Sky"-Chris Issak... beautiful, haunting. His voice was made for an acousitic guitar.
4) Second movement from New World Symphony-Antonin Dvorak... one of my favorite classical pieces... simple, relaxing...
3) "Greensleeves"-Ralph (pronounced "RAFE") Vaughan Williams... and old melody done, very very well. One of the finest of the British composers.
2) "Take Five"-Dave Brubeck... classy! cool! the sax is like floating on a cloud.
1) "Variations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis"-Ralph Vaughan Willams... like drifting away into outer space... or to the musty halls of a 16th-Century cathederal. Totally blew me away the first time I heard it!

So I hear that Backyard Broadcasting is buying out Feller in Sioux Falls.... I wonder if the meat cleaver will hack away a few more radio jobs?

I have a feeling that Backyard will sell out to Clear Channel in 24 months... then look for Lindsey Lohan on the radio 24-7!

I think I'll stick with Three Eagles.

24

Whenever something bad happens to me... I give myself 24 hours to feel bad for myself and wallow in self-pity and doubt.

24 hours is up.

Back to real life.

Now if I need to look for sympaty, I'll just check the dictionary... last time I checked, it was between "Shit" and "Syphillis!"

I needed a refresher course of the "Jackrabit1 Instiute of Who Gives A Fuck!"

Thought of the day....

After the day I had today... I think it would have been easier if I swore off women and became a priest! Hey, I'm Catholic! I've already got an in!

Becoming Apolitical

The other night I was out on a date... things were going swimmingly, and then the "3rd rail" of dating questions came up. And no, it was not about sex... GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER, YOU PERVERT!!!!

"What are your politics?"

You can ask anyone, from Miss Manners to my buddy Adam out in San Francisco, talking politics on a date are simply VERBOTEN. The only execptions is if you met at a "Save Air America" rally or at a Rush Limbaugh "Ditto-head" mixer! Then I suppose it would be okay. But to talk about politics while you're trying to have polite, friendly conversation is simply taboo in my book.

Speaking of politics, I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to no longer care about politics. When I post on message boards, I tend to stay away from anything political, instead posting on sports sites or on something that piques my interst... like the history of indoor plumbing!

I still have my political beliefs and I feel strongly about them. But I'm starting to realize that it's no longer worth the time nor trouble to publicly express them. When I have, one of two things happen: 1) No One Cares 2) I'm ripped a new ay-hole because my ideas don't "mesh" with the other persons.

It's the second reason that I'm starting to shy away from political discussion. I've began to notice that political discussion has quickly regressed into character assassination. While that's bad enough, it's also come to the point that if you don't "toe the line" one way or the other, you're derided as being for the opposite.

For a hypothetical example, let's say you are for education funding, but you're not for a bill that gives schools more money than you want to give. The bill is for 4 billion and you want to support 3 and a half billion. Well, according to the supporters of the bill, you are against kids, against teachers, and against education. Which is completely ridiculous. It's the whole "If you're not with us, you're against us" mentality.

And now you have all these people that say they will only associate with people that only share their politics. I think that is incredibly small-minded thinking on their parts. I have friends on all ends of the political spectrum; from ardent die-hard liberals to staunch conservatives, even anarchists! For me, politics is a non-factor; I hang out and am friends with these people because they are interesting people, who can carry on intellectual and sometimes warped conversations. But most of all, they respect me as a person and while we may not always agree with each others ideas, we respect them.

I guess that's what it all boils down to... respect. And politics today has absolutley zero respect for opposing viewpoints... both in the liberal and conservative ends of the spectrum. So from now on, don't talk politics with me.

I'm apolitical.

Runnin' Ragged

It seems as though this week has been rush, stress, rush, and crash!

Lot's of things going on this week... one of our announcers is leaving so the remainder of our programming staff is going to have to pick up the slack for a while until our new guy shows up. We also had several Vice Presidents from the corporation in Madison on Tuesday. I realize they have business that probably has NOTHING to do with us, but I still can't help but feel like I was put under the microscope.

So needless to say, it's been a bit stressful this first part of the week... it's led to some loss of sleep to be sure. But hey, the weekend's coming up! And not a moment too soon, either.

On the other hand, I seem to be making some friends at DSU... I seem to be getting along well with the baseball and the men's basketball coaches, which is good. The baseball coach even gave me an official DSU hat, which is pretty cool. So now I'm a Trojan fan as well as a Bulldog fan, Quarrier fan, and of course, Jackrabbit fan.

Speaking of the Jacks, they're playing an NAIA school in football next season?!?! Color me kooky, but what the hell? South Dakota State is a Division One School! We should have NO BUSINESS playing such a weak opponent! I realize that this was a last-minute scheduling thing because another team backed out, but come on! There's got to be some better competition out there! This is not helping us in terms of gaining respect as a Division One school. I'd rather much get my ass-kicked by top-quality teams and improve than to win over inferior teams and regress. That's my opinion on the matter; I could be wrong.

Apartment hunting continues in Madison... The one place I thought had promise was a bust! That and the potential landlord failed the litmus test (i.e. Mom). Mom's pretty experienced at getting to the tough questions.... perhaps in another life she was a reporter? I don't know... nothing has really stood out or shown a whole lot of promise... I'd obviously like a newer place to live in that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg, but unfortunately you have to be either a senior citizen or on low-income housing to get those kinds of places. So I'm S.O.L. for now...

