It's Thursday today, July 2nd.
Do you ever have those days when all you can do is think about the weekend you have planned? I usually don't have that problem, but today - things are different. So it's a darn good thing I happened to score the day off tomorrow!
I have the best plans ever - I'm expecting my favorite houseguest, and there's lots of mischief to be gotten into. Once the guest gets here, we've got some big pizza plans in downtown Flint for Friday night. Ever since Marc Jacobson did a liveshot from WizeGuys Pizza, grabbing a slice (or two...or three) seems to be the only thing I can think about. Take a look at that link and drool for yourself. Our party will be joined by First at Four producer Erin Peterson, King Taco (aka ABC12 Reporter/Anchor Gabe Gutierrez), and another ABC12 Reporter/Anchor Liz Dueweke.
(Oh! In case you were wondering, yes, Marc Jacobson DID eat his usual Cheerios with skim milk - and bananas - for lunch after his CRAY-ZAY pizza breakfast on Tuesday. Whew. Things seemed to be spiraling out of control there for a minute, so I'm quite relieved Jaco got right back on track.)
Now, the WizeGuys pizza party is not just to indulge our tastebuds - we are carb-loading for a big road race on Saturday morning. Yup, I'm talkin about the Volksläufe in Frankenmuth. Now, if you aren't a runner, perhaps the AMAY-ZING awards will motivate you to participate. Now, I'm a girl who loves to run -- and I'm a girl who loves to drink beer. So the awards for this race could be the best incentive I've ever had!
Unfortunately, as Producer Erin found out in her meticulous research, the winning times from last year are pret-ty fast. We're talkin a range of sub-20 for a 5K -- to about a 21:00 time.
Now, Erin and I are good runners, but we've not yet managed to get below 24 minutes for our 5K times. And, bummer of all bummers, those fabulously decked-out beer steins only get awarded to the top 3 finishers in each age group. Ahh, well, we've promised ourselves a glass of beer after our finish - regardless of how we place, so we'll be sure to have fun no matter what.
That about does it for the week for me -- I hope all of you out there - our bajillions of faithful blog readers - have a fabulous, fun weekend full of pizza and races and beer -- or whatever your favorite things may be. Happy 4th of July!
Producer Molly
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Set Your Watch by Marc Jacobson's ScheduleAnother gloomy-ish day - it's Wednesday - the very first day of July.
As I was reading through Marc's blog from yesterday, I practically had a heart attack. Marc. Skipped. His. Morning. Granola. Bar. I mean, if your clock stops and you need to re-set it, just wait until you see Marc Jacobson unwrapping his morning granola bar. 'Cause then you'll know it's no later than 7:45 a.m.
But let me back things up just a bit. Now, I enjoy Marc Jacobson as much as the next kid (although, not as much as a few smitten School Spirit ladies we've run across - a number of whom have pulled me aside just to let me know how much "cuuuuuter" he is in person), but brotha is on a TIMELINE. To begin, he calls the newsroom phone NO later than 3:27 a.m. If he hasn't called by then, I know something is wrong. Well, I suppose I would know something was wrong -- but that's never happened -- he always calls. And when I pick up the phone, we have the same conversation - every single day.
ME: "Good morning, ABC12 News, this is Molly."
JACO: "Goo'morning! Same plan?"
At which point I either solidify his plans for the AM live shots, or break his heart with word of breaking news. Now, for a guy who relies so heavily on routine -- Marc does a GREAT job on breakers. He zips over to the scene, talks to everyone (even when the cops bust his chops and ask him whether he shouldn't be "off dancing somewhere"), gets as much up-to-the-second information as he can - and passes it along as quickly as possible.
Now, when Jaco shows up, I always know he's here, because as he bustles in, he flips the lights on near his desk first thing. Next, he sidles up to my desk, takes a look at my computer monitors to see what I'm gettin into, and watches over my shoulder long enough to make me uncomfortable, give me typing anxiety and turn around in my chair. And that's my cue to give him a high-five. Dude cannot start a day without a high-five! I don't know what he does when I'm not here, but I do know I give him a high hand-slap every single day I'm at the pod.
