Others called it a candy stick with a little bit of red dye on the end.
Ah yes, I'm talking about candy cigarettes, which used to available down at the corner store for kids of all ages to enjoy, so they could act like all the really sophisticated grown-ups. I remember buying packs of them at Ray & Gen's Grocery Store, which was just down the street from where I grew up in Stevens Point. I'd share them with my friends, and we'd be sure to warn each other if the wrong, fiery end of the cigarette was accidentally put into our mouths.
There were lots of brands, and they also came it small "fun-size" for trick or treaters (about 3 "smokes" to a pack).
A lot of people probably look back that in shock and dismay, but if candy cigarettes did not exist, I probably would have found a way to improvise, with a licorice stick or something.
And besides, if the tobacco companies didn't get me with those, there was a chance that the great neighborhood game we used to play would. Did any body else play "CIgarette Tag/?" I don't remember quite how it worked, but I'm pretty sure we didn't chase each other around with lit cigarettes.
(I did smoke when I was a teenager--for around a month, until a little incident with lighting a cigarette on a gas stove singed my bangs and made me quit, cold turkey).
Some senior citizens at a retirement community in Virginia had a little fun lip synching to the old Bobby Boris Pickett song "Monster Mash."
They don't always stay in character and the lip synching is not spot on, but I think it will make you smile, as you wonder "whatever did happen to the Cryptkicker 5?"
Some of you with very good memories might remember when Matt Solomon did movie reviews on the Triple M Morning Show. Well Matt was back on Triple M today to talk about the book he wrote with his friend Chris Pauls.
I assumed when I first heard about their book,Deck Z: The Titanic, Unsinkable, Undead, I assumed it would be a parody and a hilarious one at that, because Matt was also in a sketch comedy group in Madison called The Prom Committee, and he wrote some hilarious stuff.
I assumed incorrectly. Publisher's Weekly calls it a "fast-paced nightmare."
I can't wait to read it. But I think I'll reserve this one for daytime reading. I have enough trouble with insomnia the way it is.
Matt and Chris will sign copies of the book at Frugal Muse, 235 Junction Road (near Target) on Saturday, Oct. 27th at 1pm.
I used to have a teeny girl crush on Taylor Swift. I never really liked her music, but thought she seemed nice when she went on the Ellen show.
But now that Ms. Swift has exploded, with pieces of hair and shrapnel falling everywhere, I must back away.
I realize that she has a new album out and that promotion is all important, but come on!
In my Target flyer on Sunday I found half a page dedicated to Taylor Swift items. No thank you, I don't want Taylor Swift body lotion, mascara, or headphones.
Then I saw the big sign in front of Walgreens advertising: Taylor Swift items are here! I was afraid to go into the store, for fear I get swallowed into the Taylor Swift vortex of mind numbing pop.
But I did go online to see what was available..there's a Taylor Swift blanket I could snuggle up with on a cold winter night, a variety of rubber bracelets, tour books, and even a Taylor Swift iPhone sound amplifier (so I can let all my friends hear all her songs loud and clear, I presume).
The one thing I didn't see offered for sale? A Taylor Swift Slow Cooker.
Little Steven is a huge fan of the band, the Rascals, which brought us such great songs in the 1960s like "Groovin'" and "Good Lovin.'" He was instrumental in getting them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and is now producing a series of concerts in Port Chester New York this December.
He wants the shows to be extra amazing, multi-media affairs that showcase this band..the first band Little Steven and Bruce Springsteen ever saw live (but they didn't know each other at the time).
So he's asking folks to chip in through a kickstarter campaign, and for various levels of contributions you can get some pretty cool stuff, with pledge requests starting at $1. For 5 grand, you get tickets to a show, and get to meet Little Steven and the Rascals (and more.)
Since it's pumpkin season, I thought it would be a good time to bring up this question.
What's up with that Peter Peter dude?
Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, had a wife and couldn't keep her.
So he put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well.
First of all, why is he Peter Peter? Is his first name the same as his last? Or is he just kind of a redundant dude?
And if "he couldn't keep" his wife..why didn't he just let her go? Why did he think of hollowing out a giant pumpkin and telling her to hang out in there?
Just how many square feet were there in that pumpkin? Did it come with window coverings? How about central air?
What happens when the thing starts to mold?Couldn't she just get out at that time?
And if this is just a fictional Mother Goose rhyme, what was Ms. Goose smoking when she came up with this idea?
Next time: why didn't that little piggie who cried all the way home try an anti-depressant?
Binder Mania by Kitty Dunn,posted Oct 17 2012 12:03PM
Got binders?
Mitt Romney says he had "binders full of women" back in his days as Massachusetts governor, and that awesome declaration has now gone absolutely crazy on the internet. I've got some ideas to take advantage of this binder craze and keep it going for a while.
Consider for submission:
Movie: Binder Full of Zombies
CD: Binder Full of Bieber
Book: 50 Shades of Binder
TV Show: Family of Modern Binders
Scratchy kind of rope: Binder Twine
Okay, that's just off the top of my head...I'll have to check my big Binder of Cleverness when I get home to see if I can come up with some more.
