On The Mark is back after a prolonged absence. Here is this week's newscast. Enjoy :)!
In the news this week…
Princess Abby is a winner on many levels. She saved her owner from almost certain death, and she recently took first prize in a very different kind of dog show.
The Chihuahua mix may be a hero, but she’s also the World’s Ugliest Dog. Winning this title was no easy task, though. Princess Abby had to beat defending champion Pabst, and 2002 winner Rascal.
Her oddly curved back and legs and her partially closed left eye were key in her climb to the top of the rankings. Hey, if ugly dogs can have their own competition, we can’t be too far away from having one for ugly people.
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If you’re caught swearing in Queensland, you’re likely to pay a fine that is far heftier than having your mouth washed out with soap.
Police in the Australian state can now issue fines for $100 (or $88.50 CDN) for swearing in public and $300 ($265) for disorderly conduct.
As a result of these new laws, all incoming sailors have been diverted to Sydney, where they can swear to their hearts’ content.
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In science news, a new environmentally-friendly prototype vehicle has been introduced by two budding scientists in Maine.
Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz of Buckfield have developed a vehicle that runs on a combination of Mentos candies and Coke Zero.
The vehicle was made by using a bike and a trailer is powered by piston mechanism. In a recent experiment posted online, the machine traveled more than 220 feet.
I guess this means we’re not too far away from having a vehicle powered by chips, hot wings, and beer. I’d definitely buy that, but I’d probably consume the fuel before it made it to the car.
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And now, here’s your Radio Shalom sports scoreboard.
Morrison-Berkshire, the official home team of The Howie Silbiger show, have won the North Adams Little League division championship, defeating Police by a score of 11 – 1 on Friday night.
Mike Bloom and Collin Racette each had doubles for Morrison-Berkshire, who were the top-seeded team in the playoffs. Pitcher Nick Boulger picked up the win in the rout, while Police went through several pitchers in the game. However, none of them seemed to be able to stop Morrison-Berkshire’s outstanding offense and equally great defense.
We will try to get an interview with team manager John Moulton within the coming days.
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And now, here’s your Radio Shalom travel forecast.
Sherberghan is currently experiencing a few clouds with a high of 26. It’s 25 with partly cloudy skies right now in Luanda. Papeete is partly cloudy with some sunny breaks and a high of 26. It’s a bit chillier in Nis with a high of 16, and some clouds. Reus is looking a little better today with a few clouds and a high of 24. Finally, it’s a relatively hot night in Umm Durman with a high of 39, and some scattered clouds
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Studies have shown that people want some educational value from newscasts. In response to that, we present the Word of the Week. This week’s word is scribacious, which means given to, or fond of, writing. See? We just saved you a trip to the dictionary.
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This segment is more than just about the news, it’s also about luck. This week’s Random.org Lucky Number is 96625. May it provide you with no end of good luck this week. That number again is 96625.
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Wanna get on your story on the radio? There’s two ways to do it. You can either get your own radio station, or you can send your news stories to mark@truetalkradio.com. We’ll use only the good ones on the air. As for the bad ones, they fall through a chute and into the incinerator, where they prove to be much more useful. You can also visit the official On The Mark blog at www.madmark77.blogspot.com, where past newscasts will be archived.
That’s what’s making news this week. For Radio Shalom News, I’m Mark David, and now you’re On The Mark. See you next week.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
In today's news...
-The MMVAs are totally rigged. If they weren't, Justin Bieber and Drake wouldn't have won every freaking award. Seriously, that Bieber kid needs to get off my TV screen and radio before something really bad happens. I hope his 15 minutes are up soon. I'd rather gouge my eyes out than listen to this mindless drivel.
