Wednesday, October 31, 2007

I'M A TIME BOMB!

Here are excerpts of a report we ran Wednesday night on the 11pm news.

**********
If you control what you eat, you may be able to control whether or not you get cancer.
The World Cancer Research Fund has looked at half a million studies from around the world, and came up with a single list of what you can do now to reduce your risk of developing cancer.

In the biggest analysis ever done, red meat and processed meats are found to be a cause of cancer.
Families are being warned to avoid them or cut down on their intake.

"The less processed meat you eat, the lower the risk of cancer. That means sausages and bacon, the best amount to eat of those is none at all."
(Prof. Sir Michael Marmot/ World Cancer Research Fund)

The key recommendations are be lean, the lower end of your weight range, avoid processed meats, mothers should breast feed their children for at least six months, avoid fatty and sugary foods, cut down on salt and drink only moderately.
For the first time the data shows it's not just being obese that risks cancer, but being slightly overweight, and excess fat is now thought to as high a cancer risk as smoking.
**********
Oh my. Not much fun there.

As a matter of fact, as I review the recommendations, I must ask: HOW DID I MAKE IT THIS FAR??? I'M LUCKY TO BE ALIVE!!!

Not only did I used to be smoker with "excess fat", I don’t even think I was breast fed. (Would I remember otherwise?)

I know, everything in moderation.
But a life without a nice medium-rare steak preceded by a cocktail?

Dead Man Walking.

Posted at 9:09 PM by Gerry 6 comments

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

IT JUST SEEMS WRONG

The Eagles have just released their first album of all new material in 28 years.
But there are only two places you can purchase “Long Road Out of Eden.”
Their website, or Wal-Mart.

It seems peculiar that Don Henley (first among Eagle equals), who spent a lot of time and energy saving Walden Pond, has partnered up with the nation’s biggest big box retailer.

But these rockers are no longer rebels. They’re businessmen who play music.

As Henley told the Boston Globe, “This just makes business sense. Wal-Mart is now the largest CD retailer in the world.”

Of course, Wal-Mart is also the retailer that banned sales of the rap group “2 Live Crew” because it didn’t like the lyrics.

Wal-Mart is paying the Eagles a royalty much higher than the old record industry standard. And charging only $11.88 for the 20-song CD.
Smart business. For the Eagles, and for Wal-Mart. Walk in to buy the album, and who knows what you’ll walk out with besides the album? Maybe light bulbs and a couple of tubes of BenGay, because, after all, you’re the Eagles demographic.

Hey, Joni Mitchell’s hooked up with Starbucks (many of which are located in parking lots in paradise), and Paul McCartney has too. (But he gets a pass because he’s the cute Beatle, and if I mess with him, 2 of my favorite girls will hurt me.)
And the Spice Girls (still “new music” to me) have reunited and struck a deal to sell their new album only at Victoria’s Secret. Honest to God.

Maybe somewhere Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin are spinning in their graves.
Or maybe they’re looking down (or up, I suppose), and thinking, “Damn, if only I put down the bottle of Jack and kicked the smack, I could be hooked up with Lexus right now.”

As Henley puts it, “These are strange and precarious times.”
Not really, Don. You made it simple.

It’s a Wal-Mart world.

Posted at 10:12 PM by Gerry 3 comments

Monday, October 29, 2007

MVP

The MVP of the Red Sox?
It has to be Terry Francona.

I’m not talking Most Valuable Player, richly deserved by Mike Lowell.
I’m talking Most Valuable Person. Terry Francona.
I really admire the guy.

Somehow, he manages not only the Boston Red Sox baseball team, (a team that does exceptionally well at the beginning of every century) but the millions of “experts” who also manage the Red Sox, but don’t get paid to do so. (GUILTY!)

Somehow, he manages to be the bridge between ownership and management, and the band of merry millionaires who play the game.

Somehow, he manages to do what even Bill Belichick cannot or will not do: be an articulate spokesman for his team, while dealing with reporters and talk show hosts who will smile to his face, then rip him ten new ones in print, on the web, or on the air.

This is not like managing in Kansas City, Seattle, or even Philadelphia or Los Angeles.
Baseball is a year-round sport to Red Sox Nation, and when the games aren’t being played, they’re being talked about.

And somehow, he has the fortitude to deal with everyone from the Lucchinos and Epsteins to the Shaughnessys and Ordways to the Gagnes and Crisps.

