McNulty Live

Wow…Stunner…

Michael Jackson & Farrah Fawcett both died today….They both were really a part of my generation. Charlie’s Angels & the “Thriller” album (what is an album anymore? Way before cd’s were even a dream) ~ both were huge. I even had Farrah’s famous poster up in my room. It was such a big deal that there was “nipple” showing.

Remember the “Moon Walk” Michael did. He started off so normal….That also was when MTV was about music videos…The “Thriller” video was groundbreaking & cool, I can still picture the zombies. Beat It, Billie Jean, Thriller, so many songs everyone from my era know the words & can picture the videos. He was an incredibly talented guy. From music to dancing to videos he was a major force in how things are done today. The consummate entertainer of our time! He did have his odd moments, but in the 80’s he truly was the King!

Farrah started a generation of hair-do’s and goes on to marry the $6 million man Lee Majors who was so big during my time too. She was a Super Model before there were Super Models.

Definitely a big lose today…she was soooooo hot & he was sooooo talented….The King of Pop and Charlie’s hottest angel now gone. They both really had an impact on my life  during the 80’s. Everyone watched Charlie’s Angels & we all owned the Thriller album ~ it was a classic.

They say they come in 3’s….I wonder who might be next (unless Ed McMahon is considered the 3rd)…

A Very Sad Day!

So many people think business travel is a blast…sight seeing, partying, etc. It’s not…It’s a pain in the ass…Traveling…Fun, Fun, Fun! Our recent trip was insane…We were off to Virginia Beach from Oregon to do some filming. And, it was one goofy moment after another. It started with Dan picking me up late and us rushing to the airport…..from there it went all down hill. 1st shuttle from parking to airport took forever to arrive and right before we pulled out Dan realized his iPhone was still in the car (usually attached directly to his ear) – this was something Dan must have….So  “Asthma Dan” had to hustle and get the phone & made it back to the bus out of breath ~ luckily he had his inhaler (this comes into play later in the story).

We got on the 1st flight and almost made it to Atlanta without incident. As we approached landing, flight attendant asked for a doctor. Apparently a 1st class passenger decided to have a heart-attack mid-flight. They worked on the passenger for awhile & we landed. We had to all wait for the paramedics to resolve situation. I think the guy was o.k. Next flight, plane delayed & we got into Norfolk, VA after 3am. Hertz barely stayed open for us. Their voice mail said they were closed so we cancelled hotel & then realized it was our only option so we rebooked it.

When we arrived at our hotel we encountered “Norman Bates.” A very odd guy checking us in. He did not want to shut up & it was a very painful 20 minute check-in. He said he almost cancelled our reservation because the card was wrong. They were sold out, so we would have been SOL….Tough morning. Dan was out of inhaler! So, he was constantly looking for place to get one. We filmed the project and it went real well…We flew to Augusta, got in late, had a hard time finding hotel with all the new construction, our GPS was a bit messed up. We stopped at a PF Changs for dinner & they just closed, but did open the doors & fed us at the bar.

We shipped the EXPENSIVE equipment to Augusta, Georgia for early morning delivery ~ suppose to arrive by 8am. IT NEVER showed! Tracking showed it in Pennsylvania. Augusta filming went well despite the lack of equipment. We had no lights so we had to film in the front windows & it was like filming under a magnifying glass. We were so sweaty & hot. Worked with UPS all day to try and get the equipment sent to Florida. They could not find the equipment. Dan worked all day trying to get an inhaler & finally got one! Yippee!

At the airport, Dan realizes he left the new inhaler in the rental car. Security at this airport closed up so we could not leave gate to go get inhaler. So we flew to Fort Myers, Florida. Our plane was delayed and we had a VERY tight connection. Luckily we were up front of plane, but Dan had gate checked a bag. So, I ran like hell & got to gate just as they were closing doors…Got the gals to let me on & asked them to wait a minute for Dan. It was more than a minute…And Asthma Dan ran through the airport and just made it. ATLANTA is HUGE airport. Meanwhile, people had already shifted seats & were not real happy when I told them they were in our seats…

We arrived in Florida late & guess what, because our connection was so tight our luggage did not make it! Our GPS was in the checked luggage which made the day’s travel even tougher ~ we got lost a couple times. So we were so hot, so sweaty, so stinky & we had to film the next whole day in the same dirty, sweaty clothes without our good equipment. Filming in Florida went o.k. even though again it was 100 degrees….So we spent 2 full days running around in humid, 100 degree weather in the same clothes. Dan finally got another inhaler in Florida.

