Things you can ONLY hear in a Comics Book Store

"I gotta be careful this week.There's only so many statues of half-naked flying women I can have in the house before my wife objects."



~~JD~~

Friday's Feast!

Appetizer: What does the color dark green make you think of?

Forests. Wood-elves. J.R.R. Tolkien. Avocados. St. Patrick's Day. Guacamole. Seaweed.



Soup: How many cousins do you have?

Eight first cousins on the Shurr side; I lost count of the second cousins at sixteen. Two first cousins on the Long side (that I know of), and one second cousin. What's that -- twenty-seven?



Salad: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?

As a lifetime Average, about 70%. This year, 99%. Today, 100%. I strive for 100%, because I had a problem with "telling stories" as a kid that it's taken me years to live down. Besides, it's easier to tell the truth than keep track of the lies.

Main Course: Name something that is truly free.

Air. Sleep. Dreams. Salvation. The song in your heart.

Dessert: Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.

Silly Puppy runs in neighbor's greenery.
Some people read Investor's (Business Daily) nearly gladly.
Should papa really intensify natural gardening?
Some people realize international neighbors grandstand.

~~JD~~

Silence on the Air in Chicago; Wally Phillips Passes Away

I'm almost at a loss for words . . . almost. I'd like to think Wally wouldn't have wanted that. Wally Phillips was the most-listened to radio host during the 1960's, 70's, and 80's -- perhaps ever.

He began his ground-breaking 42-year run at WGN in 1956, when he arrived from WLW-AM in Cincinnati. For 21 years, he was the undisputed king of morning radio, drawing an astonishing half of all listeners at his peak. At the Tribune Co.-owned news/talk powerhouse, Phillips pioneered a new form of radio by engaging his audience through phone interaction and employing his impeccable sense of comedic timing with random drop-ins and sound effects.

At the peak of his popularity as morning star at WGN, Phillips attracted half of all Chicago area radio listeners -- an audience of nearly 1.5 million each day -- making him the most listened-to radio host in the country. "When we say 'WGN Radio is Chicago,' I quickly add that 'Wally Phillips is WGN,'" said Wayne Vriesman, vice president and general manager of the Tribune-owned station. "He is the most creative, humorous and innovative person I have ever met in broadcasting. . . . (with) a lifetime of great radio listening and a public service never equaled in broadcasting."

Wally Phillips gentle, calm, reassuring demeanor made you feel like one of the family, while making you laugh so hard I frequently went to school with cornflakes in my nose.

A year later he was back in Cincinnati at a radio station where he developed his madcap style by messing around with prerecorded interviews. In one instance, on a Doris Day tape, she had answered a question by saying "Yeah, that was half the fun of it." The jock was supposed to ask, "You've been all around, meeting all these different people . . ." Phillips' question was "Doris, I understand there are innuendoes that you and the guys on the bus got just plain drunk, that it was nothing but an orgy from place to place."

The station eventually fired him for inserting a phony item into a news broadcast.

"I wrote, 'All members of infantry company so-and-so report immediately to your draft board,' and I described an insurrection in some phony country. He read it on the air. Hell, they even had the FBI all over the station," Phillips said in an interview published in the Tribune in 1976.

Phillips' delivery occasionally had an edge to it, like the time he tracked down formal-wear mogul Ben Gingiss on a cruise ship on the Pacific Ocean and got him on the phone, saying "We're down here at the store. . . . Where do you keep the fire extinguisher?" More typical was the morning when he started his broadcast by chatting with farm reporter Orion Samuelson about the coming Stomach Rumbling Finals in Stuttgart, Germany.

If you never heard Wally Phillips' Show, you have my sincere condolences. He was an absolute genius. But he was renowned around Chicago for his big heart for kids. Even Bozo the Clown competed against him, to a point.

He also was the first to offer a $ 1 million prize. In his most famous and longest-running promotion, listeners were invited to guess what was inside "Wally's Black Box." No one ever did. The box turned out to contain a note bearing the name of Jean Rogers, a movie heroine Phillips admired.

Marking his 50th year in radio in 1997, Phillips was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Among his legacies at WGN was establishment of the Neediest Kids Fund, for which he raised more than $25 million.

