May 2006 - Posts
May 30, 2006
One of the best parts of my job — without question — is the people I get to meet.
Today in downtown Minneapolis, shooting a story on Steel Tip Darts, I met a true character, named Charles Stutz, Jr. This fellow has been playing the game since he was 11 years old. Now he's 89 years old! They nicknamed him "Fast Eddie".
When I asked him why, he explained that the story is too long, and completely inappropriate for our TV cameras.
"Fast Eddie" was really a hoot. If I'm anywhere near as spunky as he is when I'm 89, I'll be styling.
He says the key to feeling as good as he does when you're that age, is to have a good sense of humor. He regaled us with stories of how he once got dinner bought for him by legendary Packers Coach Vince Lombardi, and how once he was at the Brown Derby in Hollywood, and partied with Glen Miller and his orchestra.
We also learned that "Fast Eddie" was one of the original inventors of Cheez Whiz. He worked for over 40 years for Nabisco. Great guy. So happy to have met him. And yes, he beat me in a friendly game of cricket.
Too Cool for School.
Perkout
What's weird is that I never suffered from headaches until I got into television.
I'm not saying the tube is the reason for my splitting noggin, but at this point, I'm convinced it can be anything.
It might be sleep pattern, it might be caffeine intake, it may be stress, it could be diet, perhaps it's my insatiable sweet tooth, or maybe even the color of my socks.
I really don't know.
What I do know is that they can get pretty debilitating. At times, like the last two days, even manifesting itself into a migraine.
It hurts to even look at this computer screen right now. Noise hurts too, and I'm a pretty loud person, so that's tough.
Anyway, I don't really have a point. The moral to the story, or to the blog I guess, is that headaches really consume me. Which is why that's what I'm writing about. These blogs are good for venting.
Thanks for helping me with my catharsis.
Good day.
Happy Memorial Day. Hope you get to eat some strawberry shortcake with extra whip cream. And why is it whip cream instead of whipped cream?
Peace Out, ep
Huge weekend in the KARE 11 Sports world. Our very own Bea Chang is locking it down, and getting hitched this Memorial Day Saturday.
Bea is our Executive Sports Editor and the one who keeps us all in line back in our sports corner. The way the newsroom is laid out, we are in the back corner, tucked away behind a big glass partition. It's almost like when you go to the zoo and the gorillas are behind a 3-inch-thick glass.
Same concept I think.
Anyway, this weekend we take our zoo to the big bash that is Bea's wedding.
Thanks to KARE news reporter Jana Shortal for filling in with the sportscast today, because all of us will be at the big soirée.
By way of background, Bea is the matriarch of the department. She's one of the most gifted individuals I've met in this industry with both her photography and editing skills. She even put up with me for a month in Italy for the Olympics, and even more noteworthy in my life, is the reason I'm at KARE in the first place.
I was working at the Fox affiliate in Memphis when Bea came to visit her friend Peggy, who was one of our directors there. She let Peggy know of a sports opening they had in Minneapolis/St. Paul and Peggy suggested I send along a tape to go back with Bea. I did, and the rest is obvious.
So cheers Chang! Enjoy this day.... you rule...
Ciao! Perk
I am totally sore today. I spent Sunday afternoon riding a horse and I am reeling from the aftereffects.
We shot Tuesday's Perk at Play segment in Jordan, Minnesota. That's where a group of horse-heads play a game called Polocrosse. It's a mixture of polo and lacrosse. In case you're a fashionista, it's not a mix of Ralph Lauren and Lacoste. That would be Polocoste. This is Polcrosse, where they ride horses and try to score goals using lacrosse type stick/nets and a ball.
The folks put me on a mount named Bailey. This particular equine, I'm pretty certain, loathes me. I couldn't figure out how to handle the stick and not pull the reins as I threw. Bailey continually tried to make a beeline to the feed trailer, annoyed by my lack of horse sense. After an hour and a half on this horse, for a minute and a half story, I found myself bowlegged and hurting. Today it's even worse. Oh well, them's the breaks.
Speaking of breaks, how frightening was that Preakness this weekend. That jockey was so on the ball to pull up as fast as he did. Barbaro's not out of the woods yet though. We'll see. Hope he makes it. OK, peace out
EP
--
OK, that's probably a little harsh.
How about, I hate Golf because I'm terrible at it and that frustrates me beyond belief. I admit, it's a great game, and if I was good, I'd probably appreciate it a lot more. But for now, I look at it as a colossal waste of 5 hours of my time.
I golfed Tuesday with the guys in the sports department. Me, Randy Shaver, Charles Gonzalez, and Pat Sidoti. We enjoyed each other's company as usual, but golly the golf was ugly.
Shaver, actually, was on fire. His new putter saved his hide on several occasions.
Nothing saved mine.
I couldn't hit a straight drive. I couldn't hit a drive that got in the air. I hit behind the ball, I duck hooked, I hit grounders. I lost control. I snapped a 4 wood in half out of frustration, and tried to launch my sand wedge into the lake, but missed the lake!
Yes, other than a few select charity tournaments, I hereby use this blog, as my sounding board that I officially retire from the sport of golf.
