New job, new city, new things to do

Although I'm still living closer to Ft. Walton Beach, I now find myself doing things in Pensacola more and more now where my new job is located. I plan to get out of here and closer to work by the end of the month. The two hours total I spend driving to and from work everyday just bites!


I've always enjoyed hockey. I started to go to hockey games when I used to live in Houston with my wife. The Houston Aeros were a blast to watch, even for a semi-pro team. Pensacola has a semi-pro team too, and over the weekend I had the treat to go to an Ice Pilots game with my family.

We were on the second row and got some real close up action on the ice. Having two really small children, I bet that we probably wouldn't make it through the first period. With a little bribery (ice cream,) we actually made it all the way through the second period. The game was tied 3-3, and I still have no idea who won. No matter, we still had a great night on the town with the kids and the good ol' hockey game.

There was a special surprise during the game: my Dad called and told me that my younger sister delivered her first baby! What a night!

Merry Christmas and we'll chat again in the new year.

Switching Critters

The rumors of my departure are greatly exaggerated...

To my loyal Wolf Listeners,
First off, I'm letting you know about something that has probably been the worst kept secret ever around the radio station! Haha! I didn't say a peep to anybody about this and it spread like wildfire. I have my assumptions as to who the perps were, but honestly I really don't care. It was kinda fun to be in the rumor mill for a little bit.

Well, the time has come...again. I have a new job waiting for me down the road, leaving 105.5 The Wolf at the end of November and joining WYCT, Cat Country 98.7 in Pensacola.

Sure, it seems like a lot is going on with the Morning Show leaving last month and now me. Believe me, it's just a crazy coincidence we left at around the same time. It's an unfortunate fact about radio: radio people move...a lot. Some don't, but many more do. As much as we want to stay in one place, many factors such as higher paying positions, corporate radio instability (ie cutting jobs,) and our own motives to see many places before we die play into why you hear DJ's for a year or two and then they're gone. It's the nature of the beast. The guys who have been in a market for a long time are the exception, not the rule in today's radio.

I am looking to become that exception in my new adventure. I think that I have the opportunity for some long-term success. To say I'm excited would be an understatement! I'm looking forward to switching critters!

I hope to talk to you again soon, maybe at the next concert or fair since we are still close in proximity. Thank you for all your support of the past 4 years. It's truly been a blast in Ft. Walton Beach, playing music, serving the community, and having fun! See you soon!

Onward and upward!

Viva!

Sugarland Sings Beyonce!

Check this out! This performance was from the American Music Awards last Sunday.
Edit: the AMA performace was deleted, but found a different video

Sugarland's record label says they've been singing "Irreplaceable" in concert all year and watch out for this to be an upcoming radio single!

Trale Makes Honor Roll

My little man, Trale, is in Kindergarten and doing great academically. He made the Honor Roll for the first time! Sorry the video is kinda shoddy. It was taken on my cell phone.

Trale with his "Honor Roll" ribbon. Way to go Trale! Keep up the great work!...and Happy Halloween!

Fell Off The Face Of The Earth?

So what... I do 100 posts, and then I fall off the face of the earth? Not quite.

Mullet Festival was crazy! It kept me pretty busy along with my other duties around the radio ranch for the better part of two weeks.

I have some new pics posted to my Flickr page. It features some of the fun from Mullet Festival.

I'll be back to my ramblings shortly...In the meantime, enjoy this nice foreign film.

Post #100 and Cars

Hey lookie here! Post #100...
Geez, I'm long winded!

The Cars movie came out over a year ago now and we've owned it on DVD now for a while too. Here recently my littlest boy Mason, who is 2 1/2 now, has made Cars his new favorite movie! And, as such, we are watching it alot lately. I was able to get a viewing in this morning at 5:55am when he woke up.

I love Cars too! Mater is the coolest! I've been pretty interested in the story behind Route 66 since the movie is loosely based on Route 66 and the towns that were affected when the US Interstate Highway System was put in place.

Route 66 has some real stories. It's pretty neat! I'd love to take a month long trip on the "Mother Road" someday, since some of the towns have been brought back to life again recently.
I love history and I love the road.
Check out more on Route 66 here.

Stuck!

I got my Jeep back in May and have been in love with it ever since... blazing trails across Florida! One of my favorite places to "Jeep" around is on the Eglin Air Force Base Reservation, which is open to the public with a permit you get from Jackson Guard. I'm into geocaching and there are tons of them on the reservation. I wanted to hide my own there too.

So, Sunday morning, I opened my reservation map to hunt for places that I haven't been before where I might hide a geocache. I noticed there was a place just a few miles down the road! I was pretty excited to go scout out a new place on the reservation.

Off we went with my wife and two boys. It was great, a nice paved road at the entrance, there was a river running through it, just a great natural area. We drove down a "not-so-traveled" road just off the main dirt road. It was a nice drive until we got to an old culvert pipe. I didn't want to attempt jumping over it, especially with the kids in tow. But, my wife said, "you can make it!" So, I drove over it, and made it ok. Not even 100 feet from there we ended up in a huge sand pit! I've drove through sand pits a million times already, so no big deal right? If I was only paying attention to the road. I was driving too slow and got stuck....big time!