-Someone scored more than two goals in the farce known as the 2010 World Cup. Portugual destroyed North Korea by a score of 7 - 0, setting a record for this tournament, and possibly for the sport itself. The World Cup has had its share of crazy hijinks, from numerous games ending in zip-to-zip ties, to blown calls, to infighting on the French squad, which led to the resignation of a French official. And they call this sport "the beautiful game". Pfft. It's a complete lie. How can a sport be classified as "beautiful" if no one scores any goals half the time? Do bat-shit insane fans with annoying plastic horns (vuvuzelas) that cause hearing damage make soccer "beautiful" as well? I think not. Hockey did away with ties several years ago, and it's great that they did. In addition, the horns that are blown at hockey games are not nearly as annoying as those vuvuzelas are. Indeed, watching paint dry is more interesting than watching a soccer match. Yawn.
-The Montreal Canadiens, my former favorite team, traded away goalie Jaroslav Halak, who was the only reason why the team had such an impressive playoff run this year. Now that, dear readers, is how you shoot yourself in the foot, and guarantee a last-place finish next season. What GM Pierre Gauthier should have done is trade Carey Price, the inferior of the two netminders. Price is absolute garbage, and I fail to understand why management is so high on him. They think he's the next Patrick Roy, but in reality, he's one of the worst goaltenders I've ever seen. I know I said I've lost faith in the Habs before, only to regain it later on, but this time, it's for real. As a result of this boneheaded move, I am now officially a Blackhawks fan. I'll admit that I've actually liked the Hawks for a while now. I like their good combination of youth, veterans, skill, and chemistry. They are fun to watch, and are full of great players like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and countess others. Now comes a tough decision: Do I get a Toews #19 T-shirt, a Kane #88 T-shirt, or a Seabrook #7 one? Hmm. Tough decision, indeed.
-Today, three long years of writing stories, chasing people for interviews, and doing a lot of other fun stuff will culiminate in a grand ceremony in which I will be handed a diploma. That's right, folks. As of today at 3 PM, Concordia University becomes my alma mater (but definitely not my first one). I have to say, I've had an incredible run there. I've met so many wonderful people, and I've gained some valuable skills that will serve me well in the future. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Journalism department, its staff, and my fellow students for three great years. It's been a great ride, and I hope our paths cross again soon. For a guy that transferred from McGill, where failure seemed imminent, I managed to do a 180 and give some meaning to my education. And in my opinion, a meanningful education is a good education. Now comes the hard part - finding a full-time job in my field. It hasn't been easy thus far, but I remain optimistic. Hopefully I'll find a job soon.
That's all for now. I'll be back soon with more.
-Someone scored more than two goals in the farce known as the 2010 World Cup. Portugual destroyed North Korea by a score of 7 - 0, setting a record for this tournament, and possibly for the sport itself. The World Cup has had its share of crazy hijinks, from numerous games ending in zip-to-zip ties, to blown calls, to infighting on the French squad, which led to the resignation of a French official. And they call this sport "the beautiful game". Pfft. It's a complete lie. How can a sport be classified as "beautiful" if no one scores any goals half the time? Do bat-shit insane fans with annoying plastic horns (vuvuzelas) that cause hearing damage make soccer "beautiful" as well? I think not. Hockey did away with ties several years ago, and it's great that they did. In addition, the horns that are blown at hockey games are not nearly as annoying as those vuvuzelas are. Indeed, watching paint dry is more interesting than watching a soccer match. Yawn.
-The Montreal Canadiens, my former favorite team, traded away goalie Jaroslav Halak, who was the only reason why the team had such an impressive playoff run this year. Now that, dear readers, is how you shoot yourself in the foot, and guarantee a last-place finish next season. What GM Pierre Gauthier should have done is trade Carey Price, the inferior of the two netminders. Price is absolute garbage, and I fail to understand why management is so high on him. They think he's the next Patrick Roy, but in reality, he's one of the worst goaltenders I've ever seen. I know I said I've lost faith in the Habs before, only to regain it later on, but this time, it's for real. As a result of this boneheaded move, I am now officially a Blackhawks fan. I'll admit that I've actually liked the Hawks for a while now. I like their good combination of youth, veterans, skill, and chemistry. They are fun to watch, and are full of great players like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and countess others. Now comes a tough decision: Do I get a Toews #19 T-shirt, a Kane #88 T-shirt, or a Seabrook #7 one? Hmm. Tough decision, indeed.