Two championships in four years? That’s great.
But win or lose, this guy does so much more.
He’s my Red Sox MVP.

Posted at 9:30 PM by Gerry 5 comments

Friday, October 26, 2007

iPOD. iWANT!


Among the birthday offerings to my dearly beloved is an iPod. An iPod nano, to be precise.

As usual, we’re late to the game, because of my lingering (if you want to call 37 years or so ‘lingering’) annoyance over 8-tracks. (And if you don’t know what an 8-track is, don’t ask. I couldn’t take it.)

I bought it a couple of weeks ago, and decided I’d learn how to use it, so I could teacher her how to use it.
Already familiar with iTunes, I downloaded about 600 songs into the iPod. You don’t know how much music you have until you get one of these things.

(Quick sidebar on iTunes: it amazes me that the songs cost 99-cents each. The first single I bought [“Sherry” by the Four Seasons in 1962] cost 99-cents at Patruno’s Variety store in the shadow of Saxonville (MA) School. What else costs the same after 45 years??)

Anyway, once I got the hang of the iPod, I became very attached to it.
Any song I want. Whenever I want it. All on this thing that’s smaller than a credit card.
I even learned how to play it through the speakers in my car.

As a matter of fact, I didn’t want to hand it over. But I did. And she really likes it.
DAMN!!
Guess I’ll have to buy another for myself.

Posted at 9:44 PM by Gerry 2 comments

Thursday, October 25, 2007

GOD REST CURT GOWDY


OK, I think I've got it.
Good hitters are "locked in"...good pitchers are "dialed in."

Where's that ol' "Cowboy at the Mike" when we really need him?

Posted at 10:10 PM by Gerry 0 comments

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

ASK THE ANCHORMAN

Q: Hey Gerry, when a Red Sox World Series game is airing on another station, isn’t it difficult doing the 11 o’clock news? Or is it really you doing the news, or maybe some kind of computer-generated evil twin?
(Joanie from Haddam)

A: Joanie, glad you asked! Don’t worry, it sure is me on the 11 o’clock news, no matter what. (Even the Red Sox!) I’ll tell you, I almost forgot the game was on because I got so wrapped up in “Phenomenon.” That Criss Angel sure is something, isn’t he? What a team he and Uri Geller make! I’ll bet they become the Papi and Manny of reality television!

Anyway, I turned on the game just in time to see Pedroia’s lead off home run. What I do is watch and write the newscast at the same time.
The tricky part comes at 11, when I’m actually on television.

But Joanie, through years of professional experience and marriage, I’ve perfected the art of dividing my attention…multi-tasking my mind right before your very eyes!
Part of me anchoring the newscast with full heart and energy; part of me watching the game at the very same time!

In essence, I'm not giving 100%. I'm giving 200%!

Joanie, this can be exhausting and incredibly dangerous for the inexperienced, so please don’t try this at home.
And hey, thanks for the question!

Posted at 10:25 PM by Gerry 6 comments

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

HIRSUTE PURSUIT

Chris Dodd is turning to one of his greatest assets as he campaigns in Iowa for the Democratic presidential nomination.
His hair.

The man has a fabulous head of hair.
A head of hair the nation could stand up and salute.
The kind of hair that other world leaders would envy.

And to that end, Dodd’s newest television ad airing in Iowa is about his hair.
In it, an actor playing a television news reporter (rather hairy himself), asks Dodd why his hair is white.
Dodd talks about his achievements, and how they gave him white hair because he worked so hard at them.
And sitting there through the entire commercial is a white hare (weird, really…a touch of David Lynch).

I saw the ad on YouTube, and (I hate to say it) it reminds me of a really bad Brooks File from, say, 1979. The sincerity and the effort is there, but it just doesn’t work.

Dodd is much smarter and much funnier than he comes off in the ad.
I’ve covered him since 1974, when he was a freshman in the House of Representatives, and he’s as knowledgeable and likable as they come.

And from day one, he’s been a master of the media.
For radio reporters, the length of his answers would even vary depending on the format of your station. (Top 40? 15 second answers. News/talk? 20-to-30 seconds. He was THAT good even then.)
And whether you agree with his politics or not, the guy knows what he’s talking about.

But this is what it’s come to. A qualified candidate talking about his hair to get votes.

