Twitter & Celebs

The other day I started following Pat Sajak on Twitter. I was fairly new to using Twitter and I noticed that my friend Brian Cox in Saskatoon (@coxtox) was following Pat and there were some amusing posts, so I thought why not.

I was flattered to receive an e-mail alert shortly afterwards that Pat Sajak...the Pat Sajak of Wheel of Fortune...was following my Tweets. So I did what any Twitterer would do, I Tweeted about it.

I got a few responses back from friends in Facebook, where my Tweets are automatically posted. Someone said he'd be more impressed if it was Vanna White, but I was still feeling sorta special. I'm following quite a few people, so sometimes responses to me on Twitter get lost in the shuffle. Tonight I did a Google search of "@BigDaveBigVoice" (my Twitter handle) to see what came up. Lo and behold I found a message from Pat Sajak himself to me. I favorited my Tweet that prompted his response and then did a screen capture so I could share it. If you click on the picture, you'll be able to more easily read it.

Fun with Sheep

Please, no Montana sheep jokes. This is truly amazing what you can do with some LED's, some talented sheep dogs and a herd of the wooly buggers.

It's supposed to be spring!!!

Here it is, the last day of March. The month is definitely going out like a lion in eastern North Dakota. I snapped a few pics with my cell phone while standing on the porch this afternoon to give you an idea of what we're going through.

Where did you get your dinner?

The answer to that question for many Americans over the past several decades has increasingly been "The supermarket." or "A restaurant." And that's really a shame.

Growing up on a farm near Plentywood, MT, I was privileged to enjoy the meals that had been raised practically in my backyard. Not every meal, but many more than the average American. Of course at the time, I wasn't all that appreciative. I watched my share of TV and was aware of the plethora of processed foods available. There was a time when I would have rather eaten an Oscar Mayer hot dog than fresh garden vegetables. But what kid doesn't.

I like to think I'm a bit more enlightened these days. Plus I'm addicted to shows like "Good Eats" on The Food Network. As I sit writing this during a late March North Dakota snowstorm, I've been pondering the idea of filling some Rubbermaid tubs or similar containers with potting soil and doing a container garden, to at least grow some tomatoes, maybe some peppers and a squash or two.

It's a good idea on a number of levels. One, seeds are very cheap, especially compared to the price of a decent restaurant meal. Two, most restaurant meals and a lot of the supermarket produce in this part of the country has been trucked in from all over the country. Now I'm not a real Green Freak, but when less of our food needs to be shipped in, the less we need to depend on foreign oil. Three, home grown garden produce tastes so much better than anything you can buy in the supermarket. Ever gotten used to eating homegrown tomatoes like an apple and then try it with their supermarket cousin? YUCK!!!

Even our President and his family is getting into the act. A total of 1100 square feet of the White House grounds is being turned into a kitchen garden for the first time since Eleanor Roosevelt did it during World War II. The Obama's are getting help tending the garden from Washington, DC area fifth graders. Hats off to the President and First Lady for following through on this project.

I don't think the local supermarkets are going to be in any danger of closing as a result of small time gardeners. But I think it's a good idea for all Americans to give some consideration to growing a bit of what they consume. I am so looking forward to the summer and doing a little growing plus shopping the local Farmer's Markets.

Bathroom humor in commercials

I was watching television earlier tonight and as I surfed through the channels, a commercial on the Fargo CBS affiliate caught my attention. I don't think the advertiser is going to be happy though. The ad was for a bingo parlor in Grand Forks and I first saw a pair of women's high heels under the stall in the ladies' room. The tag line for the ad, as the woman left the rest room was "I could be playing bingo!".

What was going through the mind of the creative team on this spot???? Now granted, I didn't see the entire ad and I have only caught it once, but what good can come of using bathroom humor to sell a product?

Unique artist

Ghost in the Machine: Jim Morrison
Originally uploaded by iri5

I found this unique artist on a blog at NoiseAddicts. Her Flickr handle is iri5. I don't know much more about her, but she has some amazing work.

Shown is a picture of Jim Morrison of the Doors done with cassette tape.

The Peeing Puppy

This is just too funny. I found it on a blog called The Schmitten Kitten.

The Evolution of Man

I found this on the 100 Musical Steps Blog. Pretty darn funny (and true - at least so far).

National Champions

March Madness came to Montana this week! The Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears are the NAIA Men's Basketball National Champions. The beat Missouri's Columbia College Tuesday night by a score of 77 to 61.

Bears' coach Bill Dreikosen was named the NAIA Coach of the Year after the win. Not bad for a guy who grew up in northeast Montana and played high school ball for the Hinsdale Raiders!

There's more in this article from the Billings Gazette.

