News of the world through Angie's eyes!

7/3 KA-BOOOOM!!! I love summer and in the heart of it, the Fourth of July. It's my favorite time of year, the fist day of summer, my birthday and the Fourth all fall within a couple weeks of each other and the activities of summer are in full swing. Despite high gas prices, I hope you all get out and enjoy the long holiday weekend. And don't try to think about it also marking the years half way point! HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!

6/23 Have you ever been skimming through late night tv and come across a man and a purple puppet on Comedy Central? That's Jeff Dunham and I got a chance to see him for the third time over the weekend. Now, I mention this because he is coming to Sioux Falls later on this summer  and I strongly encourage you to go see him. There are a lot of great comedians out there who have etched their way into a very competition market with their own unique style, but you have never seen anything like Jeff. Jeff has been on the comedy circuit for 20 years, starting out with just his purple puppet Peanut and Jose, the Jalapeno on a Stick into what now consists of no less then seven characters. He is an AMAZING ventriliquist and you will swear those aren't puppets but real people...with a bit of Jeff's personality he'd probably never get away with just doing stand up. You'll laugh til you cry! 

6/20 SUMMER!!! It's finally here....or is it just an illusion? Man, just a weird year for weather and we cautiously invite sun and warm temps. The summer activities are in full swing with festivals, music scenes, and outdoor sports so after a tough winter, get yer butt outta the house and enjoy it...after all, it could snow anytime! lol! 

12/24 Taking some time to wish you all a very blessed Christmas and all the best for 2008. Looking forward to another year of rocking with all of you! Thanks for being the best listeners in the world! Keep ROCKING!!

11/21 Here we go! It's that time of year! The start of the season! No, I'm not talking about shopping, I'm talking about the EATING season! Starting tomorrow with Thanksgiving until Jan 2nd, the name of the game is food food food! Cookies, candies, stuffing, eggnog. It's a marathon of epic proportions! Ah, alright if you must, enjoy in moderation but break out the "fat pants" just in case! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

9/7 Elton John coming here...to little ol Sioux Falls SD! Now even if Elton isn't your cup of tea, this is a great event. An opportunity to put this city on the map to big acts like Elton who usually see our city blur by in a bus or plane on the way to Omaha, Minneapolis or Fargo. I've noticed there are critics already about this show, I suggest they go sit in the corner by their bowl until this event is over and let the rest of us enjoy it. Now, if only we had a pretty new events center to display Elton in...... 

8/31 ZOOM!! Man, the summer has flown by so fast, it seems the only time I get a chance to blog something for you guys is when a big holdiay weekend or event is going on. Here we are....Labor Day already! You know, I wouldn't mind getting old so much if what has going past me wasn't a BLUR! For those of you going up to see Uncle Ted in Huron, say HI for me and have a safe and fun trip. I hope you all enjoy your Labor Day and be safe!

7/23 JAZZFEST BABY!!! Come on! Tell me you had just as much fun as I did! Great music, great friends and great weather! What a perfect midwest summer weekend to celebrate all that bluesy and jazzy! Kudos to Rob Joyce and his staff and volunteers...once again they were on top of their game and giving us an experience to remember. To all who traveled near and far, I hope you have safe travels and we'll see you at Jazzfest 2008!

5/25 Here we are!! The "official" start of summer! Memorial Day weekend! To all the graduates wrapping up their high school career, have a fun and memorable weekend...be safe and good luck with your future plans! I hope everyone has a fun filled weekend. Get out there, do some grilling, hit the lake or park. Stop by a cemetary and remember those who gave all for us. And finally....wear white!!!

4/25 It's amazing to me how fast technology moves and how we move with it, how easily we get adjusted to computers and the way we do things. Last Thursday at my "part time" retail job, we lost power. We had to ring people up the old fashion way and actually find and type in the prices that we take for granted that the computer automatically does. Then this week, getting hit by lightening here at the radio station, reminding us again how we depend so much on computers and PHONES! Here we are in the communication business and we couldn't talk to anyone! lol! It's nice though, once in a while, to sharpen the mental skills of doing something manually, instead of depending on a computer.

4/11 ACK!!! The trees are budding, the baseball season has started and it's...it's SNOWING?! We truly have some crazy weather in this state or maybe Al Gore has it right...global warming indeed. Non the less, I'm hoping for a warm, warm summer because of this, maybe  even summer extended into November. That would work for me, how about you?

3/16 Angie O'Kay here saying have a great St Patrick's Day! Drink lots of green beer, but if you start to see leprechauns, let someone else drive!!

2/9-Will you watch the Grammy awards? I have to admit, it's been YEARS since I've watched. The new music of the 2000's has less than impressed me. I remember back in the 80's, I wouldn't have missed a music awards show for ANYTHING! For someone who loved music, it was an evening in the mecca of all my favorite stars. One of those bands will be the reason I won't miss Sunday's Grammy awards, at least the opening number. The Police! 24 years after calling it quits they are reuniting for their 30th anniversary and performing the opening number on the Grammy's. A tour announcement will follow on Monday. I realize I can't turn back the clock, but maybe, just maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel of great music making a return.