Oh well. If he ever turns from politics, the hair alone qualifies him to be a local television news anchor.
Of course, that’s been done.

Posted at 10:43 PM by Gerry 2 comments

NOW & THEN

The magic is missing.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that the Red Sox are back in the World Series, but this time, it's different.
A sense of wonderment seems to be missing. Anybody see wonderment?

Wonderment was seeing the Sox come back from that 0-3 hole against the Yankees in 2004. Cardinals? Hah! Curse over.
It was that warm feeling in 1986, when they were "on the verge" against the Mets.
It was cheering on that great 1975 team that never became the dynasty we thought it would.

But most of all, wonderment was defined by a bunch of kids who went from worst to first in 1967. The Cardiac Kids.

Has it really been 40 years? The memories seem so fresh.

They rolled the big black-and-white TVs into the Framingham North High School library so we could watch the Sox in their first World Series in our lifetimes.

It was more than a treat. It was our civic duty.

Before the Impossible Dream team, the Red Sox had drifted aimlessly into irrelevancy. You could buy a $2.00 grandstand seat, and sneak past the usher into those $3.50 field boxes. Actually, you didn't sneak past the usher. They just didn't much care.
Attendance had shrunk to less than 700,000 by 1965. The average crowd that year: about 8,000. Really.

But '67 brought a kiddie corps to Fenway that lit the pilot for what has become Red Sox Nation (much to the enrichment and perhaps amazement and amusement of the current ownership).

In the infield, from right to left, with their current ages in parentheses...George Scott (63), the original "Boomer"...Mike Andrews (64), who now heads up the Jimmy Fund, Rico Petrocelli (64), and Joe Foy, who is no longer with us.
And there was the sweet-swinging outfield of the late, lamented and cursed Tony C...Reggie Smith (62), and Yaz (68!). And we can't forget he of the Nehru jacket and swingin' medallions, Ken "Hawk" Harrelson (66), acquired after Tony C. went down so suddenly and sickeningly.
Gentleman Jim Lonborg (65) was the breakout pitcher.
The man who whipped this crew into shape was the new skipper, Dick Williams (78), a former infielder with a master sergeant mentality.

And the fans returned to Fenway Park. Just two years after attendance bottomed out, those kids drew an average crowd of 21,000.

Those were the days before free agency, before the luxury tax, before luxury skyboxes, before even a sneeze on every radio broadcast is "brought to you by..."
Those were the days when many ballplayers had to get REAL jobs in the off-season to make ends meet.
Those were the days when the impossible suddenly became the possible.

I'm not saying those days were better. I'm not saying they were more fun. I won't even say they were simpler (because that's too simple).
Perhaps I might call them "less fettered."

Even though the manager is now a part-time psychologist, and many of the players are multi-millionaires, the uniforms are the same as they were in '67 (more or less, don't go all picky on me), and the game is the same.
Great uniforms, great game.

But this year, it seems entitlement has replaced wonderment.
Good lord, is this how Yankees fans feel?

Posted at 12:31 AM by Gerry 7 comments

Monday, October 22, 2007

WHAT A DAY!

WOW, WOW, WOW.

Who would have thought that on a day matinee idol Tom Brady threw SIX touchdown passes, the toast of New England would be that little dirt dog, Dustin Pedroia?



Posted at 12:32 AM by Gerry 5 comments

Friday, October 19, 2007

MANNY BEING QUOTED

No wonder Manny Ramirez usually doesn't speak to the sports media.
He did this week (again!) and paid for it with this quote on beating Cleveland in the ALCS.

"If it doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like it's the end of the world or something."

That was the headline quote...the quote spelled out in graphics on FOX and ESPN.

But they didn't talk a whole lot about what he had to say about his postseason records for hits and home runs: "It's good, but if I would known that I was going to be in the World Series and not have those records, I'd trade them in a heartbeat. Who cares about the records, man. We just want to go out, have fun and win."

Or on being down to the Indians, 3 games to one: "We've got a great team over here and the other side is playing great. They're pitching the way they should and they're coming through with big hits. What can you do? You just think about Thursday and you just try to come and play hard and have fun. It's not over yet."

The trouble is, Manny's English is just OK, not great. And quoting him verbatim, whether he meant "who cares" or not, whether it's even fair or not, sells newspapers and gives the talking heads something to feign outrage over.

If they cared to dwell on his other comments, they'd know he cares.
They were lazy. They opted for easy copy and cheap talk.