I tried everything to get us out... no good. So I called the Air Force Range Patrol. I had my GPS on so I was able to give him exact coordinates as to our location. Thank goodness, because I don't think I could have given him directions since I was unfamiliar with the area. The range officer was great! He came out, helped us call a 4X4 tow truck. (which they all declined) The officer told me that this road was notorious for swallowing vehicles. The tow truck guys knew that too. So, after about 30 minutes calling every tow truck in the county, we were stuck. The officer offered us a ride back to our house, just down the road. It was up to us to get it out.

We went back that afternoon with a jack and ply wood to try to boost the jeep out of the sand. Our first attempt was no good. By then it was getting pretty dark... we remembered the officer telling us not to stay out too late: very poisonous snakes and the over 400 bears on the reservation were enough warning for us to bolt at sundown.

Monday, I came back to try again only to find out the reservation and base were closed due to test missions they hold. I thought, "great! my Jeep will be blown up when I get back"

Tuesday, baby sick... daddy duty since Holli was out working on the other side of town.

Wednesday! This is it! I can do it! um.... no. I tried all day long. I even got the Jeep to move... 20 feet... still in the sand pit! I was beat down, physically and mentally. I was ready just to leave it there to become part of the forest. When I went to work that night to catch up, I checked my voicemail... A nice fellow on there offered to pull me out of the sand... he had a big truck with two winches he said on the message!

I thought this was great! One of my listeners is going to help me out! How cool is that! Yesterday, he came out there. The truck was huge! I walked up to the truck and said jokingly, I don't think your truck is quite big enough! Ha! It was more than enough truck to get me out. My Jeep looked like a matchbox car next to this monster truck. He didn't even need the winch. Just a tow strap and off I went, the Jeep rolled like it was on a concrete paved road.

I was so relieved! There was a tropical storm coming and I knew it was the last day or my Jeep would become a permanent part of the swamp. Thanks again Chad! I'm in your debt bro! Can I keep your number for next time?

I learned a wonderful lesson that day... never listen to your wife! Haha!

The Radio Station Sponge

Sure, we have a station mascot, The Wolf... but did you know long before we had the wolf, we had (and still have) the radio station sponge. This blue sponge has been an employee of the station since 1993 and has cleaned a many a dish over the years. Cleaning everything from plates to the tupperware left unclaimed for years by some guy in the sales department.

It's been a tough go for the sponge in years past: contracting salmonella twice in 1997, typhoid fever in 2000, and several severe bacterial infections. It married scrub brush (pictured) in 2001 and have been living in the sink ever since.

Here's to you our stinky little sponge. May you always be spongy

Pop goes the VMA's

**I had to edit this due to the video being moved off of youtube. I have links now to where you can find video of the VMA's I talked about today!

My musical tastes vary greatly from Country, of course, to Sinatra and I have a big interest in pop music as well. So, I caught the MTV Video Music Awards last night.

I love a comebacks, so I was really looking forward to the Britney Spears performance. Time to show folks that you still got it! Unfortunately, Britney did not have it last night. It was a lousy, lip-synced, display of sloppy dancing.... and was she on something? She almost hit the floor a few times. Britney still looks great though!
Click here to see video of Britney Performance


And straight outta tha trailer.... Kid Rock and Tommy Lee went to fisticuffs over Pamela Lee. Apparently, she's back with Tommy Lee and he was talking trash to Kid Rock. The tape was rolling of course.


The best part of the VMA's were the hotel suite performances from Kanye West! He brought the party to the TV. Just amazing!


I'm going to join Justin Timberlake's campaign to get music channels like MTV and CMT to play... more videos. I think it's funny to hold a video awards show when 90% of your programming is reality shows!

Overall the VMA's were a great escape, but I think I had a couple of seizures from watching that video wall behind the award presenters. Blinkity, blink, blink blink... all night! Ahhh! I'm still loopy over it. ... and I still don't know who won what!

Hot dog, what a contest!

What happens when you combine hot dog wieners, duct tape and toothpicks? One great contest! 1055 The Wolf along with the Okaloosa Regional Airport presented one lucky winner today with round trip tickets to Chicago! Congratulations to Greer Harvell who stacked her materials over 27 inches high to take home the prize.

Check out the video from today's festivities...

2007 CMA Award Nominees

CMA Awards time again!! Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and George Strait lead the list with three nominations each, in the Entertainer, Male Vocalist and Album categories, followed by Kenny Chesney with nominations for Entertainer and Male Vocalist.

The CMA Awards will take place November 7th in Nashville airing live on ABC!

Leave a comment below with your picks!

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
5th Gear - Brad Paisley
It Just Comes Natural - George Strait
Long Trip Alone - Dierks Bentley
Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing - Keith Urban
These Days - Vince Gill

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Montgomery Gentry
Sugarland
The Wreckers

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Josh Turner
Keith Urban

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Rascal Flatts
George Strait
Keith Urban

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss and Union Station
Dixie Chicks
Emerson Drive
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
"Anyway" -- Martina McBride
"Before He Cheats" -- Carrie Underwood
"Lost in This Moment" -- Big and Rich
"Ticks" -- Brad Paisley
"Wrapped" -- George Strait

SONG OF THE YEAR
"Anyway" -- Martina McBride
"Before He Cheats" -- Carrie Underwood
"Give It Away" -- George Strait
"Lost in this Moment" -- Big and Rich
"Stupid Boy" -- Keith Urban