We got home late last night…..after 7 hours in flight and two days in the same clothes! Did I mention this last day was Dan’s birthday.

Back in Madison…..I have really not been to Madison in a long time & boy has it changed.

I had a work project that had a stop in Madison for a brief few hours & I really took advantage of those hours. I hit State Street, the Union, the campus & the Capitol. I got to see Pat McCurdy, some old friends & some family. I even got to have some Roccy Rococo pizza. some chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, a Parthenon Gyro & popcorn @ the Memorial Union.

What a gorgeous Summer evening to be here. It made me miss the place, but it also made me realize moving West was the right thing to do.
Sure there are great Summer days, but the nasty Winter is what drove me away.

Being born in Madison & going to college here was a lot of fun. And, it is a great place to visit, but I love Portland & plan on staying for a long time.

I am EXTREMELY lucky…I hear about so many people that hate their daily commute to work. NOT ME! I live about 13 miles from work & I get to drive through the Portland, Oregon bluffs to get to work every day.
My commute is about 25 minutes (maybe 30 minutes w/traffic). And, it is gorgeous. I get great bridge views (all of them since I cross the St. Johns Bridge), mountain views (Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood & several more depending on the weather) & I even get to see deer on my way to work.
I live in the best part of the U.S. and feel lucky every day I drive to work.
I have been doing it for almost 15 years and still think the same way.
I am lucky!

Two things regarding story below:

1. Danny Gans was incredible. I have traveled to Las Vegas many times for work and a few times for pleasure. After so many times, it gets kind of old. I can only put up with the gambling, solicitors, slot machine noises and the horrendous smoke smell for so long. So, I have started to go see one of the many great shows when I’m there. When I travel for work I always go to the show alone (seems like most of the groups like the strip clubs ~ not my thing), so I usually get a pretty good seat. There are lots of great individual tickets to almost every show always available. I’ve even gotten the front row several times buying it the same day as the show! A few years ago I got to see Danny Gans & he was a blast! He was an amazing performer. He definitely earned being one of the top shows in Vegas…

2. What is the deal with people in great health dying.  It makes you start to wonder why take care of yourself. It just doesn’t seem fair when you see some chain smoking, booze-hound live to 100 and if you eat well & exercise you could go at 50. Makes me wonder if those who are living on the edge and having a blast are the smart ones. At least they get to do everything they want and have a great time doing it! I feel guilty ordering a milk shake!

THE STORY:

Legendary Vegas entertainer Gans dead at 52

Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans, an impressionist who sold more tickets on the Strip than the Rat Pack or Elvis Presley, died early Friday, his manager said. He was 52.
Gans, best known for his touching impersonation of entertainer George Burns, began a five-year headline gig at tycoon Steve Wynn’s Wynn Las Vegas hotel in February. Prior to that, he spent 11 years at the Mirage.
Gans earned Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year honors 11 years in a row in the reader poll conducted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal but was not well known beyond Las Vegas.
The cause of death was unknown. Gans’s manager Chip Lightman expressed his shock at the impressionist’s passing.
“The guy was healthy as an ox,” Lightman said. “I spoke to Steve Wynn several times this morning and both of us were shocked. I was with Danny the day before yesterday. Healthy as an ox. I mean, all he ate was egg whites and spinach and worked out religiously.”
Gans was a former minor league baseball player who turned to performing after a career-ending injury.
He appeared as a player in the film “Bull Durham” and found success in his 1995 one-man show in New York before moving the next year to Las Vegas.
He is survived by a wife and three children.

He was a GREAT performer!

I have always loved going to watch comedians. I have even toyed with doing my own stand up attempt during open mic ~ but have yet to get up the courage. I have even started to compile a bunch of stuff to say…Who knows, maybe this year I will make it happen.

This past weekend I saw Janeane Garofalo and some others fun comedians at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival. While she was very funny, the guy before her was a riot. I didn’t quite catch his name, but he was extremely talented. He played a guitar & did his dry bit and we laughed our butts off.

Now the funny thing is I really wanted my photo with Janeane, not because she is a comedian, but because “24″ is my favorite TV show and she is on it this season. So, I stalked her and hunted her down to get a photo with her. The best part was my camera card was full so, I had to delete  stuff and retake photo several times. She was a real trooper, but as you can tell from my death grip on her shoulder she was not going anywhere until I got my photo! Thanks Janeane!

