Get Ready To Face The Truth!
One of the topics trending this morning is Donald Trump telling Larry King his breath stinks. This was 10 years ago and probably true. I put together an audio piece of not only Trump telling King to chew on a mint but celebrities who have passed gas on the air. Just click below to listen to my audio blog.
Sixteen years ago today my phone rang in Cleveland and I looked at the caller ID. It was the neighbor of my father. I knew what this was about before I even answered…..my father had died at the age of 57. There is no way to prepare anyone for the feelings you will have when losing a parent. It’s almost like you become a member of “The Club” where you and the others don’t even have to speak your feelings to know what the other has gone through.
After getting the news I remember looking out the window and thinking: “Why are there cars on the road, why are the banks open, why are people grocery shopping and why are people at work?” It was a big glass of reality for me. The time we have here on this planet is undetermined and people suffer the loss of loved ones every day but as far as the planet it’s “business as usual.”
I was thirteen and in the basement with Dad when he gave me the greatest advice ever. He said “Just remember, no matter what, your parents will be the best friends you ever have.” Of course being thirteen I knew it all and it didn’t really sink in. Over the years I have truly found not only those words to ring true but also words that have become more relevant and accurate as the days go by.
I really miss the opportunity to grab the phone in my times of trouble or confusion. I knew that a helpless situation would be put into proper perspective with a five minute conversation with my father. Now I’m left to figuring it out by myself and I’m not very good at it.
Dad taught me what it was like to be a man. A man isn’t someone that lifts a lot of weight, can chop down a tree with four swings of an ax, or someone who has to tell anyone “ I’m a man!” A true man is one that thinks of others instead of himself, gives of his time without expecting anything in return and isn’t afraid to cry from time to time. I’m still working on so many things he taught me and I hope to have those lessons learned by the time we meet again. I love you Dad…and look forward to when we meet again…..I got a lot to tell ya!
This is our first audio blog. Basically Danny focuses on a current news story and instead of offering his opinion in the written word he opens his big pie hole and breaks the situation down how it really is and not how the mainstream media wants you to believe. Just click media player below.
Here we go again. Every time a nutball goes on a shooting spree taking innocent lives people pop up all over the place clamoring for the need of gun control. Obviously I think this makes as much sense as giving an entertainment system to an Amish family. Follow me on this. Think the war on drugs is a success story? Look out…here comes the clue bus: “Not a chance.” Those that want/need their drugs have no problem getting them at any time. The same thing will happen if the government tries to control guns. Those that want them will easily be able to access them through illegal means. How about approaching these horrific crimes in a manner that will actually benefit and protect those of us that are law-abiding citizens?
If a citizen is able to legally obtain a fire arm they should be allowed to go through proper training to obtain their right to carry and conceal a firearm. Get rid of “Gun free zones” and let those that have taken the measure to properly educate and train themselves for protection purposes legally carry their fire arm. If this were the case in these senseless mass shootings there would have been far less deaths/injuries as someone would have been able to pull out their legally concealed firearm and end the massacre.
One thing I have learned living in Florida is you can’t rely on protection from the police. They are the LAST people you want solving your problem. Before it’s all over they may leave a kilo of coke in your refrigerator and a submachine gun on your hat rack. Anti-gun people will say “We don’t need people running around our streets with guns.” In a perfect world I couldn’t agree more but let me just pour you a reality cocktail. Very bad people have guns. These very bad people are carrying these guns with them as they go to the mall, fast food restaurant, or ride around your town. What are ya gonna do if, heaven forbid, one of these thugs pulls a firearm on you or a loved one? Pull out your smart phone and show him the highest level you completed on candy crush?
Look…..I don’t like anything in my pockets….drives me nuts, however, when we are talking about the possibility of life or death then my snub nose .38 slides into my pocket with the greatest of ease.
I’ve been lackadaisical in my blog. For that matter I have been lackadaisical in my life for the past four months. I have become obsessed with what direction I wish to take next in life. Just over four years ago I told management at my last station that people don’t want eight songs an hour…they want content…GREAT content. We agreed to disagree and went our separate ways. Guess what? The show in there now isn’t playing any music. It wasn’t a surprise to me because I knew I was right then but now I’m truly at a crossroads.