He cared enough to go 2-for-4 with the winning RBI to keep the Sox alive Thursday night.
(And yes, he should have come out of the box at full speed on that 390-foot single.)
He cares enough to be hitting .440 in the postseason.

On the other hand, Manny's right. There's always next year. It's not like it's the end of the world or something.

But it's still nice to have Saturday. After all, as Manny also said, "It's not over yet."

Posted at 12:20 AM by Gerry 7 comments

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

HARDEE HAR HAR

You have to admire the people who run Hardee’s restaurants.
They want you to come in and feed your face, and if you have a heart attack, so what?

THEY DON’T CARE!
THEY JUST WANT YOU TO BUY THEIR FOOD!!
Give these people people big points for honesty.

As we reported on NBC 30 this week (and, undoubtedly, so did hundreds of other news broadcasts with time to fill), Hardee’s has introduced a new breakfast burrito.

It features TWO egg omelets filled with bacon, sausage, ham, cheddar cheese, hash browns and sausage gravy…wrapped up in a flour tortilla. All for $2.69.

It tops out at 920 calories and 60 grams of fat.
This, from the same chain that introduced a 1,420-calorie hamburger four years ago.

Says their marketing guy: “We don’t try to hide what these are. When consumers go to other fast-food places they feel like they’ve got to buy two of their breakfast sandwiches or burritos to fill up. This is really designed to fill you up.”

While McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s trip over each other to tout their “healthy choices”, Hardee’s says, in essence, ‘screw your health and belly up to the trough, that’s what we’re here for!’

This company attracts attention just because it’s so nutritionally incorrect. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (the so-called “Food Police”) calls Hardee’s offerings “food porn.”

And you know what? Every time the Food Police attack, the Hardee’s folks probably high-five each other and celebrate millions of dollars worth of free publicity.

They also scored in August with a politically incorrect ad campaign that spawned an e-mail campaign to television stations, including NBC 30. (see post “Confused Campaign”, September 13th.)

And the kicker is…there are NO Hardee’s in Connecticut or anywhere in New England!
These people are BRILLIANT!
We’re talking about them, and for all intents and purposes, they don’t even exist here.

What do you want to bet the Hardees folks like to brainstorm over a few beers, saying stuff like, “Who can we p**s off next…and how much can we make off it?”

Genius. Sheer genius.

Posted at 9:25 PM by Gerry 3 comments

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

MAYBE I'M JUST COLD

Hi everybody, I’m Gerry Brooks.
Our top story at 6: I…I can’t. I just can’t. I had a reallllly bad day, and I just can’t sit here and feign interest and tell YOU what went on. I have issues, OK? I just…can’t…(sob)…deal with the news (tears) right now.

Imagine.
Look, over the course of the past 33 years, I’ve WANTED to begin the rare newscast that way. We all have bad days, and we all have the occasional horrendous day. But like you, we do what we have to do, because nobody cares about the labor pains, they just want to see the baby.

So it attracted a great deal of attention Tuesday when Ellen DeGeneres shared her labor pains with her audience. A sad story about a dog. And it IS sad. But she aired a personal problem when she should have been entertaining America.

I LIKE Ellen DeGeneres, and from what I’ve seen of it, I like her show. It’s a fun throwback to the days of Mike and Merv (if the names don’t ring a bell, don’t ask), and the woman is loaded with talent.

But even though it’s HER show…even though her audience probably adores her…I don’t think a national television program should be commandeered…even by the host…to air a personal problem. It’s SUCK IT UP time!

But that’s not all. NBC Nightly News did a story on it! I’m not talking about “Access Hollywood” or “Extra”, but the newly-minted winner of the Edward R. Murrow award for best newscast.
I tried to “read” Brian Williams’ face after the story. Hmmm…
Then I went to his blog, The Daily Nightly, where he spills his guts about lots of good stuff, including what’s coming up on his broadcast.
He didn’t mention the Ellen story.

I would like to think that by remaining silent, our friend Brian was speaking volumes.

Posted at 10:16 PM by Gerry 2 comments

THIS JUST IN...

In an hour-long prime time interview with NBC's Matt Lauer, Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) says he's STILL not gay.
That is all.
Carry on, America.

Posted at 9:40 PM by Gerry 0 comments

Monday, October 15, 2007

BOOMERS

Two of my fellow baby boomers caught my attention Monday.