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
"Because of You" -- Reba McEntire with Kelly Clarkson
"Find Out Who Your Friends Are" -- Tracy Lawrence with Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney
"Hey Good Lookin' (Live)" -- Jimmy Buffett with Alan Jackson and George Strait
"Missing You" -- Alison Krauss with John Waite
"The Reasons Why" -- Vince Gill with Alison Krauss

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Eddie Bayers
Jerry Douglas
Dan Huff
Randy Scruggs
Mac MacAnally

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
"Anyway" -- Martina McBride
"Before He Cheats" -- Carrie Underwood
"Moments" -- Emerson Drive
"Online" -- Brad Paisley
"You Save Me" -- Kenny Chesney

HORIZON AWARD
Jason Aldean
Rodney Atkins
Little Big Town
Kellie Pickler
Taylor Swift

Miss Teen South Carolina Blows It!

...And we wonder why Beauty Pageant Contestants are stereotyped as not being "all there" Glad nobody has some goofy video tape of me somewhere.

Bring On The Rain

Took a little drive tonight. A bit of melancholia maybe, but nothing gets me back right than just me, my tunes, and the road. My late night travels took me down to the Navarre Bridge to watch the impeding storm roll in. It was dark with only the street lights in the distance and lighting in the skies reflecting over the water. I was there during the "calm" before the storm. Thinking about life, the future, and letting my brain soak in my quiet time alone. Funny, as a song called "Second Wind" came on, the storm hit. Winds picked up fast and that my cue to head back to the house. I was thirsty anyway, so bring on the rain.

Handwriting Skills

My son Trale brought some homework home yesterday. His assignment was to practice his handwriting. I don't know how his handwriting is going to get better when his Dad's handwriting looks like this!

A Year Of Blogs!

Hard to believe that I've been rambling on this blog for a year now. I just want to express to you my appreciation for checking in throughout the year.

So what to expect the next 12 months? Who knows! I'm about as random a person you could meet as you might already know from reading this blog.

If you have some time to kill, I have an archive of all the articles this past 12 month. Check out some of the greatest hits!

Thanks for spending your time on the "Todd's World" Blog. It's been a ton of fun! Hope you've enjoyed it too.

See you soon online!

My boy is growing up!

Today is the last day of daycare for my oldest son, Trale. On Monday, he begins Kindergarten. Crazy huh? It's just amazing how time has flown. I know he's excited to meet some new friends his age. I'm excited, but sad at the same time. He's not little bitty anymore. He's a "big boy" now as he proclaims. I'll probably cry like a baby the first day as he walks into class. Gosh, next thing I know, he'll be asking me for the car keys! Hopefully time won't fly by as it has the last five years, but I have a feeling it will.

Weather Channel Drool

Hey look we have a Tropical Storm in the Atlantic! It's not a good thing, unless you're one of the Weather Channel Reporters that go ape over storms.

Weather Channel got shut out last year due to the lack of hurricanes. So now that there is a hurricane approching Hawaii and a new storm in the Atlantic, I can see the meteorologists drool through the TV!

I bet Jim Cantore has his bags packed and already in Hawaii.

All this heat makes me lazy!

This week in Ft. Walton Beach, the heat has been insane... It's the humidity more than anything. The actual temp has only reached about 93 or 94, but with the heat index factored in, it's felt like 116 at times!

No extraneous outdoor activities for me! No bike riding, yard work, or even fetching the mail. Woof! I think I've gained about 10 pounds or so this week alone.

Good news is I've found some great new shows to watch on the Travel Channel. My favorite travel gal Samantha Brown is on the road in Latin America, always a pleasure to see her on the tube. I picked up on "No Reservations" this week too with Anthony Bourdain. I love travel, if I could only afford to do it once in a while!

By the way, don't spend thousands traveling to the Amazon for a look at nature... just visit my yard!

Tim Ring Heist

I feel like the tabloids with all this Tim/Faith Drama lately. I'll get back to my regularly scheduled ramblings soon... Check this out! While Tim was greeting the crowd by shaking hands, one of them swiped his ring! Get this: It too was in Lafayette, Louisiana. The same place and same concert that Tim was touched inappropriately when Faith put the smack down. Maybe it was the same fan?
No word yet if the ring was ever returned.

Faith: Hands Off My Man's Balls!

Check this out on TMZ.com Apparently, a fan got a little to "greedy" with Faith Hill's husband, Tim McGraw on stage... and she let them know it!

Click here to read the story and see the video at TMZ.com

Shattering our "Faith"

It's not a secret that the fashion magazines do a little airbrushing on the cover model and the inside pages. You'll love this...

Faith Hill is on the cover of Redbook Magazine and she looks great! But, that's not what she really looks like. The original, untouched photo, was leaked! Here it is!

Click the link to see the side by side comparisonI don't blame Faith, it's the magazine, but Faith should not let mags do that much! Faith, you're still hot, even with a little back fat.

Todd's Crazy Comment of the Day

"Just think... if you had a Texas shaped pan, you could make Texas shaped pancakes! "

Yes, I really thought that. Now let me get back to my Tex-Cakes

Radio Backstage

Backstage at The Wreckers concert, one of my listeners asked me, "how to I talk so fast without messing up?" I've been asked that a lot lately so, I thought I'd give you a little inside peek at what going on in the ol' noggin while I talk on the radio.

