MIX 105 - FUN FM!

Back from Chicago thoughts….Took off Wednesday for Chi-town…did & saw a lot in only 36 hours there. Got there Wednesday around 7:30pm after battling traffic to the “loop”. Finally found the hotel, got the car parked and off we went to explore downtown Chicago. We were staying at the Hard Rock Hotel (Would NEVER stay THERE again, more on that later) and we went to this Chicago-style pizza place Girodano's-good stuff there! Then we wandered through Millennium Park. Interesting place, some goofy art there though. This giant silver thing called “cloudgate”, looked more like silver thing cemented into the ground! The we moved to this white thing that looked like a giant tooth, then lights on it would change different colors, I liked blue the best! Then we saw this stupid giant clam shell thing which we walked into and there was video & audio, a couple of different things going on at the same time…very confusing! Then to top it off there are these two video screens at each end of a fountain and they had these giant pictures of people and every so often they would spit real water out of their mouths…very strange indeed! So That's ART???!! I prefer a Velvet Elvis or dogs playing cards!

Thursday after running/walking down to Navy Pier (cool place) we hopped on the “L” to go Wrigley Field and just hang out…got on the wrong train…what ever you do DON'T get on the Green Line…Scary! Once we got re-adjusted, got on the Red Line and off to Addison and see Wrigleyville. What a circus…White Sox/Cubs! Went over to the Cubby-Bear and had a liquid refreshment and watched everything going on. Walked around the stadium which is pretty cool too. Just hung out & watched the fun, got back on the Red Line and headed south back to Michigan Avenue. Then took a cab over to Mike Ditka's…yes DA COACH's place…wow what a joint! Best Pork Chop I ever had. I sat under the portrait of Vince Lombardi, how's that for Karma?

Then off to the Chicago Theater to see Steely Dan! What a show, one of the best I have ever seen! They opened with a rousing version of Kid Charlemagne and finished with My Old School & Reelin' in the Years 2 hours later.

Random thoughts….It's September 1…only 4 months left in 2009!! Only 3 months & 24 days to Christmas. Woo- hoo!!! Watched Favre & Adrian P. & the Vikes beat up on the Texans last night (heard on the New Mix 105!) and then switched back to the Twins and realized if you are a Minnesota sports fan this may the best time ever. The Twins have the best player in baseball-Joe Mauer and the Vikings have the best player in football-Adrian Peterson…glory days indeed for Minnesota.

Off to Chicago after the Shopping Show on Wednesday to Steely Dan Thursday night at the Chicago Theatre. We are about 16 rows from the stage another BIG WOO-HOO there!! Staying at the downtown Chicago Hard Rock Hotel. Going to be great. I will blog on that when I get back Friday afternoon…

Back again…I survived “Farve Frenzy” at the Dome Friday night. It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life…seeing Brett Favre wearing purple! Truly amazing…the Lord does work in mysterious ways. It's going to be the most interesting season in Vikings history and I can't wait for the ride. If the Vikings don't make it to the Super Bowl…”FIRE CHILI!!”

Brett Favre a Viking??!!! In the words of Homer Simpson…”WOO-HOO”!!” An apparently boring season for the Purple just got a whole LOT more interesting. All we need to decide is where the Super Bowl victory parade is going to begin & end! Meanwhile I get a kick out of Packer fans. They see the world through green & gold glasses, when Favre played for them he was the greatest! Now he sucks…what has Aaron Rodgers done? The guy was a loser in college and last year led the Pack to a 6-10 record? Rodgers=Loser…Favre=Winner! Remember last year, before Favre got hurt? The Jets were 9-3 and had destroyed the team with the eventual best record in the NFL, the Tennessee Titans in their very own stadium. Favre doesn't get hurt the Jets at the very least go to the AFC title game and maybe beat the Steelers? You know they would have beaten the Cardinals in the Super Bowl! So in the immortal words of the Joker in the “Dark Knight”, “and here we GO!”

