How Do They Become Teachers?

From FOXNews.com:

Hundreds of parents of autistic children are signing an online petition to get Florida teacher Wendy Portillo fired for her alleged tactics toward a 5-year-old boy that mirror the reality show "Survivor."

Morningside Elementary School in Port St. Lucie, Fla., alerted Melissa Barton this year that her son, Alex, suffers from a high-functioning form of autism called Asperger's Syndrome.

Barton claims that Alex was punished for symptoms of his disability, such as humming and eating his homework. She says Portillo went too far last week when she kicked Alex out of class, and then allowed the other students to vote on whether he should be allowed back in.

Each student was also allowed to say what he or she did not like about Alex.
By a 14-to-2 margin, the students voted Alex out of class, according to The South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

"She said this was her way of correcting his behavior," Barton said. "I asked him how that made him feel and he said, 'I feel sad.'"

Barton has filed a complaint with Morningside's school resource officer, who investigated the matter, Port St. Lucie Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Steele told the Sun-Sentinel.

But the state attorney's office decided the matter did not meet criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed, Steele said.

The teacher has been disciplined, however.

"Ms. Portillo has been reassigned outside of the classroom at the district offices until any further action may be determined," St. Lucie County School District said in a statement.

Alex has not returned to school since the incident, and Barton says he won't be going back.

"He was incredibly upset," Barton told the Sun-Sentinel. "The only friend he has ever made in his life was forced to do this."
___________________________________________________________________

That's where the FOXNews story ends.

To send a message to Alex and his mom, Melissa, the e-mail address is supportalex@treasurecoast.com

Wendy Portillo is the teacher. I have her home address and phone number but am reluctant to post that information here. Anyone who might wish to contact her directly can probably find that information online easily enough. She lives in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

To sign the "Let's Vote Wendy Portillo Out of Her Kindergarten Class" petition. Click HERE!

The St. Lucie County School Board e-mail address is webmastr@stlucie.k12.fl.us

The Morningside Elementary School Principal is Marcia Cully. Her e-mail address is cullym@stlucie.k12.fl.us. Her phone number is (772) 337-6730

The Lucie County Schools Superintendent is Michael J. Lannon, 4204 Okeechobee Road, Ft. Pierce, Florida, 34947-5414. Phone number: (772) 429-3925 Fax: (772) 429-3916. His e-mail is lannonm@stlucie.k12.fl.us

The St. Lucie County School Board Chair is Carol Hilson, (772) 519-0397. Her e-mail address is HilsonC@stlucie.k12.fl.us

$207?!?

You probably know by now the gang on the D&W show is auctioning off some ersatz art online, proceeds to benefit the Luzerne County SPCA.

None of us are artists but we have had some bids come in. Most surprising of all is a bid from "Wayne" in McAdoo who says he'll pay $207 for Jay's "Painted Guitar."

I'll bet Wayne is a real animal lover if he'll pay $207 for this?!? Hey, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so who am I to say?

Who am I to say? I'll tell you who, I'm the guy who created these three (three, count 'em, three!) masterpieces that I have lovingly named "Tre Teli di Protezione", Italian for "Three Dropcloths." Right now, my alleged art is at a $100 bid.

Tell me there's not one D&W listener out there who's willing to top a $207 bid on a starter guitar with a missing string and electrical tape stripes on it for three acrylic original paintings by yours truly.

Let's go gang. It's not about the art, it's about the animals. Maybe you can get a little collection up where you work, pool your money, and put my art where it rightfully belongs (no, not behind a mattress in the basement), I mean where it rightly belongs, leading the bidding!

How do you bid? Go to Rock107.com, D&W page, Morning Show Art or just click HERE. Check out Dave's and Ruth's masterpieces too. Then click on the e-mail/bid link next to the art you like best (mine) and help the folks to help the dogs and cats and rabbits and more at the Luzerne County SPCA...and help spare me from hearing "I had the high bid in the art auction!" for that for the next year! Thanks!

Art Auction Update 5/30/08

Here's the Reader's Digest version:

The gang on the D&W Show made "art" and didn't know what to do with it so it's online at rock107.com, D&W page, Morning Show Art. (Go right to it, click HERE!) You bid on it and all the money goes to the Luzerne County SPCA.