First off, I do mess up occasionally when I'm on the air, it's just part of it. I call it a brain wreck. haha! There's a lot going on when I'm talking, whether I'm out on a live broadcast and some dude is screaming in the background or a thought pops in my head at the last second, while I'm talking. Sometimes it just trips me up. After doing this for so long, distractions don't bother me much now.

The fast talking part... Well, I do read a step faster, but I think there is also a misconception when people say I talk fast. Really, I'm just using less words to get my point across. When you write words, you have a complete sentence with a beginning and an ending. When I talk, it's mostly in sentence fragments that your mind is still able to comprehend without being distracting.

Instead of saying: "Here's an Example..." I just say... "Example."

The main reason for talking quicker is time! We only get about :15 to :20 to talk in between songs and up to a minute before commercial breaks. Time is short to talk about concerts, community events, etc. So word economy is the key.

Sure, I talk fast, but JFK kicks my butt. John F. Kennedy was said to read 1200 words per minute, and I believe he holds some sort of record in the fastest speech read.

Try it yourself! Practice at home, and you too can tell people about something in 10 words or less!

Will It Blend? iphone

This is a great way to destroy a $500 cell phone gadget-ma-thing. Funniest thing ever, complete with cheesy music!

Vaykaysheeon!

Taking some time off this week to decompress after what became a rough couple of months of day in-day out work/kids/family/aaahhhh! Not going to Disney, not some tropical island. Just the house! Geocaching, movies, and naps! Lots of naps!

First day was mine to get away. My big hobby is geocaching. It's fun for the whole family, but some geocaches are not for kids. Like the trails of the University Of West Florida in Pensacola. So, I went solo on this trip. Traveled through some swampy areas, great hiking trails, and flies! The flies were insane! Like pilots who scream past tower control, these pests hounded me the entire time, flying in my ear... circling my head, flying into my head. Just crazy! Bug spray didn't even help. The bugs didn't stop me from finding 9 geocaches for the day. A new best day record for me. Read more on my geocaching blog. http://www.gravelshot.com/

On Independence Day, my wife, Holli, and kids were off for the day. Holli's family always has a July 4th family reunion. It's in Mississippi. So we took a road trip up there to see parts of her family she hadn't seen in years... and can't remember who they all are! One of the cousins had 11 kids and they introduced themselves to me as numbers. All of thier names started with "L," but insisted they were remembered by the order they were born. "Hi I'm number 4, she's number 5." We got a pretty good downpour that afternoon. It didn't stop my wild boys from playing and having fun in the rain.

Back to watching "Deadliest Catch" DVD's, and oh yeah... a nap.

See ya next week!

So now what?

Um... thought about what to write about today. It's Friday, nothing. Brain is fried from work. So, many things come to mind. I can't pick just one, so here's a fast list of Todd Ramblings.

* Deadliest Catch is the coolest show on TV
* People were especially grumpy this week (something about Mercury being close to Earth)
* Too bad you can't buy a voodoo globe so that you could make the earth spin real fast and freak everybody out.
* Mexico looks nice
* Extra cheese please
* I stayed up until midnight last night watching the Deadliest Catch Marathon... I'm whooped.
* Myspace security is no good (I keep getting spammed)
* The cheap Corn Pops in the bag are really good
* Who forgot lunch?
* If they ever come up with a Swashbuckling School, I think one of the courses should be Laughing, Then Jumping Off Something.

**some lines ripped off

Go Antipode Yourself!

Stumbled Upon a site today that shows you the opposite side of the world of where you live. It's called the Antipode. In nerd terms: Two points which are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line through the centre of the Earth. Check it out...The Opposite of Ft. Walton Beach is the Middle of the Indian Ocean.

Check out this site and see if you were to dig a whole in the ground, where you are, to the other side of the earth, where would you pop out! You may need a raft!

Overheard at The Nixon House...

This Father's Day was great!

Here's what it sounded like:
1) "Don't worry honey, you can have the piggy" -wife (that little plop of butter at the top in a new butter tub)

2) "Shut up!" - Mason (for the first time ever, the two year old telling his big brother at Walmart to zip his lip)

3) "oh man, I want to play him big" -wife (again) (playing old Nintendo... the big mario bros is better than little mario, of course)

4) "Wha's Up Dog?" - My Mom (in an email)

Who's been listening to Country music?

You know that Billy Currington song "Good Directions?"

Check out this sign:

Thank god for Good Directions... and turnip greens!

Friend in the news

I have fond memories growing up in Willis, Texas. Just a small town about an hour north of Houston. I had lots of friends my age in the neighborhood, two in particular, that bring back the most memories. Marc and Morgan Luttrell, twins. They were a year ahead of me in school. They were always the life of the party, brilliant, and great friends. They both followed in their father's footsteps and became Navy SEALs. Since we're at war, both went overseas to fight.

I heard through the family grapevine that something happened to Marc and they couldn't find him. I was very distraught about it. Turns out he was found and, severely injured, but ok. This was about a year ago. Until yesterday, I haven't heard more about what happened, until and email I got from a school friend. I originally thought it was a joke email, since there was a "FW:" in the subject line, so I put off the email until later in the day.