Bambi update from Friday morning…DEAD! Went past the accident scene on Friday afternoon saw Bambi on the other side of the highway from where I hit her…launched her about 100 feet..WOW!! One less prize for someone's wall this November!

Saw the movie “District 9” late Friday afternoon…VERY interesting…not at all like they showed in the trailers or TV commercials…still trying to figure it out…not sure if I liked it…but I didn't hate it either. VERY violent & sometimes gross and disgusting, very dark & depressing but shot in an interesting style. Some of it in that “Blair Witch” or “Cloverfield” mold. Don't bring the kids or a weak stomach. Laurie saw it with me and she almost “lost” her popcorn a couple of times.

Random weekend thoughts…as I sit down to write this Friday morning I am just 15 minutes past smacking Bambi, yes driving my new car this morning engaged in thoughts on how to entertain you when Bambi ran out from the woods…BOOM..I hit the brakes, she bounces off my car and staggers off into the woods…I stop & start crying! Oh well thank goodness I have great car insurance!

18 holes in 4 hours, 44 minutes..wow!! What a day yesterday at the Amery Regional Medical Center's annual golf extravaganza! Thanks again to Rhonda & the gang at ARMC for a fantastic afternoon & evening. And thanks to our team Kurt Marek, Terry Forrest & His Uncle Bob…we finished at even par…that's pretty good considering I was on the team. As for the lawyers behind us that hit our cart with an errant drive…I may see you guys in court yet…just kidding!

Random Wednesday thoughts: Thanks to “Doc” & the gang at Larsen Auto, Amery for putting me back into the driver's seat of a good old fashioned American car, a 2008 Pontiac Gran Prix. I owned one before for over 5 years and am very happy to be back by a car made by Americans.

Getting ready to golf to day in the annual AMRC golf spectacular. This ought to be interesting…Instead of golfing like Tiger Woods I golf more like a Tiger cub! Thanks to Rhonda & the folks at ARMC for putting on this fantastic event! A full report on that to come.

Also Friday planning to see the movie “District 9”..incredible reviews already…we will have a review on Monday

Random Friday thoughts: “Burn Notice” on USA Network, one of the best shows on TV had the summer season finale last nite…good stuff!! Won't be back till this winter. Speaking of TV FOOTBALL is BACK!! Hall of Fame game Sunday nite! I have the DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket this year starting September 13 th …don't bother me on Sundays!!! Every football game every Sunday, yes there is a God! Speaking of that went to my step-son's Vacation Bible School event last nite…wow have I mellowed out!

No Brett Favre…Not sure if you need to take my belt & shoelaces away or not yet. I bet he will change his mind 2 more times before the first regular season game. This guy takes 3 days to decide what he wants on his pizza. I think the Vikings in the long run will be better off but it looks like no Super Bowl win in my lifetime! The good news is Brad Childress will be fired after this year! Jon Gruden? Bill Cowher? Mike Shanahan? Mike Holmgren?? TONY DUNGY???!!!! I can only hope…Dungy would be too good to be true. Then “Chili” can get the “H”out of here & take that loser Darrell Bevell with him!

Big Brush with Greatness day yesterday. Had a chance to tour the “NEW” Target Field, the future home of the Minnesota Twins (heard right here on Mix 105!)…all I have to say is “WOW!! Or maybe double “WOW”!!!! Great sightlines, incredible amenities, what an experience it will be. Baseball the way it's meant to be; outside..on grass; now if we can just get rid of the DH I will really be happy! The tour was so cool, even my step-kids were just fascinated and that's NOT an easy thing to do. We sat up in the $10 seats, they were better than $29 seats I had at the dome. So get ready baseball fans, get your tickets now because they will be going fast and I guarantee you WILL be blown away.