I didn't run out to the store and buy the limited edition candy corn Oreos.
Nor will I be putting the new limited edition Pringles chips on my shopping list.
Coming this November--pumpkin pie spice, white chocolate peppermint, and cinnamon sugar.
Wait a minute...Pringles are potatoes, right? Or at least some kind of potato-ish curvy shaped concoction.
I just can't imagine any of those flavors going well with Pringles, especially the peppermint ones. That just sounds revolting.
But maybe the folks in the research and development department are on to something.
Why not concord grape Pringles? Or perhaps cola flavored?
What--I think I'm on to something! How about beer chips? They could make a whole line of them. For a blustery winter day, a nice oatmeal stout chip might hit the spot..or maybe a lemon shandy chip for a nice summer evening?
Add a side of beer nut flavored chips and I'd be all set.
If you think the cost of Jaeger Bombs has gotten out of control, you're going to think the price of this cocktail is ridiculous.
According to the story on Yahoo News, "famed cocktail bartender Salvatore Calabrese has broken the Guinness World Records mark for creating the most expensive cocktail in history."
Wait. There is some one that is a "famed cocktail bartender" and somehow I don't know of him? How can that possibly be? I'm going to have to start boning up on my potent potables trivia.
The record breaking drink will set you back $8,824. And you don't even get to keep the glass! What a rip-off.
Watch this video to see this "famed cocktail bartender" mix up the four ingredients used to make the cocktail are hundreds of years old: a 1778 Clos de Griffier vieux cognac, a 1770 Kummel liqueur, a circa 1860 Dubb orange Curacao and two dashes of Angostura bitters dating from around 1900.
Hey, I'd try it. If you're buying and it includes a chaser of Point Special beer!
Even though her memoir "Going Rogue" wound up at the Dollar Tree, Sarah Palin is convinced she has information the world will pay to see.
She's wriring a diet and fitness book to talk about how she got the great physique we all aspire to duplicate.
You may not know this, but I have many contacts in the publishing world, and after making a few calls, I found out that the book will include some amazing recipes. I wasn't able to acquire all the ingredient lists--but I was able to find out the titles of some of the items that will be included.
Gotcha Grits
Coyote Kabobs
Caribou Croquette
Tina Fey's Mock Apple Pie
--and the one I'm most intrigued about
Russian Dressing I Can Almost See From My House
I can't wait until this book ends up at Dollar Tree so I can buy myself a copy or two.
Because John Lennon was taken from us at just the age of 40, we will never know what he would have been like as an old man.
Somebody ventured earlier this year that he would have become a Republican.
That I highly doubt.
It's interesting to think about how his music would have evolved. Would he have gotten into electronic music? That sounds more Yoko to me. How about rap? I think he would respect it, but probably wouldn't have veered in that direction.
I'd like to think he'd be collaborating with the likes of Jack White, stripping rock down to its rawest form. He'd probably stop by the Daily Show to share his views with Jon Stewart, or maybe joining Neil Young and Willie Nelson to help out with Farm Aid.
I don't think he'd be narrating a Time/Life informercial, or doing any cooking segments with Rachael Ray.
Nor would he have strutted his stuff on Dancing With the Stars.
Actually, he's probably the only guy I could think of that could get me to watch that show!
Let's flash back, shall we, to John's days with the Beatles. This is one of my favorites.
Fortunately, if I take in Autumn Harvest Fest, I can also sample a few pumpkin flavored beers during Dells on Tap, which is a great beer fest that I've attended for the last several years. All I can say is yum.
(The above picture taken two years ago at Autumn Harvest Fest's Scarecrow stuffing competition).
The nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2013 are in. This year's hopefuls are Albert King, Chic, Deep Purple, Donna Summer, Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Kraftwerk, the Marvelettes, the Meters, N.W.A., the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Procol Harum, Public Enemy, Randy Newman and Rush.The top vote-getters will be inducted on April 18th, 2013 at the Nokia Theater L.A. live in Los Angeles.
In a new twist, fans will have a say about who gets into the Rock Hall, by voting on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website, now through December 5th. The top five artists chosen by fans will count as a ballot and will be tabulated along with the other votes.
I really don't have any problems with the choices this time around, but the ones I'm most enthusiastic about are Albert King and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. I know Rush fans have been clamoring to get the Canadian band included in the Rock Hall, so I hope they get in.
Donna Summer has been a nominee for a long time, and will probably make it in this year. It's sad she didn't get the honor when she was alive to accept it.
And as usual..I have to complain about certain artists which have been snubbed. I'd like to see Stevie Ray Vaughan, Al Kooper, Gram Parsons, and yes, even the Monkees get their due in Cleveland.
But the tour rider for Iggy Pop & The Stooges might be one of the most amazing things I've ever read.
