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By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com
Attention National Public Radio listeners: Car Talk, the hugely popular automotive advice show hosted by brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi, is becoming an animated feature.
Check out the details at Click and Clack go to Hollywood.
Stephanie Ariganello; stephaniea@monroenews.com
I’ve been hearing about this online backlash against Barack Obama so I decided to find out what that meant.
One of the sites, http://barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com/ is one of my favorites. It’s a play on Barack being all things to all people. Often those who support him come up with these reasons why they support him - that are completely different than those of the person standing next to him who is also an Obama supporter. If you visit the site, click on the page and a new Barack Obama message will load.
Personally, I like that Barack Obama picked me up from the airport. I wonder if he would help me move?
Stephanie Ariganello; stephaniea@monroenews.com
Here it is, New Year’s Eve again.
Let me be up front about this: I hate New Year’s. I find it usually fraught with anxiety and expectation - you have to find something to do, you just have to! and it has to be the best thing ever! And then comes the let down - another year notched on the belt. The natural question to ask - Did I do anything remarkable?
Then, the holiday season concludes and there’s just winter. I actually love winter - i.e. snow and that clean feeling only a crisp breeze can provide - but SE Michigan winters don’t exactly fulfill that. (I’m a U.P./Minnesota girl, what can I say?) So, I’m trying to shake off my New Year’s Blah in order to get the new years how-to-have-a-better-year-story done.
In researching the origins of New Year’s and what people around the world do, I came across a list of things you should say to another person to wish them well into the next annum. On Wikipedia (yes, I check out wikipedia when researching things to make sure I covered different bases…) there’s a list of “typical phrases seen on cards or heard in greeting.”
Here are the suggestions:
I just have to ask though, is this truly necessary? Does anyone need a guide to New Year’s tidings? It’s not like back stage where you say some specialized thing like “break a leg”. The only one you are to exclaim, according to the list, is “Wishing you a happy new year!” I especially like that they have both “I wish you…” and “We wish you…” listed, just to avoid that possible snake den of confusion.
So, I propose we come up with one, just to see if it makes the wikipedia list of possible things to say to one another on New Year’s. What should it be? And make sure you ‘insert the appropriate year(s)’.
Here’s to jibbing the rig and pie in your eye in 2008!
By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com
It’s been a long time since I got a story assignment with the instruction, “wear your press pass.” But because of security details at the Radio Disney concert this afternoon in Ida (story will be in Sunday’s edition of The Monroe Evening News), I needed my press ID to get into the VIP reception at Ida Public Library.
The press pass I usually pull out is in my wallet (actually, my business card works in most situations). But, I do have a copy hanging on a lanyard tag to use as needed. It is useful to be that visible at times.
When I got to the library door, the event staff checked my media credentials and gave me a new lanyard with a card labeled with “VIP: Radio Disney Jingle Jam.” Within a few minutes, another event worker gave me a yellow ticket for the reception and a green ticket for reserved seating at the concert. So, I put all the passes in the concert lanyard and concluded I now looked like a music groupie with everything that was hanging around my neck.
After the reception ended and the audience was waiting for the national show to start, I went inside the library lobby to warm up.
A girl who was probably about 10 years old looked at my array of tags and said, “No fair! You’ve got a VIP pass.”
Her dad started laughing and said, “she’s a reporter.”
“Did you meet Keke?” the girl asked me.
“Yes I did. She was really nice.”
This response resulted in another agonized response from the young fan.
I explained that I didn’t get Keke’s autograph and had only enough time to give her two or three questions. Even a VIP pass doesn’t give you much more time than that, I explained. Other fans want to say hello.
But, I told the girl, if she wanted to meet Keke in person, there was still a chance to do it. There would be a public meet-and-greet with souvenir sales and autograph signings after the show.
This young fan let her dad know she was quite willing to give up her spot for the Night Light Parade so she could meet Keke Palmer. And, I think he was going along with her request.
Here are the tags that got her attention:
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to hear Keke perform live. I had to leave the show early.
But I did listen to clips on the Internet from the entertainers before going to Ida this afternoon and I like Keke’s music.
By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com
There were lots of cute moments during the VIP reception Saturday afternoon at Ida Public Library with the Radio Disney Jingle Jam performers. During this event, fans had a chance to meet and get autographs signed by Sarah and Julia Ross of the band Everlife and soloists Keke Palmer and Drew Seeley. It was a very well-organized event, with lots of refreshments and an event staff who made sure all the fans got the photos they wanted.