Here's the latest bids...Jay's "Painted Guitar", $207, my "Tre Teli di Protezione" (Three Dropcloths), $100, Ruth's "Dewey Rose", $50, and Dave's "Drawing a Blank", $75. Bidding continues thru Thursday, June 5th at midnight. Bid! Feed the kitties!

That's a Big Cow

Manning's Ice Cream, Electric City Roasting Company, CBXMan Motorcycles, the Wyoming Valley Motorcycle Club and the girls from G-Club 10 made the second leg of the 2008 D&W Small Town Tour a morning to remember in Wilkes-Barre Township today.

Rock107 Promotions Director and formerly the second hardest working man in show business until James Brown died but now moved up into the number one slot, Mr. Mark Hoover was on-site by 5:15. Both Ruthie and I were running a little late this morning but we still got to Wychock Beverage near the Big Cow on Route 309 in plenty of time. 5 to 6 is plenty of time.

Anyway, a good time. Here's some pictures.

Another Art Bid Update

I'm going to have to do these updates probably once a day here because if I post something every time a bid comes in it's going to get cluttered, possibly.

But for now? I'm proud to say that someone with extremely good taste in art has bid 100 dollars for my "Tri Teli di Protezione" and that same person has bid 50 dollars for Ruth's "Dewey Rose." There is a standing bid on Dave's "Drawing a Blank" at 35 dollars and a bid has come in at 25 dollar for Jay's "Painted Guitar."

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, scroll down two posts and it's all explained there but in a nutshell we're auctioning off artwork created by everyone on the D&W Show to benefit the Luzerne County SPCA! Bidding runs through midnight, Thursday, June 5th.

Art Auction Bidding Update

The D&W Show art auction to benefit the Luzerne County SPCA is in full swing!

So far TWO bids have poured in! There is a 35 dollar bid for Dave's art titled "Drawing a Blank" and a 20 dollar bid for Ruth's "Dewey Rose".

So far nothing for my acrylic trio creation I call "Tre Teli di Protezione" or Jay's "Painted Guitar." Bidding is open thru Thursday, June 5th at midnight. Go to Rock107.com, click on the D&W page, then on Morning Show Art (or just click HERE) to see the alleged art and to place your bid...unless you hate cute little puppies!

Looks Like I'm the Winner

The D&W Show decided to create some art and enter it in the Fine Arts Fiesta in Wilkes-Barre a few weeks ago. Unfortunately we missed the entry deadline by about, oh, a month. So now here we are sitting on all this art that we've made and nothing to do with it except admire it. That's when our producer Dave DiRienzo suggested we auction it off and give the proceeds to the Luzerne County SPCA! Great idea Dave!

So here's the art. Mine is a series of three 11x14 canvases done in acrylic paint that I call "Tre Teli di Protezione" which is a fancy Italian artsy sounding name which in English means "The Three Dropcloths". Place a bid on mine by clicking HERE.


Jumping on the "fancy sounding name" bandwagon but missing the translation wordplay entirely, Jay's project is called "Chitarra Dipinta", which is Italian for painted guitar. I think he bought it.



Dave's is a watercolor effort he's dubbed "Drawing a Blank" and...



...Ruthie put her photographic skills to use and framed a lovely "Dewey Rose".

You can go to Rock107.com, click on the D&W page, then on Morning Show Art (or just click HERE) where you can place a bid by clicking on the e-mail link next to the art you like best. (Got a few e-mails that the bid links were not working on the website so if that's the case, just send an e-mail to dandw@rock107.com and put BID ON JOHN'S ART in the subject. Include your name, town, and the amount of your bid in the body of the e-mail and send it along.)

I'll update the bids here and we'll do them on the air throughout the week. Whoever's art fetches the greatest dollar amount will be named Artist of the Milennium by the other three. That exalted title means that someone (take a look and I think you'll agree I'm the obvious artist and inevitable winner here) will get to bust everyone else's ass for the next year or so on their valiant though losing efforts.

