Writer's Blog

I really should be writing more in my blog. It's not as if I don't have enough ideas. Time is the key. Most work days are about 12 to 13 hours long. Writing something after that becomes a matter of mush mindedness. So I'll try to do better.

Some short thoughts. The next time Lindsay Lohan's family points fingers at why she's going through what she is, they should look up the name Barrymore. Drew survived being a child star, although she had some rough spots. However she overcame the family history of alcoholism to form her own production company and make some entertaining movies.

Barry Bonds. I don't know how to feel about him breaking Hank Aaron's record. The steroid allegations bother me. I admire Hank's record because while he was building toward it, the color of his skin and not the size of his muscles was the biggest obstacle to get around.

It's a shame that the usual reason someone breaks into a home or sticks up a gas station is no longer because they can't make ends meet, but because they can't feed their drug habit fast enough.

Would it be such a sacrifice for state lawmakers to do what's best for the residents of Wisconsin and not what's best for their party when it comes to putting together a two-year budget. A lot more people didn't vote than did when it came to elections and they need representation too!

Are the Milwaukee Brewer's playoff hopes sinking? Hit hard, run fast, score early and fade in the late innings is a habit they need to break.

I've been told outside actual news and sports stories that we can no longer refer to that professional football team from Green Bay solely as the ****ers without adding the line to go to NFL.com for more information. All I can say is I love my Green Bay ****ers. Remember that on Family Night.

Happy Anniversary KFIZ

It’s really hard to appreciate the magnitude of KFIZ’s 85th Anniversary. At least it was for me. It was great to hear from some of those who worked at the station way back when like Joe Gaeser, Max Showalter and a host of others. I’ve met some like John Pappenheim, Rob Cutter and a few more at other functions.

I’ve been at KFIZ for five years now. I was telling Fond du Lac City Councilman Jim Sabel the other night, it’s like spending a few years playing for the Green Bay Packers and trying to appreciate the history and tradition of that storied franchise. I’m happy just to wear the uniform and hope what I do is more Brett Favre or Bart Starr-like than Jerry Tagge or Scott Hunter-like.

Of course thanks to generous business supporters we have some nice prizes to give away, but still aren’t sure about a cake. It’s a question of how to do it, how to serve it, etc. Since it’s a year long celebration the cake could come later.

Eight-five, it’s something to ponder. Commercial AM radio has survived television, FM radio, satellite radio, the computer and the iPhone! Probably missed a few, but when I’m traveling I grow tired of listening to CDs and spend most time listening to what others in my game are up to.

I’ve had a great time this week helping celebrate the anniversary, that is until on my way home Friday afternoon.

Pulling out onto Winnebago Drive I encountered a string of traffic while heading west. Coming up on the corner near Kwik Trip I stopped because a city street sweeper and the traffic in front of it in that lane I wanted to be in was narrowing. The city worker stopped for me and I waived a hand in my rear view mirror to let him know I appreciated it.

I’m guessing now that it was a bad move because the SUV now behind me tailgated all the way up to the lights at Scott and North Main, weaving back and forth so I wouldn’t know if the driver intended to pass me on the right or left in traffic. Problem was the truck in front of me hadn’t picked a lane yet either.

I’m thinking now that when I waived my hand the SUV’s driver thought I was giving a one finger salute. That was not the case. The driver made a sudden stop in the middle lane at the lights, a car-length ahead of me. Not quite figuring out the finger thing yet I wanted to get a look at the moron driving the SUV. That’s when I spotted the blonde-haired blue-eyed heart breaker riding shotgun in the backseat.

I got over my anger, sort of. So there are a couple things I have to say to Mr. or Mrs. dark blue-colored, Dodge Durango, Wisconsin license plate number RZD 981 tailgating me at 2:10 p.m. on Friday, July 13th. First of all the wave wasn’t for you, all the digits were fully extended. Your erratic driving endangered me, the cars in front of me, and the 4, 5, or 6-year old girl who was half hanging out the back passenger side window. The girl is the aforementioned blonde. By the way doesn’t the state have a child safety seat law in place now? Oh yeah, one more thing. I’m a news reporter Mr. or Mrs. SUV.

In any event thanks to all our great listeners for helping us celebrate our 85th Anniversary!

Highway 151 Bypass

I'm ashamed. There are so many good things about the Fond du Lac community to be proud of. However the way some people expressed themselves at a public meeting on the Highway 151 Bypass in Fond du Lac isn't one of them.