Well, it’s not just the kids who enjoyed this event. It just so happened I was on the sidelines when the national celebrities met a local celebrity. Miss Monroe County 2007 Rachel McCleery was at the VIP reception. During a break in the line of fans, Rachel came up to the national stars’ table to introduce herself.
Rachel, according to protocol for formal appearances by the Miss America preliminary royalty, was wearing her crown.
So when Rachel explained who she was, Keke took a good look at the sparkly crown. “Can I touch it?” she asked.
After that conversation, Rachel, just like all the other fans, got her photo taken with the national entertainers.
There’s gold in them thar mouths. People must be jazzed up for turkey and time off; it seems like everyone is talking about something interesting or presenting it in an interesting way. Here’s a snippet:
“So, *Person* what do you think? Is Marie a little bit country a little bit rock and roll?”
“I think she’s a little bit fat and a little bit too old to be dancing,” responded the person who was queried, known for honesty.
From that same corner:
“… ever since Jerry Springer went off the air, I can’t watch it, it’s not the same,” said one person about a different television show.
“Yeah, I do the Jerry chant at home,” responded another person jokingly. Although, I like to think that this person just sits at home and ocassionally starts chanting to bolster her spirits and tried to make a joke of it at work while thinking, finally, I can share this oddity with the world.
By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com
One of the bloggers at an unofficial Funky Winkerbean fan site that I like to hang out at has posted a link to a New York Times health blog, A Death in the Funny Pages Causes Controversy, that was written Oct. 12.
The article gives an introduction of what happened to the character Lisa Moore as she died of cancer, and includes a few of the clips. There’s a huge list of comments from readers across the country about their reaction to the story line.
by Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com
If you’ve been following the Funky Winkerbean comic strip, written by Tom Batiuk, published Sundays in The Monroe Evening News and daily in many newspapers across the country, you know the past few months have been, well, not very funny. In today’s (Sunday Oct. 7) episode, you see a scene depicting calling hours at the funeral home for Lisa Moore with guest book signatures, memorial cards and a photo collage through the years.
Lisa emerged as one of the main characters of the strip in the late 1980s when she became pregnant after a date rape situation. Classmate Les Moore wasn’t the father, but he stayed friends after Lisa dropped out of school and attended Lamaze classes as her birthing partner.
Lisa gave up that son for adoption. Years later, Lisa and Les married and had a daughter of their own.
Fast-forward to the past few months: Lisa Moore, who successfully fought off breast cancer in 1999, learned her cancer returned and was terminal. Her death was drawn in the strip Thursday Oct. 4. Her last words, meant for her long-time friend and husband, were “I love you.”
I wrote a fictional obituary for Lisa Crawford Moore and posted it on this blog Thursday morning. The only detail I got wrong, because I had not seen the upcoming episodes, was where her memorial service took place. I also didn’t know there would be calling hours at the funeral home. But I’m sure there was a luncheon at Montoni’s Pizza!
Tom Batiuk worked out the details for this story several months ago. As you might have noticed with Friday and Saturday’s story line, Lisa’s death is leading up to another jump in the chronology of the comic strip.
In the meantime, Mr. Batiuk compiled the strips about Lisa’s struggle with cancer in his latest book, “Lisa’s Story: The Other Shoe.”
The book launch and signing was held Saturday at Luigi’s Restaurant in Akron. I went, and talked my daughter, who was home this weekend from college, into coming along. (My daughter is not a Funky fan, but she was a good sport.) I also brought book orders on behalf of a co-worker and my mother.
The book “Lisa’s Story: The Other Shoe” includes the story line for another few days past today’s episode. So you’ll want to keep reading the newspapers to learn about Les’s journey to Central Park in New York City.
Now, if you’re a fan, the book signing was a really neat event. It is well known in Akron that Luigi’s is the inspiration for Montoni’s Pizza restaurant in the Funky Winkerbean story line. That’s the restaurant co-owned by Tony Montoni and Funky Winkerbean, where many of the characters have worked at or hung out over the years, and where Lisa and Les got married in 1996.
Luigi’s closed for business Saturday afternoon so that Mr. Batiuk could have his book signing party. The clerks who rang up the books wore aprons decorated with Montoni’s Pizza logo, just like the ones worn by the staff in the comic strip. There also were temporary signs set up at the doors of the restaurant with Montoni’s Pizza logo. And there was a pizza buffet for book signing visitors, with donations requested to Lisa’s Legacy Fund.