Bidding runs through midnight, Thursday, June 5th.

All kidding aside, if we get any bids at all we're giving it all to our pal Vince Sweeney who as you know is the Big Guy at the Luzerne County SPCA, for their use...so maybe you don't like art or maybe you don't like this art, but if you like kitties and puppies, it won't kill ya to throw a few dollars at this. I think it's tax-deductible.

Thanks.

Here We Go!

The 2008 edition of the D&W Small Town Tour started off the season today at the Jessup Hose Company #2 Carnival and Picnic to help celebrate Memorial Day and of course, St. Ubaldo and the Race of the Saints!

We love coming to Jessup. Dom Perini and the gang at Hose Co #2 go above and beyond in extending their gracious hospitality and we thank them, it's always a pleasure.

Here's some pictures from the morning's festivities.

"I want...to know!"

It's funny that we spent a few hours in Olyphant yesterday, which you may know is the purported location of an inter-dimensional portal and a buried ancient Egyptian treasure (click HERE) and today I saw "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

That was not the original name for the movie. Early on the working title was "Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men from Mars." I'm serious.

I'm not going to give much more away.


Suffice it to say if you're a Harrison Ford fan or think you might get a kick out of Cate Blanchett as a Cold War Russian psychic warrior or Shia LeBeouf racing a motorcycle through a library with
Ford on the back...


...are curious to know how important your refrigerator might be in a nuclear explosion, want to see man-eating ants or a jungle chase with two people on the backs of speeding Jeeps sword fighting plus a few action sequences...see "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

David Cook!

Rock107 News Director Ruth Miller called the win from the start of the season. She said David Cook would be the next American Idol. Even as late as the day of the final results, after a fight-motif final competition the night before in which judge Randy Jackson said that David Archuleta was the best singer this season and Simon Cowell said Archuleta had scored "a knockout", Ruth stuck with Cook and turns out she was right! By a margin of twelve million votes David Cook is the new American Idol!

I have to say I didn't think it was going to work out this way. I saw 17 year old David Archuleta as a malleable money machine in waiting, putty in the hands of 19 Entertainment, the creators of American Idol and the management company who oversees the careers of it's progeny. And I think if you dig deeply enough into the rules of American Idol you'd find that the votes (a record 97 million of them last night) matter to an extent but the final say can be had by the company with the money on the table. So either that's not actually the case or 19 Entertainment thinks Cook will be a big enough money maker who will be easier for them to handle than David Archuleta who comes complete with a reportedly demanding stage dad.

Regardless, all I can say is congratulations to David Cook and especially congratulations to Ruth who nailed this pick right from the start. She and I never did settle on a bet over this. I guess I'm glad we didn't!

D&W Small Town Tour '08

It's back! Starting this Friday we roll out the 2008 edition of the D&W Small Town Tour. Friday morning, 6 to 10, we'll be in the land of my forebears, beautiful Jessup, PA to help kick off the weekend celebration of the Jessup Hose Company #2 Carnival, the party that accompanies La Festa dei Ceri! That's the Race of the Saints or as it's more commonly referred to, Saint Ubaldo!

We look forward to our visit to Jessup each year and Dom Perini and the whole gang at Jessup Hose Co. #2 always make us feel right at home. The men and women of Hose Company #2 are dedicated to the task at hand year round of course, and the annual carnival and picnic is a huge undertaking. Their motto is "Deeds Not Words" and a more committed, hard-working, friendly, and accomodating bunch of folks you will not meet anywhere.

The carnival is always fun with rides by S&S Amusements. And the food? You'll probably wait in line but when you get your order you'll know why there was a line to begin with and you'll know that the wait was worth it. Home made goodness with recipes that were Grandma's from "the ol' country".

So be sure to visit the Carnival and if you're there Saturday don't miss the race! Easy to get to Jessup, just hop on the Casey Highway, take exit 3, go down the hill and you're there!

Here, by the way is the rest of the D&W Small Town Tour schedule (subject to change) as it stands right now. Rock107 Promotions Director Mark Hoover along with our show producer Dave DiRienzo put this itinerary together (so don't miss the "Vacation? Again?" cracks in July and August.)

