¡Hola! Acabo de regresar de mis vacaciones en México. ¡Fue impresionante!

Here in Wisconsin, behind the cheddar curtain, that translates to; “Da wife and I just got back from a vacation in Mexico and, man, it was awesome!” We like to visit Mexico once a year ’cause we love it there. Now don’t get me wrong, I still bleed Red, White and Blue and I still believe we live in the greatest country on the planet. But there are aspects of Mexico that feel like the “old” U.S.of A.

It brings you right back to the days of your youth when you see a guy riding in his huge Chrysler with his 8 year old son on his lap. He’s smoking a huge Cuban cigar and he’s letting the kid steer. That’s America circa 1968 right there. About 10 years ago we tried to get our local community to put a speed bump on the road. The red tape was incredible and we never did succeed. Down in Mexico, though, they are serious about having you slow down. If you’re driving and you see a speed bump, you had better slow to a crawl or your front bumper, and a few of your teeth, will be laying on the road.

Another flashback of my youth is hearing a huge percentage of Mexicans speaking (at least) 2 languages. My grandparents spoke other languages and I’m always embarassed that I don’t. Sure my Rosetta Stone has helped, but once I’ve asked for a beer and a bathroom, well I’m almost tapped out. And remember America before all those lawsuits? Mexico isn’t lawsuit happy. They don’t dumb everything down to the lowest common denominator. You actually have to pay attention to where you’re walking or driving. Sure it’s more dangerous, but we’re all adults, aren’t we? And, you haven’t lived until you’ve zip-lined or para-sailed in Mexico, it’s awesome. You don’t have to sign and notarize 8 copies of a release form. There’s this unspoken rule that simply says “Yeah, I know this is risky and dangerous and kinda stupid and I might get hurt bad, so let’s do it!!” Add some tequila and make it even more fun.

And who needs HMO’s, co-pays or scripts from your doctor when you can get almost anything at the Pharmacia? Antibiotics, anti-depressants, and even some narcotics. Sure they may be sudstandard or even counterfeit but it’s a proven fact that placebos even work on some people. Give ‘em a try if you dare. Just don’t try to smuggle them into the USA. That’s a huge no-no. Though, I did accidentally bring back some aspirin. I had a headache and I bought this medicine that was labelled “E.D. Aches. For Amigos with E.D. Problems”. In fact, I took one 4 hours ago. It must be one of those placebos ’cause my headache hasn’t gone away. Somehow, though, I don’t seem to care ;~) >ver lejos a mi mujer. ..adios

The results are in …

And the winner of the Foresters’ Most Caring Radio Station in North America is 107 in Columbia, Mo.

Carole and I would like to thank everyone who stepped up to the plate and voted for WKLH 96.5 during this three-week contest. Our community is quite special, and we should feel very proud of our efforts. We truly are blessed to have such a wonderful, nationally known, state-of-the-art pediatric facility right here in Wisconsin – and better yet, right here in our own backyard.  You stepped up to do this for the kids, and we’re so proud of the Wisconsin community.

Over the weekend, we received hundreds of e-mails from listeners who want to help raise the $50K themselves – one listener at a time – one donation at a time. So, in response to our listeners, we’re going to prove how special of a community we are.

We’ve developed a special online pledge page in response to this contest that will run until Friday, Feb. 12. If we can get 500 donors to give $100 each, we can raise $50,000 for Wisconsin kids. You can pledge online at chw.org/wklh.

As an added bonus, between 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Thursday, February 11, Forester’s will be matching our donations. Let’s see if we can make it to $50,000 for the kids.

Thank you again for making a difference! One vote, one donation at a time.

SUPER BOWL THOUGHTS
 

*I think Sean Payton totally out coached Beloit’s Jim Caldwell. From Payton’s clock management at the end of the first half to the onside kick. And how about Caldwell having 42 year old Matt Stover attempt a 51 yard field goal?

*I think no city in America needed a moral victory more than New Orleans.  Karma wins again! The Saints played with heart and intensity and their coach played to win. The Colts played not to lose. It seems like teams that play not to lose always do.

*I think it’s time to go in a different direction for the Super Bowl half time show. The Who just didn’t work for me, but Zak Starkey (Ringo’s spawn) was awesome on the drums. Why did Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend play so many of the bridges of their hits? Hooks, lads, hooks…

*I think Pete Townsend needs a bigger shirt. That pale belly was just not attractive, especially in HD…

*Since the game’s in Dallas next year, I think the halftime show should be a Scott Joplin tribute performed by ZZ Top, Los Lonely Boys, and Vanilla Ice. Hey, they’re all from Texas :~)

*On the outside chance the Cowboys actually make it to the Super Bowl next year and play in their home stadium, Jerry Jones surgically altered head will explode.