I don’t own a radio. I only listen to content so that forces me to listen to podcasts at my leisure. Same thing is happening to TV. I have had numerous offers to return to radio but they want me to run these “features” like “Three things ya need to know”. “College of Knowledge”, “Skirt with the Dirt”, etc. I have no desire to waste the listener’s time with such predictable content. I also don’t find someone making an ice cream sundae in their pants on a street corner to be very compelling either.
Okay jackass. You just spent two paragraphs ranting about the problem what is the solution. Simple….I want to make people react. I’m an open book. I’ve made many mistakes and bad choices in life but those pitfalls taught me so much. I have been diagnosed with OCD, social anxiety disorder and general anxiety disorder. I don’t say that to gain your sympathy I just lay it out there so anyone else struggling with it knows they are not alone.
I truly believe that we are living in times that are quite frightening. The dumb asses out there that are following Kim K and Kanye need to pay attention to events/stories that really affect our lives. I don’t want to discuss politics all the time. I know a little about a lot. I wanna make you laugh, cry, agree, disagree, love me, hate me, love to hate me but above and beyond I want to learn from you. That was an answer I gave a General Manager in a large market about 6 months ago when he asked me “What type of show do ya do?” He looked at me like I just spoke a foreign language.
I have a decision to make very soon. Hold out for a radio gig that will let me loose and employ my strengths or enter the podcast world where there are no rules or parameters. On paper it looks like a no-brainer but I hate to walk away from something I love even it appears to be unfixable.
I hate puppets. I just find the entire process a bit freaky. There’s a man with his hand up a sock trying to convince those around him that his talking sock is real. For my mind this doesn’t work.
Jeff Dunham is a successful comedian…..why? I have no idea but he made $25 million one year and has his own private jet and he makes his living talking to a sock. I should also mention he is a great ventriloquist which is also very creepy. Unless you are Stephen Hawking I expect you to move your lips when you speak and people who have conversations with themselves usually are in a rubber room weaving baskets out of cooked spaghetti.
So Jeff Dunham was in West Palm one weekend playing the local comedy club and part of the deal upper management made with the club is that each comedian in town that week would appear on my show every Friday. Don’t get me wrong. Some were GREAT but others didn’t want to be there and they basically brought the show to a screaming halt. Jeff shows up and goes in our “green room.” During a commercial break I walk in and introduce myself. I said “Gotta be honest. Puppets freak me out and this is radio so there is no reason to bring in a puppet. Do all the voices ya want. We’ll have fun.” I then walked back in the studio as the commercial break was about over and I like to bring my guests in live. Have them walk in…get settled….introduce the rest of the show, let them adjust their mic, etc all LIVE on the air because I think it involves the listeners and is much more REAL.
You can guess what happened right? Dunham brings in “Walter” which is the old man puppet pictured above. Dunham starts in on me right away with Walter, “What’s a matter Danny? Afraid of an old man?” Now I’m an honest guy and I replied “Look Jeff. You have your hand in a sock. I am not talking to a sock.” Well Dunham only saw this as a challenge and tried to get me to talk to Walter. “You’re grumpier than me. You look like you haven’t had a bowel movement. How long have you hated old people?”
Well I refused to be sucked into this game and I found the tension in the room to be riveting….who is gonna turn this off? I came back at Jeff, “Look….we talked about this before. I will talk to you all day but that is not an old man. That is a very expensive sock. You have your right hand in a tube sock and I can’t engage in a conversation with something that belongs in a shoe.”
Dunham’s next move shocked me. He barked out “Fine.” He stood up, grabbed Walter, threw him….yes THREW him in a guitar case and stormed out of the studio. The sight of an adult throwing a puppet in a guitar case in a fit of anger made me laugh uncontrollably. To this day whenever I put on a pair of socks I think of Jeff Dunham. I also think of the $25 million he made in one year. Scoreboard Dunham and his sock.