I opened the email and turns out, it's a link to NBC's Today Show with an interview with Marcus Luttrell and Matt Lauer! I couldn't believe it. I immediately clicked on the link and saw Marc and Matt chatting about his time in Afghanistan and the book he had written about the situation that almost took his life.

An amazing story about while on the hunt for a taliban loser, his squad was ambushed, all were killed in his troop except for him. Marc barely escaped with his life. He was knocked unconscious by a rocket grenade. Nearby villagers came to and rescued and protected him against the taliban, who knew he was in the village, put a bounty on his head... yet the villagers protected him with everything they had. Truly amazing!

Other than my Dad, Mom, and Wife, I have a new hero today. Check out this video and the story. Pick up the book too. It's called, Lone Survivor. Here's to you Marc!

Pibb and Redvines = Crazy Delicious!

Pibb and Redvines = Crazy Delicious! True Dat

Monday...

Taking tons of pics

Been busy with my camera lately taking pictures of just about anything and getting people to take pics of me too! I keep the camera on my hip, just in case I run into something. I even have my own Flickr account now.

Took a ton of pictures at Billy Bowlegs. That was a blast...er literally! We walked by the cannons as they went off and just about blew my ear drums. It was earth-shaking loud!

Shot pictures over in Texas last weekend to see my Dad receive a special honor from the Senator. He has a state resolution just for him! Pretty cool!

Love taking pictures of my kids, and having fun on the weekends geocaching. Plus every now and then, somebody captures a picture like this.

I used to take pictures a lot in high school, now I have a renewed interest in photography. We'll see how my photo album grows!

Meeting of the Pirate Movies

It's Crazy Thursday Video Day!

My two favorite pirate movies... Goonies and Pirates Of The Caribbean. Now together in an upcoming movie called Goonies Of The Caribbean... Enjoy!

Looks like this movie really could have happened huh?

Did you ever just...

...wanna run off to another location on this earth on a whim? These girls did just that. Quit their jobs, and started a gang: Viva Las Aguas. This is fun blog site I found. Enjoy!

www.vivalasaguas.com

No TV tonight? Now What?!

It's amazing how unknowingly tied to the TV I was until all the shows were over for the season. Last night, I wasn't in a rush to watch some reality TV show, or something on Discovery Channel. It was just me. Kinda nice for a change.

I love music. Anything that is on my mind can we worked out with some music. And that's exactly what I did. Grabbed my ipod, stretched out on the floor with some pillows and watched the moon shine in through the large glass windows in the living room.

It's been a while since I've sat down with my ipod and listened to some music. Next thing I know, it's midnight with headphones still attached to my head. Great thing about music and is that you can pick out music to whatever suits your mood. My mood was just a little bit of everywhere last night: I was listening to anything from rap music to country to jazz. From a Melancholy mood to a "you can find me at the club" mood.

It was a nice evening: just me and the music.

What came from my thoughts while listening to music?

Remember to dance!

Arrrgggghhhh...

Man, I was really looking forward to seeing the new Pirates Of The Caribbean Movie last night. I loved the first two. But I was terribly disappointed in this third installment of the series. It was dreadfully long, drawn out, and incoherent at times. They should have let me run the cutting table. The story could have been told easily in 2 hours or less as opposed to the 165 minutes you have to sit through.

Honestly, I think a shorter run time on this movie would have made it better. There were some great scenes in the flick, but I just had to wait to long to get to them. As they say in the movies, cut to the chase!!

And just like the second "Pirates" movie, hang around after the credits. There is an extra scene!

Ok, I'm done, I feel like one of those movie guys on TV who always whine about movies.

Have a restful and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Todd Goes To The Movies!

Recently, I subscribed to Netflix and am in the process of catching up on some movies I missed. I don't go to the movie theatre too much these days due to my two small children. You know two kids watching a PG-13 or Rated R show is no go. Plus, that whole "2 year old not sitting in one spot for more than 15 minutes at a time" thing is a real kicker.

Last night, I finally got to see the new James Bond flick Casino Royale. I'm a fairly big bond fan. Watched most of them from Sean Connery to the new Bond guy Daniel Craig. He rocked as Bond! If you are not familiar with the James Bond movies, you could almost start with Casino Royal then go back to the old ones and know why Bond does what he does. I think the new Bond gives the series a breath of fresh air and should have a pretty good run.

It's Billy Bowlegs Festival season here on the Emerald Coast which ties in perfectly with the new Pirates Of The Caribbean Movie which starts tonight. Fortunately, since the premiere is a radio station function, I get to "work" and see it tonight at the theatre. The picture of me is with Billy Bowlegs and the Queen.

I'll give you my take of "Pirates" in the morning.

Shrek is everywhere!! AHHHHHhh!!

I love the Shrek Movies. They are hilarious! I am very excited about the new Shrek The Third in theatres today too. Can't wait to take the kids.

BUT....

Shrek is everywhere!!!

You can't walk through wal-mart without bumping into Shrek snacks, Shrek sunglasses, Shrek athlete's foot cream! Ok, just kidding about the sunglasses, but I think you get the point.

Been to Mcdonalds with the kids lately?... the straws are even green!

Do people even care if Shrek graces the same old fruit roll ups? I don't, but I know my kids do.

How disposable have we become? Just the other day I saw an abandoned Shrek happy meal toy on the floor at a restaurant.

Long live Shrek, but this is crazy! Now give me back my Shrek juice box...thanks.