The first is the first. Baby boomer, that is.
Her name is Kathleen Casey-Kirschling…born one second after midnight on January 1, 1946…qualifying her as the very first baby boomer.
And now, the very first baby boomer has applied for social security.
Oh my.

About 10-thousand baby boomers A DAY will become eligible for social security benefits over the next 20 years.
I’m not an economist, but I do know President Bush’s budget director called the growth in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid “a fiscal train wreck.”

So all I’d like to say on the matter is this: THEY’D BETTER LEAVE SOMETHING FOR ME!!!
Come on!!! Leave me enough to keep me in Skippy, Welch’s and Wonder bread…and maybe the occasional greens fee at White Belt C.C.

The other baby boomer came along 27 years after Kathleen.
A nice Brooklyn boy named Vincent Frank Testaverde, born 9 days before JFK was assassinated.
You may know him as Vinny.

Vinny Testaverde was retired from his former profession, an NFL quarterback.

Cut by the Patriots early last month, Vinny was living the life of suburban dad on Long Island when his phone rang last Tuesday. Carolina calling.

By Sunday, he was quarterbacking the Carolina Panthers to a 25-10 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

Ironically (according to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King) the Cardinals had also requested Testaverde’s services, but he decided Phoenix was too far from home.

Bottom line?
Baby boomers can still bring it!

So, once again, memo to the Red Sox: I’m available. Cagey veteran suitable for middle relief.
You need me. NOW.

Posted at 10:08 PM by Gerry 3 comments

Friday, October 12, 2007

UNDER THE GOLDEN DOME


ARE THEY CUCKOO FOR COCOA PUFFS AT THE CAPITOL? OR JUST PLAIN CUCKOO???

OK, I had to begin by getting it out of my system.

Let's start with the easy stuff.
As Tom Monahan reported Thursday, one state senator is refusing to join fellow Democrats in overriding Governor Rell's veto of the state bonding package.

Joan Hartley says the Democratic leadership (Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams) has threatened to remove her as chair of the Higher Education Committee, take away her office at the Capitol, and take away her parking space.

OH PLEASE, NOT THE PARKING SPACE!!!

None of the Democrats will discuss the Hartley issue on camera, calling it a "caucus issue."
Kind of like "keeping it in the family."
Like which family, the Sopranos?

And then, there's the reaction to the story everyone is talking about.
The convicted rapist, who is being released to his sister's home in Southbury, after serving 24 years in prison.

From the local politicians up to the Governor, there was a concerted and understandable effort to keep David Pollitt anywhere but Southbury.

BUT WHERE? Glastonbury? Avon? Maybe Woodbridge or Stonington?
Be honest. This story might be a non-starter if this guy were to be moved to Bridgeport, Waterbury or Hartford.
But a comfortable suburb? Uh-uh.

Even State Representative Arthur O'Neill (R-Southbury), normally a voice of reason, was trying to come up with state money...YOUR MONEY...to find the guy an apartment!
The Waterbury Republican-American quoted him as saying, "We've got a $16 billion dollar budget. I'm sure we can find $500 or $1,000 a month for an apartment."

REALLY??? If you're buying, I'd love a pied-a-terre along the river when I really need to be alone.

Would I want Pollitt as my neighbor in MY comfortable suburb?
OF COURSE NOT!
It's obviously a difficult subject with no easy answer.
Right now, the guy needs a home, and (to the great dismay of neighbors) his sister is offering one.

As Governor Rell and Attorney General Blumenthal were reminded by Judge Susan Handy late Thursday afternoon, the man has served his sentence and is entitled to his freedom.

The law is the law, even when it's not politically expedient.

Posted at 12:25 AM by Gerry 0 comments

Thursday, October 11, 2007

AN ILLUMINATING OBITUARY

I suppose when you get to a certain age, you start reading the obituary pages, and I suppose I'm of that certain age.

I've discovered that obituaries can be poignant, well-written, poorly-written, sad (of course), and in some cases, laugh-out-loud funny.

But they can also be illuminating.
And that is the case after reading Marcia Maglisco's obituary.

As you probably know, Mrs. Maglisco is the woman who took responsibility for her grandson's death last Friday in West Hartford. She killed herself three days later at her home in Newington.

And that's what we know her for. A woman who ended 62 years of life with a question mark after her name.

