Yup... it's me with the Heisman Trophy. Heavy. I need to get back in the gym to lift that kind of hardware on a regular basis... and for the record, it's MUCH too heavy for a lightweight like me to hold AND put up the strongarm pose at the same time... Thanks to Mark "Munch" Bishop for having me on ESPN 850 WKNR a couple weeks back, which allowed me to get this close.
Next stop, Stanley Cup... just like "Mr. Automatic" on Rome's show.
See you in the lots.
PCHQ
It’s Sunday morning and the Browns’ fans are getting the party started. The WNCX Morning Show with Miller, Mihalik and Mike, caught up with Peter Chakerian, author of the “Browns Fans’ Tailgating Guide”.
Peter stopped in for an early tailgating party in the WNCX studios. Complete with Kim Mihalik cooking up some tasty Raven burgers to get the group pumped up for this Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. Peter talked about the party that happens before every home Browns game.
Cleveland sure knows how to party before the big game!
Listen to my appearance on the Miller, Mihalik & Mike Morning show on WNCX by clicking here.
Listen to my appearance on the WEOL Monday Night Sports Show here.
Listen to my appearance the WEOL Morning Show with Les Sekely and Colleen O'Neill by clicking here.
CHQ
Signing off for now. I'll be back here from time to time, so don't delete me from your Google reader. In the meantime (get rocked) you can find me here:
http://brownstailgate.wordpress.com/
PCHQ
Not sure this comes as much of a surprise, but I'm going to take some time away from this blog for a while. It has served me very well to channel some good ideas... and I expect that it will continue to do so in the future. It has helped me refine what my plans for the next 3-4 years are as well (twisting goatee... mooowahahahahahaaa!!!)
More on that soon. Bottom line: I'm pretty excited with what has resulted so far.
I've still got plenty to say, and I won't exactly be leaving the blogosphere altogether... rather, I'll be moving to a new site (also strictly mine, but for a different purpose) which will go live for the first of those "really good ideas" very shortly. The next (and last for months) post you see here will give you the skinny on where to visit me for a while...
PCHQ
A quick update, then it’s back offline… my third and final manuscript revision is in, complete with photo anchors and revised photo submissions… I expect the book to be out in between 4-6 weeks from now, depending on a number of varying factors. L’il Man is growing like a weed, almost two, and harder to contain than ever. I love that he’s the kind of kid who knows exactly what he wants. This will serve him well later in life. And with cubicle-mates like L'il Man and Bandannie, it seems I know exactly what I want, too. And I've got it.
I’ll be all over your peripheries soon enough, but if you’re interested in a nice "day in the park," I’ll be speaking at the 25th Annual Skyline Writers' Conference on Saturday, August 23, from 8:30AM – 5PM at the Hines Hill Conference Center @ the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I go on at 9:15AM with a presentation called "An Editor's Day-in-the-Life," where I will share tips and pointers for writers “from an editor's perspective” and vice-versa. We’ll talk about the “rise of online media, the value of content in the 21st century, and how blogs have changed the dynamics of journalism.”
And who knows what else. It will be an early start, so if the coffee is working, we might even get to “How to Beat Pac-Man on 3 Quarters,” home improvement projects and world peace. I’m looking forward to gathering with some of my peers there for the program, including Deanna Adams, Kristen Hampshire and Linda Goodman Robiner. And I have to thank Claudia Taller for making that happen. We'll have much fun, I am certain. Come join us? Learn more by visiting http://www.skylinewriters.com.
PCHQ
... I'm outside. No, don't read too much into this pic... it doesn't mean that the J4S is going dark, exactly... it's just experiencing one of those "rolling blackouts" or summer "brownouts" that comes with everyone running their air-conditioning and other summer weather gear. In a few weeks, you won't be able to get away from me, I imagine. So it's for your own good... and for mine. :)
There's more good news on the way, including a couple other projects in the works... and some potential news from OVERSEAS. All of this will give me a lot to write about in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
PCHQ
It’s been a while since I’ve updated. Been really, really... really busy lately. I’ve got a deadline for the manuscript edits and have been doing a lot of other writing – my writing gigs definitely pick up in the summer. So, with the help of my friend the Captain St. Lucifer and her blog, I’m nicking her “ephemera” section and offering up 100 things that you may or may not know about me. I needed to do this not to talk about myself more than I already do, but rather to feed this beast called a blog which, after a really thrilling start, has been punished with severe neglect. Thankfully, this blog's not a sentient or it would be wetting the carpet right about now.
