Paul Harvey Signs Off

Legendary radio commentator Paul Harvey died today. He was 90. His death came as a surprise to me since I heard him on a local radio station during the past week. Cause of death has not been released.

For those of us who worked in radio, the man was a god! In 1990 at the age of 82 he signed a 10 year contract with ABC Radio for $100 million - big money for anyone in radio, especially at 82!

I first heard of Paul Harvey when I was a kid listening to the radio in New York. I thought he was funny. Well, he was funny and serious and down-to-earth. Smart and humble with an arsenal of qualities which would appeal to almost anyone.

He was the best at what he did.

There will never be anyone like him again.

Friday Foto - Dorota Rabczewska

This week's Friday Foto is an experiment. Viewership of this blog is rather weak in Poland. Perhaps we can change this with some home-grown Polish talent?

Meet Polish pop singer Dorota Rabczewska. As a matter of taste, I rather look at her than listen to her. But, then, that puts her in a large group of celebrities.

Have a nice weekend!

Manny Turns Down $25M

Manny Ramirez, yesterday, turned down a one year deal for $25 million with a $20 million option for 2010. It was the Dodgers' fourth offer for Manny. That's big money, coming from a franchise playing in a state that's broke! Normally, I wouldn't care. I still haven't forgiven the Dodgers for leaving Brooklyn. I'd like to see manager, Joe Torre do well, even for a franchise guilty of dumping on its own fans.

Would Manny be elegible for unemployment benefits?

Octomom Gets $1M Job Offer!

I'm not making this up!
Actually I promised myself that I wouldn't waste any more time or space on this subject, but IT'S SCREAMING AT ME to make note. Nayda Suleman's mother is facing foreclosure on her home. Local Child Protection may determine if Octomom gets to keep all of the kids. Now, from out of nowhere, Nadya gets a million dollar job offer. Only in America! She gets an offer to be featured in a hardcore porno. She'd get $1,000,000 + a year of free medical and dental for her and the 14 little ones. According to the production company, Octomom has not responded to the offer.

She probably won't take the gig. She may not realize how much $1,000,000 really is. I don't think she's very "good with numbers." Besides, her being in a porno would probably make us less likely to want to pay for the kids with public funds. The cost of raising the 14 being far more than Nadya would ever likely be able to raise in any career field. My advice, and remember you heard it here first, write a book! You get to keep your clothes on and you can always write a sequel.

Local Library Branches Close

Vigo county, Indiana has a very nice public library with four branches. Three of these branches are closing due to a lack of funding. The reason which was given is that in the State of Indiana, there is a freeze on property tax increases. This is a good thing. Better management of existing tax receipts would be a better idea. The feeling around here is one of mild shock among some of the locals. Could you imagine the reaction if the county closed down half of the city/county parks or the public swimming pools?

It's a good thing that we don't read, here in Indiana!

Post Drops Smith

Liz Smith, the legendary New York Gossip/Celebrity/Entertainment Columnist has been dropped by the NY Post. This is a damn shame! She's 86 years old but she wants to keep working! According to reports, she was making $125,000 a year from the Post. This is not a lot of money whey you consider that she is who she is.
Her column still appears in 70 papers in the USA, including Parade and Variety. I predict that another New York newspaper will soon carry her column.

The Post claims that axing Smith was simply a cost cutting measure. Her final appearance in the Post will be tomorrow.

Things could be worse for Liz. I mean, she could be reduced in stature to that of a (gasp) blogger!

Does this seem odd to you?

Does this seem odd to you?
Of the 10 members of President Obama's Auto Industry task force, designed to oversee the Detroit automakers, only two are known to own American cars, two don't own a car, and the rest choose to purchase/lease Japanese cars.

Donald Trump, a reasonably successful businessman, teaches us that if you don't believe in something, you're going to have a horrible time trying to sell it.

It makes me wonder if we are simply "going through the motions."

Marvin - Too Pricey For Colts!

Marvin Harrison does't want to take a cut in pay - neither do I. Do you? He was to have made a little over $13,000,000.00 for the 2009 NFL season.

Let's forget about the economy for a minute. Harrison is 36 years old. This means that he probably has a few more good years in his career - if he stays healthy. He might find a franchise willing to pay him what he wants. After all, he scored 5 touchdowns in '08! He racked up 636 yards and caught 60 passes!
Let's see, 636 yards and $13,000,000.00. That comes out to a little over $20,000 per yard gained.

What the hell's wrong with the Colts?

Pay the man!

National Bailout Symbol

T
he Federal Government announced today its national bailout symbol - the condom - because it accurately reflects the government’s stance.

A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks and gives you a sense of security while you are actually being screwed.

It just doesn’t get more accurate than that!

Mortgage Bailout

What the hell is going on? We working stiffs are paying our taxes and the money is going where? I should point out that we are in the middle of the "tax season." This is the time when working people who actually pay taxes are figuring whether to wait to file and write a check to Uncle Sam, or to file now and get our overpayment refunded to us. During this tax season we are being told that if we don't bailout some big corporations, we will be hurting ourselves. OK, I can understand that...a little. Now let's say that a guy who lives in the ritzy section of town - you know with doctors and lawyers as neighbors. Well this guy pays too much for his house, gets an iffy mortgage, hires a lawyer who doesn't do his job during the home buying process and the guy ends up not being able to pay for his mortgage. Why should my tax money go to bail him out of the stupid decision that he made? Are the federal housing projects all full? Isn't there anybody responsible, out there, for any of this mess?