12/23~ Yesterday on air, I mentioned that for Christmas I would be making Guinness Roast. Several people called me and asked for the recipe, so I thought I would post it here for all to see and give it a try. It is TASTY!! My friend Bren from England made it for us at the Renassiance Festival a couple years ago. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2oz oil(canola or corn)

4lbs pot roast(stewing beef or bottom round) Use as much or little meat as you want. Use about 1/2 pint of beer to two pounds meat.

salt/pepper to taste

1 or 2 onions

Guinness Extra Stout(again, depending on how much meat you use).

3oz bacon

4 tablespoons of flour(or cornstarch)

1/2 pint beef stock

2-3 tablespoons vinegar

Veggies of choice: mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, celery etc. Garlic is also optional.

Season the meat and brown in the fat or oil. Add the bacon and continue cooking for a few minutes. Remove bacon and meat from the pan, stir in the flour and brown lightly. Gradually add the beer, stock, and vinegar, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens. Place meat in a crock pot in layers of meat/bacon, onions and garlic. Add whatever vegtables you'd like and pour the sauce mixture over all of it. Cook for 3 1/2-4 hours(or longer if needed on lower heat). Add more beer if needed while cooking.

12/22~Every year it seems the holiday season creeps up faster and faster, despite Christmas trees going up Sept! I hope you all took some time to enjoy the season and everything that goes with it. Whether it is white or not, I hope you all have a very joyous and blessed Christmas. It's been so much fun coming into your lives and work places everyday and I'm looking forward to another great year of rockin' in 2007!!!  MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Be well, from Angiekay! :)  

11/22~ Here we go!!! The season of overindulgance! Eateateat, buybuybuy, stressstressstress! I guess the theory behind eating so much on Thanksgiving is so that you have enough stamina and energy to spend the next 32 days shopping, baking, going to Christmas pageants and parties, because really, with all that's going on....who has time to eat or sleep for that matter!? I hope you slow down this holiday season and enjoy the sights and sounds of what Christmas is about. Listen to holiday music (don't forget to sing along loudly), play in the snow, giggle with the little kids, help out a neighbor and most of all, remember the reason for the season. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

11/6 It's a right, it's a priveledge and it's your duty. I have to admit, I didn't vote for the first time until I was 30 years old, but as I age I realize how important it is to have my voice heard. There are some very important ones on the ballot in South Dakota tomorrow, let YOUR opinion be heard. Get out there and vote!

10/17  300 million. Lottery jackpots have reached that high, but imagine that number in people. The United States reached a population of 300 million people this morning. The number is staggering. First of all...how on earth do you know when that 300 millionth person is born let alone calculate something like?! According to the Census Bureau, a child is born every seven seconds, but a death occurs every 13 seconds. The US now stands behind China and India in population. America claimed 100 million people in 1915 but didn't reach 200 million until 1967. The 400 millionth person is likely to arrive in 2043, according to the Census Bureau. 300 million people. That is an average of 6 million people per state. Can you imagine South Dakota with 6 million people!?  It's going to be a little more crowed on the highway now!

10/9 It's been a legendary institution, landmark and hotspot in New York for over 33 years and this month it's set to close it's doors. In 1973, Hilly Kristal opened CBGB's a moniker that stood for Country Bluegrass and Blues. It was anything BUT that. A club that spawned the huge punk movement of the late 70's with the Ramones, Lou Reed, Blondie and Patti Smith all calling it home. It's a simple landlord-tenant dispute. The lease is up and Kristal has no say. All good things come to an end unfortunately, as we here can somewhat relate with the closing of the Pomp Room seven years ago. CBGB's may live on though. HIlly Kristal plans to strip the current club down to the bare walls, bringing as much of it to Nevada as possible to maybe follow in the footsteps of Studio 54 and bring a piece of nostalia to Las Vegas.

9/25 For a sports fan, this has to be the best time of the year. When you can lay on your couch on a Sunday afternoon and flip between both the Vikes and the Twins, all is good with the world. Of course, it's even better if they BOTH win, but I guess you can't have it all sometimes, can you? The Twins have been really fun to watch this year. If you are one of those people who give up on a team after the first month or two of painful torture, the Twins are definetely not your team to watch. They have proved many times throughout the years and even through almost contraction, they are the lovable underdog that needs to be watched. After two losing horrible seasons, Tiger fans have to be excited, but you gotta hand it to the Twins for not giving up this season despite injuries and being 12 games out. I'm ready for another World Series Championship, how about you?