Now on to my brush with greatness. Or should I say my lovely wife's! We were down on the field at the Dome watching batting practice before the Twins/White Sox game after our tour of Target Field. That was pretty cool in and of itself. As we were getting off the elevator to get back to our seats we had to pass through the reception area outside the Twins offices (you can see the 2 World Series trophies displayed again pretty cool stuff) and there holding court was Sid Hartman. My wife says to Sid, “Hi Sid”, Sid turns and looks at her and says, “Hi How are you?” the funny thing about that was Sid was NOT looking into here eyes but about a foot south if you get my drift!! I wanted to yell at Sid and “SID..No here face is up here!!” But I didn't and we moved on…the other brush with greatness was on our way upstairs we ran into Tony Oliva, America's Greatest Baseball player NOT in the Hall of Fame. What a class guy & funny too! All in all a fantastic experience for my family yesterday. Thanks to Twins President Dave St. Peter (hope you like the blog Dave!), Twins Radio Network's Penny Meier and the Andy Price from the Twins for a very memorable day and night.

Another new blog! Will wonders never cease! Getting ready for the big move next Friday. As I said on the air this morning “LESS IS MORE”, moving from our 5-bedroom home to a much smaller (but still nice) 2-bedroom townhome. This way can do more traveling! If you haven't heard, I'm headed to Chicago after the Shopping Show on Wednesday September 2 nd to see Steely Dan at the Chicago Theatre…been waiting to see them for over 30 years! Then in December off to Tampa! Yes, less is more!!!

Been busy packing (actually Laurie's doing ALL the work) so have not caught much TV lately however this week saw a great new show, Torchwood: Children of Earth on BBC-America. If you like “Battlestar Galactica” & “24” you will love this show. And “Burn Notice” right now is the BEST show on TV or at least until “Desperate Housewives”, “Fringe” & “24” return.

Another new blog! If you are reading this you are also looking the lovely Mrs. Revere. My wife is a real catch!!! She cooks like Julia Child…cleans houses like June Cleaver and washes like Wilma Flintstone. She also looks GREAT too!! What a perfect package!!!! Today I am driving the brand new red sports car I bought her…My head touches the ceiling of the car!! It's like driving a can of Spam but it sure does move & it makes her happy and THAT is all that matters.

You can see my kids as well…got married 12 days ago in Glacier National Park in Montana…it sure is nice out there…no humidity!!!

Another new blog! Today's the day they have the Michael Jackson memorial deal in LA. BFD….yes he was talented he also was downright strange. Jesse Jackson & Larry King and those people made it sound he cured cancer & brought down the Berlin Wall…come on! Someone called him the Prince of Peace????!!!! The only Prince of Peace I know they hung on a cross over 2000 years ago. Let's move on people….Honest to Goodness!!

New blog! Yes been busy but now safe & secure and 8 days into a marriage to the best woman on Earth! Yes, that's you Laurie!!!!! Been busy over the weekend. Friday bought a house (ouch that's a lot of paperwork!) & bought my lovely Laurie a hot, new Red sports car (that's almost as much paperwork as buying a house!). I did buy my breakfast at Taco Johns (love the B1 there). As you may heard got married last Sunday in Montana, at Glacier national Park, the wedding pics will be up soon. Took our six kids ranging from 24 to 8 on a plane & entertained them for 3 days…THAT was full-time job! But we had the best time ever and I even bonded with my two lovely & smart daughters.

One thing that burned me was kids on a plane. Hey, if you are going to bring your kids with you make sure they SHUT-UP the whole way alright? Geez we had some annoying kids on both flights. Other than that our six kids sure can eat a lot!

Ron is WAY to busy to write another blog right now, so Webmaster will ghost author for him. As you can see, he is always hard at work...

And when (if ever) he's not at work, he stops by his favorite
Hang-out. He just loves Mugs!

Quote from Ron (that I made up)
"I would rather be at work than in Florida because of my wonderful staff, especially my terrific webmaster...who works so very hard, is dedicated, talented and a real pleasure to be around....and she really deserves a very long, company paid vacation in a warm sunny place..."