We all have been through the car buying experience and the competition to get your business is very high. This is the reason thousands of dollars are spent in your city by local dealerships to convince you to walk inside their showroom. I have been involved in the media business for many years and I will never understand the car dealer that insists on doing his own commercial because, quite frankly, you look like a goofball.
You know what I am referring to. On St. Patrick’s Day he dresses like a Leprechaun. On Christmas he’s in a Santa suit and his brother is dressed as an elf. On Valentine’s Day he may even dress as Cupid and shoot an “arrow of savings LIKE NEVER BEFORE!!!!” That’s another thing they do….they freaking yell at you. You are not cutting a commercial for Wrestlemania you own a freaking car lot. Are you gonna scream at me when I walk in the door? If that’s the case I may as well buy a car from my mother as I walk out of my door with a wet head.
“At (insert car dealership name here) WE HAVE GONE CRAZY!!” Really? Then I would suggest a trip to the psychiatrist to get some proper meds because I don’t want you sitting next to me during a test drive frothing at the mouth with a switchblade in your pants pocket.
And while I’m on a roll let me address the giant inflatable King Kong that some dealerships insist on placing on top of their roof. First of all King Kong is not real. Secondly a balloon serves the purpose of putting a smile on the face of a young child so if this is your strategy to attract your target customer I’m quite confident they are not carrying a Mensa card. That’s my service to the public for today….perhaps tomorrow I’ll address the Chuck Norris Total Gym.
Let me begin by saying I don’t like the New England Patriots. Nothing against the people of the city or the city in general I’m just tired of them winning. Their quarterback may be the best of all time and he’s married to a super model. I’m a die-hard Cleveland Browns fan so perhaps I’m just naturally bitter but the country is consumed with the footballs they used in this past weekend’s AFC Championship Game.
ESPN is reporting that eleven of the twelve balls that the Patriots supplied for the game were under inflated. This is a big deal because only the Patriots use the balls that they supplied for the game, it was raining, and under inflated balls are easier to catch. If you weren’t aware of the final score it was Patriots 45 Colts 7. If the final score was 45-41 I might see the cause for concern but let’s not lose focus of “the rules.” IF New England is guilty of under inflating their balls then they deserve to be reprimanded regardless of the fact the Colts were blown out like a mobile home during a tornado.
What really concerns me about this story is the media. This deserves to be a big story for ESPN and other sports programs but this was the second story this morning on network news after the President’s State of the Union Address. The fourth story was another showing of the video of that policeman lip-synching to Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” I’m surprised there wasn’t a live shot of Bruce Jenner shaving his legs.
The bottom line with network news is winning the ratings war. If these stories mirror what is on the meter of interest of the average American then we really have become a tabloid society and that’s scary to me. In the meantime I will continue to educate myself by surfing the internet and exposing myself to a variety of sources and opinions while I chuckle like a fifth grader listening to network anchors saying “deflated balls.”
The Oscar nominations were announced this morning. I have OCD so I don’t watch a lot of movies because I can’t sit still so it really wasn’t a big deal to me until the media started fanning the flames of racism. For only the second time in nearly two decades, the 20 Academy Awards acting nominations went to a group made up entirely of white actors and actresses. Why even report that?
Here’s how I see it. There are two types of people in this world: good and bad. There are different types of religions for you to choose to follow and what you choose to believe does not really matter….it’s what you DO that makes you either good or bad.
What if the roles were reversed and all the acting nominees were black? I couldn’t care less. To me that would mean that those were the best acting performances of the year. Why does color have to come into it? We will never get past racism until we look beyond the color of someone’s skin yet the media continues to fan the flames of the difference in color.
Let me illustrate the absurd by being absurd. Take Affirmative Action for instance. If I own a company and have ten openings I am going to hire the ten best people for the job. I don’t care about color, I don’t care if ya show up to work with a parrot on your shoulder or if you come to work on a pogo stick. Can you do the job? End of story. Imagine if Affirmative Action was enforced in the NBA. Do you think a team would ever score fifty points in a game?
Why do we continue to try to make ourselves the same? Difference is good. It makes us examine a pattern of thinking that we may not have considered and in some cases we actually end up learning something. Heaven forbid we actually do something like that.
DANNYLAND!!!!!! 