Ode to Gilmore Girls

Oh, how I will miss the smart quips of Lorelai.

Oh, how I will miss the silly banter of Rory.

Oh, how I will miss losing control of the TV on Tuesday nights to my wife.

So long and God speed Gilmore Girls... I have grown to love the girls from Stars Hollow. Plus you're hot, that always helps.

The End

ACM Awards Tonight! **Update**

What a great awards show last night on CBS. Tim McGraw's performance was the best I've seen since 2001's Alan Jackson performance of "Where Were You." Speaking of Tim, Taylor Swift got to meet Tim McGraw last night for the first time ever, even though she sang a song about him. Couple of surprises I thought... just read below.

Yesterday, I TRIED to pick the winners.... and sucked at it big time!!

My picks from last night are in RED....

Entertainer of the Year
• BROOKS & DUNN
• KENNY CHESNEY *Winner*
• TIM MCGRAW
• RASCAL FLATTS
• GEORGE STRAIT

Top Male Vocalist
• KENNY CHESNEY
• TOBY KEITH
• BRAD PAISLEY *Winner*
• GEORGE STRAIT
• KEITH URBAN

Top Female Vocalist
• SARA EVANS
• FAITH HILL
• MIRANDA LAMBERT
• MARTINA MCBRIDE
• CARRIE UNDERWOOD *Winner*

Top Vocal Duo
• BIG & RICH
• BROOKS & DUNN *Winner*
• MONTGOMERY GENTRY
• SUGARLAND
• THE WRECKERS

Top Vocal Group
• DIAMOND RIO
• EMERSON DRIVE
• LITTLE BIG TOWN
• LONESTAR
• RASCAL FLATTS *Winner*

Top New Duo or Vocal Group
• HEARTLAND
• LITTLE BIG TOWN *Winner*
• THE WRECKERS

Top New Male Vocalist
• RODNEY ATKINS *Winner*
• CRAIG MORGAN
• CHRIS YOUNG

Top New Female Vocalist
• MIRANDA LAMBERT *Winner*
• KELLIE PICKLER
• TAYLOR SWIFT

Album of the Year
• BROOKS & DUNN – “Hillbilly Deluxe”
• GEORGE STRAIT – “It Just Comes Natural”
• RASCAL FLATTS – “Me and My Gang”
• CARRIE UNDERWOOD – “Some Hearts” *Winner*
• VINCE GILL – “These Days”

Single Record of the Year
• CARRIE UNDERWOOD – “Before He Cheats”
• GEORGE STRAIT – “Give It Away” *Winner*
• HEARTLAND – “I Loved Her First”
• RASCAL FLATTS – “What Hurts the Most”
• JOSH TURNER – “Would You Go With Me”

Song of the Year
• JASON ALDEAN – “Amarillo Sky”
• CARRIE UNDERWOOD – “Before He Cheats”
• GEORGE STRAIT – “Give It Away” *Winner*
• RODNEY ATKINS – “If You’re Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)”
• JOSH TURNER – “Would You Go With Me”

Vocal Event of the Year
• BROOKS & DUNN with VINCE GILL and SHERYL CROW – “Building Bridges” *Winner*
• ASHLEY MONROE with RONNIE DUNN – “I Don’t Want To”
• JOSH TURNER with DR. RALPH STANLEY – “Me and God”
• GRETCHEN WILSON with MERLE HAGGARD – “Politically Uncorrect”
• HANK WILLIAMS, JR. with GRETCHEN WILSON, BIG & RICH and VAN ZANT – “That’s How They Do It in Dixie”

Video of the Year
• BIG & RICH – “8th of November”
• JASON ALDEAN – “Amarillo Sky”
• CARRIE UNDERWOOD – “Before He Cheats” *Winner*
• BROOKS & DUNN – “Hillbilly Deluxe”
• GEORGE STRAIT – “Seashores of Old Mexico”

I picked 4 out of 13!! My dream of becoming a "Professional Awards Guesser" is over... I guess I'll have to keep my day job. -T

Jared... say it ain't so...

Subway Guy was a Porno King?

According to TMZ, Jared – the Subway guy – ran an adult film emporium from his dorm room at Indiana University. His collection was said to be "vast and extensive," and rental rates were hard to beat – a dollar a day per vid. A source tells Best Ever Week that the real reason Jared starting eating Subway wasn't because of health concerns, but sheer laziness. Turns out that Subway happened to open a franchise on the ground floor of his dorm, so it was the closest fast-food joint to Jared's room.

I can hear the funny music playing in the subway commercials now... bow-chicka-bow-bow...

Happy Mother's Day!

Couple of websites for the Mom's or for folks looking to treat mom to something nice!

Have a Happy Mother's Day! -Todd

www.dayformothers.com
This Web site has everything about Mother’s Day, from jokes to interesting facts to Mother’s Day
history, games, wallpaper, short stories, songs, and much more.

www.TheRatingsGuy.com
The Ratings Guy has added new Mother’s Day gift Web sites to its selection of Great Sites. Flowers, gourmet food, fresh fragrances, chocolate and unique gift ideas can be found. The Ratings Guy hunted through thousands of site offerings and selected only 30 that meet their grade for Quality, Trust and Experience. Less than 3% of Web sites make the grade for Great Site status.