Sources:

The Chicago Sun-Times, The Chicago Tribune, The WGN Radio Archives, and Northwest Indiana Vidette-Times. The Tribune site has video clips, and the WGN Archives have original clips of Wally's Show -- Bonus!

~~JD~~

Why I Moved To Texas, Part III

The AP (via Yahoo! News) confirms what I've known since 2002 (and suspected since the mid-1980's) -- Texas is a GREAT Place to Live! (And my buddy Raven backhandedly agrees HERE:)

4 Texas Cities Among Top 10 in Growth
Thursday March 27, 9:12 am ET; By Paul J. Weber, Associated Press Writer

DALLAS (AP) -- Four Texas metropolitan areas were among the biggest population gainers as Americans continued their trend of moving to the Sun Belt in 2006 and 2007, according to Census Bureau estimates to be released Thursday.

Dallas-Fort Worth added more than 162,000 residents between July 2006 and July 2007, more than any other metro area. Three other Texas areas -- Houston, Austin and San Antonio -- also cracked the top 10.

Of the 50 fastest-growing metro areas, 27 were in the South and 20 were in the West. Two were in the Midwest, one -- Fayetteville, Ark. -- straddles the South and Midwest and none was in the Northeast. Experts credit much of the growth in the South to relatively strong local economies and housing prices that are among the most affordable in the U.S.

"People are running away from unaffordable housing, from the economic slowdown," said Karl Eschbach, a state demographer in Texas. "I would expect Texas to stay at the top of a slowing game."

According to figures compiled by Eschbach, 16 percent of Americans who moved to other states between July 2006 and July 2007 came to Texas, which led the nation for the second straight year in that category. A report earlier this month by Global Insight found that housing prices in the Dallas area were undervalued by as much as 30 percent.

Sales taxes are relatively low. Gas prices are low due to the proximity of refineries in Houston and Gulf drilling rigs, and food costs are kept low with Texas growing more food than it can use. The Rio Grande valley is one of the best citrus and vegetable growing areas in the U.S., and Texas is traditionally one of the largest cattle-producing states, even if you've never seen a John Wayne movie. While immigrants do have an influence in keeping prices low, that's mostly due to their providing competition to union workers, who can't charge their ridiculously high union wages with the competition from immigrants.

As my friend Raven should know, taxes have a LOT to do with this as well. Her own state of New Hampshire was voted the most liveable state by GQ, in no small part due to it's not having a state income tax.

Just like Texas, Rave -- just like Texas. (Heh.)

~~JD~~

Why You Shouldn't Give Easter Candy to An Obsessive-Compulsive Diabetic

(Sigh . . . .)

~~JD~~

Man Declared Dead Feels 'Pretty Good'

Sometimes I can't improve on the title of a post. I've had a couple of these things happen to me in my twenty-some years of nursing, where a patient I was caring for woke up and remembered me talking to them. It's always weird when it happens, and it doesn't happen often -- but it does reaffirm your faith in hope when it does.

I have to admit, my mind is awash with straight lines after reading this article. (I'll try to limit my responses, though . . . ) From the Associated Press via Yahoo News:

Man Declared Dead Feels 'Pretty Good'
Mon Mar 24, 10:09 AM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY - Four months after he was declared brain dead and doctors were about to remove his organs for transplant, Zach Dunlap says he feels "pretty good."

(Like "six beers later" pretty good?)


Dunlap was pronounced dead Nov. 19 at United Regional Healthcare System in Wichita Falls, Texas, after he was injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident. His family approved having his organs harvested.

(Six beers later and an ATV ride and your organs get harvested. Sound like Saturday night in South Texas to me.)

As family members were paying their last respects, he moved his foot and hand. He reacted to a pocketknife scraped across his foot and to pressure applied under a fingernail. After 48 days in the hospital, he was allowed to return home, where he continues to work on his recovery.

(Ah, don't we all.)

"I feel pretty good. but it's just hard ... just ain't got the patience," Dunlap told NBC. Dunlap, 21, of Frederick, said he has no recollection of the crash. "I remember a little bit that was about an hour before the accident happened. But then about six hours before that, I remember," he said. Dunlap said one thing he does remember is hearing the doctors pronounce him dead. "I'm glad I couldn't get up and do what I wanted to do," he said.