I know that feelings run deep especially if you own a business or a home and cutting crossover access is going to directly affect you. Just the same people were given the opportunity to write out their questions and have them addressed or directly give their opinion.

Why then did some feel the need to yell out their objections, not giving others the chance to finish what they had to say? Yes I know for many the Department of Transportation officials at the meeting were the enemy. What they had to say wasn't going to be popular. What they had to say was how they were going to address safety concerns expressed by a different crowd at a different meeting in Fond du Lac in February.

There was one ugly moment when Kim Rudat of the DOT tried to cut off former Fond du Lac City Councilman and Wildlife Acres co-owner Mark Weber. He'd hit a time limit, but others willingly gave up their time to allow him to finish what he had to say. Another speaker who lives in that area called for DOT Northeast Region Director Mike Berg's resignation. That took guts, but Berg's keeping quiet during that time took more.

I'm not sure what the answer is for the Bypass, but I know from time spent living in other communities people are always able to adjust and adapt. Someone once told me that when the Johnson Street overpass was first proposed in Fond du Lac there were quite a few who objected to that.

I'm happy area residents had a chance to have their say. Now here's someone else's I'd like to share with you. Following the meeting a few people I've come to know and trust said they were disappointed at the way some spoke out. One said they felt it wasn't Fond du Lac's finest moment! If that upsets you, just remember they are entitled to express their opinion too and it was barely above a whisper.

Letter To Paris

Dear Paris:

First of all let us say how fab you looked in your mug shot. Much better than Mel's, bet he's green with envy.

Since some of us have had to go through the booking process, under much less flattering conditions, we wanted to offer you a few words of support. Keep that perfect chin up.

We certainly understand why you weren't at your best in the courtroom. First they offer you a ray of hope and send you home, then they yank you back into court and send you off to jail. Who does that? The Sheriff was right, the Judge was wrong. By the way it was your best performance yet.

Time will fly by while you suffer for being the best you that you can be. To express our support in a more practical way we've fashioned a golden broach shaped like your perky puppy. Each of us will wear one whenever we attend an awards ceremony or any type of "red carpet" function to let those celebrity hounding creeps know that in your "time out," we are thinking of you.

When you do get released we'll all get together for a debriefing. You have to spill about what you went through. You know, just in case some of us ever find ourselves going through it too. Yeah, like that's going to happen.

Good news Barbara Walters called. She wants you to appear on "The View" when you get out to talk about misunderstood celebrities. We're even thinking about starting a celebrity support group. We kicked around the name MisUnderstood Celebrities Know, but the MUCK acronym just wouldn't go over in Hollywood. By the way we accepted the invitation from Barbara for you, but told her you'd only do it when Elizabeth, HATE HER, goes on maternity leave.

TTFN

Britney, Lindsay, Nicole and Rosie

Duke Dies

Steve "Axle" Hinkley sent me this, which I use now to correct some info in my previous blog on "John Wayne." It mentioned the "Duke" and how many films he died in, but gave the wrong number as the following entry shows. Thanks Steve. Bob Nelson

Bob Tuttle, a big John Wayne fan, offered some more information about Duke Wayne's career: "With regards to Duke's film deaths, he did die in eight films, they were: Central Airport (1933)--He drowns in an airplane crash (this was an uncredited role); Reap The Wild Wind (1942)--He drowns battling a giant squid; The Fighting Seabees (1944)--He is shot by a Japanese soldier; Wake of the Red Witch (1949)--He drowns; Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)--Shot by a sniper; The Alamo (1960)--killed with a soldier's lance; The Cowboys (1972)--Shot in the back, and his last film, The Shootist (1976)--Shot in the back by the Metropole bartender.... Wayne also appeared as a corpse in 1931's The Deceiver, and his character died in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). "

John Wayne

I didn't grow up a John Wayne fan, but somehow over the years have become one. Some of that may have rubbed off because my Mom is a big "Duke" fan. If there's a Wayne movie on television you'll have to pry her away from it.

I mention this because his 100th birthday would have been this weekend and you'll be seeing scores of his films on the old glitter box.

My parents grew up at a time when Hollywood had the star system and a movie star was the real deal. Their pictures got you through the Great Depression, WW II and you could escape from real life. It was before TV, VHS and DVD's would bring their movies right into your living room.

My folks tried to teach me a little about the classic stars and appreciation for their films. I guess some of that sunk through because now when I watch an old film I appreciate the movie and the performances a little more.