ANOTHER NEW BLOG!! Double Woo-hoo!! I have talked to 3 people the last 2 days who say it's time for the media (yes even us!) to quit focusing on the bad news out there! I challenge you over the next 30 days (or better yet wait till after January 1, 2009) not to watch ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox, MSNBC, and all the other alphabet soups who seem to concentrate on the doom & gloom and not focus on the good things in this country! The these idiots all put the fear of God in a lot of people forcing them to curl up in the fetal position in their bedrooms and never doing anything!! Get out, live our Freaking lives and don't let those morons control our lives! Go see a movie, go out to dinner, buy an I-pod or better yet a car! Remember you can't take it with you anyway!

NEW BLOG!! Woo-hoo!! What's the deal with this auto bailout scam? These incompetent fools run GM, Ford & Chrysler into the ground and then want a hand out from us???!!! These guys show up in $4K suits, $500 shoes & $200 haircuts and then beg for dough. If you own a business, run it badly can YOU go to the government & ask for money?? Of course not!!! Let them fail…it will teach business that you need to make money! I feel sorry for the regular workers but this is America and another job is right around the corner if you are smart enough and work hard enough!

Saw the new James Bond movie, “Quantum of Solace”…the first 20 minutes are incredible then the movie goes astray for a good hour or so. Daniel Craig is STILL the BEST James Bond ever but this movie is nowhere as good as “Casino Royale”, which is the best Bond movie ever!

First blog in awhile…thank goodness the election is over with. Barack is now our President, shades of Jimmy Carter. Carter was such a bad leader he makes W. Bush look like Abe Lincoln! Meanwhile the Oprah crowd is soooo happy. Now they have 4 years of telling all of us how to live out lives. Speaking of Oprah, if you get a chance see the 1957 movie, “A Face in the Crowd” with Andy Griffith playing a TV star who says behind the scenes to co-star Patricia Neal: “ This whole country's just like my flock of sheep! everybody that's got to jump when somebody else blows the whistle. They're mine! I own 'em! They think like I do. Only they're even more stupid than I am, so I gotta think for 'em. Marcia, you just wait and see. I'm gonna be the power behind the president - and you'll be the power behind me! “

I am a nurse who has just completed volunteer working approximately 120 hours as the clinic director in a Hurricane Gustav evacuation shelter in Shreveport, Louisiana over the last 7 days. I would love to see someone look at the evacuee situation from a new perspective. Local and national news channels have covered the evacuation and "horrible" conditions the evacuees had to endure during Hurricane Gustav. True - some things were not optimal for the evacuation and the shelters need some modification. At any point, does anyone address the responsibility (or irresponsibility) of the evacuees? Does it seem wrong that one would remember their cell phone, charger, cigarettes and lighter but forget their child's insulin?

Is something amiss when an evacuee gets off the bus, walks immediately to the medical area, and requests immediate free refills on all medicines for which they cannot provide a
prescription or current bottle (most of which are narcotics)?

Isn't the system flawed when an evacuee says they cannot afford a $3 copay for a refill that will be delivered to them in the shelter yet they can take a city-provided bus to Wal-mart, buy 5 bottles of Vodka, and return to consume them secretly in the shelter? Is it fair to stop performing luggage checks on incoming evacuees so as not to delay the registration process but endanger the volunteer staff and other persons with the very realistic truth of drugs, alcohol and weapons being brought into the shelter?

Am I less than compassionate when it frustrates me to scrub emesis from the floor near a nauseated child while his mother lies nearby, watching me work 26 hours straight, not even raising her head from the pillow to comfort her own son?

Why does it insense me to hear a man say "I ain't goin' home 'til I get my FEMA check" when I would love to just go home and see my daughters who I have only seen 3 times this week?

Is the system flawed when the privately insured patient must find a way to get to the pharmacy, fill his prescription and pay his copay while the FEMA declaration allows the uninsured person to acquire free medications under the disaster rules?

