Otis Speaks

KNDS Spring Pledge Drive part II.

2007-05-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

The pledge drive continues to roll along thanks to all of you who have helped out so far. We are still on our wayto our goal of $5,000. Please do all you can to help.

Block Party Update:
The weather says that there is a 30% chance of rain on Saturday for the block party. The party will still go on as planned i the Fargo theatre parking lot. The Aquarium (Dempsey's upstairs) will be used as a rain venue if it starts to storm. Kepp checking for any updates, and please donate if you can. Thanks.

KNDS pledge drive part I.

2007-05-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

Allright the KNDS Spring Pledge drive is officially underway. The pledges are starting to roll in a a great big thank you to all of those who have helped out. If you haven't sent in a pledge please do all that you can to help support community radio in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Even if it is just a dollar or two anything that you can do will help us to be able to continue doing what we do. The goal for the week is $5,000.oo we have a long way to go but I'm sure that we'll get there. If you wish to donate call the station at 701-231-6703, or go online to www.kndsradio.com and donate via paypal. An keep it tuned to 105.9fm KNDS "Radio for Everyone." You can also listen online at www.kndsradio.com.

Block party update: The weather forcast calls for possible T-storms and a high of 74. The party will go on as scheduled, check back here for more updates on possible rain venues. Thanks

Why oh Why do we care so much

2007-04-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

So hear it is, NFL draft weekend, the two days that sports fans hear way too much about for months, and then waste an entire weekend watching to see who their favorite team may choose to be the future of their franchise. I may bad mouth the draft by saying that we shouldn't care near as much as we all do, however I spent the whole weekend at work watching with great interest as the whole deal unfolded. This year I was transfixed for two reasons: 1. as always I wanted to see who would go to my favorite team, the Green Bay Packers. And 2. would my friend Kyle Steffes and his North Dakota State Bison teammate Craig Dahl hear their name called. At the time that I wrote this Post neither Steffes, nor Dahl had been chosen. As for my Packers, it was another disappointing draft from my perspective. The Pack desperately needs playmakers on offense, and they owe it to Brett Favre to get a few, but they spent their first round draft pick on Defense for the fourth straight year. They then picked several project type players who may not be able to step in Right away and contribute. They may have only one year left in the Brett Favre era, and they needed players who can step in and contribute right now, not guys who may be nice players in a few seasons. I had several playmakers in mind that they could pick up. Marshawn Lynch, Dewayne Jarrett, Michael Bush, Greg Olsen, or even trading for Randy Moss would have helped this team right now. But Lynch was gone when Green Bay picked, they passed on Jarrett and Bush for a back that didn't even start the whole year for Nebraska last year, and the watched as Moss went to the suddenly terrifying Patriots. Oh well, maybe there will be a diamond in the rough or two for the Pack. I shouldn't worry, just because I haven't heard of them doesn't mean that they are no good right? That's what all of us who may be upset about our teams draft need to tell ourselves.

Enough Already

2007-04-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

It amazes me that it took the cable news networks almost a whole week to cut down on showing the chilling photos and video from the VT killer. It wasn't that the video wasn't newsworthy, it was, but just the fact that the stations ran it virtually non stop for five days until angry e-mail from the victims families caused station brass to cut back on the footage. There is a certain responsibility that these networks have to show the news, but also to protect the viewers. I'm not upset that the video was shown on air, I feel that there was a need for the public to see it, just not 24/7 for five days. I don't know anyone that after day 1 hadn't seen the video at least once, and I saw it countless times. As chilling as it was to me, I can't imagine how anyone that was in anyway connected to the tragedy felt while watching it, the networks have a responsibility to limit their grief as well.

I was glad to see that after Sung-hui Cho's family made their first public statement about their sons crimes that the victims families place no blame on Cho's family. I don't know anything about this young man's home life, no one outside of the family does, but this is not a time to place blame on his family. Remember, their son died too, and their grief is just as warranted as any of the victims families. I can't possibly imagine what his family must be going through, dealing with his death as well as the realization of what their son did.

To the 2008 presidential election now, John Edwards has reimbursed his campaign for the two $400 hair cuts that were charged to his campaign's account. $400 and his hair still looks goofy as hell. That is just another benefit of being Rudy Giuliani, he as no hair so he saves $400 every few weeks. Still looks like Clinton and Giuliani have small leads over Obama and McCain. I'm still waiting for Gore and Gingrich to join the fun and really shake up the frontrunner's. Stay tuned.

I got my whole account password problem fixed so I'm back for good, be sure to check back for more blogging fun.