When did I become a John Wayne fan. You know that's a funny thing. It kind of slipped over me. My Dad liked Jimmy Stewart and I am a Jimmy Stewart fan as a result. It must have happened while I was watching "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." I've seen it a number of times, but it wasn't until recently that I came to realize that it wasn't Jimmy Stewart who was giving the great performance.

Other Wayne movies I enjoy are "The Searchers," "Rio Bravo," "The Quiet Man," "True Grit," and "The Shootist." "The Shootist" was his last film and ironically about a gunfighter dying from cancer. It's fun to see Ron Howard, the actor, playing a gunfighter wannabe.

Until recently I'd never seen "Stagecoach" the film generally regarded as the movie that put John Wayne on the map. Watch the first scene when the camera focuses on him and it's definitely a star making moment. He only had to toil in movies for nine years to get that point.

Fellow KFIZ Breakfast Clubber Jerry St. John tells me there are certain Wayne films he'll watch whenever they are on like "The Quiet Man" or "McClintock." So I guess I'm not alone in that regard.

I sort of understand why I became a "Duke" fan, but don't quite get why he's such an enduring star now 28 years after his death. Some of the stars I enjoy watching now, I'm wondering if the same can be said. Maybe when Bruce Willis hits his sixties he'll win an Oscar too!

Watching the "Duke" die on film is tough. It only happened in four of his films. If you can name them you're probably a Wayne fan too. For me the death he suffered in "The Cowboys" not only drove the plot, but showed that even in one of his last films he still had it. Like Stewart and Cary Grant, Errol Flynn and a few others; Wayne could act, but made it look like he was having too much of a good time to be taken seriously. Maybe that's the point. He was entertaining us and 100 years after his birth still is.

Candlelight Vigil

Unfortunately it's become all to common place to hear about candlelight vigils in Wisconsin. Specifically over the last several weeks in Fond du Lac. Four high school students have lost their lives in two seperate traffic accidents. One continues battling for her life and another was seriously injured.

I attended the candlelight vigil for 16-year-old Candy Holstein at Fond du Lac's Veterans Park. Several hundred area residents were there, mostly in Candy's age bracket. At first a few pictures were propped up on a large planter in the middle of the park. Soon there were mementos and flowers piling up. It really stinks that these are the kind of tributes her family will have to remember instead of the other milestones that accumulate over a regular lifetime.

So it also goes for the lives of Peng Thao, Fue Vang and Jerry Vang who were killed in an accident several weeks before. I didn't attend that vigil, but thanks to the church where it was held got an audio copy and was able to hear the stories and grief that friends and relatives shared at that vigil. Really when your 16 or even 18 years old a funny story about working at KFC or McDonald's is the kind of story you should be sharing with friends at school or just hanging out. Certainly not at a candlelight vigil, visitation or a funeral.

The stories I've heard behind the scenes about how close other kids were to grabbing rides with the victims in those two accidents would make your hair curl. Or how about returning to school after one funeral to sit next to an empty seat that should be occupied by a 16-year-old girl who can't be there because she was killed in another car accident that weekend. And how would you feel to be sharing a locker with one of those unfortunate four?

I was lucky when I was in high school. The closest I came to losing a classmate in a car crash was a guy I played football with. One of my sisters had a crush on him. He sported scars at graduation. My Mom on the other hand was not as lucky. A car load of kids ran her older and youngest brother off a rural road one night. My Uncle Jack, who I never knew, was killed. My Uncle Jimmy was left with a permanent hearing disability. He walked a long ways to get help. My Mom suspects she probably has seen those responsible hundred of times over the years, but they never owned up to it. My Dad's older brother was walking along a road when he was hit and killed by a hit and run driver. One of his shoes ended up in the rain gutter of an adjacent home.

It's sudden, it's violent and then it's over. Unlike the gear shift in your car, there is no reverse.

Monday Moanin'

Growing up in Michigan I always loved reading Bob Talbert's (right) column in the Detroit Free Press. Especially on Mondays when he would trot out random thoughts and odd bits and pieces in what he called "Monday Moanin'." With all kinds of thoughts on my mind I thought I'd pay homage to that.

The memorial ceremony for the St. Louis Church held at Marian College Sunday was nice. It was like a Sunday social with cake and lemonade after and for some a chance to share the memories of a lifetime.

Sitting in court last Friday for the preliminary hearings of four people accused of drug transactions that lead to the overdose death of a Campbellsport man, it struck me how much his death could affect the lives of others. One young woman hugged a baby shortly after her hearing and another looks like she's on the verge of starting her own family. Should the law prosecute others for a drug death when the victim makes a decision to take drugs?

