I feel terrible about the neglect my blog has been seeing lately, but I do have a good reason for my absence.

I got a job in addition to my gig at the station. Not a part-time job like you're thinking of - retail work is nowhere in my planned future.

Actually, I got a freelance job that's making me miss more and more what I was doing in college. I can't divulge a whole lot of details due to the confidentiality agreement I signed, but I can clue you in to the gist of it.

I'm working on a franchise plan for a self-serve yogurt operation. To put things more simply, I'm working on a marketing-type campaign to help this franchise advertise itself to potential buyers.

I finished up my end of phase one of the project last night... well, at 2:00 this morning. Now there are at least 3 more phases to go and some side deals in the works.

So now you know where I've been... learning more about frozen yogurt than I ever wanted to know.

Remembering Elizabeth

Hollywood lost a legend today, and I lost one of my favorite actresses.

Elizabeth Taylor passed away this morning at the age of 79.

Elizabeth made her debut on the silver screen when she was just 12-years-old in National Velvet (1944). She starred alongside another of my favorites, Micky Rooney, as a spirited young girl who wants nothing more than to compete in England's Grand National Sweepstakes with the Pie, a horse she won in the town lottery.

Her violet eyes captured the hearts of her audience and her many marriages and scandalous affairs held them enraptured for 70 years. The world held its breath through her many illnesses, shook their heads at her ever-changing appearance and looked to her for inspiration as she managed to come out on top time and time again.

Elizabeth was the sparkle in the silver screen, starring in such blockbusters as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Little Women. She even graced the world of the sitcom, making appearances in 'General Hospital' and 'All My Children'.

Elizabeth became the highest-paid actress in Hollywood's history in 1963 when she received $1 million for her role in Cleopatra.

 Elizabeth & Richard Burton

Elizabeth was married eight times to seven different men. Her marriage to Michael Todd was the only one to not end in divorce. She called him one of the two loves of her life, the other being Richard Burton to whom she was married twice.

 Elizabeth was one of the earliest advocates of AIDS. She helped start the American Foundation for AIDS Research after her friend and co-star, Rock Hudson, died from the disease. She helped raise more than $100 million for the disease and created her own foundation, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

Elizabeth won two Academy Awards for Best Actress (Butterfield 8 1960, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf 1966) and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1999.

Hers is a legacy that won't be quickly forgotten, but with a legacy like hers why should we forget?

I've been a bad blogger lately, or haven't you noticed my lack of posts?

Sorry about that. Life has been busy and between work and play, this has kind of gotten pushed to the wayside.

And to be honest, it doesn't look like it's going to get much better anytime soon.

I've got a lot going on, the station has a lot going on, and here lately I can't think of anything I want to talk about anyway.

So instead of subjecting you to unintelligent drivel, I will just limit my posts to when I have something of substance to say.

In the meantime, happy spring!

Behind Bars: I Want My Phone Call

 Suppose you end up here... what do you do?

Hopefully not what this guy I'm about to tell you about did.

A man was arrested in Sandusky, Ohio, for disorderly conduct. When they got him to the police station, officers say he was so out-of-control they were afraid he would hurt himself, another person or cause damage to the facility, so they handcuffed him to the door of his holding cell.

But they failed to take away his cell phone, so he calls 911 for help.

I have, for your listening pleasure, the entire conversation. So take a listen, but be forewarned, parts of it are incoherent and the man is obviously drunk.

Negative Energy Defines Us

Who in their right mind would want to intern for this man?

Apparently at least 74,000 people.

Really, society? You think you can learn something from Charlie Sheen?

Of course, it doesn't help that the media currently loves the drama he's creating. But c'mon! He's having a temper tantrum. The big bad studio took away his favorite toy because he couldn't behave so now he's stomping his feet and waving his arms around emphatically to make some sort of point.

Maybe it's just me, but the only point he's making is that people are attracted to negative energy.

Don't believe me? Just think about the shows you watch on t.v or the stories you're likely to stick around for in a newscast. They may not be violent or gory but 9-times-out-of-10 that story is controversial.

I could fill my newscast with stories about good Samaritans or fluffy puppies, but chances are my audience would soon cease to exist. My show would go to the wayside in lieu of the latest episode of NCIS.

So why are we as a society attracted to negative energy?

I have no idea. Maybe it's because it helps us to take the focus off the bad things happening in our life. Maybe it's because seeing someone like Charlie Sheen brought down to our level so to speak makes us realize bad things aren't just limited to regular people.

But maybe I'm just being optimistic.

Behind the Scenes: Lost Car Keys

Reporter: Where are my keys?

Executive Producer: Did you have 5?

Reporter: No, I had 6.

Pause for searching.

Reporter: Oh! They're in my jacket pocket. [giggle] I'm so cute.

Caution: New Experience Ahead

This is what today has been like at work.

My first ever weekend working at the station and we have some moron keep calling over and over again to curse and yell at us about something we can't fix.

Dear Irate Caller,

I'm sorry you can't see your basketball score because the weather alert map is currently activated.

If I could make the storm that's raging through parts of the state go away, I would.

But I'm not mother nature and don't have such power.

No amount of your loudly slurred insults will change that fact.

Sincerely,

Your Neighborhood Producer

Spoofs Are Fun

I know yesterday I talked about how Charlie Sheen needs to take his millions and go home, but I found this on CBS and thought it was highly amusing so I decided to use it for my 10:00 kicker and share it with you guys!

Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon latest spoof is of none other than the bad boy himself.

It features the lyrics of Sheen's life as of late sung to Michael Jackson's "Bad."

Give it a listen.

Go Home, Charlie

Why is Charlie Sheen being considered a top news story?!

I work in the news and don't understand the reasoning. I suppose it's because the public is obsessed with celebrities and what they're doing, but let's be honest here people. Constantly pushing the Charlie drama to the front of our newscasts is only playing into what this crazy man wants.

I trust no one will disagree with the fact that Charlie has pretty much lost it. And if you do disagree, then I guess you didn't catch any of his most recent interviews. I'll give you the cliff notes version - he was raving and completely irrational.

Charlie just needs to take his millions and go home.

Holy Strippers, Batman!

Another post about strippers?! You better believe it 'cause this story was just way too good to pass up.

This man in Indianapolis, IN, is suing a strip club after he was hit in the mouth by a shoe that flew off a dancer's foot while she was performing a pole dance.

His lawyer says his client had no way to prepare for what turned out to be an embarrassing and expensive trip to a strip club. The man says the injuries will lead to ongoing dental surgeries.

Apparently the guy was withdrawing money from an ATM and turned his head just at the right moment for the shoe to hit him in the mouth.

That girl must've been really swinging 'round that pole, and I mean really swingin', for her shoe to be flying fast and hard enough to cause enough injury for this guy to need multiple dental surgeries.

Either that or he was getting a little too close to the pole... maybe they should start putting those plexiglass things around the stage like they do at hockey rinks. You know, to prevent spectator injuries.

Just sayin'.