I’d tell you that this post is a start of posting resurgence, but I’m making no promises anymore. Call it capitulation in reverse... it’s just nice to have a virtual bathroom wall to write on, I suppose. And the L'il Man, family, friends, pets, summer events and paying gigs, of course, all come first in that order.
1. Next winter, I will have been professionally writing and editing as long as I haven’t been.
2. I still like seeing the byline, but I am much less obsessive about it now.
3. I have only lived in the Cleveland area.
4. I can’t see myself moving from Cleveland anytime soon. I love it here.
5. When I finally write my New York Times best seller, I’ll move to the Old Port in Portland, Maine.
6. I will not start rooting for the Red Sox because of it.
7. To me, dining al fresco is a total luxury. And locations don’t matter: expensive bistro, café, picnic and tailgate all work for me.
8. At one point, I considered moving to Maine or Nova Scotia to become a commercial fisherman.
9. After watching a couple of episodes of “World Deadliest Catch,” I decided that growing a beard and eating homemade chowder with Goldfish crackers in it would be safer.
10. A huge fan of Yuengling Beer from Pennsylvania. Loved it long before Barack Obama laid claim to it.
11. Also a huge fan of Barack Obama.
12. I met John McCain a few years ago while in Arizona. He looked extremely frail to me at the time.
13. I own 12 pairs of shoes, but hate matching up socks after doing laundry.
14. Number one pet peeve: stepping in liquid wearing formerly dry socks.
15. I have extreme aversions to root beer, bubble gum, licorice and anything that is flavored raspberry or banana. And cough medicine. Related? Probably.
16. If I could, I would eat a Five Guys bacon cheeseburger with Lettuce, Tomato, Pickle, Onion and Mayo every day... and I’d be 350 pounds.
17. A daily Two Lights Lobster Shack lobster roll would be even better.
18. I could probably live on coffee, caffeine free diet Coke and beer.
19. I’ve had three cats in my life - a black cat (Sebastian), an orange tiger tabby (Hollywood) and a psychotic, calico beach ball with a head (Camille).
20. I have had one dog in my life – an English Foxhound-Lab mutt named Annie.
21. She came from an animal shelter in a rural town north of Cincinnati.
22. Annie was an “I was downsized from my job, Happy 30th Birthday” present to myself.
23. She “helped” me build a brick patio in my backyard.
24. So did The King of Beers.
25. I like home projects… after they’re done. Not during. I complain during.
26. I play(ed) the trumpet and bass. Haven’t had time for either in years.
27. I have been a guest on AM, FM and streaming online radio.
28. I was the president of my high school marching band.
29. And the captain of the diving team.
30. Though only mildly athletic, I did well at the latter.
31. I have literally been to “38 states and half of Canada,” to quote a local radio station. Want to fill in the remaining states/provinces before I turn 50.
32. I drove cross country when I was in my mid-20s.
33. That travel led to the falling out with a very high-maintenance friend.
34. We haven’t talked since. It’s just as well, really.
35. I have been out of the country several times. Everyone needs to do this to broaden their perspective on the world.
36. I read my horoscope every day… at the end of the day to see if any of it was accurate.
37. Not interested in astrology, but I am a pretty typical Gemini.
38. I am also a firm believer in Mercury Retrograde.
39. Progressive rock, jazz and ambient/ downtempo music are my favorites.
40. I’m also something of a closet “Easy Rock” fan.
41. I won a bicycle from the “Barnaby” show on Channel 43 when I was little.
42. For some odd reason I can’t recall, I never actually got the bike.
43. I can go three months without washing a t-shirt.
44. Just like Indiana Jones, I hate snakes. Spiders, too.
45. My next laptop will be a Mac, because Windows Vista is absolutely craptastic.
46. Kayaking and biking. Need to do more of both, actually.
47. I think the words “craptastic” and “asshat” look better in print than sound when uttered (see #45).
48. I was on a plane ten days after 9/11.
49. It took me three beers – first thing in the morning – to be OK with getting on board that day.
50. I was a passenger on a Metro Traffic Control single-engine plane covering rush hour traffic once.
51. The MTC chap who flew with us told me “nothing bad has ever happened on my 20 years,” as he had me sign a hold-harmless legal waiver.