9/11 Where were you? What were you doing five years ago when you heard the news? The news that America had been attacked. I remember waking up and getting online for a minute to my favorite message board to someone asking why two planes would hit the World Trade Center. I never watch tv in the morning, but I ran to the living room to turn on the news. The news just kept coming...the Pentagon, a plane in a field in Pennsylvania. I remember our radio programming suspended for days with live coverage of the events and aftermath. For years we lived in a bubble in the assumption that we were invincible and even after the attack of the World Trade Center in 1993, the thought that terrorism could come to the shores of the land of the free was far removed from our minds. As we watched for days the coverage and carnage, we wondered where we would go and what we would do in the days, weeks and months after. Now, five years later, some still wonder. Are we any safer? Will we be attacked again? Americans have the unfortunate tendency to become hardened and removed from what doesn't directly affect our personal lives although this even touched mostly everyone in some way. We remember those lost and thank those who were there to help. Let's hope we've learned something in the last five years and won't have to have these types of anniversaries again.

8/31 Bye bye summer. :(  Ok, even though summer doesn't "officially" end for another 22 days, much like Memorial Day is the START to summer, Labor Day usually marks the end. Every year it seems like summer flies by faster then the one before. I love summer...outdoor concerts, bike riding, baseball games, the fair.... fun things to do at every turn. Fall has it's own set of fun things, football, pretty leaves, that fall smell, Halloween(I LOVE Halloween)but that also that sinking feeling that winter is just around the corner. Enjoy your last summer harrah! this weekend and remember, come Tuesday....you can't wear white!   

8/18 School days, school days...kids moan and parents rejoice. Fall always brings melancholy, no matter your age. You can't wait to get out of school, never imagining someday we will long for that back to school excitement. I always get an urge this time of year to relive those days when my sister brother and I would hop in the car with mom and come to Sioux Falls and go shopping for new school clothes and supplies. The Sears store on east 10th street was always one of the first stops.  I do my best to keep the spirit alive by continuing to make my annual 'back to school' pilgrimage to the mall for shopping! All that without having to make it to school by 7am for band practice! If you are reading this and still in school, enjoy it while you can...the real world will be there soon enough!

8/9 It's fair time!!! That annual rite of passage that signals summer's wind down and pending back to school. When you are young, the fair is a chance to hang out with friends in the midway without the parents over your shoulder, although the handoff of a $20 from Mom and Dad just doens't cut it anymore. That's a snack alone! Games, toys and maybe a tip for a cute carnie. :P Hey kids, did you know there are cool things to see in the 4-H barn? The Exibit Hall? Ah, but just because you're older doesn't mean things change. The first thing I usually head for is the skee ball game to load up on prizes. It's the only game I ever learned to master. After that, straight to the gyro stand and maybe...just MAYBE if I'm feeling like I can be naughty, to the cheese curds and mini donuts. Ah, it's a grease filled week of fun! Enjoy the Sioux Empire Fair!

8/1 I WANT MY MTV!!! Wow, 25 years! Happy Anniversary to the medium that changed the way we interpert music. Before they were just songs, songs we heard on the radio. We had no idea what the band members looked like unless we went to concerts(and sometimes that was a good thing). A song could take on a whole new meaning with a video, sometimes something the band had no intention of protraying when they wrote the song. None the less, it changed a whole generation. I lived in the country and couldn't wait to go visit friends in the city to watch MTV, see my favorite songs come to life and get to see the musicians I fantasized about. MTV these days...well the M definately doesn't stand for "music" anymore, which is sad. Catering the young generation is the road MTV started going down in the early 90's. Thank God for VH-1 Classic!!  

7/26 Here we are, the dog days of summer.We suffer through winter, longing for things to do outside and all the concerts and ballgames and days at the lake. It's a vicious circle of sorts. You have so much going on that it just flies by, but you wouldn't dare waste your time by sitting in the house on a sunny beautiful summer afternoon. I hope you've gotten in a couple days at the lake or beach, a Canaries ballgame or an outdoor concert. Enjoy it while it's here, the white stuff is always close enough around the corner.(ick)

7/10 In this materialistic world where you have to keep up with the Jones and new car in the driveway every year is not unheard of...except in Irv Gordon's world. Forty years ago this June 30 Irv Gordon bought a cherry red Volvo P1800 for $4,150. "It was far and away the best $4,150 I've ever spent," said Gordon, a Long Island, NY resident who has since driven the car almost 2.5 million miles, a world record. Gordon, a 64-year-old retired science teacher, drove the car for the same reasons most people do - to get back and forth to work (a 125-mile daily round-trip to his job), for fun and for everyday activities. His long commute and his passion for driving caused him to log his first 250,000 miles in less than five years. Gordon hit 500,000 miles in the late '70s. He celebrated his one-millionth mile in 1987, driving a loop around the Tavern on the Green in New York's Central Park. In the mid '90s, The Guinness Book of World Records certified his Volvo for most miles driven by a single owner in a non-commercial vehicle. In March 2002 he turned his 2 millionth mile driving through Times Square. "If you would have told me 40 years ago I'd still be driving this beautiful car, and that I would have driven these many miles, I would have told you 'good,'" Gordon said. "For one thing, the car just felt right from the beginning. And, what a beautiful country this is; I'm so glad I've had the time and opportunity to take so much of it in." Gordon plans to mark his car's 40th birthday doing pretty much what he's done with the car every day the past 40 years. "I'm going to drive down to my favorite coffee shop, have a decaf and chat with my neighbors," he said. "Who knows? Maybe I'll drive up to Montauk that day. Maybe not."  