Why is it that the guys who egg you the most about being folliclely challenged (bald or going bald) choose to wear a toupee they think you're not smart enough to spot?

I think most women look pleasant or even beautiful whether they're 18 or 80. That being said why can't some be happy with the way they appear? I saw a woman in her late 40's or early 50's the other day trying to pull off a mini-skirt look that someone half her age would have had a tough time managing.

Did you second guess the Packers on their draft this past weekend? I don't recognize any of the names, but who ever heard of Donald Driver or Aaron Kampman before they blossomed into All-Pros?

I saw a couple good movies on DVD over the weekend. Night at the Museum and Deja Vu. Night stars Ben Stiller who can be funny without mugging for the camera and Deja Vu stars Denzel Washington as an ATF agent looking into a ferry explosion. If you watch Vu look out for the beginning. If you're like me you may be thinking your DVD player is on the fritz.

Why is it I can never sleep on Sunday nights? Mondays are tough enough as it is. Especially if you worked every day the previous week. Starting out Monday morning talking about a house fire that left a family homeless and a traffic accident in Washington County that claimed two teens lives, it didn't seem things could get much worse. Unfortunately they did when three teens lost their lives in a fatal Fond du Lac County accident. Sadly Monday Moanin' turned to just mourning.

Why?

Monday, April 16th. I was actually home sick when I flipped on Court TV and saw a "Breaking News" headline and a caption about 30 some people being killed by a gunman at Virginia Tech. My first though was that it was some kind of fictional drama. That's a newsman's skepticism. To make sure I flipped over to CNN and was automatically hooked.

Although I was actually sick, the real life tragedy made me feel heartsick. Once again America was center stage for a tragedy that as the Tech President said was of "monumental proportions." I watched him talk about it in a live press conference. I know my media colleagues were focusing on getting the story and every bit of detail, but I felt as though they should be concentrating on the more than 30 families that were going through an unimaginable moment.

United again in tragedy we gleaned details from radio, television, newspapers, the Internet. Students were e-mailed on the Virginia Tech campus about a shooter, but not until after the damage had been done. Another Columbine, another disgruntled student, another national debate on campus security and gun control. Another nationwide wound that will eventually heal over, but leave a permanent scar.

If you went to college you'll know what I'm talking about. Even if you're years removed from being a student, when you step on a college campus memories flood back. A sense of optimism, a feeling that all you aspire to, the key to having what you want in life is within your grasp. Bang, it's gone!

One student caught the sounds of gunshots on his cell phone and became an instant correspondent for CNN. I won't forget that. Let's hope there are not any moments ahead like it. Columbine has been replaced by a new national tragedy. One that's put across by cell phones and text messaging and silent loudspeakers on the Virginia Tech campus.

We're learning more about the shooter, but let's take time to learn more about the victims and their families. Their lives meant nothing to him, they should mean something to the rest of us.

Judge Not

$7.25 Remember that number and think about what you can buy for that much money these days.

I'm not sure how you feel, but the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court race made me sick. The barage of attack ads both on the radio and television, mailers and computerized phone calls at home from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and others. Come on!

I interviewed both candidates during the primary and leading up to the spring election. During the primary both focused on their records and talked about what they thought the role of a Supreme Court justice should be. They differed on that somewhat.

In the days before the election it was a different matter. I had to ask Washington County Judge Annette Ziegler (pictured) about the accusations made against her by her opponent Madison lawyer Linda Clifford. You know conflict of interest, ethics, etc. Most of it boiled down to cases involving West Bend Savings Bank, a bank whose Board of Directors her husband sits on. She spent about half of the interview talking about that and her record on sentencing sex offenders.

Linda Clifford spent more than half the interview pushing the public records search of Ziegler's cases. She then talked about her own experience, which covers many areas of the law but not criminal law. I mentioned it would have been nice to spend more time talking about Linda Clifford the candidate. She agreed, but the interview had to be kept to a certain time length due to programming constraints.

I spoke to Judge Ziegler again on election night to congratulate her and talk about what's next. She said she hoped to put the campaign negatives behind her and concentrate on more positives like being sworn in this August to take the seat retiring Justice Jon Wilcox is leaving. At 42 years of age she could be on the Supreme Court a long time, like another woman that sits there now. Shirley Abrahamson.

As for the $7.25 According to my shaky math skills there were 828,707 people combined that voted for either Ziegler or Clifford. There was also more than $6 million spent on the campaign, by the candidates and other interests. That comes pretty close to $7.25 spent for each vote. Political experts say it may be the first of many Supreme Court campaigns to come in which we will see more and more money spent by the candidates and political interests.