52. That same plane hit a cell phone tower days later. Both that MTC chap and the pilot died.
53. Surprisingly, I have no real “apoplexy” or aversion toward flying.
54. My first airplane trip was to Chicago to speak at a college journalism convention.
55. Nearly 200 people came to my session to hear me speak.
56. I am a not a morning person, only that way out of necessity and habit.
57. In an ideal world, I would get up at 10AM and go to bed at midnight.
58. Trader Joe’s Lemonade. In the carton, in the cold case. And Revive Vitaminwater.
59. I worked at Trader Joe’s part time to supplement my writing income.
60. I was surprised at how much I missed it when I left.
61. Girl Scouts Samoas and soft coconut macaroons.
62. I am a political junkie. And a foodie.
63. For books, non-fiction. 99% of the time.
64. As a kid, I always liked movie trading cards better than the sports cards.
65. I have been blogging since 2005, in a few different places.
66. My best/worst comment came from (I believe) film director Kevin Smith.
67. Ideal weather: 68 degrees, sunny, breezy. Maine-like summer weather.
68. I am not the typical Clevelander who complains about the weather; I like the seasons… but the thrill is gone with snow after Valentine’s Day.
69. I have met most of my musical idols because of my work.
70. I’m not sure I have any idols now – pop culture or otherwise.
71. Would still like to interview Eddie Vedder, Anthony Bourdain, Keith Olbermann, the Dalai Lama, Kevin Spacey and Andrea Immer.
72. I had scarlet fever when I was in kindergarten and rheumatic fever as a sophomore in high school.
73. Oh, and some sort of walking pneumonia in college.
74. I own over 1,200 CD’s.
75. I rarely listen to them now that I have an iPod, Sirius Satellite Radio and stream Soma FM online.
76. Rachel Maddow of Air America and MSNBC is oddly compelling to me.
77. Also oddly compelling, I once met Janeane Garofalo at a bar in Texas.
78. She was actually very nice… and made me feel really, really tall.
79. My driver’s license says I’m 5’ 7”… I’m either shrinking or lying.
80. I almost never have a clean car. Don’t psychoanalyze me for it.
81. I have a Nintendo Wii. Still in the box. Haven’t had time to set it up yet.
82. Marvel, then DC. Even despite Batman.
83. I long to run a wine and import/specialty food shop.
84. And have my own cooking show. And food product line.
85. My favorite place in the world to date is Westminster Abbey.
86. I’d like to add the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal to that list.
87. My wife already has.
88. Family is extremely important to me.
89. I’m a perpetual eight-year-old at heart. I still like Kiss, Star Wars and Pac-Man.
90. I really resent Gene and Paul dressing up two other schlubs like Ace and Peter to use as replacements. What a cop-out. Just retire already.
91. I also resent Rolling Stone putting out three good issues every year, sucking me into another subscription, and then sucking mercilessly the rest of the year.
92. I hate puzzles, Jumble, Sudoku and brain teasers, but I love trivia.
93. I have a toddler at home, who puzzles and brain-teases me plenty.
94. Love, love, love Edmeades Late Harvest Zinfandel. With dark chocolate.
95. Can’t stand “corporate speak,” e.g.: “herding cats,” “boiling the ocean,” “drinking from the firehose,” et. al.
96. Pad Thai. And Chicago-style hot dogs. Not at the same meal, though.
97. The 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans-AM. Black and gold. Leather interior.
98. The Outer Banks of North Carolina.
99. I’m not getting paid for product placement in this list. But I should be… so if you’re a representative, you’d better send me something.
100. Most uttered line since 2006: "The little guy is up, so I’m out of time."
More whenever... back to editing,
PCHQ
Hi gang... been super busy over here lately. Seems the older the L'il Man gets, the shorter the naps seem to get... which means the less time there is for the Joy of Blogging and miscellaneous writing. I figured that, rather than apologize for another mammoth delay, I'll just pull a Doug Henning and just pretend that it hasn't been weeks. Let's just say I'm still reeling with the L'il Man's sudden emergence into full blown toddlerhood. At 20 months, he's easily got over 100 words he recognizes... he's become a total parrot (witness the mimic of the words "maniac," "knicklehead" and "Oh, God!" during the past week... I gotta watch it!)