Makes my 113,000 miled car look like an infant!

6/30 We always look forward to summer and all the fun things to do and then it just starts to fly by! It's Fourth of July weekend already!! Get out there and get grillin' with friends and family! Don't forget the fireworks. Nothing better then blowing things up! Just remember....safety first! This weekend we are also celebrating Sioux Falls' 150th birthday. Whatever you are doing have a great weekend!!!

6/22 Surely you jest. I don't jest(and don't call me Shirley)A recent survey by the Reader's Digest calls New York the most polite city in the world. It was an admittedly unscientific survey in 36 cities around the world, which appears in the July issue. New York was the sole American representative. Well, there is the problem. Nothing against New York, I'm sure they are real nice there, but HELLO? We've heard for years about the crime and coldness and the taxi drivers in New York. Come on...36 cities across the WORLD? Unscientific indeed. Reporters carried out three undercover tests in all the cities: walking into buildings to see if the people in front of them would hold the door open; buying small items in stores and seeing whether the salespeople said "Thank you"; and dropping a folder full of papers in busy locations to see if anyone would help pick them up. New Yorkers got the highest ratings, with 90 percent holding the door, 19 out of 20 store clerks saying "Thank you," and 63 percent of men and 47 percent of women helping with the papers. Mumbai, India, finished in last place, and the rudest continent was found to be Asia, with eight of the nine cities tested there in the bottom of the list. In Europe, Moscow and Bucharest, Romania, were the least polite. I think they need to visit the midwest the next time they do one of these survey's....scientifically.

6/15  Ahhhhh, we're moving into my favorite time of year...summer!! Lots of sunny nice days to head outside, go to the pool, go for a walk or a bike ride, work in the garden and ....sweat. Apparently, the fine folks at Procter &Gamble keep track of this kind of thing. The fifth annual sweat survey studies 100 cities and estimates the amount of sweat a person of average weight and height would produce walking around for an hour in the summer. And the winner is....Phoenix! The average Phoenix resident produces 26 ounces of sweat PER HOUR on a typical summer day. That means in under three hours Phoenix residents could collectively produce enough sweat to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool. Procter& Gamble, hmmmm, aren't they the makers of Secret deordant? Coincidence? I think not. 

6/9 Living a dream...even if it's on a small level is everyone's goal in life. Living *their* dream gave us an amazing show last night at the Sioux Falls Birdcage. The tribute bands Hells Bells out of Nashville and Zed Leppelin out of Minnesota gave us an amazing show and a tip of the hat to their heros and gave warmth to any of us who have ever played air drums, air guitar, or sang into a hair brush  in front of a mirror. Thanks to the guys in both bands for a great night of music!! Check them out on their websites: www.hellsbellsrocks.com and www.zed-leppelin.com  

6/2  You use money everyday, but do you stop and think about who else has used that money...or what they have done with that money? Those dollar bills in your pocket are filthy. A Fortune magazine article reports that roughly 80% of American currency contain traces of cocaine. COCAINE?! Experts say the cocaine got on the bills when users employ the money instead of a straw to sniff the drug. But wait, it gets worse. Other tests conducted on money that was collected at a high school food stand. He found that 87% of the bills carried germs like E-Coli and other bacteria which can make one sick. This is an alarming number, considering those bills came out the hands of high school students. Only 6% of the bills he collected were clean of any bacteria or germs. EWWW! Your mother was right...you DON'T know where that money has been!

5/30 Hey, got a minute? More then likely, that's about all you'll wait. According to a new Associated Press poll Americans are not a very patient people. Ya think?  60 percent of those surveyed said that can wait no more than 15 minutes in line before getting impatient. When asked about being put on hold when making a phone call, 54 percent said they start to lose it after five minutes. The grocery store was the place named as the most likely to make people lose their patience, with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the post office also high on the list. Here is what surprised me: Older people were found to be more impatient than younger people. This however doesn't surprise me: people who live in the suburbs and the country are more patient than city dwellers, it's not by much. In my opinion, this kind of attitude also leads to rudeness, on the road and in the stores standing in line. People get out of joint if there is more then one person ahead of them. RELAX!!! Slow down and smell the roses!