May 23 - Jessup Hose Co # 2
May 29 - Wilkes-Barre Township

June 4 - Moosic
June 12 - Nuangola

June 19 - Dickson City
June 25 - Edwardsville-CBX Man on Main Street

July 3 - Clarks Summit
(July 7th - D&W on Vacation again)

July 18 - Mayfield- William Walker Hose Co. #2 Corn N Clam Slam
July 25 - Duryea-Germania Hose Co. Picnic Grounds

July 31 - Ashley-Pocono Mtn Leather
August 8 - Sturges- Wildcat

August 15 - Nanticoke-Coal Miners
(August 17th - D&W on Vacation AGAIN)

August 29 - Plymouth Kielbasi Fest
September 4 - Wyoming- Bo Brothers

September 11 - Freeland
September 17 - Dallas-Wayne's World

September 26 - Peckville- Purv's

As Good a Place As Any

All Access Music Group is "an online daily source of news, new music, artist information, radio programming tips, show prep and related music and radio links."

In a section on All Access labeled "Career Tools" there is a column called "Consultant Tips."

Most encounters I have had with radio consultants have led me to believe that they are even more full of s _ _ t than regular, everyday, local radio station people (who are plenty full of s _ _ t) but this was written by a guy named Doug Erickson, a media consultant who seems to be less full of s _ _ t than I expected.

Erickson called it "9 to 5" and after I read it I wondered who I know that may have also read it. I think probably no one so I'm posting it here for my own listening and dancing pleasure.

How have you set up the air shifts on your station?

Most stations still use the old Arbitron dayparts as the basis for their air shifts. Morning drive is 6-10a, middays is 10a-3p, afternoon drive is 3-7p, etc. I'm not certain these definitions of dayparts were ever based in reality, but IF they were, they're not now.

If even a small majority of your listeners are at work by 8a, why does your morning show continue to 9a, or even 10a? Because of Arbitron? Because it makes for easier bonus computation? Because we're paying them a lot of money and that's not for a two- or three-hour shift? Because your morning show rates are higher than midday rates?

Once again we're actually programming for us and not for our listeners and the ways they truly use us.

It's always about us, not them.

Honestly, the timing of air shifts isn't a big deal, but if you're not willing to do something as simple and logical as adjust air shifts to reflect your listeners' daily lives, I doubt you're willing to question why your station, or company, does most of the things that are done.

Look, it's never fun to hear things that shake our assumptions about the world, but if you don't have at least one person in your station asking uncomfortable questions, challenging you to do things that scare you because they sound so different from what every other station is doing, you're not growing, you're hanging on.

And you can't climb the ratings ladder when you're just hanging on for dear life.

オフィス

Steve Carell, star of NBC's "The Office" hosted Saturday Night Live last night. Featured, an SNL Digital Short with Ricky Gervais, the "creator and star of the far superior British version of 'The Office.'" But did you know even his was not the original?

Season Finale

An hour long season finale for NBC's "The Office" last night. Did you see it yet? If you didn't I'll spare you the details but for a nice little tease, play the clip. (Sorry for the attached commercial at the end, if the clip was ever on YouTube it's been yanked and is now, as far as I know, only available on the NBC website.)
Lots of twists and turns, some surprises and some disappointments for a few characters, but the best scenes of last night's season wrap-up, between "Kevin" and "Holly", the new HR replacement for "Toby". See the whole episode (see them all in fact) at "The Office:Full Episodes".

What's Next?

Being on vacation and with plenty of time to relax (about four hours a day more than when I'm not on vacation) I found my thoughts today turning to "What's next?"

With about a year to go on my contract I've been contemplating what I'll do for a living if I decide to leave radio. I don't have any marketable skills, at least not in the traditional sense. I don't have a law degree or know how to fix refrigerators. I'm not a carpenter or know how to do plumbing. I don't have a degree in dentistry or know anything about HVAC. I do have a BS in education and getting certified to teach would be child's play but I don't want to start teaching now, at the age where I should be retiring from teaching.