Lions Undefeated! Media Yawns!

Iam scratching my head, this morning. Last night, the Marshall, Illinois High School Lions won their 26th consecutive basketball game, going undefeated for the regular season for the first time in the school's history! The Terre Haute Tribune-Star is the nearest daily newspaper to Marshall, IL. It's published in the bordering county, roughly 17 miles away. The adjacent scan was lifted from page 3 of this morning's sports section - less than 2 column inches. Click the image to read the entire article! Apparently, the paper didn't send anyone to the game, much less someone with a camera?

Marshall HS is a small school. This fact makes their perfect season a larger accomplishment. Also, has any HS basketball team ever traveled to Terre Haute and defeat all three (much larger) county schools in the same season??

If you are a fan of Marshall High School Basketball, don't feel slighted. The Lions have made history! Terre Haute Media has long been a mystery to me.
So, this blog officially goes on-the-record in saying CONGRATULATIONS on a JOB WELL DONE! We are very proud of you!

Good luck in the post-season.

Friday Photo - Nadia Bjorlin

For soap opera buffs, the name Nadia Bjorlin may be familiar - especially if you watch "Days Of Our Lives." I don't, but I may start. She was born in Newport, Rhode Island, but lived in Sweden until the age of 7. Her father was the Swedish composer and conductor Ulf Björlin. Her mother, Fary, is an Iranian interior decorator. Interesting, very interesting...

Have a nice weekend!

Drawing Controversy

I haven't been posting much material in the past few days, mainly because nothing much has been going on. The above appeared in yesterday's New York Post.

As you may expect, Rev. Al Sharpton is "up in arms" saying the cartoon is "troubling at best."
The cartoon by Sean Delonas shows a dead chimp and two police officers, one with a smoking gun. The caption reads, "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill." The cartoon refers to Travis the chimp, who was shot to death by police in Stamford, Connecticut, on Monday after it mauled a friend of its owner. It links the chimp to Obama, who signed his administration's economic stimulus plan on Tuesday.

The Post had no immediate comment.

General Tom's Comment: Two disturbing points, here.
1. The cartoon, itself.
2. Sharpton may have a legitimate point.

Local Radio's Latest Bonehead Move

This is just another reminder of why I no longer choose to work in radio in Terre Haute, Indiana. Danny Wayne is a 20 year veteran of Terre Haute Radio. Until this morning he was morning man at WINH, Paris, IL/Terre Haute, IN. The station changed formats from Country to News/Talk. Now, don't get me wrong, I love News/Talk on the radio. But, here's what's going to happen - we're going to be fed network talk shows via satellite and it's going to sound like a 500 watt AM station in Ghost Town, Nevada. The point is, WINH used to be a live/local country music radio station, with my friend Danny Wayne hosting the morning show. Now, it's on life-support.

More about Danny. I worked with him for three years and I've never known a more down-to-earth guy in the radio business. His sense of humor is priceless. He's truely concerned about the local area. For my money he has been, for years, among the most personable in local radio - an icon, if you will. He knows his music, Country, Rock, anything. You see, he supplements his income with live DJ work. Check him out here. He works long and hard to do what he does - as well as he does it. Demoting the guy (remember, 20 years on Terre Haute radio) from morning drive to a couple of weekend shifts on the sister station, is the broadcasting bonehead move of the decade.

Oh, one more thing, his listeners may or may not know this, but Danny Wayne is legally blind.

Friday Photo - Jill Nicolini

This week's Friday Photo features Long Island Girl Jill Nicolini. Jill's done modeling, dancing and is currently the morning traffic reporter on CW11/WPIX-TV in NYC. Jill is single and has dated Kenny Chesney as recently as last October. People say that Jill is fun to work with. I'll agree....have a nice weekend!

Octamom Web Site

Ok, most of us are saying that the lady isn't playing with a "full deck." The initial medical bills are expected to exceed a million dollars. As many of us know, the real expense begins when you get the kiddie(s) home! Well, Nadya Suleman isn't getting the corporate & public outpouring of gifts & cash that she expected so she's found the modern answer to her financial woes...a web site! She's accepting all major credit cards! Click here to visit. We, at the blog, encourage you to contribute since the State of California is currently broke. Classy...very classy!

The Ratings Are In!

I've been wondering about this for a long, long time! Finally, I have discovered the actual ranking of this humble blog!

According to Technorati, General Tom's Blog is ranked at 4,758,613th on the World Wide Web! Please accept my most sincere thanks for visiting, today!

As a special favor to me, the staff and middle management at General Tom's Blog, we kindly ask that you bookmark this site and visit at least 12 times a day. My immediate goal is to climb to within the top 4,750,000! To do this, I may have to feature more posts on Britney and Paris. (gulp)