5/26 This week we learned that Sioux Falls is America's safest place to drive. This was based on Allstate's accessment of the number of accidents drivers have in their lifetime. 15 years between accidents compared to six or eight on the east coast. Of course, we don't have the population or traffic those places do, either. Despite this great accolade, I believe we have a long way to go. What Allstate didn't survey was the number of NEAR accidents I see on a daily basis. People on their cell phones, putting on makeup or eating that pay no attention to the road or their fellow drivers. Rolling through stop signs, running red lights, pulling out in front of people or MY biggest pet peeve, NOT USING YOUR BLINKER!!! I can't read your mind, I don't know where you are going! If you are under the age of 80(they seem to get the blinker idea and just leave them on)use your blinker!! Let's be courteous and respectful of other drivers out there. It could get another year of great safe driver or....it could save a life!

5/22 Since our ancestors discovered dance, there have always been those who are prone to invent "the next big dance craze". There have been some great(and not so great dances) throughout history. This comedian covers just about all of them. The only two I could think of that he missed was the Electric Slide and The Hustle. If you haven't recieved this video in your email in your box in the past couple of week, check it out. I guarentee you will laugh your ass off and send it to everyone you know! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg

5/16 Barbie will be estatic. The world's smallest brush has been invented. Yes, I said a brush. This is what our tax dollars are hard at work for. University of Hawaii nanotechnology experts have invented the world's smallest brush — a device boasting bristles a thousand times finer than a strand of human hair. How does this affect your life? It proabably won't. The brush may be used to sweep nano dust, paint small micro-tubes and clean pollutants in water. Will it solve national debt? Feed a homeless person? Benefit our schools? No, but the money spent for years of research on a *brush* sure would, wouldn't it?

5/11 Sometimes you CAN go back. My grandfather passed away last Friday at the age of 88. He led a long wonderful life, married to my grandma for over 67 years, five children, 12 grand-children and 8 great-grandchildren. After the funeral in Mitchell, he was to be buried in Epiphany, SD a tiny town of barely 100 people. My grandparents farm was four miles to the east of Ephiphany when I was growing up until they sold it in 1990. There are four things in Epiphany; a church, a service station, a small store and a bar. As a child I remember going to the store after church with grandma and getting some small piece of candy or a bottle of pop. I was surprised to see it's still "Heine's" store and the bar is still the "Coonhunters". Of course, at the time I was too young to go to the bar, but it was a beacon across from the cemetary after an emotional day. I thought just a few of us cousins would head over for a cold one, but to our surprise the WHOLE family followed us in. I highly doubt that bar has ever seen over 30 people in it at one time. For an hour and a half we shared the coldest beer I've had in a long time and great memories of a man we still think left us too soon. When it was time to leave, about a dozen of us decided to visit the farm we'd spent half our childhood at, but hadn't seen in 16 years. The gracious, salt of the earth people who live there now, let us(without them even being there)wander around and take a trip down memory lane through the house, which is different... but still the same. Some of the cousins were too young to remember  much, but the rest of us laughed and told stories as we went through the house. Gathering eggs with grandma(and breaking an egg or two) how you could talk to each other through the ceilings of the bedrooms in the basement, Christmas time, helping grandpa fix fence and stepping in cow...well,you know. It made the whole reason we were there in the first place a lot easier to face and more reasons to cherish the memory of what we lost.

5/8 Everyone wants more bang for your buck, that's why the concept of the "buffett" was created. Unfortunately, it leads to overeating and waste, and occasionally, banishment. I read over the weekend, an amusing story of a family from Des Moines IA, who often frequented a chinese buffett. Here is the story:

Wendy Dershem, her two kids and her boyfriend were kicked out of the Dragon House buffet restaurant -- for leaving too much food on their plates! Dershem, a repeat customer at the Des Moines, Iowa eatery, said management told her that they has wasted too much food and we no longer welcome to dine there. Dershem said she paid her $5.95 fee but was abruptly told to leave after eating one plate of food, leaving her shocked and embarrassed. She said, "If it's a one-stop buffet, post it. ...you know kids. They won't always eat everything and they want something else." The Dragon House manager defended his actions, saying the restaurant offers all you can eat, not all you can waste, while the cashier added, "They take four egg rolls and crab rangoon, take one bite of egg roll and throw the whole plate. That is wasting food."

Now, I admit, that I will take something not knowing whether I will like it or not and more often then not it ends up going uneaten but isn't banishing someone a little extreme? Wasting food is never a good thing (remember there ARE starving children in China-just adds to the irony of being kick out of a chinese buffett)and in the long run this is what raises prices at resturants. A rule of thumb, always remember what Mom told you, "don't take more then you can eat. If you eat it all, you can always go back for more."