Does it seem odd that the nurse volunteering at the shelter is paying for childcare while the evacuee sits on a cot during the day as the shelter provides a "daycare"?

Have government entitlements created this mentality and am I facilitating it with my work? Will I be a bad person, merciless nurse or poor Christian if I hesitate to work at the next shelter because I have worked for 7 days being called every curse word imaginable,
feeling threatened and fearing for my personal safety in the shelter?

Exhausted and battered,

Sherri Hagerhjelm, RN

Was listening to the radio very early this morning when I heard a help wanted ad for bi-lingual collectors for a collection agency….so not only do they come to this country illegally…they don't pay their bills and we have chase after them for that too???!!! This used to be a great country till we let these idiots running our government for the last 25 years turn the greatest place on earth in the history of the world into a cesspool of criminals and people who want handouts. In a related story…saw an article in the St. Paul paper last week about a woman who was “crying out for all the voiceless”! She said it's not fair!!! She & her husband had gotten in over their heads with their mortgage and now the “evil” utility had turned off their power for non-payment. Of course she still had a cell phone, cable & was getting her hail & nails done…maybe she should eliminate those things first and pay her bills first…instead of whining about how “unfair” everything is. STOP WHINING and just pay your bills!

I’m Back!! Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the website I am here to blog again! Took the week off because of the Polk County Fair or as I like to call it…HELL WEEK! Anyway, spending all those days at the Fair got me thinking about parenting. After seeing all the little brats running around the Fair whining, crying & generally disrupting things made me realize that this great country of ours doesn’t have much time left. What happened to discipline…nobody spanks their kids anymore..they just give them “time-outs”???!! Maybe a little spank on the rump would get their attention. I am not talking about child abuse I am talking about teaching them right from wrong with a little Pavlov’s Dog treatment. When I was in school even teachers whacked the kids when they were bad...now look what happens…a teacher looks the wrong way at a kid and then the lawyers & the ACLU are involved! My parents spanked me & look how I turned out…we spanked OUR kids and they turned out great. So don’t listen to the idiots; please spank your kids NOW…then maybe they won’t bother ME so much when I am in public!

It's time for the great Polk County Get-together! Yes, the "New" Mix 105 will be at the Polk County Fair later this in week in St. Croix Falls. This year promises to be our best one yet. Thursday at 6:30pm it's the Pizza Man of Amery's Pizza Eating contest, winner gets Pizza for a year. Friday at 6pm it's the Lampert Yards Ladies Nail Driving contest & Saturday it's the Subway Sandwich Eating contest, winner gets a foot long Subway sandwich a week for a year. Again we ask please no wagering on these events! Come out & say HI and if you like us let us know…if you don't keep moving on! Yes and if you like my blogs let me know…if you don't…talk to Janey Raven! See you at the Fair!

Writing this on 2 hours sleep..saw the midnight premier of "The Dark Knight" this morning. AMAZING! Years from now this movie will regarded as a true classic. From jumping right into the opening scene to the Hong Kong sequence (truly one of the greatest stunts ever filmed!) to the end as Commissioner Gordon says "he is The Dark Knight" this is an incredible ride. See this movie…many times! So many layers, so much to drink in, such incredible performances from Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman is amazing as well. Not so good 2-Face & Rachel! A word of caution do NOT let younger kids see this movie. This is closer to the Godfather movies or Heat in style & substance than Batman & Robin…this is not a comic book movie. This is a serious study of good versus evil, plus issues of trust, sacrifice & violence as tool for bad & good! Great Trailers too…including the new James Bond movie, out in November. FYI…Daniel Craig is the BEST James Bond ever! End of story…but we will save that for another time.

Hear what Ex-Sentator Phil Gramm said:
"We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline," said the former Texas senator. "You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession." Gramm also said the media was responsible for fostering unnecessary anxiety over the state of the economy. "Misery sells newspapers," he said. "Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day."