Just another day in paradise, folks! Keep on Smilin'!

Finding my focus

And you may ask yourself / Where is that large automobile' /And you may tell yourself / This is not my beautiful house! / And you may tell yourself / This is not my beautiful wife!
--"Once in a lifetime," Talking Heads

When I was going back to school for my teaching certificate, one of my professors told me I should take a year off and go to Egypt. I told him that was a bit of a nutty suggestion. And then he told me something that's stuck in my mind, even six years later...

"Matt, you need to find your focus."

It makes sense, though. Life is like this great big ship, and you have to have a destintion to go to... otherwise, what's the point.

Finding my focus has been a bit of a challenge. I've had to fall on my face a few times, but I'm getting there. I think I finally found the focus in my professional life by coming back to radio.

Now on to the personal life... DAMN THE TORPEDOES, FULL SPEED AHEAD!!!

More stuff...

Well, the search for decent lodging in Madison continues! I saw one apartment that would be just about perfect. Close to the station, nice size, rent is decent... the only problem is the shag carpeting! Yeesh! But I'm going to take a second look tomorrow, perhaps we can work something out on the carpeting.

The Morning show continues... except I called the Catholic school by the wrong name. I'll get a lot of flack for that at Kiwanis! The funny thing is I'm a Catholic, so I'm sure this'll cost me a couple days in Purgatory!

Went to the Madison Fireman's Dance... my first time really hanging out in Madison... and it was a lot of fun! Makes moving to Madison seem not so bad.

The big boss is in town this week... apparently we're going to be doing some serious remodeling at the station... which is about time! If we're going to be professional, we might as well LOOK the part too! I'm excited to see what the results may bring!

I haven't seen too many new movies lately... I'd like to see "Good Night and Good Luck" because I'm a student of history. I'm pretty boring that way! But the thing is, is that as we get older, the more interesting history gets. I don't have cable, but when I do get it, I'm ususally glued to the "History Channel" Great stuff! Especially when they talk about the history of the some of the most mundane things... like indoor plumbing! I don't know... we take it for granted and the network does such a good job of presenting it in such a compelling manner it's hard not to be interested!

Well, that's it for my geeky self now! Enjoy, folks!

I'm Moving On

The Jewish have a unique custom... when they lose a loved one they mourn for thirty days. After the thirty days, they move on with their lives.

Although I haven't lost a loved one recently, I did say goodbye to two very good freinds. My boss, mentor, and friend, Jim, who decided to try his fortunes in Wyoming radio. And Jessica, who was one of the first people to make me giddy, upset, mad, and glad at the same time.

Jim, I know will keep in touch. Especially since I have his e-mail!

Jessica is different... since I talked with her the weekend she left, she has disconnected her phone and shut off her e-mail. It takes me a while to pick up on these things but the message is clear...

It's time to move on.

No bitterness this time, just sadness for losing a friend. But as my new boss Lorin says "Everything is Temporary". Smart man, Lorin... goofy-looking, but smart!

So I move on... new opportunites and new friends await... Life; Damn the Torpedoes, FULL SPEED AHEAD!!!

So there's a lot of talk about this new abortion ban in South Dakota, my home sweet home. It seems that there is a lot of talk on other blogs admonishing us or praising us...

**Before I continue, I must say that my opinions about this particular topic are personal and private. Please don't take this as endorsement of or opposition to any particular stand. If you do, you are a moron, and I will ridicule you mercilessly!**

I am amazed at the response coming in from all around the country and the world about lil' ol us. Now some of the responses are supportive, and some are critical, and some are just plain goofy.

Like right now, there's a few blogs out there calling us a bunch of "mysoginisitc, knuckle-dragging neanderthals." Excuse me, but I haven't dragged my knuckles since I stumbled home from the 1995 St. Paddy's Day party at Lambda Xi Delta in Brookings!

But now there's talk of BOYCOTTS? I'm sorry, but I think there's a point where passion becomes a bit nutty. It's great to believe in something, but when it dominates your every waking moment, then it becomes a hinderance.

Frankly, I'm suprised if some of these folks can even FIND South Dakota on a map!

And for those who are "ashamed" to be South Dakotans? Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. Just because there's a controversial law on the books, it doesn't change the fact that we as South Dakotans are about the nicest, hardest-working, decent folks you'll ever want to associate with. And if you can't look past some law and take some pride in being from where the crime rate is low and the education rate is high, well, I feel sorry for you.

After all, it's just politics! There are more important things to worry about in life! Like... The Vikings! And the Jackrabbits!!!

So the new position is going as well as can be expected... I've had to adjust my sleep schedule somewhat, and I've done some adjustments on my afternoon broadcast, but all-in-all things are going as well as can be expected.

Granted, I was plenty sad to see my boss go, but I'm happy that the president of the company has chosen our sales manager to run the station. He's had experience doing the job, and he's another person I feel totally comfortable talking to.

Asides from that, basketball is FINALLY over! Not to knock it, but i was getting a little burned out on basketball. Now I have a couple months of recovery time before the start of baseball season. Of course, now I have my brackets to keep track of! I think I did pretty well the first two rounds!

My thoughts and prayers going out to Susan, who's got a big decision to make on Tuesday. I'll be thinking of you and praying for you, sweetie!

Also want to welcome new freinds checking out the blog... Adam, Stacy, the afore-mentioned Susan and Lisa. Anyone else I missed... OOPS!

Stay safe and stay warm, my friends!