Another thing about Jaco -- he wears a blue shirt. I mean, every day. Well, wait - there IS a purple shirt that gets slipped into the rotation, but those occasions are few and far-between. If you see him out there in the elements with a jacket on and you can't see the attire - you could safely bet he's rockin a blue button-down under that parka.
So you can see why I was so shocked about my favorite creature of habit SKIPPING HIS MORNING GRANOLA BAR in favor of pizza yesterday. Absolutely amazing - and a complete testament to, if not the taste of the new WizeGuys Pizza, at least its very delicious smell.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm dying to find out what happened about Marc's lunch (a bowl of Cheerios with skim milk). Did he eat it? Did he have to skip it from carb overload? Did he have to shift it back by an hour or so? Or did he eat more pizza instead? I'm heading right over to his desk now to find out.
Same plan tomorrow -- we'll be here at 5AM!
Producer Molly
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A healthy start to the dayIt's me, Marc
A rainy Tuesday morning, June 30th, 2009
I did it again today. I broke off from my 7 a.m. granola bar ritual. I can't actually be faulted in this scenario, though.
I spent the morning at WizeGuys Pizza Inc. in downtown Flint. Today is the grand opening, and we were fortunate enough to get a sneak peek. That sneak peek came complete with chicken wings, grinders, chopped salad, and pizza (lots of it) at 5:30 in the morning! Who says that you can't eat pizza before the sun comes up?
After we finished with our live interviews, Phil Shaltz and Louis Fernandez sent us back to the station with a truck load of food. If there's anything that you should know about media people, it's that they will do anything for free food. I'm not necessarily talking about myself. My style of food consumption is typically bland and boring. It's how I manage to maintain my girlish figure.
As for the rest of the staff at our station, it's a different story. It's been proven over and over again, that whenever I return from a morning live shot with food, the food doesn't last long. Not more than two minutes after I placed the pizzas on the conference room table, the vultures had already started to circle.
Never mind the fact that the food was cold. From watching everyone tear through this fine smorgasbord of culinary delight, you would have thought that they hadn't eaten in three weeks.
My grand return to the station with food still hasn't earned me full redemption for my lack of effort on Fat Tuesday. I still hear complaints on a daily basis for not bringing back those pazckis. I also took plenty of heat for not brining back free food from the Frankenmuth Brewery yesterday. Actually Johnny Mac was more alarmed that I didn't bring back any brew for him to sample. Apparently, our resident meteorologist likes to get his morning drink on.
And yes, in case you were wondering, the pizza at WizeGuys is fantastic, and I highly recommend it.
Have a great day.
Marc
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What is going on???EPLisa, here
It's Monday, June 29, 2009
Another celebrity death. Okay, a celebrity to me (yep, I'm old). Impressionist Fred Travalena has died of cancer. He was a headliner in Vegas showrooms and a regular on late-night talk shows in the 70's and 80's. He was 66 years old. I remember watching him on the Merv Griffin, Dinah Shore and Michael Douglas shows when I was a kid. I think he also played at The Whiting in Flint.
Fred's death brings the total number of celebrites to pass away to 6 in the past few weeks: David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays and now Fred Travalena. They say it always happens in 3's. I hope we've had our fill.
It is interesting to me to see how the media and the general public reacts to celebrity deaths. The more strange/unusual the more coverage. David Carradine found dead in a closet - plenty of coverage. Farrah Fawcett dies after a battle with cancer - a mention here and there. Michael Jackson - plastic surgery, mounds of debt, tabloid fodder - wall to wall coverage.
It seems that is the way it always goes. Take the death of 2 of the Beatles. When John Lennon was shot outside his NYC apartment the media went crazy. There was wall to wall coverage, memorials, radio and television tributes. When George Harrison died of cancer there was very little pomp and circumstance. There was no "gimmick". Everyone knows a person who has been stricken with cancer.
I'm not saying some celebrities are better than others. Admittedly, some are icons and some are has-beens. Even the has-beens seem to get more coverage when there are strange circumstances surrounding their deaths. It seems like people forget the "B" movie careers, the box office flops or their albums that never cracked the top 100. People like to dish. People llike to talk.
There is one thing the people all have in common - they touched the lives of people they never met. They spent their careers working to take people out of the everyday grind and into fantasy getaways. To all I say "RIP". To all I say "thanks".
Until we meet again,
EPLisa