*I think his head might explode if they don’t make the big game in 2011.

*I think CBS can keep James Brown and Bill Cowher and fire the rest of those talking heads on the pre game show. It’s painful.

*I think that Google ad is an all time classic. I loved it.

*I think whoever schedules the commercials needs to be asked; “Why would you put 2 spots back to back where people are in their tighty whities?” 

*I think Jay Leno will try anything right now. I don’t blame him.

*I think Danica Patrick needs a new manager. Or GoDaddy.com needs a new ad agency, or both.

*I think Brad and Angelina are fine. I mean why else would you take her to the Super Bowl? What’s that, a photo op? Oh, yeah.

*I think that the only way I can get my wife to watch the game is if they do those syrupy background stories on the players, like the Olympics do. “And that’s how Mr. Bush met Ms. Kardashian; and now back to Reggie for this punt return”.

*I think Drew Brees knows that you don’t EVER have to force a pass deep downfield. Not all quarterbacks know that. Brett? Brett??

Okay, here’s the deal. A little town called Columbia, Missouri wants to take Milwaukee down. A company called Forester’s is holding an online contest to determine “North America’s Most Caring Radio Station”. The station that wins will have $50,000.00 donated to their local Children’s Hospital.
The issue is that Milwaukee had the lead until today when a radio station in Columbia, Missouri decided to hold a vote-a-thon and involve all their sister stations, as well as the University of Missouri. Their mission is clear; they want to ‘beat Milwaukee’.

As you may know, we do “The Miracle Marathon” every year to benefit the kids at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. To say that we’re lucky to have such a place in our community is an enormous understatement. This place really does make miracles happen and many of you know that first hand.
If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling or neighbor of a sick child, there is no other place that can provide the care that Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin can. So I’m begging you to step up and make a difference. And it’s as easy as a few clicks of a mouse.

Now is your chance to make a miracle happen. Help the kids by voting for WKLH in this contest. I honestly don’t care if you’re a big listener or not. That misses the point. If ‘KLH gets the most votes, the kids get the cash. It’s that simple! You can vote up to 10 times per day per e mail address. Please log on to wklh.com and you’ll see the contest link on the front page. Dare to Care…

wklh.com

I’m at work and as I write this, I have my Droid by my side, my Facebook friends are chatting with me, I am periodically checking home and work e mails and people are tweeting all around me. In fact, a few of the folks have their ear-buds in and they’re oblivious to the world. We’re all so connected that we’ve begun to ignore ourselves.

Tom Joerres, my boss, always dreads getting a phone call from me in those warm, summer months. Why? Because he knows that I’ve been out cutting the lawn. And I don’t wear headphones or ear-buds. I spend the time alone with my thoughts, usually coming up with some goofy idea that goes nowhere. But I digress.

The point is that we have devolved into a society that is hyper-aware and ultra-savvy when it comes to technology. But all we do is consume. Rarely, do we create. A disproportionate amount of the correspondence I receive is simply someone forwarding someone else’s creativity to me. Usually there’s some sort of smart a** remark attached. Hey, I’m as guilty as anyone else.

So, while we are connected 24/7, it’s mostly passive consumption. We watch TV, we listen to music (hopefully to KLH ;~) we are online, watching youtube videos and reading blogs. We play video games, we’re on our smart phones, we tweet, text and check out Facebook. We spend our spare time playing Mafia Wars, Farmville, Halo, or Madden.

I remember reading the USA Today article back in 2008 about the most creative TV commercials of the last 25 years. Not one of them was produced after 1999. But I’m not just talking about creativity as it relates to media or to the web.

Creativity is the missing link that can help create jobs, reform health care, education, and elevate us all. But how can any of us, especially young people with whom the future resides, be creative in the current environment? Most of them can’t spend 10 minutes without some sort of passive stimulation. Hey, its not just teenagers. I know plenty of people who can’t even take a walk or go running without staying connected.

I’ve started unplugging myself from the world from Friday afternoon until Sunday night and it’s been awesome. Want to know the best part? I figured out that spending 2 days with my own thoughts is about all I can handle.