I talked to a local election official after the Supreme Court race and mentioned it was supposed to be nonpartisan. She said tell that to the talk show hosts who characterized Ziegler as the Republican candidate and Clifford as the Democratic candidate. To me that comment was just..supreme!

St. Louis Church Fire

It's really difficult to describe some pictures even if they say a picture is worth a thousand words. I'd venture to guess that there are some who witnessed the St. Louis Church fire in Fond du Lac who would have more than enough words to describe what they witnessed. If you're not a religious person you probably wouldn't understand that for a lot of people your church is part of the backbone of your community.

Most of my formative years were spent growing up in a house that was a block down from the church that we went to. In fact there were two other churches right across the street from our house. Ironically the house still stands on a site that was originally a stable for one of the churches.

I didn't get down to the St. Louis Church until about 2:30 on Tuesday, March 20th. By then the church was still burning, but not as bad as it had earlier in the night. I'm actually glad I didn't have to see the worst of it. I understand that it was almost like a social gathering. People took pictures of the church. Watched as generations of hopes, prayers and family history floated up into the evening sky with the embers. I've seen it before.

Of course I was eighteen at the time, my senior year in high school. Someone had left left a space heater on at the Schoolcraft County Courthouse in Manistique, Michigan when they went home one weekend. It heated up a wall behind it and that Saturday night most of the County showed up to watch the 100 year old or so Courthouse go up in smoke. People were heartsick. It was a time when birth certificates, death certificates, deeds and all manner of records were still kept on paper. In other words, thousands of lives were affected by that fire.

I'm not sure how many lives were touched by the St. Louis Church. Like the Courthouse it was a unique structure. You could rebuild on the site, you could try and save pieces of it, but there are some things that bricks and mortar can't replace.

If you're lucky you'll be witness to one really memorable fire in your lifetime. If you're even luckier you'll never have one that touches your life personally. It saddens me that I sometimes have to report on fires like the one at the St. Louis Church. However I'm glad that unlike house fires in the Markesan and Random Lake areas I didn't have to report that children lost their lives in the fire. Buildings can be replaced or restored.

In The Line of Duty

A Leadership Fond du Lac group wants to place a police and fire fighters memorial in Hamilton Park. It seems like a simple enough request, but there's been some criticism.

Fond du Lac City Councilwoman Lindee Kimball mentioned during a meeting that one resident had contacted her saying they can't see doing the project, that if you are going to do it for the police and fire fighters...why not teachers? After all they put their lives on the line every day too.

You know I can see the point, but you could argue that for just about everyone who works. Farmers, factory workers, highway crews,etc. Even newsguys sometimes put it on the line.

Okay the last is a bit extreme. I'm not Bob Woodruff and I'll never be covering a war on foreign soil, but there have been a few stories I've covered over the years that could have put me in harms way. A couple standoff incidents where I trusted law enforcement officials to know that we were out of the line of fire. In Dodge County I sat outside a farmhouse once while authorities searched it for booby traps and weapons. It belonged to the Oswalds, the father and son who killed a Waukesha police captain after a bank robbery. There was another time I was at the scene of a huge chemical fire, not knowing where safe exactly was.

Even your own office isn't completely safe. While working in Munising, Michigan our radio station used to allow people to come in and make copies on our copy machine for a small charge. One guy the community had nicknamed "Rambo," because of the army camoflague pants he always wore and the headband, would constantly come in to make copies. He was always involved in some kind of civil litigation with the city or county and everyone gave him a wide berth. Calling him strange would have been an understatement. One night "Rambo" was at a bar where he turned to another patron and bragged that he'd just killed his mother. He had butchered her in fact. He's serving a life term in a Michigan prison.

Of course every day life can be scary. Take the Waupun woman who gave up a job she enjoyed at a Fond du Lac insurance company because her husband kept badgering her at work. Ultimately he chased her into a municipal building in Fox Lake and killed her. She gets the same memorial we all will eventually, a small marker with a way too brief summary of our life here on earth.

You May Be From Wisconsin

I'm never going to be able to say with confidence that I'm from Wisconsin. Mostly because even though I've lived here for 20 years now, I'll always have my roots in the U.P.

Still there are some things that I do, say, think that could fit in as punchlines to a joke that starts "You may be from Wisconsin if.." For instance last week we had our first 40 degree day of the season. I'm riding in my car and my first instinct is to turn on the air conditioner. I settled for cranking down a window instead. And by cranking I mean electronically lowering it.