(A Monty Python moment flashes across my brain. "No, I'm not!")

Asked if he would have wanted to get up and shake them and say he's alive, Dunlap responded: "Probably would have been a broken window that went out."

(Or broken up a Doctor and put him out!)

His father, Doug, said he saw the results of the brain scan. "There was no activity at all, no blood flow at all."

(And . . . that was different from every other day . . . how, exactly?)

"Just makes me thankful, makes me thankful that they didn't give up," he said. "Only the good die young, so I didn't go."

And on that note . . . . . .



~~JD~~

I've Always Wondered Where The Easter Bunny Gets His Chocolate

A sad little note that dashes all my preconceptions about the Easter Bunny. From today's Gary Post-Tribune

Thieves Steal Trailer, 20 Tons of Chocolate
March 25, 2008; BY STAN MADDUX Post-Tribune correspondent

MICHIGAN CITY -- Police are looking for a thief with a huge sweet tooth after someone stole a semitrailer carrying more than 20 tons of Hershey's products.

LaPorte County Police Chief of Detectives John Boyd said he isn't sure if there's a black market for that much chocolate or exactly what the thieves will do with 41,000 pounds of it.

"I don't have any idea," said Boyd.

Daryl Rey, 58, said he picked up the load near St. Louis and then Saturday morning left the trailer outside Gas City truck stop on U.S. 421 just south of Michigan City. The Michigan City-area man returned less than 24 hours later to drive the load to a warehouse in Wisconsin and the 53-foot-long trailer was missing.

He believes professionals were at work because the hidden satellite tracking device was removed from the trailer. Apparently, the device was thrown into a nearby pond, he said.

Despite the cargo being insured, Rey's wife, Patricia, said her husband is taking the loss hard. "He's really bummed out," she said.

My other suspect would be New orleans mayor Ray Nagin; famous for his "Chocolate City."

~~JD~~

Friday Afternoon, Good Friday Commute Home

~~JD~~

The Reason For The Season

Luke 23: The Crucifixion


26 As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' 30 Then they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" '[d] 31For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."[ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." 38 There was a written notice above him, which read:|sc THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

42Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[" 43Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Jesus' Death

44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.
47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man."

More Information:

Max Lucado's Website: Grest Place to Start Reading about God's Love.

K-Love Radio: Listen to the sounds of Christian Encouragement.

Does God Exist?: Former right-hand to Madalyn Murray O'Hair, now a vociferous Chistian advocate.

Friday's Feast!

Appetizer: Given the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?

Oh, the city, definitely. I've always wanted to live in a big city. If I could figure out a way around the parking problem, I'd move into downtown San Antonio in a heartbeat.

span style="font-weight:bold;">Soup: Who is the cutest kid you know?

My son Julian looked exactly like the Pinocchio character in the Disney cartoon at 18 months old. That's pretty cute. Oddly enough, he has a cat that looks a LOT like Pinocchio's cat, too.

Salad: Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard . . .

I couldn’t believe it when I heard the Space Shuttle crashed.

I couldn’t believe it when I heard my wife say "I Do."

I couldn’t believe it when I heard my newborn son cry for the first time.

I couldn’t believe it when I heard my father was dying.

I couldn’t believe it when I heard the Lord call me home.

Main Course: If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?

Actually, I did one make a couple of commercials for the local radio station when I owned my limousine business. Celebrity most definitely has it's drawbacks in that respect.

Dessert: What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?

I take two multivitamins every morning, based on the idea that most studies obout "Recommended Daily Requirements" were based on studies of people who were starving to death -- and most multivitamins have just enough nutrients to keep you alive.

So I double them up.

I also take 2000 mg of Vitamin C every morning, and haven't had a cold or flu since 1996. Also I take 1200mg of Chostro-condroitin for my knees; and four fish oil tablets for my cholesterol.
That's about it. Happy Easter EveryBunny!

~~JD~~

New Blog Alert!