Commercial Parody

I wish I could take credit for this. Credit belongs to comedian Wild Bill Bauer who I saw on Bob & Tom on WGN tonight.

His subject matter caught my attention because earlier this evening I was visiting with a female friend who was complaining about the quality of men in her life (present company excepted I hope).

Enjoy! LOL

Dave

Flooding & Stupidity

The flooding in North Dakota is major news, not just on the Fargo stations which serve as my local news outlets, but the story lead tonight's ABC Network newscast and it even made it on the BBC in the UK. Luckily, here in Jamestown, we seem to be escaping the brunt of the flooding, although there is still some concern about the James River. The Bismarck/Mandan area received a hit earlier today, but the majority of the concern is in the Red River Valley and Fargo specifically where the river is at 36 feet and expected to crest 5 feet higher by Saturday. That will break the record set in 1997, which was an especially devastating year.

One thing concerns me about the flooding. Why are people building in areas which are prone to flooding??? There was one guy who was featured on a Fargo newscast who said he was surprised that FEMA hadn't purchased his property before this flood. He said that he'd been flooded 4 times in the time he'd lived there and there was a For Sale sign in his front yard surrounded by water.

EXCUSE ME!!!!!! You bought a lot in a low lying area by a river that is prone to flooding and you're wondering why the government hasn't come along to bail you out!!!! The recent financial bail outs of AIG and the automakers hasn't helped this sense of entitlement.

I'm sorry, but I think buyout and bailout programs should be for people who are affected by events which they could not have reasonably forseen and avoided. That does not include building your dream home in the middle of a 100 year flood plain. My heart goes out to anyone who has lost property in the flooding. But if you're not going to follow common sense when selecting a site, maybe you need to learn the hard way. Especially if this is the fourth time you've been flooded out of the same location!

No Drought in North Dakota!

The major flooding problems in North Dakota are about 100 miles east of me in the Red River Valley. But here in Jamestown we have a few problems and hope it doesn't get worse. The video is from the local cable company.

More from my friend Trina

Metalmorphosis
Originally uploaded by KaTrina Blanks

Here's another great shot of the Metalmorphosis sculpture in Charlotte, NC by my friend Trina Blanks. Hope you enjoy.

Downtown Miles City Fire

Downtown Miles City Fire
Originally uploaded by PicKLeS (Pat, Kara, Lauren, and Sam)

Another photo from the fire in Miles City, MT plus a video from YouTube.

Miles City, MT Burns

Arnold Block Burns
Originally uploaded by dave_mcmt

Downtown Miles City, MT has been hit with another devastating fire. Monday's blaze destroyed several businesses in the historic downtown.

I enjoyed stopping at the Cellar Pizza when I lived in Baker, MT. This will create a huge hole in the middle of the downtown.

Browsing Flickr

bike trip
Originally uploaded by darla.kemp

Tonight I got sucked into browsing around Flickr a bit using the location tags. It's been fun finding pictures of familiar places. This shot was taken along MT Highway 5 about 5 miles west of my Mom & Dad's. It's on the north side of the highway, just before you get to the Outlook turn.

Watching the sun set!

Watching the sun set!
Originally uploaded by KaTrina Blanks

My friend Trina Blanks is an awesome photographer. She took this shot in March 2009. It's a picture of the Metalmorphosis sculpture in Charlotte, NC. If you'd like to learn more about the sculpture you can check out it's website. http://www.metalmorphosis.tv/

I happen to believe Trina's shot is better than anything on the official website.

Paws (glowing)

Paws (glowing)
Originally uploaded by dgolterman

This is a quick snapshot I took of my friend Michelle's cat Paws. I used my cell phone and built in flash and got an a rather strange effect that was curiously interesting. As a result I thought I'd share it.

The Tonight Show with Barack Obama

President Barack Obama appeared tonight on NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno, an appearance which received a fair amount of hype leading up to it. I'll admit right up front that I didn't vote for President Obama, but I have to say I was impressed with the way he handled himself for the most part.

I was sure that conservative pundits would take some pot shots at President Obama for his appearance on a comedy program at this time of financial crisis in our country. I wasn't disappointed. Flipping through the channels after the show, Fox was already dissecting the appearance less than 30 minutes after it aired in the Eastern and Central time zones.

But for me that criticism is groundless. The President has a message he wants to get out to the people and he chose an outlet that would reach a significant portion of the population. There are some in the media who have forgotten that a significant portion of our population does not educate themselves on current events by watching the news or reading anything more intellectually stimulating than People magazine. President Obama certainly got his message in front of a number of Americans who would have missed him if he had appeared on 60 Minutes or one of the other news programs produced by the alphabet networks.