Still, I do get the occasional job offer. "We'd love to have you come work for us. Whenever you decide you want to stop getting up at 4:30 in the morning give me a call!" None of the offers have been a dream come true. Of course a dream come true would pretty much be just going to the mailbox once a week and opening a check for a few grand, making some coffee, going for a ride on the motorcycle, having a few beers and relaxing. In essence, vacation would be a good job for me. So that's a pretty tall order. You don't see a lot of that in the job section of the Classifieds.

Some of the offers have come from the "captains of industry" here in NEPA, fans of the show who claim there's a place for me with their company and that's reassuring. There have even been a handful of offers made from places further from home than I'd probably want to travel.

Still, radio is all I've ever done and it's like stealing really. Except for the early hours and the disproportionately high number of miscreants the business attracts, why would I ever want to move on? Fact is I'm not sure that I'm cut out for an honest-to-God job although I'm confident that whatever I might end up doing I'd do well or die trying.

With all that in mind, YouTube has been a treasure trove of interesting videos of late. I suppose it's been that way all along but I've had some exceptional ones sent my way over the past few days.

Like this one.

Allow me to introduce Fred and Sharon. They make movies. And after I saw this video I felt better about not knowing for sure "what's next" because if they're making a living doing this, something tells me I'm going to be alright.

Pre-Sale

If you're an American Idol fan and can hardly wait for the 2008 Pop Tarts Presents American Idols Live! Tour coming to Wachovia Arena September 8th, you probably want to get your tickets as soon as possible.

Do you know there's a special pre-sale going on right now? Click HERE and follow the directions. The password is POPTARTS! (Well there's a surprise.) Click on the Ticketmaster link under the POPTARTS password, an instruction box will drop down and tell you how to order before the tickets go on sale to the public on Saturday. (David Archuleta is going to win!)

Tim Nolan

...and I've got too much time on my hands?

Jimmy Page 1957

Thanks to my pal Bill E. for the link.

A Week Off

Hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day.

I'm on vacation!

"What, again?"

I get four weeks a year and this year I'm taking three of them before September. There's this coming week, then a week in July and another week in August.

So yeah, on vacation this week but our young, talented, creative producer Dave DiRienzo will be on the radio playing some of the so-called highlights from shows past (they're making him do it) and Rock107 News Director, the lovely Ruth Miller will also be there to keep an eye on him so you're in good hands.

Win Win

Every Monday on the show we have a visit from Mary from Electric City Roasting Company. Mary has been schooling us in the finer points of a quality cup of coffee since the D&W Small Town Tour last summer and we've enjoyed coffees from all over the world, from their own Blue Moose house blend to Tanzanian Peaberry to Panama Don Pepe!

If you're like me you can choke down just about any crappy cup of gas station coffee but if that's what you typically drink, don't you owe it to yourself to live it up once in awhile by enjoying a quality brew? If you agree then do it this weekend and you'll not only get a chance to try some excellent coffee but you'll be doing a good deed all in one stop.

This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, if you stop by Zummo's Cafe on Marion Street in Scranton and have a cup of coffee, Electric City Roasting is donating 100% of the price of the cup to Grounds for Health, an international non-profit organization founded to bring health care to coffee growing communities around the world. One of their goals is to provide free cervical cancer screenings and Mary says 1500 dollars, that's it, just 1500 dollars can make testing available to every woman in Tanzania.

Medical screenings are something most of us probably take for granted in this country but in Tanzania and other coffee growing regions of the world, a test for a disease like cervical cancer, which is one of the easiest to detect and is highly curable when discovered early, is typically an unheard of luxury.

So...you stop at Zummo's, you try some great coffee at the regular everyday price and the couple of bucks you'll spend, all of it goes to help women fight cancer in poor countries around the world. If you want to kick in an extra buck or two, better yet.

For more information you can call Electric City Roasting/Zummo's at 570-344-2715 or visit their website at www.electriccityroasting.com. For directions to Zummo's, click HERE.

It's a Girl: More

I once found myself in a party box at a Red Baron's game with Jack Palance. The circumstances are not important, but all the while I was there I was
determined not to be a dorky movie star a _ _ hole fan and say or do anything stupid. We chit-chatted a bit and that was the extent of it until about the 8th inning when, after about three (or was it about eleven?) Yuenglings (Dick Yuengling was also there) I blurted out, "Ya know what Jack? When Emilio Estevez shot you in the forehead in "Young Guns"? I was friggin' cheering man."