The Smoking Gun has obtained a copy of the document, which does have some actual band requirements listed, but the rest of the stuff is clearly hilarious.
First of all, the rider is entitled "Iggy Pop & The Seven Stooges & The Seven Dwarfs," and starts off with this requirement: 1 monitor man who speaks good English and is not afraid of death. {Only joking, or am I?"}
Here are some of the convoluted highlights:
*About keeping the front of the stage clear: No lighting or monitor cables, no power cables, no toy robots, no television evangelists, no television camera men, no plastic seahorses, no bailiwicks... (and so on) Now Iggy can run around in his customary manner, like a crazed running-around type thing and we can all relax in a haze of self-satisfied panic."
*Concerning food and catering: At load out time, we would like to be supplied with two enormous pizzas (either to eat, or to leave on the bus until we find a truckstop trashcan with an entrance 10cm/2in round, then we desperately try to fold the enormous still pizza box so that it's small enough to go in, which it never is.. (and then it veers off into the similarity of abandoned pizzas to Salvador Dali's famous melted clock painting.
*Regarding a limo driver for Iggy: do not get overexcited/starstruck, do not turn around and look at the back of the car whilst driving..driver is not to ask for an autograph..
You can read the entire rider here. I highly recommend page 20, which includes a lengthy discussion of badgers. Not Badgers, but the furry creature type badgers.
I just found out today is National College Radio Day, so I thought I'd share some of my fond memories from my days in college radio, back at UW-Stevens Point.
I spent three years getting valuable radio experience at 90FM, WWSP, and also met some great people who are still my friends (at least on facebook).
When I started as a news announcer, I remember there was a big sign posted that said "Do NOT read the farm reports." Apparently there was something irresistable about saying "Pork bellies are up," so this had to be posted in writing.
My first year, I did a two or three hour news shift that started at 6am. Often, I couldn't get into the station because it was locked and the DJ who was supposed to sign the station on had not shown up. Or I would find him sleeping on a couch in the station lobby.
During my junior year I was appointed news director, and found out that it really was necessary to post signs regarding things like not reading the farm reports. I also posted a sign that said "Pre-read all news stories!"
I hosted a weekly news/information show called "Not Quite Cronkite." The name was chosen by the prior news director, without regard to the fact that most college DJ's would pronounce it "Conkrite." I remember I covered some pretty hard hitting topics. I interviewed the president of the Point Brewery and asked him if Bock beer was just the sediment from the bottom of the tanks that they cleaned out each year. (It is not.)
Some of my best college memories come from 90FM in the Communication Arts Building on campus. And I did learn a lot, even though many of those skills have become obsolete, like editing tape with a razor blade.
It was never a very good idea to have those in a radio station in the first place.
Well, another October has rolled around, and still necessity has not become the mother of invention when it comes to jack o'lanterns.
I like carving pumpkins, but I absolutely abhor scooping out the cold, slimy pumpkin seeds and attached pumpkin guts.
I would like to be able to go to the store and buy a pre-scooped pumpkin. I know, the minute you scoop them out they start to decay, but I'm sure there's some kind of unnatural preservative they could use so the pumpkin retains its cuttability but doesn't start morphing into a collapsed moldy mound of goo for a little while anyway.
I'm not too talented when I do carve pumpkins..they pretty much have looked the same since I was allowed to wield a knife. But imagine the creativity that I could muster if I didn't have to blow my wad cleaning the pumpkin of its wad of goo!
The Broadway musical Wicked has flown back into town, thrilling fans at the Overture Center now through June 9th.
I got a chance to see the production for the 2nd time last night, and once again was blown away. Even though I saw Wicked in 2010, I had...
Today we traveled back to 1975 for a Rendezvous with The Hudson Brothers. This song didn't make it to high on the charts, but Kitty enjoyed it. Her favorite brother was Brett. She also loved their television show. We've included a skit from...
I'm not sure why Pete Yorn decided to name his new music project after a European cave dwelling aquatic salamander, but if he stops by to play us some songs in Studio M, we'll have to ask him.
The Olms is a collaboration between Pete Yorn and...
Today's song was written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. It was inspired by the 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago. No one was inspired by the song this morning. It was rejected by almost all the listeners.
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
The Broadway musical Wicked has flown back into town, thrilling fans at the Overture Center now through June 9th.
I got a chance to see the production for the 2nd time last night, and once again was blown away. Even though I saw Wicked in 2010, I had...
Today we traveled back to 1975 for a Rendezvous with The Hudson Brothers. This song didn't make it to high on the charts, but Kitty enjoyed it. Her favorite brother was Brett. She also loved their television show. We've included a skit from...
I'm not sure why Pete Yorn decided to name his new music project after a European cave dwelling aquatic salamander, but if he stops by to play us some songs in Studio M, we'll have to ask him.
The Olms is a collaboration between Pete Yorn and...
Today's song was written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. It was inspired by the 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago. No one was inspired by the song this morning. It was rejected by almost all the listeners.
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