5/2 I'm going to take a little different stance on Crash's comments about the new Neil Young cd. I love music, politics....not so much. When you mix the two, you have totally lost me as a listener. There are many groups I like who I know have a great passion to get involved in human rights, politics and causes. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I applaud the fact that they use their wealth and celebrity status to help humankind. Marking a time or a happening in world through music has always been there. The civil war songs, the Great Depression, Vietnam war, etc, but for me, when you start bashing a single person or event and start preaching, that is where I draw the line. I want to hear your music, not the chip on your shoulder. If I go to a concert, that's what a want, a concert, not a war or political rally. I didn't pay through the nose to hear your political gripes.

4/27 One man's trash is another man's treasure. Garage sales...that passage of spring that sends everyone to the streets. I wonder who started this great idea. Hey, lets get a bunch of OUR junk, set it in the street and make people pay to make it THEIR junk! Ingenius! Where else can you haggle over a 10 cent book, or get rid of that tread mill that has been used as a clothes hanger in your basement for five years? Where else can grown women fight over pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans size 8 in perfect condition? I truly believe my first sentence is correct. That china set of your grandma's with only half the pieces left is JUST what someone else is looking for and if they can get if for 25 cents, all is right with the world. Happy shopping! 

 4/25 I am SO sick of celebrities. Bradgelina? TomKat? Who thinks of these things?! Stupid names aside, I'm sick of listening about them. I used to be a Tom Cruise fan. Hey, the guy IS good looking and at one point put out some pretty good movies, but I'm so put off and annoyed by his personal life these days, I have absolutely no desire to ever see another one of his films. Nicole was smart to get out! Why do we care so much about these people? Why do we care where and when they have their babies? Brad and Angelina moved to Namibia for Pete's sake, to get away from us. They are humans, people just like you and me, they make their mistakes, but they shouldn't be put above us just because they make a lot of money. Maybe if they concentrated more on working on their lives and relationships we wouldn't give the paparazzi so much cause to follow them half way across the world just to find out if it's a girl or a boy, or what they name it. Suri? Apple? Oy! Don't EVEN get me started on that....  

4/18 It's been a sad time this last week noting the deaths of two young people in the area, one by motorcyle, one by car. It's human and sometimes a morbid nature to want to know more about the accident and all the gory details or more about the people involved. When does it become invasive and over the line? A local tv stations website had an article about Amanda Boll, the young lady who was killed near Lennox Saturday night. They referred to her online habits and having a myspace.com profile where kids and friends could stop by and make comments. Did they read this profile before mentioning it on their website and possibly on air? There was a questionaire on her site that may have protrayed her as a little less then the bubbly, all american, wholesome girl we've been led to believe by the media. When do we draw the line and say something like that doesn't have to be presented to the public? I'm sure her friends knew it was there, but if her parents didn't and were drawn to take a look from that news story, some of the things read there could cause a lot of unnecessary pain. Getting the story first and sensational journalism seems to override common sense and privacy these days. It by no means started here in South Dakota, but do we really have to jump on that unfeeling and uncaring boat?

4/14 It's time for egg hunts and chocolate bunnies! Have a safe, happy, blessed Easter weekend! Remember the reason for the season!

4/13 Speaking of sports, a craze that has entertained drunk people for years has it's own national competition. Scores of people competed Sunday in the first ever national rock, paper, scissors competition in Las Vegas. A national league that formed in January held contests in 300 cities to find the finalists. Dave McGill of Omaha took home the $50,000 grand prize. For those who may not know the rules of the game: Rock breaks scissors, scissors cuts paper, and paper covers rock. The Olympics can't be far away!

4/11 A lot of people look forward to this time of year because spring is here and it's time for baseball. As a matter of fact, in a couple of weeks the Canaries will throw out their first pitch. But don't forget there are still indoor sports going on to enjoy. The Stampede are moving on in their quest for a hockey championship and the Storm are off to a great 3-0 start! Get out there and support local Sioux Falls sports!

4/7 What happened to the innocence of youth? When we were kids, giving another kid a hug or a friendly punch on the shoulder actually meant you liked them. Now it can get you suspended from school. There have been a couple incidences the last few years of kids getting suspended because of hugging another child, mostly boy to girl, but this week a five year old girl was booted for hugging another girl and then the school told the little girl how to write how it made her feel and the girl said she didn't like it, so the other girl got sent home. HUH? Are teachers TRYING to make kids sexually conscience before their time? These are acts of pure innocence and these kids have no concept of what people are telling them they are doing wrong. Talk about crossing wires. We're breeding a whole new generation of screwed up kids who aren't going to trust anyone or are going to have some serious sexual hangups. Let kids be kids! They grow up all too fast and have to face grownup "bs" soon enough.