When I walked inside the restaurant, I immediately recognized the layout, architecuture and decor that have been shown in the comic strip. The locals also showed me where the band box is on display. “Do you recognize that?” one woman asked me.
And do you remember the Sunday episode from awhile back where Montoni’s was listed in its local newspaper as winning the best pizza award? Funky yelled in celebration, “Dinner’s on the house!” as his business co-owner shuddered at the lost profits. That strip is autographed and hung in honor on the wall. If you look at the other memorabilia displayed on the walls, Luigi’s really has won a local best pizza award.
The book signing party started at 1. We arrived about 3:15 p.m. At that point, the staff had run out of hardback copies of “Lisa’s Story” with only paperback copies still in stock. But everyone I saw stayed in line anyway to get a book and meet the author.
I’ve volunteered at, and attended, enough autograph sessions to know Tom Batiuk must have been exhausted by the time we got to the front of the line (about 4:15 p.m.). But he was still smiling and gracious, signed books with either personalization or not as visitors needed, and posed for photos on request.
The pizza buffet was taken down while I got my pile of books signed. The staff was setting up for dinner customers, some of whom had been surprised to find the restaurant closed for a party. But the waitress offered to go to the kitchen and get some pizza slices for me and my daughter. So I did get to eat some “Montoni’s” Pizza.
And yes, it’s pretty good!
By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com
Reporter’s note: Lisa Moore, one of the characters, in the comic strip Funky Winkerbean by Tom Batiuk, has died of breast cancer. (See my earlier post, Funky Winkerbean fans: yes Lisa Moore is in her last days.)
I have written many obituaries during my career as a newspaper reporter. So as a tribute to one of my favorite comic strips, here is her fictional obituary with as much biographical information as I could pin down or reasonably guess at from the story line. Although I had to take literary license on some details, there really is a Lisa’s Legacy Fund in Cleveland named for the character Lisa Moore.
If you missed some of the recent installments and want to catch up on what happened to Lisa, Tom Batiuk’s latest book, “Lisa’s Story: The Other Shoe,” has been published by Kent State University Press and is available at amazon.com. The book release party will be Saturday Oct. 6 in Akron, Ohio. Details are posted at www.funkywinkerbean.com.
Lisa Crawford Moore
1970-2007
WESTVIEW, Ohio - Lisa Crawford Moore, 37, of Westview, died Thursday Oct. 4 at home while under the care of hospice.
Mrs. Moore had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999. She went into remission, but the cancer returned in 2006.
Recently, she made national headlines by testifying in Washington, D.C., to Congress’s Health and Human Services Committee, on behalf of the One Voice Against Cancer campaign regarding the need for funding for cancer research.
Cremation has been held, per her request, under the arrangements of Tom Batiuk Funeral Home and Cremation Society. A memorial service and luncheon will be held Sunday at Montoni’s Pizza in Westview, where she had formerly been employed.
She was born in Akron, raised in Westview and attended Westview High School.
She lived in Seattle, Wash., for a time; and then worked as a tutor for American children in Martel, France.
She attended Westview County Community College. After earning her law degree from University of Akron, Mrs. Moore worked in the regional public defender’s office. Later, she ran a private law practice.
She was a fan of the Cleveland Browns football team. She also enjoyed reading superhero comic books and newspaper comics.
She was married in October 1996 in Westview to Leslie P. “Les” Moore.
Surviving are her husband; their daughter, Summer, at home; her son, Darin, who was adopted and raised by Fred and Ann (Randall) Fairgood; her parents; and many friends including Funky and Holly (Budd) Winkerbean.
Memorial contributions may be made to Lisa’s Legacy Fund at www.lisaslegacyfund.org or by mail to: Lisa’s Legacy Fund, University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center, PO Box 74947, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106.
On-line condolences may be made at www.funkywinkerbean.com
On the back of an old newspaper clip I was reading for a story (research, my dears) I found the “Feature Film Time Table”.
The movies were Stella Dallas (Tagline: Sure - I like a good time!) at the Family Theater. She asked for it and Billy the Kid were playing at the Dixie. The Majestic was showing Slave Ship and Elephant Boy. There were shows starting as late as 9:50 p.m. - which is more than I can say for now.
On Friday, theater-goers could look forward to Forty-five Fathers.
By Paula Wethington
My sisters and I are long-time Funky Winkerbean comic strip fans. The Monroe Evening News runs the Sunday strip but not the daily, so I have to go to some effort to keep up with the story line.