I discovered a new blog today at Digital Doorway. Keith is a Registered Nurse who (like myself) practices mindfulness mediation and nursing (of course.) I'm adding him to my daily reads, so give him a look.

An interesting post here called The nurse as Ogre should interest those of us in Health Care. Take a peek and leave Keith some feedback.

~~JD~~

South Texas Rainstorm Meets West Texas Duststorm

I haven't seen anything like this since Desert Storm.

As I drove home last night I began to see small, light spatters of rain on the windshield that dried quickly and left what I thought was heavy, yellow pollen on the windows.

For most of the night the sky was strongly yellow-tinged, even in the streetlight's glow, which was more than eerie, to say the least. However, as WOAI-TV Reports, it wasn't just me; it was everybody in the greater San Antonio area feeling eerie. (Follow the link for a video, too):

There were reports of the muddy rain in Boerne and New Braunfels too. Storm Tracker 4 Meteorologist Jennifer Broome explains that the heavy winds Tuesday kicked the dust and dirt thousands of feet into the atmosphere. The dust simply combined with the rain as it fell resulting in the ‘muddy rain.’

Basically it's a Texas dust storm meets a rain storm. It's unusual here but dirty rain and even brown snow happen on a fairly regular basis for West Texas and the Panhandle. San Antonio car washes should be extremely busy Wednesday.

"Busy" my butt -- they were so jammed-packed, it was impossible to get within a block of any car wash in San Antonio for most of today. As you can see from this picture of our car, it's pretty dirty today. The kicker for me is that (of course) I just washed the car last week.

Dammit.

Another thing that wouldn't happen to me in Northwest Indiana, for certain.

~~JD~~

Health Provider Predicts Big Loss; Unions Blame Everyone Else

The Boston Globe reports that all is not rosy in the people's socialist commonwealth of Massachusetts. A new law there requires all hospitals to render care to the uninsured, but only reimburses 70% of the costs.

The result, as you might guess, is diasastrous; or as the Cheif Administrative officer of one hospital put it, "This would be catastrophic."

Health provider predicts big loss
Hospital alliance cites impact of reform law; Could cut 300 jobs, suffer $25m shortfall
By Jeffrey Krasner, Globe Staff / March 17, 2008

Health Alliance, a key part of the Boston area's healthcare network, is facing a potentially "catastrophic" loss this year and is looking to eliminate up to 300 jobs, or about 9 percent of its workforce, in an effort to stabilize finances. The alliance, which includes Cambridge Hospital, Somerville Hospital, and Whidden Hospital in Everett, says it is being hit hard by the state's new healthcare reform law, which has left it responsible for providing free care for those without insurance while reducing the hospitals' compensation for such services.

Before healthcare reform took effect last year, Keefe said, Cambridge Health Alliance was reimbursed by the state for the full cost of providing services to the uninsured. Under the new system, "we only get 60 to 70 percent," he said. The reduction is particularly significant for the alliance because its hospitals serve a high percentage of uninsured patients. Despite the state's efforts to enroll all low-income residents in free or subsidized insurance programs, many still do not have coverage.

Keefe said the hospital was especially bruised in its second fiscal quarter, which ended Dec. 31, when the new payment system for uninsured patients took effect. Government payments for free care to the uninsured fell by nearly $14 million compared with the previous quarter, he said.

At the same time, the number of patients admitted to the alliance's hospitals dropped by about 3 percent, while patients kept overnight for observation - a category for which insurance companies do not pay as well - grew by 48 percent. Additionally, the number of walk-in patients, which do not generate as much revenue as inpatients, also grew substantially in the six months that ended Dec. 31, Keefe said.

During a department meeting last month, the chief administrative officer of the health system's physicians' group predicted a potential loss of $25 million to $35 million for the year. "This would be catastrophic," Dave Porell told members of the Department of Psychiatry, according to the approved minutes of the meeting, which were obtained by the Globe.

Prediction: This will get far, far worse before it gets beter. Some chains will actually begin to pull out of Massachussetts before the legislature repeals or severely amends the act. And, of cousre, the lefties will blame the "evil corporations" for not funding healthcare for the poor.

Hat Tip: And Rightly So!