4/3 Huh? What did you say? Yeah, my ears are ringing a bit too this morning, although after seeing Motley Crue in Sioux City last fall, I knew better and wore earplugs Saturday night! Doesn't matter, there is always that song or two that you have to throw caution to the wind and live a little without the earplugs. I love going to concerts and people watching. Especially the crowd a band like Motley Crue attracts. What IS it about our favorite bands that make us turn into completely different people? Raving lunatics as it were in some cases. We follow them to every city, wear makeup, jump over people to get a guitar pick or flash body parts that you wouldn't show on a third date. I'll admit, I'm right there(uh, except for that flashing part...really) 34 Styx shows and a bucket full of picks can attest to that. My sister and I used to dress the part back in the day, on occasion I still do, but I try to go to a concert with the thought, 'What if my mother was watching' Somtimes it works, sometimes not. After all, I only had to jump over ONE seat to get Nikki Sixx's water bottle. Maybe I'll show it to my mom. She already knows I'm a raving lunatic.

3/31 As my mother loves to say, "Spring has sprung!" I have to admit that summer is my favorite time of year. I'm one of those people who will always say that 'hotter is better'. I know a lot of people disagree with me, but I think that is why I love spring so much...SUMMER is just around the corner. Picnics, bbqs, concerts, swimming, starry nights sitting on the deck with a cold beverage. Ahhhh! But spring has it's upside too. I think people are just happy to be done with winter, especially in the part of the world we live in. There is just something about season when Easter rolls around, the air is fresh, the trees and flowers start to bloom. I've often said I wish we could get rid of winter all together and spread out fall, spring and summer over our 12 months. I guess we'd be living in California then huh? Happy Spring!

3/27 Concerts: Part III. This is a GOOD review...I promise! Last night I saw Queen. Ok, maybe not *the* Queen or ALL of Queen, but a pretty damn good version I must say. As I talked about in an earlier post, a lot of these great classic bands have lost amazing members and none so prominent as the band Queen. When Freddie Mercury died in 1991, the rest of the band decided to call it a day, at least for a while. They have done shows here and there, mainly Brian May and Roger Taylor, but nothing on a large scale as they have done this last year. Many were skeptic about Paul Rodgers leading this historic band, however he may have been the one most comfortable with it. He said from the beginning it was a chemistry with Roger and Brian and that he wasn't going to try and walk in Freddie's footsteps, but to honor him. Let me say, he does a great job. He doesn't imitate at all. Under Pressure, Fat Bottomed Girls, We Are The Champions, and one of my personal favorites, Radio Ga Ga...they all came to life as Queen songs, with that Rodgers style(Roger Taylor actually sang Radio Ga Ga!). Least we not forget two other talented artists made up Queen. Roger Taylor and Brian May. I never realized that both these men have amazing voices and they honored their friend and band mate as well with solos on the stage. They saved the night for Freddie though. When the band played Bohemian Rhapsody it was all Freddie on the big screen. As Brian May surmised, "Our friend is listening, let's all sing so he can hear" After all, the show must go on.

3/21 I'm going to continue on my concert ramblings and rantings. Years ago someone came up with the notion that selling the naming rights to  venues would be a great idea! Give us some money and we'll put your name on our building. It started with sports and now has moved to concert venues. Historic places like Sandstone, Pine Knob and countless civic centers have sold out to DTE, Verizon and Pepsi. These places have made historic, unique names for themelves, just to sell out to the corporate gods to finance and upkeep their new stadiums and venues. Kudos to Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver for sticking to their guns and keeping their history pure. If you ask the old timers where a certain place is, they will rarely give you the "updated" name. Old habits are hard to die and I just can't bring myself to say Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. It will always be Sandstone to me...as it should be.

3/17 HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY! The one day of the year that EVERYONE is Irish! It's amusing to me the way the people of the United States take a foreign holiday and make it their own. St Pat's Day, Cinco De Mayo. People in the countries these holiday(a loose term at best)originated don't even celebrate to the extent of the Americans. We are always looking for a reason to party or wear colored beads, not to mention start drinking before 10am!! Have a fun and safe St Patrick's Day!

3/15 Spring is next week and just around the corner is the spring and summer concert season. It's great to see the bands we have known and loved forever back out on the road. Sure, they have a lot more wrinkles and gray hair and some original members long gone, maybe through death or disgruntlement with the music biz, but the core of great classic rock is still out there on the road, but for how much longer? The baby boomer generation got to see some of these artists in their heyday; Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, the Stones, The Allman Brothers etc. Go to one of these concerts now and you will see these same people, now in their 50's and 60's still rocking. I know this has been the topic of debate amongst not only me and my friends but on message boards every where...who are *we* going to see in concert in 20 years?  A lot of these artists are going to be in their 70's and 80's then...you're probably NOT going to see them on a stage(except for maybe the Stones). What current bands of today  might still be going strong that far in the future? So many bands now days are flash in the pan and don't hold promise of being a "decades" band, with the likes of ZZ Top, Rush, Styx, Journey, etc. I know, I'm being a little pessimistic, but dammit, I wanna be rocking in 20 years! 