I enjoyed a bowl of chili the other day and found myself putting small chunks of cheddar cheese in it. That's something I never used to do until just the last few years when I told someoneI can't see putting macaroni noodles in chili and they suggested putting cheese in it instead. My U.P. upbringing does have me using venison when I can to make chili.

One thing I did get right from the start is being a Packer fan. I've was brought up that way by my father, who started life out as a fan of Da' Bears. For him that changed during the Lombardi years. The rest of my brothers and sisters are Packer fans too, except for my sister Diana the long-suffering Lions fan. I told her one weekend that ESPN Classic Channel was airing reruns of highlights from NFL Championship games and she asked me to tape the last one the Lions won. Shucks I missed it.

I have gotten to the point where I also take it personally when I hear a disparaging remark about Wisconsin or the area. That Lions fan sister of mine sometimes puts in a slam, especially when I'm visiting and we're watching a Packer's game. Most times she just leaves the room.

A couple weeks ago I was at a press conference in North Fond du Lac waiting on police to arrive and took offense to some things I overheard being said about North Fond du Lac and Fond du Lac. I know it was supposed to be good natured fun by some of my TV colleagues, but a few things sounded spiteful. The Village and City have a lot of things to be proud of and if I were living and working in Milwaukee I might watch the size rock I'm throwing...otherwise I'll have to e-mail Jeff Foxworthy for some good "You may be from Milwaukee if..." jokes.

All of that being said I do take pride in the fact that I live in Wisconsin and love all of its cities and burgs. Not a native, but not naive either.

And the Winner is..

My love of movies probably came from my Dad. At one time I actually served as a movie critic for one of the radio stations I worked for. The problem is I'm more of a popcorn movie type of guy. You know favoring movies that are entertaining versus those that wow real critics.

I actually looked forward to this year's Oscars. Because of the early morning hours I work I couldn't stay up for the whole thing, but tried to stick around for at least one major award. That came 90 minutes into the telecast. Because the Academy wants to appeal to an international audience we have to sit through every minor category. Many people have remarked to me that they simply just hate that. I agree if you watched the Barbara Walters special, the red carpet preview and the Oscars you put in more than 5 hours.

I'm actually looking forward to seeing some of this year's winners. However I never buy all the critical hype instead preferring the praise of someone I know in idle conversation as the best thumbnail description of a movie.

I recently picked up some movies on DVD after getting a little Oscar fever. Putting on my old critic's hat here are some brief descriptions. Peter Jackson's "King Kong" is one long film, which probably could have been broken up into two smaller films. Yes it's visually stunning and the special effects are very good, but unlike his Lord of the Rings films as action-packed as a film can get it's hard to get worked up about a movie when you already know the sad conclusion, the monkey dies!

Our morning show's Bob Hoffmaster recommended the Spike Lee film "Inside Man." It's a caper film starring Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster and Clive Owen. I never thought I'd say I enjoyed a Spike Lee film, but there it is. The bank robbers aren't the real villains. If you like smart films with a Law & Order type twist you might like this one.

Finally last, but not least a movie I haven't been able to get out of my head "Hollywoodland." It bombed at the box office and might not appeal to everyone, but if you like a good conspiracy theory this might do it for you. It's about the mystery surrounding the death of 1950's TV Superman, George Reeves. In it a fictional detective, based on a real detective, looks into the suicide of Reeves. It paints a sad portrait of Reeves who couldn't get a good acting job once he donned the famous cape.

Ben Affleck plays Reeves. Adrien Brody is the detective. There's a marvelous scene where Reeves is watching a screening of the film "From Here to Eternity" in a packed movie house. He's morphed into a real scene from that film with the film's star Burt Lancaster. I won't give it away. The movie shows three possible ways Reeves took his own life or was shot and killed by another. A warning though that this is not the kind of Superman film you want your children to see.

The New Love Boat

What is it with the Geico television ads? I just don't know whether to love them or hate them. For me they are becoming the new Love Boat. It's a place older celebrities and stars can go to still get their face in the public.

I'm trying to decide which of them is the absolute worst. Several people I've talked to think Little Richard's spot is awful. I kind of think it's Little Richard being Little Richard. Peter Graves, well did you see Airplane the Movie? Burt Bacharach's singing is terrible. He should have retired after the Austin Power's cameo. Charo, well whatever happened to her spot any way? The announcer guy, I always wondered who was connected to that voice.