But after reading her obituary, you can only wonder what went wrong.
Because she seemed like the kind of person who, until the very end, deserved an exclamation point, not a question mark.

How sad. And how awful for those she leaves behind.




Posted at 10:37 AM by Gerry 5 comments

MINOR MILESTONE

The computer tells me this is my 100th post.
Have a nice piece of cheesecake to celebrate. It's on me.

This has been more fun than I thought it would.

The only thing that's surprised me is that you don't comment on some topics I expect you to, but have plenty to say on some subjects I expect would draw blanks.
But that's part of what makes this, and my job, interesting.


Posted at 12:21 AM by Gerry 4 comments

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

L.L. MEANS I LOVE YOU

Look at the smiles on their faces. They don't need to say a word.
Look at the way they hold hands (paws, whatever).
THIS...is mandog love.
(Yeah, I know. Get help.)

Posted at 12:40 PM by Gerry 2 comments

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

WITH THIS LINK...

If you look at the comments on this blog, you'll see the name "Peter N." frequently.
Peter is a cheerful man...full of optimism...especially when it comes to the Red Sox.
As a matter of fact, he has a Red Sox blog called "Peter's Red Sox Forever."

Peter informed me that he's put a link to The Brooks File on his blog, but I can't do that on mine. (Technically, it's not mine, it's NBC 30's. I think.)
So I thought the least I could do is post the link here.

It's the first time I've linked with another blogger.
Does this mean we're, like, going steady in the blogosphere?


Posted at 10:21 PM by Gerry 3 comments

SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE

Just looked up at the monitor in the newsroom.
Annie Lennox is a guest on "Martha Stewart."
Maybe they'll share muffin recipes.

Who's next, Hoobastank? (Actually, I don't know a thing about Hoobastank. I just like saying the name.)

Posted at 2:58 PM by Gerry 0 comments

TXT THS!

I had just left the house Saturday evening when my phone made a strange noise.
Never heard it before, and it wasn't a ring.

I grabbed the phone, flipped it open, and...HORRORS...I had a text message!
I'd never received a text message before, and I'd certainly never sent one.

So I pulled over, and figured out how to return the message. All I wrote was, "OK."
Satisfied, I continued my drive. For 15 seconds. Then it happened again.
This time, the message was, "I'm amazed you know how to text."
My reply: "My first."

And before I continued my drive, I CALLED the person who sent me the texts, and left a message that said something like, "If you text me again, I'm going to break your cell phone or your fingers. Or maybe both. I'm trying to drive!"

Earlier this year, I remember being amazed when we did a story about the dangers of texting and driving.
YOU CAN DO THAT?
HOW CAN YOU DO THAT?

I asked some of my younger colleagues (OK, they're all younger) if they drove and texted at the same time.
Many said they did.
Seems like a high-tech death wish.

So pls, dnt txt me. I jst cant hndl it. Thx.

Posted at 12:19 AM by Gerry 6 comments

Monday, October 8, 2007

A DELICATE BALANCE

Anthony Apruzzese, his sister Jessica, and their friend Thamara Correa were buried today.They were killed last week in that horrible accident in Wolcott.

It was the dominant story of the week, and part of our thorough coverage was some very solid reporting by Debra Bogstie on Anthony Apruzzese's driving record. I won't go into details here, but it was, in a word, bad. This was the second car he totaled this year, and this time, he paid the ultimate price.

The reaction to Debra's stories was both overwhelmingly positive and overwhelmingly negative.
There were those who said, in essence, "How could you?"
And there were those who said, in essence, "How could HE?"

One viewer even called Apruzzese's myspace.com page to our attention. There is a video on it that apparently features him racing the Honda Prelude he wrecked earlier this year.

For an awful story like this one, we have to walk a very fine line...combining empathy and understanding with the harsh reality of the situation.
I believe we did, but I can understand those who didn't think so.

Posted at 12:45 PM by Gerry 0 comments

Friday, October 5, 2007

LISA'S LESSON

Lisa Moore died Thursday after a long battle with breast cancer.
Lisa's not real, mind you. She was a character in the Funky Winkerbean comic strip, though there was little comic about the story line.

Funky creator Tom Batiuk took some fire for making the funnies so unfunny, but it's not as if Judge Parker or Rex Morgan are knee-slappers, either.

Batiuk himself is a cancer survivor. He used his strip to educate his readers about cancer, and about life and death.