3/13 Is there anything better then a snow day!? Remember when you were a kid and snow was in the forecast. First of all, as a kid you just loved snow! You didn't have to shovel it or unbury your car, you just PLAYED in it, for hours! Sliding, sledding, snow forts, snow ball fights! If it was going to snow, you prayed that it was enough to call off school. A day of sleeping in, playing games, eating cheetos on the couch, watching tv and having mom make you mac and cheese for lunch. I've never been a fan of snow even when I was kid and now, well, some of have no choice. There are no such things as "snow days" in our world anymore. But wouldn't it be great, for just ONE day to get to sit on the couch in our jammies with a bowl of cereal and watch The Price is Right again!?

3/9 The experts keep telling us about the state of obesity in the United States. They say that tv plays a big part in that, especially children but I think for adults too. So then why do tv producers find show that suck us in like quicksand, so much to the point that people won't spend time with their friends or have a night out because, "my show is on!"? Hey, that's what they invented tivo for! I have always been one of those people who would much rather have a radio on instead of tv...something my college roommate could not even begin to understand. So, it's understandable that lately I find myself confused by the pull I find to tv. I can't stand reality shows. I get enough reality in my own life, why the hell would I want to deal with your problems too? Luckily, I've kept the complusion to Celebrity Fit Club, and The World Poker Tour, but that may change this weekend with(FINALLY)the final season of the Sopranos. This is one of those shows, that besides the fact I never had HBO until recently, I would have never been drawn into. A gangster show? Whatever, gimme the Game Show Channel.  Then my boyfriend brought home the first season on dvd. Even then, it was entertainment for him when I was sleeping, shopping or playing on the computer. Then I sat down and watched a show here or there and that was all she wrote. Me, the person who has a very short attention span when it comes to watching tv, has been playing catch up now on five seasons to prepare for Sunday night(I'm at the beginning of season 3 as we speak, I may still be a little behind) So now after all this work of catching up with the rest of the world on this obession with tv, this will be the last season and I'll be in a void! *sigh* Things were much easier when all I had to worry about was to be up by 11am on Saturday mornings to watch American Bandstand.

3/7 Some people will sell anything to make a buck. Especially if it makes fun of someone else's misfortune. Remember the runaway bride from Georgia? Last April just days before her wedding, Jennifer Wilbanks went for a jog and went missing for days. From a payphone in Arizona she told friends, family and law enforcement she had abducted and raped when in reality she was just "scared" and ran off. Nearly a year later, at a hockey game in Duluth GA, the first 1000 people to the game received runaway bride bobble heads. Actually, they called them: ""Runaway Bride Any Similarity to Actual Persons is Unintended and Purely Coincidental" Bobblehead Doll" Click here to see one. Her eyes are a little small aren't they? Are they truly collectors items or hometown fans wanting to remember the moment? Uh, a check on Ebay tells the real story! Someday some great-grandchild will be digging through a attic and run across a dusty bobblehead. Ah, a story for the ages.... 

3/5 I did a little reminising today. I talked to my mom on the phone and she told me one of my old high school superintendents had passed away over the weekend. Everyone had one of these in high school. The man you LOVE to hate. You're young, you're a rebel, you answer to NO one...unless you someday want to actually get out of high school and move on to real life. Then you have to answer to and respect this guy. Don't be fooled into thinking you can get something off on this guy, he's seen it all, heck he's probably DONE it all too. In this case, if I remember right, Mr R we shall call him, had attended school in my mom's hometown and she had heard the stories from those who had hung with him. Don't let him kid you...he's been there, done that and he got into the school system to make you pay because he knows what troublemakers are capable of. You've done your time with him in the dentention office, him standing in the corner, arms crossed while you roll your eyes. You think after you've done your time, you're in the clear, but you see him in the hallways, giving you the Robert DeNiro, "I'm watching you" signal. But time marches on, you see him at the grocery store, or at the class reunion and as a grownup, you can actually have a conversation with him. Then when you hear today's kind of news, you finally realize...they ARE human too.      

3/2 Remember when you were a kid? You were taught to be polite and respectful, especially to other people's property? How about property worth MILLIONS of dollars?! This week, a 12-year old kid visiting Detroit's Institute of Art stuck a wad of gum on a $1.5 million dollar painting called "The Bay". The gum didn't actually stick to the painting, but the residue caused a stain on the painting that will cost thousands to clean. Now, never mind that your mom always told you if you were chewing gum not to snap it or chomp like a horse, but did she remind you not to stick it on million dollar paintings?! What was this kid thinking? Was it a dare? Was it boredom? Was he trying to impress the girls? Was it, oh, I don't know...STUPIDITY!? Hopefully, he learned a lesson. His school has suspended him and his parents have disciplined him. At that age, I was scared to *death* of my parents, espcially my father. I hope they took away his gum.