-Today, three long years of writing stories, chasing people for interviews, and doing a lot of other fun stuff will culiminate in a grand ceremony in which I will be handed a diploma. That's right, folks. As of today at 3 PM, Concordia University becomes my alma mater (but definitely not my first one). I have to say, I've had an incredible run there. I've met so many wonderful people, and I've gained some valuable skills that will serve me well in the future. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Journalism department, its staff, and my fellow students for three great years. It's been a great ride, and I hope our paths cross again soon. For a guy that transferred from McGill, where failure seemed imminent, I managed to do a 180 and give some meaning to my education. And in my opinion, a meanningful education is a good education. Now comes the hard part - finding a full-time job in my field. It hasn't been easy thus far, but I remain optimistic. Hopefully I'll find a job soon.
That's all for now. I'll be back soon with more.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Absolute Rubbish: Today's Music
UPDATE: The Howie Silbiger Show will not be airing next Sunday and Monday as well, so no On The Mark until further notice. Once again, I'll keep you posted about it when it does return, so stay tuned.
Welcome to another post in the "Absolute Rubbish" series. Today's post (or rant) will focus on the music of today.
I love listening to music. I have it on when I'm working and when I'm on the go, and I find it be both therapeutic and relaxing. The genres of music I enjoy the most are jazz, smooth jazz, and classic rock. Almost everything that I listen to falls into these categories.
As good as this is, I find that today's music is severely lacking in quality. When I hear popular music on the radio, I can't help but feel that this mindless drivel was haphhazardly put together in order to sell it kids who consume this stuff as if it was candy. The songs I hear on the radio are basically the equivalent of ear rape. Some of the artists are so bloody annoying, it's not even funny. And the worst part of it is that Top 40-formatted radio stations throughout North America and the world forcefeed it to us by repeating the same songs several times within an hour. Here in Montreal, Virgin Radio 96 and 94.7 Hits FM are notorious for doing that.
When I hear music from Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, and others, I seriously want to ralf. It sounds absolutely terrible. Lady Gaga may be a marketing genius with her crazy costumes and all, but her music is atrocious. I bet she sounds terrible without all of the computers that have enhanced her voice. I find her music to be repetitive and extremely annoying. Poker Face made me want to break out in hives, while her latest single, Alejandro, is just plain awful. Some people are billing her as "the next Madonna". While I can see the comparison (the aforementioned crazy costumes are one example), I think this is taking it a bit too far.
Ke$ha, or Kedollarsha, as I like to call her, is just plain painful to listen to. Her music is shrill, and her voice is like fingernails on a chalkboard. This is basically rubbish masquerading as music. I can't believe that this talentless hack actually has fans. I recently watched a parody of her song Tick Tock called Glitter Puke that was both hilarious and very accurate. You can watch the video here here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7n8GqewJ2M
Another popular artist who I cannot stand is Justin Bieber. He (or is it she?) epitomizes everything that I hate about popular music. He can't sing to save his life, and yet, every 16-year-old girl is obsessed with him. There have even been reports of injuries sustained while a bunch of his adoring (read: overly obsessive) uber-fans were waiting for him to make an appearance. Wow. If only these young women could see just how blind they were. This kid has more cheesecake than the sweet table at my bar mitzvah party did. Justin Bieber serves as yet another example of poorly-crafted music created for Disney Channel slaves. I await the day when this little pisher's 15 minutes of fame are up. He is an absolute abomination, and I fail to understand why he is so popular. One days his fans will realize that he really isn't that good after all, and maybe then, they'll stop throwing their training bras at him.
I long for the days of yore when the music was well-written and worth listening to. These days, it's just about how drunk you got at a club, how many girls you can attract and subsequently cheat on at once, or how much money and "bling" you have. The music of the past really spoke to people. It dealt with important issues, and actually had a meaning. Today's music is pure trash, and is severely lacking in quality. No way in hell will I ever submit myself to this auditory purgatory. It's classless, tasteless, and shows little effort. The music industry has really deteriorated over the years, and the sad thing is that there's no end in sight.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
More WNQW & On The Mark Updates
Just of couple of updates for you regarding WNQW Milwaukee (106.9 FM) and my On The Mark newscast.