Friday Afternoon,San Antonio Spring Day

It's been a long, cool winter in San Antonio; which is to say 50's during the day, low 40's to high 30's at night. Periodic rains keep everthing cool and moderately damp, and that's more or less how it's been all winter.

Until today.

When I went to work at 4:00am this morning it was mid-50's and damp outside from another night's sporadic rains. When I came out at 5:30 pm it was bright and sunny, with one of those beautiful south Texas wispy clouded skies that makes you just wish you could gaze into those light, wispy pieces of heaven forever without going blind -- like ice cream for your tired old retinas. The parking garage was still cool, like it had been in the morning, but as I drove down towards the exit I began to feel it.

Warmth. Heat. Warm, luxuriant heat like rich, velvety chocolate pudding that flowed velvety over my outsretched arm from the car window and curled back upon itself, stirring the hair on my arms in an almost senuous manner. San Antonio summer heat has no humidity like most people recognize it. The low (20%) humidity doesn't feel soggy and damp like the Chicagoland summers of my youth; it's liberating, invigorating, and energizing. Even with 98 degrees outside it felt wonderful.

I grinned like a chimpanzee. I rolled all four windows down and sang Biily Joel songs at the top of my lungs all the way to the gas station. The low humidity wicked away any persperation and kept me cool and dry as the hair on my arms did a hula dance in the car's slipstream.

I love this place.

~~JD~~

Friday's Feast!

Appetizer: On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting?

I wouldn't know -- I can't READ my own handwriting. That's why I print.

Soup: Do you prefer baths or showers?

I grew up in a house without a working shower, but I take showers almost exclusively now, and have since I entered the Army many years ago. I can't remember the last time I had a bath.

Salad: What was the last bad movie you watched?

Hard to say -- so many of them are bad anymore; as Harlan Ellison likes to say, "90% of everything is crap." Probably Air Force One on TBS last weekend; but the last one I paid to see was the Love Bug remake with Lindsay Lohan last year.

Main Course: Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life.

Ice cream and chocolate. I'm jonesing right now, actually. There's a reason we call Dairy Queens "Texas Stop Signs."


Dessert: Which instrument is your favorite to listen to?

Violin. I enjoy all instruments, but I love violins. Mu son plays the violin but will never let me listen to him practice, much to my dismay. (sigh)

~~JD~~

Saturday Night Santa Rosa Hospital

~~JD~~

Friday's Feast!

Appetizer: If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?

Jerry Springer. I'd spend the week apologizing for my television show to everyone who's ever been on it; fire all my staff; and retire to a desert island where I could never bother anyone again. My second choice is of similar mind; Bozo the Clown!

Soup: On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?

The square root of negative 2. I will let the damned thing ring for hours rather than answer a telephone. I have to force myself to answer it at work. It's almost always someone I didn't really want to talk to.

Salad: Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).

My church, of course. The Marine Corps Scholarship fund gives college scholarships to the children of fallen Marines.

Main Course: What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?

Sherbet. My wife's quiche. Mint chocolate chip ice cream. Chocolate Mousse.

Dessert: Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?

Nope. My son had a bad cold in December, but we all dose up on Vitamin C and use ZICAM nasal spray at the first sign of the sniffles -- works like a charm every time.

~~JD~~

Thursday Morning; "Cool rain today with temps in the 50's, No Chance of Accumulation"

"The best camera is the one you have in your hand at the time." Quoted by Marcus Henderson Wilder.

~~JD~~

Pardon Me While I Geek Out Just A Bit . . .

For those of you out there who do NOT read comic books, just skip this post. There are plenty of other posts to read where I won't geek out over a silly little comic book -- just scroll down. I promise. G'wan -- shoo, shoo!

They gone?

Okay, good.

Blue Beetle #24 from DC comics may be the best comic book you'll read this year. I don't care if you've been reading this one or not; you need to go get it now.

It'd got humor, action, pathos, suspense, relatability -- and the best payoff of any comic book buildup I've read in a long, looonnng time. Not to mention one-liners that are so fast and so furious you miss half of the the first read-through.

I've read this book five times in the last four days -- it's that good. Plus it's written by two relative unknowns -- that right there is reason enough to support the book.

Go. Buy. Read already!

~~JD~~