And his daredevil philosophy on life lately mirrors that of the late Evel Knievel. I think he conked his melon three different times in a day trying to do crazy stuff in and out of the house. This wasn't supposed to happen until the "terrible twos," right??? That's what those 800 books I breezed through told me kids were supposed to do... hahaha... I'll be glad when we can move all the furniture back. He's like Eddie Vedder stage-diving back in 1991. So blah, blah, blah... here's the quick "update-o-rama" that should bring me (and you) back up to speed on what's happening here:
1) Go see Iron Man. It may be the best superhero film ever made... the casting is great (Robert Downey, Jr. is absolutely brilliant as Tony Stark) and the story is water-tight. Saw it opening weekend and was not at all disappointed. Jon Favreau (who will someday play me in a feature film if David Cross and Paul Giamatti aren't into it) did an incredible job balancing real-world politics, CGI and a cast of Oscar nominees and creating something special. One can only hope the other summer blockbusters compare.
2) I'm back in the gym, finally. It's been nice to carve out the time and begin dropping all this weight I've gained writing, researching and taking care of the L'il Man. I'll never be as cut as LeBron James, for sure, but at least I'll look and feel better... and speaking of LeBron, I'm pulling for the Cavaliers in a big way during this NBA playoff season, but to have a 14 point lead and lose your grip (like they did in last night's game) doesn't leave me hopeful. We had all the momentum going. Ah yes, to live and die in Cleveland every few months with "Next Year" constantly on your breath.
3) I've been rocking the Sirius satellite radio a lot lately. SZQ hooked me up around the holidays and I've been something of a Sirius junkie ever since. I know that it's very much a corporate entity/visage and that the playlists they broadcast are similarly conceived... but I have to say that being able to get my chillout music and stations like the Spectrum, Margaritaville and the Coffeehouse is really nice. Once my favorite NPR and sports radio shows are done locally, it's straight to the Sirius. Now I need an internet radio so I can get my Soma-FM fixes, or perhaps I should just set up wi-fi to a home sound system and be done with it.
4) Did a couple of really enjoyable interviews recently -- one for CC.com with former WMMS-FM program director and radio guru John Gorman; the other with Dream Theater keyboard sorcerer Jordan Rudess for blogcritics.org. Check out the photo (from another blog). I'm looking forward to meeting him on Saturday. I think that I'm going to pitch a bigger feature to the Chicago Tribune, in the hopes they don't have anything lined up for June on his other project, the Liquid Tension Experiment. You know, I just realized that, looking at the dates, I've not contributed to BC in, oh, say, 9 months or so. I'm terrible. I've gotta get back at it. BTW I also did some work for Scene and the Sun recently... I'll post links when they're up there... short bios on Fish, Type O Negative, Lyle Lovett and a feature on Good Morning Valentine are on the way...
A few other things: Had a fun Mother's Day with all four grandparents present and the four SBC kiddos running around our little bungalow. What a riot! I miss seeing my nephew Will (at left, but definitely not that small anymore!)... and I miss his great parents M&M, too. I've gotta get us down to Columbus soon. We really miss you guys! Mike, I need your tutorial on the Wii (yes, I finally got one... still in the box for the last three weeks!!! No time!!! ). And Mo, I hope your first Mother's Day was a good one. You guys rock. I wish you lived up here in Cleveland. We probably say that at least once a week.
I guess lastly, all the photos for the book are in... thanks to the excellent "Captain St. Lucifer" and her amazing camera gear, I think we're in really good shape. She has quite the eye for framing all the good stuff in just the right ways... and just released a book of her own that I really must buy.
Heck, she even made my husky, balding self look good (see left... not too shabby!). Re: the book, I imagine I'll be in review/edit mode here in a week or two. Looking forward to August... and not just for the Radiohead concert. By then, and by alllllllll accounts, I should be available to you on amazon.com... and right here on J4S, of course, if I could ever get a few minutes. LOL. Speaking of, I gotta hit the gym... and the shower... and I've got a 10:45 interview to do... and then bring the little man home for a nap... and then lunch... and... and... and... hope all is well with you. More updates... and sooner than monthly, I promise.
PCHQ
I wrote about my affinity for concert tour shirts about a year ago, for blogcritics.org, about whether or not the concert tour shirt era was over. It generated a lot of response -- both on the blog and through email channels. I've always been a big fan of them, but I've decided that perhaps that era is finally over for me. I've decided to pare down my collection to a final number of 30 (and guess it will end up a slightly larger number than that). There are collectors out there who troll eBay pretty hard for them and I think I'd like the extra cash and space in my house, once and for all. Email me if there is something specific you're looking for that I might have; otherwise I'll post some links and photos of the ones that are finally making way for other clothes in the closet and onto the internet auction block.
PCHQ