I have always loved Harrison Ford movies…. Indiana Jones ~ Raiders of the Lost Ark has always been my ALL-Time Favorite Movie. Do I need to mention The Fugitive, Han Solo & Jack Ryan as favorites too….

So I thought it was cool when I found out he was filming a movie in Portland, Oregon ~ my home. So can you imagine how cool it was when I went to Lowes at lunch today to pick something up & they were filming right there? I was about three feet away from one of my all-time favorite actors. Luckily I had my camera with me. Obviously I snagged a few shots… And a quick video.

Also starring in the movie is Brendan Fraser from the “Mummy” movies.

Check Out MY Video HERE!

The Movie ~ “Crowley” ~ is a medical drama based on the true story of John and Aileen Crowley, whose two children suffered from a rare genetic disorder. Rather than watch their children die, the desperate parents contacted a researcher who was developing a potential cure. Ford will play the researcher, and Fraser will play the father, John Crowley. More on the movie HERE!

Very cool, I cannot wait to see the movie. I’m hoping I might be in the background!

My goofy Tiger story….

Our company was holding our annual meeting in San Francisco and at the same time The WGC American Express Championship was happening. We were staying at The Fairmont (pretty swanky) and so were some of the golfers I was pretty busy working most the week because I had some major projects going on. I was actually pretty pissed because everyone kept saying “guess who I saw” and “I met.” While everyone was seeing all these people, I didn’t see anyone ~ I was feeling pretty unlucky.

Well all my major stuff was wrapped up and the group had the afternoon off. I decided to take advantage of that with some others and go down some beers and a couple martini’s to celebrate a great job! So, I have a pretty good buzz going (a really good buzz) and head back to the hotel. I get to the bank of elevators & it’s crowded. I look over my shoulder and see some shirtless gut with an ice bag wrapped around his shoulder and I think “this is a pretty classy place, what’s this guy thinking….” or something like that ~ remember I’m buzzzzzzed. An elevator opens up and me and shirtless and two other guys hop in ~ not another person joins us….

By this time I’m also pretty tired from a bunch of late nights working and the booze ~ now this is only like 5:00 or 6:00 pm. So, I get in the elevator and lean against the wall for support and accidentally press every button. As, we stop at each floor, one of the two guys leans over me to push the “Door Close” buttons ~ He doesn’t look too thrilled. At about Floor 3, I recognize “Door Close” guy as golfer Jim Furyk. And, then I put 2 & 2 together and realize “Shirtless” guy is Tiger Woods (I was expecting a much bigger than life guy & he was pretty close to my size ~ much more muscles though). So, the next time Furyk goes to push “Door Close” button, I say “let me, I feel somewhat to blame for this.” At Floor 11 Furyk and other guy (I’m guessing his caddy) get off elevator.

I’m staying on Floor 38 & Tiger is staying on Floor 36 & we are stopping at every floor along the way, so we have a lot of quality time together. We chatted a bit and I asked how it was going and he said o.k. And, finally I said can I take your photo & he said he’d prefer I didn’t, so I didn’t. At this time in the tournament it was close and John Daly was doing really well. I wished him luck & told him I hope he wins. I asked what happened to his shoulder and he told me it was pretty sore….A lot of small talk…He was VERY, VERY Nice….

Then as he was about to get off the elevator I asked him if I could get his autograph ~ Then I said the bone-head comment “I don’t really want it, it’s for my kids….” and he still said no problem…But I had nothing on me except a cd from the project I was working on all week. So, I grabbed a pen and he signed the CD sleeve & I thanked him & said I hope you win!

Tiger ended up beating John Daly the next day in a playoff (LINK TO SCORES) & I feel a lot of it had to do with our little pep talk!

Autograph that we have up in our living-room:

In my travels I’ve gotten to meet some really neat people. I have been very lucky. I know I have a few more to add here, but I don’t have all the photos so I will add them later…Bar none, the best story I have is when I met Tiger Woods….That story is pretty funny & I’ll post that next when I have time to really write it all out….

I met both Storm Large & Sara Bareilles at local radio events in Portland. They both are even hotter & nicer than you can imagine. And they sung several songs and were incredible. Sara Singing LINK and Storm Large Singing LINK!

I’ve gotten to see Jeffrey Gitomer speak many times and have had the great pleasure of working with him. He’s a great motivational speaker and a pretty funny guy. If you are in sales, buy his books & go see him speak!!!!