Having dealt first-hand with the ravages of cancer in my family and close friends since I was 15, (let's see...bone, esophagus, lung, colon and liver...I know 'em all) I know it's a lesson worth learning and worth repeating.

If Batiuk convinced a single person to do self-exams or get annual physicals, taking the fun out of the funnies was worth it.

There are excellent doctors and nurses who can help us, but we have to be smart enough to help ourselves first.

Please be smart enough.

(By the way, I know what you're thinking. "Gerry, you read the comics?"
Why yes, I do. All the way from Doonesbury to Gil Thorp. And I'm really concerned that Gil's football team may go winless this season.)

Posted at 12:18 AM by Gerry 10 comments

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

SEPARATED AT BIRTH?


When did Cal Ripken become Uncle Fester?
Noted during TBS coverage of baseball playoffs.

Posted at 10:06 PM by Gerry 3 comments

N.H.(IRRE)L.(EVANT)

It has just been called to my attention that the NHL begins a new season this week.
That's the National Hockey League.

Remember the National Hockey League? It had a team called the Hartford Whalers from 1979 until 1997.

Then the greedy owner of the team packed up his pucks and moved to the hockey hotbed of North Carolina.

The commissioner of the National Hockey League said something like, "Hartford? Where's that? Connecticut? Where's that? Between Boston and New York? Oh."

He knows where Columbus, Ohio is. And Nashville, Tennessee. Those less-than-major market cities have National Hockey League franchises.

He knows where Boston, Massachusetts is. That city has a team called the Bruins.
They used to be so successful, they started a minor league franchise called the Braves, and they sold out every game.

Boston was a hockey town. The Red Sox were just gaining relevancy, the Patriots were a joke, and the Celtics were second cousins.
But Bruins ownership, much like the National Hockey League itself, got greedy.
And now, the Red Sox have their Nation, the Patriots are a dynasty, and even the Celtics are getting more notice right now, and they're training in Rome. As in ITALY.

The National Hockey league has two national television outlets. A cable network called Versus. And a broadcast network called NBC. That's the National Broadcasting Company.
Know how much the National Broadcasting Company pays for the rights to the National Hockey League's games?
NOTHING.
Free programming. Sell some ads, make some money.

The NHL begins a new season this week.
Let me know who won when it's over.
On second thought, it doesn't really matter

Posted at 12:16 AM by Gerry 3 comments

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

VULTURES!

No, this has nothing to do with politics.


I'm a slow starter, but I got a rude awakening today when I stepped outside with my cup of coffee on this beautiful autumn morning.
VULTURES!
A dozen of 'em on my roof, looking down on me...perhaps seeing me as I might see a plate of bacon and eggs.
I tried yelling at them to make them fly away, but they seemed more amused then afraid.

You might say they flipped me the bird. (Sorry, couldn't help it.)

My neighbor Amy called within minutes, asking if I'd seen...
"The birds? Oh yeah."

She called the Audubon Society, and they told her they're either migrating (not soon enough!) or feasting on a dead deer in the woods.
In consultation with my other neighbor, Beth, (I'm just one of the girls) we decided that dinner is somewhere in the woods.
Maybe it has something to do with that funky smell.

How absolutely Hitchcockian.

Posted at 11:35 AM by Gerry 3 comments

THE CHIEF & THE HUGGERS

Two stories caught my attention Monday.

First, the name Ralph Sturges probably doesn't ring a bell to you, but what he did certainly will.
Sturges died Sunday in New London. He was 88.

A former deliveryman and Salvation Army worker, Sturges was named Chairman and Chief-for-Life of the Mohegan Indian tribe in 1992.
He led the tribe to federal recognition in 1994, and in 1996, cut the ribbon on the Mohegan Sun casino.
All this, well after he turned 70.

We can deal with the gambling issue another time, but consider that a man in his so-called "golden years" helped turn a forest into a field of gold.

A tip of the cap to a person of experience, determination and vision.
****************
And now for something completely different.
A middle school in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park has banned hugging in the hallways.

The principal is concerned that so-called "hug lines" were making students late for class. (What's a hug line? Is that like two NHL teams lining up after a playoff game?)

She's also concerned that some hugs between students were too long and too close. (NO!!! That damned puberty!)
So what's the new slogan? "Drugs, not hugs???"
Just wondering.

Posted at 12:16 AM by Gerry 2 comments