He laughed.

With that embarrassing thought always in mind when I find myself in the presence of famous people I try to err on the side of caution.

Well when Angela Kinsey of NBC's "The Office" visited here...and don't ask me why...she gave me her cellphone number. I've had it for about a year and I have never called her. It would be inappropriate, unwarranted, uncalled for, unnecessary, and I could go on. Still, I've hung onto the number. Well as you know she had her baby, little Isabel Ruby, on Saturday and the temptation was great but I resisted...until today.

I didn't call her. I sent her a text. It said, "Hi Angela, I apologize for taking this liberty with your number but I just wanted to say congratulations! Hope you and baby are doing well! John Webster, Rock107, Scranton." I sent it about 11 this morning.

Then I was walking through the Mall at Steamtown about a half hour later when my text message alert chimed. I checked and it was a reply from Angela! It reads "Thanks John. She is beautiful. I didn't know I could love someone so much. Say hello to Scranton for me. -Angela"

I know I said I try to resist acting like a starstruck moron but it was so cool that she replied. If I was her I might have considered throwing the phone away and getting a new number!

It's a Girl!

Congratulations to Angela Kinsey and her husband Warren on the birth of their baby girl, Isabel Ruby on Saturday!

Angela as I'm sure you know plays accountant Angela Martin on NBC's "The Office" and has appeared on our show numerous times as well as visited Scranton twice over the past year. Not to sound like a starstruck moron or anything but she is a just a genuinely nice person. At a luncheon at the Radisson on the Friday kickoff of The Office Convention last October, Angela entered through a side door and came directly to the table that Rock107 News Director Ruth Miller and I were seated at and apologized for not being able to chat with us at length earlier that morning at the University of Scranton "Today Show" Al Roker deal as she was obligated to do the NBC national TV broadcast and some production people whisked her away.

It's been interesting to see how the folks who make "The Office" concealed her pregnancy during shooting of the writer's strike-abbreviated season four with camera angles, curiously positioned purses, and over the shoulder shots.

I'd love to call her and offer congratulations (she made the mistake of giving me her cellphone number) but so far I've been able to control the urge to do that. Maybe I'll have some beer Friday night and send her a drunken text message. I'm sure that wouldn't creep her out.

Seis de Mayo

We had a great time at Kilcoyne's in West Scranton for Cinco de Mayo. The folks at the United Way of Lackawanna County invited us to be guest bartenders for the evening. All the tips went into a big United Way jar and before the night was over it added up to a thousand dollars give or take a peso or two.

Lots of folks stopped by and helped celebrate and were most generous even if we had to ask where everything is everytime someone ordered a drink. I guess the patrons realized that being "from the radio", we're not suited for any kind of work at all and they were all very patient so I thank you all for that and for your contributions.

Dave DiRienzo, our producer, had a United Way money making idea. He ordered three Irish Car Bombs, everybody threw in a dollar for the United Way and that money was your entry to bet on who could make their drink disappear fastest. Dave won by about a second (I let him) and Jay is just finishing his about now.

Why an Irish Car Bomb and not a Mexican Car Bomb? Well, Superman has kryptonite and I have tequila so the owner of the place, Tommy, floated the traditional shot of Jamieson on top of some Bailey's just to be safe.

Ruth got a big kick out of the fact that Dave beat me but she did confide that for speed she went with Dave but if it were a question of endurance her money would have been on me. That would have been a smart bet considering my years of conditioning matched against Dave's tender age!

The man in the Marguerita glasses and serape in the picture above by the way is United Way president Gary Drapek who, I'm told, dresses like that a couple of times a week. Thanks Gary and thanks too to United Way representative Michael Neff who extended the invitation. We had a blast and thanks especially to everyone who stopped at Kilcoyne's to help out the United Way.

Iron Man

100 million, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 104 million if you throw in Thursday's take. Worldwide? They're still counting but it's a little bit past the 200 million mark.