Things weren't all roses for the President though. He's going to take some flak for one small, off the cuff remark during his appearance. Jay Leno was teasing Obama about his bowling skills, or lack there of. A fuss had been made when he bowled a 26 during a photo op somewhere on the campaign trail. Jay asked if he was going to be removing the bowling alley in the White House since he was such a bad bowler. Obama said he'd made some improvement in his game and had even bowled a 129 recently.

All would have been good, except our Supreme Leader tried to be funny and added a line about how his bowling skills were suitable for the "Special Olympics". I have a feeling Barack is quoting Homer Simpson about now "DOH!!!!".

I'd try to come up with my own funny line now, but I'm afraid I might fall victim to the same syndrome as the President and who knows who I'd offend. So I guess I'll stop now while I'm ahead.

Dave

Annoying things on TV

Like a large part of the American population, I probably watch too much television. And being slightly opinionated, there are some things on television that I find highly annoying.

Let's start my list with some annoying commercials. The one that grates on me the most of late is the T-Mobile ad where the wife is ragging on her husband for butt dialing. Apparently he needs a phone that has a cover over the keypad. I've never had a butt dialing problem. I never keep my cell phone in my back pocket. Sitting on it would be too damn uncomfortable. Thanks T-Mobile for inventing a problem and presenting it to us in the most annoying manner.

Another recent ad that has got me on edge is the home pregnancy test kit which claims that 1 in 4 women misread their test results incorrectly. There's nothing like telling 25% of your target audience that they're idiots, especially women who are either trying to get pregnant or those who are.

Bob, the smiling male enhancement guy. Enough said.

Now there are some personalities on television which make me want to turn the channel too. Paris Hilton and any other celebrity who's famous for being famous is at the top of that list.

Actor David Caruso of CSI-Miami and NYPD Blue sets me on edge anytime he comes on the screen. His character is the same no matter the show and seems so contrived.

Doctor Phil is also on my list of annoyances. Mental health is not a spectator sport and that's exactly what the good doctor has done. His first national exposure came when he consulted with Oprah Winfrey's defense team when she got sued for making disparaging remarks about the beef industry. When she won the lawsuit, she thanked Phil on the air and then gave him a national platform. Thank you Oprah...not!

My final couple of television annoyances are technical. I'm sick and tired of trying to watch a program with logos covering the screen and even part of the action. The other comes when I'm watching something and all of a sudden the volume is at screaming level when the commercials come on.

Not everything on TV annoys me. I'll post some of my positive comments next.

Paul Harvey - RIP

An American icon has left the mortal world and has now rejoined his "Angel". Radio commentator Paul Harvey died Saturday (2-28) in Arizona at the age of 90.

I've been expecting the news for quite some time, but that doesn't make it any easier. Paul has been a part of my personal and professional life for as long as I can remember. My dad, also named Paul, was an avid listener. Paul's programs came on at 7:30am and 12:30pm each weekday and when we were at the breakfast or dinner table and heard "Hello Americans..." we knew it was time to be very, very quiet. If you caused a disturbance during Paul Harvey, you risked Dad's wrath.

Don't worry, no one got whipped or anything like that, but I think there were some times when the program didn't air because of "technical difficulties" at the local station that my Dad would have liked to have kicked somebody's ass.

Growing up listening to Paul, I got the idea that it would be pretty cool to work in radio. By the time I was 16, I was working part time at KATQ AM & FM in Plentywood, MT. After high school, I attended the Yellowstone School of Broadcasting in Billings, MT and then the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND, all the while working in radio. Many of the stations I worked for were Paul Harvey affiliates and I listened to literally thousands of his newscasts and "The Rest of the Story" broadcasts.

One of my most vivid memories of Paul's broadcasts came from a program I missed hearing, but I heard about it soon afterward. While I was in the Rimrock Foundation in Billings, MT back in January 1997, my Dad came in for the family week activities with the news that our hometown of Plentywood had been on Paul Harvey. He then proceeded to tell me that Montana Highway Patrolman Del Kranzler had pulled over a suspected drunk driver and taken him to the Sheridan County Sheriff's Department to administer the breathalyzer test. When there, the suspect asked to use the restroom. When he stepped out, Del noticed a blue tint around the guys lips. Apparently the legend was that the ingredients of a urinal cake would help you defeat the breathalyzer test.

What a story to hear while you're sobering up!

That was a typical Paul Harvey broadcast, a mixture of the hard news of the day with some offbeat stories from whatever source he could find. It kept the listeners coming back daily for over fifty years.

I think Paul is now sharing "The Rest of the Story" or maybe a bumpersnicker with St. Peter and God in Heaven.

Thank you Paul for sharing with us these many year. Godspeed.