Ran into Hulk Hogan at the Las Vegas airport. What a nice guy. I remember watching him wrestle when I was younger. He is a big guy and look how big his hand is! Huge fist!

Got to meet Pete Rose in Las Vegas & got autographs for the kids. He was awesome. What a class act. I really enjoyed chatting with him & meeting him.

When we went to SUPERBOWL 42, all my buddies wanted to go to some strip joint (I’ve never been into that, actually can’t stand them)….So, I stayed back at the hotel and guess what? I got to spend the night chatting with these two GREAT NFL players (and their friend Curtis later joined them)….I had a blast ~ I bought all their drinks & they shared some GREAT NFL stories…..And they gave me autographs for the kids…My friends were jealous!

Marlin Oliver Briscoe (born September 10, 1945 in Oakland, California) is a former professional American football wide receiver/quarterback who played for nine years. Before being drafted in 1967, Briscoe played high school football at Omaha South High School and college football at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Briscoe started his career in the American Football League in 1968, with the Denver Broncos, where he became the first starting black quarterback of the modern era. In 1969 he went to the Buffalo Bills, and after the AFL-NFL merger, he played in the National Football League from 1970 though 1976, mostly with American Football Conference teams. During eight of his nine years, Briscoe was a receiver, but he is best known as the first modern African-American quarterback, playing the position as a rookie with the Broncos. From 1969-1971, Briscoe played for the Buffalo Bills as wide receiver. In 1970 he was in the top 2 in receptions and receiving yards and became an All-Pro.

From 1972-1974 He played for the Miami Dolphins and won 2 Super Bowl rings. He was the leading receiver on the Dolphins in 1973, catching more passes than future Pro Football Hall of Famer, Paul Warfield. He ended his career in 1976 with the New England Patriots. Today, he works with youths and has his own football camp for children.

Briscoe is the namesake for the fictional high school in Nike’s 2006 “Football is Everything” television and print ad campaign. The ads feature NFL stars Michael Vick, Brian Urlacher, LaDainian Tomlinson, Troy Polamalu and Matt Leinart (as adults) playing for the high school team coached by Don Shula, Jimmy Johnson, and Urban Meyer. Also making appearances in the ads are Deion Sanders, Steve Young, Lee Corso, Jill Arrington, Jillian Barberie, and Marlin Briscoe himself.

Erich Theodore Barnes (born July 4, 1935 in Elkhart, Indiana) was an American football defensive back in the NFL. He was a 6 time Pro Bowler. Before the NFL he was an outstanding all around athlete at Purdue University (1956 – 58). Barnes was drafted 4th by the Bears in the 1958 NFL Draft and traded to the Giants in 1961. He tied an NFL record in his first season with the Giants by intercepting a pass against the Cowboys and returning it 102 yards for a touchdown.

Curtis joined me, Erich & Marlin at the end of the evening….Nice guy! See his Superbowl ring
He also gave me autographs for the kids…

Curtis McGriff (born May 17, 1958 in Donalsonville, Georgia) is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. McGriff grew up in rural Houston County, Alabama in the southeastern corner of the state. His family homestead was located just a few miles west of the point where Georgia, Florida and Alabama intersect. He attended and played football at Cottonwood High School in Cottonwood, Alabama graduating in 1976. He played college football at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for the legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant from 1976 to 1980.

McGriff entered the NFL and signed with the New York Giants in 1980 as a defensive lineman. He made the NFL’s all-rookie team that year and was a member of the Giants’ 1986-1987 Super Bowl Championship team. McGriff was primarily used as a defensive tackle and rotated into the game on downs when a running play was anticipated. (McGriff would be rotated out of the game and a pass-rush specialist would be brought into the game on passing downs.) He played his final season (1987) with the Washington Redskins.

Today, McGriff lives in the greater New York area. McGriff is often seen at charity events with close friend and fellow Alabama player, Don McNeal, who played cornerback for the Miami Dolphins from 1980-1989. On May 15, 2005 Curtis married his longtime girlfriend Maurie Morris.

I am sooooooo lucky that my my kids are the best of pals.

Having twins is rough at first….Lots of long nights and not a lot of free-time, but it pays off in the end. I’m EXTRA lucky because they are such great buddies ~ best friends.

They have been practically inseparable since birth. They are 11 and I can’t count on one hand how many times they have not been together overnight & I can’t think of a day they have not seen each other. They are genuinely friends which makes me so happy.

I’m very lucky. I’m also lucky because they are my two best friends.