I think they should have extended the older celebrity shtick to their caveman ads too. Can you imagine Don Rickles with one eyebrow or how about Phyllis Diller? If Mel Blanc was still around they could have gotten him to voice the surly lizard.

A friend of mine mentioned the ad he can't stand is the one featuring Robert Goulet crawling around on the ceiling and being very uncrooner-like. I think that one is for Emerald Nuts. That one I don't really find any problem with other than it's just weird.

One current spot I do like is the Taco Bell ads with the Lions where they are arguing about Ricardo Montalban and he's doing the voice over. I know he has severe back problems and it's good to know he has a talent that can be utilized.

The real shame of it is that some of these celebrities should be getting guest spots on television series because they do have talent. Some of the best dramatic performances I've seen in recent years have been from older stars making guest appearances in tv series. But for some you have to have insurance against getting older and fleeting fame and for others sometimes you just got to sell insurance.

Be My Valentine

The things my radio coworkers say on the air about me sometimes result in interesting results. For some reason the day before Valentine's Day Wade Bates said I needed a valentine and people should send cards, e-mails, drop off cookies etc. You can't see a guy blush over the radio, but I was a little lighter shade of rose red.

Thanks to our lady listeners the joke kind of backfired. I did get e-mails, a nice homemade card, a couple of stuffed animals including a singing teddy-bear that crooned Elvis's "Only Fools Fall In Love, " and some interesting comments. Most were very kind. One asked simply "Why are those guys picking on you?" I really didn't mind and most people know getting Valentine's cards and gifts will pick anyone up.

Here's a nice poem we shared on air from Rhonda Gurno at Wells Manufacturing:

KFIZ-the morning radio show,
Says Bob Nelson has no sweetheart in toe.

Don't worry Bob as you are truly not alone,
There are lots of single folks in the area just waiting by the phone.

No floral delivery, no candy and of course, not even a little pink card,
Can make the deal of Feb. 14, just a little bit hard.

Stand up, rejoice and get yourself a special treat,
Cuz' your fans out here think that you are really pretty neat!

I told Wade that payback can be a little awful, so here goes. It has a St. Patrick's Day theme to it. You can drop off cans of beef stew (do they come in Irish?) for Wade at KFIZ at 254 Winnebago Drive in Fond du Lac or maybe just send him a good luck message. His email address is wbates@kfiz.com. If we do get some stew maybe we can donate it to one of our local food pantries, they can all use some good luck this time of year.

Rebel Without A Cause

This is Anna Nicole Smith when she was in High School in 1985. Sometimes we forget that most people do have humble beginnings. To tell you the truth I never really cared for her, but seeing tabloid TV picking her life apart less than 24 hours after her death sickened me.

She grew up idolizing Marilyn Monroe and like Marilyn died young. Like Marilyn she began as a small town girl too. I'm not so sure 45 years from now that people will still care about the sad life of Anna Nicole Smith the way they still do for Marilyn.

I guess when I started thinking about Anna's death it reminded me of the sad ending for former Saturday Night Live comic and movie star Chris Farley. He idolized John Belushi and like Belushi died young and had the same problems with drugs and alcohol.

I enjoyed watching Chris Farley and John Belushi. They made me laugh. Animal House, The Blues Brothers I still enjoy watching. Tommy Boy is one of my guilty pleasures. Not so much a fan of Marilyn's, but she did a pretty good job holding her own in Some Like It Hot with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.

In talking about Anna Nicole Smith with friends at KFIZ we somehow got on the subject of movies that seemed to feature casts that went on to tragic endings. Rebel Without a Cause. The three lead actors in that 1955 film all died of tragic circumstances. James Dean in a car wreck, Natalie Wood of a suspicious drowning, and Sal Mineo was stabbed to death.

Marilyn Monroe starred in one of those movies too. The Misfits cast her with Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift. All three stars would die within a few short years of its filming. Gable the same year. Marilyn gave a good performance in that too. She was a bonafide movie star. Anna Nicole Smith's best role was as Anna Nicole Smith. Hopefully some young girl out there will carefully consider wanting to grow up to be like Anna Nicole Smith.

Live hard, die young and leave a good-looking corpse! It's attributed to James Dean, but too many try to live up to the saying.

That Hollow Feeling

My boss is a Bear's fan and he hasn't been too bad about rubbing it in this season. He sent this through the station pipeline the other day. It was titled the "Chicago Public School System."

To tell you the truth I know how that little Packer fan feels. I get that same feeling every Super Bowl since Green Bay's last appearance. You choose a team to cheer on, but don't really have a stake in the game.

