He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
I was thinking of getting tickets to the Lions Thanksgiving day but it is considered sold out or at least all the cheap seats are taken so it looks like I wil be spending Thanksgiving at home watching episodes of Smallville or Eureka. Already bought a turkey and I guess I could do my laundry before it starts crawling away (it might be too late for that). Thanksgiving itself was historically a religious observation to give thanks to God, but is now primarily identified as a secular holiday where we give thanks to football and tons of food. Of course giving thanks for the Lions might be an oxymoron but we won't dwell on that since they did manage to beat the Browns. There were many different days on which Thanksgiving was celebrated including on October 3, 1789 when George Washington created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government but it wasn't until October 6, 1941 that both houses of the US Congress passed a joint resolution fixing the traditional last-Thursday date for the holiday beginning in 1942. BTW, if you want to recreate the original Thanksgiving feast, you will need the following menu = duck, geese, venison, fish, lobster, clams, swan, berries, dried fruit, pumpkin, squash and many more vegetables. Don't forget the local Thanksgiving Day parade upon which coverage will start on Thursday, November 26th starting at 6AM and will feature ex-WXOU DJ Lauren Podell (among others) reporting live from Woodward Avenue. Live broadcast starts at 9AM, with special guests Bethenny Frankel of The Real Housewives of New York City, Cheryl Burke of Dancing With The Stars, former American Idol contestants Danny Gokey and Josh Gracin & performances from Dave Edwards of Detroit’s own The Look and Detroit blues-legend Johnnie Bassett. Maybe this is the year I go down and check it out.
It is always a nice time to catch that holiday movie and if you are looking for a family friendly film, try "Planet 51". Simply, the film follows a NASA astronaut, Captain Charles "Chuck" Baker (Dwayne Johnson or as we know him, The Rock) who lands on Planet 51 thinking he's the first to set foot on it. When he discovers it is inhabited by little green people who live in a white picket-fenced world reminiscent of 1950s America, he covers in fear and hides. Of course, the aliens, inspired by a sci-fi themed invasion film series thinks he is an invader and the army comes to kill him. Luckily, he is found by Lem, a young kid who has just got a job at the local planetarium who helps him hide and works, along with his nerdish buddies, to get him back to his ship. The films also has numerous rip-offs for us to keep an eye out for including tributes to Alien, Star Wars, ET, duck and cover PSA's, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Terminator, etc which is almost annoying at times and I think the film gets hurt by the reliance of using celebrity voice-overs by such actors as Jessica Biel, Gary Oldman and John Cleese. Personally, there are some damn good voice actors out there that I think add a more to a film but I know that studios want names which seem stupid in the average animated film. Despite these few issues, the film should appeal to the kids and as long as the adults don't mind something sci-fi oriented, this might be a good choice to enjoy with the family. My grade is a C+.
If you are looking for music, you have a lot of choices this week starting on Tuesday 24th with folk/pop singer Brett Dennen w/the blues rock vibe of Grace Potter & the Nocturnals @ St Andrew's Hall or the jam rock sounds of Widespread Panic @ Royal Oak Music Theatre. Wednesday 25th sees Chris Brown @ Royal Oak Music Theatre, bad boy country artist David Allen Coe @ Harpos (nice sequel to the rocking hardcore Hank III show last week), alt rockers Jesus Lizard @ The Crofoot, and local acts Sponge @ the Majestic, Robin Horlock @ St Andrews Hall, the Sights w/SSM @ Magic Stick and Jane Of Arc open for Local Natives @ Pike Room. You can spend Thanksgiving on Thursday 26th with Kem, Forever The Sickest Kids, Shontelle, etc doing the halftime show for the Lions Thanksgiving Day Game and then later see the Detroit Cobras @ Magic Stick. Friday 27th brings from Scotland, indie pop artists Camera Obscura @ The Crofoot, Christmas favorite Mannheim Steamroller @ Fox Theatre, hard rocker Rob Zombie @ The Fillmore and local maniacs Millions Of Brazillians opening for the Electric Six @ St Andrews Hall. Saturday 28th sees a wide variety with Jeff Daniels and a number of local folk acts @ Michigan Theatre, the wonderful Sam Roberts Band w/Sloan & Hard Lessons @ Fillmore, the instrumental band Pelican @ the Shelter, Star Wars In Concert (with live narration by Anthony Daniels aka C-3P0) @ the Palace Of Auburn Hills, Japanese band Melt Banana (think Asia's Sonic Youth) @ the Pike Room, the always rocking Muggs open for Satin Peaches @ Magic Bag and a wonderful local band Octopus plays the Detroit Derby Girls afterparty @ the Majestic. Sunday 29th sees All Time Low w/We The Kings @ The Fillmore and a repeat performance of the Mannheim Steamroller @ Stranahan Theatre (Toledo).
In other music news, Ringo Starr has a new album announced for January entitled "Y Not". While not in time for stocking stuffers, this should be a fun album with lots of guest stars including Paul McCartney along with collaborations with Joe Walsh, Joss Stone, Gary Wright, Van Dyke Parks, Dave Stewart (Eurymics), Ben Harper, Richard Marx and Detroit's own Don Was. Also, Cyndi Lauper confirmed that she would be releasing a new album in Spring 2010 and is currently writing her autobiography "Often Imitated, Never Duplicated". Send me my copy now:)
I hope everyone has a safe holiday and I'll catch you all next Monday.