He's right!!! I am so sick of the negativity in the papers & on TV! Everybody complains about this & that. Everyone feels they are entitled to something! So what gas prices are $4 (blame Crocs for that), remember in 1973 when gas was 29 cents then it went to 99 cents or more? Or in 1979 when we had lines at the gas pumps? Suck it up and start living your life again or just curl up in the fetal positition on the living floor & start crying! And everybody blames everybody else for their problems, at what point do we take personal responsbility for our lives & our choices? STOP WHINING! If you don't make enough money, get a better job! If you have to many expenses, stop spending money and for God's sakes quit having kids if you can't afford them!

Here is your homework assignment…go to the bookstore (if you aren't in foreclosure because of the evil predatory lenders..oh by the way YOU signed the papers!) or the library and pick up a book called "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. When you are done you will say OMG this is where our country is headed…and yes that book was written MORE than 50 years ago. But it could apply to 2008…Happy Reading!

Is there a more maddening cultural phenomena than “Tipping”???!! In this day & age you are expected to tip everyone! The waitress, the waiter, the barber, the paperboy(girl), now even the Hotel Maid???!! My fiancé’ and I stayed at a hotel a couple of weekends ago and as we were leaving the room she stops & says we have to leave money for the Maid….the MAID???!!!! Are you insane? When does the Maid get a tip. It’s her job to clean the room! No more NO less! When does this craziness end? Is society reaching the point where we are going to have to tip everyone for JUST doing their job? Honest to goodness if you work in a job where you need tips to survive…here’s a clue for you…..CHANGE careers! NO one tips me! Why should I have to tip people for doing what they are paid to do in the first place. However there is a tip jar outside my office if you do care to leave a gratuity!

As you fill up your vehicle with your last $50 bucks (if you are so lucky) wonder why gas has gone up so fast?? So quickly??!! I now have the answer!

“CROCS”! Those ugly, hideous, monstrosities of footwear that women & even men wear in public! “Crocs” are the reason for $4 gas! As more & more of these fashion challenged people buy these rubber things. Gas goes up! WHY? Because rubber is made with oil! If people quit offending our fashion sensibilities with these so-called “shoes”…gas will go down! I guarantee it. So the next time gas goes up..and yes my friend it will. Don’t waste your anger on those HUGE SUV & Monster Pick-up truck drivers. Blame the energy crisis on the real guilty parties…people who “Crocs”! And what is with those people who put butterflies & rhinestones on these ugly things, aren’t they disfiguring your feet already??!!

I am going to slide my leather slip-ons..made from lower on the food chain animals & go for a walk!

07/07/08

Welcome to my first ever “Blog”! This is new, exciting & yes even for me I hate to admit somewhat scary! So let me introduce myself the same way Hugh Hefner would introduce one of his girls! Did you ever read Playboy? I had a subscription in college (of course I only READ the articles), anyway in the center of the magazine was the Playmate of the Month. Besides those pics, that I never looked at was a bio on the Playmate. Height, weight, hometown, measurements (woo-HOO!) and such. Also on the list was likes & dislikes. Likes included world peace, nice people, sunsets, chocolate cake etc etc. Dislikes included mean people, snow, green vegetables etc etc. So that’s how I will start.

Likes: Hanging with my fiancé, my 2 great kids, Pizza, Music (all kinds), driving fast, Packers (but not Packer fans & Brett Favre), The Vikings (but not Coach Baldy Guy w/Mustache), a good book (but NOT one Oprah said to read), good movies.

Dislikes: Any movie with the following in it: Steven Seagal, Jean Claude Van Damme, Jackie Chan & Will Ferrell (except Wedding Crashers), the Liberal Media shoving bad news down our throats every day, Oprah ( I believe she IS the Anti-Christ!) & Dr. Phil, Hillary & Bill Clinton, any extreme right-wing preacher nut, Diversity!, Illegal Immigrants, people on welfare (get a job!), food stamps, public housing, rap music, bicycle helmets & “Crocs” (more on that one in next blog!).