Not that it's a surprise to anyone at this point, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if they've already shot chunks of what will definitely be the Iron Man sequel.

A 70 Million Dollar Weekend?

My wife and I saw "Iron Man" at the RC Theaters Movies 14 in Wilkes-Barre last night. First showing. I was always a huge comic book fan as a kid though not so much the Marvel Comics characters. I was a DC Comics guy. Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, etc., so I was only vaguely familiar with Iron Man. Doesn't matter.

Long story short? See this movie. It was outstanding! You don't have to be a Marvel Comics or any other comic book fan to love it. Robert Downey Jr. was made for the role of the billionaire industrialist and international playboy Tony Stark and Gwyneth Paltrow didn't do the movie any harm either as Stark's "gal Friday", Pepper Potts.

This was my first visit to the RC Theaters Movies 14 and I gotta say I really like the place.

As far as the storyline goes, Stark is kidnapped by insurgents during a weapons demonstration in Afghanistan, imprisoned in a cave and forced to make a super missile for the bad guys but instead he fashions a prototype of the Iron Man suit (he's a genius don't forget), kicks some insurgent butt and escapes. When he returns home he uncovers a nefarious plan "with global implications", refines the suit and becomes Iron Man!

Downey was outstanding, the special effects were stunning and seamless, and a suit that I wish was real and that I could get my hands on...at least the boots and gloves, how could I not recommend this, the first blockbuster of the summer season? Iron Man will most certainly be the number one draw at the box office this weekend and if you can believe the so-called experts it's going to ring the cash registers to the tune of anywhere between 70 and 100 million! We'll see how that shakes out on Monday!

For Sale

We had a few minutes with Kate Flannery on the show this morning. Kate plays Meredith on NBC's "The Office". I met her when the cast was in town for the Office Convention back in October and she was great! Funnier in person than she is on TV. She said the season finale coming up in a few weeks is not to be missed. We were thrilled to have her on the air today. Click HERE to hear the interview.

And speaking of "The Office", if you saw last night's episode, "Did I Stutter?", Stanley wasn't paying attention in one of Michael's conference room brainstorming sessions and when Michael asked him to put down the Sudoku and pay attention he said he wouldn't. When Michael asked him again, he got a little ticked and barked out the line that is the title of the episode.

One of the sub-plots of the show was Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) putting his 2001 Nissan Xterra up for sale. Dwight bought it for a low price, turned around and resold it for thousands more which ticked Andy off. Well it turns out the Xterra that was on the show is in fact owned by a hair and makeup artist who works on "The Office", Kim. And Kim is actually selling the car and she's throwing in some "The Office" memorabilia as well! It's on eBay! So if you're interested in an '01 XTerra with 68k miles on it that's been on TV, click right HERE!

Cinco de Mayo

I was a bartender for one summer during my college days.

Well, by bartender I mean pretty much I opened beers and poured shots and that was about the extent of it. I worked Friday nights at Skippy's Seafood in Archbald. It was me and Carm. He was the real bartender and had been working there for about twenty years or more when I got hired more as a helping hand than anything else. So yeah, I did beer and shots and took food orders. "Hey, this isn't flounder?!?"

Carm did teach me how to make a martini and that was as involved as I ever got into the professional world of mixology. I was let go because every Friday night about 10 o'clock some friends of mine would stop by and that's when the scotch started to go unaccounted for. I wasn't giving it away. I was drinking it.

Anyway, with that experience under my belt I'm hoping you'll join me and the rest of the D&W Radio Program, Jay, Ruthie and Dave on Monday, "Cinco de Mayo" (that's May 5th for our unilingual friends) at Kilcoyne's in West Scranton. We're doing a guest bartending stint there beginning at 5PM. Why? We were invited by the folks at United Way of Lackawanna County. It's a fundraising event.

Here's how it works. You stop by Kilcoyne's, order a drink. We will try to get you the drink you ordered and if we even come close we're hoping you'll leave a tip...say, a dollar, two dollars, five hundred dollars. All the tip money goes to the United Way! So it should be fun. Hope you can stop in for a little Cinco de Mayo bebida!