FORE!
ep
I've always liked the Pink Panther. Peter Sellers is a genius. Pretty in Pink starring Molly Ringwald was good too. And I've always liked those pink sno-ball cupcakes in our vending machine, but this weekend, I saw a truly awesome kind of pink. The 14th Annual Race for the Cure for the Susan G. Komen Fund went down at the Mall of America. Again, KARE-11 was deeply involved, and I personally am always so touched by all the amazing stories of courage, heartbreak and survival involving *** cancer.
Last year, I got hoisted up in the cherry picker at the start line with Julie Nelson. I will never forget the sight of almost 50,000 people walking towards and under us. I still get chills thinking about it.
This year, I walked with my family. Other than that one part where I crashed the stroller into another stroller, it went very well. Red McCombs always used to shout Purple Pride! Well, on this day, we all had Pink Pride, and remain hopeful, these races will end in a cure.
Gotta love the fishing opener. Actually, I don't like when people tell me I gotta love something. Nevertheless, whether or not there's a predetermined mandate on my affinity, I do really appreciate the Opener. Classic Minnesota. When I think of events that are wholly unique to this state, The Fishing Opener is right there with the Butter Sculpture and the Winter Carnival.
I've been able to chase a bunch of walleye over the years. Never have landed one though. Part of the problem is that I've usually always been in a boat that's chased the Governor around the lake for the sake of TV. With Ventura, that sort of pursuit was comical. Picture about 20 boats hovering around the Gov's boat. What kinda fish is going to bite with that many boats churning things up?! At least that's my excuse.
What I really like though is the shore lunch. I'm a tartar sauce guy, as opposed to malt vinegar or something like that. Just give me a sunny day, some good slaw and a little fried walleye, and I'm one happy fisherman. Oh, throw in some soft serve ice cream while you're at it. I gotta go. I'm hungry.
Perkout
Went to one of my absolute favorite suburbs today. Blaine! National Sportscenter the site for today's big event. The 9th annual Track and Field Day for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired. Kids, Kindegarten-6th grade, all deaf or with hearing problems, having a total blast. It was really cool to see al the sign language and interpreting going on. The interpreters all wear black because you could see the sign language better that way. These kids are all in the same boat, and they really appreciate this event because they see they're not the only ones with this problem. I loved hanging out with them. Even if they did whip me in the 50 yard dash. But in my defense, they started the race in sign language, and I was expecting someone to yell go. Otherwise, I would've smoked the 2nd Graders. =) Can't wait for the 10th Annual. I hope I get invited again. By the way, feel free to send me feedback or topics you'd like me to blog about, questions you want answered, whatever. Hit me at eperkins@kare11.com
Ta-Ta
Aaah, the beauty of live television. Sometimes in this business, we're required to ad-lib. I do it very often on KARE 11 News Saturday. There are times admittedly though, when the thought is there, but the words just don't coincide. Sometimes when that happens, it's best to just shut up and find another thing to say in a hurry. Sometimes, it doesn't shake out that way though. This morning we came out of a commercial break. Here's what came out of my mouth: "Welcome back to KARE 11 News Saturday, the time is 8:37, and it's 47 on the degree thing." The degree thing! I immediately tried to laugh my way through it, and my quick witted co-host Belinda Jensen, gently pointed out, I was referring to a thermometer. It takes the temperature. As a weather person also, she must have cringed deeply when she heard me flub through that, but she handled it gracefully as she always does. It was cool we were able to laugh about it, but those brain fades are freaky.
OK, what's the word I'm looking for......... oh, Bye!
Went to Los Angeles Sunday. Flew into Burbank Airport because it was more convenient. I was there to tape a Behind the Scenes story with the cast and crew of Deal or No Deal. The hit game show on NBC runs 3 nights a week on KARE-11, and it's all the buzz these days in Network TV land.
The shoot was cool. The show is taped at the Sunset Gower Studios. It's a lot with plenty of history. The 3 Stooges have worked there, Clark Gable, Marlon Brando, etc. We did all the behind the scenes stuff we were able to before the show actually started taping. I even met a couple in the audience from Northfield! Five minutes later, a couple from Chaska said hi. Small world.
Anyway, Deal or No deal was cool. Be sure to check out our story sometime in May on KARE 11 News at 10pm. What wasn't cool, was my ride to the airport. Since I flew into Burbank, I assumed that was my departure airport as well. My flight was to leave at 3:50pm, fly to Phoenix, where I would connect to Minneapolis/St. Paul. I got to the aeropuerto at about 2:45 and realized, my return flight was through LAX! I assumed it was Burbank since that's where I flew into, but closer inspection of my itinerary proved otherwise.
I felt like a total dork. Hauled as fast as I could down the freeway. Calling on the cell, letting the rental agency know I was changing the drop-off site. I was making decent time too, until I hit a huge backup of classic L.A. traffic, caused (I later found out) by a huge Immigration Rally. I was toast. Missed my flight, had to catch a later flight, through Vegas, deal with a 3 hour layover and then finally back to the Twin Cities flying on standby on a redeye in a middle seat! I pulled into my driveway at 4:45 a.m. The moral to the story is. Don't be a dork. Check your itinerary closely.
LA-LA-Later, Perk