Regarding WNQW, the station has finally adopted a permanent format. At 3 PM on June 7th, the station became Big Buck Country 106.9, playing classic country music from the '70s to the '90s. It's nice to hear that WNQW finally found a format after Radio Now was stolen from them by competitor WQBW. However, I think that it's kind of a weak idea. I suppose they had to do something after WQBW became Radio Now 97.3, so they stunted for a few extra days before they finally made a decision. I guess you can say that this case is now closed.
Regarding On The Mark, it won't be heard again this week either. Neither will The Howie Silbiger Show, for that matter. I apologize for the inconvenience. I guess this means that the next installment of On The Mark will be heard in two weeks. Stay tuned for further information.
In the meantime, I'll continue to blog about other interesting things. I'll be posting an interview I did with Mark David Gerson, a well-known author and creativity expert sometime later this week.
That's all for now. I'll be back soon with more exciting (?) stuff.
Regarding WNQW, the station has finally adopted a permanent format. At 3 PM on June 7th, the station became Big Buck Country 106.9, playing classic country music from the '70s to the '90s. It's nice to hear that WNQW finally found a format after Radio Now was stolen from them by competitor WQBW. However, I think that it's kind of a weak idea. I suppose they had to do something after WQBW became Radio Now 97.3, so they stunted for a few extra days before they finally made a decision. I guess you can say that this case is now closed.
Regarding On The Mark, it won't be heard again this week either. Neither will The Howie Silbiger Show, for that matter. I apologize for the inconvenience. I guess this means that the next installment of On The Mark will be heard in two weeks. Stay tuned for further information.
In the meantime, I'll continue to blog about other interesting things. I'll be posting an interview I did with Mark David Gerson, a well-known author and creativity expert sometime later this week.
That's all for now. I'll be back soon with more exciting (?) stuff.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
A Couple of Updates
Hi, folks. Just wanted to let you know that there will not be a new On The Mark newscast and transcript this week. The reason why is because The Howie Silbiger Show will not be airing on Sunday, June 6th. However, with that being said, in my dedication to bring you the most interesting newscast possible, I have recently appointed a Toronto correspondent. Ferdie Galitane's his name, and he will be scouring the Interwebs for interesting news items for use in future On The Mark installments. He's already supplied me with one, and I will be featuring it in next week's newscast. Welcome to the team, Ferdie :).
Also, regarding the format situation on Milwaukee's 106.9 FM (WNQW), they are now playing the entire Beatles catalog from A to Z on a nine-hour loop. It makes for some very interesting listening. I was never really a fan of The Beatles' music, but I've found a few good songs while listening to WNQW's online stream. Thanks, guys. I hope you find a good format soon. Meantime, I will continue following the WNQW story, and I'll have more updates when more information becomes available. This story has certainly been an interesting one thus far, and has been quite fun to follow. If you want to listen to WNQW's online stream, copy and paste this link into your browser: http://den-a.plr.liquidcompass.net/player/flash/audio_player.php?id=WJZXFM&uid=82
That's all for now. I'll be back later in the week with some more interesting stuff for y'all.
Also, regarding the format situation on Milwaukee's 106.9 FM (WNQW), they are now playing the entire Beatles catalog from A to Z on a nine-hour loop. It makes for some very interesting listening. I was never really a fan of The Beatles' music, but I've found a few good songs while listening to WNQW's online stream. Thanks, guys. I hope you find a good format soon. Meantime, I will continue following the WNQW story, and I'll have more updates when more information becomes available. This story has certainly been an interesting one thus far, and has been quite fun to follow. If you want to listen to WNQW's online stream, copy and paste this link into your browser: http://den-a.plr.liquidcompass.net/player/flash/audio_player.php?id=WJZXFM&uid=82
That's all for now. I'll be back later in the week with some more interesting stuff for y'all.
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