Anyway, yesterday, one of my sisters asked “Is Lisa terminal?” And we all knew which Lisa she was talking about (Funky Winkerbean’s Lisa Moore), since neither our sister Lisa or cousin Lisa are seriously ill.
I have been following the comic strip story line closely enough to tell her the answer was yes.
Well, from one of my other sisters, I found out us fans are watching the details unfold for a plot line that was determined awhile back. Go to Funky’s site and you’ll see both a news article and blog from the author hinting at what’s in the future for one of his most popular characters.
I’m kind of reluctant to comment on it, lest Paris Hilton get more press than she already has. But. I find this whole Paris in jail thing interesting from a press person point of view.
After seeing the police reports and arrest records of people in Monroe County, caught doing the things PH has been caught doing, I’m pretty sure they would have been taken downtown at least until bail could be posted. However, that’s not what surprises me.
What does strike me is the line between hard news (some may say ‘actual’ news) and celebrity enews is more blurred now than ever. It’s been a progression, but when you hear about Paris Hilton’s jail antics on NPR, some sort of shift has occurred. NBC recently stated they were too busy to cover Lindsay Lohan passed out in a car, seemingly taking a stance on celebrities out of control.
I’m curious. Are people sick of this kind of coverage in the news? Would you rather read this kind of story than what happened at the county board meeting? Are more information outlets covering these kinds of beats because it’s what readers want?
Yeah, so this is quite gross - be warned. But anyone who’s been visited by the ticket fairy knows what place the impulse comes from.
A Minnesota guy apparently was ticked off by a parking ticket, sent in the payment and a little something extra that originated with his dog.
Read the article here.
I’m working on an advance for the play: Steve Martin’s Adaptation of The Underpants. *Pun alert* As a result, I’ve been the butt of bad jokes all day.
Earlier when trying to coordinate a photo, many people walking by interjected, “what, you need a picture of underpants?” and “What do you need to organize it for, I thought photo flew by the seat of their pants?” so on and so forth. (I didn’t say these were high quality).
As I’m ready to leave a coworker just told me to have fun checking out my underpants. That horn, the whant whant that they use ever so much on Sabado Gigante, just sounded somewhere in the background.
So, look for some underpants in Thursday’s A & E section.
Or maybe just temporarily maim it.
I just submitted a story about National Turn Off Your TV Week ending on Sunday. These are the kinds of stories I love and hate working on. It’s definitely interesting, but has certainly robbed my viewing of it’s guiltless innocence. I read all the statistics, I talked to parents, I spoke with a sociology/anthropology professor, but still, when I went home yesterday after doing all this, I turned on my TV. It’s not that I can’t live without it… I could if I needed to. It’s just that I’m a TV girl, living in a TV world.
For years in college, I didn’t have a television. When we did get one, it was old and got 1.5 channels somewhat clearly. When my roommate Chuck moved in he insisted on getting super cable. It was like having Vegas in our living room for about two weeks before the novelty wore off. When I would come home Chuck, who took pills that looked like lentils, would be sitting in the same spot, watching TV still or again. When he wasn’t there, an indent indicating his dedication remained. When he dropped out of school soon thereafter and moved out, we cut off the cable. That was the only time in 10 years that I actually had access to cable in my house.
When people flew planes into the World Trade Center, another roommate in a different apartment and I listened to it on the radio. We carted our neighbor’s tube over to try to see what was going on. Without cable we mostly got static mixed with a few alarmingly clear shots of the chaos in New York.
When I moved from Marquette to Minneapolis a month later, I had nothing. I was given a little TV by an aunt and uncle, one that had to be changed by the dials, and cable was still beyond my reach. At least there without hook up 7 or so channels would come in crisply. MTV2 would come in on the weekends just in time for Sucker Free Sundays. Most of the time it was Telemundo.
When I moved back to Michigan, and then tucked into a remote corner of Monroe County, cable was finally mine. It’s been about one year exactly since I moved to the county and got cable. It’s odd how quickly I slipped into watching or having the TV on most of the time when I’m home. And I’m a reader.
The concept of Turn Off Your TV week is great - the point of drawing a person more consciously into their habits is a strong one. But it’s more difficult than I initially thought now that I rest in the warm bosom of my TV and its wide array of opportunities. In some way I feel like I’ve stored up enough non-TV life to earn a free pass on watching Golden Girls reruns if I damn well please.
That said, I now have to take a more deliberate role in selecting to watch it rather than just defaulting and searching to find something, anything to entertain me.