Niceville HS Band Goes to Rose Bowl

Big congrats going to the Niceville High School Band. They were selected to march in the next Rose Bowl Parade! Only 8 high school bands made the cut nation wide and Niceville did it! Great job!

There is a cost involved with getting the Niceville High School band up there. You can help out! Click here and vote for Niceville High School so they can win a $5000 grant from Hamburger Helper.

Pass the link on to your friends, family, co-workers, and everybody to help Niceville High School get to the Rose Bowl Parade!

Hasselhoff Wasted

Somebody get the Hasselhoff some rehab please...

TICK WARNING!! BEWARE!!

I hate it when people forward bogus warnings, and I've done it a couple times myself... but this one is real, and it's important!

So, please send this warning to everyone on your e-mail list:

If someone comes to your front door saying they are checking for ticks due to the warming weather and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up...

DO NOT DO IT!! IT IS A SCAM!!

They only want to see you naked.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid.

Build-a-bear and Barbie

Going out and doing live broadcasts are a whole lot of fun me. Gets me out of the cage! I always meet interesting folks during the broadcast. This past Saturday at Build-A-Bear in Destin I met two girls who were no exception! They were walking around with a 3 foot tall Barbie. Tossing it back and forth in the streets at Destin Commons. They were hootin' and hollerin' and they came inside where we were set up and "borrowed" some bumper stickers. The girls proceeded to remove the 3 foot Barbie's clothes and wrap the doll with said stickers. Great advertisement, I guess?

Because blogging wasn't enough..

Now you can update people with what you're doing 24 hours a day with Twitter. You log in and tell a group of strangers what you are doing at that exact moment. You don't even need a computer. You can use your cell phone to check in with your "followers."

What do you do if you have to use the restroom? Do you type in "plop?"

Mo-Blog

Wow! I just blogged from my phone. They call it Mo-Blogging, as in mobile-blogging. I feel all nerdy now. Ouch! I just hit my head on the mic... See ya next time

Just call me McFly!

I know, I've been slacking on my blogging duties, but nobody really cares about my bad eating habits anyway.

Everybody's heard that song by Rodney Atkins called Watching You. Cute song. And if you have kids, you can really relate. At the beginning of the song, Rodney sings about his son saying a four letter word. That relateable moment happened to me this weekend. There have been a few where my wife has asks me to go upstairs, because she's to lazy to do it. So I do it and sometimes a four letter word will slip out. Yesterday, I asked my five year old son Trale to go upstairs to fetch me something because I was too lazy. He said "Sh--!" and took off. I stopped him and asked him to repeat what he said... I had to explain to him it was a bad word and little boys don't say shouldn't say such words.

My wife couldn't resist. She said, "He's been Watching You!"

What Radio DJ's Do to Crappy CD's

CD Explodes At 3500 RPM

Presenting 105.5 The Wolf

By now you know Country 105.5 became The Wolf and the flurry of emails and calls began. I wanted to share some of the artwork some of our loyal listeners have shared with me.
Jim sent this one to us...

Amanda got creative on the drawing pad...

Bill sent this to us plugging his favorite morning show!

Thanks for the emails!

Radio Fun

Growing up in the Houston area, I'm a big Houston radio fan! My favorites: KRBE, KILT, KIKK, The Buzz, KHMX. Found this radio commercial on the web for KHMX, Mix 96.5. I remember when Mix 96.5 came on the air switching from Dance CHR Energy 96.5. I found this commercial on YouTube from 1990. Check it out!

ACM Nominations Announced

The nominees for the 42nd annual Academy of Country Music (A-C-M) Awards have been announced. George Strait leads this year's list with eight nominations, including Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist. He is also nominated as artist and producer for both Album of the Year (for It Just Comes Natural) and Single of the Year (for "Give It Away"). Brooks & Dunn follow with seven nominations, plus Ronnie Dunn has an additional one in the Vocal Event of the Year category for Ashley Monroe's single "I Don't Want To." Rascal Flatts got six nominations, Carrie Underwood received five and Big and Rich got four. Vince Gill, Josh Turner and Gretchen Wilson each received three.

Kenny Chesney and Sugarland joined C-B-S Early Show anchor Hannah Storm to make the announcement at the Country Music Hall of Fame this morning (Monday) in Nashville. Sugarland also performed at the event. The A-C-M Awards will be held May 15th at the M-G-M Grand in Las Vegas

-- ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR --

Brooks & Dunn

Tim McGraw

Rascal Flatts

George Strait

Kenny Chesney

-- ALBUM OF THE YEAR --

Brooks & Dunn -- Hillbilly Deluxe

George Strait -- It Just Comes Natural

Rascal Flatts -- Me and My Gang

Carrie Underwood -- Some Hearts

Vince Gill -- These Days

-- TOP MALE VOCALIST --

Toby Keith

Brad Paisley

George Strait

Keith Urban

Kenny Chesney

-- TOP FEMALE VOCALIST --

Sara Evans

Faith Hill

Miranda Lambert

Martina McBride

Carrie Underwood

-- TOP VOCAL DUO --

Big & Rich

Brooks & Dunn

Montgomery Gentry

The Wreckers

Sugarland

-- TOP VOCAL GROUP --

Diamond Rio

Emerson Drive

Little Big Town

Lonestar

Rascal Flatts

-- TOP NEW MALE VOCALIST --

Rodney Atkins

Craig Morgan

Chris Young

-- TOP NEW FEMALE VOCALIST --

Miranda Lambert

Kellie Pickler

Taylor Swift

-- TOP NEW DUO OR VOCAL GROUP--

Heartland

Little Big Town

The Wreckers

-- SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR --

"Before He Cheats" -- Carrie Underwood

"Give It Away" -- George Strait

"I Loved Her First" -- Heartland

"What Hurts the Most" -- Rascal Flatts

"Would You Go With Me" -- Josh Turner

-- SONG OF THE YEAR (award to songwriter and artist) --

"Amarillo Sky" -- Jason Aldean

"Before He Cheats" -- Carrie Underwood

"Give It Away" -- George Strait

"If You're Going Through Hell" -- Rodney Atkins

"Would You Go With Me" -- Josh Turner

-- VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR --

"I Don't Want To" -- Ashley Monroe with Ronnie Dunn

"Building Bridges" -- Brooks & Dunn with Vince Gill and Sheryl Crow

"Me and God" -- Josh Turner with Dr. Ralph Stanley, Marty Roe, Dana Williams, Gene Johnson and Dan Truman

"Politically Uncorrect" -- Gretchen Wilson with Merle Haggard

"That's How They Do It in Dixie" -- Hank Williams Junior with Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson and Van Zant

-- VIDEO OF THE YEAR --

"8th of November" -- Big & Rich

"Amarillo Sky" -- Jason Aldean

"Before He Cheats" -- Carrie Underwood

"Hillbilly Deluxe" -- Brooks & Dunn

"Seashores of Old Mexico" -- George Strait

-- HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR --

Brooks & Dunn

Don't Let Me Borrow Your Pen

I have this thing where I get a pen write with it, put it down. Grab another pen, then another, and another. Next thing you know, my desk looks like this...

I had my camera today to catch me in the act! Busted! Anybody seen my pen?

My sleeping patterns and other fun...

This past couple of weeks, for some unknown reason, I've been waking up at exactly 4:15am. Every night, without fail... 4:15am I don't need to use the restroom, no bad dreams. I just wake up! I get back to sleep... about an hour later. Makes me wonder what's going on up in the ol' noggin at night.

On to the crazy websites for the day...
Mmmm... beer
A website group launched a new, “beerpartisan” campaign to thank troops. Sixpacksforsoldiers.com asks citizens across the nation to upload a “virtual toast” for the troops – with a promise to deliver a real beer to a real soldier for each one. To offer a “virtual toast,” visitors are asked to upload a photo of themselves toasting the troops with a beer or non-alcoholic alternative. For every “virtual toast” received, one real beer will be delivered to one real soldier. The effort will last until July 4th. For now, the plan is to deliver it to returning soldiers, but the team is researching to see whether it would be possible to have a “beer-lift”
overseas.

Prisoners Of Love
Ladies, still searching for a Valentine’s Day date? The Web site www.hotprisonpals.com features some of America’s most desirable felons who are lining up to send you love letters, poems and even proposals of marriage. Many of the prisoners are due for release this year. Inmates, pay $19 to post their photograph and a short note on the site. Female inmates are also invited to join hotprisonpals, but none has applied so far.

Blake Shelton EXPOSED!!!

I always wanted to be tabloid...

While I was surfing youtube for the Blake Shelton "scandal," I found this really cool version of "You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma" with Blake and girlfriend Miranda Lambert. Check it out...

Military Valentines

Show notes today...

www.valentine.stripes.osd.mil

Send a Valentine Message to a member of the military! If you have a friend or loved one serving in the military you can send them a printed message of up to 255 words. Your message will appear in the February edition of Stars and Stripes.

Nikki Wears My Cans!

Radio people call headphones "cans." Nikki locked herself out of her car today, which had her cans inside, so she borrowed mine... They are old, cracked and super glued at a fixed setting on my head (which is the size of a watermelon) Which looked a little funny on Nikki.It's Princess Leah from Star Wars!

Todd Nixon Impersonator?

Yes, I know... my second blog of the day... but this couldn't wait. Right up the hall at our sister station, Kevin McKay gave me a little press today. He has told me before that I look like Chicago QB Rex Grossman, but I had no idea who he was. So a little google search to see what this dude looks like.

The Real Todd

Todd Nixon Look-a-likeI bet I have less hair on top of my head than he does... Ha!

Country day today

Lots of Country Music stuff today... makes me giddy like $.25 off of ground round.

Keith Urban posted a video message to his fans this morning at his website, KeithUrban.net to thank them for supporting him while he was in rehab. Keith says he didn't plan on spending three months in the center. Keith, who missed the launch of his album, his birthday and the holidays while in rehab, also thanked fans for the hundreds of E-mails, cards and letters he received, saying it helped tremendously. Check out the video here!

George Strait rarely does interviews... he did one with USA Today over the weekend. George's feature was part of the magazine's American Icon series, which has included Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino and Meryl Streep. Read the article here! He's speaks to a few subjects he's never spoke publicly before.

Taylor Swift had an unusual fan moment last week. She was signing autographs for more than two-thousand fans at a party held in her honor in York, Pennsylvania, and one dedicated fan had Taylor sign her hip and stomach. The fan left the event to have the autograph tattooed over, and then returned to show off her new body art.