Sometime Super Bowl weekend I'll trot out the video highlights from the 1996 season and possibly the postgame tape. It makes me long for just one more taste. I hope it's not another 29 years between Super Bowl appearances for Packer fans. Then again the Bears waited 21 seasons and the Colts, well they weren't in Indianapolis in 1971 were they?

Brett Favre announced today he's returning for another season. Yeah I know what you're thinking if you're a Packer fan. Wouldn't it be great if he could quarterback them back to the Super Bowl and ride out into the sunset with another win like John Elway did. Did Green Bay fans feel the same way when Lombardi left and Bart Starr toiled for a few more seasons? Bet they did.

Even when the Packers were in the Super Bowl in the late 1990's I never really cared for all the trappings that went along with the game itself. I enjoy the game, every thing else is a distraction. If you want music superstars performing, wait for the Grammys. Pregame could be a few hours shorter and post game goes on too long. Let the winners enjoy themselves.

Of course it could be worse. In case your keeping track the Packers have won 3 Super Bowls, the Bears 1 (pending Sunday), the Minnesota Vikings have lost four, and the Detroit Lions (sorry, Sis) have never been.

Either way I'm an NFL fan and enjoy watching almost any game, except of course for the Pro Bowl.

I Got a Name

As the Jim Croce song was titled "I Got a Name." During the last couple of weeks I've been reminded about how important our name is to us, especially if you share it with someone.

Bob Nelson is a more common name than you might think or in this particular case Robert Nelson. You see there's a Robert Nelson who got cited for his 5th drunken driving offense in Dodge County recently. That led to questions about whether I was that Robert, most of them goshingly. No that wasn't me, but it did bring up a good point.

When I use a name in a news story good or bad there is bound to be someone out there with the same name. We don't always use street addresses instead distinguishing a person by their town, village or city, age and whatever the accomplishment or misdeed they did. I get calls about that sometimes. Usually I have a good explanation and like me regarding the drunken driving incident my namesake is accused of, somebody is going to have a joke at your expense.

I can't tell you how many times over the last few years I've been asked if I were related to the Green Bay weather man named Bob Nelson who used to pour beer on TV. Nope sorry, but it is interesting to know that so many people remember the guy so many years later.

I also keep getting calls from a guy who wants to do rewiring for me. Problem is he doesn't have the right Bob. I called his company to clarify, but I got another message several weeks later. Wonder if he's still waiting for my order on the Internet?

Last week I got a call from a woman who was upset about a story I did. No one's name was used in the story only the tragic circumstances. She did give me her name though, which I'd seen in connection with several stories I'd done. She was upset and rude. A couple days later we had a guest on the Breakfast Club by the same name. Nope not the same woman.

A friend of mine used to introduce himself as Pat Sullivan, just like the Heisman Trophy winner of the early 1970's. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. Then again maybe I should tell them about my childhood friend Michael Jackson. No he ain't no thriller!

Changes

Change we're told is a good thing, but I got to tell you I'm having a hard time getting used to 2007. Maybe it's something you have to work into gradually.

The New Year is underway and I'm trying to get used to the changes in leadership at the local level that are already being made. For example Mick Fink as Fond du Lac County Sheriff, Mark Strand as his new Chief Deputy. Tom Storm is leaving as District Attorney. The Democrats control Congress and the Senate. At the State level they control the Senate.

I really have no problem with political changes. Granted I'm kind of curious how Nancy Pelosi will work out as the new Speaker of the House, but it's good to see checks and balances actually do work. Jim Doyle has a new term as Governor and everyone managed to make it through his first term. What I'm not really ready for yet is people announcing they are going to run for President already. 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue is one address I wouldn't want to call home.

Being a football fan I do love this time of year for change though. So the Packers aren't in the playoffs, but you got to love all the talk about coaching changes. I found it interesting the other day to hear someone talking about whether "Marty Ball" should be axed from the San Diego Charges after going 14 and 2 in the regular season. On the other hand Mike Sherman can't get a head coaching gig while James Lofton is being mentioned for the Oakland Raiders job.

The Hollywood awards season has started. I'm not sure I really want to see any of the movies that were favorites at the Golden Globes, but am curious which will get Oscar nods. I don't think I saw any of last year's winners even on DVD. I enjoy popular films, but critically praised films often leave me wondering what the critics credentials are.

I expect to go through a few changes myself this year. It's unaviodable. Hopefully I'll come out of the year a little lighter than the airline patron pictured in this blog. Now if you pardon me it's time to change the checks in my checkbook, batteries in my clocks and my socks.