Close but no cigar

2007-02-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

How close must one come to their dreams time and time again before fate finally turns in their direction? This is a good question, and one that was asked once again after Mark Martin came within a bumper of finally winning the Daytona 500 on Sunday. For those of you that don't know, Martin is the perennial bridesmaid. He has been at this whole NASCAR thing for a quarter of a century now, and although he has compiled a resume that would make many jealous, and has made him one of the best ever, he has never secured either of the two big Kahunas of the sport(The championship and the Daytona 500.) And boy has he been close. He has finished the season second in points a record 5 times, (including the closest point race ever in 1990 where a controversial penalty lost him the title by a razor thin 28 points) he also holds the record for most 2nd place race finishes, add the .02 of a second loss at Daytona on Sunday and it breaks your heart. He has been at this for so long and been so close so many times, that you wonder if it will ever happen for him. And it probably wont. You see Mark is only racing a partial schedule and can't win the championship, and Sunday may have been his best and last chance to win the big one. This is just another example of one of the good guys never getting the glory. If you watched a race and saw Mark's post race interview you saw one of he classiest men around, and you also saw a man that was torn up inside by the fact that he couldn't get it done on the track. I sure hope that Mark gets his day in the sun before it sets on him. But if you think about it, he has a healthy family (including a son that will be racing NASCAR soon) and he has a ton of respect from almost anyone that has ever had contact with him. So even though he lost on the track, he is a winner off of it.

Finally today I have to mention this whole Brittney Spears thing. Usually I'm not much for celebrity news, I don't really consider it news at all, but this Brittney thing is just too funny. She apparently had a nervous breakdown and went into a salon and shaved her own head. The really sad thing is that with everything going on in this world (Iraq, Iran, Health care etc...) This is the big story of the week. Oh and by the way you can find locks of Brittney's hair on ebay, I had to look for myself and sure enough it is there and for the low low price of $15o, what a steal. Wow what a world that we live in.

The Greatest words in the English Language

2007-02-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

"Pitchers and Catchers report" those are the four greatest words in the English language, especially this time of year. Not just because I'm a huge baseball fan, and not just because my favorite team, the Minnesota Twins, just locked up star catcher Joe Mauer to a long term deal. It is much, much more than that. There is something inherently soothing about those words. Something about the "boys of summer" reporting to camp gives you a warm feeling even while outside the Mercury is still in the single digits. It is also so much more than just the start of another sports season. It is something that everyone dreams of, whether you are a sports fan or not, a chance to start fresh. You see, in February everyone in baseball starts at zero. Right now everyone is the same distance from the championship as everyone else. And even though there are undoubtebly some teams that will end up better off than others, that doesn't matter right now. Right now everyone is in first place. Fans of every team has the right to dream big, and say why not us? Why not this year? There is something very American about that, about everyone starting at the same spot, with the same goal in mind.

That got me thinking about the 2008 presidential election (I know it's still 620 days away, and about 500 posts on this blog away but still...) This is the time where all of the candidates start throwing their hats in the ring (officially at least, I still think Newt, and Al Gore will run even though they wont say until the fall) and everyone is sort of starting from scratch. I've been kind of drinking the Kool-Aide that Barak Obama has been serving as of late. Even though I have no idea where he stands on a number of key issues I think that he is saying all of the right things right now. He is trying to get the young votes, which is a very smart idea, by speaking about the need for a younger inexperienced voice (or a "new kind of politics" as he calls it) to go in and shake up the political system as we know it. And his plan is working. I supported McCain until his plan for a "Radical troop surge", and from a social view standpoint I agree more with Rudy Guliani, but I'm right now beginning to buy into the start fresh attitude of Obama. It's all about beginning a new. Gotta love spring!

Begining Blogger

2007-02-11T14:21:00.000-08:00

Well, here goes nothin. This is my first foray into the wonderful world of blogging. I have had a history of being pretty harsh towards those bloggers out there on my various radio shows. Mostly because I was disappointed in the fact that a growing number of Americans (particularly young Americans) were getting their news and information from the blog world, and how much in this world is real news; not much it is mostly opinion. I then realized how hypocritical that was of me. I myself frequent message boards for different organizations and topics in which I find interest, and do not use that information as fact. So it was not really the bloggers that I had a problem with it was the readers that hang on their every word. I figured that I can't bash the bloggers too much without giving it a whirl myself. (and it can't be much worse than getting your news from a cable news network, but I'll save that for a later entry) So here it is for better or worse, my blog. I hope you enjoy, and please let me know how you feel about what I speak of.